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Gaza Healthcare On Brink Of Collapse; Jimmy Carter Lies In Repose; Alcohol Warning Labels. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired January 05, 2025 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the U.K. and all over the world. I'm Ben Hunte in London. It is so good to have you with me.
Coming up on CNN Newsroom, the Israel-Hamas negotiations appear to be going nowhere, as the health system in Gaza is on the brink of collapse.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is lying in repose in Georgia's capital of Atlanta. How he's being remembered.
And some of the strongest health warnings yet on alcohol labels, we'll speak to an expert about the risks and how much warning the public needs.
Welcome. Despite optimism in recent weeks, officials now say there's little progress in the latest Gaza ceasefire and hostage release talks. And in the coming hours, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to hold his weekly cabinet meeting.
In Tel Aviv on Saturday night, thousands of anti-government protesters were on the streets. They're demanding a deal with Hamas to get the hostages home. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that several times Israel has offered Hamas leaders and fighters safe passage out of Gaza if they release all of the hostages.
And there is new video of one of them, 19-year-old Liri Albag. In the video, she references the New Year, but there's no definitive proof the video was shot in the past few days. Her parents say they want Israel to agree to a hostage release deal.
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ELI ALBAG, FATHER OF HOSTAGE: Dear people of Israel, today we received a sign of life from Liri. We saw a video that was difficult to watch. This isn't the Liri we know.
SHIRA ALBAG, MOTHER OF HOSTAGE: We demanded from the prime minister and defense minister that the negotiating team must not return without an agreement. We understood from their words that they are willing to make a deal and bring all the hostages home. I want to tell Liri, if she sees this, Liri, we are fighting for you. We aren't giving up on you, and you're coming home alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Albag was taken hostage during the October 7th attacks. She and other field observers were at a military base near Gaza. CNN isn't showing the hostage video at her parents' request.
Officials in Gaza say Israeli strikes killed 28 people on Saturday. Gaza civil defense says 11 people, including seven children, were killed in a strike on a house east of Gaza City. The Israeli military says for the past week, it's conducted operations in an area used by Hamas commanders as a hideout and terror complex. But witnesses say in at least one of the areas, there were no members of Hamas present.
As winter sets in, the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees is calling on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. It's warning that lives are being lost from cold temperatures and heavy rain. In recent days, severe cold weather has killed at least seven people, including five babies, a toddler and a nurse.
More now from CNN's Paula Hancocks. But, first, a warning, some images and details in her report are graphic and disturbing.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): I did everything I could, my son. I swear I did. A father seeks forgiveness from his 20- day-old baby. Juma (ph) froze to death in a tent in Gaza.
His twin, Ali, is fighting for his life in intensive care. His father says, I came from the north, from Beit Lahia, because of the Israeli bombing, only to come here and watch them die from cold and hunger.
Juma is one of at least five babies to have died from hypothermia in Gaza in recent days. His funeral prayers are recited above two tiny bodies, children look on, trauma buried in eyes that have seen almost 15 months of horror.
Ali is fighting sepsis. His doctor says he is in critical condition. They live in a tent, the doctor says in this freezing winter weather. Even adults suffer from the cold. So, imagine the severe threat to young children.
Juma's mother folds up clothes he will never again wear. She shows a heating device given by a U.N. agency the day before he died. She never had the chance to wrap him in it.
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Since Juma's death, conditions in Gaza have only worsened. Storms and torrential rain making surviving in makeshift tents almost impossible. This man from Jabalia camp stands outside his flooded tent. He says it collapsed under the weight of the rain. His family's bedding is soaked. As children walk by, he says, more water comes in. This barefooted boy tries to dig a mud defense for his family's tent, but the sheer volume of water makes most barricades worthless. Despite the heavy rains transforming streets into rivers, drinking water remains scarce, causing chaos at the stations when the water trucks arrive. Some try to see the fun side of the rain. Shoeless children run in between the waterlogged tents but the misery is acute. This newborn baby, Salam Ahmed Alfasi (ph), froze to death on Christmas Day. The cruel irony, she died in a tent in Al-Mawasi, an area Israel has designated a humanitarian zone.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem.
