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Passenger Plane With 67 On Board Crashes In Kazakhstan; Zelenskyy: Inhumane Russian Christmas Day Missile Attack; First Black Radio City Rockette Speaks With CNN. Aired 4-4:30p ET

Aired December 25, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:24]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

It is Christmas Day in much of the world, a day for giving and spending time with loved ones. From Bethlehem to Ukraine to Ivory Coast, Christians are marking the day with festivities, and for Jews around the globe, Hanukkah begins at sundown.

The eight-day festival of lights starting on Christmas for the first time since 2005. More on the holidays later this hour.

But now, turning to the day's news. An investigation is currently underway after a fiery plane crash in Kazakhstan. Authorities say 29 people, including two children, survived the disaster, but at least 38 were killed. The Azerbaijani Airline was traveling from the capital of Baku to Southern Russia when it crashed near the city of Aktau.

One witness says bloodied survivors emerged from the wreckage of the plane, which burst into flames as it hit the ground. An aviation watchdog says a bird strike may be to blame for the emergency, but the cause is still unknown.

We have new video from social media that appears to show passengers wearing oxygen masks before the crash, and damage to one of the wings.

Earlier, I spoke with CNN's safety analyst and former FAA safety inspector, David Soucie about the rescue operation and the next steps in the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: I think it is way too early to make that determination as to what caused it or not, but the crash site and the movement of the aircraft does not indicate to me that it was a bird strike set or bird strike, or a flock of birds that caused the problem.

The aircraft not only went up and down like with power issues, but it was going left and right. It was pretty much out of control for a good amount of time before the accident. So I am not there with the bird strike yet, but it certainly is a tragedy and it is a tragic accident to have had to experience that for these folks to come through that for 20 minutes, to wait to see what is going to happen, and then have survivors is truly a miracle on Christmas Day.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, I was going to ask you about that. I would imagine, extremely rare for a plane crash to have survivors, much less some 29 people. And looking at video from the site of the crash, some people actually just walking out of the plane, it appeared that the fortunate ones were sitting in the back. What do you make of that?

SOUCIE: Well, this particular flight path and the nose down attitude of the aircraft, when it hit the ground, it quickly broke in half. And so what happens is the energy. This is much like you see, like you said, it is very rare.

But in the Sioux City accident, which is many years ago, the aircraft did something similar, which is where the tail breaks off of the aircraft.

So all the energy from that impact is transferred and absorbed by the front part of the aircraft wings forward. The tail of the aircraft you can see in some of these videos is a long, long distance from where the initial impact site is, and that energy is all dissipated by the time it comes to rest. There are survivors, in this case, 22 survivors that were able to walk away from that tail section.

GOLODRYGA: This is an Azerbaijan Airlines, the last major episode that they experienced was in 2005, when an AN-140 plane crashed shortly before takeoff, killing 18 passengers. It is known to have a pretty strong safety record flying in and out of the EU and meeting their standards there. It is an Embraer 190 plane.

What are investigators going to be looking at as they try to put the pieces together with the black box in particular?

SOUCIE: Well, as you said, Azerbaijan is one of the top safety airlines in the world really. They've done a great job of keeping their safety record up. The next steps on this is because it is a modern aircraft, there will be flight recorders, there will be data recorders, everything that needs to be recorded from that flight will be on there, and we will be able to get some information out of there as soon as the investigation is concluded, but that would be the start.

Of course, the first thing on any accident site you do is the safety of those survivors and the passengers there. And secondarily, you can see that there are the videos, a lot of people coming up to help and assist, and there are a lot of hazards and dangers there. And you notice a lot of them are not wearing masks or don't have protective gear on, and so the safety of those folks is really important as well.

So managing the site is what they are focused on right now, it is to make sure that everyone is safe. It is there, and clearing that area out.

