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One World with Zain Asher
Republicans Divided Over Trump's Demand To Suspend Debt Ceiling; Capitol Hill Chaos As Lawmakers race To Keep Government Open; Trump Demands "Ridiculous" Debt Ceiling Be Extended To 2029; Biden Stays Out Of Spotlight With Hours Until Shutdown; Ukraine; One Killed, 12 Injured In Missile Strikes On Kyiv; U.S. Twice As Many Troops In Syria As Previously Disclosed; U.N.: 100,000 Syrians Have Returned Home In Last Two Weeks; Police Investigating Crowd Rush That Killed 35 Children; Amazon Workers, Starbucks Baristas Walk Off The Job; Thousands Report Unexpected Ozempic Side Effects; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired December 20, 2024 - 12:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:50]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching ONE WORLD.
In exactly 12 hours' time, federal funding will expire in the United States if Congress doesn't act. House Republicans are now making a last-minute
scramble to keep the government open. Sources now say they expect to hold votes on a funding plan, but are unlikely to hold a separate vote on the
debt limit.
Now it comes after Donald Trump and his billionaire backer Elon Musk blew up a bipartisan bill earlier this week.
Then yesterday, the Republican-led House failed to pass a second funding plan that included the explosive demand by the president-elect to increase
the debt ceiling.
Still, some Republican lawmakers remain optimistic that a deal will get done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DUSTY JOHNSON (R-SD): We're going to get this done. It's just going to take a little bit of time yet.
We need to get this done. It will be exceptionally stupid if we don't get this done. And I always believe that cooler heads will prevail. And that we
will actually do our job around here.
REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): Yesterday we tried. There were 38 Republicans that did not vote for a continuing to fund the government, helping the
folks that have been ravaged by hurricanes and our farmers and basically all Democrats voted against that too.
And so, you know, we need to keep this government running, my personal opinion. We need to get to the finish line. It's like sausage making. I
guess it isn't pretty. But we need to get there because I certainly don't want to see the government shut down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Democrats are blaming Republicans now for the chaos consuming Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): If the House put our original agreement on the floor today, it would pass. And we could put the threat of a shutdown
behind us.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Extreme MAGA Republicans are marching America to a painful government shutdown that will crash the economy and hurt
working class Americans because they would rather enact massive tax cuts for their billionaire donors than fund cancer research for children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: For his part, Donald Trump is doubling down on his debt ceiling demand. And in posting on a social media platform earlier, he said that if
there's going to be a shutdown, he wants it to happen while Joe Biden is still president.
CNN's Annie Grayer joins me now live from Capitol Hill.
So we're starting to get the contours of what a Plan C would look like. And that would essentially be splitting into multiple pieces here, allowing
each bill to pass or fail, essentially on their own merits. That would include a CR through March, disaster relief funding and farm aid.
Notably missing though is the debt ceiling vote and that is something that Donald Trump wants to address right now. What do you make of this? Is this
the first sense of defiance that we're seeing against the president-elect from his own party members?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN REPORTER: Well, I think first important thing to emphasize is that all the plans are still very fluid. This is what the plan
that we're hearing from sources in the room, but we have not gotten official bill text and things seem to be changing at a rapid pace.
What we saw last night was 38 Republicans voted against the plan that Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson supported, because the idea of
suspending the debt limit is a very controversial one in the House Republican Conference. It's not something that has unanimous support.
We saw that play out publicly last night, and that is what's forced Republicans to go back to the negotiating table.
But lawmakers have been meeting in Speaker Mike Johnson's office all morning. President-elect JD Vance was there, including Trump's pick for --
to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought. Everyone is trying to get on the same page.
And this idea of splitting up the votes into separate ones is something that they -- that Republicans if they can get more buy-in from.
But in the room behind me is where Republicans are going to be meeting shortly to really sell this plan and to get a temperature check with the
rest of the conference. Is this idea have enough support to move forward and go to the floor? We'll find out more at around 12:30.
GOLODRYGA: OK. You're going to be very busy the next 12 hours. Hate to break it to you, Annie. Thank you so much.
[12:05:05]
Despite the enormous impact Donald Trump is having on this process right now, he doesn't even officially take office until one month from today.
Alayna Treene joins me now live in West Palm Beach, Florida. Alayna, he's essentially been calling the shots from Florida in terms of what happens
now with a government shutdown now just 12 hours away. There are some within his own party even suggesting it may be a good time for him to come
to Washington to work on this.
Walk us through what he has been doing for the last 24, 48 hours.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right. Well, first of all, I'll say I think it's very unlikely that you'll see Donald Trump fly to Washington to deal
with this. I know that he's really tasked J.D. Vance, the VP-elect, to be his eyes and ears on the Hill and also to be in these negotiations, as Andy
just laid out, and really work on the nitty-gritty of this with Mike Johnson.
