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U.S. Negotiations With Russia And Ukraine As Moscow Attacks Kyiv; U.S. Designates Nicolas Maduro As Member If Foreign Terrorist Organization; Judge Dismisses Cases Against James Comey And Letitia James; New X Features Exposes Foreign-Based Pro-MAGA Accounts; New X Feature Exposes Foreign-based Pro-MAGA Accounts; Lebanese President Reacts to Israeli Strike in Beirut; Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to Officially Close Operations; Large Crowds Attend Funeral of Hezbollah Chief of Staff; Sudan's Army Chief Rejects New U.S.-led Ceasefire Plan; U.K. Finance Minister to Unveil Budget Plan on Wednesday; Christmas Market Returns to Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt Square; Pentagon Threatens Sen. Kelly Over Illegal Orders Video; Trump Signs Executive Order to Boost A.I. Research; Saving Hawaii's Rare Birds With the Help of A.I. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired November 25, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:36]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey everybody. I'm Polo Sandoval, it's good to be with you. This is CNN NEWSROOM, and here's what's ahead.

Russia pounds Kyiv, yet again, as European allies plan to offer some changes to President Trump's peace plan, some that may be more favorable to Ukraine.

And the U.S. president is being given an option for a face-to-face talk with his Venezuelan counterpart. Will we see a chance to ease the growing tensions between the two countries? We'll pose that question to an expert.

Also, we'll show you how researchers are using A.I. to help save Hawaii's rare bird population.

ANNOUNCER: Live from New York, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: The Trump administration engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity this week, hoping to secure a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. But Moscow is not stopping its war. In fact, it launched more strikes on Ukraine's capital city, the result at least six people dead.

Meanwhile, a U.S. official tells CNN that U.S. and Russian officials that they're currently holding meetings in Abu Dhabi. They're discussing a proposed plan for ending the war in talks that are scheduled to resume in just a matter of hours, and those follow separate talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials in Geneva. Ukraine's president says to negotiators, they reached a new draft framework, keeping Ukraine's top concerns on the table for discussion. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to speak with European allies on Tuesday, and he says he'll soon speak with President Trump as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, our team reported on the new draft of steps, and this is indeed the right approach. I will discuss sensitive issues with President Trump.

We must also be aware that Russia will not ease the pressure on us, on Ukraine, on our people. These days, these weeks, we must be very attentive to air raid alerts and all similar threats of attack. We understand exactly who we are dealing with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The Trump administration's original peace plan, it included several key issues that Ukraine and its European allies simply found too favorable to Moscow. Republican Representative Don Bacon says that he doesn't have faith that the Trump administration wants to protect Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DON BACON (D-NE): In the end, the European plan that was set out yesterday was 10 times better than our plan, which is embarrassing, but I'm hoping common sense prevails. America is supposed to be the leader of the free world. We're not acting like it right now in this case, and we need to be a defender of Ukraine. That's a free country, democracy that's being invaded. We should be clear that we're on their side.

So, the president's comments on Ukraine have been reprehensible. I know for a fact the Zelenskyy has said many times he's been grateful, the people of Ukraine are grateful for our help, but he tends to blame Ukraine for Russia's invasion. I don't get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's go now to CNN's Matthew Chance for an update on the Geneva negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: In terms of the latest from Geneva, where I'm speaking to you now, those negotiations have come to an end. All the various delegations have left.

But from everything we've heard, from the Americans, from the Europeans and from the Ukrainians themselves, they're very positive about the idea that these negotiations have taken place. They're saying they're very constructive. They're saying that progress was made. But what they're not telling us are any details about what kind of

progress, about what specifically Ukraine has agreed to, or what specifically has been put into this deal to make it more acceptable to Ukrainians.

But obviously, there are big issues that that have to be addressed, issues about, for instance, territory should Ukraine surrender as Russia demands more of its territory, even territory that hasn't been captured yet by the Russians. The caps on the Ukrainian military, which under the current proposals, would be limited. Is that acceptable? Or would it allow a further invasion in the future? Because Ukraine wasn't adequately defended.

