Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
RFK Jr. Sworn in as Health and Human Services Secretary; New York Governor Won't Sign Extradition Request; DOJ Officials Resign, Refuse to Drop NYC Mayor Case; Solar Thermal Plant on California- Nevada Border Set to Close. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired February 14, 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: Hi, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane. If you're just joining us, here are some of the top stories today.
Mixed messaging at the Munich Security Conference as Vice President J.D. Vance declares that the U.S. could send troops into Ukraine if Russia doesn't seek peace with Kyiv. This despite President Donald Trump suggesting earlier this week that Ukraine may be Russia someday after a call with the Russian president.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent Thursday in Washington, D.C., meeting President Donald Trump and other officials. The Prime Minister is the fourth foreign leader to meet President Trump since he took office again. The two leaders discussed collaboration on technology and business, as well as future trade plans.
Ahead of the meeting with Prime Minister Modi, President Trump announced plans for more tariffs, ordering agencies to investigate the possibilities for reciprocal tariffs on countries that have imposed tariffs on American goods.
Tariffs announced by Trump earlier will add 10 percent across the board to imports from China and 25 percent to imports from Canada and Mexico.
With President Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel is expected to face a final confirmation vote late next week. The Senate Judiciary Committee met for two hours on Thursday and voted to advance his nomination on party lines.
Senators grilled the president's nominee for Education Secretary, Linda McMahon. She said she agrees with President Trump's mission to return education to the states but admitted that completely shuttering the education department would need an act of Congress.
Also on Thursday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in, becoming one of America's leading public health officials. CNN's Manu Raju has this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now the secretary of Health and Human Services. This after a battle, both public and private, to win over some skeptical Republican senators who are worried about his past vaccine skepticism.
He was able to make some commitments and got some on board. Others clearly felt the pressure from Trump allies to ultimately fall in line. One did not.
That is the former Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, who's still the Kentucky senator, veteran Republican member, who came out and he issued a scathing statement about Kennedy's past comments about vaccines. Now McConnell cited the fact that he's a childhood polio survivor. He talked about the importance of vaccines.
And he went on to say in a statement about his opposition, he said, a record of trafficking and dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts.
Now, he was alone on the GOP side because 52 other Republicans ultimately voted for him, and he only needed 50 Republicans to win the job enough to get this position. But he was able to even win over some skeptical members like Senator Lisa Murkowski, who says that she still has concerns about his views on vaccines, but she contended that there will be oversight over his efforts.
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): Well, I think there are many of us who have asked for specific commitments, most specifically related to vaccines, and we want to be able to hold him accountable to that. So we're going to be checking him in. We're going to be calling him in and we're going to be following him through.
RAJU: Do you trust him on vaccines or do you trust that he's going to --?
MURKOWSKI: We're going to hold him accountable, and that's how we will get the trust.
RAJU: Now that Kennedy has this position, the Senate, Republicans are trying to fill out the rest of Donald Trump's senior level positions in his government, including the next FBI director, Kash Patel, who has advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee along straight party lines, a 12-10 vote after Democrats battled tooth and nail to try to stop this nomination. Republicans fell in line, and that's what's expected on the Senate floor next week. We expect Republicans to try to set up a confirmation vote for him by the end of next week.
He would replace Christopher Wray. Wray, of course, had a tenure term to be this -- the continuous FBI director, but Donald Trump made clear he wanted him out. Wray ultimately resigned from that position, and Trump is bringing in his own FBI director, someone very much in his mold, someone who's very much been a Trump ally, a MAGA supporter, and the reason why Democrats in particular are concerned about giving him this powerful position.
[04:35:04]
But, nevertheless, Kash Patel is expected to get the votes from Republican senators who believe that he's qualified for this position.
One person to watch in next week's vote, Mitch McConnell. It's unclear how he ultimately will come down, but even if he's a no, it's likely, very likely, Kash Patel will be the next director of the FBI.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: A federal judge has paused President Trump's executive order restricting gender-affirming care for transgender people under the age of 19. The ruling comes after a lawsuit was filed on behalf of families with trans or non-binary children. They say their children's healthcare has already been compromised by the president's order.
