Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Biden Allows Ukraine To Use Long-Range U.S. Weapons In Russia; Israeli Strike In Beirut Kills Hezbollah Spokesperson; World Leaders Gather In Rio de Janeiro; Biden's Climate Message; Progress Lags at U.N. Meeting Amidst Boycotts, Trades; Clean Drinking Water to Return to Asheville, North Carolina; 1 in 10 Babies are Born Too Early in the U.S.; Morphing Wheel Aims to Revolutionize Wheelchair Mobility; Darkness Falls on Arctic Circle Until January. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 18, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:28]
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome everyone. Appreciate your company. I'm Michael Holmes. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, the U.S. now authorizing Ukraine to use long range missiles for strikes deep inside Russia. We'll have the reaction from Moscow.
Israeli airstrikes pound Beirut, killing a Hezbollah spokesperson while talks continue on a possible ceasefire.
And the last arctic sunrise of 2024, why some of the coldest parts of the world are saying goodbye to the sun until next year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.
HOLMES: And we begin with a significant shift in U.S. policy when it comes to the war in Ukraine. President Joe Biden for the first time allowing Kyiv to use long-range U.S. weapons to strike deeper inside Russia. The decision had been under consideration for months as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed Washington for the green light in the hopes of gaining momentum in the war.
But U.S. officials have been divided and also concerned it could escalate to conflict. A U.S. official says the weapons are to be used primarily in Russia's Kursk Region for now, where Moscow has deployed nearly 50,000 troops to try to take back territory. Thousands of North Korean troops are among those taking part in the Russian offensive. President Zelenskyy with this message after news of the U.S. decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Today, there's a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions, but strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves. They certainly will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: News of Mr. Biden's decision on Ukraine comes ahead of the G20 Summit in Brazil. CNN's Kevin Liptak is traveling with the U.S. president and has more now from Rio de Janeiro.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to fire American provided missiles into Russia amounts to a major change in policy for the Biden administration. And it comes at what officials described as an inflection point in the war. Tens of thousands of Russian troops are massing near the region of Kursk as Vladimir Putin looks to claw back territory. They're being supplemented by thousands of North Korean troops which has caused a massive degree of alarm in Washington.
And certainly this move is designed, according to American officials, to send a message to the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un that he sends his people into war in Ukraine at their own peril. But I don't think we can ignore the fact that this is also coming two months before Donald Trump resumes his power in the White House.
And certainly Trump has taken a drastically different view of the war in Ukraine than President Biden. He has taken a skeptical eye to American assistance, both military and financial assistance to Ukraine. And he has also said that he would be able to resolve this conflict in one day. He hasn't necessarily said how he would do that, but the implication, of course, is that it would require some territorial concessions on the part of Ukraine, which is something that the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been vehemently opposed to.
Now, this was the subject of quite an intensive debate inside the Biden administration. President Biden was coming under fairly intense pressure from Zelenskyy to allow this new capability going forward. He was also hearing from the leaders of many NATO countries who said that disallowing Ukraine from firing these weapons into Russia was essentially tying their hands behind their back as they're working to win this war.
But some officials in the Biden administration were also concerned about the risk of escalation. They also were worried about their stockpiles. At the end of the day, these are not weapons that are in limitless supply. And those officials were concerned that allowing Ukraine to fire them into Russia could essentially allow these stockpiles to dwindle further.
But President Biden, as we enter this critical moment in the war, came to this decision. And certainly it's unclear now how that move will affect the trajectory of this conflict. But it will, of course, be a point of discussion as leaders gather here in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 Summit, which is set to begin on Monday. The war in Ukraine will be a point of discussion, but of course, this is a summit that does include Russia.
[01:05:04]
Russia is, of course, a member of the G20, so it means it hasn't always been a productive forum for leaders to agree on consensus when it comes to this war. But certainly the looming backdrop is the return of Donald Trump to the White House. Leaders here looking to ascertain what exactly that will mean for their countries going forward.
President Biden has been clear that he doesn't necessarily have all of the answers, but he is looking to position Ukraine in a position for victory as his time on the world stage comes to an end.
Traveling with the president in Rio, Kevin Liptak, CNN.
HOLMES: Just two months ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries not to allow Ukraine to use their missiles to strike within Russia. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following the latest reaction from Moscow.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is no doubt that the Russians consider the decision by the Biden administration to allow the Ukrainians to use long distance weapons provided by the U.S. to strike deep into Russian territory as a major escalation not just in the war in Ukraine, but possibly also in the relations between the United States and Russia and also between NATO and Russia as well.
