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Trump's Approval Rating Holding Even After Being Impeached in Congress; Presidential Candidate Tom Steyer (D) is Interviewed About His Campaign and Trump's Impeachment; Dangerous Weather Threats Around the Country; Swing State Michigan and the Impact on 2020; House Party Shooting in Chicago; Fake Facebook Accounts Using Fake Faces; Jayme Closs Investigation Files Released; Australia's Wildfires Intensifies. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 22, 2019 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello on this Sunday. You are live in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. President Trump dealt this week the hardest punch possible by the House of Representatives -- Impeachment. It doesn't matter what happens next in the Senate, the word will be stuck to his name forever in American history.

But here's the question, has impeachment hurt President Trump? Has it cost him supporters? Are Republican voters turning their backs on him? According to this weekend's polls, no and no. Take a look at the numbers.

According to the polling group of 538, an average of polls shows the president this week saw the highest approval rating in more than two and a half years, just shy of 45 percent. That happened on the day he was impeached.

Looking at the president's entire term in office, public opinion has held relatively steady despite many scandals and his impeachment. Analysts say the reason for that, the strong economy. Now, the election, the latest CNN poll shows the president still trailing Joe Biden, but by a narrowing margin.

Look at last weekend compared to two months ago. The president also closing the gap when it comes to a couple of other Democratic challengers, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Keep that in mind, this poll was done before the House impeached the president.

And remember, when I said a strong economy is the likely reason for President Trump's steady numbers, look at this. That new CNN poll shows 76 percent of Americans feel the economy is good.

We haven't seen that number that high in 18 years. Let's get out to the campaign trail today. CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Iowa and Leyla Santiago is at an Elizabeth Warren event in Oklahoma City. Arlette, both Bidens, Joe and Dr. Jill, are meeting voters today. ARLETT SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, that's right, Ana. Both

Joe and Jill Biden were out across the country. Biden here in Atlantic, Iowa, just a short while ago where he talked about impeachment. He has long made the case that while the House and Senate are going to be focused on impeachment proceedings, it's his job to make the case that he is the best candidate to defeat President Trump.

And take a listen to what he told voters here in Atlantic when he said that impeachment should not be a cause for celebration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is that it's really hard on the country, impeachment. There's nothing to celebrate about it. There's nothing to celebrate about when the nation goes through an impeachment process. It really is a reflection of at least the concern and thought of failure in our system.

And the rest of the world looks at us and wonders what's going on. But in this case, don't get me wrong, Donald Trump has brought this on himself. He indicted himself on the White House lawn when he said we are left no choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Biden is here in Iowa wrapping up his two-day bus tour through the state. His wife, Jill Biden, is down south. She went to the U.S./Mexico border a little bit earlier today. She met with asylum seekers at a migrant camp in Matamoros, Mexico, handing out tamales and meeting with them.

Jill Biden has proven to be a pretty effective surrogate for her husband as she has been holding events in Iowa, South Carolina, Nevada and New Hampshire as well. In a short while she's going to be holding another event in Brownsville, Texas, right there at the border.

The Bidens are going to be spending a lot of time here in January. His campaign says that Joe Biden will be spending most of the month here heading into the caucuses, Ana.

CABRERA: Okay, thank you for that Arlette. Leyla, you are in Senator Elizabeth Warren's hometown and that is the high school that she actually attended. What do people there want to hear from her?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. We are in Northwest Glassen, home of the Knights that is the high school where Elizabeth Warren attended. You can see folks are starting to gather around the stage and really taking up some of the areas up in the risers waiting to see what she will say.

[17:05:05]

Now, I will tell you here she is known for being a debate champion. It's not the debates from high school that she is still addressing, it is the debate from Los Angeles just a few days ago in which Mayor Pete Buttigieg really went after her for her fund-raisers, questioning how in the past she has had high-dollar fund-raisers.

The campaign and Senator Warren now saying that, look, she saw the way that it worked, she wants to do better, and so from now on she is moving forward not taking any money from high-dollar donors.

But let's back up a little bit and see how she got here. You see when she announced her bid for presidency she said that she was not going to have such high dollar fund-raisers for the primary. Then in October just a few months ago, said she was going to take that strategy into the general election should she get the nomination.

