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One World with Zain Asher
Bipartisan Lawmakers Back Release of "Double-Tap" Boat Strike Video; Trump: Zelenskyy has to Start "Accepting Things. He's Losing"; Trump to Focus on Affordability Message after Calling it a Hoax; Government Deploys Police and Army to Head off Protests; Exclusive: Grim Conditions in I.C.E. Detention; Interstellar Comet Makes its way Through our Solar System. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired December 09, 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: The double tap defense and the pressure to release the video.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: "One World" starts right now. U.S. defense officials are on Capitol Hill today to tell their side of
September's double tap boat strike in the Caribbean.
ASHER: Plus, Donald Trump warns Ukraine is losing the war against Russians says President Zelenskyy needs to quote, start accepting things.
GOLODRYGA: And police and soldiers descend on Dar es Salaam to keep protesters off the streets. All right everyone. Live from New York. I'm
Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. You are watching "One World". Congress is turning up the pressure on the Pentagon right now, with both Democrats and Republicans
demanding transparency surrounding the recent strikes on alleged drug boats.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, specifically the September attack in which the U.S. military fired on a boat in the Caribbean a second time, killing two
survivors of the first strike. Sources tell CNN that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan
Caine will brief the lawmakers known as the Gang of Eight this afternoon. They're the Republican and Democratic Leaders of the House and Senate and
the top members of the Intelligence Committees.
ASHER: We're also learning that a provision tucked into the new defense spending bill would cut Hegseth's travel budget unless he releases the
unedited version to Congress. Meantime, in an interview published earlier, Trump said that video of the second-strike quote isn't pretty, but he
defended the attacks as necessary. Last week, the president said he would have no problem releasing the full video, but now he is backtracking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, you said you would have no problem with releasing the full video of that strike on September 2nd off the Coast of
Venezuela. Secretary Hegseth now says --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I didn't say that. That you said that. I didn't say that. This is ABC fake news.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you release video of that strike so that the American people can see for themselves what happened?
TRUMP: I don't know what they have, but whatever they have we would certainly release. No problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: OK, so you heard it there yourself. Just what a difference a few days will make from the president. Arlette Saenz joins us now from Capitol
Hill. In terms of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Dan Caine and Secretary of State, Rubio briefing the Gang of Eight today, it should be noted that
Marco Rubio himself was once a member of the Gang of Eight. What can we expect to hear from them in this briefing?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Democratic and Republican lawmakers who will be in those meetings want more answers from the Trump
Administration over their decision to launch that follow up strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the Caribbean back in September.
It's quite notable that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top administration officials have agreed to come up here to the Hill to brief
these leaders as there is rising scrutiny over the administration's actions. Now this briefing is expected to cover a host of issues, but there
is expected to be a focus on the administration's operations and strategy as it relates to Latin America.
One thing that Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the Hill have been pushing for in recent days is the full release of that unedited video that
shows the second strike on an alleged drug vessel. President Donald Trump has said that he has no problem with Hegseth testifying on the Hill, though
that has not been established that that will happen in a public setting.
But here is also what the president have to say about that video that he did have the chance to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you watched the video?
TRUMP: You were stopping -- I watched everything. Yeah, I watch everything. I see a lot of things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And do you believe that second strike was necessary?
TRUMP: Well, it looked like they were trying to turn back over the boat, but I don't get involved in that. That's up to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: So, lawmakers have a lot of questions for Hegseth and others about how that operation played out? And we really continue to hear Republican
and Democratic request for that video to be released in full.
Just a short while ago, I spoke with Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he told me there needs
to be public hearings on this matter so that the American public can learn all the information of how exactly this transpired.
Now in addition to this, the House and Senate are expected to vote in the coming days most likely next week on the National Defense Authorization
Act, which includes a provision to compel the Pentagon to release this full unedited video to the relevant committees on the Hill.
[11:05:00]
What this provision includes is that if they do not release this video to the committee, they -- Congress would slash part of Secretary Hegseth's
travel budget. So that is one way that they are hoping to force the release of this video, which so far, the Trump White House has really been non-
committal about whether they will, in fact, make that public.
GOLODRYGA: All right, Arlette signs. Thank you so much.
