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Wildfires in California, 25 Deaths and Rising; Trump Faces Backlash Over Weekend in Paris; Rick Scott Files Three Lawsuits in Florida Recount; Democrats Calling for Acting AG's Recusal; Women, Minorities and LGBT Wins in Midterm Election; Centenary of World War I; Face to Face Apology in SNL. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 11, 2018 - 17:00   ET

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

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

[17:00:00] ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: The most destruction thus far is in northern California, north of Sacramento. A wildfire has consumed more than 100,000 acres and literally everything built on it. Firefighters say in a matter of days, about 6,500 family homes have burned down.

Now, the human toll from these wildfires across the state, 25 people so far found dead, more than 100 others still missing. Officials and family members are frantically trying to account for everybody whose location is not known right now. In southern California around Los Angeles, Malibu, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, separate wildfire there is are spreading fast, pushed by strong winds and almost completely out of control.

The fires are just too big, too fast for firefighters to contain them at least for now. CNN's camera crews and correspondents are all over the fire zones right now. Nick Valencia is in the devastated town of Paradise, where nearly every manmade thing is now destroyed. And Scott McLean is in Malibu. Nick, give us a look at what is left of that town where about 26,000 people live.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's not much left, Ana. Ninety percent is gone, according to the mayor. And this is already the most destructive fire in California state history. And it continues to spread. Just look at the images around me here. These homes, this is not unique to this area. Much of Paradise looks like this. It is just completely gone here.

These homes here, just the chimneys stand and it just had to have been absolutely terrifying during those early morning Thursday hours. This right here, the main thoroughfare, one of the main evacuation routes outside of Paradise.

And if you could see all of these cars, they just didn't even stand a chance. They're already all burned out. You can only, you know, you can't even recognize them, what make or model they are. I'm going to wait for this car to cross the street and I want you to walk with me here a little bit while I show you just some of the more jaw-dropping images.

We know that this fire spread so quickly and it was so aggressive. It started about 6:30. And at its height, it was spreading at about a football field every three seconds. It swelled to half the size of San Francisco. It's already bigger than the size of Manhattan.

And some of the things that we are really seeing here that are shocking to us is this melted aluminum. You know, things like that, glass shields, windshields that have melted into the steering wheels of the cars. Windshields, you know, they burn at about 2,800 degrees Fahrenheit, Ana.

Downed power lines are still a big issue, so are downed trees, which is why the mayor says it might take weeks before people are allowed back into this community, Paradise especially, hard hit -- 19 of the 23 deaths in this area happened in this town, four in a neighboring town. And you also mentioned at the top of the show, more than 100 people unaccounted for.

We should expect that number to fluctuate in the coming days, according to the sheriff's office. Last night they gave that number. They said they're continuing to go through these devastated areas and trying to recover bodies, Ana.

CABRERA: Just an awful situation. Nick Valencia, thank you for keeping us apprised of what's happening. Let's go now to the Los Angeles area and CNN's Scott McLean is in Malibu. Scott, that is where two more people were found dead today, victims of these wildfires. Tell us about that.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ana. What we know from authorities so far is that they were found inside a charred vehicle. There are still a lot of questions around the circumstances of those deaths, but of course, assuming they are related to this fire, that would bring the total to 25 now between this fire and then the campfire raging up north as well.

Here in Malibu, we're in the southwest corner of the fire's footprint and it seemed to choose houses at random. For instance, this property here, you can see the home is still in perfect shape. The property looks basically untouched, but come on over here with me just to the next property, and you can see not everyone was as lucky.

Obviously there's some charring through the bushes there and then there are these seaside properties, looked right out on to the Pacific Ocean, that are completely destroyed, like this one right here. That would have been an absolutely gorgeous home there, right out on the Pacific overlooking the Zuma Beach.

And it is completely and utterly destroyed. If you come down here, you know, officials are warning about these downed power lines, downed trees, and there is a perfect example, a tree that's sort of burned out and just managed to keel over. You can see a little smoldering there in that tree as well.

And as these winds start to pick up, of course, that only increases the risk that the fire will flare up again and start to spread. Here's another home. Again, you can see it's still smoldering there even after this fire has come through. And then if you look through what's left of this house, and there's

really nothing left, to the other side of the canyon, the fire went down and came back up the other side. And you can see it charred to the top of the hill, but it didn't actually affect those condos at the top. A lot of the people in those condos, well, they slept elsewhere. They slept by the beach because it just wasn't safe to be there while this fire was coming through.

