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January 6th Committee To Vote On Criminal Referrals During Final Hearing; New York City Expects 1,000 Asylum Seekers A Week After Title 42 Ends; Authorities Encounter Up To 1,200 Migrants A Day In South Texas; Arctic Air To Blanket Much Of Central And Eastern U.S.; Father Of Highland Park Suspect Charged For Helping Son Buy Gun; Interview With Rep. French Hill (R-AR); Severe Turbulence Causes Injuries On Phoenix To Hawaii Flight; Series Explores Alcohol Drinking During The Pandemic; U.S. Scientists Announce Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 18, 2022 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Our thanks to Christine Romans. And next hour I'm going to speak with Congressman French Hill from Arkansas. He is on the Republican leadership team for the Financial Services Committee. And I'm going to get his response to the possibility of Congress banning crypto.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. The top stories on this Sunday.

It all comes down to tomorrow. The revelations to expect from the January 6th Committee, as they prepare for their final public meeting. Plus, growing concern that cities aren't prepared to deal with the number of migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico. We are live at the southern border and the White House for a look at what's being done.

And check out this live look right here. The party is on in Argentina after Messi led his team to a World Cup win.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, just hours from now the House committee investigating the Capitol riot will present its closing arguments to the American people and after 17 months and hundreds of interviews likely deliver a legal condemnation of a former U.S. president.

Tomorrow the January 6th is expected to call for the criminal prosecution of Donald Trump for his role in inciting the Capitol insurrection. And the committee is expected to refer at least three criminal charges against Trump to the Justice Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): If you look at Donald Trump acts and you match them up against the statute it's a pretty good match. I realized that statute hasn't been used a long time, but then when have we had a president essentially incite an attack on his own government?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN political correspondent Sara Murray joins us now.

All right, so, Sara, I mean, you know, for those who have been hearing from the committee over these last several months and hearing this reporting, the bottom line is, I mean, tomorrow could be a potential unprecedented rebuke of a former U.S. president. What can we expect?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, it is a big step. We are learning from a source that they are expected to refer Donald Trump to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution on insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and obstruction of an official proceeding.

So, look, it's significant. This is a moment for the committee to speak with one voice, to lay out the evidence they believe they found that Donald Trump committed a crime and sort of helping to set off this riot, and they've said they think it's important for them to lay out that evidence for the historical record as well as for the Justice Department.

As we know these are not legally binding. The Justice Department does not take it cues from members of Congress on who it is going to bring charges against. But I do think it will be a significant moment especially give, you know, over a year of work the committee has done, roughly 1,000 interviews, is really the culmination of all of that.

BROWN: It is. And Congressman Schiff says the committee is also considering action against the Republican lawmakers who defied their subpoenas. What is the committee saying about that?

MURRAY: That's right. You know, Schiff said earlier today that they are weighing what is an appropriate response for members of Congress who decide to just ignore a subpoena. This is sort of a thorny situation. You know, you're a member of Congress trying to hold another member of Congress accountable and in talking to a number of lawmakers they have suggested that, you know, a referral to the House Ethics Committee could be one of the routes for these five Republican congressmen who decided to essentially just snub the committee's subpoenas, you know?

It's also going to be an awkward position for these Republicans. They're about to take control of the House. They're going to be sending subpoenas. They're going to want people to abide by them. So we'll be on the lookout for referrals beyond just those criminal referrals at tomorrow's meeting.

BROWN: All right. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Sara Murray, thanks so much.

And I'll actually be part of that special coverage as well tomorrow starting at noon. And last hour I spoke with Jennifer Rodgers, a CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor for her take on a potential criminal referral against the former president. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I mean, if you think about what happened on January 6th as insurrection then you're almost there as long as you get your evidence in order. But that's really the issue, right, is how is an insurrection defined? And when you have a criminal charge that hasn't been used very much you have fewer definitions out there that you can rely on as far as a judge giving instructions to the jury. So that is a challenging charge for them just because it hasn't been used very often.

It may have to establish that in fact it was an insurrection that the former president was inciting and then you talk about the authority of the United States. Now that's not going to work because he was in charge of the United States still at the time but he indeed -- the insurrection was against the laws of the United States. The laws include the Constitution and include all of the provisions around the peaceful transfer of power and elections, and what Congress was doing on that day. So it does seem to be a good fit but there are a few wrinkles there in terms of getting it across the finish line for a charge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And Jennifer Rodgers also said that the Justice Department will strictly base its decision on law and accountability without any hint of politics.

