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Soon: Hegseth And Rubio To Brief Top Lawmakers; Soon: Top Lawmakers Briefed On U.S. Boat Strike That Killed Survivors; Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) Discusses About The Economy; Soon: Trump Heads To PA To Push WH Affordability Efforts; Trump Announces $12 Billion Bailout Package For Farmers; Court Docs Reveal Life Inside Texas ICE Detention Facility; New Australian Law Bans Social Media For Kids Ages 16 And Under; World's First Social Media Ban for Kids Takes Effect In Australia 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 09, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Look at this. One -- not one, but two clippers will bring us snowfall across the Great Lakes and eventually into the Northeast, but the big story here will certainly be the cold air. In fact, this will be downright dangerous. As we look at the real field temperature, this is what it'll feel like Friday morning in Chicago, negative 18, and there's no sign of relief in this extended forecast in the lead-up to Christmas. Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: I was ordering parkas online today, for sure, for my kids. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: A lot of questions, but will they and the American people get answers? Just minutes from now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth facing tough questions from the "Gang of 8."

Plus, President Trump heading to Pennsylvania to pump up his economic policies. He says he's earned an A plus, plus, plus, plus, plus. Will that message make the grade with voters angsty about the economy?

Still ahead, Australia also banning kids from social media. The government says it's about protecting young people, but teens are now pushing back.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming your way right here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

So, we are just minutes away from President Trump's top national security team giving a classified briefing to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Sources say that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe will be on hand and will soon begin that briefing for lawmakers known as the Gang of 8.

And that Gang of 8 includes top members on the intelligence committees, as well as Republicans and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. The classified briefing is happening as members of both parties urge the full release of that September double tap strike that killed survivors. The President says that he has seen the video and conceded it is not pretty, but he defends the strikes as necessary to stop the flow of drugs into the United States.

We're joined now by CNN's Natasha Bertrand.

Natasha, walk us through what these lawmakers are set to hear.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, look, I mean, this doesn't happen every day where you have the senior most national security officials going to the Hill to brief the Gang of 8, which is senior most officials on Capitol Hill. And they're expected to talk a lot about Latin America operations around Latin America, including the boat strikes that we have seen around the Caribbean, around the Eastern Pacific.

Senators already starting to say that they're going to be asking Senator -- or Secretary of Defense Hegseth about releasing the full video of that September 2nd strike that killed survivors, something that President Trump said last week that he would be open to, but that he has now appeared to change his mind on saying that he never actually said that.

Secretary Hegseth saying now that there may be some classification issues with releasing that. But there are broadly going to be a lot of questions about just what the U.S. military's strategy is right now and the broader administration strategy is around Latin America. What are the administration's plans for Venezuela, for example? There's a huge military buildup, as we know, in the Caribbean. What are all those assets doing there and what is the plan? That's something that senators and lawmakers really want to know and something that they have not gotten a great deal of visibility into.

And so, you're going to see from the intelligence community, from the military perspective, from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also expected to join all of these different angles of the administration's approach here and expect pretty tough questions, just given the fact that there have been so many questions in particular about the legality of these U.S. military strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the -- in the area.

SANCHEZ: We'll see what lawmakers say about the briefing. Natasha Bertrand, thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: President Trump is traveling to the swing state of Pennsylvania here in the next hour. The President expected to push his plans to bring costs down ahead of the 2026 midterms. Affordability remains a key issue for voters. It's something the President promised that he would handle during his 2024 campaign. Now, Trump says he's ecstatic with how the economy is shaping up.

(Begin VT)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wonder what grade you would give for the economy.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A plus. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A plus.

TRUMP: Yes, A plus, plus, plus, plus, plus -- the word affordability, I inherited a mess. I inherited a total mess. Prices were at an all- time high when I came in. Prices are coming down substantially. The Democrats love to say affordability, but then they never talk about it. They're the ones who gave us the high prices. I'm the one that's bringing them down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, what are the ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining us now from the Hill, Republican Congressman Mark Alford of Missouri.

Congressman, thank you for being with us.

I do wonder how you would grade the economy.

REP. MARK ALFORD (R-MO): A plus. Look, I'm using the same template that our president is using, and that is the potential -- what we are going to see with the economy in the first and second quarter. While we're having a lot of cold in the Midwest right now, a lot of ice, America is going to heat up with the economy based on the tariffs that are coming in, the tariff money based on the One Big Beautiful Bill, the working family tax cuts.