But look, Donald Trump really threw a lot of people, you know, for a loop. He surprised a lot of people when he came out on Wednesday, not only in
opposition to this bill, but also throwing in the idea of doing -- dealing with the debt limit. And that's something, you know, dealing with the debt
ceiling is very complicated. It's an incredibly complicated issue. It's also something that takes several weeks, if not months, to work out.
So I know that that kind of created a lot of uneasiness on Capitol Hill, and now we're actually seeing that potentially be dropped from whatever
they are going to be passing this afternoon, or at least trying to do so.
Now, when I talk to Donald Trump's advisors and those who are talking with him about this, they say that really, he was still negotiating up until
Wednesday, when he saw the text of this bill.
He was really asking people around him, you know, what are the benefits to having a long-term or short-term spending deal, specifically, how would it
affect him once he is in office and what he wants to do with his agenda?
But once that text came out, he very vehemently, I'm told, felt like it gave way too much away to Democrats and that it was far too much spending.
So that's kind of where some of the behind the scenes of this was.
We also know that he has discussed, over the past couple weeks now, this idea of wanting to have the debt ceiling dealt with before he takes office.
But it didn't become that serious, of course, until he came out and said that publicly.
Now, all to say, when I talk to Donald Trump's team, they say, essentially, the reason he is saying all this, what he really believes is that he wants
to clear the decks before he takes office on January 20th.
What they mean by that is, one, there is going to be a shutdown or some unsavory spending fight, particularly as it relates to the debt ceiling as
well. He wants that to be on Biden's watch. He wants Joe Biden to be the one who might be blamed with some of the negative impacts and the fallout
of what that could mean.
He also wants this to not be an issue when he's in office on day one because he wants Congress to focus on his priorities and his agenda, not on
some kind of messy spending fight. So that's where Donald Trump and his team is coming at this.
Now, as for your question, and you brought up Elon Musk, his billionaire backer, I mean, it's very clear how influential and powerful he is through
all of this. But I will add that when I talk to Trump's team as well about the Musk dynamic, they say that both Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been
talking about this before Musk even took to X to start attacking Republicans on this. So that's one thing to keep in mind as well.
All to say, it's very unclear where Donald Trump will be when they see the contours of this next deal and whether, you know, if this doesn't include
the debt ceiling, what that means for how he will react.
But all of this has also been a little bit surprising because we also know that him and Mike Johnson have had a very close relationship. Donald Trump
has been very supportive of Johnson in the past.
However, the way that he is responding right now to how Johnson is dealing with this spending really could jeopardize that speaker's gavel come next
year.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. He's made that abundantly clear.
TREENE: Bianna?
GOLODRYGA: He's made that abundantly clear in posts over the last 24 hours, saying an easy way for him to keep that job is to basically do his own
bidding in terms of getting the deal done the way Donald Trump would like to see it. And that obviously includes either raising or suspending the
debt ceiling.
Alayna Treene, thank you.
Let's continue the discussion about the funding fight and how it may get resolved. Joining me a former Republican congressman, Charlie Dent. He is
the executive director of the Aspen Institute Congressional Program. And CNN political commentator Karen Finney, a longtime democratic strategist,
who was a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Happy Friday to you both.
I think, listen, 72 hours ago, we didn't think we'd be here. It looked like this was a done deal, come by that bipartisan bill. We saw Mike Johnson
present on Wednesday. And yet, here we are, less than 12 hours away from a potential government shutdown.
Charlie, let me start with you, because now you have speaker Mike Johnson trying to find a spending plan that will satisfy both Republicans, and
obviously he's going to need some Democrat support as well in less than 12 hours. Can he do it?
CHARLIE DENT, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: Well, let me just first say, I think my head's about to explode, and I am dealing with serious
whiplash.
I just heard in the previous segment that Donald Trump wants to clear the decks. Well, yes, of course, you should have done -- if he wanted to do
this, the time to start would have been immediately after the election and to complete all 12 appropriations bills by Christmas, and maybe the debt
ceiling could have been included.
[12:10:18]
But that's not what he chose to do. He and the hardliners in the House Republican conference wanted to kick all the spending bills into the New
Year, to March 13th or 14th. They got what they wanted.
And then two days ago, Elon Musk, with an assist from Donald Trump, blew up the bipartisan agreement to fund the government. And that's why we're in
this predicament.
