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Dow Plummets On Fed Rate Outlook, Drops By 1,000 Points; Israeli Military Strikes Yemen Hours After Houthi Attack Targets Israel; Gaza Ceasefire Talks Heat Up Again Amid Deadly Israeli Attacks; Lawmakers Unveil Bill To Avoid Looming Government Shutdown; Verdicts Awaited In Rape Trial That Shocked France; Putin Preps For Annual Presser; House GOP Probe Concludes Liz Cheney Should be Prosecuted; Trump Team: Plans for Large-Scale Deportations Underway; Top Ghanaian Court Rejects Challenges to Anti-LGBTQ Bill; Police Remarks Put Spotlight on Mangione's family. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired December 19, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, I'm Rafael Romo live in Atlanta. Ahead on CNN Newsroom, financial fears as the U.S. markets take a plunge. What we know about the fallout so far. We are awaiting the verdict in a stunning case out of France. How Gisele Pelicot brave choice may impact the judge's ruling. Vladimir Putin preparing for his annual press conference. What we're expecting to hear from the Russian leader.
Those stories in a moment, but we begin in the Middle east where the Israeli military says it has struck Houthi targets in Yemen. Amendment just hours after the Iran-backed militant group launched its latest attack on Israel.
The IDF says the airstrikes on ports and energy infrastructure in the capital Sanaa were in retaliation for Houthi missile and drone attacks over the past year.
Houthi officials say at least nine people were killed in the overnight strikes. Meantime, Israel says a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted early Thursday morning in central Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: The Houthis are also targeting other countries in the Middle East, the United States and other countries in the world with their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes in the Red Sea and other places. The Houthis have become a global threat. Who is behind the Houthis? Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack. Tensions between Israel and the Houthis have escalated since the war in Gaza started last year. Health officials in Gaza say Israeli attacks killed dozens of Palestinians on Wednesday, adding new urgency to the revived ceasefire negotiations. U.S. officials joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar are making intense efforts to advance the talks. And even Hamas appears to be optimistic about a potential deal. More now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is optimism in the air, significant diplomatic activity in the region and a clear sense of momentum towards a potential hostage and cease fire deal between Israel and Hamas. But will there actually be a deal? That is indeed the question at this moment as we are seeing a number officials arriving in the Middle East to try and get this deal across the finish line.
The latest arrival in the region appears to be the CIA Director Bill Burns, who has been the top U.S. official in these negotiations for months now. He often travels and arrives in the region at critical junctures in the process. And this does indeed appear to be one of those critical moments yet again following visits by the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan last week. President Biden's top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, also in the region.
And of course, we've seen an Israeli delegation, Hamas delegations in both Cairo as well as in Doha, Qatar. And accompanying this flurry of diplomatic activity, you also have the rhetoric, we've heard optimism from the Americans, from the Israelis, from all sides really saying that they believe that we are closer than ever to a deal.
Hamas also joining that optimistic rhetoric yesterday in a statement saying that they believe a deal is, quote, possible. A Hamas source also saying that the state of talks is, quote, positive and optimistic. But they are also offering a note of caution as so many others involved in the process are as well. Hamas saying that a deal is possible as long as Israel does not continue to make additional last minute demands in this process.
And all sides are really urging caution even as they are sounding an optimistic note because we have seen so many times before these two sides get very, very close to a potential agreement, but ultimately a deal not falling through. But officials in the region believe that conditions are now at their ripest for an agreement to actually take place. And there's no question that it is very much needed.
As we are watching in Gaza over the last 24 hours, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 38 people have been killed, more than 200 have been injured. And of course, the humanitarian conditions in Gaza certainly not improving. Much needed aid would get in if a cease fire were to go in place.
And then of course, there are those 100 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip, about half of whom Israel believes are still alive, their fate, of course, also hanging in the balance. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO: Meanwhile, a source tells CNN that Israel's prime minister has instructed the country's military to remain in the area of Syria's Mount Hermon until the end of next year.
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Israel captured the strategically important mountain after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime earlier this month, initially characterizing it as a temporary security measure. However, Syria's new leader and other Arab countries are accusing Israel of a land grab. Mount Hermon overlooks Lebanon, Syria and Israel and is just over 35 kilometers, about 22 miles from Damascus, putting the Syrian capital within artillery range.
32 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as the next president of the United States. And already the financial world is filled with uncertainty. The U.S. Federal Reserve shaken by the possibility of tariffs that could keep inflation high for the next several years.
