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Syrian Rebels Says They've Taken City From Kurdish Forces; Video Suggests Assad Regime Involvement In Drug Trafficking; CNN Goes Inside Former Syrian President's Palace; Syria In Crisis After More Than A Decade Of War; Israel Says It Carried Out About 480 Strikes In Syria; Suspect Comes From Prominent Baltimore Family; Accuser Describes Alleged Sexual Abuse From Sean Combs; Syrian Reflects On Loss Of Loved Ones Under Assad Regime; Blinken Testifying In U.S. Congress On Afghanistan Withdrawal; FIFA Announces 2030 & 2034 World Cup Host Nations; German Couple Sets Record With 600 Christmas Trees. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired December 11, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:25]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Welcome back to Connect the World. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington.
Coming up, Israel says it's carried out almost 500 strikes across Syria over the past two days after Bashar al-Assad's regime fell. This, as the
international community including Iran, condemns Israel and accuses it of exploiting the instability.
As Syrians sift through the remains of the Assad regime, they've found a warehouse stacked with captagon, an illicit drug that apparently
transformed Syria into a narco-state, reportedly on state property.
And we are hearing from the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO, who was defiant. Entering court, he was denied bail and is now
fighting extradition to New York.
As Syria's top rebel leader tries to reassure the world his country has no desire for any more war, the rebel coalition says it has taken control of
another city. Video here showing men in camouflage around the administrative building in Deir Ezzor.
The city is controlled by a U.S.-backed Kurdish group. And yesterday the Kurds agreed to leave Manbij near the Turkish border after it was attacked
by a group backed by Turkey. Mohamed al-Julani, who is in charge of the group that ousted Bashar al-Assad, says Syria only wants stability.
Video has now surfaced showing a warehouse on military property in Syria stacked with the illicit drug captagon. The U.S. has said Assad and his
allies made billions trafficking that drug and it may have helped finance the ousted president's luxurious lifestyle. And we're getting a look at
just how luxurious it was.
Here's CNN's Clarissa Ward.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside the palace of Bashar al-Assad, Syrians gather to pose for photographs and
celebrate the removal of its despised former owner. The public is not allowed inside the sprawling compound yet, where the courtyards stretch
longer than a city block.
WARD: This is the driveway into Bashar al-Assad's palace, and you can see how enormous it is. There are still casings all over the ground from rebel
celebratory gunfire as they swept in here and took control.
WARD (voice-over): At the entrance, an Iranian flag unceremoniously laid out for people to step on. Iran, one of the regime's staunchest allies.
Where once foreign dignitaries roamed the halls, now rebel fighters have the run of the place.
WARD: You can see blankets on the sofas in here. It looks like this is where the rebels are sleeping. And in fact, over here, you can see they've
got some kind of a makeshift dining area going. Some of their weapons here, a couple of rifles on this sofa.
So this gentleman here who is with the rebels has just ask that I put on my scarf. It's the first time since we've been here that anyone has asked me
to cover my hair.
(Speaking in Foreign Language)
WARD: He says that he's from Idlib and that this is the first time he's seeing the palace.
(Speaking in Foreign Language)
WARD (voice-over): We feel that the injustice will break down one day and justice must win. This is the idea of justice in our religion, he says. In
Islam, it is a must and a promise of Allah that Islam is victorious.
After nearly 14 years of a vicious civil war, to stand in this palace is a proud moment, capping off a seismic victory.
WARD: So the rebels here want to stress, they tell us, that it was not their group that ransacked this office when they first swept in. You could
see, actually, some of the graffiti here that those first rebels wrote on the window. It says, Allah cursed Hafez's soul. Hafez al-Assad being the
father of Bashar.
When you look at these ceilings and these chandeliers, the marble, the detail, this is the kind of opulence, this lavish lifestyle that engendered
so much resentment from so many Syrians who have been struggling to survive for decades while the Assad family lived like this.
WARD (voice-over): In a warehouse, rows and rows of luxury cars, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Classic Cadillacs.
[10:05:06]
This was a dynasty that will be remembered not only for its brutality, but its deep corruption.
Below the palace in the heart of Damascus, crowds gathered in Umayyad Square. Under Assad's rule, the Syrian people were forced to worship him.
Now, they finally have the freedom to celebrate his demise.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: That was CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward reporting from Damascus. And as Clarissa mentioned, while Bashar al-Assad
and his family lived in luxury, many Syrians were going hungry. And that is the Syria, these new leaders will inherit.
And for more on this, Journalist Zeina Shahla joins us now from Damascus. Thank you so much for being here with us.
ZEINA SHAHLA, REPORTING FELLOW, THE NEW HUMANITARIAN: Thank you.
