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CNN International: Deals Aims to Implement UNSC Resolution 1701, which Ended 2006 War; Thousands Gather to Demand Release of Imran Khan; Trump to Impose Massive New Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China; Trump Pledges Extra Tariffs on China Over Fentanyl; Israeli Security Cabinet Meeting on Ceasefire Deal; Coldest Weather of the Season Possible this Weekend. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired November 26, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is the scene in Beirut right now. Israeli air strikes continue to hit the city, just as the

Israeli cabinet is set to meet to vote on a possible Ceasefire in Lebanon, it is 04:00 p.m. there 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson,

you're watching "Connect the World" live from our Middle East Programming Hub.

Also coming up this hour, G7 Foreign Ministers meet near Rome, where Ukraine and the Middle East dominate discussions. Meanwhile, President-

Elect Trump says he will impose new tariffs on some of the U.S.'s biggest trading partners. And thousands take to the streets of Islamabad in support

of Former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Well, the stock market in New York will open about 30 minutes from now. The picture, as far as the futures markets are concerned, is mixed. Back to New

York at 09:30 local time. Well, this hour, the Israeli Security Cabinet is set to meet to vote on a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. And officials in

Israel, in Lebanon, the U.S. and Europe all say a deal is close.

Today's vote coming after weeks of painstaking negotiations. A short time ago, a series of Israeli air strikes hitting Beirut as the IDF delivers

punishing blows on what it says are Hezbollah targets ahead of any truce. Well, Hezbollah has been firing hundreds of rockets at Israel. The U.S. --

EU's top diplomat says the time for a ceasefire is now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: Lebanon, there is no excuses for a ceasefire. On the proposal agreement brokered by the U.S. and France,

Israel has all security concerns, there is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire, otherwise Lebanon will fall apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, the deal calls for a 60-day pause in hostilities to form the basis for a lasting truce. It aims to implement UN Security Council

Resolution 1701 which ended the 2006 Israel Lebanon war. The resolution stipulates that Israel must withdraw all of its forces from Southern

Lebanon, while only the Lebanese military and UN peacekeepers can be present south of the Litany River.

Well, we've got Nic Robinson tracking events from Jerusalem. Melissa Bell is in Paris. And we just heard Melissa there talk about you from Josep

Borrell, talk about the French role in the ceasefire plan. And I want to come to that in a moment. Nic, let's start with you. What can we expect

today as we understand that the security cabinet is scheduled to meet about now? What are you hearing?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, scheduled to meet about now. The best guidance we're getting is this could take several

hours, three hours, maybe more to reach an agreement to get to a vote. It's a simple majority vote. We understand this time, at least our understanding

is there is 11 members.

So, it's very clear the vote is going to go one way or another. We know that at least two of the hard right cabinet members who will be there,

Bezalel Yoel Smotrich Finance Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, the National Securities Minister, are both opposed to making a deal right now.

But if there, it is still possible, and the Prime Minister's Office is indicating that this could be a successful vote for the Prime Minister. The

contours we're getting a sense of that from the defense minister saying very clearly that Israel wants to have the right to strike back and in

reference to that 2006 ceasefire agreement and UN Security Council Resolution, 1701.

He said it cannot be back to a situation like that. He said the UN must do more. And the Lebanese foreign ministers indicated an additional 5000

Lebanese army troops will go into that border region once the IDF and Hezbollah pull back, disengage. Hezbollah goes north. Israeli forces go

back inside Israel that an additional 5000 Lebanese army soldiers, in addition to the 5000 already there that will be stationed there.

This is what the picture looks like right now, very clearly the focus here, at the moment, is what's going on inside that cabinet, and the hope is, and

I think the exploitation has been created It will be a vote in favor of a ceasefire, but we're not there yet.

[09:05:00]

ANDERSON: Let me bring you in, Melissa, at this point, because we should discuss the role that France has played in helping broker this deal,

particularly at a time when it has been criticized, not least by the U.S., in effectively suggesting that if Benjamin Netanyahu were to travel to

France, at this point.

He would be arrested because of the ICC arrest warrant issued just last week. Relations between Israel and France pretty bad, but France still

involved in brokering this deal. Just explain what's going on here.