But now after the last debate, there's so much scrutiny into the fund- raiser she's had in the past, particularly one from June of 2018 in which she also gave away wine bottles as part of her fund-raiser.

So, you know, yesterday in Iowa during her town hall we saw that voters asked her about social security, about her ability to compromise and reaching across the aisle. We'll have to wait and see here in her hometown, where again she was a high school champ in debate, what the voters here ask her about.

CABRERA: All right, Leyla, thank you. Arlette, thank you as well. I want to bring in one of the other Democrats vying for your vote, candidate Tom Steyer is joining us. Thanks for being here.

TOM STEYER (D), PRESIDENTAL CANDIDATE: Ana, it's nice to be with you.

CABRERA: You're known as the billionaire businessman running for president while calling for Trump's impeachment. The president has now been impeached and he's holding if not gaining in the polls as we laid out at the top there. A new CNN poll also finds 76 percent of Americans think the economy is good. Where is your lane to win this thing?

STEYER: Well, Ana, I think you're really describing what the Democrats are going to have to do, whoever the Democratic candidate is, which is we know how Mr. Trump is going to run for president because he said it last week.

He was talking to the Israeli-American conference and he said you don't like me and I don't like you, but you're all going to vote for me because if the Democrats win the White House, they're going to destroy the economy in about 15 minutes flat.

So whoever is going to go up against Mr. Trump is going to have to take him on and the economy, is going to have to expose him as a fake businessman and a failed businessman and actually a bad steward of the American economy.

And as somebody who built a business over 30 years, he can never call me a socialist. And also, I have the experience and the expertise to talk about growth, to talk about prosperity as well as economic justice.

And this is a man who took the most prepared candidate for American president ever, Hillary Clinton, and beat her. So, we need somebody like me who can take him on and his supposed strength in the economy and expose him as a fraud.

CABRERA: So on the topic of the economy, a new survey found only half of Americans got a raise this year and the average raise was less than $400 for full-time workers. How as president would you make sure the middle class profits just as much as the millionaires and billionaires like yourself?

STEYER: Well, I think that there are several things that have to happen here. One thing is we have to start talking about a living wage and to empower the labor movement and unions in particular.

If you look after the last 40 years, Ana, there has been a 40-year war on working people and the labor movement. And as a result, all of the increased income over the last 40 years has gone to the richest Americans and the biggest corporations. We've got to stop that. We've got to empower workers to earn much more.

Secondly, we've got to change the tax system. You know, the Republicans have given huge tax breaks to the richest Americans and the biggest corporations, and that is absolutely wrong.

I mean, I've talked about undoing those tax breaks but I've also talked for long before I was running for president about a wealth tax. There has been inequality in income, but even more inequality in terms of wealth, that there has been a re-distribution of wealth in the society from everybody to just the richest Americans.

And a wealth tax is one way both to raise revenue for the government that we need to invest in the American people, but also to address that in my mind dramatically unjust, unfair and un-American re- distribution of money to the richest Americans.

CABRERA: You have spent a lot of money to get your message out, more than $80 million in T.V. ads. You've been on stage the past three debates and yet have not broken into the top tier in the polling. Why is that, do you think?

[17:10:04]

STEYER: Well, Ana, you know, I've been concentrated on the four early primary states and I'm not a famous person. But in those four early primary states I've been working really hard to try and get my message to people and give them a chance to know me a little.

And if you look at last Monday's morning consul poll I was at 10 percent in those early primary states and I was somewhere between fifth and second.

So in fact, in the places where people are getting to hear my message that we have a broken government that's been bought by corporations, and that as an outsider I've been fighting them and beating them and that I can take it back, that climate is my first priority and I can do it in a way that respects environmental justice and grows jobs and that I can beat Mr. Trump on the economy and growth, people are actually responding. I think it actually is working. CABRERA: I've got to ask you about last night's "SNL." They did a

riff on the Democratic debate but when they introduced the candidates, they replaced you with Mayor Michael Bloomberg who hadn't qualified for Thursday night's debate. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And businessman Tom Steyer -- wait, Mayor Bloomberg?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the classic billionaire switcharoo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Bloomberg, you did not qualify for this debate. How did you get here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, for $30 million, PBS is now owned by viewers like me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Do you think Bloomberg has come into the race and upstaged you?

