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Syria Regime May Fall In Days; Manhunt For Health Executive's Killer; Trump Returns To World Stage At Notre Dame Reopening In Paris; Trump Meets With Macron, Zelenskyy Ahead Of Notre Dame Reopening; Trump Meets With Macron As French Government In Turmoil; USDA Begins Testing Milk Supply To Track Bird Flu Cases; Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Grossed $2.6 Billion; Signs Of Relief From Freezing Temperatures As Rain Forecast To Soak The Southeast. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired December 07, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: At the gates. Tonight in Syria the U.S. believes the Bashar al-Assad regime could fall within days as rebel forces are quickly closing in on the capital city toppling statues and they say they are now, quote, "at the gates of Damascus." Where is President Assad tonight? We'll have a live report.

Grand reopening. President-elect Trump back on the world stage in Paris tonight at the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral five years after that catastrophic fire, engaging in high stakes meetings on the sidelines with Ukraine's Zelenskyy and France's Macron. We will take you there.

And the manhunt intensifies. With new evidence in hand tonight investigators are taking their search for a killer beyond New York City. Why police now believe he's left town and how has no one recognized him and come forward. We'll take you live to the suspect's last known location.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

DEAN: Good evening to you. I'm Jessica Dean.

We begin with breaking news tonight out of Syria where rebels may be on the verge of toppling President Bashar al-Assad's regime. The rebels keep pushing deeper south. They say they're now at the gates of Damascus. Of course, that's Syria's capital. And at this moment, conflicting reports about where President Assad actually is.

For more on all of this, CNN's Nic Robertson is joining us now live from London.

Nic, what is the latest?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Jessica. Sources I'm talking to are saying that rebels have essentially been looking for Assad in the capital. And he is not in the places that they would have expected him to be. This was not the sort of main bulk of their forces that we now see poised at the northern outskirts of Damascus, and we see rebel forces who've come from the south as well and some of the sort of southern suburbs.

Damascus is a really, really large city. You know, you can travel an hour to get to the -- really the far outside of it if the traffic is heavy. What we are seeing right now is the army deserting their posts, the police deserting their posts right around the capital, and the rebels converging on it. And these rebel elements that have already been inside essentially on reconnaissance efforts inside the capital are not seeing Assad, where they would expect him to see him or not seeing indications of him.

They don't know where he is. They say that they're searching for him. They don't know if he is in Damascus still, if he is somewhere else in the country, or even if he has left the country. They just don't have concrete information about it. But for sure, he's not in the places they would expect him to be, which really shows the signs here that Assad appears to recognize that his grip on power is loosening and potentially really here, you know, may have less than days in reality to have a grip on the country.

If Damascus wakes up tomorrow morning and finds rebels move from the outside into the center of the city, he effectively has lost control over the capital, and it will -- we don't know what he may keep under his control at this time.

DEAN: It is truly incredible. And just to watch how quickly this has all played out.

Nic, as President Trump is overseas tonight, he's also making his position known on what he believes the U.S. involvement in Syria should be. What is he saying?

ROBERTSON: Yes, it's pretty clear. Look, he's saying this is not the United States fight. The United States should stay out of it, that this is something just stand back and let them finish up there. The U.S. does have forces inside the very north west of Syria. They are backing and supporting and backed by a large, mostly Kurdish rebel faction there. The Syrian Democratic Forces.

This is an important component of the U.S., the United States' overseas efforts to contain and constrict and defeat ISIS and one of the important things, if you will, about that rebel group in the northwest of Syria that the United States supports, the large jails where there are hundreds, if not thousands of former ISIS fighters and their families that are being kept in those prisons essentially by these Kurdish groups that are supported by the United States.

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So President Trump making very clear he sees no role for the United States forces inside Syria at the moment. He's not talking here it appears diplomatically or politically. This is really about forces. And at the moment they are a long way from the action in the capital. But he's making it very clear they should have absolutely no part going forward in what's happening there.

DEAN: All right, Nic Robertson, with the very latest out of London, thank you so much for that.

And joining us now is the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. He was also the National Security adviser during Trump's first term.

Thanks so much for being here with us. I just want to get your reaction first to this stunning advance by rebel forces in Syria tonight.

