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Biden Had A "Long" Call With PM Netanyahu; Did Not Ask For Ceasefire; Trump Faces Reports Of election Meddling In Multiple States; Trump Continues To Double Down On His Anti-Immigration Rhetoric; Migrant Crossings Spike Along U.S. Southern Border; IDF: Ground Operations Expanded In Southern & Northern Gaza; Climate Scientists: 2023 Will Officially Be Hottest Year On Record. 4-5p ET

Aired December 23, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:54]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Happy holidays, everybody. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. We begin tonight with breaking news.

President Biden revealing some details about his quote, long phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. Let's go straight to CNN's Kevin Liptak. He is following everything over at the White House for us.

Kevin, what does the president have to say?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. He was out on the South Lawn on his way to Camp David. And he said that it was a long phone call with Netanyahu that he had had earlier today. He said he didn't call for a ceasefire and that he wanted the talks to remain private.

And I do think it's interesting. President Biden, of course, is someone who believes very strongly that all of the advice, all of the recommendations that he can provide to the Israelis is best delivered behind closed doors.

He thinks that's the most effective way to sort of apply pressure on Israel to alter its war plans and certainly the backdrop to this phone call has been this parade of American officials who have been traveling to Israel over the last several weeks to talk about this American expectation that Israel eventually shift to what they call a lower intensity phase of this war.

Now, this was the 17th time that Biden and Netanyahu have spoke since the October 7th attacks, but it is the first time that they've spoken in the last several weeks.

And just what has happened in those last several weeks is so interesting. First of all, President Biden described the war as indiscriminate bombing. That was sort of the most critical that we've heard from him in the course of this conflict.

And then we've also seen these officials sort of make clear to the Israelis that they do expect that this war will transition at some point soon to a lower intensity phase. So that is certainly the backdrop to this call that these two men had today that President Biden is describing as long.

I do think it's interesting that Netanyahu, in his own readout, said that he made it clear that Israel would continue the war until all of its goals have been achieved. So certainly he has his own viewpoints on sort of the trajectory of this conflict.

But President Biden, I think making clear that his patience for this level intensity and the humanitarian crisis that it is causing in Gaza is not limitless, Jim.

ACOSTA: No. I think, Kevin, when the President says he had a long phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu, I think we can read between the lines there, a frustration building inside the White House. No question about it.

Kevin Liptak, thank you very much.

Meanwhile, the nation's highest court refusing for now to decide if Donald Trump is protected from federal prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while in office.

In a one sentence unanimous order, the Supreme Court denied Special Counsel Jack Smith's request to backtrack the ruling, which will ultimately return to the nine justices.

Following the playbook of his previous legal cases, the former president wasted no time looking to profit off the short-term victory, asking for donations in an e-mail that said, quote, the Biden special counsel will do everything in their power to rush.

My fake trial and wrongly convict me before the 2024 election. Once again, we must stress that there is zero evidence that Biden has, in any way, been involved in the Department of Justice's criminal cases against Donald Trump.

The Supreme Court's decision, though, has major repercussions for Trump and for the very definition of presidential powers. And it punts ruling back to the D.C. Circuit Court, which will hear oral arguments beginning on January 9th. That might make the current March trial date for Trump's criminal election version case untenable, putting his entire 2024 legal calendar. And it is extensive in question.

That means voters may not have a ruling on whether Trump plotted to overturn the 2020 election until after they cast their ballots in 2024

At that point, if Trump wins a second term in the Oval Office, as chief executive, he could and likely would try to pardon himself, ensuring the same federal criminal charges against him are never again brought before a court of law.

This week, a new recording shows just how far Trump was determined to go to overturn the 2020 election three years after Biden won the presidency. [16:05:00]

Reporters reviewed yet another explosive phone call on which the former president urges county election officials to upend the results of a legitimate election. Telling them they could -- they would look, quote, terrible if they certified it. The Detroit News reviewed the recording, which CNN has not verified.

