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Death Toll Now Five, 200 Plus Injured By Car Attack in Germany; Government Funding Passes Without a Key Trump Demand; Hopes rise for the Future in Syria Despite Humanitarian Crisis; Unions Organize Strikes Ahead of 2024 Holiday Peak; Mangione Could Be Arraigned on NY State Charges on Monday. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired December 22, 2024 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:31]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, welcome to our viewers in the United States, in the U.K., and all around the world. I'm Ben Hunte in London. It's so good to have you with me.

Coming up on CNN Newsroom. As a nation mourns, investigators in Germany share new details about the suspect in a deadly attack on a Christmas market. How a far-right party is now using the tragedy to push its political agenda.

A congressional crisis is over, but it's left Donald Trump on the back foot, where he's focusing his energy following the debt ceiling debacle.

Plus, Syrian refugees are heading back to their home country by the thousands. We'll speak with an American in Hama about the long road to recovery.

We're learning more about the man accused of driving a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Germany. Police say he was in court late on Saturday, where a judge ordered him held in pretrial detention. He's charged with five counts of murder, along with other counts of attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm.

Meanwhile, police have increased security at Christmas markets around Germany, as you'd expect. On Saturday, a mourner's placed flowers in front of a church next to the Christmas market. Later in the day, these anti-immigration protesters marched in Magdeburg.

The Christmas market attack has some concerns that it might boost the appeal of Germany's anti-immigration, far-right, Alternative fur Deutschland, or AfD party. Germany's holding snap elections in February, and the AfD is second in national polls, behind the center- right Christian Democrats and Social Democrat Alliance.

I want to dig more into this, so let's bring in CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau, joins us live from Rome with more. Barbie, let's just get into this a bit more. Can you give me a bit of a recap of what we know? And for anyone just waking up, just turning on their TV, what is going on?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, you know, Ben, there's still a lot of moving parts to this tragedy. You know, we're learning more and more about the suspect, and we're trying to understand just how seriously injured some of those 200 people who were hit are. You know, that could increase the death count. That was something that the German chancellor said yesterday when he visited the scene.

But let's focus just for a minute on the suspect. We know he's a 50- year-old Saudi Arabian national who's been living in Germany for 18 years, and he doesn't fit the usual profile that one might expect when you think about previous types of attacks.

Let's listen to what the public prosecutor had to say and then discuss it a little more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HORST NOPENS, MAGDEBURG'S PUBLIC PROSECUTOR (through translator): As per the current information we have, it would seem that the backdrop to this attack is -- might be -- how can I put this, dissatisfaction with the way that Saudi Arabian refugees in Germany. It could be that. That's possible. But what sits behind that, anything more deeply rooted, is the subject of the investigation. We need to examine that and ascertain it more thoroughly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And, you know, he's been described as an Islamophobe, and, you know, he's spoken out. The Saudi Arabian officials actually warned German officials about him, said that he shared some extremist views and that he was actually considered a fugitive in Saudi Arabia. They sought to have him extradited back in 2007 and 2008, but German officials said no because they were worried about his safety.

So a lot of -- you know, a lot of unanswered questions yet about who he was, what his motive was, and if this could have been prevented then.

HUNTE: Yeah, and there were some far-right anti-immigrant protests in Magdeburg overnight, it was just reported. I don't really understand how that's occurring when this suspected attacker had been in Germany for so long, but also he's called an Islamophobe, so surely that's kind of aligned with where some of these far-right protesters actually stand. So what's going on there?

NADEAU: Yeah, you know, I mean, I think what you could look at it is kind of part exploitation of the tragedy and part damage control, because, of course, the far-right group doesn't want to be considered, you know, responsible for the death of five people, including a nine- year-old child and, you know, countless others injured, 200 people injured to some extent.

[05:05:04]

But, you know, these far-right protests, especially ahead of these snap elections in Germany, are significant because they're able then to kind of exploit the anti-immigration sentiment that is going to be a major part of the elections coming up. So, you know, one of the things, though, that we don't know is exactly how influenced the suspect was by the far-right party, by the ADF party or AfD party.

