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CNN This Morning

At Least 29 Survive Christmas Plane Crash, But Dozens Feared Dead; Russia Launches Deadly Christmas Day Missile Attack On Ukraine; Pope Francis Delivers Annual Christmas Day Address. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 25, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:32:10]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and Merry Christmas. I'm Danny Freeman in New York.

We're coming to you on the air with breaking news this morning. A Christmas Day plane crash with at least 29 survivors, but dozens are feared dead.

We want to warn you some of this video you might see might be disturbing.

The plane went down near Aktau, Kazakhstan after a reported bird strike. Rescuers were there in moments putting out flames and pulling survivors from the wreckage.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins me now from London. Nada, what more can you tell us about this crash?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Danny, this has come as a huge shock this morning and as you can imagine, investigators and authorities are still looking into the incident.

As you mentioned, we have seen that dramatic and distressing video circulating now showing moments before the crash. The plane, which carried 67 people, including five crew members and 62 passengers, circling the airfield somewhat erratically before it appears the plane attempting to make an emergency landing -- in fact, bursting into flames upon crashing into the ground.

Now, remarkably, authorities say there were survivors. At least 29 people are said to have survived the crash, including two children. And they have all, of course, been taken to hospital for medical attention. We've seen video emerging of some of those passengers emerging from the wreckage, some of them injured and bloody.

But, of course, this is a huge moment of anguish, and many will be anxious -- many of those family members of the loved ones who were onboard. Dozens are, of course, feared to be dead -- to have been killed in that crash.

But we are still waiting to hear more from the authorities with regards to the status of the remaining passengers that have not yet been identified. And, of course, the investigation into the incident is ongoing. Russian -- or aviation authorities say they believed according to preliminary information the emergency landing may have been caused by a reported bird strike. But again, we are still waiting to get more updates and clarification on that -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Nada Bashir, some of that new video just truly stunning and quite scary. Thank you very much.

And to this now. Russia has launched a massive Christmas morning aerial attack on Ukraine's energy sector -- an attack Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned as inhumane.

At least one person was killed in the Dnipro region after Russia launched more than 70 missiles and 100 attack drones. Ukraine air defense managed to shoot down many of them but several still hit their energy sector targets leading to blackouts across the country.

You can see some of the damage here in Kharkiv to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure as well.

And this Christmas morning Pope Francis urgently calling for peace and the end of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. A short time ago the pope delivered his 12th annual Christmas blessing from the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica. Thousands were in the crowd as the pope prayed that leaders would negotiate peace in war torn Ukraine and the Middle East. The pope then reminded all that Christmas is a time for reconciliation.

[07:35:10]

And Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris celebrated its first Christmas masses since a fire nearly destroyed it five years ago. On Christmas Eve about 2,000 people joined an afternoon mass there. Worshippers and other visitors saw the restoration of the recently reopened cathedral. Stunning there.

All right, that's a look at your top stories on this Christmas Day. Now back to Kasie.

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats still reeling from Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris looking to turn the page this holiday season.

President-elect Trump hasn't even been sworn in yet and there's already talk of who might succeed him, while Democrats looking to be the party's next leader may have to get in line behind Harris. The vice president hinting she could be sticking around.

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KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let us always remember our country is worth fighting for and our spirit will not be defeated. And I promise you I will be with you every step of the way.

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I knew what I was doing when I asked her to be my vice president. I knew her. I knew of her. I knew about her. I knew her record. I trusted her. She always served this country with purpose and integrity, and she always will. And you're not going anywhere, kid because we're not going to let you go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: "We're not going to let you go."

Our panel is back.

Meghan Hayes, is Kamala Harris going to be at the front of the line?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION CONSULTANT: I'm not sure she'll be at the front of the line. I think it's going to be extremely competitive in '28. I think we're going to be looking toward Midwestern governors. I think there's a lot of people that want to be in a competitive primary for the next presidential nominee.

