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New York City Declares State of Emergency and Travel Ban; Migrants Wait in Cold at the Border for Chance to Request for Asylum; January 6th Committee Releases 40 Plus Additional Witness Transcripts; Top Business Stories Of The Year; Russian Shelling Kills At least 10 In Ukrainian City Of Kherson; Zelenskyy: Kherson Shelling Is Act Of "Terror"; Russia: Patriot Systems Can Lead To "Unpredictable Consequences"; Steelers To Retire Franco Harris' Number Tonight. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired December 24, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

PAULA REID, CNN HOST: Alerts. Power grid operator for 13 states is now asking residents to reduce their power usage to avoid widespread outages. Road travel at some areas is dangerous, if not completely impossible. And today alone, more than 2600 flights have been canceled, more than 6,000 have been delayed.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is in hard-hit Buffalo, New York. That's of course part of Erie County where officials say hundreds could still be trapped in their cars.

All right, Polo, what are you seeing there on the ground?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, the mayor here in the city of Buffalo confirming that individual that was found unconscious on the sidewalk, the latest person to be added to the list of storm- related deaths. It is just awful. And the concern is that we could potentially see more storm-related deaths when everything is said and done.

Though we don't know the circumstances of that latest individual, there was still a big concern here for authorities and those folks who've been stranded in their cars, especially last night when there was just whiteout conditions, that people would disoriented and get lost in the storm. So what they're doing, and they've been doing all day, and they'll be doing into the night will be basically just driving the streets of Buffalo and the surrounding regions, and making contact with those people who are stranded in cars.

The mayor saying that potentially 200 individuals that could still be out there, that they are trying to make sure that they get safe. There's also some frustration in the voice of officials here, as they say that people do not -- are not really getting it right now. That they are still seeing individuals violate the travel and driving ban, and braving the streets. You could see that should be off in the distance here. Of course we don't know where they may be going. Because officials do say that only essential travel is allowed right now because what they're doing is basically clearing out the streets so they could be drivable, just like the one that you see here in downtown Buffalo, and allow first responders to basically make it out to calls if necessary.

But as far as the storm, I'll tell you what, this has been just -- it has not stopped. It really just started yesterday morning, went all day yesterday, continues today and then just a few moments ago, county officials here in Erie County saying that the storm is going to just hover over Buffalo overnight until perhaps we'll get some relief tomorrow.

Paula, back to you.

REID: Hope so for your sake. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

As Buffalo, New York, bears the brunt of this brutal arctic storm, Mayor Byron Brown is in crisis mode. I talked to him earlier about the ongoing rescue to save people trapped inside their vehicles as the snow just keeps falling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Can you give us an idea of exactly how many people have been stranded in their cars?

MAYOR BYRON BROWN, BUFFALO, NEW YORK: Well, into last night we rescued 65 stranded motorists. I'm told that there are more 200 stranded vehicles in Buffalo right now as we speak. We have emergency first responders, police, fire trying to rescue people from their cars. We've also partnered with a snowmobile club trying to get people rescued from cars as well. Just recently discovered a fatality, person down on the sidewalk that had passed away. So there is also one fatality in the city of Buffalo. And sadly, when all is said and done, we are expecting more fatalities in the city.

REID: A grim but very likely prediction. So are people getting the message? Are they staying home? Obviously, Christmas is tomorrow. Is the message getting through to people? Is the problem getting worse or does it appear to be letting up?

BROWN: Some people obviously did not get the message. But our main priority is the health and safety of our community and emergency first responders. We don't want to leave anybody out in blizzard conditions. We've seen wind gusts as high as 79 miles an hour. Temperatures with the windchill get as low as minus 22 degrees. So this is a serious blizzard. Everything that has been predicted we are getting hit with in Buffalo. And Buffalo definitely has been ground zero for this storm in western New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: For more on the forecast, here's CNN's Allison Chinchar.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Paula, there is light at the end of the tunnel, not just for the cold temperatures but also for the snow. But we still have to get through it for the rest of the evening tonight. You've got this first wave, all of that lake-effect snow across the Great Lakes that will continue into early Christmas morning. Then this secondary system, this very fast-moving one that's going to bring additional snow across portions of the Midwest as well as the Mississippi Valley.

