Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Tennessee Republican Matt Van Epps Wins U.S. House Seat; Impact Of Russian Strikes And Blackouts On Ukrainians; White House And Pete Hegseth Shift Responsibility For Double-Tap Strike; Trump Says Strikes on Targets Inside Venezuela to Start Soon; White House, Hegseth Shift Responsibility for Double-tap Strike; Trump Pardons Ex-Honduran President Despite Drug Conviction; Pope Weighs in on U.S.-Venezuela Tensions, Middle East Peace; Pope Calls for People to Be Less Fearful of Immigrants; U.N. Resolution Asks Israel to Withdraw From Golan Heights; Israel Says Remains Handed Over by Hamas Are Not of Hostages; Two Boys Gathering Firewood Killed by IDF Strike in Gaza; Tanzanian President Defends Deadly Crackdown on Protests; House Speaker Hosts U.S. Capitol Tree Lighting Ceremony; Famous Puppet Characters Back in a New Holiday Special. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 03, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:36]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Republicans score a win in a special U.S. House election in Tennessee, but there's a silver lining for Democrats.

Hours of talks between a U.S. delegation and Vladimir Putin, but still no deal to end the war in Ukraine.

And we track down a photographer in New York city known for taking legendary passport photos. We'll explain.

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

CHURCH: Good to have you with us, and we begin this hour with U.S. Politics, Republicans have dodged a potentially embarrassing upset in a Tennessee special election. CNN projects Republican Matt Van Epps will defeat Democrat Aftyn Behn for the seventh District House seat. His nine-point margin of victory is much closer than one year ago when Donald Trump scored a 22-point victory in the district. Van Epps is a former Army helicopter pilot. He got strong endorsements from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MATT Van Epps, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN-ELECT: What a night. What a night. We did it. Thank you. Thank you all. This is just an incredible win -- an incredible win. Tonight, you have sent a message loud and clear, the people of Middle Tennessee stand with President Donald J. Trump, and stood firmly behind our campaign. I am humbled beyond belief to stand before you tonight as your next representative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Van Epps's victory means Republicans will hold on to a narrow majority in the House, 220 to 213.

Well, joining me now CNN Senior Political Analyst and Bloomberg Opinion Columnist, Ron Brownstein. Good to have you with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Republicans are, of course, relieved that Van Epps will ultimately be the winner, but it was a closer race than they'd hoped. What's the message here for Republicans do you think?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, well, this was right, literally right on the trajectory that we have seen in other special elections this year for both the U.S. House and for state legislative races, depending on whose numbers you use, Democrats have run somewhere between 11 to 13 points better across all of those races, and they did in the same places in the '24 presidential race.

And as you noted, in this case, the Democrats ran 13 points better than the party did just last year in the presidential race in the same place.

So, some Republicans worry that the result could be even worse, but an 11 to 13 point improvement over the '24 presidential race is substantial. It is bigger than the improvement Democrats had leading into the 2018 midterm, when they won 40 House seats. And I think overall, this is another indication, along with the weak approval rating for President Trump, the strong democratic results in New Jersey and Virginia that right now, Republicans are on track for a difficult midterm.

CHURCH: So, what does this specific race mean for Democrats, and could the outcome have been different do you think with a more moderate candidate, as some have suggested?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, look, I think this that is an interesting dynamic here. A nine point win, you're probably not going to change it, you're not going to flip the district by changing a candidate. This is a very Republican place. As we said last year, the president and the current Republican in the House won it by over 20 points. It's designed in a way to subsume more liberal voters inside Nashville with a lot of conservative rural White voters.

But the fact that it did not get even closer, as said, this was pretty much on track for what Democrats have been doing in special elections this year. But there were a lot of centrist Democrats who immediately said, look, this was a candidate who was way too liberal for the district. I think it's hard to argue against that conclusion and basically making the case, if Democrats are going to win in red leaning places, they have to put up more moderate candidates.

I think the core question really in this debate is, do Democrats need candidates who can inspire and excite their base, or is that just a given at a moment when Trump is running such a polarizing second term, and what they really need are candidates who will reassure voters who are inclined to vote against Republicans because they are disenchanted or disappointed in Trump.

