Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: U.S. Federal Government Shutdown Looms Before Holidays; Trump, Musk Divide Republicans Over Funding Bills; Ukraine: One Killed, 12 Injured In Missile Strikes On Kyiv. Aired 11a- 12p ET

Aired December 20, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on from where you are watching. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Ahead in the CNN Newsroom, a U.S. government shutdown is now just 13 hours away, unless lawmakers can reach an 11th-hour deal on a new funding measure. We'll bring you the latest. Plus, strikes in the heart of Kyiv, as Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy trade barbs. And the first U.S. delegation to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime arrives in Damascus, as more than 100,000 Syrians return to their home country.

And we begin with three all too familiar words, "government shutdown looms". By the end of the day, U.S. government funding will expire unless the House passes a new plan. This is the scene in Washington where House Republicans are scrambling to find a path forward after they failed to pass a plan endorsed by Donald Trump on Thursday. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance began the morning meeting with fellow Republicans to try to get another vote on the House floor, in some cases, meeting in person. In other ways, it's over the phone.

The race to beat the midnight deadline comes after tech billionaire Elon Musk tanked a bipartisan spending deal on Wednesday by firing scores of angry tweets, and then Trump doubled down with a demand that any deal should also address the looming government debt limit.

Well, this morning, CNN's Kate Bolduan spoke with Republican Congressman Dusty Johnson, who says a shutdown would be, quote, "exceptionally stupid".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DUSTY JOHNSON (R-SD): Listen, we're going to get this done. It's just going to take a little bit of time yet. We need to get this done. It will be exceptionally stupid if we don't get this done. And I always believe the cooler heads will prevail and we will actually do our job around here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A shutdown would have a wide-ranging impact on government services. At the peak of holiday travel season, TSA agents and air traffic controllers could be left working without paychecks.

Our team is tracking this developing story. Alayna Treene joins us live from West Palm Beach, Florida, and Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill.

Let's begin on Capitol Hill with Lauren. What's the latest on these down-to-the-wire negotiations? Is there a Plan C now?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are now just a little bit over 12 hours until this government shutdown deadline. And I will tell you, Fred, that one thing that is emerging is that there is now an open line of communications between Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Jeffries told his caucus this behind closed doors just a couple of minutes ago. Democrats have been meeting for about the last hour, as they are trying to chart their path forward, trying to decide what exactly they could support from Republicans.

What we are hearing from the GOP side at the moment is that they are really still all over the map in terms of where they may go next. One of the ideas that had been floated is their potential to drop this debt ceiling demand that was so crucial for Donald Trump from these negotiations. They were injected at the 11th hour. They're causing issues. Democrats say that they will not vote for a spending bill that includes a debt ceiling hike because they believe that that should be a separate negotiation. So, right now, the question is, what will Republicans put on the floor next? And will Democrats, even if it looks different than the deal that was announced on Tuesday night, will they be willing to vote on it?

I do think it's a promising sign that Jeffries told his caucus that those lines of communication with the Speaker's office have now been reopened. I will tell you that yesterday, the vibes from Democrats were just really bad when it came to how they were perceiving Johnson. And this comes after Jeffries and Johnson have had a really copasetic, tight relationship over the course of the last several months. Remember, Democrats helped bail out Johnson from losing his Speaker's gavel in May, and Democrats believe that they have been able to trust Johnson, even though they haven't always agreed with him, and now they are in this position where they feel like he backed out of a negotiation that they thought that they had settled on.

So, there is just a lot of mending fences that has to happen and in short order, because, like we said, this deadline coming at midnight tonight, that gives them a lot of time where they're going to have to work together in short order.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lauren, I'm going to let you chase folks, because I know things are happening by the second and minute.

[11:05:00]

Alayna, to you now in Florida. So, what can you tell us about this role of Elon Musk and Trump? Trump, likely on the phone a lot. Does he plan to join J.D. Vance on the Hill in these negotiations?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: From what I'm told, Fredricka, that's not expected to happen, right now, he is really allowing the Vice President-elect J.D. Vance to really be his eyes and ears on the Hill and be the one in the room with Mike Johnson getting down to the nitty-gritty details and communicating the priorities that Donald Trump wants in this.

Now, one thing I want to touch on that Lauren discussed is kind of the Johnson relationship of all this, because one thing that I was told was that surprising this week when Donald Trump really threw this 11th-hour wrench in their plans and blew up the deal that Johnson closely negotiated with Congressional lawmakers, is that Trump has long been very supportive of Johnson. He has backed him. He has praised him throughout his time as Speaker. But, that did change this week when he said that he was fully against this bill, that Johnson really was the key architect of.

