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McCarthy Falls Short in 3 Rounds of Votes for House Speaker; Bills' Damar Hamlin in Critical Condition After Cardiac Arrest; 25 Million+ Under Extreme Weather Threat in Southeastern U.S.; Idaho Killings Suspect Waives Extradition, Will Face Charges in Idaho; Ukrainian Strikes Take Out Russian Soldiers, Ammunition; Israeli Minister's Holy Site Visit Draws Backlash. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired January 04, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all over the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A Speaker has not been elected.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kevin McCarthy failed to get the vote for the speakership after three rounds of voting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The House is in a state of paralysis right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hamlin remains in critical condition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were resuscitating him on the field before they brought him to the hospital and then they resuscitated him a second time when he got to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, come on, come on, get up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: States under tornado watches.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The severe weather threat is pressing east. Already a trail of damage left behind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
FOSTER: Hello, it is Wednesday, January 4th, 9 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. in Washington where a growing feud within the Republican Party is threatening to overshadow its new majority in the House.
NOBILO: On Tuesday a band of conservative hardliners blocked Kevin McCarthy from securing the 218 votes needed to become the Speaker of the House and that's after three rounds of voting. It's the first time in 100 years that the House has failed to elect a Speaker on the first ballot making this historic humiliation for McCarthy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHERYL JOHNSON, U.S. HOUSE CLERK: No persons having received a majority of the whole number of votes cast by surname. A Speaker has not been elected. A Speaker has not been elected. A Speaker has not been elected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The House will reconvene today and continue voting until someone is elected Speaker, but McCarthy has no plans to step aside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I don't see it as a battle. We're not that far away. We only need 11 more votes to win so I think from the whole perspective when you talk to everybody, it's not that far away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: But McCarthy's opponents aren't backing down and when voting continues later today, they plan to keep voting against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Those of us who will not be voting for Kevin McCarthy today take no joy in this discomfort that this moment has brought, but if you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: And here is what is further complicating matters. Until the Speaker is elected, members of the 118th Congress can't be sworn in or conduct any business. CNN's Manu Raju has more from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House is in a state of paralysis rate now. That's because they are unable to elect a Speaker. That is the first order of business in a new Congress. The first order of business in the 118th Congress and after three ballots Kevin McCarthy simply could not get there.
This is the first time in American history in 100 years that an American Speaker, a U.S. House Speaker could not be elected on the first ballot. And how many ballots will it take for Kevin McCarthy? Nobody knows. Can Kevin McCarthy get there? Also, uncertain. Will there be another candidate that emerges? Also, another major question.
And this is not just a simple question about who may fill a key leadership position, this is someone who would drive the agenda of an institution of Congress. Could help set the shape of policy matters that could affect the lives of millions of Americans. Also, someone who will drive the party strategy heading into the 2024 election.
All key questions unsettled because of this very chaotic fight between McCarthy allies who now number more than 200 but also a growing number of detractors and McCarthy's math is the real problem here. Right now, the House Republicans and their new majority will occupy 222 seats. That means McCarthy cannot afford to lose more than four votes on the House floor -- for Republican votes. He has lost 20 so far. Those in the camp of 20 are pushing, pushing hard to grow their number. They believe they can get up to 20, 25 Republicans to vote against him and ultimately force McCarthy out of the race.
Now McCarthy told me on Tuesday night, he is not going anywhere, he plans to dig in, force the opponents to essentially wear themselves out and essentially concede, give him the speakership. He believes he's given them enough concessions.
[04:05:00]
A lot of things won was to have more power in the incoming Republican Congress. That, he says, is plenty of concessions going forward. That's still not enough for some of the members.
But there are also other issues and that he simply can't resolve. Personality conflicts. Some people who just simply just want him out of the race altogether and say that they will vote against him for however long be it takes.
So, all of this is happening as Democrats on the other side are sitting back, watching this happening. Not planning at the moment to bail Kevin McCarthy out in any way as he struggles to try to finally claim the Speakership that he's fought so hard to get but he simply doesn't have the votes to get the gavel.
Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: McCarthy has spent years courting the conservative wing of his party. Our senior political commentator David Axelrod says that's part of why he's facing so much resistance from that same element of the party now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Six months ago, Kevin McCarthy had this day in mind and it was going to be a celebration, a new Republican majority, a different direction and it turns out to be a goat rodeo. I mean, he just doesn't -- you know, it's -- it is chaos. And he has lost control. And it is, in fact, pay back. It is the seeds that he's sewed by -- for the last six years, seven years trying to appeal to placate the most strident voices in the party, including Donald Trump. To the point where they take everything, he's given them but nobody trusts him and now it's very hard to repair that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: So, it's not McCarthy, who will be in the top power?
FOSTER: That is the question.
NOBILO: A local minority says that it could be Jim Jordan. But he's actually throwing his support behind McCarthy. Here's what Jordan told CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Is there any chance that you might be Speaker of the House?
REP. JIM JORDON (R-OH): No. No. I'm being clear, I want to chair the judiciary committee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, Jordan has been one of former President Donald Trump's most vocal defenders. CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein has more on why he's now a favorite of the ultra-MAGA crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The January 6th committee, the bipartisan committee, was pretty reticent about calling out the role of individual members of Congress in Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election. But they specifically cited Jim Jordan as being centrally involved at several points in Trump's efforts to subvert the will of the voters in 2020.
After a mid-term election in which swing voters clearly showed concern about the Republican commitment to democracy. You would think that a rational party would be looking for ways to marginalize and lower the profile of someone, Jim Jordan, who was, you know, such a lightning rod at the center of this. And yet what did we see? We saw not only did we see the right elevating them as their alternative to McCarthy, we saw McCarthy bringing him in as his principal character witness. And again, I think that goes to show what we're going to see over the next two years, which is no real discipline or constraint on the most militant and extreme members of the caucus further risking, further stamping the House GOP and the GOP itself as the party of Trump after an election in which that identification clearly -- you know, they clearly paid a cost for that identification.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: That was senior political analyst Ron Brownstein speaking there. I mean, the upshot is that American politics has ground to a halt, hasn't it?
NOBILO: Yes, because government can't function. They can't pay any staff. Also, the second in line to the presidency is currently vacant. Dysfunctional all around.
FOSTER: CNN will have all the details of the vote as it unfolds in Capitol Hill later today. There may be results.
The uncle of NFL player Damar Hamlin who collapsed during Monday Night Football says his nephew is sedated whilst in critical condition.
NOBILO: We're told that Hamlin is on a ventilator after suffering a cardiac arrest during the key showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. And he apparently had to be resuscitated more than once.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DORIAN GLENN, DAMAR HAMLIN'S UNCLE: His heart had went out so they had to resuscitate him twice. They resuscitated him on the field before they brought him to the hospital and then they resuscitated him a second time when he got to the hospital. So, I just want to show my gratitude for the medical staff that were on hand. Because if not for them, my nephew probably wouldn't be here.
We were all in tears, man. I'm not a crier. But like I never cried so hard in my life, man. Just to know like my nephew basically died on the field and they brought him back to life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Buffalo Bills' players some of those same emotions as they pray for Hamlin. One teammate told CNN, we're all just devastated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:10:00]
DION DAWKINS, BUFFALO BILLS OFFENSIVE TACKLE: In that moment like you kind of just realize like -- you really can't take anything for granted. To see a brother laying down and everyone else just kind of just, you know, just come on, come on, come on, get up, get up. And all of those drastic emotions like that are pouring out. In that moment like you're -- like you're -- like you're just thinking what can I do? What can we do? And then immediately it just breaks you down into prayer, like whether you're a believer or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Hamlin collapsed during the first quarter of the critical Bills/Bengals game which has been since postponed. But it's not clear if the game will be played at all now. This might have a huge playoff implications. CNN's Ron Young picks up that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As fans in Buffalo pray for Bills Safety Damar Hamlin --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our prayer is that God heals Damar Hamlin now.
YOUNG (voice-over): The Bills revealing in a new update Tuesday that Hamlin remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit at a Cincinnati Hospital, where stunned fans gathered to their show support.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going to pull through, you know. That's why we're here praying for it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now another Bills player is down.
YOUNG (voice-over): Hamlin still fighting for his life, nearly 24 hours after this unprecedented scene on the field. The team saying, he went into cardiac arrest after a collision during a routine tackle.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It could be a condition that is rare known as commotio cordis, which is basically a blow to the chest and to the heart. That actually causes the heart to go from pumping blood, as it normally does, to the heart muscle actually quivering or fibrillating.
