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Government Shutdown Hours Away As Congress Scrambles For Spending Deal; Luigi Mangione Makes First Federal Court Appearance In New York City; Crowd Crush Kills 35 Children At Funfair In Nigeria; Pelicot Mass Rape Trial Ends With 51 Guilty Verdicts. Putin Holds Ritualistic Annual Press Conference; U.S. Envoy In Damascus to Meet with Interim Government; With Assad Gone, Syrian Refugees Consider Returning Home; CNN Speaks to IDF Official at Kerem Shalom Crossing; Court: California Man Admits Plotting Mass Shooting with Teen; Fulton County D.A. Disqualified from Prosecuting Trump. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 20, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:00:24]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of our viewers around the world. I'm Zain Asher. Ahead on CNN Newsroom, a U.S. government shutdown looms as House Republicans fail to pass a bill to keep the government running for millions of people who depend on it.
No regrets. Gisele Pelicot's strength and resilience pushes France to examine sexual assaults, saying the shame must change sides.
And alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione faces a federal murder charge that could carry a death sentence.
We are now 23 hours away from a U.S. government shutdown after a Trump-backed plan to keep the government running failed to pass. Republicans are scrambling after resistance to the bill's two-year suspension of the debt limits supported by Trump left the legislation falling well short of the majority needed. 38 Republicans defied the president elect by voting nay.
And now a lot of finger pointing happening on Capitol Hill. Here's the U.S. House speaker blaming Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE JOHNSON, U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: Very disappointing to us that all but two Democrats voted against aid to farmers and ranchers, against disaster relief, against all these bipartisan measures that had already been negotiated and decided upon. Again, the only difference on this legislation was that we would push the debt ceiling to January of 2027.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Meantime, Democratic leadership is looking to put billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk at the center of the shutdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAKEEM JEFFRIES, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER: The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious. It's laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: GOP leadership is now regrouping, looking at what steps to take next. CNN's Manu Raju has more.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Even though Donald Trump tried to pressure Republicans to fall in line behind this 11th hour effort to avoid a government shutdown, he got backed by 38 members of his own party as well as Democrats who voted en masse against this proposal to avoid a government shutdown.
One big reason why he it included a provision to suspend the national debt limit for two years. Remember, that issue of a debt limit was a complex, complicated issue that typically Congress tends weeks, if not months to try to negotiate. No one wants to vote really to raise the borrowing limit in the United States.
And Donald Trump does not want this to be part of his first year agenda. So he wants to take it off the table now. He's saying deal with it now. And so he doesn't have to worry about when he's president.
But here's a problem. There are Republicans in the ranks who say that they will never vote for a debt limit increase, especially if it does not have spending cuts.
TUM BURCHETT, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: This just stinks. That's why America doesn't trust government. And it's for good dadgum reason.
RAJU: And you said shut it down.
BURCHETT: That's what it takes to bring us to the table.
BOB GOOD, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Any extra supplemental ought to stand on its own merits, not be attached to it. And it ought to have pay fors. And the debt limit must not be increased without commensurate spending cuts and fiscal reform.
ERIC BURLISON, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: When I ran for office, I said that I would -- did not vote to raise the debt ceiling. And so I haven't. I've never voted to raise the debt ceiling. And I mean, I love Donald Trump, but he didn't vote me into office. My district did.
RAJU: You want to shut it down.
BURLISON: I'm not afraid of a shutdown. RAJU: Now, this all comes as Donald Trump, of course, intervened late
in this whole process. There was a bipartisan deal that was on the glide path to becoming law to avert a government shutdown. But then when Trump intervened late and said that he wanted the debt limit increase to be part of this plan and he berated that bipartisan deal that Mike Johnson cut as a result, its left Congress scrambling to try to figure out a solution.
And now that the plan B has failed, Mike Johnson is trying to figure out if there's any way avoid to avoid a government shutdown that will occur at midnight to Saturday morning. And how long that could last remains a major question.
The two sides are on opposite sides on how to resolve an issue that could be crippling to so many Americans who rely on government services, government employees, contractors and the like, as a shutdown now looms in just a matter of hours. Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Michael Genovese is a political analyst and president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount.
[01:05:02]
He's also the author of "The Modern Presidency: Six Debates That Define the Institution." He joins us from Los Angeles. Michael, thank you so much for being with us.
So plan A, the bipartisan agreement that failed, and then the Trump backed deal that also failed. So plan A and plan B failed. What next?
MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, plan A was on course to be passed until Donald Trump intervened and added something to it, which is the debt ceiling. And so Donald Trump scuttled his own best interests and then now today, they failed to pass the Donald Trump supported bill.
