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Syrians Hold Friday Prayers, Celebrate Freedom from Assad; Victims of Assad Regime Faced Years of Torture and Death; U.S. National Security Adviser Travels to Doha and Cairo; Centrist Francois Bayrou Named as France's New Prime Minister; Trumps Wants His Inauguration to be a Global Affair; Trump Vows to Pardon January 6th Rioters on Day One; Syrian Search Morgue for Missing Loved Ones; New Details About Luigi Mangione's Life in Prison; U.S. Lawmakers Push for Answers on New Jersey Drones; Middle East and North Africa Become Fastest Growing Music Markets. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired December 13, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:26]
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome, everyone, to our second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.
Syrians are holding Friday prayers for the first time since the fall of Assad's regime. CNN is in Damascus. We'll bring you that report shortly.
Plus, a last push for the outgoing Biden administration to negotiate a Gaza ceasefire. U.S. National Security adviser Jake Sullivan, who is in the
region, says he is hopeful an agreement will be reached sooner than expected. And French President Emmanuel Macron names a new centrist prime
minister. But will it be enough to break the political deadlock?
In Syria, a day of celebration of freedom after years of oppression by a brutal regime.
This is how it looked and sounded in Homs. Thousands of Syrians gathered there to hold Friday prayers for the first time since the fall of President
Bashar al-Assad. And scenes like this are playing out across Syria as the country looks toward what the rebel leader who led the forces ousting Assad
promises will be a peaceful transition to a new era. He also issued a warning, to avoid celebrating with guns after someone in Raqqa fired
bullets into the air Thursday, sparking chaos that witnesses say left at least one person dead and 15 injured.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABU MOHAMMAD AL-JOLANI, SYRIAN REBEL LEADER (through translator): I would like to congratulate the great Syrian people on the victory of the blessed
revolution. I call upon them to take to the squares and express their joy over this achievement, but without firing bullets or causing fear among the
people. Afterwards let us turn our efforts towards rebuilding this country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Our Clarissa Ward has been in Syria and she talked to Syrians in the capital, Damascus, where the prevailing mood is joy as people celebrate
the end of decades of suppression and fear.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: People are flooding in to the central Umayyad Square from around Damascus. They're flooding
into squares across the entire country. This is the first Friday since Bashar al-Assad left the country. And you can see, understandably, so many
people here are celebrating what they see as the greatest victory of a lifetime.
After 53 years of totalitarian rule under Bashar al-Assad, after hundreds of thousands of dead and disappeared into Syrian prisons, finally, Syria,
for these people, is free.
This is where you hear over and over. Surya hara, Surya hara. Syria is free. And the crowds are getting bigger and bigger here as people really
just absorbed the magnitude of this moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So thank God, we're so grateful that we finally can speak freely. We can criticize, we can help. We can feel like this country
is our country. You know?
WARD: What does this moment feel like?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like a dream. It's like a dream. At the end, I felt like I'm going to lose the hope that he's going to leave and now we
got back the hope. Honestly, it's like a dream came true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now it's a great feeling. We are in Umayyad Square. We are in the middle of Damascus, saving freedom, saying we are still want the
same demands of democracy, of participation, of justice.
WARD: And everyone understands that there are a lot of question marks still about what comes next and what the new Syria will look like. And yet you
see people from every --
(CHANTING)
WARD: People along the chants that you heard in the very beginning of the uprising in 2011. People would risk their lives to take to the streets.
Engage in these kind of chants.
(CHANTING)
WARD: This is the flag of the Syrian revolution, and most of these people, they never imagined that they would be able to chant these chants and wave
that flag right here in Umayyad Square.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Free Syria!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: That's Clarissa Ward, reporting from Damascus.
[10:05:02]
Now that overriding sense of relief and joy that you just saw is tempered by the lingering trauma of death and torture experienced by Syrians who
were deemed enemies of the Assad regime.
Salma Abdelaziz has the sobering story of one notable activist victimized by the region -- by the regime's brutality, and his fateful decision to
return home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is activist Mazen al- Hamada recounting all the ways in which he was tortured inside a regime prison.
They broke my ribs, he says. He would jump up and come down on me. I could feel my ribs snapping.
He is then asked in this documentary how he feels about his tormentors.
I will not rest until I take them to court and get justice, he says.
This image, tears flowing from his haunted eyes, made al-Hamada the face of Syria's torture victims, and inspired drawings by U.S. based artist and
friend Marc Nelson.
MARC NELSON, ARTIST AND FRIEND: That just bore into my soul. His face, his expression.
