CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell, 12/18/24
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We're being forced into this position. Tonight, the chances of a government shutdown rise right before the holidays. How Elon Musk put a stopgap spending bill in jeopardy. This entire thing was an exercise in futility. Plus, the stock market tanks as the Fed cuts the interest rate. What it means for you. I felt

Violated and as if my innocence was stripped from me. Tonight's Eye on America, a look at the fight to stop deep fake technology used to create explicit content. This case is not about tech. It's not about AI. It's sexual abuse. And could the Supreme Court save the popular social media app TikTok from being banned? The CBS Evening News starts now. ♪♪

Good evening. I'm Nora O'Donnell. And thank you for joining us. It is quite a night of news because America is two days away from a government shutdown unless Congress acts soon. That means millions of government workers and military members could be without a paycheck days before the holidays.

And it's quite a reversal since where we started just this morning. The House of Representatives appeared to be on the verge of approving a last-minute bipartisan plan. But tonight, it is imploding, as we seem to be witnessing the growing influence of the world's richest man. Unelected tech billionaire Elon Musk spent the day repeatedly and publicly calling on Republicans to vote no and called for those who support him to vote no.

report the plan to be voted out of office. Then President-elect Donald Trump weighed in, also urging a no vote, and then within hours must declare the deal dead. There's a lot to get to, and it concerns your tax dollars, your government, and your elected officials. CBS' Nicole Killian is going to lead us off from Capitol Hill to explain all that's happening up there. Good evening, Nicole. All right, where does this bill stand right now?

Hey, good evening to you, Nora. Well, a lot of folks want to know that, but I can tell you that all of these developments have really sent Capitol Hill into a tailspin. This bill came out just about 24 hours ago, and now it appears on the brink of collapse. Tonight, chaos in Congress with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance on Capitol Hill telling lawmakers what to do. Well,

Well, what the president believes is we should support a clean CR so long as it contains a debt limit increase. It follows an intense pressure campaign on X by none other than its own CEO, Elon Musk. The billionaire tapped to co-lead a commission on government efficiency posted more than 100 times since the early morning hours. He bashed the 1,500-page bill as pork, warning this bill should not pass. Elon and Vivek and I are on a text chain together.

They understand the situation. They said, "It's not directed to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don't like the spending." I said, "Guess what, fellas? I don't either." The stopgap measure would keep the government operational through March of next year. It includes more than $100 billion in disaster relief for Hurricane Helene and Milton victims and $10 billion in direct aid for farmers.

But it's also padded with plenty of extras, from funding for the fallen Baltimore Key Bridge to health care extensions, authorization for a new Washington Commanders football stadium, and a pay bump for Congress. Look, this is a s***.

sandwich. I don't know how else to say that. It is absolutely bloated pork barrel spending. Several hardline Republicans blame Speaker Johnson for conceding too much to Democrats, even threatening not to support him for the post next year. I'm not faking for him. Meantime, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries fired back. House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt everyday Americans

all across this country. Some members are pushing for a clean, continuing resolution without any extras. However, at this point, members have been advised that there will be no votes tonight. Nora. Really interesting, Nicole. I do have to ask you about that House ethics report on Matt Gaetz. Are we going to see it?

Well, the hope is that that will be released soon after the House Ethics Committee voted to release its highly anticipated report into Matt Gaetz.

following its investigation into him he faced allegations of sexual misconduct illicit drug use and bribery he said that he did not have sex with a minor but did acknowledge that he may have partied and womanized more than he should have gates of course was briefly tapped as Trump's Attorney General pick but later withdrew his name over this controversy Nora it is busy there on Capitol Hill all right Nicole Killian thank you very much

Well, tonight, the financial markets are reeling from another big sell-off. The Dow plunged more than 1,100 points. It's now fallen for 10 straight days, something that had not happened in 50 years. The Nasdaq fell by more than 3.5%.

and the S&P nearly 3%. CBS's Kelly O'Grady joins us now. All right, Kelly, the markets tanked after we heard from the Fed chair. What is it that he said that really worried people? That he's cautious about interest rates and inflation, Nora. So as expected, the Federal Reserve cut rates today by a quarter of a point, bringing down the key borrowing rate. But what tanked the market was investors' concern about what Chairman Powell had to say about 2025.

So the Federal Reserve initially predicted it would cut rates by a full point next year. Today, they slashed that forecast to just half a point. That's because inflation is on the rise, getting further from the 2% goal. More interest rate cuts makes borrowing money cheaper. That helps companies focus on growth. And in return, consumers spend more. Now that outlook is less clear. The other big question is about long-term inflation. Did he address that? Yes.

So the data says grocery prices, mortgage rates are going to be higher for longer. I pressed Chair Powell on when they will hit that 2 percent inflation target. We're talking about when you're projecting the economy, you know, three years out, two years out, you're talking about high uncertainty, very high uncertainty. It's been a bit frustrating because the while we've made progress, it has been slower than we had hoped. Nonetheless, we're still on track.

So nor the markets do not like uncertainty. And with that inflation target pushed out, investors are questioning why there was even a cut today. Very smart question, Kelly. Thank you so much for that update.

