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Passenger Plane Evacuated Within 18 Minutes; House Speaker Pushes Hardline Bill During Border Visit; Iran Terror: 100+ Dead, Regional War Fears; Epstein Case Reveals Names: No Direct Accusations; Israel-Hamas Tensions Rise: Senior Hamas Leader Killed; Tokyo Airport Collision: Runway Warning Lights Malfunction; Trump Appeals Ballot Disqualification to Supreme Court. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired January 04, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Coming up this hour here on CNN, the deadliest terror attack in Iran since the Islamic Revolution. Twin bombings at a memorial leave nearly more than 100 dead, stoking fears of a regional war. A big reveal or a big nothing burger? Unsealed court documents confirm the big names connected to sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. And why weren't the runway warning lights working and what role did that play in a fiery collision at a busy Tokyo airport?

Who did it and how will Iran respond? Two key questions right now after nearly 100 people were killed in two deadly explosions at the gravesite of the late Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani. Crowds had gathered to mark the third anniversary of his assassination by a US airstrike in Baghdad. So far, no claim of responsibility, but the US has denied involvement and says there's no reason to believe Israel is responsible. Still, Iran's president was quick to blame the Israelis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EBRAHIM RAISI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): These gatherings that you see held in the country, this flood of people that poured towards the grave of Qasem Soleimani these days, you come to scare the people with your criminal act. You're not strong enough to face the resistance. Your power has lost its effectiveness against the forces of resistance. Now you're targeting innocent people? Know you will pay a heavy price for this horrible crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Fears the war in Gaza could escalate were already high after Israel apparently killed a senior Hamas leader in southern Beirut just a day earlier. CNN's Nada Bashir is following the very latest developments, reporting in now from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL REPORTER (voice-over): Scenes of chaos in the Iranian city of Kerman. An explosion sending crowds into disarray when a second blast rings out. Thousands had gathered to mark the anniversary of the death of military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad four years ago. The twin blasts less than a mile from Soleimani's grave, killing more than a hundred and injuring many more. Iranian officials say this was a terror attack. State media reporting that one of the explosions was caused by a bomb inside a suitcase in a car.

Soleimani was Iran's revered target, a top military general. This attack on his supporters, seen as a strike against the Iranian regime, which has many enemies both inside and outside the country. In Lebanon the leader of Iran back Hezbollah, commemorated Soleimani's death, but also used his speech on Wednesday to condemn Tuesday's killing of a top Hamas official on his own soil.

HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH SECRETARY-GENERAL: Yesterday's crime was large and dangerous. This crime will not be left without, without a response and punishment. Between us and our enemies there is time and the battlefield.

BASHIR (voice-over): The strike in southern Beirut targeted Salah al- Arouri and several others in what Hamas has described as a cowardly assassination. And while a U.S. official tells CNN that Israel was behind the strike, Israeli officials have so far been careful not to publicly take responsibility.

MARK REGEV, SENIOR ADVISOR TO ISRAELI'S PRIME MINISTER: Israel has not taken responsibility for this attack, but whoever did it, it must be clear that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state. It was not an attack even on Hezbollah.

BASHIR (voice-over): Hezbollah, perhaps not the target in Israel's eyes, but the Iran-backed group has long warned that any attack on Lebanese soil would trigger a response of equal severity on Israeli territory. From the outset of the war between Israel and Hamas, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been largely contained to Lebanon's southern border region. But the brazen strike in Beirut, in the heart of Hezbollah territory, has raised fears among the United States and its allies that a full-scale war could break out between Israel and the Middle East's most powerful paramilitary force, or even more broadly, across the region. Nada Bashir, CNN, in Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And joining us this hour from Washington is Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, for Responsible Statecraft. He's also author of Losing an Enemy. Welcome to the show. It's good to see you.