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HUNTE: The United Nations is warning Gaza's health system is on the brink of collapse, as a WHO official for Gaza says the health sector is being systematically dismantled by Israel.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn said on Friday, images like this you see in there of hospitals rendered unusable are becoming more common. And he said that Gaza faces shortages of medical supplies, equipment and personnel. He also warned that 12,000 people need to be evacuated for medical procedures abroad.
The U.N. says it would take five to ten years to get them out of Gaza. Meanwhile, only 16 of the region's 36 hospitals are operational, and those are considered only partially operational. The U.N. says the situation is entirely insufficient for the overwhelming medical needs.
Israel recently raided Kamal Adwan Hospital. In addition to the facilities, Israel targeted health workers there. The Israeli military arrested some of them.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya hasn't been seen publicly since he was arrested in that raid. The group, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, is demanding to know his whereabouts.
Guy Shalev is the executive director of Physicians for Human Rights, Israel, and he joins us live from Tel Aviv. Thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it.
Let's just get straight into the disappearance of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. Just a few days ago, Israel said it wasn't holding this doctor. Then the IDF statement changed and said they are holding him, and they doubled down on why. They've accused him of being a Hamas operative but offered no support to those claims. What is going on?
GUY SHALEV, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, ISRAEL: Right. So, this can be seen like maybe a human error. This is what the Army's arguing. But we see that as a systematic way in which people and specifically medical professionals are being forcedly disappearing. Because of the high profile of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the last major hospital in the northern side of Gaza, the IDF, the military had to change their statement and say that they are indeed holding.
But the formal response that we got is that they don't have any indication of his whereabouts. It is important to think about that for a second because we are getting this response for hundreds of other detainees. They don't have the high-profile such as Hussam Abu Safiya, so they still disappeared, right? We still don't know where they are. We are requesting their location in order to visit them with our lawyers. Sometimes it takes months until we locate someone. Sometimes people are dying in custody without us knowing. After we got that same message that they have no indication of having those people at their embassy (ph).
HUNTE: We've seen from your reporting from your organization and from Amnesty saying Israel has detained, quote, hundreds of Palestinian healthcare workers from Gaza without charge or trial and said they've been, quote, subjected to torture and other ill treatment and being held in detention. I mean, what does all of this mean for the guards in healthcare system? And obviously people still need medical support, so what are they doing right?
SHALEV: Right. So, medical professionals are protected by international humanitarian law, and there's a reason for that. And that is if you attack healthcare professionals, you attack a whole society, you attack civilians who need medical attention, people with chronic illnesses, people with injuries.
As the person, Rik, from the WHO just you quoted said, 12,000 people are waiting medical evacuations. Our numbers say that there's more than 20,000 people waiting for urgent medical evacuations. The reason for that is there is no active healthcare system in Gaza and hundreds of medical professionals have lost their ability to care for their people.
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More than a thousand medical professionals were killed. 230 were arrested. 130 are still held in Israel incarceration facilities. And we have to pay these cardiologists, ICU doctors, all of these people are held in Israeli facilities, not being able to help their patients and support their people.
HUNTE: And while they're being held, I want to talk about the conditions. What do we know about the conditions that they are being held in?
SHALEV: Right. So, we managed to visit 26 of the medical professionals who are still under other incarceration facilities. The testimonies we are collecting are horrifying, torture, starvation, no clothing, no appropriate clothing, no appropriate mattresses. There are epidemics -- scabies epidemics going through the entire incarceration facilities, medical neglect.
People are dying. Three doctors have already died in Israeli incarceration facilities, Dr. Adan Al-Bursh, Dr. Iyad al-Rantisi, Dr. Ziad Al-Dalou. And these are just the three doctors, right? More than 70 people already died in Israeli incarceration facilities. Just as a comparison, nine people died in Guantanamo in 22 years of operation. We have here more than 70 people in just a few months.
