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Intensified Russian and Syrian Airstrikes as Syrian Rebels Advance; Israel and Hezbollah Trade Fire Amid Truce; President Biden Visits Angola, Obscured by His Pardon of Hunter Biden; Trump's Cabinet Picks Meets with Senators in Capitol Hill; Georgia Unrest Enters Fifth Night; Battle for Control of Kursk Region; Support for Ukraine from NATO Allies; Kash Patel, Trump's Pick to Lead the FBI; California Holds Session to Trump-proof the State; Elton John Announces Health Issue. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired December 03, 2024 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead, Syrian and Russian forces are answering the rebel advance with airstrikes on key positions, as insurgent forces make territorial gains in the north.
Fears the ceasefire may not be holding as Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire.
And a fifth night of protests in Georgia over E.U. membership as demonstrators show no signs of slowing down.
Appreciate you joining us. Syrian and Russian forces are ramping up airstrikes against opposition fighters in Northern Syria as a new rebel offensive shows no sign of slowing down. Syrian rebels claim they control much of Aleppo and Idlib, and the U.N. says Syrian army airstrikes have killed dozens of civilians, injured many more, and that nearly 50,000 people have been displaced in just the past few days.
Syria's long-running civil war has resulted in several groups with areas of heavy influence inside the country. Everything in pink is still controlled by the regime. Kurdish forces have a strong presence in the yellow area and large parts of Aleppo and Idlib provinces in green are in rebel hands. A head of the internationally recognized Syrian opposition, made this vow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HADI AL-BAHRA, HEAD OF INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED SYRIAN OPPOSITION (through translation): We see that if the regime does not respond to the people's demands, this military operation will continue. We will liberate our lands and restore the rights of the Syrian people, all the Syrian people. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: During the longest, bloodiest conflict of the Arab Spring, a civil war that stalled at times but never really ended, CNN's Katie Polglase takes a closer look at the run-up to this new rebel offensive.
KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Over the weekend, there was a major shakeup in the Syrian civil war. Rebel forces entered Aleppo for the first time in nearly a decade. It is a major achievement in their fight against the Syrian regime led by President Bashar al-Assad. Aleppo is Syria's second largest city, and they took it in a matter of days. Here's what we know so far about what happened.
Rebel fighters had been fighting near Aleppo for days, and just the day before, on Thursday, this video shows they were less than five kilometers from the city's entrance. By Friday, we see fighters arriving at the western entrance to Aleppo. You can see this distinctive arch in the background. The sunlight indicates its late afternoon.
Further along the same street, we see them racing into the city. As they enter, many are on foot. At this point, regime forces are nowhere to be seen here. By early evening, even closer to the city center, the fighters get hold of a loudspeaker and start addressing local residents, telling them not to be afraid.
As it gets dark, they reach Al Basel roundabout and take down the regime flag. By geolocating videos of this route, we can see that they arrived in the West, and by nightfall they have taken more and more of the city. Imagery shows they reach as far north as Ar-Rahman Mosque, and they take the citadel much further east.
On Saturday morning, the offensive gets bolder. A statue of President Bashar al-Assad's brother is toppled at Al-Basel roundabout. But now the regime is striking back. An airstrike hits the same roundabout within hours. Journalists in the city told CNN there were civilian casualties. The rebels fight on, even entering Aleppo International Airport.
Still the strikes by the regime continue, this one by the hospital. The strikes are delivered not only by Syrian airplanes, but Russian ones too, a key regime ally. As the situation on the ground continues to evolve rapidly, and with the regime's main allies, Russia and Iran, being occupied with other wars, the question is whether these rebels can retain the land they have so quickly gained.
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And what would this mean for the civilians of Aleppo who will inevitably bear the brunt of this fighting? Katie Polglase, CNN, London.
CHURCH: David Sanger is a CNN political and national security analyst and the author of "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West." And he joins me now from Washington. Good to have you with us.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be back with you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So David, how did these armed rebel groups band together so quickly, making significant territorial gains in Northern Syria and essentially take Bashar al-Assad by surprise?
SANGER: Well, Rosemary, they took everyone by surprise. Bashar al- Assad discovered that a civil war that he thought was frozen after 13 years wasn't. The CIA, British intelligence and others did not see this coming, although they now say that they should have, given the fact that the allies that Assad has relied on, Iran, Hezbollah, to a lesser degree Hamas, were all distracted by other events. Certainly, Hezbollah and Hamas have suffered such devastating losses that they can't focus much attention at this moment on the Syrian conflict.
