Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Luigi Mangione Fingerprints Match Crime-Scene Prints; New Reality Taking Shape In Syria After Assad Regime Fall; Russian Army Inches Closer To Ukrainian City Pokrovsk; Ruling Party Changes Course, Backs Presidential Impeachment; FBI Director Chris Wray Announces Plans To Resign; Support for Suspect Luigi Mangione Exploding Online; New Reality Taking Shape in Syria after Assad Regime's Fall; 2034 FIFA World Cup Awarded to Saudi Arabia Amid Human Rights Concerns; Forests of the Deep; Anonymous "Diddy" Accuser Speaks Out for First Time. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 12, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:22]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead on CNN Newsroom, police high shell casings and fingerprints found at the crime scene to the man charged with gunning down a health care CEO on the streets of New York.
Israeli forces capture Syrian tanks and weapons in the so called buffer zone in Syria as other key players move to keep terror groups from advancing across Syria.
And Russian troops are reportedly closing in on a major prize in eastern Ukraine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: We begin this hour with new evidence which investigators say links Luigi Mangione to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The New York police say the gun Mangione was carrying when he was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania matches three shell casings found at the scene of the shooting.
They say Mangione's fingerprints match those found on a water bottle and an energy bar recovered nearby. Mangione's attorneys say he has yet to see any of the evidence as he fights against his client's extradition from Pennsylvania to New York. He also addressed Mangione's outburst on his way into court on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS DICKEY, ATTORNEY FOR LUIGI MANGIONE: He's irritated, agitated about what's happening to him and what he's being accused of. He never had any legal representation until he walked into that building yesterday, and I talked to him. And if you notice, look at the film, look at the difference between when he went in and when he come out. And so once he got in, he finally had legal representation. I like to
think he had somebody that he can trust and has faith in. And now he has a spokesperson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: More now from CNN's Brynn Gingras.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While Luigi Mangione sits alone in a Pennsylvania jail cell, police say they now have crucial connections between the 26 year old and the Manhattan crime scene.
JESSICA TISCH, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: First, we got the gun in question back from Pennsylvania. It's now at the NYPD crime lab. We were able to match that gun to the three shell casings that we found in midtown at the scene of the homicide.
GINGRAS (voice-over): The NYPD commissioner also confirming what CNN first reported. Mangione's fingerprints match evidence found where United Health CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down a week ago.
TISCH: We were also able in our crime lab to match the person of interest fingerprints with fingerprints that we found on both the water bottle and the kind bar near the scene of the homicide.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Sources also telling CNN a to do list on how to carry out a killing was found in the pages of a spiral notebook along with notes justifying the plan, suggesting what could better than, quote, to kill the CEO at his own bean counting conference.
Investigators are also working to track his whereabouts days, weeks, months before the murder. A hotel clerk telling ABC Mangione tried to check into this Altoona, Pennsylvania hotel before his arrest.
JOHN KUKLIS, HOTEL CLERK: There was somebody that checked in and the officer goes, did he have a mask on? Did he ever take a mask off? I think no, he never did take the mask off. He says, I'll be down there in five minutes, talk to you. And we pulled it up on surveillance, and sure stuff, they go, yes, that's him.
GINGRAS (voice-over): In February, Mangione traveled to Japan and met Japanese poker player Obara Jun, who tweeted about having lunch with him in Tokyo. A month later, it appears the 26-year-old went backpacking in Thailand and told a fellow traveler he was in between jobs and was planning to return to the U.S. in June. He stopped hearing from him in July, according to Reuters. Mangione's neighbor in Hawaii says he ran into him three or four months ago after not seeing him for a long time.
CHRIS KWOCK, NEIGHBOR IN HAWAII: He was a nice guy. He, you know, said hi, we rode the elevator a couple times, always smiling, really good. So I just asked him where he's been and for like six months he was like on the mainland. Like he just said medical stuff. GINGRAS (voice-over): Then this summer, it seems as if Mangione fell
off the grid as concerned friends reached out. I haven't heard from you in months. One friend commented on X.
GINGRAS: And More about that missing persons report filed by Mangione's mother. A source telling CNN that she told police she did it because she tried calling her son's personal phone, his work phone where he was working at the time and everything was going to voicemail and she said she was worried about him, but she was not worried that he was a danger to himself or to others. Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:05:10]
KINKADE: Well, earlier I spoke with CNN law enforcement contributor and retired FBI supervisory special agent Steve Moore. I asked him what the new evidence announced by New York police means for the prosecutors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: There's literally a mountain of circumstantial evidence right now connecting Mangione to the murder. But when you start getting into forensics, and you can say the gun he's carrying is the murder weapon and his fingerprints were on items found right next -- right near the body, then it becomes an almost insurmountable mountain of evidence. And I think that's what they're going to have to deal with at this point.
