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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Russian General Killed in Explosion in Moscow; Mangione Indicted in Murder of Health Care CEO; Tech CEOs Line Up for Audience with Trump; Asia's 2025 Economic Outlook; Police Looks for Motive in Wisconsin School Shooting; NASA's Mission to the Sun; Svetlana Dali Caught Again Trying to Get to Canada. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired December 17, 2024 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: We'll be back later this week to answer those questions on brain rot. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads,
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JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: -- in Shanghai, 2:00 a.m. in Moscow, and 6:00 p.m. here in New York. I'm Julia Chatterley. And wherever
you are in the world, this is your "First Move."
And a warm welcome to "First Move," as always. And here's today's need to know.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALVIN BRAGG JR. MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This was a frightening, well planned, targeted murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: The Manhattan D.A. indicting Luigi Mangione for the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. If found guilty, he faces life
without parole. Moscow murder footage appears to show the moment a Russian general wanted by Ukraine is killed in a bombing attack. Kyiv taking
credit. And CEO swoop. Tech leaders descend on Mar-a-Lago for an audience with the president-elect. We'll look at why. Plus, chasing the sun, a space
mission with a lot of flair. We'll call it the hottest story in science. That conversation and plenty more coming up.
But first, A top Russian general has been killed inside Moscow, apparently by Ukraine. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed by a bomb,
according to Russian authorities, a source telling CNN that Ukraine's security services are behind the assassination. It comes just one day after
Ukraine charged him in absentia, alleging he'd used banned chemical substances. The general was in charge of Russia's nuclear, chemical, and
biological forces, with Russian officials calling his death a, quote, "terrorist act."
Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow for us. Fred, the timing on this, just one day after we mentioned the Ukrainians charging him in absentia. What more do we
know about this attack?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. One day after the Ukrainians charging him in absentia and also only a couple of
hours after Vladimir Putin met with the Russia's top military brass, all of them in a gigantic meeting and railed against the west. So, certainly the
timing of all this absolutely remarkable.
At the same time, the event itself also remarkable. We got there pretty shortly after all this happened, and you could immediately tell in that
sort of suburban area in the Southeast of Moscow, that someone who was very important had just been killed. There was a huge security perimeter. There
were a lot of security forces on the ground, police investigators, but also military investigators.
And now, as you can imagine, Russian politicians, Russian media absolutely railing against the Ukrainians. Here's what we're learning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): One of Russia's top generals and an aide just seconds before the fatal blast. We're not showing the moment of the
explosion in this video obtained by CNN.
PLEITGEN: Russian investigators say the bomb with about 300 grams of TNT was hidden in an electric scooter parked just outside the entrance of that
building. As the general and an aide walked out, it blew up, killing them both.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Russian investigators say the device was detonated remotely. The blast so powerful it shattered windows several floors up in
buildings across the street.
At first, we thought that cement might have been unloaded or something similar, this resident says. But the blast was so loud it did not seem like
construction work. It was very scary.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was the head of Russia's Nuclear Chemical and Biological Defense Forces. Often accusing Kyiv of planning to use
chemicals on the battlefield, the Ukrainians for their part accused Kirillov of overseeing the use of chemical substances against their forces
and have claimed responsibility for assassinating him. Calling the general, quote, "an absolutely legitimate target," and saying, "such an inglorious
end awaits all those who kill Ukrainians."
The general is not the first, but the highest ranking Russian military official the Ukrainians claim to have assassinated. Moscow furious,
launching both a terrorism and a criminal investigation.
[18:05:00]
Investigative actions and operational search activities are being carried out aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the crime committed, the
spokesperson said.
Asymmetric warfare like this brazen drone attack inside Russia two days ago is how the Ukrainian forces are trying to level the battlefield as Vladimir
Putin's army has been making significant gains on nearly all frontlines.
The lieutenant general's assassination comes just hours after Putin met with his top military brass, ripping into the Biden administration for its
support of Ukraine. In an effort to weaken our country and impose a strategic defeat on us, the United States continues to pump the virtually
illegitimate ruling regime in Kyiv full of weapons and money, sends mercenaries and military advisers, and thereby, encourages further
escalation of the conflict, Putin said.
And Russian politicians have vowed revenge for the general's killing, while acknowledging his death is a major loss.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Fred, fascinating report. And there does seem to be a stark contrast between the way the Kremlin and Putin himself is speaking about
the decisions being made by the current U.S. administration and perhaps how things may shift under the president-elect and the next administration. I
just wonder whether, and there clearly are those out there wondering whether events like this will perhaps complicate the challenge of bringing
Vladimir Putin to the table over some future negotiations.
