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One World with Zain Asher

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff Returning to Moscow; Zelenskyy, Macron Discuss U.S.-Backed Peace Plan; Corruption Scandal Rattles Ukraine Amid Peace Negotiations; Trump to Hold Oval Meeting on Venezuela; Netanyahu Requests Pardon in Ongoing Corruption Trial; Pope Leo on Three-Day Visit to Crisis-Hit Lebanon. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired December 01, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Talks to end the war in Ukraine, shift to Moscow today. "One World" starts right now. U.S. Special Envoy is headed to

Russia as the Trump Administration's diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine continues. Plus, the Trump Administration commit a war crime when

U.S. forces reportedly struck a suspected drug vote a second time.

And on World AIDS Day, we look at the global effort to fight the spread of HIV amid the worst setback in decades. All right, coming to you live from

New York. I'm Zain Asher. This is "One World". Negotiations to bring an end to Russia's war in Ukraine are intensifying and come at a crucial time for

Kyiv, which is losing ground on the war front while facing a corruption scandal.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a show of support from French President Emmanuel Macron today. The Ukrainian President, posted on social media that

some tough issues still have to be resolved. He spoke by phone with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well and Donald Trump's Special Envoy.

Steve Witkoff is headed to Moscow today and is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. His trip follows weekend talks

between the U.S. and Ukrainian delegations in Florida, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that talks are still delicate and still

complicated. The U.S. President sounded more optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Ukraine's got some difficult little problems, some difficult problems, but I think Russia

would like to see it end. And I think Ukraine -- I know Ukraine would like to see that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just said that Ukraine has a little bit of problems --

TRUMP: Well, we have a corruption situation going on, which is not helpful. That's a good chance we can make a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins us live now from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. So, Nick, we know that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff

is on his way to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin, sort of talk about the changes that Kyiv and its allies want to this peace plan.

We also know that Vladimir Putin has shown very little appetite for pivoting away from this 28-point peace plan, this sort of maximalist

approach that he's had so far. Based on that, how is this meeting likely to go, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, look, we are hearing as it stands, how fast things may continue to be

developing or altering. It transpires from a source close to negotiations that, in fact, Steve Witkoff and the new top negotiator for Ukraine Rustem

Umerov had another meeting in Miami at local U.S. time this morning.

After the lengthy talks held on Sunday, quite what that meeting was about, what they needed to readdress unclear. It may have slightly delayed Mr.

Witkoff's departure to Moscow. And then during the day as well, we have seen President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine in Paris with Emmanuel

Macron.

He just wrapped up a press conference alongside the French President there, in which he stressed how it's really the issue of sovereignty and security

guarantees. It is utterly key to Ukraine in all of this. I'm quite clear what sovereignty ultimately means, and it does seem as though potentially

slipping into part of this deal.

There may be some suggestion of territorial swaps. It's still unclear at the moment, but it is fairly clear, from what the Kremlin have been saying,

from what President Putin has been saying that ultimately, unless there is some sort of land concession towards Russia, he's just not --

Ultimately, he wants, he said, all the land that he believes Ukraine is holding or they'll take it by military force. So, a lot of fast-moving

diplomacy here, as Zelenskyy said in his press conference with Macron, these are special days in which things can change moment by moment.

But he is facing an exceptionally complex moment here, because the front lines are certainly not moving in Ukraine's favor during his press

conference in Paris. Now, Zelenskyy took the opportunity to knock down much of the Russian rhetoric suggesting they were on the front foot, saying

they've been pretty much cleared out of Kupiansk and weren't doing as well in other areas as they've tried to suggest.

But it is certainly a picture in which Russia has been on the front foot for a number of weeks. A couple with that as well the fact that President

Zelenskyy himself is facing acute domestic political pressure here that led to the resignation of his Chief of Staff and Former Top Negotiator, Andrii

Yermak on Friday after anti-corruption investigator searched his home in connection to energy kickbacks, a scheme they're investigating here.

[11:05:00]

So, he's not in the best position himself, and now we have, for the umpteenth time, an iteration of a potential peace deal to be offered to the

Kremlin by Steve Witkoff. Clearly, something being discussed to the last minute with Ukraine's top negotiator. Exactly what is on those sheets of

paper will be utterly key.

