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Officials: Israel & Hamas Nearing Ceasefire-Hostage Deal; As L.A. Fires Burn, Misinformation Spreads Online; RPT: China Weighs Sale Of TikTok U.S. To Musk As Possible Option. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired January 14, 2025 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:02]
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: And coming up, talks on a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel that goes along with hostages being released are said to be very close. We're going to bring you the latest after a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BASH: Now to the breaking news today out of the Middle East, Hamas and Israel appear to be on the cusp of a hostage deal for a ceasefire. And today, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says it is ready to be concluded and implemented if Hamas accepts the agreement.
[15:35:13]
The first phase of this potential deal could bring home 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The agreement would mean a 42-day ceasefire in a war that has been raging for 15 months.
I'm joined now by Gil Dickmann. Three of his family members were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th, 2023. Two were killed and a third eventually was released.
Gil, thank you so much for joining us. What are your thoughts and emotions about -- I can't even imagine what you're feeling as we are on pins and needles once again.
GIL DICKMANN, RELATIVES TAKEN HOSTAGE; AUNT AND COUSIN MURDERED: Yes, so I'm here with all the family members of the hostages. We're all in sort of a roller coaster because it's been 15-something months and we've been hearing for such a long time that a deal was approaching and we never knew who to believe. But right now, it seems really very close.
I actually spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu today. We met him with other family members of hostages and he told us that it could be within days or even hours. We're just waiting on Hamas to respond positively and then we can start with the first phase in 33 hostages.
It is very important that all of you know that we're still waiting for 65 more hostages. There are not only 33 hostages, but 98 hostages and we want all of them. We must have all of them because my cousin Carmel, she was in captivity and she was alive for 328 days waiting for a ceasefire and a deal that will bring her back, but then she was murdered in captivity.
If we leave some of the people behind, we may never see them again and we can't do that. Trump -- President-elect Trump was sort of the X factor in bringing this ceasefire. We've been waiting for a very long time for the two sides to agree and now that he's about to enter the White House, I think it made a huge effect.
He was the X factor for the fact that actually this deal took place and we urge him not to finish with that, but to go on and make sure that all the hostages come home. Be the X factor that makes it so no hostages left behind.
BASH: What else did Prime Minister Netanyahu tell you when you spoke with him earlier? Did he give you any details about, we know 33 hostages, about who they are and why they were chosen in Phase 1?
DICKMANN: Well, we know that these 33 hostages were considered to be humanitarian at some point and Israel delivered a list of names and Hamas has just now agreed to it, but we know that a lot of time has passed since then. We know and we are afraid that some of these hostages that were taken alive and all of them were taken alive, some of them already were murdered or killed in captivity in the last few months and we know that other hostages that were left -- that are not a part of this list, some of them are also sick, some of them are also ill and must be returned home completely. We know now that after so many days, after 15 months, more than 400 days, all 98 hostages are considered humanitarian and we must get all of them back.
So we have -- we know sort of who's coming, whose sister is coming and whose father is coming and it's just, it's exciting to think about that and we can imagine the hugs that we're going to see and the running towards the hostages that we're going to have, we can have it in just a matter of days and it's amazing to think about it, but for us the focus is that there are still people there and we must do whatever we can to get them back.
BASH: Yeah, it is so bittersweet even to think about it. I'm sure even and especially for somebody like you, you just talked about Carmel, your cousin, who did survive for so long and then was brutally, brutally murdered after what, almost a year of being in captivity.
DICKMANN: Yeah, that's right, she was --
[15:40:00]
BASH: Please go ahead.
DICKMANN: Yeah, she was not -- not only did she survive for 328 days, she was -- we're on the cusp of a ceasefire, she was also on the cusp of getting released, both on the first ceasefire of November, she was just a few hours from being released and even when there were discussions and negotiations about a deal in July, she was supposed to come out in the first few days, but then the negotiations collapsed, she stayed behind once again and was killed with other hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was also a part of what's called humanitarian list. BASH: Yeah.
DICKMANN: And for us it's so painful to think that she could have been there, she could have been home in this field, but what I'm trying to focus on is the fact that many other hostages are also waiting to be released and we have to make sure that their families aren't left alone, that they're not left alone there and I want to call President- elect Trump, thank him for all that he's done to make sure that this deal could be signed -- to thank President Biden for all that he's done because they've done so much and to tell President Trump, we trust you to get us to the finish line with all the hostages, 98 hostages home.
BASH: Gil Dickmann, thank you so much for being here, we are with you in spirit as you are waiting for the final word, hoping that this hostage deal does go through --
DICKMANN: Thank you. Thank you so much.
BASH: -- as the Prime Minister told you. Thank you, Gil.
DICKMANN: Let's hope for good news, thank you.
BASH: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:46:04]
BASH: One week since those powerful winds turned fires into firestorms around Los Angeles and the death toll rising, unimaginable devastation is still spreading. The tragedy is also igniting a lot of conspiracy theories.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan looks at some of the wild and unfounded statements coming from some high-profile people.