Meanwhile, the words transgender and queer have been erased from the Stonewall Uprising National Monument website. The Stonewall Inn was the site of a police raid in 1969 that led to days of protests and skirmishes between rioters and police and galvanized the movement for LGBTQ rights in the U.S.
The state of New York has rejected a request to extradite a doctor charged with prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant minor in the southern state of Louisiana.
The move sets up a potential test of laws that protect physicians who prescribe abortion medications to states with bans. New Yorker Governor Kathy Hochul said she will not sign the extradition request.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHY HOCHUL, (D) NEW YORK GOVERNOR: Louisiana has changed their laws, but that has no bearing on the laws here in the state of New York. Doctors take an oath to protect their patients. I took an oath of office to protect all New Yorkers, and I will uphold not only our Constitution, but the laws of our land, and I will not be signing an extradition order that came from the governor of Louisiana. Not now, not ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, the case against New York-based Dr. Maggie Carpenter appears to be the first instance of criminal charges against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to someone in another state.
The U.S. Justice Department is facing a flurry of resignations. Several officials left their jobs after refusing to dismiss federal corruption charges against New York's Mayor Eric Adams. That includes the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. President Trump said he had nothing to do with the department's decision to drop the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. attorney has resigned over the DOJ's request to drop the case into Eric Adams. Did you personally request the Justice Department to drop that case?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I didn't. I know nothing about it. That U.S. attorney was actually fired. I don't know he or she resigned, but that U.S. attorney was fired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: CNN's Kara Scannell has the latest developments on this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a growing crisis at the Justice Department, with multiple top officials resigning over a directive to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, and at least five other prosecutors resigned Thursday. Sassoon said in a letter to the Attorney General that she could not carry out those orders because they are inconsistent with her, quote, duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor and to advance good-faith arguments before the courts.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered Sassoon to dismiss the charges not based on the merits of the case, but because he said it was politically motivated and impedes Adams from doing his job, including carrying out Trump's immigration agenda. Sassoon said that amounted to a quid pro quo, something Bove and Adams' attorney both deny. Bove put the prosecutors working on the case on administrative leave while they are investigated by DOJ.
He transferred the case to Washington for prosecutors there to carry out his directive. But that snowballed into additional resignations by officials in the public integrity section who quit in protest. Bove could move to dismiss the case himself.
Ultimately, it's up to a judge to decide whether to grant the motion. It's unclear if more resignations will follow.
Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: In California, heavy rain is forcing new evacuations in places already ravaged by wildfires. Burned areas around Los Angeles, including Altadena and the Palisades, are now at risk of mudslides and debris flow. Authorities fear the soil on the hills could become unstable and come rushing with water rushing down it.
This time-lapse shows just how bad the mud flow can get. You see they're sliding down the hill and flooding, completely flooding the area below. Officials say other places are also at high risk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KRISTIN CROWLEY, CHIEF, LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: This is a widespread event that could impact a lot of different areas within the city, but especially hazards in and around the areas that have recently burned.
KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES MAYOR: The areas that we're primarily concerned about, the slides, is where the fires were, the burn area, the scar. And so that area is the area that we're concerned about.
[04:40:00]
But there are a lot of individual homes that are against the hills where the mud can come down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well still ahead, TikTok is once again available to download in the U.S. What's behind the latest move in the social media saga?
Plus, why a solar thermal plant that was once billed as the future of clean energy is being shut down. That story and much more straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. TikTok is available for download once again for U.S.-based users. App stores including Google Play and Apple restored the wildly popular social media app on Thursday.
[04:45:00]
It follows promises by President Trump to save the app. TikTok's uncertain future stems from a law signed last April by then-President Joe Biden, which gave TikTok's parent company 270 days to sell the app to an owner from the United States or one of its allies or face a ban due to national security concerns.