YOUNG (voice-over): Fellow players surrounding and shielding him through minutes of CPR. The team says his heartbeat restored before an ambulance took him off the field.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen anything like this.
YOUNG (voice-over): All this playing out live before the game was postponed about an hour later.
GEORGE MARTIN, FORMER PRESIDENT, NFL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: To see, you know, these big strapping strong football players shed tears over a situation like that, that speaks volumes. You know, secondly, I think when you look at how it permeated the entire stadium, the people were silent. They were respectful. They were all concerned.
YOUNG (voice-over): That postponement became indefinite with the NFL announcing it, quote, informed the clubs today that the Bills/Bengals game will not be resumed this week. The NFL saying in an overnight conference call, that resuming play after the event was never an option.
TROY VINCENT, NFL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, FOOTBALL OPERATIONS: We never, frankly, it never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That's ridiculous. That's insensitive.
YOUNG (voice-over): While some players returned to New York, others remained in Ohio with their teammate. The NFL Players Association offering every resource available for players of both the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
RODNEY MCLEOD JR., INDIANAPOLIS COLTS SAFETY: For us, the dream is real but the dream, you know, even though we understand the dream comes with great sacrifice, we never want that sacrifice to be paid from the expense of anyone's life.
YOUNG (voice-over): Hamlin's family releasing a statement thanking the teams, fans and the medical staff for the love and support shown to Damar.
JORDON ROONEY, DAMAR HAMLIN'S FRIEND AND MARKETING REP: He has a strong family. And he has the ideal support system. They're optimistic.
DAMAR HAMLIN, BUFFALO BILLS SAFETY: Everyone is rooting for me.
YOUNG (voice-over): Hamlin was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2021 after playing college football at Pittsburgh, a relative newcomer only beginning his NFL career.
HAMLIN: You never know when like the last day can be that you get to experience something like this, you know. So, I'm just -- I'm cherishing it every moment I can.
YOUNG: His uncle was telling me today that one of the thing that stands out about this young man, is how much he wanted to give back to his community. They're leaning into that right now, especially as this community and the one in Buffalo surround him with love. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Ryan Young there.
Meanwhile, donations still flooding into Hamlin's charity toy drive. Now barely a day after his collapse the GoFundMe campaign has raised about $6 million from around 200,000 donors. He started the fundraiser two years ago with a modest goal of raising $2,500 to help children in need.
FOSTER: More than 25 million people under some form of severe weather threat in the southeastern United States. Where the risk of dangerous storms stretching from the Gulf and north into Virginia.
NOBILO: And the severe weather has already triggered at least 120 storm reports over the past few days including tornadoes, heavy rain and hail. Meanwhile, than 5 million people in the upper Midwest are under winter weather alerts with heavy snow expected today and the Northeast is next.
FOSTER: Our meteorologist Britley Ritz joining us for all of this. Good morning, Britley.
BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Yes, we are still dealing with that threat of severe weather this morning and that will continue on through the rest of the afternoon.
[04:15:00]
As of the last 48 hours, 12 reports of tornadoes, 96 wind reports and 23 hail reports. With hail in diameter of 1.5 inches in several locations from Mississippi to Oklahoma back into Texas. We now have a tornado watch that's been extended into parts of Georgia just south of Atlanta and just north of Tallahassee until Noon Eastern Time. We already have a tornado warning in place just south, to the north and east of Montgomery.
And just south of their severe thunderstorm warnings that are in effect. Where we have winds in excess of 60 miles per hour. That's going to continue its track farther off to the east throughout the rest of the morning and causing not only the severe weather threats but a flood threat. Flood watches from Atlanta back into New Orleans and flood warnings in effect all the way up from the Mississippi River and into the Ohio River Valley. Where we can expect an additional 2 to 3 inches of rain with isolated higher amounts possible over the last 48 hours. Estimated rainfall totals along the southern Mississippi and all the way up to the Ohio River Valley already reaching close to 6 inches in the darker red colors that you're seeing. The areas highlighted in yellow along the Florida Panhandle up into parts of Georgia under a slight risk for severe weather as we roll into Wednesday.
FOSTER: Britley, thank you very much, indeed.
NOBILO: Southwest Airlines says it's up and running again after an outage of ideal weather data forced a number of flight delays. The company wouldn't specify how many flights were affected on Tuesday but says that the impact was minimal.
