Return to Transcripts main page
CNN News Central
Netanyahu Vows "Long Fight" In Gaza As Israel Ramps Up Operations; Students Grapple With College Applications Post- Affirmative Action; Winter Storm Brings Blizzard Conditions, Making Travel Dangerous; Top-10 Crime & Justice Stories Of 2023. Aired 2:30- 3p ET
Aired December 26, 2023 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: And even as we are seeing more of those kinds of images, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing the war in Gaza will be, quote, a "long fight" and "far from ending."
CNN's Will Ripley is in Tel Aviv with the latest for us.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna and Jessica, we have new information from the Israel Defense Forces about the number of soldiers who have been killed since the ground operation began on October 27th.
That is 20 days after the horrific attacks of October 7th that took the lives of 1200 Israelis. One-hundred-sixty-one IDF soldiers have been killed in Gaza, making this a very deadly conflict for them.
And even deadlier for the people in Gaza. We are now approaching 21,000, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, with the number of injured nearly doubled that, nearly 55,000.
Although, CNN cannot independently verify the numbers.
The new information from the Israeli government and they military is that they are close to dismantling Hamas battalions in the northern part of Gaza.
But they have shifted the intensity of their military operation to southern Gaza and also central Gaza where we saw airstrikes over the weekend that led to a very stunning death toll.
In just one 24-hour period, at least 250 people killed, making it one of the deadliest days since the war began.
Israel says it's the new reality since October 7th, and there are many months of fighting to go because Hamas is a type of organization that has essentially embedded itself within communities.
Making mosques and schools and even residential apartment buildings potential military targets if Hamas is believed to be operating either in or underneath those facilities. Of course, they do have an extensive network of underground tunnels. The Israelis say the Hamas leadership will fall. But the prime
minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is warning that it could be a very long fight ahead.
Scores of people have been killed in central Gaza. And the pictures are heartbreaking. People kneeling over the rubble, mourning the loss of young children in many cases, sometimes entire families crushed underneath the rubble, as Israel intensifies its operations.
Around the region, there are fears of an expanding conflict, a regional conflict, after the death of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps member that Israel has not confirmed any involvement in.
But nonetheless, Iran pointing the finger and vowing to avenge the step at the right time and in the right place, they say.
This is a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, that Israel now says they are essentially having to defend themselves in what they call a multi-arena war.
Fighting a war on several fronts with Iran and Iran-backed proxies -- Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and also the Houthis in Yemen.
The United States also conducting strikes after attacks on U.S. sites in Iraq and Syria.
This is a conflict that the U.S. and Israel very much don't want to see expanding larger than it already is right now. But that may be an impossible thing to prevent and avoid, considering all of these latest developments -- Brianna and Jessica?
DEAN: Will Ripley, for us in Tel Aviv, thank you so much.
Six months since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions. Students at colleges are grappling with that change.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, that historic decision reversed decades of precedent. And it ended the ability of post-secondary institutions to consider race or ethnicity as one of many factors in creating diversity on college campuses.
CNN's Gabe Cohen is joining us now with a great report.
You talked to black high school students who are now navigating this very changed application process. Tell us about it.
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and you can imagine it's adding a lot of anxiety to a college process that is already complicated, a little mysterious.
Now these students are now trying to figure out what is the best way to address race on their applications, which, to be clear, is still allowed as they paint a clearer picture of their entire life experience.
But as a result of all of that uncertainty, the students I spoke with are taking very different approaches.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNIJAH RUSSELL, APPLYING TO COLLEGE: Hi, Brown. My name is Lynijah and I am a black girl in STEM.
COHEN (voice-over): That's Lynijah Russell's application video for Brown University.
She's among the millions of students applying to college six months after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, navigating how and even whether to include race in their pitch for admission.
(on camera): What was your reaction to the decision?
RUSSELL: At first, I was a little scared. I thought it was a bit unfair. It made me doubt myself a little bit, like, are my numbers good enough?
COHEN: You actually took some schools off your list?
RUSSELL: I thought -- I felt like getting into some of those schools were almost impossible.
COHEN (voice-over): But when she sat down to write her college essays, she decided it was more important than ever to discuss race as part of her life experience.
RUSSELL: I believe it made me emphasize that I was black a bit more than I probably would have.
I started expressing myself more through my photos, my hairstyles.
COHEN: Her main essay is about growing up in a rough part of Baltimore.
RUSSELL: The thing that's important to me is my identity, who I am as a person, and race is a big part of that.
COHEN (on camera): You think schools are still looking for that diversity?
RUSSELL: Yes.
TRACY RAMOS, CO-FOUNDER, COLLEGE BOUND PARENTING: Do not ignore such a crucial part of your identity.
COHEN (voice-over): College advisors, like Tracy Ramos, are encouraging black students not to shy away from race in their applications, especially in their essays.
[14:35:01]
RAMOS: It paints a holistic picture of who you are.
COHEN (on camera): Do you think without boxes to check it's even more important to write about these issues?