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: And that's important. Just to pick up on the last point that you mentioned, Becky, we've heard from the

Speaker of the French Parliament just these last couple of days about the fact that, yes, indeed, since that arrest warrant was issued by the Hague.

France being a signatory to it, it would simply be applying the law by carrying out an arrest.

But of course, this just the culmination, as you suggest, of a deteriorating relationship, frankly, over the course of the last few

months. It was just after the opening of the second front with Lebanon that France took a much more active and vocal role in calling for arms embargoes

against Israel. That particularly began by irking Israel. But it didn't stop there.

There was the arrest in October on the sidelines of a visit by France's incoming foreign minister to Israel, of a couple of the policemen that were

accompanying him, a minor flare up then as well. But as Emmanuel Macron has been critical of Israel, increasingly calling for European wide arms

embargoes on Israel.

We've seen Benjamin Netanyahu reacting very strongly almost each time he spoke. So, there is a lot of tension between the sides. And of course, this

is important, not only because France has been playing an important role in the negotiations leading up to this ceasefire, but about what position it

has in any monitoring process of the implementation of the ceasefire, if and when it gets accepted.

There is sufficient tension between Tel Aviv and Paris that we understand that there are a number of Israeli concerns about how closely involved

France will remain in that implementation and monitoring process. And yet, for Lebanon, for the Arab World, more widely, an important presence in

these negotiations to counter what has been seen increasingly over the more than last year now as a very one-sided American approach to the conflict in

support of Israel, almost to the exclusion of everything else.

The interests of the Lebanese international law at times, these are the kind of things that have been at the heart of what French officials have

been raising over the course of last few months, and why the wider world will be very keen that France should remain involved Becky.

ANDERSON: Thank you, Melissa. Let's just bring Nic back here. I just want to be quite clear about what we understand to be the contours of this deal.

We're looking at pictures just coming into us from Beirut, and ahead of any decision by the security cabinet in Israel to sign up to this 60-day truce.

We are just in the past hour also seeing images from Beirut of smoke as a result of explosions from targeted attacks, we are told by Israel on

Hezbollah assets in Beirut. So, the bombing goes on right until the last minute, if indeed we are at the point at which a ceasefire deal is struck.

What sort of guarantees does Israel have, very specifically from the U.S. who has been involved in brokering this deal? What sort of guarantees does

it have of its security and its ability to restart any attacks on Hezbollah, if indeed the militia group begins to target Israel again.

ROBERTSON: It's been a very, very key point for Israel, and it's something Israeli officials have made a big deal out of in the run up to this,

demanding the right of response, immediate response to Hezbollah, should they break the terms of the ceasefire.

In fact, the defense minister, actually the foreign minister went beyond this yesterday, saying we don't want Hezbollah to be able to build up and

regain momentum and strengthen political influence in Lebanon in the future, which is a very, very big statement, and it's very hard to see how

sovereign country can stand for that.

[09:10:00]

So, what are the guarantees look like for Israel, that it -- that it wants, that are so important. We don't have detail on that. There's an

understanding, it appears, and I say it appears, because all this is not nailed down yet, that there may be some sort of side affirmation letter by

the United States giving some assurances to Israel.

Not unusual to have that sort of addendum, if you will, done separately to get the sides over the line. We got an insight, perhaps, to that from Benny

Gantz, senior opposition figure, was formerly in the war cabinet until he got out because he disapproved of the way that Prime Minister Netanyahu was

fighting the war in Gaza.

And he said, we cannot be in a position where we have to report to a body, a group, and get permission when we think Hezbollah has broken out of the

ceasefire terms. We cannot be in a position where we're reporting to a body and then getting their permission to strike at Hezbollah.

So perhaps that is something in the language we don't know for sure, but Benny Gant seems to think that there will be a body that will oversee

whether or not Hezbollah has broken the ceasefire, and then that would give Israel permission to strike back.

ANDERSON: Lots of outstanding threats at this point. What we do know is that the security cabinet in Israel will meet -- are meeting to decide on

whether this is a ceasefire that they will sign up to officially. All right, good to have you both. Thank you.

