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DHS Will Not Implement Travel Ban; Trump Responds to Travel Ban Halt on Twitter; Protests in 7 Cities over Travel Ban; Changes in Travel Ban Confusing to Airports; Protesters Pressure Companies to Distance Themselves from Trump; Trump Executive Order Could Remove Post-Financial Crisis Protections; Super Bowl Ads Get Political. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired February 4, 2017 - 15:00   ET

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


[11:00:05] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: It is the top of the hour. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow. I want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world.

We have a lot to get to this hour, including breaking news that the Department of Homeland Security is suspending any and all actions related to President Trump's ban on travelers from seven Muslim- majority countries.

Protesters in the United States taking to the streets in major cities at this hour.

This, as the White House promises to challenge a federal judge's ruling blocking that ban nationwide. President Trump tweeting earlier today, quote, "When a country is no longer able to say who can and who cannot come in and out, especially for reasons of safety and security, big trouble." He also tweeted this. "The opinion of the so-called judge, which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned." It's important to note, a sitting president questioning the legitimacy of a federal judge like this is pretty unprecedented.

In the meantime, many airlines are letting travelers, previously caught in the ban, board flights bound for the United States.

We have a team of reporters and analysts covering every angle of this fight, which could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Let's begin coverage this hour with Jessica Schneider live outside of Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where the president is this weekend.

Jessica, the Trump administration making it very clear today they will fight this all the way up to the Supreme Court if they have to. Any timeline on when they will take their next action?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, we've heard President Trump talk out about this. We saw it on Twitter this morning. President Trump remaining in his contention that this was well within the bounds of his executive authority as president. We saw his tweets, ranging from defiant to derogatory. Not sure what the next steps are, but we do know they're waiting for the Department of Justice to file the stay of this temporary restraining order that has not been done just yet.

But the White House has issued a statement in addition to Donald Trump's tweeting that happened this morning. That White House statement coming out last night. I'll read it to you. In part, it says, "At the earliest possible time, the Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay of this order and defend the executive order of the president, which we believe is lawful and appropriate. The president's order is intended to protect the homeland. He has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people."

Notably, this statement came out from Press Secretary Sean Spicer last night, late in the evening, after the order was issued by the federal court judge in Seattle. And it initially contained the wording "outrageous order," but moments later, they rescinded that and issued a new statement and merely left it at "order," but it mirrors the inflammatory messaging by the president himself when he tweeted today talking about this ridiculous order by this, quote, "so-called judge."

And as we've seen in the succession of weekends, three weekends now since Donald Trump took the presidency, there continues to be a range of issues that have confronted the White House, they've had to speak out about it, Donald Trump has tweeted about it.

And now we're expecting protests right here at Mar-a-Lago right in West Palm Beach. A few hundred people expected to arrive here in the coming hours. Of course, the International Red Cross ball will be happening at Mar-a-Lago. So, a lot swirling out here for the White House to contend with but right now, they're focused on that order -- Poppy?

HARLOW: Jessica Schneider, thank you for the reporting.

All of these events are happening so quickly, the travel ban, the halting of the ban, visas being revoked and visas being reinstated, it's making more, needless to say, confusion at the nation's airport, especially those with a number of international arrivals.

Brynn Gingras is at JFK, here in New York. Also with me, CNN aviation and government regulations correspondent, Rene Marsh.

And, Brynn, let me begin with you.

What are people saying either traveling abroad or that are arriving, do they have clarity on the ruling?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not exactly, Poppy. And the message from refugee agency, advocates is to get into the country immediately if you have a visa, but easier said than done at this point. As you can imagine, people that do have visas, there is confusion about which airline is going to accept them. And there's also a process in place. It's not always easy for people who have visas to get that reinstated after it was revoked just a week ago. So, there is sort of a wheels in motion, but it's not exactly fast enough. But again, the message is to get here as fast as they can.

We are seeing a number of lawyers. They were here last week and all through the week here at JFK in terminal four, the international arrival. They're in direct communication with a number of families overseas who are trying to get here. And they've also been in direct communication with a number of airlines. Some airlines, most of the U.S. airlines and some of the bigger international airlines are, you know, listening to the order that they can allow people back in with a visa. And other airlines, some of the smaller ones, from what they're telling us, are confused on the language and so their best advice, what they're telling people, is to call and make sure they can get on the plane and to do it as fast as they can -- Poppy?

