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Connect the World
No Breakthrough in Latest U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine; Indian Prime Minister Modi Hosts Putin in New Delhi; Trump to Host Rwanda, DRC Leaders to Sign Peace Deal; U.S. Commander on Capitol Hill to Brief Lawmakers on Boat Strikes; NYT Sues Defense Department Over Pentagon Press Restrictions. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired December 04, 2025 - 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)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: These are live pictures of the U.S. capital where the head of U.S. Special Operations Command is
set to answer questions about the controversial double tap strike. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington and it's 02:00 p.m. here in London.
I'm Christina Macfarlane, and this is "Connect the World". Also coming up, Russia's President Putin will meet with the Indian Prime Minister today,
while the White House still holds out hope of a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine. And horrifying pictures from Gaza following an Israeli attack on a
camp that displaced Palestinians.
And the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. Here's a quick look at a mixed picture down the S&P currently up now, stack down in
the red. Now, while others talk of Ukraine peace deal, Vladimir Putin is proclaiming Russia will take over the Ukrainian region of Donbas, one way
or another, by military force if necessary.
The Russian President spoke to Indian media before heading for New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He touched down a short time
ago on his first visit to India since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But it comes as Ukrainians prepare for a fresh round of talks.
The source telling CNN, a Ukrainian delegation is on its way to Miami to meet with U.S. negotiators. The Americans envoys, met with Putin in Moscow
earlier this week. The Kremlin calling their discussions highly substantive, though they have ended without a breakthrough.
Well, we have a team of coverage. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is covering the latest from Ukraine's capital, and Will Ripley is in New Delhi. Nick, let's
start with you first Putin or the Kremlin calling this a highly substantive meeting, but it's still one that we don't know very much about.
Has there been any indication on your end yet or otherwise, that progress has been made this week?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No, in short, not at all, and actually conspicuous silence when it comes down to
the details, particularly from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has actually just given statements alongside his Cypriot counterpart here,
no questions taken, no reference made to negotiations here.
He's made more broad comments about how they wish for this to move forward, that they're willing to entertain negotiations again with U.S. officials,
and indeed that has been seized upon with Rustem Umarov and another senior Ukrainian official heading to Miami to meet Jared Kushner and Steve
Witkoff, the son in law and envoy of President Trump, respectively.
To essentially get a de brief as to, indeed what was proposed to the Kremlin by Witkoff, and indeed what the Kremlin's response to that was, but
being no doubt here, there has not been a breakthrough. There are no obvious signs, really, of hope, frankly, for this process.
But there is an awful lot of activity here, and I think that possibly comes down to two things. It's clear from Vladimir Putin's public statement just
today that he will take, in his opinion, the Donbas territory either through negotiation or by force.
And actually, he expanded somewhat his goals in that most recent interview to say he'd take something called Novorossiya, which is a historical term,
sort of harking back to Zawrisk times that could potentially involve significantly larger parts of Ukraine, likely Kherson and Zaporizhzhia,
only about half of which both he currently occupies, and appear to have slipped away from more recent talking points.
So territorially, he's sounding quite maximalist. And that's ultimately the problem here, that whether or not Ukraine agreed to any kind of land swap
or concession in the offer that Witkoff took to the Kremlin that has not publicly been accepted. And on the hand, we have a flat rejection and Putin
storming ahead militarily and diplomatically, publicly, at least saying he wants way more.
President Trump last night saying he thought ultimately, they got somewhere in the U.S.-Ukraine track, and also harking back to months earlier, where
he felt that Ukraine would have been in a better position to have made a deal back then. But there isn't a deal at this point.
There is a lot of European activity, Ukrainian activity, trying to generate, I think the suggestion that work continues, that there is a
potential avenue ahead that may be the result of some kind of positivity that Witkoff has conveyed since his return, or it may just be trying to
head off anger from the White House that their proposals are not going anywhere, and potentially greater pressure on Ukraine to accept yet more
concessions.
[09:05:00]
That's the fear really ahead here. That's ultimately where we're heading. Putin is not shifting, and if Trump wants a deal he so clearly yearns for,
it's on Kyiv that he's probably going to have to pile greater pressure, Christina.
