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Russia: At Least 14 Dead After Ukrainian Shelling Inside Russia; Oregon Could Decide Today If Trump Will Remain On Ballot; Congress Faces Tight Deadline To Avoid Government Shutdown; Americans Conned Out Of Billions By Criminal Gangs In Myanmar; Top Ten Entertainment Stories Of 2023. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired December 30, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.

I'm Amara Walker in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with escalating attacks in Russia and Ukraine. Russian defense officials vowing to retaliate against a Ukrainian attack, the shelling on Belgorod inside Russia killed at least 14 people and injured more than 100.

[15:00:07]

That is according to Russian officials. The United Nations Security Council is now planning to meet in the next hour over this incident. The attack appears to be in retaliation to a massive Russian air assault on Ukraine that killed at least 40 people on Friday. It was Russia's biggest air attack since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began almost two years ago.

CNN's Nic Robertson joining us now.

Nic, what more are we learning about this attack inside Russia over Belgorod?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the Russians are claiming it's the biggest that they've ever had, the highest death toll. The toll keeps going up. I think it's 18 dead now and 111 injured, this is what the Russians are claiming. They're saying the Ukrainians used a multi-barreled rocket launcher that they intercepted some of the rockets, and they're blaming the Czech Republic for supplying some of the ammunition for this rocket launcher, which they say there was Ukrainian ammunition. The Czechs have, in part, been summoned by the Russians as well to account for the use of this ammunition that the Czechs are saying blanketly saying, you know, no dice, we're not going to play ball with Russia on that one.

It just points to the sort of not only the escalating military tensions, the escalating death toll, but the sort of overspill, international diplomatic tensions as well that are in the background all the time, but they come to the surface at moments like this. This particular attack hit businesses, it hit apartment buildings, it hit cars, according to the Russians, more than 20 -- more than 100 cars were damaged in this particular attack.

And the governor there has now said that there's an effective curfew on people gathering in the streets. President Putin is concerned. He's sending his minister of health. That's rare for him to do. He's sending a delegation from their emergencies ministry.

So, he's taking -- President Putin is taking this seriously, and we've heard from the defense ministry saying this will not go without a response.

WALKER: So what do you expect in terms of the outcome of this U.N. Security Council meeting that's expected to happen very soon?

ROBERTSON: It's interesting, isn't it? Because it was just last night that there was an emergency gathering of the Security Council to censure Russia, and they did over Russia's massive air assault yesterday. I expect we're going to hear from perhaps the United States, perhaps from the British as well, pointing out Russia's transgressions through all of this. It will be interesting if Russia finds itself getting enough support to try to in some way censure Ukraine.

It would be a change -- it would be a change in diplomatic fortunes for Ukraine if that happens, it would be significant, and I think it's going to be nothing more tonight than a throwing around of angry words by Russia, trying to make its point. And I think it has to be said in a situation like this, Russia is not only trying to score military points against Ukraine, but we are not able to independently verify everything that they claim, particularly in Belgorod where the attack took place.

So it's hard to substantiate their claims, the extent of the damage and who they say is responsible.

WALKER: Nic Robertson, great to have you. Thank you very much.

Let's get more analysis on all of this with Colonel Cedric Leighton. He is a CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force colonel.

Colonel, great to have you.

First off, I don't want to call this a tit-for-tat, but what you've seen over the last couple of days are some massive attacks, starting with Russia, its largest air attack in Ukraine since its invasion of Ukraine, and then now this inside Belgorod, Ukraine attacking this city near the border. Is this -- put this in context. Is this a beginning of an escalation?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think it's too early to really tell if this is the beginning of a sustained escalation. I think what is more likely is this is a Ukrainian response to what the Russians did yesterday or overnight, and that kind of goes with the things that we have seen before in this war between Russia and Ukraine.

Another key thing to remember, of course, the attack on Ukraine was far more massive, involved far more cities, really took the entire length of the country which was subject to attacks from the Russians. The attack on Belgorod was an attack on a specific area in Russia, but as you mentioned, very close to the Russia and Ukraine border.

