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Israel Claims Operational Control of Northern Gaza; Air, Ground, and Sea Attacks Target Hamas in Gaza; International Calls for Ceasefire as War Intensifies; U.S. Condemns Airstrikes on Iran-Backed Militants in Iraq; Ukrainian Forces Claim Victory Against Russian Navy in Crimea; Navalny Located in Remote Siberian Penal Colony; Migrant Crisis on U.S.-Mexico Border Continues. Pseudo-Legitimate Travel Agencies Fueling Migrant Surge; Netanyahu Confidant Meets with Senior U.S. Officials; Trump to Foes on Christmas: 'Rot in Hell'; China Experiencing Record Cold Temperatures; Gangs Force Trafficking Victims to Scam Americans Online; 'Parasite' Actor Lee Sun-Kyun Found Dead in His Car; Taylor Swift Named TIME's Person of the Year. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired December 27, 2023 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Came up here on CNN, Israel claims operational control of northern Gaza but warns the war with Hamas could continue for months. Ukraine claims to sink another Russian warship striking a major blow to Putin's black sea fleet and actor Lee Sun Kyung best known for his role in the Oscar winning movie Parasite found dead.
Israel's most senior military commander, Hanzi Halevi, states that his forces have operational control of northern Gaza, and the ground offensive is expanding to urban areas in central and southern Gaza, particularly around the city of Khan Younis. However, the war is unlikely to end soon. Halevi estimates it could take months before Israel achieves its military objectives of destroying Hamas. Israeli officials report hitting so-called terror targets in Gaza with air, ground, and sea attacks.
And on Tuesday, dozens of fighter jets struck over 100 Hamas targets, including tunnel shafts and infrastructure. But dozens of Palestinians have been killed. The Hamas-controlled health ministry claims the death toll in the enclave is approaching 21,000 since October 7th. CNN cannot independently verify these numbers. The senior military chief described what lies ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERZI HALEVI, ISRAELI CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF (through translator): The war will go on for many months, and we will employ different methods to maintain our achievements for a long time. There are no magic solutions. There are no shortcuts in dismantling a terrorist organization. Only determined and persistent fighting, and we are very, very determined. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: As the war in Gaza intensifies and international calls for a ceasefire grow louder, a close confidant of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, travelled to Washington to meet with senior U.S. officials about the next phase of the conflict. The meeting comes as the White House looks for Israel to move away from a high-intensity war it's waging right now to a war that, a war which has left so many civilians there struggling to find safety and so many others dead. The U.S. now wants a more specified, a more specific targeted operation. CNN's Will Ripley reports now from Tel Aviv.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The terrifying sound of ongoing bombardments. Israeli shells hitting targets, closer and closer to this U.N.-run school in central Gaza. For thousands sheltering here, it's time to move again. Families forced to flee for their lives, and this is not the first or even second time for many.
Once again, they carried the war-torn pieces of their lives in pursuit of elusive safety. Just days earlier, many here vowed they would never move again, never, a vow they're now willing to break only because they know their children's lives are at stake.
OM MOHAMED, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): There's no safety in the school. We're looking for a safer place. I'm leaving because of the intensity of the airstrikes and the suffering.
RIPLEY (voiceover): Everywhere else is crowded. There's no guarantee they'll find a spot. But what else can they do? Even if they have nowhere else to go, they can't stay here. They don't want to die here. The scene, a grim reminder of what their parents and grandparents have been through. In 1948, when Zionist militias forced them out of their hometowns. In the cold winter, blankets and mattresses are precious commodities. Cars and the fuel that run them are scarce. Those who can afford it hire donkey carts. For the rest, it's a long trek on foot.
ABU AHMED, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): It's very tough back there, he says. Bombs are falling on people everywhere. People were injured there. We don't know where we're heading. Everywhere is under threat. We're just moving with the rest of the people.
RIPLEY: The destination for many, relatives' homes, a roof over their heads, even if they are in neighborhoods already devastated by Israeli airstrikes. Street battles raging across Gaza, turning areas north and south of the strip into ghost towns. The scars of battle raw.
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YOAV GALLANT, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): We are in a multi-arena war. We are being attacked from seven different sectors, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Judea and Samaria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran. Anyone who acts against us is a potential target. There is no immunity for anyone.
RIPLEY (voiceover): Iran's allies in the region engaging in low-level hostilities in response, they say, to Israel's war in Gaza. Yemen's Houthi attacking ships, ships they claim are Israeli-affiliated, turning the Red Sea into a dangerous route for world trade. Iran's vow to avenge the killing of an Iranian commander in Syria, sparking renewed concerns of expanding the conflict. Especially on the Lebanese Israeli border. Artillery fire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, keeping both countries on edge since October 8th.
In Gaza, a race for survival between a routine of airstrikes, rushing to hospitals and burials, and the ongoing search for food and water, and a pursuit of shelter for close to two million people displaced. Will Ripley, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: For more now on the backroom diplomacy underway in Washington and what it means for Israel's war with Hamas, we're joined by Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Welcome back. It's been a while. It's good to see you.
