Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Retailers Expecting Record Number of Shoppers over Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend; Transportation Security Administration Preparing for Busiest Days of Air Travel All Year for Thanksgiving Holiday. Aired 8- 8:30a ET

Aired November 26, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: That is how one department store executive puts it this holiday season. But there are some early warning signs they are currently bracing for a shopping slowdown. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has been looking into this. She joins us now. And you say this could be the most normal holiday season. Is that a good thing?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Can you believe it? Can you believe it? Yes, we are expecting a record amount of shoppers over the holiday weekend and record spending. However, sales growth year to year is expected to be normal. So on average we have seen about 4.3 percent in sales growth from year to year, especially over the pandemic people were really spending. This year, it's about 3.3 percent. That's considered normal, moderate. And that is because a lot of consumers are shopping discretionary. They're not going all out this year. They're choosing, what do I really want to spend my money on for the people that I love?

On average, American families are going to be spending about $900 on gifts this holiday season. But you have retailers kind of trying to figure out where the consumer is right now. Target, for example, didn't do so well in the third quarter. So they are now really, really, really revving up their promotions and their sales to try to get shoppers in the door. But then you have a company like Footlocker, which got stuck with a ton of inventory last year. So they have scaled back on their inventory, so they may not have as many sales or promotions.

But one thing to look at is the holiday season this year is a week shorter, and so that means that all retailers want to make sure that they get people in the door to get all their inventory off the shelves. That extra week that retailers normally have is a little bit of a cushion. This year they simply do not have it. Top gifts this year, toys, media, candy, food, and electronics. Of course, people love that.

BOLDUAN: I don't think there's ever going to be a time --

YURKEVICH: It's the same thing every year.

BOLDUAN: -- electronics is going to fall from that list, for sure. It's good to see. Thank you so much, Vanessa, really appreciate it. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

The Thanksgiving forecast looking cold and wet. Just what you want to hear as millions of Americans take to the roads and skies.

And then mark your calendar. January 20th is the day when a lot of products you know and love could get more expensive if Donald Trump follows through on a promise/threat he just made.

And the largest private employer in the United States, scaling back planned DEI efforts.

The pressure felt by Walmart this morning.

Sara is out. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: All right, this morning millions are setting out on the roads and heading to airports across the country ahead of Thanksgiving. Today is expected to be the busiest day for air travel this holiday. So on the good news front, because that's what I'm here for, guys, you are headed to see family. Awesome. Likely headed to a delicious meal, even better. And in an attempt to keep it positive, you also may have some extra time to hang out a little longer than planned with a whole bunch of friends that you have just not yet met at the airport, as the FAA is warning that they may be slowing down air traffic in the coming days. Why? the FAA is still dealing with an ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers.

Ryan Young is on the ground in Atlanta, home to the busiest airport in the world. Derek Van Dam is standing by with the latest weather forecast. Ryan, AAA expecting record setting travel. What's it going to look like this Thanksgiving?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Apparently pretty busy, Kate. Of course, I'm not at the busiest airport. I'm outside near traffic here, I-75, 85 behind me, also one of the most congested areas across the country. But we're not seeing peak volume just yet. Were told that could be coming a lot later. AAA expecting more than 70 million Americans to hit the road again. That's more than pre-pandemic levels. That's a million more than last year. So you can understand, of course, we always say this, pack your patience when you get on the road, but make sure you have everything stocked up as you get in the car because they're really expecting things to back up.

Gas prices, the average is $3.07. That's down from $3.25 last year. And of course, all this conversation, when you think about the airport as well, they're expecting nearly 3 million travelers to go through TSA just today alone. So it seems like people are ready to go to get out there and travel. Maybe the political conversations are over and everyone is willing to slide into the table and have some good Thanksgiving meals and see family again. Hopefully that's the case. But what we know is with all this happening, they're worried about those peak hours in terms of traveling, which looks like between the hours of noon and 4:00, a lot of places across the country.

So that's something that we'll continue to watch throughout the day. So far, so good.

[08:05:00]

As we look at the airport delays across the country, we've only seen less than 50 so far. And of course, we're going to be talking about weather earlier this morning. Lots of rain, so I know Derek Van Dam will get us up to date with that. But so far it seems like a lot of these systems are moving out. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All I'm saying is, if you say so far so good in terms of travel, let's just leave it at that and count, at least for the moment, a win Ryan, because we know, when it comes to the roads, it's all on you.

