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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Officials: Walmart Shooter Bought Gun On Day Of Attack; Biden Calls For More Gun Laws After Series Of Mass Shootings; Coast Guard Rescues Passenger Who Went Overboard On Cruise; High Prices Force People To Be Careful With Holiday Spending; U.S.-England World Cup Match Ends In Draw; Defiant Iranians Continue Protests Despite Threats From Regime; Holiday Gatherings Offer Nasty Viruses Space To Spread. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 25, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:03]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Now, the guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services, it's not far off of that. It foodsafety.gov website advises leftovers be left in the fridge for three to four days. It even says say not enough consumers that food can become unsafe in the refrigerator after four days. So, today is the day it's its best.

THE LEAD starts right now.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: If you're not into shopping and over entertaining family, here's an alternative.

THE LEAD starts right now.

Drama on the high seas. A man vanishes from a cruise ship bonanza rescued alive. How did he go from drinks with his sister to being in the water alone?

And, a Senate race on the line in Georgia. The reported go around for in-person voting instead of mail-in ballots.

Plus, just when we thought maybe online shopping could ease some of the crowds, Black Friday shoppers come out in droves.

The surge in sales despite inflation and recession fears.

(MUSIC)

HUNT: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Kasie Hunt, in today for Jake Tapper.

We start with new details about the horrific attack at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia. Local officials have released a note found on the shooters phone. It was titled, death note and was filled with grievances he had with himself and colleagues.

The city of Chesapeake also identified the youngest victim of the massacre, 16 year old for Fernando Chavez-Barron. In the wake of this tragedy and the mass shooting at the LGBTQ

nightclub in Colorado, President Biden says he will push Congress to push new gun laws including a ban on some semiautomatic rifles.

CNN's Brian Todd starts off our coverage with a closer look at the investigation in Chesapeake, Virginia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSIE WILCZEWSKI, WALMART EMPLOYEE, SURVIVED SHOOTING: He had the gun up to my forehead and -- this is really hard.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight's chilling new details released by police reveal that the man who killed six Walmart employee spot has weapon that very day. City officials say the shooter had no criminal history and that he legally bought the gun he used, a nine millimeter handgun. Officials releasing screenshots of writings found on the gunmen's phone, the title: death now.

He describes that grievances he had, writing his associates were laughing and mocking him, saying they, quote, gave me evil twisted greens. Mock me and celebrated my downfall the last day. That's why they suffered the same fate as me.

In another part he writes, quote, I wish I could have saved everyone from myself. My God, forgive me for what I'm going to do.

While the gunman spoke of specific people in the note, police say none of them were his victims. And the names were redacted for privacy.

CNN reached out to Walmart to inquire if the shooter had any complaints against him or had ever been disciplined or demoted. In response, Walmart said, quote, there is nothing that can justify taking innocent lives. One survivor, a fellow employee, told us earlier this week that she had been warned about the gunman.

BRIANA TYLER, WALMART EMPLOYEE, SURVIVED SHOOTING: I am new but I had heard from the very beginning that he was the one to watch out for.

TODD: The city also released the identity of the youngest victim. Now identified us 16-year-old Fernando Chavez-Barron. Friends say the teen had just started working at the Walmart and used his first paycheck to buy gifts for his mother.

JOSHUA TREJO-ALVARADO, FRIEND KILLED IN SHOOTING: I was hoping everything was a dream until they (INAUDIBLE). I wish he was so here standing with me.

TODD: With two people still in the hospital, dozens gathered Thursday to pray for the victims.

As the community struggles to move forward, the survivor can't stop reliving the terror.

WILCZEWSKI: The sound of the droplets -- it replays and replays and replays, of how much blood was coming off the different chairs, it was making a rhythm and it was one of the most disturbing things I think I will never let go of that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): The mayor of Chesapeake, Rick West, has announced at a vigil for the victims we held at city park in Chesapeake on Monday evening. At this time, Walmart is still not answering CNN's questions about whether any disciplinary measures had ever been taken against the shooter or if any complaints had ever been made by other employees about him -- Kasie.