The other thing to note is there is a high likelihood that a lot of the damage that was caused in Belgorod was actually the result of Russian air defense trying to shoot down the Ukrainian missiles that were coming into Belgorod and into the Belgorod region.

[15:05:17]

And if that's the case, then there's a lot of blame to go around for that particular aspect of this operation or this incident.

WALKER: You and I have talked a lot about funding, the funding bill for Ukraine, which is caught up in Congress. The U.S. just announced its final military aid package to Ukraine, I think it's about $250 million. And without a deal in Congress for more aid, the money will stop there, that's where it dries up.

What happens if Ukraine doesn't get more U.S. funding and its money from Europe, which is also drying up?

LEIGHTON: Yeah, both of those sorts of funding for Ukraine dry up, then Ukraine is in a world of hurt. Amara, that's going to be a huge problem for the Ukrainian war effort, and, you know, right now the Ukrainians are basically getting all of their sustainment from the U.S. and the Europeans. If that were to go away, then the fortunes -- Ukrainian fortunes on the battlefield I think, would be reversed, unfortunately. What it would result in is probably a Russian takeover of larger portions of the country and the potential collapse of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian state, and then, of course, we would see a terrible outcome with the Russians trying to limit Ukraine as a nation and as a people as well.

WALKER: If you will, let's turn to the Israel/Hamas war. On Friday the IDF announced that it is extending operations, particularly in southern Gaza, in the Khan Younis area. There have been a lot of talk -- there has been a lot of talk about a lower intensity phase of this war, potentially in January. Are you optimistic that that is what we'll see, the IDF kind of ramping things down in the New Year?

LEIGHTON: Well, we haven't seen it yet, Amara, so I'm a bit concerned we're not going to get there. The Israelis have said that they were going to move to a more low intense phase of conflict, and they certainly have a lot of pressure from the United States and from world opinion to do just that. However, the way of war so far has been one in which they have used a lot of ordinance against not only the Hamas targets, but civilian targets within Gaza as well.

And I don't really see that going away, unless the Israelis are convinced not to do this, and, you know, right now the government, the Israeli government's way of war seems to be to ramp things up as much as they possibly can. This has probably been the most intense air campaign of the 21st century, and that is something that they are going to have to do something about in order to minimize civilian casualties and provide aid to the civilian population, which is on the brink of starvation and, of course, diseases, also, a factor there. So this is a very difficult situation for the Israelis, as well as for Hamas at this point.

WALKER: Yeah, absolutely. And lastly, I do want to ask you about one of the stranger stories this week regarding the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over U.S. skies earlier this year. We are learning that it was able to send data back in real time to Beijing, using U.S. Internet providers, that it was able to collect imagery and intelligence from U.S. military sites.

What does this tell you about the sophistication of the Chinese equipment and how concerned are you?

LEIGHTON: Well, I'm very concerned. I think what it does show is that the Chinese not only were very sophisticated in how they approached this intelligence operation, but what they did was rather ingenious, very smart. They used the infrastructure of our country to send information, intelligence information from -- that they collected over our country, our territory, back to China.

Now, the reports are that they just sent navigational and positional data, but the fact of the matter seems to be that they did this using burst transmissions, they transmitted data using burst transmissions, which means a rapid transmission of data, and that could be voluminous. My suspicion is they not only transmitted navigational and positional data, but they also transmitted raw intelligence intercept, both imagery and signals intelligence back to Beijing.

[15:10:07]

WALKER: Well, all right, that is concerning.

Colonel Cedric Leighton, great to see you. Happy New Year to you. Thank you.

LEIGHTON: Happy New Year, Amara. Great to see you as well.

WALKER: Thank you.

Still ahead, fighting to stay on the ballot. Former President Donald Trump is trying to keep his name from being removed from yet another state's primary ballot.

Plus, Congress has a long to-do list for the New Year, starting with keeping the government open. We'll look at the mounting issues ahead for lawmakers when they return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: We're watching several potential developments today that could impact former President Trump's eligibility to appear on the 2024 primary ballot. Any moment now, the Oregon Supreme Court could decide whether or not Trump will remain on that state's 2024 ballot. A liberal advocacy group filed a 14th Amendment lawsuit earlier this month arguing Trump is ineligible to run for office because of his role in the January 6th insurrection.