YOUNG: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: And when it comes to the weather, it's all on Derek. It's all on you guys no matter what happens.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: OK, so Derek, what are we looking at? We know you were --

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Nothing like a little pressure.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. That's what I'm here for, just to apply the pressure.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: You told us yesterday that there was some winter weather to be focused on. What are you looking at, where are you watching most closely?

VAN DAM: How convenient that mother nature coincides these storms with the busiest travel day at the airports of the year. We've got a cold front coming through right now along the eastern seaboard. That's what brought rain to Ryan's live shot earlier this morning. That's since moved on. So we're clearing things out near Atlanta Hartsfield- Jackson International Airport. The same cannot be said, though, for JFK into the other airports across the east coast because this cold front is impacting you as we speak. So we do believe that this could have some knock on effects for future cancellations, or at least delays through the course of the morning and afternoon hours. That's why we've highlighted these potential airport problems from the nation's capital through the Big Apple all the way to Boston as well, where the storm system is currently located.

Another, more impactful storm will really start to fire up over the western parts of the U.S. I'll show you that in just one moment. This is the current storm bringing some mixture of rain and snow across the northern sections of New England that will impact the roadways there, but closer to the largest population densities of the eastern seaboard, it is now bringing all rain. So this is all the liquid variety, the I-95 corridor will be wet. So if you're hitting the roads to grandma and grandpa's house, expect some potential delays there. Everybody has difficulty driving in that type of weather.

There's the weather moving on from Atlanta, though, so we've cleared things out for Interstate 75, 85. That moves right behind that live shot that Ryan was at just a moment ago.

This is a major storm, though. Over the western U.S. the good news is that the majority of the snow that's falling from the sky is actually west of the Denver International Airport, so I expect minimal delays there. Could be some impactful snow for Salt Lake City, but look at the rain falling along the west coast from San Francisco southward into Los Angeles. This storm system will deepen significantly. Wednesday will be your best day to travel on the roads or in the skies along the east coast. Look what happens as I advance this radar from Wednesday into Thursday. A major storm system will impact this region, bringing the coldest air of the season, snow to the northern New England, but all rain along the coastal areas, just in time for John Berman to stand outside and talk about a big Macy's Day, Thanksgiving Day parade in the rain. Kate?

BOLDUAN: But one thing we know about John Berman is he loves to stand out and get blown around in some rainy weather. The man loves, loves it. And so we are going to get -- we are here to, we are here to serve. All right Derek, thank you so much. John Berman, it's looking good. We're going to keep it positive.

BERMAN: We're trying to be efficient and save on this special. So no umbrellas, no umbrellas will be there.

BOLDUAN: And they're just distracting. They'll block your lighting. It's all important things.

But may I say really quickly, because I know we've got nothing but time here. All of those live pictures from those airports, look at those smiling faces. Let's keep it positive. It looks like a party so far.

BERMAN: Keep it positive, the message from Kate Bolduan.

BOLDUAN: Which is hilarious.

BERMAN: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: All right, with us now, Hayley Berg, economist for the travel app Hopper. Hayley, so nice to see you. How are prices for people flying this year compared to years past?

HALEY BERG, ECONOMIST, HOPPER: The good news is most travelers who are hitting the skies this Thanksgiving season should have seen lower prices. Prices are down about four percent from last year, so travelers are saving a little bit at a time where many of them are concerned about being able to afford holiday travel.

BERMAN: You say, "should have seen". Is it too late? If you haven't booked your travel to get where you want to go on Thanksgiving, how big of the trouble is it that you're in?

BERG: You are in big trouble if you have not booked your Thanksgiving travel yet. Your best bet is to try to book a deal departing on Thanksgiving Day itself. But for those procrastinators who are trying to travel for Christmas, there's one more day where you can get a good deal on holiday travel, and that will be the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, December 3rd. It's travel deal Tuesday, and it's the last day we expect to see good deals on airfare for Christmas, New Year's, any of the end of the year trips.

BERMAN: I'm going to come back to that in a second, because I'm always thinking ahead. But actually, let's think way ahead first. Because people missed the deals for Thanksgiving this year, likely for next year, when should you book your Thanksgiving travel?

