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CNN INTERNATIONAL: Israel Orders People In Parts Of Central Gaza To Evacuate; Desperate Civilians In Northern Gaza Swarm Relief Convoy For Food; US: More Than 7,000 Migrants Apprehended At The Border Wednesday; US & Mexico Hold "Productive" Talks And Migrant Surge; Nikki Haley Backtracks After Failing To Say Slavery Was A Cause Of The US Civil War; Nikki Haley Backtracks On Civil War Comments; Call To Earth: Coral Gardeners; Iceland Celebrates The "Christmas Book Flood;" Dash To The Bell. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired December 28, 2023 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:27]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: In a rare admission, Israel's military admits it caused unintended harm to civilians in a Christmas Eve airstrike.
The backlash against Nikki Haley after the Republican presidential candidate answers a question about the US Civil War without mentioning slavery.
And if you cherish a good holiday read, Iceland -- yes, Iceland might just be the place for you.
Live from CNN center, it is Thursday, December 28th. I'm Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest, and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
And good evening to all. Tonight, Israel is ordering people in parts of central Gaza to evacuate. As you can see, central Gaza is one of the few areas that the IDF ground forces have so far avoided.
Israel is pressing ahead with its air attacks, meantime. This is the aftermath of a strike on Deir al-Balah. The Hamas-run health ministry says the IDF also hit the southern town of Rafah today.
Now, this comes after a rare concession from the IDF. It acknowledged that airstrikes Sunday caused unintended harm to civilians. The Hamas- run ministry says about 70 people -- 70 -- were killed at the Al- Maghazi refugee camp. That was on Christmas Eve.
Now, I also want to bring you some video we are just getting in here to CNN. It was recorded earlier. It is -- you see it there -- of civilians swarming a relief convoy for food. You can see hundreds of people gathered, underscoring a desperate humanitarian situation.
Elliott Gotkine is following all of these developments for us. And you know, Elliott, it is so disturbing to see that video. Just imagine the desperation that people there are going through, and now to be told that they must move from central Gaza to where? Northern Gaza is off limits. Southern Gaza, even though hundreds of thousands have moved there, it is also not safe to be there, given the airstrikes. How is this playing out on the ground? And what more is the IDF saying?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Well, Paula, just in terms of what's happening in central Gaza, the IDF did put out a warning today telling people to move to other parts of central Gaza to Deir al-Balah.
Now, the problem is that, first of all, there's the issue of maybe not everyone is getting the message. The other issue is, of course, that many of these people have already been displaced at least once. And we keep hearing this again and again from Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that they feel that nowhere is safe in Gaza.
The other issue, those who are heeding those warnings or trying to move out of harm's way to move to the areas that are at least relatively safe or they are told are relatively safe, once they get there, we're understanding that they're finding that there isn't always room for them to be there. So, they may just end up going back to where they came from.
Now, those images we just saw, those striking images of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of desperate Palestinians swarming around those two aid trucks, these are the first aid trucks to get to northern Gaza since the breakdown of the truce between Israel and Hamas on December the 1st. They were carrying flour and water.
We understand that such was the desperation on -- of some of these people that there were fights that broke out between people to get to the front of the queue, to try to get a hold of at least some flour and oil to try to help them. We already know from the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization, the FAO, that pretty much the entire population of the Gaza Strip is facing, in its words, "acute hunger." And I suppose nothing says acute hunger like those scenes we are seeing in this CNN video with those thousands of people swarming just those two aid trucks getting in into that UNRWA facility in al-Zeitoun in northern Gaza.
I should also say that there was less aid that went into the Gaza Strip today, at least according to COGAT, which is the Israeli body that administers the occupied west West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It says because of logistical issues on the other side of the Kerem Shalom border. So, that's something that's also reducing the flow of desperately needed aid into the Gaza Strip -- Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, and the UN has been warning about this, and we see it there in front of our eyes. And it is a normal human reaction. People are desperate for aid, and that is what the UN has been saying for weeks now. And you see the results of it there.
I want to ask you, though, I want to get to something that happened in Israeli politics today. We should say that the judicial issue -- judicial reform -- Netanyahu's push for that judicial reform was highly controversial in Israel before the Hamas attacks on October 7th. [15:05:05]
And now, a leak from perhaps the judicial court there saying that it might overturn this. What has been the reaction to that? And the reason I ask you is that Israeli public opinion is very material right now to the Netanyahu -- the war cabinet being able to prosecute this war and have the public opinion behind them to prosecute it.