And remember to join me and the rest of our CNN team for special coverage of the January 6th Committee's final public meeting tomorrow beginning at noon Eastern.

Well, there is new concern tonight that the border crisis is about to ramp up well beyond the southern border.

[18:05:05]

New York's mayor warned today that his city could see another 1,000 asylum seekers every week starting this week. That's because the Title 42 immigration policy which started under the Trump administration is set to expire on Wednesday. A judge is shutting it down even though the Biden administration warmed up to the role that it once criticized.

We'll take you live to the Mexican side of the border in just a moment but first let's bring in CNN White House reporter Kevin Liptak.

So, Kevin, what is the administration saying now with Title 42 likely ending on Wednesday?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House does say that they have a plan that they've been planning for months for this and essentially that they're doing what they can with the resources that they have right now but that certainly hasn't quieted criticism from lawmakers on the border saying that they aren't necessarily doing enough. What the White House says is this is a court order and that they have little choice in the matter.

And so some of the steps that they're taking is ramping up personnel on the border to deal with the processing of some of these migrants. They're building structures on the border to help house some of them. And they're increasing transportation routes and so some of these migrants can go to areas of the country that are less crowded. But what the White House says is that they need $3 billion from Congress to help with these resources.

Listen to a little bit more of what President Biden senior adviser Keisha Lance Bottoms said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: The president has been working very closely with our partners across the globe to address this global issue but we also need partnership at home. We need partnership from congress. And we need to focus on what this decades-old issue is. And that issue is making sure that we have comprehensive immigration reform, not focusing on trying to impeach the Homeland Security secretary.

We're going to keep working around the clock. And simply because people don't see the president at the border doesn't mean that he is not working.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So you hear her there addressing some of the criticism that President Biden hasn't visited the southern border himself. What the White House says is that he's engaged in other ways including speaking with foreign leaders. We will see him at the White House tomorrow met with the president of Ecuador. But the consistent message from the White House in all of this is that Congress needs to act but certainly, Pamela, there does not appear to be any appetite on Capitol Hill at least in this Congress to address immigration reform -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Kevin Liptak, live for us from White House tonight. Thank you.

A federal law enforcement source tells CNN the border authorities are coming face to face with as many as 1200 migrants a day in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. And we have just learned approximately 10,000 migrants could be waiting in two Mexican cities across the border waiting to cross into the United States.

CNN's Gustavo Valdes is just across the border from El Paso on the Mexican side.

So, Gustavo, are you seeing evidence of a surge right now?

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And just when we thought that things were slowing down because we had some rain and people left, we see more people arriving from other points of entry. This is not the only way they're crossing into the United States and throwing themselves in.

I'm going to say that in the couple of hours we've been here we've seen at least 250 people go into Border Patrol custody. And this is something that we've seen all weekend long, and there are hundreds if not thousands according to local officials in Juarez. People waiting for Wednesday. We hear some of the Venezuelans who have already tried and Border Patrol agents have told them to wait until Wednesday, and they give that advice to others trying to cross.

We've seen more people also come back and trying to find some place to stay in Ciudad Juarez. And like we said, south of the border in the Rio Grande Valley, also thousands of migrants are waiting for the opportunity to go into the United States.

You've been talking about whether President Biden should be at the border. After the last report we did one of the Venezuelans reminded us that President Biden and the first lady went into Ukraine to see the refugees and be with them as they arrive, and they're wondering why they are not allowed the same way into the United States this way. So it is a political policy. Politics is also in the mind of the people trying to get in. Many of them told us that they thought after Trump left office that maybe they would be more welcomed into the United States. And certainly that hasn't been the case.

BROWN: All right. Gustavo Valdes, thank you so much.

And then another border town, McAllen, Texas, the local Democratic congressman just told that he'd like to see more action from the Biden White House. As you know, President Biden appointed Vice President Harris to work with Central America on this issue. But Representative Vicente Gonzalez says both parties have got to go beyond just showing up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-TX): I think it's great for them to visit the border. I think they should. I think a lot more can be done than what's been done, but this is not a problem from just this administration.

[18:10:06]

I have been in office through both Democratic and Republican administrations. And when Republicans are in office, Democrats come down here and point fingers at them and say you're doing a horrible job on the border. And when Democrats are in office Republicans come and do this same thing.

