Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Suspect in Brown University, MIT Shootings Found Dead; E.U. Reaches a Deal on Financial Support for Ukraine; Australian Prime Minister Announces Gun Buy Back Plan; Hong Kong Pays Tribue To Firefighter Killed In Inferno; Storms Set to Bring Rain, Strong Winds To Atlantic Seaboard. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired December 19, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is "CNN Breaking News."

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's get straight to our breaking news. The man suspected of fatally shooting two students at Brown University has taken his own life. Police have identified him as 48-year-old Claudio Valente, a Portuguese national and former student at Brown. Authorities in Boston say he also shot and killed an MIT professor on Monday. Valente's body was found in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire on Thursday. Investigators tracked him down through information from a person he came into contact with in Providence, Rhode Island last weekend. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER NERONHA, RHODE ISLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL: That person came forward to two Providence police officers over on the east side and said he had information, that he was that person, and he had information that could help this case. And I remember last night watching his interview. And he blew this case right open. He blew it open. And that person led us to the car, which led us to the name, which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Let's get more now from CNN's Danny Freeman in Salem, New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's amazingly after six days of frantic search, really, all across New England, two cases ultimately were closed here in Salem, New Hampshire, of all places, and that's because police discovered 48-year-old Claudio Valente dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in this storage facility behind me.

Now, earlier Thursday, we had gotten indication that police had come and convened on this particular area. It was quite chaotic. There were a ton of neighbors that were out here just looking at the spectacle, an enormous amount of media presence here and, of course, police really swarming this entire area, checking a number of storage unit facilities and, of course, this one behind us.

And the whole reason that they ended up here was because they'd found an abandoned rental car that they had connected to the suspect here, Valente. And then, also, they realized that Valente himself had a connection to this specific storage facility. More on that in a moment.

But, basically, when they found that abandoned car, according to the Rhode Island attorney general, they could see evidence from outside of the car, looking in, that right away confirmed that there was a connection to the Brown University shooting. And then, because they had that identity of Valente, they also were able to discover that Valente himself had a storage unit that he started renting back in November in this particular complex.

So, just before 9 p.m., the FBI executed a search warrant in the storage facility behind me, specifically in that storage unit, and that's where they found the suspect dead with that self-inflicted gunshot wound. And then, as you heard in the sound bite right there, also two firearms and, crucially, that satchel that all of us saw in so much of that surveillance video that had been released earlier this week from Brown University.

We've been out here for many hours. We've seen investigators out here all night, presumably inside that facility, combing over the entire storage unit where, again, Valente was found. But also, we've seen them outside here really combing over a car as well, presumably the car that led them to this spot in the first place. And then, we actually saw that car being wrapped in a silver tarp and taken away, again, presumably to be analyzed for more evidence.

And investigators really hoping that maybe information inside there or inside the car can point to what may have led this suspect to commit allegedly these two really horrific acts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Police say the connection between the Brown University and the MIT killing surfaced only in the past 48 hours. CNN spoke with retired FBI special agent Bobby Chacon about the case. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY CHACON, RETIRED SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: I really thought this was going to be more of a random type of thing or ideological type of thing. But it looks like he had, you know, a personal connection to the MIT professor, having gone to school together, and then, you know, obviously, a connection to Brown University, in that very building, where he probably attended classes back in 2000.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And yet, the way he carried them out, so different, right? CHACON: So different. So, one is very personal up close. This is somebody I know, somebody I went to school with, probably resented some of the success that the professor had. That professor was a world-renowned expert in his field and connected kind of to the field of physics, which the suspect was or the killer was pursuing a PhD in.

[02:05:03]

That interests me. But, yes, much more personal. And then, certainly, the Brown University shooting was much more impersonal and much more random that he just decided to select that room and that group of innocent people to kill. It will never make any sense and it is just heart-wrenching.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And it's got to be so, so upsetting for those family members, the randomness of it. Meanwhile, you were on with us a few days back talking about the fact that it seemed like they were at a complete dead end in terms of the FBI, that they were throwing a Hail Mary by putting this video out there. This is what you do when you don't know anything. And yet, what do you make of the fact that it seems like the video paid off?

CHACON: Yes. Well, that's -- that's why you do it. Because sometimes, it does work. It's, you know, probably a little bit better chances than a Hail Mary, although if Aaron Rodgers is throwing it, it's probably about the same. But I think that -- you know, I think sometimes, those work.

