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WAPO: GOP Chair Says House Panel Plans To End Boat Strike Probe; Soon: DNA Experts To Retake The Stand In Walshe Murder Trial; Australia Begins Enforcing Social Media Ban For Kids Under 16. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 10, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

LEE CARTER, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS EXPERT, FORMER REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND POLLSTER: The issue of affordability is one that we can't understate.

And when you look at the Miami race, I'd like to say that it's an outlier. We'd like to say all these races are outliers but it's not the case. People are really upset that things are so out of reach.

And when you look at the results in Miami -- I mean, Suarez run -- won by, you know -- he was in the 80 percent.

BERMAN: The outgoing mayor.

CARTER: The outgoing mayor.

And so this is a huge win for Democrats and there's no way to look at it any other way.

And Republicans have to get serious about affordability. And I think the issue today with healthcare -- I mean, look at how popular the Affordable Care Act is right now. It's the most popular it's ever been. And so Republicans really have to wrestle with how they're going to get the prices down when it comes to healthcare, when it comes to groceries, when it comes to energy, and they can't be defensive in a way that Joe Biden was before, which is the economy has never been stronger. You can't people the truth --

BERMAN: All right. This is the perfect segue into what we saw last night from President Trump. Let me just play a little clip of him. Again, this was in Pennsylvania, the first stop on what Susie Wiles and the White House wants to be this kind of affordability tour. But listen to how the president was talking about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have a new word. You know, they always have a hoax. The new word is affordability. So they look at the camera and they say this election is all about affordability. The Democrats talking about affordability is like Bonnie and Clyde preaching about public safety. They use the word affordability and that's their only word. They say affordability and everyone says oh, that must mean Trump has high prices. No -- our prices are coming down tremendously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. So by the way, by and large, prices are not coming down. Inflation also not coming down.

But you guys are old enough -- no, you're not. You guys are young. But you remember "HAPPY DAYS?"

CARTER: Yeah, of course.

BERMAN: Do you remember "HAPPY DAYS?"

MATT BENNETT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND CO-FOUNDER, THIRD WAY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY ASSISTANT, CLINTON ADMINISTRATION: I am not young but -- and I do remember "HAPPY DAYS."

BERMAN: OK. Do you remember how much trouble the Fonz had saying he was sorry? In case you don't remember, I do have a short clip of it -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY WINKLER, ACTOR, "HAPPY DAYS": Yeah, but what I really want to say is that I am very s-s -- but gee, I am sincerely s-s.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. First of all, God bless Henry Winkler. Second of all, it just made me think the president's problem talking about affordability without mocking the very word was almost like the trouble that the Fonz had saying sorry.

BENNETT: I mean, it's unbelievable. And there was another great moment in "HAPPY DAYS" where the Fonz, wearing a leather jacket, jumped over a shark, as we all know.

I think that is what is happening with Trump and the economy. He is completely out to lunch. Not only are prices killing people now.

And The New York Times' Tom Edsall has a back-of-the-envelope calculation. It's going to cost the average family $2,200 -- just what we've seen so far. That's before the premium spikes hit on January 1 for the Affordable Care Act, which could cost a couple in their 60s $32,000 a year.

I mean, this guy is completely nuts if he thinks that affordability isn't actually hurting Americans. And if he starts -- keeps mocking it, Democrats are going to keep winning by giant margins. BERMAN: He was touting last night some of what he considers to be his economic achievements. And Republicans will talk about some of the changes that will come from the -- you know, the tax act that was passed this past year, Lee.

But how could he talk about this in a way -- obviously, you know, President Biden -- former President Biden blew it when it came to talking about --

CARTER: Absolutely.

BERMAN: -- inflation and prices and it became a huge election issue here.

How can President Trump not blow it?

CARTER: Well, there's a few things. One, I can see his frustration and sense his frustration. He's always been the candidate that's been known for the economy, for jobs, for all of these things. And now he's losing on that and I think he's very, very frustrated.

