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CNN International: Dominique Pelicot Given 20-Year Sentence in Mass Rape Trial; Putin: "Situation is Changing Dramatically" in Ukraine War; Putin: Russia Making Advances Along Ukraine's Entire Front Line; Luigi Mangione Arrives at Court for Extradition Hearing; Tech Billionaires Cozy up to U.S. President-Elect; Paul McCartney Returns to London for "Got Back" Tour. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired December 19, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and this is the CNN Newsroom. This hour, we're following two developing legal stories. First in France this was the scene outside court in Avignon this morning, as Dominique Pelicot was found guilty alongside 50 others in a mass rape case that has shocked not only France but the world.

Speaking after the verdict was handed down, the woman at the center of the case, Gisele Pelicot paid tribute to unknown victims. And then here in the United States, Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO, will be in court this hour in Pennsylvania.

The horrific rape case that has captured the attention of France and the world is over. Dominique Pelicot, who was accused of organizing the mass rape of his wife, Gisele, has been found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison. And the 50 other defendants accused of taking part in the abuse have all been found guilty.

A French court handed down the verdict several hours ago for more than a decade, Dominique Pelicot drug his wife and allowed local men to rape her while she was unconscious. Gisele Pelicot has been praised for courageously speaking up and encouraging other women to report abuse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GISELE PELICOT, SPEAKS AFTER EX-HUSBAND: I am thinking finally of the unrecognized victims of stories which often unfold in the shadows. I want you to know we share the same fight. I would like to express my most profound gratitude to everyone who supported me throughout this length trial. Your testimonies moved me, and I took strength from them to return every day during these long days of hearings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The 50 men who took part in the rapes were also sentenced today. Many got shorter sentences than prosecutors had requested, and several were allowed to walk free with only time served. CNN's Melissa Bell is outside the courthouse in Avignon, France. What an incredibly disturbing case, the entire trial? This gripped so many, talk us through the verdict and now the sentences.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we had was outside this courtroom as every day over this nearly four- month trial Fredricka, huge crowd to come out, not only to support Gisele Pelicot, but to keep a very close eye on what the verdict was going to be and what the sentences handed down were going to be.

And so, we saw almost as soon as they came the guilty verdict, of course, for them, but the maximum sentence only given to Dominique Pelicot by the French judiciary, and that immediately led to cheers outside this courthouse. Some of the men who left free men today because they were given suspended sentences left under the cheers of the crowd.

So, there is anger at what is perceived to be some of the leniency of those sentences. But again, huge admiration expressed, once again, for Gisele Pelicot's courage in having made this public. That was a decision Fredricka, that meant that those videos that have been at the heart of this case.

Remember, it was over that decade period that Dominique Pelicot had not just recruited these men online, brought them to the family home to rape his sedated wife. He had filmed the act 200 rapes captured on video found in his phones and computers by investigators who came across him simply because he was caught one day in a supermarket trying to film up women's skirt. None of this might ever come to -- have come to light otherwise.

So, this is you're right, a trial that has really grit the imagination, not just to people here in France by the sordid details that is exposed by its scale, by the courage of the woman at the center of it, but I think also because by making it public, Gisele Pelicot has also led to this being much more than a mass rape trial.

It's become really something of a societal reckoning, not just here in France, but elsewhere, to do with the nature of rape culture, relationships between men and women, the nature of consent, the legal system, and how it is for victims as they try and come forward to it, and as those prosecutions are then brought where they are brought.

And again, the leniency of the sentence here can still be appealed, but certainly leading to a great deal of outrage from those who follow this trial, day in day out Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow, incredible. Melissa, you know we heard Gisele Pelicot speaking after the verdict was announced. And of course, none of this would have come possible because you know, she also chose to wave her anonymity.

[08:05:00]

I mean, she wanted everyone to see her, hear her story and understand the power of her courage. So, what has been her message after this verdict? BELL: I think that's right. It's the idea Fredricka of the power of speech for victims, and I think that's really what Gisele Pelicot wanted to place at the heart of this trial and for the whole world to see. In fact, she's made this very little about herself, saying time and time again, I am just a normal person.