You know, was he just inspired by them? Was there something that was said, some sort of propaganda that he used? That is going to be key going forward in terms of how the far-right, you know, treat this. But the fact that they sort of use this, you know, memorial as a protest is disturbing on many, many levels, Ben.

HUNTE: Yes, indeed. Thank you, Barbie. I appreciate that. I want to talk more about immigration later in the show as well. So let's turn now to -- we're speaking to CNN's asking the Editor-in-Chief of Germany's WELT TV, Jan Philipp Burgard, about the impact this attack might have on immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAN PHILIPP BURGARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, WELT TV: I think we will see a debate on migration. Since the start of the migration crisis in 2015, the majority of German society has been very open-minded and helpful. But part of the truth is that the country is reaching its limits.

And after attacks such as those at the Christmas markets in Berlin in 2016 and now in Magdeburg, many Germans are asking themselves, do we even know who exactly we have let into the country? Do our police even have the means to monitor potential threats? And have Chancellors Merkel and Scholz done everything they can to protect our country?

And these questions will also play a role in the heated phase of the general election. So far, most well-known politicians have been reluctant to comment and have only expressed their condolences, presumably because much of the background is still unclear. But in the next days, I think either side could try to instrumentalize the attack for themselves.

The right-wing populist party, AfD, could see the attacker as a migrant who has become radicalized for everyone to see on the Internet and to whom the security authorities have not taken out of circulation. And the left could see the attacker as a critic of Islam, who even sympathized with the right-wing populist party, AfD. So I think this attack, therefore, has the potential to further polarize the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: U.S. Central Command is investigating an apparent friendly fire incident that led to a downing of a Navy jet. They say the USS Gettysburg, a guided missile cruiser, mistakenly fired on an F-A-18 while it was flying over the Red Sea on Saturday, with two pilots ejected safely. The U.S. says the incident has nothing to do with strikes carried out on Houthi targets that day.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you worried about backlash from Trump?

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): I have supported Donald Trump. He supported me. We're good.

RAJU: What do you think Trump may have learned, if anything, by trying to bully Republicans like yourself into backing a debt limit suspension?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just think we need to stick to what we told our folks back home.

REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): I've never voted to raise the debt ceiling. I mean, I love Donald Trump, but he didn't vote me into office. My district did.

RAJU: Trump has said that people will get primaries if they don't listen to him on the debt limit and the CR. Does that affect how you're thinking about this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am thinking about what is good for my state and what is good for my country.

RAJU: Are you concerned about your primary at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Congressional Republicans there, many of them defying Donald Trump by passing the funding bill that was missing a key demand of his in order to avoid that complete government shutdown.

President Biden praised the bill after he signed it into law on Saturday. He says, quote, "This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted. But it rejects the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires that Republicans sought, and it ensures the government can continue to operate at full capacity."

A source said Donald Trump seemed frustrated, yet resigned that the deal left out a debt ceiling hike after bipartisan pushback. The admission highlights the limits of the President-elect's influence in Washington.

Later today, Mr. Trump is expected to deliver his first rally style address since his reelection victory. CNN Steve Contorno has the latest on the president elect.

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STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: President-elect Donald Trump was relatively quiet on Saturday following a week in which he nearly brought the U.S. government to a standstill. Trump blew up the delicate negotiations on Capitol Hill to fund the U.S. government with an 11th hour demand to extend the debt ceiling so the government doesn't reach its borrowing limit shortly after he takes office. And he demanded Republicans get on board with that plan.

[05:10:04]

But Republicans ultimately did not side with Trump and passed a resolution to fund the U.S. government without what he wanted in that bill. Before the vote, Trump had threatened primary challenges for anyone who didn't go along with his plan.

And on Saturday, a close ally, former U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake of Arizona said that Republicans should be ready to fight those who stand in Trump's way, even if it's within his own party.

KARI LAKE, TRUMP'S PICK TO LEAD VOICE OF AMERICA: He brought down the obstructionists in Washington, D.C. Now, the bad news is we still have a few obstructionists. Have we seen that in the last week or so? And unfortunately, some of them are right here in our own party.