STEVEN COOK, SENIOR FELLOW FOR MIDDLE EAST AND STUDIES AT THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Thanks.
VAUSE: Okay, so here's how Mark Regev, a senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister, characterized talks with the U.S. over the operational tempo of Israel's offensive in Gaza. Here he is.
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MARK REGEV, SENIOR ADVISER TO ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We can have different discussions on this tactical issue or that tactical issue. We listen very attentively to whatever Washington says, and I believe they listen very carefully to whatever we say to them. But ultimately, we're on the same side of this. We want to see Hamas destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: You know, for years as spokesman for the Israeli government, Mark Regev was pretty much the master of spin. Is he at it again right now, or is this just really an attentive discussion over tactics between two friends?
COOK: Well, I think he's both the master of spin and there are differences between the United States and Israel. I think the administration has made no secret of the fact that it has serious reservations about the way in which the Israeli military operations have unfolded, especially with the number of dead Palestinians in the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, Regev is quite right that the United States and Israel share the same goal, which is the destruction of Hamas.
There was a report just on Christmas Day that the United States 250 cargo planes plus 20 ships have delivered some 20,000 pounds of military equipment to the Israelis since the beginning of the war. So, despite whatever significant differences there are about tactics, the United States remains, it seems, fully supportive of Israel's overall strategic goal.
VAUSE: If there is a difference, it's over timing here. It's about when does this transition from a high intensity conflict to a more specific target? And the IDF chief of staff, the Israel Defense Forces, echoed comments from Prime Minister Netanyahu a day earlier about the duration and intensity of the fight in Gaza. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERZI HALEVI, ISRAELI CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF: This war has necessary and not easy goals to achieve. It takes place in complex territory. Therefore, the war will go on for many months and we will employ different methods to maintain our achievements for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So, when he talks about the need for different methods here, is that sort of a recognition that Israel will have to scale back, not necessarily because of conditions on the battlefield, but because of diplomatic and political realities beyond Gaza?
COOK: Well, it's hard to say. I think the Israelis from the very beginning understood that global support would dissipate relatively quickly. I think what they're finding as they moved out of the northern Gaza Strip into the southern part of the area is that it is a much different kind of fight. That is where the Hamas leadership is. It requires them to actually break down doors, go into tunnels. It's just a different enterprise for them.
And that's why he's hinting at this will be a longer and different kind of fight. The Israelis have proven thus far to be impervious to international criticism, reasoning that no matter what they did, that they'd be criticized. So, I suspect whatever is being said at the U.N. or in the streets of Western capitals is not really moving them. It's more the complexity of the fight that they're confronting.
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VAUSE: There is also this possibility of a wider escalation. CNN is reporting that U.S. Navy intercepts a barrage of drones, missiles over Red Sea fired from Yemen. This was during a 10-hour period, according to U.S. Central Command. Israel's defense minister says his country is now fighting a multi-front war, and the U.S. continues to carry out these retaliatory airstrikes on Iran-backed militia groups in the region, which have carried out attacks on U.S. forces in the region. The fighting right now, though, seems to be relatively low level, but it is picking up and has gained intensity over the last couple of weeks. This is not heading in the right direction. So, I guess that's where the concern is beyond Gaza right now.
COOK: Yeah, it is not heading in the right direction. Of course, almost continuously since October 7th, both Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen, have been targeting Israel. With the help of the United States, particularly in the Red Sea, the Yemeni drones and missiles have not struck Israel. But there is the very, very concerning effort on the part of both the Houthis as well as Hezbollah, as well as the Israelis to actually pre-empt Hezbollah. There is a very serious concern about a widening and intensification of the regional conflict. That is, as the Israeli defense minister has admitted, already under way.
VAUSE: Steven, good to see you. Thanks for being with us. Stephen Cook there, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Thank you.
COOK: Thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Baghdad has condemned a series of retaliatory U.S. airstrikes on Iran-backed militants inside Iraq. The Prime Minister's office says one security serviceman was killed, 18 others, including civilians, were injured. More now from CNN's Oren Liebermann, reporting in from the Pentagon.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Rising tensions in the Middle East, with U.S. fighter jets carrying out a series of strikes, in Iraq, against Qata'ib Hezbollah, one of Iran's regional proxies. The U.S. said the Monday strikes targeted drone facilities used by the militant group and its affiliates. Mourners leading a funeral procession through the streets of Baghdad, as U.S. Central Command said the strikes likely killed a number of militants. President Joe Biden ordered the strikes after Qata'ib Hezbollah, recognized by the U.S. as a terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the Monday drone attack on U.S. forces, in Iraq.
The attack injured three U.S. service members, the Pentagon said, including one in critical condition. In a statement, the National Security Council said, the President places no higher priority than the protection of American personnel serving in harm's way. The United States will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing, should these attacks continue. U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria have been targeted approximately 100 times since October, when the Israel-Hamas war started. The U.S. has tried to calibrate its retaliatory strikes, to send a message to Iranian proxies in the region, without sparking a wider war.
