Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Israel Strikes Syria 480 Times, Accused Of Land Grab; Syrians Reflect On Loss Of Loved Ones Under Assad Regime; Suspect Luigi Mangione Fighting Extradition To New York. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired December 11, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
And ahead on CNN Newsroom, as Israel expands airstrikes across Syria, some key players push and pull for their own interests amid serious political transformation. Plus, we have new details about the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO. This as we look into the type of weapon that police say was found on him, a so-called ghost gun. And another person has come forward with abuse allegations against Sean "Diddy" Combs. You will hear from that accuser and find out why he has chosen to speak now.
Syria is not ready for another war. That message coming from the leader of the rebel forces that toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime. Mohammed al-Jolani says that foreign governments should not fear war with Syria, and believes that his country is on a path towards stability. But, the turmoil in Syria is now reaching areas controlled by Kurdish forces. The rebel coalition says that it has taken control of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor. This comes as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, face attacks from Turkish-backed rebel fighters. The U.S. says it is working closely with the SCF, which is a key partner in the ongoing fight against ISIS. Later this week, America's top diplomat, Antony Blinken, plans to hold talks on Syria when he travels to Jordan and Turkey.
Meanwhile, a Syrian activist group says that Israeli forces have now advanced to a village just 16 miles from Damascus, and that that this happened after Israel seized the demilitarized buffer zone near the Golan Heights. Now, CNN is unable to verify that claim, but the Arab League is accusing Israel of executing a land grab in Syria. Israel says that it struck Syria nearly 500 times in just two days, destroying its navy and hitting weapons stockpiles. The UN special envoy for Syria is urging Israel to stop striking the country.
And CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is on the ground in Damascus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That thick plume of smoke that you're seeing there, that's rising from the Mezzeh military air base. This was a regime strategic military site here in Damascus, and over the past couple of days, it was among the targets that have been hit by the Israeli military. They've carried out hundreds of airstrikes on different Syrian regime military sites, installations, weapons depots and others. Now, as we were approaching it, we heard a couple of blasts. It's unclear if those were fresh airstrikes or if this was some sort of secondary explosions that we're triggered by those past strikes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And Jomana has also been hearing stories of the horrors that Syrians endured under the Assad regime. She talked to one woman whose loved one disappeared in Syria's notorious prison system.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARADSHEH (voice-over): 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 shot at Daraya and its people are finally free.
This was for our children, Um Firas (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 at the Assad regime, the siege starved and bombed into surrender.
KARADSHEH: Um Firas 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.
KARADSHEH (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 her family would be reunited. They didn't even give me his body.
[11:05:00]
This is the last photo she has of Mazen and his youngest boy. Raif (ph) doesn't remember his dad. Noor was six 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, Um Firas 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.
KARADSHEH: 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.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): But, 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)
SOLOMON: All right. Now to our other top story. Police are building their case against the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO. Law enforcement sources tell CNN that fingerprints taken from the New York crime scene match prints taken when Luigi Mangione was arrested. That comes as new images of Mangione have been released. Here you see him eating at a Pennsylvania McDonald's shortly before police took him into custody on Monday. Mangione is fighting extradition from Pennsylvania to New York. On Tuesday, he was denied bail. The shackled 26-year-old seen here could be seen struggling with officers and yelling at reporters as he was brought to the courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUIGI MANGIONE, ACCUSED KILLER OF UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO BRIAN THOMPSON: It's completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people. It's lived experience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And the arrest of Mangione only has many people in his hometown shocked and saying that they're searching for answers now.
CNN's Brian Todd reports.
(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 (voice-over): 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 the -- all the time and love you put into our lives.
TODD (voice-over): 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 (voice-over): Tom Maronick 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 JR.: 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 (voice-over): 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: 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 (voice-over): He maintained an active social media presence for years, posting smiling photos from his travels and gatherings with friends. 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 R.J. Martin.
R.J. MARTIN, FRIEND AND FORMER ROOMMATE OF LUIGI MANGIONE: He was in bed for about a week. We had to get a different bed from that was more firm, and I know it was really traumatic and difficult, when you're in the early 20s and you can't do some basic things.