When we got in touch with a spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry, she said, look, Vladimir Putin already laid all this out three weeks ago. And what the Russian president said back then is that he believes that these types of weapons, like for instance, the U.S. provided ATACMS, surface to surface missiles, can only be used by the Ukrainians with the help of specialists from the countries that provide those weapons, in this case, obviously meaning the United States.
And Vladimir Putin has said that he believes that strikes deep into Russian territory with these weapons therefore constitute a direct attack against Russia by the countries that provided those weapons. And Vladimir Putin believes also provided the expertise to use those weapons accurately against targets inside Russia.
Now, the Russians went a long way to try and dissuade the Biden administration from making exactly the decision that it has now made. The Russians even changed the fundamental nuclear doctrine of those -- of this country. And the new thing that this nuclear doctrine now includes is if the Russian Federation is attacked by long distance weapons from a non-nuclear country like for instance, Ukraine, with the help of a nuclear country like for instance, the United States, that the Russians could then trigger the nuclear -- a nuclear weapons and the use of nuclear weapons on their part.
So the Russians definitely say that to them, the United States allowing the Ukrainians to use weapons provided by the United States to strike deep into Russian territory will be considered a major escalation.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
HOLMES: Ukraine is reporting widespread damage after Russia's largest aerial attack in months targeted the country's energy infrastructure. The strikes across Ukraine also killed at least five people and triggered blackouts in several regions. President Zelenskyy says about 120 missiles and 90 drones were launched by Russia, but Ukraine's defense forces destroyed more than 140 of them.
A spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary General says he strongly condemns these latest Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, which will only increase the suffering of Ukrainians heading into the winter months.
And joining me now is Mick Ryan, a retired major general in the Australian army, former commander at the Australian Defense College, and his latest and recently released book is "The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire." Always good to see you, Mick. I want to start off with the -- the reporting that President Biden is authorizing something Ukraine wanted for a long, long time, those long range weapons inside Russia. How might that impact this conflict? And is there a risk it could be too little, too late?
MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: Yeah. God day, Michael. Unfortunately, these missiles are probably going to have a very, very limited impact on this conflict. They've probably come about a year too late. The dithering in the Biden administration has given the Russians keeps a warning to be able to adapt and move their forces. And frankly, Putin would be very satisfied that he's deterred the Biden administration this long from providing these missiles.
HOLMES: Yes, yes. I wanted to ask you too about this massive Russian attack on energy infrastructure, far from the first time, of course. You see it as another attempt to impact civilians with the winter getting underway, hurting civilian morale and so on?
RYAN: Absolutely. These Russian attacks generally have several objectives. That is certainly one of them. They would like as many Ukrainians to leave the country as possible to put pressure on President Zelenskyy and also degrade the power available to Ukraine's defense industry. So it has a whole range of different outcomes, but principally it's about projecting in the minds of the incoming Trump administration that Russia is winning this war and it shouldn't support Ukraine.
[01:10:12]
HOLMES: And to that point, with winter, well, it's pretty much starting. It's pretty cold over there at the moment, and Russian forces advancing in these. How perilous is the situation for Ukraine right now, and especially if there are more such attacks on energy facilities and more advances on the battlefield?
RYAN: Well, it's pretty grim on the battlefield at the moment. On the ground, the Russians have actually accelerated the amount of territory they've taken per month since the Ukrainians went into Kursk. The Ukrainians are really going to have to shore up their defenses over winter. Their air and missile attacks are much, much higher per day than what we saw this time last year. So, you know, the Ukrainians are heading into a much grimmer winter than they faced in the last three years.
HOLMES: Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, and it was interesting that he said this too, because he doesn't want to give up territory or anything like that, but he said that the war will end sooner with Trump. Do you have any thoughts on what he might mean by that? I mean, it is crystal ball stuff, but what sort of U.S. policy change might potentially be coming?
RYAN: Well, I mean, it's hard to know. I mean, no one really knows what the Trump administration is going to do, but there's a range of different scenarios we might imagine, including one where he gives an ultimatum to Putin, which Putin ignores, and then he really pluses up Ukraine's forces with a whole lot of equipment and training and munitions.
Otherwise, you know, it's actually hard to see Ukraine just rolling over and stopping the conflict. Now, it's fought very hard for three years to hold its territory. I think it's going to have a pretty big say in these negotiations.