Certainly, the president-elect on Monday was suggesting that this was going to be perhaps far harder than he'd initially thought, having said he could
solve this in, what, 24 hours.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Well, first of all, there are some here in Russia who are saying that they believe that that is the case. It was quite
interesting because the top Russian senator came out today after this event, after the killing of this very senior Russian general, Julia, and he
said, quite frankly, that he believes that this could indeed complicate any sort of efforts to try and get talks going between Washington and Moscow
once the Trump administration takes office.
Of course, it's one of the things that is a big talk of the town here in Moscow and among Russian officials about how serious Donald Trump is and
how serious the future Trump administration is about trying to solve this conflict and stop this conflict as fast as possible.
Certainly, one of the things that we've been taking note of over the past couple of weeks is that the Kremlin does appear to be increasingly
confident that Donald Trump wants an end to this conflict as quick as possible and that the Russians could get a deal to end the conflict that
could be very favorable for Moscow in the not-too-distant future.
So, certainly, something like this is something that could complicate that. One of the things, of course, that we've heard from many Russian
politicians here throughout the day is that there will be revenge for all this. You do also see them laying blame on the west as well. It was
interesting because another politician also said that he believes there was a direct link to the west.
One of the things that we have not heard today, which I think is also quite remarkable, Julia, is that the Kremlin has not directly commented on any of
this yet. There usually is a conference call with a spokesman for the Kremlin with journalists, that did not happen today. So, whether or not the
Kremlin is sort of trying to lay low with any commentary, we really don't know at this point in time.
However, we know that the Russians are saying some of the things that they have heard from Donald Trump over the past couple of weeks certainly has
them believing that the president-elect really does want to find some sort of end to this conflict as fast as possible. Certainly, that recent press
conference that he gave at Mar-a-Lago was another sign to the Russians. But they are, of course, also saying that the use of ATACMS missiles to strike
deep into Russia and certainly assassinations like the one that we saw today is definitely something that could complicate things in these final
weeks that the Biden administration still is in office, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Certainly. And, Fred, you'll continue to stay across it. Fred Pleitgen there in Moscow for us.
Now, the man accused of killing the United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, has been indicted for first degree murder. The grand jury indictment also
accuses Luigi Mangione with secondary degree murder as a crime of terrorism. The Manhattan District Attorney explained why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALVIN BRAGG JR. MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This was a frightening, well planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and
intimidation. It incurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatening the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and
business people just starting out on their day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Mangione was arrested in Pennsylvania on gun charges. His lawyer telling CNN the 26-year-old will not fight extradition to New York.
Let's discuss this further with Gene Rossi. He's a former federal prosecutor. Gene, great to have you on the show.
First and foremost, they moved incredibly swiftly with this investigation and coming out with the indictments -- numerous indictments today. Just
talk us through what this look like and what you make of them. The first -- second degree murder is a crime of terrorism, which I think is going to be
interesting to some people. But the other one I think we need to explain is why it's so rare under New York law to see a first-degree murder
indictment.
[18:10:00]
GENE ROSSI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR AND FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA: Well, first degree requires a higher level
of intent, premeditation, planning more than just a bar room fight that leads to death. So, the first-degree murder charge, Julia, does not
surprise me. The second-degree terrorism also doesn't surprise me because this premeditated murder was aimed at sending a message to a lot of people
that CEOs allegedly, like Mr. Thompson, they won't be tolerated.
So, that's sort of -- if you go back 20, 30 years, Ted Kaczynski was trying to send the same message with his pipe bombs and his mail bombs. So, I'm
not surprised by the amount of effort put into this in first degree and second degree.
I am a little surprised that they added so many other counts. When I was a federal prosecutor for many years, I tried my best, Julia, to keep the
indictments simple and straightforward so that the jury will be able to understand it succinctly and arrive at a verdict relatively quickly. And
when you add so many counts, like they've done here, they may be justified, but it makes it more prolonged when he goes to trial unless he pleads
guilty beforehand.
CHATTERLEY: And that's a critical question, Gene, I think on two counts. One, what does the defense look like in this case? And second, how -- given
what we saw in New York and I think some of the response on social media as well that sympathizes perhaps with some of the concerns that he'd shared,
not the act itself that was carried out.
But I just want to play for our viewers, Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, and what she had to say on that point specifically.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA TISCH, NYPD COMMISSIONER: Let me say this plainly. There is no heroism in what Mangione did. This was a senseless act of violence. It was
a cold and calculated crime that stole a life and put New Yorkers at risk. We don't celebrate murders and we don't lionize the killing of anyone. And
any attempt to rationalize this is vile, reckless, and offensive to our deeply held principles of justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Gene, so I'll ask those questions again, what kind of defense in the face of this indictment and what seems to be the evidence that they
have here? And the second, how challenging to get an impartial jury?
