Skip to main content

tv   Anderson Cooper 360  CNN  December 4, 2024 9:00pm-10:00pm PST

9:00 pm
jen b asks, "how can i get fast download speeds while out and about?" jen, we've engineered xfinity mobile with wifi speeds up to a gig, so you can download and do much more all at once. it's an idea that's quite attractive. or... another word... -fashionable? i was gonna say- "popular! you're gonna be pop-uuuu-larrr!" can you do defying gravity?! yeah, get my harness. buy one line of unlimited, get one free for a year with xfinity mobile. and see “wicked,” in theaters now. >> upgrade your office at branch furniture dot com. >> i'm lauren lieberman at the pentagon, and this is cnn closed captioning is brought to you by audiobook network. >> tell your story >> earn more profits and find a
9:01 pm
new audience for your published book. produce an audiobook. we handle narration production, and digital distribution. >> call or scan the qr code now tonight on 360. >> searching for a killer caught on video shooting a visiting ceo in cold blood with a pistol and what looks like a silencer in the heart of midtown manhattan. where is the gunman now? also, all we're learning about how the victim was targeted and how the gunman got away so far, and what authorities are up to or up against in their manhunt. also tonight, what pete hegseth is saying in defense of his teetering defense secretary nomination when his mom is saying in defense of his behavior and whether any of it will get wavering republican senators back on board. good evening. thanks for joining us. and take a look this is new video just out in the new york times. the man you see on the phone, according to the times, is about 14 minutes and just steps away from murdering a visiting ceo. now authorities say it was premeditated certainly pre-planned. a cold blooded assassination this morning outside the hilton midtown hotel on manhattan's
9:02 pm
54th street. at the start of a day that's ending tonight with the lighting of the tree in nearby rockefeller center. now, these are still photos, apparently the same man. also, before the shooting at a starbucks not far from the crime scene. now, obviously, if you know who he might be, authorities certainly want to hear from you. the victim was the ceo of unitedhealthcare. this man, brian thompson 50 years old, married with two kids. he was in the city in new york for the company's annual investor conference at the hilton which was scheduled to begin at eight. people had already begun gathering in the conference room upstairs. the video we're about to play is from just outside, and it is startling for a number of reasons now take a look. in it, you see the shooter's deliberation. that's the ceo. you see the shooter's deliberation as he pulls out the pistol. it appears to have a silencer on. it assumes that two handed firing stance and starts shooting. now, just 17 seconds after firing, the first shot, the killer was gone. first on foot, then on what was first believed to be one of those blue and white rental city bikes, which would have been a break because they have gps
9:03 pm
trackers on board instead, a law enforcement official now tells us it was a regular e-bike, not part of the city bike fleet. the bike was then spotted minutes later in central park, just a few blocks north of the hilton. now that search, now just over 13 hours old, is turning up new evidence about the getaway. cnn's shimon prokupecz is outside the crime scene. what is the latest you're hearing well anderson, certainly that e-bike is what officials are looking for. >> they're trying to figure out how this individual escaped, got away from this crime scene, but they also have other things to work with. right now, they're working with a cell phone. they believe there is a cell phone that may be associated with the gunman that was perhaps dropped, and they are also able to obtain a water bottle. they believe a water bottle that this individual purchased at that starbucks that he dropped while fleeing. they are working with all this evidence to try and identify the gunman 6:17 a.m. the alleged gunman
9:04 pm
came to this starbucks, according to a law enforcement sources, where he made several purchases just two blocks away from where the shooting happened. 6:30 a.m. in new video obtained by the new york times, the shooter walks less than 200ft away from the soon to be crime scene. he appears to be on the phone at 6:44 a.m.. brian thompson leaves his hotel which is just across the street. he comes this way to enter the hilton hotel, where the conference is, and as he's making his way, the gunman is here waiting for him. >> many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target seconds after thompson passes him the gunman begins what police call a targeted attack. >> cnn obtained this video watch as the gunman comes from behind and raises his handgun within feet of thompson. what happens next is too disturbing to show. the assassin opens fire, shooting thompson in the back.
