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CNN This Morning

U.S. House Approves Bill To Avert Government Shutdown; Snow And Rain Impact Holiday Travel Rush; Missile Fired From Yemen Hits Israel, Wounding 16; Magdeburg Christmas Market Car-Ramming Death Toll Rises To 5. 5 Dead, Nearly 70 Inured in German Christmas Market Attack; Party City is Going Out of Business; Big Lots to Close All Remaining Stores. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired December 21, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

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[06:00:30]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Look who is up and I'm glad you are. Good morning and welcome to CNN This Morning. It's Saturday, December 21st. I'm Victor Blackwell.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm MJ Lee in for Amara Walker. Victor, it is great to be back with you.

BLACKWELL: It is good to have you here. This is the second weekend we're doing now.

LEE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Easing up on Christmas, are you? Last time I checked you weren't prepared.

LEE: OK. Since the last time I saw you --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

LEE: -- I have made some shopping preparations and we will leave it at that.

BLACKWELL: OK, I will leave it there. All right.

LEE: All right. Here is what we are working on for you this morning. Congress narrowly avoiding a government shutdown after lawmakers were able to strike a deal in the final hours before the deadline. What's in and what's out of the spending bill and what those chaotic 24 hours tell us about President-elect Trump's influence on his party.

BLACKWELL: We're following developments in Israel where Houthi forces say they hit Tel Aviv with a hypersonic ballistic missile. We are on the scene where that missile landed with a look at the damage. LEE: The U.S. is sending its condolences to Germany following that

deadly attack at a Christmas market that left two people dead. Plus the new details we are learning about the suspect.

BLACKWELL: It's been 10 years since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared. What happened to the plane and those on board still a mystery. But now the search is about to heat up again.

LEE: More than 119 million people in the U.S. are expected to travel now through New Year's Day. But snow could slow you down. We've got your forecast coming up next.

BLACKWELL: All right. Today, President Biden is expected to sign that stopgap funding bill Congress passed late last night to avoid a government shutdown after a chaotic 24-hour scramble on Capitol Hill. Speaker Mike Johnson brought a stopgap bill to the floor late Friday that did not include a debt limit suspension.

The bill passed with only 34 Republicans voting against it and all but one voted, one Democrat voting for it to pass. And even without President elect Donald Trump's request to suspend the debt limit included in the bill, Speaker Mike Johnson called the vote a win that will set them up for when Trump returns to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: This is America first legislation because it allows us to be set up to deliver for the American people. In January, we will make a sea change in Washington. President Trump will return to D.C. and to the White House and we will have Republican control of the Senate and the House. Things are going to be very different around here.

This was a necessary step to bridge the gap, to put us into that moment where we can put our fingerprints on the final decisions on spending for 2025.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Now, the bill includes about $100 billion in disaster aid funding that should help Americans trying to recover from hurricanes and wildfires that have plagued the country over the past two years. It also extends the farm bill and includes $10 billion in economic aid for farmers, which was a sticking point in negotiations earlier this week.

CNN's Betsy Klein is outside the White House. Betsy, it is great to see you there out on the North Lawn. So tell us, how did this all finally come together in the end?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, MJ, I think you and I both know a little known fact in Washington is that the holiday season cannot get underway until we have a little bit of a spending fight in Congress. So a little bit of drama here, but the House late last night was able to pass that bill overwhelmingly to fund the government and avert a shutdown. It then went to the Senate that passed a little bit after midnight and

now it goes to President Biden desk where a White House official tells me he will be signing that a little bit later today. But again, not without some drama. If you had asked any Hill staffer, congressional leader, frankly, anyone working on this bill early in the week whether it was going to pass, the answer was yes, and it would be a bipartisan, easy deal.

That came into major question middle of the week when President-Elect Trump said that he would not support that bipartisan deal. But what's in it? As you mentioned, this is going to fund the government until mid-March. It's known as a stopgap bill. And what that means is that we are going to have to do this all over again in just three months from now in under Trump's watch.

It also includes $100 billion in that much needed disaster relief for those suffering from the ongoing impacts of hurricanes and wildfires. It includes $10 billion in farm aid.

