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Manhunt Intensifies After UnitedHealthcare CEO Shot Dead Outside NYC Hotel; South Korean Ruling Party To Oppose Yoon Impeachment After Martial Law Debacle; French PM Set To Resign Today After Losing No-Confidence Vote; Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Is Holding; Police Crackdown Intensifies against Pro-E.U. Protesters in Georgia; Russia Warns of "Stronger Military Means" in Ukraine; Embattled Defense Secretary Pick Pete Hegseth Vows to Fight On; Trump Considering Other Options to Lead Pentagon; Narges Mohammadi Given Brief Prison Reprieve after Surgery; FBI Arrests Paris Flight Stowaway after Return to U.S. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 05, 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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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Paula Newton, ahead here on CNN Newsroom. A massive manhunt is underway after a CEO is brazenly shot dead on the streets of New York City in what's being called a targeted killing.
South Korean lawmakers move to impeach the country's president and his own party has asked him to leave over the chaos created by his declaration of martial law.
And France's prime minister is being forced out after a no confidence vote by lawmakers there, making him the shortest serving prime minister in the republic's history.
UNIDENATIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Paula Newton.
NEWTON: And we do begin with developing news out of New York. A major manhunt is underway this hour after the CEO of a major healthcare company was gunned down in the heart of Manhattan. Now this video by the New York Times appears to show the suspected gunman arriving minutes before the shooting.
And you can see there he was actually talking on a cell phone. Police believe it was a targeted attack and it was all caught on security camera. CNN's Brynn Gingras has more. But a warning, some of the images you're about to see are quite graphic.
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BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stunning new video obtained by CNN showing the moments a gunman carries out a brazen attack in the heart of New York. At about 6:40 a.m. the suspect waiting for Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, and then firing several shots, killing him.
COMMISSIONER JESSICA TISCH, NEW YORK CITY POLICE: I want to be clear at this time, every indication is that this was a premeditated, preplanned targeted attack.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Police say that gunman camped out for about five minutes before Thompson arrived. You can see from these images he's wearing a mask, hooded sweatshirt and backpack. Sources say a silencer was attached to his handgun. Police say he watched as people walked by and then at approximately 6:45 a.m. fired at Thompson from behind, hitting him before the gun jams.
JOSEPH KENNY, CHIEF OF DIRECTIVES, NEW YORK CITY POLICE: It appears that the gun malfunctions as he clears the jam and begins to fire again.
GINGRAS (voice-over): He fires another shot. Then the suspect fled, likely following this route, according to police, down a back alley of a midtown theater before jumping on an electric bike. Police losing his track after he entered Central Park.
KENNY: We're still tracking video. There are GPS's on those bikes. We'll be working with the company.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Investigators also recovering a cell phone, three shell casings at the scene and are asking the public for help in identifying the gunman. Police also releasing these images of what appears to be the gunman in a Starbucks shortly before the shooting.
50-year-old Thompson was the CEO of the health insurance unit within the Minnesota based United Health Group. He arrived in New York City on Monday for an investors' conference. As of now, police don't believe he and the gunman crossed paths until this morning and are still searching for a motive.
Thompson's wife Paulette told NBC News, quote, there had been some threats, but she didn't know why. Thompson was father of two boys. His wife also released a statement saying Brian was an incredibly loving, generous, talented man who truly lived life to the fullest and touched so many lives.
ANDREW WITTY, CEO, UNITEDHEALTH GROUP: There are no words to describe how so many of us are feeling right now. Brian was a truly extraordinary person who touched the lives of countless people throughout our organization and far beyond.
GINGRAS (voice-over): The brazen murder happening at the start of morning rush hour in an area of New York City crawling with tourists for the holiday season.
MICHELL WYCKOFF, HILTON HOTEL GUEST: So we just heard sirens going off. I thought, oh gosh, what's going on? I did not think it was actually right here.
ANDY KENNY, HILTON HOTEL GUEST: You know, we really don't know what it was about, but was shocked that somebody would be killed in the -- in broad daylight in New York. That's really quite shocking.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: The future of South Korea's president hangs in the balance after his abrupt martial law declaration that plunged the capital into chaos. Lawmakers in Seoul are debating whether to impeach Yoon Suk Yeol with a vote expected in the next few days.
Now, members of his People Power Party say they will opposed the motion, although AFP reports Yoon has been asked to lead the party. Now, lawmakers and protesters, you'll remember, descended on Parliament late Tuesday afternoon after Yoon's declaration, only to be met by hundreds of soldiers. The president rescinded his martial law decree a few hours later amid fierce opposition.
