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What We Know with Max Foster

Australian Authorities: Shooters Driven By ISIS Ideology; White House Aides Reeling Over Susie Wiles Vanity Fair Interview; Hegseth: Full Video Of Follow-Up Strike Won't Be Released; Soon: L.A. Officials Hold News Conference On Reiners Murders; Authorities Release New Photo Of Brown University Shooter. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired December 16, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:28]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: The search for answers on the Sydney attack goes global.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

The investigation into the massacre in Australia now stretching into another continent. Police say the suspected gunman, a father and son, had

recently traveled to the southern Philippines, a region long plagued by Islamist insurgencies. Authorities believe they may have undergone

military-style training there.

They say Sunday's attack in Sydney appeared inspired by ISIS. Fifteen people were killed and dozens more wounded when gunmen opened fire on

families celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, police say improvised explosives and two homemade ISIS flags were found in a vehicle belonging to

one of the suspects.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke earlier about the ISIS link.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: Radical perversion of Islam is absolutely a problem. It is something that has been identified globally

as a problem as well. ISIS is created by an evil ideology that has been called out not just by the Australian government, but globally as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Let's get more from CNN's Lynda Kinkade.

I mean, so much about this story is so frightening, isn't it? But the idea that ISIS may be organized behind this, is going to send a shudder

globally.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, exactly. The re-emergence of ISIS certainly the key part of this investigation right now, Max. They are

looking into the two suspects who carried out this attack. The father and son, the son, of course, was killed at the scene. Sajid Akram, a 50-year-

old man, his son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, remains hospitalized.

He is currently under police guard, and they are hoping to question him soon. But we are certainly learning a lot more about his history. We know

that in 2019, he was under investigation by ASIO, which is the Australian intelligence organization, for links with two radicalized individuals. Now,

at the time, they said he didn't pose an imminent threat, and that investigation ended after about six months, where now authorities are

looking into whether he was radicalized after that.

They understand that these two individuals traveled to the Philippines, particularly the south of the country, which is known to house ISIS

militants. Our affiliate, ABC Australia, is looking into a report that we're hearing from counterintelligence in Australia that these two

undertook military training with ISIS militants in the south of the Philippines.

So, this investigation is certainly broadened. We know now that these two traveled to the Philippines just a few weeks before carrying out this

massacre. We know that Sajid Akram, the 50-year-old father, returned home back to Australia on an Indian passport. His son returned on an Australian

passport. So they're looking into the connections with ISIS, They're interviewing people in the community throughout Sydney.

They have raided two homes, one that they rented, which is an Airbnb close to Bondi, just before they carried out this attack. The other in the

western suburbs of Sydney. So right now, Max, investigators are looking at social media communications and of course their links between the

Philippines, India and in Australia.

FOSTER: What an operation. Let's talk about the two latest heroes we've heard about.

KINKADE: Yeah, I mean, this is one of those remarkable stories, Max, where in the midst of all this horror, there is this emergence of a story of two

ordinary people showing such an extraordinary act of bravery. Now, this is a couple that was 61 and 69, Boris and Sofia Gurman.

Now, they according to the dash cam video that we've seen, they ran towards one of the attackers. We see Boris trying to wrestle the gun out of one of

the gunman's hands. He is clearly one of those people that took no regard for his life or his wife. They literally just put their body on the line

trying to stop this violence. They were the two first victims of this massacre.

We know that Boris was a retired mechanic. His wife used to work for the Australian post, and Sofia was just about to turn 62 in just a matter of

days, and they were about to celebrate their 50 -- their 35th wedding anniversary. So tragically, they were both fatally shot trying to stop the

carnage.

[15:05:00]

We are learning more about the other victims as well, Max, ranging in age from just 10 to 87, 10-year-old Matilda described as just bringing so much

joy to her family, having a beautiful smile, 87-year-old Alex Kleytman was a holocaust survivor who died trying to shield his wife.

And, Max, as I've mentioned to you, my cousin is part of the Jewish community. They live in Bondi. They -- everyone in their community knows

someone impacted by this.

There are still dozens of people in hospital, including two police officers who were wounded. One is a constable, Scott Dyson. He was shot multiple

times and reportedly just before this massacre, found out he was going to become a dad.