We -- the hard, these guys who will never vote for the CR, the continuing resolution, they will never vote for it, but they're dictating how we
should -- how Congress should proceed. Johnson is taking advice and input from the guys who won't vote for the bills that need to pass. There are not
218 House Republican votes for a continuing resolution or a debt ceiling.
Therefore, Johnson must speak to Hakeem Jeffries to get democratic votes for whatever it is he wants to do. It's as simple as that.
So, Trump and Musk have made a terrible blunder here if they shut this government down. They're not going to get a debt ceiling increase, not now.
They could have negotiated this, but Trump and the hardliners said, no, we want to deal with this when Trump's president. Now he says he wants to
clear the decks. I mean, I can't deal with a whiplash.
GOLODRYGA: Well, Karen, we heard from Donald Trump now saying that if there's going to be a shutdown, better to have it happen under Joe Biden's
watch.
And you have Mike Johnson and J.D. Vance saying publicly that if there is a shutdown, because there wasn't democratic support for this Plan B that was
endorsed by Donald Trump, that it is then on Democrats. And they are to blame for a potential shutdown.
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: So much of this is about spin in the presentation. We know Donald Trump really focuses on that. Is there a chance here that you think
Democrats will be blamed ultimately if we have a government shutdown?
FINNEY: I think -- here's what I think. I think Elon Musk and Donald Trump have convinced themselves that they can make that so. But if we talk about
the politics and the facts about what happened, there was a deal. Democrats did get together with Johnson. There was a deal.
And Speaker Johnson was with the president, the vice president, and Elon Musk, elect, rather, last weekend at the Army-Navy game. They could have
talked about it then. Instead, what we have is, I think it was what, 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, Elon Musk sending out 70 tweets on X about this
bill, and all of a sudden, everything is upended.
And I'll tell you, part of what I think is going to come to bear several times more during the Trump administration, Americans are going to start
asking themselves, why is someone who is an unelected corporate billionaire who has financial interests in what goes into this bill. And by that, I'm
talking about Elon Musk. I'm talking about when it comes to defense spending and his defense contracts. I'm talking about some of the spending
and some of the tax breaks that he gets for his EVs.
So here's someone who has direct financial interests, spent $260 million to get Donald Trump elected. And now he's the one driving the bus on what we
do with the budget. I don't think Americans are going to believe that it was Democrats' fault.
Also because this is actually a repeat of what we saw around the immigration legislation that was ready to go forward. Donald Trump makes a
phone call, and all of a sudden, Republicans are essentially blowing up the bill and blowing up the deal.
And the last thing I'll say on this, just from the politics, whether it's - - whether Mike Johnson is able to remain speaker or not, Whoever is the speaker going forward in this new Trump administration, is going to have a
very challenging time trying to do their job, given the very small majority they have.
And if they have to worry about whether the Vivek Ramaswamy or, you know, Elon Musk or Donald Trump are going to, you know, blow up a deal once the
deal has been made.
GOLODRYGA: Charlie, what do you make of the contours now that we're beginning to see of a potential Plan C? And that is breaking the bill into
separate pieces, allowing each to pass or fail as standalone, and one being just voting on the CR, keeping the government funded through March, and
then the disaster relief and agriculture bills that would come separately.
And, interestingly enough, no debt ceiling vote at all, really defying what Donald Trump has been pushing for. Do you think that this has a chance of
avoiding a government shutdown at this time?
[12:15:08]
DENT: Yes, I do. Actually, it's worth a shot. Put a clean continuing resolution on the floor, the farm bill extension, and the disaster bill.
Yes, let's see what happens.
And if those fail, well, then they can always dust off the negotiated bipartisan deal that the Musk and Trump tanked and put that on the floor.
And if that doesn't work, they won't do that. Well, then maybe somebody should call the Senate. They're part of this process, last I checked.
And between Senators Schumer, McConnell and Thune, I'm sure they could pass a bill with 60 votes and send it to the House and then tell the House to
simply eat it.
GOLODRYGA: How much should we read into the fact that you had 38 Republicans openly defy Donald Trump in voting no to this second Plan B
option that included raising the debt ceiling? They are now being threatened by Donald Trump himself and others with facing primaries in a
couple of years.
What message does this send Donald Trump? And is this a preview of what we can expect to see in terms of infighting within the own party?
DENT: Well, news flash (CROSSTALK), you know, there are significant number -- there are a significant number of Republicans in the House conference
who will not vote, House Republican Conference, who will not, never ever, ever vote for a debt ceiling increase or a continuing resolution.
So this should not be a surprise to anyone that this group of 38 folks are not voting for a continuing resolution. We've been through this so many
times. That's why -- that's why Republicans, with a very slim majority, need Democrats to pass any government funding bill.
So nobody should be surprised. What will be the consequences? Many of those 38 people who voted against the bill yesterday, on the Republican side, are
close allies to Donald Trump. So is he going to go after all of them? I doubt it.
