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Biden Administration Sends Officials To Meet with Mexican President To Help With Immigration Crisis On U.S.-Mexico Border; Former President Trump's Ground Operation In Iowa For Upcoming Caucuses Examined; Former President Trump Criticized For Divisive Rhetoric On Immigrants; President Biden Speaks With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu As IDF Prepares To Expand Operations In Gaza; Humanitarian Organization Warns Of Crisis In Gaza For Civilians Over Coming Winter; Billionaire Donor Suspends Contributions To Harvard Over Concerns About Antisemitism On Campus; Harvard President Accused Of Plagiarism; Chaplains Provide Assistance To LAPD Officers; Catholic Bishop Interviewed On How Christians View Christmas And Conflict. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired December 23, 2023 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:00:39]
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Omar Jimenez in for Fredricka Whitfield. We've got a lot to get to, including as the 2024 political season ramps up, the Biden White House is contending with renewed focus from the president's opponents on the crisis at the U.S. southern border. Former President Donald Trump's harsh rhetoric and Texas Governor Greg Abbott's contentious new law and migrant arrests have reignited Republican efforts to make border security the focus of the 2024 election, even at the potential expense of American allies like Israel and Ukraine, elevating the fight over immigration policy to new heights. And now House Speaker Mike Johnson is calling for Biden to take executive action to secure the border.
So joining me to discuss is Kevin Liptak at the White House. Kevin, thanks for being back with us. What is the administration doing to help the situation at the southern border?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, they are urgently looking for solutions here. And the phrase that you hear from officials is breaking point as they're describing what's happening on the southern border, and the numbers really do reflect that. In recent days more than 10,000 migrants unlawfully crossed the border, and that does reflect a significant increase from previous months. So this is a major logistical challenge, of course, for the Biden administration, but it's also a political challenge for President Biden as we enter this election season.
One of the things that you're seeing him do is apply pressure on the Mexican president, Lopez Obrador. They did speak by phone last week, and really the hope among American officials is that Mexico will do more to try and curb the flow of migrants, and President Biden did dispatch senior members of his cabinet to go to Mexico next week, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, to try and talk about ways that Mexico can help stem these flows, including potentially putting troops in southern Mexico, putting more checkpoints between the southern Mexican border and southern American border to try and stop these flows before they reach the United States.
The White House has also requested $14 billion from Congress to try and increase border security, increase personnel to try and process these migrants faster, but that money is caught up in negotiations between Republicans and Democrats on tightening border rules. Congress did leave for the holiday break, so that money won't be passed before next year. But certainly, this is something that President Biden will be under pressure to try and resolve as he heads into this political season.
JIMENEZ: And obviously, we're going, as you mentioned, into this political season, 2024. The Biden administration will also be working in tandem with the Biden campaign and immigration is going to be key on both of those fronts. How is the Biden campaign dealing with this?
LIPTAK: I think one thing that you've already started to see from the campaign is to try and contrast President Biden's approach with the approach of former President Trump, particularly when you hear Trump out at rallies talking about immigrants poisoning the blood of the country. That's something that the Biden campaign seized on almost immediately to compare it, for example, to rhetoric that you heard during Nazi-era Germany. And so I think this contrast is something that you will hear consistently as President Biden heats up his campaign.
In the end, he is in a bind here from people on the right, even some Democrats who want him to do more on the southern border, but also from progressives, immigration advocates, who do worry that some of the changes being talked about will amount to some of the restrictive policies that you did see under President Trump. So the immigration issue is something that presidents have contended with for a long time in a lot of ways. It's just down to a broken system that will require Congress actually making some reforms to fix, Omar.
JIMENEZ: Kevin Liptak, thank you so much, as always.
Immigration is, of course, just one of several pressing issues presidential candidates are focusing on as they look ahead to the first contest of the 2024 presidential race. The Iowa Republican caucuses are going to happen in just 23 days, with New Hampshire and South Carolina quickly following that. And with just weeks before the first votes are cast, former President Trump remains the clear frontrunner according to polls, despite his legal troubles. The Trump campaign is also zeroing in on a new strategy as he focuses on first- timers, people who have never participated in the Iowa caucuses. And he's driving home the point that even if he's leading in the polls, it's not the time to be complacent. Here is CNN's Jeff Zeleny.