As we mentioned, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, today calling on Israel to accept a proposed ceasefire deal in Lebanon. He made those

statements at a meeting of G7 Foreign Ministers in Italy, where escalations in the Middle East and Ukraine have been front and center.

The G7 foreign ministers met with a number of counterparts from Arab nations on Monday. This is U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken's final

G7 meeting before Donald Trump takes office. Jennifer Hansler is at the State Department for us, good to have you. We are seeing major flashpoints,

of course, in the Middle East as well as in Ukraine, right at the back end of this Biden Administration. How are those developments impacting this G7

meeting?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT: Well Becky, these flash points are absolutely dominating the agenda for the G7 foreign ministers as

they are meeting in Italy. Yesterday's sessions were almost exclusively devoted to the situation in the Middle East, first in the morning with just

the G7 foreign ministers discussing the situation in the region, as well as the escalations we've seen in the Red Sea.

Later in the afternoon, they were joined by counterparts from the Arab World, the key stakeholders in that region, to further discuss the

situation in Lebanon, in Gaza, in the broader Middle East, and how to deal with the escalations there.

Today, the ministerial focused on Ukraine in the morning, they were joined by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister. And of course, it's important that they

are discussing these Becky not only because we have seen them just broil into even more of a conflict, particularly between Ukraine and Russia in

recent days, but also because there's no clear resolution to the majority of these conflicts.

Of course, it seems that perhaps we are on the verge of a deal for Lebanon. However, we've been here before. We have seen U.S. officials be optimistic

in the past, only for that optimism to be dashed in Gaza. There are no clear signs of any resolution to come in the coming months, while Biden is

still in office.

And Russia Ukraine, of course, that fighting has continued to escalate with the attacks we've seen overnight from Russia, as well as that launch of the

experimental missile we saw last week, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you thank you. That is very latest, as we understand it, from the State Department in Washington, Jennifer, always good to have

you. Well, thousands of supporters of the Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan have defied a lockdown in Islamabad and broken through

barricades around the capital city.

Pakistani police fired tear gas at the protesters who are demanding the release of Khan from jail. Authorities confirm that at least one police

officer was killed in the clashes. Khan faces more than 150 criminal cases and has been in jail for over a year. Mike Valerio joining us now with the

very latest developments, Mike.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Becky, good evening to you. And I think that we should say first of all that there have been no meaningful

signs of progress between protesters and the government who are negotiating to try to reduce violence.

And you know what you talked about just a couple seconds ago, the chances of those 150 criminal cases being thrown out against Imran Khan seem to be

minimal, chances of that happening are right now. So, in terms of how we got here, Becky, you know, if you don't follow politics in Pakistan every

single day, you certainly could be forgiven.

[09:15:00]

There's a clarion call that Imran Khan, the Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, issued from his jail cell a few days ago, saying in so many words

to supporters, hey, I got to get out of here, again, paraphrasing the former prime minister, I need you to march on parliament. And that is

exactly the goal of protesters as we've seen it over the past 48 hours or so.

The protesters Becky have about three central goals. The first one is the freedom and the release of the former prime minister, in addition to people

whom they deem to be quote, unquote political prisoners. The second goal they want a constitutional amendment, the 26th amendment to Pakistan's

constitution repealed.

And what essentially that does Becky. It gave the government easier route of picking judges, superior court judges and also picking those same judges

to deal with cases that deal with political matters. And the third bucket of their demands, they want a quote, unquote return of their mandate.

There were elections across Pakistan in February, the party of Imran Khan believed that they did supremely well. Won so many seats, but many of those

seats were denied to them. So, they want their seats after they say that the election in February was neither free nor fair.

So, when you take all of those demands together, Becky and wrap them up, that gives us the tableau that we've seen in Islamabad all day today,

protesters defying the demands from security forces to stop and not enter the city, they have done so and come close to Parliament at this hour.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Well still to come, now that Special Counsel Jack Smith has dropped federal cases against

Donald Trump. Will the U.S. President-Elect seek revenge that more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: President-Elect Donald Trump has reacted to Special Counsel Jack Smith's dropping of the federal cases against him, and it includes the

classified documents and the 2020, election subversion cases. Smith left to open the possibility that the charges could be -- could be brought again

once he, Trump is out of office.