And when you -- when you are, excuse me, doggedly pursuing an investigation, you do everything in your power to do it, you throw stuff out there. The media helps greatly. They're -- you know, they're pretty much partners in this. They're the ones that get it out to the public and keep on the story.

And that's how people see it. And that's how breaks come. And that's -- that's what they got in this case. They got the break they needed by, you know, staying with the story, by staying with -- you know, keeping the story alive, by the media keeping the story alive, and that's how they got the big break.

MICHAELSON: It's interesting to me that that individual that's being called the hero tonight did not come forward before that video came out, though. That he didn't come forward with that information right when it happened.

CHACON: Yes. I heard him described as a homeless man and alternatively as a janitor. You know, sometimes, people living on the street, they are hesitant to go to authorities. They don't think the authorities will believe them. That kind of thing.

So, I think this person may have put it or somebody put it on Reddit, put the tip about the car on Reddit. And then, somebody saw it, alerted the police to -- you know, somebody should follow up on this person. And then, of course, they -- they got the video and they put it out. The person says, oh, that's me, they want to talk to me, they don't want to talk to me as a suspect, they want to talk to me as somebody who came into contact with the suspect at the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And joining me now from Fairfax, Virginia, Brown University student, Will Thomas. Thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate you coming on. It just must be so tough after -- after nearly a week of, you know, sheltering and fear. Now that the suspected shooter has been found dead, I mean, what's going through your mind and the mind of your classmates right now?

WILL THOMAS, STUDENT, BROWN UNIVERSITY: Yes, thank you so much, Kim, for having me. This past week, I think, has been a really difficult one to process, both for myself and for the greater Brown community. I mean, from sheltering in place on Saturday, like first in a grocery store, to then barricading inside my friend's off-campus house, like that was a super stressful and scary experience.

And then on Sunday, we woke up to the text that, like, we could go back to campus, but the shooter was still at large. So, there was a lot of confusion there.

And so, I think the news coming out Thursday was definitely a relief in terms of, like, our immediate safety and the safety of our community. But I can't help but keep Ella and Mukhammad and their families and close friends in my thoughts. That's all I've been able to do for this past week.

And so, yes, well, it's kind of an instant relief, but we can't forget that there's still a community that's grieving and there's still so much that we have to do.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And I do want to get to some of those solutions. But, you know, certainly, a community grieving, as you say. Now, the president and Homeland Security Secretary Noem are now pointing to the fact that the shooter came to the U.S. as an immigrant, saying he never should have been let in. I mean, you've been working on gun violence prevention for years, ever since a shooting scare at your Virginia high school. I mean, what's your reaction when you see the conversation kind of be shifted like this to immigration?

THOMAS: Yes, this is kind of what happens when you have a country that has a really troubling gun culture. We refuse to take accountability for the fact that our continued inaction around gun violence prevention legislation is what allows these events to continue taking place. I mean, yes, the president put out this deflecting statement, but he also put out a statement saying things like this happen.

And the tragedy that happened in my school this past weekend doesn't have to happen, right? There are effective policies and solutions that, through my work at Brady and the team ENOUGH, like, we know that if these policies were implemented at federal, state, and local levels, lives could be saved.

[02:09:57] And yet, we have a gun industry and a gun lobby that continues to prioritize their profits over lives of young people like mine. And so, I think the comments that you referenced are just further distraction from the fact that we are a country with nearly twice as many guns as people and that needs to change.

BRUNHUBER: What specifically needs to change, do you think? What do you actually -- concretely, sort of priority item, what would you want to see done by lawmakers, universities, from all of us?

THOMAS: Yes. I think some big ones for me and for Brady and team ENOUGH as a whole are ERPOs, extreme risk protection orders. These are policies that can really help intervene in the situation where a person might be in crisis and a threat to themselves or those around them with their firearms.

I think also emphasizing safe storage. A lot of times, firearms that are used in school shootings are taken from places where they haven't been stored properly and, therefore, can be accessed by people who shouldn't be able to access them.

But kind of, overall, I think there needs to be a shift, like I mentioned, in the culture we have surrounding guns in our country.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

THOMAS: And that starts with gun owners as well.

BRUNHUBER: In the meantime, going back to the aftermath of this tragedy, I mean, do you have any worries about going back to school? How hard will that be?

