the new york attorney general wants to hear from donald trump and his two oldest children as part of a fraud investigation into the family's business practices. we have the very latest for you. invasion fears, the u.s. formed russia could launch an attack at any moment. this as secretary of state anthony blinken is there. we are live this hour. british prime minister boris johnson faces a growing revolt by lawmakers and call him to resign over party gate. >> announcer: live from london, this is "cnn newsroom" with isa soares. welcome to the show, everyone. it is wednesday, january 19th, and we are learning new details about the new york attorney general's investigation into the trump organization, the former u.s. president as well as his two eldest children. now, the office of letitia james says it needs to determine how much they knew about tax submissions and, quote, misleading statements and omissions in financial statements to obtain loans. all have so far refused to cooperate. but in a tweet james, as you can see there, warned no one in this country can pick and choose if and how the law applies to them. well, investigators are basically trying to figure out who allegedly cooked the books and overvalued key properties. and they suggested the trump children may have played a significant role in the possible fraud saying, quote, donald trump, jr., and ivanka trump worked as agents of mr. trump, acted on their own behalf, and supervised others in connection with the transactions at issue here. their testimony is necessary. well, the attorney general's office said ivanka trump was a key liaison to deutsche bank and donald trump, jr., from 2017 onward. they explain what investigators may be zeroing in on. have a listen. >> the core theory goes to the valuation idea. did the trump organization intentionally over value assets when convenient or under value those same assets when it was also convenient. the first question that i'm thinking about is who can they specifically tie to this conduct. they mentioned the trump organization, and they say, the words are chosen very carefully here, that there is some involvement by, and they name some members of the trump family. in order to make -- there's two possibilities here. there's a civil charge and a criminal charge. you would need to tie specific people to that conduct. i think this is a real warning sign to the trump organization as a corporate entity, potentially could lead to civil liability for some of the individuals who they're talking about here, and potentially if they can prove criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt, and if the manhattan district attorney agrees, that could lead to criminal charges. but i don't think that's quite what the attorney general, i don't think the attorney general has gone quite that far from her statement. >> we'll have more on our top story for you in the hours. now, in the coming hours, the national archives is set to turnover four pages of trump-era white house documents to the house select committee investigating the capitol -- the attack, of course, on the u.s. capitol on january 6. the former president has been fighting to keep the records secret and has asked the supreme court to block the release of hundreds of pages of documents related to january 6. the court has not yet acted. and this, of course, all comes as the house select committee is ramping up its sweeping probe of the january 6 riot and issuing more subpoenas. among the latest to rudy giuliani, a key figure in former president trump's failed attempt to overturn, of course, the 2020 election. cnn's paula reid has more now from washington for you. >> reporter: the house select committee investigating january 6 firing off subpoenas for four trump advisers who helped to push the big lie. the biggest name on this list is, of course, rudy giuliani. former personal attorney of president trump who spearheaded efforts to try to uncover any evidence of fraud to undermine the results of the 2020 election. the committee also targeting two other former trump attorneys, one jenna ellis. she circulated two memos that purported to analyze the options former vice president pence had to block the electoral votes, and sidney powell who was part of the trump legal team. she was eventually pushed out. but she was one of the loudest voices pushing the big lie. the committee also targeting boris epstein. he was a trump adviser who actually spoke to former president trump on january 6 about the options that remained to try to block the certification of electoral results. now, interestingly, i spoke with rudy giuliani's attorney. he dismissed the subpoena as, quote, political theater. he noted that his client has not only claims of attorney/client privilege, but also potentially executive privilege as well. and it seems unlikely that the committee will get any information out of giuliani. we can likely expect similar arguments about attorney/client privilege or executive privilege out of jenna ellis and sidney powell. it will be interesting to see what boris epstein says in response to the subpoena. also notable, we're told that giuliani was not asked to come in voluntarily before getting the subpoena. and this comes as cnn has learned that the committee has also sought and obtained records for phone numbers