Now, what I'm told as well is that Donald Trump and Mike Johnson last weekend were at the Army-Navy football game. I am told that some of the discussion over this came up then, as well as Donald Trump having lightly floated this idea of wanting to insert the debt ceiling flight into all of this right now. But, I was also told, in my conversations with Trump's advisors and those working closely with him, that before this week, before we actually saw the text of this spending bill, Donald Trump was still weighing the pros and cons of whether he wanted a long term or a short-term bill, and what would benefit him and his incoming administration. Once that text dropped, though, that is when he really became angered by this bill and wanted to insert himself.

Now, of course, you mentioned Elon Musk. He has been kind of looming over all of this as well, even before Donald Trump had weighed in, saying that he was against that original spending bill, Musk was kind of blowing things up on X, going after members who were supporting it, specifically Republicans. So, again, I think this really shows just how influential Donald Trump is. He is not in office yet. This is not the Congress that he is going to have once he is in his administration, but he is already pulling a lot of the strings on Capitol Hill.

Now, to keep in mind about why Donald Trump is saying all of this and why he cares so much, one key thing that I'm hearing repeatedly as well in my conversations is that he doesn't want this spending fight to be his problem. One source who spoke with Trump about this said that he wants the decks cleared before he takes office. Essentially, that means that he wants any sort of unsavory spending fight or even a debt ceiling fight and a shutdown to be on Joe Biden's watch. He wants Biden to be the one to take the blame for this, and he also wants really all of this to be done with by the time he takes office, so that he can have Congress focus on passing his agenda. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alayna Treene and Lauren Fox, thanks to both of you, ladies. Appreciate it.

All right. Ukraine says at least one person has been killed, 12 others wounded after an intense Russian missile strike on the capital of Kyiv. Ukrainian officials say five ballistic missiles were shot down with falling debris causing damage and injuries. Foreign embassies also damaged in that attack. It comes a day after Russian leader Vladimir Putin challenged Ukraine to a duel in his end of year conference, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to call the Russian leader, quote, "dumb ass".

I'm joined now by CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel, Cedric Leighton. Colonel, great to see you. So, the strikes in Kyiv, I mean, it seems to be coming more frequently. How much is this rattling Ukraine's confidence about this war, now despite getting that new surge of weapons from the outgoing Biden administration?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST, & U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Yeah. Fredricka, good to be with you. There are several factors at play here, but one of them is clearly the Russian attempt to undermine Ukrainians' confidence in their own capabilities. So, clearly, the idea of the Russians is to wear down the Ukrainian population, attacking Kyiv and several other major cities is part of the Russian playbook. And it's pretty clear, from what Putin said in his conference yesterday -- at his news conference yesterday, that he intends to pursue these kinds of tactics as long as he possibly can.

But, the Ukrainians do have the ability to shoot down those missiles. The problem is, what goes up must come down, and debris from the strikes of the anti-aircraft batteries is a lot of what causes some of the damage in places like Kyiv and some of the other major cities.

WHITFIELD: So, strategically, it seemed like Kyiv was kind of off limits for Russia for a while. What changed?

LEIGHTON: Well, I think one of the things is that Russia is going after Kyiv as much as possibly can, especially now that we have situations like the Russian general being killed in Moscow, not that far from the Kremlin.

[11:10:00]

So, that may be part of the Russian playbook. And we have to also remember that at the start of this phase of the conflict, back in February of 2022, the Russians had Kyiv as their goal. So, Kyiv is a prize for them. It remains a prize for them, but they're also willing to destroy parts of it in order to achieve their goals.

WHITFIELD: Is Ukraine altering its military strategy at all with the incoming U.S. administration, which Trump had promised he could end this war in a day?

LEIGHTON: Yeah. He is not going to be able to end this war in a day, no question about it. But, the Ukrainians are trying to achieve maximum advantage at this particular point in time. They have a lot of constraints, manpower constraints, specifically resource constraints that definitely put them at a disadvantage, and they've all -- but they've always been at this disadvantage when you compare their manpower reserves to those of Russia, for example, their populations and their ability to hit various targets. The Russians clearly have advantages there. But, the Ukrainians are trying to achieve as much as they possibly can

on the battlefield before any negotiations start. And one of the things that they're doing is they're trying to broaden the conflict to impact more areas of Russia, to include Moscow. They are able to do some of that. Some of the tactics that they've used continue to be the same, but they're sharpening some of their focus, I believe.

WHITFIELD: Trump is intimating that he can negotiate something, but that's likely involving Ukraine ceding territory. Do you think Ukraine would entertain that?