But this is -- this is the predicament we have right now. The hardliners wanted to just kick this all into the new year and so did Donald Trump. And
now apparently Trump doesn't. And that's why we're in this mess with Elon Musk contaminating the process as well.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. He already went after one of them publicly and Chip Roy, we know what he said about him.
DENT: He supported DeSantis. That was over -- that's over to DeSantis, I think.
GOLODRYGA: OK. Holding grudges. Nothing new.
DENT: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: Quickly, Karen.
FINNEY: Chip Roy. Yes. I was just going to say Chip Roy's been so -- I mean, I don't agree with him on much, but I respect the fact that he's one
of these members that Charlie was just talking about who's been very consistent for a very long time.
He will not vote to raise the debt ceiling. And I think, politically, the twist here is going to be, you know, these House members, they know they
have to go in front of voters in two years. And, yes, Donald Trump and Elon Musk may say, we're going to primary you.
But these elected members are also saying to themselves, look, I've got to do my own politics and follow some of them, my own conscience, not just --
for them, it's not just about, I hope, loyalty to Donald Trump or what Elon Musk wants.
And I think we're going to see this tension play itself out quite a few times in the coming couple of years.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Reminder, I think Donald Trump oversaw three government shutdowns during his last term. So, we'll see. He's yet to enter office,
and here we are just hours away from a partial government shutdown.
Charlie Dent and Karen Finney don't go anywhere, there's much more to discuss, including what role, if any, President Biden can play in this
stalemate on Capitol Hill. He's been nowhere thus far.
But still ahead for us, many Syrians are heading back home after the Assad regime's fall. But some are wary of an unstable country with an uncertain
future. We'll bring you their stories ahead.
And later, check out the guy in the drums. Take a guess which rock and roll legends took a long and winding road to an onstage reunion last night. We
gave you a big hint right there with that one. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:49]
GOLODRYGA: We turn now to our top story and the ticking clock, as we are now less than 12 hours from a partial government shutdown.
Congressional leaders are meeting behind closed doors now to try to find a solution to their stalemate. But President Biden has stayed quiet about the
looming deadline.
Let's continue the discussion about the funding fight and how it may get resolved. Once again, we're going to bring back former Republican
congressman Charlie Dent and CNN political commentator Karen Finney, a longtime democratic strategist.
So, Karen, let's start with you, because it was today that one would have expected President Biden sign a bill to avoid a government shutdown,
extending the CR through March. And that's where we were on Wednesday.
Since then, we haven't heard from him much, if at all. What do you make of that?
FINNEY: Look, I think President Biden recognizes that this is a moment to stand back, as I think you're going to see Democrats do, quite frankly,
again, over the next couple of years.
And let Republicans own this mess. They are the reason that we are in this debacle. There was a deal. I -- you know, there was conversation, you know,
with the White House between Democrats on the Hill as they were moving forward on this deal. They thought they had a deal.
And again, as we were discussing, because you had Donald Trump and I guess his -- Elon Musk, his chief advisor now, weighing in and then really just
tearing that deal up, you know, again, this -- I think this is going to be a strategy we'll see.
Why get in the way? Let them -- you know, if they're going to throw chaos and throw sand into the gears, pick your metaphor, then let -- the American
people need to see that is what they actually got in their vote.
If they wanted Donald Trump, this is what it was like having Donald Trump as president, this kind of chaos and uncertainty. I certainly think if we
really needed President Biden to weigh in, if they thought they could really get the deal by having him weigh in, I think you would -- then you
would see him engaged.
But at this point, it's pretty clear. You know, it's sort of Donald Trump's way or no way. And so why get in the way of that when Republicans really
need to be the ones to sort that out?
GOLODRYGA: Charlie, does it not send a message, though, that we haven't heard from President Biden? Yes, he may be a lame duck at this point, but
he's still the president of the United States.
And as Donald Trump is already characterizing this, better to have it be Joe Biden's government shutdown than his. What do you make of what Karen is
suggesting that maybe this is a strategy to have him just sit this one out? Because I find that would be a rather risky strategy.
DENT: Well, candidly, Joe Biden is not particularly relevant to this conversation in Congress right now. Joe Biden will sign whatever Congress
sends him on the continuing resolution. It'll be a bipartisan bill. He is going to sign it.
The real problem right now is within the Congress. What can they get out of the House at this point?
GOLODRYGA: Right. But do most Americans know that? Most Americans who are getting ready to spend their holidays with their families, worried about
whatever a government shutdown, however that may impact them, travel delays, what have you, they know there's one president right now, and
that's Joe Biden.
