Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Israel Says Its Forces Are "In The Heart" Of Khan Yunis; Gaza Residents Walking Perilous Line Between Life And Death; WHO: IDF Ordered Withdrawal Of Supplies From Warehouses; U.S. Republicans Want To Tie Ukraine Aid To Mexican Border; "White Angels" Tale Aid To Frontline Town Avdiivka; White Angels Take Aid to Frontline Town Avdiivka in Ukraine; WMO Says 2023 is Set to Be the Warmest Year on Record; Cop28 Draft Calls for Carbon Capture, Fossil Fuel Phase Out; U.S. Announces Initiative Promoting Nuclear Fusion; at Least 12 Deaths Reported as Storm Michaung Strikes India; Tom Hanks Narrates New Space Documentary "The Moonwalkers: A Journey With Tom Hanks"; as Per Wikipedia, ChatGPT Tops the List of Most Viewed Pages in 2023 With Nearly 50 Million Views. Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired December 06, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:48]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Gaza's humanitarian crisis gets worse by the hour, as Israeli forces advance into the south and aid groups plea for more help.

U.S. support for Ukraine is hanging by a thread and a new funding bill is now on the brink of collapse as political turmoil threatens to consume the U.S. Congress.

Plus, a grim new milestone for planet Earth, scientists say 2023 will officially be the hottest year ever recorded.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us.

Well, the Israel Defense Forces say they launched 250 airstrikes in Gaza in just the past day. The enclave's second biggest city Khan Yunis in the south is bearing the brunt of the damage. Scores of wounded are streaming into hospitals. The Israeli military says it's encircling the city as well as delivering airstrikes on Hamas tunnels and rocket launchers.

In Central Gaza, the Palestine Red Crescent says video shows one of its ambulances fleeing the scene of artillery fire. Eyewitnesses report multiple strikes and a nearby hospital says it received 90 bodies on Tuesday. A spokesperson says many people are still trapped under rubble. He's appealing to the world to end the fighting and allow more medical aid and supplies into Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting the idea of an international force responsible for security in Gaza after the war. He says only the Israel Defense Forces should control the disarmament of Gaza.

So, let's bring in CNN's Clare Sebastian following the latest developments for us live from London. Good morning to you, Claire.

So, what is the latest on IDF operations in Gaza and specifically around the enclave's second largest city Khan Yunis?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, this post truce phase in the operation of which we're now on day six seems to be at a very high level of intensity. Those 250 terror targets that the IDF says, it has struck in the last 24 hours slightly higher than the day before. As we understand, it's slightly lower than the first 24 hours after the troops where they say they hit 400 terror targets but still in keeping with what seems to be a very intense phase in fighting ground troops and accompanying, you know, air assault as well as what we're seeing in areas in central Gaza.

And now, of course, the IDF saying it is operating in the heart of Khan Yunis, in the southern half of the Strip. They say they're encircling the city.

They believe that there's significant Hamas infrastructure in that city, it is the hometown of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, which the IDF has been very clear, he is a very crucial target in this operation. So, that is the situation with the fighting.

Clearly, the problem with operating in the south. And we have significant evidence that they're doing that including satellite imagery from this week, which appears to show concentrations of armored vehicles, just about six kilometers north of Central Khan Yunis, you can see it there, those clusters of vehicles is that this is now likely to cause displacement on top of displacement.

We already know that 1.8 million people in Gaza have been displaced at some 80 percent of the population. Many from the north to the south. The IDF has since the end of the truce has been dropping leaflets in the south urging people to move to different areas from where they say they're operating. But that is difficult because of the lack of internet access.

Now, Prime Minister Netanyahu not backing down from his key war aims and also in a speech on Tuesday, starting to talk about what he calls the day after Hamas. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:05:02]

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Gaza must be demilitarized, and in order for Gaza to be demilitarized, there is only one force that can ensure this and that force is the Israel Defense Forces. No international force can take responsibility for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, he says he will not accept any international forces to be in charge of the demilitarization of Gaza after this war that may be at odds with what the U.S. vision for post war Gaza, as well he didn't say if that would be a temporary or a permanent state.

