Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Severe Storms Threaten Holiday Travel Across The U.S.; Video Shows Officers Fatally Beating A Handcuffed Inmate; Winning $1.22 Billion Mega Millions Ticket Sold In California; Russia May Have Downed Azerbaijani Jet After Confusing It For Ukrainian Drone. TSA Probes Second Stowaway Evading Security to Board Plane Over Holidays; CDC: Sixty Six Human Cases of Bird Flu, Mutations in Patent with Severe Case; Trump Asks Supreme Court to Pause Ban on TikTok. Aired 6- 7a ET

Aired December 28, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:29]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everyone and welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Saturday, December 28th. I'm Amara Walker.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Isabel Rosales in for Victor Blackwell. Glad to be here and be anchoring with you.

WALKER: I'm so glad to be with you. I'm so glad that we made it through Christmas.

ROSALES: I know.

WALKER: And I'm broke. I'm happy and that's all that matters.

ROSALES: Well, here's what's happening this morning as a severe weather threat is building across parts of the south as millions of people head home from their Christmas break. The area is at risk for large hail and tornadoes and where the system is headed next.

WALKER: Also, there are new details in that deadly plane crash in Kazakhstan. Could a mistaken identity have contributed to the crash when investigators found in the wreckage?

ROSALES: Serious questions are being raised about how another person managed to sneak on a Delta flight undetected until just moments before takeoff, how that person was discovered and how they managed to slip past police when the plane returned to the gate.

WALKER: And check those Mega Millions tickets. Someone out there is waking up a billionaire today. Where the winning ticket was sold is coming up. And we begin with severe weather. It may cause more delays for

travelers returning home this weekend. The Storm Prediction Center says a tornado outbreak is likely today from eastern Texas all the way to Alabama. Meanwhile, on the west coast, atmospheric river fuel storms are expected to hit the coast of California, which caused massive waves up to 30 feet.

ROSALES: Yes, it's not good. And it's one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. Nearly 18,000 flights were delayed or canceled Thursday and Friday. More than 400 flights have been delayed so far today. Severe storms hit parts of Texas and Louisiana on Friday, bringing heavy rain, large hail and damaging winds.

The National Weather Service confirmed five tornadoes touched down around Houston on Thursday, damaging several homes. Look at that. Video from a Texas resident's home captured the moment. Heavy rains and strong winds pushed over a mail truck, knocking it to the side. CNN's Elisa Raffa joins us now. And Elisa, we're talking about a level 4 out of 5 threat, but not just small F tornadoes, 3 or higher. That's significant.

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Strong tornadoes. This is a type of setup that we see in April or May. We are in late December. People really need to stay on alert for the potential for strong, violent tornadoes as we go through the afternoon, evening, and even overnight today. It has been active the last couple of days across the Gulf Coast.

I mean, we've already had 14 reports of tornado sightings across the south. And this is the risk for today. So a lot of the same areas under the gun as we go through the afternoon.

There's that red level 4 out of 5 risk from Alexandria, Louisiana, over towards Jackson, Mississippi. This is where we could have some strong, violent tornadoes, EF3 or greater. These are the type of tornadoes where you need to be in a safe place. You know, interior rooms, basements, storm shelters.

Again, this could be a very active day for us today. Strong tornadoes possible even in the orange area as well. That stretches towards Birmingham, damaging winds, large hail, also a threat. All of this unfolding today. Then the storm threat moves to the east coast as we go into tomorrow. Atlanta, Charlotte, all in that risk going into tomorrow.

Now, the storm shouldn't be as violent tomorrow, but we're still looking at the threat of damaging winds as we go through the day on Sunday. So as we go through the afternoon, these storms really start to blow up. We're looking at discrete supercells possible in parts of eastern Texas. Then this forms into a line. This line will have widespread damaging winds with it. Tornadoes embedded within this line, again, violent ones likely as we go into the afternoon.

