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Tsunami Warning Lifted After 7.0 Quake Off California Coast; Sources: Trump Stands by Hegseth to Lead Pentagon; Defense Secy Pick Hegseth Meeting Senators on Capitol Hill; Police Release New Images of Person of Interest in CEO's Killing. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 05, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:00:45]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: So we are following this breaking news. We're looking at the coast of Northern California because there was a huge 7.0 earthquake that struck about 50 miles off the coast there. Aftershocks now rumbling across California in the wake of this.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: So the quake triggered a tsunami warning for parts of Oregon and Northern California, including the San Francisco Bay Area. You're looking at live pictures right there. The National Tsunami Warning Center issued their warning for a long stretch of coastline. Five million people - that warning, we should note, has just been canceled. CNN's Chad Myers is live in the CNN Extreme Weather Center for us.

So Chad, this warning has now been canceled, but what can you tell us about the threat from the 7.0 quake?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, there still was certainly damage there: Fort Bragg, Crescent City, Eureka, maybe even seeing a little bit. Twenty thousand customers now already without power, so something was shaking. I've seen video on social media of pools sloshing back and forth on land. Also things falling off store shelves. But it was a very large 7.0 and for still now very shallow quake.

Now, the difference between a tsunami creating shake and possibly just a regular slip strike earthquake is will the land on the bottom of the ocean bounce up or go down. And when that happens, you've displaced an awful lot of water. That displaced water makes its way onto the shore as that tsunami.

So for now, with the tsunami warning being canceled, there are tsunami warnings, they are gone. They were here earlier all the way from Oregon, all the way down to San Francisco. It was still a big quake. There's still going to be some damage here on land, even though the good news is most of the shaking did happen offshore.

Now, we're still going to see some significant shaking with this because there will be aftershocks as the afternoon goes by. We've already had a couple of fives, not as big as a seven. And there's typically about 15 sevens per year worldwide. They're typically just not so close to land that this one was. So tsunami warning is done. There was no indication that a wave was generated.

Now, we saw the pictures earlier in Crescent City. The helicopter was there, and you could see the boats coming back into the harbor. And that's when I knew. I said, oh, this is going to get canceled any time now, because the boats already know. The boaters, the sailors, they already know it's time - it's okay for them to come back and that's what we finally have now. Just about three minutes ago, that tsunami warning was canceled officially.

KEILAR: Yes. All right. Chad, thank you so much for keeping an eye on this, obviously very concerned, but good to know it's been canceled. Let's bring in Jeffrey Park, a seismologist and Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Yale University.

What are you seeing as you look at what this quake has wrought and what you hear people describing the feeling of it and some of the pictures of damage?

JEFFREY PARK, PROFESSOR OF EARTH & PLANETARY SCIENCES, YALE UNIVERSITY: Well, what I'm seeing is kind of well predicted by what we know about the tectonics of the area around Eureka, California, you have at Cape Mendocino particularly is the end of the San Andreas Fault that travels all the way up California and ends at Cape Mendocino, where it transitions into the Cascadia Subduction Zone along the coastline.

So there's a big difference in the kind of motion that occurs that can cause earthquakes in that region. And part of that difference is taken up by another fault that goes straight from Cape Mendocino directly offshore, almost perpendicular to the coastline, that has earthquakes that are like the one that occurred today.

That region has had a large number of these types of earthquakes, both small and large, that occur and do not normally cause a lot of damage on land, although they show up on our seismometers. But this one was close enough to do some significant shaking nearby.

Most of the earthquakes on this fault system that's offshore will be strike slip in character. That means that the seafloor will actually be moving horizontally and not vertically. A vertical motion of - associated with an earthquake offshore in the seafloor would cause a tsunami.

[15:05:07]

And any earthquake certainly of this size has the risk of having a significant vertical component. So if a magnitude seven earthquake occurs offshore - that close to the shore - all of the alarms will go up. And it's not too surprising that the tsunami was not damaging. They're probably - will discover in the weeks to come that people who are studying the, you know, small fluctuations in their tidal gauges will see something that small that they'll identify as the tsunami. But it was not going to be tsunami as a damaging force. MARQUARDT: So Jeffrey, this earthquake was about an hour and 20

minutes ago. Since then, we understand there have been around a dozen, at least a dozen aftershocks that have taken place. There have been several in the past few minutes, including a 4.2 magnitude. This is near Petrolia, California. That's in northern California. How worried are you about the - these aftershocks that we've seen in its wake?