GOTKINE: Paula, it seems like a lifetime ago that the main issue in Israel wasn't this war with Hamas and the Hamas massacre of October the 7th, but it was this government's push to effectively reduce the powers of the Supreme Court with a judicial overhaul. And one of the first parts of this was the government trying to get rid of the so- called "reasonableness law." This would remove the Supreme Court's ability to strike down government decisions that it deemed unreasonable.
Now, the government was hoping that when this went before the Supreme Court that this overturning of this law, effectively, the Supreme Court was being asked whether it was going to allow itself to have its powers reduced by the government on this particular issue. This leak has now come out, which shows that they were leaning as not just complete ruling, but this leak has come out showing that the justices planning to strike down the overturning of this reasonableness law.
Now, it may be someone trying to get this out there to leak this and the Supreme Court itself has taken a very dim view of this leak. But whoever is leaking this may be trying to create pressure on the justices, perhaps to change their mind before they make their final decision. The coalition government, which is very much in favor and which, of course, struck down this law in the Knesset, they do not want to see this striking down of the law overturned by the Supreme Court.
And they are casting this decision, which has not yet been made official. They are casting this preliminary decision or the deliberations by the justices as a way to undermine the unity of Israel.
Now, it's worth noting that Israel probably hasn't been this united in a very long time. The country was completely disunited in the run-up to Hamas's attacks of October the 7th. This was the number one issue. There were tens of thousands of people protesting week in, week out, against this judicial overhaul.
And as I say, it's kind of almost quite striking that we're talking about this again in the middle of this war because it's not been forgotten, but it's just been kind of pushed aside into the past, and it's not taking centerstage. And now it is coming up again. And I suppose that danger, at least as far as Israel is concerned, that this could again begin to sow some of those divisions, which the Hamas attacks of October the 7th have managed to remove -- Paula.
NEWTON: Again, as you said, highly divisive and contentious. So we will wait to hear more there on whether or not that ruling is, indeed, overturned. Elliott Gotkine for us. Thanks so much. Really appreciate that update.
Now, concerns that the war in Gaza could expand into a wider conflict are growing by the day. Top Israeli officials warn that time is running out for diplomacy when it comes to stopping Hezbollah attacks on Israel. But as CNN's Nada Bashir reports, there is no letup in strikes from both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Smoke billowing from the mountains of southern Lebanon, a troubling and now increasingly frequent signal of escalating hostilities. Iran-backed Hezbollah, claiming to have targeted an Israeli border city on Wednesday with 30 rockets. This, in response to Israeli airstrikes on the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil just hours earlier.
There is nothing residents here can do to shield from the growing tensions gripping the embattled border region. Each airstrike bringing with it more fear and more grief. This latest attack, killing at least three, according to state media, but only one said to have been a member of Hezbollah.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This neighborhood, which is in the heart of the city, is supposed to be a safe area. Civilians were sleeping in their homes when suddenly we heard the sound of aircrafts above, and then these houses were destroyed.
BASHIR (voice over): The situation on the border has long been tenuous, underpinned by a UN resolution adopted following the 2006 Lebanon war, calling for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. But Israeli officials are now warning of an escalation, which could open up a new front in the Gaza war.
(BENNY GANTZ speaking in foreign language.)
BENNY GANTZ, ISRAELI WAR CABINET MINISTER (through translator): 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.
BASHIR (voice over): Israel's unrelenting military operation in Gaza and the devastating civilian toll has sparked anger across the region. And while the US continues to call on Israel to move toward what's being described as a low-intensity phase of the war, Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have warned of a long fight ahead, with plans to expand their military operation southwards, already underway.
[15:10:19]
Overnight Thursday, the foreboding red glow of fire illuminated the dark winter sky of Rafah. This, the very place civilians have been told to take shelter, a so-called safe zone and a crucial gateway for aid, once again, targeted by Israeli airstrikes.
In nearby Khan Younis, emergency teams work day and night to tend to the wounded and to recover the dead. Israel says it is targeting Hamas and has issued renewed calls for civilians to evacuate, but there is nowhere left to turn.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): People sheltering in schools do not know where to go. First, we were displaced in (inaudible), then to Rafah. We keep on getting told to move from one place to another.
BASHIR (voice over): For the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza, the vast majority now displaced in the south, there are no guarantees of safety. Surrounded by a war, which has shown them no mercy, and engulfed by a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable scale, leaving little hope for an end to their suffering.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now to the worsening humanitarian crisis on the US border with Mexico. Migrants continue to arrive in northern Mexico in hopes of making it to the United States. That's legally or illegally, basically any way they can.