HOLMES: Yes, surrendering of territory was one thing that was floated as a bit of a trial balloon for a negotiation. But Zelenskyy does not want to do that. And the people, or presumably don't either. In fact, he said, you know, Ukraine must enter any future negotiations from a position of strength that, in his words, the country must be strengthened by some important elements to negotiate with Putin. What would it take for Ukraine to be in that position of strength?
RYAN: Well, unfortunately, it's going to mean that the Ukrainians have to be supported so they can hurt the Russians even more than what they are at the moment. They need to be -- they need to be able to up the number of Russian casualties and equipment. So, you know, really put pressure on Putin and look at where he might be able to withdraw from areas of Ukraine. But at the moment, Russia has a strategic momentum. Without a change in strategy for the U.S. and NATO, it's difficult to see that now.
HOLMES: It was interesting Zelenskyy criticized the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, for speaking with Putin. To that point, what's your read on how united Europe is or -- or NATO when -- when it comes to this conflict?
RYAN: Well, I think by and large, Europe and NATO has been remarkably united and we've seen a really terrific reinvigoration of NATO over the last three years. But there are outliers, whether it's Hungary or Austria. And every now and then, Olaf Scholz has this kind of brain explosion that really I don't think is going to help Europe or NATO negotiate a favorable outcome for Ukraine, if indeed that's what happens next year.
HOLMES: Always great analysis from Mick Ryan. Good to see you, mate. Thank you very much.
RYAN: Thanks, Michael.
HOLMES: Exiled Russian opposition leaders, including Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, rallied in Berlin on Sunday calling for an end to the war in Ukraine.
Thousands took part in the march to show that there are many Russians who disagree with the war but voice their opinions in their own country because of repression there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEXANDER KORNINOV, PROTESTER (through translator): People here are demonstrating against Putin and for freedom, for freedom for Russia, for freedom of the Russian people from Putin's dictatorial regime and for the war to finally end and with the conditions to return the territory that Russia took from Ukraine and that the deaths of the people there would not be in vain. We're protesting for this war to finally end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The protest ended at the Russian Embassy with protesters holding up signs reading Putin is a killer and no peace under Russian occupation.
Israeli forces killed Hezbollah's spokesperson Mohammad Afif, in a strike on Beirut on Sunday. It was followed by another deadly attack on the Lebanese capital hours later, as Israel ramps up its offensive in Lebanon. CNN's Nic Robertson explains how this move could impact ongoing ceasefire talks.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Mohamed Afif was a very significant figure in Hezbollah, not a military commander, a keen and close adviser to their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in that massive Israeli airstrike on 28th September, subsequent to Nasrallah's killing had become a much more sort of publicly engaged figure.
[01:15:12]
He had been running the Al-Manar TV station, which was Hezbollah's mouthpiece in Lebanon, but had given several press conferences over recent months. He was a fairly accessible figure to the media, if you will. Why he has been killed now isn't clear. And of course this does come at a time when Lebanese government officials just a couple of days ago had told CNN they expected Hezbollah to answer their decision about whether or not they would accept a U.S. proposal ceasefire with Israel. That decision was expected in the coming days, by Monday even.
Whether or not this was intended to have some effect on Hezbollah's decision making here of common for a sort of high level assassinations, these sort of last minute maneuvers, if you will, ahead of ceasefire deals. And whether or not this will have an impact on that ceasefire deal isn't clear. The conditions of the ceasefire, according to sources I've been talking to, had told me that they were difficult for Hezbollah to accept, but it appeared to them at least that Hezbollah was moving in that direction.
The assassination attempt or the assassination rather killing him, injuring three others. And that was the fourth attack since 2006, the fourth attack in the center of Beirut. But only hours after there was another attack. Not clear as yet who or what the target may have been there. But these rounds of strikes in the center of Beirut, a real upping of the ante, if you will, in this conflict with Hezbollah.
Nic Robinson, CNN, Jerusalem, Israel.
HOLMES: Lebanon's Health Ministry says that second Israeli attack in central Beirut on Sunday killed at least two people and wounded more than a dozen others. No evacuation warnings were given before the strike, which hit in a densely populated Sunni majority neighborhood. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for comment.
Ultra-orthodox Jews clashed with police during a protest over military service near Tel Aviv on Sunday. Israel's Defense Ministry says community members will receive call up notices as the country continues its wars. But ultra-orthodox leaders believe forcing the young men to serve alongside secular Israelis, including women, could hurt their religious identity. And some say they would rather die than join the army.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YONA KAYE, STUDENT: Our youth are demonstrating because the Israeli government want to include our religious people to the army. Our history is full of Jews who have given up their lives in order to remain religious. Our youth to sit over here, our boys, young men over here are saying exactly the same. We will die. We will stay extended periods of time in jail but not go to the Israeli army, which means to become irreligious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Israel's Supreme Court ruled in June that the Defense Ministry could no longer allow Jewish seminary students to receive blanket exemptions from military service.
