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One Dead, One Injured After Texas Church Shooting; Five People Stabbed at Hanukkah Celebration in New York; U.S. Strikes Five Facilities in Syria, Iraq; Key National Security Officials Arrive in Florida. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired December 29, 2019 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:01]
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN HOST: We want to go straight now to CNN correspondent Paul Vercammen. He is following this story for us.
And, Paul, I understand that there was some confusion about the initial death toll. What can you tell us?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're calling it nothing short of a miracle, Martin. That's because there were three patients being transported to the hospital and all three were in critical condition. And from what we understand, one of those patients died, a second who they believe was the shooter, also dead and then this third patient in what seems to be just an unbelievable incident here.
In a good way, they say the paramedics were furiously working on restoring a pulse, administering CPR to a patient who was described as dead. Well, it worked and this patient, said to be a male, was revived, this according to Medstar. That's the ambulance company that was transporting the patient and they called it nothing short of a miracle, something very, very rare in their experience when they are able to restore life to someone who they have called dead. That person transported to a local hospital.
And more details now emerging about the shooting itself. We spoke with the wife of the minister. She talked to her husband via the phone. She said that this happened during communion, that quite often they have about 280 parishioners during these services. They're not sure that that was the case today and a video has emerged of someone who has a long gun who is in the back of that church who opens fire and then it is seen that someone pulls out a handgun and shoots this shooter. We'll learn more shortly, but the count would be this, one parishioner
dead, one parishioner brought back to life, and the shooter also dead according to the ambulance company -- Martin.
SAVIDGE: Yes. Stunning to believe that all of this plays out in a house of worship, but as you said, the good news that life appears to have been preserved out of this.
All right, Paul Vercammen, thank you very much.
And we want to alert the public. We're standing by for a news conference that will come from law enforcement down in the scene there in Texas. We'll bring to you as soon as it happens. You can see the microphones are set for that.
Now to the developing news on that attack on members of a Jewish holiday celebration. A 38-year-old New York man has made his first court appearance. He is now being held on $5 million bond. He's charged with five counts of attempted murder after a mass stabbing at a Hanukkah party last night outside of New York City. Witnesses say the suspect walked into the home of an orthodox rabbi in the town -- in a town north of New York. Pulled out a long knife and stabbed five people.
The house was full of more than 100 worshippers who had gathered together to light the Hanukkah candle. CNN has obtained these exclusive images of the aftermath and of course I'll warn you that they are graphic images. All of the victims are Hasidic Jews, two are in critical condition. A witness describes the moment the suspect arrived at the home and began the rampage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARON KOHN, WITNESS: Started walking in by the door. I asked who was coming in in the middle of the night with an umbrella. While I was saying that, he pulled it out from the (INAUDIBLE) and he started to run into the big room which was on the left side. And I throw tables and chairs that he should get out of here and he injured a guy, was a (INAUDIBLE) guys. He was bleeding here, bleeding in his hand, all over.
I ran into the other room because I tried to save my life. I saw him running down this way, so I ran out, and two ladies came along with me. They're still hysterical. What time is now, I don't even know what the time now. And they're still hysterical right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: CNN's Alison Kosik is live at the scene for us.
And Alison, what more are you learning about this attack?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Martin, we are learning just how the suspect, 38-year-old Grafton Thomas, got in into the rabbi's house behind me. He walked in through the front door. It was unlocked but it wasn't unusual for Rabbi Chaim Rottenberg to leave his door unlocked and had this open-door policy, especially on a night like last night, the seventh night of Hanukkah.
He was having a big celebration at his home. Almost 100 people inside the house celebrating. And in fact he was lighting the menorah when Thomas walked in with that large machete-style knife and started that stabbing spree, injuring five people including the rabbi's son. As you said, two of them seriously injured. All of them recovering at the hospital.
One of the guests, Josef Gluck, is being hailed, though, as a hero. He threw a coffee table at Thomas and wrote down his license plate number before he fled. That's how police were able to spot him on the George Washington Bridge heading back to New York City. They arrested him in Harlem. They found Thomas with blood all over him and he smelled like bleach. Prosecutors believe that was a way for Thomas to try to conceal what he had allegedly done.
This is a tight knit Jewish Hasidic, Orthodox Jewish community.
[16:05:03]
Ninety thousand people live in Rockland County and a third of them are Jewish. And tonight was a special night because there was a dedication of a new Torah to a synagogue down the street.