HUNTE: Of course, it is important to say that Israel has defended its actions. The Israeli militia in Geneva said Israeli forces operated in accordance with international law and would never target innocent civilians. I mean, appreciating everything you've just said, what is your response to that statement?
SHALEV: That statement really has no evidence to back it. First of all, if we're even just thinking about the people are in incarceration, Israel has not let the ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross, access to its facilities since October 23. So, for 15 months, the ICRC was not able to visit the people, people were not being giving the rights to see their lawyers. And that is why people are disappearing. This is why people are dying in custody. One of the people that we attended their case died under 40 kilos after he didn't get the right nutrition for the chronic disease that he had.
And these are not even in question, right? Israel can say maybe there were Hamas operatives in that hospital or in the other hospital. These are people they are holding in their own incarceration facilities. They have obligations towards them by the international humanitarian law, and they're definitely violating their rights.
HUNTE: Well, thank you for your work. Thank you for reporting. We appreciate it. We'll see what happens over the next weeks and months and potentially years to come. Guy Shalev, executive director for Physicians for Human Rights, Israel, thank you so much for joining us.
SHALEV: Thank you for having me.
HUNTE: We're keeping an eye on a developing story in South Korea, where both supporters and opponents of his impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, are holding rallies near his official residence. There's some live pictures there. Investigators tried to arrest Yoon on Friday, but they backed down after a standoff with his security detail. Police are now urging the country's acting president to order the security team to stand down and allow investigators to reach Yoon. Police also want the presidential security chief to appear for questioning next week.
Yoon has been charged with abuse of power and leading a rebellion over a martial law that he briefly imposed last month. The arrest warrant against him is valid until Monday, but it can be extended. That's happening just hours ahead of the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who's going to meet the acting president on Sunday.
Austria's Chancellor plans to resign after coalition talks to form a centrist government broke down for a second time. Karl Nehammer's decision could pave the way for the far right Freedom Party to join a coalition government. The pro-Russia party has been locked out of talks despite winning the biggest share of the national vote in September. Nehammer withdrew from negotiations on Saturday, blaming destructive forces in the liberal social Democrats. His party will meet in the coming day to try and decide on a new leader.
The U.S. is bidding a long farewell to former President Jimmy Carter, who died a week ago at the age of 100. His state funeral will be held at Washington National Cathedral this Thursday. But, first, Georgia's paying its respects to its native son. The former president is now lying in repose at a Carter Center in Atlanta, and Jeff Zeleny has more.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: In scripture and song on Saturday, Georgians paid their solemn tributes to Jimmy Carter, one of their own who rose from being a peanut farmer to the presidency. A day-long series of tributes started in Plains, Georgia, and literally tracked the remarkable journey that he had from his home outside of the tiny town of Plains to more than a 2.5 hour journey to Atlanta.
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The motorcade passing the Atlanta Capitol, of course, where he served as a state senator and one term as governor before making the run for president back in the 1976 campaign. That was an improbable journey, one of many throughout his life.
But certainly, once the motorcade reached the Carter Center on Saturday evening for a private family service, Chip Carter spoke about how both of his parents, Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter, and the work that they did for the world.
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CHIP CARTER, JIMMY CARTER'S SON: He was an amazing man. And he was held up and propped up and sued by an amazing woman. And the two of them together changed the world. And it was an amazing thing to watch from so close.
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ZELENY: A very personal and public farewell for the life of America's longest living president. America has not seen a state funeral for a president since 2018 when George H.W. Bush was laid to rest.
Now, Jimmy Carter will go from Georgia on Tuesday morning to Washington. He'll be lying in state in the U.S. Capitol before the Washington National Cathedral hosts a state funeral. President Biden will be delivering that eulogy.