And I hate to say that. I wish we could say all of the trouble was over with the Democrats, but we've seen how a few people with ours behind their name are trying to actually hurt we, the people, as we go into this next era where America first policies are going to be implemented to make our life better once again. And we need to bring down those obstructionists and help President Trump.

CONTORNO: Lake made those remarks at a gathering of Republicans on Saturday in Arizona. And Trump is expected to address that same audience on Sunday in what his transition team is calling his first rally-style speech since winning the election.

Steve Contorno, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: The U.S. is targeting military facilities linked to Houthi rebels in Yemen with new strikes coming hours after a missile attack on Tel Aviv. Details after the break.

Plus, the season to be jolly is a tough sell to people living in war zones around the world. But many still find ways to keep the holiday spirit alive, despite all of the violence around them.

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[05:15:47]

HUNTE: The U.S. military says it launched strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen's capital on Saturday. The attacks hit missile storage and command and control facilities operated by the Iranian-backed group. The strikes are part of ongoing efforts to disrupt and degrade Houthi operations in the region.

It comes after Tel Aviv was hit by a ballistic missile filed from Yemen early on Saturday. An Israeli military official is confirming that several attempts to shoot down the missile failed. Israel's emergency service says at least 16 people suffered from minor injuries from broken glass. Protesters are turning up the pressure on Israel's government to free hostages in Gaza and quit. Hundreds of people rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday demanding a comprehensive deal to bring hostages back. Officials have touted progress in ongoing talks but also said a deal is far from guaranteed. But a family member of a hostage who died in captivity said time could be running out.

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ZAHIRO SHAHAR-MOR, NEPHEW OF HOSTAGE WHO DIED IN CAPTIVITY: We are hearing various reports over the -- over -- from officials saying that a hostage deal will be reached any day. A moment later we hear the opposite report from those same officials saying no breakthrough is in sight and placing the blame on Hamas. We must make this point clear. Our hostages do not have time for these games. They will not survive the winter in their weakened state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Protesters also called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to resign with some saying it's made terrible decisions for Israel. Mr. Netanyahu is currently embroiled in a corruption trial which has divided Israel.

OK, let's turn now to Syria where for the first time in many years hope is not in short supply. But as people celebrate the fall of the Assad regime, some harsh realities are starting to sink in.

After 13 years of a brutal civil war, 90% of the population is below the poverty line. The U.N. says 7 million Syrians are internally displaced on top of at least 6 million others who fled the country. Tens of thousands are already coming back and the United Nations expects a million others to return home in the first six months of next year.

But close to 17 million Syrians already need humanitarian assistance and the mass return could make the humanitarian situation even bleaker. So the big question is how does the country move ahead?

For a view from the ground, we're joined by Dr. Diana Rayes, a public health specialist and non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. She's speaking from Hama, Syria. Thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate it.

DR. DIANA RAYES, PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST: Thank you for having me, Ben. It's a pleasure to be here.

HUNTE: You're so welcome. You're so welcome. I saw your video on X earlier where you described being back in a free Syria with people celebrating. They were hugging and they were handing out flowers. You said it's a beautiful moment. I'm sure it was.

I've got lots of questions. I wanted to get into this. But first, I would love to know where you were and what you were doing when you saw the Assad regime was officially over. RAYES: Well, I was in Washington, D.C., my hometown. I'm Syrian- American. So we were watching the news day by day, hour by hour until the fall of the Assad regime. The days leading up to the fall of the regime were extremely tense with the hometown of my family, Hama, Syria, being one of the main areas where the opposition met the armed forces. And we were afraid that it was going to be a bloodbath, honestly.

But what ended up happening was unprecedented. Within 12 days, we saw the liberation of Syria, which had been under over 50 years of authoritarian rule, a day that we never thought would come. To be honest, I thought even my children wouldn't see a free Syria someday. So I immediately decided to come back to Syria after 14 years of being away. My father was in exile for 40 years. He has yet to arrive to a free Syria.

[05:20:10]

HUNTE: Gosh, I want to talk a bit more about your return. Tell me more about your return to Syria. What has that experience been like being in what you call the new Syria?

