>> the search, now entering its sixth day as police release new pictures of the suspect and comb through new clues. meantime president-elect donald trump laying out an aggressive plan for tackling immigration in his second term. and it includes a willingness to work with democrats to craft a plan to protect immigrants, known as dreamers. a forceful denial from jay-z this morning after an amended lawsuit accuses both him and sean "diddy" combs of sexually assaulting a 13 year old girl. i'm jessica dean alongside john berman, sara and kate are out today, and this is cnn news central all right brand new this morning, the fbi offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest. >> and conviction of the suspect wanted for killing unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. the manhunt is now in its sixth day, and sources say

that nypd, new york city police officers are in atlanta now investigating. you're looking at one of the two new images released by officials. one appears to show the suspect riding in the back seat of a taxi on the day of the shooting. another shows him walking down the street. authorities say the shooter's backpack was found discarded in central park, filled with monopoly money, but not a weapon. divers have been searching ponds in central park under the idea that maybe he threw the gun into the pond, but so far they have not recovered anything. with us now, jon miller, cnn chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst. so, new york city detectives are in atlanta. jon. why? >> well, the investigative theory has been that that the shooter took a bus up from atlanta. they have him coming out of the port authority bus terminal in midtown manhattan. ten days on the 24th, before the shooting. and they're trying to backtrack that bus route. so if it originates in

atlanta, where did he get on? what stop along the way. and that's where they're using fbi agents to run those leads do those video canvasses while they work with both the bus company and the local authorities in atlanta to try and run those leads and he financial evidence that they've been tracking down. >> i guess what he paid at the hostel in cash. so that's limiting right there. >> he seemed to whoever the shooter is choose venues where you could still pay in cash things like the bus not the airlines, things like the hostel, not a hotel where even if you pay in cash, they always want a credit card to secure other charges. that's probably why he ended up in the hostel. >> that's interesting in and of itself. so those pictures that we were looking at, the new pictures that we're getting our first look at today in the taxi, which is interesting, that also on the streets also pointing to a location, miles north of central park, the last place we

had known that he was near a bus station. >> that's right. he's actually on a street in the really the upper reaches of manhattan, across the street from a park. but a couple of blocks from that bus station so one investigative theory, which would be logical if he was avoiding airports and airlines, take a bus in, take a bus out. but they've also been checking airports and cameras and looking for for hits there. trying to figure this out and, you know, the fbi, which is because so many of these leads really at the request of the nypd, saying if he's not here, we're looking for people from other places who recognize this face. um the fbi has taken on the role of running some of these leads out of town in fact, crossing state lines with the intent to commit a felony, even a felony. that's not a federal crime. traveling interstate to do that is a federal crime so i think you're going to see them become involved in a partnership with

the with the nypd here, john. >> the messages on the shell casings, the monopoly money in the backpack, which some people think might have been a message there about greed here. if this person is sending messages or was in the moments after the shooting, and then for some time do they feel do authorities feel he might act again? how concerned are they that he could still be dangerous? >> they are concerned because you know, so far the messages they have gotten are not directly associated with unitedhealthcare or mr. thompson. the victim but you know delay denied opposed the things written on the bullets and the shell casings are kind of the three ds that critics use about the insurance company. the presence of monopoly money in the backpack in central park, where the killer had to presume it might be found seems like a real message about greed, because what was in there? that and a tommy hilfiger jacket indistinctly, not a gun.

>> all right, john miller thank you very much. appreciate all your work on this. thanks, jessica. >> joining us now to talk more about this cnn law enforcement contributor steve moore and former u.s. marshal john muffler. great to have both of you here with us. john, john, let's start first with you. it's now been several days. we've made it through the weekend and yes, they've gotten a lot of evidence, but no they don't have this guy yet. are you surprised no, but it tells me a lot that they're in atlanta and so when i think one of the investigative techniques that they're using is cell phone tower dumps and looking at those time and places where they know the shooter was looking, all those cameras, they're time stamped. >> and so they can look at those cell towers in that location and see what numbers were being used at that time and location that weren't being used in the days leading up to. so that number, those numbers can be taken out of that dump and traced back to location. so it tells me that they have a good idea that this guy is from

