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Trump Names First Woman Chief of Staff; U.S. Federal Reserve Cuts by a Quarter Percentage Point for November; People in Spain Struggling to Clean Up After the Historic Flooding; Three People Charged Over Liam Payne's Death. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 08, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[02:59:43]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump chooses his White House chief of staff. We'll look at who else he may tap for key positions and concerns around some of the contenders.

[03:00:01]

When it comes to executing his plan of mass deportations, Trump says there is no price tag. Preparations are already underway to make his campaign promise a reality.

And as some Democrats publicly blame President Biden for their election loss, we'll hear reaction from one of the most influential Democrats in congress.

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

BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump is reportedly reveling in his election victory, feeling emboldened by winning the popular vote. Sources and aids tell CNN Trump feels he now has a mandate and that most Americans want his policies.

One of those policies is the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. When asked about the cost, the president-elect said the country has no choice. There is no price tag. Trump says he and President Joe Biden agreed to have lunch very shortly at the White House.

So with the presidency and senate now in Republican hands, all eyes are on the house races that have yet to be called. As of the latest count, Republicans will have 212 seats in the new congress. Democrats will have 200, 218 seats are needed for a majority.

Meanwhile, Trump has named his campaign co-chair Susie Wiles as White House chief of staff. CNN's Kristen Holmes has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named his first White House position and potentially the most important one naming Susie Wiles, the chief of staff to the White House.

She's actually going to be the 1st female chief of staff in the history of the country. She is somebody who has been loyal to him for years. Somebody who served as his co-chair of his campaign, and somebody who was really there next to the former president. And when he was saw Republicans across the party, try to distance themselves from the former president.

Now, I do want to read you the statement that Donald Trump put out on his naming of Susie Wiles. He said, Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and it was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns.

President Trump said, Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. It is a well-deserved honor to have Susie as the first ever female chief of staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.

The one thing to keep in mind about Susie Wells is we have learned from sources that she did have some stipulations and taking this job. Essentially saying that she wanted to make sure she had control of the clown car, that they wouldn't have access to the White House at all times.

And that is something that we saw in the first administration that these controversial outside figures who caused problems for Donald Trump had free reign at the White House. And something Susie did during the campaign was essentially try and stop that kind of chaos around former President Donald Trump.

She always said to sources that she knew she couldn't control candidate Trump. However, she felt she could control some of the people and circumstances around him. This really sets the tone for what the administration is going to look like. Susie is well respected across the political spectrum. We'll obviously see how the rest of these namings, appointments of putting forward candidates goes in the next several days.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: President Joe Biden is sharing a message of sober optimism in the wake of Donald Trump's win over Kamala Harris. Speaking at the White House Thursday, Biden said his administration accepted the choice the country made in picking Trump as its next leader. In his comments, Biden repurposed the message he's often used on the campaign trail to draw contrast with Trump who still hasn't conceded defeat in the 2020 election. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I've said many times, you can't love your country only when you win. You can't love your neighbor only when you agree. Something I hope we can do, no matter who you voted for is see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans. Bring down the temperature. The American experiment endures. We're going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And Biden says he plans to fulfill his oath with a peaceful transfer of power on January 20th. And even as many Democrats are pointing fingers of blame over the electoral loss, the outgoing president celebrated the accomplishments of his administration and urged supporters to stay strong until the end.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: And it's truly historic. You know, we're leaving behind the strongest economy in the world. I know people are still hurting, but things are changing rapidly. Together, we've changed America for the better. Now we have 74 days to finish the term, our term. Let's make every day count.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:05:07]

BRUNHUBER: So while Democrats struggle to make sense of their election loss, many are pointing the finger at President Biden. Others are taking action.

California governor Gavin Newsom is calling for lawmakers to convene a special session to safeguard the state's progressive policies on climate change, reproductive rights, and immigration. The Hawaii governor, Jamie Pritzker, also insists he's standing up for democratic values saying, if you come from my people, you come through me. Other democrats including strategist James Carville and a congressman who mounted a long shot presidential bid are focusing the blame on Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: By Biden staying in so late, we didn't have any process. If we'd had some kind of an open process, and it would have -- it would have been much about.