KINKADE: So Steve, what is the next phase of the prosecution as they build their case?
MOORE: If this, well, whether or not it's going to be a death penalty case, but even more so if it is, an investigator is going to have to get now just basically write a biography on him specifically from the most detailed parts are going to be from say the last year where he went from functional adult to disappearing and now committing an execution style murder.
You're going to want to know every day of his life. It's going to -- when they finish, it's going to read like his own diary so that they can track where he was mentally, physically and possibly what motivated him. It will also assist in finding out where he got the IDs, the illegal IDs, and where he picked up the gun, whether he trained with it. All these things are crucial.
At the same time, they're going to go back all the way through high school and even back to birth to track him to show that in case the defense tries to plead not guilty by reason of criminal insanity, they have a defense against that. They are going to go into court absolutely certain they know every single thing about him.
KINKADE: Mangioni's fingerprints are also at the scene, as you mentioned, but his lawyer says they want to see them given that there has been criticism of the credibility of that in the past. I just want to play some sound from Mangione's lawyer.
DICKEY: What we're talking about is fingerprint evidence and some ballistics. Those two sciences in and of themselves have come under some criticism in the past relative to their credibility, their truthfulness, their accuracy, however you want to do it. So that's why as lawyers we need to see it. We need to see how do they collect it, how much of it matches.
KINKADE: So he is trying to obviously break apart the case. How difficult will it be for him to challenge that evidence?
MOORE: Probably fairly impossible. He's not being accurate when he said that firearms evidence and fingerprint evidence have been widely challengable. Certainly in every science there's going to be mistakes made. But generally fingerprints and ballistic markings, tool markings, those things are considered really, really strong. And as long as those are accurately collect, it's a done deal.
You know, they say if the facts are on your side, argue the facts. If the facts are not on your side, argue the person who's bringing the facts. So, it kind of telegraphs what they're going to do. They're going to attack the evidence because that's all they have. If the evidence is real, if the evidence is valid, his client is guilty of an execution murder. And so what you have to do is tear down evidence even at the cost of trying to tear down evidence that is legitimate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINAKDE: Our thanks to our CNN law enforcement contributor and retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Steve Moore.
Well, the new reality is slowly taking shape in Syria as key players there in the region step up efforts to prevent terrorist organizations from making gains after the fall of the Assad regime. At the same time, there's fighting underway between pro-Turkish and Kurdish fractions in northern Syria.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of militant groups dominated by Kurdish organizations, says Turkey and its militia allies are bombarding areas near the Turkey-Syria border. The SDF also says there were two drone strikes in the city of Raqqa. A residential CNN A U.S. military convoy were seen at the northern entrance of that city on Wednesday.
The U.S. has worked with the SDF since 2017 to eliminate the remnants of ISIS and has some 900 troops still stationed in northern Syria.
[01:10:03]
The Israeli military claims to have confiscated several Syrian tanks along the buffer zone that separates the Israeli occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria. The Israeli prime minister had ordered the military to seize the buffer zone as Israel insists that it's working to eliminate threats to its security.
Well, video has surfaced on social media which allegedly shows a warehouse in Syria packed with the illicit drug captagon. It's reportedly located at the headquarters of the military division near Damascus. And if confirmed, the discovery would support claims that the Assad regime was involved in actively exporting the drug.
Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani says his team is working to secure possible chemical weapons sites and promises to shut down all prisons operated by the Assad regime. Here's what he said about the future of the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABU MOHAMMED AL-JOLANI, HAYAT TAHRIR AL-SHAM LEADER (through translator): We must give Damascus its right. We must give its right by restoring people's dignity and pride and by building it properly. The opportunities are available to us and the people who have emigrated, who have sought asylum, who have been displaced, they must return. All these people must return so that hand in hand, we can build the next Syria, God willing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: While Israel is hailing the downfall of the Assad regime, officials also fear what could come next. It's prompted hundreds of strifes on military assets in Syria in an effort, Israel says, to prevent them from falling into the hands of extremists. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the dead of night, Syrian naval ships going up in flames. At daybreak, this is all that remains of the Syrian fleet at Latakia after Israel launched a wave of strikes intended to destroy the strategic arsenal of the newly deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad. Israeli missile ships fired the fatal blow at Latakia. Many more were carried out by Israeli jets. Altogether, nearly 500 strikes since the fall of Assad's regime.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have no intention to intervene in Syria's internal affairs, but we certainly intend to do everything necessary to take care of our own security.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli prime minister says the strikes are aimed at preventing the Assad regime's strategic and long range weapons from falling into the hands of radical Islamists. Syria's rebel leader, Ahmed Al Shara, better known by his moniker Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, previously led Syria's Al Qaeda affiliate. And while he has struck a more moderate tone, there is still considerable uncertainty about what this new Syria will look like.
