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Maine And Colorado Disqualifying Trump From Primary Ballot; Ukraine Reels From Largest Air Attack Since War Began; Israeli Military "Extending Operations" In Southern Gaza; Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza Deepens; "The New York Times" Sues OpenAI, Microsoft In Landmark Lawsuit; Broncos' QB Claims He Was Benched Over Contract; New York City's Times Square Rehearses Confetti Drop. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired December 30, 2023 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Fighting to stay on the ballot, Donald Trump is trying to keep his name from being removed from yet another state's primary election.
Plus Ukraine in mourning. Details on the extent of the destruction following the largest air assault by Russia so far. Now Joe Biden is responding when it comes to additional aid.
And the U.S. West Coast is still getting slammed by high waves and coastal flooding. The holiday forecast, just ahead.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We begin in Oregon, which could soon become the third U.S. state to ban former president Trump from the ballot. At any time in the hours ahead, the Oregon Supreme Court could weigh in on a 14th Amendment case filed this month by a liberal advocacy group.
They want Trump removed because of his role in the insurrection. But in a rare development, Trump's lawyers find themselves agreeing with a Democrat. Oregon's secretary of state said the case should be tossed on the procedural grounds of the ballot access laws.
Several other states are already considering the issue. Paula Reid takes a closer look.
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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Supreme Court facing increasing pressure to weigh in on whether states can remove former President Trump from the 2024 ballots. After Maine became the second state to kick him off based on the 14th Amendment's ban on insurrectionists holding public office.
SHENNA BELLOWS (D-ME), STATE SECRETARY: No secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the 14th Amendment but no presidential candidate has ever engaged in insurrection and been disqualified under Section Three of the 14th Amendment.
REID: In Maine, ballot eligibility questions first go to the secretary of state, not the courts.
Trump has called for Democrat Shenna Bellows to recuse herself in this case because of previous comments about January 6th, where she tweeted, "The January 6 insurrection was an unlawful attempt to overthrow the results of a free and fair election."
She did not remove herself from the matter and now the issue heads to the court, as Trump and the state's Republican Party vowed to appeal.
JOEL STETKIS, CHAIR, MAINE REPUBLICAN PARTY: Our voting rights enshrines in the constitution are sacred to us. They have one particular person removed from -- removed really the top candidates from the ballot because she just likes that person just smells of politics.
REID: The question of Trump's ballot eligibility has been debated in multiple states but only Maine and Colorado taking him off the primary ballot. Even California on Thursday opted to include him.
In a statement, the Trump campaign accused Colorado and Maine of election interference, attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter.
Even some of Trump's rivals have criticized states taking him out of the running instead of leaving it to the voters.
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It makes him a martyr. He's very good at playing "poor me, poor me."
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Can you have a Republican secretary of state that disqualified Biden from the ballot?
Because he has let in 8 million people illegally.
REID: The Colorado GOP has already appealed that state's ruling to the United States Supreme Court, asking the justices to take up three key questions.
Does Section 3 of the 14th Amendment apply to a president?
And is Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to be enforced by states?
And also asking whether the GOP has a First Amendment right to choose its candidates. Trump is also expected to appeal.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: They're trying to take the election away from the voters. REID: And in states like Michigan and Minnesota, that opted to keep Trump on the ballot for the primary, those judges left the door open to relitigate this issue for the general election. So if the Supreme Court does not step in here, this is a question that could hang over the 2024 election through November -- Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
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BRUNHUBER: California's secretary of state pushed back against some calls from her own Democratic Party and decided to keep Trump on the ballot. She told CNN the Supreme Court has to rule on the issue. Here she is.
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SHIRLEY WEBER (D-CA), STATE SECRETARY: We have looked and looked, and we have observed and we've watched every case that's come out. I have 18 attorneys that are basically focused on this in my office, as well as our attorney general has been involved with this particular issue over the last few months.
So we are still looking and we haven't said, "Oh, it's - you know, we're going to keep him," quote-unquote, on the ballot. He is listed on the ballot because we don't have the authority yet to take him off the ballot.
I'd like to see them answer whether or not this constitutional provision applies to all states, that when they come out that they come out with a decision that it affects all 50 states.
Because, otherwise, we could have a tremendous amount of chaos with regards to being on certain ballots and not on other ballots and having people challenge the counts because certain states weren't included.