ASHER: All right, after a few days of whirlwind diplomacy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Kyiv is preparing to send an
updated peace proposal to the White House. It comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is once again going on the attack, targeting both Zelenskyy
and European Leaders.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, Zelenskyy held what the Vatican describes as cordial talks with Pope Leo earlier, before sitting down with Italian Prime Minister
Giorgio Maloney. On Monday, he met with the Leaders of Britain, France and Germany and London, and later traveled to Brussels for discussions, where
he reiterated that Ukraine would not surrender its land to Russia.
ASHER: But as the U.S. President may indeed have other ideas. In an interview with "POLITICO" Trump, called European Leaders weak, and he said
the Zelenskyy needs to accept the U.S. proposed Peace Plan, which critics say heavily favors Russia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DASHA BURNS, POLITICO WHITE HOUSE BUREAU CHIEF: If this deal of Zelenskyy rejects this deal, is there a timeline? Is there a point at which you say -
-
TRUMP: Well, he's going to have to get on the ball and start accepting things. You know, when you're losing, he's losing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right, let's discuss all of this with Jim Sciutto joining us live now from Washington. So, Jim, a couple of tracks going on here at
once. You've got this idea that Zelenskyy is essentially saying that he is watered down the initial 28-point peace plan to a tech 20-point plan.
One of the key sticking points is territorial integrity. We know that he, in his words, has talked about removing some of the what he calls anti-
Ukrainian provisions. At the same time, you've got Donald Trump referring to Europe as being decayed and run by weak leaders, and really putting
pressure on Zelenskyy to accept a peace plan that clearly does not work for him. Just walk us through what's happening here.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: You know, what's really most striking Zain and Bianna is the growing chasm, really, between the U.S. and
Ukraine and its European allies. Trump there saying Ukraine is losing the war. That's not something I hear from European officials, or even, frankly,
officials in the Pentagon here in the U.S.
There's no new assessment that makes the judgment that Ukraine is losing the war. What those assessments show is slow Russian progress, but at a
great cost, essentially, Ukrainian defense is holding. So, we find ourselves back to that infamous moment in the Oval Office in February when
President Trump harangued Zelenskyy, saying, you have no cards. In effect, you have to give in.
And here we are again, right? It was only two months ago that President Trump himself said he thought Ukraine could not only hold the line, but
take back all the territory that Russia had taken already. So, it's not clear why Trump's view of the war has changed, other than his own growing
impatience, it seems, with bringing this war to an end.
But at the same time, and to your point, Zain, you have Ukraine and Europe quite publicly pushing back against U.S. plans, the U.S. peace proposal, in
particular, the pressure on Ukraine to give up its territory to make peace, which is, we should say, and we should note, that's Russia's demand. In
fact, Russia wants more territory than it's already gained.
GOLODRYGA: And this is coming, Jim, after the United States released a first of its kind, I would say at least since the end of the Second World
War, in terms of shifting views in relation --
SCIUTTO: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: -- to alliances in Europe and NATO, with its national security report, really focusing less on viewing Russia as an adversary and more on
focusing on Europe. What United States, at least, views is Europe's struggle with its own democracy.
And it was interesting to hear German Chancellor Merz asked about this, and responded by saying, you know, some of this is understandable, some of it
is comprehensible, and some of it is unacceptable to us from a European perspective. I see no need for Americans to now want to save democracy in
Europe.
If it were necessary to save it, we would manage that on our own. Quite a blunt response there. What are you hearing from your European sources?
SCIUTTO: Well, for one, I've heard a fair amount of alarm at the content of this new national security strategy, not all of it. Because some European
officials will say, listen, you know, Europe remains a strong ally of the U.S. et cetera.
[11:10:00]
But the criticism is quite pointed and quite public, and it's truly remarkable Bianna to imagine that in the midst of Russia starting the
largest and bloodiest war in Europe since World War Two, right? Its attempt to absorb all of Ukraine that the U.S., Europe's putative treaty ally,
doesn't single out Russia as the threat to security in Europe.
It says Europe's the one that's got the work to do here. That's a pretty remarkable disconnection from reality, right? The reality that we're seeing
play out in Ukraine, and the reality that many European allies fear that they are the next target. They don't believe that Russia's ambitions end in
Ukraine.