9:05 pm
thompson stumbles and looks back at his killer as the gunman walks towards him. police say the gun malfunctions, but the shooter clears the jam and continues to fire. >> i was paying attention. i was holding my phone. then i heard the shot. i saw him after he shot him. he ran across the street. this way. >> seconds later, police say the gunman flees through an alleyway towards 55th street, makes a right, and then gets on an e-bike and goes north on sixth avenue. at 6:46 a.m., the first 911 call goes out. there's been a shooting outside the hilton hotel. two minutes later, 6:48 a.m. officers arrive on scene to find thompson, a 50 year old male, lying on the sidewalk, gunshot wounds to his back and leg. at the same time, the shooter is seen riding his e-bike into central park, into center drive. >> the last we see with him on that bike is in central park. >> officers recovered three live nine millimeter rounds and three discharged nine
9:06 pm
millimeter shell casings at the scene. >> every indication is that this was a premeditated pre-planned, targeted attack. >> this does not appear to be a random act of violence. >> thompson is transported by ems to mount sinai west hospital and pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m. and a citywide manhunt begins. >> we will not rest until we identify and apprehend the shooter and truman. >> what are authorities saying now about the status of the manhunt well, one of the key things that they're doing, anderson, is they're trying to collect as much video as they possibly can. >> surveillance video to try and pinpoint every movement that this individual made, that the gunman made what's really interesting is that it does appear that for right now at least, that the gunman knew the movement of his victim because the doors behind me, where all of this happened here, anderson those doors where we see the shooting take
9:07 pm
place, they're closed until 8:00 in the morning. so the fact is this victim here would have had to walk this entire street onto sixth avenue, make a right to go in through the main entrance. and as police said, it very much so appears that the shooter was here waiting for the ceo, expecting him to walk up these streets. and when he saw him, he shot him. >> do we know? was he staying at that hotel? i mean, do we know why he was? i mean, he was going for the conference. was he staying there? do we know he was not staying at the hilton. >> anderson. actually, he was staying. this is what's also really interesting and that's a really good question because the hotel that he's staying at is directly it's kind of half a block from where i am, but it's essentially directly across the street from the hilton hotel. he didn't have a lot of he didn't need to walk a lot to get inside the hotel. so really you're talking about a block a block and a half to to walk around to enter the hilton
9:08 pm
hotel. there wasn't a whole lot of walking that he needed to do and certainly he was due there at 8 a.m. to speak at this conference he was going there early to meet with his staff, to see some of the people to prepare for the conference, and then unfortunately, this gunman was waiting for him. anderson. all right. >> shimon prokupecz, thanks very much. i want to well, actually, before we bring in a law enforcement team, i want to play a brief statement from brian thompson's wife paulette. she made this to the minneapolis local station, kare brian was a wonderful person with a big heart and who lived life to the fullest. >> he will be greatly missed by everybody. our hearts are broken and we are completely devastated by this news. he touched so many lives okay, we ask everybody to respect our privacy during this time and they have two children. >> with me. here is cnn chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst john miller. also joining us is from washington, cnn senior law enforcement analyst and former
9:09 pm
fbi deputy director andrew mccabe. john obviously you worked at nypd. you've also worked at the fbi. what are you hearing on the latest on this? >> well, they are focusing on that video canvas. they want to see once he goes into the park and that means working through the upper east side the upper west side. where does he pop out and where does he go from there because that's something they can keep doing right now in the meantime, what they are working on is how do we get into that phone bypass the lock code and find out what data is in there. >> let's talk about the phone. let's talk about this. this bottle they found. so there's the video. we have a photo of him at a at a convenience store. he's buying two powerbars a bottle of water. i believe. is that right? right. and later they they find that near the scene. they find the bottle near the scene or they believe it. >> they find the bottle that's the same brand that he bought at the starbucks with the two power bars. so they find it near the phone so the supposition is at this point that in he's very calm and slow and deliberate during the
9:10 pm
actual homicide, but then he starts to run and he's got to put that big gun with the silencer away so the speculation is that's his phone that fell out that's his water that fell out and that he had it for that bike so the water could offer dna. the phone could offer more, depending on is it a burner? but we see him using it. who was he calling? what websites did he see what searches did he did or is it his phone where it would be filled with personal information that could identify him right away? >> and when we see the andrew, i mean, when you look at the the i mean, this video of the actual assassination what stands out to you because i mean, immediately when i saw it just the, you know, who knows what's going on in the, you know, with the adrenaline inside with the shooter. but from, from the outside, he certainly looks like in some form of control. i mean, he seems to know a little bit about what he is doing, his stance he seems, you know, from the outside it looks calm that's exactly right.
9:11 pm
>> it looks very disciplined. it looks very organized. it looks like he probably has some degree of training. you see the stance there with the shoulder wide shoulder wide separation at the feet. he's got his arms raised up to the level of his eyes. he's got two hands on the grip of that weapon. these are all things that you learn when you're learning marksmanship his elbows are bent a little bit, which is not perfect, but i'm nitpicking a little bit here bottom line is he looks like someone who's had training, maybe law enforcement training maybe military training, or maybe private training. you can learn those things that way as well. it's striking to me also that he is so calm. he gets to the set just before within 5 or 10 minutes before his victim arrives, which also suggests to me that he had some degree of intelligence about when the victim would arrive. now, there's many ways that you could get that. you could get that from an insider, which i
9:12 pm
think is probably unlikely or simply from doing your own surveillance. you may have seen the victim leave his hotel and then, you know, hustled to get out in front of him. he waits for other people to walk by before he comes out. and then he lets the victim pass him before he engages with the firearm, which enables him to set up and take his shots carefully without the victim looking at him and protesting or making, you know, drawing attention or anything like that. so it all total, anderson, it looks to me to be very disciplined, very organized. well trained, possibly even professional, although we don't know that at this point. but it's a it's chilling. it's an absolutely chilling video to watch and john is just it's why i asked shimon about where the ceo was staying because, you know, the question is how was he being surveilled by this person or by other people? >> do we know how long he was in town for? would somebody have been watching him for a while?
