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Witkoff Expected to Meet with Zelenskyy and European Leaders; Ukraine Expands Strikes on Russian Oil Infrastructure; U.S. Suspended Venezuelans' Deportation Flights; New Epstein Photos Show Trump, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Others; Hostages Celebrate Hanukkah in Newly Released Video; FDA to Add Its Most Serious Warning to COVID Vaccines; Former Michigan Coach Charged Following Arrest, Dismissal; Taylor Swift's "End of an Era" Series Now on Disney+. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired December 13, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, everybody. So glad you could join me here for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. And here's what's coming your way in the next hour.
A top U.S. official is heading to Berlin. We will be looking at whether U.S. participation in the meeting with top European leaders could help bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end finally.
Plus, the tension between the U.S. and Venezuela reaches new levels. What Venezuela's leader has to say in response to renewed threats from the U.S.
And a new warning label in the works for COVID-19 vaccines. Why the Food and Drug Administration is considering a drastic change.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from New York, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.
SANDOVAL: So let's begin with Russia's war on Ukraine and efforts toward peace. The White House now says its special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will be meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Berlin this weekend.
And the gathering will come as president Donald Trump seeks to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine before the end of the year. The leaders of France, U.K. Germany, all of them expected to be in attendance there in Berlin.
The German chancellor says that they told president Trump earlier this week that only the Ukrainians can decide whether to concede territory as part of the peace deal with Russia. Let's get the latest now by heading over to London and CNN's Anna Cooban for more.
Anna, the energy ministry in Ukraine now confirming that there's that latest wave of strikes from Russia that have left many parts of Ukraine in the dark.
Is there any sense of the scope or the magnitude of these latest strikes?
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, you've mentioned this diplomatic flurry and this is taken to try and end this war, which is nearing four years now.
But this is also taking place at the exact moment that we're seeing this bombardment on Russian -- of Ukrainian energy infrastructure by Russian drones and missiles.
And this has been a tactic by Russia over the recent months, to really be employing hundreds of these drones and missiles to target this infrastructure, leading to widespread power outages in Ukraine.
Ukraine, for its part as well, has been ramping up attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, really trying to strike at the heart of Russia's government's biggest source of revenue, its oil and gas reserves.
SANDOVAL: Is there any sense, as we look ahead to the meeting that's scheduled in Berlin with Ukraine and some of its allies, is there any sense of what their to-do list will be?
What could be seen as an accomplishment to come out of this latest round of talks?
COOBAN: Well, a huge sticking point for Ukraine has been the issue of territory. And we saw this 28-point peace plan that the U.S. put forward in November, which Ukraine roundly rejected because it was seen by Ukraine as allowing Russia to take more territory than it had actually won in fighting.
And Zelenskyy has made it very clear that any territorial concessions must come from the Ukrainian people, must be agreed upon in the form of an election or a referendum.
Ukraine as well has put forward its counter-proposal this week, again affirming the need for legally binding security guarantees. That is a key issue on the table.
But it needs to be noted that the U.S. is getting quite impatient with this. Trump -- or Karoline Leavitt, Trump's press secretary, has said that he is sick of all these meetings and meetings for meetings' sake and he just wants to get this done.
SANDOVAL: Anna Cooban, live from London. As always, appreciate all your reporting.
Well, a source within Ukraine security services say that they attacked -- that the -- that they actually attacked two Russian oil platforms in the Caspian Sea. The agency used long-range drones in the attack on Friday.
One of the targets is a large deposit with substantial oil and gas reserves and it was struck by Ukraine earlier this week. Both facilities are owned by the same Russian oil extraction company. Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure in recent months.
Let's get some more analysis now. We're joined by Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. He's joining us from Berlin.
Welcome to the program.
SERGEY VAKULENKO, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE RUSSIA EURASIA CENTER: Good morning.
SANDOVAL: Good morning to you.
So do you get the sense that Ukraine seems to be pretty much taking the gloves off when it comes to targeting Russian energy targets?
VAKULENKO: I think Ukraine has taken its gloves off two years ago, when the first attacks on Russian refineries have started.
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So it's just more of the same escalation, putting it to the new level. But the gloves have been off long time ago.
SANDOVAL: So it isn't necessarily new.