TODD: Luigi Mangione was the subject of a missing person's report filed in San Francisco by his mother on November 18, 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)
SOLOMON: And the lawyer from Mangione says that he plans to plead not guilty. The process to extradite him to New York, that could take weeks, and as the case moves through the legal system, he will remain at a Pennsylvania prison.
[11:10:00]
Former U.S. Secret Service agent and CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Jonathan Wackrow explains what comes next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN WACKROW, FORMER U.S. SECRET SERVICE AGENT, & CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: The investigation is going to start slowing down, right? There is a big difference between apprehension, right? A crime was committed. We need to find that suspect. We need to gather items of evidentiary value to make attribution, to get this individual in custody. Now, he is in custody, and the investigation is going to slow down, all in the furtherance of the prosecution.
So, investigators are going to work backwards. They're going to start making sure that every item that they have lines up to support the ongoing prosecution of this individual. They have to go back in. They're going to start over with all of the video surveillance evidence, this massive mosaic of thousands of hours of video. They're going to really piece that together to start to tell the story of everything that happened prior to the attack, the attack itself in the moments afterwards, really showing that premeditated action that he took.
They're also going to look at other witnesses that they may have. He was here for a long time. As they were trying to apprehend him, they didn't have the ability to go out and cast a wide net on who else interacted with him. Now they can. They have the luxury of time to slow down and find all of those additional individuals.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: And when Mangione was found at a Pennsylvania McDonald's, police say that he had what's known as a ghost gun. So, ghost guns don't have serial numbers, which makes them potentially, completely untraceable to law enforcement. Police say that the gun found on Mangione was capable of firing a nine millimeter round, and may have been made on a 3D printer.
Joining us now with CNN Contributor Stephen Gutowski. He is a gun safety instructor and firearms reporter for TheReload.com. Stephen, great to have you. I think there are a lot of questions certainly about ghost guns, how they work, who can get them. So, just -- let's start at the top. I mean, what exactly are ghost guns, and can anyone attain them?
STEPHEN GUTOWSKI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, & GUN SAFETY INSTRUCTOR AND FIREARMS REPORTER FOR THERELOAD.COM: Well, a ghost gun is a term that really just means any firearm that doesn't have a serial number on it, and generally speaking, that can be for two different reasons. One is if somebody has filed off a pre-existing serial number on a factory- sold gun, or if they've made their own firearm from either unfinished parts kits, or in this case, it appears he 3D printed the relevant portion of the gun.
There is only one of the -- one part of a pistol needs to have a serial number on. It's called the frame, and that's the plastic part of a modern firearm. So, the slide and the barrel, the metal parts, don't need to be serialized. And that's why people can 3D print the plastic bits much easier than they can manufacture the metal parts.
And yeah, it's a relatively easy process. It's -- you have to know something about 3D printing first of all, obviously. And it's still really a more of an enthusiast grade thing that people do, even in the -- for criminals who want to make their own firearms, they don't usually 3D print them. They'll usually use those parts kits that I discussed earlier. And so, this is a bit of a -- bit of an outlier here to what he did.
SOLOMON: And yet, Stephen, we have started to see, and I'm just sort of learning this through the story, so, certainly, give me the context, but we have started to see more of these ghost guns being reported by police departments around the country. We've seen them being used in mass shootings. I mean, it does appear that they're becoming, I don't want to say common, but we're seeing more examples of them being used.
GUTOWSKI: Yeah. They are being used more often. Certainly, that's because you can make them yourself without having to go through the normal process of buying a gun, although obviously, criminals can still obtain firearms that are sold through that normal process and do and that's still the most common way of doing it. In this case, it's a bit odd because he doesn't seem to have had a criminal background that would have prohibited from owning firearms or purchasing them through normal channels.
