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Israel-Hamas War; Russia's War On Ukraine; US-Mexico Migrant Crisis; Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Deepens As War Intensifies; Michigan Supreme Court Keeps Trump on Primary Ballot; Trump Revs Up Inflammatory Rhetoric on Campaign Trail. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 28, 2023 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:18]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, a blunt and clear warning to Hezbollah militants from Israel. Continue rocket fire from Lebanon, Israeli towns in the north will lead to a second front. Also this --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell that tempers are flaring everywhere you go. That's why I'm hoping that there is a peaceful resolution to this crisis.
VAUSE: US officials head south to Mexico searching for a solution to a shared crisis on their border. CNN is there with the very latest. Also power revenge dictatorship, whereas Donald Trump is campaigning on for the 2024 election. Look at this rhetoric as he's helping or hindering his chances for a second term.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause.
VAUSE: On day 83 of Israel's war with Hamas, the risk of a second front opening on Israel's northern border is increasing significantly with a senior member of Israel's war covenant, warning Hezbollah militants that continued missile and rocket fire across the border will trigger an escalated Israeli military offensive. An escalation which the US and its allies have tried to prevent since the war began.
Cross border exchanges of fire in the north have escalated since October 7th Hamas attack. On Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Minister visited the border area. Hezbollah says it 530 Katyusha rockets in response to earlier IDF airstrikes on a Lebanese village.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI MINISTER (through translation): The situation on Israel's northern border demands change. The stopwatch for a diplomatic solution is running out. If the world and the Lebanese government don't act in order to prevent the firing on Israel's northern residents and to distance Hezbollah from the border, the IDF will do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: And the day after Israel's military chief warned that the forces are concentrating their efforts in southern Gaza, reports of deadly strikes in the city of Khan Younis. The Palestine Red Crescent Society says dozens of people have been killed after IDF shelling hospital Wednesday.
CNN's Will Ripley repeat following developments from Tel Aviv but a warning some of the images in his report are difficult to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Smoke rises over southern Gaza haunting from a distance, horrifying up close. Video obtained by CNN showing a sidewalk covered in blood and bodies. Men, women children at least 20 dead from yet another Israeli airstrike, this time near a hospital, the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry says.
CNN is not able to independently verify the staggering death toll around 21,000 and rising. The wounded rushed to Al-Amal Hospital, one of a handful still operating. In the parking lot, pandemonium. Doctors and nurses already overwhelmed, scrambling to save lives. An international team of surgeons gaining access to emergency rooms on life support.
Doctors warn supplies are running dangerously low, severely limiting treatment of trauma patients, some dying as they wait for urgent care. Civilian casualties climbing fast. More than 55,000 injured since October 7th, the Hamas Health Ministry says. Inside a crowded medical tent in Jabalia, Palestinian Red Crescent medics treating a tidal wave of patients. Wounded women and children, many injuries horrific.
The pile of body bags growing by the hour. At times the dead seem to outnumber the living. Naval ships calm the coast as drones hover overhead documenting the destruction. Explosion after explosion, the IDF targeting tunnels used by Hamas fighters hitting both military and civilian infrastructure.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza showing no signs of easing up, Israel's goal to root out Hamas leaders. An edited video circulating on social media appears to show Palestinian men and at least two children detained, stripped by the Israel Defense Forces in a stadium in northern Gaza.
The fighting is fierce. The offensive expected to transition into a slower intensity mobile campaign. Soon Israel says the question haunting Israeli leaders will the change in strategy be effective, will it neutralize Hamas' military power. Israeli artillery hitting a UN run school in Central Gaza, leaving holes in the walls, blood on the floors next to the sleeping mats of displaced families.
At this school in Rafah, some of those families crowded into classrooms, sharing what little food and water they have. Supplies are running low after 10 long weeks of war.
[01:05:05] The Palestinian prime minister says Israel is starving people to death. This teacher's lesson, a welcome distraction for children surrounded by suffering and death, trying to find some semblance of a normal life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: But their normal life may prove elusive for the children of Gaza for many months, if not years, or even decades to come. That's how long it could take some of these communities to rebuild after the just extensive devastation that has surrounded them. And back to that video that appears to show, in addition to Palestinian men being stripped to their underwear, at least two children. That edited video CNN cannot independently verify when it was taken.
It was posted on Christmas Eve, but we did geo locate it. It did happen in Gaza. And the IDF has said in the past that they strip people down because they need to check them for explosives. And in fact, within the last week or so, the IDF said that it found among other weapons in Gaza explosive vests modified to fit children. Will Ripley, CNN, Tel Aviv.
VAUSE: To Jerusalem now, Yaakov Katz, senior columnist at the Jerusalem Post. Welcome back. Good to see you.
YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, JERUSALEM POST: Thank you, John.
VAUSE: OK. So this morning, Yaakov Katz, member of Israel's war cabinet, former defense minister, it was clear it was unambiguous. And it was also directed to the world and the Lebanese government, not Hezbollah, also came without a deadline. So read between the lines here. What's going on?
KATZ: Israel wants to avoid a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. I think that's been clear since day one went on October 7th. There were some voices within the IDF and within the defense establishment that said instead of attacking and retaliating to the Hamas massacre, Israel should actually focus on its bigger and stronger enemy in the north. But Israel held off on doing that. And instead has said consistently, we're dealing with Hamas, we hope that there is a diplomatic resolution for the clashes that have been taking place daily along the border with Lebanon.
However, there are patients running out here in Israel. There are daily rocket attacks. There are daily anti-tank missile attacks. There's 100,000 people, John, from the border area, Israelis who have been displaced from their homes. And they will not go back as long as Hezbollah is there and attacking Israel.
So Israel is trying to urge, I would rebel against his comments Israel saying to the world, the clock is ticking. You don't want us to have a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, you have to get more active and you have to push Hezbollah away from border.
VAUSE: OK. So you mentioned this since October 7th, you know, there has been this cross border exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah. It's been -- its highest point since the 2006 war tensions continue to escalate there. But, you know, the calculation has always been -- it's not in anyone's interest, certainly on Israel's interest and certainly not Hezbollah's interest to go any further. Essentially, this was almost a show, if you like exchange of fire, how has that calculation now changed for Hezbollah?
KATZ: You're kind of right. It's almost as if somebody is there -- Israel and Hezbollah are talking to one another in saying, listen, these are the rules of engagement. We attack each other just within a two three kilometer radius of the border, no deeper incursions, no deeper strikes by missiles or Israeli air force attacks. And as long as we do this, everybody can kind of feel like they're involved somehow, right?
So Hezbollah wants to show solidarity to Hamas that it's involved. And it's helping to defend Hamas, in its hour of need, as Israel is waging a battle against Hamas from the Gaza Strip. However, it's not sustainable. And we also can all keep in mind that any miscalculation can easily lead to a larger configuration.
I think that the bigger question here, John, is after Israel was surprised on October 7th by Hamas, and is now trying to eliminate that threat and degrade Hamas' capabilities to the greatest possible extent. Candidate isn't willing, better yet, to live with another enemy of this stronger, more soldiers, more weapons, more rockets at its northern front. It would mean that it would end the war with Hamas, but still have a sword up against its neck in the north.
And I'm not advocating another war here necessarily. But what I'm saying is, we have this other threat that might now seem to be small but it's quite large. And if this whole conflict right now in the Middle East ends without that being resolved, then Israel will still be stuck with a big problem.
VAUSE: That's a very good point. And as far as Israeli ground operations in Gaza, they're now expanding into a number of large refugee camps in the central part of the Gaza Strip. This is a sort of urban fighting, which can be especially deadly for civilians as well as soldiers. So 80 days of war, Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza says 21,100 people have been killed so far, an average of 257 a day.
So just very quickly here, Israel for the most part doesn't dispute the overall number of people killed, but rather how many civilians were killed and how many Hamas jihadists, right?
KATZ: Israel looks at it a little differently. They say that about 6,000 to 7,000 are Hamas or Islamic jihad fighters. So when they look at it, there's actually a ratio of combatants to civilian of one to two.
[01:10:08]
And if you were to look, John, throughout history, if you include World War II, if you don't include World War II, that ratio, while tragic and horrific, and every loss of life is a tragedy, that is within the realm of actually what would it be considered in combat in urban warfare to actually be unfortunate. And I hate to be saying this, to be a good ratio for this type of warfare.
And Israel, we have to remember, is doing everything it can to try to minimize those civilian casualties. And who's responsible for the way Hamas fights and how it defends itself and surrounds itself with the civilians.
VAUSE: But with that in mind, I just want you to listen to Mark Regev, senior adviser to the Israeli prime minister, on those numbers, on the death toll. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK REGEV, SENIOR ADVISER TO THE ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The numbers you get from Hamas, which are most likely exaggerated, but those numbers do not make a distinction between combatants and non- combatants. If you tell me we killed 200 people yesterday in Gaza, and they're all terrorists, I'll tell you good. We want to get those terrorists. We want to find those people responsible for the October 7th massacre.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But here's the problem. We're now today 83 and all the data in the 21,000 are not Hamas fighters, there's civilians as well. And those civilian numbers are going to go up, and they're going to go up a lot. And so, a lot of Palestinians are going to die, which just simply increases the pressure on Israel to wrap this up sooner rather than later.
