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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Israeli Cabinet Delays Vote on Ceasefire with Hamas; 80 Plus Killed in Israeli Airstrikes Since Ceasefire Announcement; Senate's Confirmation Hearing on Scott Bessent; U.S. Bans Looms Over TikTok; TikTok Users Flock to Another Chinese App; SpaceX Starship Lost; Baldoni Files $400M Lawsuit Against Lively; David Lynch Dies at 78. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired January 16, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: -- starting at 8:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and on the
TikTok, @jaketapper. You can follow the show on X, @ TheLeadCNN. And if you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show whence you get
your podcasts. The news continues down on CNN with Wolf Blitzer right next door in a place I like to call The Situation Room. I'll see you tomorrow.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: It's 7:00 a.m. in Taipei, 1:00 a.m. in Tel Aviv, and 6:00 p.m. right here in New York. I'm Paula Newton in for Julia
Chatterley. And wherever you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
And a warm welcome to "First Move." Here's today's need to know. Israel's full cabinet delays a vote on the ceasefire with Hamas to Saturday. Donald
Trump's pick for treasury secretary says it is confirmation hearing that tariffs won't raise prices. The director of "It Ends With Us" hits actors
Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds with a $400 million lawsuit. And David Lynch, the Oscar nominated director of cult classics "Mulholland
Drive," "Eraserhead," and "Twin Peaks" has died at the age of 78. All that and plenty more coming up.
But first, in just a matter of hours, Israel's security cabinet will vote on a deal to temporarily end the fighting in Gaza and bring dozens of
hostages home. Now, on Saturday, the deal goes to a vote before the full cabinet, that's according to an Israeli official.
The delay follows accusations by Israel that Hamas has reneged on parts of the agreement, which they deny. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says
he's confident the deal, which is set to go in effect on Sunday, will go forward. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Over 15 months of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas, we've worked to broker a deal that would
bring hostages home, that would stop the fighting, that would surge humanitarian aid to people who so desperately need it, that would create
the space to conclude a permanent ceasefire. We now have that, and we expect implementation of the agreement to begin on Sunday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: From Tel Aviv now, Jeremy Diamond filed this report, although, I do want to warn you it does contain some graphic images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Israeli prime minister was supposed to start his day like this, convening his
security cabinet to approve the newly inked ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Instead, the prime minister's office issuing this dramatic statement, accusing Hamas of trying to extort last-minute concessions, saying the
cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement. After eight hours of limbo, the
deal appeared to be back on track. An Israeli official telling CNN the security cabinet will now convene tomorrow morning.
As for Netanyahu's political wrangling, far from over. His national security minister, Ben-Gvir, now vowing to resign.
ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, ISRAELI NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER (through translator): If this reckless deal is approved and implemented, a Jewish power party
will not be part of the government and will withdraw from it.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Fellow far-right minister, Bezalel Smotrich, is also threatening to leave the coalition government over the deal. The finance
minister declaring, a clear condition for our remaining in the government is absolute certainty of returning to war with great force after the first
phase of the deal is over.
Amid the political wrangling, the anguish of hostage families like Ruth Strum, whose sons are both being held hostage in Gaza. She says, only one
is expected to be released in the first phase of the deal.
RUTH STRUM, HOSTAGE MOTHER (through translator): It is not easy for a mother to hear this. It is more difficult for me thinking about what will
happen with them.
DIAMOND (voice-over): In Gaza, the wait for the ceasefire looks like this, Israel's attacks, unrelenting. In the 24 hours since Israel and Hamas
reached a ceasefire agreement, Israeli strikes have killed at least 83 people, including 23 children, according to Gaza's civil defense.
As the bodies pile up, one man pleads with his sister's lifeless body. Wake up, Hala (ph), wake up, he cries. The war is over. Hala was just days away
from a life free from the threat of bombs and bullets. But as the dead and the wounded continue to flow into this hospital, it is clear Hala (ph) will
not be this war's last victim. The question now is how many more will it claim?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We urge the meditators who brokered this truce to hurry up making it come into effect, for it to be
today is better than tomorrow, for it to be at seven is better than eight, because there are martyrs every hour.
[18:05:00]
DIAMOND (voice-over): Amid the ruins of Gaza, every hour also brings hope that it will all end soon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Thanks to Jeremy Diamond there. I want to bring in Mara Rudman. She is a director of the Ripples of Hope project at the University of
Virginia, as well as a former deputy Middle East envoy and deputy national security adviser under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
And good to have you. I wanted to know at this hour, how do you assess this deal? Is it a good one? And what do you believe are the odds of it getting
through, I would say, in first measure, the first phase, but then beyond that?