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-MN): In this entire election, in my estimation, was sealed the day that Joe Biden announced he was running for reelection. We should have had a competition. It makes everything better, better value products, better political candidates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And one of the most powerful Democrats in congress, James Clyburn, says Democrats have to remain united. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): There's no need for us to engage in all these machinations about what else. We know what has happened. We need to chill out for a few moments, make some assessments, and then, plan a way forward. We will know in the house whether or not we would be operating from a minority or a majority or whichever position, we must be a loyal opposition to this president if he is the Project 2025 that they are now admitting. Is there a blueprint for this administration?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And I want to bring in Natasha Lindsteadt, who's a professor of government at the University of Essex, and she's in Colchester, England. Thanks so much for joining us again. So just, very briefly, what did you make of Biden's remarks?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROF. OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: I think these remarks are really important. They also echoed what Kamala Harris said in her concession speech that we have to honor the peaceful transfer of power. This is the one key thing that distinguishes democracies from autocracies, that we have to ensure that there isn't any kind of doubt in the legitimacy of our elections.

And he emphasized unity and moving ahead and some form of optimism, though, of course, the Democrats, I'm sure, are fearing are feeling like things are really, really weak.

And I think that's one of the key concerns that Democrats have. That ended up being one of their issues that they voted on, was the state of democracy, and that the next 4 years could be the end of American democracy. But I think it's important that the democrats emphasize that, we love the peaceful transfer of power. This is a big part of our identity and that we need to continue to fight, to keep the democratic institutions and processes in place, while remaining optimistic and united.

BRUNHUBER: Alright. So, turning now to the president-elect Donald Trump's building out his team. What do you expect it to look like and how different do you expect it to be from his first administration?

LINDSTAEDT: I mean, it's hard to predict. We already know chief of staff, Susie Wiles, has been chosen, and she was his campaign manager. And she has been someone or part of his team that has helped, as the report mentioned, keep out the chaos. So that's a good sign for his administration because his first administration was somewhat chaotic.

There were random people coming in and out, whispering in his ear, giving him different piece of advice that were concerning. He may end up choosing more predictable, well known people like either Tom Cotton or even going back to Mike Pompeo or Marco Rubio to serve as positions like secretary of defense or secretary of state.

We know that he wants Robert Kennedy to be in charge of public health, and that's a big concern for people who are worried about what he might do to public health because Kennedy, you know, in the last 10 years or so, has start or the last several decades, I guess, started to embrace some conspiracy theories about vaccines. He wants to get rid of fluoride in the water, and supposedly, Trump thinks he will do a good job with public health for women. I'm not sure what that means.

And then the other wild card is Elon Musk. Now I know Elon Musk won't have an official position in the cabinet, but he's going to exercise a lot of outside power and be sort of a dark force in American politics.

[03:09:56]

He's supposedly going to be in charge of just cleaning up the government, cutting jobs, and what we know from Project 2025 is that project aimed to fire 50,000 civil servants because they are part of the supposed deep states. So we'll see if that's even feasible.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. We shall see. As you say, I mean, Trump has vowed to remake government, and we already have some reporting on his planning already around mass deportations. So I'll play some sound from, from the campaign. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), THEN-U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out. I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, and then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Alright. So what do you expect Trump's first orders of business to be?

LINDSTAEDT: I think he is going to try to focus on this mass deportation thing. I think this is at the heart of what his campaign was all about, that he wants to get rid of these 11 million immigrants.

And that was actually one of the things that former Trump officials who defected warned about that how is this going to happen? Are they going to use local police? Are they going to use the National Guard? Are they going to go into places where they think immigrants might be working, whether they might be restaurants or other places, other businesses?

Are they -- how are they going to distinguish between who is an immigrant and who is not? And is this -- is this going to lead to vigilante forms of justice where this sort of motivates his supporters to try to root out migrants or immigrants just based on what they look like? It's causing a lot of fear in the immigrant community.

And, of course, there are many immigrants who have family members that are citizens, and those citizens are worried about what's going to happen if these people are going to be deported. It will be very, very difficult to implement without being it -- being very chaotic.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. So many questions on how it'll be done and how much it'll cost as well. Natasha Lindstaedt, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you so much for being with us. I appreciate it.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

BRUNHUBER: Well, some Israelis are celebrating Donald Trump's return to the White House because of what it could mean for Israel's war in Gaza. But many Palestinians say they have no hope for a change. Israeli attacks killed dozens across Gaza in the last 36 hours according to officials, including 27 people in one strike.

A new evacuation orders have been imposed in Northern Gaza. On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit a former school turned refugee shelter in Gaza killing at least 10 people. The IDF claims the site was a Hamas command center. Palestinians have said for months that no place in Gaza is safe. Israel's ongoing ground offensive and evacuation orders have drastically limited the so-called safe zones.

Authorities say Israeli football fans were attacked after a match in Amsterdam late Thursday. Israeli officials say fans of the squad, Maccabi Tel Aviv, were, quote, "ambushed and attacked overnight" after a Europa League match against Dutch side Ajax.