And even the Russians, you know, are pretty busy fighting a war in Ukraine. So they weren't as focused as they were, say, a dozen years ago when Assad was solidifying his place after the color revolutions and after other revolutions in the Arab world made him wonder whether or not he was long for power.
CHURCH: Yeah, I mean, as you mentioned, Syria's allies, Russia and Iran, already distracted by their own wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. So how much military support can Assad expect to receive from these distracted allies, do you think?
SANGER: Well, I don't think he's going to get very much from Iran, certainly very little from Hezbollah and Hamas. He is getting air support from the Russians, but the Russians don't have a lot of artillery to spread around. They need just about everything they've got for Ukraine. And if you need evidence of that, look no further than their deal with North Korea, where they've been buying hundreds of thousands of rounds.
CHURCH: So David, how big a threat could these united armed rebels pose to Bashar al-Assad's leadership in Syria right now and perhaps in the days and weeks ahead?
SANGER: I haven't found anybody yet, Rosemary, who thinks that Assad is necessarily on the edge of losing power, and many who have recalled that we've thought that, predicted it at many points in the past 13, 14 years, and we've been wrong every time. He's come back with brutal attacks on his own people. And that may happen here as well. But this group of rebels, you know, they're pretty hardened.
They're not exactly the classic freedom fighters that the United States likes to back. Many of them were closely affiliated with Al- Qaeda until they split with them a few years ago. So these are sort of not an ideal group to be representing a fight between democracy and autocracy.
CHURCH: So, David, big picture, what does all this mean in terms of the new cold wars that the U.S. is engaged in right now? SANGER: Well, it's just another front and a really interesting one
along the way. You know, the essence of the new cold war versus the old one is that it is a two-front war for the United States in that we have got a Russian adversary, a Chinese adversary, and of course they're getting help from North Korea, from Iran. But there's an effort by the Russians and others to draw other countries into their orbit.
Syria has been in that position for years now. It's the site that hosts one of the few outside of Russia bases that Russia actually has, a naval base, and a critically important one. And so Russia really can't afford to lose Assad. And, you know, for years now, we've had American presidents, three by my count, say that Assad must go. So far none of them has been able to make him go. And I suspect he's going to get a fair bit of Russian support.
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CHURCH: David Sanger, many thanks for joining us. Appreciate your analysis always.
SANGER: Great to be with you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: An exchange of strikes is testing a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. On Monday, Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon, marking the deadliest day since the truce took effect last week. Israel says it's retaliating after Hezbollah fired two projectiles toward Israeli- occupied territory.
But the Iran-backed group says it targeted Israeli military positions after days of repeated Israeli strikes. A source with the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon says Israel has breached the ceasefire agreement approximately 100 times since last week.
And CNN's Nada Bashir is following developments. She joins us now live from London. Good morning to you, Nada. So the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah initially stopped the daily loss of lives but now we are seeing more violations, some deadly. What is the latest on the current status of this ceasefire?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. There was that initial hope that this would be a moment of pause, of course, in the hostilities. But just a day after that ceasefire was declared, we began to see Israeli fire in parts of southern Lebanon, shelling reported in some villages in the south. And as you mentioned, near daily strikes since Thursday as well, killing a number of people, at least nine, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
We've also seen drones operating over Beirut. So significant concern as to what this will mean for the longevity of this ceasefire. Of course, this is supposed to be an initial 60-day cessation of facilities and the hope that this would then lead to a lasting ceasefire. But as you mentioned, in response to the Israeli airstrikes that we have seen in parts of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah has, as of yesterday, launched two projectiles into open areas, according to the Israeli military.
We've heard from Hezbollah saying that they targeted what they believe to be military targets in Israeli-occupied areas in the south. No casualties reported as a result of that. But again, this really raises concern as to how long the ceasefire may hold, whether we continue to see an escalation beyond repair. And, of course, there has been concern raised by international mediators.
We have been hearing from our affiliates in Israel with reports that both U.S. and French officials have warned Israel that they believe that they have been in violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah. However, we have also been hearing from the U.S. State Department. They say they believe it is holding so far. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: What we have seen since the ceasefire went into effect is it being successful. Broadly speaking, it has been successful in stopping the fighting and getting us on a path where we are not seeing the -- just daily loss of life that we had seen for two months prior. Now, with respect to violations or potential violations of the ceasefire, we set a mechanism up to look into this very question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: And we have been hearing from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has condemned the strikes. He has said that Israel will respond with force. Israeli military officials say that they were responding to Hezbollah activity, targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon. But again, this has really raised concern as to what exactly the terms of the ceasefire can protect or guarantee with regards to the cessation of hostilities.