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TRITA PARSI, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT: Good to see you. VAUSE: Okay, so right now the key unanswered question is, who done it? But Iran's president told a crowd in Tehran that Israel is to blame. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAISI: I warned the Zionist regime, don't doubt it. You will pay the price for this crime. These crimes that you have committed, you will deeply regret.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That accusation came without any evidence, and right now Israeli involvement seems incredibly unlikely. But I guess once we know who was behind the attack, will that essentially answer the other questions of why, and more importantly, what sort of response we can expect from Iran?

PARSI: Again, we don't know, as you pointed out, exactly who was behind it. The Iranians have not provided any evidence. However, what has preceded this, of course, is a week ago, the assassination of Iranian general in Damascus by Israel, the assassination of a Hamas official in Beirut two days ago, and earlier today, another Hezbollah official who was assassinated in Beirut. We have clear evidence that the Israelis want to at least expand the war into Lebanon, according to the Biden administration.

That is what Israel was planning to do early on, but the Biden administration credits itself for having thwarted that early on in the war. But it seems like we're back to square one with the Israelis trying to do so. That, however, is not evidence that Israel is behind it, but you cannot rule it out. It could also be ISIS. ISIS has struck Iran in the past.

VAUSE: Well, as for Israeli or U.S. involvement, here's a spokesman for the U.S. State Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The United States was not involved in any way, and any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous. And number two, we have no reason to believe that Israel was involved in this explosion.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And the Wall Street Journal notes this: The style of the bombing, doesn't fit the pattern of alleged Israeli attacks, which have usually been more precise targeting of individuals or infrastructure connected to Iran's security forces. So, before the attack on mortars in Iran, concerns were growing that Israel's war with masks could escalate beyond Gaza. So, to your earlier point, whoever is responsible for the twin bombings seems willing or perhaps maybe hoping to ignite a regional war.

PARSI: Certainly. And I think we have seen that inside of Iran, inside the regime, there is increasing pressure for Iran to respond more directly to the assassination of Iranian generals and others. There's a bit of a belief inside the system that Iran has not responded forcefully enough. And as a result, its deterrence has weakened. On the other side are those within the regime that are arguing that this is a trap. The Israelis want Iran to respond in order for it to be able to enlarge the war and that it is in the strategic benefit of Iran to conduct an indirect war with Israel rather than to do so directly.

In all of this, however, one of the measures that would be most effective in really de-escalating the situation would be to have a ceasefire in Gaza. We saw, for instance, that the attacks by Iraqi militias that are close to Iran against U.S. troops completely stopped during the six days that there was a ceasefire in Gaza. The day before the ceasefire, there were six attacks by Iraqi militias against U.S. troops.

So, if we truly want to de-escalate this, instead of sending more troops, et cetera, I think we really have to think more closely about the effectiveness of actually having a ceasefire that has proven to be more effective than any other measure that has been done so far.

VAUSE: Right now, the pressure is on Tehran for some kind of response to this. So what sort of timeline are we looking at here for Tehran to do something in response?

PARSI: I don't think the Iranians are going to respond to Israel in a quick way. What we've seen in the past is that they take their time. They respond in ways in which their fingerprints cannot be directly tied to it. They take credit for it in indirect ways. If it were to be a direct response rather in short order, that would be a significant break with how the Iranians have reacted to these things in the past. But then again, we are in a new world right now. There's a lot of different things that are happening that are breaking with previous patterns.

VAUSE: A new world, to say the least. A new world with a lot of risk and a lot of calculated responses using rockets and missiles. Trita, thanks for being with us. Appreciate your time.

PARSI: Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: One of those fears of an escalating conflict, Israel has reported intensive battles with Hamas militants in Gaza Wednesday, with fighting reported in several refugee camps, according to both the IDF and sources in Gaza. Thick smoke was seen rising over the Gaza Strip Wednesday with reports of a number of civilian casualties in the Jabalia refugee camp. The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, says more than 22,300 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli offensive began.

