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CEO Shooting Suspect Fighting Extradition; Israel Strikes Syria 480 Times, Accused of Land Grab; Syrians Reflect on Loss of Loved Ones Under Assad Regime; Trump Cabinet Nominees Picking Up Support on Capitol Hill; Intense Wildfire Forces California Residents to Flee Homes; Authorities Angry Over Online Support for Suspect; Future of Russia-Syria Ties Uncertain after Assad's Fall; Hong Kong Children Learn about Nature & Environment; Japanese Students Make Chairs & Soap from Bamboo; Beijing Students Look to Sailboats to Cut Carbon Emissions; Seoul Students Learn Sustainable Korean Recipes; Saudi Arabia Gets 2034 World Cup Despite Human Rights Concerns. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired December 11, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:22]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome. I'm Lynda Kincaid.
Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUIGI MANGIONE, SHOOTING SUSPECT: Insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The suspect in the killing of healthcare CEO lashes out at court and is fighting extradition to New York.
Israel unleashes airstrikes on Syria as rebels install an interim leader. And its "Call to Earth Day" here on CNN. We're looking across generations for ideas in the fight for a healthier planet.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: The suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is fighting extradition from Pennsylvania to New York, where he faces second-degree murder charges. 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was in court on Tuesday. His attorney says he had to tell Mangione to be quiet during his hearing after his outburst on the way to court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANGIONE: It's completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people and their lived experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: A law enforcement source tells CNN that police are looking at a notebook that includes a to-do list for the shooting and notes justifying the plans.
Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania Monday after a customer recognized him and his employee called authorities. Police say the suspect had a black 3-D printed pistol and silencer with him. They also say they have a three-page handwritten claim of responsibility. New York police say Mangione had suffered a back injury back in July of 2023. Investigators are looking into whether that may have played a role in the shooting.
The "New York Times" reports Mangione was the subject of a missing person's report filed by his mother in San Francisco back in November. While his extradition battle plays out, Mangione will be held at a state prison in Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS DICKEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, what happened today is he could have -- there was an extradition proceeding. We did not, N-O-T, add that on there. OK. Because if you're reporting that earlier that we did, that did not happen. We did not waive extradition. We are contesting extradition. We are going to fight this along the rules and with the constitutional protections that my client has. And that's what we're going to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: For more now on the suspect, his well-to-do family and what former classmates are saying from CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a suburban Baltimore community, people who know the family of alleged shooter Luigi Mangione are struggling to come to grips with what the 26-year-old is accused of. They believe his family is traumatized as well.
THOMAS MARONICK JR., FORMER RADIO HOST FOR MANGIONE FAMILY-OWNED STATION: They're shocked, that's what they said in their statement. They're horrified.
TODD: Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, comes from a background of wealth and influence. He grew up in an affluent Baltimore family whose local real estate empire included nursing homes and two country clubs, attending the exclusive Gilman School near Baltimore, becoming valedictorian of his class in 2016.
MANGIONE: Thank you for all the time and love you put into our lives.
TODD: On Tuesday, about 150 miles away, a much different picture, in handcuffs, under arrest and charged in a brazen murder, seen yelling and struggling with police as he was taken into court.
MANGIONE: And an insult to the intelligence of the American people.
TODD: Tom Meronek Jr. worked for the Mangiones for over 20 years as a radio host at their family owned station, WCBM. He says the suspect's family has enormous influence in the Baltimore area.
MARONICK: They carry a lot of weight. Mangione family is one of the prominent families of Baltimore County. They own a lot of real estate. They own golf courses. They're just a very well respected name.
TODD: A family that includes Nino Mangione, a Republican state delegate in Maryland who is the suspect's cousin. Luigi Mangione attended the University of Pennsylvania where he graduated in 2020 with Masters and Bachelor's degrees in computer science. He was a member of the Phi Beta Psi fraternity, social media photos show. He later worked as a software engineer for the online car sales company TrueCar, according to his LinkedIn page. His most recent address was in Hawaii.
FREDDIE LEATHERBURY, FORMER CLASSMATE: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was nothing came off weird about him. He had great friends. He had a lot of female friends as well. He was a relatively unassuming kid. He was down to earth. He was smart, well-adjusted socially.
TODD: He maintained an active social media presence for years, posting smiling photos from his travels and gatherings with friends.
[00:05:01]
Then suddenly his social media went cold. Posts from X this past October show concern from friends. One says, quote, "Hey, are you OK? No one has heard from you in months and apparently your family is looking for you."
In recent years, Mangione suffered from back pain and underwent surgery for treatment. His injury grew worse after an accident at a surfing lesson in Hawaii. Details emerged from his former roommate, RJ Martin.
RJ MARTIN, FRIEND AND FORMER ROOMMATE OF LUIGI MANGIONE: He was in bed for about a week. We had to get a different bed for him that was more firm and I know it was really traumatic and difficult. You know, when you're in your early 20s and you can't, you know, do some basic things.