Israel Ziv, a retired Israeli general, says Israel has long prepared for this scenario.
ISRAEL ZIV, ISRAELI MAJOR GENERAL (RET.): To be honest, we have those plans for over a decade it took like I think three days to refresh those planes and refresh the intelligence, to make the decision and to go for a very big operation.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli military estimates that the operation has destroyed 70 to 80 percent of Syria's strategic weapons, including jets and attack helicopters, cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as air defense systems. It also struck Syria's chemical weapons depots.
ZIV: The strategy now behind the strikes is about taking off any future potential threats that can be shot back at us.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israel has also sent ground troops into Syria, capturing a 155 square mile buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian troops for half a century after Syrian troops abandoned their posts. But Israel is also capturing strategic points beyond that buffer zone, a move it insists is temporary.
Israel's actions drawing criticism from its neighbors.
AYMAN SAFADI, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The aggression that Israel conducted against Syria and occupying this land is a violation and a breach of international law and an unacceptable escalation.
DIAMOND (voice-over): And the United Nations.
GEIR PEDERSEN, U.N. SPECIAL ENGOY FOR SYRIA: We are continuing to see Israeli movements and bombardments into Syrian territory. This needs to stop.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israel very well may having already accomplished what it set out to do. Diamond, CNN Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: With his regime crumbling in a matter of days, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is believed to be in Russia. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports his fall is a major blow to the Kremlin's presence in Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A warm embrace by two leaders feeding off each other. While the Russian president kept Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in power, Vladimir Putin became one of the most powerful players in the Middle East. We are now making no difference between Russian blood and Syrian blood, Assad said in 2017.
[01:15:04]
Now Putin has granted the deposed dictator asylum in Moscow, but their relationship is over. Russian Middle East expert Ruslan Suleymanov tells me.
RUSLAN SULEYMANOV, RUSSIAN MIDDLE EAST EXPERT: Russia is no longer interested in Mr. Assad. I'm sure that the Kremlin will hide Mr. Assad as Russia wants to build up links with the new government in Syria.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Kremlin is indeed refusing to comment on Assad's exact whereabouts. But in a 2019 investigation, the anti- corruption group Global Witness claimed members of Assad's family purchased at least 19 apartments and high rises in the Moscow City area.
PLEITGEN: Moscow City is something like the financial district of the Russian capital. But these skyscrapers don't only offer office space for large companies. There are also residential buildings with very luxurious apartments.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And the Assad family has been affiliated with the Russian capital for years. The dictator's oldest son, Hafez al- Assad, studying at Moscow State University. We found his dissertation from that university on the topic of mathematics and physics online. This official document from Russia's Ministry of Higher Education showing the dissertation was defended less than two weeks ago on November 29.
Exactly the same day, rebels took over Aleppo, Syria's second largest city, ringing in the Assad regime's lightning demise and possibly the end of Russia's role as a dominant power in Syria and in the Middle East.
The Kremlin today saying to them the war in Ukraine is what really matters. The special military operation is an absolute priority for our country, the Kremlin spokesman said. As for Russia and the Middle East, Russia maintains a dialogue with all countries in the region, and we intend to continue doing so. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Russian troops are reportedly closing in on a major prize of the war in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian Mapping Service's Russian forces are now about three kilometers from the key eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. That's after Ukraine's military confirmed that it lost three fortifications in the area.
Pokrovsk is the backbone of Ukraine's defenses in the region, partly because it sits on a key supply route connecting other military hubs. Russia has been trying to capture the city for months. Ukraine's president is continuing to urge allies to send in more air defenses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We don't have enough systems to protect our country from Russian missiles, but our partners have these systems. Again and again we repeat that air defense should save lives, not gather dust in warehouses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Meanwhile, Moscow says there will be a price to pay for Ukraine's attack on a port city in southwestern Russia. The Kremlin claims six U.S. made ATACMS missiles were fired on the city of Tagonrog on Wednesday. Ukraine says it hit military and energy facilities, but didn't say which missiles were used.
Moscow's warning comes just weeks after Russia used its new hypersonic ballistic missile in Ukraine. According to Reuters, a U.S. official is warning that Russia could do so again in the coming days.