Now to this, a lawyer for Luigi Mangione says the 26-year-old suspect accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson will end his fight against being extradited to New York and could be in Manhattan to face charges as early as tomorrow. Mangione is currently being held in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested last week. He's been indicted by a New York grand jury on multiple charges, including murder as an act of terrorism.

We're learning more tonight about the 15-year-old girl who police say shot and killed a teacher and another student this week at a Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, before taking her own life. CBS's Ian Lee is there.

Authorities investigating the deadly shooting at Abundant Life Christian School are combing through social media to find out why 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow was motivated to kill. Rupnow is seen here in this photo posted on Facebook by her father. He also shares a photo that we are not showing of his daughter at a gun range last August. A neighbor who did not want to be identified says Rupnow would sometimes watch his pets. Just completely unkind.

went above and beyond what was needed. She seemed very kind with animals. According to court records, Rupnow was an only child. Her parents married and divorced each other at least twice while she was growing up.

After the couple's second divorce in 2020, court filings indicate Rupnow, then a preteen, had been alternating between her parents' homes every two to three days. And legal documents filed two years ago show Rupnow was enrolled in therapy.

Female school shooters are rare. Of 544 incidents since 2013, less than 5% of the shooters have been female. We just heard lockdown, lockdown, not a drill. Seventh grader Angel Brube was in a classroom during Monday's rampage. We all just started hiding. We got in a corner, turned off the lights, and after about like two minutes, you could hear like some bangs upstairs.

Two people were killed, including a staff member who has not been officially identified, but is someone Angel knew. What was she like? Well, she was very nice. She was always caring. We spread positivity around and just made everybody feel happy. Of the six victims who survived the shooting, police say four remain in the hospital, including two still fighting for their lives. Nora. Ian Lee, thank you very much.

There's big news tonight for the 170 million Americans who use TikTok. The U.S. Supreme Court said today it will hear TikTok's appeal of a federal law that would ban the video sharing app in the U.S. if it's not sold by its Chinese parent company. That law is set to kick in next month. CBS's Jan Crawford covers the court. She's here with details. Good evening, Jan. Well, good evening. So, you know, this appeal by TikTok really was a last ditch effort. And the justices agreed to step in and take a look

at that federal law that requires the company to shut down in the U.S. if it's not sold to a non-Chinese company by January 19th. Now, TikTok is arguing that the law was passed in April with bipartisan support in Congress violates the First Amendment because Americans

have free speech rights to see and post content on whatever social media site that they choose. But a federal appeals court here in Washington with liberal and conservative judges unanimously rejected those arguments and sided with the U.S. government, which says TikTok raised significant national security concerns because the Chinese government can manipulate the information on the platform and can also gather data on those 170 billion people

in the U.S. who use it. Now, the court is moving quickly. Arguments are set for January 10th. But based on that lower court opinion, I think victory for TikTok is not certain. But at the very least, Nora, this will buy TikTok some time. People are watching really closely. Jan Crawford, thank you so much.

California is now the first state to be under a state of emergency over the rising cases of bird flu. More than half of the 61 human cases nationwide have been in California, with most of them in farm workers exposed to infected cats.

cattle. Today, we learned about the first severe case of bird flu in the U.S. It's a Louisiana patient who was hospitalized after being exposed to sick, dead birds. Health officials say so far, the virus hasn't been spread from person to person.

Turning overseas today, the head of HTS, those are the rebels who overthrew Syria's Assad regime, told the BBC the group is not a threat to the world. That's despite the U.S. listing HTS as a terrorist organization. CBS' Imtiaz Tayyab reports its leaders insist they want to wipe away all memories of the country's former dictator, Bashar al-Assad, including its lucrative business selling illegal drugs.

In a remote corner outside Damascus, a now abandoned potato chip factory that has shined a light on the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime's many dark but open secrets. In this storeroom we found what are effectively the key components of making synthetic drugs, things like hydrochloric acid and acetic acid, and there's lots of it.

Industrial quantities of precursor chemicals needed to make one of the most popular street drugs in the Middle East and beyond, Captagon. Ahmed Abiyoukine is with Syria's ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. He told us this massive haul of Captagon was found just days after the rebel group's takeover, packed in these unassuming household bolt regulator kits. These look like what should have been coils of wire, but inside it's hollow.

and it's just full of Captagon pills. The highly addictive amphetamine is often referred to as poor man's cocaine.

It costs just pennies to make, but can sell for up to $20 for a single tablet. For years, neighboring countries accused Assad Syria of being the world's main supplier of the illegal drug. Under Assad, Syria is considered a narco state. How does that make you feel as a Syrian? We feel bad for the young people who are addicted to it, he says. The Assad regime was destroying a generation. They only cared about making money.

And the money is staggering. The bankrupt Assad government reportedly raked in up to $5 billion a year from the illicit trade, nearly equal to Syria's entire official budget. We're looking at millions of dollars worth of Captagon here.

Are you just going to destroy all of it? Yes, we will destroy it all, he says. We will eliminate anything that has to do with the criminal Assad. Just last year, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned two of Bashar al-Assad's cousins and other Syrians for their involvement in the trade. Now his wildly lucrative drug business appears to have been crushed, along with his brutal and corrupt regime. Imtiaz Tayeb, CBS News, Damascus.