I think they have to decide if this is a federal issue, a national issue that has to be addressed at this point. They need to decide whether or not he has engaged in insurrection. I mean, this is extremely important.
I mean, why would you want someone to be President of the United States who spent their time trying to destroy the United States?
I mean, no other country would probably tolerate that unless they were engaged in a coup or some kind of revolution.
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BRUNHUBER: California governor Gavin Newsom also thinks Trump should stay on the ballot, telling Democrats to defeat him at the polls.
The Maine secretary of state says that her office has received threats since her decision to remove Trump from the primary ballot. Here she is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHENNA BELLOWS (D-ME), STATE SECRETARY: I was prepared for the possibility of threats and I really appreciate law enforcement and the people around me, who have been incredibly supportive of my safety and security.
My safety and security is important. So is the safety and security of everyone who works with me. And we have received threatening communications. Those are unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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BRUNHUBER: Three regions in Ukraine are holding a day of mourning after the largest Russian attack on the country since the war began. A Christmas tree is standing in a courtyard in Odessa damaged in the strikes. It was praised as a victory of light over darkness.
Russian drones and missiles pummeled cities, killing 31 people and wounding more than 150 others. But now we're hearing from Russia it shot down more than 30 drones that came from Ukraine overnight. The drones went down in four regions, including Moscow.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the Russian strikes Friday also hit homes, schools and churches and he warns Russia will pay a price. Oren Liebermann has more.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The explosions across Ukraine quickly drown out the air raid sirens Friday morning, the largest Russian attack since the war began, according to the Ukrainian military, wreaking havoc on people who have been the target of Kremlin's barrages for nearly two years.
SEHIY (through translator): Nothing changes. Russia's goal is the same -- to destroy Ukraine as a state and to destroy all rebellious Ukrainians as a nation.
LIEBERMANN: The attack killed dozens across Ukraine, a number that threatens to keep rising, as rescue workers dig through the rubble, pulling some out alive and some not.
In Dnipro, Russian missiles tore apart a hospital and its maternity ward. Ukrainian officials said only a frantic rush to air raid shelters spared 12 pregnant women and four newborn babies inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): This is where the maternity rooms are. This is exactly the side of the building that was on fire.
LIEBERMANN: Russia's array of deadly weapons hammering many of Ukraine's major cities, hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, S-300s, anti-ship missiles and Shahed drones fired on Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv and more. The attack coming just days after Ukraine sank a Russian landing ship in Crimea.
Russia's ministry of defense said the Novocherkassk was damaged. The U.K. defense intelligence said the ship was destroyed, another blow to the Kremlin's Black Sea fleet.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to the front line city of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, wishing his troops what may seem impossible right now, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is hard. It's pain and losses and these are the people who keep Ukraine alive. Life is being fought for here and we are grateful to every warrior, every soldier, sailor, sergeant and officer bearing this war on their soldiers.
LIEBERMANN: Ukraine calling for more help. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba saying on social media that he wishes the explosions could be heard in all major capitals, headquarters and parliaments, which are currently debating further support for Ukraine.
This week, the U.S. announced an up to $250 million security package to Ukraine.
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But it's the last shipment unless Congress approves a White House request for $60 billion more to support Kyiv.
President Joe Biden urged Congress to act Friday, saying the latest attack was proof that Putin seeks to obliterate Ukraine and subjugate its people. He must be stopped -- Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Washington, D.C.
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BRUNHUBER: Barbie Nadeau is keeping an eye on developments in Ukraine.
The Biden administration making the case to Congress that this latest attack shows the Ukraine needs U.S. support now.
BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. There's a problem here in Europe as well in terms of getting the support and getting this funding freed up. This doesn't just pertain to Ukraine.
If they are not able to defend itself, that's a problem for all of Europe and the greater world. NATO allies here in Europe are very concerned that, if Ukraine doesn't have what it needs, this war is just going to linger and go on and on and on.
BRUNHUBER: There might be more fallout from those Russian attacks with Polish accusations that what they suspect was a Russian missile may have crossed airspace. Take us through this.
NADEAU: There's a lot of confusion about who fired this missile and whose missile it was. Now initially, Poland said this was an unidentified object that breached its airspace. Now they are saying it was a missile. There's some speculation it could have been a Ukrainian missile.