We want to show you some video because there was a parade that sort of came out of nowhere. It made a special stop here at the rabbi's house to show strength and resilience during this time of violence. And when one Orthodox Jewish leader spoke to me earlier today, this is a time unfortunately where he said if you're a Jewish person, you have to be looking over your shoulder.
Martin, back to you.
SAVIDGE: Alison Kosik, with the update there from New York.
To Texas now and the update we're getting from law enforcement. Let's listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jeff Williams, regional director of Texas Department of Safety. Chief Edwin Kraus, Fort Worth PD. Sheriff Bill Waybourn, Tarrant County, and Eric Cast (PH) for the Texas Rangers. This will be the first press conference. We anticipate having another one around 4:30 to 5:00 in that area. We should be able to answer more questions. But in this first one, the chief is going to give you a statement and there will be no questions in this first press conference. So, Chief Bevering.
CHIEF J. P. BEVERING, WHITE SETTLEMENT, TEXAS POLICE: Good afternoon. I'm Chief Bevering, White Settlement Police Department. First of all, I want to give my condolences out for all the parishioners and -- the parishioners at the church and our community. We're all hurting right now. And I just want your prayers for everybody at this time.
Today it will be just a brief statement about what is going on so far. At this time we just want to tell the community that there is no ongoing threat to this incident. So today at approximately 11:50 a.m., a gunman entered the West Freeway Church of Christ, White Settlement, Texas, during the church service. The preliminary reports indicated that the man entered the church and fired a weapon. A couple of members at the church returned fire striking the suspect who died at the scene.
Tragically the person shot by the suspect died at a local hospital and a second parishioner has life-threatening injuries. As we stated, the suspect is deceased and the threat has stopped thanks to the heroic actions of those two parishioners at the church. While the resources -- with the resources available, with the Texas Rangers and DPS, they will be leading this investigation. If we have additional information, we'll release it to the media and the public. In the meantime, like I said, we just ask for your thoughts and prayers for our community and the parishioners of the West Freeway Church of Christ.
This is Agent DeSarno with the FBI and he'll make a couple of statements.
MATTHEW DESARNO, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, DALLAS FIELD OFFICE: Good afternoon, and thank you, Chief. I would like to echo the chief's comments for the entire community, the West Freeway Church of Christ. We're very sorry about this incident. The FBI is dedicated significant resources to aid in these investigations, those are investigative resources and technical resources.
We are working very hard to find motive to get to the bottom of what happened. We're working very closely with the victims of this incident. And we will continue to provide partnership and resource support throughout this.
As you see from the group assembled behind me, an incident like this doesn't get -- does not get solved and we don't get to the bottom of it without significant partnership with the Fort Worth Police Department, White Settlement Police Department, obviously the Texas DPS and the FBI working together in concert to find justice for these victims.
So I'd like to introduce Jeff Williams, the regional director of Texas DPS for North Texas.
JEFF WILLIAMS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, TEXAS DPS: Good afternoon. My name is Jeff Williams. I'm the regional director at Texas DPS. Like the chief and special agent in charge DeSarno said, I'd like to echo those same sentiments that our hearts go out to the victims and their families. I'd ask everyone to take a moment today just to lift them up in prayer.
We have an enormous response here today to get to the bottom of what occurred. The resources that are represented behind me and the men and women who are inside the church working this crime scene. Unfortunately, this country has seen so many of these that we've actually gotten used to up to this point. And it's tragic and it's just terrible situation especially during the holiday season.
I would like to point out that we have a couple of heroic parishioners who stopped short of just anything that you could even imagine and saved countless lives. And our hearts are going out to them and their families as well. This is an ongoing investigation. We don't have all the answers. I'm sure there are a bunch of them out there right now. We will continue to turn over every rock so we can get to the bottom of what have occurred.
[16:10:04]
I want to thank you for your support in getting the message out that there is no threat to the public. We want everyone to know that we're doing our best to get to the bottom of this and as soon as we have some more information, we'll pass that along.
At this point, I'd like introduce the Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn.
SHERIFF BILL WAYBOURN, TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS: Just reiterating what you already heard, this is a horrific day in Tarrant County, and our prayers and thoughts are with the folks over here at the church and the people that are lost. But today evil walked boldly among us. But let me remind you, good people raised up and stopped it before it got worse. I know we're not taking any questions. There will be a further brief later. But we've got a lot of resources to bear. Everybody is involved. We will get to the bottom of it. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, folks, thanks. Again no questions now. But we'll be back around 4:30 to 5:00 for a follow-up.