the atlanta area. that's why they're down there. >> that's interesting. and steve look, we know we have that piece of it. we know that they're in atlanta. we also saw them over the weekend diving and searching within that lake within central park, looking for that murder weapon. what did you make of that well, obviously they're there right along the the line of travel. >> you know, the backpack gave them an idea and formed them a little bit of the route he took through central park. so they're following logical leads there another thing that they have to consider is his m.o. in this entire thing was going from one place a long way away to going to the next place that he was going like the attack and so you, the investigators have to concentrate not just on atlanta or the stops that they've got, but they have to realize that he may have flown somewhere using his normal id to atlanta

and taken the bus up from there to throw it off so there's so many potential variables here. >> yeah. and john, we hear steve talking about the m.o. and i do want to kind of drill down on that because this is a very specific case in the evidence he left behind in the as john miller was laying out the words on the bullets, the monopoly money in this backpack that they found. what do you take away from how he planned this out? again, just again, knowing how to move through a city, he did he did show up in a lot of photos and video but he was clearly aware of where the surveillance was yeah, he definitely did his operational planning pre-attack surveillance knew his. >> knew the location of this meeting and knew where he was going to be. so again, ten days in advance says a lot and gives you gave him a lot of time to plan this out and he was thinking about it longer than

ten days before the attack. right. this is something that's been on his mind for a long time, for whatever reason. i guess we'll all learn that in the postmortem of the investigation. but he's left a lot of clues behind, and my feeling is they're pretty, pretty close to him. >> and, steve, what are your thoughts at this point? because there's also this thinking that law enforcement does know more than they're telling the public, for obvious reasons, to preserve the integrity of this investigation, to be allowed to move a little bit more nimbly without this suspect having all their cards as well. where do you think it stands now well generally on cases like this, you've got three points. >> you've got to identify the person. you've got to locate and arrest the person, and then you've got to prosecute the person. when the mayor of new york is describing the investigation in the past tense this was a difficult investigation. this was um, you know, a really challenging

investigation that to me, kind of makes me think that they've got the first one. they've identified him, and now they're in, uh, they're kind of in fugitive mode, which is what the marshals do so. well and so john where do we look next? >> what are you looking for next in terms of the next big break that potentially authorities will need, or that the public might hear about? is it is it is it actually apprehending him yeah i think another clue is i know there's much to be said about the burner phone. >> um, that makes for an investigator. just makes it a little bit more difficult, but it's more of a tedious investigation. but with those burner phones, there's an imei number associated with that number. it's a 15 digit number that goes to the store. it was sold from. so they're going to know what store sold that phone and they can then interview those people and know that time and that place of that purchase. so that's another lead they're going to be

following. and some more people who can give some specific information on that. on that individual who purchased it, whether it was him or someone else. yeah. >> technology does seem to leave a trail of evidence behind, as steve moore and john muffler are. thanks to both of you. >> john wright, who was running syria right now. nation securing their borders in all the uncertainty after the fall of the assad regime donald trump's pick to lead the fbi heads to capitol hill. this morning. what questions will lawmakers have about his past and the heinous and idiotic? that is how jay z is describing the disturbing sexual assault allegations leveled against him in a lawsuit welcome to times square that's not on my mind that was so embarrassing. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn. streaming live you don't

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shingrix today i'm running into you. >> show me what you're made of. i've got to wipe out the tbs original wipeout. >> all new sundays at 9:00 on tbs all right new this morning. >> piecing together the promises the statements and some misstatements in president elect donald trump's first major interview since he won election. he sat down and talked extensively on a number of subjects. immigration. first and foremost among them he said he would end birthright citizenship. that is enshrined in the constitution. but also said he wanted to work with democrats to figure out a way to keep dreamers here in the united states. let's get to cnn's alayna treene with the very latest now, trump had previously said that he would support trying to protect dreamers during his first term as well. >> but then he also tried to end the deferred action for

