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Gunman Kills Six & Himself, Injures Several At Virginia Walmart; Attorney's: LGBTQ Club Shooting Suspect Identifies As Non- Binary; Justice Dept. Seeks Pence Testimony In Jan. 6 Criminal Probe; Police Give Update On Probe Into Killings Of Four Idaho College Students; Russians Launch New Barrage On Critical Ukrainian Infrastructure; How Kherson Resistance Fighters Helped Liberate City From Russia; Ukraine: Russian Strike Devastates Hospital, Kills Newborn Child; AAA: U.S. Travel Demand Very High Despite Soaring Inflation; One Dead, At Least 14 Hurt After Suspected Terror Bombs Rock Jerusalem. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 23, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: This is why, this is what they're dealing with, AAA expecting more than 54 million people to travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving.

Now for air travel, there's actually a lot to be thankful for today. Only 45 flights have been canceled so far today. That's according to FlightAware. You heard that right, 45 just night and day from the travel meltdown that we saw this summer.

And our coverage continues now in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Happening now, another American community shattered by yet another mass shooting. This time at a Virginia Walmart massacre coming just days after the slaughter inside a Colorado nightclub. We'll have new details on both cases this hour.

Also tonight, former Vice President Mike Pence reportedly open to some testimony in the Justice Department's criminal probe as of January 6. This, despite rejecting a similar request from the House committee investigating the insurrection.

And in Ukraine tonight, critical infrastructure once again taking a beating from Russian attacks. Several people are dead in the latest barrage including a newborn child. Standby for an exclusive CNN report from the war zone.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Alex Marquardt. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We begin our coverage tonight with heartbreaking new details on the massacre inside a Chesapeake, Virginia Walmart. The shooter, a manager at the store gunning down six people before killing himself with the same weapon. CNN's Brian Todd has been on the scene all day.

Brian, what are you learning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alex, we have new information just in from the Chesapeake police that at least 50 people are believed to have been inside this store at the time of the shooting. To give you an idea of the violence and carnage here, police now say that processing this crime scene will take days.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIANA TYLER, WALMART EMPLOYEE WHO WITNESSED SHOOTING: He just looked around the room and just shot and there were people just dropping to the floor.

TODD (voice-over): Another mass shooting less than 70 hours after one in Colorado. This time at a Chesapeake, Virginia Walmart busy with holiday shoppers.

Briana Tyler, an employee who witnessed the shooting, recounting the horror of what took place last night just after she arrived for her overnight shift.

TYLER: He shot near my head and it was about inches away. But in that moment it still hadn't really kicked in that it was real because I was thinking it was like a simulation type of thing, like, this is what we do if we have an active shooter. And the reason why I think it was that was because I recognized his face.

TODD (voice-over): The city of Chesapeake identifying the shooter as 31-year-old Andre Bing. Walmart confirms Bing was an overnight team leader. His home seen here with the door smashed in by police when they had other agents were on the scene investigating.

Police say the gunman was armed with several magazines and a pistol that he used to kill at least six people. Two of the victims were found deceased in the break room along with the gunman, who police believe died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Another victim was found near the front of the store. Three victims were taken to local hospitals but later died. At least six other victims were also taken to the hospital with at least one in critical condition.

Briana telling us of warnings she'd gotten from other employees about Bing.

TYLER: They warned me that he was just the manager to look out for pretty much. You know, he would write you up just because he could or just if you did something that he wasn't a very, you know, big fan of. You know, he just -- he picked a lot, I guess that's what I heard. It's just he was just that manager that would probably give you issues but not anything to this extent.

TODD (voice-over): Other employee witnesses in shock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just left out of break room (blip) to come in this. That is cop and people up in there (ph), start shooting, bro. TODD (voice-over): Just two days before Thanksgiving family members receiving frightening calls and texts from their loved ones.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His wife received a phone call with about 10:18 saying that he had been shot. He clocks in at 10. So he hadn't even been there 10 minutes

TODD (voice-over): Joetta Jeffrey says her mother was inside the store during the shooting and sent her these text messages saying there was an active shooter in the store. Those surviving the incident thankful.