[02:05:06]

And just the general kind of state of the country in the future once the war is over, these are all huge issues which are being talked about, but it's not clear to what extent they've been addressed.

If they have been addressed in this latest new version of the peace plan, then the question becomes, would Russia accept that new plan? And so, it's not just a question of making Ukraine happy and making the Europeans happy. It is a question of, would the Russians accept any new proposals that stop short of its full objectives and full demands in this conflict.

So far, they've refused to compromise at all. And you know, there's really no suggestion that we've had from Moscow that it would be any different this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Joining us now is John Herbst. He's former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and also senior director at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center. Welcome to the program, Mr. Ambassador.

JOHN HERBST, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: My pleasure.

SANDOVAL: So, do you see this revised version of Washington's multi point plan as an indication that we're perhaps moving towards an end game?

HERBST: I think it recognizes American requirements to make sure that Russia is not conquering Ukraine. So, in that sense, it is a step towards peace.

But I don't think it's a step towards an agreement, because Moscow is not interested in ending its war on Ukraine.

SANDOVAL: When you focus on the -- on the security guarantees, for example, for Ukraine, when we finally find out exactly what those revisions that were done in Geneva over the weekend are, do you expect the Kremlin to potentially see anything as a possible deal breaker, again, when it comes to security guarantees for Ukraine?

HERBST: I think that the original 28-point plan was overly friendly to Kremlin interests, and even that, the Russians would have asked for more if they if that was what was presented to them, so they will certainly ask for more with the 19 points.

Because again, Putin's objective is either to get Ukraine to agree to surrender and enable him to have effective political control of the country, or for him to take a great deal more territory so he can thereby take control of the country. That's Putin's aim.

SANDOVAL: We all know that the Russian president, he often only responds to power. So, when Trump goes back to Putin, what pressure points do you think that the president of the United States should use against Russia. Is it the sanctions? Is it Tomahawk missile threats in the hands of the Ukrainians?

And also, do you think that the president, that President Trump would be willing to actually deploy those pressure points if it means finally ending the war?

HERBST: Well, Trump has taken some sharp steps against Kremlin aggression, most specifically the steps taken, what, four or so weeks ago, major sanctions on Lukoil and Rosneft, major hydrocarbon companies in Russia. But it took him a long time to get there.

And again, Putin does not want to end the fighting. He will on the only end the fighting if he realizes he cannot win and that the pressure on the Russian economy, therefore his regime is only going to get worse.

So, if Putin -- excuse me, if Trump wants to achieve his stated goal of a durable peace, he's going to have to make clear to Putin that Putin cannot win this war, and that comes from serious new arms sales to Ukraine. It comes from joint co-production of drones, whether Ukraine is a world leader or the world leader, and it comes from additional sanctions, and it has to be substantial activity in each of those areas with no let up, so Putin realizes he can't outweigh trump the way he outweighed Merkel or Biden or numerous other Western leaders.

SANDOVAL: So, we've discussed the dynamic between Trump and Putin. Finally, Mr. Ambassador, perhaps we focus now President Zelenskyy.

I was having a conversation yesterday with an academic here on CNN, he reminded me of what could be the domestic challenges for the Ukrainian president off on the horizon, which is when he takes this deal to perhaps the Ukrainian parliament, or even the Ukrainian people who may feel that they have sacrificed too much to give up any territory to Russia, that this could mean some backlash, some resistance for Zelenskyy himself. What do you think could happen down the road when we reach that point?

HERBST: Unlike Russia, Ukraine is a democracy, imperfect, but real, and there is no question that the Ukrainian people understand that they have suffered greatly at Russian hands, but they also understand that the world doesn't always give you wonderful choices.

[02:10:16] Zelenskyy has made clear multiple times that he is willing to accept major compromises along the lines that President Trump has been discussing since he won the election. Meaning, essentially an end to the fighting along the current lines of the different forces, recognition that on a de facto -- I mean, acknowledgement, not recognition, which has legal terms, legal consequences. Acknowledgments that, since Russia is in control of this de facto, that that's the situation.