And now we know from the U.S. that they expect that the operation, the ground operation that Israel is conducting in Gaza may end in January. So, certainly looking to the plan for what happens after that is crucial at this stage, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Claire, humanitarian groups are desperately calling for more aid to be allowed into Gaza. So, how is Israel responding to that play?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, humanitarian groups. And now the U.S. State Department openly saying that Israel is not doing enough that more aid needs to get in.

Look, Israel is saying that it's conducting humanitarian work alongside its military operation in the Strip that is sort of a complementary part of that. Netanyahu saying there's no contradiction between the two, but at the same time, admitting that the amount of fuel being allowed in is what he called the bare minimum.

So clearly, they are still as part of this operation, restricting the amount of aid going in. Don't forget that even before October 7th, some two thirds of the population of Gaza were reliant on international welfare. So, this is a catastrophe on top of what was already a sort of slow burning crisis in the Gaza Strip.

And alongside this, we see this open dispute between Israel and humanitarian agencies, specifically the United Nations spilling over the Israeli Foreign Ministry, saying on Tuesday that it had revoked the visa of the U.N. humanitarian coordinator Lynn Hastings accusing her of bias because she they say was not quick enough to condemn that Hamas terror attack of October 7th. Instead, condemning Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip and the humanitarian impact of that.

She had warned by the way on Tuesday, Rosemary, that a more hellish situation was about to unfold that we were getting to the point where humanitarian work in itself would not be able to function.

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Clare Sebastian bringing us that live report from London.

Egyptian officials say 50 trucks full of humanitarian aid crossed into Gaza through the Rafah Border on Tuesday and two of them were carrying much needed fuel. That's in addition to 36,000 pounds of supplies from the U.S. airlifted to Egypt and then driven into Gaza. More supplies are expected to be delivered via military aircraft in the coming days. Well, the U.S. Agency for International Development also announced an additional $21 million in relief for Gaza. This follows an initial allotment of $100 million announced by the U.S. president back in October.

The agency says the funds will provide displaced residents with food, shelter and health services as well.

But as the war drags on, the need for that aid is becoming more dire. CNN's Ben Wedeman takes a closer look at what people in Gaza are being forced to endure as they evacuate further south. A warning though, his report contains disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They came here hoping to escape the war and this is what happened. Tuesday afternoon, an apparent Israeli airstrike demolished this building in Deir al Balah, in Central Gaza. Civilians more than 50 are now martyrs, says Abu Bassem. The building's owner had given them shelter. They all came from the north.

Under the sand and rubble is a lifeless body. There is his head, someone says, while others peering into the ruins search for survivors. Is anyone alive, he calls out.

Without heavy equipment, bare hands will suffice. Deir al Balah's only functioning hospital, the injured are rushed inside. The hospital's spokesman says they received more than 130 injured and more than 90 bodies. CNN cannot confirm the death toll.

Once again, so many of the victims are children. Stunned, confused, terrified, she grasps her mother's hand. The injured treated on the floor.

The luckier among those who fled and then fled again further south end up in places like this, makeshift camps devoid of running water, electricity or sanitation. A plastic sheet is all that protects Enas Musleh and her family from the elements.

[02:10:18]

We spend all night hearing rockets and bombs, she says. We're living between life and death. We may die at any moment.

Indeed, in Gaza now, the line between life and death is perilously thin.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The U.N.'s aid agency for Palestinian refugees says more than 85 percent of Gaza's population has become displaced since October 7th. And more than one million of those residents are sheltering in U.N. facilities, with the average number of displaced people more than four times the capacity of those shelters.

A spokesperson for UNICEF says areas designated safe by Israel are nowhere near basic requirements of the phrase.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES ELDER, UNICEF SPOKESPERSON: It's not a safe zone if it's only free from bombardment, as some zones have not been. It's a safe zone when you can guarantee the conditions of food, water, medicine, and shelter. You cannot overstate this. These are tiny patches of barren land, or they're street corners, they're sidewalks, they're half-built buildings. There is no water, not a little bit. There's no water, no facilities, no shelter from the cold and the rain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Conditions have forced aid groups like the Norwegian Refugee Council to halt nearly all of their aid operations in Gaza. The group says it can't even provide for its own staff in the region.

