tv CNN This Morning CNN December 12, 2024 2:00am-3:00am PST
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>> it's thursday, december 12th, right now on cnn this morning this is not easy for me. >> no wray fbi director christopher wray says he'll step down when trump takes office. >> plus, we were able to match that gun to the three shell casings. >> csi new york police say evidence at the scene does indeed match the suspect in the sidewalk. execution of unitedhealthcare ceo. plus now i'm legitimately concerned for what the hell is going on because that nobody knows. eyes in the sky. more drones seen swarming over new jersey, but no answers on where they came from. all right, 5 a.m. here on the east coast, a live look at the capitol dome. good morning everyone. i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you
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with us. fbi director christopher wray reading the writing on the wall, announcing he will step down from his post when president biden leaves the white house next month, clearing the way for kash patel to take over the bureau if he is able to be confirmed. wray is leaving seven years into a ten year term. the director says he wrestled with whether or not to resign given president elect trump's desire to replace him. he ultimately decided to leave when trump takes office to facilitate an orderly transition. >> in my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important in how we do our work. >> trump called wray's announcement a great day for america, even though, of course, trump personally appointed him in 2017 after firing the previous fbi director, james comey. at the
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time, trump sang ray's praises. now, not so much. >> i believe that we will have thrilled with him. he invaded my home. i'm suing the country over it. he invaded mar-a-lago trump's pick to lead the fbi. >> kash patel has been meeting with republican senators, trying to convince them he's a worthy replacement, even though he's threatened to use the bureau to punish the president elect's perceived enemies. >> we look forward to a very smooth transition, and i'll be ready to go on day one. >> the senators have been wonderful, and i look forward to earning their trust and confidence with the advice and consent process, and restoring law and order and integrity to the fbi. >> all right. let's bring in cnn political analyst, washington bureau chief of the boston globe, jackie kucinich. jackie, good morning. good morning. thanks so much for being here. in some ways, not a
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surprise, but worth noting that this not being a surprise has a heck of a lot about the state of our politics. >> absolutely. so. >> so it seems like wray saw the writing on the wall and has emphasized that this was the best thing for the bureau. but let's not forget how his predecessor was let go. >> i believe comey wrote in his book that he saw it on a crayon, and he thought it was a joke. so it was unexpected and it caused a lot of tumult. so wray wanted to avoid that. that said it, whether or not it's kash patel, this is unusual, and we should say this this is the fbi director has a ten year term in order to avoid politics in theory. this is someone who serves across several administrations. that is not the case for president elect trump, clearly. >> so, jackie, let's watch a little bit of what some of the reaction was to this on capitol hill yesterday. let's start with senator josh hawley, who had some really harsh words for
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wray. watch. >> i mean, he's the worst fbi director in american history. he should go. >> this should not be partisan. by the way, he's a republican, but he's just been a bad guy. i think he will be confirmed. i just don't know what the opposition to kash patel really is beyond. i understand he's a conservative, and i understand that my liberal colleagues don't like that. >> but so kash patel just conservative or more than that. >> i mean, given given his statements about, you know, shutting down the building and turning it into i can't remember what the actual verbiage was, but some of the things that the museum of the deep state. thank you very much. yes. thank you. thank you. that and as well as, you know, his blind loyalty, frankly, to the president elect, i think gives a lot of lawmakers pause. there's been a lot of words written about about all of the things he's said that are, you know, that just indicate his loyalty to trump and trump's. last. slate of national security
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officials really were worried about kash patel, his former cia director, his bill, a bill barr, bill barr. yes, yes. the former attorney general said that he would seem appointed deputy director of the fbi. >> over my dead body. yes, exactly. >> so there are there are there was lots of flags raised in the last trump administration about kash patel. none of those flags are. none of those people are nominated to serve in this iteration. so perhaps those flags are going on unseen by lawmakers. we'll see what happens in these confirmation hearings. >> have you heard anything coming off the hill that suggests to you that patel isn't on track to confirmation? >> it's hard to say at this point because there are so many nominees that are kind of in the barrel right now, so to speak. yes, yes. yeah, exactly. and so i think that we'll have to wait and see. he hasn't been in the center of it yet, or at least at this point, because you have pete hegseth, you have rfk jr. coming up to the hill next week that a lot of lawmakers have concerns
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over. it is a kind of a really they've really flooded the zone with some of these nominees that lawmakers have concerns about. if this rises to to that level, we'll have to see. >> all right, jackie kucinich for us this morning, jackie, thanks so much for starting us off. i appreciate it. all right. straight ahead here on cnn this morning, a forgotten prisoner. the stunning discovery by cnn's clarissa ward in a notorious prison operated by the assad regime. plus, what the mother of the alleged killer told police about her missing son and unknown drones hovering over new jersey, leaving residents baffled. government officials demanding answers these drones should be shot down. >> they should be shot down. we are not getting the full deal and the military is on alert with this. >> welcome to times square that's not in my life. >> it's so embarrassing. >> new year's eve live with
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download the experian app and try it for free. i'm natasha bertrand at the pentagon and this is cnn. >> welcome back. overnight, syria's rebel leader telling reuters he would dissolve the security forces of fallen dictator bashar al-assad and close the country's notorious prisons. the assad regime operated several secretive prisons in the city of damascus. cnn's clarissa ward brought cameras inside one of them and made a remarkable discovery deep in the belly of the regime's air force intelligence headquarters, these are english letters. >> we are hoping to find traces of austin tice, an american journalist held captive in syria since 2012. it's one of many secret prisons across the city. this specific branch was tasked with surveillance, arrest and killing of all regime critics. >> these are all cleaned up.