And additionally, as much as not having a serial number on the gun prevents the ATF from tracing the gun back to its initial sale point. It doesn't really hinder this investigation all that much, because they found him with the guns. They already know. They have the evidence that he had the gun. They can still do other forms of forensics to match the gun to the bullets that were fired in the shooting.
SOLOMON: And it seems like the serial number sort of element of this is one of the more thorny issues of ghost guns. Where are we in terms of regulation of ghost guns?
GUTOWSKI: Yeah. So, President Biden actually issued a -- an ATF rule. He used federal rule-making because he couldn't get a law passed through Congress to go after those unfinished kits that I mentioned earlier, where the ATF now considers an unfinished frame, the part that you would 3D print, in this case.
[11:15:00]
If it's sold alongside the barrel and the slide and the other parts that you need to make it into a functioning firearm, ATF now considers that package together to be a firearm for regulatory purposes. And so, people selling them have to get licenses from the federal government. People buying them have to go through background checks, and that has been challenged in court, which the Supreme Court actually heard a case on this new rule in October, and we're still waiting to hear what they're going to rule. But, oral arguments did go well for the government in that case. So, that rule may remain in effect even through the Trump administration.
SOLOMON: Stephen, I'm curious, as someone who focuses on gun safety, sort of your reactions to this story. I mean, obviously the death of anyone is tragic. But, I'm curious the high-profile nature of this murder, the high-profile nature of the ghost gun. I mean, how do you see this perhaps playing out, whether it becomes more publicized? Just sort of what are your reactions?
GUTOWSKI: Yeah. I mean, anytime you have a shooting of this nature where it gets this much attention, and it's sort of designed, it seems, by the shooter himself to be highly publicizable, right, and he is using things like a 3D printed silencer, which is even more rare than just a 3D printed frame for a firearm, and he is leaving all these sort of spectacular messages along the way, writing on the casings of the bullet and the Monopoly money in the backpack and his manifesto, like it's certainly going to bring a lot more attention to this issue, both of, I think, silencers, which are often called suppressors by gun owners, because they don't make a sound fully silent.
And then also, yeah, the homemade firearms, 3D printed guns, they were already pretty contentious issues to begin with. And I think it's only going to draw more attention to it in a way that's likely to lead to more legislation, maybe mostly in the States, less so at the federal level, with how divided Congress is going to be. But, I think, yeah, it's likely to bring more attention and more scrutiny and more restrictions on these sorts of devices.
SOLOMON: And then, just lastly, I mean, as I try to understand the ease of making one of these ghost guns, I mean, how easy is it to get these parts access, these parts, the 3D printers, what materials are they using.
GUTOWSKI: Sure. 3D printers are very easy, right, to obtain. You can buy them off Amazon for $200. Obviously, there is levels to it. The more expensive ones are better, but they're not hard to get. And then they use plastic. They just melt plastic into shapes, basically, what a 3D printer does and you can melt it into the shape of a firearm frame. And then you can buy the barrels and the slides and the other metal parts, the trigger that you would need to then finish building the gun into something that actually functions. Most of the gun is not made of plastic in this case, and in most cases, with these 3D printed guns. It's just one part of the gun that's 3D printed in the vast majority of situations, like this one. And so, the spare parts for firearms are not regulated in the same way
as a fully functioning firearm. So, they're easier to obtain. And yeah, it's something that has proliferated quite a bit in recent years, both among hobbyists who do this for enjoyment or among people who don't like the government to know what firearms they have for non- criminal reasons, right, for more philosophical reasons. And then criminals have used these firearms as well across the country and the world too, but -- and so have people like freedom fighters in Myanmar and places like that too. It's very complex picture when you zoom out fully, but yeah, this is obviously the most -- the worst kind of use of one of these firearms.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Certainly complex. Stephen Gutowski, we certainly appreciate your expertise on the matter. Thank you.