KATZ: And that's true. And, excuse me, and the world is laying on that pressure, John, and wants Israel to start to wind down. We know that the Europeans have definitely already shifted their gears and they're urging Israel to engage in a long term ceasefire. But we've yet to hear that from the Americans.
And the one country that really matters for Israel at the moment are the Americans, is the US and is the Biden administration. And as President Biden has said, I have yet to ask Israel for a ceasefire. Israel needs the US for a number of reasons. One is for the continued supply of weapons, two is for the continued supply of spare parts, and for its airplane and aircraft. And three is for that diplomatic cover that it provides in places like the UN Security Council.
So as long as Israel and the US are coordinated, and continue to be on the same page, I would not expect a major shift because of pressure from other places in the world.
VAUSE: Yaakov Katz, as always thank you, sir. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for being with is.
KATZ: Thank you.
VAUSE: A quarter billion dollars in US military assistance will soon be heading to Ukraine. What will likely be the last from Washington for now, includes much needed ammunition for air defense systems as well as artillery rounds. Any further assistance remains in limbo blocked by congressional Republicans, who say approval for $60 billion in Ukrainian assistance will be approved after Democrats make concessions on immigration and border security. Negotiations over the funding bill should resume next month.
EU financial assistance for Ukraine is also on hold blocked temporarily by Hungary earlier this month. With support from the US and Europe now wavering, Ukrainian troops are already rationing ammunition. And as CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports, Russia is ramping up the pressure on the front lines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Russia's most recent claimed battlefield victory driving Ukrainian forces to the outskirts of Mar'inka on the eastern front. The prize though, dust and rubble, as the vicious fighting has turned the town into a wasteland.
Still, Russia's Defense Minister claiming this is significant progress for Moscow. The Russian army is constantly taking more favorable positions and expanding controlled territories in all directions, he said. We aren't consistently moving forward achieving the stated goals of the special operation.
Russia says its forces are now pressing in the entire east looking to encircle the Ukrainians in Avdiivka increasingly laying waste to that city as well, Ukrainian authorities still operating their show.
We've been bringing humanitarian aid and food here for a long time, he says. People have already left. I hope there were no casualties. This is what Avdiivka looks like, there's nothing here.
Kyiv says the Russian army is suffering catastrophic losses during their assaults, but Ukraine's military also acknowledges their own large scale counter offensive started this summer as essentially stalled. A situation compounded by severe ammo shortages. Ukraine desperately hoping Congress will end its impasse and green light further US military aid after months of delays.
Ukraine's top general in a rare press conference says he's confident the assistance will come and that on the whole foreign military help for Ukraine has made a huge difference. We have rather ambitious goals in 2023, he says. I was not disappointed by the level of assistance in 2023. Of course, it was not everything but it allowed us to conduct confident military operations.
[01:15:02]
While gains on the ground remain incremental for both sides, the air war continues. Russian missiles and drones striking in Kherson and in Odessa killing two people. And Moscow now admits Kyiv's Air Force managed to strike a large Russian landing ship, but only vaguely says the vessel suffered damage. Ukraine though claims the ship and its cargo were completely destroyed. Footage on air now is impressive indeed, the Air Force spokesman says. A warship was destroyed, most likely a warship with a set of ammunition, powerful ammo. A key strike for Ukraine but on the frontlines, the war grinds on in the harsh Eastern European winter, little territory changing hands, but many soldiers on both sides killed and wounded.
The Ukrainians do acknowledge that the Russians really are pressing along the eastern front but they also say that the Russians are suffering immense casualties, saying the Russians lost about 3,000 soldiers in just a week's time with a thousand of those killed. The Russians themselves of course not giving any exact numbers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Well, Thursday marked five years in a Russian prison for American Paul Whelan. He's serving 16 years for espionage, which he vehemently denies. US considers him wrongfully detained. Hitting that five year mark, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken released this statement.
Far too long, Paul and his family have suffered the consequences of the Russian government's decision to wrongfully detain US citizens. He added that using people as political pawns is unacceptable.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered ramped up war preparations in response to unspecified confrontational moves by the United States. More details down from CNN's Oren Liebermann.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to North Korean state media, Kim Jong Un ordered, and I'll quote here, "the munitions industry nuclear weapons and civil defense sectors to further accelerate the war preparations due to the anti-North Korean confrontation moves of the US and its vassal forces unprecedented in history." In that case, vassal forces means South Korea coming from Kim Jong Un there.
So he is pushing his weapons programs and his nuclear programs even further as he orders this to accelerate here in the face of what he accuses the US of doing, of expanding its own efforts in the region. It's worth noting that just 10 days ago, North Korea tested the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile It is the third solid fuel ICBM test we've seen coming from North Korea this year. That also came with a short range ballistic missile tests.