MARA RUDMAN, RIPPLES OF HOPE PROJECT DIRECTOR, MILLER CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, FORMER DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER AND FORMER
DEPUTY MIDDLE EAST ENVOY: Thanks. Good to be with you. I was encouraged by the report that you just had from Jeremy Diamond in terms of a successful
vote, cabinet vote by Israel by Saturday with the security cabinet meeting on Friday.
So, that the first phase, I think, is likely to start, as Secretary Blinken had indicated, on Sunday, the planned date. It is coming down to the wire
because of Prime Minister Netanyahu's internal politics more than anything else, and he will have. Some tough choices to make about putting the
interests of his country first or putting his immediate political interests first in terms of being able to move from the first phase to the second
phase.
And this, of course, is also where -- how President Trump's team handles their conversations with him and with the Israeli government will be
critical.
NEWTON: Yes, critical, as you say. And yet, what seems to be the sticking point, at least for those in the right-wing coalition that Benjamin
Netanyahu's put together, is that for more than 15 years now, Hamas has seemingly determined all that happens in Gaza. And now, this deal could
leave Hamas intact, weakened but intact nonetheless.
How do you believe Benjamin Netanyahu will come to compromise on that point? Because for this deal to work in coming phases, that is where things
would stand.
RUDMAN: Well, I think it depends on how you define intact for Hamas, because by all estimates, including that of Israel's senior military
forces, those who have been leading the efforts in Gaza, Hamas military leadership has been significantly degraded. Some would even say decimated.
In addition to that, for the Palestinian people in Gaza, Hamas has lost a great deal of power. They were not necessarily terribly popular before
October 7th, among again, the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, they are in worse straits now. And so, there are many who believe, many in
Israel and certainly many in the surrounding area, that the best way to overcome Hamas' ability to regain its strength is for this conflict to come
to an end and to find a way forward that reconstructs Gaza for the Palestinian people, the many innocent Palestinians, and starts to talk
about a path forward for a Palestinian State.
I will say for Israel, that is going to be part of whether or not they get to the kinds of agreements with countries like Saudi Arabia that they wish
to have as well. And so, all of these things are factors.
The two very far-right ministers who have been naysayers from the beginning on anything other than all-out conflict also want Israeli civilians to move
back into Gaza, don't seem to have a long-term strategy that really safeguards Israel's security. And so, that's why I say Prime Minister
Netanyahu has some tough choices to make.
NEWTON: Yes, reality check on that. There are Israelis who have not moved back into Israeli territory just outside of Gaza. And so, the long-term
plans here really come into stark focus. I know people have been mentioning a two-state solution more often in the last few days, something that, of
course, was on anyone's lips when you served.
But is there really a path to ever get there? I know many say don't waste a good crisis, but given how politics has changed in Israel itself, is that
something that really a Trump administration could push forward on?
RUDMAN: So, first of all, I want to remind viewers that it is President- Elect Trump, who was the last U.S. president to put forward a plan for a Palestinian State. The terms of that might not be terms that I think many
Palestinians are likely to agree to, but it's still significant that in 2020, before he left office, he had put out the parameters and a way
forward for a Palestinian State. So, he himself is committed to that in one way or another.
[18:10:00]
And I think that's part of seeing the strategic interest, again, for Israel's safety and security, for regional safety and security of having a
Palestinian State side by side with an Israeli state. And I think folks need to consider that the status quo really does not guarantee Israel's
security or Israel's safety, that there is not one-state solution. There may be a one-state reality, but that is no solution for either Israelis or
Palestinians.
NEWTON: Before I let you go, in terms of Israeli politics itself, do you see that as being a stumbling block in the coming hours, days, weeks,
months? It has changed quite a bit, as I was saying.
RUDMAN: Yes. Well, I think it's not so much the overall Israeli quality that has changed. If you look over the years, there's been a very large
shifting middle, not unlike in the United States, frankly, on any number of issues. But Prime Minister Netanyahu has moved increasingly to the right,
and his most recent coalition is made possible by two extremely far-right ministers, both of whom -- one of whom has made clear that he will leave if
this -- leave government if this ceasefire deal goes through. And the other is threatening to do so as well or to leave if a second phase goes into
effect, if Israel doesn't go back to fighting.