Now, Trump posted quote all the cases I've been forced to go through are empty and lawless and should never have been brought adding that more than

$100 million of taxpayer has been wasted in the Democratic Party's fight against him. Well, CNN's Katelyn Polantz has been following all of this for

months. We're at the back end of it Jack Smith's decision to miss the charges means that both cases are over, at least for now, correct? Let's

just get that sorted out to begin with.

[09:20:00]

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: They're over. Becky, they are dismissed for now, you say. But we can't predict what's

going to happen in four years with Donald Trump in office. This is the important step that the Justice Department is taking to ask for the

dismissal of the ongoing January 6 criminal case against Donald Trump.

And Donald Trump alone for obstructing Congress conspiracy related to the 2020 election. That case, they said we have to dismiss it, not because our

belief in the case changed, but because the circumstances changed, because he is the president-elect, and this case has to be dismissed before Donald

Trump is inaugurated.

It is just too much of a burden around the presidency to have someone who is holding that office facing even the specter of a case like this, if they

were to have just paused it. So, they are asking for the full dismissal. The judge agreed with that. Then there's a separate case, the classified

documents case against Donald Trump, which was already dismissed, but that the Justice Department was trying to revive in an appeals court.

They said, because of the immunity, the same type of immunity around the presidency. We're going to have to pull that appeal against Donald Trump,

but there is still an appeal that's ongoing where the Justice Department is fighting for the ability to use special prosecutors in the southern states,

including Florida, where that case was brought.

And so that appeal does continue on, Donald Trump and his justice department, they're going to have to make some decisions about what to do

when they do come into office. They may disagree with the Justice Department on this idea that this is only a temporary protection around the

presidency.

That's how it's set up now, but this is really the finality of these two cases against Donald Trump that were charged last year and have become such

a monumental moment for history. This is an important point in history too, where the Justice Department has decided how to end these.

ANDERSON: I mean, Donald Trump has supposed, and I repeat, all the cases I've been forced to go through are empty and lawless. Should never have

been brought, 100 million dollars of taxpayer dollars wasted in the Democratic Party's fight against him. Jack Smith clearly in his

metaphorical crosshairs.

What happens to special counsel going forward? How much concern is there about the possibility of Donald Trump seeking some sort of revenge at this

point?

POLANTZ: I have heard from sources around the special counsel's office. There is fear of retribution there. There is some preparation for what is

to come, if there will be investigations or congressional inquiries. But what happens now is that Special Counsel Jack Smith is preparing to close

his office.

He will write a report. That report will be handed over to the attorney general, and Attorney General Merrick Garland has promised that he will

release that report. Now, what it says might not be much different than we already know about these cases. We know a lot about them.

They were indicted, charged in court, so we saw those charging documents. We saw additional proceedings around them. So, in the January 6 case, we

got a monumental court record of all of the evidence the Justice Department believes that they could have taken to trial that just came out a couple

months ago.

So that's very likely to be replicated in the report. And one more thing to note, Becky, whenever you mention how the Justice Department feels about

these cases, they did spell out that they still fully stand behind the gravity of the crimes charge, the strength of the government's proof and

the merits of the prosecution here.

And then Judge Tanya Chutkan, in her opinion, dismissing this January 6 case against Trump, notes that this immunity around the presidency, it is

temporary, expiring when the person leaves office. So, a lot here to chew over in the coming years and days.

ANDERSON: Important nuance there and -- thank you very much indeed. Now you may be hearing a sigh of relief in parts of the business community after

Donald Trump tapped Scott Bessent for the role of U.S. Treasury Secretary, many business leaders see the billionaire hedge fund manager as a

moderating voice.

This comes as the president-elect vows to slap huge new tariffs on China and the United States' neighbors on his first day back in office, he says

Mexico and Canada will be charged quote, 25 percent tariff on all products coming into the United States. That's everything from cars, furniture and

electronics to oil, wood and food. Matt Egan is in New York for us.

[09:25:00]

We knew that Trump had China on his list, top of his list for tariffs. Why is Trump announcing these tariffs now? And why against Mexico and Canada in

addition to what we already knew was China?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Becky. Look clearly, tariff man is back, and if anything, the president-elect is a bigger believer in tariffs than he

was when he first gave himself that nickname years ago. He sees tariffs as kind of a magical negotiating tool that can be used against friends and

foes alike to try to bring them to the negotiating table and secure better deals.