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[14:05:6] DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We've got to be sure that we put this thing away. The poll numbers are scary because we're leading by so much. The key is you have to get out and vote.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump is eyeing more than an Iowa victory. He's looking for a decisive one.
TRUMP: We'll be back a few more times.
ZELENY: But the outcome of the Iowa caucuses, now less than four weeks away, may depend less on Trump than the work being done on this makeshift assembly line inside his campaign headquarters. One box at a time, this is how Trump's team is trying to build a landslide, sending gold stitched hats and carefully curated care packages to nearly 2,000 of their precinct captains.
BRAD BOUSTEAD, TRUMP IOWA CAUCUS PRECINCT CAPTAIN: Look right here. Here's a personalized letter from the president.
ZELENY: Brad Boustead is a volunteer and one of the captains who speak on Trump's behalf on caucus night and agreed to bring in 10 new supporters. In 2016 he supported Ted Cruz who beat Trump here with the help of a stronger organization. Now Boustead marvels at Trump's operation.
BOUSTEAD: Somebody has got to screw the lug nuts on the Cadillac. So the little jobs are the most important jobs.
ZELENY: While Trump's extreme rhetoric often sounds the same in this campaign --
TRUMP: When I'm reelected, we will begin, and we have no choice, the largest deportation operation in American history.
(APPLAUSE)
ZELENY: -- his organization is dramatically different this time, driven by a sophisticated data-driven effort to find Trump supporters who have never attended a caucus before. In the last three months Trump has visited Iowa more than a dozen times, hitting all corners of the state in a highly targeted strategy for a frontrunner not resting on a commanding lead. From the moment you walk into a Trump event, the organization is apparent. Back at the campaign office, these commit to caucus cards are entered into a database.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got you in there.
ZELENY: Supporters are called within three days, which advisers say often didn't happen in 2016.
BRENNA BIRD, (R) IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL: The polls don't matter. The one that really matters is caucus night, isn't it?
ZELENY: Brenna Bird, Iowa's attorney general and one of Trump's top supporters, warns against complacency. BIRD: I think his only danger is that people think that he might not
need their vote. And that's not true. We need everybody to go out and vote on caucus night.
ZELENY: An army of Trump surrogates is also descending on Iowa, holding small organizing events, hammering home the same message.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My only worry is low turnout.
ZELENY: With Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley in a fight for second place, Trump is working to close down the 2024 primary on its opening night.
JIMMY CENTERS, IOWA REPUBLICAN POLITICAL CONSULTANT: He wants to run up the score, so caucus night looks more like a coronation than a caucus.
ZELENY: Jimmy Centers, a veteran of four Republican caucus campaigns in Iowa, said the Trump organization may overwhelm its rivals.
CENTERS: They are quietly building a very tenacious and robust organization all across the state. And I think that's going to be worth several points on caucus night.
ZELENY: So some of the most important work happens when the former president is not here?
CENTERS: That's precisely it. And it's been happening like that for eight years.
ZELENY: After four visits in less than a month, the former president will be taking a bit of a break from the Iowa campaign season, allowing people to enjoy their Christmas holiday. But advisers say he will be back in the new year, pressing for a decisive victory, hoping the Iowa caucuses end the Republican primary rather than begin it.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Waterloo, Iowa.
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JIMENEZ: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thank you.
With me now to talk more about the upcoming caucuses and primaries is David Swerdlick. He is a senior staff editor for "The New York Times" opinion, and Sophia Cai is a national politics reporter for "Axios." Thanks to both of you for joining me. Sophia, I want to start with you. What do you make of Trump's strategy in Iowa to get first-time voters to turn out to the caucuses and relying less on rallies?