[16:05:07]

In total most of these areas likely picking up an additional two to six inches of snowfall. The exception to that will be right there along Lake Ontario as well as Erie, where as much as one to two feet of additional snow is possible in those areas. As for Christmas Day, there's going to be a lot of folks who end up with a white Christmas, not just along the Great Lakes but also into the Midwest, where we still have some of that snow from a few days ago that has yet to melt. And also this new system that will be sliding back in.

But temperatures are starting to rebound. Take a look. Denver, with a high temperature of near 50 degrees on Christmas Day. Same thing for Dallas. Atlanta finally getting back over the freezing mark. And we're going to see a lot more areas begin to warm back up early next week. In fact, by the end of the week, a lot of places in the eastern half of the country could end up with temperatures above normal for a change.

So quite a little bit of a difference there between Christmas and New Year's. Take Atlanta, for example. High just barely above freezing on Sunday. By the time we get to the end of the week, back into the 60s.

REID: A brutally cold Christmas Eve in store for El Paso, Texas, tonight especially if you're a migrant forced to sleep on the streets in below freezing temperatures. And that's the case for hundreds of migrants who don't have proper documentations and therefore aren't allowed to make use of government-run shelters.

CNN's Camila Bernal is following the story for us in El Paso.

All right, Camila, churches and charities can offer shelter to undocumented migrants. But is there enough support to go around?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to say. There's not enough resources. There's definitely not enough. But today, we are seeing so much generosity from the locals. And so it's made the day so much better for a lot of these migrants. They're having menudo, which is a soup. They brought tamales, which are very traditional during Christmas. And they brought pizza. So people are very excited to have the pizza as well.

And when I've asked people, you know, why are you here, why are you doing this, the thing they keep me telling me is, we feel so blessed, it is Christmas because a lot of people in Central and South America celebrate Christmas on the 24th. And they feel like they want to give back, making the lives of these migrants just a little bit easier on this Christmas Eve.

I'm going to sort of ask my photographer to turn around because this is a really an impactful sight. There are people bringing gifts for the children. The truck here is full of gifts. And they've already given out so many to the children. So you see the moms picking out gifts for their children. You see the locals handing those out. Again, this is a day that these people normally celebrate Christmas. So it has made a difference for them.

I've asked a lot of them, you know, how does it feel to spend Christmas here in El Paso essentially on the street, and a lot of them telling me that it's been difficult. That they'd rather not necessarily think about it, but they're thankful. They're thankful to be here.

Look, a lot of them, as you mentioned, cannot go to the city shelters. The convention center is open. But if you don't have the proper documentation, you have to come to one of the nonprofits. So this is what the church has been doing. They have been doing everything they can to fit as many people as possible inside of the shelter at night. And then during the day you just have so many people out here.

This is probably the most people I've seen throughout the last couple of days. So there's a lot of movement throughout the day. It's been good because it's been a little bit sunnier so that has helped a lot in terms of the weather and how they are feeling. So overall, I think they're trying to stay positive. A lot of them saying, look, we don't want to stay here. They don't want to live on the street. They're hoping to go off to places where they have family members or friends.

But a lot of them don't have money for a bus ticket or for a plane ticket to get to wherever they want to go to. So that's why you see a lot of them still here, still trying to figure out what to do next. But a lot of them saying that they're going to do everything they can to stay in this country for their children -- Paula.

REID: And Camila, I can see in your live shot, there are really a lot of children among these throngs of people. Are they getting prioritized for shelter? Especially tonight, as these temperatures drop.

BERNAL: Yes. So women and children are the priority. But you see here behind me, there are so many of them. And they only have space in this particular shelter at the church for 130 people. They've been trying to fit about 200 every single night. So a lot of the people that you actually see sleeping on the street are the husbands, the men, who will give their space up for the children and the mothers.

But during the day, of course, you're seeing just so many of them. And so many children all over the place. Thankfully they've gotten a lot of those gifts from the locals. And that has made the day just a little bit easier, especially for the moms who can't necessarily provide those toys on Christmas Day because it has been rough for them.

[16:10:12]

Many of them have been traveling for months. I spoke to someone earlier, who told me, it took five months to get here from Venezuela. So this is sort of the end or the top of the mountain for a lot of these migrants because they feel like they made it. So a lot of them telling me, look, I want to work here. I want to have a better life. And again it all goes back to the children. And there is so many of them here today -- Paula.

REID: Camila Bernal, thank you so much for that report.