US says it apprehended more than 7,000 migrants on the border Wednesday alone. That is a slight uptick from earlier in the week.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the head of US Homeland Security met with Mexican officials Wednesday to discuss the crisis and what Mexico can do to help. US officials called the meeting, quote, "productive." They say further talks will be had next -- will be held next month.
Rosa Flores is, again, in Eagle Pass Texas for us on that border. Rosa, the US and Mexico, as you've been following, they put out this joint statement about how that meeting went. What does productive mean? Crucially, can we expect any new border policies in the coming weeks?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't know that we can expect full, new border policies, but what can come out of these talks is a different law enforcement posture on the Mexican side of the border that can have real impact on the number of migrants that cross into the United States illegally. And as some of the keywords that US diplomats have been using is these significant law enforcement actions taken by Mexico. And what that could mean is a different posture on the Mexican side.
So, for example, Mexican National Guard posting indifferent areas along the border where smugglers are notorious to use and where they cross large groups. It could also mean deportations. It could also mean that Mexico has installed new checkpoints in the railway system, which are used by migrants to move quickly north. Now, could that be -- could those measures be the reason why we are seeing a dip in the number of illegal crossings into the United States? Absolutely.
Yesterday, the number of migrant encounters in the United States was about 7,000. Earlier this month, that number was about 10,000. So, that's definitely a drop. How sustainable is it for these law enforcement actions to continue in Mexico? We're going to have to see.
And as you mentioned, Paula, now Mexican officials are expected to visit Washington and for these talks to continue. Mexico's president also saying that -- using the word "agreement," that there's some sort of agreement between the US and Mexico to reopen ports of entry. That's an important note because, as you know, Mexico and the United States, they're important and top trading partners. And it benefits both countries for these ports of entry to be open.
And the US federal government closed several ports of entry, including one here in Eagle Pass, but they closed several in several states, Paula, and that directly impacts the economies of both of these countries. So, we would expect that with -- when diplomats get together and they start talking about solutions, that would be one of the things that they would want to fix -- Paula.
NEWTON: Absolutely, a top priority. Rosa Flores from the border there in Eagle Pass, thank you so much. And we are going to get to the issue there with US communities on the Mexican border who, of course, as Rosa just said, are following these ongoing talks between the two countries very closely, none more so than the town of Douglas, Arizona.
[15:15:13]
Douglas is home to about 16,000 people and its economy, as you can imagine, has been hard hit by the influx of migrants. And that's been going on for months and months.
Billions of dollars' worth of goods past each year through its port of entry. The trade is down now because of this crisis. Officials right across Arizona demanding that places like Douglas get more federal resources to help them cope.
Donald Huish is the mayor of Douglas, Arizona, and he joins us now. And I'm really happy to have you on as we want to hear more about the situation and what the government can possibly do to help.
Now, you said months ago that an emergency needs to be declared. What would you like to see from the Biden administration that would help your town in the here-and-now deal with this migrant search?
DONALD HUISH, MAYOR OF DOUGLAS, ARIZONA: Paula, good afternoon and thank you for discussing this very, very important topic that affects not only us here on the border, but it affects entire United States. We would love to see the ability of the administration to be able to handle this migrant situation in a more orderly fashion. What I mean by that is be able to process them with ability to have them either be sent back to their home country or allow them, if they qualify, to come into United States. We understand in Douglas that that's not where they want to say. They want to move through. But we don't have any transportation out of Douglas.
We have a couple of shuttle vans, and that's the extent of it. So, we've been able to partner with Pima County, the county just north of us in Tucson, to be able to transport those migrant crossers up to a facility in Tucson, where they can be processed and reach their final destinations.
NEWTON: What's it like in your community right now? I mean, what has been the struggle, both for regular residents and for business, given the stoppages at the border?
HUISH: Part of the issue, Paula, is that the mandate from DHS that took customs inspectors off the line and sent them to Border Patrol to help them with processing the migrant situation. That has essentially doubled our crossing times at our border. A normal crossing time at this time of year would be 20, 25 minutes. It's now up to 45 minutes for your normal shopper that would come across the border.
Our sales tax is directly impacted by that. We estimate upwards of 70% of our sales tax comes from our good neighbors to the south in Agua Prieta, Mexico. The truck crossings are down in our particular area and so it's affecting that. But I want to emphasize that the local Customs and Border Protection people are doing all within their power to help our community.