What's next? Let's see what Elon Musk decides to do and how he weighs in. Because increasingly Republicans are looking to Elon Musk instead of Donald Trump for their direction. And so, you know, no one wins in a budget shutdown. There are a lot of losers and Donald Trump will be one of them.
ASHER: I mean, it is interesting, isn't it, that Elon Musk, you know, a billionaire who of course spent a lot of money backing Trump, has now emerged at this as a sort of major political force. But just in terms of what does happen next, do you see a possibility of maybe some kind of resurrection of the bipartisan agreement, the original sort of plan A?
GENOVESE: Well, plan A is still the best course of action. And so Donald Trump's desire to get the debt ceiling included probably is off the table. I don't think the Democrats want it, certainly a lot of Republicans don't want it. So Trump would best served by just backing away. He's been politically
tone deaf on this and shot himself in the foot. He needs a budget deal. He needs it now. He does not want to face that in January.
ASHER: It is interesting though that the House did reject the Trump backed deal. Did that come as a surprise to you? I mean, obviously there are a lot of Republicans do have issues with raising the debt limit, but just the fact that they did reject his deal. How embarrassing is that for both Donald Trump and Elon Musk?
GENOVESE: I think more embarrassing for Donald Trump because Elon Musk is sort of still on the sidelines shouting at all the players. And he has a much bigger profile on social media than Donald Trump. And so Musk is in a much better position than Trump.
Elon Musk is younger, he's richer, and he's had a more important social media impact than Donald Trump. I mean, he's all the things Donald Trump wants to be. And he's free to do what he wants because he isn't tethered by the fact that one will become president and it'll all be thrown on his shoulders.
So Elon Musk can play off the field as much as he wants and Republicans are looking more and more to him for leadership and guidance.
ASHER: So is there a pathway now to actually reach a deal with your thoughts on that?
GENOVESE: There absolutely is. Go back to the original deal that both sides agreed to. No one liked the deal. It doesn't serve a lot of the purposes that the right or the left wants, but it's something that everyone can live with. And so that's what you need to do.
Our budgeting process for decades and decades has been broken. It's no way to run a government, but that's what we're stuck with. And so you just try to make the best deal you can and then recoup in the new administration.
ASHER: Yes, I mean, for international audience, you talk about the budgeting process being broken. I mean, this does seem to happen for people who are watching this show from various parts of the world. This does seem to happen in U.S. politics more often than it should, I think it's fair to say. Can you just talk to us a bit more about how we got to this point and why it does seem to happen so often?
GENOVESE: It happens almost all the time, and that's a problem. How did it get this way? The Constitution says that the Congress passes the budget now in 1921, over 100 years ago, the Budget Accounting Act gave the president the right to submit budgets, but Congress still has to pass them. And you've got a very divided Congress and it's evenly divided right now.
Neither side wants to budge. They did in the compromise that Donald Trump really rejected. And so they just have to go back to that. It makes no sense to have the process like this. We should at least have, at worst, two year budget cycle rather than a year by year cycle because we never seem to get it right.
ASHER: But in your view, the only sort of way out of this is to go back to the original plan that Donald Trump sort of, as you point out, shot himself in the foot by, you know, telling everyone not to vote for it and making changes at the last minute. We'll see what happens tomorrow, shall we? Michael Genovese, life for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
GENOVESE: Thank you, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Luigi Mangione, who's accused of the stunning murder of a health care CEO, appeared in three courtrooms in two states on Thursday and was hit with new charges that could actually bring him the death penalty.
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And two weeks after the deadly shooting of Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk, court documents are revealing new information about Mangione's alleged motivation. Here's our Shimon Prokupecz with more.
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SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): An extraordinary scene, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione shackled wearing an orange jumpsuit. His first time back in New York City since police say he fled after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was horrifically gunned down outside a Manhattan Hotel on December 4th.
Mangione evading police for days before eventually being arrested at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania, surrounded by NYPD detectives and FBI agents, wearing bulletproof vests and carrying long guns. Even New York City Mayor Eric Adams was there addressing the support Mangione has received.
ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: You don't use a gun and anyone that celebrates that it is vile and it is sending the wrong message and you're celebrating using violence to solve an issue.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): The whirlwind day beginning in Pennsylvania with Mangione leaving prison for the Blair County Courthouse where he waived extradition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We relinquished him to the custody of the New York City Police Department.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): He was placed in a black SUV and immediately taken to the airport and was flown by an NYPD plane to Long Island. From there, he was put on an NYPD chopper to downtown Manhattan. His attorneys believed Mangione would be appearing for state charges but were redirected to a federal courthouse where Mangione faces charges of murder through use of a firearm, stalking and a firearms offense.
His attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifolo saying in court that this was a highly unusual situation that she'd never seen in 30 years of practicing law. She also said she had never seen a situation play out like this and asked for clarification on whether federal and state prosecutors are conducting two separate investigations.
The federal complaint revealing new details about what Mangione allegedly wrote in a notebook found on him when he was arrested.
An entry marked August 15th said, quote, the details are finally coming together and the target is insurance because it checks every box. Another entry in October describes an intent to whack the CEO of one of the insurance companies at its major investor conference.
Mangione also facing 11 state counts in New York, including first and second degree murder. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg saying both cases will proceed.
ALVIN BRAGG, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Speaking generally, we've had state prosecutions and federal prosecutions proceed as parallel matters and we're in conversations with our law enforcement counterparts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Our thanks to Shimon Prokupecz for that report. Now to a terrible tragedy in Nigeria where at least 35 children have been killed in a crowd crush at a fun fair. Police say that six others were critically injured. The mayhem unfolding at an Islamic high school in the southwestern part of the country. It's not clear what exactly set off the crowd, but authorities say that the main sponsor of the event is among the eight people arrested.
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BAYO LAWAL, DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF NIGERIA'S OYO STATE: The resultant effect of this very careless act is the huge death that we have recorded. Unfortunately, unavoidably too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: A police spokesperson expressed sympathy for all the families affected by the tragedy and promised justice as well.
All right. Casting shame on the perpetrators. The French woman who survived a decade of sexual abuse speaks out. After the verdicts are read, we'll have reaction from Avignon, France and beyond.
Plus, French President Emmanuel Macron tours the devastation left by Cyclone Chido in Mayotte. Coming up, what he's promising to do for the residents of the French archipelago.
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[01:16:13]
ASHER: French President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit more neighborhoods in the overseas territory of Mayotte on Friday, days after it was hit by powerful Cyclone Chido. On Thursday, Macron surveyed some of the devastated areas. At least 31 people are confirmed dead, but the death toll could reach into the hundreds, or actually even thousands.
French authorities have distributed tons of foods and other supplies to the island as well. But angry crowd booed and shouted at the French president, begging for more aid. This is what Macron had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Rebuilding Mayotte. That's the commitment I've made. That's the wish of the elected representatives of the population, rebuilding both housing and sustainable public buildings that meet the standards and that will cope with events like this cyclone or the natural events that, unfortunately, we have to deal with in the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Cyclone Chido knocked out electrical grids, crushed schools and hospitals, and damaged the airport's control tower when it struck last weekend. This coming Monday has been declared a day of mourning.
All right, applause has been ringing out around the world after all, 51 men implicated in France's mass rape trial were found guilty on Thursday. And the woman who gave up her anonymity for the opportunity to publicly shame them is being heralded a hero.
Cheers of Bravo and merci for Gisele Pelicot, whose husband solicited dozens of strangers to rape her while she was unconscious. She survived more than a decade of abuse.
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FLORENCE MONTREYNAUD, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL FEMINIST FRONT (through translator): She said that shame had to switch sides and that her whole attitude over the last four months has produced this result. Shame has changed sides. In the past it was the victim who should feel ashamed. We looked into their past and we thought they were the guilty ones, whereas now it's clear that it's the rapists who are the guilty ones.
PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Although there is a long way to go today, I believe that the whole of European society has taken a very important step towards shame, finally changing sides.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: But despite all of the guilty verdicts, some feel many of the perpetrators got off easy. CNN's Melissa Bell explains.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gisele Pelicot was determined that the shame should not be hers, waiving her anonymity and with it, that of her rapists. Rapists, we see you. Shouted the crowd outside, as inside Dominique Pelicot received the maximum sentence of 20 years for the drugging and mass rape of his then wife Gisele over nearly a decade.
Outside the court, there was anger that the 50 other men on trial alongside him had not received the maximum sentences sought by prosecutors. But as she left the court, Gisele Pelicot made no comment on the verdicts.
GISELE PELICOT, SURVIVOR OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE (through translator): I have faith now in our capacity to carve out collectively a future where everyone will. Women and men can live in harmony, in respect and mutual understanding.
BELL (voice-over): A stark contrast to the brutality of a trial that saw the violent rapes of an unconscious Gisele Pelicot shown in court day after day through the videos shot by her then husband of more than 50 years.
[01:20:04]
Dominique Pelicot, unmasked by chance in 2020 when a guard caught him filming up women's skirts in a supermarket, an incident that led police to the horrors that this unassuming retiree had on his phone and computer videos of more than 200 acts of aggravated rape against his wife, most including other men.
