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CNN International: Trump Picks RFK Jr. As Health & Human Services Secretary; Trump Praises Musk While Taking Victory Lap; Critics: Choice Of RFK Jr. As Health Secretary "Dangerous". Aired 11a- 12p ET
Aired November 15, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom --
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ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., FORMER U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is no vaccine that is safe and effective.
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SOLOMON: -- from vaccine skeptic to Health and Human Services Secretary, how RFK Jr.'s appointment could impact patients and doctors? Plus, President Biden is on his last planned presidential trip abroad. We are live in Peru with a look at what message he is hoping to send to world leaders. And an international dispute in space, why NASA and Russia can agree on a leak in part of the International Space Station.
For years, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promoted debunked anti-vaccine claims and conspiracy theories. But, today, well, today, he is at the top of this week's list of stunning cabinet picks, after Donald Trump chose him to become the next Health and Human Services Secretary.
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KENNEDY JR.: I do believe that autism does come from vaccines. COVID- 19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese. Wi-Fi radiation is -- does all kinds of bad things, including causing cancer. Some of these mass shootings that we're seeing in this country may be related to this new -- these new class of drugs about SSRIs and benzos.
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SOLOMON: Kennedy ended his long shot bid for the presidency as an independent back in August. He then quickly endorsed Donald Trump, joining the campaign under the banner "Make America Healthy Again." At an event at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, Trump had this to say about his choice
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DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND CURRENT PRESIDENTIAL- ELECT: Another one who is another great mind and a great guy and so popular, and I think he is right. He wants to make people healthy. I just looked at the news reports. People like you, Bobby. Don't get too popular, Bobby.
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SOLOMON: The President-elect also making an announcement during the event, naming North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to be his Secretary of Interior.
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TRUMP: Welcome Burgum. He is from North Dakota. He is going to be announced tomorrow for a very big position. So, everybody is waiting there. He is. Hi, Doug. Actually, he is going to head the Department of Interior, and it's going to be fantastic.
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SOLOMON: And Trump is also zeroing in on another choice for the Department of Justice. Trump selecting his personal criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche to become the Deputy Attorney General. Blanche is a former prosecutor. He also represented Trump during his New York hush money trial, which ended in Trump being found guilty of 34 felonies.
Here to break down all the latest Trump transition developments is CNN's Steve Contorno, also with us is CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell, to talk about the potential impact that RFK Jr, might have if he is confirmed by the Senate. Good to see you both.
But, Steve, let me start with you. What is Trump saying? What more is he saying about these selections?
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yesterday, Rahel, was really the first time Donald Trump has spoke at length in front of cameras about the individuals he has selected to lead his government. He started out by sort of jokingly saying that he had already told House Speaker Mike Johnson to, quote, "just relax" about the number of people he was pulling from their very slim majority to be part of his government. Of course, he has named Elise Stefanik, Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz to key roles in his administration, cutting that very narrow margin of majority in the House even narrower.
He also addressed RFK Jr. You played that sound from him. He said as well, we want you to come up with things and ideas and what you've been talking about for a long time. Of course, for a long time, he has been talking about vaccines in very conspiratorial ways. I'm sure Meg will get to that in a second. And he also gave a shout out to someone who has grown increasingly influential in his orbit, Elon Musk. Take a listen to what he had to say about the tech billionaire.
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TRUMP: We have a man who has a seriously high IQ. I'm a person that believes in high IQs, and his is about as high as they get. He launched a rocket three weeks ago, and then he went to Pennsylvania to campaign because he considered this more important than launching rockets, of course, billions of dollars. Elon Musk, Elon, what a job.
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What a job he does. He is a good -- and he happens to be a really good guy now.
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CONTORNO: Now, Rahel, one person that Donald Trump did not discuss last night, at least not when he was on camera, was his controversial pick to lead the Justice Department, Matt Gaetz, who obviously has a very difficult road to confirmation, and he is not discussed or brought up at all by the former President and the President-elect last night.
SOLOMON: Steve, what about his pick for Defense Secretary? There are new questions this morning about that choice. What are you hearing?
CONTORNO: Yeah. We are learning overnight that Pete Hegseth, who is the Fox News host, a former member of the Army National Guard, was involved in an incident in October of 2017 in Monterey, California. This happened at a Hyatt Regency, where he was speaking at a California Federation of Republican Women conference. And according to a statement that the city of Monterey provided for us, he was not identified as an alleged assailant in a sexual assault complaint, but he said he was, quote, "involved in the investigation". No weapons were involved, and names and ages were not disclosed, and the city said it would not be releasing a full report at this time.