[15:05:32] HARLOW: Exactly because of the White House, they'll fight this, and if they get a stay, then it goes back to the way it was 24 hours ago.

Rene, the Department of Homeland Security going -- saying this is, quote, "Back to business as usual," right? How are, not just they, but all of these affected agencies dealing with all of the changes that really are hour to hour?

MARSH: Well, at this point, I mean, the airlines, U.S. major airlines, foreign and domestic, they're going to go with the guidance that they got from CBP, the Customs and Border Protection. We have that clarity from the federal government on what this temporary lift of the travel ban means for passengers and airlines. We didn't have an official statement from them last night. We do have it now. We do know, as you said, Poppy, Customs and Border Protection told airlines on a conference call just last night that it is, quote, "Business as usual" in terms of entry into the United States. And it is, quote, "As if the executive order never existed."

Since that guidance, airlines have taken down travel alerts from their websites and have been trying to get the word out to customers that people with visas that are otherwise valid are free to board U.S.- bound planes.

We did see a tweet from one immigration attorney in Chicago this morning. He said he witnessed Customs and Border Protection allowing passengers with visas and green cards to board flights.

A reminder though, this is a temporary lift. So, we still have a ways to go. But you're right, this isn't resolved. Things could change again, and airlines are fully aware of that, that things could change again due to another court order. But as you just heard Brynn say, immigration attorneys are telling people, if you have valid visa, now is the time to go.

HARLOW: Brynn Gingras, Rene Marsh, thank you very much. Obviously, we'll stay on top of this as it changes hour to hour here.

Let's talk about the legal challenges, the implications and the precedents we're looking at here this weekend. Jonathan Turley is with me. He's a professor of law at Georgetown,

also a constitutional law scholar.

Let me get you to address this, first. What's surprising to me is that White House came at opposition last night but haven't done anything legally about it. Do you get the sense they did not have a motion for an emergency appeal ready?

JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR OF LAW, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY & CONSTITUTIONAL LAW SCHOLAR: We saw two blunders, which is surprising with a high-profile controversy. First, I would have had an emergency appeal ready to go. They clearly didn't. And that undermines their case with courts if they're saying that this is an imminent national security matter. It's odd if they wait a few days or over 24 hours to file an emergency motion. It should have been ready to go within minutes of that order coming down.

The second mistake is they overestimated the number of visas that had been court ordered by a little over 40 percent. Those are the types of mistakes you don't often see in high-profile cases.

HARLOW: You've got this ruling by the federal judge in Washington State but then also have a ruling by a judge in Boston refusing to extend the temporary restraining order in Massachusetts. So just explain for our viewers why the Washington judge's ruling gets precedent and if another federal judge can reverse this?

TURLEY: Well, it really doesn't get precedent or doesn't trump the other judge, no pun intended. The point is that the Boston judge refused to stay this executive order. He concluded that President Trump has this authority. The other judge disagreed and ordered a nationwide temporary restraining order. Two judges reached different conclusions. That's not unheard of in a matter of legal controversy. But the judge that issued the national restraining order is the one that has the power here to stop these enforcement measures from being carried out. It is within his authority to do that.

[15:10:01] HARLOW: So then what happens? Do you believe that we could see a standoff, essentially, between the president and the courts, some of the highest courts in this nation, something we haven't seen in decades?

TURLEY: Well, we are still a nation of law. And despite the overheated rhetoric, the courts have intervened, and they're reviewing this matter.

I think, if anything, the law favors President Trump on this. I think his attorneys probably told him that. But this will be reviewed and likely be taken up on appeal, and it could very well be appealed to the Supreme Court.

HARLOW: Right.

TURLEY: The thing to keep in mind is this could also become moot because this is a temporary suspension, that time may run out. But in the interim, we're going to have differing opinions. There's good- faith recommendations on both sides.

HARLOW: And when you say that the law is on the president's side, you believe in this, you're citing the same law that Sean Spicer, the White House spokesman, cited in his response last night, right, saying that whenever they find any aliens or class of aliens to the U.S. who would be detrimental to the interest of the United States, he would essentially stop them from coming?

TURLEY: Well, first of all, I objected to this executive order. I don't particularly like it, and I think it's a mistake. But the existing law goes beyond just bad immigration statute. The president is found to have petitory authority by the Supreme Court, which describes power on our borders.