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, it certainly looks like the combination of pressure from the north, but also from the south out of Daraa Province where over 12, 13 years ago, during the Arab Spring, the opposition to Assad really first manifested itself.

Look, in 2011, everybody said Assad was done for. And obviously he wasn't. It may well be this time his luck has run out. It certainly looks very grave. The real question, I think, is whether a combination of Russian and Iranian assistance can prop him up or whether we're coming face to face with some very significant questions about the future of Syria and indeed Iraq, whether they can maintain their territorial integrity, whether they're viable as states going forward, or just what the lay of the land will look like.

DEAN: Has this surprised you how quickly they have advanced, the rebel forces, and successfully?

BOLTON: Well, I think there's a lot we don't know. We don't know, for example, how much Turkey was involved in supplying logistics and intelligence and other aid to these rebels. Let's not forget another complication here are the neo-Ottomanist imperial ambitions of President Erdogan of Turkey.

But I think one thing we're seeing is the near collapse of Russian ability to do anything militarily drawn away from Syria by the war in Ukraine. What Russia's interest in Syria comes down to is its naval station at Tartus and its air base north of Tartus, and Latakia Province. If the Russians can make a deal with a new Syrian regime and keep those bases I don't think they care that much about Assad.

For Iran, it's very different. If Assad and his Alawite regime are replaced by Sunni Islamists, Iran is in deep trouble in its ability to support whatever is left of Hezbollah, whatever the Israelis haven't destroyed, and this whole opportunity for the rebels in Syria, we owe to Israel and we owe to Israel's destruction, ongoing destruction of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its ongoing dismemberment of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Middle East is definitely changing to Iran's detriment. But let's also be clear these Syrian rebels, by and large, are Islamists themselves. Many are al Qaeda ISIS fighters and a terrorist regime in Damascus is in lieu of the Assad regime is like potentially jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. The U.S. shouldn't get involved militarily but it is dead wrong to say we don't have real interest in the outcome of this fight. DEAN: Yes. So I want to ask you about that because as Nic was

reporting, President-elect Trump has been very clear he wants the U.S. to stay out of Syria, writing, quote, "This is not our fight. Let it play out."

It's very different from what Senator Lindsey Graham, for example, posted yesterday. He said that it's, quote, "imperative to reinforce American troops there." Who do you think is right?

BOLTON: Well, I think we cannot leave American troops at risk, that's for sure. They're largely concentrated, not in the northwest part where the rebels have come from, but in the northeast and have been a stabilizing force there and a real deterrent to Iran actively supporting Assad more widely within Syria and at the absolutely critical Al-Tanf enclave at the confluence of the Iraqi, Jordanian and Syrian borders.

You know, we've got to worry about Erdogan trying to extend Turkish control over much of northern Syria, that would not be good for stability in the region. We don't know whether Erdogan has spoken to Trump about this or not, but it's possible Syria will simply fragment, that Assad will retreat to the Alawite highlands north of Lebanon and that could become a mini-state. The rebels could take Damascus, the Syrian Defense Forces, the Kurdish forces could be left in charge of northwest Syria. This could contribute to the fragmentation of Iraq right next door.

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Things are really very unstable and therefore American forces at Al- Tanf in northeast Syria and Iraq needed to be provided with whatever protection is necessary given the breakdown of order, whatever order, minimal order, there was in Syria to begin with.

DEAN: Yes. And I do want to ask you a little more about that because I'm curious. Obviously this is still happening in real time. It's playing out before our very eyes. But how does the rebels' success begin to shift the dynamics in that region with Kurdish and Turkish backed forces in the north and Islamic State fighters kind of throughout the country?

BOLTON: Well, it depends on how much territory they take but certainly Israel was never happy with Assad, a pro-Iran regime to its north along the Golan Heights, and being used by Iran for 20 years, if not more, as a transit route to supply Hezbollah with weapons and ammunition and equipment to threaten Israel.

But a Sunni extremist regime in Damascus isn't any better for Israel in many respects, and it could lead to a resurgence of ISIS in Syria and in western Iraq, and pose a terrorist threat not just to Israel, but to the Gulf Arab states as well. This is something that's going to require very careful watching and I don't think there are many contingency plans available because I think the success of the rebels has caught pretty much everybody by surprise, including in Washington.