TYLER: Can be all gone in the blink of an eye, literally. Like my life truly did flash before my eyes.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

TODD: And we now have this just in as well from the Chesapeake police, a newly released picture of this shooting suspect, 31-year-old Andre Bing.

Now regarding Briana Tyler's accounts here, we have asked Walmart to respond to her accounts that she was previously warned by other employees to watch out for Andre Bing. And we've asked Walmart whether Bing was ever the subject of any disciplinary measures or if any other employees had ever complained about him, they have not yet responded to those questions. Alex.

MARQUARDT: He was the manager to look out for. Brian Todd, thank you so much for that report. Brian Todd in Chesapeake Virginia tonight.

Now to an update on the other recent mass killing here in America, the massacre inside an LGBTQ Colorado nightclub. CNN's Rosa Flores has been on the scene for days in Colorado Springs.

[17:05:04]

Rosa, the suspect just had a first court appearance. What is the latest?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, authorities just released the suspect's mugshot. And you know, Alex, we have been hearing from club goers that heroes use a stiletto and their feet and a pistol to subdue the shooter to stop the killing. Well, today for the first time, we see the magnitude of that struggle as authorities released the mugshot of the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

FLORES (voice-over): The suspect, 22-year old Anderson Lee Aldrich appearing in court today via video for the first time since the shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any questions about those rights?

ANDERSON LEE ALDRICH, SUSPECT:

FLORES (voice-over): Seated, visibly bruised and battered and leaning to one side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would ask that the court allow the defense to have a copy of the arrest warrant unsealed.

FLORES (voice-over): Aldrich was released from the hospital and booked into the El Paso County jail after being subdued by bystanders who say they repeatedly beat the suspect to stop the carnage at ClubQ. The district attorney prosecuting the case speaking after the hearing,

MICHAEL ALLEN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: There was nothing communicated to me that he would be physically incompetent to be here today.

FLORES (voice-over): Aldrich's defense team declined to comment. Court documents filed late Tuesday by the defense state that Aldrich identifies as non-binary and goes by the pronouns they, them.

GLA, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance, released a statement responding to the court documents filed by the defense saying in part, "regardless of the motive, the LGBTQ community has been and continues to be under attack."

The district attorney was asked if the non-binary designation impacts the investigation.

ALLEN: I refer to every one of those as defendants, and that's what I will do in this case. And it has no impact on the way that I prosecute this case.

FLORES (voice-over): Saying his focus is on the crimes as well as all the victims and the survivors.

ALLEN: We are going to be the voice for the victims in the courtroom, and that we will be fighting alongside them through this entire process.

FLORES (voice-over): One of those victims, James Slaugh was in club Q with his partner and sister Saturday night and was shot in the arm. Slaugh says, he's moved by the actions of the other survivors.

JAMES SLAUGH, SURVIVOR: A guy I had never met before, so he's like, yes, it looks like it's in you're in your arm. You're going to be OK, you're going to live, you're going to be OK. And he just kisses my forehead. And that's where I first started tearing up.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

FLORES: The suspect is being held without bond. The next hearing is set for December 6. Alex.

MARQUARDT: All right. Rosa Flores in Colorado Springs, Colorado, thank you very much.

Now let's discuss all this with CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson, CNN Contributor Jennifer Mascia, and retired Major Neill Franklin, former and officer in Baltimore and Maryland State Police Departments. Thank you all for joining me this evening.

Neill, I want to start with you. There's a picture that's emerging that coworkers at the Walmart were unnerved by the shooter's threatening and odd behavior. He's seen in this new video from 2016 objecting to being filmed. We heard in Brian's report that he was the manager to watch out for. Are there red flags that you see that should have been raised sooner?

MAJOR NEILL FRANKLIN (RET.): RETIRES OFFICER, MARYLAND STATE & BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENTS: So that one incident of him, you know, refusing to be filmed, may not be in and of itself one. But what else do the other employees know about this particular manager, this individual? What about family? Were the things occurring at home?

What about prior jobs? Was he known to the police community, you know, where he lives or elsewhere? You know, so it's not just one thing for the most part, but what are the multiple things? Were -- you know, when they add up and justify maybe him being subject to a Red Flag Law or someone and it's usually multiple things.