The Fed cut interest rates by a quarter of a point on Wednesday, as expected, but the central bank is now forecasting only two rate cuts next year instead of four. That sent Wall Street into a sell off. The Dow fell more than 1,100 points, extending its losing streak to 10 days, the worst since 1974.
Markets in the Asia Pacific region are also lower. Japan's Nikkei, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the Shanghai composite are all in negative territory. U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell says economic growth and the job market look good for next year, but stubborn inflation could mean fewer interest rate cuts.
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JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: We've had a year-end projection for inflation and it's kind of falling apart as we've approached the end of the year. So that is certainly a large factor in people's thinking. I can tell you that might be the single biggest factor is inflation has once again underperformed relative to expectations. It's still, you know, going to between two and a half and three. It's way below where it was. But, you know, we really want to see progress on inflation.
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ROMO: CNN's Marc Stewart is live in Beijing with a look at how Asia Pacific markets are reacting. There seems to be a lot of nervous people, Marc.
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. Rafael, good to see you. Look, this talk of inflation and future inflation certainly causing a lot of unease in the United States, but also in trading that we have seen here in Asia. We have seen some slight improvements as the day has moved forward, but a majority of the indexes, as you see there, have been down for the day, the Hang Seng and South Korea dealing with a lot of financial turbulence over the past few hours.
The reason why inflation is such a concern not only the United States, but to traders here in Asia, it means that the cost of borrowing money is going to remain higher than in the past. That's why these interest rate hikes are so important.
So, if you are a consumer in the United States, perhaps considering buying a brand from abroad, whether it be a car or a flat screen TV, that is going to cost more. So that's of interest to companies here and as well as companies globally, including here in Asia, if they have future investment plans, the cost of borrowing perhaps for a project in the United States is also going to cost more.
There is a considerable amount of unease about what the future will bring, whether it be with the issue of tariffs and trade, as well as what financial policy is going to look like on a global scale under the new administration. There is so much unknown. It's perhaps one of the reasons why the Fed chair is using so much caution. Let's listen to more of his remarks yesterday from Washington.
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POWELL: The point about uncertainty is it's kind of common sense thinking that when the path is uncertain, you go a little bit slower. It's not unlike driving on a foggy night or walking into a dark room full of furniture. You just slow down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: And this idea of slowing down is certainly not attractive to companies and individuals. They look forward to the year ahead.
Now, I did hear from one trader who felt that this reaction by the market was, quote, a way overreaction, in fact, may perhaps create opportunities for people to now buy after these losses. That's something we'll have to see at the opening bell in New York.
Also, let's not discount the possibility of what's known as a Santa Claus rally as we inch closer to Christmas. Historically speaking, Wall Street has performed well with excitement and thoughts of the future. So Rafael, that's certainly going to be perhaps a theme that investors not only in New York would like to see, but around the world as well.
ROMO: Lots of people hoping that Santa Claus will indeed show up. Thank you very much, CNN's Marc Stewart in Beijing. He's still a month away from his return to the White House, but Donald Trump is already having a major influence on business in Washington, this time effectively tanking a bipartisan deal that would have funded the government through mid-March, forcing lawmakers back to the drawing board.
In a social media post Wednesday, Trump complained about what he called Democrat bells and whistles in the stopgap measure, and he even threatened any Republicans who backed the plan.
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His Republican allies have also criticized the deal, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson, who negotiated the plan for giving in to what they felt were too many demands from Democrats.
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ELI CRANE, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: It's a complete monstrosity. Yes, no, I don't think it was handled well at all. But it's kind of par for the course for this town.
CHIP ROY, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: And we've now added 330 billion by my counter in deficit spending unpaid for. It's just -- I said earlier we're profoundly unserious on spending.
TIM BURCHETT, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: They got a bunch of garbage they want to pass, so they'll attach emergency things to it like, you know, for the hurricane relief or the farmers or what have you. To me, it's gutless.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: To make matters worse, Donald Trump is now demanding lawmakers find a way to raise the national debt ceiling this year. That gives lawmakers less than two days to come up with a new plan, address Trump's demands, and somehow keep the government funded in March.
In the coming hours, the French court is expected to hand down verdicts in what's considered one of the darkest cases in the country's recent history. Prosecutors say Dominique Pelicot organized the mass rape of his wife Gisele for almost 10 years, drugging her and inviting more than 50 men to assault her at their home. CNN's Melissa Bell has the latest.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The verdict is due on Thursday in the Gisele Pelicot rape trial, a trial that has gripped not only people here in France, but well beyond the borders of the country as well. A mass rape trial, at the center of which was Gisele Pelicot's remarkable decision to waive her anonymity and therefore those of her alleged rapists.