[06:05:00]

But what is not in it is what's notable. Trump had demanded a suspension of the debt limit. And that is not in this bill setting up a fight a little bit later next year. But really both sides taking a victory lap at this point. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: I was in constant contact with President Trump throughout this process. Spoke with him most recently about 45 minutes ago. He, he knew exactly what were doing and why. And this is a good outcome for the country. I think he certainly is happy about this outcome as well.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy, and hurting working class Americans all across the land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: But this really gives us an early preview of what governing is going to be like in the Trump era with those very narrow margins in Congress. And it also sets up an early battle for House Speaker Mike Johnson and his future leadership. The Republicans are going to vote to elect their new speaker on January 3rd. And this comes after a lot of criticism from some Trump allies.

So we'll be watching that quite closely in the coming weeks. But I want to talk about what this averted for now. None of those airport debt delays that were expecting. The museums will stay open, national parks, none of the serious disruptions that the Department of Defense had warned about.

And most critically, those 1.4 million federal workers, so many of whom live far away from Washington, who would have been forced to work without pay, will get a little bit of a reprieve this year. MJ.

BLACKWELL: I'll take it. Betsy Klein for us at the White House, thanks so much. With me now is Errol Louis, CNN political commentator and host of the Big Deal with Errol Lewis on Spectrum News.

All right, Errol, good to see you. So, as Betsy detailed there that, you know, everybody's claiming victory, but is everybody a winner here? Are there any clear political losers in this episode?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't think that there are losers, Victor, but I think that this is a warning shot. This is a warning of things to come. This won't be the last Saturday morning that you and I are talking about something catastrophic nearly happening or perhaps even actually happening to the federal government.

This is the Trump style to wait till the last minute to sort of spring things on people in order to get some leverage to put pressure on people to openly challenge them politically. This is not the way we've seen government run for the last four years. And I think we're going to have to start getting used to a new style.

BLACKWELL: Trump was able to strong arm congressional Republicans into scuttling the bipartisan deal. But he wasn't able to get the debt limit ceiling lifted into this deal. He didn't get what he wanted. However, the bill still passed. The government stays open. Is there anything to learn from that, from Trump? And is this the ending once the melee started that you expected?

LOUIS: I expected nothing. I expected chaos. And chaos is what we got. Fortunately, people weren't harmed along the way. But that wasn't the case back in 2018. You remember that, Victor, when there was the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history, 34 days. And that was Donald Trump trying to pressure the Congress to pass a bill to pay for that wall along the Mexican border that he wanted and never got.

And so, you know, we don't know what he's going to do because, again, the Trump style is to sort of mix and match. He does this with international trade as well, where he'll put up a financial or fiscal objection and then try to get programmatic benefits out of it.

So in this case, the President-elect pretty much acknowledged that the debt ceiling is going to need to be lifted, but he'd rather do it for entirely political reasons on Biden's watch. What that suggests is that it's going to come up again. And when we're -- when we get to March, he'll probably be trying to trade it for something else, just like he did with that wall with Mexico back in 2018.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And it's interesting that you bring that up because I think it's so relevant here. And that'll lead us into the Elon Musk of it all. And control room. Let's put up his tweet from Wednesday because it looked as if we could be heading into another 34, 35 day shutdown when Elon Musk tweeted out, no bill should be passed Congress until January 20th when Donald Trump takes office.

This is the first taste of what Musk his role will be with Congress and in this administration. What do we learn from his plays?

LOUIS: Well, listen, he -- the mere fact that he inserted himself so directly and so forcefully and so openly making naked threats to have people voted out office, and this is somebody who's never held public office in his life. I think what it does say to members of Congress is that when they kowtow, when they bow down to this Trump administration, they're going to have to bow maybe a little lower than they expected.

[06:10:08]

They're going to have to swallow a lot of insults, a lot of pressure, a lot of force. Some of them pushed back, most did not. And that's how it's going to start out. There may be some people who, I think, remember that they swore an oath that they don't like being talked to like children. They don't like being pushed around by a rich businessman. And maybe they'll push back, but we haven't seen any signs of that yet.

BLACKWELL: What now for Speaker Johnson? We heard from the Freedom Caucus. They're saying that he doesn't have what it takes. He's not tough. This is kind of what we heard about McCarthy before that three weeks of chaos, trying to figure out who the next speaker would be. Do you think he survives?

LOUIS: I think the members of the Freedom Caucus who were talking about deposing him had better come up with another name. And of course, any of them could step forward and see if they can get 218 votes for their own speakership.