BROWN: Yes, it's true.

GONZALEZ: This is not a Democratic or Republican problem. It's an American problem. We need to solve it together. We need real proposals. I don't want to see people coming down here for photo-ops.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: Gonzalez also told me he's looking for support from the White House for what he calls the Safe Zone Act and that would create a system where migrants from south of Mexico would be required to process their asylum claims at the Guatemalan border.

Well, still ahead for you on this Sunday night, this week millions are facing below zero temperatures. We're going to speak to the mayor of one city prepping for a day's long deep freeze.

Plus allies of GOP leader Kevin McCarthy think they're going to find the votes needed to make him the next House speaker. Does Republican French Hill agree? We're going to ask him.

Plus, a World Cup finale for the ages. Argentina wins and we'll show how they're celebrating in Buenos Aires tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:22]

BROWN: Well, parts of the United States are seeing frigid temperatures and the official start of the winter is still three days away. It's OK if you already thought it was winter. I certainly did. I didn't realize that. But in Great Falls, Montana, the thermometer dropped below zero early this morning. It is not expected to be back above zero until Friday.

Mayor Bob Kelly of Great Falls, Montana, joins us now.

Wow, until Friday. You have a whole week of this.

MAYOR BOB KELLY, GREAT FALLS, MONTANA: Yes.

BROWN: Now look, people in Montana are used to cold weather, right, but on Thursday the windchill could be around 50 below zero. Does your city need to take any extraordinary measures when it's this cold? What are you preparing for?

KELLY: Well, you know, and remember, it's not Dallas. We're kind of used to this. So we're a little bit proactive this week because it is pretty chilly even by our standards. We're just going to make sure that our schools can stay open and our kids can get to school. Our hospitals have the power that they need and I really think that our infrastructure will hold up during the whole event.

BROWN: So tourism, as we know, is big business for Great Falls, especially around the holidays, right? What would you say to anyone coming to Great Falls this week for the holidays other than bundle up?

KELLY: Bring an extra coat and, you know, make plans to get here early and stay a little longer especially through the weekend if you can. But we anticipate most people who are coming here, you know, have experienced this before.

BROWN: Right. Exactly. If you're going to Montana this time of year you've got to expect at least it's going to be cold, right? So the "Great Falls Tribune" reported that the Great Falls community food bank has seen the demand for food increase by more than 70 percent over the last nine months. Do you worry that a family is going to have to choose between eating and paying the gas bill?

KELLY: You know, Pam, that's something that we worry about all the time in our community and I think based on, you know, kind of what's happened in the last couple of years with the pandemic, inflation, et cetera, and some of the issues, our community like many others is going through some tough times so knowing that the food bank is in need of supplies, it means that the community will step up and we will step up to make sure that families don't have to make that choice.

BROWN: What advice do you have for your city's residents heading into this polar plunge?

KELLY: Take care of your pipes, take care of your kids, take care of your neighbors. Make sure that if you have to go outside or you have to get things you do it at the warmest part of the day which I think the high for Wednesday or Thursday, 17 below, so you don't have a lot of choice here. But I think just be careful and just make sure that you take care of yourselves and your neighbors.

BROWN: All right. Mayor Bob Kelly, best of luck. Thanks so much.

KELLY: Thank you.

BROWN: And still ahead on this Sunday, crypto, it is a controversial currency and Congress may be a big step closer to deciding to crack down on it. I'll ask a lawmaker who will have a say, Republican French Hill, where he stands, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:22:35]

BROWN: The young man accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens more at the Fourth of July parade this year in Highland Park, Illinois, faces dozens of counts of murder, attempted murder, and aggravated battery. But now his father has also been charged. He faces seven counts of felony reckless conduct for signing his son's application to buy a gun. Robert Crimo, Jr. agreed to sponsor his son's gun license after months -- just after months after local police had gotten a report the boy had threatened to kill everyone in his family.

CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson joins us now with more.

Good to see you, Joey. So this father claims he is not responsible for his son's actions. Prosecutors disagree. What's your take?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. Pamela, good evening to you. My take is that it's high time that prosecutors look to hold anyone and everyone accountable and responsible who may potentially -- I say potentially -- be responsible. My take, Pamela, is that it should go before a jury and I think a jury should make a determination as to whether the steps that were taken by the father were appropriate or inappropriate.

