Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump to Name Appointees to His Incoming Cabinet; Republicans Inching Closer to Majority in the U.S. House; U.N.'s COP29 Kicks Off Today in Azerbaijan; Rome's Famous Trevi Fountain Undergoes Restoration Work. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired November 11, 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)
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, and welcome. I'm Erica Hill, in New York. It's good to have you with us this hour on "CNN Newsroom."
Just ahead, the Trump administration beginning to take shape. We have a closer look at some of the positions. The president-elect is ready to fill and the names he's announced.
The president-elect's zero tolerance for undocumented immigration is no secret. European leaders, though, may have something far more extreme in mind in their countries.
And even as the COP 29 climate conference gets underway, we'll take a look at how pollution levels are hitting dangerous, dangerous levels in Pakistan.
Well, the eyes of the political world and, frankly, much of the world writ large are focused squarely on Florida right now, specifically on Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, which is where the president-elect, of course, is starting to build out his new administration.
There has been a steady stream of visitors in the days since the election, not just those seeking jobs in his new administration, but also those looking to influence his choices when it comes to those top spots.
Mr. Trump announcing earlier Sunday on Truth Social, he is tapping former acting ICE director Tom Homan to join him again, saying that he'll actually be in charge of the nation's borders overseeing, in the words of Trump, all deportation of illegal aliens back to their country of origin.
Sources also telling CNN, Donald Trump has asked New York Congresswoman and campaign surrogate Elise Stefanik to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. We are expecting several more key positions to be announced in the coming days. One person that who doesn't seem to have any desire to fill a formal role in that new administration is nonetheless playing a very important key role in the transition process itself.
Alayna Treene has more on the political evolution of Elon Musk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home has been teeming with allies, members, and potential new officials over the last 48 hours as many people are angling for a top spot in his second administration or trying to influence him and who he will select for those roles.
But the one person who's really been looming over all of it has been Elon Musk. Now, of course, Elon Musk was on stage with Donald Trump, his top campaign advisers, and his family on Tuesday night when he declared victory, during the election. But he's also been at Mar a Lago and around Donald Trump in the days since I'm told many days this week.
He dined with Donald Trump just the day after the election. He brought his children to Trump's Florida home where Donald Trump gave them a tour of his resort, but he's also been at Mar-a-Lago and around Donald Trump in the day's since. I'm told many days this week they dine with Donald Trump. Just a day after the election he brought his children to Trump's Florida home where Donald Trump gave them a tour of his resort.
But he's also been sitting in many times when he's been with Donald Trump. On some of the calls from foreign leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Now, I'm also told that Elon Musk has been weighing in on some of Donald Trump's potential picks, making it clear to the president-elect who he believes should have that role.
And he's also been calling up allies of Donald Trump himself, including lawmakers and starting to in exert his influence in that way as well.
Now, one thing that we saw happen on Sunday is that he came out and waded into the Senate Republican leadership fight. He quickly endorsed Florida Senator Rick Scott after Scott had supported an idea from Donald Trump to allow for recess appointments, essentially, trying to make sure that he can swiftly confirm some of his nominees and in many times bypass the senate confirmation process.
Three of the men are vying for that spot, but Elon Musk said that he supports Rick Scott. And all to say, Musk has been very influential. He is very close with Donald Trump, specifically so in these final weeks before election day where he has been out there campaigning for the former president.
And now he is spending a lot of time with Donald Trump and making it clear that he's going to be a top person, who Donald Trump relies on as we look ahead. Now, sources familiar with the conversations say that Musk is not expected to take on some formal role in Donald Trump's second administration.
Donald Trump has mused before that he would love for him to be a cabinet secretary. However, Musk and others believe that he could have just as much power on the outside.
Alayna Treene, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Mr. Trump has had to travel to the White House on Wednesday for a transition meeting with outgoing President Joe Biden. That meeting, of course, is a White House tradition. Important to note, though, it is one that Donald Trump decided to skip on his way out of office four years ago.
Sunlen Serfaty has details.
[03:10:05]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a big moment for the incoming and outgoing president when the two (inaudible) are set to meet here at the White House on Wednesday. And this is a tradition that notably was not afforded to President Biden when he beats Donald Trump in 2020 as Trump then really was challenging the election results.
So the White House going into this meeting being very clear and explicit that Biden is going to emphasize the smooth transition of power, emphasize that the transition should be peaceful, and also talk about the importance of working to bring the country together after the election season. Here's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President Biden made clear when President Zelenskyy was here in Washington a couple of months ago that we would spend all of the resources that were provided to us by the Congress on time and in full.