50 of them have been present in court for more than three and a half months now, one 51st man still on the run. Police say there are other men in some of the videos that were taken by her husband that haven't been identified. Many of the videos shot by Dominique Pelicot shown in court over the months. And at the heart of the sentences that are being sought, he faces 20 years in jail. Many of the other men as well.
Some of the sentences requested are down to four years. The point of Gisele Pelicot, she said, making waiving her anonymity, was the idea that shame should change camps. And that, given the attention that this trial has had, certainly seems to have been the case regardless of what sentences may be handed down on Thursday. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
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ROMO: Joining us from Paris is Rachel-Flore Pardo, a lawyer and feminist activist and co-founder of an NGO that fights sexual cyberbullying. Thank you very for joining us. Is it a foregone conclusion, Rachel, Rachel-Flore, that the most likely outcome in this case is a guilty verdict, given not only the abundant evidence the prosecution had, but also how much it's shaken French public opinion? What are you expecting?
RACHEL-FLORE PARDO, LAWYER AND FEMINIST ACTIVIST: I'm expecting just what you said. It is that what Mason's trial was supposed to bring to society, it has already brought it to society. The Mason's trial is an extraordinary trial in terms of defendants, also in terms of the echo it has had within here, the French society, but also abroad.
And your interest in this case is a proof of how big maybe the change it can bring to the fight against sexual and sexist violence can be. You said it earlier, but Gisele Pelicot said that she wanted shame to change sides. And this is of major concern because when we speak about sexual violence, shame has a lot to do with silencing victims.
And as she helped by her attitude, by her courage, by her decision to make this trial public, as she helped changing sides, she has already done so much for the fight against sexist and sexual violence. And I would just like to say here, thank you to Gisele Pelicot. And today we are expecting the verdict.
Of course, we hope that the verdict will also help to really reassure all victims that here in France the fight against sexual violence is taken seriously. But I guess this trial and Gisele Pelicot herself has already done so much for the feminist battle.
ROMO: Right. And here it's important to remember that she had the option of remaining anonymous, but she chose to go public with this. And Rachel-Flore, beyond the horrific allegations and the sense of indignation prompted by this case in France and elsewhere, what kind of impact would you expect? And will there be changes to current law in the country?
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PARDO: There might be changes in laws, there might be a new definition of rape. But actually, I don't think this is the biggest takeaway from this trial. I think the biggest takeaway is really that shame is changing sides. And that because this case shocked so much and because there were so many evidences, and because there are so many men accused of rape, here we are speaking about 51 men accused of rape. It helps society realize that sexual violence is a massive issue and that needs everybody to be involved in fighting it.
And I just wanted to say that it is indeed thanks to Gisele Pelicot's courage, thanks to her political decisions to make this trial public, refusing to have it behind closed door and this sacrificing a little of her intimacy to allow French society, and indeed the world to see how justice here in France takes care and handle sexual violence cases. It helped everyone understand the reality of rape and the reality of those accused of rape.
And also it helped people see that a person, a victim, a plaintiff of web cases, has no reason to be ashamed, has no reason to have shame, and that shame should be on the other side, and that this person that have suffered these offenses, they can and they should, if they want, indeed go to court and go to justice, because they have nothing to be ashamed of.
ROMO: In a different interview, you mentioned that when it comes to sexual abuse and rape, you have concerns regarding impunity and disappearing evidence. Is the French judicial system equipped to deal with this kind of challenge?
PARDO: I think it is like, and I do study other justice systems, and I think none of our justice system is sufficiently equipped to help people gather and keep evidence of cases of threat. But what I want to say about evidence is that evidence disappear over time. And so the time that is between the moment that the rape happened and the moment that the complaint goes to justice has to be as short, as quick as possible. And this is why the fact that Gisele Pelicot is helping shame to change sides is so important, because shame is indeed silencing victims.
And if we shorten this time between the moment the rape happened and the moment the person goes to the police, we will help impunity decrease, and thus we will fight more efficiently sexist and sexual violence.
So what I want to say to maybe people hearing us, wherever it is, in France or abroad, just want to say that if you have suffered this kind of assault, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You can go to the police, and I hope they will treat you well. And I hope that this is the treatment that these victims are receiving from both the police and the justice is indeed improving. It is improving in France. I hope it is also worldwide. And I hope that this -- the fact that you will go and report these facts will help. But tomorrow there will be less impunity and less facts and less assaults of sexual violence.
ROMO: Rachel-Flore Pardo in Paris, thank you very much for your insights.