RAYES: It's been incredibly emotional. It was emotional in the days leading up to my rapid decision to visit here. And then it was emotional upon entering the border and seeing entry points or former checkpoints that had been abandoned by Syrian regime soldiers, which would have made my entry impossible into Syria at any point in the last 13 years or so.

It was completely liberated. That's the immediate sense that we got, that our country was now free. And as we -- as we drove in, it was surreal to see Damascus in the distance. And then the first stop we took was where I took those videos on X that you saw.

HUNTE: Yeah, we're seeing them right now, actually. I can see your selfies and smiling.

RAYES: That's right. My in-laws are with me, and they were hugging and kissing. This is their homeland. They couldn't believe that it had been liberated. And there were children around me selling memorabilia. I was surprised at how fast they were able to produce all the free Syria flags into scarves and bracelets and hanging out flowers.

It's pure jubilation here. But a lot of disbelief and people feeling like they have woken up from a nightmare and now are living in a dream.

HUNTE: Yes, someone's made good money from those flags over the past week, haven't they? Gosh. I want to turn now -- I want to turn now to talk, if we can, about the asylum situation. Over the past couple of weeks, we've seen Western governments literally falling over themselves, competing with each other, trying to get Syrian asylum seekers out of their countries. And it's genuinely shocked me because from looking at some of those pictures, Syria doesn't seem entirely ready for citizens to safely return at the moment. But anyway, within hours of Assad's ouster, so many EU countries halted applications from Syrian nationals, and some are even getting ready to deport Syrians.

I'm looking at the list here. I'm seeing Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the U.K. all announced they'd review their asylum practices in light of the ongoing situation in Syria. Has all of this surprised you?

RAYES: I think this is concerning in every sense of the word. I mean, Syrians fled within the last decade, an authoritarian rule that still has its remnants on society. Developmentally, this country is not ready to receive the millions of Syrians who are now abroad, who have to leave their homes, whose homes have since been destroyed and their families displaced, and they've lost their loved ones to return so suddenly.

I have been shocked. I spent a lot of time in many of these countries, in Germany, in Sweden, in Turkey. These are countries that open their doors and generously welcome Syrians, and Syrians have been well integrated, including members of my family who now have citizenship and contribute to the economy, and their children have been born and raised there.

But I'm surprised at just the speed in which these countries have decided to, you know, to start to indicate that they want these people out. And I'm afraid that the events of this week, for example, what we saw in Germany, don't help the Syrian case, and that the discrimination continues to be rampant. It continues to fuel insecurities about the migration situation in these countries.

But Syria is not ready to receive these people. It will take time developmentally and infrastructurally for the society to be rebuilt again and then also to heal. So there's a lot of reconciliation and rehabilitation that needs to happen before people are ready to embark on this, not to mention those who are seeking asylum that are still waiting for their papers to be processed and for them to have security with regards to their movements from Europe and back to Syria.

HUNTE: Can you just tell me a bit more about your concerns? I'm sorry to be such a downer on this topic, but what are some of your concerns about the aid groups that are returning to work to help return refugees and people who stayed under Assad's regime? What are the needs that they have? Is it even safe for some of these groups to be there?

RAYES: Are you speaking about international organizations that are coming back or those that have been here throughout the crisis?

HUNTE: Well, both. What are people seeing? What are people seeing internationally? What are they seeing on the ground?

RAYES: Well, I'm most familiar with the international organizations that have been working since the beginning of the crisis in the countries surrounding Syria, organizing the regional response, as well as organizations operating from Turkey and in the northwest of Syria, which was formerly liberated, that have been active since day one, really, and have the funding and support from the U.S. and European governments that have been investing in the infrastructure in Syria for some time.

[05:25:08]

It's the government-controlled areas that have really been closed off from the world. And since I've been here in my capacity as the Chair of the Syria Public Health Network, I've met with Syrian NGOs, Syrian civil society, and especially those focused on health and mental health and well-being of the population. And they need support. They need support immediately. They need sanctions lifted so that they can receive funding directly to support people here. They've been operating on the last straw.

And I think that there needs to be some time that needs to pass before they can operate in their fullest capacity because, as I said, they really have been operating within the very limits of their capacities, even putting money out of their own pockets to sustain the support to the population here.

