Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Senate to Vote on Health Care; U.S. Seizes Oil Tanker; Major Flooding in Washington State; Defense in Walshe Trial Rests Its Case; Ex-Michigan Coach Jailed. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 11, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Very excited for season three. But as you see with Sydney Sweeney and also Jacob Elordi, who was in one of our other conversations of "Actors on Actors," this entire cast from "Euphoria," they're now movie stars and they are moving on to other projects, but still keeping "Euphoria" at the center, knowing that their fans are waiting with bated breath for more episodes.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: But you can see them like you've never seen them before, right now on "Actors on Actors." "Variety's" "Actors on Actors" streaming exclusively on the CNN app.

Elizabeth Wagmeister, that's terrific. Thank you so much for being with us.

And a brand-new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news this hour, swift water rescues are underway. People are trapped as floodwaters are rising. Some even rescued by helicopter. A dangerous storm system is just shattering records in the Pacific northwest, and the new threat as they see it today. We'll bring that to you.

Plus, the wild video of the United States seizing a massive oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. New details now about what that ship was doing and what this move means for the faceoff playing out between the American and Venezuelan presidents.

And there's also new video that was just released of a Virginia state trooper saving a man trapped in a burning car. An incredible rescue caught on camera.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman. Sara is out today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

So, very soon the Senate is set to vote. And the votes are expected to fail. Why that is being watched so closely. It's potentially the last best chance that lawmakers have to deal with the Obamacare health care subsidies before they expire, which will increase health care costs for millions of Americans. The Senate is taking up two dueling proposals now. Republicans and

Democrats, you won't be surprised, blaming each other for where this has ended up, even though they have been talking about this coming deadline for months and months. And Donald Trump even floated for a moment that he was going to put out his own plan to fix the problem. That quickly, though, went away.

CNN's Arlette Saenz live on Capitol Hill.

Arlette, set the stage for everyone about what is going to happen and what you're hearing behind the scenes.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, in just about two and a half hours, the Senate will hold votes on competing plans from Republicans and Democrats on health care. But with both of those issues expected to fail, it is now raising the chances that millions of Americans will see their health care premiums spike in the new year.

Now, this issue of the expiring Obamacare subsidies was at the center of that fight during the government shutdown. But even after the government reopened, both sides have been unable to come to an agreement on a bipartisan proposal to extend those subsidies. Instead, Democrats and Republicans are essentially holding messaging votes. The Democratic plan would extend these expiring subsidies for three years, while Republicans have presented a proposal that would shift money to health savings accounts for some Americans and does not specifically address those expiring subsidies. Democrats and Republicans right now have been unable to come to the table on a bipartisan solution.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ERIC SCHMITT (R-MO): I don't think the Democrats have shown any willingness to reform Obamacare, which has failed the American people. I'd be open to more reform efforts, probably through reconciliation. They've not shown any willingness to ever work with us on this.

SEN. PETER WELCH (D-VT): I don't think it's the right approach. But the only right approach is a bipartisan agreement to extend the credits. So, we don't have a concrete plan that's being presented by our Republican colleagues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has not completely closed the door to the possibility that there could be an agreement to extend these subsidies. There have been bipartisan talks happening behind the scenes among rank-and-file members for months now. The question is whether anything could actually advance once these votes fail in the Senate.

But then there's the issue of the House. House Speaker Mike Johnson has been very blunt in saying that he could not get the Republican votes to extend these Obamacare subsidies, but he is facing pressure from some moderates within his conference. There are various proposals that Republicans have floated in the House that would extend subsidies for a short period of time with some reforms, but it really, right now, is unclear whether Congress will do anything at this point to address those expiring subsidies, potentially raising health care premiums for millions of Americans.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and do anything before they plan to leave town. But we will have some clarity on at least what they're not going to vote for, it sounds like, in just a couple hours.

Arlette is there for us. Thank you, Arlette.

John.

[09:05:01]

BERMAN: All right, with us now, CNN political analyst Jackie Kucinich, and senior contributor to "Axios," Margaret Talev.

And, Jackie, just to make sure I'm hearing this right, basically a zero percent chance that either of these votes in the Senate today pass?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, there is -- there is zero percent chance that these are going to pass and they are messaging votes. And, you know, the danger here is that not only are these premiums going up, is that Republicans in particular are continuing to have this conversation going into the new year, which, you know, then we're even closer to the midterms.

Listen, Democrats have known (ph) that this is a good -- this is good terrain for them. They -- the government shut down over this. So, they have no reason to really capitulate to Republicans any of these HAS type plans that they've put forward.