Late last night, Trump's attorneys filed a brief with the court urging the Oregon justices to keep him on the ballot.

[15:15:05]

Also this week, Maine joined Colorado in banning Trump from its primary ballot, but both rulings are on hold right now. They're caught up in court battles and sources say Trump is expect to do appeal them on Tuesday.

The turmoil from the unprecedented legal and political situation is unlikely to end until the dispute is settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Congress returns to Capitol Hill from its holiday break the week of January 8th. When lawmakers return, they will have less than two weeks to agree on spending levels before the first deadline to avoid, yes, a government shutdown, we're there again.

And on top of that, they will also try to hammer out a deal that provides funding for Ukraine, Israel and the southern border. Now, House Republicans also expect to ramp up their impeachment inquiry into President Biden in the New Year.

With me now to discuss all of this is Luke Broadway. He's a congressional correspondent for "The New York Times".

Luke, thanks for your time. Thank you for joining us.

Let's start with the race against the clock. Here we go again, to avoid another government shutdown, because now we're talking about two deadlines, right?

New York -- new House Speaker Mike Johnson, he was able to pass that short-term budget extension in November and avoid a government shutdown. What's it going to take for him to pull it off again?

LUKE BROADWATER, NEW YORK TIMES CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I'm pretty pessimistic that they will be able to be able to get a deal by the January deadline. When the House comes back, they will only have about ten days to get a deal to keep the government open, and Mike Johnson is going to be facing a lot of the same forces from the right wing of his caucus that drove Kevin McCarthy from the speaker's office.

You'll recall, of course, when Kevin McCarthy cut a deal to keep the government open with the continuing resolution, he was eventually forced out of the speakership. Mike Johnson has had a bit of a grace period here, but he's going to face some very tough challenges in just a few days from now.

WALKER: So, could he meet McCarthy's fate then by potentially relying on Democrats to get a funding deal passed?

BROADWATER: Yeah, and he's got to get two funding deals passed, right? I mean, so because of the -- first of all, under his leadership, under Mike Johnson's leadership, the House has only passed one bill. It's been very difficult to get any deals in this Congress. And that one bill set up not one, but two deadlines, both in January and February, for different votes on trying to keep the government open.

And Mike Johnson again, I believe if he wants to get a deal, may have to rely on Democratic votes to do it, and then he will face the backlash from the right. And we've already heard from people like Chip Roy, one of the leaders of the House Freedom Caucus, that there are already one or two strikes against Mike Johnson and there could be a third one coming.

WALKER: Okay, we shall watch that closely, as well as the funding for Ukraine and Israel, at least these aid packages, and of course the southern border, when Congress returns and is back in session. Where were things left off? I was going to ask you where it stand right now but I don't know if there's much of a debate as everyone is on holiday.

BROADWATER: Right. So unrelated, in some ways to the fight to keep the government open, is this aid package, this national security package, both to help Ukraine fight off the invasion by Russia, and to help Israel in the war in Gaza. Also, money for Taiwan, and there is money for our southern border as well here in America. And right now, probably each one of those items has support from the Congress as a whole, but because Republicans are insisting on changing policy at the border, the funding is held up, the funding for Ukraine and for Israel.

And so right now, there have been these kind of quiet talks, we don't exactly know what's being discussed all the time, but they're trying -- the Republicans are trying to get some of those Trump-era border policies put back into law where they can expel people from the country more quickly and keep migrants from entering the country.

WALKER: And despite all these issues that are in the air that need to be attended to, it seems that for House Republicans, one of the biggest priorities for 2024 will be this impeachment inquiry into President Biden, which begins in January. What can we expect from that?

BROADWATER: Yeah, we know they're continuing to haul in witnesses, they're continuing to send out letters and subpoenas for more information, and eventually -- but eventually the rubber has to meet the road here, right?

