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Ukraine Rejects Annexation As Conflict Surpasses 1,000 Days; Israeli PM Offers $5M To Anyone Returning A Hostage; U.S. Recognizes Opposition Leader As President-Elect. South Korea: 11,000 North Korean Troops in Russia's Kursk Region; President Biden on Climate Change: "History is Watching Us"; Trump's Pick for Treasury Secretary could Come as Soon as Wednesday; Trump Joins Musk to Watch Latest SpaceX Test Flight; Children of Victim Gisele Pelicot Blast Their Father; Prosecution Rests Case in Killing of Nursing Student; African Penguins Have Lost 97 percent of Their Population; Rafael Nadal Retires as Spain Eliminated from Davis Cup. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 20, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead here on CNN newsroom, another policy shift for the Biden administration on Ukraine. U.S. now approving anti-personnel mines in the fight against Russia.
Plus, Benjamin Netanyahu's latest plan to get Israeli hostages home, offering a $5 million reward for every captive brought back alive.
And the United States officially recognizes Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the presidential election. Nicolas Maduro still plans to be inaugurated as the country's leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: The Biden administration is making another policy change in Ukraine, now sending anti-personnel mines for the first time since Russia's invasion. Two officials say the U.S. intends for Kyiv to deploy the landmines for defensive purposes only in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have made slow but steady progress.
That decision coming days after the White House approved the use of longer range weapons by Ukraine to strike inside Russian territory. Moscow says Kyiv fired U.S. supplied ATACMS and missiles at the weapons arsenal in the Bryansk region on Tuesday. Russian air defenses say they shot down five of the missiles and a six was damaged.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, would not confirm the attack, but said now that his military has long range capabilities, it will use them. In an apparent response, Vladimir Putin updated Russia's nuclear doctrine. The Kremlin says Russia now has the right to use nuclear weapons in response to conventional attacks. That brought a defiant response from Zelenskyy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: One thousand days, I think it's enough to understand that Putin doesn't want any peace. Even this day, they killed our civilians. Even especially these days, they presented nuclear weapons strategy. Why? They didn't present peace strategy. Did you hear it? Did you read -- did you read about it? No, of course. Nuclear weapons strategy. Putin wants war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations says his country rejects Russia's attempted illegal annexation. And as the war has now dragged on for more than 1,000 days, CNN's chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice- over): When Russia invaded its tiny, unprepared neighbor, it was expected, warned off for months by the U.S. and its allies. But almost everything that followed was the unexpected.
Moscow felt it would overwhelm a nation of farmers and I.T. experts in days. But the west was unexpectedly more united and Ukraine fiercer than Putin counted on. And the aid that poured in. At first handheld rockets saved Kyiv. And Moscow's army showed that corruption, hubris and inaction meant it was not able to fight like it claimed.
This was a war that only one man wanted. The Kremlin head launching it after a long rambling thesis on post-Soviet history, but that many Ukrainians fought. The port of Mariupol in theory, an easy win for the world's third largest army, but where Russia endured its first heavy fight.
And then the most unexpected began to unfold. Moscow's army, ill equipped, low in morale and not adapting, crumbled, routed from around Kharkiv and then Kherson. Western help beginning to turn Kyiv's huge morale into practical success. And Putin's regular saber rattling the reminder Russia was a nuclear power that might one day snap, was slowly muted.
And his war became one of slow grind and horrific losses. Bakhmut, the first city to gain a fame it did not want, ground to dust through thousands of deaths. The Putin confidant who led that fight, remarkably so infuriated, he turned on the top brass in a failed and bungled rebellion.
Yet it was soon Ukraine's turn to see unexpected failure. It's heavily financed and planned counteroffensive in the summer basically going nowhere. Ukraine outgunned against an enemy dug in and ready. And then Western unity began to crack.
Republican Congress stymieing the flow of aid for six months, leaving Ukraine to do the unlikely yet again. Changing the nature of warfare itself, harnessing tiny disposable drones to swarm the Russians as they were out of artillery, a move that was mimicked fast by Moscow, who made their own and began again this year's slow grind across the Eastern front.
[01:05:18]
Months of advances that Western officials said cost them up to 1,200 dead and injured a day. Ukraine had one last surprise. Catching Putin's army unprepared and invading Russia itself in August, surging into Kurst, something last done by the Germans under Hitler.