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>> we don't find any hints of ties, but come across something extraordinary i can't tell, though. >> it might just be a blanket, but it's the only cell that's locked. is he going to shoot it? >> the guard makes us turn the camera off while he shoots the lock off the cell door. we go in to get a closer look. it's still not clear if there is something under the blanket. oh. >> it moved. is there someone there? i thought i saw move. is someone there? or is it just a blanket? >> i don't know. i'm a little upset. i think someone. >> hello? okay. he's just. >> i just saw. yeah. oh. >> that's okay. it's okay. muffy. muffy john joyce
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journalist. >> i'm a civilian. he says. i'm a civilian. >> that's okay. >> it's okay, it's okay. >> hamas. jay-z. hamas. >> he tells the fighter he is from the city of homs and has been in the cell for three months. >> okay. okay. you're okay? >> you're okay. you're okay. you're okay nala clutches my arm tightly with both hands. >> okay does anyone have any water water? my my my my my my my. okay. >> it's water. it's water okay. okay okay. okay. you're okay. are they are they? >> you're okay. you're okay. >> we start to walk him outside. thank god you are safe. don't be afraid. the
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fighter says you are free. >> tanya chutkan. >> this is the third prison they brought me to. he says the third prison after three months in a windowless cell, he can finally see the sky. >> hello, hello yallah hello. >> the light. he says, oh god, there is light. my god, there is light okay, okay. >> okay, okay okay, okay. can you come here? >> you're okay. stay with me. >> stay repeats again and again. okay. >> my man hello, kamali for three months, i didn't know anything about my family. >> i didn't hear anything about my children.
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ly the fighter hands him something to eat. >> now barely lift it to his mouth okay. but his body can't handle it. >> okay. you're okay. >> his captors fled during the fall of damascus. leaving him with no food or water. that was at least four days ago. i'm shaking. my face is shaking, he says. the rebel tells him there's no more army, no more prisons, no more checkpoints. are you serious? >> he says kiara. >> syria is free, he tells him. it's the first time he has heard those words
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he tells us his name is adel herbel, and that officers from the much feared mukhabarat intelligence services took him from his home and began interrogating him about his phone. they brought me here to damascus. they asked me about names of terrorists, he says. >> did they hit you? >> the fighter asked. yes, yes, he says goodbye. as a paramedic arrives, the shock sets in there's nothing. everything's okay. the red crescent is coming to help you. this man assures him you are safe. don't be afraid anymore. everything you are afraid of is gone hamas. tens of thousands of syrians have disappeared in assad's prisons up until 15 minutes ago. adel herbel was one of them. he is still petrified la. >> la la hilal ahmar, don't be
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afraid. >> don't be afraid. the ambulance worker reassures him. every car i got into, they blindfolded me, he says. it is the end of a very dark chapter for him and for all of syria. but so many ghosts remain just remarkable reporting there from our clarissa ward. >> coming up next here on cnn this morning, a missing woman from hawaii found safe after a month of searching. the stunning details from the massive search stretching beyond u.s. borders and mysterious clusters of drones flying over new jersey for weeks. officials now on high alert news night with abby phillip tonight at 10:00 eastern on cnn. >> a heart attack. >> do they have life insurance? >> no, but we have life insurance john, i'm trying to find something we can afford.