STEYER: Look, I've said about Michael Bloomberg that unless he's willing to embrace a wealth tax, unless he's willing to be a leader of the Democratic Party in terms of equity and economic justice, then I don't think he's an appropriate leader for the Democratic Party.

If he is, then I think he should put his message out however he wants. I mean, he specifically said he's not going to try to get into the debates. He's not going to pay attention to the first four primary states. He can do what he wants. I'm a believer in if he has a message people wanting to respond to, great.

I think I have a message people are responding to and I think we have a lot of momentum. So as far as I'm concerned, Mike Bloomberg should put his message out, but unless he embraces a wealth tax and the idea redressing economic inequality across our country, then I don't think he's appropriate to represent working people, you know, in the United States.

CABRERA: The message you've been putting out for the past couple of years have been all about impeaching President Trump. He's been impeached now and you made sure that people knew you were on it from the beginning at the debate on Thursday night. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEYER: Let me remind everyone that I'm the person who started the need to impeach movement over two years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Doesn't that potentially play right into Republicans' hands who say Democrats are impeaching Trump not just because of Ukraine but because they have wanted him out of office from day one? STEYER: Well, Ana, why don't we actually go to the videotape? This is

the most corrupt president in American history. He was corrupt long before the Ukraine incident. He started breaking his oath of office virtually on his first day in office because he has refused to get out of the Trump real estate properties and he was taking money from foreign governments and American companies who are trying to buy his favor by being his tenants. And he has been --

CABRERA: Democrats haven't been trying to impeach him on any of that. They have only produced articles of impeachment on the Ukraine issue.

STEYER: I am aware of that, but that doesn't change the fact that the Ukraine issue where he put himself and his personal interests ahead of the American people in contravention of his oath of office was a continuation of behavior that started at the beginning.

He has been corrupt. When I called for his impeachment, there was more than enough evidence to show that he had met the criteria to be impeached. He had obstructed justice in plain view on national T.V.

The fact that the Democrats chose a very limited and understandable set of criteria to impeach him on doesn't change the fact that he's been corrupt from day one. He's the most corrupt president in American history.

CABRERA: So you there is -- you believe there's urgency? You believe there is urgency. Do you have a problem with Nancy Pelosi now withholding the articles of impeachment and not sending them over to the Senate at this point?

STEYER: No. I think that Speaker Pelosi is doing the right thing because the reason she's not sending the articles over to the Senate is because she has listened to Mitch McConnell say that he has no intention of living up to his oath of office.

He has no intention of actually conducting any kind of fair trial where the American people get to hear on T.V. from the administration officials under oath what happened. And so she's trying to use what leverage she can to get the truth in front of the American people.

[17:14:58]

CABRERA: Mr. Steyer, really appreciate you joining us today, thank you. Happy holidays and good luck on the campaign frail.

STEYER: Ana, have a joyous and loving holiday season.

CABRERA: Thank you so much. You too.

It is a tough weekend for those of you who have to travel. From a 69- car pileup on a highway to a flood watch for some 5 million people, we'll talk about the dangerous weather threats nationwide.

Plus, deadly chaos at a house party in Chicago as the people trying to escape faced even more gunfire.

And more fakes on Facebook. What we've learned about a new way to trick people. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom." Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Beautiful shot there of our nation's capitol as we gear up for a big holiday week ahead. And whether you're driving or flying for the holidays, traveling can be stressful, add ice and fog to the mix and now you have some dangerous conditions.

Take a look at this. This is in eastern Virginia. Police say 69 cars were involved in this pile-up on Interstate 64 this morning. One after the next vehicles just piled up because visibility was low and the roads were icy.

Some 51 people were injured, two critically. Tom Sater joins us now from the CNN Weather Center. Tom, what will the weather look like during this really busy holiday week of travel?

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLIGIST: We're going to have a variety. It looks really good for most of the country. Out west we're going to have some pretty good snowfall for the holidays. But for the last-minute shoppers, can you imagine this for the southeastern (inaudible)?

[17:19:59]

I couldn't even think about trying to find a parking spot in a packed, you know, shopping mall when you've got just a deluge of heavy rain. From Baton Rouge to Nashville, to Charlotte, Atlanta, down south -- this area of low pressure is going to move slowly so this cold, chilly rain is going to be hanging around at least for the overnight period into tomorrow.