TODD (on-camera): Luigi Mangione was the subject of a missing person's report filed in San Francisco by his mother on November 18th, according to the "New York Times." CNN has reached out to the San Francisco Police Department. The NYPD says that Mangione did have ties to San Francisco, but the exact time that he was there is unclear.
Brian Todd, CNN, Cockeysville, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, joining me now from Los Angeles is attorney and legal affairs commentator Areva Martin. Areva, good to have you with us. So an image posted online shows a
back injury. Unclear whether he had any issues with insurance. Just take us through the charges and what investigators will be doing to build their case.
AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, what we know so far, Lynda, is that New York wants to charge him, Mangione that is, with second-degree murder, with criminally possessing a firearm, and also with making false statements about his identity. We also know that Mangione, through his attorney, is fighting extradition to New York. He is claiming -- the lawyer is claiming that there's not any evidence that links his client to the murder of the United CEO, Brian Thompson, and under criminal statutes and procedures, Mangione is entitled to a hearing and he can challenge the requested extradition from the state of New York.
We know that the governor, the governor of state of New York, Governor Hochul, has gotten involved, and she's going to be issuing a governor's warrant, that's being reported, to try to force this extradition. But Mangione nor his attorney are accepting these charges.
KINKADE: And so, yes, speaking to that point, the attorney claims that he has seen zero evidence his client is guilty. Just take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICKEY: What's nice about the law is we'll have a hearing. I can cross-examine witnesses and find out, look at reports and find out what they have and what they don't have. So they're going to have to at least prove a prima facie case, which is less than the beyond a reasonable doubt. But I need to see these things. Right now I have one piece of paper.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: So, Areva, he obviously needs to shed doubt on this case. How will he do that?
MARTIN: Well, he said he wants to cross-examine the witnesses and the primary witnesses in this case are going to be those law enforcement agents who, you know, investigated this case, those that arrested Mangione. We were told that he actually made an admission to this crime. Also, that when he was arrested, he had a three-page document that outlined the fact that he did commit this crime, that outlined several grievances that he had with UnitedHealthcare.
So not clear if there's going to be any witnesses that Mangione's attorney will call, but he will try to poke holes in the evidence of the prosecutors and the investigators.
KINKADE: And speaking of some of that evidence, Areva, the spiral notebook that was found in the suspect's backpack apparently had a note that said he wanted to kill the CEO at his own bean counting conference. I just want to play some sound of what his former class or his
roommate had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
R. MARTIN: I think that pain is something that can change our brain chemistry. You know, I think it's something that changes our thoughts. And I don't know because I don't have firsthand knowledge from him of how much pain he was in or what he was dealing with. But I do know, you know, from personal experience and from other friends and family that when somebody is suffering the way they think about themselves and the world gets warped drastically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: So, you know, he's speaking about his former roommate, who, of course, was a valedictorian from a well-to-do family. As far as I understand it, prosecutors don't have to look at a motivation, right, but there is a lot of interest in the why.
A. MARTIN: You're right, Lynda. In terms of establishing probable cause, which is what must be established for this extradition to occur, there isn't a requirement on the part of the prosecutors to establish that motive, but the motive is also inextricably tied to the opportunity and the means in this case. So we know that based on the evidence that's been gathered so far, Mangione did have some kind of serious injury.
And he was very upset, very angry with the UnitedHealthcare, not just UnitedHealthcare, we're hearing that he had a grievance with the entire U.S. health system, and that he saw himself somehow as a vigilante, avenging, you know, the rights or speaking up or taking matters in his own hands on behalf of individuals that have been wronged by the health care system.
[00:10:22]
But ultimately, it's going to come down to whether these investigators can tie him to this crime. The video evidence, any eyewitness evidence, the forensic evidence, any evidence related to the weapon that was used, that's the kind of evidence that will be presented at this hearing where the defendant in this case, Mangione, and his attorney, will have an opportunity to challenge that evidence.
KINKADE: And the suspect's solicitor has apparently been inundated with offers to pay for his client's case. How unusual is that?
A. MARTIN: It's really unusual and something very strange that's happening, Lynda, in this case. And he, Mangione that is, is becoming somewhat of a hero. There are many who believe that the U.S. health system is corrupt, and that it works to the disadvantage of many patients, many, you know, very ill people. And there are people online who are calling Mangione a hero for killing Brian Thompson.
And we know, at least I believe, that violence is never, ever acceptable and that Brian Thompson's family deserves justice. And if Mangione is in fact the person that killed him, he should be held criminally responsible and face the harshest penalty available to those who commit homicide.
But there are many who are applauding what he did and who, as you said, are offering to help him. Even though he's from a wealthy family people are making offers to pay his legal bills, which again, is rather unusual and in some ways reprehensible given the heinous nature of this crime.
KINKADE: Areva Martin in Los Angeles, always good to have you on the program. Thanks so much.