9:13 pm
>> so not really. i mean, this is a one day investor's conference now he's one of the headliners there so any investor, it's on the website. when you go to their website, they have it's advertised he will be there. >> he will be speaking. >> that's right. but why on that block? i mean, the shooter puts himself between the hotel where the event is, where you would assume the people from the event might be staying and the hotel where he is staying, which is the marriott luxe across the street. did he have that information? if so, how did he get that information? because he's right between where that hotel is and the first logical door that he could walk into the hilton. right. >> because if you heard, if you had no real information or knowledge of this person, you might think oh, well, he's staying at the hilton because he's going to be speaking in the lobby. he's going to be speaking at the hilton. um probably he wanted a hotel, which he felt was a nicer hotel. but nearby to, to, to actually stay at. but it is a short distance to shimon's point. >> yeah it's right across the
9:14 pm
street and just down the block. >> we just learned, andrew, that the suspects used this e-bike during the getaway, not a trackable city bike, as police originally stated. obviously i guess that's a bit of a setback in that there are tracking devices in the city. bike yeah, that's right anderson, the city bike has a tracker although i will say it's not quite as helpful as like a tracker on a vehicle which is readily identifiable. >> a city bikes all look the same. they don't have like license plates on them. so it's a little tougher to identify. nevertheless, he's on an e-bike, which again shows to me a really high degree of planning. it's in many ways the ideal getaway vehicle for midtown manhattan when there likely would be traffic. hard to get a vehicle park, a vehicle on the street move it out of there quickly on the city bike. he can really make some, you know pretty good time there pretty quick and he can get into the park, which is clearly his chosen mode of of escape quickly blending in with
9:15 pm
the crowd. he's got the large backpack on, which is a very interesting item. it's a backpack from a small company that makes very kind of specialized equipment for outdoor enthusiasts and travelers and things like that. it's not very common um, and it likely is full of clothing that he can use to change his appearance once he's got a second, maybe in the park maybe behind some cover um, and then he's then he can basically walk out of the park into a crowd of new yorkers, tourists, people walking to work and blend right in. it's really pretty, um, pretty well thought out. >> john. it's interesting because, you know andrew was talking about when we were talking earlier about you know, from just on the video, he appears calm, or at least you know, practiced to, to some degree obviously, you never know what you know adrenaline is like inside somebody. but the fact that he may have dropped his cell phone, he may have dropped his water bottle even buying something close to the site where you're going to attack somebody. he must have known there were cameras in
9:16 pm
these stores. so you know, he's not a completely cool customer. >> so he keeps his hood up. he keeps his surgical mask on kind of covid style. and the gun jammed multiple times. >> there's some reporting the gun jammed in the first shot. >> this is what's really interesting is he clears the jam just the way you're trained in law enforcement, just the way you're trained. >> he doesn't freak out when it's when it's when it's jammed. >> he clears it right away. tap rack bang. and it jams again. tap rack. bang. he clears it again and it jams a third time. now that tells us two things. one, he is trained to react immediately to a malfunction of his weapon that suggests that training that andrew was talking about. but two, every time he fires around, you get a shell casing, but every time he clears a jam, you get a whole bullet which is something he might have touched might have left dna on so his misfortune with those jams, which were probably caused by the silencer. >> well, that's what i was going to say if you have a silencer, doesn't that sometimes cause jams? because they have to be put on very
9:17 pm
specifically. >> so you thread the silencer and it screws into the barrel, but with the semiautomatic weapons, which are really precision weapons, it can lower the barrel, it can change the balance unless you have a special modification to that silencer to that weapon it can cause these jams two ways, either altering the balance or sending debris back into the weapon andrew mccabe. >> thanks. john miller is back shortly with another former veteran new york reporter geraldo rivera. his take on all this and next. more on the manhunt. from the point where the trail at first seemed to run cold and the getaway bike was last seen. also a closer look at the threats against corporate executives in the business of protecting them. and later in other news, the man who would be defense secretary pete hegseth what he said today about the sex abuse and alcohol abuse allegations against him and the backing he believes he has from the president elect come to me he is coming he is coming
9:18 pm
he is coming to us he is coming. >> who is coming to you? my child nosferatu but it are only in theaters christmas day. >> special engagements in dolby and imax. >> an alternative to pills, voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source voltaren the joy of movement it's time to feed the dogs real food in the right amount. >> a healthy weight can help dogs live a longer, happier life the farmer's dog makes weight management easy with fresh food. pre-portioned for your dog's needs. it's an idea whose time has come disability is not a dirty word. >> it takes a lot to be able to get to the pride part of disability, because we live in an ableist society, there are millions of people like me. >> they are overlooked and
9:19 pm
underestimated i have a mind, i have a heart. >> i have a passion it's who i am whether i'm sitting or standing. >> if i didn't have the disability, i wouldn't be the person that i am today. >> say disability with pride there are some things that work better together, like your workplace benefits and retirement savings. >> voya provides tools that help you make the right investment and benefit choices so you can reach today's financial goals and look forward to a more confident future. oh yeah, well planned. >> well invested, well protected like a relentless weed. >> moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya with rapid relief at four weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation at one year. many people experienced remission and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious
9:20 pm
allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu like symptoms, or if you need a vaccine. healing is possible with tremfya. ask your doctor about tremfya today this is not a drill. >> subway dropped the price on all their subs 20% off any sub any size. >> subway did what any sub. yep. for a limited your business needs a network it can count on... even during the unexpected. power's out! -power's out! power's out! comcast business has got you covered, with wifi backup to help keep you up and running. wifi's up. let's power on! let's power on! -let's power on! it's from the company with 99.9% network reliability. let's power on! power on with the leader in connectivity. get wifi backup for your business, or get started with comcast business internet. and for a limited time, get an $800 holiday bonus. call today.