SOPHIA CAI, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, "AXIOS": They've been doing this since the very start of the campaign, and I think it's driven by the people at the top who are very serious about focusing on what they call moving the mud. And Iowa is exhibit A of that. I think they learned from 2016 when they lost to Ted Cruz, and so this time around they're kind of emphasizing that being in the lead is not enough. And they are worried about complacent voters, voters who think that Trump is in the lead and so we don't have to show up. JIMENEZ: And complacency is one thing, but, also, it seems that many
voters have been invigorated by the legality of all of this, the criminal charge side of all of these things when it comes to Trump. Multiple court cases, trials, things that he's going to face in 2024. Polls show that GOP voters still seem to prefer him, in some cases love him. Do you think Trump can hold onto these voters? I want to go to you, David. Do you think Trump can hold on to these voters if he's convicted in any of these cases?
DAVID SWERDLICK, ASSISTANT EDITOR, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Hey, Omar. I definitely do. I think these criminal cases and these lawsuits are not a problem for the former president in the primary.
[14:10:00]
When we get to the general election, we'll see if the development of those cases impacts his support among key swing blocks, like suburban women or with some younger voters who are on the fence right now. But in the Republican primary, even though Governor Haley is coming on, even though they're having robust debates, President Trump has the core support of the Republican Party locked in. And so it's going to take more than these court cases to get him off course in these upcoming primary elections.
JIMENEZ: Look, the environment in a primary election is much different than the environment in a general election, and it does seem that on the Biden campaign side of things that they're preparing to at least face former President Trump, that they're preparing their campaign that will make Trump's threat to democracy a central focus of their campaign, according to a memo shared with CNN. They'll be putting people on the ground in battleground state beginning in mid-January to focus on that messaging.
So Sophia, do you actually think that's something that's going to resonate with the voters in those battleground states, or do you think most Americans are focused on things like the economy?
CAI: Yes, I think the key is the Biden campaign knows that it's all about turnout. And so, yes, they want to speak to the voters in the middle. But they're really trying to tell their own voters, the 47 or so percent that it's really necessary to come out and vote for Joe Biden. And so they're running against MAGA. They've told "Axios" that they're running against MAGA, even in the unlikely scenario that someone other than Trump is the nominee. And so they're thinking about what it would wean to run against Nikki Haley, and I think their strategy is the same, to paint her as too extreme for the country.
But I think everyone is expecting to be running against Trump right now. And for them, Trump is crazy, Trump is the dictator, that's the message that they're sending to their Democratic base.
JIMENEZ: And the message that Trump is sending, at least one of the messages we've been seeing is leaning harder into the immigration issue. And David, as we talked about at the top of the show, Republicans are really leaning into that. Trump is using some pretty strong language we've seen even more consistently over the past few weeks, talking about how illegal immigration and some migrants are poisoning the blood of this country. Is this a winning strategy for Republicans, or is this just really rhetoric here?
SWERDLICK: Omar, I think, again, this is going to work in a Republican primary because that rhetoric does resonate maybe not with the majority of the Republican primary electorate, but with some of the Republican primary electorate. It's evidenced by his presence at those rallies.
Sophia did some great reporting on this. And when you add it all up, it's basically this. We are in America in 2024. People need to get over the fact that we are a diverse nation, that we are a nation of immigrants. This is baked into our DNA and who we are as a country. Once you have a president -- look, you can talk about immigration policy. People can reasonably differ on immigration policy. But once you have a former president out there saying that immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country, what you basically have is a former president turning his back on the Statue of Liberty. And that's taking the country in a different direction than our founding ideals.
JIMENEZ: And Sophia, we can bring in some of your reporting, but one of the things that struck me about this and his phrasing as of late is that it mirrors a lot of how hard he went against the immigration issue in 2016, and that was part of what got him the nomination then. Do you see similarities between some of the rhetoric we saw then versus now? And how is it advantageous for someone like President Trump politically?
CAI: I think absolutely. I mean, he knew in 2016 that he was striking on something that was really near and dear to people who felt like they were forgotten, people who may have lost jobs. And he was tapping into that anxiety and that fear. It may not necessarily be people who come out and say, right, we just hate anyone who doesn't look like us. It's tapping into a certain uncertainty about their livelihoods and their jobs that Trump, once again, now, right, almost eight years later, is still counting on to get his voters to turn out.