I also think we could be looking for someone we don't know. It could be a celebrity or an athlete. I think the Republican Party has sort of reshaped what is acceptable for a presidential nominee, and I think the Democrats are going to be looking for that.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: It's Republicans after 2012 when they lost the election -- when Romney lost and there was no clear leader in the party at the time. Now, to some extent that led to the rise of Donald Trump, which seemed to work out quite well for both him and Republicans over a 12-year period. But there is not that one singular figure at the top of the party right now.

MATT GORMAN, REPUBLICAN SRATEGIST, FORMER TIM SCOTT PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: Journalists love to ask who's the leader of the Republican Party right now when they -- after we lose the presidential -- and the answer is there really wasn't, and there isn't when there isn't a presence in the office just like there isn't right now for the Democrats. And that's OK, right, because that allows these things to grow.

I would feel fairly safe putting my money down that Kamala Harris will not be the nominee in '28 for a host of reasons. I think Trump's the aberration in that regard, not the rule. But you have a bench -- and I think I'll tell you right now Josh Shapiro is pretty happy he wasn't on the ticket, I'm sure, and a part of all that.

HAYES: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Counterpoint.

GORMAN: Yeah, all right.

WILLIAMS: You can't say that Nancy Pelosi was not the head of the Democratic Party in those periods when the Democrats didn't have the majority. You had -- didn't have the presidency, pardon me. You had a really powerful congressional leader with national name recognition and great at fundraising -- all of the above, and that's certainly Sen. Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are both prominent leaders. But Nancy Pelosi did have a hold on the party when they weren't.

HUNT: Do you want to put money down on a -- on a nominee in 2028 for the Democrats? Mark's, like, no.

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MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, I do because I've got a gambling problem.

(LAUGHTER)

PRESTON: No, no, no. Here is the reality -- and we're talking about the end of 2012. There were 11 candidates on stage in the first debate at that time. And if you go back to 2016 as well there were so many people running for the Republican presidential nomination, they had to break the debates up into two --

WILLIAMS: That's right.

HUNT: Yeah.

PRESTON: -- just in order for the --

HUNT: Oh, yeah, the kids' table.

PRESTON: Yeah.

HUNT: The kids' debate stage.

PRESTON: Correct, which still, by the way, was -- would be watched by eight to 10 million people at the time.

HUNT: Yeah.

PRESTON: But I will say this -- there will be a bloodbath in the Democratic Party right now for control of the Democratic Party. Meghan is right that there will be this look at the Josh Shapiros and Midwestern governors. But guess what? Ro Khanna is not going to be looking for them --

WILLIAMS: No.

PRESTON: -- nor is Elizabeth Warren, and nor is Bernie Sanders, and that whole wing of the party -- AOC. You will see a bloodbath.

And if Democrats can't get together now on Capitol Hill in the next year it's going to be really telling about how they won't be able to get together as a party in 2028.

HUNT: All right. Our panel will be back in just a couple of minutes.

With the new year just days away two NASA astronauts now counting down the days until they are able to return home. What was supposed to be an eight-day trip -- it turned into more than six months for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that took them there.

SpaceX is scheduled to launch a rescue mission to bring them home. NASA administrator Bill Nelson not willing to take any unnecessary risks.

BILL NELSON, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: The safety of our astronauts is always first in our decisions. It is our North Star. We do not fly until we are ready.

[07:40:00]

HUNT: Keith Cowing is here. He is the editor of NASAWatch.com. Keith, it's wonderful to have you back. Thank you much for being here.

KEITH COWING, EDITOR, NASAWATCH.COM, ASTROBIOLOGIST: My pleasure.

HUNT: So these two astronauts were not expecting to have to celebrate their Christmas or any holiday that they celebrate --

COWING: Right.

HUNT: -- up in the sky and yet there they are.

What does the fact that they got stranded there and the situation with Boeing say about where we are on these big picture things we're trying to do -- go back to the moon and go to Mars?