DEAN: And I want to ask you about Trump's pick for the director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, a former congresswoman. She met with President Assad back in 2017. Nearly 100 former National Security officials are urging a full review of our government, the U.S. government's files on Gabbard.

Are you concerned about her ties to the Syrian regime, her potential ties to Russia and what power she might hold if confirmed by the Senate?

BOLTON: Yes, I think she's totally unqualified to be DNI. And I think her positions put her beyond the outermost fringe of American politics. When she visited Assad in Syria, he was effectively a Russian-Iranian ally. And what she said about the Syria not being a direct threat to the United States, that was her justification for going, it's completely false.

The Syrians and their combination with Iran and Hezbollah have posed direct threats to Americans across the region. They certainly pose a direct threat to key American allies, Israel and Jordan. And it's going to be very interesting to see what the files that may be uncovered in the Syrian government if the rebels succeed in capturing Damascus, what they show about a number of Americans.

DEAN: Are you watching for that? That's kind of intriguing, I guess, is a word we could use.

BOLTON: Yes. Look, when there are dramatic changes of governments, new regime may well want to curry favor with the United States. I think we're in a very dangerous situation here. Not that anybody is going to mourn the passing of Assad, that's for sure, because it will mean a further weakening of Iran's position in the region, which is nothing but good news for the United States, Israel and friendly Arab states.

DEAN: I also want to ask you about President-elect Trump being in Paris tonight for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. He met French President Macron, Ukraine Zelenskyy earlier. Zelenskyy saying that meeting was good and productive.

What do you just generally make of the president-elect's return to the global stage, and how we're seeing him before he's even assumed office really taking center stage?

BOLTON: Well, I think it reflects the passivity of the Biden administration. I don't know what President Biden is doing this weekend. Apparently not too much. But let's be clear also President Macron, France is in deep political trouble. His government collapsed. His prime minister was given a vote of no confidence a few days ago. The shortest government in contemporary French history. Macron is deeply unpopular.

This coincidence of the restoration and reopening of Notre Dame, which is a great event for the French people and Western civilization frankly, Macron is trying to take advantage of -- for political purposes, and so is Donald Trump. So, you know, the band is back together again. We'll see what happens after January 20.

DEAN: Yes, it is interesting to see him, you know, meeting, shaking hands, hugging in some cases some of these leaders who are clearly trying to adapt to a new world order as it is with the American leadership.

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BOLTON: Yes, it's -- I think it is very different from other transitions in that respect. The rule is, in fact, we only have one government at a time. And normally the outgoing president continues to assert his authority and the incoming president is discreet so that foreign governments aren't confused about who's in charge before inauguration on January 20th. Well, that that norm is out the window, along with so many others.

And I just hope that our adversaries internationally don't get the wrong picture from this. Don't draw the wrong conclusion and try and take advantage because as weak as he's been, we still do have President Biden until January.

DEAN: Right. And lastly, I just want to ask you about another person that's there with Trump in France and that's Elon Musk, who we've seen, of course, by his side on the campaign trail and now in the transition, but also increasingly in the middle of a lot of these conversations with foreign leaders and in the conversations about foreign conflicts.

What do you make of that?

BOLTON: Well, you know, it's almost like Musk has become vice president. I don't know where J.D. Vance is on this trip, but Elon Musk, to this point, remains a private citizen and he has no governmental authority. He may have extraordinary influence over Donald Trump, but the rubber meets the road at noon on the 20th of January. Musk is going to have to decide which way to jump and at that point, I think people will have to make a judgment whether there's undue influence or anything else. But right now, look, these people are private citizens. Let's keep that in mind.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Ambassador John Bolton, we appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

BOLTON: Thank you.

DEAN: Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM tonight breaking news as the NYPD is expanding its investigation to the suspected killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. We're learning new information about evidence they have recovered from Central Park. Plus returning from ruin, world leaders, including President-elect Trump, gathering in Paris to celebrate a return five years in the making as the Notre Dame Cathedral reopens its doors after an incredibly destructive fire.

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DEAN: We do have breaking news this hour, as officials close to the investigation into the death of health care CEO Brian Thompson tell CNN there was no gun inside that backpack found in Central Park that is believed to have belonged to the shooter. This comes as we're learning New York City police detectives are now on the ground in Atlanta in connection to this investigation.