Also on the recording, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told the officials, the RNC would provide attorneys if they did not certify Biden's victory in Michigan, to which Trump replied, quote, we'll take care of that.

That pressure campaign almost worked. The two county officials unsuccessfully tried to withdraw their earlier votes certifying the results.

And joining me now is Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Secretary Benson, pardon the long wind up there, but it's been a long and winding road. And a lot of this sounds very familiar. Trump allegedly tried to pressure Georgia Secretary of State to interfere in that state's election.

How did these pieces fit together in your view?

JOCELYN BENSON, MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, thanks for having me. And it really underscores the vast conspiracy, for lack of better word, that was at play, a really coordinated effort in all the battleground states to delay certification, create enough confusion about the validity of the election results.

Because if you have people block or refuse to certify, that gives you another reason or him another reason to say, see, there's something wrong, even though there is no evidence there, there was anything wrong, and create this, you know, false sense of doubt that was all about leading to this false slate of electors being presented to Congress on January 6th. And of course, we saw how that unfolded on the tragedy of that day.

And let's listen to what one of those two election workers said after her call with Trump after, I guess, attempting to rescind her vote to certify the election results. Let's listen to that and talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONICA PALMER, CHAIRWOMAN, WAYNE COUNTY BOARD OF CANVASSERS: He thanked me for my service, asked me how I was doing. There was a genuine concern for my safety with what he had heard the threats that were -- that were coming in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you saying the president's call had no influence on you re-camping your vote?

PALMER: Absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, Secretary Benson, that does not sound like it lines up with the facts.

BENSON: Yes. I think the benefit of having a recording is that it's the best case scenario we have of the facts. I mean, we were all well aware at the time that then president Trump was trying to actively influence our certification process at the local level and also at the state level.

It was happening in other states as well. But this audio recording really shows how it was done, and calls into question the accounts of those who claimed that there was no problem at the time. Although, of course, I think actions speak for themselves and the recanting of a certification, the back and forth that we dealt with in Wayne County as this played out really does underscore that there was some influence happening.

But notably, the most powerful influence did come from the voters who showed up. Hundreds of voters showed up to the meeting of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers very calmly made their case virtually and in-person that their vote should count and called on them to follow the law.

And indeed, ultimately, they did as did the state. And we certified our elections in Michigan, despite all of this intense to interfere.

ACOSTA: And, Secretary Benson, the other part of this phone call, and we don't have the audio of it yet. I have to assume at some point it's going to come out and we'll all get to listen to it for ourselves.

But what do you make of what's been reported that the RNC chair, Ronna McDaniel, suggested that lawyers would be provided to these election workers on this phone call? What does that add up to?

BENSON: Well, it certainly suggests an offer of something of value that's sort of paying for attorneys in order to not fail to do your public duty, which in this case was very clear. These local officials had a public legal duty, a ministerial responsibility to certify the election.

So offering something someone of value for them to fail to do their legal duty under the law would suggest, you know, potential bribery, potential criminality. And, of course, it all depends on whether this recording is ultimately accessed by prosecutors and whether it becomes part of the investigations that are already ongoing in criminal proceedings at the state and federal level.

ACOSTA: And forgive me for asking this. Have you heard the recording yourself?

BENSON: I haven't. I was not even aware that it existed until the article came out. And my response was, who has had this recording for three years? And why are we just learning of it now?

ACOSTA: Wow. BENSON: So I do agree. I think they come out. And, you know, that's the benefit, I guess you could say, at the moment that we're in, where you have multiple criminal proceedings seeking accountability, and the public paying attention. That is going to yield more sunlight and ultimately more truth to come out in the months ahead.

ACOSTA: And the Trump campaign responded to this report saying that Trump's actions were taken in furtherance of his duty as president of the United States to faithfully take care of the laws and ensure election integrity.

[16:10:00]

What's your response to that? And I guess the other question that I had, Secretary Benson, and this is related to what the Supreme Court did yesterday, which may affect the federal timetable for that January 6 trial that's supposed to come up in March in Judge Chutkan's courtroom.