A. MARTIN: Thank you, Lynda.
KINKADE: I want to turn to Syria, where, as people celebrate the fall of the Assad regime, Israel is being accused of a land grab. Syrian rebels claim they've taken the city of Deir ez-Zur from the Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces. But an SDF source tells CNN the U.S. backed forces have withdrawn from only a part of the city.
The Israeli military says it has carried out nearly 500 strikes across the country in the past two days, hitting strategic weapons, stockpiles, as well as destroying the Syrian Navy fleet. A Syrian activist group says after seizing the demilitarized buffer zone near the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, Israeli forces have now advanced to a village just 16 miles from Damascus. CNN is unable to verify that claim. And now the Arab League is accusing Israel of executing a land grab in Syria.
The political transition appears to be underway in the country. Mohammad al-Bashir, a rebel linked government leader, has announced he's been named the caretaker prime minister for the next three months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMAD AL-BASHIR, CARETAKER SYRIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Today we held a cabinet meeting that included a team from the salvation government that was working in Idlib and its vicinity and the government of the Assad regime. This means that there will be a Syrian government that will handle these files and manage the business during a transitional period, God willing, that may end on March 1st.
The general command has tasked us with running the transitional government until March 1st, 2025.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, joining me now from Tel Aviv is Alon Pinkas, former Israeli consul general in New York.
Thanks so much for your time.
ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL: Good morning, Lynda. Good to be with you. KINKADE: So 480 times, that's about the number of strikes Israel
launched on Syria. The Israeli army destroyed the Syrian fleet. Why would Israel do that?
PINKAS: Ostensibly, Lynda, it's a precautionary and preventive step. There are fighting platforms. There are weapons depots or chemical weapons posts. And the biggest question that Israel is facing, as do others, but Israel in this case is, who will control Syria? Will it have a central, dependable, reliable government or will it cannot, so to speak, into four or five regions each held respectively by different organizations.
In order to prevent weapons systems falling into the wrong hands Israel initiated this military move. I honestly don't think that Israel wants to be overstretched in another front, and so I really can't see this being a permanent land grab preventive action.
KINKADE: Alon, Netanyahu claimed credit for the fact that Syria fell to the rebels. How much credit can he actually take?
[00:15:05]
PINKAS: Zero. He could have easily taken credit for the invasion of Normandy or the surrender of Japan in 1945. No, seriously, this is a guy who not only negotiated with the Syrians for many years, but since 2011 or 2012, the year after the civil war began, he tacitly stood behind Assad. He had the, you know, good justification for that policy. But to now claim that he masterminded the reshaping of the Middle East is a lot of nonsense that was directed -- I don't want to confuse the viewers, Lynda, here, because he yesterday testified for the first time in his criminal trial, indictments of bribery.
So in order to distract from that, he all of a sudden became the, you know, the landscaping genius of the Middle East. He deserves no credit.
KINKADE: Alon Pinkas, in Tel Aviv, we'll have to leave it there. Unfortunately the audio is not great. I thought it was just my feed, but it's apparently coming out to our viewers as well. Appreciate your time, as always. Thank you.
PINKAS: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, stories are now emerging of the horrors Syrians have endured under the Assad regime.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh talked to one woman whose loved ones disappeared in Syria's notorious prison system.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What's left of Daraya tells of the horrors that unfolded here. Every corner scarred by a ruthless regime's fight for survival. This Damascus suburb rose up peacefully, demanding freedom. More than a decade on, a shattered Daraya and its people are finally free. This was for our children, Unfiras (PH) tells me. It's so they don't
have to live under the tyrant's rule.
Her story of loss and pain so unfathomable for us, yet so common in this place that for years endured some of the most brutal tactics that the Assad regime besieged, starved and bombed into surrender.
Unfiras says they came out asking for freedom, and they were met with bullets and tanks. She says we're not terrorists. And they did this. And imagine, she says, there were women and children living in these homes.
(Voice-over): So many men like her husband Mazen (PH) detained and disappeared. Two years later, a released prisoner told her he saw him in jail.
They beat him so much his wounded leg was infected. He was in so much pain, she says. There was no medical care in prison and because of all he was going through, he lost his mind. The prisoner last saw him taken away, crying and screaming hysterically.
She went from one detention center to the next, searching for him until they broke the news to her in the most cruel of ways. They handed her his belongings and told her to register his death.
There are no words to describe how I was feeling when I left, she says. I was holding on to the hope he would be released and our family would be reunited. They didn't even give me his body.
This is the last photo she has of Mazen and his youngest boy. Ghaith (PH) doesn't remember his dad. Nur (PH) was 6 and so attached to his father. Every day he would wait by the door for him to come back.
When I would hear someone calling baba, dad, it was torment for me, Unfiras says. What did these children do to be deprived of their father?
She has to be strong for her boys, she says. She is all they have. Her father also disappeared into the black holes of Assad's jails. Like her husband, their only crime, she says, was being from Daraya.
She says, I'm just one of thousands and thousands of stories, and that's just in Daraya. And just imagine how many more there are across Syria.