HUNT: Brian Todd, thanks very much for that report.

Let's turn now to those comments by President Biden and his renewed push for more gun laws including a ban on some semi-automatic rifles.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the president and his family are spending the Thanksgivings holiday.

Arlette, what else are you hearing from President Biden?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, President Biden has renewed his call for an assault weapons ban but he is running up against the harsh political reality that the votes simply do not exist in Congress to get such a measure across the finish line.

[16:05:08]

But still, you have seen President Biden in the wake of mass shootings in this country call for this ban on assault weapons and yesterday, he shared his frustration with the sales of some semi-automatic weapons in this country.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The idea we still allow semiautomatic weapons to be purchased is sick. It is just sick. It has no socially redeeming value. Zero, none. Not a single solitary rationale for it except profits for the gun manufacturer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now the president went on to talk about his desire to pass an assault weapons ban. He said that he would have to assess whether the votes are there, but they have attempted in the past to try to get these measures in place and pass, and the votes haven't existed. And it will get even more complicated once divided government begins starting in January.

Now, yesterday, while President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were here celebrating Thanksgiving in Nantucket, they also placed a phone call to the order of Club Q. That LGBTQ nightclub that saw that mass shooting just last weekend. The president is wrapping up his Nantucket thanksgiving weekend here, taking a stroll through town about to go to the Christmas lightning here. HUNT: Arlette Saenz, thanks very much for that report today.

And joining me now to discuss is Democratic Congressman John Garamendi of California.

Congressman, thanks so much for being with us.

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Sure, Kasie. Good to be with you.

HUNT: And you just heard President Biden renew his call for Congress to pass a ban on some semi-automatic weapons. But you and I both know that the reality is that the votes aren't there. So why should the American people believe that this time it could be different?

GARAMENDI: Well, Kasie, what we have to do is continue to put the votes up in committee and on the floor. Basically, challenging all 435 members of Congress and 100 senators, are you going to continue to step aside and allow this horrible incident, day after day, to continue. Or are you going to put your career on the line and save Americans with sensible gun legislation?

The president is absolutely correct. No assault weapons. Good heavens, back in 1989 I was a state senator California. The very first school shooting with an assault weapon. That led to a ban in California and ultimately to a ten-year national ban. It can be done.

But it seems as though Congress -- members of Congress in the Senate haven't have an unlimited act appetite for violence. We have to stop that. We have just simply be held accountable. We have to have decent legislation, assault weapons.

And by the way, to be able to go out and buy a semiautomatic pistol, the very same day that you intend to shoot somebody is absolutely crazy. You have to wait a month to buy a couch, you have to wait three or four months by an electric vehicle. You ought to be able to have a lawn place, which we do in California, that you can't go into a store and walk out with a pistol. You are going to have to wait a few days with a background check as well as for time to cool off.

HUNT: So the reality is, of course, that the House is going to be controlled by Republicans come January. There were 14 house Republicans who voted with Democrats to pass some bipartisan legislation earlier this summer. But just five of them are going to be coming back to that next Congress. Have you reached out to them or any other Republicans to see if there is a deal that you they would be willing to take with you?

GARAMENDI: Well, we do have a caucus in the house, both Democrats and Republicans. Mike Thompson, my colleague from California is the leader of that and we constantly do that. But my point is that those of us that want to have seen rational gun safety laws need to continue to introduce those pieces of legislation. We need to try to get that committees to hear them, and we try to get the bills on the floor for a vote. And there are ways of doing that.

In other words, all of us have to be held accountable in this legislative, this Congress as well as the next one which begins in January. Put the bills up there, forced us to vote. Yes or no, are we for rational safety, are we going to continue to stand for this slaughter all across this nation, are we willing to put our own careers on the line, challenge the NRA, challenge the gun lobbyists and have a go at it?

It can be done. Eventually things will break free as I did with a bill that did become law that the president did sign. It took ten years to get there. But if we don't try, if we don't introduce --

(CROSSTALK)

HUNT: Are the House Democrats are going to do that in the next couple of months?

GARAMENDI: Yes, we will.