DEAN: I just want to get your sense first, because you are truly living in this historic moment. What is --
SHAHLA: Yes.
DEAN: -- life like right now? Just describe it for our viewers.
SHAHLA: Yes, actually, yesterday and today, life somehow is returning to be normal. Shops are opening, people are in the streets. Unlike the first two
days, of course, everyone was scared. No one actually was going out.
Schools and universities are not yet back to work. But I think on Sunday, the beginning of the week, everything will be somehow back to normal. But,
of course, people are still scared, worried, because we really don't know what's going to be the future of the country.
But people really want to survive. They want to go continue their work, make their daily living. Especially, as you said, we've been living in a
very hard economic situation in the past few years.
DEAN: Yes. And it is so interesting to watch kind of two things happening at the same time, at least from our vantage point as we're watching it and
watching the videos and the reports. But I'm curious your vantage point, which is that people are so happy that the Assad regime is over and they
are joyful about that, but that there is this sense now of uncertainty as well and kind of balancing those two feelings.
SHAHLA: Yes, of course. Actually, everyone I'm seeing, almost everyone is really happy, is very relieved. I see people walking in the street, holding
their cameras, taking photos. This is something that we couldn't do easily in Syria before, because you could be detained only for taking some photos
in the street.
So everyone is somehow relieved. But, yes, as I said, we are really worried. The future is not so clear for us. Everything seems so ambiguous
and we are waiting. We are waiting, but at the same time, everyone is thinking that we need to contribute in shaping the future of our country.
This is something I'm hearing from a lot of people, especially from the youth. One friend of mine told me today, I wasn't doing anything in the
past few years, but today I just want to go out in the street and to start working. So this is a good feeling among Syrians.
Hopefully, it will be -- it will last and things will get better, but we don't.
DEAN: Yes. And I'm curious too, what are they saying they might want to do in shaping the future of the country? What might that look like for some
people?
SHAHLA: Yes, actually I'm seeing a lot of (INAUDIBLE) to build. Some people are talking about maybe contributing in the political landscape. Some are
talking about civil society. Some are talking about we need to work on culture, on art, on many things.
So everyone is thinking to do something in their field or in their work. But this is something I'm hearing from a lot of people.
DEAN: And I'm also, you know, we just watched this piece from my colleague Clarissa Ward before we came to your interview, just about the opulence of
the palace and how they were living while so many Syrians are hungry, are struggling to get basic necessities, get things they need.
How is that still -- do you -- just kind of help fill us in on where that is now? Do you -- are people able to get -- especially with this transition
of government, are they able to get the things they need?
SHAHLA: Yes, actually I was in the same place where Clarissa was. I saw the anger of the people. I saw so many angry people saying that, yes, we are
living in very poor conditions. And we've been seeing this in Syria since many years actually.
But it's too early to see people coming back to normal life, you know. So - - but today, for example, people are getting some fuel, the bread easier than before. But still we need years to rebuild the country, to rebuild the
economy. So it's not going to happen in one day and one night.
DEAN: Right. So looking ahead, what is your hope and what's the thing you're most hopeful about and what are you most nervous about as in the
days, weeks, months ahead?
[10:10:05]
SHAHLA: Yes, I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful that we ended a very hard era in our county. And I'm hopeful for the coming days. But also I'm really scared
because we don't know what's going to happen. We don't know if the coming government or the coming regime would be better.
Hopefully, it will be better. Would give us the freedom of speech, would be a democratic one, preserve our rights, preserve women's rights. So all of
these things we are thinking about. We need to think about everything that we wanted from the beginning, from 2011. We need to think about it now.
DEAN: Yes, such a big moment for Syria and all of you there.
Zeina, thank you so much --
SHAHLA: Yes.
DEAN: -- for being here with us. We really appreciate it.
SHAHLA: Thank you so much.
DEAN: The Israeli military says it's been targeting stockpiles of weapons after carrying out nearly 500 strikes across Syria in the past two days.
And there's a warning now from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He says Israel will, quote, "fiercely respond" if the new Syrian government
threatens its security.
The Arab League, meantime, is accusing Israel of taking advantage of the rapid changes inside Syria, while Egypt says Israel is exploiting the
situation to take more land.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh sent this report from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Damascus just a short time ago.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That thick plume of smoke that you're seeing there, that's rising from the Mezzeh military airbase. This was a
regime strategic military site here in Damascus. And over the past couple of days, it was among the targets that have been hit by the Israeli
military.
They've carried out hundreds of airstrikes on different Syrian regime military sites, installations, weapons depots and others. Now, as we were
approaching it, we heard a couple of blasts. It's unclear if those were fresh airstrikes or if this was some sort of secondary explosions that were
triggered by those past strikes.
DEAN: Jomana, thank you.
