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Biden Decides to Respond to the Deadly Drone Attack in Jordan; Israeli Hostages' Families Pleads to the Government to Bring Their Loved Ones Home; Venezuelan Presidential Challenger Boots Out of the Race as She Faces a 15-Year Ban in Holding Any Public Office; Pakistan's Former PM, Wife Sentenced 14 Years in Prison; Four Current and A Former NHL players Face Sexual Assault Charges; Far-Right Politicians and Right-Wing Media Plotted Conspiracy Theories on Pop Superstar Taylor Swift. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 31, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That's not what I'm looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Biden has decided how to respond to the deadly drone attack on U.S. troops in Jordan. Now the world waits for the when and where.

For the families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, patience turns to anger as they plead with their government to do more to bring their loved ones home. We'll speak with an expert about the state of the latest negotiations.

And the U.S. is reimposing sanctions on Venezuela after an opposition candidate was barred from the upcoming presidential election.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. U.S. President Joe Biden says he has decided on how to respond to the deadly drone strike on American forces in Jordan. But with no further details, it's still unclear what that response will be.

His announcement on Tuesday came two days after the attack on a small U.S. outpost called Tower 22 which sits in the desert of northeastern Jordan near the border with Syria. Three U.S. soldiers were killed, dozens more were injured. U.S. officials blame Iran-backed militants, though Iran denies any involvement.

Meantime, the most powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq, Kataib Hezbollah, released this statement following the drone attack, saying, quote, "we are announcing the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces, meaning U.S. troops, in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government."

Well, journalist Elliott Gotkine is following developments and joins me now from London. Good morning to you, Elliott. President Biden has made his decision on how he plans to respond. What is the latest on how we got here and what might come next?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Rosemary, I suppose a bit of a teaser from U.S. President Joe Biden there saying that the US will respond, but not giving us any information as to when, where or how that response will take place.

Now, from what we understand from U.S. officials, the response will be greater than any previous attacks, response attacks against Iran- backed militias in Syria and Iraq, and that it's unlikely to take place on Iranian soil, the U.S. dismissing, I think, suggestions or statements from the Iranians saying that they don't control their own proxies, because after all, they're the ones that are arming them.

So we don't know precisely the nature of this. And I suppose the overall objective of the U.S. in any response will be to degrade, deter, and avoid escalation. Now, in terms of degrading, they may degrade the capabilities to a degree, but there have still been more than 160 attacks on U.S. forces and facilities in the region.

So the degrading of capabilities, although it may be happening to a degree, hasn't put any of these militias, it seems, out of commission. We only have to look at the way that the Houthis are continuing to menace shipping going through the Bab-El-Mandeb Strait, onto the Red Sea and up to the Suez Canal, and really impacting global trade, about 10 percent of trade goes through those waters and it's having a devastating impact on the Egyptian economy, for example, which is losing all those revenues from the Suez Canal. So it hasn't degraded or deterred the Houthis there.

Perhaps it's deterred Qatab Hezbollah a little bit with that statement, although it says that it's going to suspend its operations against U.S. forces to avoid embarrassing the Iraqi authorities. So perhaps that deterrence has happened. And in terms of escalation.

I mean, this was the U.S. own objective from the start of the Israel- Hamas war since October the 7th, and yet we still see things escalating, perhaps not into all-out war, but even the presence of a U.S. strike group in the Eastern Mediterranean hasn't prevented daily attacks in terms of drones and missiles and the like from Hezbollah, perhaps the most powerful militia backed by Iran based in southern Lebanon attacking Israel and Israel responding on a daily basis.

[03:05:00]

So although we haven't had all our escalation into another war, it is very low level. And I suppose this whole situation is very much complicated by the fact that President Biden is under enormous pressure, both from within his own Democratic Party and from Republicans, many of them calling for the U.S. to strike back against Iran and to strike back hard. Of course, there's an election coming up this year as well.

And of course, the other complication is that there are concerns that any retaliation by the US could in some way impact the ongoing hostage negotiations to get some of the hundred hostages who were abducted by Hamas on October the 7th to get them back home.

So a lot of complicated issues for President Biden to deal with. He says he's decided what to do. I guess we'll have to wait and see exactly what that is. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Elliott Gotkine, many thanks for that live report from London.

