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CNN This Morning
Lawmakers Resume Negotiations On Ukraine, Israel Aid; WH Angers Allies By Floating Major Border Concessions In Push To Get Aid Deal; Trump Reiterates Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric At Campaign Rally; Storm Threatens To Disrupt Holiday Plans For Millions; Nikki Haley Garnering Support Among Female Voters; Cardinal Sentenced By Vatican Court On Financial Crimes; Major U.S. Airlines Brace For Busy Holiday Travel; Interview With The Points Guy Managing Editor Clint Henderson; Netanyahu Implies Negotiations Continue To Release Hostages; Israel- Hamas War; Mossad Director Talks With Qatari PM About Captives, According To Source; Numerous Demonstrators In Tel Aviv Demand The Remaining Captives Release; Survey: U.S. Homelessness Hits Highest Level On Record. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired December 17, 2023 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: Ouch.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: There you go. Bring it on, Gronk. That's a way to get our Sunday fun day started. Give that man a solo.
WALKER: I mean, no. He's got so many talents. Why are you allowing him to -- is that singing way off tune? Painful.
Coy, good to see you. Thank you.
WIRE: You too.
WALKER: And the next hour of CNN This Morning starts right now.
Tell me you sing better than that, Omar. Can you hit a note?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: The bar is very low when it comes to that. He's just doing side quests at this point.
WALKER: Good morning, everyone, and sorry for those tunes. Welcome to CNN This Morning. I'm Amara Walker.
JIMENEZ: Yes, better tunes from us later on. No promises, though. I'm Omar Jimenez in for Victor Blackwell. We've got a lot to get to this morning.
WALKER: Yes. We begin with President Biden's campaign calling out Donald Trump for, quote, "parroting Adolf Hitler in comments", the former president made in New Hampshire Saturday. Trump quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin calling Biden a threat to democracy and doubled down on anti-immigration rhetoric, saying immigrants are, quote, "poisoning the blood of our country".
JIMENEZ: And that comes as the Senate and Biden administration continue to negotiate on border policy changes to pass a supplemental funding package for aid to Ukraine and Israel. Now on Saturday, senators wrapped up in person meetings on Capitol Hill saying while there isn't an agreement yet, they are making progress. Senators are expected to resume negotiations this afternoon.
So let's go to CNN White House Reporter Camila DeChalus. Camila, how is the White House playing into these negotiations on Capitol Hill?
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Omar, there is a lot of urgency coming from the White House to get an immigration deal passed in order to secure more funding for Israel and Ukraine. Now, just yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with a group of bipartisan senators, both Republicans and Democrats, to try to hamper out a deal to get done.
But the reality of the situation is that even if the Senate garners enough votes for it to pass the chamber, they still have to bring it to the House. And the White House will still have to convince House Democrats to get on board with some of the concessions they have made on immigration policies.
And there are some things floating around that they're willing to just compromise on, such as making it a little bit harder for migrants to seek asylum and other concessions that they're making. But the reality is that they will still have to convince House Democrats to get on board in order for this deal to actually be passed without Congress and have the White House sign it.
WALKER: All right, Camila DeChalus --
DECHALUS: Omar, Amara?
WALKER: -- thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Let's talk more about everything that's going on on Capitol Hill. Joining me now is the Washington correspondent for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Tia Mitchell. Tia, it's always great to have you in studio. Thank you so much.
So we're hearing from Senate negotiators that they've made progress. Obviously, no deal yet, but when they're talking about an immigration bill, I mean, that's going to be complex and difficult. And they're up against a really tight timeline.
TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Right. It's the timeline that's difficult, but it's also the fact that there are so many competing factions within Congress. What can pass in the Senate, where Democrats have a slim majority is not necessarily something that can pass in the House, where Republicans have a slim majority.
And Republicans in the House have this very vocal but influential far- right conservative contingent of lawmakers that really want strict new border policies. That's not something that senators are willing to embrace. So where is compromise that can pass both chambers?
WALKER: So what are the talks sounding like then? I mean, what kind of concessions is the White House willing to give? Because right now the talks are focused on asylum rules, right?
