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Ukraine Leans On Europe After U.S. Military Aid Cuts; U.S. Coast Guard Marks Record Year For Drug Seizures; Unclear If Maria Machado Will Attend Nobel Award Ceremony; At Least 340 Injured In 7.5 Magnitude Earthquake In Japan; ICE Agents Arrest About 50 in New Orleans, Fewer Than Expected; China's Trade Surplus Tops $1 Trillion for First Time; Trump Announces $12 Billion U.S. Farmer Aid Package; Trump to Give Speech on Economy Amid Affordability Crisis; Paramount Launches Hostile Takeover Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Days After WBD Accepts Netflix Offer; Israeli Authorities Raid UNRWA Compound in East Jerusalem; Celebrations Mark One Year Since Fall of Assad Regime in Syria; NASA Astronaut and Russian Cosmonauts Return to Earth; Interstellar Comet Makes Its Way Through Our Solar System; World Cup and Winter Olympics Fueling Sports Tourism. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 09, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:34]

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

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Ukraine's president says he will not surrender territory to Russia as he prepares to share a revised peace plan with the U.S. after meetings with European leaders.

Is the U.S. crackdown on drug smuggling -- smugglers having any effect on the streets? We will break it down.

And between the upcoming World Cup and the Winter Olympics, sports tourism is a booming business. We'll show you who's looking to cash in.

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

CHURCH: Appreciate you joining us. Well, Ukraine's president is holding firm to his country's red line. That is, it is impossible legally and morally to surrender Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of a U.S. backed peace deal. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has the backing of the European allies on that. He met with his British, French and German counterparts in London to discuss the sensitive issues in the Trump administration's peace plan. Those include security guarantees and territorial concessions.

Ukraine's president also traveled to Brussels to speak with NATO and E.U. leaders. He says it's critical that Europe and the U.S. work together to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, and he says he will send a revised peace proposal to the U.S. on Tuesday.

CNN's Clare Sebastian has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was an opportunity here in London for European leaders who have been really sidelined from the latest frenzied bout of diplomatic activity to try and end the war in Ukraine, to come together and to show their support and solidarity for Ukraine, and not only that, but to get an update on how those talks have been going. Key members of the Ukrainian delegation involved in the latest rounds of talks with the U.S. were here along with President Zelenskyy, and we had a lot of warm words, a lot of expressions of support President Zelenskyy calling for unity, saying that he needs Europe and the U.S.

But through all that, there were clear signs of concern as to how this peace process is going. The U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that they are pushing for a just and lasting settlement if we get that far, he said. Take a listen to this from the German Chancellor.

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: I'm skeptical about some of the details which we are seeing in the documents coming from U.S. side, but we have to talk about it, that's why we are here.

SEBASTIAN: Well, key sticking points remain. Number one of those is, of course, territory, Russia is still demanding that Ukraine withdraw from a portion of the Donbas that it still controls. And we don't know what the latest proposal that came out of talks in Florida last week actually looks like, but it is a critical moment, as these leaders said.

And Ukraine needs not just words of support and solidarity from Europe, it needs actual, concrete help. It needs Europe to continue to pick up the slack in terms of weapon supplies from where the U.S. left off, having stopped direct supplies to Ukraine under the Trump administration and it needs more funding.

And this is going to be the big question for Europe going forward, how to fund Ukraine through next year and beyond, if this war continues, that is a big question that will be debated at the European Council next week, and we're going to see Zelenskyy continue to talk to European allies. He heads on from the U.K. to Brussels and then to Rome.

Clearly, there's momentum here as to whether there's progress towards any kind of peace settlement. Well, that is much less clear.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Keir Giles is a senior consulting fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Program for Chatham House. He joins us from Northamptonshire in England. Appreciate you talking with us.

KEIR GILES, SENIOR CONSULTING FELLOW, RUSSIA AND EURASIA PROGRAM FOR CHATHAM HOUSE: Good morning.

CHURCH: So, you wrote in The Independent on Saturday that, "Europe needs to stop its magical thinking and get ready for war with Russia." Why do you say that? And what are you calling on European leaders to do exactly?

