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Border Resources Stretched Amid Unprecedented Migrant Surge; Top 10 Crime & Justice Stories Of 2023; Kanye West Issues Apology To Jewish Community On Instagram. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired December 26, 2023 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It isn't even as if they don't have family waiting for them. They don't have money for transportation or food. And many of times, they end up taking those controversial Governor Abbott buses to New York, to Chicago, to Denver, and to other areas only because they have no other option.
And so, they think that this is a free ride to another city in the United States. And that is their goal to figure out a way to end up in another city. They don't want to stay here on the border where they are too close to Border Patrol.
And again, they'd be -- they'd be afraid to be deported. They're trying to figure out ways. And that is what we're seeing right now on the border. Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Rosa, thank you so much.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It is a complicated subject, but luckily Democratic Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is joining us now from Washington, D.C. Look, we just heard from our Rosa Flores, who is on the border watching what is a crisis according to all of those who are there on the border.
I know this is a huge issue right now. Joe Biden has said he's willing to make some big compromises with Republicans to get a bill passed that would not only try to deal with the border but also fund Israel in Ukraine. What do you think is the biggest compromise that you might be willing to make with Republicans, including the Biden administration to get this done?
REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): So, look. We've need a comprehensive immigration reform for decades in this country, not just for a few years. And you can't look at that report and not know that we have a crisis on our border.
It's tough. It's really hard. And I think that's what people elect us to do is to get to really hard decisions.
And there are a number of issues we have to worry about. We have to always keep our national security, front and center. But at the same time, we -- there's so many people coming here with hope, like many of our forefathers did, but they need to know the real circumstances when they get here.
And I think we've got to do so many things. Tony Blinken is going to -- Secretary State is going to Mexico tomorrow. We need these governments of other countries to be communicating reality to those that are coming here. We must never lose our humanitarian and our compassion for people who trying to escape horrific situations.
But we have a mess. And it's why we haven't dealt with this for decades because it is hard. But we can't put the hard aside anymore.
So, let's see what really comes out of these discussions in the Senate. I'm not willing to say what I'm going to vote for until I know what is brought forward. But we cannot ignore this.
And in the midst of all of this, we also need to remember that there is a need by some. We have small businesses that need workers. And caregiving in this country is a crisis. But how do you protect our national security all at the same time? It's not so easy.
SIDNER: It's a -- and as you said, look, every administration for decades has gone through this. Each of them gets blamed in their own way. But it's still a mess that needs to be dealt with.
I do want to ask you about one specific thing. And other Republicans have been really sort of going after this one thing saying this is the hang up -- this is the big hang up. And it has to do with humanitarian parole where the United States government can basically sort of let people in by bypassing the kind of regular immigration process if, on a case-by-case basis, it's for something urgent. An urgent humanitarian reason and can cause like a significant public benefit to the United States.
That is one of the big issues that Republicans don't want to see continuing. They want that parole issue to stop and not let people in even with those sticking points. Is that a sticking point for you? Do you want to keep that in place that decision to be able to help somebody if they're in a major humanitarian crisis?
DINGELL: We're going to define what that humanitarian crisis is because there are people that are coming here, quite frankly, for the death of a relative or someone that's dying, and people that are needing help. But then what we see is this sensational, the criminals that are coming over and then have done something horrific. We have to really have a tight definition of what that is.
And that's why I'm unwilling to say I'll support this or support that until I know what are we being asked to vote on. And this is not simple. Anybody who thinks this is simple, we would have voted on it decades ago.
And we haven't done it under Republican presidents or Democratic presidents. But you can't look at our border now and not know something's got to be done.
SIDNER: That's a really good point. All right, Representative Dingell, I want to ask you about some new information. We've just been seeing the FBI is now involved because of threats to those Colorado judges who ruled that Donald Trump cannot be on the ballot. I'd like to get your thoughts because I know in your state, several of your state leadership has faced threats and you yourself, I think, have mentioned that you have faced threats as a public servant. Have you noticed that things are getting worse or have things changed?
DINGELL: They're deteriorating, and they're getting worse. And I -- quite frankly, I'm going to tell you that I think it was one of the most pathetic Christmas greetings I've heard when a former president of the United States who wants to return tells people on Christmas day that they can rot in hell.
[11:35:12]
He is contributing to the divisiveness in division in this country. Yes, I have had people. And after he went after me, quite frankly, there were men outside of my house with the assault weapons.
And I have had threats. But it is -- hate and division are creeping into our communities far too easily. Violence is becoming normalized.
Every last one of us has to stand up. We can disagree civilly. We need to respect every human being with dignity.
We need to treat them like everybody's a human being and bring that civility back because our democracy is in trouble. If we start to let the kind of anger, violence, and division that's creeping in be normalized more, it's not right.
SIDNER: Congressman Debbie Dingell, I'm going to leave it there. It is not right. Thank you so much for coming on today.
DINGELL: Thank you.
BOLDUAN: Coming up for us. A brazen prison escape and manhunt. Even answers in the death of Tupac Shakur. A look back at the "TOP 10 CRIME AND JUSTICE STORIES" that captured the nation's attention this year.
