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CNN International: Texas Official: Unethical Situation at U.S.- Mexico Border; Biden Seeks Mexico's Help to Stem Influx of Migrants; Michigan Supreme Court Keeps Trump on Primary Ballot; Israeli Military Chief: War Will Go on for Many Months; U.S. Announces $250 Million for Ukraine, But Future Aid in Limbo. Aired 4:00-4:30a ET

Aired December 28, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo, live from London. Max Foster has the day off. Just ahead for you on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell that tempers are flaring everywhere you go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot allow buses with people needing our help to arrive without warning at any hour of day and night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Republican Party of Colorado has filed an appeal. One of the immediate impacts is that the Colorado decision is now on pause until the Supreme Court reveals whether it wants to get involved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Explosion after explosion. The IDF targeting tunnels used by Hamas fighters. The Israeli offensive in Gaza showing no signs of easing up. Israel's goal to root out Hamas leaders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

NOBILO: It's Thursday, December 28th, 9 a.m. here in London, 3 a.m. in Mexico City, where Mexican and U.S. officials appear to have reached agreement on ways to deal with the migrant crisis on their shared border. The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security says he and other top officials from the Biden administration had a very productive meeting with Mexico's president and his cabinet on Wednesday.

Mexico's top diplomat echoed the sentiment, saying the meeting was very good and details on agreements will be announced later in a joint statement. Senior U.S. officials say Mexico shared plans to crack down on migrant smugglers which are contributing to the crisis. The talks come as both U.S. and Mexican governments are under pressure to address an influx of migrants in recent weeks. Local leaders from border communities in Texas say the Biden administration needs to step up and provide solutions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROLANDO SALINAS, EAGLE PASS, TEXAS MAYOR: This is unacceptable. Our city here in Eagle Pass, we've been getting slammed with 2,000 to 3,000 people a day and it's just an unfair, unethical situation.

What's going on here in Eagle Pass, we feel ignored by the federal government. I've called to the government that we need action. There needs to be a consequence to so many people crossing illegally. If somebody breaks the law, there needs to be a consequence and right now there are no consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: U.S. President Joe Biden is looking for solutions for the migrant crisis as it appears destined to be a central issue for voters in next year's presidential election. CNN's Kevin Liptak is traveling with the president and has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Biden dispatched a high-level delegation of cabinet officials to Mexico to speak with the Mexican president, Lopez Obrador, about this crush of migrants at the U.S. southern border and I think that does tell you the urgency with which administration officials are seeking solutions to this problem. Certainly, they believe that more can and needs to be done on the diplomatic front to stem the flow of migrants at the U.S. southern border. Ultimately, this is an issue that has dogged President Biden for nearly his entire presidency and he is under pressure from both sides on this issue.

On one hand, you have Republicans and even some Democrats, mayors and governors, who want him to do more to curb the flow of migrants at the U.S. southern border who end up in blue cities like Chicago and New York.

On the other side, you have progressives and some immigration advocates who worry that some of the changes being talked about on Capitol Hill right now, things like tightening rules on asylum, making it easier for deportations, could amount to some of those most restrictive policies that were in place under former President Trump.

Now, Biden's aides do believe that once this election gets going, voters will be able to distinguish between the two candidates and certainly they paint President Trump's policies as inhumane and you saw them seize very quickly on that comment from the former president that immigrants were poisoning the blood of the nation, saying that it amounted to rhetoric from Nazi-era Germany.

At the end of the day, this is one of the most intractable problems for any American president. All sides seem to agree that the system is broken and that the only way to fix it is through changing rules in Congress.

Traveling with the president in St. Croix, I'm Kevin Liptack, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:05:00]

NOBILO: As you heard Kevin mention there, some Republican officials have been sending migrants to Democratic-controlled cities like New York. Now, the mayor of New York is pushing back. Eric Adams signed an executive order on Wednesday requiring all buses carrying asylum seekers to give them advance notice as well as passenger information.

The new measure comes on the heels of what the Mayor's office said was the highest one-day total of new arrivals in months, with some buses dropping migrants off at random locations throughout the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK MAYOR: I'm announcing an executive order requiring charter buses transporting migrants, those often contracted by the state of Texas, to provide 32-hour notice in advance of their arrival into New York City.

We cannot allow buses with people needing our help to arrive without warning at any hour of day and night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: 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 the general election ballot. A voters advocacy group filed a lawsuit in September.

They argue Trump should be disqualified because he violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution by engaging in an insurrection. The Michigan courts didn't address that issue but rejected the lawsuit on procedural grounds.

