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Benjamin Netanyahu Faces Party Leadership Challenge; GOP Senator Offers First Public Criticism Of Impeachment Strategy; Typhoon Phanfone Kills At Least 16; Royal Family Attends Annual Christmas Day Church Service; Boeing's Public Relations Push To Salvage 737 MAX Jets; Top Nine Trending Business Stories of 2019. Aired 12-12:30a ET
Aired December 26, 2019 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause, live from Studio 7 at CNN World Headquarters.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM: with looming criminal indictments and after failing to form a government twice, Israel's longest serving prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now facing his first serious challenge for the leadership of his Likud Party.
Christmas misery for the Philippines after a deadly typhoon pummeled once small island after another, destroying homes and buildings, uprooting trees and flooding cars.
And Boeing's PR blitz to regain public trust in the wake of two crashes just months apart involving their 737 MAX airliner.
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VAUSE: And we begin with a security scare for the Israeli prime minister, rushed from the stage of a campaign rally and surrounded by bodyguards was taken a nearby bomb shelter with Israel about to vote in its third national election in 12 months. Benjamin Netanyahu was on the stump in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon when air raid sirens warned of an incoming rocket fire coming from Gaza.
Netanyahu returned to the stage, saying the rocket had been intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system. The prime minister is staring down the first serious challenge to his leadership of his political party. His opponent has openly challenged Netanyahu and in the coming hours, thousands of party members are expected to vote. CNN's Oren Liebermann reports from Jerusalem.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a serious challenge for the leadership of the Likud, the political party he has led for more than a decade. His challenger, hardline right wing hardcore politician Gideon Sa'ar,
a former minister of education. Whoever wins this race becomes the leader of the Likud Party and will be Likud's candidate for prime minister in the election in March. If Netanyahu win, the political map doesn't really change that much.
But if Sa'ar wins, it could effectively be the end of Netanyahu. He remains prime minister until someone else forms a government after the next elections. The 70-year-old Israeli leader has pretty much ignored Sa'ar during the short campaign, instead focusing on his own accomplishments as prime minister.
Meanwhile Sa'ar promises to succeed where Netanyahu has failed and break Israel's political deadlock. Political analysts expect Netanyahu to win, he's won all the last leadership races for the Likud in a big way. No other challenger has gotten even 30 percent of the vote in more than a decade.
What about this time?
Netanyahu faces a much more difficult situation. After the two last national elections, he failed to form a government. Now he faces criminal indictment on charges of bribery and fraud and breach of trust in separate corruption investigations. He says he's innocent but it's one more bump in the road for him and his race.
Netanyahu wants to win and win big. If he takes this leadership race, something like 80-20, it cements his control of the Likud Party and shows the strong loyalty that the party has to its longtime leader.
But if this is a close race, for example 55- 45 or something along those lines, it will be seen as a major blow to Netanyahu. He may have won but if he doesn't win big, it's a sign that the party might be shifting away from him and in a different direction.
That could do a damage to Netanyahu in the upcoming election in March. We expect results of the leadership race sometime in the early hours of Friday morning local time -- Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.
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VAUSE: Democrats and Republicans dig in over procedural matters for the upcoming impeachment trial of Donald Trump. One Republican senator has appeared to side with Democrats, overtly criticizing Senate leader Mitch McConnell who said the trial would be in total coordination with the White House defense team.
Senator Lisa Murkowski says those remarks are disturbing.
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SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): To me it means that we have to take that step back from being hand in glove with the defense. And so, I heard what leader McConnell had said, I happen to think that that has further confused the process.
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VAUSE: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has delayed sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate until leader Mitch McConnell announces the rules for the upcoming president's trial.
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VAUSE: A powerful typhoon has claimed at least five lives in the Philippines. Phanfone made fall on Tuesday, bringing strong, gusting winds, heavy rain and storm surges. Early reports indicate that some areas have received as much as 20 centimeters of rain.
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VAUSE: Authorities in central Chile believe that arson is responsible for wildfires which have spread to the outskirts of the coastal city of Valparaiso about 120 kilometers from the capital. At least 200 houses have been destroyed and families have been left homeless. Thousands of residents have been hit with power outages. But so far no lives have been lost and no one has been seriously hurt.