Now, this is social media video shared by the Israeli embassy to the U.S that CNN hasn't been able to verify. Israel's foreign minister says 10 nationals were injured. 2 rescue planes have been ordered to help evacuate those affected.

Alright. Want to go live now to London and CNN's Nada Bashir. So, Nada, what more do we know about this attack and the reaction?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, the attacks took place, overnight in Amsterdam. We are still waiting to hear more details from the authorities, in Amsterdam and the Dutch officials commenting on this. But as you mentioned, there has been deep concern expressed by Israeli officials including the Israeli ambassador to the United States and Israeli officials within Israel as well.

As you mentioned, officials there saying 100 of Israeli fans supporters of this Tel Aviv-based team, which is playing a match in Amsterdam, were attacked in what is being described as an ambush.

Overnight, according to the foreign ministry, at least 10 supporters were injured in these attacks, and Israeli authorities say they are planning to send evacuation planes to support Israeli supporters currently in the city to return back to Israel.

Now, we have been hearing more on this at social media as well circulating, showing some of these, violence, which took place overnight, though CNN has not been able to verify the details of these videos circulating, on social media just yet.

We have heard from the Dutch prime minister who has said that he has been in contact with his Israeli counterpart. Both officials have characterized these attacks as being, anti-Semitic. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Dutch authorities to do more to provide protection and support for the Jewish community in the Netherlands.

[03:14:59]

There had been concern ahead of this match. Tensions had certainly been mounting. We have heard reports, of course, that at the same time, that a pro-Palestine demonstration had been scheduled to march towards the stadium. The important to note that we have heard from Dutch police officials who have said that while the march attempted to reach the stadium, fans were able to leave the stadium without any incident.

We have also seen video circulating on social media appearing to show supporters of this Tel Aviv-based team chanting anti-Arab slogans and other offensive messages regarding the ongoing war, in Gaza and across the Middle East.

So, again, CNN has not been able to verify these videos, but we are still waiting to hear more details, from official sources, in the Netherlands on this particular incident violence overnight.

BRUNHUBER: Really, sad to see. And then, Nada, with Trump winning the White House, many in the region are still analyzing what effects his administration might have on the ongoing conflicts.

BASHIR: Yeah. Absolutely. And this will be a key focus for the Trump administration. It certainly has been for the Biden administration. Many questions as to what strategy, Trump will, in his presidency pursue with regards to the ongoing war in the Middle East, whether we will see a significant departure from the strategy pursued by the Biden administration. Of course, Trump's win has already been welcomed by many in the Israeli political sphere.

In fact, we heard from the Israeli prime minister upon the announcement of Trump's victory issuing a statement saying that Trump's return, marks a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.

We know, of course, that on the diplomatic front had certainly been some tension, some daylight between the Biden administration and Prime Minister Netanyahu's government despite the continued military aid that we've seen from the U.S., from the Biden administration to Israel.

Many within the Israeli political sphere have seen prime president Biden and vice president Kamala Harris' seeking to restrain Israel's actions in both Gaza and beyond, in the Middle East, including in Lebanon. Whereas Trump's presidency is perhaps remembered as being, perhaps more pro-Israel in some of Trump's actions, including, for example, moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

But again, while Trump has previously expressed that he wants to see this war wrapped up fast, there's no clear suggestion as to how he wants to see this war come to an end, what sort of conclusion he wants to see, or how the U.S. under his administration will pursue an end to this war.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. So many unknowns. Nada Bashir in London. Thanks so much.

Alright. Ahead, Vladimir Putin's first public remarks about the US election and possible talks with Donald Trump. We'll have all that and more coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: In another blow to the Biden administration, a federal judge in Texas has struck down the so-called parole in place immigration plan. The policy gave legal status to certain undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens.

[03:20:08]

It shielded them from deportation and allowed them to work legally while seeking citizenship. But the Trump appointed judge behind that decision said, congress hasn't given the executive branch authority to implement that policy. Now this case is just one of several ongoing legal challenges against the current administration which the incoming Trump White House may refuse to defend.

Now throughout the campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to execute the largest mass deportation in American history upon his return to the White House. Now his allies are starting to lay the groundwork for what experts say will be a complicated and costly endeavor. Our Priscilla Alvarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump has been clear that his first order of business is mass deportation. And now we are learning that quietly behind the scenes, Trump allies and some in the private sector have been preparing for exactly that, essentially detaining and deporting migrants on a large scale.

Now, a key component of that is detention space. Of course, if their federal authorities arrest someone, they would also have to detain them before repatriating them to their home country.