However, do you think that these latest strikes could actually have on Russia's energy industry, do you think that they could actually be a winnable strategy for Ukraine?
VAKULENKO: This is what I'd call bombing fire (ph) so far. So it causes inconvenience to Russia. It creates some expense to Russia. But it's not going to change the equation drastically, at least not so far, at least not the current, not at the current levels of the attacks.
SANDOVAL: Now when it comes to the impact of these strikes beyond just Russia and Ukraine, the main stakeholders here, I'm wondering if you could just bring our viewers in the U.S. and around the world up to speed on the potential impacts that these strikes could have on global markets.
VAKULENKO: Well, when it comes to attacks on the platforms in the Caspian Sea, this is a small fraction of Russian oil production. That is what Ukraine can reach. Platforms are concentrated and, thus, they are easy and good target for an attack.
But that's just a few hundred thousand barrels per day while Russia is producing 9.4 million barrels per day of oil. So that's a single percentage of oil, Russian production.
What potentially could have higher effects is the attacks on tankers in the Black Sea, which are, well, somewhat similar to what we have observed 40 years ago in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq tanker war. But back -- 400 or more vessels have been attacked over those four
years. And oil shipping hasn't stopped. So the effects are insurance rates on tankers tripled. So it went up from 0.2 percent of the value of the tanker to 0.6 percent. But this is still an incremental increase. So far, it's an incremental change, not a step change.
SANDOVAL: And we're seeing, as you're bringing our viewers up to speed, we're seeing some of that -- those images of those recent strikes. Now when we look ahead, Sergey, Berlin, as you know, will be hosting a continuation of the peace talks this weekend.
Are Ukraine stepped up attacks enough pressure to -- on Russia for the Kremlin to back off on some of its demands and maybe finally come to the negotiating table and compromise?
VAKULENKO: I think what Ukraine is doing at the moment is trying to demonstrate that it's still got quite a few arrows in its quiver and it does so, that it's contradicting Trump's saying that Ukraine has no cards.
Well, Ukraine does have cards and Ukraine indeed can cause some pain to Russia but definitely not enough to deprive Putin of revenues and reserves for continuation of the war. And the pain level is definitely nowhere near to what would be needed to change his mind at the moment.
SANDOVAL: Sergey Vakulenko, as always, really appreciate your perspective and your analysis. Thank you.
VAKULENKO: Thank you.
SANDOVAL: The Venezuelan government shows no signs of backing down amid a standoff with the United States. A defiant president Nicolas Maduro spoke on Friday and said, pretty much, and I'm quoting him here, "You don't know who you're dealing with."
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NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): Our historic rebelliousness, the deep fusion of that rebelliousness, that some in the world still do not understand because we are who we are and because their formula of lies, pressure, blackmail and threats does not work with us. It does not work and it never will.
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SANDOVAL: And on Friday, we also heard from U.S. president Donald Trump and he did not rule out seizing more Venezuelan oil assets. He also hinted again at possible military action on land, suggesting that the U.S. could go after drug traffickers inside Venezuela, something we've heard from them before.
Mr. Trump spoke after the U.S. seized this oil tanker near Venezuela. The ship was reportedly carrying almost 2 million barrels of oil to Cuba, which says that the seizure will likely worsen their energy crisis. And this standoff is now jeopardizing one of the very few areas where
Washington and Caracas at least partially see eye to eye, as Stefano Pozzebon explains from Caracas.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The pressure against the Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is indeed growing, especially here in Caracas, where, on Friday, a regular flight that would have brought back hundreds of undocumented Venezuelan migrants to their homeland did not take place.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement.
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Accusing Washington of unilaterally suspending these flights, which occurred fairly regularly about twice a week as part of an agreement that would have allowed Washington to deport many undocumented migrants, especially Venezuelan migrants, back to their homeland.
The White House told CNN that that was not true. However, they did not elaborate any further.
And these flights in the last few weeks and months have been one of the very few areas of cooperation between the two governments to coordinate the arrival of these flights, which are taking place directly from the United States and landing directly here in Venezuela.
An area of cooperation that had been occurring despite the intense standoff between Donald Trump, in particular the U.S. president, and Venezuelan authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro.