But remember, we're at a crossroads. We have a Republican Party that has put out six non-white candidates, six out of 12 at one point at the start of the primaries, and we have the RNC who has recognized that they need to be spending money and time on minority voters. But at the same time, we have the remaining primary candidates, a lot of the frontrunners still fanning what is really xenophobic rhetoric. And that's just where we are.
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JIMENEZ: Yes, and we've seen it, again, pretty consistently, and specific phrasing that has been used. So clearly it appears to be part of a strategy as opposed to just one-offs here and there. David Swerdlick, Sophia Cai, I've got to leave it there. But thank you so much.
SWERDLICK: Thanks, Omar.
JIMENEZ: I want to bring you all some news just into CNN, the White House says that President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke today. We're going to bring you the details next.
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JIMENEZ: Breaking news in the Israel-Hamas war. The White House says President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. It was their 17th call since the war began on October 7th. Their talk comes as the IDF prepares to expand operation into new locations, specifically emphasizing southern Gaza, as officials claim they're in the final stages of controlling the northern section of the enclave.
[14:20:01]
Now, at the same time, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution calling for urgent steps to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Gaza. UNICEF says hundreds of thousands of children are at high risk of malnutrition and preventable death.
CNN's Will Ripley is in Tel Aviv. Will, the IDF claims it killed a Hamas official who says it was smuggling weapons. What more are you learning about that and the rest of the expanding operations in southern Gaza?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So the top Hamas leadership has still yet to be captured by IDF. They continue to elude them despite the bombing of an extensive tunnel complex under Palestine Park in Gaza City, which the IDF believes was housing not just offices and headquarters for Hamas, but actually apartments, living quarters for senior leadership.
Nonetheless, they are saying that a jet strike has killed one of the Hamas officials responsible for funneling weapons into the country, because Hamas has to get these rockets and the other weapons that they use to fight the Israel Defense Force from somewhere. It's believed that they're largely coming from Israel, smuggled through Egypt through these underground tunnels and right into the hands of militants, who are continuing to fight, continuing to launch rockets by the dozens toward Israel, even though the large majority of them are intercepted by the Iron Dome without serious damage or injuries here on the Israeli side.
Of course, a very different situation on the Palestinian side. The people of Gaza continue to suffer as a result of the extensive bombardment. There were 18 people killed earlier in the day today in artillery fire. And I've actually been really close to the Gaza border just in the past week. And when you hear the outgoing artillery, the sound, the explosion is so loud, it can actually shake your car if you're driving past the area, or certainly if you're standing outside. It's enough to make you do a double-take. I can only imagine how terrifying the incoming artillery would be.
And that incoming artillery is now hitting new areas that had not until recently been the focus of the IDF, which is now expanding its military operation. Now that they have essentially secured operational control of northern Gaza, they're now moving their efforts into central and even southern Gaza where many of the displaced Gazans, and you're talking about 80 percent or more of the population are living in these refugee camps in very dire conditions. They're now getting orders that they have to move again, Omar, even though the weather has been miserable, cold, rain, wind. Families that are in large part if not starving, very, very hungry, now having to pack up and move again or else risk death in yet another air strike.
JIMENEZ: And of course, as the reality unfolds on the ground there, there are also many diplomatic efforts trying to be worked out as quickly as possible. Will Ripley, thank you so much.
Now, the head of the U.N. says Israel is creating massive obstacles for aid distribution in Gaza. The situation remains dire. On Friday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it only received 70 humanitarian aid trucks through the Rafah border.
Kerri Murray is the president of ShelterBox, a relief group preparing to enter Gaza. So Kerri, welcome to you. How soon will your team be allowed into Gaza, and how are they getting ready to help once they're inside?
