fenton: yeah, oren, thanks. first of all, thanks for moderating this panel and bringing us all together. glad to be up here with my august colleagues as part of this panel. thank you. i'd say just a straight shot. it's the most complicated or challenging i've seen in 37 years in the military. and i say that in the way you've heard me talk about it, convergence, but i'll talk a little bit about them in isolation first, then some convergence and then probably one that needs mentioning has been mentioned a couple times. the changing character of where that bring that all together, all that's against a backdrop of global view as special operations command, 7,000 teammates on any given day across 80 different countries, 24/7/365. and also my own experience. i came in in 1987 and we had one threat, one foe to worry about ussr. that's all we did. i never anything about that time china didn't hear anything about north korea, didn't hear anything about iran. and now in 2024 with the nds four state adversaries and a group

attorneys for oren saying oren alexander is innocent.mmitted a crime. attorneys for tal did not provide a comment. allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against the brothers before several civil lawsuits with similar allegations filed earlier this year. the latest filed today. >> so we filed a complaint from an incident that occurred back in december 31st of 2016. the complaint really details this. the horrendous and violent rape that she endured. >> our thanks to juju. juju also recently spoke with the filmmakers behind a powerful documentary about incarcerated fathers and daughters and a one night only dance giving them a rite of passage. so many other families experience. the movie is generating oscar buzz and making change. >> natalie and angela, welcome to nightline. >> thank you for having us. >> now, natalie, i know that you saw angela's ted talk and was inspired by that. why did it take eight years to follow this particular story? >> initially, it was me and angela really getting to know each other and interviewing the

oren, i want to go to you. you're at the reagan national defense forum out in california, where a number of u.s. officials have gathered. what have you been hearing from them out there syria is, of course, a question that came up in multiple panels here. >> it came up in a panel i was moderating, as well as several of the others. and that's because of how fast everything is developing there. it was just earlier this morning that a number of u.s. officials told my colleagues at cnn that the assad regime might collapse within a matter of days, and now, as we look at what's unfolding, as nic robertson tells us what he's hearing and what's happening on the ground in damascus, it seems that a matter of days timeline may have been far too long. the u.s. has been watching this very closely, and the breathtaking speed at which this has unfolded from its beginning in aleppo until where we are now, where we're at the point where we're reporting there are rebel forces who have entered the capital of damascus, which should

now, i want to bring in oren liebermann. oren, what are u.s. officials telling you about this plane crash? >> kate? bianna referenced there what we've heard from u.s. officials that the initial indications that the u.s. has picked up on are that it may well have been a russian air defense system that struck and downed this passenger aircraft from azerbaijan airlines. now, the official wasn't able to say what kind of system it was, but russia certainly has a number of air defense systems capable of downing a commercial jet. and in fact, we have seen this before. it was a decade ago that a russian air defense system operated by russian backed separatists in eastern ukraine shot down malaysian airlines flight 17, killing those on board. so we have seen an example of something like this. now, it's worth noting that just hours before this crash took place, there was a ukrainian drone attack on this area in southern russia. and defense experts have said that russia's air defenses were active. so that very much raises the possibility that russia, in t

former israeli ambassador to the united states michael oren joins us in just a few moments, but firstnd it live to chief foreign correspondent trey yingst in tel aviv today. trey, what are you hearing about a potential for a deal on the horizon? >> yeah, hey, bill come good afternoon. as the entire region waits to see if there will be a cease-fire between israel and hamas, today the israelis struck back against the hooties in yemen. explosions rocked the capital city of sanaa, with idf fighter jets overhead. the israelis they these strikes that targeted the main airport in the city in addition to power plants were in response to continued ballistic missile and drone attacks against their country. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu oversaw the strikes alongside his chief of staff and israeli defense minister israel katz. >> interpreter: we are determined to cut off his terrorist arm of iran's axis of evil. we will persist until we complete the job. >> the strikes come as today marks day 447 of the war between israel and hamas as diplomatic efforts continue. reports say both sid

oren liebermann is there. oren, you just heard mike talk about the tens of thousands of american service members who are on the ground in that region in south korea, in particular. what are you hearing from your sources at the pentagon? any concern about that? >> the u.s. is watching this and monitoring this situation very closely. >> the biden administration, according to the national security council is already in touch with south korean counterparts as they monitor what's happening here. this matters tremendously. not just because of the military presence, but also because of the alliance and the partnership between the countries. that is, that goes well beyond just the military. as mike pointed out, there are 28,500 u.s. service members in south korea. that is one of the largest presence presences of u.s. troops overseas. and that matters a tremendous amount. led by a four star commander, army general paul lacamera. so that is one of those elements that that matters critically here. and the relationship be