And coming up, Russia's president will soon hold his annual press conference, taking questions from people across the country. We'll take a look at what could be on the agenda. Plus, the latest on Russia's investigation into the assassination of a top general.
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ROMO: A new Human Rights Watch report is accusing Israel of committing crimes against humanity in Gaza by deliberately depriving Palestinians of enough water to survive. The rights group alleges Israel is intentionally destroying water infrastructure, blocking aid and obstructing repairs and quote, deprive the majority of the more than 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza of access to even that bare minimum amount of water, which has contributed to death and widespread disease.
The group says Israel's policy amounts to an act of genocide. The report says there's been a particularly devastating impact on Gaza's infants, pregnant and breastfeeding women and people with disabilities. CNN has reached out to the Israeli military and COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for approving aid into Gaza, for comment on the report and is awaiting a response.
Ukraine says it has developed a laser weapon that can shoot down aircraft 2 kilometers away. Military officials say they are working to increase the weapon's scale and range. It's Kyiv's latest effort to combat Russia's relentless air attacks. CNN cannot verify these claims, but experts tell CNN the existence of the weapon is possible.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is admitting that the country's armed forces do not have the strength to reclaim all the territory that Russia has claimed. He's meeting with European allies in Brussels to try to get more military aid. The United Kingdom is stepping up, announcing a new $285 million package that will include equipment for Ukraine's air defenses. The British defense secretary says it highlights UK's ironclad support for Ukraine.
In just a few hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the nation in his annual press conference, but it's unclear whether he will talk about the assassination of a top general in the streets of Moscow. Russian officials have detained a man who allegedly confessed to planting the explosive device that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his aide on Tuesday. CNN's Matthew Chance brings us the latest.
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MATRHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Russian TV news that Moscow police have already detained a suspected bomber. This 29-year-old Uzbek citizen arrested in a village outside the capital has now confessed, according to prosecutors, to planting the explosive device that killed Igor Kirillov, one of Russia's top generals and his assistant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): During interrogation, he explained that he was recruited by Ukrainian special services, then arrived in Moscow and received an improvised explosive device. He placed it on an electric scooter which he parked at the entrance of the apartment building where Igor Kirillov lived.
CHANCE (voice-over): Video released by the Russian security services purports to show the suspect setting up a surveillance camera in a car outside. The camera is said to have live streamed the attack to Ukrainian intelligence, which has indeed claimed responsibility for the killing.
The suspects then shown on video, possibly under duress, saying he was promised $100,000 and a European passport for, in his words, pressing the button. But the bombing on the streets of Moscow is only the latest in a series of assassinations of prominent figures supporting Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine, starting with Daria Dugina, the outspoken advocate of the conflict and daughter of a pro-Kremlin nationalist killed in a car bombing in August 2022.
Ukraine denied involvement, but the shooting just last week of Mikhail Shatsky, a Russian missile developer outside Moscow, was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence, according to a CNN source in Kyiv, as was the car bombing in November of Valery Trankovsky, a senior Russian naval officer in Crimea.
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There have been numerous other killings, too, as Ukraine steps up, assassinations far from the front lines, cementing a reputation for vengeance. Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
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ROMO: Earlier, I spoke with Jill Dougherty, a CNN contributor and adjunct professor at Georgetown University. I asked her whether Russian President Vladimir Putin has a responsibility to address the assassination of General Kirillov.
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JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think the overall idea, you know, that he has to answer, even if it's not objectively stated, is that he is the protector of Russia. And if these things are happening, you know, the war continues in Ukraine, the drones that are hitting Moscow, this assassination, and then economic difficulties, I think on some level he's going to have address some of that.
ROMO: You may remember this, Jill, that during last year's press conference, Putin showed defiance by saying that Russia would either get an agreement to put an end to the war in Ukraine or would solve -- it would solve the conflict by force. The war is still going on. What are some of the main topics, besides what we have discussed before that you would expect Putin to address this time?
DOUGHERTY: You know, his press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russians are not particularly interested international issues. And I think what he means by that is, and I agree with it, that there are a lot of domestic issues. There is very high inflation, you know, bank rates are very high, things cost more, et cetera. And there are a lot of Russians who want to know, number one, you know, when will the war end, when will inflation end, you know, prices are rising, et cetera.
They have a lot of domestic concerns that go beyond, I think, the bigger issues, let's say, the international issues that journalists might be interested in. So I think you're going to get a lot of questions from average Russians who will say, you know, when do we live better? What's going to happen here? When does inflation go down? These are real issues for Russians.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMO: Donald Trump's long running feud with Liz Cheney heats up why his allies in the House say Cheney should be prosecuted for her role in the January 6th investigation. Plus, Donald Trump is promising mass deportations of people who have migrated to the United States illegally. We'll take a look at how his policies measure up against previous administrations.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rafael Romo.