And the private sector is involved because the federal government often relies on contractors to manage these detention spaces. And that is part of the quiet preparations that are happening behind the scenes, and they are expected to ramp up in the days and weeks to come.

But, current and former officials I've spoken with say that their -- the challenge here is also the money and the resources. That is why the federal government has not been able to do mass deportations in recent memory in addition to other concerns. For example, the impact it would have on the economy.

But practically speaking, the amount that it costs to apprehend, detain, process, and remove an undocumented immigrant, according to some analysis, is nearly $11,000. That's for one individual.

Now, former official I spoke with said that to do something at a big scale, the way that Donald Trump has said he wants to do, would cost millions if not billions of dollars and therefore would be difficult to execute on an addition to the need, for example, for more personnel.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security has reprogrammed funds before, essentially moving funds around to try to bolster their immigration enforcement. But again, doing something as big as mass deportation is costly.

All the same though, preparations, sources say are underway to try to execute on this part of discussion being to focus on those undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes in the U.S. Another part of the discussion is whether to also include those undocumented immigrants who are brought to the United States as children known as dreamers.

Now that segment of the undocumented population has typically had bipartisan support and some are protected, temporarily protected under an Obama era program. But certainly, a lot of discussion underway as to how this first order of business would look like one that Donald Trump has repeatedly talked about and has indicated that he intends on doing.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The FBI has informed Trump lawyer, Todd Blanch, that his cell phone was compromised by Chinese hackers according to sources. Now this comes after an investigation into a wide ranging operation said to have been months underway for months.

Now, the FBI says hackers got some voice recordings and texts from Blanche's phone but no information related to Trump. Blanche is the 2nd Trump attorney to be victimized. The hack apparently targeted Republicans and Democrats involved in U.S. politics. Chinese hackers are also said to have targeted Trump himself, V.P.-elect J.D. Vance, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. CNN has reached out to the FBI for comment.

Well the U.S. election provided a boon for billionaires as the wealth of the world's 10 richest people rose by a record amount the following day. So as stock markets soared, Trump supporter Elon Musk was the big winner with $26.5 billion added to his balance sheet climbed to $290 billion. Other big gainers were Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with $7.1 billion and Oracle's Larry Ellison with $5.5 Billion. All in all, the top ten richest people did better to the tune of $64 Billion.

Amid slowing inflation and a cooling job market, the U.S. economy is set to face a new direction and a new administration. U.S. Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. The new rate is now between 4.5 and 4.75 percent.

[03:25:04]

Now it comes as the Federal Reserve chair says he will serve the rest of his term even if the president-elect has other plans. CNN's Julia Chatterley has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR, "FIRST MOVE": Good news for American borrowers once again. As expected, the Federal Reserve unanimously deciding to reduce interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. That was the easy part of today.

The harder part was the press conference and the questions that the Fed chief was asked about the impact of the president-elect and what his future policies would look like. And he made his response pretty clear and I can give it to you here. He said I'm not going to talk about anything that relates directly or indirectly to the election.

Non-political power will call him but, of course, this is going to be the challenge going forward because the rate path of future cuts got more uncertain. At its worst, if we do see huge limits to immigration, if we see a blanket wave of global tariffs, the expectation is that could weaken growth, it could also raise prices for American consumers.

The consensus among economists is it could raise inflation by around one percentage point in 2025 that will slow the Federal Reserve down and we're already seeing the market adjusting to that in some way but I reiterate again Jay Powell not touching that with a barge poll today. What he did decide to focus on was a solid economy that they do appear to have engineered this soft landing raising interest rates without creating a recession and they're bringing inflation very close to target now and they have more room to cut.

The question is how much and when they can do it, and that remains an open question. The other thing is, will he remain in the seat as Fed chair? He was asked that question. Listen to this.

REPORTER: Some of the president's elect advisers have suggested that you should resign. If he asked you to leave, would you go?

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: No.

REPORTER: Can you follow-up on is it do you think that legally he did you're not required to leave?

POWELL: No.

CHATTERLEY: Not pulling his punches. It is a legal gray area. I will say that. And they did have a really contentious relationship in the first iteration of the Trump administration. But the irony this time around, of course, is that they're kind of on the same team.

The former president, the president-elect wants to see interest rates lower and that's what the Fed chair in the Federal Reserve are trying to do. They're trying to cut rates and one of the real big issues that could interfere with that is the future president's policies like tariffs, for example, like tax cuts too and potential immigration limits. So I'll say it, ball in your court, Mr. President-elect. Back to you. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, with Donald Trump heading back to the White House, he's already starting to build his new team. A lot of details on his first pick, and who could fill some of his other top slots, next here on CNN. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Donald Trump has announced the first key member of his White House team. The president-elect says his campaign manager, Susie Wiles, will be the new White House chief of staff. She'll be the first woman to ever serve in the role, and speculation is growing about who will be tapped to fill other top positions in the administration. Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's first pick for his new administration is a testament to his value of true loyalty.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: Susie likes to stay in the background. She's not in the background.