GILES: Well, first of all, getting ready for war with Russia should look like getting ready so that it can defend itself against Russia to prevent a war, because the biggest invitation for Russia always, as we know, is an open door and a military vacuum.

But the problem we have with all of these preparations for confronting a European reality without the United States being as involved in European security as it had beforehand, is that most European leaders are not taking it seriously and with the urgency it deserves.

[02:05:14]

It's one of those situations where it's difficult to generalize across Europe because there are some countries which recognize the problem and are dealing with it. They're primarily in the eastern part of the continent.

But then there's the military hinterland. There's Western Europe, the previous military heavyweights within NATO, European NATO, that are not dealing with this with the urgency it requires.

CHURCH: So, how much more likely is it that Russia will threaten war with Europe now that Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is pushing back on both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, refusing to surrender Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of that U.S. peace plan.

GILES: Well, that's one of the few things that we do actually know about the latest shape of this peace plan, and it shouldn't be a surprise that European leaders are backing Zelenskyy and saying, no, we cannot reward aggression with handing over land, as the United States wants to do, because that is an open invitation again to Russia to push forward and do it again if it gets U.S. endorsement.

So, we shouldn't be surprised they're standing firm on that. But the other element that's up for question is known, and that is what security guarantees Europe could give to Ukraine in circumstances when the United States, in its new national security strategy, is not describing Russia as a threat.

So, it is far past time that Europe were able to go it alone and actually step up and provide a means of providing for its own security and insert itself into the conversation about its own future, as you heard your correspondent just describing.

CHURCH: And why do you think the initial 28 point peace plan proposed by the Trump administration favored Moscow to the extent of reflecting a Russian wish list? And what does that reveal to you about the future that the U.S. envisions for Ukraine and indeed for Europe?

GILES: Well, there's a very strong argument that is supported by some fairly substantial analysis that this 28 point plan was, in fact, a Russian plan which passed through the Trump administration without a great deal of intervention by that administration, or indeed by native speakers of English.

So, we shouldn't be at all surprised that it meets Russia's demands with the addition, of course, of some things that will be present to the U.S. administration, and some things that look superficially like Russian concessions, but where Russia has succeeded is in implanting that as a basis for negotiation. Some of the things which should have been off the table and not up for discussion at all and now taken as a starting point for what should be in the eventual peace plan, that's a major step forward for Russia. Everything since by European leaders has been damage limitation and clawing back from that position.

CHURCH: But it does beg the question, why would the Trump administration accept a Russian wish list ostensibly have input from the Kremlin that's certainly what we understand from leaked documentation and present that as a peace plan from the United States?

GILES: Well, it seems -- it seems to be a question of priorities. Europe needs a sustainable peace that deters Russia. The United States is pushing for peace at any price and as soon as possible, and probably in a means that offers profits for U.S. companies and U.S. entities.

Those are two completely incompatible priorities. And of course, there's a third priority that needs to be considered, which is Russia's wanting to dismember Ukraine and continue its process of redrawing the borders of Eastern Europe.

So, there are now not two, but three competing interests now with this new position from the United States and Europe is what is caught in the middle and needs rapidly to adjust its posture to make sure that it survives.

CHURCH: Do you see any possibility of a peace deal at this juncture between Russia and Ukraine, or is it your view that Russia will inevitably try to push its way and attack Europe?

GILES: Well, Russia will try to push its way and attack Europe, with or without a peace deal. That is a given. The point is trying to find a peace deal which actually deters Russia from doing so in the future. This is where the security guarantees come in, because if you believe that President Putin's ambitions are limited to Ukraine, then you have to ignore everything that he has said about restoring the borders of the former Russian Empire and the former USSR. You have to think that the rest of Eastern Europe, those countries that are members of NATO and the E.U. somehow get a free pass from this program.

So, that's the challenge facing Europe at the moment, making sure that without the support of the United States that they have used as a security blanket for so long, they are in a position to prevent that future that is in President Putin's mind. CHURCH: Keir Giles want to thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective and analysis on this issue. Appreciate it.