That line continues through midnight overnight, threat incredibly dangerous. Make sure you have a way to get those warnings. Have your phones on loud. The storms make it to Atlanta by tomorrow morning and continue to push across the east coast with the damaging winds as we go into Sunday.

Tornadoes in December are rare but not uncommon, especially in the Gulf Coast. We do average about 3 to 6 for some of these states through the month of December. But really, the months that we see tornado outbreaks like this are April and May, where we get, you know, more than 200 reports. This is not April. Right.

When it comes to delays, obviously some massive delays possible from Dallas to Houston, Memphis, you'll need to fly around these storms.

[06:05:00]

Storms like this would be tall. You cannot fly through them. They would have a lot of lightning. Plus we have the atmospheric river that's been nonstop in the Pacific Northwest. Rain, snow, gusty winds from Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, some problems there as well.

So again, the delays across the south today and then the Pacific Northwest. But really just stressing if you live in the south today, just make sure you have multiple ways to get warnings.

WALKER: A lot to watch for. Elisa Raffa, thank you.

RAFFA: Thanks.

ROSALES: The governor of New York has ordered an investigation into the fatal beating of an inmate, calling it a, quote, senseless killing. On Friday, the state's attorney general released body camera footage showing the brutal beating of Robert Brooks, a prisoner in upstate New York. He was serving a 12-year sentence for first degree assault. That's according to prison documents.

A warning here. When we're going to show you this video, some of you might find this disturbing. You can see that Brooks is handcuffed and being carried into a facility by officers. They carry him into a medical exam room where multiple officers can be seen right there punching and kicking him as he is handcuffed on that table. The Attorney General is promising to thoroughly investigate Brooks's death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL: I want to reiterate that we are investigating this case thoroughly and using every tool at our disposal to ensure that there is transparency and accountability for the events that preceded Mr. Brooks's death.

I also want to make clear that this video and the conduct of these officers should not reflect poorly on the work and professionalism of the countless correction officers and correctional facility nurses throughout the state who go to work every day to protect and serve those in their care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Now, the Governor of New York ordered the state Corrections Department to fire those 14 workers involved. Now, there is no audio of the incident. Four of the officers did not activate their body cameras. Former federal prosecutor Jeremy Saland joins us now.

Jeremy, thank you so much for your time As a former prosecutor. I mean, this was tough to watch for me. What was your immediate reaction when you first saw that footage?

JEREMY SALAND, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: You know, disgust would be a word. Appalling. Frightening. You know, people can easily say, hey, he was an inmate. He did a bad thing to someone else. This happens. No, no, no. It doesn't happen. Law enforcement, whether correction officers on the inside, behind the jail wall, or police officers on the outside, have a responsibility to protect the public. And the Attorney General is correct. Absolutely to investigate this case and potentially as a murder, if not, you know, criminally negligent homicide or manslaughter.

ROSALES: And the Attorney General noted that the officers left their cameras on standby mode only, recording video, but not audio, which I would have liked to listen to the interaction what those officers were telling Mr. Brooks. What does that tell you that those cameras were on standby mode?

SALAND: At worst case, it was a dereliction of their duty because they have a responsibility not just to have it on, but to report it if they fail to do so when they're interacting with an inmate. But there's an also an argument to be made that this was sort of an intention, that they were knowingly doing this and withholding or holding back that audio to protect themselves, meaning that they didn't turn it on knowing they were engaged, all four of them, which is a lot of people engaged in this misconduct. So it doesn't bode well for the officers and tells a story, potentially maybe even intentional act on their part.

ROSALES: And speaking of that, how likely are criminal charges for these correctional officers? What happens next in this investigation?

SALAND: So the attorney general then looks at this case and decides whether or not there's a crime that's been committed, whether she believes she can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. If so, they consider presenting it to a grand jury. And if a grand jury accepts this, they can charge these individuals as principles, meaning they committed either an intentional act, a reckless act, or a negligent act that resulted in this homicide. And these range from nonviolent E and C felonies, which not mandatory incarceration, up to murder in the second degree, which potentially is up to 25 years to life prison, which is pretty significant.