DENT: Well, yes. Look, it'd be great, you know, if Joe Biden wants to go in and insert himself in the negotiations, great. Is he going to get
Republicans to vote for this thing? I don't know. We can get the Democrats. That's the problem right now.
[12:25:11]
We have to get Republican votes in the House, you know, to pass something along, you know, along with Democrats. That is the dilemma.
And, you know, of course, you know, Donald Trump would rather have the debt ceiling enacted now. I mean -- and if he wanted to do that, by the way, if
Trump wanted to do that, why did he wait till a day ago or two days ago to make that statement?
I mean, it's, of course, it would have been smart to do that and clear the decks. That would have been a great strategy, but you can't throw that out
there on December the 17th and here we are the 19th, you know, hours before a government shutdown and try to throw this in. It's pretty crazy right
now, but yes, it'd be great if Biden were more involved.
But right now, I'm telling you, he's just going to simply do what -- he's just going to sign what's sent to him. He's a bystander right now in the
process.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And, by the way, Charlie, it's the 20th, so we're even closer.
DENT: Yes, the 20th, excuse me. Excuse me.
GOLODRYGA: Not the 19th. Karen, quickly, quickly, final seconds.
FINNEY: No. I just -- I don't think that President Biden will agree to any increase in the debt limit. I mean, you know, that's a hot potato
politically that Trump wants to put on Biden.
President Biden, again, make Donald Trump own it. If you want to ask Donald Trump, you're going to have to own it.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Well, it seems like we've got a lot more --
DENT: There won't be a debt ceiling on this.
GOLODRYGA: -- Republican leadership blaming this on Democrats than, you know, the few voices in leadership on the Democrat side saying, no, that
the Republicans got us into this mess.
But we will be following this closely in the hours to come, and if we are, obviously, in a government shutdown, following the impact of that over the
course of the next few days.
Charlie Dent, Karen Finney, thank you for chatting with us. If I don't see you, happy holidays to you both.
DENT: Happy holidays.
GOLODRYGA: Meantime, still to come for us, police in Nigeria have made arrests in connection to the school fair stampede that killed dozens of
children. The latest on the investigation, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:30:40]
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
In Ukraine, military officials say at least one person has been killed and 12 others wounded after an intense Russian missile attack on Kyiv.
One of the strikes damaged six embassies housed on the same building, according to Ukraine's foreign ministry.
Now, this comes just a day after president, Russian President Vladimir Putin, challenged the West to a, quote, duel in his end-of-year press
conference.
Nathan Hodge joins us now live from London. He is CNN's former Moscow bureau chief. Nathan, it is good to see you. What more are we learning
about today's strike?
NATHAN HODGE, CNN FORMER MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Bianna, this strike follows Vladimir Putin's pledge, well, his boasting basically about the
capability of this new nuclear capable ballistic missile, the Oreshnik.
And he went on at length in his press conference yesterday about the capability of this and basically said that he sort of proposed a duel
saying, this would be a 21st century high-tech duel, basically testing or let the, you know -- let the Ukrainians with their Western supplied
equipment and their air defenses test out their capability against the ability of this new weapon which is -- which is packaged with multiple
independently targetable reentry vehicles.
Basically, you know, he is saying that he's got this new sort of wonder weapon and he was boasting about this sort of in some pretty brazen terms
at the press conference.
Now, while this was not the weapon that was used to strike Kyiv today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had some pretty choice words for
the kind of the tone and the manner that Putin was essentially brandishing his new weaponry.
You know, he was quite blunt in a -- in a post on X, he called the Russian president a dumbass. I'm sure you'll appreciate that the word that he used
in Ukrainian was a little bit more piquant. He also called the Russians in a press conference yesterday in Brussels (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
something a little along the lines of, you know, psychos or, you know, it was pretty strong -- pretty strong words.
And this is all coming at a time when, you know, the Kremlin leader is trying to sort of puff himself up, present Russia as a -- as a fearsome and
a frightening enemy, someone to be contended with, of course, as we have a new administration coming in, in Washington.
And certainly it's intended not just for the audience domestically in Russia, but meant to be broadcasting a signal to the incoming Trump
administration, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Also saying yesterday that he hadn't spoken with President- elect Donald Trump in some four years and looks forward to their conversation. I'm looking at the exact tweet or the post from President
Zelenskyy in response to that duel presented by Vladimir Putin. And he said, people are dying. And he thinks it's, quote, interesting. And the
English translation of the word you mentioned, dumbass.
Nathan Hodge, thank you so much. Good to see you.
Well, a U.S. delegation visiting Syria has canceled a news conference citing security concerns and will only do a virtual briefing now.