let's get some more on this from cnn pentagon correspondent oren liebermann. oren, how are u.s. officials looking at this? >> well, if the u.s. has been looking at this virtually since it happened, and it took about a day to get this initial indication of what happened here, but a u.s. official tells me or told me earlier today that the early indications are that a russian anti-aircraft system may well have downed this jet, this passenger aircraft from azerbaijan airlines. now, the official wouldn't say specifically what type it was. there are certainly a number of different russian systems that have this capability. anything from longer range s-300 or s-400 missiles to even some shorter range missiles, potentially even something launched off of a shoulder, a surface to air missile like that, especially if the passenger aircraft was lower. so there's a number of different possibilities for what type of system that might be, that perhaps what the u.s. is looking into as it looks first to shore up its own indications of what happened here, and second, to get more information as th

i first want to begin, though, with oren liebermann standing by at the pentagon, because oren south korea ally, doesn't even really describe the tightness of the relationship with the united states. right. and there are 30,000 american troops there right now which just adds to the holy. wow. the biden administration had no idea this was happening, was totally taken by surprise how worried are they about this situation now if the concern has abated, it has only done so perhaps by a little bit after south korea's president pulled back on his institution of martial law after several hours, as you pointed out, the move caught the u.s. >> and realistically probably caught north korea completely by surprise. it's not just an alliance that goes back decades. as you pointed out, there are nearly 30,000 u.s. troops in south korea. this is a relationship that goes through military, political diplomatic and much more, especially as the u.s. tries to focus on that region. south korea is a critical part of those plans to underscore how close president joe biden has been with south korea, he hosted a d

cnn's oren liebermann joins us now.n, walk us through kind of what's happening here, what we actually know right now. >> phil, this is the first time we have seen the u.s. weigh in on this. >> over the course of the past 24 hours, it was the u.s. morning information gathering mode and waiting to see what investigators from azerbaijan, kazakhstan and russia had to say. >> but now, a u.s. official familiar with the matter says the early indications are that it was a russian anti-aircraft system that may well have downed this azerbaijan airlines flight. >> the flight was on its way from baku, the capital of azerbaijan, to grozny in russia, when something forced it down and it crashed in kazakhstan about three kilometers or so from the city of aktau. at least 38 of the 67 people on board died in that crash, according to kazakh authorities. and, of course, the investigation underway to figure out exactly what happened. there is video from the aircraft itself that shows holes what appear to be shrapnel or debris that puncture

and i'm not sure if you could hear, but we were just showing a report filed by oren liebermann, who's our pentagon correspondent about, you know, how this is being perceived by the u.s. and how the u.s. is gaming this out. look, there will be countries not just in this region where i am of the gulf and the wider middle east. looking at this and working out, you know, what happens next, because, of course, what goes on in syria doesn't stay in syria. it has implications for the wider region and indeed on the sort of spillover of refugees and those displaced from syria and into for example, a country like the u.k.. i'm reading social media posts from syrians in the u.k. who are thanking those who've, you know um, looked after them over the years but want to go home. there will be a push for so many syrians now displaced from their homes and their country to move back. natasha, as you look at what is going on, what is your assessment i just want to first start by saying this is just monumentous i could not have predicted how quickly things would have changed. >> so, so this is a really i

oren and alon alexander are currently held without bail.em freed on friday. that's also when tal alexander has his first bail hearing. stay with us. you're watching "cbs news roundup." (♪♪) (♪♪) bounce back fast from heartburn with tums gummy bites, and love food back. (♪♪) inez, let me ask you, you're using head and shoulders, right? only when i see flakes. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. —he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... but good news, there's no itchiness, dryness or flakes down here! i love tiny troy. and his tiny gorgeous hair. make every wash count! and for stubborn dandruff, try head & shoulders clinical strength. an alternative to pills, voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel, which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source. voltar

cnn's oren liebermann is at the pentagon for us. oren, the u.s. obviously has a huge military presence in south korea. all of this is playing out in an already tense region is there fear that north korea might try to exploit this situation? >> well, it appears that north korea may have been just as surprised as the u.s. by the move from president yoon here so the u.s. is watching this situation very closely, and certainly from a military perspective the pentagon said just a couple of hours ago that there has been u.s. military to south korean military communications since this since this started. so just several hours ago. and it looks like it may already be on its way over, but this is a situation that generally would be ripe for north korea to take advantage of it especially because the south korean president essentially blamed or said it was, you know factions or pro-north korean factions that were trying to to take advantage of this or had started this, and this was part of the reason that he declared martial law so that, it seems, would be a

cnn's oren liebermann joins us now. oren, what do we expect secretary austin to say well, this is his fourth time coming to the reagan national defense forum here as the secretary of defense. >> and it's worth noting that especially over the course of the last couple of weeks he has almost been a bit reflective looking back on his four years as defense secretary as that time comes to a close. and i think very much we can expect some more of the same. and that means highlighting some of the accomplishments we have seen from the pentagon and from the biden administration. they have really put a focus on, for example, the indo-pacific. so i think we can expect to see him talk about the growing partnerships with japan, south korea australia, the philippines and others that's been a big focus of his. he actually heads over to the indo-pacific right after his stop here. i believe they fly out tonight but that's not all of it. he'll talk about the efforts or is expected, i would think, to talk about the efforts that the biden