I should point out that Hegseth's attorney put out a statement today, saying quote, "This statement confirms that although an allegation was made, it was fully investigated and no other charges were filed." Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. Steve, let me bring Meg into the conversation. Meg, as we touched on RFK Jr., their reaction to this choice has been swift, to say the least. What are you hearing from people and the medical community about RFK Jr. potentially taking this really important role?
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Rahel, I mean, the main concern, of course, is his rhetoric on vaccines and what he might do about them going forward. He has cast a lot of doubt about them. And in fact, we heard last night from Governor Josh Green of Hawaii. He is a physician, and he says he was called to Samoa in 2019 to vaccinate people there, amid a very large and deadly measles outbreak. Here is what he told Laura Coates about how RFK Jr. was involved with that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOSH GREEN, GOVERNOR, HAWAII: We had a terrible experience in Samoa. RFK went and rallied that country against vaccinations when there was a measles outbreak. It resulted in the deaths of 83 innocent children. That's what RFK did. And if he is confirmed as HHS Secretary, what he will do is he will cast out on vaccination programs across America. That will mean thousands and then millions of people will consider not getting vaccinated. We will not have heard immunity, and physicians like myself and pediatricians and all sorts of other healthcare providers will see cataclysmic spread of disease. So, he is the worst possible choice for HHS, and I hope that the President will pull his name back.
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TIRRELL: And Rahel, we should say that RFK Jr. has denied discouraging vaccinations in Samoa, and he has said, more generally, even the day after the election, he doesn't want to ban vaccines or take vaccines away from anyone, but he wants to put data out there. And what people are worried about is that will further discourage folks from getting vaccinated. It may shake the foundation of many people getting vaccinated, kindergartners getting vaccinated, to protect everybody from things like measles and polio. That is the fear of the public health community right now.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And Meg, to that point, in terms of his desire to make vaccine data more public, which it is, I mean, help us understand really what his plans are.
TIRRELL: Yeah. This has been something we've been hearing about. He wants to get into the data. He has been talking about, well, if you just show me the data, I will show you that they're unsafe. That's something also we heard from his head of his transition team with our Kaitlan Collins just before the election. The CDC -- I just interviewed the CDC director earlier this week. She says all of the data that they use to assess vaccines is made public and is continuously being assessed for any safety signals. The FDA makes all of its data public, as it's reviewing these vaccine applications before they're approved. Then they go to these public hearings with outside advisors. Then they go to the CDC. The same thing happens.
So, the data is there and the monitoring is ongoing for the safety and efficacy of these vaccines. And it's important to note, vaccines are really a cornerstone of public health and of life expectancy getting longer in this country. There has been a lot of talk about life expectancy in the U.S. being worse than other developed countries, and that's a really important feature to focus on, and something people like about what RFK Jr. is saying.
But, if you look over the decades, vaccines are a cornerstone of why we live longer lives. The CDC says that among kids born between 1994 and 2023, vaccines will prevent more than 500 million illnesses, 32 million hospitalizations, and more than a million deaths. So, measles, polio, the kinds of things we've tried to put behind us, they're worried those may come back in large numbers here in the U.S.
[11:10:00] SOLOMON: Yeah. It's interesting, because in some of those cases, we have seen an uptick, not necessarily large numbers, but we have seen an uptick in some of those illnesses where vaccines exist. You have to wonder sort of how much of the anti-vaccine conversation is fueling that.
Meg Tirrell, thank you. Steve Contorno, thank you as well.
I want to continue the conversation now, and with us is Dr. Paul Offit, who is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, or CHOP, as it's also known. He is also a member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee. Doctor, so great to have you today. We really appreciate the time. You have called this a dangerous moment. If RFK Jr. is concerned -- or confirmed, what is your biggest concern?
DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR OF THE VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA, & MEMBER, FDA VACCINE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Well, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has always had a platform, owing to his name. I think by even considering him for Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, at some level, you validate him. At least the notion, I think, by the public, is that some of the things he must be saying must be true. And as Meg Tirrell pointed out, I mean, he is a virulent anti-vaccine activist. He is a science denialist, and he is a conspiracy theorist. The notion that that data are being hidden from the public and only he can find it out, does appeal to a certain group of people, and I worry that he would continue to continue his anti- science stance when he is going to be hold sway over science-based agencies like the CDC, the FBI and the NIH.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And I wonder, Doctor, as someone who has spent decades in this field, who has been behind vaccines yourself, is it a head scratcher when he says things like this, or I mean, how does it make you feel when you hear this and you see the confusion or the distrust that it may create as someone who works in this field day in and day out?