So even though the NSS does not tear up the U.S. relationship with Europe. The tone of it and some of the content of it indicates divergent
directions, really, and you also had Trump saying, his focus now is to strategically normalize relations with Russia, as opposed to win the war
for Ukraine.
It's a big gap, and while European officials often times in public, they don't want to get too much on the wrong side of Trump, because they don't
want to worsen the relationship further. But when you hear from Merz and others saying, no, thank you, right? I mean, there's meaning behind that.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and the fact that you now have the United States essentially playing the role of a neutral mediator between these two
parties would have been unheard of just a few years ago. All right, Jim Sciutto, thank you so much. Good to see you.
SCIUTTO: Thanks guys.
GOLODRYGA: Well, our next guest is CNN Military Analyst and Retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, always good to see you. I know you were
listening to that conversation with Jim. You've been following the developments throughout the day and evening.
As the president is saying, on the one hand, that Europe is weak now and decaying, telling Zelenskyy that he is in a losing position at this point,
suggesting he didn't even read this proposal, while at the same time, the National Security Strategy is focused less on Russia as an adversary and
more on criticizing Europe. How significant of a shift in military strategy, from your perspective, is this from the U.S.?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, Bianna, great to be with you again. There's several factors here, but it's, it is, in my
view, a very significant shift. This is really the first time in about 80 years that we have moved into a position that is much more favorable to
Russia than we've ever, ever done is the United States.
And what it basically seeks to do is force Europe to move more in the direction of being self-sufficient in its defense aspects and its ability
to defend itself. And then it also results in this national security strategy, results in a move that will make Ukraine a far more vulnerable
place than it currently is.
It's vulnerable enough now, but this particular strategy, if it's implemented, is something that you know really shows that the United States
is in the form of the Trump Administration is trying to move away from Europe. Now, there are several caveats to this.
When you listen to what Secretary Hegseth says about certain things, you make some exceptions to include an exception for Poland, which has
definitely stepped up from a position of relative you know, minor league military to a much more major league player on the European on the European
stage.
And that is, of course, evidenced by its 5 percent GDP being spent on defense, a movement to make their population a much more military oriented,
capable population. And of course, it also means that there's a basic rearmament going on, not only in Poland, but also in the Baltic States.
So, there's some exceptions to this, and there are certain inherent contradictions within this national security strategy. But when you look at
the broad outlines of it. It is definitely a shift, an attempt to shift away from the alliances that we've had for basically the past 80 years or
so.
ASHER: I do want to touch on some comments that Donald Trump's Son Trump Jr., actually made. He said on Sunday that Trump could actually walk away
from Ukraine's peace efforts, and his exact words were, what is unique about my father is that you never know what he's going to do.
And obviously the unpredictability of President Trump is something that the Ukrainians have had to really grapple with. However, my question to you is
this unpredictability just as a pure strategy, how helpful and how useful has it actually been in at least bringing Russia closer to the negotiating
table than they've ever been in the past?
[11:15:00]
LEIGHTON: Yeah, that's a really interesting question Zain. And you know, when you look at to the historical uses of unpredictability as a U.S.
strategy, you know one element comes to mind would be during the Reagan Administration, when, as President-Elect Ronald Reagan made it pretty, you
know, basically made it unclear to the Iranians what the response of the U.S. would be to the Iranian hostage crisis.
He basically threatened them, and that helped, I think, spur the release of those hostages. So, in that case, unpredictability was good. In this
particular case, unpredictability has really been a problem for the Ukrainians. It is much better for that unpredictability to be centered on
the Russians to make them guess what the U.S. and its allies are going to do visit the Russia, especially when it comes to Ukraine.
Now, in this particular case, has it brought the Russians back to the table, not really. I think it's the Russians see an advantage in speaking
with Trump to them, he is not unpredictable. They under -- they think they understand him fairly well, and he seems to be doing a lot of what they
want done.
The National Security Strategy is something that aligns with a lot of Russian positions. The original Trump peace plan, so called Trump peace
plan, those 28 points were basically something that could have been and maybe were actually drafted in Moscow.