I think the jokes that we've heard from the speaker about how, hey, if anybody else wants this job, just let me know. I don't think those are really the kind of jokes you're supposed to laugh at. I think he really kind of means it. If somebody else thinks that they can put it together, that's the way that they're going to hold on to their majority. But it is a very thankless job at this point. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes, there was a little quip in his conversation with Elon Musk. He says that he asked, do you want to be speaker? Talk about President Biden. Because we didn't hear much from him. Certainly didn't see him on camera in these 36 hours or so or 48 hours of chaos.

What does that tell us? And would he have been influential? I mean, maybe people expected him to be out in front of a camera because he is the President and the government could shut down. But would he have had any influence?

LOUIS: I don't know if he would have been able to influence members of Congress. The House is, in fact, under Republican control, and there's nothing they would have done simply to please him. On the other hand, if things had gotten serious, if this had gone on for just a few more hours, Victor, the President of the United States would have had to address the nation because we would have had a very serious shutdown, much more serious than back in 2018.

The Pentagon said that there were defense workers that would be laid off. That wasn't the case last time. This would have affected everyone right before Christmas and it would have been the kind of crisis where the president would have had to say something.

BLACKWELL: All right, Errol Louis, thanks for starting off with us.

LOUIS: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right. A busy day, busy holiday weekend at the airports and on the roads. AAA says more than 119 million people are planning to travel today through New Year's Day.

LEE: That would make this the busiest year-end holiday travel season ever. And while we're not looking at any major winter storms heading into Christmas, those last minute shoppers and travelers might want to pack an umbrella or snow booth. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us now. Alison, what are you watching?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So we've got two different systems. We've got one in the East Coast, one on the West Coast. Apologies for my voice at a time, but yes. So we're going to keep an eye on both of those because you got a lot of travelers out there today. We'd be wanting to get a head start.

So we take a look at the map. Again, you can see we've got those two different systems, the one in the Northeast and then that next one that's really going to start to ramp up in the west as we go through the afternoon hours today. You've still got snow impacting. And yes, take a look at this. Areas of Massachusetts, Maine, portions of upstate New York, but also New York City.

Lots of folks in and out of that city, whether that's your end destination, your start destination, or maybe you're just connecting there. We are looking at quite a significant amount of snow coming down at the moment. Right now it's going to come in waves. So we'll get some breaks as we go throughout the day. But that could lead to some delays, especially in the air, but also on the roadways as well.

Other air delays possible are going to be in due to the fact that we could still see some lake effect snow as well going through the afternoon and into the evening hours. So something to keep in mind and it's because a lot of these temperatures are just so cold right now. Some of these areas, you're talking 10 to 15 degrees below where they normally would be.

It's going to stay that way through the weekend. But we finally should start to see those temperatures rebounding once we get towards next week. So we take a look at this. Again, you'll gradually see those temperatures beginning to climb. It's going to take them some time. And even with that said, it's still going to take four to five days for many of these cities to even get back to normal where they should be this time of year. But we are going to start to see that warming trend.

Now, we also talked about the West. This is where we've got a series of systems that's going to be coming into this area. So it's going to over time accumulate to some pretty high amounts of not just rain but also the snow, especially when you get into the higher elevations.

You can see here along the coastline, you're talking 2 to 4 inches of rain. That's on the low end. Some spots could see as much as 6 inches of rain. And then the snow likely to be measured in feet in some of these areas, especially as we progress this out, say Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

And also just to note, today is the first official day of astronomical winter, guys. It is the shortest day with daylight that you will have throughout the year. Atlanta, for example, going from just under about 10 hours of daylight now compared to the 14 and a half that they get in the summer.

BLACKWELL: I feel it, too.

LEE: All right.

BLACKWELL: All right. Allison, thank you.

LEE: Happy official winter.

CHINCHAR: Yes.

[06:15:08]

LEE: All right. Still to come, we are monitoring developments out of Germany after a deadly attack at a Christmas market. What we are learning about the suspect.

BLACKWELL: Plus dozens of people injured in an overnight attack on Tel Aviv who's claimed responsibility for the missile strike.

Plus, workers at Starbucks and Amazon are now on the picket line at perhaps the busiest time of year for those companies will tell you what those workers want.