Under the law, you have to analyze the extent to which the father was reckless. Did he consciously disregard a risk that his son could injure people based upon or kill, right, as happened here both, right? The fact is, is that he has that as the father a heightened responsibility. He lives in the household. He was aware with respect to the issues that were occurring in the household.

He was aware of the domestic concerns that police were engaging there and repeated responses to that household. So why would he sponsor the application? I think he has a lot of explaining to do. I think a jury should make the ultimate determination, and I think prosecutors are right for moving forward and covering this very important base which is that anybody who's an enabler should really be looked, examined, and really held responsible if appropriate.

BROWN: And this of course comes after the parents of the Michigan school shooter, they are set to go on trial in January on charges of involuntary manslaughter. They allowed their troubled son access to the handgun he allegedly used to kill four students in a mass shooting last year. You know, and so we are seeing more of these kinds of charges. In the lack of meaningful gun reform, is this at least a way for people to hold someone accountable?

JACKSON: I really do think so, Pamela. I think if you look at the tenants behind even the justice system, really they relate to a few things.

[18:25:01]

The one thing they relate to certainly is the issue of accountability but they relate to deterring people. They relate to really acting in a way that you punish people if it gets to that level and they're convicted in a way that's appropriate. And it relates to really looking at and examining our institutions and our people and seeing what their conduct is so that we could really examine their conduct and prevent other conduct in the future.

And so I think that when you examine this in total you as a prosecutor have a responsibility here to look at all angles. And is this an angle that might potentially, will the next father, the next mother, the next relative, the next person who potentially could sponsor someone, will they look more closely and will that examination and looking more closely lead to them perhaps not sponsoring a gun? And will the gun not being in the hand lead to, right, or not lead to, potentially certain death?

So I think prosecutors are examining this closely, and I believe the time has come for them to do so. I think it's an important step in the process.

BROWN: All right, Joey Jackson. Thanks for the analysis. Appreciate it.

Still ahead for you on this Sunday, cryptocurrency recently has felt less like an investment and more like a gamble. But should it be illegal? I'll ask a Republican on the House Financial Services Committee up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:33]

BROWN: After a nerve-wracking World Cup finale fans in Argentina celebrate their win over defending champion France. For soccer super star Lionel Messi finally a chance to lift the World Cup trophy after a thrilling penalty shootout victory.

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon is in Buenos Aires and still partying with the locals.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, by looking at their faces most of the people around me have never seen Argentina winning the FIFA World Cup. The ultimate trophy award of soccer. They had to wait for 36 years and since the late Diego Armando Maradona managed to do it in 1986 in Mexico.

And this time, this Sunday, it's Maradona's heir, Lionel Messi, the kid who went to Spain when he was 13 to learn how to play soccer. He came back to Argentina as a prodigal son carrying the ultimate prize in world sports.

It's a nation right now, Pamela, that has fallen in love with their national soccer team and you can tell that the party here in Buenos Aires will go on today and on Monday as the team will come back from Qatar.

It's happening in a moment where Argentina is in the middle of a deep financial crisis but for once it's tears of joy from Argentina -- Pamela.

BROWN: Getting little hot there. All right. Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much. And we'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:36:33]

BROWN: Could Congress ban cryptocurrency? Lawmakers could face pressure to make it illegal in the U.S. after the stunning collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. Here's the Senate Banking chairman Sherrod Brown this morning responding to the suggestion Congress should outlaw the digital currency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): I share that thought, and although banning it is very difficult because it will go offshore, and who knows how that will work, so this is a complicated, unregulated pot of money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So let's discuss all of this with Republican Congressman French Hill of Arkansas. He is a member of the Financial Services Committee and he has an A-rating from a pro-crypto lobbying group, Crypto Action Network.

Hi, Congressman Hill. So what is your take? Should Congress consider banning crypto altogether?

REP. FRENCH HILL (R-AR): Well, Pam, it's good to be with you. Merry Christmas and happy first night of Hanukkah. I think the important thing to think about here is that we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water. That is that blockchain technology in the future to reduce agency cost and make certain business transactions better accompanied by some sort of a digital payment is something that we want to see that innovation in the United States and led by U.S. companies and U.S. innovators so I can't be a fan of the idea of banning cryptocurrency or digital assets in the U.S. I think we've got to have an effective definition and an effective regulatory system, and that will benefit the U.S. investors and I think the whole idea of blockchain.