, oren, were with a lot of u.s.e reagan defense forum. what are you hearing from u.s. officials right now well, it was just earlier today that a number of u.s. >> officials told told my colleagues that the syrian regime could fall. the assad regime could fall within a matter of days. and the way it's looking right now is that timeline may have been far too extended. given what we're seeing. the u.s., the pentagon have been watching this very closely, and that's because of the role that syria plays in u.s. national security. there are some 900 u.s. troops in syria as part of the coalition to defeat isis. the u.s. is determined not to play any sort of role in the civil war there. they're certainly not siding with the assad regime or the rebels who are led by a u.s. designated terrorist organization. and yet, what happens there affects the country and the u.s. right now has two goals. first, to protect its own forces and then still, the mission that it's had now is to make sure there is no resurgence of isis especially

let's go to our pentagon correspondent, oren liebermann. oren, what are you learning? >> well, if the initial indications, according to u.s. official, are that this aircraft from azerbaijan airlines was downed or may have been downed by a russian air defense system, now it's unclear exactly what type of system that could be, whether it's one of their long range s-300 or s-400 anti-aircraft missiles, or whether it's something shorter range and was fired from a much more local origin. that still has yet to be determined by the u.s. but all of the initial indications that they're seeing, and they have a number of different ways to track these sorts of events, those indicate that this may well have been downed by a russian anti-aircraft missile. the investigation continues. the u.s. is still looking into this, as are several investigations in that part of the world from kazakhstan, from azerbaijan and from russia. now, russia has suggested that it was bird strikes that may have downed this plane. but if you look at the video, if you look at the holes on the airplane, it si

we have cnn's oren liebermann with us now. oren, what are you learning about why, senator mullen dropped his objection well, senator markwayne mullin hasn't made a statement or comment about why he lifted the hold to lieutenant general chris donahue's promotion to become the commander of u.s. >> army forces in europe and africa. so it's unclear why he had a change of heart here. it could be that there was simply pressure from not only other republicans in the senate, but from current and former officials who have very much lauded donahue's career. his character, his accomplishments. according to his army biography, he has deployed more than 20 times in a career that has spanned more than three decades, including deployments to afghanistan, iraq, syria north africa, eastern europe and other places. he was also critical in, for example, standing up the security assistance group ukraine, which was the u.s. mechanism to help train and repair ukrainian equipment on the battlefield in in a real time war. so he has, frankly, a very s

the attorney for oren alexander denied any wrongdoing in a statement, saying oren alexander is innocent. the evidence will show that neither he nor his brothers ever committed a crime. i'm joined now by victims rights attorney gloria allred. gloria, always a pleasure to talk to you. this is a fascinating, complicated and confusing situation here. it is alleged to be a very elaborate scheme using dating apps, luring ladies they found attractive with travel plans to new york and luxury properties. i mean, this speaks to a kind of entrapment and trafficking. but is the evidence there to support that? >> well, that's what we'll have to find out, fredricka. and you're right, this is about luring women, enticing women, using their position, their status. >> very, very wealthy men and recruiting them to travel with them or to them and often sometimes, it is alleged in this superseding indictment that they also used party planners and the lure of certain benefits if they came to their parties and to their events there. it is also alleged that they were drugged, the women and then raped, sometim

bill, you know, to the last point that oren was making there a u.s. official telling cnn that russia's air defenses potentially misidentified the plane as a ukrainian drone. the diplomatic situation in the region right now, obviously there is a hot war ongoing. this is a conflict zone. um, how does that impact efforts to investigate what actually happened here? >> well, it is a war zone. and we have to remember, phil, that this is this war is a war that russia started about 1039 days ago. um, and that the ukrainians have been fighting it ever since then. and they've been trying the ukrainians have been trying to stop the russians from that invasion. and one of the ways that they do that is to shoot at military targets in russia. and that, apparently is what was going on there. um, but the basic cause of this tragedy is russia's war. now, russia's war is going to make it difficult to investigate. but you're right. the accountability needs to be established. >> it's certainly something i think international officials are looking for right now. questions