ROSSI: Julia, when I was asked to come on this show, I knew I'd have that question. What I would argue as a defense attorney in this case is
identity. That's the only, only argument they possibly could have. And you're facing a mountain of alleged forensic evidence that suggests that
the bullets were, his knapsack was his, he fled, which is consciousness of guilt. But at the end of the day, you still got to prove that that is the
individual, Mr. Mangione is the individual who walked up behind him.
Now, I don't say that's a great argument, but it's the only one I can think of because he has evidence that he was in the area, he was at a hotel or a
hostel. So, it's going to be hard to prove that he was in Chicago or L.A. and had an alibi. So, that's the only defense I can think of, short of he
claims that he was under a mental disease or defect. That's insanity. But it doesn't seem, based on the video, if it is him, that he was insane when
he walked up behind and allegedly pulled the trigger.
I want to comment on the ghoulishness and the sick comments of people. Vigilante-ism is not something that should ever be tolerated. You cannot
take the law into your own hands. And that's what he's done. And the individuals on social media or any other platform who are applauding and
rooting for him, I have to say they need to get a new life because that is just sick behavior to condone. What he did allegedly is absolutely
categorically cold blooded.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Gene, you said it, and I think that's the point from the district attorney as well, it's to make an example of him in this case.
However much you sympathize for him, maybe his medical plight, nothing justifies this. Former federal prosecutor there, Gene Rossi. Thank you,
sir. Always great to have you on the show.
Turning now to U.S. politics and an ongoing series of meetings that has the makings of a gripping miniseries on Netflix, perhaps. We're told Donald
Trump was meeting Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Trump also set to meet with the Amazon founder and Washington Post
newspaper owner Jeff Bezos on Wednesday. All this after Amazon announced it would donate $1 million to the president-elect's inauguration and live
stream the event on Amazon Prime.
[18:15:00]
Business bigwigs following the lead, perhaps, of Elon Musk, who's far better place now to help shape policy. Sara Fischer joins us now. Even the
president-elect was saying yesterday, oh, how times have changed, for want of a better phrase. What is going on?
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST AND MEDIA CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Well, Julia, it's a very different time from 2016 when Donald Trump was first
elected, mostly because these big tech firms are under enormous regulatory scrutiny. If you think about who's gone down and visited Trump in Mar-a-
Lago, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Meta is facing a massive FTC investigation in 2025. If you think about who has congratulated Donald Trump, it's the
Google CEO, it's the Microsoft CEO. Both of which are facing massive regulatory investigations. Google is being threatened to be broken up.
And so, they have good reason to want to curry favor with Donald Trump. Because if they don't, their businesses quite literally could depend on it.
CHATTERLEY: And I think it's better to be friends than enemies in this case, to your point, particularly if you're concerned about what the future
may bring. But there is also, I think, Sara, and I think you must be hearing it too, some degree of business optimism, whether it's about
perhaps less regulation, particularly on things like M&A, for example, or corporate tax rates not rising. I mean, a number of those that surround
Trump at this moment are former Democrats. So, I can't help but feel some part of this is not just sort of self-interested, it's also that they
actually want to understand what the game plan is from this administration going forward too.
FISCHER: Absolutely, especially when it comes to corporate tax breaks and get something every major CEO is looking at. One of the big things, though,
Julia, is Donald Trump's plan for China. If you think about some of these big American tech firms, the argument that they've always given has been,
don't regulate us because we are very important for American ingenuity in the American economy. And if you do regulate us, then we are not going to
be able to adequately compete with China. That is going to be a very large topic of conversation when any of these CEOs go down to Mar-a-Lago. And I
think they will continue to have, as you're on this topic, because it's so existential to their businesses.
CHATTERLEY: It's such a great point. I mean, for the likes of Tim Cook at Apple and Elon Musk, of course, at Tesla as well, having some buy in and
some help in shaping future policy on that critical. Always a pleasure to have you. Sara Fischer there. Thank you so much.
All right. Straight ahead on "First Move," China's 5 percent solution reports say Beijing is set to boost its budget deficit to help hit growth
targets. We'll discuss China's policy path and the 2025 economic outlook for Asia next.
Plus, the space mission with a whole lot of flair. As we mentioned at the top of the show, NASA is ready for a close encounter of the solar kind
coming up. We'll give you all the details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:20:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back on a bar humbug day on Wall Street in today's Money Move. Holiday cheer in short supply with tech stocks falling at least
from record highs. Though, let's be clear the Dow down now in sessions now in a row, its longest losing streak since the 1970s in fact. Context is
key. The blue chip average still up 15 percent so far this year. Yes, that's very important.