The next steps of this is going to be continuing to make it secure and safe, and then with due respect to those folks who have who have passed in the accident, those have to be taken care of as well respectfully. [16:05:10]

GOLODRYGA: Yes, later today, after the crash, the Azerbaijan Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement that it opened a criminal investigation in terms of investigating how this happened. In addition to the black box, do you expect investigators to be perhaps speaking with surviving passengers, given how rare that was, just to get more insight into what happened, perhaps the moment before the plane actually crashed.

SOUCIE: Yes. The difficult thing about interviewing survivors is that the stories are going to be very, very different and they can actually dissuade you from a certain investigation, so it is important the investigators look to the facts and keep it that way.

With regard to the criminal investigation, Azerbaijan and the folks in that region do see every aircraft accident as a criminal investigation. That's how they start it. In the FAA, we don't do that. We don't bring in the FBI or anybody else until we see other issues that have to do with other than the aircraft operations or the mechanics of it.

So over there, that's not uncommon for them to open it as a criminal investigation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia launched an inhumane attack on Christmas Day, targeting energy infrastructure across Ukraine with missiles and drones. At least one person died in the attack, six others were injured.

Half a million households in the Kharkiv Region were left without heat or power during the frigid winter chill.

CNN's Nadia Bashir brings us more details from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, this has been described by Ukrainian authorities as a massive scale attack, once again targeting Ukraine's energy sector.

According to officials, the attack took place overnight into Wednesday, with explosions reported across the country, including in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, where at least seven missile strikes were reported and six people injured.

Ukrainian authorities say Russia launched more than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles and more than a hundred attack drones, of which 50 missiles and a significant number of drones are said to have been intercepted.

However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that they were hit with at least one person killed. Zelenskyy said President Putin chose to carry out the attack on Christmas Day describing Russia's actions as inhumane.

Ukraine's energy operator, meanwhile, says it was forced to impose emergency blackouts in several parts of the country. This, of course, comes after a series of attacks by Russia in recent days, including an attack on the capital, Kyiv, which was targeted on Friday. Ukraine's largest private energy company said this marks the 13th time this year that Russia has carried out a major attack on Ukraine's energy sector, leaving the country in a precarious position as the war grinds into a third winter.

Nadia Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Still to come for us, we look back at the Top Ten Climate Stories that marked 2024.

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[16:10:21]

GOLODRYGA: Just hours ago, Pope Francis delivered his Annual Christmas Day Message. The 88-year-old pontiff called for peace in the Middle East and for weapons to be laid down in Ukraine. This comes as the Catholic Church begins a Jubilee Year, a holy year that only happens a few times each century.

Christopher Lamb has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Pope Francis emphasizing that the Christmas message is one of peace and reconciliation, calling on countries to lay down their arms and for enemies to be reconciled.

Francis making specific reference to the war in Ukraine and in Gaza. This is what he had to say.

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): May there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.

May the sound of arms be silenced in the Middle East.

LAMB: The Pope's remarks in Ukraine, coming after Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Christmas Day. The Pope has repeatedly called for a negotiated peace settlement to end Russia's war against Ukraine. He has also been outspoken recently on what's been going on in Gaza, calling recent airstrikes cruelty and also being in regular contact with the Catholic community in Gaza.

Now, Pope Francis making his remarks after launching the Catholic Church's Jubilee Year, an ancient tradition that focuses on forgiveness and pilgrimage and which began on Christmas Eve when Pope Francis opened the doors of the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica. Normally cemented shut, the door meant to represent God's mercy, the Pope said, and that Francis is hoping that the message of the Jubilee can be one of hope and one that can impact not just in Rome, but globally.

Francis is 88 years old. He has got a packed schedule of events during the Jubilee. He will be opening a Holy Door in a prison tomorrow, Thursday, the first time a Holy Door has been opened in a prison. But nevertheless, despite the difficulties the Pope has when it comes to his physical mobility, Francis is determined to carry out the celebrations of the Jubilee and hoping that the message that the Jubilee represents will resonate across the globe.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Well, we are in the final stretch of 2024, a time when we look back on some of the biggest stories of the year.

CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir takes a look at the top climate stories to impact our world over the past 12 months.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At number 10, a rare moment of national unity and wonder. Thanks to the celestial dance of sun and moon, April's eclipse stretched from Texas to Maine, putting over 30 million Americans in the Path of Totality. We won't see another one over the US until 2044.

At number nine, this year's Hajj fell in June, drawing millions of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca just as thermometers hit 125 degrees and the Saudi Kingdom, reported over 1,300 heat-related deaths.

At number eight, wildfire nationwide. While July's Park Fire was the fifth biggest in California history, Texas saw their biggest ever with the million acre Smokehouse Creek Blaze.

And in the northeast, the worst drought in decades led to over 500 wildfires just in New Jersey.

At number seven and fueled by record high ocean temps, Hurricane Beryl roared to Category Five strength in July, the earliest storm to ever hit the top of the scale. While it hit Texas as a weaker Cat One, millions lost power around Houston, and it took nearly two sweltering weeks to get the air conditioning back on.

At number six, tornadoes and lots of them, the most in a decade. Of the two dozen billion dollar disasters this year, over half included twisters. And while Oklahoma saw two monster EF4s, climate change is shifting tornado alley from the Great Plains to the Southeast.

At number five, Earth's overheating atmosphere is like a giant sponge in the sky, soaking up more water, wringing it out with a vengeance, and causing the National Weather Service to issue an unprecedented 91 flash flood emergencies this year.

And at number four: The deadliest rain fell in Spain, where in late October, a year's worth fell in hours around Valencia. The surge broke riverbanks, turned streets into raging rapids and took over 200 lives.

[16:15:10]

At number three, the devastating duo of Helene and Milton, back-to- back hurricanes that began with a 15-foot surge in Florida's Big Bend, but got worse in the Mountains of Appalachia. Up to 30 inches of rain around Asheville, North Carolina, brought horrific flooding, while spun up tornadoes helped make Helene the deadliest since Katrina, and then came Milton just two weeks later, jumping from a tropical storm to a Category 5 in 24 hours, Milton is just the latest example of rapid intensification in the age of climate change.

But at number two, we have the rise of climate denial. After promising fossil fuel executives deregulation, Donald Trump retakes power with a promise to hamstring the nation's clean energy momentum and pull the US out of the Paris Climate Accord for a second, and possibly final time.

The American election cast a pall over COP 29 in Azerbaijan, where petro states that agreed to transition away from fossil fuel at COP 28 transition back to praising oil.

And at number one, the heat driving so much of this destruction eight years ago in Paris. The world agreed to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius, but this year topped it.

It was over a hundred degrees in Phoenix for 113 consecutive days, shattering the record by 37 days. So first responders now carry body bags and ice. And the city has embraced a policy of shade, signs that humanity will have to adapt because 2024 could be the coolest year of the rest of our lives.

Bill Weir, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Up next, our conversation with Radio City Music Hall's first Black Rockette. We will hear about her courageous battle against cancer as well. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Well, it is not a Christmas display, but nature putting on this spectacular show in Hawaii. You're looking at the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island. The volcano began erupting on Monday, spewing lava as high as 300 feet or 91 meters.

Crowds packed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see the eruption, the first in three months. Kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes.

Well, now to a story of a trailblazer. Jennifer Jones broke the color barrier at Radio City Music Hall in 1987, when she became the first Black Rockette dancer.

Since then, she has pushed for more diversity in the arts. I spoke with her earlier this week, and I asked her if she knew the significance of her accomplishments when she started at the age of just 20.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER JONES, FIRST BLACK ROCKETTE DANCER: I did not know the magnitude of what was happening at 20 years old, I did not know the history of the Rockettes, and it wasn't until my journey of being a Rockette for 15 years that I learned what I had done, and breaking a barrier and having so many women who have joined the line and have careers as Rockettes today.

[16:20:01]

GOLODRYGA: And I love your story because all of us, you know, when, when we set out and if we're lucky enough to be able to achieve our dreams and doing what we are passionate about, what we love to do, and in your case, have the talent to do it, it starts at a very young age and with supportive parents.