During her annual Christmas message, Queen Elizabeth reflected on a turbulent 2019. But for the royal family, the year ended with some good news. The queen's husband, Prince Philip, was discharged from the hospital in time to spend Christmas with family. But he was unable to attend church services on Wednesday at Sandringham.
Instead, the queen was joined by Prince Charles and wife, Camilla, as well as William and Kate and two of their three children. But Prince Harry and wife, Meghan, were on vacation in Canada.
Later, during a televised message, Her Majesty talked about the need for reconciliation and urged everyone to follow the example of Jesus.
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ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF ENGLAND: Many of us already try to follow in his footsteps. The path, of course, is not always smooth and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy.
But small steps can make a world of difference. And as we all look forward to the start of a new decade, it's worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.
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VAUSE: Like most families, the royals had their highs and lows in 2019. They celebrated the birth of baby Archie to Harry and Meghan. They agonized over the very public sex scandal involving Prince Andrew. Last month he announced that he was stepping back from public duties and on Wednesday he quietly slipped into Sandringham for that private church service with the family. Max Foster has more about the royal year in review.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been a tumultuous and unsettling year for the British royal family with three senior members stepping back from public life. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did so voluntarily but only temporarily after a series of run-ins with the media.
In March, CNN revealed that palace staff had to beef up their social media operation amid a rise in racist abuse targeting the Duchess.
Then in October, the couple revealed in a documentary with ITV how difficult they were finding life in the spotlight.
"I never thought that this would be easy but I thought that it would be fair," the duchess said.
They also went on the offensive over what Harry described as a "tabloid campaign" against Meghan that mirrored the treatment meted out to his mother, Princess Diana. The Duchess sued "The Mail" on Sunday alleging that it illegally published a private letter to her father.
The Duke launched his own legal proceedings against the "Daily Mirror" and "The Sun" over alleged phone hacking.
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FOSTER (voice-over): All the publications deny all the charges and have vowed to fight them vigorously.
The queen's second son, Prince Andrew, also retreated from public life at the end of the year. But this may be longer term. It followed an interview he did with the BBC and the media backlash that followed it in which he talked about his association with the convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein had allegedly trafficked Virginia Giuffre when she was 17 years old and forced her to have sex with the Duke of York and others. He said he had no recollection of ever meeting her but failed to express sympathy for Epstein's victims in the interview or any regret for his relationship with the disgraced financier.
He only did so in a follow-up statement, in which he said, "I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein. His suicide has left many unanswered questions, particularly for his victims and I deeply sympathize with everyone who's been affected and wants some form of closure."
CNN understands that Andrew decided to step back from his public roles after a meeting with his mother. The queen remains firmly in charge of the family, we're told, and has no intention of stepping back from public life herself, despite heading into her 94th year -- Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VAUSE: Still to come, it's a simple message; there's nothing to fear, Boeing's PR blitz, working overtime to convince the flying public the 737 MAX will be safe.
Also ahead, remember way back, when they couldn't get over the plant based substitute for a cow?
And they said it wouldn't last?
They were right. After the break, a big serving of the year's top business stories right here on CNN NEWSROOM.
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VAUSE: Last week, Boeing fired its CEO and now the company has reportedly launched a frantic PR blitz to try to regain the trust of airlines around the world and the flying public. After the 737 MAX was involved in two fatal crashes just months apart. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has details.
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VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Boeing has been doing damage control behind the scenes after these two horrific crashes involving their 737 MAX jets.
Now according to documents obtained by "The New York Times," Boeing has been serving thousands of customers around the world since May about what they would feel safe flying on the MAX once it is back in service.
Earlier this month 40 percent of passengers told the company they would not be flying on the MAX and that is unchanged from October. Boeing is also reaching out to the airlines, according to "The New York Times."
Last week they held 30-minute conference calls with major airlines outlining how they can respond to passengers who may have concerns about flying on the MAX 737.
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YURKEVICH: For example, if a passenger realizes they're on a MAX at the gate, Boeing is suggesting to agents they should rebook them on a different flight or even have the pilot speak to them in person to reassure them.
Or if a passenger starts to panic in air, Boeing suggests treating it like a medical emergency and try and de-escalate that passenger.