NEWTON: But their resources are stretched. Do you agree with the Democratic governor of Arizona? She has called out the Biden administration for not doing enough. She's also deployed the National Guard. Has that helped? And do you agree -- has that helped and do you agree with that approach?
HUISH: It's an approach that's long overdue. We would love to have the federal government -- the Biden administration -- take care of the situation that I'm not want to -- I don't want to say that they created, but it's a situation that's real.
But I am extremely grateful to Governor Hobbs for leading out on this, along with our Senators Sinema and Kelly. Congressman Grijalva, which represents us, on all the border between Mexico and Arizona. But we're also receiving help from other Congressman Gallego, Ciscomani. They're all in tune and want to make sure that this happens.
And so, we are left with this problem locally to handle. And it's not our problem, but it affects our community.
And what concerns me even more so, Paula, is that because those resources are fine-focused into a small area, that it leaves the border vulnerable in other areas due to lack of staff and funding.
NEWTON: And I do know that you're saying this is a -- it cuts across politics. You have Senator Mark Kelly, as you mentioned, who is a Democrat, but is also calling out the issue at the border.
In terms of looking at solutions, though, Texas -- the state of Texas has been quite aggressive. The governor there, you know, has been busing migrants to northern cities. I want to know if you support that.
And also, I want to note that CNN has new reporting that the Justice Department is going to take the state of Texas to -- well, they're threatening to take them to court over its new law that would give the state -- so the state of Texas -- the opportunity, the right to apprehend migrants and deport them themselves. I guess, I'm just trying to get to hear you out on how radical you think states should get with moving on these issues.
[15:20:05]
HUISH: I think the approach that the federal government needs to come in and solve this issue, I think that's our number one priority, at least in Douglas, is that they need to step up.
I understand the frustration of Texas. I understand the frustration that's growing in our state due to this issue. But it would be solved very quickly if the federal government would enforce the law and have orderly, meaning, line up if you want to come into our country and we'll take you one by one, and process you that way. And I think that would solve the entire issue, but it has to happen as a federal issue.
This going back and forth between states and the federal government, to me, is not solving the underlying issue. Again, I appreciate what Texas is trying to do. I appreciate Governor Hobbs and what she is trying to do to make this a better situation for our citizens.
NEWTON: Well, I'm sure you reflect the very reasonable attitudes of people in your community who deal with this day in and day out. Mayor Huish, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
HUISH: Thank you, Paula.
NEWTON: Next, for us, Nikki Haley is under fire not so much for what she said, but what she didn't say. We'll explain in a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is backtracking after coming under intense criticism for comments about the US Civil War -- yes, the US Civil War. Haley, who's the former governor of South Carolina -- keep in mind -- was asked about what caused the war, and this was at a town hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday. Her answer crucially failed to mention slavery. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIKKI HALEY, US REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, don't come with an easy question, right? I mean, I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn't do. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2023, it's astonishing to me that you would answer that question without mentioning the word "slavery."
HALEY: What do you want me to say about slavery?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've answered my question, thank you.
HALEY: Next question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Next question, okay. To give you some context here, South Carolina was the first state to leave the US after than President Abraham Lincoln's election with his declaration explicitly stating the north's hostility to slavery. Speaking earlier, Haley said that aspect of history should go without saying. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HALEY: Of course, the Civil War was about slavery. We know that, that's unquestioned, always the case. We know the Civil War was about slavery. But it was also more than that. It was about the freedoms of every individual. It was about the role of government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:25:09]
NEWTON: To get more on why Haley's words or lack thereof matter so much, James Grossman is the executive director of the American Historical Association and joins us now from Washington. And yes, let's get started with that history lesson because, apparently, even Nikki Haley needs it. Why is the fact that omitting slavery, why is that so contentious?
JAMES GROSSMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION: Well, it's contentious because for over a century after the Civil War, white people in the southern states basically learned in school, at home, and everywhere that they had fought the Civil War over the honor of the region, over the maintenance of their heritage, and that it wasn't about slavery at all or that slavery was a minor issue. It was referred to as the war between the states.
The -- after reconstruction, they referred to that as redemption -- the redemption of their states from these horrible black people, supposedly, who had been running their states. Of course, it was about slavery, but that had been denied for over a century. And Haley was suggesting she hadn't learned anything since then.
I also think it's very important to hear part of the quote that you didn't play. Haley said, "I think it comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are."