[02:05:22]

I think on balance, this gives a little more ammunition to the voters, to the -- our candidate -- consultants arguing for the centrist position. But again, it was basically on track for what Democrats have been doing this year.

CHURCH: So, Ron, what does this race and, of course, other recent races that you talked about there, what do they indicate for President Trump and his hold on power within his party, and what could this ultimately mean for the midterms next year?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, you know, the big lesson again, as it was in New Jersey and Virginia last month, really, as it's been in special elections all year, is that, as they said in Casablanca, the fundamental things apply, President Trump's approval rating is now consistently running around 40 percent or even below. And when a president's approval rating is that weak, his party faces problems pretty much everywhere.

You know, Democrats may not gain improve over their popular vote from last year by 13 points in the midterm but you know, as we said, in 2018 it was about an eight or nine point improvement over the previous election, and that was plenty to win the House.

And I think what this says is that anywhere where Trump's approval rating is, any place outside of kind of the MAGA heartland where Trump is still popular, every Republican is at risk.

I mean, if you -- if you look at all the districts that Trump won by 13 points or less, which was the swing we saw from '24 to '25 in this race, that would be more than enough for Democrats to win the House and even enough for them to win the Senate.

So, again, this points towards just another piece of evidence pointing toward Republicans facing a difficult midterm unless voters assessment of what they're getting out of the Trump presidency improves significantly between now and next November.

CHURCH: All right, we'll see what happens next. Ron Brownstein, many thanks for joining us and sharing your analysis, as always. Appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Well, the U.S. is pausing immigration applications for people from 19 countries, what the Trump administration calls nations of concern. They include Afghanistan, Iran, Venezuela and Somalia. Immigration officials say requests from those countries will undergo a comprehensive review. People from those countries already can't travel to the U.S.

The Homeland Security Secretary is now recommending that the administration expand that list. A source says Kristi Noem wants to add about a dozen more countries to the travel ban.

Well, the immigration crackdown comes in the aftermath of the shooting of the two National Guard members by an Afghan national in Washington last week, 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal appeared virtually from a hospital bed in his first court appearance on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to all charges, including first degree murder and assault. He was ordered to be held without bond before trial. Lakanwal came to the U.S. in 2021 after working with US forces including the CIA in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was granted asylum earlier this year by the Trump administration.

Well, Minnesota's Twin Cities are bracing for new federal immigration raids targeting undocumented Somali immigrants. The planned operation comes as the White House ramps up attacks against the Somali community in Minneapolis and St. Paul with President Trump and his allies citing a $300 million fraud scandal. The case centers around a nonprofit organization and a COVID-19 program meant to provide meals to hungry children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somalians ripped off that state for billions of dollars, billions every year, billions of dollars, and they contribute nothing. The welfare is like 88 percent, they contribute nothing. I don't want them in our country. I'll be honest with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Donald Trump went on to call Somali immigrants garbage, specifically referencing Somali American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Minnesota's Democratic Governor Tim Walz called the Federal operation a P.R. stunt that indiscriminately targets immigrants.

Meanwhile, the mayors of the Twin Cities emphasize their citizens have rights and legal resources, and offered their support to the Somali community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:10:10]

MELVIN CARTER, MAYOR OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA: The last thing that we need is federal agents coming here pretending that we should be afraid of somebody just based on the color of their skin, just based on what they look like, just based on what country their ancestors claim as -- honor as a motherland.

JACOB FREY, MAYOR OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: To our Somali community, we love you and we stand with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels this hour, one of their top priorities is Russia's war in Ukraine. And despite the U.S. taking the lead in trying to forge a peace deal, the country's top diplomat will not be at these talks. The State Department defends his absence, saying Secretary of State Marco Rubio has, "Already attended dozens of meetings with NATO allies." Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau is joining instead.

Donald Trump's top negotiators have not closed a deal with Russia's president to end his so-called special military operation in Ukraine. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting that lasted nearly five hours. A top Kremlin aide says those talks were, "Constructive and highly substantive," but there are other points that "Do not suit us."