And Yossi Melman is an Israeli writer and journalist. He's also the co- author of "Spies Against Armageddon". He joins us now from Tel Aviv. Thanks for being here with us.
I just want to get your sense first as to what you're seeing and what you are kind of gleaning from these strikes that are happening and Israel's
movements into Syria.
YOSSI MELMAN, CO-AUTHOR, "SPIES AGAINST ARMAGEDDON": Well, thank you very much, Becky, for having me. Israel has prepared for years for such an
eventuality. Almost the entire land of Syria was like an open book for Israeli intelligence.
And in the last few days, taking advantage of the turmoil and the chaos in Syria, Israel executed their plan by pinpoint surgical operations and
basically destroying the entire or whatever is left of the Syrian army, chemical weapons depots, naval bases, missile boats, tanks, MiG-29
warplanes, Russian-made warplanes.
And up to the moment, one can say that the Syrian army doesn't exist anymore. What was maybe a little bit surprising was the fact that it was
such a rotten and corrupt army that they did not resist neither to the rebels' attack nor to the Israeli supremacy.
DEAN: Yes. And you kind of got at this, but it is striking how quickly they went into action and must have prepared. You have to think they've been
preparing with intelligence to know where all of this is, so they were able to act quickly.
MELMAN: Yes, absolutely. The Israeli intelligence community, the military intelligence, and the Mossad has prepared for such a scenario. They
collected information over years about every military site, point in Syria. Israeli commandos, Special Forces, Mossad agents went into Syria for over
the last few years and even before.
The Israeli -- the Syrian skies were opened and exposed to Israeli time and again strikes and attacks. The Israeli submarines and missile boats went
there and gathered information and occasionally attacked Syrian posts. So, it doesn't happen overnight, although it is very impressive that within two
days, two and a half days, the Syrian army has gone.
[10:15:01]
But it took a long preparation, and on top of that, Israel also took advantage of the situation by conquering the buffer zone, which is under
Syrian sovereignty and the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.
DEAN: Yes, and I did want to ask you about that, because that's kind of the second piece of this, right? Is that zone, that buffer zone, and Israel now
going further into Syria, and the question now is how long might that be, right?
MELMAN: Yes, this is the question for the future. I mean, Israeli tanks and troops are 30 kilometers from Damascus. The buffers, by invading the buffer
zone, which is more or less 3, 4 kilometers wide, Israel unilaterally walked out of the old 50 years old disengagement agreement, which was
signed (ph) by the U.N. after the Yom Kippur War of '73, '74.
And now the big question is whether Israel would remain there or would withdraw back to the '74 lines once there is a stable government in Syria.
And Prime Minister Netanyahu was actually hinting. Maybe he was taken by his euphoric mood, said that the old arrangement and Middle East agreements
are no longer in place, and he referred the buffer to Syria.
So maybe he has in mind a plan to stay there forever. I don't know. I hope that Israel eventually would negotiate the withdrawal of its forces once
there is a government in Damascus, solid democratic government in Damascus, which would not pose a threat to -- against Israel.
DEAN: Yes. All right, Yossi Melman, thank you so much for your analysis, your thoughts about this. We appreciate it.
MELMAN: Thank you.
DEAN: The Israeli military is responding after local authorities in Gaza said recent Israeli airstrikes there have killed 25 people, including 10
children. The IDF saying it carried out Monday's strike after identifying Hamas fighters.
It said we're carrying out, quote, "suspicious activity" at a building in Beit Hanoun. Gaza's civil defense says deaths in northern Gaza are being
grossly underreported due to lack of emergency crews.
Still to come here on CNN, sources say fingerprints collected at the scene of last week's killing in New York City match those of the suspect in the
murder, Luigi Mangione. We're following all the developments in that case.
And another person has come forward with abuse allegations against Sean Diddy Combs. What he accuses the rap mogul of doing to him at one of Combs'
infamous parties, that exclusive interview just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:20:16]
DEAN: Any time now, FIFA will formally announce the host nations for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups. It will happen during the extraordinary FIFA
Congress underway in Zurich, Switzerland. The 2030 tournament will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, while the 2034 World Cup will go to Saudi
Arabia.
And those nations were the only candidates for each tournament. Later this hour, we will look at the controversy surrounding the Saudi World Cup bid.
Police are building their case against the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare's CEO. Law enforcement sources telling CNN fingerprints
taken from the crime scene do match prints taken when Luigi Mangione was arrested.
Right now, the 26-year-old is being held without bail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested and is fighting extradition to New York. His lawyer
denies his client was involved in Brian Thompson's killing.