And it's another critical day for Donald Trump's choice to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth. Why Trump critics in the Senate could be an obstacle in his bid to become the next U.S. Defense Secretary? Plus, a CNN exclusive, we talked with a man who says that he was sexually abused at one of Sean "Diddy" Combs' infamous white parties.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Let's get to live pictures of Capitol Hill. That's where Pete Hegseth is right now as he tries to win over some of Donald Trump's harshest Republican critics in the Senate. Trump's choice to lead the Pentagon is meeting this hour with Senator Susan Collins of Maine. He is also expected to speak today with senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Todd Young of Indiana. Collins and Cassidy both voted to convict Trump on an impeachment charge in 2021. And with a slim Republican majority in the Senate, Hegseth will need their support to be confirmed as the next U.S. Defense Secretary.
CNN Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill with more details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pete Hegseth is back on Capitol Hill today for a series of critical meetings. He is expected to meet today with Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine. This is going to be one of those key swing votes that he has to win over in order to get through this confirmation process. Now, yesterday, he met with Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska. She said that they had a good discussion, but didn't offer much detail beyond that as to their meeting.
Now, we have seen over the course of the last several days that senators are not precluding or saying that they are voting against Pete Hegseth in this moment. One of those key senators, Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from the state of Iowa, she met once again with Pete Hegseth on Monday, after meeting with him last week, and saying that she believed he should have a confirmation hearing.
But, again, this is just really still in the early stages, and we expect that this is going to continue going on for weeks, if not months, as we await to see whether Pete Hegseth can advance in this process.
On Capitol Hill, for CNN, I'm Lauren Fox.
(END VIDETOAPE)
SOLOMON: An accuser of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs is speaking out for the first time about the alleged sexual abuse that he says he endured. John Doe has filed a civil suit against Combs.
And in an exclusive and anonymous interview, he tells CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister what he says happened back in 2007. We want to warn you that the interview contained some graphic language.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: According to your lawsuit, you were hired by a security firm to work security at one of the infamous white parties that was thrown by Sean Combs in the Hamptons. What was that experience like?
JOHN DOE, ACCUSES SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: At first, he was incredibly friendly, very gracious.
WAGMEISTER: So, you had a friendly chat, and then, according to your lawsuit, at some point later in the night, Sean Combs himself offered you a drink. This didn't come from staff or someone holding a tray of drinks. It came from him directly.
DOE: Correct. The first drink started to have some effect on me, and I just thought, wow, these are really strong drinks. It wasn't until the second drink, and it was already too late, that I realized that there was something wrong with the drinks. Sadly, Sean Combs was waiting in the wings. He was watching from some sort of vantage point, and once I was in a helpless position, and he was sure that he was in a position of power, then he took advantage of the situation.
[11:25:00]
WAGMEISTER: You alleged that you were forcibly pushed into an SUV by Sean Combs. That act alone, according to your lawsuit, left you in considerable pain. And then once inside the vehicle, your lawsuit says plaintiff was held down by Combs who overpowered him while he struggled to escape due to the effects of the drugs in his system, and it goes on to say that he sodomized you.
DOE: I was screaming. I was telling him to stop. It was incredibly painful, and he was acting like it was nothing, and he seemed to be disconnected from it. It was abusive beyond belief.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Our thanks to Elizabeth Wagmeister there. And representatives for Combs declined to comment on John Doe's allegations on Tuesday. But, since the lawsuit was filed in October, Combs' lawyers have said that their client has never sexually assaulted anyone.
All right. Still ahead for us, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO has corporations around the world taking a new look at security. We'll tell you what they're trying to do to keep executives safe. Plus, a wildfire rages along California's southern coast, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes. What firefighters are up against as they battle the Malibu ladies? Straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. And here are some of the international headlines we're watching for you today.
In South Korea, police raid at the presidential office. A security official said that it was part of the investigation into the President's short-lived declaration of martial law. The raid comes as prison officials said that the former South Korean Defense Minister tried to take his own life while in custody. The ex-defense chief allegedly recommended the imposing of martial law and was the first figure detained in the case.
Sources tell CNN that an Israeli delegation went to Egypt on Tuesday in an effort to restart negotiations to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. The group included the head of the Israeli Security Agency and the Chief of the General Staff of the IDF. The source described a sense of flexibility at the meeting, which said, we're not there yet.