ABDELAZIZ: When an uprising against the Assad dynasty erupted in 2011, al- Hamada was among the first to join demonstrations. It made him a target of the regime. In 2012, he was detained by security forces after smuggling
baby formula into a besieged suburb of Damascus. For nearly two years, he endured Medieval torture techniques, rape, beatings and psychological
abuse.
After his release, he fled to Europe and vowed to tell the world his story. He spoke to journalists, met White House officials, appealed to U.S.
lawmakers, but nothing changed. Mazen felt defeated and homesick. His friend and a fellow prison survivor told us.
OMAR ALSHOGRE, FRIEND AND SYRIAN PRISON SURVIVOR: When he got out and lived in this world, he'd seen that the world doesn't care, and that's the only
hope he had to live for, that the world cared enough to go and save the cellmates that he left behind.
ABDELAZIZ: He flew back to Damascus in February of 2020 and was almost immediately forcibly disappeared. Again Nelson began to draw.
NELSON: This is the only way I think I can think of as an art person to keep his memory is to every week, every other day, every month, draw him.
ABDELAZIZ: His fate unknown until rebels took control of Damascus and burst open Syria's prisons. Images of al-Hamada's body surfaced online, too
gruesome for us to show. He was killed inside the notorious Saydnaya prison and his body dumped at a nearby hospital, his family says. Just one week
before his dream of a free Syria was realized. But his testimony against tyranny is everlasting.
ALSHOGRE: His story will all be always be used as an evidence and a testimony against this regime that need to be prosecuted.
ABDELAZIZ: One of the first to stand up to Assad was one of the last of his victims. Now Syria's new rulers say justice for him and countless others is
their mission.
Salma Abdelaziz CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Thank you for that reporting.
Now, at this critical point for Syria, the United States is talking some of -- it's talking to some of its regional neighbors to try to make sure the
country's future isn't marked by more brutality. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a previously unannounced stop in Iraq, a key partner in the
fight against the terror group ISIS, and Blinken said that after defeating the group years ago and putting it, quote, "back in its box, we can't let
it out."
Earlier in Turkey, Blinken said it is imperative to prevent a comeback of ISIS, and he talked about what kind of government the U.S. would like to
see in Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think there's broad agreement on what we would each like to see going forward, starting with the interim
government in Syria, one that is inclusive and nonsectarian, one that protects the rights of minorities and women, one that preserves
institutions of the state and delivers services to the people. One that deals with any chemical weapons it may find to secure them and
appropriately destroy them.
One that rejects any alliances with extremist groups and of course one that does not pose any kind of threat to any of Syria's neighbors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Now Blinken had just left Turkey, obviously a key player in the latest developments in the Middle East. But in a sign of its growing
influence, Turkey did send a delegation to Damascus together with officials from Qatar to meet the new government. It includes the Turkish foreign
minister and intelligence chief, as well as the state security head from Qatar. They were due to meet with the rebel leader Mohammad al-Jolani, as
well as Syria's caretaker prime minister.
[10:10:06]
The Syrian government says the talks were aimed at getting the new leadership to engage with its regional neighbors.
Elsewhere in the region, Palestinian officials say at least 33 people were killed in a deadly Israeli strike on a residential block in central Gaza on
Thursday, and the Israeli military says a, quote, "senior terrorist" was the target of the strike on a densely populated refugee camp. The IDF has
launched several strikes on the camp, including on multiple United Nations run schools which have been housing displaced people.
Meanwhile, another of U.S. President Joe Biden's top aides is also country hopping around the Middle East. National Security adviser Jake Sullivan is
traveling to Doha and Cairo to continue pushing for a Gaza hostage release ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza before Biden leaves office. Now he
was speaking in Tel Aviv Thursday, saying that, regarding Syria, the U.S. is, quote, "in deep consultations" with the Israeli government about where
this goes from here, what that will look like in the days and weeks ahead.
CNN correspondent Sunlen Serfaty is across this for us.
So, Sunlen, I guess at this point, what can we expect from Sullivan's trips to Cairo and Doha?
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's certainly notable, Omar, that there seems to be a renewed sense of urgency. And what we're
hearing from Jake Sullivan, the National Security adviser, as he travels and as he speaks with some of these foreign leaders, it's very clear that
the White House is very eager to get a deal before they leave the White House here, before it is handed over to incoming President Trump.
And so we are hearing from Sullivan when he's traveling the rhetoric of this, in essence, last ditch effort to bring these hostages home to get a
deal and really putting a time stamp on this. It was notable yesterday after a meeting with Netanyahu, that Sullivan specifically said he hopes
that a deal can get done this month. That interesting time stamp there. And he's also intimating that there's a new tone to the talks, a new sense of
urgency and momentum.