But that's a determination of a grand jury. But either way, you're going to get a report or a grand jury finding of guilt. Pardon me, not a guilt of reasonable cause to believe one of these felonies have been committed.

ROSALES: Typically, we'd be getting news of this, a press conference from a district attorney. Why are we hearing from the attorney general? SALAND: So the attorney general has certain powers, and one of those

powers is to investigate crimes that are committed by correction officers. So it's sort of in lieu of the district attorney, the function is the same. A grand jury has to vote an indictment. The case would proceed in that county where the case is started. So where the correctional facility is. So it's the same functional equivalent, but it's not the local prosecutor's office. It's investigated by the attorney general. If it was a murder on the street or some sort of homicide on the street, that would absolutely be the local prosecutor.

ROSALES: OK, so Brooks is black. All the officers in the video appear to be white.

[06:10:00]

The state attorney general did not mention race as part of her description of the beating. But in 2023, an independent watchdog released a report after a monitoring visit to Marcy Correctional Facility where this happened. And nearly 70 percent of inmates interviewed reported racial bias among staff members. Overall, the report found a higher instance of staff abuse at Marcy compared to other facilities and a quote, pervasive culture of fear and retaliation.

One inmate told the watch group this physical abuse is rampant. The CEO, correctional officer told me when I got here, this is a hands on facility. We're going to put hands on you if we don't like what you're doing. And then another inmate also said that staff bragged and would intimidate them about the number of people that they've beaten or sprayed. Jeremy, what do you make of that?

SALAND: I think I make that the same thing everyone else does. That's incredibly inappropriate to be gentle and kind. It's vilely disgusting at its worst. There's a lawsuit that's engaged that I believe involves at least one of these officers that referred to a beat up squad of correction officers.

Now, just like anything else, there's due process. It's not guilt before innocence, but innocence before guilt. But unequivocally, someone is asleep here. This has been known if true, or at least there's been allegations. There should have been an investigation. There should have been actions taken to prevent this from happening. No one should being killed with a subway, whether on the street or whether in a correction facility. So it's really alarming to be getting kind and gentle and terrifying at worst.

ROSALES: Yes. Jeremy Saland, I appreciate your time and we'll see how this story continues to develop. Thank you.

WALKER: All right, here are some other stories we are following this morning. One lucky Mega Millions player just became slightly richer this morning. The winning ticket for Friday night's estimated $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot was sold in California. The identity though, of the players not yet known. If they take the cash payout, they will take home an estimated $549.7 million. The man accused of setting a woman on fire while she was asleep on a

New York subway has been indicted on charges of first and second degree murder and arson. During a brief court hearing yesterday, a judge moved the case to Kings County Supreme Court where the suspect, Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, will be arraigned on January 7th. Law enforcement said the victim was believed to be homeless and they have made progress in efforts to confirm her identity.

The World Health Organization says an Israeli raid has forced the last major health facility in northern Gaza out of service. The Israeli military surrounded the Kamal Adwan Hospital on Friday as part of its ongoing operations in the area. The WHO says there are at least 60 health workers and more than two dozen patients in critical condition who remain inside.

The IDF says its troops are operating in the area but are not inside the hospital. Israel claims Hamas is using the facility for its operations. Witnesses and staff say the IDF ordered patients and medical workers to evacuate despite there being nowhere else to go.

ROSALES: Still to come, was it a deadly mistake? New details suggest Russian air defenses may have mistaken the Azerbaijan Airlines flight for a drone. Russian officials are responding. Plus, survivors are speaking out for the very first time.

And could new mutations of the bird flu make it easier for the virus to infect humans in our noses and throats?

