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Connect the World
Putin: Russia Will Achieve Objectives Militarily If Necessary; Australia Mourns as First Funerals Held for Victims; Jack Smith to Face Questions About Trump Prosecutions; Trump to Attend Dignified Transfer of Servicemen's Remains; U.S. Air Force to Buy Two Boeing 747-8 Planes from Lufthansa. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired December 17, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: An alcoholics personality is not the best way to describe your boss, but President Trump is standing by his
chief of staff. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It's 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".
Also coming up, President Putin delivers a blunt warning. Russia will take Ukrainian territory through military means if peace talks fail. And the
surviving suspect in the Bondi Beach shooting is formally charged as the first funerals are held for victims. All right, we're around 30 minutes to
go before the start of trade in New York.
I want to check in on those futures, and you can see positive all-around NASDAQ up three tenths of a percent. DOW JONES up a quarter of a percent,
and that's after some shaky economic data that came through in yesterday's session, showing that November non-farm payrolls were up 64,000.
And the market lost around 105,000 jobs in October, unemployment sitting at 4.6 percent. So that, of course, creating a little bit of concern within
the markets. But today, it seems like things are back on track. We'll check in on those numbers in about 30 minutes from now.
In the meantime, I want to start with the latest comments by Russia's President on ending the conflict with Ukraine. Vladimir Putin saying,
Russia will, quote, achieve the liberation of its historical lands through military means if peace talks yield no results. He also says diplomacy is
the preferable method to end the conflict.
The question of territory has proven to be difficult to resolve during negotiations. Speaking at the annual meeting of Russia's Defense Ministry,
Putin also said Europeans are being brainwashed with fears about an inevitable clash with Russia. We've got Senior International Correspondent,
Fred Pleitgen joining us now from Moscow.
Fred, good to have you there. So, President Putin threatening that he's ready to take the entire Donbas region through military means if peace
talks fail, making clear that he's not going to back down. Give me a sense of the reaction, firstly, from, you know Russia what this means.
And then also in terms of the current pace, how long would it take to achieve this if peace talks actually do fail?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's -- first of all, I think it's a lot of really interesting comments
coming from the Russian President in what is -- what many call is a decisive time right now in that effort to try and end the conflict in
Ukraine.
And of course, one of course, one of the things that many people are looking at is what exactly is the diplomatic momentum after those talks
that happened on Monday in Berlin between the U.S. Chief Negotiator, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, the Ukrainian side, and then also the U.S.'s
European NATO allies as well, of course, led by the Germans.
Of course, they all felt that there was a lot of progress that was made. One thing that was floated, apparently, by the United States, is what they
call platinum security guarantees, but at the same time, no NATO membership for the Ukrainians. And the big question then was, how are the Russians
going to react?
Now, I spoke to Russian officials here, and some of them said, look, we still want to see a draft of what exactly was agreed upon there in Berlin,
but the Russians keep talking about those root causes of the conflict with that, of course, they mean the eastward expansion of NATO over the past
years, and also those territorial questions that you've been talking about, or that you mentioned there as well.
And one of the things that Vladimir Putin did indeed mention in that speech that was very wide ranging, was what he called those root causes. And he
did have a very blunt warning. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA: We would prefer to do this and eliminate the root causes of the conflict through diplomacy. If the
opposing country and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive discussions, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands
through military means.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So, the Russians, they're saying Vladimir Putin saying they believe that the initiative is on their side, the pressure is on their
side, as far as the military campaign is concerned. But also, at the same time, saying that the Russians still are following that diplomatic avenue
as well.
And there again, the big issues have been the possible NATO membership, or non-NATO membership of Ukraine. That's where the U.S. floated what they
called those platinum security guarantees that the Trump Administration says won't be on the table forever, as they put it.
But the big question, and the biggest problem, no doubt, is the question of territories. The Russians, of course, want the Ukrainians to hand over
territories in the east of Ukraine, including some that the Russians have not even occupied yet. The Ukrainians, of course, saying that they are not
willing to do that and also saying they're not willing to do that officially, officially cede those territories.