Top State Department envoys are in Damascus, where they met the de facto government, including rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. They're the first U.S.
officials in Syria since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
The Defense Department says that the U.S. has around 2,000 troops in Syria. That's more than double what was previously disclosed. A Pentagon spokesman
explains.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK RYDER, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE PRESS SECRETARY: I learned today that in fact there are approximately 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. As I
understand it, and as it was explained to me, these additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces that deploy to meet shifting mission
requirements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's chief national security correspondent Alex Marquardt joins us now.
Alex, I want to get to the significance of the U.S. envoy there and the delegation meeting with HTS officials for the first time since the fall of
Bashar al-Assad in just a second.
But quickly, your reaction to this discrepancy, I don't know how else to describe it, is it just not full transparency, really, from the Pentagon in
terms of the amount of U.S. troops that are currently in Syria?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think that's absolutely it, Bianna. There are real questions about how
transparent the administration has been or not in this case. I think it's reflective of their worries about what's going on in Syria. We have seen a
spike in U.S. actions against ISIS in Syria.
[12:35:11]
But for years, we have been saying that there were 900 troops, American troops, in Syria, only to find out yesterday that it's more than double.
And so our understanding is that 900 is really the core of that U.S. mission. The surge is to complement them in these uncertain times. It
remains to be seen how long they stay there. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: And quickly, just talk to us about the meeting today. Security concerns didn't allow for a press briefing, but there's a virtual meeting,
I believe, between the U.S. delegation and the leaders there at HTS. Talk about their mission and what they're hoping to achieve with this meeting.
MARQUARDT: It's not clear why that press conference was scrapped. The streets of Damascus are very busy. I think there was probably a lot of
nervousness around this high-level delegation, but it is quite remarkable, Bianna, because U.S. and Syria have not had diplomatic ties in more than 12
years. So here you have this senior State Department-level delegation that went to Damascus. They are supposed to give a virtual press briefing on the
phone any moment now. So we are hoping to learn more details about the meeting that they had with HTS, and specifically with its leader, Ahmed al-
Sharaa, who, as you know, is a designated terrorist by the U.S.
He has a $10 million bounty on his head. So you have to imagine that Sharaa and the U.S. delegation talked about removing those designations of his
group, HTS, and he himself being terrorist.
They will certainly be pushing for lifting of the U.S. sanctions on Syria so they can get their economy back up and running. But certainly the U.S.
message to Sharaa and the other Syrian officials they met with was that they hope to see a Syrian government that is inclusive, that is
representative, that includes women and minorities and a variety of sex, that Syria does not again become a home to terrorists like ISIS.
And, of course, one of the main focuses for these U.S. officials was to encourage HTS to help them find journalist, Austin Tice, who disappeared
some 12 years ago. Roger Carstens, the top hostage affairs official, was on this trip alongside Barbara Leaf, the top State Department official for the
Middle East.
We are expecting to hear from them momentarily. So hopefully there will be some answers both on how they feel this transition is going and how they
feel the search for Austin Tice is going. Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. It was interesting to hear Vladimir Putin yesterday in his press conference address the question of Austin Tice as well, saying that
he, and this is quoting him, that he hasn't spoken with Bashar al-Assad, who is now in Russia, but that he would ask him about the whereabouts of
Austin Tice and what he knows.
Alex Marquardt, thank you so much. Keep us posted on the press briefing.
And inside Syria, the mood is mostly one of joy.
This as tens of thousands of Syrians gathered in the streets of Damascus and other towns after Friday prayers to celebrate the fall of the Assad
regime. The euphoria continued as dusk fell with people chanting and holding flags and their cell phones to mark the occasion. It's the first
such demonstration since Assad's ouster.
The United Nations says about 100,000 Syrians have returned to the country from abroad since the Assad regime fell, but some came back to weigh up the
situation and then left again. There's fear that the current instability could lead to further chaos.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before Ahmed Murjan (ph) hugs his mother for the first time in 13 years, they both kneel
in prayer.
Gratitude for a reunion they never believed would come.
This is one of many emotional homecomings across Syria after the sudden fall of the Assad regime.
At just 19 years old, with security forces hunting him down, Murjan fled his family's home in Aleppo.
Here he is in 2016.
AHMED MURJAN (PH), REFUGEE RETURNED HOME: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Reporting for an opposition-based media network as barrel bombs rained down from the sky.
Later that year, Murjan filmed the exodus as thousands withdrew from the last remaining rebel enclave in Aleppo.
We are leaving with our dignity, Murjan says in this clip. And we will return one day.
That promised return is now finally on the horizon. Murjan says he is planning to move back to Aleppo from Gaziantep, Turkey, where he currently
lives with his wife and their two young daughters.
ABDELAZIZ: What is your dream now for Syria's future?