GILES: Thank you.

CHURCH: All right now to the latest fallout from the U.S. military's deadly and controversial double tap strike on an alleged drug boat. Top congressional Republicans and Democrats say they want to review the unedited video of that follow up strike that killed two survivors back in September. Nine people died in the initial strike.

[02:10:14]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's really important that this video be made public.

KRISTEN WELKER, ABC NEWS HOST: OK. Do you think that the video should be released in full to the American public, as President Trump has said he would support?

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): So, I personally don't. I don't have any problem with it.

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): They ought to release the video. If they release the video, then everything that the Republicans are saying will clearly be betrayed to be completely false.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Should it be released?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think if you're going to err, in my opinion, you err on the side of transparency.

SEN. JOHN CURTIS (R-UT): The American people, they like to make decisions too based on facts, not just on what we tell them, and the more we can give them that information, the more comfortable they're going to feel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump says he will let Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth decide what to do about the video, and Hegseth is under mounting pressure to release it, a measure tucked into the annual defense policy bill would limit his travel expense budget unless he lets the House and Senate Armed Services committees see the video.

Sources say Hegseth along with the Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are expected to brief the so called Gang of Eight in the coming day. That is the bipartisan group of congressional leaders who are up on national security and classified intelligence matters and help shape policy.

Well, as questions mount over the drug boat strikes and lawmakers press for more transparency, another arm of the government's drug fighting effort seems to be making a noticeable impact, the U.S. Coast Guard. As CNN's Paula Newton reports, new funding and deployments have helped drive a staggering surge in drug seizures. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are watching U.S. Coast Guard video of a takedown mission of alleged cocaine traffickers. This just won in a record-breaking year for the federal agency seizing more than three times the amount of cocaine this fiscal year to September 30th than the annual average over the past few decades.

JEFF NOVAK, REAR ADMIRAL, U.S. COAST GUARD: We had more ships in the transit zone, and then in August of this year, we further surged assets into the eastern Pacific Ocean to increase our effectiveness against narco traffickers and transnational criminal organizations.

NEWTON: Why a record breaking year? What have you seen?

NOVAK: Collectively, we work to understand where the drug flows are, and then with an increase of resources, we can better align our assets to where potential smuggling routes may be.

NEWTON (voice-over): The surge in resources since January means the Coast Guard has been responsible for some 80 percent of drug seizures at sea this year. In fact, this recent offload in Florida was the most cocaine seized by a single cutter in one patrol in Coast Guard history.

TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: This kind of investment is what has set the Coast Guard has unleashed the Coast Guard to be able to deliver the kind of historic results, again, that these men and women signed up to do.

NEWTON (voice-over): The Coast Guard is the lead Federal Agency for maritime drug interdiction, while U.S. military involvement has been controversial, it is the Coast Guard that has been most effective in seizing drugs.

Perhaps more importantly, are any of these missions reducing the amount of drugs on American streets. In San Francisco, where illicit drug use has long challenged the city, the sheriff says anecdotally, he has seen a difference.

PAUL MIYAMOTO, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA SHERIFF: Any effort, either at the federal, state or local level, to help with the infusion of drugs into our communities is helpful and welcome assistance, regardless of politics, drugs affect everyone in the community, and by making sure that we don't have a flow of drugs into our communities, it's very helpful.

NEWTON (voice-over): Sheriff Miyamoto stresses that a local, state and federal approach has been key in his city. It's been about collaboration. He says, not only the surge in resources at sea.

And some human rights advocates contend the record breaking drug trafficking operations will only serve as a band aid to what is an increase in drug production, especially cocaine. JOHN WALSH, DIRECTOR OF DRUG POLICY, WOLA: The starting point here is to realize that interdiction per se and supply overseas, supply control is very limited and can result in sort of episodic supply reductions and disruptions, but those are almost always quickly overtaken because traffickers adapt.