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KIM SEUNG-WON, SOUTH KOREAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (through translator): The Yoon administration attempted to seize control of the National Assembly by deploying approximately 250 elite martial law troops to the parliamentary building. This is an unforgivable crime, one that cannot, should not, and will not be pardoned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: South Korea's Defense Minister is the latest political casualty from the debacle. President Yoon accepted his resignation early Thursday. We want to go straight to Seoul now or. CNN's international correspondent Ivan Watson has been watching all of these developments, and he's actually joining us from inside the National Assembly 48 hours in. Ivan, what do you know about what happens next?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, well, first, I am in the National Assembly here, and this is where these dramatic events took place on the night of Tuesday of this week, some 48 hours ago, Wednesday morning, in the predawn hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared late at night imposing martial law on Korea.
You had lawmakers flock to this building and they were blocked, many of them by police and soldiers. And there were confrontations in the halls of this building as well. And ultimately the lawmakers succeeded in getting into the assembly hall. And unanimously, 190 of them voted to overrule martial law. President Yoon backed down within a matter of hours. And now we're watching the following process unfold. And to help me understand a little bit more about it, I'm joined now by Kang Sunwoo.
She is a member of the opposition Democratic Party and a lawmaker. You were here in these dramatic events Tuesday night when you found out that President Yoon had declared martial law. What was your immediate reaction? SUNWOO KANG, MEMBER OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, REPUBLIC OF KOREA: I thought
it was a joke. I was in bed and trying to fall asleep. And then all of a sudden I got these tons of calls and texts saying declaration of martial law. For especially for our generation, we are not used to even the word of martial law.
So at first I thought it was a joke, and then the media was all about martial law. So I just got up and I ran to National Assembly from my constituency. And fortunately it doesn't take a long time from here to my constituency. So it took like less than 30 minutes and I was able to come into this national assembly and make a vote.
WATSON: All right. And you know, I just spoke with your party leader, Lee Jae Myung. He says that you are preparing for a vote of impeachment. What is the strategy here moving forward? I understand the National Assembly would need 2/3 of voters of lawmakers to vote in support. And you don't quite have that number with the opposition. What is the plan?
KANG: Right. In total, we can make 192 if we collect all the votes from Opposition Party. So that means we need eight more votes to make it go through here at the National Assembly.
WATSON: Eight more votes from the President's People Power Party.
KANG: People Power Party. So, we are trying to contact the members from PPP personally, especially for we, of course, I have in person good friends in PPP. So I'm trying to persuade them and trying to tell them, please vote for this impeachment proposal so we can kind of like make this nation better.
But to be honest with you, at this time, we are not sure if we can have eight votes from PPP. But, I am sure that if we do this process over and over again, the crack in will get bigger and we will be able to get even more than eight votes from sooner or later.
WATSON: You're talking about a scenario where you could have multiple impeachment votes. That's kind of what you're threatening right now.
KANG: We will do it until we make it.
WATSON: OK. And it's important to note that 18 members of President Yoon's People Power Party did vote in those early hours on Wednesday to overturn martial law. But their leader has said, I believe on record, he does not want to be involved in this impeachment process. Let me ask you another question. Have you been home since you rushed here Tuesday night?
KANG: Not really. Since Tuesday night, I've been at the National Assembly physically, and all of the members and DPK are at the same situation because we are meeting some groups according to our standing committees.
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And we are watching at the main room because we are concerned and afraid that President Yoon might make another declaration of martial law at any time. Because he is kind of a unique person and we cannot predict what he's going to do.
So since the last martial law failed, we are very concerned that he may do another one. So that's why we are staying here and we are not going home and just to watch that.
WATSON: Literally an all night vigil in this hall right over here to keep your constitutional rights to be able to overrule martial law.
KANG: Right.
WATSON: So you guys are sleeping in shift in the assembly hall?
KANG: Yes, we are sleeping, eating, and some colleagues are watching here at National Assembly.
WATSON: OK, Sunwoo Kang, thank you very much for your time and I hope you can go home sometime soon.
KANG: That means my family.
WATSON: And get a change of clothes and everything. OK. So there you have it, Paula. That is a bit of the lay of the land. The dramatic events of Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, still seeing the after effects of that. And the leader of Ms. Kang's party, the Democratic Party, has said that it is important to bring the people behind this attempt to impose martial law to justice.
We'll see if the party has the votes to push this impeachment through. That process would likely take months. Thank you again. And would also require the appointment of a new judge in the Constitutional Court. So by any kind of account, this would likely take some time.
One final note, I might add, is that the leader of the main opposition party, Paula, who I just interviewed, he believed when he first found out about the declaration of martial law Tuesday night, that it was a joke, that it was a deep fake. He didn't believe it could be real. Back to you, Paula.