MITCHELL: Right. Yes, asylum rules and also rules that could make it easier to remove migrants who come into the U.S. to say, no, you've got to go back, you've got to leave the country. Also, more rules to make -- stricter rules on who can seek asylum where they seek asylum, for example, requiring them to first seek asylum in another country, not come to a U.S. soil as they seek asylum.
So again, but in the House, they want to go much further. They've passed a very strict border policy bill already in the House. That's not something the Senate wants to embrace. So there are members of the House who are saying they want their bill and nothing short of that.
WALKER: OK, so walk us through what could potentially happen next. So, you know, you've got the rare meetings happening this weekend. Is a text hoping to be available by Monday and then a vote in the Senate before they are off to this, what, three-week break and then the House would take it up in January.
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MITCHELL: Yes, I think the hope -- well, I mean, ideally, I think what the Senate and the White House would love is that if the Senate could pass legislation this week, that perhaps members of the House could be called back for a quick emergency vote. That seems unlikely, but it's possible. Anything can happen if Speaker Mike Johnson makes it happen.
But at the end of the day, the goal is at least to get something passed in the Senate. So at least legislation is pending with the House, something that the White House can send a message to Ukraine, to President Zelenskyy saying, we're making progress, there is money on the way that we've coupled with this border policy. Hold on until January, we're going to get it done.
WALKER: So while negotiators on the Hill are discussing immigration, so is the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump. Let's listen to some really alarming rhetoric from him. Once again -- we don't have the sound.
OK. Well, we heard it several times, and I think it's worth listening to because it's not just alarming, but we know that words can turn into actions. Let's just focus on the fact that he's parroting Adolf Hitler, as the Biden campaign is saying, saying that immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country and focusing on his intentions and the impact that another presidency, a Donald Trump presidency, can have on our democracy. MITCHELL: Right. So when you say poisoning the blood, it's often interpreted as saying, you know, that people from other countries are going to make existing countries impure. That's what we heard from Adolf Hitler about Jewish people.
It's kind of interesting because in America, we're already kind of a melting pot. But what he's saying is that if he is elected president again, he will make it much tougher for immigrants to come in and that's -- it's hard to make a delineation between legal and illegal immigration when you're talking about immigrants poisoning the blood.
So I think that's why people find it so troubling. I know that President Trump would argue he's talking about illegal immigration, particularly at the southern border, but immigrants are immigrants. People from other countries are people from other countries, no matter how they arrive, on what circumstances, which is why the words he uses to talk about immigration at the southern border are so problematic.
WALKER: Yes. And of course, you know, just a few hours before or a couple days before, you had Melania Trump at a naturalization ceremony talking about very personally the challenges that immigrants face because she, too, is an immigrant in this country. What a stark contrast.
Tia Mitchell, we're going to leave it there. Thank you for coming in. Appreciate it.
All right, well, can Congress strike a deal on foreign aid before the holidays? Senator Joe Manchin joins Jake Tapper on State of the Union later this morning. That is at 09:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
JIMENEZ: Now, as we gear up for what is expected to be a very busy holiday week, an intensifying storm could disrupt travel plans for millions of Americans.
WALKER: Yes. Right now Florida is getting pummeled with heavy rain and wind, but the storm is expected to make its way up the east coast. Allison Chinchar tracking all of this from the CNN Weather Center. What can we expect, Allison?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If you have any travel plans, basically from Florida to Maine, you are going to encounter that heavy rainfall and also some very gusty winds. Right now, the focus is still over the southeast states like Georgia, Florida and even the Carolinas. That's also where we have the bulk of the really heavy rain and even some thunderstorms embedded into here.
But this system is going to slide up the east coast, taking with it the potential for flooding. We have flood watches in effect for Georgia and Florida, but also pretty much up and down the entire east coast, all the way up into Massachusetts and even Maine. You're talking more than 60 million people under that threat for severe or for flooding over the next few days.
Here's a look at that system. By tonight, it's focused over the Carolinas and then later into the mid-Atlantic. As we start off Monday, tomorrow, the bulk of that really heavy rain is going to be across cities in the northeast. So that includes New York, Boston, Hartford, even especially interior cities as well.