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 the details.

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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: 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. It removed former President Trump from the ballot.

Now Trump has signaled he too will appeal that ruling, 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 on the primary ballot. And one of the immediate impacts of this appeal is that the Colorado decision is now on pause until the Supreme Court reveals whether it wants to get involved. They are 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 ballot.

So 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 -- him 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. She's 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.

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 court 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)

NOBILO: A warning from Israel's foreign ministry as tensions along the country's northern border with Lebanon intensify. The ministry says failure to implement U.N. Resolution 1701 could lead to war in Lebanon. That resolution called for the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah following the 2006 Lebanon war and the withdrawal of troops from a demilitarized zone.

That warning coming after the Israeli foreign minister visited the border, and as new shelling is reported. On Wednesday Hezbollah claimed it targeted an Israeli border city with 30 Katyusha rockets. The attack, Hezbollah says, was in response to earlier IDF airstrikes on a Lebanese village.

And just one day after Israel's military chief said forces are concentrating their efforts in southern and central Gaza, reports of deadly strikes in the city of Khan Younis. [04:10:00]

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said dozens of people have been killed after IDF shelling near a hospital on Wednesday.

An Israeli official also tells CNN that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to return to Israel next week and will make other stops in the Middle East to discuss the next steps in the Israel-Hamas war. The U.S. State Department though has yet to confirm Blinken's visit.

Our Nada Bashir has been closely following all of this. Nada, what has the Israeli military said it will do if the Hezbollah attacks on the northern border of Israel continue?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, Bianca, we've been hearing consistent and repeated warnings now both from the Israeli military and Israeli government officials with regards to the escalation in hostilities between the Israeli military and Hezbollah. As you mentioned, we have seen that exchange of shelling from Hezbollah on Wednesday.

The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out an airstrike along the border region in southern Lebanon saying that they had targeted a Hezbollah site. Their Lebanese national media then later confirming that three people had been killed in that strike. Hezbollah later confirming that at least one of those killed was a Hezbollah fighter.

And there is mounting concern that this could trigger another escalation in tensions between both Israel and Lebanon. We've heard from the Israeli foreign ministry's warning about this potential escalation saying that they are looking at two possible options here, a political solution to that escalation or a military solution. And that would see the Israeli military seeking to remove Hezbollah from the border region entirely.

And we have also heard from a war cabinet member, Benny Gantz, who issued his own warning yesterday. Take a listen to his statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI MINISTER (through translator): 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)

BASHIR: Now, Gantz also spoke about the situation inside the Gaza Strip. He said he believes the Israeli military needs to intensify its war effort and continue to expand into other areas.

We've also been hearing from Israel's chief of general staff who has warned that the war is set to continue for many more months, according to the Israeli military, as they begin to focus or refocus their efforts on southern Gaza. And that has, of course, peaked concern and sounded alarm bells, given the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of civilians now taking shelter in southern Gaza.

NOBILO: Nada, how does this fit into the broader chances of a regional spillover? We've seen an escalation in attacks, for example, in the Red Sea and Iraq.

BASHIR: There is mounting concern that as we continue to see the humanitarian situation deteriorating inside Gaza, as we continue to see that civilian death toll mounting, this could trigger an escalation across the region. We have been hearing vocal condemnation from regional leaders, and the fear is that that could turn, of course, into an escalation in military hostilities.

And, in fact, we have seen the warning signs already, as you mentioned, tensions along the Red Sea and escalation of hostilities with Houthis in Yemen. We have now seen over the last few weeks an escalation in attacks targeting U.S. positions in both Syria and Iraq. And we have heard that vocal condemnation from the Biden administration, warning about Iran-backed proxies across the region who may, of course, carry out attacks in response to the situation we are seeing in the Gaza Strip.

Now, of course, that is a huge point of concern as well for regional leaders. We saw just yesterday King of Jordan Abdullah and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt meeting yesterday. They spoke about the potential of this to spill over into a regional conflict, warning that this could be an eventuality if enough effort isn't put into the diplomatic solutions that they are seeking.

We have been hearing repeated calls for, of course, a humanitarian ceasefire. That continues to be the call for many regional leaders.

NOBILO: Nada Bashir, thank you.

The French president is urging Israel to protect civilians in Gaza and ensure life-saving aid is delivered. According to Emmanuel Macron's office, he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed the deepest concern over the civilian death toll and humanitarian emergency. President Macron also stressed the need to work toward a lasting ceasefire with the help of regional and international partners.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian official says another 92 trucks with aid and commercial goods entered Gaza Wednesday through the Rafah crossing. That is still far below the daily amounts that Gaza received before October 7.

