one! well, those aussies, they know how to do their fireworks. they do. too right, as they say. beautiful. yeah, sydney harbour there with the glow. kind of looks like my neighbor s house. i m sure. here s another plus, down there in australia, they are just kicking off summer, so ga-day. welcome to 2023. do you have any big plans tonight? no. it s 12:01, quick cheers and good night, everybody. us, too. cnn this morning continues now. and good morning. it is saturday, december 31st, here in the u.s. we ve still got a bit of time left in this year, happy new year s eve. thanks for waking up with us. i m martin savidge in for boris sanchez. glad to be with you, martin. i m amara walker. thank you so much for joining us. we began this morning with breaking news and sad news to end the year. pope emeritus benedict has died. his health had deteriorated over the last several days prompting pope francis to ask for prayers. for the
she passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by family. there is joy and celebration this morning as countries are starting to ring in the new year. we are counting down until 2023. right now live pics from seoul where it just turned midnight. fireworks. all right. [ speaking non-english ] [ speaking non-english ] if you play this day right, you can celebrate almost every single hour. one of the biggest bashes will be happening in new york city. gloria pass mean owe is live in times square. no pandemic restrictions this year. a lot of celebrating expected. how big of a crowd are organizers expecting tonight? reporter: we are expecting thousands and thousands of people. as you said, this will be the first time that covid restrictions will be lifted. the past few years this event had been significantly scaled down. you know, phil, this is an iconic location, an conviction kay of bringing in the new year. there is no place like it. times square in new york city, t
sky scrapers serve as the centerpiece. and this was the scene in taipei, taiwan where the celebration features fireworks shot from the tallest high-rise. and in new york crowds are already forming in times square, the celebration is returning to full capacity after two years of scaled back celebrations. gloria joins us now with the latest. how is it looking, gloria? reporter: the rain just let up for a minute and people here are excited. they re trying to get their hands on one of these free hats. we have this family here from erie, pennsylvania, who is in town to celebrate the new year. tell me how long you ve been standing here. we got here about 10:00 this morning. reporter: why do you want to do this? first in a lifetime experience. first and last time for sure. reporter: how is it going with the little guy? he s going to hold up? he s doing good. he s doing really good, huh, jeremy? yeah. you excited for the new year? yeah. reporter: cool. so list
stories of heartbreak. but the storm giving us a glimpse of our better angels, good samaritan saving strangers trapped in cars and delivering hundreds of meals in just hours. this is what we re watching at this hour. good morning, everyone, i m amara walker in for kate bolduan. a big release of new transcripts from the january 6 committee. the full list includes key interviews with donald trump jr., the former fox news anchor kimberly guilfoyle and christina bob and people involved in the state level effort to overturn the 2020 election. including defeated pennsylvania candidate doug mast re ano. the list included the d.c. mayor, muriel bowser and numerous others. cnn will bring you more information as we get it. all right, turning now to the sound and the furure of russian rockets echoing across ukraine today. smoke hanging in the kyiv air. evidence of a massive missile barrage that triggered sirens throughout the country. the aerial assault mixed cruise missiles and d
good afternoon. i m sara sidner in for victor blackwell. welcome to cnn newsroom. the january 6th committee just released yet another big batch of witness interview transcripts from their investigation into the capitol insurrection. the new list includes interviews with 19 witnesses including the former president donald trump jr. and kimberly guilfoyle, christina baab, stephen miller and those to try to overturn the election like doug mastriano. cnn s paula reid is joining me now. you re going through this. i know it s a lot. there are hundreds of people with many, many pages of transcripts. what has stood out to you so far? reporter: well, we have the support of a big team combing over this. sara, i want to start with some of the revelations in the transcript from donald trump jr. specifically, the transcript reveals new details about text messages that the former president exchanged with then white house chief of staff mark meadows. we ve reported on some of these t