And what he's trying to do, I think, with all of what he's trying to say is he's trying to set the record straight and say that the economy is better than it was when I went into office. We can debate whether or not that's true. But the first thing he needed to do was set the record straight.

The second thing he needed to do was reset the narrative so that if he was going to own affordability, he was going to own affordability. I think he was supposed to do that last night, right?

BENNETT: Yeah.

CARTER: I think they -- even he talked about it. He said they told me not to say affordability hoax. That's a really bad idea. Well, it was a really bad idea because that is what Americans are looking for. Seventy percent of Americans say that's the number one issue to them. So he needed to reset that narrative.

He had the signage all around him talking about bigger paychecks, lower prices. He was talking -- supposed to talk about making America affordable again. But I don't think that he landed that plane. Instead, he went the other direction and said you know what, in some ways I think Americans are feeling like you just don't get it after hearing him say affordability is a hoax and things have never been better. Grocery prices -- grocery prices are too high. Even if inflation has come down there is still -- the prices are still too high.

And so he's got to really get in touch with that and stop being frustrated. And rather, he needs to be setting the narrative.

BERMAN: Inflation, three percent year-over-year right now, the same it was when he took office in January.

[07:35:00] All right. Matt Bennett, Lee Carter, great to see you both.

CARTER: Thank you.

BERMAN: And thank you for reminiscing with me about "HAPPY DAYS" -- Kate.

CARTER: Thank you.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: That was a good one.

All right. So new this morning, the House Armed Services Committee is planning to end its probe into the U.S. military strike that killed two survivors -- that double-tap strike. That is according to The Washington Post and also reported by Politico. The Republican chairman of the committee saying he has all the answers that he needs, so case closed, according to him.

Amid questions about the legality of the strike, Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top officials -- they did brief lawmakers yesterday, but top Democrats left that meeting unsatisfied.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): It was a very unsatisfying briefing. I asked Secretary Hegseth -- Secretary of Defense Hegseth would he let every member of Congress see the unedited videos of the September 2 strike. His answer, "We have to study it." Well, in my view, they've studied it long enough and Congress ought to be able to see it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN has also learned that three separate known strikes left survivors and each time handled differently. After one strike, two survivors were detained by the U.S. Navy and then returned to their home countries after another survivor was left at sea and is now presumed dead. And we all know, of course, about the double-tap strike -- that follow-up strike that killed the two survivors holding on to the boat after the September 2 attack.

So what now? Joining us now, CNN political and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh. Thanks for coming in, Sabrina.

They've released over 20 videos publicly of boat strikes that they have carried out since this campaign -- military campaign began.

Is -- and you've worked in the national security space. You have worked inside the Pentagon. You have been in these meetings. Is there a good national security reason that this one video -- meaning the follow-up strike -- cannot be released?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I think what they're trying to hide behind is probably the fact that the video is pretty gruesome and that you see two individuals that have been shipwrecked and are essentially executed in the water. They don't post any threat to the military presence that are in the seas. They don't pose a threat to the United States. They're drifting with the current.

And so there's probably some doubt of want to release this video to the public because it does show that gruesomeness of, you know, what this administration is calling a war, but that doesn't mean that the public shouldn't see it. And that doesn't mean that members of Congress shouldn't see it, particularly that unedited video that we know is nearly 40 minutes. I think there has to be some accountability and transparency here.

And the reason why this story is not just a one-day story, two-day story -- each day we sort of learn more and more and there's this drip. And it's sort of the same thing with the Epstein files. Like, the longer you try to hide it, the longer that you try to keep it away from the public, there's going to be more questions.

And so they're just sort of losing the narrative here and they should, frankly -- there are ways to declassify this video that protects sources and methods, that protect the tactics and techniques that were used in this follow-up strike. The public just needs to see it at this point.

BOLDUAN: So if we -- let's keep that comparison with you can -- you know, you can -- how the drip, drip, drip, if you will. When how things happen -- have played out with the Jeffrey Epstein investigation versus this even though clearly, two very different things and not -- and you and I are not trying to make them the same thing.

But what kept --

SINGH: Right.

