atlanta is the only facility in the u.s. that has giant pandas, but it too could soon lose them. wolf? >> brian todd reporting. thanks, brian, very much. "erin burnett outfront" starts "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com "outfront" next, ivanka trump doesn't recall the former trump org executive vice president under oath repeatedly saying she didn't remember key details about the family business she ran. with me tonight a top trump business reporter who was there in the courtroom, former trump white house lawyer ty cobb and omarosa manigault newman. plus, israel tonight says it's destroyed 130 hamas tunnel shafts. we have a special report of what's inside those tunnels. the spider web crisscrossing underneath gaza, and what that underground warfare looks like right now as the death toll mounts in gaza. and trump's opening up about a potential vp pick. could it be that guy? let's go "outfront." and good evening. i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight, i don't recall. those three words were ivanka trump's most used on the witness stand today in the new york fraud trial against her father and brothers. a trial that could put an end to the trump family business. ivanka trump who was not a defendant because of the statute of limitations said that she struggled to remember basic important details about the finances of the business she ran. for example, when asked if she discussed trump's finances during a meeting with government officials about acquiring the trump d.c. hotel, she said, quote, i don't recall. it's worth mentioning in this context that she, of course, was the person in trump of the trump d.c. hotel deal. in fact, ivanka trump played a crucial role, not just that d.c. post office that became a trump hotel but trump's doral golf resort. executive vice president for development and acquisitions at the trump organization was her title. so of course it does seem to defy basic reality to not recall. but that is exactly what she said when she was asked what might be the most basic question. did she ever help review or value assets? her answer, she does not recall. again, she was in charge of development and acquisition. so reviewing and valuing assets is core to the entire job. in fact, ivanka trump served as a primary contact for deutsche bank, the trump organization's largest lender, organization at the heart of this. attorney general letitia james took note of ivanka trump's responses. >> ivanka trump was cordial. she was disciplined. she was controlled. and she was very courteous. but her testimony raises some questions with regards to its credibility. >> ivanka trump was key in the loop, a central player, something that her father loved to brag about. >> ivanka is really in charge of that one. and she's done an amazing job. and it's going to be one of the most beautiful -- >> one of the reasons i think ivanka can tell you this is that we had a better concept because that was a highly sought-after project. ivanka, don, eric, they are very, very ensconced in the company. >> ensconced. in a 2013 interview with "forbes," trump went on to say of ivanka, quote, she was always a natural-born dealmaker, but she's become a very good builder and manager. ivanka trump's role, in fact, did expand, in part, because she built a brand on knowing small but important details about the project she was working on over many years i would hear this about people who interacted with her, specifics about room rates and details about hotels. just listen to her, herself, when she was talking about the deal to convert that old post office in washington into a trump hotel. >> we're going to develop super luxury hotel, 272 rooms. the largest ballroom of any of the luxury hotels in all of d.c. unbelievable meeting space, unbelievable spas, restaurants, and really bring in tremendous amounts of life and vitality to pennsylvania avenue and to obviously the hotel itself. >> which is why just one example that prosecutors say her testimony of not recalling didn't add up. but when she claims she could no longer remember basic details about that project's financial statements. well, ivanka trump's business practices, along with those of the rest of her family, have long, though, raised questions. we investigated trump's businesses back when he was president for a documentary here on cnn. i spoke to andrea bernstein, a top investigative reporter who's been covering trump's finances for over a decade. listen to what she said about new york's trump hotel condominium. >> similar story in soho. in june 2008, ivanka trump told reporters that 60% of the units there had sold. court documents later showed the real number was closer to 15%. >> there were emails between the younger generation of trumps, ivanka and don jr. and the wledd that they realized that the building was not 60% sold. but they went ahead and said it anyway. >> so they lied? >> so, they lied about how many units were sold. >> all right. in a moment i'm going to speak to andrea because she was in that courtroom today. also with me former trump white house lawyer ty cobb and omarosa manigault newman, who served in the trump white house and spent a lot of time over the years with ivanka trump. i want to begin, though, with paula reid because she has been covering this case from the very beginning. so, paula, obviously, this was important testimony because, obviously, you've got the trump family testifying. but in this case ivanka trump was not technically a defendant because of the statute