TODD (voice-over): Susie Wiles, Trump's co-campaign manager for 2024, who's just been named White House chief of staff, is called quote, "tough, smart, and innovative by her boss, and has been praised for running an efficient campaign."

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA-CENTER FOR POLITICS: You want somebody ideally who knows you, who understands you, who can give you good advice, but who can also implement well, who can carry out directions. And she seems to be that type of person.

TODD (voice-over): A source says Wiles told Trump she would only take the job if she could have more control over who could reach him in the Oval Office.

As for the public face of the Trump administration, Caroline Levitt, who was Trump's campaign spokeswoman, is said to be in strong consideration for the significant job of White House press secretary.

For the position of attorney general, one of the most sensitive, important jobs in any administration. And one that Trump might use to go after his enemies. A name being floated is Ken Paxton, Texas's attorney general.

SABATO: I'd like to open a betting pool as to how many days, not weeks, months, or years, it will take for Ken Paxton to start doing very controversial things that even Trump won't like. TODD (voice-over): Like Trump, Paxton has been both indicted and

impeached. Paxton was acquitted by the Texas State Senate, for alleged retribution against whistleblowers, interference in federal investigations and inappropriate favors done for donors.

For Secretary of State, a key national security position, Trump's reportedly thinking of Florida senator Marco Rubio, who's hawkish toward China and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate.

SABATO: I think most people think that would be a responsible choice. It would be somebody who does know international relations, who has been around these issues now ever since he got into the senate.

TODD (voice-over): But what to do with Robert Kennedy Jr.? Trump's promised him a top public health position. But Trump advisers tell CNN, Kennedy's already caused headaches for the Trump team, like an interview he did with MSNBC just hours after Trump's victory speech.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. (I), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are entire departments like the nutrition departments at FDA that are -- that have to go.

UNKNOWN: RFK Jr., if he has the president's ear, could put in place anti-vaxxers, anti-fluoride people above scientists.

TODD: CNN is reporting that inside Trump's camp, questions have been raised about whether Robert Kennedy Jr. could get confirmed or could get a security clearance if Trump wants to tap him for a cabinet level position. And some doubt whether Kennedy would want to go through those processes.

One former Trump official briefed on the discussions tells CNN, if you dump a bear in Central Park and you think you're above the law, you don't want to go through that gauntlet.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, anxiety is mounting over the very real possibility that Trump will slash or altogether eliminate U.S. military aid to Ukraine. During a European leaders meeting, the Ukrainian president urged allies to exert more pressure on Russia. He said concessions would be suicidal for all of Europe. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We need sufficient weapons, not support in talks. Hugs with Putin will not help. Some of leaders have been hugging him for 20 years, and things are only getting worse. He thinks only about wars and will not change. Only pressure can put limits on him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Zelenskyy went on to say that he had a productive conversation with Trump on Wednesday and that Europe and America needs one another to be strong.

Now, Zelenskyy's comments came as North Korean troops reportedly started taking on Ukrainian forces in Russia. He said some troops were killed in those clashes without specifying on which side, adding that it happened in Russia's Kursk region where Ukraine launched an incursion over the summer.

The U.S. said earlier that North Korea deployed about 10,000 troops to Russia. In return, South Korea says Pyongyang will likely ask for Russia's military know-how, including for nuclear weapons, missiles, satellites, and submarines.

[03:35:00]

Well Vladimir Putin is among the latest leaders to applaud Donald Trump on his return to power. The Russian president said Trump's desire to rebuild relations with Russia to help end the war in Ukraine, quote, "deserves attention."

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After launching a massive attack aimed at the heart of Kyiv, Russian leader Vladimir Putin praising president-elect Donald Trump.

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my congratulations on his election as president of the United States, Putin says. So you're willing to talk to Trump? The moderator asks. Yes. We're ready, Putin says.

Indeed, president-elect Trump seems willing to talk to Putin as well. Legendary journalist Bob Woodward writing in a recent book that the two men have had a number of phone calls up to 7 since Trump left office.

Trump reportedly gifting Putin COVID tests in the early days of the pandemic when those tests were scarce. And Trump himself has often praised his relations with the Russian president, even siding with Vladimir Putin over the U.S.' own intelligence services after Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.