And if you look at the declaration of secession from her own state, South Carolina, they refer to -- that is why they have to secede -- the encroachments upon the reserved rights of the states and that 14 of the states have deliberate refused to fulfill their constitutional obligations. Both of those things refer to slavery. They referred to the right of some people to own other people, and they refer to the obligations of northern states to return fugitive slaves.
NEWTON: And it is absolutely an important distinction, especially when you speak to black communities in the south today. And that is the political lesson of this.
Obviously, it shapes politics. Some have suggested that she, though, deliberately avoided bringing up slavery. I mean, I'm not asking you to weigh in politically, but historically, if she is making that omission, what does it mean?
GROSSMAN: It means either that -- I hate to say this, she's a candidate for president of the United States. She's a very intelligent woman. It means either she is ignorant of history, it means she doesn't know or she is deliberately obfuscating in order to not offend white southerners who still don't want to believe that the Civil War was a war fought, that 700,000 Americans died so that people could defend the right of some people to own, buy, and sell other people.
NEWTON: And there it is right there in a nutshell. And I'm glad that you put it in such a blunt way because that's what many are saying today. She was the former governor of South Carolina. She is responsible for taking down the confederate flag, that very offensive symbol to so many from the state capital after that horrific mass murder. Is it acceptable, do you think, though, still in the south today when you're dealing with primary voters, perhaps, to equivocate on history? And I know you've written about this not just in this context, but in others as well. It's part of the culture war, right?
GROSSMAN: I hate to say that it's part of the culture war, but it does seem to be. And that has to do with what we think of as our heritage, our history. The refusal -- and you could see this on January 6th, 2021 -- the refusal of some Americans to recognize a very simple truth, which was that to take up arms for the confederacy, or to serve in the confederate legislatures, was an act of treason. And it was an act of treason to defend the right.
Look, I will go back to it, the right for some people -- the supposed right of some people to buy and sell and own other human beings. And we have to recognize how much that was built into the first 250 years of what became the United States. And that's a long time that this was part of our system.
NEWTON: And it still bears repeating, obviously, especially in the southern United States today. We will continue to follow this politically.
[15:30:10]
But James Grossman, I really thank you for the history lesson today, because I think we could all use it. Really appreciate it.
Now looking at U.S. markets. All three major averages are set to finish higher, yes, higher. The Dow and S&P 500 could both close at all-time highs. We will discuss the rally after the break.
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NEWTON: Hello, I'm Paula Newton. There is more CNN NEWSROOM in a moment when we continue to watch Wall Street.
Can it hit new records, as the trading year draws to a close?
And we will be in Iceland, where readers are preparing for a long, dark winter with the annual Book Flood. Before that, though, we will get to the headlines this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON (voice-over): Officials in Manchester, England, say storm damage there may have been caused by a small scale tornado. That's not fully confirmed but the region is being hit by a powerful storm named Gerrit. A thunderstorm knocked off roofs and downed trees on Wednesday.
A wind whipped and bumpy landing. Look at that. Just wait for it, there you go. That's at London's Heathrow Airport. The American Airlines passenger jet now over 200 severe wind gusts, over 200 severe wind gusts have been reported across the British Isles as a result of that storm. More nasty weather is expected across Britain this weekend.
Boeing is asking airlines to inspect all 737 MAX jets for a possible loose bolt in the rudder system. It comes after an international airline, which is not being named, found a potential problem with a key part on two of its airplanes.
There are more than 1,300 Max planes currently in service worldwide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: So U.S. markets are moving full steam ahead on the second to last trading day of the year. The S&P 500, just a few points away now from an all-time high. It finished above 4,796 in January 2022. You see it there, inching higher. The Dow closed at a record high yesterday and, yes, that means it is set to do so again today.
[15:35:02]
We are looking at the indices, as I said. Really, on an upswing since the middle of a fall period there and traders pretty happy about what is going on there. Our Matt Egan has been following all of this action for us.
You know, Matt, was it too much to hope for, at this point in time?
We know the Fed is essentially what set all of this in motion. Is it kind of a party or a prelude, you know, for the end of the year
or a prelude of more to come in 2024?
MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: Well, Paula, I think it's pretty amazing that we're talking about record highs for the stock market. I mean, remember, this was supposed to be the year of recession.
So many economists --
(VIDEO GAP)
EGAN: -- really worried about a recession this year and this economy has proven to be so much more resilient than people anticipated. And inflation has cooled. So yes, the Fed is preparing to start cutting rates. And that is a huge reason why markets have rebounded, big time, this year.
NEWTON: I'm interested to hear from you, though, given the fact that we've talked about whether or not there would be a recession. OK, it seems like a soft landing that's going to happen.