So you can see here, Kim Jong Un seeing the US working with South Korea and Japan. He is pushing his country even harder as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks to Oren Liebermann there reporting in from the Pentagon.
Just last week, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington activated a system which assesses and shares real time data on North Korean missile launches. With that we'll take a break. When we come back, senior Biden administration officials went to Mexico City to tackle the migrant crisis with Mexico's president. But whether they have anything to show for it remains to be seen. Also, to cross legally or illegally, the question for the thousands of migrants every day trying to reach the US. A closer look at a broken immigration system is up in a moment.
Also, a legal victory for Donald Trump in Michigan. But things could change from the primary to the general election, we'll explain why. That's in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:20:39]
VAUSE: Mexico and the US appear to have reached agreement on ways to deal with a crisis on their shared border. Senior US delegation traveled to Mexico City for talks Wednesday with Mexico's president and other officials. Mexico senior diplomat says the meeting was very good. Details of agreements will be announced later in a joint statement. CNN's Rosa Flores has story now from the southern US border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As border authorities near a breaking point from the weeks long migrant surge, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas meet with Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico City to discuss ways to drive down the unprecedented number of illegal migrant crossings. The seven day average earlier this month, 9,600.
Blinken and Mayorkas are expected to ask Mexico to move migrants south, control railways that are used by migrants to move north and provide migrants incentives to stay in Mexico like visas. In Eagle Pass, Texas, although migrant apprehensions dropped from about 3,000 daily encounters last week to about 2,000. Monday, according to a law enforcement source, one of two international bridges are still closed to vehicle traffic to redirect personnel to process migrants. The wait time to cross by car Wednesday afternoon, an astounding 15 hours.
Many Americans who frequently drive back and forth are opting to cross on foot, like Minerva Castro. She says that when she ditched her car in Mexico, she saw a group of about 100 migrants walking towards Eagle Pass, some with children. One Eagle Pass business owner says the migrant surge is tearing the community apart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell that tempers are flaring everywhere you go. That's why I'm hoping that there is a peaceful resolution to this crisis.
FLORES: Would you like to see President Biden visit Eagle Pass?
EDDIE MORALES (D), TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: I would, very much so.
FLORES: Texas State Representative Eddie Morales, a Democrat who represents residents from 11 West Texas counties along the state's border with Mexico, says the federal government's ongoing closure of the bridge and the recent five day closure of the international railway cost the US economy hundreds of millions of dollars.
MORALES: Every day Texans are the ones that end up suffering.
FLORES: Morales says he's hopeful that the top level talks in Mexico City will pave the way for realistic change at the border, but says he would have liked to see Texas Governor Greg Abbott have a seat at the table.
MORALES: We're only going to get there if there's communication between these two countries, and also with the state of Texas.
FLORES: Texas recently passed its own immigration bill and has come under fire for Abbott's border security tactics like busing and flying migrants to blue states separating migrant families and deploying controversial border beliefs and concertina wire. Morales initially supported Abbott's border security push, which has cost billions of dollars, but now says those efforts have fallen short.
MORALES: We have nothing positive to show to our taxpayers for the amount of money that we've invested.
FLORES: If you take a look behind me, you'll see an open field with no migrants. And you might think that there is no border crisis. Well, here's the thing. The US federal government has gotten really good at something called decompression because they've had a lot of practice. That's when migrants that are in an area that is overcapacity are transported to an area that has processing space.
Now when it comes to the talks in Mexico City, one of the things that they'll be looking for as a possible clue for the outcome of those talks, is the posture of law enforcement on the Mexican side of the border. Rosa Flores, CNN, Eagle Pass, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE I spoke with Raul Reyes, an attorney and immigration analyst and CNN opinion writer. He described the incredible dysfunction from lawmakers and officials preventing any meaningful change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAUL REYES, CNN OPINION WRITER: Let me just give you some quick numbers to give people an idea of like the -- what we're looking at in the broader context. We're seeing at the southern border in November 190,000 unauthorized, you know, apprehensions there by CBP, sometimes 10,000 a day. And here in the US, we have 3 million pending immigration cases. That's more than the entire population of Chicago.
So the system is broken on both sides. We need, you know, we need big permanent action which should only come from Congress. And what we see unfortunately is Congress keeps abdicating its responsibility. And right now, for example, we're going Secretary of State Blinken is down in Mexico trying to negotiate with Mexico. [01:25:04]
But even if they came up with some type of agreement, that would be a tough sell with Republicans and centrist Democrats in Congress. So unfortunately, this situation continues. And meanwhile, remember, for many of these people, they are exercising what is a basic human right, the right to seek asylum, to seek humanitarian relief in this country that's provided for under US law. They are guaranteed that right.
