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Trump Orders Venezuela Oil Tanker Blockade; Charges Filed in Bondi Beach Attack; Internet Satellites Changing Outer Space. Aired 3- 3:45a ET
Aired December 17, 2025 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, President Trump orders a total blockade of oil tankers coming from and heading to Venezuela as he steps up pressure on its government. The surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach shooting is formally charged as the first funerals are held for victims. And why internet satellites are causing a transformational change in outer space.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church."
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Our top story this hour, the total and complete blockade of oil tankers to and from Venezuela. Donald Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, referring to the blockade in all capital letters. It's the latest escalation from the U.S. president as he puts pressure on Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro.
President Trump also made a reference to the size of the military fleet surrounding Venezuela, saying that the U.S. had positioned -- quote -- "the largest Armada ever assembled in the history of South America around the country."
The Pentagon will not release the full video of a controversial military strike on an alleged drug boat, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Trump administration publicly released a clip of the initial strike, but it's the unseen follow-up strike that sparked a debate over the legality of the administration's campaign in the Caribbean.
CNN's Manu Raju has reaction from Capitol Hill.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: House and Senate Democrats were furious in the aftermath of this classified briefing that occurred on Tuesday led by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary. It was the first time that the full House and the full Senate heard from the Cabinet secretaries in a classified setting about the boat strike that occurred on that day, on September 2nd.
Remember, this got so much attention because of reports that defenseless survivors were killed in a follow-up attack on September 2nd. That could be a violation of the laws of war. Some Democrats say it is a war crime. So far, the Pentagon has only released video of the first strike. They have not done so on the second strike.
And in this closed-door meeting, there was no video of that second strike that had been provided to the members of the House and the Senate because of the argument that the administration said that only certain House members and certain senators who have certain classification levels and sit on key committees of jurisdiction, only they are allowed to see those videos. That prompted a lot of anger within the room, particularly among Democrats who say that the administration is hiding the ball.
Now, one Republican senator who does believe this is a lawful attack and there's everything -- he supports what is happening in Venezuela. In fact, he wants to go even further than the administration's stated objective. Senator Lindsey Graham. He does, though, agree with Democrats that the video should be released to Congress.
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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): You know, the least of my concerns is this freaking video. Release it. Make your own decision. This is lawful. I have every confidence that what they're doing is no different than what Bush did. I don't think most Americans give a damn about the video. I would like all of us to see it. Most Americans want to know what's going to happen next. I want to know what's going to happen next. Is it the policy to take Maduro down? Is should be if it's not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: But Graham's hope that there would be regime change in Venezuela is not something that has been the official position of the United States. And he said that when they were asked, both Hegseth and Rubio, about regime change, he said they gave kind of a sort of a confusing response.
But you're hearing Democrats and Republicans say that the administration needs to more carefully articulate its vision or more clearly articulate its vision. Exactly, what is the military buildup in the Caribbean, near Venezuela, all about? And what is the stated objective beyond just trying to disrupt drug trafficking? Those are big questions that still remain among senators and House members on both sides of the aisle. But, ultimately, many Republicans sided with the administration's refusal to release the unedited video to Congress.
[03:05:02] And many Democrats left, just saying that they need a lot more information that the administration has, so far, refused to give to members who have oversight over this critical issue.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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CHURCH: Earlier, I spoke with CNN military analyst and retired Air Force colonel, Cedric Leighton, and I asked him about the Pentagon's refusal to release the full video of the strike on an alleged drug boat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST, RETIRED AIR FORCE COLONEL: I think it's a big mistake. Now, I think what the administration is looking at is the possibility that if they do release the video, it could potentially lead to everybody, at least many viewers, looking at it and saying there were, in fact, war crimes committed. So, the administration is trying to avoid that.
And one of the (INAUDIBLE) in this particular case is the fact that they changed their policy when it came to survivors. They have a few of them a few weeks later. And those two that we know about, at least, were repatriated to their countries. In this case, Colombia and Ecuador.
So, it's pretty clear to me that they didn't want to have survivors and really had no contingency plans for survivors. But that was a direct violation not only of the laws of war but also of maritime law. So, that puts the administration in quite a bind, actually.