(Voice-over): With the end of this dark chapter in their history, a new life, a new Syria emerges from the rubble of their broken lives.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Daraya, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, still to come, Israel's prime minister will testify for a second day in his ongoing corruption trial. We'll tell you what's at stake for Benjamin Netanyahu if he is convicted. Plus, a wildfire that's exploded in size is tearing through Malibu, California, forcing -- burning homes and forcing residents to flee. We'll have the latest on the conditions there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:21:52]
KINKADE: Chinese President Xi Jinping is warning that there will be no winners if the U.S. restarts a trade war. He made the remarks at a meeting with the heads of several global financial institutions one day after Chinese regulators announced an antitrust investigation into U.S. chip maker Nvidia. The warning comes just weeks before Donald Trump's return to the White House. He said last month that China will face higher tariffs on its goods by 10 percent above any current tariffs until Beijing prevents the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.
Well, Donald Trump's pick for Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has spent the past few days on Capitol Hill looking to sway any Senate Republicans still skeptical of his nomination. And now the odds of him getting confirmed seem to be improving.
Manu Raju has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pete Hegseth had a critical meeting with one swing Republican vote. That's Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, someone who often breaks ranks with her party leadership, someone who breaks ranks with Donald Trump, including voted to convict him in his second impeachment trial. Someone who has opposed the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to sit on the Supreme Court over his own sexual assault allegations which, of course, Kavanaugh also denied.
Here Murkowski met with Pete Hegseth. They had what she called a good exchange of ideas, but she refused to say if she would back him and went to lengths to try to avoid reporters' questions. She did respond to some, including mine, but would not say if she would vote for him on the Senate floor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): I had a good exchange with Mr. Hegseth.
RAJU: Are you ready to support him?
MURKOWSKI: I had a good exchange and we'll see what the process bears.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: But ultimately, Pete Hegseth can only afford to lose three Republican votes. The question is, are there more than three who could scuttle the nomination. At the moment no Republicans are opposing him, which is why Republicans are confident he can ultimately get there.
Now there are other controversial picks who Republicans believe are falling in line behind what Donald Trump wants, including replacing the FBI director, Christopher Wray, who's got three more years serving his 10-year term, replacing him with Kash Patel, someone who is a MAGA firebrand in line with Donald Trump's politics.
I caught up with Senator Lindsey Graham, who's a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and I asked him about Donald Trump's apparent threat to get rid of Christopher Wray, fire him from the job, and replace him with his pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Do you think that Wray should be fired?
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I think he should. I think it's pretty obvious he wants a new FBI director so.
RAJU: But would you be OK if he raised --
GRAHAM: Yes, I like Director Wray, but I think the big -- it's time for a fresh start at the FBI.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: So there is a belief that a lot of Republicans are falling in line behind, ultimately, what Donald Trump wants. But these confirmation hearings will take place early next year. They can be complicated. The process can be thorough. The vetting can be rigorous. And if allegations of past controversies come up, it can always lead to a problem for any given nominee. So a lot of questions still about if any of that will come up, particularly with Pete Hegseth.
But at the moment, Trump and his team are pretty confident that Trump will get his cabinet in place and his senior officials in place early next year.
[00:25:05]
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, people in Southern California are being forced to flee from a fast-moving wildfire that's burning homes and vehicles. The so- called Franklin Fire Malibu is so intense, it's altering the weather and making already extreme conditions even worse. About 18,000 people are under evacuation orders or warnings, including 98-year-old award winning actor Dick Van Dyke, who says he and his wife and pets were able to get out safely.
CNN's Veronica Miracle has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Malibu's scenic hills ablaze after a fast-moving wildfire exploded overnight.
LYNDA MICHEL, CARETAKER WHO FLED HOUSE SURROUNDED BY FIRE: From a one to 10, it was like a 15. Like scary. MIRACLE: The Franklin Fire tripling in size in just one hour. At one
point scorching the equivalent of five football fields every minute since it ignited late Monday evening, prompting evacuation orders.
MICHEL: Everything, all these mountains were covered in flames, just covered, like you took a crayon and just colored everything.
MIRACLE: Lynda Michel is a caretaker who lives on a property with horses in the evacuation zone. She says she awoke to a wall of flames surrounding the area and had to scramble to save the animals.
MICHEL: Woke everybody up, got everybody in the car. It was all -- nobody had time to get dressed. Everybody jumped in the car. I was like, get out of here. And then after that I must have had like 30 minutes to run around and try to get the horses. And we didn't know what we were going to do. Like, we could not leave them in the barn. Thank God we didn't leave them in the barn because the barn burned down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see the wind down there.
MIRACLE: The inferno fueled by dry conditions and Southern California's infamous Santa Ana winds, creating what fire officials call a, quote, "particularly dangerous" situation. Some wind gusts reaching 40 to 60 miles per hour. The flames destroying some homes and threatening businesses. Even the iconic Malibu Pier.