connected to the former president's son eric trump and kimberly guilfoyle whose engaged to the president's other son, donald trump, jr. what's interesting about these records is they do not show the contents of calls, but they do provide some data that could be of interest to the committee, including the date and time and the length of these calls. cnn has previously reported that the committee has sought similar records for over 100 other individuals. paula reid, cnn, washington. now, ukraine says russia is almost completed its military buildup near its border, deploying more than 127,000 troops. the defense ministry shared its latest intelligence assessment exclusively with cnn, and this map does president even include a contingent of forces dispatched to belarus. the u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken is in ukraine now. he will meet with the president there. on friday he travels to geneva for talks with russian minister sergei lavrov in an effort to ease tensions. here's what the white house said about the mission. have a listen. >> president putin has created this crisis by amassing 100,000 russian troops along ukraine's borders. our view is this is an extremely dangerous situation. we are now at a stage where russia could at any point launch an attack on ukraine. what secretary blinken is going to go do is highlight very clearly there is a diplomatic path forward. it is the choice of president putin and the russians to make whether they are going to suffer severe economic consequences or not. >> let's get more on this story. cnn's fred pleitgen joins me now live from moscow. fred, this is escalating ever so quickly with u.s. now warning that russia could attack ukraine at any point. what is the u.s. and its other allies prepared to do here to deter russia? >> reporter: well, i think first of all, we have that flurry of diplomatic activity, isa, where we see the u.s. secretary of state there on the ground in kiev today. on the one hand, of course, to assure the ukrainians that the u.s. is going to stand by their side, that the u.s. is going to have their back. and that it will be tough against russia if the russians do decide to further invade ukraine and launch attacks. of course, he is also there to assure u.s. citizens as well there are going to be contingency plans should there be an aggression on ukrainian territory. he is at the u.s. embassy at this point in time. you're absolutely right, the situation does appear to be growing more dangerous by the day. and one of the things that you were just talking about is certainly something that concerns not just the u.s., but especially ukraine as well with the russians now themselves saying that they have troops inside of belarus. and we have that map on our screen right now and can see that the southern border of belarus is also the northern border of ukraine. so the ukrainians are saying they're feeling ever more encircled by those russian forces. russia today, once again and the embassy put out a statement, they don't intend to invade anyone. what's going on right now is what they call panic inside of kiev. certainly there is a real military buildup that is going on. the german foreign minister yesterday when she was in moscow, she alluded to that again. but i do think that one of the things that maybe does offer a glimmer of hope is that you do have that diplomatic activity that's going on with the u.s. secretary of state today in ukraine. tomorrow in berlin. and then that key meeting on friday with sergei lavrov, the russian foreign minister in geneva. and that is definitely key, because remember that after the talks in geneva, the initial talks between the u.s. and russia, the russians said they were so disappointed they weren't sure further talks would even be necessary or would even be possible. well, right now it seems as though those talks are going to be possible and they are having on an even higher level than the talks that happened in geneva. possibly a glimmer of hope there, but at the same time, you know, as those numbers that were given to cnn by the ukrainians indicate, there is a very, very large force in place there and a lot of concern about that. >> clearly secretary blinken as well as europe still looking vech for diplomatic solution. fred pleitgen. good to see you. a bipartisan group has returned. looking for aid and tougher sanctions and on russia. chris murphy speaking with cnn's anderson cooper. >> ukraine has the right to decide for themselves whether they want an alliance with nato or eu. we support the democratic future where as russia is proposing an invasion or threaten invasion to force the people in an alliance with russia they don't want. the ukrainians are going to fight for their lives. there will be a long-term counter insurgency. it will be bloody and drawn out and a black mark on russia that could end up leading to russia's downfall as the afghanistan invasion arguably contributed to the soviet union's downfall. >> the crisis in ukraine is proving to be a major challenge in this first year of the biden administration, and reporters will likely ask about it about the u.s. president holds a news conference. that's happening later today. mr. biden will enter his second year with one of the lowest approval ratings of any modern day president. he has