NEWTON: I mean, that is incredible to think about, given you are a politician and you're thinking this can't be for real. Ivan, I do want to ask you. We just listened to her say to the opposition leader there, say, look, we still believe that President Yoon could be a threat, that he might again try and impose martial law.
Given that, and given all the protests you've seen in South Korea over the years, how much of an influence do you believe the street protests will continue to be in the coming days?
WATSON: That's going to be really important. And even a member of President Yoon's party has said it'll be important to see what the size of possible protests will be over the course of the weekend. So far, we have seen some protests candlelight vigils in Seoul, but the vast majority of the population are still going to work, still going to school and so on and living their lives. There is shock and surprise at the effort to kind of overturn decades
of democratic governance in Korea. Will a popular protest movement take the same size as the protests that helped push President Park out of power in 2017? That remains to be seen.
NEWTON: As you and I both know if, you know, South Koreans could see some accountability and contrition going forward in the days to come, that might also go a long way here. Ivan Watson, so good to have you there. And we'll continue to watch for your reports throughout the day. Appreciate it.
Now, France is now facing its own brand of political chaos. Prime Minister Michel Barnier is expected to resign in the coming hours now after left and right wing lawmakers united to support a no-confidence vote against him, mostly over his proposed annual budget for next year.
This will leave France without a stable government or a 2025 budget at the end of this year. President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on Thursday as he works to name a new prime minister. CNN's Jim Bittermann picks up the story from Paris.
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JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The government of Michel Barnier forced to resign not only the prime minister himself, but all the rest of his ministers after a vote of no- confidence in the National Assembly. 331 people voted against the government. It only takes 288 to oust government in the rules of the National Assembly.
So, Michel Barnier and his ministers are out. They will probably take over in a caretaker role until some new prime minister can be named. The president of France, Emmanuel Macron will be the person who has to find that new prime minister. He arrived back in France just an hour before the voting tonight from Saudi Arabia where he was on a diplomatic mission. It's unclear if he's going to be able to find someone who will be able to please all the factions within the divided, the much divided French parliament is before the vote was taken tonight.
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Michel Barnier stood up and told the members of the National Assembly that he was honored to have served, but in fact, they were going to do something that would have some very drastic consequences. Here's what he had to say.
MICHEL BARNIER, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): What I'm sure, ladies and gentlemen, what I say seriously before you is that this motion of no-confidence at the moment when you are probably preparing this coalition of opposites, this no-confidence motion will make everything more serious and more difficult, I'm sure of it.
BITTERMANN: So the caretaker government will take care of things until there's a new prime minister that has been named. It will be a prime minister will almost certainly be challenged once again by this parliament because the vote today tonight was in fact, very much against President Macron as much as it was against Michel Barnier. So another prime minister has to be named, and we'll just see if that is someone who could be pleasing to all sides of the various factions in the National Assembly. Jim Bittermann, CNN, Paris.
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NEWTON: And joining us now for analysis from Paris is Hind Ziane. She is a political strategist and CEO of Generation Politique, a GovTech company based in Paris. And it's good to have you. As we continue to try and figure out what is going on in France at this hour, I want to ask you first up, what are the implications of the current political stalemate and do you believe it will put a very large burden on the economy?
HIND ZIANE, CEO, GENERATION POLITIQUE: Well, yes. First of all, this was very much expected because what we needed in the National Assembly topple this government was basically the left group, which is composed of left and far-right parties, and the right, right group, which is composed mainly of National Rally, Marine Le Pen's far right movement. We just needed them to agree upon signing this no motion vote, this no-confidence vote, for it to actually happen and for government to be toppled.
The idea here is to say that France is going to finish the year without a government and without a budget. It is very dangerous. It is putting us at risk of a political institutional, but also financial and economic crisis. We are expecting to have a budget for next year, except it's not going to be a new one. It's just going to be this year's budget that is going to be renewed.
NEWTON: But listen, both the left and the right know exactly what they're doing here and they went ahead and did it anyway. What were the circumstances that led to these kinds of, you know, opposed constituencies agreeing to take down this Prime Minister in this fashion.
ZIANE: So the key element here is the stance of the National Rally. Memory Le Pen's far-right National Rally. So when this government was created a couple of weeks ago and was chosen by the President, the idea was to say, OK, if you look at the numbers, we're going to need the support of the National Rally in order to keep this government alive.