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CHURCH: Australian police charged the surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach massacre one day after he came out of a coma. We're about to briefly show images of him that you may find disturbing. It shows a man thought to be 24-year-old Naveed Akram at the time of the attack. He's now facing 59 offences, including murder, attempted murder, and committing a terrorist act. His father was shot and killed at the scene.
The first funerals have been held for some of the 15 people killed in the terror attack. Heartbreaking, emotional scenes erupted earlier at the funeral of the late Rabbi Eli Schlanger. He had organized the Hanukkah by the sea event at Bondi Beach on that fateful day, known as the Bondi Rabbi. His death marks a profound loss for the Jewish community at large.
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UNKNOWN: This loss is massive for the entire Jewish nation. But for our community here and for Khabarov Bandai, the loss is unspeakable. The thousands of souls that Rabbi Eli touched will be forever grateful to have known him. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The New South Wales Police commissioner explained earlier there may be delays in processing the crime scene in order to respect the rights of mourners.
And CNN's Angus Watson is tracking all of this live from Sydney. He joins us now. So, Angus, the suspected gunman, now facing 59 charges. What more are you learning about that? And, of course, how are the victims being remembered on this somber day?
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Rosemary. So, the one living alleged gunman in this horrific terror incident, Naveed Akram, he has been charged with those counts: 15 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder, but also a raft of terror charges, including explosive charges, possessing that ISIS flag that can be seen in some of the social media footage. He remains in hospital. The police have deemed him lucid enough both to be charged and also to face a bail hearing today.
Now, police will allege that he caused death and injury in order to further a religious cause and cause fear in the community. Now, the authorities here believe that he and his father were motivated by ISIS ideology and in November traveled to the Philippines, specifically to the southern island of Mindanao, where they may have received military training from an ISIS-linked group there. Of course, ISIS-linked groups have been fighting the Philippines military on that island for over 10 years.
Here, the crime scene behind me is still closed up. It's extraordinarily delicate for the moment. The police are thinking that they may be able to open it up in the coming hours. Before they do that, they're allowing some of the families of the victims inside there to take a moment to grieve, to try to process what happened to their family, to their friends on that horrific day, Sunday afternoon, when Australia's Jewish community down at Bondi became victim to this terrorist attack. Rosemary?
CHURCH: Such a horrifying incident there. Angus Watson joining us live from Sydney with that report. Appreciate it.
[03:09:57]
Well, police in Rhode Island are asking for the public's help in finding a person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday. Authorities released new images and video, providing a look at the person before the deadly shooting at the Ivy League's school. They are also warning people to avoid potentially harmful speculation about who the shooter might be as the manhunt stretches into its fifth day.
CNN's Brian Todd reports from Providence.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OSCAR L. PEREZ, JR., CHIEF, PROVIDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT: We are asking the public to look. If you have any camera systems or any Teslas like I mentioned, that you look at that footage and that you can reach out to us and police providers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four days in, the manhunt for the gunman behind the deadly Brown University shooting intensifies. The FBI releasing a new timeline of videos showing the movement of the person of interest in several different locations in nearby neighborhoods.
In one video, you can see the person abruptly stopped and start jogging in a different direction. And then he was seen running past a house. Then, after a gap in time and after the shooting, the same person is seen walking right near a police car with its sirens on. Also released, enhanced video and a photo giving a much clearer picture of the individual. At one point, he was seen wearing a shoulder bag.
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PEREZ: (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (voice-over): The police chief later telling CNN, they believe he was in that same neighborhood continuously from 10:30 in the morning on Saturday.
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UNKNOWN: 10:30 from then until the time (INAUDIBLE).
PEREZ: As far as we know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD (voice-over): The surveillance video shows this suspicious person pacing near campus just hours before the shooting, and then, roughly 30 minutes later, walking briskly across another street just a few blocks from campus. Officials hoping that something about him is familiar, his gate, his clothing or even that his recent behavior is telling.
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CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST, BEHAVIORAL ANALYST: He is watching this obsessively. And if he has a family, a wife, an ex-wife, lives with his parents, they will know that he's watching obsessively and probably was very agitated starting Saturday afternoon, anxious, watching T.V. constantly.
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TODD (voice-over): Providence residents still feeling anxious, knowing the shooter is still out there.