FOSTER: Okay, Lynda, thank you so much for looking at the images there. Live from Sydney of the flowers and people just standing around them. I

guess it's just us all you can do, isn't it? You just want to. You're affected, but you don't know what you can do. So all you can do is stand

around the flowers and think.

KINKADE: Yeah.

FOSTER: Thanks for joining us, Lynda.

KINKADE: Thanks, Max.

FOSTER: The fallout from a remarkable bombshell, meanwhile, likely reverberating inside the White House today. And it comes courtesy of one of

President Trump's most loyal confidants. In an extremely candid interview, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told "Vanity Fair" that the president has an

alcoholics personality. President Trump, for the record, doesn't drink.

She also slammed Attorney General Pam Bondi's handling of the Epstein files, saying first she gave them binders full of nothingness, and then she

said that the witness list or the client list was on her desk. There's no client list, and it sure as hell wasn't on her desk.

Wiles is now calling the article a disingenuously framed hit piece.

To the White House now, and our Kevin Liptak with more details on that interview.

I know the White House is saying, elements of this have been taken out of context. It's fair to say, isn't it, that you should read the full article

to really understand it. But the headline piece about this alcoholics character, just explain where that sits within this piece, Kevin.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and it was one of several just very candid remarks from the chief of staff about the people

that she works for in the case of Donald Trump, or that she works with in the case of many Trump advisers and allies.

And I think the reason so many people are caught off guard is because Susie Wiles is a very calculating person. You know, she has been called the ice

queen by Donald Trump himself. She doesn't give that many interviews, and she's known to run quite a tight ship inside this White House. It hasn't

been plagued with the kind of infighting and leaks that we saw in the first time around, and the president's first term.

And as a result, I think she has engendered a lot of loyalty among the president's aides. And so I think this has caught so many of them by

surprise, wondering what exactly she was thinking sitting for 11 interviews with "Vanity Fair". You know, this is a White House that hasn't been all

that receptive to mainstream media interviews, but she seems to have been doing it quite extensively over the last year or so.

Now, this quote about the president having an alcoholics personality, she was trying to say that the president sort of has a sense of infallibility,

that there's nothing he can't do. Nothing. Zero, nothing. And she says that she is an expert in big personalities.

Now, President Trump has responded to that specific quote, saying that, in fact, he agreed with her that he does have, quote, an addictive

personality, that he thinks that she's done a fantastic job as chief of staff. No indication that he is displeased with how she has handled all of

this.

And of course, we heard from her as well on social media saying that a lot of this was taken out of context. Now, these interviews were -- and the

articles in which they were published were quite lengthy. And so, there was quite a bit of context in them. So it's not exactly clear what ground she

has there.

But there were a number of other officials who sort of came within her sights as she was talking to this interview, including the vice president,

J.D. Vance, who she said had been, quote, a conspiracy theorist for a decade now. Vance addressed that earlier today in Pennsylvania, saying

that, in fact, yes, he is a conspiracy theorist, but only for the conspiracy theories that are true.

She also talks about Elon Musk, who spent the first part of this administration slashing through the government bureaucracy, saying that he

was, quote, an avowed ketamine user. So not all that favorable there.

And she discusses the president's budget chief, Russ Vought, saying that he's, quote, a right wing, absolute zealot.

Now, Russ Vought, as well as virtually every single cabinet member has been out today backing up Susie Wiles, saying that she's an effective chief of

staff, that she is incredibly loyal to President Trump. But I do think its kind of notable, you know, in all of these statements coming out and

defending her, the person they're defending is Susie Wiles, not necessarily the people that she offered like criticism of in this article, which I

think gives you a sense of sort of where the power rests in the West Wing.

[15:10:02]

FOSTER: Yeah, that communication afterwards seemed very coordinated. It's quite striking. Kevin, thank you so much.

The U.S. defense secretary says there are no plans to release the full video of the military strike on an alleged drug boat last September to the

public. Pete Hegseth and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill today, but didn't show them the unedited version

of the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: This has been a highly successful mission that's ongoing and continued, and were pleased to be here today to update

Congress on how that's developing and how that's moving forward. As I said, I believe it's our 22nd, 23rd such engagement, certainly been at least the

fourth or fifth that I've been involved in, and those will remain and be ongoing.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: In keeping with longstanding Department of War policy, Department of Defense policy -- of course, we're not going

to release a top secret full, unedited video of that to the general public. Appropriate committees will see it, but not the general public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The briefing follows new U.S. strikes against three alleged drug trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Pentagon officials say

eight people were killed. CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju has reaction from Capitol Hill.

