Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Catholics Walk Through Sacred Door As Jubilee 2025 Begins; NASA Attempts Kiss Of The Sun; Top Most Talked About Videos Of 2024. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired December 24, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, it was a very powerful and symbolic moment we saw in St. Peter's Basilica with the opening of the Holy Door. As the Pope opened the door, pilgrims started to file in past him through the door.

I've been up there recently, and it's a beautiful bronze panel door. And as people walk through, they were touching the panels. Of course, what the Holy Door represents is God's forgiveness and mercy. And according to Catholic tradition, those who walk through the door and have carried out certain spiritual, charitable acts receive an indulgence which relates to the forgiveness of sins.

And, of course, the Basilica is expecting millions of people to process through the door during the Jubilee year, which is going to be a year focused on forgiveness and reconciliation. The Pope wants it to be a sign of hope for a troubled world.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And, Christopher, I'm curious, the day after Christmas, the Pope opens another door, I understand, in symbolic tradition. And this year, for the first time, he's going to do it at a prison. Can you give us some more details about this?

LAMB: Yes, Danny, that's right. Normally, the doors are opened in the basilicas in Rome. That's where the Holy Doors are traditionally found. But for the first time, the Pope will be opening a holy door in Rebibbia Prison, on the outskirts of Rome.

Now, the Pope wants the Jubilee year to see acts of forgiveness or pardon, or amnesty by government to prisoners. And so, I think this decision by the Pope to go to the prison sends a signal, sends a message to the world that he wants to see mercy shown to prisoners.

And, of course, on the 8th of December, the Pope made an appeal for the commutation or the changing of sentences for those on federal death row in the US. And, of course, yesterday, President Biden, who is a Catholic, commuted the majority of the sentences of those facing death on death row. Danny.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely. I also understand, Christopher, there was a special call that the Pope made today.

LAMB: Yes, the Pope called the Catholic community, the Catholic parish in Gaza. It's something he does on a regular basis, but he called them to wish them the very best for Christmas and his Christmas greetings to them.

The Pope has been quite outspoken about what's been going on in Gaza. He recently said that the airstrikes that had taken place were acts of cruelty and not war. He's been quite outspoken recently, also calling for allegations of genocide to be investigated.

So it'll be worth watching what the Pope says tomorrow during his traditional Christmas address, which he gives midday Rome time in St. Peter's where he is likely to address some of the big questions of conflicts going on in the world today. Erica?

HILL: Yes. And there certainly are a number, of course, unfortunately, to address. Christopher, appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here, NASA attempting to fly one of its probes closer to the sun than has ever been done before. So was the early morning mission successful? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:20]

HILL: You know, I think this is a good time for us to check in on Santa. The big guy making his way around the world. That's right, the jolly old elf.

At this moment, flying over Ukraine. This is a live look at NORAD's Santa tracker. By NORAD's count, he's now delivered more than 3 billion presents. Not a bad day at the office, busy guy.

Today marks a historic first in space travel. The Parker Solar Probe passed the closest to human made object has ever come to the sun, moving at a mind bending 430,000 miles per hour. So that means it could reach from Tokyo to Washington DC in under a minute, according to NASA.

The uncrewed spacecraft is also expected to give us some really dramatic new insights. Just what are those insights? We're going to ask the guy who knows. CNN's aviation analyst and science correspondent for PBS NewsHour, Miles O'Brien, who I adore for many reasons, but one of them being today that you make things that are little complicated understandable.

So the first question I have for you, Miles, is --

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: May I interrupt you there, Erica. You put the pressure on me.

HILL: That's right. Flattery is going to get me everywhere in this segment. It's going get me all the information.

So what I am floored by is the fact that this is the spacecraft that's able to get the closest to the sun, essentially without burning up. How were they able to do this? Because the proximity is really key here.

O'BRIEN: Yes. It's an amazing craft and it's done well so far. You know, it's launched in 2018. This approach, the closest one, is the 18th pass that comes within 4 million miles of the sun, which is close.

The temperature on the outside has to be able to withstand upwards of 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. And then on the instrument side maintain no more than about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. It's made of thick carbon material. It's actually the same material that was used on the leading edge of the space shuttles for its atmospheric reentry.

And then, it has a ceramic surface on top of that. It's a marvel of engineering that it survived and is able to do what it's been doing.

HILL: So, what is it going to tell us? In a perfect world, what are we learning here?

O'BRIEN: Well, here's the big mystery, Erica. Imagine you wanted to cook a hamburger, and instead of using your oven, you turned on a hundred watt light bulb in the far corner of your kitchen. And then took the hamburger into the living room and you were able to cook it.