We reached out to Boeing on all of this and here's what they had to say, quote, "We routinely engage with our airline customers, communications teams, to seek their feedback and brief them on our latest plans. Each airline is different in their needs so we provide a wide range of documents and assistance that they can choose to use or tailor as they see fit."
Now this is all coming after earlier this week when Boeing fired their CEO but what these documents, obtained by "The New York Times," reveal is that Boeing is very conscious of the uphill battle it has with passengers and regaining their trust after the loss of 346 lives in those two horrific crashes -- back to you.
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VAUSE: The biggest crisis at Boeing in a generation was just one of the big business stories which dominated the headlines in 2019. CNN's Christine Romans has the rest.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The unicorn bubble burst, the longest U.S. auto strike in 50 years, the tech backlash and the U.S.-China trade war, these are the top business stories of 2019.
Number nine, fake meat starts a real food revolution. This year, corporate America and Foodies went wild for plant-based protein and two companies drove the craze, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, inking deals with big-name chains.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST: Burger King will begin selling a meatless Whopper.
ROMANS: Beyond Meat's massive Wall Street debut --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beyond Meat's 163 percent spike --
ROMANS: And demand so high, Impossible Foods briefly ran out of burgers.
Plant-based meat appeals to consumers worried about their own health and the environment.
Number eight, Amazon abandons plans for a New York headquarters.
In 2017, CEO Jeff Bezos and Amazon launched a highly publicized bidding war.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amazon is shopping for a second headquarters.
ROMANS: New York City emerged as one of the winners. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had said HQ2 would launch New York as a rival to Silicon Valley and New York Mayor de Blasio promised it would benefit locals.
But HQ2 did not get a warm welcome from everyone in the Big Apple. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amazon pulling the plug on plans to build a campus in New York City.
ROMANS: Progressive New York politicians, like Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, criticized the billions in promised tax breaks and state grants.
Amazon didn't like the heat and killed the deal.
Number seven, the unicorn bubble bursts.
Wall Street had high hopes for the market debut of startups worth at least $1 billion.
QUEST: Lyft is leading a herd of unicorns.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your Uber has arrived.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Slack shares rockets.
ROMANS: But enthusiasm quickly became disappointment.
QUEST: The year's biggest IPO is struggling --
ROMANS: The problem, the companies aren't profitable. And In the case of Uber and Lyft ...
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Uber released stunning statistics about sexual assault.
ROMANS: -- are rocked by scandals.
But the most disastrous IPO --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: WeWork was one of the highest flying startups and now it can't get its IPO off the ground.
ROMANS: Investors didn't like WeWork's huge losses and the unchecked power of founder Adam Neumann. WeWork postponed its IPO and pushed out Neumann but not before handing him a billion-dollar exit package.
Meanwhile, the company laid off thousands to cut costs.
Number six, companies get political.
In 2019, corporate America refused to stay quiet on controversial issues.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Walmart is announcing major changes in its gun policies a month after 22 people were killed in a shooting rampage at a Walmart.
ROMANS: Following the lead of retailers like Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart exited the handgun market completely, stopped selling some ammunition and banned open carry in stores. But it didn't stop there.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Walmart's CEO sent a letter to Congress today demanding lawmakers do their part to stop gun violence.
ROMANS: It wasn't an accolades in 2019. Some companies were hurt by their political affiliations.
Like SoulCycle and Equinox, consumers boycotted after their billionaire owner held a high-dollar fundraiser for President Trump. And China briefly blacklisted the NBA when a general manager tweeted his support of the Hong Kong protesters. The league scrambled to backtrack only to face backlash back home.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Bipartisan outrage today at the NBA for apologizing to the government of China.
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ROMANS: The NBA has spent years and millions trying to grow in China.
Number five, the GM strike.
It was the longest nationwide auto strike in 50 years.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Contract talks between General Motors and the United Auto Workers broke off --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are just some of the workers that are protesting, 50,000 nationwide.
ROMANS: For six weeks, UAW members stood on the picket lines while both sides negotiated the future of a changing auto industry. The union won raises and Affordable Health Care but failed to get GM to shift production back to the U.S.
It also couldn't keep three plants from closing, including a plant the president repeatedly promised Ohio voters he would save.
TRUMP: Lordstown, Ohio. Get the damn plants open.
ROMANS: The strike cost GM nearly $3 billion.