childhood arrivals program, an obama era program that really would have protected dreamers. that was later struck down by the court. so we'll see what this could look like in a second term. but i think it's clear that donald trump, as he's having these conversations since he got elected, he's having some political considerations about what this could mean as well. now, i also want to talk about another major issue that donald trump addressed during this meet the press interview. and that was whether he wanted to double down on his claims to seek retribution against political opponents. trump said that he does not plan to go after directly president joe biden. however, he did leave the door open to allow some of his political appointees and people like pam bondi, his pick to lead the department of justice, as well as kash patel, has picked to lead the fbi. really giving them kind of broad authority to go after whoever they believe maybe had committed crimes or acted in a corrupt manner. he also talked about wanting to issue january six pardons on day one. again, this is something that donald trump had repeatedly vowed to

do throughout his time on the campaign trail. but it's been unclear really, ever since he won the election how he would do that. he didn't really get into the specifics during this interview, but i will say from my conversations with trump's team, there's two different thoughts about how to go about it. some people believe that really, he should have these wide pardons, sweeping pardons for anyone who was convicted for what they did on january 6th in the capitol attack. others however, saying it should be on a case by case basis, specifically looking at the people who did not, you know attack police officers or weren't committed on seditious conspiracy charges. so some considerations there. but again, this is something that donald trump said that he will do very early on once he assumes office. and i'd also just add here that this is also a promise that i'm told he needs to follow through on. he didn't just make this promise broadly throughout his time on the campaign trail. he also promised this to specific people, to their families. and so this is something i am told that he is expected to follow through. the question is, what will it look like elena thank

you. >> and this morning, several president elect trump's picks for key national security positions are heading to the hill to meet with top gop senators as they prepare for confirmation fights. and they include defense secretary nominee pete hegseth tulsi gabbard, who's been tapped to be the next director of national intelligence, and kash patel trump's pick to lead the fbi. patel is widely seen as a controversial figure with a deep disdain for washington elites, with one former colleague saying the former mid-level justice department lawyer is the kind of person who quote, sees enemies everywhere. cnn's zachary cohen has new reporting now from washington. zach, you and our colleagues doing a deep dive into the background of kash patel. what did you learn? >> yeah, that's right, jessica, we talked to over a dozen people who worked with kash patel, some that have known him for years, and they all characterize him, described somebody who sees themselves as an outsider and somebody who carries a rather large chip on their shoulder, dating back to his time. that originates from

his time as a young prosecutor and as a young lawyer. he was he worked as a mid-level doj attorney back in 2016 and multiple people. we talked to pointed to a specific incident that occurred around that time when kash patel was essentially parachuted into an ongoing court battle. he was fresh off a plane from the middle east and entered a courtroom and really seems to have been embarrassed by the way he was treated by a judge who effectively said, quote who is this patel guy? and then said, quote, you're just one more non-essential employee from washington, essentially describing patel as the very thing he has pledged as fbi director to help trump route out of the establishment. so look this is something that somebody very close to patel and somebody who's known him since that time said in hindsight, quote, thinking back about it now, i can see the arc of him going from this guy who was obsessed with one episode to someone who sees enemies everywhere. i think he was always like this, an opportunist who feels constantly aggrieved. and that's something a viewpoint and a worldview that he actually tends to share with donald trump. and one that has

really fueled his rise within trump's universe. it's something that motivated him as an investigator on capitol hill to help try to investigate the so-called russia collusion hoax. that's what got trump's attention. and again, was a motivator while he was on the national security council. but look, as you mentioned, that sort of loyalty and that sort of shared ideology with donald trump has made him a controversial figure and something that trump actually yesterday on meet the press acknowledged could pose a problem for his confirmation. take a listen to what he said and kash patel is very fair. >> i'll tell you. i thought kash may be difficult because he's, you know a strong conservative voice and i don't know of anybody that's not singing his praises so patel has publicly said that he wants to use a second trump term to help him investigate donald trump's political enemies, something that donald trump has already spoken publicly about as well. >> and that could raise questions when he's on capitol hill from senators who, while publicly, have rallied around patel's nomination as trump