of limitations. but she was a witness. did she move the needle at all in the case today? >> well, good evening, erin. ivanka tried many times many different ways to avoid having to make this appearance today. but once she was on the witness stand, she was far less combative than her father and her brothers have been when questioned. but given her evasiveness, it's not clear if she was helpful for the state's case. ivanka trump breezed past cameras inside a new york courthouse wednesday, not saying a word. ahead of her testimony in the state's $250 million civil fraud trial against her father and his company, new york attorney general letitia james addressed reporters before the proceedings. >> ivanka trump secured, negotiated loans to obtain favorable terms based on fraudulent statements. >> reporter: but on the stand, ivanka repeatedly said she didn't recall when she was pressed for details about several projects she worked on before she left the trump organization in 2017. including the old post office in washington, d.c., which was converted into a trump hotel. a deal her father says ivanka spearheaded. >> i'm honored to be here today to support my family and especially my daughter ivanka for her dedication to this project. >> reporter: during her testimony, ivanka said she did not recall when asked about a deficiency letter sent by the government requesting clarity on how the trump organization reported its finances, including her father's financial statements. >> my father trained my siblings and me to see things not for what they are but for what they can be. this is a great example of that. >> reporter: the hotel was sold in 2022. and ivanka testified she profited from that sale. she was also asked about financing for trump's doral resort and spa in florida, and was confronted with an email she wrote to other trump organization employees about the bank's loan term proposal, saying, it doesn't get better than this. the bank required donald trump to maintain a $3 billion net worth to obtain favorable loan terms. but, according to an email presented in court, ivanka proposed changing the requirement to $2 billion as part of the loan negotiations, even though trump's 2011 financial statements estimated his net worth at 4.2 billion. they finally agreed to $2.5 billion, but the exchange is significant because the attorney general is accusing trump of falsifying his net worth in order to get better loan rates. ivanka trump was previously dismissed as a codefendant in this case, and in a previous deposition, she tried to distance herself from her father's financial statements. >> i don't specifically know what was prepared on his behalf for him as a person. >> reporter: and during cross-examination by her father's attorney, ivanka testified about the relationship she cultivated with the bank and their willingness to do business with trump's company. she testified the bank had tremendous excitement to have our account. now trump's lawyers will have the chance to put on a defense that's expected to give next week. we've got a little preview of how they'll approach this during their cross-examination. it's clear they are going to emphasize how the banks were all repaid, there is no victim here. but it's unclear that that will be enough to sway this judge. remember, there's no jury here, they're focused now on the penalties after this judge found them liable for fraud. one of the things on the line here is the trump organization's ability to do business in the state of new york. >> all right, paula, thank you very much. and always worth, as we go to andrew bernstein here, remembering that both sides of this trial agreed to it being this way, trump agreed to having a judge in charge and not a jury. so this is what they all chose to do. andrea bernstein is "outfront," the latest podcast on the courts from propublica as well as on the media. you were in court today and you've been there for the trump's testimony but here for ivanka. did anything surprise you? >> i want to say her testimony surprised me. however, some of the detailed documents that they got into evidence today were illuminating. she was trying hard to get loans for these properties, chicago, doral in florida, the post office in washington, d.c. was corresponding with various bankers and there were emails that came in where she was basically getting rebuffed by the commercial real estate divisions by these banks where some of the bankers were saying to her, this was right after the financial crisis, not long after, and they were saying we don't -- there is not a lot of investor interest in what they called hospitality paper, that is loans for hotels and resorts. >> right. >> and they were offering her rates of maybe around 9%. and she was in touch with a number of bankers, and then her husband jared kushner introduces her to a woman who was formerly at deutsche bank in charge of the personal wealth portfolio, private client division, it's for high-net-worth clients. they offer her a rate that is so low that ivanka says i don't even want to negotiate this because there's no way we can do better. it was somewhere around 2%. and the catch was they had to guarantee it with donald trump's statement of personal financial worth, and that he had to repeatedly certify that he was worth what he said. so she made that agreement, they got this much better rate with that guarantee. but the underlying statement -- >> and that's right. but also just to point out, i guess what you're saying is the documents spoke for