We've had this two-track process, working Ukraine and the United States, often with Europe in the background, trying to hammer out something Ukraine

wants. And then at the same time, the Americans and the Russians, more recently, with cumulative sovereign investment fund representative for

President Putin trying to hammer out something separately.

Those two tracks don't meet really ever, it seems, but it appears right now that we'll see whether or not wick office come up with something that is

both amenable to Ukraine and to the Kremlin when he arrives there tomorrow.

ASHER: Right, Nick Paton Walsh, thank you. Right, President Donald Trump, in the next few hours, will hold an Oval Office meeting to discuss next

steps regarding Venezuela. That's according to CNN sources who tell us the key members of his cabinet and national security team will be there.

The U.S. has turned up the pressure on Venezuela with a succession of strikes and alleged drug vessels and a military buildup in the Caribbean.

We're still waiting for details of a phone call between President Trump and Venezuela Leader Nicolas Maduro. On Sunday, Maduro was seen in public for

the first time in several days, but he didn't mention the call.

He did confirm a letter that he wrote to OPEC accusing the U.S. of trying to seize Venezuela's oil reserves, which are the world's largest. The

President of Venezuela's National Assembly is accusing the U.S. of committing murder with its deadly attacks on boats that it claims are

operated by drug gangs.

Several members of the U.S. Congress are saying that U.S. forces may have committed war crime back in September when they struck one of those boats

for a second time, killing crew members thought to have survived the first attack. CNN Senior White House Reporter Betsy Klein joins us live now from

the White House.

So, Betsy, I mean, there is so much controversy about all of this idea, that the Trump Administration. Pete Hegseth, Defense Secretary in

particular may have ordered a second-strike killing survivors from the initial attack who were no longer a threat. Many people speculating that

this could be a war crime in terms of the president holding a meeting later on today.

I believe it takes place at around five o'clock today, discussing the next steps on Venezuela. What more do we know about that?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Zain major questions for the White House this morning about whether the Trump Administration

committed a war crime. And at the heart of this, as you mentioned, is reporting from our colleague, Natasha Bertrand.

She says that the U.S. military carried out a second follow up strike on an alleged drug vote in the Caribbean on September 2nd after the first strike

did not kill everyone on board. Sources familiar with the matter says that, that first strike appeared to disable the boat and cause deaths, but then

it was determined that there were survivors.

This boat was struck for a second time. Ultimately, 11 people died and the ship sunk. Now one of those sources says that Defense Secretary Pete

Hegseth had ordered the military to kill everyone on board. It is not clear at this time whether he was aware that there were survivors after that

first strike, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle now calling for investigations and warning that this could constitute a war crime, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ANGUS KING (D-ME): The law is clear if the facts are as have been alleged, that there was a second strike specifically to kill the survivors

in the war in the water. That's a stone-cold war crime. It's also murder.

REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): This is completely outside of anything that has been discussed with Congress. Obviously, if that occurred, that would be

very serious, and I agree that would be an illegal act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now President Trump was asked about all of this as he returned to Washington on Air Force One last night. He says that Secretary Hegseth told

him that he did not order the second strike. And the president said that he personally would not have wanted that.

Now this comes as the U.S. military has conducted about 20 known strikes on these alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, and has amassed a wide range a

show of force into the region as the president is weighing a series of options to move forward. All of that, culminating a little bit later today,

at 05:00 p.m. as the president hosts key members of his cabinet in the Oval Office for a discussion of next steps.

That includes Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine, as well as Secretary Hegseth and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. All eyes on that. It

also comes as President Trump confirmed reports that he has spoken by phone with Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.

[11:10:00]

The president not providing any additional details on that call, Zain.

ASHER: All right. Betsy Klein, live for us there. Thank you so much. Right, let's get some perspective on all of this now with Ravi Agrawal, Editor in

Chief of Foreign Policy magazine. So just once again, to put this into context for our viewers, there was this alleged drug boat strike on

September 2 that left two survivors.

And there was a second strike killing those two survivors to apparently comply with the defense secretary's orders to kill everybody on board those

survivors, at the time, would have no longer posed a threat, which is why a lot of legal experts are claiming this is a war crime.

Just talk to us first and foremost about what should be the rules of engagement by the U.S. in this type of situation.