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Clean water, though, now flowing in parts of Gaza after a damaged supply line in the central part of the Gaza Strip was repaired. Israel is expected to reveal its post-Hamas plans for Gaza on Thursday, but two members of the far-right-wing coalition government have sparked international outrage, proposing the relocation of millions of Palestinians in Gaza to another country.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Basil Smotrich are pushing this idea. Smotrich, on the right, said Israelis could then, quote, make the desert bloom, according to multiple news agencies. The White House described those comments as inflammatory and irresponsible, the ones about relocating the Palestinians. Here's more now from John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House Security Council.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: That statement does speak for the United States government and for this administration in terms of our complete refusal and rebuke of any forced displacement outside of Gaza of any Palestinians. We have made that clear to our Israeli counterparts in private sessions. We certainly have made that publicly, and that's not going to change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Despite that, Ben-Gvir has pushed back with this statement on social media. Very appreciative of the United States of America, but with all due respects, we are not just another star in the American flag.

On again, off again. Hostage negotiations appear to be back on but going nowhere. Sources tell CNN Hamas recently demanded a permanent ceasefire in exchange for all hostages.

After an outright rejection by Israel, Hamas has since returned to talks in Doha, but sources say there's been little progress. Hamas continues to hold more than 100 Israeli hostages. Their families and supporters continue to pressure the Netanyahu government to bring them home. But one hostage won't be coming home after a failed IDF rescue operation last month. It's not known if 25-year-old Sahar Baruch who was killed by Hamas or by friendly fire from his would-be rescuers.

On the day he died, Hamas released a video of his remains. The IDF had no comment at the time. When we come back, court documents unsealed in the Jeffrey Epstein case, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, among those named in the depositions, but being named does not equate to any kind of wrongdoing. Also, Donald Trump wants Colorado's ballot ban overturned, setting up an extraordinary showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court. Details of that appeal is next.

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VAUSE: Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Britain's Prince Andrew, among the names appearing in newly unsealed documents in a legal suit related to the sex trafficking now-dead paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Most of the information in these documents has already been made public. It's important to note that this is not the first time someone's name is not an indication of wrongdoing. More details now from CNN's Shimon Prokupecz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The documents released by the court stem from a lawsuit that was brought back in 2015 against Ghislaine Maxwell, who is the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein. It was a civil lawsuit for defamation.

[00:15:09]

Eventually they settled the case, but finally after years, the documents have been released. And some specific and pretty important information coming from depositions that were taken by the lawyers from an associate of Jeffrey Epstein, a woman who used to work for him, where she says that Jeffrey Epstein told her that former President Bill Clinton liked them young, referring to girls, she says, and she said they had a conversation about the former president.

Now, the former president has denied any wrongdoing, and there are no accusations in the court filings of any kind of wrongdoing or any kind of criminal activity on the part of the former president. A spokesperson for the former president said that, along as he did in 2019, that he denies doing anything wrong, he does admit to being on Jeffrey Epstein's plane, but he says that it's been nearly 20 years since the former president had any contact with Epstein, and of course that Clinton has not been accused of any crimes or wrongdoing related to Epstein.

And also in that same deposition from the former employee, we learned that she says, according to her deposition, that Jeffrey Epstein, they were on a plane together, on one of Epstein's plane, heading to New York City, and they couldn't land in New York, and so they had to go to Atlantic City. And she says while on that plane, Jeffrey Epstein told her that we'll call Trump and we'll go to Atlantic City, and she says they wound up going to a casino. She doesn't remember what that casino was. And again, the significance of this is that we're seeing, you know, two former presidents' names here. These names being mentioned are not necessarily new. It's certainly something that we expected.

And then now, you know, in the coming days, we do expect to see more documents as the court and the attorneys work through some more of those filings and plan to release more information in the coming days.

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VAUSE: Shimon Prokupecz there, and CNN has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment. Still waiting. Joining me now from Los Angeles, Areva Martin, civil rights attorney and legal affairs commentator. Areva, it's good to see you. Thanks for being with us.

AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Hi, John.

VAUSE: So, again, we should make this point. Someone named in this legal suit does not automatically mean they're accused of wrongdoing. So, we'll get to the names in a moment. But explain exactly what these court documents are and why are they being made public now?