So, when you look at that, the Russians don't see him as unpredictable. And that actually is a problem. If you were unpredictable, vis-a-vis be them it
would be a much better effort when it comes to unifying the West, and it would be a much better effort for the Ukrainians, and it would give them a
much stronger diplomatic and military position.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, to that point, Putin hasn't been unpredictable either. I mean, he's still sticking to his maximalist plans that he announced before
the -- invasion or the second, the larger scale invasion of February 2022.
The president also is claiming that Ukraine's army is losing the war and that Russia has a stronger negotiating position. From what you've seen in
terms of the landscape and the layout of the battlefield is he right? And if he is, is that smart for the president to present publicly in terms of
giving Russia even more leverage, perhaps in negotiations?
LEIGHTON: I don't think it is Bianna. I think one of the key elements here is that you know, when it comes to the battlefield in Ukraine, what you're
really looking at is, for the most part, a basic war of attrition, especially in the East. Now it is true, as Jim mentioned, that there are
gains, incremental gains, being made by the Russians, especially around Pokrovsk and in the Zaporizhzhia region, but those gains are relatively
minor.
When you think of the costs that the Russians have been paying for these gains. It's enormous. I mean, you're talking million plus casualties over
the course of the war, since 2022. There is a real problem with them actually categorizing the administration and the president himself
categorizing this as Ukraine, losing this effort.
Ukraine is not really losing. They've got a lot of challenges. I eventually they could lose if things continue, but the way to keep them in the game is
to provide more aid, and that is something that the current administration in the U.S. is not really doing. And that that presents a problem for the
Ukrainians. But even in spite of that, you cannot say at this point in time that they're actually losing at this point.
GOLODRYGA: All right, Colonel Cedric Leighton, always good to see you. Thanks so much.
ASHER: Thank you, Colonel.
GOLODRYGA: Well, the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony is just a day away, and it's still unclear if this year's winner, Maria Karina Machado will pick up
her prize in person. The Venezuelan Opposition Leader has been in hiding for nearly a year in the wake of President Maduro's post-election
crackdown.
The Nobel Institute has canceled a news conference previously scheduled for today, where Machado was expected to speak. Organizers say they don't have
any information on when or how she will make it to Oslo.
ASHER: Yeah, some of her family members have actually been spotted in the city. They're there in Norway. On Monday night, her daughter Anna arrived
at the hotel where Nobel laureates traditionally stay. Stefano Pozzebon joins us live now from the Venezuela Capital, Caracas.
So just in terms of what we know so far, I mean, initially, the press briefing was delayed. Now it's been called off completely. Just walk us
through what we know about her exact whereabouts, whether she's managed to leave the country. I believe this would have been her first public
appearance in about just under a year. Take us through it, Stefano.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly Zain. Well, if anyone expected that any event that has to do with Venezuela would go according to
schedule. Of course, Venezuela normally tends to have other plans, and this case seems to be, seems to be just one, just one of those cases.
[11:20:00]
Yes, it would have been the first or when we will see Maria Karina Machado in Oslo, perhaps tomorrow, on Wednesday. It will be the first time we see
her out in public since January 10, or January 11, the beginning of January this year, when she was last seen here in Caracas, appearing at a protest,
not too far, by the way, from where I'm talking to you from the CNN Office here in the Venezuelan Capital.
And from that moment, she has been in hiding because the government of Nicholas Maduro accuses her of being a traitor, of mastermind. What they
are saying is a coup d'etat against the president, and so they are going after her. We don't really know where Maria Karina Machado has been in the
last months.
And indeed, in the last few weeks, she's been appearing regularly on social media across the spring and the summer and the fall. But as the United
States have ramped up actions to put pressure on the authoritarian leader Maduro here in Caracas, we haven't seen or heard from Maria Karina in quite
a few numbers of days. So, we don't really know where she actually is.
And of course, that speaks to the difficulty of living in Venezuela as an opposition activist against an authoritarian and repressive government like
the one that Maduro heads. But I think we might soon learn if indeed, Maria Karina will arrive in Oslo, Zain and Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, the assumption is that if she's currently in Venezuela and chooses to leave to accept this award, then she in effect, will have to
remain in exile and not be allowed back into Venezuela. In terms of what you're hearing from people in Venezuela, does the risk outweigh the reward?
