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Holiday Breakdown in 2022 Costs Southwest $140M; Florida GOP Chair Censured Amid Sexual Assault Investigation; Abortion Debate and 2024 Race; Justice O'Connor lying in Repose at Supreme Court; Japan Says, Missile That May Reach the Whole U.S. Tested by North Korea; South Korea: Third Ballistic Missile Test Fired by North Korea This Year. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 18, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: A big difference in rhetoric there, Kate. And the big question now is whether or not Southwest could possibly have a repeat going into this holiday rush. We are right on the threshold and we are seeing these holiday rushes get longer, thanks to folks being able to work from home and leave a bit earlier, although, of course, a lot of people at the wind -- whim of school and work schedules.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Absolutely. I mean, that -- his not only sends it this final, not only sends a message to Southwest, but every airline and how they're operating and what they could face if they screw it up the way that it did -- was last time. It's good to see you, Pete. Thank you so much.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: All right. Still ahead, the leadership of the Florida Republican Party votes to strip and battle Chair Christian Ziegler of nearly all of his authority amid sexual assault allegations.

Also, the debate over abortion revving up in the 2024 race, recent court rulings putting Republican lawmakers in a difficult spot. We'll discuss it all coming up.

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[10:35:00]

BOLDUAN: In an emergency meeting over the weekend, Florida Republicans voted to censure and strip their party leader of nearly all of his authority after he was accused of raping a woman. Christian Ziegler was -- has not been charged with a crime and has said that he says he is innocent. But let's get more on what is truly a mess and a horrible situation.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is following this. Carlos, what more are you learning about this? CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that party officials are going to meet in early January to officially remove Christian Ziegler as chair. Party officials yesterday told me that at this point there is nothing that Ziegler could say that will change their minds. They want to see him go.

As you noted, Ziegler was stripped of his duties and his salary. At an emergency meeting here in Orlando, where we're told that Ziegler tried to defend himself and apologize in remarks that party officials said, just was not welcomed in the room.

Now, over the weekend. There had -- there was also talk that Ziegler was looking for some sort of buyout to leave his post with the Florida Republican Party. But Ziegler himself told me that that was not the case. He said that that was 100 percent a lie. And party officials told me that that is just not going to take place.

Ziegler has been under investigation since October when a woman came forward claiming that Ziegler raped her after a planned sexual encounter between the woman, Christian, and his wife, Bridget, fell through. The woman told police that Christian still showed up to her home in Sarasota, where the alleged assault took place even after she canceled this planned sexual encounter. As you also noted, Christian has not been charged criminally, and he said that the sex was consensual.

Here now is the vice chair of the Florida Republican Party describing why he says nearly all of Florida's top Republican officials, from Governor Ron DeSantis to Florida's two senators and county level officials, why they all believe that Ziegler is just unfit to serve.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVAN POWER, VICE CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA: You cannot lead the Republican Party with the charges that are standing in front of him and the admissions he's made in the affidavits. You cannot morally lead the Republican Party forward. And that's, I think, at the end of the day, we wish Christian well in his legal endeavors if he did not do it. We feel for the victim, if he did do it or in what she's gone through. But he needs to handle the legal problem on his own time and we need to move the party forward in its own legal -- in its political process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: We reached out to Christian Ziegler for comments and we have not heard back. As for his wife Bridget, she has also refused calls to step down from the Sarasota County School Board. Last week, fellow board members asked her to voluntarily resign, saying the details of this sex scandal are disturbing. It's important to note here that Bridget has not been accused of anything criminally any wrongdoing here, though she did admit to police that she did have at least one other sexual encounter with this victim and her husband over a year ago.

BOLDUAN: Carlos Suarez, thank you. SIDNER: All right. Happening right now, she was a trailblazer, a first of her kind. Today, she's being mourned by the highest court in the land and America. The body of late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, you're seeing there, lying in repose in the court's great hall. The public now has a chance to say goodbye.

Oh, oh, it looks like -- so we're just watching this live with you. And we have a moment here where someone who is coming appears up -- was it one of the Honor Guards?

BOLDUAN: One of the Honor Guards.

SIDNER: OK. It looks like it was one of the security details or Honor Guard that was standing there who has collapsed. We are going to take a quick break. We will try to get you some information on what happened there. Hopefully, that Honor Guard is OK. We'll be right back.

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[10:40:00]

SIDNER: Those there are live pictures of the casket of the late Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as she lies now in repose. She broke the ultimate glass ceiling, becoming the first woman justice to serve on the nation's highest court. The court was a boys' club until 1981. Justice O'Connor died on December 1st at the age of 93.

And just a quick update, the person that you saw fall there, one of the members of the Honor Guard, was able to be walked out. So, she is OK and was able to walk out with a little help on her own.

All right. Now, to CNN's Joan Biskupic, who joins me now. Joan, can you tell us more about the memorials that are planned and the public can also pay the respects, correct?