But as the case develops, the CEO's death has drawn contrasting reactions. Many people frustrated with the health insurance industry have expressed
support for Mangione online.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This Ivy League hottie named Luigi is the Robin Hood that we never knew that we needed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I listened to Luigi's manifesto this morning three times, and I cried. Honestly, it's beautiful, and I agree with him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least he left a very powerful message, and he highlighted how terrible the health care system is in America. I think
he'll go down as a hero in history.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
DEAN: CNN's Brian Todd has more now on the suspect, his well-to-do family, and what former classmates are saying about him.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a suburban Baltimore community, people who know the family of alleged shooter Luigi Mangione are
struggling to come to grips with what the 26-year-old is accused of. They believe his family is traumatized as well.
THOMAS MARONICK JR., FORMER RADIO HOST FOR MANGIONE FAMILY-OWNED STATION: They're shocked. That's what they said in their statement. They're
horrified.
TODD (voice-over): Mangione, an Ivy League graduate, comes from a background of wealth and influence. He grew up in an affluent Baltimore
family whose local real estate empire included nursing homes and two country clubs, attending the exclusive Gilman School near Baltimore,
becoming valedictorian of his class in 2016.
LUIGI MANGIONE: Thank you for all the time and love you have put into our lives.
TODD (voice-over): On Tuesday, about 150 miles away, a much different picture, in handcuffs, under arrest, and charged in a brazen murder, seen
yelling and struggling with police as he was taken into court.
MANGIONE: And an insult to the intelligence of the American people.
TODD (voice-over): Tom Maronick Jr. worked for the Mangiones for over 20 years as a radio host at their family-owned station WCBM. He says the
suspect's family has enormous influence in the Baltimore area.
MARONICK: They carry a lot of weight. Mangione family is one of the prominent families of Baltimore County. They own a lot of real estate. They
own golf courses. They're just a very well-respected name.
TODD (voice-over): A family that includes Nino Mangione, a Republican state delegate in Maryland who is the suspect's cousin. Luigi Mangione attended
the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 2020 with master's and bachelor's degrees in computer science.
He was a member of the Phi Beta Psi fraternity, social media photos show. He later worked as a software engineer for the online car sales company
TrueCar, according to his LinkedIn page. His most recent address was in Hawaii.
FREDDIE LEATHERBURY, FORMER CLASSMATE: There was nothing came off weird about him. He had great friends. He had a lot of female friends as well. He
was a relatively unassuming kid. He was down-to-earth. He was smart, well- adjusted socially.
TODD (voice-over): He maintained an active social media presence for years, posting smiling photos from his travels and gatherings with friends. Then
suddenly his social media went cold. Posts from X this past October show concern from friends.
One says, quote, "Hey, are you OK? No one has heard from you in months, and apparently your family is looking for you." In recent years, Mangione
suffered from back pain and underwent surgery for treatment. His injury grew worse after an accident at a surfing lesson in Hawaii.
Details emerged from his former roommate, R.J. Martin.
R.J. MARTIN, FRIEND AND FORMER ROOMMATE OF LUIGI MANGIONE: He was in bed for about a week. We had to get a different bed for him that was more firm,
and I know it was really traumatic and difficult. You know, when you're in your early 20s and you can't, you know, do some basic things.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
TODD (on-camera): Luigi Mangione was the subject of a missing persons report filed in San Francisco by his mother on November 18, according to
The New York Times. CNN has reached out to the San Francisco Police Department.
The NYPD says that Mangione did have ties to San Francisco, but the exact time that he was there is unclear.
Brian Todd, CNN, Cockeysville, Maryland.
DEAN: For the first time, one of the accusers of Sean Diddy Combs is speaking to the media. And in an exclusive interview with CNN, the
anonymous accuser talks about his disturbing allegations against the embattled music mogul.
He tells our Elizabeth Wagmeister what happened to him at one of Combs' infamous white parties nearly two decades ago. And we do want to warn you,
there are details in this story that could be disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
[10:25:01]
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: According to your lawsuit, you were hired by a security firm to work security at one of the
infamous white parties that was thrown by Sean Combs in the Hamptons. What was that experience like?
JOHN DOE, ACCUSES SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: At first, he was incredibly friendly, very gracious.
WAGMEISTER: So, you had a friendly chat, and then, according to your lawsuit, at some point later in the night, Sean Combs himself offered you a
drink. This didn't come from staff or someone holding a tray of drinks, it came from him directly.
DOE: Correct. The first drink started to have some effect on me, and I just thought, wow, these are really strong drinks. It wasn't until the second
drink, and it was already too late, that I realized that there was something wrong with the drinks.
Sadly, Sean Combs was waiting in the wings. He was watching from some sort of vantage point. And once I was in a helpless position, and he was sure
that he was in a position of power, then he took advantage of the situation.
