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Fears Israel-Hamas War Will Lead to Wider Conflict in Middle East; Parasite Actor Lee Sun-kyun Found Dead Amid Drug Probe; Beijing Records Longest Cold Wave in Modern History; Ads Coming to Amazon Prime Video Starting in 2024. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 27, 2023 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Right, it's a very fine line to walk. And you also write that the situation for the U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria is especially dangerous. Why is that?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Because they are, you know, in a very dangerous neighborhood. They're within easy reach of a lot of these groups, you know, that can be hostile towards them in northeast Syria. These troops are there. It's a surprise for a lot of people that there are still American troops in Iraq and Syria after the big withdrawals post-war took place.

But they're there to carry out anti-terrorism operations, to keep a lid on groups like Islamic State. But that is a position in which they're very vulnerable, not just to those Iranian proxy groups, to any state actors who, you know, wish to do them ill.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And Stephen, quickly, what are the political risks for President Biden in handling the broader situation?

COLLINSON: It's another crisis that he really doesn't want and really didn't expect going into his re-election year in 2024.

The danger is, of course, that there is military action involving U.S. troops that could cause casualties, that could create the impression that the U.S. is getting once again dragged back into the Middle East from where the last three presidents have tried to extract Washington. And any sense that the world is spinning out of control, that the United States authority and credibility is being tested, and that of President Biden, too, plays right into the Republican narratives that he's weak, the world doesn't respect the United States. That is exactly Donald Trump's message as he's going into primary season.

DEAN: All right, Stephen Collinson, thanks so much for your analysis there. We appreciate it.

And coming up, a star from the hit foreign film Parasite was found dead in his car this morning. What we're learning about the shocking allegations that he was being blackmailed.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: One of the stars of the Oscar-winning film Parasite was found dead today in South Korea. The body of actor Lee Sun-kyun, who played the head of a wealthy family in the film, was found in his car this morning by South Korean police.

SANCHEZ: Now, the 48-year-old was being investigated for alleged illegal drug use, which can carry very heavy penalties in South Korea. Police say his cause of death is presumed to be suicide. CNN's Hanako Montgomery is here now with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Loved at home and abroad, Lee Sun-kyun sudden death has shocked his fans around the world. The 48-year-old actor, who is known globally for starring in the Oscar-winning movie Parasite, was found dead in his car on Wednesday. South Korean police believe Lee died by suicide.

We also know that police have been investigating Lee since October for illegal drug use, allegations the actor repeatedly denied. Lee instead claimed that he was tricked into taking drugs and then blackmailed. He brought a lawsuit against the alleged blackmailer, according to South Korean police.

Authorities questioned Lee three times over his alleged drug use, most recently on December 23rd, when he was questioned for 19 hours and released on Christmas Eve. Throughout the investigation, Lee's drug tests repeatedly came back negative. On social media, fans have been paying tribute to the star, whose career spanned two decades.

In the United States, news of his death was a top-trending topic on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Lee first shot to international fame in 2019 for starring as Park Dong-ik, the father of the wealthy Park family in Parasite. The film went down in Hollywood history, becoming the first non-English language film to take home an Oscar for Best Picture. It also won in three other categories.

A funeral for Lee will be held quietly, according to local media, with bereaved family members and colleagues in attendance.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Hanako, thank you so much for that. And if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health issues, please call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. There is help out there.

We'll be right back.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Here are some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

A man accused of stabbing two teenage girls at New York's Grand Central Station on Christmas morning is now charged with a hate crime. Along with other felonies, including attempted murder. Police say the teenagers were eating a meal with their parents when the suspect attacked them. One of the victims suffered a collapsed lung. The other was stabbed in the thigh. Officials say the suspect has a history of at least a dozen prior arrests.

A judge has agreed to seal a motion to dismiss the case against Brian Kohberger. He's the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students back in November 2022. The judge denied a request by the defense to throw out the charges against Kohberger last week. The prosecution is proposing that the trial start next summer.