has sort of urged them to confirm all of his nominees. but privately have expressed concerns about his experience and also his public comments about going after these political enemies so we'll have to see what the reaction is when he meets with these senators on capitol hill. but there will have to be some swaying that goes on. on patel's part. >> all right. zach cohen with the latest there. thank you very much, john. >> all right. with us now is congressman jim clyburn, a democrat from south carolina. congressman, thank you so much for being with us. this interview that donald trump, the president elect, did. he talked about a number of things. but one of the things he discussed was pardoning january 6th. rioters, the first day he is in office, listen to this but i'm going to be acting very quickly within your first 100 days. >> first day. >> first day. >> first day. >> yeah. >> i'm looking first day. >> these pardons these people have been there. how long is it? 3 or 4 years. you know by the way, they've been in there for years and they're in a

filthy, disgusting place that shouldn't even be allowed to be open congressman, how would you feel about then president trump pardoning the january 6th rioters on day one? >> well, thank you very much for having me. you know, this is not the first time he said that throughout the entire campaign he campaigned on that made it very clear that that was his intent, not respecting the fact that these people attempted an insurrection of course, he encouraged them to do so. >> and so maybe that's why he's taking that into account but the fact of the matter is, they did. so some people died. i was in that building that day i knew very well what took place this was not any kind of a walk in the park no peaceful protest. >> this was an insurrection. >> it was violent and it took

lives and so for him to say this on yesterday, uh simply reinforced what he's been saying throughout the campaign. >> maya angelou told us if people show you who they are, believe them the first time. so i believed him before we ever got to yesterday. >> but you think you're against it to be fair, to be sure well, you know, i think that it's the president's prerogative to pardon whomever he wishes to pardon that's up to the president i favor the pardon system. >> it ought to be used to rectify wrongs. it ought to be used to forgive and to provide a second chance. so if you go case by case basis, you look at all of those people. some people may have gotten caught up in the emotions and may be a

pardon for them would be okay. but if you're using the american flag punching uh, at the soldiers, i mean, the law enforcement officers you have injured a law enforcement officer and you're spraying uh, whatever the stuff was that were spraying on people, those people should not be pardoned. and so yes, go case by case and there may be some people who got caught up and give them a pardon, but a blanket pardon to everybody irrespective. no, i do not agree with that. >> all right. but a case by case maybe that is interesting. shifting to the current president, president biden, how would you feel about president biden issuing what some people call preemptive pardons? we hear it's being considered or discussed, at least inside the white house. pardon people into some of the names that are thrown out there, you know, anthony fauci or others who might come under or be targeted by a trump administration well, i agree that that should happen

once again, case by case. >> i wouldn't say to the president just blanket everybody. uh, pardon everybody in a blanket way no, no case by case. and fauci is an indication of someone that i think should be protected because he has been threatened by people who say that he ought to be in jail for what bennie thompson's name was mentioned on yesterday. liz cheney now, i for 2 or 3 weeks have been saying the president has used his pardon and power to protect those people who are doing their jobs and now have someone like kash patel saying he's going to go after them now, some people say you shouldn't do it. they don't want it done for them. maybe they can afford the legal fees that go along with all of this. you know, i know it's bennie thompson. we came up the same way he in mississippi uh, in south carolina we can't afford to be paying our children's future out to

attorneys protecting ourselves against stuff that just is not true. and so if you want don't want the pardon, then don't take it but for people who need to protect themselves, their children's future, i think the president should take that into account you know, you mentioned bennie thompson, the january sixth committee. >> this is what donald trump said about potentially investigating them listen for what they did. >> yeah honestly, they should go to jail. >> so you think liz cheney should go to jail for what everyone on the committee. >> you think i think everybody on the anybody that voted in favor of going to direct your fbi director and your attorney general to send them to jail no, not at all. i think that they'll have to look at that. but i'm not going to i'm going to focus on drill, baby, drill your reaction to that well, i think that's what i'm talking about.

>> he's made it very clear she cut him off before he said for anybody seemed to be saying who participated on those committees, they ought to be in jail now just look at that committee. i think adam schiff was on that committee. he says he doesn't want a pardon. well, that's okay but i don't think that everybody is in the same position. i don't know, maybe he can afford the expenses that go along with that sort of thing. uh, to me, i think president biden ought to demonstrate the kind of compassion he's always demonstrated in his public life. and certainly as president of the united states and use the power and authority that he has to protect the integrity of those people who are working to protect the integrity of this democracy. and that's what those people were doing. they unearthed some things, uh they had people to testify who were very close to donald trump, who worked in the white