[16:10:01]

We will continue to do so. You will see an assault weapons ban that's already on the floor. It is already in committee. It was on the floor. It hasn't had a vote yet. In the next Congress, you can be certain that Democrats and Republicans, some, will push forward with rational gun safety laws.

HUNT: Okay. I mean, it doesn't seem likely that with a Republican speaker of the House. But I do take your point. Before I let you go, I'd even ask you something about something that happened to you earlier this week. Prosecutors until charges against a Michigan man for sending you and the FBI director, Christopher Wray, death threats and you have said you told us, CNN, that you and your fellow lawmakers don't have the security that you need to.

I mean, who is to blame for that lapse, that failure?

GARAMENDI: Well, we do have security. If there is a direct threat, and yes we do have security. That security is available to us and we do take advantage of it, while that threat is active. In this case, hopefully this fellow is arrested and hopefully he and any others that want to threaten public officials, whether members of Congress or senators, or even election officials who are volunteering.

If there is a death threat, that's a crime and they ought to be prosecuted and they ought to be spending time in jail. But yes, we do have security when there is a specific threat as there was in this case.

However, as long as this violent hate rhetoric is out there, they are going to continue to be threats because there are too many people that will listen to that, listen to the conspiracy theories and all the QAnon talk and they will come to believe that it is their place on this earth to take action. And so we need to be aware of hate speech and we need to tone it down. What is going to happen on Twitter is frankly very, very frightening.

If Elon Musk gets his way and nothing becomes another site, a very popular site for violence, for all kinds of conspiracy theories and the like, it is going to be a much more. Our nation will be much less safe. And by the way, it just seems to me that there ought to be a law that these websites, Twitter and Facebook, and all the other, they are free from any accountability at all. The current law simply allows anything to be up on their website and they have no responsibility whatsoever.

There ought to be a law. There ought to be a lot of it says, okay it's free speech guy by God you are responsible for what you are putting on your website and you can be sued if you allow that to be there.

HUNT: Yeah, I know you are talking about Section 230, something congress is focused on it I'm sure we'll be talking about in the weeks ahead. Democratic Congressman John Garamendi, thanks very much for your time, sir.

GARAMENDI: Thank you, Kasie.

HUNT: Coming up next, two vacation mysteries. In Mexico, the new arrest warrant after North Carolina woman on a trip with college friends ended up dead.

Plus, the cruise ship rescue after a man vanishes and it ends up in the water for 15 hours. How in the world did he survive all that time?

Plus, the rivalry plan out today goes back to the earliest days of America.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNT: We're back now with our world lead and new clues in a deadly mystery. How and why did a North Carolina woman died while in vacation in Mexico? Prosecutors there now say Shanquella Robinson's death was the result of, quote, a direct attack.

CNN's Ryan Young is following new details in the case.

Ryan, Mexican prosecutors say they know whom they're looking for?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, there are so many questions in this. They know who they are looking for, that name hasn't been released just yet. But you think about this. Six friends traveling to Mexico with this young lady to have a good time and on the first day this attack happened. You heard that language that they used, this was a direct attack. I can tell you there is video out there on social media that shows this attack happening for several seconds and no one intervening. This woman was traveling with people he she considered her college friends.

So the big question is, what happened, why no one stepped in, and why was the video posted to social media. One of the other questions that we have right now is why no one else is facing charges. We know the FBI is involved. It was all happening back in October 28.

Social media has been keeping the story alive. But as you can imagine, the mother who is involved in this case is so very upset that not only where the friends maybe told her different story, but it has taken this long. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALAMONDRA ROBINSON, SHANQUELLA ROBINSON'S MOTHER: On Saturday evening, they called and said that she wasn't feeling well and they were going to college otter. But when they called, the doctor had interest yet but they said she had alcohol poisoning. We received the autopsy report on Thursday and it said that her neck had been broke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: So you understand how crazy this was in terms of, I have seen the video. We can't air just yet but she is being hit over and over. Her dad has confirmed to us, that is her in the video. So we are still working to see exactly what happened and when Mexican authorities can make this arrest. We are trying to figure out all of the pieces of this one -- Kasie.