Moreover, I think the other side is overstating a bit the authority they're using to challenge this. There's a 1965 law that they're relying on. That law doesn't deal with refugees. It also has an exception for changes in procedures.

And finally, I don't think any court can really treat this like a Muslim ban, even though people keep on talking about as such. It's not legally a Muslim ban. And usually, the court does not get into motivation and it doesn't speculate as to where this may take us. It looks at solely at whether the president can do what he just did.

HARLOW: And that's exactly what that judge in Boston said when he refused to extend the temporary restraining order.

Jonathan, thank you for your expertise. We appreciate it.

TURLEY: Thank you.

HARLOW: Coming up for us, the political fallout from the president's ban being put on hold, and how the White House is handling it.

Also, from London to Sydney, protests held around the world, voices raised from the U.S. president.

And on the cover of magazines, the story behind this eye-catching image.

Plus, political football.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Welcome to America.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You're not wanted here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: How Super Bowl advertisers are wading into the immigration debate, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:16:00] HARLOW: President Trump is criticizing the federal judge who ruled to temporarily half his travel ban. The president tweeting today, quote, "The opinion of the so-called judge, which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned." It's not unusual for presidents to weigh in on court decisions, however, it's highly unusual for the commander-in-chief to publicly criticize the judge himself.

With me to debate, CNN political commentator and opinion columnist for "The New York Times," Charles Blow; and James Carafano, with the Heritage Foundation and worked on President Trump's transition team, on foreign policy and Homeland Security, right up until the inauguration.

Thank you both for being here.

JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Good to be with you.

James, let me begin with you.

Regarding that tweet, undermining the legitimacy of a sitting federal judge, calling him a "so-called judge." And it's not the first time. I mean, this is a president who, during the campaign attacked Judge Curiel, overseeing the Trump University case. He said he couldn't make fair rulings because he was, quote, "Mexican." Not true. This judge was American-born in Indiana. What do you make of attacks like these and what they do to our judicial system?

CARAFANO: I don't pay attention because I do policy, not politics. Government, 99 percent of government is like the iceberg. It's what's beneath the water and what actually makes policy and implements policy. And the stuff that people talk about and tweets, I just don't pay attention to it because --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: You don't pay attention to what the president of the United States tweets?

CARAFANO: That's true. I used to never listen to Obama's speeches either. There's a reason for that. That's rhetoric. I'm not dismissing rhetoric. I'm not saying it's not important. But if you're a policy analyst, and you're looking at what the government actually does, what you do is you look at what the government actually does.

HARLOW: This is a president who said we're a nation of laws. This is about law and order, about what the nation is about, but you're undermining -- is he not undermining the legal system that we have by questioning the ability of two federal judges to do their jobs?

CARAFANO: That's your interpretation of the rhetoric. I look at what the government did. If the government ignored the judge's ban, or if the government contravened the law, I would say we're not a nation of laws, but if you want to debate political rhetoric, then find somebody who likes to debate politics. HARLOW: Charles, you like to debate politics. Your take?

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It says a lot about Trump himself and whether or not he sees the judicial branch of the government as truly independent or whether or not he feels like he is able to attack whenever he does not get a favorable ruling. And that's really interesting because Trump is no stranger to the court system. He has been in the court system over his lifetime, thousands of times, suing or being sued. He's intimate with judges, for better or for worse. And this idea -- this is a person who is appointed one Supreme Court justice and they get more than that, who knows. There are 80-plus federal judgeships open now. That's 10 percent of all federal judgeships. If you have a person who looks at federal judges and says, if I don't like the way that you rule, then you are illegitimate, that person, then you have to ask yourself, is that person the person you want filling the 80-plus federal judgeships out there? Because you do want those people to behave in a way that's independent of any other branch of government and to feel like they're insulated from the source of attacks by the commander-in-chief.

HARLOW: James, talking about the travel ban and the justification of the administration has used for it, to keep this country more safe, in the last 48 hours, we saw that knife attack at the Louvre in Paris, and the president tweeted about it. He said, "A new radical Islamic terrorist attacked the Louvre Museum in Paris. Locked down, on edge. Get smart U.S."