GABRIELLE SALGADO, PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: It has definitely been a stressful and very tiring night.
MIRACLE: Hundreds at nearby Pepperdine University had to shelter in place for hours in the campus library. Classes were canceled on Tuesday.
SALGADO: I called my friends, found whatever friends I had in the same residential hall as me, and I just packed a bag. We look out the window and you know the sky is red.
MIRACLE: Veronica Miracle, CNN, Malibu, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Still to come, why the future of Russian-Syrian relations remain uncertain after the collapse of the Assad regime.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us.
[00:30:08]
We're turning to our top story now. The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare's CEO is fighting extradition to New York. The suspect, Luigi Mangione, appeared at a hearing Tuesday in Pennsylvania, but had an outburst as he was being led inside the courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up.
LUIGI MANGIONE, SUSPECT IN KILLING OF BRIAN THOMPSON: And clearly out of touch and insult the intelligence of the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Afterward, his defense attorney says he told his client to be quiet while in court.
The judge denied bail to Mangione, who faces a second-degree murder charge in New York, as well as other charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested on Monday.
Well, since his arrest, Mangione has been garnering sympathy and support on social media, partly due to public discontent with the health insurance industry. But that online attention is angering authorities.
CNN's Jason Carroll reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This Ivy League hottie named Luigi is the Robin Hood that we never knew that we needed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I listened to Luigi's manifesto this morning three times, and I cried. Honestly, it's beautiful, and I agree with him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least he left a very powerful message, and he highlighted how terrible the healthcare system is in America. I think he'll go down as a hero in history.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He had been a named suspect for less than 48 hours, and yet within a fraction of that time, many in the world of social media had already made up their minds about Luigi Mangione.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just eating it up, because this is like regular, everyday person becoming our hero, our vigilante.
CARROLL (voice-over): These types of comments angering law enforcement and public officials.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: I don't care your views about healthcare companies, because I don't think they're great right now either. But you do not celebrate the assassination of another human being who was just doing his job.
CARROLL (voice-over): But interest in Mangione just continues to grow.
On X before his arrest announcement, he had just 64 followers. Now, more than 320,000 and counting.
His initial 827 followers on Instagram grew exponentially Monday as we watched. By 3 p.m., more than 32,000. An hour later, 53,000. By 5 p.m. Monday, more than 71,000 followers before that account was suspended. Many of the comments calling for his freedom and calling him a hero.
GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Hear me on this. He is no hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald's.
CARROLL (voice-over): That McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where a worker spotted the 26-year-old eating and called 911 Monday, targeted by Mangione supporters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What am I going to do? I'm going to stop eating at McDonald's.
CARROLL (voice-over): It got so bad Google had to remove reviews after that location was flooded with negative comments.
Someone hung a banner above I-83 with the words "Deny, Defend, Depose, Health Care 4 All," a reference to bullet casings left at the crime scene. Amazon pulled apparel and home goods featuring the phrase.
Online, Mangione may be a folk hero to some, but offline and in person, no shortage of those condemning him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Healthcare is a mess in this country, but to celebrate somebody's death is sickening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people in these higher positions, like CEOs, they need to look at themselves and their company and ask themselves, why are people so ready to condemn us? Why are they so willing to call someone who supposedly killed another human being a hero?
CARROLL (voice-over): Well, some suspect support for Mangione is not all about rage against healthcare, but instead something far more subjective and superficial.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the halo effect, like, manifesting in real society.
CARROLL: You really think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I truly believe so. Like, people treat people who are attractive, like, way differently.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are, like, giving him leeway with this, because they are fantasizing him a little bit. But I don't think violence should ever be the answer, no matter the circumstance.
CARROLL: What this could end up being is a case that just captures the attention of the American public for a period of time.
I mean, you look at what's happening on eBay, where you can find merch related to the case being sold. And the hashtag "#FreeLuigiMangione" has been steadily trending on X.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE; The future of Russia's longtime ties with Syria is uncertain after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Moscow had always played a key role in shoring up the government in Damascus and has military bases in the country, but the Kremlin acknowledges the challenges it may now face in holding onto them under a new government.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHANTING)
[00:35:00]
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Syrians embark on a new era after ousting longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad, Russia fears the era of its massive military footprint in Syria could be coming to an end.
The former commander of Russian forces in Syria, and now member of Parliament, is already warning Russia's leadership not to make concessions.
"Any gesture of goodwill in the Middle East is perceived as weakness. Weakness is unacceptable," he says.
"What should be done in this situation?" he's asked.
"Talk from a position of strength," he answers.
But how much power does Russia still hold in Syria? Kremlin-controlled TV strategizes over what might come next, with maps showing Russia's bases in Syria. A guest acknowledges Moscow was caught off-guard. Again.
"Thinking about how it all happened in Syria, reminds me about how it all happened in Ukraine in 2014," he says. "I want to highlight one universal lesson for world powers. Don't take wishful thinking for reality. When a power is crumbling in days and can't protect itself, this is a verdict."
