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Trump Defends Hegseth over Strikes; Lawmakers Review Strike in Caribbean; New Winter Storm Threatens Travel Disruptions; Sevent Million Americans under Winter Storm Alerts; Scott Dresser is Interviewed about Amazon Robotics. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 01, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

MADISON MILLS, SENIOR MARKETS REPORTER, "AXIOS": Like gold.

But what's been fascinating over the course of this year is what's been driving gold hasn't necessarily been about safety. It's really been about central banks around the world trying to untether themselves from the U.S. dollar. And gold can be a different haven, a different way of storing value that doesn't make countries around the world as dependent on the United States dollar. Part of that is concerns about the deficit that have continued to go up. We had tariffs potentially eating away at the deficit, but then now maybe that tariff revenue is not going to be used to eat away at the deficit. So, that has continued to make countries globally and central banks globally look for other ways to diversify their own portfolios. And they're doing that through gold. And they only started doing that over the course of 2025. They're expected to continue that in 2026. And regular investors can benefit from that by buying into gold, according to Goldman Sachs.

But to your point, they do continue to see tech as a burgeoning industry. Obviously, the A.I. trade they don't see going away anytime soon. With all this talk of a potential A.I. bubble, everyone I spoke to on Wall Street for their 2026 outlooks is still bullish on A.I.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Madison Mills, thank you so much for your analysis this morning.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats, Republicans now suggesting the American military -- American military officials might have committed a war crime in the Caribbean and carrying out President Trump's campaign against drug -- alleged drug trafficking boats there. So, what can Congress do?

And a new winter storm is threatening a mess is coming on the roads and also for major airports, impacting millions of Americans. We're tracking this forecast for you this morning, as well as the delays that are already starting to set in.

And today is Cyber Monday. Expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the year. One of the biggest retailers in this space, of course, is Amazon, turning to robots to help fulfill millions of orders.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with Sara Sidner and John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news this morning. We were just told that President Trump will hold a meeting at the White House this evening to talk about the next steps in Venezuela. His administration has been launching strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and threatening direct action on land.

News of this meeting follows a rising chorus of bipartisan questions about one attack on September 2nd. CNN has learned there were survivors from an initial strike, and that a second strike was ordered that killed the remaining crew. A source says that before the operation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to make sure everyone on board was killed, though it's not clear whether he knew there were survivors before the second strike.

Now, President Trump says he does not know what happened. The president also says he would not have wanted a second strike. And he noted that Secretary Hegseth says he did not want them.

But on Capitol Hill, there is growing concern. And now Republican-led congressional committees are launching investigations. Just moments ago, we spoke to the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. This is what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): We have to know exactly what the facts are. But if Secretary Hegseth gave an order to kill survivors who were no longer a threat, that's a crime. And anyone who carried out that order, who did that, also committed a crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I want to get right to the White House. CNN's Betsy Klein is live there this morning.

Clearly, the White House knows there are questions, and not just from Democrats this time.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, they are facing questions from both sides of the aisle about whether they potentially committed a war crime. And this comes after our colleague, Natasha Bertrand, reported over the weekend that the U.S. military carried out a second strike on an alleged drug boat operating in the Caribbean on September 2nd, after it was assessed that a first strike did not kill anyone on board. Sources familiar with the matter say that when the initial strike appeared to disable the boat and cause deaths, it was then determined that there were survivors. A second strike was launched on that boat, killing 11 people in total and sinking the ship. Now, one of the sources says that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

ordered the military, before this operation, to ensure that everybody aboard was killed. It is not clear if he knew that people were alive after that first strike.

Now, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill now calling for investigations and questioning the legality of this. President Trump fielding questions from this, from -- on this from reporters as he made his way back to Washington last night.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Number one, I don't know that that happened. And Pete said he did not want them.

[09:05:01]

He didn't even know what people were talking about. So, we'll look at -- we'll look into it. But no, I wouldn't have wanted that. Not a second strike.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, the U.S. military has amassed a massive show of force in the region and carried out about 20 known strikes on these drug vessels in the Caribbean, plus one in the eastern Pacific. There are about 15,000 U.S. troops in the region, along with more than a dozen warships. And we are learning that this evening the president will hold a key meeting with top members of his cabinet to discuss next steps, John.

