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1:01

Welcome everyone. It is 7

1:03

a.m. in Beijing, 3 p.m. in Los Angeles,

1:05

and 6 p.m. here in New York. I'm

1:08

Mark Menes. And wherever you are in the

1:10

world, this is your first move. All

1:24

right, a warm welcome to first move

1:27

in. Here's today's need to know.

1:29

A federal judge has temporarily blocked

1:31

part of Donald Trump's plan to

1:33

freeze federal aid for thousands of

1:35

programs. Deep Seek disruption, US tech

1:37

stocks rally after a Chinese AI

1:39

startup shocked Silicon Valley. And we

1:41

speak to the founder of a

1:43

non-profit currently trapped in his hotel

1:45

by the fighting and the Democratic

1:47

Republic of Congo. That conversation and

1:49

plenty more coming up. But I

1:51

want to start with a US

1:54

federal judge temporarily blocking part of

1:56

the Trump administration plans to

1:58

pause most federal grants and

2:00

loans. This of course comes

2:02

after the White House Budget

2:04

Office said the pause would

2:06

include financial assistance for foreign

2:08

aid, non-governmental organizations, diversity and

2:10

climate programs, potentially impacting trillions

2:12

of dollars in government spending.

2:14

And the move could cause

2:16

major consequences across the world.

2:18

In her first White House

2:20

briefing, Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt

2:22

discussed the issue. This

2:25

is not a blanket pause on federal

2:27

assistance and grant programs from the Trump

2:29

administration. Individual assistance. That includes, I'm not

2:32

naming everything that's included, but just to

2:34

give you a few examples, Social Security

2:36

benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits,

2:38

assistance that is going directly to individuals

2:41

will not be impacted by this pause.

2:43

I want to bring in Sima Mete,

2:45

Los Angeles Times, a political reporter. As

2:47

we just heard from the press secretary

2:50

there, the White House has stressed that

2:52

assistance provided directly to individuals isn't affected.

2:54

But I'm curious, what are you hearing

2:57

in regards to this freeze? Are you

2:59

still seeing concern from people you may

3:01

be speaking to on this front? There's

3:03

so much concern on the ground because,

3:06

hey, I mean, it's such a huge

3:08

order, I mean, potentially impacting, care, but

3:10

she didn't mention Medicaid, which is what

3:12

so many Americans rely on for their

3:15

health insurance, low-income Americans, things like meals

3:17

on wheels, early education programs, you know,

3:19

women and children funding. So I think,

3:22

I mean, yes, we are hearing so

3:24

much concern, and you know, especially with

3:26

the Medicaid portals that went down in

3:28

many states, including California, you know, just

3:31

so much uncertainty about you know, what

3:33

is being funded, what is not being

3:35

funded. And these are also, I mean,

3:37

some of these programs are for arguably

3:40

some of the most vulnerable members of

3:42

our society, whether it's low-income families, senior

3:44

citizens, low-income children, you know, babies, pregnant

3:47

women, low-income pregnant women. So there is,

3:49

yes, there is. there's so much concern

3:51

across the nation right now. And you

3:53

know I guess at this point is

3:56

do we have a sense of why

3:58

the budget office is ordering this freeze

4:00

in the first place? I mean some

4:02

parts of it of course were just

4:05

temporarily blocked by a federal judge but

4:07

how did we get here? I mean,

4:09

I think, you know, President Trump is

4:12

doing basically everything that he said that

4:14

he planned to do when he was

4:16

campaigning for office. And I mean, his

4:18

campaign, or his, I'm sorry, his White

4:21

House, is arguing that they are trying

4:23

to root out, you know, funding for

4:25

woke programs, for, you know, DEI programs,

4:27

etc. But I think there is a

4:30

lot of confusion among whether it's, you

4:32

know, state governments or NGOs, non-profits, about...

4:34

you know, what all is caught up

4:37

in this, what is the process to

4:39

review this? You know, some of these

4:41

programs get funding at the end of

4:43

the very beginning of the month. Well,

4:46

the beginning of the month, this year

4:48

falls on Saturday, February 1st. And so

4:50

they don't know when their next check

4:53

is coming in, yet they are still

4:55

trying to provide services, you know, for

4:57

instance, Medicaid in particular. So I think

4:59

there's just so much confusion about... What

5:02

is the timeline for this? How is

5:04

it going to be reviewed? I mean,

5:06

obviously, it's already ended up in the

5:08

courts. I mean, California's Attorney General Juan

5:11

Bonto is among several attorney generals across

5:13

the country who, state attorney generals across

5:15

the country who are suing over this.

5:18

So this is clearly going to be

5:20

litigated. But there is, I think, palpable

5:22

fear among a number of groups that

5:24

this is going to affect some of

5:27

the most vulnerable members of our society.

5:29

Obviously, this has an incredibly wide scope

5:31

that we're continuing to keep an eye

5:33

on here. Of course, you mentioned the

5:36

point Medicaid, not explicitly mentioned by the

5:38

press secretary. Sima Metto, thank you so

5:40

much. I want to expand this conversation

5:43

now with senior legal analyst Ellie Honig,

5:45

who's with this now. So Ellie, let's

5:47

talk about this federal judge, temporarily blocking

5:49

part of the Trump administration's plan to

5:52

freeze all federal aid. Specifically for open

5:54

awards already granted by the federal government.