TRUMP: My people came to me. Dan Coats came to me and some others. They said they think it's Russia. I have, president Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): As Russia continues its full-on invasion of Ukraine, gaining ground especially on the eastern front, the president-elect still saying he'd be able to end the war fast.

TRUMP: They're dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I'll have that done -- I'll have that done in 24 hours.

If we had a real president, the president that knew that was respected by Putin, he would have never he would have never invaded Ukraine.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the Ukrainians fear Trump might cut off military aid to Ukraine altogether, forcing the country into a de facto surrender and loss of territory.

TRUMP: Every time Zelenskyy comes to the United States, he walks away with $100 billion. I think he's the greatest salesman on earth, but we're stuck in that war unless I'm president.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And when pressed to answer whether he even wants Ukraine to win the war, Trump simply won't say.

TRUMP: I want the war to stop. I want to save lives.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Global affairs analyst, Michael Bociurkiw, is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former spokesperson for the Organization For Security and Cooperation in Europe. Thank you so much for joining us here again. So you're in Kyiv, as if on cue right after Trump's win, there were, all those drone attacks in your city. I just want to play the early morning sound that you sent us from where you were. Here it is.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

So with Trump's victory, what is the mood there in Ukraine?

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST AND SR. FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Sure. Good to be with you, Kim. Well, yeah, those chilling sounds are very reflective of how a lot of Ukrainians feel right now. They're scared. They're anxious.

And if there is any, hope that peace would miraculously emerge after the announcement of Donald Trump becoming president again when that has vanished. In fact, I think it's becoming more violent. Many, injured and dead across Ukraine in the past few hours and we're under an alert right now.

So most of the Ukrainians I've spoken to over the past weeks have basically shrugged their shoulders when I asked them, what do you think? Is Biden or Trump better for Ukraine? I think what they feel is that unless Mr. Putin is pushed back, unless there's a huge show of strength to stop his territorial adventurism, nothing much is going to change here.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. It seems, maybe surprising given all that Trump has said about cutting aid, as well as his pro-Kremlin attitudes, but we've been told many in Ukraine actually welcomed Trump winning. Why might that be?

BOCIURKIW: Well, I think they remember, that Mr. Trump, who followed Mr. Obama into the White House, was the one who approved Javelin missiles to Ukraine, and that make it a big, big, big difference, at the start of the war. And also, he imposed sanctions on Russia.

So, that eventually followed with the Biden administration drip feed approach of aid to Ukraine. But I think what you're seeing right now, for example, European leaders are meeting in Budapest right now. Mr. Zelenskyy is there.

The European leader is huddling and saying, we have to be prepared to defend Ukraine ourselves. We have to step up our defense production source from others, but, all the signals point to, United States not wanting to be the main supporter of Ukraine or the world's policeman for that matter.

[03:40:01]

BRUNHUBER: Alright. So as we heard in that report, Trump has boasted about getting a deal done in 24 hours. Obviously, Moscow poured cold water on that idea. But what do you expect Trump to do to try to get a deal done? What might it involve and how much leverage money have on Ukraine to force them to accept a deal that might be tilted perhaps in Russia's favor?

BOCIURKIW: Yeah. If it goes the way, J.D. Vance has described it where Russia gets to hold on to territory it's already seized, the demilitarized zone and Ukraine not going into NATO, that will never float here anywhere in Ukraine. I think a couple of things happening on the sidelines.

As you know, Saudi Arabia is taking a much bigger role in the region, in the war in Ukraine. They're expected, actually, to hold a peace summit, the next peace summit in Saudi Arabia, for the first time with Russia and China and Ukraine there. So that could yield results, in whatever happens in Washington.

The other, Kim, the other thing that gives me a bit of hope is, believe it or not, there are still a few grownups left in the room that, Mr. Trump could tap and I'm thinking of people like Mike Pompeo, the former CIA director, former secretary of state, former U.S. ambassador to NATO under George W -- Mike -- sorry -- Kurt Volker, and Richard Grenell, former U.S. ambassador to Germany and a former Fox news contributor.

So if you have people like that advising him, maybe it'll bring a sense of sobriety and that, you know, they will hopefully, hopefully convince him that if Mr. Putin is not pushed back, he will go further into Europe. It will become more expensive, and, eventually, that will trickle down to the pocketbooks of average Americans.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. We'll see with those appointments. Certainly, Trump prizes loyalty above, perhaps, being, being challenged or, hearing, opposing viewpoints. But, turning to Russia, Putin has said that Trump's wind could hail, in his words, a new world order and could mean the end of unipolarity. Presumably, he's celebrating the wind. So, specifically, what could it mean, do you think, for his war on Ukraine?