If we don't get to a trial before the 2024 election, or it's so delayed that it happens maybe after the Republican Convention and so on, and late in the process of electing the next president, what do you think happens long-term to the country if the voters just don't get to decide on this?

BENSON: Well, I think first I'll say in terms of duty, and the president of the United States at the time, President Trump, had a duty and a responsibility to admit that he lost the election. That was what he abdicated when he, despite no evidence, continued to interfere with the counting of ballot votes, the certification of those votes, and the deliverance of the Electoral College votes to Congress on January 6.

And it's been, you know, gratifying to see an attempt at justice being served through the criminal proceedings that have unfolded since. And I think voters everywhere who will be making important decisions, both in the primary and at the general election potentially, next year, really take all of these facts that are emerging into consideration and, you know, question whether you need a conviction to affirm what the facts have already seemed to illustrate in terms of the former president's attempt to -- or failure to accept legal, valid election results that showed he lost and enable a peaceful transfer of power into the next term of the presidency.

So all of this needs to be in the front of voters' minds as they cast their ballots next year, if indeed the former president is on the ballot in the fall.

And with all that said, I think everything that's playing out now is creating a precedent, every legal case, every decision. And we as voters will ultimately determine the impact of that president on our democracy moving forward, particularly in the decisions we all make next year.

ACOSTA: All right. Secretary Jocelyn Benson, the Secretary of State for Michigan. Thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. Happy holidays.

BENSON: Thanks. Happy holidays to you too.

ACOSTA: I really appreciate it.

All right. Let's get some reaction now from Donald Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen. He's the host of the podcast Mea Culpa and Political break -- Beatdown. And he's also the author of the book "Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the U.S. Justice Department Against His Critics."

Michael, great to see you as always. Thanks for being here. I mean, when you -- we haven't been able to hear the recording of what took place in Michigan. As Secretary Benson was saying a few moments ago, it's only a matter of time before we listen to that recording. It sounds a lot like what we're hearing so far in terms of what was in that reporting in the Detroit News. It sounds a lot like what took place in that Georgia phone call.

What do you -- what do you make of this, what took place in Michigan, Michael? It sounds like another part of this pressure campaign that Donald Trump was waging across the country.

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: Well, it sounds exactly like the conversation that Donald had with Brad Raffensperger to try to apply pressure in order to obtain what he wants. And that was to be able to retain power.

You know, I've been saying for so long now that there was a quote that Vladimir Putin once made that Donald thought was genius. And the quote is, it doesn't matter who you vote for. All that matters is who's counting the vote. And that's what Donald Trump was trying to effectuate here.

And you're right, when that recording comes out, just like all the recordings that have come out, that have Donald's voice on it, none of them are good for him. Every single one shows exactly what it is that, you know, Donald wanted to be accomplished.

The problem, though, is that there's still this group of Americans, these MAGA supporters, that it doesn't matter what they hear. It doesn't matter what they see, they're still so knee deep into this dumpster cult of Donald that they refuse to extricate themselves.

ACOSTA: Yes. But you know -- you know what Trump is going to say when this record -- if and when this recording comes out. He'll say it was yet another perfect phone call. He uses that same excuse every time, that same comment every time.

COHEN: Yes. Because it worked so far in his mind with the Raffensperger matter. So why not continue on the same path? You know, if it worked once before for him, he'll try it again.

ACOSTA: Is there any reason to think that Trump would not do the same thing again next year if he becomes a Republican nominee? If he comes up short the next time, I mean, people forget he lost by seven million votes the last time around, he could lose by 9 or 10 million, I guess, this next time around.

Is it -- is it beyond the realm of possibilities that he'll again try to launch a pressure campaign, twist the arms of election workers like he did last time around?

[16:15:03]

COHEN: Well, look, that was the whole goal in bringing in the local representatives, the GOP representatives to try to effectuate a control over the votes.