Well, South Korea's president has lost support of his own party as he fights to keep his job. On Wednesday, the ruling party made a U-turn and decided to get behind attempts to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. He's been facing calls to step down after imposing a short lived martial law last week, which was quickly overturned by lawmakers.
The ruling party initially opposed an attempt to impeach him, hoping he would step down, but it changed course after the president made it clear that he's not going anywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOON SUK YEOL, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We must prevent the forces and criminal groups that have led the paralysis of government administration and disorder of national constitution from taking over the state administration and threatening the future of the Republic of Korea. No matter what, I will fight to the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The effort to impose martial law backfired on the president, leading to street rallies calling for his impeachment. Lawmakers could hold a new vote to oust him as early as Saturday.
Well, still to come ahead at the FBI announces his resignation. We'll break down Christopher Wray's decision to leave his post before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Plus, firefighters get a break from the gusty winds as they battle --
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:21:57]
KINKADE: FBI Director Christopher Wray says he will step down at the end of President Biden's term in January. He made the announcement Wednesday at a town hall in Washington, calling it, quote, the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray. A clear reference to the shake-up that's expected when President elect Donald Trump takes office.
The move seemingly clears the way for Trump to install Kash Patel as the new director. Patel has been on Capitol Hill this week looking to drum up support for his nomination and says he will be ready on day one to fill the post.
Some in Washington have expressed concerns over what Patel would mean for the FBI's future, but Trump's allies in the Senate are showing their support. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN CRAMER, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: I'm glad he did it, to be honest, because clearly when it comes to his relationship with Donald Trump, it was tainted by the fact that he authorized the FBI to raid his home. And to think somehow he could survive that and maintain his job while Donald Trump becomes president would have been untenable. So I'm glad he did it before he got fired.
JOSH HAWLEY, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: This FBI director activated the FBI against parents who went to school board meetings. I mean, he's the worst FBI director in American history. He shouldn't be able to take the --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: CNN's Evan Perez has more on Wray's decision.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: FBI Director Chris Wray announced plans to resign at the end of the Biden administration, almost three years before his 10-year tenure is set to expire, as it became clear that he would be forced out by President-Elect Donald Trump. Trump nominated Wray to run the bureau after firing the previous FBI director, and he said that he plans to nominate Kash Patel, a vocal defender of Trump, to lead the FBI.
Patel this week has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, meeting with senators to build support for his confirmation vote next year. Wray held a town hall with employees at the FBI headquarters on Wednesday afternoon. It's a traditional event held around the holidays, this time, however, coming a little earlier than normal and with the news that he plans to leave in order to spare the FBI from attacks that were mostly aimed at him.
CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: After weeks of careful thought, I've decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down.
PEREZ: Now, in recent weeks, Wray had wrestled with whether to resign, given Trump's stated plans to replace him, or to wait for Trump to actually fire him once he was in office. Sources tell CNN that some at the FBI and at the Justice Department had urged him to stay because they didn't want Wray to normalize Trump's penchant for replacing FBI directors he doesn't like.
The FBI job is designed with a 10-year term to straddle administrations and to be insulated from politics. Trump has blamed Wray for a number of things. He was particularly unhappy with the FBI's court approved search of his Mar-a-Lago resort back in August of 2022 this is during the investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified documents and which led to his eventual indictment.
[01:25:00] Wray's departure paves the way for Trump to change the entire leadership of the FBI. Deputy Director Paul Abate, a career FBI agent, will take over on January 20th, but he is slated to retire early next year. Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Fire officials in Southern California are hoping to get a better handle on a raging wildfire now that weather conditions are improving. The strong winds have been fueling the Franklin fire since Monday and they've now eased and the fire is now 7 percent contained. 20,000 people are still under evacuation orders or warnings, including Grammy winning singer Cher who had to leave her home for safety in a hotel. More now from CNN's Nick Watt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is going to catch on fire.
NICK WATT, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Locals fought to save their own homes as this fire exploded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's chaos. It's complete chaos. And for me it's an adrenaline rush. And I'm just in the moment putting as much water as they can. And you know there's fire all around.
WATT (voice-over): Over a thousand acres burnt. The good news winds have dropped, but.
ANTHONY MARRONE, CHIEF, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: I don't think we've turned the corner at this point. If the wind changes direction, we're going to have the fire moving into new areas.
WATT (voice-over): There are 1,500 plus firefighters on the ground and relentless water drops from the. air.
DOUG STEWART, MAYOR, MALIBU, CALIFORNIA: All the way to the White House has been checking in on to see what they can do for us and how they can help. We owe a debt of gratitude that we will never forget.