World leaders are in Rio de Janeiro for a meeting of the G20 group of nations with uncertainty looming in the face of a new U.S. administration.
Also still to come, Donald Trump's picks to fill cabinet positions coming under even more fire in Washington. What lawmakers have to say about the chances they actually have of getting into those jobs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:21:00]
ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: And they have come to Rio with a simple message, G20 leaders must lead. And G20 countries, by definition, have tremendous economic clout, and they yield massive diplomatic leverage. They must use it to tackle key global problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, that call is a challenge to world leaders in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 Summit, where heads of state plan to address issues from poverty and hunger to reforming global institutions as well as climate change. This is U.S. President Joe Biden's final appearance, obviously, at that meeting, and there is speculation about how the Trump administration will handle such international issues.
Brazil has deployed troops, armored vehicles and naval ships to reinforce security for the meeting. Authorities have also set up a series of brightly painted walls to hide the favelas, Rio's poor neighborhoods, from the view of the motorcades arriving at the summit.
All right, for more now, let's go to Marc Stewart standing by for us in Beijing. And there are a lot of uncertainty with Trump 2.0 approaching where you are in China, is the G20 being seen as an opportunity for Beijing?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An opportunity indeed, Michael. You know, the G20 obviously is going to have a very busy agenda on paper, but it's what happens on the sidelines, the private conversations, that also could generate news, and in particular, that involves China, as Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as other diplomats from China will be trying to project this image of stability in the world amid the potential unknown of the incoming administration.
We heard from one observer from a think tank who pointed out this is a chance for China to really promote ideas of peace and development amid the unknown political landscape which could evolve in the United States. Part of this bigger theme that we've talked about during the G20 as well as with APEC, a chance for China to draw a wedge, put a wedge between the United States and its allies.
And it's something that we have seen already in clarity. It was earlier this past week when the APEC was set to get underway in Peru, when President Xi Jinping, as well as leaders from Peru unveiled this massive port. It's a $1.3 billion investment by the Chinese government in Peru, a way for China to symbolically show that as the world's second largest economy, it's a government, it's a nation that's worth holding a partnership with.
So as we look ahead to G20 and ways for China to -- to send this message and to exert its power, expect to see a long list of dignitaries, many of whom may have conversations with Xi Jinping that could include the U.K. as well as Japan, Australia, India. The Prime Minister of India will be at the G20, not at APEC, but at the G20. So, Michael, it's these sideline conversations which really could be critical in the weeks that ahead for China as it tries to show some strength as the U.S. gets ready for this very significant political transition.
HOLMES: Indeed. And Mr. Xi and President Biden have had their last meeting. I mean, do you have a sense whether China's got a roadmap for U.S.-China relations with a Trump administration?
STEWART: Well, there's no question that China is doing its homework. In fact, if we look at the Trump administration, the first Trump administration, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump at the start had a very amicable, friendly relationship. They met in Mar-a-Lago. They had chocolate cake together. But then these issues, such as trade and China's COVID response, that caused some friction between the two nations. So when this meeting took place between President Xi and President Biden, a lot of care was used to talk about diplomacy, win- win cooperation and mutual existence. This way for China at least to send a symbolic message to the incoming administration that it's all about communication and it's all about stability. That is the Chinese tactic that we saw at APEC, Michael.
[01:25:27]
HOLMES: All right. Appreciate the analysis there, Marc, good to see you my friend. Marc Stewart in Beijing for us.
Now here in the United States, President-elect Donald Trump continues to name the people he wants in top positions for his second term. Late on Sunday, he announced current Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr is his choice to become the agency's new chairman. Notably, the group's job is to regulate communications amid more than a dozen calls from Trump to revoke the licenses of major television networks in the U.S.
But the controversial selection that has most of Washington talking about is the choice of former House Republican Matt Gaetz for attorney general. A lot of heads being shook about that one. CNN Steve Contorno with the latest.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump enters his second full week as President-elect with questions still remaining about some of the early picks for his incoming administration, especially around Matt Gaetz, his choice for attorney general. There are questions as to whether or not senators will get to see the results of an ethics investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.