Literally picking up the reward if she's not allowed back into the country?
POZZEBON: That frankly, Bianna is the question on everyone's mind here in Caracas. In the last few days, I was able to speak with one of her closest
Advisor, Pedro Urruchurtu, who, for example, told me that every action that Maria Karina Machado makes is a statement to the cause.
Would it help the cause, which is replacing Nicholas Maduro from power, getting rid of Nicolas Maduro from the Venezuelan presidency? Would it help
if she traveled to Oslo to pick up the price, or would instead create a damage to the cause?
Because we have seen time and again that the Venezuelan Government has preferred to send opposition leader in exile. And frankly, I was able to
ask her that very same question last year, on the eve of the Venezuelan election on July 28th. I think we spoke a couple of weeks before the
election.
It was here in the CNN Office where I asked her if she had considered the possibility of leaving, if indeed the government would trigger a wave of
repression similar to the one that we ultimately saw in the months of August and September in last year after that presidential election.
Well, she told me that she did not consider that an option. She said the only option is for Maduro to leave, and I will never leave Venezuela. Now
we will see if she stays true to those words, or if indeed she goes to Oslo to pick up the price. And then the real question is, what does she do the
day after which she tried to come back here in Venezuela to spearhead perhaps yet another wave of protests against the authoritarian leader?
Or will instead take the path of other Venezuelan opposition leaders who have tried to build a coalition to put pressure and ultimately remove
Maduro from power from abroad Bianna and Zain.
ASHER: That's Stefano Pozzebon live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, still to come, flipping the script, President Trump will try to
change the narrative on America's affordability issue when he heads to Pennsylvania today to sell his economic agenda.
GOLODRYGA: Plus, as people in Tanzania prepare to mark Independence Day, why the government is making sure it's ready for huge protests. We'll hear
from an expert.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
GOLODRYGA: One week after calling reports of an affordability crisis in America a con job in a quote Democrat hoax U.S. President Donald Trump
appears to be shifting his approach.
ASHER: Yeah, the president heads to Pennsylvania later today to sell his economic agenda. It comes as recent polling consistently shows that
Americans are increasingly unhappy with how Trump is handling the economy. He's dismissing concerns however grading his performance as A plus, plus,
plus plus in a new interview.
GOLODRYGA: While running for President Trump made the economy the centerpiece of his campaign, repeatedly promising to end inflation and
bring down prices on day one. But since he took office in January, prices have kept rising, not helped by the president's own policies, including his
tariff wars with America's trading partners.
CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us now live from the White House. Kevin, there has been a lot of pressure on this president, notably from his own base, to
focus more on domestic issues and less on international. He was asked about that in a wide-ranging "POLITICO" interview, and he seemed a bit defensive
about it, saying the two are interlinked, but now he's speaking in Pennsylvania on the economy. What can we expect to hear from him?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and I think the fact that the White House put this event on his schedule does give you the sense
that they are absorbing some of these criticisms. This kind of event is not common for the president in this second term.
You have to go all the way back to April to find the last time the president participated in kind of a campaign style rally with his
supporters talking about his agenda. And a lot of his allies just felt that that was too long, that it signals he was losing touch with the people and
with the issues that drove him to the White House in the first place.
And so, in a lot of ways, this event is a corrective to what those impressions were. I do think it remains to be seen whether Republicans will
hear from the president what they're hoping to hear from him when he gets on the stage up in the Poconos later today.
You know, the president has spent the better part of the last month or so really downplaying the idea of affordability, chafing at the word itself,
and suggesting that the entire thing is just a concoction by his political rivals to make him look bad. Listen to what he said on that front.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The word affordability is a con job. Affordability is a hoax. They use the word affordability. It's a Democrat hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: Now, recent political history has shown that it can be a tough task for a president to try and convince Americans that the economy is actually
doing better than they think it is. President Biden tried that and failed miserably. This is a swing district that the president is heading to.