It was not far from the couple's home in the sleepy town of Maisons (ph) in southern France that he met the men after recruiting them online. Dominique Pelicot's lawyer said her client will consider whether to appeal.
We are going to take advantage of the delay, which gives us 10 days to decide if we want to appeal this decision, she said.
As she left court, Gisele Pelicot was again celebrated for making the trial public and for having, in her own words, forced shame onto the perpetrators and where it belongs. Melissa Bell, CNN, Avignon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, I want to bring in Megan Clement, who is the editor in chief of the Impact newsletter, and she joins us live now from Paris. Megan, thank you so much for being with us.
I mean, she I'm talking about Gisele Pelicot, she is now obviously a heroine in France. You know, her face is plastered on murals. I mean, everybody is talking about her. And her words have really been inspiring. Just the fact that she chose to renounce her anonymity, make herself public and ensure that the evidence in this trial could be heard in open court. That is so significant. Just walk us through what sort of impact those decisions had on this case.
MEGAN CLEMENT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, IMPACT NEWSLETTER: It's absolutely enormous. And it's changed, I think, the way a lot of people think about these kinds of trials. The idea has always been that anonymity protects the victim. Gisele Pelicot has said no, anonymity protects the accused. You know, there were 51 accused in this case, and that's really transformed, I think, the way that we think about sexual violence in this country and beyond. You know, she's an international hero, really, for doing this.
And she just patiently said whenever she was asked that the shame must change sides. It's not for me to be ashamed. It's for them.
ASHER: But there's a lot of work ahead, right? There's a lot of work ahead, especially in a place like France, where convictions for rape are somewhat rare in France. And then you have the fact that a lot of people are saying that some of these sentences were simply too low. I'm looking here. And a lot of the defendants ended up getting less than a decade. I mean, obviously the husband got 20 years, but for a lot of them to get less than a decade. Some people might see that as a slap in the face, given that they participated in this equally.
CLEMENT: Yes. And it's been a complicated case with a lot of verdicts. I think what is important, though, is that not a single one of these people was found not guilty. Every single one was held accountable for their crimes. And that itself, as you mentioned, is rare. And it's all the more important given the kind of rape myths that were peddled during this trial.
Most of these men denied raping Gisele Pelicot, even though there was video evidence. One of them said, oh, you know, it was with my body, not my brain, that I did these acts. Others said, I simply cannot accept that I'm a rapist. Well, you know, the judge has found. The courts have found that they are all rapists. And we can, you know, look at the sentences and ask whether enough. But I think what is most important is that all of these men are guilty.
ASHER: Yes. A lot of these men basically rationalized it by saying, well, you know, her husband gave me his consent, therefore it should be perfectly fine. I mean, just that mode of thinking alone. What does that tell you about the culture of misogyny in France?
CLEMENT: I mean, it's enormous. And what's been really interesting about this trial is that finally, we are talking about things like rape culture. And when we say rape culture, we're talking about those kind of attitudes, the attitudes that say, oh, it's fine for a woman. Sorry, a man, to deliver his wife to other men to rape, and that, you know, that involves some kind of implicit consent.
The rape myths that we say, oh, well, she was in on it. She was. She must have been. She must have known, which we also heard in trial. And now in France, you know, we're having this conversation about rape culture and what that means, and it's very, very significant.
ASHER: I think that one of the things that I really admire is Gisele's, I mean, her strength. Not just in terms of, you know, showing her face publicly and sort of announcing her anonymity, but just going through this trial itself. You know, for any person, this would be one of the greatest ordeals of your lifetime, just to sort of endure just the entire world knowing what your husband, supposedly the love of your life.
[01:25:05]
They were married for five decades, I believe, did to you. Just talk to us about her strength, her strength in that courtroom.
CLEMENT: It's extraordinary. This trial has been going on for three months, and she has been there throughout. She has walked past her kind of phalanx of supporters every day, and she has sat in a courtroom and had to be in the same room while those videos are being played.
And she said, I want them to be played. I haven't done anything wrong. You know, as I mentioned, she said, it's not for me to be ashamed. It's for them. It's very -- it's one thing to say that. It's another to have to sit through what she sat through. But she has said immediately after the verdict, she said, I don't regret this for a second. And that is. I mean, the, yes, the courage. She says, oh, I'm not brave. I just have a will and determination to change society. Well, I think we have to disagree. She is incredibly brave, but she is also changing society.