Speaker Mike Johnson on State of the Union on Sunday discussing his views on whether or not senators should be able to see that report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: The President and I have literally not discussed one word about the ethics report, not once. And I've been with him quite a bit this week between Washington and -- and Mar-a-Lago and last night in Madison Square Garden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CONTORNO: Even as Republicans on the Hill speak out against Matt Gaetz and raise concerns over whether he can get the 51 votes needed for confirmation, there are already signs that some Republicans are moving toward yes. Senator Markwayne Mullin, for example, of Oklahoma, he has previously voiced his displeasure with Gaetz. At one point, he said Gaetz showed him videos on the House floor of, quote, the girls he had slept with. But now he says Gaetz should have a fair shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): I've got a tough situation that I've got to set my personal opinions, and they're really not opinions. I got to -- I got to set my personal situation with Matt to the side and look at the facts. If he's qualified, he's qualified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CONTORNO: After spending some time in New York this weekend where he watched a UFC fight at Madison Square Garden, Donald Trump will remain in Palm Beach at his Mar-a-Lago estate, as he continues to fill out his Cabinet. He still has to choose a Treasury secretary as well as secretaries for Commerce, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation and Education.
Steve Contorno, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
HOLMES: California Senator-elect Adam Schiff tells CNN there's a bigger reason behind Gaetz's nomination. Speaking with Jake Tapper, he says it is a sign that the President-elect will tolerate virtually no opposition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), SENATOR-ELECT: The whole point with these nominees, several of them, is there unqualification? Is there affirmative disqualification? That's Trump's point, because what he wants to do with these nominees is establish that the Congress of the United States will not stand up to him with anything. If they will confirm Matt Gaetz, they will do anything he wants. I mean, look how the Speaker had to tie himself in knots.
A couple days ago, saying the Speaker effectively should stay out of this. There are important reasons for that. And then getting involved in this, reversing himself, tying himself into a pretzel to placate Donald Trump. And if the Senate should decide to confirm without seeing this ethics report or to allow recess appointments, essentially the Senate is saying we're going to abdicate our responsibility for advice and consent. This is not why people voted for Donald Trump.
They voted for him to reduce prices. I talked to people up and down the state of California. The economy was the central issue. They want someone who's going to address the cost of housing and the cost of childcare and the cost of food and gas. They didn't vote for this kind of retribution, destruction tour that the president seems now engaged in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Jake Tapper went on to ask House Speaker Mike Johnson whether it is still essential to consider character when choosing America's leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "The Lead": Does it matter anymore for Republicans to think of leaders as people who are moral in their personal lives? Is that still important to the Republican Party?
[01:29:59]
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Sure. It's an important issue for anyone in leadership.
This is what I'll say about the nominees, that the president has put forward, is that they are persons who will shake up the status quo.
And I think what the American people have -- have believe and what they've delivered with the mandate in this election is a demand that we shake up the status quo.
It's not working for the American people. So use the term in the opening about how these are disruptors. They are, I think that's by design.
Any president has the right to name their own cabinet, to nominate persons that they think will fulfill their agenda. And the people that that are on this list will do that. They will go into the agencies that they're being asked to lead and they will reform them. These agencies need reform.
And I think the vast majority of the American people understand that. You can't have status quo appointments in a moment like this.
I'm really excited about the days ahead. I think the America First policies will deliver for the American people. I think we're going to have a warm embrace of all the new folks who came into the Republican Party in this election cycle, the demographic shifts that we saw that were historic.
Because we have a chance now to demonstrate for them that our policies are conservative, constitutional policies. Common-sense policies are best for them as individuals and families and communities and states in the nation as a whole.
So exciting days ahead. It is a new day in America. These individuals will help deliver that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: On an historic trip to the Amazon, U.S. President Joe Biden issues a message to the incoming administration as he works to solidify his environmental legacy.
We'll have details on that.
Also, the Philippines grappling with yet another typhoon emergency. Its fourth in less than two weeks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, Michael Holmes. U.S. President Joe Biden is looking to make the fight against climate
change a key part of his legacy. During a historic first presidential visit to the Amazon, Mr. Biden urged the incoming administration to continue to embrace the economic progress offered by a clean energy revolution.
Stefano Pozzebon with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: President Biden used his visit to Manaus at the heart of the Amazon forest to urge the President-Elect Donald Trump to do more to protect the environment, which he said was a defining part of his presidency.
Biden announced millions of dollars in increased funding for reforestation and for protecting the Amazon, saying that the fight to protect the planet is literally the fight for humanity.