WATT (voice-over): Malibu Seafood, a famous shack by the shore was just saved.
JOHN CHRISTENSEN, OWNER, MALIBU SEAFOOD: Was it just luck. The wind died so, you know, that's the driving force and so it moves slower and that allows all these guys with the big trucks to get in here.
WATT (voice-over): They're closed Bbut dishing out coffee and free lunch for the firefighters.
WATT: I noticed you wouldn't take money from us for the coffee.
CHRISTENSEN: We can't taste bad karma. The next time we'll burn.
WATT (voice-over): Folks in Malibu know to fear fire. Memories remain from the Woolsey fire of 2018, which destroyed over 1600 structures and took three lives. Today --
ROBERT LUNA, SHERIFF, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: At least to date with the information we have now, we have no reports of significant injuries or deaths. And that is a huge victory.
WATT (voice-over): Rivers Redclay and her family stayed to look after their home and all of their animals.
RIVERS REDCLAY, FAMILY HOME THREATENED BY FIRE: We're still not all sleeping at the same time. Everybody is taking shifts and on watch at night. It's very spooky and very eerie because you can look out the window and see what might go up.
WATT: Now for those people who stay behind to look after their houses, remember, many of them don't have power, don't have WI-Fi, don't have cell service, have no communication at all. So they're blind. The mayor of Malibu said today that lack of communication is something that they're going to start working on here before this inevitably happens again. Nick Watt, CNN, Malibu, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, soccer's governing body officially picked Saudi Arabia to host the football World Cup in 2034. Still to come, why the decision is raising concerns for human rights groups.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:32:35]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Lynda Kinkade.
I want to get you up to date on our top story this hour.
Police in New York say they've analyzed the gun found on the CEO shooting suspect Luigi Mangione and it matches shell casings recovered from the crime scene.
They also say Mangione's fingerprints match those on a water bottle and a Kind Bar found near the shooting site. Mangione is facing murder charges, but his attorney is fighting extradition from Pennsylvania to New York. He says there's no question his client will enter a not guilty plea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS DICKEY, ATTORNEY FOR LUIGI MANGIONE: The burden of proof is always on the government, ok. So, you know, again, people forget that he and any other person charged with a crime is presumed innocent. That means we start off square one with a presumption of innocence, of him being innocent. And the rest then follows and then -- and then we challenge the evidence and contest it and battle it out in court where it belongs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, a vocal group of supporters is coming to Mangione's defense, especially on social media.
CNN's Randi Kaye has that part of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: He's accused of cold- blooded murder on a New York city street yet support for Luigi Mangione is exploding online.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we let O.J. off the hook, why can't we let Luigi off the hook?
KAYE: On TikTok, the hashtag "Free Luigi" is inspiring videos like these.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to go ahead and get down to business and figure out how we're going to help my boy, Luigi. We need to put some money on the man's books, make sure he can have honey buns for days, ok, while he's in there.
KAYE: This TikToker echoed frustrations, writing, "people are tired of being treated like a number".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People get into these jobs and positions and forget that these numbers that they're interacting with affects actual people's lives.
KAYE: Others offering themselves up as alibis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen, Luigi Mangione could not have killed that CEO that morning. I know, because he was on a Zoom call with me organizing a fundraiser for kids and canines with cancer. Free Luigi.
KAYE: The propping up of Mangione is so outsized, one TikToker even suggested "Time Magazine" should make him their Person of the Year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Free my boy. He didn't even do it.
KAYE: Mangione has inspired merchandise too. Online retailers are selling "Free Luigi" Christmas ornaments, sweatshirts and coffee mugs, one emblazoned with the words "I'm in love with a criminal".
Mangione's lawyer told CNN that people have been reaching out to his office offering to pay Mangione legal bills. He's not sure he'd accept the money.
DICKEY: Obviously, my client appreciates the support that he has, but it just doesn't sit right with me.
KAYE: A legal defense fund has also been set up on behalf of Mangione. By Wednesday afternoon, the fund had reached over $30,000. Some of the anonymous donors included the words "deny, defend, depose" in their message. At least one referred to Mangione as an American hero. In Altoona, Pennsylvania where Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's
after an employee called police, support for him has given rise to threats in the community.
CHIEF DEREK SWOPE, ALTOONAY, PENNSYLVANIA POLILCE: We have received some threats against our officers and building here, we've started investigating some threats against some citizens in our community. We're taking all those threats seriously.
KAYE: The McDonald's is being targeted too. Fake reviewers online writing, "Never eating at this McDonald's again. Imagine going to grab a Big Mac and witnessing officer Snitchy McSnitch, employee of the month calling the feds on a hero," referring to Mangione.