And new details about just how far the Trump White House wanted to go to attack then-Attorney General Bill Barr after January 6th.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: Days after releasing their final report on the January 6th insurrection, the House select committee has released more than 40 transcripts of witness interviews late yesterday. They include depositions from some of the most prominent members of the Trump White House.

And CNN reporter Marshall Cohen joins us now.

Marshall, you have been a key part of the team going through that massive report. All of these transcripts. So what was the new -- what was the new information that you found in this latest batch of transcripts?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, this latest batch had some real heavy hitters. Of course it came out pretty late last night. So we were really scrambling to go through it all. But some big names in there, worthy of looking at. Folks like Ivanka Trump, the White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Kayleigh McEnany, who was the press secretary during those final weeks, and Bill Barr, of course the attorney general during much of the Trump administration.

So what did they say? Well, one thing that really jumped off the page that was very interesting, was a revelation that in December 2020, after Bill Barr publicly refuted Trump's claims of a rigged election, he actually had the guts to go out and say that it wasn't rigged, the Trump White House apparently sprang into action. They actually drafted a press release that would have basically attacked Bill Barr.

I'll read for you what the transcript revealed, that the press releases would have said, quote, "Anybody that thinks there wasn't massive fraud in the 2020 election should be fired."

[16:15:08]

That's drawing a very harsh line. They did not release that press release. However, the committee was able to obtain it from the National Archives. So just goes to show you, all these little tidbits still trickling out even though the investigation is over -- Paula.

REID: Well, Marshall, the committee has recommended that Trump be barred from ever holding office again. And one of their other big recommendations is to change election law. That's about to happen very soon. What can you tell us? COHEN: You know, this is so important. The committee put out a ton of

recommendations, including as you mentioned, that very flashy recommendation that Congress takes the unprecedented step of banning Trump from ever running again. I'm not so sure that that actually could happen. And also there's the criminal referral to the Justice Department. But that's not up to Congress. That's up to the Justice Department whether to prosecute Trump.

But that last bullet point here, reforming the Electoral Count Act, which is from the 1800s, that is going to happen. This is a law from a long time ago that dictates how we count the electoral votes. This is literally what Trump and his attorney, John Eastman, and Rudy Giuliani, were trying to exploit when they wanted Pence to throw the election to Trump at the last minute.

It was those weaknesses in the law, those loopholes in the law, that they were trying to take advantage of. Congress came together on a bipartisan basis to straighten that out, shore that up. They passed it this week. And it's awaiting President Biden's signature in that massive spending bill. So that's a bit of good news. A bipartisan coming together to fix some of the problems that caused all these issues on January 6th.

REID: Bipartisan progress. Rare. Now the committee's report is of course nearly 900 pages. Much of the big headlines we covered. But there were a lot of nuggets in there, including from lesser-known players that really highlighted a lot about January 6th. What did you find in there, based on all of your reporting that you've done over the last pear and a half? What popped out to you?

COHEN: It's incredible when you think that they spoke to more than 1,000 people. And of course, we got the household names that are always going to get the headlines. But when you talk to 1,000 people, they're not all going to be household names, right. So in this report, in 900 pages, there were details that were just absolutely fascinating.

We found a story of an RNC staffer that was ordered to write up fundraising pitches that included claims of the stolen election and assertions that he knew were false. He didn't want to do it. He got fired. And of course the RNC and Donald Trump raised over $200 million with those false claims of fraud.

There was lower-level Trump campaign staffers in Georgia that were able to connect him directly to the fake electors plot. That's huge for the committee. They were talking to these lower-level people that were able to provide details that directly connected the president to the scheme. It was a very notable thing.

And finally, Paula, there was also a story of a National Guard colonel. I want to give him a shoutout. Craig Hunter, who, a lot of people described as an unsung hero that day because he quickly came up with a plan to get his troops to the Capitol to save the Capitol. Unfortunately, that plan fell victim to bureaucracy and slowness and all of the handwringing among the Trump appointees at the Pentagon. Very slow response. But there were also some heroes that day that people don't really know

about that almost were able to get the troops there faster to get everything under control. So in 900 pages, if you look hard enough, you can find some really interesting stuff.

And, Paula, of course, now it's all preserved for history.

REID: And for Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Marshall, thank you so much for all your reporting this week. Those late-nights, the committee's rollout certainly did not make things easier or make it easy for anyone to get any sleep. So really appreciate your reporting as well as the reporting from our whole team.