9:21 pm
better sleep tonight luther. >> never too much new year's day at eight on cnn video of the suspected midtown assassin on what a law enforcement official now tells us was not one of new york's familiar, untraceable citi bike fleet, just an e-bike. >> according to this official last seen in central park. cnn's brynn gingras is just steps away. how easily brynn could someone disappear in central park compared to the rest of the city just in terms of the number of i mean, obviously on the street in new
9:22 pm
york, every store has cameras, often on the street homes have cameras in the park. there's cameras on roads, but certainly not as much as on pedestrian streets yes certainly not anderson. >> i mean, we're talking about nearly 850ft÷ of land that they that this person could have taken off in not to mention their subways where you can enter in at the entrance of central park. also there is less cameras like you just mentioned. not as many as you would have on the streets. i am on sixth avenue right now, and i just want to point out for you, anderson, if i get out of the way and we zoom in a bit, you can probably see the sign hilton right there. that is where the hotel where this gunman fired those shots this morning. so really not that far since we can zoom in with our cameras and then as we come back out, this is sixth avenue that we are on, as you guys have mentioned throughout the show, this gunman traveling on an e-bike all the way up sixth avenue, and that is the entrance of central park, where it is believed that he entered at some point. this morning.
9:23 pm
but again, it's so unclear at this point, according to investigators, where exactly he went from there there is even anderson, as you probably know, a nypd precinct in the middle of central park. so of course you can imagine those investigators know this area well, know where to look for any video. if there is a video available. these are all, of course, the things that investigators are trying to collect at this point to try to piece together a timeline, but also try to identify who this suspect is. i can tell you not too long ago we actually did see some detectives in this area looking for video as well. anderson. >> yeah, i mean, it's one of the things that police do and obviously like this fan out to every store, to every building and check the security cameras in in all those buildings. and if they lose the person then backtrack in different directions in buildings and it's, you know, it's literally, you know, you got to walk the streets, talk to the people in the buildings and start to look at the video. bryn, appreciate it. we'll get a check, a check back in with you if the events warrant,
9:24 pm
we're going to take a look more now on the light that all this sheds on the business of keeping executives and leaders of large organizations safe from threats. we're joined now by former secret service agent jonathan wackrow who has years of experience in private corporate security. um, you know, you see that the video that we're showing of the ceo walking toward this event, to this where he was supposed to speak he doesn't have security, he doesn't have assistance around him he doesn't have a team around him. does that surprise you? >> well, it did surprise me but, you know, i think this event, you know really underscores the rising threat that chief executive officers of organizations, heads of companies are facing right now typically, when you and i talk about protection, we're thinking about government protection. secret service, you know, state department, other types of law enforcement. but the threats that are facing corporate leaders today are significant. and if you think about why, it's because they are the face of the organization. but the threat spectrum is pretty broad when you think about internal issues such as disgruntled employees,
9:25 pm
workplace violence, and then extrinsically, you know, they're faced with criticism from the outside, whether it's because of products or services that they make, you know, individuals who may have, you know, a problem with the company, they're going to focus there with that context. to answer your question, yes, i am surprised, especially somebody that's in the health care industry where there are constant challenges with coverage. et cetera. that you're going to a public event, your investor day it's a known location where you're going to be not to have a level of security, whether it's even one agent or officer that is a little bit surprising to me. >> a source with knowledge of the investigation said that there were concerning threats against unitedhealthcare group. um we don't really know much more about the nature of the threats, but it's it's not uncommon, obviously, for threats to be made against a ceo of a company. and most companies will have you know, some sort of level of corporate security that tries to analyze
9:26 pm
the, the, the real nature of those threats. is it just something that someone might actually show up? how do you kind of analyze that? there seems like levels of threats. >> well, that's why they call it threat management. and, you know, not to be coy there, but that's exactly what it is these organizations sometimes are getting thousands and thousands of threats, whether they're direct threats i'm going to kill you or a veiled threat against you know, the ceo or other corporate, you know, officers within the organization managing those threats is really important. and you do it in really the context of three ways. it's assessing the means, the opportunity and the intent for that threat to actually manifest itself. unfortunately, today, what we saw was all three of those elements coming together that then launched this attack. >> when you see this, you know, obviously it's there's a lot of there's planning that went into it premeditation, obviously do you think this person was following this man for some
9:27 pm
time? do you think he was just waiting outside where he knew he would ultimately come, or he was staying in a hotel nearby? do you think it's possible that he was aware of that and had been following him previously? >> the level of sophistication of this attack, you know, from what we saw from the initial videos all the way to the knowledge that this suspect took the bike into central park, all of that is an elevated level of of planning that requires pre-attack surveillance to understand where the target potentially will go. where are you going to launch that attack, and then how are you going to escape from that attack? so i think you're going to see as this investigation continues, that level of pre-attack surveillance and planning is actually pretty significant in this case because it is i mean, it interests me how would he have known that that mr. armstrong was not mr. thompson was not going to be staying at the hilton hotel, where the event itself was. i mean, he could have been in the area the night before seeing the scene. the executive out at dinner. he
9:28 pm