The softer Wall Street action coming as the U.S. Fed kicks off a two-day policy meeting in Washington, another quarter of a percentage point rate
cut is expected on Wednesday. The Central Bank's third consecutive cut. Investors believe policymakers will dial back their outlook for cuts next
year in their updated dot plots, as we call it.
Also on Tuesday, shares of Nissan and Honda revving higher with Nissan up a whopping 11 percent. Take a look at that. And Nikkei report says the two
Japanese car giants are set to begin merger talks as competition from lower cost Chinese firms continues to pile up on the pressure.
And checking Asia markets, the South Korean KOSPI leading the declines there. It's a sea of red. A Reuters report out after the Asia market close
could also affect Wednesday's trade later today. It says Chinese leaders have agreed to run a record budget deficit of 4 percent of GDP next year to
help boost growth. New numbers Tuesday showing Chinese retail sales coming in weaker than expected too, all this as they yield on China's 30-year
bonds fell below 2 percent due to slower growth fears.
Now, the Asian Development Bank believes Beijing will fail to meet its 5 percent growth target both this year and next due in large part to its
ongoing property sector slump. It says in a new quarterly report that developing Asian nations will see growth under 5 percent both this year and
next, too, and more economic challenges across the region, too. The bank lowering its growth outlook for South Asia due to a softer picture in
India. The big wild card across the region, of course, is the threat of higher Trump administration tariffs next year.
One big bright spot, however, A.I. investments. And joining us now to discuss all of this, Albert Park, chief economist at the Asian Development
Bank. Albert, fantastic to have you on the show as always. Let's hone in on China because there have been a number of headlines in recent days. One
about the concerns about growth, but two about the period of deflationary pressure that we're seeing and fears that that will continue to perhaps
filter into wages across China as well. How worried are you?
ALBERT PARK, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK: Well, we've also downgraded our forecast for inflation in China for this year and next year.
It's just 0.3 percent this year. I don't think we're in deflationary area and I think the recent announcements of a range of stimulus measures by the
Chinese government will probably keep us into positive inflation territory, especially for services sector where there's been a bit more robust demand.
CHATTERLEY: Are you pleased to hear them suggesting that they're going to run a 4 percent deficit, which means more spending, to your point, to help
support growth?
PARK: Yes, I think it's the right direction. And one thing, you know, given that inflation is really going to be very modest, they have room to
be expansionary without reigniting inflation. And given that they are very concerned about the really very cautious consumer and investor sentiment, I
think it's the right move. And I think they've also indicated they're going to really focus on supporting greater consumption demand with more generous
pension payments, other types of transfer payments to households as well as a range of consumer rebates on a big-ticket consumption items.
And I think that's a bit of a change from the past when a lot of the subsidies that have been given to try to support the economy have been
focused really more on supporting the supply side, supporting investment, and supporting different industrial sectors.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and focus on exports rather than trying to boost the consumer, to your point, in domestic consumption, perhaps rather than
anything else. The broader wild card, I think, and it goes beyond China, it's for the broader region, even if we tend to talk about the president-
elect in the United States, perhaps is increasing tariffs on China is what the incoming administration do with tariff policy, what they do with
immigration policy and the speed at which they're enacted.
What are you thinking in terms of the potential impact and what are you expecting? And what do we need to watch for?
[18:25:00]
PARK: Well, I think for China and Asia as a whole, the two main concerns about Trump policies are higher tariffs, as you mentioned, and also that
many of the Trump policies seem inflationary, including kicking out illegal immigrants, including maybe more tax cuts and more spending.
And so, although this will definitely negatively affect Asia and China, because they've always been big exporting, manufacturing economies,
actually, this time, I think the effects will be a bit more muted, partly because if the focus is on China, China has already reduced quite a bit of
its export exposure to the United States.
And so -- and there's been a realignment of supply chains in the regions where China has been supplying other countries and we see other countries
stepping in like Vietnam, which has really significantly increased its exports to the U.S. to replace the Chinese exports that were facing
tariffs. So, for other countries in Asia, we actually find the effects of a Trump high China tariff strategy to be actually mixed and even beneficial
for some economies.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, that's interesting. Some of the other nations benefit. What might surprise us? Let's be optimistic. Who might surprise us
positively in 2025?
PARK: Well, actually, if you exclude China, when we're forecasting growth to continue to moderate, the rest of Asia is still growing pretty
resiliently. Many of them are up to pre-pandemic kind of growth rates. Our forecast for non-China Asia is 5.1 percent next year, and we see India
growing very fast. We see some of the Southeast Asian economies being quite dynamic, including Vietnam and the Philippines.
