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Trump Defense Secretary Pick Pete Hegseth Involved In 2017 Investigation Of Sexual Assault Allegation; Trump Laying Groundwork To Implement Hardline Immigration Policies; Several Lawmakers Demand Release Of House Ethics Report On Gaetz; Man Accused Of Killing Laken Riley Is On Trial In Georgia; Biden, Xi Set To Speak On Sidelines Of APEC Summit Today. Biden, Xi Set To Speak On Sidelines Of APEC Summit Today; HRW Report: Israel's Mass Displacement In Gaza Amounts To War Crime; Giuliani Turns Over Luxury Assets To GA Women He Defamed. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired November 16, 2024 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: -- streaming on Max, which is part of CNN's parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery. And that is all we have time for. Don't forget, you can find all our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London, thank you for watching and I'll see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with President-elect Donald Trump making more moves to fill out his administration. He's tapping campaign staff members Steven Cheung, Karoline Leavitt, and Sergio Gor for key White House roles. He has also selected North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as his Interior Secretary.

While Trump's cabinet is taking shape, there are still eight major cabinet positions open and some of his picks are already facing an uphill climb for Capitol Hill confirmation. His choice for Attorney General, former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, is facing increasing scrutiny as the House Ethics Committee weighs whether to release its report on allegations Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

On Friday, a lawyer representing two witnesses said one of those clients testified to the committee that she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor. But House Speaker Mike Johnson says he is requesting the committee not release the report, citing Gaetz's resignation from U.S. Congress.

And Gaetz isn't the only Trump pick facing scrutiny. Sources tell CNN Trump's transition team was caught off guard after hearing of an alleged sexual assault investigation involving his Defense Secretary pick Pete Hegseth. Here's CNN's Kyung Lah.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These allegations involving Pete Hegseth date back to 2017 in Monterey, California. The city of Monterey says that his police department became involved in a, quote, "alleged sexual assault involving Pete Hegseth," that it took place allegedly on October 8th, 2017 in the early morning hours at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey. And that the police department became involved four days after this alleged incident when it was notified that something may have happened.

Now, I want you to take a look at this picture from Facebook. It comes from the California Federation of Republican Women, and it shows Hegseth speaking at a podium. He was a speaker at their conference, according to these photos. Now, the city statement, while not being specific in identifying Hegseth as an alleged assailant, does say that he was involved.

It also talks about an unnamed victim and injuries, and the injury being described as, quote, "contusions to right thigh." The city says that it would not be releasing the full police report, and a check of the court shows that Hegseth has not been charged in the county since 2017 up until today.

We did reach out to Hegseth's lawyer, who issued a denial saying that, yes, an allegation was made, but no charges were filed. And we also reached out to Trump's spokesman, who says that Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and, quote, "we look forward to his confirmation."

Kyung Lah, CNN, San Francisco.

WHITFIELD: Trump's hard-line plans on immigration are also starting to come into focus. Sources tell CNN plans are underway by Trump's team to implement strict border measures, strike down Biden-era policies, and launch a mass detention and deportation of migrants.

CNN's Steve Contorno is monitoring these developments from nearby, nearby Trump's home in Florida. Steve, Trump's team is already planning executive orders on immigration. To what extent?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Fred. Donald Trump made immigration his top priority on the campaign trail, and it will be his top priority when he takes office in January. And his team is planning for him to hit the ground running without any of the legal problems that he hit in 2017 during his first attempts to attack the immigration issue in this country.

Let me walk you through some of what we are learning his team is intending to do with executive orders. They want to expand detention facilities, including engaging with private prison companies. Reinstate the return in Mexico, or excuse me, remain in Mexico policy that requires people seeking to enter the U.S. to wait in Mexico while their immigration status is determined.

The mandatory detention of people caught crossing the border is another area they want to focus on, as well as bringing back family detention, the controversial policy that Trump instituted and Biden reversed. And as well as -- you know, the big question is, how are they going to pay for it?

[12:05:08]

Well, one idea is they want to declare a national emergency that will allow Trump, they believe, to unlock Pentagon resources, although that reached some legal difficulties the first time around. And they also intend to reinstitute raids on work sites where they believe undocumented migrants may be working.

Now, the people he has already put in place to help enforce and build out this policy are Tom Homan. He will be the border czar. Stephen Miller, he will be a deputy White House Chief of Staff. Those are two individuals who are very close to his immigration policies in his first term. And then Kristi Noem will serve as the secretary for Homeland Security, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Steve, you also have new reporting on how conservatives are searching for partisans in the federal government before Trump actually takes office. How are they doing that?

