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Five Connecticut Democrats Targeted With Threats While Home For Thanksgiving; Black Friday Kicks Off Record Shopping Weekend; Transgender Controversy In Women's Volleyball. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 29, 2024 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[09:00:00]

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: So that's important to look out for as well. Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All good things to look out for. Jacqueline Howard, appreciate it. For everyone else, a new hour of CNN News Central starts right now.

Five Democratic lawmakers are the latest public officials targeted with bomb threats over Thanksgiving. We're going to tell you what we know about the investigation. Plus, we're live on all the shopping madness this Black Friday, or as I like to call it, Friday.

The hottest gifts and best deals are just ahead. And if you're not shopping, you may be hitting the movie theater. So from Moana to Wicked to even Interstellar, we're going to take a look at the blockbusters drawing big crowds this holiday weekend and beyond. I'm Omar Jimenez with Erica Hill and this is CNN News Central.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, there is a chance that you are among the million screens scrolling their phones. You might be doing it right now. Maybe you're getting ready to head out to an actual store because those Black Friday deals are calling your name. If you are going to contribute to what is expected to be a record breaking shopping weekend.

The National Retail Federation is Expecting more than 183 million Americans will shop between now and Cyber Monday. And even as we all love that convenient online shopping, 65 percent of those people say they're going to go to a brick and mortar store. Some ladies in South Carolina also showing up in matching shirts with a very important warning for their fellow shoppers. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Warning, I will run you over. It is Black Friday slip is for the week. So where does that idea come from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was my idea. We need, everybody need matching shirts and we all got matching shirts for Black Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have matching shirts every year. HILL: CNN's Meena Duerson joining us now. Maybe next year we need

matching shirts, Meena. But while we wait to order those, you are in New Jersey at a big mall in New Jersey. What are you seeing beyond perhaps some matching shirts from shoppers?

MEENA DUERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are living the dream at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey. They, you know, are one of the places that are still doing these kind of door buster ideas to get people, you know, in the door. We spent the morning down with this line of shoppers who are very excited to spin the wheel and have a chance to win some prizes.

So we spent the morning with a couple who were, you know, they got up super early in the morning and they took their shot. So show you them.

HILL: Oh, good. So they're out there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're out at 5am to go to Kohl's and Were able to get their walk giveaway --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Giveaway. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then we just came here afterwards. We did a lot of Christmas shopping there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We wanted to do a couple a little bit more Christmas shopping here for the rest of the family. And we saw a big wheel like, okay, let's go on it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You saw the wheel this morning?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

DUERSON: What's on your shopping list?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of clothes. I have a lot of sisters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything Christmas shopping just to get it out of the way.

DUERSON: How are you guys feeling about shopping in general this season? Are you feeling like, you know, decent about things this year about spending money? Like, how are you feeling?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're looking for a lot of deals this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's one of the many reasons we want to come out today. You know, just trying to find a good deal, especially for larger. We have larger family, so, you know, one gift adds up for a family member.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DUERSON: And I'm here with Paul Ghermezian, who is the COO of, you know, this mall and Mall of America. Just, you know, tell us, what are you seeing this Black Friday and what's changed for you in the past few years?

PAUL GHERMEZIAN, AMERICAN DREAM MALL COO: I mean, well, the one thing we're definitely seeing, which we've always seen, is excitement and joy on the people's faces to come in, everyone. Although the experience may have changed, where we're no longer lining up at 4 in the morning, intense and rushing through gates and trampling over each other, we're still showing up early and planning out a really exciting, fun day. I mean, the reality is that retail still is America's greatest pastime and retail and sport.

DUERSON: So is this still a huge day for you guys? Is this still a very important day?

GHERMEZIAN: Yes, absolutely. I mean, it literally kicks off the holiday season. You know, we talked about Christmas and holidays being that real special time for all retail and forest Centers, and Black Friday really kicks it off. People are together with their families for Thanksgiving, and they kind of come in and start making those shopping plans and finding those great gifts and stuff and stocking stuff.

DUERSON: Is there, you know, I've heard a little bit of skepticism just here and there about, you know, people aren't really sure. Is Black Friday real? You know, are these deals real? Like, do you think? Are there really good deals to be had on Black Friday still?

GHERMEZIAN: Yes, absolutely. I mean, we've got amazing deals here with our retailers, and in Mall of America, anything from 50 percent off to 40 percent off. We like to do things at our centers that kind of make it a little more exciting. I mean, I think you can hear some chairs behind us every once in a while we got some flat screen TVs and a giant wheel that's out there. So I think there's a lot of that as well.