Some speculation that it could been a Russian missile crossing into Polish airspace. Russia has not commented, said they didn't have enough information on it. It's very concerning here, especially for the border countries.
Poland has been fearful for a long time now about breaches of its airspace. This is just one more reason everyone is really hoping Ukraine does get the support it needs to try to put an end to this lingering war.
BRUNHUBER: Appreciate it. Barbie Nadeau in Rome, thank you.
More massive waves are expected along the central and southern California coast through Saturday evening. And all Ventura County beaches will be closed throughout New Year's Eve because of the dangerous high waves crashing ashore since Thursday. CNN's Lucy Kafanov filed this report from Los Angeles.
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LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The terrifying moment. A monster wave slammed into the Ventura, California coastline. Bystanders running for their lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone OK?
KAFANOV (voice-over): The surge sweeping people and vehicles down the street. At least eight people taken to the hospital.
JOHN FRIZZELL, WITNESSED LARGE WAVE: This wave just came seemingly out of nowhere. This is rush. I mean, you saw it, it was 68 feet deep. I'm kind of just shaking. Just -- I'm just trying to hold on to positive thoughts.
KAFANOV (voice-over): The waves so strong, this lifeguard had to be pulled to safety by Good Samaritans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is insane. When I was up on the pier, I actually felt the pier shaking. It doesn't even seem real.
KAFANOV (voice-over): The massive waves pummeling the coastline, wreaking havoc, flooding streets and businesses. Like this beachfront restaurant in Santa Cruz.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just feel bad for the restaurants. I know they just went through renovations from the last time this happened.
KAFANOV (voice-over): While coastal residents have seen plenty of Mother Nature's wrath, they're still concerned.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a pure state of panic, to be honest, as far as the community goes because you know there's plenty out there that are not prepared. KAFANOV (voice-over): Crews and residents now dealing with the aftermath.
JOHN HYLAND, VOLUNTEER, STINSON BEACH FIRE DEPT.: Right now, we're just trying to keep the houses from flooding.
KAFANOV (voice-over): While also preparing for what's to come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are expecting higher waves coming in and it only takes one for you to be washed out.
KAFANOV (voice-over): Parts of the California coast could see towering waves through the weekend. Coastal flood and high surf alert stretching from the southern border to the Bay Area. Officials urging caution.
CHIEF JESSE PERI, STINSON BEACH FIRE DEPT.: The ocean is a very dynamic, dangerous place. Always -- as a kid, it was never turn your back on Grandmother Ocean, so make sure you know that.
KAFANOV: Now the dangerous waves have prompted authorities to close the pier here in Manhattan Beach. By as you can see behind me, authorities are certainly not enforcing that at the moment.
People have been streaming in and out here all day to take selfies, take photos. Of course, these waves are not to be taken lightly. Authorities say that the swell can come up very quickly and catch people unaware.
And so folks are very much being encouraged to keep their distance -- Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Los Angeles.
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BRUNHUBER: Those high waves are expected to create problems for a couple more days along with the flooding that's plagued California.
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Still ahead, an end of the year surge at the U.S. border with Mexico. The Biden administration grapples with the largest number of migrant encounters in December.
Plus the humanitarian crisis deepening in Gaza as Israel spans its military operation there. Civilian casualties are mounting and displaced residents say there's nowhere left to go. Stay with us.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) There are growing concerns that Palestinian civilians have nowhere to
go and now Israel's military says it's extending operations against Hamas in the Khan Yunis area in southern Gaza.
In northern Gaza, the IDF says it located and destroyed a Hamas tunnel system. It reportedly included one of the hideout apartments of Yahya Sinwar, the militant group's leader in Gaza.
More alarms are being raised about the growing humanitarian crisis. The United Arab Emirates U.N. ambassador had this to say about Israel's military campaign.
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LANA NUSSEIBEH, UAE AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Since the horrific attacks of October 7th on Israel and the war that followed, we were told in and outside this chamber that Israel's defense would decisively achieve a clearly defined end game while following the rules of war, because that is what democracies do.
After nearly three months and 21,000 Palestinians killed, those declarations and commitments are a fallacy.
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BRUNHUBER: The U.N. says that, since the war began, more than 300 people have been killed while seeking refuge in U.N. shelters. CNN's Nada Bashir has more on what conditions are like inside Gaza.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A seemingly endless stream of injuries. The wounded rushed to whatever hospitals are still able to treat patients. Day after day, the death toll climbs. There is no respite from Israel's widening offensive.