BERMAN: Yes, I keep hearing that sound from the president. The verbiage is so interesting there. He doesn't categorically say there wasn't a second strike. That's what Congress wants to investigate right now. And that in and of itself may raise some very thorny questions.

Betsy Klein, thank you very much for your reporting on this.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, which raises even more questions now, John, with this -- with this meeting at the White House you just reported on is happening at -- happening tonight on this very issue.

Joining us right now to talk more about it, CNN's senior military analyst, retired Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO supreme allied commander, part of the Carlyle Group.

It's great to see you again. You also ran Southern Command. So, you know this region well.

I want to play for you another piece of sound, we had Senator Angus King on this morning, what he said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): It's all about the facts, Kate. The law is clear. If the facts are as have been alleged, that there was a second strike specifically to kill the survivors in the war in the water, that's a stone cold war crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Admiral, are we looking at a possible war crime? And who gives that order? Who would know?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, I think Senator King is exactly right. I think the president is right when he says he would not have wanted that. I can't imagine any American would want us to machine gun survivors in the water. This is the functional equivalent of that. World War II, the Nazis did that. We didn't do that.

So, I think this one screams for a serious under oath investigation. And I think that's what we're going to see.

In terms of who gave the order, certainly the secretary of defense would have authorized the mission. He would have authorized the level of force, the lethality of the mission. After that, Kate, it becomes a tactical question, who actually gave the order for the second strike? This is exactly why we need a thorough investigation with a real timeline, a tick tock, who said what when? What was the result? But I can't imagine any American believes that we should be machine gunning people that are floating in the water, clearly not a threat to the United States.

BOLDUAN: Also, Admiral, you've been really helpful in gauging kind of the odds, if you will, and kind of laying out the odds since we started talking about these boat strikes. You have this meeting now that's going to be happening at the White House to talk about next steps in Venezuela. You add all of this -- add in this new detail, add in this meeting, add in the phone call between President Trump and Nicolas Maduro. How likely are land strikes now do you think?

STAVRIDIS: I think it's a two-thirds chance we're going to see some form of strikes. Let's be clear here, Kate. What I think two-thirds chance we're going to see are drones, Tomahawk missiles, maybe some manned aircraft, probably going after drug-related sites. That fits in with the narrative the administration has laid out.

What I think is unlikely, kind of highly unlikely, are a significant number of boots on the ground. Maybe some special forces here and there. I think even that is very high risk. So, at the meeting tonight in the White House, I think the president will formally receive these options, take advice from his cabinet, make a decision. I think it's a two in three chance over the next few days this week that we see some strikes. (INAUDIBLE) the countervailing thought would be a good one, which is the ongoing potential conversations between the president and Maduro. Let's hope President Maduro wakes up to the reality of what he's looking at and decide, ah, now's a pretty good time to head out to a hacienda outside of Havana. I hope he does that. If not, I think the strikes are a two in three chance.

BOLDUAN: Admiral, let me turn to Ukraine really quick and get your take because you have Steve Witkoff is headed to Moscow after a weekend where there are talks with Ukraine and talks that Ukraine called productive and successful. One of the things clearly on the table, it's been since the draft of the deal to where they are now is Ukraine handing over land to Russia. But the question, I guess, is, is that enough? Because if Putin's desire isn't just land, it's influence. I mean, how much more will Russia have influence on Ukraine and Europe post-war?

[09:10:06]

And then, why compromise on anything, if that's his real goal?

STAVRIDIS: Yes, you put your finger on a very significant aspect that not enough people are talking about. Yes, Putin wants land. He wants the resources of Ukraine. What he really wants is respect. He wants to come back into the -- what is now the G-7. It would become the G-8 if Russia were allowed back in. He wants the idea of him as a war criminal to kind of evaporate and to be welcomed back among world leaders. He wants businesses to come back to Moscow and reopen significant commercial integration with Russia. And I think you're correct also, that mitigates against him making a surrender point here at all.

