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Connect the World
EU Deciding Whether to Use Russia's Frozen Assets for Ukraine; Police Begin Reopening Site of Hanukkah Massacre; Gaza Officials Call for Urgent Humanitarian Aid Amid Storms; Trump Addresses Nation as Polls Show Low Economic Marks; Nick Reiner Makes First Court Appearance in Los Angeles. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired December 18, 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: President Trump says it's not his fault if Americans are feeling the pinch and blames his predecessor,
Joe Biden. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It's 06:00 p.m. in Dubai. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".
Also coming up on the show, EU leaders discuss whether to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, as Kyiv says it's running out of funds to
defend itself. Plus, Australia plans new hate crime laws after the Bondi Beach shooting. Right, we're around 30 minutes to go before the start of
trade in the United States.
I want to quickly check in on those market futures. And it looks like a higher open. You've got the DOW JONES hitting four tenths of a percent
higher, S&P looking strong as well. So too that is the NASDAQ, and that is because CPI just came through. Inflation came in much better than
anticipated, at 2.7 percent, so it's below that 3 percent mark, which, of course, is good news.
All right, we'll check in on those markets a little later in the show. In the meantime, we're following a critical moment for Europe. EU leaders are
meeting in Brussels to decide whether to use billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets to help finance Ukraine's war effort.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is there for that summit that's facing legal questions and political resistance, particularly from Belgium.
Listen as Mr. Zelenskyy lays out his case for access to the money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: All these questions are intertwined. Money is needed so that Russia and other countries in the
world does not use these assets as leverage against us. We are more confident at the negotiating table if we have these assets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, the Kremlin warns that any appropriations of its assets will not go unpunished. The meeting in Brussels comes as another high stakes
meeting is planned for Friday between Ukrainian delegation and the U.S. counterparts, according to President Zelenskyy.
Now CNN's Clare Sebastian is following the story for us from Brussels. Clare, good to have you on and look the Belgium government has raised a
number of concerns about using frozen assets to fund Ukraine, like legal and financial safeguards that it needs to protect against potential Russian
retaliation.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
GIOKOS: Is Belgium going to get the EU on board? And do you think that EU governments are going to step up those protections?
SEBASTIAN: Well, I think, look, it seems, certainly, from the majority of countries that were arriving here today, that the will is there to try to
get this done. Now, obviously there are some who don't think it's a good idea. Hungary's Prime Minister said it was a stupid idea coming into the
meeting today.
But overall, we're getting a sense that while they want this to happen, it's still not exactly clear how they're going to do it. Belgium is asking
for legally binding guarantees. It's asking for other countries that host some of these frozen assets to also participate in this.
And look, the EU is saying that they've heard the Belgians concerns are going to and are going to work with them. Obviously, this is now very
urgent. Timelines are contracting in this overall sort of peace effort for Ukraine. And we heard President Zelenskyy, as you showed that here, making
his very urgent pitch today.
Number one, he says, because if they don't get this money, it doesn't necessarily have to be from the Russian frozen assets that, that is his
preferred option. But if they don't get funding for the next couple of years from the European Union. He basically won't be able to fund his
defense to the same degree.
He said he won't be able to produce as many drones as he had been producing. And critically, because it feeds into these ongoing peace
negotiations. If Ukraine hasn't got enough money to fund its defense, it doesn't have as much leverage in talks. He also feels that taking or not
taking but using these frozen assets to fund a loan for Ukraine would essentially take away a point of leverage from the Russians.
So, he has actually met this morning with the Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who is obviously the main person that the European Union needs to
convince at this point. He said, look, he understands, he listens to his concerns, but he said that we can fear legal consequences.
What is worse, is when you have Russia at your border. So, he is making a pretty big pitch today, but I think the extent to which these feeds into
these ongoing negotiations, and especially Europe's role in those is critical. Take a listen to the Latvian Prime Minister who I caught up with
a little earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVIKA SILINA, LATVIAN PRIME MINISTER: The best option is to use frozen assets as well to show a strategic move towards that Europe can decide and
Europe is able to decide and to show a little bit of red flag to Russia.
[09:05:00]
And it could be really a strategic and political move towards those negotiations, which are will be held on Sunday in Miami.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: So of course, we now know that the discussions will restart on Friday between the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations. The Kremlin also says
it's preparing its next contacts with the U.S. So again, this is an extremely urgent issue for Ukraine, but we don't know how long it's going
to take.