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[06:20:10]

BLACKWELL: Breaking overnight, new video of sirens and blast as Houthi forces in Yemen hit Tel Aviv with a hypersonic ballistic missile. According to a statement from the Iranian-backed militant group, the missile struck its target accurately and Israel's defense systems failed to intercept it.

LEE: Tel Aviv Israel's second largest city and is the country's commercial and diplomatic center. Direct hits to the city are extremely rare. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is there with the latest.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: We are at the scene of this Houthi missile strike in southern Tel Aviv. And you can see this is where that missile actually made impact. That is the impact crater that's now been covered in by dirt in the middle of this park with a children's playground in the middle. The buildings all around this area damaged by the force of this blast, windows that have been blown out by the percussive blast.

And this happened in the middle of the night, a quarter to four in the morning. You can see more of that damage right up here. These windows that have been shattered, the frames of them hanging by a thread. Now, at least 16 people suffered minor injuries as a result of this blast caused by those glass fragments that exploded. Fourteen others suffered minor injuries rushing to shelters.

And while the Houthis say that they struck successfully a military target in Tel Aviv, as you can see, this is not a military target. This is a residential area in southern Tel Aviv. Now there are also questions about why the Israeli military failed to intercept this missile. You can see in video from overnight at least two interceptor missiles going up into the sky attempting to intercept that Houthi missile but failing, obviously, and this is the result instead.

The Israeli military also just a few days ago struck the Houthis inside of Yemen with a series of airstrikes. We expect that tit for tat will continue in the days and weeks ahead. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you. In Germany, the number of people killed in the attack at a Christmas market has risen to five, including one toddler. Just awful. Nearly 70 were injured when a car drove into crowds of holiday shoppers yesterday.

BLACKWELL: Police arrested the suspected driver, a 50-year-old Saudi national who's been living and working in Germany since 2006. With us now from Germany is CNN's Fred Pleitgen. So the German chancellor just spoke. What did he say?

All right. So we're having some technical issues with Fred shot. We'll try to get back to him in just a moment.

Still ahead, though, to major retail change Party City and Big Lots have both announced they are going out of business. We have details on what led to those closures, ahead.

And the boys are back for the biggest party of the year. Join Anderson Cooper Andy Cohen for New Year's Eve live. Coverage starts at 8:00 on CNN.

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[06:27:43]

LEE: All right, we want to go back to that breaking news out of Germany. The death toll now up to five people in that Christmas market attack.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is at the scene of that attack. Fred? FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there,

Victor. And a couple of minutes ago we had German Chancellor Olaf Scholz here at the scene of that Christmas market attack where I'm also standing right now. And he not only said that the death toll has now risen to have been killed, more than 200 injured, but he also made the point to point out that at least 40 people are still in very critical and severe condition.

And so therefore the German authorities fear that the death toll could further increase after this massive attack. He was also here with the local state governor of the state the city of Magdeburg is in. And that governor said, look, quite frankly, an attack like this is not something that Germany has ever seen before. The devastation, the amount of people who have been injured.

But also of course the response from the authorities who went on the scene very quickly and made sure to mobilize all of the forces they had in place throughout this entire region. Because as you guys can imagine, the hospitals here in the city of Magdeburg absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of casualties that came in.

I'm going to get out of your way for a second. We're going to pan forward. You can see we are actually right now at the edge of that area that car barreled through. This is right in the heart of the Christmas market. We are right at the city hall in the city center. This happened at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night. And as you can imagine, this place would have been packed with people who were doing their final Christmas shopping.

It is the last Friday before Christmas when a lot of people obviously would have been out. 7:00 p.m. of course also a time when a lot of families would have been out as well. And of course one of the tragic things that we have heard from the authorities is that apparently one of those killed was in fact a toddler. Just going to show that families were out here.

We know that the suspect was immediately apprehended. The authorities are obviously still talking to that suspect. It seems that he acted on his own. A 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia, but someone who has been here for a very long time and what the politicians, Olaf Scholz and that state governor said is that of course Germany is going to have to speak about security at Christmas markets.

Of course that is something that this country is going to have to talk about in the future. But they also say that right now is not the time for that. Right now, this country is in mourning. Right now, this country, as they said, is showing great solidarity with those who were affected by all of this.

[06:30:00]

And so therefore, that is going to happen. And then, they say, will be the time when Germany will deal with the future, guys.