And at the same so -- as even as the US offers that in theory, practically and logistically, the US continually tries to keep people seeking such relief out. And so here we are, we seem to be stuck and with an election coming, unfortunately, I mean, sad to say, it's hard to be optimistic that we will see a breakthrough from the status quo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Argentina's new libertarian president and his economic (inaudible) now with Congress. Lawmakers considering his request to scrape more than 300 government regulations, which he says are anti- business. But for a country used to high levels of government regulation, the move by Javier Milei has sparked protests and outrage. Changes make it easier for public companies to privatize. They scrapped protection for businesses, for consumers, for renters and students. And many especially union workers are far from happy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLORES: Those protesting in Buenos Aires called the US government's plans undemocratic. Police and protesters clashed on some parts on Wednesday.
Still to come, a Red Cross coordinator inside Gaza tells us about the latest aid efforts and what he sees as humanitarian crisis groups more dire by the day. Also, Donald Trump want to be dictator. While his craziest comment from the campaign trail maybe helping him more than hurting him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom.
Just one day after Israel's military chief said forces are concentrating efforts in southern and central Gaza, reports of deadly strikes in the city of Khan Younis. The Palestine Red Crescent Society says dozens were killed for the IDF shelling near a hospital Wednesday. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry saying Wednesday, nearly 200 people were killed over 24 hours pushing the death row past 21,000. CNN, though, unable to independently confirm those numbers.
Meantime, an Egyptian official says another 92 truck with aid and commercial goods entered Gaza through the Rafah Crossing. That so far below that daily average Gaza received before October 7th.
Last hour, I spoke with the Red Cross coordinator in southern Gaza. I asked her with Israeli ground forces moving into central Gaza in particular in refugee camps.
[01:30:00]
What are his concerns over civilian casualties and the treatment will be available for those who were wounded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN RYAN, INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (via telephone): Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of Palestinian families are continuing to suffer from dire conditions, and being put in a position that they have to flee some ongoing fighting, anywhere that they can find that they're safe.
Certainly, the International Committee of the Red Cross is doing it fast to make sure that services are provided, but with the level of humanitarian assistance that has entered Gaza, and the level of humanitarian need they got between those two things is huge.
While we welcome any increase in aid from entering Gaza, for weeks, if not months, the amount of humanitarian assistance that have reached people here in Gaza have fallen woefully and short of their need. In terms of what I'm expecting from -- possible or what -- how big possible for people who were affected by this invasion, they have said that here in Gaza, it's been almost decimated.
On top of that, the amount of food supplies, the amount of medical supplies for hospitals is extremely limited. And doctors and nurses and other medical staff have told me that they -- after weeks and weeks of fighting, they are extremely tired and they had to put some here -- they're hanging on by a thread.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: As the deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas intensifies, so too does a matter in crisis, CNN has a list of vetted organizations on the ground responding to this crisis. For details on how you can help, a special section of our website, cnn.com/impact.
Now to the race for the White House. The Michigan Supreme Court has rejected a bid to remove Donald Trump's name from the state's primary ballot. But he could still be kept off for general election ballot. Trump is facing 14th Amendment charges in seven states by groups arguing he should be disqualified because he engaged in insurrection.
Trump's ballot ban in Colorado is now on hold indefinitely after an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But the challenge did not come from Trump's legal team. CNN's Paula Reid has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The Republican Party of Colorado has filed an appeal asking the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn that unprecedented decision from the Colorado Supreme Court last week and remove former President Trump from the ballot. Now Trump has signaled he too will appeal in that ruling that, but he
hasn't done so yet. But the GOP has been a party in this litigation. They are fighting for the ability to list Trump as a candidate and on the primary ballot.
And one of the immediate impacts of this appeal is that the Colorado decision is now on pause. And until a Supreme Court reveals whether it wants to get involved. They're under enormous pressure to take up this case and to offer some clarity on exactly who the 14th Amendment applies to, and the extent that states have power to remove candidates from the ballots.
It's unclear if the Supreme Court will take this up or how long it will take them to decide. But because of this appeal, that Colorado decision now on hold. Now, one of the places where this question of whether Trump will be on the ballot is still outstanding, is the state of Maine.
Now, what's interesting about Maine is there, the Secretary of State is actually the first one to review ballot eligibility, and then it can go to the courts to be appealed. And Trump and his team calling for the Secretary of State to be recused -- to recuse herself from this case.
They are arguing that things that she said about January 6th should make her ineligible to review this case. And she is expected to make her decision on this any day now, she did not respond to our request for comment, though it does appear unlikely that she would recuse herself.
Now, the special counsel Jack Smith also hard at work just days after the holiday, he has filed a request with the court to limit Trump's ability to argue that he is the victim of political persecution if and when the January 6th federal case goes to trial.