Of course, it's all part of his plan, which is to take back the White House, and he'll do it at any cost. That's Donald Trump. You know, again, don't take it from me. Don't take it from others. Just listen to the words that Donald Trump always says, which is that he is a winner and that he won.

They continue to perpetuate the big lie again and again and again. Why? Well, because he truly believes that he needs to be in power and not so much in order to benefit America or the American people, but it's really to save himself, his company, and to attain significant wealth.

ACOSTA: And what do you think about the Supreme Court not taking on an expedited basis, this question as to whether or not Trump has immunity, presidential immunity?

Is that a big deal in your mind? Because as you know, Michael, this could slow things down. That can often benefit Trump. What's your sense of it?

COHEN: Well, there's another thing I've been talking about for years. Donald Trump's tactic, which is delayed, delayed, delayed.

Let me be very clear about something. Yes, it's important. It's important for all of America to understand where the Supreme Court stands on this issue, but this does not exonerate him. Everybody's saying, oh, this is a big win for Trump and the Trump team. It is not.

All it does is it changes around the schedule of the cases that Donald Trump, the four indictments that he is going to be charged with, or I should say that he's being prosecuted on.

So if hypothetically, this case would Judge Chutkan, because the court does not come forward with a decision early enough, and that, of course, is March 4th. OK. The next case will be up. And that's the Alvin Bragg case, March 25th. That case will go first, as opposed to second. So it does not benefit Donald the way that the media is trying to portray it.

ACOSTA: Yes.

COHEN: It's just a change of the schedule on the four cases and maybe possibly even the fifth.

ACOSTA: Yes. Well, and let me ask you about the Colorado Supreme Court disqualifying Trump from its primary ballot on the basis that he was part of an insurrection on January 6th. This is how he reacted on Friday. Let's listen to that talk and about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're trying to take the election away from the voters. And this is the same group. I guess it's true. I've beaten them about 20 times. I beat them on emoluments. They sued me. They sue me in anything. It's a group of radical left lunatics. And they sue any time they can. This one is really a crazy one. And if they ever did that, it would be so bad for this country. You have no idea."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, Michael. I mean, one of the questions I have, and this is something I think you could directly address is you -- because you were around Trump for so long. I mean, Trump is accustomed to one legal entanglement here or there over the course of a year or two.

Not several cases all at the same time. And I'm wondering what you think this is doing to him. The pressure that this is putting on him is it -- is it -- is it making him more desperate?

I mean, when you listen to how he's talking about these things, is there a sense of desperation in his voice that you're hearing in the words that he's using? What's your sense of it?

COHEN: Well, what he's doing is he's inciting his base. That's really what it's about because the more he incites them, the more money that they raise. And a lot of people forget that with Donald's pack, he has complete control over 90 percent of all of the money for his -- at his complete discretion, he can use 90 percent of that money the way that he wants. So he will continue to ride this grift as long as he can.

As far as being desperate, unfortunately, Donald doesn't see things the way most people see them. If the case is coming up in March. For him, that's an eternity away. It's only when it's around the corner several days out or a week or so out. Does it really start to hit him? Oh my gosh, this is really coming up and I'm going to have to defend it.

Remember, the four cases that are now pending against him have legitimate jail time. I mean, they say that if all -- if he's charged and found guilty on all the charges, he could potentially be sentenced to over 700 years.

I mean, that's a crazy, crazy number. So he will continue to ride this same ideology over and over and over again. It's all in order to keep his base incited and it's all about the grift to raise more and more money.

ACOSTA: Well, and so that raises the question because a lot of folks have made the point, Michael, I don't know what your take is on this, maybe we can get it, is that these cases really helped him. It helped him consolidate the Republican base, the Trump base that might have gone over to DeSantis or Dickey Haley.

[16:20:15]

Because he's been able to play the victim throughout all of this, it's really aligned the base behind him. Has it been to his benefit all these cases? Or do you think you have to put that thought out of your mind and pursue justice wherever it leads?