5:56

five p.m. Monday. I mean what do

5:58

you what do you make of that

6:01

ruling? Are you expecting to see to

6:03

see more of legal pushback on some

6:05

of what we've seen from the policy

6:08

side and the Trump administration? So it's

6:10

not surprising at all Omar that this

6:12

federal judge has put a temporary hold

6:14

on this program because it is so

6:17

sweeping impacting trillions of dollars and what

6:19

the judge has said for now is

6:21

let's not let this plan go into

6:23

effect for a few days so I

6:26

the judge can at least receive some

6:28

more detailed briefing on it from both

6:30

sides. If I can project forward into

6:33

the future for a bit I think

6:35

this is very likely to end up

6:37

in the courts of appeals and ultimately

6:39

the US Supreme Court and I think

6:42

it's very likely that Donald Trump's effort

6:44

here to block federal funding will be

6:46

struck down, will be found unconstitutional. If

6:49

you look at the United States Constitution,

6:51

Article I, which creates Congress, the very

6:53

first enumerated power it gives to Congress

6:55

the power to tax and spend, and

6:58

there have been Supreme Court rulings since

7:00

then that have said the president cannot

7:02

unilaterally refuse to spend money that's been

7:04

allocated by Congress, except for in very

7:07

narrow circumstances, with some specific procedural requirements.

7:09

So there is a very long, I

7:11

think very high stakes legal battle. ahead,

7:14

but I believe this will come out

7:16

with a ruling that what Trump's trying

7:18

to do here is unconstitutional. And you

7:20

know I guess at this point you

7:23

answer my next question is do you

7:25

believe the White House even has the

7:27

legal right to do so? It sounds

7:29

like you don't think so that will

7:32

likely be affirmed or that could be

7:34

affirmed by the Supreme Court as you

7:36

just said, but I guess overall Look,

7:39

we've seen a lot of executive orders

7:41

from inauguration day to now. And the

7:43

thing with executive orders is, you know,

7:45

they don't become law right away. They

7:48

are often challenged in the courts. Do

7:50

you anticipate a lot of the executive

7:52

orders we've seen to this point to

7:54

be challenged in the courts? And are

7:57

there any specific areas that come to

7:59

mind as likely significant places of challenge?

8:01

I think all of the substantive executive

8:04

orders will be challenged. In courts, I

8:06

think essentially everything but renaming Denali back

8:08

to Mount McKinley will be challenged. And

8:10

the stakes here are enormous. I mean,

8:13

several of these executive orders deal with

8:15

immigration enforcement. I would look for them

8:17

to be challenged. Donald Trump tried to

8:19

end... the constitutional practice of birthright citizenship

8:22

that says that any person who's born

8:24

or naturalized in the United States is

8:26

a citizen. That one's already been challenged

8:29

and it's already been put on again

8:31

a temporary hold. There's already been a

8:33

challenge to the doze the Department of

8:35

Government efficiency. So yeah, I think the

8:38

Trump administration fully expects that all of

8:40

these will be litigated in the courts,

8:42

but it seems quite clear that the

8:45

Trump administration has adopted a sort of

8:47

act first and answer questions later type

8:49

approach. I think their strategy. here, legally

8:51

and politically, is let's just put out

8:54

the full menu of everything we want

8:56

to do. We'll fight it out in

8:58

the courts, and if some of it's

9:00

left standing, then that's better than nothing.

9:03

So they've taken a very aggressive approach

9:05

to this. Testing and pushing, I think,

9:07

is probably fair to say, at least

9:10

on the legal front. Alihonek, really appreciate

9:12

you being here, thanks for the insight.

9:14

All right, meanwhile, US federal workers who

9:16

don't want to return to the office

9:19

are expected to be offered buyouts. That

9:21

is according to a Trump administration official.

9:23

Workers who opt to accept the buyout

9:25

will need to resign by February 6th

9:28

and would receive severance pay through September.

9:30

30th. Now another one of the Trump

9:32

administration's top priorities has been efforts to

9:35

crack down on illegal immigration. And officials

9:37

say they've made more than 2,000 arrests

9:39

in the past two days and sweeps

9:41

across the country. The raids continued Tuesday

9:44

here in New York where Homeland Security

9:46

Secretary Christie Nome actually took part. Our

9:48

Gloria Pasmino has the details. Fear and

9:50

uncertainty in New York City's immigrant community

9:53

as federal law enforcement agencies launch immigration

9:55

enforcement operations Expected to last several days.

9:57

I feel Scared I feel nervous. I

10:00

feel anxious. I feel anxious Sadahi Marquez

10:02

a DACA recipient was brought to the

10:04

United States by her parents when she

10:06

was six years old She has degrees

10:09

in psychology and biology and helps run

10:11

the family restaurant here on Staten Island

10:13

for the past two weeks. workers have

10:15

become increasingly panicked. We work long days.

10:18

We're just trying to make a better

10:20

place and I wanted to speak out

10:22

and not let fear intimidate me. Since

10:25

Trump's scientist executive orders, Marcus has instructed

10:27

her workers to memorize her phone number.

10:29

Some are arranging transportation to and from

10:31

work to avoid walking on the street.

10:34

It feels like we're hunted down and

10:36

I say to myself, what more can

10:38

I do to prove myself? We're sending

10:41

a message. It's not okay to be

10:43

in this country legally. It is not

10:45

okay to enter this country legally. Is

10:47

it a crime? And there's going to

10:50

be consequences. More than 200 federal law

10:52

enforcement officers fanned out across the city

10:54

on Tuesday. Secretary of Homeland Security Christie

10:56

Noam joined early morning enforcement operations. Fear

10:59

is also spreading across the city's migrant

11:01

shelters. Parents declined to speak on camera,

11:03

but some told us they've kept their

11:06

children from school in recent days. Out

11:08

of fear, ice could show up at

11:10

school or that they will be picked

11:12

up in any operations. Others told us

11:15

they have no toys. Tennessee's Romero says

11:17

she takes her daughter to school so

11:19

she can go to work. She feels

11:21

some comfort thanks to her temporary protected

11:24

status after fleeing Venezuela. But she worries,

11:26

some bad apples will ruin the American

11:28

dream of many. It's selfish, she says,

11:31

of President Trump's directive. We're here to

11:33

work and provide for our families. We're

11:35

here to work and provide for our

11:37

families and the future of our children.