That's basically what how the sun operates, because as it gets farther away from the surface, things heat up. It's the opposite of the laws of thermodynamics as we understand them. It's a huge mystery. Why is the sun's surface 100,000 degrees and the corona well into the millions?

[14:40:10]

This is the heart of what the Parker Solar Probe is trying to learn about. There's a lot of scientific reasons to understand it, but it also has a lot to do ultimately with what we call space weather, which impacts our life on Earth here significantly.

HILL: Things like solar winds and solar flares.

O'BRIEN: Solar wind, solar flares, they affect satellites, communication satellites, GPS, the grid. And if you're an astronaut in space, you want to know when one of these things are coming so you can take shelter.

So there's a lot of good reason to be able to predict this better, but because scientists don't really understand why things heat up as they get farther away, it's difficult to make those kinds of predictions. Parker may help us get to a point where we can make a better prediction about when these things might occur.

HILL: How quickly could we have some of that information, not only have that information, but be able to use it in that way, right, to maybe start to be able to predict some of these events?

O'BRIEN: Well, we're already starting to get data back. For one thing, Parker has discovered there are these strange switchbacks in the magnetic field of the sun. They'll go one way briefly and then switch around. Why, that is not certain.

Parker is also the first spacecraft to have actually direct sensing of particles in the corona. That information is going to help piece it together, but it's going to take a while for scientists to pull it all together and really come to any sort of conclusion. Maybe they'll find a clue in there somewhere which could give them some way of predicting these solar flares or coronal mass ejections so that we could harden our systems or turn off things, or protect astronauts in the future.

HILL: This one, I didn't warn you that were going to talk about this, Miles, but I feel like you're going to be OK with it. So we started our segment with a quick check in on the big guy, on Santa, following him on NORAD's Santa tracker.

Now, a short time ago, he was near the International Space Station. Do you have any concerns about Santa sort of being up that high in space, in the atmosphere?

O'BRIEN: I just watched "Red One" last night. I think Santa is gonna be just fine. You gotta see that movie. It's great.

Santa could do this, and it's going to be all right. I'm sure he's got all the life support he needs. And certainly those reindeer can match the speed of the International Space Station, which, as you know, 17,500 miles an hour. But with Rudolph, I'm sure it'll be fine.

HILL: I think you're right. And I mean, let's not forget Rudolph, he's got the light there, but he's not working alone. They're a team.

O'BRIEN: That's right. Yes.

HILL: Always good to see you, my friend. Thank you, Miles. Merry Christmas.

O'BRIEN: Pleasure, Erica.

HILL: We're going to take a quick break here. And then a closer look at the viral videos which made the top list, the list of the top 10, rather, for 2024. You can think about what might be on there and we'll give you the rundown after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:21]

HILL: We have covered a lot of stories this year, from the silly to the shocking.

FREEMAN: But truly, it's hard to beat those videos that went viral in 2024. Boris Sanchez takes a look at the Top 10.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Buster, come here. Come here. Come here. You little (inaudible). BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Coming in at number 10 on the list of the viral videos on CNN that everyone was talking about in 2024, a lovable but very disobedient dog.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, are you ready to come in?

SANCHEZ: Over and over again, his owner tries to get him to leave the pool.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be a good boy for once in your life.

SANCHEZ: But this Florida dog just won't listen. It's only when dad uses his I-mean-business voice that Buster does listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go. Come on. No, sir. Buster, get over here.

SANCHEZ: Number nine.

Catherine, Princess of Wales: It has been an incredibly tough couple of months for --

SANCHEZ: A stunning announcement from Catherine, the Princess of Wales.

KATE MIDDLETON, PRINCESS OF WALES: In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present.

SANCHEZ: In September, Kate released a video saying she had completed her chemotherapy treatment. Her startling cancer diagnosis announcement came weeks after we learned King Charles was also battling an unspecified cancer, following a procedure for an enlarged prostate in January.

At number eight, dramatic footage of a passenger plane in Brazil falling from the sky in August. The shocking video showing the twin engine turbo prop plane spiraling out of the sky into the city of Vinhedo before hitting the ground, killing all 62 people on board. No one on the ground was hurt. Number seven.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is really kicked up --

SANCHEZ: Hurricane Milton making landfall on Florida's west coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at the -- that huge tree limb just blowing through the intersection.

SANCHEZ: It was a dangerous Category 3 storm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This fence came down earlier right here behind me here, and now it seems to be breaking apart.