Yet there is a lot of hype in old tech right now. A lot of the runoff, certainly in the Nasdaq and even, to some extent, the Dow, has been on that.
Can we look forward to, you know, more of the companies getting into the party here?
Especially when you think about the American consumer.
Is the Energizer bunny out there?
They just keep shopping and spending.
EGAN: Yes, consumer spending is a huge reason why this economy continues to chug along. It's the biggest driver of economic growth. And despite inflation and rising debt levels, people continue to shop. Holiday shopping season was very strong.
And we've seen so much strength from tech. If you look at the Nasdaq, the Nasdaq is up 45 percent so far this year, with one more day of trading to go, 45 percent. I mean, that's the best year since 2003. Pretty incredible.
So are we going to see any kind of gains like that next year?
Probably not. I mean, that's pretty historically great. But I think there's a lot of investor attention in the tech world. Obviously, AI has been a major driver there and these companies are so profitable. And a lot of, it Paula, does go back to the Fed. Right?
We saw tech stocks, Nasdaq, broadly, plunge last year. Worst year since 2008. Because the Fed was spiking interest rates. The fact that the Fed has stopped raising interest rates and is preparing to cut rates, maybe as soon as March, is really helpful for all of the economy.
It's helpful for Main Street. It's especially helpful for these high value tech stocks. So that is going to be a big factor for next year. If the Fed carries through and does cut interest rates, then that's going to continue to help these tech stocks.
NEWTON: Yes, absolutely. And again, you put it correctly at the beginning of your hit, right?
Who could've thought, that at this point, we thought we'd be talking about a recession?
Here we are, all-time highs on the stock markets. Matt Egan for us, thanks so much, we appreciate. It
Now, coming up, we head to a remote island, where the local community is revitalizing its coral reef with a little help in this week's Call to Earth.
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[15:40:00]
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NEWTON: Throughout this week, Call to Earth is turning a spotlight on French Polynesia and Coral Gardeners, an organization working to restore coral reef ecosystems, as part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative.
Now today, founder Titouan Bernicot takes us to a small island in the South Pacific Ocean, where they are training the next generation of underwater gardeners.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): So this is it, huh?
TITOUAN BERNICOT, FOUNDER, CORAL GARDENERS (voice-over): Right. This is the island.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Titouan and his childhood friend, Tiano (ph), are headed to the remote ringshaped atoll of Ahe, part of the Tuamotu Archipelago, the largest group of coral islands in the world. It's just over an hour flight from Tahiti. But it feels worlds away.
BERNICOT (voice-over): 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 (voice-over): Their host, Estabaja (ph), is a coral gardener in training himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Welcome to the Tuamotu abyss (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): One year ago, Titouan brought a crew here to help the local community build the island's first coral nurseries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): (Speaking foreign language).
BERNICOT (voice-over): They saw the corals, the reef and the fish changing over time. And the lagoon becoming less and less healthy. And they were scared. So they asked for help. They wanted to do something. But they didn't really know where to start.
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BERNICOT (voice-over): It's 5:00 am in the morning. It's 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 (voice-over): The duo are playing the part of cleanup crew this morning. There are ropes from abandoned pearl (ph) farms that have washed ashore, which can be upcycled 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 (voice-over): And that is a process I love. You repair a bit what the human did and you try to get a new life to that part of the reef and to see the result and to come back a year later and to see that the corals are growing up. It's a good feeling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Across the lagoon, on the south end of the atoll, the community is gathering at the village meeting room.
BERNICOT (voice-over): And with Estabaja (ph) and Tiano (ph), we were able to talk a little bit more about the work we do every day and why it's so important to help save the coral reef ecosystem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Following a friendly competition along the village shoreline --
BERNICOT (voice-over): The winners of the 1202 (ph) workshop 2023 are --
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): They loaded up the boat to check on the nurseries created one year ago.
BERNICOT (voice-over): So we dove in with the island, kids we went straight to the coral nursery and, bam, voila.
You see that after a year we chose the nursery sites accordingly. And, that the corals, they were striding (ph). For me, saving the planet, conservation needs to be fun. It needs to
be hands-on. That is how you revolutionize conservation here. It is to make it accessible. And that is how you start the movement.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Stunning.
And be sure to watch CNN's half hour special, "Call to Earth: Reviving the Reef." It airs this Saturday at 11:30 am in London. That's 3:30 pm Abu Dhabi time.
And we will be right back.