surging covid, rising inflation, and democratic in fighting have really overshadowed achievements on infrastructure, a boom as well as drop in poverty. and be sure to tune in for president biden's news conference later today. our coverage begins at 4:00 p.m. eastern in new york. in washington that is 9:00 p.m. if you're watching here in london. now, if you remember, we told you yesterday about the warnings from top u.s. airline executives on the rollout of 5g cell services near major airports. that was our top story yesterday. well, the white house says it is working to find a solution to concerns that 5g frequencies may interfere with critical aviation equipment. cnn's parent company, at&t, as well as verizon are delaying the rollout near some airports. but delta airlines says it's still planning for possible weather-related cancellations due to 5g services. servicing dozens of airlines. international airlines have canceled flights into the u.s. because of uncertainty about the rollout. cnn's anna stewart is monitoring all this for us. and, anna, they are delaying it. do we know how long the delay is for? and if they are delaying, why are some airlines cancelling? >> reporter: good question, yes. the telecomes are delaying the implementation of 5g. no real time frame there. one wouldn't imagine they want to delay it for long. it's not the first time they had to delay the rollout on account of aviation concerns. they believe the faa, the aviation regulator, has had plenty of time to look through this, to certify aircraft, to ensure it all went smoothly. so there's been a lot of frustration over the last 24 hours. verizon, at&t, also point to the fact that some 40 other countries around the world have implemented 5g without any aviation disruption. now, there are certain specifics that are actually different region to region and country to country. now, this was hoped, of course, without any disruption. it hasn't entirely. lots of airlines have decided, international ones, big long haul flights from asia, have decided to cancel certain routes. or they have swapped aircraft. we've seen a number of statements from the likes of ana, japan airlines, india. a lot of swapping of aircraft, isa. the faa had approved 45% of commercial aircraft saying if 5g had rolled out, those aircraft had radio altimeters that wouldn't have been affected by 5g. we heard from lufthansa, the european carrier based in germany. they canceled one flight to miami today that also swapped aircraft. that is not easy. if you imagine, each plane has different capacity, staffing requirements. any change there has a knock-on effect potentially for other routes. so crisis not quite averted. isa? >> we shall see how long this delay lasts, of course, because it's not the first time they have had to delay. anna stewart there for us, thanks very much, anna. now, it was a rough day on wall street on tuesday where all major, three major indices closed in the red. there have been worries about high lending rates, rising bond yields, as well as earning season sent the dow more than -- down more than 500 points. it finished down 1.5%. the nasdaq there down just over 2.5%. the s&p 500 down almost 2%. now, oil prices rose to a new seven-year high on tuesday. one wall street bank predicts prices will go even higher. brent crude topped $87 a barrel for the first time since october 2014. u.s. crude also had its highest close in eight years. and goldman sachs is predicting oil price will hit $100 a barrel later this year, and prices are expected to rise into 2023. and that means, of course, you could be paying more at the pump. still to come right here on the show, americans can soon skip the lines for covid tests. now they can be shipped right to your door. we'll have the details on the new system next. plus boris johnson says no one told him the party at 10 downing street was against the rules. why this new i didn't know defense may not work. that's next. blendjet's new year's sale is on now! make your resolutions come true with this incredible deal on blendjet 2. it packs the power of a big blender on the go, and it crushes right through ice. just drop in your favorite ingredients, even frozen fruit, and make a smoothie any time, anywhere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and kick off the new year right! finally getting there...is the best! but with febreze freshness in your car... ...driving there is pretty darn good too. enjoy 30 days of freshness with febreze car. ♪ la, la, la, la, la ♪ now, americans can now have their covid tests shipped right to their homes free of charge. a u.s. government website to order those tests launched on tuesday one day ahead of its formal rollout. you are limited to four rapid tests per household. shipping is scheduled to start later this month. the government is also setting up a hotline to request the free tests. well, meanwhile, pfizer says several lab studies show the antiviral drug is effective against the omicron variant. the pill was given emergency use authorization, if you remember, last month in the u.s. for limited treatment of covid-19. pfizer tested the drug against multiple variants of the virus, finding it blocked an enzyme needed for the virus to replicate. the company says it will continue to monitor patients using the drug. now, new data shows