Well last hour I spoke with Malcolm Davis, a military analyst and senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute about the expected U.S. response to the drone attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALCOLM DAVIS, MILITARY ANALYST: It's a really challenging problem for the Biden administration. Firstly, I don't think the Biden administration can afford to delay for too long. As your report indicated, days are going on since that attack and at some point, the U.S. does need to act.

The question is how they act in a way that essentially degrades the abilities of Iranian-sponsored to attack the U.S. in the future, and at the same time sends the message to Iran to basically stop all future attacks.

And in particular, I think the conduit for that message has to be the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. I don't think you're going to see attacks on Iranian soil. I think the president has made that quite clear.

But the risk is that the U.S. will do these attacks. There might be a bit more intense or widespread than previous attacks. But if the Iranian-backed militias then launch more attacks, potentially injuring more US service people, then President Biden is under immense pressure to do something far more destructive and widespread.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The U.N. Secretary-General held a meeting with 35 donor nations, including the U.S. on Tuesday, amid the fallout over Israel's allegations that some members of the U.N.'s main relief agency in Gaza were involved in the October 7th Hamas attacks.

The U.N. says the Secretary General was expected to brief donor countries on the actions being taken since the allegations, listen to their concerns, and also stress the critical humanitarian work UNRWA is doing in Gaza. It comes after more than a dozen countries halted funding to UNRWA. Since the allegations emerged, the U.S. envoy to the U.N. says the agency needs to make fundamental changes before Washington can resume funding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: We need to look at the organization, how it operates in Gaza, how they manage their staff and to ensure that people who commit criminal acts such as these 12 individuals are held accountable immediately so that UNRWA can continue the essential work that it is doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Meantime, the U.N.'s Humanitarian Coordination Forum is warning that a pause in funding to UNRWA could be catastrophic for more than two million Palestinians in Gaza. In a statement, they said withdrawing funds from UNRWA is perilous and would result in the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza. With far-reaching humanitarian and human rights consequences, the world cannot abandon the people of Gaza.

Right now, Hamas says it is studying another new proposal for a pause in fighting in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages. And as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows, Israel will not release thousands of terrorists as part of that deal. The families of hostages are running out of patience. They say each day without their loved ones is more agonizing than the last.

Clarissa Ward reports.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Israel's parliament last week, anger boiling over. You will not sit here while they die there, this man shouts.

Family members of the hostages in Gaza storming into a session at the Knesset saying enough is enough.

Meirav Gonen was never political. Now she's a regular here, pushing lawmakers to do whatever it takes to bring her 21-year-old daughter Romi and the other 131 hostages home.

[03:10:03]

WARD: We saw these incidents recently here at the Knesset where family members were shouting at politicians.

MEIRAV LESHAM GONEN, MOTHER OF ROMI GONEN: This is the frustration. You know, people when they're in fear and frustration, it's very difficult to be restrained. Some of us may cry more, maybe, you know, close inside, and some of us just need to shout it out. And, you know, shouting is something this Knesset should be able to contain also, because it's too long.

WARD (voice-over): Shelly Shem Tov is fighting too, delivering a forceful rebuke to Israel's war cabinet at a press conference last month.

Look us in the eyes. It's our children, our families, she says. Where are you? Where are you?

Shelly's 21-year-old son Omer was working as a waiter, saving money to travel the world when he was abducted at the Supernova Music Festival.

SHELLY SHEM TOV, MOTHER OF OMER SHEM TOV: He's a sunshine. He's a boy that everybody wants to be near him. Everybody loves him. He loves to love. He loves music.

WARD (voice-over): On Saturday night, she attended a rally for the hostages, as she does every week, exhausted and frustrated, but undeterred in her quest to bring Omer home.

SHEM TOV: I don't know if you are a mother.

WARD: I am.

SHEM TOV: So try to imagine. Try to imagine that your son went to a festival. He only wanted the festival. You can call your son now to ask him how he's doing. You know where your son is sleeping tonight. I know!

WARD: It must be agony.

SHEM TOV: We are -- We are tired, but we are doing everything. It's our mission of our life to bring my son back home. Everybody must say stop. Stop.

WARD: And do you feel that enough is being done? Do you feel satisfied with the response?

SHEM TOV: Listen, my son is not at home every day. I'm getting into his room and he's still not there, sleeping in his bed. So if it's enough, no, it's not enough. It's not enough.

