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Taliban Deny Sharing Intel with Russia; Iraq Says Mosul Liberation Next; FedEx Struggles After Storms Slow Operations; How to Return Gifts the Smart Way; A Look Back at the Politics of 2015; Reconnecting the Homeless with Their Families. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired December 25, 2015 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:01] PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: The Taliban against the Americans in a fight that results in the murder of American citizens or in the fight against the American soldiers, is what they're saying is there was an old Soviet state. That Soviet state which Vladimir Putin is now trying to restore included those Central Asian states.
We want to protect them and anybody who has information that might protect those states, information not about the Taliban, not about American positions, not about helping the Taliban beat the Americans, but about the infiltration of ISIS across the border into the Central Asia, I can see how the Russians would say, we want that information. This is not about a partnership to help the Taliban against the Americans, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I've also heard rumors that the Afghan government has reached out to Russia because it needs arms to fight the Taliban and to fight maybe ISIS elements within Afghanistan. So what if that happens?
MUDD: I think if I were the Afghan government, and the new government there been around for more than a year now. The new government I think has proven pretty reliable. They better talk to the Americans about that first. I wouldn't rule it out. If you look at the push of the Taliban as NATO forces and the Americans leave the Taliban is gaining control in some of the heartland.
They've been around there for decades in southern and eastern Afghanistan. They've even moved up north. So as the Americans withdraw, I could see Kabul, the capital -- the leadership in the capital of Afghanistan saying we better see if we've got other friends out there.
Again, if I were them, though, I'd coordinate with the Americans because that will not make the White House and the Pentagon happy.
COSTELLO: OK. So, Phil, I want to put aside our Taliban-Afghanistan question-answer session for a second and focus on something else. I want to get your take on this.
For the first time we're hearing Bowe Bergdahl describe the dramatic attempts he made to escape the Taliban. Bergdahl, you remember, was captured by militants after leaving his army post, says he tried to get away multiple times. Most times he found -- he was found within minutes. But once following months of plotting, Bergdahl says he managed to escape and evade the Taliban for nine days only to be recaptured after falling over a cliff.
Here is his account as featured in the podcast Serial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL, CHARGED WITH DESERTION: Stupidly trying to put distance between me and the tent I wasn't taking my time and taking it slow and easy, and I step off a cliff. And I don't think how long -- I don't know how big of a drop it was. But it was a big enough drop for me to think on the way down like that initial drop was like oh, good grief. But then I kept falling to the point where I got over the surprise that I was falling, and I started thinking you've got to be kidding me. It cannot be this far down.
I realized that I couldn't actually move my fingers to the left -- my left hand. Every now and again I'd be able to take, like, a little 20 or 30 little strand of grass and eat that. But it was like OK, if I'm going to die either from exposure out there or being shot while I escape it's better than having my head cut off because I saw enough of those movies to -- or videos to, you know, know what that would be like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: After he was recaptured, Phil, the treatment of him grew worse. He said he was like tied spread eagle to a bed and he remained that way for three months. What do you -- first of all, have you listened to the podcast Serial because it is fascinating?
MUDD: No, I haven't. Listen --
COSTELLO: You're breaking up there. So -- I can't hear Phil.
Phil, we're going to have to get your Skype connection fixed. So we're going to have step away from Phil Mudd. But thanks for being with me on this Christmas Day. But if you haven't listened to the podcast Serial it is quite fascinating. It's a learning experience and, you know, it makes you think about, you know, Bowe Bergdahl and what really happened and actually it just made me more confused so there you have it.
Iraqi forces say they are days away from liberating Ramadi from ISIS. They reportedly set their sights on liberating Mosul next. That's a much bigger city. That's according to Reuters. Iraqi soldiers leading the fight in Ramadi say they expect to eliminate all ISIS fighters in the city within a couple of days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Through Translator): Their corpses are still under the rubble and none of them are still in this district. That's it. We retook it and it's over for them. A couple more days and all Ramadi will be clear and there will be not one of them left in this city.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more.