But as long as that acknowledgement includes Russian acknowledgement that the war must cease, aggression must cease and it must not be renewed.

And so, Ukraine acknowledges Russian control on a de facto basis. Russia acknowledges Ukraine will exist and will not be further attacked. And because Putin is not trustworthy, there are major security related steps taken for Ukraine that includes Western arms, especially American arms, that includes some kind of security guarantees.

SANDOVAL: You are obviously very familiar with the mechanics of foreign policy and diplomacy. Finally, Mr. Ambassador, a few final thoughts from you. What are the questions that you are left with as you continue to watch everything play out?

HERBST: The United States has a great interest in making sure Putin does not conquer Ukraine. Russian national security doctrine and Russian officials say all the time that America is Russia's principal adversary, which is foreign relations talk, meaning principal enemy, and they act in a hostile manner towards us.

If Russia were to conquer Ukraine, the chances of Russia striking out against our NATO allies goes way up. They'd be able to do that with Ukrainian manpower and Ukrainian know how know that those bright minds that have created the best drones in the world could be in the service of Russian aggression.

So, we want to make sure that Putin loses this war, because Putin wants to seriously reduce American power and American influence.

SANDOVAL: Well, thank you so much. John Herbst, as always for your -- for your perspective and your insight.

HERBST: Thank you. My pleasure.

SANDOVAL: Sources tell CNN that officials are currently discussing the possibility of direct talks between the U.S. and Venezuelan presidents, and also what that kind of communication may actually look like. And that's even though the U.S. has now formally labeled Nicolas Maduro a member of a foreign terrorist organization. That designation actually kicked in on Monday. It gives the Trump administration more power to go after President Maduro, his allies, assets and also some infrastructure.

Local experts say that the designation does not explicitly allow the use of lethal force, but Trump administration officials claim that they now have more options for launching strikes inside of Venezuela, where a defiant President Maduro says that his people are, as he put it, indestructible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is impressive how a movement of solidarity is rising everywhere in support of the victorious effort of the indestructible people of Venezuela in the face of these threats, psychological, political, diplomatic, wars, whatever they do, however they do it, wherever they do it, they will not be able to defeat Venezuela. We are invincible. Whatever they do, they have not been able to and will never be able to defeat our homeland. Never.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN Contributor Stefano Pozzebon reports now from the Venezuelan capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, did not personally react to the designation of several members of the Maduro government, including the president himself, Maduro himself as members of a supposed foreign terrorist organization called the Cartel de los Soles, which is a collective name that members of the press and diplomats here in Venezuela used to refer to the fact that many government officials in this country are accused of being involved in narco trafficking.

In his weekly T.V. show late on Monday, Maduro was more keen to speak about other issues concerning Venezuela, and when it came to geopolitics, he makes a reference to talks that he had with Xi Jinping, rather than addressing this new designation.

Earlier on Monday, his government brought in a statement that those accusations are laughable lies.

But it's important to point out that Maduro, especially in his -- in his shows and his appearances as he appears on T.V. here almost on a daily basis, is really portraying the message that nothing of that pressure coming down from Washington is breaking through, that nothing of these pressure is changing, anything for regular Venezuelans who are going on, frankly, with our daily lives, even after 16 weeks of a standoff between Washington and Caracas.

[02:15:15]

And all of this is happening as our team in Washington was able to confirm that the White House has been given an option to hold a direct phone call between Nicolas Maduro himself and the President Donald Trump. A direct phone call that would lead, of course, to more formal negotiations, even though, as we just said, Maduro has just been designated a member of a foreign terrorist organization. At this moment, late on Monday night, we understand the President Donald Trump has not made a final decision on whether to take that call, although he did say that he was open to speaking in person with Maduro in the past.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Joining us now is Adam Isacson. He's the director for defense oversight at the Washington office on Latin America. Good to see you, Adam.

ADAM ISACSON, DIRECTOR FOR DEFENSE OVERSIGHT, WASHINGTON OFFICE ON LATIN AMERICA: Hi. Thank you for having me, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Of course. So, we learned on Monday that President Trump wants to reopen discussions with the Venezuelan government, though the administration making it clear that nothing has been set up quite yet.