Number four, the Boeing 737 MAX Crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A devastating plane crash in Ethiopia with no survivors --
ROMANS: This was the second fatal crash of Boeing's 737 MAX within five months, killing 346 people in all. Boeing's planes were grounded and a flaw in the automated flight software blamed.
The investigation sparked uncomfortable questions for Boeing about regulatory oversight, training standards and if the company had rushed the 737 MAX to market.
Boeing's CEO admitted to Congress and the victims' families, the scrutiny was deserved.
DENNIS MUILENBURG, FORMER CEO: We've been challenged and changed by these accidents. We've made mistakes and we got some things wrong.
ROMANS: Boeing continues to work on a software fix.
Until then, the 737 MAX remains grounded.
Number three, the big tech backlash heads to Washington.
Following years of criticism over data abuse and misinformation, regulators cracked down on big tech in 2019. The FTC hit Facebook with a record fine.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: $5 billion, that's how much Facebook is being forced to pay up over privacy breaches.
ROMANS: Fifty attorneys general launched an anti-trust probe into Google and Facebook CEO faced bipartisan fury in six hours of congressional testimony.
The GOP claimed liberal bias while the Dems attacked lies in political ads.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Do you see a potential problem here with a complete lack of fact-checking on political advertisements?
MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO, FACEBOOK: Well, Congresswoman, I think lying is bad.
ROMANS: A few companies like Twitter took action, banning political ads, but time will tell if this brings real oversight to big tech.
Number two, a strong U.S. economy.
Despite a global slowdown, the U.S. economy remains solid. Like the U.S. consumer, spending money and keeping the economy growing. Unemployment is at a 50-year low.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last time it was that low, The Beatles' "Come Together" song was at the top of the charts.
ROMANS: Major averages on Wall Street keep hitting record highs.
Hope for U.S.-China trade deal kept stocks climbing, but you can also thank the Federal Reserve.
In 2019, the Fed cut interest rates, not once, not twice, but three times. Central banks wanted to counter uncertainty over trade.
Speaking of, number one, the U.S.-China trade war.
China and the U.S. finally reached a phase-one agreement, but 2019 saw major fallout from the 19-month-long trade war. Trade talks seemed to move ahead, then stalled leaving progress uncertain.
Meanwhile, both countries slapped tariffs on products worth hundreds of billions of dollars, slowing economic growth, shrinking the manufacturing sector and stalling job creation there, a significant slowdown from the prior years.
While U.S. farmers, many who supported Trump, felt like collateral damage in his trade war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's sort of backstabbing the main people who got him into office in the Midwest.
ROMANS: American business and consumers pay for tariffs.
The phase one deal is an important first step, but not the grand course correction Trump promised at the start of the trade war.
It's a narrow agreement that leaves the thorny issues for 2020.
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VAUSE: VAUSE: Still to come, what do the stars in the night sky sound like?
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VAUSE (voice-over): Those without sight can now hear and feel the vast expansiveness of the cosmos. We will explain in a moment.
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VAUSE: How do you explain to someone who is visually impaired the beauty and the mystery and the vast expansiveness of the night sky?
Astronomer Nicolas Bonne knows how.
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NICOLAS BONNE, ASTRONOMER (voice-over): Astronomy is a visual subject and something that visually impaired people can find hard to access or get interested in. We take regular astronomy images that you'd show to the public to get them excited about astronomy but we make them tactile.
And the way we do this is we 3D print our models and we have a nice software one of my colleagues wrote that basically takes the brightness of any part of the image and turned into a tactile height.
So by running your fingertips on top of this you will feel the image in exactly the same way that your eyes will be seeing the image. So you're feeling there a bright feeling amidst the dim and you can get an overall picture of the shape.
And, of course, on the backs of these, we have the images that these were made from so people can look at one side and feel the other side if they have a little bit of usable vision. Some people will be much more comfortable using their ears than their fingertips so we are eventually going to introduce audio components to all of this as well.
What we're hearing is what it would sound like if we would listen to all of the stars that you can see just using the naked eye. The louder noises are the brighter stars, the lighter noises are the fainter stars, which appear louder on as the sun gets lower and lower below the horizon.
The high pitched stars are blue and the low pitched stars are red. So there's a lot of information.
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VAUSE: That's how.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Your headlines are next.
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