>> postmaster general louis dejoy was grilled today about the postal service's efficiency. watch what happened when republican congressman rich mccormick challenged him. >> you are responsible for the fall of the postal service and the lack of accountability. >> congress is responsible for. it. so it's congress trying to fix. i am trying to fix on your watch service with all the i am. i watch the same stuff happened all the i with all the computer systems. you're worse than if i took a horse to yourself and picked up the mail and delivered it two miles down the road. that's you. i hope you got that on camera. >> dejoy told congress that he would give the postal service an a, which mccormick disputed, to say the least. and thank you for watching newsnight. cnn's coverage continues next.

>> cnn is told that investigators are looking at pages of notes in a spiral notebook that the suspect, luigi mangione, wrote in. >> they're going to really piece that together to start to tell the story of everything that happened prior to the attack. the attack itself, and the moments afterwards. >> malibu's scenic hills ablaze after a fast moving wildfire exploded overnight from a 1 to 10. >> it was like a 15, it's like scary. >> students around the world take action for core to earth day to help save the planet. they're inheriting part of the problem here in hungary market is there's a lot of plastics and a lot of litter. >> so we want to bring back the initiative that would go as a student body to help clean up our surroundings. and live from london. >> this is cnn newsroom with max foster and christina

macfarlane. >> hello. and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world, i'm max foster. it's wednesday, december the 11th, 9 a.m. here in london, 4 a.m. in central pennsylvania, where the attorney for accused killer luigi mangione is fighting his extradition to new york. the 26 year old suspect yelled this at reporters as he was led into court on tuesday. it's completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the american people. mangione is facing a second degree murder charge. police say they have a notebook with a to do list for the shooting, as well as a three page handwritten claim of responsibility. mangione attorney questioned the evidence. >> i haven't seen any evidence that says that he's the shooter. so that's, you know, like i like i said earlier and i wasn't kidding around. a couple of things. if you're going to report something, report accurately. and remember, and this is not just a small thing, the fundamental, uh, concept of american justice is a presumption of innocence.

and until you're proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. and i've seen zero evidence at this point. >> more now on the suspect is well-to-do family and what former classmates are saying from cnn's brian todd in a suburban baltimore community. >> people who know the family of alleged shooter luigi mangione are struggling to come to grips with what the 26 year old is accused of. they believe his family is traumatized as well. >> they're shocked, that's what they said in their statement. they're horrified. >> mangione, an ivy league graduate, comes from a background of wealth and influence. he grew up in an affluent baltimore family whose local real estate empire included nursing homes and two country clubs attending the exclusive gilman school near baltimore, becoming valedictorian of his class in 2016. >> thank you for all the time and love you have put into our lives. >> on tuesday, about 150 miles away, a much different picture. in handcuffs, under arrest and charged in a brazen murder. seen yelling and struggling

with police as he was taken into court and insult to the intelligence of the american people. reporter tom meronek jr.. worked for the mangione for over 20 years as a radio host at their family owned station, wcbm. he says the suspect's family has enormous influence in the baltimore area. >> they carry a lot of weight. mangione family is one of the prominent families of baltimore county. they own a lot of real estate. they own golf courses. they're just a very well respected name. >> a family that includes nino mangione, a republican state delegate in maryland who is the suspect's cousin. luigi mangione attended the university of pennsylvania, where he graduated in 2020 with masters and bachelor's degrees in computer science. he was a member of the phi beta psi fraternity. social media photos show he later worked as a software engineer for the online car sales company truecar. according to his linkedin page, his most recent address was in hawaii. >> there was nothing came off weird about him. he had great friends. he had a lot of female friends as well. he was a

relatively unassuming kid. he was down to earth. he was smart, well adjusted socially. >> he maintained an active social media presence for years, posting smiling photos from his travels and gatherings with friends. then suddenly, his social media went cold. posts from x this past october show concern from friends. one says, quote, hey, are you okay? no one has heard from you in months and apparently your family is looking for you. in recent years, mangione suffered from back pain and underwent surgery for treatment. his injury grew worse after an accident at a surfing lesson in hawaii. details emerged from his former roommate, rj martin. >> he was in bed for about a week. we had to get a different bed for him that was more firm and i know it was really traumatic and difficult. you know, when you're in your early 20s and you can't, you know, do some basic things. >> luigi mangione was the subject of a missing persons report filed in san francisco by his mother on november 18th. according to the new york times. cnn has reached out to the san francisco police department. the nypd says that