BOLDUAN: -- the Jeffrey Epstein issue -- saga alive was an unrelenting drumbeat from members of Congress. I want to -- there are Republicans included -- members of Congress -- saying that they'd like to see the video out there. Let me play this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you think it would make sense for the administration to release this video?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm OK with it being released and I'm OK with what happened.

RAJU: You're OK with the second strike --

GRAHAM: Yeah.

RAJU: -- that occurred?

GRAHAM: Yeah. I mean, I trust Tom Cotton's judgment.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): We've got to get the Epstein files released. We've got to get any videos that do not in any way compromise mission integrity down there. Just get the stuff out there. SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): There's a way to release the video, which I have not seen. But if there's a way to release that that does not compromise our intelligence gathering, I would urge him to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: But what's different here, if you make that comparison, is you now have the Republican chairman of House Armed Services saying yesterday that he has seen enough and it's basically done. I've got all the answers I needed, he said to reporters.

I wonder then if this really does mean the beginning of the end of the inquiry into the September 2 strike.

SINGH: I don't think it's the beginning of the end, and you've seen that also with the Epstein files. I mean, again, two different things. But you saw it with the Epstein files with Donald Trump and with others in this administration, including Pam Bondi saying, you know, there's nothing there anymore.

And it's like well, wait a minute. For years, not only have we been talking about the Epstein files but for now over a month we have been talking about this strike and it's because of the good reporting. And as you mentioned, CNN just learned about three additional strikes that left possible survivors.

[07:40:05]

There are more questions being asked and because we don't get the full transparency and accountability from this administration what happens is lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to know -- want to -- have questions.

And so even though the chair of the House Armed Services Committee is saying this is over, there are Democrats that are demanding accountability. The Senate Armed Services Committee also wants more transparency and accountability here. And frankly, I do think the entire, you know, Congress should be briefed on the video on exactly what happened because it is taxpayer dollars going towards the Department of Defense that are carrying out these strikes.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

It's great to have you, Sabrina. Thank you so much -- Sara. Sorry, J.B.

BERMAN: This morning, for the first time, we are seeing policy bodycam video of the moment officers approached Luigi Mangione inside an Altoona, Pennsylvania McDonald's last year. Mangione is charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLICE OFFICER: How you doing? Can you put your mask down real quick for me?

LUIGI MANGIONE, CHARGE WITH MURDER OF BRIAN THOMPSON: Yeah, sure.

POLICE OFFICER: I appreciate it. Thank you.

MANGIONE: Um-hum.

POLICE OFFICER: OK. Um, what's your name?

MANGIONE: Uh, Mark.

POLICE OFFICER: What is it?

MANGIONE: Mark.

POLICE OFFICER: Mark?

MANGIONE: Yes, sir.

POLICE OFFICER: Mark what?

MANGIONE: Rosario.

POLICE OFFICER: Rosario. Someone called and they thought you were suspicious.

MANGIONE: Oh, I'm sorry. Um --

POLICE OFFICER: Do you have your I.D. on you?

MANGIONE; Uh, yes, sir.

POLICE OFFICER: Thanks. She thought you looked like someone, uh --

You want to run that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Wow, that is really chilling video. This was played in an ongoing pretrial hearing. It also showed officers who arrested Mangione debating whether they needed to search -- needed a search warrant to look into his backpack.

An Altoona police officer testified that she wanted to check the backpack for a possible bomb. Inside they found a gun, a fully-loaded magazine, a silencer, a cellphone, a passport, a notebook with a handwritten note dated the day after the shooting seemingly with a to- do list that read "change hat, shoes, and pluck eyebrows."

Mangione's lawyers argue that the contents of the bag should not be evidence because the search was done without a warrant -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

Soon the trial of the man who admitted to disposing of his wife's body but not murdering her will get back underway with forensic experts retaking the stand. The suspect, Brian Walshe -- his defense is that his wife Ana suddenly died in bed, and he freaked out and decided to dispose of her body. Ana's body has never been found.

Tuesday, jurors heard from forensic experts who say Ana's DNA was found on a bloody rug as well as other items from the couple's home.

