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U.S. Official Scramble to Respond to Drone Sighting Reports; ABC News Apologizes, Pays $16M as Part of Trump Settlement; Georgia's Pro-Western President Vows to Remain in Office; Official: Gunmen Kill American Couple Visiting Mexico; FBI New York Says They Got Tip From SF Police About Mangione; Woman Who Accused Duke Lacrosse Players of Rape Says She Lied. Aired 5-6 am ET

Aired December 15, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:33]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the UK, in the United States, and all around the world. I'm Ben Hunte. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.

A close encounter causes one New York airport to pause operations. The latest on a string of mysterious drone sightings.

Donald Trump got a hero's welcome at a much-anticipated Army-Navy football game. We'll find out who joined him.

And a tornado warning. Shocking residents in San Francisco. A look at the historic alert and the winter weather blanketing the West Coast.

Welcome. We begin with more questions about what's going on in the skies above the Northeastern U.S. For the better part of a month now, people have reported consistent sightings of unidentified aircraft, often described as drones. But U.S. federal officials have downplayed the sightings, even as more drones are reported near sensitive sites across the Eastern U.S. State and local officials are calling for more action and more answers from the Biden administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAUN GOLDEN, MONMOUTH COUNTY SHERIFF, NEW JERSEY: We're calling upon Congress, and Congressman Smith is leading the way, to modify legislation so that not just three federal agencies are able to have drone detection and de-drone equipment, right, to be able to put that hands in the state policing units around the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: President-elect Donald Trump has his own ideas of how to respond, posting to "Truth Social" on Friday, calling for even more information to be released, or to just shoot them out of the sky. Perhaps there is something nefarious going on. Perhaps it's all innocent. Perhaps it's a case study in hysteria.

Gloria Pazmino has more on the conflicting responses from government agencies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Six states throughout the Northeast have reported these drone sightings, everywhere from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and even here in New York, where a local airfield had to shut down over the weekend, after a reported drone activity over its skies led the airspace to be shut down for over an hour.

That led the governor here in New York, Kathy Hochul, to issue a statement, saying that all of this had simply gone too far, and calling on the Biden administration to step in to do more and provide more public information. These drone sightings are causing a lot of consternation among local communities, from people who are reporting the sightings, and very confused about what exactly they are and what is behind them.

Now, we heard from some federal officials who are responding to the drone activity over the weekend, and they had some contradicting information, as well. They said that while there is no national security threat associated with any of these sightings, they still don't know whether or not there is anything malicious, or if it is criminal in nature. That is certainly a little bit different from what we have heard from other federal officials who have said that this is likely a case of mistaken identity, and that there is no security threat to worry about.

In the meantime, a lot of frustration from local lawmakers across the area who say that the federal government is not doing enough to make sure that communities have the information that they need in order to feel safe.

Take a listen to a local state assemblyman from New Jersey describing the activity that he himself witnessed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIK PETERSON, NEW JERSEY ASSEMBLYMAN, DISTRICT 23: And the way that they're moving, they move forward, they stop, they hover, they move sideways, they stop, they hover, they move backwards. It's obviously not an airplane. It's not a helicopter because it's not making any noise. And so, you know, it's a drone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, a lot of the reported activity has actually taken place over the skies in New Jersey, and the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued a statement in responding to some of that activity, saying in part, "To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace." [05:05:05]

So you can see just how confusing some of the information has been. That's not helping when it comes to people who are continuing to report these sightings and who want to know more about what is exactly behind them.

On that end, we've also learned that the FBI tip line has received more than 5,000 tips regarding drones and reported sightings, but so far, fewer than 100 of those were deemed worthy of further investigative activity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: This is a wild story, so let's dig into it a bit more. Joining me now to discuss this very strange aerial activity is drone expert and President of Warren Community College, Will Austin.