COHEN: Yes. You have to put it right out of your mind. Look, this is a man who said that he could shoot and kill someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it when it comes to his base. And he can. This is just proof positive.

But the base only amounts to what? Twenty-eight of the electorate? You cannot win in the general election with just the base. And what these cases are doing is it's sending. Right now, we don't, these polls. You know I don't have much faith in any of these polls.

When you start to see, let's say, the black community or the Hispanic community or the Muslim community now rising as supporter of Trump, I don't buy it. I don't buy any of it simply because his first actions are going to be against the same group that they -- that the polls are showing he's rising in. It's just nonsensical to me.

And I don't know who's conducting these polls or what. But I believe that for his base, yes, continuing to play victim is always going to benefit him. But in the general election, it will not. People on the Republican side will either not vote because they won't vote for a Democrat or what they will do is they will just, you know, not vote at all.

I mean, that's just -- that's just where I see this thing happening.

ACOSTA: Yes. All right. Well, Michael, hold tight. We've got more to talk about on the other side of the break. Let's continue this conversation. We'll be right back. We'll be back in a moment with Michael Cohen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:25:18]

ACOSTA: After weeks of attacking immigrants and speeches on the campaign trail, Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, is defending his remarks that sound a lot like language once used by Adolf Hitler.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: First of all, I know nothing about Hitler. I'm not a student of Hitler. I never read his works. They say that he said something about blood. He didn't say it the way I said it either, by the way. It's a very different kind of a statement. What I'm saying when I talk about people coming into our countries, they are destroying our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: All right. Let's pick things back up now on the conversation that we were having with Trump's former attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen.

I mean, Michael, you just heard Trump say he knows nothing about Hitler. That's what he said there. What do you think about that?

COHEN: Well, of course, he knows nothing about it because he doesn't read, right? It's not true, obviously. It's just added to the plethora of lies that he has told the American people while he was president or post his presidency.

I mean, for God's sakes, it's word for word out of Hitler's mouth regurgitated by Donald. And then all of a sudden, you know, it's not the same thing, right? And now, of course, he's trying to walk it back. But that's something that he has done again over and over and over again.

ACOSTA: Yes. Michael, I mean, Vanity Fair had an article back in 1990 in which Ivana Trump, his first wife, apparently said that Trump kept a book of Hitler quotes, maybe not Mein Kampf, but of Hitler quotes, by his bed.

And there have been multiple accounts of Trump having a fascination with Hitler. What is going on? Did you ever pick up on this? What is -- what's that all about?

COHEN: Well, you'll remember -- you'll in my first book, "Disloyal." I talked about how I was sitting with another employee of the Trump organization who happens to be German -- of German descent.

And Donald, knowing that my father is a Holocaust survivor, literally turned around, stopped the conversation and made mention. And he goes, you know, I bet your family chased Michael's family through the Red Forest. I mean, I wrote about this, what, three years ago plus.

So the fact is everything that I had been saying for years now, it slowly drips out to be factually accurate. I mean, it's just -- it's who he is. And if he thinks that he could lie and get away with it, well, that's just what he's going to do. He's gotten very good at it.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Michael, he's also -- he's been talking about immigrants, saying they're poisoning the blood of the country. He's been talking about immigrant children. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They have people coming in we don't even know what the language is that they speak. We have nobody that speaks the language. And they're loading up our classes. We're loading up our classes, our school classes with children that don't speak the language. They don't speak our language. And nobody knows what's going on. Now we are poisoning our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes. Michael, what do you think about that?

COHEN: Well, I mean, when he says nobody knows what's going on, no, no, no. Donald doesn't know what's going on.

And Donald doesn't speak any other language other than English. So I promise you that there are people in this country involved with the immigration service that know exactly what language these people are speaking.

For the most part, the folks that are trying to enter the country, and I have -- look, I -- like everybody, I have issues with what's going on regarding immigration. I have issues with what's going on in Israel right now, or Ukraine, that I'm not happy about.