Jean Casarez is following this story from the -- from the beginning. This case is just dramatic in every single moment, especially when they're sort of describing all of the things that happened and all of the things they found in the home. What did you learn?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it builds and it builds --

SIDNER: Yeah.

CASAREZ: -- and it builds. And yesterday was the day -- we've heard the reddish-brown stains. What were they? Who did they belong to? Now we know.

First of all, we know that the head of the hatchet -- the lone DNA contributor, Ana Walshe. We know that the towels with the blood on them -- we can now call it blood. It was Ana Walshe's blood. We know the hair was Ana Walshe's blood -- the matt of hairs. And now one of the most important instruments that was used in the dismemberment -- watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMAN SALEEM, FORENSIC SCIENTIST, MA STATE POLICE CRIME LAB: This was a sample of stained area C on the blade of a hacksaw.

ANNE YAS, NORFOLK COUNTY DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: And were you able to come to a conclusion about the comparison to the known profile of Ana Walshe?

SALEEM: The DNA profile from this item is at least 30 million times more likely if it originated from Ana Walshe than if it originated from an unknown, unrelated individual. And this provides support for inclusion of Ana Walshe to this DNA profile.

YAS: Were you able to come to a conclusion about the comparison to the known profile of Brian Walshe.

SALEEM: Brian Walshe is excluded from this DNA profile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So the blades of the hacksaw had Ana Walshe's DNA. So now the jury knows that she must have been dismembered.

Now beyond that, a rug has become center focus in this trial. Ana Walshe is laying on the rug. She's very much alive. That was entered into evidence last week. She's actually with her children but they blocked the children out. But that rug is important because that rug became a bloodstained rug. And that rug was in the living room near the fireplace, near the televisions. That is a part of that rug.

Well, yesterday, we saw video from January 4 when Brian Walshe went to HomeGoods. And he went to HomeGoods because he needed to buy some things. And he walks in, he roams the aisles, and he gets some different things. But one of the pivotal things he got -- and you see it when he checks out -- he's got three brand-new rolled rugs.

[07:45:15]

And so this has become a focal point now.

SIDNER: Yeah.

CASAREZ: The living room, the rug -- how does it play into everything else?

SIDNER: Yeah. There is so much to this trial, and I know you're watching the whole thing. And we have you on every morning because there's always something new coming out that is shocking.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much. I do appreciate it.

CASAREZ: A big witness today -- the last person to see her alive --

SIDNER: All right.

CASAREZ: -- besides her husband.

SIDNER: We'll hear about it in the morning.

Thank you. Appreciate you -- John.

BERMAN: All right.

New this morning natural gas prices have surged to around a three-year high just in time for winter. This means higher electric bills as millions of Americans are already struggling with issues surrounding affordability.

Let's get right to CNN senior reporter Matt Egan for the latest on this. Good morning.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Good morning, John.

Well look, when we talk about energy prices we often focus on the price of gasoline and thankfully, prices at the gas pump have been relatively cheap. But it's a completely different story when you look at natural gas, which is the most common way to heat homes in the United States. Natural gas futures have surged by almost 40 percent just since the end of September.

All of this coming just as Americans are being forced to crank up the heat to stay warm during extremely cold temperatures. Late last week natural gas spiked to the highest level in nearly three years.

Now, the good news is that some in the market seem to think that the recent spike has been overdone because as you can see on the right side of that chart gas futures have come down in the past few days, but this has still been a very big move up. And this is happening for a number of different reasons. On the supply side, some of the natural gas producers -- they're reluctant to ramp up production and cause a supply glut. Also, a lot of the natural gas that's made in America is getting shipped overseas as liquified natural gas. And then on the demand side there's concerns about how much natural gas is going to be needed to power those data centers at the heart of the AI boom.

Now, I should stress that natural gas prices are extremely volatile. One analyst told me that the recent moves from natural gas make Bitcoin look boring in comparison.