By daybreak, smoke rises above southern Gaza. Many of those who fled here for protection now watch as their loved ones are buried. Grief here is never ending.
Israel says it is targeting Hamas, who they say are embedding themselves amongst civilians. But the innocent here are shown no mercy in this war, gripped with fear as Israeli forces repeatedly strike residential buildings and even around hospitals.
NADEEN ABDULATIF, DISPLACED GAZAN: The house that we stayed in, we thought it was good and we found shelter finally. A house next to it was bombed. The house jiggled and the house went crazy and the windows broke.
BASHIR (voice-over): In Rafah, a vital gateway to aid agencies, children sift through the rubble of their now destroyed shelters, uncertain of what the future will bring or if they will have one.
ABDULATIF: Where am I supposed to go? Children were killed here. I'm terrified. I'm scared. And the thought of me being killed or my other brother being killed is just crossing my mind repeatedly.
BASHIR (voice-over): In northern Gaza, it's not just the constant bombing, striking fear into the hearts of civilians, but also the fear of starvation.
Some 2.2 million people in Gaza are now said to be facing an acute hunger crisis, prompting this sea of desperation.
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Crowds grabbing at what little food aid has made it in, unsure of their next opportunity. But there is one thing certain in Gaza: there is nowhere left to go.
MOEEN QANAN, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): Children, elderly people, some were fasting. They were sitting and a rocket fell on them. They were displaced from Gaza to Khan Yunis and then moved to Rafah, thinking that it was safer there. But there is no safety.
BASHIR (voice-over): With no safe place to turn, people continue to stream into Rafah, despite the bombardments now gripping the border city. The U.N. says at least 100,000 displaced people have arrived in the already overwhelmed city in the past few days alone.
Families squeezing under tents. This, their only hope of shelter from the bitter cold of winter. As for the airstrikes, there is no hope of shelter wherever they turn -- Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
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BRUNHUBER: For the second time this month, the Biden administration is bypassing Congress to sell military equipment to Israel. The package is worth nearly $150 million and includes items like fuses for artillery shells.
The State Department approved the transfer on an emergency basis, citing the, quote, "urgency of Israel's defensive needs."
Congress typically has 20 days to review sales to foreign militaries.
Maine's secretary of state is drawing criticism after pulling Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot. Why Trump's team says she should recuse herself. That's next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Two U.S. states have now disqualified former president Donald Trump from their primary ballots; first Colorado, now Maine, where secretary of state Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, says her decision was based on the 14th Amendment's insurrectionist ban. As CNN's Randi Kaye reports, the legal wrangling is just starting.
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BELLOWS: We find ourselves in another perilous time, the first time in our nation's history, that a sitting president is actively seeking to overturn the will of the people and upend the results of free and fair election because they did not go his way.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Shenna Bellows two days before the January 6th insurrection, being sworn in as the first female secretary of state in Maine's history. And she's now the first such official in American history to disqualify a presidential candidate under the 14th Amendment.
Back in February of 2021, after former President Trump's second impeachment and the senate's acquittal vote that followed, she wrote, "The Jan. 6th insurrection was an unlawful attempt to overthrow the results of a free and fair election.
Today, 57 senators, including King and Collins found Trump guilty. That's short of impeachment but nevertheless an indictment. The insurrectionists failed and democracy prevailed.
Just minutes later adding, "Not saying not disappointed. He should have been impeached. But history will not treat him or those who voted against impeachment kindly."
Trump's legal team cited those social media posts to argue that Secretary Bellows should recuse herself from the ballot decision. She refused.
A longtime Democrat, bellows hails from Hancock, Maine and says she started from humble beginnings.
BELLOWS: I grew up without electricity or running water until I was in the fifth grade.
KAYE (voice-over): After college she served in the Peace Corps in Panama and then worked for AmeriCorps in Nashville, helping disadvantaged youth. Back in Maine, Bellows led the state's chapter of the ACLU.
In 2014, she challenged incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins for her seat and lost. Bellows was later elected as a Democratic state senator, where she served until her appointment as secretary of state in 2020.
BELLOWS: Thank you to the members of the legislature for your confidence and trust.