For years, it was the Russian military that kept the Assad regime afloat. Russia's air force pounding rebel groups, its navy firing cruise missiles at ISIS militants in Eastern Syria. In return, Assad gave Moscow a 49-year lease on both its main air base near Latakia and a military port in Tartus, allowing Vladimir Putin to project power throughout the Middle East.
PLEITGEN: The fact that Russia has its military assets in Syria also makes Moscow a key player in the Middle East. But now the Russians acknowledge that that status is in jeopardy.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Once a key ally for the Russian leader, Putin now allowed Assad and some of his family members to flee to Moscow, a decision folks in Moscow told us they support.
"We don't abandon our men," he says. "He is our man. It was the right decision. He has nowhere to go. He would have been killed."
But even here, Syrians living in Russia telling me they're happy Assad's been ousted.
"We will be able to live in calm and peace and be able to safely visit our country," he says. "We don't have to worry that someone can throw us in prison, because they don't like what we said. We're happy that the dictatorship is over."
Moscow hopes the end of Assad's rule will not spell the end of its military engagement in the Middle East, while acknowledging it's still too early to predict.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, in just a few hours, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take the stand for a second day to push back against what he calls baseless accusations in a sweeping corruption trial.
Netanyahu is the first sitting Israeli prime minister to face criminal charges. He was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, all of which he denies.
Protesters gathered outside the courthouse demanding accountability, but the prime minister also had supporters in the crowd.
The judges have ruled that Netanyahu must testify three times a week.
Well, still to come, students around the world take action for Call to Earth Day. We'll see how classmates in Japan are using sustainable resources like bamboo to make furniture and soap.
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[00:40:43]
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Now to our Call to Earth coverage. Thousands of students around the globe engaging in a day of action to help save the planet they're inheriting.
We have correspondents filing reports from around the world, including in Nagano, Japan; Nairobi, Kenya; and the Coral Gables in Florida.
Our theme this year is Connected Generations. We'll be looking to the wisdom of our ancestors for sustainable living practices and how we can use them in our daily lives.
I want to turn to Hong Kong, where students at the Peak School are learning about nature and planting trees. Our Kristie Lu Stout is meeting several of the students.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Here in Hong Kong, one of dozens of schools across the region marking Call to Earth Day, a day of action to better protect the environment.
This year, the theme is "Connected Generations." How can we learn from the past to better protect the planet for generations to come?
And the community here at the Peak School is all in. The students, the teachers, they've been tending to native plants, tending to native bees, participating in group discussions, and also writing letters to the next generation.
And joining me now is a couple of letter writers. Hey, Carson, you've got a letter that you're writing to the next generation. Can you read it out to me?
CARSON, STUDENT: I really hope you are continuing to plant more plants and clean more beaches. And I really hope you stop polluting and cutting trees. I hope you start to use solar power. Solar power, buses, ships, cars and airplanes.
STOUT: Those are really powerful wishes for the next generation. Thank you, Carson.
And Alyssa (ph), what do you have in your letter?
ALYSSA (ph), STUDENT: I really hope that you're continuing to compost banana peels. I really hope that you stopped to buy single-use plastics. I hope you've done what you said and started to use solar panels.
STOUT: These are fantastic, powerful messages.
And we have a final message from all the students here at Peak School. Come on up. We want to wish you, from Hong Kong Peak School, a happy Call to Earth Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Call to Earth Day!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call to Earth Day!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Call to Earth Day!
STOUT: Signing off from Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Our thanks to Kristie there. Fantastic work by those students. Well, in Japan, some bamboo forests have become abandoned and
overgrown. Our Hanako Montgomery went to Nagano to see how students are using the bamboo to create eco-friendly products.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now, I'm in central Japan's Nagano prefecture at Sarashina Agricultural High School, and the students here have been teaching me about a problem that's affecting the entire country. Abandoned bamboo forests.
Now, bamboo is a very important plant to Japanese culture, but because of rural depopulation, a shrinking workforce, and also other materials that are cheaper and easier to produce, like plastic and concrete emerging, we're seeing more and more of these forests getting abandoned.
But left untended, bamboo can actually be very destructive, invading surrounding environments and attacking and killing other plants.
So, the students here, recognizing this as an issue within their own local community, decided to find --
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): -- new and sustainable ways to put this plant to use to make sure that it doesn't go to waste.
They took us to an abandoned bamboo forest, where we got to see firsthand how they processed this material.
The first step is, of course, to cut down the bamboo shoots, and they use chainsaws and also very sharp knives, of course, always attended by -- by a teacher.
And then the second step is they put this material through a machine that makes bamboo powder. This material is then later used in other materials.
Now the third and final step is they burn the bamboo to make bamboo charcoal.
Now back in the classroom, I want to show you how these students are using the materials they produced and processed to make entirely new products right now.
Hi, Kiransai (ph). Can I just ask you, what are you working on today?