From your expert perspective, I mean, can you tell what the next possible chapter of this saga is likely to be, and who knows if it might even be the diplomatic round.

ISACSON: It's super hard to tell right now. We do know that the immediate next steps are going to be some sort of gradual increase in pressure on the Maduro regime. It's clear that President Trump, especially Marco Rubio, folks in his government do want Maduro to leave. Would like his inner circle to leave power.

There -- you know, every week there's a new escalation, a new set of threats of military force. But they are also, while they corner Maduro with this military force, they do seem to be opening the door and allowing a negotiated solution, but it's not clear what would satisfy either side if they were to have a negotiation.

SANDOVAL: Another development for Monday, which is the U.S. government now considers Nicolas Maduro a member of a terror group for alleged ties to drug traffickers, his vice president speaking publicly on Monday of humanly denying those allegations. What do you see, though, as the Trump administration's end goal in making that designation against the Cartel de los Soles, which really is more of a decentralized group versus an actual, established transnational group?

ISACSON: Right. Nobody actually says they're a member of the Cartel de los Soles. It's a name that actually goes back 30 years before Maduro, before his predecessor, Hugo Chavez. It basically means, instead of stars on their shoulders. Venezuelan military wear suns. And the idea being that members of the Venezuelan military, other members of the government, were colluding with narco traffickers, mainly Colombian narco traffickers and organized crime in general.

So, it's more of a phenomenon or a Nexus, rather than an actual physical group. But they're using this -- the Trump administration is using this as a way to say that, yes, Nicolas Maduro and his inner circle are basically terrorist groups, which still by U.S. law is not enough to declare war on them. You still need congressional authorization for that.

But if you're trying to make the case for that politically, that would be a big brick in the wall they're building here.

SANDOVAL: And given the disorganized nature of Cartel de los Soles had about, I mean, and the administration has made clear that one of their objectives in doing that is to be able to pursue some sanctions. I mean, is that a tool they can actually use against that -- again, I use the term loosely, that organization versus what we've seen perhaps with Mexican cartels in the past or groups in the Middle East?

ISACSON: As far as sanctions go, there's not a heck of a lot more they can do if a group is considered terrorist when they've already been considered major narco traffickers. There's already a $50 million reward for information leading to the capture of Nicolas Maduro. He's already -- he and people in his government who collude with narco traffickers are already wanted by U.S. courts for selling drugs. It's already illegal for any U.S. citizen, except for those who have licenses like Chevron, to have financial transactions with the government because of this narco trafficking charge.

So, you add a new layer of terrorism, it might increase the penalties somewhat, but the criminal allegations and the sanctions are already still in place and wouldn't really change with the terrorist designation.

SANDOVAL: And finally, a recent poll, a CBS poll, suggesting that most Americans are actually opposed to the US making Venezuela its next conflict, some 70 percent saying that they were against military action in Venezuela. How much do you think the White House is weighing public sentiment in the U.S. as it considers its next possible move, or should they be considering it?

ISACSON: My guess is the administration is divided between those who are skeptical of these foreign adventures and those who think they're going to bring democracy to the western hemisphere, which they're seeing as the United States sphere of influence, and they haven't decided yet either. They certainly haven't been selling it. They haven't been making the case in a way that would convince public opinion that this is worth spilling the blood of Americans to do. There are many dictatorships around the world that are corrupt. Why this one?

[02:20:15]

So, they have not made the case yet, and I don't see them really spending a lot of energy on a communications campaign to do that yet. So, I don't see that number itching up. And yes, the concern about getting involved in a shooting war in South America, which is unpopular, is certainly something that's weighing on the administration.

SANDOVAL: Adam Isacson, thank you so much for your time and your perspective.

ISACSON: Absolutely. Thank you. SANDOVAL: Off to a break now, but as soon as we come back, the Trump

administration fires back after a federal judge throws out the indictments against James Comey and Letitia James. So, what's next for two of the president's high profile political foes?