WARD (voice-over): 115 days into this nightmare, patience and time are running out.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Aaron David Miller joins me now. He is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former U.S. State Department Middle East negotiator. Good to have you with us.

AARON DAVID MILLER, SR. FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Rosemary, it's a pleasure to be here.

CHURCH: So cautious optimism surrounds these latest negotiations between senior Israeli and Qatari officials for a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. But some difficult issues still need to be resolved and Hamas is yet to agree on this revised deal. You've been involved in negotiations like this. What is your understanding of where this deal stands right now, and of course, the remaining hurdles?

MILLER: Yeah. You know, Middle East negotiations traditionally seem to have two speeds, slow and slower. And I think that's certainly going to pertain to what we're watching now, partly because of the communications problem.

I often wondered how, in essence, is the external leadership of Hamas communicating with the senior leadership, Yahya Sinwar, particularly given the fact that they're ensconced probably deep in these tunnels in Khan Younis. And wouldn't the Israelis be monitoring and looking for all sorts of signals in terms of their own sophisticated communication gear in order to intercept messages to try to determine exactly where the leaders are?

Plus, the negotiations are indirect, and add to that the fundamental mistrust between two parties, both of which want to seek the destruction of the other.

[03:14:57]

That said, I think you've probably got the best chance to conclude some agreement that could significantly de-escalate the situation, not permanently, but for an extended period of time, which would be frankly an extraordinary boon and good fortune.

CHURCH: So if a six-week ceasefire is achieved and hostages are released over that period in three phases, starting with women, elderly men and those with critical medical conditions, how difficult will it be though for Benjamin Netanyahu to resume his war on Hamas? Clearly a concern for him as he pursues them.

MILLER: Well, he's under great pressure. You know, negotiations succeed usually when there's a prospect of gain and sufficient pain, which impels the parties to reach a deal. In this case, I think that Netanyahu is under more pressure, frankly, than Hamas.

He's got pressure from the families of those hostages that have yet to be redeemed. Israeli casualties are mounting. Israeli defense forces, I think, have reached the conclusion that their current tactics, frankly, in central and southern Gaza are not having the results, certainly not as quickly as they anticipated. And, frankly, they're running out of time, because the margin, certainly in the part of the United States, for an open-ended, extended, kinetic, and intensive Israeli ground campaign, I think, is shrinking.

Hamas, on the other hand, has used the tunnels and used time in order to create pressure on the Israelis, ultimately to get what they want, which is not just a temporary cessation of hostilities or humanitarian parts, but a complete cessation of permanent ceasefire and guarantees that the senior leadership won't be attacked and the Israelis will withdraw from Gaza.

CHURCH: And you mention the intense pressure that Benjamin Netanyahu is feeling right now, but how committed is he, do you think to this deal to release hostages in exchange for a ceasefire, many critics suggesting that he's more committed to keeping the war going for as long as possible to protect his own political purposes? What do you say to that?

MILLER: No, I think that's probably right. In fact, I would argue that should you have a blow up on the Northern Front between Israel and Isabella, that might play this advantage as well. But we have to be clear about one thing.

Benjamin Netanyahu, as influential a politician as he may be, is not driving the train on this one. You've got a war cabinet. You've got Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, both who have strong voices in this cabinet. And should they determine that there is a deal on the table and Mr. Netanyahu is conflating the best interests of his country with his own political interests and survival, they have capacity. They have the power not just to influence him, but perhaps even to leave the coalition.

And you also have to factor in growing public pressure. Remember, during the period of the attempted judicial reform, you had hundreds of thousands of Israelis out in the streets for 41 weeks in a row. Public opinion and these protests and demonstrations are now a permanent feature of the Israeli political scene, and they could bring additional pressure, including from the United States.

CHURCH: Aaron David Miller, many thanks for joining us. I appreciate your analysis.

MILLER: Always a pleasure, Rosemary. Thank you.

CHURCH: And still to come, the border battle in the U.S. Congress. Senators work out a bipartisan compromise, but House Republicans call it dead on arrival.

And turmoil in Venezuela. The president's main challenger is kicked out of the election. And now a wider deal on Democratic reforms is threatening to unravel. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: A U.S. House committee has voted to advance articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The rare and controversial step moves the articles out of the committee and sets up a vote by the full House, though it is unclear when.