[17:05:02] We spoke to some other people who said that they've been over there on that side of the canyon, putting out spot fires with garden hoses, shovels, whatever they can find. But again, Ana, here's the problem. The problem is that with the weather, the wind is coming from inland, it is hot, it is dry, and that is not doing much for the humidity situation over here.

Obviously, that increases the fire risk. And then wind gusts, 40, 50 miles per hour could be happening between today and Tuesday. And so fire crews and of course people who live here as well, they're on high alert for what comes next, Ana.

CABRERA: Scott, are evacuations still happening? Where is this fire moving right now because you mentioned the winds are still unpredictable?

MCLEAN: Yes, so this area is still very much under mandatory evacuation orders. In fact, I just spoke to one woman who said, look, she's stayed here. She lives in those condos just across the way and she said she's here because if she leaves, she won't be able to come back and she wants to be able to do whatever she can to protect her property.

And there is a lot of people who feel the same way. They've just stayed, hoping for the best. I spoke to one guy yesterday though. He said he was try to fight off the fire with a garden hose, whatever he had, until he saw a power pole on his street burn out and fall over. And that's when he decided to get out.

In terms of active burning, well, we're seeing it in a few different areas, but the actual footprint of this fire hasn't really changed that much in the last couple of hours. Obviously, given how quickly things move through here, the fear is that could change and that could affect homes that haven't been burned within the footprint or outside of it, Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Scott McLean, thank you. Stay safe. Stay safe your whole crew. We appreciate your reporting. For ways you can help those affected by the California wildfires, go to cnn.com/impact.

And as California continues to burn, President Trump is making his way back to the U.S. from France. It should have been a fairly simple trip, traveling to Paris to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. But President Trump is facing some fallout from his trip overseas. At a ceremony today, French President Emmanuel Macron took a shot at President Trump's America-first agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translation): Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism by saying our interests firsts, who cares about the others, we erase what a nation holds dearest, what gives it life, what makes it great and what is essential, its moral values.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: That came one day after President Trump and Macron agreed on the need for more European defense spending, which followed President Trump's angry and misleading tweet on Friday, demanding Europe pay more for its share in NATO. White House reporter Sarah Westwood is joining us now. Sarah, this couldn't have been how the president thought this trip was going to go.

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Ana. It's hard to imagine that just a year ago, President Trump and French President Macron were sitting next to each other, having a great time in what looks like becoming friends over the 2017 Bastille Day parade.

That's not the kind of relationship that we saw on display during this trip, which as you may recall was born out of the president's desire to have a military parade here in the U.S. that mirrored the one he saw in France last year. And when that cost estimate ballooned to about $100 million, the president opted to go to France for this World War I anniversary instead.

And what we saw was a trip that began with what both sides chalked up to a misunderstanding about a supposed proposal for a European military with Macron and Trump eventually both saying that their views were aligned in terms of military spending and ended with Macron, as you mentioned, delivering comments that many have interpreted as a repudiation of the president's America-first isolationist foreign policy.

And that is certainly not the kind of relationship that the White House sought out to highlight with this trip, but it exposed a lot of the tensions that have developed between the U.S. And Europe and France specifically since Trump took office, Ana.

CABRERA: A move that seems to have drawn the most criticism this week and came when President Trump canceled his trip to an American military cemetery outside Paris yesterday because of rainy weather. Now, that decision caused outrage on social media, including this tweet from the grandson of Winston Churchill.

Take a look at this. He writes, "They died with their face to the foe, and that pathetic and inadequate Donald Trump couldn't even defy the weather to pay his respects to the fallen." Sarah, how is the White House responding to all of this criticism of the president's trip?

WESTWOOD: Well, the White House hasn't really offered a great defense of that decision to skip the visit to the American burial grounds. The reason given was that the weather was bad and so the president's helicopter wasn't going to be able to make it to that cemetery and obviously anyone who covers the president regularly will recognize what's known as a bad weather call, when the helicopter can't make it to a destination.

[17:10:03] But it's also how the White House handled that weather- based cancellation. There was no statement of regret for the president's inability to go to that cemetery. The president didn't offer any kind of visits around France as an alternative.

The president also chose to go alone to the Arc De Triomphe, to the ceremony where French President Macron delivered those remarks. He did not choose to ride over from the palace with the rest of the world leaders. So there were a lot of optics that were not optimal for the president during this tip, Ana.

