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DHS: December Saw Highest Number Of Migrant Encounters Since 2000; Heavy Snow, Blizzard Conditions Across Plains, Midwest; Florida GOP Votes To Remove Chairman Amid Scandal; Hezbollah Commander Killed In Israeli Strike; "Oppenheimer, "Succession," "The Bear" Win Big At Golden Globes. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 08, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:31:54]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Right now, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is at the U.S. border with Mexico meeting with officials and what's being called an operational visit for immigration Enforcement. His trip follows a huge surge in migrant crossings last month, the largest in more than two decades. Border authorities say they encountered more than 225,000 migrants in December. That's more than 10,000 daily. And right now, more than 11,000 migrant children are in U.S. government custody.

With us now, we have Republican Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne of Texas. Congresswoman thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. Obviously, a lot of focus right now among Republicans about impeaching Secretary Mayorkas. What is the case for doing that?

Congresswoman, can you hear me? I think we might -- I think we might be having a technical issue here. We're going to try. All right. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to be right back to talk about this key issue of Immigration see you in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:35]

KEILAR: We're trying to work out some technical issues there to get Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne of Texas back with us, but we're not working them out quickly enough to get her out the door to her flight so that she can do that. So, we're going to have her back to talk about this all-important issue of immigration on another day.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes. Meantime, we're tracking a ton of other stories, including Jonathan Majors breaking his silence. The once rising Hollywood star gave his first interview since a jury convicted him last month of harassment and reckless assault.

Majors says he was reckless with his ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari's heart, but never physically abused her. And he admits the relationship was toxic and unhealthy. That's the word he used, unhealthy, but says he was shocked by the verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JONATHAN MAJORS, ACTOR: I was, uh, I was absolutely shocked and, um, afraid. When the verdict comes down, I say, how, how, how is, how is that possible? Based off the evidence, based off the prosecution's evidence, let alone our evidence, how is that possible? I shouldn't have been in the car. I shouldn't have stepped out of the relationship.

I shouldn't have been in the relationship. If I'm not in the car, none of this is happening. If I leave the relationship, none of this is happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Major's is facing up to a year in jail. He says he plans to appeal. Sentencing is next month.

SANCHEZ: Now, some of the other headlines we're watching this hour today, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former top administration voice on the COVID pandemic, began the first of two days of closed door questioning by Republican led House subcommittee members on the pandemic. The lawmakers plan to grill Fauci for 14 hours, focusing on the origins of COVID-19 vaccines, mask mandates, and his role in the government's response. The panel says that Fauci has also agreed to testify at a public hearing on the pandemic later this year.

KEILAR: Also, a huge winter storm is bringing dangerous weather to the central and eastern U.S. today. Heavy snow and blizzard conditions already sweeping across the plains and the Midwest. A tornado watch has just been issued for Houston. This is the first of what will likely be several tornado watches today and tonight along the Gulf Coast.

[15:40:00]

While the south and north northeast are bracing for a serious flood threat with strong winds and the possibility of widespread power outages. More than 100 million people are under wind alerts through tomorrow.

SANCHEZ: And today the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to a California law banning the sale of flavored tobacco products in that state. In 2020, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a ban on all flavored tobacco products including menthol cigarettes and flavored vaping products. The ban was in response to concerns about a rise in e-cigarette and tobacco use by teenagers.

KEILAR: And still to come, the Republican Party of Florida voting to oust its chairman amid a sexual assault investigation. We'll have more on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:04]

KEILAR: We are learning the Republican Party of Florida has removed its chairman as he faces a sexual assault investigation. GOP leadership met this afternoon to formally vote on ousting Christian Ziegler. He was suspended and stripped of his duties last month. But the embattled party leader refused to step down. Police are investigating a rape accusation against Ziegler. He has maintained his innocence and has not yet been charged.

Let's go to CNN's Carlos Suarez in Tallahassee with the latest here. Carlos, what can you tell us?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, Christian Ziegler had few, if any, allies. In the end, the vote to remove him wasn't even close. 199 to 3 said that Christian Ziegler had to go as chair of the Florida Republican Party.

Party officials across the state of Florida, from Governor Ron DeSantis to Florida's two senators, as well as Florida congressmen, including Matt Gaetz, all wanted to see Ziegler go since the details of that sex scandal first broke back in October.

These allegations that Ziegler sexually assaulted a woman, that he'd had a previous consensual sexual encounter, along with his wife, Bridget Ziegler, the former co-founder of the Moms for Liberty group.