MACFARLANE: Nick, thank you. Will, let's turn to you in New Delhi, where we saw just minutes ago, actually, images of President Putin arriving,
stepping down off the plane. He's expected to be there, I believe just 30 hours. But you'll know that this trip obviously comes at a moment of
extreme tension between Washington and New Delhi. So, what is going to be on the agenda for these two leaders?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, the optics, of course, are everything and both Narendra Modi, who
unsurprisingly greeted Putin as he stepped off his plane. He was there at the airport. These are the two men who also sat in Putin's armored
limousine for nearly an hour just a few months ago at another summit in China.
They're showcasing their very close relationship. They've been seen in recent months walking hand in hand, talking, smiling. They did the same
thing with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, all of it, of course, signaling to one person in particular sitting in the White House in Washington.
That is, of course, President Trump, that they have options and they have leverage, and they also have economic power at their side. India has
snatched up a huge quantity of cheap Russian oil ever since the war in Ukraine. They're buying more than 35 or so percent of their oil right now
from Russia, much to the chagrin of President Trump, who slapped massive tariffs on India.
As a result, even after his meeting with Modi earlier this year, was thought to have gone very well until the relationship went off the rails a
number of months ago. And now, as you mentioned, tensions between Washington and Delhi are quite high. The relationship has deteriorated to
its lowest level in a number of years.
And even though both Modi and Trump are talking optimistically about turning things around, there is no question that Modi is hoping to
capitalize on the decades' long friendship between India and Russia, going back to when it was the Soviet Union and even now in the present times.
And so, they're going to be potentially inking new deals on energy, on fighter jet technology, trying to find ways to bolster their partnership.
But of course, Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, walking a tight rope here, because he is also trying to secure a trade deal with the United
States.
He is trying to defuse tensions with the U.S. But clearly, the optics over the next 24, 36 hours here in Delhi are going to say a lot. And what
they're going to say to Donald Trump is that both Russia and India have other options. Of course, China as well has options. And these three have
been showcasing that relationship, saying that they'll move forward no matter how things go with the U.S.
MACFARLANE: Nick, just to return to you. I mean, Will, there talking about the optics of all of this. I mean this -- I think, just underlines how bold
Vladimir Putin continues to be in this moment. If we get back to the talks that we know are about to continue in Miami, I just wanted to ask what you
see as being the risk of failure or deadlock here. We've been here many times before, but at this particular moment, what would that signify?
WALSH: I think ultimately, if we get to a point where the Ukrainian concessions that Kyiv, entirely privately at this point may be willing to
entertain, don't shift the needle at all in terms of bringing Putin towards some kind of ceasefire or permanent cessation, towards the fighting.
You'll obviously see frustration from the White House. This has been, ultimately, the Groundhog Day routine that we've been cyclically in for
months. And it's likely that we will see possibly more pressure on Moscow, maybe more sanctions. There are plenty ready to go that could cause
economic harm to Moscow, not that seems necessarily so far to really be changing their calculus or Putin's more maximalist goals.
But also, pressure on Ukraine, which is far easier for the White House to implement, intelligence sharing could be compromised. Military supplies
could be damaged. And even just the see saw of exactly where Trump's brain is at on this is deeply damaging to the war effort here, to morale, to the
sense that there's a fight here that's worth continuing for, because without American assistance, Ukraine is really going to falter in the
winter or months ahead.
I think that's the fear that, again, potentially at any hour, we could see a Truth Social post in which more is asked of Ukraine. And I think that is
the dangerous moment we're potentially heading towards. We may also see Ukraine maybe offer greater concessions, but as this process continues to
psychically play out month after month, the sort of center of gravity of where a compromise sits, of this negotiation starting point is shifting
closer and closer to where the Kremlin wants it to be.
And so ultimately, they have no incentive to cut this process short if they're offered territory without a fight. So be it Putin's point is, I'll
just take it militarily anyway.
[09:10:00]
That's not happening quickly. It's not a dim prospect.