mangione did have ties to san francisco, but the exact time that he was there is unclear. brian todd, cnn cockeysville maryland. >> it could take weeks before mangione is sent to new york. as the legal process plays out. for now, he's being held at a pennsylvania prison. former u.s. secret service agent and cnn law enforcement analyst jonathan wackrow explains what comes next. >> the investigation is going to start slowing down, right? there's a big difference between apprehension, right? a crime was committed. we need to find that suspect. we need to gather items of evidentiary value to make attribution, to get this individual in custody. now he's in custody, and the investigation is is is going to slow down all in the furtherance of the prosecution. so investigators are going to work backwards. they're going to start, you know, making sure that every item that they have lines up to support the ongoing prosecution of this individual, they have to go back and they're going to start over with all of the the video

surveillance evidence, this massive mosaic of thousands of hours of video. they're going to really piece that together to start to tell the story of everything that happened prior to the attack. the attack itself, in the moments afterwards, really showing that premeditated action that he took. they're also going to look at other witnesses that they may have. he was here for a long time as they were trying to apprehend him. they didn't have the ability to go out and cast a wide net on who else interacted with him. now they can. they have the luxury of time to slow down and find all of those additional individuals. >> the man accused in the second assassination attempt against donald trump is due in court today. ryan ruth was arrested in september after a secret service agent spotted a man with a rifle near trump international golf club in west palm beach, florida. he pleaded not guilty to all five charges against him. his appearance today before judge aileen is for a status conference. ruth's attorney has asked cannon, who dismissed trump's

classified documents case, to recuse herself people in southern california are being forced to flee from a fast moving wildfire that's burning homes and vehicles. the so-called franklin fire in malibu is so intense it's altering the the weather and making already extreme conditions even worse. about 18,000 people are under evacuation orders or warnings, including 98 year old award winning actor dick van dike, who says he and his wife and pets are able to get out safely. cnn's veronica miracle has more malibu scenic hills ablaze after a fast moving wildfire exploded overnight from a 1 to 10. >> it was like a 15, like scary. >> the franklin fire tripling in size in just one hour. at one point scorching the equivalent of five football fields every minute since it ignited late monday evening, prompting evacuation orders. >> everything all these

mountains were covered in flames, just covered like you took a crayon and just colored everything. >> linda michelle is a caretaker who lives on a property with horses in the evacuation zone. she says she awoke to a wall of flames surrounding the area, and had to scramble to save the animals. >> woke everybody up. got everybody in the car. it was all. nobody had time to get dressed. everybody jumped in the car. i was like, get out of here. and then after that, i must have had like 30 minutes to run around and try to get the horses. and we didn't know what we were going to do. like, we could not leave them in the barn. thank god we didn't leave them in the barn because the barn burned down. >> you can see the wind down there. >> the inferno, fueled by dry conditions and southern california's infamous santa ana winds, creating what fire officials call a particularly dangerous situation. some wind gusts reaching 40 to 60mph. the flames destroying some homes and threatening businesses. even the iconic malibu pier.

>> it has definitely been a stressful and very tiring night. >> hundreds at nearby pepperdine university had to shelter in place for hours in the campus library. classes were canceled on tuesday. >> i called my friends, found whatever friends i had in the same residential hall as me, and i just packed a bag. we look out the window and you know the sky is red. >> veronica miracle, cnn, malibu, california, along the us east coast, high wind alerts are in effect from maryland to maine, where damaging winds could gust up to 50 to 60km/h, which is strong enough to knock down trees and power lines. >> the winds are part of a slow moving storm system, which is also expected to cause flooding and major travel delays in the northeast, including new york and boston today. almost all of the east coast will see rainfall, with 2 to 4in possible in some areas. parts of new england should expect rapid snow melt, which could add to the flash flooding concerns. but now to syria, where israel is being accused