OFFIT: Well, we heard him say it. He thought that there was no vaccine. It was a benefit. He has said that he thought the polio vaccine actually has killed more people than it saved. And he thinks that -- continues to think the MMR vaccine, or Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine, causes autism when abundant data shows that that's not true. So, he -- the thing that worries me the most about him is that he sort of represents, to me, the notion that you simply declare your own truths, including scientific truths, that science is becoming just kind of another voice in the room, and that it's OK to declare your own truths when they aren't true, and that no one who certainly is an expert in the field knows it, knows certainly that they're not true. It's just hard to watch this sort of elevation of science denialism to this level.
SOLOMON: Yeah. I want to play for you a clip. He was asked by my colleague, Kasie Hunt, if he is anti-vaccine, and here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: So, do you think school children should be required to be vaccinated, in colleges and schools?
KENNEDY JR.: No. I would be against mandates at all.
HUNT: For any vaccines for children.
KENNEDY JR.: For any vaccine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Is it hard to sort of square that when he says he is anti- vaccine, but he is not anti-vaccine, but he would not require vaccines, at least for school children?
OFFIT: OK. So, we've had school mandates on the books for decades. They weren't really enforced till the 1970s when there were massive outbreaks of measles. You had 47,000 cases one year, 75,000 cases the next year, and we started to experience measles deaths. And so, then school mandates were enforced, enforced with major outbreaks in Los Angeles, in Detroit and Alaska, and with that, we brought measles down to the point that we actually eliminated measles by the year 2000, but it started to come back, in large part because of this massive flood of misinformation and disinformation is putting -- being put out by people like him. Get to 1,000 measles cases, and once again, we'll start to see children dying of measles in this country. It's unconscionable.
But, nonetheless, this is the sort of post-truth era we seem to be living in.
SOLOMON: How soon or how quickly, if he was confirmed, do you think the impact would be felt by everyday Americans and physicians?
OFFIT: I think it's already being felt. I think that the fact that he is now given the sort of the imprimatur of being considered for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services, already elevates this platform. I've had pediatricians call me in the last few days, one notably from Connecticut, who said, I had three patients come into my office recently, saying that they don't want to get vaccines, any vaccines, because they've heard what RFK Jr. has said. So, I think we're already seeing the impact of just the consideration of him for that kind of position.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Lastly, is there an area, Doctor, where you feel like maybe his background would provide some positive benefit, where he could be strong, whether it's the obesity epidemic or something else? Is there an area where you feel like maybe he could do some good?
OFFIT: Sure. If he wants to talk about things like eating right and dieting and exercising to decrease diseases like obesity or Type 2 diabetes, which also have consequences like heart disease or central nervous system disease, sure, let's talk about that. I mean, I'm of an age where I remember the President's Council on Physical Fitness, sure, let's talk about that.
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They should stay away from vaccines and stay away for pretty much other -- these other sort of nutty notions that he has about public health.
SOLOMON: Yeah. OK. Dr. Paul Offit, we really appreciate your time today. Thank you.
OFFIT: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right. And coming up, for the first time since the U.S. election, outgoing President Joe Biden is meeting with world leaders at a major summit, but it's who is not at the summit who may be looming largest of all. Plus, families await the fate of hundreds of illegal miners stuck underground in South Africa with little food, little water. Just ahead, the government crackdown, their families say, has put their lives at risk.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. U.S. President Joe Biden is meeting with world leaders in Peru for what could be his last major international trip as America's leader. But, there is a cloud of diplomatic uncertainty over this year's APEC Summit, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to once again take office. On Saturday, President Biden will hold what is likely to be his last bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping, and the two world leaders have a lot to discuss, considering Trump's economic agenda threatens tariffs of up to 60 percent on imports of Chinese goods.
Let's bring in CNN's Kayla Tausche, who joins us live from Lima, Peru. Kayla, good to have you. It's obviously a very different trip than maybe Biden had expected just a few weeks ago. What do we expect his message to be?
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, we expect his message publicly to be the same as it's been for recent years, that the importance of allies to America's relationship with the world and its own national security is essential. But, behind the scenes, the unspoken message is that those alliances are going to be upended come January, once President-elect Donald Trump takes office once again, and that is the cloud that's being cast over this year's summit, both the APEC Summit of 21 nations focused on economies in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the G20 Summit that is expected to happen after this in Brazil early next week.
The understanding among world leaders is that they need to insulate their economies and their own political capital from the forthcoming threats that President-elect Trump has levied on the campaign trail, and they're having conversations amongst themselves about exactly how to do that. But then, there is President Joe Biden, who is here to try to reaffirm some of those friendships that he has established over the last four years, and trying to chart any progress that's happened on many fronts. When he sits down with China's President Xi Jinping, they're expected to have a wide-ranging conversation on how to put guardrails on artificial intelligence, how to maintain military-level communication to avoid conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
We also expect them to talk about the potential to release prisoners, Americans being held by China, that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said would be a priority for the U.S. to raise. And then there is the curbing of illicit fentanyl trafficking. That was part of a conversation that the two had at the APEC summit when it was held outside California last year.
