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U.S.: ISIS Didn't Shoot Down Jordan's Plane; Pope Delivers Annual Christmas Message; Tracking Santa; Christmas NBA games; Your Money: Top 10 Stories of the Year
Aired December 25, 2014 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: So, Barbara, then, is a rescue mission on the table at this point yet?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, in these cases, they always look at it and in fact we know now that very typically when there are military aircraft in combat action, there are rescue forces nearby just in case, and there were rescue forces in the air at the time, but when he went down, he ejected and he was so quickly captured by ISIS fighters, they did not have time to get there and do anything to try and save him. They just simply weren't close enough to make that happen.
When a pilot goes down, certainly, rescue is always an option, always being looked at, but if he is in Raqqa, which is an ISIS stronghold, that kind of option may be very tough.
KAYE: Yes, I'm sure it sounds that way.
Barbara Starr, appreciate the update. Thank you very much.
Right now, a lab worker from the CDC is being monitored for Ebola symptoms after a possible exposure. Officials are trying to figure out how the mistake happened but believe the employee accidentally transferred live samples of the virus into the wrong lab on Monday. The mix-up was reported to authorities on Tuesday.
Now, about a dozen other employees who worked in the lab are also being assessed. If this sounds familiar, that's because it's not the first time a mistake like this has happened.
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DR. SEEMA YASMIN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST (via telephone): We have to say up front this isn't the first lab error we've seen at a government lab this year. At CDC earlier this year, we saw 75 scientists were exposed to live anthrax in June and earlier in the year, there was a mishandling of a deadly strain of bird flu, and in those instances, we've had more time to look back on what went wrong. There was an incident where we learned a scientist was overworked, overtired, didn't follow the protocol correctly.
And also, we've seen delays in notification of these missteps, and that delays how quickly you can respond and make improvement to the protocol.
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KAYE: In response to this latest Ebola scare, the CDC says it's taking new precautions, including destroys the hazardous material, decontaminating and closing the infected lab, informing staff members about the incident and notifying required oversight agencies. The lab worker will continue to be monitored, we understand, for the next 21 days.
Still to come, Pope Francis denounces the persecution of Christians and other groups by ISIS. We'll go to Rome for a live report.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, this is Sergeant First Class Webb (INAUDIBLE). Just want to give a shout-out to all of my fellow members here at the 311th. This will be my last Christmas event with you guys. It's been an honor. It's been a pleasure. I'm going to miss each and every one of you. Give a shout-out to my section, the G-6, family programs, to Miss Jennings in UPL, to everyone who has helped me along the way.
Give a shout out to my family also all the way in Jacksonville, Florida, I love you guys. I miss you guys. Merry Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, this is First Sergeant Rich Reynolds, Fox Company third of the 126th Aviation station in Kuwait. I like to give a shout-out to my family and friends back home in Massachusetts. Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
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KAYE: Welcome back. And Merry Christmas, everyone.
Thousands of Christian pilgrims are celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem in the West Bank. A midnight mass took place in the church of the Nativity, a spot where Christians believe Jesus was born.
Pope Francis is using the symbol of that Bethlehem manger to spotlight the crisis of refugees fleeing ISIS in Iraq and Syria. In his annual Christmas Day blessing today, Francis denounced the brutal persecution being suffered by Christians and other religious and ethnic groups. And in a Christmas Eve phone call to Iraqi refugees at a camp near Erbil, the pope said, you are like Jesus on Christmas night. There was no room for him either.
CNN senior Vatican analyst John Allen joining us from Rome now to talk more about this.
Good morning to you, John, and Merry Christmas.
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Hello there, Randi. Merry Christmas to you, too.
You're right. The pope gave his traditional Christmas message today, what's known as the "Urbi et Orbi" message to the city and the world.
It was a somewhat somber and clearly preoccupied Pope Francis we saw today. He began as you noted by denouncing what he called a brutal persecution in Iraq and Syria. Didn't mention ISIS by name but that was obviously the reference. He called on the international community to mobilize to make sure that those refugees can make it through the winter.
And then he became visibly emotional, talking about what he described as the suffering of children around the world. He said there are too many children who are abused and exploited. He mentioned the victims of abortion and also children who are caught up in situations of conflict, visibly enrolled as child soldiers. He said this Christmas, there are so many tears in the world that join the tears of the Christ child, and he also denounced what he called the silent complicity of a globalization of indifference to all of this.
So, at one level, Randi, it was a sober sort of wake-up call from the pope about the state of the world, but obviously also, he was calling on people to become active, to not treat these situations as immutable but to do something about them.
KAYE: And has there been any more reaction, John, to the pope's rebuke of the Vatican bureaucracy that we've spoken about?