But in Georgia, throughout the day on Saturday, those personal touches from the son of Plains, Georgia, on his improbable rise, he planned every moment of his funeral some decades ago, including music from the Morehouse College Glee Club. The family watched and listened as they sang Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Those strains (ph) were chosen themselves by the Carters, a nod to the deep importance that civil rights played in his governor and indeed his presidency.
Now, the late president will be lying in repose here in Atlanta through Tuesday morning before going to Washington.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Atlanta
HUNTE: New Orleans is still in mourning days after a terrorist attack strikes the heart of the city. We'll have more on the fallout next. Plus, a grim 2025 forecast for Mexico, a new report says the country could face an even more violent year ahead. All that and more when we return.
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HUNTE: New Orleans is mourning the 14 people killed in the Bourbon Street terrorist attack. Several hundred people gathered for a candlelit vigil in the city's French Quarter on Saturday. Dozens of blue crosses each bearing photos of the victims stood in a row with Mardi Gras necklaces, flowers and clothes draped over them. Meanwhile, a source says U.S. President Joe Biden is also expected to attend a vigil in the city on Monday.
Reuters News Agency is now reporting that new vehicle barriers, which are being installed in New Orleans, would have done nothing to prevent the New Year's pickup truck attack. The new barriers can reportedly only withstand vehicle impacts up to 16 kilometers per hour. Months ago, an assessment found a similar truck model was capable of plowing through the area at speeds up to seven times faster.
CNN's Rafael Roma reports on the prior warnings.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN has learned that a security firm warned five years ago that the Bourbon Street area in New Orleans was especially vulnerable to a vehicular ramming attack. Both the FBI and ATF say the killer set fire to the short-term rental location where he stayed to destroy evidence, including precursors for bomb making material.
The FBI also says the killer intended to use a transmitter found in his truck to set up to improvise explosive devices that he had previously placed on Bourbon Street.
In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser accused New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell of failing to secure Bourbon Street despite requests made years ago.
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LT. GOV. BILLY NUNGESSER (R-LA): The mayor and her team failed miserably. You know, today, I sent out a video of the balusters in front of Jackson Square, historical Jackson. Two years, we've been asking to get him replaced. I didn't let that out to the public because we didn't want people to know you could drive through that pedestrian mall.
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ROMO: New Orleans Mayor Cantrell said the day after the tragedy that over ten years ago, the city undertook an infrastructure project that included installing bollards on Bourbon Street, but they would frequently malfunction and had to be replaced. She also said at the time of the attack there was already a plan in motion to get those bollards replaced.
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MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL (D-NEW ORLEANS, LA): We were able to build in bollard replacement into our Super Bowl infrastructure package. And because of that, the city of New Orleans has moved forward with that infrastructure that is nearing completion.
Bollards were not up because they are near completion with the expectation of being completed, of course, by Super Bowl.
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ROMO: A royal source has told CNN that a British man killed in the New Orleans terrorist attack was the stepson of a woman who was the nanny of Prince William and Prince Harry. British media reported Edward Pettifer was the stepson of Alexandra Pettifer, formerly known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who served as nanny for both princes for several years and is remembered that someone who supported them after their parents, Charles and Diana, separated, and especially following the death of the princess of Wales.
Meanwhile, the Orleans Parish coroner released a list of 12 of the 14 people who died in the attack. Seven of the victims were from Louisiana, but there were also others from Alabama, Mississippi, New Jersey, and New York, as well as the British national, and one person who remains unidentified.
Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.
HUNTE: New details are coming to light about the man who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.
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A former girlfriend of Matthew Livelsberger revealed he contacted her in late December and told her he had rented the vehicle. She said it was because they had worked on her Tesla together back in 2019. But she says he gave no indication about what he was planning.
Investigators also found a second letter on his phone, which outlined further political grievances about the way in which the U.S. was being governed. Livelsberger had been diagnosed as suffering from depression.