You've also got the potential for some snow in the Midwest, and that's going to spread eastward, too, but really pushing into a lot of the Great Lakes region. So you're going to have two different sets there, say for a city like Pittsburgh where you're dealing with the rain first and then potentially snow on the back end of that system.
Widespread rainfall totals, 3 to 5 inches, not just in the south but all the way up into Massachusetts and Maine. That's where the flooding concern lies. Also some coastal erosion and coastal flooding as well. Winds we've talked about this is another concern.
We've already had several reports up in to 60 miles per hour range. That is likely going to continue, especially as this system slides into the northeast.
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Areas, basically from Maryland all the way into Maine, have that potential for those wind gusts to be about 40 to 60 mph. That is more than enough to bring down trees and power lines, especially when that ground is already saturated like it's expected to be. And that, in turn, could mean that we are going to see some uptick in some power outages.
The biggest concern where you've got some of those wind advisories and high wind warnings, exist across portions of Massachusetts, areas of Maine, stretching even down into New York and New Jersey as well. So just another thing to kind of consider there. But it's all thanks to this system here that's likely going to cause some big travel problems, at least the next 24 to 36 hours.
JIMENEZ: Great. OK. Severe weather and holiday travel, a match made not in heaven. Allison, thank you so much.
WALKER: All right. Still ahead, former President Trump quotes Vladimir Putin to attack President Biden on the campaign trail in New Hampshire. Plus, major U.S. airlines are preparing for a longer and larger stretch of Christmas holiday travel. We're going to talk to a travel expert about what you should know.
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JIMENEZ: Former president and GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump was back on the campaign trail last night speaking to crowds in New Hampshire.
WALKER: And he didn't pull punches, starting off by quoting Russian President Vladimir Putin while attacking President Biden and doubling down on anti-immigration rhetoric. Biden's campaign is already fighting back, saying, quote, "Trump parroted Adolf Hitler in his remarks". Here's CNN's Stephen Contorno.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Former President Donald Trump returned to the granite state for the first time in a month, continuing a ramp up of political activity heading into the final week before voters start to cast ballots in the Republican presidential primary.
During his remarks, President Trump continues the dark and what civil rights group have said is xenophobic rhetoric about undocumented immigrants. Take a listen to what he said.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're poisoning the blood of our country. That's what they've done. They poisoned mental institutions and prisons all over the world, not just in South America, not just the three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world. They're coming into our country from Africa, from Asia, all over the world. They're pouring into our country.
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CONTORNO: For former President Donald Trump, the focus of many of these recent campaign visits has to convince their supporters not to be complacent. They know what they're leading in the polls and there's been a lot of coverage about how much they're leading in the polls. And they don't want their voters to think they don't have to show up at the caucuses or at the primaries.
He said they need to, quote, "weed out the insincere rhinos". He also spent a lot of time talking about New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who endorsed his rival Nikki Haley this week, the former South Carolina governor. Listen to what he had to say about Sununu.
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TRUMP: So what he did is his wish was whatever he could do to stop Trump because he didn't like me and I didn't like him. But the thing is I didn't like him. I always felt guilty. I gave New Hampshire everything they asked for and much more. And it's hard to do that when you can't stand the governor, right? But a selfish guy.
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CONTORNO: While Trump was in New Hampshire, many of his rivals were in Iowa, the first nominating state their caucuses are going to be on January 15. DeSantis got there on Saturday and is going to be there for the next few days. Haley arrives Sunday and she will be spending the rest of the week there as well. Trump, meanwhile, will return to the Hawkeye state on Tuesday.
Steve Contorno, CNN, Durham, New Hampshire.
JIMENEZ: All right, Steve, thank you.
As candidates wind their way across the country for campaign stops, support is growing for Nikki Haley.
WALKER: Yes, Haley could make history and her supporters say they are ready for it. Here's CNN's Jeff Zeleny.
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NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's why I think you need a bad woman in charge at the White House.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nikki Haley is trying to break the highest glass ceiling in politics, but you won't hear her say so, at least not directly. And that's just fine with many of her admirers.
THALIA FLORAS, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: I think we're past the point of talking about that. She's a candidate. Male or female, she's a strong candidate.