RAVI AGRAWAL, EDITOR IN CHIEF OF FOREIGN POLICY: Well, for starters, you can't be attacking boats in what are international waters. And it would

indeed be a war crime if you know that there are survivors on a boat and you still take out the boat. And crucially, I think the United States has

to show that there is imminent threat from any of these boats in question over the last several weeks now that have been taken out by U.S. forces.

And it is unclear whether there was any imminent threat, also unclear whether any of these boats were connected to what the Trump Administration

has been calling narco-terrorism. I'm not saying there isn't a connection, but they are yet to show the world any evidence that, that may be the case.

So, all of that makes several of these moves that the United States has been making off the Venezuelan coast, highly dubious from the perspective

of international law.

ASHER: And I think what's unfortunate about this is that we've been talking about these strikes on alleged drug boats in international waters for

months, even aside from what allegedly happened on September 2nd, this idea of targeting these drug boats in the first place in international waters.

All these sorts of questions about sovereignty, international sovereignty, and proving that they pose an imminent threat to the U.S. There are so many

questions about it, and yet these strikes continue to happen. So, what does accountability look like, and what does transparency look like here, Ravi?

AGRAWAL: Well, the question there would be, who would try to hold the United States accountable in a world in which the United Nations can often

feel stymied, and the United States itself has made quite clear that it is happy being a country in a global order in which might makes right.

And so, in that scenario, you have, you know, countries that might express disapproval. The United Kingdom, for example, which has many Commonwealth

nations in the region, gets a lot of intelligence from those countries, has stopped sharing some of its intelligence with the United States, which is,

you know, a real setback to what is known as the Five Eyes relationship.

There are other countries in the region, Colombia notably, that have been very critical of America's moves there. But how do you hold the United

States accountable to answer your question is a very different thing, and I'm not sure anyone can in a world in which rules in general feel like they

are less enforceable than ever before.

And all of this, by the way, is leading up to potential military action in Venezuela, which could be much bigger than what we've seen with these gun

boats. I'll remind your viewers that you have several massive American warships, about 10 percent of its navy currently arrayed off the Venezuelan

coast, including the USS Gerald Ford, the biggest warship in the American Navy. All of that could be very serious in the coming days.

ASHER: Yeah, you bring up such an important point as it pertains to U.S.- Venezuela relations. We know that the two leaders, Maduro and Trump, did have a phone call, although details are really scant about what actually

came out of that phone call. But in terms of these allegations that the U.S. is carrying out a war crime here.

Assuming, I mean, obviously you point out the fact that it is very difficult internationally to hold the U.S. accountable, but assuming that

there is an internal investigation at a much later date, even after President Trump is no longer in office. Is Pete Hegseth, assuming that he

is actually the one based on what the reports say, who gave these orders?

Is he equally as accountable as the service members who actually did carry out the strikes?

AGRAWAL: So, the legalities here are very interesting, and there are always two elements to this. There are the international legalities and the

domestic ones. On the international front, the United States is not a signatory of the International Criminal Court the Rome Statute.

So, for example, the United States will consider itself above the fray on that particular instance, which is why, you know whether it's Iraq or

Afghanistan, the United States has broadly felt like it can operate in a way that is different from what other countries do.

[11:15:00]

This is just a trend line from the last 20 years. I think the domestic question is more salient here, in part because there are serious questions

being asked internally about the rules being followed and about what Hegseth knew and especially, as your reporter pointed out, Trump saying

that he wouldn't have wanted this to happen.

Opening up room there for a lot of criticism about the decision making and the consequences. In the lead up to this big press conference we're about

to see today, in which we might hear of much more serious action taking place against Venezuela.

ASHER: Right, Ravi Agrawal live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right, coming up, Donald Trump thinks it's a good idea. Now,

Israel's President must weigh up Benjamin Netanyahu's controversial request for a pardon. We'll have the details just ahead.