Putin appears to be accusing Europe of altering the Trump administration's original 28-point peace plan. That proposal had been criticized for appearing to favor Russia. He also said this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are not claiming to go to war with Europe. I have already spoken about this a hundred times, but if Europe suddenly wants to go to war with us and starts, we are ready right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Shortly after the meeting ended, a top Russian official posted a single word on social media, productive, punctuated by a dove and olive branch emoji.

Well, in Ukraine, Russia is regularly striking apartment buildings, schools and energy infrastructure. Nick Paton Walsh shows us the toll they're taking on the lives of Ukrainians.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across Ukraine, these rolling, phased, deliberate blackouts just striking here, a result of them experiencing constant Russian bombardment on their energy infrastructure and just trying to conserve energy. But the impact here is just daily life grinds to a halt.

And in this particular block here, there was the impact of a strike just recently in which a young boy, a 10-year-old, Mikola (ph), was dramatically rescued.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There's a person here. Water, give me water. Move away, move away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Fire extinguisher.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Pour it on his head. Child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): To the ambulance, urgently.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Mate, hang in there. Please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We got him out of the rubble. He was on fire.

WALSH: His father, though killed by the drone strike. And even here, locals are still arguing about whether this was a purposeful strike itself or indeed a drone that was intercepted, but the damage kind of remarkable.

And so, across Ukraine, these nightly barrages definitely playing on the psyche of ordinary Ukrainians when it comes to these diplomatic negotiations happening in rooms hundreds of miles away, often between people who may never have been to war torn Ukraine, nowhere more urgently wanting that peace than places like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Tymofiy Mylovanov is the president of the Kyiv School of Economics and is Ukraine's former Minister of Economic Development and Trade, he joins me now from Lisbon. Appreciate you being with us.

TYMOFIY MYLOVANOV, PRESIDENT, KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Thank you.

CHURCH: Still no deal after President Trump's Special Envoy and son- in-law failed to reach a compromise after nearly five hours of talks with President Putin, after making Witkoff and Kushner wait for more than an hour, Putin apparently not happy with Europe's input on the altered peace plan. What's your assessment of those long talks ending in no deal? And what's Putin's message here with that?

MYLOVANOV: So, that's typical Putin and making people wait, getting late. But everything -- you know, all of this is noise. I think the only relevant information, in my view, is that talks happened. Talks took a reasonably long time, and now we need to see what's next.

[02:15:17]

If there is another round of negotiations, there is another conversation, then talks are ongoing, then there is some progress.

But Putin's theatrics is simply putting pressure on everyone, on Ukraine, on Europe, on the United States, to sort of try to get a better deal.

CHURCH: And of course, the question many are asking, why wasn't U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio present to these talks, instead of Witkoff and Kushner, and did their presence indicate this was more about business deals rather than a peace deal?

MYLOVANOV: Well, there is an attempt, I think, or at least there is a belief in Ukraine that the U.S. is pursuing both a carrot and a sticker strategy with respect to Russia. And carrot includes all kinds of deals, business deals, all kinds of promises, sanctions relief, at least partial, at least promises of that.

So, that is consistent with the fact that it is really about carrot. Now the concern is that Putin doesn't really care about that carrot that much, or neither he takes it seriously, because I don't think he trusts the United States.

CHURCH: And Tymofiy the most important issue here, of course, and it's not yet been resolved, we don't know how far they've got with it, but it's the division of territory. How will that sticky point be resolved, and how much land will Ukraine likely be forced to give up in the end? Because that's where this stands, isn't it?

MYLOVANOV: That's absolutely true. So, there are two points to this. One is a lot of this is really about packaging, positioning and P.R. or, you know, public stance on it, because the territory, the land that is being discussed, there are people who live there, but there's very -- you know, a lot of this territory is really destroyed. And, you know, will be tremendously expensive to restore, so many of these villages, many of the cities will lie, unfortunately, in ruins for decades.

So, you know, it's really territory is more political term here. But there are, of course, people who live there. And the question is, what will happen to those people?