CONTORNO: Yes, we've learned that for the past couple of years, they have been blanketing the federal agencies with freedom of information requests and asking specifically for emails of federal workers, trying to find them using what they believe are partisan terms. And this includes climate change or certain DEI terms, as well as Elon Musk and some of his -- names for some of his companies.

And what they are trying to do is find who in the government is potentially someone who might be disloyal to the incoming president. And they want to build out a list of people who he could potentially let go of when he intends -- when he executes this mass purges of civil servants that he has promised that he will do.

Now, it is not clear yet whether the incoming Trump administration is aware of their efforts, although the people involved in this work believe they are. And they have, from my understanding, sent about 65,000 requests over the recent years to these federal agencies and have gotten back thousands of pages of documents that they intend to help utilize to find who in the federal government may not be loyal to Donald Trump and his plans for a second term.

WHITFIELD: All right. Steve Contorno, thanks so much.

All right, with me now to talk more about the Trump transition, Lynn Sweet. She is the Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. Lynn, always great to see you.

LYN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, so let's begin with Trump's immigration plans. He campaigned on a tough border stance, vowing the largest mass detention and deportation of migrants in U.S. history. He said he was going to tackle that on day one. Do you think Americans are prepared for how this just might play out? SWEET: Well, if you're somebody who thinks they may be deported or you have a loved one or friends and family, I think the preparation is not always in place because it's not clear how these raids will take place that he's talking about or what detention facilities.

I do think that immigration rights groups have been working to understand what legal processes could take place and how they can muster a lot of force quickly to try and react to whatever are the -- what is taking place purportedly, which will be a sweeping of places, probably big cities, probably Democratic ones where they think there are a lot of migrants, particularly in cities, New York, Chicago, where you know there have been waves of migrants, particularly from Venezuela, who have come there in the recent year and a half to two years.

WHITFIELD: And this week, you know, saw a flurry of controversial cabinet picks from Trump. Let's start with his selection of former Congressman Matt Gaetz for U.S. Attorney General. Lawmakers on both sides are pushing for the release of the ethics probe information of Gaetz. But, of course, the House speaker, as I already reported, is trying to block that release. Do you think it's even possible that Gaetz can make it through a committee in the confirmation process?

SWEET: Well, I think that anything that we use the word usual for should be kind of put on a back bench right now, that the recess appointment power of a president, which is you have the Senate when it's away, you make an appointment, a power often used rarely, is one I'm predicting will be used in more sweeping fashion.

So, no usual order is going to necessarily take place. And it's not of anything that's of value to President-elect Trump. So I do think it is possible that no matter how controversial the nominee is, that they could get end up getting power in the department that Trump wants them.

In particular, Matt Gaetz, with or without the release of this ethics report, there are, you know, he would have a very tough hearing no matter what, because senators can still ask him about things. Who knows if the witness would be subpoenaed to testify in public or in private.

[12:10:13]

So the many paths to power are open to President Trump with or without the cooperation of the Senate, with one exception, Fredricka, that he asked that whoever becomes a Senate majority leader, pledge that they are open to recess appointments. And that is going to be the case.

WHITFIELD: So there's been a lot of express shock, you know, and surprise --

SWEET: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- right, following, you know, the contentious picks, whether it's of Gaetz or Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr. This was Democratic Congressman Adam Smith's thoughts on those reactions. (BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

REP. ADAM SMITH (D), WASHINGTON: The only thing that surprises me about this is the surprise. Donald Trump has told us for four years just exactly what he was going to do. And it really comes down to two things. Number one, he was going to set fire to every aspect of the government. He didn't believe in any of it.

What we've built in this country over almost 250 years now, you know, top to bottom, he didn't care about any of it. He was going to tear it all down as quickly and as effectively as he possibly could, number one. And number two, he was going to rebuild it so that it served his ego and his interests, period, full stop. He told us that.

For like four years, and now everyone's like, oh, my God, Matt Gaetz and, you know, Tulsi Gabbard and Peter Hegseth, who are these people? What is he thinking? He told you what he was thinking.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: I mean, Smith said it, you know, point blank there. But then you have to wonder. So among, you know, all of the critics then was an issue of amnesia or they just didn't believe Trump was going to do what he said he was going to do.