And, of course, President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to make the case to the Congress and to the incoming administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe.
SERFATY: And that's certainly notable there that President Biden plans to really push incoming President Trump on some of his top domestic and foreign policy issues, many issues where the two men certainly have divergent viewpoints, most notably on Ukraine aid, the White House telling us that, this is something that Biden will make the case about the future of Ukraine, especially making sure that Ukraine continues to receive aid from the U.S.
Certainly, President Biden's legacy at stake here as he deals with what he focuses on both domestically and on the world stage in the last 70 or so days he has in office.
Sunlen Serfaty, CNN at the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HILL: There has been a lot of finger pointing, plenty of soul searching in the face of this massive loss by Democrats last Tuesday. Last hour, I spoke with the director of the Center on U.S. Politics at University College London to ask him whether he thought the party had, as Bernie Sanders contends, lost touch with working class voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS AT UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: There's been a significant realignment among both parties to the point where now Donald Trump has really captured particularly the white working class, but in doing so also added, significant percentages of vote shares among Latinos, and black Americans as well.
And I do think that this is partly a substantive problem in terms of Democrats not offering exactly what middle class voters are looking for, but it's largely also a communication problem.
Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris really did not do a good enough job kind of communicating how they're going to help these Americans.
HILL: Is it your sense that that has gotten through, in fact, to party leadership that this is look, it could be an opportunity for an important reset for the Democratic party, but this is certainly and you and I spoke about this, I believe, last week. This is certainly not the first time that Democrats have had an issue with their messaging.
GIFT: Yeah. I think you're absolutely right. There's going to be a post mortem among Democratic elites about what went wrong with this campaign. And I think that there's sort of a lot to grapple with. But if you listen to some Democrats, all they're doing is blaming Republican voters and saying essentially that they can't believe that, they wouldn't prioritize some of these, social and cultural issues over economic issues.
I think rather than blaming voters, I think that there needs to be, inward, introspective, look at what democrats aren't doing, what they can do better because there's certainly an opportunity here.
I think that there were significant percentages of voters, particularly in the center, that voted for Donald Trump reluctantly, that really didn't buy into sort of his character, his morals, what he represents, but felt that they were better off economically under his administration.
HILL: It is an interesting tactic to blame the voters, especially after what we just saw. We'll see how that all that plays out. Let's move now to the Republican side if we -- if we could. When we look at some of the some of the announcements coming from Donald Trump today, what also struck me is, frankly the loyalty test already in effect when we look at senate leadership.
Donald Trump saying whoever is in that role of senate leadership needs to be all in on recess appointments, and there is some concern, right, that these could be used to bypass senate confirmation. How do you see Donald Trump using that?
GIFT: Well, I think that this is all about loyalty, and it's all about Donald Trump kind of throwing his weight around in Washington. I mean, we saw that with the speaker debacle, when Kevin McCarthy was toppled, that he's exerting a huge amount of influence on Congress members.
And Congress members, by and large, are happy to acquiesce to him because he's so powerful. And that's even going to be more so now after Donald Trump took this resounding victory. There's going to be very few leaders in Congress, in either the Senate or the House that's willing to stand up to Donald Trump. They'll have to do what he says.
[03:10:06]
HILL: There's also a certain element of with Donald Trump saying, hey, you can't just push this through and you can't do anything right now in this lame duck session. He's somewhat rich given what we've seen from Republicans.
GIFT: No. I think you're absolutely right. But, you know, in the past, we've seen Republicans do something similar. Remember whenever Merrick Garland, wasn't, pushed through during the in the Supreme Court, and instead kind of Republicans, were able to blockade, to stall, to say that you can't install Supreme Court. Justices during this, during this lame duck session. So yeah. I mean, it -- it's certainly right. I mean, Donald Trump did a lot at the end of his term, before Democrats were able to take power. And so for him to say, essentially, that Democrats can't do the same, I think, as you suggest is quite rich.
HILL: I'm curious. What are you hearing right there at University College in London? What have you been hearing since the election? What are the questions that people are asking of you as they try to make sense of what things will look like moving forward in the U.S.?
GIFT: Well, I think that there was a lot of angst and anxiety in the lead up to the election. And there were a lot of questions about how Americans could vote for a convicted felon, someone who has been impeached twice, someone who has been just, riddled with all these scandals and many scandals.