11:40

She says. That

11:42

was Gloria Pazmino reporting in New

11:44

York. Meanwhile US tech stocks bounced

11:46

back Tuesday after Monday's Deep Seek

11:48

triggered sell-off. The NASDAQ rallied 2%

11:50

getting back a lot of what

11:53

it lost in the previous session

11:55

on fears that Deep Seek's lower-cost

11:57

business model might give Beijing a

11:59

leg up in the global AI

12:01

rays. Let's take a look. AI

12:03

chipmaker, Nevada, led to charge up

12:06

more than 8.5% after it's almost

12:08

17% loss on Monday. In Washington

12:10

Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Caroline

12:12

Leavitt reiterated President Trump's warning that

12:14

the deep-seek breakthroughs in China are

12:17

a wake-up call for U.S. tech,

12:19

and she said Trump administration policies

12:21

will help ensure America's lead in

12:23

AI. The

12:25

last administration sat on their

12:27

hands and allowed China to

12:30

rapidly develop this AI program.

12:32

And so President Trump believes

12:34

in restoring American AI dominance.

12:36

And that's why he took

12:38

very strong executive action this

12:40

past week to sign executive

12:43

orders to roll back some

12:45

of the honors regulations on

12:47

the AI industry. And President

12:49

Trump has also proudly appointed

12:51

the first AI in kryptosar

12:53

at this White House. David

12:56

Sachs, who I spoke with

12:58

yesterday, very knowledgeable on this

13:00

subject in his team. is

13:02

here working every single day

13:04

to ensure American AI dominance.

13:06

Levitt also said the Trump

13:09

administration is looking into the

13:11

national security implications of the

13:13

Deep Seek app. Ivan Watson

13:15

has more on Deep Seek

13:17

and how it's rattled global

13:19

investors. Celebration erupts across Chinese

13:22

social media. at the surprise

13:24

success of Chinese AI startup

13:26

Deep Seek. The launch of

13:28

Deep Seek's latest AI chat

13:30

bot triggered a sell-off in

13:32

American tech stocks while the

13:35

app surged to the top

13:37

of the Apple App Store

13:39

beating out higher profile AI

13:41

competitors like ChatGPT and Google

13:43

Gemini. The release of Deep

13:45

Seek AI from a Chinese

13:48

company should be a wake-up

13:50

call for our industries that

13:52

we need to be laser

13:54

focused on. competing to win.

13:56

I've just installed Deep Seek

13:58

on my phone. I'm going

14:01

to ask you the question.

14:03

How much did it cost

14:05

to develop Deep Seek as

14:07

an AI assistant? I don't

14:09

have access to internal company

14:11

information. For more details about

14:14

Deep Seek, please visit the

14:16

official website. The company claims

14:18

it cost just $5.6 million

14:20

to develop this model, a

14:22

fraction of the investment spent

14:24

by much bigger American rivals.

14:27

Deep-Sik's founder is Dong-Wan-fung, a

14:29

40-year-old CEO who emerged from

14:31

relative obscurity last week when

14:33

he was invited to address

14:35

the second most powerful man

14:37

in the Chinese government. Young

14:40

studied information and electronic engineering

14:42

at China's prestigious Jijang University.

14:44

He founded the hedge fund

14:46

High Flyer Quant in 2015,

14:48

aimed at using mathematics and

14:51

AI for quantitative investment. Less

14:53

than two years ago, he

14:55

launched the AI company Deep

14:57

Seek, employing young, homegrown talent.

14:59

Young described Deep Seek as

15:01

an accidental disruptor in this

15:04

interview last week, adding, there's

15:06

a gap of one or

15:08

two years between Chinese AI

15:10

and the United States, but

15:12

the real gap is the

15:14

difference between originality and imitation.

15:17

If this does not change,

15:19

China will always be a

15:21

follower. The successive open-source models,

15:23

wherever they come from, in

15:25

this case China, is great

15:27

because it actually means that

15:30

better technology will be available

15:32

to more people at less

15:34

at lower costs. But it's

15:36

when you ask Deep Seek

15:38

about China that you see

15:40

glaring limitations. I'm asking Deep

15:43

Seek, has Chinese leader, Xi

15:45

Jinping, ever made a mistake?

15:47

I am sorry. I cannot

15:49

answer that question. I am

15:51

an AI assistant designed to

15:53

provide helpful and harmless responses.

15:56

Deep Seek as the leader

15:58

in AI would be catastrophic.

16:00

but it would also be

16:02

incredibly dangerous for free speech

16:04

and free thought globally. Deep

16:06

Seek appears to have revolutionized

16:09

the AI space race and

16:11

opened many unanswered questions about

16:13

the company and its founder.

16:15

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

16:17

Now CNN has reached out

16:19

to its founder Deep Seek

16:22

and High Flyer Quant for

16:24

comment. Now, Siena obtained a

16:26

rare glimpse into the battlefield

16:28

tactics of North Korean troops

16:30

sent to fight alongside Russia

16:32

and Ukraine. Kiev's special forces

16:35

say many North Korean soldiers

16:37

choose suicide instead of surrender

16:39

and remain loyal to their

16:41

leader Kim Jong-un until the

16:43

end. Nick Peyton Walsh has

16:45

a story which we must

16:48

warn you contains graphic video

16:50

throughout. These are the first

16:52

images on the ground of

16:54

the capture of North Korean

16:56

troops by Ukraine. The soldier

16:58

is injured, can hardly walk,

17:01

but they spirit him away.

17:03

Russian shelling intensifies to prevent

17:05

capture. A wild prize pulled

17:07

through their wires here from

17:09

brutal fighting in Russia's cursed

17:11

region against a radicalised, near

17:14

suicidal enemy, but one who'd

17:16

never seen drones in war

17:18

before. The special

17:20

operations forces who fought

17:23

them told us. They

17:25

shoot one here in

17:27

caution. In the distressing

17:30

images that follow, they

17:32

pull one injured Korean's

17:34

leg, then realize he

17:37

has a grenade, he

17:39

detonates under his chin.

17:41

His last words were

17:44

to scream North Korean

17:46

leader Kim Jong-un's name,

17:48

South Korean officials say.