MARQUARDT: Joey, I want to ask you about the Colorado Springs shooting. You just heard new information in Rosa Flores is report there the suspects identity, identifying as non-binary using the pronouns they them. That's complicating questions around the motive, of course, the shooting taking place in an LGBTQ club. What additional charges do you think we will see against this suspect?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, look, the reality is, is that shootings in general, you know, it just gives us all pause with respect to what occurring over and over again. In terms of your question, no matter who you identify with, Alex, the reality is motivation of hatred is a motivation of hatred. We don't know how credible with regard to him identifying with non-binary or whomever is, we just know that he engaged in activity that apparently is abhorrent.

And based upon that activity, the prosecutor feels very strongly that there was a motivation here that was predicated upon actual or perceived bias, right, against people in a protected class. And that are people who identify with LBGGQ (ph). And so, the reality is identify yourself with whomever you want but you have to make that consistent with the actions you took. And if those actions are predicated upon hatred, it should be prosecuted as a biased crime, and it should be also prosecuted as murder. That's what happened here.

[17:10:20]

MARQUARDT: Now protected classes. So many of the survivors telling us they thought that that was a protected space.

Jennifer, I want to zoom out a little bit, these back to back shootings, their latest -- they're the latest in a horrible trend and rise in mass shootings this year, 606 so far this year, and there's still more than a month to go in the year. What can you tell us from your research that can be done to help in this crisis? What kind of policies could actually work to stem the tide of these shootings?

JENNIFER MASCIA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, in recent years, both Virginia and Colorado had bolstered their gun laws, universal background checks, red flag laws. The problem is in Virginia, in particular, Red Flag Laws can only be -- the petition can only be filed by a prosecutor or a police officer. And, you know, when we rely on law enforcement, especially elected law enforcement, politics can sometimes get in the way. You know, you have sheriffs who vowed not to enforce Red Flag Laws, like the Sheriff of El Paso County in Colorado and the district attorney.

But the way that other countries have managed to sidestep this increasing level of gun violence, and it's getting higher every year, is by really thoroughly vetting gun buyers before the point of purchase. That is something that we've never really done in this country. There's a lot of backlash to even additional incremental regulation. But vetting someone for not just criminal history, but behavioral history that might not have risen to the level of criminality, is really the way that you can try to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them.

And one of those ways is gun owner licensing. Only seven states have gun owner licensing. And Virginia and Colorado are not among them.

MARQUARDT: Joey, back to you on that point that Jennifer just made. There are robust gun safety laws in Virginia and Colorado both. What do you think went so wrong here?

JACKSON: I think it takes a village. I think Jennifer noted the limitations on that as it relates only prosecutors, right, and law enforcement officials being able to make that petition. Those the people as much as we rely upon them who are in the best position to know that a person's guns perhaps need to be taken away for a specified period of time. We value civil liberties in this country without question, Alex. But the reality is, is that we have to do things that make common sense.

And when people behave in ways that are pretty bad, then it should have the collective right support of the community to make a notation to make notification and have something done. And so, it's a local problem, it's a state problem, it's a federal problem.

Last point, I know that there was federal legislation passed, you know, in June on the Biden, which was the most sweeping didn't do anything as it relates to banning certain weapons. I don't know how weapons designed to kill the masses shouldn't be banned. But that's perhaps a story for another day. But there's a lot that needs to should be an absolutely has to be done, Alex, to get our hands around this issue.

MARQUARDT: Yes. And what can be done at the federal level come January, we will have a split Congress, Republicans will control the House, Democrats are going to be controlling the Senate. So Jennifer, last question to you, what can the White House feasibly do to address new gun legislation? MASCIA: Well, the White House has, you know, spearheaded. For the first time, you know, we didn't have for decades really action on federal gun reform. But, you know, something that a lot of community gun violence prevention leaders want him to do is head up in the office of gun violence prevention to show the country that it is a priority. But really, the action here is going to be taken on the part of the states.

What we have kind of as a divided country, we have states with very strong gun laws, and then we have states that are rapidly weakening their gun laws. So, in half the country you don't even need training or a permit to carry a gun in public. So, a state's gun law, if it's strong, can be undermined by the other states. It's a big problem.