PARK: Well, not to the extent that I would worry about another magnitude seven earthquake that would occur very soon, although that does sometimes happen. Most of the time, an aftershock will be a smaller earthquake. But what happens when you have an earthquake of this size is that it tends to redistribute stress on all the other faults that are in the area. And some of those faults on which the stress gets redistributed will have an increase in stress that will induce another earthquake.

So some of the earthquake faults could get better in the region very close to where the rupture occurred, but also in some of the other faults that are in maybe even onshore could have earthquake activity, smaller earthquakes. But because they might occur on land, would be more damaging to the buildings that are above them.

KEILAR: It's so interesting to hear that. People will be watching to see if this does redistribute that stress and mean something else here.

Jeffrey, thank you so much. Really appreciate your insights.

PARK: Yes, thank you.

KEILAR: And joining us now on the phone is Caroline Titus, who is a resident of Ferndale, California.

And Caroline, I saw you online. You were posting as - and I know you're a journalist, so in a former publisher of the paper there, you went through town looking at some of the damage. And it did seem like there were certainly a lot of things knocked off of shelves, at least. What was this like?

CAROLINE TITUS, RESIDENT OF FERNDALE, CA: Well, we're lucky. We're very lucky. There wasn't one plate glass window broken on our historic Main Street, which usually there is with the large earthquakes that can happen up here. So apart from just we're all cleaning up a mess now in our houses, which we're used to, we're extremely lucky. I don't see any major damage, any major structural damage. I did post some huge antique doors of the Victorian Inn across the street from us, which is over 130 years old and those doors came off. One of them came off its hinges. But overall, I think we dodged a bullet.

MARQUARDT: Caroline, we are showing video that you posted on X from inside your house, showing some of the mess that was caused by this earthquake. You say that this is not out of the norm for you. How often does this kind of thing happen?

TITUS: Well, as your geologist was explaining, we live near the Cape - triple junction, but we're a very small rural community. So we're very used to temblors, earthquakes, and we're very tight knit community. So everybody checks on each other. We have a volunteer fire department that goes out. And right now, the sun is shining and businesses are back to normal, just picking up. Restaurants are open.

So it's something, you know, it happens and as I said, we've really dodged a bullet on this one. Consider ourselves lucky.

KEILAR: A beautiful day in Ferndale, it sounds like, as we're getting sort of the primer on the seismic activities that have become normal for you. But you said people were checking in on each other. Tell us about that after this quake.

TITUS: Well, we just live in a very tight knit community, as I said. So everybody just, you know, we run outside and then we check on - we checked on our elderly neighbor and then somebody across the street. And people are helping each other clean up and onward.

MARQUARDT: We've just gotten word that some 10,000 customers are without power in Humboldt County. Caroline, what have you heard from the authorities? Have they been communicative, both - when this warning went into effect and has now since been canceled?

TITUS: We - yes, we have a great warning system. We had a transformer blow a couple of houses down from us and we were out power for, I'm going to say, maybe half an hour. Police chief just drove by and gave me the thumbs up and I gave him the thumbs up.

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So I don't know about the rest of the county. I don't know what's going on. But as far as our little hamlet that's five miles from the Pacific Ocean, we're doing fine.

KEILAR: Yes, you have a lot of mess to clean up, though. We can see from the pictures a lot of things that have fallen inside of houses. So, Caroline, thank you so much for being with us and for sharing your pictures with us, we do appreciate it.

TITUS: Take care. Thank you.

MARQUARDT: And still ahead, the NYPD police released new images of a person of interest wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson. It's - as the manhunt for the shooter intensifies, what we're learning about the investigation that's coming up.

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MARQUARDT: We are keeping a close eye on Capitol Hill where this hour, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are set to speak with Republican lawmakers from both the House and the Senate as their goals for President-elect Donald Trump's newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, begins to take shape. Also on the Hill is Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon.

The former Fox News host has been in and out of meetings all day long, not just today, but yesterday as well, trying to convince Republican senators that he is the right person for that job at the Pentagon.