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NEWTON: Now to the fierce backlash in Russia against a celebrity studded night club party. It turned into a national scandal. The Kremlin, conservative lawmakers orthodox church leaders and others are criticizing the, quote, "almost naked" themed party as a moral outrage during a time of war. Our Bianca Nobilo has our details.
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BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dress code, optional, quite literally. An almost naked themed party hosted by a popular blogger in the leadup to the holidays in Moscow has gone viral in Russia.
Blogger Anastasia Ivleeva organized the party in the heart of Moscow's night club district on December 21st. Partygoers showed up half clothed or with barely anything on, with outfits made of mesh, lingerie and other creative materials to strategically cover limited parts of their body.
But photos of the almost naked partygoers have sparked outrage across some parts of Russian society. Internal criticism has mounted about how a party of this nature could go ahead as Russians continue fighting on the front lines in Ukraine.
Orthodox church officials, pro war activists and pro Kremlin lawmakers have all denounced the scantily clad partygoers. Attendees are now facing legal action.
A court verdict against the party said the event was aimed at propagating nontraditional sexual relationships. Rapper Vacio, who showed up wearing a sock covering his intimate areas and not much else, has been found guilty of petty hooliganism by the Russian court. He's been sentenced to 15 days in jail and fined 200,000 rubles or roughly $2,200. Planned New Year's parties organized by celebrities who attended the
party have been replaced with other stars. Ivleeva apologized via her Instagram page, posting a 21-minute video, asking for forgiveness and a second chance. Other celebrity partygoers have followed suit.
In a previous video, Ivleeva claimed the event was an opportunity to showcase photos created during her tenure as the chief editor of the now-defunct Russian edition of "Playboy." She also faces legal action and hefty fines.
A collective lawsuit filed against her on Tuesday by 22 people and initiated by a Russian actor, seeks compensation of 1 billion rubles -- that's $11 million -- for moral damages.
Backlash against the party comes as authorities in the country are pushing an increasingly conservative and homophobic agenda. Just last month, Russia's LGBTQ community movement was deemed an extremist organization by the country's supreme court -- Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.
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NEWTON: All right, we are going to switch it up for here for you guys a little bit. The winters are long, dark and cold in Iceland, of course, in Reykjavik, the capital of the island nation gets just four hours of daylight per day.
Here is your proof. This is a live picture. Doesn't look pretty, though. A live picture from Reykjavik, snow on the ground, the lake nearly frozen over. And the sunsets, get this, at 3:30 pm, more than five hours ago. A good reason why the Icelandic people are voracious readers.
Anytime during the year but definitely this time of the year, in fact, the Icelandic people have a cherished tradition called Jolabokaflod. It's the Christmas Book Flood. Yes, a flood, where people give and receive new books and begin reading them straight away on Christmas Eve, right then and there.
Here's more proof that Iceland is a nation of bookaholics. Iceland has more published authors per capita than any country in the world.
[15:50:01]
One in 10, in fact. Even its prime minister is a published author. She's the co-author of the book, "Reykjavik: A Crime Story."
Joining me now from the capital to talk about the island of fire, ice and apparently books, is Heidar Svansson. He's the president of the Icelandic Publishers Association.
And I so thank you for joining us. We're very excited about this story because we're not talking about the volcano; we're talking about a flood, a Book Flood.
Can you please explain this tradition to us, how it started and why it still means so much to people in Iceland?
HEIDAR SVANSSON, PRESIDENT, ICELANDIC PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION: Hello, hi. Nice to see you all and thanks for inviting me.
Well, it all started in the time of the Depression, after the Second World War. At the same time, we got independence from Denmark and there was, you know, really bad economy.
You know, we were trying to control our economy by having a quota, for example, on commodity books. And before Christmas, sometime, I think it was around 1944, there was some strict quota, that we could put actually -- we couldn't import. You were not allowed to import commodity goods for Christmas presents.
So what did we do?
We just made our own. We had the knowledge, we have the authors or translators. There was no quota, actually, on the paper. So we could import paper. We wrote books and printed them and, voila, there you have a proper Christmas gift.
NEWTON: You created your own entertainment right there at Christmas time. Now Iceland has been described as ultra literary. We will say you are ultra literary.
Why do you think that this tradition, though, outlasts the internet, social media, maybe even AI?
All of it because so many of us, guilty as charged, complain we don't have the attention span that we used to anymore.
Why Iceland?
How can you guys keep this up?
SVANSSON: Well, it's partly as a gift market. So it's a very personal gift. It's like, you know, I have to study what you would like to read and then I try to find something. It's very personal, this gift.