COHEN: Right back at you. Happy holidays, Paula.

REID: And new today, an Arizona judge is rejecting Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake's lawsuit to overturn the results of the election she lost. That judge now affirms Democrat Katie Hobbs won the election and will be the next governor of Arizona. Lake lost by about 17,000 votes and then sued in Maricopa County in an attempt to get November's election overturned. The trial ended Thursday. Kari Lake she says she will appeal.

Now let's discuss with our CNN political panel, Republican strategist Alice Stewart and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona.

Thank you for joining me, ladies. I want to start with you, Alice. Earlier today, I spoke to one of former President Trump's attorneys, who represents him in January 6th and the Mar-a-Lago investigation as well.

[16:20:04]

Let's take a listen to what he told me about the committee's criminal referrals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY PARLATORE, TRUMP LAWYER: The referral itself is pretty much worthless. The Department of Justice doesn't have to follow it. There has been an existing investigation we've been dealing with for quite some time. And you know, really, what this does, if anything it just politicizes the process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: So what's your reaction to that?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, unfortunately, Paula, there's a lot of Trump supporters and the GOP base that believes exactly what he said and believes that the January 6th Committee was a partisan political witch hunt, and they say it was fraud from the beginning, and say that this was nothing more than an effort to draw out this long process to get to the criminal referral. Even former President Trump again has constantly called this a

partisan witch hunt and says that what is in this report is based on fraud and false allegations and does not claim any responsibility whatsoever, and says that there is no basis for what they found. And he even went so far as to say there is not a single shred of evidence, to say that he's responsible for the violence. Well, it's true. He's right. There's not a single shred of evidence.

There's an 845-page report and thousands of interviews that say that he is responsible for this. And the bottom line, Paula, rationale people they don't need a referral, they don't need a report, they have rational conclusions that Donald Trump is solely the cause and effect of the insurrection at the Capitol, and those kind of action deserve to see consequences.

REID: Well, it's of course a very detailed story that the committee put out and it is too bad after the work that they did, it really got buried at the end of a holiday week because of their somewhat bungled rollout.

Now, Maria, one of the January 6th Committee's recommendations is for Congress to ban the former president from ever holding office again. I'm curious if you agree with that and if you see even a process to do that.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I absolutely, 100 percent agree, Paula. The question is, is will there be a process in terms of making sure that that happens? The only thing that I can see plausible is for Congress to pass legislation.

We know that going into the next Congress where Republicans have control of the House of Representatives, that is going to be all but impossible for them to do because while I completely agree with everything that Alice said, and there are many commonsense Republicans that agree with her and the majority of Americans that agree that Donald Trump is unfit for office, the sad reality is that the majority of Republican voters that include Donald Trump's base, and way too many Republicans that are still in Congress today, including Kevin McCarthy, they were all there helping Donald Trump do what he was going to do.

They lack the political will. They lack the spine and the backbone to stand up to what they know were absolute deceitful lies that put our democracy in danger and put us at the point of toppling our democracy. These Republicans will be in charge in the House of Representatives next year. And so while I absolutely concur with the committee, that Donald Trump, we should do everything possible to not allow him to ever hold public office again, I agree with Ron Brownstein who was on with you earlier, who said the blame has to go out wider and bigger in terms of the net.

Because there were plenty of Republicans, plenty of lawyers, plenty of elected officials, who went along with Donald Trump. While he was solely responsible and it would not have happened without him, he could not have done it alone. He didn't do it alone. And much of what is in the committee absolutely lays that out. So I hope that that is going to be something that Republicans really look inward to figure out where they stand.

Do they stand with Donald Trump, who criminally tried to topple our democracy and the lawyers and the elected officials who tried to do it with him and helped him do it? Or do they stand with the American people, with our country, with democracy and with our Constitution?

REID: And the committee clearly making a deliberate choice to focus their last hearing. The executive summary and most of the final report on the former president.

So, to that end, Alice, how do you think that history will judge the work of this committee?

STEWART: I think history is still being written on this chapter of Donald Trump's presidency and his legacy. I have spoken with many Republicans on the Hill and people across the country that have been staunch Trump supporters. And of all the things that came out of what we heard in this testimony is the acknowledgment from John Eastman, former president's attorney, who said that Donald Trump told him and knew that these claims of voter fraud were not true.