MARTIN: Well, the court documents have been made public now because a newspaper in Florida filed a lawsuit requesting that these documents be made public. This has been an ongoing lawsuit for several years. The case actually went up on appeal and a new judge was appointed to this case. And this judge has said, look, most of the information in these files has already been made public. Many of the names that were revealed today are names that have already been in the public sphere.

The judge did keep some of the names private for those individuals whose names have not been revealed. But the judge essentially determined that the public's right to have this information outweighed any of the privacy issues that may have been asserted. However, the judge did give everyone who's identified in these documents an opportunity to come forth and to make any objections. And it's important to note that Bill Clinton was in favor of the release of the documents. Allegations regarding him and his relationship to Epstein surfaced almost two decades ago.

So, there's nothing really new about Clinton other than this comment from someone in the deposition about, he likes young, -- he likes them young, or something to that effect. And if true, could be a very troubling statement if he's making reference to young girls.

VAUSE: Okay, with that in mind, that does seem to be the only sort of new detail that we get out of these documents. And it comes from the 2016 deposition from one of Epstein's victims, Johanna Sjoberg. And when Epstein spoke to her about Bill Clinton, quote, he said one time that Clinton likes them young, referring to girls. She said, when asked if Clinton, was a friend of Epstein, she said she understood Epstein had dealings with Clinton. So yes, it's creepy, but is it illegal and is it hearsay? And what does this actually mean in terms for any future legal action?

MARTIN: I don't think it means much, John, in terms of any future legal actions. There's no indication that Bill Clinton or anyone else that's identified in these documents is the subject of a criminal or even any civil litigation at this point. Obviously, that statement, if he's, if he's referencing underage girls, that would be incredibly troubling. But I think it's important to note that Donald Trump is also mentioned in these documents.

[00:20:09]

And unlike Bill Clinton, Donald Trump is running for president. Yes, it's very clear that he had a relationship with Epstein. There's also something in the documents that said that one of the victims was going to stop with Epstein at one of Trump's casinos in Atlantic City. So, there are mentions of two former presidents, it's important to note, in these documents.

VAUSE: For Trump, basically, a lot of this is already out there. Essentially, he admits they had a friendship, but then years later, they had a falling out over some kind of real estate deal. But I guess, putting all of this out there, what is the overall impact when it comes to getting these details in a legal document, as opposed to having them being reported secondhand, or from sources, or from people associated with the lawsuit, actually getting them from the court?

MARTIN: I hope what this does, John, is put an end to so many of the conspiracy theories that have been out there. You had Marjorie Taylor Greene, you had Donald Trump Jr. all posting on social media that there was going to be some kind of bombshell revelation about Democratic high-profile individuals in these records. And that just wasn't the case. And what I hope happens is that the focus remains and gets back to these girls, these young girls who were the victim of a predator, who were preyed upon by this billionaire or millionaire, Jeffrey Epstein, and who went for years without any consequences or any accountability.

So, I hope that this allows us to keep the focus where it should be, which is on the fact that young girls are often victims of abuse, and their abusers often go without punishment, particularly when they are rich and have friends in high places.

VAUSE: Yeah, that's a really important point to remember here. There are victims here. It's not just about these names that are associated with a paedophile and a sex trafficker. Having said all of that, there are more documents to come. Is it going to be more of the same? What do we know about that?

MARTIN: Yeah, we hear that there are hundreds of additional pages of documents that might be released. But I don't think, John, that we're going to get this sensationalized document dump that many Republicans and many conspiracy theorists have been posting about on social media. I think so much of this story has already been revealed. So many of the names have already been revealed. We may learn a detail here and there that we didn't know otherwise. But again, this is really about, I think, exposing how someone like Epstein, who basically dropped out of high school, earns all this money somehow, makes friends in high places, and is able to escape any punishment.

He spent about 13 months in jail in 2008, but it wasn't until 2019 when he was charged on the more serious charges, and then he commits suicide. So, for a lot of these victims, they never got the closure that they sought. They never got the justice that they wanted, despite the horrific nature of his crimes.