Of course, we're living in an age, aren't we, Manu, where if you're not releasing something, you're seeing as covering it up. So there's a

challenge here for the administration?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, no question about it. In fact, the big question on Capitol Hill had been whether or not that

that video, the full unedited video would at least be sent to members of Congress or provided to for them to see in this closed door classified

setting and what happened behind closed doors today, in a full House hearing that happened after a full senate hearing that they were not able

to see this full, unedited video that included that second strike and third and fourth strike that occurred on September 2nd, and one of which

Democrats in particular, have accused this administration of violating the laws of war by going after defenseless survivors.

Now, the administration has said this is totally lawful, but they have only provided the video to a select group of senators and house members who sit

on key committees, who serve in leadership positions, not the rank-and-file members. And that is what's caused significant pushback in the ranks from

progressive members of the Democratic caucus to the Democratic leaders. But even some Republicans believe that the video should be released.

Listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): This is the one of the least professional classified briefings I have ever sat in on, with the least

amount of legal and intelligence justification for what is happening. These folks need to justify why something that looks illegal and not legally

determined by any stretch of the imagination is authorized, and they have not done so.

RAJU: Is it a war crime?

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I believe so, and I believe that what he has engaged in, I mean, I think beyond a war crime, I think this is just a crime. Congress

has not authorized, has not engaged in authorized use of military force in the Caribbean.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I think the video should be given to everybody in congress. President Trump is saying his days are numbered. That seems to

me that he's got to go. If it's the goal of taking him out because he's a threat to our country, then say it. And what happens next, don't you think

most people want to know that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And the big question about the video itself is whether or not language that's included in a bill that's about to be approved by Congress

will force the secretary of defense to provide that video to Capitol Hill. In fact, in a bill that's about to be approved, it says that that Pete

Hegseth's travel budget would be restricted if, in fact, that the video is not provided to the key committees in Congress.

So, what will that mean? Will the secretary comply with that? Will Congress go further if it does not get the video that it is demanding? But right

now, the Pentagon is making very clear only a select number of members can see that in those key committees, which is prompting a lot of angst on

Capitol Hill.

FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. Manu, thank you. Here in the U.K., the man who plowed his car into a crowd of football fans in Liverpool has been

sentenced to more than 25 years in prison. Fifty-four-year-old Paul Doyle injured more than 130 people when he drove into fans celebrating

Liverpool's Premier League victory in May. He pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Prosecutors

say he drove into the crowd simply because he lost his temper.

Coming up, Donald Trump goes after the BBC. He's filed for defamation and is seeking a truly eye-watering dollar figure. But will he be successful?

More on that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:59]

FOSTER: In just a few minutes, law enforcement officials in Los Angeles will be holding a news conference into the deaths of Hollywood Director Rob

Reiner and his wife, Michele. That comes as we've learned that prosecutors have received the police report into the deaths on Sunday.

We do not, however, expect to see the Reiners son, Nick, in court today. The 32-year-old was taken into custody in connection to his parents'

deaths, but his attorney says Nick hasn't been medically cleared to appear in court. We're also learning more about the hours prior to the Reiners

murder. A source says Nick got into a fight with his father at a holiday party at the home of comedian Conan O'Brien.

The former first lady, Michelle Obama, tells Jimmy Kimmel she and former President Barack Obama were supposed to see the Reiners the night before

they were killed.

Stephanie Elam joins us now from Los Angeles.

And this party is becoming more interesting, isn't it? Presumably the police are going to want to speak to everyone there to try to figure out

what the motive was here.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You would imagine so, Max, it would be part of the investigation. That party and the fact that people witnessed

this discord between father and son is obviously of note. It's also worth noting that it was their daughter, the Reiners daughter, that we're told

was the one that discovered her parents and that they had been murdered.

So, that's a lot of time between when the party and the argument happened. And then, 3:00 p.m. local time hour when the police responded to that call.

So, a lot of time, we don't know at what point in between those times that the Reiners were killed.

So that's some of the data that people are looking to get answers to. There's a lot of questions here, even though there seems to be surety on

the part of the police department here in Los Angeles that the only suspect in this case is Nick Reiner. They say that the way they put it in their

press release is that he is, quote, responsible for the deaths of Michele and Rob Reiner.