KEILAR: His road to confirmation, though, is being overshadowed by reports of excessive drinking and sexual and personal misconduct, all allegations that Hegseth denies. CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us in West Palm Beach, Florida.

And, Kristen, despite the controversies, we're hearing that Trump remains confident in his pick. How confident?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna and Alex, I'm not sure if the word confident is 100 percent accurate. I think the better word is that he's sticking by Hegseth. Right now he has determined that he is going to be by Hegseth's side. He called him this morning. He offered his support. Obviously, very different than what we saw when Matt Gaetz was in the running for attorney general. And he called him and told him he didn't have the votes in the Senate, and then Matt Gaetz withdrew his name.

Now, part of that confidence, I'm told, is because none of these senators have been telling Donald Trump or the teams around him that they are a hard no, that, yes, they are hearing these concerns about Hegseth. But no one has said that they will adamantly not vote for Hegseth, meaning that Donald Trump and his team still see a pathway to confirmation.

Now, just a few moments ago, we heard from Hegseth, who essentially is vowing to fight and continue to stay in this process. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, TRUMP'S PICK FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY: You fight, you go do tough things in tough places on behalf of your country, and sometimes that changes you a little bit. And by the grace of God and my Lord and Savior, I had an opportunity to come on up out of it and do great things with great veterans organizations that fought for vets, that fought for reform at the VA, and for war fighters, and at the Fox News Channel to advocate for those very same causes.

And I'm proud of what I fought for. I'm not going to back down from them one bit. I will answer all of these senators' questions, but this will not be a process tried in the media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And I will tell you that one of the things that I was told by sources close to Hegseth was that Donald Trump wanted him to fight and essentially told him that. You can hear there in his voice that he is certainly taking that advice seriously. Now, the other thing that I've heard from these sources is that while Donald Trump is standing by Hegseth, they acknowledge that that could change at any time.

One of the things that could change his support for Hegseth would be another onslaught of media reports, including more allegations of potential sexual harassment or drinking. So far, they have seen this drip, drip, drip of information. Donald Trump has seen all of these media reports and has decided that he will continue to give his support to Hegseth.

But there are a lot of people around Donald Trump who believe that he would likely pull that back if there are more allegations or even more serious allegations. Remember, one of the things that Donald Trump's team told Hegseth after that report that revealed that 2017 sexual assault allegation was that they didn't want any more surprises. Obviously, they have seen the media reports in recent days coming out that just have started to pile on when it comes to these various allegations against Hegseth.

KEILAR: Indeed. Kristen Holmes live for us from West Palm Beach, Florida, thank you for the report.

We have CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger with us now.

Gloria, he's saying that this will not be a process that is tried in the media. But I wonder if when Trump has gone through the approval process for some of his candidates, which is different than normally you would go through, the discovery process does kind of end up ...

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: In the media.

KEILAR: ... in the media.

BORGER: Right.

KEILAR: And I wonder how long Hegseth can withstand that when you have, for instance, notably, someone like Sen. Joni Ernst noticeably not committing to support him.

BORGER: Well, I - look, I think they didn't go through the FBI in the vetting process. And as Kristen has reported, they were surprised by the sexual assault allegation. And nobody wants that, particularly Donald Trump. They were angered by that. They didn't want that. And now there are these other stories about the veterans' organizations and people at Fox News seeing him drinking when he shouldn't have been drinking. So these are issues he's going to have to deal with now. And they're front and center as opposed to what he wants to do with the Defense Department and what changes he wants to make there.

And I think, you know, this is the first hurdle that he's really got to get through.

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And the Trump people are worried that he won't, which is why we hear about a plan B and we hear about DeSantis being ready to go if he's chosen, which, by the way, is a little confusing for some senators. You heard Josh Hawley saying, I don't know who Donald Trump really wants to be secretary of defense.

MARQUARDT: And many were looking to Joni Ernst. BORGER: Yes.

MARQUARDT: And that meeting was very important. Obviously, the Republican majority is not that huge. Ernst, of course, being a combat veteran, a survivor of sexual assault herself. How much do you think her unwillingness to commit to Hegseth is a canary in a coal mine?

BORGER: Well, I think it's very important. I think, you know, what did she say? They had a frank and thorough discussion. You're into diplo- speak. You know what that means in diplomatic terms.

MARQUARDT: Read between the lines.