BERMAN: So, Margaret, what cracks then could be emerging in the Republican Party? I spoke to Senator Jon Husted of Ohio, who did propose a measure that would extend subsidies for two months, albeit in a way that Democrats don't seem to like. But on the House side, there are Republicans who are putting forth a discharge petition to extend the subsidies there. So, how big are these cracks?

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, "AXIOS": Yes, that's right. I mean, so the discharge petition issue for those not familiar with the parlance of Congress, this is a way to bypass House leadership. The default rule in the House leadership and the Republican caucus, or really, I guess, either caucus has been, if a majority of your party doesn't support it, you're not going to bring it up for a vote.

But you've got this bloc of half a dozen or upwards moderate Republicans who are -- who think that these subsidies, the ACA subsidies, should be continued, at least for some period of time. You're talking about 20 million Americans who are going to be impacted when the subsidy goes away. And, no surprise, a lot of them are Republican. You know, like health care affordability doesn't check what party you're affiliated with. And so, you've got Fitzpatrick out of Pennsylvania and a number of

other moderate Republicans. And I think Marjorie Taylor Greene has joined the ranks to who are saying, you know, maybe there's some kind of compromise that they could reach with Democrats. Using this discharge petition, you would bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson and the leadership and try to get a vote to extend those subsidies or credits for a couple more years. You do some of the restrictions that center and center right voters say they want certainly caps on income for eligibility, trying to limit fraud, stuff like health savings accounts that's more friendly to Republicans. The big question is, that -- you could pass it right now if Democrats went along with that. But will Democrats -- and I don't -- I don't think you could lose any, or maybe a couple.

BERMAN: Right.

TALEV: Like you need a lot -- you need a majority of Democrats plus those breakaway moderate Republicans. But that's -- I'm not sure if there's enough support for it, but it seems like the only bipartisan compromise to watch right now.

BERMAN: And that is an area which will be interesting to watch over the next several hours and days, because so far Leader Jeffries hasn't come down and said yes or no to these discharge petitions. He hasn't. Which is an interesting position in itself. I think he wants to see which way it develops.

"Punchbowl," this morning, Jackie, made a note of the fact that the fact of these discharge petitions, the fact that it was such a marathon, getting the defense thing passed yesterday, shows Congress, the House particularly, in disarray. And we heard again from yet another member of the Republican Party in the House, another female member of the Republican Party, talking to Manu Raju, Lauren Boebert, about this.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-CO): We came here to serve and make a difference. And when we're just told no and told you're too dumb to be a part of the process and just take this bill as is, you better vote yes or no. And if you vote against it, well, you're going to hear about it from everybody, you know, it's really unfortunate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You know, and I've heard, Jackie, from Republican members who are incredibly unhappy right now, who say there could be this wave of retirements announced in the next few weeks. What's gone wrong here?

KUCINICH: We all know that Speaker Johnson has had a very tough speakership to say the least. Anything he needs to get done, he needs to go -- usually he needs the president behind him. And right now, I don't think you can separate the fact that there are cracks in the MAGA coalition, that this president -- that you have had members, Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of them, who have said no to him. And without that power behind him, is that that power is weakening. It weakens Mike Johnson. And you're seeing the result of that in the House where members are finding ways around him.

BERMAN: We get to see a jailbreak in January, Margaret?

TALEV: Well, look midterms have a way of galvanizing opinions. But so far, President Trump himself, with, like, a little bit of help from Marco Rubio, has been able to come in and help Mike Johnson close the deal in times when he's needed it.

[09:10:04]

It -- I am not sure what's going to happen here on the health care vote, but I think Johnson has a governing challenge because he has the barest of bare majorities. The Republicans are concerned about losing control a year from now, and the Republican coalition is split. But the Republicans also feel that they have been able to persevere so far by trying to stay unified and denying Democrats victories. Health care is one of these political issues. It has been the most potent issue in terms of helping Democrats when so many other things, including reputational damage, is working against democrats. So, we'll see.

BERMAN: Jackie Kucinich, Margaret Talev, great to see both of you this morning. Thanks so much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, now we're also learning more this morning about the major escalation between the United States and Venezuela. There is dramatic video that's been released showing U.S. forces descending from a helicopter to seize a tanker off Venezuela's coast. The vessel allegedly transporting sanctioned oil. Satellite images reviewed by CNN show the ships operators were trying to hide its true location while it was docked at a Venezuelan oil terminal last month.

President Trump was then asked just yesterday what happens to the oil now?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What happens to the oil on that ship?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we keep it, I guess. I don't know.

REPORTER: Where does it go?

REPORTER: What port does it go to?