It is important to note here that Christian Ziegler has not been charged criminally. He was not in attendance at today's meeting, and so far, he has not commented on his ouster.

Now, we're told from party officials that really, they are just trying to get past this sex scandal. They said that we are now in a presidential year. There is also the start of the Florida legislative session, which gets underway tomorrow. And so, they really want to put all of this sex scandal behind them.

Here now is the new chairman of the Florida Republican Party, as well as other top Republicans here in Florida, talking about today's move.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN POWER, CHAIRMAN, FLORIDA REPUBLICAN PARTY: I think it's a blip on the radar. I think we're going to be able to pick up today, fundraising-wise, and move the party forward. So I don't think it's going to be a long-term impact. I think you're going to see us win big again in November.

MICHAEL THOMPSON, CHAIRMAN, LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA GOP: You know, we elected Christian to represent us, you know, and you know, he didn't, you know, do the best that he could have, you know.

So, he had to go. It's all about accountability in today's world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Carlos, how does this affect Florida Republicans? What does this mean for them?

SUAREZ: Yes, well, as you kind of heard there, Evan was talking about, he acknowledged really in some of his answers after he was elected chairman, that he felt that the party has taken a bit of a hit when it comes to fundraising, though he said that a part of the reason that they believe that was the case is simply because there was uncertainty with this leadership.

Now, Evan Power is no stranger to trying to get to this position. He served as vice chair under Christian Ziegler. In fact, he ran against him the last time around and he lost. And he was also one of the first folks to call for Christian to step down because of all of these allegations.

Again, Brianna, the officials that we talked to out here for the better part of the day, as well as the weeks before we got to this, all told me they really believe that there was nothing Christian Ziegler could say at this point. They really did not want to hear anything more from him. They simply wanted him to step aside. When he chose not to, they said they really had no choice but to remove him. Again, the vote wasn't even close, 199 to 3 to get him out.

KEILAR: That is lopsided. Carlos Suarez, thank you for that report -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: An Israeli strike has killed a senior militant commander of Hezbollah and his death is stoking fears of a wider war in the Middle East. That's because the commander targeted belonged not to Hamas, but again to its stronger, more organized ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah. What's more, the strike went down not in Gaza, but in Lebanon near the border with Israel. All of this happening as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is more than halfway through a whirlwind tour in the Middle East, trying to keep this conflict from spreading.

Let's turn now to CNN Chief National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt. So, Alex, talk to us about this senior Hezbollah commander that was killed. Who was he?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, his name was Wissam Tawil, and he really was a senior member of Hezbollah.

This is probably the highest profile operation that Israel has carried out against Hezbollah in the past few months since this war broke out back on October 7th. He was hit in a drone strike in southern Lebanon. We've seen these tit-for-tat strikes between Israel and Hezbollah for the past few months.

But not only was this senior commander killed, but as you noted, it comes on the heels of that Hamas leader who was killed in Beirut just last week in another strike by Israel. So, taken together, this really does ratchet up the concerns that a second front could be opened up in northern Israel, that Hezbollah will ramp up their efforts in terms of targeting Israeli forces.

[15:50:06]

Now, we heard from Secretary Antony Blinken, who's crisscrossing the region. He's just arrived in Israel. But before he took off on his flight to Israel, he talked about how it is in no one's interest to see this war expand. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's clearly not in the interest of anyone. Israel, Lebanon, Hezbollah, for that matter, to see this -- to see this escalate and to see an actual conflict. And the Israelis have been very clear with us that they want to find a diplomatic way forward, a diplomatic way forward that creates the kind of security that allows Israelis to return home. Nearly 100,000 Israelis have been forced to leave their homes in northern Israel because of the threat coming from Hezbollah in Lebanon, but also allows Lebanese to return to their homes in southern Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Boris, when you look at the areas of concern in the Middle East outside of Gaza, whether it's the Houthis in Yemen or the Iran- backed groups in Iraq and Syria, U.S. officials have told me repeatedly it is really the potential for that second front with Hezbollah that keeps them up at night.

But now we have Secretary Blinken in Israel. He's got a series of quite a few meetings tomorrow. He said that he will be talking about what he called the absolute imperative to protect civilians. We also know that he's going to be ramping up the pressure for Israel to -- for their military campaign to shift from these high intensity operations to the to lower intensity operations that the U.S. would like to see happen quite soon, Boris.

SANCHEZ: And Alex, there's new video of an Israeli hostage released by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Walk us through that clip.