So, you know, people are feeling back --

DUERSON: The mall is back.

GHERMEZIAN: Yes, yes. In the way that. But I think, you know, the mall experience has adapted as well. So you'll see that at our centers at Mall of America and here at American Dream, where we've added a lot of entertainment and fun things.

[09:05:05]

So it's really the experience of coming out. So although you are shopping and doing that, I mean, everyone shops online. I shop online. You shop online, I'm sure. But there's a real special place and experience. You can get out and touch something, feel it, but also spend that time with your loved ones. And we complement that as well with our entertainment. So for us, it's whether it's indoor skiing or our Nickelodeon Universe parks that we have at both of our centers.

DUERSON: Yes. GHERMEZIAN: Or the Dreamers waterpark and other things. It's really

exciting and fun for everyone.

DUERSON: Thank you. There's a lot to do. So it's a big day.

HILL: It certainly is, Meena. We're glad you're there. Thank you. Omar.

JIMENEZ: She didn't spin the wheel. That's all I'm saying. Great interview, but it didn't spin the wheel. It's all good, though, because joining us now is the vice president of industry and consumer insights at the National Retail Federation, Katherine Cullen. Thanks for being here. Good to see you.

I just kind of want to pick up where Meena left off there is. I mean, what does record turnout this year tell you about consumers even just sort of seeing people in person at a brick and mortar location on Black Friday?

KATHERINE CULLEN, VP FOR INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER INSIGHTS, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: Well, thank you for having me on. It tells us that, you know, holiday shopping is still very critical to consumers. It's obviously an important time of year both for shoppers and for retailers.

And as you noted, it is about the deals, it's about the promotions, but it's also about that social activity. It's about that tradition. We see Thanksgiving weekend as being a little less the kickoff to the holiday season that it used to be. It's a little bit more of the halfway point.

But it's where shoppers really mentally get in the spirit of holiday shopping. They're looking to get out with family and friends. They're looking to spend time together, and they're looking to make real progress on their gift lists as they get into the latter half of the season.

JIMENEZ: And look, obviously, it goes without saying, it's been a complicated few years for people's wallets, from the pandemic to inflation and otherwise. I guess from the retail industry standpoint, overall, what have been your biggest concerns maybe leading into this holiday season?

CULLEN: You know, we've really seen consumers certainly making adjustments in their budget where we've certainly seen a return to more normal levels of spending, consumers being budget conscious and value conscious this year. But what's been really interesting is how much consumers are protective of these celebrations and they're in many ways the holidays, whether it's Halloween or the winter holidays, are an essential time of year for many families.

So they are saying, hey, I'm going to maybe take on a few extra hours, maybe pull back on some other areas because I want the holidays to feel really special for my family. Of course I'm going to be shopping deals. I'm going to be thoughtful. So going into this holiday season, were expecting to see, you know, encouraging spending from consumers. This joy that was touched on earlier certainly coming into play and a

lot of excitement from shoppers as they're spending really critical time with their families, spending on gifts to really make things feel special. But of course being thoughtful about what works for them.

JIMENEZ: Yes, it is a lot about the experience being able to go with your families and choosing which family members to get out of the house with after maybe a varied Thanksgiving. But bottom line, what are the most -- what are people buying? What are the most popular gifts that you're seeing on your end this year?

CULLEN: We always see things like gift cards, clothing and apparel, electronics, certainly toys at the top of the list, especially this weekend. Electronics, toys and clothing tend to be some of the big items people are looking for right now. But health and beauty has also been a really strong category both last year and through this year. That's another one that as consumers and shoppers might be looking to be splurged on a name brand or a luxury item, but at a lower price point.

Something like a health or beauty item can be a really great way to do that. Maybe buy something a little fancy but also save a little bit of money at that lower price point. When it comes top toys, you know, it's all about the classics this year. We're seeing certainly things like cars and trucks and Legos, but also a lot of impact from all these movies that are out there right now. Certainly we have Moana 2 Wicked and a lot of other shows that are shaping kids imagination.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, we've seen the multidimensional effect. The movie has an effect on a video game or a toy and sort of that through line. We'll see how that plays out. Katherine Cullen, really appreciate you being here. Erica.