On Friday afternoon this standoff was all too visible when the Venezuelan defense minister took to the airwaves to issue this statement in response to what he called provocative flights from the U.S. Air Force.
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VLADIMIR PADRINO LOPEZ, VENEZUELAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Let's not fool ourselves around Venezuela. We've seen efforts to intimidate us, sending United States armed aircraft close to our coasts. I -- we with great humility, we say, don't fool yourselves. We're ready to defend this country.
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POZZEBON: Over the last few weeks and days, we've seen more and more U.S. aircraft flying very close to the Venezuelan coastline. In some cases, it's fighter jets like F-18 or F-35 or also bombers like the B- 52s.
These are seen by analysts either as a provocation and a show of force to put further pressure on Maduro but also as a tactic to gather further intelligence on Venezuelan facilities and air defense structures.
Especially as the U.S. president Donald Trump, even on Friday night, said that direct actions inside Venezuelan soil, which could well be strikes, could happen indeed very, very soon -- for CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.
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SANDOVAL: Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, says that she wants a peaceful transition if the current regime is gone. She spoke in Oslo, Norway, where she received the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this week. Machado also revealed her possible role in a future democratic government in Venezuela.
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MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: I will be where the Venezuela people already mandated. We won an election by a landslide and our president-elect has asked me to join the government as vice president.
So I will accompany him in this new and challenging era that starts or I would say that has already started.
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SANDOVAL: By president-elect, Machado is referring to her fellow opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez, who says he won a presidential election last year.
The U.S. actually recognizes him as the legitimate president-elect in Venezuela. But Venezuela's government handed the victory to the current leader, Nicolas Maduro, despite allegations of widespread vote rigging.
And we are learning details, new details of the harrowing escape of Maria Machado, who you just heard from, from Venezuela. She had been in hiding before leaving to receive her peace prize in Norway.
U.S. Special Forces veteran Bryan Stern helps run Grey Bull Rescue, which helps extract people from dangerous situations. Well, here's what he had to say about the efforts to get Machado safely out of her country and into and into Norway.
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BRYAN STERN, FOUNDER, GREY BULL RESCUE FOUNDATION: This week in particular, because of the Nobel Prize, made this operation significantly more high-risk than we've ever done before. Overwhelmingly, this is the hardest, most high-profile, most delicate operation we've conducted.
Maria is known as the Iron Lady and she absolutely lives up to that name. She is a very, very, very resolute and tough -- just tough leader and tough woman. When we were on the boat together, we talked about this and I begged her not to go back. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: President Donald Trump is downplaying new photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. The images were released by Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee.
They show many powerful men in the late sex trafficker's orbit and this includes president Trump. You see former president Clinton there. President Trump, he says that the photos, as he put it, are no big deal.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What were your reaction to those new photos that were released?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I haven't seen it but I mean, everybody knew this man. He was all over Palm Beach. He has photos with everybody. I mean, almost there are hundreds and hundreds of people that have photos with him, so that's no big deal. I know nothing about it.
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SANDOVAL: The White House says the Democrats are, quote, "selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with random redactions to try and create a false narrative."
Some of the photos do show Epstein alone.
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Including one of him in the bathtub. And none of the released images depict any sexual misconduct nor are they believed to depict any underage girls.
But one of the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee tells CNN that the images that they haven't released are, as they put it, extremely disturbing.
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REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): HOUSE OVERSIGHT RANKING MEMBER: We've actually only reviewed about a fourth of the 95,000 photos that were actually sent to us late last night and so as we're going through those photos, we're putting more photos out to the public.
Some of what was sent to us in this documentation is also quite disturbing, so we have to be very thoughtful and careful about how we protect the survivors and how we protect the victims of the Jeffrey Epstein.
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SANDOVAL: Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, billionaire businessman Bill Gates and Richard Branson are all seen in these photos, as well as former president Bill Clinton, as we mentioned. He has been subpoenaed for a deposition tied to the House investigation, along with his wife, Hillary Clinton.
The House Oversight chair warning that he will begin contempt of Congress proceedings if they don't appear.
When we come back here on CNN NEWSROOM, a look at the catastrophic flooding in Washington state after days of heavy rain, with more possibly on the way.