President Trump issued an executive action on his first day in office, delaying the enactment of the ban.
The State Department says it's pausing a plan to acquire armed electric -- to acquire armored vehicles. The plan initially specified $400 million for armored Tesla vehicles. It raised conflict of interest concerns because, of course, the Tesla CEO is Elon Musk and his role is currently within the Trump administration.
Earlier this week, the State Department procured document was edited, removing the reference to Tesla. The plan also raised questions of how it fits with President Trump's executive order ending federal electric vehicle goals and freezing funding for charging stations.
Now one of the world's largest facilities producing solar thermal power is about to shut down. The project, which opened in the Mojave Desert in 2014, was billed as the future of clean energy. But 11 years later, the field of mirrors known as the Van Pelt Solar Plant is set to close. CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, if you have ever driven across the Mojave Desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, you can't miss this otherworldly array. It looks like something out of Dune or science fiction. Hundreds of thousands of heliostat mirrors, all aimed at three towers glowing when they're operational, the size are actually bigger than the Statue of Liberty.
When this thing opened in 2014, the Ivanpah concentrated solar array was one of these sort of state-of-the-art ideas. They thought could replace fossil fuels, which, of course, are polluting and overheating the planet. But in hindsight, the design wasn't the best.
No one at that time could have imagined that the price of solar voltaic or photovoltaic panels would come down to be so relatively dirt cheap, which convert sunlight into electricity directly without having to heat up big, giant towers with liquid, which is the case of Ivanpah. The mirrors were hard to deal with. Birds would burst into flames actually flying through that concentrated heat. It was a risk to the endangered desert tortoise. So a lot of environmentalists, even those in favor of alternative energy, opposed this from the start.
There was a $1.6 billion federal loan that went into this. And now the two utilities, which basically promised to buy energy from this place for a long time, are winding down those contracts. No word on what will happen to this place. But the big picture is kind of like the evolution of the automobile.
There are some real duds, some real lemons, the Ford Pinto bursting into flames, the Edsel. But it didn't stop the momentum of that form of transportation. No one's going back to horses despite those anomalies.
And as a result, right now, solar worldwide is just exploding. It is the cheapest form of energy, solar plus storage around the world. Almost 90 percent of new capacity in the United States last year was renewable. Most of it's solar. A lot of wind, geothermal is coming on, as well as hydroelectric as alternatives to fossilized fuels as well.
But of course, in the age of Donald Trump who is vowing to basically blow up all sorts of alternative energy in favor of fossil fuels.
Who knows? There is predictions that the solar growth would slow a bit in 2025. But last year set new records, first year that both solar and wind eclipsed coal as a main source of electricity in the United States.
Bill Weir, CNN New York, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, now Apple will partner with Chinese tech giant Alibaba to roll out AI services in China. Alibaba chairman, Joe Tsai, said Apple had considered other companies, but ultimately picked them to power their phones. Tsai did not provide a timeline for the release or whether Alibaba will be their exclusive partner.
The move ends months of uncertainty for Apple. It was required to work with a local company to release its AI service in China. The country is the world's biggest market for mobile phones.
Now scientists at the California Institute of Technology have developed a prototype for micro robots meant to target delivery of drugs within a human body. They're roughly 30 micrometers in diameter. That's smaller than the width of a human hair.
Scientists say they operate in bodily fluids, could help with precision surgery and get medicine to hard to reach parts of the body. Then they safely dissolve into the body. Researchers have used the micro robots on mice, but the longtime goal is to conduct clinical trials with humans. Incredible.
Now still to come, the French president takes CNN on a tour of his home, the Elysee Palace. Come along with us for that and the dog after this quick break.
[04:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Now, who saw this on social media this morning? An astonishing moment captured on camera. A man kayaking in Chile was suddenly swallowed by a humpback whale. Goodness me. He was dragged into the water for several seconds before, luckily, the whale let him go.
The man told CNN he thought he wouldn't make it, but then he felt his life vest pulling him back up. It happened as he was kayaking with his father at a popular tourist destination on Saturday. And despite the terrifying moment, both said they would kayak again. Good for them.