Joining us now live from the Manhattan bus station where that suspect was last seen is CNN national correspondent Gloria Pazmino.

Gloria, a lot of new details coming out about this just as the days go by, as the hours go by. What are you learning?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this last detail is extremely significant. The fact that they have now been inside that backpack. They have processed the evidence they found in it and they have not found a murder weapon. The only thing they found in this backpack, according to our John Miller, who has been speaking to sources briefed on this investigation was a Tommy Hilfiger jacket.

What does that mean? It might suggest that perhaps the suspect had changed or was prepared to change clothes as he was making his getaway. We know that from the moment he shot the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, he got on that bike. He rode through Central Park. Then he left the park, got on a cab, and came all the way up here to Washington Heights, to the bus terminal behind me, where police have video of him entering the terminal.

So police now working under the assumption that the suspect has left the city of New York. But now that they have found no murder weapon inside the backpack, we have just learned from my sources on the ground that NYPD divers are now in the lake inside Central Park. If you've ever been in Central Park, this is the iconic lake that's near the boathouse near the Bethesda Fountain. That very famous part of Central Park.

That's where NYPD divers are diving right now looking for more evidence. What exactly they are looking for? We are not sure of that detail just yet, but the fact that there was no gun found inside this backpack would suggest that they are wondering whether or not the subject -- the suspect I should say, got rid of the evidence in other parts of the park, which would explain the diving.

Now we do have some other evidence. The photo of the suspect, the DNA that was left behind on a water bottle that he purchased at a Starbucks near the crime scene, as well as the photo that has been widely circulated now, the photo where the suspect briefly brings down his mask and shows his face.

And as you mentioned at the beginning, we've also learned that NYPD officers are now in Atlanta working with local law enforcement there. That's where the bus that he took here to New York City originated from. So they are trying to put the pieces together. Now, there's a lot of evidence that they have to go through, a lot of hours of video surveillance that they have to look at in order to put together every single movement.

[16:25:03] But this last detail is very significant. One more detail about the backpack, in the past few days we have heard police talk about just how distinctive this backpack is. It's gray. It's very sort of square and large. Its distinctive when you watch the video and the photo. This is a backpack that's made by Peak Design and according to online searches, it retails for about $279. Police believe that is the backpack that the suspect was wearing.

But as I said, for now, no murder weapon recovered, a jacket inside that backpack and divers for the NYPD now in the lake of Central Park looking for more evidence.

DEAN: All right. More to come on this. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much for that reporting.

Five years after a massive fire tore through the Notre Dame in Paris, President-elect Trump is helping -- is among those helping celebrate the iconic building's rise from the ashes, as Trump himself returns to the world stage.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: The doors of the famous Notre Dame Cathedral officially opening for the first time since 2019, when a fire suddenly broke out, destroying that iconic Paris landmark in so many ways.

Today, dozens of world leaders, including President-Elect Donald Trump, gathered in the French capital to celebrate the reopening and the rebirth of the beloved 12th century cathedral.

CNN senior international correspondent, Melissa Bell, is in Paris with more on today's ceremony and the significance of Trump's return to the world stage.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, notwithstanding the terrible weather in Paris this Saturday night, this was a ceremony intended to speak not just to the many heads of state who had managed to get inside the cathedral for its grand opening but to the world once again five years ago, when it had burned down in 2019.

The fire here at Notre Dame had really caught the imagination of so many. The ceremony to reopen it, designed to speak to the world as well. There were no fewer than 340,000 individual donors from 150 different

countries to the restoration project of Notre Dame. And, in fact, tonight, what we saw we're the words "thank you," "merci" emblazoned in so many different languages on the front of the cathedral.

Inside, meanwhile, 50 heads of state, some of them European monarchies, Prince William inside, but also, of course, President- Elect Donald Trump. Dr. Jill Biden had accepted President Macron's invitation, as had President Zelenskyy.

And before this very moving ceremony could get underway, there had been these meetings at the Elysee Palace. Donald Trump meeting with Emmanuel Macron and President Zelenskyy for half an hour.

And what we understand are, according to the Ukrainian president, was a positive meeting.