The EU has said that they will stay until they get some kind of decision today, so we will keep going. It could be a long night, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Clare Sebastian, thank you so much for that update. Now, the youngest victim of the Bondi Beach massacre was laid to rest Thursday.
10-year-old Matilda was enjoying a Hanukkah celebration with a family when two gunmen opened fire, killing her and 14 others.
The mass shooting targeting Jews was Australia's deadliest in almost three decades. One survivor who attended Matilda's funeral recalled the terror of
those moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE MILLER, ATTACK SURVIVOR: -- the funeral was at the funeral yesterday. They are very innocent children, the unbelievable humans that rub out
yesterday. Five children have got a two-month-old, little 10-year-old girl, she bumped into my daughter. They collided and they caught up -- It's just
appalling. It's a horror show. It's horror show.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the creation of a task force to address rising antisemitism in Australia, and said there are plans
to increase the legal penalties for people who spread hate, division and radicalization. Meantime, Bondi Beach is starting to reopen. CNN's Will
Ripley visited the bridge that the shooters used during the attack.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- police reopened the bridge that was sort of the epicenter of the Bondi Beach massacre, because
that's where the two gunmen, the father and son, were standing as they were firing rounds at the Hanukkah festival, killing 15 people.
The oldest victim, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, the youngest, a 10- year-old girl named Matilda, who leaves behind heartbroken parents and a younger sister named Summer. You know, they may have chosen this spot
because they actually have a lot of cover from the trees here.
So, it was really difficult for the police to fire back, and they had these huge rifles, but they kept reloading as they gun down innocent people
simply for being Jewish. It's really haunting to be standing here, frankly, because this is the bridge that we've seen from almost every angle.
Everybody had their phones out on the day of the massacre filming this is what the gunman would have been seeing as they carried out their brutal
act. And then one of them, the father, died here. The son was shot. He was hospitalized in a coma for several days. He's now been awake.
He's been charged, and this iconic Australian beach may never feel the same, certainly for the people whose lives were changed forever on that
awful day.
GIOKOS: Officials in Gaza are appealing to the international community for humanitarian aid. Deadly torrential rains and freezing temperatures have
produced desperate conditions on the ground. Despite the ceasefire, at least 17 people have died, and thousands are without shelter.
One official in Gaza says winter storms have flooded roughly 90 percent of shelters for people displaced by the wall. Destroying essentials like
mattresses, clothing and blankets. CNN's Paula Hancocks joining us now live from Abu Dhabi. Paula, we're seeing these images, and they're catastrophic.
It's cold for heavy rain, you've got flooding, destroying tents. Explain to us the reality of what people are facing right now.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Elena, I mean, Eleni, being in a tent is no place to be when you're dealing with one of these ferocious
storms. The wind and the rain were sweeping some of these tents away, as you said, many of them were flooded.
And all of the belongings that the displaced Palestinians had would have been in those tents, the mattresses, the clothes, what little food they
had, it is an utterly miserable situation in Gaza at this point. Now, we've heard from the United Nations that there are some 1.3 million Palestinians
who are in need of urgent shelter for the winter itself.
[09:10:00]
And what we have heard from the Israeli side is that recently they have allowed, close to 310,000 tents into the Gaza Strip. We are hearing
unanimously from the NGOs that not enough is being allowed in. That there is a blockade still when it comes to trying to relief this bottleneck of
being able to take shelter and food and humanitarian goods into the Gaza Strip.
Now we have heard from the Ministry of Health as well. There has been loss of life when it comes to the very young. A two-week-old baby died of
hypothermia on Tuesday. We also heard from those officials that an eight- month-old baby died of hypothermia just last week as well.
That the Civil Defense has said that tents are simply not adequate shelter for these kinds of storms and for this winter that they are facing. Now, we
have also been seeing many Palestinians that have been displaced, sheltering in the ruins of some of the buildings.
The U.N. says more than 80 percent of buildings have been destroyed or damaged in Gaza. But there are entire families living inside the wreckage
of some of these buildings, and that in itself, causes problems, as we have seen a number of these buildings collapse with people inside them,
certainly those storms, the wind and rain making a precarious situation even more dangerous.
Now, the Civil Defense has said to people that they should not be within these devastated buildings at a time of rains. But of course, it is very
difficult to acknowledge that when there is simply nowhere else for them to go. So, we are hearing from the Civil Defense that they are calling for the
immediate reconstruction of Gaza, that tents are inadequate, and NGOs, the U.N. is calling for more shelter to be allowed in.
