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In Mexico, Caravan Of Thousands Of Migrants Making Its Way Towards U.S. Southern Border; Active Arrest Warrant For Florida Mall Gunman; Estimated $638 Million Powerball Prize For Christmas Day; Climate Crisis In Search Of Solutions; CNN Explores Largest Jail In New York City's Mentoring Program; La La Anthony On Mentoring Young Men At NYC Jail. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired December 25, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:15]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Happening right now, thousands of migrants in Mexico are marching toward the U.S. southern border. It is the largest caravan the U.S. has seen in over a year, and it may only add to the crisis facing border officials right now. Caravan organizers are calling it, "The exodus of poverty."

CNN's Rafael Romo is watching what's unfolding in Eagle Pass, Texas. Rafael, what do you know about the caravan we're describing here, and how are officials preparing for this?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hi, Jessica. It's a caravan that departed Tapachula City at the border with Guatemala and Mexico. And it is thousands of migrants that are coming this way, and like you said before, they're going to add to the numbers that we are already seeing here in this part of South Texas.

And you can probably see behind me how thousands of migrants have spent their Christmas Day. So far, this is a holding area. Once the migrants cross the Rio Grande just behind us and surrender to immigration authorities, they are sent to this area. It was warm during the weekend but it's cold and windy today and that's why border patrol agents have provided them with mylar blankets.

On the other side, and we cannot forget about this, you have border patrol and customs and border protection agents, as well as local law enforcement who are overwhelmed and under a lot of pressure, Jessica, and also spending Christmas Day away from family and loved ones because they're badly needed here.

Federal authorities reported a seven-day average of more than 9,600 migrant encounters or apprehensions along the U.S. southern border in December. According to a Homeland Security official, as we have previously reported, that figure is among the highest amounts ever recorded. And officials with CBP also say that during the month of November, nearly a quarter of a million people were encountered by border patrol on the southwest border. I spoke with a woman from Cuba who says she was robbed and kidnapped in Mexico before getting to the border. In spite of all that, she told us she feels blessed this Christmas.

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MILAIDIS DUARTE FELIPE, ATTEMPTING TO ENTER U.S (through translator): That I'm going to spend it with my family. That I'm going to live in a free country. That at least -- I don't know, I'm going to be happy because I'm going to live in a free country where the rights of citizens are respected. That wasn't the case where I lived. I was under a lot of pressure.

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ROMO: And Jessica, Duarte has already reunited with family and is now in Houston. We ran into another woman from Cuba who reunited with her husband for the first time in five years. They have a daughter who came along and was hugging her father for the first time in half a decade. As you can imagine, a very merry Christmas indeed for that family. Back to you.

DEAN: And Rafael, you mentioned the federal agents, of course, that are there. What kind of impact is the surge having on local law enforcement?

ROMO: It is tremendous. I was talking to Sheriff Tom Schmerber from Maverick County, which encompasses the area where we are, Eagle Pass. And he was telling me that he has 30 deputies for a very large area. And he says that they have enough local problems to deal with when it comes to crime, when it comes to protecting the community.

If you add the thousands and thousands of migrants that have come here, and also, it is just not enough. And he was saying that they're not getting enough help. The helping need from the federal government. And they had a last week to escort a couple of buses. CBP was transporting a number of migrants to Laredo. They have to provide that support and it was just very, very difficult for them. Jessica.

[13:35:00]

DEAN: Now, that the president has spoken with Mexico's president about doing something about this, stemming the flow of migrants and they have agreed more enforcement is needed, and Secretary of State Tony Blinken headed down to Mexico soon to talk more about this.

Rafael Romo for us in Eagle Pass, Texas, thanks so much for that update.

And let's go now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. Police in Florida have issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in that weekend shooting at an Ocala Mall. Albert J. Shell Jr. is still on the run, but will be charged with premeditated first- degree murder and attempted premeditated first degree-murder for killing one man and injuring a woman during that shooting. Also, it will be a very merry Christmas if someone wins tonight's Powerball drawing. The jackpot, now an estimated $638 million. Three Powerball jackpots were won on Christmas Day the last time 10 years ago. So, maybe we're due. Someone's going to win.

And a 12-year-old stray dog was found roaming in an English village and apparently had been missing for nearly seven years. Her previous owner said she went missing 10 days after they adopted her back in 2017 and they can't take Rose back at this point, but they say they're happy she's safe. They hope she finds a good home, and currently the organization taking care of Rose is receiving inquiries from people interested in making Rose a part of their family.

Just ahead on "CNN News Central", 2023 was the year many people finally realized the climate crisis was real. But it didn't seem to be the year that countries around the world faced the reality of what it's going to take to solve the problem. Could 2024 be the year we see real solutions to the threat of climate change? More on that next.