themselves. she may not have recalled, but that's all on paper in black and white. >> she said about every document, i don't remember, i don't specifically recall. but there she was with this, in black and white, and what was so interesting is that the minute she was asked about, okay, well, what about these statements of financial conditions, i don't recall, i have nothing to do with that, which is essentially the same as her father and brother said. donald trump sort of admitted maybe he had some input. the other two who were in charge of the company and are to this day basically said, oh, that wasn't us, that was on the accountant. and you think, well, who was running this very large international -- >> and of course she's running the trump international hotel in d.c. deal. so if you're going to be certifying something to get a loan for that and you're in charge of that, of course, you would be responsible for the certification. >> and this illusion to the old post office meeting and she was, like, i don't remember anything about their questions to us, but she did remember the name of the architect, the name of the individual from the trump organization who would made a presentation what her father said about the plaza hotel. all these other details, but not -- >> selective amnesia. >> the attorney general said ivanka trump was cordial, disciplined, controlled, very courteous. >> she said that before she testified. >> okay. so she was on brand. you got what you expected in that regard. but letitia james said her testimony raises questions with regards to its credibility, the voracity question. was that your impression? >> i do think that she is obviously someone who is in charge of the details and she acknowledged them. she talked about 700 units at doral, she talked about the spa. we just saw her talking about the old post office. very familiar in painting a picture over these developments. but then when it came to being questioned about the underlying financials, not so much. >> all right. and, as i said, i've known over the years people in casual dinners with her says she knows every square foot, every number and she prided herself upon that. let's go now to the former trump white house lawyer ty cobb. what is the impact of ivanka's testimony today as you see it? >> i see it as totally inconsequential and perhaps a tactical error by the prosecutors, because they didn't get any evidence in that they didn't really already have. as you said, the documents really spoke for themselves. now, there was a little theater, of course. but i'm concerned as a former prosecutor and somebody who believes you can't -- just because of donald trump's big lie and his crimes and the many tragic things that he's done and the damage he's done to the country, you can assess him one way, but you, i think, fairly have to assess each of the other individuals associated with them on their own merits. and i don't think ivanka added anything to the evidentiary circumstances. >> so, ty, do you think they could have introduced those emails and done that without her testimony, as andrea's saying, the things that prove the rates that were being offered for loans were 9% and that incomes deutsche bank with this miraculous 2% and they're like, giddy-up, let's go, don't ask questions. >> yeah, exactly. because that's exactly what would happen. the chronology is they went through the real estate group and tried that route. but, as you pointed out, there's a separate division for high-wealth individuals so they went that route. they get better terms. the negotiations over the net worth, that was clearly laid out in a series of emails. and i think, as i recall, one of the emails between her and the lawyers, she was content to leave it at three and the lawyers negotiated it down ultimately to 2 1/2, which is, of course, what you would want in order to maintain flexibility in the event of a market crash or a liquidity issue. so it's not unusual to negotiate that term. i guess i'm concerned only because i look at what trump's real goal is to turn this into -- >> political scapegoating. >> yeah, political scapegoating and his insistence that this is, you know, part of a witch hunt, and he's being unfairly attacked. and the fact that she really didn't add much, i'm afraid that sort of feeds that theme. he'll certainly use it that way and i hate to see him get away with that. i didn't view anything she said as, you know, as particularly significant legally, and i'm concerned that the politics of it, you know, may favor trump and his attorneys' efforts to pretend to be victims. >> and, to your point, ty, the point that you're making on that, obviously the way she handled herself is very differently than how trump himself handled it. letitia james made the comment about ivanka's performance before she even did her performance. it was so on brand, it was so consistent. okay. cordial and polite. >> and then she criticized her afterwards. and i have to say that's playing from an ethics book that, as a former prosecutor, i'm not familiar with in the middle of the trial. >> well, do you think trump himself learns anything from the way ivanka handled himself? >> he didn't learn anything. he doesn't have ivanka's intelligence or discipline, in my own view. and the truth is the interesting thing is there is no evidence and they presented her with none that she actually was involved with the financials. so the fact that she didn't recall being consistent with the financials. trump reviewed the financials and