And joining me now from Cairo is Rick Brennan, the Regional Emergency director for the World Health Organization in the eastern Mediterranean, appreciate you being with us.

So, your organization was ordered by the IDF to move supplies from its medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours because of planned ground operations. The WHO scrambled to get that done, but also appealed to Israel to take every possible measure to protect civilians, hospitals, and humanitarian facilities.

How did Israel respond to that appeal? And what impact did that relocation have on your medical deliveries?

RICK BRENNAN, REGIONAL EMERGENCY DIRECTOR, WHO EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN: Well, I think that this is just another example of how difficult it is to deliver aid in Gaza right now. The cord that you shared from the Norwegian Refugee Council demonstrates this.

Yes, we did. We were advised to move our supplies because our warehouse was in a location that was going to be coming under military operations. We did have to scramble, as you say, to relocate to another less suitable warehouse. We missed out on doing two aid deliveries that day, because of that advice, and that movement. And now we have a list, operation warehouse from which to work.

But I think this is just -- you know, I think people should be under no illusion about the massive, massive scale of need, and incredibly difficult operating environment there is for humanitarian agencies today.

You mentioned Rosemary, that 50 trucks crossed yesterday, we've been saying for weeks now, we need a minimum of 500 trucks.

So, in spite of this massively increasing need, there's a 450 deficit number of trucks just yesterday, the whole week of the ports, there were only 220 trucks going in per day. The whole week of the port, we had a 2,000 truck deficit.

So, things -- we are spiraling further and further down. And I've never been in a situation where humanitarian needs are so desperate, and our ability to meet them are so constrained.

CHURCH: And in addition to this, of course, many hospitals across Gaza are barely functioning due to Israeli bombardments and a lack of fuel and medical supplies getting into the enclave. What impact is this having on the healthcare system? And what could this ultimately mean in terms of caring for the injured and sick and also, of course, the risk of disease.

BRENNAN: Again, I've never given a hyperbole, but it's hard to describe how dramatic the situation is within the healthcare system. Prior to the conflict, there were 36 functioning hospitals across Gaza. Right now, there's only 18 of them functioning.

[02:15:01]

In the north, there are four hospitals that are open, only one of them is receiving trauma patients. Another is an a maternity hospital. The other two aren't even receiving inpatients, they're only running dialysis services.

In the south, we have three main hospitals that are working at three times the normal capacity. Each day they're receiving tens scores of desperately injured people. I can't imagine the pressure the doctors and nurses are working under each day.

So, you know, at a time when the number of injuries, the number of ill people is increasing dramatically, we have less than half the beds available to the population prior to the conflict. We estimate right now, we probably need a minimum 5,000 beds, hospital beds across Gaza. At the present time, there's only around 1,500.

So, we've all seen the scenes, the dramatic scenes of patients lying on the floor. I cannot imagine the conditions the doctors are working.

I've worked in war zones, Rosemary. I know what it's like to receive a large number of injured patients at one time, but it's not uncommon for these doctors now to be receiving 20 or 30 majorly injured patients at once.

And again, the supply lines as you indicated are constraint. We're not getting the supplies in anywhere near the scale. And any official statements to the contrary, it's just wrong. This is an absolutely desperate situation.

CHURCH: And of course, the other concern, is the winter weather posing a range of health problems for the most vulnerable. What are the risks involved there?

BRENNAN: Yes, well, you know, perhaps one point I should add is we absolutely need that health system protected. We cannot afford any more attacks on health care. We cannot -- the health system has to be protected, our supply lines have to be protected. And then as you rightly say, we're coming into the winter months. And

I think your reporting then talked about the displaced. There are now hundreds and hundreds and thousands of people further and further displaced. Some people displaced, you know, self-reported that they've been placed in camps.

In southern Gaza now, as one of our colleagues from (INAUDIBLE) said, the houses are full, the shelters are full, the streets are full.

And all this overcrowding, of course increase the risk of infectious diseases and disease outbreaks. We continue to record about the number of cases of respiratory infections, diarrhea, including bloody diarrhea, which would suggest the potential dysentery jaundice, very concerned about hepatitis, as well as the probe with infections and childhood infections.

So, an epidemic is just around the corner. And then the terrible exposure that people will face with the winter weather really puts people in incredibly high risk disease.