COWING: Well, normally, the answer if we don't have an answer is space is hard, which is sort of like punting on the obvious.

HUNT: Yes.

COWING: But --

HUNT: Rocket science, difficult.

COWING: Yeah, yeah.

HUNT: It's actually rocket science.

COWING: It is. There is rocket science involved.

But in this case here the idea was if you were going to buy two different ways to get people to the Space Station commercially and if one didn't work the other would be there. Well, one didn't work and the other is there, but they had a scheduling issue. And this is just like expeditions I've been on where the plane comes in and there's nine seats and 10 people. Yeah, you've got to wait. It's pretty much what it is.

And as far as if you're going to ask me what Butch and Suni are thinking, I don't know Butch but Suni coming out of the hatch with the hair -- that's Suni. I've known her forever and that -- she's -- six months in outer space, sign me up.

HUNT: She's there.

COWING: Right, she's there.

HUNT: That's good to know.

So let's talk big picture a little bit. And we're obviously -- and we've been talking -- we talk a lot of politics on this show. We're talking about Elon Musk is going to be a big part probably of the incoming Trump administration. And he has been so focused on space for so long. And I know you knew him back in the beginning when he was first talking about this.

I want to play a little bit of what he said about why -- you may have seen -- our viewers may have seen he runs around with this "Occupy Mars" shirt on, right? And that's the language he uses when he talks about other planets.

Let's listen to what he said. This was back in 2022. Let's watch Elon Musk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, OWNER, SPACEX: Eventually, the sun will expand and destroy all life. So for those who really care about not just the humans but all the life on Earth it is very important -- essential that over the long term that we become a multi-planet species and ultimately even go beyond the solar system and bring life with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Do you think Elon Musk is right about that?

COWING: I don't disagree with him. And, yes, I've known him for a long time. I met him when he was in his 20s. He was talking about Mars then. He didn't have the t-shirt yet, but he was talking about going to Mars. So this is not a new idea. He just has more resources than most countries do to make it happen.

HUNT: So what impact do you think it will have on America's space program to have Elon Musk so close to the White House?

COWING: Well, it's a good sign in that you can't just give everything to him despite what people are thinking. But it does show that you can come up with new ways to do old things and sometimes old ways work. Again, it's the mix and it's the entrepreneurial spirit.

But these rockets that go up now -- he builds them like corn silos. They're consumer products. And if you've got a dent in it, he fixes it. Whereas NASA takes every couple or three-four years and it costs billions of dollars.

So having somebody advising Trump on how to do things cheaper -- if you push all the politics and the DOGE and stuff aside, he's done it. He's doing it every day. And the guy who got picked to run NASA is also a billionaire, but he's flown in that spacecraft. He's taken the risk. And he's actually bought a couple of rides.

So it's not bad news. It's whether they can translate it into a government agency that's sort of done its own thing for 60-something years.

HUNT: Yeah.

So what, right now, are our biggest obstacles to going back to the moon and eventually to Mars?

COWING: Right now it's just getting a plan and sticking to it, to be honest. And I made a joke last night. They put a report out from NASA and it's the same as last year. They changed the dates and whatnot. They really have sort of the same old tired reasons for doing things even if they're exciting and want to have everybody involved.

I think we really sort of with Trump coming back in and everybody questioning everything that maybe we ought to sit back and say do we want to do this? The answer is probably yes. What's the best way to do it? Is the way we're doing it now the best way? Maybe not. Can we afford to keep doing it that way? No.

HUNT: So how do you think the leadership change -- you think the leadership change at NASA might allow them to ask that question.

COWING: It might. I mean, I've seen this before. I've been covering -- I've been watching NASA and this, and I've seen this movie before. I've written the script and -- but you never know. This may be the opportunity for something important to happen. We'll see. Stay tuned.

HUNT: All right, Keith Cowing. Always grateful to have you on the show. Thank you so much for being here.

