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South Korean President Yoon's Party Backs Support for his Impeachment; FBI Director Christopher Wray Resigns, Trump to Install Successor Kash Patel; Winds Eased the Malibu Franklin Fire as Weather Conditions Improved; Human Rights Groups Slam Saudi Arabia's Hosting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired December 12, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all over the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.
New York police say they have evidence that directly ties Luigi Mangione to the crime scene as authorities continue to investigate the motive for the killing of a healthcare CEO.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will arrive shortly in the Middle East in an effort to help ensure a smooth transition in Syria after the toppling of the Assad regime.
And human rights groups are expressing concerns over FIFA's pick to host the 2034 World Cup.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us.
The murder case against accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione appears to be getting stronger by the day. New York police now say the gun Mangione was carrying when he was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania matches shell casings recovered from the site of the shooting. And fingerprints found on a water bottle and an energy bar near the murder scene match Mangione's fingerprints.
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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS DICKEY, ATTORNEY FOR LUIGI MANGIONE: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: More now from CNN's Brynn Gingras.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. 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 UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down a week ago.
TISCH: We're 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 be better than quote, "to kill the CEO at his own bean counting conference."
LUIGI MANGIONE, SUSPECT OF KILLING UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO: It's completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people. It's lived experience.
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? I was like, no, he never did take the mask off. He says, I'll be done in five minutes. Talk to you. We pulled up on surveillance insurance stuff. They go, yeah, 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 of 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.
[03:05:07]
Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles, attorney and legal affairs commentator Areva Martin. Appreciate you being with us.
AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: 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. We know the lawyer has said that he will challenge 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: Yeah, I think the evidence is just too overwhelming. The evidence that we have heard about that's been 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? Police say this points to Mangione's possible motive. Do you agree?
MARTIN: Oh, 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.
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: Yeah. How big a challenge would that be, do you think, for the prosecution, the court of public opinion on that matter?
MARTIN: It definitely is something that can't be dismissed. We've heard a lot about this Hegel effect when people like Mangione, 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.
He's had a tremendous amount of success, again, despite the very violent nature of the crime that 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 to him?
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 pleas means you weren't able to differentiate right from wrong when you engaged in the criminal activity.
[03:10:09]
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 aggrieved and that he had some right to, you know, mete out justice as he saw justice towards this particular CEO.
CHURCH: Areva Martin, many thanks for joining us from Los Angeles. I appreciate it.
MARTIN: Thank you.
CHURCH: A new reality is slowly taking shape in Syria. Key players in the region are stepping up efforts to prevent terrorist organizations from making gains after the fall of the Assad regime.
Reuters is now reporting that rebel leader Mohammed al-Jolani said in a written statement that he would dissolve the Syrian security forces and shut down all notorious prisons.
Meantime, 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 told CNN a U.S. military convoy was seen at the northern entrance of Raqqa 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.
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 a military division near Damascus. If confirmed, the discovery would support claims that the Assad regime was involved in actively exporting the drug.
The dawn of a new era in Syria is prompting refugees in Turkey to head back home. One man described his feelings.
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MUHAMMED BARA, RETURNING HIS FAMILY TO IDLIB (through translator): We are optimistic as the statements being released are encouraging and very positive. We are also hearing that basic services are being brought back up quickly after fighting ends. When a battle ends, the next day you'll see basic services up again. This is something very positive that encourages people to come back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: While Israel is hailing the downfall of the Assad regime, officials also fear what could come next. It prompted hundreds of strikes 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.
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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 Muhammed 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.
MAJ, GEN, ISRAEL ZIV (RET.), ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: To be honest, we have those plans for over a decade. It took like, I think, three days to refresh those plans 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, crews 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.
[03:l5:08]
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. The 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 ENVOY 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.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: 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.), U.S. AIR FORCE AND 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 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 is denying that they are moving toward Damascus and 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 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 is movement in places like Deir ez-Zor, where the Kurdish forces that had previously occupied the town have basically moved out of that because of local populations' resistance to their occupation there. So there are a lot of moving parts, as we say, and it is 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 endgame might be here?
LEIGHTON: Yeah, I think the endgame might change, actually, depending on how far the Israelis think they can go. 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 the areas that could impact the northern border area, then Israel risks getting involved in the Syrian civil war and at least the state of it. And that would be something that would be very hard to extricate. So 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 interests 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 border of Tartus.
[03:20:05]
And that is interesting in 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 in Namin, 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. I appreciate it.
LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary. Thanks so much.