MACFARLANE: Nick Paton Walsh in Kyiv there, and Will Ripley in New Delhi. Thank you both. Now in just a few hours, President Trump will host the
presidents of Rwanda and the Congo at the White House before a signing ceremony at the newly named Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.
It's the latest step aimed at ending the conflict between Congo's army and the Rwanda backed M23 rebel group. The leaders are expected to endorse a
peace accord brokered by the U.S. in June. So far that has failed to stop the deadly fighting. The United Nations has described the decades long
conflict in Eastern Congo as one of the most serious humanitarian crises on Earth, with more than 7 million people displaced.
A key requirement of phase one of the U.S. brokers ceasefire deal in Gaza is now nearly complete. Only one deceased hostage is yet to be returned
after Israel identified remains handed over on Wednesday as the last Thai hostage. The big question now is, what comes next?
This is the reality inside the enclave. Israel hit a displacement camp in Khan Yunis on Wednesday, killing at least five people. The IDF says it was
targeting a Hamas terrorist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIAM ABU HUSAIN, MOTHER OF VICTIM: Nothing. They were sitting in their tent, and they hit them with four missiles and burn them inside. Every time
a disaster happens, they go straight for the civilians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: CNN's Jeremy Diamond is joining us from Jerusalem. So, Jeremy, just walk us through this and what more we know actually happened in this
strike?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military carried out a strike yesterday in Southern Gaza on a displacement camp for
Palestinians. Five people were killed, according to a local hospital, and dozens more were wounded.
As of yesterday, there were 32 people who were being treated for injuries as a result of this strike. The Israeli military claimed that it was
targeting a Hamas terrorist in retaliation for Hamas militants in the southern part of Gaza attacking Israeli forces wounding five soldiers,
according to the Israeli military.
But in this Israeli strike in Southern Gaza, this local hospital says that at least two children are among the dead as a result of this strike. And
this, of course, follows what we have been watching over the course of this ceasefire, which is that it has not always been a ceasefire for
Palestinians, where we have seen more than 360 Palestinians who have now been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military since this began.
In some of these cases, these are retaliatory strikes for attacks by Hamas militants, according to the Israeli military. But in other cases, as we saw
over the weekend, for example, these are attacks that have been carried out against Palestinians, including sometimes civilians, who accidentally cross
that yellow line demarcating Israeli control in Gaza, and in those cases, individuals were struck as well. So, another sign, of course, of this very
tenuous ceasefire.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, and now that all but one hostage remains have been returned, thoughts, of course, are turning to phase two of this ceasefire
deal. What are you hearing about what could potentially come next?
DIAMOND: Well, Israelis are indeed still waiting for the remains of one additional hostage, Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer who was killed in
the October 7th attacks, and his body dragged into Gaza, held hostage since then. Israelis are still waiting for his body to be returned in order to
close what has obviously been a very painful chapter for Israeli society over the course of the last two years.
But very quickly after that, attention will turn to the next phases of this ceasefire. The work to try and get to those next phases has, of course,
very much been under way. We saw last month as the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution that would lay the groundwork for this international
stabilization force to actually go into Gaza.
But we still don't have information about you know, how many troops from which countries will actually participate in that international
stabilization force, let alone seeing those troops actually enter the Gaza Strip. That will, of course, be the next major task ahead as well, of
course, as addressing the disarmament of Hamas and then later on, the Israeli government and Israeli military giving up control of territory in
Gaza as well.
All of the territory in Gaza ultimately meant to be handed over to this international stabilization force, which will be overseen by not only a
Palestinian technocratic governing board, but also this international board of peace, which the president has said he will lead himself.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, still so much and so many obstacles really to overcome. We'll continue to watch it. Jeremy, thank you.
[09:15:00]
All right, still to come on CNN, we're following growing controversy and a damning new report of the U.S. Defense Secretary's decision to share
sensitive military plans in a private messaging app.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Admiral general, what's your message to the American people?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Just last hour, Admiral Frank Bradley arrived on Capitol Hill for what is shaping up to be a difficult classified briefing about a strike
on an alleged drug boat in September. The strike in question was a double tap that killed two survivors of the first hit.
