Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
U.S. Official: Russian Air Defenses May Have Downed Plane in Kazakhstan; Yemen's Houthis: Israeli Strikes Kill 6, Wound 40; Trump: U.S. Should Control Panama Canal, Buy Greenland; Former Indian PM Manmohan Singh Dies Aged 92; Top 10 Business Stories of 2024. Aired 12-12:30a ET
Aired December 27, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all our viewers watching around the world. I'm Eleni Giokos.
[00:00:35]
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. Speculation is growing that Russia is responsible for their deadly passenger plane crash in Kazakhstan.
Israel unleashes a series of strikes on targets in Yemen, including the main airport, where the head of the World Health Organization says he was just meters away.
And a Trump adviser explains the strategy behind the president-elect's comments about the Panama Canal and buying Greenland.
Well, we begin this hour with that deadly Christmas day plane crash in Kazakhstan, where crews have recovered a second black box at the crash site. Now, that's according to the Kazakh state news agency.
At least 38 of the 67 people on board were killed in the crash.
Officials say the black box will be used to investigate the cause of the accident. More experts are expected to arrive on the scene in the coming hours, including representatives from the plane manufacturer and airline.
A U.S. official is now telling CNN early indications suggest Russian anti-aircraft defenses may have shot down the jets. The official pointed out that it may be a case of mistaken identity, as poorly trained Russian soldiers have been firing at Ukrainian drones.
Aviation security expert Matt Borie explains why he believes Russia could be behind the crash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT BORIE, CHIEF INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, OSPREY FLIGHT SOLUTIONS: Some of the passengers that were on board the aircraft, they said an explosion was heard outside of the aircraft, and shrapnel penetrated through the fuselage into the cabin of the aircraft.
There's video from while the aircraft was still in flight, showing shrapnel damages inside the aircraft, and then the video of the wreckage shows shrapnel damage to the tail, vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer sections of the aircraft, as well.
So, combining the fact that there was a drone attack being repelled by air defenses in the vicinity of where this aircraft was attempting to land, and the damage that was sustained in flight and visible after the crash points to a Russian surface-to-air missile being launched at this aircraft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: CNN's Nada Bashir is following the latest developments for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the moment an Azerbaijani plane attempted an emergency landing, bursting into flames upon impact.
Rescuers rushed to the scene, extinguishing the fire that engulfed the front of the plane and pulling out dazed survivors from the wreckage.
Out of 67 people on board, including crew, at least 38 died. Remarkably, 29 people, including two children, survived and were taken to hospitals.
Questions swirled on why the plane, which took off from the Azerbaijani capital Baku en route to Grozny in Russia, diverted to Kazakhstan.
Flight radar 24 shows the plane flying across the Caspian Sea and circling near the Kazakh city of Aktau before the crash, in a pattern an aviation expert says indicates loss of flight control systems.
The crash came shortly after drone strikes hit Southern Russia. And while investigators say they are exploring all scenarios, multiple Azerbaijani sources have told Reuters that the plane was hit by Russian air defenses.
Video verified by Reuters reveals a rare glimpse into the last moments on board the flight. Oxygen masks down as the camera tilts to the window, showing damage to the wing.
Then, in another geolocated social media video, the plane appears to nosedive. In the resulting explosion, the plane fuselage is broken into parts, with its rear half miraculously landing almost intact but upturned. Parts of the plane scattered across a wide radius. Bodies seen covered in blue blankets.
Russia and Azerbaijan evacuated their injured citizens as families in Baku waited to see if their loved ones had survived. For Azerbaijan, it is a time of mourning.
Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE) GIOKOS: Russian President Vladimir Putin is talking peace, but without slowing down his relentless strikes on Ukraine.
A Russian missile hit a central market in the city of Nikopol Thursday, about 40 kilometers Southwest of Zaporizhzhia. Eight people were injured, according to Reuters.
But the Russian leader also says he's open to holding peace talks with Ukraine in Slovakia, whose prime minister is known for his pro-Moscow stance.
The Kremlin is making it clear it's not interested in a ceasefire, and it wants a legally binding agreement that will address Russia's security concerns.
The head of the World Health Organization says he and a U.N. team are safe after Yemen's main airport came under Israeli bombardment -- bombardment just as they were about to board a plane.
Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus said, quote, "The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge -- just a few meters away from where we were -- and the runway were damaged. We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave."
He says one of the plane's crew members was injured and sent his condolences to the families of those killed in the attack.
Now, the strike on the airport was part of a series of Israeli attacks on Yemen on Thursday, which killed at least six people and wounded at least 40 others, according to Yemen's Houthi rebels. The militant group is vowing to retaliate, and Elliott Gotkine is in Jerusalem with more details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: The Houthis have lobbed ballistic missiles towards Tel Aviv for four out of the last seven nights --
GOTKINE (voice-over): -- sending millions scrambling to bomb shelters.