But the second one is, it's a strategic sort of fortress, really, that they -- that Putin is trying to get for free. He has been trying to take it for more than four years now, soon more than four years, and has not succeeded in this. And if he gets that territory, he will be able to have an open lane, a direct access to the next territories in Ukraine, and defending them will be much more difficult because of geography. So, I think that's what they're trying to get for free.

CHURCH: And Tymofiy, as you mentioned at the start, I mean, we now have to look at what comes next. And given, nothing appears to have come out of nearly five hours of these talks on Tuesday. And of course, nothing has come out previously. What is the likely next step? What needs to happen?

MYLOVANOV: Well, I think there'll be more negotiations, even if we look historically at what happened within Minsk-1 Minsk-2, previous negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in 2014, 2016 that took months, many months, in fact, and tens and hundreds of meetings between everyone, actually, between the U.S. officials, Ukrainian officials, Russian officials, and European officials.

So, that's normal, but I think there is this really sticky points, the size of the Ukrainian military, the territory and the sovereignty, and Putin wants it all. And I don't think it's happening. So, you know, the question is, really, if Putin truly is ready to some

kind of compromise, because he is -- if he is not, the war will continue. But if he is, Ukraine is ready to compromise to achieve peace, but it is not and will not surrender.

CHURCH: And as you say, I mean Putin wants it all, doesn't he? And he's going to hold off until he gets it. How likely is it that in the end, Trump will be so frustrated because he wants to end the war, he will capitulate and give the land that Putin wants to Putin?

MYLOVANOV: Well, it's not Trump's to give first of all, and it's not even Zelenskyy to give, I think what politicians forget in old capitals that it is up to people, to the military, to civilians, to decide what the what happens with countries.

So, I think that's that people overlook this point. But I think Trump also is not going to capitulate. He really wants to get this peace done -- peace deal done. He doesn't really care that much if he leans heavy on Ukraine, if he could lean on Russia, he would, but there's not really much what can -- he can do.

[02:20:06]

And then, of course, the real question is, if Putin is hurting, his economy is hurting, is he politically vulnerable? I think he is. Our data shows he is, but you know, it's not certain.

CHURCH: Tymofiy Mylovanov, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate your analysis and perspective on this issue.

Well, the U.S. Defense Secretary is under growing scrutiny from lawmakers. Just ahead, how Pete Hegseth is attempting to distance himself from a controversial boat strike.

Plus, Donald Trump pardons a former president of Honduras who was convicted of major drug trafficking charges in the United States. We'll have more on his decision coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:25:18]

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, President Trump says the U.S. will begin striking targets inside Venezuela very soon, if true, it would mark a significant escalation and the U.S. crackdown on Caribbean drug trafficking. Since September, the U.S. has conducted at least 21 known strikes on alleged drug boats, killing more than 80 people. At a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the president said attacks on land would be much easier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: These people have killed over 200,000 people. Actually killed over 200,000 people last year, and those numbers are down. Those numbers are down. And way down, and they're down because we're doing these strikes, and we're going to start doing those strikes on land too. You know the land is much easier, much easier, and we know the routes they take. We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live, and we're going to start that very soon too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: This comes as the administration faces intense scrutiny over a double tap strike in early September, which reportedly killed survivors on one of those boats.

On Monday, the White House acknowledged the follow up attack did occur and shifted the responsibility to the head of U.S. Special Operations Command. Both President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continued to distance themselves from the incident on Tuesday, insisting they were not aware of the second strike order. Hegseth claims he left the room before it happened, but defended Admiral Frank Bradley's combat decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF WAR: I watched that first strike live. As you can imagine, at the Department of War, we got a lot of things to do, so I didn't stick around for the hour and two hours whatever where all the sensitive site exploitation digitally occurs. So, I moved on to my next meeting.

Couple of hours later, I learned that that commander had made the -- which he had the complete authority to do, and by the way, Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now for a closer look at all of this is Christopher Sabatini, senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House. Appreciate you being with us.