Could have some flooding, obviously, some area streams and creeks are rising, 10 million under flash flood watches. Severe weather threat really from West Palm down to parts of Miami, Key Largo -- we've got 2, 4, even 5 inches of rain. Some areas near the coast could pick up 7 and 8 inches of rain down and down on southern areas of Florida.

Out west, we've got heavy rainfall. Flooding in Oakland, 85-mile-per- hour wind gusts, we call it a pineapple express because it looks like it originates from Hawaii and just a conveyor belt of moisture.

This is going to be the problem spot I think for the week going forward. Watch the brighter colors. Anything in red or purple will be a travel problem spot for you. So we start today, southeastern U.S. It moves out early Monday into Monday afternoon.

Notice L.A.X, we've seen 30-minute delays, over an hour in San Francisco. Las Vegas, you're going to start to see that as we get into late Tuesday. Then the snowfall, Front Range of the Rockies, parts of the Sierras, moves up to the Wasatch Mountains. Again, that's really our problem spot.

Most of the country, Ana, is looking at temperatures 10, 15 degrees warmer than they should be from areas of the Front Range to the Great Lakes, maybe slightly cooler in upstate New York and parts of New England. But a good portion of the lower 48 really should have some good travel conditions and warmer than usual holiday temperatures.

CABRERA: And it sounds like good conditions for those kids who get new bikes and roller skates --

SATER: Exactly.

CABRERA: -- and all those fun things from santa on Christmas. They could take them out and give them a rip. Thank you --

SATER: There you go. Sure.

CABRERA: -- Tom Sater, for that update.

The swing state of Michigan is seen as crucial in the path to victory in 2020. So we went there to talk to voters to see how President Trump's impeachment might impact their decision. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom." We'll have answers when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:00]

CABRERA: On the day of his historic impeachment in the House, President Trump was holding a rowdy campaign rally in Michigan. The president lashed out at many of those he views as his enemies, but he outraged lawmakers on both sides of the aisle by implying that the state's late congressman, John Dingell, is in hell.

So where do people in that swing state of Michigan stand on impeachment? CNN's Jason Carroll spoke with voters in Detroit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the impeachment proceedings winded down, members of the Greater Royal Oak Democratic Club gathered to mark what they called a somber day in U.S. history.

PAULA MARTINO-MANTAY, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: It's very disheartening to me to see people who used to call themselves Republicans who are simply standing up to support Donald Trump.

CARROLL (voice-over): Keeping tabs on the impeachment proceeding was especially important to Lauren Jasinski.

LAUREN JASINSKI, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: I think it's really a fantastic opportunity to see democracy in action.

CARROLL (voice-over): Jasinski teaches government to high school students.

CARROLL (on camera): Has there been any particular moment that stood out to you?

JASINSKI: I think I'm surprised in how forward people are being in their minds already being made up. CARROLL: Interesting. Is that surprising to you?

JASINSKI: Yes. I would expect a little bit more openness.

CARROLL (voice-over): No one in this group says they expected Republican leaders to support impeaching the president, but Paul Kurtis, who has now watched two presidents be impeached, says he was still surprised by the behavior of some Republican members of Congress.

PAUL KURTIS, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: The Republican Party members have spent the day making a show of it, so far as to call the president of the United States equal to Jesus Christ and the Democrats in Congress like Pontius Pilate. This is absurd.

CARROLL (voice-over): Earlier Wednesday, hours before the vote took place, Jeffrey Nolish and his friends were already feeling the weight of the day.

JEFFREY NOLISH, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: We're witnessing procedures that were put into practice by founders play out in realtime. And I guess it is a bit more of a somber day, but it's a day that we need to learn and be educated.

TEDDY DORSETTE, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: Who would have thought in our lifetime that we would witness another impeachment debate? I'm holding my son and thinking to myself will we ever experience this again in his lifetime. I hope not.

CARROLL (voice-over): Still, this group felt it was important to mark the day in history together.

LESLIE TOM, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: Processing it together collectively is something that's nice about Detroit and being able to find the spaces to meet up, gather and discuss.

