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Israel to Reopen Border Crossing With Jordan; Syrian Army Driver Reveals Mass Graves Under Assad Regime; Influencer Helps Elderly Veteran to Be Able to Retire; Nonna Silvi, Italian TikToker wins "Creator of The Year"; Picasso Painting to Be Raffled in Paris for Alzheimer's Research; UNESCO Could Designate Italian Food a Cultural Treasure; Argentina Breaks Record for Largest Golden Retriever Gathering; U.S. Seizes Oil Tanker Off Venezuela In Major Escalation; Fed Cuts Rates A Quarter Point, Signals Short-Term Hold; Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maria Corina Machado Appears In Norway; Donald Trump Moving To Stop Latest Flare-Up Thailand-Cambodia Conflict. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired December 11, 2025 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:00:37]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The United States stoking tensions with Venezuela after taking control of an oil vessel off its Caribbean coast.
Plus, the U.S. Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the third straight time, but hear why the Fed chair says it's likely the last cut we'll see for a while.
And a Trump brokered peace agreement between Thailand and Cambodia is on the brink of collapse, following days of clashes. Now, the U.S. president says he'll stop the fighting again.
Then later, Italy has a delicious reason to celebrate. Its cuisine just became the world's first to be awarded UNESCO status.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Good to have you with us. New information is emerging about that Venezuelan oil tanker seized by the U.S. satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows the ship had been hiding its true whereabouts. Its transponder put it at a location off the Guyana Coast last month, when it was actually docked at a Venezuelan oil terminal.
Analysts say oil tankers sometimes spoof their location in an effort to conceal illegal activities. Guyana's maritime authority says the vessel had also been sailing under a false Guyana flag. Meanwhile, Venezuela is condemning the capture, calling it an act of international piracy, and vowed to launch an international appeal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIOSDADO CABELLO, VENEZUELAN MINISTER OF INTERIOR RELATIONS, JUSTICE AND PEACE (through translator): There it is. We've been seeing it for a long time. Whether it's Tren de Aragua, whether it's drug trafficking, that's all nonsense. What they really want is to steal our oil, steal our gold and steal it. They want to steal our gas, our water. They want to steal it because they don't want to pay for it. And why don't they pay? Because they're thieves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The U.S. Attorney General says the tanker was being used to transport sanctioned oil between Venezuela and Iran that was being used to support terror groups.
A senior U.S. official says the ship was seized in international waters, adding that there were no casualties and that more seizures are possible in the coming weeks, President Trump also addressed the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: As you probably know, we've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually, and other things are happening. So, you'll be seeing that later, and you'll be talking about that later with some other people. It was seized for very good reason.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: More now from CNN's Kristen Holmes at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump announcing that the U.S. had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, offering very few details. We have now seen the video released by the Attorney General Pam Bondi of this seizure. We have told by a U.S. official that this was done by the Coast Guard with assistance by the Navy, and that this boat was carrying Venezuelan crude oil.
Now, the same U.S. official says the boat was headed for Cuba, eventually going to land in Asia. We should note that most of Venezuelan oil ends up getting sold to China, but unclear right now, if that's where this was eventually heading. But there are still going to be a lot of questions. This comes as President Trump has ramped up his pressure campaign on Nicolas Maduro. The two leaders spoke roughly two weeks ago. I was told at that time by a White House official that President Trump had issued somewhat of an ultimatum. Unclear if this was part of that.
Up until now, all we've seen is those strikes on boats, generally off the coast of Venezuela, these alleged Narco terrorism boats, these strikes that we've heard so much about. President Trump, he has threatened strikes on land. But so far, that's all that has been, is just those threats.
And this is clearly -- the seizure is clearly a vast or a major escalation in this pressure campaign, as we see President Trump and his administration trying to essentially remove Maduro from office.