MARQUARDT: And this is a reminder again, Boris, that it's not just Hamas that is holding these more than 100 hostages. It's a multitude of groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is arguably the second strongest in Gaza.

This is a video of Elad Katzir, a 47-year-old from the kibbutz near Oz. He was kidnapped back on October 7th. Dozens of people from that kibbutz were killed and kidnapped. His father was killed on October 7th. His mother was kidnapped and taken into Gaza. She has since been released.

And in the video, I want to read part of what Katzir said.

He said: I want to tell them, the government of Israel, to get me back, as well as all other hostages and end this damn war. With each day of the war, more soldiers and more hostages are being killed. Stop the war and bring us hostages home in peace.

He talked about fearing for his life and how dangerous it is for the hostages in Gaza. And Boris, I was in Israel just a couple of weeks ago, spoke with hostages who had been released and their families. And they have repeatedly said and told the government that the Israeli military and their campaign are endangering the lives of hostages. There are so many people in Israel who do not believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government are doing enough to bring those hostages home.

And Boris, I can tell you from a lot of reporting, talking with different sources, those hostage talks, they're progressing, but they're not getting anywhere fast. It is not likely that we will see another round of hostage releases anytime soon, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Alex Marquardt, thank you so much for the update. Stay with CNN. We're back in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:57:40]

SANCHEZ: A revamped Golden Globe Awards show served as the unofficial kickoff of awards season last night. The big winners, Succession and last summer's hit films, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," all of them taking home some gold.

KEILAR: That's right. Not only do the Globes kick off awards season, they also serve as a bellwether for films and TV shows likely to be recognized at both the Emmys and the Oscars. David Daniel has a look at the rest of the evening's big winners.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY ALLEN WHITE, MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY: I love you guys so much. I must have done something right in this life to be in your company.

DAVID DANIEL, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER FOR ENTERTAINMENT NEWS (voice-over): Gratitude and collaboration were the themes at the 81st Golden Globe Awards, echoing the solidarity of last year's Actors and Writers strikes. Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri won for "The Bear," which also took Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy.

AYO EDEBIRI, FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, MUSICAL OR COMEDY: That's my family. I love you guys so much. It's an honor to work with you and grow alongside you.

DANIEL (through translator): "Beef" also took three awards for stars Ali Wong and Stephen Young and Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or Made for TV Movie.

LEE SUNG JIN, LIMITED SERIES, ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR MADE FOR TV MOVIE: Our show is actually based on a real road rage incident that actually happened to me, so I'd be remiss not to thank that driver.

DANIEL (through translator): "Succession" was the big TV winner, Best Drama Series and Acting Awards for Kieran Culkin, Matthew Macfadyen, and Sarah Snook.

SARAH SNOOK, FEMALE ACTOR, TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA: This was a team effort. It was always a team and that was what made the show amazing, I think, to be a part of.

LILY GLADSTONE, FEMALE ACTOR, MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA: (SPEAKING IN BLACKFOOT LANGUAGE).

DANIEL (through translator): On the film side, an emotional Lily Gladstone began her speech in her people's Blackfoot language after her win for "Killers of the Flower Moon."

GLADSTONE: And this is for every little res kid, every little urban kid, every little native kid out there who has a dream, who is seeing themselves represented and our stories told by ourselves in our own words.

DANIEL (through translator): "Poor Things" won Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy and Acting Honors for Emma Stone.

EMMA STONE, FEMALE ACTOR, MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY: Willem, Mark, Rami, you made every day an absolute joy.

DANIEL (through translator): The night's big winner was "Oppenheimer," Motion Picture Drama, Original Score, Acting Honors for Robert Downey Jr., and Cillian Murphy.

CILLIAN MURPHY, MALE ACTOR, MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA: One of the most beautiful and vulnerable things about being an actor is that you can't do it on your own.

DANIEL (through translator): And Best Director to Christopher Nolan.

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, DIRECTOR, MOTION PICTURE: I can only accept this on behalf of people. As directors, we bring people together and we try and get them to give their best.

[16:00:00]

DANIEL (through translator): In Hollywood, I'm David Daniel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Anything there you were excited about? The wins there.

SANCHEZ: I didn't watch last night. I was watching the Dolphins get destroyed by Buffalo. It was very depressing. How about you Brianna?

KEILAR: I just watched or I followed online, but I love -- I loved "Beef" and I love "The Bear." So, I was very excited to see those winners. It was a big night.

SANCHEZ: Congrats to them.

KEILAR: Congrats, not to the Dolphins.

All right, "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.