[09:05:00]
So, a lot of difficult questions still remain, while at the same time, you do have some pretty clear language coming from the Kremlin today, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Moscow for us. Thank you so much. So, while the conflicts in Ukraine continues, EU leaders are under pressure to
agree on a funding deal earlier today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament there is, quote, no more
important act of European defense than supporting Ukraine's defense.
Her remarks come a day before European leaders gather in Brussels to debate whether to grant Ukraine access to frozen Russian assets, to bank roll war
efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Europe's era of independence must be unstoppable, and we have more work to do. We have to
go further. We must move swiftly, and that is particularly important when it comes to security and defense.
The bottom line is simple. Europe must be responsible for its own security. This is no longer an option. This is a must.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: All right. Well CNN's Melissa Bell who's following the story for us. Melissa, good to have you with us. So, the President of the European
Commission there, apparently taking another veil dig at the Trump Administration and urging European strategic autonomy in those remarks we
just heard.
Is it likely that EU leaders will agree to a funding deal for Kyiv and tapping into those Russian assets?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a lot at stake, of course, at this summit that begins tomorrow, where they're going to be
looking at exactly that question, not only the question of whether they can help Ukraine fund itself, because we understand that Ukrainian funding is
due to run out from the spring of next year, hence the urgency of trying to find money to help it run the country, its state, never mind its military
campaign to defend itself.
So that burning question about how Europe can continue to fund Ukraine, of course, very important as well, because it is about Europe and how it
continues to function, and how united it can be, and how it defends itself, but also how it governs. And I think that goes to the heart of voters von
der Leyen had, say, a sort of rallying cry to Europeans at a very difficult time and on a very difficult question.
Now, what we saw last week was the Europeans managed to change the system slightly so that they don't need unanimity on this qualified majority will
suffice. And what they announced is that they had blocked those frozen assets. So, they no longer have to come back to them every six months to
try and renew the freezing of those assets.
The question now that will be before the European leaders is going to be the question of whether or not they are able to use those funds, some $250
billion worth of frozen funds, and underwrite the loan that Ukraine needs so badly to fund not just the next few months, but beyond that, its
reconstruction.
So, it's about the future funding of Ukraine, but it is also about how Europe governs itself, how it can come together. The trouble for the
Europeans is that there are several countries that are deeply opposed to the idea of using these frozen assets to fund Ukraine, not least Belgium,
where many of these assets are held.
It fears that it could then be liable for Russian legal proceedings to try and reclaim some of that money already. The financial institution that
holds the bulk of those assets that has said that it has said that it has more than 100 legal procedures coming towards it from inside Russia.
So, but it is not the only country that is opposed. There are others that have lined up behind it to oppose this move. Chief country arguing for it
is Germany, and many say that is because the alternative to using these frozen Russian funds would be to look again at Euro bonds and common EU
funding, and that is something the Germans are deeply skeptical about.
So, it is going to be a very important meeting, not only for the future of Ukraine and its funding, but actually for Europe as well, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Melissa, thanks so much for that update. In Australia, Wednesday, the first funerals for victims of the Bondi Beach massacre.
Among those buried, the rabbi who organized the Hanukkah by the sea event were beach goers were gunned down. Eli Schlanger was known as the Bondi
rabbi.
He was a father of five with his youngest child, only two months old, his father-in-law paid tribute to rabbi Schlanger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RABBI YEHORAM ULMAN, FATHER-IN-LAW OF RABBI ELI SCHLANGER: It is unthinkable. Eli, talk about you the past tense. Eli, from the moment you
married Taylor, you became the son to us as much as she's our daughter, and you became everything to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, just hours after the funeral, police charged the surviving suspect in the mass shooting with 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of
attempted murder, and a terrorism charge, and he was shot during the attack.
[09:10:00]
The New South Wales Police Commissioner says he'll be transferred to a correctional facility when released from hospital. Will Ripley has more on
the funerals and the rise of antisemitism in Australia, of the Bondi Beach massacre, ahead of that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The hearse has just arrived with the bodies of one of the rabbis. Let's just pause for a moment
and take this in. Funerals are now underway for the 15 people killed in Sunday's terror attack, and some of the hardest scenes are here in Redfern
where family and friends gather to remember the youngest victim, 10-year- old Matilda.