17:51

We meet the Ukrainians

17:53

who show us the

17:55

fake Russian military papers

17:57

he was carrying, suggesting

18:00

he was from Russia's

18:02

far east and his

18:04

military radio codes. Another

18:07

paper, handwritten pledges of

18:09

brainwashed courage. These notes

18:11

from a soldier kill

18:14

really a snapshot of

18:16

the mindset of the

18:18

mindset inside the Hermit

18:21

Kingdom, declarations, these notes

18:23

from a soldier, kill

18:25

really a snapshot of

18:28

the mindset inside the

18:30

Hermit Kingdom, declarations of

18:32

loyalty, even tactics on

18:35

how to fight Ukrainian

18:37

drones, and also the

18:39

suggestion that their presence

18:41

here is about helping

18:44

North Korea prepare for

18:46

war. a remarkable insight,

18:48

but also a reminder

18:51

of how this biggest

18:53

land war in Europe

18:55

since the 40s is

18:58

becoming more global. But

19:00

also a glimpse of

19:02

the fear they live

19:05

under, how they inform

19:07

on each other, notes

19:09

from an officer writing

19:12

a critique of his

19:14

fellow soldiers. Ukraine's film

19:16

themselves taking DNA samples

19:18

from the dead, which

19:21

they say proved these

19:23

were Korean. Ukraine says

19:25

up to a third

19:28

of the 12,000 here

19:30

are already dead or

19:32

injured and more are

19:35

coming British. Amur shows

19:37

us the newish AK-12

19:39

rifle and backpack Russia

19:42

gave the North Koreans.

19:44

They are overlaid in

19:46

with ammo, he says,

19:49

but sometimes no body

19:51

armor or warm clothes

19:53

and minimal water. This

19:56

thermal drone video shows

19:58

that speed of attack.

20:00

This thermal drone video

20:02

shows, and it's in

20:05

booster, and it's in

20:07

booster be hard for

20:09

me to say, no,

20:12

it's a slurgeon, so

20:14

it's a timbola drone.

20:16

This thermal drone video

20:19

shows that speed of

20:21

attack below a seven

20:23

Ukrainians and a trench

20:26

facing 130 North Koreans

20:28

above, who race at

20:30

them, and then try

20:33

to flank them. Many

20:35

died here, but they

20:37

seem to be learning.

20:39

Everybody checked for grenades,

20:42

but not ready for

20:44

this modern warfare. On

20:46

a training mission, many

20:49

won't survive for a

20:51

future war. Not even

20:53

glimpsed yet. Nick Payton

20:56

Walsh, CNN, assuming Ukraine.

20:58

Thank you to Nick

21:00

Payton Walsh for that

21:03

reporting. Coming up, rebel

21:05

fighters, say they have

21:07

captured one of the

21:10

largest cities in the

21:12

Democratic Republic of Congo.

21:14

We're going to hear

21:16

from the founder of

21:19

a non-profit who's been

21:21

an eyewitness to the

21:23

escalating violence. Stay with

21:26

us. Amre

21:33

de Grandes-Fertas, the meal deals

21:36

with three cinco-dolars, the circle,

21:38

and jespani, compresses, and guesquette,

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22:35

There we are. XB1 is

22:38

supersonic faster than the speed

22:40

of sound. We've got confirmation

22:42

for the control room that

22:45

she is supersonic. What a

22:47

wonderful achievement. What a

22:49

wonderful achievement. That's the voice of

22:51

former chief concord pilot Mike Bannister

22:54

watching today's test flight of boom

22:56

aviation's XB1 prototype as it broke

22:58

the speed of sound. It's important

23:00

because it's the first time any

23:02

civil aircraft has gone supersonic over

23:04

the continental US. Boom hopes to

23:07

launch a passenger plane that could

23:09

reshape commercial aviation. And today's test

23:11

pilot was Tristan Japetto Brandenburg. He

23:13

told my colleague Jake Tapper what

23:15

it was like. I

23:18

think as a passenger on a supersonic

23:20

airplane, unfortunately it'll probably be a little

23:22

bit disappointing. There's really no, unfortunately, you

23:24

don't get to hear the sonic boom

23:26

from the airplane. The only real indication

23:28

that you're going faster than the speed

23:30

of sound is the mock meter. And

23:32

in this particular airplane, it flies pretty

23:34

smooth supersonic. So a trip from New

23:37

York to London right now is about

23:39

a seven-hour flight with the new jet

23:41

that you tested today. Theoretically, how long

23:43

would it take to fly from New

23:45

York to London? Our

23:48

goal is to cut travel time

23:50

in half. Unfortunately right now the

23:52

current laws will prevent supersonic over

23:55

flight over land. So our first

23:57

iteration of our airliner is going

23:59

to be over water only. But

24:01

that seven-hour trip, eventually when we,

24:03

as we continue to improve technology

24:05

and as we work with the

24:07

potential we get some laws changed

24:09

to allow supersonic flight from New

24:11

York to Los Angeles, we could

24:13

cut that seven-hour flight down to

24:16

potentially down to three and a

24:18

half hours. When do you expect

24:20

the commercial version of this carrier

24:22

to become available for consumer use?

24:26

That's a good question. As we finish

24:28

up XB1 and we shift our attention

24:31

to overture, that's where the bulk of

24:33

our attention is going to go. Airplanes

24:35

take some time to develop and we're

24:37

going to develop a safe airplane. So

24:39

that takes a little bit of time.