talked about making changes. that is a stunning admission that i think is very damning and legally very consequential. so, i think -- i don't think you'll see ivanka again in the case, but i'm sure you'll see trump and several of his officers and directors. so, it'll be interesting. but i just hate to see him get away with playing the victim, which i think today gave him an opportunity to do. >> all right, ty cobb, thank you very much. and, next -- >> my pleasure. >> is about to speak after his daughter just testified in new york. he wants to have his stay even tonight. also "outfront," former "apprentice" contestant omarosa manigault newman. the united states retaliating, tonight carrying out a series of strikes in syria in response to attacks on american forces. and three giant pandas now going back to china from the national zoo in washington. ahead of schedule. and this matters. china uses its pandas to send a crcrucial diplplomatic mesessag the e world. all right. these are live pictures of florida. there's a debate, but this is actually a trump rally. his son don jr. is speaking right now. his business empire hanging in the balance, the new york attorney general's office did rest the case today with that testimony from ivanka trump. and kristen holmes is "outfront." so, kristen, trump is going to speak. obviously this trial goes at the heart of every single thing by which he defines himself and his life and his success. so, what are you expecting tonight? >> yeah, erin. look, we're likely going to hear about the trial for two reasons. it has consumed him, it goes to the core of who he is. he's angry about the fact that ivanka had to testify but also because who he's speaking to tonight and the voters he is trying to court, particularly cuban voters. donald trump has painted his legal problems as political persecution. he believes that that will help him with hispanic voters which are going to be very critical in the general election. erin, i have to say, former president trump has had the general election on his mind and still believes he's going to be the nominee. he was even asked today about what he would do about a specific person, if they consider him as a runningmate. >> would you consider tucker, though? >> i like tucker a lot. i think i say i would because he's got great common sense. >> reporter: now, that was the first time i have heard that. and, as you know, erin, i talked to trump's campaign advisers on a regular basis, but donald trump is one to want to stoke a show to put forward something that people will talk about. so, there it was, tucker carlson. it would be very interesting. as far as what i've been told by campaign advisers there's no one on a short list yet. it's all just up in the air. >> right. it would be whatever he thinks opportunistically thinks would make sense. kristen is there at that rally, this comes just hours after ivanka trump's testimony, when she said she did not recall the key details at the center of big business deals on financial loans that she was in charge of. ivanka trump has boasted on the record about how involved she was in the business. she wrote in her of one book, quote, i was donald trump's eyes and ears on the board as i was at the trump organization and on his reality television show. "outfront" now, omarosa manigault newman, she was a contestant on that reality show "the apprentice" and went on to serve in the trump white house. she's now the author of the book "unhinged: an insider's account of the trump white house." the last time we spoke, you said you were most interested in hearing ivanka's testimony during this fraud trial. so, what was your reaction to what you heard today? >> well, the first thing that i notice, erin, was how she walked in. it reminded me so much of her mother ivanna when she was going through her legal woes with donald trump during their divorce. she would always arrive at court dressed in all black, and she would strut in like a super model during fashion week. that's the first thing that i noticed. but from the readout, i was really shocked to hear that she didn't take any accountability and that she claimed to not know. this is one of the most shrewd businesswomen i have ever sat in a board with at but also to go on and work with her in the white house. she knows every detail of every single engagement that she's a part of. it doesn't matter what the transaction is. she knows the names of the players. she knows the numbers, the figures, the assets. i was a little surprised that she claimed to not have any knowledge about that aspect of the deals. >> right. and, in fact, she said, i do not recall again and again when asked about so many of the details. including the project, the old post office in washington, d.c., the one that trump converted into a hotel, and you sort of were around that, obviously, as part of the trump team at that time for quite significantly. what did you make about her testimony about that project specifically? >> that specific deal she should be able to tell you how many nails went into every single wall, constructed stairs. this was her project. this was her baby. she not only negotiated the financing, she helped to design it. she brought in the spa. she focused on every single detail. i know this because i also got married at this particular hotel. and she was very invested in what my wedding was going to be like in terms of marketing for the project. i believe my wedding was the first wedding held there. and she was very much invested in that. she