She leaves behind not just her parents, but her younger sister, summer, Sunday, the day of the attack, was a day of face painting, playing with
goats and having fun with her parents, who say they were just briefly separated in the crowd, a moment that turned into a nightmare.
VALENTYNA, MATILDA'S MOTHER: Like she's running around happy, and then second what I see before my eyes, she's dying from the ground. I just can't
explain --
MICHAEL, MATILDA'S FATHER: I rubbed my shirt and I was talking to her because she was --
VALENTYNA: She wasn't --
MICHAEL: She wasn't shocked. She was telling me it's hard to breathe.
RIPLEY: As this city mourns, families here are left with the same questions how this happened and why?
ELLIOT, WITNESS: It's our loss. It's our community's loss.
RIPLEY: Elliot was there. He knows many of the victims. What's it like to grow up as a Jew here?
ELLIOT: You just live in like utopia here. This utopia has just turned to dystopia.
RIPLEY: Have you noticed a rise in antisemitism since October 7th 2023?
ELLIOT: Incredibly. I mean --
RIPLEY: Here in Australia.
ELLIOT: Incredibly.
RIPLEY (voice-over): October 7th is when Hamas attacked Israel. The retaliation that followed has killed or injured more than 10 percent of
Gaza's population in the last two years, an independent U.N. inquiry said Israel is committing genocide. Israel denies that. There have been protests
worldwide, including here in Sydney.
During this period, Australia, like many places, has seen a massive spike in antisemitic attacks.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We want to stamp out and eradicate antisemitism from our society.
ELLIOT: The restaurant we're coming up to here was burnt down. There's a school, there's a daycare that was also burnt down. There's been
antisemitic graffiti. There's been kids having eggs thrown at them. There's everything. It's kind of has gotten lost, not to us. We've been begging our
government. We've been telling them, swipe that way.
RIPLEY: OK.
ELLIOT: You'll read some of them.
RIPLEY (voice-over): He shows me the comments to social media posts about the attack.
RIPLEY: Can you guys see this? Ha, ha, ha, rot in hell. Rest in Bondi Beach, piss water, you ardent genocide defender. Oh, my God, I can't go on
actually.
ELLIOT: Yeah, I don't even need to comment on that because --
RIPLEY: And this is, I mean --
ELLIOT: This is constant. I mean, this is everywhere. Look at this view.
RIPLEY: -- what you mean by utopia.
ELLIOT: Things are going to be OK, because the end of the day, the one thing they can't take from us is that we live in the most beautiful place
on earth.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Will Ripley, CNN, Sydney.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Well today in Washington, Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is set to testify in a closed-door deposition before the Republican controlled
House Judiciary Committee. The hearing was called by the Chairman of the Committee, Jim Jordan, a close ally of President Trump.
Smith-Biden era official, brought the first and only federal charges against Mr. Trump in 2023. Sources tell CNN his testimony is expected to
lean heavily on the president's alleged mishandling of classified documents and his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election.
CNN's Annie Grayer is live in Washington for us. Annie, so what are we expecting today?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, we are expecting this deposition to go for hours. We are waiting for Jack Smith to arrive, where he will be
sitting in the room behind me, getting grilled by both Democrats and Republicans. Now, Smith has been a top target for House Judiciary Chair Jim
Jordan, as Republicans have argued that Smith's two criminal investigations against Trump have been politically motivated.
And that they -- that he used those investigations to weaponize the federal government against Trump, his allies and even conservatives. But Smith
wants to answer questions we're told, that he even wanted this to be a public hearing where everyone could hear what he had to say, but Jim Jordan
decided that he wanted this to be a close door deposition.
[09:15:00]
One thing that we know for certain is going to come up is Smith's subpoenaing of lawmaker phone records. We know that at least nine
Republicans had their phone records subpoenaed as part of this investigation. Republicans are furious about this. Smith wants to speak
about how those phone records were used and discuss how only the phone numbers and length of calls were included, not exact -- not the contents of
the call.
But there are a lot of things that Smith can and can't talk about. He wants to be forthcoming here so that Jim Jordan is, you know, satisfied by the
end of this deposition. But he also has to be mindful of the restrictions of his testimony, for example, his final -- the second part of his final
report into Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents is still under seal by a court.