After he met with Netanyahu and some of the top security and policy aides there, he said that there's a renewed sense of momentum after the long
impasse. He said the surround sound of these negotiations is different today than it has been in the past.
And as you noted in the introduction there, Omar, that he is off to go to Cairo and Doha, the moderators, some of the moderators in these talks, to
add to these negotiations that are happening behind closed doors, I should say that, although we hear from him in the White House, this newly
optimistic tone, we don't know details of a deal. We don't know what the specifics are.
And obviously we have to urge caution, as he did when he spoke to reporters in Israel yesterday that even though it feels good, the direction is
heading in the right direction, that something certainly to note that these are sensitive negotiations and nothing certainly is final until it is --
Omar.
JIMENEZ: Yes. And Sunlen, just on that last point before we go. Yes. Positive statements about a Gaza hostage ceasefire deal. But we've been
here before. I know they are expressing optimism and I guess cautious optimism seems to be the word. Do we have a sense that this effort is
different in any way than, than some of the previous efforts that have gotten to the five-yard line and maybe not materialized?
SERFATY: I think that I know we heard from National Security adviser Jake Sullivan yesterday that there is a renewed sense that because of the
regional developments that are happening, that this could provide an opportunity to kind of unlock something that has been at an impasse for so
many months. So I think that is in part what is fueling this momentum. I think there is obviously that timeline of that.
President Biden only has now just over one month left in office, and he certainly would like to deliver a deal before he leaves the Oval.
JIMENEZ: Sunlen Serfaty, really appreciate the reporting.
Coming up for us, is this the man who can unite a fractured government in France? It is a tall task, but we're going to take a look to the very
challenging to-do list for the newest French prime minister. Plus, just over a month until Donald Trump's second inauguration, and he appears
pretty eager to turn the ceremony in Washington into a global affair. Details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:16:28]
JIMENEZ: Welcome back. Many parts of Ukraine are in the dark and on high alert after what one official called a massive Russian attack on its energy
sector. Now, authorities told people to remain in shelters in case of further attacks and warned of widespread power outages.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia launched more than 90 missiles and some 200 drones at targets across the country overnight. He
said most of the missiles were shot down, but the damage is still being assessed.
Now it took days longer than planned, but French President Emmanuel Macron has finally named a new prime minister, centrist Francois Bayrou will be
the sixth prime minister of Mr. Macron's presidency. He replaces Michel Barnier, who was pushed out in a vote of no confidence after just three
months in office.
CNN's Melissa Bell reports from Paris' deep divisions in parliament could spell significant headwinds for the incoming PM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A centrist French politician, he now becomes the fourth prime minister this year to take over
at a particularly difficult time, but he is considered a politician who can federate as many of those disparate French political forces as possible.
It's unclear whether it will actually work in the long term, and his government can hold longer than Michel Barnier did, which had a historic
low, a historic record rather for brevity, it was just three months long. Whether Francois Bayrou can stay longer, much depends, of course, now on
what happens in parliament. He's going to have to name a new government that the three very different blocs in parliament can agree upon, or at
least that none can vote down.
But he is considered a centrist. He is well-respected in French politics. He's been further to the right at times under certain presence, closer to
the left, at others forming his own middle party. The modem many years ago. And so he is considered both to have the stature and the center position
that might allow, if anyone can do it, a prime minister to take control at this very divided time in French politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Now, with the presidential inauguration in the United States only weeks away, Donald Trump is doing things his way when it comes to the
invitations. The president-elect is personally reaching out to some world leaders, including heads of state, that have clashed with the U.S. in the
recent past.
CNN's Kristen Holmes explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have learned that President-elect Donald Trump, unsurprisingly, wants to make his
inauguration a global affair. And so he is reaching out, either directly or indirectly, through back channels, to foreign leaders to invite them to the
inauguration.
Just to give you an idea of how this normally works. Generally, foreign leaders aren't directly invited to the inauguration. What happens is the
joint committee, a bipartisan committee that works on the inauguration, works with the State Department. They send out invitations to diplomats who
then will attend the inauguration. They do not reach out directly to foreign leaders.
But Donald Trump is clearly doing things differently. Now one of the people we know he has reached out to is China's Xi Jinping. He is not expected to
attend and said he will send a delegation of senior Chinese officials. But it does raise the question as to who else Donald Trump is talking to. We
have spoken to sources close to the former president, now president-elect, about these conversations, and they say a lot of them are casual and the
aides are not really keeping track of who he has invited yet because they're not involved in all of these conversations.