And a 2024 year end look at the most memorable moments in sports. All of that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:18:06]

WALKER: A U.S. official tells CNN that Russian air defenses may have mistaken the commercial jet that crashed on Christmas Day with a Ukrainian drone. Video shows the jet plunging to the ground in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people on board.

Russian officials are trying to shift the blame to the pilots, alleging that one of them failed to land the plane twice at another airport before it crashed. Now Azerbaijan Airlines early investigation has found that the crash was caused by, quote, unquote, physical and technical interference. Survivors are speaking out for the first time describing what happened on board.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VAFA SHABANOVA, SURVIVOR OF AZERBAIJAN AIRLINES CRASH (through translator): About 20 or 30 minutes after takeoff, we felt two explosions. The plane was supposed to land, but it didn't. Something exploded inside twice. A man's hand was injured. We panicked.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WALKER: And with me now is Georgetown University adjunct professor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty and CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton. Welcome to you both. Colonel, let's start with you.

And what do you make of this possibility? What this telling CNN that this could have been a case of mistaken identity where Russian air defenses potentially misidentified this commercial jetliner as a long range Ukrainian attack drone? I mean, does this sound like the most plausible explanation to you?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. Good morning, Amara. I think it does, actually. And when you look at the different Russian defense capabilities that are deployed in and around Grozny and the fact that the Ukrainians probably were attacking Grozny around the time it fits.

[06:20:00]

It's very important for air defense operators to be able to discern different types of targets as they're known. And obviously, a commercial airliner has different characteristics from most unmanned aerial vehicles, but in this particular case, they mix that up. At least that's the high likelihood of what happened.

WALKER: A lot of us, including you, Jill, may be reminded of what happened with MH17 back in 2014, another commercial jetliner that was ultimately determined that it was a Russian surface to air missile that shot this plane down.

So given, you know, the fact that Russia never acknowledged its responsibility in that accident, how do you expect this investigation to play out and what Russia's role may or may not be in the investigation?

JILL DOUGHERTY, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: You know, excuse me. It's hard to, sorry, was outside. It's a little hard to predict how they're going to react here, because you're right, going back to 2014, they never took responsibility for what happened. Now this could be an accident.

And so we have to see whether they actually would admit, you know, what happened. And also, it's hard to really figure out. You've got, I think, two things. What happened when it was obviously hit or it appears to be hit, and then what did Russia do after the plane was probably hit? Did it force it out across, you know, the water to another location? These are really difficult questions.

And I think the Russians, you know, in answering that will have real problems because it would be highly embarrassing. It's already beyond embarrassing to the countries whose citizens were on the plane. You have Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan that have reacted already. Turkmenistan, they're canceling flights to Russia. So there's a lot as this goes on. There could be a lot of, I would call it, you know, geopolitical reaction to this plane crash. WALKER: It was interesting to hear, you know, one of the survivors

talking there, that there were at least two attacks, attempted landings near Grozny. Colonel Leighton, do you find it strange or questionable that this plane ended up turning east and traveling hundreds of miles over the Caspian Sea to eventually crash in Kazakhstan?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I do find it strange, Amara. And one of the key things here is that, you know, while the Russians may say that they provided an alternate airport, it seems as if the landing rights were actually denied in a place like Makhachkala, which is pretty close to Grozny, that is an indicator that perhaps what the Russians wanted to do was bury their culpability by having the plane crash into the Caspian Sea. It's about a 270 mile or so distance from Grozny to Kazakhstan, where the plane ended up crashing.

And that was a significant distance for an aircraft that has been basically damaged by, you know, some external force that is a considerable distance for it to travel and to travel so far without falling out of the sky.

WALKER: Right. And once this investigation concludes and if Russia is found to have been responsible, Jill, again, you know, going back to MH7 -- MH17, there were, you know, very mild sanctions that were placed on Russia. It didn't deter or prevent Russia from continuing its aggression against Ukraine.

