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FBI Chief To Step Down; U.N. General Assembly Votes To Demand Gaza Ceasefire; Luigi Mangione Traveled To Japan, Thailand This Year; Rebel Leader Says Syrian Rebels Working to Secure Potential Chemical Weapon Sites and Shut Down Regime-era Prisons; Turkish Drone Destroys Military Equipment in North Syria Seized by Kurdish Group; Military Confiscated Syrian Tanks Along Buffer Zone Says IDF; New Reality Taking Shape in Syria After Assad Regime Fall; Mapping Service Shows Russian Troops Close to Pokrovsk; Moscow Vows to Respond to Ukraine's Attack on Port City; Fighting Between Pro-Turkish and Kurdish Factions in North Syria; Video Points to Assad Regime's Involvement in Illicit Drugs; Strong Winds Ease, Help Firefighters Battling Huge Blaze in Malibu; FIFA Has Officially Announced the Host for the Next Two Men's Soccer World Cups. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired December 12, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:28]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. Just days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, big changes are taking place in Syria, where rival powers are vying for control as Turkey and Israel launch fresh strikes in the region.

Investigators say there's clear forensic evidence linking Luigi Mangione to the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO. Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASH PATEL, TRUMP SENIOR ADVISER: We look forward to a very smooth transition, and I'll be ready to go on day one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The head of the FBI says he plans to step down clearing the way for Donald Trump's controversial pick for the job to potentially take over.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us, and we begin with developments in Syria where a new reality is slowly taking shape. Key players in the region are stepping 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 factions 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.

A resident tells CNN, A U.S. military convoy as seen -- was seen at the northern entrance of the 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. 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 it's working to eliminate threats to its security.

Meantime, Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammad 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 MOHAMMAD AL-JOLANI, LEADER, HAY'AT TAHRIR AL-SHAM (through translator): We must give Damascus its right. We must give it 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)

CHURCH: Right now, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his way to the region for talks on Syria and will be holding talks in Jordan and Turkey.

Families are still desperately searching for loved ones in Syria's notorious prisons that have been operated by the Assad regime. CNN's Clarissa Ward went inside one of them and made an incredible discovery behind a cell door.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Deep in the belly of the regime's Air Force Intelligence Headquarters.

WARD (on camera): These are English letters.

WARD (voice-over): We are hoping to find traces of Austin Tice, an American journalist held captive in Syria since 2012. It's one of many secret prisons across the city. This specific branch was tasked with surveillance, arrest and killing of all regime critics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are all cleaned up.

WARD (voice-over): We don't find any hints of Tice, but come across something extraordinary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't tell, though. It might just be a blanket, but it's the only cell that's locked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he going to shoot it?

WARD (voice over): The guard makes us turn the camera off while he shoots the lock off the cell door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lights up.

WARD (voice-over): We go in to get a closer look. It's still not clear if there is something under the blanket.

WARD: Oh, it moved. Is there someone there? I thought I saw it move. Is someone there? Or is it just a blanket? I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Touch it. There is someone. Hello?

WARD: OK. Let me just (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I told you. It's OK. It's OK. It's OK. It's OK. Journalist, journalist, journalist, journalist.

[02:05:09]

WARD (voice over): I'm a civilian, he says. I'm a civilian.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK. It's OK. It's OK. It's OK.

WARD (voice over): He tells the fighter. He's from the city of Homs and has been in the cell for three months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

WARD (on camera): OK. You're OK. You're OK. You're OK. You're OK.

WARD (voice over): He clutches my arm tightly with both hands.

WARD (on camera): OK. Does anyone have any water? Water?

OK, it's water. It's water. OK. OK. OK. You're OK. You're OK. You're OK.

WARD (voice over): We start to walk him outside. Thank God you are safe. Don't be afraid, the fighter says. You are free.

This is the third prison they brought me to, he says, the third prison. After three months in a windowless cell, he can finally see the sky.

WARD (voice over): Oh, God the light, he says. Oh, God, there is light. My God there is light.

WARD (on camera): OK. OK. Sit, sit, sit. OK. You're OK.

WARD (voice over): Stay with me, stay with me, he repeats again and again.