The vote passed the Republican-controlled Homeland Security Committee along party lines. Mayorkas could be the first Cabinet Secretary in nearly 150 years to be charged with high crimes and misdemeanors by Congress. Republicans accuse Mayorkas of failing to enforce U.S. immigration policies at the southern border, though they have offered little evidence of wrongdoing. Constitutional experts and congressional Democrats have argued the case is an abuse of impeachment process. Well Senate Republican leaders are debating whether to ditch a

bipartisan immigration deal in order to approve funding for Israel and Ukraine. Former President Donald Trump has suggested he wants the deal killed to deny President Biden a legislative win, and so Trump can keep the issue alive in the presidential campaign.

CNN's Manu Raju reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Furious battle is now underway within the GOP about how to move forward on a major package dealing with border security. Republicans had been united over this issue for several years and demanding action from Joe Biden.

Well, now on the cusp of a major deal in the Senate, a bipartisan deal cut between a conservative Republican Senator, James Langford, with the Democratic Senator, Chris Murphy, an independent Senator, Kyrsten Sinema, and Joe Biden himself. Now there are divisions within the ranks. Donald Trump, for one, has urged House Republicans to kill this measure and urging Senate Republicans also to scuttle the push.

Even as the GOP leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell has worked behind the scenes for months to try to help secure this deal, which would also greenlight desperately sought aid for Ukraine and its war against Russia. But because of GOP divisions, now it is entirely possible that this whole thing could collapse.

That has caused concern within the ranks, particularly among supporters, Republican supporters of this bipartisan deal. One of them, Senator Kevin Kramer of North Dakota, strongly criticized the House Republicans and Donald Trump, especially since this deal has not yet been released yet. The legislation is still being drafted saying that they need to compromise and agree to even, even if it's not everything they want, it could go a long way to secure the border. And he also warned of voter backlash.

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): I don't think it's fair to just characterize a bill that people haven't seen that hasn't been written as dead on arrival. I just think it's irresponsible to start and end a negotiation with the same position, all or nothing. That's not what you can do in a divided government.

If we don't try to do something when we have the moment to do something, all of those swing for whom the border is the number one priority, have every right to look at us and go, you blew your opportunity. If we can't get there, fine, but if we don't try, then shame on us.

RAJU: Now behind the scenes, Senate Republican leaders are still grappling with how to proceed, given that the House GOP has indicated that they will not move forward with the Senate plan. So what will Senate Republicans do? Will they decide to still press ahead, try to essentially dare the House GOP to block this, dare Donald Trump to come out and lobby against this, and show some divisions within the ranks or simply pull the plug and try to move on. That is a debate that happened behind closed doors in Mitch

McConnell's office and that will continue to be discussed at a private lunch meeting on Wednesday when senators gather and decide what to do on this issue that is now tripping them up and could haunt them in November.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:25:00]

CHURCH: This just in, a Thai court has ordered the country's most popular political party to stop campaigning to amend the Kingdom's notoriously strict royal defamation law. The court ruled that the Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in last year's election, violated the Constitution in trying to get the law amended.

The party had said that changing the law would make the constitutional monarchy stronger and stop the law from being misused by lawmakers against their political opponents. The penalty for insulting Thai royalty is up to 15 years in jail. The ruling has dashed the hopes of the party's supporters that the law will ever be reformed.

The U.S. has started reimposing sanctions on Venezuela after an opposition candidate was barred from running for president. So far, only a state-owned mining company has been sanctioned, but the US suggested Venezuela's lucrative oil and gas sector could get hit by April if President Nicolas Maduro does not allow credible opposition candidates to compete in this year's election. His Vice President called the move blackmail and warned of retaliation via migration policies.

Meanwhile, the main opposition challenger, Maria Machado, is refusing to exit the presidential race even though the Maduro-controlled Supreme Court disqualified her from holding any public office for 15 years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: We knew that this route was going to be full of obstacles because Nicolas Maduro knows that running against me means he will lose those elections. But Venezuela has been changing. He has lost total support of the base, the tabista movement once had. Over 80 percent of the population rejects the regime and wants change.