ALLEN: Yes, that was a thunderclap on Monday when the pope basically took his senior aides to the woodshed, and said, hey, you guys, are infected with a whole series of spiritual diseases, including what he described as the terrorism of gossip and spiritual Alzheimer's disease.
We've been speaking to senior Vatican officials ever since. It's clear that on the one hand, there are a lot of people who understand this pope was on an elected reform mandate. He's trying to shake the place up, and this is part of the campaign. On the other hand, at some stage, they're also saying he has to do more than chastise us. He's also going to have to motivate us, and let's face it, that was not exactly the win one for the Gipper speech, Randi.
KAYE: Absolutely not. John Allen, thank you very much. Have a good holiday.
ALLEN: You, too.
KAYE: And still to come: were you naughty or nice? You should have the verdict by now. We'll look at Santa's busy night across the world.
Plus, where a white Christmas is more than just a wish.
And, we've made it to the top three most liked Christmas Carols according to Pandora. I know this one is going to be stuck in your head all day, "All I Want for Christmas."
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KAYE: That is "White Christmas", Pandora's second most liked Christmas carol. What could be more popular than that classic, right?
The top song -- we'll have the top song coming up in about five minutes.
Many won't have to be dreaming of a white Christmas actually. They're going to be getting one.
Jennifer Gray is in Atlanta tracking the fresh flakes and also been tracking Santa for us, who's had a very, very busy night. But I think the big guy's probably resting easy by now, right?
JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes. I'm sure he's headed back to the North Pole and Mrs. Klaus has a nice cup of eggnog waiting for him. But, yes, he had a busy night. Let's re-trace some of his steps.
One of his first stops Australia, where he stopped in Sydney. In fact, I think we have some video of Santa stopping in Sydney yesterday, flying right through the Opera House. What a great sight, a lot of happy kids there in Australia this morning.
His next stop was in Japan, of course, stopped in Tokyo and made his way over to Europe, where he stopped in France and helped out some good little girls and boys, before finally making his way to the United States.
New York City was one of his first stops as we went through the wee hours of the morning and finally made it to Hawaii, where actually some kids were calling in tracking Santa and Michelle Obama even answered the phone, so you never know who is going to answer when you are trying to find Santa Claus.
Now, we did actually see some snow at 10,000 feet in Hawaii yesterday, but snow already on the ground, places in the Rockies especially those higher elevations right outside of Denver, also seeing snow in the Dakotas, Minneapolis a little bit of snow. Not snowy in the Northeast, though. It was all rain for you. So, not a white Christmas this year but some folks seeing snow falling as we speak, waking up Christmas morning with snowflakes, what a gorgeous site.
Salt Lake City seeing some of that, even Casper, looking good throughout the next couple of hours.
You'll continue to see that snow, giving you that gorgeous white Christmas feel across portions of the West.
KAYE: A lot of folks happy about that.
Jennifer Gray, thank you very much and thanks for tracking Santa so well for us.
There are Christmas gifts for NBA fans to open later today, five games on the schedule, topped by one we have been waiting for since July. LeBron James returns to Miami as a Cleveland Cavalier.
Brian McFayden has a preview.
BRIAN MCFAYDEN, CNN SPORTS: Hey, Merry Christmas, Randi.
All five Christmas games will be televised in 215 countries, 47 languages. That's how huge the NBA brand is around the world.
The game with the biggest buzz has to be LeBron James visiting South Beach for the first time since he left the Heat. LeBron won two championships with Miami in four years before heading back home to Cleveland.
How will James be received by the Heat faithful? Will he be booed, cheered, maybe a little bit of both? We're going to see later today.
The Heat planning a little goodwill, too. They'll honor King James with a video tribute during the game. LeBron has played in his share of Christmas games during his career and he was asked his thoughts in playing yet another one.
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LEBRON JAMES, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: The biggest day for the NBA, you know, and you know, when I decided coming back here I knew I'd be playing against Miami or in Miami for Christmas. As far as my family coming down or not coming down, (INAUDIBLE) flying right now. So, just go and play the game, play the schedule and move on
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MCFAYDEN: That's a game you definitely do not want to miss. Cavs and Heat start at 5:00 Eastern. You can catch the primetime games on our sister station TNT. Kobe Bryant was going to be playing a record 16 Christmas games. His Lakers take on the Bulls at 8:00 Eastern and the late game, Warriors and Clippers at 10:30 Eastern -- Randi.
KAYE: Thank you very much, Brian.
Still to come: great news for Wall Street and Main Street. Your money's top ten stories of the year next.
And we have finally reached Pandora's number one most thumbed up song, no surprises here. It's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello there. I'm Senior Airman Jason Scheffrey (ph). I'm stationed up here Air Force base in Alaska. I'm excited to wish my mom, my dad, my brother and sister-in-law, my two awesome nephews, and all my friends back home in Washington. A Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and I love you guys. I can't wait to see you again.