may have an inside source within the organization. there may have been another event previously where he was able to then identify and know that he went back to the other hotel the night before so there's a lot of different ways, but that's tradecraft for an assassin. they're going to look at those patterns of behavior and figure out the likelihood of, where is this person going to be at x time for me to launch my attack. >> and brian, brian thompson's wife, had told nbc that her husband had been receiving threats. >> and that's not uncommon. it's not uncommon for ceos. every single day to get a level of threat the the problem is we don't know the context of those threats. were those threats associated to this attack, or were they more broadly jonathan wackrow, thanks so much. >> appreciate it. >> coming up, more details on the manhunt. i'll be joined by award winning journalist geraldo rivera for his take on the investigation. and more with john miller as well. we'll be right back mhm. >> kind of needs to be more
9:29 pm
squiggly perfect. so now do you have a driver's license? oh. >> what did you get us with the click of a pen you can get a new volkswagen at the sign then drive event. >> lisa, 2024 tiguan for zero. down zero deposit zero. first month's payment and zero due at signing. limited inventory available doctor box. >> there were many failed attempts to fix my teeth. i retouched all my wedding photos and it was even affecting my health i trusted you because you specialize in dental implants you created a permanent solution and customized my teeth so it still felt like me. my new teeth have improved my life and change my future. thank you. you're so welcome. >> financed the smile you want for as low as 148 a month per arch schedule a free consultation at the salvation army oreshnik isn't just a rent
9:30 pm
check with your gift families know that wherever they go, they can always come back home love jen. >> loved her gain hibiscus hula flings until brad moved in and brought along a few new exciting additions and they discover that when they mix their scents, they were more than just soulmates they were scent mates mix. match more happy with gain. my favorite babysitter is annalisa. >> she's pretty good she's like my grandma, she says i love go mustache and then we go skateboarding from babysitters to nannies to daycare centers. >> find all the care you need at care.com for more than a decade pozega has been trusted
9:31 pm
again and again, and again s. >> e. cupp ask your doctor about pozega surprise! >> there's still time to save wayfair's cyber week sale is back for an encore. it's your last chance to save up to 70% off on furniture and cookware. holiday decor and more at wayfair's lowest prices of the year plus, score new deals of the day every day. wow and get free shipping on everything! don't miss your last chance to save up to 70% on everything. homeconvenience. if you want to
9:32 pm
grab it for yourself, just go to go. friday plans dot com. it's go friday plans dot com. >> closed captioning is brought to you by audiobook network. tell your story. produce an audiobook with us. >> want to earn more profits and find a new audience for your published book? produce an audiobook. we handle narration production, and digital distribution. >> call or scan the qr code now we're following the latest developments in the manhunt underway in manhattan to locate
9:33 pm
the suspect in the fatal shooting of unitedhealthcare ceo, brian thompson. >> it's been described by investigators as a brazen, targeted attack. it certainly appears that way. for perspective, i'm joined by emmy and peabody award winning journalist geraldo rivera. also, john miller is back with us as well. geraldo, you used to work near this part of manhattan. there's often a lot of pedestrian traffic early, even early in the morning when you see this video of the shooting, what we're learning so far, what stands out to you well, it is extraordinary that brazen murder would take place in such a busy part of new york. >> the heart of manhattan. you know, i haven't covered a mob assassination or any kind of assassination in new york since paulie castellano, 39 years ago. outside sparks steakhouse. having said that, it's pretty clear that this this killer was a pro who had a plan. those side entrances locked this guy staying across the street,
9:34 pm
which is to your left, crosses the street. there's only one way to walk to the main entrance of the hilton on sixth avenue. and that's the way he's walking. so it's easy for this killer to get behind brian thompson and he takes his time to put that first bullet in him. that's it looks like 20ft away. so he must have been confident. and then, of course as you and john have been discussing the gun jams because of the silencer, probably and changing the weight of it but a cool customer everything bespeaks a mob hit i mean, a hit, an organized a killer for hire not a mob. but i think that really you have to explore more about brian thompson's background. it really seems that there were a lot of people very angry at this guy for insider trading and alleged fraud, and making 15 million bucks by keeping the department of justice probe of unitedhealthcare quiet selling his stock, getting out,
9:35 pm
pocketing that 15 mil. when stockholders went home broke. so you know, this was definitely a lot of people with motive and a pro with opportunity. anderson did this this dramatic murder in midtown. >> john i understand you're learning some new some new information as they have kind of expanded that video canvas they've actually gotten to some images that they believe they captured of the suspect before the shooting. >> so somewhere in the in the pre-dawn hours, 515 in the morning they believe they've captured video of this individual on the upper west side of manhattan. it's from a distance, but it appears that he's carrying something which they they believe is an e-bike battery. so what does that suggest? they believe he may live in that area. they believe the fact that he carries this battery may be suggestive that the bike was stashed already. pre
9:36 pm
stashed near where he planned to do this or that. >> it stored the idea that he was like charging the battery at home or something. >> right and that he was going to take the train downtown pre-position the bike and make sure that make sure that the battery was charged for a fast getaway and then stake out his his target. >> it's interesting, geraldo, because i mean, again you were talking about, you know, mob hits back in the day when the mob was, you know, the power that it was in new york's past. um you don't see a lot of this kind of brazen, high profile preplanned things i think back to 2008, there was a bombing at an army recruitment station in times square. the guy escaped on a bike and disappeared, made a turn, i think, on 38th street. and there was, you know, a search for for a long time for, for that person. um, but but kind of preplanned organize things like this. you just, you don't see something like this because
9:37 pm
there are so many cameras now. it's it's fascinating to kind of see it all play out that's what that's the reason. >> anderson because the new york is hardwired. we have the largest police department in the country, maybe the world. i don't i don't know, certainly the country in new york there is a more than that. there are these cameras not only on the corners but mid-block often. and i am certain that there were cameras mid-block here. this camera for example, every business, every big business in new york has a camera so if you're committing a crime knowing that you're going to your image and likeness your your clothing, your garb your motive, your weapon and so forth will all be revealed to the public by these cctv system that is you know, so widespread, so omnipotent. it just this was this really takes balls when you consider that this guy knows exactly what