It comes, of course, as a crucial time, with Emmanuel Macron trying to bring these two men together as the world looks ahead to a 2025 when it is expected the question will not be whether negotiations over peace in Ukraine begin but when -- Jessica?

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DEAN: All right. Melissa Bell for us in Paris. Thank you.

And joining us now to discuss this further, CNN reporter, Alayna Treene, who has covered President-Elect Trump's campaign and now the transition extensively.

And former foreign correspondent for "The New York Times" and Paris correspondent for CBS, David Andelman. He's also the author of "Andelman Unleashed" on Substack.

Great to have both of you here.

David, let's start, first, with you.

Tell us about the significance of this event at a time when we are seeing multiple world wars going on around the world, and as the U.S. prepares for the return of President-Elect Trump and his views of the world.

DAVID ANDELMAN, AUTHOR, "ANDELMAN UNLEASHED" & FORMER FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Well, you know, Jessica, I was in Paris when Notre Dame caught fire five years ago. For me and most of those who we're watching, it was Paris itself and its heart and its soul was burning.

I mean, this this is a building that goes back two centuries before Columbus discovered America. It's one of the greatest religious structures in the world.

So when Macron pledged that in five years it was going to be rebuilt most of us chalked it up to just another one of his promises that would never be kept. But it was. And today, this can only go down as one of his greatest triumphs. God

knows he needs one of those these days. And he tried to also sort of, you know, bootstrap that today with his meetings with Zelenskyy of Ukraine and Trump himself, of course.

DEAN: Yes. It is quite -- there's so many interesting dynamics at play here. You outlined some of them. Of course you have Macron and what's happening in French politics. We have what's happening globally.

And, Alayna, this was a ceremony that President-Elect Donald Trump was very keen on attending. And he goes and also meets with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy. He's there with Macron, of course.

Tell us how this all came together. And also this idea that he's not president yet, but he's certainly acting like one.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: He is. And he even toured some of these, you know, events. I mean, when he met with world leaders, even before the election, people were saying that he was, you know, kind of wheeling and dealing in a way that a candidate normally wouldn't.

He's definitely doing that now as the president-elect, even though he's not going to be sworn in until January 20th.

Look, you're absolutely right. When I talked to Donald Trump's team, they said, as soon as Trump received the invitation to go to this event, he told them that he wanted to attend, that he wanted to fly to Paris and engage in this.

Part of it, I'm told, is because he has long had this fascination with the Notre Dame, particularly, you know, the fire that ravaged it.

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I remember when he -- the fire happened when he was in office. He was on board Air Force One, tweeting about the fire and calling it "horrible."

And it's kind of been something that Donald Trump has talked about a lot. So that was part of it.

But the other part of it, of course, is this is a great opportunity for him. I mean, it's his first return to the world stage. His first overseas trip since the November 5th election.

A great opportunity to rub shoulders with many of these leaders, some of whom he has existing relationships with from his first term, others who he has not met yet.

And he also -- and I was given this impression as well from my conversations with Trump's team -- that they kind of expected there to be a lot of pageantry around this visit.

And you did see that when Donald Trump pulled up to the Elysee Palace and met with Macron. You saw the greeting. You kind of saw the way that they had laid it out. It was, you know, a lot of pomp and circumstance that Donald Trump likes and appreciates.

Now, as for these meetings specifically, this is such a crucial time. Yes. he's not president yet, but Donald Trump has a very different view of foreign policy than President Joe Biden.

He's much more populist. He takes the America First kind of attitude very seriously. And I think a lot of leaders have questions about what that means for the global stage.

Particularly as it relates, of course, to the war between Russia and Ukraine and whether or not Donald Trump is going to pull back aid or how he's going to go about kind of fulfilling his campaign promise to end the war swiftly if elected.

DEAN: Yes.

And, David, talk to us about Trump and Macrons relationship. They worked closely together during his first term. Sometimes it was described as a bromance. As you alluded to, Macron in a different political situation in this situation today.

What -- what can you tell us about the dynamic between these two?

ANDELMAN: Well, first of all, I was watching the -- the arrival and the departure. And, you know, they did that same, you know, sort of vise grip when they shook each others hands that they -- when they first met at NATO, people were talking about what, seven years ago, eight years ago. It was pretty funny. And this has repeated itself.