[08:10:01]

BERG: The best time to book your Thanksgiving travel is typically the middle of October. We usually see prices drop around October 14th to the 21st, that third week of the month for international travel. So you're going somewhere warm. You're going to want to book back in August, September.

BERMAN: So you missed it, everybody. If you want to feel bad about yourself, yet another reason why. You missed the chance for the good prices for Thanksgiving. You still have one chance left for Christmas.

What do you expect to see in the airports over the next few days?

BERG: We're expecting jampacked airports. Tomorrow is going to be the busiest day for departures in U.S. airports ahead of the holiday, but really, it's all about Sunday. It's the busiest single day of the Thanksgiving travel period. More than 3.7 million seats are scheduled to depart from U.S. airports, and we typically see higher disruption rates, delays and cancellations on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. So that's really the day we're laser focused on to make sure travelers are getting home from their holiday trips.

BERMAN: If you make it past Sunday, talk a little bit more about this travel deal Tuesday, something people might be able to do next week that could save them money in the months ahead.

BERG: If you're sitting down with family over Thanksgiving, family you want to vacation with, definitely be thinking about what your next trips are, whether they are end of the year trips or 2025. Because travel deal Tuesday, this year it's Tuesday December 3rd. It's the best day in that post-Thanksgiving shopping period to get good deals on airfare, hotels, even rental cars. We typically see double the number of deals available on travel deal Tuesday as we see on Black Friday. So if you are thinking about travel, definitely mark that on your calendar. You'll get some incredible deals on airfare, hotels, even rental cars.

BERMAN: Intriguing, I have to say. And I also might add, maybe you want to travel without some of the members of your family that you're meeting with on Thanksgiving. Maybe it is that you will need a break for them. So don't be afraid to go to go out on your own. Hayley Berg, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

BERG: Great being with you.

BERMAN: All right, this morning we have some new reporting on how airlines have padded their bottom line with exorbitant fees charged to you.

Plus, a 40-year-old mystery could soon be solved after a car was found submerged in a pond. Who police believe may have been inside the vehicle.

And a recall of raw milk. A recall of raw milk -- say that 10 times fast -- after bird flu was found in one batch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:12]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New overnight, Donald Trump now vowing to impose massive tariffs on day one of his administration, saying on social media that a 10 percent increase is coming to all Chinese goods. That's on top of existing and maybe even more tariffs that he will be imposing, and a 25 percent tariff is coming on all goods from two close allies, Mexico and Canada.

All of this making good on what was a singularly consistent threat and or promise from the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll put a tariff of approximately 100 to 200 percent on each car.

A 25 percent tariff on everything they send in.

I'm just notifying John Deere right now. If you do that, were putting a 200 percent tariff on everything that you want to sell into the United States.

If I was Mr. Tariff, I would say please get me a PR agent. I have to straighten out. It's one of the most beautiful words in the whole world.

The word tariff. Its more beautiful than love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now, Democratic Senator from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal. Senator, thank you so much for being here. On this tariff threat and or promise. Do you take Donald Trump seriously?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): I take him very seriously because he apparently thinks tariff is a more beautiful word than love and he means what he says, I think, on tariff. But when the practical consequences are known to consumers and when they see higher prices of goods, knowing how they feel about inflation, I've been on the campaign trail for a number of months, I think the reaction is going to be hugely negative and I think he's going to have to live with those consequences and be held accountable.

BOLDUAN: Because that is a question, right? This was, obviously, a consistent promise on the campaign trail. Voters voted on the economy, so voting for his views in part on this, how do you square that with what you see as a threat if and when these tariffs are imposed?

BLUMENTHAL: I think that the president-elect has failed to really face the practical consequences. I think he's heading toward a real horror show where the consequences can't be squared with the promises he made. For example, slashing government spending at the same time as preserving Medicare and Medicaid.

I think Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security ought to be protected. But he's got a hit squad with Musk and others that may slash it. I think tariffs will increase prices and other kinds of measures, such as reducing taxes are going to increase the deficit.

It is very hard to make those kinds of promises and fulfill them and Republicans will be held accountable, not only the president-elect when he takes office, but also my Republican colleagues in the United States Senate, if they go along with these irresponsible policy.

[08:20:14]

BOLDUAN: Well, and there's a lot of 'ifs' in there, right, if they go along but there's been no suggestion to the contrary in what we've seen, obviously, so far.