LEIGHTON: Well, I think the Ukrainians are realists, and they understand that it's going to be very difficult to dislodge the Russians from the -- most of the territory that they've occupied. But, the Ukrainians do have a sliver of Russian territory in Kursk and in the Russian region, of course, and they are probably going to use that as a bargaining chip to regain at least some of the territory that they lost to Russia, and that is clearly in Ukraine's interests. But, the Russians are definitely poised to take a large portion of what was previously recognized as in Ukrainian territory. That is something that is a realistic approach to it, but it is not one that anybody who favors Ukraine really wants to see.

WHITFIELD: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much.

All right. The first official U.S. delegation to visit Syria since Bashar al-Assad's fall has canceled a scheduled news conference citing unspecified security concerns. Diplomats, including Barbara Leaf, the State Department's top official for the Middle East, traveled to Damascus to meet with the country's new rulers. Ahmed al-Sharaa is trying to allay international concerns about his government. He is the head of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, an Islamist group designated a terror organization by the U.S. State Department.

CNN's Alex Marquardt is following developments from Washington. So, Alex, what might this mean that it's a scheduled news conference that is canceled, not necessarily the entire journey involving this U.S. delegation?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No. In fact, we don't know exactly why, beyond these security concerns that scheduled -- that press conference was canceled, obviously when you have top U.S. officials traveling to a place that was so recently a war zone that is still going through quite a bit of flux, you're going to have a lot of security concerns.

What we do know, however, Fredricka, is that there is another press conference that this trio of senior U.S. officials is giving in about an hour 15. So, we are really looking forward to learning how their meetings were in Damascus today. This was a remarkable moment. There was a lot of uncertainty about to what extent U.S. officials would engage with this group HTS, which overthrew President Assad about two weeks ago, because they are, as you say, a designated terrorist organization. We now know that Barbara Leaf, Roger Carstens, and Daniel Rubenstein, these three officials from the State Department did meet with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the head of HTS. He himself has a $10 million bounty from the U.S. government on his head.

So, what we'll be looking for in this upcoming press conference is to what extent they talked about removing those terrorist designations, about lifting sanctions on Syria, so the Syrian economy can get back up on its feet. But, of course, the U.S. would have also been pressing its priorities. It keeps saying that Syria has to write its own future. But, the U.S. and other allies, both in Europe and in the Middle East, want to see a Syrian government that is inclusive, that is representative, that is respectful of minorities and of women.

[11:15:00]

They don't want ISIS to be allowed to regrow in Syria. And of course, a major focus for these American officials, Fredricka, is Austin Tice, the journalist who went missing in Syria some 12 years ago, and there has been a frantic search to try to find him in the wake of Assad's fall. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Ad then, how might they go about that? Is it as simple as it, particularly as it pertains to the U.S. delegation asking people? I mean, what's their access to people who may have been operating the prisons, those who admit to it, or just ordinary citizens who may have, by chance, seen him somewhere along the last decade?

MARQUARDT: They have been looking through every tip, every piece of evidence that they might have been offered. The intelligence community, the CIA and others have been helping with this. They have been tracking the case of Austin Tice for a very long time. The administration said that they had been working under the assumption, the belief that he was alive. But, there has not been a lot of evidence to that effect. The family does believe that he is alive. They say -- they said recently that he been treated well.

The top U.S. official for hostage affairs, Roger Carstens, has been in the region since Assad fell. He was first in Lebanon, then in Jordan, and now he is inside Damascus. They have been speaking with groups on the ground, including HTS, which is the most powerful. They are certainly going prison by prison, as these prison -- prisons have been opened up, and prisoners have been freed to try to find him, speaking with as many people as they can who are involved.

But, for now, Fredricka, we have not heard of any leads that have taken U.S. officials towards finding Tice. So, for right now, there is little news on that front, I'm afraid.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alex Marquardt, thank you so much.

All right. Millions of Syrians left the country during Assad's brutal rule. The UN says around 100,000 have returned home in the last two weeks. But, with Syria's future very uncertain, it's not clear how long they'll stay.

Salma Abdelaziz brings us the stories of two Syrians, one who is preparing to go home, and one too fearful to return.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before Ahmad Morjan

(ph) hugs mother for the first time in 13 years, they both kneel in prayer, gratitude for a reunion they never believed would come. This is one of many emotional homecomings across Syria after the sudden fall of the Assad regime. At just 19-years-old with security forces hunting him down, Morjan fled his family's home in Aleppo. Here he is in 2016 --

(VIDEO PLAYING)

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): -- reporting for an opposition-based media network as barrel bombs rain down from the sky. Later that year, Morjan filmed the exodus, as thousands withdrew from the last remaining rebel enclave in Aleppo. We are leaving with our dignity, Morjan says in this clip, and we will return one day. That promised return is now finally on the horizon. Morjan says he is planning to move back to Aleppo from Gaziantep, Turkey, where he currently lives with his wife and their two young daughters.

