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Charlotte Airport Workers Walk Off Job Ahead Of Holiday Travel Surge; Major Storm Could Impact Thanksgiving Travel; Trump Fills Out New Public Health Roles For His Administration; Rep. Senator Blocks Promotion Of Gen. Who Oversaw Afghanistan Withdrawal; Biden Gives Last Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon Of His Presidency. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired November 25, 2024 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:30:24]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The Thanksgiving travel rush is kicking off today just as workers who clean airplanes, remove trash and help with wheelchairs are walking off the job at the international airport in Charlotte, North Carolina.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And of course, the worry here is that this strike could directly impact this busy holiday travel season because that airport is one of the busiest in the country for American Airlines.
We have CNN aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean, here with what you need to know.
Pete, where do things stand?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is important, not only if you are flying in and out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, but also if you're connecting there.
Because, like you mentioned, it is one of the biggest hub for -- hubs for American Airlines. it's the second-biggest hub, ninth-busiest airport in the United States.
I spoke to American Airlines earlier and they say, so far, the carrier insists that this will not have any impact on its flights, even though it's strike -- this strike is by subcontractors for the airline.
ABM Industries and Prospect Airport Services. That strike started at 5 a.m. local time today.
These workers are represented, in part, by Service Employees International Union, or SEIU. They clean airplane passenger cabins. They drive trash trucks on the ramp. They push wheelchairs through the terminal.
Their main push is for higher wages, and the union says they make between about $12.50 and $19 per hour.
I want you to listen now to ABM worker. Priscilla Hoyle. She cleans the inside of planes and says she is living paycheck to paycheck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRISCILLA HOYLE, ABM CABIN CLEANER: Right now, I'm actually facing eviction because I don't make enough to be able to pay my rent on time.
It's hard having kids and have to look them in the eyes and sit there and say, mommy works a full-time job, but I don't know if we're going to be able to keep a roof over our heads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: Union reps say a total of a few hundred workers are participating in this strike.
ABM says it's taking steps to minimize the disruption here for passengers. Union reps say this strike is to end tomorrow, which is expected to be one of the busiest days for air travel ahead of the holiday.
TSA anticipates 2.8 million people at airports nationwide tomorrow, 2.9 million people at airports nationwide on Wednesday.
KEILAR: All right, Pete, thank you so much. We'll be tracking this carefully.
The much bigger threat to Thanksgiving travel may be weather. Nearly eight million Americans are expected to hit the roads, catch flights, board cruises -- sounds like fun for those folks -- during this holiday period. Is someone trying? -- someone is trying to get into our studio.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: -- studio trying to get out.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: That's what it is. People trying to get out.
SANCHEZ: Pete Muntean --
KEILAR: You don't have to knock, Pete.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: All right, back to the weather. A major winter storm could be impacting plans nationwide.
SANCHEZ: Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is here with the forecast and dealing with our nonsense.
Elisa, what are you watching?
ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So we have two storms that we're watching right now. There's one that's been bringing some minor delays to the Great Lakes today with some rain and snow showers.
The much bigger storm, though, is developing off the west coast and starting to move inland. It's been causing problems in San Francisco all day. This will likely be the bigger source of problems for delays as we go through the travel week.
You can see that front, that first storm that we we're talking about, again mainly exits going into tomorrow should really be out of our hair by tomorrow evening.
Meanwhile, that second storm right behind it really starts to come together tomorrow and starts to deepen and develop and could cause more headaches as we go into Thursday.
Wednesday, we've got one exiting. That one not quite developed yet. But then, by Thursday, look at the swath of even some snow for interior New England and the rain that stretches down the east coast to the southeast. We're looking at a pretty soggy Thanksgiving for a lot of people.
So you can see several inches of snow possible from Maine into interior New England. And then you've got at least an inch of rain possible from D.C. down to Atlanta, a lot of the southeast. And again, some snow up in the mountains and the Rockies there.
So as far as these delays go, again, you've got one exiting on Tuesday. You start to have some problems in the Rockies going into Tuesday and Wednesday. And then we start to find this storm flourish and develop going into Thursday.
I mean, some of these delays we could be looking at from the snow from Boston back towards Detroit on Thursday. And then down the east coast from D.C. to Atlanta with some of that rain by Thanksgiving evening. So again, pretty soggy along the upper -- along the eastern seaboard here with all of that rain.
We have cold air that comes in behind this front. So it's going to be pretty chilly. Cold for Black Friday and the weekend behind this front. We'll have a punch of some of that wind coming with it too. So it does look soggy, unfortunately, for that Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- guys?
KEILAR: That's a bummer. I like those turkeys, though, on your forecast. That one guy, though, he had -- he had a real wobbly neck.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: He's got to get that checked out in California.
All right, Elisa, thank you so much for that.
[14:35:05]
A Republican Senator blocking the promotion of a general who oversaw the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Is it the first sign of the retaliation that President-Elect Trump has promised for the chaotic pullout? We'll have that next.
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KEILAR: All of the major cabinet positions of President-Elect Trump's incoming administration are now filled.