CHURCH: Hospital officials in Gaza say Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 17 people, including eight children. The officials say 12 of those were killed in an attack on Nusrat 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 permanent 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.
Israel says it has detained the suspect in a deadly shooting in the West Bank. Military officials say an assailant opened fire on an Israeli civilian bus Wednesday night, killing a 10-year-old boy. Three other people were wounded. The West Bank has seen a major uptick in violence since the outbreak of Israel's war in Gaza in October last year.
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 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)
CHURCH: The street rallies against the president continue even though he now says he never meant to dismiss the legislature. Lawmakers could hold a new vote to oust him as early as Saturday.
Still to come, the head of the FBI announces his resignation and Donald Trump could not be happier. Why it makes the transition process easier for the president-elect, we'll take a look.
Plus, 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.
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[03:25:00]
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(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)
CHURCH: That was FBI Director Christopher Wray announcing he will resign at the end of President Joe Biden's term in January. He called 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.
CNN's Kristen Holmes has more now on Donald Trump's reaction to the news.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump and his allies have been celebrating the resignation of Christopher Wray. In fact, Donald Trump posted on True Social saying this, the resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice. I just don't know what happened to him. We will now restore the rule of law for all Americans.
Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America. Now, he goes on and on, he talks about Kash Patel, but the reason why
this is so significant is because he is talking about one specific instance in this post, which we are told by sources around him, was kind of a turning point in his relationship with Christopher Wray.
One, Donald Trump was not happy with the end of his time in office, particularly January 6th, the fact that he believed that his law enforcement should have stood up and rallied around him, which the FBI, he believes, did not after that election.
But the other part of this was when his house was searched in 2022. This was a search that was conducted by the FBI looking for classified documents, which ultimately led to his own indictment, Trump's indictment in 2023.
Donald Trump viewed this as a breach. It is something he has mentioned. He even brought it up over the weekend when he was asked about Christopher Wray. Now, in that same interview, when he was talking about Christopher Wray, he was asked if he was going to fire him. He alluded to the fact that yes, he would, saying that if I've already put forward Kash Patel, there's reason to believe he would have to fill somebody's job, and that job would have been Christopher Wray's.
Now, it seems clear that Wray had understood that there was two pathways here. One was resignation. Two was being fired by President- elect Donald Trump when he came to office. But when I'm talking to Trump's team, they feel very pleased that this is the path that Wray chose because they believe it paved the way for Kash Patel, who they say is doing very well on Capitol Hill in these various meetings with senators.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 seven percent contained.
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. More now from CNN's Nick Watt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Locals fought to save their own homes as this fire exploded.
UNKNOWN: It's chaos. It's complete chaos. And for me, it's an adrenaline rush, and I'm just in the moment, putting out as much water as I can. And, you know, there's fire all around.
WATT (voice-over): Over 1,000 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.
[03:30:00]
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are 1,500- plus firefighters on the ground and relentless water drops from the air.
MAYOR DOUG STEWART, 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.
WATT: Was it just luck?
JOHN CHRISTENSEN, OWNER, MALIBU SEAFOOD: 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, but 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 1,600 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 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)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Moscow could be within striking distance of a major goal in eastern Ukraine. Still to come, Russian forces reportedly close in on a key city which now looks very much like a ghost town. Back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: 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 today, where he will meet with King Abdullah and top officials before leaving for Turkey.
He's expected to discuss four key principles the U.S. expects of a 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 his trip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEITH SEIF (R-TX): Mr. Secretary, are you confident that the leader of HTS will be able to keep his word to protect Christians and Islamic women in rump Syria?
[03:35:07]
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)
CHURCH: 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 also 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, SOLDIER WHO SURVIVED THE FALL OF THE ASSAD REGIME: Really, you know. At least in my few years left in my life, I'm afraid of (inaudible) that someone will come up and say this is candid camera.
KARADSHEH: You still can't believe it happened, can you?
SAMAN: No.
UNKNOWN: I still feel 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.
UNKNOWN (translated): 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. 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)
CHURCH: After his regime crumbled in a matter of days, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is believed to be in Russia. As CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports, his fall is a major blow to the Kremlin's presence in Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. 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.
Now, Putin has granted the deposed dictator asylum in Moscow, but their relationship is over, Russia and Middle East expert Ruslan Suleymanov tells me.
RUSLAN SULEYMANOV, RUSSIA AND 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 in 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 29th.
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.
[03:40:09]
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.
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CHURCH: Russian troops are reportedly closing in on a major prize of the war in eastern Ukraine.
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A Ukrainian mapping service says 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)
CHURCH: Meanwhile, Moscow says there'll 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 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.