Plus, president Trump says that he's brokered peace in Southeast Asia again. But this time, the prime minister in Thailand says otherwise. More details about the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, where things stand next.
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SANDOVAL: Let's get you caught up on the historic flooding in the U.S. state of Washington, which has triggered tens of thousands of evacuations and dozens of water rescues. And now what experts describe as new atmospheric rivers, another wave of them, they're expected to bring even more heavy rain to the state in the coming days.
CNN's Veronica Miracle is on the ground in Mount Vernon with a closer look at the devastation.
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VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Mount Vernon, so many people are relieved that the Skagit River did not completely overtake this wall here that has been built in order to stop that water. The Skagit River, we're going to show you, just over this wall, reached historic record levels that have never been seen before.
And I've spoken to so many locals who say, yes, the river always gets high every year. There are concerns. But they have never seen anything quite like this. We're seeing entire logs come down this river, massive logjams.
And you can see, actually closest to us, there's a little fence line there. That's actually where people are normally able to walk along the river bank. And that is not the case because the river has come up so high.
Now all of this water comes off of the Cascade Mountains, more than a foot, about a foot of water dumped in certain areas in the Cascades. And it comes down here and flows into the ocean and has the concern of spilling into local communities.
About 100,000 people have been impacted in terms of potential evacuations. And the state governor, the governor of Washington state, says this 24 hours right now is the most critical time.
We have seen so many rescues. We've heard so many firsthand accounts from people who have seen cars being washed away with drivers inside and having to get rescued.
In fact, we spoke to a couple, who says this is just so perplexing to see. They've lived here only for a few years. And yet it is startling, just given the amount of rain and the historic flooding that has happened all over Washington, Western Washington. Take a listen to what they had to say.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's weird. We're from Minnesota. We don't deal with this kind of thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We moved here three years ago. We're used to blizzards and snow but not this. This is wild.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's wild. It's -- you know, all I can think about is that we're safe. But I just thought about how many people are going to be devastated, their homes and stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's bad.
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MIRACLE: So you can see this wall. It did its job. But water is still coming out from underneath and it is going to take days for all of this water to dissipate. However, there are concerns that there is even more rain on the way.
So certainly for all of these local communities here, the threat is not over. And officials are telling people to heed warnings and make sure that they stay safe by listening to all of the evacuation orders, whether they're mandatory or voluntary -- Veronica Miracle, CNN, Mount Vernon, Washington.
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SANDOVAL: Winter storms, those are bringing heavy rains and flooding to large parts of Gaza. And that includes many of the tent cities that are currently sheltering families displaced by the war. U.N. agencies estimating that nearly 800,000 people are at heightened risk of exposure.
And this as concerns grow over the potential spread of disease. Drainage infrastructure in Gaza, that's barely functioning after years of war and aid groups are warning that shortages of fuel, equipment and shelter are hampering their emergency response.
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SAED NABHAN, PALESTINIAN (through translator): The war that has been ongoing for two years, people have no shelter, except for this house, which was already burnt, weakened and previously shelled. People had shelter, but to stay in this house, which collapsed down on
them due to the destruction it had suffered before, and also because of the rain. The rain brought down this house on the people living in it.
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SANDOVAL: We now want to share with you some newly released video. In it you can see a group of Israeli hostages, celebrating Hanukkah inside of a tunnel in Gaza City -- in Gaza, I should say, during their captivity.
Well, the footage released by the families of the hostages captures moments of hope and of resilience during a time of unspeakable trauma. CNN's Jeremy Diamond with that story now.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN REPORTER: From the depths of captivity, these six Israeli hostages celebrated the miracle of Hanukkah and prayed for their own but that miracle never came.
The Beautiful Six, as they have come to be known, were executed by Hamas in August of 2024 as Israeli troops closed in on their location.
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These never-before-seen videos appear to have been filmed about eight months earlier, lighting candles on the first and second nights of Hanukkah, using a makeshift menorah made of paper cups.
"With the help of miracles associated with this holiday, may we go home in a big miracle and may we return to normal, happy and good lives. And may we always be happy, all of us," says hostage Almog Sarusi.
The videos were filmed by Hamas and later obtained by the Israeli military. Now their families say they want the world to see them. Hamas filmed these videos as propaganda but the humanity of the Beautiful Six shines through this footage.