But you are right, her decision was extraordinarily brave, because it didn't just mean that she was raving her right to anonymity and all that meant for her children and grandchildren. It also meant that the videos of her abuse, her rapes over the decades, would be played in the courtroom in which she sat after looking down at her phone when they were so difficult was it for her to live what -- relive what had happened.

That decision, of course, has meant also that the anonymity of the 51 accused men, only 50 of them in court here, because one is still on the run, was also waived, and that meant that they were placed before the course of public opinion. And that was really her point, that shame should now be where it belongs.

And almost regardless of the sentences, she achieved that just by making this trial public, allowing it to raise all the questions that it has again, that apply well beyond this particular court case in this particular town of -- on the outskirts of Avignon Federica.

WHITFIELD: Melissa Bell, thank you so much. All right, I want to bring in now Catherine Le Magueresse. She is an Attorney and the President of the European Association Against Violence Toward Women in the Workplace. She's joining us now live from Paris. Good to see you. I wonder if you could just give me your visceral thoughts about the verdict and sentencing.

CATHERINE LE MAGUERESSE, ATTORNEY: First, it's a relief that they were all condemned, because with this different strategy, we could ask ourselves, if they were -- they would all be condemned. So that's the case. It's a relief.

And then I'm surprised by the -- as the journalists say, the leniency of the sentences, they could have been condemned up to 20 years, and some of them will go free tonight, after this trial, not because it's suspended sentence, because they already served time in jail during the process. And so, they've done their sentence. They already accomplished the accomplish time.

And it's very lenient, in a sense that what they got is the kind of condemnation we have in, I would say, normal rape, which means not with this kind of drugs, not as many perpetrators, not with this kind of violence made by the husband. And this is less -- last week, we were in a trial in Paris, and the guy who was hierarchical of women, who was cleaning in a hotel, got 7 years.

It was just one man, one rape, and he got seven years. And this, those men who knew what they were doing and who participate to something collective, got less than that. It is very surprising.

WHITFIELD: Yes. MAGUERESSE: I think one of the strategies --

WHITFIELD: I was going to say, what do people feel like they can do with that frustration of really the conflicting messaging here? I mean the conflict of the messaging from Gisele showing her power, her courage here, and then that met with the fact that some of these men like you mentioned, got to walk out. You know that they didn't all face the maximum sentence that you just spelled out.

MAGUERESSE: Yeah, maybe I didn't ask for all of them to get 20 years -- but at least that something what would be proportional to what they did compared to other men. What other men -- to? I think the strategy of the magistrate may have been to discourage an appeal, and they, on purpose, gave small sentences in a way that those accused and condemned.

Now men would not make an appeal against this decision, which would be, of course, horrifying for Gisele Pelicot, because she doesn't, she -- she was very strong, but we know how tough it was for her to go through those weeks of trial.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

MAGUERESSE: And really, they -- if they -- well, they're not the only one who can appeal the decision. The prosecutor can too. And we don't know yet, they have 10 days to make a decision on that issue.

[08:10:00]

But if they -- if the prosecutor, appeal, then we offer another trial, which would be very different, because then we would have popular juries, which is -- what was not the case interesting, where it was only professional judges.

WHITFIELD: Do you think, through this case, through her courage, through the outcome of the case, that there will be a pivotal impact on women's rights, on an understanding of a universal understanding and acceptance of consent.

MAGUERESSE: I don't know if it's pivotal. It follows what happened with "Metoo Movement" and all trials that are going on in France. I think everyone in France had to ask themselves how they are -- they were mainly men behaving with women and women asking themselves if they were ever raped this way because it was the husband and with a very strong confidence relationship.

But what it sparked, certainly, is to show how the French law was outdated, and how it's -- and the how justice system is usually failing women in France. We had the chance, if I call that chance that we had very strong evidence with sorry -- the videos, but it's barely, really the case.

So, it -- we were -- there was a work in process since February on how we should change the law, and this trial prove even more the need to change the law to avoid this kind of defense. We had that they thought that they had the consent because the husband said yes, or they thought that she was consented to this kind of relationship, because it was so called libertine, in fact, pornographic fantasy, which are fueled by belief that women always went it, or even when they are asleep.