9:38 pm
he's doing. he has the silencer, he gets behind, doesn't rush. it, takes the shot, hits him in the back and then as the weapon jams and i know you've decided not to show the the cool, calm, deliberate manner in which he jams that weapon but, man, i'm telling you it was. it was a pro at work there in a cold blooded one, because then he puts the coup de gras, the killer shots or where the the insurance shots in the victim standing over him and where, where did the guy over there in the right against the building isn't that a person? also, what happened to that witness? i want i want that guy to come forward. you know. so this is a this is very, very dramatic very brazen but i think that i'm not rushing to judgment. you have that tech exec that was stabbed in san francisco the guy that stabbed him, the jury, ironically, is out. we all thought that it was san
9:39 pm
francisco anarchy that led to some random killer killing bobby lee, the tech executive in fact, it was a good buddy of his who was partying with him, who was angry with him because he allegedly did something with with his daughter. so you know, you can't rush to judgment on these, but it does seem fairly obvious that this has something to do with the unitedhealthcare . the stock tanking, people losing money, how they booked this guy to be the keynote speaker in an investment investor conference i'd like to know more about that too. >> a lot to be learned. geraldo rivera appreciate it. john miller as well. coming up, president elect trump's pick for secretary of defense is back on capitol hill today meeting with senators as questions continue and more information emerges about his past and his fitness to serve pete hegseth says he's not going anywhere despite the accusations of sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement and a veterans organization. he had headed and incidents involving alcohol. more ahead
9:40 pm
i used to think a holiday one stop shop is a myth until i found michael's. >> oh, i need those. definitely need those i know this place is unbelievable. >> how did you fit in the front door vicks vapor stick provides soothing non-medicated vick vapors easy to apply for the whole family. >> vicks vapor stick and try new vapor shower max for steamy vicks vapors hello brad. >> dad what all the boys and girls. >> now, i didn't sign on for this. >> it's christmas. bah, humbug! >> christmas is the time to be with the people you love to the world to the fishes.
9:41 pm
>> wow. do you and me. >> when a tough car finds you on the go. it would be silly hey. trying to robert baer isa soares juice pack with the power of robitussin and every bite easy to take. cough relief anywhere. chew on relief chew on a dozen people love to find me. >> but me, i love finding the perfect gift. like for my friend wanda, who loves coffee or for my little dog woof. who eats big thank you gifts that say i get you. >> etsy has it for more than a decade, pozega has been trusted again and again and again pozega ask your doctor about pozega i joined sofi because they've helped millions of members earn more money save more money, borrow better and invest for their ambitions join a generational player sofi.
9:42 pm
>> get your money right heartburn makes you queasy. >> get fast relief with new tums plus upset stomach and nausea. support and love. food bank. dum dum dum dum dum dum. >> the polar vortex is bringing a lot of snow. just be safe. getting home. >> this storm will be here through the night. >> as will i the december to remember sales event. >> get offers on select models your parents have given you some amazing gifts, but what about the inherited ones celebrate them with ancestry dna. >> the simple test that shows your deep family roots from your mom's side and your dad's side with some serious detail trace the journeys and history that shaped who you are today, and see the traits they pass down your connections to the past are all waiting. see
9:43 pm
just how gifted you are. for only $39. oh, what a good time we will have you can make it happen again voltaren for long lasting arthritis pain relief and harbor freight, we design and test our own tools and sell them directly to you no middlemen, just quality tools you can trust at prices you'll love whenever you do. >> do it for less. at harbor freight your best defense against erosion and cavities is strong enamel. >> nothing beats it. i recommend pronamel active shield because it actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a game changer for my patients. it really works let it rain, randy whoa yes
9:44 pm
that's how you make like it never even happened. >> happens. servpro more breaking news tonight pete hegseth. >> the president elect's embattled pick for defense secretary, told reporters today that trump still supports him and in a separate interview said he's going to quote, fight like hell. those words to an interviewer. megyn kelly came as hegseth was on capitol hill again, trying to shore up support from republican lawmakers during the same interview, kelly compared the stories about his alleged alcohol and sexual abuse to the allegations of sexual misconduct. supreme court justice brett kavanaugh faced during his own confirmation hearing do you think you're being kavanaugh right now? >> i had a member, not 45 minutes ago look me in the eye in private. just he and i, and say, that's what they're trying to do to you. that's what they're trying to do to you. that's their playbook. >> get ready for more and they're going to make it up just like they have so far. all anonymous, all innuendo all rumor, nothing sourced no verification. and they're just going to keep doing it because you're a threat to them. you're a
9:45 pm
threat to their system. you're a threat to all the things in washington d.c., the swamp, the things that people have rejected. you're a threat to that. >> hegseth mom made an appearance on fox and friends this morning as well, attempting to do damage control following reporting from the new york times that she emailed her son in 2018 accusing him of a years long history of mistreating women and i want people to look at pete, judge people or understand him for who he is today and to disregard the media that was seven years ago and most of it is misinformation cnn is reporting that allies of the president elect involved in the transition process have been compiling a list of alternative candidates. should hegseth ultimately fail to gain the necessary support on capitol hill. i'm joined now by political commentators from across the spectrum. special assistant to president george w. bush, scott jennings, former trump white house communications director alyssa griffin, and former senior adviser to president obama
9:46 pm