Now we have spoken to a number of residents on the ground who say they simply have no choice but to put their families in this kind of jeopardy in
these buildings, to be able to find some kind of shelter. And of course, it is a long winter ahead for those people in Gaza, and you add the sewage
running with rain water, with solid waste, and there, of course, the concerns of water borne diseases, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yeah, just awful situation there. Paula Hancocks, thanks for that update. Well, coming up, the U.S. President is trying to convince voters
that he has the economy under control, but are they buying it? Five days after a deadly campus shooting, authorities in Rhode Island are leaning on
old school police tactics to catch a suspect.
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[09:15:00]
GIOKOS: U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to get his messaging straight on the economy as voters grow increasingly frustrated in a rare prime time
address. He gave an agitated defense of his policies and as usual, blamed everything on the Democrats and his predecessor, Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: One year ago, our country was dead. We were absolutely dead. Our country was ready to fail.
Totally fail. Now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world. After years of record setting, falling incomes, our policies are boosting take
home pay at a historic pace under Biden, real wages plummeted by $3,000. I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Recent polling suggests most Americans aren't buying it. Quinnipiac University poll this month found 57 percent of voters think Mr. Trump is
responsible for the state of the economy, compared to only 34 percent for Biden. CNN's Alayna Treene is live at the White House for us.
Alayna, good to have you with us. Clearly, the White House is concerned, and President Trump's speech was extremely loose on facts, especially
numbers relating to the cost of living. So, take us through the concerns about how this is affecting the perceptions on President Trump, by his
base.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, I mean this -- it was -- it's clearly intended, I should say, Eleni, what the White House was
intending to do with this address. It was aimed almost entirely on affordability. Yes, the president did walk through many of the
accomplishments that he argues his team has produced, you know, over the last year or so.
Things like passing the so called big, beautiful bill, the president's tax cuts, tariffs, he talked about over and over again as a major
accomplishment for his administration, but it all ended up circling back to this issue of the high cost of living in the U.S. One thing I should say
that was very fascinating for me, someone who has covered this president for several years now, is that he actually largely stayed on script.
It was an 18-minute-long speech. Part of that is, of course, you know, the television networks were only going to have enough time to air it. So, he
knew he had to stick to a tight timeline, but he stuck to the teleprompter. I'd remind you that he gave a speech last week in Pennsylvania.
I was there in the crowd on this issue, at least it was supposed to be on this issue of affordability. He went on for over 90 minutes and weaved on
to a series of different topics, many of them not related to the economy at all. So last night was different here.
He really did try to stay on message and to try to convince Americans that the economy is better than perhaps they feel that it is. Now part of that
messaging strategy was to really try to lame any of the financial pain that Americans might be feeling at the feet of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
He even invoked Biden's name in the first sentence of his remarks. Listen to more of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Under the Biden Administration, car prices rose 22 percent and in many states 30 percent or more. Under Biden, real wages plummeted by
$3,000, electricity costs surge 30 to 100 percent under Biden. The worst thing that the Biden Administration did to our country is the invasion at
the border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: So, as you could hear there again, a number of times using Biden's name, and those are only a couple examples, Eleni, but you could hear there
too. He cited a number of statistics to try and back up what his argument was, which is that the economy is on the upswing.
But many times, he used misleading statistics. One he talked about bringing inflation down. I should say we just got new numbers this morning, but when
he said this last night, that inflation has gone way down, at that point, the most recent numbers we had was inflation at 3 percent that is exactly
where it was when he -- when Joe Biden left office and when President Trump came into office for a second term.
The new numbers this morning actually do show progress, though, saying that inflation has now cooled to 2.7 percent. But he also talked about, he
argued that unemployment was going way down as well. That's just not the case either. It was 4 percent when Trump entered office.
It is now, according to the latest numbers, 4.6 percent. So, all to say they clearly know that they have work to do ahead of them in trying to
convince Americans that you know the economy is going to get better. And part of the reason this is such a focus and a source of anxiety for people
in that building behind me is because of the midterm elections next year.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
TREENE: Trump was largely elected by many of the people who believed that he would make the economy better. They're still waiting to see that, and a
lot of them saying that they're beginning to lose patience.
GIOKOS: You're completely right. And to be honest, no matter what numbers the president shares with Americans, if Americans are not feeling their
lives are getting better, you know, then they have a lot of work to continue to do. Alayna Treene, always good to speak to you.
Thank you. Now I want to move to another story. The urgent search for a killer in Providence, Rhode Island is in its sixth day, and investigators
still can't seem to get a break.