just how much harder the virus is hitting the unvaccinated. the head of the cdc tweeted that in november, unvaccinated adults were 13 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who are fully vaccinated. but hospitalization rates were significantly higher for the unvaccinated in all age groups, even among teenagers. now, here in uk, the british prime minister's new response to the controversy of lockdown parties, he didn't know he was breaking the rules. boris johnson said no one told him a gathering held at the garden in 10 downing street may 2020 was a potential breach of covid restrictions. but remember, he is the prime minister and he imposes social distancing rules. here's what he said just days before that party. >> we must obey the rules on social distancing. to enforce those rules, we will increase the fines for the small minority who break them. >> let's get more on this story. salma abdelaziz joins me now. salma, i was reading this morning, in the papers this morning pretty much front page on the story, it's being called a pork pie plot because the calls are growing for the prime minister to resign. are the numbers there, though, to trigger a leadership challenge, though? >> reporter: isa, that's a good question. i think a lot of that is going to depend on how the prime minister performs in parliament today. over the course of the last week he's apologized to the public. he's apologized to the house of commons. he's apologized to the queen herself. so his own lawmakers, conservative lawmakers are going to be watching him closely today. does he still hold authority? is he still that popular prime minister who can win us votes? or is he on shaky ground? is he on the way out? because, really, isa, this is starting to stretch belief to expect that prime minister boris johnson was in the garden with booze during a strict social lockdown and had no idea it broke the rules. still, that's his excuse. take a listen. >> categorically, nobody told me and nobody said that this was something that was against the rules, it was a breach of the covid rules, we were doing something that wasn't a work event because, frankly, i don't think -- i can't imagine why on earth it would have gone ahead or why it would have been allowed to go ahead. >> reporter: now, the prime minister will be back in parliament today for the regularly scheduled pmqs. last week we saw him really a man in distress at moments flinching, looking down in shame as he apologized to the house of commons. what will he look like today? and i'm going to leave you with the key thing here. 54, 54 mps, 54 conservative lawmakers need a mutiny against prime minister johnson, a vote of no confidence to be triggered. so far we know there is already a small handful. we haven't reached that threshold. but if he can't convince his own to vote for him, to continue to support him, isa, that's when he could lose his seat. >> and the irony here is that those potentially who won't be supporting him are the ones that put him in power in the first place. we shall see what that number is. salma abdelaziz, as always, thanks so much, salma. now, an upscale hotel in washington, d.c., is getting a lot of attention for its role in the u.s. capitol riot. just ahead, what investigators are hoping to learn from the willard. plus, voting rights on the ropes with a key election reform bill appearing doomed to fail in the u.s. senate. democratically announce a plan to maneuver around gop obstruction. those stories after a short break. you are watching "cnn newsroom." olay body wash hydrates to improve skin 3x better, from dry and dull to firm and radiant. with olay body, i feel fearless in my skin. - that moment you walk in the office and people are wearing the same gear, you feel a sense of connectedness and belonging right away. and our shirts from custom ink help bring us together. - [narrator] custom ink has hundreds of products to help you feel connected. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.com with hepatitis c i felt i couldn't be at my best for my family. in only 8 weeks with mavyret i was cured. i faced reminders of my hep c every day. i worried about my hep c. but in only 8 weeks with mavyret i was cured. mavyret is the only 8-week cure for all types of hep c. before starting mavyret your doctor will test if you've had hepatitis b which may flare up and cause serious liver problems during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b, a liver or kidney transplant, other liver problems, hiv-1,or other medical conditions, and all medicines you take. don't take mavyret with atazanavir or rifampin, or if you've had certain liver problems. if you've had or have serious liver problems other than hep c, there's a rare chance they may worsen. signs of serious liver problems may include yellowing of the skin, abdominal pain or swelling, confusion, and unexplained bleeding or bruising. tell your doctor if you develop symptoms of liver disease. common side effects include headache and tiredness. with hep c behind me, i feel free fearless because i am cured. talk to your doctor about mavyret. learn how abbvie could help you save. what makes febreze air effects different? while cheaper aerosols rely on artificial propellants... febreze uses a 100% natural propellant. check it out! pressure created by