The footage released by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum offers a new, albeit partially staged, glimpse into their captivity, playing cards, cutting each other's hair. And in this clip, pressing their captors for medical attention.
"He needs treatment," hostage Carmel Gat tells a guard, "professional."
American Israeli hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose left hand was blown off by a Hamas grenade, is seen repeatedly, often trying to reassure his family.
"We're here, healthy and alive. We are being taken care of. We are all right and we want to return home."
HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN, ISRAELI HOSTAGE: Happy New Year to everyone and all my family.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Hersh would not live to see another year. He was killed the next August -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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SANDOVAL: Reuters is reporting that Thailand is vowing to keep fighting Cambodia just hours after a call with U.S. president Donald Trump, where he allegedly brokered a ceasefire. And that's a claim that the Thai prime minister is disputing.
You may remember that the last ceasefire between the two neighbors was signed in this ceremony, which happened in October, and it was touted by president Trump as a key win in his foreign policy.
Well, while the fighting continues, however, aid donations are flooding into camps like this one in northern Cambodia. And that's where people who have been displaced have had to find temporary shelter.
And still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM this Saturday morning, a potential new warning from the FDA, which could further undermine confidence in vaccines. Why they plan on putting their most serious warning on the COVID-19 vaccine -- next.
Also, details on a new lawsuit that may block Donald Trump's plan to replace the East Wing of the White House with a massive ballroom. That's ahead.
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SANDOVAL (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. Let's check in on today's top stories.
U.S. President Donald Trump is not ruling out the possibility of going after more Venezuelan oil assets. He spoke just two days after U.S. forces seized this tanker near Venezuela. And he's planning to bring the tanker back to the U.S. Mr. Trump also hinting again at a possible ground strike in Venezuela.
Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee have released new photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate. They show the late sex trafficker with high-profile men like president Donald Trump, Bill Gates and former president Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton has been subpoenaed for a deposition tied to the House investigation, along with his wife, Hillary Clinton.
And Washington state currently bracing for more heavy rain while dealing with devastating floods that have already ripped through communities and destroyed many homes. New atmospheric rivers, as the experts call them, those are expected to arrive next week.
Already, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated because of the storms.
The Food and Drug Administration intends to put their most serious warnings on COVID-19 vaccines, according to sources. Well, those warnings are designed to warn people of side effects or risks that could lead to life threatening complications. For more, let's go to CNN's Meg Tirrell.
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MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've learned that the FDA is finalizing plans to put its most serious warning on COVID-19 vaccines.
It's called a black box warning and it shows up really at the top of prescribing information, outlined in a black box, so that prescribers and patients are aware of really serious risks that can be associated with products.
Typically, this is reserved for situations where a medical product might be associated with the risk of death or life threatening or disabling reactions and really its there. So that prescribers and patients can weigh those potential risks against the benefits of any intervention that they are considering.
Now we've learned that this is in the process. It's not finalized and could still change but it comes after a memo was issued in late November by the FDA vaccines chief, Dr. Vinay Prasad, which claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine has been linked to the deaths of at least 10 children.
Now this is a claim that outside experts say they haven't seen data to support and question if that is part of the impetus for adding this label to the vaccines, whether that is an appropriate course of action.
Typically, also the procedure for something like this involves a really public process. The FDA, typically, experts tell us, would let the public know that it's weighing this safety risk, sometimes call an outside panel of advisors to meet to discuss the safety data and whether to add this to the labels of a medical product.
And so far, of course, we haven't seen any of that take place.
Now we have reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services, which tells us in a statement, "Unless the FDA announces it, any claim about what it will do is pure speculation. The FDA takes very seriously any death that is attributed to a regulated medical product."
We should also point out, this is just the latest in a series of efforts under the Trump administration's health officials during this administration to weaken confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a longtime critic of the COVID vaccine's safety and efficacy.
But we should also note that these vaccines were developed, tested and green-lit under the first Trump administration, really in a scientific feat that was so monumental that many Republicans now are calling for the president to win the Nobel Peace Prize for it.
COVID-19 vaccines are still recommended, especially for more vulnerable groups, including the elderly, people with weakened immune systems and also for children and babies under the age of 2, all who are at a potentially higher risk of being hospitalized for COVID-19.