[10:20:05]
They might be a pull aside when he was at Notre Dame in France. They also could come in the form of an ask while he is on the phone with a world
leader about a different topic, formally saying you should come to the inauguration. So it will be interesting to see how this all plays out and
who actually shows up.
Again it's unsurprising because it's Donald Trump. He likes to make a spectacle. He likes to have a show. But it is surprising in the sense that
this isn't the way these things are generally handled, even though it is up to his discretion, his team's discretion on who comes, who's invited. He
has the tickets. It'll just be interesting to see how it all ends up playing out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Thank you, Kristen Holmes, for that reporting.
And staying in Trump world, Amazon has confirmed to CNN that it's planning to donate $1 million cash to Donald Trump's inauguration, and it will make
$1 million donation in kind by streaming the event on Amazon Prime Video. Company founder Jeff Bezos is expected to pay a visit to Trump in the
coming days. Bezos and other tech leaders are seeking a closer relationship with the president-elect after years of friction.
And the President-elect Trump is already making clear that pardoning those convicted in connection to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol is a
top priority in his new administration. Trump telling "TIME" magazine in an interview released Thursday he's going to begin reviewing possible pardons
in the first hour he gets to office and plans to take it case by case.
CNN's senior crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So Donald Trump, in these recent interviews, is indicating he wants to pardon
nonviolent rioters, and he wants to do it immediately in office. But what our reporting, our sources are telling us is that it just isn't clear who
is going to be pardoned and how, among these January 6th rioters, will it be all of them? Will it be done in a blanket fashion?
Will rioters or the defense attorneys have to apply to someone, or somehow within the Trump administration or the Trump transition to get individual
names included in that list? And there's other questions about, do they draw a line somewhere on who is technically a nonviolent rioter? There are
many, about 200, that have been convicted of assault. But those assaults range in the severity.
Some of them are deeply violent assaults that some of these January 6th rioters had toward police, where they were beating police officers. There
were others where the assault is much less aggressive, sort of pushing over a barrier, slamming a door in the face of someone. So there are a lot of
questions.
And the Trump transition, it appears that they just haven't figured it out yet. That's what our sources have been telling us, who are in touch with at
least one Trump transition staffer. All at the same time there's this anticipation of the pardoning of January 6th rioters. But judges who have
handled these 1500 or so cases in the D.C. district court, they are making clear that they believe that these people who are Capitol rioters are being
brought to justice and should be even if the president wants to pardon them.
Judge Royce Lamberth, on the bench in Washington, D.C., he said at a hearing I was at last Friday these people chose to trespass on restricted
grounds, destroy public property, assault law enforcement officers and attempt to subvert the will of an electoral majority. Conduct such as this
is light years outside the egis of the First Amendment. Every rioter is in the situation he or she is in because he or she broke the law and for no
other reason.
There's another judge, a Trump appointee, Carl Nichols, at a hearing for another January 6th defendant, he said that he believed blanket pardons
would be beyond frustrating and disappointing. So a lot of questions exactly how this is going to play out, when Trump may or may not fulfill
his campaign promise of pardoning the January 6th rioters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Katelyn Polantz. thank you.
Still to come on CNN, an inside look at what life behind bars looks like for the suspect tied to the insurance executive's killing in New York.
Plus, New Jersey residents are fed up and want answers about what's been hovering over their communities. The White House is downplaying the
situation. We're going to tell you what people are saying just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:26:47]
JIMENEZ: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York in today for Becky Anderson.
It is a day of prayer and joy in Syria with people across the country turning out to celebrate the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad and his
regime supporters. These are the scenes from Latakia. And meanwhile, in the capital Damascus one woman told us she's thankful people can finally speak
freely. Another says it feels like a dream with hope restored. The rebel leader who led the ouster of Assad is promising a peaceful transition to a
new government.
Meanwhile, Jordan is hosting a weekend summit with foreign ministers from Western and Arab nations to focus on Syria's future. People in the country
in Syria are searching for their missing loved ones as well. A lot going on in the aftermath of the fall of the Assad regime.
CNN's Clarissa Ward visited a morgue in Damascus, where the bodies left behind bear witness to the cruelty inflicted by the regime. And we want to
warn you, some of what you see, you may find disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WARD (voice-over): A woman wails on the floor of the Mujtahid Hospital.
My mother, she's been missing for 14 years, she says. Where is she? Where's my brother? Where's my husband? Where are they?