KERRI MURRAY, HEAD OF RELIEF GROUP PREPARING TO ENTER GAZA: Well, Omar, the situation is very complex, and right now ShelterBox is preparing a response. It's very much basic needs that are needed within the region. It's food, it's water, it's medical aid, and it's shelter. We know that now over 2 million people are displaced, over 85 percent of people in Gaza. And what we're preparing now is working on the aid package, so everything from sealing-off kits, plastic sheeting, to bedding, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, the basic things for these families. It remains to be seen how soon we will be able to get the aid in, but we are working very quickly to prepare a response in the region.
JIMENEZ: I mean, obviously at this point you mentioned how complicated things are. Gaza is an active war zone. What challenges does that present for you and your team as they try to give this aid, as you all try to give this aid to such a desperate population? What have you been told about what to expect?
MURRAY: Well, Omar, ShelterBox is a humanitarian relief organization, so we work in some of the world's worst conflict zones. That includes places like Ukraine, Syria. And what we've known from these situations in the past is, one, humanitarian corridors have to remain open. We have to be able to have a clean shot to reach people who have been displaced. But we know that there are numerous complexities. And there's no part of Gaza right now that is safe.
So we are looking across, really, all of our responses, and we look to really evaluate, you know, what we can do and when through trusted partners on the ground. We've worked in Gaza before. This is not the first time that we've sent relief supplies in.
[14:25:00]
But it is a race against time, really, to reach these families who are displaced, and it's such a massive amount of the population there in Gaza. JIMENEZ: Yes, and part of the reason there's such a race against time,
and we're talking about communications, power, fuel and very limited supply across Gaza, and so when some of those --
MURRAY: And it's winter, right?
JIMENEZ: Yes, and it's winter. And it's winter. The temperature rapidly dropping. Our reporter, Will Ripley, talked about how the cold rain had been whipping through over the course of the past 24 hours. So when you consider a lack of staples like, again, power, fuel, and things like that, how does that complicate your mission?
MURRAY: It definitely complicates the mission, and for all the folks that are suffering. And we have to remember that Gaza is one place, but as a humanitarian relief organization, we're responding all over the world to these conflict situations, and we see people in these winterized situations that literally will freeze to death. We see it in Syria. I saw it firsthand when I was working in Kyiv oblast earlier year this year. In winter these families just need the basics, high- thermal blankets. It's everything from kitchens sets, also wood stoves.
So it is a race against time. And for these families, it is life- threatening. And these supplies are vital, and they're an absolute lifeline, especially in the middle of winter.
JIMENEZ: Yes. Yes. Now real quickly, before we go, if someone watching at home wants to help, what's the best way to do that?
MURRAY: Right now, we've drawn down on all of our inventory at ShelterBox. It's always for us not if, it's when. And we've responded across the world this year. We've brought shelter to over 250,000 people. At ShelterBoxUSA.org, you can make a charitable donation to help supply tents, tarps, blankets, solar lights, the basic supplies that are a lifeline to a family this winter.
JIMENEZ: Kerri Murray, thank you. I appreciate your time. Best of luck to you and your team when the time comes.
MURRAY: Thank you.
JIMENEZ: Tomorrow on CNN, Fareed Zakaria takes a closer look at the conflict in the Middle East. He's going to discuss the number of failed attempts at peace, the role of the U.S., and this latest clash. The new FAREED ZAKARIA GPS special "The Road to War in the Middle East" airs tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern.
Still to come, mounting pressure for Harvard's embattled president, Claudine Gay, to resign as one of the billionaire megadonors closes his checkbook to the university. We're going to talk about it all.
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JIMENEZ: Another Harvard graduate and megadonor is suspending his contributions to the Ivy League school. This comes after embattled university president Claudine Gay gave some pretty disastrous testimony before Congress when she addressed the rise of antisemitism on campus. Now, Gay also announced corrections to her dissertation this week after she was accused of plagiarism. CNN reporter Matt Egan has more.
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MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Another Harvard megadonor is closing his checkbook. A person familiar with the matter tells CNN that the billionaire Len Blavatnik has suspended donations to Harvard in the wake of President Claudine Gay's disastrous testimony before Congress. The source says that Blavatnik, who has amassed a fortune that "Forbes" values at $32 billion, he's holding back donations until the university addresses antisemitism on campus.
