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CNN International: Russian State Media: 15 Year Prison Sentence For U.S. Citizen; Winter Weather Could Disrupt Some Holiday Travel In U.S.; Super-Fast Solar Probe Makes Close Approach To The Sun. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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ELENI GIOKOS, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Eleni Giokos in New York.

Ahead on today's show, Russia sentences a U.S. citizen to prison for espionage. What we know about the case, straight ahead. Plus, a gross ignorance of history, those strong words from Panama's President in reaction to Donald Trump's threat to retake the Panama Canal. And NASA is making history, a probe zooming by the Sun today in humanity's closest ever approach to a star.

15 years confinement in a maximum security Russian penal colony, that is the sentence handed down to U.S. Gene Spector today for charges related to espionage, according to Russian state media. It comes after a secret trial in Moscow with no details of the charges revealed. Russian media reports Spector was already serving time in prison for his role in a bribery scheme.

Oren Liebermann is standing by for us. He is following the story. Oren, what do we know about Gene Spector and the charges?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Eleni, in some respects, the case of Gene Spector here is similar to the cases of other U.S. citizens --

GIOKOS: Yeah.

LIEBERMANN: -- who have been detained, sentenced and imprisoned in Russia. Gene Spector was originally born in Russia. He then moved to the United States, where he gained U.S. citizenship. He has been in prison there for several years, first found guilty or pleading guilty on bribery-related charges, for that, he was given a sentence of several years, and then this morning, given a much longer sentence of 13 years for charges related to espionage, according to Russian state media. There was an independent Russian media outlet inside the courtroom at the time, and they say that with the 13 years and the previous guilty charges, this totals a sentence of 15 years in a maximum security prison coming down -- handed down from a Moscow courtroom. There is something we have seen from Russia before, handing down

lengthy sentences, especially to U.S. citizens, and then, as we have seen, they can use that as leverage when it comes to prisoner swaps, or some sort of negotiation in exchange for the U.S. securing the release of a prisoner. We saw that in the case of Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. We saw that in the case of Brittney Griner. So, this is for all the wrong reasons, frankly, familiar ground for U.S. --

GIOKOS: Yeah.

LIEBERMANN: -- citizens in Russia. Crucially, though, Gene Spector has not been designated as wrongfully detained by the U.S. State Department. So, that is certainly worth keeping in mind as we look at this case. And this isn't unique. There have been other cases, especially in recent months, several cases of U.S. citizens detained and imprisoned in Russia on lengthy charges. There was Stephen Hubbard, 72-years-old, in October, who was sentenced to seven months -- seven years in prison for allegedly fighting on behalf of Ukraine. And then in July, Robert Woodland was sentenced to many years in prison on drug-related charges. So, we have seen this play out before, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, we have indeed. What is the likelihood of the U.S. opening up negotiations for another prisoner swap, specifically for Gene Spector and all the others that you've just mentioned?

LIEBERMANN: I certainly wouldn't rule it out. This is something the U.S. State Department works on and the Biden administration has very much placed a premium on it. We saw that with the exchange of Brittney Griner, the WNBA star, for arms dealer Viktor Bout. We saw it with Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan in what was a basically a swap of six countries, including Norway, Slovenia and others, to secure the release of Whelan and Gershkovich. So, U.S. places a priority on this.

That being said, it's the end of the Biden administration. It's unclear how much the incoming Trump administration will do towards this end. So, not a guarantee, not certain, but certainly something the U.S. has worked on in the past, and I think you can expect it to work on in the future, but it's difficult to say in any -- in a specific case like this.

GIOKOS: Yeah, exactly, and it's always a lengthy process.

Oren Liebermann, thank you so much for your time.

A technical issue briefly disrupted flights for American Airlines today on one of the busiest travel days of the year in the United States. The Federal Aviation Administration said the ground stop was issued at the request of the airline. American has said a technology issue caused the outage, and flights have now resumed.

Meantime, a series of storms is producing some heavy rain, mountain snow and gusty winds in parts of the Western U.S. right now. Forecasters say the storm will move east Wednesday, and could bring up to a foot of snow fall across the Rockies. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now live. Derek, good to see

you. I have to say, I took a walk to work this morning in New York City. It was snowing, something very rare for me. But, would you give me a normal view --

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There you go.

GIOKOS: Yeah, exciting, but --

DAM: That's it.

GIOKOS: What's going on?

DAM: Those -- we call those -- Eleni, we call those festive flex, OK, because --

GIOKOS: Yeah.

DAM: -- it's just enough to cult (ph) the ground.

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GIOKOS: It's not real snow.

DAM: And we all know what real snow is. When we were trudging through knee-high snow fall, then we can call it real snow. This is coming from the Midwest, guys.