SAVIDGE: All right. And there you have the latest update from law enforcement there. The primary message is that this could have been worse had it not been for what they described as heroic parishioners who returned fire against the gunman.
We'll take a break and be back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: We want to take you back to the other attack on a house of worship, this one occurring in New York last night during a Hanukkah celebration that left five people wounded. Two of them severely following a knife attack there from an intruder.
With me now is Brian Levin. He is the director for the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
And Brian, I wish it wasn't under these circumstances, but thank you for joining us.
BRIAN LEVIN, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM: Thank you so much. And our condolences go out to the Hasidic community in Monsey as well as our Christian friends in White Settlement, Texas. You know, Ben Franklin said the most acceptable service we can render God is doing good to his other children.
SAVIDGE: The governor of New York has basically said that he is calling for -- he's called this domestic terrorism and he is vowing action including perhaps legislation, new laws. What kind of action do you believe with your expertise is needed in response to this latest attack against the Jewish community?
LEVIN: Well, the first thing and I've been in contact with the administration in New York, Andrew Cuomo was pitch perfect, and I'm tell you something. I represented a Klan victim many years ago when he was at HUD and he helped her out when nobody else did. So whatever you say about the governor, I will tell you, on hate crimes, he is very strong, his staff wants to do things.
There are a whole bunch of things that we can do in New York. I think we need to do an audit with regard to those agencies that aren't producing data. That's the sign that the job is not being done. We need mutual aid. They're working on that. They have some strong laws. Let's see what the domestic terrorism statute would say. There are obviously some civil liberties concerns. So let's see what the ingredient says on the cereal box before we buy it.
[16:15:02]
But the bottom line is I think training, modern policies, data collection and particular forms along with a two-tier review on former NYPD, and FBI recommends having up the line someone to look at possible cases. And we're seeing something good nationally. And that is for the first time, we're now seeing the majority of hate crime victims actually reporting, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
One last thing that I think is not good. The three major cities, largest cities in the United States, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, are all poised to hit their highest level for hate crime going back to 2001. And in New York City, listen to this, in New York City, anti- Semitic attacks alone would be the third or fourth largest hate crime city if it was counted separately. The majority of hate crimes in New York City in 2019, we're talking about the latest data we have exclusively with all these cities.
New York City is now -- now -- above a record it hit in 2012 during a Gaza conflict. We're now over 220 anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York and we're over 400 overall for the first time in many years and we'll probably break it in L.A., too. We're seeing Jews tied for the number one slot in New York, Chicago, L.A., other cities a bit different.
SAVIDGE: Well, this begs the question what's going on?
LEVIN: Really interesting question. Jim Nolan who's at West Virginia University, former FBI data expert, we went over along with my buddy Jim Reitzel and Kevin Grisham. About 30 years' worth of data. Listen to this, in the past we'd find the spikes in anti-Semitic hate crimes around Israeli and Palestinian. Now listen to this, hate crimes against Jews are going up around political events and it's matching what we're seeing with hate on the Internet spiking of those times as well as hate crimes in general.
So October, November of last year, around the national elections, we saw a spike. Also November 2016, also when Obama was sworn in in January 2012. And you go back to 2008. So we are seeing a pattern now where hate crimes are rising around political events and Jews are taking a lot of the brunt of it.
One last thing, though, we saw kind of a shift. Anti-Muslim hate crimes, head and shoulder peak 2016. Anti-Latino hate crimes now about a decade high. Here's what we need. First of all, just like what Governor Cuomo did, we need to put party aside.
Mr. President, make an announcement to the nation about the importance of religious liberty to our citizens. It is incumbent upon you as our leader to use the bully pulpit for good. This is something that does not require you to go out on a political limb. You need to do it now. Twitter will not do. When President Bush spoke six days after 9/11, hate crimes dropped precipitously and again in the next year. However, when the president was elected, hate crimes actually went up.
SAVIDGE: So you see this as needing something more than just a tweet from the president. You need him to come forward and speak to the nation about this.
LEVIN: He absolutely has to speak to the nation. We have years and years of data showing that around these kinds of catalytical and pivotal events, that a leadership message that looks authentic has an effect. When negative stereotypes are out in the ether, disturbed or angry people, at a time when we're very polarized and entrenched and splintered in that polarization, somebody can unify the country may actually have an immediate effect.