On Thursday, Israel responded, launching its first ever attack on Yemen's main airport and hitting two power stations. The strikes, the Israeli military said, targeted infrastructure the Houthis have been using to bring Iranian weapons into Yemen.
Among those hurt are crew member for a plane for the World Health Organization, whose director-general says he was just meters away from the impact.
GOTKINE: This was the fourth time Israeli planes have attacked the Houthis, who say they're firing on Israel and international shipping in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
GOTKINE (voice-over): On Wednesday night in the war-battered enclave, five men, all of them journalists, according to hospital officials and al-Quds Today TV, were killed while sleeping in their van. The channel, affiliated with Palestine Islamic Jihad, which the U.S.
and others proscribe as a terrorist organization, says the men were carrying out their journalistic and humanitarian duty. Israel says they were Islamic Jihad militants posing as journalists.
For evidence, it provided what it said was a list of operatives it picked up during operations in Gaza, edited to translate names and details on which four of the men's names appear, along with their roles.
GOTKINE: And as the war in Gaza rumbles on, ceasefire talks aimed at securing the release of the 100 or so hostages still being held captive appear to have hit another snag.
GOTKINE (voice-over): On Christmas day, Hamas accused Israel of moving the goalposts in negotiations and said this was why a deal had yet to be done.
For its part, Israel said Hamas was lying and reneging on understandings that had already been reached.
GOTKINE: Whatever the case, despite renewed optimism that a deal could soon be done, the reality is the two sides appear no closer to reaching an agreement that could end the year-long war and bring all the hostages home.
Elliott Gotkine, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced his pick for U.S. ambassador to Panama. If approved, Miami-Dade County commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera would have his hands full amid Trump's complaints that Panama is, quote, "ripping off U.S. ships that pass through the waterway."
That's just one of many Trump comments raising eyebrows worldwide right now. But our Alayna Treene says it's part of a larger strategy. Here's her report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Donald Trump's fixation this week over wanting to take control over the Panama Canal, as well as the revival of his desire to purchase Greenland, a Danish territory --
TREENE (voice-over): is really part of a larger negotiating tactic, I'm told.
One Trump adviser told me his interpretation of what Donald Trump has been saying this week is really that he wants to force foreign leaders to the negotiating table to bolster United States trade, but also to try and curb both Russia and China's larger influence over the global region.
Now, as it relates to Panama specifically, Donald Trump believes that Panama -- and as it relates to the Panama Canal specifically, is taking advantage of the United States and its companies. He really is pushing for a new agreement that would lower the price that different American vessels pay for passage throughout the Panama Canal.
He also believes that many Chinese companies are controlling the ports around the Panama Canal, essentially giving them more control over which ships can pass through and, again, what the prices are for other countries.
[00:10:12]
Now, as it relates to Greenland, I'm told that Donald Trump's kind of fixation on that has been about trying to curb Russia's influence in the arctic region, and that's part of why he's continued to say that he wants to buy Greenland, even though we know that its prime minister, who controls the Danish territory, has said that Greenland is not for sale, just like it wasn't for sale back in 2019 when he first floated this idea of trying to purchase the country.
Now, all to say, this is what one of the Trump advisers told me. They said, quote, "Everything has to be looked at in terms of curbing Russia and China influence, while also protecting the economy."
TREENE: Now, to be clear, as well, to go back to the Panama Canal here and what Donald Trump has been saying, Donald Trump has actually been fixated on this for several months now, I'm told.
And I would actually point to an August interview he did with Tucker Carlson on X, where he brought this up. He said that he believed that the former president, Jimmy Carter, who negotiated this treaty to give Panama control over the canal, despite it being U.S.-made, was a stupid idea.
He believes that Panama is taking advantage of the United States, and that he would potentially want to negotiate some sort of different deal with Panama if he were to be elected president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: All right. That was Alayna Treene for us.
One of India's longest serving prime ministers, Manmohan Singh, has died. We look back at his life and legacy after the break. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: South Korea's constitutional court is holding its first public hearing on the impeachments of President Yoon Suk-Yeol. You're looking at live pictures coming through.
The hearing is part of what could be a very long process. The court has up to 180 days to decide whether Yoon will be formally removed from office or reinstated.
He was impeached on December 14 after refusing to resign amid controversy over his decision to impose martial law.
Meanwhile, the acting president, prime minister Han Duck-soo, is now facing his own impeachment threat. Voting on that is expected to begin in the next hour.
The former prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, has passed away at the age of 92. Singh died at a New Delhi hospital that said he was brought in after losing consciousness at home Thursday evening. The hospital also said he was being treated for age-related medical conditions.