Doctor Ahmed Abdullah shows us into the morgue where about 35 bodies have been brought in. Discovered in a military hospital days after the regime
fell, they are believed to be some of the last victims of Bashar al-Assad.
Take a look, this is the crime of the regime, he says. Even in the Middle Ages, they didn't torture people like this.
Another man points to their tattered clothing, evidence he says that most were detainees at the much feared Saydnaya prison. Even in death, they are
still only identified by numbers.
Everyone here heard about the horrors that took place in Assad's notorious prisons. But to see it up close is something entirely different.
A lot of them have bruises, have horrible wounds that seem to be consistent with torture. I just saw one woman retching as she came out of the other
room. Families are now going through trying to see if their loved ones are here.
(Voice-over): There's not enough room for all of them in the morgue so a makeshift area has been set up outside. More and more families stream in.
The light from their cell phones the only way of identifying the dead.
My only son, I don't have another, they took him for 12 years now just because he said no. 12 years, my only son, this woman shouts. I don't know
anything about him. I ask Allah to burn him, she says, of Assad. Burn him and his sons like he burned my heart.
A crowd swarms when they see our camera. Everyone here has lost someone.
All of these people are asking us to take the names of their loved ones to help them try to find them.
(Voice-over): It is a mark of desperation. Such is the need for answers. But finding those answers will not be easy.
[10:30:06]
At the military intelligence facility known as the Palestine Branch, officers burned documents and destroyed hard drives before fleeing. But
their terror was on an industrial scale. Troves and troves of prisoner files remain. It will take investigators years to go through them. Below
ground more clues etched on the walls of cells that look more like dungeons.
So you can see this list of names of it looks like 93 prisoners here. There's also a schedule for keeping the cell tidy and just graffiti
everywhere. People trying to leave marks for someone to find.
(Voice-over): Down here insects are the only life form that thrives. It's clear that anyone who could survive this will never be the same again. The
cells are empty, but the doors are finally open and the quest for answers is just beginning.
(On-camera): The one thing the Assad regime did do a very good job of was documenting its own crimes. And so the question now is, how long will it be
until you start to see human rights groups. Investigators coming in to Syria to try to start the vast process of poring through all that data. And
then what's the next step towards getting some sort of justice for these people? Could these Syrians choose to do what the Ukrainians did, which was
essentially to open themselves up to be under the jurisdiction of the ICC?
That would be the hope of many Syrians. But the disappointment as well for a lot of people you talk to here is that Bashar al-Assad is very unlikely
to ever see his day in court because, of course, he is now in exile in Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Clarissa Ward, thank you for that reporting.
We also have new developments in the deadly ambush of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. Right now the most serious charge against
his suspected killer is second-degree murder. But experts say prosecutors could step that up still to first-degree murder, depending on where the
evidence lands.
We've also learned two court dates are now set in Pennsylvania, as Luigi Mangione fights extradition to New York. And prosecutors in New York have
started presenting evidence against Mangione to a grand jury there, according to ABC News.
Meanwhile, we're hearing the alleged killer is not interacting with other inmates in prison.
CNN's Jason Carroll is following what Luigi Mangione's life is like behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Luigi Mangione is fighting extradition to New York. While that happens, this is the prison
where he's being held. It's the State Correctional Institution at Huntingdon, the oldest operating state prison in Pennsylvania. Mangione's
cell looks much like the one you see here according to a law enforcement source. His actual cell is 15 by six feet. A Department of corrections
spokesperson says he's in a single cell and not in solitary confinement. He is not interacting with other inmates at this time. He has a bed, a sink,
toilet and a desk with a seat.
STEVE BOHNEL, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: It's always interesting to see, you know, a prison in your backyard that, you know, frankly, most people
wouldn't be able to pick out of a map or wouldn't know the name of. And now everyone is interested in the type of food he's eating. You know, the cell
block that he's in.
CARROLL: Meals at the facility are served three times a day, 6:15, 10:40, and supper at 5:15. On the menu, Mangione has a choice between chicken
parmesan and a dish called pizza beans. The Department of Corrections says Mangione has taken his meals in his cell and is not interacting with other
inmates, adding, all inmates are afforded time outside their cells even if they are a higher custody level.
Mangione's case has received a great deal of national attention, so perhaps no surprise he's already known to some inmates. That type of notoriety is
also an added security concern at a correctional facility.