And this is all those rape culture that was also analyzed and again and again, but maybe we have to do it again and again in order to change the thing. I mean, we are in the time where, well, you have a president who say, your body, my choice, and we strongly have to fight that. And I think it's universal.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Attorney Catherine Le Magueresse, appreciate your time. All right happening right now. Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan, has arrived at a Pennsylvania court house. He faces two hearings today, one on Pennsylvania forgery and firearms charges and the other an extradition hearing.

The last time Mangione appeared before a judge, police had to force him, kind of push him as he turned to shout out some things at the reporters and cameras there. Mangione is expected to waive extradition to New York, where he faces first degree murder charge. CNN's Danny Freeman has more from outside court in Pennsylvania.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Fred. Yeah, I'll tell you, it's an absolutely intense day here in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, there is a ton of media, an enormous law enforcement presence as well. Streets are blocked off, and it's all because we're awaiting that hearing, those two hearings, I should say, from Luigi Mangione in the courthouse behind us in just a matter of minutes.

So, to remind folks, we're looking at two hearings this morning, the first one coming up at 08:30 that's going to be on those preliminary charges here in Pennsylvania. For those lesser charges, to remind your audience, two felonies, including a gun charge, then also those three misdemeanors. But then immediately after, we're going to see that extradition hearing for those much more intense murder charges back in New York.

Now, this hearing is still on as of now, but CNN's Kara Scannell, did report yesterday that the attorney told CNN that Mangione is not expected to fight extradition, which means that Mangione could be on his way back to New York as early as potentially this morning or this afternoon.

Meanwhile Fred, I want to tell you some updated information that we have about the outside world's attempt to interact with Mangione since he's been behind bars in Pennsylvania. Yesterday, we reported that Mangione had received just a few dozen emails and six hand written letters.

[08:15:00]

Well, we got an update from a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections, who told us that yesterday afternoon, he received 40 emails and has received 53 letters since he's been behind bars here. Also, as of yesterday afternoon, Mangione has received 158 deposits into his prison commissary account.

But this is still interesting. All that being said as of yesterday afternoon, we still know that the only people who have visited Mangione in prison has been his attorneys. However, CNN did learn late last night through a source that Mangione's family is in fact paying for that high power defense attorney that will be repping Mangione in New York again on those murder charges.

So again Fred, quite a scene out here as we see the New York Pennsylvania and national media all waiting for this hearing. This chapter of the story, at least the Pennsylvania chapter the story could be over in just a matter of hours Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Danny Freeman, thank you so much, and we'll have more analysis on Luigi Mangione's case later on this hour, the first of those two hearings expected to start in just about 15 minutes from now.

All right, straight ahead, speaking to the people Vladimir Putin takes questions from Russian citizens and journalists who want to know his views on Ukraine. His answers coming up. Then, as the U.S. government barrels toward a weekend shut down the world's richest man weighs in tanking a bipartisan budget deal. What happens now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Vladimir Putin is talking about Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in his annual news conference in Russia. The Russian President has said his forces are making advances.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: The situation is changing dramatically. Movement is taking place along the entire front line every day. And as I already said, we are not talking about advancing by 100, 200, 300 meters. Our fighters are taking back territory by square kilometers. I want to emphasize every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Russian Leader declined to say when Moscow would recapture the Southern Kursk Region from Ukrainian forces. CNN's Clare Sebastian has been monitoring the news conference and is joining us now live. Clare, so what more are you hearing from the president?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Fred. I think it was notable the sort of demeanor of Putin today. He seemed very confident, very comfortable. He was talking somewhat colloquially, occasionally cracked jokes at the expense of his press secretary. And I think that's clearly a reflection of how he sees the war in Ukraine going. Taking territory, as you heard there, he said, by the square kilometer.

So, in terms of news lines, what we got from him was, first of all on President-Elect Trump. He said he would be ready to meet with him at any time, but he hadn't heard from him as of yet. On the ousted Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, he said he was going to meet with him as well, though he hasn't yet. Assad as you know, has been in Moscow now for almost two weeks.

[08:20:00]

But I think what was crucial to note here is Putin knows that this isn't just directed at a domestic audience. He knows he has an international audience here, and he really took the opportunity in multiple different ways to project Russian strength, really trying to sort of re-establish this Russian deterrent in the eyes of the West.