But, look, this has got real ramifications for the airlines and for the roadways. But, this has kind of got this combination effect, this snowball effect, pardon the pun, because of the American Airlines ground stop that happened earlier this morning, which has since been lifted, but there are still this like downwind effect from the ground stoppage, but also the weather that is moving through the Eastern Seaboard, as we spoke. Eleni, you saw the snow. It's come to an end, but it's created that dusting into New York City, certainly making for a beautiful, picturesque movie scene white Christmas. Great news there.

But, the trail end of this cold front extends all the way into Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas. We're talking about the Reagan National Airport, which is a major hub for American Airlines. So, their impacts, they're just being compounded by the weather. So, when we're talking over 120 million Americans that are traveling this week, roughly eight million of them traveling by air. You can imagine what this means for people in the terminals this morning and afternoon, as they wait anxiously to get home to family, friends and relatives.

This is a storm system moving through. It's not a big snow storm by any stretch of the means, but it's enough to produce that festive flakes into New York City, into Rhode Island and Connecticut, that I- 95 corridor. But, the further south you travel, of course, the temperature warms up. And so, the shading of pink here is actually a mixture of rain and snow and freezing rain. So, if we get freezing rain coating the roadways, even the runways, you got a recipe for disaster. So, this is why we have that winter weather alert in effect across the Mid-Atlantic, and we're keeping an eye on that.

We also have what was a ground stop at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which was supposed to be lifted at 11:00 a.m. The potential to extend it does exist because of this band of showers and thunderstorms that are moving through right now, producing heavy rainfall and flash flood warnings in the northwestern Fort Worth suburb. So, this is impacting just under a million people, and that's a problem because that's a very large airport, very large population, and a lot of people traveling this time of year, one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. That only causes more problems in terms of airlines and on the roadways.

And along the West Coast, this train of storms that continues to impact the region, bringing rough seas and waves three to four stories high reported yesterday in and around Santa Cruz, where part of the war from the pier was actually displaced. A 150-foot section came off of the end of the pier because of the rough waves that battered the coastline there yesterday. Just incredible to see what's happening with this train of storms that continues today.

Eleni, we're going to be measuring the snowfall, not in inches, but in feet across the mountain ranges, and then several inches of rainfall for the coastal communities, and that's only going to spell more troubles as we travel --

GIOKOS: Yeah.

DAM: -- through this holiday week.

GIOKOS: Yes, indeed. I'm glad that you've now corrected me that what I experienced this morning was festive flex, not actual snow.

DAM: Festive flex, not actually snow. Take it from this, guys.

GIOKOS: All right. Derek Van Dan, Happy Christmas. Thank you.

All right.

DAM: Thanks.

GIOKOS: If it all went well, the fastest object ever built is zooming in extremely close to the Sun. We're talking about the Parker Solar Probe. It's cruising about 3.8 million miles from the Sun, the closest a manmade object has ever gotten. The probe will get pretty hot, but has been built to withstand temperatures at that distance. Of course, we hope.

Let's get some perspective on this historic flyby. We're joined by former astronaut Leroy Chiao. Great to see you, sir. Very exciting times. It's historic. I think probably one of the most historic missions for NASA. What answers are scientists hoping to get?

LEROY CHIAO, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: Well, as you know, the Sun is a very turbulent body. It looks like a big point of light to us here on Earth, but there are a lot of Sun spots going on, a lot of activity, and there is something called a solar max and a solar min. It's about an 11-year cycle. Parker was launched in 2018, kind of right in the middle. And so, it saw the transition from a solar minimum to now the solar maximum, which occurred just two months ago. And so, it's going to come the closest any probe has to the surface of the Sun, as you pointed out, about 3.8 million miles. It sounds like it is pretty far, but in perspective, if the distance from the Earth to the Sun were a football field, you'd be inside the five-yard line. Right?

So, it's going to be -- we're hoping -- NASA scientists are hoping that there will actually be a solar flare during its fly through. And so, we can observe it up close and look it up close at the Sun spots and other activities, and help to better understand the dynamics of the Sun.

GIOKOS: Absolutely. I mean, one question, I guess, eluding scientists for quite some time, is how the surface temperature differs so dramatically from the center of the Sun, the corona.

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Do you think we'll get details on that as well? Because I think it's one of those big burning questions, if I could say, that hasn't really been answered since we've been studying the sun.

CHIAO: Right. And so, the Sun is -- there are many different regions of the Sun, the corona, as you mentioned, it's a little bit not intuitive, but it can actually get cooler if you get to one of the inner -- more inner (TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY) 2,500 Fahrenheit, which is not a lot when you consider how hot the Sun is, but it's because we understand enough about the physics of the Sun that we can actually design the profile so it doesn't get damaged by the heat.

GIOKOS: In terms of the technology that needed to be developed to make this happen, obviously, years in the making, this Solar Probe can handle extreme temperatures. It's moving so fast. I mean, the numbers are extraordinary in terms of the speed at which it has traveled. Tell us about what it took to create this probe?