RAMOS: I do. A lot of the elite colleges are looking for ways to identify these students. The key piece of advice is, make it easy for the colleges to know all of who you are.
COHEN (voice-over): Many schools have added questions to their applications so students can discuss their life experience and how they'd add to campus diversity.
SEAN MANLEY, APPLYING TO COLLEGE: As a student-athlete, vice president of the Black Student Union and vice president of the National Society of Black Engineers --
COHEN: Sean Manley's essays captured his unique experience as a black student in rural Maryland.
MANLEY: I was scared at first that they wouldn't be able to see my race and see all the challenges that come with it. I'm very proud of like who I am, and it's a very important part of why I'm here.
COHEN (on camera): Do you think it will put you in a better spot?
MANLEY: I don't know if writing it in my essay is good or bad yet because we're kind of like the experiment class.
COHEN (voice-over): The Supreme Court decision has added a new level of stress to an already stressful college application process for students like Sean and Lynijah.
Experts expect historically black colleges will see higher enrollment and more applications. And some students are taking a very different approach.
COHEN (on camera): You took race out of most of your essays?
HARMONY MOORE, APPLYING TO COLLEGE: Yes.
COHEN (voice-over): Harmony Moore rewrote her essays about being a black student at mostly white Houston school.
COHEN (on camera): Why did you feel that was necessary?
MOORE: I didn't want to have the admissions -- wrong admissions officer read it and then they, all of a sudden, like, don't want to let me into their school because they feel like I'm trying to like push my race on them.
I think I stand out, like, on my own, like, with my extracurriculars and with my honors that I've received. I don't want to just like have the same exact same story as hundreds of other black students.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: And another student told me she is looking at each college individually and only writing about her racial identity for the schools that she believes are more progressive, which again, it speaks to the calculations that these students are making right now.
And it's going to be really interesting to see how this all plays out in terms of admissions rates where there has been a lot of concern after the Supreme Court decision that we will see less diversity in these student bodies and classes.
We will see what it looks like in the fall and we might see colleges continue to make adjustments depending on the numbers that they see.
DEAN: Because this is the first class since this happened.
COHEN: Exactly.
DEAN: Gabe Cohen, great report. Thanks so much.
Up next, a winter storm hits at the worst time possible, right as people are making their way home after Christmas. We will look at just how bad it could get after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:41:33]
KEILAR: Today, while many Americans are getting ready to head home after Christmas, millions more are under winter weather alerts. A majority major --- pardon me -- a major winter storm. There you go. Holiday break on the impact there.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: A major winter storm sweeping across the plains into the Rockies. And 14 counties went so far as to issue a no travel advisory.
DEAN: This doesn't look good. You were saying the blowing snow is never great.
CNN's Chad Myers joins us now with the latest now.
Chad, is there a chance the storm actually lets up so people can find a window to get home?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I mean, there's only 98 cancellations at the airport right now. It's not really that bad. And 3000 delays, sure. So planes are 15 or 20 minutes late. But if you are only canceling 100 planes in a day that's pretty good.
Now the people who have to drive through this, proof of a white Christmas in Nebraska, also South Dakota and parts of Colorado.
But if you have to drive in this, this is where it is slow driving. But still good across parts of the east and northeast.
Tomorrow is when the fog rolls in, the low clouds into those big airports in the northeast. That certainly could slow things down again. So we are kind of a big pinwheel here, kind of like kind of a -- (INAUDIBLE). This is the area we are seeing snow, back out here towards the west. That's the blizzard conditions. We have some spots here with over a foot of snow.
If you take that and you blow it around at 60 miles per hour you are going to get a blizzard without a doubt. And even some spots are already at 30 miles or 40 miles per hour.
Right now, visibility is at a quarter, half mile and that's right over some of these interstates, I-76, I-80, all the way up towards I-90, all the way up into the Dakotas as well.
Here's the rain for right now. A little bit heavier for tomorrow. Could be a little bit of a flash flooding possibility across the east.
But we will take the rainfall when we can get it. You just don't want to have to drive through it or flight in it. Especially since things will slow down tomorrow again.
DEAN: Yes, I don't want to do that.
MYERS: No.
KEILAR: Sounds not fun.
Chad Myers, thanks so much.
MYERS: You bet.
KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we are watching this hour.
Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was the target of a Christmas day swatting incident. Authorities are investigating whoever summoned police to Greene's north Georgia home after they reported a possible murder-suicide.
Police say the caller claimed that he had killed his girlfriend at Greene's home and then threatened to kill himself. The congresswoman later posted on social media that she has been the target of this type of prank several times before.
Also, early Christmas day, Houston firefighters racing to Beyonce's childhood home after it caught fire. CNN affiliate, KTRK, reporting her family no longer lives there, but the House is still considered an iconic landmark.
Firefighters quickly doused the flames. And the current residents were not injured. The fires cause is under investigation.