And if you'd like information on how to help with humanitarian relief efforts for Israel and Gaza, please go to cnn.com/impact.

[04:15:00]

And there you'll find a list of vetted organizations that are providing assistance on the ground. That is at cnn.com/impact. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered ramped up war preparations in response to unspecified confrontational moves by the United States. CNN's Oren Liebermann explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 test.

So you can see here Kim Jong-un seeing the U.S. working with South Korea and Japan. He is pushing his country even harder as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Oren Liebermann reporting from the Pentagon there.

Just last week, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington activated a system that assesses and shares real-time data on North Korean missile launches.

Now, still to come, Ukraine gets a mixed bag of news about U.S. military aid. One round is coming, but the timing of the next is still unclear. So we'll go live to Kyiv for details on that.

Plus, Nikki Haley is facing questions about what she said or didn't say about the civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the cause of the United States Civil War?

NIKKI HALEY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, don't come with an easy question, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: And later, a one-time Super Bowl champ benched by the Broncos, Russell Wilson reacts to his demotion in Denver.

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Welcome back. A new batch of U.S. military aid will soon be headed for Ukraine, but long-term support for its war effort remains in limbo. On Wednesday, Washington approved a quarter billion dollars in new aid, including ammunition for air defense, artillery and the so-called HIMARS rocket systems. But the White House has made it clear that that's the end of the line for Ukraine, until Congress approves more aid.

Republicans in Congress are blocking a bill including more than $60 billion in aid, demanding more concessions on immigration and border security in return. Negotiations over the bill have been stalled for weeks, but they are expected to resume next month.

We now want to show you a before and after image of a Ukrainian strike in occupied Crimea. Ukraine claims it destroyed a Russian navy tank landing ship on Tuesday, adding that only time will tell how many Russians were killed. But Russia says one person is dead and four others wounded. Moscow is trying to downplay the incident saying the military vessel was only damaged.

But if Ukraine's claim is true, the ship would be the third major piece of military hardware that Russia has lost in less than a week.

CNN's Helena Lins joins me now live from Kyiv. Helena, how are people in Ukraine reacting to the latest U.S. aid package, knowing that another one is not sure to come? And how does that factor into morale overall, looking ahead to next year, where this conflict will reach its third year?

HELENA LINS, CNN PORTUGAL INTERNATIONAL REPORTER: Hello, Bianca.

People understand, people, Ukrainians understand that, you know, the West is tired of this war, but they always say, we are also tired, we didn't choose to live in war. So they understand this decrease on aid for Ukraine, but at the same time, they keep asking for aid, not only Ukrainians on the streets, but also the government, because, you know, they say that's the only way of keep fighting, not only for Ukraine. They keep highlighting they are not fighting only for Ukraine, but they are fighting for Europe as well and for democracy and for the Western democracies. So this, of course, knowing that this can be the last U.S. aid for a while, it's a concern for Ukrainians.

There's been, you know, the shelling continue in the east of the country, there is artillery fighting, drones, and some military sources saying that, you know, the situation is difficult, so equipment gets worn out, destroyed, burned. So people say, yes, it sounds that we keep asking for more and more and more, but, you know, if things get worn out and if they get destroyed, we do need more.

And also yesterday, the economy minister on an interview for Financial Times was saying, you know, if we don't keep receiving more support from the U.S., but also from the European Union, we might have to prioritize money for the defense and that means delaying probably payments for salaries and pensions. So this is a big topic here in Ukraine. And I would say that from Ukrainian citizens on the streets to the government, this is one of the big concerns right now regarding the future of the country and this war that, you know, it's, as you were saying, it's almost two years, it will enter the third year of the war in Ukraine.

NOBILO: Helena Lins, thank you so much.

The New York Times says OpenAI copied millions of its articles to train ChatGPT.

Now the newspaper is suing. That story, still ahead.

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Bianca Nobile. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.

Israel's foreign minister issues a warning to Hezbollah that, quote, time for diplomacy is running out. This comes as tensions rise on Israel's northern border with Lebanon.

Senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, say they've held a very productive meeting with their Mexican counterparts over the growing crisis at the U.S. southern border. Details of the meeting have not been released yet.

The talks come as both governments are under pressure to address an influx of migrants in recent weeks, as CNN's Rosa Flores reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As border authorities near a breaking point from the week's long migrant surge, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mallorca 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 Mallorca 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.

[04:30:00]