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So there is a lot of concern that a warning like this placed on these vaccines could weaken confidence in them when vaccination rates are already low, potentially making those trends even worse.
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SANDOVAL: A coalition of Democratic-run states is suing the Trump administration over its new $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. These visas usually allow qualified foreign professionals to work in the U.S. within specialized fields, like health care, tech or education.
The lawsuit, led by California's attorney general, argues that the administration does not have the authority to impose such a surcharge on these visas. It claims that the exorbitant fee would block employers from filling critical jobs that would effectively dismantle the H-1B program altogether.
A man wrongfully deported by the U.S. has won a court battle against the Department of Justice. A judge temporarily blocked the government from detaining Kilmar Abrego Garcia on Friday. Well, this after the judge ordered his release after an immigration detention facility -- from an immigration detention facility on Thursday.
Abrego Garcia was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March. He returned to the U.S. -- he was actually returned to the U.S. by authorities and he was held in an immigration detention facility for months.
The judge ruled his detainment unlawful. He then added a temporary restraining order to stop efforts to detain him again. Garcia's lawyer says that the ruling gives his client some options.
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SIMON SANDOVAL-MOSHENBERG, KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA'S ATTORNEY: The government has a lot of tools in their toolbox but he also has a number of options available to him and now that he's got at least a brief reprieve and some assurances from the court that he can't be arrested today. He'll have time to consider those options in terms of his immigration status, whether he chooses to apply for asylum or not, that will be one of the many choices that he has.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: And this case is notable as Abrego Garcia has become a national symbol of the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies. And his lawyer says that the legal fight for him, as you just heard, it is far from over.
The Trump administration's construction of a new ballroom where the East Wing of the White House once stood may be put on hold. And this is because of a new lawsuit from the top historic preservation group in the United States. CNN's Brian Todd reports on how they're hoping to protect one of the world's most iconic buildings.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a project that's been controversial from the start. And now president Trump and his administration are being sued over the demolition of the East Wing of the White House for the construction of a new ballroom there.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit group chartered by Congress to preserve historic buildings, filed the lawsuit on Friday, seeking to stop construction on the project until certain review boards weigh in on it and until there's a public comment on it.
In the lawsuit, the National Trust calls the East Wing demolition, quote, "unlawful" and says, quote, "No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever, not president Trump, not President Biden and not anyone else.
"And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in," end quote.
A White House spokesman, in response to the lawsuit, issued a statement to CNN saying, quote, "President Trump has full legal authority to modernize, renovate and beautify the White House, just like all of his predecessors did."
President Trump envisions a 90,000-square-foot ballroom where the East Wing used to be, a ballroom that would have similar features to his ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump has said the project, costing about $300 million, will be financed by him and by private donors. The president has already renovated the White House Rose Garden, paving it over with stone, and has plans to build a massive arch on the Virginia side of the river to commemorate the nation's 250th birthday.
Those are among other projects he's undertaken. A hearing over the National Trust's request for an emergency order halting work on the ballroom will be held next Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Washington -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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SANDOVAL: And still ahead, the former head football coach at the University of Michigan is facing multiple charges. A judge granted him bond under certain conditions. We'll tell you what prosecutors shared about the moments leading up to his arrest and termination from one of the country's top football programs.
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SANDOVAL: Fired University of Michigan head football coach Sherrone Moore has faced -- is facing multiple charges related to his arrest on Wednesday. And this just hours after he was dismissed from the storied football program.
Moore is charged with felony home invasion, along with misdemeanor counts of stalking and breaking and entering. He made his first court appearance on Friday as you see here. The magistrate entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. For more now, we go to CNN's Whitney Wild with the latest out of Michigan.
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ODETALLA ODETALLA, DISTRICT COURT MAGISTRATE, WASHTENAW COUNTY: You may be seated.
WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charged with felony home invasion and misdemeanor stalking, ex-University of Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore appeared on Zoom at his arraignment Friday.
KATI REZMIERSKI, WASHTENAW COUNTY PROSECUTOR: The totality of the behavior is highly threatening and highly intuitive. She was terrorized.
WILD (voice-over): Moore was arrested on Wednesday, just hours after being fired as head coach of the Wolverines, setting off a firestorm of reaction among sports commentators.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- what the hell is going on in Michigan right now?
