Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Diplomatic Push Underway to Ease Transfer of Power in Syria; Syrians Search Morgue for Missing Loved Ones; Trump Opens NYSE Trading as TIME's 'Person of the Year'; Search Warrants Issued in New York Related to CEO Murder; Missing American Travis Timmerman Found in Damascus; Children Suffer as Toxic Smog Blankets Delhi; FBI, DHS: No Evidence That Drone Sightings Pose a Threat; Human Cell Research in Space May Reveal Secrets of Aging. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired December 13, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DANTE SALVER (ph): -- than he was in the NFL.
[00:00:03]
LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we'll see how it all comes down. UNC, Bill Belichick. Hmm.
Dante Salver (ph), thank you so much.
SALVER: Thank you.
COATES: And hey, everyone. Thank you so much for watching. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" starts right now.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, key players are working on a smooth transfer of power in Syria after rebels ousted Bashar al-Assad.
Hamas is said to be negotiating differently for a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza, after the Syrian government's collapse.
And researchers are looking to the weightlessness of space to unlock the mysteries of aging back on Earth.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: Well, efforts to ensure a smooth transfer of power in Syria are gaining momentum after the sudden fall of the Assad regime.
Jordan is hosting a weekend summit with foreign ministers from Western and Arab nations. A joint delegation from Turkey and Qatar has arrived in Damascus for talks with the caretaker government.
Syria's Information Ministry says the goals include engaging with Arab and international partners and reviving the country's economy.
They're meeting with rebel commander Mohammed al-Jolani, the de facto leader of the new administration, and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also in the region, meeting Thursday with Turkey's president. The U.S. backs the primarily Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, who are at odds with the Free Syrian Army, backed by Turkey. Blinken stressed the need for unity to prevent a resurgence of ISIS.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We want to avoid sparking any kinds of additional conflicts inside of Syria at a time when we want to see this transition to an interim government and to a better way forward for Syria.
Part of that also has to be ensuring that ISIS doesn't rear its ugly head again. And critical to making sure that doesn't happen is the so- called SDF, the Syrian Democratic Forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, for its part, the Free Syrian Army has announced a four-day ceasefire in the Northern Syrian city of Manbij.
Rival Kurdish forces have now withdrawn from that area.
Firas Maksad is the director of strategic outreach and a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.
Good to have you with us.
FIRAS MAKSAD, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC OUTREACH/SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Thank you.
KINKADE: So, what do we know about the efforts made by the U.S. to connect with rebels in Syria to ensure some stability going forward?
MAKSAD: Well, I've said time and again that, for Syria and for the region, the collapse of the Assad regime is a moment of great opportunity but also great peril.
The United States here has an opportunity to emerge as the big power in the Middle East at a time of great power competition.
There is a pax Americana here that is in the making, given that its rivals -- Russia, but also the regional power of Iran -- are right now on their back foot.
The Iranian axis in the region from Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Assad regime in Syria, is essentially faltering.
But the -- the tricky part in all of this is that America's allies are not united.
And so, the Arabs have an interest of their own. The Turks a different agenda. The Turks, for example, very much adopting the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, whereas that poses a threat to American allies in Jordan, the Hashemite royal family.
And then certainly, within Syria, Kurd versus Arabs, and various movements and -- and trends within those rebel forces.
So, it's a moment where all the spokes end up in Washington, which is the only hub that can bring all these pieces together. And this is why it's so crucial that Secretary Blinken is in the region, that American diplomacy remains engaged, and that we try to put the pieces of that puzzle together, most of them America's allies, but perhaps not necessarily working together.
KINKADE: So, can you tell us about the values of this rebel group and how they will potentially lead this next transition within Syria?
MAKSAD: Well, what we know about HTS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is the fact that it was part and parcel of al Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra being affiliated with that.
It has rebranded. It has gone to great lengths to distance itself from its past.
And its leader, known as Jolani, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is saying all the right things about wanting to moderate, wanting to build an inclusive Syria, recognizes -- recognizing the rich tapestry of the various communal groups that make Syria.
