other. >> closed captioning brought to you by book.com. >> if you or a loved one have mesothelioma, we'll send you a you may have. nswer questions >> call now and we'll come to you. >> 800 821 4000. >> it's wednesday, december 25th, christmas day. merry christmas right now on a special edition of cnn this morning, the gop with all three. what republicans could do with the white house and both houses of congress under their control in the coming year. plus, which direction now for democrats, new blood could be required after vice president kamala harris's

stinging election day defeat and. the liftoff, the mission to mars. could elon musk help remake our government by going where no man has gone before? 7 a.m. here on the east coast. here's a look at the philly holiday tree. it is outside of city hall in philadelphia. beautiful. good morning everyone. merry christmas, happy holidays. i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. we're going to have all of that and more ahead with our panel. but first, let's get a check of this morning's news headlines. >> thanks, casey. i'm danny freeman here in new york. we're following breaking news this morning. dozens of survivors, but dozens more feared dead after a christmas day plane crash near aktau, kazakhstan. we want to warn you, some of this video may be disturbing. this right here was taken

moments after the plane crashed as rescuers scrambled to pull people out of the burned wreckage. cnn's nadia bashir joins me now from london. nadia. what more do we know about this crash? >> well, danny, the investigations into the cause behind this crash earlier today are still ongoing. we have been getting updates from the authorities. according to russian, russian aviation officials, at this stage, preliminary information suggests that the pilot may have been forced to attempt an emergency landing as a result of a bird strike. but of course, we are still waiting for more updates, as was an azerbaijan airlines flight which was traveling from the capital baku to grozny in the russian region of chechnya. as you mentioned, it was forced to make that emergency landing around two miles from the kazakh city of aktau. but of course, we've seen that video emerging, showing at first from eyewitnesses, the plane circling the airfield somewhat erratically before attempting that landing and crashing. it burst into flames upon hitting

the ground. but remarkably, authorities say there were survivors. at least 29 people are said to have survived, including two children. they have all been taken to hospital for medical attention. emergency teams, of course, were quickly at the scene around the crash site. but as you said, dozens are feared to be dead. we are still waiting for updates from the authorities on the status of those remaining passengers on board. there were a total of 67 people on board, 62 passengers, five crew members. we are still waiting for more details. and of course, this is an anxious moment of waiting for the loved ones and family members of those who were on board that flight, waiting for more information. and we will, of course, be tracking those updates from authorities. danny, anxious moment indeed on this christmas morning. >> nadia bashir, thank you very much. and we turn now to the vatican, where just a short time ago, pope francis delivered his 12th annual christmas blessing with special messages to the people of gaza, israel and ukraine. cnn's vatican correspondent christopher lam is back with us

now, christopher. always a poignant moment for catholics around the world. tell us, what more did pope francis say? >> well, danny, the pope used his christmas day message to emphasize that christmas is a time of peace and reconciliation. and he focused on ukraine and gaza. and here's what he had to say. >> may the sound of of weapons be silenced in ukraine. >> may there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation. may the sound of arms be silenced in the middle east and contemplating the crib of bethlehem. i think of the christian communities in israel and palestine. and and particularly to the dear community of gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave. >> now the pope on ukraine has

repeatedly called for a peace settlement in his remarks. come after a christmas day attack on ukraine's energy infrastructure. and we are hearing that there is a possibility that peace negotiations could be entered into by both sides. and on gaza francis has been recently more outspoken, saying that what's been going on there is cruelty. so the pope, using the christmas message to reiterate his calls for peace in conflicts across the world. >> danny christopher, while i have you, king charles also expected to share a christmas message today and he'll break tradition. i understand when he does. what can you tell us? >> well, yes that's right. normally the king would give his christmas day message from a royal palace, but this time he's going to be doing so from the fitzrovia chapel, a former hospital chapel. of course, the king has had treatment for

cancer. so by choosing to deliver the message from fitzrovia chapel, he's emphasizing the importance of the health care sector in the uk. and of course, reflecting his own health challenges. danny. >> christopher lamb, thank you very much for your time. appreciate it. all right. turning now to a happy holidays and merry christmas from spacex for nasa astronauts on board the international space station recorded a video message to send back to earth. take a look. >> it's a great time of year up here. we get to spend it with all of our family up on the international space station. there are seven of us up here, and so we're going to get to enjoy company together from all of us to all of you. merry, merry christmas. >> i love that flying candy cane. they're two of those astronauts, suni williams and butch wilmore had no idea when they arrived back in june that they would be spending christmas in space. they've been stuck because of issues with their space capsule. they're expected to return to