BROWN: So as you probably know actor Benjamin McKenzie, he had testified on the Hill. He had called cryptocurrency the largest Ponzi scheme in history. What would you tell a family member who wants to invest in crypto?

HILL: Well, I think it's absolutely an unregulated buyer beware market with a lot of fraudsters engaged. You know, this is the 14th anniversary of the Bernie Madoff fraud that was in the news and now FTX I think will far dwarf anything that Bernie Madoff did wrong with over a million creditors. So I would say I would not recommend people invest in cryptocurrency if they don't have the money to risk because I don't think it's a transparent clear and well-regulated market.

It's an experiment item out there in innovation and sophisticated people themselves gave money to Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX, and they've lost that money.

BROWN: Right. So -- but what about oversight then? You know, OK, so it's buyer beware. Is Congress going to do more to crack down?

HILL: Two comments there. One I think there are existing securities laws that the Securities and Exchange Commission and commodities laws around the Commodities Future Trading Commission that should have been put in place, and those two watchdog agencies could have done more I think to protect investors and given transparency even to FTX as it was constructed.

In Congress I believe you'll see a bipartisan effort to define a digital asset and regulate digital assets and we've already made strides at that this fall with work by Maxine Waters in California working with Patrick McHenry of North Carolina on a bill to regulate stable coins.

BROWN: I want to turn to Kevin McCarthy and the pursuit of the speaker's gavel.

[18:40:02]

It's still a lot up in the air for next month when Republicans have the majority of the House. Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin told CNN's Jake Tapper that Republicans, quote, "will get there," unquote, on McCarthy. What do you think? Do you think he can get the 218 votes he needs considering five members have come out to say they oppose him?

HILL: Well, Kevin McCarthy won a secret ballot in the Republican conference 85 percent to be nominated as speaker-elect for his efforts. He's worked tirelessly to recruit good candidates, define the visionary legislative agenda that's in the American commitment to America, and Kevin deserves a shot at being speaker of the House, and I plan on supporting him. I think he'll get there.

BROWN: You do think he will get there. So you agree with that. OK. So I want to ask you about another issue right now. The crisis at the border, the immigration crisis, border officials are preparing for a surge of migrants when Title 42 expires on Wednesday. Republicans, they have been quick to pin this crisis on President Biden but White House official Keisha Lance Bottoms said the onus is on Congress to figure out a solution. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: The president has said he wants to get things done in a bipartisan manner. Remember, Republicans will control the House so the need for Republicans in Congress to say what they won't do has now been removed. Now tell us what you will do to work with the president to make sure that we have comprehensive immigration reform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So what do you say to that, Congressman?

HILL: Well, in 2018 Republicans put comprehensive immigration reform on the House floor in two different --

BROWN: But 41 Republicans voted against that.

HILL: True. But that's a completely different Congress. My point is that we had leadership to develop in committee comprehensive immigration reform and border security. We didn't get any support from Democrats on that and we've had no support from Joe Biden on border security since he was sworn into office. In fact he did away with the Trump policies that by the end of the Trump administration were working, and the president didn't replace them with anything, Pamela.

That's what's disappointing to the American people. Unsafe streets. Record amounts of fentanyl. Record amount of human trafficking at risk in the country. And I think Republicans do have concrete, specific proposals we'd like to vote to reform immigration and secure the border.

BROWN: I just want -- to be clear here, though, because, look, the bottom line is both Republicans and Democrats they say it's a problem. Nothing has been done. Both have been majorities in Congress. Both have been in the White House. That's the bottom line. But I do want to be clear with our viewers on the fentanyl aspect and so forth. I know that that is a common talking point.

A majority of the fentanyl seized, it is at legal points of entry, and the majority are from legal residents or American citizens. So I do want to point that out. But, you know, what else -- I mean, what specifically would you do? What specifically as a Republican who's going to be in the majority in the House? What specifically would you do?

HILL: Well, first, I've been to the border seven times in the past seven and a half years listening to county judges, sheriffs, state police officials, Border Patrol agents, customs agents, listening to on the ground precisely what we should do. Here's what they tell me. And they would tell the president if he would show up at the border and listen.

Number one, enforce the existing immigration laws. They're not doing that. We're not deporting felons who are in the country illegally at the same rate at even President Obama. We're not enforcing the asylum process correctly. President Trump made some proposals to do that. So number one, do that.