VAUSE: Yeah, it's just incredible to think how close he was just to, you know, through the rich, the wealthy, and the powerful all around the world, whilst doing what he was doing. Areva, great. Thank you for being with us. Thank you.

MARTIN: Thank you, John.

VAUSE: Well, now it will be up to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have appealed a Colorado ruling disqualifying him from the state's Republican primary ballot. State courts and election officials across the U.S. have come to very different conclusions about his eligibility to run, some removing him from the ballot after legal challenges, accusing the former president of inciting the January 6th Capitol riot, the insurrection. The U.S. Supreme Court is now under pressure to decide once and for all, if Trump's name can actually be on the ballot, or whether he's disqualified from holding public office. CNN's Evan Perez has details.

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EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an extraordinary ruling from the state Supreme Court in Colorado that ordered his name removed from the primary election ballot because he's an insurrectionist based on his actions around January 6th, 2021. Trump's lawyers say that the former president did not engage in insurrection, that the 14-year-old president did not engage in insurrection, that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution doesn't actually mention the office of the president and doesn't apply to Trump, and that Congress, not the states, should determine eligibility for the presidency.

They argue, in our system of government of the people, by the people, and for the people, Colorado's ruling is not and cannot be correct. The Colorado ruling came in a number of lawsuits tied to the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In the state of Maine, the Secretary of State similarly ordered, Trump's name removed for similar reasons, a decision that Trump is challenging. A number of other states have reached the opposite conclusion. That increases the chances that the Supreme Court will take up the issue and try to settle once and for all, for the first time, whether the 14th Amendment applies to candidate for president. Trump remains on the Colorado ballot while he continues this legal fight. We don't know how quickly this issue will be resolved. Colorado votes in March. Evan Paris, CNN, Washington

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VAUSE: Still ahead here on CNN, new details on what may have contributed to the runway collision of two planes at a busy Tokyo airport.

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VAUSE: New details this hour about events leading up to the moment of a deadly runway collision at a Tokyo airport. According to NHK, the pilots on the Japan Airlines plane did not see the smaller Coast Guard plane on the runway. Records show runway warning lights have been out of service for almost a week. CNN's Brian Todd has details.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORESPONDENT (voice-over): As investigators sift through the charred wreckage, new information on what may have caused this horrific deadly accident when a Japan Airlines passenger plane collided on the runway at Haneda Airport with a Japanese Coast Guard plane. Publicly available records show that red warning lights embedded in the tarmac, lights designed to stop pilots from mistakenly taxiing onto active runways, were broken at Haneda Airport for seven days leading up to the accident and on the day of the accident.

Five crew members aboard the Coast Guard plane were killed, one injured, and another possible clue to the tragedy. Japanese officials have just released a transcript covering over four minutes of communications between air traffic control and the two planes involved. Just moments before the collision, the control tower says to the Coast Guard plane, referring to its tail number, quote, JA722A Tokyo Tower, good evening, number one, taxi to holding point C5. CNN's analysis indicates that's likely a command to taxi to a point short of the runway, but not on the runway. But CNN analysts say the command is usually more specific, telling a taxiing plane to, quote, hold short of crossing another runway.

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: If they were holding short of the runway, they should not have been on the runway or they should have not been landing there.

TODD: According to the transcript, the Coast Guard plane seems to acknowledge the control tower's command. The Coast Guard crew responding, quote, taxi to holding point C5, JA722A number one, thank you. We've also learned from Japan Airlines that the in-flight announcement system on the passenger plane malfunctioned during the evacuation. So, the cabin crew used a megaphone and their own voices to direct people off the burning aircraft. Everyone on board, nearly 400 people, survived.

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MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: A lot of us were skeptical on these big, wide-bodies aircraft, whether it really was practical to get some group -- a group that large out of an aircraft, in that much time. And here, we have a real-life demonstration that it can be done.