And Israeli Prime Minister Benton Netanyahu has been back in court for day two of his corruption trial. It's also his second day on the witness stand defending himself. Prime Minister Netanyahu called the allegations against him absurd. Demonstrators again showing up outside the Tel Aviv District Court. The Prime Minister is facing charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three separate cases.
[11:30:00]
And returning to our top story, the turmoil in Syria now reaching areas controlled by Kurdish forces. The rebel coalition says it has taken control of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.
Meanwhile, a Syrian activist group says that Israeli forces have now advanced to a village just 16 miles from Damascus, and that this happened after Israel sees the demilitarized buffer zone near the Golan Heights. Now, CNN is unable to verify that claim, but Israel says that it struck inside Syria nearly 500 times in just two days, destroying its navy and hitting weapons stockpiles.
And after rebel forces took over the presidential palace in Damascus, Syrians got a peek into the luxurious lifestyle of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. The ornate halls and luxury cars mark a stark contrast to the years of oppression inflicted on the people of Syria.
CNN's Clarissa Ward takes us inside.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside the palace of Bashar al-Assad, Syrians gather to pose for photographs and celebrate the removal of its despised former owner. The public is not allowed inside the sprawling compound yet, where the courtyards stretch longer than a city block.
WARD: This is the driveway into Bashar al-Assad's palace, and you can see how enormous it is. There are still casings all over the ground from rebel celebratory gunfire as they swept in here and took control.
WARD (voice-over): At the entrance, an Iranian flag unceremoniously laid out for people to step on, Iran, one of the regime's staunchest allies. Where once foreign dignitaries roamed the halls, now rebel fighters have the run of the place.
WARD: You can see blankets on the sofas in here. It looks like this is where the rebels are sleeping. And in fact, over here, you can see they've got some kind of a makeshift dining area going. Some of their weapons here, a couple of rifles on this sofa.
So, this gentleman here who is with the rebels has just asked that I put on my scarf. It's the first time since we've been here that anyone has asked me to cover my hair.
WARD: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD: He says that he is from Idlib and that this is the first time he is seeing the palace.
WARD: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): We feel that the injustice will break down one day and justice must win. This is the idea of justice in our religion, he says. In Islam, it is a must and a promise of Allah that Islam is victorious.
After nearly 14 years of a vicious civil war, to stand in this palace is a proud moment, capping off a seismic victory.
WARD: So, the rebels here want to stress, they tell us, that it was not their group that ransacked this office when they first swept in. You could see, actually, some of the graffiti here that those first rebels wrote on the window. It says, Allah cursed Hafez's soul, Hafez al-Assad being the father of Bashar.
When you look at these ceilings and these chandeliers, the marble, the detail, this is the kind of opulence, this lavish lifestyle that engendered so much resentment from so many Syrians who have been struggling to survive for decades while the Assad family lived like this.
WARD (voice-over): In a warehouse, rows and rows of luxury cars, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and classic Cadillacs. This was a dynasty that will be remembered not only for its brutality, but its deep corruption.
Below the palace in the heart of Damascus, crowds gathered in Umayyad Square. Under Assad's rule, the Syrian people were forced to worship him. Now they finally have the freedom to celebrate his demise.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Our thanks to Clarissa Ward.
And turning back now to one of our other top stories, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is forcing corporations to take a new look at security for their executives. One security firm told CNN that it received 70 inquiries within 36 hours of Thompson's murder. Those executives are also being told to delete their digital footprint from social media posts to home details and information about their children's schools.
Let's bring in CNN's Matt Egan, who reported the story. So, Matt, talk to us about what you're hearing? What steps are companies trying to take to keep leaders safe?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Rahel, there is a real sense of nervousness and even fear in C-suites across the country after this shooting.