[16:25:09]

And he still continued to file claim after claim after claim in court after court, and challenge the certification of the election and didn't stop the insurrection at the Capitol. The more people recognize the fact that Donald Trump pushed this lie, knowing that it was false, they are going to feel betrayed. And more and more people are acknowledging that. And what we're seeing with the findings of this, this gives people cover or permission to turn the page on Donald Trump because many people have run for office in the midterm elections and lost because they ran on the nonsense of false election fraud.

Kari Lake is one of the most recent victims that you just talked about before this segment. And they're going to recognize the truth, the stone-cold truth that our elections are free and fair and we need to stand by them. And whatever we can do with new legislation to protect the integrity of our election, and the electoral college process, we need to do. It's not a partisan issue. This is an issue about the democracy in this country.

REID: I want to turn now quickly to immigration.

Maria, Republicans, even some Democrats have been calling on President Biden to visit the border. So now he's taking this crisis seriously. Here is Congressman Henry Cuellar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): I don't know why they keep avoiding the border and saying there's other things more important than this at the border. If there's a crisis, show up. Just show up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: So is this an optics failure for the White House? Why not schedule a trip there, get out in front of this?

CARDONA: I don't think it is an optics failure. Look, anyone who's ever worked with the White House knows that actually going somewhere with the president takes attention away from the place and puts all of the resources at the trip that the president needs to take. And right now, the border needs all of the resources and all the attention that it can give, in terms of what is going on there.

What this president is doing and what this White House and the administration are doing, are trying to put in place a process that will enable a nonchaotic way for these migrants to be given the papers that they need to be given the asylum processes that they are allowed under the law.

But let's be very clear, Paula, the White House can't fix this. This has never been an issue that the White House was every going to be able to fix alone. No president can do this alone. The only way that the border will be fixed is if Congress comes together, Republicans and Democrats come together, to figure out a real solution.

And I know my friend, Alice, agrees with me. We need to figure out a way to have a legal flow of migrants who want to come here and work and go back home. We know we need workers in this country. So let's try to figure out a way to allow them to do that. We also need to put more resources at the border for security as well as for processing asylum clams. It's the only way that this is going to get fixed, Paula.

And so whenever Republicans decry that there is chaos at the border because there is a lack of border security. because the border is open, that to me is a red flag of Republicans not really wanting a solution, of Republicans wanting to continue to use these migrants as political footballs.

This is very personal to me. As you know, I am an immigrant. My family came here from one of these countries that these migrants are fleeing from. And to see them today, I just think, my god, there but for the Grace of God go me and my family. And we should be focused on especially today and these days now during Christmas is what can we do to make the lives of these migrants less miserable.

You did a great report just now with Camila Bernal at the border. And my heart just goes out to these migrants who, tonight is the night that we celebrate. It's called Noche Buena. We celebrate Christmas, the birth of the baby Jesus at Christmas. And tonight is the night when all of these families are thanking God that they are here even in these miserable conditions, Paula. So you can imagine the kinds of conditions that they fled from, where they were coming from.

So let's figure out a solution. Let's be that shining beacon that's sitting on a Hill that Ronald Reagan talked about because we have been anything but with Republicans trying to politicize this every chance they get.

REID: Alice, running out of time. Really quickly. I want to give you a chance to weigh in. Should Biden go to the border or does that revert resources?

STEWART: Look, I think I'm not as concerned about the optics that this administration is doing, but inaction with regard to securing the border. And anything and everything they can do to help secure the border. But the immediate needs from, we'll hear from the mayor of El Paso. They have a dire need. And border state governors are saying that the influx of migrants is becoming critical.

[16:30:00]

So the more we can do to secure the border is important. That's a long-term problem.

But to Maria's issue, I encourage Americans to use their heartstrings right now and look at these organizations like Red Cross and other faith-based groups that are helping these migrants over the holidays, and do what you can to contribute and donate and help those in the holiday season.

PAULA REID, CNN HOST: Abetting humanitarian crisis. Alice Stewart and Maria Cardona, thank you so much for joining us.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thanks so much, Paula.

STEWART: Thanks, Paula.

CARDONA: Feliz Navidad.

REID: Inflation, rising interest rates, what's the biggest business story of 2022? That's next in the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: As 2022 comes to a close, we're looking back at some of the year's biggest stories. CNN's Christine Romans brings us the top 10 business headlines of 2022.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Crypto crashed and streaming slowed. The recession debate raged, Elon Musk's chaotic Twitter takeover, and the energy market turmoil raised prices at the pump. These are the top business stories of 2022.

