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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Brian Walshe Defense Team Rests With No Testimony Or Evidence; Kilmar Abrego Garcia Freed From Custody After Judge's Ruling; Disney Gives OpenAI Access To Characters, With Some Limits. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired December 12, 2025 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: The defense rests in the case of a Massachusetts man on trial for murder. Brian Walshe admitted to dismembering his wife's body but not to killing her. In an unexpected twist Walshe chose not to testify in his defense on Thursday, and his attorneys did not present a case.

CNN's Jean Casarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Closing arguments are Friday morning in the Brian Walshe murder case. The defense did not put on a case, they did not put on any witnesses, and they don't have to because they don't have the burden. The burden is on the prosecution.

When it comes to the defendant himself, Brian Walshe, on Thursday morning the judge, from the bench, said the defense came to me Wednesday afternoon and said that Brian Walshe would be taking the stand but had several issues that he needed to address with the court. So at that point everyone believed that the defendant would be testifying. But then the judge went on and asked the defense once again -- listen.

JUDGE DIANE FRENIERE, PLYMOUTH COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT: As an initial matter does the defense still intend to call Mr. Walsh today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not.

FRENIERE: You do not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

FRENIERE: Does the defense intend to call any other witnesses?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are not.

FRENIERE: All right. Have you made a decision about whether you wish to testify at this trial?

BRIAN WALSHE, ON TRIAL FOR MURDER OF ANA WALSHE: Yes, I have.

FRENIERE: And what is your decision?

WALSHE: I will not testify.

CASAREZ: One of the issues appeared to be that the jury has not been told and will not be told that Brian Walshe already pleaded guilty to conveyance of a body -- conveyance of the body parts, actually, because of dismemberment, and intentionally misleading a police investigation. The prosecution did not want the jury to know. The defense wanted the jury to know that so that you could separate it out because there's only one count, and it is murder.

The prosecution does not have a cause of death because he dismembered his wife and the body was never found. They don't have an actual murder weapon, and they don't have an actual crime scene for a murder. But this is a circumstantial case, and they will be using things that happened after her death, along with a little bit before, to try to show circumstantially that he committed a premeditated murder.

The defense will argue in their closing arguments there is reasonable doubt. You cannot say beyond a reasonable doubt to a degree of moral certainty that Brian Walshe committed the premeditated murder of his wife, Anna Walshe. But it is the jury that will make the final decision.

Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Kilmar Abrego Garcia is now back with family after he was freed from U.S. custody. However, he is scheduled to check in with federal immigration authorities in the coming hours. A judge ordered his immediate release on Thursday, saying the Salvadoran had been detained again without lawful authority.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A federal judge on Thursday ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Salvadoran man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year despite a prior court order. But the backstory here is important in how the judge came to her decision.

The administration, once he as returned to the United States, has been looking for countries to deport him to because he cannot return to El Salvador, his origin country. Now, those countries have included some in Africa, three of which have rejected receiving him and one of which the administration recently said they were planning to send him to -- that is Liberia. However, Costa Rica has similarly said that they would grant him protections, and his attorneys say that Abrego Garcia would be willing to go to Costa Rica.

Now, in her conclusion, the federal judge really nodded at how puzzled she's been over this ongoing back-and-forth about where he'd be sent. She said, "Respondents did not just stonewall..." -- respondents there being the federal government -- "...they affirmatively misled the tribunal." They announced that Liberia is the only viable removal option because Costa Rica "does not wish to receive him." And that Costa Rica will no longer "accept the transfer of him."

But Costa Rica had never waivered in its commitment to receive Abrego Garcia just as Abrego Garcia never waivered in his committed to resettle there. And that is really what is the crux of this legal battle right now. And judges do have -- or are able to order officials to release detained migrants if there is no imminent removal planned.

Now there are still conditions to his release. For example, he would be in the custody of his brother in Maryland, and he would not be able to leave the state nor his home unless for limited circumstances as all of this continues to be worked on by the administration in terms of setting up his deportation.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security did respond in a statement and they said, "This is naked judicial activism by an Obama-appointed judge. This order lacks any valid legal basis, and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in courts."

[05:35:05]

So the legal saga for Abrego Garcia continues and we'll be watching for any filings in this case as again, the Department of Homeland Security has been ordered to release him from custody.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: The house of the mouse is sharing content with ChatGPT. Coming up, a new deal hands Disney over to AI with some limitations. That story when we return.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:40:13]

ABEL: Welcome back to EARLY START. This is your business breakout.