24:42

We're hoping by the end of the

24:44

decade, but we'll see what we can

24:46

do. Hey, I'll take that seven hour

24:48

fight going to three and a half

24:50

hours. As long as it's safe. Of

24:52

course. All right, look, we got plenty

24:55

of news to follow, including coming up

24:57

thousands returning to their homes in northern

24:59

Gaza, but there are still questions about

25:01

what they're actually coming home to. I'm

25:03

going to speak to the head of

25:06

doctors without borders in the United States

25:08

after the break. Stay with us. Welcome

25:20

back to First Move with a

25:23

look at more international headlines this

25:25

hour. Google Maps will change the

25:27

name of the Gulf of Mexico

25:29

to the Gulf of America for

25:32

users in the United States. The

25:34

move follows President Donald Trump's executive

25:36

action last week to rename the

25:39

Gulf in order to quote, Honor

25:41

American greatness. Google will also change

25:43

the name of Denali to Mount

25:45

McKinley, reversing the change made under

25:48

the Obama administration in 2015. A

25:50

plane operated by South Korea's Air

25:52

Busan caught fire just before takeoff

25:54

on Tuesday. The Airbus was headed

25:57

for Hong Kong when a fire

25:59

started in the plane's tail. All

26:01

169 people were evacuated from the

26:04

plane safely. with just three minor

26:06

injuries reported, but it of course

26:08

follows a deadly plane crash in

26:10

South Korea last month, which killed

26:13

all but two people on board.

26:15

German Chancellor Olaf Scholles slamming tech

26:17

billionaire Elon Musk after he spoke

26:19

virtually at an AFD rally in

26:22

Germany, Musk telling the far-right political

26:24

rally that Germany should, quote, move

26:26

beyond Nazi guilt. Fred Pikegan spoke

26:28

with Chancellor Scholles. Take a listen.

26:31

He is openly advocating for the

26:33

AFD. He has said that Germany

26:35

needs to get over its historic

26:38

guilt for the Holocaust, and he's

26:40

attacked you personally. Is that not

26:42

direct meddling by the Trump administration

26:44

in the political affairs of Germany

26:47

in the German election? Are you

26:49

going to raise this with Donald

26:51

Trump? I disagree completely with Elon

26:53

Musk and what he's doing. What

26:56

is that he is intervening in

26:58

favor of right-wing politicians all over

27:00

Europe, and this is really disgusting.

27:02

And I'm absolutely critical about what

27:05

Elon Musk said about the history

27:07

of Germany. This is the week

27:09

where we are remembering the freeing

27:12

of the last people in the

27:14

concentration camp of Auschwitz. And I'm

27:16

absolutely clear, there is a responsibility

27:18

of Germany that will continue to

27:21

be a responsibility. We are very

27:23

happy. about the United States that

27:25

freed our country and helped us

27:27

to become a democracy again. And

27:30

this is why I'm so angry

27:32

about Elon Musk intervening for the

27:34

far right and Elon Musk also

27:37

not acting adequate to this killing

27:39

of so many Jews and other

27:41

people in Europe done by Germans

27:43

in the past. I

27:45

want to turn now to northern Gaza

27:48

where Palestinians continue to return home and

27:50

it's really a bittersweet homecoming. Israeli airstrikes

27:52

have reduced much of the area to

27:54

rubble. Officials say more than 300,000 people

27:56

have now returned to the north as

27:59

a cease. This fire between Israel and

28:01

Hamas continues to hold. Meanwhile, though, the

28:03

office of Israel's Prime Minister says U.S.

28:05

President Donald Trump has invited Benjamin Netanyahu

28:08

to the White House. The meetings are

28:10

set to take place next week. The

28:12

war in Gaza has also been hard

28:14

on medical and aid workers. My next

28:17

guest leads the U.S. branch of Doctors

28:19

Without Borders, also known as MSF, since

28:21

the war began. Nine of her colleagues

28:23

have been killed. Despite this, the non-profit

28:25

continues to treat injured Palestinians conducting almost

28:28

10,000 surgeries and of course life doesn't

28:30

stop during wartime. Childbirth, vaccinations, even water,

28:32

MSF helps with those too. So joining

28:34

me now is Avril Benoit CEO of

28:37

Doctors Without Borders USA. Thank you for

28:39

being here. I really appreciate the time.

28:41

I mean look as I was just

28:43

talking about tens of thousands If not

28:46

more of displaced Palestinians began returning to

28:48

northern Gaza this week during what we

28:50

have seen to be a fragile ceasefire

28:52

at times But I don't have to

28:54

tell you the images of what they're

28:57

returning to essentially a region reduced to

28:59

rubble. I mean what have your doctors

29:01

assess as the greatest need right now

29:03

for their work when a lot of

29:06

the infrastructure they likely need has been

29:08

destroyed? Well, it's

29:10

not just the doctor assessing

29:12

this all the humanitarian or

29:14

go organizations have seen people

29:16

return to rubble Let's remember

29:18

that we estimate 70% of

29:20

all the the buildings have

29:22

been destroyed or severely injured

29:24

or harmed rather. We also

29:26

have 90% of the population

29:28

that's effectively without shelter, without

29:30

their own homes. And so

29:32

they're living in tents and

29:34

they're living in schools. And

29:36

so as they move toward

29:38

their original neighborhoods, what they

29:40

are finding. In the rubble,

29:42

often our unexploded ordinances and

29:44

even one of our colleagues

29:46

saw a young child playing

29:48

with something that could very

29:50

well have led to death

29:52

had it exploded. And so

29:54

there's going to be years

29:56

and years and years of

29:58

cleaning up all this rubble

30:00

to be able to build

30:02

shelters again. And what they're

30:04

also finding, unfortunately, are remains

30:07

of loved ones. There are

30:09

an estimated 10,000 people who

30:11

are lost, whose whereabouts are

30:13

unknown, and we assume that...

30:15

perhaps in this whole process

30:17

of the ceasefire and people

30:19

returning, they'll be able to

30:21

locate them. We hope there's

30:23

some closure there. But at

30:25

the moment, we're looking at

30:27

a devastated health care system.