THOMAS: Yes. I think it's definitely -- it's on the top of my mind. But part of the reason that I and so many people chose Brown was for the strong sense of community. That is really, I think, what sets our institution apart from so many other places. And so, I've seen just kind of, through my friends and on social media, so many people reaching out to kind of help each other, make sure we're doing OK, check in on each other.

And so, I'm not afraid to kind of go back to that welcoming community. I would be afraid if we kind of forgot this tragedy in the past and didn't use it as a teaching moment for our nation moving forward to kind of see some more progress.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Well said. I think -- I certainly and everyone here hopes that you and the other students can come together, get all the help you need, and also that society can come together and prevent things like this from happening in the future. And thanks to work from people like yourself. Hopefully, you can make that happen. Will Thomas, really appreciate you speaking with us here.

THOMAS: Thank you so much, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right, I'll have much more on our breaking news after a short break as the manhunt for the alleged Brown University shooter comes to an end. Plus, Ukraine secures crucial financing from the European Union. But Moscow also gets some news it welcomed from a summit in Brussels. We'll explain. Coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Back to our breaking news in the Brown University shooting. Authorities say the suspect was found dead, ending a six-day manhunt. They say Claudio Valente took his own life at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire. Officials also say Valente killed an MIT professor in Massachusetts days after the Brown University shooting. The 48-year-old Portuguese national was a former student at Brown. His motive is still unclear.

President Trump has approved about $900 billion in new funding for U.S. Military programs. White House officials say he signed the National Defense Authorization Act on Friday. Among other things, it limits his ability to significantly draw down U.S. troops from Europe and restore support for efforts to track Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, whose funding Trump cut earlier this year. The act also reduces the travel budget of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until the Pentagon releases unedited videos of strikes on alleged drug boats.

The U.S. Military carried out two more strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday against alleged drug trafficking boats. Five people were killed. U.S. Southern Command confirmed the strikes in a social media post, saying the military hit two vessels because they were -- quote -- "engaged in narcotrafficking operations." At least 104 people have now been killed in the ongoing campaign by the U.S. Military against drug trafficking vessels in the Pacific and the Caribbean. So far, the Trump administration hasn't provided evidence that these boats hit in these strikes carried drugs.

This comes as the U.S. has increased its military presence in South America with a focus on Venezuela. Just this week, President Trump ordered a total blockade of all sanctioned Venezuelan oil. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has called the blockade illegal and vows to fight it. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): What they did to the private ship carrying Venezuelan oil, already paid for and destined for international markets, is a serious crime under international law and binding treaties. Venezuela will continue its course. We will keep exporting our 14 economic engines. And products from Venezuela will reach global markets because we are a free country and will guarantee free trade for Venezuela, the Caribbean, and all of South America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Russia is welcoming a European decision not to use frozen Russian assets for the financial support it's giving Ukraine. Several hours ago, E.U. officials announced a deal to provide more than $100 billion to Kyiv over the next two years. Clare Sebastian reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: European leaders had promised that they would not leave this summit until they had a clear plan as to how to fund Ukraine through the next two years. And they kept that promise. In the early hours of Friday morning, after a marathon day of talks, they came to a deal.

[02:19:59]

But it wasn't what some had hoped or even expected. The big focus coming into this was whether or not they would be able to use the cash balances from Russia's frozen assets here in Europe to fund a loan for Ukraine. They haven't managed to reach a deal on that. Instead, they're going to borrow on the capital markets, and that will be guaranteed by unspent funds in the E.U. budget. Either way, Ukraine will not have to pay this back until the war ends and Russia pays reparations. So, European leaders here were keen to paint this as a win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO COSTA, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COUNCIL: The message we are sending to Russia today is crystal clear. First, you have not achieved your objectives in Ukraine. Second, Europe stands with Ukraine today, tomorrow, and as long as necessary.

BART DE WEVER, BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER: Had we left Brussels divided today, Europe would have walked away from geopolitical relevance. It would have been a total disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, Europe has passed this test of its strength and unity. But this whole process did amplify divisions within the bloc. And it suddenly came down to the wire for Ukraine, which by the spring would be facing a cash crunch so large that its president, who was here today, President Zelenskyy, warned that it might even have to cut back on its critical drone production. That crisis for now seems to be averted, and Ukraine goes into the next phase of peace talks with the U.S. in a stronger position.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, in Brussels.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And for more on this, we're joined by Dominic Thomas, CNN European affairs commentator. Good to see you again. So, we heard Belgian prime minister saying they averted disaster. I mean, how close did this come to actually falling apart?