The opposition has made clear they would actually continue to support Prime Minister Netanyahu's government should he need their support in going
forward with a ceasefire agreement So, it's more where Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to position himself and how much he's willing to go forward
with what the Trump administration wants, with the possibility of a future agreement with Saudi Arabia and in doing so, jettison his very far-right
ministers.
NEWTON: Yes, and the Trump -- incoming Trump administration has already articulated that job one, they would like to extend those Abraham Accords,
as you so rightly point out. Mara Rudman for us. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Now, while Israel's cabinet, as we were saying, delays voting, the Israeli military is still conducting airstrikes in Gaza. Since the deal was
announced, Gaza's civil defense says Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 83 people. It says most of the people killed were women and children.
The Israeli military said it hit terrorist targets. The ceasefire is set to go into effect on Sunday, that's if, of course, the Israeli cabinet votes
to approve it. Jomana Karadsheh has more. We do want to warn you, some of what you're about to see is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joy and relief with the announcement of a deal. Finally, the moment they've been longing for.
We want to go back home. We just want to go back to school and learn, she says. This is the most amazing day.
At least that's what it seemed. But the bombs didn't stop. Shortly after the agreement was reached on Wednesday, another round of Israeli strikes.
The military says it's still going after Hamas targets. They brought those same horrific scenes the world has watched on repeat for 15 bloody months.
The ceasefire is set to begin on Sunday, and so many in Gaza fear the days before that will only bring more horror. And when the guns do fall silent,
if they do, it will be the start of a new difficult and painful chapter for those who survived the bombs, the bullets, the siege and starvation as they
begin to pick up the pieces of lives left shattered beyond recognition, homes gone and loved ones who didn't live to see this day.
I don't know how I'll go back to Gaza City to continue living without my children, Uhm Ahmed (ph) says. I dreamt of the day of going back with them
by my side, playing. They were gone in the blink of an eye.
Hala (ph) was four. Ahmed (ph), two. Killed in an Israeli strike in the first month of the war. Two of nearly 18,000 Palestinian children killed. A
ceasefire only means the killing will stop, their mother says. And she will finally have the chance to grieve.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And we will have more on that developing story in just a few minutes. But right now, straight ahead, can TikTok beat the clock? The
Supreme Court keeping us all in suspense as a U.S. ban looms. We'll introduce you to the Chinese alternative TikTok fans are flocking to right
now.
Plus, Bessent's blueprint. The U.S. Senate holds a confirmation hearing for President-Elect Trump's Treasury Secretary pick. We'll take a deep dive
into his testimony and what it means for the global economy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:15:00]
NEWTON: And welcome back to "First Move." A Thursday pullback on Wall Street topping today's Money Move. U.S. stocks finishing lower across the
board. The S&P 500 breaking a three-day winning streak. Stocks unable to build on Wednesday's strong gains. That was despite better-than-expected
results from Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Now, shares of Morgan Stanley, for instance, rising 4 percent on the news.
An Asia, green arrows across the board. You can see it there. The Hang Seng though the big winner up almost one and a quarter percent.
Now, the U.S. Senate held a confirmation hearing for President-Elect Trump's pick for treasury secretary, that was on Thursday. And his pick is
Scott Bessent. Now, the Wall Street veteran said Trump's economic policies, including tariffs, will unleash a, quote, "new economic golden age." He
also issued a stark warning to Congress if it fails to extend the tax cuts passed during Trump's first term. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY NOMINEE: And this is the single most important economic issue of the day. This is pass fail. That if we do
not fix these tax cuts, if we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity. And as always, with financial instability that
falls on the middle and working class people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, Bessent there pushing back on the idea that Trump policies like tax cuts would be inflationary, but he said there is an urgent need to
tame the budget deficit, calling federal spending, quote, "out of control." He also said he'd support increased sanctions on Russian oil giants as
punishment for the war in Ukraine, saying the Biden administration wasn't tough enough.
Matt Peterson joins me now. He is the ideas editor at Barron's. And we are getting a glimpse of what is to come perhaps for the U.S. economy under
Bessent. I want to point out just one contradiction here. As we were just saying, he says government spending is out of control, but tax cuts would
then be extended. This is not a recipe, as you and I both know, to tame a government deficit. What does he know that you and I may not know at this
point?
MATT PETERSON, IDEAS EDITOR, BARRON'S: I don't think he knows anything we don't know, unfortunately. The deficit is a big problem, and it's going to
be a big fight in Congress this year. Bessent told me several weeks ago before the election that if it was just up to him, all he'd do is renew
these tax cuts and leave it at that.