ASHER: Yes. I beg to differ with this idea that she's not brave Just in terms of where this goes from here now that the trial is over. I mean, there does seem to be sort of two modes of thinking in France. You know, obviously, on the one side, a vibrant feminist movement, and then on the other side, you know, certain people who believe that the MeToo movement went too far, and obviously, the MeToo movement in France didn't really have the same effect as it did where I am here in the US.
So, where does this -- given that a lot of people have very divergent views on this sort of thing. Just walk us through where the conversation goes from here.
CLEMENT: Yeah. I do think, you know, we've sent a backlash to MeToo all over the world, but in France, yes, it was difficult for MeToo to get going, despite the kind of the efforts of the feminist movement. I think what's been very powerful about this case is there can be no sense that, oh, this woman is doing it for attention. She's trying to bring down a powerful man. You know, anything like that. 51 very, very ordinary men and one very, very ordinary woman. And the facts were so clear. There was all that video evidence, and she has really kind of pushed this country into territory that MeToo did not.
And so let's see. Let's see how victims who might come across as less kind of perfect victims than Gisele Pelicot will be treated. But I think I am optimistic that this trial has exploded so many of the myths that we have about people who experience sexual violence that there really will be a better understanding of the true toll of it.
ASHER: Yes, you're right. The fact that she was so ordinary from an ordinary sort of small town in France and her husband was so ordinary as well, I mean, that really adds to the relatability factor in all of this, which is really key. Megan Clement, you have to leave it there in Paris for us. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
CLEMENT: Thank you. ASHER: Russia's president holds his annual press conference trying to
send a message that all is well in his country. But this year, some Russians may need a little bit more convincing to believe in. We'll explain after this break.
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[01:30:26]
ASHER: Political correctness is out the window as Ukraine's president spoke about his Russian counterpart on Thursday.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the European Council meeting in Brussels, asking for more air defense system to protect Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
He also responded to an idea floated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his annual press conference, suggesting it would be interesting to see Ukraine's air defenses take on Russia's new Oreshnik ballistic missile.
In a response on social media, Mr. Zelenskyy posted a video of the conference and called the Russian leader a, quote, "dumbass" in the text above it. His verbal response was also no more flattering either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: He says that we will strike somewhere in Kyiv, for example, with the Oreshnik, our new bomb, and let them put up air defenses and let's see what happens.
Do you think this is an adequate person? Just a scumbag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Mr. Putin's press conference is an annual ritual in Russia aimed at portraying him as a competent leader who is firmly in charge of the country.
But as Matthew Chance reports, that narrative was a tougher sell this time around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Vladimir Putin's audience virtually standing to attention as he swaggered into the auditorium. But the Kremlin's strongman, is under intense pressure on his devastating war in Ukraine, for instance and is keen to promote Russia's recent territorial gains.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: The situation is changing dramatically as you well know. Movement is taking place along the entire frontline every day.
CHANCE: But every day the cost of the war in blood and treasure is also rocketing. with an incoming president Trump calling for a rapid end to the conflict, The Russian leader said he was open to compromise on Ukraine and ready at any time for a Trump meeting.
PUTIN: First of all, I don't know when we will meet because he doesn't say anything about it. I haven't spoken to him at all for over four years.
CHANCE: "But it would be," Putin added, "from a position of Russian strength."
PUTIN: I believe Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years. Why? Because we are becoming a truly sovereign country. We are no longer dependent on anyone.
CHANCE: But that strength seems to have disappeared recently in Syria, where key Kremlin ally Bashar al-Assad was overthrown.
It was a geopolitical blow for an overstretched Russia, which maintained critical bases in Syria. And now Putin, who admits he hasn't even spoken to Assad since he escaped to Moscow earlier this month, is forced to negotiate, if not plead, with the Syrian rebels he once ruthlessly bombed.
PUTIN: The overwhelming majority of the group tell us that they would be interested in us keeping our military bases in Syria. I don't know. We have to think about it.
CHANCE: This annual Putin extravaganza, highly-choreographed and tightly-controlled, is designed to trumpet achievements, but it is getting hard for the Kremlin amid a spate of setbacks to claim everything is going Russia's way.
PUTIN: Thank you. Thank you.
CHANCE: Matthew Chance, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Let's dig deeper into Mr. Putin's statements at his press conference.
For that, we're joined from Washington by CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.
Colonel, thank you so much for being with us. Always good to see you.
So Vladimir Putin, we heard Matthew Chance outline there, that he essentially said in his annual address that he was ready to compromise, that he was willing to have possible talks with Donald Trump.
Just walk us through what that actually looks like, because if Putin is willing to negotiate, can the U.S., can the Ukrainians actually trust that the Russians are actually going to stick to their side of any kind of cease fire agreement.