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): I'm optimistic about the future, he says. And I have huge hope that the country will be better than before.
[12:40:04]
But not all are keen to hurry back to an unstable country with an uncertain future, says this human rights defender.
HUSSAM KASSAS, SYRIAN ASYLUM SEEKER: There's no sustainable peace, and which makes me really afraid of getting back there.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Hussam Kassas, who is seeking asylum in the United Kingdom, is among tens of thousands of Syrians whose applications for
asylum were suspended after the U.K. and other European countries paused the process to reassess, now that the threat of Assad is gone.
For years, Kassas has documented potential war crimes committed by all major parties to the conflict. If he goes back, he says, his family could
be targeted or worse.
ABDELAZIZ: Why do you not feel safe to return?
KASSAS: We expected a lot of revenge killing will happen. Those soldiers will seek revenge from the people who were trying to hold them accountable,
actually.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Many Syrians in the diaspora long to return and rebuild, but this moment of great hope brings with it great uncertainty.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Turning now to the terrible tragedy in Nigeria, where at least 35 children were killed in a crowd rush during a fair.
The incident unfolded at an Islamic high school in the southwestern part of the country. Authorities say they have arrested eight people for their
alleged involvement, including the fair's main sponsor.
CNN's Larry Madowo has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities have opened a homicide investigation and the eight people arrested have been arrested for, quote,
their various involvements in what happened here and the local government there in Oyo State saying it is looking into whether those responsible
could be charged for acts of omission or commission, but it's a real tragedy in Nigeria's third largest city.
This was an Islamic high school. And local radio said they were expecting about 5,000 kids to be there. There was promised scholarships and other
gifts.
And we saw harrowing video on social media of people carrying lifeless bodies from the scene of this incident. It's not exactly clear what
happened, what is the cause of that. That will be the investigation.
But Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, has also called for an investigation, sent condolences, and asked for stronger safety measures whenever there's
going to be events like this.
But I want to -- I want you to hear from the deputy governor of that state, who's much more blunt in his assessment.
BAYO LAWAL, DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF OYO STATE: The government will dig deeper into this incident and from the snippet information that I have collected,
they mentioned some names and I have directed that both the Commissioner of Police and the Director of State Security should invite the individuals
that were mentioned.
MADOWO: So that investigation is still going on for many parents, for people in the community. They will want to know exactly what happened here.
And as the deputy governor suggests, was it because some adults who were in charge were negligent or actively caused this tragedy?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:27]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Thousands of Amazon drivers in the U.S. hit the picket line for better pay and working conditions just as the holiday rush sets in.
Amazon says the drivers work for companies who are contracted by Amazon, so they are not required to negotiate with them. The workers tell us, that's
not how they feel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you look at other companies like UPS, I mean, they are doing a lower volume now and they're getting paid a lot more than we're
getting paid. We're getting more volume and less pay. That don't seem fair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We already came to that conclusion that we were not recognized, even though we are the face of Amazon. We wear the uniform, we
drive the trucks. When we pull up to your house, you say, oh, that's Amazon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins us now with more.
Both sides seem dug in here with their own views about not, or especially Amazon, not wanting to negotiate with these drivers. What more are you
learning? How long can this go on for?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And that's the big question because both sides don't seem to be able to get the other
side to the negotiating table in any way. And Amazon doesn't really want to negotiate with these drivers.
How long will this go on? We do not know. But there are thousands of Amazon drivers on the picket lines in four states at seven locations.
But we're also learning from the Teamsters that there are support picket lines happening across the country at 199 locations. So those are folks
from other unions, maybe some Amazon employees that are out there supporting these drivers who are asking for better wages.
Ultimately, Amazon says that they have invested millions of dollars into their third-party driver program and hope to raise the average wage to $22
an hour. But you heard from some of those workers there. They work very long hours in sometimes tough conditions.
And they say that the company is actually just adding pressure for them to do the work a lot faster.
And I should note, Bianna, also on strike today, Starbucks workers, in three different locations, Chicago, Los Angeles, and also in Seattle.
They've taken to the picket lines this morning. They have been negotiating, the union there, with Starbucks since February, but the union says they had
asked Starbucks for a new contract by the end of the year. And, of course - - of course, we are approaching the end of the year right now.
Starbucks, for their part, says that there has been minimal disruption this morning and into today. A source that is familiar with the Impact says
about 10 stores out of Starbucks, 10,000 stores, did not open on time this morning because of the strike. And it's the same story with these workers
asking for better wages, better benefits.
But ultimately, Starbucks does have the responsibility to negotiate with these workers, because, Bianna, they do recognize the more than 500
unionized stores.