TODD (voice-over): Japan Airlines passengers giving new accounts of their ordeal.

TSUBASA SAWADA, JAPAN AIRLINES PASSENGER (through translator): I heard an explosion, about ten minutes after we all got off the plane. We would have been in trouble if we had left even a little late.

TODD (voice-over): Passengers themselves, receiving praise from safety efforts.

PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: Had the passengers, for instance, not followed instructions and tried to take overhead luggage with them or tried to, you know, pick up their stuff that they had left under their seats, people would have died.

TODD: Safety experts are also pointing to other factors which could have saved lives aboard that passenger plane. Factors of aircraft design. They say that Airbus, like other modern passenger planes, now has less toxic, less flammable materials inside the cabin. And they say the actual skin of many of these aircraft is now more fire- resistant.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Live now to CNN's Marc Stewart, who's following all these developments for us in Seoul.

We know that over the last couple of days, they've looked at the pilots, the communication from the tower between the Coast Guard plane and the Japanese airline, commercial airliner. They're looking at the warning lights on the runway, why they weren't working.

So as we get into a couple days now, what's the focus of the investigators at this point?

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think for one thing, John, they're going to have to try to set some -- some agenda as to how to look at all of this different evidence that they are gathering, including these air traffic control transcripts, as well as this bulletin that these runway lights were inoperable.

We do know that officials from Airbus in France have now arrived in Japan and that they have begun their work in this investigation. They have made it very clear that they are not going to be answering any reporter questions.

You know, a big reason why air travel is so safe these days, despite this horrible accident we've seen, but why, broadly speaking, air travel is so safe is because of redundancy. There are so many different procedures, different practices in place to double check safety. And that's where all of these different factors will come into play.

We should also point out, John, that the cockpit, the cockpit voice recorders, as well as data recorders, often known as black boxes, they have been retrieved from that Dash 8 turboprop belonging to the Japanese Coast Guard.

The cockpit voice recorder and the data recorder from the Airbus have not yet been found. And as we have seen some of these images, I mean, there's very little left of the plane. However, these boxes are meant to withstand even the most severe of conditions.

So, that's going to be a priority, especially this afternoon.

We should also tell you that Japan Airlines is now expecting a $1 million loss because of this accident. Obviously, that aircraft that was lost, that was in this accident is a total loss, based off of what we have seen. I think that's pretty safe to say.

In addition, Japan Airlines does recognize that some passengers may be a bit unsettled right now, and if they are choosing to cancel their reservation, John, the airline is allowing that to occur without any kind of penalty.

VAUSE: Marc, thank you. Marc Stewart for us with the very latest there. Appreciate it. Thank you.

We'll take a short break. When we come back here on CNN NEWSROOM, despite no extra U.S. or Western aid right now, Ukraine says it has no Plan B, because Plan A was working pretty well, as far as they're concerned. We'll tell you why. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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VAUSE: Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners in what appears to be the biggest so far since the war began.

Two hundred and thirty Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were released by Russia, including seven soldiers who became iconic defending Snake Island in the early days of the war from a Russian warship in the Black Sea. They were thought to be dead but were later -- apparently, were being held prisoner.

As well, prisoners captured in the Chernobyl [SIC] nuclear plant were released.

In exchange, 248 Russian servicemen were returned from Ukrainian territory.

Moscow credits the UAE for orchestrating the exchange.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is preparing for the next stage of the war, according to the foreign minister. Dmytro Kuleba is renewing appeals for allies for aid, saying Russia's missiles and drone attacks in the past few days should be an alarm to the rest of the world. He calls it a reminder that something unprecedented is happening in Ukraine.

Kuleba told CNN on Wednesday his country will stay the course, no matter what.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We don't have Plan B. We are confident in Plan A.

Ukraine was -- will always fight with the resources available to it.

What is given to Ukraine is not a charity. It's an investment in the protection of NATO and in the protection of -- also, the prosperity of the American people.