FOSTER: Meanwhile, Southwest is offering 25,000 frequent flyer miles to some customers impacted its holiday travel meltdown. That's worth around $300 and comes in addition to reimbursements and refunds.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration is now allowing certified pharmacies to dispense abortion medications.
NOBILO: Two manufacturers of the drug confirmed to CNN that people with a prescription will now be able to get it directly from the pharmacy. Previously that pill along be with another medication could only be ordered, prescribed and dispensed by a certified health care provider. In a statement CVS said it would be reviewing the updated requirements.
Still to come, the suspect in the murder of four Idaho University students appears in court. We'll have the details of the hearing coming up next.
FOSTER: Plus, Russia now blaming mobile phones for the attack that killed dozens of soldiers in a barracks in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
NOBILO: And warnings about more violence in the Middle East. Why a visit to a holy site by an Israeli lawmaker is stirring up so much backlash even among some Israelis.
[04:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The suspect of the killing of four Idaho University students has waived extradition from his home state of Pennsylvania. Bryan Kohberger will now face first degree murder charges in Idaho.
NOBILO: Police say arrangements are being made to transfer him to the state. But they haven't given an exact timeline yet. Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing the for students at their home in November. FOSTER: But officials haven't released details of a motive yet or
whether he knew the victims.
NOBILO: And CNN's Veronica Miracle has more on the court proceeding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bryan Kohberger cuffed, shackled, wearing a prison jumpsuit, arriving at a Pennsylvania courthouse just days after being charged with murdering four University of Idaho students in mid-November. Kohberger was escorted from a holding cell into the courtroom, confirming he's waving extradition, has no mental health issues that would affect a transfer, and agreeing to be transported to Idaho.
Kohberger's family in the courtroom crying as he turned several times and made eye contact with them. He faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves.
COL. ROBERT EVANCHICK, COMMISSIONER, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: Arrangements currently are being made to deliver Kohberger back to Idaho, where he can have continued due process and face these charges.
MIRACLE (voice-over): And where he can access information about the evidence against him. Idaho does not release the documents supporting an arrest warrant until the defendant returns to the state.
MIKE MANCUSO, FIRST ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MONROE COUNTY, PA: I definitely believe that one of the main reasons the defendant chose to waive extradition and hurry his return back to Idaho was the need to know what was in those documents.
JASON LABAR, CHIEF PUBLIC DEFENDER, MONROE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA: He said, I mean, this is not him. He believes he is going to be exonerated. That's what he believes. Those were his words.
MIRACLE (voice-over): University of Idaho assistant law professor Samuel Newton tells CNN there's still a long road to trial.
SAMUEL NEWTON, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO: The government has to put on evidence to support its charge, to show that there's enough -- there was probable cause to arrest and charge him of those crimes.
MIRACLE (voice-over): Kaylee's father says he plans to be in court at some point when Kohberger returns to Idaho.
STEVEN GONCALVES, FATHER OF VICTIM: We're going to definitely look this guy -- and look him in his eyes. He's going to have to deal with this. He has been dealing with this for seven weeks. It is not about to end.
MIRACLE (voice-over): It will be up to the local prosecutor to decide whether Kohberger will face the death penalty. NEWTON: The victims were blameless, sleeping in a vulnerable position. The crime is particularly brutal, multiple victims. So, I think there are many bases for a prosecutor to say, I can charge this as aggravated murder.
MIRACLE (voice-over): A death penalty case adds additional procedures to a murder prosecution that could take decades. For many living in the communities at both the University of Idaho and Washington State University, there is some relief a suspect is now in custody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Imagine living in this, it's been like living in a murder mystery right in the middle of it.
MIRACLE (voice-over): A mystery that is far from over.
MIRACLE: Now that Kohberger is cleared for extradition, police say they have ten days to get him back here. Once he is back in the state of Idaho, that's when the probable cause affidavit should be unsealed which should tell us exactly why Kohberger was arrested.
Veronica Miracle, CNN, Moscow, Idaho.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: In New York a man who opened fire on a crowded subway train last April and wounded 10 people pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday.
[04:25:03]
FOSTER: After initially pleading not guilty last May, Frank James now admits to charges of committing a terrorist attack and other violence. The 63-year-old faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Although prosecutors say they are willing to recommend a lesser sentence if James shows enough remorse.