And there's a lot of things that need to be restored first, like constant electricity, access to water. I'm here, and it's freezing cold. And most houses don't have access to electricity outside of maybe one hour to two hours a day. And that's if they're lucky and if those that have solar panels are able to charge throughout the day and warm their homes.

But most people are living in the cold, have not had access to electricity for years now. And a lot of things need to be invested in infrastructurally before I think we can talk about the mass return of Syrian refugees. Although I know many people do want to return and want to be with their families and retrieve their property and be back in their homeland. But we can't expect this to happen immediately.

Also, with a government that's sort of in a caretaker position right now and is trying to set itself up for success.

HUNTE: Yes, indeed. Well, you have made it. You're there. You're back. And I hope you're enjoying yourself. Thank you so much for joining us. Really, really appreciate it.

RAYES: Thank you, Ben. I appreciate you having me.

HUNTE: You're so welcome.

Next, Ukraine is showing that its military drones can do damage deep inside Russia. This is the moment a Ukrainian drone hit the city of Kazan on Saturday, according to Russian state media.

Eight drone strikes were reported, including six in residential areas, but no casualties. The attack temporarily closed a local airport, which is now back up and running. Kazan is located about 800 kilometers or nearly 500 miles east of Moscow and even further away from the Ukrainian border.

Kyiv didn't acknowledge the strikes, but it did say there's an essential military factory in Kazan. For many people around the world, it's time to deck the halls, wrap

the gifts and have a happy Christmas. But it's hard to celebrate in war zones where peace on Earth is furthest from reality. As you're about to see, some people still found a way to embrace the holiday spirit.

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HUNTE (voice-over): In a year when wars are raging around the globe and there are senseless acts of violence, it can be hard to find joy in the holidays. The streets of Bethlehem used to be packed with pilgrims and tourists this time of year. But for a second year in a row, there are no decorations. No plans for a Christmas tree in Manger Square. Municipal authorities say there will be no festivities, only prayer and religious services.

The war in Gaza looms heavily here, as well as the void from the lack of visitors.

SUAD HANDAL, BETHLEHEM TOUR GUIDE: Last year and this year, we are not going to celebrate this. It was all cancelled. We are going just celebrating the mass in the Nativity Church. And this is so, so sad.

HUNTE (voice-over): But the lights are still shining in some places affected by war. In Lebanon, some Christmas markets are bustling. Just weeks after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, the country, mostly made up of Muslims, Christians and Druze, suffered an estimated more than $8 billion in damage during the war.

But some residents say the holiday spirit can help with healing.

CHERINE AL-TOM, LEBANON RESIDENT (through translator): It's well known about Lebanese that if they fall a hundred times, they will stand back up on their feet and keep moving.

HUNTE (voice-over): A Christmas market is illuminated in Damascus, where there's been a whirlwind of change in recent weeks. A caretaker government is now in place, controlled by Islamist rebels after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. And though the future of Syria is still uncertain, some people say they hope for better days.

SUZAN AL-HAMWI, SYRIA RESIDENT (through translator): We will return to the joyful atmosphere. I am not afraid of any new thing, because we were at the worst situation. So anything else will be better.

[05:30:00]

HUNTE (voice-over): And despite nearly three years of war with Russia, the Ukrainian city of Kyiv is decked out in holiday lights and generators. It's a reality of life in a conflict zone, and the power outages that come with it. And a sign of resilience, too, that can burn bright this time of year, even in the shadow of war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Large corporations are facing pushback from employees as unions across the U.S. organize holiday season labor strikes. Just ahead, an update on the growing picket lines.

Plus, remembering the 14-year-old girl whose life was cut short in a Wisconsin school shooting last week.

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HUNTE: Hello. Welcome back to our viewers in the United States, here in the U.K. and all around the world. I'm Ben Hunte. And this is CNN Newsroom.

Police say the man suspected of driving into a crowd at a Christmas market in Germany was in court late Saturday. He's charged with five counts of murder, along with other counts of attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm. A judge ordered him held in pretrial detention.