And we've seen this by the way in other countries, around Brexit, we saw hate crimes go up and these extremist plots. So we're seeing a convergence. Hate crimes going up, hateful speech on the internet going up, and then this kind of terroristic plots. The president needs to take this leadership message. I am not saying this because we're political. We're nonpartisan. But he must make this message and say the importance of religious liberty just as George Washington said to the Touro synagogue in 1791, "To bigotry we give no sanction, to prejudice, no existence."
SAVIDGE: Brian Levin, thank you very much. We appreciate your comments.
LEVIN: Thank you, Martin.
SAVIDGE: And we're also following breaking news from the Pentagon. This afternoon U.S. forces conducting air strikes in Iraq and Syria. We'll have a live report next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:22:46]
SAVIDGE: Pentagon officials say U.S. forces conducted strikes in Iraq and Syria against five facilities that were tied to an Iran-backed -- militia, that is. The facilities were blamed for a series of attacks on joint U.S.-Iraq military facilities housing American forces. And just moments ago, Iraq's prime minister has condemned the air strikes calling it a violation of sovereignty.
CNN's Ryan Browne joins us now from Washington, D.C. with the latest on this -- Ryan.
RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER: Well, Martin, the statement from the prime minister condemning this U.S. attack on these bases is really represents the difficulty of this operation. You know, these F-15 jets, the U.S. launched these strikes, but from Iraqi air space. So again the U.S. has 5,000 troops in Iraq and they have been the subject of increasingly sophisticated rocket attacks from these Iranian-backed groups, Kata'ib Hezbollah being one of them.
And again, the U.S. increasingly concerned about those attacks. One of the most recent had resulted in the death of an American military contractor as well as several U.S. personnel being injured. That represented a major escalation and you see this retaliatory attack by the United States. But again, the fate of the 5,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, whether they will be able to continue operations against ISIS given the Iraqi prime minister's obvious anger here is a question that remains to be answered.
And again I think the other thing that is of concern to U.S. forces in the region is whether the militias' counterattack, they launched a kind of retaliatory attack themselves, I think this is one of the reasons that this decision was ordered and approved by the president to strike these targets. We're told that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper briefed him on this yesterday and that the top national security leadership plans to brief him down in Florida as well today as well.
So again, an increasingly complex situation here. The decision to strike is getting support from some corners. Republican senators, Lindsey Graham -- Senators Lindsey Graham and John Cotton -- Tom Cotton, both issuing statements on Twitter saying that they supported these strikes, saying that the recent death of a U.S. contractor and the injury to several U.S. military personnel warranted a response.
SAVIDGE: Do you worry about the prospect of escalation? And we mentioned these are Iranian-backed militias. What could possibly Iran -- how might they respond?
[16:25:04]
BROWNE: Well, it's an interesting question. I mean, Iran has forces in Iraq. They have both proxy forces and their kind of expeditionary forces in Iraq and Syria, often in close proximity where U.S. personnel are. They have been doing these rocket attacks with some frequency. It's a chance that they increased those. We've also seen them conduct strikes that the U.S. believes Iran to be responsible for in the waterways, around the Gulf as well as attacking oil facilities.
So there is a wide range of things Iran could do as part of a retaliation, but again, that relationship with Iraq, whether the Iran pressures Baghdad to expel U.S. forces over this or close air space to U.S. military personnel, that's something that could also happen. All of these things critical questions to watch as this process unfolds.
SAVIDGE: All right. Ryan Browne, thank you very much for the update.
We'll have more on our breaking news to tell you about, and that is that attack on a Jewish holiday celebration. Five people stabbed inside a rabbi's home. The suspect has made his first court appearance today. We'll have the details on that ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SAVIDGE: To Florida now where the president is spending the holidays. And let me bring in White House correspondent, CNN's Jeremy Diamond.
And Jeremy, we're hearing about a guest visiting the president in Florida which may tie into some of the other stories we've been reporting today.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. Well, we know that the president ordered these strikes that were carried out in Iraq and Syria against this Iranian-backed militia. Now we know that the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, as well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, they have all now landed this Palm Beach where the president is spending his holiday vacation.
CNN has confirmed that they landed and we do have exclusive footage now of that military aircraft carrying those three top national security officials which was captured by our photojournalist, Khalil Abdullah. And so we do have that footage seeing that they have arrived. We knew that they were expected to come here to brief the president on those strikes carried out by the U.S. military, and also as the United States monitors any potential response by Iran or by those Iranian proxies in Iraq.
