at untuckit. com and more than 80 stores worldwide i'm elizabeth wagmeister in los angeles and this is cnn. >> closed captioning is brought to you by mike, an all in one home access and monitoring system mike, you boost your home's iq tonight on 360. >> breaking news on the president elect's pick for defense secretary. now facing growing >> allegations of a drinking problem also tonight, what just happened in south korea is the

country's president declares martial law. then un declares martial law, leaving a bulwark of democracy looking like anything but. plus, with all the security at airports, the latest in how one woman stowed away on a u.s. flight and made it to paris without a ticket. including video of the very moment the stowaways ruse was uncovered mid-air. good evening. thanks for joining us. before we even getting to the new difficulties facing defense secretary or defense secretary designate, i should say pete hegseth nomination, there is breaking news on the end for another top pick. chad chronister named to head the drug enforcement administration, said late today he is bowing out. the hillsborough county florida, sheriff said on social media quote, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in, i've concluded that i must respectfully withdraw from consideration. just last week, he called it, quote, the honor of a lifetime to be nominated. just a week and a half ago. another floridian, obviously matt gaetz, backed out of the running to be attorney general. and now, after several damaging reports on his alleged drinking problem, alleged sexist behavior and alleged financial

mismanagement in a job related to veterans, pete hegseth pentagon nomination is drawing more doubts from the very same republican senators who support a republican nominee would ordinarily take for granted some of these articles are very disturbing. >> he you know, obviously has a chance to defend himself here. but, you know some of this stuff is is going to be difficult. you know, time will tell. i like pete, i've known him for a very, very long time. >> senator joni ernst, a republican who serves on the armed services committee, says she'll have what she called a frank and thorough discussion with hegseth when she meets with him republican kevin cramer of north dakota called the drinking allegations, quote, concerning but said he was leaning yes on the nomination, telling cnn's manu raju quote, i'm interested in who pete hegseth is today and who he is going forward. susan collins of maine had this to say as a i've repeatedly said to you, i believe that we need an fbi background check to evaluate the allegations. well

to that point, late today, we learned that the transition team has signed a memorandum of understanding with the department of justice permitting just that, which in turn was followed by word that hegseth will be appearing tomorrow in defense of his nomination on fox. cnn's kaitlan collins starts us off tonight with that not far from mar-a-lago. so what more can you tell us about the fate of his nomination? >> it seems to be getting more difficult by the day. anderson now that doesn't mean that he's going to be pulled and we haven't heard anything like that yet. but when you're hearing from people who are trump's closest allies on capitol hill, like lindsey graham, as you were there talking about the difficulties that they believe that pete hegseth is going to be facing when that confirmation hearing does happen. if it happens, that's a sign of really just the trouble. and it's certainly not lost on people at mar-a-lago. i've been speaking to them about this nomination, anderson, and how they're feeling about it and even they have raised concerns as moore has continued to come out necessarily because of the pile up and the questions of what this means for republican senators, given they can only afford to lose three of them

and plenty of them are sounding skeptical on capitol hill today, more so even than they were about two weeks ago when when all of this first started and there were questions about what this was going to look like and so i think that's the thing to watch a sign that the trump team is taking seriously the concerns that you heard from those republican senators is that they are sending pete hegseth out to do media tomorrow. i'm told that he's expected to do a fox news interview, likely tomorrow is what i'm hearing. and that's notable not because obviously, you know one he did used to work there, but two, none of the other cabinet picks are out doing interviews. they have been all told to hold off from doing any media focus on their confirmation hearings. and then once those happen, then they can go out on television. and so it's notable that they're sending him out to try to alleviate some of the concerns that you're hearing from those officials. and, anderson, i will say, obviously, there have been the questions of sexual assault allegation that pete hegseth has denied, but also the other reports that are coming out regarding pete

hegseth drinking have covered trump for a long time. he abstained sure of his. and so that is something that i heard from several people inside trump's orbit today, is how he's going to receive those reports. >> the president elect's transition team, as we mentioned, signed an agreement with the justice department to allow background checks for his nominees have you heard anything from the trump team about whether they think hegseth could actually pass a traditional fbi background check? >> i've heard from some people that they think, actually, this could potentially be helpful to pete hegseth maybe it could help clear up the concerns from some of those republican senators. >> but also, there's a question of whether or not his name is actually one of the ones submitted by the trump team to the fbi, to conduct that background check, because what this means by signing this agreement that typically incoming president sign when they when they win the election to to have the doj go ahead and start carrying out these background checks, is that they'll they'll have them submit these names that they are going to nominate to capitol hill to the fbi. now,