But here's the issue. When you look at the origin of the attacker, this was a resident of the UAE. He had a Saudi visa and was an Egyptian national. None are part of the travel ban. Does that undermine the president's argument in that tweet? What do you think he was saying in that tweet?

[15:20:25] CARAFANO: I'm not going to speak for the president. You'll have to ask the president. But I've worked on these issues for over a decade and a half. What we've seen is, if you show me one path of terrorist travel, that's a path of terrorist travel. And if you go back to the original 9/11 Commission report on terrorist travel, not the 9/11 report, but the addendum, the one that looked at terrorist travel, you see terrorists try to travel every means possible, and you have to have a robust tool kit to deal with all of those things. So, to say this terrorist didn't use the method you're defending against doesn't invalidate it. Right? You want to cover --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: Using it as justification for this ban when none of the countries --

(CROSSTALK)

CARAFANO: OK, well if you're not going to let me answer the question, we can't have a dialogue here.

So, the purpose of this executive order is to deal with an emerging threat. We have tens of thousands of foreign flyers flow into Iraq and Syria, different than the person you just mentioned. As ISIS reduces space, those people have to flow somewhere. Everybody believes they'll flow to six of the countries, and Iran, which is known as the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. So the executive order whether you like it or not is designed to deal with the outflow of foreign fighters which, oh, by the way, have used both the refugee pipeline and visa to leave countries and do terrorist attacks. Principally, we've seen it in Europe.

HARLOW: Charles Blow, I'd like your response to that. And to look at this. This is the cover of one of the most influential publication in Germany, and this is how they're depicting this ban as the president cutting off the head of this Statue of Liberty. It is inflammatory, meant to spark debate? What do you think this does to the United States on the world stage?

BLOW: There's multiple levels here. One is the issue of whether or not having a ban on these particular countries actually helps to increase the safety of America or actually makes America less safe by inflaming tensions already in those areas by making it harder for those countries to cooperate. Some of them do cooperate with the United States and help to fight alongside the United States soldiers, and whether or not that will continue with the same rate that it is.

There's also the international perception issue here and whether or not people can use this as a propaganda tool, whether in those countries or in other ones to recruit people who may have problems with the United States, or whether they're justified or not, whatever, who cares? But recruit people into an ideology that radicalizes even more people.

But then there's also, on the American side, the economic, the raw economics of it, there are brilliant people in the world. We want more of those brilliant people working for us, adding to our intellectual capital, adding to our economy, rather than staying in their countries and adding to the intellectual capital and the economies of those countries.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: So, Charles, what do you make of the fact -- the CNN polling -- I think we can pull it up. I think it shows a fairly even divide on how people feel about the travel ban. 53 percent opposed to it, 47 percent favor it.

BLOW: Well, I mean, these kinds of polls -- I mean, I separate out polling issues, right? So, this is more complicated issue. And I'm always wanting to ask what do you know about it before you ask to give your opinion about it.

You have to remember, the vast majority of the country lives in places where immigrants do not flow to, particularly immigrants from those particular kinds of countries. Those people generally come to the coast and the border states. And a lot of places in the middle have no contact, so they don't see the benefit of it, and they don't have neighbors and coworkers who are part of that immigrant group. They don't -- it's a lot harder to empathize with those people if you have no kind of contact with them.

So, when I was questions like that, I want to ask, what do you know about the issue? Do you live or work around immigrants? Is this affecting anybody that you know?

HARLOW: I've got to leave it there.

James Carafano, nice to have you on.

CARAFANO: Thank you.

HARLOW: Charles Blow, thank you as swell.

[15:24:35] HARLOW: Coming up, millions affected by the president's travel ban order. But coming up, you'll meet a young Iraqi boy separated from his parents as his life hangs in the balance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: One judge's ruling with potential to affect millions of people around the world. As we wait to see how the legal fight over President Trump's travel ban will unfold, let's focus for a moment on a single story of a family trying to be a family in these difficult times.

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They give you little gas heaters. And if you don't unclog it, a fire breaks out. And by the time they got him, the plastic melted and got on his face and feet.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was Deberine Mussin's (ph) first birthday, Iraq, January 4, 2016. In an instant, the soft cartilage of his nose, lips and most of his face ravaged. The images are tough to see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You realize there's something different about him, and it's sad because these kids, they're scared of him.