Guatemala completed its deployment of security forces in support of Haiti on Saturday. The final contingent of 75 military police arrived in Port-au-Prince, completing the total of 150 that were promised by the Guatemalan government to help battle gang violence. The first 75 arrived on Friday together with troops from El Salvador. The multinational security support mission is headed up by Kenya, which has deployed about 400 police. Ten countries have promised more than 3,000 police, but that number has so far fallen short.
A new report ranks Mexico as one of the most violent places on Earth. And according to the group called Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, Mexico could face even more violence in the year ahead.
Our Karol Suarez reports from Mexico City.
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KAROL SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Mexico now shares a grim distinction with some of the world's most violent regions, such as Syria and Myanmar. A new report exposes a troubling rise in political violence and organized crime set in the stage for a turbulent and dangerous 2025.
ARMANDO RODRIGUEZ, SECURITY ANALYST: One of the key factors driving political violence is the presence of criminal groups across the territory. This is perhaps the main distinction compared to other countries included in the global index.
SUAREZ: According to the report, Mexico is the second most dangerous country for civilians, with attacks targeting political candidates. Although analysts say the issue runs deeper.
FRANCISCO RIVAS, NATIONAL CITIZEN OBSERVATORY, MEXICO: I think beyond whether it's second or third, Mexico is a country where citizens face high risks due to the presence of these criminal groups and the state's inability to restore peace.
SUAREZ: Unlike other countries in the report, violence in Mexico is shaped by organized crime and internal political conflicts. The report places Mexico 7th in the number of deadliest events, 4th in conflict fragmentation, and 17th in the most diffuse conflicts.
RODRIGUEZ: This doesn't surprise us. It simply provides more insight into the local levels of violence happening in the country.
SUAREZ: The Mexican government has not responded to CNN's request for comment on the report. President Claudia Sheinbaum has said that security in the country will improve, pointing to a drop in homicides in December.
RIVAS: But we are still far from achieving conditions that would allow Mexico to recover peace.
SUAREZ: This data highlight persistent violence in Mexico with forecasts pointing to a more violent 2025 driven by judicial elections and the fragmentation of criminal groups.
Karol Suarez, CNN, Mexico City.
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HUNTE: Coming up, U.S. President Joe Biden holds an emotional awards ceremony. We'll show you who he chose for America's highest civilian honors, next.
Plus, how some nations are warning citizens about the dangers of drinking alcohol.
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HUNTE: In one of the more emotional acts of his last few weeks in office, U.S. President Joe Biden has awarded 19 people with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is the highest civilian honor in the United States.
CNN's Julia Benbrook tells us who was chosen.
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a star studded event here at the White House. The Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients represent a wide range of accomplishments in areas like philanthropy, politics, sports, and the arts. It's the nation's highest civilian honor and the White House says it's reserved for people who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace or significant societal public or private endeavors.
President Joe Biden presented each of the awards and called the honorees an extraordinary group.
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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: For the final time is present. I have the honor of bestowing the Medal of Freedom on our nation's highest civilian honor on a group of extraordinary, truly extraordinary people who gave their sacred effort to shape the culture and the cause of America.
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BENBROOK: Among those honored was Hillary Clinton, who received a standing ovation during the ceremony, she was honored for her decades- long career in public service, her time as first lady, a U.S. senator, secretary of state and the first woman to lead a major party ticket when she was the Democratic nominee for president back in 2016. During the ceremony, they said that her nomination broke barriers and inspired generations.
Also honored, design industry titan Ralph Lauren, whose clothing has been a longtime favorite of the Biden family. In fact, first granddaughter, Naomi Biden, got married here at the White House in 2022 wearing one of Lauren's designs.
Renowned Chef Jose Andres, whose work with World Central Kitchen, has provided large scale relief to areas affected by natural disasters and conflict around the world.
Now, there were 19 honorees in total, and world renowned conservationist Jane Goodall was one of them, Bill Nye the Science Guy, legendary basketball player Magic Johnson, editor-in-chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour, award winning actor Denzel Washington, and U2 front man and philanthropist Bono.