that does not mean they have to submit all of them. there's no legal requirement actually for for trump to do so and i also think, anderson, one other question that is still raised tonight is whether trump trusts those background checks he obviously has a very hostile attitude toward the fbi. that's part of why it's been nearly a month since he won the election and they're just now signing this memorandum. memorandum of understanding and so even if an fbi background check came back, it doesn't necessarily imperil someone's nomination. in trump's eyes because he doesn't trust that he's overridden concerns for before for security clearances. he did so with jared kushner his son in law, the first time around. and so i think that's really the question here of what that looks like now that they have signed this agreement, they will move forward. but whether or not they submit all the names is something that still remains to be seen. >> and trump also announced his choice for deputy defense secretary today, as we mentioned, his choice for dea administrator withdrew from consideration. what more about this number two at the pentagon anderson i'm sorry, i think i lost your audio.

>> i'm not sure what your question was there. as we're hearing. >> it's all right we're we're we're short on time. we'll move on. caitlin. we'll see you at the top of the hour at the source at 9 p.m.. joining us right now is cnn senior political commentator david urban. we should mention that david serves on the board and as an advisor to two companies that trump deputy defense pick, stephen feinberg's, cerebral cerberus capital management. his investments in feinberg was named for the job late today. also with us, cnn political commentator van jones and journalist and lift our voices co-founder gretchen carlson. gretchen, at this point, i mean, does it seem like pete hegseth will survive this process? >> look, i think the pivotal moment today was senator lindsey graham coming out and questioning this. aside from what you played, he also said that he wants to make sure that every young woman who joins the military feels respected and the reason that jumped out at me is because i've worked with senator lindsey graham on three bipartisan bills two of which passed into law, and they were both about sexual misconduct. so the idea that senator graham

would not be taking pause right now is not surprising to me at all van. >> i mean, you heard what graham said. do you think this will survive? >> yeah, it's hard to know. but i mean, you got to think about what is this job if you're running one of the biggest departments, the biggest bureaucracies, the most powerful in the world, the department of defense, you've either got to be able to be excellent on the inside, an unbelievable administrator, able to deal with moving chess pieces all around the world around the world. or you've got to be a great public face. you've got to be able to go out there and recruit people and stand up. he's got two black eyes on that public face, and he can't run anything but his mouth. so right there is a very damaging article in in the new yorker, very well-researched about allegations made at two veterans organizations nonprofits very small. >> one of them was a very small organization that he essentially, according to the reporting, was essentially forced out of. >> right, exactly. >> so financial mismanagement

so he's not a great public face at this point, and he can't run anything but his mouth and the small things he had to run, he ran badly. >> so you start wondering why is this guy in charge david? >> i mean, how much longer do you think the president elect will be okay with this kind of drip drip, drip of bad headlines about this pete hegseth. >> yeah listen, anderson, i don't suspect that president trump will ever cut peat free. i think it's going to be up to pete to determine at one point if and when he decides to, that he doesn't have the votes and i think, look, i think it's very smart for him to go on on fox tomorrow and explain himself. he is kind of fighting this one hand tied behind his back a lot of these reports are, you know, not sourced. they have no they're, you know anonymous sources and and kind of whispers down, down the lane. and so i think that it's smart for him to go out and go out and give his side of the story and try to try to win some of these senators back. he's doing it. you know, senator, by senator, he needs to get a good whip count and know what his what it looks like there in the senate. and he's going to have to answer a lot

of tough questions when he gets to the to, you know, the armed services committee. i think that, you know caitlyn was talking about the the fbi background checks. they may not mean much to the folks at mar-a-lago, but they do mean a lot to to the senators. and i think they paid a great deal of attention to that. and i think that that will provide a great deal of weight. so i think that if he does get fbi background check and vetted, it's not there's no pass or fail. they just present a bunch of they bring a big file up and give it to each senator to read, and they take it with you when they leave. i think that's important and i think it's important for pete to get a hearing to be able to stand on his own two feet and answer those questions, you know, to van's point, we had a current the current secretary of defense was missing. he wasn't at work for seven days, and the entire department of defense didn't even know it. the president didn't know it. the current secretary of defense oversaw the the most, uh, one of the most regrettable military withdrawals from afghanistan, from any any country, but from afghanistan. and so, you know, i don't know that the you know, what what people say,