of a land grab after the sudden fall of the assad regime. syrian rebels claim they've taken the city of deir ez-zor from the kurdish led syrian democratic forces. but an sdf source tells cnn that the us backed forces have withdrawn from only part of the city. meanwhile, the israeli military says it's carried out nearly 500 strikes across the country in a matter of days, hitting strategic weapons stockpiles and destroying the syrian navy fleet. a syrian activist group says after seizing the demilitarized buffer zone near the israeli occupied golan heights, israeli forces have now advanced to a village just 16 miles from damascus. cnn, unable to verify that claim. but for now, the arab league is accusing israel of executing a land grab in syria. cnn's paula hancocks has more reporter we heard confirmation from the israeli military. >> just how many strikes they had carried out, 480 strikes

across the country in just a period of 48 hours. now, they say that they are targeting airfields. they are targeting anti-aircraft defenses, including tanks and fighter jets. and also we heard from the foreign minister, gideon sa'ar, saying that they are targeting facilities which are housing chemical weapons elements so that they make sure that they don't fall into, as he put it, the hands of extremists. now, we've also seen and heard from the israeli military that their navy targeted two syrian naval facilities, where about 15 vessels were docked. we have seen images of the destruction at those particular naval areas. and so the the impact has been significant. we have heard from israel's prime minister as well. benjamin netanyahu said that this would they're intending to change the face of the middle east,

pointing out that the collapse of syria, as far as he is concerned, is due to israel's activities weakening iran, weakening hezbollah. and this is the the repercussion of that. it has been criticized, though significantly. you mentioned there, rosemary, the arab league criticizing these moves. you have a number of the middle east nations here, some of them accusing israel of carrying out a land grab and taking advantage of the the instability in syria and taking advantage of developments. we also heard from the the u.n. special envoy for syria saying this needs to stop. it is important israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu will take the stand again today to push back against what he calls baseless accusations in a sweeping corruption trial. >> this will be the second day of testimony for netanyahu, who is the first sitting israeli prime minister to face criminal

charges. he was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, all of which he denies. protesters gathered outside the courthouse on monday demanding accountability, but the prime minister also had supporters in the crowd. the judges have ruled that netanyahu must testify three times a week. donald trump is just weeks away from his return to the white house, and some of his controversial picks for the new administration are moving closer to getting approval from the senate. details on that just ahead. also, we hear from the first person to publicly speak out about the alleged sexual abuse by sean diddy combs in an exclusive interview, john doe tells us what happened to him. and later, wnba star caitlin clark picks up another award, this one courtesy of time magazine. >> you only come across an artist like luther vandross. once in a lifetime. >> luther. never too much. new

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short lived attempt to impose martial law last week. yoon is now barred from leaving the country, as prosecutors consider possible insurrection charges. meanwhile, the head of the country's correctional service says former defense minister kim jong hyun has attempted to end his own life whilst in custody. kim was detained on sunday, just days after he resigned. he allegedly recommended that martial law be imposed and was the first figure detained over the case. donald trump's pick for defense secretary, pete hegseth, has spent the past few days on capitol hill looking to sway any senate republicans still skeptical of his nomination. and now the odds of him getting confirmed seem to be improving. manu raju has the latest pete hegseth had a critical meeting with one swing republican vote. >> that's lisa murkowski of alaska, someone who often breaks ranks with her party leadership, someone who breaks ranks with donald trump, including voted to convict him in his second impeachment trial. someone who is who opposed the nomination of brett

kavanaugh to sit on the supreme court over his own sexual assault allegations with, of course, kavanaugh also denied here. murkowski met with pete hegseth. they had what she called a good exchange of ideas, but she refused to say if she would back him and went to lengths to try to avoid reporters questions. she did respond to some, including mine, but would not say if she would vote for him on the senate floor. >> i had a good exchange with mr. hegseth. >> are you ready to support him? >> i had a good exchange and we'll see what the process bears. >> but ultimately, pete hegseth can only afford to lose three republican votes. the question is, are there more than three who could scuttle the nomination? at the moment, no republicans are opposing him, which is why republicans are confident he can ultimately get there. now, there are other controversial picks who republicans believe are falling in line behind what donald trump wants, including replacing the fbi director, christopher wray, who has got three more years serving his

