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Americans Will Save $32B on Gasoline in 2024, According to Gasbuddy's Prediction; Apple Watch Prohibition Halted by Federal Court Pending an Appeal; Agreement Achieved to Restore U.S. Border Crossings, According to Mexican President; 911 Call Details Discovery of Man Stuck in Truck for 6 Days; Microsoft and OpenAI Sued by New York Times for Copyright Violations; Interview with New York Times Technology Reporter Ryan Mac; Massive Tour, New Romance, and More, Taylor Swift Rules 2023. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 28, 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]

SARA SIDNER, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Yes.

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMY REPORTER: So, certainly, moving in the right direction. This translates to American spending, $32 billion less on fuel than they did this year, and $79 billion less than in 2022. So, that's nothing to sneeze at. And the timing here is significant. I don't know if you heard, but it is an election year next year, and we know that Americans hate high gas prices.

So, this could be very helpful for White House that is certainly struggling to sell voters skeptical on Bidenomics. It could also help the Fed and its war against inflation. One surprising point here is the why? The United States is pumping record amounts of oil, more oil than any country on the planet, and that is huge. It is really helping to cushion consumers against shocks elsewhere around the world.

SIDNER: It's really interesting when you, sort of, look at that because you hear a lot of times from a certain candidate, you know, drill baby, drill. But it turns out that we are producing more oil than we have in the past. I did not know that. Thank you, Matt Egan.

There is also this issue of the federal appeals court temporarily blocking a huge and important part of Apple's business. It's smartwatch. What the heck is going on there?

EGAN: Yes. So, this has been a confusing story for consumers. So, here's the deal. What happened is Apple's most advanced watches were banned for roughly 36 hours due to a patent dispute. This ban applied to the Series 9 and the Ultra 2 watches. But yesterday, Apple won an emergency appeal in federal court blocking that ban.

So, that means the Apple Watch is back. Sales on Apple's website are set to resume today at 3:00 p.m., eastern, rolling out in the stores as well. So, this is good news for everyone hunting for an Apple Watch. But this court order is only temporary. The patent dispute is still making its way through the complex legal system. So, we need to keep an eye on this. One side note, I actually got my wife an Apple Watch Series 9 for Christmas. So, that means --

SIDNER: Oh, that's so nice.

EGAN: -- for about 36 hours or so she had --

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Big spender.

SIDNER: That's nice, yes.

EGAN: Yes, she had a temporary ban technology for about 36 hours.

SIDNER: So, John, did you hear it? 3:00 p.m. Yes, as you see, I don't have an Apple Watch anywhere. I can't find mine. So, 3:00 p.m., you can get to the Apple store and get you a watch before it gets taken out of the shelf.

EGAN: Subtle hint.

BERMAN: I'll get in line.

SIDNER: Small hint.

All right. Matt Egan, thank you so much.

EGAN: Thanks, guys.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, Mexico's president says an agreement had been reached to reopen U.S. border crossings that had temporarily been closed. Those crossings were shut down by the Biden administration in an effort to redirect personnel to process migrants. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the Secretary of State Antony Blinken, they just met with Mexico's president.

With me now is "New York Times" White House Correspondent Zolan Kanno- Youngs, who, by the way -- Zolan, you've also got extensive experience covering issues surrounding the border. Can you give me a sense -- this agreement or at least this progress in the discussions we've been told about between U.S. officials and Mexico presidents, what's the significance there?

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Details are still light on the specifics of this agreement. But we do know what the priorities were for each of the government's going into the agreement, as well as just the intractable and sort of magnitude sense of the crisis at this time.

This migrant surge, record migrant surge, that really is different than years passed has forced both countries to the table here. We know that the Biden administration, really, throughout the past two -- more than two years, the Biden administration has tried to get Mexico to increase enforcement at its southern border, as well as push Mexico to open almost in-country refugee programs to deter migrants from making this dangerous journey north. As far as the meeting, specifically, that just occurred. We also know that for both nations, how this migration surge in the redirection of resources at the U.S.-Mexico border impacted legal ports of entry, and also commerce between the two countries was also a concern. So, we know that both countries were trying to reach an agreement on that going in. We also know that going into this meeting, just from talking to folks and DHS and state side of the Biden administration, that getting increasing collaboration when it comes to cracking down on human smugglers was also a goal.

But I have to say, even with the goal that's going to be reached, just the magnitude of this surge as well as the fact that it really is impacting the entire hemisphere, no longer just a select few countries in Central America are the source for this record surge migration. You're seeing countries like Venezuela as well, as well as Colombia. all the way through Costa Rica. So, you really are going to need a regional strategy when it comes to this crisis at this time.

BERMAN: Where do Mexico's desires and U.S. desires here diverge?

KANNO-YOUNGS: Well, so AMLO and the AMLO administration, by that, of course, I mean the Mexican government.