And ultimately, I think, to try to deter future aid for Ukraine. He talked about, as you heard there, the fight is taking more territory day by day. He talks about the Russian economy growing faster than the U.S. and the EU, how the Russian defense industry is out producing its rivals.

And then you got a question about this medium range ballistic missile that Russia fired in November, the arithmetic missile, and the skepticism in the West that it's impossible, as Russia claims, to shoot down. Take a listen to how he reacted to that.

So, I don't think we have that clip for you, but basically what he said was that -- you know if those experts in the West wanted, he'd be willing to set up an experiment where, essentially, they pick a target, maybe, he said, in Kyiv, and -- all of their air defense capabilities there, and Russia would be willing to fire the -- to see, essentially, who would win.

So, it's pretty out there, method of projecting Russian strength, but I think you clearly see this underlying insecurity in Moscow, that given that the West is now allowing Ukraine to fire its long-range missiles on Russian soil, that there isn't enough fear around this Russian deterrent. But overall, you know a confident, collected Putin, who I think really does feel that his army is gaining strength and gaining ground in Ukraine Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Clare Sebastian, thank you so much. All right, now I want to bring in now CNN Contributor, Jill Dougherty, she is CNN's Former Moscow Bureau Chief and now an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. Great to see you.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, as Clare was saying, Putin projecting a feeling of real confidence here. What do you believe the goal was of this press conference?

DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, as Clare mentioned, there are two audiences, so there's the domestic audience and there's the international audience. So domestically, and there were a lot of questions, I'd say the majority from just average Russians. They said about two -- more than 2 million 2.25 million people submitted questions, and they're concerned about the economy. So, Putin was -- you know under pressure to assure them that the

economy is doing fine. Just look at other countries. Inflation may be up, but it's not that bad, et cetera, that that was a part of it. But I think internationally, he was asked a very interesting question by an NBC U.S. Reporter who said, you know when you meet with Trump, won't you be in a weaker position and he mentioned the war drone attacks in Moscow, assassination of general?

And Putin turned it. And he is actually good at doing this. He turned it into Russia. And he said, no, actually, Russia is much more -- is much stronger than it's been. We are more sovereign. So, the things that he didn't talk about, though, were like in the Kursk region the North Korean troops who were there fighting, there was no word about those.

And but I think you know, overall, what he does is, this is -- you know it's lasting for about four hours. So. there's that show of -- you know stamina that he can answer questions that were -- you know the Kremlin is totally open to questions. And I must say, as usual, Mr. Putin had a lot of facts and figures at his disposal. He is really encyclopedic, and that's also part of the image that he projects, that he knows everything, and ultimately has an answer to most everything too.

WHITFIELD: And it also sounded like, from Clare's reporting there at the press conference that he's looking forward to a meeting with Donald Trump. We're inside a month from the next president's inauguration.

DOUGHERTY: Yes. And interestingly, he said, I haven't talked with him for four years. Now there are some, some journalists who have actually said that he has indeed talked with Trump. But be that as it may, he said he had not. I wouldn't say there was anything particularly new in that.

You know, he was open to talks. President Putin says that consistently he's open to talks on Ukraine. One thing that he just said a couple of minutes ago was he was asked about Joe Biden pardoning his son, and in Mr. Putin's typical approach, he praised and then demean in the same voice. He said, well, you know, Stalin wouldn't during World War II -- wouldn't trade his son, and actually, historically, Stalin's son did die in captivity in Germany.

[08:25:00]

And he said, so -- you know Biden is a politician, and you can be a politician, and then there's a human side. So, I guess he was just a little more human, I would not condemn him. So -- you know again, another he had a bad relationship, obviously, with Biden, and he's kind of presenting himself as reasonable when he begins to deal with Trump.