[15:05:10]

It is going to supercharge the economy. This is a bow and arrow right now. We have drawn back the bow, and in the first quarter, we're going to let this arrow go and it's going to hit the target.

KEILAR: Is that what you're hearing? I mean, you're on the House Small Business Committee. Is that what small business owners in Missouri are telling you, that this is an A-plus economy right now for them?

ALFORD: Look, our small business owners, I -- I get that they have been hurt somewhat by some of these tariffs, but the business owners that I talk to are seeing a resurgence in people coming out to shop for Christmas, to shop for Hanukkah, to shop for other holidays. This has not hurt them as they thought it would, not as much.

The tariffs have brought in some $400 billion. The President's using some of this money to offset and help our farmers. Many of our farmers are small business owners in Missouri. We have 87,000 small business owners who are farmers in the state of Missouri. They're going to be helped by this.

KEILAR: So, when we talk about people getting the squeeze, of course we're talking about farmers, right? Soybeans are Missouri's top ag export. Farmers are hurting --

ALFORD: The Trump administration announced this $12 billion farm aid package yesterday. You're talking about here after the trade war with China prompted China to stop buying American soybeans. The President of the American Soybean Association spoke this morning with my colleague, John Berman. Here's part of their conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALEB RAGLAND, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION: This is a good first step, but this will only take care of about a quarter of the losses that the average soybean farmer has accumulated this year. We've lost an average of $109 an acre on this crop we just produced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Mr. Ragland also called it a, quote, "Band-aid on an open wound." And I hear you touting this bridge to farmers, these -- these bridge payments.

ALFORD: Yes.

KEILAR: But Mr. Ragland said essentially that farmers want a market- based solution, not government assistance. What do you say to that?

ALFORD: Look, I understand the -- the pride and the integrity of the American farmer. They also rely on the federal government for help along the way to get the loans that they need. That's why we have programs that help in offsetting some of their losses, mitigating some of their losses.

This money is going to be used by these soybean farmers, by the cotton farmers in the southeastern part of Missouri, by the corn farmers in Missouri, to go and get those loans now from the farm credit from the banks, because they were not going to be able to get these loans based on their losses and the help, the safety nets not being there.

We are giving the farmers their safety nets through 80 percent of the farm bill that was passed through the One Big Beautiful Bill. Those safety nets are there, an increase in reference prices. We are helping the American farmers. Donald J. Trump knows the importance of feeding America and the world, and we're going to get it done.

KEILAR: But that's not what farmers are telling you, right? I know that you've heard from them. They say they're hurting from tariffs. I know you had a town hall this summer, KMIZ reported about one farmer telling you it's not just that China was retaliating, they're not buying soybeans, even though that's back now. But tariffs actually drove up prices of fertilizer and other farm goods, so -- I mean, this idea of loans.

But when you are paying more for goods that you paid a certain price for before, and your margins are pretty slim, do you think the administration is understanding this? Do you think they're getting that message?

ALFORD: Oh, yes, the -- they do and they understand as I do, that it was Joe Biden that drove up the price of fertilizer and fuel with his war on fossil fuels.

KEILAR: Well, no, that's not what this farmer told you. So, what do you say to him?

ALFORD: Well, that's what I'm telling you. I'm -- I'm telling you right now, fertilizer prices still need to come down. We've got ...

KEILAR: But that's not what this farmer told you and he's the farmer who's telling you ...

ALFORD: ... we have four, five fertilizer producers ...

KEILAR: ... he's telling you -- and -- sir, excuse me, this farmer, you heard him, he said this to you.

ALFORD: We have fertilizer being produced in Ukraine and Russia. And we have difficulty getting some of those fertilizers.

KEILAR: This farmer explained to you what -- when he saw his prices rise.

ALFORD: So, yes, we need to look at fertilizer prices. Fuel has come down and will continue to come down thanks to Donald Trump.

KEILAR: Are you listening to your constituents? Because he was very clear about why his prices were going up.