Will, thank you for joining me. Appreciate it. Let's talk about these drones. So over the past few days, we've seen headlines saying New Jersey is experiencing a threatening drone attack across social media. I've seen people saying they're scared of these massive machines, some reportedly as big as cars and trucks, and some are saying they're being operated by U.S. enemies. What is going on? Help me make sense of it.

WILLIAM AUSTIN, PRESIDENT, WARREN COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Well, I think -- I think we're all experiencing the phenomenon of a lot of conflicting information. So I can say that I have reviewed, it seems like hours and hours of video and photographs at this point, and everything I have seen that people have captured to date is either an airplane, just like the federal government is saying, or it's a small, under 55- pound drone. And so we have a lot of recreational drones.

There's over 1.1 million registered drones in the United States. So in everything I've seen, people, it looks like it's been legal, but there's a lot of conflicting reports. Still, we can't say there haven't been these large drones.

You heard from Assemblyman Peterson. He's a personal, dear friend of mine. So I know that if he says he's seen something, he's definitely seen something.

In October, the first person to tell me about that was a local politician, James Kern, who I handed a diploma to, and he said he's seen it. So I think what we're seeing is rather stunning here, but we can't -- we can't say that it's any of those things at this point. And the response from our federal government, the lack of it, has been rather stunning, in all honesty.

HUNTE: OK. Well, let's dig into it a bit more. So New Jersey and New York are home to some of the largest and busiest airports in the entire world, hundreds of flights a day. Surely, with pilots in the sky, they might have seen some of these drones, right? They should be able to see them. AUSTIN: Yeah, that's one of the things. These drones, and this is why I don't see it as a nefarious threat at this point, they all have their lights on for safety so other aircraft could see them. So we would think that pilots, we would be hearing from more and more pilots, and we would be seeing more and more landings.

But that's not happening at this point. And so I think that's another reason why you're not hearing from the federal government. But I think we need to hear from the federal government. I think we need a visit from someone, and I'll tell you why. I have seen firsthand the transformational power, when used for good, these drones can have. We can save lives with them. We can change our economy. My students are making six-figure salaries coming out.

But I also know, and it is true -- yes?

HUNTE: I was just saying, that's pretty cool, six-figure salaries.

(CROSSTALK)

AUSTIN: Yes, but it's also true that our adversaries, they are ahead of us in this technology. We haven't invested. And our civilian drone defense systems, they are utterly nonexistent. We -- people do not understand this technology that can be used for such good and have such a positive impact, but can also be used nefariously. And I think that's where we need to look at this.

Leadership should step up. We should find out what this is. But we can also use it as a Sputnik moment for ourselves. We can say, we're not where we need to be as a nation. We're not where we need to be as a society, with our friends around the world. We need to get up on this technology, and we need to advance ahead.

And it really will make life-changing, dynamic, you know, inspirational changes to our society.

HUNTE: Well, meanwhile, while people are scared of these things, can't we just shoot them out of the sky? I mean, when I was filming in the Caribbean last year, my team was flying a drone, which was literally shot down, because we apparently didn't have the right permit to fly in the area we were in. I mean, it was in the sky one minute, and everything was great, and we were looking on a little monitor.

And then the next, the drone was just smashed on the floor. No questions asked. Why can't these New Jersey drones just be shot down if people are that scared of them?

AUSTIN: Yeah, you definitely do not want to do that. For the first reason, it's illegal, and you can go to jail for up to 25 years, and there are incredible fines. The other thing is there's a power source on every one of these.

[05:10:02]

So it could start a fire if you were to hit that with the falling debris. We've had droughts here. You could end up burning down significant parts of the area.

And you also have the thing of where you miss the target, and that once that round goes up from the firearm, it's got to come down if it misses its target. So some of you get hurt seriously. So you don't want to do that. Let the proper authorities handle this.

HUNTE: So what I'm hearing from that is I need to sue somebody for shooting down my drone in the Caribbean. Thank you, Will Austin. I will get on it straight after this program.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Next, Donald Trump is preparing to take power in just about five weeks. But the President-elect made time for college football on Saturday. CNN's Steve Contorno has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump on Saturday attended the Army-Navy football game for the fifth time, and he was joined there by several close allies, including his embattled pick to lead the Pentagon as Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth.