what's in your air makes the bottle spray. which means freshness everyone will love. febreze. new year, new start. and now comcast business is making it easy to get going with the ready. set. save. sale. get started with fast and reliable internet and voice for $64.99 a month with a 2-year price guarantee. it's easy... with flexible installation and backing from an expert team, 24/7. and for even more value, ask how to get up to a $500 prepaid card. get a great deal for your business with the ready. set. save. sale today. comcast business. powering possibilities. welcome back to "cnn newsroom." now, the committee investigating the u.s. capitol riot is taking a closer look at a posh hotel in washington described by some as a war room for trump advisers on january 6 of last year. cnn's tom foreman has the story for you. >> reporter: as the capitol riot raged in public, a block from the white house at the fancy and historic willard hotel, trump insiders were privately desperately trying to keep the defeated president in office. >> there were actually several, quote, unquote, war rooms at the willard. basically it was the central hub of all of the different organizing efforts. >> reporter: trump confidant roger stone was photographed outside the willard on january 6th with members of the right-wing oath keepers. stone has denied any knowledge of plans to storm the capitol, but some oath keepers were charged in the attack, including at least one seen with stone. other loyalists at the hotel that day or leading up to it, trump attorney rudy giuliani. newly subpoenaed by congressional investigators. adviser steve bannon, former new york city police commissioner, and attorney john eastman who pushed the widely discredited theory that the vice president could simply reject the election results amid the unproven claims of fraud. >> all we are demanding of vice president pence is this afternoon at 1:00, he let the legislatures of the state look into this so we get to the bottom of it. >> reporter: witnesses have told various publications the trump team at the hotel spent days reaching out to republican majority state legislatures, preparing them to cast aside the ballots of their citizens and award the election to trump. >> it's not going to happen like you think it's going to happen. >> reporter: but vice president pence did not bend. biden's election was confirmed. still, according to a source familiar with this testimony, former police commissioner told the house select committee last week that he continued working on the 6th at the willard, looking for evidence of widespread election fraud in hopes biden's inauguration could be stopped. >> bernie caric is significant. he started cooperating with our committee. >> reporter: the committee is looking very hard at everything else that went on in the willard. >> the hotel has been asked to provide information for us. so we're in the process of doing our investigation. >> reporter: what could the hotel possibly tell the committee? maybe nothing about what specifically went on in those war rooms, but maybe a lot about who paid the bills, and that could reveal an awful lot of folks who were involved in pushing these lies that led to an insurrection at the willard. tom foreman, cnn, washington. now, u.s. senate democrats are pushing forward with voting rights legislation despite almost certain failure. lawmakers are expected to vote later today, but it looks likely republicans will remain united in blocking the legislation. now, on tuesday, senate majority leader chuck schumer laid out plans to try to steer around the gop obstruction. >> if the senate cannot protect the right to vote, which is the cornerstone of our democracy, then the senate rules must be reformed. must be reformed. if the republicans block cloture on the legislation before us, i will put forward a proposal to change the rules to allow for a talking filibuster on this legislation, as recommended by a number of our colleagues who have been working on this reform for a long time. >> now, if passed, the rule change would allow democrats to pass the bill with a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes needed. but that effort also appears destined for failure. democratic senators joe manchin and kyrsten sinema said they will not pass the bill for normal senate rules. he said he will never change his mind. >> it's never happened in the history of our country. basically it has never been a simple majority vote to get off of a debate. i'll never change my mind on the filibuster. >> well, as that debate plays out, florida's republican governor is looking to press his party's advantage in redrawing the state's congressional map. on sunday ron desantis proposed a new redistricting map that would heavily favor the republican party, giving them a leg up in at least 18 of florida's 28 districts. it is an unusual step for the governor's office, and it is unclear if republicans will line up behind this proposal. now, if they do, some democrats say they are prepared to take the fight all the way to court. now, the texas secretary of state's office says it has a limited number of voter registration applications because supply chain issues increased the cost of paper. now, spokesman says organizations and interest groups can get one to 2,000 forms at a