This is an interesting time of year for this to be happening, Bianna. This is a critical time of year for Amazon and Starbucks. These unions know what
they're doing launching these strikes at this time of year.
It may not make the impact financially that they're hoping for, Bianna, but it's certainly getting people's attention across the country, and that is a
win for these unions.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And we'll see which side blinks first in terms of getting to that negotiating table.
Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.
The weight loss drug, Ozempic, has been hailed by many as a miracle worker, transforming the lives of millions of its users. But as the drug and others
like it rise in popularity, thousands of people are experiencing unwanted side effects without warning.
CNN's Nick Watt has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICIA, FORMER OZEMPIC USER: I'm always going to the bathroom. I had to prepare myself for this and I don't know how long I could sit.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Patricia is one of the 15 million or so Americans who've taken Ozempic or one of the other so-called
GLP-1 drugs. She is diabetic.
WATT: What did you kind of hope it would achieve for you?
PATRICIA: Lower my A1C and help me to lose weight.
WATT (voice-over): She's a veteran.
PATRICIA: This is my battalion I was in. Can you pick me out?
WATT: There. Am I right?
PATRICIA: Yes.
WATT: Yes.
WATT: She did lose weight. Her A1C did fall. Then, she says, her doctor doubled the dose, as suggested by the manufacturer, and within two weeks --
[12:50:02]
PATRICIA (voice-over): I was going so often, I began to bleed. When it became bright red blood, I knew it was hospital time.
WATT (voice-over): She saw a doctor in the ER.
PATRICIA: He said, you have a lower GI erectile infection and you're hemorrhaging.
WATT (voice-over): More than 1,300 people have already filed suit against the makers of these drugs over side effects they say they suffered and
inadequate warnings. Patricia plans to file suit.
WATT: And how many clients do you have now on this?
ANDREW VAN ARSDALE, PATRICIA'S ATTORNEY: We have over 6,000 clients.
PATRICIA: It doesn't say it on the pamphlet that you're going to be hemorrhaging.
WATT: And if it had said that on the --
PATRICIA: I wouldn't have taken it.
WATT (voice-over): The label does warn of diarrhea but not hemorrhaging.
VAN ARSDALE: I do think we'll find evidence that they were aware that some of these reports were coming in, and maybe they didn't do enough about it.
WATT (voice-over): The maker of Ozempic declined an interview but gave us a statement that reads in part: Novo Nordisk believes that the allegations in
these lawsuits are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend against these claims. The known risks and benefits are described in their
FDA approved labeling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may have seen photos of celebrities and others showing off dramatic weight loss.
WATT (voice-over): These drugs are now ingrained in the zeitgeist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Party time guys!
WATT (voice-over): South Park, SNL.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since my doctor prescribed Ozempic for Ramadan, I've never gotten more work done.
WATT (voice-over): And so many commercials in between.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ozempic.
WATT: I can hum the tune from the commercial.
VAN ARSDALE: There's a reason you can hum the tune. There's a reason everybody knows about this, because of the amount of money they're putting
into the marketing of these products.
PATRICIA: I heard about Ozempic on the TV.
WATT (voice-over): Patricia has now stopped taking it but she says is still suffering.
PATRICIA: Uncontrollable diarrhea.
WATT: Which makes life quite hard to live.
PATRICIA: Right. So I stay pretty much close to the house. I still have the effects of uncontrollable going to the bathroom.
WATT: There are, of course, many, many people taking these drugs very happily and getting great benefit from them.
Patricia and her lawyer are not saying these drugs should be banned. They're just saying that the manufacturers, the pharmaceutical companies,
should spend a lot more time and effort looking into potential side effects and should make the warnings around those potential side effects much more
explicit.
There is, of course, a long and complicated legal road ahead.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:55:05]
GOLODRYGA: Well, there was quite a moment on a London stage last night. The last two surviving members of the Beatles. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr,
reunited for a couple of songs.
It was the last night of McCarthy's Get Back Tour and the crowd went wild when he brought out his special guest.
RINGO STARR, FORMER BEATLE: I want to tell you I've had a great night tonight. How about you? Whoa. You did great. Great job.
PAUL MCCARTNEY, FORMER BEATLE: Should we rock?
STARR: Yes, we rock.
MCCARTNEY: You're already rocking. OK. Get on your kit, lad (ph).
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Amazing. The former bandmates played the "Helter Skelter" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" for the adoring audience.
If you'll pardon the pun, it has been a long and winding road, but it was good to see the 82-year-old McCartney and his 84-year-old drummer back on
stage and rocking it out together again last night. That's amazing.
And that does it for this hour of ONE WORLD. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. I'll be right back in just a few minutes with
"AMANPOUR."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