President Biden won it in 2020. President Trump won it in 2024 and the freshman Republican Congressman from there, Rob Bresnahan, is considered a
top target for Democrats in next year's midterm election. And so, this will really be an opportunity for the president kind of road test his message
and his claims that he's bringing down prices to an audience of supporters who really propelled him into office on those claims on the economy.
Now, ordinarily, president kind of take a back seat in midterm elections, usually occurring after that kind of honeymoon period is over. But what
we're hearing from White House officials is that the president does actually plan to put himself at the center of next year's midterm
elections.
[11:30:00]
The Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles, who was the president's campaign manager last year, saying that the president will campaign next year like it's 2024
all over again. She says that in order to get low propensity voters out to the polls, that President Trump, in fact, does need to be on the ballot.
And so, this visit today to Pennsylvania really sort of foreshadowing what advisers say will be an intensive schedule of domestic travel coming up
next year.
GOLODRYGA: All right, Kevin Liptak we'll be watching the president later and covering it for you here at CNN. We'll have much more on the story. In
the meantime, for us, in the next hour, with Trump's Former Economic Adviser Stephen Moore.
ASHER: All right, coming up off the break, Tanzania is expecting protests as the country marks its Independence Day. We'll tell you why activists are
taking a stand. What the government is doing about it? And how the government is really trying to crack down on those planned protests after
the brake.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Here's some of the headlines we're watching today. In the coming hours, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
will answer questions from lawmakers about the military's attacks on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea. He'll face the Gang of Eight a
group of bipartisan lawmakers on foreign policy and intelligence committees.
[11:35:00]
ASHER: And amid a flurry of peace talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Leo earlier. The Vatican says the talks are
cordial, and the Pope hopes the current diplomatic efforts will bring peace a Zelenskyy later, met the Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney.
GOLODRYGA: Australia has become the first country in the world to ban users under the age of 16 from social media. The move is designed to protect
younger users from a range of online harms. From today, platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are obliged to block access to under 16 or
face financial penalties. Governments from Denmark to Malaysia say they're planning similar measures.
ASHER: A U.S. judge has ruled that the Justice Department can release legal records from Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking case as part of the push
to make public documents detailing the activities of Maxwell and her boyfriend, late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. No word when the information
will come out, or if it contains anything new. Maxwell is serving 20 years in prison on charges related to sex trafficking of minors.
All right, today is Independence Day in Tanzania. And the 64th anniversary of the end of British colonial rule. Police and soldiers have been
patrolling the streets, and authorities have told people to stay home. It is after dark right now in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam in the streets of the
Capital have been quiet. Security forces violently put down demonstrations after elections back in October. The UN estimates, hundreds of people were
killed.
GOLODRYGA: Now the country's prime minister did not mention the protests in his social media message on Monday, instead advising people to stay safe.
But some people say they're not happy about the message from the government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAMA RISPA, DODOMA RESIDENT: We are deeply concerned by this announcement. We have made significant investments in our businesses. Asking us to remain
closed tomorrow raises some panic. How will we sustain ourselves when customers are unable to leave their homes?
KOMBO ADAM, DODOMA RESIDENT: The fear has led to a lot of panic buying. Last week, the market was in chaos. Today, the scene is totally different,
almost deserted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Joining us live now is Michelle Gavin, Former U.S. Ambassador to Botswana and Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council of
Foreign Relations. Michelle, it's been a while. Thank you so much for joining us on this.
Just talk to us about where things stand with the opposition in Tanzania right now? Because the opposition in Tanzania comes in the form of the
CHADEMA Party of Tundu Lissu as well. And when you think about those elections back in October, the opposition was clearly suppressed, just in
terms of arrests, violence, crackdown, you know, not allowing any kind of public dissent.
As we've been reporting the streets of Dar es Salaam are pretty much empty right now. The plan of protests that was set to take place simply cannot
happen. You know, democracy is clearly under threat post those elections in October.
And one of the things that the president has been saying is that these were not protests, that they were people who are planning to overthrow her
government. Just, just walk us through where the opposition is right now? You know they're quiet to obviously, have they been forced underground?
Give us your take on that.
MICHELLE GAVIN, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO BOTSWANA: Sure. Well, you're absolutely right. The opposition basically wasn't able to participate in
these elections at all. The two main opposition parties did not have their candidates on the ballot. There was a months-of-repression of rallies,
arrests, even torture of activists.