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help. >> thank you. you're welcome. you're welcome. >> don't hate your house. all new next wednesday at nine on hgtv. >> all right. 22 minutes past the hour. here's your morning roundup. president elect trump picked kari lake as the next director of voice of america. that is an international broadcasting network that's funded by the federal government. now, lake was a news anchor in arizona for more than 20 years before she stepped down to pursue politics. she lost in the arizona senate race last month, and in her 2022 bid for governor. found safe. that's the update. in the case of the missing hawaii woman. four weeks after her disappearance. last week, police declared her voluntarily missing after determining that she crossed the border from california to to mexico on her own free will. her family had been searching for her since last month an illinois man pleading not guilty to a simple assault
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charge after republican congresswoman nancy mace told police the man shook her hand, quote, aggressively and in an exaggerated manner in a confrontation at the capitol tuesday. she says she was, quote, attacked over her efforts to ban transgender women from using women's bathrooms in the capitol. a wisconsin man who authorities believe faked his own death and fled to eastern europe is now back in the u.s. he is charged with a misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. officials say he allegedly staged a kayaking accident in august and took off overseas, leaving his wife and kids behind. all right. still coming up after the break. authorities piecing together new evidence as they search for possible motives in the killing of the unitedhealthcare ceo. plus, mysterious drones flying over northern new jersey have authorities and lawmakers on high alert. >> we've done states of emergencies when it's about to
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hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. police in new york say they now have crucial forensic evidence connecting suspect luigi mangione to the killing of unitedhealthcare ceo brian thompson. the nypd commissioner says a 3-d printed gun found on the 26 year old when he was arrested in pennsylvania monday, matches three shell casings that were discovered at the manhattan crime scene and some of the items he reportedly dropped near the scene of the crime, now proving to be crucial clues. >> we're also able at our crime lab to match the person of interest fingerprints with fingerprints that we found on both the water bottle and the kind bar near the scene of the homicide. >> law enforcement briefed on the investigation tell cnn's cnn that mangione's mother reported him missing to san francisco police on november 18th. she told authorities that
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she'd been calling her son repeatedly, but the last time that she actually spoke to him was on july 1st, when asked by police, she said she had no reason to believe that her son was a danger to himself or others, and that san francisco was the last known location that she had for him. joining us now, former fbi special agent, university of south florida professor of criminology doctor brianna fox. brianna, thank you very much for being with us this morning. so mangione still in custody in pennsylvania. he's continuing to fight his extradition to new york. and officials do say that mangione is the person seen in the surveillance video shooting thompson outside of the hilton hotel. mangione says that they've got the wrong guy. here's what his lawyer said about this recently. let's watch it. >> i still haven't seen that evidence. lawyers need to see evidence. um, those saying you
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have something and getting that admitted into court are two different things. um, the and in fact, so what we're talking about is fingerprint evidence and some ballistics, those two sciences in and of themselves have come under some criticism in the past, um, relative to their credibility, their truthfulness, their accuracy what do you make of where this investigation stands so far? >> i realize this is what his lawyer is saying. that's his job. but when you put it all together, it does seem fairly straightforward yeah. >> now, obviously, as his defense counsel, that's what he's been hired to do, is to try to push back against the state, make sure that the government has all of their i's dotted, their t's crossed. and what i mean by that is that the chain of evidence was followed. absolute perfect procedure that the testing was done absolutely perfectly. it's done for their
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own client, but it's also done to essentially keep the balance in our criminal justice system. so we always have this presumption of innocence and that it's essentially withheld. um, the other big thing is that you'd want to make sure that, you know, there is sufficient evidence to charge him. there are people that may say, you know, he looks different than the person who was, let's say, on the videotape. i've seen that on the internet. and things like that. they just want to make sure every single thing actually stands up when it's going to be admitted into court. >> so what is next here in terms of additional evidence? i mean, we obviously we learned yesterday about the fingerprints on the water bottle that was found on the scene, as well as what we talked about there with the shell casings. what other pieces do you see the nypd working on here in the next 24 to 48 hours? >> i think they're going to
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have a high bar, because i think there is an attempt, at least in my opinion, by this defendant, that he's going to want to convince the jury uh, essentially, that even if, you know, they think that he may be responsible to essentially try to have some mercy on him because of his cause. uh, this is called jury nullification, where essentially a jury, uh, takes it a little easier on them, even if there is a lot of evidence in the case. so that means there's a high bar for the state to prove. so what that means for the state is they are going to have to put together every single detail of essentially like a movie showing him leaving the hostel, uh, going to this hotel, having him stake out the victim, having him shoot the victim, fleeing, leaving every single moment. because if there's any gaps in the forensics in what they are capturing and showing to a jury, ultimately this