Plus, a trip to remember. We'll go live for you to Lebanon, where Pope Leo looks to spread a message of unity at a time of high tension in the region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right, Israel's President says that he will weigh up the prime minister's request for a legal pardon in quote, the most correct and

precise manner, considering nothing but the country's best interest. President Isaac Herzog was responding a day after it emerged that Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked for a pardon in his long running corruption trial unless Netanyahu has repeatedly proclaimed he's not guilty

of charges including bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Now he argues pardoning him would actually be in public interest. According to the Israel democracy Institute, pardons are normally issued only after

someone has been convicted of a crime. Oren Liebermann joins us live now from Jerusalem. A lot of Netanyahu's opponents are also adding to that, but

Netanyahu would have to admit guilt as well, and also retire from politics. Walk us through, Oren.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, that's very much sort of the general rule here. If you're asking for a pardon, you acknowledge

guilt, you express some sort of remorse and then potentially make a promise about the future. And yet, there is none of that in the one-page letter

submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

[11:20:00]

Instead, the letter itself, its contents, its short contents, treat the divisive issue not as the person who was charged, but as the charges

themselves. Let me read you one line here from Netanyahu's letter asking for a pardon he writes, out of a sense of public responsibility as prime

minister to try to bring about reconciliation among the people.

I have no doubt that ending the trial will help reduce the intensity of the flames surrounding it. That perhaps why we saw the statement from Herzog

earlier today, saying he's aware of the deep emotions around this and how people are taking it, and that he would consider it in all seriousness and

do in the end, what's in the best nature of the country.

The timing of all of this, of course, cannot be ignored. It's just two weeks after President Donald Trump wrote his own letter to President Herzog

here asking him to quote fully pardon Netanyahu on the charges he faces, charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, in which he has denied

wrongdoing.

That's at least the third time that Trump is waiting trying to get Netanyahu, one of his most vocal international supporters, pardoned here.

And it seems like Netanyahu is trying to use that momentum, if you will, trying to use that inertia to pressure Herzog to grant a pardon.

But there is a process here that has to play out. Opposition politicians slammed the request, saying there is no admission of guilt or

acknowledgement of any sort of remorse or any promise about Netanyahu's political future. There are some who have demanded that he step aside from

political life if he's to be granted a pardon here.

Meanwhile, perhaps no surprise Netanyahu's political allies have come out in favor of the request for a pardon.

ASHER: Yeah. A lot of opponents have said that this would demonstrate that Netanyahu would be above the law, essentially. So, what is likely to happen

with this pardon request that was given to Isaac Herzog?

LIEBERMANN: So, there's no deadline for Herzog to make a decision here, and there is a process through which it has to play out, including consulting

with legal advisors on the matter from different ministries. So, this will take time. It could potentially take several weeks here.

Then in the end, he has to make a decision. It's not his to make solely, and it will go through this process as it's being considered, but in the

end, he is the sole authority who can grant a pardon. There is some speculation, some reporting in the Israeli media, that it might be some

sort of conditional pardon.

Perhaps that would be something like an acknowledgement of guilt, some promise about his current political standing, but none of that has

effectively been said publicly here as Herzog promising this will play out in the most clear, transparent way possible, with the interest of the state

in mind.

ASHER: All right, Oren Liebermann, thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right. Pope Leo continues his tour of Lebanon, where he is now meeting with

young people. The pontiff hopes to foster stability and dialog between communities during his visit. Lebanon is a Muslim majority country where

Christianity also has ancient roots.

Earlier he took part in an interfaith gathering in Martyrs' Square in Beirut. Let's bring in Ben Wedeman joining us live from Beirut. So, Ben,

Lebanon, when it comes to sort of various, sort of different religious groups and sex and communities, Lebanon is extremely fragmented.

I believe there are around 18 different religious, sex and communities. What message of unity did the pope have to the Lebanese people? And also,

what message do you have about tensions with Israel?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, first of all, it's not really fragmented, per se. It's a div -- It's a country

that's diverse. There are 18 officially recognized religious denominations, Christian, Muslim and Druze. But by and large, on a daily basis, people get

along fairly well, work together.

Some of them actually marry across religious lines. But in his message, he is really stressing the importance of coexistence, which, even though on a

daily basis, it seems fairly good. We have had instances in the past decades when sectarian relations have fallen apart. For instance, during

the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, which is oftentimes characterized as a Muslim-Christian war.

But it was much more complicated than that. Oftentimes Muslims were fighting Muslims Christians we're fighting Christians. But he's stressing

Pope Leo, the importance of sort of putting any sort of divisions behind. Because what we're seeing as the situation in Lebanon has certainly

deteriorated since 2019 with that failed revolution.

