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U.S. Vetoes U.N. Resolution Calling For Immediate Cease-fire; World Food Programme Officials Visit Gaza's "Immense Humanitarian Crisis"; UPenn President Under Fire Over Campus Anti-Semitism; Russian President Vladimir Putin Announces 2024 Reelection Bid; Biden Open To Compromise With Republicans On Border Issues; Michigan Teen Sentenced To Life without Parole; Storm System In Store For Eastern U.S. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired December 09, 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]

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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London.

Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, a controversial move by the United States as it vetoes a U.N. resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel- Hamas war. We will bring you the reaction to that decision.

Plus, Donald Trump's gag order is back on. An appeals court rules the former president cannot go after witnesses in the DOJ election interference case. Ahead, we will tell you who he can attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The way I look at, it is that we just need to have a good showing in Iowa.

FOSTER (voice-over): Presidential candidate Nikki Haley hopes to separate herself from the pack in the race for the Republican nomination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.

FOSTER: The United States facing fierce international criticism for vetoing the U.N. Security Council's latest attempt to call for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Human Rights Watch warned that the U.S. had put itself at risk of complicity in war crimes.

The medical group Doctors without Borders condemned the U.S. vote as, quote, "a vote against humanity."

The U.N. resolution had 13 votes in support, with the U.K. abstaining. Despite growing international pressure for a cease-fire, the deputy U.S. ambassador explained why the U.S. blocked this measure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT WOOD, U.S. DEPUTY AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: We proposed language, with an eye toward a constructive resolution that would have reinforced the lifesaving diplomacy we have undertaken since October 7th.

Increased opportunities for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, encourage the release of hostages and the resumption of humanitarian pauses can lay the foundation for durable peace.

Unfortunately, nearly all of our recommendations were ignored and the result of this rushed process was an imbalanced resolution that was divorced from reality.

We still cannot comprehend why the resolution's authors declined to include language condemning Hamas' horrific terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, an attack that killed over 1,200 people.

We are very disappointed that, for the victims of these heinous acts, the resolutions offered not their condolences nor condemnation of their murderers. It is unfathomable. Nor is there condemnation of the sexual violence unleashed by Hamas on October 7.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Israel's U.N. ambassador thanked the U.S. for standing firm against a cease-fire. But on the Palestinian side the failed vote was seen as a major setback.

Britain was the only Security Council member to abstain, saying it could not vote for a cease-fire that did not also condemn what it called the mass atrocities committed on October 7th.

Meanwhile, there has been no letup in the fighting since the truce expired a week. Ago the Israeli military released a video of a recent ground operation in Gaza. The IDF says two of their soldiers were badly wounded in an failed attempt to rescue hostages. An Israeli government spokesperson described the high stakes of urban warfare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EYLON LEVY, SPOKESPERSON, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT: We are dealing with an area where Hamas has laid ambushes for our soldiers. They're trying to draw them into those ambushes.

And we have to be very, very careful to try to get those terrorists and get our hands on. Them otherwise there is a very high risk to our forces as they continue to launch attacks against our people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: It has been two months since Israel declared war on Hamas. The Israeli defense minister claimed three weeks ago that Hamas had lost control in northern Gaza including Gaza City. Recently video shows the Israeli flag flying over the city's Palestine Square. Ivan Watson covering all of this from Beirut.

The war continues, despite the vote in the U.N.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, I mean this was arguably a diplomatic failure. It revealed the growing international isolation of Israel and its closest ally, the U.S.

And it resulted in this very unusual situation where you had, Russia and the world's largest human rights organizations united or aligned in their criticism of the U.S. veto.

[04:05:01]

As you pointed, out the U.S. was the only member of the Security Council to vote against this resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. In the words of the U.S. representative a cease- fire would be dangerous because he argued that it would leave Hamas in power, where it could subsequently carrying future attacks on Israel.