Here is where the U.S. futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. You see the Dow starting the day up. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slightly in the red.

Let's check some of today's business headlines now.

A U.S. judge has sentenced Do Kwon, the so-called "cryptocurrency king," to 15 years in prison. That is according to the Associated Press. Kwon pleaded guilty to fraud charges linked to two digital currencies that he developed with his company Terraform Labs. The judge called it fraud on an epic generational scale that caused everyday investors to lose $40 billion.

Lululemon says its CEO Calvin McDonald is stepping down after seven years. The leadership shakeup -- it comes as the athleisurewear company known for its pricy leggings struggles to attract American customers and compete with newer brands. The company's shares were up in afterhours trading following the CEO announcement. Lululemon is still searching for a new leader.

And Time Magazine has named its "Person of the Year" and this year's coveted spot will go to the architects of AI. The magazine names the usual tech giants -- Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk, among others -- as having a major influence on the new technology. The magazine created two covers for this year's "Person of the Year."

Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and the gang could soon be popping up in AI videos on social media. Disney has struck a billion-dollar deal with OpenAI that gives the video generation platform Sora access to many famous Disney characters with some limitations. But this is the same media giant that fights tough legal battles to keep its intellectual property under tight control.

CNN's Brian Stelter reports on what the deal could mean for Disney's copyrighted materials.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: We know that these AI systems have been trained on copyrighted content and there are lots of lawsuits now unfolding about that. And even this week Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google over its use -- over the use of copyrighted material to train AI systems. But Disney, like other media companies, also looking around and trying to figure out how to be a part of this revolution and how to involve its content, knowing that that's what users want to do.

So, for example, under this new deal you'll be able to create a video of you having a lightsaber battle from "Star Wars." A video of you right inside the movie "Toy Story." People will be able to create short little mini movies with more than 200 Disney characters and also using different Disney props and things like that.

Notably, though, you won't have access to the voices so, you know, that's one guardrail that will still be in place. And Disney has lots of other guardrails in place about lack of violence, not interacting with the characters from other media companies, et cetera.

So Disney is saying this is an interest -- in its interest as well as in OpenAI's. And as you mentioned, Disney taking a $1 billion investment in OpenAI.

But we don't really know how this is going to end. I'm still curious about this because other Hollywood studios will probably follow. There will probably be other deals like this. Disney wanting to get in on the ground floor so to speak. But we're just at the very beginning of this generative AI revolution where you'll be able to insert yourself, I guess, with Mickey Mouse now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: All right. Brian Stelter reporting there. The Trump administration tries and fails yet again to prosecute New York attorney general and Donald Trump target Letitia James. Why their effort was rejected. That's ahead on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:48:14]

ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel. Here are some stories we are watching today.

The U.N. Human Rights chief says the latest attack on a hospital in Myanmar could be a war crime. Reuters cites witnesses and officials who say at least 30 people were killed in the military airstrike. Government forces have been fighting rebel groups in the country since a 2021 coup.

Washington is bracing for more rain next week as the state copes with historic flooding. The Skagit River floodwaters reached a high of 37.62 feet, breaking the record set in 1990. Officials are encouraging about 100,000 people to evacuate. They say emergency crews (audio gap) of people.

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing Brian Thompson, is set to return to court today. A judge is weighing whether to throw out key evidence from his state murder case. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge and eight other counts.

For the second time in a week, a Virginia grand jury has rejected a request to reindict New York Attorney General Letitia James. She has been a frequent political target of President Trump. Her attorney says further efforts to bring charges against her would be a mockery to our system of government.

Katelyn Polantz has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Another failure by the Justice Department to get this case against Letitia James off of the ground after it had been dismissed from the first time around when they had secured it.

[05:50:00]

But we know now from multiple sources speaking to Hannah Rabinowitz, Kaitlan Collins, and I -- these sources say a grand jury -- a federal grand jury in the federal court in Alexandria, Virginia -- they were asked to consider an indictment against James today. And those grand jurors -- a quorum of them -- said no way -- we're not going to indict James.

This is the second time that this has happened in a week. The last time that this happened it was December 4, not in Alexandria but in Norfolk, another part of the very same court system, the Eastern District of Virginia. Grand juries in Norfolk and Alexandria have both now in one week said no to indicting Letitia James.