what are his requirements he's got the faith of the president. he's got the ear of the president. he's got the confidence of the president. i think that's that's that's a lot. david it doesn't concern you. >> i mean, as somebody who obviously you have a military background you know, very big on veterans causes and organizations that two of the organizations he worked with, that he according to the reporting was essentially pushed out of yeah. >> so, so anderson, i think he needs to answer those questions. i would like to hear the answers, but i'm not just going to i'm not just going to take, you know at faith from a report in the new yorker and say, well that's it. that's the like the tablets that were handed down by god to moses. right. i want to hear pete's side of the story. let him explain it. >> all right. well, margaret hoover was margaret hoover was on the air with she was on worked at one of these organizations and spoke publicly there are so many allegations. >> i mean, it's not just about financial mismanagement at these two organizations. it's the sexual misconduct claims it's the alcohol alleged problems. i mean, it just keeps coming out i just can't believe that this would ever go to a

hearing. and the thing i've been thinking about today, aside from why we even teach our kids to have morals and values is is that i mean, why would pete hegseth put himself in this situation and the only answer that i can come up with is that when you work at fox, it's kind of like a bubble. and maybe he just felt like none of this would ever come out, and that trump really didn't have any repercussions for some of the alleged sexual misconduct things that he had in his past. as well. yeah. >> i mean, the reporting by jane mayer van you know, a whistleblower report that claims when hegseth was president of concerned veterans for america, he was, quote repeatedly intoxicated while acting in his official capacity to the point of needing to be carried out of the organization's events. as gretchen was saying, there are other accusations of sexual impropriety, misconduct of and also treatment of women at these organizations. you know, being drunk in a bar, chanting about killing muslims the the list is

a long one. >> yeah. i just don't get it. i mean, the republican party is supposedly a party that wants america to be strong, wants america to be great wants to put america first. i don't think any of the people who voted for donald trump, who run small businesses, would hire this guy to be a floor room manager. he's just not coming across as the type of person that you would want in any position of authority and and we'll just have to see i do think that maybe we're in an age where personal valor doesn't matter in the military anymore but i don't think we're there yet. >> i'm going to tell you who should be the pick, and that is senator joni ernst and she's having reservations. right now. and here's why. she's a veteran. she's a sexual assault survivor, and she has a history of voting against people who have sexual misconduct allegations against them. she would be a slam dunk victory for president trump. and i've heard through the

grapevine that she's number two on the list. >> david what does it take to run the department of defense? i mean, what is it? it's obviously a huge bureaucratic organization. um, i mean, is it traditionally somebody who has management experience what do you think it takes? >> yeah look. so so anderson, it's up to the united states senate to determine what it takes, right that's that's the advice and consent role, like the secretary has to provide sound judgment, has to provide the president with with good advice the secretary has a deputy secretary has lots of undersecretaries. deputy assistant secretaries. so it is it's running a huge organization. but you manage, you know, small people who end up running a huge organization. look, pete's going to have to explain a lot of things and president trump's going to have to determine how much political capital he wants to expend here. you know, as any politician, the this president has a limited amount of political capital to burn, and you've got a lot of nominees, you've got a lot of nominees. you want to get through. and at some point you're going to make a judgment and pete hegseth is going to count heads and you're going to see whether or not the

votes are there, whether to get to even a hearing. so, um i think that, you know, the senate will ultimately decide, as they always do. i think the fbi background checks are important here. they give the senators a lot of confidence. i think pete hegseth we're going to hear from him tomorrow. let's see what he has to say. >> but, you know, but even the proposed deputy secretary is worrisome i mean, it's kind of like a like a billion, like a, like a billionaire war profiteer. that's kind of like a party guy as well. so, i mean, i don't understand who's going to be running the department. yeah, but that's petty compared to the other stuff that we're facing van jones gretchen carlson, david urban, thank you coming up next, a live report on new developments within the last few minutes from south korea, where the sudden declaration of martial law shocked the world. >> and the sudden end to it leaves more questions than answers about one of america's leading allies. and later, how a stowaway from new york to paris got on board, got caught in why she couldn't stay on the flight that was supposed to take her back. we'll be right back you only come across an artist like luther vandross once in a lifetime. >> he was a boss from the