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But, Xi finds himself in a perhaps precarious position, because there is an expectation that with the hawkish nominees Trump has put forward, and the trade war that he has threatened this time around and delivered on the first time around, that he is going to need to save some of those bargaining chips to deal with President-elect Trump, leaving the U.S. a little bit on its back foot. It's going to be a relatively quiet summit for President Biden, compared to his predecessors, when they found themselves during their swan song on the world stage. He is going to be delivering a statement to the press on Sunday from the Amazon Rainforest, Rahel, but not taking questions. Back to you.
SOLOMON: Really interesting, Kayla. I mean, as you outline some of those priorities in the conversation, I mean, those are some of the priorities he has had in his previous meetings with Xi. Possible to see any deliverables from this, or is this really about sort of maintaining stability in the relationship in this interim period?
TAUSCHE: Well, stability is first and foremost the priority, and if there are deliverables, we expect them to be relatively quiet, because part of the awkwardness of the dynamic is that none of the allies or adversaries want to be seen as siding with the Biden administration Trump's political opponent, they seem to give anything away to the Biden administration. So, if there are deliverables, we expect them to be relatively muted, even if the Biden administration has an interest in talking them up. Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. Kayla Tausche there with the President in Lima, Peru. Kayla, thank you.
And my next guest is a partner with the DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group. That's an independent strategic advisory firm. Amy Celico joins us live from Washington, D.C. And Amy, it's great to have you because you have extensive experience covering U.S.-China relations. So, we appreciate you being here today. Let's just start big picture. When you look at APEC's stated mission, it is to promote sustainable economic growth, trade and investment and priority -- or prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. To that end, thinking about that, how large does Donald Trump's next term loom over this summit?
AMY CELICO, PARTNER, DGA-ALBRIGHT STONEBRIDGE GROUP: Well, of course it's going to loom over everything. It's great to be with you today, talking about what that means for the next two months, which is this period of transition here in the United States, and how these global leaders are going to see President Biden and hope to be able to shape what is going to start on January 20th, with the new Trump administration.
For the peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region that these APEC leaders are so focused on, they are going to want to see some stability in the relationship, but this high degree of uncertainty right now means that the Biden administration's top priority is to say, over the next two months, we're going to maintain that stability. We're going to hand over power, and we're going to urge the Trump administration to continue to focus not just on its America First priorities, which the American voters obviously have given President Trump the mandate to follow, but also to remind the rest of the administration that peace and security requires some stability. Xi Jinping is going to be looking for that when he talks to President Biden tomorrow.
SOLOMON: And to that end, I mean, we heard our reporter there, Kayla Tausche, say that we're not expected for reporters to be able to ask questions, but we do expect comments. What are you going to be listening for when we do hear from Biden and Xi? What are you going to be listening for in terms of how that conversation went?
CELICO: Well, I think that from the U.S. side, probably President Biden is going to do a bit of a victory lap, hopefully have not deliverables coming out of this conversation, but a reiteration of the progress that has been made, reinstating military to military ties, something that is just so critical when we are talking about the stability that all of the APEC nations want to see the U.S. and China promoting. And then, he is going to talk about some of the specifics that Kayla also went over, trying to find some resolution on some issues about citizens who have been maintained in China, not allowed to leave, talking about AI coordination, and of course, the real cooperation on fentanyl that has sustained U.S.-China cooperation over the past year.
That having been said, Xi Jinping is likely to come out of that meeting, calling on the next administration to think more about win- win, cooperation, a framing that the U.S. side doesn't really take seriously. He knows President Trump wants to increase the pressure, he knows that, from the people that President Trump is surrounding himself with as the next cabinet of the Trump administration. And so, Xi Jinping is probably going to urge for direct level interaction with President Trump in.
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Yeah. And to that point, I mean, how do you think China is preparing, or Beijing is preparing for this second Trump term? I mean, you can think about perhaps the first Trump term and some of the way China responded, but you think about now domestically their economy, they're facing quite a bit of headwinds. I mean, what options does Beijing have?
CELICO: Well, China has spent the last couple of years building out its retaliatory options, knowing that the tensions in the relationship, the focus on strategic competition, was going to continue regardless of the outcome of the November U.S. elections. And so, knowing that it's President Trump who is going to be taking office in January, I think the Chinese government is going to be prepared to use some of those tools, whether it's restrictions on exports of critical components that U.S. needs for our own manufacturing, increased retaliatory tariffs, and the Chinese government, of course, has been diversifying its exports and focusing on other markets.