[00:05:07]
And so, we ought to put that to the test. And American diplomacy, and Secretary Blinken, has pretty much issued a list, a checklist of issues for these rebels to try and comply with, beginning with giving up Syria's chemical weapons, which they have said that they're ready to do. Governing in an inclusive way; and also making sure that the United States and the various forces on the ground remain committed to fighting the remnants of Islamic State.
KINKADE: So, you -- you believe that they will be able to unite the country in the way they lead?
MAKSAD: I think the only way to be -- to have a viable govern -- governing system in Syria is to be inclusive.
This is a country of various communities: the Druze to the South, the Kurds to the to the Northeast. And even within the Arab Sunni core, there is -- there are differences. The Damascenes, the Aleppines, much more cosmopolitan and worldly and liberal; whereas the heartland is, in many countries, much more conservative and perhaps aligned with the ideology of the rebels.
So, this is a -- this has to be some sort of a coalition government. And there is a political process in place that is spelled out through a U.N. Security Council resolution.
And that's exactly what American diplomacy and American allies will be meeting in Jordan tomorrow, to try and push forward that U.N.-led transition process. KINKADE: And I just -- if we can just, for a moment, turn to Gaza, the
hostage ceasefire deal. What's the status, given that we're hearing that the U.S. wants to close this deal as soon as possible? I mean, it certainly sounds like they've tried everything.
MAKSAD: Well, I did start out this conversation by mentioning the potential for a pax Americana in the Middle East. And the ceasefire in Gaza, and transitioning to talk about the day after, perhaps eventually with the Trump administration coming into the office, very much focused on regional integration and the potential for normalization between Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries and Israel, it all starts in Gaza.
And so, it is very important for the United States to get to a ceasefire.
And what we're witnessing is that Hamas, perhaps realizing the new balance of power in the region and how much it is at a disadvantage, is now willing to talk about a temporary 60-day ceasefire, despite the fact that the Israeli military remains in Gaza.
So, it's ready to relax some of the conditions that it had put in place previously. And that's why we're seeing the potential for movement on a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
KINKADE: Firas Maksad in Saudi Arabia. Always great to get your analysis. Thanks so much.
MAKSAD: Of course.
KINKADE: Well, many people in Syria are searching for their missing loved ones. CNN's Clarissa Ward visited a morgue in Damascus where the bodies left behind reveal signs of cruelty inflicted by the Assad regime.
We should warn you, viewers, that you might find some of the images in this report disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A woman wails on the floor of the Mujtahid Hospital.
"My mother, she's been missing for 14 years," she says. "Where is she? Where's my brother? Where's my husband? Where are they?"
Dr. Ahmed Abdullah shows us into the morgue, where about 35 bodies have been brought in. Discovered in a military hospital days after the regime fell, they are believed to be some of the last victims of Bashar al-Assad.
"Take a look. This is the crime of the regime," he says. "Even in the Middle Ages, they didn't torture people like this."
Another man points to their tattered clothing, evidence, he says, that most were detainees at the much-feared Saydnaya prison. Even in death, they are still only identified by numbers.
Everyone here heard about the horrors that took place in Assad's notorious prisons. But to see it up close is something entirely different.
WARD: A lot of them have bruises, have horrible wounds that seem to be consistent with torture. I just saw one woman retching as she came out of the other room.
Families are now going through, trying to see if their loved ones are here.
WARD (voice-over): There's not enough room for all of them in the morgue, so a makeshift area has been set up outside. More and more families stream in, the light from their cell phones the only way of identifying the dead.
"My only son. I don't have another. They took him for 12 years now, just because he said no. Twelve years. My only son," this woman shouts. "I don't know anything about him. I ask Allah to burn him," she says of Assad. "Burn him and his sons like he burned my heart."
[00:10:09]
A crowd swarms when they see our camera. Everyone here has lost someone.
WARD: All of these people are asking us to take the names of their loved ones, to help them try to find them.
WARD (voice-over): It is a mark of desperation. Such is the need for answers.
But finding those answers will not be easy.