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of them. >> that's actually pretty helpful i'm hanako montgomery in tokyo and this is cnn the south korean president and chief of staff and more than ten of his senior secretaries have just submitted their resignations, according to his office. >> the president himself has not yet resigned. the breaking news again, just moments old, follows hard on the heels of a remarkable and remarkably brief flirtation with martial law. today it ended six hours after it began, the president, bowing to pressure from lawmakers and mass protests in the streets of south korea, as you may know, became a democracy in the late 1980s after decades under military rule. cnn's mike valerio is in seoul. for us tonight what is going on there right now? and is there any more clarity about why the president did this well, anderson, right now we're in the middle of a protest with a couple hundred people steps away from the national assembly. >> one of the main centers of the drama that unfolded over the past couple of hours. we

have one of the new late edition newspapers that's come out with a headline that encapsulates the feeling that so many people have right now it says in korean president yun's martial law a betrayal of the people. and that's exactly what so many people here, myriad citizens of south of seoul and surrounding area, are saying right now in terms of the why question anderson, why this happened and why we got here. the best guess and best analysis that we can marshal right now is that the president of south korea felt as though he was backed into a corner facing myriad scandals, many scandals here domestically with a popularity of favorability rating under, i repeat under 20%. and in his words, a parliament, you know, a couple of yards behind me that wasn't able to play a part in furthering his domestic agenda. so a huge miscalculation on his part to

take control, to take power, take control of the situation in everybody would agree here a terrible way, anderson. >> no. fascinating mike valerio appreciate it. joining us. stay with us. also, mike, cnn's national security analyst and former deputy director of national intelligence beth sanner joins us. also, william cohen, who served as defense secretary during the clinton administration. secretary cohen, i'm just trying to put this in a global perspective for us. how dangerous is political instability in south korea at a time when north korea is testing new missiles with longer range and obviously china getting increasingly more aggressive against taiwan? >> well it's pretty serious, anderson as you pointed out, just the threat of the north koreans over the years. but especially in recent times when they're firing off more and more missiles and getting greater and greater range of those missiles. so with the possibility of striking the united states with a nuclear weapon. so that's dangerous enough. but it poses a danger to the entire region. japan is certainly going to be concerned about this, as other um, countries in the region so

instability is not good. and i think this reflects an act of impulsiveness. i think he acted impulsively and you're supposed to have a plan if you had plan a to impose martial law, what's plan b? there's no plan b and that's why it's president biden was not called on on it his own parliament wasn't called to let them know what was going to take place. his own party didn't know about it. so it had to be an act on his part. coming late at night impulsively, not thinking it through. and he's paying a consequence for it now. >> yeah, beth, i mean to that point, the announcement clearly appears to have called the biden administration the intelligence community by surprise. um if this was just an impromptu decision, it's a pretty crazy impromptu decision to make if you don't haven't really planned out the institution of martial law in a country that you know has not had martial law in decades yeah, yeah. >> note to self don't text after 11 p.m.. >> i mean, it's like a late night decision of all the late night bad late night decisions

people have made. this seems like a huge one. >> it seems like a huge one, and it absolutely will be. there is no way in the world that he is going to get out of this politically alive you know, his chief of staff resigned. all senior staff has resigned. his party has demanded his resignation. so now it's just a matter of how long does this take? and then we're going to see this period of 60 days from when he declares, because i don't think we're going to have to go through the impeachment process. so he's going to resign, and then there'll be elections within 60 days of that and so that's going to put us at you know, elections in south korea. one of our most important allies. what has been an absolute bulwark for us working with japan in this trilateral arrangement on that peninsula and in the region and that, you know, we don't know how that's going to turn out. the reason that yoon was so

important to us is because he was a willing player in that, and the next person may or may not be. so there's a lot at stake. >> yeah, mike, i mean, the entire south korean parliament voted unanimously to undo this martial law declaration what are the consequences for south korea's president well, you know, he's lost so many of his allies. >> and there is a fear i you know, i think it's fair to say anderson, just talking to all of these people, south korea is so proud of how far the country has come since 1980, since the last time there was martial law spread throughout the country. we now have k-pop, k cinema you know, soft power is so strong that south korea exerts and i can tell you there are people from grandmothers and students everyone in between who's gathered here, they're really afraid and concerned that this is a blemish on south korea's reputation. the world now knows that things are incredibly unstable here and there are allies of president yoon suk