Coming back to this APEC meeting, of course President Xi is walking into this meeting having just announced the opening of this megaport in Peru, facilitating more Latin American-Chinese trade. That is how he is going to try to respond to a trade war. It won't be enough, because of the weak Chinese economy. And so, we're going to be looking to see whether and how, in 2025, China starts to stimulate its economy through more consumption. It can't just rely on exporting its way out of a trade war.
SOLOMON: Yeah. The consumption piece of that would be really interesting, considering Xi's previous, not necessarily wanting it to go down that route.
CELICO: (Inaudible).
SOLOMON: Yeah. Exactly. Amy Celico, great to have your insights today. Thank you.
All right. Still ahead, hopeless, starving and besieged, the words of a Human Rights Watch report on Gaza that accuses Israel of carrying out state-sponsored war crimes. We're going to take an in-depth look. Plus, a CNN exclusive, we speak with U.S. Air Force pilots who took part in fighting off a massive Iranian drone attack against Israel back in April.
We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. And here are some of the international headlines we're watching for you today.
The Philippines is caught in the middle of a record-breaking typhoon season. The country is bracing for its fourth typhoon in less than two weeks. Tropical Storm Man-yi is expected to rapidly intensify, taking it to almost super typhoon strength before making landfall on Sunday.
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Man-yi follows closely behind Typhoon Usagi, which slammed into the northern Philippines, prompting thousands of people to evacuate their homes on Thursday. Usagi has weakened some, as it now heads towards Taiwan.
In Central America, Tropical Storm Sara is dumping record amounts of rainfall in Honduras. The northern coast has already seen nearly 56 centimeters of rain, or 22 inches, in just 24 hours, prompting rescues amid severe flooding. Dozens of homes have been damaged, leaving families displaced. As Sara moves across Central America, it's expected to bring potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides to the region.
And the UN's climate conference is wrapping up its first week with a call to action in an open letter. Global leaders say that the entire UN climate talks need a, quote, "fundamental overhaul and shift from negotiation to implementation to ensure a safer climate." This as frustrations mount in Azerbaijan, where the summit has seen boycotts, political tirades and fossil fuel celebrations.
And now to South Africa, where illegal miners are in the middle of a standoff with police. The miners are underground, inside an abandoned gold mine, and are believed to be running out of food and water, after police close off entrances used to deliver supplies. Their families are left in limbo, not knowing if they're OK or are they not. It's all part of a government crackdown on illegal mining, which costs South Africa millions of dollars each year.
Let's bring in CNN's Victoria Rubadiri, who joins us now from Nairobi, Kenya. Victoria, good to have you. What's the latest on the ground as far as what you're hearing? And is it clear yet how many people are actually underground, because there have been wildly different figures?
VICTORIA RUBADIRI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CONNECTING AFRICA: Well, Rahel, we haven't gotten those specific figures from the police or the government. They're still quite guarded in terms of giving the specific numbers of illegal miners underground.
But, in terms of what's happening today, it was the turn of events we didn't see coming, a complete change of tune from the government that up until this point has completely refused to give any help or supplies to the illegal miners that have been underground. As we speak, government officials, police and mine rescue experts are in an ops meeting to craft a plan on how to get the miners out. The Minister of Police, who had been touring Stilfontein, which is an old mining town where the miners are to date, basically said they are putting that plan together. He was speaking to the press a bit earlier on. This is what he had to say.
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SENZO MCHUNU, SOUTH AFRICA MINISTER OF POLICE: At five o'clock, there is going to be an ops meeting, in other words, a meeting that will solely and exclusively deal with the plan, which will include timeframes for whatever that needs to be done to get those people out as quickly as possible. I want to pre-empt them, let them meet, and we want those people. We want, by end of the week, to hear positive news. We can't say by end of the week they will have been moved out, but we want to see results within the shortest possible time.
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RUBADIRI: For most of the day, it's been a standoff, as you mentioned, Rahel, between the law enforcement and the illegal miners underground. They were given one of two options, essentially, to either remain underground and risk death, or to surface and be arrested. Many of them, of course, fearing arrest, and have remained underground. But. there is others who have actually succumbed to the pressure and surfaced in the last couple of days. According to police, that number is now slightly over 1,100. So, right now what's paramount for the government, for the police, is to get those miners out as quickly as possible and as safely as possible.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Something that those families, I'm sure, want as well.
Victoria Rubadiri live for us there. Victoria, thank you.