CHRISTOPHER SABATINI, SENIOR FELLOW FOR LATIN AMERICA, CHATHAM HOUSE: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, President Trump now says strikes inside Venezuela will start very soon, and says that could include other countries, specifically mentioning Colombia. All this comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth changes his story on that second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean that killed two survivors.

So, if the U.S. declares war on Venezuela and possibly other neighboring nations going in on land, striking land, what might the consequences be?

SABATINI: Well, first, the administration is unlikely to actually declare war, because that would take the War Powers Act of Congress and then vote of Congress, and Congress is clearly walking back. Any support among the Republicans, in particular, they had for this mission, with the recent evidence that there was a double tap strike, as you mentioned. Second, what would be the consequences? Really, this is again, ultimately about trying to take out the president of Venezuela who's been declared the head of a foreign terrorist organization. They've been trying to do this now since basically mid-August to try to rattle the military, to encourage them to oust President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, that hasn't worked. They've kind of doubled down up the ante on this, and it still hasn't worked.

And so, now what they're going to try to do, I assume we'll see at the same time Trump is talking to or Trump's associates are talking to Nicolas Maduro and his team.

But what they're trying to do is probably strike a few targets within Venezuela, hope that it will be again, be enough to rattle the military to oust Maduro. Maybe stage some sort of special operations event in Venezuela that could arrest Maduro or kill Maduro. We really don't know, but I think the first phase in this, if it happens, will primarily be targeting ports, infrastructure related to crime, infrastructure, military infrastructure, such as surface to air missiles, really more to send a signal than to strike at the heart of the military, to engage in sort of a war, provocative act.

CHURCH: Is this about drugs, or is it about something else? And obviously, as you -- as you have said, you believe it's about removing Maduro. What do drugs have to do with this?

SABATINI: The drugs are a convenient excuse. The administration is correct that this government is involved in all sorts of illicit activities. They're deeply corrupt. They serve as a transshipment point for cocaine. They don't produce cocaine.

[02:30:00]

They actually don't produce any fentanyl that comes from Mexico, although it's a term that -- an accusation that Trump likes to throw around. And in fact, the deaths of American citizens that he just mentioned, 200,000, I don't know where he got those, but those come from fentanyl. They don't come from cocaine. But even the cocaine that passes through Venezuela, the majority of its heading to Europe. Only about five to 10 percent of the cocaine that hits U.S. shores comes from Venezuela.

So this isn't about drugs; this is about trying to take down a regime that is indeed corrupt, that is indeed involved in all sorts of illicit activities. But in terms of the immediate threat to U.S. citizens that this administration has tried to use to defend what it's doing, it doesn't stand up.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": And the other part of this story, of course, Secretary Hegseth now saying he didn't stick around for that second strike on the boat, despite previously saying he watched it all live. And he's now putting all the blame on Admiral Frank Bradley. Republican Rand Paul says Hegseth is either lying or incompetent. What do you say to that?

SABATINI: I'd say, first of all, he's clearly throwing his commander, his admiral under the bus. Even if he wasn't in the room when the video was playing, he is -- and even if he didn't give the verbal command at that time, which is what the Washington Post claims they have evidence of, he clearly had set the policy context for what Admiral Bradley did. And in that context, he's ultimately responsible for giving the order that Bradley perhaps shouldn't have followed, but he did follow, and it's an on defense on his part and on Donald Trump's part, which is to say we're attacking people who are threatening American lives. These people are immediate threat, even survivors on a boat. He did the right thing, but I didn't order it.

It doesn't quite stack up that you defend the action and you defend your admiral or you just say, well, maybe this was in violation of something that I wouldn't have authorized otherwise.

CHURCH: And of course, scrutiny from lawmakers is intensifying on both sides of the aisle over the legality of this second strike. I'm suggesting it amounts to a war crime. And now, the Senate Armed Services Committee will investigate. Where do you see that going?

SABATINI: We'll see what's actually behind this. Again, the Washington Post claim they had audio or evidence that Pete gave the specific order that led to the bombing of these ship survivors, which were not an immediate threat. So it's a violation of the laws of wars. It's a violation of the Geneva Conventions. And it really is a military -- U.S. military doctrine to respect that. So somewhere along the line, whatever happens, someone is going to be found to be at fault.