What is your dream now for Syria's future? I'm optimistic about the future, he says, and I have huge hope that the country will be better than before. But, not all are keen to hurry back to an unstable country with an uncertain future, says this human rights defender.

HUSSAM KASSAS, SYRIAN ASYLUM SEEKER: There is no sustainable peace, which makes me really afraid of getting back there.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Hussam Kassas, who is seeking asylum in the United Kingdom, is among tens of thousands of Syrians whose applications for asylum were suspended after the UK and other European countries paused the process to reassess now that the threat of Assad is gone. For years, Kassas has documented potential war crimes committed by all major parties to the conflict. If he goes back, he says, his family could be targeted or worse.

ABDELAZIZ: Why do you not feel safe to return?

KASSAS: We expected a lot of revenge killing will happen. Those soldiers will seek revenge from the people who were trying to hold them accountable, actually.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Many Syrians in the diaspora long to return and rebuild, but this moment of great hope brings with it great uncertainty.

[11:20:00]

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, suspect in the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder is now in federal custody. We'll tell you what investigators are learning from the notebook police say was found with Luigi Mangione. Plus, tragedy in Croatia, a student at an elementary school stabbed to death. We'll have all the details. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is now in a federal detention center in Brooklyn. On Thursday, he appeared in federal court where he faced new charges, including a murder count that carries a potential death sentence, if convicted. As CNN's Kara Scannell explains, we're also learning new details about the notebook found on Mangione when he was arrested.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Accused killer Luigi Mangione back in New York and behind bars, new video showing him handcuffed and in an orange jumpsuit, stepping off a helicopter and being escorted toward a transport van by scores of armed officers. Mangione is now also facing federal charges in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan Hotel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Karen, do you have any comment on these charges today?

KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, LUIGI MANGIONE'S LAWYER: Not at this time. Thank you so much.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Mangione's high-profile defense team not saying much about the new charges before and after their client's first appearance in federal court. Inside, Mangione traded the jumpsuit for street clothes, as he entered the courtroom flanked by marshals with his ankles shackled. His federal charges are a firearms offense, two stalking charges, and murder through the use of a firearm, which carries a potential maximum sentence of the death penalty or life in prison. Mangione did not enter a plea, and his defense team did not seek bail.

The new federal criminal complaint also revealing new details about the notebook found on Mangione during his arrest at an Altoona, Pennsylvania McDonald's. According to the complaint, the notebook contains several handwritten pages that expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry, and one entry dated October 22, 2024, less than two months before the murder of Thompson, describes an intent to, quote, "whack one of the CEOs at an insurance industry conference." The federal charges are added to the long list of state charges he is already facing.

ALVIN BRAGG, NEW YORK DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We charged him here in Manhattan earlier this week with murder in the first degree, among additional charges, which carry the maximum sentence of life without parole. We've had state prosecutions and federal prosecutions proceed as parallel matters, and we're in conversations with our law enforcement counterparts.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Mangione began his day in a Pennsylvania courtroom where he had two back-to-back hearings, first on the firearm and forgery charges brought against him in Pennsylvania, second, to waive his extradition to New York. [11:25:00]

PETE WEEKS, BLAIR COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: He committed crimes in Blair County. There are allegations at this point, but we're not in the practice of just dismissing charges simply because someone has more serious charges somewhere else.

SCANNELL (voice-over): Mangione won't face the charges in Pennsylvania until after he has tried in New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Kara Scannell, thank you much.

All right. Law enforcement in Wisconsin are continuing their investigation into Monday's deadly school shooting. A student and a teacher were killed when a 15-year-old opened fire. Two of the six people injured in the attack remain hospitalized, and police are still trying to determine how the shooter, student Natalie Rupnow, got the gun that she used in the attack.

CNN's Whitney Wild has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 15- year-old girl, police say, shot and killed two people and wounded six more at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin, appears to have been in contact with a 20-year-old man in California. That, according to court records obtained by CNN. Alexander Paffendorf of Carlsbad, California, was plotting a mass shooting with the teen and told FBI agents during an interview that he would arm himself with explosives and a gun and that he would target a government building.

ALEX GALLEGOS, ALEXANDER PAFFENDORF'S NEIGHBOR: I've only seen him a few times. He is really quiet. I'm just glad that the cops and everybody, FBI, whoever was on top of it, is getting to the bottom of it before anything bad happened.