[11:35:00]
This is a real wake-up call for business leaders and for boards of directors and security firms that are paid top dollar to protect corporate executives. They say that their phones had been ringing off the hook ever since this shooting a week ago. One veteran security official told me, quote, "Corporate America is nervous. Healthcare is the target now, but who is next?" And yes, companies are considering a range of options to try to ramp up security. They are reviewing their existing security protocols and budgets. They are increasing the amount of security personnel and technology, both at offices and at the residences of executives, and some executives are being urged to delete their digital footprint. Businesses are also enhancing mail screening.
There is also a sense that the really high level of security that is often afforded to the top CEOs needs to also be extended to lieutenants, to people who serve as division CEOs like Brian Thompson at UnitedHealthcare, because those executives are clearly being threatened as well. And there is some concern about the risk of copycats, right, that the
risk that maybe this is not a one-off, both because of the amount of support that the alleged shooter has gotten online and the level of attention that this has gotten. There is a New York Police Department intelligence report that was
issued this week, obtained by CNN, and it said that the online reaction to the killing may signal an elevated threat facing executives in the near term, with the shooting itself having the capability to inspire a variety of extremist and grievance-driven malicious actors to violence.
And so, Rahel, there is a sense that the threat environment against executives is more complex and more serious than many realized just a few days ago.
SOLOMON: Yeah. I thought it was interesting, Matt, in your piece. It's not apparently just the big companies, the big executives who might be sort of seeking security. It's also smaller companies who apparently have these concerns. How expensive is it? I mean, how much are we talking to protect executives?
EGAN: Yeah, Rahel. I mean, that is a major issue, because it is very expensive. If you just look at the median S&P 100 company, they're spending, as of last year, almost $100,000 a year to protect their CEOs, and that is up. It's more than double what they were spending two years ago. But, that's really just the median company. There are financial companies and media companies that are spending hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect their CEO, and there are technology companies, some of the biggest tech companies out there, they're spending millions to protect their CEO and their CEO's family members. And so, that is something, of course, that companies are going to be weighing as they go forward.
There is also the fact that even though some boards of directors, they may want to ramp up security, there are some executives that may not want that extra security, that extra scrutiny, right? Maybe they don't want a team of security guards to accompany them when they go to their kids' softball game, because they just don't want to have that hassle. But, clearly, a lot of companies are going to have to start to think more seriously about ramping up security.
SOLOMON: OK. Matt Egan live for us there. Matt, thank you.
EGAN: Thanks, Rahel.
And nightmare scenarios unfolding in California, as a wildfire exploded along its southern coastline. This is what it looks like right now in the area of Malibu. Nearly 20,000 evacuation orders have been issued. Award-winning actor Dick Van Dyke among the thousands forced to flee their homes to try to keep safe from the fast-moving wildfire. Strong winds and dry conditions are fueling the blaze, called the Franklin Fire. Residents there tell us what it's been like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEC GILLIS, MALIBU RESIDENT: We've been fighting the fire all night. We are surrounded by flames. Our house had trees on fire, and I got those out while this one was catching and would have loved to be able to help this house. This is my friend's house, and it's really tragic. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I just ran out and I looked back and I saw it
was orange at 10:30 and I just sprinted down the street and banged on everyone's door, and was like, get, get, get up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And CNN's Nick Watt is on the ground in Malibu, and he filed this report a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Around 1,500 firefighters, as well as helicopters, fixed-wing aircrafts dropping water, all trying to get this fire under control. You can see the flames in the hills behind me. That is a seafood shack right there. This is the PCH, the Pacific Coast Highway, which is currently closed. Pacific Ocean just a few feet behind us.
Now, the issue, the terrain, obviously, as you can see, and the winds, the Santa Anna winds whipping 60, 70 mile an hour gusts.
[11:40:00]
That is the problem. Those winds pick up embers, can carry them for miles. We have seen some people trying to spray down water onto the roof of their houses so that if an ember doesn't land, it doesn't ignite the building.
So, the fire, we are told by fire officials, is stubborn because of the wind, because of the low humidity, and just because of all this fuel, this dry chaparral that just gets that fire going at its peak. So far, this fire was consuming maybe five football fields a minute. We're now up over 3,000 acres. Structures have been destroyed. People have been forced to evacuate. Amongst them, Dick Van Dyke and his wife and one of their cats. He turns 99 on Friday. By then, officials are hoping that the conditions improve, that the humidity gets higher, that the winds drop, and that they can actually get this blaze under some sort of control.