Also on Saturday, hundreds of people, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, attended a memorial service at a cathedral in Magdeburg. The death toll from the Friday attack is now five, with more than 200 people injured.

The dust is settling on Capitol Hill after U.S. lawmakers scrambled to strike a deal to keep the government open. Calling it a compromise, President Joe Biden praised the funding bill after he signed it into law on Saturday. A source said Donald Trump seemed frustrated yet resigned that the deal left out a debt ceiling hike.

[05:35:06]

Trump's debt demand led to bipartisan opposition and left a scar on the House Speaker's leadership. The provision's absence put a spotlight on the limits of the president-elect's influence among those in his own party.

The strike at Amazon is expanding. Warehouse staff at a facility in Staten Island, New York, walked out on Friday, joining fellow Teamster members on the picket lines at seven other Amazon locations.

Unions are using the holiday season to put pressure on companies, while the corporations insist the disputes will not affect their performance. As Camila Bernal reports, Starbucks employees have also taken a stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of the things that these Starbucks employees are saying is no contract, no coffee. There are a number of locations that are currently closed, here in Los Angeles and Chicago and in Seattle, but what union members are saying is that if they don't have a contract negotiation and agreement by Christmas Eve, then there are more stores that could potentially close from coast to coast.

Now, Starbucks has been negotiating with the union since February, but the union just wanting to get this contract finalized before the end of the year. A lot of the employees saying that they're the face of Starbucks. Take a listen to what one of the employees told me. KAI KRAWCZENIUK, STARBUCKS BARISTA: When you think about Starbucks, you think about your barista. You think about the person who you talk to every morning who makes you smile, who makes you drink and says, hey, I hope you have a wonderful day. We are the face of Starbucks, but we aren't treated like it.

BERNAL: And Starbucks saying that they are disappointed about this strike, but also saying that there is minimal disruptions. It's similar to what you're hearing from Amazon, where some of the workers there are also on strike, but Amazon saying your packages will get delivered.

Now, it is a very different scenario at Amazon because some of these employees, according to Amazon, are considered third-party contract workers. So these employees at Amazon are fighting to be recognized as employees. They're fighting for better wages and they're fighting for better working conditions.

Of course, they're asking Amazon to come to the table, but Amazon saying they don't need to come to the table because they don't see them as those employees. Now, what you're also having is other people join in on the strike. So on Saturday, employees from one of the warehouses in Staten Island joining the strike. They are Amazon employees. But what Amazon is challenging is the idea that they are part of this union.

So there's sort of this back and forth on whether this union is recognized or not. Of course, the workers wanting to be recognized. And in a similar fashion as to the Starbucks employees saying they want to get people's attention during the holiday season.

Camila Bernal, CNN, Burbank, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: We are continuing to follow the case of Luigi Mangione, accused of murder in the shooting of a healthcare CEO. Just ahead, I'll be speaking with a defense and trial attorney about why his lawyers say the charges raise serious constitutional issues. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:41:25]

HUNTE: A top-ranking New York City police officer abruptly resigned on Friday amid allegations he demanded sex from a subordinate in exchange for a chance to earn more money. The police force declined to comment on the allegations against the now-former Chief of Department, Jeffrey Maddrey. It says it takes the matter seriously and will thoroughly investigate it.

A lawyer for his accuser calls the move overdue. Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain himself, calls the allegations extremely concerning and alarming. Maddrey joined the force more than three decades ago. He's been the subject of other misconduct allegations. The suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian

Thompson could be arraigned on state murder charges as early as Monday. Luigi Mangione is being held in federal detention. He's expected to face a New York state trial before his federal trial, prosecutors said.

However, the trial will, quote, "work in parallel," according to the Manhattan district attorney's office. Federal prosecutors added new charges against Mangione on Thursday. Defense attorneys say the move raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns.

Let's get more into this. Joining me now is Defense and Trial Attorney Misty Marris. She's in New York. Misty, thank you so much for joining me. How are you doing?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, good morning. Thank you for having me.

HUNTE: You're so welcome. Let's talk about this. So the perp walk into New York custody was pretty dramatic. To be honest, when I first saw it, I almost thought it was A.I. Because the photos just looked too slick. It was giving drama. It was giving Academy Award goes to. I couldn't believe it. Why is there this massive fanfare for someone who's already gained potentially too much of a reputation? They gave him more of one.