SAVIDGE: Jeremy, let me ask you this. President Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone this morning. I think it's first time since July. And Putin was expressing gratitude for the U.S. during a conversation that was centered on counterterrorism. And all of this comes to us from a readout from the Kremlin. What are you hearing about this?
DIAMOND: That's right. Well, according to the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin of Russia actually initiated this phone call, calling President Trump while he is here in Florida to thank him for intelligence provided by the United States that actually helped thwart a terrorist plot that was being planned for New Year's Eve in St. Petersburg, Russia. The FSB, the Russian security services, said that they actually arrested two Russian nationals who were planning to carry out a terrorist plot on New Year's Eve in Russia. And Vladimir Putin was calling the president today to thank him for the intelligence that actually led to those arrests.
Now, Putin also, according to the Kremlin, Putin also discussed matters of mutual interests between the United States and Russia. We don't know what those matters are or what they could be. The United States has not yet provided its own readout of that call. We have reached out to the White House though to ask if they'll provide any information about what those matters are or any future or any other information about that call. We'll let you know if we get that, Martin.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN HOST: All right. Interesting day. Jeremy diamond, thank you very much.
And we continue to cover the developments on that attack on the Jewish holiday celebration. The suspect in that New York stabbing spree is now charged with five counts of attempted murder.
He's 38-year-old Grafton Thomas. He made his first court appearance today where a judge ordered him held on a $5 million bond. He's accused of stabbing five people celebrating Hanukkah at the home of an orthodox Jewish rabbi in Rockland County just outside of New York City. CNN's Alison Kosik joins us once again. And Alison, what more do we know about the suspect and any possible motive?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are learning, Martin, that Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling what happened here at the rabbi's house last night an act of domestic terrorism. As for 38-year-old Grafton Thomas, he lives in a community about 30 minutes from where we are here. He lives with his mother.
Now, he did appear for an arraignment earlier today. He was wearing a white jumpsuit, was led into court with his hands handcuffed behind him. He didn't speak much, only talking with his lawyer. He kept his eyes on the floor the entire proceedings.
During the proceeding today, prosecutors arguing against bail for Thomas saying that one of the victims has a skull fracture. And when police stopped him, they found him covered in blood and smelling of bleach. Meaning, prosecutors believe that Thomas may have been trying to conceal a crime.
Bail was ultimately set at $5 million. And the next court proceeding for Grafton Thomas is going to be on Friday. This is the 13th anti- semitic incident to happen in New York State in the past three weeks. And today, Governor Andrew Cuomo directed state police to increase their patrols in Jewish Orthodox neighborhoods just to be safe.
However, the Anti-Defamation League putting out a statement just a short time ago saying the Jewish community is under assault, saying New York has a growing problem. Martin, back to you.
SAVIDGE: All right. CNN's Alison Kosik on the scene there at that attack. Thank you.
Frustration, anger, uncertainty. President Trump's simmering in Palm Beach as he awaits the Senate impeachment trial. We'll talk about it next.
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[16:35:58]
SAVIDGE: Growing frustration and increasing uncertainty over a looming Senate trial. That is the current state of the Trump Administration according to a source close to the president. And in the midst of all of that, he is facing two major decisions. First, who should serve on his defense team and, second, what strategy should they employ. Toluse Olorunnipa is a CNN political analyst and White House reporter for the "Washington Post", and Molly Ball, is a CNN political analyst and national political correspondent for "Time". Welcome.
MOLLY BALL, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, TIME: Hi, Martin.
TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to be here.
SAVIDGE: Molly, the president spent a lot of time, much of his vacation actually, attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the whistleblower on Twitter. So, what kind of insight does that give you to his frame of mind?
BALL: Well, he is a little bit preoccupied, you know. This is a pattern that we've seen before. In fact, I believe, it was exactly a year ago at this time that the president was at loose ends at Mar-A- Lago and tweeting obsessively about the shutdown fight and his opponent in that fight was also Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
She's always been very good at getting under his skin. And although I think she would probably deny that this tactic of withholding the articles was an intentional delay to provoke the president, she had to know that that was part of it and you do hear some Democrats, some on the left saying, well, this was a genius tactic on her part because it did sort of stick in the president's craw in this way and it has clearly annoyed him.