cnn's oren liebermann joining us now from the reagan national defense forum, where this was announced. oren, tell us more this was a very unusual speech coming from defense secretary lloyd austin. >> and i think that's a reflection of the fact that these are his last few weeks in the pentagon, after virtually the entire biden administration being the secretary of defense and part of what he talked about is the value of foreign aid, how important that is for global leadership and how important it is for u.s. national security. he sort of ticked through what he viewed as the accomplishments of the administration and of the pentagon over the last four years. that includes new partnerships in the indo-pacific, the aid and security assistance given to israel. and then of course, the aid and security assistance given to ukraine that has allowed it to stand up to russia for nearly three years. here is him presenting that and announcing a new aid package and i'm proud to announce today the commitment of a new ukraine security assistance initiative package worth nearly $1 billion. so where he

oren, our main beef is higher corporate taxes or lower corporate taxes.ough to allow to stay at 21? i'm trying to reach a negotiating position. are you dead set on higher? can you leave it at 21 if you get the tariffs you want? >> you certainly could. i appreciate you raising that, joe. i'm not dead set on raising any particular tax rate. i would love to see tax rates be low wherever they can be. what i am dead set on being fiscally responsible. i think for a long time, the republican party took this attitude that tax cuts would quote pay for themselves and they did not. we created larger deficits which impose a real drag on the economy. i think a lot of the best economic research shows that all of the theories of supply side tax cuts and spurring investment pretty much go out the window if you do it all with deficits. so, what i would love to see is a fiscally responsible plan that keeps rates as low as possible, but pays for anything that we do and it is really encouraging to see up and down from all of the house leadership to, you know, treasury nomine

hamas releasing a handful of hostages, including two of oren rubenstein's three loved ones kidnaped inhe pacifica residents been pushing for the release of the hostages since the hamas attack in october of 2023 last year, plastering these posters across downtown san francisco and now with reports of israel and hamas closing in on a hostage deal, comes renewed optimism. >> my thought is that this is going to happen. we've all been praying for it for a year and a half, almost. >> israel says hamas is still holding 100 hostages, with over a third of them believed to be dead, one of them being oren's cousin. >> alon is still a hostage. we know that we want him back, and we think he'll come back. >> i think everybody in the jewish community has been on edge for more than a year now. so the idea that a hostage deal is getting nearer, especially towards the holidays and the end of the year, you know, i think everybody has their fingers and their toes crossed to hear good news. >> the deal, according to officials involved in the mediation, would include the exchange of israeli hostages for pal

. >> prominent luxury realtors oren tal and their brother alan alexander arrested on federal sex trafficking charges allegedly spanning more than a decade. >> the alexander brothers worked together and with others to repeatedly and violently drug and sexually assault and rape dozens of female victims. >> according to the indictment, the brothers arranged the sexual assaults in advance, at times using dating apps or social media to promise luxury experiences, international travel and accommodations to lure and entice women to locations. accusers telling police the alexanders allegedly held them down and ignored screams and explicit requests to stop. they were arrested. our miami affiliate wplg, capturing two of the brothers being booked. the alexanders began their careers at douglas elliman, focusing on real estate in new york and miami. the brothers live on miami beach, so miami beach police, the fbi, miami field office, and the state attorney's office all worked with the southern district of new york. their first appearance is set for thursday. victor oquendo, abc news, coral gables, florid

our pentagon correspondent oren liebermann has more on the u.s. reaction to the unrest the pentagon has been watching the situation in south korea very closely, at least partially because of the massive u.s. >> military presence there at camp humphreys, some 28,500 u.s. troops there in addition to all these civilian dod personnel and the families that are there so it is a major u.s. military presence as well as a critical u.s. military alliance. u.s. forces korea is led by a four star general general paul lacamera. so, so that is part of the critical nature of the relationship between the u.s. and the south koreans. there the u.s., of course, has been in touch with the south korean government, and that includes military to military conversations here, according to the pentagon although they haven't detailed the extent of those conversations, there were throughout the hours that this took place there were no changes to u.s. military force posture there and no additional rules or curfews that were imposed on u.s. service members there, according to

hamas releasing a handful of hostages, including two of oren rubinstein's three loved ones kidnaped inattack. the pacifica residents been pushing for the release of the hostages since the hamas attack in october of 2023. last year, plastering these posters across downtown san francisco and now with reports of israel and hamas closing in on a hostage deal, comes renewed optimism. >> my thought is that this is going to happen. we've all been praying for it for a year and a half, almost. >> israel says hamas is still holding 100 hostages, with over a third of them believed to be dead, one of them being oren's cousin. >> alon is still a hostage. we know that we want him back, and we think he'll come back. >> i think everybody in the jewish community has been on edge for more than a year now. so the idea that a hostage deal is getting nearer, especially towards the holidays and the end of the year, you know, i think everybody has their fingers and their toes crossed to hear good news. >> the deal, according to officials involved in the mediation, would include the exchange of israeli hostag