[02:05:12]
Kristen Holmes, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Before the U.S. announced it had seized the tanker, the Venezuelan president appeared at a rally in Caracas and sang a rendition of the song, Don't Worry, Be Happy. And he had this message for the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our message to the people of the United States remains the same peace, peace above all else, no to crazy war, no to bloodshed for oil, no to war for oil, the recipe for eternal wars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: There's potentially good news for Americans carrying credit card debt or looking to buy a car. The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by a quarter point, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell says that might be the last cut for the near future. The central bank is hoping to stabilize the weakening job market, but policymakers are also trying to keep inflation in check.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE: If you get away from tariffs, inflation is in the low twos, right? So, it's really tariffs that's causing the most of the inflation overshoot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Powell's term expires in May, and President Trump will be appointing a successor who shares his desire for more rate cuts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: The head of the Federal Reserve is a stiff. He did a -- rather -- I would say, a rather small number that could have been doubled, at least doubled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Wall Street cheered the rate cut. The Dow rose more than one percent the NASDAQ and S&P also finished higher. Well, more now from CNN's Matt Egan in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: The Federal Reserve delivered the quarter point interest rate cut that was widely expected. This is the third straight interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve, and it does drop the key Fed rate to fresh three-year lows. Now, almost two full percentage points off the peak.
So, this is good news for borrowers who are struggling with debt. It's also good news for businesses who are struggling to find affordable loans.
But look, make no mistake, this was not an easy decision from this increasingly divided Federal Reserve. There were three dissenters. That's very unusual. Usually this is an unanimous decision or maybe one dissent. The first time we've seen three dissents since 2019 and what's notable is there were dissents, again, on both sides.
Fed Governor Stephen Miran, the White House economist, he wanted an even bigger interest rate cut of half a percentage point, but two other Fed officials, they didn't want an interest rate cut at all. They wanted the Fed to keep rates steady.
Now, this divide, it makes sense, because the Fed is kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place here, right? Unemployment is rising, that's one of the major concerns here, but at the same time, inflation is stuck. It's been kind of stubborn around three percent but Fed officials are hopeful that inflation is only stuck around three percent because of the President's tariffs, and they think that as the tariff effects wear off, then inflation will be allowed to cool.
Now, as far as what happens next, the Fed is signaling that they're really in wait and see mode. They're only penciling in one more interest rate cut next year. That's because they do expect inflation to continue to cool, but they don't see unemployment surging from here, they're penciling in 4.4 percent unemployment at the end of next year, which is the same as the current unemployment rate. And they've also upgraded their GDP forecast.
Now, after this meeting, Fed Chair Powell, he's only got three more meetings as the chair of the Fed, and I asked him during the press conference about whether or not he's given any thought to what he wants his legacy to be. Take a listen his answer.
POWELL: My legacy, my thought is that I really want to turn this job over to whoever replaces me in with the economy in really good shape. That's what I want to do. I want -- I want inflation to be under control, coming back down to two percent and I want the labor market to be strong. That's what I want.
EGAN: The bottom line, rates are coming down once again, but it's very unclear when the Fed will be able to lower interest rates again, and how much lower rates will go. Much will depend on what the economic data says.
Matt Egan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: William Lee is the chief economist at Global Economic Advisors and at the Milken Institute. He joins me now from Henderson, Nevada. Appreciate you being with us.
WILLIAM LEE, CHIEF ECONOMIST, GLOBAL ECONOMIC ADVISORS: Thanks for having me, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, stocks surged on news of the quarter point interest rate cut. The Fed's third straight cut this year, but President Trump said it should have been double that, your response.
[02:10:04]
LEE: Actually, Chair Powell made a very good case for why it should be double that. When he was saying that the overshoot on inflation was coming mainly from tariffs, he didn't quite tell you what the whole picture was. The service sector inflation without tariffs, would have left this inflation measure somewhere around 2-1/4. He said the low twos, but the actual number is 2.8, so there's very little inflation that the tariffs are pushing into the system, and that's going to be gone within nine months, which is well within the lifetime of monetary policy.
On the other hand, he was telling us that employment growth was not only slowing, it was negative. There was actually a loss of jobs over the last month or so. And I think that's something that's very worrying. And I think that's the case that Governor Miran is making for a much larger rate cut. And those who are arguing and worrying about inflation, hiding behind the cloud of uncertainty and the lack of data, are really fighting last year's war.