So, the prime minister was trying for many times, multiple times, to stay close to them and to kind of appease them with measures that went their way, even in the budget. He really made a lot of concessions to them, but those concessions were not enough. And what Marine Le Pen and her party said was basically they thought they weren't hurt. But if you look at the facts, they were very much hurt. Maybe not as much as they wanted to, but they were concessions.
So this is about their party stating that they have the power topple government. That's how powerful they became in this country in terms of votes, but also in terms of seats at Parliament. NEWTON: It was certainly a flex on the part of Marine Le Pen. And
she's telling French media, I'm just quoting here, I don't consider it a victory. We made the choice to protect the French and yet the entire country is quite vulnerable now.
How do you think she's going to reconcile that in the weeks and months to come? Because some believe she did it for her own personal and political advantage.
ZIANE: That's the thing. We are -- it's very hard to see the advantage that they have after voting this no-confidence vote. They help to the left to get what they want, but personally, as a party, what they got, it's very difficult to see at the moment.
Honestly, I've spoken with a lot of people who are close to their party, people who also have supported them in the past and planned on voting for her in the next presidential election. And they are a little bit disappointed because we would expect from a party that wants to lead this country to be very responsible and voting and no- confidence vote -- voting no confidence motion at this point, where France has been very unstable in the last months.
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We spent two months without an actual government this year. Plus, we don't have a budget and we -- and I haven't said that yet, but the president can't dissolve parliament until next year. So it is very unstable and irresponsible from them. And maybe it's going to have an impact on their popularity.
NEWTON: Yes. Because it is not what voters expect. They expect compromise and it doesn't matter who you voted for at that point. They do not want government paralyzed. I have to ask you, though, most in France, many in France believe that there is no way that President Macron will resign. Is there anything that you see? I mean, he's still going to be in the office for another two and a half years. Is there anything you could see that could change that?
ZIANE: It's very hard to predict. But it is true that a lot of people think it is unlikely for him to resign because he's -- he has shown under many circumstances that he is very much determined to stay in power and to go until 2027.
The thing is, because of the political instability, maybe we're going to get to a point where he's not going to have another choice but to resign. I have to say, a couple of months ago, just after the results of the last snap election, a parliament, the conversations that we had when we saw the results were if we have a parliament, a National Assembly that is split in three equal parts that do not speak to each other, he's not going to have another choice but to resign and to hold a snap presidential election.
Those were the talks that we had a couple of months ago. Because what is going to happen basically, is just governments coming into power being toppled after a couple of years. A couple of months or a couple of weeks. Sorry. And then we're going to just say like that until the next dissolution and maybe more, because you don't know what's going to come out of that solution.
So people are a little bit worried that he might not resign, but maybe the circumstances are going to push him to.
NEWTON: Yes. And those circumstances, as I said at the top of this, include a very vulnerable economy, there is crushing debt, a huge deficit and anemic growth. Hind Ziane, we have to leave it there for now. But I want to thank you.
ZIANE: Thank you so much.
NEWTON: Now, Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense was doing damage control on Capitol Hill Wednesday amid growing controversy over a series of misconduct allegations. We'll have that story ahead.
Plus, the latest efforts to hammer out a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza and maintain the fragile truce in Lebanon.
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NEWTON: Turning now to the conflicts in the Middle East, starting with the situation in Lebanon. The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Israel's ceasefire with Hezbollah is holding and despite some back and forth strikes, both sides seem to want the truce to work.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Good afternoon, everyone. We get reports of violations, we look at them, we engage the parties and that's exactly what we've done.
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The mechanism that we established with France to make sure that the cease fire is effectively monitored and implemented is working.
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NEWTON: CNN's Jeremy Diamond now has details on those violations and efforts to keep the truce intact.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, one week after it went into effect, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be holding, albeit quite tenuously. This fragile ceasefire has seen near daily accusations of violations on both sides of this ceasefire agreement. But for now, both Israel and Hezbollah seem inclined to keep it going, even as the firing has not stopped altogether.
The United States, the State Department offered a similar assessment on Tuesday, saying that this ceasefire, quote, continues to be largely holding in place despite some of the strikes that we have seen. Nearly every day of the ceasefire there have been Israeli strikes in Lebanon. The Israelis insist that what they are doing is simply enforcing this ceasefire firing after they say Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon were violating this agreement.
The State Department also said that they believe that Israel still has the right to defend themselves, although they wouldn't weigh in on specific Israeli strikes and whether or not these are violations.
Now, as this tenuous ceasefire is still holding in Lebanon, there are now questions about whether or not a deal to free the hostages can indeed be advanced. We are seeing that the Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, says that he believes that there is a real chance of a hostage deal materializing as Hamas faces increasing pressure.