A nearly perfect holiday vacation turned into a nightmare for several cruise passengers after their return flight landed 11 people in the hospital. About 200 British passengers were scheduled to take a charter flight home from Barbados to Manchester in time for Christmas. But shortly after takeoff, the cruise line said freak turbulence forced the flight to make an emergency landing at an airport in Bermuda.

The passengers suffered minor injuries and were not able to fly home until the day after Christmas.

P&O Cruises apologized in a statement saying, quote: We are very sorry for this disruption. We worked around the clock with the airline and hotels to take care of the guests and to ensure they got home as soon as possible.

SANCHEZ: Well, parts of the United States dig out from this week's snowstorms. China is witnessing a historic wave of frigid temperatures, setting records in Beijing. Here's CNN's Marc Stewart.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): China's been shivering through bitter and biting cold.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I think it's the coldest winter in the past 20 years.

STEWART (voice-over): For around two weeks, the Chinese capital has seen subzero temps, the longest cold snap here since records began in 1951.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The temperature is very, very low. No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to wear this kind of cloth to this water.

STEWART (voice-over): By bike and by foot, it's a struggle to stay warm in this mega city. STEWART: This is what's known as a hutong, a collection of small homes in narrow streets, very typical here in downtown Beijing. But many lack central heating, and that can be challenging and expensive when the temperatures take a plunge.

STEWART (voice-over): This man showed us his home and how he keeps warm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We use electric heating.

STEWART (voice-over): Even though the government helps to pay the bill for some families, it can still be a lot.

[15:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Frankly speaking, this is not as good as the high rise, which has 24 hours central heating. But it's not too cold here right now either.

STEWART (voice-over): The Arctic chill has been felt far beyond Beijing. Across the country, coal-powered plants have been on full drive to warm up homes.

Yet problems at a plant in central China force heating in one city to be temporarily cut. And in northwest China, the weather got in the way of rescue efforts after last week's deadly earthquake. Residents in the quake zone set bonfires to get warm. A burning stove and a bowl of warm noodles, enough to comfort these children.

Back in Beijing, the forecast is for the cold wave to pass, making tasks in the city of more than 20 million people a bit more tolerable.

Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Thanks to Marc for that report.

Coming up, if you thought that having Amazon Prime videos meant you can get live content ad-free, we've got some bad news. Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:00]

DEAN: More ads are coming to the streaming world. Isn't everyone so happy? So excited? Amazon now says it will introduce commercials to its Prime video platform that begins next month. Now, you can't avoid them, but you got to pay.

SANCHEZ: Yes, CNN's Nathaniel Meyersohn is here to break down some mixed news. Nathaniel, how much extra are we talking?

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN CONSUMER REPORTER: Yes, Boris, even Amazon has to pay the bills somehow. So, starting next month, for Prime video users, you're going to have to pay an additional $2.99 a month if you want to get an ad-free version. And that comes on top of the $139 a year you spend for an Amazon Prime membership.

So, Amazon is doing this because it's spending a lot more on producing content. It's getting into live sports, buying up movies. So, it's spending about 30 percent more on content than it did a year ago. And it's moving to ads to try to support that business, add more profit.

DEAN: So, that explains why Amazon is moving in that direction. But it's not the only streamer that's charging for ad-free plans. Why are we seeing this trend?

MEYERSOHN: It's not, Jessica. So, all of these media companies, Amazon, Disney, Paramount, Max, they've all started to add advertisements even though they didn't used to have them. And it's proven very costly for these companies to pivot to streaming.

You have the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, saying that he sees streaming -- he sees advertising as the future on their streaming platforms.

So, look, we all got used to no ads on these streaming platforms, but that era is ending. We've also seen the password crackdown, password sharing crackdown. So, it's a whole new world for the streamers.

DEAN: Fun and games are over.

SANCHEZ: I don't know. I like ads. As a reminder, they also contribute to our salaries, guys. So, I really enjoy watching ads.

DEAN: OK, Boris is pro-ad. Noted. All right, Nathaniel Meyersohn, thanks so much.