And so, these -- and then, of course, the semiconductor boom associated with A.I. is helping some of the East Asian economies, including Korea,
Taipei, China, and also to some extent, countries like Malaysia and Philippines that are also part of the semiconductor supply chain.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I was about to say, I don't think anybody thinks that the demand there is going anywhere other than higher in 2025. So, fingers
crossed, that'll be good news for them, too. Albert, always great to get you on the show, sir. Thank you so much for your wisdom. Albert Park, chief
economist at the Asian Development Bank there.
More "First Move: after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move" with a look at more international headlines this hour. Syrians are uncovering mass graves after dictator
Bashar al-Assad fled the country. A warning, some of what you're about to see is disturbing. This video comes from the south of Damascus. One anti-
Assad group says hundreds of thousands of people could be buried in a grave east of the capital. Many families are seeking answers about what happened
to their loved ones detained by Assad's secret police.
Hundreds if not thousands of people are feared dead in Mayotte after a devastating cyclone swept through the French territory off the coast of
Mozambique. It's now facing hunger, disease and violence. Here are some neighborhoods before and then after the storm. The damage so widespread
some are comparing it to the aftermath of a nuclear war.
North Korea has suffered several hundred casualties fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region. This, according to a senior U.S. military
official. They say the casualties include everything from light wounds to being killed in action. The U.S. and Ukraine estimate around 12,000 North
Korean troops are currently in Russia.
And we're also following developments between Israel and Hamas, who've expressed optimism over a potential ceasefire-hostage deal, saying reaching
an agreement is now possible. It comes after officials from the United States, Israel, Qatar, and Egypt all touted progress in the latest talks.
Jeremy Diamond has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hamas now becomes the latest party to these negotiations to express some optimism about the
prospects of reaching a ceasefire and hostage release deal. We have heard optimistic comments over the course of the last week from U.S. Israeli,
Qatari, and Egyptian officials, and now Hamas is joining the fray.
But as with the others who are expressing optimism, Hamas is also adding a note of caution to their comments. In their statement, they are making
clear that, quote, "Hamas affirms that in light of the serious and positive discussions taking place in Doha today under the auspices of our Qatari and
Egyptian brothers, reaching an agreement for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange is possible if the occupation stops imposing new conditions." And
that if is indeed that note of caution that they are raising, suggesting that Israeli negotiators are making additional demands as this negotiating
process moves forward.
A second Hamas source said that they view the current state of negotiations as, quote, "positive and optimistic." And it is important to note that amid
this optimism, we are also seeing a flurry of diplomatic activity in the region. The U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, just last week
traveled to Israel, Egypt, and Qatar to try and advance a deal. He said he hopes that he can put the conditions in place to reach a deal within the
next month, and that is indeed the target here appears to be to try and reach a deal before President Biden leaves office on January 20th and
President-Elect Trump will then be inaugurated.
And we know, of course, that the Biden administration has also been closely coordinating with the Trump administration over this deal, as incoming
Trump advisers have also been traveling to the region and coordinating closely with the officials who they will soon be replacing.
It is important to note that to caution though that as we are seeing this momentum as we are seeing this optimistic language the reason why we are
also hearing notes of caution from all of the parties involved is because we have been this close in the past. We have been very close to a deal and
ultimately, talks have collapsed. And that possibility still very much looms.
But Israeli and American officials who I've spoken to have pointed to a new set of conditions in the region in terms of Hamas being increasingly
isolated, Israel having accomplished a slew of military achievements in Gaza, including the killing of Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, then might make
them more willing to reach a deal now. All of this pointing us in the direction of a potential ceasefire and hostage deal. But again, the deal
isn't reached until it's done.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Our thanks to Jeremy there. Now, police in Madison, Wisconsin, say identifying a motive in Monday's deadly school shooting is their top
priority. At this point, they say the motive appears to be, quote, "a combination of factors," but declined to give more details.
[18:35:00]
The shooter has been identified as a 15-year-old student. Investigators are also working to understand how she was able to get a gun. A teacher and a
student lost their lives in the shooting and six others were hurt.
Let's bring in Whitney Wild who's been covering this story since the shooting. The events happened. Whitney, good to have you with us. I know
you're also waiting for a vigil to begin tonight as the community comes to terms and shares their grief of what happened. What more can you tell us,
at least at this stage, about the investigation and that point about motive, which I think everybody's waiting for?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, the police chief was very reluctant to define that only saying that it was, at this point,
appears to be a combination of factors. He was reluctant to take any questions today. In fact, that was a marked change from what we saw
yesterday where the police chief had four press conferences. He took questions at every one of them. Today was different.