He sees them as a way to solve almost any problem. And look, we don't know exactly how this is going to play out, right? I mean, will the president-

elect really impose a 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada, or is this more of a negotiating tactic to try to negotiate a better deal for American

workers and consumers?

We don't know, but what we do know is that tariffs have at least the potential to create chaos for businesses, to invite retaliation from other

countries to tariff U.S. goods, and also, of course, to increase costs for consumers, because at the end of the day, tariffs are levies on U.S.

imports.

And in the past, research has shown that Americans bore the costs of Trump's tariffs on China. And look, you mentioned Canada. I mean, Canada is

a major partner for the U.S. in trade. The U.S. imported hundreds and billions of dollars of goods from Canada last year alone on everything from

minerals to oil.

And it's hard to see how a 25 percent tariff on Canadian oil is going to make it cheaper for Americans to get gasoline, or a 25 percent tariff on

cement from Canada or wood from Canada, how is that going to make it any cheaper to build homes? It's not. Mexico as well, and it's leading source

of autos and auto parts.

Also of agricultural products, 89 percent of U.S. imports of avocados come from Mexico. And there is the potential, of course, Becky, for tariffs like

that to make it even more expensive for consumers at the grocery store.

ANDERSON: It's fascinating time. Let's we're going to have to wait to see what actually happens, but we're getting a lot of information ahead of

time. As you say, it may be a negotiation tactic. It may be a very different story on the 21st of January, but at this stage, there are

worrying times, as far as consumers are concerned, if indeed you buy into the story that these tariffs are indeed going to significantly increase

costs.

Thank you. Ahead on "Connect the World" a closer look at why Donald Trump is threatening tougher tariffs on China and what Beijing has to say about

that. That is up next.

[09:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, welcome back. The bell is just run on Wall Street. It is just after half past 9 there. Members of the New York Stock Exchange today

in charge of that bell. And we will have a look at the markets as they settle. It was a mixed picture on the futures market, and as things settle

out, a similar start to the trading day on Wall Street.

We've been talking this hour about Donald Trump's tariff threats. And right now, let's take a closer look at the higher levies that he has, at least in

mind at this point, for China, the president-elect is accused Beijing of allowing the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

But a Chinese Embassy spokesperson is defending Beijing's Counter Narcotics efforts, saying Trump's claims run quote, counter to the facts and reality.

CNN's Ivan Watson joins us live from Hong Kong. It's been quite clear about this. Trump says he's going to whack these levies on Chinese goods.

He says this is all about what's going on at the border. This is an effort, in addition to other things that he's going to do to try and stop the issue

of migration and drugs, very specifically, coming across this border. So, what do we know at this point about the threats? And how is Beijing sort of

stealing itself for the eventuality of these higher tariffs?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, what Trump has done is accused China, in his statement of promising of reneging on a

promise to execute drug dealers, and he's claiming that fentanyl products are flooding across the border from Mexico into the U.S. So, he's saying a

10 percent tariff on all Chinese goods until that comes to an end.

In response, the Chinese response has been somewhat subdued. It has been to highlight so far that the U.S. and China have been cooperating on dealing

with fentanyl, particularly over the course of the last year. In a statement given to CNN from the spokesperson for China's embassy in

Washington D.C.

The spokesperson goes on to write, the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the U.S. runs completely counter to facts

in reality. About the issue of U.S. tariffs on China, China believes that China-U.S. economic and trade co-operation is mutually beneficial in

nature. No one will win in a trade war or a tariff war. So, there are a couple things to unpack here.

First is, these fentanyl precursors that are believed to be manufactured in China that the U.S. has been complaining about to Beijing for a decade. The

CNN has been to the Counter Narcotics lab in Beijing, where Chinese officials have tried to stress the fact that there is in fact co-operation

that China has carried out arrests of suspected dealers.

And has used tips from the U.S. to try to stop some of these fentanyl precursors from being exported, even some of which do not ultimately need

to be used for drugs that can hurt and kill people. On the other hand, there is the issue of the tariffs themselves. When Trump was first

president, he imposed tariffs on some $300 billion worth of Chinese exports to the U.S.