But here's why this matters. Electric bills and home heating bills have already been going up before this spike. You see electricity prices, according to the last inflation report, up by five percent year-over-year. Utility gas services prices up by almost 12 percent. And the Energy Department -- their forecasting arm -- just yesterday they bumped up their forecast for natural gas prices this winter.

A lot of this depends on where you live. If you're in the South and you use natural gas to heat your homes, you're in luck because forecasters do expect a drop in prices. But look at this. In the Northeast, the forecast is for a four percent increase. In the Midwest, a seven percent increase.

So John, bottom line here, this has already been a source of sticker shock for consumers and higher natural gas prices will not help matters at all.

Back to you.

BERMAN: And look, this was a big election in New Jersey, which you know a little bit about.

Matt Egan, great to see you this morning. Thank you very much.

EGAN: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Much more to come on that map for sure.

Also this. The first country in the world just banned social media for kids under the age of 16. What that looks like in Australia today and could that happen in the United States.

Also, what it's like to go from an anonymous actor to world-famous in the blink of an eye. In today's "ACTORS ON ACTORS," "Wicked" star Cynthia Erivo and "X-Men" star Hugh Jackman talk about it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUGH JACKMAN, ACTOR: My friends said to me, "What's it like?" I said it's like you've got the leash of a Great Dane --

CYNTHIA ERIVO, ACTRESS: Yeah. JACKMAN: -- and a horse all in one, and it's dragging you down the street.

ERIVO: Yeah.

JACKMAN: It's part exhilarating and part frightening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:53:25]

BOLDUAN: This morning millions of kids are waking up with their social media accounts deactivated. Australia is now the first country really in the world to ban many social apps for kids under the age of 16, seen as the most sweeping governmental effort yet to shelter kids from the potential harms. Australia's prime minister called it a proud day for his country.

Some big names in the United States, including former congressman, former mayor, and former ambassador Rahm Emanuel, are speaking out now to say it's time for America to follow Australia's lead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAHM EMANUEL, FORMER CHICAGO MAYOR: When it comes to our adolescents, it's either going to be adults or the algorithms. One of them is going to raise the kids. So today, I'm calling for the United States to follow suit, come up with its own plan, help protect our children, help our parents, strengthen our families, and restrict all the social media when it comes to access to kids and adolescents 16 and younger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Clare Duffy tracking this one for us and she's here now. So explain the ban setting in today in Australia.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yeah. So as you said, millions of teens woke up in Australia today unable to access social media. This ban includes a list of major social media platforms -- Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube -- and requires them to take reasonable steps to verify users' ages and then remove or block users under the age of 16.

BOLDUAN: Putting the onus on the company, not on kids and parents.

DUFFY: Exactly.

And so this is likely going to rely heavily on AI age verification systems where the teens will have to scan their faces. That will estimate how old they are. I think the question is how well will that work? Will teens find a way around this by using someone else's face or by using a VPN to disguise where their internet traffic is coming from?

[07:55:05]

BOLDUAN: You have the companies saying they will comply. They're not happy. Wasn't it Meta who said they actually believe it's going to do more harm than -- it's going to be -- make it more unsafe for kids than it is to make it safe for them?

DUFFY: Yes, but companies say they already features and tools in place to keep kids safe and they really think the onus should be on parents. That they have given parents tools to control their kids' social media experience. But we know that parents, for years, have been asking for more help, more tools --

BOLDUAN: This has been like your entire beat for a while now.

DUFFY: -- to navigate for parents -- exactly.

And so that is why this law is going into effect today.

BOLDUAN: What are you hearing? Do you think that this could, as Rahm Emanuel is calling for -- do you think this could happen in the United States?

DUFFY: We are seeing a push, especially on the state level, to roll out more social media restrictions and controls for teenagers.

Just to give people a sense of the variety of laws that we're seeing here, Nebraska has rolled out a law requiring social media apps to verify users' ages and get parental consent for minors. Utah, Texas, and Louisiana are requiring app stores to verify users' ages and get parental consent for new app downloads for minors. And Florida is actually banning all under-14-year-olds from social media and requiring that 15-year-olds get parental consent.