WHITFIELD: That is fascinating. All right, Jill Dougherty, thank you so much. All right, Ukraine's President calling for the U.S. and Europe to act as a united front to stop Russia's aggression. Volodymyr Zelenskyy was addressing European Union Leaders at a Summit in Brussels, the war in Ukraine remains top of the agenda. Mr. Zelenskyy, urged U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump to ally with Europe, saying it's the only thing that can save his country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I think we have to count again on the unit -- on unity between the United States and Europe. It's very difficult to support Ukraine without American help, and that what we will discuss with the President Trump when he will be in the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, said the EU would work for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. All right, Israel has launched deadly strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen hours after the Houthis latest attack on Israel. Israel's air strikes hit a port and oil facility near the capital of Sana (ph), according to Houthi officials, who also say nine people were killed and three others injured.

Israel's military says the strikes were retaliation for Houthi missile and drone attacks on Israel over the past year, most of which were intercepted. Tensions between Israel and the Iran backed militant group have escalated since Israel began its war on Hamas in Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in the French overseas territory of Mayotte days after a devastating cyclone tore through the archipelago. Cyclone Chido caused a massive amount of damage, flattening entire neighborhoods, knocking out electric grids and destroying hospitals. At least 31 people have been confirmed dead, and that number is expected to rise into the hundreds and possibly even thousands.

Still to come, the man charged with murdering health care CEO Brian Thompson is appearing before a judge in Pennsylvania. What he faces today in back-to-back hearings. Still ahead, we're getting new details about the student who carried out a deadly school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin. More on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]

WHITFIELD: Right. I want to return to today's court hearing for Luigi Mangione, the man charged with murdering the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione arrived in court in Pennsylvania a short time ago. He will have back-to-back hearings today. He is not expected to oppose a move to extradite him to New York, where he faces 11 charges over the murder of Brian Thompson.

One of those charges first-degree murder, that is customarily a charge as an act of terrorism. A charge some legal experts say prosecutors might have trouble proving in court. Joining me right now is Attorney and Legal Affairs Commentator Areva Martin, good to see you Areva. So, in this 11-count indictment, more specifically, there is that, you know, count of murder in the first degree.

And that first-degree murder charge in New York is rare, because it requires special elements related to the crime, like if the victim were a judge, a police officer, a first responder. Since the United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is none of those things. Will this be complicated?

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY AND LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yeah Fred, that is what some legal experts have pontificated about. The issue is this special circumstance, the murder designed to incite terrorism, can be charged if the prosecutors can prove that not only was this a premeditated murder, but it was designed to incite fear intimidation in citizens and to influence governmental policies.

And the prosecutor in the state of the count in Manhattan has said that this was a brazen attack that occurred in broad daylight in a busy part of Manhattan. And he believes that there's enough evidence to support the additional charges, and it's significant because this first-degree murder charge, if convicted, would allow for the defendant to receive a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

So that makes this first-degree murder charge even more significant than the second-degree murder charges that have been filed against the defendant as well, which carry only prison sentences up to 25 years.

WHITFIELD: OK, and so that's a New York case now. He's in Pennsylvania right now he's got back-to-back hearings. What is expected today as he faces a couple of charges that are gun related, and then it's unclear, or I guess the feeling is he's not going to fight his extradition to New York, but first on that Pennsylvania charges matter, what will the hearing be like today?

MARTIN: Yeah, a couple things are going to happen in Pennsylvania today. One, there's the arraignment on the gun charge and a forgery charge, charges brought by the District Attorney in the State of Pennsylvania. And then the extradition hearing, the hearing to determine whether he'll be returned to New York to face the 11 counts that have been filed against him in New York.

What we're hearing from his attorneys is that he is not going to fight the extradition to New York. So, the Pennsylvania District Attorney has also said that they will subordinate their charges and allow the New York charges to take precedent, to take priority. So, the initial arraignment in the Philadelphia court could, or Pennsylvania court, I should say, will be pretty quick.

And then, if he does not, the defendant does not fight those extradition charges, that also will be a fairly quick hearing, and he could be returned to New York as early as this afternoon, and could be facing a court hearing an arraignment in New York later today, or first thing Friday morning.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then, what are your impressions, your thoughts on Mangione's celebrity, if you will. You know, donations being made to him financially, emails of interest being sent to him. What are your thoughts and what is this? How is this impacting the case overall?

MARTIN: Very disturbing, Fred. Very disturbing. Over 158 folks have put money on his books while he's being detained in Pennsylvania. We've heard seen on social media folks lauding him as some kind of hero. Look, the reality is, this was a senseless killing. This was violence.