ten year term, replacing him with kash patel, someone who is a maga firebrand in line with donald trump's politics. i caught up with senator lindsey graham, who's a senior member of the senate judiciary committee, and i asked him about donald trump's apparent threat to get rid of christopher wray, fire him from the job and replace him with his pick to lead the fbi. kash patel do you think that wray should be fired? >> i think he should. i think it's pretty obvious he wants a new fbi director, so. >> but would you be okay if he raised. >> i like i like, uh, director wray, but i think the big. it's time for a fresh start at the fbi. >> so there is a belief that a lot of republicans are falling in line behind. ultimately, what donald trump wants. but these confirmation hearings will take place early next year. they can be complicated. the process can be thorough. the vetting can be rigorous. and if allegations of past controversies come up, it can always lead to a problem for any given nominee. so a lot of questions still about if any of that will come up, particularly

with pete hegseth. but at the moment, trump and his team are pretty confident that trump will get his cabinet in place and his senior officials in place early next year. manu raju, cnn, capitol hill manu said pete hegseth can only lose three republican votes and still secure his confirmation for defense secretary. >> but will he be able to get the needed support? political experts from both sides offer their thoughts this time last week. >> a lot of folks were wondering whether he was going to survive the week, and now he's more than survived it. he's got a little bit of momentum. you know, there's still a group of republican senators who are basically outside the matrix, right? they're unthreatening. they're not running. again, they benefit from public feuds with trump or so on and so forth, or foreign policy, national defense, national security is their key issue, and they're just they're not prone to being influenced by the normal public relations cycle. there's probably more than four of them. i don't know that he's over the line yet, but this is the purpose of a hearing. and obviously he did

himself some good over the last week and some of his meetings on the hill to generate these kinds of more positive comments. so good for him. not out of the woods, but better shape. absolutely. >> there's the issue of experience. there's the issue of of whether someone can be compromised. obviously, there's a number of questions around certain national security picks, tulsi gabbard and and kash patel and the law and order side, um, you know, senator alexander patrick moynihan used to talk about defining deviancy down. right. and i think that's what we're watching in slow motion here. uh, john tower was rejected as first president bush's secretary of defense, uh, nominee, despite being in the senate for 24 years because of a pattern of of impersonal, uh, you know, intemperance with alcohol and women, uh, and and it does go to question about whether someone can be compromised. it's also whether their experience leads them to be able to manage the world's largest bureaucracy in a dangerous time. and there's a world of difference between a jim mattis, who was trump's first pick to be secretary, and pete hegseth. and it is reasonable for united states senators who care about national security. i would hope

to try to keep a broader perspective in mind than simply partisan. feel. >> freedom of the press took a hit on capitol hill on tuesday. senate republicans blocked a democratic effort to pass a bipartisan bill giving journalists more protections under federal law. donald trump called on republicans last month to kill the bill, known as the press act, which stands for protect reporters for exploitative state spying. it would prevent the government from forcing journalists to reveal their sources and limit the seizure of their data without their knowledge. it passed the republican led house earlier this year. a judge has blocked the sale of alex jones's infowars platform to satirical news site the onion, citing concerns it's worth more money than it was bought for. the sale was part of a defamation settlement after jones falsely called the sandy hook elementary school massacre a hoax, he was ordered to pay $1.5 billion to the families of the shooting victims, and his assets were auctioned off,

including infowars. but the judge said the offer and the process were flawed. the one other competing bid came from first united american companies, a group affiliated with jones startling police body cam video shows the moment a garbage truck exploded in the chicago suburbs. the first few seconds show smoke billowing out of the garbage truck. take a look. downtown. it well, a portion of the truck that blew up sent smoke and debris into the air. some homes and parts of their roof and sliding and sidings were blown off and windows shattered. two, two police officers and a firefighter dispatched to the truck fire were injured. the cause of the fire and the explosion remains under investigation, though authorities are criticizing online support for the man suspected of murdering a health care ceo will have the details on that for you. plus, why the future of russia syria