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could be used to the defendant's advantage. >> all right, brianna fox for us this morning on this just remarkable case, brianna, thank you very much. i really appreciate your time all right. let's turn now to this mysterious flying objects occupying the skies over new jersey look up in the sky. >> it's a bird. it's a plane. >> no, it is not superman, but sightings of unexplained drones have new jersey officials and residents on high alert here's another one. >> no one seems like no one i was seeing. >> i saw a. >> now there's two. >> why are they flying around at night like this yikes. >> the federal aviation administration says people started spotting the drones in mid-november. law enforcement held a briefing on the matter yesterday. two lawmakers who attended the briefing said that the aircrafts have been as big
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as six feet in diameter. a new jersey mayor telling residents it appears that the drones have been surveilling critical infrastructure according to law enforcement, the drones and their proximity to some military facilities also prompting concerns. republican congressman jeff van drew telling fox news the drones are from a quote, mothership from iran. the pentagon shutting that down. >> there is no iranian ship off the coast of the united states, and there's no so-called mothership launching drones towards the united states. >> new jersey governor phil murphy says that there is no known threat to the public, but that message seems to have done little to ease concerns. >> this is not some sort of prank. this is not some hobbyist. this is whatever it is. it's people who are seriously involved in drones. we're not hearing from people who see a bigfoot. we're not seeing we're not hearing from
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people who see the loch ness monster. we're hearing from really smart people who see these large drones coming in multiple drones at a time. this is not some kind of joke. this is serious. >> all right. joining us now, former director of communication for u.s. intelligence at the office of the director of national intelligence, sean turner. sean, always great to have you on the program. this is just remarkable. i saw one new jersey official say, you know, it's they're like the size of an suv. it'd be like a suburban flying in the sky over your house. what do you think is going on here yeah. >> good morning. it's good to be with you. you know, i understand that these these these drones, that this whole thing is unsettling to people and and that it's raising a lot of concern. but i've spent a lot of time looking at this to really try to understand exactly what you just asked. you know, what's going on here? um, you know, i think the most important thing to say is i think there's two things. first of all, there is no iranian mothership. i think it's important just to reiterate that. but the other
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thing is, you know, i look at whether or not these drones appear to represent any type of threat to the people of new jersey or new york. i tend to agree with those who have assessed that they they don't appear to represent a threat. it is concerning that they are flying in areas over military installations. but i think that that what we're going to find here, and i would say this is within a matter of of of days and not not weeks or months, you know, we are going to get to the bottom of where these drones are coming from and who's flying them. uh, look, look, each of these drones, they have to take off and they have to land. uh, they don't appear to be doing anything that's out of the. that's sort of supernatural or superhuman with regard to the way that they're operating in the sky. so i think that what we're going to find here is, yes, there will be some individuals who are behind this. uh, my research found that there's a lot of access to drone technology and the market when it comes to the ability to get these to build these, these drones is somewhat
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saturated. so i know it's a nuisance. i know it's something people are concerned about. but we're going to get to the bottom of this. and i think we're going to find that there are individuals right here in the u.s. who are behind this and who are going to be dealt with accordingly okay. >> the congressman, jeff van drew from new jersey also went on to say that, well, let's let's just watch what he said and we'll talk about it on the other side. he talked about the fact that they should be these drones should be shot down, whether it was some crazy hobbyist that we can't imagine or whether it is iran. >> and i think it very possibly could be, they should be shot down. we are not getting the full deal and the military is on alert with this. >> they should be shot down, he says. is that a good idea yeah. >> you know, at this point i really don't think it is, first of all, shooting down these drones. you know, we've seen some reporting that suggests that they are they're not small. you've got to be mindful of the result of shooting down an aircraft. and what happens on the ground, but
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also, uh, look, you know, there there are a lot of things that we can do from an investigative perspective to understand who's behind this, what they're up to, and to deal with this without a a military type or kinetic operation as a first option. so, look, you know, we i think that at this point, because these drones have not done anything to actually threaten our residents or to we don't have any indication that they're actually collecting, they're surveilling anything along those lines. uh, you know, they let the investigation continue. let's figure out who's responsible. and if we can't, then at some point we we escalate our actions to deal with this and possibly putting up other aircraft as a first option before shooting these drones down. >> all right. sean turner for us this morning, sir. very grateful for your perspective. thanks very much for being here. >> thanks. good to be with you. >> all right. ahead here on cnn this morning, why robert f kennedy jr. is pushing so hard to get his daughter in law appointed to the number two
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spot in the cia, plus bill belichick returning to coaching, but not in the nfl. that's coming up in sports next. >> five good things. listen wherever you get your podcasts. >> it won't be hard to find someone to fix this, but before i started angie's list, different story. >> a lot has changed for us at angie's since then, but the issues facing homeowners are the same, and the solution to skilled local pros. get started at angie's com. >> hey. who's beetlejuice? >> don't ever say that name. not ever. beetlejuice. >> beetlejuice. beetlejuice. >> beetlejuice is loose. shake shake, shake. >> shake shake. >> i'm going to make you so happy. this one's from the heart.