This is not the way that you express your voice. You raise your voice if you have concerns about the health care system in the United States, it being unfair that it's somehow being stacked against individuals who have serious medical conditions. There are ways to do that, and the way not to do that is to commit this kind of brazen attack on this United Health CEO.

[08:35:00]

Unfortunately, in this country, people like Mangione, those people who you know have certain kinds of privileges oftentimes, will be heralded as heroes, even though they've committed violent acts, such as the one that he's been accused of in this case.

WHITFIELD: All right. Areva Martin, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

MARTIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Investigators in Wisconsin are looking into a possible connection between a 20-year-old California man and Monday's school shooter. And new details are emerging about the 15-year-old student who, police say, killed a teacher and another student before killing herself. CNN's Whitney Wild has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Families of students at Abundant Life Christian School, returning to the scene about horrific crime, retrieving belongings, the first step in a long road to healing.

MACKYNZIE WILSON, STUDENT AT ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: It's really hard going into the school again after all the like fear and trauma --

WILD (voice-over): Mackynzie Wilson had a locker next to the shooter 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow.

WILSON: She was really quiet. She didn't really have any friends and like, she just seemed really lonely. And she was just like -- it wasn't like she was trying to, like, fit in. She seemed very like content being alone, I guess.

WILD (voice-over): This is new details are emerging about Rupnow, who opened fire at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, Monday, killing two and wounding six others. According to court documents obtained by CNN, her parents married and divorced twice within the span of about 10 years. The documents show a complicated arrangement, with Natalie moving between homes every two to three days. Ultimately, her father Jeff had primary custody with regular visits from her mother and they lived roughly 40 minutes apart. The documents also show that Natalie attended therapy and her parents were encouraged to join her.

Neither Jeff nor Melissa Rupnow have responded to CNN's multiple requests for comment, but court family documents say at one point reported a generally positive co-parenting relationship. Police say Rupnow's parents, Jeff and Melissa, are co-operating with the investigation.

According to police, Rupnow used a handgun in the attack, but it's unclear how she obtained the weapon. A Facebook photo posted by Rupnow's father in August shows her at a shooting range. A comment from her dad on the photo says they joined the range in the spring, and quote, we have been loving every second of it.

She's also seen wearing a KMFDM shirt, a German industrial rock band whose lyrics were cited by the shooters at the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 in Colorado. The band, at the time, condemned that horrific attack. The band's music also accompanied a TikTok post from Dylan Butler shortly before he opened fire at a school in Iowa in January, killing a sixth grader and wounding seven.

Police say they're looking into Rupnow's activity online. Experts say any social media footprint left behind by Rupnow is crucial to the investigation.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: In order to get to that motive, investigators will have to rely on witnesses, any writing she left behind, and a deep dive into her social media history to see if there's any indication why she conducted this heinous act.

WILD (voice-over): A heinous act that took the life of a teacher, who Wilson says was popular among students.

WILSON: She really loved her kids, and she really, really loved everyone at our school, and she would have done anything for them. Looking back, I wish I had gone -- I could have gone back and given her hug.

WILD: Mackynzie's mom, Lindsay (ph) went to school here too. She started at the school when she was just eight years old. And what is so clear talking to Mackynzie and Lindsay (ph) and the other families is that this is a school with a really strong sense of community.

They are very close knit. They have generations of families have gone to this school, and what binds them is their faith, and they say they are clinging to that closely tonight, Whitney, Wild, CNN, Madison, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, damage control, following threats from the world's richest man. U.S. House Republicans will meet soon to decide what comes next after Elon Musk and then Donald Trump together tanked a bipartisan budget deal. Also, another tech titan seeking to cozy up to the president elect. We'll take a closer look at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos his relationship with Trump when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, this just in, we've learned that Luigi Mangione is now in the courtroom in Pennsylvania for the first of two hearings. He's not expected to oppose a move ultimately, to be extradited to New York, where he faces 11 charges in connection with the murder of Brian Thompson.

One of those charges murder as an act of terrorism, a charge some legal experts say prosecutors might have trouble proving in a New York court, but again, he's in Pennsylvania right now, facing charges during a hearing involving gun related charges and a forger related charge.