All right. Coming up, when Donald Trump puts his hand on that Bible and takes the Oath of Office again, he'll make history in a number of ways. Doris Kearns-Goodwin joins us next to discuss.

And many happy returns. What some call the worst part of holiday shopping.

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Clip from 20th Century Studios "Jingle All The Way."

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[07:49:15]

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Clip from HOB's "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM."

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HUNT: Some advice there from "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM" gift-giving not for the weak.

What happens then when you're not so enthused about what was waiting for you under the tree this year? Retailers are expecting record holiday sales but also returns.

CNN consumer reporter Nathaniel Meyersohn is at the magic wall with more on this. Nathaniel, tell us -- I mean, how many returns are they expecting? It is actually -- I mean, I can never actually get it together well enough to return stuff that I have been given that I don't like. I usually just keep it. But what does everybody else do?

[07:50:11]

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN CONSUMER REPORTER: Yeah. And I don't know, should we -- Kasie, should we be taking advice from Larry David on holiday shopping? Not entirely sure. But do love -- do love the idea.

But yeah. So, you know, Kasie, returns are a big problem for us -- for shoppers. We have to bring them back. But they're also a really big problem for stores. You know, returns -- they've grown into about nearly a trillion-dollar industry and that's particularly because we're buying online more. And we're much likely to return that ugly sweater that we -- that we think looks good but then it comes in the mail and we don't really like it, or the size is too big.

So we're now returning about one in five things that we buy. Seventeen percent of all merchandise is returned. And it's a really big problem for stores because they have to pay for us to ship the items back in the mail. That costs them. And then the stuff that we return just ends up back in their stores and back on their shelves. So sometimes they have to mark down the products, which hurts their bottom line.

So this return industry -- we don't like returning it, they don't like us bringing it back. It's just kind of a mess.

HUNT: Fascinating. And part of me wonders, too, if some of it ends up in landfills basically.

MEYERSOHN: Yes.

HUNT: But, OK.

MEYERSOHN: Absolutely.

HUNT: So how are retailers responding to getting prepared, really, for this?

MEYERSOHN: Um-hum. So Kasie, there's some different ways that the stores are kind of changing their policies or different ways that we can now return items that didn't exist just a few years ago.

So, often we don't even need a box to bring it back. Just the other day I was returning something from Amazon -- some sneakers. Didn't even have the sneaker box but just brought it back in a bag and they wrapped it up at the UPS Store. So that was really easy. Sometimes you can even get UPS or they're partnering with Uber and DoorDash to come pick up the returns at your doorstep. You don't -- so you don't even have to leave the house.

And then we have some good news for shoppers. Some good news and some bad news.

So occasionally, returns -- retailers will just tell you to keep the return. They don't even want you to bring it back because it's more expensive for them to ship it back. So maybe you'll buy something and you want to return it and you end up just keeping it. Maybe a new toaster or something.

But the bad news for shoppers is that more stores are charging for online returns. They don't want you to return items online. Maybe they'll -- you know, it'll be free in stores, but they are cracking down on online returns.

HUNT: All right. I have to say you said earlier one in five things that we buy online we send back. I believe my rate is considerably --

MEYERSOHN: So --

HUNT: -- higher than that.

MEYERSOHN: -- stores are particularly frustrated with you, Kasie --

HUNT: I get it. I bet.

MEYERSOHN: -- and they're watching you.

HUNT: I bet.

All right. Nathaniel Meyersohn, thank you very much for that. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you.

Our panel is back.

I have to say the gifting -- you know, I'm a mom of two small kids so we won't say out loud what that means because this is a family program where we -- where we protect dreams. But it's a stressful time for gift-giving for a variety of reasons. But obviously, buying for my kids is not the hard part.

I'm curious. Who in your life is the hardest person to buy for, Matt?