[09:20:00]
A gunman opened fire Saturday on the Brown University campus, killing two students and wounding nine others. A lack of security cameras in the area
has complicated the investigation. Police say the public's help is crucial to finding the culprit. They're looking for a person who may have crossed
paths with a person of interest in the case.
CNN's Michael Yoshida is in Providence. Michael, good to see you. Any new leads, any new information that authorities are sharing with the public
right now?
MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Eleni, you mentioned this man had entering its sixth day here following the mass shooting on the
Brown University campus. Memorials continuing to grow as investigators continue those pleas, those urges for the public to provide any information
that might be helpful.
We do know yesterday, police put out a new map showing the areas where this person of interest that they're trying to track down was in the hours
before this shooting, potentially casing, scouting out the areas and then in the areas that they walked immediately after the deadly shooting.
In this map really gives us a sense of just how expansive the search has become throughout the broader Providence area. Investigators knocking on
doors, looking for any surveillance video that people may have, that may have inadvertently caught this person of interest moving through the
community.
Police also informing us they now have physical and DNA evidence that they've collected from the scene. There's been no matches to any individual
yet, but that could obviously be crucial to connecting any person of interest or someone else to the scene. We also have them now asking the
public for help in trying to track down someone they believe who may have passed by, been in close contact, maybe walked by, this person of interest
may have seen something, noticed something.
So, as you're noticing a lot of calls to the public for help in this investigation, we also continue to hear these questions about those
security cameras or lack thereof, in this part of the campus here. Also questions about who may have been in that study hall, that study session
where this shooting happened.
School officials telling us that they don't have an actual registry of who was supposed to be there. Because it was a study session, no one needed to
check in. There was no running list of who was going to be there. So that's complicating figuring out just what students were or weren't there.
All of this again happening as this community mourns, as they try and process this and continue to be filled with those questions of, why did
this happen, who did this, and, most importantly, where they are, and how close police may or may not be to catching them.
GIOKOS: All right. Michael Yoshida in Providence. Thank you so much. Nick Reiner made his first court appearance yesterday, on Wednesday, and his
arraignment was set for January 7th. He is accused of murdering his parents, Rob and Michele Rainer. The Los Angeles County medical examiner
said the movie director and his wife died Sunday for multiple sharp force injuries. CNN's Nick Watt has the latest on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Around 08:20 p.m., Sunday. That's Nick Reiner wandering into and out of a gas station. This footage
was just obtained by CNN. Moments after he leaves surveillance cameras in the parking lot pick up police activity.
And right there is where Reiner was arrested, as we see in these LAPD photographs, arrested on suspicion of murdering his parents. They were last
seen together Saturday night at Conan O'Brien's holiday party where Rob and Nick Reiner reportedly argued.
CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST, BEHAVIORAL ANALYST: By all accounts, Rob and Michele asked Conan if they could bring their son Nick to this party. He
was not originally on the invitation list, which shows that they were trying to work with him. They were being inclusive.
WATT (voice-over): Homicide detectives would like to speak to party goers, according to a source.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your honor, if we could, I would like to ask for a continuance --
WATT (voice-over): This morning, Nick Reiner, now charged with two counts of first-degree murder, made his first appearance in court. CNN's Stephanie
Elam was in the room.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nick Reiner appeared very calm in the court. He was seated behind glass, and he appeared to be wearing a long
blue vest, and his hands were shackled. The only thing that we heard Nick Reiner say was, yes, your honor.
WATT (voice-over): When asked by the judge if he was OK with his arraignment being pushed to January 7th, here's his lawyer.
ALAN JACKSON, NICK REINER'S ATTORNEY: This is a devastating tragedy that has befallen the Reiner family. We all recognize that our hearts go out to
the entire Reiner family. There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case. There is need to be thoroughly but very
carefully dealt with.
WATT (voice-over): Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day, reads a statement today
from Romy Reiner, who found her parents Sunday afternoon and Jake, the eldest of the three siblings.
[09:25:00]
We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity.
WATT: Now, according to the LAPD the Reiners were found in the master bedroom area of the house that is right behind me. Detectives, officers
looked for anybody else in the house. Victims, suspects they did not find anybody else. And we've also heard from the medical examiner's office,
according to the records, both the Reiners died from, quote, multiple sharp force injuries, stabbed to death. Nick Watt, CNN, Brentwood, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Well, I want to get you up to speed on other stories that were on our radar right now. Israel has approved a deal to supply natural gas to
Egypt. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a $35 billion deal as the U.S. pushes for a summit between Israel and Egypt.