NEWTON (voice-over): But the Coast Guard says it's adapting too, using the surge of resources, technology and intelligence to disrupt drug traffickers for the long haul.

Paula Newton, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:15:08]

CHURCH: The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is coming up this week, but it's still unclear if this year's recipient, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado will be attending in person. Her mother and daughter have been spotted in Oslo in the lead up to the ceremony, and organizers say she is expected at a press conference later today.

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has more on the reclusive political figure and why she's had to be in hiding for nearly a year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): If Maria Corina Machado attends the ceremony to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in person, it will be the first time she is seen in public in almost a year.

2025 has been a roller coaster for the Venezuelan opposition leader, from leading mass demonstrations in Caracas to hiding in her own country and now the world's most prestigious recognition in between chasing the gold that defined her life, rescuing Venezuela from the rule of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro.

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): What they have done is brutal more than 2500 people arrested, including more than 150 children imprisoned children.

POZZEBON (voice-over): The Venezuelan government denies these allegations, but the Prize Committee said the Noble was awarded for Machado's efforts last year when she defied all expectations to build a movement that challenged Maduro at the polls. Independent observers and CNN on analysis found Machado's candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, beat Maduro by a landslide, and yet, Venezuelan authorities claim Maduro had won without showing evidence and triggering a brutal wave of repression that forced Machado into hiding.

A few days earlier, she told CNN that exile was not an option.

POZZEBON: If you consider a Plan B, are you open to the idea that maybe one day you'll have to join Juan, Leopoldo, Antonio (ph) and everybody else who is abroad? MACHADO: We will win. We will succeed, and we will bring everyone that has been forced to leave to come back. That's my only plan.

POZZEBON (voice-over): This year, Machado's actions spark controversy, and she calls it up to U.S. President Donald Trump and his anti-narco trafficking campaign, the U.S. claims to have killed more than 80 alleged drug traffickers without showing any evidence, despite many of them thought to be Venezuelans. Machado has uploaded Trump's actions, at times, seemingly supporting a military intervention and dedicating her prize to Trump himself. Her victory, celebrated by Venezuelans around the world, but silenced at home, where Maduro still rules, unabashed.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake hits Japan, but experts warn a more powerful quake could hit soon.

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[02:22:34]

CHURCH: Japan's Prime Minister says at least 30 people are injured after a massive 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the country Monday night. The U.S. Geological Survey reports it struck about 70 kilometers, or 44 miles off Japan's northeast coast. CNN's Hanako Montgomery has more from Tokyo on how the region is coping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake was reported off the shores of northeastern Japan late on Monday evening, and this earthquake was so powerful that it caused this office building to rattle very violently. You can see the blinds here actually tremoring in this quake. Also piles of copy paper falling to the ground.

Now, in a separate video, you can see surveillance cameras across Japan shaking at the time of this earthquake, and in a separate video, also debris, though fell due to this earthquake, causing damage to cars parked in that nearby area.

Now, the Japanese government initially issued tsunami warnings for three prefectures after this earthquake. Those warnings were issued to Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwata prefectures. That means that waves of up to three meters in height could have been hitting Japan's shorelines.

However, the Japanese government has now lifted all tsunami advisories, all tsunami warnings, which is very good news for the country, as the damage might not be as extensive as initially feared, but the Japanese Prime Minister urged residents to remain vigilant, to exercise caution, especially in the coming days. This is what the Prime Minister said. SANAE TAKAICHI, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Working closely with local authorities and under the principle of putting human life first, the entire government must devote its full effort to emergency disaster response.

MONTGOMERY: Now, we have to remember that this earthquake hit Japan very late on Monday night, so it was difficult for the Japanese government to ascertain the extent of damage. But now that's daytime here, the government is confirming initial reports of injuries and damage.

So far, they've said that at least 30 individuals have been injured. Now we're also seeing reports of some power outages in the northern part of the country, where, again, the biggest damage and the most severe damage was reported.

Now also, it's important to note that the Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a mega quake advisory for this part of the nation. Now what that means is, in the next week or so, residents are expected to exercise extreme caution and stay extra vigilant about a magnitude eight earthquake or higher.