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xfinity internet customers, ask how to get a free 5g phone and a second unlimited line free for a year. (♪♪) stay ahead of your moderate- to-severe eczema and show off clearer skin and less itch, with dupixent. the number one prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists that helps heal your skin from within. severe allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for face, mouth, tongue, or throat swelling, wheezing or trouble breathing. tell your doctor of new or worsening eye problems like eye pain, vision changes, or blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma or other medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor favorite pair of jeans today emtala. available on the apple app store or android. >> i'm rahel solomon in new york and this is cnn welcome back to cnn newsroom. >> i'm max foster. if you're just joining us, here are some of today's top stories. former u.s. marine daniel penny is defending his actions in the

chokehold death of jordan neely. penny told fox news that neely was threatening to kill people on the new york subway, and he had to intervene. these were penny's first comments since he was acquitted of criminal charges on monday. republican senate leader mitch mcconnell tripped and fell in the capital on tuesday, spraining his wrist and suffering a minor cut to his face to incoming senate majority leader john thune said mcconnell is fine. 82 year old mcconnell has had a string of health issues recently, including treatment for a concussion after a fall at a washington hotel last year. and the man accused of killing unitedhealthcare ceos fighting extradition to new york. luigi mangione appeared at a hearing on tuesday in pennsylvania. the judge denied bail to mangione, who faces a second degree murder charge in new york, as well as other charges in pennsylvania, where he was arrested on monday. since his arrest, mangione has been garnering sympathy and support

on social media, partly due to public discontent with the health insurance industry, but that online attention is angering authorities. as cnn's jason carroll reports. >> this ivy league hottie named luigi is the robin hood that we never knew that we needed. >> i listened to luigi's manifesto this morning three times, and i cried. >> honestly, it's beautiful and i agree with him. >> at least he left a very powerful message and he highlighted how terrible the health care system is in america. i think he'll go down as a hero in history. >> he had been a named suspect for less than 48 hours, and yet within a fraction of that time, many in the world of social media had already made up their minds about luigi mangione. >> i'm just eating it up because this is like regular everyday person becoming our hero, our vigilante. >> these types of comments angering law enforcement and

public officials. >> i don't care your views about health care companies because i don't think they're great right now either. >> but you do not celebrate the assassination of another human being who was just doing his job. >> but interest in mangione just continues to grow. on x before his arrest announcement, he had just 64 followers. now more than 320,000 and counting. his initial 827 followers on instagram grew exponentially monday as we watched. by 3:00, more than 32,000. an hour later, 53,000 by 5:00 monday, more than 71,000 followers before that account was suspended. many of the comments calling for his freedom and calling him a hero hear me on this. >> he is no hero. >> the real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at mcdonald's that mcdonald's in altoona, pennsylvania, where a worker spotted the 26 year old

eating and called 911 monday, targeted by mangione supporters. what am i going to do? i'm going to stop eating mcdonald's. >> it got so bad google had to remove reviews after that location was flooded with negative comments. >> someone hung a banner above i-83 with the words deny, defend, oppose, health care for all, a reference to bullet casings left at the crime scene. amazon pulled apparel and home goods featuring the phrase online mangione may be a folk hero to some, but offline and in person, no shortage of those condemning him. >> health care is a mess in this country, but to celebrate someone's death is sickening. >> the people in these higher positions, like ceos, they need to look at themselves and their company and ask themselves, why are people so ready to condemn us? >> why are they so willing to call someone who supposedly killed another human being a hero? >> while some suspect support for mangione is not all about rage against health care, but

instead something far more subjective and superficial, it's the halo effect. >> like manifesting in real society. you really like. i truly believe so. like people treat people who are attractive, like way differently. people are like giving him leeway with this because they are fantasizing him a little bit. but i don't think violence should ever be the answer. no matter the circumstance. >> what this could end up being is a case that just captures the attention of the american public for a period of time. i mean, you look at what's happening on ebay where you can find merch related to the case being sold and the hashtag free luigi mangione has been steadily trending on x. jason carroll, cnn, new york. >> one of music mogul sean diddy combs is accused of speaking out for the first time about the alleged sexual abuse that he endured. john doe has filed a civil suit against combs in an exclusive and anonymous interview. he tells cnn's elizabeth wagmeister