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WILL JENNINGS, PROVIDENCE RESIDENT: It's definitely nerve-wracking. But, again, all you can do is just like be with your family. That's what I'm doing and just trying to relax during this time.
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TODD (voice-over): Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha is trying to reassure people in the neighborhood.
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PETER NERONHA, ATTORNEY GENERAL, RHODE ISLAND: The Providence Police Department understands that. And their heightened visibility out there and presence is designed to keep them safe. And at the same time, we're doing everything we can to get this person in custody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Officials have told reporters that they've received some 200 actionable tips from the public for this investigation. But they have reiterated, even when pressed by us multiple times, that they still do not have a name for this person, even a name behind the scenes that they can't share with the media. They have no name for the person, and they do not know whether he is still in this area or even still in the state.
Brian Todd, CNN, Providence, Rhode Island.
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CHURCH: New details are emerging surrounding the tragic deaths of Director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle. Still to come, the latest on murder charges against their son, Nick.
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[03:15:00]
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The L.A. County D.A. is charging Nick Reiner with two counts of first-degree murder, alleging he fatally stabbed his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. They could also result in the death penalty, but prosecutors have not said whether they'll pursue it. The district attorney's office added it will consider the family's wishes before finalizing that decision.
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NATHAN HOCHMAN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: Now, prosecuting these cases involving family members are some of the most challenging and most heart-wrenching cases that this office faces because of the intimate and often brutal nature of the crimes involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The son of the famed Hollywood director was arrested near the USC campus on Sunday after police gathered evidence from the crime scene at his parents' home.
CNN's Randi Kaye takes a closer look at Nick Reiner's troubled past.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK REINER, SON OF ROB REINER: Well, I think I'm lucky in the sense that I have parents that care about me when I would go out and do, you know, things like drugs and stuff like that. I'd feel a tremendous amount of guilt because I'd think, oh, you know, they're thinking about me right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That was Nick Reiner in 2016 talking about his struggle with drugs and his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner. Nine years later, at age 32, he's in jail charged with their murders. Since he was a teenager, Nick Reiner battled addiction. Here's why he says he turned to drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REINER: I had no identity, and I had no passions. And I think the reason I had no identity was because, you know, I have a famous dad and a famous grandpa. I wanted to etch out my own identity with a more rebellious, angry, drug addicted sort of persona.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE (voice-over): Nick is not only the son of legendary director Rob Reiner, but he's also the grandson of the famous comedian Carl Reiner. When Nick was living in his parents' guest house, he says he got so high on drugs he destroyed part of it. He shared that story in 2018 on a podcast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REINER (voice-over): I got totally spun out on uppers. I think it was coke and something else. And I was up for days on end. And I started punching out different things in my guest house. I think I started with the T.V., and then I went over to the lamp, and then progressively, I just -- everything in the guest house got wrecked.
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[03:20:07]
KAYE (voice-over): In 2016, he told People magazine he had lived on the street instead of going to rehab as his parents recommended. "If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless," he said.
In 2015, Nick worked with his father on a semi-autobiographical film called "Being Charlie." It's the story of an actor running for governor of California and his drug addicted son.
REINER: Who is this kid with the silver spoon in his mouth and why does he keep cooking heroin in it? Total waste of a good utensil.
KAYE (voice-over): Nick co-wrote the film and Rob Reiner directed it.
ROB REINER, DIRECTOR: It definitely brought us closer together.
UNKNOWN: What was the most difficult part about working together for the two of you?
N. REINER: I mean, it was pretty nice experience for me.
KAYE (voice-over): In September, Nick was photographed in this family photo at the premiere of his father's comedy musical "Spinal Tap 2." The L.A. Times quoted a family friend saying Rob and Michele Reiner did everything for Nick and put aside their lives to save Nick's repeatedly, adding they had never known a family so dedicated to a child.
Randi Kaye, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And we'll be right back with more "CNN Newsroom."
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[03:25:00]
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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you. Police in Rhode Island have released new videos and enhanced images of a person of interest in the mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday. They're hoping the public can help identify the individual seen walking around neighborhoods near the campus. Officials are urging people to share any video footage from home surveillance or vehicle dash cams.
Australian police have charged the surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach massacre. Twenty-year-old Naveed Akram faces 59 counts, including murder, attempted murder, and committing a terrorist act. The charges come just one day after Akram woke from a coma. The other suspect, his father, was shot dead by police at the scene.