The Israeli military also releasing new information about the deaths of six hostages whose bodies were recovered in Gaza in August. At the time, the Israeli military indicated that it was likely that they had been shot by their Hamas captors. But there were questions about the role that an Israeli strike in the area in February when these hostages were in fact killed, could have played a role in their deaths.
The Israeli military not offering any definitive new information, but they did say in a new report that February strike that the Israeli military carried out in Khan Younis in southern Gaza may have led to the militants to execute those six hostages.
The report says, quote, it is highly probable that their deaths were related to the strike near the location where they were being held. According to the most plausible scenario, the terrorists shot at the hostages close to the time of the strike. And the findings of that IDF investigation were indeed presented to the families of those hostages on Wednesday.
But the question now is for the hostages alive and dead, who remain inside of Gaza and whether or not these new talks that appear to be happening quite quietly behind the scenes will actually result in a deal. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now to the ongoing fighting in Gaza, Amnesty International says there's enough evidence now to accuse Israel of genocide in the enclave. The rights group's latest report details numerous instances of mass killings and other atrocities. Amnesty International says it can only infer that genocidal intent has been part of Israel's conduct in Gaza since the October 7 attacks.
Now, the Israeli military called the report entirely baseless, saying it ignores Hamas's violations of international law as well as the operational difficulties IDF soldiers face.
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks killed dozens of people in Gaza on Wednesday. The Israeli military says it carried out a precision strike on senior Hamas militants in a humanitarian zone in Khan Younis. A local hospital says 11 of the 20 people killed were children. Gaza authorities say women and children were also among the 10 people killed by strikes in Gaza City. Now, Russia recently raised the stakes in Ukraine with its use of a
new nuclear capable missile. But in an exclusive entry with CNN, one of Russia's top diplomats says Moscow is prepared to go even further. That's ahead.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back.
You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton.
A brutal government crackdown against protesters is now intensifying in Georgia. One opposition party says a lawmaker was severely beaten by police and detained. Georgia's interior ministry tells CNN the opposition leader was arrested on charges of what they call, quote, "disobedience to the police".
Massive protests began last week after the ruling Georgian Dream Party decided to suspend talks to join the European Union. Critics are accusing the government of moving towards authoritarian and pro- Russian positions.
Here's what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The current government in Georgia is pushing the country towards obvious dependence on Russia. It's simply shameful what they're doing against their people.
And when Moscow praises this government in Georgia, it clearly shows whom they are working for in Tbilisi and whom they are dispersing the protests for. It is definitely not for Georgia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Ukraine's president appears to be following through on his pledge to try and work directly with U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak met with two of Trump's point men for Ukraine -- point men for Ukraine on Wednesday. That's according to a source familiar with the meeting.
The talks in Washington included Trump's pick for national security advisor Mike Waltz and his Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg.
President Zelenskyy said he's open to Trump's ideas on ending the war in Ukraine. Trump has claimed he'd do it on day one of his presidency, though he hasn't explained how.
Meantime Russia is cautioning the West not to let its support for Ukraine drag the war out indefinitely. Moscow recently fired a nuclear-capable missile armed with conventional warheads in an attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
But in an exclusive interview with CNN, Russia's deputy foreign minister says the Kremlin will resort to, quote, "even stronger military means if needed".
He spoke with our Fred Pleitgen, who is in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As Russia makes some of its most rapid advances since the beginning of the full-on war in Ukraine, Moscow warning the U.S. and its allies it will hit back hard if the west continues to step up support for Kyiv. Russia's deputy foreign minister tells me in an exclusive interview.
SERGEI RYABKOV, RUSSIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: In NATO there are a group of people uh, I would even call them cheerleaders, that stand there and clap and shout and just want big boys in the field to go into this game further and further.
They will be defeated like the U.S. Was defeated by soviet union in basketball in 1973. Irrespective of how many billions of dollars will be burned in this conflict by the U.S., irrespective of what people at the European Union believe they should do to support Kyiv, to assist U.S. We will prevail there, no doubt.
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PLEITGEN: After the Biden administration allowed Ukraine to use longer distance U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia, the Russians responded, hitting central Ukraine with an experimental intermediate range ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
And Moscow continuing to showcase its nuclear power with navy drills featuring sea and ground-launched missiles designed to carry nukes.
Do you think that right now, as far as escalation is concerned, are we in a more precarious place than, for instance during the Cuban missile crisis?
RYABKOV: We have no comparison. We have no roadmaps. We have no routines. We have no culture of how to manage this type of situation. And absence of common sense in many places, absence of sober analysis in different offices in the West is so alarming.