Now, this event brought back memories of 2017 when Biden himself received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then President Barack Obama. It was a surprise and one that seemed to catch Biden off guard. He was visibly emotional during that ceremony.
At the White House, Julia Benbrook, CNN.
HUNTE: U.S. officials are hoping to change the national conversation around alcohol. On Friday, the American surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued an advisory. He warned Americans that any amount of alcohol consumption can increase the risk of cancer.
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Dr. Murthy is also calling for an updated health warning label on alcoholic drinks to reflect that risk. European public health officials have already been sounding the alarm about the link between alcohol and cancer. And in 2026, Ireland will become the first E.U. nation to acquire comprehensive health labeling on all alcohol products.
I want to dig into this story a bit more. So, let's bring in Carina Ferreira-Borges. She is the head of the Alcohol, Drugs and Prison Health Program for the World Health Organization's Europe office. She's in Copenhagen, Denmark. Thank you so much for being here at this early hour.
Let's talk about alcohol. So, strengthening the warning labels on alcoholic drinks, is this a good idea? Can they actually work to change people's behavior?
CARINA FERREIRA-BORGES, HEAD, WHO EUROPE'S ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND PRISON HEALTH PROGRAMME: Absolutely. It is extremely important to measure, given the fact that most of the people are not aware of the health related harms linked to consumption of alcohol. So, this type of measures will help to increase that awareness, will help also to address a lot of the misinformation that we see around alcohol consumption.
HUNT: So, the U.S. surgeon general is recommending stronger warning labels. I mean, Ireland, I can see, is already implementing them. Is this the way of the future or should it be?
FERREIRA-BORGES: Well, what we know about the evidence is that alcohol is not just a social harmless beverage. It's a beverage that has major implications in public health. And because of that, it is extremely important to set up measures that help citizens and that protect the population widely. So, indeed, countries like Ireland, where the harms are very evident, but this is also happening in many other countries, it is an important measure that needs to be put in place that will help to increase awareness.
We are seeing this not only in Ireland. We're seeing that there's many other countries that are willing to put up such measures in place. And we encourage this type of public health measures because they will allow people to make informed choices.
HUNTE: Interesting. I mean, I'm 32. I'm pretty athletic. I'm Caribbean. I feel like I'm naturally drawn to rum and have been since I was younger, which tells me that my Caribbean ancestors are probably hitting rum quite hard. Can you just pitch to me why I shouldn't drink alcohol? School me.
FERREIRA-BORGES: Well, very basic fact is that the evidence has clearly shown that there's a causal link between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. So, it's a little bit like tobacco and asbestos is a type one carcinogen, and there's a risk relationship, which is very clear by consuming alcohol. It has an impact in your DNA. It does have an effect. And like that, you will be at risk of developing cancer in the future. You will not see it immediately, a little bit like tobacco. I mean, you will see it only once you get, you know, older, but the risk is there.
HUNTE: Okay, I believe you. Now, I know there are probably a lot of disappointed people out there, maybe some even with a drink in their hand right now, very awkward. I'm finding that as I'm getting older, it is harder to recover from the sesh, and I can struggle for literally days after, unlike when I was at university. So, because of that, I am naturally drinking a lot less than before. But is that better for me, or is even the occasional glass of something still a bad idea?
FERREIRA-BORGES: So, what we know from the evidence is that the less you drink, the better, and if you stop drinking, even better because the risk is there even for lower levels of drinking, especially for women. And when we talk about breast cancer, this is extremely important. We know that very low levels of drinking still have an impact and increase the risk of women for breast cancer. So, this is extremely important measure for, again, people to know and to be able to make informed choices and to be able to prevent the cancer from developing, you know, later on in life.
HUNTE: That makes a lot of sense. And are there any nations that are better or worse for drinking problems? I mean, I went to University in Malaysia and I can tell you that people were drinking hard. Is there any way of this worse?