GUPTA: The name Deberine (ph) means wounded heart. And his story is complicated.

(SHOUTING)

GUPTA: It's a story of being trapped. This Yazidi family fleeing from ISIS to this refugee camp, and now trapped in the United States without his parents.

This woman is not his Deberine's (ph) mother or a relative. She is simply a kind stranger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

[15:30:00] GUPTA: Deberine's (ph) parents, a world away. We tracked them down in northern Iraq.

"It's really hard," his father said. "He's a little boy. He needs his parents."

GUPTA: So, what happened here? Well, after the fire and burns, the British aid group Road to Peace arranged for Deberine (ph) and his father, Ajeel (ph), to come to Shriner's Hospital for Children in Boston. That was for the first of a series of operations to slowly release the contractures of chin and lower lip allowing him to take a bottle again.

But with his wife about to give birth back in Iraq, Ajeel (ph) couldn't stay and begged Ablay (ph) to watch after the son.

(on camera): And at that point, they say, take care of the bairn. We'll be back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So they say, we'll be back four to six weeks, the most, because they weren't sure of the due date for his wife. Six weeks go by, and then a month, two months, and now we're at three month.

GUPTA (voice-over): When Deberine's (ph) little brother was born, the day after the election, his parents, grateful the United States provided medical care, decided to name the newborn son Trump. That's right, Trump Ajeel Mohsin (ph).

"We wanted to show our appreciation to America for what they're doing for our boy. That's why we named him Trump."

Then, despite being approved, in early January, their visas were revoked. They were in Iraq. 2-year-old Deberine (ph) was in the United States.

His father said, "They didn't give us visas because they thought we would go there and stay. We want to finish our son's treatment and then return home."

CNN did reach out to the State Department for comment and were told, quote, "We are not able to discuss the details of any visa case."

And then things got even worse.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America.

GUPTA: President Trump likely made it impossible that his namesake, along with mom and dad, will travel to the United States anytime soon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what we're afraid of. They have to wait 90 days, which Baby Bairn doesn't have. He needs it as soon as possible.

GUPTA (on camera): What's the sentiment or emotion? Are they angry?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not really. Just sad and hopeless. They don't know what to do.

GUPTA: Do you think there will be an exception made?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're praying for that.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HARLOW: Of course, we'll stay on this. We're watching to see what happens next.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, incredible reporting. Thank you.

Also, one family receiving great news today. The State Department will allow 4-month-old Fatima Rashad and her family get the medical help she desperately needs. Look at that face. She's from Iran and she needs heart surgery here in the United States to save her life. She and her family were on their way to the United States a few days ago, when the travel ban turned them back. Now she will be able to come back to the U.S. to receive the care that she needs.

Coming up, speak out or stay silent. The nation's top CEOs in a very tricky situation over the president's travel ban. That's next, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But also, the thousands and thousands of people who have --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

[15:36:27] HARLOW: All right, updating you on the breaking news right now. New protests erupting in cities nationwide as the White House promises to fight the ruling to put the temporary hold on the immigration ban. The ban had prevented citizens from these seven majority-Muslim countries from coming into the United States, putting the president at odds with not only some of the chorus, but the biggest names in business. This week, the CEO of Uber backed out attending the president's business policy forum. While others, including the founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, defended his decision to meet with the president along with a lot of other CEOs.

Joining me, "CNN Money's" Cristina Alesci is with me now.

Cristina, there was a trending hashtag --

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: -- basically, delete Uber, because, you know, they want to hear some of the CEOs speaking out against the president but most wanted to meet with them.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNN MONEY CORRESPODNENT: Most of them did. The reason the CEOs are under pressure is because they try to have it both ways. On the one hand, they try to be in the room, make sure they can influence policy, but when there's tough controversies over the policies, then they don't really want to answer the tough questions of the issue with a statement that's kind of bland, that's walking the line.

Ultimately, however, they're going to have to understand how to deal with this because that's not the first meeting and it's not going to be the last meeting with CEOs. It's an ongoing conversation between corporate America and Donald Trump. And these CEOs that are consumer facing, they're not just a random manufacturer, these are brads that consumers could buy or boycott.