And still ahead, he soared to Internet fame with his Italian flair. But is the Tommy DeVito era over for the New York Giants? That's next.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: I just learned so much in this commercial break that I'm now going to impart on you. You might probably know more than me. Are we about to stick a fork in the legend of Tommy Cutlet? It's a chicken breast. It's horizontal. It's breaded.

New York Giants head coach Brian Dable announcing that Tyrod Taylor will start at quarterback against the LA Rams on Sunday.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the Giants lost to Philadelphia on Monday, and Tommy DeVito was benched at halftime while Taylor played the rest of the way. DeVito's one of the feel-good stories of the NFL season. He joined the Giants as a rookie free agent, still lives at home with his parents, just miles down the road from where the Giants played.

DEAN: Who knew?

SANCHEZ: Yes, he was promoted from the Giants practice squad to starting quarterback, having stepped up after the team lost the start of Daniel Jones and the second stringer Tyrod Taylor to injuries. Now, sadly, he has been benched, and we'll see where Tommy Cutlet goes from here.

DEAN: Well, I'm very invested now that he's been benched. I'm invested. All right, we'll find out. Well, thank you for educating me on this, Boris.

SANCHEZ: I don't know if it's an education that is useful in any way. We have some more news that you may find absolutely useless.

DEAN: OK, great.

SANCHEZ: Detroit, the Pistons, the basketball team, they are about to set an NBA record for the longest losing streak in a single season.

DEAN: This is all sad sports news. The number now stands at 27 straight, and CNN's Andy Scholes breaks down the historically bad streak and some of the deliciously fun bowl games set for today and tomorrow -- Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, Boris and Jessica, the Pistons have been one of the worst teams in the NBA going on five years now, but this season, I mean, they're taking it to a whole other level. They actually started the season 2-1, but they haven't won a game since Halloween.

And last night they were taking on the Nets, trying to avoid breaking the single season losing streak record. But here's a play that pretty much sums up their season so far. Alec Burks throwing the ball off his teammate Isaiah Stewart's face.

The Nets would go the other way and end up getting a wide open three. Now, Cade Cunningham scored 37 of his 41 points in the second half for the Pistons, but even that wasn't enough to get a win. They lose for the 27th straight time, 118-112 the final.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONTY WILLIANS, DETROIT PISTONS HEAD COACH: Everybody has to be, you know, in the boat and accountable for where we are. You have to be real about where we are. Nobody wants something like this attached to them.

CADE CUNNINGHAM, DETROIT PISTONS POINT GUARD: Right now is the easiest time to stand off and be on your own. But we need to continue to lean on each other. There's nothing positive about this situation right now that we put ourselves in. So that's what we got to dig deep and get ourselves out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now when the streak ends is anyone's guess. The Pistons play at the first place Celtics tomorrow night.

All right, the college football bowl season, meanwhile, continues today with four games on the schedule, including Boris's personal favorite, the Dukes Mayo Bowl. So every year the winning coach gets a bucket of mayo poured on top of their head. This year, Mack Brown of North Carolina or Neal Brown of West Virginia is going to get to be the lucky guy.

And tomorrow we're going to have our first ever Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando between NC State and Kansas State. And this bowl may have the coolest trophy ever. It has two slots like a toaster with Pop-Tarts in it.

And Boris and Jessica, the mascot for this game is going to be a giant Pop-Tart that just runs around.

[16:00:00]

And get this, the winning team gets to eat it. How that going to work with it being a real live mascot? I don't know, but I sure can't wait to see it.

SANCHEZ: An edible, an edible mascot.

DEAN: Wait a minute. But you're telling me you can just walk around and nibble on.

SANCHEZ: I guess so. We should have a mascot like that here at CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Maybe not a pop target like a brownie. What do you think?

DEAN: OK. We'll look into that. Maybe for 2024.

SANCHEZ: Yes, some something to pick us up in the afternoon.

DEAN: Well, it's going to be a long year everyone. We'll have a brownie walking around.

SANCHEZ: "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now. Thanks for being with us, Jessica.

DEAN: Thanks for having me.