And he has a history of antisemitic remarks. Kanye West is now apologizing in Hebrew this morning. Why? That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:24]
SIDNER: From a daring prison escape and massive manhunt to an arrest in a decade's old serial killing case, 2023 was a life -- full of high-profile crime and justice stories. CNN's Jean Casarez takes a look back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hundreds dead in mass shootings, Cold Case arrests, and murders on the run. All part of the "TOP 10 CRIME AND JUSTICE STORIES" from communities around the country in 2023.
Number 10. A young girl kidnapped and found alive.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: They have found her. And we're told she's in good health.
CASAREZ (voiceover): The Upstate New York elementary school student on a camping trip with her family taken while riding her bicycle at the campground.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): We are leaving no stone, no branch, no table, no cabin unturned.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Fingerprints on a ransom note left in her family's mailbox led to her, and the arrest of 46-year-old Craig Nelson Ross Jr. He has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and other charges.
CASAREZ: Number nine. A daring escape leads to a week's long manhunt.
CASAREZ (voiceover): 34-year-old convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante got out of his Pennsylvania prison by climbing sideways up the walls in the exercise yard.
BOB WAGNER, PENNSYLVANIA POLICE COMMANDER: I want to reiterate this man is very dangerous.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Hundreds of law enforcement searched by land and by air while local communities lived in fear.
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Danelo Cavalcante now armed but still on the loose.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Cavalcante on the run, spotted on trail cameras and allegedly breaking into homes before being captured and returned to prison.
DEB RYAN, CHESTER COUNTY D.A.: Our nightmare is finally over, and the good guys won.
CASAREZ (voiceover): He now faces 20 new charges.
CASAREZ: Number eight. A 17-year-old Las Vegas high school student beaten to death by his classmates.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Authorities call it senseless. 10 students against one? This video is very graphic.
LT. JASON JOHANSSON, LAS VEGAS POLICE: What you see in the video though is approximately 10 subjects kicking, stomping, and punching.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Police think it started as an after-school fight over stolen headphones.
JOHANSSON: He's on the ground, not defending himself into the point where he becomes unconscious.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Eight students arrested ranging in age from 13 to 17 facing murder charges.
CASAREZ: Number seven. An arrest.
CASAREZ (voiceover): After more than a decade, unsolved killings on Long Island, New York. Nearly a dozen sets of remains found including four on Gilgo Beach. Authorities long suspected a serial killer.
RODNEY HARRISON, SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Heuermann is facing multiple murder counts involving three women. He has pleaded not guilty.
CASAREZ: Number six. A confession in the death of Natalee Holloway.
CASAREZ (voiceover): 18 years after she disappeared on a high school graduation trip to Aruba, the prime suspect in her death, Joran van der Sloot, admits to killing her. Van der Sloot flown by FBI agents to Holloway's home state of Alabama to face federal extortion and wire fraud charges.
PRIM ESCALONA, U.S. ATTORNEY: Despite their grief, the Holloway family kept fighting for justice for Natalee.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Van der Sloot pleaded guilty. Sentenced to 20 years for his financial crimes. He will serve his sentence while back in Peru where he is already serving a murder sentence for killing a Peruvian woman.
BETH HOLLOWAY, NATALEE'S MOTHER: It's been a very long and painful journey. We bet we finally get the answers we've been searching for for all these years.
CASAREZ: Number five. An arrest in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur.
CASAREZ (voiceover): The prominent rapper was shot while leaving a boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and died six days later.
KEVIN MCMAHILL, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT SHERIFF: For 27 years, the family of Tupac Shakur has been waiting for justice.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Duane "Keffe" Davis, aka "Keffe D," arrested. He is not accused of pulling the trigger but handing the gun to someone else.
JOHANSSON: Duane Davis was the shot-caller for this group of individuals.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Police say Shakur had been in a feud with Davis and a gang he was affiliated with. Police say no other suspects in the shooting are still alive. Davis pleaded not guilty.
[11:45:12]
CASAREZ: Number four. From billionaire cryptocurrency Wizkid to convicted felon. CASAREZ (voiceover): 31-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty in November of stealing billions of dollars from customers of his crypto exchange company, FTX.
This kind of fraud -- this kind of corruption is as old as time.
CASAREZ (voiceover): Before the company imploded, Bankman-Fried lived the high life. He could go to prison for life when sentenced. His lawyer says he maintains his innocence.
CASAREZ: Number three. A disgraced attorney. A descendant of Southern prestige found guilty of murdering his wife and son.
CASAREZ: (voiceover): Alex Murdaugh practicing law in the low country of South Carolina wealthy, a beautiful family but secretly stealing clients' settlements and plotting the murder and cover-up of those he should have loved the most.
CREIGHTON WATERS, PROSECUTOR: We can't bring him back, but we can bring him justice.
CASAREZ (voiceover): He has filed a motion for a new trial.
CASAREZ: Number two. Tyre Nichols violently beaten by police.