At the military intelligence facility known as the Palestine Branch, officers burned documents and destroyed hard drives before fleeing.
But their terror was on an industrial scale. Troves and troves of prisoner files remain. It will take investigators years to go through them.
Below ground, more clues etched on the walls of cells that look more like dungeons.
WARD: So, you can see this list of names of, it looks like, 93 prisoners here. There's also a schedule for keeping the cell tidy and just graffiti everywhere. People trying to leave marks for someone to find.
WARD (voice-over): Down here, insects are the only life form that thrives. It's clear that anyone who could survive this will never be the same again.
The cells are empty, but the doors are finally open and the quest for answers is just beginning. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: That was CNN's Clarissa Ward reporting there from Damascus.
Well, the U.S. believes the new reality in Syria could be opening the door for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held there, most of them since Hamas launched its rampage in Israel more than 14 months ago.
But now, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan is expressing cautious optimism that a deal can be reached this month.
He met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Thursday.
Sullivan says Hamas is negotiating differently, now that the Assad regime is gone, and there's a ceasefire in Lebanon. He also dismissed suggestions that Israel is waiting for the next U.S. administration to make a deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I got the sense today from the prime minister he's ready to do a deal. And when I go to Doha and Cairo, my goal will be to put us in a position to be able to close this deal this month, not later.
Now, we've been close before and haven't gotten there, so I can't make any promises or predictions to you. But I wouldn't be here today if I thought this thing was just waiting till after January 20th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, as diplomats talk ceasefire, Israel's deadly strikes are showing no signs of slowing down. Palestinian officials say more than 40 people were killed in multiple strikes Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
This video shows the panic and chaos after two attacks in Southern Gaza, where 15 people were reportedly killed. Palestinians say they were guarding humanitarian aid, but Israel says they were Hamas members who wanted to steal it.
At least 33 others were killed in a separate attack on this residential block in central Gaza, including nine children. More than 80 others were injured. Survivors said the victims never really had a chance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RA'ED AL-LOUH, WITNESS (through translator): People were asleep, and we only saw a rocket coming down. It targeted displaced people who were sleeping and innocent. We only heard screams. They all died. No one survived.
OBEID ABU SA'ED, WITNESS (through translator): There is no safety anywhere. People flee. They ask them to go from one place to another and target them there. This is our life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, a British-based surgeon says food shortages are starting to show visible signs among children in Gaza. She says some children's hair color is starting to turn lighter, which she attributes to protein malnutrition.
Well, the U.S. president-elect stepped away from inauguration preparations to accept two big honors Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BELL RINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: That is Donald Trump there, ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, accompanied by family members and the vice president-elect. The appearance was coordinated with "TIME" magazine, which named Trump its Person of the Year for a second time.
CNN's Brian Todd has more on the controversial issues Trump addressed in his sit-down with the magazine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Thank you.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The now two time "TIME" magazine Person of the Year spared little controversy in his interview. President-elect
Donald Trump saying in his first hour in office, he'll look at possibly pardoning people convicted of participating in the January 6th attack on the Capitol, focusing on the nonviolent offenders. Quote, "I'm going to do case by case. And if they were nonviolent, I think they've been greatly punished. I'm going to look, if there's some that were really out of control."
VIVIAN SALAMA, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": There is a lot of pressure from the base to see this happen. People in Trump's base really feel like these people were treated unfairly.
[00:15:09]
TODD (voice-over): Trump also reiterating to "TIME" his plan to use the American military to deport migrants who entered the U.S. illegally, a stand that was popular with his base during the campaign.
TRUMP: We will use all necessary state, local, federal and military resources to carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.
TODD (voice-over): Trump told "TIME" he'll push to use the military for deportations, quote, "up to the maximum level of what the law allows."
Although U.S. Law says the military can't be used to enforce domestic laws without an act of Congress, Trump said, "It doesn't stop the military if it's an invasion of our country, and I consider it an invasion of our country."