So, there's only so much he can talk about there, but Jim Jordan is by no means done with his investigation. I reported yesterday that there are four
of Smith's top deputies that he also wants to interview by the end of the month. So, we will be outside of this room waiting for Smith's arrival.
We're expecting to go a lot of today.
GIOKOS: All right. Annie Grayer, thank you so much. So, loyalty is king in the Trump Administration, and apparently it goes both ways. Donald Trump
and his allies rallying around the Chief of Staff after she was perhaps a little too honest. We'll explain that right after the short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. When three Americans were killed in an ambush style attack in Syria last weekend, President Trump promised serious retribution
for those responsible. Today, though he's focused on the victims. A few hours from now, the president travels to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware
to receive the bodies of two service men shot dead by a gunman believed to have extremist ideals.
Now, the number of countries facing travel restrictions into the United States is growing significantly after President Trump signed a proclamation
expanding the list of countries with full or partial entry bans. Nationals from seven new countries were added to the full travel ban list, including
Laos, Sierra Leone and Syria.
15 additional countries, including Angola, Tanzania, as well as Malawi, now face partial restrictions on travel to the United States. The White House
says the 39 listed countries demonstrate severe deficiencies in screening, vetting and information sharing.
Back at the White House, Team Trump has been dealing with intense fallout from his Chief of Staff's bombshell interview with Vanity Fair, cabinet
officials, top aides and even the president himself, have been fiercely defending Susie Wiles after her blunt insider comments painted a largely
and flattering picture of the administration.
I want to turn up the latest of all of this. We've got Alayna Treene live in Washington for us.
[09:20:00]
And honestly, the story is just blowing up globally. I'm sure, it's a big topic of conversation within the White House and with the Trump's inner
circle. Let's talk about Susie Wiles and the fact that President Trump has come out and fully supported her, despite some of the comments that were
published.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. I mean, first of all, I would just say how uncharacteristic this was.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
TREENE: I think part of the reason this series of interviews, she spoke with Vanity Fair, actually, over the course of 11 interviews, was so
remarkable, and the reason it really seized the attention of so many people in Washington and specifically, of course, here at the White House, is
because this is very much unlike her.
I have covered Susie Wiles for years. She is someone who is characterized as calculating, strategic and also someone who doesn't seek attention. She
likes to operate in the shadows. Often, when the president is speaking on camera, she is purposely in the corner, trying not to be taking any of the
attention away from that.
So that's part of why this is so striking. Just to give you a little sense of that, but some of what she said, the remarkably candid and at times very
unflattering language she used to describe not only some of the top administration officials here in D.C. and at the White House, but also of
the president himself.
One thing that she said about him was that he has an alcoholics personality, trying to describe him as being this larger-than-life
personality, she said essentially, he has an alcoholics personality the vice president. She went on to talk about him as well, saying that he has
been a conspiracy theorist, for a decade.
The president actually did respond to some of this. When he talked to "The New York Post" in an interview after the story was published, someone asked
him about this directly, and he said he hadn't read the piece at length, but that rather than even just brushing aside and down playing this, he
actually embraced this idea.
He was like I always said, If I were to drink, he's famously, I should know, not a drinker. He's a teetotaler. But he said that he would become an
alcoholic, and that's what he told "The New York Post". He said, I have a possessive personality, so completely shutting this down.
And he was just one of many people, Eleni, that did this we saw shortly after this article was published, a swift and staunch defense of Susie
Wiles for many of the people that she actually criticized, another one was Attorney General Pam Bondi. She had described Bondi as being someone who
completely whiffed the handling of the Epstein investigation and the Epstein files.
Bondi was one of those people who came out and called her a dear friend and said that the piece was only to try and sow division. Now what -- I had a
lot of conversations with people yesterday about this, Eleni, here at the White House, and many people close to Trump, who essentially all said, if
this was anyone else, likely, there would be ramifications, but because it is Susie Wiles, someone who is considered one of the most loyal people to
the president, someone who really he doesn't trust more.