[15:20:01]

Conventionally, Republicans have to say, okay, we have completed our investigation, here are the facts and here is why we think President Biden should be impeached. So far, there's been a lot of smoke but no smoking gun, and so there are quite a few of the moderate Republicans from swing districts who have said we have not seen the evidence to impeach Joe Biden.

And so, the question will be, after all of these depositions, after all of these witnesses are called in, will they have the facts and the evidence to convince these moderates to go along with the push to impeach President Biden?

WALKER: Luke Broadwater, we will leave it there. I hope you have a happy new year. Thank you.

BROADWATER: You, too. Happy holidays.

WALKER: Well, this just in to CNN, special counsel Jack Smith is pushing back on former President Donald Trump's claim that he should be cloaked with absolute immunity from criminal prosecution. This comes in a new filing today, and in it smith argues a sweeping assertion, threatens to license presidents to commit crimes to remain in office.

Proceedings were temporarily put in hold on the case pending Trump's appeal of the ruling that the former president is not entitled to immunity for potential crimes he committed while in office. The trial was initially scheduled to begin in March.

We, of course, will continue to monitor this and bring you any more developments. We'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:55]

WALKER: Unlawful border crossings reached a record 225,000 encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border in December. The preliminary members were shared with CNN from homeland security. This is the highest monthly total dating back more than 20 years. The surge prompted urgent talks with officials in Mexico on how to stem the flow of migrants. While the Biden administration grappled with how to handle the migrant surge, mayors for cities nowhere near the Mexican border shared how they are feeling the impacts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK: The meeting with the White House, I think much more could be done with all of our national leaders, from a decompression strategy, to making sure the cost of this is not falling on the laps of everyday taxpayers in our cities. It's not just New York City. It is all of these cities that have been impacted, from Brownsville, El Paso, Houston, Chicago, New York, Denver. This is really an issue that you're seeing play out on the streets of our cities.

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D), CHICAGO: We have infrastructure in our local communities that are not designed to carry such a burden. Local municipalities are not structured to be able to carry the weight of a crisis like this. And I've sent a delegation to the border to see firsthand what our bordering cities are experiencing, and what we have said repeatedly is that there has to be better coordination. And without a coordinated operation, this is going to crush local economies because there's a financial responsibility that we have all taken on. MAYOR MIKE JOHNSON (D), DENVER: Part of the challenge, we need federal

resources and that's where I think the supplemental budget the president has pushed is being held up in Congress right now. You know, the breaking point is when you're talking about 10 percent of the budget to allocate for cities on this, that's unsustainable. When we have every single hotel room in the city of full of migrants that arrived, that's unsustainable. And so, the federal resources are the what the Congress has held up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The latest figures reflect the enormity of the crisis heading into the New Year. Just to give you a snapshot of the situation, more than 22,000 migrants were apprehended just last week by the Del Rio, Texas border patrol, that includes the city of Eagle Pass, where we saw thousands of migrants waiting to be processed last week. U.S. and Mexican officials will meet again in Washington next month as they try to lower the number of migrant crossings.

All right. Now, to a CNN special ha goes inside a crypto currency scam that has cheated Americans out of billions of dollars. The schemes are run out of forced labor camps overseas and have earned the nickname pig butchering. The reason behind the moniker, the scammers fatten up targets with promises of a romantic relationship and then lead them to slaughter by robbing them blind.

CNN's Ivan Watson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CRYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please help me, Jessica. Please, help me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a living.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In northern California, CY is piecing together his life after losing more than a million dollars in a crypto scam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can never forget or forgive myself, losing that kind of money.

WATSON: CY is one of tens of thousands of victims of a fast growing new form of financial fraud called pig butchering. He asked to remain anonymous to protect his family.

It started in October 2021 with a text message from a stranger.

But was the name of the person you are communicating with?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She claims her name is Jessica.

WATSON: The two quickly became friends, she shared photos and CY talked about the pain of caring for his dying father. After nearly a month, the conversation turned to money. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She started to introduce me to cryptocurrency,

trading gold using cryptocurrency.