Donald Trump has long claimed that members of Congress who investigated the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol should go to jail. And now a House Republican investigation into the attack is siding with Trump and going after former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney for her part in probing Trump's role in what happened that day.
Now, other Republicans are concerned they could be the next target. And one lawmaker who spoke anonymously to CNN, said they don't think it's fair to Liz Cheney.
CNN's Brian Todd reports.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Liz Cheney, a total loser --
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The former and future president posting on Truth Social at 3:11 Wednesday morning, quote, "Liz Cheney could be in a lot of trouble."
Donald Trump's response to a new report from his Republican allies in the House, which recommends that former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney should be prosecuted by the FBI for her role investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: This is just the first of many attempts to seek revenge and retribution, as Donald Trump has put it, for the January 6th report.
TODD: That report, issued in 2022, asserted Trump incited the rioters who stormed the Capitol, and Cheney, serving as vice chair of the committee, was often seen as one of the leading public faces of the investigation.
LIZ CHENEY, FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSWOMAN: President Trump summoned the mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.
VIVIAN SALAMA, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": He has deep grievances with Liz Cheney as she spoke out against him at a time where most Republicans were not willing to do that. And he believes deeply that she tarnished his legacy. TODD: Trump has repeatedly personally insulted Cheney, including just
before the election, calling her a warmonger, imagining how she would do if she faced combat.
TRUMP: She's a radical war hawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, ok.
TODD: The new report from House Republicans accuses Cheney of colluding with Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump White House aide who became a star witness for the January 6th committee after ditching her Trump-provided lawyer.
CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE AIDE: I overheard the president say something to the effect of, you know, I don't care that they have weapons.
TODD: House Republicans implying Cheney might have broken the law by engaging in back-channel communications with Hutchinson.
REP. BARRY LOUDERMILK (R-GA): Did Liz Cheney commit to suborn (ph) perjury, which is when she's encouraging someone to not tell the truth?
TODD: But one legal analyst says this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing wrong happened. They communicated with a witness and helped her get another lawyer.
TODD: By calling on the FBI to go after Liz Cheney, Trump's House allies could be looking to Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist picked by Trump to be the FBI director who has vowed to take retribution on Trumps enemies.
SALAMA: He is largely viewed even among Republicans, as being a yes- man, essentially, and will do whatever Donald Trump asks him to do.
TODD: One analyst sees this report as more about message sending than about whether Liz Cheney or anyone else actually broke the law.
SABATO: This is a warning to all of us about what is coming in the next four years.
He's at the peak of his power, and he intends to use it and use it fast so that he has four full years to crush his enemies.
TODD: Liz Cheney responded by saying that the new report intentionally disregards the truth and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did.
Cheney said that January 6th, quote showed Donald Trump for who he really is -- a cruel and vindictive man.
Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson, the former chair of the House January 6th committee, said in a statement that the new report is filled with baseless conclusory allegations rather than facts.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO: Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic". He joins us now from Los Angeles. Ron, welcome.
Does it come as a surprise at all that House Republicans have decided to recommend that Liz Cheney be prosecuted by the FBI for her role in the investigation into the attack on the U.S. Capitol?
As you may remember, many people dismissed it during the presidential campaign as just political talk when Trump suggested he would try to prosecute his political opponents. What do you make of this?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I think it's a signal that, as on many fronts -- really on all fronts -- that people who discounted a lot of the things, the more extreme things that Trump said during the campaign as bluster or campaign rhetoric, I think, are in for an awakening.
You know, I think Trump, like most elected presidents, tries to do the things that he said he was going to do.
[01:34:50]
BROWNSTEIN: And so, you know, you look at what's happening here, he is talking about pardoning the participants in the January 6th insurrection and prosecuting the investigators.
And I think, you know, there's a -- there's a certainty on the pardoning. And this is a very clear threat on the prosecuting.
And what's important here is, is the broader context. I mean, this comes at a moment where Trump, in a variety of ways, is signaling, as Larry Sabato said in Brian Todd's spot, that he intends to use the power of the presidency to go after people he thinks have wronged him.
And this report today is a signal -- a very clear signal that rather than restraining him in any way, House Republicans at least are going to be cheering him on and possibly encouraging him to move in that direction.