earth no earlier than february. all right, that's a look at your top stories on this christmas day. now back to casey. >> all right. we are now just weeks away from donald trump's second inauguration. and as the former president prepares to move back into the white house, he'll bring with him a unified republican government. >> america has given us an. unprecedented and powerful mandate. we have taken back control of the senate. wow. that's great. and it also looks like we'll be keeping control of the house of representatives. i will govern by a simple motto promises made, promises kept. we're going to keep our promises as voters rallied behind trump in november, they also granted republicans majorities, albeit slim ones, in both houses of congress. >> that was also the case in 2016. but at the start of his

first term, trump was a newcomer to the politics of capitol hill and his more unconventional ideas and approaches did not always land with his allies in congress. eight years later, that's a problem that the president elect is unlikely to have. >> we have a mandate from the american people, a mandate not only to clean up the mess left by the biden-harris schumer agenda, but also to deliver on president trump's priorities. >> and i think what the american people have, have believe and what they've delivered with the mandate in this election is demand that we shake up the status quo as republicans in congress attempt to deliver on trump's agenda, they are almost certain to face legal challenges from democratic groups and states. >> which brings us to what could be the most important change in washington, the supreme court, now dominated by a conservative majority with three of the sitting justices appointed by trump himself. it's the same court that granted trump partial immunity

from criminal prosecution, and would hear challenges to trump's most controversial policy proposals, including on one of his signature issues immigration. >> on day one, i will launch the largest deportation program in american history to get the criminals out. i will invoke the alien enemies act of 1798. think of that. i will immediately ban all sanctuary cities in the united states. >> and joining us now to discuss mark preston, cnn senior political analyst. elliot williams, cnn legal analyst, former federal prosecutor and known star wars fan. and i'm sorry. elliot, i forgot what your sweater says. >> this is. i find your lack of cheer disturbing. >> well, you know, may the force be with you. >> may the force be with you and also with you. >> also with us. megan hayes, former director of message planning for the biden white house. and matt gorman, republican strategist, former senior adviser to tim scott's presidential campaign. welcome

to all of you. so, matt, let me start with you, actually, because there is going to be a significant difference in the washington that donald trump is going to find when he is inaugurated than from the one where paul ryan, who you worked closely with, was running the house of representatives, and i remember people, republicans like him used to use the phrase, well, we're going to be the ballast in the ship of state, implying that they didn't think that donald trump could captain it. well, they wouldn't say it in public. they'd say it in private. now, everyone seems to be kind of singing off the same hymnal, no matter what room they're in. very much so. >> i mean, look, republicans, democrats, everyone could really, in a way, write off 2016, 2017 as an aberration. >> now it's an affirmation in so many other ways. and i think one of the key things, right, i think in many ways at least defined trump's first two years, if not his presidency. when he came in, he was kind of boxed into repealing obamacare. first off, you know, mcconnell and ryan really felt like it was a priority. they felt like they needed to do it. trump

went along with it. and i think health care certainly defined the midterms. and it left him, you know, for better part of a half a year working on something he really didn't believe in. you're having him come in this year. his first priority is most likely in a reconciliation bill. energy and the border followed closely by taxes. those are things that he, number one, knows about. number two cares about. and more tactically, what that means is he's willing to get in the weeds and in these slim majorities, get folks who are a little nervous onto his side. >> mark preston, what do you think the difference is going to be? big picture here for donald trump that i mean, the other thing is this time he comes in having won the popular vote. >> i mean, i would again stealing my language is an aberration, an affirmation. no. >> i mean, look, the fact is, donald trump now has people that he's going to put into positions of power don't necessarily have to be senate confirmed that understand how government works. so, you know, kash patel who does have to be confirmed if he moves into the fbi. he's somebody who immediately can get to work and