Another fake review reads "why go here when Taco Bell is just across the way and knows how to keep their mouths shut?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning to everyone other than the person that snitched to my dog Luigi. Like you -- didn't your mother teach you snitches get stitches?
KAYE: Back in New York City, so-called wanted posters have turned up, possibly suggesting some sort of rallying cry. The posters show faces of executives and CEOs, including Brian Thompson, who Mangione allegedly gunned down. His is marked with a red x. It's unclear who is behind the posters.
Randi Kaye, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:34:44]
KINKADE: Well, America's top diplomat is on his way to the Middle East for talks on Syria.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive in Jordan in the coming hours, where he will meet with King Abdullah and top officials before leaving for Turkey later in the day.
He's expected to discuss four key principles the U.S. expects of the new Syrian government, which includes respecting the rights of minorities.
It's an issue he was asked about at a hearing on Capitol Hill ahead of the trip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEITH SELF (R-TX): Mr. Secretary, are you confident that the leader of HTS will be able to will be able to keep his word to protect Christians and Islamic women in rump Syria?
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Mr. Chairman, I'm not confident. I'm encouraged by the fact that they've said the right thing. But what we have to focus on is whether they do the right thing,
including protecting minorities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Blinken's trip comes as the U.S. scrambles to ensure ISIS can't regroup in Syria. Key anti-ISIS partners in Syria say ISIS detention facilities in the country have come under attack, and they've been forced to halt anti-ISIS operations.
People across Syria are now attempting to adjust to a new normal and uncertainty following the collapse of the Assad regime.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reports from Damascus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Across Syria, we're seeing scenes like this. Military vehicles left abandoned on the sides of roads and highways.
And if you look around here, you see these troops shed their military uniforms, you see combat boots, you see their belongings everywhere. And perhaps giving us an indication of how this collapse happened is it appears these soldiers fled fast.
In this location, at least, we're not seeing any signs of them putting up a fight.
72-year-old Bashir Saman is here with his son and his grandchildren.
Did you ever imagine that this day would come?
BASHIR SAMAN, SYRIAN: Really. No. No. At least in my few years left in my life. But I'm afraid of one thing.
KARADSHEH: What?
SAMAN: That someone will come up and say "This is Candid Camera".
KARADSHEH: You still can't believe it happened, can you?
SAMAN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I still feel like I have -- like I'm still watched or something. Like, is there a camera anywhere or something?
KARADSHEH: We're seeing a lot of people stopping here for photos, climbing on the tanks, people bringing their children, telling us that this is history and they want their children to witness it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today we Syrian people are free. Thank God we will always be free. We got rid of the criminal dog Assad and his tyranny.
Say "Bashar is a dog".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bashar is a dog.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bashar is a dog.
KARADSHEH: Syrians still can't believe what they're seeing. The long- feared security apparatus and military just melted away.
You can see people are so happy. But at the same time, this is a reminder that their country is awash with weapons.
There are so many different rebel factions armed to the teeth, and it just exacerbates the fears of people about what might be coming next.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN -- Damascus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, human rights groups are raising red flags after the announcement of Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 World Cup.
The Saudis have pledged to spend billions on the tournament, promising to build or renovate 11 stadiums and 185,000 hotel rooms.
But rights groups are warning of the human cost especially to migrant workers who will work on the projects. There are also concerns about press freedom, the treatment of LGBTQ+ groups and the rights of women, among others.
But FIFA judged the risk to be medium in a recent report.
Joining me now is Stephen Cockburn, head of economic and social justice at Amnesty International. Thanks for joining us.
STEPHEN COCKBURN, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: Hi there.
KINKADE: So a director at Human Rights Watch recently warned of an unimaginable human cost to hosting what is arguably the world's biggest sporting event in Saudi Arabia. What is that cost?
COCKBURN: I think it's a very dangerous decision by FIFA because there is likely to be a large human cost.
I think the biggest cost will likely be paid by migrant workers. There will be hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from Nepal, Bangladesh, Philippines and elsewhere involved in building these enormous infrastructure projects -- stadiums, transport hubs, whole new cities.
And we know from our own research that forced labor is widespread in Saudi Arabia. There are workers who, you know, work in extremely hot conditions, in unsafe conditions, and many die.
And there's no minimum wage there. There's a lack of protection, so workers will feel the brunt of this. But also so many residents who could be evicted from their homes for projects, activists who could end up in prison.
And, you know, when we get to the tournament, fans, especially LGBT fans and women may face discrimination.