ZELENY (voice-over): Thalia Flores has a front row seat to the New Hampshire primary and to Haley's rise, whether or not it's history making.
FLORAS: I mean, it'd be great to have a female president, but that's not what it's about.
ZELENY (voice-over): As she courts all voters, Haley takes great care to walk a fine line, wielding gender as a humorous shield.
HALEY: I love all the attention, fellas. Thank you for that.
ZELENY (voice-over): And a defensive sword.
HALEY: They're 5 inch shields and I don't wear them unless you can run in them.
ZELENY (voice-over): Helene Haggar is blunt about her feelings that it's high time for a woman in the White House.
HELENE HAGGAR, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: It's time to get the testosterone out of the White House and put a woman in there, but a specific woman, not Kamala Harris, but Nikki Haley.
ZELENY (voice-over): At campaign rallies, it's a sentiment echoing from Iowa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's smart, she's tough and she's passionate.
ZELENY (voice-over): To South Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is level headed and speaks to the issues rather than a lot of rhetoric.
ZELENY (voice-over): Haley is on a quest to draw suburban women back to the Republican Party after so many fled during the era of Donald Trump. Her support among that key demographic is a leading reason she fares better in a hypothetical contest against President Biden, polls show. Even as a strong majority of Republican women still back Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know her as crooked Hillary, but to Nikki Haley, she's her role model.
ZELENY (voice-over): Allies of Ron DeSantis are trying to compare Haley to Hillary Clinton in new TV ads that have been debunked as misleading. Haley is on the air with ads of her own featuring her husband, a national guardsman in uniform.
HALEY: American strength doesn't start wars, it prevents them. That's what I'll do as president.
ZELENY (voice-over): As the final chapter of the primary comes into view, Haley now rarely repeats a rallying cry from her announcement earlier this year.
HALEY: May the best woman win.
[07:20:05]
ZELENY (voice-over): She makes clear she's neither campaigning on gender politics nor identity. A balanced voters like Erin Jorgensen take note of.
ERIN JORGENSEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: Just because you're a woman doesn't mean I'm going to vote for you. You have to be the right person. And I'm just happy that maybe the right person is finally a woman.
ZELENY (voice-over): Whether talking about abortion --
HALEY: I don't think fellas have known how to talk about it properly.
ZELENY (voice-over): -- or the economy.
HALEY: It hasn't been an easy time for young families at all.
ZELENY (voice-over): Haley often infuses her answers with her life experience as a woman and a mother, which draws admiration from her crowds.
VICKI SCHWAEGLER, NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER: She's my voice. She speaks for me.
ZELENY (voice-over): But Vicki Schwaegler makes clear that's not why she intends to give Haley her vote.
SCHWAEGLER: I would say it's time for the right resume. We're not looking at somebody and we're not going to box anybody in because you're a woman, because you're a first generation American. That's not who Republicans are.
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JIMENEZ: And we will see how much headway she can make. Still ahead, it's being called the Vatican's trial of the century. A senior cardinal has been convicted of fraud in a historic trial. We'll explain next.
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[07:25:09]
JIMENEZ: In what's being called the Vatican's trial of the century, a once powerful cardinal just got sentenced to five and a half years in prison. Giovanni Angelo Becciu is the first cardinal to be convicted and sentenced by a Vatican court. Now, Pope Francis himself actually had to change laws to allow bishops and cardinals to stand trial in a Vatican tribunal, as they were previously immune from prosecution.
Now, Becciu, who was once tipped as a potential future pope, was charged with embezzling church funds in a charity run by his brother. He was also accused of authorizing hundreds of thousands of dollars to a so-called security consultant. She was then accused of using it for luxury goods instead of its intended purpose to help free a nun kidnapped in Africa.
WALKER: A major milestone in the restoration of Paris's famed Notre Dame Cathedral, the placement of a gigantic copper rooster. The iconic church caught fire in 2019 sending the original rooster crashing through the roof after a blessing from a local archbishop. A crane lifted the weather vane to the top of the church's nearly 100 meters high spire that crews are rebuilding. Notre Dame is set to reopen to the public finally, about a year from now.