dismantle whatever donald trump wants to do at the doj. so when you see the likes of patel and even folks that everyday people don't know their names, they're the ones that are going to be implementing the policy. donald trump is now experienced. and what was interesting in one of his most recent news conferences, and he loved it too, when he said, gosh, they didn't like me a few years ago, but now everyone's coming down to see me. they all want to be my friends or whatever, he said. i mean, donald trump really had his moment. >> i think most importantly, though, it's not just donald trump has experienced the people he's putting in power to. what you're saying in these careers or in these positions of staff are also now experienced, and they know how these agencies run. they know the different bureaus and components in the agencies and can really get things done and go to work on the first day. they don't. there's no time. they don't need any time to sort of figure it out and find out what's what can work. >> well, and let's let's just run down a little bit of a reminder of what donald trump elliott has did promise on the campaign trail. >> watch for those who have been wronged and betrayed. i am

your retribution. we're going to put the tariffs on your products coming in from china. when i get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips. we're going to take care of israel, and they know that i will have the horrible war between russia and ukraine totally settled. we will get critical race theory and transgender insanity the hell out of our schools going forward. the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic u.s. citizenship. >> so even just that last one, elliott birthright citizenship would be an enormous thing that he may try to do, and he very well might. >> but the things that i caught there israel, russia, ukraine, social issues, talking about trans issues and so on, and birthright citizenship left out of this is the fact that congress is going to be 219 211 in the house with five vacancies. from the senate, 53 to 47. any republican. the president can't afford to lose the support of any republicans, really, on any of his major

priorities. and the question is, how do you get things through a narrowly divided, even republican party? forget about winning democrats over. these are all very important priorities of his. but they've still got to govern. and it will really be fascinating to see how you count the 50 or 218 when this when it counts. >> so do you think that that bargains more that he will do a lot of this through executive orders versus using congress because he won't, you know, through the house? it's gonna be extremely difficult. so it will be interesting to see on day one how many e.o.s he puts through. yeah. >> well, matt, how how do you think each. because the house it's almost like you're going to have, you know, 218 joe manchin's in the house of representatives. right. any single one of them could decide, you know, on any given day. well, now there's going to be a fear of a primary of how, you know, donald trump and the maga crew would treat such a person in the event that they were to go against him. but also, there's this thing about ego and politics where if there's a big upside for you and a chance to get famous or whatever, i mean, those two things are going to be in tension for all these people.

who wins out? >> i think, i think, but as you said in the open, i think this is a donald trump controls the republican party. right. and i think it goes to the point to he's willing to fight for immigration, for taxes. he's willing to call up the 218th person who might be on the fence and say, get the heck in line, right? >> and whether that's with a word that starts with f. yeah, exactly, exactly. i'd catch myself there. >> but one one other thing to note when i was at the nrcc in the first two years of the trump administration on the health care bill, for instance, it was the people in back then, it was hillary clinton won districts that were republicans that i wouldn't say gave us trouble, but that were one on ones in the fence. there's only two of those now. yeah. the harris district republicans have shrunk dramatically. >> yeah, i only named the the various issues i named because on every one of those, there's 4 or 5 republicans somewhere across the country who are not in line with president trump on the issue, whether it's israel, whether it's ukraine, whatever else he has to craft a governing majority in

this very narrow republican majority. and, you know, there's there are moderates in the caucus. and i just wonder when it's that close. and you can only afford to lose 2 or 3 folks on any given thing. how he threads that needle. >> and yeah, and to that point, though, when matt said at the beginning, the top three issues are going to be republican issues, right? it's the extension of the tax cuts. it's the border, which the republican party is, you know, 1,001% behind. and it's energy, you know, in the sense he's playing these populist issues right now that will help him get through some things. but the fact is, the list of things that he has talked about, i've looked at it too. there's no way he could get a quarter of it. >> you get a couple people with the flu 100%, literally, and it gets that. >> so yeah, that is the human reality. sometimes people lose sight of how important they can be. all right. coming up next, for democrats, the path back to power could start with new leadership coming up who might rise and lead the party in the new year. plus, mark mckinnon tells us what he's looking for as trump returns for a second term in washington and blasting