You are on two very key committees on any given day, and especially in the coming months, you're on Judiciary and Armed Services, meaning you will be among the first to vet Donald Trump's choices for attorney general and Defense secretary.

Donald Trump's team has yet to file paperwork to essentially launch the FBI background checks that all candidates essentially, for these jobs have faced over and those underneath -- and those below them have faced for who knows how long.

So, when it comes to Pam Bondi and Pete Hegseth, can you consider their nominations without FBI background checks?

BLUMENTHAL: Not responsibly and I think my Republican colleagues know that we cannot really responsibly do our duty as senators to advise and consent, that's a constitutional obligation without that kind of routine vetting. Remember that these kind of background checks are done as a mandate routinely on the guards at the White House, on FBI agents themselves, on the people who do security at the airports over this Thanksgiving weekend.

There's nothing unusual about a background check, and we need them. BOLDUAN: Same question, how do you square it then? Why wouldn't -- why not do it? Why not move that direction? Is it just -- do you think -- you never -- I am not asking you to get in the mind of Donald Trump, but is there any practical reason? Any logical reason not to, other than breaking with tradition and norms?

BLUMENTHAL: No practical reason to avoid a background check, except maybe they have something to hide. Just saying, common sense tells you when someone doesn't want that kind of vetting or check, which is done routinely, there is something to hide and there are a lot of indications that Pete Hegseth has quite a bit to hide in the investigation that was done out in the West Coast of the alleged sexual assault.

Here's a man who is supposed to lead the military, which is trying to attract and recruit and retain women, trying to end the scourge of sexual assault. I've taken measures, along with Senator Gillibrand, of New York, and try to end sexual assault in the military. What kind of model and leadership is he going to provide?

So, there is a lot here to vet and know, because these two positions have National Security implications.

The attorney general of the United States is responsible for prosecuting terrorism espionage, spying. That's a National Security issue.

BOLDUAN: Pete Hegseth, he denies any of it was an assault, any of it was an assault but he, obviously, there are questions for him to answer. That's part of the vetting.

You are also the chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and you just released a report this morning, perfect timing, because everyone's heading to the airports on US Airlines, revealing how much airlines have made charging customers junk fees like seat upgrades.

What I saw just the top line, is your investigation finding over five years -- the five major US airlines have made more than $12 billion with these junk fees and that's from customers. And you're holding a hearing next week to bring in executives from these airlines to testify. What do you want to know from them? What do you do with this report?

BLUMENTHAL: Well, this report is based on a year-long investigation involving documents, interviews, and a lot of previously undisclosed evidence and what we have found is that the airlines are relying more and more on these junk fees as a source of revenue and they are obscuring them.

Very often, you as a passenger won't know how much you're being charged until after you buy the ticket.

You can't do comparison shopping. You can't do the kind of analysis that you've just heard from the interview that John did. So, we want these airlines to come clean with the American people, tell them the facts, provide the data. Number two, support an end to these junk fees like seat choice with your children or other kinds of fees that are charged for taking baggage onto the plane, checking baggage and carry-ons and also cancellations, changing the flight that you want to take.

And here's what's really, in a way most disturbing. These airlines now are so consolidated. Four airlines control almost 70 percent of the whole market. They march in lockstep. They charge these fees in effect together, raise them together. So, now they're --

BOLDUAN: Do you have questions of collusion on that. Is that what you're saying?

BLUMENTHAL: That's an issue. And I think the Department of Justice should be looking into it. It's announced a public inquiry as of October this year.

I think that the non-competitive situation and the possible collusion there is an issue that deserves investigation. And what's more, the airlines are now moving toward the use of algorithms.

[08:25:21]

In effect a form of artificial intelligence to target individuals based on their specific attributes, where they live, their zip code, for example, and charging them differently for the same flight at the same time. And that kind of use of algorithm ticket price setting is very disturbing.

BOLDUAN: On the most basic level transparency -- if you're going to do it, be transparent about it and then let customers decide. And that's what your investigation, thankfully, is going to reveal. This will be a very interesting hearing next week. Thank you so much Senator, for coming in and bringing us this.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: I really appreciate it.

Also overnight, Russia firing a record number of drones on Kyiv. Ukrainian officials say 188 missiles hit the country's capital.

And major changes at America's largest private employer. Why Walmart is scrapping its diversity equity and inclusion initiatives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]