The Biden Administration expanded on them earlier this year, putting 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, for example, and raising

tariffs on other goods, about $18 billion worth of goods coming into the U.S. It's not clear how China would retaliate. During the Trump

Administration, China retaliated it by putting tariffs on about 100 billion dollars' worth of U.S. exports to China.

There are other ways that China could respond. It could target U.S. companies that are based in China. It could target U.S. agricultural

products. China is a big export market for U.S. agricultural products. So, we're just going to have to see how this could play out.

There's another area where China could hurt the U.S. in retaliation, it cut off ties effectively with the Biden Administration after Nancy Pelosi

traveled to Taiwan, which infuriated Beijing in 2022. And it stopped cooperating on fentanyl, if tariffs come down the line and smack the

Chinese economy, China could, for instance, suspend cooperation on fentanyl, the very thing that President-elect Trump is complaining about.

[09:35:00]

ANDERSON: Yeah, gloves are off, and we are still two months out from the beginning of this Trump Administration. Good to have you. Thank you. Was

the conflict in Ukraine escalates and the U.S. gets closer to Donald Trump's inauguration, Russian leaders hoping that the incoming Trump

Administration will give Moscow a break and an advantage when it comes to Ukraine.

Fred Pleitgen in is in Moscow for us. So, what are Russia's hopes once Donald Trump retakes the White House?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the Russians hope that Donald Trump will try to negotiate some sort of end

to the war in Ukraine and terms that are favorable to Russia. And it's something that we've been hearing from Russian officials, actually, quite a

lot over the past, I would say the last couple of weeks, really, Becky.

They were laying into the Biden Administration, accusing the Biden Administration of escalating the conflict, especially after, of course, the

White House has allowed the Ukrainians to use those attack them, surface to surface missiles to strike deep into Russia.

And it was quite interesting, because the spokesman for the Kremlin even said that talk about peace, as he put it, only comes from people who are

set to have high rolls in the new Trump Administration. Here's what we're learning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): As Ukrainian forces grow ever more desperate trying to hold off advancing Russian troops. The Kremlin is growing ever more

hopeful the incoming Trump Administration will try to end the war on terms favorable for Moscow. The words peace or peace plan come from Trump

supporters and those nominated for future positions in the upcoming administration, the Kremlin spokesman said today.

The Russians irate after the Biden Administration allowed Ukraine to use longer distance U.S. and U.K. supplied missiles to strike deeper inside

Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin in return firing a new powerful intermediate range ballistic missile into central Ukraine that's never been

used in war.

President-elect Trump's pick for national security adviser, confirming ending the Ukraine war will be an urgent priority.

MIKE WALTZ, TRUMP'S PICK FOR U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President Trump has been very clear about the need to end this conflict, and so what

we're need to be discussing is who's at that table.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And from Trump insiders and cabinet picks, proposals seemingly in line with Moscow's demands, Elon Musk posting his ideas on his

X account in early October 2022, calling for U.N. monitored referendums in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia, for Crimea to be recognized as Russian

and for Ukraine to remain neutral.

Ukraine's President, who has said he does believe the war will end faster under Trump, also said last week in a radio interview that Ukraine cannot

be forced into talks. Musk then trolling Zelenskyy once again. Despite Elon Musk giving crucial battlefield support to Ukraine by providing Starlink

satellite internet to its troops, Russians we spoke to in Moscow, unequivocal.

They like him. He's an extraordinary personality, this man says, and since he fulfilled himself and his business, society will work with him well. I

think Elon Musk is a good example of the future of our planet, she says. He's doing a lot to bring our planet forward, and it's a good development.

Others in Trump's orbit with clear pro Kremlin views, Former Fox Host Tucker Carlson traveled to Moscow in February, where he praised Russian

supermarkets.

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST OF TUCKER CARLSON NETWORK: It's pretty non sanctioned to me.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Before sitting down with Vladimir Putin for an extended interview.

CARLSON: Tell us why you believe the United States might strike Russia out of the blue. How did you conclude that?

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA: I didn't say that? Are we having a talk show or a serious conversation?