SWEET: I think everything here is not surprising me, with the exception that Matt Gaetz seems so even for Trump to be asking for a fight that he didn't need to have, even though I think he could end up prevailing. But what he wanted, he had told us he wants an attorney general who will act in the sense as his personal lawyer looking out for his interests, looking out to take -- to look at his enemies and address his grievances.

He was very clear on that. And you get that with almost the perfect essence of what Matt Gaetz is, is somebody who will likely do Trump's bidding. That's why he's picked. That's why Trump probably would use some power to get him through, likely on a recess appointment. And that would be true for almost all his appointees, because he does not believe necessarily.

We'll see. My analysis is in the separation of powers. He thinks he's -- he can bend the Senate to his will rather than use it as a body to advise and consent him on his picks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lynn Sweet, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much. Great to see you.

SWEET: Good to see you. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead this hour, a presidential meeting in Peru. President Biden is at the APEC Summit, set to meet with China's President Xi Jinping for the final time during the Biden administration. How the looming promise of President-elect Trump could shape that conversation.

And -- (BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SHEILA ROSS, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: He went hunting for females on the University of Georgia's campus.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: An emotional start to the trial of the man accused of murdering nursing student Laken Riley. The evidence that had people fleeing from the courtroom and how her smartwatch gave investigators clues to her death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:18:35]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Now to Georgia and the latest in the murder trial of Laken Riley, the nursing student killed while out for a jog in February. Prosecutors described the 22-year-old woman's final moments during opening statements saying, quote, "She fought for her life," end quote.

They say Jose Antonio Ibarra, the undocumented migrant charged with Riley's murder, quote, "went hunting for females," end quote, before encountering Riley. While the defense suggests the evidence that Ibarra killed anyone is circumstantial.

CNN's Rafael Romo is joining me right now. Rafael, you were in the courtroom on the opening day of the trial when that disturbing evidence was presented. What was the reaction?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it was just heartbreaking. There were somber moments. There were very difficult moments when we saw the evidence being presented, when we heard some of the evidence.

And let me tell you, Fred, the first day in the trial was full of powerful evidence, emotional moments and also heartbreaking testimony. Some of the testimony was very graphic, including a video of the moment the police officer found the 22-year-old victim's body, images that were limited to the courtroom and will not be made public.

And before showing the video, Judge Patrick Haggard paused the proceedings to allow for loved ones of the victim to leave the courtroom to spare them from the trauma. Special Prosecutor Sheila Ross also said that Laken Riley called 911 at 9:11 of that morning in February when she went out for a run.

[12:20:07]

Data from the smartwatch Laken Riley was wearing shows that her heart stopped beating at 9:28 a.m. Ross said this means the victim fought her attacker for almost 18 minutes. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP) ROSS: The evidence will show that Laken fought. She fought for her life. She fought for her dignity. And in that fight, she caused this defendant to leave forensic evidence behind.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: According to Ross, additional damning evidence that will be presented during the trial include Ibarra's DNA found under one of Riley's fingernails as well as the suspect's thumbprint on the victim's phone. Police also found the jacket they say was worn by Ibarra with Riley's DNA on it in the form of blood and hair from the victim.

Police also took photos of scratches and injuries on the suspect's hands, arms, neck and back. Trial attorney Kelly Hyman says this is a very strong case from the state's perspective.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

KELLY HYMAN, TRIAL ATTORNEY: This is a bench trial, so there's no jury in this case and lays out the fact that there's going to be three different types of evidence. There's going to be forensic evidence, digital evidence as well. And there's also going to be video evidence as well. In this case, it's going to play a key role.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: And Fred, Defense Attorney Dustin Kirby said that any evidence that shows Ibarra killed Laken Riley is circumstantial. If the presumption of innocence is respected, he said there should not be enough evidence to convince the judge beyond the reasonable doubt that Mr. Ibarra is guilty of the crimes charged. The trial resumes on Monday. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And then do we know why the defense chose to request a bench trial instead of a trial by jury?

ROMO: Yes, things were looking very bad for the defense already because they had requested to have key evidence pertaining phone records, digital evidence, also some of the fingerprints that were admitted thrown out by the judge. The judge said no.

They also wanted to change the venue. They wanted to take the trial out of Athens. The judge said no. And then in a case like this one, Fred, where you have a very heinous crime, high publicity, it was going to be very hard to find a jury that didn't have strong feelings about the case.

And so they're trying their chances. It's a legal strategy. But based on what we've seen, it's going to be very difficult for them to prevail. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo, thank you so much.