Last month, the U.S. also carried out strikes against Qata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq, killing at least eight of their fighters, according to the group. Iraq's government has condemned both of the attacks, calling them hostile acts that are unacceptable under any circumstances. The unrest has not been limited to land. Over the weekend, the U.S. has a one-way attack drone launched directly from Iran, struck a chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean. No U.S. Navy ships were in the vicinity.
The attack caused no injuries, but it did spark a fire on the ship, according to Central Command, as it raised concerns of a broader conflict the U.S. has been trying to avoid. LIEBERMANN: U.S. Central Command says, according to their preliminary assessment of the U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, there were no civilians affected. However, the Iraqi government says there were 19 people injured approximately, one serviceman and 18 others, including civilians. So that is part of the reason the Iraqi government is angry over these strikes, again, also seeing them as an infringement of Iraqi sovereignty, an important point here since the U.S. operates with its forces in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government. Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Now to the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, where civilians waiting at a train station for evacuation came under Russian fire. According to Ukrainian officials, one person was killed, four others hurt during the attack. Around 140 people were packed into the station, trying to flee the city, which, despite being liberated more than a year ago, has come under near constant shelling from nearby Russian forces. But what appears to be a major maritime victory for Ukraine, claiming to have destroyed a Russian Navy landing ship in Crimea in an overnight strike Tuesday.
VAUSE (off-camera): That was a massive explosion there, apparently the ship going up in flames, CNN has not been able to independently verify that it was destroyed. The Ukrainian president, though, praised his forces for the strike, and the Ukrainian Air Force also hailed it as a significant win.
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YURII IHNAT, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE UKRAINIAN AIR FORCE COMMAND: This is such a powerful event for us. In fact, we destroyed both the ship and the occupiers through well-coordinated actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The Russian Defense Ministry does admit the ship was damaged in a Ukrainian attack, but makes no mention of whether it's been destroyed. A Russian-backed official in Crimea says one person was killed, two others injured in that strike. If the ship was in fact destroyed, it would be a third major military hardware loss for Russia in less than a week. Let's head to Canberra now. Malcolm Davis, the Senior Analyst of Defense Strategy and Capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. It's good to see you, Malcolm.
MALCOLM DAVIS, SENIOR ANALYST OF DEFENSE STRATEGY AND CAPABILITY AT THE AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: It's good to see you, John.
VAUSE: Okay, so the ship which appears to have been sunk, it's the Novocherkassk, a 360-feet-long lander designed to land troops and vehicles during amphibious attack. It can carry 10 tanks, 340 personnel. The ship's regular crew, about 87 people. And judging by the explosion posted on social media we just saw, it may have had a lot of ammunition on board as well. So, what is sort of the significance here? The impact of the ship's destruction on Russia's navy in the Black Sea and its operational capability, or the fact it was destroyed while docked in port in Russian-occupied Crimea?
DAVIS: Well, look, I think I'd have to say both. And certainly, intelligence indicates that it was carrying large numbers of Iranian- supplied Shaheed drones. So, if, in fact, that is the case, then not only has Russia lost a major surface asset for its Black Sea fleet, but it's also lost a significant amount of weapons with which to strike Ukraine. And the Russians are focusing very much on hitting Ukrainian critical infrastructure, including power generation, electricity, that sort of thing. Those shaheed drones are a key weapon for the Russian offensive against Ukraine.
So, I think that, irrespective of however you look at this, it's a very convincing Ukrainian win with the use of storm shadow missiles against that ship that potentially could have also taken out a significant number of shaheed drones.
VAUSE: And timing is everything. And it comes at a very critical moment. Support from the US and the EU is wavering for Ukraine, a point not lost on Britain's defense secretary, who tweeted this on X. This latest destruction of Putin's navy demonstrates that those who believe there's a, there's a stalemate in the Ukraine war are wrong. They haven't noticed that over the past four months, 20% of Russia's Black Sea fleet has been destroyed. So that seems to have gone under the radar in many ways. Will it be enough to win back support, especially in the US, where Republican lawmakers have been critical of a lack of progress by Ukraine and their counter-offensive?
DAVIS: Look, I think every victory that Ukraine gains is important because it does send the message both to Washington DC and to Brussels that really, Ukraine can win this war if the West stands behind it. And that is crucial. If the West gives up on Ukraine, if the military aid dries up in 2024, then the war will stalemate in 2024. And the Russians then have superior military industrial capacity to Ukraine to build up its capabilities so that maybe in late 2024, early 2025, the Russians can then go on the offensive.
And I think what you would, what you would then have is the risk of Ukraine basically collapsing in the weight of a Russian offensive if they lack the ammunition and the weapons with which to defend against it. So, it really does send an important message that it's vital for the West to continue to stand by Ukraine and ensure that Ukraine wins decisively and Russia is defeated decisively.