What kind of consequences in this case would the international community impose then on Russia? What would the consequences potentially be?

DOUGHERTY: You know, I think the situation is different at this point, you know, especially in light of the war against Ukraine right now. I mean, Russia is increasingly isolated. And again, pointing to these airlines from the region, you know, from countries that have been relatively friendly to Russia for them to cancel flights. And from -- if you just look on social media and reporting from that region, you can see a lot of anger building.

So I think, remember, you know, MH17 happened in a field. It was kind of a remote location, and Russia was in charge. So that a lot of the evidence was taken by Russian authorities even before it could be analyzed. Here, it happened in Kazakhstan. It happened. It was videotaped. There is a lot of evidence coming out.

[06:25:00]

So if it does implicate Russia, I think it could be -- there could be a stronger reaction, certainly, than in 2014.

WALKER: Before we go, Colonel Leighton, I do want to ask you about what's happening with these undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. And, you know, we're seeing a lot of activity in terms of these Baltic Sea nations being on high alert, you know, launching these naval operations to guard their subsea cables. We know that Finland on Thursday detained a ship carrying Russia oil on suspicion that it caused an outage.

You know, talk to us about what's happening there. And do you have any doubts that Russia is sabotaging these, you know, NATO countries, subsea critical infrastructure?

LEIGHTON: Yes. Right. I think the answer is that there's no doubt that Russia is doing something to, in essence, sabotage not only communications, but power links between countries like Estonia and Finland. And the fact that the Finns have made some very public pronouncements with their police forces and their border guard, indicating that they're not only impounding ships, but they're also conducting major investigations. So they want to get to the bottom of what is actually happening.

What we're seeing here basically is hybrid warfare, and that's the kind of thing that we're dealing with right now. Russia is working on multiple fronts, and this is one of them. Where they cut communications, cut power, make life miserable. That's their -- that's their desire to do that in the west and in obviously, Ukraine.

WALKER: Yes. A lot of concerns rising in Europe about this hybrid war that Russia is waging. Jill Dougherty and Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for your time.

ROSALES: And still to come. It happened again. Another stowaway was able to creep past security and board a Delta flight. But how? The new questions being raised about security at America's airports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

ROSALES: Welcome back. This morning, the TSA is looking into how a stowaway was able to slip past security and board a Delta Airlines jet over the busy holiday season.

AMARA WALKER, CO-ANCHOR, CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND: Yes, this marks the second stowaway incident involving Delta in just a few weeks. And of course, it's raising red flags about airport security. CNN's Carlos Suarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A stowaway discovered again, hiding on an airplane just moments before takeoff on Christmas eve in Seattle. The unidentified individual cleared a standard security screening the night before the flight, getting past checks for identification and flight information without a boarding pass, an airport spokesperson tells CNN. The following afternoon, they were able to board the Delta flight still without a boarding pass.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Must have been a sweet talker Betty Crocker because I don't -- I couldn't imagine how you could ever do that.

SUAREZ: When the person was discovered on board, the plane returned to the gate to remove them. According to the airport spokesperson, the suspect then, quote, "ran out of the plane before police arrived and hid in a bathroom in the airport terminal." Port of Seattle police used video surveillance cameras to find and arrest the suspect.

BRADY BLY, PASSENGER ON DELTA FLIGHT 487 WITH STOWAWAY: Nobody knew really what was going on, so, we were kind of left in the dark.

SUAREZ: All passengers on board were deplaned and rescreened by TSA, delaying the flight for nearly two and a half hours.

BLY: This leaves you to wonder the worst when you're stuck on a plane, and you know what? If there was explosives or something.

SUAREZ: The incident elevating security concerns during one of the busiest seasons for travel.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: I understand the transportation security authority agents are besieged, but these are the areas where the system is, you know, blinking red.