time. meantime, texas election officials have rejected hundreds of mail-in ballot applications. they said applications were invalidated because people failed to meet stricter identification requirements. and we are learning new details about how a hostage staker spent his time in texas before holding four people at gunpoint inside a synagogue. about ten days before the terrifying incident, faisal akron was in the mosks. that is according to the attorney representing the mosque and then returned the next day and apologized for his behavior and prayed before leaving. several countries in europe are now seeing covid cases surge. we'll have the latest in the live report from paris. plus, tonga is in urgent need of assistance after saturday's powerful volcanic disruption and tsunami. the danger is not over yet. >> the tonga eruption may not be the last eruption we hear across this region. we'll touch on that and also touch on a potential tropical system trying to develop across this region. heavy rainfall possibly in store. more on that in a moment. unlike ordinary memory supplements, neuriva plus fuels six key indicators of brain performance. more brain performance? yes, please! neuriva. think bigger. my hygienist cleans with a round head. so does my oral-b my hygienist personalizes my cleaning. so does my oral-b oral-belivers the wow of a professional clean feel every day. blendjet's new year's le is on now! make your resolutions come true with this incredible deal onlendjet 2. it packs the power of a big blender on the go, and it crushes right through ice. just drop in your favorite ingredients, even frozen fruit, and make a smoothie any time, anywhere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and kick off the new year right! now, the omicron variant is fueling a record rise in covid cases right across parts of europe, including in germany where more than 100,000 daily cases have been recorded for the first time since the pandemic began. now, germany isn't alone. italy reported its highest record of daily covid infections since the start of the pandemic in the past day. the situation in france, reported a record daily high of more than 464,000 new covid cases. but even as cases climb, a new study published by the french council of economic analysis shows the health pass used in europe has saved lives. now, since its adoption last year, it prevented nearly 4,000 deaths in france, and more than 1,000 in both germany and italy. that is according to that study. meantime, parts of asia are tightening their covid safety measures amid fears of new outbreaks and surging cases. japan's prime minister will announce stricter restrictions in 13 regions after a record rise in infections there. joining me now to discuss all these developments, of course, cnn's blake essex joins us from tokyo and our jim bittermann standing by in paris. jim, let me start with you. in the last, say, 40 minutes or so, we've seen the record rise, worrying rise of covid infections in germany where i believe progress has been somewhat slow. >> reporter: it's been a little bit lagging behind the other three countries that we're looking at, germany, france and italy. nonetheless, the surges are across the board, all three of those countries, even though, for instance, france, for example, is doing a much better job of vaccinations. still, they had a record high number of cases as you mentioned, 460,000 cases in just 24 hours. so it's kind of in explicable, the relationship between the vaccinations and the surge that we're seeing, especially since all three countries were basically saying they thought the situation was headed toward stabilization in yesterday and today when those numbers, new numbers have come in. so it's an interesting situation here. and we don't have a lot of explanation for why those cases are surging. one of the things that is clear, though, from the economic council report you mentioned, and that is that vaccinations, the health pass does, in fact, encourage people to get vaccinations. and we've seen that both in italy and in france where there's been a health pass in place for sometime now. basically the vaccination rate is going up because of the health pass, and that's what that study showed. it's an interesting thing to get the people encouraged through the idea that not mandating vaccination, but saying rather if you want to do anything out in public, you've got to have vaccinations. >> yeah, i remember clearly how controversial that health pass was in france. jim, hold on for just one second. i want to go to blake. blake, what can we expect to hear from the prime minister regarding the restrictions and potentially how they might be received? >> reporter: you know, isa, it feels like deja vu. tokyo and other parts of japan spent a good chunk of 2021 under a full or quasi-state of emergency. the japanese government has taken several steps to slow down the sixth wave of infection. so far, they have extended travel restrictions, essentially banning all non-residents until the end of february. they have suspended a program that would allow people who were fully vaccinated or have a negative test result to be exempt from covid-19 restrictions. and today, just about 30 minutes ago, the government did declare a quasi-state of emergency order for 13 prefectures, including tokyo, which