[01:34:53]
POZZEBON: He also pointed to two key legislative initiatives to protect the environment that he was across from the first debt-for- nature swaps back in the 1970s passed by the Congress when he was a senator, to the more recent Inflation Reduction Act which the president said created hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs.
It's no secret that I'm leaving office in January. I will have my -- I will leave my successor and my country in a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so.
It's true. Some may seek to (INAUDIBLE) deny or delay the clean energy revolution that's underway in America. But nobody, nobody can reverse it. Nobody.
not when so many people regardless of party or politics are enjoying its benefits.
POZZEBON: But the prospect of the incoming president-elect was a constant shadow throughout Biden's visit, which came at a moment when the Amazon is battling a historic drought, which is in part due to climate change and human-made global warming. The president could see the damage as he flew over the river on his helicopter.
Donald Trump himself is a staunch climate denier and he has vowed to reverse Biden's policies on oil and gas exploration.
We don't need to choose between the economy and the environment, Biden said. We can do both.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon -- Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now the role of governments in climate change was the focus of protests at the COP29 climate conference. Demonstrators in Baku in Azerbaijan called for rich nations to spend more to fight climate change.
They say -- they say developed nations are largely responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and should support poor countries heavily impacted by the consequences of those emissions.
Now, this marks the third straight year the U.N. climate talks have been held in an economy that relies heavily on oil and gas. And this year's meeting has devolved into a string of boycotts and political tirades, with little progress made on a plan to scale up money to help cover natural disasters wrought by global warming.
Bill McKibben is the founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 for action on climate and justice. He's also a contributing writer to "The New Yorker" and a distinguished scholar at Middlebury College. It's good to see you, Bill.
Climate experts signed an open letter on day five of this COP calling for a fundamental overhaul of the U.N. climate process and saying these COP talks are no longer fit for purpose. Are they right?
BILL MCKIBBEN, FOUNDER, THIRD ACT: Well, I mean let's think about it.
There are 1,700 lobbyists representing the sovereign nation of fossil fuel at these talks, more than any other country. The -- for the second year in a row, we're holding them in an oil state. The head of Azerbaijan declared in his opening remarks that fossil fuels were a gift from God.
It doesn't really feel like they're making progress at anything like the pace we need them to be right now. So yes, it would be a good idea if the U.N. fixed things.
HOLMES: You make -- you make a good point. I remember doing interviews in past COPs when that's been the situation with fossil fuel lobbyists. I mean, you know cop has become partly a trade show for the fossil fuel industry with all the lobbyists.
And as you point out, the host country's leader, oil and gas are gifts from God. And even the COP being held in a petro state in the beginning. That doesn't really help, does it, with the messaging.
MCKIBBEN: No. Look, 80 percent of the world's people live in countries that import fossil fuel instead of export it, and they have a very, very different set of interests around this transition to clean energy.
And we should be paying a lot more attention to them.
HOLMES: Yes. Donald Trump ran on a platform of drill, drill, drill. I mean he's likely obviously to impact the effectiveness of the EPA. He's talked about, again pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords.
How much could the coming Trump presidency impact efforts to curb emissions?
MCKIBBEN: Well, look the best estimate I've seen indicates that the Trump administration over four years will add about 4 billion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere, which is the equivalent of the annual combined emissions of the E.U. and Japan.
So that's not good. We don't need another continent worth of carbon pouring into the atmosphere.
America made a grave mistake in electing him, and it will be a series of grave mistakes for the climate.
[01:39:52]
MCKIBBEN: The only saving grace, if at all, here, is that the price of renewable energy continues to plummet and it's getting so cheap that you really have to build the kind of political wall that Trump is building to keep solar and wind and batteries from fully breaking through.
HOLMES: Yes, I think it's cheaper to finance a wind farm than a coal power station these days to produce the same amount of energy.
I mean having said that, there's still no hope -- or is there no hope of reaching a safe climate without substantive action from the United States, from China, from Europe and so on? And is there any indication of that substantive action coming from those places?
MCKIBBEN: Well, substantive action in the U.S. over the next four years will be confined to the states but that's not marginal. I mean, California is the world's fifth biggest economy. It's bigger than Germany. And New York state is the world's 10th biggest economy.
So there will still be some things going on in the states but effective leadership on global climate stuff has now passed to China, and pretty convincingly, China is building more than half of the world's renewable energy now and they're taking it seriously.
We don't have a sense of what role they intend to play diplomatically. I think we'll find out over the next 18 months. And I think that if China is smart, they will use the clean tech revolution that they're heading as their path to true global legitimacy as a kind of leader of the 21st century.