WARD (on camera): OK.

WARD (voice over): For three months, I didn't know anything about my family, he says. I didn't hear anything about my children.

The fighter hands him something to eat, barely lift it to his mouth.

But his body can't handle it.

WARD (on camera): OK. You're OK.

WARD (voice over): His captors fled during the fall of Damascus, leaving him with no food or water, that was at least four days ago. I'm shaking. My face is shaking, he says. The rebel tells him there's no more army, no more prisons, no more checkpoints. Are you serious? He says. Syria is free, he tells him. It's the first time he has heard those

words.

He tells us his name is Adel Khurbar (ph) and that officers from the much feared Mukhabarat Intelligence Services took him from his home and began interrogating him about his phone. They brought me here to Damascus. They asked me about names of terrorists, he says. Did they hit you, the fighter asked. Yes, yes he says.

As a paramedic arrives, the shock sets in. There's nothing. Everything's OK. The Red Crescent is coming to help you, this man assures him. You are safe. Don't be afraid anymore. Everything you are afraid of is gone.

Tens of thousands of Syrians have disappeared in Assad's prisons. Up until 15 minutes ago, Adel Khurbar (ph) was one of them. He is still petrified. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, the ambulance worker reassures him. Every car I got into, they blindfolded me, he says. It is the end of a very dark chapter for him and for all of Syria.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Damascus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Hospitals officials in Gaza say Israeli air strikes have killed at least 17 people, including eight children. The officials say 12 of those were killed in an attack on Nuseirat in central Gaza. The latest strikes come as the Gaza Civil Defense warns its system is on the brink of imminent collapse, and as the United Nations General Assembly voted to demand an immediate, unconditional and prominent ceasefire in Gaza as well as an immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

The U.S. and Israel were among nine members to reject the resolution. The U.S. Deputy Ambassador says it did nothing to advance a diplomatic solution to the conflict nor did it put enough pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

[02:10:11] New York police now say they can directly tie Luigi Mangione to the sidewalk execution of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. First, the police commissioner says the 3D printed gun found on Mangione when he was arrested on Monday in Pennsylvania matches three shell cases found at the crime scene.

Plus, she says Mangione's fingerprints match those investigators found on a water bottle and an energy bar near the scene. Mangione's attorney says he still has not seen the evidence, but there's no question his client will plead not guilty to murder charges. More now from CNN's Brynn Gingras.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL 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're also able at our crime lab to match the person of interest's 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 be better than "to kill the CEO at his own bean counting conference."

LUIGI MANGIONE, BRIAN THOMPSON'S MURDER SUSPECT: It's completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people.

GINGRAS (voice-over): 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? No, he never did take the mask over. He says, I'll be down there in five minutes to talk to you. We pulled up our surveillance insurance stuff. They go, yes, that's him.

GINGRAS (voice-over): In February, Mangione traveled to Japan and met Japanese poker player Obara June 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 he says he ran into him three or four months ago after not seeing him for a long time.

CHRIS KWOCK, NEIGHBOR OF LUIGI MANGIONE IN HAWAII: He was a nice guy. He, you know, said hi, we rode the elevator a couple times, always smiling. Really good. 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: And more about that missing person's 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 voice mail. 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.

CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles, attorney and Legal Affairs commentator Areva Martin. Appreciate you being with us.

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, despite the mounting evidence of ballistics from the gun, fingerprints, matches, fake I.D.'s, a notebook outlining his plan and all the video linking the suspect, Luigi Mangione to the crime scene. He intends to plead not guilty to murder charges. What does that indicate to you about how his attorney plans to defend him?

MARTIN: Well, a couple of things, Rosemary. We know to be true when you enter into a plea of not guilty, it's not necessarily saying you didn't do the crime, but it is the way that you safeguard legal defenses that you make during a trial. So, I'm not surprised that he is going to plead not guilty. We see that in lots of cases. And oftentimes, after a plea of not guilty, there may be efforts to enter into a plea agreement or ways in which the defendant will try to poke holes or challenge the prosecutor's case to result in lesser charges or to definitely mitigate what could be a lengthy prison term.