CARROLL (voice-over): While hundreds demonstrated Tuesday and supported the proceedings in the progressive enclave of Ferndale just outside Detroit, the political reality is Michigan is a swing state. The question on their minds, will Democrats pay a price at the ballot box as a result of impeachment?

DIANA RAINE, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: I'm terrified they will pay a price. But at the same time they'll be able to live with themselves.

MIKE HARPER, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: I think the Democrats are doing the right thing and whatever the political cost.

GEORGE TURNER, MICHIGAN RESIDENT: It's sad and it's good too. I mean, it shows that --

CARROLL (on camera): Good in what way?

TURNER: -- constitution works. That there are things that people can't do, even though they think they can.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: And that was Jason Carroll reporting.

Up next, a chaotic scene at what was supposed to be a house party. Thirteen people shot. Tonight, the mayor's desperate plea.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:30:00]

CABRERA: Police are investigating after 13 people were shot at a house party overnight in Chicago. Four of the victims are in critical condition including a 16-year-old boy. Police say there was some sort of dispute which apparently led to the shooting and this disturbing detail, the party was being held in memory of a man who was killed in April.

CNN's Rosa Flores joins us now. Rosa, police say shots at this house party were fired in three different locations. What more do you know?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, we know from police that the first shots were fired inside the house, Ana, but then when people began to disperse, then gunshots were also heard outside the house including at a vehicle that was passing by.

So when police arrived on scene, they found multiple scenes and also 13 people injured, ages ranging from 16 to 48. Now, police say that they're still investigating this, but they're also bracing themselves for more violence because they're expecting warm weather in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED WALLER, CHICAGO POLICE BUREAU PATROL: Well, definitely more people are going to be on the street and then that's an opportunity for people to resolve a dispute with a weapon when they see someone that they have had a problem with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:35:00]

FLORES: Suspects have been identified in this case, but police say they do have two people in custody. One of those individuals is in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound. When the other person was arrested, police were able to recover a weapon that was on that person at the time of the arrest.

And Ana, I should mention just for context that shootings and murders in Chicago have been going down according to the latest statistics that were released by the Chicago police department.

CABRERA: And this wasn't the only shooting that happened this weekend, Rosa, there were also shootings in Maryland and Minnesota. What are we learning about those?

FLORES: You know, let me start in Minnesota. Shots rang out in a suburb of Minneapolis just overnight in the parking lot of a restaurant there. When police arrived, they found a 19-year-old dead and six others injured.

It's very early in the investigation and so police say that they don't have any suspects and no motive has been determined, but just an hour after that shooting, another shooting in downtown Baltimore outside a lounge.

Police there say that two suspects fired at least 19 shots at seven -- and hit seven people that were outside that lounge. But when police arrived, they said that they only found four people shot on scene. Well, police subsequently learned that three other individuals had walked themselves to the hospital.

Now, police is investigating this case and say that they're looking at up to four suspects in this particular case, but they have no suspects in custody.

And, Ana, we should mention just for context about violence nationally, that the latest crime and violence statistics issued by the FBI show that violent crime, including murders around the country, is down year to year.

CABRERA: But still, more than a dozen people shot this weekend. Terrible timing obviously with the holidays. Terrible any day but especially this time of year. Rosa Flores, thank you.

Just as the 2020 presidential campaign is heating up, so are the disinformation wars on Americans. What we've just learned about fake Facebook accounts with fake faces targeting you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

CABRERA: In an attempt to crack down on the spread of disinformation on social media sites, Facebook says it has removed hundreds of accounts with artificially generated photos of people who don't actually exist. They have never existed. They were fake faces, fake images.

The content of these accounts, experts who reviewed them say they generally posted in support of President Trump and against the Chinese government. In all, Facebook says it yanked a network of 610 Facebook accounts, 89 pages and 90 groups along with 72 Instagram accounts.

About 55 million accounts followed one or more of these pages. The vast majority of these followers were outside the U.S. With us now is CNN business reporter Donie O'Sullivan. Donie, what more do we know about these fake faces? Who was behind them? What was the goal?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: That's right, Ana. I mean, whis is really a remarkable story. We are used of hearing about fake Facebook accounts, but this is sort of another step of further deception. This is fake faces on fake Facebook accounts. What these accounts were doing is linking consistently to articles

that were anti to Beijing government and pro Donald Trump and they were creating pro Donald Trump groups on Facebook. And the idea was to make it look like that they were real people posting about these issues.