CHURCH: Oh, that's interesting, because, I mean, I was going to ask you that as my as my next question. I mean, you've got Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell blaming Trump's tariffs for this country's high inflation. The president rejects that. And you're pretty much rejecting that as well from the sounds of it.
LEE: Well, I just asked to look at the numbers when he said that without the tariffs, the inflation would be the low tubes and the actual PCE deflator, the personal consumption expenditure deflator, which is the price of measure that the Fed targets. The last measure we got was 2.8.
So, if you think where the difference is, that's a very small amount of inflation that's accounted for by tariffs, very much lower than a lot of the warnings that economists gave you that, oh, we're going to have this massive inflation, massive stagflation, and all these disasters that were being predicted, it just didn't come about.
CHURCH: Interesting. And I did want to ask you, though, is there enough economic data available to make any real assessment of where the U.S. economy stands right now? Because, of course, there was the government shutdown, and there's been a bit of delay in getting all of that economic data. And how would you describe the state of the U.S. economy right now?
LEE: As the data are trickling in, we have this strange phenomenon where GDP growth is now currently measured for the current quarter, something like four percent growth, which is extraordinarily strong.
But on the other hand, you see employment in every measure of employment, whether it's job growth or layoffs or hiring or the number of job openings. Hiring is extraordinarily slow. The number of job openings is starting to grow a little bit.
But again, if you're a new person coming out of school or someone that's just been laid off, you're having a harder and harder time finding a job, and that's something where you -- the Fed's mandate for full employment, in fact, not just full employment, maximum employment really comes home to roost.
And if you want the growth to continue, and 70 percent of GDP growth is coming from consumption. People have to have the money to support themselves and to spend and that means jobs. But when job creation is negative, that's a problem, and Chair Powell pointed that out repeatedly.
CHURCH: Right. And of course, so many Americans are feeling a lot of economic pain right now, aren't they? When will the average American start feeling any measure of relief from this interest rate cut?
LEE: The ray of optimism that Chair Powell had during the press conference was productivity. He said, for several years now, productivity growth has been extraordinarily high, well over two percent and that's very good news, because the more productive the worker is, the more he's paid or she's paid. And I think that's the message, I think that everyone should take home, which is to say, the more -- the more productivity that is put into the economy, whether it's through technology, A.I. or any of the innovations that we've seen in the post COVID era. That is a good news for higher wages in the future.
What we have to worry about right now is that the cost of living, prices are just so high. Well, high prices when inflation is slowing means that it's the accumulation of all the massive inflation we've had over the last five years that is what's causing price to stay so high, and that disinflation is still very slow. And that's the tension I think that everyone is feeling. 90 percent of the population, rather, most workers. 90 percent of the wealth in this country is held by the top 10 percent and the top 10 percent is doing quite well, and they're spending like crazy. The business class fares are going up. The business class seats have disappeared.
But people who are working paycheck are living paycheck to paycheck, and I think that's where this K shaped economy, as some people call it, is a sign of social stress and a real social problem that policymakers have to address.
CHURCH: Yes, it's that great divide, isn't it? William Lee, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate your analysis.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join a virtual meeting of Ukraine's allies in the coming hours. Ukraine delivered an updated version of the U.S. drafted peace plan to the Trump administration on Wednesday. It's still unclear what changes, if any, Kyiv is demanding.
[02:15:10]
Meanwhile, Ukraine says that this video shows its latest drone strike on Russia's so called shadow fleet of tankers. A Ukrainian source says Wednesday's strike in the Black Sea likely disabled the vessel. It's the third attack against Russian tankers in two weeks.
The winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize has appeared briefly in Oslo, Norway after a daring escape from Venezuela. Here's pro- democracy opposition leader Maria Corina Machado hugging her supporters. She's under a travel ban and has been living mostly in hiding since last year, but is expected to hold a news conference in a few hours.