Trump also seemed to be open to the unproven, debunked theory that childhood vaccines cause autism, an idea often peddled by Trump's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an unabashed vaccine skeptic.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. (I), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do believe that autism does come from vaccines.
TODD (voice-over): Trump told "TIME" he'll direct Kennedy to study the matter and would consider getting rid of some vaccines for children. Quote, "We will know for sure what's good and not good."
TODD: How will real health experts react to Trump and RFK Jr. determining what's good and not good?
SALAMA: Of course, there's going to be an enormous pushback for -- if Trump and RFK Jr. are the ones that are assessing -- scientifically, medically or otherwise -- what is good and not good.
Every case is different, and you need enormous medical -- medical research, scientific research to back that up.
TODD (voice-over): Trump told "TIME" he vehemently disagrees with the Biden administration's decision to allow Ukraine to use American-made weapons to strike inside Russia. "We're just escalating this war and making it worse," Trump said, fueling worries that his administration might curtail U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Trump complaining, in a recent interview with NBC, about how much the U.S. was paying.
TRUMP: Europe is in for a fraction, and war with Russia is more important for Europe than it is for us.
We have a little thing called an ocean in between us.
TODD: In the interview with "TIME," Trump declined to say whether he's spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the election.
He was pushed repeatedly on whether he would abandon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump responded that, if you want to reach an agreement, the only way to do that is not to abandon.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Ron Brownstein, a CNN senior political analyst and a senior editor at "The Atlantic," and joins us now live.
Good to have you with us, Ron.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Lynda.
KINKADE: So, Trump named "TIME" magazine's Person of the Year for a second time, ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. What did you make of the reasons "TIME" magazine named him again to be Person of the Year?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, he did something that hasn't been done in the U.S. since 1892.
The president, you know, defeated' coming back four years later and winning -- winning the White House back. So, it's not an unreasonable choice. It's not necessarily a, you know, a validation or an endorsement of everything that Trump stands for or is propounding.
But I think it is a reasonable assessment that of -- of his impact on American life and what's coming in the next few years.
KINKADE: And speaking of what's coming in the next few years, we did, you know, read that Trump has reaffirmed his plans to pardon most of those convicted for their actions --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
KINKADE: -- during the January 6th insurrection. He said maybe in the first nine minutes. That really isn't surprising, though, right?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. You know, the big message from this interview with "TIME" magazine, like the interview with "Meet the Press," like the other events he's done since the election, is that he intends to do what he ran on.
Now that, you know, shouldn't sound shocking, but I think it will be surprising to a lot of voters. I mean, you know, there is a sense among parts of the electorate that Trump just kind of spouts off. You know, he -- he kind of says things off the top of his head.
In fact, as we've talked about before, the academic research is very clear. When presidents get elected, they try to do what they said they would do.
And, you know, they can't always do it. Sometimes they get stopped by the courts. Sometimes they get stopped by Congress, but they sure try.
And so, voters who kind of voted for Trump, because they thought he offered them a better chance of economic stability, of bringing prices under control, but really weren't sure about all of the "I's" and the "T's" in his agenda -- pardoning the January 6th rioters, mass deportation with internment camps and the military, ending the Department of Education, purging the civil service -- all of that is coming.
He may not get to -- as I said, he may not succeed in all of it, but it is all coming, and it will be roiling the American political landscape in the months ahead. [00:20:00]
KINKADE: Yes. And looking at his inauguration, he invited the Chinese President Xi and was snubbed. And sources tell CNN that he's been inviting other world leaders. What does that suggest about how he wants to be perceived entering his second term?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I think Trump is feeling enormously empowered. I mean, think about how empowered he felt when he won in 2016. He lost the popular vote by almost 3 million. He won the Electoral College only by 80,000 votes.
As he noted in the interview today with "TIME" magazine, correctly, when he arrived in Washington, the Republican leaders in the House and Senate, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, were pretty overtly hostile to him. The Supreme Court at that point was 4 to 4, with Anthony Kennedy as a very moderate swing justice on the Republican side.