And I know your parents were huge fans of Broadway, and it was when they took you to see "The Wiz" that a light bulb went off in your head and you knew what you wanted to do. Talk about the impact that had.

JONES: I am very fortunate that my parents saw the love of dance that I had at such a young age, and I am very fortunate that they were big Broadway goers, and they took my sister and I to see "The Wiz" five times on Broadway with Stephanie Mills, Andre Deshields, Hinton Battle, Mabel King.

And then waiting for those autographs after the show backstage. I knew that was my life and I needed to walk out of a backstage door. However, when the Rockettes audition came around, I did not know who the Rockettes were, and a peer said to me, Jennifer, you should go to the audition. You would make a great Rockette.

And being very green in the business and very nervous at auditions that morning, I decided to go to the audition, and when I got to Radio City Music Hall at 10:00, the time of the audition, there was a line of women wrapped around the Music Hall. Beautiful long legs. They knew how to do their hair, makeup, and I got at the end of the line and I thought about leaving numerous times.

I thought I could make my favorite jazz class at 11:00, because I figured they were not going to pick me, and I thought about leaving numerous times, and then a voice inside me said, stay. And if I did not have the voice or the intuition to listen to my inner voice, my life would not have changed the way it did on such a worldwide magnitude.

And I conquered my fear and I made the audition.

GOLODRYGA: We are so glad you listened to that inner voice, and in addition to needing that inner voice to move forward, especially taking on challenges like the one you did auditioning for something as large and prominent as the Rockettes on Radio City Music Hall, so at such a young age, in addition to that, you being a first and that really launched in you the desire to see more diversity in the arts.

I am wondering along your path, I am sure, that you were facing some bumps along the road and people who said, now is not the time and were pushing back, but I am sure you also had allies. Just talk about balancing them both.

JONES: Well, with great change comes great resistance and with that, I did tend to lean in toward my allies, the women on the line who were finally ready for a change. They taught me how to guide. They taught me how to kick. They taught me how to toe the line, heel the line.

They really made sure that I was up to the job and to do what the Rockette technique was. Of course, when there is backlash that does come in and no one was allowed to take away what I wanted to do most in the world as a young child, and that was to dance and to be on Radio City Music Hall stage, that landmark stage in front of 6,000 people every night. No one was allowed to take that joy away from me.

So that was the inner strength that I had, but also the women who were surrounding me and comforting me and making sure I was the best Rockette possible pushed me forward.

GOLODRYGA: And you continue to inspire and hope to inspire future generations. Your children's book, "On The Line: My Story of Becoming the First African American Rockette" and also your battle with cancer, stage three colon cancer. You were told you had a few months to live. That was five years ago. Now you're five years cancer free and you are now involved in the nonprofit organization Dancers Against Cancer.

I highly suggest our viewers really focus in on all of the important work that you have been doing. Congratulations on everything, Jennifer Jones.

JONES: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Happy Holidays to you.

JONES: Happy Holidays. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, a holiday greeting from space. The four NASA astronauts on board the International Space Station sent this festive message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNI WILLIAMS, NASA ASTRONAUT: It's a great time of year up here. We get to spend it with all of our family up on the International Space Station. There are seven of us up here, and so we are going to get to enjoy company together.

From all of us to all of you, Merry Christmas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:25:04]

GOLODRYGA: Love that floating candy cane there. Suni Williams and Butch Whitmore are among the Americans on board. They've been in space since June on a mission that was only supposed to last about a week, but was extended because of problems with Boeing's Starliner capsule that was supposed to bring them home.

Well, Christmas carols returned to the restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The 12th Century landmark underwent more than five years of reconstruction after the devastating fire of 2019, and reopened just in time for Christmas.

CNN joined Notre Dame's Choir for one of their very first performances in the restored Cathedral, with their rendition of "I Saw Three Ships."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Notre Dame Choir singing "I Saw Three Ships."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: So incredibly beautiful. Well, thank you so much for watching CNN NEWSROOM. That's it for this hour. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

Up next, "Quest's World of Wonder."

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