[16:30:00]

But we certainly know what language these folks are coming in and speaking from San Salvador. It's probably Spanish, all right? I mean, it's just nonsensical when he says these sort of things.

And what it's designed to do, it's designed to create a bigger divide between Americans and those that are seeking asylum.

I mean, look, what's going on right now at the borders needs to be corrected. But this is not an issue that started last year or under the Biden administration. It's been going on for 50 years.

And as it relates, like right now in Israel, it's very simple. You know, Netanyahu and Biden, they just had this whole conversation. How about simply stated to Hamas return the hostages, and Israel will stop the war.

I mean, that's a conversation that I wish that I would see Biden having with Netanyahu. And in fact, there are still American hostages that are being held by Hamas.

That blue passport that says United States of America should really mean something.

ACOSTA: Yes --

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: What this is doing is these --

ACOSTA: Yes.

COHEN: -- these are becoming like one-issue voters on this specific issue, when right now it doesn't give Biden an opportunity to talk about all the accomplishments and the good things that are happening currently in America.

People are fixated on the one issue. And again, I believe you want to stop the war, return the hostages now.

ACOSTA: Yes. I hear you on that. It's -- it's a great conversation to have.

I did want to ask you though, because I think you were talking about Trump supporters earlier, and I wanted to ask you about this before we wrap things up.

Michael, there's this new polling from "The Des Moines Register" -- maybe you saw this -- asking likely caucus-goers in Iowa what they thought of a candidate who said immigrants were poisoning the blood of the country. And 42 percent said it would make them more likely to support that candidate.

I'm wondering -- I mean, do you think Trump's rhetoric could get worse than what we're hearing right now?

And I suppose you probably have stories, Michael, from when Trump would not talk about this out loud so much but he would talk about it casually behind the scenes.

COHEN: Look, first of all, as you know, I don't think much of any of these polls. I don't buy it. All right?

While there's still a group here in America that are racists and that they may like Donald's rhetoric and so on, I do have to believe that Americans are -- as a whole, in totality, do not adhere to this rhetoric or do not appreciate the rhetoric that is coming out of Donald's mouth.

I have to believe that because all of us are immigrants. I mean, my wife is an immigrant. My father's an immigrant.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: We're a nation of immigrants. Absolutely.

COHEN: Donald's mother is an immigrant. Donald's father is an immigrant. For god's sakes, what are we talking about here?

You know, immigrants are what made America and continue to make America the country that it is.

So how is it possible -- 42 percent of these are polled? It is not a good reflection on the American people. And I don't buy the poll --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: And he's married immigrants. Here's the thing, he has married immigrants.

COHEN: Two out of the three. Yes.

ACOSTA: And so how is it he can talk about immigrants poisoning the blood of our country when he has married immigrants and fathered children with them?

COHEN: Because he's an idiot. There's no other way to describe it. He thinks that this violent, divisive rhetoric is doing him good. Remember, the people that are right now surrounding him, they are

racists themselves. And they believe and they are feeding Donald this false notion that this sort of rhetoric is going to propel him back to the White House.

Which is the only way that he becomes protected from the Department of Justice and from the multitude of legal issues that are, right now, you know, affecting him and his life and his business.

ACOSTA: Yes. All right. We had a lot of time. Glad we covered so much ground.

Michael, great to catch up with you. Happy holidays. Many thanks.

COHEN: The same.

ACOSTA: All right.

COHEN: Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.

ACOSTA: Really appreciate it. You, too.

[16:34:15]

All right, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: At the U.S. southern border, federal authorities reported a seven-day average of about 6,800 migrant encounters on November 28th. But in December, that seven-day average jumped to more than 9,600 encounters per day.

CNN's Rafael Romo is in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Rafael, what are we seeing right now? What can you tell us?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, it's a constant flow of people. And as soon as immigrants surrender themselves to authorities here at the border or at a point of entry, Border Patrol agents bring them here.

This is a holding area behind me where they have to wait to be processed. As you can see behind me, they are given a mylar blanket, food and water. They also have access to Port-O-Potties.