VAUSE: And that Russian threat is still there, ever-present danger, because just hours after that, the Russian ship went down. Word came that the Ukrainian village of Marinka had fallen to Russian forces. On that, here's Russia's Defense Minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEI SHOIGU, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Joint efforts in the rear and at the front today helped our troops seize the initiative on the front line. The Russian army is constantly taking more advantageous positions and expanding the territories under its control in all directions. We are consistently moving towards achieving the stated goals of the special operation.
(END VIDEO CLIP) This seems to be sort of a sequence, a sequence of the battle for Bakhmut. A lot of bloodshed, a lot of destruction for a village of questionable strategic value. But it also says a lot about what the future of this war will look like, won't it?
DAVIS: Exactly. It all adds up. Marinka is hardly a central strategic objective, but it does add to another tally, Russia's ability to expand its frontier, to gradually contract Ukraine's fighting capabilities. And if that Western aid dries up, then Ukraine will be far less well-placed to defend other more important areas.
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They'll have to withdraw further and further away from Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donbass, and the potential then comes in late 2024, early 2025, for the Russians to begin attacking Kyiv or Kharkiv directly. So, really, we are in crucial moments here. We are in a crucial point whereby we have to decide, are we going to support Ukraine or are we going to let the Russians win?
VAUSE: One of the Ukrainian military chiefs made the point that the miscalculation he made was that he didn't think that a country that would lose 20% of its Black Sea fleet like Russia had and incur such huge losses in the number of troops deployed to the battlefield like Russia has and also losses in hardware like tanks and APCs, that kind of stuff, would continue on with this sort of grinding war of attrition. It seems to be the only way Putin knows how to play at war, win a major conflict, is to grind the opponent into the ground.
DAVIS: Exactly. It's a very old style of attritional warfare. You basically throw human beings into a meat grinder. It's World War I with drones and precision-guided munitions. And, essentially, this is the sort of fighting that we saw on the Western Front in 1917 in the Somme, where, essentially, we're seeing, the same thing now, but with much more advanced weapons. And Ukraine's position can be held with Western support, but if that Western support falls away, then Russia's superior military-industrial capacity to produce weapons and to throw humans into the fight starts to win through.
And then we're in a situation where Russia can begin to seek victory within its grasp. And that has implications not just for Ukraine in terms of Ukraine losing its state and also losing humans in the war. In areas where Russia controls the territory, it also has implications for NATO and for NATO's eastern frontier and its security because a Russian win in Ukraine will embolden Putin. He'll have the time then to rebuild and rearm so that maybe in the second half of this decade, Russia might be tempted then to direct his attention towards NATO directly.
VAUSE: Yeah, he took Georgia, he took Crimea. Yeah. Now we're in Ukraine. See what happens there. Malcolm, great to have you with us. Appreciate your time.
DAVIS: Thank you very much. VAUSE: And with that, we'll take a short break. When we come back, the first comments from Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny since being transferred to a Russian penal colony in Siberia, just north of the Arctic Circle. Also, desperation on both sides of the southern U.S. border. Thousands in Mexico hoping to get into the United States. Law enforcement working overtime. Try and keep them out.
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VAUSE: Well, it seems Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is in good spirits after being transferred from a prison east of Moscow to a remote harsh penal colony in Siberia. The journey to the prison north of the Arctic Circle took nearly three weeks. More now from CNN's Nada Bashir.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER (voiceover): One of President Putin's most famous adversaries. Relieved, exhausted, but most importantly, alive.
KYRA YARMYSH, NAVALNY SPOKESPERSON: We filed 680 requests in different Russian prisons trying to locate Alexey.
BASHIR: For weeks, Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny's whereabouts were unknown. Now his team has located him at a remote penal colony north of the Arctic Circle after a journey, Navalny says, took almost three weeks. They brought me here on Saturday night. Messages posted on social media by his aides say. I didn't expect anyone to find me here before mid-January.
Navalny's team raised the alarm weeks ago after he failed to show for recent court hearings. At the time, the Kremlin stated it had neither the capacity nor willingness to monitor prisoners' whereabouts.
YARMYSG: According to Russian law, after the prisoner is being transferred to another colony, they have to notify his relatives. But we know very well that there is no law that applies to Alexey and they will never notify anyone about his whereabouts.
BASHIR: In a statement on Monday, the Kremlin said, On Monday, the director of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation said the colony in northwestern Siberia, known as the Polar Wolf Colony, is infamous for its remote location and harsh conditions. Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison in August after he was found guilty of extremism- related charges, which he and his legal representatives have consistently denied. This in addition to a previous 11-and-a-half-year sentence for fraud and other crimes.