So, there's question we don't have a motive.

[15:20:01]

We also do not know how the Reiners were killed officially.

So, these are some of the information -- these are some of the bits of information that we are hoping to hear from the district attorney in this

press conference that's going to start in about 40 minutes or so here to get an idea of what may have happened in that time. They also requested to

get a search warrant. We know for overnight Sunday into Monday morning.

And so, what did they recover that allowed them to say that they would go forward and arrest Nick Reiner in this case? These are some of the things

that we're looking to hear from them. Now, going back to the point that you were making, we understand from the attorney representing Nick Reiner that

he would not be present in court today because he did not get medically cleared.

What's still not clear, though, is what does medically cleared mean? Does that mean just like a respiratory illness, does it mean a mental illness

issue? We do not know.

But the way the lawyer put it is that it will go day by day. And it's something that every other person who's coming from the jail to the

courthouse has to get cleared before they can come here. He was not cleared today, and it will be day to day after this point.

However, because there's so much interest, it's probably not surprising to see that the district attorney is going to come out. And we understand that

they've gotten the investigation from the Los Angeles police department, and now they've put together a charging document that may give us more

information about what may have transpired and the evidence that they have against Nick Reiner in this case.

So, while there are a lot of questions and a lot of things people want to know, Max, it will not actually heal the number of broken hearts in

Hollywood, in L.A. and across the spectrum. The Reiner were very well loved in this town, for their productions that they made, for their giving

nature, for giving back to starting up, making sure there was education available for young kids, all the things that they did. There is a lot of

love here.

And so, no matter what comes out of this, that doesn't unbreak any of the hearts that so many people here have said that they're devastated by their

tragic, tragic deaths.

FOSTER: I think the more people outside the U.S. learn about them as well, the more shocked they become about this as well as the news has sunk in.

Stephanie, thank you so much.

Now, police in Rhode Island say they have a new image that they hope will lead them to a killer. This is what they describe as an enhanced photo of a

person of interest in Saturday's deadly shooting at Brown University. That attack left two students dead and nine others in hospital.

Authorities released a series of video clips on Monday. The suspected shooters face is mostly hidden behind a mask, but authorities say they

still think these images could help the public to identify him.

Now, police and the FBI are scrambling to catch up with the shooter after they brought in a person of interest on Sunday who later turned out not to

be a suspect.

With more on all of this, let's bring in CNN chief law enforcement analyst John Miller.

Really appreciate you joining us to talk through this picture, mainly, John, because it's fuzzy, but there's an extraordinary amount we can tell

from this, not least who's not responsible, right?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, that's right. And I mean, in this picture, one of the things you see in

this particular shot is he's carrying a cross strap shoulder bag. One of the things you want to know is, was this before the incident? If so, how

much before the incident? And you know what was in that bag? Has it been recovered? I think the answer to that is no.

But the conglomeration of these images together from the images yesterday, this enhanced image today is really been the thing that has been driving

additional people to call in to the -- to the police department and provide these leads of, you know, it could be this person, it could be that person.

When they get those leads, you know, they triage them to say, all right, which are the most viable leads, which are the ones that we can get to work

on right now because it comes with enough information, which are the ones that go to the back of the pile. But they have to get through all of them

until they get a suspect. Now, I have been told that they have been working on a number of very promising leads, but one of those could speed up and

bring a resolution to this, or it could be washed out. It's just the nature of how these things go.

FOSTER: I was reading some comments from a student who's planning to go back to university, but is really alarmed at the fact that this man is

still on the run. Was there a problem with the police investigation? Did they take their eye off the ball when they had that initial suspect? I

mean, what's your understanding here?

MILLER: Well, that's another natural course of an investigation, which is -- this -- the initial suspect or person of interest resulted from a tip

from another law enforcement agency that said, you want to look into this person, and here's why. And when they went to that persons residence and

they where he was staying in this hotel and they came up with two weapons potentially consistent with those used in the shooting, or the one used in

the shooting, that meant that they had a lot of investigation to be -- to be done.

[15:25:07]

You know, at the end, Max, the forensics didn't match. The telephone signal tracking didn't match. The ballistics didn't match.

They were -- they were able to say we pretty much eliminated this person, basically proven that they're not the person behind it to some extent, and

released him. But that that happens, and then, you know, you move on to the next lead.