FERREIRA-BORGES: Well, there's different countries drinking differently, but at the end of the day, depending, you know -- it doesn't -- let me just say, it doesn't matter if you drink beer, spirits, or wine. What matters is what is inside of those bottles, which is alcohol, you know, ethylic alcohol. So, this is what causes cancer.
Of course, we know that the more you drink, the higher the risk. So, again, there's a dose relationship, dose response relationship, which is very clear.
[03:40:04]
But because it starts at a very low level, what we claim and what we have been advising and recommending to countries is to put up measures that will help to decrease this alcohol consumption.
So, of course, you know, the higher you drink, the more harms you will see in the population. And we see this very clear in the European region, where we have about 1 million deaths per year, which are closely -- which are directly linked to alcohol consumption. And this happens all over the world. We have more than 3 million people dying from alcohol consumption, so every year.
So this is (INAUDIBLE) death and people dying, and many times without really knowing why, you know -- for example, why is it that such -- you know, cancer, colon cancer for men, for example, or breast cancer for women, which could be also driven by alcohol consumption and could be preventable if people would have known it from the start.
One of the things that we found in our region was the very low levels of awareness in terms of harms and especially in terms of alcohol causing cancer.
HUNTE: Well, I just learned so much from that. Carina Ferreira-Borges in Copenhagen, thank you so, so much. We'll speak to you soon.
And to our viewers, we'll be right back.
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HUNTE: A powerful winter storm is creating miserable conditions across a wide swath of the U.S. In Colorado, travelers were dealing with blizzard-like conditions. The storm is expected to deliver heavy snow, hazardous ice, rain and severe thunderstorms stretching more than 1,300 miles across the country. Icy roads in Kansas created dangerous conditions.
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Even tractor tail trailers were slipping along the interstate. The Kansas City International Airport was closed for a couple of hours because of icy runways and taxiways.
Officials say travel in the area will be hazardous as Kansas City and St. Louis will be hardest hit this morning. More than 60 million people are under threat. And while snow and ice have been largely limited to northern states this winter, the storm could bring treacherous conditions from the plains to the East Coast, including areas less prone to winter weather.
Jeff Bezos' space company, Blue Origin, says it plans to launch its newest rocket as early as next week. The uncrewed launch vehicle, called the New Glenn, is roughly 100 meters tall. Named for U.S. space pioneer John Glenn, it marks the company's first attempt to send a rocket into orbit.
Blue Origin is hoping to chip away at SpaceX's industry dominance. Like its competitor, it plans to reuse the New Glenn's booster by guiding it safely back to Earth. It's theoretically capable of carrying larger objects than SpaceX's Falcon heavy rocket. However, SpaceX is in the process of developing Starship, a roughly 120-meter rocket that would be the largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever constructed. The toll exacted by climate change is becoming hard to miss, especially in parts of Bolivia. For instance, houses lining the cliffs in the town of El Alto are in danger of collapsing due to heavy rains washing away the ground beneath them.
CNN's Gustavo Valdes explains.
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GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): High up in the Bolivian city of El Alto, or aptly, The Heights, brick homes are nestled alongside one another. They're colorful metal roofs lining the cliff's edge. Locals deem them death traps, just inches from collapse. But for Amara shamans, or Amautas, the shacks are spaces to make offerings to Mother Earth, or Pachamama, as heavy rains and climate change slowly destabilize them.
MANUEL MAMANI, AMAUTA: We're not going to move from this place because this is our everyday workplace. However, we will take care of the ground. We will push the rainwater elsewhere for it to flow quickly.
VALDES: Experts and local authorities have sounded the alarm, warning that it's only a matter of time until the eroding cliff takes the row of homes with it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want them to leave this place. And if they refuse, we will have to use public force.
VALDES: But for now, the Amautas are staying put, relying on the protection of the Pachamama, and making offerings in those very same homes has a plea to preserve the line.
GABRIEL LOPEZ CHIVA, AMAUTA: Pachamama needs an offering, like food, and this place will not move. On the contrary, the place will stabilize.
VALDES: A confident assertion for people living life on the edge.