So partly, it's a gift market and partially it's just this huge market, a massive, you know, new titles on the market, which, of course, (INAUDIBLE). But you know, I don't know. You know, we are the nation of saga (ph), you know?
We like telling stories. We like to share stories. And I think partly, it's just a part of our DNA, actually. You know, it's not very easy for me to explain it, either than, yes, part of our culture and history, part of our the (INAUDIBLE) of --
(CROSSTALK)
NEWTON: Huh.
SVANSSON: -- and we like to tell stories.
NEWTON: I'm so interested to hear you say that it's not a solitary thing, it's actually a community thing. It's something that brings people together.
Now what have been some of the most popular books in Iceland this year?
And I want to ask you, what was your flood like this year?
What did you read, what did you get?
SVANSSON: Well, you know, I, because I'm a book publisher, you know, maybe people are little bit afraid, you know, by giving me a book for a Christmas present. So I have to buy a lot of books for myself.
Actually, this year, I have read quite a lot. But I have this very, you know, old tradition. It comes from 20-plus years back. I always read a novel, a new novel by an Icelandic author called Arnaldur Indridason. I always start Christmas Eve every year by reading that novel.
And so, I did this year. So this -- he always publishes a new book on the 1st of November. And I have to wait from the 1st of November until Christmas Day. And always on Christmas Day, you know, Christmas Night, I will start to read it. And that has been my tradition for, you know, 20-something years.
NEWTON: And I'm sure it gives you new intellectual stimulation for the year to come, especially given your role in the literary sector.
We just saw a picture of your stack of books and your family pet, who is very, very cute, by the way. We saw some of the most --
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NEWTON: OK. I hope she's well behaved when you're reading the books and not paying attention to her.
SVANSSON: Yes.
NEWTON: Good to hear. We had some of the most popular titles up there.
Is there a specific genre here?
Because I was also interested to learn that even Matthew Perry's book, his autobiography, in fact, was also, popular in Iceland. But we also have some of the other popular titles here. "Atomic Habits;" "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," I mean, an eclectic mix there, we think.
SVANSSON: Well, you know, of course, crimes in this country is Scandinavian lore.
[15:55:00]
Crime fictions are very popular in Iceland and, you know, it also depends, if you look at, you know, best seller lists from bookstores or from supermarkets, so, you know, people tend to go to bookstores and buy more of fiction.
And more nonfiction is bought from supermarkets. Of course, one thing is also, you know, we have lots of very good Icelandic children and young adult authors. So it's also very common practice to buy books for kids. So (INAUDIBLE) but crimes, they --
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SVANSSON: -- they dominate the bestseller list most (INAUDIBLE).
NEWTON: Well, you've given us a lot of food for thought. I hope some of us can actually get to those books as well that should inspire a lot of thought. But I want to thank you for introducing us to this and happy reading.
SVANSSON: You're welcome.
NEWTON: Thanks.
Now remember this?
It was supposed to be the future of retail. Yes, self checkout fell out of fashion in 2023. Nathaniel Meyersohn gives us the gist and why this happened at a Costco store.
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NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: When self checkout was rolled out during the 1980s, it promised to revolutionize shopping. But it hasn't quite gone like that.
Stores are finding issues with all the technology; customers are running into problems. Think about how often you hear, "unexpected item in the bagging area."
So we're starting to see more retailers hold back on self checkout and rethink some of their decisions to expand it. Companies like Costco, Walmart, Target, they've all changed their self checkout policies over the past two years.
Dollar General said that it relied too much on self checkout and it's going to be using it more as a secondary option instead of a primary checkout option.
Retailers are just finding that shoplifting levels are too high with self checkout. And although self checkout was supposed to reduce stores' labor costs, they need employees to help out when customers buy alcohol or run into issues with misscans, so the technology just has not gone as planned.
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NEWTON: Well, say that again. Our thanks to Nathaniel.
Now there are just moments left to trade on Wall Street. We will have the final numbers and the closing bell right after this. (MUSIC PLAYING)
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NEWTON: The closing bell about to sound on Wall Street. Second to last trading day of 2023 and I can tell you right now, that S&P, unlikely to make that record. Stocks are pulling back from those session highs.
The Dow is set to end the day, though it pulled off the record. You see there, another record day for the Dow. You can hear the bell, there it is.
That is it for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton in Atlanta. You just heard the bell and now "THE LEAD" starts, with Bianna Golodryga in for Jake Tapper.