CNN's Pau Mosquera has our report from the Norwegian capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN EN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT: Many have been waiting more to see her back publicly, and finally, that moment has arrived. Maria Corina Machado has finally made it to Oslo, the capital of Norway. She actually appeared publicly from the first floor of the Grand Hotel located downtown Oslo. She actually stepped out to greet all the crowds that were waiting for her, but she even decided to get down to the street that it was blocked with crowd control fences by the police to greet personally, most of the people, or at least some of the people that were standing around. We saw her hugging many of them, taking pictures of them, thanking them for being present in such an important moment.
But it's important to say that Maria Corina herself hasn't been able to attend in person the ceremony where it has been awarded the diploma and the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize. Instead, it has been her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, who has accepted it on her behalf. We actually have seen Ana Corina very emotional once she was reading the speech that was written by her mother and saying that she couldn't get anymore to see her and meet her life and give her a huge hug.
Now, regarding this Thursday morning, Maria Corina is expected to have quite a busy schedule, as she is expected to be meeting the Norwegian parliament, President and the Prime Minister.
Pau Mosquera, CNN, Oslo, Norway.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, criticism from the Palestinian Authority after Israel approved the construction of hundreds of new homes in the occupied West Bank.
Plus, the next step by the White House to try to save its peace plan for Cambodia and Thailand. We'll have more after the break.
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[02:22:11]
CHURCH: The Israeli government has approved the construction of nearly 800 new housing units in the occupied West Bank. Israel's finance minister calls the move the continuation of a clear strategic process, but the Palestinian Authority says it undermines the peace process and efforts for Palestinian statehood.
Meanwhile, Israel has reopened the critical Allenby crossing between the West Bank and Jordan. It's been closed since September, and is a major route for bringing food, tents and other aid into Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he can put his peace plan between Cambodia and Thailand back on track.
Gunfire echoed in this Cambodian border town on Wednesday, two days after fighting between the two countries flared up again. The peace deal brokered by Mr. Trump two months ago is now on the verge of collapse. But he said this on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: With Thailand and Cambodia, I think -- I think I can get them to stop fighting. I settled it once. I think I can do it pretty quickly. I think we're scheduling a phone call tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Thailand's military released this video on Wednesday, saying it shows a drone dropping a bomb on a target in Cambodia. The conflict is part of a territorial dispute along their border. Both countries blame each other for starting the latest round of fighting, which is the heaviest since July.
Well, for more, we're joined by Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University. He joins us from Bangkok. Appreciate you being with us.
THITINAN PONGSUDHIRAK, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY: Thank you.
CHURCH: So, President Trump is saying that he's expecting to hold a phone call with Thailand and Cambodia in the coming hours to stop this renewed fighting between the two nations. What do you expect to come out of that phone call?
PONGSUDHIRAK: The stakes are very high now, the violence is spiraling between the two sides and. War weapons, F-16, BM-21 rockets are engaged. I think now it's different than the last time we had in late July when President Trump intervened and put a stop to the fighting, because he had the tariff as an instrument to leverage and bargain with.
This time, I don't know what President Trump will do, but it will have to be more than last time. And the stakes here, I mean, the mood in Thailand is very foul. The mood in Cambodia also equally foul. The two sides are going at it. It could be that after a little bit more violence, after a little bit more aggression, mutual aggression on both sides, provocation by Cambodia, retaliation, escalation in Thailand, maybe they'll be ready for some kind of a pause, some kind of a cease fire.
[02:25:03]
But now, I'm not sure if the timing is there yet, and I'm not sure what President Trump can really do. I mean, he can use the tariffs again, but he's done that already, so he'll have to do something heavier, something more potent than before.
CHURCH: So, pretty low expectations from the sound of it. And Thailand launched air strikes against Cambodia on Monday, as this new wave of fighting erupted between the two neighbors, just two months after President Trump brokered that pretty fragile truce between the two countries. What triggered this latest wave of fighting? Why now?
PONGSUDHIRAK: It just shows you know that this is a long running conflict, it has simmered. I think it goes back a thousand years. Cambodia has grievances, and hundred years ago, Thailand had grievances from the French colonialism.
So now, I think now, you know, going back to the recent decades, it's been up and down. Now, the Hun family that runs Cambodia and the Shinawatra family that used to run Thailand, they've had a falling out, and Hun Sen has been kind of interfering in domestic Thai politics. A lot of Thai people said they've had enough of it.