[18:20:00]
But of course, President Trump campaigned on cutting taxes even further, not just extending the taxes where they are now, but, you know, cutting
taxes on tips and all those things he loves to talk about. And, you know, plain and simple, that's going to be a problem for the deficit, whether or
not Scott Bessent is in the Treasury.
NEWTON: Yes, and has been pointed out by so many analysts, the government efficiencies just won't cut it, will not cut the deficit and will not cut
the debt in the long-term. So, he also supports tariffs. What more did we learn in the Senate hearing about why and why he does not believe they'll
be inflationary?
PETERSON: Well, he supports tariffs, I think, largely because he supports the economic policy of the president-elect. I think he understands his job
to be the best implementer of Trump's economic vision that he can possibly be. He made this argument that if you impose tariffs, it will increase --
the dollar will appreciate, and that will effectively, you know, blunt some of the force of the tariffs for Americans. And that might be true, but he
didn't mention that if the dollar gets more expensive, then it gets harder for American firms to send their goods abroad for them to export against
other weaker currencies.
So, the remedy there is a little bit self-defeating, and I think he is underplaying a bit the extent to which tariffs are going to be a disruption
for the U.S. and global economies.
NEWTON: Yes, and it is interesting because he certainly knows that. He knows that to be economic theory writ large. You reported, as you were
saying months ago, that Bessent has -- his idea was for a so-called shadow Fed chair. I mean, how much does that put Fed independence at jeopardy, do
you think, if that comes to pass?
PETERSON: Fed independence is clearly on the line here. Again, this idea of a shadow Fed chair is best into doing his best job to try to get Trump
what he wants. What Trump wants, as he has said a number of times, is say over the Federal Reserve. And Bessent had this idea that he could put
somebody in place who would be the sort of official up and coming next Fed chair and the markets would look to this person for guidance, even though
the -- Jerome Powell, the current Fed chair, would still be in his job.
To be fair to Bessent, he's since said that he's backed off this idea because everybody in the markets panned it. But here he is explaining --
that was him explaining how he could give Trump a little bit more say. And he did affirm in this hearing that he thought it was appropriate for Trump
to weigh in on the Fed, unlike past presidents who have really backed off of that.
NEWTON: Yes, and I think that is key, even if there isn't a so-called shadow Fed chair, the point is he will speak and to what extent that
influences the Fed itself is something that we're just not used to in the United States. So, we will leave it there for now. Matt Peterson of
Barron's, thanks so much.
PETERSON: Thanks for having me.
NEWTON: Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is keeping TikTok's tens of millions of users in the United States on edge. In fact, the court still has not
announced its decision on whether to pause the ban on the popular social media app with just one more business day to go before the ban takes effect
on Sunday.
Now, as the court mulls what to do here, efforts to save the app are taking place on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are considering legislation to give
TikTok's parent company 270 more days to divest. And President-Elect Trump is mulling an executive order to give ByteDance more time to make a deal.
And the CEO of TikTok has reportedly accepted Trump's invitation to attend his inauguration in Washington on Monday.
Now, he'll be able to engage in some much-needed networking and perhaps deal making, given that X's Elon Musk, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, and
other tech titans will also be attending.
Now, TikTok users have been making contingency plans in the meantime, if that app goes dark this weekend. One of the competitors seeing a boost in
popularity is in fact another Chinese site called RedNote. The U.S. government may have security concerns over this app as well, as Will Ripley
reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, who else is here from TikTok?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, you all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're from Texas. Thank you for welcoming us to the app.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do not trust TikTok will ever embrace American values.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With TikTok's future hanging by a thread, a huge surge of users are flooding a
surprise alternative.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is so much better than TikTok.
RIPLEY (voice-over): RedNote, the English name for Xiaohongshu, meaning little red book, drawing comparisons to a collection of Mao Zedong's quotes
small enough to carry around.
[18:25:00]
RedNote is a Chinese Communist government monitored social media platform now topping Apple's U.S. App Store.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome, TikTok refugees. RedNote is not Instagram.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Many say they came here out of spite.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I refuse to support Facebook, Meta, especially Elon Musk and X.
RIPLEY (voice-over): And they're making unexpected cross-cultural connections.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey there. Fellow TikTok refugee here. And I just want to say I have no idea how to speak Chinese.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today I would like to teach you some Chinese.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Some users searching for international romance or the perfect Chinese name.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me help you to pick one that suits you.