Is that Lebanese of all denominations, particularly the young, are, in a sense, giving up hope on Lebanon. They're moving abroad, to the Gulf, to

Europe, to North America, to Australia, looking for a brighter future. Oftentimes, they maintain close ties with their relatives back home,

sending money to help people get by here.

[11:25:00]

But he really is worried about just Lebanon losing its unique character. And as far as sort of the war with Israel goes, He is praising people for

their resilience, which is often how people describe the Lebanese being very resilient. But he also is stressing, sort of his sympathy for all of

the suffering that has happened in this country over the last two years.

Now, at the moment, he is at the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerke, up in the mountains, where he's been presented with gifts by Lebanese were coming up.

This is obviously an orchestrated event, but they he has been presented, for instance, with a stone from a church in South Lebanon that was

destroyed by Israeli forces during the war.

He was presented with a Lebanese flag. He was presented with a large mock Lebanese passport. But what we've seen since he arrived is, I think, and

we're hearing from his entourage itself, that he is surprised at the warmth and enthusiasm of his reception, which is oftentimes the reaction of many

of those who have never been to Lebanon before, where they discover small though this country is it's beautiful.

Its people are very friendly, very warm, very enthusiastic. And what we're seeing is that even though his schedule is jam packed, he seems to be

enjoying every step of the way. Now, after this event at the Maronite Patriarchate, he's going to have a private meeting. No cameras will be

there for the first time today, where they've been following him every step of the way.

No cameras will be there. He will be meeting with leaders of the Muslim, Christian and Druze communities behind closed doors. Perhaps there they

will have a chance to speak among themselves and discuss ways that to sort of take concrete action or make concrete recommendations about how to

cement the coexistence that we see here, as I said before, on a daily basis, but is always just a bit fragile, Zain.

ASHER: All right, important nuance there that you point out. Ben Wedeman live for us there. Thank you. All right, still to come, millions of people

across Asia are reeling from a wave of deadly storms that cause catastrophic flooding and landslides as well. The latest on rescue

operations just ahead.

Plus, as we enter December, a new winter storm is gaining strength in the U.S. We'll have weather update, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

ASHER: Right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some of the headlines we are watching for you today. U.S. Special Envoy

Steve Witkoff is headed to Moscow, part of a flurry of diplomacy to try to end Russia's war on Ukraine. And a White House official says that President

Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner, will accompany him.

Witkoff is expected to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. His trip follows weekend talks between Ukrainian and American

delegations in Florida. And a source tells CNN President Donald Trump has called a meeting this evening for his options on Venezuela.

Trump and Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth have been putting pressure on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro to step down. The U.S. has destroyed

several vessels it claims were smuggling drugs and has built up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea.

The death toll has risen to 151 in last week's tragic apartment fire in Hong Kong. Rescuers are combing through the charred complex, looking for

remains of dozens of people who are still missing. Officials say at least 14 people have been arrested in connection with the fire.

More than 1100 people have been killed in a series of storms across Asia. Sri Lanka was among the hardest hit with a cyclone triggering mudslides and

widespread flooding. The president there says the country has experienced the most difficult rescue operations it has ever seen.

And millions of people in the region have been affected by those deadly storms. CNN's Ben Hunte has a closer look at the devastation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A military helicopter carrying supplies flies high above a flood-stricken area in Indonesia, reaching some

remote provinces by land isn't possible right now, after floods and landslides blocked roads and washed away some communities on the Island of

Sumatra. But the aid is desperately needed in Indonesia alone, authorities say hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds more are still

missing.

And survivors in the hardest hit areas say they've lost everything. Like this woman, her house swept away in the floods, except for one wall that's

still standing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was my home. I have nine of my family members here. We have nothing left. Everything was gone. We only had the clothes on

our bags. We couldn't bring anything else. When it happened, the water just rose up into the house, and we were afraid, so we fled. Then we came back

on Friday, and the house was gone, destroyed.

HUNTE (voice-over): Last week's torrential rains also battered nearby Thailand. In the city of Hat Yai in the south, a bridge is filled with

stranded vehicles, and much of the surroundings are submerged after the city experience the most rainfall recorded in some 300 years.

Clean up is underway, and the water has receded in some areas, but power hasn't fully been restored. At least one shopkeeper in flooded out market

says she's selling her muddy goods at a fraction of the cost of flood victims who have little left and they're looking for anything salvageable.