BOCIURKIW: Yeah. Well, I think in the wider picture, what we're seeing is an axis of autocrats really forming, increasing, solidifying. Autocrats, meaning in Russia, Iran, North Korea and China.

I think, however, is, China is the senior partner in the room. We saw that for example the BRICS summit calling the shots this year and last year. And I do think that if Chinese pragmatism is allowed to enter into this story, they're very, very keen to tap Ukrainian natural resources, to resume trade with Ukraine and they do have a lot of sway over Mr. Putin. I have always said if Mr. Xi Jinping called Mr. Putin today or tomorrow and said end the war in Ukraine, it will happen.

So hopefully with the, geopolitical, kind of landscape shifting right now, it's not only going to be to a Mr. Trump to decide what goes on, but Trump, again, has to show that America is strong because blurred lines are the worst thing that you could present to a dictator, when it comes to Putin in Ukraine or Xi Jinping in in Taiwan.

BRUNHUBER: Now we'll end on that note. Always appreciate getting your analysis. Michael Bociurkiw, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it.

BOCIURKIW: My pleasure.

BRUNHUBER: Well, then a week after deadly floods ravaged Spain officials are still searching for dozens of people still missing. We have a report from Spain.

And investigators in Argentina have laid preliminary charges in connection with the tragic death of pop star Liam Payne. Well that story after the break.

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[03:45:00]

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BRUNHUBER: In Southern California, dangerous winds are dying down and fire conditions are expected to continue improving in the coming hours. Strong gusty winds have been pushing the so-called mountain fire since it started near Los Angeles on Wednesday, threatening the lives and property of millions of people.

Officials at the main electric company are considering shutting off power to an additional 180,000 customers to prevent fallen power lines from starting or helping to spread the flames. Power has already been cut to nearly 70,000 customers. Now the fire is only 5 percent contained. Officials say the fast moving blaze has burned more than 20,000 acres, and at least 132 properties have been destroyed.

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UNKNOWN: This is, like, surreal. I mean, I know we live in a fire danger area, but this is not it came out of nowhere. It was so fast. We are going to be okay. Yes. Absolutely. 100 percent. Everybody is strong. I mean, I think a lot of people are lucky up here.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Fire officials say the cause of the fire is under investigation. Red flag warnings are expected to drop in about 7 hours.

Blizzard conditions continue to dump heavy snow on the states of New Mexico and Colorado. Drivers were left stranded on the road in Central New Mexico after Interstate 40 iced over.

One man said he and his partner were trapped for hours overnight before deciding to turn around. Some places have already received a meter of snow. More is expected today along with strong wind gusts, which could also hinder visibility.

Meanwhile, the storm system's forecast to bring heavy rain, hail, and possibly tornadoes to Oklahoma and Texas. Flood watches are in place for nearly two million people in Oklahoma.

People in parts of Spain are struggling to clean up the destruction left from deadly historic floods that swept the region more than a week ago. Thousands of Spanish troops were deployed to the eastern region to help volunteers clear mud from the streets and to help distribute supplies including food, clothing, and other items. At least 219 people have been killed and about 93 people are still missing.

CNN's Pau Mosquera has more on the search and rescue operation.

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PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As has been done over the last days, lieutenant colonel Juan Jose Gonzalez and Lieutenant Ruben Vasquez are getting ready at Valencia's airport for another flight over the areas most affected by recent rain storms and flooding.

LT. COL. JUAN JOSE GONZALEZ, HEAD OF THE CIVIL GUARD AIR SERVICE IN VALENCIA (through translator): We have 6 helicopters deployed in the area affected by the floods. Most of them are dedicated to locating the missing, while another one is dedicated to carrying out daily flights to the civil guard laboratories in Madrid to deliver biological samples. That DNA is analyzed and compared with the relatives of those who are missing.

MOSQUERA (voice-over): The main goal today is to assist the search and rescue teams deployed on the ground and we are joining them.

GONZALEZ (through translator): We are now heading to the west, to the area of Chiba and Cheste. There, we will find the Barranco del Pollo, and then we will continue east following the natural course of the water.

MOSQUERA: The magnitude of the devastation caused by this block is much easily appreciated from this altitude. Just over there, many streets of 5 quarters are still covered in brown mud. But that's not all. From this side, you can easily see many other areas that are really difficult to access by foot. MOSQUERA (voice-over): Destruction is everywhere. Even though it has

been more than a week since all this area got flooded, we can still see piles of cars, debris all around, and collapsed bridges.

GONZALEZ (through translator): Approximately 20 people were rescued with this helicopter, A number that gets bigger if we keep in mind the work done by other 5 helicopters that have participated in search and rescue operations. So the volume of people rescued is significant.