Well, every great city has a building that symbolizes its grandeur and history. And in Paris, it's the Elysee Palace, which represents the French state.
Emmanuel Macron calls it home. And recently, the French president gave CNN's Richard Quest a tour. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: Look at that.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: What happens if the dogs go on this?
MACRON: No, they don't. They don't go. Nemo -- please, respect the instructions. And Nemo you shouldn't. No, no.
QUEST: Oh, I can see who's the boss.
MACRON: And this one is a piece we -- as a tapestry made for --
QUEST: Do you get involved? Do you choose?
MACRON: Definitely. And in fact, we go with Mobilier National and some of our museums in order to choose the pieces which will be put here.
QUEST: What do you use these rooms for? I mean --
MACRON: This is a salon for, I mean, some meetings for dinner after lunch and to have some special events. And here was in fact the room of La Pompadour.
QUEST: Oh!
MACRON: Because originally, this palace was made by aristocrats in the 18th century and the king, a few years later, batted for La Pompadour. And she had a room here. She was not so happy, it was the end of her life.
And here, it was completely recreated by contemporary artists and designers.
QUEST: Do you enjoy the big events?
MACRON: I think I like the energy that this event can create. And the links it can establish and the situation it can unlock.
QUEST: Yes, that's the key to it.
What's it like when you walk in here the first time as president? You know, the first time you come in and you think -- what's it like?
[04:55:00]
MACRON: You mean on a daily basis or the very first time I entered?
QUEST: Let's say, the very first time you entered, and you suddenly realized it's all, you know -- it's all mine to screw up.
MACRON: I can tell you that the very first days, in fact, you don't totally realize. And you're not totally lucid. After that, you know the place, and you discover, each time, new aspects.
And what I do prefer this is probably this -- the fact that you have something out of age.
QUEST: Yes.
MACRON: Even when you put this time of pieces, this is the fact that it can be -- more long, more solid than anything else.
QUEST: Yes.
MACRON: The importance of time. I love this one. Made by Mitterrand.
QUEST: If you could take one piece home with you when you're finished, you can take one. Go on. Imagine I can give you one piece in the whole place. Which one would it be? Would it be it? MACRON: It's very difficult. I would take, you know -- you know what? I would just take my pen and start again.
QUEST: Oh. Thank you very much.
MACRON: It's much better than anything else. And the rest will stay here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: I wonder if he's telling the truth there.
Now archaeologists say they've discovered the remains of a 2,000-year- old Roman basilica in the center of London. Officials say the building was uncovered during work on an office block in the city's financial district. Here you can see it. Historians say the basilica was likely the political, commercial and social hub of Roman Londinium. The forum is about the size of a soccer pitch, and there are plans to eventually open the site to the public.
And an indigenous community in Brazil has opened their first ever movie theatre. The premiere in the modest thatched hut featured eight original indigenous short films and a documentary by the project's creator. It gives young people and other community members the chance to see themselves on the silver screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PURE MINA, INDIGENOUS YOUTH COMMUNITY MEMBER (through translator): Despite the isolation caused by the drought of the rivers and the pollution of the air, we become stronger and more active. We are a small village, but we are visible in the eyes of those who value and seek our art.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: The cinema's coordinator adds that movies are empowering and give people here the chance to act, create programs and be the stars of their own history.
And in a neighborhood in Havana, banana trees are sprouting through what started as a pothole. It began when a water pipe burst, but after it was repaired, authorities neglected to pave the road and now fruit trees began to flourish and it's kind of an urban garden now.
Bad roads are not uncommon in Cuba. The transport ministry said in 2024 that about 70 percent of national roads were in regular or poor condition. Still with food prices high, people aren't shy about using the garden, they of course eat the bananas and who wouldn't? Quite a nice sight if you ask me.
Thank you for joining us here in CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Christina Macfarlane, stay tuned for CNN "THIS MORNING", up next.