Good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Hopefully a true analysis for the Iraqi military forces fighting in Ramadi. Even today they are continuing indeed to make progress moving towards the center of the city. The Iraqis say they have now recaptured upwards of 70 percent of the city. The U.S. right now doesn't dispute it.
[09:30:02] But watching it all very carefully still, you know, probably a lot of hard fighting to come. The ISIS fighters have been very well dug in. Just one measure of what is happening. U.S.-led airstrikes destroyed seven houses in the Ramadi area that were wired with those explosives and IEDs. That is the kind of obstacles that the Iraqi forces are facing.
And as for their statements that had been recorded, their next stop may be Mosul. That clearly is what the U.S. hopes will happen but again Mosul a much larger city. ISIS has been dug in there for months as well. So the effort, if you look at the strategy in Ramadi and think about what might happen in Mosul, they'll have to start by cutting off ISIS supply lines, encircling the city. It will be a very major operation. Something the U.S. hopes will happen.
And the big benefit, of course, for the Iraqis, if they can boot ISIS out of Ramadi and boot them out of Mosul once and for all you really deal a blow to ISIS' claim of being a state with geography it controls. Iraq gets back a big part of Iraq. And that would be a very strategic success -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Barbara Starr, reporting live for us this morning, thank you.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, they say it's the thought that counts. But that doesn't mean you have to keep those unwanted Christmas gifts. The four rules for smart gift returns next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Some holiday shoppers may be fed up with FedEx. As severe storms delay package deliveries across the country, FedEx just trying to make up for it now with some of their delivery staff volunteering to make deliveries this Christmas morning to make sure their customers get their gifts on time.
[09:40:14] Alison Kosik is following the story. UPS is celebrating, though.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: UPS is doing a lot better than FedEx. I mean, people are on Twitter calling FedEx the Christmas Grinch. You know, it's -- I know it's pretty harsh. It's like, come on. Let's think about what's really important in life. But that's just -- but I digress.
What happened here was these are the shipping snafus, they're really nothing new. We've heard about that for years. UPS has really had a bad rap lately. But FedEx this time around it's the usual combination, though. You're seeing these shipping companies being inundated with packages to deliver and you're seeing bad weather come into play. And FedEx is really being hit hard because you remember those tornados that went through the south, FedEx's hub, its air hub, is in Memphis, Tennessee, so it's having issues there.
So as I said, people are taking to Twitter to express their anger. Some of these tweets are pretty harsh, though. One saying, you know, as I said calling FedEx the Christmas Grinch. And you can see them there on the page. FedEx says that they're blaming once again heavier than planned shipment amounts and that severe weather.
UPS also, though, not immune to this. One tweet saying thanks for not being able to confirm any guaranteed delivery package that will arrive today. It is 9:00 p.m. and you have no idea where it is. UPS is really being pushed on because Amazon, its biggest client, according to the "Wall Street Journal," is considering breaking ties with UPS finding a different carrier because of the snafus that UPS went through in the past couple of years, where it didn't get hundreds of trailers of packages to those clients in time for Christmas.
OK. So let's say that you this year, though, are supposed to be getting those packages. A couple of things you can do, FedEx said, as you said, some of its employees are actually volunteering to deliver packages today for FedEx. And the priority is being given to residential customers as oppose to commercial customers. And some FedEx express locations are open until 1:00 p.m. but the trick there is take that tracking number, put it into -- go to FedEx.com and see if it is at that location before you drive out there.
COSTELLO: OK. We'll take your advice. Alison Kosik, thanks so much.
If Santa got you everything on your wish list count yourself lucky. But if you weren't dying to get that Chia pet we can at least help you return it. And believe it or not there is a smart way to do it.
Christine Romans has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Thirty-eight percent. Thirty-eight percent of people last year returned at least one of their holiday gifts. Once you've made the moral decision to ditch the sweater your Aunt Susie give you, which looks just like the sweater she gave you the year before, do it right.