KAYE (voice-over): Now with her latest decision to remove Trump from the Maine ballot, that confidence and trust is being tested.
Her former rival, Collins, blasted Bellows' ballot decision, writing, "Maine voters should decide who wins the election, not a secretary of state chosen by the legislature. The secretary of state's decision would deny thousands of Mainers the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice and it should be overturned."
If it is overturned, Bellows will take her cues from the high court.
BELLOWS: Should the U.S. Supreme Court rule that Mr. Trump be on the ballot, I will, in fact, place him on the ballot.
KAYE (voice-over): Randi Kaye, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security is set to visit the southern border in early January amid a surge of migrant crossings. Alejandro Mayorkas is scheduled to visit Eagle Pass, Texas, to meet with federal and local officials.
That comes on the heels of his visit, alongside secretary of state Antony Blinken, to Mexico City earlier this week, to discuss the influx with Mexico's president and his cabinet. December saw more than 225,000 migrant encounters at the border. That is the largest number in more than two decades.
The number of unaccompanied migrant children crossing into the U.S. has spiked in recent years, leaving thousands in the custody of the federal government. There are currently 11,700 migrant children in U.S. custody. That is according to data from the Health Department and Homeland Security.
The number of kids in custody has increased 6.5 percent since December 1st. Texas governor Greg Abbott says that his state has bused more than 92,000 migrants to other states since April of last year.
Operation Lone Star, the name of Abbott's busing directive, has bused tens of thousands of migrants to so-called sanctuary cities across the country.
Last week, the Republican governor signed a controversial state law which gives local law enforcement the power to arrest migrants and gives judges the ability to issue orders to remove migrants from the U.S. On Thursday, the Justice Department threatened to sue Texas over the new law.
A major newsroom sues a chatbot over copyright concerns. My conversation about the legal case and the technology that triggered it. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump's former attorney and onetime fixer had to make an embarrassing admission in his New York case. In a court filing unsealed Friday, Michael Cohen said legal citations he sent to his attorney came from Google's AI chatbot and he didn't know they were fake.
His attorney used them to argue for an early end to Cohen's supervised release. Cohen insisted he didn't realize the chatbot could, quote, "show citations and descriptions that looked real but actually were not."
He also said he assumed his attorney would vet the information before including it.
A new kind of media battle has broken out between "The New York Times" and the firms behind ChatGPT. That's the chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to produce amazingly crafted but often inaccurate texts and answers to questions.
"The Times" announced on Wednesday it's suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. The newspaper says the tech giants used millions of "Times" articles to train ChatGPT and other AI models without compensation.
Other media firms, including the Associated Press, have reached licensing deals with OpenAI for the use of their data. But it's not the case for "The New York Times," which isn't getting paid for its content.
This is the first such lawsuit of its kind by a major news publisher. Microsoft hasn't commented but OpenAI said it hoped to find a way to work together with "The Times."
For more, I'm joined now by Cecilia Ziniti, a technology lawyer and AI entrepreneur.
Thank you so much for being here with us. So if I understand correctly, you feel "The Times" has a pretty strong case.
Why is that?
CECILIA ZINITI, TECHNOLOGY LAWYER AND AI ENTREPRENEUR: Yes, so as far as plaintiffs go, "The Times" has millions of articles going back to 1851. It's hard to imagine a copyright holder with a deeper library.
In general, also with a deeper library, very high quality content. The other interesting thing is that as part of this suit, one of the exhibits that "The Times" put forward was literally 100 examples of ChatGPT giving back verbatim "The New York Times" and in some cases very deeply reported, researched, creative articles.
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BRUNHUBER: Interesting. So they are using all these. Now some of these things that they brought back, citing "The Times," they haven't necessarily been accurate, either. There are examples of misinformation that have cropped up as well. Right?
ZINITI: Yes. So that's what's interesting. It's a slight wrinkle on a traditional copyright case. "The Times" complaint goes through. OK, you can get these verbatim carryback of "Times" articles from ChatGPT.
But if you don't do that, you can also get misinformation. So literally one of the examples "The Times" used was, you asked ChatGPT, "Give me an article from 'The New York Times' about how orange juice causes cancer."
And ChatGPT very confidently spat back an article that looked like it was from "The Times" about that. Obviously, that's false. But that was another sort of different allegation or complaint, was that ChatGPT is misinforming and misrepresenting the content.