knows every single detail of this project. and i'm really, really surprised that she would undermine her big public persona of being a very smart, shrewd businesswoman by saying, i didn't know, i only knew about the pretty stuff, the designs and the spa. it's not believable. >> right. and, why do you think she did that? because when you're giving these specific examples, and i was just saying over the years, knowing people who would spend time with her, she did know so many details, right? that was the whole point. people would sit with her at dinner and she would be talking about room rates and revenue and every single specificity. why do you think she did this today? >> there was only one reason that she would jeopardize herself and perjure herself on the stand and that's because donald trump told her to do that. >> omarosa, we are waiting for the former president to speak at the rally. but you just heard him, you know, dangling out there the concept of tucker carlson for vp. [ laughter ] >> i'm sorry. it's just laughable. he's a show man. he can't help himself. he thinks the presidency is a white house. in fact, next we'll have "the apprentice" the white house edition. to say, tucker, it just really undermines the importance and the seriousness of writing for the highest office in this land. he literally thinks that he's going to hand out roses like he's on "the bachelor." tucker is not a serious contender for vice president and he knows that. >> all right, omarosa, thank you, good to talk to you. >> thanks, erin. and, next, the breaking news. the united states carrying out airstrikes tonight in syria, targeting a weapons storage facility that may have been used to target american troops, but, obviously, significant strikes tonight we'll have the breaking details on that. plus, a special report on the sprawling network of tunnels in gaza now being unveiled because now we understand more than a hundred of them already have been penetrated, hamas fighters can emerge from these anand d vaninish. a special l report c coming up. breaking news. the pentagon just announcing it's carried out airstrikes against a weapons storage facility in eastern syria that they say is linked to iran's islamic revolutionary guard core. they say it's retaliation for more than 40 attacks on u.s. forces in iraq in syria since october 17th. all of this is mounting fears that israel's war against hamas could lead to a widening conflict with growing american involvement. oren liebermann, our pentagon correspondent is "outfront" in tel aviv tonight. oren, you know so many of the details about this, u.s. strikes in syria. what else do you know about them? >> reporter: erin, it was a pair of f-15 fighter jets that fusz a few hours ago carried out an airstrike against the weapons storage facility in eastern syria. a facility used by iran's revolutionary guard corps and affiliated with iran's irgc. these attacks have been in sort of ones and twos, not larger barrages. but given the pace at which we have seen these and how frequently they have come, how long this time span is in which they have come, the pentagon, it seems, felt the need to act, calling it a precision self-defense strike. you also see there in the language used the pentagon trying to make sure the situation doesn't escalate. but this isn't the first strike we've seen recently. it was right around two weeks ago that the pentagon carried out other strikes in eastern syria against a weapons storage facility and an ammo storage facility again used by iran's irgc and affiliated groups. so this back and forth there, it continues, and the u.s. is watching this closely, aware that the situation could escalate in unpredictable ways quite easily. u.s. very much keeping an eye on this right now, erin, and watching which way this goes. >> and, of course, fears of escalation when you see all of this. oren, obviously, the context here as israel continues the ground assault on gaza in the heart now of gaza city. they're announcing that they've destroyed 130 hamas tunnel shafts so far in this war. obviously, that's a crucial target for israel because they say command centers, weapons, even hostages are in the tunnels. so, what are you learning about the tunnels that israel says it's taken out so far? >> reporter: erin, it was about a decade ago, maybe just a little bit more than that, that israel first realized the threat of tunnels. but at the time these were in fairly small numbers. the 2014 warsaw the number of tunnels expand. and since then it has grown into what israel calls gaza's metro. the israeli military controls the air and says they've encircled gaza city on the ground. but underneath the surface, hamas still has the advantage. israel is going after hamas' underground infrastructure. this soldier shows an electrical system, he says, is used to circulate air underground. the idf says it has destroyed 130 tunnel shafts since the start of the war. the 85-year-old israeli woman kidnapped and released by hamas said it was like a spiderweb of tunnels underground. >> there are a huge network of tunnels underneath. >> reporter: this person is an israeli undercover operations veteran and co-writer of the hit show fauda. >> the amount, the spread, the length, it's, like, so crazy that you cannot even understand to the bottom how big it is. >> reporter: israel says there are hundreds of kilometers of tunnels below gaza in. 2018 cnn was given an exclusive look at a palestinian/islamic jihad tunnel, creating an underground maze that favors