david axelrod. david, do you see a point where president-elect trump decides to just cut his losses and move on with another choice? i mean you know, when gates finally, you know gates wasn't going to drop out until he dropped out and very quickly pam bondi was waiting in the wings. >> yeah, i don't see the president elect as a sentimental person. i don't think he's going to hang on here if he believes that hegseth has become a liability to him and i think, you know, we haven't heard that much from him. we've heard what hegseth said. he told him. i'm sure he's waiting to see how this story plays out there have been a lot of allegations. there was a devastating story in the new yorker over the weekend. there's another story tonight in the washington post about the drinking issue, and we're talking, anderson, about the most important agency in the federal government and or certainly the largest and their mission is is extraordinarily important. so when you have allegations of financial mismanagement on a much smaller
9:47 pm
organization or two of them and a history of drinking and abuse of women, these have to be of great concern to the senate. >> yeah. i mean, alyssa the the financial, the new yorker story that david's talking about. i mean, the financial mismanagement allegations, we're talking about two one particularly kind of pretty small veterans advocacy organization doing admirable work. i think their budget was like in the 5 to $10 million range. and was basically pushed out of that because allegedly of financial mismanagement. right. >> and you're talking about a role as secretary of defense where he'd oversee more than $80 billion organization with 300 million service members. >> their dependents, the civilian population based in countries and over 160 countries around the world. if you take just responding to pete hegseth kind of push back today, listen, he needs to go out and fight donald trump is going to want to see him defend himself if he's going to stick by him and keep him as his as his nominee but the defense of, you know, well, these are allegations. it's like kavanaugh if you even set aside the allegation and just look at
9:48 pm
the simple facts, the lack of credentials to have to run an organization of this size. yes, he's a veteran, but a thin resume overall. and then the known things. he's on a third marriage. there are documented affairs that are public, even if you set aside the abuse, all of those things are things that generally you would not look for in a secretary of defense character integrity and experience are paramount at the pentagon, probably more so than any other agency. just because of the stakes of the business they do every day. >> scott, i mean, you know, capitol hill. well, do you think he can actually continue? >> well, he can continue and, you know, i do think there have been a lot of anonymously sourced things. i think he's right about that. and so if i were in his shoes, i'd want a chance to go to the table and answer questions and clear my own name and fight for my own reputation. i'm sure he's doing that behind the scenes. >> although some of the veterans organization stuff, i mean, it's not all anonymously sourced. >> i mean, well, some of the some of the, the more salacious character based attacks have have been anonymously sourced, and there have been a lot of people on the record who have worked with him either in the military or at fox news, who
9:49 pm
have come forward in their name, on the record, to say, i've never witnessed any of this kind of behavior and so on. so but that's the purpose of a hearing, right you go to the table, you answer questions under oath. people come and defend you, or people come and make allegations against you. but we're a long way between now and the hearings. my sense is he's still below the line. i mean, he's probably not there right now. and because i think if he lost if he lost three republican senators assuming all democrats voted against him um, yeah, i mean, you can't lose many. and and, you know no offense to the rest of the cabinets, but the defense department is different than virtually everything else. and the bar to be secretary of defense is going to be very high. and there's a there's a cohort of republican senators this is their main issue. national security foreign foreign affairs. >> david incoming senate armed services chairman roger wicker said that hegseth told him he wouldn't drink alcohol if he was confirmed to the job. republican senator kevin cramer said he wouldn't rule out backing hegseth if he vows to stop drinking. what does it indicate to you that the bar for leading the pentagon is to promise not to drink i consider
9:50 pm
that a rhetorical question. >> yes, yes look obvious obviously. >> i mean you know, the idea that someone who's had a lifelong issue with alcohol and he acknowledges that he's had an issue with alcohol just asserting that, okay, if you confirm me, i'll stop drinking when we know there are you know, yes, they were they were not sourced. the fox news colleagues who attested to the fact that they were concerned about his drinking recently uh, has to be really unsettling. uh alyssa is right. i mean, he doesn't have the resume for the job in terms of managerial experience to take over the most complex organization in the united states government, perhaps in the world. but beyond that how do you put the the security of the united states of america in the hands of someone who has potentially has this problem? and how do you accept his word? we know
9:51 pm
how alcoholism works, and i'm not diagnosing him, but we know how these things work. how do you take the word of someone that if you just put me in the most pleasureful job you can, i'll be fine. i won't take a drink very quickly, alyssa. >> i mean, joni ernst his name is out there. florida senator ron desantis, governor ron desantis, senator bill hagerty as well. >> the good news for donald trump is he has highly qualified options that i would argue are significantly more qualified and more likely to get confirmed than pete hegseth. i mean joni ernst is somebody who's a combat veteran, served on senate armed services she would get democratic support. she'd get a number of democrats who would support her, and she'd be respected by the force. and somebody who's chaos, i think, you know, and she may not look like a fox news host, but she is somebody who i think is deeply respected by her colleagues. >> he met with her today and she's vital because, you know, she's been in the military and and she said they had a good meeting, but she didn't commit to supporting him today, which was noteworthy on capitol hill geraldo rivera, excuse me, geraldo rivera, scott jennings, thanks very similar, very similar, often mistaken
9:52 pm
mustache. >> griffin as well. david axelrod, thank you. >> coming up displaced civilians in lebanon are returning to their homes even as israel and hezbollah test the limits of a very still tenuous ceasefire. clarissa ward is there. she joins us with that report there is wherever i go, they always ask, where's waldo? >> you found me. who's waldo sometimes it takes someone who really knows you to make you feel seen. >> gifts that say i get you. >> etsy has it an alternative to pills voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel, which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source. >> voltaren the joy of movement your loved ones are getting older and they need your support. >> care.com is here to help. >> it's an easy way to find background checked senior caregivers in your area and some peace of mind. >> see why millions of families have trusted care.