LEE: All right, Fred Pleitgen, thank you. Party City is officially going out of business. After 40 years, the company announced it will close down all of its stores. Employees learned Friday that the company is winding down operations immediately. And we're told that they will not receive any severance pay. CEO Barry Litwin said they were unable to contend with inflation and decrease consumer spending.

And Big Lots is preparing to close its remaining at 963 locations after a sale to save the company fell through. Up to 500 employees will lose their jobs, including the president and its CEO. Big Lots tried to sell its assets to a private equity firm, but they couldn't close the deal. The company blamed high inflation and interest rate that led customers to change their buying habits.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: The strike of the Amazon delivery contractors is now in its third day. Thousands of workers are on the picket lines. Amazon says the strike will not affect deliveries, but of course, it's coming at a critical time during the holiday rush.

And Amazon, of course, is not the only business being hit with these walkouts. Starbucks workers in several cities are also walking off the job. CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich has more for us.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: The Teamsters who represent the third party drivers that contract with Amazon say they're on strike because Amazon has failed to negotiate with them. But Amazon says they don't have to because they don't believe the workers to be legitimate union members, including those in Staten Island. But workers very much feel they are Amazon employees and are fighting for better wages and conditions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRENTON KNIGHT, CONTRACTED AMAZON DRIVER: Like other companies like UPS, I mean, they are doing a lower volume now and they're getting paid a lot more than we're getting paid. We're getting more volume and less pay. That doesn't seem fair.

SAMANTHA THOMAS, AMAZON EMPLOYEE: We already came to that conclusion that we were not recognized, even though we are the face of Amazon. We wear the uniform, we drive the trucks. When we pull up to your house, you say, oh, that's Amazon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: Amazon says they've invested $660 million into their third party driver program to help bring wages to an average of $22 an hour. Now, it's unclear how long this strike will last, but Amazon says holiday deliveries won't be disrupted.

But there's another strike underway. At Starbucks, workers striking in three major metro areas, Chicago, L.A. and Seattle. The workers united union says they will expand to more locations by December 24th. There are more than 500 unionized Starbucks stores and the two sides have been negotiating for months, but the union says they had asked for an agreement by the end of this year, but the company's offer fell short.

Starbucks says the strike has caused small disruptions and according to a source familiar with the impact, 10 stores out of 10,000 did not open as planned. The holidays are a very profitable time for both Amazon and Starbucks, and the unions know that. So while the companies deny any sizable impact the strikes may raise awareness among consumers about the issues that these workers are fighting for.

BLACKWELL: All right, Vanessa, thank you so much.

10 years, can you believe it's been 10 years since the disappearance of MH370? There's a new expedition now being launched to find that missing Malaysian Airlines flight. Malaysian officials have restarted now the search for the plane and the answers.

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[06:38:21]

LEE: It has been 10 years since Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 mysteriously went missing. Now, Malaysian officials say they have agreed in principle for a company to resume the search for its wreckage. The flight vanished while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March of 2014, carrying more than 200 passengers and 12 crew members.

Joining me now to discuss is CNN Safety Analyst David Soucie. David, it is great to have you here for your expertise. You, of course, also authored the book Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Why It Disappeared and - Why it's Only a Matter of Time Before This Happens Again.

So I want to ask you, David, you know, this company, Ocean Infinity, is basically saying we'll do the search again, but the Malaysian government doesn't have to pay us unless we actually find something. I mean, what do you make of this no find, no fee proposal?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, it just tells me that they have a lot of confidence in the advancements that they've had in technology over the last six years or so. They did not have some things then that they have now. So they have a lot of confidence in this if they're going to make that huge gamble.

LEE: And I noticed the transport minister said that the search is going to be in a new area in the southern Indian Ocean. I mean, do we have any indication of where this new area for the search is going to be?

SOUCIE: We really don't right now. They have said that they've expanded it. They're not going to be going back to where they looked before. They do have some new information, or actually they don't have new information. They have new ways of analyzing that information, and they're very confident in what they've learned.

[06:40:03]

But it's not only that, it also has to do with the way that they're going to search. It's much different this time and they haven't divulged exactly what that technology is, but I have some suspicions it has to do with robotics. Their robotics have improved significantly over the last six years.