Of course, within -- according to officials, within the ceasefire agreement, any unilateral action taken by Israel is not guaranteed, is not enshrined within that deal. However, Israeli officials say that they have been assured by the U.S. in a separate letter that under some circumstances, they would be permitted to carry out unilateral attacks if deemed under threat.
Again, unclear what this will lead to, whether we continue to see an escalation. That is certainly something that the international community does not want to see, but raising concern nonetheless.
CHURCH: Nada Bashir, bring us that live report from London. Many thanks.
Joe Biden has become the first U.S. president to visit Angola. In a few hours, he will take part in an arrival ceremony and meet with the Angolan president. He will also deliver remarks at the National Slavery Museum in the capital, Luanda. President Biden is seeking to highlight the United States commitment to sub-Saharan Africa and efforts to boost investment as China makes deep inroads in the region. Well, more reaction is pouring in after Joe Biden's decision to pardon
his son Hunter, much of it critical even among the president's own allies. Despite long saying he would not use his authority to grant his son clemency, President Biden reversed course on Sunday, announcing a full and unconditional pardon covering any offense Hunter Biden committed or may have committed from January 2014 until now.
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It's not the first time a U.S. president has pardoned a family member and that is something one Democratic lawmaker says needs to be reined in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): What other father in America has the power to pardon his son or daughter if they're convicted of a crime? I really think we have to revisit the pardon power in the Constitution. And at the very least, I think we've got to circumscribe it so that you don't get to pardon relatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Some Republicans have jumped at the chance to criticize the president, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who posted online claiming trust in our justice system has been almost irreparably damaged by the Biden's and their use and abuse of it. CNN's Paula Reid has more on the reaction to Hunter Biden's pardon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even as President Biden publicly declared he wouldn't pardon his son --
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I said I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.
REID (voice-over): -- sources tell CNN that people in the West Wing and those close to Hunter Biden believed a pardon was always coming.
UNKNOWN: Will you testify?
REID (voice-over): In June, Hunter became the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime.
(On camera): The jury has found Hunter Biden, the president's son, guilty on all three counts in this case after three hours of deliberation.
REID (voice-over): After that historic conviction on gun charges, he faced another federal case in Los Angeles on tax charges. But just hours before the trial was set to begin, he entered a surprise guilty plea on all of the counts he faced.
ABE LOWELL, HUNTER BIDEN'S ATTORNEY: This plea prevents that kind of show trial that would have not provided all the facts or served any real point in justice.
REID (voice-over): Sources familiar with Hunter's legal strategy tell CNN, he would not have pleaded guilty, exposing himself to the possibility of 17 years in prison and possibly more than a million dollars in fines without the expectation of some form of clemency. And even as the White House repeatedly denied a pardon was on the table, one senior White House official told CNN they felt certain Biden would pardon his son before leaving office, saying, I know how much he worries about Hunter.
Then after the president spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Hunter, his wife and their son, Biden informed his staff about the pardon decision on Saturday night. On Monday, the White House had no clear explanation for the president's flip-flop.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can't speak to where we are today, and so I can't speak to hypotheticals here. Where we are today, the president made this decision over the weekend. He thought about it. He wrestled with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
REID (on camera): Well, one former White House staffer asks the question, which is if it was so obvious that the president was going to pardon his son, why did he and the White House pretend otherwise for so long? And we do not have an answer to that question, but another source points to the fact that, look, the president did allow David Weiss, who began investigating Hunter in the Trump administration, allowed him to continue his work, allowed the Justice Department to bring two cases against his son.
They argued that this pardon should not undermine the lengths that Biden went to, to allow the DOJ to act independently. But again, that was not the message from the White House over the past year. And their contradictions have now made this pardon a far greater controversy. Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: Some of Donald Trump's cabinet picks are spending this week on Capitol Hill ahead of their confirmation hearings. They include Attorney General pick Pam Bondi, who met with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday. He is currently the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee and likely to be chairman come January. Trump's pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also expected to make the rounds on Capitol Hill. A source says Vice President-elect JD Vance helped organize several of the meetings.
Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and a senior editor at "The Atlantic." He joins me now from Los Angeles. Appreciate you being with us.