President Trump and his Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, have been distancing themselves from this naming Admiral Bradley as the person who
called for that strike. And news just confirmed by CNN, Pentagon officials are defending the double tap strike because survivors were still quote, in
the fight.
Sources expect that will be a big part of Bradley's briefing beginning soon. Let's get straight out to CNN Zachary Cohen in Washington, who has
this reporting. So, this is your reporting, Zachary, about these survivors still being, quote, in the fight. What more can you tell us about that and
what we can expect from the admiral today?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, this is a case we've heard DoD officials, Department of Defense officials, try to make
privately in attempts to argue and push back against allegations that that September 2nd strike in the Caribbean amounted to a potential war crime.
And specifically, we do expect Admiral Bradley, who's been left, to really make this case behind closed doors, to lawmakers today, to lean on that
similar argument to say that these survivors of this, of the first strike were still in the fight, and that they were seen attempting to continue
their drug trafficking mission, so to speak, which, again.
He also -- we're also hearing from sources that he plans to show lawmakers the unedited video footage from that strike, which should show the entire
series of strikes, rather than the initial strike that is captured in the video already released by the Pentagon. So, we're still waiting for the
unedited footage to be released by the Pentagon to the public.
We heard Donald Trump, the President of the United States, say yesterday that he would support the Pentagon releasing everything they have on this
strike, but that clip of Admiral Bradley obviously not responding to questions from shouted by reporters is sort of a good microcosm of how this
has gone.
The public still really in the dark about what actually happened on September 2nd and what the potential legal ramifications are. And I talked
to U.S. officials who say that regardless of whether this one strike is not a unique in raising legal questions, that the entire U.S. military campaign
in the Caribbean is also legally dubious and potentially is one that should have never happened in the first place.
[09:20:00]
So, but Admiral Bradley, a respected career navy seal, he is the one who the White House and Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, oversaw the
operation on September 2nd. He's now the one that's going to face intense questioning from lawmakers on Capitol Hill today, again, we expect him to
push back on any allegation, though, that it amounted to a potential war crime.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, and it's a big day for the admiral all round, because we also have that Watchdog report that found that Hegseth risked endangering
troops by sharing sensitive military plans in the Signal chat. So, what more are we hearing about that?
COHEN: Yes, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth really dealing with these dueling controversies, both the ongoing questions about the military
strikes in the Caribbean and also the release of potentially as soon as today, the release of this inspector general report into his use of Signal,
which me and -- source told me and our colleague, Jake Tapper, yesterday.
A classified version that was reviewed by lawmakers determined that Hegseth put -- could have put U.S. troops at risk and jeopardize mission objectives
by sending information to other Trump officials via Signal. Now, Signal is a commercial messaging app. It is encrypted, but it's not a classified
government system.
And it's one that sources say is more highly vulnerable to things like, let's say, a foreign cyber-attack or hacking attempt. So, the inspector
general coming to a similar conclusion that we've heard critics say in the aftermath of those revelations earlier this spring about the messages
Hegseth sent that he shouldn't have been using Signal and he shouldn't have been using his personal device to communicate this information.
I want to show something though Hegseth's initial response to the allegations back in April, because it really does contrast with what the
inspector general ultimately determined. But take a listen to what Hegseth said when he was first asked about these messages and whether or not he
communicated classified information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: What was shared over Signal, then and now, however you characterize it was informal unclassified coordination for
media coordination other things. That's what I've said from the beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: So, the inspector general has now confirmed that the information Hegseth sent, which was so specific, it included a message that literally
said, this is definitely when the first bombs will drop. It included a timestamp next to it that, that information was highly sensitive.
And it was actually traced back to a document that was marked classified at the time that Hegseth sent it via Signal to those other Trump officials and
unknowingly to a reporter who had been accidentally added to the chat. Now the IG goes on to say that Hegseth does have broad authority to declassify
information.