MARQUARDT: It is a huge problem. And it is clear that so much more needs to be done. Neil Franklin, Jennifer Mascia and Joe Jackson we need to leave it there. Thank you so much for that discussion. Thanks for joining me tonight.

JACKSON: Thank you, Alex.

FRANKLIN: Sure, Alex.

MASCIA: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: Now, coming up new developments in the January 6 criminal investigation, we're learning about potential testimony from former Vice President Mike Pence. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:18:28]

MARQUARDT: Tonight, there is a potential breakthrough in the Justice Department's criminal probe of the January 6 insurrection. Sources are telling CNN that the DOJ is seeking testimony from former Vice President Mike Pence. And that Pence is open to some level of cooperation. CNN Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez is on the story for us.

Evan, so what indications do we have that Pence could comply with this request?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alex, I think what you are hearing, certainly from people around the former vice president is that, first of all, this is a criminal investigation, and so, he can't just reject out of hand requests from the prosecutors. But they do, I think, want to reach some kind of accommodation, whereby, you know, they can negotiate a, you know, for him to appear and provide some kind of interview. That would be the ideal way whereby, you know, they perhaps limit the questions that he can answer. You know, of course, the former vice president just published a book in which he describes a lot of his interactions with the former president around this key period, right, after the election up to January 6, and thereafter. And you can bet that that's what the Justice Department's to talk about. MARQUARDT: But he did reject out of hand testifying in front of the January 6 congressional committee. Let's listen to him speaking about that recently.

PEREZ: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: Congress has no right to my testimony. The very notion of a committee on Congress -- in Congress summoning a vice president to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House, I think, would violate that separation of powers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:20:03]

MARQUARDT: So that was from our CNN town hall just a week ago.

PEREZ: Yes.

MARQUARDT: So, Evan, why is he considering this DOJ request while rejecting Congress?

PEREZ: Well, unlike the former president who has gone to court trying to claim all kinds of separation of powers issues in a Justice Department criminal investigation, I think that the former vice president realizes and understands that that is not an excuse that he can use here, right? This is the Justice Department. It is the same branch of government in which he served. And so he doesn't really have that way to avoid this.

I think also, it's been clear that the former vice president has, you know, certainly he had the option of trying to raise, you know, his executive privilege as vice president. And he hasn't done that yet. And so, I think what you might expect is, they'll figure out a way to arrange for him to answer perhaps some questions that he's already kind of gone over in his book. And what we're told, Alex, is that when he wrote the book, and before he published the book, they envisioned that the Justice Department was going to come back knocking.

MARQUARDT: Yes, they knew this was coming.

PEREZ: They knew it.

MARQUARDT: Evan Perez, stay with us.

I want to bring in our Senior Legal Analyst, Preet Bharara. Preet, thank you so much for joining us this evening.

PREET BHARARA, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Sure.

MARQUARDT: I want to ask you about how Pence -- why pence might be inclined to comply with this criminal investigation, because there's also the chance that former President Trump tries to intervene. So what kind of legal fight could we see ahead?

BHARARA: Well, I think further to what Evans said, the vice president, former vice president understands that a potential subpoena, I don't think he's been subpoenaed yet, but a potential Grand Jury subpoena in connection with a criminal investigation and prosecution is quite different and a lot more powerful than a congressional subpoena. And that's for a couple of reasons. One, there's a better enforcement mechanism and there's more precedent for that in the courts. Two, the congressional committee, the January 6 committee, is going away in a few weeks, because Republicans won back to House.

The Department of Justice and this open grand jury investigation is not going away. In fact, in some ways, it's just a start, as we've seen the news special counsel appointed Jack Smith, just in the last number of days. And I think also he probably understands that the arguments being made in favor of getting his testimony, in some future litigation that you mentioned, are pretty powerful in the part of the Justice Department.

In connection with the January 6 committee investigation, two high level staffers to Pence have already testified, his chief counsel, his chief of staff, but the Justice Department -- that may have been enough for the committee to be able to put together a report because they can put together a report based on hearsay and other evidence. If you're going to bring a criminal prosecution against Donald Trump or someone else, you need the direct testimony of the vice president, both because of hearsay concerns and also because it's the most powerful and notable and probative evidence.