And diplomatic efforts to end the Israel-Hezbollah war are intensifying today. Sources tell CNN that Hezbollah is considering a joint U.S.-Israeli ceasefire proposal. That was relayed to the Lebanese government Thursday night. But, even amid those efforts, Israel is keeping up airstrikes on Lebanon, targeting southern Beirut for the fourth straight day. Israel is also carrying out new attacks on Damascus. A Syrian state news agency says that 15 people were killed and 16 injured, including women and children, in one of the deadliest Israeli strikes on that city in months. Israel said that it targeted Islamic Jihad.
Meantime, a special UN Committee has found that Israel's warfare in Gaza is, quote, "consistent with the characteristics of genocide".
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It accuses Israel of intentionally causing death and serious injury, and using starvation as a weapon of war. The Committee is expected to present the report to the UN General Assembly on Monday. And in a separate report, Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of carrying out a deliberate, systematic campaign of forced mass displacement of Palestinians. It says that the policy amounts to a state-sponsored war crime that appears to meet the definition of ethnic cleansing. Israel denies those accusations.
Jeremy Diamond has more.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For more than a year, this scene has played out in Gaza day after day on an endless loop, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forced to flee their homes in an elusive quest for safety, spurred by Israeli bombs and missiles as well as military evacuation orders.
REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON: For your immediate safety, we urge all residents of northern Gaza and Gaza City to temporally relocate south.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israeli officials say these leaflets and the other warnings are evidence of its efforts to minimize civilian casualties. Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based watchdog, says Israel's evacuation system has not only failed to keep Palestinians safe, but amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a 154-page report analyzing 184 evacuation orders, Human Rights Watch concluded that Israel's actions have intentionally caused the mass and forced displacement of the majority of the civilian population of Gaza. The report calls Israel's evacuation orders inconsistent, inaccurate and frequently not communicated to civilians with enough time to allow evacuations, and says designated evacuation routes and safe zones were repeatedly attacked by the Israeli military.
NADIA HARDMAN, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: I've spoken to people who, yes, they saw the evacuation orders to leave, but they couldn't follow them, because the attacks had already started. The routes that they were told to take to get to so-called safe areas were being bombarded at the same time, and once they got to those safe areas, they weren't safe. Attacks that we verified happened in those so-called safe zones.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli military said its evacuation orders are part of significant efforts to mitigate harm to civilians, and that it is committed to international law and operates accordingly.
The United Nations estimates 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced during the war, more than 90 percent of Gaza's population. Today, northern Gaza is the focus of that displacement, as the Israeli military mounts one of its most devastating offensives yet. This woman says Israeli loud speakers blasted a warning to residents. It was saying, either get out or die, one of the two. So, we left with our children, taking only what we could carry. She says they left without food or water, just the clothes on their backs.
Fleeing is one thing. Finding safety is something else altogether. Yet another school-turned-shelter for the displaced was struck Thursday by the Israeli military. Emergency rescue officials say four people were killed, including two children, yet another reminder that nowhere in Gaza is truly safe.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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SOLOMON: Our thanks to Jeremy Diamond there.
CNN is hearing exclusively, meantime, from U.S. Air Force pilots who took down a swarm of Iranian drones sent to attack Israel. Iran fired hundreds of drones back in April, a far larger strike than the U.S. military anticipated. And the U.S. pilot spent hours in the air that night, fighting off the prolonged attack.
Let's get more now from CNN's Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon, who spoke with those pilots. Natasha, what did they tell you? What did you learn?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rahel. This was the first real test for these F-15 fighter jets and the pilots, of course, against this kind of large-scale drone swarm. Basically, it wasn't known before this attack whether or not these F- 15 fighter jets would -- how they would fare, essentially, against these very slow, small, cheap flying explosive devices, essentially, these drones that can very easily evade even the most sophisticated radar systems, including those that are on the F-15.
Here is what one fighter pilot told me about all of the challenges that were posed by trying to seek out those drones that night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERTRAND: This is kind of the new way that we're going to be fighting wars moving forward, right? It's a lot of drone warfare. And so, can you talk a bit about how difficult that was to take down these very small, slow-moving drones?
MAJ. BENJAMIN "IRISH" COFFEY, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE: You're talking about something that's on the very edge of a fighter aircraft's ability to detect, what we call find, fix, track, target and engage. We weren't sure if our radar, the best radar in the inventory, is in this airplane behind us.
[11:40:00]
No one really knew whether or not its capability to find these things even existed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERTRAND: Another aspect of this is that that plane behind Irish, that fighter pilot who was speaking to me, it only can hold eight air-to- air missiles at a time. And of course, they were facing a threat of 300 plus projectiles that were launched by Iran. And so, they had to land at a military base in the Middle East, a U.S. military base, that itself was coming under fire, essentially, from these projectiles that were being launched overhead the base and being intercepted by the base's air defense system.