[10:35:00]

They have tried to push the Biden administration to focus more on sending U.S. foreign aid to nations in the region to improve conditions so that migrants don't have to leave, rather than an enforcement only or a priority on enforcement. The Biden administration says that they've had a two-handed approach. However, talking to some folks on the Mexican side, you often hear that there is a focus on enforcement and that they want more on the U.S. aid side.

I have to say -- I mean, I reported on the last time the secretary of state and the homeland security secretary visited Mexico for these meetings about a month ago when I was also in the region reporting. And, you know, I did report at the time that not just for migration, but also for things like fentanyl trafficking, as well as stopping guns from coming to -- from the U.S. to Mexico. There was some tension raising on both sides in terms of the efforts by both nations to crack down on those respective forms of trafficking.

So, you have, at times, had a tumultuous relationship, but the readouts coming from yesterday's meeting thus far describe a productive session and describe it in a positive light.

BERMAN: Zolan Kanno-Youngs, thank you so much for sharing your expertise on this. Really appreciate it.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Thank you.

SIDNER: Coming up, "The New York Times" takes legal action against OpenAI and Microsoft. This is going to be a battle royale, you guys. Why they say the companies have caused billions of dollars in damages to "The Times." And we're now hearing that dramatic 9-1-1 call that led to the rescue of a man who had been trapped in his wrecked truck for nearly a week before being discovered by fishermen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIVARDO DELATORRE, FOUND MAN WHO WAS STUCK IN HIS CAR FOR 6 DAYS: You guys might need the Jaws of Life to open the door. His truck is pretty wrecked. They're on their way, buddy. They're on their way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

SIDNER: This morning, we're hearing the call for help after a pair of fishermen in Indiana found a driver who had been trapped inside his crashed truck for six freaking days. The men were scouting for fishing spots when they just happened upon this wreck. They saw something shiny and then they discovered that the person inside that truck was actually alive. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELATORRE: Well, there's a car that's been here since Wednesday and there's a person inside of it. He's still alive, too. He said his legs might be broken. You guys might need the Jaws of Life to open the door. His truck is pretty wrecked.

They're on their way, buddy. They're on their way.

I'm surprised nobody else seen him. There's guys fishing down here and I just walked up and I seen the truck underneath the bridge. I thought it was kind of weird.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's definitely -- I mean, that's definitely good that you managed to see him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And those fishermen talked about the sheer relief that the man they helped rescue had when they finally figured out that he was under there. The 27-year-old driver crashed off the interstate. His truck rolled several times before landing under that bridge, and it was just out of sight from the road above. So, nobody noticed him for six days.

He survived, by the way, by drinking rainwater. Last night, he released a statement thanking the good Samaritans who found him and everyone who has sent him well wishes. The hospital says, he's still though in critical condition. He's going to need a lot of time to rest and heal.

BERMAN: Really, what a miracle.

SIDNER: So cool.

BERMAN: All right. "The New York Times" is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. "The Times" claims the company's artificial intelligence technology illegally copied millions of articles to train ChatGPT and other services. And now, that same technology is a competitor with "The New York Times" itself.

I'm joined now by "New York Times" Technology Reporter Ryan Mac. And Ryan, sometimes A.I. issues are really hard for people to wrap their head around. And there seemed to be two aspects of this lawsuit. Number one, "The Times" is saying that OpenAI is citing "The Times", ChatGPT will cite "The Times" without saying where it came from and sometimes misquoted. But maybe the larger, bigger issue here is OpenAI using "The Times" without authorization to train the system. What exactly does that mean?

RYAN MAC, TECHNOLOGY REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: So, yes, these systems, these generative A.I. models use billions of pieces of content from around the web to essentially train their models. And if you look at something like ChatGPT, for example, this thing has ingested, according to the complaint, you know, billions of pieces of "Times" content stretching back to the 1950s, you know, articles, recipes, for example, wire cutter articles. And it's, you know, serving people this content that "The Times" believes should be read from its own platform.

And so, you know, if you read the complaint, you can kind of see these things compared side by side. And it's quite apparent that, you know, ChatGPT is indeed feeding from or taking from, you know, "Times" content.

BERMAN: It is really no question that ChatGPT has used "The New York Times" content here. And that "The Times" is suing what is less clear is how a court will look at this. What will -- if this does get to the courts, what do courts need to decide here?

MAC: You know, I think that's -- that remains to be seen. This is an incredibly new frontier that we are, you know, hitting here with this lawsuit. You know, the court will need to decide, essentially, whether this is free use. And, you know, companies like OpenAI, like Microsoft have claimed, you know, that taking this content and putting it into these models has been a form of free use. And that is going to be the crux of their argument.

BERMAN: Yes, in a decision of that nature, if the courts were ever to decide that -- well, I -- let's look at it from a different perspective. If the courts were ever to say, no. No. A.I. companies can't do that. How much would that upend the A.I. process?

[10:45:00]

MAC: I mean, it could, you know, radically change their business models. I mean, you know, "The Times" is saying that it's -- of -- it should be afforded billions of dollars in compensation for these copyright violations. You know, that still remains to be seen, but even OpenAI, even Microsoft, you know, they have acknowledged in the past that they do need to compensate rights' holders.