And Hegseth told the inspector general, according to our sources, that he made an operational decision in the moment to do so, but there was no
documentation that the IG could find to support that claim by Hegseth. And regardless of questions of the legality or the classification of this
information, I think the real question here is, was it the right decision to use a non-sanctioned platform to send this information, and as the IG
said, a decision that put American lives -- or could have put American lives at risk.
MACFARLANE: All right. We will keep a close eye on that hearing. Zachary Cohen for now, appreciate it. Thanks. Now, the "New York Times" is suing
the U.S. Defense Department over new restrictions on access for reporters. Among other things, the lawsuit aims to repeal a policy that requires
journalists to sign a 21-page pledge agreeing to avoid reporting on information classified or otherwise that has not been approved by Pentagon
officials.
"The Times" is one of dozens of news outlets, including CNN, that have taken a collective stand against the access restrictions, but "The Times"
is the first to take legal action. Our breaking news, sources say the FBI has arrested a man in connection with the Washington, DC pipe bombing case
that took place the night before January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The suspect is accused of planting the bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters. It has taken nearly five years
to identify a suspect who was only pictured in grainy surveillance video here, shrouded in a hoodie, gloves and mask. Our Senior U.S. Justice
Correspondent Evan Perez is in Washington. So, Evan, what more are you hearing about these arrests -- the arrest?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the arrest happened earlier today by the FBI, and this is a culmination of about
almost a five-year investigation, as you pointed out. Look at you can see some of the video that the FBI has released over the last few years that
they were looking for this suspect.
There's not a lot to work with. This is during the pandemic. So, he was wearing a mask he was wearing, it's a cold winter night, and that has
really harmed or thwarted the investigation for all these years. We know that the FBI brought in a new set of eyes, essentially people to look at
the at the evidence, the existing evidence, kind of like how you do with a cold case, and that is what they believe has shaken loose some new clues
that help them get to date and the arrest.
[09:25:00]
This, of course, was a viable device. According to the FBI, they say that people could have been harmed if this bomb had exploded. That includes
Kamala Harris, who was about to be the vice president, and she had gone to the DNC headquarters. She passed about 20 feet from where this bomb was
placed.
And so that has been at the center of what the FBI has been looking at. Now, one of the things that we're expecting to hear from the Justice
Department in the coming hours is you know exactly how the FBI has tracked down this person. What are the pieces of evidence that they believe shows
this is the person who carried out, or who tried to place these bombs and carry this out.
At the center of this also has been some of the conspiracies, right? Because, as you pointed out, this bomb was placed there the night before
the ceremonial January 6th certification of the election, when Donald Trump made his last ditch of an attempt to overturn the results.
It also happened when the bombs were discovered. It happened just as the mob of MAGA supporters were outside the capital, breaking through some of
the police cordons. And so that's led people to think that there were the two things are connected again. We're expecting to hear a lot more about
the details of this from the FBI and from the Justice Department with possible charges later today, Christina.
MACFARLANE: OK, we will keep an eye out for that. Evan, appreciate your reporting, thank you.
PEREZ: Sure.
MACFARLANE: OK, still ahead are you 25 or 75 how music streaming giant Spotify is using your musical taste to find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, and you are watching "Connect the World". Now these are your headlines this hour.
Russian President Vladimir Putin insists his country will take over the Ukrainian region of Donbas, one way or another, by military force, if
necessary.
President Putin spoke with Indian media before touching down in New Delhi last hour to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Trump is to
host the leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a final push for peace between the two countries.
They are expected to sign a peace deal aimed at ending a decades long conflict that has recently escalated. Pete Hegseth's messages regarding
sensitive U.S. military plans on the Signal app are back in the spotlight, according to four sources. An inspector general's report says the U.S.
Defense Secretary risk endangering U.S. troops with his use of the app.
[09:30:00]
Unclassified version of that report is set to be released today. Well, let's take a look at how the markets are starting the session this morning.
The DOW there up in the green just about. And after endless teases on and as you can see there across the board, a green picture, now, after endless
teases on social media, the wait is finally over for music fans.