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out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation. and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential. this american carnage stops right here and stops right now. >> all right. joining us now, former adviser to george w. bush and john mccain, mark mckinnon. he is also the creator of paramount's the circus. mark, wonderful to see you. thanks for being here. >> happy holidays casey. >> so i want to talk a little bit about your latest piece for vanity fair, because you called it this, a new year's relution. accept the election results with grace, even as u dig in for the fight ahead. and you quote john mccain, you write, quote, as my old pal john mccain used to say, it's always darkest before it goes completely black. tell us more about why you used that phrase.

looking ahead to the second trump inauguration. >> well, thanks, casey. you know, in 2016, i made the mistake of thinking that donald trump would be would moderate, that he'd be sort of a bipartisan guy. and then because he went to the obama obamacare instead of a, you know, an infrastructure bill, which i think could have created a whole different history, it became very partisan right from the jump. and so the and i said at the time, you know, he's not going to be as bad as his opponents think or as good as supporters think. this time, i think i go in with eyes wide open just to say, listen, if you're worried about what trump is going to do, you probably should be worried. and if you're excited, you should be excited because he's going to do what he said he's going to do, and it's going to be on steroids. he's got you know, he's learned a lot from the last time around. he doesn't have the broken toys department working for him anymore. he's got smart, savvy people and a clear agenda. so i just think

that the point is to for for people who may be skeptical, that's fine. skepticism is fine. but listen, this is a this is called the democracy because the majority gets to rule. and, you know, i think i think the good news is that we have a clear outcome. you know, we don't have a bunch of people running around saying that it's rigged this time. and and so the point is for, you know, if you believe in the american system of democracy to say, okay, you know, donald trump won, he has a mandate, he's got a republican congress. he's got he's got all branches of of government in control. and so, you know, we got to sort of sort of salute and say, okay, give it a shot. >> mark, what's your sense of, you know, we came in on that that bite from his inaugural, his first inaugural address. and it stuck out, i think, to all of us at the time as as remarkably dark in its sort of portrayal of the state of the country, even as it was

a really, you know, hopeful big day for donald trump himself. what's your sense of the tone we're going to see coming in from donald trump this time? >> great question. you know that. you know, that carnage speech was so dark a long way from ronald reagan's shining city on the hill. but, you know, this is one place where i think maybe trump may surprise us in the sense that, you know, it feels now like he he feels like he's been vindicated. he's got his team in place, even though he ran on this notion that i will be your retribution. and he's putting people like kash patel in charge of the fbi and talking about going after his enemies. i do get a sense that he feels, you know, it's a little bit of a different trump, just that he feels like, you know, like he really won this time. like it's like, you know, he's sort of been, uh, you know, all the he's got all the marbles now. and so maybe we will see

something a little sunnier this time. although, you know, i'm not going to hold my breath. >> um, mark, the reality is that while republicans did win majorities across the house, the senate, and of course, the white house, the they're not enormous, right? especially in the house of representatives. i mean, for a while here in the beginning of the new administration, it's likely to basically be one vote because of some of the vacancies in the house of representatives. what do you think that that means for? i mean, i think certainly for me, i covered the entire first trump administration from capitol hill. and the defining word of that, that period of time was chaos, right? for four straight years, you would think things would be going a certain way, and then there would be a tweet or, you know, a comment, and it would blow everything up. right? is that the kind of feel you expect to come back to

washington, or do you think we're going to see kind of a different way of doing things? >> well, i think that trump and the republican party recognize how slim that majority is in the house, and therefore they're going to move on that mandate like lightning in the first year, because that's about all the time that they've got. it's almost certain that it's going to swing back. and democrats will at least take the house back in two years. i mean, voters are just cranky these days and basically what they want every two years is to change no matter who's there. so i think trump and republicans recognize that. so i just think that we're just going to see, you know, a first, you know, 90 days, 100 days and first year of this republican administration, really try and get as much done as they can, because they know that the wind is going to close very quickly. >> yeah, for sure. all right. mark mckinnon, very grateful to have you on our holiday program. thank you so much. >> prisoners of hope. happy new year, everybody. american democracy.

