Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Source: Israel Is Back At Table For Hostage Negotiations; Death Toll Climbs To 131 As Crews Wrap Up Search For Survivors; Trump Disqualified From 2024 Ballot In Colorado; Lava Flow Eases, Gas Pollution Could Reach Capital; India Suspends Record 141 Opposition Parliamentarians; Texas Governor Abbott Signs Border Bill That Makes Entering Texas Illegally A State Crime; Health Experts Warn Of Fastest-Growing Subvariant. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 20, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: Been long running. Kara Scannell, thanks so much.

And CNN This Morning continues right now.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta, in for Max Foster. Good to have you with us.

Just ahead, a source tells CNN that Israel is back at the negotiating table and has brought forward proposals for a pause in fighting in exchange for Hamas releasing hostages held in Gaza. We'll go live to Tel Aviv with more in just a moment.

Plus, Colorado's Supreme Court rules that Donald Trump is not eligible to be on the presidential ballot. What does this mean to his 2024 run? We'll speak to a legal expert.

And then rescuers are working in the bitter cold in China, searching for those trapped after the deadliest earthquake in over a decade.

We begin in Israel, which is now back at the table for hostage negotiations. That's according to a source who spoke with CNN. Israel has begun to make proposals that call for the release of hostages in phases in exchange for a pause in fighting. But that source also stressed that a deal at this moment is not imminent.

Sources say the U.N. Security Council is expected to vote today on a resolution that initially called for a suspension of hostilities in Gaza to allow more aid to get in. This comes as humanitarian groups say half of the war torn enclave's population is starving. They warn of potential outbreaks of cholera and other illnesses.

Our CNN Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley is covering the latest developments and joins us live from Tel Aviv. Good to have you with us, Will. So Israel and Hamas reportedly back negotiating. We know that Hamas's top leader is in Cairo. What are the expectations? WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So if we're judging by how things went last time around, Lynda, this hostage deal took a very long time to hammer out, more than a month, in fact. And so they're not necessarily expecting a deal imminently, which is what Israeli officials are telling us here in Tel Aviv. But they are back talking and they're starting to look at what the possible parameters of a hostage deal might look like.

It would include women, the Israeli official tells CNN. It would also potentially include a release of hostages in phases. There are believed to be just over 100 hostages who are still alive in Gaza and another 21 of them who are believed to be dead, but their bodies in Gaza. Israel, of course, wants the return of all of them.

In the past, Hamas has said that that would only happen if there was a permanent ceasefire, in other words, the end of the war. Israel has said that it would be a humanitarian pause. What they're putting on the table right now is an exchange of some 40 hostages, prioritizing women and children, people who need priority care, the elderly as well.

And in exchange for that, there would be a week long pause in fighting. They would consider extending that pause in fighting if the remaining hostages would be released. So obviously still a lot of details that need to be hammered out, Lynda, and it could take quite some time.

Of course, people would love to see something happen over the holiday week, but that might be unlikely unless the two sides can somehow work much faster than they did the last time hammering out the complex details of this negotiation, including, by the way, who's going to be released by the Israelis back to the Palestinian side. Hamas is asking this time around for more heavy duty prisoners as opposed to the teenagers and women that Israel released during the last exchange.

KINKADE: And Will, most of Gaza's population are displaced. Many don't have homes to return to. Israel is now exploring the potential to construct some sort of humanitarian shelter in the north of Gaza. What can you tell us?

RIPLEY: Well, it certainly is going to be vital whenever people are allowed to return safely back to their homes or what's left of them in northern Gaza, because according to United Nations satellite imagery analysis, some 80 percent of the buildings in northern Gaza have either been damaged or destroyed, and roughly 85 percent of the entire two or so million people living in Gaza are displaced at the moment.

So they're going to need somewhere to go back to. The current refugee camp situation is untenable. We've talked about the humanitarian crisis, the lack not only of food and medicine, but also hundreds of people, if not thousands of people, sharing a single bathroom facility, lack of clean water.

It is truly just an absolute disaster on the ground. And so shelter needs to be constructed and provided. But the details of what that would look like, how many people would be able to -- the timeline still unknown at this stage, Lynda.

KINKADE: OK. Will Ripley for us in Tel Aviv. Good to have you there for us. Thank you.

I want to go to northwestern China where state media say the death toll from Monday's earthquake has risen to 131 people. Electricity has now been fully restored to the area where rescue workers s are wrapping up their search for survivors. Tens of thousands of people had to be evacuated, some spending the night in temporary shelters.