Gustavo Valdes, CNN.
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HUNTE: We will be right back.
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[03:50:00]
HUNTE: Chile's president just led an expedition to the South Pole, calling it the first ever such trip by a Latin American leader. Gabriel Boric traveled to Antarctica on Friday with scientists, government ministers, and military officials to take part in Operation Polestar 3. The Chilean government says it was part of the country's efforts to monitor Antarctic pollution.
Chile is one of seven countries that has a territorial claim in Antarctica, and it's hoping to expand its scientific research there soon.
Japan is known for its love affair with sushi and expensive auctions of prized blue fin tunas. So, when a monster 276 kilo tuna showed up at an annual auction today in Tokyo, buyers went wild. Of course, they shelled out more than $1.3 million for it. That is the second highest winning bid since this auction began in 1999. But joined by his eyes, seafood wholesaler and an upscale sushi restaurant, still, the price pales in comparison with another tuna sold in 2019. It set a record selling for more than $3 million. Wow
Next, the glitz and glamour of Hollywood will be on full display as the 82nd Golden Globes gets underway on Sunday. And history will be made, as comedian Nikki Glaser becomes the first woman to host the awards show solo.
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister gives us a preview and talks to the show's history-setting host.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's get this party started.
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That party is one of Hollywood's biggest of the year. And this year, the Golden Globes may just have the most A-list audience ever, from presenters, like Dwayne Johnson, Elton John, and Sharon Stone, to film and T.V. nominees, like Nicole Kidman, Selena Gomez, Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet, and all things Wicked. The stars will pack the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton.
MATT BELLONI, FOUNDING PARTNER, PUCK: The audience for Wicked is very similar to the audience for award shows. It's heavily female, it's a little bit older. So, I think having Wicked as a nominee is going to help lure an audience.
WAGMEISTER: The top nominated films this year include lower profile movies like The Brutalist and Conclave, but the Globes have something else up their sleeve to please the audience.
BELLONI: They added a specific category for movies that are popular, that are popular cinematic achievement in box office movies. That's designed to get popular movies in the room, just like they did last year, where they gave the award to Barbie because they wanted all those people there, the audience likes them.
WAGMEISTER: And there's something else the audience loves about the Globes.
RICKY GERVAIS, COMEDIAN: It's the last time. Who cares?
WAGMEISTER: A reputation for the Globes, thanks to Ricky Gervais, for skewering the stars that take themselves a little too seriously.
[03:55:00]
GERVAIS: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, nearly three hours long, Leonardo DiCaprio attended the premiere, and by the end, his date was too old for him.
WAGMEISTER: This year, Nikki Glaser hosts.
NIKKI GLASER, COMEDIAN AND GOLDEN GLOBES HOST: You have seven rings. Well, eight now that Giselle gave hers back, but fresh off her scathing Netflix Roast of Tom Brady.
Is this going to be a roast?
I was hired because of the Tom Brady roast. I can't like not deliver on that a little bit. But I just would -- if any celebrities are seeing this, I promise you I am not out to ruin your night. You know, Tom Brady signed up for a roast. He knew what he was getting into. These people are just going -- they're nominated. You know, they're not even -- they're not signing up to be roasted at all.
WAGMEISTER: While Glaser promises to keep it mostly classy, the show's producers admit they wouldn't mind a little edge.
RICKY KRISHNER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS: Well, we hope she's right on the line and maybe goes a little over being appropriate for broadcast. But also I've never seen a host work this hard, and we've done a lot of award shows.
WAGMEISTER: And if her CNN interview was any indication --
GLASER: I'm going to be a little bit (BLEEP) in some of the jokes, but there's no harm in that.
WAGMEISTER: -- Glaser just might not be able to help herself.
Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: Exciting stuff. Well, I'm Ben Hunt in London. It's been so real. Let's do it again next weekend.
There is more CNN Newsroom from London just ahead with Fred Pleitgen. See you soon.
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[04:00:00]