And so now what you have is, I think, a sense of popular shock still at the level of violence that was unleashed on protesters after the elections. And
to some degree, anger at the government that's not necessarily aligned with opposition political parties so much as it is kind of a broader civic and
social loss of trust in their government.
GOLODRYGA: And Michelle meantime, here in the U.S., you have Senators Risch and Shaheen already calling for a reassessment of U.S. Tanzania relations.
From your perspective, what should Washington be doing right now as we're watching this unfold.
On the one hand, wanting to support those constituents in Tanzania who are pushing for democratic reforms there and rule of law at the same time,
while also not wanting to feed into other narratives, which could be external interference.
GAVIN: Right. Well, you put your finger on it, precisely the dilemma. The Tanzanian government is very eager to characterize any and all questions
about these honestly farcical elections as some kind of external plot.
[11:40:00]
But Tanzania, like most African countries, needs trade and investment. It needs job creation. This was highlighted by President Samia herself at her
swearing in and her concern about the optics, potentially staving off investment. And so, I do think, you know, we're not so much in the business
of talking about democracy these days in the second Trump Administration.
But I think talking with partners about what kind of investment climate Tanzania is offering these days? Whether or not the rule of law applies to
everyone, because the rules seem to be very different for the ruling party than they are for the rest of Tanzanians. I think that that might be a
message that has some resonance. It's clear the government is concerned about what this will mean for its economy going forward.
ASHER: Yeah, that is a big point, because, you know, economic pressure seems to be the one tool that will probably have the most sway. But just
beyond, you know, the United States, just in terms of international action, how much more could international partners be doing more broadly, both
within Africa and also outside of Africa?
Because, let's be honest, this is not Ukraine, right? It's not Israel and Gaza, it's not Sudan. The cost of silence, I think, for a lot of countries
around the world, sort of watching this is somewhat low. I mean, Sudan is definitely a forgotten conflict, but a lot, sort of less forgotten than
what's happening in Tanzania right now. So, what should the international community be doing do you think?
GAVIN: I think there are some helpful starts that the rest of the world could build on. You had the AU, which is usually less than strict in its
interpretation of whether or not elections had integrity. You had the AU acknowledge that these elections did not meet democratic standards, so you
have a basis within the region to suggest that something needs to change.
There needs to be some mechanism of reform that can restore some public trust in Tanzania. And so, I do think that echoing African voices who have
sounded the alarm is important. I also think paying some attention to some of the trans national repression that we've seen in Eastern Africa, where
activists from Tanzania have been abducted in Kenya, where Ugandan activists have found themselves in trouble in Tanzania.
This needs to be something the world is looking at more closely as well, where governments are banding together to suppress dissent, even beyond
their own borders.
GOLODRYGA: Well, to pick up on that, are we seeing early signs of Tanzania's instability spreading beyond its borders? You mentioned Kenya?
GAVIN: Well, I think what we've seen is instability that helped, that did spread, in some ways, to Tanzania. The Kenyan Ge-Z uprisings of the last
two summers have inspired movements around the continent. The same is true of the opposition movement in Uganda that's existed for years around Bobby
Wines campaign and a Ugandan struggle for a more accountable government.
And more fundamentally for political change, for a change in the nature of the system. These are all countries with large youthful populations,
increasingly urbanized, who are looking for a government that can deliver in a different way. And so absolutely on social media, you see protesters
learning from one another, engaged in conversation.
But it's not as if this was fomented abroad. It's just what's happening around the world, particularly with youth uprisings, is causing, I think,
some internal questioning about, what are we going to do? What it is that we want? What kind of Tanzania do we want to see? And I don't think that's
going to change anytime soon.
ASHER: Michelle Gavin live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
GAVIN: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And when we come back as the Trump Administration continues its crackdown on immigration, documents obtained by CNN paint a grim picture of
conditions inside a facility where scores of migrant families have been held. We'll bring you the details after the break.