Final thought. Kudos to Steve Witkoff. I think Jared Kushner is all over this. And Secretary of State Marco Rubio. They have brought U.S. and Ukraine together. Frankly, now the hard part begins, taking that combined proposal to Putin, shoring it up with the Europeans and putting the kind of pressure you and I just discussed on Putin to get him at least to the table. Let's see what happens in Moscow this week.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. It's great to see you, Admiral, as always. Thank you so much.

Sara

SIDNER: All right, happening now, a new winter storm expected to bring more snow, more ice and travel headaches to tens of millions of Americans across the country. Travelers already saw more than 12,000 flight delays and more than a thousand cancellations on Sunday. So far this morning, it's down a bit, which is good news, but there have been more than 1,000 delays and nearly 200 cancellations so far.

We're covering all of this with CNN's Pete Muntean, who apparently lives at Reagan National Airport, and Derek Van Dam, who is in the Weather Center for us.

Pete, we're going to begin with you at your new home there.

People are still, obviously, trying to get back from the holiday weekend. Apparently they can take Monday off as well. What can they expect this morning when they get to the airport?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Things are really picking up here at the terminal two north checkpoint. In fact, this is kind of the longest I've seen the line of the last few days. It's been a particularly tough weekend for air travel. I just want to show you, give you a better idea of how tough things have been. Here at Reagan National Airport last night, the traffic getting into the airport stretched about a mile from where we are on the Route One Richmond Highway. That was just to get into the airport arrival loop.

That scene playing out so many places across the country. At Dallas- Fort Worth, huge hub for American Airlines, the traffic was so bad there that airline officials warned passengers to show up an extra 60 to 90 minutes ahead of their flight. Also, some construction in the mix there.

You know, we are not totally out of the woods of these huge cancellations that we have seen. Saturday was the fourth worst day we have seen for flight cancellations since the start of this year. O'Hare, Midway, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Detroit all hit especially hard. The good news is, they've been on the positive trend. Sunday was about half of what we saw Saturday. Today we've only seen about 200 cancellations nationwide. But the day is still young.

And the Federal Aviation Administration warning of possible ground stops at Chicago O'Hare, at Chicago Midway. More snow in the forecast there late in the day. Also, high winds impacting some of the New York airports, including Newark and low clouds and poor visibility impacting San Francisco with the warning for a possible ground stop there. So, we'll see as this all plays out.

You know, the interesting phenomenon taking place, according to AAA, is they've been warning that Sunday will be such a big travel day for so many years now that they say so many people are now moving into Monday to make their travel plans and return home. But the issue is, it's much more condensed. People have a little bit of more flexibility to spread things out going into the holiday. Coming back, it's all the rush to get back to home and work.

SIDNER: Yes, all true. Wow, that line that you just showed in the snow as people are just trying to get into the airport had to have been really frustrating.

Let's now go -- thank you so much there for us from Reagan National.

Let's now go to Derek Van Dam, who is taking a look at just how many people are going to be affected, how many states. This is a huge swath of the United States.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Massive, 70 million Americans over 25 states, spanning over 1,500 miles. That's how much of the U.S. will be impacted by this next snowstorm. You can see the winter weather alerts across the country from Nebraska, all the way to Maine.

And this is the developing storm system still forming as we speak. But we're going to get a lot of moisture from the south and the cold air from the north. And they're going to, guess what, converge on the East Coast. This after a rough weekend, you talked about to Pete, about the difficulties people have had. [09:15:03]

Well, now we've got to add more misery to this because people trying to head home and we've got this large storm system, which will bottom out. We'll call it a bomb cyclone because it will drop 24 millibars once it exits the coast in a 24-hour span. That's significant.

But here's the details. The devil's in the details, right? Where will that rain-snow line be? Looks like it will be inland from the I-95 corridor. So, a cold, wet rain for New York, Boston, all the way to Providence. But snow if you're located in the Berkshires, or perhaps in the Poconos, that's where we'll see six to 12 inch of snow. Northern New England, that's where we're focusing the heaviest snowfall. And this will be rainfall right along this eastern coastline here, Boston, Providence, New York to Philadelphia. There's the rain- snow line as we see it. Right now there's just a little bit too much warm air coming in from the south for this to be a blockbuster snowstorm for the major East Coast cities.