house. and they have shared with the public what they and because they did that, they should all go to jail that's what he said. those are his words. we ought to believe him when he says it. and i know there are people already saying, oh, he doesn't mean that. okay, uh, go and look and see what he had, what he did after the 2016 election. uh, we got a precursor way back then to what's now being called project 2025. i've studied history all of my life, and i'm telling you what i see going on, what i hear coming from those people who are planning to work in this administration should be concerned for everybody i know what happened to history is very clear. what happened. the last time we had a presidential election that pretended this jim crow became the law of the land and that's where we're headed. if we aren't careful

all right congressman jim clyburn, appreciate it. >> thank you very much, jessica jay-z responding this morning after being named in a sexual assault lawsuit that also named sean diddy combs the disturbing allegations from a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by both men when she was just 13 years old and this morning, many are wondering what's next for syria after the stunning collapse of the assad regime after decades of power to avoid digital threats, just turn on nordvpn action against trackers, malicious websites and malware ridden downloads. >> get the deal now i use ten buckets of water when you can use one fire extinguisher and to fight heartburn. >> why take ten antacids throughout the day when you can take one prilosec for easier heartburn relief? one beats ten. >> prilosec otc one pill, 24 hours zero heartburn what if you could tackle your dog's

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day one visit marketing architects dot com to learn more this holiday season, find the perfect gift at cnn underscored from the latest fashion to expert approved tech to the best beauty finds, discover it all at underscore dot com this morning, in a scathing response, jay-z is denying allegations he sexually assaulted a 13 year old girl alongside sean diddy combs. >> the accuser says this happened in 2000 at a vmas afterparty. the civil lawsuit was first filed against combs

back in october. it was then amended sunday to include jay-z. jay-z telling cnn these claims are, quote, heinous and says this is an attempt to blackmail him. cnn's elizabeth wagmeister is here. this that statement from jay-z is is very long, and he is clearly quite fired up about this absolutely. >> and it's very rare that we hear from jay-z. he's a very private star. him and beyonce are incredibly private and i was told that this was something that he felt he needed to respond to. as you said, he called these claims heinous. he said it's an attempt to blackmail him. he called them idiotic. now let's go to this part where he says it's an attempt to blackmail him. you said that this original suit was filed in october against diddy. there was an anonymous celebrity. of course, we now know that anonymous celebrity is now jay-z. both him and combs are alleged to have raped a girl who was 13 years old at the time. that's what she says she says that it was a vmas after

party that she was drugged, and that both of them sexually assaulted her and then watched. well then you fast forward to november and jay-z. but as an anonymous jane doe filed an extortion suit against this alleged victims attorney, his name is tony buzbee. tony buzbee at the time told me that that's not true, that he is not extorting him. he said that it's very typical to send a demand letter and try to settle something privately so that jay-z, jay-z's name, wouldn't be out there. but now he did put his name out there in this amended suit. now, i want to read you part of what jay-z said. he actually references his family. he says his only heartbreak is for his family. quote, my wife and i, of course beyonce will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims and explain the cruelty and greed of people now, i've reached out to a representative for beyonce. no word yet from her. don't know if we will hear anything from

her, but i reached out to buzbee last night because jay-z is coming out against this. so strongly, and he tells me the pleading speaks for itself. this is a very serious matter that will be litigated in court. it's very interesting. >> jay-z also saying that if they really want to go, that they should go after him criminally. if it's if it's true so we'll see how this how this goes elizabeth wagmeister thanks so much, john all right geopolitical earthquakes after the fall of the assad regime in syria, what does it mean for the united states? >> what does it mean for israel what about russia? is russia losing control best part of the party snooping in the bathroom. >> ooh party fell. not listening to your dentist. make the sonicare switch for a champ. be gentle, be effective be you. i love you you got a pepto predicament you overdid it on the loaded fries undo it with pepto. >> fast melt when you have not your heartburn. >> indigestion. upset stomach, diarrhea when you overdo it,