HUNT: So awful. Ryan Young, thanks for that report.

Let's turn now to what the Coast Guard is calling a thanksgiving miracle. A 28-woman is recovering after rescuers say he fell overboard a carnival cruise ship. And spent up to 15 hours in the water before search teams found and saved him.

As CNN's Nick Valencia reports, one search and rescue coordinator said, it's unlike anything he's ever been a part of.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it kind of blows normalcy out of the water here.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A miraculous Thanksgiving rescue at sea after a carnival crucial part passenger went overboard. The cruise company said, the 20-year-old man was reported missing Thursday around noon. He had last been seen around 11 pm Wednesday by his sister leaving a bar on board the ship which I left New Orleans bound for Cozumel, Mexico.

LT. SETH GROSS, U.S. COAST GUARD: At any point from 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday on, he could've entered the waterway.

[16:20:03]

So he realistically could have been in the water for 15-plus hours before we were able to successfully rescue him.

VALENCIA: Since so much time had passed since he was last seen, the rescue operation was particularly challenging.

GROSS: Understanding we did have a big time delay, the longer that somebody is in the water, the greater the search area is going to be. So time is certainly at the essence.

VALENCIA: Ultimately, the crew above aboard a cargo vessel located have about 20 miles south of southwest past Louisiana, where the Coast Guard was able to helicopter in and hoist the man out of the water to safety. He is in the hospital undergoing medical evaluation and is reportedly in stable condition.

GROSS: He was able to identify his name, confirmed that he was the individual who fell overboard. He was showing signs of hypothermia, shock, dehydration.

VALENCIA: Carnival Cruise Line expressing their gratitude in a statement reading, we greatly appreciate the efforts of all, most especially the U.S. Coast Guard and the mariner who spotted the guest in the water.

GROSS: The will to live in something that you need to account for in every search and rescue case.

VALENCIA: This man's will to survive, leaving even those who rescue him in awe.

GROSS: This is, like I said, one of the longest that I have heard about and just one of those Thanksgiving miracles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA (on camera): And earlier we learned that the temperature of the water where he was found was around 70 degrees, so that temperature may have contributed to keeping him alive for as long as he was in the water. Still, so many details that we do not have that we are waiting to hear from the coast guard. But this man is going to have one heck of a story from here on out, Casey.

HUNT: He sure is. Nick Valencia, thanks very much for that report.

VALENCIA: You bet.

HUNT: All right. Next up here, inflation. What? Recession. Who? Black Friday, off to booming start.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:10]

HUNT: Today marks the traditional start to the holiday shopping season with shoppers and rushing to stores and their laptops to score deals. That's me.

But with high inflation causing sky-high prices across the country, many are wondering how this will impact sales.

Alison Kosik joins us live from outside Macy's in New York City.

Alison, what do we know so far about today's retail numbers?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kasie, deals and discounts are expected to bring out a record number of shoppers, 166 million people are expected to shop between Thanksgiving Day all the way through cyber Monday.

Today is Black Friday, the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season and today is expected to be big. One hundred fifty million people just today are expected to shop with about 67 percent, a little more than half, shopping in the store.

But would you believe, yesterday, yes, was Thanksgiving and people were doing more than just eating their turkey. They were shopping online. Get this: $5.2 billion was spent online and if you look at the month of November, up to the 24th of November, 7.7, let me get the straight, $77 billion has been spent between November 1st and November 24th. I had to look twice the number, it's incredible.

HUNT: Wow, that does seem extremely high. I mean, is there any indication. How inflation is impacting shoppers?

KOSIK: Yeah, you make a really good point. Inflation is really the elephant in the room for all of the shoppers that I have been talking to today. The trick is that they try to shop in a way where inflation is not going to eat into their budgets too much, because it is impacting their spending power. A lot of shoppers I talked with said they are doing their best to stick to their budgets, and they are focusing on deals and discounts. And navigating what they are going to buy based on that discount, trying to save a little money and keep the holiday magic alive despite the impact of inflation that we are all feeling every day in our lives.