CHIAO: Sure. So, it's an evolution of all the experience that we've had in the past of making probes and other spacecraft. And so, as you pointed out, 430,000 miles an hour, that's the fastest probe that we've ever created, humankind. And so, it's breaking some records there, for sure, also 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Again, it doesn't sound like much compared to what the Sun's actual temperature is, but that's a high -- that's a big number. That's almost the same degrees, number of degrees that we experience on spacecraft re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. We can get up to 2,500, 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

GIOKOS: I want to talk about this magnetic fluid that washes over our solar system, and I think this is one of the interesting things that perhaps we'll get insight into, and also how it affects planet Earth. What do you make of the headway and a lot of the research that's gone into understanding this magnetic field?

CHIAO: Right. So, the Earth is covered in a magnetosphere, that is our magnetic fields, the Van Allen radiation belts and all that, protect us from most of the Sun's radiation, the charged particles coming from the Sun. Without that magnetosphere, life on the Earth would not be possible. And so, what we see during solar max and solar min are variations in the shape of the magnetosphere. And counterintuitively, at solar max, the magnetosphere is such that it actually deflects more particles away from the Earth than at solar minimum, right? So, a little bit counterintuitive, but it helps us understand those things. And the whole field of study is called Space Weather, not weather as we know it here on the Earth, but how do these different magnetic fields and fluctuations in the Sun, how that affects us here on the Earth.

GIOKOS: OK. So, always with space exploration and probes like this, on its path, it delivered unplanned images, surprising, beautiful as well. I want to show you this image of Venus that was taken, and I also understand that it's a discovery of dust streams within Mercury's orbit as well. So much money and effort has gone into this. But, I think, give us an understanding of missions like this and what they entail, and what they mean for overall space exploration and understanding, Leroy. Leroy, can you hear me? Yeah. All right. Leroy Chiao there for us. We just lost him, but really fascinating, historic mission there by NASA.

All right, coming up, Donald Trump doesn't reclaim the White House for another few weeks, but he is already stirring global unease with his territorial remarks. Now, Panama's President is clapping back. Details on that story coming up.

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GIOKOS: Panama's President has a clear message for Donald Trump. He says, quote, "The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable." Jose Raul Mulino is dismissing Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal, a crucial waterway used for global trade that was once under American control. Speaking to conservative activists in Arizona on Sunday, the U.S. President-elect claimed that Panama's transit fees were, quote, "ridiculous".

CNN's Gustavo Valdes joins us now from Mexico. Gustavo, great to see you. What exactly has been the response from Panama? And I guess the big question is whether the United States even has jurisdiction to seize back control of the canal.

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for many Panamanians, this was kind of an install. There were some protests in Panama. They said the Panama Canal is for the Panamanian people. That's the same words that the President has used. President Mulino basically seemed to have this missed this attempt, or at least the rhetoric to try to retake control of the Panama Canal. He just gave our CNN and Espanol contributor Oppenheimer an interview in which he says that Donald Trump needs to learn more history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOSE RAUL MULINO, PANAMANIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): That is a

manifestation of gross ignorance of history. So, all those speculations and all that range of eventualities that are not going to happen, well, I leave them there as totally irrelevant issues and quite bordering on historical incoherence with what the Panama Canal has been, is and will be.

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VALDES: He highlighted income of more than $2 billion that is being as part of the Panamanian economy. He also highlighted recent improvements to the canal. He says that at the end of the year, December 31st, they're going to celebrate 25 years of Panamanian control of the canal. So, Panama is not going to give up the canal -- control of the canal in any shape or form. So, it's not clear what Donald Trump can really do. In fact, he might be risking retaliation, perhaps delay, give priority to ships from other nations, and also, Donald Trump, when he becomes President and if he wants to implement strong immigration policies, Panama could be one of those countries' keys to stop the flow of immigrants coming, especially from Venezuela.

So, we don't know if this is one of those things that Donald Trump likes to talk about. He is giving a speech to his audience, but certainly in Latin America, he is not being welcome. These comments have not been welcome, even in Mexico, the Mexican President Sheinbaum, another key country in the immigration policy of Donald Trump, has criticized the comments.

GIOKOS: All right. Gustavo Valdes, great to have you with us. Thank you.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is spending the Christmas Eve in the hospital in Washington, D.C. The 78-year-old was admitted on Monday after developing a fever. One long-time associate is describing Clinton's condition as not urgent or dire by any means. Since leaving the White House nearly 25 years ago, the former President has endured several health scares.

Well, many of us will spend Christmas Day opening presents, but Netflix wants you to open its app and watch American Football. Could the streamers foray into sports change the way we watch them? We'll take a look right after this. And Santa has begun his worldwide journey. We will bring you his send-off and where he is right now.