LEE: And, you know, given that it has been more than 10 years, and this really is one of the biggest aviation mysteries of all time, can you help us understand what 10 years actually means in this context? You know, in terms of potential movement of debris, the deterioration of the wreckage? I mean, it's really hard to imagine that a search like this wouldn't be infinitely more challenging now than compared to 10 years ago.

SOUCIE: Well, it certainly would. And it's just the inconsistencies in that area of the ocean that -- that would create the problems. That's why I'm really surprised that they're going to take on this search. This could be miles and miles and miles away from where it actually went down at this point, because that ocean moves a lot, and it would take that debris and move it in a lot of different areas. Not only that but the bottom of the ocean is going to be moved and upset and moved -- move a lot of debris on top of what's there.

So, again, it goes back to their confidence in their technology. I know that the robotics have expanded where they look at a wider swath as they go by. And they have unmanned vehicles, unmanned ships that can go out now. They can deploy ships that are not even -- don't even have a crew on them and conduct this search with those robotics.

LEE: Yeah. And, you know, you've devoted so much time and research on Flight 370. You wrote an entire book about it. If we could just show the cover again. It says on the cover there, why it disappeared and why it's only a matter of time before this happens again. I mean, the last part of that title really makes me shudder a little bit. Do you still think it's only a matter of time before this kind of thing could happen again?

SOUCIE: Yes, I still do. There's been some changes in the way that we track aircraft. They go on international and across the waters. As far as this one did. The advancements, though, it still comes down to money. It still comes down to the fact that it's not mandated that they do that.

Most -- most carriers have done that, but there still are some carriers out there who haven't spent the extra money necessary to show exactly where an aircraft is at exactly a given time. And so there is still that possibility, although it's much more remote than it was when I wrote that book.

LEE: Yeah. And let's just also remind everyone again, this flight was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members. That's 239 people who just vanished overnight. Can you talk to us about their families, their loved ones? I mean, do you think that most of them will be glad that a search might be resuming again, or do you think this just ends up being, you know, one more very painful episode for them?

SOUCIE: Yeah, there's two sides to that coin, and they're -- they're pretty much split from the family members that I've been in contact with. Some are very glad, very happy that they can finally put this to rest. Others say, please let them rest in peace and let us all go on with our lives. So it's very difficult time for them.

But in general, I think they're going to get a lot of solace, especially, you know, during the search. It's going to be extremely difficult for them. They'll have to avoid -- avoid it if they want to. But the fact is, regardless of what their position is, which school of thought they're in right now, if they do find some substantive information about where this thing is and what happened, though, they will all be relieved to have that information, I'm pretty sure.

LEE: Yeah. Really tough to think about all of those family members who never got any answers. David Soucie, thank you so much.

SOUCIE: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO, Luigi Mangione, is now in the same jail as Sean Diddy Combs. Still to come, why some call that New York detention center hell on earth?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:41]

BLACKWELL: Luigi Mangione, the man charged with killing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, could appear in a New York court to face state charges as soon as Monday. The federal charges against Mangione were unsealed this week. Now, they include two counts of stalking, a firearm offense and a count of murder.

LEE: He could face the death penalty if found guilty of the federal murder charge. But prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek that punishment. He's currently being held in a notorious federal prison in New York. CNN's Brynn Gingras has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From Ivy League rich kid to inmate number 52503-5 11. That is Luigi Mangione's new identification inside the walls of Brooklyn's notorious Metropolitan Detention Center, commonly known as MDC.

The 26-year-old is the latest high profile inmate at the federal detention center. Former inmates include sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli and R. Kelly. Currently, Sean Diddy Combs is also being held there on federal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Mangione and Combs also sharing a lawyer, Marc Agnifilo who is working on Mangione's case with his wife and lead counsel Karen.

MARC AGNIFILO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I'm going to try and minimize the amount of time he spends in very, very difficult and I believe inhumane housing conditions in the special housing unit of the Metropolitan Detention Facility.

[06:50:08] GINGRAS: Agnifilo recently argued to move the music mogul before trial because of the conditions at MDC.

While the department wouldn't confirm details of any specific inmate, policy shows upon arrival they undergo a 21 day evaluation to determine in what unit they will be held. Because Mangione's case is high profile, it's likely he will be housed in what's called the shoe, a unit where inmates are separated from the general population largely for safety reasons.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: His interactions will be limited. I think the oversight will be far more significant. I think he'll be subject to a lot less dangers.