I think that there's still a lot of curiosity about what is sort of the underlying trends, driving American politics. Because, you know, I think, here in Europe, all they saw was kind of Trump on the world stage, taking it to multilateral institutions and not respecting world leaders, and so on and so forth.
And so I think a lot were relieved whenever Donald Trump lost in 2020, and now some of that bracing, for what's to come is back.
HILL: Yeah. It's going to give you a lot to talk about and a lot to study. Thomas Gift, good to talk to you as always. Thank you.
GIFT: Thanks, Erica.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HILL: Turn our attention now to those U.S. House races. And CNN projects Gabe Evans flipped a seat in Colorado's Denver Suburbs. That win now gives Republicans 214 seats in the House. They need just 4 more to reach a majority. Still not clear though who will control the lower chamber of Congress because there are still 16 races yet to be settled.
CNN data reporter Harry Enten has the latest analysis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SR. DATA REPORTER: Look where we are now. Projections, CNN 214. Of course, you need 218 to maintain control. Democrats all the way down at 205.
Now, if you look at the seats where the parties are ahead, at this particular point, Republicans are ahead in 222 seats, Democrats in just 213. Now, I want to sort of go into that Colorado district that you were just talking about and sort of just point out the problem here. As you mentioned, Gabe Evans flipped it. 97 percent of the vote is in so far.
And one of the real issues that Democrats have sort of just had is if you go back just a little bit in time. Right? If you look when 71 percent of the precincts were in, in fact, Evans was trailing. Evans was trailing, and he, of course, in the later vote count was able to take the lead.
And so this is one of the big problems that sort of Democrats have had in this entire sort of trying to somehow find the seats to get to 218. Another sort of example of that, a district where right now they're behind they're behind right now in Arizona 6th Congressional district. You see the incumbent Republican is ahead by 1,230 votes.
Now, again, if you were to go back in time, if you were to go back when there was 59 percent of the vote in, again, the Democrat was ahead there. So basically what you're seeing -- what you're seeing in these types of situations is Democrats keep trying to say, okay.
Is the math for us there? And then each time you think the math may be there for them, what you end up finding out is that the math actually just sort of goes away for them. Now, where could Democrats potentially pick up seats? Well, let's go out to California. Right? Let's go out to California.
There are a few districts that I'm sort of keeping my eye out out there, so we'll go right here. And this is a district that I think they have some shot in. Look at this. In California's 13th district, 57 percent of the vote is in. The democrat right now is just about 2.5 points behind. Adam Gray is only about 2 and a half points behind.
Another district I'm looking in is this one. This is the 22nd district. This is district that always takes forever to sort of count its votes. David Valadaiao, the long-time Republican incumbent. He's ahead now by 7 points. But again, just 71 percent of the vote is in. And finally, you know, if we were to go let's say, we're going to go
we're going to go to Southern California. I like going to Southern California. Alright? Let's see if I can click this district. There -- oh, we just --there we go.
Sometimes it gets a little interesting. California's 45th district, Orange County, big chunk of that. Michelle Steel, the incumbent Republican, up by 69,100 votes. But, again, just 79 percent of the vote in, and she's up, you know, about 2.5 points.
So again, there are opportunities for Democrats, but the bottom line is at this particular hour, the math is thin and the hour is late for Democrats. Republicans look on their way to maintaining house control.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[03:15:06]
HILL: Harry, thanks for that.
At least 10,000 North Korean troops are in Russia. Some now deployed in the Kursk region and ready to engage against Ukraine. We will update you on that next.
Plus how immigrants and activists are now mobilizing against the uncertain and potentially hostile future they see coming with a second Trump administration.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Yet another deadly weekend in Lebanon and Gaza. Lebanese media reporting that Israeli strikes have claimed at least 80 lives. This is video from the town of Almat, it is in Central Lebanon, north of Beirut. It's a Shiite Muslim majority village. It's outside of Hezbollah's usual strongholds to the south and the east. On Saturday alone, more than a dozen separate locations in Lebanon were hit.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
On Sunday, the IDF hit 2 homes in Gaza killing at least 41 people. You're looking at some of the aftermath of the strike there in central Gaza. The other home was in Jabalia where one NGO says it was parents, children, and grandchildren who were among those killed. The IDF says it was targeting terrorists.