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MEL GIBSON, ACTOR & DIRECTOR: California has a lot of problems that sort of baffle the mind as far as why they do things.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mel Gibson on Fox News primetime after losing his home in the California fires.
GIBSON: And then in the events like this, you sort of look, well, is it on purpose, which it's an insane thing to think. But one begins to ponder whether or not there is a purpose in mind. What could it be? You know, do they want the state empty? I don't know.
O'SULLIVAN: Conspiracy theories spreading like wildfire.
DEANNA LORRAINE, HOST, STEW PETERS NETWORK: This is an obvious land grab. They get them out of their homes this way, and then they can build whatever they want to build.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): From the common refrain that it's all part of a government plot --
ALEX JONES, HOST, "INFOWARS": This is siege by design.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): To suspected A.I.-generated video and images falsely showing the fires approaching the iconic Hollywood sign. Fact checkers working for Meta have been debunking some of the misinformation on Facebook and Instagram.
MARK ZUCKERBERG, META CEO: Hey, everyone.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But last week, Mark Zuckerberg announced this.
ZUCKERBERG: We're going to get rid of fact checkers and replace them with community notes.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Replacing fact checkers with community notes, a form of crowdsourced fact checking that is used on X.
But critics say Zuckerberg shouldn't be trying to emulate X, pointing to viral misinformation on that platform that goes unchecked, like this post, viewed almost half a million times, baselessly claiming DARPA, a wing of the Department of Defense, started the fires.
ELON MUSK, OWNER OF X: I'm here with the fire command team at the Palisades Fire.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Indeed, X's owner, Elon Musk, has spent the last week elevating conspiracy theories about the fires.
MUSK: What about water availability?
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Responding to a post from disgraced conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that the fires are part of a globalist plot, Musk responded, "True."
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): And the California governor, Gavin Newsom, has set up a website, he says, pushing back on some of this misinformation.
Look, there is a political debate to be had here about policies; about how to prevent devastation like this from happening again. But so much of what we're seeing online from people like Elon Musk, some -- some also from President-elect Trump, is just straight-up misinformation.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Donie O'Sullivan, thank you so much for that important report.
TikTok is facing a deadline in five days to be bought or shut down in the United States. Could the app end up in the hands of the man you just heard Donie talking about, Elon Musk?
That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:53:13]
BASH: Facing a looming U.S. TikTok ban, Chinese officials have internally discussed options for the fate of their social media app. Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal report that China is evaluating the possibility of allowing Elon Musk to acquire the U.S. operations of TikTok. While China is, of course, opposed to the U.S. law that bans the app unless it is appropriated, sold to somebody other than China here in the U.S., the Supreme Court signaled it would likely let that law stand.
CNN's Hadas Gold has been following all of this for us. Hadas, is this Elon Musk possibility real?
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, according to the "Wall Street Journal" and "Bloomberg," it's definitely a real conversation that's happening amongst Chinese government officials. And that's what's so fascinating about this is that this is happening at the levels of Chinese government officials. And they're not saying that this is a conversation that's happening amongst TikTok's parent company, ByteDance.
But it goes to show you how the Chinese government is gaming out a potential future for TikTok in the event, as we saw indicated by the Supreme Court, that they may uphold this ban or sell. One of these ideas that's floated, according to these reports, is that Elon Musk's ex would acquire TikTok. And that sort of makes sense when you're looking at these two social media companies.
Ex could really expand and work with TikTok. And Elon Musk has an AI company that could really use some of this TikTok data. And obviously they have reams and reams of data.
But Musk, for his part, he hasn't commented on it. And according to these reports, it's not even clear that he's aware of these conversations. And we should note that TikTok, for their part, they are firmly denying this. They say in a statement, we cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction.
Now, as for why the Chinese would want to do this, you know, Elon Musk obviously has the ear of President-elect Donald Trump. He will reportedly even have an office on the White House grounds. He's spoken out against this TikTok ban. And he's spoken in favor of this Chinese government. And he has a lot of business interest in China as well.
Dana.
[15:55:17]
BASH: Yeah, it also requires tens of billions of dollars, which few people have. But Elon Musk is one of them. Thank you, Hadas. I appreciate that.
And Catherine, princess of Wales, just gave a major update about her health. That's next.
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BASH: This just in, Catherine, Princess of Wales, says she is in remission from cancer. She shared that good news after making an unannounced visit earlier today to the hospital where she underwent treatment last year. The Princess writes on social media, quote, "as anyone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis will know it takes time to adjust to a new normal. I am, however, looking forward to a fulfilling year ahead."
[16:00:12]
There is much to look forward to. Kate first shared her cancer diagnosis last year.
Thank you so much for joining us for this very long afternoon. Appreciate you being here. "The Lead" with Jake Tapper starts right now.