ROMO: Yes, it certainly appears to be that way. Now, what do you make of Trump's post on Truth Social? It was the wee hours of the morning saying that Liz Cheney, quote, "could be in a lot of trouble". And at the same time praising Congressman Barry Loudermilk on what he called a job well done.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, this is -- this is the way Trump, you know, this has been Trump's behavior really throughout his political career. He tries to keep his fingerprints more often than not off of these kinds of, you know, commands, really.
But you know, there really is no separation here. I mean, that tweet or post is a very clear indication to his subordinates of what he wants to see done.
And he has, you know, throughout, I mean, you know, whether it's kind of the "will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest" school of leadership where he doesn't necessarily order someone to do something that violates norms or kind of busts through traditional limits on arbitrary exercise of presidential authority. But he leaves no doubt of what he wants them to do.
ROMO: Ron, is there a real possibility that this can turn into something serious for Cheney? Or is it a situation where House Republicans are pursuing this because it plays well with their base -- the Republican base.
BROWNSTEIN: Look, I you know, none of us, none of us, you know, have the gift of prophecy. But as I said, I think it's a mistake to assume that there are any limits here.
I think the country is very quickly entering a new era where what we thought were limits on the arbitrary exercise of presidential power, the selective marshaling of government power against enemies is all going to be tested, you know.
We lived through the Nixon era with his enemies list. The fact that he's putting Kash Patel at the White House and sought -- at the FBI, and sought to put Matt Gaetz at the justice department, I think is an indication that Trump is very, you know, very intent and very serious about moving in this direction.
And we are going to learn very quickly what boundaries and guardrails there are, because, you know, as you can see on a really every front, he is feeling empowered. He is feeling that the guardrails that restrained him have fallen.
ROMO: Right. I wanted to share with you part of the reaction from Cheney, who said that, quote, "their allegations do not reflect the review of the actual evidence and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously."
Do you believe the American judicial system has enough of a spine to put an end to an investigation if it's politically motivated?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. You know, something, anything that can get five Supreme Court justices behind it can go forward. You know, whether it's a policy or an investigation.
And we just don't know what the boundaries are for those -- for those six Republican-appointed justices on the court.
You know, no one -- I don't think anyone envisioned a ruling on presidential immunity as sweeping as they handed down last year.
And for that reason, that's I mean, that's one of the reasons why I think you can't rule anything out. You would think, on the face of it, something like this would not get off the ground as well as other things that Trump has talked about during the transition, like deporting the U.S. citizen kids of undocumented immigrants.
But really, all of that depends on whether at least two of the Republican appointed Supreme Court justices are willing to break with him, and the dominant opinion in their party. And we just don't know what they will do until they are faced with those situations.
ROMO: Well, it remains to be seen, of course.
Ron Brownstein, thank you very much for the opportunity.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
ROMO: President-Elect Donald Trump's pick for border czar says the incoming administration is ready to implement mass deportations. But he told CNN that they will need major funding from Congress and a minimum of 100,000 beds for detention centers.
Priscilla Alvarez explains.
[01:39:52]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President-Elect Donald Trump and his team have floated some draconian measures when it comes to detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants at a large scale.
But the basic elements of the plan and what some of his Trump aides have said publicly are similar to what the U.S. has seen before, including most recently during the Obama administration and the person at the helm, Tom Homan, a veteran of immigration enforcement, was also at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency during the Obama administration at a time where the then-former president was considered to be, quote, the deporter-in-chief.
Now, where there are similarities, it is, for example, prioritizing public safety and national security threats. Now, Obama did that and President Joe Biden did that.
The difference, however, was that during the Obama years, ICE agents if they were going in to arrest someone that they were targeting, could also potentially pick up those who also had an undocumented status in the household.
Now, some Homeland Security officials called this term, quote, collaterals. And that is something that Tom Homan has said he would do again, essentially going to pick up those that they are trying to target, but not leaving people behind, who may also be undocumented.
Then two, there is family detention. On that front, President Joe Biden ended family detention while Obama had expanded it, and it is something that is expected to make a return as well.
Now the numbers bear out how Obama became what some immigrant advocates and Democrats called the deporter-in-chief. That included, for example, 2.9 million deportations in his first term and 1.9 million deportations in his second term.
Compare that to Trump's first term, and he was around more than 1.5 million people. But in any given year, Obama reached around -- sorry, 400,000 people that they were able to deport, many of which were recent border crossers.
So while he did reach big numbers in one year, they were still limited in how many deportations they could execute on.
Now, of course, the other part of this is that the circumstances have changed, including who is crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
So while there are about 1.4 million people with pending deportation orders, many of those can't be returned because there aren't diplomatic relations between the U.S. and those countries, or because they are still going through some sort of process.