She's one of the few people that he really does trust in, this would maybe be a different picture, but there's still a series of questions of the
motivation here, again, because everything she does is so calculated, she's actually typically the kind of person that is in charge of cleaning up --
GIOKOS: We're running out --
TREENE: -- these types of messes go on.
GIOKOS: Yeah, we're running out of time, Alayna. But President Trump is also going to address the nation tonight. I'm sure he's going to be talking
about some of this.
TREENE: Yeah. I mean, look, I think this is probably going to be somewhat of a distraction from all of this. What we are told about this speech
tonight, and we heard some of this from the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, is that he wants to tick through all of the
accomplishments over the past year.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
TREENE: This idea of this being kind of an end of the year type of address to the nation, wanting to talk about the things that he believes he's been
doing well for the country, and look ahead to the goals next year. A key question, of course, and one of the biggest focuses is right now, is his
handling of the economy and this idea of affordability.
You can expect him to touch on that, and it's really an issue that he's really struggled to own. And we know a lot of Americans are not buying into
this message that the economy is better than ever. People are feeling the high prices at the grocery stores, at the gas pump.
And a lot of you know concern we've seen in the polls as well about their fears of the economy and the pain that they are feeling right now. And so
that will be a key question for how he can juggle that tonight.
GIOKOS: Yeah, all right. Alayna Treene, good to have you on. Thank you so much. Right, Los Angeles County police, prosecutors, rather, have not
announced whether they'll seek the death penalty against the son of famed Hollywood Director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele.
They say they'll consider the family's wishes before finalizing that decision. Nick Reiner was formally charged Tuesday with two counts of
first-degree murder. The District Attorney's office alleging he fatally stabbed his parents with a knife. Reiner's lawyer, prominent Defense
Attorney, Alan Jackson, says it's not yet clear when his client could make his first court appearance.
[09:25:00]
Reiner is being held without bail, and authorities say he's going through medical clearance, which is standard procedure. I want to get you up to
speed now on some of the stories that are on our radar. Officials in Gaza say torrential rains and floods have killed at least 17 people and left
thousands of others without shelter.
Among the dead, a two-week-old baby who died of hypothermia. Officials are appealing to the international community for immediate aid. The U.S. Air
Force will buy two Boeing, 747-8 planes from German airline Lufthansa. An official tells CNN the planes will be used to support training and spares
for the presidential Air Force one fleet.
As it transitions to using these types of aircraft in the coming years, hundreds of staffers at the Louvre museum in Paris voted to extend their
strike earlier today. They're protesting what they say is a lack of staffing and other difficult working conditions. They're also demanding
higher wages.
The strike, which started on Monday, has forced the Louvre to close parts of the museum to visitors until further notice. And still to come,
President Trump promised voters a blue-collar job a boom, but the numbers tell a very different story. That story just after the short break. Stick
with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. The first funerals have been
held for victims of the Bondi Beach massacre. Among those laid to rest the rabbi who organized the Hanukkah event where beach goers were gunned down.
Police have charged the surviving suspects with 15 counts of murder and dozens of other offenses. In the United States, Former Special Counsel Jack
Smith will testify privately today before the House Judiciary Committee. Smith will face questions about the federal charges he brought against U.S.
President Donald Trump in 2023 and he was subpoenaed by committee chairman and Trump ally, Jim Jordan.
Later today, President Trump heads to Delaware for the dignified transfer of remains of two U.S. servicemen killed in Syria. Both were members of the
Iowa National Guard. They died in an ambush style attack last weekend. Mr. Trump is expected to meet with the families and pay his respects.
The search for suspects in the mass shooting at Brown University now is in its fifth day. Investigators are asking for tips from the public which
might help identify the person seen in these newly released surveillance videos from the FBI. Police say these images show the suspect stalking a
neighborhood for several hours before Saturday's shooting.
[09:30:00]
Right, it's that time of day a few seconds away from the start of trade in New York, and markets were pointing to a positive open after a bit of a
shaky day yesterday, after those jobs numbers came out and really rattling investors. All right, trade has officially begun in New York.
And let's take a look to see how things are doing in the few seconds of trade with the DOW JONES up slightly and basically all indices showing that
today is going to be a little bit better after markets were kind of rattled after the jobs numbers came out for November, showing that non-farm
payrolls increased 64,000 in October.