Now, that whole case is on hold right now while larger, constitutional questions are appealed. But the special counsel hopes to be able to take that case to trial before the 2024 election. In order to make that happen, he continues to make filings and requests of the courts so that once those appeals are resolved, if he prevails, he can move ahead with trial as quickly as possible. Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: American poet Maya Angelou said when someone tells you who they are, believe them. And that brings us to recent statements in social media postings by Donald Trump and his White House campaign for a second term.
[01:35:00]
So that in mind, Trump shared a word cloud from the "Daily Mail" which feature the words, power, revenge and dictatorships. Those words are most associated when people ask about a second Trump term. For more now, we're joined by Jason Stanley; Professor of Philosophy at Yale and author of the book, "How Fascism Works". Professor, thanks for being with us.
JASON STANLEY, PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY, YALE UNIVERSITY: Thank you very much for having me on.
VAUSE: OK, so, looking just at the politics here, Donald Trump is way ahead in the polls for the Republican primary, he could play it safe, he could steer clear or creating controversies like this one on "Fox News". Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He says you're not going to be a dictator, are you? I said no, other than day one. We're closing the border and we're drilling. After that I'm not a dictator --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So at this point in time in U.S. history, is running for president on a campaign promise of being a dictator, is that working at least for Trump?
STANLEY: It is. I mean, I think what we have here is a kind of authenticity. Trump is a very authentic politician, he's in certain respects the most honest politician of my lifetime, he always tells you what he is going to do, and then he does it. So, he plans to be a dictator, he's telling you he's going to be a dictator and enhance his popularity.
He actually follows through on what he says he is going to do. So, for instance, he said there was going to be a Muslim ban, he passed a Muslim ban. He said he was going to build a wall, he built to -- he started to build the wall. He targeted immigrants with Homeland Security, extremely harshly.
He had a coup -- he told you he was staying in power, and he tried to stay in power. So, his authenticity is his brand, he's telling you -- he's telling the American people what he's going to do, and people like genuine, authenticity.
VAUSE: So with that in mind, a group of anti-Trump Republicans have released a campaign commercial which I guess in theory attacks Donald Trump. Here is part of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This isn't hyperbole.
LIZ CHENEY, FORMER UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE: A vote for Donald Trump may mean the last election that you ever get to vote in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an exaggeration.
MARK ESPER, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: He's a threat to democracy. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Donald J. Trump, he was the 45th
president of the United States. He calls an insurrection at the Capitol, and sorry to ruin your Christmas, but he is running again. This guy is openly running as a wannabe dictator. Trump said he would terminate the constitution so he could be president again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I'm just wondering, is that attack ad actually more in Trump's advantage? Isn't that the kind of stuff his supporters like to hear?
STANLEY: Well, he is making it an advantage. So, there was a long -- there's a Biden administration tactic against Trump to rightly declare him a danger to democracy, an existential threat to American democracy. And what's happening is Trump is trying to essentially claim that charge. He's simultaneously accusing Biden of course, of threatening democracy.
But he is now trying to neutralize the charge of being anti-democratic by owning it. And so, that will have the results of tarnishing democratic ideals and democratic vocabulary in his supporters' minds. And that's very dangerous because throughout the history of the United States are democratic rhetoric.
The fact that America is tied to the rhetoric of democracy has been used as a tool against racial injustice, against Jim Crow, against the confederacy, against slavery. So, the fact that America is tied to the rhetoric of democracy has been a weapon to shore up our democracy.
Donald Trump is going after that weapon. Donald Trump wants to neutralize those weapons -- that weapon, so you can be an American without democracy.
VAUSE: Well, you know, comparisons with Hitler can often be seen as hyperbolic. But just to be in pure terms as a lesson from history, you know, by 1933, Adolf Hitler was a well-known figure with widespread support. He did not seize power in Germany, but rather a series of political and economic crises helped him rise to power legally.
You know, Hitler had widespread but not majority support in Germany. So, is it a valid, you know, comparison right now of how Hitler rose to power with, you know, the sort of calm political situation right now in the United States.
STANLEY: Revenge was natural, it wasn't a peripheral theme of Nazi propaganda. This is central theme of Nazi propaganda. Now, Trump has deliberately replicated that strategy to run a campaign on revenge. We know from history that revenge is very powerful. In Trump's case, he is running it on this -- also on a lie, that the lie being that the election was stolen again by internal enemies.
[01:40:00]
The difference between Trump and Hitler rhetorically and in terms of their actions, is that -- is that Trump is not targeting Jewish people explicitly. He is targeting his political enemies whom he labels as socialists and Marxists.