And just as a matter of the congressional calendar, you know, they passed impeachment and they went home. And so now, the president has a couple weeks to just kind of mull all of these over and that clearly is what he's doing.
SAVIDGE: Yes, it's kind of a political lump of coal in his stocking. Toluse, Senator McConnell is a key player in setting the rules for the upcoming trial and yet he's (INAUDIBLE) said that he is coordinating with the White House.
Republican Senator John Kennedy weighed in on that earlier today. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY, (R) LOUISIANA: It's not a criminal trial. The Senate is not really a jury. It's both jury and judge. The chief justice is not the judge. He's the presiding officer. There are no standards of proof. There are no rules of evidence. And every senator unless we pass a new rule by 51 votes in the senate is entitled to approach in his own way.
I think many positions by many senators are calcified. I can only speak for me. I'm going to keep an open mind. I want to be fair to both sides. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Not all Republicans see it that way though. Senator Murkowski says that she is disturbed by McConnell's, as she calls it, total coordination. So, I'm wondering Toluse, how does this division in the party impact the upcoming trial?
OLORUNNIPA: Well, it was very interesting to see Senator Kennedy say that he personally is going to be fair but Senator McConnell can do whatever he wants. It's not even a strong defense of the senate majority leader just basically saying might makes right. There's no sort of legal standard here. There's no specific rules that we have to follow. And he said that he would personally want to take a fair approach, but he did not say that what Mitch McConnell was doing was fair.
So, there is a sense that because McConnell put it all out there and said that I'm going to be coordinating with the White House, coordinating directly with the person who is basically on trial here, it does make it a little uncomfortable for some of these Senate Republicans to be able to say that this is a fair process, that we're taking this soberly. We're actually focusing on the evidence that we want to see what actually happened and make a decision based on the evidence, not a preconceived decision based on our political affiliation.
I think that's something that is making it difficult not only for certain senators that are going to be up for re-election in 2020, but even Republicans that don't have to worry about their political prospects, it's difficult for them to defend what may seem like a process that's not fair or even-handed or anything looking like a typical jury trial that we would expect from the legal system.
So, it does make it a little bit difficult. We haven't heard Republicans singing from the same playbook at least when it comes to the process issue. And it will require some strategizing as they come back from this break to figure out exactly how they're going to push this thing forward especially if Nancy Pelosi keeps these articles for several weeks. They'll have a lot of time to decide what they want to do from here.
[16:40:26]
SAVIDGE: Oh, yes. I think the strategizing has been going on all through the holiday. And I'm wondering Molly, how can Democrats perhaps leverage this division, if that's what it is, in the Republicans if not for the trial then for the election?
BALL: Well, we'll see. I think the feeling among the democrats has been that they don't want this to be the issue that decides the election. You know, impeachment is sort of marginally popular. It's about as popular as Trump is unpopular.
But the Democrats feel like they learned in 2018 that voters want to hear about issues that affect their lives and that has been a somewhat effective attack by the Republicans on the impeachment process is to say, look, they're distracted with this process that has nothing to do with you.
So, I think by the time the election rolls around, we are not going to hear much about impeachment from either party assuming that it's wrapped up by then. And that Nancy Pelosi has not held on to the articles of impeachment for, you know, 11 months, which I don't think she plans do.
She has said that she does plan to turn them over rather expeditiously. She doesn't intend to hold them hostage for weeks or months at a time. At the same time, she has not gotten any concessions for this leverage that she believes that she has in the Senate trial. And all of those rules still have yet to be worked out when the Congress comes back. So, we'll see.
SAVIDGE: And Toluse, who benefits if there is a delay in this process? In other words, if doesn't -- if this trial in the Senate doesn't go until February, which is a critical time politically, who is going to benefit most or who's hurt most?
OLORUNNIPA: Yes, Martin, that's a really good question. There are a lot of different moving parts here. You have the democratic presidential candidates who will be happy to have a little bit more time to campaign in Iowa rather than sitting in the senate for six days a week. So, they may like this.
Democrats may like the fact that President Trump is stewing over this and that he'd have to stew for several more weeks not being able to get a trial, you know, body that he sees as more favorable to himself.
There is also some concern among some democrats that this looks like it's being too punitive, too political, that it makes it hard for them to push the argument that President Trump is a threat to national security if they don't push through with these impeachment articles as quickly as possible.
SAVIDGE: Yes, interesting. Toluse Olorunnipa and Molly Ball, good to see you. Happy New Year to you both.