Joining Trump in his box were also House Speaker Mike Johnson, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

Also spotted alongside Trump was Daniel Penny. He is the ex-Marine who was acquitted this week by a Manhattan jury on charges that he choked a homeless man to death in New York on the subway earlier this year.

While on his way to the game, Donald Trump continued to announce new picks for his incoming administration, including Troy Edgar. He is an IBM Executive who will be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security for Donald Trump.

This is someone who previously served in the Department of Homeland Security. He is also someone who contributed to Product 2025, that is the controversial playbook for a second Trump term put together by the Conservative Heritage Foundation. Trump during the campaign tried to distance himself from Product 2025, though as he puts together his administration, he has repeatedly pulled from people who contributed and helped write it for his new administration.

Trump also announced that Devin Nunes, the former House Intelligence Committee Chairman, will serve on the Intelligence Advisory Board for Trump. Nunes now is the CEO of Truth Social, the social media site that Donald Trump launched after leaving the White House the first time.

Steve Contorno, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: "ABC News" has reached a multi-million-dollar settlement with Trump in his defamation lawsuit. The suit stems from a George Stephanopoulos interview where the anchor repeatedly said a jury had found Trump liable for rape.

Brian Stelter has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: That's right. It's not every day that you hear about a major network, a TV network, paying millions of dollars and apologizing to the president-elect. So this is a headline with real ramifications.

And as you said, it stems from an episode of George Stephanopoulos' Sunday morning news program where he was talking with a lawmaker, I think it was Nancy Mace, and they were talking about the E. Jean Carroll case. And George Stephanopoulos repeatedly used the word rape, saying Trump was found guilty of rape, liable of rape. Well, in fact, the accurate phrase to use is sexual abuse. That is what the New York court found.

But because Stephanopoulos kept using that R word, rape, Trump filed a lawsuit. He filed a defamation suit. We've talked a lot in recent years about people using the courts trying to seek justice. Remember the Sandy Hook case against Alex Jones. Well, those defamation kinds of cases can also be filed by someone like the President-elect.

So Trump filed a defamation suit. It was working its way through the courts. "ABC" was unable to get it thrown out initially. And actually, in the next few days, Trump was set to be deposed in the case.

But "ABC" is avoiding going any further by settling. They're paying out $15 million, plus a million in attorney's fees. They say this is going to go to a nonprofit, basically to Trump's future library. That's the idea. But maybe most importantly, "ABC" is also apologizing, issuing a statement of regret.

But "ABC" is going to say, basically attach an editor's note to the website saying it regrets, and George regrets the statements.

Meanwhile, an "ABC" spokesperson tells me they are pleased to have reached this settlement. But it is very notable they are both paying out money to the President-elect and apologizing for the misstatements on the air.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is, quote, "well on the mend following successful hip replacement surgery on Saturday." Pelosi was admitted to hospital in Luxembourg on Friday after a fall on a set of stairs during one of the congressional delegation's official engagements.

The U.S. military then medevaced Pelosi to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where she had the surgery. Landstuhl is a major military hospital that for years has treated U.S. troops injured in combat. Pelosi was in Luxembourg to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.

[05:15:11]

An Israeli strike has killed the mayor of a town in Gaza, along with 11 other people. Why Israel says it targeted him, coming up next on CNN Newsroom.

Plus, Secretary of State Antony Blinken lays out U.S. expectations for Syria's new government after the fall of the Assad regime.

And later, extreme weather in Northern California leads to a very unusual occurrence. We'll tell you all about the tornado warning issued for San Francisco.

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HUNTE: Hospital officials in Gaza say a strike on a municipal building has killed the mayor of Deir al-Balah and at least 11 other people. Gaza civil defense says the building was targeted while employees were inside. Two children are among the victims.