Back to you.

HUNT: I've got to be honest, if anything, it has made me more cognizant of when the sales are happening.

Alison Kosik, thanks very much for that report.

KOSIK: Yeah.

HUNT: There is shopping and eating and in Georgia, voting is now on this holiday weekend to do list. It comes after election officials are urging Georgians to vote early in person in the Senate runoff election due to the tight turnaround time to send in mail-in and absentee ballots.

I like to bring in CNN political commentators Bakari Sellers and Charlie Dent.

Thank you, gentlemen, both for joining me on this Friday afternoon.

And, Congressman, let me start with you. For two election cycles in a row, Republicans have really fought early voting and mail-in balloting every chance they get. Former President Trump was regularly on this. There was no way red wave this year.

I want you to hear what Sean Hannity actually proposed on Fox this week. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: Do Republicans and conservatives need to get over the reluctance and resistance to mail-in ballots and early voting that they seem to show?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Well, listen, there is no about doubt we need to use every tool that we've got to turn out votes, every tool it is legal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: Is it impossible for Republicans now join braces idea after some of their leaders have fought so hard against over these past four years?

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I think Sean Hannity actually asked the right question. Republicans, of course, they must get over this resistance to mail-in voting and early voting.

In fact, I have argued for sometime that it's not the method of voting that matters. You need to get your voters motivated energize. They will figure out how to vote. It is not hard to vote in this country. We know that. So I don't know why they do that. It's all because of Donald Trump telling people not to vote by mail.

It's a terrible mistake. It was a form of voter suppression. Trump was actually suppressing the Republican vote by telling people not to vote that way.

So, yes, absolutely Republican seem to embrace it and get Republicans voting by mail in states like Florida and Utah very effectively. For a long, time we know how to do. We just need to make sure retire voters to do it because it is effective.

HUNT: Yeah, I mean, if anything Republicans are doing it more than Democrats before all of this.

Bakari, what's on your take?

DENT: Right.

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Democrats for a very long period of time have taken advantage of early voting, no excuse for early voting which you have in many states and mail-in balloting as you've seen with the recent changes in Pennsylvania. Congressman Dent probably knows that better than anybody on this panel.

But the fact is, when you have a mobilizing tool, take for example souls of the polls. You have seen Republican state legislatures particularly throughout the south eliminate that last day where individuals went to church and then went to the polls immediately after church, hence the name souls to the polls. Democrats have always been trying to open up the ballot box to make it free and fair and safe and ensure that everyone has access to it.

I mean, I hear my friend Charlie on the other side but you had a Republican concerted effort in Georgia to eliminate Saturday voting, or the last Saturday voting in favor of keeping it close because of Robert E. Lee's holiday. And so when you have that juxtaposition, you really have to question how you are going to get voters mobilized when he tried to stamp out any effort to vote early, vote safely, and vote freely.

HUNT: So, Congressman, this Georgia Senate runoff is not obviously going to determine what party controls the Senate. We know it is going to be the Democrats. But it could help give the Democrats, allow President Biden to have more power to shape the courts in his administration because of how the Senate will be set up if they can get 51 votes. How important is this race on each side, Congressman?

DENT: Well, it's particularly important for the Democrats right now because if the Democrats get 51-49, then they have total control in the committees. Right now, it with a 50/50 Senate, that committees are split evenly. It releases the gears down south to get an actual vote, that will help them getting bills to the floor and so it gives them an enormous advantage. Now, it doesn't change the fundamental vantage in the Senate, you still need 60 votes on most pieces of legislation.

So you will still need bipartisan compromises. But this gives them the slightest bit of breathing room. If I were the Democrats right now, I would probably be feeling pretty good about Georgia given that camp is now on the ballot to pull Walker along. Walker doesn't antigen in his own. He's a deficient candidate in many ways. So, right now, Democrats really want that 51-49.

HUNT: Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see which side is able to better motivate their base to the polls in this election which is really the biggest test in any runoff.