He joins a growing list of frustrated Harvard donors hitting the Ivy League school where it matters the most. And Blavatnik, who was born in Ukraine and raised in Russia, has been a prolific backer of Harvard. His family foundation donating at least $270 million to the school over the years.
Now, the source says that Blavatnik hasn't made specific demands to Harvard, but he wants the university to make sure that Jewish students are protected the same way that other students are.
Now, this comes as the Harvard President Claudine Gay remains mired in a plagiarism controversy. Harvard announced that Gay will request additional corrections to her writings, this time to her 1997 PhD dissertation due to what the school described as inadequate citation. This is clearly an embarrassing setback for Gay, and it comes just a week after she issued corrections to two of her scholarly writings in the 2000s.
Harvard called these instances, quote, regrettable, but university officials have determined that this does not constitute research misconduct, which is something that would be subject to punishment. Matters of plagiarism can be quite complex, and experts that CNN spoke to were split on how or even whether Gay should be punished. But none of them called for her to be fired. And they noted it's quite rare for academics to be fired for plagiarism or for students to be expelled for it, for that matter.
Now, according to a person familiar with the matter, just before announcing plans to issue these latest corrections, Gay held a virtual townhall meeting with hundreds of faculty members. Now, the source says that about a dozen Harvard faculty members spoke during this event, and all of them were supportive. The plagiarism controversy, that did not come up. Back to you.
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JIMENEZ: Matt Egan, thank you.
Here with us to talk more about all of this, national correspondent on higher education for "The New York Times" Anemona Hartocollis. Great to see you. So, Dr. Gay held a townhall this week with several hundred faculty, but her plagiarism allegations didn't come up at all. Now that there are even more, what are you hearing from professors on Harvard's campus?
ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS, "THE NEW YORK TIMES" NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT ON HIGHER EDUCATION: They're very mixed on this, and some of them are growing more concerned as the allegations have mounted, but others support her and say that these aren't very serious infractions and just wouldn't qualify as plagiarism, and they want her to stay.
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JIMENEZ: Yes. And the fallout or the controversy, I'm not sure which word is the most fair here, a lot of this seemed to stem from when Dr. Gay and other leaders of universities testified in front of Congress on how campuses were handling antisemitism. What would you say the state right now is across higher education, one, in trying to deal with antisemitism, but also in how they view what is happening at Harvard right now?
HARTOCOLLIS: I think one of the reasons that people are following this story is that there is a question about whether this is a widespread problem, the plagiarism allegations I'm talking about now, that should be prosecuted on a wider scale, or is this -- you asked about the professors, is this some kind of vendetta. I'm not sure if that's too strong of a word, but against Harvard's president, who is first black president of Harvard, and only the second woman. So those are the kinds of feelings that people are balancing here.
JIMENEZ: And that seems to be the question that, as you mentioned, some of the professors are back and forth between, is this something, on the plagiarism side of things, is this something that was regrettable, or is this something that is fire-able? And that seems to be the line that people are toeing at this point.
Among what we've been watching is the reaction of donors as well, and billionaire Len Blavatnik, he joined a growing list of donors who have been suspending their donations in the wake of some of these allegations. Do actions like that put more pressure on Harvard's board, for example, to remove someone like Dr. Gay from her post, or are they trying to keep it pretty insulated to the leadership of the university?
HARTOCOLLIS: I think that does reflect the partisan world we live in, and it does put pressure on Harvard. But Harvard is a 400-year-old institution, and I think they're playing for the long game, and, generally speaking, would be expected to resist that kind of pressure.
JIMENEZ: Yes. And all of this happening, obviously, as Harvard begins its winter break. Students are headed home for the holidays. Do you think the situation will play out as students return for the spring semester, or do you get the sense this is something that they're trying to wrap up as quickly as possible?