On the other side, I think Cambodia feels that they want to internationalize this conflict because they're feeling that they have been bullied by Thailand's a bigger neighbor, more weapons, more powerful weapons.
So, this is where we are. I mean, the Trump intervention and presiding over the peace accord, and on October 28th when he visited Malaysia, that was an expedient kind of outcome, but the conflict was very raw, so it was a matter of time before it resumed again, and that we're seeing that now.
CHURCH: So, what do you think it will take to end the conflict between the two nations?
PONGSUDHIRAK: It's very difficult at this time and foreseeable. I think in immediate days ahead, we're likely to see more violence, but at some point, both sides will be ready for some kind of dialog.
I think, you know, the U.S. and Cambodia, they have to rely on the U.S. market, it's the biggest export market. So, President Trump has something up his sleeve, but I don't know how he'll leverage that this time, because he's done that already before in late July.
ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, these 11 member states in the region, should also have a role now, there has to be peacekeepers on the ground, not just observers, and somehow, ASEAN, maybe together with us and maybe even China, need to do something quickly in order to get both sides to realize that this is a mutual destruction on both sides.
There's also domestic reasons on both sides. You know, Cambodia family, it's been revealed that they're the regional center for scam networks and money laundering and human trafficking. Thailand also, you know, the government of annuity didn't manage the floods well last two weeks in the South of Thailand. A lot of -- a lot to answer for being incompetent, and they also may be associated with the scam networks.
So, both governments now are added because they want to divert the news, divert attention national focus away from the scam networks, away from their own shortcomings, and that's why we have the violence along the border now.
CHURCH: All right, we'll be watching to see what happens. Thank you so much, Professor, for joining us and sharing your analysis. Appreciate it.
PONGSUDHIRAK: Thank you.
CHURCH: Just ahead, a new proposal from the Trump administration could force certain visitors from dozens of countries to share their social media history before entering the United States.
And a landmark honor for Italian food, we will hear from an Italian chef his thoughts on having the first national cuisine recognized as Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
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[02:33:42]
CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Denmark has labeled the United States a security concern for the first time ever. It's part of an annual report from a Danish intelligence agency citing President Donald Trump's tariffs. And the fact that the U.S. "no longer rules out the use of military force even against allies." The relationship between Denmark and the U.S. is normally friendly, but has grown strained since Trump expressed interest in taking over Greenland, a Danish territory.
Well, some visitors to the U.S. may soon have to provide their social media history from the past five years to enter the country without a visa. Tourists from the U.K., Japan, Australia, and dozens of other countries would be affected. The Trump administration proposal is not final yet, but if it goes through, it would have big implications ahead of next year's World Cup. CNN's. Priscilla Alvarez has more.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Trump administration announced a new proposal that would mark an escalation in traveler vetting, this time, expanding the type of information they're looking for, for people visiting the United States. Now, those affected by this are those that are enrolled in the electronic system for travel authorization, which is part of a visa waiver program for citizens from 42 countries.
[02:35:00]
That includes, for example, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, as well as other European countries. Now, this is for people that are traveling to the U.S. for under 90 days without a visa and to apply, they would typically include information about their passport, their birth date, as well as any other past criminal record. Now, the social media option used to be that, just an option. But now, with this proposal, that would be mandatory, five years worth of social media history, as well as other data, for example, with phone numbers and email addresses of the last several years, as well as information about close family members.
Taken together, this is yet another example of how the administration is changing or tightening the legal immigration system. This time, again, targeting those who are visiting the United States and scrutinizing their social media in ways that we've seen the administration do for those who are applying for visas abroad, as well as for those who may already have visas here in the United States.
Now again, this is a proposal by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and it still has to go through a 60-day notice and request for comments. So it will not take effect immediately, but it would be a remarkable development for people traveling from certain countries to the United States.
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: Stunning new details about the audacious heist of the French crown jewels at the Louvre. A French Senate probe heard that the thieves escaped with just 30 seconds to spare. The head of the inquiry says that guards or police were less than a minute away from intercepting the jewel thieves. The probe also found that only one of the two cameras covering the break-in point was working. And when the alarm did sound, investigators say police were sent to the wrong location.