RON BROWNSETIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So as some of Donald Trump's cabinet picks were meeting with senators on Capitol Hill, new allegations against Trump's choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, were being considered. His mum's e- mail published in "The New York Times" when she wrote to him during his divorce, calling him an abuser of women. "The New Yorker" on Sunday reporting too that Hegseth had been forced out of a veteran's advocacy group due to allegations of misconduct. How likely is it that Hegseth will get the votes he needs for confirmation when all these allegations and more are out there?
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BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, well, the revelations from "The New Yorker," one of the great investigative reporters of our generation, Jane Mayer, you know, they're powerful, not only because they reinforce the allegations of misconduct and abuse of women that he has faced already with the investigation in Monterey of a sexual assault claim, but also because they indicate, you know, a consistent problem with alcohol, which is not something that you can take lightly in a potential secretary of defense.
I mean, that was part of the reason John Tower, who George H.W. Bush wanted to make secretary of defense, was rejected by the Senate a generation or maybe it seems like a lifetime ago.
As we talked about before, Republican senators don't want to have to vote against Trump nominees too often, but he has certainly put several in front of them -- Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., of course Gaetz, that put them in an extraordinarily difficult position because these are all nominees who by any historic metrics would be, I think, considered entirely unfit for the positions to which they've been chosen, for which they've been chosen.
CHURCH: And another Trump pick, Kash Patel, for FBI director, could also face a tough path to confirmation due to some senators feeling he's not qualified for the job and others worry about the things he has said about the very organization he would run.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
CHURCH: So how likely is it that he'll get confirmed?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, I think I think really, it's a hierarchy question because as I've said to you before, I think every Republican senator, even the ones most independent of Trump, most resistant to his gravitational field, they probably have a number in their head of how many times they can vote publicly against his nominees. I mean, this is -- you know, Trump is a re-elected president who is extremely popular in their party.
The fact that they did not have to vote publicly on Gaetz and -- Matt Gaetz, and that he, you know, that he withdrew under the weight of his own nomination, that I think leaves them more opportunity to vote against someone else. I think Gabbard and Hegseth right now are at the front of the list. You've had with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. the I think rather dramatic and important public statement by Trump's own head of the FDA that the RFK, Jr. nomination will result in Americans getting sick and dying if he is confirmed.
So I would kind of put all of them ahead of the list of Kash Patel, even though there are obviously very serious questions about him. And Bill Barr, who was Trump's first term attorney general, you know, have said basically lay down in front of the tracks and said, over my dead body, will you put him at the FBI. I'm not sure that -- I'm sure that no one in the cabinet is going to make that, you know, promise this time. And I don't know if Republican senators will rank him above some of these other, even more, in some ways controversial nominees.
CHURCH: And meantime, we are seeing bipartisan criticism of President Joe Biden for fully and unconditionally pardoning his son Hunter after promising for years that he would never do that. What damage has been done do you think?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, I think it is -- you know, look, I mean, you see the criticism. It's problematic for a number of reasons in particular, I think above all, that he said he was not going to do it. The part that I think is just can't really be supported is the idea being pushed by some journalists and certainly by Republicans that this will embolden Trump to go further than he would have otherwise in violating norms as president, including pardoning the January 6 rioters or will provide Republicans in the Congress more freedom to defend Trump as he shatters those norms.
That cake has been baked; you know. Whatever Biden did or didn't do, Trump has made clear that in all sorts of ways, he intends to barrel through historic constraints on the arbitrary exercise of presidential power and that the vast majority of Republicans in Congress, virtually all of them, are going to be willing to go along for the ride. You know, the idea that Biden pardoning his son in some ways changes the calculus of what Republicans will do is as nonsensical as the idea that Merrick Garland, by waiting two years and the January 6 committee to begin investigating Trump's role in the insurrection, somehow shamed Republicans into upholding norms.
We are in a downward spiral here in this country, and one that I think reflects an important underlying reality. One party alone can't uphold the norms of democracy. You know, Joe Biden had reason to believe that if he didn't pardon his son, that the Trump Justice Department would find yet more reasons to go, you know, to pursue him. Did that justify the pardon? Maybe not. But it is part of the reality that we are now dealing with, that the escalation just kind of feeds on itself.
CHURCH: Ron Brownstein, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
[03:25:00]
CHURCH: As western allies pledge new military aid; Ukraine is fighting to defend the front lines in Kursk. Just ahead, how troops there are combating an onslaught of Russian drone attacks.