WATSON: Jessica showed CY how to invest, by installing a trading app on his phone that he says looked legit. Little did he know he was a victim, pumping money into a sophisticated con. For the scammers, a pig fattened up for the slaughtered.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I logged back in, the account is gone. What did I do? That's 30 years of my wife and my life building up this -- this wealth.

WATSON: Wealth that had suddenly disappeared. Panicking, CY begged Jessica for help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, help me. I don't know what else I can do. I don't have any more money. I cannot buy anything else. I lost everything.

WATSON: But Jessica disappeared, and probably never even existed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the professionalization of fraud services.

WATSON: The FBI says it's seen exponential growth in losses due to pig butchering scams.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The big guys are getting good, and they're getting better.

WATSON: An organization representing scam victims tracked their crypto transfers halfway around the world, to this border region in Myanmar.

U.S. scam victims say they've been able to trace their money to places like this. This walled compound across the river is just inside the territory of Myanmar. And that is where we are learning about the conditions inside, some people who work there, they say that they were forced against their will to try to scam Americans out of their hard- earned money in conditions that they described as amounting to modern day slavery.

This compound is where an Indian man named Rakesh (ph) says he was forced to work for more than 11 months without pay for a Chinese criminal gang.

The guards have spotted us.

Until they recently released him back to Thailand.

Where was the job supposed to be?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told it was for Bangkok.

WATSON: He too was the victim of a scam. Rakesh, who doesn't want to be identified, says he first flew to Thailand for what he thought was an I.T. job. Instead, he says he was tricked in crossing the border to Myanmar where a Chinese gangster told him to work, or else. He threatened to kill you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. He warned me like that.

WATSON: And the job? Spend 16 hours a day on social media, targeting Americans with the fake profile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They provided for us. I got a Russia girl. With using a Russian girl fake profile, I need to scam the people.

WATSON: Pausing as a Salt Lake City based investor named Clara Simenov (ph), Rakesh flirted online with potential targets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seventy to 80 percent fell -- fall for fake love.

WATSON: Rakesh shows secretly filmed images of what at first glance seems to be an ordinary office. But he says the boss is routinely punished workers forcing them to do hundreds of squats and beating them if they didn't produce.

And you've helped rescue people who were trapped inside, behind the barbed wire, of that very compound?

MECHELLE MOORE, GLOBAL AIMS: Yes. Yes.

WATSON: Mechelle Moore is one of the group of aid workers based in Thailand who had helped rescue hundreds of victims of trafficking like Rakesh over the last 18 months. She drives me along the border.

MOORE: There's a cartel just there, green roof.

WATSON: Showing compounds only a stone's throw away where she says traffic victims are forced to work as online scammers.

MOORE: This is why this is modern slavery. And it's right on to everybody's nose.

WATSON: Satellite images show rapid construction of these compounds o the border territory of Myanmar over just three years.

Thailand's minister of justice labels these facilities as hubs for criminal scamming activity.

TAWEE SODSONG, THAI MINISTER OF JUSTICE (through translator): These scammers have to use telephone signals to communicate, that's why they base themselves near the Thai border, so they can use Thailand's telephone network.

WATSON: But he says Thailand has no jurisdiction to crack down on suspected criminals operating across the border in Myanmar.

CNN asked the military government in Myanmar why it hasn't taken action against alleged criminal gangs operating on its territory, and did not receive an answer.

So for now, it looks like no one is going to stop this poisonous cycle of exploitation.

Ivan Watson, CNN, on the Thai border with Myanmar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: All right. Ivan Watson, thank you for that. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:39:03]

WALKER: Even with Hollywood on hiatus for much of this year amid recent strikes, there were plenty of entertainment stories to talk about.

CNN's Stephanie Elam unwraps the top ten entertainment stories of the year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Barbie" takes over the box office. Britney and Prince Harry spill their own tea.

(CHANTING)

ELAM: And Hollywood goes on strike.

Behind the scenes and in front of the camera, it was a wild year from start to finish. Here's a look at the top entertainment stories of the year.

LISA VANDERPUMP, TV PERSONALITY: I didn't see it coming. Nobody saw it coming.