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, in many ways, you could argue that what they were left with was sort of the remnants of what had fallen apart. You know, the goal has been to leverage this $250 plus billion that has been immobilized or frozen since Russia expanded its invasion of Ukraine back in 2022.

And the reality was they were unable to reach consensus over this because several E.U. member countries are concerned over the legalities of this. Some, like Hungary, are aligned in many ways with Russia.

And so, at the end of the day, I think, really, what they came up with, Kim, is a sort of a face-saving mechanism as the process and discussion around the peace negotiation moves forward. But I think that the idea that Russia is prepared to pay for the reconstruction of the war effort or to engage in reparations, which would essentially mean recognizing accountability, is a very, very long-distance objective. So, I think at best today, Kim, it was a face-saving exercise.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, even though, as we heard in that report, European leaders are painting this as a win. But so is Moscow. Why is that?

THOMAS: Well, I think that they -- the writing is on the wall. I think on the heels of the release of the security vision of U.S. foreign policy that, unfortunately, is a document in many ways, the vision shared by Russia. I think that the signs and indications that Europe is struggling to find agreement when it comes to what supporting Ukraine will look like moving forward.

The fact that the negotiations with Russia, the United States, and Europe have not taken part in a concerted manner at this stage, these divisions bolster Russian power and influence precisely because the European Union body is unable at this particular juncture to stand up in a sort of concerted manner to its particular efforts. And I think it, therefore, weakens by association Ukraine's bid for a negotiated peace treaty moving forward here, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. President Zelenskyy has said, without this kind of support, Ukraine's drone industry and its long-range strikes on Russian infrastructure would basically disappear. So, does this deal give Kyiv at least what it needs to keep fighting?

THOMAS: Yes, it allows them to remain on what we might say is a form of life support moving forward. It's a sustainable model in the short term. The problem is that the European desire to reach some kind of peace agreement that will be sustainable, that will include deterrence for future Russian incursions, is important. I think it allows them to kick the ball down the road a little bit more in terms of what the outcome of this these negotiations would be. So, it's the short-term treatment to try and make sure that Ukraine can withstand here.

[02:25:02]

But at the same time, not releasing these assets to Russia and placing pressure on them as well to continue to fund their war effort, knowing that $250 billion are tied up still in Europe and in a few other holding spots, Kim. BRUNHUBER: You mentioned the Trump administration's peace plan. I mean, it called for using $100 billion of these frozen assets for U.S.-led reconstruction with America taking half of the profits. I mean, how do you think that played into what Europeans eventually decided this week?

THOMAS: Well, I think that there's a deep realization that that relationship with the United States is at the very least going through a process of recalibration. President Trump is not a big supporter, as we know, of international organizations like the European Union, NATO even, and prefers to deal with countries on the sort of one on one, often in asymmetrical way.

But I think here that that points out to the fact that in some ways or in many ways, the U.S.'s objectives and goals of what would be a successful outcome to this war are not shared by Europe in this regard. And the question of territorial resource exploitation and so on and so forth complicate the issue for Europe that is interested in a sustainable peace agreement in which Russia is held accountable for these incursions. And so, moving forward, the peace treaty will make sure that Europe is not dealing with another invasion somewhere else in six months or a year or two years down the road.

BRUNHUBER: We'll leave it there. Always appreciate your analysis. Dominic Thomas, thank you so much. We're following breaking news this hour. Officials say the suspected Brown University gunman has been found dead. We'll look at how law enforcement finally cracked the case. That's coming up next. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:32:05]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

I want to get back to our breaking news coverage.

After days long manhunt that spanned multiple states, the suspect in the Brown University shooting was found dead after taking his own life. Officials discovered 48-year-old Portuguese national Claudio Valente in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire. Valente was a former student at Brown and entered the country in 2017 via a diversity lottery program. Officials say Valente also killed a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At Brown, two people were killed and nine others injured. The mayor of Providence says the six hospitalized victims are all in stable condition.

Earlier, Rhode Island's attorney general said this case hinged on one person's tip to law enforcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER NERONHA, RHODE ISLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL: To me, this was always going to be an investigation where something was going to break it open. I think it was under an hour. That person came forward to two Providence police officers over on the east side and said he had information that he was that person, and he had information that could help this case. That person led us to the car, which led us to the name, which led us to the photographs of that individual renting the car, which matched the clothing of our shooter here in Providence, that matched the satchel that we see here in Providence. He was found dead with a satchel with two firearms. And evidence in the car that that matches exactly what we see at the scene here in Providence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And joining me now from Rhode Island is Wheeler Cowperthwaite, who's a reporter with the "Providence Journal".