FOSTER: Yeah. Okay. John, thank you. Let's hope they get him soon.

Now, the U.S. President Donald Trump has officially sued the BBC for billions of dollars for defamation. He's seeking $5 billion in damages for

each of the lawsuits. Two counts.

Now, Mr. Trump accuses the BBC of defaming him by splicing together two parts of a speech he made on January 6th, before the capitol hill riots.

The controversy has already led to the resignation of the BBC's top two executives.

So, what we want to know is can Donald Trump successfully sue the BBC in Florida? Joining us now is Jeff Swartz. He's a former county judge in

Miami-Dade and a law professor now at Tampa.

Thank you so much for joining us.

I guess the other question we could ask is, you know, does he need to win the case? Is he just trying to, you know, send a message here to the media,

to the BBC, trying to keep them on their toes, and perhaps put them in a situation where they're less likely to criticize him.

I mean, is it really the case that he's most focused on or just making the point to the BBC, do you think?

JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE: It's really the coercion he's anticipating that the BBC, rather than spending a lot of

money defending themselves in this case, will in fact do just that. They will give him money. They'll try to buy their way out of the case, just as

ABC and CBS did.

The difference is that ABC and CBS were in the middle of some business dealings. Some mergers and acquisitions, that they needed permission from

the FCC here in the United States. And as a result of which they bought their way out of the suit, so they would get the kind of rulings from the

Federal Communications Commission that they needed to accomplish those business goals.

FOSTER: The other fundamental difference, though, between those news organizations and the BBC is the BBC is publicly funded and they're under

huge pressure from many politicians not to pay out any compensation.

SWARTZ: Right.

FOSTER: Do you think that's bad advice? Because ultimately, they could be paying off a huge amount more the longer these legal fees go on for. I

mean, how much would a -- the legal fees in a case like this typically cost?

SWARTZ: I really can't answer that and this one, but it would be in the millions. I will say at that point, I think that that they should be

fighting this.

Number one, I think they're -- I don't think these suits will get past a motion to dismiss the attachment to the United States is very nebulous in

the idea that somebody in Florida may have had a VPN filter that made them capable of getting this broadcast when it was actually not meant for U.S.

consumption.

There's also the matter that truth is an absolute defense in these cases. So therefore, if in fact, they go to trial, one of the things they might

try to prove is there are no damages. There was no damage to Mr. Trump. There is truth to what they put forward that their editing did not deceive

anybody or hurt his chances of getting reelected because he was reelected.

So, we're still trying to figure out where your damages. This is just coercion. This is just bullying. And he's trying to get some sort of

control over the BBC that he's not going to get. I think the BBC has to fight this. They have no choice.

FOSTER: There's been lots of talk about the defamation claim here and you've just addressed that. But there's a separate claim of violating trade

practices law, which I think will send alarm bells to the BBC, because this I think I'm right in saying, suggests that the Trump feels the BBC has

acted uncompetitively in the U.S. market. So even if he doesn't win on this case, it does suggest that he could, you know, punish the BBC in many ways

and restrict their access to the U.S. market, which again, would be a huge problem for them because it's very important commercially.

SWARTZ: Well, I'm not sure how the BBC is acting in a way that they're not subject to competition. The BBC generally is only seen in the U.S. through

cable, access, and they are paid for the use of the BBC by many of the cable carriers.

Now, I don't see how that in any way is not fair competition. They may have -- he may claim that because they're from England and they're the only ones

from England.

[15:30:03]

But that's not the case. Great Britain has a couple of their channels that are covered by the same cable carriers. So, I don't see the unfair

competition. I'd be interesting to find out what they think it is. But I don't think that there is really much validity to that either.

FOSTER: Jeff Swartz, I'm sure we'll speak to you again about this. Thank you for joining us.

SWARTZ: Thank you.

FOSTER: Now, in just a few minutes from now, a federal judge is hearing a case on whether Donald Trump's project to build a massive new ballroom at

the White House can continue. A lawsuit was filed last week by a top historic preservation group claiming the president is pursuing the project

unlawfully because he doesn't have the approval of congress and hasn't submitted the plans for formal review. A Secret Service official involved

in the project says a pause could jeopardize White House security because the on site contractor is still working to ensure safety and security

measures are in place.