The Israeli military says it intended to kill the mayor, accusing him of providing Hamas with combat assistance. The IDF also says it took steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians. Gaza's government media office calls it a heinous assassination.

[05:20:12]

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. has been in direct contact with a lead group of Syrian rebels. A group Washington still considers a terrorist organization. The news coming after Saturday's diplomatic meet in Jordan to discuss Syria's future. Attended by representatives from the U.S., Europe and the region.

Blinken said the contact with HTS was an effort to locate missing journalist Austin Tice. He also explained what's expected of a new Syrian government, including respecting the rights of all Syrians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, we've been in contact with HTS and with other parties. We have impressed upon everyone we've been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home. And we've also shared the principles that I just laid out for our ongoing support. Principles, again, that have now been adopted by countries throughout the region and well beyond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Meanwhile, Hezbollah says it lost its military supply route through Syria with the fall of the Assad regime. Hezbollah's leader says he's hoping the rebels will consider Israel an enemy.

Israel has continued to carry out airstrikes on Syria since the rebels took power. And Israeli troops have moved into the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. Israel says the move is temporary, but Arab countries are already calling it an attempted land grab. Russia appears to be pulling back its troops from the front lines in

northern Syria. But "Reuters" is reporting that Russia plans to keep its two main bases in the country. Video from the Russian naval base in Tartus shows camouflage, Russian equipment and troop activity. Earlier this week, satellite images showed what appeared to be Russians packing up military equipment at one of its bases.

You can see the location of the two Russian bases on this map right here. Russia operates an air base at Khmeimim and a naval base in the port city of Tartus.

Meanwhile, social media video from Homs shows a Syrian waving a shoe as Russian troops pass. The gesture is considered an insult in Middle Eastern culture.

We're just learning about an overnight Russian attack on Ukraine. The Ukrainian Air Force says it shot down dozens of drones targeting areas across the country, including in the capital, Kyiv. Authorities say at least three people were injured.

Meanwhile, Russia claims it's developed a new system that can track Ukraine's Starlink terminals, which are used to run their fleet of attract drones. Russian state media reports that it can identify and destroy drones in the sea and air, and that they're already producing and testing the system.

Ukraine's military says it's replacing the commander of the nation's Eastern Donetsk group. He faced heavy criticism for failing to stop recent Russian advances on the key city of Pokrovsk. The area has seen some of the most intense fighting on the eastern front for months as Russian forces inch closer to the city.

Cyclone Chido turned deadly as it whipped through the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. Officials say it's killed several people and is causing the worst storm devastation in the islands since 1934.

France's new Prime Minister, Francois Bayrou, said public facilities have been severely damaged or destroyed, including the hospital and the airport.

Footage from social media shows winds in excess of 200 kilometers per hour ravaging through houses with heavy rain forcing residents to stay in solid shelters. Officials say emergency services have been mobilized, ready to launch rescue missions once the worst of the storm passes.

Staying on weather, for the first time ever, a tornado warning was issued for downtown San Francisco on Saturday. The National Weather Service confirms a tornado did not actually hit the area, but the damage left behind is consistent with an 80-mile-per-hour straight- line wind. A flood advisory and high-wind warning was also issued for regions along the coastline.

A tornado was actually recorded in the area, but 67 miles south of San Francisco. It happened in the town of Scotts Valley. Officials say at least five people were injured, and residents describe what it was like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We saw that white car over there --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Started go into the air.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- go into the air, about 15 feet. And the community jumped in to help pretty immediately, which is great, but it looks like everyone's walking away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Couple injuries but --

[05:25:01]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, two people are injured, but they're both OK, and they're both in good shape. They just walked away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Well, it was a happier scene in the mountains, where skiers were treated to a round of fresh powder from the same storm system. CNN's Elisa Raffa explains the weather system that led to these very different conditions across the same area.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Downtown San Francisco had its first- ever tornado warning issued early on Saturday. We've got a powerful storm coming onshore, and it was able to have enough moisture and stability to create some twist in the atmosphere. And that's what triggered this tornado warning early on Saturday that included downtown San Francisco. And you can see that twist or that rotation coming in off the Pacific Ocean and then cutting across the San Francisco Bay Area.