CABRERA: Sarah Westwood, thank you for that reporting.

Showdown in Florida, the Republican candidate for senate filing three lawsuits today. So what does this mean for the recount under way at this hour? Stay with us. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Happening right now, votes are being recounted in Florida's razor-thin races for Senate and governor.

[17:14:59] And the Palm Beach supervisor of elections says she needs more time, adding, quote, "It is impossible to meet the Thursday recount deadline." Another big development, Republican senate candidate, Rick Scott, the current governor, filing three lawsuits in state court. This coming hours after Scott upped the ante accusing his Democratic opponent, Bill Nelson, of fraud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA SENATE CANDIDATE: Senator Nelson is clearly trying to commit fraud to try to win this election. That's all this is.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS HOST: Wait a second. I want to pick up on that. You're accusing Bill Nelson of trying to commit fraud?

SCOTT: His lawyer said that a noncitizen should vote, that's one. Number two, he's gone to trial and said that fraudulent ballots should be counted. Ballots have already been thrown out because they were not done properly. He said those should be counted.

WALLACE: And you think that is the senator himself is committing fraud?

SCOTT: Well, it's his team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Nelson, the Democrat, firing back, "If Rick Scott wanted to make sure every legal ballot is counted, he would not be suing to try and stop voters from having their legal ballot counted as intended." Let's get to CNN's Ryan Nobles, still on the ground in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. Ryan, you've been there all week. So many developments. Let's start here with this new deadline for the recount. If the counties can't meet it, what happens next?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right, Ana. It's already been a wild day on this first full day of the recount in Florida. And this development in Palm Beach I think is a very significant one. Susan Butcher, who is the supervisor of elections in Palm Beach County telling our Greg Kreig, that it is simply impossible for her county to meet that deadline of having all the ballots recounted by Thursday.

The reason that is significant, Ana, is because Florida law specifically says only the votes that can be counted by the deadline are the ones that will actually be counted in the overall total. And for Democrats, that could be a big blow because Palm Beach is one of their big counties. If they have any hope of flipping these results and someone like Bill Nelson overtaking Rick Scott, they need every single vote in Palm Beach County to be counted.

And if they can't get it done in time, that could be a problem. Now, I would believe that this could potentially open the door for another lawsuit from Bill Nelson and his team, pleading with perhaps a federal court or even a local court to allow Palm Beach County's deadline to be extended so those votes can be counted.

But at this point, Ana, the supervisor of election being clear, she can't get it done in time and that could mean a whole host of votes that were counted in the original count may not be counted in this recount.

CABRERA: And in fact, you and I both reached out to the communications director with the Secretary of State's office, which is called the Department of State there in Florida. And she responded just now via text, telling me Florida law states that if a county does not submit their results by the deadline, then the results on file at that time take their place. So that seems to be the official word at this hour. Ryan, tell us now more about these lawsuits Scott filed today.

NOBLES: Yes, that's right. So Rick Scott's filing a trio of lawsuits and they are dealing with both Broward and Palm Beach County. The most significant one is one that's directed at the supervisor of election there is in Broward County, Branda Snipes. And it's accusing her of counting a batch of ballots after that noon deadline.

And based on, you know, our communication already with the Secretary of State, that would be against federal law. You cannot count ballots after the deadline. And to kind of further illustrate this, there was a group of 266 ballots that were discovered in a mail facility in Miami-Dade County that didn't make it to the election facility until after the deadline, and they are not counting those votes.

So, Rick Scott's team saying that that batch of votes should not be included. Now, the other two lawsuits involve a direction that they're asking for the sheriff's department in both of those counties and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to basically be in charge of the voting machines and the ballots while the recount is ongoing and after it ends. They want those machines and those ballots to be impounded to prevent

there from any malfeasance happening. It will ultimately be a judge that decides whether or not that happens because it is the responsibility of the supervisors of elections to be in charge of the machines and the ballots in these two counties.

So, you know, Ana, if it feels like your head is spinning, that is a good way to describe it. Here we are only day one of this lengthy and in-depth recount. We've already got a flurry of lawsuits, a flurry of problems, and we still do not know who the next U.S. senator and governor of the state of Florida will be.

CABRERA: That's Florida for you, right? Ryan Nobles, thank you for your continued reporting there. Great job.

Top Democrats say they have sent a letter to the Department of Justice demanding that Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker recuse himself from the Russia investigation. We'll tell you why some are even threatening a subpoena.