All right, as the clock ticks down to a U.S. government shutdown on Friday, House Republicans are meeting within the hour and scrambling now to figure out what comes next. On Tuesday, Speaker -- House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a bipartisan short term spending deal to keep the U.S. government open until March.

But then hours later, billionaire Elon Musk used his social media platform to post dozens of comments slamming the bill. Donald Trump then took to his social media site and also came out against the measure, as well as calling for an increase in the U.S. debt ceiling. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty reports.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Things are not in a good place right now up here on Capitol Hill, the spending bill is dead. Speaker Johnson has not yet revealed a Plan B, another plan. And the next steps at this moment are very unclear, and all this chaos and drama up here is unfolding just one day before a potential government shutdown Friday night at midnight into Saturday morning.

Now leaders today, they will be attempting to navigate what one lawmaker says is a big mess up here on Capitol Hill after President- elect Trump blew up the deal really making some 11th hour demands, including tying, potentially the debt limit to government funding. That is something that many lawmakers are very worried about, being able to broker a deal on both those big-ticket items over the next day or so.

Now, last night, leaders up here on Capitol Hill huddled late into the evening and emerged with little clarity on the path forward. Here's House Majority Leader Steve Scalise leaving that meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- how --

REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): -- so sideways with the president elect. He came out, and this is a deal that you guys cut, and the president- elect is --

RAJU: -- working --

SCALISE: We're working with he and the vice president to address some of the he wants to start the presidents on a Senate flooding, and we want him too as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- when --

SCALISE: Hopefully tomorrow, we got to say. A lot of things have come up. President Trump is going to be the President of United States, and we're excited about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did he join your meeting? Did you -- the Amazon?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: So, the big question is, what happens next in just a little bit of time, House Democrats will be huddling up here on Capitol Hill trying to plot out their next steps, and they do have a key role here as well. Speaker Johnson needs their support. He cannot risk jeopardizing any Democratic support to get a potential final bill, whatever that involves over the finish line.

And many Democrats here have really signaled that they are unwilling to potentially negotiate another bill after they spent months and months negotiating with Democrats -- with Republicans and Speaker Johnson himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND CURRENT PRESIDENTIAL- ELECT: I did have dinner with Tim Cook. I had dinner with sort of almost all of them, and the rest are coming. And this is one of the big differences, I think, between we were talking about it before. One of the big differences between the first term and the first term everybody was fighting me.

[08:45:00]

And this term everybody wants to be my friend. I don't know. My personality changed or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Donald Trump there bragging about his now popularity among tech billionaires in particular, as numerous business chiefs try to win his favor. Trump had dinner with Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago Wednesday night.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Amazon made a million- dollar donation to the Trump inauguration fund. But Bezos, who also owns "The Washington Post", has a complicated history with the president-elect here now with CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEFF BEZOS, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF AMAZON: If we're talking about Trump, I think it's very interesting. I'm actually very optimistic this time around.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Billionaire, Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos earlier this month offering his take on President- elect Donald Trump's second term.

BEZOS: What I've seen so far is that he is calmer than he was first time.

KAYE (voice-over): That's a lot coming from a guy who has been on the receiving end of much of Trump's ire some of it dates back to the 2016 campaign, when Trump suggested Bezos was using his ownership of "The Washington Post" as a weapon against Congress to keep politicians from looking into Amazon no tax monopoly.

TRUMP: I have respect for Jeff Bezos, but he bought "The Washington Post" to have political influence. And I got to tell you, we have a different country that we used to have, believe me, if I become president, oh, do they have problems.

KAYE (voice-over): In 2016, Trump suggested Bezos was using the newspaper to evade taxes.

TRUMP: "The Washington Post", which is just a ploy for Amazon, so that Amazon doesn't pay taxes.

KAYE (voice-over): Bezos responded to Trump's attacks regarding taxes, writing on Twitter, finally trashed by real Donald Trump. Will still reserve him a seat on the Blue Origin rocket. Included in the tweet, the #senddonaldtospace.

BEZOS: And, you know, I have a rocket company, so you know the capability is there.

KAYE (voice-over): He also chastise Trump for threatening those who dare to scrutinize him.