Number 10, crypto crashed. Amid the downfall of its biggest exchange, even flashy Superbowl ads --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so.

ROMANS: -- couldn't hold off the chill of a crypto winter as investors ditched risky assets.

[16:35:05]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has the Bitcoin bubble finally burst? Part of a crash that has cost investors more than $1 trillion.

ROMANS: A downturn made worse by the implosion of the world's largest crypto exchange FTX, overclaims it misused customer money.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The $32 billion company that plunged into bankruptcy basically overnight.

ROMANS: Leaving millions of customers scrambling to recover funds. A class action suit for celebs who endorsed FTX.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm getting into crypto.

ROMANS: And attracting government scrutiny.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: FTX is prompting investigations by federal prosecutors now.

ROMANS: Disgraced FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried or SBF saw his multibillion-dollar fortune evaporate.

SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, FTX CEO: I think it might be $100,000 or something like that.

ROMANS: Before being arrested on fraud and conspiracy charges, SBF's legal team says it's considering all options.

Number nine, America faces a housing crisis.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Americans are struggling to keep up with rising home prices.

ROMANS: The pandemic altered the housing market, delayed construction, kept supply low while demand spiked, creating a crisis of affordability.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Housing prices had a record high in April.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prices are going up.

ROMANS: Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's inflation fight more than doubled mortgage rates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mortgage rates now topping 7 percent, a 20-year high.

ROMANS: Pricing out many Americans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many properties do you think you've explored?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thousands, thousands.

ROMANS: Home sales dropped while rental costs hit record highs.

Number eight, Wall Street's soured on streaming amid a slowdown. 2022 ushered in a new era for streaming services.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Netflix lost 200,000 global subscribers. The last time Netflix lost subscribers was October 2011.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Growing losses at Disney Plus.

ROMANS: Streaming stocks tanked as the days of meteoric growth seem to be over. So Netflix introduced ads a move it had resisted and will crack down on password sharing. While Disney saw a leadership shakeup,

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Disney has ousted Chief Executive Bob Chapek after only two years on the job, replaced him with a familiar name, his predecessor Bob Iger.

ROMANS: But all the major players revised plans, cutting costs to create profitable business models instead of relying on subscriber growth.

Number seven, a nationwide rail strike looms and is averted not once, but twice. The first came in September.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Some 60,000 engineers are threatened to walk off the job as soon as Friday.

TAPPER: It would be the first nationwide rail strike in 30 years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nearly one-third of the nation's freight could come to a standstill.

ROMANS: Rail workers working nonstop through the pandemic demanded better conditions as freight companies raked in record profits. Negotiations dragged on threatening a fragile supply chain. So the White House stepped in with the labor secretary brokering an 11th hour deal.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Labor unions and rail lines reaching a tentative last-minute deal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But now this deal does go to the union members.

ROMANS: But rank and file workers wanted paid sick time not included in the agreement.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Workers at the biggest and most powerful rail union have voted down a tentative contract deal.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: And now you have four rail unions who have voted it down altogether.

ROMANS: This time, Congress stepped in, passing a bill forcing workers to accept the deal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The joint resolution has passed.

ROMANS: And stay on the job.

Number six, Americans returned to the skies in record numbers. But airlines couldn't handle the influx. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huge lines are greeting travelers at airports across the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Experts are warning it's going to be a summer of travel hell.

ROMANS: Someday saw thousands of flights delayed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More than 2,100 are delayed.

ROMANS: Or canceled, especially over holiday weekends.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: 45,000 flight cancelations nationwide since the first of June.

ROMANS: One major reason, not enough crew members. Airlines trim staff during the pandemic so any disruption like bad weather sparked chaos.

Number five, a rough year for Wall Street amid a tech wreck. The breathless post-COVID rally ended this year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The S&P 500 has fallen into what investors call a bear market.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This was the worst day for the Dow since June of 2020.

ROMANS: Investors reacted to rising prices and the Fed's aggressive campaign to fight them. Raising the specter of a recession will also hurting high growth stocks like tech.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Tech stocks have plunged since the start of this year.

ROMANS: 2022 was an awful year for tech companies. After years of unstoppable growth profits declined, leading to hiring freezes and an alarming number of job cuts laying off thousands of tech workers.