[17:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Top Democrats, some of whom are about to be in power come January, are calling on new Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from the Mueller probe. They're concerned that President Trump fired Jeff Sessions and appointed Whitaker in his place to specifically rein in or even end the Russia investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: The appointment of Mr. Whitaker should concern every American, Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, who believes in rule of law and justice. He's already prejudged the Mueller situation. If he stays there, he will create a constitutional crisis by inhibiting Mueller or firing Mueller even -- So congress has to act.

[17:25:06] REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: First of all, I think he should recuse himself for any review of the investigation because of statements he has made already in the public domain about the fact this investigation should not --

MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS NEWS HOST: You don't have confidence in him as America's top enforcement officer?

PELOSI: No, I don't.

REP. JERRRY NADLER (D), NEW YORK: The president's dismissal of Attorney General Sessions and his appointment of Whitaker is a complete political lackey (ph) is a real threat to the integrity of that investigation. That investigation is of utmost importance in making sure that we adhere to the rule of law and that the administration is held accountable. Our very first witness after January 3rd, we will subpoena or we will summon, if necessary subpoena, Mr. Whitaker. REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: You know, I want to make this very

clear. If he doesn't recuse himself, if he has any involvement whatsoever in this Russia probe, we are going to find out.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

CABRERA: A reminder now about the Democrats we just heard from, Pelosi says she expects to be the next Speaker of the House come January. And Congressman Nadler and Schiff are poised to chair the judiciary and intelligence committees respectively giving them subpoena power.

Here to discuss what options Democrats have , political commentator and columnist for "USA Today" and "Huffington Post" Kurt Bardella and CNN political analyst and chief political correspondent for "Esquire" Ryan Lizza. Good to have you guys with us on this Sunday.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's good to be here.

CABRERA: Kurt, you served as the senior adviser and spokesperson for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for roughly four years. So you were there the last time the House flipped. What options do Democrats have when it comes to oversight and investigating the Trump administration?

KURT BARDELLA, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR AND COLUMNIST, HUFFINGTON POST: They have a lot of options and a lot of authority, Ana. And the reality is everything that's going on right now within the Trump administration is subject to disclosure, subject to discovery from Democrats as soon as they take power next year. They can subpoena and request documents, e-mails, talk to other people in the administration about what discussions are happening around Matt Whitaker.

How did this process happen? How did Sessions get removed? What promises were made or agreements were made about how Whitaker would conduct himself as regards to the Mueller probe? All of that -- and on top of that, they can also have as incoming judiciary chairman Nadler talked about and alluded to, public hearings where they can demand and subpoena anybody in the Trump administration to appear and answer questions. They can have the confirmation hearings essentially that the Senate can't because they have the oversight authority.

CABRERA: Ryan, according to CNN reporting, White House aides have been shocked by the backlash to Whitaker's appointment. How is this playing out at the White House? Any sign Whitaker will recuse himself?

LIZZA: Well, the process as far as I understand it is that he will get a recommendation from ethics lawyers at the Justice Department, right. And then he'll have to make a decision about whether to -- if they indeed recommend that there's a sound basis for him to recuse himself, as they did with Sessions, then he'll have to make that decision himself.

I think the Democrats sent a letter over to the Justice Department asking for the folks who are in charge of that process to seriously consider recusal. And you know, it's -- the Sessions situation was very clear, I think, right. He had -- he was part of the campaign. He was a potential witness to some of the things that Mueller was investigating.

With Whitaker, the two main arguments are, one, that he said prejudicial comments on CNN and on cnn.com, right, where he's basically kind of in some instances almost trying to discredit the investigation and said certain things that Mueller might look into were not lawful. And two, he had a relationship with one of the -- with a person, Sam Clovis, who was overseeing Papadopoulos on the campaign.

Obviously Papadopoulos has pled guilty to a crime. He's part of the Mueller investigation. And Whitaker was -- had a political relationship with him, with his boss, Sam Clovis, in Iowa. So there's that connection. So the question is, does that trigger enough of -- is that enough of a trigger where he should completely recuse himself? That's what the ethics lawyers at the Justice Department will have to study.

CABRERA: And Kurt, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Democrats against investigating the president earlier this week. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MIMTCH MCCONNELL (R), KENTUCKY: The whole issue of presidential harassment is interesting. I remember when we tried it in the late '90s. We impeached President Clinton. His numbers went up and ours went down and we underperformed in the next election. So the Democrats in the House will have to decide just how much presidential harassment they think is good strategy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Kurt, does McConnell make a good point there?