Plus, America's top diplomat travels to Brussels where NATO foreign ministers are gathering for global security talks. More on that in a live report after short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: Protests in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, stretched into the early morning after a fifth consecutive night of demonstrations. The protests kicked off after the government suspended talks on joining the European Union until 2028. Opponents of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, which claimed victory in a contested October election, have accused it of pursuing pro-Russian policies.
The former Soviet state prime minister vowed no negotiations with the opposition on Monday. He said protests were funded from abroad and lambasted Western nations for not condemning the, quote, "organized violence."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IRAKLI KOBAKHIDZE, PRIME MINISTER OF GEORGIA (through translation): These attempts are funded from abroad, and this funding is non- transparent. This is why certain actors were against the law on transparency. They wanted a revolution to be organized in a non- transparent way. I remind everyone that there will be no revolution in Georgia, whether transparent or non-transparent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Georgia's outgoing pro-Western president has accused security forces of violating basic human rights. Protesters have faced a violent crackdown by police using tear gas and water cannon that has alarmed international watchdogs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALOME ZOURABICHVILI, PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA: All of that policy is not a reaction to some forceful demonstration. It's a policy to try to limit the expression of the Georgian people that is expressed in many cities around the country, will of the Georgian people not to go towards Russia, to keep its European path, to keep its right to be an independent and free country among its European community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The president who has called for fresh elections says pro- European protests will continue across the country.
Ukraine's armed forces are in a fierce fight to hold the Kursk region, as troops on the front lines try to fend off swarms of Russian drone attacks. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins a Ukrainian battalion watching the skies there amid months of heavy bombardment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATION SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): They have a three-second window. Rushing out with a U.S. supplied Stinger and an aging anti-aircraft gun. To shoot down Russian attack drones in the fleeting moment they fly overhead in range.
[03:30:03]
UNKNOWN: Three kilometers from them.
WALSH (voice-over): They could hit that and prepare to. But the radar is wrong and they pause to hear it. So, reposition the entire truck, but suddenly the drone has vanished. It sounded like a decoy, but that usually means others are coming and the sky is filling up with drones in the next region.
A month ago, the targets here seemed endless. November was a record month for drones across Ukraine, but usually crash into towns not this empty field. Their sound slices through the dark.
(On camera): They are pretty low and close and while they think this is Ukrainian drones headed for Russia, the Russians also use this moment to take the same route to try and sneak their drones in.
WALSH (voice-over): Right now, a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia is underway so they've been forbidden, even if they could, to fire. Each night they watch Russian drones weave their complex way out of their tiny range.
When the defenses fail, the icy silence breaks. Moscow pummeling the border town Sumy here with a cluster munition missile that killed 12 in an apartment block because Ukraine is still inside Russia, holding positions in Kursk.
This thermal drone image shows just hours earlier the drones fighting Kursk for Alexander.
UNKNOWN (text translation): The assault teams came in the dawn grey. There was almost no contact. We worked with birds (drones). Then the infantry simply swept then up.
WALSH (voice-over): In the positions they've hit, no sign of the North Korean troops meant to be in Kursk. Instead, Chechens, even African mercenaries, but above all, endless waves of Russians.
UNKNOWN (text translation): I have the impression they have unlimited people. It's like the next Russian don't know what happened to the previous Russians. So they go there, into the unknown.
WALSH (voice-over): His Humvee is a mess. He hasn't slept for three days and shelling has damaged his hearing. But he knows what he'd say to President-elect Donald Trump. When Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in the 90s, we were promised protection.
UNKNOWN (text translation): You took away our nuclear weapons? You promised us protection? Yes, in simple terms, so keep your word. We're being slaughtered, and you're still trying to play games, to defend your interests. You have to give everything you could to end this war in two days. Who will believe the words of the U.S. or England, who are pissing themselves in front of Russia? Pardon my English.
WALSH (voice-over): Confident they can hold out in Kursk, less confident of how long the West expects them to. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Sumy, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The U.S. has announced a new $725 million military aid package for Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says it will include Stinger missiles, HIMARS rockets, and anti-personnel mines. It's part of the Biden administration's efforts to bolster Ukraine's defenses before Joe Biden's time in office ends next month.