Four rules. Number one. Stay home on December 26th. The stores are just too full. The second busiest shopping day of the year by traffic. But don't wait too long. That's number two. Know your return window. It varies by retailers and sometimes by item. Nordstrom, for example, is the gold standard. You can return something any time, receipt or not, with few exceptions. And some key retailers, though, won't expect returns after 14 days and many require a receipt for any returns or you just get store credit at the lowest sale price. Ouch.
Third, never open a store credit card. There you are. Return your gift. Picking up something you want instead and the clerk is pushing you to open a card and get another 15 percent off. Don't do it. It's one more bill to keep up with. Opening multiple specialty store cards makes you look financially weak and can ding your credit score.
Number four, cash in unwanted gift cards. There are plenty of sites that will buy your gift cards for 90 percent of the value or even more, depending on the store. A few examples, CardPool.com or GiftcardGranny.com. You can research more yourself. Just cash them in and pay down your own holiday bill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Christine Romans.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, 2016 might be the year of the presidential election but 2015 was not without some big, big, big political stories. Jake Tapper rounds them up for you. Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:47:54] COSTELLO: Thirty-six years after the Iran hostage crisis the men and women held captive during a 444-day long standoff are set to receive millions in compensation. Each of the 53 hostages will receive $10,000 for every day they were held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Their spouses and children are eligible for a one-time payment of $600,000. For years the former hostages were unable to sue for compensation but now money is being provided as part of a trillion-dollar end of the year spending bill. Funds are set to be distributed within the next year.
A race for the White House dominated by a reality show mogul while one of Washington's most high profile lawmakers decided it was time to say goodbye to Congress.
CNN's Jake Tapper has a look back at the political stories that dominated the headlines this year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: This was a year our next president officially entered the race, barring any surprises in 2016, that is. Washington outsiders dominated the polls as America's political landscape saw a historic change. Our laws on marriage, our views on terror, and even our tolerance for Trump are all much different now than they were in January. And these are our top 10 political stories of 2015.
(Voice-over): Number 10, after a quarter century in Congress, speaker of the House John Boehner declared he was done, pushed out, many say, by the Tea Partiers in his deeply divided Republican caucus.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), OHIO: I leave with no regrets, no burdens.
TAPPER: After initially balking, Wisconsin's Congressman Paul Ryan finally accepted the gavel.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: We need to make some changes. Starting with how the House does business.
TAPPER: Number nine, same-sex marriage was deemed legal nationwide, though in some states county clerks, such as Kim Davis, refused to give their stamp of approval, citing their religious convictions. Davis spent five days in jail over the divisive issue.
[09:50:02] Number eight, an anti-abortion group released videos they say showed Planned Parenthood staffers proposing selling fetal tissue for profit. The heavily edited videos were hotly contested and defunding debate was on.
CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Planned Parenthood must be defunded.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will defund Planned Parenthood.
TAPPER: In November, three people were killed in a Colorado clinic after this man opened fire. Planned Parenthood blamed heated political rhetoric for the attack.
Number seven, the Obama administration negotiated with Iran, ending sanctions in exchange for promises of an Iran free of nuclear weapons. Israel's prime minister was vehemently opposed.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It doesn't block Iran's path to the bomb, it paves Iran's path to the bomb.
TAPPER: President Obama vowed to veto any Congressional attempt to block the deal.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The majority of members of this Congress do not support this deal.
TAPPER: But Secretary of State John Kerry was also adamant.
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There's no alternative.
TAPPER: Number six, Hillary Clinton repeatedly defended her use of a private e-mail server as secretary of state.
CLINTON: Everything I did was permitted.
TAPPER: An FBI investigation into the matter notwithstanding, even her chief Democratic opponent said he had heard enough about the controversy.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails.
TAPPER: Clinton was confronted for hours during a hearing about the 2012 Benghazi attacks and about those e-mails.
REP. TREY GOWDY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: It was you and your attorneys who decided what to return and what to delete.
TAPPER: Number five, nine African-Americans, including a state senator, were gunned down at this South Carolina church by a 21-year- old White supremacist.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The alleged killer could not see the grace surrounding Reverend Pinckney and that bible study group.