So this can all become very complicated very quickly. And of course, Donald Trump has also cited, for example, the Eisenhower administration and their aggressive and unprecedented sweep of undocumented immigrants.
So there is still room here for those draconian measures that Trump has floated before that could be baked into plans moving forward. But the basic elements of it are ones that are quite common in the way that immigration and customs enforcement carries out its operation. And those elements of it are similar to what was seen before, most recently under the Obama administration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO: Priscilla Alvarez reporting.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments over the potential ban of social media app TikTok, set to happen in less than a month.
Lawmakers previously demanded the app's Chinese owner sell their interests in the business to a non-Chinese owner due to national security concerns. Otherwise, the app would be banned across the country.
TikTok and some users argue the move would violate their First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court will hear the case on January 10th. It could make its ruling just days ahead of the scheduled ban set for January 19th.
A Supreme Court ruling puts Ghana closer to approval of a new law, further restricting the rights of LGBTQ citizens. Coming up, the effect it's already having on the community and its supporters.
[01:43:39]
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ROMO: Ghana's Supreme Court has rejected two challenges to an anti- LGBTQ rights bill, clearing the way for it to become law. It would impose prison sentences on members of the LGBTQ community and
their supporters. The president had delayed signing it pending the court rulings.
CNN's Larry Madowo has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If it is signed into law, this bill will be one of the strictest anti-LGBT laws anywhere in Africa. And that is saying something. Though, its name is much more innocent- sounding, the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill. that's its official name. and it was supported by Christian, Muslim and traditional leaders in Ghana. It passed unanimously in parliament. That explains just how popular it is.
And many in Ghana are supportive of the Supreme Court essentially deciding that they cannot stop it until it's officially a law. I've been reporting in Ghana twice this year and I know that many people support this bill.
But activists, those that work in the LGBT human rights space say even before it has become a law, there are already serious consequences.
ABENA TAKYIWAA MANUH, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE: It is a sad day and it has implications for the LGBT community. Even without the passage of the bill, people have been attacking members of a certain community.
And I think that just this pronouncement, this kind of formalism, this resort to constitutionalism actually put at risk the life and health of certain members of the community, and of course, some of us who are human rights defenders.
MADOWO: Ghana's outgoing president, Nana Akufo-Addo, has less than three weeks left in office, so if he does not sign it, he would kick the can down the road and leave that as a problem for the incoming administration of the President-Elect John Mahama.
Amnesty West Africa asking him not to sign it into law, saying it does not just infringed on the rights of one group but on the rights of all. But one of the lawmakers who was the biggest supporter of this bill helped bring it to parliament, Sam George, tweeted that it is done to God be the glory.
Gay sex in Ghana was already punishable with up to three years in prison. But this makes it even harder to even identify as LGBTI in Ghana. It criminalizes the promotion of LGBT rights in the country.
And that is why it's getting -- it's getting a lot of criticism. However, the finance ministry in Ghana had already warned that if this were to become law, Ghana risked losing out on $3.8 billion from the World Bank and another $3 billion from the IMF. These are funds the country badly needs for an economic revival.
But for the men on the street, they think it needs to become law. Larry Madowo, CNN -- Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO: The British teen charged in the deadly knife attack on a dance class in England, has pleaded not guilty to murder and other crimes.
The 18-year-old is charged with killing three girls and wounding ten other people in a stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.
The attack in Southport sparked rioting across England and Northern Ireland, fueled by far-right activists. The violence injured more than 300 police officers and led to attacks on hotels housing migrants after the suspect was falsely identified as an asylum seeker.
Police say they do not know the motive for the stabbings yet. The trial is expected to begin on January 20th.
The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO will be in court in just a few hours for an extradition hearing. Luigi Mangione remains in a Pennsylvania prison. And while authorities await his return to New York, attention has turned toward Mangione's family.
CNN's Danny Freeman has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As Luigi Mangione spends perhaps his final hours in a Pennsylvania prison, remarks from the New York police department have swung the spotlight back to Mangione family.
JOSEPH KENNY, NYPD CHIEF OF DETECTIVES: Part of that vetting process was that they reached out to Mangione mother in San Francisco very late on the 7th.
[01:49:47]
KENNY: They had a conversation where she didn't indicate that it was her son in the photograph, but she said it might be something that she could see him doing.
Mangione's mother, Kathy Mangione, called in a missing person's report in San Francisco for Luigi 16 days before the midtown Manhattan shooting. A law enforcement official told CNN she called San Francisco police because it was the last city she thought Luigi lived.