yeol who are concerned, and people in the opposing party who are concerned that north korea perhaps could see this moment as a moment of weakness and do something that you know, we don't even want to go into that realm of possibility. but so there is serious concern about what this has done to the reputation of south korea and the ripple effects that this means going forward. >> secretary cohen, i mean obviously, there are tens of thousands of u.s. troops stationed in south korea. i know a spokesman for the pentagon has said that, quote, and i'm quoting right now, there has been essentially no impact on u.s. forces. what impact do you think continued instability there could have on u.s. forces in the region or to to the as you know, we talked about this, this kind of trilateral alliance. >> yeah, i assume the korean forces will be enhancing their security alert and go on to a higher level of status of warning. i think the american troops will remain calm but very vigilant, watching as

things unfold. so i think we'll keep an eye on north korea we'll keep an eye on what is taking place in the region. but i want to add just one comment of optimism here this is democracy that worked these the korean people have said we like freedom. we like democracy. we don't want anyone to take that away from us. and so what the president tried to do is imposing martial law become a dictator as such because he was frustrated that he couldn't get his budget through. he couldn't get his cabinet approved or not impeached. so democracy in that sense, worked with the people, spoke out and said, no, no you'll work with a system democracy can be messy, but dictatorships are a menace, and that's the choice they have made here. so i think that sends a signal to all of our allies in the region that, yeah, we have a problem here. for the time being. i think it will be corrected. in the meantime we'll be on alert. and i think the region will be relatively safe if the north koreans start to do something and move in an adversarial way,

we'll be ready for that. so i think it will calm down over time. and as beth has said, 60 days will pass. they'll have a new election and democracy will be in action again. >> beth, what do you think about north korea? i mean, kim jong un often employs hostile rhetoric, obviously against south korea and the u.s. do you think they will try to do something using this as an opportunity? >> i do. i think that they see you know, korea watchers have been worried, you know, for some months that that kim would take advantage of the u.s. transition and to do something, you know actually kinetic actually an attack on something like an island or something like that in, in, you know, around the transition to put a real dilemma on trump's plate at the beginning of his administration. now, i think that there actually is even more likelihood that that will happen, but i'm not sure it will happen before the south korean elections, because in a

way, the north koreans aren't dumb. if they do something before the election, it actually could encourage south korean voters to gravitate more to the conservative party rather than to the the progressives, who are more accommodating to the north koreans. but so we're looking at a window. i think, in early in the trump administration, where we really have to be on our toes and in alert because kim is is definitely gunning to make things difficult. >> beth sanner mike valerio william cohen, thanks so much coming up next, an update on the woman who allegedly stowed away in a delta airlines flight to paris out of new york. how she got on this is hard to believe, and the airline removed her from a scheduled return flight earlier today. we'll have the details on when she might get sent back to the u.s., united states cnn heroes on all star tribute meet and celebrate the honorees then find out who will be hero of the year. >> plus, a special tribute to

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mike, you boost your home's iq the russian national accused of stowing away on a delta airlines flight to paris out of new york last week remains in france. >> she is believed to have evaded multiple security checkpoints and boarded the plane with no valid travel documents or even a ticket. the 57 year old woman was expected to be returned to the u.s. earlier today. an airport official tells cnn she boarded a flight but was removed by delta, and that was not the first attempt to send her back. polo sandoval has more he needs help. >> reporter this is video taken on saturday. the first time authorities tried returning the 57 year old russian national to the united states. a passenger's cell phone video captured the woman, causing a disturbance before the flight took off from paris. i don't want to go to united states. reporter she was removed from the new york bound flight, recalls gary treichler, who was sitting right across the aisle. what i saw was basically this lady that was progressively

getting more and more irate and raising her voice louder and louder, and was ultimately restrained with handcuffs and yellow twist ties and held down by three individuals. >> a stewardess and a lady that represented delta security. >> delta airlines not commenting about its decision to kick her off today's flight or elaborating on the initial security breach in a previous statement. a spokesperson for the airline wrote in part delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred. tsa says before stowing away on this flight last week, the woman slipped past a tsa officers at jfk checking boarding passes. they added she and her carry on bags were screened but that she somehow bypassed id verification at the gate. a source familiar with the incident said she evaded detection in flight because the plane wasn't full, though passengers previously told cnn she hid by moving between lavatories. the next attempt to fly her to new york is planned