MARRIS: It's actually so shocking because that perp walk is not the norm, especially when somebody is facing federal charges. Usually the federal government will put somebody in a black car. It will be super secretive traveling from even the helipad to a federal courthouse. But this had so much fanfare with Mayor Eric Adams right front and center.

So part of this was to deter, deter any copycats, deter anyone with sympathies towards Luigi Mangione to say that this city is going to take this seriously and this city is going to prosecute anybody who engages in this conduct.

But on the flip side, there was also a need to protect Luigi Mangione, not necessarily from individuals who may want to harm him, but from these fans. It's quite shocking that there has been a rally around him. So the city was sending this message of deterrence by creating this, what was really a spectacle.

HUNTE: Yeah, it was. I mean, I'm just looking at those photos and those pictures there. It literally looks like Hollywood. What on earth? A lot of people have been questioning.

MARRIS: Yeah.

HUNTE: Yeah, it's crazy. A lot of people have been questioning the charges that Mangione is facing, both federally and in New York. And specifically, when I've been scrolling through social media, I've seen people talking about the terrorism charge, considering the level of violence actually involved compared to charges other people have received that have potentially been more violent or they consider to be more violent. Can you just explain to me how this crime fits under the legal definition of terrorism when other charges like mass shootings might not?

[05:45:03]

MARRIS: Right. So in New York, we have a statutory system where second-degree murder is actually a premeditated planned murder. So in other states, statutes define murder differently. But in this particular instance, in order to have the case upgraded to first degree murder and murder. Which is what Luigi Mangione is charged with. There has to be what's called an aggravated circumstance.

And that, in his case, is a murder and furtherance of terrorism. So terrorism in New York, like anything else, has a definition. And it's not exactly the definition that we think of colloquially when you think of terrorism, like mass casualties or a link to a terrorist organization. It's any act, any murder in which there is the wanting to influence a government policy through force or coercion or to instill terror in a civilian population.

And so the statute is not really always a case where you would think terrorism would be would be at play. It can be a case like this where there was maybe a broader message than just a personal vendetta. And in order to establish that, prosecutors will have to establish motives. So they're actually taking on additional burden.

But with the manifesto, the messaging on the bullets, the monopoly money. All of that is being put together to say that this was something bigger than just a one-on-one vendetta. This was something about the insurance industry. This was making a message to influence policy about insurance and health care in general. And so that's what prosecutors will be charged to prove when they get into the courtroom.

HUNTE: Yes, indeed. And I want to talk a bit about how this is going to be a balanced trial. So if we're looking at Mangione's public profile, this is not a surprise to anyone watching this program. It's not a surprise to you, not a surprise to me. He has blown up the Internet. I mean, he's everywhere.

Even when I'm scrolling through X, you know that bit on your feed where it's not even people you're following. All it is has been talk about his good looks, about the fact that people are in support of his actions, which is obviously really shocking. But there have been talks about concerns of jury nullification or at least the difficulty the defense and prosecution will face in finding a balanced jury. I mean, I'm not seeing any balance on social media. So how are they going to do that? Can you just talk us through that process?

MARRIS: Look, funny enough, when we were talking about the federal indictment, when all of that was happening, there was a parallel reporting of his haircut and whether he got his eyebrows waxed. So to your point, it's certainly something the prosecutors are going to be grappling with. And right now we're talking about one venue being federal court, the other venue being state court, both proceeding on a parallel track.

Jury nullification is certainly a problem. And that means that jurors may make a decision not based on whether or not they believe someone to be guilty, but based on a social justice type concern or something else outside of the evidence in the courtroom.

Also, everybody is going to have to watch out for the stealth juror. That's a juror who hides their true feelings, hides their true opinion about a case during the voir dire process when jurors are being selected for the purpose of influencing the case one way or another. So in a case like this, depending on which venue you're in, federal court's going to have different parameters than state court. But it's going to be a very laborious voir dire process.