TAPPER: The killer had posed for photographs with the confederate flag, prompting the question, was it time for the flag to be removed from the state capitol? Debate was passionate and in the end the flag was history.
Number four, millions fled war-torn parts of the Middle East into Europe. President Obama vowed to take in up to 10,000 Syrian refugees.
OBAMA: Those countries that can must do more to accommodate refugees.
TAPPER: But when at least one of the Paris terrorists was linked to the masses entering Europe, 31 U.S. governors vowed to shut their doors.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Embedded in that group are people who are out to destroy us.
TAPPER: Then after terrorists struck California, Donald Trump said all Muslims should be banned from entering the U.S., prompting a fierce backlash.
Number three, the Black Lives Matter movement became ever present in politics. Thousands rallied in Baltimore and Chicago after a young black man in each city died during police confrontations. After shocking video emerged of Freddie Gray's arrest in Baltimore and Laquan McDonald's shooting in Chicago, police officers were charged with murder in both cities. Chicago's mayor came under pressure to step down.
Number two, according to President Obama, ISIS rose from a so-called jayvee squad last year to become a, quote, "contained threat." But after two massacres in Paris drew world leaders into the fight, and an attack in California killed 14 Americans, President Obama was forced to revise his message.
OBAMA: The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it.
TAPPER: And the number one political story of 2015, the Donald.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I'm at number one by a lot.
TAPPER: Donald Trump disrupting politics and redefining what it means to be a Republican presidential candidate.
TRUMP: When Mexico sends its people, they are not sending their best.
TAPPER: His blunt, some say bigoted behavior was met with outrage and a seemingly unstoppable rise in Republican primary poll numbers.
TRUMP: And, frankly, I'm the most solid person up here.
TAPPER: Will he win the White House next year, or will America say, "You're fired"?
(On camera): Those were our top 10 political stories of this year. The question is what and who will top the list next year?
Jake Tapper, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Jake. That was awesome.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, this the season to be with family. How one man is working to help the homeless reunite with theirs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[09:52:50] OBAMA: Today like millions of Americans and Christians around the world, our family celebrates the birth of Jesus and the values he lived in his own life. Treating one another with love and compassion. Caring for those on society's margins. The sick and the hungry. The poor and the persecuted. The stranger in need of shelter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: President Obama releasing a Christmas message, asking Americans to be compassionate to those in need. Being homeless is tough enough. But being homeless in one of America's coldest cities can be deadly.
In this "Giving in Focus," one man sets out to end homelessness in Anchorage, Alaska.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMUEL JOHNS, FOUNDER, FORGET ME NOT AK: When I see a homeless person, I think about who they are, where they're from, who misses them. I don't see I've reached out doing what I'm doing, you know. I feel happy for doing good things to people.
It gets really cold up here. I think a lot of people don't understand how cold it can get. It must be, you know, scary feeling that cold and not having a place to go.
I created the Facebook group ForgetMeNotAk.org to help reconnect homeless people to their families.
There you go, brother.
When I approach someone to see if they want to be a part of the ForgetMeNot group, I usually have a gift for them. I'm like, hey, here's something for you. Mind if we talk for a little bit. I'll tell them about the group and if you have any messages to send out to any of your family or friends. And the last thing is, I need to know if you have a wish for anything.
Sometimes it's I wish I could go back home. We've already gotten people off the street. When I thought about this concept which is basically a group, I feel like what we're doing is we're creating a community of people that want to do good things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This cafe is the daytime homeless shelter and soup kitchen here in Anchorage. I first met Samuel when he came down and started drumming. He just wanted to come down and play some music and engage with a client.
JOHNS: I better see you all up and dancing, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's one pretty regular guy that brings a lot of life and a lot of love and a lot of happiness to our clients.
JOHNS: It's very simple. I mean, it doesn't cost money at all. When you see someone that's homeless, treat them like a human being. Don't just give them your change. Give them your heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In case you're wondering, it's 14 degrees in Anchorage this morning. The real feel, five.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.