WILD (voice-over): A California judge has issued a gun violence emergency protective order under the state's red flag law against Paffendorf. According to the order, FBI agents saw the messages between him and the teen. It also demands Paffendorf give up his guns and any ammunition within 48 hours, unless police take them sooner.

GALLEGOS: A couple of hours into it, towards the end, they're carrying out a big black box. It looked like a gun case of some sort.

WILD (voice-over): It's still not clear if he is in custody or if he will face charges. The FBI is not commenting. CNN has also reached out to Paffendorf but hasn't heard back.

In Wisconsin, new details emerging about the shooting. Police now say two guns were recovered at the school, but won't say who owns them or how she got them. Meanwhile, four people injured in the shooting are now home, while two other students are still fighting for their lives in the hospital. A local pastor saying that one of them needs a miracle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The students, the families --

WILD (voice-over): As the community and the police search for answers, we're learning more about those killed. 14-year-old Rubi Vergara was an avid reader, a talented artist and singer, according to an obituary written far too soon. 42-year-old Erin West was the substitute coordinator and in-house substitute teacher. Sophomore Mackynzie Wilson says she was beloved.

MACKYNZIE WILSON, SOPHOMORE AT ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: She was a really good person. She really loved her kids, and she really loved everyone at our school, and she would have done anything for them.

WILD (voice-over): Her mom, Linsay O'Connor, a former student here, says their legacies will live on.

LINSAY O'CONNOR, FORMER STUDENT AT ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIN SCHOOL: They're integrated into our lives, and they will be forever remembered.

WILD: We've reached out for more details on the condition of the two children who remain in the hospital. We've received no further details.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Madison, Wisconsin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A stabbing at a school in Croatia leaves a seven-year-old girl dead. It happened earlier today at an elementary school in the capital city of Zagreb. CNN affiliate N1 says the attacker is believed to be a 19-year-old former student who entered a first grade classroom and began stabbing the teacher and several students. Eight people were injured in the knife attack. The attacker's mom told local media that her son had been admitted to a psychiatric ward several times. The woman said she begged doctors not to discharge him.

And U.S. lawmakers continue their mad scramble to pass a funding bill by tonight. Ahead, what a shutdown would mean for federal workers and the public.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. You're watching the CNN Newsroom. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are some international headlines that we're watching today.

U.S. lawmakers have less than 13 hours to pass a funding bill or face a government shutdown. It comes after the Republican-led House failed to pass a funding plan backed by President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday. So, what would a shutdown mean? Well, it would delay paychecks for many federal workers, including active duty members of the military and federal law enforcement, who would keep working despite not getting paid, and national parks would likely close, and certain government services like environmental and food inspections would be put on hold. But, the U.S. postal service would continue to deliver mail, and post offices would stay open.

I want to bring in now Farnoush Amiri, congressional reporter for AP.org. She is joining me now from Washington. Good to see you. So, House Speaker Johnson says he has another plan beside no debt ceiling changes. What would be in it?

FARNOUSH AMIRI, U.S. CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, AP.ORG: Yeah. So, I think we've been seeing Republicans, including the Speaker of the House, go through varying situations of how this would work, right? They're trying to figure out where they can have the majority of the support, where they don't turn off Democrats who they're going to need in a slim margin of majority that they have in the House right now.

And what we're looking at right now is likely a short-term government funding plan that would go until mid-March. We would look at disaster aid, because that is really a requirement for many of the Congressmen and women who represent states and districts where the several hurricanes and natural disasters have happened in the last few months. So, that is definitely something that they want, and including agriculture. So, farm subsidies and money to farmers will also be included into it.

Now, how this gets done, whether this will have support, especially since it's looking like there is no debt limit increase, which is what the President-elect had wanted in it as of right now. But, we are going to see in the next hour, as they take this up through the committee that would begin this process.

WHITFIELD: And in our report against that, House Speaker Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have spoken. They have open lines of communication. Maybe you can elaborate on how much they are communicating and whether Speaker Johnson is now, I guess, entertaining whether to borrow from that initial bipartisan plan.

AMIRI: Yeah. So, there hasn't been a line of communication between the Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and the House Speaker Mike Johnson for the past 24 to 48 hours, which is obviously not what you want when you have a 123-seat majority and you have a group of far-right members who are never going to vote for any sort of debt limit increase, especially if it doesn't include major spending cuts. So, the fact that the two men are now talking means there is actual momentum. I think the fact that we are 12 hours away from a shutdown helps increase the pressure on both sides of the aisle.