[09:10:05]

HILL: Democratic lawmakers targeted with bomb threats on Thanksgiving. The details on the alarming messages they received. Plus, Mexico's president disputing President-Elect Trump's classification of just what they discussed in their first phone call since his election how it could impact border policy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: All right, welcome back, everyone. New this morning, a really troubling pattern causing concern among lawmakers.

[09:15:00]

At least five Democratic lawmakers, four members of the House and one senator, all from Connecticut, say they were the target of bomb threats while at their home with their families celebrating Thanksgiving. Now, the threats come a day after some of Donald Trump's Cabinet and administration picks say they were targeted with bomb threats and swatting incidents. CNN's Zachary Cohen is following this for us from Washington. So, Zachary, what else can you tell us about this round of threats essentially? ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Omar. Senator

Chris Murphy is now the fifth Democrat from Connecticut to say he was targeted with a bomb threat while home celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with his family. Murphy's spokesperson says in a statement that it appears the senator was or targeted in what appears to be, quote, a coordinated effort targeting members of Congress and other public figures.

Now, Murphy's office has not pointed to anything specific as far as what they've been told that suggests this was coordinated. But he does join four of his colleagues from Connecticut in the House who were similarly targeted over the Thanksgiving holiday. It includes Representatives Joe Courtney, Jim Himes, John Larson, and Jahana Hayes. Now, all five of these lawmakers saying that they experienced a similar threat.

Law enforcement was ultimately forced to respond to that threat and in all five cases did not find any evidence of an actual bomb. But look, this underscores a troubling trend that law enforcement officials say looks increasingly to be geared toward intimidating or disrupting government operations or intimidating government officials.

And it also speaks to the highly charged political environment we're currently in. We saw a lot of that around the presidential election just earlier this month. And Representative Himes, who's the chairman of or the top Democrat of the House Intelligence Committee, saying in his statement condemning political violence, saying, quote, there is no place for political violence in this country. And I hope that we may all continue through the holiday season with peace and civility. So law enforcement is going to continue to investigate this latest round of bomb threats targeting these five Democrats.

But as you mentioned, too, it comes just one day after several of Donald Trump's Cabinet picks and these appointees for top jobs in his new administration were also targeted with a series of bomb threats, or what are called swatting incidents, where they try to get law enforcement to respond to a specific location. So clearly law enforcement concerned and increasingly concerned about this trend.

JIMENEZ: Well, and even if the threats end up being unfounded, it still requires real law enforcement response and in real cases, or in some cases, real fear from the people who are the targets of them. Zachary Cohen, really appreciate the reporting. Erica.

HILL: Joining me now to discuss Joe Trippi, Democratic strategist and senior adviser to the Lincoln Project, and Republican strategist Neil Chatterjee, who chaired the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during the Trump administration. Nice to see the both of you. I hope you both enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday. I hope it was free of family dramas around the table.

When we look at where things stand, the fact that we now have a fifth Connecticut lawmaker who has been targeted by one of these threats. This all coming on the heels, of course, of a number of Trump appointees and nominees being targeted. This has been an area of bipartisan agreement over the last 48 hours that this uptake in swatting and political violence, there is no place for it. It has been denounced.

And there is also a concern, Joe, about how much is too much in terms of the discussion and encouraging copycat. So as you're looking at this and these lawmakers with all understandable concerns for themselves and their families, how should they be addressing it?

JOE TRIPPI, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Look, I think it's really important to start talking about lowering the temperature and becoming more civil with each other. I mean, part of this is not just the polarization, not the rhetoric. You know, when you start calling people the enemy within and then there's a reaction to that. Everybody else is the enemy the combined I think, and this is really important is that social networks like X out there that actually promotes sort of anonymous attacks that get the most attention.

So you have this anonymous name calling plus the political rhetoric, and they keep -- they become a cauldron where there will be people who hear that, hear all this is a call to do something and take action or disrupt what's going on. And I think that's clearly been happening. It didn't start with Donald Trump coming down the escalator.

It was percolating far, you know, before that. But now I think it's hit just an intensity that we all need to be concerned as citizens, to calm down, to start trying to be civil, to stop doing the name calling and start trying to find a way forward together.

HILL: Neil, do you start to see a change there? And I would like to point out this is happening across the board. It is happening with the extremes of both parties. So are you starting to see, though, that some of these efforts to turn that down, to plead with people, to dial it back? Are you seeing it working anywhere?