An X rolling out a new feature that reveals where social media accounts are actually located. We'll explain why the update is sending some shock waves to the world of U.S. politics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:25:30]

SANDOVAL: The U.S. Justice Department says that it's planning to appeal a federal judge's decision to dismiss the cases against two of President Trump's political foes, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House says they still have full confidence in interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, although it is very unclear right now what her role is going to be after this judge found that her appointment was not valid.

But I did ask Karoline Leavitt, the Press Secretary, what happens next, and what was President Trump's reaction when he learned that the indictments against James Comey and Letitia James have been dropped.

What was President Trump's reaction to those indictments against Comey and James being thrown out?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: His reaction was, we've seen this before. We've seen partisan judges take unprecedented steps to try to intervene in accountability before. But we're not going to give up, and I know that the Department of Justice intends to appeal these rulings very soon, if they haven't already.

HOLMES: Now, it is important to remember that the White House and President Trump himself have been involved in really every step of this prosecution against James Comey and Letitia James, for example, it was President Trump who essentially drove this political pressure campaign against Erik Siebert, the former U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Virginia, which, of course, is where he was replaced by Lindsey Halligan. That ultimately left to his -- led to his removal. That's when they put Lindsey Halligan, and it was President Trump who then suggested publicly, before that happened, to the Attorney General Pam Bondi, that Lindsey Halligan should take that place, because she is willing to prosecute his political enemies, in particular James Comey and Letitia James.

And so, she and he have been really in lockstep for all of this, and it was very clear that President Trump was following all of this incredibly closely.

But there are still questions as to what the Department of Justice is going to do next. You heard Karoline Leavitt talking about this appeal. Well, there are two options here. The Department of Justice can appeal this ruling saying that they still believe that she is valid and that these indictments were valid as well, or they can scrap that, and they can start over, essentially putting someone into that role who will then get confirmed by the Senate and then re bringing the charges.

But of course, that is going to take a lot longer for the Justice Department. We know President Trump is eager to see his political enemies be brought to court. Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: The social media platform X, it's now introducing a new feature, it's supposed to allow users to see where other accounts are located. The update aims to bring more transparency to sources of online information, and it's already begun exposing some pockets of foreign influence in U.S. politics as CNN's Hadas Gold shows us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: The X account MAGA Nation with nearly 400,000 followers, boasts itself as standing strong with President Trump and America first with post after post backing Trump, but one click shows it's based in Eastern Europe. One of its most popular posts about the Epstein files has been viewed 1.9 million times. It's just one of a number of popular political accounts, mainly pro Trump outed when Elon Musk's X rolled out a new feature that shows where accounts are actually located, from Russia to Nigeria, dozens of accounts revealed to be based outside of the United States.

Another, this account named America First featuring the image of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is operated by someone based in Bangladesh, posting things like this image saying President Trump will go down in history as the greatest president of all time. Even President Trump himself, reposting several accounts that are not from the United States on his Truth Social platform.

Like this account called Commentary Donald Trump, posting about whether foreign born citizens should be barred from running for office. The account itself based in Africa.

The revelations bringing back memories of 2016 when Russian state-run networks of fake accounts and bogus online personas tried to influence that year's election by boosting Trump.

JEH JOHNSON, FORMER U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It's going to get worse before it gets better. And bad cyber actors all the time are more and more ingenious, more tenacious and more aggressive.

GOLD: While it's not clear any of these accounts are from a coordinated foreign influence campaign, experts say there are financial and political incentives behind such accounts. JAKE SHAPIRO, PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: There are some people who hop on lots of different issues that can get attention and therefore drive revenue and monetization and ads. And then there are people who have political goals, both benign and more maligned foreign countries that have organizations that are dedicated to trying to shape U.S. politics.

[02:30:00]

GOLD (voice-over): While X has suspended some of the MAGA accounts, the company did not respond to a request for comment. Its Head of Product said the new feature is an important first step to securing the integrity of the Global Town Square, while warning there were still some kinks to work out on the feature.

SHAPIRO: Well, I think X and many other companies have an existential problem that's coming, which is it's going to be become increasingly hard to figure out what is real human and what is A.I. agents.