But, you know, I spent an hour last week with one of Macron's top counselors at the Elysee who told me that the two have gotten along famously.

But knowing Trump well, Macron really believes this is the time for Europe to come together and assume a real independence from someone who will likely prove to be, well, a somewhat unreliable ally.

He'd love to have the role again of Europe's Trump whisperer. I called him that, the Trump whisperer, during the early part of his -- Trump's first term.

But he also knows how fickle Trump can be. So, you know, Macron is rolling the dice on all of this. But in a way, so is Trump.

It's very interesting. When they went into the meeting, they had a certain sort of, if you will, expression on their faces.

When they came out, Philippe Ricard, who is the "Le Monde" Elysee correspondent was right there, and he said their faces looked a little more relaxed. I found that very interesting. That may very well be a tribute to Macron.

DEAN: What do you think that means? What did you read into that?

ANDELMAN: Well, I read into it. Macron had an interesting comment that he put online afterwards. He said, "Great nations can achieve the impossible. Let's continue

joint action for peace and security. I'm proud of the friendship between the U.S. and France. We have so many challenges to face together." And so on.

I think he is trying to use this as a moment when -- to see just how far, how far he can move Trump off of his first, shall we say, first term and his threats between the terms, actions towards Europe and France.

And Macron really wants to deal, despite all of his problems at home, wants very much to assume the leadership of Europe. With Angela Merkel gone and Germany and the Germans having so many problems, Italy has had so many problems.

The right wing is resurgent all across the continent, which he may not have fully appreciated until this weekend actually.

But -- but at any rate, you know, he really wants to see if he can become, again, still has that chance to become the leader of Europe, the Trump whisperer, and someone who can really bridge all of these different forces and bring it all together.

DEAN: Yes, it'll be something to watch.

David Andelman and Alayna Treene, our thanks to both of you.

ANDELMAN: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: And coming up, U.S. officials are showing their worry about the spread of bird flu spreading among cattle right ahead of the holiday season. What you need to know about this and how you can protect yourself if you're a big milk drinker.

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You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: With the holiday season well underway, a key ingredient in a lot of holiday desserts is raising some significant concerns. And that's dairy milk.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announcing it will begin testing raw milk from around the nation to better track bird flu cases, which have been spreading in dairy cattle.

Joining us now to run the numbers about raw milk -- didn't think I'd say that sentence, Harry -- as well as Taylor Swift's Eras tour coming to an end. He can do it all, folks -- is senior data reporter, Harry Enten.

OK, Harry, let's start first with raw milk. Are Americans aware of the dangers of raw milk? Because that's different than your typical pasteurized milk. HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, it definitely is. And you

know, sometimes when we run these numbers, I'm always or at least sometimes I'm at least a little bit surprised here, you know?

Is raw or pasteurized milk safer? The answer, of course, is pasteurized. But look at this. It's only a plurality at 47 percent who say it's pasteurized, 15 percent equally safe. That's wrong.

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And 9 percent say raw. I don't really understand that at all. And then you get this huge chunk down here, 30 percent who are unsure.

Folks, it's pasteurized milk. It's pasteurized milk that is safer. Let that be a lesson.

My mother is a pediatrician. She passed some smarts on to me. It's pasteurized milk that's safer. The plurality say it, but it should be the vast majority -- Jessica?

DEAN: Yes, yes.

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: That's something I hope everyone takes away.

OK. But also, how many people actually have raw milk or drink raw milk?

ENTEN: Yes. OK, there are two different ways we can sort of look at this. All right. Let's take a look at perhaps what I thought was a surprising stat, which is four million adults drink raw milk weekly. That seems like a lot of people. That seems like a lot of people.

How about 11 million at least once a year? That's a ton of people, it seems like.

But I want to put this in perspective. And this is Tim Carter, your E.P.'s idea. Put this in perspective. Because the bottom line is you can get Americans to basically believe or have a habit to do anything.

All right. So we talked about that 11 million, right, who drink raw milk yearly. Well, 26 million Americans, according to polls, think that the earth is flat. And then there's 31 -- there's 31 million, 31 million who think we faked the moon landing.

So, yes, there are a lot of people who drink raw milk at least yearly. But there are a lot of people who believe a lot of silly things as well -- Jessica?