According to an Israeli source, the Netanyahu government has been slow walking its approval for months and agreed only after pressure from the
White House. Brian Walshe is expected to get life in prison without parole when he's sentenced today in Massachusetts.
A jury convicted him of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Ana, in a case that drew national attention in the United States. Victim impact
statements are being read this hour ahead of the sentencing. And when we come back, is AI coming for your job? New research suggesting things might
not be so gloomy as we've been told. We'll have an update and all the details right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. EU leaders are meeting in
Brussels to decide on an unprecedented plan for funding Ukraine's war effort. They're debating whether to grant Ukraine access to billions of
dollars in frozen Russian assets to bank roll Kyiv's war chest.
It's not clear yet what the Europeans will decide. The funeral has been held for the youngest person killed in the Bondi Beach massacre. 10-year-
old Matilda was enjoying a Hanukkah celebration with a family when gunmen killed her and 14 others. The attack prompted Australia's Prime Minister to
announce a task force to address rising antisemitism.
Americans can sigh in relief as inflation cool down to 2.7 percent in November after facing a persistent high cost of living. The Consumer Price
Index report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was delayed by the government shutdown, but it shows a lower-than-expected increase and of
course, boosting the way that markets are going to be performing today.
[09:30:00]
We're a few seconds away from the start of trade in New York, and market futures pointing much higher as we're getting better than anticipated
economic data. All right. Trade officially beginning in New York. And as I mentioned, November, inflation coming in at 2.7 percent.
It was widely anticipated that inflation was going to remain at around that 3 percent level. It was been flat lining there for quite some time. And of
course, markets responding to this, you've got the DOW JONES setting up six tenths of a percent. S&P, almost 1 percent higher.
The NASDAQ, however, oh, there we go. It's now just refreshed, sitting higher 1.4 percent. I also just want to mention Core CPI, which strips out
volatile food and energy prices, also cooler than anticipated, increasing 2.6 percent over 12 months. So overall, the inflation picture looking much
better despite the slightly disappointing non-farm payrolls that we got earlier this week.
The question is, how is the Federal Reserve going to respond to all of this early next year, and whether another interest rate cut will be warranted?
All right. In the meantime, AI leaders warn the technology could eliminate half of all entry level jobs and spike unemployment.
New research showing the damage isn't as widespread as initially feared, at least not yet. According to Vanguard, jobs highly vulnerable to AI like
data sciences or paralegals are growing faster than they did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. But this isn't because AI isn't a long-term threat,
rather, AI isn't good enough just yet.
CNN's Matt Egan spoke to our Kate Bolduan to break down all the details of this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Look these fears about AI killing jobs. They're palpable. They're understandable to get how game changing the
technology feels --
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, and the things that lots of smart people in the AI space are saying.
EGAN: Yes, the creators of AI are making some pretty doomsday warnings. But look, this new research does suggest that the opposite is happening, at
least for now. So, Vanguard looked at about 140 occupations, that are most exposed to AI, right? Everything from data scientists and office clerks to
paralegals and proof readers as well.
And the surprising finding is that they found that employment in these occupations is growing faster now than it was before the launch of ChatGPT.
Specifically, they found that job growth in these fields was about 1 percent pre-COVID, but post COVID, it's starting around mid-2023 it's been
1.7 percent.
So that's the exact opposite of what you'd expect to find is more jobs in those fields. And not only that, but Vanguard found that these AI exposed
occupations are growing more than twice as fast as all other occupations. Now, another surprising finding that's particularly relevant given the
conversation we just had with that panel about affordability is wages, right?
Vanguard found that real wage growth in these AI exposed fields was slightly negative before COVID. Now after COVID, it's accelerated to almost
4 percent. So that is interesting, that there's even more demand for workers in those fields, as demonstrated by the fatter paychecks.
Now, none of this is to say that AI isn't doing some damage, right? I mean, we've seen a number of major companies announced AI linked layoffs and
downsizing, right? YouTube, Amazon, sales force, online education company, check, all of them have announced that.
And the fed has even said that some companies say that AI has allowed them to hire fewer entry level workers as well. The point of this research is
that it just doesn't seem like it's happening right now. And of course, that could change, right, as AI continues to advance, as they address these
hallucinations that these models sometimes make, then you could see even more disruption in the job market. It just doesn't seem like it's happening
at this moment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: The U.S. military is embroiled in a legal and ethical debate over its strike on an alleged drug boat in early September, an initial attack
left two survivors who were then killed by a follow up strike. Senate Democrats got a briefing from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week.