WAGMEISTER: You allege that you were forcibly pushed into an SUV by Sean Combs. That act alone, according to your lawsuit, left you in considerable
pain. And then once inside the vehicle, your lawsuit says, plaintiff was held down by Combs, who overpowered him, while he struggled to escape due
to the effects of the drugs in his system. And it goes on to say that he sodomized you.
DOE: I was screaming. I was telling him to stop. It was incredibly painful. And he was acting like it was nothing, and he seemed to be disconnected
from it. It was abusive beyond belief.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
DEAN: Elizabeth Wagmeister there. Thank you very much.
Scars run deep in Syria from the Assad regime's brutality. And ahead, the heartbreaking story of a woman whose husband was swallowed up by the prison
system and never came back.
Also, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken getting grilled by lawmakers over the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan just weeks before his term
ends.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: Welcome back to Connect the World. I'm Jessica Dean.
More now on our top story. Syria's rebel coalition says it has taken control of another city. Deir Ezzor in the east has been controlled by a
Kurdish-led force that was backed by the U.S. And the White Helmets say it may have uncovered cells in a notorious detention center for the Assad
regime.
[10:30:07]
The group estimates a staggering 200,000 Syrians remain unaccounted for, most of whom have been detained. And for the families of the missing, every
day of uncertainty is absolute agony.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh talked to one woman whose husband disappeared after he was taken in.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KARADSHEH (voice-over): What's left of Darayya tells of the horrors that unfolded here. Every corner scarred by a ruthless regime's fight for
survival. This Damascus suburb rose up peacefully, demanding freedom. More than a decade on, a shattered Darayya and its people are finally free.
This was for our children, Om Firas (ph) tells me. It's so they don't have to live under the tyrant's rule. Her story of loss and pain so unfathomable
for us, yet so common in this place, that for years endured some of the most brutal tactics of the Assad regime. Besieged, starved and bombed into
surrender.
KARADSHEH: Om Firas (ph) says they came out asking for freedom, and they were met with bullets and tanks. She says, we're not terrorists, and they
did this. And imagine, she says, there were women and children living in these homes.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): So many men, like her husband Mazen (ph), detained and disappeared. Two years later, a released prisoner told her he saw him
in jail.
They beat him so much, his wounded leg was infected, he was in so much pain, she says. There was no medical care in prison, and because of all he
was going through, he lost his mind. The prisoner last saw him taken away crying and screaming hysterically.
She went from one detention center to the next, searching for him, until they broke the news to her in the most cruel of ways. They handed her his
belongings and told her to register his death.
There are no words to describe how I was feeling when I left, she says. I was holding on to the hope he would be released and our family would be
reunited. They didn't even give me his body.
This is the last photo she has of Mazen (ph) and his youngest boy. Ghaith (ph) doesn't remember his dad. Noor (ph) was six and so attached to his
father. Every day, he would wait by the door for him to come back.
When I would hear someone calling Baba, Dad, it was torment for me, Om Firas (ph) says. What did these children do to be deprived of their father?
She has to be strong for her boys, she says. She is all they have.
Her father also disappeared into the black holes of Assad's jails. Like her husband, their only crime, she says, was being from Darayya.
KARADSHEH: She says, I'm just one of thousands and thousands of stories, and that's just in Darayya. And just imagine how many more there are across
Syria.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): With the end of this dark chapter in their history, a new life, a new Syria emerges from the rubble of their broken lives.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Darayya, Syria.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
DEAN: There is fear in the Middle East that Syria could descend into chaos given the number of factions involved and their differing ideologies.
Nations there and in the West hope to avoid a repeat of what happened in countries like Libya and, crucially, Afghanistan, where a weak central
government collapsed and the Taliban took over, leading to the messy and ultimately deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2021.
Afghanistan is in the spotlight on Capitol Hill, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken answering questions today in long-delayed testimony.
I want to bring in Alex Marquardt, who joins us now live. Alex, what are we expecting to hear from Blinken? We know that Republicans have certainly
wanted to take him to task and the whole of Biden administration for that pullout in Afghanistan.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, this hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has just gotten
underway. We are now hearing opening statements by the chairman and the ranking member.
It is sure to be a contentious hearing. As you say, the Republicans want to take Blinken to task for that disastrous withdrawal more than three years
ago. Of course, Jessica, this is a very important subject, but at the same time, this is rife with politics.
We have seen Blinken appear before this committee numerous times to talk about this. The first time was just after the withdrawal back in 2021. But
the chairman, Mike McCaul, Republican of Texas, has deemed that not sufficient.
And in the preceding years, last few years, he has carried out an investigation that Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat who you see right there
on your screen, has called biased. And so, certainly Chairman McCaul and other Republicans on the committee have -- are going to be having a lot of
questions for Blinken.