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[13:40:40]

DEAN: From record breaking temperatures to devastating wildfires and extreme storms, 2023 has been an impactful year for the climate. CNN's Simon Cullen explores what some experts are describing as climate collapse and what's being done to turn things around in the future.

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SIMON CULLEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Record breaking wildfires in Canada, deadly floods across large parts of Africa, and polar ice caps in long term decline.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: We are living through climate collapse in real time, and the impact is devastating.

CULLEN (voice-over): Even before the year was out, Scientists had declared with certainty that 2023 would go down as the hottest recorded year in human history.

DR. SAM BURGESS, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, COPERNICUS CLIMATE CHANGE SERVICE: The year has been quite extraordinary, and myself and many climate scientists have really run out of adjectives to describe the sheer volume of records broken and how they've been broken.

CULLEN (voice-over): In November, the Earth's average temperature briefly rose more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. A crucial threshold that scientists say could have irreversible consequences.

DR. BURGESS: The evidence is very, very clear. The warmer our world is, the more likely we are to have extreme events. And those extreme events are likely to be more intense and more frequent.

CULLEN (voice-over): With the El Nino system warming water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, 2024 could be even hotter. ?Given the scale of the challenge, many countries were hoping that global climate talks in Dubai would deliver the bold action needed to limit further warming. In the end, the agreement did put a sharper focus on the future of fossil fuels.

CULLEN: For the first time in the history of U.N. climate talks, the words fossil fuels appeared in the final text of an agreement, but it only referred to transitioning away, not phasing them out.

SIMON EVANS, CARBON BRIEF: The tricky thing is that it's an agreement between, basically, nearly 200 countries by consensus. So, there's always compromises at the end, and that's what leads to disappointment. But I think, it is nevertheless, a significant moment.

CULLEN (voice-over): And some countries that claim to take the climate threat seriously are still looking to approve new fossil fuel projects.

BILL HARE, CEO, CLIMATE ANALYTICS: There's a lot of hypocrisy to share around. The U.K. has actually backtracked on its policies. Australia has begun to move forward with its policies to reduce emissions, not succeeding yet. So, that's a concern, but it's also proposing and has supported very large expansion to gas export projects and to coal export projects.

CULLEN (voice-over): However, there are some glimmers of hope. Carbon Brief analysis shows that while China's coal infrastructure has grown, the country has invested so much in renewable energy over recent years that its emissions could actually begin to fall in the year ahead. Marking a dramatic turnaround for the world's biggest polluter.

EVANS: There have been moments in the past where it's looked like China's emissions are coming to a peak. I think there's probably more confidence this time around that we really are seeing, you know, a structural shift in their economy.

CULLEN (voice-over): Analysts say that could be a game changer, not just for China's domestic emissions, it could also give the Chinese leadership extra incentive to push for even stronger global action.

Simon Cullen, CNN, London.

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DEAN: A former NBA star's wife is taking on the mission of a lifetime to help inmates in one of the country's most notorious jails. We'll have that story next on "CNN News Central".

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[13:48:05]

DEAN: Welcome back. More than a million people are spending this Christmas in federal and state prisons across the country. CNN's Laura Coates was given an inside look at one of the nation's most notorious jails, Rikers Island, where actress and activist La La Anthony is giving the gift of hope to inmates, and not just during the holidays.

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LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: Today I'm outside of Rikers Island. It is a detention facility. We're in an area that holds young adults, specifically. Now, I've never been inside before. Most people have never been inside of this building. So, I'm going to take you inside and show you a little bit about what's going on inside the facility.

But also, oftentimes we hear about Rikers Island for all the wrong reasons. Today, I'm going to highlight a particular program that is hoping to help people who are detained inside transition out when they get out. Come with me.

COATES (voice-over): The program is called "ThreeSixty".

LA LA ANTHONY, ACTRESS AND ACTIVIST, LEADS "THREESIXTY" PROGRAM AT RIKERS ISLAND: This is my family --

COATES (voice-over): Led by actress and activist La La Anthony. And it aims to provide mentorship and re-entry skills to young men behind bars.

ANTHONY: This is what makes me happy. And also seeing the changes that are happening, the beautiful things, seeing that when they do come out into society, the change individuals they become, how they become assets to our community.

COATES (voice-over): Those men age 18 to 21, make up almost 10 percent of the incarcerated population at Rikers.

COATES: I'm just really intrigued as to what made you begin to do this.

ANTHONY: You know, growing up and having different experiences with, you know, people that I cared about being incarcerated and always feeling like, what can I do? Like, I can visit. Maybe put -- I couldn't even put money on somebody's books. I just felt helpless. And I finally got in a position where I felt like, no, now I can really make a change. I can really do something.

All of our children are one bad decision away from being here. Being with the wrong crowd, being led the wrong way. Any of them could be here. And I would hope that there would be someone that would treat my own child with the same love and compassion that I treat these young men with.