So they had to land. They had to refuel. They had to get these weapons back on the planes, and all of this during this massive barrage that they were trying to fend off. The base went into red alert. Troops had to rush to bunkers. But, many actually decided to stay out on the runways, which we should note had debris falling over them. And so, all of these challenges were really compounded that night, and something that the U.S. military and the Air Force, in particular, according to these pilots I spoke to, did not have that much time to prepare for. They had not been training that much before that night.
But, of course, a lot of lessons learned that evening to take away, given that this is the new, essentially, generation of warfare, and how these enemies are going to be deploying these very cheap drones in the future to try to overwhelm their adversaries. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. It's a really interesting sort of look, Natasha. We hear about these incidents. We read about these incidents. But, obviously, until you are able to sit down, as you did, with those who were actually involved, you don't really understand sort of how pressure filled those incidents and those operations must have been.
Natasha Bertrand, great to have you. Thank you.
And still ahead, a look at Donald Trump's pick for Attorney General, Matt Gaetz. We're going to have the latest controversy around him and a House ethics investigation. Plus, will Donald Trump end the electric vehicle tax credit? We'll take a look at what that means and how some say it might actually help Tesla.
We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Donald Trump is keeping a campaign promise with his latest cabinet pick. The President-elect tapping one time presidential rival, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign to support Trump under a pledge to Make America Healthy Again. Health and Human Services oversees several agencies, including the CDC and the FDA. Kennedy has frequently criticized the relationship between the FDA and pharmaceutical companies, and critics point to his skepticism about vaccine safety as disqualifying. Here is what Trump had to say about Kennedy Thursday night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Another one who is another great mind and a great guy and so popular. And I think he is right. He wants to make people healthy.
[11:45:00]
I just looked at the news reports. People like you, Bobby. Don't get too popular, Bobby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And new information is coming out about another Trump cabinet pick, Pete Hegseth, who you see here, who is tapped for Secretary of Defense, was once involved in a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault. The incident was investigated in 2017. Trump's communication director says that no charges were ever filed, and says that Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations.
And there is renewed controversy surrounding Donald Trump's pick for attorney general. Matt Gaetz has been the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation, and Republicans on that Committee canceled a scheduled meeting for today, which would have addressed releasing a report on that probe.
Here is CNN's Tom Foreman with a look at the past allegations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT GAETZ (R), U.S. REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT: It is a horrible allegation, and it is a lie.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Having sex with a teenager, paying for sex, using illicit drugs, accepting improper gifts and dispensing special favors, those are just some of the accusations that have swirled around the former Florida Congressman. Matt Gaetz has always denied them, saying political enemies and even extortionists have pushed the claims.
GAETZ: I am the most investigated man in the United States Congress. FOREMAN (voice-over): To be sure, a Justice Department probe into
whether Gaetz was involved in sex trafficking, produced no charges last year, even as another Florida politician in Gaetz's circle pled guilty. But, there is more. Former Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, says Gaetz helped push him out precisely because McCarthy would not derail the House probe into Gaetz's behavior.
KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: A member of Congress wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year- old. Did he do it or not? I don't know. But, an ethics is looking at it. There is other people in jail because of it.
MAETZ: Chaos is Speaker McCarthy.
FOREMAN (voice-over): A conservative firebrand, Gaetz was also a firm ally as Donald Trump faced his own legal troubles --
MAETZ: I think our friend President Trump --
FOREMAN (voice-over): -- standing with the embattled former President when he was convicted of dozens of felonies, which Trump also disputed.
TRUMP: The people of our country know it's a hoax.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But, lawmakers, left and right, are saying Gaetz is not Trump, and they want to see the House investigation report into his behavior.
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I think there should not be any limitation on the Senate Judiciary Committee's investigation, including whatever the House Ethics Committee has generated.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Matt Gaetz has chosen to resign from the House, but he can't choose to conceal that information.
FOREMAN (voice-over): But, he can choose, as he has in the past, to fight.
GAETZ: W ell, I faced down tougher than these folks, and I'll do it again.
FOREMAN: All of this has some members of the Republican Party clearly squirming. And if the revelations continue, we'll see if they start squirming even more.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: OK. Our thanks to Tom Foreman there.