Still to come, Australian authorities say the massacre in Sydney was apparently inspired by ISIS. We'll be joined by terrorism expert just

ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Australian police say the father and son accused of killing 15 people in Sydney were driven by Islamic State ideology. The mass shooting

on Sunday targeted crowds celebrating the Jewish festival of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach. Police say the gunman had recently traveled to the Philippines

in an area with a long history of Islamic insurgencies. They say the vehicle registered to the son contained improvised explosives and homemade

ISIS flags.

[15:35:01]

What we don't know is where does the investigation go from here?

Joining me now is Colin Clark. He's a security consultant and the director of the Soufan Group.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Colin, if we go through the different elements, first of all, the visit to the Philippines, is that typical for someone that might think about

carrying out an attack in somewhere like Australia?

COLIN CLARKE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE SOUFAN GROUP: I don't know if I'd say typical, but it certainly leads us down a different direction.

Initially, I think many thought that this attack could have been ISIS- inspired. Now that we know that the father and son duo traveled to the Philippines and received training there, potentially from ISIS militants,

means that it's more of an ISIS-directed attack, which means that ISIS not only helped train the attackers, but also could have helped with target

selection and with other tactics, techniques and procedures.

FOSTER: Which is frightening. It means they've got a communication network, rebuilding effectively because they were broken down to some

extent.

CLARKE: Exactly. And this is part of what makes the Islamic State so dangerous. It was dangerous in one respect. At the peak of its caliphate.

If you remember back to the 2015 to 2017 time period when they were encouraging individuals to launch attacks in the West on a fairly frequent

basis. The operational tempo was high.

Now the group is much more decentralized. It relies on its affiliates, branches and franchise groups to conduct attacks, and it also relies on

them to provide training, to provide inspiration, and to provide logistics and know how. Which seems to be the case here.

FOSTER: Is this a wake up call then, for the entire West, really? If it can happen in Australia and it's starting to happen. It could get, you

know, we could go back to those very dark days where ISIS was very powerful and carrying out sporadic attacks all over the West.

CLARKE: It should be a wake-up call. It's something I've been speaking about and writing about for years. And while many have moved on, including

Western governments that are now focused on the Russian war in Ukraine the last two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, you know, a

rising China terrorism is still a threat. It still affects us on a daily basis. And these groups have never been defeated.

So, you know, moving on from the Islamic State, don't forget, the terrorists have a say in this, too. And clearly, they're trying to put

together a campaign to resurge. We saw the attack in Syria, the attack in Australia. We've seen disrupted plots, including a disrupted plot in Poland

targeting a Christmas market, just this week alone.

And I'm concerned that over the next few weeks, leading up to the end of the year, we may very well see more.

FOSTER: How actively are they reaching out to recruits on the Internet and trying to reach people like this, this father and son?

CLARKE: Well, ISIS is highly active, including, you know, flooding various social media platforms with its propaganda. It's even started toying around

with artificial intelligence and having A.I. translate the propaganda into numerous languages, which is giving it greater reach and resonance. It's

reaching broader audiences and different demographics, including very young people.

FOSTER: And what are they tapping into? What's the emotion they're tapping into to try to get people on board?

CLARKE: You know, they're tapping into a lot of anger and grievances over the war in Gaza. Images of dead Palestinians, images of IDF troops in Gaza.

That's a main driver. Even though ISIS is no fan of Hamas, they've still managed to leverage that conflict for their own ends and to use it to

motivate people to, you know, conduct attacks in its name.

FOSTER: Colin Clarke, appreciate your expertise tonight. Thank you for joining us.

CLARKE: Thank you.

FOSTER: It's the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are solidly lower. The Dow has been in the red all day. In fact, after some gloomy,

gloomy jobs numbers.

This is our business breakout.

U.S. unemployment hit 4.6 percent in November, which is a four year high. Economists believe the jobless rate ticked up because the number of people

entering the workforce outpaced those who were losing their jobs. In addition, the shutdown forced the Bureau of Labor Statistics to analyze two

months of data rather than one.

Oil prices are now at their lowest levels in four and a half years, as Donald Trump claims a peace deal is close between Russia and Ukraine. Brent

Crude is on pace to settle at less than $60 a barrel. It had been more than $80 earlier this year. A peace deal could allow Russian oil back onto the

global market.