SUAREZ: So far, officials from the TSA, the port of Seattle and Delta representatives have not explained how this person was able to bypass so many layers of security. Delta apologized to delayed passengers in a statement, saying, quote, "there are no matters more important than safety and security." The TSA said it takes such incidents seriously and, quote, "will independently review the circumstances of this incident."

O'BRIEN: I think the responsibility for these stowaway events so far has been sort of joint between the TSA for letting these individuals pass their ID checkpoints, and the airline, in this case, Delta, for not being vigilant enough at the doorway to that jet-way.

SUAREZ: It's the second time in weeks that a passenger boarded a Delta flight without a ticket.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Folks, this is the captain. We are just waiting for the police to come on board --

SUAREZ: Just before Thanksgiving, a woman snuck onto a Delta flight from New York's JFK airport to Paris. It took three attempts to get her back to the U.S. to face charges.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SUAREZ: The TSA said that the un-ticketed passenger didn't have any prohibited items. Officials with the port of Seattle added that the aircraft and the terminal was swept by a police K-9, and all of the passengers were re-screened. Amara and Isabel.

WALKER: Carlos Suarez, thank you. And of course, next hour, we will have a conversation about how this even happened two times for Delta with an aviation analyst. Well, new this morning, the number of cases of human bird flu in the U.S. has gone up to 66.

ROSALES: The CDC says samples from a patient with a severe case of the bird flu showed genetic mutations. CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell puts this key finding into perspective for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, the CDC analyzed these samples that were taken from this patient who was hospitalized in Louisiana with the country's first severe case of H5N1 bird flu. And what they found is mutations in this virus that may make it easier for the virus to infect human cells in the upper respiratory tract.

[06:35:00]

The bird flu isn't very good at infecting people in our nose and throats. But with these mutations, possibly it could get better at that. Now, the good news is that the patient doesn't appear to have spread the virus to any other humans, and it doesn't look like the patient picked up these mutations from wherever the patient caught this virus in the wild. So, it's not that the patient was infected after having contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.

And these mutations weren't seen in the birds. And so, it really seems like these mutations are confined to this one patient. We have seen similar mutations to these before. Also, in a severe case of H5N1, this one in a teenager in British Columbia, Canada. Again, in that scenario, it appears that these mutations happened in the patient and weren't spread to anybody else.

So, really the threat level would rise if we see human-to-human transmission of bird flu, and we have not seen that as of this point. Of course, health experts are worried when they see these mutations. It shows they are potentially possible, so, they are watching this very closely. There have been a couple instances where we don't know the source of exposure.

And then this one patient in Louisiana is the only one associated with backyard flocks. So, this is something that the CDC is following very closely, but they say right now, the risk to the public is low, especially because we haven't seen that human-to-human transmission.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: All right, Meg Tirrell, thank you for that. During his first administration, Donald Trump signed an executive order that would have effectively banned TikTok. But now it looks like the President-elect is changing his tune on the popular social media app.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

WALKER: Stocks took a dive Friday following sell-offs across big tech's magnificent seven. Stocks like Tesla, Apple, Amazon and Nvidia each took a few percentage-point hits, sending the Dow, Nasdaq and the S&P 500 into the red to end the holiday week. The lackluster close has analysts advocating for a broader market in the new year, cautioning against heavy reliance on a handful of industry giants should they all stumble at the same time.

ROSALES: President-elect Trump has asked the Supreme Court to pause the controversial ban on TikTok, which is set to take effect next month. Following the request, sources tell CNN that TikTok CEO spoke with Trump Friday evening. Trump says putting a pause on the ban would allow for his incoming administration to, quote, "pursue a negotiated resolution that could prevent the nationwide shutdown of TikTok." CNN's Alayna Treene has more.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, Isabel and Amara, Donald Trump urged the Supreme Court on Friday to put a pause on a controversial ban on TikTok, arguing that such a delay in implementation would give his incoming administration time to try and negotiate some sort of deal that could save the app.