Bakari, let's turn to what is left on the table here for Congress. We are less than six weeks away from the new Congress being sworn in and of course controlled the House is going to turn over to Republicans. Democrats are racing to get things across the finish line during the late age execution.

Some other things include funding the government. They want to try to raise the debt ceiling. They have to pass the defense authorization bill in the Senate passed that bill to codify same-sex marriage. The House has to do. That is impossible to get all of those line items across the finish million in the time that they have left?

SELLERS: I think so and mainly because of the common sense Republicans that know that they are about to have insanity rule that day in the House caucus. Nobody envies Kevin McCarthy. He is going to be someone who is one of the most people powerful people in the world that nobody wants to be like because his caucus, controlling that caucus is going to be just an unenviable task.

So, you are going to have a large group of individuals, a large group of Republicans who come across to help do things like keep government running, raise the debt ceiling, you know, passed some bills that are good for our credit rail rating, pass bills that are good for the efficiency of just everyday life, things that are necessary. And so, I don't think you are going to have a great deal of problem

because of what, the fear that is palpable in Washington, D.C., of what this Congress -- this new Congress coming in January will actually be, which I think we can only bill as being nothing more than chaos.

HUNT: I think that ceiling is going to be a real test but I do take your point. I'm glad you mention McCarthy because congressman I really wanted to ask you about that. McCarthy is fighting to sit here or 218 votes just become speaker. He can only lose four votes it seems like. But right now, five have said that they are going to vote no. You can see them there on your screen.

How tough is this for McCarthy?

DENT: Well, I think it's been brutally tough for Kevin McCarthy to get to 218. I'm not saying that he can't get there but he doesn't appear to be there today. If you cannot get there to 2018 case, you are there to 15 after Boehner stepped aside and Paul Ryan hadn't yet ascended. I was there and I was approached by various Democrats at times to secure a number of Republican votes, Democrats, the rest, to make me speaker. It never got off the grab because Paul Ryan went -- stepped up.

But I -- Don Bacon made a comment the other day, Congressman Bacon of Nebraska, to the extent that if we can't 218 -- if Republicans can't get 218 Republican votes for Kevin McCarthy or any other Republican, maybe a few particular some kind of coalition.

[16:35:04]

This could happen, I'm not saying that it will, but that -- the threat of that might be enough to get some of those very far-right Republicans to come back on board for McCarthy or another Republican to get to 218, is if they had a collision type of speaker, you have to share the committee assignments, you can show the governing responsibilities and I suspect those on the right one particular like doing that.

HUNT: I can't imagine that they would. This maybe as much of a political reporters pipe dream as a broken convention but, just a reminder anyone you don't need to be out of the House to be speaker of the House. So, who knows?

Bakari Sellers, Charlie Dent --

DENT: Kasie?

HUNT: Yes, briefly.

DENT: Kasie Hunt for speaker.

HUNT: No, thank you. I do not want that job. Thank you both very much for being with us on this Friday after Thanksgiving. I really appreciate it. Today's marquee match at the World Cup between the United States and England just finished up. So he came out on top? It is a complicated answer but we're there live, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:40:06]

HUNT: A stressful afternoon for U.S. soccer fans. The U.S. team just wrapped up the second for the World Cup minutes ago. The league is covered around the globe on this one.

CNN's Don Riddell is at the match in Doha, Qatar.

Don, plenty of drama. What happened?

DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: Yeah, it was a goal or straw. So with all the hype and excitement to be honest game is a bit of a let down. But I think both teams will be okay with the result because they can both still qualify for the match.

I'll show you what happened. It's really interesting, the progress of the American players have made means that a lot of them now star in the premier league and they know a lot of the guys that they are playing up against.

So I would say that the U.S. team, if you look at the, highlights actually have the better of the first half or at least they had the better chances. Weston McKinney is well-known as a big Harry Potter fan. He had a chance. Nothing too magic about the way he handled it.

But Christian Pulaski, the big U.S. star, he was the man of the match today. He hit the crossbar. He had the best chance. England though had their chances as well. Mason Mount drawing a good save from Matt Turner and then right towards the end, the England striker Harry Kane headed just wide off a free kick.