BORGER: Yes, read between the lines there. Shelley Moore Capito didn't come out saying, yay, I'm going to support him. I think there - I spoke with one Republican senator who really wants to see the FBI report on Hegseth. Now, Hegseth says he welcomes it, so that's good. You've got to see the FBI report. And Sen. Blumenthal is asking for the records from the veterans' organizations to see what went on there, if there were any discrepancies with the finances.

So, you know, there's got to be more that's going to be unearthed. So maybe these senators are holding back until they have more information. And, you know, the Trump people are saying, and this is a refrain we've heard before, I don't want this being tried in the media. You know, this is the media ganging up on him. Well, that's all there is right now, but pretty soon there's going to be more information that they can make judgments with.

KEILAR: Does this speak to the Trump way of doing things, which is to cast people ...

BORGER: Oh, yes.

KEILAR: ... for the narrative that has been constructed or that just is sort of pervasive or out there about them? But when you actually scrutinize someone, you find a lot more sometimes than you bargain for. And ...

BORGER: Right.

KEILAR: ... Trump didn't really have a safety net for that in this case.

BORGER: No, he didn't. Just look at Matt Gaetz. It's a - it was the same story. Matt Gaetz - he made a snap decision on Matt Gaetz. Somebody close to him said, oh, this would be a good idea. They decided it on a plane ride. He casts people. He wants to look at his cabinet like "The Apprentice," right? And he casts people. And Peter Hegseth, he felt, looked the part, was a veteran who had served honorably. And he liked that part about him and he likes Hegseth. And there may be a lot to like about Hegseth. But in their own vetting, they clearly missed a bunch of stuff. And that becomes very problematic.

MARQUARDT: Donald Trump came in saying or after the election has said that he has a mandate. These senators are clearly showing that they're not going to be pushovers. What do you make of their ...

BORGER: Well, it's their job.

MARQUARDT: It is their job.

BORGER: It's their job.

MARQUARDT: But I think there was some expectation that perhaps they might roll over and do what Trump wants to do. But they're showing that they're - that's not what they're going to do.

BORGER: There are some ...

MARQUARDT: Some ...

BORGER: ... there are some Republicans who are saying our job is advice and consent, that's what we're here for. If we can't do that, we shouldn't be in the United States Senate. There are others like Tuberville ...

MARQUARDT: Right.

BORGER: ... who told Manu Raju, you know, it's up to Trump to vet them and we ought to just approve all of his nominees. I don't think that's the way a lot of Republicans think. There may be some who, obviously, presidents have a right to appoint whomever they like. But the Senate's job is to say, wait a minute, we have to give our consent to this. And so I think there are enough of them. You know, you only need three, right?

MARQUARDT: Mm-hmm.

BORGER: To vote no. And so I think there are enough of them there that have questions. And, you know, that's - the question is, when is one person going to come out and say I cannot support ...

MARQUARDT: Right.

BORGER: ... Pete Hegseth, and they haven't heard that yet.

I think if they hear that, they're going to wonder whether that's going to begin snowballing. And that hasn't happened.

KEILAR: Man, to be a fly on the wall of some of these private calls that might be happening about that very question.

BORGER: Well, and Trump hasn't been doing the private calls.

KEILAR: Well, that's a very good point. Yes, we don't see him out there publicly talking ...

BORGER: That's right.

KEILAR: ... about Hegseth.

BORGER: Not yet. KEILAR: Gloria, thank you so much.

BORGER: Mm-hmm.

KEILAR: Really appreciate it.

And still ahead, rebel forces in Syria are making major gains and they're forcing a big move by the Syrian army. So we'll talk about what this could mean for the already unstable region.

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MARQUARDT: There are new clues in the search for the gunman accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a source telling CNN that investigators managed to lift a fingerprint from a water bottle found near the crime scene, but the print is smudged, which could make it harder to identify the suspect.

In the meantime, officials now say that they have a person of interest. These new images that you're looking at were taken at a hostel before the shooting. Employees there saying that a guest wearing a jacket and mask identical to the gunman's had been staying at the hostel with two other people. Let's get straight to CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst, John Miller.

So, John, what do you make of these images and how much will they play into how quickly law enforcement can find the suspect?

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JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I think it may be a giant difference, Alex ...