Number four, the recession debate raged amid economic whiplash. COVID broke the economy leading to a recovery full of conflicting signals. GDP shrank.

[16:40:04]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Alarm bells are ringing for the U.S. economy tonight.

TAPPER: The U.S. economy shrank for the second quarter in a row. That is the common definition of a recession.

ROMANS: While big business voices offered dire warnings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we're not in a recession right now, we're likely to be in one very soon.

DOUG MCMILLON, WALMART PRES. & CEO: Customers who are more budget conscious that have been under inflation pressure now for months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think policymakers should be prepared for the worst.

ROMANS: But despite the gloom of hot inflation and higher rates, the U.S. economy was resilient with the labor market so strong, companies were fighting for workers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are 1.9 open jobs for every unemployed person.

ROMANS: And people kept shopping, driving growth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Recession fears don't deter U.S. shoppers in a record setting Black Friday.

ROMANS: American shoppers shelled out an all-time high $11.3 billion.

Wrapping up 2022 with the recession questions still unanswered.

Number three, Elon Musk's chaotic Twitter takeover. The billionaire began building his stake in January, becoming the largest Twitter shareholder before offering to buy the whole thing.

QUEST: Elon Musk makes up $41 billion hostile bid for Twitter.

ROMANS: Musk wanted to unlock Twitter's potential. Twitter eventually agreed to sell itself before Musk did an about face in May.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Musk is trying to back out of buying the social media giant saying Twitter's withholding vital information.

ROMANS: Then came months of legal maneuvering, complicated by revelations from a whistleblower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The company's cybersecurity failures make it vulnerable to exploitation.

ROMANS: Still, Musk eventually completed the deal, instead of heading to trial. He immediately slashed jobs.

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Nearly half of the company's employees now out of a job.

ROMANS: While rolling out other changes, including trying to launch paid verification and reinstating controversial figures including former President Trump.

Number two, energy market turmoil raise prices at the pump. Russia's war in Ukraine threatened oil supply, sending global prices soaring.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a seven-year high. U.S. crude in the meantime, multiyear highs to.

ROMANS: That affected gas prices.

BERMAN: Gas prices here in the United States reached record highs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Snapped up by a staggering 60 cents in just one week.

ROMANS: Many Americans couldn't afford to fill up the tank. So, President Biden released oil from the strategic reserve and blasted U.S. oil companies.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The profits are a windfall of war.

ROMANS: While also asking them to pump more oil. He did the same of Saudi Arabia during a controversial visit in July. But OPEC Plus did the opposite, slashing production in October. An attempt to boost oil prices finally weighed down by concerns over a global slowdown. Gas prices also fell and end of the year cheaper than before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Number one, the Fed's aggressive fight to tame decades high inflation. Americans paid high prices again this year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inflation in the United States soaring to a new 40-year high.

ROMANS: Across the board, you're paying way more for just about everything. So the central bank jacked up interest rates seven times to help, even rolling out bumper three quarter point hikes four times in a row and the Fed isn't finished.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we continue to anticipate that ongoing increases will be appropriate.

ROMANS: Some worry the Fed's higher rates will spark a recession. They're already shaking markets and raising credit and mortgage payments. But have they lowered consumer prices? There's no clear signal yet. One thing is for sure, the effects will continue to work their way through the economy into next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: A historic event in Washington this week. Ukraine's President meeting with President Biden at the White House. How does Russia respond? Well, you're live in the CNN Newsroom.

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[16:46:58]

REID: The death toll has climbed to 10 after Russian shelling in a southern Ukrainian city. We want to warn you this next video may be graphic and difficult to watch. A Ukrainian military official says at least 55 others were injured when multiple launch rocket systems hit the city center today.

That same official says the attacks on his city have continued all day and is now calling on residents to donate blood to help save lives. The relentless attacks come just a few days after Ukraine's President visited Washington.

Now CNN's Political and National Security Analyst David Sanger joins us now. David, do you suspect any connection between these massive attacks and the Ukrainian leader's speech to Congress earlier this week?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: You know, it's hard to tell, Paula, because we were seeing pretty big attacks in the weeks leading up to Mr. Zelenskyy's visit. So I'm not sure there is, but, you know, the very fact that nobody's discussing Christmas ceasefire or any of the kinds of things that would be traditional in this really tells you that right now we're in the long, hard slog of this war.