GORMAN: It's an age range. And so what it is like, for example, like, if you're old enough I can get what you're into. Emma got a lot of Taylor Swift stuff last night. God bless her. I can get that. Enjoy it.

It's like that weird interregnum where, like, it's --

HUNT: Emma is your girlfriend.

GORMAN: No. I'm sorry, my little cousin. HUNT: Your cousin.

GORMAN: My 10-year-old cousin.

(CROSSTALK)

HUNT: I was going to say it's (INAUDIBLE).

GORMAN: Ten years old. But, OK, I got it.

HUNT: OK.

WILLIAMS: This took a turn.

HUNT: You didn't give an age. You didn't give an age, OK.

GORMAN: I'm sorry -- no, no, you're right.

HUNT: Emma gets Taylor Swift. She's out of the year.

But, like, before that, it's like OK, there's this toy. It's like they do certain things. Like, wait, L.O.L. Surprise! It took me a while to understand exactly like the six to 10 toy range where it's like you're not zero to five where I can just whatever the hell I want. Like, you can enjoy it. But, like, do you have specifics, which is absolutely do not understand.

HUNT: Yeah.

Meghan, who is the hardest person for you to buy for?

HAYES: I think it's my grandmother who is 96 because she says things like "I'm not going to be around long enough to use this" or "I don't want to wear that."

WILLIAMS: Oh!

HAYES: It's heartbreaking.

PRESTON: I love her. She's practical.

HAYES: She is awesome. But you know what? She's getting an iPad this year from me and we're going to spend all day today learning how to use it. And it's going to be incredible. She'll be able to watch us on the show on her iPad.

HUNT: Oh, good. She can Facetime her.

GORMAN: It's a good sign, yeah.

HAYES: You can -- I got it engraved and everything, so I am sticking by it.

HUNT: Aww, that's great.

WILLIAMS: Oh my God, quick story. My friend George -- last Christmas I gave him my heart. The very next day he gave it away. This year, to save me from tears I'm going to give it to --

HUNT: You going to give it to someone special?

WILLIAMS: -- someone special. Once bitten, twice shy. I was so upset. I feel like I should write this down.

HUNT: Yeah.

WILLIAMS: You know, I should really write a poem or something.

HUNT: You could maybe say it.

WILLIAMS: Yeah, I know. And it might -- you know, it might be my ticket. I don't know.

HUNT: Mark?

PRESTON: Well, I've got a couple of things to say. First of all, Nathaniel's report just shows you why everyone hates America, right? The fact that you have to have Uber or DoorDash come and pick up your return while they're dropping off your, I don't know, $50 McDonald's order is -- go return it yourself --

[07:55:07]

HUNT: Oh my gosh, Mark!

PRESTON: -- or don't return it. I'm like you.

HUNT: This is a very grinchy Christmas.

PRESTON: What I will tell you --

HAYES: Bah humbug. Get the coal.

WILLIAMS: You know, Jesus was born today. Like, what -- like --

PRESTON: Let me just say this, Kasie. You asked the question, and I will answer the question on behalf of the whole panel. It's been you, OK? It's been very hard to figure out what to get you.

HUNT: Oh, really?

PRESTON: You have everything.

HUNT: Oh, somebody had already dropped off a bottle of wine that apparently has been produced out of the shot. But yeah, just -- I'll take a bottle of wine --

PRESTON: Let me just think.

HUNT: -- you know.

PRESTON: Merry Christmas.

HUNT: Maybe some Bloody Marys for the table. PRESTON: I can offer -- I can offer you my happiness. How's that?

HAYES: Mark's (INAUDIBLE).

PRESTON: Which doesn't exist.

HUNT: Yeah. You know, every party needs a grinch, I guess.

All right. Coming up next on this special edition of CNN THIS MORNING the voters spoke in 2024. We're going to look at how the GOP could use their power in 2025.

Plus, how many holiday movies can you quote start to finish? I can't quote several of them.

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Clip from Liberty Films' "It's a Wonderful Life."

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