GOLD: We don't know yet whether any of these accounts are part of a coordinated foreign influence campaign. Researchers are now digging into this data, but it's important to remember that X now incentivizes creators on its platform. So, the more posts and engagement and followers that people have, they can get paid actual money as a result of that engagement. And a lot of these accounts that were revealed to be run from other countries, they posted a lot of sort of questions and polls to try to get people to engage with their content.

But what this teaches us is that a lot of things on social media need to be viewed through a skeptical lens because a lot of accounts and even follower accounts can be bought. They can be automated. They can be generated by artificial intelligence. And as we're seeing from this news now, a lot of them can be run from foreign countries.

Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Lebanon is urging action from the international community after an Israeli strike in Beirut. Ahead on "CNN Newsroom," what the country's president is now saying after the attack that killed a Hezbollah commander.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:36:35]

SANDOVAL: The controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, it is set to officially close its operations inside the enclave. GHF had suspended its work just last month at the start of the ceasefire. The U.S. and Israeli backed foundation had been operating since late May. But limited aid for desperate Palestinians actually led to some chaotic scenes and authorities in Gaza accused Israeli forces of fatally shooting dozens of civilians near one site in Rafah. A U.N. spokesperson was asked about the closure of this foundation. Here's what they said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How does that impact UNRWA and other aid deliveries?

STEPHANE DUJARRIC, U.N. SPOKESPERSON: It has no impact on our operations because we never worked with them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. And is enough aid getting in?

DUJARRIC: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

DUJARRIC: I mean, there's more aid getting in, but not enough to meet -- to meet all the needs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Crowds packed the streets of Beirut's southern suburbs for the funeral of Hezbollah's chief of staff. Mourners carried his coffin just one day after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike. It was the first in months in the Lebanese capital. Lebanon's president is calling on the international community to "intervene forcefully," saying that Israel's targeting of Beirut is proof that it's not heeding calls to stop its aggression against Lebanon.

CNN's Nic Robertson following the story from Jerusalem.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: This call from the Lebanese president for the international community to put pressure on Israel, if it is manifesting itself, it's certainly not happening in a public domain. And I think as well, it's a ceasefire that was agreed a year ago. It's a ceasefire that has come under increasing strain recently. It's a ceasefire, the terms of which the Lebanese government always felt that they were going to be under pressure because the terms were that Hezbollah would pull out of the border area near Israel's northern border, and the Lebanese army would be responsible for moving into those areas and ensuring that Hezbollah didn't come back.

But the Lebanese army has been woefully underfunded, under equipped and fundamentally under ready for this task when it was first handed to it. So I think, Lebanon has always felt on the back foot in trying to -- in trying to sort of meet Israel's expectations and sources I've talked to in Lebanon has said that they think Israel's expectations are disproportionately high. Nevertheless, the view in Israel is that Hezbollah shouldn't be allowed to regroup. And over recent weeks, we've seen an increasing number of strikes, Israeli strikes into Southern Lebanon targeting what they say, are locations where Hezbollah is either storing weapons or regrouping where it shouldn't be per the peace agreement.

I think if you look at the dynamic moving forward, it just tells you the level of stress and strain that the ceasefire is under. And Israel also, on its own side of the border, has been having drills, military drills in the north as well as elsewhere to prepare for a possible Hezbollah counter maneuver. These are drills by the way that have been planned for some time, but it's definitely in Israel's mind that there could be a retaliation from Hezbollah. But play into that dynamic, if you will, that the Pope is visiting Lebanon next weekend. I don't think anyone would expect a massive crescendo, an escalation of force in the intervening period.

[02:40:00]

But after that, the question of the ceasefire and the question -- and if you will, demand from the prime minister of Lebanon -- the president of Lebanon rather, for this international move to sort of put some diplomatic shoulders to it behind the scenes. I think that will -- the need for that may well come into play more as we get deeper into December.