We're talking about an average daily number of arrivals approaching 10,000 at the U.S.-Mexico border as a whole. And here in the Del Rio Sector, Jim, where we are, which includes cities like El Paso and Eagle Pass, the number is about 4,000.

Just yesterday, Customs and Border Protection released the total numbers of what they call encounters of immigrants with Border Patrol agents. The total number for November was more than 242,000, so nearly a quarter of a million people.

And as high as those numbers as seen, officials say they're lower compared to the same period last year.

Congressman Tony Gonzalez, a Republican who represents two-thirds of the Texas border with Mexico, says help from the government here at the border is desperately needed, especially considering that those in charge of protecting the border are stretched very, very thin.

[16:40:04]

And while Gonzalez is asking for swift deportations and more resources to protect the border, an immigration activist here in Eagle Pass says people arriving here should be treated humanely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSIE F. FUENTES, MEMBER, EAGLE PASS BORDER COALITION: It needs dire attention. And I would say that what we're doing or what we have been doing over the last 2.5 years is just damaging an incredible ecosystem along with committing cruelty against humanity for the way we're treating human beings.

So there's multiple angles that you can look at what's going on here in Eagle Pass, Texas, and say, how could this be happening in America?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And, Jim, the impact goes beyond people. This surge of immigrants force authorities here at the border to suspend railroad crossings here in Eagle Pass and also in El Paso for most of the week.

Now back to you.

ACOSTA: All right, Rafael Romo, in Eagle Pass, Texas, for us, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

All right, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:26]

ACOSTA: Back to our breaking news this hour. President Biden says he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, saying he had a long conversation but did not ask for a ceasefire.

This comes as an IDF spokesman says Israel has expanded ground operations in Gaza's north and south, warning civilians to evacuate to new parts of central Gaza.

The Hamas-run Ministry of Health says more than 20,000 people have died inside Gaza since the war began in October.

And CNN's Will Ripley is live in Tel Aviv for us tracking all the latest developments.

Will, the IDF says it's close to taking control of northern Gaza. What's the latest on your end? WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jim. Well,

the problem is that people are getting relocation orders telling them to go somewhere safe but some people at the U.N. are saying there simply is no safe place in Gaza right now.

In fact, 18 people were killed earlier in the day on Saturday in central Gaza, which is one of the areas that Israel will be concentrating military efforts.

If people there need to relocate, can they go to the south? Is it safe there? Or will there be military activity happening there, as well?

Of course the north, where the IDF says it has essentially operational control at this stage, a huge portion of northern Gaza is now uninhabitable.

Buildings are destroyed. Some of them completely leveled by those hundreds of massive 2,000-pound bombs made in the United States that Israel deployed, according to a CNN analysis of satellite imagery using A.I. and the assistance of a think tank.

Basically, concluding that these bombs created such a massive area of destruction that it's going to take literally decades for these communities to recover.

People, even when they are allowed to technically go home, they just won't have a home to go home to.

I'd like to read for you a quote from Thomas White at the United Nations talking about this criticism of the Israeli Defense Forces.

For the fact that, yes, they do give advanced notice when they're going to start engaging in these military activities, airstrikes that have killed upwards of 20,000 people now, according to two different Health Ministries in Ramallah and Gaza.

The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry saying the death toll has surpassed 20,000, quite a bit.

This quote from Thomas White says essentially this:

"People in Gaza are people. They're not pieces on a checkerboard. Many have already been displaced several times. The Israeli army just orders people to move into areas where there are ongoing airstrikes. No place is safe. Nowhere to go."

But the IDF, Jim, would counter that argument and say that it is actually Hamas that is choosing to conceal itself beneath places where civilians are sheltering knowing that they will be collateral damage. Human shields is what Israel accuses Hamas of doing.

They say the only way that they can target the Hamas leadership does come at a cost of civilian lives.

The big question, Jim, how many civilian lives will it take? Thousands of children, thousands of innocent people? When will the killing of the civilians stop?