PATCHAREE NADEERUK NA PHUKET, SHOP OWNER: I need to clear the stock the condition they're in after being flooded, shoes soaked and ruined like

this. People don't have clothes, right? So, I'm helping by selling everything cheaply so they can have something to wear.

HUNTE (voice-over): Meanwhile, Sri Lanka in South Asia is grappling with flooding caused by a cyclone that blew through the island nation just days

ago. Officials say hundreds of people have been killed. Parts of the capital, Colombo and the neighboring district are still flooded.

[11:35:00]

Authorities say more than a million people have been affected nationwide, and many homes have been destroyed.

MALIKA KUMARI, FLOOD VICTIM: It rain nonstop for three days. We heard about the warnings of flooding, but we didn't expect water levels would get this

high.

HUNTE (voice-over): Volunteer groups are setting up makeshift kitchens to provide food, but with some places still flooded and without power, clean

up and assessing the damage is still a long way off. Ben Hunte, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Right, turning now to the U.S., a new winter storm is threatening more travel headaches for people heading home after Thanksgiving, a storm

tracking through the already hard-hit Midwest is expected to strengthen into a bomb cyclone as it covers parts of the Northeast in snow and ice.

Winter weather alerts are in effect for nearly 70 million people, stretching from the plains to Maine. This comes after a storm dropped a

record amount of snow in Chicago over the weekend. Conditions are expected to intensify as the system moves east, with risks of flash flooding across

the south.

CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is tracking it all for, I mean, we just can't get a break, right? Because over the weekend, Thanksgiving weekend,

we saw massive winter storms that left a foot of snow across parts of the Midwest.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah.

ASHER: And now the weather mother nature back at it.

DAM: It's impeccable timing too, because it's like this book end effect, right? You got it right before the Thanksgiving holiday, and then right

after it, when everybody is trying to come home. So that's what Americans are having to deal with. Of course, a lot of our international viewers, so

many people traveling to the East Coast, and there will be impacts to the major East Coast cities as well.

But the devil is in the detail. So, I'll try to break it all down for you. Yes, this is a large, impactful storm that spans a very large area, roughly

1500 miles from Maine all the way to Kansas. That's where the current weather alerts are. That doesn't mean the storm is that large, but it's

really gathering strength, and the radar shows you just what's happening.

So, there it is. OK. It's located across the U.S. State of Missouri. There's a low-pressure system there. It's also funneling in some moisture

from the Gulf of Mexico. So, were both of these are going to collide right into the Ohio River Valley, and you'll watch the progression of the storm

in just a moment, but watch what it does along the east coast, and keep in mind that this has already laid a blanket of snow.

While previously, there was a first storm this past Thanksgiving holiday weekend, it left this blanket of snow. Now this new additional storm will

add more misery to travel woes. And here's kind of that timing, right? So, this is so important, as it gathers that moisture from the south collides

with the low pressure in the cold air to the north, they work together to create this powerful storm along the eastern seaboard.

But because there's enough warmth coming in from the relatively warm ocean water. Still this time of year, we're going to keep this busy I 95

corridors connecting DC, New York to Boston, mainly a cold rain, but you don't work that far inland. That's called inland New England, the interior

of New England that we'll start to see that rain change over to snow, the frozen variety, from Pennsylvania, the Hudson Valley into The Berkshires as

well as the Poconos mountains up state New Hampshire into Vermont as well as Maine.

These are the areas that could pick up over a half a foot of snow that will certainly be impactful for driving conditions there. But in terms of the

major East Coast airports and where the general largest population density of the U.S. resides. This should be a cold rain, but that, of course, could

impact travel conditions along the East Coast as well.

You can see the snow fall totals really starting to pile up, though, right through Tuesday afternoon. And then, by the way, a full-fledged ice storm

is possible on the southern tier of the storm, across the mountain ranges of the Appalachian. So, it's kind of a full tiered storm. We're covering

all the angles from cold rain to snow to ice, Zain.

ASHER: Right. We're going to be ready for it. Derek Van Dam, live for us there. Thank you so much. Right, today we mark World AIDS Day. Tremendous

progress have been made, has been made rather in recent decades, but the Executive Director of UNAIDS says that progress is now under threat. We'll

discuss after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:00]

ASHER: Right, the world is marking World AIDS Day, a time to unite people in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Over the past 40 years, communities have

stood together to show strength and solidarity, remembering lives lost, supporting people who are HIV positive, and fighting against any stigma

associated with AIDS.