ADAM SCHEFTER, NFL INSIDER: The whole situation itself is just sad and tragic.
WILD (voice-over): The school says an investigation found credible evidence more engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
REZMIERSKI: A risk to this victim --
WILD (voice-over): Prosecutor Kati Rezmierski told the court, Moore, who was married with three daughters, was in a relationship with this woman for a number of years and said the woman broke up with Moore on Monday.
REZMIERSKI: Eventually, she presented herself to the University of Michigan, cooperated in some form of investigation there.
WILD (voice-over): After Moore was fired on Wednesday, Rezmierski said he went to the woman's apartment.
REZMIERSKI: -- barged his way into that apartment, immediately then proceeded to a kitchen drawer, grabbed several butter knives and a pair of kitchen scissors and began to threaten his own life.
"I'm going to kill myself. I'm going to make you watch. My blood is on your hands. You ruined my life."
And a series of very, very threatening, intimidating, terrifying, quite frankly, statements and behaviors.
WILD (voice-over): 9-1-1 dispatch audio on Wednesday indicates an alleged assault. A CNN review matched the location of this call with the address of the alleged victim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): There's a male at the location in the house attacking her and states he's been stalking her for months.
WILD (voice-over): The judge told Moore he cannot contact the woman upon his release.
[05:45:00]
ODETALLA: Are we understood on the no contact and no go to, sir?
SHERRONE MOORE, FORMER UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN COACH: Yes, your honor.
WILD (voice-over): Moore's attorney reminded the court he has no criminal history.
JOE SIMON, SHERRONE MOORE'S ATTORNEY: There is no evidence to suggest that he is a threat of public safety.
WILD (voice-over): In response to Moore's firing, University of Michigan President Domenico Grasso sent an email to students and faculty saying "There is absolutely no tolerance for this conduct at the University of Michigan. This breach of trust by Coach Moore is painful for many in our community."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michigan can't escape the scandals.
WILD (voice-over): Students reacted to the news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just really bad overall. I think it's just getting worse as well. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to want to support a program that does that but I guess it's good to see the university addressing it and taking action.
WILD (voice-over): Whitney Wild, CNN, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: Football superstar Lionel Messi's tour in India getting off to a chaotic start today, with fans in Kolkata ripping up seats and throwing them onto the pitch, as you see here.
They were complaining that the World Cup winner made only a very brief appearance at a stadium that was packed with fans who were waiting, hoping to see him as he landed in India earlier for his highly anticipated GOAT tour of the country.
Over three days, he will be appearing in multiple cities, where fans are hoping for a rare, perhaps longer look at the global icon. And to kick off the tour, the football star unveiled this 70-foot statue of himself.
He's also expected to meet with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi over the weekend. This is his first return to this country in 14 years after his previous visit for a friendly match in Kolkata.
And FIFA, the men's World Cup final -- or the World Cup tournament, it is getting closer by the day. Fans would usually be getting pretty excited but some are pretty outraged and that's because they feel that they've been priced out of attending the tournament.
Ticket prices for next year's tournament, they are at an all-time high for the group stages. A ticket will likely cost a couple hundred dollars. But for a seat at the final, fans could be looking to pay a few thousand dollars. And that is a price tag that some are not willing to pay.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're pretty insane honestly. I've been a long time soccer fan. Been watching since I was a kid. I remember watching the World Cup back in 2010, 2014 and I was pretty excited to watch this year and go to some of these games.
But even though I have adult money, I can't really afford some of these tickets, which is just insane for the everyday fans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These ticket prices I just play so ridiculous. It's just it's too hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's disappointing, especially for fans who might be really interested in the game itself but maybe not in the financial position to swing that kind of price.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Couple $100 maybe, couple $1,000, absolutely not. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: And that's just some of the outrage. The representative body of the fans in England is describing the cost as a slap in the face to loyal supporters. And it's also joining other football groups in urging FIFA to reconsider the pricing strategy.
Taylor Swift pulling back the curtain on life during her record- breaking Eras tour. When we come back here on CNN NEWSROOM, a preview of the more private emotional moments taking place behind the scenes.