And now we are receiving more, more and more support of international allies pushing for free and fair elections. So we have time in front of us that we need to use to build as much citizen strength and organization to reach a point in which Maduro will have to accept that he will have to face me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The political turmoil comes just a few months after an agreement between the Venezuelan government and the opposition that now may be unraveling. Stefano Pozzebon explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST (voice-over): It seemed a rare victory for diplomacy in a year of conflict.

October last year, the Venezuelan government and the opposition signed in a deal that opened the door to a peaceful transition.

And brought hopes of an end to years of political crisis in the South American country.

Authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro pledging to release political prisoners and allow free and fair elections.

And the United States assisting the opposition offering to leave the sanctions in exchange for a return to democracy.

Five days later, an opposition primary with more than two million votes selected Maria Corina Machado to challenge Maduro for the presidency as a unitary candidate.

Then in December, a prisoner swap brought home 10 U.S. citizens detained in Venezuela, in exchange for a close ally and alleged personal financier of Maduro himself, National Security Advisor Juan Gonzalez, showing cautious optimism that Venezuela could finally turn the page.

JUAN GONZALEZ, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS (through translator): Part of the deal was releasing U.S. prisoners and Venezuelan political prisoners. They are respecting the deal and doing even more. We know this is a long process, but we are committed, step by step, with democracy in Venezuela.

POZZEBON (voice-over): But with the New Year, things started to sour. Nothing will stop me.

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Nothing will stop me. I will keep campaigning and protecting the people. And just so it hurts them the most, I will keep ruling this country.

POZZEBON (voice-over): Until Friday, when the Supreme Court stacked with government allies, ruled that Machado is banned from holding public office on corruption charges. Machado denies the charges, as well as accusations she conspired to forcefully remove Maduro from power.

Instead, she accuses Maduro of breaking his word and called on the support of the international community.

Republicans in the U.S. urging President Biden to restore the sanctions lifted last year, including oil sanctions which could impact gas prices back home, and the White House on Monday saying Maduro still has until spring to commit to what he pledged in October.

With both Venezuela and the United States set to go to the polls this fall, one presidential campaign already licking onto the other.

[03:30:00]

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The race for president in Russia is about to get its first opposition candidate. Boris Nadezhdin is expected to submit the 100,000 signatures needed to qualify in the coming hours. He says he's collected twice that number.

The Kremlin has dismissed his candidacy, saying he's not a rival to President Vladimir Putin. Nadezhdin says if elected, he will guarantee safety for Putin, keep him away from a war crimes tribunal in The Hague, and make sure he gets his pension. The election begins March 15th.

Israeli forces are facing criticism after they dressed as medical staff and civilians in a raid on a West Bank hospital. How the IDF is responding, just ahead.

Plus the sentencing of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and why it's controversial. Back in just a moment.

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CHURCH: The Palestinian Red Crescent says Israeli military vehicles are stationed in a hospital's front yard in Khan Younis in southern Gaza where thousands of displaced people had taken shelter. The aid group says the Israeli military entered the Al Amal Hospital's compound, quote, "firing live ammunition and smoke grenades after surrounding the buildings for more than a week."

A hospital official says Israeli forces were asking displaced people to, quote, "evacuate the building at gunpoint." And PRCS earlier reported that gunfire from Israeli tanks had killed one displaced woman and injured nine others. CNN is unable to verify the situation independently and has reached out to the IDF for comment.

Israel is defending its raid on a West Bank hospital that killed three Palestinians with the military's chief of staff saying they were not allow hospitals to become, quote, "a cover for terrorism." The IDF is coming under criticism because special forces disguise themselves as medical personnel and women in hijabs while carrying out the attack.

CNN's Nic Robertson has our report. A warning though, some of the images are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): A man in a doctor's white lab coat and surgical mask, a woman dressed in black wearing a hijab and a third person carrying a wheelchair spearhead a brazen Israeli undercover forces operation in the West Bank. Their weapons all tagged, so in a chaotic shootout with similarly clad

terrorists, they'll know their enemy.

[03:35:04]

They move as a carefully coordinated assault team, as other operatives follow them in. A man in a brown coat and a white prayer hat directs another figure wearing blue scrubs as another team member in tan pants dips into a red backpack and dons a black hat.

Meanwhile, another assault team enters, led by a man dressed in a woman's flowing black abaya. He strides forward, past another person dressed in black, who forces a hospital worker to the floor, pulls his jacket off of him, pushes his head down and covers it with a jacket.