con tirador activo en escuela cometamos en medio de seguimiento, compartiremos informaciÓn podamos, orenportavoz de la casa blanca dijo que el presidente joe biden ha sido informada sobre el tiroteo, y agregaron que altas funciones de la casa blanca esta en contacto con las autoridades locales en madison, para brindar apoyo segÚn sea necesario. algunos padres de familia de la escuela tambiÉn han reaccionado por el incidente, escuchemos precisamente a una de ellas. >> [habla en inglÉs] [habla en inglÉs] andrea: el gobernador de wisconsin publicÓ en la red social x que estaba vigilando de cerca el tiroteo en la instituciÓn educativa, dijo "estamos orando por los niÑos, educadores y toda la comunidad escolar de abundant life christian school. ayudamos a los socorristas que estÁn trabajando en el momento, aquÍ la informaciÓn de esta noticia tan lamentable. carolina: la policÍa en california estÁ investigando la muerte de un reciÉn nacido abandonado en plena acera. segÚn las autoridades, el bebÉ estaba en las primeras etapas de descomposiciÓn, borja: estÁn viendo apoyo para obtener informaciÓ

a federal indictment unsealed yesterday in new york accuses the oren, tal, and alon alexander of usingatus and wealth to lure drug, sexual assaultee assault and rape dozens of women for more than a decade. they were arrested in florida where state charges were filed against two of the brothers and another man. lawyers for the brothers deny these allegations. >>> the "los angeles times" says a hawaiian woman who was reported missing after landing at los angeles international airport has been found safe according to her family. hannah kobayashi's family reported her missing last month after she did not get on her connecting flights to new york during a stop in l.a. following a weeks' long search police said video showed her voluntarily crossing the border into mexico, and she was not a victim of foul play. her family did not say where she has been. >>> and "the milwaukee journal sentinel" says a wisconsin man who faked his own drowning and left his family was charged with obstruction after fleeing to the country of georgia to meet a woman there. police say ryan borgwardt voluntarily retu

y ahÍ Él y sus hermanos, los mellizos oren y allen, estÁn acusados de conspirar para atraer a mÁs dea en los negocios inmobiliarios. la fiscalÍa los llamÓ hoy violadores seriales. un matrimonio de california fue asesinado en michoacÁn, en donde se encontraban de vacaciones con sus tres pequeÑos hijos. una persona cercana a las vÍctimas que nos pidiÓ ocultar su identidad por miedo a represalias, le contÓ a noticias telemundo que viajaban todos los aÑos a pasar las fiestas con la familia y esta persona denunciÓ que fue un ataque directo en contra de gloria ambriz, de 50 aÑos, y su esposo rafael cardona, de 53, porque dice, recibieron cerca de 70 disparos de armas largas. ante la violencia generalizada, la presidenta claudia sheinbaum hizo un llamado a gobiernos estatales. >> tenemos que entrar de diferentes formas a encabezar la seguridad y la paz en cada uno de nuestros estados. >> las vÍctimas eran familiares directos del alcalde del municipio en donde fueron asesinados. michoaÁn estÁ en alerta de riesgo mÁximo por el departamento de estado de estados unidos debido a la fuerte presen

well, oren liebermann, thank you so much. breaking news. now, a second black box has been recovered at the crash site of the azerbaijan airlines flight in kazakhstan. this coming from the state news agency, kazinform. we're going to get some perspective now from cnn military analyst and retired army three star general mark hurtling. also cnn aerospace analyst miles o'brien. he's also a science correspondent for pbs newshour. good to have you both here. miles, i wonder if i could begin with you, because you have covered a lot of crash investigations in the past, and one of the biggest indicators early on are the pictures we've seen of the fuselage of this azerbaijani jet punctures in the fuselage, which the moment i saw that and i'm sure you were similar, they looked quite similar to the puncture marks we saw in mh17. the malaysian airliner that was shot down by a russian buk missile in 2014. we can put those images up, up on the up on the air. tell us, as you look at those, what do they say to you? >> well, as you point out, jim, hauntingly

all three are siblings and attorney for oren. alexander says he's innocent. the fbi and u.s. attorneys say one or more of the defendants, quote, raped or assaulted women they met by chance in bars or nightclubs, social events and dating apps, unquote. and now to the solution of the mystery of the missing kayaker ryan borgwardt, who disappeared in august, flew back to the u.s. from eastern europe on tuesday. officials say he faked his own death, leaving behind his wife and three children. borgwardt was charged today in court with a misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. he pleaded not guilty. you can follow me on facebook, instagram threads x and on tiktok at jake tapper. you can follow the show on x cnn at the lead cnn. if you ever miss an episode of the lead, you can listen to the show all two hours. once you get your podcasts. the news continues on cnn with wolf blitzer. he's right next door in a place i like to call the situation room. i'll see you tomorrow

