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Lawsuits and Charges against Music Mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs Reviewed; President-Elect Trump Threatens to Retake Panama Canal from Panama; President-Elect Trump Selects Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera as U.S. Ambassador to Panama; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) Interviewed on Possibility Incoming Republican Congress and President-Elect Trump will Cut Social Security and Medicare Benefits; New Questions About Cause of Deadly Plane Crash in Kazakhstan; Israeli Strike Kills Five Journalists in Gaza. Aired: 8-8:30a ET

Aired December 26, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Estimated to have made over $2 billion, it's by far the most successful concert tour of all time. Not only that, she released a new album, "The Tortured Poets Department." All this, and she's the darling of the NFL, cheering on boyfriend Travis Kelce in February to yet another Super Bowl victory for the Kansas City Chiefs.

And the number one entertainment story of 2024, the fall of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. After a flood of civil lawsuits alleging Combs sexually assaulted dozens of people, federal investigators raided the hip hop stars homes, signaling a federal indictment was imminent. Then CNN released this video of Combs assaulting his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, at a hotel in 2016. The shocking video prompted Combs to speak out for the first time since he came under fire.

SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS, MUSIC MOGUL: I mean, I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavior on that video is inexcusable.

WAGMEISTER: But it only got worse for Combs with a September federal indictment charging him with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. The case is sending shockwaves through the music industry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The names that we're going to name are names that will shock you.

WAGMEISTER: Jay-Z was named in a civil suit alleging he assaulted a 13-year-old girl with Combs in 2000, charges he vigorously denies, questioning why there was never a criminal charge.

WAGMEISTER (on camera): Combs has also denied all of the allegations against him, saying he never sexually assaulted anyone. His criminal trial is set for May of 2025, and he faces at least 30 civil suits, ensuring that Combs's legal troubles could be big news for years to come.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: After threatening to retake control of Panama Canal, President-Elect Trump Donald Trump has now tapped a staunch ally to be his U.S. ambassador to Panama. Plus, what he's now claiming about China's influence there.

And what caused that deadly Christmas Day plane crash in Kazakhstan? While Russia is blaming a bird strike for bringing that plane down this morning, Ukraine is blaming Russia.

And a dog stranded on a frozen lake now safe thanks to a drone and a piece of chicken. Details on this lovely Christmas Day rescue.

I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan. John Berman is out today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Days after warning the U.S. would retake control of the Panama Canal, President-Elect Donald Trump has named his pick for U.S. ambassador to Panama, a role that could unexpectedly suddenly become key during Trump's second term. Trump tapped Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera, one of his staunch allies. Cabrera may be critical to Trumps new push for potential U.S. expansion, which so far has included the Panama Canal, Greenland, and even Canada.

CNN's Steve Contorno is tracking all this. It sounds like this will be a big job, or at least he will be in the spotlight as a new ambassador with all the talk from Donald Trump about trying to take back, as he put it, the Panama Canal. What can you tell us about him, the ambassador?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Sara, yes. Sara, I think we can safely say that this issue with the Panama Canal will certainly come up during Cabrera's confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill next year. But look, he is someone who, as you said, is very aligned with Donald Trump. And Trump announced him on Truth Social yesterday during a time period when many people were sitting down for their Christmas dinners. He wrote, quote, "I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as the United States ambassador to the Republic of Panama, a country that is ripping us off at the Panama Canal far beyond their wildest dreams."

So who is this individual that Donald Trump has tapped for this suddenly key role in his administration? Well, he is a county commissioner in Miami-Dade County. That is a part of Florida that has become increasingly pro-Trump in recent years. In fact, Cabrera was endorsed by Donald Trump before winning election two years ago.

He also sponsored legislation soon after getting elected that would name a street in Miami-Dade County after Donald Trump. He also repped Florida on the RNC platform committee that met this summer to push through a very pro-Trump agenda for the GOP going forward. And he also worked on Trump's campaign back in 2020.

[08:04:58]

Cabrera also posting on X his thanks for the job, writing, "Thank you, President Trump. I'm humbled and honored by your nomination to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Panama. Let's get to work." Sara?

SIDNER: All right, Steve Contorno, thank you, there live for us from Miami. Appreciate it.

Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk more about this with Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. It's good to see you, Congresswoman. Thanks so much for coming in.

Kevin Marino Cabrera, former Miami-Cade county commissioner, now -- well, maybe former -- his choice to be ambassador to Panama. What do you think of this selection?

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, (D-FL): You know, I don't know much about the commissioner. I did represent Miami-Dade County for 18 years. And I'll tell you, it's just another example of Trump selecting an individual who has a scant resume other than being someone who worships Donald Trump. We have a free trade agreement with Panama. We have a decades and generations long relationship. And you know what, what Donald Trump and Speaker Johnson and the Republicans across our government are doing is demonstrating that the incoming chaos Congress and this administration is going to be of, by, and for the billionaires and corporations. And thats what they're telegraphing very clearly.

BOLDUAN: Donald Trump is making clear in his focus on Panama that it's about Chinas growing influence is his, what he says is the point. One of his, one top Trump appointee put it this way. I'll read it for you. "It's designed to make clear that decades of U.S. commerce financing China's growth and strategic footprint in the Americas is over." You may not like his style or approach to diplomacy, but if he does successfully, I don't know, push China back or scare them off with regard to influence in the Americas, could this threat be worth angering Panama's government, in your view?

SCHULTZ: It is utterly preposterous to suggest that we are going to send our military in to Panama to, quote, take back the Panama Canal. As I said, we have a treaty with Panama. We have a free trade agreement with Panama. We are no more going to take back the Panama Canal then Panama is going to come in and try to take the Mississippi River from us.

We have to have rational, balanced diplomacy. And listen, the Belt and Road Initiative that China has engaged in is something that I have traveled the globe with my colleagues and met with military leaders. It is real, it is a real issue. But what we need to do is make sure that we strengthen our relationships with our, with our allies and treaty partners like Panama, not make ridiculous carnival barker threats like buying Greenland, which isn't for sale, and we're not going to acquire, and invading Panama to take back the canal.

There's been a drought in Panama, and so it has been -- it has slowed passage of ships. But what Donald Trump is really trying to do here is try to get better fees for passage for his corporate and billionaire allies. That's what this boils down to, and it's preposterous. BOLDUAN: You talked about the, I think you called it chaos Congress.

One thing that we know that Congress will not be staring down, at least immediately when you all return, is a government shutdown. "The Washington Post" is reporting on how Speaker Johnson was able to pull it off in the end after the bipartisan agreement, then not, then -- you know, we all know the formations of how we got to where we got.

Let me read what "The Washington Post" says that Speaker Johnson did. He says he "proposed a handshake deal with fiscal hawks in his party to try next year to slash mandatory spending programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans' health care, and food stamps by at least $2.5 trillion while raising the debt cap by $1.5 trillion." And this is according to the three people familiar with the details. If that is the case and where the focus is going to be when they when you all get back, what's that going to mean for next year?

SCHULTZ: Listen, Kate, that's not hyperbole. There was a screenshot that was taken inside the Republican conference meeting where that deal was proposed. And as someone who represents the state with the largest percentage of Medicare beneficiaries, I will tell you that that sends chills down the spines of millions of seniors across this country. We are -- the Republicans have been salivating to turn Medicare into a voucher system, to privatize Social Security.

[08:10:03]

I can't tell you the number of times that I have talked with panicked seniors in my district who, when I asked them if they think that they could manage their own retirement security in a privatized Social Security system, where they're given the money and you just have to let them fend for themselves on how they're going to have enough to be able to live on, it's frightening.

And the Republicans are proving again, and we've got, again, a carnival barker coming in who doesn't understand what our retirement programs that have been paid into for generations, over 80 years, and 70, 60 years for Medicare, and our seniors are owed a safe and secure retirement and health care that they don't have to worry about dying as a result of not having that kind of coverage. That's what Trump and his cronies in the chaos Congress that's coming are guaranteeing.

BOLDUAN: Well, and it also can put the right flank of the party even at odds with Donald Trump himself, who has said that in the past that he wants to protect these programs and campaigned on that. So, again, we will see. But we will but we will see as the --

SCHULTZ: He's very much a part of their --

BOLDUAN: We know that definitely --

SCHULTZ: Donald Trump is --

BOLDUAN: -- he and Elon Musk were part of the negotiations, slash torpedoing of negotiations for sure when it comes to the government shutdown. But that means that you all have got about a three-month reprieve, and then you're back up against another wall as that government, as the government funding bill only takes you through mid- March. So back at it again.