Now, Facebook says that it's tied to the Epoch Times, which is a media group based in the U.S., which is tied to the Falun Gong movement, which is banned in China.

The Epoch Times has had some, you know, interesting relationship and how they have promoted the Trump campaign on Facebook over the past few months. But in this case, Epoch is saying that Facebook is wrong and they have nothing to do with this.

CABRERA: What have you learned about the technology that created these images? How did they do it?

O'SULLIVAN: Yes. It's incredible and it's pretty scary. I mean, you know, to make images like this before, you're talking sort of Hollywood-style graphics. But now people can make them from the comfort of their own home.

I think we have examples of what some of these images look like. I should point out that the images we have were not actually used as part of this campaign, but they are an example of artificially intelligently generated images.

So, you might have heard a little bit about deep fakes over the past few months. They are those, you know, extremely realistic looking fake videos which the U.S. intelligence community has actually warned Congress saying that, you know, videos like this could be used in future disinformation campaigns against the United States.

So using this same technology, you can now make faces. So, if you want to set up, you know, a sort of army of trolls and army of bots and want to make them look realistic, you don't even have to go and steal people's identities anymore.

You can make up someone totally new using A.I. and that poses quite a lot of challenges I think for the social media companies because one of the recourse -- one way of getting a fake account taken off social media is to show that it's actually using a stolen identity. That is an avenue that is no longer available in using this sort of technology.

CABRERA: How are they caught?

O'SULLIVAN: So, Facebook since 2016, you know, I guess Facebook really were caught in 2016 by surprise with Russian disinformation. They have since hired a pretty big team trying to fight disinformation, including on that team some former intelligence officials.

So that team worked to find these accounts. There was also independent reporting from Snopes and lead stories to fact checking organizations. And they were actually -- they came -- Facebook says they came across these accounts the way they would come across sort of any accounts that are up to this sort of behavior.

They can see when, you know, one person or a group of people are managing a whole ton of accounts, something that, you know, a normal user would not be doing. And then they were able to take the additional step working with experts to say, well, we're looking at these images.

[17:45:06]

And even though these images, the artificially generated images look realistic to you and me and I think to pretty much anybody scrolling through their Facebook feed, there are still some giveaways that experts can see where there's, you know, maybe little inconsistencies between the ears and eyes and different things like that. So, that's how they were able to determine that they were A.I. generated.

CABRERA: Wow, it's fascinating. Donie, you've been doing an excellent job staying on top of all things with disinformation and social media and you keep bringing us this great information. We appreciate it, and good to see you all the way from Ireland. I hope you're enjoying some good family time for the holidays.

O'SULLIVAN: Thank you.

CABRERA: Thanks Donie.

It was a kidnapping and gruesome double murder that shocked America. Well, now we have new disturbing details just revealed in the case of Jayme Closs, what happened during the time she was held hostage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: New and startling details about the kidnapping of Jayme Closs, one year after her abduction and unbelievable escape and rescue.

[17:50:02]

Police are now releasing documents that shed more light into her kidnapping. Closs was 13 when she was abducted in October 2018 by 21- year-old Jake Patterson. Patterson went to the Closs house. He killed Jayme's parents. He stuffed her into the trunk of his car.

Now, Closs was held hostage for 88 days before she managed to escape and run to a nearby house for help. CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now. Thousands of pages of documents with so many details about that time when she was, you know, being held hostage. What have you learned?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You have the documents, Ana, but you also have some of the video of it that was used during the court proceedings, and now that the case is closed, this information being released on Friday. And that also includes some of this dash cam video of when police were responding to the scene in rural Wisconsin. And investigators say that the officers unknowingly passed the suspect

vehicle as they were speeding to the scene of this soon to be double murder and kidnapping back in October of 2018. Investigators at the time say the 13-year-old Jayme Closs was hidden in the trunk of the car.

I listened to the audio of the body camera. Investigators really had no idea what they were about to pull up to. In fact, when they first arrive and find the two bodies of the parents, they believed that this was some kind of a murder-suicide.

But, boy, did things take a tragic turn here when they discovered that Jayme was missing. Now, these records also paint a clear picture of the time that Patterson spent with Jayme as he held her against her will in a remote cabin.