what he says happened back in 2007. we warn you, this interview does contain some graphic language. >> according to your lawsuit, you were hired by a security firm to work security at one of the infamous white parties that was thrown by sean combs in the hamptons. what was that experience like? >> at first, he was incredibly friendly, very gracious. >> so you had a friendly chat. and then, according to your lawsuit, at some point later in the night, sean combs himself offered you a drink. this didn't come from staff or someone holding a tray of drinks. it came from him directly. >> correct. the first drink started to have some effect on me, and i just thought, wow, these are really strong drinks. it wasn't until the second drink and it was already too late, that i realized that there was something wrong with the drinks. sadly sean combs

was waiting in the wings. he was watching from some sort of vantage point, and once i was in a helpless position and he was sure that he was in a position of power, then he took advantage of the situation. >> you allege that you were forcibly pushed into an suv by sean combs. that act alone, according to your lawsuit, left you in considerable pain. and then once inside the vehicle, your lawsuit says plaintiff was held down by combs, who overpowered him while he struggled to escape due to the effects of the drugs in his system. and it goes on to say that he sodomized you. >> i was screaming, i was telling him to stop. it was incredibly painful and he was acting like it was nothing, and he seemed to be

disconnected from it. it was abusive beyond belief. >> representatives for combs declined to comment on john doe's allegations on tuesday. since the lawsuit was filed in october, combs lawyers said their client has never sexually assaulted anyone. the white house official says the us is not seriously considering lifting the terror designation for key rebel group in syria, which helped bring down the assad regime. but the biden administration says the us is in communication with hayat tahrir al-sham and the other syrian rebel groups following their offensive and monitoring their actions. >> there are no discussions right now about about changing the policy with respect to to hts. >> um, but we are watching what they do. >> the future of russia's longtime ties with syria are uncertain. after the fall of bashar al assad's regime. moscow had always played a key role in shoring up the

government in damascus, and has military bases in the country, but the kremlin acknowledges the challenges it may now face in holding on to them. under the new government. cnn's fred pleitgen reports. jen psaki. >> as syrians embark on a new era after ousting longtime dictator bashar al assad, russia fears the era of its massive military footprint in syria could be coming to an end. the former commander of russian forces in syria and now member of parliament, is already warning russia's leadership not to make concessions. any gesture of goodwill in the middle east is perceived as weakness. weakness is unacceptable, he says. what should be done in this situation, he's asked. talk from a position of strength, he answers. but how much power does russia still hold in syria? kremlin controlled tv strategizes over what might come next, with maps showing russia's bases in syria. a guest acknowledges moscow was

caught off guard. again. >> it would. >> not thinking about how it all happened in syria reminds an ukraine in 2014, he says. i want to highlight one universal lesson for world powers don't take wishful thinking for reality. when a power is crumbling in days and can't protect itself. this is a verdict. >> a. >> seriously. for years it was the russian military that kept the assad regime afloat. russia's air force pounding rebel groups, its navy firing cruise missiles at isis militants in eastern syria. in return, assad gave moscow a 49 year lease on both its main air base near latakia and a military port in tartus, allowing vladimir putin to project power throughout the middle east. the fact that russia has its military assets in syria also makes moscow a key player in the middle east. but now the russians acknowledge that that status is in jeopardy. once a key ally

for the russian leader, putin now allowed assad and some of his family members to flee to moscow, a decision folks in moscow told us they support saying we don't abandon our men. he says he is our man. it was the right decision. he has nowhere to go. he would have been killed. but even here, syrians living in russia telling me they're happy assad's been ousted. we will be able to live in calm and peace and be able to safely visit our country, he says. we don't have to worry that someone can throw us in prison because they don't like what we said. we're happy that the dictatorship is over moscow hopes the end of assad's rule will not spell the end of its military engagement in the middle east, while acknowledging it's still too early to predict. fred pleitgen, cnn, moscow. >> still to come, we learn how the chumash people of modern day california are teaching