The Israeli ambassador to the U.N. thanked the U.S. for this support. And there is a growing chorus of criticism and condemnation of this, notably coming from the Palestinian Authority. Take a listen to the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIYAD MANSOUR, PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Instead of allowing this council to uphold its mandate by finally making a clear call after two months of massacres, that atrocities must end. The war criminals are given more time to perpetuate their crimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: The Palestinian prime minister went on to say that, the use of the U.S. veto, quote, "exposes the hypocrisy of claiming to care about the lives of civilians."

The United Arab Emirates drafted this cease-fire resolution which failed, thanks to the U.S. veto. The United Arab Emirates deputy ambassador, said, quote, "This council grows isolated. It appears untethered from its own founding document."

This is important because the UAE has established relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords just a few years ago. Russia's representative to the U.N. came out and basically said that the U.S., is responsible for the future deaths of arguably tens of thousands of civilians.

Quote, "History will assess what Washington has done."

And now go on and listen to the criticism from the Human Rights Watch, Medecins sans Frontieres, Amnesty International.

Human Rights Watch saying, quote, "The U.S. risks complicity with war crimes for providing Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover."

Medecins sans Frontieres, "The U.S. stands alone in casting its vote against humanity."

The Biden administration is in this strange position, on the one hand criticizing Israel for not doing enough to protect civilians but, at the same time, the U.S. State Department, we have learned from a source, is requesting the delivery, the sale of tens of thousands of tank rounds for Israeli Merkava tanks at the same time.

Meanwhile, Hamas of, course has condemned this cease-fire. And, Max, the fighting very much continues. The Israeli military says it hit at least 450 targets in a 24 hour period.

The ministry of health in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, it says that it has seen at least 71 people killed in a 24 hour period and more than 160, at least 160 people wounded in fierce house to house fighting reported in the south of Gaza in Khan Yunis.

And the death toll at a staggering, more than 15,000 people killed, in some two months of fighting.

FOSTER: Ivan in Beirut, thank you.

Family members of Israeli hostages believed to be held in Gaza confronted defense minister Yoav Gallant on Friday night. The exchange occurred outside of his home in northern Israel.

The family members urged Gallant to prioritize returning the hostages first. And then fight with Hamas. Here is some of their conversation.

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YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Hamas is willing to speak to us only when we are applying force. If we don't pressure, them we don't bring them anywhere. It is not like we can sit here and tell them, here, take 1,000 prisoners, 5,000, and they'd agree.

The thing is that they don't care if there is someone in jail for 20, years or 25 years. For us, it is very important.

DVORA LESHEM, HOSTAGE'S GRANDMOTHER: I understand that but I also understand, that with every minute, their lives are at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The Israeli prime minister's office said, the number of hostages believed to be held in Gaza stands at 137.

The Rafah border crossing from Egypt into southern Gaza is effectively the only humanitarian lifeline for those more than 2 million people living in the besieged enclave. The Palestine Red Crescent Society says, 100 aid trucks and 11 ambulances, donated by Turkiye reached Gaza through the crossing on Friday.

The U.N. says Rafah is essentially the exclusive area where they can distribute aid. They have had to stop giving out aid in Khan Yunis and central Gaza in recent days due to the intensity of the fighting there.

Senior officials for the World Food Programme met with residents in Gaza. They described desperate scenes of people with nothing to eat or drink.

[04:10:00]

Overcrowded shelters and the sound of bombs exploding throughout the. Day earlier, I spoke with Carl Skau, the deputy executive director of the World Food Programme. He was one of the officials who visited Gaza on Friday. He described the immense humanitarian crisis there.

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CARL SKAU, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: The shelters are overcrowded. People are camping on the streets. There is really a sense of desperation. Many have not eaten for several days.

In the survey we did during the seven-day pause, it showed half the population in Gaza is starving. And there was this sense of fear, that I tried to explain. You can see it in the people's eyes, you can almost smell it.

And they are asking us, "What is going to happen next to us?

"What are you doing?"

And there are very few answers.

[03:10:00]

FOSTER: We are seeing aid being distributed there, Rafah probably the area getting the most aid or at least some aid.