JUSTIN PAPERNY, PRISON CONSULTANT: Any prison, state or federal, is a predatory environment, and there could be prisoners who are there for a
long time, perhaps looking to get in the media, get some attention. So he's got to learn to enjoy his own company in a little cell with a desk, with a
toilet, with a little -- with a pen to be able to write, with a sink because he will not be around prisoners as I see it for quite some time.
The prison just can't risk it.
CARROLL: Huntington's inmates have made headlines before Mangione.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why did you do it?
CARROLL: Cosmo DiNardo, who was convicted of murdering four men and burying them on his parents' property, served part of his life sentence there. Nick
Yarris also served time there. Yarris was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 on rape and murder charges.
[10:35:04]
His sentence overturned in 2003 due to DNA evidence. He says his time at Huntingdon are years he will never forget.
NICK YARRIS, WRONGFULLY CONVICTED INMATE: He decided to send me to Huntingdon prison, the hardest prison in America at that time.
JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER: What was he going to do before that?
YARRIS: I don't know, but he made sure I went to a place that they broke you.
CARROLL: Mangione's time there could be measured in weeks as prosecutors push to have him brought back to New York.
(On-camera): The Department of Corrections also says that Mangione is allowed to have visitors there at the facility, but so far the only person
to visit him has been his attorney and that was Thursday afternoon.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Thank you, Jason.
Turning now to lights in the sky over New Jersey. Really anger and frustrations have been mounting over unexplained flying objects invading
New Jersey skies. The Federal Aviation Administration says the sightings began last month with some people describing the aircraft as big as
bicycles or small cars. So far no explanation as to what they are, where they're coming from or who is launching them.
The White House, though, says, no worries, they aren't a threat. But New Jersey officials and residents aren't buying it, and they want answers.
Joining us now is CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller.
Good to see you as always. So, look, obviously we don't have exact confirmation on where these things are coming from. We do have some videos,
but I just wonder what your take is on what we're seeing right now and sort of how people should be approaching what we're seeing.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, it's a bit of a mystery in that it has been remarkably persistent, meaning
authorities in New Jersey tell me that they have had reports and sightings every single night except Thanksgiving, which is interesting. But the
possibilities are foreign actors gathering intelligence, possibly on military locations.
Could that be Russia? Could that be China? Could that be Iran? We've seen those kinds of things before. If you recall, you know, almost two years
ago, we had that Chinese military balloon that crossed across the United States with camera equipment and high resolution equipment on board. Could
it be drone enthusiasts who are playing some kind of aerial game? Could it be U.S. government doing a red team exercise against air bases to test
their response to drone incursions?
Right now, what the White House is saying is that they have no evidence to believe it's a threat to public safety or aviation, no evidence to say that
it is foreign. But they don't say what they think it is.
JIMENEZ: And I think that gap is what's left people a little bit concerned over what's going on. And there is a military installation in the area.
Picatinny Arsenal in northern New Jersey. And I talked to one of their people yesterday, and they told me they had sightings, confirmed sighting
as they described it, back on November 13th. Obviously we're here a month later.
Are you surprised that either the government at the state level or local or even federal hasn't come out with a reason as to why these drone sightings
are happening?
MILLER: No, because we've seen this before. We had a very similar set of incidents late in 2023 that the government acknowledged only in 2024 down
around Norfolk, Virginia, over the -- over an air force base there. And interestingly, and not necessarily related, but coincidentally, yesterday,
the Justice Department announced federal charges against a Chinese national who was arrested in Santa Barbara County for launching a drone over a space
force base which was taking pictures.
And in their search warrants, they found out he had been researching the base and researching the rules and talking to other people about, could he
jailbreak the drone to make it fly higher and be less detectable as it went over the base? So, you know, we know that there are people who do
surveillance on military locations. We also know that there are drone enthusiasts who fly all over the place, and we're really -- you've got 110
mayors in New Jersey and a lot of people who have sightings.
And a federal statement that came out yesterday saying that we think a lot of those are just regular airplanes and people are making mistakes, which
could be true in some of the cases, but it's doubtful it's true in all of the cases. And frankly, it's offended some of the officials in New Jersey
who have concerns about this and are being told nothing to see here, move on. So story still developing.
[10:40:00]
JIMENEZ: Yes. And a lot of the people we spoke to out there, I don't think we could find really anyone who either hadn't seen one personally or knew
someone that had seen one, and they made the distinction themselves without me prompting that they didn't think it was an airplane. But you know, we
will see what comes out of it. It's still developing.
John Miller, thank you so much.
MILLER: Thanks, Omar.