Known for organizing anti-government street protests and using his blog and social media to expose alleged corruption in the Kremlin, Navalny has posed one of the most serious threats to Putin's legitimacy during his rule. His disappearance coming to light just days after Putin announced he would run for re-election in March 2024. VLADIMIR MILOV, NAVALNY ADVISER: It is no coincidence that Navalny disappeared exactly at the moment when the so-called presidential elections were announced, and Putin announced that he's going to be running again for, sorry, I lost count for which term already.
BASHIR: And while news of his whereabouts has brought some reassurance to supporters, there is deep-seated concern over the conditions the opposition figure now faces at Polar Wolf.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
BASHIR: And John, according to a local government media outlet in Siberia, the focus at this particular penal colony is re-education through occupational therapy. But the conditions there are, of course, said to be harsh, and there is concern over what Alexey Navalny may face during his time in detention. Important to underscore that Navalny, his legal team, and his supporters have consistently denied the charges laid against him. They say they believe this is a politically motivated attempt to stifle criticism of President Putin. John.
VAUSE: Notable to see you there in London, thank you. Right now, more than 11,000 migrants are living in shelters, open-air camps, and in abandoned homes in northern Mexico waiting to cross into the United States, according to local leaders. And they're growing more desperate by the day. U.S. border officials are growing desperate as well, as they struggle to deal with massive numbers of people entering the United States illegally. CNN's Rosa Flores has details.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As a migrant caravan forms in southern Mexico with thousands from Central and South America, the scene on the U.S. southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas, has changed. The areas where thousands of migrants were waiting outdoors to be transported for immigration processing last week were emptied out this week. The flow this morning, appearing to be down to a trickle. A senior Customs and Border Protection official telling CNN that while the scene in Eagle Pass has improved, the agency is not out of the woods yet.
CBP still grappling with elevated numbers of migrant encounters on the U.S. southern border. More than 11,000 migrants are waiting in shelters in northern Mexico, 3,800 in Tijuana, 3,200 in Reynosa, 4,000 in Matamoros. Many hoping to enter legally, but some opting to cross illegally, say community leaders. U.S. federal authorities reported a seven-day average of more than 9,600 migrant encounters in December. That number was 6,800 at the end of November.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Wednesday in Mexico City. The Biden administration is expected to put pressure on Mexico to do more to stem the flow of migrants. To deal with the flow, CBP has temporarily suspended operations at several ports of entry in several states to reassign personnel to process migrants.
[00:30:10] This as CNN learns from a CBP official that the surge is in part
driven by pseudo-legitimate travel agencies abroad that promise trips to the U.S., but instead connect travelers to smugglers South of the border. That might explain this recent scene in Arizona.
FLORES: I work for CNN. And I'm wondering where you're from? What country you're from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senegal.
FLORES: Senegal? Senegal? Everybody from Senegal?
FLORES (voice-over): Smugglers are dropping off 500 to 1,000 migrants in remote areas of Arizona, the official said, creating a logistical nightmare for Border Patrol agents who have to find ways to transport them for immigration processing.
For the volunteers who distribute water to migrants in the desert, it's the children who get them every time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's heartbreaking when you see the -- the little children.
FLORES: Migration appears to be feeding migration. I met one migrant woman from Ecuador who says that the amount of violence in her country has spiked, and that has led business owners, the job creators in her community to flee her country and come here to the United States.
And she says that that is snowballing. That is forcing the workers to also flee their country and, you guessed it, come to the United States.
Rosa Flores, CNN, Eagle Pass, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: As we go to break here on CNN, live pictures from Gaza, where it's just gone 7:30 a.m. While in Washington, the focus of Israel's military offensive and what it will hold in the future will be the focus of negotiations between Israeli officials and the Biden administration. More on that, in a moment.
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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
The next phase of Israel's military offensive in Gaza has been the focus of high-level talks in Washington between Israeli and U.S. officials, in particular, when the IDF will move away from the high- intensity neighborhood-leveling conflict right now to one more focused on Hamas leaders, as well as Hamas infrastructures.
CNN producer Priscilla Alvarez is in Washington with details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Senior U.S. officials meeting on Tuesday with a close confidant of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The hours-long meeting comes as the U.S. looks for Israel to move away from its high-intensity war.
Now, Ron Dermer met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken here at the White House along with national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The big question going into the meeting was what the next phase of the war looks like, especially Israel's ground operation in Gaza.
Up until this point, Israel has assured the U.S. that it plans to transition to a low-intensity war with a more precise military strategy and targeting of Hamas leadership. But they haven't offered a timeline, so U.S. officials were looking for more information on that again as that death toll continues to rise in Gaza.
And over the course of the day, senior Israeli officials were expressing confidence about the nature of the conversations between the U.S. and Israel, describing them as good and saying that the U.S. and Israel are on the same page.
But President Biden is under increasing domestic and international pressure over the destruction and devastation in Gaza. And he said earlier this month that Israel risks losing support on the international stage if it doesn't contain those casualties.
So the U.S. officials and the close confidant of Benjamin Netanyahu meeting -- meeting here at the White House to try to get more answers on what this next phase looks like.