What stories were you hearing about other parts of the territory?

SKAU: Well, the humanitarian operation is really on the brink of collapse. Law and order are breaking down in the south. This stems from the desperation. Not enough food is coming in. So food is maybe the most sensitive commodity.

So you see the desperation around the distribution sites. People do not know when they will get their next delivery, so it's almost to the point of violent. So it is not safe for our staff. They really live this crisis, while they're also trying to tackle it. And so we need a step (ph) change.

FOSTER: Your staff are very brave operating there.

Also you have diseases spreading, haven't you?

But when there is chaos and, as you say, you are concerned about violence, when do you make the decision about pulling staff out?

That's something obviously you wouldn't be able to tolerate. SKAU: Well, WFP always tries to stay and deliver, wherever, wherever it is and under any conditions. But right now, we are we reaching the brink, as I said. And I think we will bring some hope, though.

During those seven days of pause we were able to deliver. We showed it was possible. We have assisted 1 million people in Gaza already since the crisis broke out. We even managed to get to the north.

So if the conditions allow, we can do this. We just need a change in the environment. We need to return to them. We have the food on the borders. We done have the procurement, the preparations. We just need the access points.

We need more crossings to come in and we need a humanitarian cease- fire so we can distribute to those who need it most across Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Now if you'd like to know how to help relief efforts for Gaza and Israel, go to cnn.com/impact. You'll find a list of vetted organizations there that are providing assistance: cnn.com/impact.

Police in New York are searching for an attacker who beat and robbed a Jewish man while spewing anti-Semitic slurs at him. Police say this surveillance video shows the suspect entering the subway after he punched the 40-year-old victim in the head several times and took his cell phone.

It happened on Thursday, the first night of Hanukkah. And it is just the latest in the series of violent incidents that have spiked since the Israel-Hamas war.

Meanwhile, a growing chorus of donors, politicians and business leaders are calling for the ouster of University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill. It comes after she refused to say that speech advocating genocide could not be tolerated on her campus. CNN's Athena Jones reports.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame, shame.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That question had no ambiguity.

JONES: -- under increasing pressure to resign after what are critics called a disastrous testimony on Capitol Hill this week, featuring this tense exchange.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): I am asking specifically calling for the genocide of Jews. Does that constitute bullying or harassment?

LIZ MAGILL, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: If it is directed and severe or pervasive, it is harassment. STEFANIK: So the answer is yes?

MAGILL: It is a context-dependent decision.

JAMES KENKELEN, UPENN ALUM: The fellow is in an alternative universe that you can have to have these conversations and to hear those weak answers --

JONES: And seemingly not changing minds despite efforts to clean up the matter through a taped statement.

MAGILL: I want to be clear, a call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening.

ABRAHAM FRANCHETTI, UPENN STUDENT: I think that Liz Magill obviously needs to step down. Whether she meant what she said from an anti- Semitic perspective or not, she has failed the Jewish students of Penn.

JONES: The presidents of Harvard and MIT also facing calls to step down after similar remarks during their testimonies. Now the Board of Advisers of the University's Business School, Wharton, is calling for a change in Penn's leadership. And Ross Stevens, a Penn alum and CEO of Stone Ridge Holdings, has threatened to rescind $100 million worth of his company's shares, now held by the university, if Magill doesn't resign.

[04:15:05]

This as GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik announced a House committee will investigate Penn, Harvard and MIT for what she called the president's pathetic and morally bankrupt testimony.

Some students want Magill to stay put, like Hilah Kohen, who says her great grandparents were murdered in Auschwitz. She wants a ceasefire in Gaza now.

HILAH KOHEN, GRADUATE STUDENT, UPENN: Liz Magill shouldn't resign, she should talk with us. An Israeli-American Jewish scholar of Jewish studies, why hasn't that conversation happened?

That is the next step.

LILY BRENNER, UPENN STUDENT: We represent a coalition of Jewish students, of Palestinian students, of allies, of a lot of diverse backgrounds. And it's important to note that this is an issue of lives lost. And that is the position that we are taking right now.