KIRANSAI (PH), STUDENT: We make bamboo chairs.
MONTGOMERY: You're making bamboo chairs? Well, they look very comfy. Thank you so much.
And now back here, I just want to show you. They are making liquid soap using bamboo charcoal. And these students tell me that bamboo charcoal has antibacterial properties. And because there are no added chemicals in this soap, it's actually very good for your skin.
[00:45:03]
Unfortunately, they don't sell this bamboo soap, so I can't bring any home.
But again, you can tell that these kids are using really creative ways to come up with new and interesting ways to put bamboo, a plant that's been used for thousands of years in Japan, to use so that it's still relevant today.
Thank you so much, everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yay!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yay!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yay!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Nice work there. Hanako Montgomery reporting from Nagano, Japan.
Well, we're going to go to Beijing next, where our Steven Jiang is talking to students who are learning about the ways to cut carbon emissions using wind power.
And Steven, we've been hearing that the students have been studying cargo ships. What are they teaching you?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Lynda, it's more like what they haven't taught me.
This is just such a smart bunch. They're year six students at the British School of Beijing, Sanlitun. Ten, 11 years old, from many different countries.
But studying here, living here has taught them, no matter where you are these days, almost everything you use is made here in China before being shipped to different parts of the world.
So, they -- they've even made a map to illustrate these very busy shipping lanes. Shiashe (ph), but that's not necessarily a good thing for the environment, right?
SHIASHE (ph), STUDENT: No, it's not. International shipping is 3.3 percent of carbon emissions.
JIANG: Right. But Gao Shin (Ph), you were telling me earlier that you've also learned, back in ancient times, China was also a maritime power. But the boats back then, not powered by fossil fuels.
GAO SHIN (ph), STUDENT: We've been looking at how we can use technology from the past to save our future.
JIANG: What have you guys come up with?
SHIASHE (ph): By retrofitting sails, container ships, you can use renewable energy to power them.
JIANG: I think Donna, your classmate, is very eager to showcase some of these model sails you have made.
DONNA (ph), STUDENT: Yes. We have made different types of sails to see which ones will power up our cargo ships most effectively. Lateen sails, square sails and lug sails.
JIANG: And I think here they are ready to put this sail to test.
Right. Oscar, you are in charge of that effort.
OSCAR, STUDENT: Three. Two. One. Go!
JIANG: And these students are not only talking about it, they are also writing down what they are thinking and doing in these letters to the future and to be sealed in these time capsule capsules eventually.
But what have you written down to tell a child of the future, Olivia?
OLIVIA, STUDENT: Dear child of the future, I sincerely wish that you are living in a better society, a society that doesn't burn fossil fuels.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Luckily, we have conceived of a magnificent solution to this problem. Let's stand together and use the technologies of our ancestors. Let's use sails to power our ships.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The oceans and the skies will be as blue as sapphire. This is the world we will pour our hearts into for you.
JIANG: Thank you, guys. Just so eloquently put. It's really reassuring to hear these ideas from these young, but also very climate-conscious minds in terms of drawing from ancient wisdoms to save the planet's future.
But they're not alone in doing this. The cargo industry is also already experimenting with installing foldable sails on cargo ships. And Lynda, the eventual ambitious target is zero shipping emissions by the year 2050 -- Lynda.
KINKADE: Wow. Incredible students you're speaking to there, Steven. I think our future is looking bright, if they become the next leaders.
Steven Jiang in Beijing. Thanks so much.
Well, in South Korea, students at Dulwich College, Seoul, are learning from a grandmother who passes down sustainable Korean recipes while using vegetables grown in their own garden.
Mike Valerio reports from the school's kitchen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Kim Okwah (ph), proud grandmother of a Dulwich College, Seoul, student, and she's passing down to all of us the art of making pajeon, a classic and sustainable Korean dish.
VALERIO: Is this the first time for this table cooking pajeon?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
VALERIO: First time?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For me.
VALERIO: First time.
VALERIO (voice-over): It's a scallion pancake. Kimchi and carrots tossed into the batter. Sustainable because you can use leftover vegetables or scraps for pajeon, reducing food waste.
Pan frying also uses less energy than baking or roasting. Tia (ph) tells us vegetables grown at school often end up here.
TIA (ph), STUDENT: So, we have a garden upstairs that we grow, like, winter foods in so that seeds that can grow in the winter, for example, there's like a lot of tomatoes. And we use it in our school lunches.
VALERIO (voice-over): Among the trainee chefs are members of the school's Eco Warriors Club. Like Wren.
WREN, STUDENT: So, we meet every week, and we try and make the school more sustainable by doing stuff like No Carbon November when we try to walk or bike or take public transport.
VALERIO (voice-over): But from perfect persimmons growing outside to the savory smell of pajeon inside, there is deep pride in the knowledge of sustainability here, cultivated and passed down from one generation to grow stronger --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kimchi!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kimchi!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kimchi!
VALERIO (voice-over): -- in the next.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Mike Valerio reporting there from Dulwich College in Seoul.