Blinken made the announcement ahead of his trip to Brussels, where NATO ministers are meeting to discuss Ukraine and other global security issues. And CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is monitoring that for us live from London. She joins us now. Good to see you, Salma. So what are you learning?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So just in a few hours' time, Rosemary, these foreign ministers will gather in Brussels. We expect those arrivals, those initial statements. For Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who, as you mentioned, announced that massive aid package for Ukraine ahead of this meeting, this could potentially be his last NATO foreign ministers meeting. That is of course because President Biden is on the way out and President Trump is on the way in.
And that of course has set the mood, if you will, for this meeting in Brussels today. But on the European side, we also heard from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was Kyiv earlier this week to reiterate his support and the support of Europe for Ukraine ahead of this NATO meeting. Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translation): My visit to Kyiv today made one thing very clear to me. Ukraine will prevail. We have talked not only to the current American administration, with which we had a very good cooperation in this regard, but we've also talked to the future president, Donald Trump, too. I believe that we can set on developing joint policies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:34:59]
ABDELAZIZ: Now, Germany has also announced additional aid to Ukraine as well. What's interesting about this new aid package from President Biden that was announced just this week is that this is part of a presidential drawdown authority. So essentially what that means is that it's going to come from U.S. stockpiles. So rather than it taking weeks or months for these weapons to be manufactured and then sent to Ukraine, they could be sent quite quickly to the battlefield, all part of President Biden's plan to really bolster Ukraine, prepare it for the possibility of a President Trump who does not want to invest in that conflict.
Ukraine for its part, because Ukraine's foreign minister will be in attendance today at this meeting in Brussels, Ukraine for its part wants to see NATO formally extend an invitation to join. Now, NATO has said that Ukraine will join at some point but has provided no timeline or no official invitation. It is highly unlikely, Rosemary, that that invitation that Ukraine is so desperate for would be extended. That means for now it is rhetoric, it is promises, it is that hope for aid as that cloud hangs over them, a Trump administration coming up.
CHURCH: Salma Abdelaziz, many thanks for that report. Appreciate it. And still to come, Donald Trump makes another controversial pick for future leadership. But just who is Kash Patel? And is he qualified to be the next FBI director? We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: As Donald Trump's final cabinet and leadership choices take shape, we are learning more about his pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel. The former Trump adviser has backed misinformation shared by the president-elect, and he said he intends to turn the FBI on its head if confirmed. But not everyone in the Trump inner circle believes he's fit for the job.
Charles Kupperman, Trump's former Deputy National Security Advisor, who worked closely with Patel, told "The Wall Street Journal," quote, "He's absolutely unqualified for this job. He's untrustworthy. It's an absolute disgrace to American citizens to even consider an individual of his nature."
CNN's Randy Kaye has more on Trump's pick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KASH PATEL, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one.
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kash Patel has big plans to shake up the FBI if he's confirmed as FBI director under President Donald Trump. He blames the so-called deep state for weaponizing government and going after Trump.
PATEL: We are on a mission to annihilate the deep state.
[03:40:00]
KAYE (voice-over): His plan for the FBI's Hoover building, if he were to shut it down --
PATEL: -- reopening the next day as a museum of the deep state. And I take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals, go be cops.
KAYE (voice-over): Patel, as a House Republican aide, also accused the deep state and the FBI fabricating a Trump-Russia scandal during the 2016 election, only to sabotage Trump. While an inspector general later found no political bias in the FBI probe, Patel criticized mistakes made in securing surveillance warrants.
PATEL: I was the lead investigator where he exposed the Russiagate crimes that Comey, McCabe, Strzok and Page and so many others committed. UNKNOWN: Mr. Patel, did you answer any of the other questions --
KAYE (voice-over): In 2020, when Patel was working in the Pentagon, he promoted Trump's false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen. Since then, he's threatened to prosecute journalists who dismissed the election falsehoods.
PATEL: We're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We're going to come after you. Whether it's criminal or civilly, we'll figure that out. But, yeah, we're putting you all on notice.
KAYE (voice-over): Patel also promoted Q, the so-called anonymous leader of QAnon, a movement that has spread conspiracy theories.
PATEL: There's a lot of good to a lot of it. He should get credit for all the things he has accomplished because it's hard to establish a movement.
KAYE (on camera): Patel got his start as an entry-level public defender here in South Florida. He then went on to become a federal prosecutor focusing on terrorism. And then he joined the first Trump White House as an aide, as well as the Pentagon.