You're going to see jury consultants. You're going to see deep dives on every prospective juror on social media. And that's the way that both sides, because we talk about a stealth juror during nullification. The defense also has to get a fair trial as well. So it's to get individuals who they're going to know about the case. You have to be living under a rock not to have heard of it.

But people that can put their opinions aside and make a decision on the evidence and not what they're reading on social media.

HUNTE: Misty, you've just schooled me. I just learned so much from that. I appreciate it. I can't wait to see how this all turns out over the next few months. I'm sure we're going to be speaking again. So thank you so much for joining me.

MARRIS: Thank you very much.

HUNTE: So welcome.

Next, family, friends and community members are honoring the young victim of the United States' latest school shooting in Wisconsin. Fourteen-year-old Rubi Vergara was remembered as an avid reader, an artist, a musician and an animal lover who had a gentle, loving and kind heart. The community rallied around her family.

A local funeral home donated services and a cemetery provided a burial plot. Rubi was killed on Monday by a 15-year-old shooter. A teacher was also killed and six people were injured.

Rubi's uncle says the family holds, quote, "no bitterness or unforgiveness" toward the attacker who died at the scene. Strong words left in the family.

[05:50:06]

Stick with us here on CNN Newsroom. We will be right back.

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HUNTE: After a weekend of dominating performances, the quarterfinals of the first-ever 12-team college football playoffs are set. CNN Sports Anchor Andy Scholes has more from Columbus, Ohio.

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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, the first round of the first- ever 12-team playoffs is in the books, and let's just say we were not on the edge of our seats for any of it. Now, a lot of Tennessee fans, they came here to Ohio hoping for a win, but it was a Buckeyes bash here in the horseshoe.

The Volunteers warming up shirtless in the 25-degree weather. That strategy, though, did not work, and many Buckeye fans were not in the best mood after the loss to Michigan, but that changed pretty quick. Ohio State just pouncing on Tennessee. The defense smothering Nico Iamaleava, hitting him so hard once his helmet cracked.

OSU then scoring on every drive in the first quarter. It was 21-0 before you could blink. Ohio State would win big, 42-17, to set up a rematch with Oregon in the Rose Bowl New Year's Day.

[05:55:00]

RYAN DAY, OHIO STATE HEAD COACH: These are great guys, they really are. And we got a lot of football ahead of us, you know, and we want to keep this team together. It's a great group, and so we're going to enjoy this for about 24 hours, and it's going to be on to Oregon.

WILL HOWARD, OHIO STATE QUARTERBACK: It means the world, man, and, you know, at the end of the day, we all understand that we still have everything out in front of us, and at the end of the day, man, like, this is my last game of this year, this is a lot of our last game of this year, and we wanted to make it count.

SCHOLES: Texas, meanwhile, fell behind 7-0 to Clemson in Austin, but then they scored a touchdown on their next three possessions. Clemson made this game a little interesting late, but Texas had a season-high 292 yards rushing, including this 77-yard score from Jaydon Blue that put the game away. Texas beat the Tigers 38-24 to move on to face Arizona State in the Peach Bowl.

Penn State, meanwhile, got two pick sixes in the first half against SMU. They would blow out the Mustangs, winning 38-10. They now move on to face Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Now, the first-ever home playoff games certainly were fun atmospheres, but in the end, they were all blowouts, so here's hoping the quarterfinals on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are more competitive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: It could be quite a festive holiday for some lucky lottery ticket owner or owners in the U.S. The Mega Millions jackpot for Christmas Eve has soared to $944 million. What? Or $429 million, if it's taken as a lump sum. Your choice, of course. That is the largest prize the lottery has ever offered in December. The Mega Millions organization has had a series of enormous jackpots in 2024, including one of more than a billion dollars.

Wow! The chances of winning the top prize are approximately one in 300 million. And yes, you will be paying taxes on those winners. Mm-hmm, yes.

Well, that is all I've got for you. It's been real. Let's do it again next weekend. Happy holidays if you celebrate, and please stay safe.

I'm Ben Hunte in London.

For those of you in the U.S. and Canada, "CNN This Morning" is next. For viewers elsewhere, it's "Culinary Journeys."

See you next weekend.