TRUMP: Well, you have to follow the tanker. You know, you're a good newsman, just follow the tanker.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House for us this morning. What's the latest on this? What are you hearing from inside the White

House of what this escalation means for their plans and goals?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's certainly, Kate, a major mounting of pressure that they are continuing to heap on the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolas Maduro. And look, this is quite a different mission than we've seen them kind of lay out so far in their broader goals of trying to really stem the flow of drugs coming from Venezuela and being transported all the way to reaching the United States. And we've heard now a lot of the concerns about what could this mean now that they're switching to potentially some of Venezuela's richest minerals and resources? Oil, of course, being among the most prized in Venezuela.

But I want to get into some of this because what I found so fascinating was actually the word of this surprise mission and those images you played from that video that the attorney general shared were just so striking. These men getting onto that boat, guns drawn and seizing this vessel. We were told by a senior U.S. official that no U.S. personnel and no members of the crew on that tanker were -- or -- there were no casualties among any of them, which is notable.

Now, one of the things, like I said, the word of this surprise mission actually came from the president himself yesterday. And he did really not offer any new details about what we can expect about what this means in the broader goals and strategy of the administration as it relates to Maduro and really their larger operation among -- with these drug boats traveling in the Caribbean.

One thing I think is very important to note here, though, is that this tanker was previously sanctioned under the Biden administration for its role in having Venezuelan oil transported to Iran. And experts tell us that this mission itself was legally justified. It was a by the book mission. The Coast Huard was really the one kind of leading some of these operations in conjunction with the FBI, Homeland Security, and, of course, the Department of Defense, all to say there are going to be many questions still today about what this can mean. A lot of people wanting more answers from the Trump administration of whether we can see other operations like this.

All of this coming, of course, as we're also reporting that the administration has begun planning day after plans if Maduro is ousted or forced from power. Definitely, of course, another puzzle piece to this entire thing.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: That's a good point. Thank you, Alayna, so much for reporting from the White House.

John.

BERMAN: All right, there's a dangerous and developing situation out west this morning. In Washington state, at least eight rivers and creeks hit major flood stage overnight. That is the most severe stage. Thousands have been told to evacuate. Numerous swift water rescues have been reported across the state. Just southeast of Tacoma, seven people were rescued after waist deep waters took over an RV park. In another location, one person told CNN the water reached three feet high in her basement, and the rain is not letting up.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar for the very latest on what I said again is a developing situation. What are you seeing?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, so you've got the video behind me showing the levees and the barricades that are already up, but crews are out there trying to reinforce them, knowing that the river right here, this is the Skagit, is going to just continue to rise over the next few days, as are many other rivers, creeks and streams.

But then the question becomes, OK, so how high are we talking here? What is the peak that this river and many others are expected to actually get to?

So, when we take a look at the Skagit River specifically, look at some of these numbers. You're talking roughly 14 feet is where we expect that to crest.

[09:15:01]

And even if it doesn't get that high, let's say it gets two feet less than that, it's still going to break the previous record. Again, you're talking phenomenally high amounts of water here, keeping in mind just barely flood stage is only about 28 feet. And it's not just this one river. We're talking dozens of rivers that could end up reaching either minor, moderate or major flood stage over the next several days. And that's indicated by all of these dots that you see here on this map. So you're talking a lot of areas that are under the big concern here for flooding.

Now, you also still have a lot of rain coming down at this moment. So, you have a two type of flooding component, one from the rain itself, all of that heavy rain coming down. It can flood roadways and streets, things like that. But it's also filling up the rivers, creeks and streams. And so over time it's more of a delayed effect that we have those rivers that begin to see flooding. That's why a lot of times the crest for those rivers does not actually happen until several days after the rain falls.

Now, one thing to note is it's not just Washington where we are looking at the potential for flooding. You can see a lot more of these watches even farther to the east because that's where this system is going to head over the next 24 hours. So, you're going to start to see some of those concern its downstream.

All of this water is coming from the atmospheric river you see here. The only bit of good news is that we're going to finally start to see this come to an end here as we head into the weekend.

BERMAN: It will be a tough two days before that, though. Allison Chinchar, thanks for keeping us posted. Appreciate it. All right, this morning, everyone trying to figure out what landed the former University of Michigan football coach in jail. And I say former because he was fired shortly before being jailed.

A new lawsuit against a cruise line after a man dies after allegedly being served more than 30 drinks.