BALL: Happy New Year.
OLORUNNIPA: Same to you.
SAVIDGE: Coming up, from the most talked about new user on Instagram to the teenager who became the face of a worldwide movement. We'll look at the biggest trending stories of 2019.
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[16:46:42]
SAVIDGE: It's that time of year when we like to take a look back at the stories that captured a lot attention in 2019. CNN'S Brooke Baldwin has a look at the top nine trending stories of the year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: From the U.S., women's soccer team demanding equal pay to the passionate teenager fighting to save the planet. Social media remained a powerful weapon for advocacy in 2019. And then, of course, there were the memes. So, here are our top nine trending stories of the year.
Number nine, a friend who nearly broke the internet. Jennifer Aniston joins Instagram and the internet just couldn't handle it. Her first pose actually managed to crash her page. Her first photo, an epic "Friends" reunion selfie and the caption, "And now we're Instagram FRIENDS too." It became one of Instagram's most popular photos of the year with more than 15 million likes.
Number eight, and now to even more Instagram royalty, the young son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, whose birth, gender and name were all announced on the social media platform. The family regularly posts pictures of their son to their Instagram page before they're seen anywhere else, just another way these modern royals are shaking up the monarchy.
Number seven, winter came and fans were not happy. It was one of the most eagerly anticipated final seasons ever and the most tweeted about show of all of 2019. And while viewers were split on the ending of "Game of Thrones", it was some unintended product placement that brought divided fans together, a coffee cup left onset. The Internet erupted with memes. The official "Game of Thrones" account tweeted this response out, "News from Winterfell, the latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea."
Number six --
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Another death on Mount Everest bringing the total to 11 thus far this climbing season.
BALDWIN: These amazing pictures went viral showing how record numbers of climbers packed the summit. Some mountaineers think this traffic jam actually contributed to this year's death toll. Climbers endured waits of two to four hours while in the death zone that's near the top of the mountain where there's only one third of the oxygen found at sea level.
Number five, a scientific event of intergalactic magnitude.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A huge breakthrough for humanity.
BALDWIN: The first photo of a black hole.
SHEP DOELEMAN, EHT DIRECTOR, HARVARD & SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS: Black holes are the most mysterious objects in the universe. They're cloaked by an event horizon where their gravity prevents even light from escaping.
BALDWIN: Located 55 million light years away in this galaxy called M87. In this galaxy, another black hole photo went viral the moment researcher, Katie Bouman, processed the first image showing the massive phenomenon. To see it, scientists in multiple countries around the world linked local telescopes to create this virtual observatory. Predictably, Twitter couldn't escape the doughnut memes.
Number four, in Paris, a catastrophic fire shocked the world.
COOPER: The world famous Notre Dame Cathedral is on fire.
BALDWIN: Millions watched in disbelief as flames engulfed Notre Dame, the city's iconic 856-year-old cathedral.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had the tower full. People were screamed. It's so sad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What went through my mind was the heart of Paris is burning.
[16:50:09]
BALDWIN: People poured on to the streets to pray. And on social media, so many paid tribute by posting photos of their visits to the holy site. Hash tag Notre Dame became the most tweeted news related hash tag of 2019. The loss inspired generosity near and far, establishing a $700 million reconstruction fund. Restorations are now under way.
Number three, in 2019, Democrats took back the House. Nancy Pelosi regained the speakership and had some of the year's most viral moments from the infamous state of the union clap back, the rebuke that launched thousands of hash tag, don't mess with me memes.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE SPEAKER: As a catholic, I resent you're using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me. I don't hate anyone. So, don't mess with me when it comes to words like that.
BALDWIN: And staring down Trump from across that cabinet room table, the image meant to be an insult. The president's caption, "nervous Nancy's unhinged meltdown!" instead it went viral showing Washington's most powerful woman standing up to the president.
Number two, the U.S. women's soccer team proved once again they are the best in the world. Congratulations poured in from all over social media. Ellen Degeneres said her World Cup runneth over while former president Barack Obama thanked the women for being a strong inspiration to women and girls and everybody all across the country. The players' game poses became instant memes. And many of the players took their pleas for pay equity right to their fans via their social media pages.
And number one, she is the teenager on strike for the planet.
GRETA THUNBERG, CLIMATE ACTIVITIST: Our house is on fire.
BALDWIN: "Time's" person of the year.
THUNBERG: Change is coming whether you like it or are not.