All four of the suspected break-in crew have been arrested, but the French crown jewels are yet to be found. Pizza, Pasta, Prosecco, and everything in between, Italian cuisine has just been designated an "intangible cultural heritage." It's the first gastronomic style to be recognized by UNESCO, the U.N.'s cultural body. CNN's Isa Soares went into a restaurant's kitchen to find out what the honor means to an Italian chef.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA ASCUITI, CHEF & OWNER, 081 PIZZERIA: [Foreign Language]
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon. As an Italian, what does this recognition mean?
ASCUITI: This recognition means a lot. We, in Italy, our culture is 90 percent is about food.
(LAUGH)
ASCUITI: So to be recognized worldwide about the passion and the love and the effort that we put --
SOARES: Yeah.
ASCUITI: -- in the kitchen, it means a lot.
SOARES: So that, what's that?
ASCUITI: That's parmesan.
SOARES: Parmigiano?
ASCUITI: A lot of basil.
SOARES: Oh, smells so good. So good, I love basil. You could never have too much cheese. That's just my opinion. Right? What do you think?
ASCUITI: I think again, balance is important because you want to -- you don't want to overpower --
SOARES: Yeah.
ASCUITI: -- one ingredient to the other. So there's a limit on the cheese.
SOARES: OK, how about a bit of cheddar? You'd be like, go away (ph).
(LAUGH)
SOARES: I didn't (ph) see his eyes, your eyes actually rolls, no cheddar, none of that.
ASCUITI: On a Neapolitan base, I'm a purist.
SOARES: Oh, my goodness. You are very protective.
ASCUITI: No cheddar, no pineapple, no chicken, no barbeque.
SOARES: No, but not on this one or any pizza? No pineapple.
ASCUITI: Not on the Neapolitan.
SOARES: But all the others, you're OK with that? ASCUITI: All the others, OK to experience it.
SOARES: Because that's -- OK. All right.
Ooh, this looks good. This is really good. How do you think, Andrea, this recognition would be received at home in Italy? How do you think people would take that?
ASCUITI: I think most of the Italians will be -- will be proud. Food, as I said, is 90 percent of our day (inaudible) central.
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: Central life, your life, right?
ASCUITI: I remember my mom asking me every day, oh, what do you want to have for lunch? What do you want to have for dinner? Constantly, sometimes even, obsession.
SOARES: Yeah. I feel that. That's what I ask my kids every day, running out of ideas. Was there a food when you were growing up, Italian food that you felt this is Italian, this speaks to me in terms of identity and you can't say pizza.
ASCUITI: Pasta.
SOARES: What kind of pasta?
[02:40:00]
ASCUITI: I'd say Pasta e Patate is a must in our -- it is one of our most traditional dish and yeah, chef is -- he's is --
(LAUGH)
SOARES: -- is good. And I'm guessing not from a jar.
ASCUITI: Not from a jar.
(LAUGH)
SOARES: All right. I'll let you do that. How long does that normally take, Andrea?
ASCUITI: 90 seconds to two minutes. That's the way we like it.
SOARES: Let's do this. The question then, I'm sure people will want to know is, why do you think, Andrea, that Italy deserves it? Why not Spain? Why not even my home country of Portugal? We've got good food too. Why? Why? Respectfully.
(LAUGH)
ASCUITI: I didn't say that. We -- I'm very respectful of other kitchen. Just say that Italy really deserves it --
SOARES: Yeah.
ASCUITI: -- because of the intensity.
SOARES: Yeah.
ASCUITI: And the effort that, across the whole country --
SOARES: Yeah.
ASCUITI: -- we put into food.
SOARES: Look at that. [Foreign Language]
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Delicious. Up next, how one lake's revival is reshaping life and land in a small South Indian village. Back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:46:02]
CHURCH: Across India, monsoons that once sustained life, now flood communities intensified by climate change and the loss of natural reservoirs. This week on Call to Earth, we follow environmentalist, Arun Krishnamurthy fight to restore these vital water bodies, reconnecting lakes and rivers to the people who rely on them, as part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): A raining morning in Chennai known as the gateway to South India, the tropical coastal city, once a tapestry of lakes and wetlands has rapidly changed. From 2015 to 2020, it lost roughly a third of its water. Industrialization paving over much of its natural water network. Chennai is also the hometown of Arun Krishnamurthy who works tirelessly to bring neglected water bodies back to life through his organization, EFI.