this morning, authorities arrested the brokers oren and tal alexander and their brother alan. all three are siblings and attorney for oren. alexander says he's innocent. the fbi and u.s. attorneys say one or more of the defendants, quote, raped or assaulted women they met by chance in bars or nightclubs, social events and dating apps, unquote. and now to the solution of the mystery of the missing kayaker ryan borgwardt, who disappeared in august, flew back to the u.s. from eastern europe on tuesday. officials say he faked his own death, leaving behind his wife and three children. borgwardt was charged today in court with a misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. he pleaded not guilty. you can follow me on facebook, instagram threads x and on tiktok at jake tapper. you can follow the show on x cnn at the lead cnn. if you ever miss an episode of the lead, you can listen to the show all two hours. once you get your podcasts. the news continues on cnn with wolf blitzer. he's right next door in a place i like to call the situation room. i'll see you tomorrow happening now. >>

. >> cnn's oren liebermann, we should point out also asked if there was any indication that north korea had moved any of its forces in response to this uncertain moment in south korea. and his response was, no, they were not aware of any posture changes as a result of the declaration of martial law and the protests. in result, i believe we still have general wesley clark with us. general, that certainly is a reassuring notion that there haven't been any considerable changes to north korean posture and that u.s. forces are considered safe at the moment no posture changes there. i do want to ask you about the u.s. presence there moving forward specifically in the incoming trump administration. donald trump, who as recently as this summer talked about south korea potentially being a money machine and asking the south to pay billions of dollars to maintain that u.s. presence there. given the strain in relations among south korean leaders, how do you see the u.s. influence playing out in the region given that the trump administration or at least the first trump turn, saw that relationship as

our pentagon correspondent oren liebermann is covering this breaking story from the fiery wreckage, aey piece of the puzzle emerges the second black box recovered from the crash of azerbaijan j2, eight 243. >> authorities now have two key pieces of information the instrument readings and the cockpit voice recording. >> i do think that will show that the pilots will say that they were hit with something that came out of nowhere, likely air defense systems and the pilots miraculously were able to save some of the passengers there. >> on board the doomed jet. this passenger prayed for that miracle. recording this video in the flight's final moments, at least 38 of the 67 people on board the flight died in the crash. this man was one of the survivors. >> i started saying words. i started to remember the almighty. >> i thought that those were probably my last words. so i thought, i need to get ready for a meeting with the almighty. >> the airline says an early investigation shows the jet that crashed on christmas day experienced what they called physical and technical external interference

this was a russian anti-aircraft system that downed the azerbaijan airlines jet. >> jim, thanks to oren liebermann there. perspective now from david soucie. he's a cnn safety analyst and former faa safety inspector, author of several books, most recently safer skies an accident investigator on why planes crash and the state of aviation safety. also with with us is william taylor. he's former ambassador to ukraine, certainly knows russia's operations well. first, ambassador taylor, i want to start with you, because it's impossible to look at these images of the fuselage, those puncture holes, bending inward, indicating an exterior event. and you see there on the left side of the screen, the downing of malaysian airlines flight 14 over ukraine by a russian missile, as you know, from your own, your own time in ukraine and testifying following. do you see a similar scenario here? russian missile strikes a passenger jet. >> jim, the similarities are that the russians deny it. the russians deny it every time. they, as you've reported, they come up with these odd explanations, incredible expla

first, cnn pentagon correspondent oren liebermann, on the christmas day catastrophe on this azerbaijan airlines flight may have come from confusion in the hours before the crash, russia's air defenses in the region were active, trying to repel a long range ukrainian drone attack. >> a u.s. official says russian air defense units potentially misidentified the commercial airliner, believing it was an attack drone instead of a passenger jet. whatever the cause, it proved deadly. >> in this case, the aircraft had what we call a missed approach, which means it would have had a deviation from the norm, and so the aircraft would have been in a place that they would not have expected it. and in a hair trigger environment that could have led to what you saw from the fiery wreckage. >> a key piece of the puzzle emerges. the second black box recovered from the crash of azerbaijan airlines j2, eight two, four three. authorities now have two key pieces of information the instrument readings and the cockpit voice recording. >> i do think that will show that the pilots will say that they were hit wit