JIMENEZ: Next on CONNECT THE WORLD, a team of explorers makes a groundbreaking discovery deep in the Mediterranean Sea. We're going to take
a look at what's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: This week on "Call to Earth," we've watched as divers Ghislain Bardout and Emmanuelle Perie-Bardout make a groundbreaking discovery in the
Mediterranean Sea. It's part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, and today we join them as they seek to learn about the mysterious deep sea
coral forests and everything that inhabits it in the hopes of protecting its future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The discovery of the Fourni marine animal forest is the result of years of planning, but it
is also only the beginning. Now, Under the Pole will collaborate with Lorenzo Bramanti, a renowned coral ecologist, to collect as much data as
possible to aid in the protection of this precious new discovery.
LORENZO BRAMANTI, SCIENTIFIC CO-DIRECTOR, DEEPLIFE: For the first time, me and other colleagues are trying to really define this concept of forest and
putting in a scientific quantification that makes it possible to use it in conservation.
GHISLAIN BARDOUT, CO-FOUNDER, UNDER THE POLE: Gorgonians or black corals are like trees, let's say small trees. They can be that high, that high,
that high. But they are really a shelter, a habitat for many other species.
WEIR: The science is a multidisciplinary approach to establish how robust these deep forests are to the effects of climate change, and whether they
can be a refuge for sea life as shallower ecosystems continue to decay. Involving ecology, chemistry, acoustics, hydrodynamics and physics, each
research element needs to be run past the divers to make sure it's feasible in the limited time they have at such extreme depths.
STEEVE COMEAU, MARINE BIOLOGIST: OK, so this is the new device that you are going to have to deploy. The goal of this setup is to measure the
calcification of the community. So to see how the community is growing.
EMMANUELLE PERIE-BARDOUT, CO-FOUNDER, UNDER THE POLE: How many times should we put this underwater?
COMEAU: The goal would be to try to go first on the part with the gorgonians, then the part with the black coral. If there is time, and if
the weather allows it to then have like on a controlled site without corals or gorgonians.
WEIR: Very few people in the world have the training to dive to the Mesophotic zone, and fewer still have the ability to work down there to
reach.
[10:45:10]
WEIR: To reach these depths, Under the Pole's divers must use rebreathers. Originally used for military purposes, rebreathers absorb the carbon
dioxide from each exhale and recycles it back through a closed circuit as oxygen. This allows divers to stay underwater for far longer than scuba
tanks and without bubbles, causing a lot less disruption to the sea life.
G. BARDOUT: It's a revolution in underwater exploration to dive deeper, longer, safer, and that enables new scientific programs to get a better
understanding of the ecology of the depths.
E. BARDOUT: Every deep dive is very tiring physiologically. Sometimes we lose five kilograms during one dive. It's just water, but it's very
dehydrating to dive like this.
WEIR: On a typical mission lasting six or seven months, the crew will complete between 300 and 400 dives to different hotspots all across the
Mediterranean.
E. BARDOUT: I think when you are doing exploration like we are doing, it gives us a huge responsibility. We see things that nobody can see, but it's
not enough. Exploration for exploration's sake is not enough. So we need this very strong collaboration with scientists. And this is what I love, is
that we take very different person with very different specialty where different of working all together to work for one purpose.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: And to see more from Under the Pole, tune in for the full documentary "Call to Earth: Forests of the Deep" this weekend on CNN.
We're back after a quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: Last night's Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas saw the likes of Teddy Swims, Coldplay and Shaboozey performing, and Taylor Swift took home
a record 10 trophies breaking the record for the most BMA. Something to celebrate, something extra to celebrate today, she turns 35. What have you
done before 35?
And Billboard has already made history this year with the first ever Billboard Arabia Music Awards held this week in Riyadh, celebrating the
most streamed songs and artists across the Middle East. Wednesday's ceremony shone a spotlight on the region's thriving Arabic music scene and
attracted a crowd of celebrities and music fans alike.
Ahead of the show, our Becky Anderson caught up with Mike Van, president of Billboard, and Ramy Zeidan, managing director of Billboard Arabia, to talk
about the growing influence of Arabic music on the global stage. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE VAN, PRESIDENT, BILLBOARD: At Billboard we've always celebrated artist achievement and to be able to do so for the very first time here in Riyadh
and in the region for that matter is extremely meaningful. The brand has been around for over 125 years. It's obviously been primarily in the U.S.
and on the West, but to be able to do so here in MENA and region is just a huge, huge, huge feat. And we're very, very excited about it.