ARUN KRISHNAMURTHY, FOUNDER, ENVIRONMENTALIST FOUNDATION OF INDIA: This is our 19th year in 2025. We have so far touched close to 657 water bodies. This includes lakes, ponds, step wells across 19 states in the country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): The scale of this mission keeps him on the road three to four days a week.
KRISHNAMURTHY: We are on our way to Hanumanthapuram, a village where EFI took on the responsibility of restoring four water bodies. When urbanization catches up, these lakes are also a victim of it -- garbage, sewage, encroachment, et cetera.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Arun says this is one of EFI's largest projects this year, influencing the lives of nearly 3,000 residents. He comes back often, watching the transformation unfold and hearing how the restored water bodies are reshaping everyday life. RAJALAKSHMI, VILLAGE HEAD, HANUMANTHAPURAM VILLAGE (through translator): This being a flat, barren, waterless lake area, the community was impacted without water. Now, because of EFI's efforts, there is a lot of water accumulation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): EFI cleared garbage from the land, restored natural islands and embankments, and deepened the lake to increase storage capacity.
RAJALAKSHMI (through translator): The lake used to overflow during floods. Despite that, the area would never fill up. It would just escape this area.
KANNAN, ORGANIC FARMER (through translator): We used to farm only one crop. Now with surplus water availability, we have opportunity to cultivate more crops. Because of the double yield, her income has doubled overall.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Their story echoes across many communities that EFI has touched and highlights a larger trend about the delicate ecology of India. For centuries, seasonal monsoons were its lifeblood, filling reservoirs like these to sustain life through the dry months. Today, these floods are overwhelming cities with climate change intensifying rains and fewer water bodies to capture them. What remains is overburdened and polluted, a fragile network struggling to hold back floods and also refill wells.
KRISHNAMURTHY: The greatest challenge in these 19 years of work is to definitely take everybody on board, so bringing the resources, getting the permissions, convincing the community, all this has to happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): None of this would be possible without his dedicated staff.
KRISHNAMURTHY: We'll nicely put bamboo and palm seeds also, we will bring.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Like Shri Krishna, who's been with EFI for 15 years.
SHRI KRISHNA MINAPALLI, CHIEF ADMIN MANAGER, ENVIRONMENTALIST FOUNDATION OF INDIA: I joined EFI when I was in school. Mr. Arun, he had come to our school for a school orientation program. So I joined right then. I joined as a volunteer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Shri Krishna exemplifies the impact that youth engagement can have on shaping the next generation of environmental stewards.
KRISHNAMURTHY: Water always runs from an elevation to a deep point, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): EFI often brings students into the field for real hands-on work, like planting saplings so they can watch the impact of their efforts as the trees take root.
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KRISHNAMURTHY: I'm of the very strong belief nothing is happening because of me. I'm just a tiny speck of a tool in the larger plan that the universe has.
CROWD: Blue-green Chennai.
KRISHNAMURTHY: And let's plant more. Keep coming.
CROWD: Yes, sir.
KRISHNAMURTHY: Thank you. Thank you.
CROWD: Thank you. Thank you, sir.
KRISHNAMURTHY: Thank you. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: For more on this story, you can tune in this weekend to watch the full documentary, "Reviving India's Waters," only on CNN.
A newly rebuilt home is a sign of hope for some L.A. residents after the devastating fires nearly a year ago. Next, I'll show you how the home is equipped to try and fend off fires in the future.
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CHURCH: The queen of romantic comedy, Sophie Kinsella, has died at the age of 55. She revealed last year that she had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2022. The author whose real name was Madeleine Sophie Wickham, is known for her bestselling-book series "Shopaholic," which follows a retail addicted financial journalist. The series was so popular, it was adapted into a movie, "Confessions of a Shopaholic" in 2009. Kinsella leaves behind an impressive legacy with more than 50 million copies of her books sold in over 60 countries.