Patterson describing that Jayme was terrified, also petrified of him. He says that he would not physically violent with her. In fact, he even said he admitted to investigators that he had sexual thoughts about Jayme who was 13-years-old at the time, but that he never actually acted on those feelings saying that he felt too guilty about killing her two parents.

The documents also describing Jayme's escape, this dramatic escape, 88 days later where she managed to flee the cabin wearing men's shoes, was able to flag down a neighbor and said he killed my parents, help me, I want to go home.

Of course, Patterson was eventually convicted and now serving two life sentences for the murder of Jayme's parents and also 40 years for the kidnapping itself.

CABRERA: It so chilling. What a brave girl. Thank you very much, Polo.

President Trump is in Mar-a-Lago for the holidays but there's no break from the impeachment battle. What he told a crowd of Republicans just last night. That's ahead. But first --

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: With nearly 4.5 billion air passengers last year, more people are flying than ever before. Aviation is expected to account for a quarter of the global carbon budget by 2050. The industry is under pressure to change.

Biofuels are renewable institutes for fossil fuels. They will be essential for lowering emissions across transportation according to the International Energy Association.

BRYAN SHERBACOW, CCO, WORLD ENERGY: Overtime ()ph, the potential is complete displacement for all of the fuel, quite frankly.

DEFTERIOS: Here at Los Angeles International Airport the fuel United Airlines purchased from World Energy goes into the general fuel tanks, meaning that all flights leaving LAX benefit from a portion of renewable fuel.

LAUREN RILEY, DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, UNITED AIRLINES: Our vision is that one day flying will be sustainable, that that will become the norm.

DEFTERIOS: John Defterios, CNN, Los Angeles.

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[17:55:00]

CABRERA: Let's head down under. Australia has been suffering a record heat wave and that has contributed to raging wildfires that are now threatening major cities like Sydney. Hundreds of wildfires are burning out of control across that country with no end in sight.

And as CNN Lynda Kinkade reports, the dire situation is also prompting an apology from Australia's prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONA ANCHOR (voice-over): Hundreds of active bush fires are raging across Australia after a record breaking heat wave. The unprecedented number of fires has already burned millions of acres and destroyed hundreds of homes all over the country.

Experts are saying rain is desperately needed but in some areas, rainfall has not fallen in over a year and it's not expected for months. The blazes are exacerbated by rising temperatures surpassing 40 degrees celsius, wind and of course the historic droughts.

The conditions have created the highest level of danger in recent days, according to local authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel extremely worried for the whole of Lithgow. The danger is extreme. I'm very afraid for all of us.

KINKADE (voice-over): There are hot spots in every state but in the southern parts of New South Wales and Victoria, the situation is desperate with over 100 active fires in each area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone's offering to help, but there's nothing they can do. Not for us now. Just stay out and stay safe and we hope that the firefighters can do their job.

KINKADE (voice-over): But the firefighters, many of them volunteers, are getting tired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't just keep going day after day after day after day, but we have to at this stage.

KINKADE (voice-over): They say it's time for the government to act. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They've got to come up with solutions for these

problems, climate, fires, drought, farmers, that's their job. That's what we vote them to do, the opposition in government to sort this out, to come up with solutions.

KINKADE (voice-over): Two firefighters died earlier this week when their vehicle hit a tree and rolled off the road during a firefighting operation. It prompted Prime Minister Scott Morrison to announce his return from a much criticized holiday in Hawaii while expressing regret for his ill-timed trip.

SCOTT MORRISON, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: I've obviously returned from leave and I know that has caused some great anxiety in Australia.

KINKADE (voice-over): Critics blame the prime minister for his inaction on climate change, something Morrison has denied in recent weeks. During his absence, acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack also recognized that further action is needed but added that a lot of hysteria about climate change is also part of the problem, linking bush fires to other causes.

MORRISON: It has always been the case. Our government has always and I have always acknowledged the connection between these weather events and these broader fire events and the impacts globally of climate change.

[17:59:59]

I'm sure people equally would acknowledge that the direct connection to any single fire event is not credible. We must take action on climate change.

KINKADE (voice-over): In the meantime, authorities are asking residents in --

[18:00:00]