JONES: Kohen has this message for fellow Jewish students who feel threatened by pro-Palestinian groups.

KOHEN: There is an emotional structure that serves the genocide of Palestinians, wherein Jewish students see a Palestinian flag and feel afraid for their own safety, wherein Jewish students may hear a call for freedom. And people have told us to feel afraid.

It is our job to say we stand for safety and liberation of all people. Jewish safety and Palestinian safety are intertwined.

JONES (voice-over): Athena Jones, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Former U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to appeal a gag order ruling in his federal election subversion case. On Friday, an appeals court largely upheld the gag order, except now it does not apply to comments made about special counsel Jack Smith or the Justice Department.

The lengthy opinion came from all three judges who heard his appeal two weeks ago. CNN's Evan Perez breaks it down for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SR. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: An appeals court has largely upheld a gag order against former president Donald Trump in the federal election subversion case, saying he can be barred from making certain comments about witnesses as well as prosecutors, court staff and their family members.

Trump immediately vowed to appeal the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court, calling it a violation of his First Amendment rights.

In this ruling, the three judge panel from the, D.C. appeals court said they did not take this step lightly, recognizing his status as former president and, of course, as a candidate for president.

But they said Mr. Trump's documented pattern of speech and his demonstrated real-time, real-world consequences pose a significant and imminent threat to the functioning of the general criminal trial process in this case.

The judges went on to say that, Trump is a criminal defendant like any other and, quote, "He must stand trial in a courtroom under the same procedures that govern all other criminal defendants. That is what the rule of law means."

The ruling Friday also pushed back on Trump's efforts to try to delay this trial, which is set for March. The former president calls prosecutions against him election interference.

But the judges said that, to allow Trump to delay the case would be, quote, "counterproductive, create perverse incentives and unreasonably burden the judicial process" -- Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now we expect to see the former president take the stand again on Monday. He will be the final defense witness in the civil fraud trial against him, his adult sons and his company.

Now the New York attorney general is suing Trump for $250 million and seeking to bar him from doing business in the state. This will be his 10th appearance in court. This trial began in October. Russia's Vladimir Putin says he'll run for president again, as Russian

forces stepped up their relentless attacks across Ukraine.

Plus U.S. President Joe Biden signals that he's open and willing to compromise with Republicans on border security.

Still ahead, why integration is shaking up to be a major campaign issue, heading into 2024.

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FOSTER: Ukraine says Russia launched 95 air attacks across the country in the past 24 hours. Several areas in the east were targeted, including Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk. It comes after Russia fired a wave of cruise missiles for the first time in nearly 80 days. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has the details.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ground is turning hard, even hostile, as winter sets in. But Ukraine appeared bullish, Friday, releasing these drone images of strikes on Russian positions in the hotly contested eastern town of Avdiivka.

The light bravado off the soundtrack belying real Ukrainian anxieties but Russia slow and brutal grind forward in this town and elsewhere, may be what persists in the savage cold of winter. Not Western unity behind Ukraine as U.S. Congress stalls in approving vital aid.

Fears echoed in renewed dawn destruction Friday. Kharkiv here hit hardest, perhaps but across Ukraine and old terror returned to the skies. Cruise missiles fired at an array of targets, including the capital.

Ukraine said 14 of 19 fired were shot down, only debris hitting Kyiv. But as they surveyed the damage, the White House is warning era defenses will be perhaps the first impacted when U.S. aid ran out, was surely front of mind.

Less fracture and debris in Moscow, where in a year of surprises for the Kremlin, Friday had none. Vladimir Putin prompted by a Russian occupying soldiers saying he would run again to be Russian president.

Still, after facing down a coup and military setbacks in Ukraine, he said he had thought twice about it. I won't deny it, he said but at different times I had different thoughts.

[04:25:00]

This time, you're right. It is the time to be decisive.

Like nearly everything in Russian politics, it was as arranged is the results in the March vote will likely be.