You know, if you look at the OpenAI ideals with other publishers, the AP for example, Axel Springer, the publisher of "Politico" and "Business Insider", you know, they have cut deals with these companies. So, there is at least some form of recognition that they will have to pay or they are going to pay. And the Times, you know, is hoping that, you know, they can find an amenable agreement.

BERMAN: These are huge issues, and obviously it will only get bigger as A.I. develops. It's something that a lot of companies are going to have to deal with. Ryan Mac, thank you so much for sharing your reporting on this.

SIDNER: It's a really interesting case.

2023 Taylor's version. John, being a Swiftie knows all about it. From becoming a billionaire to beating out a king and a plastic doll for a coveted title. After the break. We take a look back at how Taylor Swift made 2023 her biggest year yet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER: But now that we're done and it's over, I bet it's hard to believe. But it turned out I'm harder to forget than I was to leave. And, yeah, I bet you think about me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: We sure did. She was correct. We have been thinking about Taylor. From her blockbuster global concert tour to her record smashing movie and her headline making love story, there's a reason Taylor Swift was Time's Person of the Year. CNN's Anna Stewart is taking a look at how

Taylor Swift made 2020 her era.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to the Eras Tour.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): She's certainly not the anti-hero of 2023.

SWIFT: It's me. Hi. I'm the problem. It's me. At tea time --

STEWART (voice-over): In fact, she's "TIME" Person of the Year.

SWIFT: Wildest dreams.

STEWART (voice-over): Even in Taylor Swift's wildest dreams, it would be hard to imagine greater success or bigger revenues. Not one, but three best-selling albums. They're not all exactly new, "1989" and "Speak Now" were re-recorded as Swift continues to reclaim ownership of her music.

SWIFT: We're about to go on a little adventure together, and that adventure is going to span 17 years of music.

STEWART (voice-over): In March, Swift embarked on a record-breaking worldwide tour. It's expected to rake in more than $2 billion in North American ticket sales alone. Swift even helped bail out the box office in a difficult year with a movie version of the Eras Tour concerts. It made $96 million on its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada. Spotify and Apple Music have both named her Artist of the Year.

ZANE LOWE, RADIO HOST, APPLE MUSIC: There isn't an artist on the planet who has achieved so much in a calendar year. And we at Apple Music, we felt the same way and there was just no denying that, you know, what she's achieved over the last 12 months -- in my lifetime, at least, from a product -- from a productivity and a quality point of view is, sort of, unprecedented.

STEWART (voice-over): Bloomberg says, Swift became a billionaire in October, and Swift influence spread beyond music this year. The artist was spotted, not on the bleachers, but in a box, as she debuted a new relationship --

SWIFT: It's a love story, baby, just say yes.

STEWART (voice-over): The "Love Story" boosted ticket sales and NFL TV ratings. It all comes down to a powerful bond Swift has forged with her fans. Using hidden messages and clues known as Easter Eggs in songs, performances, and social media.

LOWE: Every time she puts anything out, there's a sense of anticipation that surrounds that experience and also the idea that we as fans can be invested in that by uncovering details moving in different ways. I mean, the depth of Easter Egg placement is sort of unbelievable. It just strengthens that connective tissue between the artist and the fan, which is what this is all about. And something that Taylor Swift has been completely dedicated to her whole career.

STEWART: Do you think we have now hit peak Taylor Swift?

LOWE: If Taylor Swift's proven anything, even to people who don't listen to her music, it's that she will not stop creating at the highest level. So, not only Taylor will decide, you know, how and where she moves and when she comes back, like every other time, she'll be dedicated and committed to it. That's the one thing I really appreciate about Taylor Swift, is when she comes out with a record or a tour, she's all in.

STEWART (voice-over): The ERA'S tour continues through 2024.

TAYLOR: Down the stairs, I was there. I remember it all too well.

STEWART (voice-over): So, we know all too well that it will probably be another year of swift success. Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SIDNER: John just wants to listen to the music. The Swiftie in you is so big, it's so huge. It's all encompassing really.

BERMAN: I do like the idea that only Taylor Swift gets to decide when peak Taylor Swift did, right?

SIDNER: Yes, she does.

BERMAN: Yes.

SIDNER: She's earned that.

[10:55:00]

BERMAN: She -- you know, here's what I like about it, is she just keeps on producing songs. It's not like she's not producing content here --

SIDNER: No.

BERMAN: -- that her fans are just eating up.

SIDNER: She's famous for --

BERMAN: Yes.

SIDNER: -- being really, really talented.

BERMAN: Yes.

SIDNER: It's nice to see.

BERMAN: All right. News this morning, Nikki Haley called out over her answer to a simple question about the Civil War. Now, she is trying to clarify. Lightning quick time and campaign said she's trying to clarify clean up with some new attacks on her critics.

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[11:00:00]