[13:50:00]

COATES: How important is that, when you have that space?

DARRIUS LEWIS, RIKERS ISLAND INMATE PARTICIPATING IN "THREESIXTY" PROGRAM: Everybody needs something like that. It's like a safe haven for real. One where you can be honest and open and be you.

COATES (voice-over): Young men like Darrius Lewis. He's been in Rikers since June and is charged with first-degree robbery. Lewis says the "ThreeSixty" Program has helped him change the way he sees himself and his future.

LEWIS: It's not just because I'm in jail, because even when I first got here, I was ready to just lash out and just act like another inmate. But it was a program that really showed me, like, I don't have to be what everybody's expecting. Everybody's expecting bad out of me. Everybody's expecting me to be ruthless, but I don't get to be that guy.

ANTHONY: Raise your hand if you felt like, at some point in your life, that you were going to end up in jail.

I got to tell them this is a chapter in your life. This is not your entire life. And what you do with this chapter will determine the rest of your life. So, use this time wisely to become a better person. To make change and never make excuses for them. I tell them that they have to have accountability. They have to own up to what -- whatever it is they did. And they have to pay whatever price it is for what they did. But during that, understanding, having compassion for others.

And I'm -- we're honored to have you with us today.

COATES (voice-over): On this day, La La led a discussion group where participants examined life circumstances that led them to Rikers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We come down here, we express what we're going through. I mean, whether it's good or bad. I mean, and we make the best out of bad situations.

COATES: Were you surprised that there was the buy in from Rikers to do a program like this?

ANTHONY: Prior to this, you just only hear the negative. You only hear the negative and it took me really being here to see so many people that care so much about the population here, care so much about wanting these young men to change and do better with their lives.

COATES: You know, for a lot of people, they know Rikers for notorious reasons.

ANTHONY: It is difficult. I know what I'm capable of doing. I'm glad that the kids in my program have me as a resource to talk to when dealing with mental health or dealing with struggles. This is jail. This is jail There's nothing great about being in jail, and they need outlets to express their frustration and their emotions. I can't change the world. I can't change every single person. I can't change every bad thing that's ever happened. I can only do my part.

COATES (voice-over): Looking to bring solutions to a place better known for its history of problems. A monitor appointed by a federal judge highlighted safety concerns at the complex back in October. Writing in a report that, "High levels of violence and fear among people in custody and staff remain a fact of daily living." And just last week, the Department of Correction was held in civil contempt for failing to tell the monitor about the opening of a restrictive housing unit for inmates accused of setting fires. In response, the department's new commissioner said, while the court found us in contempt, there is an opportunity to purge, and we remain committed to ensuring people are safe and secure in our facilities.

I spoke to the commissioner during my visit to Rikers.

COATES: How are you trying to guard against or to inform the public when there are moments when the department does not live up to standard that you want it to live up to?

LYNELLE MAGINLEY-LIDDIE, NYC DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION COMMISSIONER: You know, I'm recently named commissioner here. And one of the things I really pride myself on is transparency. And I think that if there's something that, you know, doesn't fall in line with what we should be doing, we're very -- we're going to be very transparent about that.

ANTHONY: Everybody come down. Come down.

COATES (voice-over): It's not just about putting in the work, but also celebrating the progress they've made so far.

ANTHONY: You're slowly opening up. It's taking a while, but you're slowly starting to trust me.

COATES (voice-over): Gathering for a special holiday meal.

ANTHONY: How we feeling about the food? How we feeling about the food?

COATES (voice-over): Brought in from the outside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for blessing us with this meal. Thank you for blessing us with La La and everybody that came through. And just coming together as a family and showing us that family is here.

MAGINLEY-LIDDIE: I think, a lot of times people don't realize all the good work that's being done here. From this program, we've seen a lot of people transform. They're excited about the future. They are eager to go to school. They're eager to get a job. They're just eager to just do better. And I want them to be in a mindset to understand that there is a future. And so, you have to plan for that.

COATES (voice-over): Lewis is already looking towards that future.

LEWIS: Before this program, I didn't know what was in store for me in life. Like, I never could see myself doing anything.

COATES: You really couldn't?

LEWIS: I see myself doing nothing at all, like --

COATES: Do you feel like the community that you left and the family that is waiting for you can relate to you as you are now?

LEWIS: They -- they're going to be surprised.

COATES: Really?

[13:55:00]

LEWIS: Yes, they're definitely going to be surprised, because I'm definitely not leaving it the same way I came. Definitely not at all.

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DEAN: And that was CNN's Laura Coates at Rikers Island.

A prayer from a migrant that God will give them the miracle of crossing, that's her words, into the U.S. Thousands like her leaving Southern Mexico for the U.S. border. We'll have the latest on their journey and the crisis at the border after a quick break.

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