And as Donald Trump gets his cabinet picks in place, he is also floating some potential policy changes. One change reportedly might be ending a $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit in the U.S. Electric vehicles tend to be more expensive compared to their gas-powered counterparts, and the tax credit has offset the price for car buyers. Now, there is speculation about how eliminating that tax credit might impact Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk. The company is one of the largest EV automakers in the market. It's also the only automaker making a profit on its U.S. EV sales.
Now, eliminating the credit might force prices of all EVs to go down, which could overall help Tesla but hurt other U.S. EV makers.
Joining us now is CNN's Anna Stewart. So, Anna, break down what we're learning and sort of how this might impact Tesla.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, this was a report from Reuters, and really, this policy change would come as absolutely no surprise, given the President-elect really sort of talked about it quite a lot, actually, during the campaign. He said, quote, "He would end the EV mandate on day one." He has actually promised to do quite a few things on day one. So, I think that will be a rather busy day.
Now, there is no mandate, per se. But, as you say, there is this $7,500 tax credit. It's up to $7,500 for people buying an EV in the U.S., depending on how many of the components are made in the U.S. This is part of Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, one of many parts. Clearly, if this were to happen, it could put consumers off buying a new electric vehicle if they lose the tax credit, or automakers will simply have to change the price of the car. They'll have to reduce those prices so that consumers will still buy them.
So, look at the share prices today of some of these car makers, and you will see that GM, Kia and Ford are all pointing downwards, but you will see Tesla looking quite optimistic there, up 1.85 percent, actually up 10 percent since the election, on of course the fact that Elon Musk will have both a role and influence in the new administration. Bu also, all of those car makers that were in the red that you saw there, they make EVs at a loss. Tesla is the only one that's actually making them at a profit. So, while that profit margin may shrink, it will be much worse for the other car makers.
[11:50:00]
That means Tesla may be able to increase its market share in the U.S., which had actually dipped below 50 percent earlier this year. Rahel.
SOLOMON: And so, it's an interesting point, Anna, because in the short term, they may be able to lower their profit margin, but they're still making a profit compared to their competitors. But, in the long term, they may sort of be able to create a deeper competitive moat by sort of offsetting some of these competitors even more.
STEWART: Exactly. I think Tesla definitely could do quite well out of this. And I think a moat is a good way of pushing it. I think there is an argument to say that some of the other policies this administration would like to see, for instance, tariffs of 10 percent on absolutely everything coming into the U.S., I think it's 60 percent proposed for China, that could end up being a very good thing for all automakers, because, of course, it would encourage more manufacturing within the United States. So, on the flip side, there may be policies that help other car makers
as well, but clearly, this is a bit of a win for Tesla. And also, I want to show you a tweet from Elon Musk. This is from July. Elon Musk saying, "Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla. Also, remove subsidies from all industries." So, clearly, Elon Musk fully aware of this reality and actually really welcoming it.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Guys, if we can, in the control room, just sort of put up that chart that Anna just had, Tesla compared to all of the other automakers, I really think it speaks a thousand words, where you see Tesla up about two percent there, and all of the other automakers, off -- Kia off of almost a full percentage point.
Anna Stewart, grateful. Thank you.
All right. And still to come for us, the International Space Station is leaking air, and NASA and Russia's Space Agency can't agree why. More on this orbital clash coming straight ahead.
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SOLOMON: Maori members of New Zealand's Parliament staged the Haka to disrupt the vote on a bill that many claim would undermine their rights. The measure is based on an 1840 treaty between the British Crown and Maori chiefs, and it still guides policy today. This bill would limit interpretations of the treaty, as some argue that it has led to discrimination against non-indigenous citizens. Protests are ongoing across the country, but with little support from political parties, the bill is unlikely to become law.
The Pentagon has seen a drastic rise in accounts of new UFO sightings, with hundreds made in a span of 11 months. That's according to a just released annual report from the office established to track claims about UFOs. The report says that many accounts are everyday items like balloons or drones, and several hundred are still in review or lacked enough data to draw firm conclusions. One official said that analysts have been unable to identify the objects, though no evidence of alien activity has been found.
[11:55:00]
Well, that's a teaser.
Before we go, one more thing. Leak rates on the International Space Station hit a new high this year, and the U.S. and Russia disagree on what's behind the problem and the level of risk. NASA is concerned that the air leak could possibly lead to catastrophic failure in the leaking module. U.S. officials say that the Russian space agency thinks that continued operations are safe. The leak is in the Russian- controlled segment of the International Space Station in a tunnel that connects the Russian module to a docking port. Neither side can offer proof to the other's satisfaction about its safety or its danger. The U.S. is pushing for independent experts to take a look and help the two space agencies reach a consensus. Well, thank you for being here today. We know your time is money. So,
thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. Have a great weekend. Or if you're sticking around, stick with CNN, because One World is coming up next.
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