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: That's right, Sara. And I just came from that scene that you showed from the Great Hall and was able to hear the remarks that were made as a preface to the viewing that's now going on until 8:00 p.m., by the way. So, the public can go till 8:00 p.m. eastern time to see her.

[10:45:00]

And I just want to tell you about the remarks that were made that really captured Sandra Day O'Connor's contribution to America and to the justices themselves. First, one of her former clerks spoke, a woman by the name of Jane Fahey, who's a reverend, who spoke about her devotion to her law clerks and then their children, who she called her grand clerks.

But the most moving remarks, I think, came from Justice Sotomayor, who's the most senior justice of the four women on the court today. And she talked about Justice O'Connor being the social glue of the nine. How she insisted that they all go to lunch together after they've heard oral arguments. And if she met a resister, you know, because these justices, some of them can be reserved people, she would go and link arms with them and walk them to the lunchroom so they could all be together. She believed that that kind of collegiality help make for a better group of nine, and actually help smooth relations as they decided cases.

And she -- Justice Sotomayor, also referred to how she, you know, insisted on taking fellow justices and clerks to various barbecues and movies. And as Justice Sotomayor said, and the occasional glass of scotch and water. But here, let me just tell you what Justice Sotomayor -- I think we have some of the sound from it this morning, what she said about Justice O'Connor's understanding of the American people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, U.S. SUPREME COURT: She had an extraordinary understanding of the American people, just as she had an extraordinary understanding of this court's role and its limits. The nation was well served by the steady hand and intellect of a justice who never lost sight of how the law affected ordinary people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BISKUPIC: You know, Sara, when Justice Sotomayor then said she changed the court in the country in every way, you really believed it. And for those of us who really knew her record and how much she was decisive on the hottest social issues of the day during her tenure, you knew what she did for the country. And just watching the other justices as they listened to Justice Sotomayor and they listened to the reverend, you could see on their faces how much they miss her.

You know, she died at 93. She'd been out of the public eye for many years as she was ill, but she was just such a trailblazer, you know, for them. And really changed how they interacted with each other. Al nine of the justices were there today to begin the memorial events. And Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is very close to Justice O'Connor, was there too.

And then just so you know, tomorrow there will be a funeral service for Justice O'Connor at the National Cathedral where President Joe Biden will be there and speak, as will Chief Justice John Roberts. Sara.

SIDNER: I do. I am old enough to remember what a big deal it was when she was put on the court with all of the things that she did to the lead up. But pretty incredible moment. She will certainly be missed. Joan Biskupic, thank you so much.

BISKUPIC: Thank you.

SIDNER: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, North Korea test firing a ballistic missile this morning. Officials warning that the weapon has a potential range to reach anywhere in the United States. We'll be back.

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[10:50:00]

SIDNER: New this morning, North Korea has fired a long-range ballistic missile that officials warn could reach the entire U.S. The South Korean military claims the missile was launched just after 8:00 a.m. local time and traveled over 600 miles before falling into the water over an hour later. The missile is believed to be a solid fueled ICBM which would make it the third time this year that North Korea has launched a missile of this kind.

Let's bring in CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Steven Jiang. Steven, what do you know about the type of missile and this test launch?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Sara, this test is very concerning because, as you mentioned, it's likely to be another intracontinental ballistic missile with a potential range of over 9,000 miles. But on this lounge, it flew only some 600 miles, as you mentioned, because, you know whether or not it could reach the U.S. very much depends on whether or not the North Koreans could fire it at a flatter trajectory to ensure the warhead survive a prolonged shallower re-entry into the atmosphere. That ability, according to experts we talked to, they have yet to prove.

But still, this is likely their third launch of this type just this year. And it's likely, as you mentioned, another solid field missile. Now, that type is more advanced than the liquid fueled versions because they're more stable. They can be moved more easily to avoid detection. And they can also be initiated within minutes instead of the hours of preparation needed for liquid fuel missiles.

So, all of that, really, pointing to this growing reliability, this maturing of the North Korean weapons program, which is very much illegal under strict U.N. sanctions. And the more they test, obviously, the more likely they will be able to refine the technology.

So, that's why the U.S. and its allies in the regions are very concerned about this kind of defiance, this kind of progress and provocation from Pyongyang. Especially at a time when the North Koreans are growing closer to the Russians while maintaining very strong ties with the Chinese with their deputy foreign minister actually right here in Beijing, to reaffirm this friendship and the strengthening their strategic communication, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes. The possibility is terrifying when you look at it. So far, it does not reach the United States. But wow. Steven Jiang, it's -- happy to see your face this morning. I know it's late there. Thank you for staying up for us.

Kate.

[10:55:00]

BOLDUAN: Right now, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is speaking in Tel Aviv after his meetings with Israelis -- Israel's top leaders this morning. The message he's expected to deliver as the divide between President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to be growing. We'll be right back.

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[11:00:00]