[02:25:08]

Of course, Japan is no stranger to earthquakes, but they're now saying that because of that very powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake, the chances of a mega quake happening in the next week or so have increased slightly to now one percent probability. But again, the Japanese government is urging people not to be alarmed, to remain calm and also, again, exercise caution.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: American farmers are bearing the brunt of President Trump's trade war.

Coming up next, how the White House intends to offset its big gamble on tariffs? We'll have that and more after short breaks. Stay with us.

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[02:30:46]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome back, everyone. The Trump administration's immigration operation in New Orleans netted fewer arrests than anticipated. New Orleans is the latest in a string of Democratic-led cities where the administration has launched aggressive enforcement operations. But authorities say federal agents arrested just 50 people since last week. Previous operations in Charlotte netted 130 arrests in two days.

CNN previously reported that federal immigration authorities aim to arrest up to 5,000 people, hundreds more than in Chicago. While federal agents have arrested roughly 220,000 people in the nine months since President Trump took office, but new data found nearly 75,000 of those detained had no criminal record. Priscilla Alvarez digs into those numbers.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This data really backs up what we have been hearing anecdotally from attorneys as well as advocates who have worked with a lot of those immigrants who have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and by U.S. Border Patrol over the last several months. And in many of these cases, there had not been criminal records.

Yes, these were people who were in the United States illegally, but they did not fall into the categories that the administration has repeatedly talked, about national security and public safety threats just based on their records. So this data, again, shows that of the 220,000 arrests that have happened in these last nine months, nearly 75,000 people had no criminal records. This is according to the Deportation Data Project, which as you mentioned is a group associated with U.S. Berkeley Law School.

Earlier this summer though, we had been seeing similar data crop up that is that less than 10 percent of immigrants taken into custody since, this was October of 2024, had any serious criminal conviction. So this has been a trend that we have been seeing over the last several months, that is, that many of those taken in don't have these criminal records. Now, Tom Homan, the White House Border Czar, was asked about ongoing operations, including the one happening in Minneapolis targeting undocumented Somali immigrants and who exactly they're targeting. And this is what he had to say. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: We're looking for public safety threats, national security threats and illegal aliens. Nothing has changed, Dana, from day one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, this is something that I have also been hearing from my sources. Again, they continue and maintain that those that they are targeting are public safety, national security threats, but that doesn't mean that if they are targeting someone who is a threat, that they won't also take those around them. Those are called those "collateral arrests." And those can be people who are here undocumented, but may not have a record.

We also see this with the U.S. Border Patrol operations in places like Chicago, Charlotte, and now in New Orleans. As they do these sweeps, they may just take people in based on reasonable suspicion. This all goes to show what we have been hearing in many of these incidents, which is that people across the board who are undocumented in the United States are being taken in by federal immigration authorities and face deportation in many of these cases and in other cases, are still trying to work through the immigration process while they are in detention, is just overwhelming with around 66,000 people in detention now. CHURCH: China is reporting a $1 trillion trade surplus and it's a first, topping anything that came before President Trump's trade war and his promises to make China pay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I put a 100 percent tariff on China.

China's paying us a tremendous tariff.

China's going to be paying a lot of tariffs.

China is eating the tariffs right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you --

TRUMP: Right now, China is paying a 104 percent tariff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Despite the president's threats and tariffs, China is thriving, mainly by shifting its goods from U.S. ports to Europe and Southeast Asia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYU DALIANG, SPOKESPERSON, DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS & ANALYSIS, GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS OF CHINA (through translator): The resilience of China's export trades stems from a steadfast commitment to innovation and green development, which is concretely reflected in our ability to consistently meet the world's diverse needs with high- quality products.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:35:00]