But this too is reminiscent of the Nazi party who targeted democracies' advocates as socialists and Marxists. In other respects, Donald Trump's targets aren't the targets of fascist parties in history and worldwide. Immigrants, "Mein Kampf" is all about this idea that the internal enemies of the nation in his mind, Jewish people and communists, he didn't really separate those two groups where bringing immigrants in to poison the nation.
That was really Hitler's central complaints, that, and the revenge narrative for World War I. And we're seeing exactly those complaints being marshaled by Donald J. Trump.
VAUSE: Professor Stanley, thank you very much, sir, for your time, very much appreciate it.
STANLEY: Thank you.
VAUSE: Apple watches will be back on sale in the U.S. in the coming hours after they were pulled from stores over L.A.'s patent violations. Earlier this week, regulators placed an import ban on the Series 9 and Ultra 2, but a U.S. Federal Appeals Court has now blocked that ban, at least temporarily. Apple was expected to redesign the watches by January 12th.
A media battle has broken out between "New York Times" and the firms behind ChatGPT. Chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to produce marginally crafted, but a whole inaccurate taste in access to questions just like me. The "Times" announced yesterday that it's suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement.
The newspaper says the tech giants used millions of "Times" articles to train ChatGPT and other A.I. models without compensation. Other media firms including the "Associated Press" and German publisher "Axel Springer" have reached licensing deals with OpenAI for use of their data.
But the "New York Times" has not actually made a deal so far. This is the first actual lawsuit of its kind by a major news publisher will be closely watched by media and tech industries. Microsoft has not commented on the suit, but OpenAI says it hopes to find a way to work together.
The company said in the past that news articles can be accessed under the law allowing fake(ph) use of copyright material. Well, the mayor of New York City says protests over the Israel-Hamas war might add to concerns through this year's new year's eve celebrations.
Mayor Eric Adams says he's sure protesters will try and use the famous celebration at Times Square for their own purposes, adding that there are already an attempt to disrupt the lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. The mayor says the city will use the latest technology to secure the event on Sunday night.
Earlier this year, police used high tech drones to monitor complaints about large gatherings, which some civil beat advocates denounced. A quick programming note, join us here on new year's eve for live coverage around the clock including me for live update of the hour throughout the region.
You have the special coverage begins just before midnight in Sydney, midday in London, morning and in New York and carries on throughout the day and the night, howbeit, 12 O'clock, 7:00 p.m. When we come back, "CALL TO EARTH" guests here this hour, takes us to a remote atoll island where he is helping the local community revitalize its coral reef.
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[01:45:00]
VAUSE: All this week, "CALL TO EARTH" is turning the spotlight on French Polynesia and Coral Gardeners; an organization working to restore coral reef ecosystems as part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative. Today, Titouan Bernicot takes us to a small island in the middle of a South Pacific Ocean where they're helping to empower the local community and train the next generation of underwater gardeners.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, this is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is dyno(ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Titouan and his childhood friend Tayano(ph) are headed to the remote ring-shaped atoll of Ahe. Part of the Tuamotu Archipelago, the largest group of coral islands in the world, is just over an hour flight from Tahiti, but it feels world's away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is maybe the place I love the most on earth, all the corals and the visibility is insane, this place is magical.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their host, Tabahar(ph) is a coral gardener in training himself.
UNIDNTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the Tuamotu phase(ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One year ago, Titouan brought a crew here to help the local community build the island's first coral nurseries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TITOUAN BERNICOT, FOUNDER & CEO, CORAL GARDENERS: They saw the corals, the reef and the fish changing overtime, and the lagoon becoming less and less healthy and they were scared. And so, they asked for help, they wanted to do something that they didn't really know where to start.
So it's 5:00 a.m. in the morning, hard to believe because it's already bright and we are starting our day. There's no time off when you're a gardener.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The duo are playing the part of clean-up crew this morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are roads from abandoned Pell farms that have washed ashore which can be up-cycled for use in coral nurseries. They also need to finish removing metal sheets from a nearby reef which can block sunlight and slowly kill the coral underneath.
BERNICOT: And that's a process I love. You know, you repair a bit what the consumer did and you try to give it a new life to that little part of the reef, and to see the reserves and to come back a year later, and to see that the corals are grown up. It's a good feeling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Across the lagoon on the south-end of the atoll, the community is gathering at the village meeting room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
BERNICOT: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) and with Tabaha(ph) and Tayano(ph), we were able to talk a little bit more about the work we do every day, and why is it so important to help save the coral ecosystem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Following a friendly competition along the village shoreline --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The winners of the Tuamotu Workshop 2023 are --
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They loaded up the boat to go check on the nurseries that were created one year ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, we dive in with the island kids, we went straight to the coral nursery and bam! Voila! So you see that after a year, we show the nursery side accordingly, and that because they were striving. For me, saving the planet, conservation needs to be firm. Needs to be hands on. That's how you revolutionize conservation here. It's to make it accessible and that's how you start a movement.