Congresswoman, thank you for coming on, appreciate your time.

SCHULTZ: My pleasure.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

Coming up for us, a disturbing discovery on a tarmac in Hawaii. A body found in the wheel well of a plane. The investigation now to figure out just how this happened.

Plus, how Donald Trump's relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu could impact ceasefire, hostage -- and hostage release negotiations in the Middle East even before he takes office.

And an alarming rise in whooping cough cases this year as vaccination rates have been dropping.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:15]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: There are new questions this morning about what exactly caused a tragic Christmas Day plane crash that killed at least 38 people in Kazakhstan. In its preliminary report, Russia claimed a bird strike may have forced the emergency landing, but Ukrainian officials and some others are pushing back on that narrative this morning, suggesting the plane was shot down by a Russian air defense system.

Remarkably, there were actually survivors in this fiery crash. Here's what CNN safety analyst, David Soucie just told Kate last hour about how so many people were actually able to survive that crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: We stay with the idea that when an aircraft impacts and the angle that it did, which was nose down, that all of the energy, most of that energy is absorbed and like a crumple zone on a vehicle, it absorbs that energy and then the tail section broke loose and that tail section as it flew through. And you can see in some of the videos, just how far that tail section is from the initial impact zone and that is the reason that they were able to survive. Some just walked away with minor cuts and bruises. So, it truly is a miracle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Twenty-nine people, including two children, made it out of that wreckage somehow, though, 11 people are in the hospital and they remain in critical condition at this hour.

The plane crash came the same night Russia was bombarding Ukraine with nearly 200 missiles and drones. President Biden is now condemning those attacks on Ukraine's critical energy sector and promising to continue a US surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Joining me now is CNN military analyst, Colonel Cedric Leighton. Thank you so much for being here, Colonel.

I want to get your take first on the plane crash over Kazakhstan, Russia, saying it's a bird strike. Ukraine saying, hey, this looks to them like it was shot down by Russia, similar to what we saw happen over Ukraine with MH17. What would it mean if Russia is in some way responsible for this crash?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Sarah, good morning and Happy Holidays. There are some, you know, really significant things. The pictures that were showing right now are critical to the assessment of this kind of an air crash. And what you see here is not consistent with a bird strike. Those holes in the wing and the fuselage there indicating that there was some kind of, in essence, a missile attack or potentially bullet attack against the aircraft.

Now, bullets would have to be done at a much lower altitude than an aircraft normally flies at, but in some cases, you can see this being consistent with a missile like the Buk missile, which was used to shoot down the MH17 several years ago in Ukraine. So, that's the kind of thing that could have happened here.

Obviously, there needs to be an assessment made to see if that is actually what occurred, but it's not consistent with a bird strike for sure.

SIDNER: Now, one of those apps that sort of tracks planes said that there was radar jamming going on at the same time. So there are a lot of questions now and you're speaking about this hole in the wing, and were looking at it and, you know, saying, look, this doesn't really look consistent with what a bird might do to a plane there. So, there are a lot of questions that will have to be unraveled there. Plus, they have gotten a hold, I think, of the black boxes. So, we will see what comes of this.

I do want to talk to you now about what happened in Ukraine, Russia, this devastating strike on Ukraine's energy grid, which is clearly to try and make people suffer in the frigid temperatures. How do you see what they're doing now? What does it tell you about Russia's capabilities? And now that the US is saying, look, we're going to continue to surge more weapons in? What does it tell you about whether or not Ukraine can retaliate and respond?