But this year, World AIDS Day is overshadowed by what's being described as a historic funding crisis. And there are reports that the Trump

Administration is no longer commemorating the day. That drop comes amid a backdrop of tremendous need. Last year, more than 40 million people were

living with HIV globally.

Approximately 630,000 people died from AIDS related causes, and an estimated 1.3 million new infections were reported. UNAIDS is sounding the

alarm. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WINNIE BYANYIMA, UNAIDS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Across 13 countries, the number of people newly initiated on treatment has declined compared to last year.

Stock outs of HIV test kits and medicines have been reported in countries including Ethiopia and the DR Congo. Prevention services already under

strain before the crisis, where the hardest hit.

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ASHER: The campaign this year is calling for sustained political leadership, international cooperation and human rights centered approaches

to end AIDS by 2030. For more on this, I'm joined by Professor Salim Abdool Karim, the Director for the Center of the AIDS Program of Research in South

Africa.

Also joining me is Emil Wilbekin, the Founder of Native Son, a platform creator to inspire and empower black gay men. Emil is living with HIV. Emil

and Dr. Karim, thank you both so much for being with us. Emil, I'm going to start with you.

EMIL WILBEKIN, FOUNDER OF NATIVE SON: Sure.

ASHER: Because you've been living with HIV, as I understand it, since the late 1990s you were an Editor-in-Chief at Vibe Magazine. A very famous hip

hop magazine that I grew up reading. And as I understand it, you felt safe coming out to your colleagues at work, but not safe disclosing your HIV

status.

And obviously, I mean, I can't even imagine the sort of emotional complexities of that, because, you know, the fear is, you know, fearing

rejection, fearing being judged, there's the shame of it, there's the stigma, there's the fear of, what will people say? There's, oh, my God,

they're going to ostracize me.

WILBEKIN: Right.

ASHER: I would like to believe that the landscape in the past 20 years, just in terms of acceptance, has changed. Had you held that position now?

Let's say you were editor in chief of Vibe Magazine today, in 2025. Would you feel safe disclosing your status to your colleagues?

Do you think that the level of acceptance would have come a long way since back then?

WILBEKIN: Absolutely I think if I was doing it all over again today, I would feel completely comfortable not just telling my staff, but posting

about it on social media, writing about it, doing kind of in-depth video content and editorials, because I think there's more acceptance from our

own communities about it.

[11:45:00]

One of the things about disclosing my status, and the reason I did was because no one would think that I would have HIV. And so, it is kind of a

virus and disease that you can't see the impact and the effects of today. But I think it's so important because the numbers are so high.

It's important for us to ring the alarm and be vocal about it. So, safety sometimes doesn't matter when you are trying to make a difference. I think

because of, you know, protections around different diseases and handicaps and disabilities, HIV is covered under that, so that also gives me a little

bit more comfort.

ASHER: I mean, it's amazing how much the landscape has changed since the late 80s quite frankly. Dr. cream, I want to bring you in on this,

professor, because, you know, back in the 80s, I mean, we all remember it, AIDS was indeed more or less a death sentence.

And now I mean the sort of miracles of modern medicine you now have Lenacapavir, which is this ground breaking drug that, essentially, you take

it in advance and it prevents you from likely contracting the illness to begin with. That's been a game changer. When you think about the fact that

South Africa has the highest number of people, just total number of people living with HIV in the world.

The fact that you have the Trump Administration no longer offering South Africa this particular lifesaving drug for free is a huge problem. The

Trump Administration's argument is that South Africa is one of those countries that actually should be able to afford to take care their words,

not mine, take care of their own people.

Your reaction to that? And what does that do? The fact that this drug is no longer available from the United States for free for the South African

people. How does that change the landscape. How does that make things much more difficult for South Africans who are living with this illness or could

potentially contract it?

PROF. SALIM ABDOOL KARIM, CAPRISA DIRECTOR & EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Good day, Zain and good day to all the viewers, you're absolutely right. I mean, we have

made incredible progress in the global HIV pandemic. We moved from a situation which Emil so clearly described, where, as we dealt with the

initial cases, it was an inevitable death sentence and the stigma and all of that we had to do.