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, at the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Musician Kanye West is apologizing for antisemitic remarks. West, who's changed his name to Ye, posted an apology in Hebrew to Instagram Tuesday, writing this: "I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions. It was not my intention to hurt or disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused."
It was not clear what prompted West's post, but it does come ahead of the expected release of his new collection of music, titled "Vultures."
It follows a host of offensive statements West made about Jewish and black communities.
In response to the apology from West, the Anti-Defamation League said, "After causing untold damage by using his vast influence and platform to poison countless minds with vicious antisemitism and hate, an apology in Hebrew may be the first step on a long journey towards making amends."
Well, a Christmas rant that would be the envy of the Grinch. Donald Trump airing grievances on social media against President Biden and Special Counsel Jack Smith. Details from CNN's Kristen Holmes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, former President Trump continuing his, quote unquote, "Christmas messaging" into the week, posting on Truth Social on Tuesday, "Biden's Flunky, Deranged Jack Smith, should go to HELL."
Now, this, of course, comes after his post on Christmas day, where many world leaders or former world leaders were calling for peace and unity in a time of war.
This is what Donald Trump was doing on Truth Social, posting, "Merry Christmas to all, including Crooked Joe Biden's ONLY HOPE, Deranged Jack Smith, the out of control Lunatic." Goes on to say, "MAY THEY ROT IN HELL. AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
This is not the typical message you would see from any sort of world leader, but it is a message you would see from Donald Trump, who has made an entire political career of being the victim and airing these kinds of grievances, particularly when it comes to legal cases.
HOLMES (voice-over): Donald Trump's agenda is to play this out in the court of public opinion. And he does believe that this rhetoric of attacking Joe Biden, of attacking Jack Smith, is working for him.
Because he sees those poll numbers, and when you look at that, when you talk to senior members of his team, it is clear that he is not going to tone down this rhetoric toward this language at any point. And it's not just these attacks that we see out on Joe Biden or Jack Smith.
But it's also his aggressive anti-immigration rhetoric. As he has continued to ramp up that language --
HOLMES: -- those poll numbers, at least in Iowa, have continued to rise. So, right now, there is no political pressure on him to tone it down, to pull it back at all.
Now, obviously, this could change if he is the GOP nominee, if he does go up against Joe Biden in the general election and need to find more moderate voters. But, again, that remains to be seen.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
C.Y., SCAM VICTIM: It's been a living hell, day in and day out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: How criminal gangs based in Myanmar now scamming millions of dollars from Americans who just want to do the right thing. A CNN investigation is next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[00:41:22]
VAUSE: A year of weather whiplash in Beijing. Just six months ago was sweltering under record high temperatures in June. Now, many are struggling to stay warm as Beijing sees its longest cold snap since records began in 1951.
CNN's Marc Stewart is freezing in Beijing with everyone else.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): China has been shivering through bitter and biting cold.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's the coldest winter in the past 20 years.
STEWART (voice-over): For around two weeks, the Chinese capital has seen sub-zero temps, the longest cold snap here since records began in 1951.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The temperature's very -- very low. I have to wear this kind of clothes to -- for this weather.
STEWART (voice-over): By bike and by foot, it's a struggle to stay warm in this megacity.
STEWART: This is what's known as a hutong, a collection of small homes and narrow streets, very typical here in downtown Beijing. But many lack central heating, and that can be challenging and expensive when the temperatures take a plunge.
STEWART (voice-over): This man showed us his home and how he keeps warm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We use electric heating.
STEWART (voice-over): Even though the government helps to pay the bill. For some families, it can still be a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Frankly speaking, this is not as good as the high rise, which has 24-hour central heating. But it's not too cold here right now either.
STEWART (voice-over): The arctic chill has been felt far beyond Beijing. Across the country, coal-powered plants have been on full drive to warm up homes.
Yet, problems in a plant in central China force heating in one city to be temporarily cut. And in Northwest China, the weather got in the way of rescue efforts after last week's deadly earthquake. Residents in the quake zone set bonfires to get warm. A burning stove
and a bowl of warm noodles, enough to comfort these children.
Back in Beijing, the forecast is for the cold wave to pass, making tasks in the city of more than 20 million people a bit more tolerable.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: There'll be no Apple Watches on sale in the U.S. any time soon, after the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Apple's latest watch violates patented [SIC] -- patents, rather, registered to another company, and a ban was put in place.
As expected, the White House did not overturn that ban with a last- minute emergency action. So for now, top-line watches like the Series 9 and Ultra 2 cannot be sold in the United States until Apple makes a few changes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL IVES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, WEDBUSH SECURITIES: Well, the consumer right now can't buy an Apple Watch in the U.S. You can buy it in Europe and Asia. But it definitely raises an eyebrow. I think it's something where Apple, as a trust, as one of the brands that has searched that trust for global consumers. It's a P.R. black eye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Apple says it's pursuing both legal and technical options to get the offending watches back on the shelves, potentially submitting a redesign for U.S. customs approval.