30:29

A thousand health workers have

30:31

been killed, including, as you

30:33

mentioned, our colleagues, including the

30:35

most recent one, who actually

30:37

was killed by an Israeli

30:39

air strike in December. But

30:41

we only learned about 10

30:43

days ago with confirmation through

30:45

various networks. So it's an

30:47

absolutely shattering and heartbreaking situation

30:49

where the people need food,

30:51

they need clean drinking water,

30:53

they need shelter, they need

30:55

soap hygiene kits, everything. that

30:57

you can imagine just to

30:59

continue surviving and hopefully rebuilding

31:01

their lives if the ceasefire

31:03

continues like this. And you

31:05

know you mentioned years of

31:07

work that is really needed

31:09

here I mean we're just

31:11

in phase one of what

31:13

is supposed to be six

31:15

weeks of a ceasefire before

31:17

potentially moving forward. What is

31:19

the specific progress you're hoping

31:21

to make during this ceasefire

31:23

that you weren't able to

31:25

prior to this happening? Well

31:27

there's a big push of

31:29

course to bring in supplies.

31:31

And as the trucks have

31:33

been coming in, laden with

31:35

food, for example, we've seen

31:37

that the cost of food

31:39

has really shot down. So

31:41

that already is a good

31:43

start because people need everything.

31:45

They need warm clothing. They

31:47

need tarpaulins. They need also

31:49

items that are blocked. that

31:51

were inspecting all the trucks

31:53

as perhaps being useful as

31:55

war tools. These included many,

31:57

many medical items. So we're

31:59

hopeful that during this period

32:01

of time, which we very

32:03

much hope lasts, we have

32:05

this opportunity to bring in

32:07

as much as possible just

32:09

to allow the restarting of

32:11

the health system that has

32:13

been so. damage and we're

32:15

working in a couple of

32:17

hospitals we have some field

32:20

hospitals we are working in

32:22

numerous clinics and we're also

32:24

envisioning setting up some some

32:26

clinics in those areas in

32:28

the north of Gaza where

32:30

people are returning and where

32:32

there is effectively nothing for

32:34

them as far as health

32:36

care goes. Yeah. And before

32:38

we go, I want to

32:40

ask you about a separate

32:42

but likely related topic because

32:44

Doctors Out Of Borders, you

32:46

all put out a statement

32:48

today condemning the Trump administration's

32:50

reinstatement of the Mexico City

32:52

policy, essentially bans US government

32:54

funding for foreign non-profits that

32:56

perform or promote abortions. How

32:58

does this specifically impact the

33:00

work that you do globally

33:02

and do you anticipate it

33:04

being a problem? Yes,

33:06

the loss of PEPFAR funding

33:09

for organizations that are doing

33:11

sexual reproductive health, which is

33:13

vital for for life, for

33:15

life-saving of the, you know,

33:17

reducing maternal mortality from unsafe

33:19

abortions is something that is

33:21

vital. Now we don't take

33:23

U.S. government funding. We're entirely

33:26

privately funded thanks to the

33:28

generosity of a lot of

33:30

people around the world, including

33:32

Americans. But to have other

33:34

organizations lose this funding means

33:36

a lot of women will

33:38

die. There's also a loss

33:40

of HIV funding. very concerned

33:43

about the situation around people

33:45

living in those areas in

33:47

humanitarian crisis zones and low-income

33:49

countries and so we're we're

33:51

really concerned about that and

33:53

many other policies that have

33:55

been announced or reversal policies

33:57

with the new administration very

33:59

much hoping that this can

34:02

be corrected as soon as

34:04

possible. Avrove Benoit thank you

34:06

so much CEO of Doctors

34:08

to that Borders USA really

34:10

appreciate you being here. Thank

34:12

you. All right, coming up

34:14

after the break, worsening violence

34:16

in the resource-rich Democratic Republic

34:19

of Congo as refugees flee

34:21

for safety, we're going to

34:23

hear from one man who's

34:25

been unable to escape. That's

34:27

next. You know what's smart?

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Meals.com. This week on the

35:01

assignment with me, Audie Cornish.

35:03

With RFK Jr. Poise to

35:05

take over the Department of

35:07

Health and Human Services, this

35:10

is their time. I'm a

35:12

crunchy mom. Of course I'm

35:14

going to keep telling you

35:16

that your Brita is not

35:18

filtering out what they're saying

35:20

it is. A virtual army

35:22

of women known as crunchy

35:24

moms. Now that crunchy moms

35:27

seem to have a direct

35:29

line to those in power,

35:31

how will that change the

35:33

access you and your family

35:35

will have to vetted health

35:37

information? Listen to the assignment

35:39

with me, Audie Cornish, streaming

35:41

now on your favorite podcast

35:44

app. The

35:48

Muhammad Ali Center warns that compassion in

35:50

the United States is on the decline.

35:52

That's according to its 2025 Compassion report

35:54

more than 60% of Americans feel less

35:57

compassionate than they did for years Now

35:59

the center was founded by the late

36:01

boxer and his wife Lonnie who is

36:03

honoring his memory in a new audio

36:05

series Ali and me debuted last week

36:08

on audible. It features conversations with figures

36:10

you might know like Will Smith and

36:12

Mike Tyson. So joining us now is

36:14

Lonnie Ali. Thank you for being here.

36:16

Really appreciate it. I want to start

36:19

with the podcast because look I think

36:21

Mohammed Ali, fair to say, one of

36:23

the most well-known athletic figures globally of

36:25

all time. What is it that you

36:27

wanted people to learn or understand through

36:30

this work that people maybe haven't had

36:32

the chance to learn over all these

36:34

years? Well, thank you

36:36

Omar for having me on. The

36:38

podcast was a passion project for

36:41

me and it started seven years

36:43

ago shortly after Mohammed's passing because

36:45

there was just a void, you

36:48

know, him leaving, there was just

36:50

a void in having his voice

36:52

in America at a time where

36:54

we were experiencing divisiveness, toxic polarization

36:57

and I just wanted to continue

36:59

his legacy of inclusivity of humanity

37:01

of compassion and kindness and the

37:03

best way to do that I

37:06

felt was through this podcast and

37:08

I was very happy to have

37:10

a very good friend of ours

37:12

John Ramsey joined me as a

37:15

host. Yeah, and you know, one

37:17

of the things I think is

37:19

really interesting is that I think

37:21

if you just did a narrative

37:24

telling of your late husband's story,

37:26

that would be enough to hook

37:28

someone like me. But you tell

37:30

it, including guests whose lives were

37:33

significantly impacted by your late husband.