So, the not guilty plea is not surprising. What is more surprising is the fighting, the challenging of the extradition from Pennsylvania to New York.

[02:15:09]

We know the lawyer has said that he will challenge and the extradition, and looks forward to cross examining law enforcement agents and others to support his claim that extradition is not appropriate in this case. CHURCH: And what do you think will happen with that then? He will have to go to New York, presumably.

MARTIN: Yes. I think the evidence is just too overwhelming. The evidence that we have heard about this being reported out, clearly establishes a link between Mangione and the killing of Brian Thompson. And for an extradition hearing, it's not proof beyond reasonable doubt. It's just creating probable cause that this individual committed the crime that they've been charged of, and clearly, based on your lead in the ballistics evidence, the fingerprint evidence and all the videotape clearly puts Mangione at the scene of this crime and will be sufficient for a court to determine that he has to be returned to New York.

CHURCH: And Areva, what is the significance of Mangione's notebook where he writes this, and I'm quoting him directly. "What better way to kill someone than to kill a CEO at his own bean counting conference?" So, police say this points to Mangione's possible motive. Do you agree?

MARTIN: Absolutely, points to motive and in some ways, is an admission of his intent and of his plan to kill Brian Thompson. We know that Mangione from what the police have been able to piece together, sees himself as some kind of hero. Sees himself as someone who's taken on not only UnitedHealthcare but also the entire U.S. healthcare system, apparently because of perhaps injuries that he had and difficulties he had with dealing with insurance companies.

He believed that he was doing something that was noble for millions of Americans who may have issues with their insurance company. And we're seeing people, Rosemary, on social media also support him, laud him and praise him for this violence, which is really unspeakable and reprehensible.

CHURCH: Yes. How big a challenge would that be do you think for the prosecution that the court of public opinion on that matter?

MARTIN: Yes. It definitely is something that can't be dismissed. We've heard a lot about this Hagel effect, when people like Mangione or people who are considered to be good looking, who are considered to be in great shape. There's this notion that attractive people some sense about them being less guilty and our criminal justice system treating them differently. And he's had a tremendous amount of success again, despite the very violent nature of the crime he's been accused of.

And if enough jurors believe that somehow he was doing something that was noble, that was for the better good or the greater good, it could cause some issues for prosecution, as they're looking to find non- biased jurors who can follow the law and can convict based on the evidence.

CHURCH: And Areva, while it's not known how a young man like Mangione goes from being a brilliant student to a suspected killer, we do know he was struggling with a back injury and possibly Lyme disease and also perhaps brain fog. How might the suspect's health issues play into this murder case do you think? MARTIN: Well, I wouldn't be surprised if we do hear or see some kind of efforts on the part of his attorney to plead some kind of insanity. But again, not enough evidence to suggest that he could substantiate that insanity. Please, means that you weren't able to differentiate right from wrong when you engaged in the criminal activity and from the writings in this notebook and from some of the comments that have been made, I think that's going to be a pretty Herculean effort on the part of the attorney.

But I think it does play into this notion that this was premeditated, that it was planned because he felt that he had been agreed and that he had some right to mete out justice as he saw justice towards this particular CEO.

CHURCH: Areva Martin, many thanks for joining us from Los Angeles. Appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thank you.

CHURCH: Wanted posters showing healthcare executives are popping up across New York City. We are blurring out faces, but some read wanted denying medical care for corporate profit, healthcare CEOs should not feel safe. An NYPD intelligence report calls the killing of CEO Brian Thompson a symbolic takedown warning it could inspire people to act violently toward other business leaders.

South Korea's president has lost the 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.

[02:20:04]

He has 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 he's not going anywhere. He's now downplaying his move, saying he did not mean to dismiss the legislature but a new vote to oust him could be held as early as Saturday.

And still to come, the head of the FBI announces his resignation. We'll break down Christopher Wray's decision to leave his post when President Biden leaves office. Back in just a moment.

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CHURCH: FBI Director Christopher Wray says he will step down at the end of President Joe Biden's term in January. He made the announcement Wednesday at a town hall in Washington, calling it "the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray." A clear reference to the shakeup 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATEL: We look forward to a very smooth transition, and I'll be ready to go on day one. The senators have been wonderful, and I look forward to earning their trust and confidence in the advice and consent process and restoring law and order and integrity of the FBI.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thinking for the right decision?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Evan Perez has more on Wray's decision.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR 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.