[08:05:11]

This is the deadliest earthquake to strike China in nearly a decade, as Steven Jiang reports.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Now, there might still be some small scale operations going on, according to state media, focused on remote small villages not only hit by the initial quake, but also the subsequent mudslides, because officially there are still more than a dozen people missing.

But the fact the official casualty figures, including the death toll, have only been revised up slightly from Tuesday to Wednesday is perhaps a reflection of the remoteness of the quake zone. Sparsely populated, mostly rural, and often mountainous. Even though the epicenter was only some hundred kilometers away from the provincial capital city of Gansu.

The authorities say their focus is now shifting to post the disaster relief, including treating the injured. Nearly a thousand people to get injured in this quake, but also resettling the tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate from their homes and farms after those structures were either destroyed or severely damaged.

Now, that's no easy task during the best of time, the very harsh winter condition, with temperature reaching as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius overnight hampering this effort as well. And it may take some convincing for some of the people to get resettled since many of them are very poor farmers, telling state media they're not only concerned about their safety, but also their livelihood, including the fate of their crops and livestocks.

Overall, though, the authorities say they have restored electricity, communication signals, as well as road access to most parts of this quake zone hit by that very powerful tremor late Monday night.

Steven Jiang, CNN, Beijing.

KINKADE: Well, we are also tracking a stunning legal decision today, one which could have a major impact on the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The Colorado State Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump is ineligible to run for president in that state next year. It disqualified Trump from the ballot because of his role in the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bars government officials who have participated in an insurrection from holding future office. Trump's campaign has vowed to appeal that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

CNN's Marshall Cohen is tracking the story for us. Marshall, good to have you with. So this -- there is no precedent for this. It's highly unusual, like many of the cases we've been tracking, covering Donald Trump. Just take us through this decision and the ramifications.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Lynda. One of the reasons why we've never had to address this before is because no American president has ever tried to stay in power despite losing an election. Donald Trump's actions are at the heart of this case.

What he did after the 2020 election, which he lost, and how he tried to remain in power by sending his supporters to the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, where they successfully, at least for a few hours, blocked the transfer of power.

So the Colorado Supreme Court, as you said, issued a stunning ruling last night. It was a four to three decision, a divided ruling, but they said that the constitutional ban in the 14th Amendment on insurrectionists holding office, that it is still the law of the land and that it applies to the presidency, and therefore, Donald Trump is ineligible for office.

Now, Lynda, he's definitely going to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. So this is not the final word, but this was a massive victory for the people that said, Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for his behavior on January 6. Lynda?

KINKADE: Yes. It's just incredible. And at this point in time, Marshall, this ruling just applies to Colorado. But other states could follow suit, right?

COHEN: That's true. And challengers in several other states have already filed lawsuits. None of them have actually succeeded thus far. This is the only case that has been able to take Trump off of the ballot. That being said, the U.S. Supreme Court that oversees the law of the land for the entire country, they will surely get the final say.

Appeals are expected to the U.S. Supreme Court. And the big question is, are they going to issue a narrow decision that only applies to Colorado and reflects the case there, or are they going to take up this matter in a sweeping, broader fashion that settles the question for the entire country? There is a lot of uncertainty at this point.

KINKADE: All right, Marshall Cohen, we will continue to follow that very closely. Thanks so much.

In Iceland, lava flow from the volcano is starting to slow down quite a bit, but there are growing concerns about the potential dangerous gas pollution. The mayor of the nearby town of Grindavik telling its residents they will not be able to return to their homes before Christmas.

[08:10:06]

Well joining us now from Grindavik, which is a fishing town on the southern peninsula of Iceland, is CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, trying to stay warm there, by the looks of it. Fred, good to have you with us. So the images of the volcano we've seen are absolutely spectacular, but obviously, we've seen major concern for the lava and now for this gas pollution. What can you tell us?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Lynda. Yes, it's certainly something that the authorities are keeping an eye on, I would say right now in Reykjavik, especially, where some of that pollution may have happened, the authorities feared, which is, of course, the capital of Iceland and by far the largest town as well.

So far, there don't seem to be any measures being taken on the ground. Seems pretty normal there right now. It's interesting because this volcanic eruption, which, as you noted, was absolutely massive. Some of the images that we saw there of those fountains of lava spewing, sometimes hundreds of feet into the air, that certainly is something that is taking place between, essentially the main airport and the capital of the country.