Ukraine is still there and now a thousand days in, Russia's superpower reputation is still crumbling, but so is Western unity as the likely overhaul of a Trump presidency nears.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Israel's prime minister is making a lucrative offer to anyone in Gaza who's willing to return a hostage alive. During a visit to central Gaza, Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu promised potential rescuers millions of dollars as well as safe passage out of the territory for that person and their family. He also issued this threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I want to say to those who are holding our hostages, whoever dares to harm our hostages, his blood is on his head. We will pursue you and we will get you. I will also say to those who want to get out of this maze, whoever brings us a hostage, we will find a safe way for them and their family to get out. We will also give a reward of $5 million for each hostage returned. You choose. The choice is yours, but the result will be the same. We will bring them all back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: About 100 hostages from the October 7th attacks remain in Gaza, and it's believed dozens of them are dead. Joining us now is Ruby Chen. He is the father of Itay Chen, a U.S. Citizen held in Gaza. And he joins us now live from Tel Aviv. We appreciate your time today.
RUBY CHEN, FATHER OF ITAY CHEN, A U.S. CITIZEN HELD IN GAZA: Good morning and morning 411 to you and your viewers.
KINKADE: Four hundred and eleven days. And you've spent those days advocating for the release of your son who was just 19 years old when captured. How are you doing?
CHEN: It's difficult. I got to be honest with you. Nobody thought we'd be doing this for over a year. We do not have the option of losing hope. And we have a prime minister in Israel that has an obligation of this happening under his shift. And he must do the Jewish thing which is bringing all the hostages back. And unfortunately, he has not succeeded until now.
KINKADE: I want to ask you about his new proposal because there are still over 100 hostages being held in Gaza, seven of those U.S. citizens. The Israeli prime minister is offering $5 million for the release of each hostage who's alive, while also promising punishment of anyone who's heard a hostage. What's your reaction to this latest proposal?
CHEN: Yes, thank you for asking that question. It is unfortunate that after 411 days, the prime minister does not have a strategy that is a tactic and it is not a way to get all 101 hostages. They might blame a few. And the second part of the sentence that says we will harm anyone that does anything to the hostages is kind of like a setup where the underlying assumption is that bad things are happening to the hostages, which by coincidence is correct and should accelerate his ability to negotiate and bring these hostages home.
And I'd like to add to that sentence is that his most senior minister, Mr. Ron Durham, has been meeting various officials in Russia, in Florida, the President-elect Trump and has been saying, well, it's pretty sad, but most of the hostages are dead. And that kind of downgrades the issue.
And I'd like to ask him next time that he gets on an interview with CNN, if you could ask him if his daughter, Golda, was a hostage, God forbid, and was killed, would he also make that distinction?
KINKADE: You know, throughout this over a year-long of this war, we've heard from so many cabinet ministers who have said that he hasn't prioritized the release of the hostages. You speak to other family members who've got loved ones who are still in captivity. What are they saying? What's the feeling? Has the prime minister failed you?
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CHEN: We were in Washington last week though we met the President and in contrast, you know, the President met us probably the fourth time and he shared with us that a few hours before he met President-elect Trump in the White House. And it was important for him to share that one of the topics that he talked about with the President-elect was the hostages, the U.S. hostages and advising him, suggesting to him to meet us the U.S. families, which shows the commitment than I think the United States has.
And we do not feel that same type of commitment from the prime minister. The CIA director a few months ago, Mr. Burns, stated correctly, there's also a need for political will to get a deal done. And we do not recognize that political will from the prime minister due to his coalition that needing to ask or be able to present an end game to the day after in Gaza, which is what Hamas has been requesting from October 8th.
And his inability to do so has made him come up with these types of tactics of giving ransom or other types of things that he is offering to people that are holding my son, Itay, as well as other U.S. hostages such as Keith Omer, Judith and others. I think that the prime minister just doesn't have the political desire to negotiate for children. And it's very sad that we need to be speaking here 411 days after. We hope that the President-elect Trump, which I know the U.S. hostages is a topic that's very close to him, will indeed use this opportunity of change in the administration to find a way to get the U.S. hostages out and hopefully that will unclog the installment and the negotiations that enable all the other hostages have come out as well.
KINKADE: We see the smiling photo of your son over your shoulder. What do you want people to know about Itay?
CHEN: He's a normal kid that you would see on the basketball court playing PlayStation with your family member. And he is highly missed. He's the middle son. We have an elder son and a younger son. He's the connector of the family. He has a girlfriend. He has been missing for us. And as you saw that picture, that is his dog. He was the one that requested the dog. So the dog is of course constantly going into his room trying to find him for over a year.
And we as well as the other hostage families just want the simple thing that the next time that we have a family holiday dinner, which would be Thanksgiving. We do not have an empty chair at our table and I'm sure anyone listening to us now can understand that visual of an empty chair.
And we are hoping for a miracle. Christmas is coming up as well as the Jewish Hanukkah. Let's pray that indeed we can be whole again as a family.
KINKADE: I hope your son, Itay, is home with you soon. Ruby Chen, we appreciate your time. We wish you all the very best. Thank you.
CHEN: Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: Well, the U.S. has formally recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the country's president elect. Gonzalez thanked the U.S. for the recognition and posted on social media that the gesture honors the people's desire for change and the civic feat they carried out on July 28th. The announcement from the U.S. Secretary of State marks a significant change in U.S. policy towards Venezuela. The secretary's post said, quote, democracy demands respect for the will of the voters. More now from Stefano Pozzebon.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: The announcement that the United States formally recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as its country's legitimate president-elect came on Tuesday night as the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, tweeted that the Venezuelan people spoke resoundingly on July 28th and made Edmundo Gonzalez, the president-elect. Democracy demands respect for the will of the voters, the U.S. top diplomat said.
[01:15:10]
And that election, July 28th, was a little bit controversial you probably remember because the Venezuelan authorities, which are under the control of the authoritarian government of Nicolas Maduro, granted Maduro the victory amid vast allegations of vote rigging. The opposition claimed instead that Gonzalez won with more than 70 percent of the votes, publishing, collecting and publishing hundreds of thousands of voting tallies. That they said is the -- the real voting from the electoral centers that granted Gonzalez their candidate the victory.
Independent analysis and also analysis from CNN confirmed the authenticity of those voting receipts. However, Gonzalez was forced to leave the country in September and claim asylum in Spain, fearing for his safety. Now, this announcement is likely to change much on the ground in Venezuela where Maduro is staunchly in power.
However, I think the timing is very important for two reasons. Number one is that Blinken made that announcement while participating in the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. He probably has had several meetings with his counterparts from Brazil, but also from other left wing governments in Latin America such as Mexico, Colombia and Chile. That suggests that there is a shift among the Latin American left towards Caracas.
And the second one is that this announcement comes just days after the President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Marco Rubio as his nomination for the post of Secretary of State to succeed Antony Blinken. Now, Rubio has direct knowledge and has been a vocal supporter of the Venezuelan opposition cause for years.
He knows personally both the opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and previous opposition leaders Leopoldo Lopez, Juan Guaido. He was an architect during the first Trump administration of the approach towards Caracas. And this announcement, coming less than two months before the new administration takes office in January, seems to suggest that the temperature between Caracas and Washington is only destined to grow warmer, grow higher, more crises between these two nations.
In the meantime, Gonzalez thanked by retweeting the post by Antony Blinken, he thanked the support of the United States while instead Caracas officials reacted, calling it an act of endurance.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.
KINKADE: And still to come media tycoon, Jimmy Lai, has begun testifying at his own national security trial. We're going to go live to Hong Kong for the latest.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. I want to go to Hong Kong now where jailed media tycoon, Jimmy Lai, has begun testifying at his own national security trial. It's a high stakes court battle that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars. The pro-democracy activist was arrested nearly four years ago amid Beijing's deepening crackdown on dissent. Hong Kong officials argue that Lai's actions jeopardize China's national sovereignty and security.
CNN's Kristie Lou Stout is following the developments and joins us now from Hong Kong. Good to have you there for us, Kristie. So this is a significant day in the national security trial of Jimmy Lai, of course, a measure of press freedom in Hong Kong. Just walk us through this first day of testimony.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Lynda, this is a significant day right now here in Hong Kong. I'm standing outside the courtroom where the jailed media mogul, Jimmy Lai, has been spotted speaking, taking to the stand for the very first time in his national security trial. Jimmy Lai is a media mogul. He is also a prominent pro- democracy figure and China critic. And he has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including sedition, including colluding with foreign forces, serious charges that could, if convicted sent him to life in prison.
Earlier today outside the courtroom, we witnessed about 100 people turned up to wait in line, braving the bad weather and the rain to secure a seat inside the courtroom. We also been witnessing how security has been very tight here with police here in Hong Kong. Outside the courtroom, picking and selecting people from the line to question and to search. Inside the courtroom, we saw and we heard from Jimmy Lai. He is now 77 years old. He is visibly thinner. He waved to family members in the courtroom and supporters as well. He said that he opposes violence.
He also said that any advocacy of independence for Hong Kong is, quote, crazy. And he also talked about the reasons why he founded his media empire, saying that the more information that you have, the more you're in the know, the more you're free. This is a trial that is being closely monitored and watched here and around the world. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT (voice-over): As a father figure to Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, Jimmy Lai has been on a collision course with the Chinese authorities for years, but he never let that faze him.
JIMMY LAI, FOUNDER, APPLE DAILY: I think it's a good idea any time, any situation that you are in to fight for your freedom, because without freedom, you have nothing left.
STOUT (voice-over): Last year, China's Ministry of Foreign affairs called him, quote, one of the most notorious anti-China elements bent on destabilizing Hong Kong. The former media mogul finally getting his day in court on Wednesday, taking the stand in his high profile trial, which began nearly a year ago. He faces a possible life sentence for multiple counts of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security, along with a separate charge of sedition.
And for 77-year-old Lai, life would most likely mean life. He has already been in custody for nearly four years. His arrest after sweeping national security laws imposed by Beijing, which China said restored stability to Hong Kong after months of anti-government protests in 2019.
At that time, Lai had lobbied foreign governments to apply pressure on China, but his lawyers denied that happened after the new laws came into effect. In 2020, Lai was marched out of the offices of Apple Daily, the pro-democracy newspaper which he founded. Today, most of Hong Kong's political opposition have either fled the territory or are in prison like Lai, who after a lifetime of speaking up for democratic freedoms, may be getting his final chance to speak publicly before spending the rest of his days behind bars.
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STOUT: And Lynda, questioning in court today has also been focusing on Jimmy Lai's relationship, conversations and exchanges with American politicians, including the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, including the former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others. But when asked about his relationship with Donald Trump, he said he had no direct ties with then president, now President-elect Donald Trump. Back to you, Lynda.
KINKADE: Good to have you there for us. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, thank you.
Well, in Brazil, police have arrested five people over an alleged plot to assassinate President Lula Inacio da Silva before he took office. Brazil police say the coup plot was conceived in late 2022. It included plans to capture or kill Lulu's vice president and a Supreme Court justice. One of the people arrested is a former adviser to the ex-president, Jair Bolsonaro. The former president was placed under investigation over the alleged plot back in February. He has repeatedly denied the allegations.
[01:25:02]
Still to come, new reports of North Korean soldiers joining Russia's war against Ukraine and what they're bringing with them to the frontlines. We'll have a live report from Seoul, next.
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KINKADE: We've got breaking news out of Ukraine. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv says it has received information about a potential significant air attack today and is asking U.S. citizens to prepare to take shelter. The embassy will remain closed while this comes as Ukraine's capital marked a thousand days of war on Tuesday.
Kyiv war museum held a candlelit vigil at the base of Ukraine's famous Motherland statue to mourn the thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who've lost their lives. The U.N.'s human rights office says more than 12,000 civilians, including nearly 700 children, have been killed since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Kyiv residents say no sacrifice will be forgotten.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANASTASIYA YEVHLEVSKA, NATIONAL WAR MUSEUM EMPLOYEE (through translator): This action honors the memory of all Ukrainians and citizens from other countries who have laid down their lives for our independence and freedom. IGOR BUCHMO, KYIV RESIDENT: It is important to honor the memory of fallen soldiers and civilians of Ukraine, as well as our engineers, volunteers and doctors who also help and fight for our lives and for a free and independent Ukraine every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Joining us now is Dr. Hasan Kadhim, a field coordinator with the International Rescue Committee. He joins us from Odessa, Ukraine. Appreciate your time today.
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.
KINKADE: So it's hard to believe that this horrific, unjustified war has now passed 1,000 days. Millions of people displaced internally, millions more have fled seeking refuge elsewhere. And over 11,000 civilians killed, many more wounded. Big picture for us, what sort of toll has this war taken?
DR. HASAN KADHIM, FIELD COORDINATOR, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE: Well, since the war -- the war started like, what, since 2014. Everybody know that the full scale invasion, 2022, February, that's affected people in general, like the IDPs and the host community itself, because people they were not ready for -- for -- for the war itself.
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And now, after 1,000 days of the political scale invasion, Russia have attacked Ukraine heavily, especially in the south area. For example, we have hearing about every day 100 drones, thousands every month. They are attacking by different rockets, drones, other things. They are mainly infrastructure attacking, electricity, power, water, other things which may make people living in more especially now with the decreased temperature. with the winter. Winter is coming and making -- making people's life is very heavy (ph) now.
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And of course, those Russian attacks certainly have disrupted electricity, energy, heating.
This full-scale war is about to enter its third winter. What sort of hardship will people face in the coming months?
KADHIM: So this, for example the displacement itself and less -- and targeting the infrastructure make people stay without power. Without power in Ukraine, it's been without heating system. temperature can be below minus 200 -- minus 20, sorry, degrees make it very, very cold and make it very difficult. People cannot work, cannot do anything without power, even there is no connection.
Now in our daily work when there is no -- where there is no electricity, we don't have even connection on our cell phone or on Internet.
This makes people more suffer. And people now they lost or finished their savings so they cannot even cope with the -- or buy or to be better prepared for the winter.
That's why international humanitarian partners like IRC are very important to be here to help people especially after the attacks.
For the recent attack in Odessa, International Rescue Committee, IRC, we have been first people arriving to the -- to the shore (ph), and we try to help people as much as we can, by giving them emergency kits and also financial support making them move forward a little bit.
Dozens of lives have been lost during the last attack, and we expect more and more, unfortunately if Russia will continue in such way.
KINKADE: Dr. Kadhim, talk to us more about your role with the International Rescue Committee, what you're doing and seeing day in, day out and how long have you been in Odessa.
KADHIM: Yes, ma'am. So we are in Odessa -- we are in Ukraine since the invasion. And we are covering Odessa, Mykolaiv for (INAUDIBLE) the south office. Also, we are covering the close border with Russia on the east side, which have (INAUDIBLE) we have three main offices and one office in Kyiv as a as a central Kyiv.
We are doing health, we are doing emergency response, we are doing livelihood. We are doing women protection, child protection, psychological protection. We have -- we are doing -- we are doing as much as we can to be close to the front line and helping people after the attack. By financial support kits, emergency kits, psychological support, et cetera.
KINKADE: I mean, vital work, really. Dr. Hasa Kadhim in Odessa, Ukraine. We appreciate all the work you and your team are doing on the ground. Thanks so much for your time.
KADHIM: Thank you so much, ma'am.
KINKADE: Well, South Koreas intelligence agency believes that around 11,000 North Korean troops are now in Kursk, Russia, and that some have already participated in battles against Ukrainian forces.
South Korea says that Pyongyang is supplying Russia with new long- range weapons. Mike Valerio has more from Seoul.
Mike, good to have you with us. So just talk to us about the number of soldiers believed to be on the battlefield right now and what sort of weapons they have with them.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Lynda.
Well, it's 11,000 -- that is the latest number so far. And when we're thinking about this air warning that has come out for Kyiv, that we were just talking about a couple of minutes ago, the conversation invariably turns to how is North Korea potentially making it easier for Russia to attack.
So you've hit on the two buckets when we're talking about manpower and artillery weapons that are being sent from this corner of the world to the front lines in Ukraine.
So we have new details coming out from Seoul's spy agency today. Two main pieces of artillery, 170-millimeter (ph) self-propelled guns. And also 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers.
And when we're thinking about what those pieces of artillery look like, Lynda, when you imagine a military parade through the streets of Pyongyang or Moscow, big pieces of artillery, that's what we're talking about joining these troops who you see on the screen.
Now, interestingly, we always turn to the question that's secondary of how effective will this fighting force be? And to that end, we have new details that these troops from North Korea are engaging in training when it comes to modern warfare tactics and drone evasion.
[01:34:51]
VALERIO: Those are so important because North Korea has a fighting force of about 1 million people, a little higher than that.
But this is a hermit nation. The military there doesn't have experience evading drones from other militaries in warfare. So this training could potentially make the to confront drones from Kyiv, drones that are coming towards them through from Ukrainian forces.
Interestingly enough, we also have another detail that we did not have for you the last hour, Lynda.
We've been trying to verify -- there've been a lot of videos coming across social media that purport to show North Korean troops surrendering already, being taken prisoner of war.
And the national intelligence service here in South Korea is saying, you know what the jury is still out. We don't know if those videos are authentic or not at this point.
And when we news gather here in Seoul, Lynda, you know, we've been talking to a lot of former military officials who have served South Korea and the United States for decades, they're not so convinced that these videos we see on TikTok or on YouTube, purporting to show North Koreans are legitimate because they say the special forces troops from North Korea, they are committed to serving the regime. They are the least likely candidates to surrender in combat.
So a lot of unanswered questions, but still new important details how North Korea is helping Russia's war effort coming out just a couple of hours ago, Lynda.
KINKADE: Well, yes. It's interesting having to try and break through that misinformation that's out there as well.
Mike Valerio in Seoul, good to have you with us. Thank you.
VALERIO: Thanks, Lynda.
KINKADE: Well, Joe Biden has wrapped up what is expected to be his final summit as U.S. President, with remarks on climate change. As the G20 winded down in Rio de Janeiro, the U.S. announced a new $325 million investment in World Bank clean energy projects. U.S. officials say that money will be safely deposited before Donald Trump takes office in January.
Left unsaid, the obvious reality that the U.S. climate policy will change drastically next year. In his final speech to G20 leaders, President Biden left them with this warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: History is watching us. History is watching. I urge us to keep faith and keep going. This is the single greatest existential threat to humanity if we do not deal with climate change.
Our children, our great grandchildren, our great-great grandchildren -- their future is going to be determined by what we do in the next four to six years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Mr. Biden also told world leaders that they have made remarkable progress together on clean energy, but much more needs to be done.
Well, Donald Trump has been busy announcing several more cabinet picks and other positions Tuesday. He's chosen Dr. Mehmet Oz, a surgeon and TV personality, to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Oz lost the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania back in 2022.
Trump also named Linda McMahon to be the next secretary of Education. She's been the co-chair of his transition team and formerly led the Small Business Administration in his first term. McMahon also is a former TV personality with her time with World Wrestling Entertainment.
And Howard Lutnick is Trump's pick for secretary of Commerce. He is the other co-chair of Trump's transition team and is the CEO of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald.
Well, Trump is also set to announce his pick for Treasury secretary.
CNN's Kristen Holmes looks at who is in the running.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's transition team could announce a nominee for Treasury secretary as early as Wednesday. I'm told by two sources who say they are meeting tomorrow on Wednesday to discuss those slate of candidates.
This had been held up. This is probably the biggest position that is left to announce. It's been held up because co-chair of the transition Howard Lutnick had essentially inserted himself into the race against hedge fund manager Scott Bessent which really upended the entire thing.
Now, on Tuesday, Howard Lutnick was named secretary of Commerce, taking him effectively out of the running. However, there are still several candidates as Donald Trump had expanded the field in recent days.
All of them have met with Donald Trump and the transition team, and I am told, no decisions have been made however. Again, they are hoping to get this out as quickly as possible, specifically given that so many of Donald Trump's policies on day one that he has said are related to the economy.
So we'll see if they're able to make that goal of Wednesday night. They are obviously trying to tick through a number of these cabinet positions as we inch through this transition process.
Kristen Holmes, CNN -- West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:39:48]
KINKADE: Well, the close relationship between Donald Trump and Elon Musk was once again on full display Tuesday as the president-elect traveled to Texas for the latest test flight by SpaceX, which is owned by Musk.
But the coziness between the two is also raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest when it comes to Musk's businesses.
CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The president- elect watched the world's most powerful rocket launch. It's the sixth test flight for Elon Musk's starship.
Trump and Musk have been inseparable in recent months.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Elon Musk is incredible. What he's done.
LAVANDERA: It's also a relationship intertwined with political interest.
ELON MUSK, CEO, SPACEX: I'm not just MAGA. I'm dark, gothic MAGA.
TRUMP: A star is born. Elon.
LAVANDERA: And both share a fascination with space travel.
MUSK: We must become a multi-planet species.
TRUMP: We'll get Elon get those rockets going. LAVANDERA: The U.S. government has increasingly turned to Musk's
SpaceX rockets for many commercial launches. SpaceX has some $4 billion in federal government contracts supporting NASA's Artemis program which plans to put astronauts on the moon in 2026 and Starship's ultimate mission is to land on Mars.
Donald Trump's return to the White House has emboldened Musk as the world's richest man engages in regulatory fights with the federal government agencies overseeing the SpaceX rocket launches.
Musk has called for the head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign. The FAA is the agency which grants SpaceX approvals to launch its rockets.
And Musk stands to gain even more influence from his rosy relationship with the president-elect.
TRUMP: Who else could do this kind of stuff?
LAVANDERA: But Musk's SpaceX has come under fire for environmental damage at the $3 billion launch site in Coca Chica, Texas. Texas Environmental Commission fined space x for spilling wastewater that seeped into wetlands near the company's launch pad.
Musk responded on X to critics, saying the launch destroyed nine bird's nests and their eggs, posting, "To make up for this heinous crime, I will refrain from having an omelet for a week."
The environmental and regulatory concerns come as SpaceX plans to dramatically ramp up launches.
GWYNNE SHOTWELL, COO, SPACEX: I would not be surprised if we fly 400 Starship launches in the next four years.
JIM CHAPMAN, SAVE RGV: For Boca Chica, that would be a worst-case scenario.
LAVANDERA: Jim Chapman is an activist working with a local environmental group to raise concerns about the impact of SpaceX in south Texas. He fears the incoming Trump administration will allow Musk and SpaceX to steamroll through regulations.
CHAPMAN: SpaceX is always in a big hurry and complains bitterly if they can't do things on their own schedule. He may now not just complain about it, but weaken that oversight.
LAVANDERA: Musk's role in the future Trump administration could have lasting effects on the space industry, his personal fortunes --
TRUMP: Take over Elon. Just take over.
LAVANDERA: -- And on the environment for decades to come.
even though this latest test launch did not go exactly as SpaceX engineers had hoped, it's not considered a failure. This test launch was designed to test the very limits of the heavy
booster system, as well as the Starship spacecraft and how it would land in the Indian Ocean, so all of this was pushing the limits to just see how much this equipment could withstand. And engineers and SpaceX officials believe that there is a lot to learn and a lot of information that they can glean from today's test launch.
Ed Lavandera, CNN -- South Padre Island, Texas.
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KINKADE: The victim of a shocking mass rape case in France is blasting her accused abusers including her own husband.
Her comments and what the couple's children are saying, next.
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DAVID PELICOT, GISELE AND DOMINIQUE PELICOT'S SON: We know the atrocities my mother experienced. It's obvious that we can't forgive.
You know, on November 2nd, 2020, I lost my father. And on September 2nd, 2024, I found a monster.
CAROLINE DARIAN, GISELE AND DOMINIQUE PELICOT'S DAUGHTER (through translator): I know that Dominique Pelicot will never tell the truth about me until there's tangible, factual evidence. Whatever the case may be, he doesn't talk about what he did. And silence means consent.
And I am more than determined, more determined than ever to ensure that chemical submission in France for the purpose of sexual crimes is truly recognized as a public health and public utility matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Those are the comments from the children of the man accused of drugging his wife and allowing dozens of men to rape her over the course of a decade.
Their daughter telling the court that she's been forgotten despite her belief that she was also assaulted by her father.
Their mother spoke in court Tuesday condemning the court's cowardice of the dozens of men on trial for raping her.
Our Melissa Bell has more.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Gisele Pelicot, the 71-year-old French woman who is believed to be the victim of dozens of rapes organized by her husband over the course of a decade using chemical sedation, has spoken for the third time to the court since her trial began, the trial that could have happened behind closed doors, and that she instead decided to have play out publicly.
For the third time she spoke speaking of the cowardice of the men involved, many of them sitting in court before her. Her husband Dominique Pelicot, has recognized his guilt and his actions, but most of the 50 men also being judged in the case have denied any involvement in rape.
Gisele Pelicot spoke to them in court saying that rape was rape and at what point did anyone walk into her bedroom and find someone unconscious without then leaving and reporting it to the police?
Two of the couple's sons also spoke to the courts on Monday urging the court to find a guilty verdict for Dominique Pelicot and to punish him severely. That verdict is expected around the 20th of December.
Melissa Bell, CNN -- Paris.
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KINKADE: Well, prosecutors in the U.S. state of Georgia have rested their case against the man accused of murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley. More disturbing details about her death were revealed on the third day of the trial.
The court saw surveillance video of Riley jogging the morning of February 22nd, the last time she was seen alive, and later a man dressed in dark clothes lurking near the trail where she was killed.
A medical examiner testified Riley's cause of death was the combined effects of blunt force head trauma and asphyxia. But there were no signs of sexual assault.
Riley's last text to her mother just before 9:00 a.m. that day said, quote, "good morning. About to go for a run if you're free to talk." Riley's mother was not able to reach her daughter on the phone.
The suspect, Jose Ibarra declined to testify.
Still to come, tennis superstar Rafael Nadal draws to a close in his glittering career in the sport.
More on the heartfelt tributes made to the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, here we arrive at the jewel of the collection, Claude Monet's Nymphea.
This is it. At $59 million. Now's the moment. And selling first time at $59 million.
Second time at $59.
And third and final time -- the hammer is coming down. Jen, it's your bid. Congratulations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Talk about making a splash. One of Monet's iconic Water Lily paintings hit the auction block Monday, selling for a staggering $59 million, well above the opening bid of $40 million.
The vibrant piece has been privately-owned, making its Sotheby's auction debut a major event.
Well, they are one of the most cherished animals in Africa, but their population is rapidly dwindling. And unless something changes, the African penguin is on track to disappear from the wild in the next decade.
Elisa Raffa has the details and a look at what's being done to save them.
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ELISA RAFFA, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Wobbling in warmer temperatures, the African penguin enjoys its days in the sun.
This beloved bird is found in colonies along the southwest coast of Africa. But the African penguin is now on the critically-endangered list due to lack of food, climate change and other factors.
ALLISON KOCK, MARINE BIOLOGIST, SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL PARKS: Theres only about 10,000 breeding pairs left in South Africa and Namibia, where they occur. It means we've lost 97 percent of the population and the species could become extinct within my lifetime.
RAFFA: Many tourists flock to see these adorable birds and their unique feathers. They have dot like markings across their chests. These patterns are unique to each penguin, as fingerprints are to humans.
RICK JOSACK, TOURIST: The penguins here, you know, are beautiful and it's a shame that they're now critically endangered. And I just hope that there's a lot of activity taking place to try and help them.
ZANDILE CHRISTIAN, TOURIST: Seeing them, we're hearing that they are critically-endangered actually kind of breaks my heart.
RAFFA: Habitat is one key factor in their population decline.
The birds build nests in seabird droppings called guano. This shelter protects them from the harsh African sun but the guano is often harvested for fertilizer.
KOCK: The actual material for digging their nests was removed and so artificial nests are incredibly important, and the recent science has shown that it does improve breeding success. So we need to keep on doing interventions like that.
RAFFA: Nutrition is one of the biggest threats. According to scientists, penguins are starving and not getting enough food. Their diets consist mainly of sardines, anchovies, even squids and crustaceans.
South African authorities have imposed a commercial fishing ban around six penguin colonies for ten years starting in January.
Elisa Raffa, CNN.
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KINKADE: Well pop superstar Cher is turning back time. Her new tell- all memoir, "Cher, the Memoir Part 1", is out now and offers an in- depth look into the singer's life and career. She opens up about her childhood, her divorce from Sonny Bono, and when she met him when she was just 16. He was 27.
In a recent interview with CBS, Cher revealed that she was unaware of Bono's company, called Cher Enterprises, which collected all the revenue from the duos work for almost 12 years. But Cher said she owned nothing.
Part two of her memoir is due out next year.
An emotional Rafael Nadal said goodbye to professional tennis on Tuesday after the last match of his incredible career at the Davis Cup.
It wasn't the fairytale ending he was hoping for. The 22-time grand slam champion and Spain were ousted from the competition by Netherlands.
Well, among the many tributes to the tennis legend, the city of Paris put on a spectacular show organized by Nike. The ten-meter silhouette of Nadal was projected near the Eiffel Tower.
CNN's Don Riddell has more on the Spaniard's final match.
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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Well, they say that all good things must come to an end, but that doesn't mean that anybody is ready when the end does, in fact come.
[01:54:45]
RIDDELL: We have just witnessed the last act of Rafa Nadal's extraordinary tennis career. On Tuesday night in Malaga, in front of the Spanish fans who've adored him for so long and surrounded by the teammates that he inspired to play the game, Nadal's remarkable 23- year career came to a close. And it was emotional right from the off even before a ball had been struck. Nadal was tearful during the national anthem before the Davis Cup quarterfinal match against the Netherlands.
He had to compose himself quickly because he went out first, playing what was his first competitive match in some three months, and he did find the going tough.
Nadal was beaten in straight sets by Botic van de Zandschulp, but he wasn't necessarily finished, not quite. If his teammates could win their matches, then Spain would survive and prolong his career just a bit.
Carlos Alcaraz tried his best, but ultimately they lost in the doubles and that was that.
So watching on from the sidelines this was the moment that Nadal knew his wonderful journey as a professional tennis player had come to an end. Everybody knew that it was going to be the end this week at some point, but of course everybody was hoping that he'd go out on a high.
But in any case, the Spanish team was prepared to mark the occasion with a special retirement ceremony. Nadal spoke at length on the court in Spanish and English about his career and this moment.
At times, the crowd chanted his name Rafa, Rafa, Rafa. And as he took the applause and as he watched the video of his career highlights, that's when the lip began to wobble and the tears began to flow.
Some of his contemporaries Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams also players known as the GOATs, they were speaking. They were wishing him a fond farewell. They were all saying how much they're going to miss him.
And quite honestly, it was very hard to watch and not be moved as a spectator. Remember, Nadal won a record 14 French Open titles, 22 grand Slam singles titles. He was, as I say, one of the big three, and he absolutely will be missed.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Our thanks to Don Riddell, and of course, Rafael Nadal is 38. We wish him all the best.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with the lovely Rosemary Church in just a moment.
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