Spotify wrapped is back each year. The streaming giant gives users their own personalized round up of their listening habits over the past year. And
for the first time, as well as your favorite artists and podcasts, they're telling you your listening age, which is what you can see on the screen
here. Now CNN's Isabel Rosales has more details, including this year's most streamed artists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good job. It is 67 days until Super Bowl 60, or what some fans are calling the beneath the ball, with Bad Bunny
headlining the halftime show. Now that choice brought praise and backlash. Some critics unhappy that his music is in Spanish and that also he's
outspoken about politics.
But the numbers say that his listeners might be getting ready for his upcoming performance. Spotify says the Puerto Rican superstar was the most
streamed artist of 2025 the first to do it four times. And his album, DeBI TiRAR MaS FOToS, it's the number one global album. Bottom line, his fans
spoke loudly and listened louder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well CNN's Business and Economics Reporter Anna Cooban in is in London. And Anna, I don't mind saying that I have been poring over my
Spotify rap over the past 24 hours and marveling at how bad my taste in music is. So, look Bad Bunny is up there. Who else is being crowned this
year's most streamed artist? And are there any surprises?
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: I don't think there are many surprises, Christina. You've got Taylor Swift in second place. She's
had a pretty big year. Got Billie Eilish up there the weekend. Drake, all these massive artists that are usually in the top streamed artists.
Die with a smile, it's a song by Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga that was the most stream song. And I think this will come as no surprise to many parents, but
the second most stream album, after Bad Bunnies, was KPop Demon Hunters. But yes, you've mentioned this listening age, which I think it's got a lot
of people talking.
And this is really calculated by Spotify, by looking at the release dates of the music that people listen to. And Spotify has a theory that
somebody's listening age is most likely correlated when they were about 16, 21, the music that was released during that period.
They refer to it as the reminiscence bump. Personally, mine is 44 my listening age? I'm 31 and they say that's because I listen to a lot of
music from the late 90s, which I'm feeling really pretty smug about actually.
MACFARLANE: Look, I listen to a lot of music from the late 90s, but my listening age is 73. I mean, I don't know whether to be embarrassed about
this or I don't know proud about the fact that, obviously I listen to a lot of soul music, so maybe that's what's contributing to it. I mean, are
people responding to this in a good way?
COOBAN: I think so. I mean, I've been having conversations with people around their listening ages. Somebody, a friend of a friend, is in their
30s. Their listening age is 90 something -- a lot of music from the early 50s.
MACFARLANE: -- really an exact science.
COOBAN: Not an exact science. I think it's all quite fun.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. I agree. So how are other music streaming apps competing? I mean, it's obviously been very popular, so it's kind of become, you know,
phenomenon, an end of the year activity that everyone looks forward to now on social media. So how are other apps responding?
COOBAN: Well, they're trying to compete, but it's very difficult. I mean, this has been going for 11 years now, and apples come out with Apple Music
replay, which is a very similar thing, but really, they're all just playing catch up to Spotify at this point. Spotify last year, its 10th year of
doing this, had a pretty banner year.
Engagement was up 10 percent it was across 184 markets, 53 languages. So, people all around the world are really keen to see how their musical tastes
break down, to have a snapshot of that at the end of every year.
MACFARLANE: And what was top of your wrap this year, Anna?
COOBAN: Beyonce. It's always Beyonce every year. I mean, I can predict the next year it'll be exactly the same thing.
MACFARLANE: OK, well, you're consistent at least. I mean, mine, I'm sad to say, although, I mean, everyone loves KPop, right? But Golden, which is the
bane of my existence right now, is up there at number one, and that is due to my children. And I'm sure a lot of parents will relate to that.
But look, Anna, it's always fun, isn't it, to kind of look delve into this stuff at the end of the year. So, appreciate you being with us to break it
down.
COOBAN: Thank you.
[09:35:00]
MACFARLANE: Now the popular American grocery retailer Trader Joe's is taking off in London, just not in the way you might think. It doesn't even
have any stores outside the United States. So how has the brand become so iconic? Anna Cooban, you see saw there, has investigated along with our
Richard Quest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: Trader Joe's is a grocery store institution known for high quality and reasonable prices. They're
everywhere. The bags are also ubiquitous. There used to be a bit of a fashion statement here in New York, but now, the way they've taken off
overseas, it's worth a great deal more.