Now, even without the tornado warning, this storm has been so powerful. It has been picking up gusts 83 miles per hour at the San Francisco International Airport, one of their strongest gusts on record.

Monterey, 78 miles per hour. A lot of areas with gusts over 65 miles per hour. And, again, that's just the breadth of how powerful this storm is.

We get a little bit of a break going into Sunday, but we have another powerful storm that comes onshore as we start out the work week. So the winds will pick up again, and so will the rain and even the snow. We're going to tack on more snow in those mountain areas, another foot or two possible.

HUNTE: The Republic of Georgia is set to inaugurate its new pro- Russian president-elect in two weeks. Ahead, what the sitting president has to say about all of that and how that can worsen the country's already dire constitutional crisis.

Plus, what does an authoritarian world leader give one of his strongman counterparts? Hint, it is enough to stalk an exotic zoo. I'll explain everything next.

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[05:30:13]

HUNTE: Welcome back. The sitting president of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, who's been vowing to stay in office, says lawmakers have made a mockery of democracy by installing a new president. Georgian lawmakers yesterday elected Mikheil Kavelashvili, a far-right ex-soccer player.

"Reuters" reports he'll be inaugurated on December 29th. Opposition parties weren't at the vote because they've been boycotting Parliament. The vote is the latest escalation between the pro-Russian government and pro-Western opposition fighting to join the European Union.

Kavelashvili was elected by an electoral college of lawmakers, not the usual national election of Georgia's citizens. And now a leader in Parliament is imploring the current president to ensure a peaceful transfer of power and basically get out of the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHALVA PAPUASHVILI, CHAIRMAN, GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT: I call on her and the president's administration to comply with Georgian legislation. On December 29th, the inauguration will take place, and from the moment of taking the oath, Madam Salome will no longer have the position of president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Despite mounting grievances and growing protests, the reaction so far in Georgia to yesterday's unprecedented election has been largely restrained, unlike the violent demonstrations we've seen recently. But as CNN's former Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty puts it, that could change in the weeks leading up to the inauguration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: I think it's really a crisis point. There's no question. We already know that they've been in a constitutional crisis. And that's obvious, because if you have two people vying for the same position and claiming that they should be there, that is a real problem.

And I think it's going to truly become a crucial time, would be the 29th of December. And that is when the new president, who was just elected by, I should say, by the Parliament, which is considered illegal by the opposition and the existing president, that is when he's supposed to be inaugurated. So you could have the Western-leaning president, her name is Salome Zourabichvili, and she could be saying, I'm staying until we have legitimate elections. So that's one of the big underlying issues. And the other one would have to be the decision recently in November by the prime minister to put on hold the accession process by Georgia to the EU.

And that really, really angered a lot of people, especially, you know, the more liberal Western-oriented people. Across the board, about 80%, 8-0%, support joining the EU.

Now, how many people want a redo of the election? That would be harder. I haven't seen any specific polling on that. But you do have these protests, as you mentioned. They've been in Tbilisi. They've been literally across Georgia with very large numbers. So you would have to say a significant number of people were not happy with that election, and especially not happy with the decision by the prime minister to stop that process of joining Europe.

Saturday, there was a feeling among many, in fact, people that I'd spoken with in the opposition actually did fear that martial law would be invoked, and that the decision by the parliament to elect this new president would spark, you know, maybe even violent uprising. It didn't happen. And I think maybe that's why we don't have, at least at this point, martial law.

I mean, if you look at the protesters, what some of them did, which is very interesting, kind of a civil society approach, young people were out in the streets kicking soccer balls around. And that was a bit of trolling because, you know, this new president, Mikheil Kavelashvili, is a former soccer star, football star. And so he's considered actually very far right.