Nick Watt, CNN, Malibu, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Let's bring in CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam, who joins us with the latest on the windy conditions fueling Malibu's wildfire. Derek, give a sense of what the latest is here.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. You heard Nick talk about the rugged terrain. Well, this is what it looked like near Malibu Canyon, as what has been described as a blow torch coming down the mountains. Now, there is some good news. There has just been an update too. The containment number is now at seven percent, but the damage has already been done, right? Almost 4,000 acres have been burned. That's roughly 1,600 hectares, and firefighters are having a tough time getting a handle on this, considering the conditions and the environment that they are fighting this fire in. So, here is the latest figures. This is updated just a few moments
ago. The fire, again, just west of Los Angeles, and this is more of a bird's eye view. You can see the containment area, or where the actual burned area is, within that shading of red. And here is Pepperdine University, the buildings associated with that particular campus, the Pacific Coast Highway that Nick was talking about being closed from Malibu over towards the Santa Monica region. This area has the rugged terrain.
Now, think of any one of these individual mountain peaks as a building. The wind tunnel effect as the Santa Ana winds come crashing over this mountains, well, what do they do? They have nowhere to go but get squeezed between these two bodies of mass and they speed up. That's why we have the wind that accelerates down the hill side, and it often dries out, and it often warms up, as it does so. These are the wind speeds within the past 12 hours.
So, we're talking about nearly 100 kilometer per hour winds, 60 mile per hour top winds there near Browns Canyon, some of the lower elevations feeling winds between 40 and 50 miles per hour. That's why we still have not only a red flag warning in place for these areas, including where the Franklin Fire erupted about 24 hours ago, but also the Santa Susanna winds -- mountains, I should say. That's just north of Malibu, these high peaks, and that northeasterly wind is helping funnel the winds down the canyons, down Malibu Canyon, towards the coastline near the Pacific Ocean.
So, the winds are anticipated to change in direction, so no longer out of the Northeast. And then we'll start to see an influence from the Pacific Ocean. And this is the glimmer of hope that we've all been hoping for. We have to wait another 24 hours before we see it. But, the relative humidity values are very low now, but those browns will be replaced with greens. That's representative of a more moist atmosphere, and that's going to help the firefighters on the ground get a better handle on this storm, not to mention this cold front could bring, hopefully, Rahel, a sprinkle or two from the sky. We'll take whatever we can get.
SOLOMON: Yeah, absolutely, certainly well needed.
Derek Van Dam, thank you.
A man who faked his own death in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and then fled to Eastern Europe is now in police custody. This is his booking photo from the Green Lake County Jail. This is Ryan Borgwardt. Officials say that he told authorities that he staged his disappearance while kayaking on a local lake. He said that he overturned his boat, dumped his phone in the water, paddled an inflatable raft to shore, then he rode an electric bike to catch a bus to Canada and got on a plane. He then reappeared in Eastern Europe. Borgwardt said that he left his wife and three children and staged his drowning death because of personal matters.
The sheriff's office just finished up a news conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin, and police said that Borgwardt started communicating with them last month and was finally convinced to come home. Authorities suggest that he could be charged with obstructing the investigation into his disappearance. The search for him lasted more than a month and cost at least $35,000.
Coming up, students from around the world make moves to protect the planet. We will talk with children in Asia about Call to Earth Day and see how they're taking action.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. We are returning now to our Call to Earth Day coverage. Thousands of students around the globe engaged in a day of action to help save the planet they are inheriting. We've correspondents filing reports from around the world, including Hong Kong, Nairobi, Miami and Los Angeles. Let's see how the day unfolded in Asia.
(EGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Hong Kong, at 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really hope you continue to plant more plants and clean up more beaches and recycle more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, I'm in Central Japan's Nagara 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. They are making liquid soap using bamboo charcoal. 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surrounded by Seoul's towering cityscape, tiny orange gloves are on and ready to go. The students are all smiles, waiting for the big reveal. Yes, crowding around compost, fuel for sustainability studies at the International School, Dulwich College, Seoul. Come spring, compost will help the gardens grow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are at the British School of Beijing, Sanlitun, and these are all year six students, 10, 11-years-old, from many different countries, but living here and studying here has taught them that most things these days you use your daily life are actually made in China before being shipped to different parts of the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been trying to use technology from the past just to save our future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is just such an exciting moment.
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.
STOUT: 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 --
(CHILDREN SAYING "CALL TO EARTH DAY")
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Meantime, high up in South America's Andes Mountains, we were seeing the devastating impact from deforestation and human activity. Now, a community-led initiative is trying to restore these great forests with the Polylepis, which is a native tree that helps to protect vital water sheds.
As part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, Constantino Aucca Chutas is leading locals to save this complex ecosystem. He is the co- founder of Accion Andina. Stefano Pozzebon spoke to him in Peru.
[11:50:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Thank you so much for talking with CNN. How many trees have you planted to date? Where do they come from?
CONSTANTINO AUCCA CHUTAS, PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER, ACCION ANDINA: Over the last six years, Accion Andina planted near to 12 million trees. We produce all the seedlings. And who are producing that? Local communities.
POZZEBON: 12 million trees, that is an astonishing number. Can you explain how 12 million trees look like altogether?
CHUTAS: I love that question, but you are not going to believe, it's nothing yet, because we need more. The Earth is suffering a lot of problems, and only planting trees, we are going to secure to have this planet in good conditions.
POZZEBON: You're very proud of your indigenous heritage, the fact that you come from the Incas. How has that traditional ancestral knowledge influenced the conservation and reforestation practices that you are employing, especially here in the Andes, which is the region of the Incas?
CHUTAS: The Incas, they practice the positive resilience. They arrive. They suffer for water. They build aqueducts, canals to bring all the water from the mountains. They build terraces to produce all the agriculture. They manage the weather. They're planting millions of trees also, and still dark things is working right now. That is the positive resilience. That is the thing that moves to me also. POZZEBON: Can you explain what role indigenous communities play these
days, right now, in defending the environment, in working for preservation, and what can they teach us to scale up all of those solutions at a global level?
CHUTAS: Local communities, they are demanding to be part of the solution. That means jobs, capacitation, leadership, and all the kinds of things and benefits that they can have in the name of the conservation. This is what we provided. We provide them benefits. And these kind of things for the local communities is wonderful. Imagine thousands people is ghost carrying on the back all the seedlings, dancing, singing. Doesn't matter the weather, the rain, the wind, the attitudes, no. They are happy going up of the mountain to bring hope, life, and the best being all together, working for a common goal.
POZZEBON: Why is it so important to transfer environmental knowledge to the younger generations, to the kids, to the children?
CHUTAS: Because they are going to be the future leaders who is going to decide what to do with this Mother Earth. Or, in other case, they are going to be the guys who is going to accuse us and say, why you permitted to destroy this Mother Earth? Why you permitted that? It's going to be sad if we are going to have that. I think that it's time to take action. The planet belongs to everybody. For that reason, everybody has to protect the planet
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: And stay with CNN for more Call to Earth Day coverage and our special program restoring the Andes, which features Constantino Aucca Chutas. That airs at 08:30 p.m. in Paris, or 02:30 p.m. here in New York.
We're going to take a short break, and we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Before we go, one more thing. A New Zealand man is crowned the Spanish World Scrabble Champion, except he doesn't actually speak Spanish. Nigel Richards claimed victory at this year's tournament in Spain last month. He outperformed native speakers in their own language, with one player saying that it was an incredible humiliation and calling Richards a gifted man. Now, he is widely known as the Tiger Woods of scrabble. Richards has won nearly 200 tournaments, including the French scrabble championship, despite not being able to speak the language at all. Well, that's a talent.
We know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