Next add judges. We added judges during the Trump administration. We need to continue to add judges to adjudicate those cases. We need to amend the laws, the immigration laws, and we can recommend for example the definition of credible fear should be fine-tuned there. And then we need to build the border security that the Border Patrol recommends and that's what President Trump tried to do in the fight over the so- called border wall, and President Biden stopped building it.

And we're still paying for it. We're just not building it. So there's a number of concrete proposals but first and foremost the administration should go to the border and listen to the people whose job it is to secure it for those best recommendations.

BROWN: And the part about still paying for it, not building it, we need a bit of a fact check there. But I want to move on because Governor Asa Hutchinson from your state of Arkansas, he said today, this morning, that he is very seriously considering a 2024 run for the White House. And then you have Republican Senator Pat Toomey who you have worked closely with also weighing in on the future of the GOP. And here's what he said.

[18:45:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): I've heard from many, many formerly very pro- Trump voters that they think it's time for our party to move on. So yes, I think that process is underway. It doesn't -- it's not a flip of a switch. It doesn't happen overnight. He still has a significant following, that's for sure. But I do think his influence is waning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So in your district do you get the sense that people want a different leader than former President Trump? HILL: Well, here in Arkansas it's a very red state and I think people

are wanting Republican leadership in 2024. And what I've heard from my county is they're open minded about that. Many of the supporters in my district are attracted to Governor DeSantis. Governor Hutchinson has supporters. The point is that we have a deep bench of talented Republicans that could run for the 2024 presidential election and I think that process is well underway as we turn the new year. And my recommendation is --

BROWN: So then would you like to see one of those other leaders?

(CROSSTALK)

HILL: I think both political parties ought to not renominate President Trump and President Biden. I'm for generational change. I think it would be good for the country to go in a new direction there and I think we've got a remarkably talented Republican bench to run for the Republican nomination.

BROWN: You just answered that question. And I also want to circle back because we're a stickler for facts on this show. On the immigration front in July the Biden administration actually did allow funds to close the border wall in Arizona, parts of the border wall. Announced plans to do that. So I just want to put that out there. Final words from you --

HILL: No, that's a tinny tiny step just for political purposes before the midterm elections. There are hundreds of miles of border wall that we funded to be built that are not being built. That was a very modest switch in the Biden policy.

BROWN: All right, well, Republican Congressman French Hill, I really appreciate your time tonight. Thank you so much for coming on.

HILL: Great to be with you, Pamela. And Merry Christmas to you.

BROWN: Happy holidays to you.

And we have some news into CNN. A report of dozens of injuries on a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu. We're going to have more on that with CNN's Pete Muntean in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:52:01]

BROWN: Just in to CNN, severe turbulence on a flight from Phoenix to Hawaii has reportedly injured passengers and crew members.

CNN's Pete Muntean joins us now with more. So, Pete, what are you hearing?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, we're getting very basic information right now, Pamela, from the FAA. And they tell us that this flight with severe turbulence about three hours ago, 10:45 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time, that's five hours behind the East Coast.

This flight, an Airbus A-330, a very large airplane, had to hit very extreme turbulence for this to happen. The FAA calls it severe turbulence but an Airbus like this weighs about a quarter of a million pounds, 274,000 pounds. Twin-aisle airplane. Very large. You probably have been on one before. They usually fly on Trans-Atlantic, Trans- Pacific routes.

This flight we know from the FAA injured -- the severe turbulence passengers and crew. We do not know the exact number of how many people were injured just yet, although the FAA said it's looking into this.

I looked in FlightAware, flight tracking site, also overlaid some of the weather at the time. It looks like there were thunderstorms in the area at the time of this accident. Thunderstorms produced incredible up and downdrafts, typically they're avoided by airplanes large and small. That will be something that investigators will look into here that the weather at the time of the incident, the altitude of the airplane, it was cruising at a relatively high altitude in that long stretch of water between California and Honolulu. But also, whether or not the airplane was in a descent, if it was coming into land. A lot of big questions here.

BROWN: Yes.

MUNTEAN: But this turbulence had to be very, very extreme to cause injuries like this, which is very rare. It's something that investigators at the FAA and also the NTSB are looking into for a long time just sort of underscores why flight crews tell you to stay in your seat with the seatbelt on. Even if the air is smooth, things can go awry very quickly and it can hurt people, too.

BROWN: Right. But at least as you say, it is rare. Wow. Pete Muntean, thank you so much.