RIPLEY (voice-over): One post even recreates famous Chinese and Russian propaganda posters. Just days ago, this may have seemed unthinkable.
HEATHER ROBERTS: I was scared that TikTok was going to go away. So, I wanted to find an alternative.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Heather Roberts (ph) from Texas says TikTok refugees like her are desperate to find a new platform, a new social media fix.
ROBERTS: I haven't been on RedNote for very long. I've only been on there for maybe three days and I found myself like, wow, this is very addicting.
I'd probably say it's a little bit more addicting than TikTok.
RIPLEY (voice-over): An addicting algorithm, exactly what app developers want.
RIPLEY: Experts say there are risks when it comes to the rise of another Chinese app. Just like TikTok, RedNote collects huge amounts of user data.
China's laws require companies to share that data with the government.
RIPLEY (voice-over): But only if requested. Heavy censorship is already affecting American users, some getting their first taste of China's tightly
controlled internet. Users say posts on topics deemed sensitive by Chinese authorities are being deleted, including LGBTQ plus issues and even a
popular Japanese anime. Other posts face backlash, flooded with negative or offensive comments. Some new users report racist questions, including
whether it's OK to use the N word.
RIPLEY: Let's say the TikTok goes away and a lot of Americans flood into these Chinese apps, is that a win for Beijing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it really depends on Beijing's view on how much they need to be in control of the narrative.
RIPLEY (voice-over): As the U.S. Supreme Court and incoming Trump administration debate TikTok's fate, the rise of RedNote raises new
questions and concerns about Americans embracing yet another platform under Chinese government control.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY (on camera): And this morning, RedNote is aggressively recruiting people with excellent English skills. They say they'll be responsible for
back-end data processing and analysis. Now, since Tuesday, Paula, we've been trying -- we've made several attempts by e-mail, by phone, to contact
RedNote. So, far, we've not received a response from them because we really do want to find out how they plan to handle all this U.S. user data. And
also, are they going to step up the censorship of English language content and these cross-cultural memes that are popping up? This is the type of
thing that, in the past, has made Beijing very nervous.
At the moment, though they say they're supportive of it. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was asked about this on Wednesday, they say they
encourage these people to people and cultural exchanges, but China's national security laws are pretty clear, when you download any Chinese app,
you -- your data could be handed over to the authorities, no questions asked if it was requested by the government. So, keep that in mind for the
people who are downloading 300 million plus users on RedNote. That's almost double TikTok. It's -- a lot of things to get addicted to for people that
like to doom scroll.
NEWTON: And that one stat, just incredible, incredible, considering what you said about where that data would reside. Will Ripley, thanks so much,
appreciate it.
Now, SpaceX says it has lost the Starship it launched less than an hour ago. The spacecraft had gotten a number of upgrades, including a fuel tank
that's 25 percent bigger, and was aiming to deploy dummy satellites in space for the very first time. Now, the super heavy rocket booster,
meanwhile, did make it back home safely.
Tariq Malik is the editor in chief of space.com and he joins me now. Can you take us through this? Because, you know, we were all mesmerized, just a
little while ago, we watched it live when we had that so-called, you know, chopstick capture, where it made it back home. And yet, the very essence of
this mission seems to have been a failure so far.
TARIQ MALIK, EDITOR IN CHIEF, SPACE.COM: Yes. You know, it is a big disappointment for the SpaceX team, I think overall, because this was their
brand-new version of their Starship rocket. This was their seventh test flight and they've been getting smoother and smoother up until now. And
this was their big leap forward.
[18:30:00]
As you mentioned, bigger fuel tanks, redesigned flaps, a new flight computer, basically from soup to nuts. They really kitted this, this new
vehicle out, basically to make a bigger step forward to reach orbit, make it a more effective and established vehicle. So, they'll be going through
the data that they have to try to figure out what happened. But as of now, it does seem to get exploded on the way up.
NEWTON: And that is incredibly serious. It takes this whole thing back quite a bit, right? I mean, how difficult is it right now to really
determine what happened and why?
MALIK: Well, right now it's a bit early to kind of figure out exactly why they had what SpaceX calls a rapid unscheduled disassembly. That's kind of
a code for it broke apart on ascent. However, SpaceX has a lot of telemetry on the ground. They actually have a big communications hub to track the
vehicle. They also have a lot of cameras on the rocket on the way up that they can go through to try to see exactly what happened if there was an
issue at liftoff that, you know, occurred on ascent.