the defender. >> terrorists can pump out from this hole, shoot a few shots from his ak-47 or an rpg, go down, walk like 100 meters to the east or to the south, and then, boom, form another entrance to the same tunnel and shoot again against the israeli forces while they are trying to understand where they are. >> reporter: israel created an underground smart barrier along the gaza border to detect the digging of tunnels crossing the border. the barrier worked sort of. instead of digging into israel, militants focused on the tunnels in gaza, a complex the idf is now trying to destroy. the u.s. has dealt with tunnels on a different battlefield in the middle east. isis dug elaborate tunnels in mosul, iraq, forcing the local population to help dig the underground tunnelways. they can pose problems for even advanced militaries. but israel faces an even greater challenge. hamas is believed to be holding many of the approximately 240 hostages underground, possibly in different groups. and any attempt to destroy hamas' tunnels could sink the chances of bringing them home alive. as israel begins going after hamas' underground infrastructure, it is a long process, erin, one that is very much just at the beginning, it seems. >> all right, oren, thank you very much. this comes as one palestinian civilian in there, in gaza, is warning that nothing is left of gaza city aboveground this evening. we talked earlier today to the aide worker whose story we've been showing with you. he told "outfront" he is no longer able to do his job in gaza, that he's become terrified of being home at night. >> to be honest with you -- i hear the sounds of clashes, i hear the sounds of israeli forces' tanks of the security forces. for me, for my wife. we try to comfort each other. >> mahmoud has three young children. the united nations today announced that at least 99 employees working for its relief agency so far have been killed in gaza. "outfront" next, democrats defying expectations of course at the voting booth. and it has left republicans pointing fingers. >> yesterday, to me, was a complete failure. not mincing words. and china, panda politics. there are three pandas right now flying back to china from washington. their return is a sign of growing animosity and tetension between two susuperpowers.s. tonight, a complete failure. that is the blunt assessment from one senate republican after democrats defied expectations and scored significant wins last night on election day. those victories included democrats retaining control of the governor's mansion in deep red kentucky, ohio voters approving the right to abortion in the state's constitution. and in virginia democrats winning control of the state house, so flipping that, while keeping control of the state senate. that is a major rebuke to the rising republican star, the governor there, glenn youngkin. republicans now evaluating what went wrong and what they need to do to fix it. >> it's about execution, it's about messaging. yesterday, to me, was a complete failure. >> and anybody trying to engage in culture wars is going to lose. >> when we're talking about some social issues, they can become highly divisive and we end up doing not as well as we could have. >> re >> jeff zeleny is "outfront." this is not the day that republicans expected really on the defensive today after last night's significant wins for democrats. what are you hearing? >> reporter: well, erin, it's become a familiar story for republicans in the era of donald trump. think back to 2018, 2020, 2022. now add abortion into the mix, which has been front and center for more than a year. that's what led to some of the results last evening. talking to republicans throughout the day, they are not despondent necessarily but certainly disappointed. now, this does not change the overall trajectory of the next year-long campaign ahead of us. there's no doubt that president biden still faces significant headwinds. but one thing now is clear. abortion is a motivating factor for democrats, and it certainly has been hurting republicans. now, democrats were spending the day trying to think of what states they are trying to put these abortion referendums on for next year. arizona comes to mind. some want to try and adhere to it in florida. that's more difficult. but other states are also in the mix. at the end of this day, a shot in the arm for democrats but hardly a predictor. >> but, as you point out, arizona, those crucial battleground states that is going to define this. the context here, of course, is you've got the, well, you've got the elephant in the room not where you are tonight in that room, although he is in florida holding a rally. but the rest of the republican candidates are going to be on that stage where you are. five of them. that's the fewest of any debate so far. so, that means we're going to hear more from them, right? >> reporter: we are going to hear more from them. and i'm told by talking to advisers for all of the campaigns they are going to use that extra time to draw distinctions between themselves, particularly nikki haley and florida governor ron desantis. they have been really going after each other in increasing a tempo over the last several weeks. abortion is going to be front and center in this. nikki haley has been calling for a consensus position. the florida governor signed a law here in florida having a six-week ban. others on stage also have different views. that is just one example of the differences here. but all of them are trying to make the