MARQUARDT: And evidence on that point that we had --

PEREZ: Right.

MARQUARDT: -- that the Justice Department has heard from these top Pence deputies, including chief of staff -- former Chief of Staff Marc Short, does that provide any clues as to how the Justice Department may fare in trying to get answers from Pence?

PEREZ: Oh, yes, it does. I mean, look, for example, we know that Mark Pence -- I'm sorry, Marc Short and Greg Jacob both went in to the grand jury, they declined certain questions, because the former president was asserting executive privilege. By the way, you know, the vice president, also there's a vice presidential privilege. And as far as we know, the vice president -- the former vice president never asserted that. So, it was only Donald Trump that was trying to shield some of these things from the grand jury.

We know that the Justice Department went in to the court and asked a judge to get past those the privilege concerns. And then they went all the way up to the appeals court and they won, so they were able to break through Trump's claims of privilege, because, of course, this is a criminal investigation. And clearly, the courts believed that this was the right way to do this. So, you can bet that, you know, it does give you a bit of a roadmap of where we expect the vice president is going to be able to go with his testimony. MARQUARDT: So Preet, game this out for us. We just played that clip of the former vice president saying that the select committee has no right to his testimony. As Evans mentioned, he revealed some key details in this new book that he just published. So how do you think this is ultimately going to play out?

BHARARA: I'm actually hopeful that there's going to be a negotiated understanding here. There's -- both sides have something at risk here. If you get the court involved in connection with a fight over subpoena, depending on the panel and depending on the, you know, the timeframe, it could take a long time to get Vice President Pence's testimony and he might be ordered to give more testimony than you might otherwise want to give, and he's kind of reluctant.

By the same token, it's possible that the Justice Department if they went forward with a court battle might not get everything it wants. And so, often in these case is when you have a former official like this who has some claims to executive privilege but also has paid some -- given some grace to people who say he waived those claims because he wrote a book about it, there's an ability for each side to come out ahead and look a little bit better than they would have otherwise looked if they just go and fight. So I think and hope this is a negotiated thing that happens relatively soon.

[17:25:23]

MARQUARDT: And Evan, do you think that is what's going to happen? What does this tell us about the timeline, the fact that now they're talking about speaking with Mike Pence, they're clearly moving up that, you know, the ladder within the Pence office, and at the same time, we have this newly appointed special counsel who's overseeing those investigations?

PEREZ: Well, yes. So we know that the outreach from the Justice Department happened before Jack Smith was appointed in in the recent weeks. And so, look, I do think that there is a way for that kind of negotiation to happen to what Preet just described is exactly what I understand. The sides are looking to try to reach.

The one wildcard here, of course, is the former president who has gone to court repeatedly to try to block testimony. I'm sure he's going to try to do that again. But the hopeful side here, if you're the Justice Department is that the courts here in D.C., the appeals court, have shown pretty quickly that they can handle these things and they can work through them very, very, you know, with relative ease. It's not exactly quick, but it's quicker than a lot of people, I think, fear.

And what it tells us is that, look, I think we might be dealing with this certainly going into early into the spring, but it doesn't mean that it's going to take forever. I think there is a quicker timeline than a lot of people are fearing.

MARQUARDT: Well. It's going to be fascinating to watch. Preet Bharara, Evan Perez, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much, and Happy Thanksgiving to you both.

BHARARA: You too.

PEREZ: You too.

MARQUARDT: Well, up next, a new update from police on the investigation into the killings of four Idaho college students, revealing who they've ruled out as suspects.

And then, Russia ramps up attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, prompting the mayor of Kyiv to warn that the capital city should brace for the worst winter since World War II.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:41]

MARQUARDT: We have just gotten an update from police in Moscow, Idaho on their investigation into the killings of those four college students who were found stabbed to death in their home. CNN National Correspondent Natasha Chen is there for us tonight. Natasha, still so many unanswered questions. What did the police say?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alex, that's exactly the problem. I think you could sense the frustration in the room from the press. And we've heard it from one of the victim's families on our air today asking about the very limited details that have come out on this case. And we're now more a week and a half about since this incident happened with still no suspect caught.