[01:34:48]
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, the short answer to that, Zain, is they cannot.
And I thought it was very interesting that you mentioned that he would be willing to speak to Trump, but not mentioning Zelenskyy at all.
And of course, that fits with the Russian narrative that Ukraine is not worthy of being a country. It is not worthy of being, in their view of being an independent state.
So this fits the narrative. And if the United States makes the mistake of conducting business about Ukraine without the Ukrainians, then that would be not only a significant mistake, but it would be a very detrimental blow to the Ukrainian war effort, both diplomatically and militarily.
So the way this would work is if the -- if the Russians decided that they were in enough of a position of strength to negotiate a peace or a ceasefire of some type, they would probably try to do it alone with the United States.
The United States should not agree to that. They should insist that the Ukrainians be part of the -- of any deal and of any negotiation. And that would be, I think, a critical factor.
And that might even stop the negotiations from happening, at least at this particular point in time.
ASHER: And you mentioned that any kind of U.S.-brokered deal would obviously be a mistake. I mean, obviously it would be a huge blow to Zelenskyy. I mean, they've been fighting for two years now. And for that to essentially go to waste would be, you know, devastating for the Ukrainians.
My question to you, though, is what message -- I think equally as important -- does that send to the rest of Europe? I mean, the former sort of -- former Soviet republics that a lot of people are worried could be next.
LEIGHTON: yes, especially the Baltic States, Poland, you know, any of those areas would potentially be at risk. And you know, what it would mean for the Europeans is that they would absolutely have to up the ante when it comes to their own defenses.
Many countries, the Baltics and Poland specifically, have increased their defense budgets considerably. NATO has more members now with the addition of Finland and Sweden. Finland, of course, having a large long border with the Russians.
And that would be, I think, a critical -- a critical element. So the Europeans would potentially have to move troops closer to the front lines with the Russians.
They are considering putting troops in Ukraine after a ceasefire deal is reached. But the problem is how do you get to that particular point?
And the Europeans really don't have at the moment, the diplomatic muscle to by themselves, broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
And that therein, I think, lies the crux of the problem. The Europeans are dependent on the United States, both diplomatically and militarily at the present time. And they need to find a way to get beyond that particular point and make sure that they can safeguard their eastern borders.
And by safeguarding their eastern borders, that means making sure that Ukraine stays a free and independent country.
ASHER: And just in terms of the North Koreans, I mean, the North Koreans -- a lot of them are going home in body bags. And President Zelenskyy did say, listen, there is absolutely no reason why North Korean soldiers should be willing to fight for and die for Vladimir Putin, especially because this war is so unnecessary.
Just walk us through what the North Koreans specifically have gotten out of this relationship.
LEIGHTON: It's certainly the individual soldiers who are fighting and dying for this cause whatever or however you might want to term it. They are not getting anything out of it except for military training.
Now, on the strategic level, the North Koreans are most likely getting all kinds of data from the Russians. They're getting data that will help them with their missile programs, potentially also for their nuclear program.
They are getting aid from the Russians, and in essence, the North Koreans are joining in a kind of a partnership not only with Russia, but also with China and distantly with Iran that is basically designed to circumvent western sanctions that are directed against Russia, North Korea and Iran.
And so those efforts are at a strategic level, very important for the North Koreans, because they need every possible means to gain things like foreign exchange, foreign technologies.
And those technologies would include the ability to target U.S. military installations in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as, of course, South Korean installations and South Korean infrastructure.
ASHER: All right. Colonel Cedric Leighton, live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
[01:39:52]
ASHER: All right. A U.S. delegation is in Syria's capital right now to meet with the interim government leaders. It is the first in-person visit to Damascus by U.S. officials since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. The White House has tapped former ambassador and Syria envoy Daniel
Rubinstein to lead the effort in the final weeks of the Biden administration. The State Department says U.S. officials will meet with the group that now comprises Syria's de facto government to discuss the transition and other issues as well.
The U.S., the U.N. and other countries have designated that group a terrorist organization.
Meantime, the Pentagon revealed on Thursday the U.S. has approximately 2,000 troops in Syria, more than double the previously-disclosed number of 900. Washington says the troops are there to prevent ISIS from gaining a foothold.
Many Syrian refugees are eager to return home now that the Assad regime has fallen. It's a day millions in the Syrian diaspora have been waiting to see for years.
But mixed with hope for the future, some are afraid that the current instability could lead to further chaos for Syria.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Before Ahmad Morjan (ph) hugs his mother for the first time in 13 years, they both kneel in prayer.
Gratitude for a reunion they never believed would come.