[03:49:58]

MOSQUERA (voice-over): Nevertheless, it's been days since the last person they rescued alive. Nowadays, they are focusing on the mouth of the Turia River and Valencia's Lagoon to check if any of those missing were swept out to sea.

GONZALEZ (through translator): If the mud has buried them, we cannot see them anymore. So what we do is wait for ground teams to notify us any finding, then we take them out with the crane.

MOSQUERA (voice-over): The search is intense, but there's nothing new in the area. So after an hour hovering around, we get back to the airport base. This will be it for now. But in a matter of hours, they will get back to the skies until, as they say, every single missing person has been found.

Pau Mosquera, CNN, Manizas, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Hurricane Rafael is re strengthening after landing a devastating blow in Cuba. It hit the island as a category 3 storm on Wednesday, temporarily knocking out power to the entire country. Power is now back up in parts of Eastern and Central Cuba as hundreds of workers scrambled to restore service.

Since then, Rafael moved west and weakened to a category 2 storm, but winds have now increased to 195 kilometers per hour, making it a category 3 major hurricane again. More strengthening is possible today. Forecasters say it has a good chance of landing in Mexico as a tropical storm next week.

Well, for the first time, a major auction house has sold a portrait painted by a robot, and we'll hear from that robot when we come back. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Three people are facing preliminary but so far not formal charges in the death of singer Liam Payne. They're being investigated for abandonment before death and supplying narcotics. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has the details.

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JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A hotel employee, a suspected drug dealer, and a person authorities describe as having spent time with Liam Payne on a daily basis during his visit to Buenos Aires are all facing these preliminary charges in relation to his death on October 16th after he fell from the 3rd floor of a hotel in Buenos Aires.

That first individual is being charged with abandonment of a person before death in the supply and facilitation of narcotics that is punishable to up to 15 years in prison. Other charges include supplying cocaine and supplying narcotics.

Now Liam Payne, authorities say, was found with both alcohol, antidepressants, and a significant amount of cocaine in his system after that fall that led to his death. They say that they've reviewed over 800 hours of video and also looked over his cell phone. They went through a forensic extraction. They analyzed calls, text messages, and posts on social media that he had made in the days leading up to his death.

They also said that they rolled out self-inflicted injuries or the intervention of other people, which paints a picture that despite the company of these other people who were now preliminarily charged, that he was alone at the time of his fall.

They say also that the injuries were compatible with those that would come from a fall, so he wasn't injured before he fell. And also that based on his posture and the positioning of his body, that it looks like he was already in a state of semi or total unconsciousness by the time that he fell.

[03:55:04]

Of course, his death has caused so much grief to fans of One Direction and of his solo career across the world. We saw an outpour of love from fans in Argentina. His father had traveled to Buenos Aires to retrieve his body, which should arrive in the U.K. soon, and more details are to come on a possible funeral.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

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BRUNHUBER: A painting by a humanoid robot called AI-DA has made history selling for $1.23 million at Sotheby's in London on Thursday. It's the first time a robot's artwork has been sold by a major auction house, and there was little need to read the catalog since the robot provided its own explanation of the 7-foot tall painting titled A.I. God.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AI-DA, A.I. ARTIST ROBOT: My artwork is a portrait of Alan Turing, the brilliant British mathematician who laid the foundation for modern computing and artificial intelligence. The portrait has a fractured and layered quality, reflecting our current fragmented and multifaceted worlds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: AI-DA, the robot, is named after Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer. The humanoid is the brainchild of Aden Miller who says AI-DA is intended to spark a conversation about how we interact with technology and artificial intelligence.

A slice of the cake served at the 1947 wedding of Britain's Queen Elizabeth the second and Prince Philip has just been sold at auction. Now, the very rare 77-year old slice which is probably not edible. I wouldn't want to eat that. It went for $2,800 this week. It was nearly neatly packaged in a small box which apparently kept it safe.

The Queen sent the slice as a gift along with a letter from Buckingham Palace to a housekeeper in Scotland. The royal couple's wedding cake was almost 3 meters or 9 feet tall and weighed 500 pounds.

Well, a Burley trick or treater came looking for something tasty in a Connecticut town on Halloween night. We'll have a look at that. Talking about a large berry, you can see there which apparently had a hankering for some Halloween sweets.

The animal was caught on camera grabbing treats, left on a porch in the town of Avon. Not a big fella, spent sometimes sifting through the candy spilled on the ground. In the end, it took only a pumpkin and hightailed away with it on a health kick, I guess.

Alright. That wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. Another hour of "CNN Newsroom" is just ahead with Max Foster in London.

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