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KAYE: The Dow surging past the 18,000-point milestone is a great holiday present for investors. But the market's strong showing was not the top money story of 2014.
CNN's Richard Quest and Christine Romans tell you what was in their top 10 countdown.
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RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: Number 10: Pressure from protesters. Fast food workers take to the streets in cities across America demanding higher pay and better rights. It's working. Four states have voted to raise the minimum wage in 2014, and in the heart of Hong Kong's financial district, pro-democracy activists shut down schools, banks and businesses. That sent the Hang Seng stock index down nearly 6 percent in only one week.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Number nine: U.S. companies turn in their passports for new headquarters overseas and a lower tax bill. The Treasury Department and President Obama fight back.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's not fair. It's not right. We don't want to see this trend grow.
ROMANS: The administration issues new rules to stop these so- called inversions to stem the flood of U.S. companies cashing in on the tax loophole. The new regulation slowed some deals already in the works, but real tax reform is likely needed to close the loophole.
QUEST: Number eight, IPOs and mergers, they're back. The king of 2014 is China's Alibaba, going public on the New York Stock Exchange, and becoming the largest public offering in U.S. history. Nearly 300 other companies went public in 2014 and mergers and accusations came back roaring.
The two biggest deals for U.S. consumers, AT&T's agreement to buy DirecTV, and Comcast merging with Time Warner Cable.
ROMANS: Number seven: the taper is terminated. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen closes the fire hose that pumped billion into the economy through a bond-buying program. That Fed stimulus lasted six years with the final measures tapered down in 2014. The Fed says labor and housing markets have improved, risks of inflation have diminished. The big question now, when will the Fed start raising interest rates?
QUEST: Number six: Apple gets its umph back. A new line of products including record breaking sales of the iPhone 6, new iPads, the Apple Watch and Apple Pay, they all refresh the company's product line. Its stock price hits a record high in 2014.
And Apple's chief exec Tim Cook becomes the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company. He wrote in an op-ed, "I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."
ROMANS: Number five: jobs are back. The labor market hit two milestones in 2014, first, the economy gained back all the jobs it lost during the recession, 8.7 million jobs. It took four long years to do it. Second, 2014 marks the best year in job creation since 1999, averaging about 240,000 jobs each month. The jobless rate now below 6 percent.
QUEST: Number four: this is the age of the hack. An exclusive CNN Money report finds more than half American adults had their personal details hacked in 2014. Mostly through retailers including Home Depot, Michaels, Neiman Marcus and Target. Celebrities became victims as hackers exposed private nude photos.
The year ends with a giant hack in Hollywood. Sony Pictures is infiltrated. Movie screeners and embarrassing corporate e-mails -- they all hit the web.
ROMANS: Number three, an auto safety crisis. G.M. recalls 30 million vehicles in 2014, the largest issue, faulty ignition switches.
MARY BARRA, G.M. CEO: I am deeply sorry.
ROMANS: G.M. is compensating victims as it tries to revamp its reputation.
Another crisis later in the year, Japanese parts maker Takata ignores calls for a nationwide recall following several incidents of exploding airbags. Initially 1 million cars are recalled by five automakers. Federal regulators say that's not enough.
Two words tell this story: Record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average racked up more than 30 of them in 2014. It's even more for the S&P 500. A brief pullback in October couldn't stop the bull run. The market has now gone more than 1,100 days without a pullback of more than 10 percent. Investors will be looking for one of those in 2015.
QUEST: And number one: the top money story of the year, oil's dramatic drop. After holding steady for the first half of the year, global concerns pressure the oil market and prices plunge. They drop more than 40 percent from June. In turn, that hits oil-dependent economies like Russia especially hard. Russia cited oil prices as the main reason it slipped into recession.
Gas prices follow. It gives consumers a break ahead of the holiday shopping season. The national average for a gallon of gas falls a full dollar from the year. And in some areas of the U.S. gas prices drop below $2.00 a gallon.
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KAYE: And you can catch the top 10 of 2014 special with Brooke Baldwin on CNN Sunday evening, 6:30 Eastern Time.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins after a break.
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KAYE: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye, in for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me, and Merry Christmas. Buon natale, feliz navidad.
Around the world, holiday celebrations are now under way. Take a look here, live pictures out of Bethlehem. Last night, thousands of people traveled to the biblical birthplace of Jesus for midnight mass.
Earlier today at the Vatican, Pope Francis delivered his annual Christmas Day blessing. A beautiful ceremony as thousands of people filled St. Peter's Square.
And back here at home, the nation's capital is waking up. You're looking at live pictures of the White House. Earlier today, President Obama and the First Lady wished Americans happy holiday and sent a special thanks to the troops.