ALFORD: Brianna, I did 15 stops on a town hall tour, one of the few Congress members on the Republican side and the Democrat side to actually do that. Yes, ma'am, I listened. I took 256 questions and sat there and listened, listened to insults, listened to yelling, listened to name calling and answered when they wanted to be respectful. I remember that farmer. I understand his concern.

But the large number of farmers in Missouri believe in Donald J. Trump and that he's going to get things done. We're doing that with beef prices. We have the A-PLUS Act, which we have introduced. It's going to allow livestock marketing associations to participate in meat processing to make sure that these larger, the "big five," as I call them, meat processors don't have a lock on the market.

KEILAR: I also want to ask you on another topic.

[15:10:01]

Your Republican colleague, Marjorie Taylor Greene, was on CNN earlier today after the President attacked her repeatedly. He called her a traitor. She said she's not angry at the President. She said she forgives him. But she's had a hard time with the traitor part. I want to listen to more of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Because of his words, that brought serious threats against myself and my family. We had pipe bomb threat on my home, a pipe bomb threat on my family construction company and staff, and had multiple pizza dock scenes. But the serious one was the direct death threats on my son. And I think -- I think that goes beyond anyone's arguments or disagreements or politics. All of our children and our family's safety should -- should matter to

anyone, no matter if they're mad at us or disagree with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And the congresswoman went on to say that she sent those threats directly to President Trump, and she says that his response was extremely unkind. What do you think about that, considering the President, you know, is someone who -- I mean, he certainly, of anyone, knows the stakes of political violence?

ALFORD: Well, look, I wish the best for Marjorie Taylor Greene. She's been on my podcast. We -- we have a good relationship. I don't know exactly what went wrong between the relationship between her and President Trump. That is between them. I do not like name calling. I've been guilty of that in the past, and my wife keeps reminding me to keep it civil and keep it kind. And so, that's what I'm going to do. I'm not responsible for the President of the United States. I'm not responsible for Marjorie Taylor Greene. I'm responsible for Mark Alford.

KEILAR: All right, Congressman Mark Alford, hat tip to your wife. I like her -- I like her advice.

ALFORD: She keeps me in line. I tell you what, been married 36 years, and I tell you what, she has really kept me grounded, and I appreciate that.

KEILAR: Well, thank you very much for being with us today.

ALFORD: Yes.

KEILAR: And still to come, families reporting horrible conditions from inside a Texas ICE detention center, mold in food, and children said to be going days without showers. CNN's exclusive report next.

Plus, a drone tries to deliver steak, seafood, some Old Bay seasoning, and marijuana to a prison. How authorities busted the stunt. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:58]

SANCHEZ: Today, CNN is exclusively learning more about what conditions are like inside one Texas detention facility where migrant families are being held. One immigration rights group saying, quote, families tell us that their children are weak, faint, pale and often crying because they're so hungry. In court documents reviewed by CNN, families describe long days with limited access to drinkable water, worms and mold in their food and denial of critical medical care. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez broke this story.

Priscilla, what more can you share?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, the families we're talking about here are immigrant families who have crossed the U.S.- Mexico border recently or what is more common these days are those who are encountered in interior actions across the United States and are being held in this detention facility in Dilley, Texas.

Now, this is a facility that is meant to be sort of a one stop place before they could eventually be deported to their origin country. But what we're finding, according to these testimonials, is that they are staying there for prolonged periods of time in some of the conditions that you described.

Now, this is a residential facility, but detainees describe it as a prison. And I'll read you what one mother who was detained with her daughter said. She said, quote, "It's a prison here -- it is truly a living hell. It's not a good place for anyone. All of the children here are suffering. The mothers are crying -- especially for their children. We are all suffering."

Now, you laid out some of what the findings were in these declarations, despondent children, lack of access to attorneys, but also even to the most basics like drinkable water. They also report that agents are offering them money to self-deport as part of this self-deportation effort by the administration and that the lighting is always on. This is another hurdle that they're facing because of the -- the facility rules and guidelines. But that means that babies are having a hard time sleeping.

These are children in these declarations that are infants all the way up to teenagers. And one teenager in her declaration said the following, quote, "These kids here can get sad when people get deported or their friends leave. Kids are tired of doing the same thing every day. We try to help kids who are sad and teach them to play a new game. Sometimes kids don't eat when they are sad." And this is from a 16-year-old who was detained along with these children and their parents.