Trump announcing several picks over the weekend, including choices for key public health roles.
For U.S. surgeon general, Trump selected Doctor Janette Nesheiwat. She is a family practice doctor. She is pro-vaccine, crediting Trump's vaccine efforts in his first term for saving lives during the Covid pandemic.
[14:40:03]
Trump picked Doctor Marty Makary to be his new FDA commissioner. Makary is a surgeon and researcher at Johns Hopkins University. And during the pandemic, he was critical of the FDA, arguing Covid 19 revealed the FDA to be a broke administration mired in politics and red tape.
SANCHEZ: Trump also named Doctor David Weldon to head up the CDC. He's a physician, Army veteran and former congressman. And while serving in the House, he introduced a vaccine safety bill.
We're joined now by Doctor Richard Besser. He's the former acting director of the CDC. Also, the president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Doctor, thank you so much for being with us.
What do you make of these picks from President-Elect Trump for key public health positions? What's your reaction overall?
DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CDC & PRESIDENT, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION: Well, you know what gives me pause is having as a nominee for secretary of health and for the director of CDC, two individuals who have done a lot to undermine trust in vaccination in America.
And I practiced general pediatrics for more than 30 years and public health as well during that time. And there's nothing that I did in public health or pediatrics that I know has more value in protecting children's lives than getting them vaccinated fully and on time.
And so having two people in those roles, who have questioned that, it gives me great pause and great concern. And I'll be watching the confirmation hearings very closely.
KEILAR: And Trump picked Doctor Dave Weldon, a former Florida congressman, to fill your old job. As a doctor and policy maker, Weldon's focus on vaccine safety, he's been skeptical of the CDC's role researching and promoting vaccines.
As CDC head, what influence would he have on CDC policy? BESSER: Well, there's a lot. The CDC director is the one who makes a
recommendation in terms of what vaccinations children or adults should receive in America.
The requirements around that are left to the state. But it's the CDC director who makes those recommendations.
And once the CDC director recommends a childhood vaccination, it kicks in payments from the government so that no child in America will have to worry about getting a vaccine based on -- based on income.
We need a similar system for -- for adults. But for children, that CDC recommendation is -- is critical. And so it will be important for -- for the Senators to explore what approach Doctor Weldon will be taking when it comes to childhood vaccination.
Another key piece, the CDC is a technical public health agency and leads in emergency response around public health events.
This is one of the first CDC directors who has no experience in public health. And so exploring how Doctor Weldon would -- would lead the next time of public health crisis arrives.
Because it's not a matter of -- of if, but when. We -- we always experience public health crises. We can't predict what they're going to be.
And you want to make sure that he has there at the CDC with him people with significant experience in managing a public health event.
SANCHEZ: So, Doctor, seeing as how this is the first time that a president's CDC nominee faces Senate confirmation, if you we're sitting on the dais as a Senator, what question would you ask Weldon?
BESSER: Well, I would ask him questions about vaccination and his approach. He raised questions when he was in Congress about connections between childhood vaccination and autism, concerned about a compound in -- a mercury compound in vaccines.
That's been taken -- that was taken out of vaccines back in 2001 for routine childhood vaccination. And we've seen autism rise since then.
It's really important to -- to look and see what are the causes of that that rise. But it's clearly not vaccination. Yet, Doctor Weldon, even after the National Academy of Medicine, an independent body, reviewed the evidence, he still kept raising concerns about vaccines and autism.
You know, as a -- as a parent, what are you going to do if one of the top health leaders in the nation is raising concerns? It really makes it challenging. And so that's an area to explore in great depth.
KEILAR: Yes. And we think they probably will.
Doctor Richard Besser, great to have you. Thank you.
BESSER: Thanks very much.
KEILAR: A new battle is brewing in the Senate about another military promotion. CNN has learned that Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin is blocking the promotion of Lieutenant General Chris Donahue. President Biden nominated Donahue to lead U.S. Army forces in Europe and Africa.
SANCHEZ: But some Republicans are taking issue with the general's role overseeing the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
[14:45:05]
CNN's Oren Liebermann is covering this for us from the Pentagon.
And, Oren, last year, we saw Senator Tommy Tuberville block promotions for months over the Pentagon's abortion policies. Could something similar happen here?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: At least in theory, absolutely it could, Brianna and Boris.
It's a question of, is Senator Markwayne Mullin willing to give ground here if the questions he has about Lieutenant General Christopher Donahue are answered, or does he simply refuse to budge until the Senate changes over and we see Republican majority in the Senate? That's one of the key questions.
The Pentagon said earlier today, their legislative affairs team here is very much willing to work with the Senate when it comes to questions like this.
So what we've learned is that Senator Markwayne Mullin is holding the promotion of Lieutenant General Chris Donahue. Donahue was nominated to be the commander, the four-star commander of U.S. Army Europe, Africa. He currently serves as the lieutenant general in charge of the 18th Airborne Corps.
At the time of the Afghanistan withdrawal, he was the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division. He was brought into Afghanistan to effectively manage the closing of the withdrawal, those last few critical weeks, in which we saw 13 U.S. servicemembers killed because of the bombing at Abbey Gate.