I imagine it's going to echo what we have seen in this Republican report that was put out in September, in which the Republicans said that at every
step of the way, the U.S., the administration had the opportunity to protect American service members, to protect Afghan allies, those trying to
get out. But at every turn, they chose optics.
[10:35:17]
Now, I imagine we're going to hear Blinken defending the administration, of course, saying that it was in fact the Trump administration's decision to
withdraw from Afghanistan. They are the ones who struck that deal with the Taliban.
Had Biden reneged on that deal with the Taliban, Blinken will argue, then the U.S. would have had to send more U.S. troops into Afghanistan to
support the 2,500 who are in country. And of course, Jessica, as you know, this became a very political issue on the campaign trail.
Trump tried to paint Kamala Harris as being a critical part of this disastrous withdrawal, talking about the 13 American service members who
were killed at Abbey Gate. Of course, Trump went to Arlington National Cemetery in that very controversial visit there.
So I imagine this is going to be substantive, a rehash of how that withdrawal unfolded. But it is going to be very colorful, very dramatic, to
say the least. Jessica?
DEAN: Yes, no doubt about that. And Blinken and the Biden administration now just about 40 days left in their term.
Alex Marquardt, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
MARQUARDT: Thank you.
DEAN: Residents in Southern California are being forced to flee from a fast-moving wildfire that's burning homes and vehicles. The so-called
Franklin Fire in Malibu is so intense, it's altering the weather and making already extreme conditions even worse.
Fire officials say at least seven structures have been destroyed, eight damaged. About 18,000 people are now under evacuation orders or warnings,
including 98-year-old award-winning actor Dick Van Dyke, who says he and his wife and pets were able to get out safely.
Strong, gusty winds have been fueling the flames, but they are expected to improve significantly in the coming hours. One official blaming the climate
crisis for the intensity of these wildfires.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
ANTHONY MARRONE, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE CHIEF: I certainly think that global warming is impacting wildfire throughout the United States, and it's
making it even more challenging for fire departments to respond to wildfire. It's undeniable, from my perspective, that global warming is
causing more challenges for us.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
DEAN: Up next, we're going to take you to an ancient village known for its feng shui, courtesy of Mother Nature. It is part of our special Call to
Earth coverage. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: Welcome back to you. We are returning to our Call to Earth Day coverage. Thousands of students around the globe engage in a day of action
to help save the planet they're inheriting. We have correspondence filing from around the world, including Beijing, London and Los Angeles. Our theme
this year is Connected Generations.
[10:40:01]
We'll be looking to the wisdom of our ancestors for sustainable living practices and how we can use them in our daily lives. In North London,
CNN's Anna Stewart has been meeting with students who are learning about climate change through hands-on projects, and they showed her a game where
the pieces represent complex real-world problems. Take a look.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the Southbank International School in North London. It is Call to Earth Day, and I am joined here by
Tom Lenham. It's so great to be here. Walk me through what we're going to do today.
TOM LENHAM, GEOGRAPHY TEACHER, SOUTHBANK INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL: OK, so we're going to be looking at the water-energy-food nexus and the complexities
that exist within it. First of all, we're going to introduce the students to very siloed issues of water, energy and food, and then we're going to
build up in complexity as we go through, ultimately getting them to think about the sustainable development goals that we have here. OK.
STEWART: It says affordable and clean energy. This is a game.
LENHAM: It is.
STEWART: OK. I think I could do this.
LENHAM: But not really.
STEWART: Is it going to be a hard game?
LENHAM: (INAUDIBLE).
STEWART: We'll see how we get on.
LENHAM: Yes.
STEWART: Right. I'm going to be joining these guys over here. You're going to have to help me out. I don't think I'm going to be very good at this.
What do I need to know?
TESSA, SOUTHBANK INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENT: So the blue cards are very basic, like issues with the food, water and energy nexus, and then the red
cards increase in complexity. And so the challenge, I'd say, is trying to figure out how they all link and organizing them when they're also
interconnected.
STEWART: Give me an example.
MARI, SOUTHBANK INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENT: Yes, so we looked at this one, which is a blue, a little bit more of a basic issue, which is
deforestation leading to reduced water retention in soil. And then looking at the pink cards, we connected it to deforestation reducing water
retention and increasing flooding.
And then connected that to the larger issues of life on land, clean water and sanitation and how all those connect and how like floods caused by
deforestation can then impact land use for agriculture.
STEWART: You've been working on climate-related projects all year round. Is this a good way, do you think, to kind of bring it all together and see the
scope of the issue?
RAQUEL, SOUTHBANK INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL STUDENT: Yes, I think so, because it helps us really bring the main issues going on in the world. So here we
have overlapping cards about the sustainable development goals. And we overlap them because, like, to really understand the complexity of this and
that they're all interlinked. And I think it's a good way to understand more about it.