But it is worth noting, and this really speaks to his bravado, Kash Patel has repeatedly claimed that he was the lead prosecutor in the Benghazi investigation into the attack on the U.S. compound in Libya, where four Americans died. Well, it turns out, according to "The New York Times," he certainly was not. "The New York Times" is reporting that he was a junior Justice Department staffer at the time and was not part of the trial team. Randi Kaye, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Donald Trump is planning his first overseas trip since winning the presidential election last month. He will travel to Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday. Sources tell CNN Trump was invited by the French government and his team has been in discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron's office.
The cathedral was severely damaged by a fire back in 2019. Paris police say the reopening ceremony is expected to draw 50 heads of state and government.
A battle over the budget is threatening to bring down the French government. Leaders of the European Union are praising Michel Barnier's 2025 spending plan, but French lawmakers have put forward a motion of no confidence against the centrist prime minister. The budget includes more than $60 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts aimed at bringing down the deficit.
The far-right national rally, led in parliament by Marine Le Pen, has vowed to join lawmakers on the left to take down Barnier unless he concedes to several of their demands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARINE LE PEN, NATIONAL RALLY PARTY GROUP LEADER (through translation): We are tabling a motion of censure and we are going to vote it because the French people have had enough. They've had enough of being thrashed. They've had enough of being mistreated. Some maybe thought that with Michel Barnier things would get better, but they were even worse.
MATHILDE PANOT, LA FRANCE INSOUMISE GROUP LEADER (through translation): Obviously, faced with this umpteenth denial of democracy, we will censor the government and Michel Barnier will probably go down in history as the prime minister who had the shortest term as prime minister of the Fifth Republic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Still to come, California's governor is working with Democratic lawmakers to Trump-proof the Golden State. We will see how it could affect Gavin Newsom's 2028 presidential ambitions. Back in just a moment.
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[03:45:00]
CHURCH: A crowd crush at a football match in the West African country of Guinea has left at least 56 people dead and many others injured. That is according to authorities. Social media videos showed fans scrambling to get out of the packed stadium on Sunday. Local media say a series of referee decisions led to clashes between fans and security followed by the crush as people rushed to escape the stadium. The government says investigations are underway into the cause of the catastrophe.
Only 48 days until Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th U.S. president, and California's governor is working with Democratic lawmakers to protect many of the state's more liberal policies. CNN's Nick Watt has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITEDS STATES OF AMERICA: Gavin Newscum, he's another beauty.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He means Gavin Newsom, California's charismatic, quaffed governor who predicts an imminent Trumpian assault on abortion rights, immigration, environmental protections, and more.
GAVIN NEWSOM, GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: We know exactly what he intends to do. He's been very honest about that.
WATT (voice-over): Already threatening Newsom if he doesn't toe the Trump line on water rights.
TRUMP: And we'll say, Gavin, if you don't do it, we're not giving you any of that fire money that we send you all the time for all the forest fires that you have.
WATT (voice-over): We will work with the incoming administration, but when there is overreach, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are targeted, we will take action.
RON BRWONSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There's no question that Newsom sees his future as a Democratic presidential candidate as rooted in his ability to rally resistance.
WATT (voice-over): On his orders, Californian politicians trying to Trump-proof their deep blue state before DJT 2.0 takes office.
ROBERT RIVAS, CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY SPEAKER: If LGBTQ people come under attack, if hard-working immigrants are targeted, if women's reproductive freedom is threatened, we will fight back with everything we have.
WATT (voice-over): They're proposing an up to $25 million fighting fund and bills protecting abortion rights.
ROB BONTA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are not backing down. We are absolutely committed to making sure that all women have access to reproductive freedom, period, full stop.
WATT (voice-over): During his first term, California spent more than $40 million suing Trump's administration 122 times.
NEWSOM: He vandalized our progress. He vandalized our programs. He broke the law.
BROWNSTEIN: The level of confrontation between Trump and blue America is going to be even more intense in the second term than it was in the first. Stephen Miller openly talked about deputizing the National Guard from red states and sending them into blue states. That is a recipe for intrastate conflict of the kind we have not really seen in the U.S. since the Civil War.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
WATT (voice-over): Immigrants, rights groups protested outside California's statehouse carrying signs "MAGA out of California."
(On camera): Governor Gavin Newsom seems pretty keen on a White House run in 2028, but that's going to be a difficult balancing act. He can't just be the pretty face of the Trump resistance. And here's why. In 2024, Donald Trump won about one and a half million more votes here in California than he did in 2016.