One thing that is in SpaceX's favor is that they've been building these vehicles at scale. At their Starbase facility where they launched this in -
- near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas, they have multiple versions of these vehicles in the pipeline, some of them already completed for the next
flight, flight eight, flight nine and beyond. So, they have a lot of flexibility to bounce back, and they've got those assembly processes really
in hand.
NEWTON: And to quote at least one football coach, "If we're not winning, we're learning." So, I'm sure they will take this back. Before I let you
go, Tariq, I want to bring into this the issue of the whole space race, right? Where is Blue Origin right now? And that would be the other tech
titan, Jeff Bezos' project.
MALIK: Yes, it's a really, really big day for billionaires in space. Just 17, 18 hours ago Blue Origin launched their own giant rocket, their New
Glenn rocket, not as big as SpaceX's Starship, but it has a huge payload, bearing seven meters, you know, almost to compete with Starship itself.
They launched successfully and reached orbit on the first try. Reaching orbit is something Starship hasn't done yet. So, that was a big notch in
their cap. They were not able to land their first stage on a platform at the ocean. So, that's a skill that they still have to reach to compete with
SpaceX.
NEWTON: Yes, we'll see if it becomes a topic between the two tech giants during the inauguration on Monday in Washington. Let's see, perhaps they
can share notes. Tariq Malik, as always, really appreciate it.
MALIK: Thank you. Thank you for having us.
NEWTON: Now, coming up for us, how the families of hostages are reacting to the deal between Israel and Hamas. I will speak with the brother-in-law
of one man kidnapped by Hamas. Our conversation, you won't want to miss this, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:35:00]
NEWTON: And welcome back to "First Move" with a look at more international headlines this hour. Firefighters in Southern California are trying to take
advantage of lighter winds as they battle a series of deadly wildfires. The L.A. County sheriff says there are now 31 missing person reports related to
the fires. At least 25 people have died. Many residents have not been allowed back to their damaged homes. And officials say it will take at
least another week before it's safe to return.
President Joe Biden has issued a stark warning to the nation, claiming an oligarchy is developing in the U.S. During his final Oval Office address,
Mr. Biden raised concerns about a, quote, "dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people."
We do want to return this hour to our top story. Israel's cabinet has delayed its vote on the ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas. The security
cabinet will vote first, that's expected to happen sometime on Friday, followed by a full cabinet vote Saturday. Now, U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken says he's quote, "very confident" the deal will move forward.
The far-right minister of national security is threatening the fragile coalition governing the country, saying his party will leave if the deal
goes through.
And of course, throughout this process, hostage families, we have to remember, are watching and waiting to see if their loved ones will indeed
be released. Moshe Lavi is the brother-in-law of hostage Omri Miran, and he joins me now. Good to have you on.
And obviously, we really do understand the tense times. We've been speaking to families over the last several months. These are incredibly tense times.
Does your family dare to hope at this point in time that this deal will happen, and that if it happens, that it will last, right? Because it must
last in order for your brother-in-law to be freed.
MOSHE LAVI, BROTHER-IN-LAW OF HOSTAGE OMRI MIRAN: Yes, thank you so much for having me. I think more than just waiting many families of hostages
have been acting over the past 15 months, going on delegations, meeting public officials, pushing different stakeholders, and mobilizing publics
worldwide in order to make sure there is going to be a focus on releasing the hostages.
We are bearing some fruits at the moment with the prospective agreement that still needs to be passed through the cabinet, as you mentioned
earlier, through the Israeli cabinet. I am hopeful that it will pass. It has a majority in the government and it has a majority in the security
cabinet and a majority in the Knesset.
I'm happy that I'm a citizen of a democratic country. So, we have those processes, you know, to ensure it goes through votes, but I'm looking
forward to see the agreement begins with the release of the first 33 hostages, but I also realized that we need phase two to happen. And for
that, we'll keep acting, keep advocating, keep fighting so that our decision makers and decision makers worldwide will be able to compel Hamas
to release all the hostages.
NEWTON: Yes, and the strength that so many of you have had to show, as you said, over the last 15 months to continue to have that lobby effort, not
just in Israel, obviously, but all over the world, really. And yet, we still have this division, apparently, within the Israeli cabinet.
I'm wondering, if you could let us know, do you believe it mirrors the division within Israel itself? Because everyone agrees that the hostages
must be released immediately. And yet, some politicians say this isn't the right way to do it. You are a former IDF captain. You served in a post
tasked with guarding against an attack by Hamas.