It looks like coordinated chaos but each outfit a disguise to get them inside the hospital. More members arrive, 12 total. The last two apparently posing as a young couple, toting a baby carrier. Although judging by the way he puts it down, a heavier load than a baby, likely backup ammo.

The second female operative posing as the baby's mother takes point on the corridor, aiming her weapon at anyone who might have discovered their complex ruse.

In less than a minute, they're gone.

Unclear if this is the beginning or the end of the operation.

This room, they're likely objective. Blood on the walls and on the bedding, appearing to indicate killings took place here.

A holed pillow suggests a gunshot to the head.

The IDF say the raid was timely, targeting Mohammed Jalamne, who, quote, "planned to carry out a terror attack", and brothers Mohammed and Basil Ghazawi, who they claim were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

That statement may not protect Israel from accusations of war crimes on a number of counts, including passing themselves off as medical personnel, something the IDF often accuses Hamas of doing in Gaza.

The hospital director appearing to confirm the three were shot together, but gives no reason why all three were sleeping in the hospital, although Basil Ghazawi had been receiving treatment for a drone injury strike last year and was partially paralyzed.

They killed the three youth in their room, Mohammed Jalamneh, Mohammed and Basil Ghazawi, while they were sleeping on their beds in the room, he said. They killed them with cold blood with direct gunshots to the head.

Friends with blooded hands and family mourn around their bodies, now apparently moved to ward beds. Mohammed Jalani's father indicating he knew his son was on the run.

We prepare ourselves that the Israeli will raid our house, he said, because they raided it many times before, to put pressure on Mohammed to turn himself in.

As their bodies taken for burial, gunmen escort the cortege. At least one of the slain men had an automatic weapon on his chest, traditional at funerals for fallen jihadists.

Their executions, particularly amid accusations of war crimes, likely to inflame escalating tensions.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A closed-door court has sentenced Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to 14 years in prison. They were found guilty of illegally selling state gifts. A day earlier, Khan was given 10 years for leaking state secrets. Khan insists all the charges are politically motivated. And his PTI party is vowing to challenge the rulings, which came just days before the next election.

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is covering this for us live from Hong Kong. She joins us now. Good to see you again, Kristie. So what's the latest on Imran Khan's legal woes and of course, these harsh sentences?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Pakistan's former leader Imran Khan, as well as his wife, have been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Now Khan has been behind bars since August and his wife, the former first lady, is now in police custody.

Now they were found guilty of not disclosing information on sold gifts that were sent to Imran Khan by foreign leaders while he was in office. And the sentence, it comes just one day after Khan was handed a 10 year jail term in another separate case.

Now Khan will be allowed to serve his sentences at the same time. And this new ruling extends Khan's ban on running for office to 10 years. And all this comes at a very sensitive time, just days before general election in Pakistan. Now Imran Khan's media team. They reacted to today's sentencing, slamming it. They said this, quote, we bring up the sentence, the statement for you, "another sad day in our judicial system history, which is being dismantled."

[03:40:06]

While adding this, quote, "this ridiculous decision will also be challenged." So a plan to appeal there. On Tuesday, Imran Khan was sentenced to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets. He says that the charges against him are politically motivated, an allegation that authorities deny.

And these two harsh sentences out one after another this week is just the latest in a string of legal battles for Imran Khan. And right now is a crucial time. It's a politically sensitive time. Parliamentary elections are set to take place on February the 8th. That is just over a week from now.

Imran Khan is not able to run. But on Tuesday, he took to his social media account on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and he urged his supporters to turn out. He wrote this, quote, "my Pakistanis, this is your war and this is your test that you have to take revenge for every injustice by your vote on February the 8th while remaining peaceful," unquote.

And despite not being able to stand in the upcoming election, Imran Khan still has widespread support from voters across the country. Back to you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Kristie Lu Stout with that live report from Hong Kong.

France is a step closer to enshrining abortion rights in its constitution. The French lower house of parliament passed an historic bill Tuesday by overwhelming margins, nearly 504 and 30 against. The bill now moves to the more conservative Senate, where it is not guaranteed to pass.

The push to constitutionalize abortion became a priority for the French government after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalize nationwide abortion. Experts say that if this new bill becomes law, France will become the first country in the world to include abortion rights in its constitution.