SANDOVAL: Nic Robertson reporting. Sudan's military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has rejected a new U.S.-led ceasefire plan. He calls it the worst yet. The U.S., Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE, they're currently trying to stop a civil war that has already killed at least 40,000 people. The conflict started as a power struggle between the Army and the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces or the RSF. Well, now, the RSF says that they will be observing a three-month truce and they're urging the mediators to pressure the military to do the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMED HAMDAN DAGALO, HEAD OF SUDAN'S PARAMILITARY RAPID SUPPORT FORCES (through translator): We hope the quad countries will play their role in pushing the other side to engage with this step, and with international efforts aiming to achieve the interest of the Sudanese people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The U.K. finance minister getting ready to deliver a budget and best get ready for some bitter news of tax hikes. Just ahead, business leaders sounding off about what they want to see in this new spending plan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:46:12]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." U.S. Trade Representatives suggested that they would be willing to discuss lowering tariffs on steel and aluminum from the European Union. But that's only after the E.U. comes up with a more balanced set of regulations for its tech sector. It's still unclear exactly what specific changes U.S. officials are hoping to get. However, the Trump administration has repeatedly said the current E.U. policy unfairly targets U.S. tech companies. European officials currently pushing back on those claims. The U.S. previously set a 15 percent tariff on most goods from E.U. countries, but it's 50 percent on metals. U.K. Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves, she's set to unveil our annual budget this week and business leaders there are currently gathering in London to weigh in on what they hope to see in the new tax and spending plan. Here is CNN's Anna Cooban with our preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: I'm here among the great and good of British business at the start of a very important week. Business leaders are talking shop, they're mingling, and most importantly, they are stating their case to the government. This is because on Wednesday, we'll see Rachel Reeves, the U.K. Finance Minister, announce her autumn budget, basically her plans for tax and spending. And it comes at a tricky time for the U.K. economy and the ruling Labour government itself. So here at the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry, we're all here trying to read the tea leaves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't punish businesses again like they did last year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Business has probably paid enough.

JAMES BURCHELL, TELLON CAPITAL: From our industry perspective, constructors and contractors, whether they're large or small, have been hugely impacted.

STEVE EGERTON, RHINO PRODUCTS LIMITED: Some stability, preferably not further tax increases, but obviously, they've got to raise this, fill a black hole of GBP 30 billion or whatever they keep saying.

COOBAN: The U.K. economy faces a litany of challenges, weak growth, anemic productivity, and a chorus of companies that have been telling government that they've suffered from high energy bills as well as business tax rises that happened in last year's autumn budget.

RUPERT SOAMES, CBI CHAIR: The chances of tax increases was a GBP 24 billion a year increase on tax last year. It was effectively using business as the piggy bank. The fact is that they're constrained and they're constrained because, during the election campaign, they said they wouldn't touch the main rates, be it (ph) income tax or VAT, and that's like sort of leaving a bazooka out there (ph), but it is not the same government as it was 12 months ago.

COOBAN: Now, investors are also watching eagerly to see what the government does to tackle its high level of borrowing. And Rachel Reeves faces the unenviable task of trying to fill a massive hole in the U.K.'s finances, which some economists put at around GBP 30 billion or close to $40 billion.

So just how will the U.K. finance minister try to drum up multiple billions of pounds without alienating voters as well as vital British industry?

Anna Cooban, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Scientists say that they have found a new tool to a pressing problem. Coming up, how artificial intelligence is helping save Hawaii's endangered birds.

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SANDOVAL: It's coming up on 9:00 a.m. in Berlin, where one of the most picturesque Christmas markets has reopened for the holiday season after a two-year hiatus. The historic square where it's traditionally held was undergoing some restorations during that time. On opening day, there were some massive crowds that returned in full force to embrace the Christmas spirit. Over a million people expected to visit that market by its closing day on New Year's Eve.

And holiday festivities, they're also kicking off in Washington, D.C. where First Lady Melania Trump, she welcomed the official White House Christmas tree, the tree traveling about 650 miles from Michigan all the way to the district, and arrived on this horse-drawn carriage, which is pretty much a long-standing tradition there. It will take center stage in the White House Blue Room for the holiday season. White House tours will be resuming once holiday decorations are up. They had been on pause in September as the East Wing was demolished to make way for President Trump's new ballroom.