I mean, how do you view the opinions expressed by the right-wing who really are equating this to surrender at this point?
[18:40:00]
LAVI: Well, I would say, first and foremost, that the vast majority of Israelis will agree that this is a difficult deal, very challenging for us
to accept a deal that will require us to continue safeguard our borders and ensure that Hamas doesn't -- is not being empowered again in the Gaza
Strip.
And I understand those concerns and there were -- there are legitimate security concerns that are being discussed and raised. I think, however,
part of our ethos as a society, part of our social contract, and I've been talking about it in the Knesset over the past few weeks so many times, is
that we do everything we can to redeem those Israeli citizens who were taken hostage by an enemy whether a country in the past -- in past wars or
forced by terrorist organizations.
I think we will have to continue being challenged by terrorist organizations on our borders. It's part of reality, part of human reality.
War, sadly, is part of human reality, even -- we all -- nobody likes war and neither do I, but it's going to be part of our reality.
However, in order to preserve our social contract, preserve our soul as a nation, saving our people is our task right now. And after 15 months of
fighting, achieving so much on the battlefield and ensuring Israel's security for generations, we -- it's about time, we'll do everything we can
to prioritize the hostages. It's long overdue in my opinion. We could have done that earlier as well.
NEWTON: And to that point, some fault the government in Israel, some fault the Biden administration. Do you trust the Trump administration to be good
caretakers of this deal going forward?
LAVI: I will first say that, yes, we need to hold accountable everyone. And Israel, we hold accountable our government and we're going to continue
pushing after the hostages are released, after the war ends, for a national inquiry committee to be established in order to examine what happened on
October 7th, what happened before and what happened ever since, and why the hostages were allowed to be -- to remain in captivity for so long.
We also hold accountable the entire International Community, including the Biden administration. We've received a lot of empathy, a lot of hugs and
words of comfort, but very little action from the International Community, which enabled Hamas, emboldened Hamas on different forums, such as the
United Nations, did not push countries like Qatar, Turkey, Iran, nefarious actors in our region that are emboldening Hamas and sponsor Hamas. And so,
we hold them accountable as well.
I think the change of government in the U.S. definitely contributed tremendously for the deal to be brokered finally. This deal has been on the
table for a long time, but the change of government in the U.S. and the Trump team, and we've been in contact with them, the families, for the past
few weeks, the Trump team has been devoted for that.
President-Elect Trump has been specifically instructing his people to achieve a deal before inauguration and to have a deal that can be sustained
over time. And we -- I trust his move. I think there were other things that happened such as the dismantling of Hamas, the fact a lot of their leaders
were taken out of the picture. And of course, Hezbollah leaving the battlefield itself, wounded with the ceasefire in Lebanon.
NEWTON: Moshe Lavi, yes, we do hope that your brother-in-law is back in the arms of his family very, very soon. We thank you for sharing your
thoughts.
LAVI: Thank you.
NEWTON: Straight ahead for us, legal drama in Hollywood as a 400 million lawsuit is filed against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
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[18:45:00]
NEWTON: So, the real-life drama over the movie "It Ends With Us" has taken a new turn. Actor Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, have just
sued -- been sued, pardon me, by the film's director and co-star, Justin Baldoni. Now, he's accusing the Hollywood power couple of hijacking the
movie and trying to ruin his career. Lively in turn, says Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set. She's also accused him of orchestrating a smear
campaign against her.
Our entertainment correspondent, Elizabeth Wagmeister, joins me now with more details. And the details, the accusations in this lawsuit, explosive.
There's quite a backstory here, too.
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: There is quite a backstory here. And for those who haven't been following, let me take you
through that. So, a month ago in December, Blake Lively, she first filed a civil rights complaint in California, in which she alleged that she was
sexually harassed on the set of this film by Justin Baldoni.
Now, she didn't only allege that she was sexually harassed, she said that after she spoke out about that alleged misconduct, that then Baldoni and
his team of publicists, they orchestrated a sophisticated smear campaign to ruin her professional reputation.
Well now, Justin Baldoni, as you said, he has filed his own $400 million lawsuit, not just against Blake Lively, but also against her A-list
superstar husband, Ryan Reynolds. And he is saying, not so fast. They didn't -- or I didn't smear them. They actually smeared me.
Now, I want to read you a direct quote from this complaint that was filed earlier today. It says, quote, "Lively wields immense power as one of the
world's best-known celebrities. She set out to destroy plaintiff's livelihoods and businesses if they did not bend to her incessant demands.