CASAREZ (VOICEOVER): Caught on camera, the 29-year-old repeatedly kicked by five Memphis police officers after a traffic stop and short foot chase. He died three days later. His death ruled a homicide.
ROWVAUGHN WELLS, TYRE NICHOL'S MOTHER: I know I'll never see him again. But we have to start this process of justice right now.
CASAREZ (voiceover): The five officers were charged in state and federal court, all initially pleaded not guilty. However, one later agreed to a plea deal.
CASAREZ: Number one. Mass shootings kill hundreds of Americans.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So much loss in this community.
CASAREZ (voiceover): From the Lewiston, Maine mass shooting where 18 were killed in a bowling alley and a restaurant.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: There is such a deep sadness here.
CASAREZ (voiceover): To the covenant school in Nashville where three children and three adults died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an active shooter in our building.
CASAREZ (voiceover): A bank employee in Louisville, killing five of his colleagues.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clearly, this community completely shaken.
CASAREZ (voiceover): And Asian Americans celebrating the lunar new year in January. 11 shot dead. 2023 was a year of more than 600 mass shootings in this country, according to the gun violence archive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: And that was our Jean Casarez. Thank you for that, Jean.
BOLDUAN: And coming up. The end of the free return. Why retailers are moving toward pushing the cost of shipping things back onto the consumer?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:51:48]
BOLDUAN: Also, on our radar this hour. Kanye West issued an apology this morning to the Jewish community. He posted the message in Hebrew to Instagram. In it, he apologizes for any "unintended outburst" caused by his "words and actions."
He also wrote that he did not intend to "hurt or disrespect anyone." It is not clear what prompted this apology now. But West has a long history of making antisemitic statements including tweeting last year that he was "going to death con three on Jewish people."
The Anti-Defamation League responded to West this morning saying that this may be the first step on a long journey toward making amends to all of those that he has hurt. Adding that ultimately actions will speak louder than words, but this initial act of contrition is welcome.
So, there's new research out this morning pointing to some surprising new risk factors for early-onset dementia. Researchers found that being socially isolated living with hearing loss and having low Vitamin D levels can lead to a higher risk of developing cognitive decline. The study suggests -- make some suggestions on what can help including getting your hearing checked as well as your Vitamin D levels during primary care visits starting in your 30s.
The Powerball jackpot has climbed to two -- to $685 million. So, you still have a chance to win that big prize since no ticket matched all six numbers on the Christmas Day draw. A very, very, very, very slim chance but still, the next drawing is tomorrow. Sara.
SIDNER: I'm ready. All right. Got a sweater in the wrong size more than one of the same items because that happens, or you don't like the gift you're given. I know Beggars can't be choosers, but still, if you return it, it might cost you. So, here with all that bah humbug right now, we have CNN business reporter Nathaniel Meyersohn. What? Say what?
NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, Sara. People are -- the stores are charging the -- for free returns. This era is ending. Can you believe that?
81 percent of retailers are now charging for returns for at least one return method.
SIDNER: What?
MEYERSOHN: And it's typically for online. You can still return for free in stores. But look at some of these fees from the retailers.
I'm at J Crew shopper, 750 by mail. No, thank you. Masons could have charge --
SIDNER: 9.99?
MEYERSOHN: Yes. That's no good. So -- and even Amazon. So, Amazon is charging a one-dollar fee for customers who are bringing back their returns to the UPS store when there's a closer Whole Foods store or a Kohl's.
And look, returns are expensive for retailers. They have to pay for you to ship it back and then restock it. And we've seen the return rates jump eight percent in 2019, 16 percent last year.
SIDNER: OK. So, I'm still mad at the 9.99 But I'll get over it. What are the trends are you sort of seeing when it comes to return? Because there are some places, I'm not going to say it out loud, but Nordstrom where people have been returning things forever and it's -- you just know you can right?
MEYERSOHN: You know you can.
SIDNER: Without pain?
MEYERSOHN: He has some -- it's kind of an interesting industry that's really blown up, especially as more people are buying online. That's where we're seeing a lot of the returns. You know, it looks good in person, but not as good online.
[11:55:02]
So, retailers, they're tightening the return windows, box -- at least we can bring it back without a box and the prepaid label. Some stores, they're even offering discounts. You go to Staples you can shop for about 10 percent off.
And then this one is really interesting. Keep it. You can -- rather than return it, stores are just letting you keep it because it's too expensive.
SIDNER: Nathaniel, I moved away from you because I was upset. And they did not want to lash out at you. It's not your fault.
MEYERSOHN: I understand.
SIDNER: But thank you so much for bringing that to us. We've got to watch out when we do the return. Dang it.
BOLDUAN: So, there is no such thing as a free return. But it does -- it's going to be a hard thing to transition back to paying for the shipping fees.
SIDNER: Wait. Oh, that hurts.
BOLDUAN: That's -- you know, we can't have nice things. We all bought too much stuff and then returned half of it. Trust me since I did it myself.
Thank you all for joining us today. This is the CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.
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