Thanks so much for being here with us. Before I get to the investigation, just on the mood there. I mean, you've been on the ground all week covering this. Now that we know the suspect is dead and has been identified, what's the mood in the city this morning?

WHEELER COWPERTHWAITE, REPORTER, PROVIDENCE JOURNAL: I think that people aren't necessarily joyous, but more sort of sad. Rhode Island is a very small state, and I think that this was probably one of the biggest tragedies we have had in a very, very long time in the newsroom. We were trying to figure out when something of a comparable scale had happened, and I don't think anyone really had a good answer. For the last time, anything even close to this had happened.

I think that the community is rallying around the victims and Brown University and the Reddit member, John, who seemed to have broken open this case.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, let's talk about that. I mean, the breakthrough, as we heard there came when a witness recognized himself in police photos and came forward.

[02:35:04]

We heard the attorney general there, calling him one of the best witnesses he's ever seen. I mean, what can you tell us about how that tip basically changed everything?

COWPERTHWAITE: So, John, according to the affidavits, John, essentially, I don't want to say stocks, but he was he encountered the suspect in the building before the shooting followed him out. And then encountered him a couple more times. And the suspect actually sort of got into a tiff with him and said that he -- John described it as a game of cat and mouse, where he was like, tracking him across the College Hill because he was wearing the mask. He didn't like -- it seemed like his behaviors were weird. At one point, he went to the suspect, went to go lock his car or unlock his car, went toward it, saw John, and then locked in like walked away. That made John even more suspicious, followed him some more.

It seemed like John's -- John got a really good look at him. Like, seemed to have rattled him. But the most important thing was the license plate number. John was able to give them. That was a Florida license plate here in Rhode Island on a Nissan Sentra. And then they were able to use Flock cameras, the automatic license plate reading cameras, to then track down where that car had been. And I think that's the most important thing, is not just where the car had been, but they're able to track it to a rental car agency, which then gave them the suspect's name.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, it's just such an incredible story that it came down to this, this one person, essentially. We don't know the motive. We have to emphasize that. But the suspected shooter was a former Brown grad student back in 2000, 2001.

Have you been able to learn anything about what happened to him in the years since he left?

COWPERTHWAITE: No, that's one thing that were going to be reporting on in the next couple of weeks. We haven't figured that out. I think that the one thing that we do know, and this is from the feds, is that he actually went to school with the person he allegedly killed at the MIT professor in Portugal -- and in the physics department. But other than that, it's sort of a black box so far.

BRUNHUBER: I want to ask you about the investigation in the process. I mean, early on, police detained a different person of interest who turned out to have nothing to do with it. I mean, there's been some criticism, as you know, that the initial focus on the wrong guy cost investigators time and potentially that MIT professor his life. I mean, what's your read on how that affected the manhunt and sort of the questions that are being asked now of authorities?

COWPERTHWAITE: I think that a lot of people are seeming to make the leap that because they had a different suspect that that automatically means that they just stopped searching altogether. But I've been a cops reporter for a long time, and I don't think that's necessarily true. And while the person who was cleared, definitely did have guns and there were, you know, reasons to have that suspicion, I think its pretty clear from the investigation that that they continue to do the work.

And ultimately, you know, this guy wanted to not be found. He was, you know, made it very hard to ping his phone to track, you know, use the normal tracking methods. And the fact that, like, he changed his license plates from the four to the main license plate I think he was trying -- he was very aware of the surveillance state that we have in this country and how to evade it.

BRUNHUBER: Well, we appreciate getting your insights on not just the investigation, but how folks there in your community are reacting. Wheeler Copperthwaite with the Providence journal, thank you so much.

COWPERTHWAITE: Of course. Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Australia is taking action following a mass tragedy there. The country's prime minister has announced a national firearms buyback plan following Sunday's Bondi Beach shooting, which left more than a dozen people dead. The government will buy back surplus, newly banned and illegal firearms to get more guns off the streets. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also declared Sunday to be a

national day of reflection, and that there will be a national day of mourning in the new year. He says the tragedy highlighted how many unnecessary guns there are in Australia. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: The terrible events at Bondi show. We need to get more guns off our streets. There are now more than four million firearms in Australia. We know that one of these terrorists held a firearm license and had six guns.