Think about how different the world looks to him today, with leadership in both chambers that are extremely reluctant to cross him, as we are watching unfold on his nominees. A 6-3 Republican majority on the court that has already declared him, you know, immune, effectively immune from criminal prosecution. A popular vote victory, a much more solid Electoral College victory.
I think he wants world leaders here because he is feeling his oats and he -- he, you know, he is ready to move very aggressively, as I said, on the very aggressive agenda that he laid out on the campaign trail in '24.
I think it's just going to be a very different start to this presidency than we -- than we saw then. And -- and one in which he is going to push until someone pushes back on a whole series of fronts.
KINKADE: And just quickly, on border security, Trump did say that he wants to use the military to carry out mass deportations, even though the reporter from "TIME" said it's illegal.
Last time, last term, he separated children and families at the border.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
KINKADE: And he hasn't ruled that out this time. What are your thoughts on that policy?
BROWNSTEIN: Look, I think, you know, that was the centerpiece of his domestic policy agenda in 2024.
And both he and Stephen Miller, his top kind of immigration adviser, were very explicit that they intended to use the National Guard. They intended to deputize local sheriffs and police departments, and they intended to set up internment camps, all of which he basically reaffirmed today.
And you had Trump, both in "Meet the Press" and on "TIME," reaffirm what Tom Homan, who is going to be his immigration czar in the White House, said: that they will attempt to deport U.S. citizen children of undocumented parents.
As I've mentioned to you before, there are 4 million Hispanic kids who are U.S. citizens, born here in the U.S., who have at least one undocumented parent.
And the only way to avoid industrial-scale family separation, if he really goes through with mass deportation, is to also remove the kids. And he has made very clear that they intend to try to do that.
Now, the courts may stop him. But I think people have to be bracing themselves for the prospect that they will try to not only deport undocumented parents, but citizen kids in potentially large numbers in the weeks ahead.
KINKADE: Yes, this could get very messy. Ron Brownstein, as always, great to get your analysis. Thank you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: We are learning new details about the murder of UnitedHealthcare's CEO as a grand jury in New York reportedly hears evidence against the prime suspect. We'll have the details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:25:41]
KINKADE: Well, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare's CEO is not a member of the insurance company, according to their spokesperson. Sources telling ABC News that prosecutors in New York have started presenting evidence against Luigi Mangione to a grand jury.
CNN's Brynn Gingras reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Sources telling Kara Scannell and myself that at least three search warrants have been conducted in New York as part of this investigation.
Some of these search warrants happening on evidence, we've actually known about one of them being the burner phone that was found in the getaway route that police say the suspect took after this killing happened.
If you remember, there was a partial fingerprint lifted from that burner phone, and the police commissioner now saying that fingerprint matches their main suspect, Luigi Mangione.
It's unclear what sort of evidence they've been able to get from that burner phone, getting into it with that search warrant. But certainly, that is a continuing effort by police. Another one of those search warrants, we've learned, was conducted on
that book bag that was found in Central Park. Police, of course, going to use that evidence to try to connect Mangione to the crime, as well.
We know inside that backpack, according to sources, was Monopoly money and some clothes.
We also know there were searches that have been conducted as part of this investigation: of that hostel, where police say the suspect stayed Mangione prior to the killing, according to police.
And also, we know Brian Thompson, the victim in this case, stayed at a hotel room across the street from where he was killed. So that search was conducted, as well.
Now, all of this, according to ABC, this is evidence that's going to go in front of the grand jury. We know a felony arrest warrant was issued, but now the next procedural step is for the Manhattan district attorney to get an indictment in this case.
So. they're going to have to present evidence in front of a grand jury. It can include some of this evidence that we've talked about: the ballistics of the gun, the surveillance video. It could even possibly be a witness who saw the murder happen.
If you remember, from that alarming video, we saw someone leave the frame. It's possible that person could go in front of the grand jury. It's very unclear.
What we do know, though, is that the next step, as far as court is concerned, is a court date set for this hearing about extradition. And that is now set for December 30th. So just in a couple of weeks we'll learn if Mangione will be extradited back to New York.
Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: A missing American was found wandering barefoot around Damascus. What he was doing in Syria and what the U.S. is planning to do to bring him home, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:30:36]
KINKADE: A missing American was found walking barefoot around Damascus Thursday. Travis Timmerman says he spent months in a Syrian prison after entering the country as a pilgrim.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A U.S. citizen that went missing in Hungary has turned up in Damascus. ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Travis Timmerman, a Missouri native, 29 years
old, a U.S. citizen, was found disoriented, barefoot and wandering South of Damascus in a field.
He has spoken to media. He has spoken to residents in the area. I want you to take a listen to this interview with NBC to get a sense of his state of being.
TRAVIS TIMMERMAN, AMERICAN FOUND ALIVE IN SYRIA: After that, I entered into the Syrian border illegally. I crossed the mountains between Lebanon and Syria, and I was living in that mountain for three days and three nights without food or water.
And I was seen by a border guard whilst I did that. And then that's when I was arrested. I was sent to a -- a Syrian prison called Philip -- Philistine (ph).
ABDELAZIZ: Now, as you heard there, Timmerman does admit that he illegally crossed into Syria from Lebanon. Under the very tight control of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, anyone crossing into Syria would absolutely be stopped by security forces. That's what took place a few days after he arrived in Syria.
Timmerman was then taken to a regime prison. He was held there for seven months.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): He says he was treated relatively well, given food, given water, given bathroom breaks. But he says he heard the sound of people being tortured in that prison every single day.
Now, when rebels liberated Damascus, he, among others, was able to break out of prison. The U.S. says it is aware of his case --
ABDELAZIZ: -- and is providing support on the ground. An extraordinary tale and a welcome end for his family.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Toxic smog is choking parts of India and seriously harming its poorest and most vulnerable. In Delhi, life-threatening pollution has become a regular occurrence during the winter.
CNN's Hanako Montgomery reports that children are particularly at risk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 3-year-old Gahat (ph) and his baby sister, clean air is a luxury that their parents can barely afford.
MUSKAN, MOTHER (through translator): I feel scared that my children might die. I'm filled with regret when I think about what might happen to them. MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Delhi's air is so toxic that Muskan says her
kids have needed a nebulizer since birth. She spent months saving up for this machine, rag-picking the very trash that's also poisoning her children, earning just a dollar a day.
MUSKAN (through translator): During the winter months, their ribs start to hurt. Mucus freezes in their chest. They vomit, too. We're so worried. I have three children. They keep falling sick in this dust.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): But her children are the lucky ones.
DEEPAK KUMAR, FATHER (through translator): The doctor asked us to buy a nebulizer, but we don't have that kind of money.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): When Deepak's daughter struggles to breathe, they rush to a nearby clinic, where he says each breath costs more than his daily wage. Nights are his worst fear. No doctors, just balms and thoughts of mounting medical costs.
KUMAR (through translator): I want to leave Delhi, but I can't, because I need to pay off a debt for my daughter's health.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Every winter, toxic smog blankets Delhi. A deadly mix of smoke from crop fires, coal plants and traffic.
Officials block cars and close schools as air pollution can hit 60 times the World Health Organization's air quality guidelines. But like winter, the smog returns every year, and its biggest victims are the tiniest lives.
MANJINDER SINGH RANDHAWA, PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT CONSULTANT: The human lung also develops till about 8 to 10 years of age. It's not in its mature form till that time. And a developing lung, if it's exposed to all these pollutants, that is when it causes long-term trouble.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): While India's poor are bound to these slums, the wealthy rush to hospitals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I don't think so, that this kind of severity he has. So it might be very painful at that time for me.
[00:35:03]
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): He wants to send his 3-year-old son, hospitalized with bronchitis, hundreds of miles away from Delhi to his hometown. But even money can't save these children from the silent killer.
When winter ends in Delhi, the smog will lift. But the impact on India's children, permanent and lethal.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, for weeks, people in New Jersey have seen mysterious objects flying across the state.