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documents pertaining to the assassination of president john f kennedy, robert f kennedy jr. secured approval from donald trump, now his current pick, to head the department of health and human services. >> now, rfk jr. is hoping to use his good standing with the president elect to get another family member into an important role. axios reporting that rfk jr. is pushing for his daughter in law to be the next deputy cia director. they write this quote. rfk jr. has been telling people that fox kennedy would help get to the bottom of the jfk assassination. two republican sources told axios. rfk believes and wants believes that and wants to get to the bottom of it. one of the sources said, referring to well-worn but unproven theories that the cia was behind the 1963 assassination of president kennedy. kennedy is, of course, the nephew of former president john f kennedy, and he has long been vocal about his concerns
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about the cia's alleged in his case involvement. >> it's odd that they've not allowed them to be released, because what could possibly be the explanation? more than 60 years after my uncle's death, almost 65 years ago, 62 years after his death, and there's none of the people who were implicated in that crime are alive now, and the last ones have died off in the last year or two. and so it clearly is an to protect the. institution. yes. and that's wrong and axios stef kight joins us now to discuss her latest reporting on this. >> stef good morning. good morning. you know who killed jfk? a perennially fascinating subject to all americans. but tell us a little bit more about who is this person that rfk jr.. wants in at the cia, and what does he want her to do when she gets there? >> yeah. well, rfk jr.. >> has been pushing his daughter in law and campaign manager amaryllis fox kennedy for this deputy director of the
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cia role, which would not be a senate confirmed position. so usually the president or the cia director, john ratcliffe, would just decide who's taking that top spot and part of his pitch as he's been making calls on her behalf, is that she would get to the bottom of the jfk assassination attempts. it's very clear with the clip you just played, and there are other moments as well, where rfk jr. has been very clear that he really does believe that the cia was involved in the assassination of his uncle. he also believes that they could have been involved in the death of his father as well. and, you know, rfk has a lot of influence in trump world right now. trump sees him as an example of how his base is expanding. you know, a former democrat, a kennedy on his team. and so trump is going to try to make him happy. >> so what what concerns are there from others? is there any pushback to this idea from maga world, from more conventional republicans or elsewhere? >> i mean, pretty quickly, even just on the hill, there were clips being sent around. i heard from four different senate republican sources almost immediately who said a
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clip from amaryllis from 2016 where she was talking about her time in the cia. she spent nearly a decade in the cia, where she was talking about some of her learnings, which included a more nuanced conversation about isis, saying, we just need to be listening to our enemies more. it was a pretty controversial clip, something that a lot of republican sources were saying was raising eyebrows, causing concerns. if she is a real contender for this position. >> um, what else in her background would qualify for you said she spent ten years in the cia. can you say a little bit more about that experience? yeah. >> so she spent nearly ten years in the cia as an undercover agent in the early part of her career. it's something she has talked publicly about and also wrote a book about her experiences, which caused some concern at the cia because she submitted that book to the publishers before getting prior approval from the. there's a board in the cia who approves those things. so it is she has been out there with the fact that she has that experience, and it's something that she has been wanting for a long time. um, but she does have some,
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some views that republicans are already concerned about. >> so i think we should probably note, big picture, that this idea that the cia killed jfk is a conspiracy theory. i mean, let's just let's just straight up call it that. and it's not the only theory that rfk jr.. subscribes to. um, what is your sense of where he stands on the hill in terms of his confirmation hearing and the ways that senators may press him on the various beliefs that he has, including this one? >> he really is the last big controversial pick that will have their week on the hill next week when he'll actually have an opportunity to start talking to senators. there are certainly questions about some of the things he believes in, but what i've been hearing most consistently from republicans is not even some of his beliefs about, you know, fluoride in drinking water or vaccines, while there are questions there as well. but also his stance as a pro-abortion person for a very long time, he's been very pro-abortion rights. and that's something that some republicans are already feeling like they may be uneasy about,