And there was no winning Powerball ticket under the Christmas tree for anyone. That is why Jess and I are here at work. So the jackpot has jumped to an estimated $685 million. We've got to get some tickets. Right?
DEAN: Yes. KEILAR: No one matched all six numbers last night to nab the grand
prize. If someone wins tomorrow and chooses the cash payout, a measly $345 million. Right? That's not enough. But maybe --
(LAUGHTER)
DEAN: We would take it.
KEILAR: We would take it, yes. We would even split it. You know that's just --
(CROSSTALK)
DEAN: Generosity.
KEILAR: Yes, split it.
All right, still to come, there were some truly shocking crime and justice stories in 2023. Jean Casarez will run down the top 10, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:48:58]
KEILAR: Well, the past year did not lack for drama when it came to crime and justice.
DEAN: We will not forget a kidnapping in broad daylight or some new twists in high-profile cold cases.
CNN's Jean Casarez takes a look at the top 10.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hundreds dead in mass shootings, cold case arrests, and murderers 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 are told she's in good health.
CASAREZ (voice-over): 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 (R) NEW YORK: We are leaving no stone, no branch, no table, no cabin unturned.
[14:50:00]
CASAREZ: 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. (on camera): Number nine, a daring escape leads to a weekslong manhunt.
(voice-over): Thirty-four-year-old convicted murderer, Danilo Cavalcante, got out of his Pennsylvania prison by climbing sideways up the walls in the exercise yard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to reiterate this man is very dangerous.
CASAREZ: Hundreds of law enforcement searched by land and by air while local communities lived in fear.
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Danilo Cavalcante now armed but still on the loose.
CASAREZ: Cavalcante on the run, spotted on trail cameras and allegedly breaking into homes before being captured and returned to prison.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our nightmare is finally over and the good guys won.
CASAREZ: He now faces 20 new charges.
(on camera): Number eight, a 17-year-old Las Vegas high school student beaten to death by his classmates.
(voice-over): Authorities call it senseless. Ten students against one? This video is very graphic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you see in the video, though, is approximately 10 subjects kicking, stomping, and punching.
CASAREZ: Police think it started as an afterschool fight over stolen headphones.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is on the ground not defending himself until the point where he becomes unconscious.
CASAREZ: Eight students arrested, ranging in age from 13 to 17, facing murder charges.
CASAREZ (on camera): Number seven, an arrest.
(voice-over): 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rex Heuermann is a demon that walks among us.
CASAREZ: Heuermann is facing multiple murder counts involving three women. He has pleaded not guilty.
(on camera): Number six, a confession in the death of Natalee Holloway.
(voice-over): Eighteen 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.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Despite their grief, the Holloway family kept fighting for justice for Natalee.
CASAREZ: 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 HOLLOWAY'S MOTHER: It's been a very long and painful journey but we finally got the answers we've been searching for, for all these years.
CASAREZ (on camera): Number five, an arrest in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur.
(SINGING)
(voice-over): The prominent rapper was shot while leaving a boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and died six days later.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 27 years, the family of Tupac Shakur has been waiting for justice.
CASAREZ: Duane Keith Davis, AKA, Keffe D., arrested. He is not accused of pulling the trigger but handing the gun to someone else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Duane Davis was the shot caller for this group of individuals.
CASAREZ: 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.
(on camera): Number four, from billionaire cryptocurrency whiz kid to convicted felon.
(voice-over): Thirty-one-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty in November of stealing billions of dollars from customers of this crypto exchange company, FTX.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This kind of fraud, this kind of corruption is as old as time.
CASAREZ: 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.
(on camera): Number three, a disgraced attorney, descendant of southern prestige, found guilty of murdering his wife and son.
(voice-over): 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 coverup of those he should have loved the most.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't bring them back but we can bring them justice.
CASAREZ: He has filed a motion for a new trial.
(on camera): Number two, Tyre Nichols violently beaten by police.
(voice-over): 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.
[14:55:05]
ROWVAUGN WELLS, TYRE NICHOLS MOTHER: I know I'll never see him again but we have to start this process of justice right now.
CASAREZ: The five officers were charged in state and federal court. All initially pleaded not guilty. However, one later agreed to a plea deal.
(on camera): Number one, mass shootings kill hundreds of Americans.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So much loss in this community.
CASAREZ (voice-over): From the Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting where 18 were killed in a bowling alley and a restaurant --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is such a deep sadness here.
(voice-over): -- to the Covenant school in Nashville where three children and three adults died.
(GUNFIRE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an active shooter in our building.
CASAREZ: A bank employee in Louisville killing five of his colleagues.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clearly, this community completely shaken.
CASAREZ: And Asian-Americans celebrating Lunar New Year in January. Eleven shot dead.
And 2023 was a year of more than 600 mass shootings in this country, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: A lot of loss there.
Our thanks to Jean Casarez for that piece.
Still ahead, a top ally of Prime Minister Netanyahu is in Washington today for meetings. Can he bridge the divide between what the White House wants to see happen and what Israel is planning? That's after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