for tomorrow, according to that paris airport official, who adds french security personnel will be escorting her polo sandoval joins me now, so where has the woman been held in paris? >> and what do we know about her well anderson, until she is brought back here to new york, she will continue to be held where she's been for the last week, really, which is a specially designated section there at paris's charles de gaulle airport specifically reserved for people who do not meet requirements to enter france. >> in fact, by at least one account, this woman does not meet the entrance requirements to enter europe altogether. in fact, we have learned recently that she had recently petitioned for asylum in france. but had been denied. anderson. so clearly there is either something or someone that's essentially drawing her to france. now, what that is, that's still unclear tonight. >> polo sandoval, thanks so much. among the outstanding questions in this bizarre saga is how the stowaway managed to sneak past multiple security checkpoints at jfk and board a flight without a ticket in the first place. we'll get some

perspective now from john miller, cnn chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst. um, do you have any idea how she was able to get. i mean, there's so many layers of getting through security. >> so investigators have gone through the video and, you know, if there's next to an next to a casino, the place with the most video cameras is going to be an airport especially at the security checkpoint so what they what they see is they pick her up trailing a flight crew down that special lane that flight crews go through their screening in. but as she approaches the place where she has to show her airline identification, which of course she doesn't have, she breaks off from the flight crew, not a delta crew from another airline. and there's a gap there where there's a stanchion that divides their area from the regular screening area and she she goes through that gap or under a stanchion. and then goes through the regular airport security screening. so she hasn't presented a ticket at the normal passenger entrance. she hasn't presented one at the airline one. but she's gone through the security when she gets to the

plane now. now she's in delta's territory. she seems to be looking at the video get in the middle of a group. it looks like a family. according to investigators who have seen it. and then they're presenting their tickets and passports in a pile to the gate agent who is then going through them. and as they sweep onto the plane, she does too. so it sounds like she had a plan. it looks like she executed it very well, and that she took advantage of the massive crowds. >> so how do you fix that problem? i mean, who does the buck stop with? who's responsible for that? >> well, it's the buck stops in two places. one on the tsa. they've got to look at that gap. they've got to look at who's watching those spaces. um important to remember, she did go through security screening, but she didn't go through an id check on the on the getting on the plane. and that's on delta, right. that's where that gate agent has to check those passports. um, visas, plane tickets and would she face

charges for boarding a stowing away on a flight? so she could. that's a $4,500 ticket by most estimates. so that could be grand larceny. there's civil penalties from tsa which they could assess her. so tomorrow, when she comes back she'll be interviewed by the fbi. um, other law enforcement agencies and they'll confer with delta. >> how did they get her back? if she's going to keep causing problems on a plane? >> i mean so she'll be with for us tsa air marshals and a delta corporate security person and i think they're going to try again. huh. >> sounds like a great flight to be on that one. john miller, thank you very much. appreciate it. coming up, the cdc considers the initiative to put fluoride in public drinking water. one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. we'll take you to one community in new york that recently opted to remove it. that's ahead fire there are some things that work better together like your

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no that one had to hurt. >> yeah. the tbs original wipeout. all new sundays at nine on tbs more breaking news tonight and the president elect's office picks this time kash patel his choice to head the fbi. >> cnn's kristen holmes is in west palm beach for more. what have you learned? >> yeah, anderson, we are told that kash patel was told by the fbi that he had been targeted in an iranian hack. now, this comes from two sources. one of the sources telling us that they believe that at least some of patel's communications were compromised. unclear how much? unclear how big this hack was, but this is just the latest in a series of complications and a series of hackings that we have seen from foreign governments, whether it be the chinese hackers who targeted some of trump's inner circles on their phone, as well as the iranian hackers who have targeted many of trump's lawyers for example, as well as his inner circle, don junior, saying he was informed by the fbi that he was one of the biggest targets for iran. now, i will quickly

read you the statement that we got from kash patel spokesperson at the transition. alex pfeiffer he said kash patel was a key part of the first trump administration's efforts against the terrorist iranian regime and will implement president trump's policies and protect america from the adversaries as the fbi director. anderson. >> kristen holmes, thanks very much. more to learn on that another controversial cabinet pick also taking the spotlight, robert f. kennedy jr. is the president elect's choice for hhs secretary. his support for removing fluoride from public drinking water has been a boon to anti-fluoridation fluoride activists. days before the election, kennedy tweeted on january 20th, the trump white house will advise all u.s. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. the next day, trump told nbc news the plan sounded okay to him. whether that will actually become policy is unclear. our jason carroll spoke with residents of one new york city suburb, wrestling with the fluoride question after a decision to remove it from the water supply the anti-fluoride people are very outspoken. >> i just don't want it in my