HOLMES: That's a great point. In the meantime, we're seeing a fair bit of consensus that, you know, limiting temperature rise to 1.5 is unlikely. On the current trajectory, how much could we exceed it by and what would be the impacts of our lives.
MCKIBBEN: In the current trajectory, we're going to double that.
HOLMES: Yes.
MCKIBBEN: We're headed for three degrees Celsius, unless we speed up this transition to clean energy dramatically. It's possible to do that. We'd need to about double the pace at which we're putting up solar panels to start meeting the targets we set in Paris.
Every 10th of a degree really counts. The latest evidence indicates that every 10th of a degree Celsius that we raise the temperature will force another 100 million people out of a kind of climate habitable zone.
So that gives you some sense of what the stakes are for every 10th of a degree. That's why we're fighting so hard.
HOLMES: Yes. And we need people like you to do that.
Bill McKibben, we're out of time but thank you so much.
MCKIBBEN: Thank you so much. You have a good night, Michael.
HOLMES: The Philippines is recovering after super typhoon Man-Yi swept through the main island of Luzon, home to more than half the country's population.
More than a million people were ordered to evacuate ahead of the storm, which damaged buildings in several areas. It's an unprecedented event, the fourth typhoon to strike the Philippines in less than two weeks.
Officials in India's capital are taking new measures to deal with a thick layer of toxic smog. The hazardous air quality in New Delhi has many residents wearing masks and all primary schools switching to online classes. The government is also banning non-essential construction work.
The city's battled smog like this every winter, as the cold air traps emissions, smoke and dust.
Water in Asheville, North Carolina may be soon safe to drink again after seven weeks have passed since tropical storm Helene damaged the city's water system. Residents have been living under a "boil water" notice, which could be lifted as soon as Tuesday.
CNN's Rafael Romo with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to the city of Asheville officials, there is a meticulous sampling process that must happen before they can lift the "boil water" notice. The good news is that this sampling process is well underway.
Asheville Water Resources spokesperson Clay Chandler said Friday that the "boil water" notice may be lifted as soon as Tuesday which is great news for residents.
People have faced service interruptions and "boil water" advisories since tropical storm Helene struck western North Carolina in late September.
As we previously reported, Helene dumped so much water in the region in three days that the National Weather Service has called it a once- in a-1,000-year rainfall event. Chandler, the Asheville spokesperson, said that the goal is to gather
and analyze a target of 120 samples at the rate of about 40 per day. He said the lab staff should be done by late Monday.
CLAY CHANDLER, ASHEVILLE WATER RESOURCES SPOKESPERSON: Those bacterial samples have an incubation period between 18 and 24 hours.
[01:44:48]
CHANDLER: And so by Tuesday afternoon, evening next week, we should have a pretty good idea of the health of our distribution system and whether or not we will be able to lift the "boil water" notice.
ROMO: This running water challenge is not only affecting residents. A restaurant owner told CNN affiliate WLOS that their establishment was forced to install water purifying equipment and buy additional supplies just to be able to operate and serve customers.
JAY WEATHERLY, OWNER, HIGH-FIVE COFFEE: Certainly, the cost of bringing in clean water from a reputable source to the cost of the equipment that pumps into the system, to the -- we've also been operating only on to-go paper goods, which is another cost expense.
ROMO: If the boil advisory is lifted in the next few days, that's going to be several weeks ahead of schedule considering officials had originally said that wouldn't happen until mid-December,
Rafael Romo, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: French farmers are protesting a possible trade deal between the E.U. and a bloc of South American countries. The farmers use tractors to block a road near Paris on Sunday while they set up camp.
They claim cheaper agricultural imports are not subject to the same standards as domestic produce in France.
Making the situation more difficult for the French farmers rain has damaged harvests and disease has hit livestock.
The South American trade group includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.
Still to come removing limitations by literally reinventing the wheel. How one group of engineers hope to revolutionize personal mobility and beyond.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: An annual report card on U.S. maternal and infant health is out, and the nonprofit March of Dimes is giving the U.S. Yet another very poor grade for its high preterm birth rate, which is where babies are born before 37 weeks.
CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard has more on this ongoing crisis. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: This number is striking. About 1 in 10 babies are born too early here in the United States.
Last year, 10.4 percent of births in this country were preterm. That's according to data from March of Dimes. And we know that preterm birth is a leading cause, sadly, of infant death.
We also know there are some regional differences in the preterm birth rate. When you look at the cities with the highest numbers of babies born, the top three that have the highest preterm birth rate are Detroit, Cleveland and Mobile, Alabama.