[02:40:00]

In spite of living in the middle of Sydney's suburbs there at Bonnyrigg, there's no reason why someone in that situation needed that many guns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Two of the victims of the Bondi beach attack were Boris and Sofia Gurman. The couple, who were in their 60s, were laid to rest on Friday. They were fatally shot trying to disarm one of the suspected gunman as he exited his car before the rampage started. Boris was a retired mechanic. Sofia worked for the Australia Post. They were due to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary in January.

Hong Kong is honoring the firefighter who died in the line of duty, battling the inferno that devastated a huge part of the city last month. The body of 37-year-old Ho Wai-ho was laid to rest with full honors during a ceremony a short time ago. Thousands of people turned out for the procession through the city to pay their respects. Last month's fire killed at least 160 people as it quickly engulfed residential buildings and burned for nearly two days. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Ho's fiancee described him as muscular and sweet, and friends call him gentle.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more from Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have been witnessing solemn and deeply moving scenes this day. Hong Kong's holding a funeral with full honors for ho the 37-year-old firefighter who gave up his life trying to save the lives of others. He perished in that horrific high- rise fire at a housing estate in Tai Po, a fire that has taken the lives of at least 160 people. Today's funeral, with full honors, began at a funeral parlor in Kowloon, then moved to the site of the fire in Tai Po and then here at the Sha Tin fire station, where Ho had worked.

It then ended at a cemetery for fallen officers, for public servants killed in the line of duty, and that is where is being laid to rest. He leaves behind his parents, his brothers, and his fiancee, and in a statement we heard this from her saying this quote, "May everyone forever remember Ho Wai-ho's selfless spirit.

In a statement, the Hong Kong government adds this quote his tragic death is a great loss not only to the fire services department, but also to the community at large. Being courageous, selfless and dedicated, he will no doubt stay in the minds of Hong Kong people forever. All members of the public have been paying tribute with burning incense, messages of condolence and flowers, and they have been in mourning

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt very upset. I was unable to sleep the whole night. I hope when he goes to the other world, he won't be in pain anymore.

STOUT: Residents have been in mourning and they've also been searching for answers. Last week, we heard from John Lee, the chief executive of Hong Kong, and he pledged that an investigation will be wrapped up within nine months. Now, there have been no official cause of the fire given authorities point to substandard renovation materials for facilitating the rapid spread of the fire. At least a dozen people have been arrested in connection with the fire. A fire that has taken the life of a hero.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Investigators are heading to North Carolina after a private jet crashed shortly after takeoff, killing seven people, including a top former American race car driver. The crash happened Thursday in the town of Statesville. Video taken by witnesses shows the plane bursting into flames as it hit the ground, with emergency crews battling the fire.

On board was former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his wife and their two children. NASCAR says Biffle was one of its 75 greatest drivers. There are no reports of survivors.

Thousands of customers in the southeastern U.S. are without power after strong thunderstorm winds caused damage across several states. The winds accompanied a cold front stretching from Kentucky through Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama, the Storm Prediction Center says wind gusts over 60 miles per hour, more than 95 kilometers per hour, were reported in some areas on Thursday. The system is currently moving across the southeast toward North Carolina's outer banks, bringing with it the threat of severe thunderstorms.

CNN's Derek Van Dam has more on damaging winds headed for the Atlantic seaboard, along with the forecast for the weekend leading into Christmas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The big story this week has certainly been the wind, as well as the atmospheric rivers impacting the western parts of the U.S. Well, now, one of those stronger storm systems has moved to the Atlantic seaboard, and there's a lot of wind energy still associated with this. You can see the millions of Americans, right, where some of our biggest and most populated parts of the country are located. They're going to be impacted by winds in excess of 30 to 40 miles per hour. And with the increased demand at the airports, the added number of customers, as well as the winds and the weather impacting this, you better believe that there could be some travel delays, not only on the roads, but also in the skies.

[02:45:01]

It's all part of a larger storm system that is moving through that will bring rain to the I-95 corridor through early Friday morning. It quickly exits, but behind it, that's when the real wind starts to pick up from the north and west. And this is going to cause some potential delays.