[03:20:05]
Paula Hancocks, joining me now from Abu Dhabi with the very latest. So in terms of these strikes on the two different fronts, right, for Israel, what more can you tell us at this hour, Paula?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, if we start off with Lebanon, we did see in in Central Lebanon in a town of Almat, there were more than 20 people killed including, three children. That according to state run media. And it would appear to be at least one building that had been completely destroyed, and there was heavy machinery, according to images we saw, trying to sift through the debris to see if there were any more survivors.
Now, one of the local politicians there said it was a well-known resident's house, and it is possible that there were many displaced who were sheltering within that house as well.
But as you say that there was more than a dozen separate strikes from Israel on different parts of Lebanon, since late Saturday. We really have seen the focus on the southern suburbs of Beirut now moving, to the eastern Lebanese areas and, of course, Southern Lebanon. A Hezbollah stronghold has been pounded since the beginning of these hostilities.
Now, the IDF on late Saturday said that they had eliminated dozens of Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, over the past day. And we are also seeing rockets continue to be fired by Hezbollah, into northern Israel.
Now, when it comes to Gaza, much of the focus is still on northern Gaza. There were two homes that were hit, one in Jabalia, where there is that massive refugee camp. Also, one in Gaza City. And we understand that, at least 41 were killed, when those two homes were targeted.
According to the Ministry of Health, they also say that at least half of those killed were children. This is something that is really being backed up by the international NGO, Save for Children, as well, saying that 3 generations of families, children, parents, grandchildren had been killed. Erica?
HILL: Paula, appreciate it. Thank you.
A massive number of Russian troops are preparing to launch an assault on Ukrainian forces in the coming days and attempt to push Ukraine out of Russia's Kursk region where they've held the ground since the summer. That plan, according to U.S. official, also includes North Korean troops.
Salma Abdelaziz, joining me now from London with more on this. So we'll include some of these North Korean troops. What more do we know about, how involved they may be at this point already?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So we have already heard from President Zelenskyy that some 11,000 North Korean troops are on those front lines. He says that his forces have clashed with these North Korean troops already resulting in casualties.
And I think what's most concerning for President Zelenskyy is what he is saying that Russia is preparing to do, which is to retake the territory of Kursk. You may remember that Kursk inside Russia is where Ukraine launched this surprise offensive a few months ago, claiming Russian territory for the first time since World War II, a huge boost, a huge morale boost for Ukrainian forces. Now, President Zelenskyy says that the Kremlin is preparing to take Kursk back.
It has tens of thousands of troops preparing along those front lines, alongside those North Korean forces. And what is also worrying for President Zelenskyy is that the objective behind Kursk has yet to be achieved. Of course, he expected that Russia would claim back its territory at some point, but President Zelenskyy had hoped that it would offer some distraction to Russian forces that would weaken and soften their defenses along those very long front lines in the east. None of that has materialized.
Also, Ukrainians across the country, very far from those front lines, continue to suffer from this onslaught of drone strikes by the Kremlin over the weekend. 145 drones on Saturday night. 145 drones in a single night fired at Ukraine. President Zelenskyy saying that the country faced its worst ever drone assault. Their response was their biggest ever drone assault on Moscow.
There, at least two major airports in the capital had to divert delayed flights because of dozens of Ukrainian drones. But, again, this pales in comparison to the consequences that Ukrainians are facing with the much larger arsenal, of course, at President Putin's hand -- hands.
And all of this doesn't bode well when President Zelenskyy is preparing for a President Trump who has made clear he wants this war to end quickly, to end soon. That means bringing these two warring parties to a negotiating table at a time when Ukraine may be at its weakest negotiating position yet. Erica?
HILL: Yeah. Absolutely, Salma. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Just ahead here, the COP 29 Climate Summit now officially underway. But with Donald Trump bringing his America First agenda back to the White House, a shadow looms over the global fight against climate change.
[03:25:10]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: 28 minutes past the hour now. I'm Erica Hill. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday spoke with German chancellor Olaf Scholz. The subject are turn to peace in Europe. The two exchange views on the current challenges around the world. Many leaders, of course, are watching Trump with some trepidation about the changes that may be in store when he takes office for that second term.
Despite Trump's tough rhetoric toward Ukraine, it's unknown whether he will, in fact, cut the purse strings for Kyiv. In Russia, there is some celebration over Trump's win, hoping that turmoil at home could perhaps distract him from foreign policy.