When we started providing treatment, some 25 years ago, we couldn't find a single person willing to disclose their status. Today, we do so quite

openly, but treatment by itself has made an enormous difference, but it's probably not going to be enough to take us through to the goal that we have

set for the global pandemic for 2030.

And that's been described as ending AIDS as a public health threat, or a 90 percent reduction in HIV incidence, number of new cases must decline by 90

percent. Well, to do that, we're going to have to add to our existing treatment programs a very effective preventive measure.

Right now, we've been giving pre-exposure prophylaxis in the form of tablets, but that's not having the effect it needs. We need to get out

there that's injectable, because it can make a difference. And problem is going to be cost. And the problem is going to be not just the cost of the

medication, but the cost of reaching out to those hard-to-reach populations, especially young women in Africa, order to get them this

medication. And that's where the lack of us funding is going to pose a huge challenge.

ASHER: Yeah. I mean, such an important point. And Emil, you know World AIDS Day is designed to essentially commemorate those who have lost their lives

as a result of living with AIDS. And also, on top of that, it's really to provide support for those people who are still living with the disease.

Some people would say that one particular day, you know, commemorating World AIDS Day isn't necessarily going to make a difference. What makes a

difference, as Professor Karim just mentioned, is really funding. But the fact that the Trump Administration has decided not to commemorate World

AIDS Day this year, what message does that send, Emil?

WILBEKIN: Well, I think it sends a message of, you know, kind of complicity, right, being complicit and not kind of taking care of people.

We had the same thing happen when HIV and AIDS first arrived on the scene during the Reagan Administration.

[11:50:00]

Ronald Reagan did not acknowledge HIV, even as all these Americans were dying at large numbers, so it's being deaf, right? It's turning a deaf ear

onto a global issue, something that is treatable, that is curable, that we could be making a difference. And this kind of plays into this narrative

around, you know, cutting Medicaid and threats to Ryan White, which are all very helpful to people living with HIV and AIDS in the United States.

So, it's a bad message. It's not a great message. So almost saying, let's not even acknowledge World AIDS Day makes us have to be louder and to do

conversations like this, because it is still impacting a great number of people globally.

ASHER: And final question Professor Karim, just in terms of PEPFAR the Trump Administration on January 20, 2025, literally Donald Trump's first

day in office. I mean, one of the things that he did was to cut funding for foreign aid, and PEPFAR was included in that.

And PEPFAR has been a game changer for people who are living with a disease across the African continent. When you have the Trump Administration

cutting funding for PEPFAR just in the sort of you know, 12 months since this administration has been in power. What sort of difference has that

made on the ground where you are.

KARIM: So PEPFAR has been a key partner to many countries in Africa. Indeed, when you look at the transformative actions in moving from an

inevitable death sentence to a situation where we can get treatment to the most remote village in South Africa, or Malawi. it gives some indication of

what it took to do that, and PEPFAR played a key role.

And PEPFAR has always had bipartisan support in the U.S. government. And so, we had worked on the basis that the U.S. was a partner in helping

countries that couldn't have the resources to enable people to live, to make treatment available. And so, cutting PEPFAR has not just the effect of

people now don't have the resources, but it's almost like you're turning your back on individuals who are poor, vulnerable.

There's a certain level of callousness that's involved in it, and it's even worse when the person making those cuts through DOGE at USAID, you know,

brandishes a chain saw, just to illustrate the callousness of the way in which this is done. Because, you know, PEPFAR funding and all international

aid have to come to an end at some point, but it's a planned approach that should have been done. This was just cruel.

ASHER: Right. Professor Salim Abdool Karim, thank you so much. Emil Wilbekin, appreciate you joining us on the show. Thank you. We right back

with more after the short break.

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[11:55:00]

ASHER: Right, the Oxford dictionary's word of the year for 2025 is don't get angry when I tell you that, it is, in fact, two words rage bait,

according to the dictionary, rage bait is online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or

offensive.

I think we've all come across plenty of that. And they say the use of the phrase has actually tripled in the past year, reflecting a shift in how

digital platforms are reshaping our behavior and our responses. Not a bad follow up to last year's word of the year, which was brain rot.

Right, stay with CNN. There is much more "One World" with my colleague and friend Bianna Golodryga after this short break.

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