So that is not finished, coolers, both teams had one more game to play. England, all they have to do is not lose too heavily to Wales in their final game. They have probably already done just about enough.

The USA are up against Iran. If the Americans win that game they are through. If they lose, they go home.

HUNT: Tough. Okay, Andy Scholes, you are at a watch party in Atlanta, Georgia.

I got to say, I'm getting a lot of disappointment from my friends who watch this. How did fans there react to the game?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, I tell you, what that wasn't the reaction that we really saw here. You know, as Americans we are not used to ties in the sporting world. We usually have some sort of results. But I would say that was one of the more exhilarating ties I have ever witnessed in person. The atmosphere here at Fado Irish pub in Atlanta, it was wild. This

place holds about 600 people. It was at capacity early on. People waited since 9:00 a.m. to be here. There was a line around the building in order to be in here.

And the fans I talked to before the match, they were pointing to the revolutionary war of 1776 and the upset back in 1950 to why they were going to do well today. And then, hey, guess, what they played really well. And as you see, some fans are filing out right now.

But then I talk to them on the way out, Kasie, they were very healthy with the way that they played. A lot of them told, me oh my goodness usually or get a 0-0 tied today. They were taking that in the second. And many of them think that this was a great way to just get momentum built into the game against Iran on Tuesday.

HUNT: Yeah, I mean, at least the USA isn't it this time, although I don't know about that St. Georgia's cross was in that picture this afternoon. You clearly got some England fans in that bar with you.

So, Anna, let me go to London. I don't know if you traction in the U.S. fans. I can imagine there were any in a proper bar in England where you may have been.

What's the mood there?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESONDENT: Certainly were. I can tell you, some 700 people piled out of here pretty quickly after that match ended. There was so much confidence. England was the favorites, they were going to win. I was told it was going to be 4-nil, 3-nil victory.

The mood as that game went on just got very quiet, very subdued, and there was just crushing disappointment. There's something of a curse I'm told between England but it plays a USA Games in World Cup specifically. 2010, there was a draw and if you go back to 1950, the U.S. actually won. So perhaps it's the England curse.

But you know what? I have huge respect, admiration, for my colleagues there, Don and Andy did indeed sports remote reporting, very hard, a crushing disappointment, the fact -- I still haven't had a pint.

HUNT: Well, our hats are tips to you, Andy and Don, Anna, to you as well. Thank you all for being out there for us. We really enjoyed your reporting today.

All right. Up next, brave protesters in Iran show no signs of giving up their fight for freedom.

Up next, CNN speaks with a doctor who's risking it all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNT: In our world lead, the United Nations fact finding mission will look into Iran's violent crackdown on protests. As many as 14,000 protesters have been arrested. At least 2,000 charged and six have been sentenced to death over demonstrations following the suspicious death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, also known by her banned Kurdish name Zhina Amini.

Iranian lawmakers are calling for protesters to be taught, quote, good lesson to deter those who threaten the authority of the government.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh spoke with one protester determined to keep going.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iranians have been risking it all for freedom, but to break free of the shackles of a repressive regime. It's brutality and bullets only fueling the anger of those on the streets, making them more defiant than ever.

IRANIAN DOCTOR AND PROTESTER: I know as long as the Islamic Republic is ruling the country, I couldn't do my duty.

KARADSHEH: This doctor we're not identifying for safety reasons was one of hundreds of medical professionals who gathered in Tehran last month for a demonstration organized by their council. It was violently broken up. Doctors tell CNN at least one person was killed. Many injured, including one shot in the eyes and blinded.

IRANIAN DOCTOR AND PROTESTER: As soon as I arrived there, the area was full of all kind of forces.

[16:50:07]

Plain clothes forces was too much and they literally shoot everyone that was walking on the sidewalk of the street.

I have bruises, multiple bruises, in front of my body and back, and all of them was above my waist. But, I saw injuries with batons and they beat a lot, electric shocks.

KARADSHEH: Just for going out and protesting. You could go to jail or get killed.

IRANIAN DOCTOR AND PROTESTER: It's not just death. It literally could be worse -- we wish they'd kill us on the street rather than they arrest us.