SANCHEZ: The wind and the storm surge associated with this hurricane that is right now pushing its way inland. Milton dropped about 18 inches of rain on St. Petersburg, representing a more than 1 in 1000 year rainfall for that area. Number six. In September, explosive attacks in Lebanon targeting pagers used by Hezbollah members. The blasts killed 12 and injured more than 2,300. CNN learned Israel was behind the attack, which was a joint operation between Israel's intelligence service, the Mossad, and the Israeli military.

[14:50:06]

The Lebanese government condemned the attack as criminal Israeli aggression.

Number five, police in Illinois releasing body camera footage of the deadly police shooting of Sonya Massey in July. The 36-year-old black woman had called 911 for help to report a possible prowler at her home in Springfield.

SONYA MASSEY, SHOT AND KILLED BY SEAN GRAYSON: I heard somebody outside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't see nobody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody's out here.

SANCHEZ: The body camera footage shows the deputy continuing to interact with Massey. But things take a turn when she goes back to check on a pot on the stove.

DEPUTY: Away from your hot steaming water.

MASSEY: Away from my hot steaming water?

DEPUTY: Yes.

MASSEY: Oh, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. I rebuke you in the name of --

DEPUTY: You better (inaudible) not. I swear to God I'll (inaudible) shoot you at your face.

MASSEY: OK, I'm sorry.

DEPUTY: Drop the pot. Drop the pot.

SANCHEZ: Three shots were fired killing Massey. No intruder was found. The deputy was fired from his job and charged with first degree murder. He's pleaded not guilty.

At number four on the list, the presidential historian who's correctly predicted nine of the last 10 presidential races makes his pick for the 2024 winner, Vice President Kamala Harris.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you ever changed your prediction?

ALLAN LICHTMAN, HISTORIAN: I have never changed my prediction once I made a final call. Unfortunately for Allan Lichtman, this year's pick did not pan out for him. Number three on the list, Baltimore's key bridge collapse. Video shows

the moment a cargo ship crashed into the bridge in March. Six members of a road crew who were working on the bridge at the time were killed.

A preliminary report by the NTSB found the ship had a pair of catastrophic electrical failures minutes before the crash and experienced two blackouts a day before. The preliminary report does not conclude a probable cause.

DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT-ELECT: If you want to really see something that said, take a look at what happened at --

SANCHEZ: At number two, the failed assassination attempt of Donald Trump. In July, Trump was speaking at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when shots rang out. Trump grabbed his ear, dropped to the ground and was quickly surrounded by Secret Service agents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got you, sir. I got you, sir.

TRUMP: Let me get my shoes.

SANCHEZ: Trump was seen with blood on his ear and cheek as he was rushed off the stage. The shooting left one person dead and two others critically injured. Another video from that day shows the moment people attending the rally spotted the shooter on top of a nearby building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, someone's on top of the roof. Look, there he is right there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right there. See him? He's laying down. See him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he's laying down.

SANCHEZ: Moments after the 20-year-old gunman opened fire, he was killed by a Secret Service sniper.

And the number one viral video of 2024, disturbing hotel surveillance video of Sean Diddy Combs. In May, CNN published exclusively obtained video from 2016. In it, you see the hip hop mogul physically assaulting his then girlfriend Cassie Ventura in the hallway of a hotel.

Combs previously denied Ventura's allegations of assault, which were the basis of a now settled federal lawsuit filed by Ventura in 2023. Soon after the video was published, Combs apologized for his behavior in a video statement posted to Instagram.

Now in federal custody, Combs was arrested in September after a sprawling federal investigation. He's awaiting trial on numerous charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. He's pleaded not guilty.

Combs is also facing dozens of civil lawsuits accusing him of a range of sexual misconduct and other illegal activity. Attorneys for Combs deny the claims.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Number of moments for sure, all right. His smooth vocals gave music lovers songs for the ages, full of style, souls and romance. And now a scene in film takes you inside the storied career of Luther Vandross. One of the most influential artists of all time.

HILL: "Luther: Never Too Much" presents some rarely seen footage of the icon as some of his closest friends and collaborators reflect on his legacy. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Luther Vandross.

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember hearing "A House is Not a Home" for the first time. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I told him, I said, baby doll, you have just given me the definitive version of that song.

(MUSIC)

[14:50:00]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The all new CNN film "Luther: Never Too Much" premieres New Year's Day at 8:00pm Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.

Just ahead, newly released court documents reveal disturbing new details about the burning death of a woman on a New York City subway. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: The man charged in a fiery New York subway murder facing a judge for the first time as we learn new details from that arraignment today. (Inaudible) MURDER and arson charges.

FREEMAN: Plus, it's like the Super Bowl or World Series of travel days with millions squeezing in last minute holiday trips. And on top of that, a temporary pause in flight this morning for a major airline. What we know about the cause and the impact.