Also on hand in Moscow was Iran's president Ibrahim Raisi, one of the few world leaders who will still shake Putin's hand. His drones have aided Russia's bombardment of Ukraine's cities all summer and now winter has left Putin walking surprisingly tall.

WALSH: It's going to be a brutal winter for both sides. It may be very static on the front lines but, most importantly, I think Ukraine is very anxious to see Western support return with the same resolve that it has had for the past months -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: U.S. health officials are warning about an alarming rise of drug resistant infections in Ukraine amid its war with Russia. Researchers say the spread of these infections is an urgent crisis which must be addressed.

They looked at three regional hospitals in November and December last year speaking to hundreds of patients. The report says this increase can be linked to Ukraine's high prewar rates of drug resistant infections, mixed with a rise of traumatic wounds and the war-related strain on health care services.

A bold gesture by Venezuela's president in the face of an ongoing territorial dispute. Nicolas Maduro unveiled a new map of Venezuela that included the disputed territory of Essequibo, which is a part of neighboring Guyana.

Venezuelan voters recently approved a measure claiming rights over the area. The Essequibo region has been disputed between the two countries for years. Venezuela has claimed it since the late 19th century. It is rich with oil and minerals, makes up about two-thirds of Guyana's national territory.

I'm Max Foster in London. For those in North America, I'll have more news in just a moment. "INSIDE AFRICA" is next for our international viewers outside North America.

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FOSTER: Welcome back to viewers in North America. I'm Max Foster in London, this is CNN NEWSROOM.

And fresh off a strong performance, fresh off a -- there we are. Fresh off a strong performance at the Wednesday Republican debate, GOP hopeful Nikki Haley was back in Iowa on Friday, confident of her chances in next month's state caucuses.

Speaking at a rally in Sioux City, Haley predicted she'll be the one facing Donald Trump for the nomination next year, even if she doesn't come first in Iowa. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right now we are in second place in Iowa, second place in New Hampshire, second place in South Carolina. And we're going to keep on pushing.

The momentum is on our side but I want to earn every vote. The way I look at it is we just need to have a good showing in Iowa. I don't think that means we have to win necessarily. But I think that means we have to have a good showing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Even though Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie is far behind his rivals for the nomination, he says do not count on him to drop out of the race anytime soon. CNN's Omar Jimenez caught up with the former New Jersey governor on the campaign trail in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I haven't had one donor, not one of my significant donors or any donor at all, call me and say that we should get out of this race. I haven't had one supporter call me and tell me to get out of this race.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So at this point, there are no plans for you to go anywhere?

CHRISTIE: Omar, you come on January 23rd. You're going to see me here, shaking hands until the polls close. And we're going to do very well in New Hampshire. I'm not going anywhere.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): The motto in New Hampshire is "live free or die." But at this stage, for Chris Christie, it may be do or die.

CHRISTIE: It's game time now.

JIMENEZ: For the past two days, Christie has been touring college campuses in New Hampshire, hoping to drive enthusiasm among some younger voters.

CHRISTIE: Your vote means more here than any other state in the country this year. So that's why I'm here.

Our party has neglected college campuses and college voters over the course of the cycles, both in statewide races and in national races.

JIMENEZ: With a campaign in full swing, a CNN university of New Hampshire poll last month showed Christie in third place in the Granite Stage GOP's primary, at 14 percent, behind Donald Trump at 42 percent and Nikki Haley at 20 percent.

In the battle to emerge as a leading Trump alternative, a strong finish here could send critical message.

ANDREW SMITH, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SURVEY CENTER: After New Hampshire, there has to be only one of the Republican candidate not Trump.

JIMENEZ: And the picture now may not exactly match the picture in a month.

SMITH: What we've seen historically in the New Hampshire primary is that upwards of 25 percent to a third say they make up their mind on election day and upwards of 50 percent are still undecided over the last weekend of the election. So a lot can happen.

JIMENEZ: The former New Jersey governor's waving off suggestions he and his bid and throw his support behind Haley, even as he publicly defends her from attacks from rivals.