DEAN: Yes, and just to remind everybody, raw milk, obviously is raw. And then pasteurization kills any sort of pathogen that might be floating around.

ENTEN: Yes. Yes.

DEAN: OK. Now that we've covered that, let's take a hard turn to Taylor Swift and the Eras tour, which is coming to a close.

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: And it has been monstrously profitable.

ENTEN: Oh, it absolutely is. And, you know, I have a studio audience here with me. I got the girlfriend as well as the girlfriend's sister, Brooke, who's off on the side here. She is one of the biggest Taylor Swift fans in the entire world.

So I had to do this, Jessica. I just had to do it.

All right? I mean, look at this. How many tickets were sold? 11 million, 11 million were sold. Look at the gross here, $2.6 billion off of the tickets alone. My goodness gracious. I wish I could get a little bit of this $2.6 billion.

But the bottom line is she was massively successful. So, yes, no kidding. A lot of money grossed from all those tickets being sold -- Jessica?

DEAN: It is incredible. And what I remember were all the stories about the various local economies that also got boosts from the tour coming to town.

ENTEN: Oh yes. So, you know, you just talk about the tour and the tickets, but talk about the tour just generally speaking, accounting for travel, merch, et cetera. Look at this. Look at this.

Oh, I don't have it there. Let me get my pen. There we go. $5 billion for the global economy. Holy Toledo. Taylor Swift massively successful. And the economy in general benefiting from it because of fans like myself and fans like Brooke, who's over on the side there.

DEAN: Right.

ENTEN: Hi, Brooke.

DEAN: Hi, Brooke. Thanks for stopping by.

And thanks for stopping by, Harry Enten. We appreciate you.

ENTEN: Thank you.

DEAN: Coming up, we're going to go back to our breaking news. Is the Syrian regime on the verge of collapse? And where is President Assad tonight? We're going to have new reporting for you. That's coming up.

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DEAN: Finally, some relief from this bitter cold as the Arctic air lifts out of parts of the country. But rain will come with the warmer temperatures, possibly flooding.

Let's bring in Elisa Raffa now, who is in the Weather Center with more on this.

And, Elisa, I know people probably glad that this really cold weather is going to go away, but what's behind it?

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, some relief from the cold, but coming with some soaking wet rain, especially for the Gulf Coast.

We've got temperatures right now near 60 degrees in Atlanta, St. Louis, Little Rock as temperatures start to head on the other side of average. We've had temperatures about 10 to 15 to 20 degrees warmer than they we're this time yesterday.

That's because that Arctic air is getting pushed back up to the north, and some warmer air is coming in. And that will get these temperatures to really again recover.

Especially going into tomorrow, we're looking at highs in the 50s and 60s for a lot of the east coast here. About five to 10 degrees above average some places almost 20 degrees above average.

Same thing on Monday. Look at these temperatures. Still on the warm side of things and above average for this time of year.

But it comes with the rain. You're looking at temperatures in the 70s in New Orleans above average. But some soaking wet rain by Monday and Tuesday over the same spots. That could cause some flooding problems where we have that flood risk on Sunday from the gulf coast up towards Nashville.

You could see Monday, Tuesday some of the same places as well where we've got that slight risk, that level two out of four.

Because the problem is, is we could see two inches of rainfall in just an hour. A lot of these soils are already saturated so that could cause some flooding concerns.

The storm is pretty slow. It's pretty far south. So it's going to tap into moisture of the gulf, in the Gulf of Mexico and that will let the rain kind of just keep coming down. And again, could come down a lot in just a little bit of time.

Notice it doesn't really move much Sunday going into Monday and Tuesday. Some of the same areas still getting rain on those saturated soils.

So that's why we're worried about some of that localized flash flooding that can happen if you happen to get some of that heavy rain just over the same areas.

Overall, we're looking at maybe some two to four inches of rain. Some places could see up to five. So a wet coming in but at least not quite as cold.

DEAN: All right. Elisa Raffa, in the Weather Center for us, thanks so much. Breaking news as the man -- manhunt for whoever shot and killed a

health insurance CEO in New York reaches its fourth day. Police are searching one of the last places the gunman was seen. We'll have more on this.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[16:55:01]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

DEAN: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.