His mother told authorities she'd been calling her son repeatedly, but the voicemail was full. A law enforcement official also said that when asked by police, Mangione's mother said she didn't feel her son was a danger to himself or others. Less than a week later, investigators say Mangione arrived by bus at New York City's Port Authority.
Mangione's Baltimore family is well off. According to "The Baltimore Sun", his grandfather, Nicholas Mangione, built a local real estate empire that included nursing home facilities around Maryland and two suburban country clubs.
But during his first court appearance in Pennsylvania, Mangione told a judge he had been in contact with his family, quote, "until recently".
On Monday, a friend told "OUTFRONT" a similar story.
GURWINDER BHOGAL, LUIGI MANGIONE'S FRIEND: He said that the people around him were not on his wavelength, and he was eager for a community of like-minded people. And that was one of the reasons why he wanted to talk to me.
He just said that the people around him, he couldn't really talk to them because like, you know, he said he was, that they were on a different wavelength.
FREEMAN: Mangione's family friend, Santo Grasso told "The Wall Street Journal" he felt the family was blindsided by the news of Luigi's arrest. Mangione also wrote about his mom in at least one online post, according to "The Wall Street Journal".
In an online book review, he remarked how his mother would make him eat steak with his right hand, even though he was left hand dominant out of adherence to social norms.
LUIGI MANGIONE, CHARGED WITH MURDER OF UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO: Clearly out of touch.
FREEMAN: According to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Mangione has spent most of his time behind bars alone, continuing to take all of his meals by himself in his cell.
A prison spokesperson saying while Mangione has received money for his prison commissary account, dozens of emails, more than 50 letters -- Still, the spokesperson says no family have visited, just attorneys.
Now, on Wednesday afternoon, I reached out once again to the family for comment, but I did not hear back. Though I will note that we did learn from CNN's Kara Scannell that, in fact, the family is the one paying for the high-powered defense attorney that will be representing Luigi Mangione once he faces those murder charges in New York.
Meanwhile, coming up at court behind me on Thursday morning, we're going to see a crush of media, a crush of law enforcement as Mangione makes what may be his final court appearance here in Pennsylvania before ultimately heading to New York.
Danny Freeman, CNN -- Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Atlanta.
When we come back, a new study is shedding light on rodent behavior behind the wheel of the Rat-mobile just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMO: Poland is turning to strategic reserves of butter to relieve economic pressures on its people and possibly political pressures on government officials.
Authorities announced they will auction off up to 1,000 metric tons of frozen unsalted butter to bring down surging prices ahead of presidential elections in May.
They'll be sold to businesses for about $7 per kilogram in blocks of 25 kilos, or 55 pounds. The chief economist says retail butter prices are up 20 percent over last year and wholesale prices are up 50 percent.
[01:54:45]
ROMO: You've heard of flying cars and self-driving cars, but have you ever seen a car driven by a rat? A new study shows it's not only possible for the rodents to drive, they seem to like it.
Henry Zeris has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY ZERIS, CNN JOURNALIST: This is the moment a rat presses the lever in its tiny car, driving towards a tasty treat.
A developing study, which began over five years ago at the University of Richmond, has just revealed that rats can not only be trained to drive, but also seem to enjoy it.
KELLY LAMBERT, BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENTIST, UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND: So we had these indications that they enjoyed driving because they would jump in the car and rev the engine. But another little preliminary test that we did last summer was allowing the animals to either walk or drive to the Froot Loop tree, where they get their Froot Loops.
Day after day, week after week. They would see the car, run to the car, jump into the car and drive. So they went out of their way to drive. It suggests that they prefer the driving over walking.
ZERIS: Kelly and her team observed that human neurons are similar to rats neurons, meaning we can learn a lot about ourselves by studying rodent models.
LAMBERT: Participation. I think that's a critical kind of component of our brain lives, and I think that has some profound lessons, especially as we're living in this world of immediate gratification.
ZERIS: The experiment opens up several avenues for further exploration, such as testing if rats show competitiveness when racing against each other, and if this model can be replicated in other animals.
LAMBERT: So any animal that can make an association between a reward and engage in a behavior to activate the vehicle can learn this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMO: Who would have thought.
Well, there's less than two weeks to go until the world rings in the New Year. And in New York they're getting ready for the big countdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one. Happy new year. Yay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: That's the official 2025 sign that will appear in Times Square on New Year's Eve. On Monday the sign will be put up on 1 Times Square, where it will light up when the clock strikes midnight to welcome in 2025.
I'm Rafael Romo. Stay with us. CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church starts right after this break.
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