[17:30:54] BARDELLA: No, because I don't remember Mitch McConnell being concerned or even calling it harassment when House Republicans, including my former boss, Darrell Issa, was investigating Operation Fast and Furious during the Obama administration or the four years they investigated Benghazi and Hillary Clinton, which led to the disclosure that there was an e-mail issue with Hillary Clinton.

I don't remember Mitch McConnell or anybody in the Senate for that matter who partnered with House Republicans to promote these investigations describing it as harassment of Barack Obama. So there is a stunning amount of hypocrisy from Mitch McConnell. Republicans have a long, public history talking about the need for aggressive and vigorous oversight of the executive branch.

They spent the entire part of this decade basically issuing more than 100 subpoenas to Barack Obama's presidency. They had hundreds of hearings. They raised millions of dollars off of these investigations as well. You know, their body of work speaks for itself and for them to now try to trot out there and say, well, any type of executive oversight is somehow overreaching and overbearing and harassment, is laughable.

CABRERA: Ryan, do you see a circumstance in which that could backfire though on Democrats should they go down this path of investigation?

LIZZA: It's possible. I think it's true that when the public sees the investigative apparatus of Congress used in ways that seem overly partisan or unfair, then yeah, McConnell has a point that there has in history been a backlash against that. But look, this is an administration that's had two years of sort of a blank check from Congress when it comes to oversight.

Republicans have just not been interested in any way and it's been a pretty controversial two years with a lot of issues, a lot of things that have gone on. And there's some pent-up demand in Congress to take a look under the hood of the Trump administration and ask some hard questions. It's one of the most important roles Congress has.

So, I think frankly, the public having elected a Democratic house, there would be a far bigger backlash if Democrats said, oh, well, yeah, we don't want to exercise our oversight role. So I think McConnell has got it backwards on this.

The Democrats were elected in part to serve, Ana, as a check on an administration that's done a lot of controversial things in two years with no oversight from Congress.

CABRERA: Ryan, Kurt, good to have both of you with us. Thanks very much.

LIZZA: Thanks, Ana.

BARDELLA: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Even as votes are still being counted in some races across the country, one thing is for sure. The midterms made history. Up next, we'll talk to a woman who's been a leader in breaking barriers, the first openly LGBT person to be elected governor. Kate Brown in Oregon will is going to join us right after this.

[17:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: A historic election this week, breaking barriers for women, minorities, and the LGBT community across the nation. In January, Congress will seat a record number of women. Among them, we'll see the very first Native-American and Muslim women heading to Congress. Also, Native-American, Sharice Davids, a former MMA fighter winning in deep red Kansas, where she'll become the state's first openly LGBT representative.

And the Jared Polis becoming the nation's first openly gay man elected governor in Colorado. Joining me now, Governor Kate Brown of Oregon, a representative of change herself, the first openly LGBT person to be elected governor. Good to have you with us.

GOV. KATE BROWN, GOVERNOR OF OREGON: Thank you so much for having me.

CABRERA: How do you feel about the direction of the country after the midterm elections?

BROWN: Well, I'm certainly pleased to see that we tripled the number of democratically elected women governors across the states, and I'm so delighted to have another colleague, Jared Polis, in Colorado, the new governor-elect there.

CABRERA: I just want to reiterate, you are one of six women right now serving as governor. You've been open about being bisexual and became the first openly bisexual governor back in 2015. And now Jared Polis has become the first openly gay man just elected as governor in Colorado. Do you see this as a breakthrough moment in history?

BROWN: Absolutely on a number of levels. I think it's so critically important that folks see a diversity of leadership in these governor's offices, that we bring a diversity of voices to the leadership table. Certainly here in Oregon, we've been able to progress on a number of fronts, from making sure that folks can get a driver's license that is gender neutral and making sure folks can get a birth certificate that reflects their current gender identity.

We've also banned conversion therapy and I've made very, very clear that all of our students need to be safe and secure in our schools across the states. So, it's so important that we have leadership that reflects the diversity of the LGBT communities. But I think it's so important for kids to see role models. You can't be what you can't see and I think it's key to have governor-elect Polis' leadership in Colorado and mine here on the West Coast.