It was Donahue who was on the ground there. And there was a very sort of symbolic, iconic picture of him being the last U.S. soldier out of Afghanistan. You see that picture on your screen right now.
What was effectively the end of the U.S. presence there and the end of the 20-year war. Certainly, not how the U.S. wanted to see that end.
And some Republicans, including President-Elect Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Senator Markwayne Mullin, have continuously criticized the Biden administration.
Trump, on the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing, said when he comes into office, he wants all of the senior officials who took part in the withdrawal of Afghanistan to resign immediately.
Mullin even issued a statement on that same day saying that nobody has been held accountable. And although much of the criticism has focused on the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley, at the time, it was Mullin who specifically name checked General Donahue.
So it is a question now of if he's willing to simply ask questions, learn about the issue, learn about Donahue's role here, or if there's no way he gives ground here. And that's one of the key questions we'll be looking at as we see how this plays out.
Worth noting that Tuberville's hold on hundreds of nominees lasted months.
KEILAR: Yes, it did. We saw the effects of that.
The military doesn't make the decisions here, though, Oren. They offer certainly counsel to the administration, but ultimately it is a civilian leadership. It is the White House. It is the president who decides how to proceed.
As was the case when it came to the withdrawal of the Biden administration from Afghanistan.
Donahue is well respected. Probably why he was the guy in the picture as the last one there. Is there a specific gripe that Mullin has about him, or is he just kind of getting caught in the middle here?
LIEBERMANN: I think it's more caught in the middle. And you're absolutely right to point that out. It was General Mark Milley, the commander of U.S. Central Command at the time, General Mark McKenzie, who gave their opinion.
And they both say they we're heard by the senior leadership of both the Trump administration and the Biden administration. And both of them recommended against a complete withdrawal.
And yet, the civilian leadership that runs the military, that is then- President Trump and then President Biden decided to continue with the withdrawal, Donahue, as a two star, was brought in essentially to manage a very difficult situation.
And he did what he could with the orders he was given by the civilian leadership.
KEILAR: Yes, it's a little confounding.
Oren Liebermann, thank you so much. Live for us from the Pentagon, thank you.
So next, we're going to head live to the White House where this guy, and another one, two very lucky birds, have just been pardoned.
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[14:53:03] KEILAR: Let the poultry puns commence. The annual presidential Turkey Pardon taking place at the White House this morning. It's the last time that President Biden will use his pardon powers for such good to let these gobblers go free.
SANCHEZ: Yes, this was the 77th time that this annual Thanksgiving tradition has taken place, in which presidents talk turkey, eliciting some lighthearted laughs along the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm glad I can make at least one turkey happy this year.
GOERGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- make sure they have plenty to eat for their Thanksgiving dinner. For the sake of our feathered guests, I'm not going to elaborate on the contents of those baskets.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to take a moment to recognize the brave turkeys who weren't so lucky, who didn't get to ride the gravy train to freedom --
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: -- who met their fate with courage and sacrifice and proved that they weren't chicken.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Sums up the spirit of a hungry people, yes, we can cran.
(LAUGHTER)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanksgiving is a special day for turkeys. I guess probably, for the most part, not a very good one when you think about it.
RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: January 20th, I'll come to the farm to see you.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: CNN's M.J. Lee at the White House with a 411 on all the fowl play today.
M.J., bring us more puns please.
M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, I certainly don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers with this following statement, but this presidential pardoning of turkeys that we see every Thanksgiving, it is a pretty strange White House tradition, as these traditions go.
Now, let me tell you about these two turkeys. They are named Peach and Blossom, named after the Delaware state flower, which is the Peach Blossom. They weighed 41 -- or weigh, I should say, 41 and 40 pounds, respectively.
And as is customary, they spent last night here in Washington, D.C., at the Willard Hotel. They were born over the summer in the state of Minnesota.
[14:55:05]
The president, of course, following the tradition, seized the opportunity to have a lighthearted moment. But he also, in a more somber tone, marked the very last Thanksgiving he is celebrating as president.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They tell me there's 2,500 people here today looking for a pardon.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: Based on your temperament and commitment to being productive members of society, I hereby pardon Peach and Blossom.
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: This event marks the official start of the holiday season here in Washington.
It's also my last time to speak here as your president during this season and give thanks and gratitude.
So let me say to you, it's been the honor of my life. I'm forever grateful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: So those we're brief pre-Thanksgiving remarks from the president.
We've really not heard much from the president himself, really, since Election Day, other than those remarks at the Rose Garden where he said everyone needed to accept the results of the election.
It's clear that he seems to be laying low as, of course, there has been a lot of anger towards the president since the election not taking a lot of moments to address the public since then -- guys?
KEILAR: All right, M.J. lee, thank you so much on a day of lightheartedness there at the White House.
And we are, in the meantime, following some pretty major breaking news. Special Counsel Jack Smith is ending his election subversion and classified documents cases against Donald Trump. We'll have the latest details on that just ahead.
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