ELAM: Lisa Vanderpump reacting to news that cast members, Tom Sandoval and Raquel Levis, had carried on an affair, unbeknownst to fan favorite, Ariana Madix.

TOM SANDOVAL, ACTOR: Do you want anything?

ARIANA MADIX, ACTRESS: For you to die.

ELAM: The betrayal sent viewers spiraling, as Madix received an apology from the pair.

[15:40:04]

Ratings for the show reportedly doubled as the drama played out.

Coming in at number nine, the end of a TV dynasty.

BRIAN COX, ACTOR: I love you, but you are not serious people.

ELAM: After four storied seasons, HBO's hit series, "Succession," bowed out with thunderous praise, as Logan Roy's adult children engaged in business battles and betrayals to take over the family empire.

SARAH SNOOK, ACTRESS: Excited to get into this knife fight?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's blow it up.

ELAM: Critics and fans largely agreed the series finale was a knockout finish to their "Succession" obsession.

Number eight belongs to the "Avengers" actor, Jeremy Renner, who made a remarkable recovery after he was crushed by his runaway snowplow outside his home in Nevada. He broke more than 30 bones and suffered internal injuries.

But just over three months later, Renner was back on the red carpet for his Disney Plus show, "Rennervations".

Number seven, Ed Sheeran's courtroom battle.

(SINGING)

ELAM: Did a pop star copy Marvin Gaye? The family of the co-writer of "Let's Get It On" filed a lawsuit against Sheeran, saying his "Thinking Out Loud" wrongfully used melodies from the 1973 classic.

(SINGING)

ELAM: A jury found the Grammy winner independently created his song and did not infringe on any copyrights.

Number six, a serious health scare for Jamie Foxx. The Oscar-winning actor was hospitalized in April but hasn't publicly disclosed why.

Rumors ran rampant about his condition for months, until July when he resurfaced on social media.

JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: I went to hell and back, and my road to recovery had some potholes as well.

ELAM: Foxx found himself in some legal troubles as well. He faces a sexual assault and battery lawsuit dating back to an alleged incident from 2015. He denies the claims.

Number five on our list, the stars tell all.

(CROSSTALK)

ELAM: Prince Harry did it. So did Britney.

(SINGING)

ELAM: They led the long line of celebrities who published a memoir in 2023.

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: Writing this book has been a cathartic experience for me.

ELAM: Prince Harry's explosive memoirs details his highly publicized split from the senior royals.

And in "The Woman in Me," Britney Spears writes about public scrutiny, rocky relationships, her court-ordered conservatorship, and the Free Britney movement, saying, "Finally, I'm roaring back to life."

Number four, "Barbie" kicked off a summer of pink fever.

(SINGING)

ELAM: She revived a cultural phenomenon, broke box office records and unlocked a women-powered boost to the economy.

(SINGING)

ELAM: Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, according to Polestar.

(SINGING)

ELAM: Beyonce sold out concert arenas with her highly anticipated "Renaissance" tour.

(SINGING)

ELAM: And Pink got the party started with her summer "Carnival" tour.

(SINGING)

ELAM: Coming in at number three, Hollywood goes on strike.

(CHANTING)

ELAM: Two of the entertainment industry's biggest labor unions, the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA, went on strike seeking better contracts with the studios.

FRAN DRESCHER, PRESIDENT, SAG-AFTRA: You have to wake up and smell the coffee.

(SINGING)

ELAM: Negotiations dragged on for months before deals were reached and ratified.

Number two, the loss of a beloved friend.

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST & ANCHOR: We are back with breaking news just into CNN. Actor Matthew Perry has died.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The police found him. They believe he drowned at his home in Los Angeles. He was just 54 years old.

MATTHEW PERRY, ACTOR: And when I dance, I look like this.

(LAUGHTER) ELAM: Matthew Perry's humor often hit his personal pain of addiction. In the pages of his 2022 memoir, he revealed his darkest days began as his career skyrocketed on screen.

His co-stars mourned his loss, saying they, quote, "were more than just cast mates. We are a family."

TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER: Welcome to the Eras tour.

ELAM: And number one on our list belongs to, who else? Taylor Swift.

SWIFT: Welcome to the acoustic set.

ELAM: She put on a buzzy head-turning concert tour for the ages, had albums skyrocket to the top of the charts, debuted a new relationship with NFL player, Travis Kelce, and was named "Time Magazine's" Person of the Year. 2023 was Taylor Swift's biggest year yet.

(SINGING)

ELAM: Two of our top-10 news makers, "Barbie" and HBO's "Succession," shared the same parent company as CNN.

And there's big things to come from other favorites on our list.

[15:45:00]

The drama returns to "Vanderpump Rules" in January. And Britney Spears has hinted volume two of her memoir will be out next year.

In Los Angeles, I'm Stephanie Elam.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Thank you, Stephanie Elam. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Police in Philadelphia are investigating vandalism at a mosque early Friday morning. The Philadelphia Council on American Islamic Relations said an unidentified person spray painted the Star of David along with give peace a chance using the peace sign on the mosque's main entrance. Officers met with the person who wanted to report an unidentified white male in a red raincoat and blue jeans allegedly spray painting the mosque.

[15:50:07]

This is the second known incident involving the vandalism of a Philadelphia mosque since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7th according to police.

Special counsel Jack Smith is pushing back on former President Donald Trump's claim that he should be cloaked with absolute immunity from criminal prosecution. This comes in a new filing today, and in it, Smith argues Trump's assertion threatens to license presidents to commit crimes to remain in office. Proceedings were temporarily put on hold in the federal election subversion case pending Trump's appeal of the district court judge's ruling that the former president is not entitled to immunity for potential crimes he committed while in office. The trial was initially scheduled to begin in March.

San Antonio police say they are searching for two people seen on this surveillance video near where the bodies of a pregnant teen and her boyfriend were found this week. Eighteen-year-old Savanah Soto and 22- year-old Matthew Guerra were found with gunshot wounds in a parked car near an apartment complex on Tuesday. Police say the bodies had been there for a few days.

Here's CNN's Whitney Wild with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Police say this video is absolutely critical to the investigation, and they're hoping that someone out there knows who these two people are in this video. So, let me describe it for you and what police are really keying in on. There are two vehicles in this video, one is this pick up truck, a Chevy Silverado, the other is the silver Kia Optima.

What you see is two vehicles pull up alongside each other, the driver of that pickup truck and driver of the Kia Optima seem to interact. It seems that the driver of the pickup appears to wipe down the side of the Kia Optima. It's not clear exactly what they're doing, but that is what police are keying in on right now.

The timeline and the location of this video is absolutely critical and here's why. The video was taken near where the body were found. Police say they believe the bodies had been in that location for a few days. And then further, this video shows this Kia Optima that police believe belongs to Matthew Guerra, that 22-year-old victim.

Police say that Guerra died of a contact gunshot wound to the head. What this means is they believe the firearm was placed directly on Matthew Guerra's head when he was killed. Asked whether or not this was a murder/suicide, police say that that's possible, but at this point it seems unlikely. Police are also combing over more surveillance video as well as social media to try to figure out who killed these two people and why.

And when we go back to the timeline here, that's part of what makes this case really perplexing for police. For example, December 22nd is the last day that police say that anybody heard from Savanah Soto. She was just 18-years-old. She was nine months pregnant. December 23rd, she missed a critical appointment with her OB/GYN. She was supposed to be induced to give birth, but she missed that appointment. And her family told police that she was missing.

December 26th, that's when police found the bodies of 22-year-old Matthew Guerra and 18-year-old Savanah Soto. This is now being investigated as a capital murder case. Again, San Antonio police urging the public to come forward with any information.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: All right. Whitney Wild, thank you very much for your reporting.

I'm joined now by Savanah's mother, Gloria Cordova, her father, Pete Soto, and grandmother, Rachel Soto.

Thank you for being with me in such a very difficult time for your family.