body. >> the science shows that we do need fluoride in the water. >> public health is not adding something to water and going okay, we did our job. >> you've just heard some pointed opinions about fluoride in drinking water. no shortage of those here in yorktown. new york. it's a suburb of new york city, population about 36,000. and it's a town really divided over the issue. hi. these women call themselves the poison squad. >> nice and cozy. >> they say they want their water the way it is now without added fluoride. all of your drinking water. how are you feeling about that? >> you mean the fluoride free water? feel amazing. feel like it's one less toxin that i have to worry about. >> okay. >> cheers to that. because that's how i feel. that's. cheers. >> if you want fluoride, you can have it. it's in your toothpaste. you can go to your dentist. you can have it put on your teeth as many times a year as you want. >> i really, truly think it should be a freedom of choice. >> if you were able to have a conversation with someone who disagrees with you on the subject matter and they were to say to you, well, look, i hear

what you're saying, but i want to have a choice. >> what i would say to that person is, that's not how public health works. public health works because it is directed toward the public for the public good. >> since the 70s, the town has been adding fluoride into its water supply. but in 2012, the system that does that here at this water treatment facility failed. and it needed to be upgraded. well, it took 12 years to do that. so for 12 years the town had no fluoride in its water. but then they got it up and running again. and in fact, this is the pipe that does it that sends the fluoride through this pipe out into the water supply. and in august it was up and running again. they turned it back on, but a month later it was turned off. that responsibility fell to ed lichterman. i would have lost sleep if i didn't do it. he's yorktowns town supervisor, and he was one of four town board members who voted to stop adding fluoride

to the water supply. >> if we can't believe epa or the nih or the cdc i don't know who i'm supposed to believe. >> so the board voted 4 to 1 against you. you were the only one who said yes, i am in support of fluoride. >> the board did not listen to science the decision to stop fluoridating the water was a controversial one. >> you unilaterally stopped fluoridation. on what grounds? >> there is now no question that fluoride is a neurotoxic. >> i think it's generational to be honest with you. like the younger generation wants purity. some of it may be fueled by a federal judge's order for the epa to review possible risks of fluoride and its impact on iq in children but that ruling was based on studies looking at fluoride levels nearly double what's found in u.s. drinking water. double the amount found in your town's water, which was 0.7mg/l. the national standard

and while scientists agree on the adverse health effects of high levels of fluoride, there's also strong evidence showing low levels of fluoride is safe. but science shows more research may be needed and it should be noted the cdc and the american dental association point to numerous studies showing low level fluoridation in water reduces tooth decay by at least 25%, calling it one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. >> it's the dosage that is important. it's the dosage that counts. >> would there be any acceptable level, low level of fluoride? that would be okay with any of you in the water or no. no. and then there are questions about rfk jr.. s influence over the debate. president elect donald trump's controversial pick to head health and human services, says he plans to end fluoridating water in his first 90 days in office. >> oh, i think certainly the rfk has magnified the issue and

made it more of a national issue. >> was the discussion given a boost by rfk for any of you? >> no, no, this came before rfk was given his platform. >> i didn't really notice rfk or anybody. i was just focused and tuned in on my children and what was best for them. >> i wonder if this isn't a reflection of things that are happening in the country in general this increasing distrust of science that we're seeing. >> do you feel like at this point, sort of the battle is over for for you? >> i haven't given up and jason carroll joins me now. >> it's an interesting debate. where do things stand right now with that? >> well, look again, 12 years in yorktown without any fluoride in the water there. and one of the leading dentists there in the town who we spoke to, who did not want to go on camera because, you know, it's become a divisive issue. but he made it very clear. no fluoride in the water there means that these children are going to have more tooth decay, more cavities, more root canals. and the worry is that it's not going to stop with fluoride, that today it's fluoride tomorrow it's going to