His message of a broken state, of a broken country, clearly seems to be making some inroads. So, Newsom cannot just be the anti-Trump totem. He also needs to be offering some real solutions to some real problems that people here say they have. Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Hundreds of migrants are setting off from southern Mexico on a long journey to the U.S. border, which they hope to reach before Donald Trump takes office.
[03:49:56]
One caravan, which includes many children, left the town of Tapachula on Monday, exactly seven weeks until the president-elect is inaugurated in Washington. The migrants, including some from Venice, left the town of Tapachula on Monday, exactly seven weeks until the president-elect is inaugurated in Washington. The migrants, including some from Venezuela, are concerned about what changes the Trump administration will make to tighten border security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (through translation): There's so much uncertainty one has as a human being, seeing so much sacrifice one has made to get here. And there are people who simply do not care about the sacrifice of others. But God is good always. And if it is His will, then we will get there and pass through, as they say, the big door.
UNKNOWN (through translation): I think that migration is something that has existed throughout life, and that, for better or worse, this is not going to stop. And whichever president comes into office, I think that, beyond closing the doors on us, I think there is going to be more control, which is important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: The number of migrants arriving at Spain's Canary Islands is at a record high. The Interior Ministry says more than 41,000 people have arrived by sea so far. And dates from the European Union's border agency Frontex shows, the data that should be of course, shows, most of them are from Mali, Senegal and Morocco. Spain has asked Frontex to resume air and maritime surveillance operations to try and help reverse the trend.
Well, coming up, Elton John took center stage in London and stunned the audience, not with his performance, but with personal details related to his health. What the iconic singer shared when we return.
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CHURCH: Catherine, Princess of Wales, will undertake her biggest engagement since returning to royal duties after chemotherapy. Buckingham Palace says she will join Prince William in welcoming the Emir of Qatar to the U.K. today. The Emir and his wife is in London for a two-day state visit. Catherine's involvement in the ceremony marks another step in her return to official duties since ending chemotherapy treatment following her cancer diagnosis.
Elton John says a severe eye infection has left him unable to see. The 77-year-old entertainer shared the devastating news at a performance of the Devil Wears Prada in London Sunday. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sir Elton John making a surprise announcement on stage at a gala performance of the Devil Wears Prada in London.
ELTON JOHN, ENTERTAINER: I've lost my eyesight so it's hard for me to see it but I love to hear it.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The 77-year-old pop superstar wrote the score to the show and thanked his husband, David Furnish, for his support during his months-long battle with a severe eye infection.
JOHN: And to my husband, who's been my rock because I haven't been able to come to many of the previews.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): He first spoke publicly about his sight in an Instagram post three months ago, saying he was dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye. And in an interview last week, the icon said his eye issues have interfered with his ability to work.
JOHN: I'm kind of stuck in the moment because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording, I don't know because I can't see a lyric for a start.
[03:55:04]
(MUSCI PLAYING)
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The music legend retired last year after decades of live concerts, performing in more than 300 shows alone during his farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
Then the pop star joined President Biden in New York during the summer --
JOHN: Thank you, Mr. President.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): -- to mark the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall riots that helped launch the modern gay rights movement.
JOHN: Let's have some music. It does bring us together.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Two years after, the president presented him with the National Humanities Medal during a concert at the White House to celebrate his talent and his advocacy in the global fight against HIV and AIDS.
The pop legend's presence on stage at the Devil Wears Prada Gala was cheered on Sunday night after talking about his health challenges and then praising the musical's performers.
JOHN: Boy, it's gonna be good tonight. Okay? (END VIDEOTAPE)
WAGMEISTER (on camera): Certainly a challenging turn of events for Sir Elton John, a true legend in the music industry, but I have to tell you, I was lucky enough to have been invited as a guest to a taping of one of his final shows two years ago at Dodger Stadium here in Los Angeles for his farewell tour and it was just incredible to see how he commanded a stage as a performer even well into his 70s.
I attended that show with my mom and there's really no better example of a performer who truly entertained generations of audiences over decades. And whether or not he ever performs again or creates new music, Elton John will continue to live on and not just in his music, but also through his advocacy work.
Elton's life mission has been through his foundation, which helps end the AIDS epidemic. He has held an Oscars after party for over 30 years, and I have covered that many times throughout awards season. Last year, that event raised over $10 million to fight the AIDS epidemic. So, Elton's work will continue to live on and of course we are wishing him the best as he continues to navigate these health struggles. Back to you.
CHURCH: We definitely are, and thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Max Foster in London.
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