CABRERA: You talked about what you're doing at the state level, but this current administration at the federal level has made a number of moves that critics say could reverse progress on LGBT rights, from trying to re-instate a ban on transgender people in the military to narrowing the definition of gender to nominating people, several people, to the courts who have anti-LGBT records. Do you feel like the LGBT community is threatened right now?

BROWN: Absolutely. This administration is just taking us in the wrong direction across this country on a number of issues, but certainly in terms of LGBTQ equality.

[17:39:58] I'm so proud of the work that we are doing here in Oregon to keep moving this state forward and to ensure that every Oregonian, regardless of their sexual orientation, has the opportunity to thrive. We will continue to fight back against the federal administration with every single tool that we have, whether it's through the courts, through leadership at the state level, through crafting executive orders.

I will use every single tool to protect our community and this state. And I look forward to working with my other governors across the country on these issues. I think it's so key that we've tripled the number of Democratic women governors across the states with choice on the line as well, with the new makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court. It's so key that the states play a leadership role in making sure that women across this country have access to the full complement of reproductive health services. I was proud to sign into law in Oregon the nation's most comprehensive

reproductive health care legislation, making sure that women, regardless of their income, their zip code, and their immigration status have access to the full complement of reproductive health services. That legislation is a model for the rest of the country, and it is so desperately needed now. I'm looking forward to working with my other --

CABRERA: You've talked about that fighting back, but I want to ask you --

BROWN: I'm looking forward to working with my other --

CABRERA: Sorry. We got a bit of a delay. Finish your thought and I'll ask my next question.

BROWN: Well, I think it's so key that we've tripled the number of women governors that are Democratic and pro-choice because these women will help us lead the way and ensure that women across the country have access to the health care that we need.

CABRERA: OK. You've talked about fighting back, but I also want to ask you about bridging the divide because you've said in previous interviews that it's still not easy to have conversations about your sexuality, even with your own family. And I'm wondering what you've learned through your experience about bridging divides and perspectives that could apply to the polarization in today's society on really any number of issues.

BROWN: Well, I think we see it at a number of levels. For me in Oregon, the divide we see that's greatest is the divide between our urban and our rural communities. So, as governor, I've worked really hard to spend extensive periods of time in rural Oregon.

When there has been crises in rural Oregon, whether it was the occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge or a tragic shooting at a local community college, I worked very closely with Republicans and Democrats in the legislature to make sure that those communities have the tools and the resources they needed to recover.

But there is also this economic divide that we're seeing in communities around the state. Our communities of color, our low-income communities, and our rural communities are really not seeing the economic prosperity that is driving what we are -- what we see now as the lowest unemployment rate in this state in Oregon history.

And so, that means also making sure that communities like Pendleton and Ontario have the tools they need to create good-paying jobs. And for me, that looks like investments in infrastructure, roads and bridges, investments in affordable housing, and of course investments in water infrastructure.

CABRERA: Governor Kate Brown, thank you very much for joining us.

BROWN: Thank you. You have a great day.

CABRERA: You too and Happy Veterans Day and thank you to all those who serve in your state.

Now, in the final episode of "Parts Unknown," Anthony Bourdain takes us on a personal journey through New York's lower east side. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDE CLIP)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, CNN'S PARTS UNKNOW: You actually grew up here. What was that like growing up here, being a little kid here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My main problem growing up down here was that I lived on a gang block.

BOURDAIN: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gang on my block was called the Hitmen. And you know, they were no joke, right. And I remember they'd be hanging out on the stoop on the church across the street, smoking dust, all of them with their golf clubs and 007 knives and everybody would be listening to, of all things, Kraftwerk, Trans-euro Express.

BOURDAIN: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They'd be out there screaming we're going to kill the next (inaudible) that comes out of that building. And I'm laying there thinking, wow, I got to go to school tomorrow, man. I was never a violent person.

Christ, I was raised by hippies, but I was thrown into a crazy environment where I had no choice but to fight my way through it. I always had a cue ball and a sock in my pocket. I'd split your head open quicker than you could say what the --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: The final episode of Anthony Bourdain "Parts Unknown" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN. We'll be right back.