Shocking images as a small plane goes down right near a busy highway. The details are just ahead. Now to a mystery in Honolulu. Federal investigators are looking into what caused a small cargo plane to crash just after takeoff Tuesday. Video shows the moment the plane veered sideways, narrowly avoiding a busy highway before crashing into a vacant building. The plane was on a training flight and both pilots were killed. Remarkably, there were no injuries on the ground.

Tonight, red flag warnings are being lifted in California. Conditions are expected to improve as crews battle a wildfire that broke out Tuesday night in Riverside County. Evacuations were ordered in a portion of the county. That fire is 80% contained. We're also keeping our eye on some winter weather that might disrupt holiday travel. An Alberta clipper system will move through the Great Lakes and northeast and could bring some snow along with cold temperatures Friday into Saturday.

Eye on America is next, looking at the disturbing trend of deep fakes on the internet. What's being done to protect victims?

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♪♪♪

We've got more now on the effort by lawmakers in Washington to push through the government funding bill. One of the non-budget related measures now attached to the bill targets tech companies and would require platforms to remove compromising images posted without the subject's consent. In tonight's Eye on America, CBS' Jim Axelrod looks at the battle against a specific kind of abuse known as deepfake pornography.

Anna McAdams has always kept a close eye on her 15-year-old daughter, Elliston Berry's life online. You always had an eye peeled for potential trouble. Yes, yes. Did you see this coming? No, not at all. Hard to imagine who would have on the Monday morning after homecoming in Aledo, Texas, 15 months ago. She came into our bedroom crying.

just going, "Mom, you won't believe what just happened." A classmate had taken this picture from Elliston's Instagram, run it through an app like this one that, using artificial intelligence, appeared to remove her dress, then sent it around on Snapchat. What are you looking at? Child porn. It was horrifying. There was nothing about it that looked fake? No.

Just school and the environment is so different. Six weeks into her freshman year of high school, Elliston Berry was confronting something sinister. I had PSAT testing and I had volleyball games and football games. And the last thing I need to focus and worry about is fake nudes of mine going around the school. Those images were up and floating around Snapchat for nine months. Your mom reached out.

You tried to get him taken down right after it happened. And heard nothing. Could have just easily been my daughter. Do you have a lot of homework tonight? In San Francisco, Yvonne Murray was starting to hear stories similar to Elliston's, which hit home. My daughter at the time was 15. I'm a public lawyer and a mom.

And this case unites both of those things. - The San Francisco chief deputy city attorney, Murray is now suing the owners of 16 websites that produce deep fake pornography. - This case is not about tech. It's not about AI. It's sexual abuse. - And a lot of it. These websites make disturbing pitches to customers. Have someone to undress, one asks. And they're successful.

The lawsuit says the 16 sites had 200 million visits in just the first six months of the year. We chose 16 of the largest, most pernicious operators in the world. David Chu, the city attorney of San Francisco, says those 16

are just a start. We're aware of at least 90 of these websites, so this is a large universe and it needs to be stopped. Every victim should have the right to say, "That's me." Texas Senator Ted Cruz is cosponsoring another angle of attack, the Take It Down Act, just passed the Senate. It puts a legal obligation

On any tech platform, you must take it down and take it down immediately. Snapchat told us they have mechanisms for reporting this kind of content. And they're disheartened to hear families felt that their concerns went unattended.

But Elliston is now focused on the present. I urge the House to pass this bill immediately to protect so many people because this is a serious matter. I can't go back and redo what he did. Instead, I can prevent this from happening to other people. You look so happy. I really was. Such strength for a high school sophomore dealing with a modern form of abuse when she should have been focused on enjoying homecoming.

In Aledo, Texas, I'm Jim Axelrod for Eye on America. Gotta fix this problem. We'll be right back. Even if you think it's a bit overhyped, AI is suddenly everywhere, from self-driving cars to molecular medicine to business efficiency. If it's not in your industry yet, it's coming fast. But AI needs a lot of speed and computing power, so how do you compete without costs spiraling out of control? Time to upgrade to the next generation of the cloud.

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Finally tonight, 2025 arrived a few weeks early, sort of. The seven-foot-tall numerals arrived today in New York's Times Square. Tourists have a chance to pose with them until next Monday. Then they'll be hoisted to the roof of one of Time—to one Times Square.

And then on New Year's Eve, the giant ball covered with nearly 2,700 crystals, triangles and 32,000 LED lights will be lowered just in time for midnight. More than one billion people worldwide are expected to watch as Times Square rings in 2025. And that's tonight's CBS Evening News. I'm Nora O'Donnell. We'll see you right back here tomorrow night.

If you like this podcast, you can listen ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a quick survey at wondery.com slash survey.

Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show American Scandal. We bring to light some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history: presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, along with six other astronauts, but less than two minutes after liftoff.

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They say Hollywood is where dreams are made, a seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Radin was found dead in a canyon near LA in 1983, there were many questions surrounding his death. The last person seen with him was Lainey Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer.

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