[10:50:03]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And this region, Rami, the Middle East and North Africa, the fastest growing music markets, as I understand,
globally with a near 25 percent growth last year and streaming platforms reporting something like 40 percent surge in in global streams of Arabic
music. With streaming and live events booming, you're in Saudi Arabia, where the live events market is huge, what's next for Billboard Arabia?
RAMI ZEIDAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, BILLBOARD ARABIA: This year has been pretty phenomenal. We kicked off with 10 charts celebrating the diversity of this
amazing region with four dialect charts and subgenres. We've launched the first edition of the Billboard Arabian Music Awards. What's next for us is
to scale this even further, open up the cultures to each other, see more collaborations happening.
ANDERSON: Mike, let's talk about the awards then. Just give us a sense of the categories and some of the standout nominees.
VAN: I will tell you that we're very excited to celebrate, you know, legacy artists as well as ones that are currently charting across all of the
charts. I'm not going to tell you which ones were my favorite. I'm really excited to see all acts, all artists to be celebrated here and recognized
for their achievement on the charts.
ZEIDAN: 260 nominations and some artists really, really shining out with 14 nominations and seven nominations. People like Al Shami, Dystinct, Eliana,
Majeed Abdullah.
ANDERSON: Mike, TikTok and Instagram. Two platforms that have really helped these artists from the region promote themselves. Going forward, has
Billboard planned to leverage its platform to bring these talents to an even wider audience?
VAN: We are unique in the sense that we work with all platforms, all data providers, all of the major labels, all of the DSP's, Instagram, TikTok
included as well. And so we collect data from all of those platforms and brands and businesses, and that's the data that makes up the charts, right?
ANDERSON: And Remi, for those who are watching this, who may not know much about Arabic music and Arab stars, what's your message? What makes this
special and unique?
ZEIDAN: There's a huge diaspora audience out there that's also networked with friends that are from international markets, and our message to them
is listen to our culture. Enjoy its sound. One of the things that we're really, really enjoying is we're starting to get requests from
international labels and international partners who are looking for the trending artists here in the region to collaborate and merge sounds. So the
main dream for us is to, and the vision, is to bridge cultures between us and global.
ANDERSON: And Mike, can you just give us a sense of how important Vision 2030 has been? I mean, it's a complete change in Saudi for support of
music, you know, alongside the film industry and arts and culture across the board.
VAN: And I came here two years ago to this month, when Rami and I first met, and I saw the transformation before my eyes, right, in terms of seeing
how serious the kingdom here was about making change. And, you know, going on the global stage. And so to be able to leverage music as a passion
point, we believe is absolutely spot on. And I think it's going to pay dividends astronomically in the future. And to be a part of this 2030
vision is, I think, again, going to be phenomenal for everybody.
ANDERSON: So tell us about what we can expect in the future.
ZEIDAN: So we are a very young region. We have a lot of amazing creative capacity. I believe we're going to see an explosion of names, and we're
going to see an explosion of more variety in our Arabic sound. Our role on the round table of the music community is to help that acceleration and
helping that acceleration means connecting people and driving innovation and inspiring innovation and inspiring music creation. That's going to be a
major, major, major point of focus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: And by the way, it was a big night of celebration as well, with Tamer Ashour taking home Song of the Year honors and Sherine Abdel Wahab
being crowned Artist of the Year as well. Congratulations to them.
Meanwhile, the New York Mets are showing off their new multi-million-dollar man. The team introduced their incoming outfielder Juan Soto at a news
conference on Thursday. The baseball superstar recently became the highest paid player in professional sports history. He signed a 15-year, $765
million deal, according to several reports. Is it too late to play baseball? Soto told reporters he was won over by the team's leadership and
impressed by their dedication to future wins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUAN SOTO, NEW YORK METS OUTFIELDER: One of the things that opened my eyes more was how hungry they are to win a championship and to want to make a
dynasty in the New York Mets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:55:08]
JIMENEZ: Now the left-handed hitter is expected to bat second and play right field for the Mets season. Ahead of last season, Soto was traded to
the New York Yankees from the San Diego Padres and had one of the best campaigns of his seven-year career.
There's also a new champion in the world of chess. Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju has become the youngest ever undisputed world champ in classical
chess after beating his Chinese rival in what was really a grueling best of 14 final in Singapore. The 18-year-old is four years younger than the
previous record holder, the legendary Garry Kasparov, who won his first world title in 1985.
Gukesh broke into tears as the emotion of his victory sunk in, telling reporters he's living a dream he's had for more than a decade. Back in
India, celebrations broke out for the homegrown hero. You can see how many kids looking on at his performance.
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez. Stay with CNN, though. NEWSROOM is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