37:35

Is there anything that surprised you

37:37

in telling this story through that

37:39

lens? Yes. You know, it's interesting

37:42

how many people Muhammad... legacy, how

37:44

Muhammad has impacted people over a

37:46

diverse population. And we have athletes,

37:48

you know, politicians, activists, religious. leaders.

37:51

It was just amazing and to

37:53

hear them tell me how Mohammed's

37:55

life and how he lived his

37:57

life impacted them and the way

38:00

they lived their life today was

38:02

just amazing. I mean the reach

38:04

that this man had and continues

38:06

to have is exceptional. Yeah, and

38:09

look, I mean, that goes without

38:11

saying, it is interesting though, seeing

38:13

that the wide range of people

38:15

he influenced. I also want to

38:18

bring up, we were showing some

38:20

of the numbers earlier, but you're

38:22

also the lifetime director of the

38:25

Muhammad Ali Center, and this month

38:27

you released, where I think is

38:29

a unique study on compassion in

38:31

America, driven by Muhammad's believing compassion

38:34

is the strongest force we have,

38:36

which I don't think you could

38:38

ever have too much compassion, but

38:40

it also sounds like you didn't

38:43

find there is enough of it

38:45

in this study. What did you

38:47

find? What did you find? But

38:50

what we found was that compassion

38:52

has been on the decline for

38:54

several years now. But what was

38:57

important is that there have been

38:59

over 4,000, well a surge of

39:01

4,000% in people looking up compassion

39:03

online, compassion related topics. So we

39:05

know that compassion, even though it's

39:07

on the decline, it still exists.

39:09

But we. have to find that

39:11

common ground to build that compassion

39:13

back up, build that compassion muscle.

39:16

People are wanting that for a

39:18

more healthy society. We need that

39:20

to bring people together and it's

39:22

something that is a vital part

39:24

of Mohammed's legacy, compassion, you know,

39:26

something he practiced every day. And,

39:28

you know, part of your answer

39:30

when I asked why you wanted

39:33

to do the audio series and

39:35

I think it... ties into the

39:37

compassion parties is you felt sort

39:39

of this void and you know

39:41

where his voice would have been

39:43

in this moment and I just

39:45

want to ask you that I

39:47

mean what do you think his

39:49

voice would have been in this

39:52

moment that we're in right now?

39:54

You know Omar I don't think

39:56

Mohammed would have done anything different

39:58

than what he would have done.

40:00

doing before. Muhammad was able to

40:02

connect to people one-on-one before

40:04

there was social media or

40:07

anything of that nature. He was able

40:09

to to touch people directly, you

40:11

know, one-on-one, meeting them in

40:13

person and that's something we need

40:16

to start doing as well. You know,

40:18

we live behind a screen. Muhammad

40:20

didn't do that. He's face-to-face and

40:22

we have to get back to

40:24

that of mixing with people of...

40:26

talking to people face to face and

40:29

finding out, you know, what their interest

40:31

are, them finding out more about us.

40:33

That's the only way we're going to

40:36

make that human connection. And

40:38

that's what Mohammed was so good

40:40

at. Yeah, yeah. Well, Lonnie, sad to

40:42

be talking to you through a screen

40:44

this time, next time we'll make it

40:46

happen in person. But really appreciate you

40:49

being here. Thank you, thank you for

40:51

taking this time. Omar if I

40:53

may, I just want to say

40:55

one thing. If your viewers would

40:57

go to Ali Index.org and look at

40:59

the Compassion Index, the

41:02

report, and sign the

41:04

Compassion Pledge to practice

41:06

that compassion muscle every day,

41:08

because that's the only way

41:10

we're going to come together

41:12

as a country. And you

41:14

start showing. And you mentioned that

41:17

huge spike of people who wanted

41:19

to be more compassionate. So clearly,

41:21

there are people out there. Lonnie,

41:23

really appreciate you being here. Right. Thank

41:26

you so much, Omar. Of course. All

41:28

right, everyone. We'll be right back. Welcome

41:32

back everyone. Violence is getting

41:35

worse in the largest country

41:37

in sub-Saharan Africa, roughly the

41:39

size of Western Europe. The

41:41

Democratic Republic of Congo is

41:43

the source of valuable minerals

41:45

used in much of the

41:48

world's technology. A group of

41:50

rebels, which include the M23

41:52

militia, are advancing and claim

41:54

to have seized the key city

41:56

of Goma. Thousands of civilians are

41:59

fleeing and... protesters in the capital,

42:01

Kinshasa, attacked Western and African embassies,

42:03

including those belonging to Rwanda and

42:05

France. Fires were also lit outside

42:08

the American Embassy. U.S. citizens are

42:10

being advised to leave the city.

42:12

CNN Selmaub-Dylaziz has more. Heavy

42:15

fighting was seen around Goma Airport

42:17

just a couple of days after

42:20

the M23 rubble group claimed that

42:22

it had full control of the

42:24

city in the eastern part of

42:26

the Democratic Republic of Congo. Now

42:29

M23 has been advancing for weeks

42:31

on Goma and this lightning fast

42:33

offensive has forced hundreds of thousands

42:35

of people to flee. At least

42:38

a dozen UN peacekeepers and foreign

42:40

soldiers are dead. Hospitals are overwhelmed

42:42

with the wounded and now the

42:45

tensions. have spread to Kinshasa, the

42:47

capital, where protesters were setting fires

42:49

around Western embassies, including the French

42:51

embassy, the American embassy, the Belgian

42:54

embassy, angry, what they see as

42:56

Western intervention in African affairs. Now

42:58

why is all of this happening?