BEZOS: We are allowed to criticize and scrutinize our elected leaders --

KAYE (voice-over): After Trump was elected in 2016, Bezos and Trump took a brief pause from blasting one another. The two men met in December 2016 at Trump Tower. By the time Trump ran for president again in 2020, he rebooted the jabs aimed at Bezos. When news of Bezos is impending divorce was published in the National Enquirer in 2019, Trump saw an opportunity and crowned Bezos with a new nickname, referring to him in a tweet as Jeff Bozo.

More recently, their icy relationship seemed to thaw after the first assassination attempt on Trump's life in July in Pennsylvania, Bezos wrote on X, our former president showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire tonight. So thankful for his safety and so sad for the victims and their families. And just last month, Bezos congratulated Trump on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory in the 2024 election. Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments over the ban on TikTok operating in the United States, which is to take effect in less than a month. U.S. lawmakers have demanded that for the ban to be rescinded. The Chinese company that owns TikTok sell the app to a non-Chinese owner. CNN's Joan Biskupic, has details.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: In a First Amendment battle that could affect about 170 million Americans who use the TikTok platform. The nine justices have agreed to hear the company's challenge to a federal law that would ban it from the United States.

The court will hear the case on January 10, and the justices will really be racing against the clock. Under the disputed federal law, TikTok could be banned in America on January 19. The controversy traces to last April, when Congress passed and Joe Biden signed a ban on the popular social media platform.

The law was responding to years of concern in Washington that TikTok, Chinese parent company posed a national security risk. The government argues that China could covertly manipulate the app to affect content and also to access user's data. TikTok Incorporated is an American company, but the ultimate parent is ByteDance, which has Chinese ownership.

The TikTok platform would be banned in the U.S. unless it is divested of that Chinese ownership. If that doesn't happen, TikTok would lose the opportunity to be available through platforms and apps here. TikTok has argued that the law unfairly singles it out and violates speech rights.

[08:50:00]

The company lost in an important federal court -- an appellate court, which said the federal government had made a good case on national security grounds. We'll see whether the federal government can do the same before the justices. It will be the last major argument by the Biden Administration at the high court.

Again, the law is set to take effect in about a month on January 19, which is a day before Donald Trump's inauguration and his return to the White House.

WHITFIELD: Joan Biskupic, thank you so much. Still to come, Paul McCartney comes home for Christmas. The legendary musician takes his got back tour to London. Details straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: OK, so 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 actually seem to like it. Henry Zeris has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY ZERIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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 cannot only be trained to drive, but also seem to enjoy it.

KELLY LAMBERT, 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 fruit loop tree, where they get their fruit 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 (voice-over): Kelly and her team observed that human neurons are similar to rat 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's has some profound lessons, especially as we're living in this world of immediate gratification.

ZERIS (voice-over): The experiment opens up several avenues for further exploration, such as testing if rat 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)

WHITFIELD: All right. And as we close out 2024, the Big Apple is getting ready for the big countdown to the New Year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 3, 2, 1, Happy New Year.

WHITFIELD: That's the warm up. It's almost here, and that is the official 2025 sign that will appear in Times Square on New Year's Eve. On Monday, it will be placed top one Times Square, where it will light up when the clock strikes midnight to welcome in 2025. Can't wait, right?

All right. And CNN will have special coverage of New Year's Eve across the globe. Tune in December 31, 12:00 p.m. London time to watch the fireworks from Sydney, Australia all the way to the ball dropping in New York City. And finally, Paul McCartney's got back tour hit the London stage on Wednesday night, and the music icon rocked fans with a Beatles favorite.

[08:55:00] Timeless, sir Paul and his band kicking off the first of two nights at the O2 arena with the crowd pleaser money camp -- before playing a three-hour set. McCartney is wrapping up an international tour with shows in England.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL MCCARTNEY, SINGER AND MUSICIAN: Well, hello London. Here we are. OK. Well, we've been all over South America and France and Madrid and even Manchester. And here we are back home in London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Everywhere, and back in London, McCartney is there at the O2 arena for a second night on Thursday, the last scheduled performance of the year. And thank you so much for joining me here in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "Connect the World" with Erica Hill is up next.

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