JIMENEZ: Wow. Long time coming. And Quaker oats is recalling more than 40 of its granola bars and cereals. They believe the food could be contaminated with salmonella, but no one has reported being sick yet. You can see if some of the recalled products on your screen right now. You see them there.
They were sold in all 50 states and beyond. The company isn't saying how they may have been contaminated. Most of the time, salmonella isn't deadly, but it can be more dangerous for little kids, frail or elderly folks. You can find out if you have any affected food on the FDA website.
AAA is predicting a busy holiday season with over 115 million people expected to leave their homes over Christmas and New Years. That is the second highest year-end holiday travel forecast since AAA began tracking the numbers 23 years ago. And now a powerful storm could disrupt many plans.
JIMENEZ: Yes. Right now, Florida is feeling the initial impact of the storm as it gains strength. It's projected to carve a path up the east coast, bringing heavy rainfall, gusty winds and coastal hazards. And while it could bring travel problems and power outages, forecasters say a blockbuster snowstorm is not expected.
Of those 115 million people planning to travel, airlines are planning to accommodate an average of almost 3 million passengers daily, hoping to replicate this past Thanksgiving, where airlines saw few flight cancelations. American Airlines, the nation's largest carrier, expects Friday to be its busiest of the season with plans to serve over 12 million passengers.
So let's talk about it all. Joining us is The Points Guy Managing Editor Clint Henderson. Clint, good to see you. Dark and early over there. Now, I feel like I hear big storm holiday travel, and I think back to the madness that was last year when southwest, for example, had a complete meltdown. They're saying there won't be a repeat this year. But is the state of the airline industry better prepared to handle potential complications this time around than they were, say, a year ago?
CLINT HENDERSON, MANAGER EDITOR, THE POINTS GUY: Absolutely. I think the airlines are in much better shape from a hiring standpoint. They've got the pilots they need. Most of the planes that they had mothballed are back in service, so there's more alternatives for them. The one area I'm still concerned about is a shortage of air traffic controllers, so we still don't have enough ATC workers.
I will say, though, that's been true all year, and it really didn't impact things even in the super busy Thanksgiving period, as you pointed out, but also last summer. So I think things are in better shape. The Department of Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg told me that he thought airlines were better positioned.
Southwest says it's in better shape, so we will see. It's a good thing this storm is not a snowstorm, though. I will say that.
JIMENEZ: Yes, of course. And I think, you know, the -- for a blockbuster snowstorm is always a concern. It doesn't seem like it's going to happen this time around. I mean, I travel a good bit. I feel like I have a certain playbook, whether it's monitoring backup flights or not checking bags, if I can. What should be at the top of traveler's playbooks heading into this holiday? Even without a blockbuster storm situation, there is still the potential for complications here.
HENDERSON: Absolutely. And you really have to be your own best advocate these days. You really need to pay attention to what's going on. So check the weather both at your destination airport and at your home airport. See what's going on with the weather, whether there's any other issues that could crop up and prevent you from getting to your destination on time.
You want to get to the airport early these days because it's so crowded. I mean, even pre-check and clear lanes are insanely busy right now. As you pointed out in the intro, you know, we're really expecting record breaking crowds again. The security checkpoints and everyone handled it fairly well over Thanksgiving, but, you know, give yourself three hours these days.
[07:30:16]
And then the other thing I would say to people is make sure you have the airline app that you're flying installed on your phone. You want to be able to track your flights. You want to be able to rebook yourself in case something goes wrong. And remember, you're going to be competing with all those other people on a potentially canceled flight. So, you want to use all the tools in the toolbox.
JIMENEZ: Yes, I always feel -- and, you know, this is just because I've become, you know, nervous about travel. It's like whenever I'm traveling at night, I always, out of instinct, book the one the next morning to and then hope if it -- everything's fine, I'll just get the credit back because then everybody, as you said, gets canceled and everybody's trying to book that next flight.
There's something interesting I also want to talk to you about. I've noticed over the previous holiday periods in the last few years, and American Airlines touched on it briefly. Basically, that the holiday travel period is longer than it used to be. And I see that as a reflection, in some cases, with work from home flexibilities and things like that. But how does a longer travel period impact the flying experience at airports?