Today, he said this moves into the investigative phase. He took no questions, made only brief remarks, clarifying a couple points, Julia, but
there are still so many questions. The big question is why she did this. How, as you said, she was able to obtain that gun, and this community now
wondering how they move forward.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHIEF SHON BARNES, MADISON POLICE DEPARTMENT: We're brought together by a tragedy.
WILD (voice-over): Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes solemnly addressing the school shooting Monday, where a 15-year-old female student opened fire
inside Abundant Life Christian School. Finding a motive remains a top priority for law enforcement and say it appears to be a combination of
factors.
BARNES: We're looking into her online activity. We're asking anyone who knew her or who may have insights into her feelings leading up to yesterday
to please contact the Madison Area Crime Stoppers.
WILD (voice-over): Chief Barnes also addressing reports that the shooter may have left an online manifesto.
BARNES: We have detectives working today to determine where this document originated and who actually shared it online.
WILD (voice-over): The tragedy unfolded when a second-grade teacher, not a second grade student, as police originally reported, called 911 at 10:57
a.m.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abundant Life Christian Church 49-01 for Engine 5 and Medic 5 for a shooter.
WILD (voice-over): Officers arrived within minutes. At 11:05, they reported the shooter was down and the gun was recovered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: MPD is saying everybody can come in, all EMS can come in, shooter is down.
WILD (voice-over): Madison police have identified the shooter as 15-year- old Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha. They say she opened fire inside a study hall with students from mixed grades using a handgun, killing a
teacher, a student, and wounding six others before turning the gun on herself. Law enforcement are working to determine how Rupnow obtained the
weapon.
Officers searched Rupnow's home Monday afternoon and are looking into her online activity. Chief Barnes says her parents are cooperating and they
don't expect to charge them at this time.
BARNES: We also want to look at if the parents may have been negligent. And that's a question that we'll have to answer with our District
Attorney's Office.
WILD (voice-over): Monday's tragedy has traumatized this small religious school and stunned the community just days before Christmas. Some students
describing the terror they felt. Sixth grader, Adler Jean-Charles, says he was scared after hearing the gunshots.
ADLER JEAN-CHARLES, ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIANE SCHOOL STUDENT: I just waited until the police came and then they escorted us out.
WILD (voice-over): And a heartbreaking account from the second grader who says she could hear cries from a teacher wounded in the leg.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And she was screaming like, ah, my leg help, help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know that teacher well?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-huh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was it like to hear that? Were you scared?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was really scared and I was really sad.
WILD (voice-over): Worried parents James and Rebecca Smith received a text from their teenage daughter saying she was OK after the shooting. Like
many, they are grateful to be reunited with their daughter, but fearful of the lasting anguish of another senseless school shooting.
JAMES SMITH, FATHER OF ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL STUDENT: You plan for these things and you don't want to have to, but it's the world that we
live in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILD (on camera): Julia, this is of course a Christian school and people who work there have told us that they have, of course, a very strong sense
of faith. They are holding onto that tightly tonight as a way to cope with this tragedy, Julia.
CHATTERLEY: I'm sure they are. Whitney Wild, thank you very much for that and our thoughts with the community there.
More "First Move" after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to "First Move." NASA announcing it's delaying its next spacecraft mission from February to March of next year, and this
means astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams will have to stay in space even longer. The two traveled to the International Space Station, if
you remember, on Boeing's Starliner back in June, but they couldn't return as planned due to safety concerns about their spacecraft. NASA has been
planning to bring them back aboard a SpaceX capsule. With today's decision, that flight will not take place now before March.
And if all goes well, NASA will make history next week on Christmas Eve. One of its probes may become the closest human-made object to the sun. And
by close, we're talking a mere 3.8 million miles or more than 6 million kilometers, a hair breadth in space terms. The Parker Solar Probe was
launched back in 2018 on a mission to expand our understanding of the sun.
And while the probe will be traveling through temperatures in the millions of degrees, the body of the spacecraft will sit at 85 degrees Fahrenheit or
around 30 degrees Celsius. Nicky Fox is the head of science at NASA. She's also part of the Parker Solar Probe Project. Nicky, fantastic. And what a
cool job title. That's all I can say. Let's just talk about how extraordinary it is for anything, let alone this probe to be so close to
the sun.