Check this out. This is the forecast. Airport delays because of the weather. LaGuardia into JFK, potentially into Newark, even as far south as the airports in and around Baltimore, as well as the nation's capital and as far north as Boston Logan.

So, something to keep an eye out. Double check your flight, add some extra time to get to the airport today. Atmospheric river impacting the western parts of the country yet again. Weve got this direct connection to the tropics, so a lot of rain for the coastal areas of Oregon and Washington. High elevation snowfall. The difference here from last weeks storms is that this will be slightly colder. So well start to see more frozen precipitation, especially across the northern spine of the Rockies into the Cascades and as far south as the northern Sierra Nevada mountain range as well.

But right along the coastline of California, Oregon and Washington, quick two to five inches of rain could add more flooding concerns for the region.

This is the other big story. If you were looking for a cold white Christmas. Well, looking unlikely, much of the snow that blanketed the country over the past couple of weeks should melt with good chances of above average temperatures. We'll call it merry torch-mas, right? It is hot out there, or at least it looks. It's looking like it will be well above average for a majority of the country right through the Christmas holiday period.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll get an update on our breaking news when we come back after police find the Brown University shooting suspect dead at a storage facility.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:51:26] BRUNHUBER: Shooting at Brown University was found dead Thursday night after taking his own life. Authorities say Claudio Valente is responsible for killing two students and wounding nine others last week. They say he also killed an MIT professor at his Massachusetts home days after the shooting. The 48-year-old Portuguese national was a former student at Brown. His body was found at a storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire.

A jury has found a Wisconsin judge guilty of obstruction for helping an undocumented migrant evade federal authorities. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was accused of leading Eduardo Flores Ruiz and his attorney out of private jury door after she learned immigration authorities were waiting for him outside her courtroom. Dugan was also charged with concealing an individual to prevent arrest. The jury acquitted her on that count. She faces up to five years in prison for the obstruction conviction. No date has been set for sentencing.

Germany is awaiting the verdict in a trial of a janitor accused of drugging and raping his unconscious wife for nearly 15 years, and then filming those sex crimes. It's a case that's been dubbed the 'German Pelicot".

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): It's been dubbed the German Pelicot after the French case of a husband who dragged his wife, recruited dozens of men to rape her and filmed the abuse.

In Aachen, prosecutors say, a 61-year-old school janitor secretly drugged his wife in their home and filmed himself raping her repeatedly over nearly 15 years. Investigators say the videos were later shared online with thousands of users.

VANDOORNE: The verdict comes exactly one year to the day after 46 men were found guilty of raping Gisele Pelicot. And I was in the courtroom that day in Avignon, and I never thought that a year on, I'd be covering a case with such striking similarities.

Having followed both trials, there's generally a very much shared playbook seen in such cases. Using the online world to share and amplify this kind of abuse. But unlike Gisele Pelicot, the victim in the Aachen case has chosen to remain anonymous.

Shortly after the trial began, the public was excluded from the courtroom to protect the victim's privacy. According to local media reports, the defendant later confessed to most of the acts during closed door hearings. German campaigners say current consent laws don't protect women well enough from this kind of abuse. While this French lawmaker points towards a much wider trend.

SANDRINE JOSSO, FRENCH LAWMAKER: During my government assignment, I traveled to quite a few countries and in fact, these operating methods are everywhere, in every country. They're further activated by social networks where communities come together and share tips and tricks.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): This whole issue is sure to come under the microscope once again when Gisele Pelicot publishes her memoir in two months' time.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: TikTok has signed a deal to sell most of its assets to a new U.S. entity with an American investor group. Although the agreement isn't yet finalized, the U.S. TikTok app with 170 million users would be controlled by a new joint venture. It includes tech company Oracle. The private equity firm Silver Lake and Emirati backed investment firm MGX. TikTok parent Beijing based ByteDance would have a 20 percent share. The app's future in the U.S. has been uncertain since a law last year required ByteDance to spin off its U.S. assets or be banned. American lawmakers fear the Chinese government could access ByteDance data.

The 2026 Olympic winter games are less than two months away. Organizers lit the Olympic torch last month in Greece. Now, its steadily making its way across Italy for the Milan Cortina 2026 Games. The flame is scheduled to arrive in Cortina D'Ampezzo on January 26th, exactly 70 years after the start of the 1956 Games at the same venue. It then travels to Milan for the opening ceremony on February 6th.

All right. That wraps this hour of CNN's NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in just a moment with more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)