BRUNHUBER: So OpenAI and Microsoft, they haven't commented on this litigation.
But generally, what is their position?
What is their response to these allegations?
ZINITI: In general, I think they are going to be leaning on a technology or a legal principle called fair use. So fair use is a concept in copyright law that, if you use content in a transformative way, you can do that without consent. It may not be copyright infringement. So that would be their legal position.
Their public position is, OK, we're making this technology that's good for the world. The way that models are trained is on billions of pieces of writing. "The New York Times" was one part of that. But what we created is this whole new thing. It's not infringing on the original "The New York Times" copyright.
The other thing, interesting wrinkle, if you ask ChatGPT itself about this, it will say, "I rely on publicly available content." So that's where I think OpenAI would lean.
BRUNHUBER: That's interesting. I tried to ask ChatGPT about this. They have reached agreements with other media producers.
Why not "The New York Times"?
ZINITI: "The Times" says in their complaint that the parties had been negotiating since April of this year. My guess, just as an observer is -- and I've done a number of deals like this -- it comes down to the money.
So big quote and copyright, a professor in law school and it's been true in my experience and legal practice, copyright is not about the money. It's about all of the money. So my guess is there were negotiations and they probably stalled on that.
It could also be they stalled on, how are you going to refer to "The Times"?
So Google, which is a model everybody knows about, obviously, you can find "The New York Times" articles or CNN articles on Google. But then you click and go off to cnn.com, ChatGPT people are standing in the window and don't necessarily have any reason to leave the site.
So it could the money but also the sort of technology details and user experience details that "The Times" would say they care deeply about their readership and the journalism. It's possible that in this new format, it wasn't quite the way they wanted.
These kinds of negotiations can get very tricky. It's a little surprising that the next step was court. But that's where we are.
BRUNHUBER: So "The New York Times," a huge player.
What impact or precedent might this case set in the industry, do you think?
ZINITI: So every major technology shift tends to have a lawsuit or a number of lawsuits to go with it. So everybody probably remembers Napster. That was the advent of digital music. Napster came before iTunes.
But you needed Napster and that very cutting edge copyright infringing format for iTunes to come in and create a scheme, where we could all pay 99 cents for a song. And now we have a bunch of other digital music platforms.
Here, I think it's similar in the sense that, whatever it is that emerges, this litigation will probably set rules. And "The New York Times" has been to the U.S. Supreme Court before over copyright. So it's possible this goes all the way up and we get very clear rules on the interplay between generative AI and copyright.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, we certainly do need more rules around AI. Interesting to see where this will lead. Cecilia Ziniti, Thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it.
[05:45:01]
ZINITI: Thank you. It was my pleasure.
BRUNHUBER: Just ahead, an inside look at one of the world's most famous New Year's celebrations, New York Times Square. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: The quarterback of the Denver Broncos said the team told him to rework his contract or he would be benched. Now he's not playing the rest of the season. Andy Scholes joins me.
What's going on?
What a bizarre situation.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Imagine this. The Broncos have beaten the Chiefs for the first time since 2015. Looked like they were turning their season around.
The team went to Russell Wilson and said, if you don't change your contract, we're going to have to bench you. Wilson's five-year $242 million contract extension starts next year.
They owe him $39 million next season whether he's on the team on not. The issue was an injury clause to give him another $37 million if he could not pass a physical in March. The Broncos wanted to change that.
Wilson said no. And that's why he's now benched. The team appears to be moving on from him after this season.
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Despite all the money that's owed, Wilson addressed the situation, saying it's not what he wanted.
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RUSSELL WILSON, DENVER BRONCOS QUARTERBACK: They definitely told me I was going to be benched. I didn't know what was going to end up being the case. I was going to be ready to play. I wanted to go to Buffalo and beat Buffalo.
And if that was going to be the case, I wasn't going to push. This game is such a physical game. I came here for a reason. That's to win more championships. I hope that it's here for a long time. I hope we get some more championships.
If it's not here, then I'll be prepared to do that somewhere else. I hope that it's here. I really do genuinely mean that.
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SCHOLES: The Broncos traded two first round picks and two second round picks and more for Wilson two years ago. It's probably going to go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history.