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putting out flames and pulling survivors from the wreckage. cnn's nadia bashir joins me now from london. nada. what more can you tell us about this crash? >> well, danny, this has come as a huge shock this morning. and as you can imagine, investigators and authorities are still looking into the incident, as you mentioned. we have seen that dramatic and distressing video circulating now showing moments before the crash, the plane, which carried 67 people, including five crew members and 62 passengers circling the airfield somewhat erratically before it appears the plane attempting to make an emergency landing and in fact bursting into flames upon crashing into the ground. now, remarkably, authorities say there were survivors. at least 29 people are said to have survived the crash, including two children, and they have all, of course, been taken to hospital for medical attention. we've seen that video emerging of some of those passengers emerging from the wreckage, some of them injured and

bloodied. but of course, this is a huge moment of anguish and many will be anxious. many of those family members and loved ones, of those who were on board, dozens are, of course, feared to be dead, to have been killed in that crash. but we are still waiting to hear more from the authorities with regards to the status of the remaining passengers that have not yet been identified. and of course, the investigation into the incident is ongoing. russian aviation authorities say they believe, according to preliminary information, that the emergency landing may have been caused by a reported bird strike. but again, we are still waiting to get more updates and clarification on that. >> danny, now to share some of that new video. just truly stunning and quite scary. thank you very much. and to this now russia has launched a massive christmas morning aerial attack on ukraine's energy sector, an attack ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy condemned as inhumane. at least one person was killed in the dnipro region after russia launched more than 70 missiles and 100

attack drones. ukraine's air defense managed to shoot down many of them, but several still hit their energy sector targets, leading to blackouts across the country. you can see some of the damage here in kharkiv. two residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, as well. and this christmas morning, pope francis urgently calling for peace and the end of the wars in gaza and ukraine. a short time ago, the pope delivered his 12th annual christmas blessing from the balcony of saint peter's basilica. thousands were in the crowd as the pope prayed that leaders would negotiate peace in war torn ukraine and the middle east. the pope then reminded all that christmas is a time for reconciliation, and notre dame cathedral in paris celebrated its first christmas masses since a fire nearly destroyed it five years ago. on christmas eve. about 2000 people joined an afternoon mass there. worshipers and other visitors saw the restoration of the recently reopened cathedral, stunning their. all right. that's a look at your top stories on this christmas

day. now back to casey. >> democrats still reeling from donald trump's victory over kamala harris looking to turn the page this holiday season. president-elect trump hasn't even been sworn in yet. there's already talk of who might succeed him. while democrats are looking to be the party's next leader may have to get in line behind harris. the vice president hinting she could be sticking around. >> let us always remember our country is worth fighting for, and our spirit will not be defeated. and i promise you, i will be with you every step of the way. >> i knew what i was doing and asked her to be my vice president. i knew her, i knew of her, i knew about her. i knew her record. i trusted her, she always served this country with purpose and integrity, and she always will. and you're not going anywhere, kid, because we're not going to let you go. >> we're not going to let you go. panel is back. megan hayes, is kamala harris going to be at the front of the line? >> i'm not sure if she'll be at the front of the line. i think

it's going to be extremely competitive in 28. i think we're going to be looking toward midwestern governors. i think there's a lot of people that want to be in a competitive primary for the next presidential nominee. i also think we could be looking for someone we don't know. it could be a celebrity or an athlete. i think the republican party is sort of reshaped what is acceptable for a presidential nominee. and i think the democrats are going to be looking for that. >> it's republicans after 2012 when they lost the election, when romney lost and there was no clear leader in the party at the time. now, to some extent, that led to the rise of donald trump, which seemed to work out quite well for both him and republicans over a 12 year period. but there is not that one singular figure at the top of the party right now. >> journalists love to ask who's the leader of the republican party right now? when, after we lose the presidential. and the answer is there really wasn't and there isn't when there isn't a presence in the office, just like there isn't right now for the democrats. and that's okay. right? because that allows these things to grow. i would feel fairly safe putting my money down, that kamala harris will not be the nominee in 2018 for a host of reasons. i think trump is the aberration in that

regard, not the rule. but you have a bench, and i think i'll tell you right now, josh iris p wasn't on the ticket. i'm sure in a part of all that counterpoint. >> yeah, you can't say that nancy pelosi was not the head of the democratic party in those periods when the democrats didn't have the majority. you had didn't have the presidency. pardon. you had a really powerful congressional leader with national name recognition, great at fundraising. all of the above. and that certainly senator schumer and hakeem jeffries are both prominent leaders. but nancy pelosi did have a hold on the party when they weren't. >> you want to put money down on a on a nominee in 2028 for the democrats. mark's like no, absolutely, absolutely no. >> i'm like, yes, i do because i've got a gambling problem. >> no, no no. here is the reality. i mean, we're talking about the end of 20, 2012. there are 11 candidates on stage in the first debate at that time. and if you go back to 2016 as well, there were so many people running for the republican presidential nomination, they had to break