COOBAN: I'm in a trendy part of East London on a fact-finding mission, because I want to know why these bags have really taken off in the UK,
despite the fact that Trader Joe's doesn't even have a store in the country,
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anytime I go anywhere, people are complimenting me on it, which is odd, because it's just a thing you would have in the States.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People saw it on TikTok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see something, a piece of like something that people wear online. You see you like you like it because you see more and more and
more, you get used to it, and you think that's what you won't wear, because everybody wears it basically.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did bring this bag from LA all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to London.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like it's not luxury, but something like niche. You know, you have to be in America to have one of those. So maybe
that's the reason why people think it's cool. But it's basically just a supermarket.
COOBAN: As with all fashion trends, it's about individual taste.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't wear it. I'm a black only wear it.
Anna Cooban, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Just bizarre. Now the eyes of the sporting world will be on Washington, DC on Friday, as the FIFA World Cup draw takes center stage for
next year's summer showpiece event. The countdown continues, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: A raccoon that went on a booze fueled rampage in a Virginia liquor store has become headline news this week. This video, which has gone
viral, shows the raccoon inside the store reaching for top shelf liquor and passed out then drunk next to a toilet.
We're now hearing from the animal protection officer who rescued the raccoon. She says it took hours for the creature, nicknamed Al to sober up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMANTHA MARTIN, HANOVER COUNTY ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICER: I did see his eyes going back and forth like a typical drunk person, and he obviously
could not stand up.
[09:40:00]
So, it tells me that he needed to lay down for a little bit in order to regain his consciousness, and he was probably in the back of the shelter
for a good six hours before he was able to pick up his head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Nicknamed Al for alcohol, by the way. Al's bender began after he fell through a ceiling tile and took out the security cameras. He also
smashed 14 bottles worth of about $250. Martin says she deals with raccoons all the time, but never like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: As far as intoxicated raccoons, this is a first for me, but in general, raccoons, they get themselves into so many things. I'm constantly
pushing them out of dumpsters all the time, trash cans, under cars, you name it, that's where they're at. They love to get in trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Yeah, pretty unique situation. Now, Greece has handed over the Olympic flame for the next Winter Games as the host nation -- to the host
nation, Italy. It's set to arrive in Rome in the next few hours, following the handover ceremony in Athens earlier today.
On Saturday, the flame sets off from Rome on a relay through every region of Italy, passing through 60 cities and 300 towns, reaching Milan for the
games as opening ceremony on February 6. The city is hosting the games with at the Alpine Resort of Cortina, which is last stage the Olympics 70 years
ago.
Well, Kevin Hart, Heidi Klum and Tom Brady will be among those at Friday's FIFA World Cup draw in Washington, DC. The trophy has arrived in the U.S.
capital as the countdown to the biggest sporting event in the world continues, and it's certainly getting close now, isn't it? Amanda Davies,
so what should we expect tomorrow?
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Who knows? This point, Christy, we're expecting something a little bit different. Let's put it like that, it is
the draw for the biggest ever FIFA World Cup to be held, of course, across the three different host countries, not only the United States, but Canada
and Mexico.
There are more balls that will be drawn out of the buckets than ever before, because there's 48 teams in this edition of the tournament, but
this is a draw for FIFA's flagship event taking place, unusually, not at one of the World Cup city venues. It's taking place in Washington, DC, of
course, just a stone's throw from President Donald Trump's back yard at the White House.
He is expected to attend. And we are going to see the handing out of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. A whole lot of conjecture and speculation as to
who is going to be the first recipient of that this time. I think there's a fair few people who are hazarding some guesses that aren't particularly
wide of the mark.
But yeah, it's certainly going to be something different, and we're going to be looking ahead to what to expect at from a footballing sense as well
as a political in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport".
MACFARLANE: Yeah, definitely raising a few eyebrows. That one we will continue to watch closely, Amanda, thank you. Amanda, be back after the
break with "World Sport". Stay tuned.
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[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
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