STEWART: Now, I was going to have a go at playing, but I genuinely don't know the rules, and I think I'm going to get it wrong, but I will learn.
But for now, back to you.
DEAN: Thanks so much.
And there's a tiny village in Hong Kong surrounded by dense forest that's protected by an indigenous people, and until recently it was almost
abandoned. Now with some investment, it's coming back to life, and so are the sustainable farming techniques of its people.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout visited to find out more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This village is more than 300 years old. It's one of the oldest settlements in Hong Kong. It's not
just its age that makes it unique, but its biodiversity.
An ancient woodland on the hillside, a mangrove forest along coastal mudflats, a marine park rich with aquatic life, and a freshwater stream
running through fertile farmland. Lai Chi Wo's location is no accident. It's part of the traditional philosophies of the Hakka people, the
indigenous group from China who built the settlement centuries ago.
SUSAN WONG, VILLAGE CHIEF, LAI CHI WO (through translation): So from our ancestors to now, it has been passed down to not let anyone cut down trees
on the mountain. If you cut all the trees out, the mountain will become bare, and nothing can cover the village. The village will lose its
character.
LU STOUT (voice-over): 73-year-old Susan Wong was born in Lai Chi Wo in the 1950s and grew up playing in these feng shui woods. Feng shui, which
literally means wind and water, is a design philosophy about how homes, villages, and cities should be arranged with nature for good fortune.
In Lai Chi Wo, the position of the forest shelters the village from typhoons, prevents landslides, and manages extreme heat and cold. The
village was prosperous for generations. But when Hong Kong industrialized rapidly in the 1960s, it became harder to make a living from farming.
WONG (through translation): We had nothing. We were very poor. We didn't even have shoes or clothes to wear.
LU STOUT (voice-over): Like many residents, Wong's family moved overseas when she was 15. More people left, and Lai Chi Wo became a ghost town. But
in 2013, help came in the form of investment from NGOs, government agencies, and banks launching a revitalization initiative.
WONG (through translation): They hope this village can become sustainable, and more people will come back to live here, making it a bit more vibrant
and not just a wilderness.
[10:45:04]
LU STOUT (voice-over): So far, the project has received more than HKD 100 million, around $12.8 million in investments, which it used to restore 5
hectares of abandoned farmland and rebuild dilapidated homes. Villagers began to move back, including Wong.
LU STOUT: Was this the home you were born in?
WONG: Yes.
LU STOUT: Wow.
WONG: I born this, but not like that.
LU STOUT (voice-over): Wong and her father, who is now 103 years old, grow mandarins in the family orchard. Along with chilies, flowers, and other
vegetables, they use organic farming techniques, such as nutrients from discarded oyster shells.
WONG: This is the oyster.
LU STOUT: It's very good to use everything. You eat the oyster.
WONG: Yes.
LU STOUT (voice-over): And then you keep the oyster shell to feed the plants.
WONG: Yes.
LU STOUT (voice-over): The project also introduced new crops like coffee, which grows in the shade. It protects the forest while boosting profits for
farmers.
LU STOUT: You guys, this is a precious cup of coffee, the beans grown and nourished on site here in Lai Chi Wo. We got to see it on the farm just
moments ago. Cheers.
It's fruity. It's chocolatey. It's nice.
LU STOUT (voice-over): Wong never imagined she'd return to her childhood home, but the redevelopment project has made it possible.
WONG: In that moment, I'm very happy because I like this village. It keep it green, keep it water fresh. People come relax.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
DEAN: And you can learn more about our Call to Earth theme -- Call Today Earth theme, Connecting Generations, go to CNN.com/lostvoices.
For thousands of years, indigenous people have protected this planet, and in the Lost Voices interactive, we hear from communities on the front lines
of climate change and why their ways of life are worth preserving.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: Just a few minutes ago, FIFA formally announcing the host nations of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups. Morocco, Spain, and Portugal will stage the
tournament in 2030. Saudi Arabia will host in 2034.
Amanda Davies explains why the Saudi World Cup bid sparked controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two FIFA to host the 2034 World Cup.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR (voice-over): Saudi Arabian Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman have made no secret of their desire to become the
world's sporting destination of choice. Now, it's set to host the biggest prize of them all, the FIFA World Cup.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Qatar.
DAVIES (voice-over): It's the most controversial awarding of the tournament since that infamous day in December 2010 that saw Russia and Qatar given
the nod for 2018 and 2022 amidst corruption scandals and human rights concerns.
DAVIES: Do you think FIFA learnt any lessons, Steve, good or bad, from the Qatar experience?