PLEITGEN: The Russians now waiting for the Trump administration to take office. Trump saying he wants to end the war in Ukraine ASAP.
At an event in Moscow, Vladimir Putin once again praising the president-elect. "Mr. Trump is a person who does not need advice or recommendations," he says. Do you think that the Trump administration will follow through on its pledge or Donald Trump will follow through on his pledge to try and solve the crisis as fast as possible.
RYABKOV: please make no mistake, not at the expense of what are the basic elements of our national position.
PLEITGEN: Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Trump's embattled pick for U.S. Defense secretary is vowing to fight on despite growing controversy over a series of misconduct allegations.
Pete Hegseth was on Capitol Hill Wednesday for meetings with Republican leaders.
CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are a number of Republican senators who simply will not say if they will support Pete Hegseth nomination for secretary of defense because of all the misconduct allegations that have come out in the past, as well as questions about whether he can actually do the job.
One of the people who is most skeptical about him right now is the Republican Senator Joni Ernst. She is someone who is pointedly undecided about whether she will get on board, and could actually vote for his nomination.
She's actually someone who has endured sexual assault herself, a victim of sexual assault, and has tried to push to change the practices of how the Pentagon deals with these sexual assault claims.
Now Hegseth, of course, has been accused of sexual assault. He's denied those allegations, but leaving a meeting with him for about 45 minutes on Wednesday afternoon, she refused to say if she would support him for the position.
She only said she had a thorough conversation and a frank conversation with him. Really would not say anything else when I asked her if she would vote for him.
Now, there have also been questions about some of these allegations of misconduct, including excessive drinking on the job. He has denied that, but he did tell senators including Senator Roger Wicker, who is chair of the critical Senate Armed Services Committee that would take up his nomination, that if he's confirmed, he would no longer drink.
You told me earlier that he said that he would not drink on the job. Well, how did that come up in --
SENATOR ROGER WICKER (R-MI): Well, Really I normally don't discuss what we have talked about specifically, but you know, the allegation was made about him being intoxicated several times.
And so the questions that every member will be asking him led to this statement.
RAJU: And he categorically said he would stop drinking altogether if he becomes secretary of Defense. What do you think of the whistleblower report?
WICKER: Well, I will say whatever the FBI investigation provides us, I assume it will be comprehensive.
RAJU: And the last part that Wicker was referring to was what was revealed in the "New Yorker" investigation that came out over the last couple of days, saying that there was a whistleblower investigation into his conduct when leading a veteran services organization several years ago.
And that whistleblower report, as you heard there from Senator Wicker, he believes that the committee will see some form of that, whether it's the report itself or he says, through an FBI investigation, that a lot of Republicans and Democrats are demanding before they would consider voting for him.
Manu Raju, CNN -- Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now Hegseth's defenders are closing ranks in an attempt to fend off this controversy. His attorney spoke with CNN and insisted some aspects of the media reporting have been exaggerated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM PARLATORE, PETE HEGSETH'S ATTORNEY: After these events, they oftentimes do get together for an after-party and that part of it is true.
But the rest of it is not. And that's where the best lies come in is you take something that is true, and then you add additional facts to try and make it more nefarious than it is.
[01:39:46]
PARLATORE: And so all of these claims of what he allegedly did during these afterparties and, you know, the alcohol-fueled environment is really exaggerations on something that actually did happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, in addition to what you just heard there, Hegseth's mother went on Fox News Wednesday. She said she regrets sending a 2018 email to her son, accusing him of mistreating women, which "The New York Times" recently reported on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PENELOPE HEGSETH, MOTHER OF PETE HEGSETH: I wrote that out of love and about two hours later I retracted it with an apology Email but nobody's seen that. He's a changed man, and I just hope people will get to know who Pete is today. Especially our dear female senators that you would listen to him, listen with your heart to the truth of Pete.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now there are reports that the president-elect is considering other options to lead the Pentagon. Sources say the top contenders are Iowa Senator Joni Ernst a former military officer, Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who appears to be back in Trump's good graces after their contentious primary battle.
Here's Brian Todd on that.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At a Florida memorial service for fallen law enforcement officers, a symbolic and important moment. Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis appearing together for the first time since their rancorous contest in the primaries ended early this year.
DeSantis appears to be back in Trump's good graces, as Trump considers swapping out his current Defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth for DeSantis. And DeSantis, according to sources close to him is interested.
MARC CAPUTO, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE BULWARK: Some people have compared Donald Trump's world to a professional wrestling or telenovela or soap opera. You have characters who come in and out, they fight with each other, they reconcile.