CHURCH: Meanwhile, American consumers are paying the price, and that is in part why one indicator is flashing red. Consumer sentiment recently plunging near an all-time low, as Americans' perceptions of the economy worsen, American farmers could be getting some relief from President Trump's ongoing trade war, but as CNN's Kristen Holmes reports, it may not be enough to recover from the damage that's already been done.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump today announcing a farmer's assistance bill that will give roughly $12 billion to various farmers. $11 billion of that is going to go to farmers, crop farmers in particular who fall underneath an assistance umbrella. The other $1 billion appears that it's going to be evaluated and given to farmers outside of that umbrella, different crop farmers. Now, this comes at a time when farmers have experienced an enormous amount of pressure given low crop prices, as well as those tariffs that President Trump has put in place, particularly when it comes to those tariffs with China. One of the things that we have heard from a number of farmers, particularly soybean farmers, is that they have been absolutely crushed by those tariffs to the point, where President Trump had spoken to President Xi about this back in October and China did agree to start purchasing soybeans again. However, when you hear pushback from some of those farmers, they say that it's just not enough that they believed that it was going to be more than that and quicker than that. The White House says that they will continue, that China is holding up its end of the bargain, it's going to continue purchasing those soybeans. But again, that's not alleviating the pain or at least not by much that these farmers are feeling.

Now, White House officials said that this would be done, these assistants would go out as late -- the latest would be February 2026. It's supposed to be a sort of setup for these farmers for the upcoming season to help them get ready, prepare, purchase what they need to purchase, only a one-time payout here. This is coming at a time in which it's not just farmers, it's across the board. The country is feeling the pain of the economy, particularly this issue of affordability.

Now, President Trump here in this circumstance is reaching out to a group of people to help them that generally supported him in the last election. But there are others across the country who are really struggling right now. We're hearing that -- that Republicans are growing concerned about the messaging around the economy and affordability going into the midterms, particularly as people have expressed anxiety, including those who voted for President Trump, that things aren't moving the way that they had hoped in the economy. Even a recent survey saying that people felt that they were worse off this year than they were even just a year ago.

The White House, for their purposes, Trump himself has said that the affordability is a hoax, but they do believe the White House, that they're going to be shifting their messages to focus on the economy. President Trump is going to give an economy-centric speech in Pennsylvania tomorrow.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

CHURCH: Joining us now is Justin Wolfers, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Good to have you with us.

JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Good to be here, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So President Trump signed a $12 billion bailout package for farmers Monday to help those feeling considerable pain as a result of his tariffs, but he blamed former President Joe Biden for their economic woes, not his own tariffs. What do you say to that?

WOLFERS: Wow, I hadn't even heard that one. That's amazing, that we can't sell soybeans to China, so we have to bail out the soybean farmers. No, that's a Trump one, mate. I've seen the soybean numbers for -- during the Biden era, it was all pretty, pretty smooth sailing actually. CHURCH: Oh, OK. Well, short answer there.

(LAUGH)

CHURCH: So, does this $12 billion package adequately cover their losses, the farmers', and given they won't see any of this until the end of February, is it too little too late?

WOLFERS: Mate, I don't know why I'm worried about their losses. I'm worried about my losses. I pay more at the grocery store. I'm paying more for Christmas presents. My Black Friday sales weren't as good and it's not just me. I bet it's you, Rosemary as well. And I bet it's the viewers at home. Every single one of us is paying this tax. Every single one of us is a whole lot worse off. All that money is going into a big pot. And what Trump has done is he's taken a bunch of mates and he said to them, I like you, you're a farmer. I like the cut of your chip (ph). You get bailed out, but the rest of us don't.

CHURCH: Well, presumably he's going to work round to various groups that are feeling the pain. I mean, eventually, will he help the people who are trying to sell coffee?

WOLFERS: Well, maybe he'll help the people trying to sell coffee, but what about the rest of us? We're buying coffee. We're the ones who are paying more.

[02:40:00]

We're the ones who put the money in the pot that he's giving away.

CHURCH: All right. So before we get to the bigger picture there, I do want to look at President Trump set to start his economic sales pitch in Pennsylvania in the coming hours, going to coal country with a message that affordability is a hoax and his economy is doing well. How's that message likely to land?