KARADSHEH: Because of all the horrors in detention facilities. All these risks, threats to you and your family, that's not stopping you and others.

IRANIAN DOCTOR AND PROTESTER: Of course not. They killed more than 1,500 in three days, in less than a week, about two years ago. We know it could happen, and all of us, we will continue.

There's no other way. We came from a long journey, and we realize the Islamic Republic cannot change, and don't want to change. It is our duty to our next generation to fight it, and hopefully, change it.

KARADSHEH: Only Iranians can change it. This protester and others say. But they believe the international community can do more than just watch, condemn, and announce symbolic sanctions.

IRANIAN DOCTOR AND PROTESTER: They could close Islamic Republic ambassadors, the United Nations, UNICEF, pay more attention. We need actual action.

The most important question is, are they willing to do that or not? To stand on the right side of history or not?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KARADSHEH (on camera): And, Kasie, for the first time, the international community has taken action. The U.N. Human Rights Council voted to establish that fact-finding mission which will investigate human rights violations during these protests. It will collect, preserve, and analyze evidence that could be used to hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable. I can tell you that many are hoping this could be the beginning of the end of decades and decades of impunity in Iran, Kasie.

HUNT: Jomana Karadsheh, thank you for staying on top of this important story.

Up next, drink up or maybe not. The new research that may change your mind on your water routine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:57:07]

HUNT: The holiday season means more gatherings, more events indoors, close contact with others, and a higher chance of COVID, flu, and other nasty viruses hanging around in your space.

Let's bring in CNN's Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, how can we avoid getting sick?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Kasie, let's talk about what is out there so far this year. It's kind of an unusual time. We have had this super early flu season. Already, the CDC estimates that so far the season, which is only a matter of weeks long, there have been 38,000 hospitalizations with flu in the United States and about 2,100 deaths.

Now, COVID I know we don't hear about it much anymore and the numbers are way lower than they used to be, but still, more than 300 deaths a day from COVID and 3,400 hospitalizations. If you want to avoid all the germs out there, it's all the same stuff we have been hearing ever since COVID began. If you want to, wear a mask. If you want to, practice social distancing, stay away from big crowds, especially when they're indoors.

I think one of the things we need to think about, Kasie, is if you are young and healthy, that's one thing. Do you have friends and family who are immunocompromised or who are elderly? What might you be able to do to help them stay healthier? Maybe you should be more careful around them, wear a mask, keep your distance. They are the vulnerable ones at this time of year, we are indoors and at gatherings. We should be thinking about them -- Kasie.

HUNT: Yes, of course. All right, there's also this new study that I want to ask you about -- challenging this notion that we have all been talking about that we need to drink eight glass of water a day. What's the update?

COHEN: Right, it's so interesting. That has become such a part of sort of the lore. We don't know where these eight glasses a day came from. It didn't come from anything scientific, but it has taken on a life of its own.

So, let's look at what they studied it. It's really quite fascinating. There was a large international study. They had 5,600 study participants. They gave them water to drink. The water had isotopes in it so they could sort of follow it through and see how much of the water got used by the body and how much was excreted.

They found a huge range. People -- how much water the body used, it ranged from four cups a day to 25 cups a day. The amount depended first of all on physical activity, more physical activity needed more water. It also depended on gender. Men seemed to be more water than women do, weight, and also climate. It depended on weight and climate.

If you live in a hot and humid place, a really big range of what people need to the point where the CDC does not even give advice on how much water to drink every day.

Now, let's look at this really interesting chart that the Cleveland Clinic has. They have a chart that says if your urine is pale in color, you are good. If it is amber or honey, you are mildly dehydrated more brown means that you are really dehydrated. A lot of experts say to look at your urine and that is what is most important -- Kasie.

HUNT: All right. Elizabeth Cohen thanks very much for that report.

Coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff and Republican Governor Asa Hutchison join Democratic Senator Chris Murphy. That's Sunday morning at 9:00 Eastern and again at noon.

Our coverage here continues right now in "THE SITUATION ROOM".