But, I think what we're going to see right now is that they're going to have to make -- Republicans are going to have to make some good faith compromises to Democrats, give them a reason to want to support them. I mean, what's happened in the last 48 hours has not boded well for the bipartisan negotiations they had initially done. And I think really, Johnson is going to have to extend an olive branch to Hakeem Jeffries and his caucus, if he wants their support in a couple of hours.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And winning over Democrats isn't the only thing, I mean, because there were some Republicans who snubbed that Plan B to the tune of 38 Republicans.

[11:35:00]

So, they have to be impressed too to want to be on board, that Plan B largely influenced by Trump and Elon Musk. What does this say, perhaps, about the road ahead for the Republican caucus?

AMIRI: Yeah. I mean, this -- you're already hearing folks talk about, will Mike Johnson be Speaker on January 3rd when Congress is sworn in and they begin their work? I mean, we've -- obviously, we don't need to look too far back to see what happened the last time a House Speaker, a Republican House Speaker did not -- was not a favorite among the caucus. They pushed him out, and it was over very similar circumstances. It was over the debt limit. It was over spending.

So, it's not hard to imagine that in a few weeks Mike Johnson could face a pickle, especially now that he has the looming powerhouse, that is President-elect Donald Trump, and his ally, tech billionaire Elon Musk, who are tweeting, who are going and calling members specifically and forcing them to put pressure on the Speaker to do things that would not get Democratic support, which is really required in a divided government which we find ourselves in. I think many people have forgotten that Democrats control the Senate, and they would need to also pass this bill and send it to the Democratic President, which is Joe Biden.

So, there is a sense of Johnson really having to appease so many different factions, Democrats on the other side, and it will be really interesting to see how that bodes well for his Speaker race in January.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. You heard -- you actually heard a couple of Republican lawmakers say Trump should come to Capitol Hill for a visit to try and help hammer out negotiations here. That's not likely to happen. We've got less than 12 hours ago before the deadline. Not that it can happen. A plane ride doesn't take that long from South Florida. But, what is it going to take to get something over the finish line?

AMIRI: Yeah. I think J.D. Vance, the Vice President-elect, has been in these meetings all morning. I had several members who came out and spoke to me and talked about how important it was that he was in those meetings, how his presence and the fact that he is a Senator still, he does know how this place -- he is a junior Senator, but he does know how this place works. And I think in a lot of ways, Vance is operating as an interlocutor for President-elect Donald Trump, and I think members are really wanting to impress the President, wanting to give him a win.

As you mentioned, the loss yesterday, the failure on the House floor was devastating for President-elect Donald Trump and for his allies, because it was the first big loss for him after he put down an edict, and said, you guys should pass this. I approve of this message, and I approve of this mandate, and we'll see what happens next.

But, it really is going to be interesting how much Vance is able to push physically by being here, able to push this on.

WHITFIELD: You're right. I hope you're eating your Wheaties. It's going to be a long day and a long everything else. All right.

AMIRI: Yes, very much.

WHITFIELD: Farnoush Amiri, thank you so much. Good to see you.

AMIRI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thousands of U.S. Amazon drivers are on strike with less than a week to go before Christmas and Hanukkah. The company says it won't affect holiday deliveries, arguing that the strikers are not official Amazon employees. Members of the Teamsters union are striking at seven facilities in four states. The drivers are contractors who sell their services to Amazon. So, Amazon says it's not required to negotiate with them over pay. The striking workers want better working conditions and higher rates.

Meantime, the union representing thousands Starbucks workers has also hit the picket lines. It's their first strike in 13 months. The union, Starbucks United, says strikes are taking place in three cities, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, and more cities will be added through Christmas Eve, they say. The union said Starbucks has failed to meet its demand for immediate and future pay raises.

A journalism watchdog group is raising concerns over a new AI feature released by Apple. "Reporters Without Borders" is asking Apple to remove the feature which uses AI to summarize news stories. Last week, one of its notifications shared a fake BBC headline with its users. The group says artificial intelligence is too immature to be relied upon to analyze news stories.

Here is CNN's Hadas Gold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: What's most worrying about this is that this AI feature was summarizing news stories who were presented to you, one of those few lines saying a few different news stories at once, but presenting it as though it was coming directly from the news outlets themselves, and that's what's most worrying, because people were thinking they were reading something directly from the BBC. And actually, there was another case for The New York Times.

So, some of these headlines that were published by Apple include Luigi Mangione shoots himself.

[11:40:00]

Made it seem directly coming from the BBC. And then actually a second one last month, this was pointed out by a ProPublica reporter that Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, had been arrested. Now, what seems to have happened here is that the AI, this Apple intelligence, got confused, because for the Netanyahu case, the International Criminal Court had issue an arrest warrant, but Netanyahu himself had not been arrested. With Luigi Mangione case, it's possible they may have gotten confused with maybe the school shooter in Wisconsin.