What federal officials are now saying about those so-called drones and whether they pose a threat.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:37:43]
KINKADE: Welcome back. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI say there is currently no evidence that the mysterious drone seen across New Jersey for weeks pose any threat to national security or have a foreign connection.
Officials say the objects may actually be manned aircraft operating lawfully. More now from CNN's Omar Jimenez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are they? Who's sending them up there? What are they doing there? Why doesn't anybody know what they are, you know? And why New Jersey?
JANET MOSNER, WITNESSED DRONES: They actually flew in a circle around our building, both of them. And then across, and then disappeared.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The FBI is now investigating weeks of reported drones over New Jersey. That's according to a document given to state and local officials, as a growing number of people report seeing drones, some described as six feet in diameter, flying in the skies.
NICK TECCHIO, STUDENT WHO WITNESSED DRONES: You see, like red and green, like flashing lights on the like the corners. They'll just change direction, like go from like 90 to like 270 degrees, just like fly in different directions. And planes obviously can't do that.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): There have been questions about when these drones first started popping up. Reports seem to vary, but the Picatinny Arsenal, which is a military installation in Northern New Jersey, has confirmed sightings in the area going back to November 13, and public officials are starting to get frustrated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're creating so much fear and uneasiness in the public.
BRIAN BERGEN, NEW JERSEY STATE ASSEMBLY: They appear to actually avoid detection by traditional methods. So, when our helicopter, our state police helicopter has gotten close, lights go off, and they go away.
JIMENEZ (voice-over): So far, authorities have stressed there is no known threat to the public. That's not enough for some.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's really concerning, and quite frankly, it's not acceptable.
JIMENEZ: Now, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are pouring a little bit of cold water on this.
They released a joint statement saying that they have no evidence the reported drone sightings pose any national security threat, and they're continuing to investigate whether these reported drone sightings are actually drones at all, or if they are really manned aircraft.
And they have said some of the cases they've looked into to this point haven't actually been drones. They've been manned aircraft, operating legally.
That said, they are continuing to investigate what has been a flood of reports from this area to this point. And while they don't have a definitive answer to all of the cases, that lack of definitive answer is leaving a lot of people here with questions in the meantime.
[00:40:06]
Omar Jimenez, CNN, Denville, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, samples of human tissue are currently in orbit on the International Space Station. The experiment is to see why the process of aging speeds up in space, and whether age-related diseases can be slowed down.
CNN's Nick Valencia reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the spirit of exploration.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outer space may hold the answer to some of humanity's greatest questions: what causes aging, and can the process be altered?
Human tissue samples, called organoids, are now in orbit at the International Space Station, and identical samples are back on earth at Oxford University Space Innovation Lab.
This experiment will allow researchers to compare and analyze data from both samples to study the aging process and the impact of microgravity on it.
GHADA ALSALEH, SPACE INNOVATION LAB: So, this is in a very new project, where we work between actually the frontier between the space and biology.
VALENCIA (voice-over): Inside the International Space Station, a box containing human tissue samples serves as a controlled environment.
ALSALEH: The box have a small computer and all the detection material that we need to get the measurements we wanted. And we can actually control that and see all the data coming, all the time. VALENCIA (voice-over): Researchers don't require assistance from the
astronauts aboard the space station, as they can automatically gather the information from their laboratory on Earth.
ALSALEH: It could be able to measure a few things without interacting anyone.
VALENCIA (voice-over): Over the years, astronauts have suffered from muscle loss, joint and bone issues, and problems with their immune system. Researchers found that this is similar to an age-related disease.
ALSALEH: And this lead us to ask the question, if the space might provide us with an accelerating aging model. And if it is the case, that means we can actually be able to study aging very fast, because this has happened in very short time. While aging in Earth, we needed different -- years.
VALENCIA (voice-over): With future missions, planned to send humans to Mars and beyond, the impact of space travel on aging will become a key issue.
Nick Valencia, CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good luck. We estimate you've completed your marathon right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, thanks so much for watching this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back with much more news at the top of the hour.
For now, WORLD SPORT is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:23]
(WORLD SPORT)
[00:57:54]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