Now, all of this relates back to a ban that Congress approved earlier this year, and Biden signed into law that said TikTok must be banned in the United States unless it is sold from its Chinese owner. Now, that ban is slated to take effect on January 19th, just one day before Donald Trump is slated to be sworn in to office.

Now, the thing that is currently before the Supreme Court and what justices are currently weighing is whether or not this ban violates First Amendment rights. Donald Trump, in that briefing on Friday did not necessarily address the First Amendment question. But he did say this. He wrote, quote, "President-elect Trump urges the court to stay the statutes effective date to allow his incoming administration to pursue a negotiated resolution that could prevent a nationwide shutdown of TikTok, thus preserving the First Amendment rights of tens of millions of Americans, while also addressing the government's national security concerns."

Now, Isabel and Amara, what's clear is how popular TikTok is in this country. It has 170 million monthly users in the U.S., and Donald Trump, for his part, has recognized that of late. It's argued that, you know, in the past, he has been pretty against TikTok. He even signed an executive order during his first administration that would have effectively banned the app, citing national security concerns.

However, recently, we did hear him argue that he is warming to TikTok because he believes that many young people in this country who voted for him are fans of the app. I want you to take a listen to how he phrased that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll take a look at TikTok. You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points. And there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, just hours after he made those comments earlier this month, he then met with TikTok CEO. All to say, it's very unclear what is going to happen in this case. But what Donald Trump is asking for is for this ban to be paused so that his administration can deal with it and try to find some sort of way to resolve the issue and allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States. Isabel, Amara.

ROSALES: That story, a big talker for sure. Alayna Treene, thank you. A judge forcefully denied efforts by Jay-z's attorneys to dismiss a rape case against him and unmask the accuser. The scathing message the judge had for the superstar's lawyers. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

ROSALES: As the sex-trafficking investigation into music producer "Diddy" unfolds, rapper Jay-z is caught in the crosshairs.

WALKER: His legal team is going on the defensive, but it's not winning over the judge in charge of the case as CNN's Lisa France explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (on camera): A judge has criticized Jay-z's legal team for some of the moves they have made, defending him against allegations that he and Sean "Diddy" Combs raped a then 13-year-old in 2000 after the "MTV" Video Music Awards. In an order filed Thursday, New York Judge Analisa Torres had some strong words for Jay-z's attorney.

Carter's lawyers relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks is inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client, Judge Torres wrote. The court will not fast-track the judicial process merely because counsel demands it.

The rapper, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, became embroiled in the suit that was initially filed in October by Jane Doe(ph), accusing Combs and an anonymous celebrity of raping her after the 2000 "MTV" Video Music Awards. Carter was named in the amended complaint, in which John -- Jane Doe(ph) alleged that she was drugged at a party before she was sexually assaulted by both men.

Combs has had multiple civil suits filed against him, has pleaded not guilty to three federal charges and is awaiting a criminal trial. He has insisted he is innocent of the allegations. Carter has also strongly denied the allegations against him in the suit, and he and his team were attempting to get it dismissed.

[06:50:00]

Judge Torres denied that motion and also granted the Jane Doe(ph) accuser the ability to proceed with the case anonymously. CNN has reached out to Jay-z and his reps for comment regarding the order from Judge Torres. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WALKER: All right, Lisa France, thank you. Up next, 2024-year-end

look, yes, it's almost the end of the year and the most spectacular moments that made national headlines in sports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Twenty-twenty-four was a banner year for sports with history made across the Olympics, Major League Baseball and beyond.

[06:55:00]

ROSALES: CNN's Andy Scholes walks us through the top five highlights and heartbreaks in the sports world this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: At number five, Simone Biles triumphantly returning to the Olympics, proving once again she is the G.O.A.T. The 27-year-old winning three gold medals and a silver, and in the process became the most decorated U.S. gymnast of all time.

SIMONE BILES, U.S. GYMNAST: I solely did it for myself, and I'm in a really good spot mentally and physically. So, doing this for just me and then the world.