And yet the authorities say they have this situation completely under control, because obviously, Iceland is a country that is used to volcanic activity, and certainly the residents of this country as well. It's interesting that you noted that the folks in Grindavik were told by the mayor -- that town, by the way, was evacuated more than a month ago -- that they would not be able to return home certainly before Christmas.

That certainly seems something that you would expect, considering that you have something that looks like the gates of hell opening right in their backyard. And you're absolutely right, the seismic activity has decreased considerably. We saw that big wall of magma that was spewing from the earth after the initial eruption took place.

Then the authorities said that it was now down to five vents that were still spewing lava out. And, of course, those lava flows taking place as well. This morning, the latest that we're getting that it's down to three of those vents that are still spewing the magma. However, the authorities are saying that the danger has not passed.

They say that because this eruption is so big, that there could be new vents opening up along that fissure. And they also, of course, warn of that -- what you were mentioning, that possibility of toxic gas becoming an issue for places like Reykjavik and also this general area, because this is probably one of the most urban areas in all of Iceland, Lynda.

KINKADE: Wow. So people there really need to heed the warnings from authorities and stay away. Frederik Pleitgen, good to have you on the story for us in Iceland. Thank you.

Well still to come, could Donald Trump really be kept off the 2024 ballot in Colorado? We'll have a discussion of that blockbuster ruling from the state Supreme Court when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade. The world of politics here in the U.S. is reeling from a stunning ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court. In a four to three decision, the justice has barred Donald Trump from appearing on the state's presidential ballot next year.

[08:15:00]

The court cited an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that bars anyone who participated in an insurrection from holding federal office. Trump has vowed to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Let's take a deep dive into the story by bringing CNN's Senior Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic. Good to have you with us, Joan.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Great to be here. And you're right, it was stunning. And we're headed for an epic set of weeks at the Supreme Court. Now, you just gave people a part of what that amendment says, our 14th Amendment. It says that no person shall hold office who has taken an oath to support the Constitution and then engages in an insurrection or rebellion.

So that's one of the main questions the Supreme Court would have to decide, did Donald Trump engage in an insurrection? And does this provision actually cover a president? A lower court judge had earlier said no, whereas the Colorado Supreme Court said this flatly would apply to him.

But I have to say there are several hurdles, procedural hurdles, that the Supreme Court would first have to confront before it gets to exactly what does the text of our 14th Amendment say. And one of those is, did he have enough due process in the lower court's proceedings in Colorado? And does Colorado state law even allow the secretary of state to be able to keep him off the ballot, or does first Congress have to enforce this provision of the 14th Amendment?

So we have myriad legal questions that will now be before the U.S. Supreme Court. At the same time that I should mention, the court is also considering whether to take up whether Donald Trump should be immune from criminal prosecution for election subversion brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith in that separate case. So just two major issues that will determine what happens in the 2024 elections now right on the doorstep of the U.S. Supreme Court.

KINKADE: And just in terms of timing, Joan, how quickly --

BISKUPIC: Yes.

KINKADE: -- could the Supreme Court make a decision?

BISKUPIC: First of all, no papers have yet been filed on this one yet from the Colorado case. So -- and they have essentially to January 4th, that's what the lower court said. If you get the papers to the Supreme Court by January 4th, you know, Trump's name will stay on the ballot while this all plays out. But then January 5th is a deadline, right, in Colorado for when the GOP primary names have to be submitted. And there are other deadlines coming up pretty quickly. If the Supreme Court gets this and gets this fast, which it probably will, it could decide it pretty quickly in the next couple of weeks.

It's done it before. It's just a matter of what the arguments will be and how much the Supreme Court's going to get into them. But as I said, I think January is going to be an epic time at the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve major election issues.

KINKADE: Joan Biskupic standing across it for us, our senior Supreme Court analyst. Thanks so much.

BISKUPIC: Thank you.

KINKADE: Still to come, a new law is sparking fear in the Latino community in Texas. And it's reviving Republican efforts to focus on border security in the 2024 election. We'll explain next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:18]

KINKADE: Welcome back. India's ruling party is being accused of an attack on democracy after suspending a record number of parliamentarians for the remainder of the winter season. 141 opposition members were removed after demanding a parliamentary debate about last week's security breach in which two men stormed the lower house of parliament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the breach was a serious matter, but not one that required a parliamentary debate. Modi's ruling party has majorities in both houses of government and is expected to legislate with almost no opposition until the end of term on Friday.