HARTOCOLLIS: It would be really hard for me to speculate. Clearly, it has been damaging, it could be reputationally damaging, so if they want to avoid any protracted damage. On the other hand, as I said, Harvard has stood behind her so far and doesn't show any signs of moving at this point.
JIMENEZ: Yes. Well, we will see how it all plays out. It has been a saga that has, of course, touched many universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, at least how a lot of this scrutiny began. This is now on the plagiarism side of things. We will see what happens if Dr. Gay. Anemona Hartocollis, thank you so much for being with us.
HARTOCOLLIS: Thanks for having me.
JIMENEZ: Of course.
Still to come, what do a rabbi, a priest, and a monsignor motorcyclist have in common? They are all chaplains on a mission to lend spiritual guidance to LAPD officers. Their story next.
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JIMENEZ: We've got a monsignor on a motorcycle, a rabbi who escaped the Holocaust, and a priest who packs heat. They all work with the Los Angeles Police Department, and they are all police chaplains. Their mission, to lend perspective and spiritual guidance to officers. And at a time when law enforcement faces deep challenges nationwide, there's a waiting list to join the ranks of these selfless chaplains. CNN's Mike Valerio takes us inside the LAPD Chaplain Corps.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MONSIGNOR FRANK HICKS, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT CHAPLAIN CORPS: I have a law enforcement background, I'm a recovering alcoholic, and I'm also a chaplain.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the heart of the City of Angels, there's a monsignor with a motorcycle."
HICKS: Just like a police officer in his uniform, I'm in my uniform, and they understand what my uniform is. I understand what their uniform is.
VALERIO: Monsignor Frank Hicks is one of 47 members of the Los Angeles Police Department Chaplain Corps. The Corps' mission, counsel and compassion for officers under relentless pressure.
What do you see of our police officers that perhaps we in the public don't see?
HICKS: Human beings. They are human beings, they make mistakes, and I just want to walk with them.
VALERIO: The results, according to the LAPD's top brass, added resiliency within the ranks. Captain Aaron Ponce commands the Olympic division near downtown Los Angeles, where Monsignor Hicks has forged friendships for nearly 15 years. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here step in the Chaplains. They have become a
fixture of the station, and I think that's also an important aspect because that's in relationship building, you start to build trust.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you're walking toward it, you can see how horrific the accident was.
VALERIO: Chaplains respond to sudden loss within the department, like the death of Officer Darrell Cunningham, killed by a drunk driver only days before Thanksgiving.
OFFICER KENNETH CRAWFORD, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: I'm here for the officers on scene.
VALERIO: Chaplain Martin (ph) Moorehouse (ph), who the department leans on when guidance is needed most, briefly unable to speak, not immune, he later told us, to the intensity of loss.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most important thing is to know there is somebody there who is thinking of them, who is with them.
[14:45:00]
VALERIO: Rabbi Israel Hersh is a Holocaust survivor, a Korean War vet, and an LAPD chaplain who just turned 90.
How do you form a sense of trust with officers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I try to be their partner. I try to talk to them as if I was their brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Father, we give you glory, we give you honor, and we give you praise, Lord.
VALERIO: The LAPD's Chief Chaplain Kenneth Crawford is one of 10 corps members who balances duties as both a pastor and a sworn officer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not there to speak sermons to them. I'm not there to try to overwhelm them with whatever I believe theologically or spiritually or religiously. I'm there to just be that person who will listen to them.
VALERIO: The LAPD tells us there's a waiting list of 20 people to join the Chaplain Corps, even as police recruiters face challenges nationwide. But in trying times, these chaplains see themselves as sources of solace and light, helping those who continue to answer the call.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even if they're in the tough times, they can look to your light for guidance on how not to accept the darkness, and maybe that light in you will bring the light out to others.
VALERIO: Mike Valerio, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
JIMENEZ: Thank you for that report, Mike.
Coming up, with war raging in Gaza, Christmas in Bethlehem is all but canceled this year, and in one Lutheran Church there, the baby Jesus placed in a pile of rubble instead of a manger and wearing a traditional Palestinian scarf. How Christians there and around the world are looking for hope this Christmas.