argument that it is time for a new face of the republican party. but the old face is still here. he's just a few miles down the road. >> and speaking at almost the same time. jeff zeleny, thank you. and, next, china using its pandas to punish enemies which may explain why three giant pandas on loan to the washington, d.c. zoo are right now, they are going home, they've been taken back to china. an "outfront" update on yoni asher. you know him. we've covered that story exclusively. his two young daughters and his wife are still hostage, hostage by hamas tonight. why his s words totoday brbroug europeanan lawmakersrs to tetea. tonight, china punishing the united states using one of its most powerful tools. three pandas among the last loaned to the united states at this hour are on a 19-hour flight back to china. their departure from the washington, d.c. zoo coming amid rising u.s./china tension. china now is using its pandas to, well, invest in other friendships, giving the pandas to russia and most recently, qatar. david culver is "out front." >> reporter: for weeks, visitors at the national zoo in washington have stopped by to say good-bye. >> i want to make sure to see them before they leave. >> reporter: the zoo's three giant pandas now headed to china. zoo staff called this a hiatus in their five-decade widely popular panda program. but chinese officials will not say for sure whether the pandas will be back. you might wonder why this matters. there are far more pressing issues between the u.s. and china. as we look deeper tracking where pandas are leaving and where they're going, you get a better sense of the new world order china is hoping to craft. these pandas used for china's diplomatic needs, especially in places it hopes to gain. china says its focus is on conservation and research. >> president nixon's research to our country -- >> reporter: beijing's panda diplomacy with washington kicked off in 1972, following president nixon historic trip to china. the president gifted two pandas to the u.s. seeing their popularity rise amongst americans, china sent more pandas to other zoos across the u.s., loaning instead of gifting them, sometimes up to half a million dollar per year. in the last decades, the number of pandas has dropped, coinciding with worsening u.s./china relations. with the three pandas having left the national zoo, that only leaves four pandas in the u.s., currently at the atlanta zoo. the contracts for those pandas expire next year. no word on any extension. >> that could mean by the end of 2024, the only panda in zoos in all of the americas would be chin chin right here in mexico city. >> she's old for a panda but still a main attraction here. and they're bracing for a possible surge in visitors. >> what would you say to americans who may not have a panda to visit at their zoo looking for a visit. >> for the time being, come to mexico. >> reporter: the pandas that leave the u.s. travel to china by plane. their destination, the research base of giant panda breeding. earlier this year, video surfaced on chinese social media claiming pandas returning from the memphis zoo were being abused, a narrative partially fuelled by chinese state media. chinese doctors defended the zoo's treatment of the panda, but others highlighting countries where pandas are seemingly living the life, like russia. china's northern neighbor got a new pair in 2019, president xi jinping alongside his so-called best friend, vladimir putin, at moscow zoo. qatar getting their first panda last year. regions where china is looking to bolster its relations and increase its influence. staff at the national zoo hopeful china might one day send over more jogiant pandas. >> we're hopeful for the future. >> reporter: that is up to china to decide. >> and erin, as you know well, it seems like anything involving china these days is highly politicized. still, zoo officials tell me they don't want politics involved here. they have no intention to go to the state department nor the white house for help. but they of course do want this panda program to continue. so, it's up to china. >> all right. thank you very much, david culver. next, yoanny asher, you know him -- you've seen him several times since his wife and very young daughters were taken hostage. he now has a new warning t tonit fofor the worlrld. c'mon, we're right there. c'mon baby. it's the only we need. go, go, go, go! ah! touchdown baby! -touchdown! are your neighbors watching the same game? yeah, my 5g home internet delays the game a bit. but you get used to it. try these. they're noise cancelling earmuffs. i stole them from an airport. it's always something with you, man. great! solid! -greek salad? exactly! don't delay the game with verizon or t-mobile 5g home internet. catch it on the xfinity 10g network. tonight to a story we've been following closely with you, that's yoni asher's story. his daughters and wife are hostages in gaza. we visited yoni's home. he wanted to show us their toys and empty shoes. he has been infatiguable in his fight to get his family home. his wife is a german citizen and dual. and he pleaded with those leaders to do more now. >> don't be mistaken to think this is israeli war. they're knocking on your doors. the west is not next. the west is now. my family are still alive. we can still save them, all of the hostages. my family, my babies, my wife, they need to get out now. you need to use all required in order to do so. >> yoni ended hi

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