Remember this case -- it was an allegation of mortgage fraud against James, saying that she had made an application for a second home and somehow was able to get more out of the loan agreement than she should have because she ended up having other people stay in that home whereas it wasn't actually her second home. A few thousand dollars a year would have been the benefit that she got of that, according to the mortgage fraud allegations.

That case was initially dismissed just a few weeks after it had been charged this fall because the prosecutor of the Eastern District of Virginia that secured it -- that's Lindsey Halligan, a Trump appointee -- she was ruled to have no authority to take that case through a grand jury. And so the Justice Department, after that dismissal -- they went back and tried again first in Norfolk and now again in Alexandria, and they have not been able to re-charge James.

Quite a development. Now the question is what do they do next?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Katelyn Polantz, thank you.

Still ahead, inside the glamorous Italian ski resort transforming into an athlete's playground ahead of the Winter Olympics now less than two months away.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:56:10]

ABEL: Italy's famous Cortina ski resort is gearing up for the 2026 Winter Olympics now less than two months away. The town will host curling as well as bobsledding, luge, and skeleton, in its newly-built sliding center.

CNN's Antonia Mortensen caught up with the U.S. athletes hoping to make the team.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTONIA MORTENSEN, CNN SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER (voiceover): The glamorous Italian ski resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo is shifting into high gear as it prepares for its role in the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics now less than two months away.

Final preparations are underway at the newly-built Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre, which hosted its first Olympic luge qualifying event at the end of November.

MORTENSEN: Hurling past as fast as 75 miles an hour, these athletes are testing this ice track for the very first time hoping to qualify for the Olympics.

MORTENSEN (voiceover): More than 150 athletes from 25 countries are battling for a place on the Olympic qualifying list. The U.S. Women's luge team laser-focused on the challenge ahead.

MORTENSEN: How would you compare this track to previous tracks?

SUMMER BRITCHER, THREE-TIME OLYMPIAN, USA LUGE TEAM: I think it feels kind of similar to Pyeongchang a little bit. I like it.

EMILY FISCHNALLER, TWO-TIME OLYMPIAN, USA LUGE TEAM: I think that each track has its own personality and kind of rhythm to it, so it's hard for me to really say this one is like that one. Um, it has its own unique personality. I think a lot of the entrances are a little -- the consistency throughout the track is that -- it's not quite how I would naturally -- my natural mind would go through it.

BRITCHER: First you have to make the team and qualify, but I'm really, really looking forward to the potential of the Olympics here for myself. Um, if I quality it will be my fourth Olympic Games and every experience I've had has been extremely different for a number of reasons. So the one thing I'm sure of is you can't know what to expect.

FISCHNALLER: Right now the focus is make the qualifications, figure out a good rhythm, and race well leading up to the games, and then see what that brings.

MORTENSEN (voiceover): The newly re-homologated track measures 1,700 meters, features 16 curves, and is ready to host luge, bobsled, and skeleton events for the Olympics.

DWIGHT BELL, SECRETARY GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL LUGE FEDERATION: It's elite. It's up there at the top echelon. It's both the character and the setting and the support we get here. It's absolutely elite.

MORTENSEN (voiceover): It wasn't all cool runnings. The track hit headlines after delays sparked concerns leading organizers to explore backup plans, including Lake Placid, New York in the United States. Despite the setbacks organizers insist everything is on schedule.

FABIO MASSIMO SALDINI, EXTRAORDINARY GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONER FOR THE OLYMPIC WORK, ITALY (translated text): All works will be completed in time for the Olympics. We are inside the sliding center -- the bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge track. Building a new track was not easy, believe me, but we delivered on time, on cost, and on quality.

MORTENSEN (voiceover): The games will be spread across eight different locations in Northern Italy, promising a dynamic experience for athletes and fans.

Antonia Mortensen, CNN, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: It looks beautiful.

Christmas came early for some very wild guests at a Colombia theme park. Rescued animals, from lions and hippos to pumas and jaguars, spent Thursday unwrapping Christmas gifts. Keepers decked out the habitats with holiday-themed treats and toys. Don't worry -- biologists say these enrichment activities help keep the animals sharp and active.

[06:00:09]

And at a zoo in Southern England the lions and primates got to dig into some Christmas packaging while the elephants and penguins were spotted exploring other holiday-themed decorations. Always fun this time of year to see that.

Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.