But, no matter how or why it got confused when it was presented to the user on their Apple iPhone, it made it seem as though it had the BBC logo. It had The New York Times logo. It made it seem that was the actual story itself. Now, the BBC has complained, and they have asked Apple to fix this. Apple, so far, is not commenting. And the publishers, I should note, they have no control over this summary. It's not like they can input what they think the summary should be. It's the AI that's taking this itself. Now, if you haven't noticed this on your phone, that's because this Apple intelligence is only in the newest iPhones and computers and on the newest operating system, but we should expect Apple intelligence will be on all of our Apple phones sometime soon.

Now, why is this dangerous other than just people getting fake news, is because what if, instead of another news story, it was saying something like there is an active shooter in New York City, where we are right now? That could instil panic. People could react to that news. And that's why you're seeing places like "Reporters Without Borders" trying to urge Apple to just get rid of this feature itself. They said, in part, that it's a blow to the outlet's credibility, the outlets who are being cited by Apple intelligence, and a danger to the public's right to reliable information on current affairs. Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Yeah. Yeah. It is, in fact, a really big deal. Hadas, really appreciate it. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, a tragic incident in Nigeria, dozens of children killed in a crowd crush at a school fair. Our live report straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: French President Emmanuel Macron is paying tribute to Gisele Pelicot, the survivor at the center of that mass rape case that has shocked the world. Pelicot has been widely applauded for going public about the abuse she was subjected to. Her former husband has been convicted of soliciting dozens of strangers to rape his then-wife while she was drugged.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

WHITFIELD: Angry crowds booing and shouting at the French President Macron, as he toured the French overseas territory of Mayotte, days after it was hit by a powerful cyclone Chido. At least 31 people are confirmed dead, but the death toll could reach into the hundreds or even thousands. Residents say the aid provided so far is sorely lacking. President Macron told them, quote, "You can count on me", end quote.

[11:45:00]

And in Vanuatu, search and rescue efforts continue after a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the island on Tuesday. The capital was without water. On Wednesday, after reservoirs were destroyed in the earthquake, at least nine people are known to have been killed, but the exact number is unknown. About 200 people have been treated for injuries.

And U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Pope Francis on Thursday. The White House says they discussed efforts to advance peace during the holiday season, and announced that the President accepted the Pope's invitation to visit the Vatican in Rome next month. Mr. Biden is a lifelong Catholic and has met the pontiff at least five times. It could be his final international trip as U.S. President.

And police in Nigeria say at least 35 children have been killed in a crowd crush at a school fair. They say six others were critically injured in the tragic incident which happened in the southwest city. Authorities are investigating what exactly happened. They have arrested eight people for their alleged involvement, including the fair's main sponsor.

Let's bring in now Larry Madowo for details. He is following developments from Nairobi. So, Larry, what more are we learning about what happened, how and why?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, authorities have opened a homicide investigation, and the eight people arrested have been arrested for, quote, "their various involvements on what happened here", and the local government there in Oyo state saying it is looking into whether those responsible could be charged for acts of omission or commission. But, it's a real tragedy in Nigeria's third largest city. This was an Islamic high school, and local radio said they were expecting about 5,000 kids to be there. They were promised scholarships and other gifts.

And we saw harrowing video on social media of people carrying lifeless bodies from the scene of this incident. It's not exactly clear what happened. What is the cause of that? That that will be the investigation. But, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has also called for an investigation, sent condolences, and asked for stronger safety measures whenever there is going to be events like this.

But, I want to hear -- I want you to hear from the deputy governor of that state who is much more blunt in his assessment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAYO LAWAL, DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF OYO STATE: The government would dig deeper into this incident, and from the stampede (ph) information that I have collected, they mentioned some names, and I have directed that both the Commissioner of Police and the Director of State Security should invite the individuals that were mentioned.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MADOWO: So, that investigation is still going on. For many parents,

for people in the community, they will want to know exactly what happened here. And as the deputy governor suggests, was it because some adults who were in charge were negligent or actively caused this tragedy? Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh my Gosh. Those are incredible accusations. So, why is it also being reported that incidents of this nature, crowd crushes is not unusual in Nigeria?

MADOWO: That's right. Not even this year, there has been several deadly crowd crashes in Nigeria. This year, one happened early in the year when several people were waiting for subsidized rice from authorities in another state in the country. There was also another incident when women were waiting for cash from a politician, and some people were killed in a crowd crash.