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Russian Leader patient saying he's willing to listen to the Trump Administration's proposals.

PUTIN: What was said concerning the desire to restore relations with Russia to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, seems to me, to be at

least worthy of attention.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (on camera): So, as Vladimir Putin there, that was actually about a week and a half ago that he was at that forum where he said that, but

that's really the messaging that we've been getting from the Kremlin, also from top other Russian officials as well, Becky, who are saying that at

least the Russians are willing to listen to some of the proposals coming from the Trump Administration.

Obviously, they're very happy about the fact that it seems to be a priority for the Trump Administration to end the war in Ukraine. But again, the

Russians consistently saying they will end the conflict the war on their terms, and they have, obviously, some pretty steep demands, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now.

[09:40:00]

And the Canadian singer Drake says his own record company artificially boosted numbers for a song by rival Kendrick Lamar. In a court filing,

Drake, shown here on the left, accuses Universal Music Group of conspiring to inflate streaming and radio numbers for the song not like ours.

UMG owns the record labels behind both men, and says the idea it would undermine one of its own artists is offensive and untrue. China's latest

tourist attraction is not for the faint hearted. The Sky Ladder allows thrill seekers to view China's Hunan province from more than 1500 meters in

the air.

It stretches 168 meters between two cliffs, part of the trail built into the side of a mountain with handrails, foot rests, tethers and cables. A

Connecticut couple is accused of running a shoplifting ring and stealing nearly a million dollars of clothing from Lululemon stores.

Investigators say they stole merchandise from stores in several states, then returned it to other states, Lululemon stores. Lululemon carries high

end active wear. Still to come, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah does appear within reach as the Israeli security cabinet prepares

for a key vote, that is just ahead.

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ANDERSON: Back to our top story, the Israeli security cabinet is meeting as we speak, we understand on a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah. The potential

deal aims to pause the fighting that has engulfed parts of Lebanon for months now, fighting like this. Israel pounding Beirut's southern suburbs

just a short time ago, this in the past hour or so, right up against the potential for a deal.

Nic Roberson is back with us from Jerusalem. Let's just go through the deal's highlights as we understand them, Nic, please.

ROBERTSON: Yeah, a 60-day ceasefire in which time Hezbollah would pull back north of the Litani River. That's about 30 miles, 45 kilometers, north of

most of Israel's border. And that's actually what was agreed back in 2006 and U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.

So, these are familiar lines. Hezbollah pulls back north of there. The IDF pulls back inside of Israel, leaves Lebanon completely, and that vacuum in

there, that sort of military vacuum, is then filled by U.N. a beefed up, U.N. force over and above the UNIFIL representatives that are there at the

moment.

[09:45:00]

And an additional number of Lebanese army forces. We understand there are about 5000 Lebanese army forces in that area, the border area at the

moment, and they will be supplemented by an additional 5000 according to the foreign minister. Now, just to add a couple of caveats to that, UNIFIL

and the Lebanese army, obviously, were in the border region before, there was that prayer agreement.

And Hezbollah was still able to get to the border, set up and strike into Israel. And for that reason, on this side of the border in Israel, people

are saying, who live along the north that they think the potential in this deal falls short. The detail, of course, that we don't have at the moment,

that I can't give you because it hasn't been released publicly, perhaps ameliorate some of those concerns, but that these are the elements that we

know about for sure.

ANDERSON: There will be Lebanese watching this show, people in support of the people of Lebanon, who will say this just doesn't go anything far

enough, anything like far enough for those who are seeking the sovereignty and safety of a state of Israel. There's another U.N. resolution 1559,

which calls for the withdrawal of foreign military forces from Lebanon.

The disarmament of all armed groups in the country, and support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Lebanon.

This doesn't get close to that. And we're working on two sorts of separate, sort of framework, U.N. frameworks here. And this is only a 60-day deal at

this point with a view to getting this to be more permanent going forward.

So, let's talk, certainly, there are people in Lebanon who will seek some relief. There will be those who think this doesn't go far enough. Where you

are in Israel, what's the sense from people on the ground about the potential for this cease fire at this point?