Now, these immigration attorneys spoke with more than a hundred families between May and November who have been detained at this facility as part of this ongoing settlement that dictates the conditions for children in government custody. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their own filing in this case say that they are working to improve conditions.

But what is so staggering here is that these are families who have been encountered in the U.S. on many occasions and in many of the declarations I read. That means that they had a life here. A lot of these kids were enrolled in school here. So, to pluck them out of their life and put them in this detention setting is resulting, they say, in kids regressing. They just don't understand what's going on.

And in some cases, parents are offering ICE to deport themselves so that their kids have a chance to stay in the U.S. So, essentially saying they're willing to separate if their kids can stay here. It is just all in all a really trying situation for these families once they're trying to navigate.

[15:20:05] Also, doing so over the course of several, several weeks as they're

held in these detention facilities.

SANCHEZ: Some really unsettling details in the story. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much.

Still to come, a first of its kind in the world. Australia banning kids ages 16 and under from social media. Now, though, some teens are fighting back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:01]

KEILAR: A first-of-its-kind ban that kicks young kids off social media is now in effect in Australia. The country's new law bans kids, not just young kids actually, kids under the age of 16 from using a number of social media platforms. But two teens are pushing back. They're taking their complaint to court. CNN's Angus Watson reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER (voice over): Teenagers, Noah and Macy are taking their government to court in a fight to stay on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOAH JONES, PLAINTIFF: Taking away how we communicate to the world. This is how we do it. It's modern day. It's social media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): From Wednesday, Australia will enforce a world first law banning children under 16 from many of the biggest platforms. Supported by a freedom advocacy group, Macy and Noah's case asserts a right to political communication. The High Court has agreed to hear it next year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (on camera): So, what will you lose when social media is taken away from you?

MACY NEYLAND, PLAINTIFF: Well, we will lose connections, but we will lose our democracy. This law is saying that democracy begins at 16, which is condescending and it's incorrect.

JONES: Listen, there are definitely negatives on social media. I'm not denying that. I completely agree. We're saying that getting rid of the kids is not the solution. We didn't do anything wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): The government says it has acted to protect children from potentially harmful content, harmful people and addictive algorithms. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE INMAN GRANT, AUSTRALIAN E-SAFETY COMMISSIONER: And there are these powerful, harmful, deceptive design features that even adults are powerless to fight against, like autoplay and endless scroll and snap streets. So, what chance do our children have?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): Under the new law, young social media users won't be punished for being on age restricted apps, nor will their parents. Instead, Australia is requiring tech companies to take reasonable steps to keep under 16s off their platforms and threatening fines in the tens of millions of dollars.

Tech companies say they are already building safer systems. A.I. face detectors will likely be employed to verify age with tools provided by third party companies like VerifyMy. Users may also be asked to upload their identity documents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY LULHAM, VERIFYMY CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Australia is certainly leading the way when it comes to requiring an age check for every user to determine that they are over 16 or not.

WATSON (on camera): The government's ban is a catch all. If you're under the age of 16, you're off social media. But children are all different. They've engaged with social media differently, and they feel differently about the ban.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): The students at All Saints Anglican School on Australia's Gold Coast are learning from cyber safety advocate Kirra Pendergast about how to best avoid danger on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRRA PENDERGAST, CTRL+SHIFT CHIEF DIGITAL STRATEGIST: Because it is a delay. It's not a flat-out ban. They're not banning the internet, and we're not trying to boil the ocean. It's literally just to delay age. And so, they've got time to catch up, to become more resilient and think more critically about that how they use apps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): In their final year, Nicholas (ph) and Ruby wonder if maybe their school career would have been easier without the distraction of social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBY PETTY, ALL SAINTS ANGLICAN SCHOOL CAPTAIN: Nick (ph) and I were talking before about how, if we could, we would delete Snapchat today. But it's more the fact that, because there's now so much reliability and connection based off one app, you don't want to delete it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON (voice over): Perhaps for young Australians, the fear of missing out won't be so bad if everyone is forced to miss out together.

Angus Watson, CNN, Sydney, Australia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Still to come, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth holding a high- stakes briefing amid growing scrutiny over the controversial follow-up strike from September. What could be that fallout to come from his meeting with the Gang of 8?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)