You can learn more about the Call to Earth Day and how students around the world are taking action at CNN.com/Earth. Right now, we're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:51:42]
KINKADE: Welcome back. In the coming hours, FIFA will formally announce the hosts of the 2030
and 2034 World Cups. Morocco, Spain and Portugal will share hosting duties in 2030. But it's the selection of Saudi Arabia as the 2034 host that's raising questions.
CNN -- CNN's Amanda Davies reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To FIFA to host the 2034 World Cup, Saudi Arabia.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT (voice-over): Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman have made no secret of their desire to become the world's sporting destination of choice.
Now, it's set to host the biggest prize of them all: the FIFA World Cup.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Qatar.
DAVIES (voice-over): It's the most controversial awarding of the tournament since that infamous day in December 2010 that saw Russia and Qatar given the nod for 2018 and 2022, amidst corruption scandals and human rights concerns.
DAVIES: Do you think FIFA learned any lessons, Steve, good or bad, from the Qatar experience?
STEVE COCKBURN, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S HEAD OF LABOUR RIGHTS AND SPORT: My fear is that the lesson they've learned from Qatar is that they can ride out the criticism.
DAVIES (voice-over): In Qatar, there was unprecedented levels of construction of stadiums and infrastructure. Migrant workers died in the process.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has pledged to build 11 new purpose-built venues.
It was seen as a landmark moment in 2017, when FIFA became the first global sports body to write human rights commitments into the bidding process for its major events. But nearly eight years on, actions are speaking louder than words.
LINA AL-HATHLOUL (ph), SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I think no organization, human rights organization, has been consulted, and I will even add on that, Saudi Arabia has been forbidding human rights organizations from entering the country since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to power.
DAVIES (voice-over): Lina al-Hathloul is a Saudi human rights activist. Hers is one of 11 organizations that recently raised concerns about FIFA's approach to Saudi's World Cup bid.
Amnesty international called it "an astonishing whitewash," while Human Rights Watch dubbed it "an abysmal failure to implement mandatory human rights risk assessments."
Their latest report, published just last week, revealed that in the first six months of this year alone, 887 Bangladeshi workers died in Saudi Arabia, citing unpublished Bangladesh government data.
The report said the majority were recorded as dying of, quote, "natural causes." There have been questions about how many were caused by working conditions.
FIFA's overall assessment of the Saudi bid awarded it a higher score than any other that's gone before, judging the human rights risk to be medium based on an evaluation carried out by a Riyadh-based company.
COCKBURN: I think it's impossible to get there unless it was already decided that it was going to be medium risk. I think that's been decided for a long time, and it's lost a huge opportunity here.
[00:55:06]
DAVIES (voice-over): FIFA's told CNN it has implemented, quote, "a thorough bidding process for the 2034 World Cup." And its bid report says Saudi Arabia submitted commitments to respecting, protecting and fulfilling internationally recognized human rights.
Saudi authorities haven't responded to our request for comment, but the head of the Saudi bid says that, while progress has been made, there's still room to improve.
HAMMAD AL-BALAWI, HEAD OF SAUDI ARABIA'S WORLD CUP BID UNIT: We're very proud of what we've achieved. We're very hungry to do more. And that is a commitment that we have in the areas of human rights across all areas.
DAVIES: The way in which this process has been engineered means the awarding of the 2034 tournament has been a done deal. Despite questions over transparency, the path has been cleared for Saudi Arabia to have its moment in the spotlight in ten years' time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Our thanks to Amanda Davies there.
We are following new developments out of South Korea. We've learned police have raided the presidential office in Seoul.
Now, this is part of their investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived attempt to impose martial law just one week ago.
The head of the country's correctional service says former defense minister Kim Yong Hyun has attempted to end his own life while in custody.
Kim was detained in Seoul Sunday. He allegedly recommended that martial law be imposed and was the first figure detained over the case.
Kim resigned from his post on Thursday.
Well, a family in Germany took the phrase "deck the halls" literally and claimed a world record for the most Christmas trees. It all started with one tree in the living room, but now the Jerome family has trees filling the kitchen, the hallway, even the bathroom. They have 600 decorated trees in all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZANNE JEROMIN, HUSBAND COLLECTS CHRISTMAS TREES (through translator): For me, it's really beautiful. Really colorful. Really great now.
I say "now," because it wasn't like that at first. At first, I wanted to move out.
THOMAS JEROMIN, CHRISTMAS TREE COLLECTOR (through translator): Other people go to the open-air pool. I decorate Christmas trees.
That's actually the biggest tree we have. Its 3.5 meters tall, and I can't put it anywhere because it's just too big. So, I thought I'd just hang it from the ceiling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The trees are decorated with 50,000 lights, 120,000 ornaments.
Of course, all this holiday cheer doesn't come cheap. The family estimates they spend around $85,000 making the season bright. Wow.
Well, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back with much more CNN NEWSROOM after a short break.
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