Immigration, a cornerstone of Trump's campaigns and first term, is front and center in many places following the election as well. Activists in California, a state home to more immigrants than any other in the U.S., are actually mobilizing ahead of Trump's second presidency. Here's more now from our Los Angeles based affiliate, KCBS/KCAL.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICOLE COMSTOCK, KCBS/KCAL JOURNALIST (voice-over): On the steps of San Bernardino City Hall, community activists hold signs with messages like migration is natural, welcome people with dignity.
UNKNOWN: We have the knowledge and the experience to know how to defend our communities and how to defend each other.
COMSTOCK (voice-over): These immigrant justice groups feel like they have to defend themselves.
UNKNOWN: We don't know what's coming our way.
COMSTOCK (voice-over): Against President-elect Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP (R), THEN U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will launch the largest deportation program in American history.
COMSTOCK (voice-over): Trump believes undocumented immigrants take jobs away from US citizens and make the country more dangerous. According to the American Immigration Council, there are 11,000,000 undocumented immigrants in the United States.
[03:30:00]
Deporting one million people per year could take 1,000 new courtrooms to process and cost taxpayers an estimated $88 billion. That's roughly 11 times ICE's annual budget.
CLAUDE ARNOLD, FORMER AGENT, U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: There's probably going to be more DHS resources, but, you know, as far as some, you know, large scale military operation, I think that's highly unlikely.
COMSTOCK (voice-over): Claude Arnold is a retired ICE agent. He says the Trump administration will likely reinstate executive orders erased by the Biden administration to prioritize deporting undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of crimes and not just knocking on families' doors. But he says here in California, sanctuary laws will be a huge impediment.
ARNOLD: There's going to be -- there's going to be some legal wrangling between the federal government and the state of California over that issue.
COMSTOCK (voice-over): He also says Trump may step up job site audits to check for immigrants' work authorization.
And for many here in Southern California, that sounds like an uncertain and even hostile future.
UNKNOWN: But what we do know is we need each other.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And our thanks to Nicole Comstock with our affiliate, KCBS/KCAL.
New York City is known often for its liberal politics and winnable races for Democrats. Vice President Harris easily won the big apple, although President-elect Trump saw some big gains. In fact, he made inroads in every single district since 2020.
Here's CNN's Gloria Pazmino with more on that shift.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York City just got a little more Republican.
STEVEN CHAN (R-NY), STATE SENATOR: From corner to corner of New York City, we saw the Republicans gain traction.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Here in Brooklyn, Republican Steven Chan defeated state senator, Ewen Chu, the Democratic incumbent, in a race defined by public safety, opposition to a homeless shelter in the district, and concern about newly arrived migrants.
CHAN: People are not happy with the way things are going, and they want change.
PAZMINO (voice-over): While Harris easily carried the city with about 68 percent of the vote compared to Trump's 30 percent, Trump made significant gains this election cycle. Roughly 94,000 more people voted for Trump than in 2020.
FRAN VELLA-MARONE, KINGS COUNTY CONSERVATIVE PARTY CHAIRPERSON: If you look at a map of Southern Brooklyn now after this election, it's going to be actually almost all red.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Trump made gains across all of New York City. The most significant shifts were in neighborhoods with large Asian and Latino communities. He narrowed the gap in the Bronx, parts of Queens, and here in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, where Asians, generations of Italians, and Latinos live and work side by side.
CHAN: When we came, nobody supported us. Nobody gave us a handout. We went to work.
PAZMINO (voice-over): More than 200,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022. The crisis has manifested across different cities, but has been particularly heartfelt here.
DONALD TRUMP (R), THEN U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're poisoning the blood of our country. That's what they've done.
PAZMINO: Why are so many immigrants willing to support that kind of language?
CHAN: They understand exactly what President Trump is talking about. He understands that President Trump is not talking about them. PAZMINO (voice-over): This family from Ecuador agrees.
SILVANA SARI, TRUMP SUPPORTER: We need a change. Economy is really a mess right now. It's affecting all families.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Sari and her husband say they've spent years working to open up a barbershop and put their kids through school.
SARI: He has to work 14 hours a day to have what he has right now. To have a business open. And he's not there. Another business open in the corner with no permit, with no insurance. I don't think it's fair at all.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Republican operatives see Trump's inroads in New York as the beginning of what's to come, a chance to grow their party and elect more Republicans right here in Blue New York.
VELLA-MARONE: Hochul better watch out. We're going to come after her. And I she's going to be in trouble. And I believe that we can win the governor the governor's race in 2 years.