be something else, like vaccines. the next day. who knows. >> all right, jason carroll, thanks very much. coming up, the latest episode of all there is my podcast about loss and grief just got posted. wherever you get your podcasts. i talk in this episode with alex van halen about his brother eddie van halen, with whom he formed one of the most successful rock bands in history. he talks about eddie's life and death, and he still feels he communicates with his brother, who died four years ago. we'll play part of that interview in a moment sunday on cnn. >> it's a night that's good for the soul. join anderson cooper and laura coates for cnn heroes, an all star tribute. thank you guys. meet the honorees and celebrate their life changing achievements. >> they're ordinary people doing extraordinary things. >> then find out who will be named the cnn hero of the year it's really incredible. plus, don't miss a special tribute to this year's legacy award honoree, michael j. fox cnn heroes, an all star tribute sunday at eight on cnn your

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>> i'm lauren lieberman at the pentagon, and this is cnn an all new episode of my podcast about grief and loss all there is has just been released. >> it's available now wherever you get your podcasts right now, you can point your phone's camera at the qr code at the bottom of your screen and follow the link that pops up. this week is about the life and death in 2020 of one of the greatest guitar players ever, eddie van halen. on the podcast, i talked with his brother alex, who was with him at the end and at the beginning of his life they created van halen together. they co-founded the band eddie as alex called him on guitar, alex on drums. here's part of our conversation how has grief been for you? >> uh you know, i always thought of myself as kind of a stoic kind of guy. >> you know tough, you know i was the, uh, the elder in the family. >> so i had a certain role. you were the protector. yeah. >> do you feel like you are grieving, or do you feel like i'm grieving all the time?

>> you're trying to put it aside. i'm not running from it. because that doesn't solve the problem. it's there. you feel it. oh, yeah. absolutely absolutely. it's just. it's at times can be overwhelming. and the more the more i dwell on it, the more complicated it becomes when i'm alone and not put on a piece of music. and i hear him play, i just break, i break down, that's it. you know uncontrollably. but knowing what i know about the human body, you just let it happen. otherwise it will happen in the line at the grocery store, you were able to be with your brother at the end, he had a stroke and is that. yes. at the end, he had a massive stroke. um, we were in the room with him when he actually took his last breath. we just sat there everybody was in their own headspace. all i know is that when he stopped breathing, i didn't hear anything. i didn't see anything. there were no bells. there were no angels. it was just. it stopped. and then the room was empty. and then they pulled the plug because he was on a

ventilator and because of covid and the restrictions of the rules they immediately carved the body off. and that was it. then we didn't see him anymore. it was a very uneventful ending to an eventful life this is going to sound a little out to left field, so to speak, but he communicates in different ways with me um, and i can't really go into that because the moment you mention it, it breaks that bond. it's kind of a really thin thread of, uh signs. >> there's a lot of people who feel signs and see signs, and it gives great comfort. and it's only recently that i've begun to, um excuse me if i my voice cracks. it's uncontrollable uh, i've recently begun to actually feel my brother and my dad, who died long ago. um, but i've actually started to sort of feel them inside me in a way

that i never have before. and it's it's an extraordinary feeling. >> the first real direct if you will communication, if you will, was more of a smell. his unique fragrance was everywhere, and i couldn't figure it out rationally. where is this coming from? is it the the closet? is it the clothes? is it the stuff that he washed with but it's just. and it shows up everywhere. or maybe it's just my mind wants to smell that. i don't know but it was there and lately it's been fading a little bit. >> but the feeling it leaves you with is positive. >> oh yeah yeah. you know, in a lot of different cultures, death is not really. it's not the end. um, and i prefer to believe that alex van halen on his brother eddie a quick reminder the new episode of the podcast, all there is is now available wherever you get your podcasts. >> you can also point your camera at the qr code on the

screen right now. click on the link. another way to access it this season is to go to our online grief community that we just started on cnn.com/all there is online. you can connect with me there and others living with grief. you can leave comments, share your own experiences as well. watch a video version of this podcast and listen to all the podcasts there. the videos are also available on the cnn channel on youtube. i hope all of it makes you feel a little less lonely in your grief. the news continues right here on cnn outfront next, the breaking news hegseth in jeopardy. >> trump's pick for defense secretary now facing a very rough road to confirmation with more senators balking over serious allegations of misconduct. tonight, our k file with new reporting on hague says criticism of trump himself. plus protests growing tonight after the president of south korea declares martial law. the united states completely caught off guard about how many troops we have on there. and all eyes now are on