So among the things that were new to us today included the fact that one person, a man, who was called by one of the victims in those early morning hours, he has been added to the list of people cleared of suspicion here of involvement as a possible suspect. So the list of people now cleared include the two surviving roommates that people who talk to the 911 dispatch on -- in those first hours, and the person like I said, who was called by one of the victims in those hours, as well as a person who was seen standing by two of the victims at a food truck, as well as a private party who drove those two girls home.

So a number of people are now cleared here. But we haven't been told of any further information bringing them closer to the suspect. The chief of police of Moscow police spoke to the sentiment that he knows people are looking for more answers. But he wanted to reiterate that they very much do care about this case and are making it a priority. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JAMES FRY, MOSCOW POLICE DEPARTMENT: We continue moving forward to understand why this occurred in our community and seek answers to bring justice for the victims and their loved ones because they deserve it. I personally want you to know, we care and we will continue to work hard to get these answers for these individuals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: A captain with the police department also said during the press conference that it feels like the innocence has been taken from this town and it is a small college town of about 25,000-26,000 people. And there has not been a recorded murder in this area between 2016 and 2021. So this is a very serious crime that has happened that's really shaken this community to the core.

And they have now, as they've said during the press conference, interviewed 150 people, taken 4,000 photos, so many pieces of evidence that they're combing through. So they wanted to tell us that they are working very hard to process all of that. But there was very little that they could say publicly because they said they wanted to protect the integrity of the investigation, knowing that this could all be used toward eventual prosecution. Alex?

MARQUARDT: Well hopefully these families do get some answers very soon. Natasha Chen, thank you so much for all of your reporting on this story.

Now, Russia has launched a new barrage of attacks on critical Ukrainian infrastructure, prompting an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And tonight, in a CNN exclusive, Ukrainian resistance fighters are revealing how they helped drive Russian forces out of the southern city of Kherson.

[17:35:09]

CNN Senior International Correspondent Sam Kiley is on the scene for us tonight. Sam, this is remarkable, these civilians risking their own lives to help free their city that was held by Russian forces.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we've seen in the past the role played by collaborators here spies for Russia, inside Ukraine frequently arrested, calling in airstrikes, giving coordinates. But, of course, the same things going on in occupied territory, particularly in the city of Kherson, Alex, which was a hotbed of resistance. The first and only city captured, that was a regional capital captured by Russia back in March.

And from day one, the resistance started getting -- doing its work and many of them were self-starters. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KILEY (voice-over): Archie killed twice while he was still a teenager.

(on-camera): If I'm the guy, he stops to pee. So I'm having a pee. And then what do you do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Firm (ph).

KILEY (on-camera): Oh, God, I got chilling.

(voice-over): He says he left his victim to bleed on the grass in the pitch dark. Archie struck again moments later, another drunk Russian soldier. Another throat cut. He acted alone, but now he was one of Kherson's resistance fighters. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): They're wasted. It had only been a few days since they entered the city. I finished the first one immediately and then caught up with the other one and killed him on the spot. I threw with a knife and the jacket covered with blood and just left.

KILEY (voice-over): Archie was only 19 when the Russians captured his city in March. With a friend he says he drove around the city gathering intelligence to send to Ukraine's Armed Forces.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): At least 10 Russians were slaughtered every night. I wasn't the only one in Kherson. There were a lot of athletic and clever partisan guys.

KILEY (voice-over): For eight months, Ukrainian partisans waged a psychological war against the occupiers and their collaborators, targeting Ukrainians who took top posts handed out by Russia.

KIRIL STREMOUSOV, RUSSIAN-APPOINTED DEPUTY HEAD OF KHERSON REGION (through translation): As a result of a sneaky terrorist attack today, our colleague, my friend Dmitr Savluchenko has died.

KILEY (voice-over): Stremousov himself would die in the final days of Russia's occupation of Kherson city, which ended three weeks ago. Kherson was the only regional capital to fall to Russia, but its population made sure that the invaders were unwelcome from the start.