ROBERTSON: You know, I think there's a lot of people in the opposition that are willing to criticize the prime minister and say that you're about to

translate military gains into a political loss. Hard liners in the government are absolutely being going further than that and saying you

should continue the fight because Hezbollah is weak.

And there would be people here that would point back to, you know, the agreements that were made at the end of the Lebanese civil war, more than

two decades ago now. And say back then, Hezbollah was obligated, like all the militias inside of Lebanon to put their weapons down, but they didn't.

And they maintained themselves as an armed militia, became more powerful, and then parlayed that power with political support as a political party,

but combine the two to become overly powerful, is how some people would see it from here, and that's why they want to continue.

And I think that point about sovereignty, it really lands on such a sensitive issue, because we've heard from government ministers here. The

foreign minister saying that Israel doesn't want to see Hezbollah regrow militarily and reassume the sort of dominant role that it's had inside of

Lebanon, that this is a Lebanese sovereign issue.

Israel appears to want to have an outsized influence in what happens inside of Lebanon, that it's clear, it's impossible to have an agreement that

meets, both aspirations. And I think to your point, there's a 65 -- 60-day ceasefire deal for now, and then more terms are fleshed out then in the

intervening period.

I think it's very worthwhile noting that 60 days from now, Donald Trump will be the U.S. president, and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu, will be counting on a different attitude coming from the White House towards him and towards what Israel wants in terms of its dominance

in the north of Israel along the border with Lebanon.

And that may not sit comfortably at all with Lebanese aspirations. At the moment, it's hard to see how it would.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely it is 04:49 Beirut in Lebanon, where we have seen in the past couple of hours, some significant strikes by Israel, they

say, targeting Hezbollah assets there. So just to be quite clear, as the security cabinet in Israel meets to decide on what is his ceasefire

proposal, mediated by the U.S. and France.

The attacks go on in Beirut right up until the -- and of course, there will be people saying, we've been here before, so we caveat that we do not have

a deal in place as of yet more to come as we get it.

[09:50:00]

Still to come, will winter weather hamper travel plans for millions of Americans hitting the roads or the skies to celebrate Thanksgiving? We'll

get you up a live report just ahead.

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ANDERSON: AAA projects nearly 80 million people will travel this week in the U.S. for Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. Of those, nearly 6 million

will be boarding a plane or the FAA expects today to be the busiest day for air traffic. But a lot depends on the weather, and there is plenty of that

on the way for some in the United States.

CNN's Meteorologist Derek Van Dam tracking a pair of winter storms. Where exactly are these storms heading, Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, we put together this kind of useful graphic for anybody, perhaps traveling into or out of the United States

today. The East Coast clearly some problems associated with the weather near New York and D.C. and out west as well, from Denver towards the

coastline of Los Angeles or California, I should say, from San Francisco northward.

This is a cold front that's moving through the East Coast. This is the first of two storms that will impact this region in the coming days. You

can see a mixture of rain and snow in the northern part of the storm, but this is all rain to the south so the major East Coast cities, Boston to New

York, LaGuardia, JFK Airport, into Boston Logan, those are experiencing the liquid variety of this precipitation.

But this is all snow, where you see the shading of white, but mainly across the mountainous regions. Good for the ski resorts, but bad for travel if

you happen to be in that area. So, this storm will be exiting quickly. Wednesday will certainly be the best day to travel in and out of the United

States along the eastern seaboard.

Perhaps you're traveling along the highways here, looks dry, but look what happens in 12 hours later, a large storm system will impact the state or

the eastern coastline by Thursday, that of course, being the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S. It departs quickly, but then its ushers in very

cold air and significant lake enhanced snowfall downwind of Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and Lake Superior below average temperatures.

That's the main story here. Completely different feel to what you're experiencing in Abu Dhabi right now. Becky, temperatures are going to drop

like a rock.

[09:55:00]

And so many people focusing on this Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade that will be washed out with rain and rather cool as well, Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. We are basking in sort of, I don't know, 85 or so. It is a good time of the year, but we are feeling for anybody who

is out of here and on their way into the United States, because things are looking a little bit tough there. Thank you, sir.

It's always good to have you. And that is it for this hour of "Connect the World". Stay with us. So, we've got the second hour of the show right after

this.

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END