And of course, the food supplies. Now, the World Food Program plays that every household in Gaza is food insecure. Rates of UNICEF reports that rates of acute malnutrition are going to go up substantially. This is a very toxic mix.

And people if they don't die from violent trauma, they're going to be dying from infectious diseases and lack of access to basic health care even for their diabetes, high blood pressure and so on.

So again, just it's hard to describe how dramatic the situation is. The aid is just not getting in. We need both sides of this conflict to commit to a ceasefire. This is the only way out of this terribly catastrophic as Martin Griffiths describe it yesterday, apocalyptic situation.

CHURCH: Rick Brennan, thank you so much for joining us and for the work that you do, appreciate it.

Coming up, U.S. Republican lawmakers are standing firm against approving more aid to Ukraine unless their demands are met.

Plus, Ukraine's White Angels bring lifesaving supplies to the front line. We will hear from the brave people working in the war zone, back with that and more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:21:43]

CHURCH: The Pentagon says it's getting to the point where the U.S. cannot sustain its current aid to Ukraine without major action by Congress. President Joe Biden is proposing a new aid package but it's facing a roadblock in Congress thanks to Republican stonewalling. CNN's Manu Raju reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ukraine aid and

Israel aid stalled at this critical time despite the pleas by American allies for new money to help with those two wars, uncertain if that will be resolved this year or punted into the New Year as the major division between the two parties continues to exist. Namely, over a separate issue dealing with the southern border. The migrant crisis, a surge at the southern border. Republicans want tighter policies on immigration to be part of their larger deal, to deal with immigrating and Israel as well as Ukraine. They say all that needs to be tied together (INAUDIBLE) the consent, particularly when it comes to Ukraine.

So, when behind closed doors earlier on Tuesday, when Senate -- senators all met with administration officials who are trying to lay out an urgent case to approving Ukraine aid. Instead, it broke out into a fight over border security and immigration policy, which led to a shouting match of sorts.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): It was immediately hijacked by Leader McConnell, even one of them started was disrespectful and started screaming at the gen -- one of the generals and challenging him to why he didn't go to the border.

SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): We want to help you create an Israel but we've got to have the Democrats recognize that the trade here, the deal is we stop the open border. They don't want to do that.

So, Republicans are just walking out of the briefing because the people there are not willing to actually discuss what it takes to get a deal done.

RAJU: But amid this stalemate, Democrats are still trying to press ahead and setting up a key procedural vote to move forward on this big aid package.

But because it does not have those tighter immigration policies that Republicans want, and Democrats say is simply a nonstarter. This means that Republicans are poised to block it, which means that aid to Ukraine, aid to Israel will continue to be stalled, hanging in the balance amid this bitter partisan feud over immigration.

Manu Raju, CNN Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining me now from Kyiv is CNN Global Affairs Analyst Michael Bociurkiw. He's also a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Thank you so much for joining us.

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good to be with you. Thank you.

CHURCH: So, despite dire warnings from the White House and the Pentagon that funding for Ukraine is fast running out, we have seen congressional inaction. What happens if the U.S. fails to pass sufficient military support for the war torn nation before the end of the year? What would be the consequences of that?

BOCIURKIW: Well, the feeling on the ground here is absolutely disastrous. What we're talking about, Rosemary, is $61 billion.

To put things into perspective, that is almost the total amount of aid given by the U.S. to Ukraine since the start of the war. And, you know, this money is needed, especially for weaponry, long range missiles, artillery, also that money would go towards budget support, for example, helping Ukraine pay pensions and teachers' salary and also humanitarian aid.

[02:25:02]

Look, what people have to understand as well is that the money that the U.S. gives is not going unaccounted for in pallets, and flown into Ukraine. A lot of that money actually stays in the United States and goes to defense companies to build what Ukraine needs.

And the other thing we have to understand is that less than four percent of the U.S. defense budget has gone to destroy 50 percent of Russian conventional military capability. So, if you ask me, that's a very good deal.

CHURCH: And the urgent message from the White House, essentially, out of money out of time appears not to have resonated with those Republicans who oppose additional aid for Ukraine. So, what message might work given they say, it's time to secure the U.S. southern border instead of helping Ukraine?