HARLOW: Ford CEO spoke out this week. Let's listen to how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK FIELDS, CEO, FORD MOTOR COMPANY: When we see policies that are counter to our values, we don't support. In this case, we don't support the president's policy. There are a number other policies the president has which we do support but, in this case, we do not support this one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: I asked him, will you go to the White House and meet with the president? He said, yes, we will. So, they're walking this line. But other big companies and big entities, like a lot of Hollywood studios, staying mum.

ALESCI: They totally are. This goes back to the complications around the issue. I don't think Mark Fields is on the advisory council, so he doesn't have the relationship where he's in the room all the time or, you know, on a monthly basis or quarterly basis, and, you know, having not to speak out. So, that's the problem here.

But the risks for these companies especially for the CEOs who sit on that advisory council, the risk for them is this president doesn't seem to have a problem attacking specific companies.

HARLOW: Endlessly.

ALESCI: Right. And then the company CEO has to sit there and watch potentially their stock price react to a tweet from the president.

HARLOW: Or potentially face, they he could be concerned about, unfavorable relations. They also want to lobby for regulations that help their businesses.

The president this week reacting to a strong jobs report, 4.8 percent unemployment. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: 227,000 jobs, great spirit, great country right now. And we're very happy about that. I think it's going to continue big league. We're bringing it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Who deserves credit?

ALESCI: Technically, these jobs were created while Obama -- or the majority of them were created, while Obama was president, right? What Trump's camp will argue is they'll say, listen, business confidence has increased since Trump has won the election and perhaps influenced some hiring decisions. But based on my reporting, a lot of CEOs and hiring managers want to see what will happen with trade agreements. They want to see what will happen with tax reform. And until those two big questions are answered, they're not going to make big capital investments and put money at risk.

[15:40:32] HARLOW: One thing i do not think is getting enough attention is the fact that there was this executive -- well, as you say, sort of a press release, sort of a fancy press release issued yesterday having to do with Wall Street regulations or Dodd-Frank. They could essentially dismantle it. This is a big deal and a lot of folks aren't talking about it today because this comes from the guy who ran on an anti-Wall Street platform and for the little guy.

ALESCI: That's exactly right. There's some irony here, because there weren't too much specifics in the executive order, but he may unravel very important consumer protections that emerged post-financial crisis and now Trump is indicating he may remove some of them. For example, brokers, post-financial crisis, were supposed to act in the best interest of their clients. Trump may take aim at that specific law.

HARLOW: And the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a number of these other things.

Christina on it.

Thank you. Glad to have you, Christina. We appreciate it.

I'll also point to this. We have a new podcast that's launching, "Boss Files." This launches February 16th. We sit down with business leaders, CEOs from around the world and talk about their failures, successes, and solutions to America's growing income gap. You can subscribe to them on iTunes, Stitcher, Android, and Amazon Echo.

Coming up for us, countdown to Super Bowl LI. The Pats and Falcons counting down to big game in Houston.And so is our very own Coy Wire.

Tough assignment, my friend.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Ms. Poppy Harlow. My goodness, nearly tens of thousands of people here at discovery green at Super Bowl LI, live in downtown Houston.

I'll go try to find a nice clean place and we'll break down all things on the big game coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [15:45:58] HARLOW: We're just one day away from the biggest night in America, at least for television ratings. Not debate night, not election night, we're talking about the Super Bowl, Super Bowl LI. More than 100 million of you expected to watch the Falcons take on the Pats tomorrow.

Coy Wire has the tough assignment of being in Houston with a preview.

Hello, my friend.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miss Poppy. There are about 40,000 people in downtown Houston. A lot of celebrities like Lady Gaga who will be on the halftime show and Luke Bryan singing the national anthem. One notable we found out scheduled to attend. Vice President Mike Pence. The Super Bowl already tagged as a top-tier national security event by the Department of Homeland Security. Federal officials have been planning for months to make sure Houston's NRG Stadium and surrounding areas were secure for tomorrow's game. But and former President George H.W. Bush and Barbara in attendance, as well part of the honorary coin toss.