That is to say, there is no motion that we can detect toward any negotiated settlement, nor really a switch on the ground that will create the conditions for those talks.

REID: So what do you think Zelenskyy's visit to Washington and his speech? What do you think that accomplished?

SANGER: I think it was really had three aims. First, was one of celebration. You know, Zelenskyy was not supposed to be alive to see that day, right? He was supposed to have been deposed and perhaps eliminated by the Russians in the first three days, or certainly the first three weeks. For the very fact that he was here nearly a year later, to go celebrate the fact that Ukraine remained an independent state was the first.

The second I think was to shore up aid in Congress by thanking the United States for all that it had done, but then putting out a list of what needs to be done in the future. And I think the third thing that was critical to all of this was his effort to try to show that the Western alliance that came together with surprising unity this year, could hold together over what Putin is betting will be a winter of fracture.

That is to say that energy shortages, refugee flows, all of that, Putin has been hoping we'll begin to break up the NATO alliance. There is no evidence so far that's the case. But it's early in the winter yet.

REID: Oh, David, we're just days away from a new Republican led House taking over Congress's. So what do you see as the challenges ahead for any additional aid from the U.S. to Ukraine? Do you think that he made his case to that new Republican majority?

[16:50:00]

SANGER: Well, there will be challenges but I don't think they'll be coming up anytime soon, if you add together the $52 billion that Congress passed earlier this year, and the $40 or so that's in this omnibus legislation that has just gone through. What I think you'll see is that the U.S. has the funding it needs, probably at least through September of 2023. So even if Kevin McCarthy and others will have been questioning whether or not the U.S. wants to continue aid at this pace, even if they're winning adherence to this, I don't see that it's going to make much of a change for the next nine months.

I think as you enter the presidential election, the Republican Party is going to have to decide whether or not it sort of sides with Mitch McConnell, who said, aid as long as we need to go, he's essentially taken the same position that President Biden has, or signs up with McCarthy and a number of the Trump wing of the party, who have argued that this can't be a blank check.

REID: So the past few days, Russia has made it clear that they view the U.S. shipment of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine as further provocation. The Russian Embassy in Washington has said it will lead to, quote, unpredictable consequences. Do you think that this is a potential inflection point in the war? What is the consequence here?

SANGER: No, it could be. It's a single Patriot system. It's clearly designed to try to be built around Kyiv. And it won't be ready for months. But with each greater weapon system, or more powerful weapon system, the U.S. has ship (ph), the question has been, is there some breaking point for the Russians that would push them to use larger weapons on their part? And that means basically, nuclear, chemical, biological, or cyber.

So far, it hasn't happened. But I think the big question for 2023 is, does Putin particularly if he's losing on the ground with conventional forces reach for other parts of his arsenal? And of course, it's the nuclear element of this that worries us all the most.

REID: Of course. Well, David Sanger, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

SANGER: Thank you. Have a good holiday.

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[16:55:49]

REID: His name is bonafide royalty in the city of Pittsburgh and to NFL fans who remember the Immaculate Reception. Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris died this week just days before the 50th anniversary of that legendary play. Tonight, the Pittsburgh Steelers will retire Harris' number. Here's CNN's Coy Wire.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Paula, I can say as a former NFL player that Franco Harris is one of the pillars of the league. Tonight's game in Pittsburgh will be bittersweet. The Steelers will honor the Hall of Famer who passed away at the age of 72 earlier this week.

The team was set to induct Harris into their Ring of Honor, celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception when Harris plucked a fourth down pass from just inches off the ground and scoring a touchdown to beat the Raiders in the 1972 playoffs. Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said earlier this week that as big as Harris' legacy was as a member of those four Super Bowl winning teams, his impact off the field far outweighs what he did on the field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE TOMLIN, HEAD COACH, PITTSBURGH STEELERS: I just admire and love the man, and so much to be learned from him in terms of how he conducted himself, how he embraced the responsibilities of being Franco for Steeler nation, for this community, you know, for the Penn State followers. He embraced it all and did it with such grace and class and patience and time for people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Paula, being from Pennsylvania having come home from the hospital in a Steelers onesie, Harris will be sorely missed, not just in the Steelers country but across the football world and beyond. It'll be an emotional night in the NFL.

REID: Coy, thank you. We'll be right back.

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