It left them frustrated because they weren't shown the complete video of the incidents, and they're calling for an unedited version to be released.
Here's what Hegseth said on that subject.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: In keeping with long standing department of war policy, Department of Defense Policy, of course, we're
not going to release a top secret full unedited video of that to the general public.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:35:00]
GIOKOS: Right, joining us now is CNN's Senior National Security Reporter Zachary Cohen. Zach, it's good to have you with us. I mean looking at some
of the to and fro with regards to whether they can or cannot release this unedited footage military commanders are saying that they would be
possible. So, give me a sense of what's going on behind the scenes.
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, it's interesting, because Pete Hegseth the Secretary of Defense increasingly
finds himself as the only person standing in the way of this unedited video being released to the American public, something that President Donald
Trump himself even said initially that he supported for backtracking and giving the decision to Hegseth.
Look, bipartisan lawmakers on Capitol Hill, members of both parties have said that they support releasing the unedited video, and yesterday, U.S.
military commanders, including the admiral who oversaw that September 2nd strike, the one at the center of these allegations of a potential war
crime, briefed lawmakers behind closed doors, and they were -- and he was pressed on whether there was an issue, a problem, a national security
concern that would justify not releasing this video.
And lawmakers emerged from that briefing effectively saying they were told no, that they could this video could be prepared for public release, and
we're not really given a good reason as to why Hegseth is claiming the opposite. Now listen to what Congressman Jason Crow, a Democrat who is a
member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Listen to what he said when he emerged from that class by briefing just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): I was very clear in asking the commanders today whether or not there was any reason they could not release the video, their
answer was very clear, no, they could prepare this video for release just like they have every other video.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: So, Hegseth also has released a clip from this video or from this strike already, and obviously we've seen numerous other videos from the
subsequent strikes that the U.S. military has carried out in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. So, it remains unclear why Hegseth is now standing in
the way of releasing this unedited video that really could shed light and offer some clarity into what happened, why the U.S. military decided to
conduct that follow on strike, killing two survivors of the initial strike.
That is really the question that lawmakers still have to this day, especially because the commanders who brief lawmakers yesterday really have
a fulsome sense of national security concerns, and said that there were none in this case.
GIOKOS: All right, Zach Cohen, great to have you on. Thank you so much. All right, could you imagine going through life at 2.36 meters tall? Well,
that's reality for one University of Florida basketball player, super tall. Look at that. We'll tell you the history he made on Wednesday. Stick with
CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
GIOKOS: Well, that's the trailer for a documentary on the U.S. First Lady, Melania, chronicles the 20 days around her return to the White House for
Donald Trump's second term. It is expected to provide a glimpse into the famously private wife of life, rather of the -- wife, I suppose the
president and the couple's relationship.
The documentary is part of her multimillion-dollar deal with Amazon, MGM, and she served as an executive producer, giving her editorial control over
the project. It's due out on January 30th.
A 19-year-old Canadian playing college basketball in Florida. Take a look at this. He's making history at that Wednesday night game as the world's
tallest teenager. I'm still pretty shocked. Patrick Snell joining us. He's 2.36 centimeters tall. I was doing the math. I'm 1.68 he's 68 centimeters
taller than me. It's wild.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Oh, Eleni, this kid makes us all feel small. I think.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
SNELL: Can you imagine trying to do life at seven foot, nine inches tall? Doorways are all very dangerous. I would imagine. Florida Gators' freshman,
Olivier Rioux, what a story he is. We just love these stories, and so do the Gators' fans who are all pumped last night because Rioux got in the end
of a game.
He got into the action they were playing against St. Francis, the 19-year- old getting his first collegiate bucket as well throwing it down a really special moment. Really don't think he even has to jump, right? Everyone in
the arena -- just the tallest male teenager.
GIOKOS: -- lift his arm up, and it just goes in, right?
SNELL: Yeah, yeah. Just didn't jump. Barely jump first game he's played in first bucket. And then here's the thing. We were just chatting about this
in the office. This young man is still likely growing right, at 19.
GIOKOS: Yeah. Yes. When do you stop growing these young lads? I don't even know, but I mean, it's crazy. Literally, lifting is over, putting the
basketball.
SNELL: Yeah.
GIOKOS: Look at that. There we go. All right, Patrick, good to have you with us.
SNELL: All right --
GIOKOS: We'll see you after the break. I'll be back top of the hour with more news. Stay with CNN.
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