the debates up into two. just in order for the kids table. >> the kids debate stage. >> correct. which still, by the way, was would be watched by 8 to 10 million people at the time. but i will say this there will be a bloodbath in the democratic party right now for control of the democratic party. megan is right that there will be this this look at the josh shapiro's and midwestern governors. but guess what? ro khanna is not going to be looking for them. nor is elizabeth warren. and nor is bernie sanders. and that whole wing of the party, aoc. you will see a bloodbath. and if democrats can't get together now on capitol hill in the next year, it's going to be really telling about how they won't be able to get together as a party in 2028. >> all right. our panel will be back in just a couple of minutes. with the new year just days away, two nasa astronauts now counting down the days until they are able to return home. what was supposed to be an eight day trip. it turned into more than six months for astronauts butch wilmore and suni williams. due to technical issues with the boeing

starliner spacecraft that took them there. spacex is scheduled to launch a rescue mission to bring them home. nasa administrator bill nelson, not willing to take any unnecessary risks. >> the safety of our astronauts is always first in our decisions. >> it is our north star. we do not fly until we are ready. >> keith cowing is here. he is the editor of nasa watch. com keith, it's wonderful to have you back. thank you so much for being here. so these two astronauts were not expecting to have to celebrate their christmas or, or any holiday that they celebrate right up in the sky. and yet there they are. what does the fact that they got stranded there? the situation with boeing say, about where we are on these big picture things we're trying to do go back to the moon and go to mars? >> well, you know, normally the answer, if you don't have an answer is space is hard, which is sort of like punting on the

obvious. >> but rocket science difficult. it's actually rocket science. >> it is. >> there is rocket science involved. but in this case here, the idea was that you were going to buy two differ ways to get people to the space station commercially, and if one didn't work, the other would be there. well, if one didn't work, the other was there, but they had a scheduling issue. and this is just like expeditions i've been on where the plane comes in and there's nine seats and ten people. yeah, you got to wait. that's pretty much what it is. and as far as if you're going to ask me what butch and son you're thinking, i don't know, butch, but sunny coming out of the hatch with the hair. that's sunny. i've known her forever. and that she's a six months in outer space. sign me up. >> she's there, she's there. that's good to know. so let's talk big picture a little bit. and we're obviously. and we've been talking we talk a lot about politics on this show. talking about elon musk is going to be a big part probably of the incoming trump administration. and he has been so focused on spacex for so long. and i know, you know, you knew him back in the beginning when he was first talking about this. i want to play a little bit of what he said about why you may have seen our viewers,

may have seen he runs around with this occupy mars shirt on. right. and that's the language he uses when he talks about other planets. let's listen to what he said. this was back in 2022. let's watch elon musk. >> eventually the sun will expand and destroy all life. so for those who really care about not just the humans, but all the life on earth, it is very important. essential that over the long term that we become a multi-planet species and ultimately even go beyond the solar system and bring life with us. >> do you think elon musk is right about that? >> i don't disagree with him. and yes, i've known him for a long time. i met him when he was in his 20s. he was talking about mars then. he didn't have the t-shirt yet, but he was talking about going to mars. so this is not a new idea. he just has more resources than most countries do to make it happen. >> so what impact do you think it will have on america's space program to have elon musk so close to the white house? >> well, it's a good sign in that you can't just give everything to him despite what

people are thinking. but it does show that you can come up with new ways to do old things, and sometimes old ways work. again, it's the mix and it's the entrepreneurial spirit. but these rockets that go up now, he builds them like corn silos. they're consumer products. and if you got a dent in it, he fixes it. whereas nasa's take every couple 3 or 4 years and they cost billions of dollars. so having somebody advising trump on how to do things cheaper, if you push all the politics and the doge and stuff aside, he's done it. he's doing it every day. and the guy who got picked to run nasa is also a billionaire, but he's flown in that spacecraft. he's taken the risk, and he's actually bought a couple of rides. so it's not bad news. it's whether they can translate it into a government agency that's sort of done its own thing for 60 something years. >> yeah. so what right now are our biggest obstacles to going back to the moon and eventually to mars? >> right now it's just getting a plan and sticking to it, to be honest. and i made a joke last night. they put a report out from nasa and it's the same as last year. they changed the dates and whatnot. they really have sort of the same old tired