And when they refused to give way, she did exactly that, accusing them of foul and in reprehensible sexual misconduct."
Now, when they reference those, quote, "incessant demands," what Baldoni's attorney here in this lawsuit is referring to, they claim that Blake Lively
essentially hijacked all creative control and creative direction on this film. She was hired as the star where Baldoni didn't just star in this
film, he also was the director, producer, and his company financed it.
So, in this lawsuit, there are allegations that both Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, rewrote part of the script and that they
essentially used their power to bully Justin Baldoni into using that part of the script.
So, as you said, this is incredibly messy. There's going to be a lot more. Justin Baldoni's attorney has said to the press that he is going to file a
number of lawsuits against all parties that they believe were complicit in these allegations. Baldoni's attorney told me today that they have copious
amounts of text messages and e-mails and other evidence that will prove Baldoni did nothing wrong. I have reached out to Blake and Ryan's team, and
no word back yet.
NEWTON: And this is key, what evidence will each side be able to present. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thanks so much for following up. This is appreciated.
[18:50:00]
Now, coming up after the break, the man who put surrealism into Hollywood cinema. Tributes are being paid to the visionary American filmmaker, David
Lynch, who brought us "Twin Peaks," "Mulholland Drive," and more. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: David Lynch, the visionary director, has died at the age of 78. Known for his surreal and experimental films, Lynch carved out a unique
style with iconic movies like "Blue Velvet," "Mulholland Drive," and the cult TV series "Twin Peaks."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How about a nice big piece of cherry pie?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Lynch's death was confirmed by his family who wrote on Facebook, quote, "There's a big hole in the world now that he's no longer with us.
But as we would say, keep your eye on the donut and not the hole. It's a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way."
Joining me now, Stephen Galloway, an Emmy award-winning writer and producer. And I want to thank you for joining us. You know, you call his
productions hallucinogenic masterworks. Could you explain that if you could?
STEPHEN GALLOWAY, EMMY AWARD-WINNING WRITER AND PRODUCER AND DEAN OF CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY'S DODGE COLLEGE OF FILM AND MEDIA ARTS: I think what's
extraordinary about him is the way he takes real-life and makes it somehow seem like it's come from your nightmares. And the more ordinary the
surface, the more bizarre it turns out to be underneath. And yet, always real and it's extraordinary the way he plays with reality.
I mean, I was fascinated by what I think is the film most people consider his masterpiece, "Mulholland Drive," where the most realistic acting occurs
in a scene where actors are auditioning for something. And the least realistic acting is in the most real scene. This is very deliberate and it
throws you, you say, what is real? What is fake? What is our imagination? What is reality? And he never really answers any of those questions.
But I think it's given these films a timeless quality. It's wonderful to me. I'm the dean of Film at Chapman University, and it's wonderful to see
the young people here as haunted by those films as my generation is.
NEWTON: Yes, in terms of the legacy he leaves behind as well, I know a lot of people will turn to movies like "Blue Velvet," and we can see some of
that on the screen now. I think this is a perfect way to actually illustrate your opinion that he is the first populist surrealist. In fact,
you kind of compare him to Salvador Dali. What do you mean by that?
GALLOWAY: Well, there's a lot in him that is bizarre and unreal that only makes sense in the landscape of dreams. And I think Dali and Bunuel made
this very famous silent film where you see an eye slit in front of you, and it was horrific.
[18:55:00]
And when you see the sliced ear in "Blue Velvet," in the middle of the most ordinary setting, you know, this sort of provincial town, it's the same
thing. The bizarre and the terrifying is going to erupt in the most safe parts of our lives.
NEWTON: I only have about 30 seconds left, but how do you believe he will have an enduring influence on cinema and film going forward?
GALLOWAY: You know, one of the interesting about influence is the most original artists are often inimitable. And so, the influence isn't direct,
you know, as say some of the very big populist works, "Star Wars," "Close Encounters," "Jaws." But I think as time goes by, we're going to look back
into one of the great masters.
I mean, other than Martin Scorsese, I can't think of a more important director in America in the past, you know, quarter of a century. Well, I
say quarter of a century, he hasn't actually made any films, you know, in a lot of that time, but his reputation has only grown during it.
NEWTON: That is quite a definitive statement you just made. Stephen Galloway, we really appreciate you and going through his film repertoire
with us.
GALLOWAY: Thank you.
NEWTON: And that wraps up our show for today. I want to thank you for joining us. Julia is back on "First Move" tomorrow.
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[19:00:00]
END