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don't want cancel right in the app, raise a glass to smarter spending and download rocket money today welcome back! >> we are returning to our call to earth day coverage. thousands of students around the globe engaged in a day of action to help save the planet that they're inheriting. we have correspondents filing reports from around the world for you, including beijing, london and los angeles. our theme this year, connected generations, will be looking to the wisdom of our ancestors for sustainable living practices and how we can use them in our daily lives. we start in nairobi, where cnn's victoria rubadiri has been speaking to year 12 students about the real impacts of climate change on their lives. >> well, i'm here at rusinga schools in nairobi, one of the leading international schools in the country. >> a lot of activity around call to earth day, a lot of talk around the environment and

part of the student body that has been kind of leading the charge when it comes to environmental issues. i'm sitting in between two of them, tambu and monica, who are year 12 students. and whenever we talk about the issue of climate change, many times it appears like an abstract idea. and i'm curious for the both of you, when you think of the term climate change, what does that look like to you? >> it looks like quite a lot because for us here in kenya, there's a lot of ways we are affected. the places that we're not rain prone, that are now flooding, and there are places that no longer have water. for example, in my estate there's never been a river, but with the heavy rains, i mean, there's a river in my backyard. >> no, absolutely. and he's speaking to the issue of flooding, constant flooding that we saw even earlier this year in kenya. but for you, monica, what does climate change look like to you? >> climate change is the loss of the green spaces and everything, especially if like if before there were many trees and everything. now there's a

lot of logging and everything. so it's lots of i love green spaces. it's like the loss of green spaces is really a lot. >> absolutely. those are things that we see in our everyday. and i'm curious because surely you want to see a better environment, a healthier environment. what are you doing now to ensure that that happens? >> one of the things we're doing here as a student body is we want to revive what used to be there, the hungry markets cleanup, which is there to also help clean up the environment. part of the problem here in kangari market is there's a lot of plastics and a lot of litter. so we want to bring back the initiative that would go as a student body to help clean up our surroundings. >> and you know, as we wrap up, i want to hear from you, monica, what environment do you want to see in the future? you talked about green spaces, but what does the ideal look like for you? >> more trees than buildings. as much as we can't really avoid a lot of urbanization and everything to really, it wouldn't hard to see more trees than tall buildings and less of concrete because of the surface runoff and everything.

>> yeah, well, you're speaking to the future. they are the custodians of our environment in a few years now. so i think we are in good hands. >> thank you. victoria. in california, development and climate change are threatening native plant species. but one indigenous tribe is trying to protect them. many native plants hold deep meaning to the chumash people, which is why they continue to cultivate the plants and pass on their wisdom. cnn's julia vargas jones has more. >> under the shade of an old oak tree, a special group assembles to learn ancient wisdom. >> so we're standing here under this beautiful oak tree. we call this khuza'a, and we're standing in our medicinal garden. hakkaku rijicho la mathias kalisa isaac herzog zavala al ahly allahu akbar nala desi anwar.

carlos park geun-hye nakisha swinerton akohekohe samala. hello everyone. my name is levi zavala. i'm from santa ynez and the shawa clan. samala chumash levi zavala is responsible for passing along indigenous plant knowledge to his tribe. we have all these medicinal plants as you see behind you. right over here. that is. it's the stinging nettle that's really good medicinal plant right here. we have oncogene or yerba mansa. it almost looks like a carrot. right. so check that out. smell it. look at it. that's really good for liver cleansing. and see, our ancestors knew all this. they had so much time to study this. >> the chumash people settled in an untamed and undeveloped santa ynez valley in central california, no less than 13,000 years ago. >> diego cordero, a pukhtun. my name is diego cordero. i'm a chumash person from santa barbara, and i work for the santa ynez chumash environmental office diego