9:53 pm
>> go to care.com now. >> i tripped something awful is coming nosferatu is more powerful than evil. >> he is death itself i am ready for r2 rated r only in theaters christmas day. >> special engagements in dolby and imax. >> i won't let my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis symptoms define me. >> emerge as you with clearer skin with tremfya. most people saw 100% clear skin that stayed clear even at five years. >> serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur before treatment. your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection. flu like symptoms, or if you need a vaccine. >> emerge with clear skin. ask
9:54 pm
your doctor about tremfya sounds like you need to vaporize that sore throat. >> vapocool drops. it's sore throat relief with a rush of vicks vapors. vapocool. whoa vaporize sore throat pain with vicks vapocool drops the virus that causes shingles is sleeping in 99% of people over 50. >> it's lying dormant waiting, and could reactivate shingles strikes is a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks, and it could wake at any time. think you are not at risk for shingles? it's time to wake up because shingles could wake up in you if you're over 50. talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. >> think you've been harmed by products containing talc? you may have the right to vote on the plans of reorganization filed by amyris talc and cypress mines. it's important because the plans determine how talc claims are treated, which
9:55 pm
may affect your rights and claims. vote by december 16, 2020 for or object by march 26th, 2025 to help determine how injury claims are treated. visit instyle.com for details
9:56 pm
>> it's awesome. don't let this happen to you. download rocket money today cnn heroes, an all star tribute sunday at eight on cnn it's been a week since a ceasefire deal between israel and hezbollah in lebanon went into effect. >> today, secretary of state antony blinken said that it's holding despite cross-border strikes that threatened the deal. israel threatened tuesday to go deeper into lebanon. that came a day after intense israeli airstrikes in response to hezbollah rocket attacks themselves. the response to israeli attacks today, secretary blinken blinken said that now they mostly want to see is, quote, people being able to return to their homes. clarissa ward has more from the balcony of his apartment, a man gazes out at his city tire.
9:57 pm
>> once renowned for its glittering waters and ancient ruins. now in ruins itself moussa saad has lived through many wars in lebanon, but none like this 25 years we have been here in tire, he tells us. an israeli strike pulverized the next door building where his neighbors once lived their clothes still hang ghost like in the closet foreign team name on imagine a person was sleeping here. the building collapsed on them. everyone died. a woman and her children, all of them dead why? for what? he says they beth sanner america did this to us, not israel. it's america
9:58 pm
that goes like this. like she didn't see anything and she didn't want to know anything lebanon is a country where loyalties are divided, but bitterness towards the west for its support of israel is everywhere in villages around tire hezbollah flags fly proudly. no community has been spared the melkite greek catholic church had been a refuge for displaced people when it was hit by an israeli missile on october 9th, eight people were killed 81 year old church caretaker milad elia has prayed here as long as he can remember. this is my house, he says next to the church, a mosque connected by a shared hall for events if our homes were hit in the church state, it would be better, he tells us if the church is gone there is
9:59 pm
no coexistence between people here tire is one of the world's oldest inhabited cities mentioned several times in the bible as the light falls. carmel, istanbouli does what fishermen have been doing here for thousands of years for 60 days during the war, israel's military barred boats from going out on the water of course, it was tough, he says. we fishermen must work every day to feed our families what's your dream for the future? we don't have a future here, he tells me. with israel as your neighbor occupying your land, there's no future for you. there's just war. after war, destruction after destruction, and the country collapses and collapses a bleak outlook shared by many in this historic city, even as a shaky ceasefire continues to hold it's been a week since the
10:00 pm
ceasefire. >> what are people saying about the possibility of it holding well, first of all, anderson, i just want to mention that in terms of why tire has been so hard hit, the idf maintains that it is a hezbollah stronghold. >> they say that there have been many attacks against israeli forces that have been launched from there. and i think it's also important to mention what a lot of people wouldn't say to us on camera, which is that there are many lebanese who do not like hezbollah at all, who feel that they have been unfairly dragged into this war and who so desperately just want for it to end now, as to your point about the ceasefire, there was another israeli strike today. the israeli air force saying that they were targeting a launch pad. but we've also heard from secretary of state antony blinken today saying that it is still holding. and there is a sense that despite the violations which have been happening on a daily basis, that there really is a desperate desire from many people on both sides of this