CHRISTIE: This is a smart accomplished woman. You should stop insulting her.

JIMENEZ: On the campaign trail, he stood by that strategy.

CHRISTIE: I'm going to try and beat her but I respect her.

JIMENEZ: But he maintains it's respect, not retreat.

CHRISTIE: We are both trying to beat the other one.

JIMENEZ: Are you and Nikki Haley able to coexist in this race without benefiting Trump?

CHRISTIE: Of course. If Nikki were to get out of this race tomorrow, I tell all of her voters to endorse me, do you think that they would actually all come and vote for me?

Of course not.

JIMENEZ: And while the polls to this point haven't exactly favored the former New Jersey governor, there is only one poll he cares about.

CHRISTIE: Should we all just give up because you guys took a poll?

Elections aren't determined by you. Elections are determined by voters. And not one person has voted yet.

JIMENEZ: And that last point he really emphasized, saying if he strictly followed the polling, not just him but every candidate that's not Trump would have dropped out a long time ago. Moving forward, he's focused a lot of his campaign in New Hampshire.

So I asked him, what's next?

He specifically said, "Michigan." And why is that?

Because you don't have to register as a Democrat or a Republican to vote in those primaries, meaning anyone who doesn't want to vote for former president Trump has a chance to vote for Christie -- Omar Jimenez, CNN, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Immigration and border security shaping up to be major issues in next year's election. President Joe Biden says he's ready and willing to make a deal with Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Like I said, I am willing to make significant compromises on the border. We need to fix the broken border system.

[04:35:00]

It is broken. And thus far, I've gotten no response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, the president is sending a clear message to Capitol Hill that he is willing to offer concessions on border policy if that means getting Republicans to stop holding up funding for Ukraine. CNN's Rosa Flores takes a look at the situation at the southern border.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. Border Patrol is overwhelmed, that's according to U.S. Border Patrol chief Jason Owens, who says thousands of migrants are being apprehended every single day on the U.S. southern border, that Border Patrol facilities are between 200 percent and 300 percent over capacity.

That capacity is about 10,000 and Border Patrol is holding about 20,000 migrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JASON OWENS, U.S. BORDER PATROL: When I say we're overwhelmed, anytime we have people sitting on the ground by the hundreds under the bridges, waiting for us to take them into custody, anytime we have facilities that are 100 percent over capacity, that's being overwhelmed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: The chief also tells me that, in the month of November, about 192,000 migrants were apprehended on the U.S. southern border between ports of entry. That is an increase from October, when about 188,000 migrants were apprehended. Border Patrol is monitoring three hot spots: Eagle Pass, Texas;

Lukeville, Arizona, and San Jacinto, California. The federal government has shut down ports of entry at these three locations.

In San Jacinto, California, it's a pedestrian crossing and that closure starts on Saturday. Now Owens says that port of entry employees from these locations will be redirected to process migrants. And he expressed frustration that, while legal crossing and trade is interrupted, illegal crossings continue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OWENS: It's a consequence to our border security, it's a consequence to our lawful trade and travel and everybody's feeling it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: I asked Owens what he needs from the White House and from Congress to do his job. He says he needs more Border Patrol agents, more technology and every single tool in the tool box to make sure that the brave men and women that keep the southern border safe can go home safely after every shift -- Rosa Flores, CNN, Laredo, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Live now to New York and Paul (sic) Reyes, an attorney and immigration analyst and contributor to CNN opinion.

Thank you so much for joining us, Paul (sic).

Listening there to Rosa, it's an expensive job, isn't it, securing that border?

I mean, that's one of the issues here, isn't it, pure resource.

RAUL REYES, CNN OPINION WRITER: Oh, absolutely. You know, part of the reason we have this border crisis is because we are underfunded at the border in terms of manpower, in terms of the latest technological equipment we could be using to screen migrants in terms of having enough resources to process them.

But the reason we are -- that we are here at this inflection point is because President Biden, you know, last month, he sent a request to Congress for supplemental aid for Ukraine, funding for Ukraine and Israel and some of our other allies.