Because if Russia, theoretically, prevails in Ukraine, other leaders across the world will be tempted to follow Russia's footprints. And securing and ensuring security in these parts of the world and deterring these leaders in their countries will require a much, much higher price tag for the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: But plea for aid may fall on deaf ears in the U.S. Lawmakers are set to return next week to pick up votes on spending. But there's no consistent consensus on funding for Ukraine or for other key issues, as well.

For instance, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is demanding any foreign aid package be linked to tightening security on the U.S. Southern border. Johnson and dozens of House Republicans visited the border on Wednesday to put pressure on the White House and President Biden's border policies.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has details from Eagle Pass in Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Migrants cross the Rio Grande into the United States as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson looks on during the Republicans' tour of the Southern border, to highlight a crisis he says the Biden administration is doing nothing to fix.

Migrants have crossed into the United States by the thousands, more than 225,000 alone in December, the highest monthly surge recorded since the year 2000.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): America is at a breaking point, with record levels of illegal immigration. And today, we got a firsthand look at the damage and the chaos the border catastrophe is causing in all of our communities.

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We have a broken immigration system. That is the one single fact about which everyone agrees.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Droves of migrants have come through this crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas, despite the miles of razor wire, shipping containers, and other barriers built up along the border.

A former Democratic state lawmaker in Eagle Pass, Texas, says Republicans' efforts to deter migration aren't working either.

PONCHO NEVAREZ (D), FORMER TEXAS STATE LAWMAKER: Anybody that's walked or ridden a train car 3,000 miles and been robbed, beaten, and raped to make it to that side right there, do you think this is going to stop them? And the answer to that, as we already know, is a big no.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The White House is increasingly facing pressure from both Republicans and Democratic mayors and governors on the need for real solutions to the immigration crisis.

And the Republican governor of Texas keeps ramping up the pressure, as well, transporting tens of thousands of migrants, unannounced, to urban cities in blue states, straining their resources.

Most migrants say they're just trying to escape the hardships they left behind.

Like Kenny Contreras (ph) from Ecuador, who says his country is plagued by violence and extortion. And this migrant from Liberia, who says he spent $15,000 to reach the U.S. border.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S. have been my dream country since I was a young kid, you know?

JOHNSON: It's estimated that nearly 170 countries have people coming in and flowing across this border.

[00:40:03]

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Senate leaders are working toward a possible deal to change current immigration law, including the possibility of expedited removals of migrants who cross illegally and tightened rules on granting asylums.

The House speaker tells CNN's Jake Tapper the problem cannot be solved by allocating more money to the border.

JOHNSON: These are policy choices that got us in this situation. And what we're demanding is that the policies change.

LAVANDER: What you did not hear from House Republicans in Eagle Pass is a willingness to negotiate on immigration reform. And also, many Republicans also saying that they're not necessarily willing to sign onto the Senate border security bill compromise and that they're willing to shut down the government to get what they want in terms of border security.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Eagle Pass, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and many House Republicans are demanding that the immigration bill they passed last year, called HR- 2, must be part of a final deal.

Among other things, it would renew construction of the border wall and raise the bar on who's eligible for asylum.

The White House and Democratic leaders call it draconian; say it's a non-starter.

Speaker Johnson digs in his heels. Some senators are seeking a middle ground. Two top Senate negotiators from both parties say the hardline House bill won't fly in the Senate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): We still have to be able to secure the border. I mean, we still have to be able to do something. We can't just do nothing and say we can't get everything in HR-2, so we can do nothing. We've got 10,000 people a day coming across. We've got to do something.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): My understanding is that HR-2 doesn't have Democratic votes in the House or in the Senate. Ultimately, we're going to work out a bill, if we're successful, that will have Republican and Democratic votes. I imagine if you get a bill that has big numbers of Republican and Democratic votes in the Senate, if it's put on the House floor, it would pass the House of Representatives.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Senator James Lankford says he will update his fellow Senate Republicans next week, even if they don't have a textual framework agreement as of yet.

I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM, but first, WORLD SPORT starts after a short break. See you back in about 18 minutes.

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