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[14:51:01]
JIMENEZ: As war rages in the Middle East, the Christmas season is taking on a decidedly more somber tone throughout the region. Bethlehem, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, is typically flooded with tourists this time of year. But right now the West Bank town is largely empty, even the popular Church of the Nativity. So joining me is Bishop Robert Barron of the Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota. He's also the founder of Word on Fire and host of "Bishop Robert Barron Presents." Bishop, merry Christmas to you.
BISHOP ROBERT BARRON, BISHOP, CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF WINONA-ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA: Merry Christmas, thanks.
JIMENEZ: It's a different kind of Christmas this year in Bethlehem, but also in lots of places around the world. How are Christians able to find the meaning of Christmas in a world in crisis?
BARRON: Well, look, Christians believe in original sin. We know there's something fundamentally wrong with us human beings. We're like members of a dysfunctional family. And that means that on our own, we can never bring about real peace. I think of a situation in the Middle East. All of my adult life I've followed that, and we see conflict after conflict, maybe brief pauses between outbreaks of war. But we should expect that if we believe in original sin. We're not going to solve the problem on our own.
The reason Christmas is so important is Christmas is not just a sentimental feast about the charming baby of Bethlehem. Christmas is about God becoming one of us, the breakthrough of grace, that God comes into our dysfunctional family and offers us his grace. And it's only in accepting that grace that we're ever going to find peace. So that's, I think, the really still disturbing message of Christmas, the challenging, unnerving message of Christmas is God's grace is the key to peace. And only in accepting it do we hope to find it. Relying on our own powers, it's not going to happen.
JIMENEZ: Now, Pope Francis said earlier this month that at Christmas God remains with us through war and poverty. What do you expect the message from the Pope to be like this year, especially, again, in the context of everything going on?
BARRON: God went all the way down to the bottom of our dysfunction, and that's at the heart of the Christian claim, both in the baby in Bethlehem and Jesus on the cross, that's God's journeying all the way to the bottom of our dysfunction so as to solve it, so as to heal it from within. God went all the way behind enemy lines, so to speak. That's age to age the great Christian message. That's the message the Pope has, of the incarnation and the resurrection. And that's the key to peace as far as Christians are concerned. And if we rely simply on our own powers, it's not going to happen. We'll have pauses between conflict. We won't have real peace.
JIMENEZ: Bishop Robert Barron, thank you for being with us. Merry Christmas to you. It looks very cozy where you are in Rochester there.
(LAUGHTER)
BARRON: It is cozy. God bless you. Thanks.
JIMENEZ: All right, talk soon.
All right, everybody, take a look at this. A Christmas tree in outer space is lighting up parts of our galaxy. Look at what that looks like. NASA revealed this new image of young stars known as a Christmas tree cluster. The combination of nebulous green gas and twinkling star lights makes the cluster appear like a pine tree with ornaments. This Christmas tree cluster is about 2,500 light years away from earth. It will take you just a minute to get there. But that's pretty incredible. I've never seen that before. We need an astronomer or something here to break that down for me.
Anyway, we've got more news. CNN Newsroom continues right after this.
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[14:59:05]
JIMENEZ: A scary moment captured on video when an Oklahoma police officer rescues a woman from a burning car. I want to warn you, what you're about to see may be disturbing.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back, get back! Get back, get back!
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JIMENEZ: It happened last Sunday when the driver lost control of the vehicle before crashing. You can see the air bag deployed there. She was unable to escape on her own because of a broken ankle and a jammed door. And you can hear her in that video begging the officer not to leave her. The Oklahoma County sheriff says the woman would have died if the deputy not been there.
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SHERIFF TOMMIE JOHNSON III, OKLAHOMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: When you look at the video, I really think this captures the moment of what happened and how seconds mattered, because when you pan back around and look at the vehicle, now from where it was just the engine engulfed, it's the entire vehicle, including the cabin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: The fire completely engulfed that vehicle. The woman was the only person in the car and is now recovering. Pretty striking video.
All right, a new hour starts now.