That was the bit of the scary number where you saw those -- down 105 over that month, and unemployment increasing to 4.6 percent. And of course, that
creating a lot of questions whether we'll see another interest rate cut in 2026 across the board were only slight positive territory.
In the meantime, of course, a lot of questions about where the oil market is going, how that's going to be fueling inflation, because of what we're
seeing on the oil blockade out of Venezuela. In the meantime, Wall Street is also watching the latest move by Warner Brothers Discovery.
Now in the last few hours, the parent company of CNN, filed a formal response to Paramount's hostile takeover bid last week. The Warner Brothers
Discovery Board is advising its shareholders to reject Paramount's buyout office, saying it, quote, provides inadequate value.
But the battle isn't over yet. The decision ultimately rests with those shareholders, some of whom have already said they'll reject the board's
advice. Investors also continue, in the meantime, to debate what the latest jobs report means for the state of the U.S. economy.
The November data released Tuesday shows unemployment rose to a four year high, with most sectors traditionally considered blue-collar shrinking
their head count. That's despite a campaign promised by President Donald Trump, who told voters, if we elected his policies would create a blue-
collar boom.
But nearly one year into his second term, that boom is looking more like a bust. We've got CNN's Senior Reporter, Matt Eagan, live with us in New
York. And Matt, here's the reality. If you look at manufacturing jobs, those are under pressure despite President Trump's efforts to re
industrialize the economy. So, take me through the numbers.
MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, Eleni, you look blue-collar jobs. I mean, this was really at the heart of the 2024 campaign. And candidate
Trump, he didn't just promise an increase in blue-collar jobs, he promised an outright jobs boom, one that would be driven by spiking tariffs and
slashing taxes and keeping energy cheap. Take a listen to what Trump said on the campaign trail last fall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We will attract energy hungry industries. There are a lot of industries will never be able
to make it in certain areas because they don't have energy. But we have energy hungry industries that will attract them from all over the planet,
meaning millions and millions of blue-collar jobs and jobs of every type.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
EGAN: Millions and millions of blue-collar jobs, look that just has not happened yet. In fact, industries that are traditionally considered a blue-
collar they're cutting jobs. They're not adding them. This is a look at those sectors and their three-month average based on the latest Labor
Department data.
And we can see that mining and logging, they've lost an average of 2000 jobs over the last three months. Manufacturing down by over 6300
transportation and warehousing really getting hit, losing an average of 17,000 jobs. And construction has really been one of the only bright spots
after they cut jobs earlier this year, we are starting to see a rebound.
Now, let's take a closer look at manufacturing in particular, you can see how there's been this steady decline. This is a look at manufacturing jobs
over the last year. In fact, manufacturing employment has dropped to a 3.5 year low, that's exactly the opposite of a boom.
And when you look at the trend going back to early last year, you can see that some of these problems certainly predated 2025, right? There were a
number of months last year where the manufacturing sector lost a significant number of jobs, and yeah, there were also some months where it
gained jobs.
Look at the last few months of this year, and what really stands out is how consistent the job loss has been, right? Manufacturing has cut jobs seven
months in a row. In fact, every single month since April.
[09:35:00]
That's when the president rolled out his historically high Liberation Day tariffs. And it's not just manufacturing. This is a look at transportation
and warehousing jobs. Last year, this sector was mostly gaining jobs, and now we've seen the opposite. This does seem to be a reflection of the trade
war and the tariff impact.
And so why is all this happening? Part of it does seem to be the trade war. There's also automation. Some of these industries are having a hard time
finding enough skilled workers, so there's a lot going on here. And look, it's entirely possible that there is a blue-collar jobs boom coming.
It just hasn't arrived yet. Right, it takes time to build factories and to really see the impact of some of these policies play out? And some
economists I talked to, they're hopeful that some of these blue-collar industries are going to see a rebound next year, maybe not a boom, but
possibly a recovery of unemployment.
And Eleni, you know, the stakes here are just massive for the families and local communities who are hurting right now. Back to you.