SCHOLES: Biles and the women's team reclaiming the gold, but the Paris games did end in controversy for a member of the team.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Surprising turn of events in Paris. American gymnast Jordan Chiles has been stripped of her bronze medal.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The situation is getting more complicated by the day. USA Gymnastics says it's appealed for Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles to keep her bronze medal was denied.

JORDAN CHILES, U.S. GYMNAST: It's definitely been a really hard year.

SCHOLES: At number four, Shohei Ohtani had a season in baseball that will never be duplicated again both on and off the field.

SANCHEZ: Just one week before opening day, a stunning scandal has erupted in Major League Baseball. The interpreter for L.A. Dodgers player Shohei Ohtani fired amid allegations that he stole millions of dollars from the Japanese superstar to cover a gambling debt.

SCHOLES: The whole controversy though did not affect Ohtani one bit on the field. He went on to have the first ever 50-50 season in baseball history. He ended up with 54 home-runs and 59 stolen bases. The Japanese star then went on to win his first World Series as the Dodgers beat the Yankees in five games. At number three, the PGA Championship getting off to a rocky start.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're following major drama at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, where top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested and detained just outside the course where he would tee off only a few hours later. SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I feel like my head is still spinning. I can't really explain what happened this morning. I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell, that was a first for me.

SCHOLES: Now, despite being arrested before round two, Scheffler still finished tied for eighth at the PGA Championship, and he went on to have one of the best years in golf history. Scheffler won nine times, including his second masters in three years and gold at the Paris games.

SCHEFFLER: I'm just a kid from Texas who loves playing golf and just trying to get the most out of myself, and you know, this year has been really fun.

SCHOLES: At number two on our countdown is Caitlin Clark-mania just taking over the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: History truly in the making and so far out by the way. Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark breaking the NCAA Women's Basketball all-time scoring record.

CAITLIN CLARK, INDIANA FEVER: I don't know if you can really script it any better.

SCHOLES: Now, Clark wasn't just setting scoring records, attendance and viewership were at an all-time highs whenever Clark stepped on the floor. Her rematch against Angel Reese in LSU was watched by 12.3 million people, making it the most watched women's college basketball game ever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Caitlin Clark is headed to the WNBA as the number one overall draft pick.

CLARK: Just getting to enjoy it and soak it in, I think is the biggest thing because like, this is a once in a life-time.

SCHOLES: Clark's remarkable year ended with her winning the WNBA rookie of the year and leading the Fever to the playoffs in 2024. Certainly, an extraordinary year for the WNBA. The league setting records for attendance and viewership, and in the end, it was the Liberty winning their first-ever title, beating the Lynx.

And finally, our number one sports moment of the year belonged to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs with Taylor Swift in attendance to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce, the Chiefs beating the 49ers in an over-time thriller in the first-ever Las Vegas Super Bowl. Mahomes, Kelce and company winning back-to-back titles in their third in five years.

PATRICK MAHOMES, QUARTERBACK, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: I'm so proud of the team, so proud of the guys and to battle to the very end. I mean, that was microcosm of our season. It really is special just to be able to say we're back-to-back champs.

SCHOLES: And as we head into 2025, the Chiefs are looking to become the first team ever to win three straight Super Bowls. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: A new CNN film examines the storied career of one of the most influential artists of all time, Luther Vandross. Using a wealth of archives, Luther tells his own story along with the voices of his closest musical collaborators and friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During that time, we had this whole thing where the way that we used to get gigs is, we would attend each other's session, and if, incidentally, they happen to meet somebody to fill in -- oh, my friend is a singer, he could definitely do it. And we always brought Luther.

(LUTHER VANDROSS & BAND SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Luther started doing what he does, which is start singing when David put music on. He starts seeing whatever, how many -- and David was like, wow, this guy is great.

(LUTHER VANDROSS & BAND SINGING)