And then he made what many people see as a strategic -- a tremendous strategic error. He tied that aid to border security, the thinking being that, if he included some money for border security in this package, he would get more Republican support. But that didn't happen.

Instead, Republicans basically had taken the issue and ran with it. And they have made all sorts of demand on immigration policy. And that leaves the Biden administration really in a very difficult political bind.

FOSTER: What are those demands?

And why are they hard for the White House to give them to the Republicans?

REYES: Right, well, some of the things the Republicans are seeking is they wanted to make it harder for asylum seekers to enter this country. They want people whose immigration claims are being processed to wait on the Mexican side of the border.

They want to make it harder for the government to parole people into the country in terms of humanitarian relief. And the reason -- these measures are really -- amount to something of a return to Trump era policies.

And the reason it's so problematic for the Biden administration is because the Republicans are basically in a win-win type of situation.

If this -- you know, the question here is basically, deal or no deal, right?

And if a deal goes through, Republicans can claim credit, saying they support Ukraine and they're being tough on the border.

If the deal falls apart, they can blame the Biden administration for not caring about immigration and the border or our allies overseas. And meanwhile this -- this discussion over the funding has shown a lot of disunity among Democratic lawmakers.

So that's why the Biden administration is in an ideal position. Sad to say, this position is really of their own making. The Biden administration made this good faith effort to include border security with aid to Ukraine.

And now in effect our immigration policy and the fate of many migrants and asylum seekers are, in a sense, being held hostage to the Republican demands.

[04:40:04]

That's why it's so tough for President Biden, especially -- remember, he has only a 23 percent approval rating among the American public for his handling of immigration. He's on the ropes on this issue. And the Republicans are truly, they are running with it for now.

FOSTER: It's also interesting, isn't it, that if he does succumb to this movement in policy, he's effectively moving more toward Donald Trump's position, which he has also criticized all along.

REYES: Right, right and he's received -- even -- although the details of this deal have not been fully made public, the president and the administration have already received backlash from both sides.

Because many immigration advocates, many human rights groups, Latino civic organizations, they are very critical of what they see as a betrayal by President Biden, of promises he made to move away from Trump-era policies. And this could really harm the president going into, you know, the

obviously -- the upcoming election. And, you know, in my view, this is my opinion, I urge people to think about this.

You know, it's totally reasonable that people have different opinions on immigration. It's a very contentious issue. But in my view that -- for that very reason, it deserves a stand-alone, dedicated debate without an arbitrary deadline, which, as of now, is really next week.

So immigration is super important to this country. But it should be debated in a fully transparent way. Our immigration policy shouldn't necessarily be decided behind closed doors or presented as some type of done deal.

And also think about this. You know, the aid to Ukraine and Israel, these are temporary measures. But the potential major changes to our immigration system, those would be permanent.

And there's no evidence that it would even stop people from approaching or trying to cross our southern border. Over 20 years of deterrence based efforts have not slowed the flow of migrants from Central, South America and increasingly from around the world.

So that's the tough position the Biden administration finds itself in for now. And it's hard to see, because of their original strategic error, how they can find a way forward that satisfies all their interested constituencies.

FOSTER: A great position for Donald Trump, because, of course, it was probably one of the defining issues for him for the first time he won the election. No doubt he's going to use it again this time 'round and he's going to be saying, look, I was proved right.

REYES: Absolutely. So the thing is, many of these policies, they are a return to the Trump-era policies. So the Biden administration is sort of stuck, they're conflicted. What we're seeing is that Republicans, that immigration issue greatly resonates with their base.

So they are happy when immigration is being discussed, when there's chaos at the border or a crisis, that's a win for them.

Democrats, the situation is very different, Biden has shown sort of a reluctance to lead on this issue. He's hesitant to come out more forcefully in defending our asylum system in particular.

And remember, the right to claim asylum in the United States is a lawful right that migrants have under U.S. law or international law and international treaties.