43:00

Well it may have something to

43:03

do with your cell phone. The

43:05

M23 rebel group, this militia group,

43:07

which is accused of really terrible

43:09

human rights violations, ease backed by

43:12

a neighboring country. Rwanda, that's according

43:14

to the United Nations and other

43:16

AIDS groups, although Rwanda denies this.

43:18

And the accusation from those groups

43:21

is that Rwanda and the M23

43:23

are after valuable minerals, precious minerals

43:25

that are in the eastern part

43:28

of the DRC that are used

43:30

to build our phones and to

43:32

build our computers. Now there is...

43:34

One sign of hope, one sign

43:37

of progress. Kenya says that it

43:39

is bringing both Rwanda and officials

43:41

from the DRC to a negotiating

43:43

table to try and find a

43:46

diplomatic solution. Of course, the UN

43:48

is appealing for calm. Sam of

43:50

D'Alziz, CNN, London. Now the UN

43:52

Humanitarian Office is reporting many dead

43:55

in the streets of Goma, the

43:57

rape of civilians and looting. Among

43:59

those killed was a famed Congolese...

44:01

boxer Belize Bekunda or Kibomongo killed

44:04

this week according to my next

44:06

guest who says Kibomongo is acting

44:08

as an unofficial guide or protector

44:11

to him while trying to help

44:13

evacuate children to safety. I want

44:15

to bring in Matthew Luteweiler the

44:17

founder of we are limitless non-profit

44:20

helping vulnerable children and Rwanda and

44:22

the DRC. You've been trapped in

44:24

Goma unable to leave because of

44:26

course you fear for your safety.

44:29

Can you just... Tell me a

44:31

little bit about why you were

44:33

in the DRC as I understand

44:35

to help rescue some of the

44:38

children you were working with but

44:40

what you encountered in that process.

44:42

Yeah we we have a group

44:44

of 40 kids that live in

44:47

a home that we have about

44:49

20 minutes outside of Goma and

44:51

it came under attack a couple

44:53

of few days ago now losing

44:56

track of time and they had

44:58

to flee. One of our older

45:00

children, who's about 17, went back

45:03

to get supplies that they left

45:05

when they fled so hastily and

45:07

was shot. And when we heard

45:09

about that, I was in Rwanda,

45:12

I called Kibo, Kibo-mongo. and told

45:14

him that I needed his help.

45:16

He and I have been working

45:18

together for about five years on

45:21

a documentary about his life and

45:23

the women that he helps in

45:25

this boxing club that he has,

45:27

but he also helps me on

45:30

the side with the charity. So

45:32

he met me at the border

45:34

who went across, tried to move

45:36

all the kids into a new

45:39

house in Goma with him and

45:41

bring our other student Moussa to

45:43

Rwanda. to get medical attention, but

45:46

it just took longer than we

45:48

all expected and we got stuck

45:50

there and so he and I

45:52

agreed to meet the next morning

45:55

and get Moussa and so we

45:57

met and then firefire started and

45:59

he told me to go back

46:01

into my hotel and he would

46:04

wait for me outside. and yeah

46:06

he didn't make it so an

46:08

hour later I was somebody sent

46:10

me a video of him dead

46:13

and so we are mourning our

46:15

friend while we're trying to get

46:17

out of here and get back

46:19

to Rwanda things have seemed to

46:22

have calmed down the last seven

46:24

or eight hours I think we're

46:26

gonna be able to make a

46:29

move tomorrow. get back and get

46:31

Moussa to the medical attention he

46:33

needs. And Moussa, of course, was

46:35

the kid that was shot. You

46:38

know, you've tried to get out

46:40

of the country a few times

46:42

now, and our reporting is the

46:44

M23 rebels are claiming to have

46:47

taken over Goma, despite Congolese officials

46:49

having yet to confirm that, but

46:51

have you seen any evidence of

46:53

that takeover, just give us a

46:56

sense of what you've been seeing?

46:59

Yeah, I mean it's a firefight was pretty intense

47:01

on and off for the last couple of days

47:03

It was really bleak early this morning or maybe

47:05

yesterday. I can't remember now But then about six

47:07

seven hours ago things it looks like M23 really

47:09

kind of took over and pushed out Some of

47:11

the other factions as well as the DRC You

47:13

know military things are pretty calm now We've heard

47:15

that our students, our children that are at this

47:17

new house that we found in Goma, are doing

47:19

okay, they don't have food and water, but they're

47:22

safe. So we'll hopefully get up in the morning,

47:24

we have a little plan set, hopefully it sticks,

47:26

and we'll go and drop off food with them,

47:28

grab Moussa, and get across the border. And then

47:30

we've also got Kimimongo's kids to take care of

47:32

now. They are orphans now. I assume they will

47:34

join our group and we'll do

47:36

what we can for them.

47:38

for them. Yeah and I've got to go

47:40

got to go in literally

47:42

30 seconds here, but just

47:45

to give just a

47:47

word or two word about

47:49

who who was, how would

47:51

you describe him in a

47:53

word or two? describe him in

47:55

a word or two? Protector till the

47:57

end, you know you always my back

47:59

back everyone's back, but he

48:01

was very, very dedicated

48:03

friend. friend And I I said,

48:05

we've been in some

48:08

pretty some situations over the

48:10

years and he's always stepped

48:12

in front of me,

48:14

you know know, I mean, and then the

48:16

protector as as you've described

48:18

him him so many times. Matthew Lutweiler.

48:20

I'm sorry I I'm sorry, I

48:22

got to leave it

48:24

there. The founder are Are

48:26

Limitless, please stay safe. I

48:28

I hope, check in I mean,

48:30

me check in with me

48:33

afterwards, I but I hope

48:35

your plan works out

48:37

tomorrow. Yeah, thank you so much of thank

48:39

you so much. Of

48:41

course. for All right, and

48:43

that's it for the show

48:45

everyone. Thanks for joining

48:47

us. I'll see you tomorrow.

48:49

tomorrow