WOLFERS: Oh, good luck mate. Affordability is a hoax. Every -- it's a universal constant that almost every single person, except the very rich in this country, we have limited incomes and we have a whole lot of -- we got to buy to get by and to keep up and help our kids get ahead, and affordability's on the front of the mind for almost everyone, almost all the time. Going to the grocery store is painful. Paying the bills is painful, and it feels a little bit more painful when you're also paying a bit extra because of the tariffs, or you're paying a bit extra because farmers can't get the immigrant labor that they need, or you're paying a bit extra because Obamacare subsidies aren't being fixed. And telling me that's a hoax when I see it at the cash register and I bet the viewers at home agree, that's not going to work.

CHURCH: All right, so let's look at the economy as a whole. What are you telling your students? I want you to describe where the U.S. economy is right now, because a lot of Americans think we're in a recession right now.

WOLFERS: I'm just telling my students to study hard. Their exams are coming up. But, look, where's the economy at? There are a lot of people very, very concerned about the state of their personal economies right now. People who are worried that the unemployment rate has been rising over the past year, that manufacturing employment continues to fall, that inflation continues to be higher than the Fed's target.

Now, on the flip side, you could say, well, things aren't that bad. The hard data we've got doesn't say that things are rotten and I don't think that the U.S. is in a recession right now, but guess what? I couldn't tell you if it was because the government stopped collecting data because it's just coming out of a government shutdown. So it's going to be a couple of weeks yet until we actually know where we stand. In the interim, what we do know is that the American people have really lost confidence in the state of the economy.

CHURCH: And what are you expecting from the Fed next time they meet?

WOLFERS: Look, they've -- they probably are going to cut rates this week, but they're probably also going to signal it's going to take a lot more for them to do it again. It's very hard to make monetary policy in the dark with no data and it's doubly hard when you're in a very tumultuous economy where you're seeing both unemployment rising, that would normally be a reason to lower rates, but you're also seeing inflation remaining resilient and high, and you're worried about inflation coming through as a result of the tariffs, and that would normally be a reason to cut rates.

So, this is a Federal Reserve Board that's more divided than at any point than I've seen in my career. So, watching how those dynamics resolve will be very interesting.

CHURCH: Justin Wolfers, thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.

WOLFERS: A pleasure, mate.

CHURCH: Well, just three days after Warner Bros. Discovery accepted a buyout offer from Netflix, Paramount Skydance has launched a hostile takeover bid. Paramount is going straight to shareholders with an all- cash $30 a share offer for the entire company. On Friday, the WBD Board accepted the Netflix offer of $27.75 per share but that does not include the company's linear networks, including CNN, the Discovery Channel, and TNT. Those are expected to be spun off into a separate company.

Any deal will face regulatory hurdles and President Trump's friendship with the Ellison family could play a role. But he was non-committal when asked about the situation on Monday.

Well, it was a bittersweet celebration as Syrians marked the first anniversary of the fall of the brutal Assad regime. While many feel hopeful, questions and fear remain in a country still marred by sectarian violence. We'll bring you that story right after the break.

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[02:49:03] CHURCH: Israeli authorities have raided the compound of the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees in East Jerusalem. The head of the agency, UNRWA, says Israeli Police forcibly entered with trucks and forklifts and they replaced the U.N. flag with an Israeli flag, adding that they cut communications and seized IT equipment as well as furniture. Israel says the raid was part of a standard debt collection procedure, but the U.N. denied claims of unpaid taxes and denounced the raid.

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STEPHANE DUJARRIC, U.N. SPOKESPERSON: The Secretary General urges Israel to immediately take all necessary steps to help restore, preserve and uphold the viability of UNRWA premises and refrain from taking any further action with regard to UNRWA premises.

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CHURCH: Fireworks lit up the sky of the Syrian capital on Monday as the country marked one year since the fall of the Assad regime.