All right, the FBI says more Americans are being targeted by a new round of offensive racist text messages. Officials say the texts are now being sent to Hispanic and LGBTQIA plus communities. These anonymous messages began targeting mostly black Americans after the presidential election.

Some people, including high school students, received the text saying they've been selected to pick cotton on a plantation. The new ones are telling recipients that they've been selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp. The FBI says it's working with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and local authorities in this investigation.

And Rudy Giuliani turned over some of his most prized possessions to two election workers that he defamed. Why his legal woes are far from over.

And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking out about the end of the war with Russia. Why he says President-elect Donald Trump will help get it done faster.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:28:25]

WHITFIELD: All right, a final official meeting today between outgoing President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping. In just a few hours, the two will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in Lima, Peru, even as world leaders grapple with uncertainty about Donald Trump's return to power.

CNN's Kayla Tausche is joining us live now from Lima. Kayla, President Biden, he's leaving office. And this is, I guess, you know, a bit adieu to a lot of the world leaders. How are they feeling? What are they conveying in this last meeting with him?

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Biden's message to allies has been one of gratitude, allies, both in the Indo-Pacific, where he's worked with countries like the Philippines and India and Vietnam, as well as Japan and South Korea, whose leaders he met with yesterday to try to counter Beijing's aggression in the South China Sea.

And when it comes to adversaries like China, the message is one of caution. President Biden, as you mentioned, will be meeting later this afternoon with President Xi Jinping, a leader he's known for more than a decade. But the stakes are incredibly high, as the two leaders with the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world reflect on what progress, if any, has been made over the last four years to try to keep the competition between the two nations from spilling over into conflict.

Now, just a year ago, they tried to establish some areas of shared interest on artificial intelligence, on curbing illicit fentanyl, and on establishing military communication to try to de-conflict in the South China Sea and in the broader Indo-Pacific.

But there are also going to be several warnings that President Biden is expected to issue to President Xi on his support for Russia's war in Ukraine, on the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia to train, to potentially deploy in Ukraine. And then there's going to be warnings on cyber activity as well, and of course, on economic competition.

Now, that one is going to loom large with President-elect Donald Trump returning to office in January. He has threatened a wide ranging and very costly trade war against China. And he's installed several China hawks that are going to be executing this mission. Certainly Chinese officials are trying to figure out how to posture in preparation for that. But considering how much President Xi is going to need to reserve to negotiate with President-elect Trump once he takes office, senior U.S. officials are advising reporters that there are not going to be many outcomes or deliverables from this meeting. It's just going to be one to try to continue stabilizing the relationship. Fred?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And -- and while you're talking, Kayla, we're looking at live pictures of what would be kind of the class photo of all the world leaders. President Biden has not yet arrived there, but they are awaiting him and another leader as well before they take that photo.

But I do want to ask you, too, you had mentioned, you know, President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, he's getting a lot of attention for now, saying, you know, the war will end faster with Trump in the White House. What exactly did he mean or the context of -- of, you know, why he said that and what kind of reaction is now coming as a result?

TAUSCHE: Well, this is Zelenskyy putting on his diplomatic hat for sure. He was panned by the Trump campaign earlier this year when he told "The New Yorker" magazine that Trump thought he knew how to end the war in Ukraine, but actually had no idea how to do that. And in that same interview, he called the vice presidential pick, JD Vance, too radical.

Now, shortly after that interview, he met in person with former President Trump to discuss his endgame for the war in Ukraine and try to elicit some support for -- from Trump, who has threatened and Republicans largely have threatened to withdraw some of the financial and military support for Ukraine given how long the war has gone on. So certainly now Zelenskyy is posturing to try to negotiate and deal with Trump directly. And it's certainly a change of tune from just a few months ago. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Kayla Tausche, and as you were talking now, we did see the picture, the class photo is complete there with President Biden arriving. And now they're all waving, acknowledging that this moment is coming to a close. Kayla Tausche, thank you so much.

[12:32:43]

All right. Still ahead, Israel insists it is not using hunger as a weapon of war after a new U.N. Report said the country's war conduct in Gaza, I'm quoting now, is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, end quote. We've got the latest on the humanitarian crisis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. New today, an Israeli aid agency is denying that Israel uses hunger as a weapon of war. The statement comes after a U.N. special committee found that Israel's war in Gaza is, quote, consistent with the characteristics of genocide, end quote, including mass civilian casualties, and using starvation as a weapon.

This week, the Human Rights Watch also released a scathing new report about the conditions in Gaza, accusing Israel of massive deliberate forced displacement of Palestinian civilians, accounting to a war crime and crimes against humanity. The Israeli military denies that and says it is, I'm quoting now, committed to international law and operates accordingly, end quote.