[01:39:48]
KINKADE: And so Saudi Arabia, we know, purchased the English Premier League team, Newcastle United. They also convinced, you know, legends like Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. to join the Saudi Pro League.
And a report by HRW titled "Die First and I'll Pay You Later" argues that Saudi Arabia is using the tournament to wash away its poor human rights reputation. Do you believe that's the case?
COCKBURN: Yes, I think that's a big part of what's going on. I mean, Saudi Arabia has invested, I mean, tens of billions of dollars over the last five years into sport, whether it's football, boxing, golf, the World Cup.
And that's, you know, part of that has got domestic objectives in terms of its economy. Part of that's got diplomatic objectives in terms of relations in the world. And part of that is about sportswashing, about laundering its reputation.
And you just have to think back it was only five or six years ago when the -- when Saudi Arabia was being shunned by the world after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and, you know, six years later, it's been awarded a World Cup.
The transformation in its standing in the world has been huge in sports, been a very big part of that.
KINKADE: And of course, you know, when FIFA did evaluate Saudi's bid, you know, the human rights risk they categorized as medium. And they added that there is, you know, good potential that hosting the competition could help contribute to positive human rights impacts in the context of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030.
What is your reaction to that assessment? Is that possible?
COCKBURN: Well, we thought the evaluation was a whitewash. Essentially FIFA did not consider the huge risks that they know -- they know exists in the country and didn't gain the kind of binding -- legally binding guarantees required from Saudi Arabia to show how it would protect workers, fans and activists.
Now, the World Cup can have a positive impact. You know, there is a possibility that you can use a mega event like this with all the world's attention to push through change, but it doesn't happen automatically.
It'll only happen if FIFA and the Saudi authorities and others -- football associations, sponsors decide they want to make it happen and push the forms necessary.
That's what we want to happen now. We really want to press for change. We want this World Cup to happen with meaningful reforms that will benefit people in Saudi Arabia and migrant workers coming from across the world. KINKADE: And of course, we know Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup. It
was criticized for its treatment of migrant workers, among other issues. What similarities do you see?
COCKBURN: There are stark similarities. You know, many of the human rights risks that we saw in Qatar and the human rights realities we saw in Qatar exist in Saudi Arabia, but possibly on a larger scale. It's a bigger country.
The tournament will be bigger and more severe as well. You know, Qatar was not a liberal free place for free expression. But, you know, in Saudi Arabia it's much more repressive. The repression is much more severe.
We know from cases in recent years that, you know, a woman tweeting peacefully her opposition to gender inequality received more than 20 years in prison. That's an extremely difficult environment.
And so we will see the same risks on a bigger scale. And it does feel like FIFA hasn't learned the lessons of that World Cup.
KINKADE: All right. We'll see how this all plays out. No doubt there'll be much more discussion to come.
Stephen Cockburn, good to get your perspective. Thanks so much for your time.
COCKBURN: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, still to come, a team of explorers make a discovery deep in the Mediterranean Sea. We'll have that story next.
[01:43:26]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Well, all this week on "Call to Earth", we are following the work of explorers Ghislain Bardout and Emmanuelle Perie-Bardout. Today we joined them in Greece, where as part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, they're searching for an elusive coral forest deep in the Mediterranean Sea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: In Greece's Fourni archipelago, husband and wife team Ghislain Bardout and Emmanuelle Perie-Bardout are on the hunt for an underwater oasis never before documented and a tip off on a potential location from some local fishermen has doubled their resolve.
And as they approach the site, a welcome party is already there to greet them.
EMMANUELLE PERIE-BARDOUT, CO-FOUNDER, UNDER THE POLE: I've been fascinated by dolphins and whales since I'm a very small girl, so it was really a nice show. They are named as common dolphin. But they are not so common these
days. We don't see them all the time and show how wild and special this place is.
WEIR: Seeing such a large pod of dolphins is a good indicator of the area's marine health. And after seven dives without success, the Under the Pole crew are eager to see if they can finally locate the elusive marine animal forest down in the depths.
GHISLAIN BARDOUT, CO-FOUNDER, UNDER THE POLE: We have never been so close to find it. We discussed with the fishermen and they gave us alignment. They gave us a GPS location. And another fisherman is a fishing year-round.
So definitely it's a fishing spot. And they know from their nets that they are black corals and gorgonians (ph) what we are looking for. So it will be a good spot. We'll see.
Now we are just waiting for the red parachute.
WEIR: Around 40 minutes later word from the sea bed arrives.
G. BARDOUT: Oh amazing. Huge Gorgona forest. Many black corals, sponges -- unbelievable and beautiful. A lot, a lot of fish. Forest between 178 meters on a very large range. So that's a very, very good news. Yes. Yes.