(on-camera): That's incoming. Then the last hour or so that we've been here in Kherson, there's been a constant, shelling backwards and forwards. Almost all of that shelling will ultimately rely on somebody on the ground, telling the gunner where to drop those bombs.

(voice-over): Ihor was a young father. This warehouse is wrecked because of him.

IHOR, PART OF KHERSON RESISTANCE (through translation): The Russian military kept here around 20 to 30 vehicles. There were armored trucks ABCs. And the Russians lived here. I was passing by this place and I saw all the vehicles.

KILEY (voice-over): Ihor communicated on his phone app with his handler, codename, the smoke.

IHOR (through translation): I turned on the camera and pointed it at the building and I was just walking and talking on the phone. And the camera was filming. I deleted the video of course, because if they would stop me somewhere and check my videos and pictures, there will be questions.

KILEY (voice-over): Less than a day later, he says, Russian vehicles were a mangled mess as Ukraine rained missiles down on the newly identified target. It was a crucial stead in destroying Russia's capacity to hold on to the city. With the Russians now massed on the eastern side of the Dnipro River, they're close and still control 60 percent of the province, which they claim is now part of Russia. No doubt there are many Ukrainians among them, who will also prepare to prove them wrong and to kill.

(on-camera): Do you feel sorry for the guys who killed at all?

IHOR (through translation): Yes. No.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KILEY: So what we're now experiencing across the country, though, is cruise missile strikes. The government saying more than 70 have once again attacked the critical national infrastructure, the electrical system here in Kryvyi Rih as it is across much of the country has once again been destroyed in precision strikes by the Russians.

MARQUARDT: As it gets colder and colder in Ukraine. Sam Kiley, thank you so much for that report. Really appreciate it.

Joining us now is CNN Military Analyst and Retired General Wesley Clark. General Clark, thank you so much for joining us this evening. Now I want to get to what Sam was just talking about there, this wave of strikes all across Ukraine, this latest barrage salvo killing seven around Kyiv, and then a newborn in a maternity ward down in the Zaporizhzhia region.

[17:40:14]

Ukraine, it appears, is essentially being forced to fight on two fronts, defending its civilian infrastructure, while also fighting on the front lines in the east and the south. Is that how you see it?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: That's the way I see it. And it's all part of Putin strategy. Now, Putin is willing to have a ceasefire. And this is part of the strategy. So he's pulled back out of Kherson, you don't hear any more talk about nuclear right now. He's pummeling the civilian population, trying to make it as unpleasant as possible. What he'd really like, is a ceasefire so he can rebuild his forces and then continue the attack.

There are rumblings of people in the West who say, well, maybe we should have a ceasefire. It's so terrible. The Ukrainians don't want it because they know what it means. There have been ceasefires. This war has gone on for eight years. And Putin hasn't given up his intent to conquer all of Ukraine.

So right now, the Ukrainian forces still have the momentum. They need to be reinforced. While we're doing everything we can to help the Ukrainians rebuild their infrastructure and defend against these cruise missile effects.

MARQUARDT: These strikes all across the country, do you see this as Putin acknowledging that his troops can't make any progress, so he's just trying to cripple the country?

CLARK: Putin is not going to acknowledge this. What he's doing is, he is signaling. And there have been some discussions, apparently, between American officials and Russian officials. So he's signaling by the heavy bombardment in Donbas, and by the strikes on the infrastructure. He's not giving the end, he's going to fight, fight, fight while he tries to get the best diplomatic deal he can.

And so this is the Russian strategy. Ukrainian strategy is we're going after those, we're going to push them right out of their country. And I think the majority of the American people realize the only real solution to this is to push the Russians out of the country with military power.

MARQUARDT: Yes, the Ukrainians giving no indication they plan to sit down and negotiate anytime soon. General Wesley Clark, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much for joining us this evening. Happy Thanksgiving.

CLARK: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: All right, just ahead. Inflation is high and nearly everything is more expensive. Is that having an effect on holiday travel? We'll have that next.