There have been several other incidences across other parts of the country, partly blamed on poor crowd control, the lack of ways for people to exit and enter peacefully, or people, crowd marshals, law enforcement to make sure that whenever there is a large crowd -- number of people expected, there is ways for them to be able to be there in a safe manner, that kids are protected, and especially that's why this tragedy is so heartbreaking that many of these people, 35 kids, killed in an incident where some authorities believe it could have been avoided.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. All right. Larry Madowo, thank you so much.

Still to come, the surprise reunion of two Beatles. We'll tell you what happened when they got together on stage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: After years of decline, family homelessness in the U.S. increased last year.

CNN's Jake Tapper went to Boston to find out how one organization is working to help some of the most vulnerable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): You'd never know it by looking at them, but the children in this school have, at one point or another, experienced homelessness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell me how you feel so far since you've gotten here? Show me with your thumb.

TAPPER (voice-over): Five days a week at Horizons for Homeless Children in Boston, more than 200 kids are given free access to education, play, time and meals. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What have we been doing every day in community meeting? We've been doing, what, we've been --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Oh, we've been breathing. And what kind of breathing have we been doing? We've been doing what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Triangle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Triangle breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Triangle.

TAPPER (voice-over): The program has been a lifesaver for moms like Karian, who struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety after the birth of her second daughter.

KARIAN, MOTHER OF HORIZONS STUDENT: And I was really bad. I was all over the place. I couldn't concentrate.

TAPPER (voice-over): Karian and her daughters moved in with a family member, but when that got too crowded, they moved into a shelter where they live doubled up with another family.

KARIAN: It wasn't really ideal. It was too crowded. We were all in one room. So, they were all cramped up.

TAPPER (voice-over): Karian worked overnight, set a fast food chain to make money for her family while caring for them during the day. But, her youngest daughter started to struggle.

KARIAN: She was very like in her shell. She wasn't really growing. Like her developmental growth wasn't doing good. She has speech delays and everything.

TAPPER (voice-over): Developmental delays are a common problem for children experiencing homelessness. It's an issue that the CEO and President of Horizons, Kate Barrand, has been trying to address for years, not just as a housing crisis, but as a public health crisis.

KATE BARRAND, PRESIDENT & CEO, HORIZONS FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN: At the age zero to six, your entire brain is being formed. If you're homeless during that period, it can cause significant challenges to your brain development. So, children who have experienced a period of homelessness are four times more likely to have developmental delays. And if those developmental delays aren't remediated, that will follow them.

TAPPER (voice-over): Last year, families with children made up about 30 percent of the homeless population across the United States, and more than half of all families experiencing homelessness live in the nation's largest cities.

BARRAND: Cities like Boston are a perfect storm for family homelessness. We have high housing costs. We have a huge gap between the minimum wage and a living wage in the city of Boston. We have significant child poverty. So, when you put all those together with the high cost of childcare on top of it, it's impossibly difficult for families.

TAPPER (voice-over): Karian learned about Horizons through the shelter she was staying in. Then her family's life changed dramatically.

KARIAN: She is going to age out of here. So, that gives me, like, OK, a sense of security. She is going to stay here until she goes to kindergarten and she is getting everything she needs, the nourishment, the warmth, not only education, the warmth. That makes me feel calm.

TAPPER (voice-over): Karian now has her own apartment, her GED, and a new full-time job. Most importantly, she is now on the same schedule as her children.

KARIAN: They're extremely happy now. They have that consistency. You know what I mean. There is a huge sense of relief that we're all in the house at the same time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Jake Tapper, thank you so much for that report.

All right. One of Europe's most impressive holiday spectacles is in a place you might not expect. Kosovo's capital of Pristina is 95 percent Muslim. But, that isn't stopping the people from enjoying a Christian celebration. They're flocking to three Christmas markets in a display of cultural diversity.

[11:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SEHLSTEDT, CHRISTMAS MARKET VISITOR FROM SWEDEN: I think it's very clear that Kosovo will take any opportunity for a social gathering, even if there is no religious connection to Christmas or anything like that. Any opportunity to be outside, to me, to see other people, I think, will be popular here in Pristina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A pretty jamming market there, the markets include such symbols of the Yuletide, as Father Christmas, as well as activities for the kids. Mainly, it's a chance to set aside differences and just simply enjoy each other. Pristina's mayor says, I'm quoting now, "We're celebrating life. We are celebrating the city. We are celebrating freedom, inclusivity", end quote.

All right, before we go, get your ears ready for one more thing.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

WHITFIELD: A very big thing, a very big sound, the sounds of Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney reuniting on stage Thursday in London for the last night of McCartney's "Got Back" tour. The music legends, both in their 80s, performing two famous Beatles tracks, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Helter Skelter.

All right. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Stick with CNN. One World is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)