Pete, if I could start with you, regarding the investigation and this new surveillance video where police have pinpointed two people they are searching for, what are your -- what are your thoughts on the surveillance video, on what could or might have happened to your daughter?

PETE SOTO, FATHER OF SAVANAH SOTO: She was kidnapped, looks like. You know, we didn't hear from her for a few days. That day, we get the phone call that they found the car. It was bad news.

WALKER: Yeah. Gloria, what have you told police, and what was your reaction to that surveillance video?

GLORIA CORDOVA, MOTHER OF SAVANAH SOTO: What happened, I really -- I don't know where to begin to think what happened. I have no idea.

[15:55:01]

She was supposed to be at the hospital at that time on Saturday. I was looking for her.

And to see that surveillance, I just wonder if they were already dead in that video and why, like I don't understand.

WALKER: Gloria, can you take us back to last Saturday when Savanah was reported missing? What made you think something was wrong?

CORDOVA: Because I called her in the morning because that's the day that we were to take her to get induced at 6:30 p.m. she wouldn't answer. It went straight to voicemail. I thought maybe she slept late because it got into the afternoon.

So I went to the hospital at 6:00. She still didn't answer the phone. When I got there, they told me she hadn't preregistered or anything.

So I waited outside another 15 minutes, and I asked him again if they could check, maybe she was back there. And maybe her -- Matthew didn't want us back there because she has a right to not have certain people, and they said no. She hasn't registered at all, at all.

So, that's when I called the police. And I just thought the worst. I didn't know -- where do you begin because she was so excited, so excited to be a mommy. I just don't understand.

WALKER: Rachel, you're Savanah's grandmother. Can you tell me about me more about Savanah, what she was like? RACHEL SOTO, GRANDMOTHER OF SAVANAH SOTO: Yeah. She was a little

stinky princess, like we would call her. She was a good girl. She always had her little brothers in check, Ethan, and her other two brothers. She was always doing, helping everybody.

She loved her mom. She loved her dad. She loved everybody. She was a lovable, caring person. If they would have had a chance to meet her, they would have known her.

Nobody will ever get to meet her again. The person that she was, how funny she was, all her cousins miss her. We'll never have a get together the way we used to be when Savanah was with us. Nothing in our lives will ever be the same.

I just want justice for my granddaughter and my great grandson. That's all we want now. They had the heart to do it to my granddaughter and great grandson, to turn yourself in and face the crime that you did. That's all we want.

Our lives will never be the same again. We're just barely getting over Ethan's tragedy, and now we have to do the same thing with his sister. They're both in a better place, but our lives will never be the same again.

We're all going to miss her. We all loved her very much. We're all going to miss her.

WALKER: I can't imagine what your entire family is dealing with right now and the range of emotions knowing that you also lost Ethan, Pete, your 15-year-old son, to gun violence.

How -- how are you getting up day to day? How are you helping your family, is thing your family cope with this loss on top of Ethan? Now you have Savanah.

P. SOTO: One day at a time, you know. That's all we can do. Memories are always going to be there. It's very hard right now for us. Back to back, it's very hard.

WALKER: Gloria, in terms of what the questions that may have been asked by detectives, I mean, is there -- did Savanah have enemies, was there anyone that you can think who could have done this? What are you thinking?

CORDOVA: No. Not Savannah. I mean, she was like by everybody. She didn't go anywhere. I didn't really let her do anything, you know, because I was so afraid of what could happen. I mean, and losing my son -- I'm not even halfway there. I'm afternoon-- it's new to me for this to happen to my daughter. My kids come in two, and those were the two. I have seven boys and one girl. They were the two. Two, two, two, and it was them, too. The only way that I'm trying to see is like my son needed her more than we did.

WALKER: Well, I'm extremely sorry for your loss and for the grief that you are all dealing with. And I do hope that you will get answers and justice soon and some closure. Thank you, Gloria Cordova, Rachel and Pete Soto. Thank you for your time.

CORDOVA: Thank you.

R. SOTO: Thank you.

WALKER: Thank you all for joining me today. I'm Amara Walker. I'll be back tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

Paula Reid picks up CNN's coverage now.