[09:20:05]

NEIL CHATTERJEE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I really hope so. Look, I agree with Joe completely. And this is not something that is new. I served as a commissioner and chairman at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2017 to 2021. During that time, I literally had four people arrested at my Senate confirmation hearing. There was a protester who handcuffed himself to my then 6-year-old daughter's chair. I had death threats. I had to travel with a security detail.

What the impact of this is it causes good people to not want to serve in government, to not want to serve their country because they're under this kind of pressure. And so I really, really hope that folks on the fringes on both sides will tone down the rhetoric, take down the temperature. Joe is exactly right. We need to be more civil with each other.

I love that we're doing this segment the day after Thanksgiving where, you know, I had a great Thanksgiving yesterday because people didn't talk about politics. We took the temperature down. And I think it's important to do. that across the country.

HILL: Resetting in a lot of ways. Neil, I'm going to stick with you for a minute because I do want to get your take on this first. When we look at the different readouts from this call between President elect Trump and President Steinbaum of Mexico, it is not uncommon, right, to hear a slightly different take from leaders when they put out what happened during a call. But the pushback that we're seeing, what does that tell you about what the relationship between U.S. and Mexico might look like moving forward with this new administration, with these leaders?

CHATTERJEE: Look, each of them has their own constituency that they've got to cater to. And President-Elect Trump was elected clearly because he was distinct about what his position would be around the border, around immigration, around fentanyl trafficking and how he would address Mexico.

And I think he was doing his part to stand up for the constituency that elected him. And likewise, she was doing the same thing. She's got to appear to be protective of her own constituency. I think to me it's a clear signal there's a new sheriff in town and we've got leverage in this relationship. And I think the incoming Trump administration is going to utilize that leverage to curb illegal immigration and to curb the abusive introduction of fentanyl into this country.

HILL: Joe, world leaders have been preparing for a potential Trump second administration. They are now on the road to that. What are the lessons you think that they could take from what we're seeing just in these couple of exchanges between Sheinbaum and Trump because as you point out, they each want to appear stronger. She's pushing back a little bit.

TRIPPI: Oh, yes. No, there's going to be pushback. And I also think it was questionable about whether tariffs actually came up on the call or not, which I think will be interesting to see how that plays out. But I think the rest of the world is preparing for chaos, for chaotic leadership of the United States and how they respond to it. It's not clear. I mean, you can't take any one call per, particularly with Donald Trump, you know, as a measure of what's going to happen moving forward. We'll see.

HILL: Joe Trippi, Neil Chatterjee, nice to see you both this morning. Always grateful for a moment where anybody can come together on the topic. So thank you both for joining us. Happy, happy Thanksgiving. Even a day late, a women's college volleyball team giving up the chance to play for a championship. Omar has more on this one.

JIMENEZ: I was going to say, yes, they are. But look, we always like to team up on these types of stories. A lot of news because as we mentioned with the volleyball team, the one team pulled out because they don't want to play against the team they believe has a transgender player. We're going to bring in the details behind this controversy just ahead.

Plus, which movie are you dying to see this holiday season? We're going to talk about all the blockbusters generating buzz and bringing big crowds to theaters. Yes. Including Red One right there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What am I doing here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last night, Red One, also known as St Nicholas of Myra, was abducted from the North Pole complex.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you saying Santa Claus has been kidnapped?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Garcia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the hell?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:50]

JIMENEZ: There's a controversy in college volleyball that's bringing the debate about transgender athletes to the forefront. The Boise State women's team withdrew from a match against San Jose State, essentially forfeiting their chances to advance in a postseason tournament.

Now, Boise State didn't give a specific reason, but there has been an ongoing unconfirmed accusation that a player on San Jose State's team is transgender. Now, neither that player nor the team have commented, and the conference commissioner has already ruled that the player meets all eligibility standards, along with the federal judge and appeals court that backed up that decision this week.

CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan joins me now. Good to see you, Christine. Happy Thanksgiving. I'm sure it was a great one for you. Now, on this issue in particular, you've covered sports for a long time, women's sports, of course, included. I wonder what you assess of this story and more so this moment of trans athletes in the sport.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: You know, Omar, this is a story and an issue that has roiled so many in sports and, of course, in our culture. And we have seen this go all the way to the Olympic Games with the issue of, for example, the swimming federation, world aquatics and track and field, world athletics. Both have said if an athlete has gone through male puberty, they cannot compete.