BOCIURKIW: Sure, well, I'll tell you what the message is that we'll work. And this will affect every American. If Ukraine does not win this war, which is really not a Ukraine-Russia war. It's a global war, a dictatorship, intent on grabbing territory against the rules based international order.

If Ukraine is unsuccessful in pushing Mr. Putin back, every consumer, every American in the United States will feel it either through higher gas prices, higher food prices, more instability, because of more migration. This war will definitely widen.

So, that's the message the Ukrainians are giving. I support their wording on this. I believe what we know from Mr. Putin that that's exactly what he will do. It will become extremely costly, extremely destabilizing.

CHURCH: And if the U.S. doesn't step up, who will?

BOCIURKIW: Well, look, there's -- as you know, there's a lot of changing governments in this neighborhood in Europe, Poland, Hungary elsewhere. But I think you'll still have strong support from the United Kingdom, from France.

And you know, Rosemary, I said a long time ago on CNN near the start of the war, the Ukrainians are ready to go this alone, probably the Baltic countries will help out as much as they can. But there's no way -- there's no way the resources will be sufficient to win this war. A Already, we're seeing the economy here start to go on a downward trend. There's questions raised as recently as last night about how many of those millions of Ukrainians are actually going to come back here.

So, it's so important to win this as soon as possible.

CHURCH: And you mentioned Russia's president, what do you think Putin is thinking right now as he watches this play out in the United States?

BOCIURKIW: Well, look, he's sitting back, applauding, smirking, laughing because he sees two wars, this one and the Israel-Hamas war, which are causing massive destabilization.

And meantime, we know very well that the Russians are busy preparing for another assault, because winter is here in Ukraine, they'll probably be attacking critical infrastructure again, and they're very, very busy as well mobilizing the global south, against what I referred to earlier as this rules based international order. So, this plays exactly into his playbook.

And one more thing, of course, he's probably looking at next November. And if Trump gets in, that will be disastrous for Ukraine too, because he'll probably try and make a deal that will not be in Ukraine's favor.

CHURCH: Michael Bociurkiw, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

BOCIURKIW: My pleasure.

CHURCH: Well, Russian forces are pressing on with the long running drive to capture the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, with both sides saying they made gains on Tuesday.

CNN's Anna Coren follows a group of Ukrainians called the White Angels who are bringing supplies to people still living in the war zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a warehouse stocked with humanitarian aid, 23-year-old police officer Dmytro Solovii picks up supplies. Food, water, hygiene products and a generator are on the list.

He's part of the White Angels Unit, and they're heading to his hometown of Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region on the eastern front where one of the most fierce and bloody battles is being waged in the war in Ukraine.

I was born in this town, he tells me. My neighbors are there. My relatives, my friends. It's my duty to help them. We are their hope.

But getting to Avdiivka is a death trap. Shortly after leaving us with his GoPro rolling, he spots Russian shelling. Look, the bomb has hand, report incoming of an ugly bastard, and there's another one, he tells his colleague.

Russian artillery, mortars and drones target the road, and yet Dmytro remains calm.

This perilous journey has become routine despite multiple close calls.

Driving past the sign that proudly states Avdiivka is Ukraine, the town of once 30,000 residents is now deserted, devoid of the living, as almost every single building has been shelled.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:00]

CHURCH: But surprisingly, some people still live here, including Dr. Vitali (ph), Head of the local hospital. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he has decided he's not going anywhere. We have a job and we do it, he explains. He called the White Angels to evacuate a man who had just been injured from shrapnel. As they load him into the van, the idle chatter is interrupted.

Incoming, it's a mortar, explains the doctor. Sometimes it rustles and then bang, that would be a tank. As the explosions get louder, it's time to go.

COREN: This is the road to Avdiivka. There is one way in, one way out. We are not allowed to travel to the town, which is 17 kilometers away. The military has banned all media, saying it is just too dangerous. But for the White Angels, they travel on this road multiple times a week, risking their lives to support the less than 1,300 people still living in the town.

COREN (voice-over): As the White Angels begin the dangerous drive out, Dmytro (ph) reflects. It's very sad what's happening to my town, but one day, we will rebuild Avdiivka, and I will leave there with my grandchildren, we just need to believe. A belief that helps this community among the ruins alive.