Donald Trump's top economic adviser is pushing back on claims that he's too close to the president to be a Fed chair. Kevin Hassett has been widely

tipped to be Donald Trump's pick to replace Jerome Powell. He told reporters that being close to the president shouldn't disqualify him from

the job.

FIFA is introducing a cheaper ticket category for next year's World Cup after a backlash from fans over prices. The new entry tier category will

cap tickets at $60 and be available for all 104 matches of the World Cup, including the final.

[15:40:06]

Previously, the cheapest tickets for the final would have cost more than $4,000. The cheaper tickets will only be eligible to supporters of the

teams playing in particular games, with FIFA saying it will give traveling fans an affordable option to follow their countries. The fans group

football supporters Europe, says while it welcomes FIFA's announcement, the changes still don't go far enough.

Still to come, a musician is hoping to unseat a decades long ruler. We'll take you to Uganda, where tensions have flared ahead of a crucial election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: More than two weeks after going to the polls, voters in Honduras are still waiting to learn who the next president will be. The country's

national electoral council says nearly all of the votes have been counted, but the protests in the capital city are preventing a recount of several

thousand ballots. Supporters of the ruling party in Honduras have taken to the streets, demanding that the will of the people be respected. The

uncertainty is increasing tensions after an election fraught with accusations of fraud and system dysfunction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAIME RODRIGUEZ, PROTESTER, LIBERTY AND REFOUNDATION PARTY: You can't call this by any standard an electoral process. There haven't been elections

here. What there's been is a theft. What's happened here is the will of the Honduran people has been violated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, there's just a month ago, before Uganda's general election, and the results are all but inevitable, really. President Yoweri Museveni

is expected to win again, giving him a seventh term in power. But the political climate is changing and a crackdown on the opposition is sparking

outrage.

CNN's Larry Madowo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the man seeking to remove President Museveni from power after 40 years. He has incredible support

among the young people.

[15:45:04]

As Bobi Wine arrives, so goes the crowd. There is nothing like it.

MADOWO (voice-over): Bobi Wine wants Ugandans to sing a new tune. The musician-turned-politician is running for president for a second time.

Nearly twice his age, President Yoweri Museveni is also running for a seventh term. When the former general came to power after a civil war in

1986, Bobi Wine was just four years old.

ROBERT "BOBI WINE" KYAGULANYI, UGANDAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that General Museveni largely views Uganda as his personal property, as his

family property, and he views us as slaves.

It is our time to change our future.

MADOWO (voice-over): Bobi Wine accuses security forces of using violence to stop him from campaigning. At this stop in northern Uganda, supporters

formed a protective shield around the candidate as military officers whipped them.

One of his closest aides was wounded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at what the police and the military are doing to us for no crime whatsoever.

MADOWO (voice-over): The electoral commission condemned the incident that is now under investigation. He says more than 450 members of his party and

supporters have been imprisoned during the campaign. Others tortured or disappeared.

KYAGULANYI: Some people have been shot dead at my rally and I know the regime has me as the main target.

MADOWO: Why won't you be allowed to campaign freely?

KYAGULANYI: Well, I believe it is fear. It is fear that Museveni knows that he has no support. Every time I go out to campaign, I know that

somebody is going to be beaten. Somebody is going to be killed, run over by the police, shot with live bullets and all that.

MADOWO (voice-over): The U.N. Human Rights chief has condemned widespread arbitrary arrests, detentions and the use of unnecessary or

disproportionate force against the opposition.

CNN filmed hundreds of police, military and special forces at Bobi Wine's rallies in the capital, Kampala. They blocked him from using some roads.

Beat up some supporters and tear gassed bystanders.

MADOWO: Everywhere Bobi Wine goes, there's dozens of police officers, soldiers. It always ends up in a scuffle. And right now, they're blocking

his way from coming into a rally venue and that's teargas before he's even inside, we're hearing that sound like live shots, tear gas in every

direction -- tear gas in every direction it's really become a chaotic scene. And this happens at every Bobi Wine --

MADOWO (voice-over): Police told CNN that they were forced to use tear gas here to disperse people and clear a busy intersection. They have repeatedly

denied that they are specifically targeting Bobi Wine or his campaign.

RUSOKE KITUUMA, UGANDAN POLICE SPOKESPERSON: We all benefit from coming out of this election with the most minimal damage on individuals and

property.