expands the total to 16. here's a map of the affected areas. this authorization from the national government allows local governors to request that bars and restaurants limit their operating hours, and can ask bars and restaurants to stop serving alcohol. businesses could be fined for non-compliance. now, for the first time ever, japan's covid case count topped 30,000 yesterday. that's an increase of more than 415% compared to the same day last week. the previous record, 25,000 cases recorded last august, just about two weeks after the tokyo 2020 closing ceremony. and speaking of olympics, the winter games in beijing do start in just about two weeks. relatively speaking, the case count is extremely low compared to other countries. only 87 new cases reported yesterday. but because of the country's zero covid policy, if even one case is reported, it means mass testing and lockdowns. currently more than 20 million people across the country are confined to their home. that includes several neighborhoods in beijing. as far as athletes coming to beijing to compete in the olympics are concerned, they are going to be extremely limited in what they're allowed to do. olympic officials have put in place a closed-loop bubble starting today which limits athletes' movements and will offer organizers a level of control never seen before at any olympic games, isa. >> yeah, olympics about three weeks away. blake essex in tokyo, jim bittermann in france. people have signed the petition to stop the government for culling of small animals. they seized hamsters, guinea pigs and more after a worker was diagnosed with the delta variant. it is scheduled to be euthanized while the transmission from animals to humans is possible, health experts say the risk is low. signatures on the petition are still rising. stay on top of that story for you. now, tonga is under a state of emergency. we are finally hearing from its government after the massive volcanic eruption and tsunami. we have a live report from the region next. plus, the bronx is reeling from yet another fatal fire. details on what happened, plus dramatic video showing a police officer rescue a woman from the burning home. finally getting there...is the best! but with febreze freshness in your car... ...driving there is pretty darn good too. enjoy 30 days of freshness with febreze car. ♪ la, la, la, la, la ♪ now, another fatal fire in new york has killed one person and injured eight others. the fire department believes an explosion destroyed three residential units in the bronx. dramatic video shows police rescuing a woman trapped in the debris. >> back out, back out. >> back up. >> over here, over here. >> oh, my god! oh, my god! >> 1, 2, 3, go! get her over the couch. >> fantastic work by those police officers. you can see on that body cam footage. he runs to the scene and helps colleagues to lift the woman to safety. of course, this comings as the community mourns an apartment fire that killed 17 people earlier this month. now, a second flight from new zealand is headed to tonga to survey the impact of saturday's volcanic eruption and tsunami. tonga calls it unprecedented. it is now declared a state of emergency and the death toll there has risen to three. take a look at this video. now, you can see there the tsunami waves tearing through the island as people try to escape the flood waters. the waves reached as high as 15 meters, almost 50 feet. now, in some places, almost every home was destroyed. recovery efforts are ongoing, but many people, of course, have lost absolutely everything. cnn's phil black joins me now live from melbourne. phil, i suspect as we look at these images now, the focus now is on getting aid to those in need. do we know when aid is due to arrive? >> reporter: well, hopefully soon, isa. it's taken days just to hear from people on the ground about what sort of help, what sort of need there is. we can tell you the need is great. the communication blackout came because of the eruption, the tsunami. it wiped out mobile phone communications and damaged the only under water cable connecting tonga to the rest of the world. that's going to take weeks to fix. but there is word getting out now, and the aid groups are saying what they're hearing most is that they need water. that's the priority. particularly in the next few days, because water resources on the island have been contaminated both by dust and ash from the volcano eruption itself and from sea water from the tsunami that have hit those islands. we know that there are new zealand navy vessels steaming for tonga with water resources and desalination. they are expected to get there friday. tonga's main airport, the runway has been cleared of ash and debris. hopefully aid flights can get in there sooner. all this is going to have to be done in a very careful way. the reason for that is the pandemic. tonga according to the world health organization has very strict covid rules. three weeks quarantine for anyone who arrives. because of that tonga is covid-free. they want to stay that way, particularly while they're dealing with this new crisis. >> how to help them with aid and also making sure not passing on any new variants there. phil black for us in melbourne. thanks very much, phil. good to see you. now, new zealand says there is still a risk of