Anna Coren, CNN, on the outskirts of Avdiivka, Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And just ahead, a U.N. Weather organization says global temperatures have set a troubling new record. We'll take a look at that on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. A U.N. weather organization says 2023 will be the hottest year on record. Each month from June to October set global temperature records by wide margins, with July being the warmest month on record. CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, just in from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, November 2023 was the warmest November on record and probably to no one's surprise.

[02:35:00]

1.75 degrees Celsius, 3.15 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels. Now, we did not really start out in the record territory, but boy, we got there in a hurry. June, July, August, September, October, and now November were all records by a large margin in some spots. And yes, November 2023 will take this line and push it all the way into record territory. There is very little, if anything, December can do to not make 2023 the entire year the warmest year on record globally, because we are so far above where we should be.

In fact, some days, we are even 2 degrees Celsius, 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. There was a little bit of a perturbation in here in October and into November. But now, we are so far above the old line, which was 2016, another El Nino year. 2023 is going to be the warmest year on record for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: An ambitious first draft of the COP28 Climate Summit Agreement is out. The draft pushes for a substantial increase in carbon capture and removal from the air by 2030. But critics say carbon capture is expensive and unproven. The plan also had several suggestions for the phasing out of fossil fuels. They include the choice for parties to either phase out rapidly or in an "orderly way." The first draft leads plenty of room for negotiators to water down these proposals.

There's a new international effort to promote nuclear fusion as a clean energy source. U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry announced the plant at COP28. The U.S. led global initiative will focus on fusion research, development, regulation and economic potential. Nuclear fusion replicates the power of the sun and happens when two or more atoms are fused into a larger one, generating a massive amount of energy as heat. Scientists say it will be a limitless carbon-free energy source without the nuclear waste. Sounds hopeful.

Well, at least 12 people are dead in southern India after tropical storm Michaung battered the region with heavy wind, rain, and flooding. Schools and colleges also remain closed through Wednesday in at least four cities. Michaung has weakened to a depression and is now sweeping to the north, where it is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds up to 50 kilometers or 60 kilometers per hour in the day ahead.

Still to come, Wikipedia wraps up 2023 with a list of the most viewed pages of the year. We will tell you what topics made the top five. Back with that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:40:00]

CHURCH: Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks is trying his hand at a new way to entertain an audience through his love of space. "The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks" is a documentary about the Apollo missions that will be featured at the Lightroom in London. The 50-minute long production is narrated by Hanks, who co wrote it with writer and director, Christopher Riley. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HANKS, AMERICAN ACTOR AND FILMMAKER (voice-over): In the 50,000 years of human history, just 12 of us have traveled from our earth to walk on another celestial body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 40 seconds away from the Apollo 11 lift off. Five, four, three, two, one, lift off! We have a lift off! Lift off on Apollo 11!

HANKS (voice-over): Now, join me on a journey back to the moon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Moonwalkers includes interviews with astronauts and original footage of the missions using Lightroom's projection and audio technology, making it an immersive experience. But for Hanks, it's about celebrating the Apollo missions and looking forward to future journeys to the moon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANKS: This show is about the wonder of the moon and the amazing creatures that have made it possible for members of their race in order (ph) to walk upon it. The truth is, in the 50,000 years of human history, only 12 representatives of bipeds, like you and me, have walked on the surface of another planet. And that's the 12 missions of Apollo, and that was 50 years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: "The Moonwalkers" opens Wednesday and runs until April at the Lightroom in London.

Wikipedia's Most Viewed Pages in 2023 are shedding light on the topics that intrigued, confounded, and delighted us this year. According to the list released Tuesday, ChatGPT, the A.I. powered chatbot, took the top spot with nearly 50 million views in 2023. A list of all the major deaths of the year also hit the top-five, as did this year's Cricket World Cup. It's the first time a cricket related topic has made the list since it premiered in 2015. And rounding out the top-five, the Indian Premier League and the film Oppenheimer. As for Wikipedia itself, it has received more than 84 billion page views so far this year.

I want to thank you for joining us this hour. I am Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then, I will be back in 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)