Let's take a sneak peek at something special happening in Houston. NFL stars Sean McCoy and Jarvis Landry and others, teaming with Nike to leverage the power of sports to infuse hope to youngsters. They aim to revitalize an historic class between the rivalry between Yates and Wheatley High School. It was the largest attended high school football game with 30,000-plus gathering to cheer on the two predominantly African-American high schools, but the communities on rough times. And when the football program suffered, the community suffered more. The last three days, the kids had inspiration night with current and former NFL stars highlighting their history. They were surprised with new uniforms and spent time with some of the heroes on the football field, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FOOTBALL PLAYER: Let them know that it's OK to be yourself and have fun playing this game. I think it's a combination that anything is possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FOOTBALL PLAYER: I was their age, and wish somebody was in my neighborhood or back in my hometown doing this. A big shout-out to Nike and all of the people that made this possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Poppy, talking to some of the NFL stars, they said, we don't have to be here, but we get to be here. They're totally embracing this environment. Thousands and thousands of folks from all around the country. coming to support their favorite. They want to be part of it all.

Poppy, I have something especially for you.

HARLOW: Yeah?

WIRE: I can't wait to show you. That's coming up in the next hour. Oh, yeah.

HARLOW: I can't wait to see it my friend.

Coy Wire, have fund. We'll see you next hour.

Coming up, football and politics collide. A look at the Super Bowl ads trying to tiptoe the lines in a tense political environment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:32] HARLOW: All right. This just in, President Trump tweeting a new reaction to a judge's order halting his immigration ban. Here's what he tweeted, "What's our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into the United States?"

And with tensions running high over the president's immigration crackdown, even Super Bowl ads are getting pretty political this year.

Here to talk about it, CNN senior media correspondent, host of "Reliable Sources," Brian Stelter.

Let's begin with this. There was this ad, there is this ad coming from 84 Lumber a Pennsylvania construction company. The commercial was supposed to show a Spanish-speaking mother and daughter confronting a border wall between United States and Mexico. That's not the version that's going to air. Why?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, REALIABLE SOURCES: At the end of the commercial that was going to be a real wall, the question of whether they were able to enter or not, FOX decided, in accordance with its own broadcast standards, they didn't want that part of the ad running. Every network gets to decide the content of ads, especially political ads or ads that could be controversial. So, in this case, the company decided to cut off the end of the ad, leaving it a mystery on whether the family crosses or not. We're seeing the unedited web version.

Sometimes, Poppy, companies come up with these ads on purpose to test the boundaries. Remember the Go Daddy ads --

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: -- that were sexualized?

HARLOW: Yes.

STELTER: In this case, they're coming out with very political ads. Budweiser also doing it.

HARLOW: Let's listen to part of Budweiser's ads. They're getting a lot of attention because it focuses on the hardship that their founder faced when he immigrated to this country. Let's roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You don't look like you're from around here.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: i want to brew beer.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Welcome to America.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: You're not wanted here. Go back home!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: What is Budweiser saying about the motivation for the ad? Let's not forget, this is a $5 million expense for a 30-second ad.

STELTER: That's right. $5 million for every 30 seconds. FOX reaching, charging a record amount of money for these ads. Budweiser says this immigration ad is completely coincidence, it has nothing to do with the current political climate.

HARLOW: Really?

STELTER: I don't know about that. I think when you're spending $5 million you make really conscious choices about how you're spending that. But that's what Budweiser is saying. It makes for an interesting controversy and i think it will get people talking at their Super Bowl parties.

[15:55:14] HARLOW: The halftime show is Lady Gaga.

STELTER: Speaking of getting people talking.

HARLOW: Any indication if she'll make a political statement?

STELTER: I don't think there's no way she'll avoid it. I think there's no way she won't. The producers of these shows, the halftime producers, they want drama and excitement. But they want it to be appealing to everybody. So, Lady Gaga may not get up there and say something that's completely anti-Trump. But we've got to expect she'll have some statement. Maybe it's what she's wearing, maybe it's what she's doing. I'm sure she has plenty to say this time tomorrow.

HARLOW: Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

HARLOW: We'll watch "Reliable Sources" tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m.

STELTER: Thanks.

HARLOW: We're following protests live all around the country in cities like New York and Washington and Miami. People marching in the streets in the third week of the Trump presidency. We'll show you the protests and talk about the legal battle over the president's executive order on immigration.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[16:59:50] HARLOW: Top of the hour, 4:00 p.m. eastern. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow, in New York.

We begin this hour with breaking news. The Department of Homeland Security suspending any and all actions related to President Trump's ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. Airlines at the hour are being told to go back to business as usual as if the ban never existed. Protesters, as you can see, taking to the streets in major cities across the country.