TODD: And that's how the Trump-DeSantis drama has played out. The 46- year-old governor first ingratiated himself with the then-president by publicly slamming the Russia probe during Trump's first term, when DeSantis was an obscure congressman.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): There's not been evidence of collusion with Trump's campaign.
TODD: When DeSantis ran for governor in 2018, he appealed to Trump's base with a clever campaign ad, reading and playing with his children.
DESANTIS: Build the wall.
Then Mr. Trump said, "You're fired".
I love that part.
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: And it really kind of, you know this bromance between Trump and DeSantis was born.
TODD: Trump's endorsement of DeSantis gubernatorial bid, many believe, sealed his victory. CAPUTO: No, Donald Trump endorsement for Ron DeSantis almost no way he
would have won that Republican primary. When he says that he made Ron DeSantis, that's not an exaggeration. That's a reality.
TODD: Then came a DeSantis announcement that Trump predictably saw as a betrayal.
KUCINICH: The fact that DeSantis decided to run against Donald Trump for president really did not endear him to the now president-elect. And you saw how nasty that was for a while.
TODD: Trump came up with a catchy, insulting nickname for the governor.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ron DeSantis. Did anyone ever hear of DeSantis -- de-sanctimonious -- DeSantis?
TODD: At one point, a pro-Trump group produced an ad mocking DeSantis over a news report that DeSantis had been seen eating pudding with his fingers on a plane flight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell Ron DeSantis to keep his pudding fingers off our money. And somebody get this man a spoon.
TODD: And DeSantis hit Trump where it hurt.
DESANTIS: I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just -- I can't speak to that.
TODD: And in a town hall hosted by Wolf Blitzer if Donald Trump is the nominee, the election will revolve around all these legal issues, his trials, perhaps convictions if he goes to trial and loses there. And about things like January 6th.
We're going to lose.
TODD: If Ron DeSantis is brought into the Trump administration, he'll have to navigate a tricky relationship with Trump's incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who used to work for DeSantis and was pushed out of DeSantis' circle in a bitter internal political fight.
When DeSantis exited the presidential race in January of this year, Wiles posted a two-word message to him on x "Bye-bye".
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: NEWTON: Bitcoin's value, you see it there, has smashed through the $100,000 mark for the first time as president-elect Trump named key crypto advocates to his new administration.
Now notably, they do now include Paul Atkins, whom Trump intends to nominate as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC is responsible for regulating cryptocurrencies, among other things. Now, bitcoin has been surging in value since Trump's election victory in November. Overall, bitcoin is up, wait for it, 130 percent so far this year.
Coming up, a small taste of freedom for a Nobel Peace Prize winner imprisoned in Iran. Why officials are giving Narges Mohammadi a reprieve and why her family says it's too late -- too little too late.
[01:44:46]
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NEWTON: Iran is now one step closer to toughening its already harsh modesty laws. The hardline Iranian parliament adopted the new chastity and hijab bill earlier this week. It would significantly tighten existing clothing restrictions with new penalties for violations that include fines and potentially prison sentences.
For women this includes banning tight outfits and wearing the hijab incorrectly. For men it bans any exposure above the chest and above the knees, as well as the shoulders. It now goes to Iran's president for his signature.
While he has voiced opposition to the bill and calls it vague, he acknowledged he has to implement it to ensure harmony in society.
Now a woman well known for her fierce defense of human rights in Iran has been allowed to temporarily leave prison as she fights a possible bout with cancer. But her family argues her release did not come soon enough.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A brief reprieve from Tehran's notorious Evin Prison. Iran's most prominent human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi released for 21 days to recover from a serious surgery.
The 52-year-old is in excruciating pain after a piece of her bone from her right leg was removed due to cancer fears.
It is too little too late, her family says. But even as she departed jail by ambulance, she remained defiant, her son told reporters.
"When she left Evin Prison she left without the obligatory hijab and with only one phrase on her lips -- women, life, freedom," he says.
Mohammadi has been punished time and time again for her activism. She is serving multiple sentences totaling more than 30 years.
She stands accused of violating national security and spreading lies against the Islamic Republic. Her punishment, she says, for defending political prisoners and standing up for women and girls. Her temporary release comes as one of her longstanding battles
opposing the mandatory hijab is yet again in the headlines. Iran's parliament recently passed a bill that significantly tightens existing dress restrictions and imposes harsher punishments on any seen to violate the new so-called chastity and hijab law.
Iran's president, elected last year on a reformist platform, warned it could foster discontent.
MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): from an enforcement perspective, the hijab law, which I am required to implement, is vague. We should not do anything to disturb the harmony and empathy of society.
[01:49:48]
ABDELAZIZ: His fears of unrest stem from an anti-government movement sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly.