And then these three cities had the lowest preterm birth rates Ramapo, New York; Irvine, California; and Gilbert, Arizona.
So this is a complex issue for the nation. It is an ongoing issue. It is a heartbreaking issue.
[01:49:48]
HOWARD: But there are ways to address this. Like making sure mothers are getting adequate prenatal care, working with a doula or a midwife, or for some women, taking a low-dose aspirin during pregnancy can help reduce their risk.
That's one easy over-the-counter intervention. But of course, it's important to talk with your doctor about what your personal risks are and whether that intervention or others are right for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Jacqueline Howard there.
Now how would life change for someone confined to a wheelchair if those wheels could take them pretty much anywhere? A group of engineers at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials is making that dream a reality.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This wheelchair can move like no others can. Engineers in South Korea have developed a shape-shifting, morphing wheel, calling it the world's first.
The wheel can shift between rigid and soft areas providing stability on both flat ground and rocky paths. And it may even allow users to climb stairs. All this without complex machinery or fancy sensors.
SONG SUNG-HYUK, PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER, KOREA INST. OF MACHINERY AND MATERIALS: Traditional wheels are designed to retain a rigid, circular shape for stability on flat surfaces, which limits their ability to overcome obstacles. However our wheel maintains its round form on flat ground and softens
only when navigating obstacles.
STOUT: The wheels can reach speeds of 30 kilometers or 18 miles per hour. The innovation behind these wheels is simple yet groundbreaking. The wheel's flexibility is inspired by the surface tensions found in liquid droplets, says the researcher.
SONG: When the force that pulls the outermost molecules of a liquid droplet inward increases the droplet can maintain a stable, circular shape.
Similarly, our wheel is designed with a smart chain block on the outer edge. The greater the inward pull on this block, the more stably it maintains a round shape.
STOUT: The wheel turns firm for stability when the wire spokes pull the block inward. When it's loosened it softens allowing the wheel to adapt to uneven surfaces.
Researchers see big potential for the wheel from personal mobility to robots.
SONG: This modularized wheel can be attached to any mobile platform simply by replacing existing wheels. Once installed, the wheel provides variable stiffness, adapting to each application.
STOUT: Kristie Lu Stout, CNN -- Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, the sun has set on a part of the world and it won't rise again until next year. We'll take a closer look at the annual phenomenon when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now people living in some of the coldest parts of the world is saying goodbye to the sun for the rest of the year.
CNN's Elisa Raffa explains why the areas that make up the earth's arctic circle have seen their last sunrise until after the new year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISA RAFFA, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: We are about to lose the sunshine in the Arctic Circle until next year. That's right, all of these towns in northern Alaska and northern Canada in the Arctic Circle are about to sit through multiple days of darkness until January.
We're talking 66 days of darkness, no sunshine during the day at all until January 25th, 2025. That's the next time that they'll see a sunrise.
[01:54:51] RAFFA: On the flip side, in the summer, the opposite happens. They see 83 days of full sunshine. No darkness at night at all. And that happens from May through August.
Well, why does this happen? Well, it's because the earth is round, and it's kind of crooked. It goes around the sun year-round but does so at a tilt so sometimes on its trek around the sun, the earth is tilted away from the sun, and other times its tilted towards the sun.
Well, as we head into December, we are about to be at a point where the earth is tilted away from the sun in the northern hemisphere. That's what causes the start of the winter season.
You have more of that solar energy in the southern hemisphere that's why they get the start of summer. So this tilt-away from the sun literally points you away from the light and into the darkness, which is why the north pole will wind up seeing full weeks of darkness, not one stitch of light, as we go through the next couple of weeks.
Notice that the opposite happens in the southern hemisphere. You get full sunshine for the next couple of weeks as they go into summer.
As we go into spring and autumn, it's even. Even hours of daylight and darkness until it again flips. As we go into summer, in the northern hemisphere, again tilted towards the sun. That's going to open up the daylight and you'll find more of that sunshine in the Arctic Circle and the opposite happens with the darkness in the South Pole as they head into winter in June.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now the City of Light is using light to bring back the Jurassic period. Dinosaurs birds and giant sea creatures greeting visitors at the garden in Paris over the weekend.
France's National Museum of Natural History developed the display especially for the fall and winter months, which have more hours of darkness. The light show will run until January of next year.
Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes you can follow me on Blue Sky, Threads and Instagram @HolmesCNN.
Stick around. My friend and colleague Rosemary Church picks up with more news after the break, So you can have more Australians.
[01:56:59]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