In those hearings, I suspect, they will look for evidence that Pete Hegseth either directly or indirectly gave the orders. Either way, I do think Admiral Bradley, who did carry off the order, will be liable. Again, basically, U.S. military officers, even within -- acting within the chain of command, if they obey unlawful orders and this is what that was, then indeed they're going to be held accountable. And quite frankly, we'll see what the evidence says about Pete Hegseth, whether he really did order those attacks. And if he did, I find it difficult to believe that President Trump would keep him as Secretary of Defense.

CHURCH: We'll see what happens there. Christopher Sabatini, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

SABATINI: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, President Trump has officially pardoned the former President of Honduras. Juan Orlando Hernandez was convicted in the U.S. last year and sentenced to 45 years in prison for conspiring to move 400 tons of cocaine into the country. President Trump says Hernandez was set up by the Biden administration, but offered no evidence to back that claim. And despite Trump's intense campaign to fight drug trafficking, Hernandez's wife says she doesn't see any contradiction with her husband's pardon. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANA GARCIA DE HERNANDEZ, WIFE OF FORMER HONDURAN PRESIDENT JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ: -- because I don't think there is any contradiction in the decision of President Trump. On the contrary, I think that what he's doing is, is that he's making, is doing justice and in a case that is clearly like my husband, a case of lawfare, political persecution, also a case where they didn't have any proof at all. They didn't have anything against my husband, just the world of narco traffickers who wanted to get revenge against my husband and that wanted to go out of jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Still to come, Pope Leo weighs in on U.S.-Venezuela tensions and the fear of immigrants of different faiths. We will have details after a short break. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:39:07]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Pope Leo has returned to Rome after the first overseas trip of his papacy. The pontiff spent nearly a week in the Middle East. He said his visit to Turkey and Lebanon underlined the dialog and friendship between Muslims and Christians is possible. CNN's Christopher Lamb has more on the Pope's remarks.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pope Leo for the first time has shared his thoughts on what it was like to be elected Pope in the conclave earlier this year. Speaking on board the plane taking him from Beirut to Rome, he said that when he realized that he was going to be elected, he took a deep breath, turned to God and said, you are in charge. You lead the way. Leo even joked that, just a year or two earlier, he'd been thinking about retirement.

Now, Leo was speaking after his first international trip to Turkey and Lebanon where he had focused on peace and building harmony between different faiths.

[02:40:00]

Leo saying that he was considering further trips to Algeria where he would continue to build relations with the Muslim world and to Latin America. Of course, Leo was a missionary in Peru for many years. Leo also talking about tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, urging against any kind of military incursion by the U.S. and saying that dialog was the way to handle the problems.

He also said that Western countries needed to be less fearful of immigrants from different religions. He held up Lebanon as an example of where Christians and Muslims live together harmoniously. Leo said he was also struck by the faith of the young people in Lebanon. He said it was awe inspiring to see. Leo clearly relishing and enjoying his first trip abroad.

Now, the Pope is back in Rome. He's going to have some rest, but it seems it won't be too long before Leo is back on the road.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome. CHURCH: The United Nations is calling on Israel to withdraw from the occupied Golan Heights. The U.N. General Assembly passed the resolution on Tuesday with 123 members voting in favor. The U.S. and Israel were among the seven members that voted against it. The vote comes just days after Israel conducted the deadliest attack by a foreign nation in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime.

Israel's ambassador to the U.N. condemned the vote and accused the assembly of being disconnected from reality. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that a deal between Israel and Syria is possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are committed to defending our communities on our borders, including on the northern border and (inaudible) the bases of terrorists and hostile actions against us to defending our Druze allies and to ensuring that the state of Israel is protected from ground and other attacks from the border adjacent areas. What we expect Syria to do is, of course, to establish a demilitarized buffer zone from Damascus to the buffer area and of course, to cross Mount Hermon and the peak of Mount Hermon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Israel says the latest remains handed over by Hamas are not those of the last two hostages in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says the families of the hostages have been informed. Hamas has transferred the remains of several hostages to Israel through the Red Cross. The return of all hostages living and deceased is a key requirement of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal that went into effect in October.