arrestaron por trÁfico sexual a los gemelos oren y alan alexander,emelos reconocidos agentes de bienesermanos. ellos niegan las acusaciones. estas son imÁgenes que hoy tambiÉn son noticia. descubrieron decenas de autos de lujo en un enorme garaje del palacio presidencial de bachar al asad. una persona recorriÓ el lugar mostrando la gran colecciÓn de vehÍculos valorada en millones de dÓlares desde lamborghinis y ferraris hasta rolls-royce y aston martins. y esta es la reacciÓn aterrada de una familia en colorado cuando descubren que un siervo eaba atacando a su perro en el patio de su casa, Él solo se zafÓ y saliÓ corriendo. lo encontraron mÁs tarde, sangrando de una cornada profunda en el muslo. tuvieron que suturar la herida y se recupera por aire. rescataron del bosque a un excursionista que llevaba tres dÍas perdida. se separÓ del grupo con el que iba y desapareciÓ en un parque estatal de oregon. la mujer de 64 aÑos estaba deshidratada. tenÍa signos de hipotermia. cuando la guardia costera la rescatÓ en un helicÓptero, la fifa anunciÓ hoy que arabia saudita serÁ sede de la copa mund

this morning, real estate agents tal and oren alexander and their brother alon were arrested in miami on federal charges out of manhattan. prosecutors say the three men's long running sex trafficking scheme began in 2010 and relied on deception, fraud and coercion. investigators say the brothers flaunted their wealth to induce women to attend parties, events and trips, where they were then attacked on numerous occasions. >> one or more of the defendants drugged and raped or sexually assaulted women they encountered by chance at bars and nightclubs, social events, and dating apps. these assaults allegedly had many of the same hallmarks as the rapes that occurred at group events. isolated locations, drugged victims force, and physical restraint. >> the indictment says the alexander brothers also obtained drugs, including ghb and cocaine, and would sometimes spike women's drinks before assaulting them. prosecutors accused the alexanders of raping women since they were in high school. new details macy's has concluded its investigation into an employee accused of intentionally hiding more

i want to bring in cnn pentagon correspondent oren liebermann. oren, a u.s. official, said there are early indications that a russian anti-aircraft system may have brought down the plane. let's start at 30,000ft. the anti-aircraft systems russia is using in this area. what do we know about them? >> well, this could be any of a number of russian anti-aircraft systems from something like an advanced long range s-300 or s-400. >> russia has used those extensively in ukraine. they've even had some of those deployed in syria. >> or it could be something much shorter range, much more localized. even if the azerbaijan airlines flight was low, something launched from a shoulder mounted or a shoulder launched surface to air missile. so there's a number of different systems that could have been used in this case. crucially, as long as you get something like that, a system like that, no matter what it is anywhere close to an airline, it has the capability to do serious damage and lead to a crash. now, the u.s. official that we spoke with pointed out that this is only an

. >> reporter: tonight, prominent luxury realtors oren alexander arrested. >> the brothers worked together and with others to repeatedly and violently drug, sexually assault, and rape dozens of female victims. >> reporter: according to the indictment, the brothers arranged the sexual assaults in advance, at times using dating apps or social media, to promise luxury experiences, international travel and accommodations, to lure and entice women to locations. accusers telling police the alexanders allegedly held them down and ignored screams and explicit requests to stop. they were arrested early this morning. our miami affiliate wplg capturing two of the brothers being booked. they began their careers focusing on real estate in new york and miami. david, the brothers live on miami beach. their first appearance set for thursday. david? >> david: victor oquendo live in florida. victor, thank you. >>> there are serious questions tonight among a growing number of drone sightings in the northeast. many coming in off the ocean. federal authorities with no answers as to who is behind this. and toni

o oren faces two more charges. he told the judge yesterday he had a special reason to seek release.ch. >> my wife is nine months pregnant, her family is in brazil. >> you have a very good attorney, you'll have a hearing tomorrow before the division judge. >> chanley: separate sex trafficking case in new york city along with their older brother, who is 38 years old and in federal custody in miami awaiting a detention hearing today. >> between 2010 and 2021 the a alexander brothers worked to violently drug, sexually assault and rape dozens of female victims. >> chanley: the three brothers are expected to be transferred to manhattan, the same court that rap mogul sean mcdonald was rec recently -- sean diddy combs of tried in. >> carley: there is an update on the duke lacrosse rape case. >> chanley: i followed this in 2006, crystal magnumb falsely accused three of raping her. 18 years later, she is admitting she lied about it all. the 46-year-old is behind bars for murdering her boyfriend, said this to a news outlet. i testified falsely saying they raped me and they didn't and that was

. >> i'm oren liebermann at the pentagon, and this is cnn any filipino watching will recognize this immediately>> the balikbayan box, a christmas tradition, a way for ofw to show loved ones, though separated by oceans, that you miss them, that you're still out there. what's in these boxes? whatever. you can send. little things you'd casually give to a loved one if you didn't live on the other side of the world. this facility alone sorts thousands of these boxes a day during the christmas season, just one of hundreds of facilities like it. some 5 to 7 million boxes a year. that's a lot of luck. so how many relatives do you think you have in america? >> in america? oh my gosh, chapel california. albert. >> my at my elder sister is in california. >> in hong kong, we have at least ten. yeah. and then dubai around eight. and qatar. qatar. >> i'm at this christmas gathering today because of one of our directors, eric osterholm. it was aurora who raised him for over 20 years. she cared for and loved eric and his sister, looked after his whole family. eric sent me a letter talking about you. i want her