NICKY FOX, HEAD OF SCIENCE, NASA AND PROJECT SCIENTIST, PARKER SOLAR PROBE: Yes, I mean, it's literally like a dream come true for solar scientists to
actually have a spacecraft. I mean, literally, we're flying through the atmosphere of a star. I mean, you know, we take the sun for granted. We see
it in the sky every day. We kind of take it for granted, but it's a very active star and it's the only star -- no matter how hard it is for us to do
this mission, it's the only star we can actually go up and visit. And so, it's super exciting for us.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it's our one star that we can approach. How do you even build a spacecraft that can withstand the intense heat and the radiation
that it's going to face?
FOX: Yes. I mean, it took a long time. This mission was first proposed in 1958. And because it -- you know, there were so many mysteries about how
our star works. And the only way to really unravel these mysteries is to go up and, you know, sample in situ. It's like go and visit the atmosphere and
figure out what's going on.
And it took 60 years for technology to literally catch up with our dreams, to be able to actually have materials that can withstand -- you know, and
for us, it's not just the incredible heat. We fly past the -- you know, around the orbit of the planet Venus. So, we get really, really cold too.
And so, we continually get hot and cold. And it's very hard to design materials that can stand that incredible change in heat.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. I mean, this is all part of it. And as you said, this is, what, as you said, 60, 70 years in the making from when we first talked
about the possibility of even doing this. Now, vast areas of the United States were treated to a total solar eclipse in April of this year. And if
you were lucky enough to be in the path of that, or the path of totality of the eclipse, then you got to see the sun's outer atmosphere. And obviously
a lot of us saw it in pictures too.
[18:45:00]
And you can correct me if I'm wrong, but this is exactly what the probe is studying. How does what the probe is studying while up there and actually
being inside it help educate us from what we saw visually on the ground?
FOX: Yes. I mean, it's like kind of -- imagine if you get a postcard of a -- you know, a wonderful vacation destination, but you've never been and
you get the postcard and you can learn a lot about what you can see in the image. But until you actually go and visit it, you really don't, you know,
get to experience everything and learn about the environment that you're in.
And so, for us, you know, we've looked at the sun in every possible way and every wavelength, you know, we've listened to it. We've really probed that
star as much as we can from here. But with Parker Solar Probe, we're able to go and visit and actually experience the environment and really sample.
It's like, you know, sampling the local cuisine. We are sampling the local atmosphere around the sun and just learning more and more about it.
CHATTERLEY: Now, if I get my space geography right, Parker had to fly past Venus to get to the sun. Why is that also important for the mission's
journey?
FOX: So, we actually use Venus. We do. As you say, we fly past Venus. We've done it seven times now, and each time we fly past Venus, we do a
gravity assist. We actually kind of -- we use it to slow down a little bit. It's a little bit like doing a handbrake turn. And it sort of allows us to
focus and turn the path of the mission closer and closer to the sun each time we do a Venus flyby.
So, we've done seven of them. The last one was in November, you know, just last month. It was really exciting to be with the team. I actually went to
the Mission Control Center and I was with the team when we did that Venus flyby. And it is just, you know, even more science. We actually do science
when we fly past Venus as well.
So, we've kind of taken the U.S. back to Venus after all this time, taking really, really high-resolution images. We've been able to sample, again,
the atmosphere around Venus as we've flown past it. So, that's a really exciting way to be able to do planetary science as well as heliophysics, as
well as astrophysics, because we're learning about our star and it helps us know about stars in other galaxies and how maybe they could support life on
neighboring planets just like the sun supports life here.
CHATTERLEY: And that's exactly what I was going to ask you. How this helps inform our future ambitions, which is obviously to get back to the moon and
potentially, perhaps at some point, Mars. And if we're really excitable inhabit Mars one day.
FOX: Yes. I mean, if you're going to go on a long-distance space travel, which you have to do to go to Mars or you're going to go back and be in --
you know, on the moon for a sustained presence, which we want to do with our Artemis missions, that's the goal, to go back to the moon and then onto
Mars, you have to understand the relationship with the star. The star is active.
And we have something space weather. So, when we talk about these beautiful, large events that we see on the sun, and we were all treated in
the U.S., even to amazing auroral displays, the northern lights visible from many, many parts of the U.S. throughout this year, as we've had a lot
of activity. When you see those Aurora, you know that you have an active space weather event. It's like an electric current in the sky.
And so, understanding it, it also causes radiation, it can cause damage to spacecraft, to sensitive electronics. And also, of course, we want to be
able to protect our astronauts. So, it's yet another reason as we step -- kind of step away on our journey to the moon and then to Mars and beyond.
It's protecting our astronauts and really understanding our relationship with that star.
CHATTERLEY: Something tells me it's going to be a very exciting Christmas Eve for you this year when we get to see this. Nicky, great to chat to you.