The White House is slamming a new Texas law that makes it a state crime to enter Texas illegally, calling it incredibly extreme. It says the law, quote, "will not and does not make the communities in Texas safer". The state's Republican governor signed the bill on Monday which will give local law enforcement authorities the power to arrest migrants. Civil rights organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging the bill.

As CNN's Rosa Flores reports, the legislation comes amid a surge of migrants at the southern border.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What you see behind me are thousands of migrants in Eagle Pass, Texas, waiting to be transported for immigration processing. Now, Eagle Pass, Texas, is the epicenter of the immigration crisis in the United States right now. It is where the federal broken immigration system collides with the state of Texas who wants to take this issue into its own hands.

And I want to show you exactly what I'm talking about. If you look over my shoulder, you'll see that these are men, women, children who are waiting right now out in the cold to be transported for processing. And what you're looking at right now is a federal issue in the United States. It's up to the federal government to apprehend these individuals, process them and hold them.

But Texas Governor Greg Abbott has just signed a bill known as SB4, that would -- that has created a new state law for illegal entry into the United States. And what that means is, is the images that you're looking at right now could turn into a state issue.

Now, I've talked to state leaders all along the border who are very concerned about this. Why? Because it's going to cost their communities money. I talked to the sheriff here in Maverick County, and he says that his deputies don't have training in immigration law and that he doesn't have space in his jail to house all of these individuals.

His jail can only house 250 individuals. There's already 180 in custody and there's thousands of people behind me. So why is all this happening and why is there this bottleneck? Well, right now there's about 23,000 migrants in border patrol custody and holding capacity is only 10,000. So do the math.

There is an overwhelming number of migrants who are in custody right now. And it has created this bottleneck which raises the question why? What's happening? Why is this different? I'll tell you why. There's a few factors.

Of course, the capacity issue, the flow issue. There's a lot of migrants who are coming to the United States from all around the world. And then there's this. The Biden administration is trying to implement and use legal consequences for illegal entry into the United States.

And what they're doing in certain processing areas along the U.S. southern border is they're using something called enhanced expedited removal. And what that means is that asylum officers make a determination on a migrant's case while the migrant is in custody, which means that migrants are spending more time in custody.

And as I've mentioned, they only have holding capacity for about 10,000. They're already holding 23,000 migrants. And so what this is doing is it's testing the infrastructure on the U.S. southern border.

Rosa Flores, CNN, Eagle Pass, Texas.

KINKADE: The French health minister has resigned after the adoption of a controversial bill that tightens the rules for immigration. The bill is reached between President Emmanuel Macron's ruling party and the conservative opposition. The law will delay migrants' access to welfare benefits and make it easier to expel illegal immigrants. It will also make it harder for immigrants children to become French citizens.

The World Health Organization and the U.S. health officials are warning that a subvariant of COVID-19 is spreading quickly. CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell has more. MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the strain known as JN.1 now being characterized as a variant of interest by the World Health Organization, is the fastest growing here in the United States. And that's because it has a growth advantage over other variants that are spreading here and around the world.

[08:25:11]

If you look just back about a month ago in November, it accounted for about 4 percent of new cases in the United States, according to CDC's estimates, and now that's up to more than 20 percent nationally. It's already predominant in the northeastern part of the United States and is expected to become the dominant variant here in the U.S. and worldwide over the coming weeks.

What we know about JN.1 is that it's descended from another subvariant of Omicron known as BA.2.86. Now this variant we were paying a lot of attention to over the summer because it has a number of mutations in its spike protein that experts worried would make it better at evading our existing immunity from COVID, either from vaccination or from prior infection.

It didn't end up taking off with the speed that a lot of people feared it would. But JN.1 is a descendant of that variant, and it does seem to have a better ability to spread, at least than its predecessor. The good news, though, is that early research suggests that the currently updated vaccines for COVID should protect well against JN.1, at least in terms of severe disease.

And so public health officials, especially here in the United States, are encouraging folks to get their updated COVID vaccines if they haven't already. Currently, only about 18 percent of U.S. adults have done so because COVID hospitalizations are rising. In many parts of the country, they're at the medium or even high levels.

They have been increasing along with hospitalizations from flu and RSV as well. And so as we're heading into this winter respiratory season, a lot of folks are traveling. The encouragement is, of course, to get protected any way possible.

KINKADE: Thanks to Meg Tirrell there for that report.

I'm Lynda Kinkade. I will be back at the top of the hour for two hours of Connect the World. Thanks so much for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. World Sport with Amanda Davies is coming up right after a very short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)