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SANDOVAL: It's one of the highest grossing video game franchises of all time and now it's about to conquer the big screen. You're watching the latest look at the new "Street Fighter" movie, which is expected in cinemas in October 2026. The story will follow the characters as they prepare for the World Warrior Tournament.
And the Eras tour may be over but Taylor Swift is giving her fans an encore, "The End of an Era." It is a six-part documentary. In it, the pop star gives fans behind-the-scenes glimpses at the world conquering tour, along with some very personal moments for the artist. Here's CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister with a preview.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Swifties are getting a raw, intimate look inside Taylor Swift's Eras tour in her new docuseries. The first two episodes are out on Disney+ and they're very emotional.
Taylor Swift is giving fans a look at how the Eras tour came to life. Of course, this is the biggest tour of all time. It was a cultural moment but also, for the first time ever, Taylor talks about that terrifying, thwarted terrorist attack that occurred in Vienna, Austria.
You remember that she had to cancel her tour dates there because of this plotted terrorist attack, which thankfully was avoided. She also talks about that horrific fatal stabbing at a Taylor Swift dance class that took the lives of three little girls. Take a look at this clip from her new docuseries.
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TAYLOR SWIFT, 14-TIME GRAMMY WINNING SINGER-SONGWRITER: We dodged, like, a massacre situation. And so I've just been kind of all over the place. Like, there was this horrible attack in Liverpool at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party. And it was little kids that -- (END VIDEO CLIP)
WAGMEISTER: So there you see Taylor Swift, understandably getting incredibly emotional over that knife attack at that Taylor Swift- themed dance party in Liverpool.
Later in the docuseries, she meets with some survivors of that attack and the families. And she meets with them backstage at Wembley Stadium when she's about to go on the stage to perform her Eras tour that night.
It's quite incredible to see how emotional and compassionate she is with the families and then immediately flips on a dime and is able to turn it on and really entertain her fans on stage.
[05:55:00]
Now as the docuseries goes on, it promises to be more upbeat. We're going to see more behind the scenes with her and Travis Kelce, a lot with her dancers and, of course, all of the music. I know I will be watching. Right now only two episodes are out but there are six in total. Back to you.
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SANDOVAL: The popular "Actors on Actors" show is back for its 23rd season and it's a first on CNN. Today's conversation is between Stellan Skarsgard and his son, Alexander. They are sitting down to talk about everything, from their legacy to awards season rivalry.
Also on the table for conversation, why Alexander didn't want to be an actor and why he would have preferred his dad have a normal job.
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ALEXANDER SKARSGARD, ACTOR: I didn't want to be an actor.
STELLAN SKARSGARD, ACTOR: No. But -- I mean, it's about the same time you told me that, why can't you have a normal job and work with data and drive a Saab --
A. SKARSGARD: Yes.
S. SKARSGARD: -- like everybody else does?
A. SKARSGARD: Yes.
S. SKARSGARD: So you didn't have a --
A. SKARSGARD: And didn't wear a suit, God damn it --
S. SKARSGARD: Yes.
A. SKARSGARD: -- instead of like your weird hippie, sarongs and -- or nothing.
S. SKARSGARD: Yes.
A. SKARSGARD: My dream was to just kind of for my family to be normal and fit in and be like everyone else's family. Like you said, for you to have a briefcase, that would have been fantastic.
(LAUGHTER)
S. SKARSGARD: You went into the military, became like a Swedish Navy SEAL. I mean, you were really one of the tough guys.
But did you do that in opposition to me, to provoke me in a way?
Or was it just a chance -- by chance?
A. SKARSGARD: I don't think it was an act of rebellion. I don't know. I was kind of lost and I was like, I didn't know what I wanted to do. And I read about this unit and I thought, like, this sounds pretty cool. And I don't know what I want to do.
So maybe, why not spend a 1.5 years doing this?
S. SKARSGARD: Yes.
A. SKARSGARD: And so, that's kind of a challenge, in a way, mentally and physically. But then, looking back on it, maybe it was a bit of a (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: I do love a good conversation with Dad.
You can watch the series on the CNN app, CNN's YouTube page and variety.com.
Want to thank you so much for watching the last hour of news. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. The news continues with my colleague, Victor Blackwell, with "CNN THIS MORNING."