So we're seeing some of these types of laws rolled out. None of them go as far as Australia.

And I do think it's unlikely that we see something on the federal level here given how for years Congress has --

BOLDUAN: Right.

DUFFY: -- failed to roll out this kind of legislation. It's likely that we'd see a First Amendment challenge. But I do think that legislators around the world are going to be watching very closely to see how this Australia ban works.

BOLDUAN: It's a -- yeah. There's lawsuits against it and challenges, and we'll see how it does play out.

It's great to see you. Thank you, Clare.

DUFFY: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: A very big day -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning a narrow escape for a young boy. New video of a suspected serial carjacker taking off with the car with a 10-year-old boy -- or trying to take off with a 10-year-old boy still inside. The suspect got into the SUV outside a store in New Orleans, but before he left the parking lot the boy jumped out -- you can see right there -- and ran into the store. The boy did leave his cellphone behind, which helped police track the vehicle. Police say the suspect had carjacked another vehicle earlier in the day and is accused of crimes in multiple states.

In Wisconsin, an FBI agent was trapped in her car dangling over an interstate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIREFIGHTER: Are they still in there?

DEPUTY: Yeah, she's in there. I broke the back window.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So the agent was on her way to work when another car crashed into her sending her SUV partially over the wall there. Neither driver was injured. That's according to CNN affiliate WTMJ.

And whether you asked for it or not, there will be a zero-sugar Oreo early next year in the United States. The sugar-free versions were already sold in Europe and China but that's a really far way to go for a snack. The parent company says they are part of a growing trend of "mindful indulgence." Sara, I do not know what this means for Double Stuf. We have our best people on that.

SIDNER: OK. I -- mindful indulgence?

BERMAN: I can't (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: All that makes me think about is I must indulge.

BERMAN: Yes.

SIDNER: That's where my mind goes. I mean, what is that?

BOLDUAN: Another tagline for our show.

BERMAN: Mindful indulgence. No chairs.

SIDNER: CNN NEWS CENTRAL, mindful indulgence. I like it.

All right. Speaking of actors, a brand new episode of "ACTORS ON ACTORS" brings together Cynthia Erivo and Hugh Jackman. Jackman reflected on his sudden success back in the Wolverine days, saying it felt like being dragged by a Great Dane and a horse all in one.

The episode premieres this morning exclusively on CNN's app. CNN entertainment correspondent Elizabth Wagmeister has more on the pair.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, two of the great musical talents of the stage and screen coming together. And Hugh Jackman and Cynthia Erivo are not just talking about their current projects. For Cynthia, of course, "Wicked" part two, and for Hugh Jackman, a film in which he stars with Kate Hudson, which comes out on Christmas Day, called "Song Sung Blue."

Well again, they didn't just talk about those projects. They also talked about their careers and the concept of fame.

Cynthia Erivo has reached new heights of fame with "Wicked", and Hugh Jackman reflected back on when he was cast as Wolverine in "X-Men." Let's take a look.

JACKMAN: It's been a pretty massive, I don't know if I could -- four or five years, right?

CYNTHIA ERIVO, ACTRESS: Yeah, yeah.

JACKMAN: Is it settling in for you? I went through a bit of it with "X-Men" in my --

ERIVO: Tell me -- tell me about what --

JACKMAN: Well, I was 29.

ERIVO: OK.

JACKMAN: And I got my first job at 26 --

ERIVO: Yeah.

JACKMAN: -- so I did a degree, then I did acting class --

ERIVO: Yeah.

JACKMAN: -- for four years. So I was 26 in my first job.

ERIVO: Yeah.

JACKMAN: And I was in Australia, but it was -- it was quite a lot.

ERIVO: Yeah.

JACKMAN: But "X-Men" was another whole thing.

ERIVO: Yeah.

JACKMAN: And that's when everything went poof. And my friends said to me, "what's it like?" I said it's like you've got the leash of a Great Dane --

ERIVO: Yeah.

JACKMAN: -- and a horse all in one, and it's dragging you down the street.