CNN's Bianna Golodryga has more on the former Indian leader and economic reformer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): Manmohan Singh became India's 14th prime minister almost by accident.
In 2004, after unexpectedly winning national elections, Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi decided she didn't want the country's top job after all. Instead, she turned to her friend Singh, until then known for his role in unleashing a bold wave of economic reforms in the early '90s when he was finance minister.
[00:15:11]
His policies saved India from almost certain bankruptcy. They also helped transform it into one of the world's top emerging economies, and he promised to do more when he became India's leader.
MANMOHAN SINGH, FORMER INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: We have always said economic reforms with emphasis on the human element will continue.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): But critics say that pace of reforms slowed on his watch and ties with archrival Pakistan soured after this.
The 2008 attacks on Mumbai, blamed by New Delhi on Pakistan, shattered an ongoing peace process. Singh's government was also accused of failing to protect the country.
Ties with the U.S. strengthened. Singh signed a landmark nuclear deal with President George W. Bush in 2005, and in 2009, he was guest of honor at U.S. President Barack Obama's first White House state dinner.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This visit reflects the high esteem in which I and the American people hold your wise leadership.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): At home, though, Indians were beginning to tire of his government. In 2014, after his two terms as prime minister, his Congress Party was booted out, Singh's achievements overshadowed by high-profile corruption cases under his administration.
India voted in Narendra Modi and his BJP. MIHIR SHARMA, COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG OPINION: Manmohan Singh came into
office with an extraordinary amount of hope, an extraordinary amount of expectation attached to him, much like his successor. But he was not really able to live up to that degree of expectation.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): Although Singh was never personally accused of being corrupt, his image took a hit.
SHARMA: I think Manmohan Singh's legacy is likely to center around the reforms of 1991, which really were India's coming out party to the world.
GOLODRYGA (voice-over): The jury is still out on the question of whether or not he lived up to his potential as prime minister.
GRAPHIC: Manmohan Singh, 1932-2024.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: One of the largest retailers in the U.S. went dark. A port strike threatened global trade, and the richest man in the world went full-on MAGA.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich counts down the top business stories of 2024.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Number ten. It's the end of free loading.
Costco cracks down on membership moochers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Costco is adding a brand-new layer of checks to make sure that you are using your own membership.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Costco cardholders now have to scan membership cards at the door and may be asked to show proof of photo I.D., membership fees are the bulk of Costco's profits, bringing in $4.6 billion in 2023.
And Disney cracked down on password sharing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disney CEO Bob Iger is pivoting from a bruising proxy fight to a new challenge: the password sharing blight. Iger saying Thursday that the Disney+ streaming service will begin cracking down on pilfered passwords.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Disney started limiting how often customers can share their login information outside their households for their streaming services.
The move came after rival Netflix did its own crackdown and saw 100,000 new daily signups for the two days following the announcement.
[00:20:11]
Number nine, for the first time in nearly 50 years, dock workers on the East and Gulf Coast ports went on strike.
HAROLD DAGGETT, HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL LONGSHOREMEN'S ASSOCIATION: Now you start to realize who the longshoremen are, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody cares.
DAGGETT: People never gave an (EXPLETIVE DELETED) about us until now.
YURKEVICH: The International Longshoremen's Association was on strike for three days before it reached a deal on wages with the United States Maritime Alliance, with a new strike deadline set for January 15th.
The union and the alliance agreed to 62 percent in wage increases over six years.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): And at Boeing, workers were on strike for seven weeks, the first time in 16 years, before they reached a deal.
The company lost billions of dollars and will lay off 17,000 employees. Members of the International Association Of Machinists voted down two contracts before they accepted a deal, which includes more than 43 percent in pay increases for workers over four years.
Number eight, the blue light special now just a dim glow of nostalgia as the last full-size brick-and-mortar Kmart closed its doors this year in Bridgehampton, New York.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This marks the end of an era for Kmart full- size stores.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Kmart had a disastrous merger with Sears, where very little was invested in the brand, while at the same time being beat out by more successful, bigger box retailers like Walmart and Target.
YURKEVICH: The brand was founded in 1962 and once had more than 2,300 stores. Kmart still has its online store.
Number seven, President-elect Donald Trump took Truth Social public in March. The stock initially surged 56 percent at the open but has had a bumpy ride.
The stock was halted twice on election day as it soared by 17 percent and then tanked.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello everybody.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Trump also launched a crypto business, World Liberty Financial, with his family. Trump made the rounds courting crypto voters.
TRUMP: The United States will be the crypto capital of the planet. YURKEVICH (voice-over): And he's surrounded himself with crypto- friendly advisers like Elon Musk and his SEC chair pick, Paul Atkins.