MADOWO (voice-over): There are six other candidates running for Uganda's top job, but January's election is largely a rematch between the president

and the pop star.

MADOWO: In a free and fair election, can you beat President Museveni?

KYAGULANYI: If 2021 was a free and fair election, I would be president already.

MADOWO: Will this be a free and fair election?

KYAGULANYI: This is not an election to begin with. This is war.

MADOWO (voice-over): Uganda's electoral commission has asked law enforcement agencies to exercise restraint and stick to the law while

dealing with candidates.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Kampala.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now it's a terrifying near miss. For the second day in a row, a jet almost collides with a U.S. Air Force plane near Venezuelan airspace.

We'll have the latest details for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: There's been a second near midair collision close to Venezuela, the day after a passenger jet nearly hit a U.S. air force plane. This new

incident happened on Saturday, when a private jet like this one flying from Aruba to Miami, nearly hit a U.S. air force tanker. That's according to

radio transmissions reviewed by CNN. A similar incident happened from the day before with a JetBlue flight to New York.

Our aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean, is in Washington. People are frankly saying this is an accident waiting to happen or a tragedy waiting

to happen.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. The good news here, Max, is that these incidents have been happening in the daytime in good weather,

meaning that pilots are able to spot these airplanes visually or these incidents could have been a lot, lot worse.

This latest case happened on Saturday afternoon, but just coming to light now. And we're able to piece this incident together from the air traffic

control audio from liveatc.net. This close call was detailed by the pilots of a private jet, a Falcon 900 EX that just departed Aruba on the way to

Miami.

Just to give you some context here, there's only about 15 miles from the coast of Venezuela, where the airspace is pretty sensitive right now, to

say the least, because of strikes there by the U.S. government and the U.S. military. The pilots of that private jet reported essentially what the crew

of a JetBlue flight reported just the day before a large United States Air Force aerial refueling tanker appearing without warning, without triggering

their in-cockpit collision warning systems. The pilots of that private jet say they were climbing to an altitude of about 26,000 feet when they said

they would have climbed into the Air Force jet. And I want you to listen now to the radio transmissions in which they describe this encounter being

a little too close for comfort

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

PILOT: We've got that traffic. I don't know how we didn't get an R.A. for that, but they were really close.

(END VIDOE CLIP)

MUNTEAN: An R.A., meaning a resolution advisory that refers to the traffic collision avoidance system on board that plane. The pilots also said the

plane looked big, like a Boeing 777 or a 767. This incident comes just one day after that. JetBlue flight crew said they had to abruptly stop their

climb due to an Air Force refueling tanker that crossed directly in front of their flight path.

Sounds pretty familiar. That incident happened just after JetBlue flight took off from Curacao, so roughly the same area of the Caribbean sea where

this incident occurred.

The Pentagon and Dutch officials are reviewing the case involving the JetBlue flight. The National Transportation Safety Board here in the U.S.

tells me it's gathering incidents on both of these incidents, but it has not launched official investigations just yet, Max. Could have been a lot

worse.

FOSTER: Yeah, thankfully, it was -- it wasn't that. Thanks for joining us, Pete Muntean.

Now, finally, tonight, an emotional farewell to Japan's beloved giant pandas. Thousands of fans have flocked to the Tokyo zoo after news broke

that four 4-year-old Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei were to head back to China at the end of January. While their move home has been long planned, it comes

at a time of tense diplomatic tensions between the two countries after comments made by the Japanese prime minister concerning Taiwan

[15:55:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HIROYO KASHIO, ZOO VISITOR (through translator): I think that maybe our prime minister comments had some influence on this, but pandas shouldn't be

political. They're symbols of friendship between Japan and China, so I really hope pandas can stay here for that reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Japan has long had a love affair with giant pandas, like many countries, in fact. Once they leave, it will be the first time since

1972 that Japan has been panda-less. Though hopefully the fans can bear it. Not written by me that bit.

And in other diplomatic news, a debate turned physical amongst lawmakers in Mexico City. Video shows several lawmakers arguing and then elbowing,

slapping and pulling at each other's hair. It happened during a debate over reforming the city government's transparency oversight agency.

Now, members of the opposition party refused to leave the podium. As you can see, lawmakers from the majority party attempted to physically remove

them instead. Didn't always work. Eventually, the session was suspended and moved to another venue.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW.

Stay with CNN. More after the break.

END

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