The Pentagon is taking aim at another one of President Trump's perceived enemies, Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona. He and five other Democratic lawmakers, they released this video last week warning of threats to the Constitution and reminding service members of their duty to disobey illegal orders. Kelly is a retired Navy captain. The Pentagon is threatening to recall him to active duty to face a possible court martial or possibly administrative punishment. Kelly says that the administration's attempt to intimidate him won't work.

He posted on X. "I've given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution."

President Trump signed an executive order on Monday to bolster artificial intelligence research. A new Genesis Mission is designed to allow data sharing between government agencies, tech companies, and academic researchers. The aim is to use A.I. to bolster research in health, energy manufacturing, among other fields. The announcement underscoring President Trump's focus on A.I. in his second term. In July, he introduced a sweeping package of initiatives and policy recommendations called the A.I. Action Plan.

Let's take you to Hawaii now where researchers are using artificial intelligence to help save some rare birds in the state. CNN's Bijan Hosseini reports on efforts to monitor and map these endangered species.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN PRODUCER: Let's talk about birds and not just any birds, I want to talk about these birds in Hawaii. They're pretty special because most of them don't exist anywhere else on the planet. But here's the problem, a lot of them are disappearing and fast. In the mountains around Moanalua, Professor Patrick Hart and a handful of students are using artificial intelligence to help save these species.

PATRICK HART, PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII IN HILO: Well, I think I just heard an 'I'iwi off in that direction.

HOSSEINI: He loves these birds. I mean, he really loves these birds. Can you give me some of your best impressions?

HART: In Hawaii, a lot of the birds are named after what they sound like. So the 'I'iwi, it sounds like arr, eh, eh. The wa wu goes wa wa wyo wyo, it's ellipayiyo, ellipayiyo.

(LAUGH)

[02:55:00]

HART: I'm terrible at all of them.

HOSSEINI: Unfortunately, these calls are getting harder to hear because a lot of these birds are dying from avian malaria.

HART: Most of the mosquitoes are primarily in the lowlands. And so, most of our birds now are in the upper elevations. With climate change, we've documented the mosquitoes moving up in elevation. They're moving into the last habitat for the native birds, unfortunately.

HOSSEINI: So to help track which species are surviving, Patrick and his students scattered hundreds of audio recording devices around the mountain. Each one is capable of recording nonstop for two months.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, so it's 85 percent used on the SD card.

HOSSEINI: The information that they gather helps them map out where the species are surviving and where they're disappearing. One issue, these recorders capture hundreds of hours of audio. It's far too much for any human to sift through manually. So they needed a way to listen faster than any human could, which is why Patrick and his students teamed up with Google DeepMind and their A.I. software Perch. In a matter of minutes, the software can sift through all of that audio and divide it up and sort it by species.

TOM DENTON, RESEARCH SCIENTIST, GOOGLE DEEPMIND: Well, you speed up the process and you're able to do things you were never able to do before. Once we get hundred recorders out somewhere, then suddenly you're looking at tens of thousands of hours of audio. You're able to sort of have an expert, in a sense, be in all of those places at all of those times at once. Right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm looking for an 'I'iwi, and I know that it kind of makes this boop, boop, boop.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): The students confirm the A.I.'s detections, which then feeds back to the system.

DENTON: These are things that ecologists have been trying bit by bit to get on top of for decades. And I'm hopeful that as we get these -- more of these sort of broad observations over larger land areas, we will just get a better understanding of how ecosystems actually thrive.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): Patrick's team is in a race against time, but they really hope that this combination of field work and A.I. can help turn things around.

HART: My dream is to be able to detect a species that we've considered extinct, to detect it by its call. My biggest hope and goal is to be able to see native birds just taking nectar or eating fruit from trees in my backyard. That would be something I could only hope for in the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: That really is an exciting and promising use of A.I. From the entire "CNN Newsroom" team, thank you so much for watching the last 60 minutes of news. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York, leave it here, as the news continues with my colleague Rosemary Church after a short break.

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