GINGRAS: Donald Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen spent a short time there and explained what it's like to CNN.

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: He's waking up on a steel bed with a one-and-a half inch mattress, no pillow in an 8 by 10-foot cell that I can assure you is disgusting.

MAN #1: We are pushing for basic humanity.

GINGRAS: In recent years, inmates, attorneys and activists have sounded the alarm on issues like violence, overcrowding, staffing shortages, even power outages. In September, a federal judge condemned the facility's conditions, prompting the Bureau of Prisons to appoint an urgent action team to, quote, "Take a holistic look at the challenges at MDC Brooklyn".

JACKSON: So it was a big deal and I think that tells you all you need to know with respect to what's happening.

GINGRAS: As for Mangione, a Bureau of Prison's handbook outlines daily life behind bars, including a 6 a.m. wake up call for breakfast, sweeping and mopping his cell, a new change of clothes three days a week and a chance to shop in the commissary once every two weeks where he can buy candy bars, crossword books and deodorant. In Pennsylvania, more than 150 donations were made to Mangione's commissary account. The Bureau of Prisons won't comment on inmates accounts.

CNN has learned that money that is in Mangione's Pennsylvania commissary account that will be transferred to the Bureau of Prisons for Mangione. Also important to note, his lawyers said in court that they reserve their right to request bail in this case, possibly at a later date. MJ, Victor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Brynn Gingras, thank you.

BLACKWELL: A new film examines the amazing career of one of the most influential artists of all time, Luther Vandross. From his early years in Harlem and performing at the Apollo Theater, the first episodes of Sesame Street. Did you know that? To his rise to the king of love songs. LEE: Using a wealth of archives, Vandross tells his own story along

with the voices of his closest musical collaborators and friends. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIAH CAREY, AMERICAN SINGER: You only come across an artist like Luther Vandross once in a lifetime.

MAN #2: Luther said, I have a sound in my head. I got to get it out.

So we went in the studio, says, OK it goes boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I said, this is a quirky little bass line.

MAN #3: It was the most exciting time in the world. My head, my heart was immersed in this business.

MAN #4: His life had some extremely joyful moments.

MAN #5: Four albums and all of them platinum.

MAN #6: Had some really difficult moments.

MAN #7: He would say, God has given me everything I ask for, except one person who loves me.

MAN #8: I keep getting the feeling that the best part of my career is still ahead of me.

MAN #9: If we were to be able to talk to Luther as fans, we would be going to say -- we just love you.

MAN #10: Luther: Never too much. New Year's Day on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: I have seen it, and it is so, so good. So be sure to watch that when it comes out New Year Day here on CNN.

A woman is hoping for a Christmas miracle. Her pet kangaroo, I have at least three questions on that part of the sentence alone, it escaped in Texas. Why she says Rowdy is so special.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:58:35]

WOMAN #2: I find it ironic that I'm the Christmas music station and I'm hoping for a Christmas miracle so Rowdy will come home for Christmas.

LEE: The search is on for Rowdy the kangaroo who went missing in Texas. You heard that right. The three-year-old escaped from home after pushing open the gate of his pen.

BLACKWELL: What is going on in Texas? Rowdy was last spotted on Wednesday near Interstate 10 in Austin County. His owner, Marsha Matus, says that she's worried about his safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSHA MATUS, OWNER OF THE MISSING KANGAROO: I'm very scared for him because I don't know what -- I know he's scared. I just hope he's safe. I hope -- I hope he's safe because I know he's so scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So Rowdy was one of two kangaroos that escaped. The other one only got as far as the yard.

LEE: Neighbors and strangers have pitched in to help, even using drones equipped with thermal imaging to try to spot the usually nocturnal marsupial. Okay, am I the only person that didn't realize kangaroos existed in the States?

BLACKWELL: So I knew that they existed in zoos, but I didn't know you could domesticate them as animals or have them at your personal property. But you know Texas --

LEE: That's right, Texas.

BLACKWELL: -- so maybe, you know, Texas, but yeah, I hope you know, for Rowdy's sake he comes home. I don't think he knows it's Christmas, but sure.

LEE: I have some feelings about zoos, so I have some feelings about this situation, too.

BLACKWELL: We'll talk about those --

LEE: We don't need to get into -- yeah.

BLACKWELL: All right. President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill --