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ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas Leader; Pam Bondi is Trump New Pick for AG; Russia Fires Ballistic Missile at Ukraine; Former President Jair Bolsonaro Indicted; Chinese Exporters Brace For Higher U.S. Tariffs; Kayaker Accused Of Faking His Own Death Says He's "Safe". Aired 2-2:45a ET

Aired November 22, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead this hour, facing arrest, Israel's Prime Minister rejects the decision by the world's top court, but many countries say they will comply.

Donald Trump hit with his first political loss of the transition. He has to find a quick replacement in another key MAGA loyalist.

And mystery solved, the missing Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own death has been found.

We begin with the arrest warrants issued for the Israeli Prime Minister and former defense minister. Key countries in Europe, the Middle East, even Canada are all agreeing to comply with the International Criminal Court's ruling, which would mean arresting Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant if given the opportunity.

The ICC has accused the Israeli leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including starvation as a method of warfare, and murder, persecution and other inhumane acts. Here's what the ICC's chief prosecutor told CNN's Christiane Amanpour back in May for the decision to issue those arrest warrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARIM KHAN, ICC CHIEF PROSECUTOR: We have to look at the evidence. And the way I very simply try to do things is look at the evidence, look at the conduct, look at the victims and airbrush out the nationality. And if a crime's been committed, we should move forward. Nobody is above the law. No people by dint of birth or passport, religion, nationality or the color of their skin have a get out of jail free card, have a free pass to say, well, the law doesn't apply to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the decision calling it absurd and anti-Semitic. The Israeli president and foreign minister also slammed the ruling. The U.S. president called the warrants outrageous and promised that the U.S. will always stand with Israel against threats to its security. But the Palestinian Authority applauded the action, saying it, quote, "restores hope and confidence in international law and its institutions." More now from CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seen here on a visit to Gaza this week, now faces the most serious international challenge to his authority ever. Accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

A result of his leadership leading to the deaths of more than 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza. The ICC says it has reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu bears criminal responsibility for war crimes, including starvation as a method of warfare and crimes against humanity, including murder, persecution and other inhumane acts. Netanyahu is accusing the ICC of anti-Semitism.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translation): This is an anti-Semitic measure that has one goal, to deter me, to deter us from exercising our natural right to defend ourselves against our enemies who rise up against us to destroy us.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Israel's former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who opposed some of Netanyahu's tactics in Gaza is also accused. He is pushing back, saying the ICC is creating a dangerous precedent for self-defense. The ICC's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas' military chief Mohammed Deif, whom the IDF says it killed in July. Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, two other Hamas leaders who had been on the potential arrest list in May, are also on now dead.

Netanyahu is now in an unenviable club. Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, also wanted by the ICC and unable to travel freely.

[02:04:52]

Any of the 124 countries that are signatory to the Rome Statute will be obliged to arrest him or Gallant and send them to face trial at the ICC in the Netherlands. An obligation the E.U. foreign policy chief says must be upheld.

JOSEP BORRELL, E.U. FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: It is not a political decision. It is a decision of a court, of a court of justice, of an international court of justice.

ROBERTSON (on camera): It's going to put a lot of the E.U. off limits, France, Italy, the Netherlands have already said they'll arrest Netanyahu if he shows up in their countries. And Canada's Justin Trudeau has said the same, that Canada stands up for international law, where Netanyahu will be able to travel those countries that are not signatories to the Rome Statute, like the United States and India, two of his favorite allies. Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Let's talk more about this with Adil Haque, a law professor at Rutgers University. Good to have you with us, Professor.

ADIL HAQUE, LAW PROFESSOR, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me.

KINKADE: So months ago, the chief prosecutor of the ICC said on CNN that he was seeking warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and also the Minister of Defence for crimes including starvation as a method of war and denial of humanitarian relief. Those arrest warrants have now been issued. What's your reaction?

HAQUE: Well, of course, it's a very significant moment to the case now. Three independent judges of international criminal court from three different countries, all very accomplished , all very experienced, have reviewed the prosecutor's evidence and reviewed the charges and found that indeed there is sufficient evidence to issue warrants for the arrest not only for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, but also for a Hamas commander named Deif who at this moment we don't know if he is alive or dead, but certainly substantiating the charges against him as well for his involvement in the October 7 attacks and the abuse of hostages (inaudible).

KINKADE: Professor, the International Criminal Court is recognized by 124 member nations, excluding Israel and the U.S. The U.S., of course, has rejected these charges. So too Argentina. Its president said this resolution ignores Israel's legitimate right to defend itself against constant attacks by terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. What's your perspective on that argument?

HAQUE: Well, quite simply, no country has the right to commit war crimes or crimes against humanity under any circumstances, in any armed conflict, against any adversary, no matter what the costs or the stakes. Israel certainly has a right to protect its citizens from Hamas, but it does not have a right to starve a civilian population. And indeed, according to the court, it appears to starve children to death as part of its military campaign. That is inadmissible under any circumstances for anyone.

KINKADE: The European Union and Jordan called for nations to respect the ICC arrest warrants, but I have to wonder how often these rulings are respected because we know that an arrest warrant issued for Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, back in March of 2023 over his actions in Ukraine.

But despite that, he's traveled without arrest. He was actually given a red carpet reception in Mongolia back in September, a country that is also a member of the ICC. So how much weight does this ICC decision carry if Netanyahu could travel freely within nations whose leaders reject the ruling?

HAQUE: So the court has already found Mongolia in breach of its obligations under the ICC statute and any other ICC member state who fails to arrest Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, or anyone else for whom a warrant of arrest has been issued will be in breach of their legal obligations. Of course, the court cannot overpower a state and compel it to comply with its legal obligations. The court doesn't have an army, but what the court does have is the authority of law. And most state parties to the court will comply with the court's orders until these individuals don't come here, don't make us a rescue.

KINKADE: Some say this ICC ruling hasn't gone far enough to condemn the actions of Hamas and its leaders. What do you say to that?

HAQUE: Well, I think that the charges against both parties, if you will, are only the beginning. The prosecutor has made it very clear that this first batch of charges against Hamas primarily focuses on the October 7 attacks themselves, as well as the abuse of hostages. But further charges may be brought against a wider range of acts on October 7th, as well as other war crimes, for example, firing indiscriminate rockets into Israel.

[02:09:56]

Similarly, the charges against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant are only the beginning and it is very likely that the prosecutor will bring additional charges both against these individuals and against other Israeli leaders for crimes involving attacks on hospitals, forcible displacement of civilians, or killing civilians in other circumstances on the ground in Gaza. So this is just the first round. And if we look at the prosecutor's process in Russia, that is what he did.

He brought a first round of charges against Vladimir Putin. I then brought additional charges against other Russian commanders for other war crimes in that conflict. And I expect the prosecutor will do something similar here.

KINKADE: Great to get your analysis and perspective. Professor Adil Haque, thanks so much for joining us.

HAQUE: Thanks for having me.

KINKADE: Gunmen opened fire on buses and cars carrying Shia Muslims in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 42 people and wounding 20 others, according to the Associated Press. At least 10 people were brought to hospital in a critical condition. The attack took place in the Kurram District, where clashes between Sunni and Shiites have killed dozens in recent months. And it comes just a week after authorities reopened a highway that had been closed due to violence. No one has claimed responsibility so far.

Donald Trump has a new choice for U.S. Attorney General after his first pick stepped aside. She is former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. A long-time Trump supporter recently worked for the America First Policy Institute, a right-leaning think tank. Trump's original pick, former Congressman Matt Gaetz, withdrew from consideration earlier Thursday.

Sources telling CNN exclusively that the House Ethics Committee learned of a second sexual encounter between Gaetz and an underage minor. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing. Trump posted on social media that "Gaetz was doing very well, but did not want to be a distraction for the administration. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all the great things he would do."

With Gaetz out of the running for attorney general, critics are likely to turn up the heat on a number of other controversial picks. CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Matt Gaetz is gone, but Donald Trump's headaches with troubled cabinet picks persist.

DAVID MARCHICK, CO-AUTHOR, THE PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER: It's really not just one nominee. This is like the Star Wars bar scene of nominees. There's a whole host of problems with the entire slate.

TODD (voice-over): There's Pete Hegseth, the president-elect's choice for defense secretary. CNN has obtained a police report with details from a female accuser, where she alleges that, in 2017, Hegseth blocked her from leaving a hotel room, took her cell phone from her and sexually assaulted her. Hegseth denies the allegations, says the encounter was consensual, and he was not charged with a crime in connection with the incident.

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick to be the director of National Intelligence, wrote bills while she was a congresswoman supporting two of the most notorious intelligence leakers in history, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, according to new reporting from CNN. Gabbard did not respond to CNN's request for an interview. She's already been blistered for her past support of Syria's brutal dictator Bashar al- Assad and for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including criticism from fellow Republican and former presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

NIKKI HALEY, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. UNDER TRUMP: DNI, Department of National Intelligence, this is not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer.

TODD (voice-over): Linda McMahon, Trump's selection to be education secretary is accused in a recent lawsuit of knowingly enabling the sexual exploitation of children by an employee of World Wrestling Entertainment, which she used to head. McMahon denies the allegations.

Then there's Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick for Health and Human Services secretary. Health experts have sounded multiple alarms over Kennedy's stance against vaccinations and his false conspiracy theories about the COVID virus.

This past summer, "Vanity Fair" magazine published allegations that Kennedy had sexually assaulted a former nanny for his family. Kennedy sidestepped the accusations.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not a church boy. TODD (voice-over): What do all these picks say about Trump's

transition process overall?

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: There certainly seems to be a common theme of not having had a whole lot of vetting. He has chosen people who are loyal to him and who he has a good connection with or a vibe with. And sometimes that is taking precedence over a strong and really robust vetting process.

TODD (voice-over): Which will present problems, analysts say, in the weeks ahead.

MARCHICK: The danger is that the government will not be staffed on day one or shortly after inauguration if he doesn't choose picks which are going to be acceptable and pass muster with the United States Senate.

TODD (on camera): Analysts say one of the most problematic challenges for the Trump team going forward is that at least three of the nominees who are left, Pete Hegseth, Linda McMahon, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. have dealt with cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct, not a subject that the Trump team wants front and center in confirmation hearings. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:15:06]

KINKADE: Well, for more, CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein joins us live. Good to have you with us Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hello, Lynda.

KINKADE: So, you of course are the senior editor at "The Atlantic" as well. Ron, what a difference a day makes. Gaetz now gone, a man accused of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use and investigated by the House Ethics Committee. What's your reaction to his withdrawal?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, there was a famous economist, Herb Stein, who was the head of the Council of Economic Advisers into Richard Nixon, who had an Herb Stein rule. Any trend the can't be sustained, won't be and, you know, I think we are seeing the proof of it once again. I mean, this nomination was so outside the bounds of all the measures of propriety, qualifications, personal character, you know, ethical allegations.

That even in the aftermath of this, you know, stunning comeback victory from President Trump, it was simply too much for the Republican Senate. And it does suggest that there are some lines that they will not cross and that could have implications not only for the other nominees that Brian Todd was talking about, but more broadly going into this presidency that he, you know, has framed as almost a retribution tour.

KINKADE: Yeah, exactly. We know now that the former Florida Attorney General, Pam Bondi, is the new pick to run the Department of Justice. And in naming her, Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform that the Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans. Not anymore. I mean, what does that say about his expectations for what he wants from the person charged with leading the Justice Department?

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, well, look, he has made very clear throughout this campaign that he intends to shatter the barriers that have historically insulated the Justice Department from direct demands by the president. I mean, there was to me one of the most revealing things he said in the entire campaign was when he told "Time" magazine last spring that he believed he had the right to fire a U.S. attorney who would not begin an investigation of a specific person he demands, even if there was no evidence to justify such an investigation.

You know, Pam Bondi will be an interesting choice in that regard. She is obviously a MAGA acolyte. She was involved in, you know, the defense on his first impeachment in lawsuits about the 2020 election. But she is someone who comes out of a mainstream legal tradition to a much greater degree than Matt Gaetz. She was a local prosecutor. She was an elected attorney general. And you've got to think that there are lines for her as well in the same way that we're talking about with regards to the Senate that are going to be firmer than they would have been for Matt Gaetz.

Exactly where those are, I don't know, but I think from everything Donald Trump has said over the last couple of years, you can bet that those lines are going to be tested.

KINKADE: Right, and speaking of those lines and the tests still to come, Tulsi Gabbard is Trump's pick to be the director of National Intelligence, also very highly scrutinized. We heard from the Republican and former UN ambassador, Nikki Haley. Just want to play some of her sound.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.

KINKADE: It looks like we don't have that now, but obviously like Nikki Haley, quite a few times now has questioned her stance, especially when it comes to Russia and Iran. I mean, we know that Tulsi Gabbard has been accused of just spouting Russian propaganda.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.

KINKADE: What's the chance of her getting approved?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think she is in many ways the big loser here because the circumstances in which Gaetz fell was not that he was voted down in committee or on the Senate floor but that he withdrew and I think that's significant because I think even the Republicans who are, you know, most resistant to Trump's gravitational pull probably have a limit and how many times they're willing to publicly vote against one of his nominees.

And the fact that they didn't have to do so against Matt Gaetz, I think leaves them more room to vote against in public against some of the others. And I would pick Gabbard right at top of that list. I mean, because she is so manifest, again, and by the same kind of measures that you would use for Matt Gaetz, by any historic metrics or yardstick, she is so manifestly inappropriate for this job, particularly because of all the questions about her sympathy for Russia or Syria.

Nikki Haley described her, what, as a Russian, Syrian, Iranian, Chinese sympathizer and said there was no room for someone with those views in this job. Certainly there are other Republican senators who share those views. The question is how many are willing to publicly descend from Donald Trump on it. And I do think that with not having to vote on Gaetz, it makes it more likely that some of them will do so on Gabbard.

[02:20:02]

KINKADE: All right, to be continue to discuss this again, no doubt. Ron Brownstein, thanks so much for your time.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

KINKADE: Still to come, CNN obtains exclusive photos of the debris left by a new Russian ballistic missile launched on Ukraine. We'll have new details after the break.

Also ahead, Brazil's former president indicted in an alleged coup that even involved possible assassinations. Details on the allegations against Jair Bolsonaro and dozens of others next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin says Russia launched a new mid-range ballistic missile on Ukraine's Dnipro region Thursday. The Ukrainian military earlier claimed the weapon was an intercontinental ballistic missile, a development that raised alarm in the West. Well, that attack came after Ukraine fired longer-range American missiles and British missiles into Russia for the first time this week, according to Russia's defense ministry and two U.S. officials. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The moment one of Russia's newest missiles dropped its payload on one of Ukraine's largest cities. Several sub-warheads impacting in Dnipro, apparently not fully laden with explosives, causing no explosions on the ground, but aiming to deliver a strong message from the Russian leader.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translation): In combat conditions, one of the newest Russian medium-range missile systems was also tested. In this case with a ballistic missile in non-nuclear hypersonic equipment. Our missile men call it Oreshnik.

The Ukrainians exclusively sharing these photos of the missile debris with CNN. Kyiv saying the speed, trajectory and impact of the rocket bore the hallmarks of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying thermonuclear warheads, although Western officials say it was not an ICBM.

Today our crazy neighbor once again showed what he really is and how he despises dignity, freedom and people's lives in general, Ukraine's president said.

Russia's strike comes only a day after Ukraine for the first time used US-supplied ATACAMS surface-to-surface missiles against targets inside Russia's.

(On camera): Vladimir Putin says that the Russians used this new intermediate range ballistic missile as a direct response to the Ukrainians hitting targets deep inside Russia using longer range weapons provided by the United States and the United Kingdom.

(Voice-over): The Ukrainians say Russia's new missile was launched from the Astrakhan area of Russia near the Caspian Sea. Russia has test launched ICBMs from there in the past. Russian officials refusing to comment most of the day, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman even getting an apparent order to remain silent during her press briefing.

[02:24:58]

(THROUGH TEXT)

MARIA ZAKHAROVA, DIRECTOR OF THE INFORMATION AND PRESS DEPARTMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: Yes. I'm having a briefing.

UNKNOWN: On Yuzhmash and the ballistic rockets, about which the Westerners started talking about we are not commenting at all.

ZAKHAROVA: Yes, okay. Thank you.

PLEITGEN: She later said the call only clarified a topic for her press conference. Om the ground in Dnipro, the damage from the new weapon seemed minimal but Putin's message has been delivered. Russia is capable of unleashing much greater havoc on Ukraine and its Western allies if it chooses to do so. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: A volcano near the capital of Iceland erupted Wednesday night. Lava and smoke could be seen rising from the side of the countries southwest. The eruption forced the evacuation of a geothermal power plant as well as two hotels of the world-famous Blue Lagoon. A three-kilometer fissure opened as well. But air traffic was operating normally Thursday. This was the seventh such event in the region since last December. Iceland lies on the border between North America and Europe in one of the most active volcanic areas in the world.

Well, take a look at this winter wonderland. The thick blanket of snow, more than 19 inches or 49 centimeters, fell in 24 hours Thursday. The video was recorded at the Central Sierra Snow Lab in Soda Springs in Northern California. According to the National Weather Service, the heavy snowfall is a once in a decade bomb cyclone storm and rain is expected to follow the storm.

Well, right now in Mexico, more than a thousand migrants are racing to get to the U.S. border before Trump takes office. We'll have the details next.

Plus, Chinese exporters are bracing for steep tariffs once Donald Trump takes office. How the country is preparing, next.

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KINKADE: Brazil's federal police have indicted the country's former president Jair Bolsonaro in connection to an alleged plot to kill his successor. CNN Brazil reports Bolsonaro had full knowledge of a plan to prevent Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva from taking office after his election victory in 2022. Journalist Stefano Pozzebon reports.

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: The indictment of former President Jair Bolsonaro is rocking Brazilian politics this week. The prosecutors have indicted the right-wing leader on Thursday on charges including attempting a coup d'etat, criminal organization and the violent suppression of the rule of law. Bolsonaro, who lost the 2022 presidential election to Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, has always denied these charges. But it's the third time that the former president has been indicted.

[02:30:03]

According to our affiliate, CNN Brazil, the federal police allege that Bolsonaro had full knowledge of a plot to prevent Lula and his government to take office in January 2023, and that that plot included even plans to kill Lula, his vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and the Supreme Court justice, Alexandre de Moraes, the prosecutors have presented their final investigation report, which is hundreds of pages long to the Supreme Court in Brasilia.

It will now be a decision for the Brazil's attorney general to rule whether to present formal charges against Bolsonaro and essentially put him onto trial. If we were to go on to a trial, it would likely take place next year. But this scandal is already making headlines today.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: A caravan of more than 1,500 migrants is currently en route to the U.S. border. The group is comprised of people from the Caribbean, as well as Central and South America. They departed from Chiapas State in Mexico on Wednesday, according to a law enforcement spokesperson. The people in the caravan hope to reach the U.S. border before President-elect Trump takes office in January.

One woman explained why she and so many others are undeterred by Trump's proposed crackdown on immigration, including the threat of mass deportations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATALIA SOLANO, ECUADORIAN MIGRANT (through translator): With these jails, Donald Trump wants to scare us. He wants us to go back to our country, but we will not go back. We will continue to the United States for our children's future, all the sacrifice we do is for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The clock is ticking at the U.N. climate summit. Thursday's proposal for $1 trillion deal, where wealthy nations would offer financial aid to poorer developing countries battling climate change, fell through in remarkable fashion. Negotiators and leader at the COP29 lambasted the draft, calling it a big step back ahead of Friday's deadline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOPKE HOEKSTRA, EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR CLIMATE ACTION: I'm really sorry to say, but the text we now have in front of us, in our view is imbalanced unworkable and unacceptable.

CHRIS BOWEN, AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE MINISTER: This is a big step back and it is not acceptable at this current moment of crisis.

CEDRIC SCHUSTER, CHAIR, ALLIANCE OF SMALL ISLAND STATES: We cannot afford to undermine the progress and hard won balance achieved less than a year ago in Dubai.

SUSANA MUHAMAD, COLOMBIAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: The critical objective of this COP is right now an empty placeholder.

JUAN CARLOS GOMEZ, PANAMA'S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE: We are failing planet and people once again at this COP.

TINA STEGE, MARSHALL ISLANDS CLIMATE ENVOY: We cannot afford to keep saying we must deal with the problem and then fail to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: With the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres returned to the host country Azerbaijan, from a G20 meeting in Brazil to see the deal through. He has urged all parties to make a final push and warning that failure is not an option.

Countries around the world are awaiting Donald Trump's trade moves once he takes office. China has already announced new policies for exporters who would be hit hard by higher tariffs. As the world's largest manufacturer and exporter, it has the most at stake.

Our Marc Stewart reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: China is known as the world's factory, and we want to show you why. This is the Bairong World Trade Center in Beijing. This place is massive. It is sprawling, floors and floors of Chinese made merchandise, things like bikes, stuffed animals, hair dryers, as items made in China are often a big part of American lives.

As talk of further tariffs on all Chinese goods heats up as promised by President-elect Trump on the campaign trail, a few things worth remembering. China is the world's top manufacturing country, making about 30 percent of all of the stuff used around the world. Electronics like these phone cords topped the list furniture, toys and clothing aren't far behind.

No surprise, China is also the world's top exporter, shipping almost $3.4 trillion worth of goods globally. But China's strength isn't just about money, including often criticized government subsidies. It's about the ecosystem. Everything that's needed to make anything the entire supply chain, it's already here. And once things are made, China has the means to move merchandise quickly.

A key goal of Trump's threatened tariffs is to bring more jobs and industries back to the U.S. But look at all of this merchandise. China's system has a grip on the world and unseating it as a top maker and seller. It's a task much easier said than done.

Mark Stewart, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: An American kayaker faked his own death and fled overseas.

[02:35:02]

Now, authorities say he's alive and well and talking to them about how he did it and why.

That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:37:20]

KINKADE: Well, a fifth tourist has died of a suspected methanol poisoning in Laos linked to a tainted alcohol in the town of Vang Vieng, known as a backpacker hotspot. The UK confirmed that the death of a woman, without naming her all the circumstances.

Earlier, Australian authorities confirmed the death of 19-year-old Bianca Jones. Her traveling companion Holly Bowles remains on life support in a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. They were airlifted out of Laos after becoming ill during a night out.

U.S. authorities also confirmed the death of a citizen on Thursday. Methanol is typically used as a cleaning fluid, but is sometimes illegally added to alcohol to increase volume.

Well, the U.S. Justice Department says a Mexican cartel leader who faked his own death has been arrested in California on charges of money laundering and international drug trafficking. Officials say Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa had been living in California under a fake name. He is the son in law of notorious drug kingpin El Mencho, who leads the Jalisco cartel, one of the worlds most violent and prolific drug trafficking organizations.

Well, officials say he helped Gutierrez-Ochoa escape to the U.S. El Mencho was charged in 2022 with leading the effort to manufacture and distribute fentanyl in the U.S. He has not yet been arrested.

The Wisconsin kayaker accused of faking his own death and leaving his family has been located. He's somewhere in eastern Europe, but whether he'll ever come home to his wife and kids or face the music for what he's been a costly and emotional search is unclear.

CNN's Whitney Wild has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN BORGWARDT, MISSING KAYAKER: Good evening, it's Ryan Borgwardt. I'm in my apartment. I am safe, secure, no problem.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ryan Borgwardt speaking barely above a whisper in this video he says was recorded November 11th. These are his first comments since disappearing in August.

Police now believe the husband and father of three is alive and living in Eastern Europe with no plans to come back to the U.S. Though Green Lake, Wisconsin Sheriff Mark Podoll says Borgwardt talks to investigators regularly.

SHARIFF MARK PODOLL, GREEN LAKE COUNTY: Our biggest concern that we had was that he was safe and well. We asked him a number of questions that pertained to him and his family that he would only know and then we asked him for a video of himself.

WILD (voice-over): The search for Borgwardt began this summer after he failed to return home from a day of kayaking and fishing. Law enforcement found his capsized kayak, car and other belongings, but no trace of him.

PODOLL: While we might have stopped the search on Green Lake, that didn't stop our search continuing to look for Ryan.

[02:40:07]

WILD (voice-over): The Green Lake County Sheriff now says he planned an elaborate escape. Borgwardt told investigators he paddled his kayak and a child-sized boat out into the lake, overturned the kayak and dumped his phone in the water, paddled the inflatable boat to shore, got on an e-bike and rode through the night to Madison. There he boarded a bus, went on to Detroit and eventually crossed into Canada and hopped on a plane to Europe.

PODOLL: In our communications, we are expressing the importance of his decision to return home, clean up the mess that he has created. WILD (voice-over): A digital forensic search of Borgwardt's laptop revealed that he replaced the hard drive and cleared his browser history on the day of the disappearance. Podoll says investigators found that the 44-year-old moved funds to a foreign bank, changed his email, communicated with a woman in Uzbekistan, purchased airline cards and took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January.

Now that Borgwardt has been found alive, law enforcement is laying out potential charges.

PODOLL: The information that the Green Lake County has at this point leads us to an obstructing charge.

WILD: In terms of restitution, Sheriff Podoll says that that could be between $35,000 and $40,000 at least.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, a towering story of world record holders with very different perspectives met for the first time.

Rumeysa Gelgi of Turkey is 2.1 meter, or seven feet tall, while Jyoti Amge of India stands just over a little over half a meter or two feet. Well, both were born with genetic conditions that affect their height. They met in London on Wednesday for the Guinness world record day.

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CRAIG GLENDAY, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Guinness world records is all about celebrating differences and by bringing together these two unique women with very different perspectives on life they can learn a lot about each other, but we can learn a lot about them and about the world around us.

RUMEYSA GELGI OF TURKEY: You are so beautiful.

JYOTI AMGE OF INDIA: Thank you. Thank you.

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KINKADE: Well, Guinness World Records named the women icons as part of a new category introduced for the book's 2025 edition.

That does it for this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta. Thanks for your company.

Stick around. "WORLD SPORT" is next, and I'll have much more news at the top of the hour.

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