Still to come, rare images of what experts believe to be a newborn great white shark in the wild. We'll have details from the filmmaker who captured these pictures when we return.

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CHURCH: New video appears to show what could be the first recorded sighting of a newborn great white shark in the wild. A wildlife filmmaker took these images with a drone 400 meters off the coast of California. Researchers say the shape and size matched that of a newborn and they believe it was shedding its embryonic layer. But some experts are calling the finding highly speculative. Others say regardless of what we know, it remains an exciting observation, giving more clues to where an actual breeding ground might be.

[03:45:00]

And joining me now is the filmmaker who took those pictures. Carlos Gauna is a photographer and wildlife filmmaker. He joins me now from California. Great to have you with us.

CARLOS GAUNA, WILDLIFE FILMMAKER AND PHOTOGRAPHER: Thank you, thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So you captured this spectacular footage off the coast of Southern California, showing what could potentially be the first ever glimpse of a newborn great white shark in the wild. Why do you think that's what we are seeing here and how significant could this prove to be? GAUNA: Well, first of all, there's no precedence for this. We don't

know exactly what a newborn white shark looks like. That's -- that's kind of wild to think about, right? So, we believe that this is a newborn for a few reasons.

One, the specific size and shape of the dorsal fin and in all the -- all the fins. They are rounded. If you look at a white shark, that's young developed adult, they have very pointed dorsal fins. This one has a very rounded dorsal fin underdeveloped.

That's one of the reasons. The second is that it's losing or peeling off a layer of white coating that we believe could be uterine milk lining from the mother.

CHURCH: So what do you say to those experts who call this finding highly speculative and how is it possible to confirm that this is a newborn great white shark? Is it possible?

GAUNA: Well, in our manuscript, in the journal, we've published two hypotheses.

One, that it is, in fact, newborn, and we have our set facts fat. And then the second is that it may be a skin condition. This white layer that's coming off as a shark is swimming. The problem with the second hypothesis and what folks who say it's a skin condition is -- is that does not explain the unique shape of the dorsal fin and the pectoral fins and the size of the shark.

So we're open to the criticisms, we're open to that being an explanation for it. However, most shark experts, most shark scientists will not agree that this is a very, very young shark.

CHURCH: So how useful is a sighting like this for shark science if it's confirmed to be a newborn great white?

GAUNA: Well, I'll be the first one to say that I am not a marine biologist or a shark scientist. I'm a filmmaker. However, I do know that the Holy Grail of shark science is the birthing location of a great white shark. Nobody has ever seen one. It's always thought that it's been deep and offshore. The significant part of this is that it was filmed nearshore in very shallow water.

And I happen to be observing over the last three years very large, presumably pregnant sharks in that exact area. And on that particular day, one dove down and a couple of minutes later, this shark came up.

CHURCH: Interesting. And of course, sir, I'd like to ask what you're planning to do with this footage.

GAUNA: Well, the footage is there for scientific use. I'm sharing it with scientists all across the world giving some really good feedback. But personally, I plan to film it again. The problem is we do have only a sample of one here, so that makes it very hard to prove. But the probability that this is a newborn shark is significantly higher than if it wasn't. CHURCH: Well, spectacular footage, whatever is confirmed in the end.

Carlos Gauna, thank you so much for sharing it with us. We do appreciate it.

GAUNA: Thank you.

CHURCH: Sulfonic acid left a river in Brazil covered in toxic foam after an overturned truck caught fire spilling the substance into the water on Monday. The river supplies water to a nearby city of almost 600,000 people. Authorities were forced to shut down a water treatment plant and declare a state of emergency, leaving much of the city without water.

Egypt's Menkaure pyramid is the subject of a new heated debate. The pyramid at Giza is getting renovated with granite blocks to make it look more like it did when it was built. While the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities called the work the project of the century, many on social media criticized the effort with one expert calling it absurd. The project is expected to last three years.

Still to come, sexual assault allegations in professional hockey, five current and former NHL players are expected to surrender to Canadian authorities. Details on the case, next.

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Four NHL players are expected to surrender to Canadian police in the coming days to face sexual assault charges. A former player has already done so. They were all part of Canada's world junior hockey team at the time of the alleged incident in 2018. Some of the details only came to light in 2022 during parliamentary hearings involving the sports governing body Hockey Canada.