And when will Israel be able to achieve its objective of taking out Hamas leadership -- Jim?

ACOSTA: Those are absolutely critical questions, and they will be critical questions for some time, I suppose.

Will Ripley, thank you very much for that report. We appreciate it.

And we'll be right back.

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[16:52:49]

ACOSTA: This year, we saw extreme weather across the globe, deadly wildfires in Hawaii and Canada, record-breaking tropical storm slamming California, severe drought and atmospheric river storms.

We even saw apocalyptic scenes in New York -- remember this -- when the smoke from the Canadian wildfires socked in the city with all that smoke?

Renowned climatologist, Michael Mann, joins us now. He's a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies at UPenn. He's also the author of the book, "Our Fragile Moment, How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis.

And, Michael, great to see you, as always. Really appreciate it.

What did this past year tell us about the state of the climate right now?

MICHAEL MANN, PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF EARTH & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: Yes, thanks, Jim. It's good to be with you.

What it told us is that the climate crisis, it isn't somewhere in the distant future. It's here. It's arrived. We are seeing deadly and damaging and costly climate impacts now.

And the question isn't whether we are going to avoid dangerous climate change. It's here. The question is, how bad are we willing to let it get?

ACOSTA: Yes, those -- looked like a scene out of "Mad Max, Fury Road" those images of what took place in New York this past year.

And that's when a lot of folks on the east coast really sort of woke up and started to smell the coffee, like the folks in California have been dealing with for some time. A lot of folks out west, not just California, but all over the west.

What do you think needs to take place for the U.S. to transition away from fossil fuels, do you think? MANN: Yes, and let me just say, "Mad Max, Fury Road," that was

actually filmed down in Australia. I was there three years ago, during what has come to be known as the Black Summer, when they experienced unprecedented heat and drought and wildfires --

(CROSSTALK)

MANN: -- in the United States.

ACOSTA: Yes. So they had them, too, yes.

MANN: Absolutely. And here in Philadelphia, where I live, we had the worst air quality in the world for several days last summer, because of those Canadian wildfires that you mentioned.

So, you know, what we need to do, you know, is act. We need to reduce carbon emissions. We need to get off fossil fuels. We need policies that will get us there.

[16:55:03]

And we need international cooperation and coordination. And we didn't really see that at the COP28 summit last month. It was a disappointment to many of us who wanted to see a commitment to phase out fossil fuels, a commitment to end new fossil fuel infrastructure.

These are the things that have to be done, if we are going to stay within the carbon budget that keeps warming below a truly catastrophic three degrees Fahrenheit.

We only have a few years left at current emissions before we commit to that truly catastrophic level of warming.

ACOSTA: And so, what do you -- and you mentioned the COP28 summit, and you're right, there are a lot of environmentalists, climatologists, folks who study this issue who were very disappointed at what happened at that summit. It didn't go far enough in the eyes of many of those critics.

But take us into the future, if you can, a little bit. What do you see happening, perhaps in 2024, and the next several years ahead. Are we going to continue to see this escalation of the climate crisis that we're in the middle of in this world?

MANN: Well, you know, it's the Christmas season. Many of us have seen "A Christmas Carol." We know that, you know, the spirit of Christmas future.

There are versions of our future that we can see that are truly catastrophic, where, you know, we will see ultimately the destabilization of our civilization. That is a possible future.

But as in the great, you know, Dickens story, the great Dickens novel, we still have the ability to change that future.

And what we need to do is reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent this decade, get them down to zero by the middle of the century.

It's doable. The obstacles are not physical. They're not technological. At this point, they are still only political. And political obstacles can be overcome.

ACOSTA: Yes. There's a lot of bah-humbug when it comes to concerns about our climate. But they are real. And we saw it happen this past year and we're going to continue to see it.

And appreciate you coming on, Michael Mann. We'll have you back soon and continue this conversation into the New Year. Thank you for your time.

MANN: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Good to see you.

All right. We'll be right back.

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