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We'll answer that in just a moment.

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GIOKOS: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Eleni Giokos in New York.

After a three-month hiatus, one of the world's most active volcanoes is erupting again. Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has started spewing bright orange lava early on Monday. After just a few hours, the National Park Service says about 200 hectares of lava covered the caldera floor. Authorities say nearby communities are not in danger as the lava is contained within the National Park, but they're warning that high emissions of volcanic cases could cause problems for people with respiratory and heart conditions.

Watching football on Christmas Day is the tradition in the United States. This year, however, there is a twist. You can only see the Steelers-Chiefs and the Ravens-Texans NFL games on Netflix, and the streaming service has got some big names to attract Christmas viewers. One worry, will Netflix crash under the weight of expectations?

Elizabeth Wagmeister explains.

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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With star power so big --

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WAGMEISTER (voice-over): -- on a holiday so beloved --

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WAGMEISTER (voice-over): -- Netflix's first foray into the NFL might just be called the second Super Bowl.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Anytime a game is on in our household, we're around the TV, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. So, it's a very interesting proposition that Netflix is bringing to the table.

MARIAH CAREY, SINGER & SONGWRITER: This Christmas, we all get our wish.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Mariah Carey opens each of the two Netflix Christmas games --

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WAGMEISTER (voice-over): -- with the recorded version of her holiday megahit, "All I Want For Christmas Is You."

CAREY: Can you hear me?

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Then a touchdown for Netflix as Beyonce performs a live halftime show during the second game between the Texans and Ravens in her hometown of Houston.

MATT BELLONI, FOUNDING PARTNER, PUCK: Netflix did a really smart thing in getting arguably a bigger name than Kendrick Lamar, who is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show to headline the "Netflix Christmas Day Halftime Show."

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): And what about that other star in the stands? With the Chiefs and Steelers kicking off the day, Taylor Swift may just be the gift that keeps on giving, possibly back to cheer on Travis Kelce, just as she did last Christmas. Great for the NFL and Netflix, maybe not for the NBA, which traditionally owns the Christmas audience.

MANNO: The NFL is king, and if they find a way to become easy to find on Christmas Day, you could not blame NBA executives for being a little bit concerned about what that might mean for the ratings of their holiday slate.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): But, as Netflix continues its push into live programming, the streaming giant has something to prove. The Love is Blind reunion had major technical glitches, as did the recent Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight.

BELLONI: The NFL is not going to be as forgiving as Mike Tyson and Jake Paul if there are technical glitches.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Netflix has one key advantage, it's global. Both Christmas games will be available worldwide, streaming in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German. And the NFL has made clear, it wants to expand overseas.

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MANNO: More than 250 million subscribers globally, 80 of those in the United States and Canada, if it goes well for Netflix, I'd imagine that they would continue to be interested in upcoming live sports rights, and that will continue to shift how and where people watch.

WAGMEISTER: Now, Netflix appears to continue getting into the sports game, just over the last week, announcing that they have acquired the rights to the FIFA Women's World Cup for the year 2027 and 2031, which is a huge deal in the sporting world. And it's really no surprise that Netflix wants to continue with live sporting events, because in this TikTok age where viewers are everywhere, sports remains one of the few things that families get together, and it always delivers a good rating.

Back to you.

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GIOKOS: All right. Along Florida's Space Coast, lots of Santas suited up bright and early for an annual Christmas Eve surfing Santa event. Meet the Saint Nicks, who, one by one, started appearing on this stretch of Cocoa Beach with their red suits, beards and long boards. Before long, the beach was full a festive surfing Santas and a legion of spectators. Organizers say it's a time when they can all share in the surfing Santa's spirit of love, joy and hope at the Christmas holiday.

And a world away, in northern Finland, Santa geared up for his biggest day of the year, packing up his sleigh with gifts and setting off from his home village on Monday, ahead of the Christmas holiday. Crowds gathered to cheer on Jolly Old Saint Nick, as he prepared for his annual flight from the Arctic Circle. Before he left, Santa had an important message for children around the world. Let's listen in.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's impossible to be good and nice all the time. Yes, it's too much to ask. You should just try to do your best, as in all things in life. And if you can be quite good almost all the time, don't worry about the gifts. It's time to relax.

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GIOKOS: All right. I want to check in now on Santa, my daughter, Cleo, is watching from Athens, Greece, and she is very anxious about when he will arrive. So, Cleo, this is for you. Mommy is tracking Santa. As you can see, he is flying over right now. I think where is he, guys? My eyesight is not good. My team will tell me. Where is he now? Russia. He is over Russia. So, he is on his way to you, my daughter, and presents will be delivered on time, I suspect.

To everyone watching, and to those of you who are celebrating, Happy Christmas Eve. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Eleni Giokos in New York. Point of View, Abu Dhabi is up next. Stay with CNN.

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