PAZMINO: Now governor Hochul's reelection is less than 2 years away. We asked her about the results. She told us that Democrats across the state should not be taking their voters for granted.
Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Donald Trump's comeback in the U.S. presidential election has the Trump of the tropics dreaming of a similar return. Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro and his followers have been celebrating Trump's win, which they see as an omen for a Bolsonaro comeback.
His supporters are actually setting their sights on Brazil's 2026 election. One issue though, Bolsonaro is actually barred from running for office until 2030, so it may fall to an ally to wave the right- wing flag in the next race.
Japan's prime minister surviving a critical parliamentary vote just a short time ago to stay on as leader. Shigeru Ishiba won 221 votes in the 465-seat lower house, far ahead of his nearest challenger. After Japan's first runoff, though, in 30 years, he's now leading a minority government.
[03:35:08]
Ishiba came into office, rather, just last month and called a snap election. The move backfired as the scandal-ridden coalition lost its majority for the first time in more than a decade.
In Haiti, the prime minister is out fired by the country's transitional presidential council. Gary Conille had only been in office for about 6 months. One council member says they voted to remove Conille because he had made decisions without informing them and also took on duties of the president. He will be replaced by businessman Alix Didier Fils-Amie. It is the latest political shape up in a country which has been devastated in recent years by widespread gang violence, food shortages, and political instability.
Police in Paris announcing they'll deploy 4,000 officers and 1600 stadium employees to monitor this week's football match between France and Israel. Those added security measures will be both in and around the stadium and also on public transportation.
The move, of course, comes just days after Israeli fans were assaulted in Amsterdam after a match there. Dutch police say groups of young people were responding to online calls to attack Jewish individuals leading to clashes with police. At least 5 people were sent to the hospital, dozens arrested. Meantime on Sunday, Dutch police detained several people for taking part in a demonstration.
You may recall all protests were banned following last week's violence. As for this week's match in France, French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to attend in part as a show of solidarity against anti-Semitism.
A powerful earthquake rocking Cuba's eastern coast just as the island is recovering from widespread blackouts and the impact of recent hurricanes. We'll bring you the very latest after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Residents in Lahore, Pakistan are being urged to stay home as record pollution continues to engulf the city, forcing schools and other public places to close. Just last week, the city's air quality index again pushed back the 1,000-mark. That's actually more than 3 times the level needed to be deemed hazardous.
CNN's Sophia Saifi has more.
[03:40:08]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): The traffic is still flowing in Lahore.
The government officials are urging people to stay at home. The smog, too toxic.
For a city that often ranks as one of the worst in the world for air pollution, face masks are mandatory. A thin shield against the skyrocketing amount of pollutants in the air.
The city's air quality index topped 1,000 again last week. That's an unprecedented level as the I.Q. Air Index defines hazardous as anything over 301.
Many public spaces like zoos, parks, and historic monuments have been closed along with many schools which have shifted to online classes for at least another week.
UNKNOWN: Everyone has a right to clean air. Everyone has a right to enjoy seeing the sun.
SAIFI (voice-over): Some types of tuk-tuks and barbecue restaurants have been banned. But the smog is a recurring problem, especially at this time of the year, when particles from low grade diesel fumes and crop burning get trapped in the cold air. And some residents say that the closures aren't stopping that.
MOHAMMAD QASIM, LAHORE VISITOR (through translator): They have closed the schools that don't create the smog. They have not closed the factories and break kilns. They are now closing the things which create the smog.
SAIFI (voice-over): Delhi's air has also reached hazardous levels in recent days. Though some residents are still exercising outdoors.
The World Health Organization says breathing toxic air is harmful and can cause strokes, heart diseases, and respiratory infections.
One clinic in New Delhi says there is a 20 to 25 percent rise in patients, especially after the Diwali holiday when people set off illegal fireworks. Sore throats, burning eyes, and trouble breathing are common complaints.
BALRAM KUMAR, FACTORY WORKER (through translator): I have a severe cold and cough. No medicine seems to be working. I have been taking medicines, but there is no relief.
SAIFI (voice-over): Officials in New Delhi began a trial program recently to spray water from drones to clear away dust and pollutants. But critics say this is just a band aid. And the smart problem in South Asia is in need of more long term solutions.