reasons for doing things, even if they're exciting and, you know, you want to have everybody involved. i think we really sort of with trump coming back in and everybody questioning everything, that maybe we ought to sit back and say, do we want to do this? the answer is probably yes. what's the best way to do it? is the way we're doing it now the best way? maybe not. can we afford to keep doing it that way? no. >> so how do you think the leadership change? you think the leadership change at nasa might allow them to ask that question? >> there might. i mean, i've seen this before. i've been covering i've been watching nasa and this i've seen this movie before. i've written the script and, you know, but you never know. this may be the opportunity for something important to happen. we'll see. stay tuned. >> all right, keith cowing, always grateful to have you on the show. thank you so much for being here. all right. coming up, when donald trump puts his hand on that bible and takes the oath of office again, it will make history in a number of ways. doris kearns goodwin joins us next to discuss. and many happy returns, what some call the worst part of holiday

shopping. >> excuse me. yes, i'm trying to find a turbo man doll. me too. >> me too. do you have any more in the bag? >> andy, it has been one wild year. >> i know that whole new live stream was crazy. what? >> you have been following actual news, right? oh, boy. >> new year's eve live with anderson and andy. live coverage starts at eight on cnn and streaming live. >> bye bye. >> cough chest congestion. hello. 12 hours of relief. 12 hours. not coughing. >> hashtag still not coughing. >> mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion in any type of cough, day or night. >> mucinex dm its comeback season. today, my friend, you did it. >> you did it. pursue a better you with centrum. it's a small win toward taking charge of your health. so this year you can say you did it. >> your parents have given you some amazing gifts. celebrate

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start your day. >> stream cnn's five things with kate baldwin for the news you need. >> how about this for an earnings call headline in five minutes or less. the battle for democracy. >> you learn something every day and the stories you'll want to share. >> oh my god. liftoff. it is awe inspiring to see it when it happens. bravo! bring it together, guys. >> cnn' what if your mobile network wasn't just built to work out here...

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out the second. if she's happy with the one, then you return the second. >> some advice there from curb your enthusiasm. gift giving not for the weak. what happens then when you're not so enthused about what was waiting for you under the tree? this year, retailers are expecting record holiday sales, but also returns. cnn consumer reporter nathaniel myerson is at the magic wall with more on this. nathaniel, tell us, i mean, how many returns are they expecting? it is actually i mean, i can never actually get it together well enough to return stuff that i have been given that i don't like. i usually just keep it. but what does everybody else do? >> yeah. and i don't know. should we, casey, should we be taking advice from larry david on holiday shopping? not entirely sure, but do love do love the idea. but yes. so, you know, casey returns are a big problem for us. for shoppers. we have to bring them back. but they're also really big problem for stores, you know, returns. they've grown into

about nearly $1 trillion industry. and that's particularly because we're buying online more, and we're much more likely to return, you know, an ugly sweater that we that we think looks good. but then it comes in the mail. we don't really like it or the size, you know, is too big. so we're now returning about 1 in 5 things that we buy. 17% of all merchandise is returned. and it's a really big problem for stores because they have to pay for us to ship the items back in the mail that costs them. and then the stuff that we return just ends up back in their stores and back on their shelves. so sometimes they have to mark down the products, which, you know, hurts their bottom line. so, you know, this return industry, we don't like returning it. they don't like us bringing it back. it's just kind of a mess. >> fascinating. and part of me wonders, too, if some of it ends up in landfills, basically. >> but okay. absolutely. >> so how are retailers responding to getting prepared really for this? >> so, casey, there's some different ways that stores are