The company is asking for a stay on the ban until U.S. Customs can consider this redesign, which is expected to happen mid-next month.
Criminal gangs apparently based in war-torn Myanmar, not far from the Thai border, are scamming millions of dollars online from thousands of unsuspected [SIC] Americans. And they're forcing human trafficking victims to do their dirty work.
CNN's Ivan Watson has this report. He filed it not far from the Thai border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a living hell, day in and day out.
[00:45:03]
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is one of tens of thousands of U.S. victims of a fast-growing new form of financial fraud.
SPECIAL AGENT JAMES BARNACLE, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: The bad guys are getting good, and we're getting better.
WATSON (voice-over): Scams, run by gangs working in a war-torn corner of East Asia.
WATSON: Is this a form of modern-day slavery?
MECHELLE MOORE, AID WORKER, GLOBAL ALMS: Definitely, yes. And no one can do anything about it.
WATSON (voice-over): Using fake online profiles and modern-day slaves.
WATSON: How did the bosses keep you working?
RAKESH, TRAFFICKING VICTIM: They are treating us like slaves. If you are not working, they will give punishment.
WATSON (voice-over): In Northern California, C.Y. is piecing together his life.
C.Y., SCAM VICTIM: I can never forget, or forgive myself, losing that kind of money.
WATSON (voice-over): He asked to remain anonymous to protect his family after he lost more than a million dollars to a scam called pig butchering.
It started in October 2021 with a text message from a stranger.
C.Y.: This person texted me out of the blue from WhatsApp.
WATSON: What was the name of the person you were communicating with?
C.Y.: She claims her name was Jessica.
WATSON (voice-over): The two quickly became friends. She shared photos, and C.Y. talked about the pain of caring for his dying father. After nearly a month, the conversation turns to money.
C.Y.: She started to introduce me to cryptocurrency. Trading gold using cryptocurrency.
WATSON (voice-over): Jessica showed C.Y. how to invest, by installing a trading app on his phone that he says looked legit.
C.Y.: Around this point is when she was instructing me or showing me how to deposit my money to crypto currency.
WATSON: You thought in just a matter of weeks you doubled your money?
C.Y.: Yes.
WATSON (voice-over): Little did he know he was a victim, pumping money into a sophisticated con. For the scammers, a pig, fattened up for the slaughter.
C.Y.: I logged back in. The account is gone. What the heck had happened? What did I do? That's 30 years of my life -- in my life, building up this -- this wealth.
WATSON (voice-over): Panicking, C.Y. begged Jessica for help.
C.Y.: Please, help me! I don't know what else I can do. I don't have any more money. I cannot buy anything else. I lost everything.
WATSON (voice-over): But Jessica disappeared, and probably never even existed.
BARNACLE: The victim thinks that they're making an investment opportunity; doesn't understand that they're buying cryptocurrency, transferring it to the bad guy.
WATSON (voice-over): The FBI says it's seen exponential growth in losses due to pig butchering scams, with more than 25,000 victims reported so far this year.
BARNACLE: This is the professionalization of fraud services.
WATSON (voice-over): An organization representing scam victims tracked their crypto transfers halfway around the world to this border region in Myanmar.
WATSON: U.S. scam victims say they've been able to trace their money to places like this. This walled compound across the river is just inside the territory of Myanmar. And that is where we're learning about the conditions inside, that some people who work there, they say that they were forced against their will to try to scam Americans out of their hard-earned money in conditions that they describe as amounting to modern-day slavery.
WATSON (voice-over): This compound is where an Indian man named Rakesh says he was forced to work for more than 11 months without pay for a Chinese criminal gang.
WATSON: The guards have spotted us.
WATSON (voice-over): Until they recently released him back to Thailand.
WATSON: Where was the job supposed to be?
RAKESH: They told me it was for Bangkok.
WATSON (voice-over): He, too, was the victim of a scam. Rakesh, who doesn't want to be identified, says he first flew to Thailand for what he thought was I.T. job.
Instead, he says he was tricked into crossing the border to Myanmar, where a Chinese gangster told him to work, or else.
WATSON: He threatened to kill you?
RAKESH: Yes. He warned me like that.
WATSON (voice-over): The job? Spend 16 hours a day on social media, targeting Americans with a fake profile.
RAKESH: Like, they were providing for us. I got a Russian girl, with using a Russian girl fake profile I need to scam the people.
WATSON (voice-over): Posing as a Salt Lake City-based investor named Clara Simonov (ph), Rakesh flirted online with potential targets.
RAKESH: Seventy to 80 percent fell -- fall for fake love.
WATSON (voice-over): Rakesh shows secretly-filmed images of what, at first glance, seems to be an ordinary office. But he says the bosses routinely punished workers, forcing them to do hundreds of squats and beating them if they didn't produce.
WATSON: And you've helped rescue people who are trapped inside, behind the barbed wire --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
WATSON: -- of that very compound?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
WATSON (voice-over): Mechelle Moore is one of a group of aid workers based in Thailand who have helped rescue hundreds of victims of trafficking, like Rakesh, over the last 18 months.