Sophia Saifi, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: The United Nations climate change comp COP 29 is now officially underway in Azerbaijan. Donald Trump's reelection, though, already dominating the conversation there. He has, of course, called climate change a hoax, and you'll recall during his first term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. President Biden reversed that move, but Trump has vowed to withdraw again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARJEET SINGH, FOSSIL FUEL NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY INITIATIVE: Trump winning elections is a huge setback to not only climate talks, but global cooperation in general. We know he's likely to reverse all clean energy policies and incentives in the U.S.
He's going to go for fossil fuel extraction much more, which is going to be devastating for the planet, and he's not going to provide any climate finance, which is so vital for developing countries to transition away from fossil fuels.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: 2024 is likely to end as the hottest year on record. Some climate experts say without cooperation from the United States, pushing for more investment in climate action will be difficult to negotiate. Chief climate correspondent Bill Weir has a closer look now at what's at stake at this year's COP 29 Summit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. COP 29 opens on Monday in Baku, Azerbaijan, a tiny little petro state on the casting fee. The conference of the parties as they're known as the 29th of them, the last one, a year ago, had the world agreeing to turn away from the fossil fuel era that 30 polluting the planet cooking fuels. That era is over, and it's time to electrify.
Well, another petro state posting it now with questions about their intentions whether to use this to exploit more oil and gas deals or really try to bring your policy together and then casting the biggest poll of all with the election in the United States.
Donald Trump reelected as the most notorious climate denier in recent global history, threatening to fall back and undo as much of the Biden climate agenda as he possibly can. Some of it has momentum, especially in red Republican states.
Brown has broken up big projects, and it'll be tough to claw those back, but we'll see if he tries to entail new rules on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules, incentives for families to electrify with cleaner stoves or furnaces.
All of those are questionable, especially with the House of Representatives up for grabs. So that reality will cast a pall on all the climate diplomacy in Baku this week.
[03:45:00]
Biden, President Biden was never really planning to attend this. There are diplomats from the U.S., but what kind of promises can they make with so much uncertainty, for what comes next?
And at the same time, all of this is under is playing out.
Copernicus, the European Space and Weather Agency, basically says as the data shows 2024 will be the first to shatter that 1.5 degrees Celsius ceiling that everyone agreed to back in 2016 in the Paris Accords. This was the first full year above that, that limit.
That's almost about 3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than we were before the Industrial Revolution. Right now, the warmer it gets, the more fossil fuel pollution blankets the sky. The wilder and crazier the weather is going to get, the more this wildfire phenomenon takes off in confounding ways out in Los Angeles. The winds were so strong they had the ground firefighting airplanes and had to worry more about evacuations than actually putting out house fires adaptations everything these days and it seems to be happening the calamity faster than people can adapt. All the politics around this issue are going in the opposite direction.
Bill Weir, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: A powerful earthquake striking off the coast of Eastern Cuba on Sunday, triggering landslides and causing damage to homes and infrastructure according to Cuba's president.
Here's Stefano Pozzebon with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: The 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit off the coast of Cuba on Sunday afternoon was so powerful, it was smelting Miami and Southern Florida. However, at this point, there are no reported deaths in the island nation.
The quake hit the Eastern Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin, and Santiago, but did not produce a significant tsunami threat. Cuban president, Miguel Diaz Canel, said that authorities are evaluating the situation before starting the recovery efforts less than a week after powerful hurricane Rafael struck the Western provinces of Cuba as a category 3 hurricane.
The pictures out of Cuba show cracks in the buildings and piles of debris as the island is still reeling from a very intense hurricane season as well as continuous blackouts due to a chronic shortage of electricity.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: A man is now in charge with arson in connection to a New Jersey wildfire. Officials say that blaze started after 37 year old Richard Shashadi fired an illegal dragon's breath 12 gauge shotgun round. The ammunition effectively simulates the effect of a flamethrower, which will tell you why it is illegal in multiple states. The New Jersey wildfire scorched 350 acres of land and required 15 homes to be evacuated last week.
Rome's Trevi Fountain is getting a bit of a makeover, and boy, is that a win for you. I was giving you a bird's eye view of the restoration. Just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HILL: A sad loss to tell you about in the world of dance and entertainment. Alvin Ailey, American dance theater icon Judith Jamison passed away on Saturday in New York after a brief illness.
Jamison served as artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Company for two decades and is widely credited with helping to make it one of the most successful dance companies in the United States. She'll also be remembered though as an unforgettable and internationally acclaimed dancer herself.
Jamison spoke with CNN in 2011 shortly after she personally selected Robert Battles to take over as artistic director at the Alvin Ailey Company.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Good to see both of you. This is very exciting.