Many people in Georgia who are educated note that he doesn't have any college education. But be that as it may, there was a lot of trolling, and it was peaceful for the most part. But again, this, you know, it could continue. It does not look as if those protesters are going away anytime soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: South Korea's new acting president is promising to restore much-needed stability and trust in the country's government. Han Duck- soo was elevated to the presidency on Saturday after Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached for declaring martial law and plunging the country into political chaos.

[05:35:09]

Han was President Yoon's Prime Minister at the time and was being investigated over his role in the martial law decision. But South Korea's main opposition party says it will not seek to impeach acting President Han in order to avoid what it calls excessive impeachments, confusion, and further instability.

Han spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday to reaffirm their key partnership. The White House says Mr. Biden expressed his appreciation for the resiliency of democracy and the rule of law in South Korea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent Kim Jong-un a collection of exotic zoo animals. That's to thank him for providing thousands of North Korean troops to bolster Russia's fight against Ukraine. As our Will Ripley reports, Kim has been equally generous in return.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the belly of a hulking Russian cargo plane, crate after crate of exotic animals from the Moscow zoo, a gift from Russian President Vladimir Putin to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, arriving in his capital Pyongyang, the flight from Moscow, nearly nine hours, Russian state media says the animals include an African lion, two brown bears, two domestic yaks, five white cockatoos, 25 assorted pheasants and 40 mandarin ducks.

Their new home, Pyongyang's central zoo.

You think he wants to be petted?

I took this video at the zoo in 2016, when Putin gave Kim a pair of Siberian tigers. They've been exchanging a lot of animals lately, symbols of their alliance against the U.S.-led world order.

In June, Kim sent Putin a pair of North Korean hunting dogs. In August, Putin reciprocated with nearly 450 goats and 24 Orlov Trotters, Kim's favorite horse breed. Both strongmen famously use horses in state propaganda, projecting alpha male energy in turbulent times.

In the years since Kim took his armored train to Russia, he's gotten plenty of other gifts from Putin, from a set of drones and a bulletproof vest to this Russian-made armored limousine. The two leaders drove it around town during Putin's rare visit to Pyongyang. And then there's Russian oil, believed to be more than a million barrels since March.

In exchange, North Korea is reportedly expanding its weapons production for Russia's war in Ukraine. Around 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia's Kursk region, and this may be just the beginning, says Anton Sokolin with NK News.

ANTON SOKOLIN, DATA CORRESPONDENT, NK NEWS: North Korea hasn't participated in any wars for many decades now. It's a valuable opportunity.

RIPLEY: Could North Korean troops be replacing or bolstering the Wagner group?

SOKOLIN: It is highly possible.

RIPLEY: The Wagner group is Russia's private military force, crucial in Ukraine and other global conflicts. Now, North Korean weapons and troops are in the mix. Experts suggest Pyongyang may seek even more significant exchanges like advanced nuclear technology. As part of Kim and Putin's deepening military partnership.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Still to come, law enforcement officials are releasing new details about a California couple's violent death during a trip to Mexico.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:41:57]

HUNTE: OK, welcome back. We are learning new details about an American couple who was shot and killed while visiting family in Mexico this week. As our Camila Bernal reports, investigators are still trying to figure out the motive behind that violent attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This California couple gunned down in Michoacan, Mexico, on Wednesday. And according to authorities, they had gone to the area of Angamacutiro on November 30th to be with family. We know that Rafael and Gloria Cardona were killed that day.

Gloria Cardona died at the scene while Rafael was taken to the hospital and died shortly after. Officials there also saying that they had three children. U.S. authorities saying that two of them minors and are now with extended family. We are also aware that the State Department is in touch with their adult daughter.

Now, Mexican officials also saying that they spoke to Rafael's brother who described the fact that their brother-in-law is a Mexican official in that area and the couple was driving their van.