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. >> i'm oren liebermann at the pentagon, and this is cnn. >> la lumiere bleu des magazines. >> daniellehree star michelin chef, but like so many of his predecessors, he's basically a farm boy at heart. he grew up milking cows and doing farm work here on his family's spread. there is, it turns out, something of a restaurant tradition to build on. the house on his farm was once a small cafe as well, operated first by his grandparents and great grandparents. the famous cafe beaulieu, it turns out, was not the first place to bear that name. >> they kept it about 80 years or 100 years, and then they closed it. voila. >> thank minutes, thank minute. no no no no no no no no no no. >> meeting danielle's dad. one begins to understand the roots of his perfectionism. his mom, dad, wife catherine and danielle collaborate with some debate. >> yeah. >> on a super old school farmhouse. classic. the sort of thing that good times, bad times, a family could make with stuff that's always readily available on the farm. check this out. it's a hollowed out pumpkin layered with toasted hunks of stale country

now i'm oren liebermann at the pentagon and this is cnn. >> hola. >> hi. how are you? >> good.come 30 miles north of monterrey to meet ranch manager jorge montemayor to collect a cherished ingredient that's been on the menu in nuevo leon for thousands of years so you raise them here and then let them go? >> yep. >> rancho del puerto, one of the hundreds of ranches in nuevo leon, specializes in deer farming. >> so we have like 3 or 4 breeding pens with a 2025 dose per stud. >> mhm. >> so there's only one one man in here. yeah. these are his ladies. his ladies. so are they all pregnant right now. >> we hope they are. >> the deer may be bred in captivity but then they're freed to roam just like their ancestors did. there's many stone carvings made by the nomads who lived here 8000 years ago that depict the food they hunted wow. that's going to be a lot of meat. that's going to be good. jorge supplies premium venison to restaurants all over monterrey. >> so i'm going to put this in a cooler so you can take it. >> and he's kindly giving me a leg joint. one of the tastiest parts of t

>> good democrats that have come out in opposition to this, senator elizabeth oren told reporters a few before i got here that what is wrong is wrong, and this is wrong. there are some senators that think president biden should not have stooped to donald trump's level and done something donald trump might done in his presidency but there are some democrats who privately are not speaking out, saying, you know what, this is something that was important to president biden, and this might be something that has not been done in this scope in years, but it is his prerogative to do. amna: cabinet picks continue over the weekend. trump nominated cass patel to run the fbi. he is a staunch loyalist, has repeated the lie of the stolen 2020 election, called january 6 writers -- rioters patriots. this is him and his own words about his plans. >> i would shut down the fbi hoover building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum of the deep state. i would take the 7000 employees that work in that building and send them as america to chase down tunnels. >> we are going to come after the people

. >> i'm oren liebermann at the pentagon, and this is cnn. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> and good evening. welcome to our cnn special breaking news coverage. i'm anderson cooper in new york. tonight, the world is mourning the death of former u.s. president jimmy carter. the 39th president died this afternoon surrounded by his family in his hometown of plains, georgia. he'd been in home hospice care for nearly two years. former president carter became the oldest living former president when he surpassed the record held by the late george h.w. bush in march of 2019. cnn got a chance to interview the former president in 1998, after he turned 75 years old. 25 years ago. here's a clip of carter talking to larry king about getting older and about dying. >> when we age, the fear of death, there's no other way to put this. it just seems logical to fear it. it's unknown. it's dark. we ain't interviewed anyone. ever come back? do you think about it? do you think about dying? >> one of the chapters in my book is about the inevitability with which we have to face the end of our life on earth,

. >> nothing runs like a deer i'm oren liebermann at the pentagon, and this is cnn. >> president elect trump has made another flurry of picks to join his new administration. the latest announcements came as trump attended the army-navy football game in maryland on saturday. he used the high profile event as a show of force, bringing along some of his biggest allies, and he made a public show of support for pete hegseth, his embattled defense secretary pick. cnn's steve contorno joins us now from west palm beach, near trump's florida home. steve. good to see you. some of these new picks continue to highlight the benefits of being a big donor, right. >> that certainly seems to be the case. fred, let's focus on two of the individuals that donald trump named yesterday. one of them is troy edgar. he is an ibm executive who will be the deputy secretary of homeland security. and the other is bill white, another businessman who will be the ambassador to belgium. and like so many other trump nominees so far, these two individuals donated it to the effort to get donald trump elected. in fact, wh