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VAUSE: Be sure to watch the special half hour program, "CALL TO EARTH: REVIVING THE REEF" is this Saturday only here on CNN, and we'll be right back.
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[01:50:00]
VAUSE: The man they call the founding father of the euro has died at 98. Jacques Delors was president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995, a major proponent of the EU single currency. The current President Ursula von der Leyen called the late Jacques a visionary who made our Europe stronger.
His life's work is a united, dynamic and prosperous European Union. She went on to say entire generations of Europeans including mine. Meantime, French President Emmanuel Macron called Delors a statesman with a French destiny, inexhaustible architect of our Europe and a fighter for human justice.
His commitment, his ideals is righteousness, will always inspire us. Gaston Glock, inventor of the gun bearing his name died on Wednesday. Glock was an engineer in Austria, he founded the firearms company in 1963. The Glock's semi-automatic was introduced to the U.S. in the 19 80s, and is now used by more than 60 percent of all law enforcement agencies. Gaston Glock was 94.
Severe weather in eastern Australia has left at least ten people dead. Torrential rain, large hail and strong winds blew up roofs, knocked down trees and power lines on Christmas Day and onto Tuesday. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses have reportedly been left without power.
Authorities are warning fast-rising rivers and streams could overflow, flooding camp-grounds which are often crowded at this time of year. Unconfirmed reports of a possible tornado just outside Manchester, England. There are reports of damage and the area remains under severe storm threat until early Thursday.
And the possibility of an isolated tornado is still there. More than 200 wind reports across the British Isles on Wednesday, a yellow warning for high winds remain across parts of the U.K. on Thursday. The system has caused widespread flooding, heavy downpours are expected to continue in some parts, especially further wrap.
Cuban scientists are carrying out what they say is the largest oceanographic survey in the country's history, researching the effects of climate change and pollution on wildlife. And they hope the answers they find will give them a roadmap to achieving a more sustainable future. CNN's Patrick Oppmann is our man in Havana.
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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Porpoises swim off the coast of Cuba, the waters here may seem pristine. But like seemingly everywhere else, this Caribbean island nation is grappling with the threats from a rapidly-changing climate.
Now in the first research expedition of its kind, 24 Cuban scientists and crew circumnavigated the entire island to carry out what they say is the most comprehensive study ever done on climate change and the impact it's had on Cuba. Researchers die from coral reef to coral reefs, and say what they have found is even more dire than they expected.
"We have seen a bleaching of corals which is something that is worrying and that is massive", she says. The majority of coral is bleached, and this is because of the high temperatures. The scientists say it's not too late to reverse the damage, but that we have to dramatically reduce human-caused pollution that is heating oceans to record levels, killing off coral reefs and filling the seas with microplastics.
With this study, the scientists say they will be able to measure much more accurately how much harm is being inflicted on Cuba's unique natural environments. "We're going to have a baseline", she says, "we hope to identify the spots along the coast where the pollution is, and how concentrated it is."
For two months, the scientists carried out dozens of dives, taking hundreds of samples from the bottom of the ocean. Scientists are barely out of wetsuits before running tests in their makeshift laboratory. They hope what they learn can change how resources on this island are used.
[01:55:00]
(on camera): Scientists say they're making the case to government officials here that the country needs to transition from commercial fishing and have a greater focus on marine tourism. As they say, a shark can lay the cordon in one time whereas that same shark can be joined by tourists on a dive, excursion, again and again.
Something that's only better for this country's environment, but also its economy. The change will not come easy, but for Cubans who depend on mangroves to protect them from hurricanes and beaches to attract tourists, experts say there is no other choice.
"It's not a luxury, it's a necessity", he says. "Even with so many difficulties, we can't stop learning about coral reefs. To protect the beaches, to protect us from extreme weather. They give us sand and fish and the things we eat." The scientists traveled more than 1,800 nautical miles to better understand the incredible, natural world of Cuba's shores that is increasingly at risk. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Cienfuegos, Cuba.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Before we go, hometown of superstar Shakira is honoring the singer with her own bronze statue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHAKIRA SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In Barranquilla, Colombia, they have immortalized the singer in a belly-dancing pose from her video, "hips don't lie". The 6.5 meter tall statue was unveiled by the city's mayor, Yaris(ph) says he went to see a local children's concert years ago, and wanted to quote, "show millions of girls that they could pursue their dreams and any of them can achieve what they want", including a city -- digital bronze statue.
Thank you for watching, I'm John Vause, please stay with us, CNN Newsroom continues with Eleni Giokos after commercial break.
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