This is one of many emotional homecomings across Syria after the sudden fall of the Assad regime. At just 19 years old with security forces hunting him down, Morjan fled his family's home in Aleppo. Here he is in 2016 --
AHMAD MORJAN, SYRIAN: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
ABDELAZIZ: -- reporting for an opposition-based media network as barrel bombs rained down from the sky. Later that year, Morjan filmed the exodus as thousands withdrew from the last remaining rebel enclave in Aleppo.
"We are leaving with our dignity", Morjan says in this clip, "and we will return one day." That promised return is now finally on the horizon. Morjan says he is planning to move back to Aleppo from Gaziantep, Turkey where he currently lives with his wife and their two young daughters.
What is your dream now for Syria's future?
"I'm optimistic about the future," he says. "And I have huge hope that the country will be better than before."
But not all are keen to hurry back to an unstable country with an uncertain future, says this human rights defender.
HUSSAM KASSAS, SYRIAN ASYLUM-SEEKER: There's no sustainable peace, and which makes me really afraid of getting back there.
ABDELAZIZ: Hussam Kassas, who is seeking asylum in the United Kingdom, is among tens of thousands of Syrians whose applications for asylum were suspended after the U.K. and other European countries paused the process to reassess now that the threat of Assad is gone.
For years, Kassas has documented potential war crimes committed by all major parties to the conflict. If he goes back, he says, his family could be targeted or worse.
Why do you not feel safe to return?
KASSAS: We expect that a lot of revenge killing will happen. Those soldiers will seek revenge from the people who were trying to hold them accountable actually.
ABDELAZIZ: Many Syrians in the diaspora long to return and rebuild. But this moment of great hope brings with it great uncertainty.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Medics in Gaza tell Reuters Israel launched several strikes on Thursday, killing dozens of Palestinians. The attacks were mainly focused in and around Gaza city, where buildings and homes were flattened. Some shelters and refugee camps were also hit.
Medecins sans Frontieres, or Doctors without Borders is accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing in a new report published Thursday. Israel has denied allegations of ethnic cleansing in the past, saying its goal is to wipe out Hamas.
Meantime, an Israeli official says real progress is being made towards a ceasefire and hostage deal. But the official added there are still gaps that must be closed with Hamas.
An aid group claim the IDF is not allowing enough supplies into Gaza as the war rages on.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond traveled to the Kerem Shalom crossing and spoke to an Israeli official about the worsening humanitarian crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: We are on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing, where you are seeing pallets of humanitarian aid being offloaded here.
[01:44:47]
DIAMOND: But the problem is this aid simply isn't getting to the people of Gaza in the quantities that are needed. Humanitarian aid agencies say that the Israeli government and the Israeli military are to blame for that, not facilitating the safe distribution of aid.
The Israelis deny that. They insist that enough aid is getting into Gaza, and that they are facilitating that aid.
But I pressed one of the top Israeli officials responsible for getting that aid in on that very question.
They say that there -- that the issues are the Israeli military's unwillingness to facilitate safe distribution of aid.
COL. ABDULLAH HALABI, ISRAELI COORDINATOR AND LIAISON ADMINISTRATION: No, the Israeli. Troops on the Israeli side, just in the last few weeks, facilitated several options in order to enter the aid to the Gazan side.
DIAMOND: Does your role stop at this checkpoint? Do you believe that your role stops at this checkpoint, that you're not responsible for how safely the aid can get distributed inside of inside.
HALABI: The international community is responsible to deliver the aid from the crossing points to the people of Gaza. It's their responsibility.
DIAMOND: But don't you have a responsibility for making it safe?
HALABI: We facilitated the crossings and the aid, until the crossing. We inspect the aid. We put it in the platforms and we encourage the humanitarian community and the organizations to come and to take the aid.
The main problem, the main obstacle is the capabilities distribution.
DIAMOND: Amid that dispute between the aid agencies and the Israeli military, these pallets of aid, they are piling up.
And this isn't a theoretical problem. We are seeing that the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, they simply aren't getting better. In fact, there's a lot of chance that it could get worse.
With the arrival of winter, the rains, the need for shelter is rising. Respiratory illnesses are rising, and people are sometimes going without food for days.
Of course, a ceasefire deal could improve all of this, bringing an enormous flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. We know that those negotiations, of course, are ongoing.
Jeremy diamond, CNN -- on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: The teenage girl who carried out a deadly shooting at her school was communicating with a California man before the shooting. What were they apparently plotting to do? We'll talk about that after the break.