Now, Patel this week has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, meeting with senators to build support for his confirmation vote next year. Now 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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 them to stay because they didn't want ray to normalize Trump's pension for replacing FBI directors he doesn't like.

[02:25:06]

The FBI job is designed with a 10-year term to straddle administration and to be insulated from politics. Trump has blamed Wray for a number of things. He was particularly unhappy with the FBI 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.

Wray's departure paved the way for Trump to change the entire leadership of the FBI. Deputy Director Paul Abbate, a career FBI agent will take over on January 20th but he is slated to retire early next year.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: With less than 40 days to go until Donald Trump returns to the White House, a new CNN poll shows a majority of Americans, 55 percent approve of how he's handling the transition of powers so far. That is higher than it was ahead of his first term eight years ago. Nearly 70 percent believe Trump will bring change to the country but fewer than half think it will be for the better.

Republican lawmakers are not saying much publicly about Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, like Kash Patel, he's been meeting with senators trying to secure their vote for his nomination. CNN's Lauren Fox has more on how some of those meetings are going.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's been yet another critical week for Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Defense. He met with Senator Susan Collins, a critical swing vote from the state of Maine, a Republican. And behind closed doors, we're told that the two of them had a wide-ranging meeting in which Pete Hegseth came off as serious and thorough when they were talking about the Department of Defense.

Senator Susan Collins has told reporters after that meeting that she touched on a series of issues. She said that she asked one tough question after another. Here's what she said about their meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I impressed him on both his position on military issues as well as the allegations against him. I obviously always wait until we have an FBI background check and one is underway in the case of Mr. Hegseth. And I wait to see the committee hearing before reaching a final decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: But Collins, like several other swing Republican votes in the Senate right now, withholding whether or not she will ultimately back Hegseth. Now, we should note that it's not typical for Senator Collins to announce a minute after a meeting how she's going to be voting, but she says she's going to continue going through this process that she looks forward to the confirmation hearing moving forward.

And obviously that is going to be yet another critical moment for Hegseth. He's behind closed doors, seemingly connecting with a lot of these senators and so far so many of them are not coming out against his nomination but they are reminding him in these sessions that he has to be prepared for what is going to be a grueling, long and under oath testimony when he tries to buy for this job in a public confirmation hearing.

On Capitol Hill for CNN, I'm Lauren Fox.

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

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[02:31:12]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Returning now to developments in Syria, the leader of the main rebel group, HTS, says his team is working to secure potential chemical weapon sites. Mohammed al-Jolani is also promising to shut down prisons operated by Bashar al-Assad.

Meantime, in northern Syria, Turkish state media reports that a Turkish drone destroyed military equipment that had been seized by a Kurdish group. This comes amid ongoing fighting between pro-Turkish and Kurdish factions. 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 it is working to eliminate threats to its security. Joining me now is Colonel Cedric Leighton, CNN Military Analyst and retired Air Force Colonel. Good to have you with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you so much, Rosemary. Always great to be with you.

CHURCH: Good to have you. So since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the U.S., Turkey, and Israel have been launching hundreds of strikes on military targets in an effort to prevent terrorist organizations making gains. But Israel has gone beyond seizing the demilitarized zone near the Golan Heights, moving into Syria, and now the Arab League is accusing Israel of executing a land grab. What is going on militarily inside Syria?

LEIGHTON: Well, it's a very complex situation, Rosemary, and one of the aspects of it is exactly that Israeli incursion that the Arab League is complaining about. One of the things that the Israelis have done is, as you mentioned, move beyond the ceasefire line that the -- that has existed since 1974 between Israel and Syria. And it's actually the first time since the 1973 war that Israel has gone on to a position that is closing in on Damascus.

Now, Israel in denying that they are moving toward Damascus and it would be, from a military standpoint, in my view, very foolish for the Israelis to do that. But they have captured Syrian equipment. They have gone into areas that the Syrian army occupied before (ph) several Syrian army posts have been abandoned. And so the Israelis have taken those areas over, they say, in order to prevent terrorist groups from occupying them and threatening the northern part of Israel, and obviously, their positions and settlements in the Golan Heights region.