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[11:45:00]
ASHER: Hungry and despondent children a lack of drinking water and denial of medical care, those are among the grim conditions described in court
documents obtained exclusively by CNN detailing what's happening inside a South Texas ICE Detention Facility.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, according to declarations filed Tuesday, families held at residential center in Dilley, Texas face shocking conditions. They report
food riddled with worms and mold, lights left on all night, and staff threatening families with separation.
ASHER: More than 100 families shared their experience with immigration attorneys between May and November, many of them saying that they've been
offered money to voluntarily leave the United States, even though the applications for legal residency were ongoing.
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more details on the conditions endured by these migrant families.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're getting an inside look into the conditions at a detention facility in Texas that is designed to hold
immigrant families. These are families who were apprehended at the U.S. Mexico border or in the United States, either at ICE check-ins or vehicle
check points.
And these families are now being held at a facility in Dilley, Texas, more than 160 of them. And these declarations that have been provided to a
federal court reveal the reality that they are facing at what is known as a residential facility, one that detainees describe as a prison.
Here is what one mother detained with her daughter said, quote, it's a prison here. It is truly a living hell. It's not a good place for anyone.
All of the children here are suffering. The mothers are crying, especially for their children. We are all suffering.
Now, again, this is a facility that families are held at before typically, in this case, they would be deported to their origin country. What's
happening here is prolonged stays, despondent children, limited access to drinkable water. Families also describe agents offering them money to self
deport from the United States.
These families also allege medical conditions are poorly treated. Their children are unable to eat the provided food, oftentimes, saying it's too
spicy for the children. The rooms are packed, they say, as they share them with other mothers and their children. And the lighting makes it difficult
to sleep, because the lights are always on.
Now, 116-year-old who is detained described it this way. Quote, the kids here can get sad when people get deported or their friends leave.
[11:50:00]
Kids are tired of doing the same thing every day. We try to help kids who are sad and teach them to play new game. Sometimes kids don't eat when they
are sad. Now these are families that shared their testimonies through immigration attorneys, through what's known as the 1997 Flores Settlement,
which dictates the conditions by which children are held in government custody and the length of time that they are held in custody.
And this facility in Texas has been designed for families in that, for example, it has a series of base trailers that include, for example, a
classroom, a gym as well as a library. But all the same, these families are spending multiple weeks there, and the kids, they say, are regressing as a
result.
Now, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a government filing earlier this year that they are trying to improve conditions at the
facility, and have already done so. We also reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment, but they have not yet replied back to
you.
ASHER: All right. Thanks to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez for that report. We'll be right back after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: The Engine AI shows its humanoid, T-800 Robot, kicking the company CEO during a controlled demonstration.
GOLODRYGA: They released that video to quiet the humors, the rumors that earlier footage of the robot, what you're seeing on your screen right now
was made using CGI, aside from kicking its boss, the company says the T-800 can adapt to a variety of scenarios for industry service tasks running and,
yes, fighting.
Well, the crew members of the Soyuz MS-27 received a warm welcome home when they return to Earth early Tuesday morning. NASA Astronaut Johnny Kim and
his two Russian crewmates touched down in Kazakhstan after an eight-month mission on the International Space Station.
ASHER: Yeah, over the course of their 245-day expedition, the crew orbited Earth nearly 4000 times, traveling more than 160 million kilometers. NASA
has released images of an interstellar comet approaching the earth.
GOLODRYGA: Now, the Hubble Space Telescope has helped scientists monitor the comets -- its comet since it was first spotted in July. It's only the
third object ever observed passing through our solar system that originated outside of it. The fact has earned it the name 3I Atlas for third
interstellar.
[11:55:00]
ASHER: Now the comet will pass within 170 million miles of Earth on December 19th, but it will be on the other side of the sun and poses no
threat to us.
GOLODRYGA: And finally, this hour, prison authorities in South Carolina made an unusual bust when they intercepted a drone attempting to smuggle
crab legs, steak, tobacco, marijuana and other contraband into a correctional facility on Sunday. It was all wrapped neatly inside a piggly,
wiggly grocery store shopping bag.
ASHER: A prison spokesperson says drone threats are nothing new, but this delivery was unique. Note the extra touch of old based seasoning for the
crab legs. No arrests have been made.
GOLODRYGA: Somebody was hungry, though. Do stay with us. We'll have more "One World" after the break.
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