Well, a strange sight in Mexico City. That is a skydiver landing in a street. Authorities say the man jumped from an ultra-light airplane and tried to find a landing spot in downtown Mexico City. But as you can see, his parachute snagged on a traffic light before he could reach the ground. Two people stopped to help, to free the dangling skydiver. No injuries or damage were reported.
Well, Los Angeles is trying to rebuild after the most damaging fire in its history. It's been nearly a year since the Palisades Fire and the city has now issued its first certificate of occupancy to a newly- built home in the community. But don't expect anyone to move in anytime soon. CNN's Nick Watt takes a tour.
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NICK WATT, CNN REPORTER: New house smell, that's kind of encouraging.
WATT (voice-over): Because within a year of the most destructive fire in the history of L.A., the first certificate of occupancy was issued for a rebuild in the Palisades.
WATT: Wow. Wow. Wow.
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WATT (voice-over): A major priority, making sure all this doesn't burn down again.
WATT: So that's not wood?
STEVE SCHLAGETER, COO, THOMAS JAMES HOMES: It's not. It is cement and fibers that hold it together. You'll also notice up in the eaves, those little nozzles.
WATT: Yeah.
SCHLAGETER: Well, in the case of a fire, douse the house with either water or a fire retardant. There are sprinklers that pop up on the roof and douse the roof like a lawn system. The other thing that we've added is the six-foot aluminum fence around the entire perimeter.
WATT (voice-over): He's COO of the developer that bought this lot last November to tear down, rebuild, and sell. Then it burned down. So they built this as a show home.
SCHLAGETER: And so the people who are thinking like, what do I do? Do I want to build again? Do I want to move? Do I want to sell my lot? It gives them an idea of what's possible out here.
WATT (voice-over): 4,000 square feet, four beds, four-and-a-half baths, walk-in his and hers closets.
WATT: Did you ever think, you know what, we're going to move to Florida?
JIM HUSER, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: Never.
SUSAN HUSER, PACIFIC PALISADES RESIDENT: Our community was here, you know, our church, our friends, our kids, our kids' friends.
WATT (voice-over): Susan and Jim Huser have asked these developers to build on the lot where they live 28 years. They miss the view.
WATT: When are they going to break ground?
S. HUSER: Well, they've started grading. Our permits are already --
J. HUSER: Last week.
S. HUSER: -- are already approved.
WATT (voice-over): Some people, like the old neighbors, are selling up. Plenty others still fighting insurance companies for the money to rebuild or wrapped up in red tape.
J. HUSER: When we talk to other people who are waiting for a year- and-a-half, two years, we feel like we're on the speedy train.
WATT (voice-over): The city has streamlined the permitting process, near tripling the speed, says the mayor.
WATT: Is it streamlined?
SCHLAGETER: It's better. Yeah. It's certainly better than it was pre- fire.
WATT (voice-over): But so much to rebuild. More than 9,000 structures were destroyed in the Eaton Fire to the east, nearly 7,000 structures in the Palisades Fire. 1200 construction permits issued here so far. A shade over 340 projects actually underway in what was one of the most beautiful and tranquil corners of this city. Less tranquil right now, still beautiful.
SCHLAGETER: I think when people are displaced, they just want to get home. Even if it's a bit of a construction zone, it's still home.
WATT: There's a lot of work going on.
S. HUSER: Yeah.
WATT: But there's a lot of work to be done.
S. HUSER: Yeah. It's going to be a while before there's a real community here again.
J. HUSER: Getting the supermarkets back and the drug stores and the library and all that, that's going to take years.
WATT (voice-over): Nick Watt, CNN, Pacific Palisades.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, the U.S. Powerball jackpot has risen to an estimated $1 billion after nobody won the grand prize in Wednesday night's drawing. It's been growing steadily since September when two winning tickets split the last jackpot, almost $1.8 billion, the second largest and Powerball history. The next drawing will be held on Saturday.
I want to thank you so much for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Stay with us.
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