A Gaza man is mourning his two young sons killed by an Israeli drone strike while they were gathering firewood. The boys eight and 10 lived in a camp near Khan Younis. The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged carrying out the strike. The IDF says the boys had crossed the so- called yellow line into what Israel still considers an active war zone. It says the boys were conducting suspicious activities, approached IDF troops, and posed an immediate threat. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports more than 350 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire began.

The Tanzanian president is defending her country's security forces who were accused of killing hundreds of unarmed protesters following October's disputed election. She claims, without providing evidence, the protesters intended to overthrow her government. More now from CNN's Larry Madowo.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Many people in Tanzania are bewildered by President Samia Suluhu Hassan's justification for killings during election week when her government declared a curfew, shut down the internet, gagged the media, and many of these killings are supposed to have taken place across the country. They were astounded telling CNN that her speech appeared to be divorced from reality, tone deaf and showing no remorse.

She did send condolences to the families that lost loved ones, but then spent the next hour in this tirade against the young people, the civil society, the opposition and foreigners. She falsely claimed that the opposition refused to participate in this election, even though the main party, Chadema, was barred from running. Its leader, Tundu Lissu remains in prison, charged with treason, a penalty that could be the death penalty if he is found guilty. She said the opposition didn't participate because it smelled defeat. And then, she laid into foreigners like the European Union that have criticized the human rights situation in Tanzania.

[02:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMIA SULUHU HASSAN, TANZANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Because of the shame that they would have lost the election, they have made up excuses supported by foreigners. They're shameless. Those foreigners keep saying Tanzania should do one, two, three, then something will happen. Who are you?

(APPLAUSE)

SULUHU HASSAN: They think they're still our masters, our colonizers, because of the little money they give us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: You can see the applause there from the elders of Dar es Salaam. She was preaching to the choir there and she had other claims that these young people on the streets across the country had been paid to overthrow her government, she claimed without evidence. And she said that some people are jealous of Tanzania's development. That is why they seek to destabilized the country.

Many young people have said they plan to go back to the streets on December 9th, the anniversary of Tanzania's independence, and President Samia Suluhu said they're ready, whether it's December 9th or Christmas Day, safe to say that the government will crack down on protest again as violently as they did. Her government has criticized CNN's reporting. This exclusive investigation that showed police shooting at unarmed protestors, some of whom were running away, but has not disputed any of the facts in our reporting.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

CHURCH: Well, still to come, an unsuspecting photography store in New York is going viral for its owner's stunning camera work. We'll show you why she's quickly gaining popularity. Back with that and more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:51:14]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON, (R-LA) HOUSE SPEAKER: Four, three, two, one -- there you go.

(APPLAUSE)

(CROWD CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: In between partisan squabbles, some Christmas cheer on Capitol Hill with the annual tree lighting ceremony. House Speaker Mike Johnson hosted the event on Tuesday. This year's tree is a 53- foot red fur from Nevada. The ceremony has been held every year since 1964. Very pretty.

Well, the famous puppet characters from the Emmy award-winning series, "Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock" are back with a new holiday special. In it, Gobo, the leader of the main group of five Fraggles, travels to Earth where he's inspired by a new human friend to write a brand new Christmas song. And he helps the other Fraggles become more open to new ideas when they experience their first snowfall. "The First Snow of Fraggle Rock" starts streaming on Apple TV on Friday.

Well, tucked into the streets of New York's Chinatown is a small photo shop that's quickly gaining a reputation for producing top-tier passport photos. CNN's Meena Duerson popped by to try and find the secret to what makes their pictures stand out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Great. Let's do one thing.

MEENA DUERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, I'm in Chinatown to find Eliz Digital, which is this hidden gem New York City film store where the owner apparently takes the city's best passport photos. People have said that it's like getting the best headshot in New York City.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Photographers all over the city swear by her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Join me on my walk to my favorite lady in Chinatown.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best place ever to get film developed.