HENDERSON: So, it really does help the airlines, sort of, stagger the amount of flights that they have and the times when it's busy. We see this all through the year now with leisure. So, business people realize that they can work from their vacation destination for a couple of days before and after their trip. So, trips are getting longer.
People are going home for more amount of time, that actually helps, sort of, like even out the distribution of passengers going through, but I will say there's still those days that are just insanely busy. I think the 21st of December is going to be one of those. We saw record breaking crowds over Thanksgiving, so everyone has their hands full, but it is helping distribute the crowds a bit.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, you mentioned a little bit about it earlier. Obviously, you're monitoring a lot of factors here, whether it's weather, you know, staffing. Obviously, the air traffic controller shortage is something that -- that's been talked about for years at this point, but sort of lay out for our viewers. How big of an impact do staffing shortages or potential air traffic controller training pitfalls or shortages have on the passenger travel experience?
HENDERSON: So, what happens is if there's -- if things start to go sideways, and we saw this a lot during the Christmas meltdowns last year. If you don't have experienced people in ATC towers, unfortunately, they can't handle all the changes they need to make and keep things moving. And so, you sort of see a chain reaction, a domino effect. This year has been much better on that front, but in Europe, we're seeing that issue crop up at times.
I will say the federal government's gotten involved and has opened up military airspace and stuff. So, that's helped a little bit with, sort of, controlling the amount of planes and where they're coming in and going out from. So, I think that's helping a bit. But, you know, if there's some major event, a major snowstorm, that's when things start to fall apart. So, that's where we're really going to be watching. And I know Pete Buttigieg and the whole federal government are going to be watching that carefully, too, because they're increasingly holding the airlines feet to the fire. JIMENEZ: Yes -- I mean, look, the bar was set pretty low based on last year's meltdown, and that I think stranded a lot of people. So, let's hope that we can, at the very least, improve from there. Clint, I got to leave -- got to leave it there. Dark and early over there for you. Let's get you back to bed. Thanks for joining us though.
WALKER: Still ahead, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appear to suggest new hostage negotiations are underway as pressure mounts on the Israeli government to bring back those remaining hostages in Gaza. The latest on the war is next.
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[07:38:17]
WALKER: In Israel, efforts to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas continue. And a source tells CNN that a meeting between the head of Israel's spy agency Mossad and Qatar's prime minister has now taken place. That meeting comes as thousands rallied in Tel Aviv following the accidental killings of three Israeli hostages by the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF says, it had no intelligence on the hostages and assumed they had either escaped or been abandoned by their captors.
JIMENEZ: And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that military pressure is necessary to free those still being held as he urged his fellow Israelis to support the troops while they mourn.
CNN's Alex Marquardt is in Tel Aviv. Alex, we saw those protesters last night. I mean, what has been the response to the deaths of these three hostages?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been the last two nights that these huge rallies have come together, really in response to that tragedy on Friday when those three Israeli hostages were killed.
So, it's really been a mix out there of tremendous sadness over what happened, but also anger that the Netanyahu government isn't doing enough to get these hostages home. The people I spoke with out there at those rallies saying they really want Netanyahu to put a plan on the table and be more proactive.
At the same time, Netanyahu, he spoke last night. He said that, like the rest of the country, he is in mourning over the deaths of these three hostages. But he said that war -- this war must continue until victory and argued, as you just mentioned, that it is the military pressure that was successful in getting the first wave of hostages out and the military pressure that will essentially squeeze Hamas into coming back to the table to release more hostages.
[07:40:00]
But at the same time, there is major concern from the people I spoke with, the families of the hostages, given what we just saw on Friday that those hostages could be hurt or even killed as they're being held in Gaza by Hamas. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIL DICKMAN, COUSIN OF HOSTAGE: But I believe that such a tragedy that could have been prevented by a deal between Israel and Hamas, they must change things now. They must pick a different course, and I think it's possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: So, Omar and Amara, we are seeing a bit more movement on the hostage talks front. We've just confirmed that the director of the Mossad, David Barnea, he has met with the Qatari prime minister. The Qataris have been the main mediators in this. They are the go between with Hamas. So, there is -- there appears to be more conversations, perhaps, about what a framework would look like for more hostages to be released. But certainly, another deal is far from being done and I don't even think that the negotiators have gotten to back to the table for real negotiations, but there is a bit of movement that we're seeing. Guys.