Now, that Mexican official, the brother-in-law, took his job after his predecessor was kidnapped and killed. Mexican officials not confirming the motive behind the killings. But we do know that this is an area where there are gangs and drug violence. We know that this is also an area where a lot of avocados are grown.

And according to a report from Insight Crime, traffickers forced local farmers to grow marijuana and other drugs. We also know that in Michoacan, the homicide rate is almost twice as much as the homicide rate in Mexico, which is already one of the highest in the world. So, of course, concerning numbers when it comes to all of this.

And also in Mexico, more than 100,000 people right now missing without explanation. In this case, we know who it was and what happened. But of course, we're waiting to hear why exactly this happened to this American couple. There was a mass held in their honor on Saturday as that family awaits for answers. Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Let's turn now to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The suspect in this case, Luigi Mangione, has hired a high- profile New York attorney to represent him. The 26-year-old is awaiting extradition from Pennsylvania to New York. Senior Law Enforcement Analyst John Miller explained how a tip from San Francisco made its way to law enforcement on the East Coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So this tip comes from, I think, a victim witness specialist in the San Francisco Police Department who has that missing persons case somewhere in front of them and looks at that face and says, gee, that could be the guy that is on these FBI posters all over town. So SFPD sends that to San Francisco FBI. San Francisco FBI says that's a New York office case.

[05:45:00]

They send it to the New York office. The New York office sends it to a violent crime squad where you have a mix of FBI agents and NYPD officers who are task-forcing together. And they look at it and they do a workup on the name, you know, checking, you know, any indicators that that guy's been in New York. And then they send it over to NYPD.

So it gets into the NYPD officers at the FBI on Saturday. It gets -- they do their work-up. It gets into the NYPD on Sunday. And then it joins 200 viable leads that are being worked by that team. But then Monday morning at 9:15 in the McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, another tip leads to the capture.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Since Mangione's arrest, authorities have laid out some of their evidence against him. But Mangione's alleged actions and critiques of health care insurance have gotten him new fans in the U.S. People expressing their support on social media.

A crowdfunding webpage has even been set up to support Mangione's legal defense. A UnitedHealth Group spokesperson says neither Mangione nor his mother were insured by the company.

After 18 years, a woman who accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her has admitted her testimony was a lie. CNN's Rafael Romo has more on this shocking confession.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a case that ignited a national firestorm that happened in 2006. That's when Crystal Mangum, a then exotic dancer, accused three Duke men's lacrosse players of rape. Now, 18 years later, Mangum, says it was all a lie.

In an interview for the web show Let's Talk With Kat, hosted by Katerina DePasquale, Mangum said she testified falsely. The interview took place at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, where the 46-year-old woman is serving time for a 2013 second-degree murder conviction for stabbing her boyfriend two years before. This is part of the interview where she asks for forgiveness for lying about what truly happened.

Let's take a listen.

CRYSTAL MANGUM, FALSE ACCUSER: I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn't. And that was wrong. I hope that they can forgive me. And I want them to know that I love them. And they didn't deserve that.

ROMO: David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann, the three then Duke University students who were wrongly accused, paid a heavy price for Mangum's lies. The three were arrested following the woman's allegations of sexual assault at a party. Their lacrosse team was forced to cancel its 2006 season. And their coach, Mike Pressler, lost his job as a result.

A year later, in 2007, the state's then-attorney, General Roy Cooper, now North Carolina's governor, reviewed the case and exonerated the three men. He reached a settlement with Duke University after the charges were dropped.

Asked about this new development, Governor Cooper said it was important for him to get to the bottom of the case when he worked on it back then.

ROY COOPER, NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR: As attorney general, it was important for me to take that case from the local prosecutor, do an investigation to find the real truth. It is why I dismissed the charges and took the extra step to declare those players' innocence of those alleged crimes. That's why I did that.