BALDWIN: Greta Thunberg is leading a generation of climate kids. THUNBERG: People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you.
BALDWIN: Her impassioned speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit catapulted her meteoric social media rise making her the face of climate activism online. Thunberg used her new platform to lead a global climate strike with more than 4600 events in nearly 150 countries.
Hashtag climate strike was the eighth most popular hash tag of the year. So, for this 16-year-old and her army of climate kids, it is only the beginning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: Still to come, before Beyonce, Gaga, and Madonna, there was Linda Ronstadt. Coming up, we'll find out what made her a force to be reckoned with ahead of the new CNN film on Ronstadt premiering New Year's Day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:55:21]
SAVIDGE: I was just looking at the numbers. Ten Grammys, 11 platinum albums, and the first artist to simultaneously top the pop, country, and R&B charts, Linda Ronstadt is a musical legend in her own time.
Now the new CNN film, "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice", tells the inside story of Ronstadt's meteoric rise to fame and her exploration of every genre from rock to opera, amassing a devoted following of millions of fans. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you will read.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And the winner is Linda Ronstadt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Linda was the queen. She was like what Beyonce is now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was the first female rock and roll star.
LINDA RONSTADT, SINGER: One love get closer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was the only female artist to have five platinum albums in a row and most of them multiplatinum.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Favorite female in rock and pop --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Favorite country single, "Blue Bayou" by Linda Ronstadt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the winner is --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's to another win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Linda Ronstadt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the winner is Linda Ronstadt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: And joining me now is Angie Martoccio. And thank you very much for joining me.
ANGIE MARTOCCIO, REPORTER, ROLLING STONE: Thank you.
SAVIDGE: She is a staff writing, I should say, with the "Rolling Stone". And you had the opportunity this year to interview Linda Ronstadt. Unless you grew up with Linda Ronstadt, as I did, only then would you know that before Beyonce, before Lady Gaga, Linda Ronstadt was one of the first female pop icons. And I'm wondering from your perspective, what made her such a powerful and popular performer?
MARTOCCIO: I think it was being one of the first female truly successful rock stars in the 1970s in a largely rock world that was consisting mostly of males from its performers to its critics. Linda really stood out for her powerhouse vocals and the fact that she would take other's songs and completely put this unique spin on it was truly innovative and pioneering.
SAVIDGE: It was. It was. I mean, I do remember many of those songs. And in your interview, as you spoke to her now, what surprised you most in that conversation?
MARTOCCIO: Just the fact that she was completely like just so kind and humble to the point where she wasn't even sure why a documentary was coming out about her. And she was just kind of confused about that.
And also just that she completely still is uncompromising and fearless when it comes to speaking her mind. From her views on the "Me Too" movement, she defended Al Franken to me. And up until even outside the interview at the Kennedy Center Honors private event where she spoke up against Mike Pompeo.
SAVIDGE: She does not or cannot sing anymore, right?
MARTOCCIO: Correct, she cannot.
SAVIDGE: And I don't know if this is the right way to say it, but is she at peace with that?
MARTOCCIO: Honestly, I think she is. She misses singing the most. It's what she is the most gifted at. And she spoke about Emmylou Harris calling her and they sing on the phone together as best she can which was heartbreaking to hear. But her daily life is very comforting. Like she reads a lot and she still goes on trips. She sees her friends a lot. And she seemed very at peace with that. SAVIDGE: We got less than a minute, which is probably asking you the impossible. But what do you think Linda's legacy in music and pop culture is going to be?
MARTOCCIO: I think this film is important because it's the first to put her historical context in place. I think that it's the first time we're really seeing her legacy in a film. And at a time where millennials can get introduced to her because now, you know, for the most part, it's like Stevie Nicks and Cher are finally getting their due with younger women. And now, we can see Linda Ronstadt's career and its perspective.
SAVIDGE: I think she was, I think she still is amazing. Angie Martoccio, thank you so much for sharing with us.
MARTOCCIO: Thank you.
SAVIDGE: And be sure to watch "Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice". It will air New Year's Day 9 p.m. eastern and pacific right here on CNN.
We have much more just ahead of the "Newsroom." And of course, it all starts right now.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Martin, thank you. You are live in the CNN "Newsroom" and I'm Jessica Dean in for Ana Cabrera here in New York. We are staying on top of breaking news tonight.
Right now, two religious congregations violently attacked in the past hours. There are many injuries and now confirmation that some people have died.