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[17:47:00]

MARQUARDT: We know that Americans are feeling pretty bad about the economy but that does not seem to be affecting the demand for travel this Thanksgiving. AAA expects travel to reach near pre-pandemic levels this year. CNN's Pete Muntean is traveling right now on I-95 near Lorton, Virginia. Pete, how crowded do you expect the roads to be today and in the next few days?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, the good news here, Alex, is that we're kind of on the tail end of the worst now. Look at I-95 North here in Lorton, Virginia. If you have driven between D.C. and Richmond in I-95, you know this spot. This is typically where it starts to backup big time.

AAA said the worst of the traffic today, the biggest driving day of the year would be between 11:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. So we're kind of in the sunset phase of that on the East Coast. Still more to come on the West Coast. We will see though if we reach the forecasted number that AAA put out, 48.7 million people driving 50 miles or more over the next five days, really not all that far off from what we saw back in 2019 before the pandemic.

What is so interesting here is that the price of gas does not seem to be impacting folks really all that much. Even though the price of gas is the highest it has been for Thanksgiving rush ever. $3.61 is the national average for a gallon of regular according to AAA, was $3.40 a year ago. It is down from the highs we saw in June but folks still out in force.

I mean look at this on I-95. We are in bumper-to-bumper traffic, stop and go here north and south, doesn't seem to be letting up really anytime soon. Although it's gotten a little bit better as the day has gone on.

MARQUARDT: All right, well our thoughts to everyone out there braving those roads and Pete Muntean has been sitting in traffic all day long for us. Sir, we appreciate it. Take care.

MUNTEAN: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: And coming up, we will go live to Jerusalem which has been rocked by a double bombing which killed one person and injured many more. We'll be right back.

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[17:53:23]

MARQUARDT: Israeli authorities are investigating a twin explosion in Jerusalem that left a teenager dead and at least 14 people injured. CNN's Hadas Gold is there for us tonight.

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HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sirens rang out during rush hour after a double bombing shook Jerusalem Wednesday morning. A 15-year-old student was killed and more than 14 injured in what authorities are calling a suspected coordinated combined terror attack.

The first explosion captured on CCTV footage widely shared on social media, rocking a bus station at one of the main entrances to the city. The blast so strong, debris and pockmarks reaching past three lanes of traffic. Authorities believe a bag or package was placed at the bus stop around 7:00 a.m. and was likely detonated remotely.

The first blast killing the teenage boy, a Canadian-Israeli citizen, who was a student at a Jewish religious school, and injuring at least 11 others. A second blast occurred not far from the first around half an hour later at the city's remote junction lightly injuring three people. A spokesman for first responders at the scene telling CNN the injuries inflicted show the hallmarks of terror.

RAPHAEL POCH, SPOKESMAN, UNITED HATZALAH INTERNATIONAL: There were shrapnel injuries and nails and ball bearings and those types of things which are very common to be placed in bombs that detonated for the sake of terror, were definitely a factor as well.

GOLD (voice-over): The incident reminiscent of the style of attacks carried out in the Second Intifada, organized and technically sophisticated.

POCH: So this is something very, very tragic. And it's something we haven't seen in a very long time and we hope it doesn't come back to become a routine or a regular situation.

GOLD (voice-over): Israel's Prime Minister Yair Lapid also noting the worrying development.

[17:55:01]

YAIR LAPID, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translation): This event is different from what we have seen in recent years. An extensive intelligence effort is now underway that will lead us to find these heinous terrorists, those behind them and those who provided them with weapons.

GOLD (voice-over): As Israeli police search for suspects, the man pushing to become public security minister in the incoming government, arrived at the scene. The far-right leader Itamar Ben-Gvir calling for sweeping security measures in response.

ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, JEWISH POWER PARTY LEADER: Charging a price for the terror means checking where these terrorists came from, reaching their villages whether they are in Israel or in Judea and Samaria, imposing a curfew going from house to house, and searching for weapons and bringing back deterrence and governance.

GOLD (voice-over): A deadly escalation in what's already been one of the most violent years in this region since the days of the Second Intifada, as fears grows that this attack will bring more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLD: And we've also received word that among those injured are two American citizens, although the U.S. Embassy says that they are both expected to fully recover. Alex?

MARQUARDT: A dark day in Jerusalem. CNN's Hadas Gold, thank you very much. And we'll be right back.

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