SAM SHEKIAN, REGULAR CUSTOMER OF ELIZ DIGITAL: Eliz Digital, come get my passport photo with me. She takes the best photos. I really recommend her.

DUERSON (voice-over): Sam Shekian has been taking a passport picture here every month since 2022.

SHEKIAN: 2023, I'm a -- I'm a woman of routine. I'm going to keep going. January, February, March, and then it just became a thing that I was like, I can't stop now. How could I stop?

Hello?

CHUNIKA KESH, OWNER, ELIZ DIGITAL: Hey, Sam. Oh, you're looking great. I love the color.

SHEKIAN: Thank you. Your hair looks so nice.

KESH: Thank you.

SHEKIAN: I got to -- I got to do my regular check.

DUERSON: So you've gone every single month for three years?

SHEKIAN: Never -- four now.

DUERSON: Four years.

SHEKIAN: Four.

DUERSON: Oh my God.

SHEKIAN: It's crazy. It's just the kind of place.

KESH: Oh, I love that one.

SHEKIAN: Different?

DUERSON (voice-over): And the store's owner, Chunika Kesh, is the kind of person that inspires devotion.

KESH: This one?

SHEKIAN: Done.

KESH: OK.

DUERSON (voice-over): Particularly among photographers, like Laura Fuchs.

LAURA FUCHS, PHOTOGRAPHER: Yay, there she is!

DUERSON (voice-over): She's made a whole Instagram series out of her trips to the store, which she captions "Chunika & Me."

FUCHS: When I first started coming to develop film, I had randomly two shots left on the roll and I thought, OK, like let's do this. I'll shoot you and you can shoot me, and it became kind of a tradition. So we do it every single time that I come. Yeah.

DUERSON: What's the response like? Like, what do people say?

FUCHS: People love it. They love it and they love her. And I've had people, you know, where's that film shot that you get them developed, and they go and find her.

DUERSON (voice-over): After all the buzz, I was dying to experience the magic myself. KESH: OK. Sit up straight a little bit. Relax a bit, turn your face teeny bit, and slightly lean forward. All right.

DUERSON: OK. I got my passport picture and I think it is quite literally the best picture anyone has ever taken to me. Are you kidding me? I do not actually need a new passport, so I'm going to have to hang onto this one.

What's your secret? Like the lighting is so good.

KESH: No secret, guys. Not really me, usually.

DUERSON: Yeah.

KESH: Yes, usually it's the person who's posing, more relaxing.

SHEKIAN: They always come out good. She's just capturing who I am. If you're saying this one, I really -- I do trust you with my life. So I'm like maybe this one is my favorite.

DUERSON: (Inaudible).

SHEKIAN: I know, but I do -- I like this one too.

KESH: Yeah.

SHEKIAN: Love it. And I like that you picked it up. DUERSON: What kind of role does this place play in your life?

FUCHS: Huge. So I see you tomorrow, we'll get breakfast.

KESH: OK.

FUCHS: She has become not just my friend, she's my family. You're the best. See you.

SHEKIAN: Thank you.

KESH: Bye.

[02:55:00]

SHEKIAN: I'll see you in one month.

KESH: OK.

SHEKIAN: Bye. Thank you so much.

I always said I'll do it for as long as I live in New York.

DUERSON: Oh, wow.

SHEKIAN: So I'm going to force it.

DUERSON: You're committed. OK.

SHEKIAN: If I am going to live here forever, I'm coming here forever.

(LAUGH)

DUERSON: Forever.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Lovely pictures there. Well, a Faberge egg sold for more than $30 million at auction on Tuesday, a new record for the famous Russian Jewelry House. "The Winter Egg" commissioned by Russia's Czar, Nicholas II as a gift for his mother in 1913 was one of the last Faberge eggs in private hands. It sold after a three-minute bidding battle at Christie's Auction House in London.

There we go. Thanks so much for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Do stick around.

[02:55:47]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00]