And another possible legal victory for Donald Trump. And this time it involves the Georgia prosecutor in his 2020 election interference case. We'll explain just ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Now to the latest on the investigation into Monday's deadly school shooting in Wisconsin. Court documents show a 20-year- old California man admitted that he plotted with shooter 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow to carry out a separate mass shooting.
CNN's Whitney Wild has the story.
[01:49:55]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 15-year-old girl police say shot and killed two people and wounded six more at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin appears to have been in contact with a 20-year- old-man in California. That according to court records obtained by CNN.
Alexander Paffendorf of Carlsbad, California was plotting a mass shooting with the teen and told FBI agents during an interview that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun, and that he would target a government building.
ALEX GALLEGOS, ALEXANDER PAFFENDORF'S NEIGHBOR: I've only seen him a few times. He's real quiet. I'm just glad that the cops and everybody FBI, whoever was on top of it and getting to the bottom of it before anything bad happened.
WILD: A California judge has issued a gun violence emergency protective order under the state's Red Flag Law against Paffendorf.
According to the order, FBI agents saw the messages between him and the teen. It also demands Paffendorf give up his guns and any ammunition within 48 hours unless police take them sooner.
GALLEGOS: A couple hours into it, towards the end, they're carrying out a big black box. It looked like a gun case of some sort.
WILD: It's still not clear if he's in custody or if he will face charges. The FBI is not commenting. CNN has also reached out to Paffendorf but hasn't heard back.
In Wisconsin, new details emerging about the shooting. Police now say two guns were recovered at the school, but won't say who owns them or how she got them.
Meanwhile, four people injured in the shooting are now home, while two other students are still fighting for their lives in the hospital. A local pastor saying that one of them needs a miracle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The students, the families --
WILD: As the community and the police search for answers, we're learning more about those killed. 14-year-old Rubi Vergara was an avid reader, a talented artist and singer, according to an obituary written far too soon.
42-year-old Erin West was a substitute coordinator and in-house substitute teacher. Sophomore Mackynzie Wilson says she was beloved.
MACKYNZIE WILSON, SOPHOMORE, ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: She was a really good person. She really loved her kids and she really, really loved everyone at her school. And she would have done anything for them.
WILD: Her mom, Lindsay O'Connor, a former student here, says their legacies will live on.
LINDSAY O'CONNOR, FORMER STUDENT, ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: They're integrated into our lives and they will be forever remembered.
WILD: We reached out for more details on the condition of the two children who remain in the hospital. We've received no further details.
Whitney Wild, CNN -- Madison, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: A Georgia Court of Appeals has disqualified Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump and his alleged co-conspirators. The decision raises questions about the future of the case.
CNN's Paula Reid has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, the case against President-Elect Trump down in Georgia survived this Appeals Court, they did not dismiss the case itself, but says the case would need a new prosecutor and a new office.
They found that Fani Willis and her entire office should be disqualified based on the appearance of impropriety that resulted from her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, who was, of course, the special prosecutor that she selected to oversee this historic case.
Now, the trial court did not see things this way, so she did not have to be removed. This was appealed. The Trump team has really been pushing to get her off the case, arguing that not only was her romantic relationship inappropriate, they've also raised questions about his billing practices.
And here, the appellate court agreed, saying, look, it's rare that you would remove a prosecutor for just the appearance of impropriety, but they found that the only way to restore public trust they said in this case and the integrity of the process is for her to be disqualified.
Now, we do expect that she is going to appeal this decision. But as a former president Trump, currently the president-elect, heads back to the White House it's clear that this case look, even if this is overturned, will remain in limbo while he is in the White House.
Paula Reid, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: We'll be right back with more.
[01:53:59]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is restricting the use of drones in 22 locations in New Jersey until January 17th. This comes in reaction to a rise in alleged drone sightings across the U.S. state that have prompted public confusion, outrage and concern.
The new rules limit drone flights at power stations and other critical infrastructure. Drone restrictions were in place since late November at a Trump golf course and a military research facility.
New York's governor also announced that federal authorities also plan to restrict flights over her state's critical infrastructure. The FAA has said multiple times that there is no threat to safety or national security.
And Macau is marking 25 years since it returned to Chinese rule after hundreds of years under Portuguese control. China's President Xi Jinping was there for a special flag raising ceremony a few hours ago.
Macau is a Chinese special administrative region located near Hong Kong. Guards marched in, lifting the flags of both China and Macau while a band played China's national anthem.
Xi also presided over the inauguration of Macau's new leader, the first since the handover to be born in mainland China and not have a background in business.
All right. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Zain Asher,
CNN NEWSROOM continues with my colleague Kim Brunhuber after the break.
[01:57:05]
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