And the saddest thing about this whole political stalemate is that the people at the center of the debate, very vulnerable migrants, who have fled all sorts of traumas in their home country, now they could potentially endure more suffering, more harm, more violence, if they're forced to wait at the Mexican border.

Or if denied the possibility of asylum all together. FOSTER: OK, Raul Reyes, thank you so much indeed for joining us with

your insight today and getting up so early.

REYES: Thank you.

FOSTER: A teenage gunman who killed four fellow students will spend his life in prison. We'll take you inside the courtroom next.

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[04:45:00]

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FOSTER: U.S. Senate Republicans blocked an assault style weapons ban on Wednesday as the nation reports a record number of mass shootings for the second year in a row. President Joe Biden, speaking at an event in Las Vegas days after a mass shooting there, called on Congress to act.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Folks, we got to get smart. There have been over 600 mass shootings in America this year alone, plus daily acts of gun violence that don't even make the national news.

This is not normal. And we can never let it become normal. People have the right to feel safe, be safe and I'm fighting to make sure they do. But all these actions I've taken as President of the United States on gun violence epidemic is not enough. We need Congress to step up.

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FOSTER: Well, on Wednesday a career college professor fatally shot three faculty members at the University of Nevada/Las Vegas.

In Michigan, a 17-year old convicted of shooting and killing four of his high school classmates in 2021 has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Some of the survivors and the victims' families spoke in court yesterday. Emily Schmidt has the details.

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EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There were two ways Ethan Crumbley got what he wanted Friday, the sentencing judge noted. First, as Crumbley had once written in a journal, he wanted to see the pain he caused as Michigan's most deadly school shooter on November 30th, 2021.

JUDGE KWAME ROWE, OAKLAND COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT, MICHIGAN: He chose not to die on that day because he wanted the notoriety. SCHMIDT (voice-over): But Crumbley did not look at the people who

stood to tell the judge how his violence had taken four lives at Oxford High School and permanently changed so many more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to ask you one more time to please look at me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To the shooter you can look away and you can look down but your ears are still open, so listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was and always will be the most terrifying moment of my life.

RILEY FRANZ, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I can no longer sleep without having flashbacks of a bullet entering one side of my neck and exiting the other.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was just shot and I thought I was going to die.

SCHMIDT (voice-over): So many victims in anguish, so much grief. Finally, Crumbley spoke.

ETHAN CRUMBLEY, OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTER: I am a really bad person.

SCHMIDT (voice-over): And that's where the shooter got the second thing he wanted.

CRUMBLEY: Any sentence that they ask for, I ask that you impose it on me because I want them to be happy and I want them to feel secure and safe.

ROWE: The defendant shall serve life without the possibility of parole.

SCHMIDT (voice-over): He's the first minor to receive an original sentence of life without parole since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2012 that such sentences should be reserve for rare offenders. Victims pointed out he would never see them again, his freedom gone, after all he had taken from them.

[04:50:01]

SCHMIDT (voice-over): I'm Emily Schmidt reporting.

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FOSTER: Actor Ryan O'Neal has died. Coming up, a look back at the breakout movie and the famous line from that movie that made him a Hollywood star.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) FOSTER: British royals gathering for a Christmas Carol service at Westminster Abbey yesterday. The Prince and Princess of Wales attended along with their three children. Hosted by Catherine, the festive service featured actor Jim Broadbent and songs by Adam Lambert and others.

The event will be broadcast on TV in the U.K. on Christmas Eve. It's linked to the princess' initiative to support children in their early childhoods.

A strong storm system could grip most of the eastern United States this weekend.

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FOSTER: Oscar nominated actor Ryan O'Neal has died. He was 82. His son, Patrick, posted an announcement online, saying his father died peacefully with loved ones by his side. His big film break came in 1970, playing opposite Ali McGraw.

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FOSTER: "Love Story" turned them both into major Hollywood stars and earned O'Neal an Oscar nomination. The one line from the movie everyone still remembers more than 50 years later, "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Ryan O'Neal, dead at the age of 82.

Wrapping up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Max Foster. I'll be back with more news after this quick break.