One thing else to mention, an ice storm is possible over western portions of North Carolina and Virginia as the system rides to the East Coast.

Sara.

SIDNER: Thank you so much, Derek Van Dam. A lot for people to be aware of if they're going out, on the roads especially.

Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, the defendant admits to disposing of his wife's body, but denies that he killed her. That's quite a combination for a murder trial. Opening statements about to get underway.

And hope your Cyber Monday deliveries arrive on time. They may get some help from drivers wearing A.I. glasses.

And a life-saving rabbit. You heard that correctly. A rabbit saves a family from a fire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:15]

BOLDUAN: So, opening statements are about to begin in the murder trial of Brian Walshe. He is the man who now admits that he disposed of his dead wife's body but insists he did not commit the murder. Walshe faces a single count of murder now after pleading guilty to lesser charges, including misleading police and an improper conveyance of a body. A reminder, his wife, Ana, was reported missing in January 2023. Her remains have still not been found.

CNN's Jean Casarez is following all of this.

And this will be an important day, Jean. What's going to happen?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So important. I think we're minutes away from the opening statements. And we know what the prosecution is going to say because they are going to talk about this loving wife, Ana Walshe. She was in her 30s. She and Brian had three young children, two, four and six at the time. She had gotten a big promotion. She was actually working in Washington, D.C., as a regional director, general manager, of Tishman Speyer. And she was in her 30s. A very huge real estate firm. And she would come to -- on the weekends back to Massachusetts to see her husband. And then on New Year's Eve of 2022 into 2023, something happened. And we now know, because he has confessed to two of the three charges, she's dead. We know that. And so, her life ended very early.

But what we've got to look for is what the defense is going to say here, because they have said he did not murder his wife. So, what happened? You were the only one in the home, along with your three babies that were upstairs. What will the defense say in their opening statements? It's minutes away, and that's what we've got to see. Tragic accident. Intruder. Something happened in her sleep. And then he panicked and had to dismember her. But this loving husband actually dismembered his wife. And he's pleaded guilty to that. But not murdering her.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, I'm very interested to hear what comes in these opening statements. Just as you said, Jean, what are the options for the defense? We're going to find out soon enough.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

Next, how Amazon is using robots more and more to get holiday deliveries to your door faster.

As we are just minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street, U.S. stock futures are lower, but markets are coming off a week's long winning streak, fueled by hopes for a Fed rate cut this month. Bets are on a quarter point cut to come next week. Investors are watching key economic data this week that could set the tone for the Fed's next move, but analysts are warning there is a possibility the usual December seasonal boost may not materialize due to lingering uncertainty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:28]

SIDNER: Today is Cyber Monday, with millions of consumers expected to make it the biggest online shopping day of the year. Sales expected to hit over $14 billion. That's up six percent from last year.

Amazon is using robots now more than ever to try to get packages to you faster and more safely. Joining me now is Scott Dresser, the vice president of Amazon Robotics.

Give us a sense. It's Cyber Monday today. It's certainly one of Amazon's biggest days of the year. How many robots does Amazon use at this point?

SCOTT DRESSER, VICE PRESIDENT, AMAZON ROBOTICS: Hey, Sara, how are you?

So, welcome to Cyber Monday. It's great to be here with you. One of our biggest events, like you said, of the year.

Robotics and Amazon is a big part of what we do here at Amazon. We've actually recently announced our deployment of our one millionth robot across Amazon. So, it's certainly a big part of what we do here during Cyber Monday. It's a really important event for our customers.

SIDNER: How many are being utilized? There -- I mean I've seen numbers like a million robots are utilized within warehouses. Is that -- is that about right?

DRESSER: That's right. That's right. The million robots number is the number we have running in the network today. It's actually running live in the network today, like they do every day of the week. Another day of the -- another day of business for us here during Cyber Monday. But all million of those robots are busy delivering and fulfilling customer orders, delivering the speed, the selection and some great prices here on Cyber Monday across millions of products, 35 different product categories.

[09:30:01]

Things about apparel, home goods, electronics. Really, really great, great stuff and great deals today. Encouraged stuff -- for folks to get out and