JUDITH JAMISON, FORMER ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, ALVIN AILEY COMPANY: It's good to see you again, and I'm so glad to be here with Robert because this is such an exciting time for us.
UNKNOWN: This really is wonderful because you're both very joyous about this changing of the guard.
JAMISON: Absolutely.
UNKNOWN: But I know it's got to be bittersweet for you too because you've been doing --
JAMISON: No. It's not--
UNKNOWN: No. Not at all.
UNKNOWN: You've been doing this for so long.
JAMISON: Well, I danced with the company for 15 years and now it's 21 years of directing it. I am so happy to be able to give it over to Robert.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Judith Jamison was 81 years old.
An emotional tribute to the late One Direction member Liam Payne at Sunday's MTV Europe Music Awards, that tribute led by host Rita Ora, the two collaborated on the 2018 song "For You."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RITA ORA, SINGER: He brought so much joy to every room he walked into, and he left such a mark on this world. So let's just take a moment to remember our friend, Liam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Payne died last month at the age of 31 after falling from a 3rd floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires.
Taking a look at the rest of that awards ceremony for you, Taylor Swift, the big winner on Sunday. The pop megastar landed 4 trophies, including best artist and best video. Swift was not at the event in Manchester because she's currently, of course, on tour, wrapping up her Era's tour here in North America, should thank fans though via video message.
Swift was followed by South African singer, Tyler, who picked up three prizes. Other winners of the night, Peso Pluma for best Latin, Serena Carpenter claiming best song with "Espresso," as rapper Busta Rhymes received the global icon award.
A big cleanup in Rome is offering a rare chance to see the famous Trevi Fountain up close. Workers are painstakingly cleaning and restoring the masterpiece. And while they do so, the city is offering a bird's eye view of the sculpture from a metal walkway over the fountain. Here's CNN's Barbara Nadeau in Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): The Trevi Fountain is normally gurgling with water into which millions of tourists throw coins each year. But thanks to a massive renovation project worth more than $300,000 that includes cleaning and scrubbing up of calcium, rust, and dirt, this iconic fountain is dry.
LATZA NADEAU: You know, where the water should be is this metal walkway that is going to offer the tourists who come here a rare opportunity to take an intimate look at this 18th century masterpiece.
LATZA NADEAU (voice-over): The walkway will also allow the city to study a proposed ticket system by tracking the ebbs and flows of the tourists through the day.
[03:55:06]
ROBERTO GUALTERI, ROME, ITALY MAYOR: By improving the experience of visitors to make, unique experience to admire the fountain, to avoid overcrowding, that's why there is a limit on people that can stay on this walkway, but also after the end of the maintenance working, there will be a cap on the people that could at the same time be inside the fountain, to admire it, in order to avoid the fact that, overcrowding, makes the experience worse.
LATZA NADEAU (voice-over): Rome sees some 35 million visitors a year, and around four million are believed to visit this site. The city believes that by eventually charging a small entrance fee, they can better control over tourism and protect the ancient stone.
ARLENE SPRING, FLORIDA TOURIST: It was one of the things I couldn't wait to see, and I'm sort of disappointed, but I still get to see the beauty of it. You know? So, yes, I would pay.
LATZA NADEAU (voice-over): The fountain's last cleaning and repair began in 2014 and took more than a year. But increasingly, hot temperatures and a steady growth in tourism traffic have also led to the erosion of some of the basin.
The Trevi project is one of many conservation and renovation projects slated to finish in time for the kickoff of the Vatican's Holy Jubilee Year of 2025, which will draw millions more visitors than usual to the eternal city's popular sites.
And for those who have come during this Roman construction season, all is not lost. They can still throw their coin into this smaller basin for luck. And they're getting an opportunity of a lifetime to see this fountain up close.
Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: In Mexico City, hundreds of musicians gathering on Sunday in an effort to break the world record for the largest mariachi concert. Local media say the performance drew more than a thousand artists, and that is higher than the 2013 record, which was held by Guadalajara. 700 mariachis performed back then.
The massive concert was held on the final day of the First World Mariachi Congress, a five-day event, which aimed to honor and preserve the iconic music genre. It is deeply rooted in Mexican culture. Of course, mariachi bands often perform at weddings, birthdays, and other celebrations.
I'm Erica Hill. Thanks so much for joining me here in "CNN Newsroom." Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane pick things up after a quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)