NOBILO: The plea comes nearly nine months after authorities say that James put on a gas mask, set off a smoke device and fired a handgun dozens of times on a crowded train in Brooklyn. The attacks and passengers rushing to escape and in all, 29 people were hospitalized.
FOSTER: Another woman is suing Bill Cosby after -- well, just a month after five other women filed a lawsuit against the comedian.
NOBILO: According to the suit filed in New York, Stacy Pinkerton accuses Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in 1986 when she was 21 years old. She's also suing several companies that manage the Cosby show including NBC. These lawsuits comes after a New York law was passed giving adult survivors of sexual assault one year to file lawsuits even if the statute of limitations on their claims has expired.
The new year is off to a successful start for Ukraine's military which is claiming yet another major attack on Russian soldiers within its territory. The general star says around 500 Russian troops were killed or wounded in a town of Makiivka in the Kherson region. FOSTER: Meanwhile, Russia is revising the death toll up to 89 in a
separate attack on a barracks in the Donetsk region. Moscow says Ukraine was able to target the site because so many Russian soldiers there were using their mobile phones.
NOBILO: So, let's track to CNN's Clare Sebastian about this now. Clare, the numbers for the attack are still disputed, but even if it was 89 -- which I think the Russians are publicly acknowledging -- that would still be the greatest loss of life from one attack that Russia has acknowledged since it wants its invasion of Ukraine. What more are we learning about both attacks?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so 89, as you say, would be a huge mass casualty event. Rare enough for Russia to even admit that soldiers were killed. We know they have sort of dialed down in a big way the death toll so far in this war. But they are now -- it's sort of out in the open. We're seeing pictures of state media of mourners laying flowers in some regions of Russia.
They are now sort of bringing out recriminations as well. They've accused, as you say, the soldiers, themselves, of using their mobile phones even though it's been banned and that they say allowed Ukraine to pinpoint the targets.
But we're hearing this morning from a very prominent military blogger, a Russian military blogger who said that that is not at all convincing. He said that is -- and I quote -- a blatant attempt to snare blame. He also says that he thinks the death toll will climb. That the list of missing is known to be larger. Ukraine has put it at around 400 but they say they're clarifying that.
FOSTER: There's some suspicion the senior military are trying to blame the local military by citing the phones. It would be their fault allowing soldiers to carry their phones. Is that right?
SEBASTIAN: Yes, so that's what they're suggesting. That the fact that the soldiers on the front line have cell phones even though it's actually not allowed is what allowed Ukraine to pinpoint the target. As I said, this blogger said that's not convincing.
It seems that Ukraine would have other ways of pinpointing this target, drones, reconnaissance, intelligence, all of those things. But I think the most interesting thing about this attack, A, is the scale of it, B, the information around it. The fact that Ukraine which very rarely admits to big strikes like this is doing so. In fact, (CROSSTALK) this death toll.
FOSTER: But they haven't admitted this, have they. Have Ukraine admitted they were responsible for this?
SEBASTIAN: Well, they have said the death toll was around 400. They think 300 wounded.
NOBILO: Clare, thank you.
Now there are now growing warnings about a new wave of violence in the Middle East after a far right Israeli politician visited the holy site sacred to both Jews and Muslims. Journalist Elliott Gotkine has more now from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Itamar Ben Gvir's morning walkabout took place less than a week after he was sworn in as National Security Minister in Israel's new government. And although the firebrand's visit to Temple Mount, known to Muslims as Haram al- Sharif, passed off without incident, it drew swift condemnation from home and abroad.
The Palestinian Authority called it an unprecedented provocation and a serious threat. The Jordanians said it was a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza, warned the visit risks setting the region on fire. Even Yair Lapid until last week, Israel's prime minister warned that it would lead to violence that will endanger human life.
No sign of that so far. Ben Gvir, who has convictions for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism, said the Temple Mount is open to everyone, and if Hamas thinks that if it threatened me, it will deter me, let them understand that times have changed.
Now, under the so called status quo agreement, Jews are allowed to visit the compound at certain times but are not allowed to pray there. Ben Gvir has, in the past at least, advocated for a lifting of the ban. The new government, though, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, says there will be no change.
Elliott Gotkine, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[04:30:00]