[08:20:15]

LEIGHTON: Well, it's going to be a close run thing either way, Sara. And what I mean by that is that the Ukrainians are really dependent on Western, especially US aid in terms of weapon systems. Ukraine needs, in essence, to have its air defense systems replenished. They do an excellent job shooting down a lot of the missiles and drones that are being thrown against them, but it's obviously not foolproof. And there are some key components here where the Ukrainians are critically running out of them. They're running out of munitions, they're running out of the ability to spot the incoming missiles and drones, and they need to continue to have those capabilities. The Ukrainians are being stretched to the limits because Russia is just so much bigger in terms of population, in terms of the size of their militaries and in terms of the weaponry that they can throw against Ukraine. That's the kind of thing that that really Ukraine and the West are up against in this particular case. So, what the Biden administration is doing is they're trying to replenish as much as they possibly can, probably about $1.2 billion will make its way before the end of this year in terms of munitions and weapons support.

Also, maintenance support for things like the F-16s. And that's the kind of thing that Ukraine needs in order to sustain their operations. This is going to be critical to sustain, because if we don't sustain it, the Ukrainians are going to face not only a tough winter, but it's going to be a really tough negotiating session with the Russians, once that finally comes about.

SIDNER: And as you know, there will be a new administration in place as well. We will see what happens going forward. Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for coming in and Happy Holidays to you.

All right, new details this morning on a deadly airstrike that killed five journalists in Gaza, who Israel says was the intended target this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:26:30]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So this morning, Gaza hospital officials say five journalists are dead after an overnight Israeli airstrike hit their news van. The van was parked outside the hospital at the time and CNN has obtained video of some of the aftermath that appears to show the word press on the wreckage.

The IDF confirms the strike says it was targeting a terrorist cell. CNN's Elliott Gotkine is live in Jerusalem. He's got much more on this. And, Elliott, what more are you learning?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN CORRESPONDENT : Well, Kate, as you say, hospital officials and also Al-Quds TV, the network for which these five men were working, both say that they were asleep in this van outside this hospital when it was struck, killing all five men.

Now, Al-Quds TV is affiliated with Islamic Jihad. That's the smaller militant group in the Gaza Strip, but which is also designated as a terrorist organization by the US, UK and others.

Now, for its part, Israel is saying that it carried out what it describes as a precise strike on an Islamic jihad terrorist cell and says that these five men were, in its words, posing as journalists. And it provided what it said was evidence, which is a list it says it came upon during the course of operations in Gaza, which listed these men as operatives of Islamic Jihad, and also provided an infographic of the five men where it has their purported positions within Islamic Jihad as well. Now, whatever the facts of the matter, the Committee to Protect Journalists, which is a US-based nonprofit, says that this has been an incredibly deadly year for journalists in this part of the world, especially in Gaza, saying that over 130 journalists and media workers in the Gaza Strip have been killed since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October the 7th -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And, Elliott, there's also some developments kind of swirling about around the hostage and ceasefire negotiations that have been progressing somewhat in Doha. What's the latest you're learning?

GOTKINE: Yes, look, we've heard both from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his office and also from officials from the Egyptians and the Qatari mediators, saying that progress is being made. But even then, we've heard this so many times in the past, these negotiations, which have been going on for the best part of a year, have failed to get over the line. And now, we are hearing from Hamas, which is blaming Israel for effectively moving the goalposts in the negotiations and saying that that is why a deal has failed to be done.

Israel has responded by saying that, in fact, its Hamas which is lying in its Hamas, which is reneging on understanding. So, both sides blaming the other. And I suppose this just goes to underline that even if progress is being made, even if, as some officials have said, 90 percent of what needs to be negotiated has been agreed upon that last 10 percent still appears to be unachievable by both sides, at least so far.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Elliott, thank you very much for being there. Thanks for your time and your reporting.

Joining us right now for more is Barak Ravid of AXIOS. He's also CNN political and global affairs analyst. It's good to see you, Barak. What is your latest and best read on where negotiations for this for a ceasefire and hostage release are at the moment.

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Good morning, Kate.

Unfortunately, as far as I know, and from all the sources I talked to, both, in the US and in Israel and in the region, it seems that the chances are, and I'm being here very careful, the chances are pretty slim that such a hostage and ceasefire deal will be achieved before January 20th, before President Trump assumes office.

And it's interesting and important because President Trump just two weeks ago or three weeks ago, issued, you know, a post, a threat that if until January 20th, the hostages are not all released, all hell will break loose in the Middle East. And I think we are going to get to that point where he is in office, no hostages are released, and he'll have to decide what he's going to do about it.

[08:30:35]