cordero is tasked with growing and caring for local plants, keeping them intact and thriving for future generations. >> he says many native plant populations have declined over time due to urban development and the effects of climate change. the nursery contains about 3500 plants, many of which possess deep cultural meaning to the chumash plants, like the juncus used for basket weaving and dogbane for rope and string. >> most people are familiar with seeds, right? that is one way that plants reproduce and make more plants. that's a good one. there's another way, though, where you see each one of these little leaves. this can make an entirely new plant. maybe dig it out a little bit with your finger first, so you make like a little divot, and then you put it in there and then scoop some over it. we were always raised to say that these things haven't been lost. they're not dead. they're asleep. and our job as chumash people is to wake these things up again. all right. who does not have a job right now? >> raise your hand for the

students and elders taking part in the day's outdoor classroom. there is a sense of pride in revitalizing ancient practices and keeping the traditions alive. >> i feel like it's good to know your culture and where you come from. and then, like, not only that, but also be able to like, learn it. so that way you can pass it on to the next generation. i love learning about my ancestors. i love going to my grandmother's house, reading books with her. i like to talk in my language and just kind of show people like the unique stuff we have and everything for the youth to see. >> the elders supporting what they do. it's just a way to know that the native plants, the medicinal teas and some of the materials needed for basket weaving can be collected by the youth. >> and for the teachers like cordero and zavala, it's inspiring to know the long chain of shared knowledge won't soon be broken. >> i've put a lot of effort into making this nursery a space that's welcoming and accessible for elders and

children. that is something that they can participate in that relationship, and they'll pass that on to future generations. >> these plants helped our people thrive. you guys are the future. you guys are our future, and you will be the ones sharing this knowledge when we're gone and learn more about call to earth day and how students around the world are taking action at cnn.com/vote call to earth. >> we'll be right back new year's eve live with anderson and andy. >> live coverage starts at eight on cnn. >> when i was younger, my calling was to play football, but as i grew older, i realized life isn't about how many people you can knock down, it's about how many people you can lift up that ram. >> our calling is to build game changing trucks, so when you find your calling, nothing can stop you from answering it. >> right now. during the ram wrap up the year sales event, get $5,000 total cash allowance on the purchase of most 2025

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is three times more effective at stopping the spread of germs. >> closed captioning is brought to you by mike, an all in one home access and monitoring system. >> mike, you boost your home's iq. >> time magazine has announced its athlete of the year. it is women's basketball star caitlin clark. the 22 year old was one of several female student athletes who turned pro, helping to boost the popularity of women's basketball at both the college and the professional levels. in her final year at the university of iowa, she broke the long standing college scoring record. her team lost in the ncaa finals, but the game got higher ratings than the men's final. for the first time. in her first season with the wnba. indiana fever team, clark was named rookie of the year and became the first rookie in 16 years to be named the all wnba first team. a

federal judge has blocked kroger's proposed $25 billion merger with albertsons, announced in 2022. this would have been the largest merger in the us supermarket history. kroger and albertsons employ mostly unionized workforces. they argued the merger would make them more competitive against nonunion giants such as walmart. but the judge ruled that the deal would limit competition in the grocery industry, potentially raising prices for consumers. the knowles-carter family came out in full force this week for the premiere of mufasa, the lion king. beyonce and jay-z celebrated their 12 year old daughter blue ivy for her role in the prequel to disney's digitally animated remake, released just a few years ago. it was a rare sighting of the celebrity couple as jay-z faces allegations of sexually assaulting a minor in 2000 with rapper sean diddy combs. jay-z has denied the allegations, telling cnn they are, quote, heinous in nature. this year's

nobel laureates were honored on tuesday during ceremonies in sweden and norway after accepting the peace prize. representatives of the atomic bomb survivors group nihon hidankyo, stepped out onto the balcony in oslo to greet hundreds of people who marched in a torch light parade. the rest of the nobel laureates received their awards during a royal ceremony in stockholm. the recipients included physicists whose work preceded the artificial intelligence boom and south korean author han kang, who won the prize for literature. the academy said her award for is for her intense, poetic prose. thanks for joining me here on cnn newsroom. i'm max london. cnn this morning is up next. >> stop. >> luther. >> never too much new year's day at eight on cnn. >> finish ultimate engineered for the toughest conditions. dry, burnt on stains. old

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