Just ahead, one of the people accusing music mogul Sean Diddy Combs of assault is sharing his story with CNN. That's just ahead.
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CHURCH: Let's get you up to date now on our top story this hour. Police in New York say they have analyzed the gun found on 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 an energy 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.
[03:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS DICKEY, ATTORNEY FOR LUIGI MANGIONE: The burden of proof is always on the government, okay? 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 the presumption of innocent of him being innocent. And the rest then follows and then we challenge the evidence and contest it and battle it out in court where it belongs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: 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 CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's accused of cold- blooded murder on a New York City street, yet support for Luigi Mangione is exploding online.
UNKNOWN: If we let O.J. off the hook, why can't we let Luigi off the hook?
KAYE (voice-over): On TikTok, the hashtag FreeLuigi is inspiring videos like these.
UNKNOWN: 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, okay, while he's in there.
KAYE (voice-over): This TikToker echoed frustrations, writing, people are tired of being treated like a number.
UNKNOWN: People get into these jobs and positions and forget that these numbers that they're interacting with affects actual people's lives.
KAYE (voice-over): Others offering themselves up as alibis.
UNKNOWN: 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 (voice-over): The propping up of Mangione is so outsized, one TikToker even suggested "Time" magazine should make him their person of the year.
UNKNOWN: Free my boy, he didn't even do it.
KAYE (voice-over): Mangione has inspired merchandise too. Online retailers are selling FreeLuigi 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's 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 (voice-over): 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, ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA POLICE: 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 (voice-over): 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.
UNKNOWN: Yo, good morning to everyone other than the person that snitched on my dog, Luigi. Like, didn't your mother teach you snitches get stitches?
KAYE (voice-over): 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)
CHURCH: For the first time, we are hearing from one of the anonymous John Does, who have 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 abusers is speaking exclusively, accusers, I should say, is speaking exclusively to CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister. A warning, though, 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, SEAN DIDDY COMBS ACCUSER: 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.
JOHN 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.
[03:50:03]
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, then he 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.
JOHN 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.
WAGMNEISTER: 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. 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 refiled an amended complaint, and they acknowledged that mistakes were made when they initially filed. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, a humanoid companion to help around the house will introduce you to NEO, the robot that takes artificial intelligence to another level. Back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Human rights groups are raising red flags after the announcement that Saudi Arabia will host 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 costs, especially to migrant workers who will help build the projects. There are also concerns about press freedom, the treatment of LGBTQ-plus groups, and the rights of women, among others. But FIFA called the risk medium in a recent report.
Imagine inviting a robot into your home to take care of the chores you hate doing, or even just to keep your company. One tech firm is developing what it calls a safe, intelligent humanoid to do just that. Kristie Lu Stout introduces us to NEO.
[03:55:09]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How do you take your morning coffee? Milk and sugar? Maybe a latte? Or how about prepared by a humanoid robot? For those daily tasks no one likes to do, tech companies want to be the first to take them off your hands and into the hands of human-like droids.
1X is a leader in the home robot race. Its prototype, NEO, able to handle, as the company's CEO puts it, the simple things.
BRENT BORNICH, 1X FOUNDER AND CEO: There are nothing simple in robotics, but the laundry, tidying, general cleaning, and everyday kind of household tasks, right? And in addition, it's going to be a great companion. You can talk to it, have good conversations, it can teach you things, it can be entertainment.
LU STOUT (voice-over): And it all comes back to A.I. In NEO's case, an A.I. brain and an engineered body working together to make the household companion feel more humid than humanoid.
BORNICH: All of this is modern AI applied to robotics. And what really is exciting about NEO and the pilots that we're starting to roll out now is to have these systems learn among people.
LU STOUT (voice-over): NEO can also be controlled by people, even from across the world. The CEO of 1X tried living with an earlier version of the company's humanoid. He says it was useful at the time, but it wasn't a product he'd pay for. Now NEO's future looks more promising.
BORNICH: We're about to try this again now, and I'm super excited to see the results.
LU STOUT (voice-over): So how much for your sleek new household gadget? Well, it will cost you. 1X says just imagine what you'd pay for your average new car. But if you think the practicality is worth the price, you could have a new roommate as soon as 2025.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And now to a contest showcasing wild animals in all their amusing glory. It's 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.
Other notable entries include a praying mantis looking like a flamenco dancer, a fish jumping out of the water to hunt an escaping bald eagle, and a smiling frog completely splayed out in the water with its head stuck in a bubble. Organizers say more than 9,000 photos were submitted this year, and that is a record.
I want to thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Max Foster in London.
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