E. BARDOUT: The first time we see the forest is like a huge relief. And also a very beautiful surprise, because it's one of the most beautiful marine animal forest I have ever seen. It's very big. With one dive, you cannot explore all the forest.
You have so many fish, so many species. It really gives hope.
At that depth, we are not used to see so much color. It was amazing. It's really for this moment that I am doing this. So I was very happy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:49:56]
KINKADE: We'll have more from the "Call to Earth" and Under the Pole tomorrow and you can watch the full documentary, "FORESTS OF THE DEEP" on CNN this weekend.
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back.
For the first time, we're hearing from one of the anonymous John Does who've accused music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexual assault. Combs is awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. He's also facing some 30 civil lawsuits filed in the past year,
several of which allege the rapper and producer committed sexual abuse.
One of those accusers is speaking exclusively to CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister. And a warning this interview contains graphic content.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: According to your lawsuit, you were hired by a security firm to work security at one of the infamous white parties that was thrown by Sean Combs in the Hamptons. What was that experience like?
JOHN DOE, ACCUSES SEAN DIDDY COMBS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: At first, he was incredibly friendly, very gracious.
WAGMEISTER: So you had a friendly chat and then, according to your lawsuit, at some point later in the night, Sean Combs himself offered you a drink.
This didn't come from staff or someone holding a tray of drinks. It came from him directly.
DOE: Correct. The first drink started to have some effect on me, and I just thought, wow, these are really strong drinks. It wasn't until the second drink, and it was already too late, that I realized that there was something wrong with the drinks.
Sadly, Sean Combs was waiting in the wings. He was watching from some sort of vantage point, and once I was in a helpless position, and he was sure that he was in a position of power, he then took advantage of the situation.
WAGMEISTER: You allege that you were forcibly pushed into an SUV by Sean Combs. That act alone, according to your lawsuit, left you in considerable pain.
And then once inside the vehicle, your lawsuit says plaintiff was held down by Combs, who overpowered him while he struggled to escape due to the effects of the drugs in his system. And it goes on to say that he sodomized you.
DOE: I was screaming. I was telling him to stop. It was incredibly painful, and he was acting like it was nothing. And he seemed to be disconnected from it. It was abusive beyond belief.
WAGMEISTER: Now, you heard in that piece that Combs' attorneys denied that he has ever sexually assaulted anyone. And back in October, when John Doe initially filed his complaint, I reached out and they gave me a blanket denial statement but did not respond to those specific allegations.
After our interview, I went back to Combs' attorneys and gave them the opportunity to respond to the specific allegations laid out in his lawsuit, and that he discussed with me in the interview. [01:54:42]
WAGMEISTER: They did not respond to his specific claims of being drugged and allegedly being sexually abused, but they did take issue with a number of inconsistencies between our interview with John Doe and John Doe's original complaint that was filed over two months ago.
For instance, in that October complaint, it said that these alleged incidents occurred at the white party in the year 2006. But in our interview, John Doe told me it was 2007.
You also heard that John Doe told me that he was married at the time, and that things were too traumatic for him to ever tell his wife. But his initial complaint said that he had never been married.
After our interview, attorneys for John Doe re-filed an amended complaint, and they acknowledged that mistakes were made when they initially filed.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Thanks very much for that.
Well, a man who faked his own death in the U.S. state of Wisconsin fled to eastern Europe and is now in police custody. This is his booking photo from the Green Lake County jail.
Ryan Borgwardt (ph) told authorities that he staged his disappearance while kayaking on a local lake. He said he overturned his boat, dumped his phone in the water, paddled an inflatable raft to shore. Then he rode an electric bike to catch a bus to Canada and got on a plane. He then reappeared in eastern Europe.
Borgwardt said he left his wife and three children and staged his drowning death because of personal matters. Police say he started communicating with them last month and finally was convinced to come home.
Authorities suggest Borgwardt could be charged with obstructing the investigation into his disappearance. The search for him lasted more than a month and cost at least $35,000.
Well, now to a contest showcasing wild animals in all their glory and splendor. It is, of course, the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
And this year's top prize winner is "Stuck Squirrel". Photographer Milko Marchetti found just the right moment as a red squirrel was jumping into a tree trunk. Marchetti says it makes audiences explode with laughter.
Organizers say more than 9,000 photos were submitted this year, a record. Other notable entries include a mantis looking like a flamingo dancer, a fish jumping out of the water to hunt a bald eagle, and a frog with its head stuck in a bubble.
That does it for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with Rosemary Church after a very short break.
[01:57:05]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