And we do have some breaking news from just moments ago. A huge twist in the courtroom in the trial of the man who admitted to disposing of his wife's body but not killing her. The defense began presenting their case. Wait until you hear what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:31]

BERMAN: All right, we've got major breaking news in the case -- the trial of the man who admitted to disposing of his wife's body but not killing her. Just moments ago we were speaking to Jean Casarez. The defense was scheduled to present their case today. There were questions about Brian Walshe, the defendant, on trial for murder, whether he would take the stand himself. But that's not going to happen. And much, much more.

Or, Jean Casarez, I should say, much less, a dramatic twist in this trial. What happened?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, this was a bombshell just minutes ago because the judge took the stand and said the defense has advised the court that they will have one witness. Brian Walshe will take the stand today for the defense. And it's -- and then she says, but they have some issues here. They have some questions. One of them involved the guilty pleas because Brian Walshe has pleaded guilty to two out of three of the counts. He pleaded guilty to intentionally misleading a police investigation. He pleaded guilty to the conveyance of a body, conveyance of body parts. The jury does not know this. And the defense had an issue with the defense not knowing that, but the judge is not going to allow the jury to know those guilty pleas. Not going to happen.

So, the defense made a turnaround and made the choice that Brian Walshe will not take the stand. And they are not going to have any other witnesses. They just rested their case without any witnesses. Closing arguments are tomorrow morning.

What this means, John, is that the defense believes there is enough reasonable doubt in the evidence coming from those aggressive cross- examinations that they had witnesses to show, you cannot say beyond a reasonable doubt he committed premeditated murder. That's what this comes down to, John.

BERMAN: All right, I'm just processing this, Jean, because I'm learning these details for the first time. I did not know the defense wanted to put Walshe on the stand for a moment, but only if the jury knew that he had pleaded guilty to basically disposing of his wife's body. Why? Why do you think -- and if I am getting that right, why do you think that that was so important for the defense as a condition for his testimony, for the jury to know that?

CASAREZ: Potentially because they can take all of the evidence, all the blood, and take it over into the realm of a murder versus conveyance and dismemberment of a body.

The judge actually said that the -- that the defense had five issues, right. And she did not spell them out. The only one she spoke a bit -- a little bit was these guilty pleas. And so, we don't know the full extent of the issues, but they wanted conditions. No question about it. He'll take the stand, but we want these things included or excluded before the jury. And the judge wouldn't go for it. Could have an appellate issue, John.

BERMAN: All right, we'll process this a little bit more, try to figure out what exactly happened. But we -- what we know for sure, Brian Walshe not testifying. The defense has rested. Closing arguments tomorrow. Pretty stunning development there.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: What a twist. Also this, a huge shock to the college sports world right now. The head coach of the University of Michigan's football team fired. And then he ends up in jail, all within 24 hours.

Let's get over to CNN's Andy Scholes, who's tracking all of this.

A lot of questions around this right now, Andy. What are you learning?

[09:25:02]

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, I mean, Kate, this was such a wild sequence of events yesterday in Michigan.

So, late in the afternoon, the University of Michigan, they put out a statement saying they were firing Sherrone Moore for cause. The school said that it came after an investigation found there was credible evidence that he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

So then, just hours later, Moore was booked into the Washtenaw County Jail. Now, in a news release, Pittsfield Police say officers responded to a home to investigate an alleged assault. Police say the suspect was jailed pending review of charges by the county prosecutor.

Now, earlier, Saline Police, according to ESPN, they stated that they assisted in locating and detaining Moore, and he was turned over to the Pittsfield Police for investigation into potential charges.

Now, the county records system reached by CNN Sports does not have any information on the charges that Moore may be facing or any bond information. And he is still in jail as of this morning.

Now, Moore, he spent the last two seasons as Michigan's head coach after taking over for Jim Harbaugh after the team won the national championship and then Harbaugh left the school to go coach the Chargers.

Now, the school is left searching for a new head coach, and this comes right after the college football coaching -- hiring cycle had just come to an end. You know, Michigan, of course, is one of the best jobs in all of college football. They're going to play in the Citrus Bowl against Texas on New Year's Eve. Then the transfer portal, it opens January 2nd. So, Kate, Michigan really going to need to try to find a new head coach, and find one quick, because they want to, of course, keep the players they have from leaving, and they also, of course, need more players to come to the school and they're going to want to know who the head coach is.

BOLDUAN: All of it wrapped up into one. What a twist and a development in the course of 24 hours.

Thank you so much, Andy. Much more to come on this.

SCHOLES: All right.

BOLDUAN: All right, so the Trump administration is facing new legal action over plans to swap out images of America's national parks with the president's face on park passes. We'll have the details ahead on that.

And a bizarre story of a dog napping. This poodle that you see here, snatched from its owner. Why police say it was an inside job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)