Joining us now is Federico Borello. He is a senior researcher at the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research. Federico, great to see you. So, in your view, you know, in this U.N. report, it says Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury to inflict punishment on the Palestinian population. Do you see anything consistent with that?

FEDERICO BORELLO, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CHIEF PROGRAMS OFFICER, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Yes. First, just a correction, I'm currently the Deputy Executive Director at Human Rights Watch, so I'm speaking to you on behalf of Human Rights Watch. I think that was an old title. However, there are approximately 2.1 million civilians in Gaza. And 1.9 million of these 2.1, are currently displaced -- displaced. Around 80 percent of territory in Gaza is currently under evacuation orders by Israel.

An entire population has been displaced and displaced multiple times. So we at Human Rights Watch found that Israeli authorities have caused, as you said, massive and deliberate forced displacement of civilians, and that this being widespread and systematic, they amount to a crime against humanity.

Another thing that we found that the Israeli authorities organized and violent displacement of Palestinians is planned to be permanent, at least in the buff -- buffer zones and security corridors. And we therefore concluded that these acts amount to ethnic cleansing, which is a policy of forcibly removing people from an ethnic group from an area with the intention to never allow them to return.

[12:40:00]

WHITFIELD: And consistent with your numbers, the U.N. is estimating that, you know, more than 90 percent of Gaza's population has been displaced in the last year, about 1.9 million people. Your group says, you know, that -- that does amount to a war crime. So we should note the Israeli military denies Human Rights Watch's accusation of mass displacement in Gaza. So, you know, how -- how do you move forward, you know, with, I guess, consistencies in what your group is finding and the Israeli military and authorities digging in their heels that they are working in accordance with international law?

BORELLO: Well, you know, our findings are based on international law. International law says that an occupying power, and Israel is an occupying power in Gaza, when it orders the evacuation of the population, this order must be temporary and it must be issued for the population's security or for an imperative military reason. Also, Israel must ensure the safety of civilians during the evacuation and in the areas where people have moved to and preserve the right to return. This is what the law says.

We have found that none of these conditions apply in this case. First, much of this is not temporary. The destruction in some areas and some statements by Israeli officials such as that the territory of Gaza will decrease the blowing up and flattening Gaza is beautiful and that land will be handed to settlers. And invitations by Prime Minister Netanyahu to Palestinian civilians to emigrate voluntarily and request to third countries to welcome them, they show the clear intention to permanently and not temporarily displace these -- these civilians.

As for the military objective, this needs to be proven in every case. There have been hundreds and hundreds of cases. Israel has not provided detailed explanations on the military objectives. And certainly these orders are not for the security of the civilians. We have found in our research that civilians have been attacked on evacuation routes and in areas where Israel moved them ordered them to move to.

The orders were often confusing to people. Some were issued even after the bombing had started or minutes before it started, not giving people enough time to evacuate. And the areas where people moved to often there was no food, no water, no electricity, no toilets. So the security of civilians was not the reason for this displacement.

And finally, with the destruction of the majority of Gaza's water, sanitation, communications, energy and transport infrastructure, schools, hospital, everything, this proves that this is inconsistent with Israel's obligation to ensure the return of civilians.

WHITFIELD: Your group, Human Rights Watch is now calling on governments, including the U.S. and Germany, to sanction and stop arms sales to Israel because of all of this, with a new administration about to get sworn in about a couple of months in the U.S. where are your hopes as it pertains to that request?

BORELLO: Well, our hopes for now are with the current administration, we civilians are dying as we speak. We need action now, not in two months. And indeed, as you said, U.S. law, U.S. domestic law requires the U.S. government to stop selling weapons to parties when there is a risk that they may be used to commit atrocities.

Well, in this case, the risk is very clear. And therefore, these weapons should be -- these sales should be stopped. And once the new administration comes to power, we'll have the same advocacy and we'll advocate with them the same, because our advocacy is based on U.S. and international law.

WHITFIELD: Federico Borello, a deputy executive director and chief programs officer at Human Rights Watch, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

BORELLO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Up next, a Mercedes Benz convertible, a luxury watch collection, a diamond ring and cash. Those are the valuable possessions Rudy Giuliani turned over to the two Georgia election workers he defamed.

[12:44:30]

Plus, could weight loss and diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy be the key to ending the obesity crisis in the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Time's up for Rudy Giuliani as he is now handing over luxury assets to the two Georgia election workers he defamed. Some of those items include a Mercedes convertible, his Manhattan apartment, and a luxury watch collection. The former New York mayor owes nearly $150 million for falsely claiming Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss tampered with votes in the 2020 election.

CNN national correspondent Gloria Pazmino is following all of this for us. Gloria, how much of a dent will this make in what he owes?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, not much when you consider just how much money this judgment is, right? We're talking about $148 million. And yesterday, on Friday, Giuliani had a critical deadline to meet. We know that he's turned over some property, a watch collection, a ring, the Mercedes Benz, a classical car that he owned and was recently riding around in, and also some bank accounts.

[12:50:19]

But it's really only a small fraction of what he owes Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman, the two women that he was found to have defamed, as you said, he accused them without evidence of tampering with the 2020 election, accused them of stealing votes. And that resulted in attacks, racist threats that, threats to both Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman to the extent that they had to go into hiding. They sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation and they won that judgment.

Now, it's important to highlight here that for months now, Rudy Giuliani has tried to delay and delay. And if you read the orders by Judge Liman here in New York, you can really tell the judge has just about had it with him and his attempts to delay and that he is ordering that Giuliani get to paying up.

Now, Giuliani has tried to say that he doesn't know where some of the belongings are, that some of it is in a storage unit in Manhattan -- in Long Island, I should say. And also that the transfer of his apartment here in New York City on Madison Avenue is now underway. So he has not turned over the entire amount that he owes to these two women. And the reality, Fred, is that's unlikely to happen given just how much money he owes.

But this is certainly the beginning and will allow them to start and try and sell some of these items to -- to -- to make up that money. One thing that's interesting in this whole thing, Fred, is that just as of Friday, Rudy Giuliani's lawyers were actually saying that they were going to withdraw from the case, citing ethical concerns. So he's now had to bring in new counsel as part of this long running saga.

You remember that before we -- we got here, Rudy Giuliani tried to declare bankruptcy, but the bankruptcy judge essentially threw out that case because of Giuliani's unwillingness to cooperate with basic orders.

WHITFIELD: All right, keep us posted. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much.

All right. Today we're introducing you to one of the top five CNN Heroes of the year. Since 2021, a record number of unaccompanied migrant children have traveled to the U.S. Many fleeing violence and extreme poverty. Rachel Rutter is an immigration lawyer who is trying to help them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL RUTTER, IMMIGRATION LAWYER: The cartel started asking for money. They were telling my family they were going to kidnap me and my sister, my mother chose to just leave everything we had.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through audio translation): They killed my aunt. They tried to take my mom's and aunt's house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through audio translation): The trip lasted like a month.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through audio translation): I came alone.

RUTTER: Once the children arrive here in the U.S., they've already been through so much trauma. It can be jarring when they arrive here and realize that it's really just beginning.

These kids are not coming here to ruin the United States or take our jobs or commit crimes. They're coming here to be safe and to take care of their families. They want to study. They want to work. They want to achieve something here in the U.S. And they are some of the hardest working, kindest, most resilient kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[12:53:49]

WHITFIELD: And you can go to CNNHeroes.com right now to vote for Rachel or any of your favorite top five heroes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Within the past few years, medications including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound have become known as so called miracle drugs for people struggling with obesity. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us through his year-long investigation into these revolutionary medications.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So Fred, I mean, sometimes this is how sometimes science works. You have these serendipitous discoveries. They first were looking for a molecule to help treat ulcers. Didn't work for that. But they noticed people's blood sugar was lowering.

And then they noticed those people also were losing a lot of weight. And so you see how these medications sort of developed over a long time, over several decades. So it's fascinating to sort of look at that history.

One of the things that I don't think people anticipated, even the makers of these medications, was just how much of a demand there was going to be. First of all, I think many people didn't think people would be comfortable injecting themselves with a medication for obesity. And again, obesity at some points wasn't even considered a disease. So what exactly were these medications treating? Obviously, that has all changed.

Part of the reason, I'll tell you quickly, Fred, that these medications are always in shortage is because of the pension themselves. The active ingredients they can actually create fast enough. But creating the pens which are 14 different components, all patented, they need to be assembled. That's often what takes these medications in shortage. And while those shortages are starting to catch up, it still makes it really hard for people sometimes to access these drugs. Fred?

[13:00:24]

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. It's fascinating, though. Thank you so much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And of course, you don't want to miss this report, Is Ozempic right for you? It airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.