STEVE COCKBURN, HEAD OF LABOR RIGHTS AND SPORT, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: My fear is that the lesson they've learnt from Qatar is that they can ride out
the criticism.
DAVIES (voice-over): In Qatar, there was unprecedented levels of construction of stadiums and infrastructure. Migrant workers died in the
process.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has pledged to build 11 new purpose-built venues.
[10:50:06]
It was seen as a landmark moment 2017 when FIFA became the first global sports body to write human rights commitments into the bidding process for
its major events. But nearly eight years on, actions are speaking louder than words.
LINA AL-HATHLOUL, SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I think no organization, human rights organization, has been consulted. And I will even add on that,
Saudi Arabia has been forbidding human rights organizations from entering the country since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to power.
DAVIES (voice-over): Lina Al-Hathloul is a Saudi human rights activist. Hers is one of 11 organisations that recently raised concerns about FIFA's
approach to Saudi's World Cup bid. Amnesty International called it an astonishing whitewash, while Human Rights Watch dubbed it an abysmal
failure to implement mandatory human rights risk assessments.
Their latest report, published just last week, revealed that in the first six months of this year alone, 887 Bangladeshi workers died in Saudi
Arabia. Citing unpublished Bangladesh government data, the report said the majority were recorded as dying of, quote, "natural causes".
There have been questions about how many were caused by working conditions. FIFA's overall assessment of the Saudi bid awarded it a higher score than
any other that's gone before, judging the human rights risk to be medium, based on an evaluation carried out by a Riyadh-based company.
COCKBURN: I think it's impossible to get there unless it was already decided that it was going to be medium risk. I think this has been decided
for a long time and it's lost a huge opportunity here.
DAVIES (voice-over): FIFA's told CNN it has implemented, quote, "a thorough bidding process for the 2034 World Cup". And its bid report says Saudi
Arabia submitted commitments to respecting, protecting and fulfilling internationally recognized human rights.
Saudi authorities haven't responded to our request for comment, but the head of the Saudi bid says that while progress has been made, there's still
room to improve.
HAMMAD ALBALAWI, HEAD, SAUDI WORLD CUP BID UNIT: We're very proud of what we've achieved. We're very hungry to do more, and that is a commitment that
we have in the areas of human rights across all areas.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
DEAN: Time Magazine has announced its athlete of the year. That would be women's basketball star Caitlin Clark. The 22-year-old was one of several
female students -- student athletes who turned pro, helping to boost the popularity of women's basketball at both the college and professional
levels.
In her final year at the University of Iowa, she broke the longstanding college scoring record, and her team lost in the NCAA finals, but the game
got higher ratings than the men's finals for the very first time. In her first season with the WNBA, Indiana Fever, Clark was named Rookie of the
Year and became the first rookie in 16 years to be named to the WNBA first team.
The Christmas spirit is on full display across South America, and Santa Claus has already made some appearances. He and Mrs. Claus were spotted
riding down the streets of Caracas on a motorcycle.
Christmas decor has been put up all around the Venezuelan capital with trees covered in festive colored lights. And in Colombia's capital,
beautiful lights and decorations now cover parts of Montserrat Hill, illuminating the iconic cathedral, which is a popular place for visitors.
Also in Colombia, they've celebrated what's known as the Night of the Little Candles, a Catholic tradition that marks the start of the Christmas
season. People take part by lighting candles in their homes and on streetlights.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
NOEMI GIRALDO, MEDELLIN RESIDENT (through translation): It's a tradition we've lived for many years. It's a time of unity, of sharing, of being
together. A month of joy despite all the difficulties we face.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
DEAN: And as part of the tradition, families also visit cemeteries to decorate the graves of their ancestors and other loved ones with flowers
and, of course, candles.
A family in Germany took the phrase deck the halls literally and claimed a world record for the most Christmas trees. It all started with one tree in
the living room, but now the Jeromin family has trees filling the kitchen, the hallway, you see them all there, even the bathroom. They have 600
decorated trees in all.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
SUSANNE JEROMIN, HUSBAND COLLECTS CHRISTMAS TREES (through translation): For me, it's really beautiful, really colorful, really great now. I say now
because it wasn't like that at first. At first, I wanted to move out.
THOMAS JEROMIN, CHRISTMAS TREE COLLECTOR (through translation): Other people go to the open-air pool. I decorate Christmas trees. That's actually
the biggest tree we have. It's 3.5 meters tall, and I can't put it anywhere because it's just too big, so I thought I'd just hang it from the ceiling.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
DEAN: Well, that's one way to do it. The trees are decorated with 50,000 lights, 120,000 ornaments.
[10:55:03]
And it doesn't come cheap. The family estimates they spend around $85,000 making the season bright.
That's going to do it for Connect the World. Stay with CNN. Newsroom is up next. Have a great day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