[00:50:08]
WATSON: What are the measures that are being used to keep them there?
MOORE: Lots of psychological manipulation, coercion, Physical torture.
WATSON (voice-over): She drives me along the border.
MOORE: There, there's a guard tower just there. Green roof.
WATSON (voice-over): Showing compounds only a stone's throw away, where she says trafficked victims are forced to work as online scammers.
MOORE: This is why this is modern slavery, and it's right under everybody's nose.
WATSON (voice-over): Satellite images show rapid construction of these compounds on the border territory of Myanmar over just three years.
Thailand's minister of justice labels these facilities as hubs for criminal scamming activity.
TAWEE SODSONG, THAI JUSTICE MINISTER (through translator): These scammers have to use telephone signals to communicate. That's why they base themselves near the Thai border, so they can use Thailand's telephone network.
WATSON (voice-over): But he says Thailand has no jurisdiction to crack down on suspected criminals operating across the border in Myanmar.
CNN asked the military government in Myanmar why it hasn't taken action against alleged criminal gangs on its territory and did not receive an answer.
So for now, no one is going to stop this poisonous cycle of exploitation, where trafficked victims in Southeast Asia work like slaves to scam Americans out of their savings.
Ivan Watson, CNN, on the Thai border with Myanmar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, South Korea actor Lee Sun-Kyun, one of the stars of "Parasite," has died.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: An investigation is underway into the death of South Korean actor Lee Sun-Kyun. According to a police statement, a hotline received a missing person's report from his manager, and Lee was later found in his car.
He made his acting debut in 2001, in a television sitcom, won acclaim for a number of leading roles after that, but was best known internationally as the wealthy father in the 2020 Academy Award- winning film "Parasite."
Police tell CNN the cause of death is presumed to be suicide. He was being investigated under allegations of illegal drug use amid an ongoing government crackdown on illegal drugs.
Not just about any major company, the head of a central bank, but "TIME" magazine's Person of the Year has had the best year of any business leader in recent memory.
Taylor Swift's North American shows alone are expected to bring in billions of dollars of revenue, making her concert tour the highest grossing of all time, with the worst traffic.
CNN's Anna Stewart has more now on Swift's blockbuster year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER: Welcome to the Eras Tour.
ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's certainly not the anti-hero of 2023.
SWIFT (singing): It's me. Hi. I'm the problem, it's me.
STEWART (voice-over): In fact, she's "TIME" Person of the Year.
Even in Taylor Swift's wildest dreams, it would hard to imagine greater success, or bigger revenues. Not one but three bestselling albums. They're not all exactly new: "1989" and "Speak Now" were re- recorded as Swift continues to reclaim ownership of her music.
SWIFT: We're about to go on a little adventure together. That adventure is going to spend 17 years of music.
[00:55:03]
STEWART (voice-over): In March, Swift embarked on a record-breaking worldwide tour. It's expected to rake in more than $2 billion in North American ticket sales alone.
Swift even helped bail out the box office in a difficult year, with a movie version of her Eras Tour concerts. It made $96 million on its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada.
Spotify and Apple Music have both named her Artist of the Year.
ZANE LOWE, HOST OF APPLE MUSIC'S "THE ZANE LOWE SHOW": There isn't an artist on the planet is achieved so much in the calendar year, and we at Apple Music, we felt the same way. And there was just no denying that, you know, what she's achieved over the last 12 months, in my lifetime at least, from a productivity and equality point of view, is sort of unprecedented.
STEWART (voice-over): Bloomberg says Swift became a billionaire in October. And Swift-fluence spread beyond music this year, the artist was spotted not on the bleachers, but in a box, as she debuted a new relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.
The love story boosted ticket sales and NFL TV ratings.
It all comes down to a powerful bond Swift has forged with her fans, using hidden messages and clues, known as Easter eggs, in songs, performances and social media.
LOWE: Every time she puts anything out, there's a sense of anticipation that surrounds that experience. And also the idea that we, as fans, can be invested in that by uncovering details moving in different ways.
I mean, the depth of Easter egg placement is sort of unbelievable. It just strengthens that connective tissue between the artist and the fan, which is what this is all about. And something that Taylor Swift has been completely dedicated to over her whole career.
STEWART: Do you think we have now hit peak Taylor Swift?
LOWE: If Taylor Swift has proven anything, even to people who don't listen to her music, it's that she will not stop creating at the highest level. So no, only Taylor will decide, you know, how and where she moves.
When she comes back, like every other time, she'll be dedicated and committed to it. That's the one thing I really appreciate about Taylor Swift, is when she comes out with a record or a tour, she's all in.
STEWART (voice-over): The Eras Tour continues through 2024. So we all know all too well that it will probably be another year of
Swift success.
Anna Stewart, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us. I will be back after a very short break with more news. See you in a moment.
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