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after the stunning collapse of the bashar al-assad regime in syria, one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world we are just now seeing new drone footage from inside damascus after the fall. >> you can see celebrations on tanks there. this is our first look at this we also learned overnight that assad himself granted asylum inside russia. with us now is former deputy assistant secretary of state under president obama, joel rubin, and cnn military analyst, retired lieutenant general mark hertling. general, let me just start with a simple question everything happens so quickly here. how did the assad regime fall this fast in your mind well, in my view, john, having watched this area for a long time because it was part of our operations in iraq, this has been roiling for since 2014. >> and in fact, over the last 50 years, if you talk about not only assad, but his father, there is turmoil inside of the country with the citizenry. i think part of the reason that the rebels were able to move so

quickly is because they had support of people in the various cities they were moving through. you know, these are people who had been barrel bombed and and atrocities committed against them. so when you get the support of the of the governed the citizens of the country, and you see a crooked dictatorship in charge and you have allies fleeing like we're talking specifically russia and iran, and you have a lack of support militarily from other groups that were helping the assad regime. it was only a matter of time, and it did happen quickly and very few shots were fired. so that tells me that the support of the people and the lack of you know, basic governing by the assad regime is what caused all this to happen. so quickly. >> joel, what does it tell you about the ability of russia and iran to project power around the world you know john, it's in retreat. >> that's what it says. there's a very clear example

right in front of our eyes as you're describing, as general hertling is laying out, iran beat a retreat from syria because it does not have the capacity any longer to support that regime. and clearly, the regime fell. iran had sent, remember hezbollah fighters in over a decade ago, and now those hezbollah fighters have been decimated by israel in the war of the past year, the war that hezbollah unwisely entered into after hamas attacked israel on october 7th. so they had no resources to spare. and, of course russia, they're asking north korea for troops. they're the last country in the world to be able to extend further into theater like syria. and so they didn't. and assad was left alone, and he did not have the capacity to defend himself. and that's why he's in moscow right now general hertling, if anyone has experience about what happens when a brutal dictator falls and the chaos that can rise up, you know, it's you. >> i mean, we saw something like this in iraq when saddam

hussein was pushed out of power. but then we saw these militant groups rise up in iraq. what might happen in syria now? >> yeah, the two words that scare me the most, john, are regime change. whenever you say that, there are things like statues being pulled down and people celebrating and celebratory gunfire, and it is exactly like iraq and some other places that i've seen, like romania, even when ceausescu was replaced several other countries and no country is unified in their approach to leadership and government in the middle east. throughout there's always distinctions between religions, cults, tribal groups, and followings. you know, i think it's a good thing of what we're seeing right now. but i think we have to wait a while longer to determine whether or not this is going to be great. and there's going to be a lot of turmoil over the next couple of weeks with all of this. you see the happiness now you know, now

we have to see whether or not this new government or the rebels can can execute a new government and have the electricity go on and the trash collected and all the things that government do. will it happen and will the people in a very diverse population of religions and cultures be happy with what happens? >> joel president-elect trump put out a long statement on social media. i just want to read you the last couple lines. he says of what's happening in syria the united states. he goes, it's not our it's not our problem. the united states should not have the united states should have nothing to do with it. he says. this is not our fight. let it play out. do not get involved. how possible is that, do you think? >> you know, john, look, that's that's a misread. now, the president elect, he is right to suggest that we should not be sending troops and nobody is. we have 900 troops alongside our kurdish allies in eastern syria that are engaged in a very important counterterrorism mission against isis. but what we do need to be mindful of is that

we have regional allies israel, lebanon jordan, iraq, all neighboring syria. there's turkey, neighboring syria as well we have a critical vision here for how to get peace and stability in the region. but we won't do that if we turn our backs on it. so we need to engage. we need to have our diplomats out there speaking to these allies. we need to try to figure out a program with this new potential syrian leadership of how to resettle the millions of syrians that are sitting in refugee camps around the world, and ultimately provide stability there. this is a keystone country. this is the crucial point this is a keystone country in the middle east it needs to be stable for the region to be stable. if it is allowed to fail, because the u.s. turns its back on it, then we're all going to pay a price here. >> all right, joel rubin, general mark hertling great to see you both. thank you very much jessica. >> cnn has named steven knight our 2024 hero of the year. and up next, we're going to talk to him about his mission to