kind of changing their policies or different ways that we can now return items that didn't exist just a few years ago. so often, you know, we don't even need a box to bring it back. just the other day, i was returning something from amazon. some sneakers didn't even have the sneaker box, but just brought it back in a bag and they, you know, wrapped it up at the ups store. so that was really easy. sometimes you can even get ups or they're partnering with uber and doordash to come pick up the returns at your doorstep, so you don't even have to leave the house. and then we have some some good news for shoppers, some good news and some bad news. so occasionally return retailers will just tell you to keep the return. they don't even want you to bring it back because it's more expensive for them to ship it back. so, you know, maybe you'll buy something and you want to return it and you end up just keeping it. maybe a new toaster or something. but the bad news for shoppers is that more stores are charging for online returns. they don't want you to return items online. maybe they'll, you

know, it'll be free in stores, but they are cracking down on online returns. >> all right, i have to say, you said earlier 1 in 5 things that we buy online, we send back. i believe my rate is considerably higher than that. >> stores are particularly frustrated with you, casey, and they're watching you, i bet. >> all right, nathaniel meyersohn, thank you very much for that. merry christmas. happy holidays to you. our panel is back. i have to say, the gifting. you know, i'm a mom of two small kids, so we won't say out loud what that means because this is a family program where we where we protect dreams. but it's a stressful time for gift giving for a variety of reasons. but honestly, buying for my kids is not the hard part. i'm. i'm curious, who in your life is the hardest person to buy for matt, it's an age range and so what it is, is like, for example, like, if you're old enough, i can get what you're into. >> and i got a lot of taylor swift stuff last night. god bless her. i can get that. enjoy. it's like that weird interregnum where, like, it's your girlfriend. no, no. i'm sorry. my little cousin. your

cousin. >> a ten year old cousin. >> well, i am okay. yeah. sorry, sorry, sorry. >> that's a terrible mistake on my part. >> no. ten years old. >> okay, i got i got it, okay? okay. this took a turn. you didn't get. you didn't give an age. i'm sorry. no, no, no. emma gets taylor. >> emma gets taylor swift. i can get she's out of the year. but like, before that, it's like, okay, there's this toy. it's like they do certain things like, wait, l.o.l. surprise! it took me a while to understand. exactly like the 6 to 10 toy range, where it's like you're not 0 to 5, just get where the hell i want, like and just enjoy it. but, like, do you have specifics? but which i absolutely do not understand. >> yeah. megan, who's the hardest person for you to buy for? >> i think it's my grandmother who's 96, because she says things like, i'm not going to be around long enough to use this, or i don't want to wear this. and she said, i love her. >> she's practical, awesome. >> but you know what? she's getting an ipad this year for me and we're going to spend all day today learning how to use it. and it's going to be incredible. she'll be able to watch us on the show on her iphone. >> get the warranty. >> it's a good sign. >> yeah, yeah, i got it engraved and everything. >> so i am sticking by it. >> oh that's great. >> oh my god. quick story my

friend george. last christmas i gave him my heart. the very next day he gave it away this year to save me from tears. you know i'm going to give it to someone special. special. once bitten, twice shy. i was so upset. i feel like i should write this down. yeah, i should really write a poem or something. you could maybe sing it. yeah, i know, and it might, you know, it might be my ticket. i don't know, mark. >> well, i have a couple things to say. first of all nathaniel's report just shows you why everyone hates america, right? the fact that you have to have uber or doordash come and pick up your return while they're dropping off your, i don't know, $50 mcdonalds order it. go return it yourself or don't return it. i'm like you, this is very grinchy this is christmas. you know what i will tell you? >> you know jesus. >> jesus was born today. like what? >> like, let me just say this, casey, you asked the question. i will answer the question on behalf of the whole panel. it's been you okay? it's been very hard to figure out what to get you. oh, really? you have everything.

>> and somebody had already dropped off a bottle of wine that apparently has been produced out of the shop, but yeah, just i'll take a bottle of wine. >> let me just think, you know, merry christmas, maybe some bloody marys for the table i can offer. i can offer you my happiness. how's that happiness which doesn't exist. yeah. >> you know, every every party needs a grinch. i guess. all right, coming up next on this special edition of cnn this morning, the voters spoke in 2024, we're going to look at how the gop could use their power in 2025, plus, how many holiday movies can you quote start to finish? i can quote several of them. every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings that's right. >> i want to be the greatest player that i could possibly become. hurry, hurry, hurry. >> i just need.

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