more eruptions and tsunamis for tonga. cnn meteorologist pedram javaheri has the latest on the conditions. good morning, pedram. >> yes, good morning, isa. this is certainly a story worth following over the coming days and weeks. you take a look at the satellite imagery, of course, the volcano is not the most impressive you could see from above. once you get down to the suri vass and really beneath the surface, that is where all the story is told here. the successive eruptions that led to it on the 15th of january, of course, the significant eruption this past saturday. and it's just beneath the surface where the volcano is more than a mile tall, a volcano that is more than 12 miles wide. so an impressive one anyway you look at it. based on historical data, this particular volcano erupts to this magnitude once every thousand years. so the event in itself, as impressive as it gets. you look at deposits of previous explosive events across this particular region, they often show small eruptions follow suit for a period of weeks, sometimes a period of years. so this could continue for many weeks or longer period to come. but typically eruptions of this magnitude also release major magma. that reduces the overall tension, the overall stress for these large-scaly erup-- large-e eruptions for days to come. an impressive eruption, particularly this volcano, dates back to 1040 a.d. temperatures across the planet cooled on the order of 1 degree celsius. sulfur dioxide was released in significant doses. with this particular volcano lesser amounts released. we don't expect significant planetary cooling to take place with this particular eruption. what we do expect here, of course, quite a bit of damage left in place, volcanic ash left in place. the reason that's really important right now, there is a tropical disturbance trying to form not too far away from the archipelago. low probability of formation in the immediate future, but the models have a decent handle on this, trying to organize over the coming days, potentially bringing rainfall across this region. of course, volcanic ash, rainfall turns into cement-like sludge. certainly destructive scenario if rain does come down across this region, and that's what we're following across the area the next few days. isa? >> thank you very much, pedram. appreciate it. now, tonga's olympic flag bearer is helping raise money for those impacted by the devastating eruption as well as tsunami. the gofundme page has raised more than 300,000 u.s. dollars. the campaign says the money will go toward those in need along with repaying schools, hospitals and rebuilding, as well as other infrastructure. flag bearer if you remember said on wednesday his family on the main island and home is safe, but he's still waiting, of course, to hear from his father and other family in the low island. communication has been suffered. now, there is liftoff from the kennedy space center in florida. >> 3. 2. 1. 0. ignition. and liftoff. >> that is the sound of spacex launching another 49 satellites into orbit. the rocket thunder to life on tuesday, despite a reported two-hour delay due to weather conditions. the mission's effort to build a network of internet satellites. now, a long-time former creative director for vogue magazine has died. andrey leon tally was a fashion icon himself. as a black man he was a pioneer in a fashion industry really dominated by white men as well as women. in describing the challenges of promoting diversity in the fashion magazine, tally said he worked behind the scenes in tones that he was persistent in the quiet way. tally was 73. and if you were hoping to watch the grammys on tv this month, you might be a little disappointed. the awards was originally scheduled for january 31st in los angeles. it is now april 3 in las vegas. it was postponed due to covid concerns. that does it for us. i'm isa soares. the trump family legal saga continues on "early start" with christine romans and laura jarrett. you can stay in touch with me. i'll see you tomorrow. bye-bye. blendjet's new year's sale is on now! make your resolutions come true with this incredible deal on blendjet 2. it packs the power of a big blender on the go, and it crushes right through ice. just drop in your favorite ingredients, even frozen fruit, and make a smoothie any time, anywhere. blendjet cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and kick off the new year right! on fanduel sportsbook, new customers can bet 30-to-1 odds on any team in the playoffs. ♪ ♪ so you can make every catch... ♪ ♪ feel like the catch of a lifetime. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ new customers can make every moment more during the nfl playoffs with 30-to-1 odds on any team to win their playoff game. bet $5 to win $150. only on fanduel, america's number one sportsbook. all right, here we go. it's wednesday, january 19th. it's 5:00 a.m. in new york. thanks for getting an "early start" with us. i'm christine romans. >> good morning, christine. i'm laura jarrett. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. a lot to get to this morning. we start this morning with the former president's legal woes mounting, with three major new developments in just the last 24 hours. in the push to hold trump, his family and friends and his name sake company accountable