The U.S. president has ordered a blockade of oil tankers around Venezuela as he ramps up pressure on the Maduro regime. On social media, Donald Trump said the blockade would be -- quote -- "total and complete." He also boasted about the size of the U.S. military fleet in the waters around Venezuela.
The number of countries facing travel restrictions into the U.S. is growing significantly after President Trump signed a proclamation expanding the list of countries with full or partial entry bans. Nationals from seven new countries were added to the full travel ban list, including Laos, Sierra Leone, and Syria. Fifteen additional countries, including Angola, Tanzania, and Malawi now face partial restrictions on travel to the U.S. The White House says the 39 listed countries demonstrate severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information sharing.
President Trump says a peace deal in Ukraine is closer than ever before and world leaders have touted significant progress following recent talks in Berlin.
CNN's senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has the latest.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After days of intense meetings between Ukrainian and European leaders and American envoys, there is much talk of progress toward ending the nearly four- year-old Russian war on Ukraine.
One of the main sticking points remains security guarantees. Ukraine is determined not to repeat the bitter experience of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum signed by the U.S., Russia, and Britain whereby Kyiv gave up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons in exchange for guarantees of its borders and sovereignty. Those security guarantees proved to be worthless. Kyiv is seeking something along the lines of NATO's Article 5, whereby signatories would be obliged to come to Ukraine's defense in the event of an attack.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated he is willing to relinquish aspirations for NATO membership, one of Russia's demands, while European leaders say they're ready to lead a multinational peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Russia has already indicated it is refusing any role for NATO troops on Ukrainian soil.
[03:29:56]
For its part, the U.S., with international participation, would oversee a ceasefire monitoring mechanism. Now, Ukraine is also hesitant to surrender parts of the eastern Donbas region it controls to Russia, a part -- one of the parts of the original American proposal.
Ukraine will submit its revised and refined version of President Trump's peace plan to Washington in the coming days. The Americans will then, in turn, run it by the Russians. And then the real negotiations will begin.
Now, Monday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made a much more modest proposal, a Christmas truce, to which the Russians said no.
I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Rome. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Business is booming for internet satellite companies. Coming up, why they're causing a transformational change in outer space.
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[03:35:00]
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COATES: Welcome back to CNN. These are your business headlines. FIFA is slashing the price of some tickets for next year's World Cup after a global backlash. It says $60 tickets will be made available and will go toward teams' most loyal fans. FIFA faced sharp criticism after unveiling ticket prices ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
The European Union is scaling down its outright ban on new combustion engine cars after pressure from car makers. On Tuesday, the European Commission proposed amending the ban to just 90 percent of vehicles, meaning 10 percent of new cars made after 2035 could still be plug-in hybrids or those with internal combustion engines.
The United States has paused the implementation of a 40 billion U.S. dollar technology agreement with the United Kingdom. The deal is meant to cover A.I., quantum computing, and civil nuclear energy. U.S. officials are reportedly concerned about Britain's online safety rules, digital regulation, and food safety restrictions.
Elon Musk's Starlink has dominated the internet satellite industry for years. But that could now change with new companies launching their own satellites into space.
CNN's Ivana Scatola reports.
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IVANA SCATOLA, CNN INTERNATIONAL SENIOR REPORTER: We've driven to the desert. And we've come here because it's one of the darkest places you can be. There's no light pollution. And we've come here to do a little bit stargazing. And we're also here to look for something else, internet satellites.
UNKNOWN: This is the telescope.
SCATOLA (voice-over): Ajith Everester is an astrophotographer. He spends hours every day at this observatory he built.
AJITH EVERESTER, ASTROPHOTOGRAPHER, CEO OF EVERESTER OBSERVATORY: If you see here, I think most of the Starlink satellites are commercial and communication.
SCATOLA: So, the majority of the internet satellites are Starlink?
EVERESTER: Yes, Starlink. If we go out and stare at the sky --
SCATOLA: Yes.
EVERESTER: -- we can see the satellites. The first one to spot is Little Harding (ph).
SCATOLA: OK. We're looking for a Starlink.
EVERESTER: It's there, I think, now.
SCATOLA: Yes!
EVERESTER: That is moving. See it?