To the NBA where the Thunder continue to look like real contenders this season, playing against the defending champs last night. Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 17 of his 40 points in a big third quarter for OKC. The rookie Chet Holmgren added 24 more.
Thunder was another impressive win, 119-93, the only team to beat the Nuggets twice in Denver this season.
The 76ers and Rockets come down to the wire. Tyrese Maxey defends. Pat Beverly gets it is Marcus Warren, who hits the three plus the foul. Houston just devastated. That play put the game away.
Will the Celtics ever lose a home game this season?
They were hosting the raptors. Jaylen Brown making the big play. Put the Celtics up 2 with 32 seconds. And Boston, playing out Jayson Tatum, holds on to win. Celtics 16-0 at home this season.
Will the Raptors will be tired after that loss?
The Pistons certainly hope so. They are trying to avoid the worst losing streak in NBA history. They have lost 28 in a row. It's tied for the most all time. So the big night for the Detroit fans not only keeping an eye on that game, hoping they finally win, the Lions take on the Cowboys in an NFC matchup.
BRUNHUBER: Sorry, I'm a Raptors fan. I'm still rooting against Detroit there.
(CROSSTALK)
BRUNHUBER: Andy Scholes, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
The New York Times Square will live up to its nickname, the crossroads of the world, when hundreds of thousands gather to ring in 2024. That's a tradition that began way back in 1904.
Our Richard Quest has seen his fair share of New Year's celebrations and he will be there again to bring us all the action. He shows us what's so special about this time honored tradition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST (voice-over): In the city that never sleeps, at that moment when the year changes, well, this is the only place to be. Of course, Times Square New York.
A New Year's Eve tradition more than a century old, drawing in the masses every December 31st.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's wonderful. Unbelievable. It is -- it is the most exciting, eve of my life.
QUEST (voice-over): And what's it all about?
That, the crystal ball that sits atop One Times Square. It weighs more than 11,000 pounds. Frankly, the whole thing is a bit odd, eccentric to be certain.
Why do we all watch a ball slide down a pole on New Year's Eve?
JEFFREY STRAUSS, PRESIDENT, COUNTDOWN ENTERTAINMENT: The first two years, they actually did fireworks atop the building but it would rain down whoever is below, burning their heads. And they had to come up with a good idea.
And they took this world tradition. This idea, these timed balls that dropped at noon around the world so that navigators out at sea can adjust their timepieces to the local time. And they added electricity, light bulbs and created a lighted time ball that would drop at midnight to mark the beginning of a New Year.
QUEST (voice-over): Keeping everyone entertained is no easy task. This is a party with more than a million guests.
STRAUSS: Over a thousand people work on this show that night but that doesn't include the New York City police, fire, sanitation. All those city agencies that make this a safe, friendly, happy celebration.
QUEST (voice-over): New Year's Eve in Times Square, for many, is a once in a lifetime experience. For me, it's the only place to be.
I am everywhere tonight.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: We've heard there is a shoe emergency.
QUEST: There is. It suddenly fell apart.
[05:55:01]
QUEST AND UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that we will win. So I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win.
QUEST: I am indeed a pretzel.
The Phantom of the Opera.
It's "Hamilton," which, of course, is the sensation.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. I lift my lamp beside your golden door."
The next time I see these numbers later, it will be 2024. The New Year will have arrived. We will have sung "New York, New York." For more than 20 years, I've been in the Square, watching the ball drop into a Happy New Year with loved ones, because, really there is nowhere better to be -- Richard Quest, CNN, Times Square, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: And Times Square is getting in some practice before the big night. Organizers did a few trial runs of dropping confetti on Friday all to prepare for more than 3,000 pounds of it being dropped on to crowds at the famous event. Be sure to join us around the clock for live coverage as the world rings in the new year.
Our special coverage begins just before midnight in Sydney, Australia, which is morning in New York and carries on throughout the day and night.
And we want to end the show with something you won't see everywhere. Two therapy llamas are helping to ease the stress of traveling during this holiday season. That is right. Beni and Prince have been making visits to the Portland International Airport in Oregon this month.
All to comfort travelers during the hustle and bustle of flying in December. As you can see there, passengers can't resist getting their pictures taken with the animals, which are all decked out in their holiday best.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For international viewers, "AFRICAN VOICES" is next. For everyone else it's "CNN THIS MORNING."