Anger quickly spread and fueled nationwide demonstrations while authorities scrambled to crush dissent with brute force.
From behind bars Mohammadi joined the chorus of voices on her nation's streets by organizing protests inside Evin Prison.
She sent CNN this recording last year of female prisoners chanting anti-government slogans. Her decades' long struggle for freedom earned her the Nobel Peace Prize last year but it has come at the cost of her own freedom and health.
And as her family scrambles to get her the medical attention she needs in the limited window given, the tireless work to campaign for her full and unconditional freedom continues.
Salma Abdelaziz, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now the woman who stowed away on a flight from New York to Paris is back in the United States.
Coming up, details of the federal charges, she's expected to face.
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The Russian woman who stowed away on a flight from New York to Paris will appear in court in the coming hours.
The FBI says 57-year-old Svetlana Dali was arrested after being flown back to the U.S. on Wednesday. She is expected to face a federal charge of being a stowaway on a vessel or aircraft without consent, and could face up to five years in prison.
During the flight back to New York Dali seemed calm. One passenger told CNN they were informed of a holdup before boarding the flight, but was not told what was going on.
CNN's Polo Sandoval picks up the story from New York.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Delta stowaway is back in the U.S. where it started, touching down Wednesday night at New York's JFK Airport.
PATRICIA KOLEMAN, PASSENGER: We saw police and all kinds of officials waiting at the gate, which is something that you just never see.
SANDOVAL: Svetlana Dali, a U.S. permanent resident and Russian national escorted by French security officials on the flight back from Paris, seated in the middle of the last row as she listened to country music and walked around the cabin during the eight-hour flight with CNN on the plane as it flew to New York without incident.
It's a drastic change from the first attempt to return the 57-year-old to the U.S. on Saturday --
SVETLANA DALI, STOWAWAY: I don't want to go to United States.
SANDOVAL: -- when she caused this disturbance and was removed from the flight before takeoff. A second attempt to send her back on Tuesday ended when Delta refused to fly her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, that boarding pass is a completely different name.
SANDOVAL: TSA now confirms Dali bypassed ID checks without a boarding pass during the busy pre-Thanksgiving travel rush, and using a lane reserved for flight crews, then slipping into the regular screening lanes.
The agency says, while they did not check her documents, Dali and her bags were screened. A senior law enforcement official tells CNN Dali blended in with a large family boarding the Paris flight to get past the gate agents and onto the plane. She then hid in the lavatories in flight until she was discovered.
Why Dali is trying to get to France remains a mystery. According to records, she lives in Philadelphia and petitioned for asylum in France years ago but was denied.
[01:54:45]
SANDOVAL: A long list of questions and possible criminal charges meeting her today at JFK as investigators want to know more about how she bypassed layers of security, exposing vulnerabilities in one of the world's busiest international airports.
In their first statement since the original stowaway incident last week, Delta Airlines said that what it described as deviation from standard procedures is what allowed that stowaway to board that plane last week to Paris. They did not elaborate on what kind of deviation, only that they are addressing the matter. Meanwhile, on the federal front we do understand that Dali is expected to be charged with being a stowaway on a vessel or aircraft without consent, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison if she's convicted.
Polo Sandoval, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now switching gears here. Nicole Kidman and Selena Gomez, two of Hollywood's biggest stars, have been honored in the "Hollywood Reporter" Women in Entertainment Gala.
Now, Gomez was recognized for her role in amplifying underrepresented voices in the industry and had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SELENA GOMEZ, ACTRESS: I believe that young girls need to see themselves reflected in diverse roles, heroes, leaders, and complex characters.
When girls see women in empowered roles like I have, it inspires them to dream big and pursue their aspirations.
Today, we are now seeing more authentic, powerful stories about who we are, where we come from, and what we're capable of accomplishing.
we can all agree that were getting there, but we're not all the way done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Kidman meantime, received the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award given to trailblazers in the entertainment industry.
British artist Jasleen Kaur is the winner of the 2024 Turner Prize for Contemporary Art -- you see some of it there. Her latest exhibition uses this vintage car draped in a giant doily to celebrate the Scottish Sikh community.
Now, the Ford Escort is a nod to her father's first car in the U.K. and the fabric references the migration from former colonies to Britain's textile factories. The judges praised Kaur's work for her weaving together the personal, political and spiritual.
Now her art is currently on display at London's Tate Britain Gallery if you care to take a look. Pretty inspirational.
I want to thank you for watching. I'm Paula Newton.
CNN NEWSROOM continues with, speaking of inspirational, Rosemary Church, right after a break.
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