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But for all the jubilation, Syria still faces major challenges as CNN's Nada Bashir reports.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Monday has marked a day of celebration for Syrians commemorating the first anniversary of the overthrow of (inaudible) authoritarian leader, Bashar al-Assad. According to Syria's official news agency, the country's leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa marked the occasion by performing dawn prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, where he pledged to build a strong and just Syria. al-Sharaa was also seen attending a military parade alongside senior ministers, while celebratory gatherings took place across the country.

The past year has brought hope to many in Syria, following years of deadly conflict inflicted on the country by its former leader. Assad fled the country for Russia after rebel forces led by Syria's new president seized control of Damascus following an unprecedented 11-day offensive. Hundreds of thousands have been killed in Syria since 2011 and millions more displaced, many risking their lives in search of safety overseas as refugees.

But according to the U.N. Refugee Agency, more than one million refugees have returned to Syria over the last year alongside some two million people displaced within the country who have been able to return to their homes. Since the collapse of the Assad family's decades-long regime, Syria has seen sweeping changes across its political and economic landscape. But the country has also seen hundreds killed in bouts of sectarian violence.

Over the weekend, President al-Sharaa told a forum in Qatar that those responsible for acts of violence would be held accountable. The Syrian leader has over the last year, forged new relationships with world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and strengthening its ties with regional allies in Turkey and the Gulf. Western sanctions on Syria have also largely been lifted and progress has been seen in the rebuilding of local governance structures. President al-Sharaa has said that he will continue to lead the country through a transition period over the next four years before elections are held.

Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.

CHURCH: The FIFA World Cup and Winter Olympics are sure to bring in tons of visitors from around the globe next year. Still to come, a look at how those events should boost the growing multi-billion-dollar sports tourism industry. Back with that in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, with the World Cup and Winter Olympics taking place next year, cities around the world are getting ready to host millions of visitors for the events.

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CNN's Michael Yoshida reports on the booming sports tourism industry which only continues to grow.

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LAURA MCFARLAND, WRITER: I ended up going to Australia and watched seven of the World Cup matches in Sydney.

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Writer Laura McFarland is one of the many who plan trips around sports.

MCFARLAND: If you believe like I do, that travel is about people, then sports are the quickest way to make friends and get involved in a country's national culture.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): Whether traveling to watch or take part in a sporting event, including youth or professional, this is big business and growing. In 2025, the sports tourism industry is valued as a more than $707 billion market and expected to nearly triple in value by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights.

MELANIE FISH, GLOBAL HEAD OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, EXPEDIA GROUP BRANDS: It is a global tourism boost because when you go to a city, you just don't go to the event. You book a hotel, you eat at the restaurants, you do a lot more.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): Expedia's Melanie Fish says 2026 is set to be a medal-winning year for the industry with the Olympics and World Cup attracting fans from around the world.

FISH: Just in the Expedia app, fans from England drove searches surging to North America, 85 percent; fans from Mexico, more than 200 percent.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): Fans and dollars everyone is trying to get in on. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even non-host cities are looking at ways that they can leverage getting tourists. D.C. is pitching and trying to position itself as, hey, take a day trip from Philly to Washington, D.C. Do other things while they're there for the World Cup, that's going to create more economic impact.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): In Washington, Michael Yoshida.

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CHURCH: The crew members of the Soyuz MS-27 received a warm welcome home when they returned to Earth just a few hours ago. NASA Astronaut, Jonny Kim and his two Russian crewmates touched down in Kazakhstan after an eight-month mission on the International Space Station. One of the crewmen (ph) described the touchdown as a soft landing and said his crewmates are feeling great. Over the course of their 245-day expedition, the crew orbited Earth nearly 4,000 times, traveling more than 100 million miles.

And NASA has released images of an interstellar comet approaching the Earth. Pictures from the Hubble telescope have helped scientists monitor the comet since it was first spotted back in July. It's only the third object ever observed coming from outside our solar system to pass through it. That fact has earned it the name 3I/ATLAS for third interstellar. The comet will come within 170 million miles of Earth on December 19th, but it will be on the other side of the sun and will pose no threat to us at all.

I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Stay with us.

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