GIOKOS: Absolutely. I mean, frankly, before there's a boom, you've got to make good on the numbers that have already been lost within these
industries and then build on that. So, a really important sector to watch and really good to have you with us, breaking those numbers down, Matt
Egan.
EGAN: Thank you.
GIOKOS: Right, ahead, emotions running very high, and the third Ashes Test in Australia, the poignant tributes made to honor the lives lost in the
recent Bondi Beach shootings as the sport of cricket comes together as one. We'll bring that story to you right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: There's a new status symbol in travel, and it isn't first class in the air. Trains are having a revival as the most glamorous, sustainable and
romantic way to explore the world. In today's episode of "Seasons", Laura Jackson travels on one of the most storied journeys -- the Venice Simplon-
Orient-Express and steps inside one of the most exclusive and luxurious train carriages. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAURA JACKSON, CNN HOST, SEASONS (voice-over): Train journeys are beginning to look very different as travelers opt for longer, more enjoyable
journeys. Slow travel is gaining speed. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is probably one of the most luxurious trains in the whole world.
And for the next 28 hours, I'm going to be traveling from Paris to Venice to discover why this is just so legendary.
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You wouldn't get it, but these carriages were built between 1926 and 1949. They carried royalty, spies, revolutionaries and film stars across Europe's
grand capitals. Each carriage has a story, and some are more colorful than others. Take Dining Car 4141 decorated by the legendary Rene Lalique.
It's a glittering ode to Art Deco glamor. Then there's Sleeping Car 3425, which once helped Romanians King Carol the second make a dramatic escape
with his mistress while Sleeping Car 3544, enjoyed a rather different chapter when it was repurposed as a brothel by a French official during
World War Two talk about a change of service.
And perhaps the most famous of them all, Car 3309, trapped in a snow drip near Istanbul. It's inspired Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient
Express.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A passenger has died. He was murdered.
JACKSON (voice-over): Today's restored carriages look a bit more like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's actually a whole world behind it.
JACKSON: No way.
JACKSON (voice-over): With hidden drawers, storage panels, a disco ball. There's lots to discover.
JACKSON: Your names on the floor.
JACKSON (voice-over): Referred to as an artwork in motion, this carriage, LObservatoire is the brainchild of the renowned French Artist JR.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of this, of course, takes, you know, hundreds of people to think, to like, walk, to imagine, and, yeah, it's -- to me, it's
always really moving to come back inside, because I know it's traveling. I know it's going all around the world. And sometimes I can be on it, but
sometimes I'm like everyone else dreaming about --
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GIOKOS: All right, let's take a look at what's happening in the world of sports. The ashes already the pinnacle of cricket, where rivals Australia
and England clash every two years. The Aussies are hosting this edition as a grieving nation comes together in the wake of last weekend's terror
atrocity in Sydney.
For more, we're joined now by "World Sport's" Patrick Snell. Patrick, good to have you on, and of course, sporting events very often bring people
together at a time where a nation is grieving and pain, frankly felt across the world. Tell me what we saw at this event?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah. Eleni, you know, these are two huge cricketing rivals, Australia and England, the oldest rivalry in cricket.
And these two really do have a very, very fierce desire to beat each other when it comes to the actual field of play, but I will say that on
Wednesday, before the first day of playing, the third test got underway.
Sport rightly taking a back seat given the devastating loss of life that we witnessed Sunday on Bondi Beach in Sydney. The two nations the players
coming together as 1. 50,000 fans packed inside the stadium. Players as well, wearing their black arm bands as a mark of respect.
And also, a very moving rendition of well, by the Australian Artist John Williamson and true blue as well. It was just a very, very poignant
occasion indeed.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
SNELL: And I think it's just so good to see the relief and the hope that sport can play a strong, a small but strong part in overcoming the awful
scenes we've been witnessing, of course, once play did get underway, yes, normal rivalries would resume, but entirely appropriate that we got to see
this beautiful tribute ahead of day one's play. Back to you.
GIOKOS: Yeah, absolutely. Patrick Snell, thank you. We're going to see you after the short break for more sports and news. And I'll be back at the top
of the hour with more "Connect the World". So, stick with CNN. We'll be right back.
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(WORLD SPORT)
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