WALKER: Of course, we should mention that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be in Israel tomorrow, pushing for this new phase of war that the White House has been urging Israel to take to lessen the number of civilian casualties. Alex Marquardt, great to see you. Thank you very much.
Let's turn now to Afghanistan, where the number of suicides and attempted suicides among young girls is on the rise.
JIMENEZ: And some officials say it's sparked by the Taliban's ban on education beyond the sixth grade for girls, implemented when the group returned to power two years ago. CNN's Anna Coren spoke with one of the families affected.
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ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): In a small dimly lit room in the outer suburbs of Karachi, Pakistan, a 15-year- old girl will call Arzo lays on a cot. With eyes closed, she slowly inhales. Her skeletal frame rises slightly, an action causing pain and an enormous amount of effort.
Don't worry, you'll be fine, says her brother, kissing her hand. We are with you always.
Her older siblings, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, smuggled her in from neighboring Afghanistan five months ago, following a series of events that would irrevocably change the course of their lives.
We don't try to force her to remember what happened, he says. But once I asked her and she replied crying that she was tired and had given up all hope.
But Arzo didn't always feel this way. Seen here in pink, dancing on cell phone footage, the teenager was happy, studious, and had big dreams to one day become a doctor. But that all changed in August 2021 when the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal following its 20-year rule. And one of the first edicts the Taliban enforced was a ban on female secondary education.
She would say, I hope we move from this place, explains her sister. I don't want to be here. There is no education.
Over the following months, her mood darkened. But nothing that alarmed her family until one day in July this year.
She came into the room and I saw her eyes were abnormal, she says. I asked her what had happened and she said she'd drunk acid. I didn't believe her, so I put my fingers in her mouth and she vomited up blood.
Arzo's (ph) sister says she had drunk battery acid in their home in an attempted suicide. A trend that is spiking amongst teenage girls across Afghanistan, according to health professionals and human rights groups.
COREN: An Afghan doctor who spoke to us anonymously, fearing retribution from the Taliban, tells CNN he's seen a 50 percent rise in the number of mental health cases among girls at his clinic who have considered suicide in the past two years. Of these cases, at least 10 percent have taken their own lives, drinking chemicals, overdosing on pain medication, even consuming rat poison. He believes this is the direct result of the education ban and other draconian restrictions that have been placed on girls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We try to give them hope that education will start again. But I don't see any good future for anyone in this country. Everything is in a very dark situation.
COREN (voiceover): From her home in a remote Afghan province, Arzo was rushed to a clinic, but doctors said there was nothing they could do. So, in a desperate attempt to save her life, her family decided to smuggle her into Pakistan. Arzo has since had three operations at a private hospital in Karachi, as doctors try to repair her severely damaged esophagus and stomach, but so far, it's not working.
[07:45:00]
Weighing a mere 25 kilograms or 55 pounds, Arzo is slowly wasting away. She's fed a nutritional drink and separately juice four times a day via a tube in her stomach. But she's not gaining weight which may jeopardize her next operation scheduled in a matter of weeks.
Adding to the family's worries is Pakistan's recent decision to expel Afghans living illegally in their country. Her siblings fear if they're forced to return to Afghanistan, Arzo will die.
I don't cry in front of her, but when I kiss her at night while she's sleeping, I will cry, he says. I'm so worried for her future, her treatment, and if she will be able to survive. A daily anguish for these siblings doing everything they can, with what little means they have to keep their sister alive. Anna Coren, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Anna Coren, thank you for that reporting.
Still ahead here in the United States, by one count, homelessness has surged to its highest level on record. We're going to take a much closer look next.
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[07:50:32]
JIMENEZ: An annual survey of people who are homeless has reached its highest level on record in the U.S.
WALKER: The count shows the number of unhoused people jumped by 12 percent compared to last year. CNN's Camila Bernal is in Los Angeles with more.