Number six.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no trouble. Just sandwiches and Campbell's chicken noodle soup.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yay!
YURKEVICH (voice-over): An iconic favorite losing its soup? No, not quite, but after 155 years, Campbell's Soup Company is dropping "Soup" from their name to reflect the brand's full portfolio.
The Campbell's Company also owns snack brands like Goldfish, Cape Cod and Pepperidge Farms.
While the soup will always be iconic, its sales grew by 3 percent last year versus snacks, which grew by 13 percent.
Number five.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: TikTok dealt another loss today in its attempt to keep the app alive in the United States.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): A U.S. appeals court denied TikTok's argument that a U.S. ban was unconstitutional. Instead, it upheld a law that says TikTok cannot operate in the U.S. unless it's sold by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance by January 19th, 2025. TikTok has since filed an injunction to block it.
TikTok has more than 170 million American users, many who have built entire businesses on the platform.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Add at least two of these to your cart.
YURKEVICH: Elected officials are calling for the ban over the belief the Chinese government can use TikTok to spy on Americans and collect user data.
SHOU ZI CHEW, CEO, TIKTOK: Rest assured, we aren't going anywhere. We are confident, and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Number four.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first rate cut in four years. The most talked about cut, I think, ever.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): The Federal Reserve made its first rate cut in September by a surprising half a point, the first since before the pandemic. The cut signaled a sense of urgency to provide Americans with relief from elevated borrowing costs.
JEROME POWELL, CHAIR, FEDERAL RESERVE: The U.S. economy is in good shape. It's growing at a solid pace. Inflation is coming down. The labor market is in a strong pace. We want to keep it there. That's -- that's what we're doing.
YURKEVICH: Inflation cooled to 2.4 percent that same month after 11 rate hikes in 2022 and 2023. And the Fed is closer to the ever-elusive soft landing and circling its 2 percent target.
Number three.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Red Lobster's endless shrimp is kind of a big deal.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): A big deal that got a little too big. Too much shrimp is not always a good thing.
Red Lobster's annual $20 endless shrimp was successful for 20 years, until they made it an everyday thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They shouldn't have done the all-you-can-eat shrimp. You don't know how many people are pigs, and they'll just keep eating.
[00:25:05]
YURKEVICH (voice-over): The company accounted for a 20 percent increase in customer traffic, but it ended up being 40 percent. It cost the company $11 million, and they filed for bankruptcy.
Number two.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the real estate world will never be the same after today's seismic court settlement.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: That 6 percent commission real estate agents get for buying or selling a home is now no more.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): In a landmark case, the National Association of Realtors eliminated the rules on commissions and paid $418 million to plaintiffs who argued the fees inflated prices of homes.
KEILAR: And analysts expect it to benefit home buyers.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Sellers were saddled with hefty fees and often baked them into the sales price of homes.
The historic change could make home prices more affordable. The average home price is $407,200, near record highs.
Number one, the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, will soon be a government employee. The X, Tesla and SpaceX owner went full MAGA.
ELON MUSK, BUSINESSMAN: We had one president who couldn't climb a flight of stairs and another who was fist pumping after getting shot.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): The multi-billionaire lost a few billion on X, which lost an estimated 80 percent of value since Musk bought it two years ago. But he gained a few billion on Tesla, which has soared since Trump's reelection.
MUSK: We want to have a fun, exciting future.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): Trump appointed Musk the co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
TRUMP: We have a new star. A star is born, Elon.
YURKEVICH (voice-over): And he's been advising the president-elect on key cabinet hires.
Musk is now more than $100 billion richer than the second richest person in the world, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Well, that was Vanessa Yurkevich for us.
Hot air balloons are filling the skies over Nepal this week. The country is hosting its first ever international hot air balloon event. The nine-day festival features 25 hot air balloons from across the world and is aimed at promoting adventure tourism in the Himalayan nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN VINER, BRITISH HOT AIR BALLOON PILOT: This is my first visit to Nepal, and it's great. We're having a fabulous time. The flying is good, the people are even better, and we've done some wonderful sightseeing.
PIETER KOOISTRA, HOT AIR BALLOON PILOT: The experience was fantastic. A very nice area to fly, perfect weather for ballooning, not too much wind. You could fly any direction.
So yes, great.
INDRA LAXMI BADE, SPECTATOR (through translator): I had a lot of fun at the International Balloon Festival, which is happening for the first time in Nepal. I felt very good. I've never had the chance to see something like this before. Now, I feel very good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, the event runs through New Year's Day and an incredible way to end 2024, I must say.
Well, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Eleni Giokos. I'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. A special edition of WORLD SPORTS is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:30:32]
(WORLD SPORT) [00:57:58]