[17:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Welcome back. Not only is today's Veterans Day, but it is also Armistice Day, which marks 100 years since the end of the first World War I. And today serves as a chance to remember not just those who fought but what they fought for. In London, Big Ben signaled a moment of silence.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

CABRERA: And as dignitaries lay wreaths in honor of the fallen, one English historian is taking old photos and videos and bringing soldiers who fought in that First World War and their stories back to life. CNN's Nick Glass reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[17:50:04] NICK GLASS, CNN JOURNALIST: The trains of course are so much faster now. Just whistle through the station at Letchworth some 40 miles north of London. The station building itself hasn't changed that much in a century or so. The big difference on that summer's day way back in August 1914 is the main platform was crowded with men in uniform going off to war.

The way we remember the great war has suddenly changed. The images have been tinted. We have gone to see the war in color for the first time.

DAN HILL: This is Private Walter Flanders and Private Bill Johnson. They had a tragically short war and these two chaps were both killed by the same shell buried alive.

GLASS: Dan Hill (ph) is trying to identify all the men on the platform and find out what happened to them.

HILL: This is Corporal Arthur Ernest Boardman. He's the very first man to fall.

GLASS: So far, Hill has identified 11 of the men in the photo. Eight of them never came home. Their names are on the wall memorial just 50 yards from the railway station. Corporal Boardman, Privates Flanders and Johnson among a long list of other causalities.

Just colorizing old black and white stills obviously makes the story more accessible to a younger generation. Doing the same to moving footage has been infinitely more dramatic.

PETER JACKSON, DIRECTOR: It just brings it to life. I mean, as someone who had a long term interest of this, the last two or three years, we've been restoring this footage has been incredibly exciting. I'm stunned to see the faces. You see the people. You see the humanity.

GLASS: Peter Jackson's documentary "They Shall Know Grow Old" gives us a rare insight in what it is like to fight in the trenches on the western front. Both electrifying, funny and sobering, a film about camaraderie and animal savagery, we learned what it was like to be an ordinary soldier.

This is the Welch grandfather Peter Jackson never met. Sergeant William Jackson was machined gunned at the battle of Somme in France in 1916. He was a lucky one. He survived. Private Ted Ambrose didn't. He was 19 when he died. His suitcase was returned from the Somme to his mother in England. She could hardly bear to open it and it was quickly consigned to her attic for most of the 20th century.

Ted's pipe and tobacco, his cigarettes including army issued red hussars, a locket with pictures of himself and his sweetheart and the service medals he never lived to receive. The artifacts amount to a rare discovery. A poignant time capsule.

We began the centenary of the Great War in 2014 with the moat of the Tower of London filled with a sea of ceramic poppies. Some of them have now migrated across the Thames to the Imperial War Museum that cascade, a weeping window spilling down the building. Britain's poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy has written a new poem to mark the centenary of the Armistice. "The Great War," she writes, "is the wound in time." Will we ever remember it with quite so much intensity again? Nick Glass, CNN, London.

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CABRERA: We salute the brave today. A face-to-face apology from "Saturday Night Live's" Pete Davidson to congressman-elect Dan Crenshaw after his distasteful joke last week. Hear how the former veteran took it and his message to America.

[17:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Apology accepted. Newly elected Texas representative Dan Crenshaw appearing on "SNL" last night sitting side by side comedian Pete Davidson. He apologized for mocking a photo of the former Navy Seal last week. And after getting a few jabs in of his own, Crenshaw took a more serious tone. Listen.

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DAN CRENSHAW (R), TEXS CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: -- but seriously, there's a lot of lessons to learn here. Not just that the left and right can still agree on some things but also this Americans can forgive one another. We can remember what brings us together as a country and still see the good in each other.

This is Veterans Day weekend, which means it's a good time for every American to connect with a veteran. Maybe say thanks for your service. But I would encourage you to say something else. Tell a veteran, never forget.

When you say never forget to a veteran, you are implying that as an American you're in it with them. Not separated by some imaginary barrier between civilians and veterans but connected together as grateful, fellow Americans who will never forget the sacrifices made by veterans past and present and never forget those we lost on 9/11. Heroes like Pete's father. So I'll just say Pete, never forget.

PETE DAVIDSON, COMEDIAN: Never forget.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: You are in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks for being with me on this Veterans Day. We are following breaking news right now, an urgent, out of control wildfire emergency in several parts of California.

And just a short time ago, the death toll jumped again when fire officials found the bodies of two more people who died when they were overcome by the fast moving fire. Cliffside homes in Malibu in Ventura County either burned to the ground or seriously damaged.

[18:00:02] Hundreds of thousands of people around Los Angeles have evacuated. It's just not safe to stay there. The most destructive of the wild --