It's a staggering statistic, about 15 million people in the United States are dealing with alcohol addiction. In tonight's new episode of "THIS IS LIFE" Lisa Ling looks at how this problem exploded during the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE": How hard does someone have to drink to get to the point where they develop liver disease?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So for a woman, that would be four drinks a day. A man would be five. If you're binge drinking, it's that kind of pattern of alcohol use that leads to more severe liver dysfunction.

LING: Well, I know there are probably a lot of people who may not be seeing the consequences now but is it giving birth to what could be just a disastrous situation years down the line?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think we're already there. The number of referrals for liver transplant in young people, particularly young women, have gone up.

[18:55:05]

I mean, a week ago Friday we had 24 referrals for liver transplant in one day.

LING: Oh my -- in your entire career, have you ever --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no.

LING: Would you ever have thought?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Never. Alcohol is the biggest problem in America right now and it's one that no one has really talked about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Wow. The host of "THIS IS LIFE" Lisa Ling joins us now.

This is really eye-opening, Lisa, that doctor you spoke to saying alcohol is the biggest problem in the country right now. Help put that in perspective for us. How serious is this situation?

LING: Well, it's incredibly serious and the problem is that it's totally legal and totally celebrated. But it is the biggest addiction in America. In fact, it kills more people than prescription pills, heroin and cocaine combined. 15 million Americans repeatedly struggle with alcohol use disorder and that doctor told me that he has spent a 20-year career, most of the people that he would perform surgeries on were men in their 60s and they had, you know, been drinking for decades in some cases because alcohol use disorder is a progressive disease.

He said in the last couple of years, cases or people put on liver transplants exploded, it's gone up 325 percent, and in fact, the population hardest hit are women under 35.

BROWN: Wow. Women under 35. And as you say, 15 million Americans impacted by this. It's interesting, too, because the opioid crisis has been so prominent in the news the last several years, so much focus on that. You know, is the alcohol crisis getting the attention it needs? What are some of the potential solutions that you learned about?

LING: Well, it's not getting the attention that it needs to get. I mean, the thing about fentanyl and opioids is they're very easily addictive. Alcohol use disorder, alcoholism, it can sometimes take long periods of time, but look, during the pandemic, I started drinking. To get through my day, I had to have a drink at the end of the night. Well, months later, I had to have two drinks but after I worked on this episode, I just completely cut it all out because you can see how that progression can begin.

And are there solutions? Certainly there are things that people can be doing but one thing that is important to note that the liver is resilient organ and so if you're starting to have -- if this organ is starting to become affected, you can actually reverse that deterioration by just stopping or slowing down tremendously. And so that's something that people really need to know.

BROWN: Yes. That is true. The liver in particular is a resilient organ. But just such an interesting spotlight on an important issue that many of us are probably reevaluating after hearing you talk about this, how much we drink.

Lisa Ling, thank you and congrats on nine seasons of "THIS IS LIFE" right here on CNN.

Be sure to tune in all new back-to-back episodes of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" airing tonight starting at 9:00 right here on CNN.

Well, a historic breakthrough that could change life on this planet. Scientists have figured out how to replicate the energy of the sun from a nuclear fusion reaction. So just how long could it be until there's an unlimited supply of clean energy.

CNN's Rene Marsh takes a look at how scientists are moving forward with the so-called holy grail of carbon-free power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER GRANHOLM, ENERGY SECRETARY: This is one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century, or as the president might say, this is a BFD.

RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The breakthrough happened inside this Department of Energy lab in California. U.S. scientists have effectively figured out how to bottle the sun, using 192 high-powered lasers to simultaneously fire upon two hydrogen atoms. The pressure and heat fused them together unleashing energy that replicates the conditions that has allowed the sun to burn bright for billions of years.

GRANHOLM: This milestone moves us one significant step closer to the possibility of zero carbon, abundant fusion energy powering our society. We could use it to produce clean electricity, transportation fuels, power heavy industry.

MARSH: On December 5th, for the first time ever, the fusion produced more energy than the lasers used to drive it. For an energy source to be viable, the energy output must be larger than the energy used to produce it, proving nuclear fusion is a feasible energy source with no carbon footprint and no radioactive waste.

DR. ARATI PRABHAKAR, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY: It took not just one generation, but generations of people pursuing this goal. And it's a scientific milestone.

MARSH: The discovery is critical in the quest to pivot away from dirty energy sources, like fossil fuels, and power our everyday lives using clean energy.