Thank you so much for explaining it for us and fingers crossed and we really look forward to seeing it. Fantastic. Nicky Fox --
FOX: Thank you so much.
WILD (on camera): -- Head of Science at NASA. Great to chat to you. We'll speak soon, I hope.
Now, if you've missed any of our interviews today, they'll be on my X and Instagram pages. You can search for @JCHATTERLEYCNN.
For now, coming up, people are already gathering for the holidays, but will they get snow? White Christmas, please. The Yuletide weather report in just
a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
CHATTERLEY: Now, you may remember this lady. She made international headlines after stowing away on a flight from New York to Paris last month.
Well, it appears she was caught again. This time trying to sneak into Canada according to law enforcement sources. Randi Kaye has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Busted again. This time Svetlana Daly was travelling by bus. Just last month she had stowed away on
a Delta flight from JFK Airport in New York to Paris. A law enforcement source tells CNN Dali had managed to cut off her ankle monitor on Sunday
and was taken into custody while on a Greyhound bus bound for Canada, multiple law enforcement told CNN.
SVETLANA DALI: Help me. I don't want to go to United States.
KAYE (voice-over): That was Dali last month, the first-time authorities tried to return the 57-year-old Russian national and a U.S. permanent
resident to the United States from Paris. She created such a disturbance, Delta kicked her off the New York bound flight.
GARY TREICHLER, DELTA PASSENGER: What I saw was basically this lady that was progressively getting more and more irate and raising her voice louder
and louder.
KAYE (voice-over): Earlier this month, another attempt to bring her back to the United States was successful. Dali sat in the back of the aircraft
and was flanked by two French security officials the entire flight to JFK.
A week and a half ago, Dali was charged in federal court with one count of being a stowaway on a vessel or aircraft without consent. Among other
things, the judge ordered Dali to wear an ankle bracelet with a GPS monitor, surrender any travel documents, and told her she cannot go to
airports or leave the area where she is staying. That includes, of course, jumping on a Greyhound bus to Canada.
Dali had been staying with a roommate. A law enforcement source told CNN her roommate reported her missing after he saw her GPS ankle bracelet on
the floor.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Wowzers. Now, children all over the world are counting down the days until Christmas, dreaming of presents, of course, and maybe even
snow. Derek Van Dam reports on the likelihood of a white U.S. Christmas, at least.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Are you one of many who are dreaming of a white Christmas, just like this meteorologist? The picture-perfect movie
setting with the fresh snow on the ground? And of course, everyone gathered around the Christmas tree to open presents. Well, guess what? There is an
actual definition of a white Christmas, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. You have to have one inch of snow or more on
the ground on Christmas morning to be considered a white Christmas.
Now, all in all, it's getting harder and harder these days with a warming climate to find that picture-perfect movie white Christmas setting. But
there are some locations you can travel to where you have a better chance than not of seeing it. Burlington, Vermont, for instance, or Minneapolis,
St. Paul, even Marquette, Michigan nearing 100 percent likelihood of experiencing that white Christmas because of their proximity to the Great
Lakes and the lake enhanced snow that starts to fall from the sky there. Of course, you could travel to the Intermountain West, but you've got to make
your way into the higher altitudes where the majority of the people do not live.
Now, we are desperate for that white Christmas in locations like Boston, New York, Philadelphia to Baltimore. You have to go back 15 years, 2009,
that's the last time where there was at least one inch of snow on the ground.
[18:55:00]
So, where does the snow exist? In the typical snow belt areas downwind from the Great Lakes. Remember we've been talking about lake-effect snow. Just
off the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario coastline, that's likely to stick around. And so, will the snow across the Intermountain West. But if we look
at the chances of precipitation going forward through Christmas Day, you could see below average conditions over the eastern two-thirds of the
country.
The good news, the flip side of this is that below average temperatures will settle in. So, any snow that does fall from the sky between now and
Christmas should likely stay on the ground in those favorite areas downwind of the Great Lakes, and it looks as if the temperatures. Will remain below
average. So, hopefully we can get that picture-perfect Christmas setting for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Yes, just let me travel home first. All right. And finally, on "First Move," "White Lotus" fans have a date for the diary. February 16th
sees the luxury hotel opening its doors in Thailand on HBO and Max. That's according to the latest trailer released this week.
And Blackpink fans are also well and truly checked in to the third season with the K-pop star, Lisa Manobal, making her acting debut as a hotel
worker. And I do need to mention that HBO and Max are a part of Warner Brothers Discovery, the parent company of CNN, but we're still excited.
And that just about wraps up the show. Thank you for joining us. I'll see you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