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given their stance over the past several years. so it's going to be a tough confirmation process. most people i talked to think he he gets across the finish line in the end, but we have yet to really see the spotlight on rfk jr. with his nomination to hhs. >> yeah, it's a really interesting issue because hhs does. people don't quite realize the degree to which abortion policy is part of that department. i mean, it really can cross into enter into all sorts of different places. and the secretary has a lot of leeway. so really interesting to see if that will be pushed back. quite fun reporting. thank you very much for being here. thank you. i appreciate it. all right. time now for sports. legendary football coach bill belichick will be back on the sidelines next season, just not in the nfl. andy scholes has more in this morning's cnn sports update. andy good morning. good morning casey. >> i mean this is rather shocking right? you know, after nearly 50 years of coaching in the nfl, bill belichick is heading to college. and i for 1 a.m. super excited to see his press conferences with north carolina student reporters. good luck to those kids. and
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belichick agreeing to become the next head coach at north carolina. yesterday, getting a five year deal to take over the tar heels. earlier this week on pat mcafee belichick, he talked about what his college program would look like if i was in a college program, the college program would be a pipeline to the nfl for the players that had the ability to play in the nfl. it would be a professional program training, nutrition scheme. coaching techniques that would transfer to the nfl. it would be an nfl program at a college level. all right. we'll see what kind of players belichick is able to get to chapel hill at 72 years old, he will be the oldest coach in college football. belichick's father, steve, was an assistant coach for the tar heels from 1953 to 1955. but no doubt the six time super bowl winner is the highest profile hire in college football history. all right. joe burrow, meanwhile, speaking with the media for the first time since the news broke
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that he was the latest athlete to have his house broken into during a game. the bengals quarterback saying the whole incident certainly unsettling. >> i feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one and way more is already out there than i would want out there, and that i care to share. >> all right. nba cup quarterfinals wrapping up last night and there was some controversy in houston. the warriors were up by one in the closing seconds. steph curry misses the three. and then there was a scramble for the ball. well the refs they call the warriors for a foul. instead of giving houston the time-out. they were trying to call. and warriors coach steve kerr just could not believe it. as you can see by his face. jalen green would then make both free throws to give the rockets the lead. and then brandon pazinski. he would get his shot blocked at the buzzer. rockets win an old school mid 2000 type of game 91 to 90. it was the first win over the warriors in 15 games. and here was kerr afterwards on that
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controversial call. >> i'm off i wanted to go to las vegas. we wanted to win this cup. and you know. we we aren't going because of a loose ball foul 80ft from the basket with the game on the line. i've never seen anything like it in my life. and that was ridiculous. thank you all right. >> well trae young was at madison square garden and that's always must see tv trey and the hawks huge third quarter outscoring the knicks by 16. then in the fourth quarter trey the alley-oop to deandre hunter. and then trey skipping up the court. he was then rolling some dice at the end. hawks they're going to vegas. they beat the knicks 108 to 100. and afterwards trey was asked about his relationship with the new york crowd. down double figures. >> it's a love hate relationship. i mean, i got a lot of love and a lot of hate, i guess from from them. but i got a lot of love from them, too. so it's a respect. >> all right. so it's going to be the hawks and the bucks in one semifinal on saturday in
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the nba cup in vegas. you can watch that one on tnt. 430 eastern. then the nightcap. it's going to be the rockets versus the thunder. and casey you know we've been talking about it all week. fingers crossed. for me as a rockets fan this is pretty big for a young team. i'm hoping they go win that cup in vegas. >> all right i'll pull for them for you andy. thank you. i really appreciate it. see you tomorrow, i hope. all right. up ahead here on cnn this morning. eyes in the sky. weeks of unexplained drone sightings in new jersey. has the pentagon shutting down claims that a foreign entity may be involved? plus moving out, the director of the fbi announces his days on the job are numbered, paving the way for donald trump's pick to lead the agency. >> i love this place. i love our mission and i love our people. but my focus is and always has been on us and on doing what's right for the fbi welcome to times square.
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>> i'm pete muntean at reagan national airport. this is cnn. >> it's thursday, december 12th right now on cnn this morning the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration. by the wray side. fbi director christopher wray, leaving office before the president elect has a chance to fire him. >> and i got to know president xi of china, a very strong man. >> cordially invited donald trump, reportedly extending an invitation to his inauguration
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