ROMO: Jim Cooney, one of the former players' lawyers at the time, told the "AP" that Mangum's allegations caused an enormous tornado of destruction for countless people involved, including the accused men who were wrongfully vilified nationally as, in his words, racially motivated rapists.

It's going to be a part of their biography for the rest of their lives and part of their obituaries, Cooney said, of the three men. We reached out to the three former Duke University lacrosse players, but we haven't heard back from them so far.

Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

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HUNTE: Actor Jamie Foxx is recovering after a physical altercation in a restaurant left him with injuries that required stitches. A spokesperson for Foxx says he was at his birthday dinner in Beverly Hills when someone from another table threw a glass at his mouth. Police say they responded to a report that a deadly weapon was involved. They said, nope, that was unfounded and no arrests were made, but a report was completed documenting battery. The incident comes just days after the Hollywood star detailed in his

Netflix special the health struggles he faced last year, suffering a stroke and memory lapses.

It is a rivalry like no other. The historic 125th Army-Navy football game was one to watch. We've got the highlights coming up.

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[05:53:47]

HUNTE: The historic 125th Army-Navy Showdown lived up to the fabled hype. Coy Wire takes us onto the field at Northwest Stadium, with surprising highlights that led the midshipmen to an upset win over the Corps of Cadets.

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COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: The Army-Navy game, one of the greatest sports spectacles and rivalries in the world here in the nation's capital. Absolutely epic. The pageantry, the tradition on full display. Players burst onto the field. Cannons firing. The flyover before the game.

And there to take in the spectacle, President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Elon Musk and others, cadets and mids saluting him throughout the game. The star of the game, quarterback Blake Horvath. Having an Army-Navy game of a lifetime. Scoring four touchdowns, two rushing, two passing. This means that Horvath is now tied. Navy's single-season record for touchdown passes in a season.

Afterwards, Navy starting the epic celebration. This is like their Super Bowl. We caught up with their leader, head coach Brian Newberry and crew after the game.

[05:55:02]

BRIAN NEWBERRY, NAVY HEAD COACH: It doesn't get much better than this, man. I'm so happy for this football team. They've worked their tails off. We talk about deserving success all the time. Don't always get it on the scoreboard. We did tonight. Couldn't be more happy for our guys.

WIRE: You scored four touchdowns today. What, you feel like Superman or what?

BLAKE HORVATH, NAVY QUARTERBACK: Yeah, you know, more like Captain America, I think. But no, so it's just awesome, honestly, to, you know, been banged up all season to get back out here and just playing for the seniors and playing for everybody. And no, it's awesome. It's all I can say.

ELI HEIDENREICH, NAVY RUNNING BACK: You know, obviously on top of the world, just excited how our team came out and played today. You know, both sides of the ball, just, you know, playing our butts off for our brothers. And that's all we can ask for. NEWBERRY: We said it didn't have to be close, you know, and I think we put an exclamation point on it. But we still got a football program in Annapolis. I'll tell you that.

WIRE: Navy got to sing second, per tradition, their school song. Some of the seniors crying, reflecting on it all. Army had won six of the last eight, but it is Navy taking home the Commander-in-Chief's winning the annual competition among the three major service academies.

Navy wins 31-13, the 125th edition of the Army-Navy game, highlighting some of the brightest young leaders who have committed themselves to a lifetime of service to their country. It's a rivalry like no other.

I'm Coy Wire, CNN, Landover, Maryland.

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HUNTE: And Travis Hunter from the University of Colorado has won the coveted Heisman Trophy, honoring the top college football player in America. The two-way star has been a rare talent all season, boasting impressive stats on both sides of the football. He excelled on offense as a wide receiver and was a dynamic, disruptive force at cornerback on defense. Hunter is projected to be a top five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Well, that's it. That wraps up this hour of CNN Newsroom.

I'm Ben Hunte. It's been real. Let's do it again next weekend. Yeah.

For viewers in the U.S. and Canada, "CNN This Morning" is next. For those elsewhere, it's "Marketplace Asia."

Thank you for joining us.

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