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amara, Omar, startling but not unexpected. That's what one expert told me about this report and the 12 percent increase in the number of homeless individuals in the U.S. So, according to this report, it's about 653,000 people that right now are experiencing homelessness in the U.S. That's an increase of about 70,000 people in comparison to last year's numbers. Now, the Department of Housing and Urban Development does this count every single year on one day. It's what they call a point in time count, and it was done in January.
But the expert that I talked to told me that even though that's data from January, it does reflect what we're seeing today. And unfortunately, what that data found was the largest number of homeless individuals ever recorded since the agency started keeping track in 2007. And the agency also points to the housing market, to the rising prices in rent and also the end of pandemic aid as some of the possible causes of this increase. The expert that I talked to agreed. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX VISOTZKY, NATIONAL ALLIANCE TO END HOMELESSNESS: Everybody's crisis looks a little different, but I think the see -- the thing that we see in common is that just a lack of affordable housing to support them. And housing that's just too expensive is the common denominator.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERNAL: And unfortunately, the report also indicates that people of color are the most impacted by homelessness. Of the people they counted, they indicated that four out of 10 of them identified as black or African American or African. And one third identified as Latino or Hispanic. Now, Alex, the expert I talked to, told me that there is a solution. He believes that the solution here investing money, not just on programs that help people find homes but also in programs that prevent people from falling into homelessness. Amara, Omar.
WALKER: All right. Camila Bernal, thank you very much.
We're going to take a short break, back after this.
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[07:57:11]
JIMENEZ: The Pope, Pope Francis, turns 87 today. We hear he celebrated with cake and help -- and families helped by a Vatican charity.
WALKER: And despite recently recovering from a bout of bronchitis, at 87 years old, the Pope keeps a busy schedule with foreign trips and meetings with world leaders. Pope Francis is one of the oldest pontiffs in the Church's history, but he's still a few years behind Pope Leo who held the position until the age of 93.
JIMENEZ: Wow.
And over in Disney's Animal Kingdom, they are celebrating the birth of an African elephant, the first birth at the park in seven years. The baby girl, named Cora, weighed 218 pounds at birth. That's -- I mean, that's literally my current weight right now, sorry. TMI for everyone. But park officials say she's extra special because her mother was also born inside Animal Kingdom in 2005.
WALKER: Aw. Disney's animal team cared for the mother for her entire 22-month pregnancy. I can't even imagine being pregnant for that long. Both baby and mom will bond before joining the rest of the herd. And did you know, African elephants can weigh up to six tons and are the largest land animals on earth. Wow.
JIMENEZ: Wow. Wow. Wow. You said you couldn't imagine being pregnant that long. I can't imagine being pregnant. So, I think there's different levels -- there's levels to this.
Now, a first-time grandpa is also a first time a viral star. Started --
WALKER: Yes, started --
JIMENEZ: Yes -- no, you know what? You take this. You take this. Sorry.
WALKER: It started with a nighttime routine, tucking in his granddaughter, but then it went hilariously wrong. It's all caught on camera. And of course, Jeanne Moos has the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): A loving grandpa goes to tuck in his granddaughter and ends up tucking himself in. No wonder Ramon Aranda is laughing as he looks at the now viral video, laughing at all of our questions.
MOOS: So, both of you are in the crib with your shoes on.
MOOS (voiceover): His then two-year-old granddaughter, Lenna, had been climbing out of the crib, so they lowered the mattress. A little too low for Ramon, who proceeded to lose his balance and his phone. Watch it flashing like its disco night at bingo, as someone commented. But Ramon just calmly adjusted his glasses. Stood up and climbed out, he says, even as he fell, he was careful not to land on her with his 165 pounds.
RAMON ARANDA, FELL IN CRIB: I just love my granddaughter to death, that's for sure, because that's the only one we have.
MOOS: Right, you almost loved her to death.
ARANDA: Yes.
MOOS (voiceover): Once out of the crib, Ramon immediately gave Lenna her bottle. And then as he was leaving her mom Kelsea says --
KELSEA BOWERSMITH, LENNA'S MOTHER: She kicked her feet up at the end to take her shoes off.
MOOS (voiceover): But Ramon was too rattled to remember to take off her shoes.