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>> you got this one. >> remember, i don't want surgery for my dupuytren's contracture. >> two i don't want to wait for my contracture to get worse. three i want a treatment with minimal downtime. four i want a nonsurgical treatment. >> and five. >> and if nonsurgical treatment isn't offered i'll get a second opinion. >> let's go take charge of your treatment. >> if you ars.

allergies and questionable singing voice don't make him inherit your final expense tab too. >> i'm bill, we're on the california coast and this is cnn and the 2024 cnn hero of the year is. >> let's read it together stephen knight come on over here. >> stephen ah stephen knight named our 2024 hero of the year. >> he founded dogs matter. it's a nonprofit that provides foster care for pets as their owners undergo addiction treatment and he's with us now to share his story. stephen's here with jade 17 year old lady

jade there, who was with you on saturday night? congratulations . thank you so much. >> it's so exciting. >> i watched the piece that really walked through what you're doing and just giving people who are brave enough to seek treatment this like real like kind of sliver of light. knowing that their pets on the other side, it's such a special thing. you do. >> yeah. well, it gives them motivation. it gives them a reason to keep going. >> you know, a lot of times in making that brave decision and going into treatment, it's the hardest thing you're going to do. >> and the first year is really hard. so they have a safe place for their dog and knowing that, and we'll send them videos and pictures so they'll they'll you know, they can continue to see how well the dog's doing. and then they get out. it's even more of a part of their healing and part of the whole journey for the sobriety and people that can keep their dogs actually have a higher rate of staying sober the first year, too. so there's some really good data there. >> i have to say that jade or lady jade, as you say, yes, you know, i think the first dog that we've had on our desk

here, and she is literally on the desk, she is on the desk here making cnn news central history. and she's so well behaved. this is something that a is wonderful, but b, you know, it's close to your heart and something that you came to through your own personal experience, right? >> i mean 13 years ago i was basically living out of my car, homeless and dying from addiction. and then i made that brave decision to go into treatment and, you know, eight months later, i you know, i found her a knock on the door came. and during that time, i was really struggling myself, you know, you all this wreckage, you feel the shame but treat you know, going to treatment taught me to be my authentic self. and i know this sounds kind of corny, but i had to first find that hero within to be able to be confident enough to, like really, you know, live my new life and to be able to put together a program like that. and when i got a knock on the door with her, when my friend had relapsed and i saw her face, she automatically gave me purpose and responsibility and i had so much reason to really move forward. and i got the

idea. how often does it happen where somebody needs treatment but has no place to put their dog? we often are, you know, wreckage of our life and our relationships. it's usually it ends up being you and your dog. and so the one thing you don't want to have to give up is your dog to go get better and healthier. >> there is no question about that. and i loved just the look on your face when when laura and anderson announced your name. that had to be such a what a moment for you to go from living in your car at the rock bottom to that this is what life beyond your wildest dreams looks like. >> and that's exactly what sobriety does to you. and you can really, when you really heal and get that second chance in life and it's the motivation is that i am completely with joy. i can't stop smiling now but it's just been such a journey she's smiling to that face because she's looking up at me. >> i'm like, oh, i know you know it's such a high, high and your tongue. i appreciate how many, how many dogs have you? i mean i it's really the people you're helping, but how many have you helped over the years?

>> i mean, it's 1200 dogs, you know and with each dog comes the owner. so it's both. and with the owner, we have an aftercare program that we stay with them for 12 months. so that's the really hard part. so we have recovery coaches. i'm a substance abuse counselor. so we make sure that we're the safety net. so if there's any issues that first year, which is the hardest year, we're there for them. so they become our family. so everybody in our in our program is our family. >> no doubt about that. all right. so where do you go now. because now you have this bigger, even bigger platform. >> we're going to you know what our next step is. we're going to have our own facility. we're going to have a place where you can have the human side and the animal services together, so you can come in and do both and we're very excited about that. it's going to be a state of the art, so watch out. >> i've got to say, ladies rocking the cable sweater to the cable knit sweater. >> nice tv color purple really rich for the camera. >> she looks great. >> she knew she knew. >> she does know all right, stephen knight, congratulations to you. >> you have to be so proud. what an achievement. >> i appreciate that. >> congratulations to you too. thank you all for being with us today. thank you thanks for

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