CNN's Paula Newton has more from Ottawa.

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PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One former and four current NHL hockey players are facing charges relating to an alleged sexual assault that apparently took place in June 2018. Now we have reached out to these players and have statements from their lawyers.

Now charged with sexual assault are Michael McLeod and Cal Foote from the New Jersey Devils, Carter Hart from the Philadelphia Flyers, and Alex Fermentin, who played for the Ottawa Senators and was then playing in the European Pro Leagues, all four have taken leave of absences from their teams and through their lawyers have indicated that they say they have no criminal wrongdoing here, that they will fight these charges and plead not guilty. Now, Hockey Canada weighed in on these allegations.

In June of 2022, when they were forced to appear in parliamentary hearings here in Ottawa and admitted that they knew about the alleged incident within 24 hours, that they alerted police that they as well launched an investigation, but they also added that they settled a civil lawsuit with the alleged victim back in 2022.

Now, after a national outcry, London police agreed to reopen the investigation. They say they will have more on these charges in the first week of February.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

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CHURCH: Well, if you believe some far-right politicians and right-wing media, Taylor Swift is not merely a pop superstar. She's also a Pentagon asset, a political plant, part of a nefarious plot by the NFL and Democrats to keep Donald Trump out of the White House. In fact, some believe the outcome of the Super Bowl is already rigged. CNN's Brian Todd breaks down these conspiracy theories.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The conspiracy theories had already been in overdrive even before this moment.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift's embrace of her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce after the Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday to earn a trip to the Super Bowl. Before the game was even over, pro-Trump broadcaster Mike Crispi posted on X, quote, "the NFL is totally rigged for the Kansas City Chiefs, Taylor Swift, Mr. Fizer, Travis Kelce, all to spread Democrat propaganda. It's all been an op since day one."

A piece in Monday's "New York Times" mentioning that President Biden's team would like to have Swift's endorsement in this campaign seemed to fan the flames.

Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a noted conspiracy theorist, posted on X Monday, quote, "I wonder who's going to win the Super Bowl next month. And I wonder if there's a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped up couple this fall."

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JONATHAN WEISMAN, POLITICAL REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: The attention that is being paid to Taylor and Travis these days is extraordinary. And it's got MAGA world in an absolute lap.

TODD (voice-over): Recently, Fox News host Jesse Waters asked on the air whether Taylor Swift is a Pentagon asset.

JESSE WATTERS, FOX NEWS HOST, "JESSE WATTERS PRIMETIME": Have you ever wondered why or how she blew up like this? Well, around four years ago, the Pentagon Psychological Operations Unit floated turning Taylor Swift into an asset during a NATO meeting.

TODD (voice-over): What's the general thread of these conspiracies involving Swift and Kelsey?

WEISMAN: Between the two of them, there is a sense in MAGA land that they can reach hundreds of millions of people and turn them against Donald Trump and turn them in favor of Joe Biden.

TODD (voice-over): In September, Swift urged her fans on Instagram to register to vote. The group Vote.org reported it saw a surge of about 35,000 registrations in just one day in response. Swift did endorse Biden in 2020. And in 2018, she endorsed two Democratic candidates in Tennessee where she owns property. One of them ran against Republican Marsha Blackburn, now a senator from that state, who Taylor Swift was captured being very critical of in a Netflix documentary.

TAYLOR SWIFT, POP SUPERSTAR: It really is a big deal. She votes against, against fair pay for women. She votes against the reauthorization of the violence against women act, which is just basically protecting us from domestic abuse and stalking, stalking.

TODD (voice-over): Another facet of the conspiracies, the fact that Travis Kelce did an ad for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer fueling the ire of anti-vaxxers. While the theories are largely absurd, they are consequential.

JARED HOLT, SR. RESEARCH ANALYST, INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC DIALOGUE: The people spreading these kind of conspiracy theories have millions of followers online. They are part of media organizations that reach over the course of a week millions of people.

TODD: The Trump campaign, which had largely stayed away from this hysteria, has now publicly dismissed concerns about a possible Taylor Swift endorsement of President Biden. A Trump campaign spokeswoman saying she doesn't think an endorsement would save President Biden from what she called the calamity of his presidency.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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CHURCH: And thanks so much for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. CNN Newsroom continues next with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

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