SCATOLA: Oh, yes!
SCATOLA (voice-over): Since 2019, there's been one company synonymous with internet satellites, Elon Musk's Starlink.
UNKNOWN: There's a lot of skepticism in the early days about how successful Starlink would be. I think they've really defeated that skepticism.
SCATOLA (voice-over): According to the company, it launched over 10,000 satellites, serves more than 8 million people worldwide, and is available in over 150 countries, territories, and other markets in the world.
UNKNOWN: Just to give you an idea, back in 2019, there were about 1,200, 1,500 working satellites in space. That has increased by a factor of 10 in just a few years, and we think it might increase by another factor of 10 over the next decade. This is a transformational change in how busy outer space is.
SCATOLA (voice-over): It has brought internet to some of the most remote areas of the planet, including in the air, on the sea, and in the middle of war zones. Over the past five years or so, it has become big business.
So, how does it work? Starlink provides high speed internet service using a network of satellites in low Earth orbit. It can reach remote places where traditional broadband internet can't because that relies on underground cables. In 2024, about 2.5 billion people in the world lacked internet access, according to the World Economic Forum. It's these people that internet satellites are aiming to reach.
UNKNOWN: Lots of people in rural areas have been frustrated with their lack of access to broadband. I love their Starlink to the extent that it's currently basically a monopoly. That then gives the people who run SpaceX the ability to control who gets connectivity and who doesn't. I think that's going to change. We are now starting to see the deployment of rival systems.
SCATOLA (voice-over): It has given Starlink's owner, Elon Musk, incredible geopolitical leverage.
[03:40:01] Ukraine has relied on Starlink throughout Russia's invasion, a potential vulnerability that has been highlighted by Starlink outages. Because of that, some governments around the world have increasing security concerns over using the technology, and they're launching their own internet satellite competitors.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Secure connectivity is imperative.
SCATOLA (voice-over): Starlink didn't respond to a request for comment from CNN.
UNKNOWN: I think that that threat of, oh, one person is controlling the whole world's conversation is going to go away with the magic of competition in a few years. The biggest serious competitor is Amazon Leo. If they can make a product that is perhaps easier to use, perhaps higher quality, they may be able to draw the customers away from Starlink.
EVERESTER: It looks very beautiful.
SCATOLA: It does look beautiful because they look like stars.
EVERESTER: Yes. Satellites are very easy to spot because there are so many satellites up in the sky. Did you see a meteor there?
SCATOLA: No.
EVERESTER: Oh, come on.
SCATOLA: I was looking at the internet satellite.
(LAUGHTER)
EVERESTER: Oh, come on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: After years of delays and budget problems, two new metro stations have opened in the heart of Rome, Italy. The stations go down four underground levels and they feature archaeological treasures discovered during construction, such as ancient clay vessels, Roman walls, and wells. Commuters and tourists can now ride the underground through layers of the city's history and exit to a view of the Colosseum.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO CERVON, ENGINEER AND CONSTRUCTION MANAGER (through translator): At the Fori Imperiali station, the chosen setup is very distinctive compared to that of other stations. The effort to integrate the transportation infrastructure with the archaeology and architecture of this station has been an extremely important challenge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: A holiday tradition is up and running in Colombia with the opening of Bogota's Christmas train known as the Savannah Train. It runs its Christmas route each night from the capital to the city of Chia about 10 kilometers to the north. Passengers can enjoy a pyrotechnic show and interact with Santa and a crew of elves during the ride.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARA ONATRA, PASSENGER (through translator): It's a joy because for our child, Christmas is magic, and we feel happy to be here on the Christmas train. Plus, we're sharing time with family, cousins, uncles, grandparents. We're so happy to be here.
CAMILLA ABRIL, PASSENGER (through translator): It brings me childhood memories because when I was a child, my parents brought me here to the Davivienda (ph) train. Then it brings me nice memories. I think it's a nice place to share with family.
ORLANDO BARBOSA, PASSENGER (through translator): In my time, I did the (INAUDIBLE) trip when the train was at its peak. Since then, we've dreamed of returning to these types of activities on the railways. It's beautiful for families, grandchildren. We had so much fun. We're very happy and full of Christmas spirit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Very special day. Thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. World Sport is coming up next.
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[03:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