So that's that part of the equation in Syria. The other parts, of course, include fighting in the northern areas, Kurdistan, the SDF forces that are supported by the United States. The Kurdish-backed forces there are fighting with the SNA, which is the Syrian National Army, which is supported by Turkey. So this is where the Turkish and U.S. interests actually diverge.

And in essence, those are several of the things that are going on. Plus, of course, there's movement in places like Deir ez-Zur where the Kurdish forces that had previously occupied the town have basically moved out of that because of local population's resistance to their occupation there. So, there are a lot of moving parts, as we say, and it's a very fluid situation.

CHURCH: And Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning that Israel will act to protect its own security. Is that what's happening or is he going beyond that goal? What do you think his end game might be here?

LEIGHTON: Yeah, I think the end game might change actually, depending on how far the Israelis think they can go.

[02:35:00]

So in this particular case, I think it's reasonable to presume that the Israelis are going to act in their security interests. That's almost a given. But if they go beyond that, if they go beyond securing areas that could impact the northern border area, then Israel risks getting involved in the Syrian Civil War, and at least (inaudible) and that would be something that would be very hard to extricate itself -- they'd have a difficult time extricating themselves from that.

CHURCH: And you mentioned, of course, these dozens of competing factions within Syria, including some of those backed by Turkey. They're now vying for control in different parts of the country, of course. And then there's the interest of Russia and Iran, whatever they decide to do in the wake of Assad's fall. So, where is all this likely going as the new transitional government tries to establish stability in their country?

LEIGHTON: Yeah, that's going to be very interesting to see how the new transition government actually does that. But the Russians have moved some of their naval assets out of the Port of Tartus. And that is interesting in and of itself, and could mean that they are concerned about their ability to keep those assets in Syria. And as far as the air base is concerned, the Khmeimim, which is near Latakia, Syria, that is something that appears to still be operating at normal capacity.

But it's pretty clear that the types of movements, from a cargo perspective and a logistics perspective, have actually decreased during the last month or so. And given all of that, it's really quite clear that both Iran and Russia have lost a great deal of influence in Syria. They've lost their primary ally in the Assad regime, and it remains to be seen whether the new government under HTS' control actually supports a continued Russian or Iranian presence there. It's pretty clear they don't support the Iranian presence.

CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary. Thanks so much. CHURCH: Video has surfaced on social media, which allegedly shows a large warehouse in Syria packed with the illicit drug Captagon. It's reportedly located at the headquarters of a military division near Damascus that was commanded by former President Bashar al-Assad's brother. If confirmed, the discovery would support claims that the Assad regime was involved in actively exporting the drug.

Russian troops are reportedly closing in on a major prize of the war in Eastern Ukraine. A Ukrainian Mapping Service says Russian forces are now about three kilometers from the key Eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk. That is 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. Well, 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 Taganrog on Wednesday. Ukraine says it hit military and energy facilities, but it did not say which missiles were used.

Moscow's warning comes just weeks after Russia used its new Oreshnik 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, firefighters get a break from the gusty winds as they battle a huge blaze in Malibu, California. The latest on the Franklin Fire coming up after a short break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:41:13]

CHURCH: Fire officials in Southern California are hoping to get a raging wildfire under control now that weather conditions are improving. The strong winds that have been fueling the Franklin Fire since Monday have eased and the fire is now 7 percent contained. Rain is forecast for Thursday, which could also help slow the fire. 20,000 people are still under evacuation orders or warnings, including Grammy winning singer Cher who had to leave her home and seek safety in a hotel.

FIFA has officially announced the host for the next two Men's Soccer World Cups.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will be Saudi Arabia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Fans celebrated as Saudi Arabia was confirmed as host for 2034. They will be the second nation in the Middle East to host the tournament since Qatar staged the 2022 edition. Meanwhile, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco were named co-hosts of the 2030 tournament while Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina will all stage an opening match each to mark the 100-year anniversary of the tournament.

I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

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[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)