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Accidental Discharge From Passenger's Gun Causes Airport Panic; Interview With Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) About January 6th Committee Investigation; The Side Effects Of Speaking The Language Of FOX News; Blinken Warns About Unusual Russian Military Activity; "Out-Of-Stock" Problems Stacking Up Before Holidays; CNN's "The Hunt for Planet B" Premieres At 9:00 Tonight. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 20, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To do excellent science.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could there possibly be life out there?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: And be sure to tune in, the all-new CNN Film "The HUNT FOR PLANET B" premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m. only on CNN.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in New York.

In Atlanta, a short time ago, chaos and panic at one of the world's busiest airports on one of the most high travel weekends of the year.

That was the scene earlier this afternoon. People hitting the floor crawling away after gunfire rang out at a security checkpoint. Passengers even pouring on to the tarmac trying to get out of the terminal. The Atlanta Airport says the gunfire was the result of an accidental discharge, but that wasn't before many, including at least one pilot, believed there was an active shooter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not parking the aircraft at the concourse out of an abundance of caution for your safety. Again, we've got an active shooter situation in the airport. We're parking at the terminal out of an abundance of safety for yourselves. We'll keep you advised when we know more and when it's safe to continue. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Be advised you need not worry about probably your outbound flights as half the airport has been stopped for ground departures.

For those of you that the flights that you might miss that are still going, my apologies, but again, your safety is our first priority. If that happens to be the case, Delta will reaccommodate you accordingly and again we'll keep you advised. Thank you.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Again, that video was recorded before authorities determined there was no active shooter. The airport has since given the all clear. And on the phone with me right now is director of the Office of Communications and Public Affairs at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Andy Gobeil.

Andy, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it. The gun that accidentally discharged, did it belong to a passenger?

ANDREW GOBEIL, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Yes, Jim, good afternoon. Apparently, it was a passenger. This happened at about 1:30 this afternoon. He was in the middle of the screening checkpoints when somehow they recognized that there was a weapon in the bag and when either the officer went in or when the passenger went in to get it, it accidentally discharged.

Obviously, when you were taking a look at that video of everybody running away from that, in that enclosed space, a loud noise is going to create that sense of chaos, if you will, and that's what happened.

ACOSTA: Right.

GOBEIL: Everybody ran out. They took care of it. We know who it is. Talked with the commander of the Atlanta Airport Police Precinct. They're going to go out and they're going to question him and detain him shortly, and we've got the all clear here at the airport.

ACOSTA: And are you identifying the passenger at this point and do you believe that this passenger was attempting to bring the gun through security in an instance when he should not have been? In other words, do you think he was violating some sort of airport policy here that is going to be something you need to look into?

GOBEIL: Well, the investigation into that obviously is ongoing, but one of the major issues that we have here at Atlanta and in other airports as well is we're trying to make sure that people do not bring weapons through the checkpoints. If you will, having this weapon if you notice being recovered is a good sign because it shows that our training processes, these training processes from our colleagues over at the TSA are working. What the motive behind that, what's the reason behind that, is still to be determined.

ACOSTA: And Andrew, just -- I'm sorry to ask you so many detailed questions, it's the reporter in me, but did the bag go through the screener and did it show up on the screen and that's how it was detected? Can you explain that just very briefly?

GOBEIL: Yes. And again that's still to be determined.

ACOSTA: OK.

GOBEIL: I don't know the answer to that, Jim, and I wouldn't want to offer any conjecture to that point.

ACOSTA: I understand. And do you know how many shots were fired from the weapon?

GOBEIL: I believe it was just one but again I cannot confirm that. I think it was just one and that's what created the chaos there in that area. But one of the other reasons as well is when everyone moved on out, it impacted the rest of the airport because we are the busiest airport in the world and because we're so important to the commercial aviation system.

We had to make sure that all of the other passengers throughout the rest of the concourses were addressed. Those who made their way out to the ramp area, what people call the tarmac, will be re-screened as we bring them on in and operations will be returning to normal.

ACOSTA: And about the passenger with the weapon, you were just saying that your officers are speaking with that passenger as we speak.

[16:05:03]

Do you know whether or not this passenger is cooperating? Was he cooperative after this gun was detected?

GOBEIL: No, Jim, they're not speaking with him right now. They spoke with him earlier as he was going through.

ACOSTA: OK.

GOBEIL: But they have the information. They know who it is.

ACOSTA: They know who it is. And so he was released from custody or if you want to call it custody?

GOBEIL: No, he -- no, I wouldn't describe it that way. What happened is as he was walking through, they saw that there was a weapon there and he made his way out of the airport and again, they said he's in process of being screened, we had all of his information.

ACOSTA: OK. So just to button that aspect up, this passenger, you found the weapon. Your officers had a conversation with him and then he was allowed to go about his business and he has now left the airport?

GOBEIL: No. No. He was not allowed to go. As the weapon discharged, he took off and was able to make it outside of the airport.

ACOSTA: Oh, he did take off. OK. So the --

GOBEIL: That's correct.

ACOSTA: The gun discharged and he started running?

GOBEIL: That's the report that we have, yes. And again, the investigation is ongoing right now. We're getting the information as we move forward. So still we want to clarify everything and I really don't want to give too much specific information because I wouldn't want to be incorrect here, Jim. ACOSTA: No. I totally understand, Andrew. And I appreciate you bearing

with me. Do we know where he is right now? Do you know how to track him down if you need to?

GOBEIL: Again, that's going to be a question for the police and they have his information.

ACOSTA: They have his information. And now the police may have to go track him down is what it sounds like.

GOBEIL: They have his information and I expect that they probably -- I expect that they will, yes.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Andrew, thanks for bearing with that. And we just played video of a pilot telling passengers there was an active shooter in the airport. Why would a pilot think that? Was there some initial information that there might have been an active shooter and that is how that information got disseminated or perhaps the pilot was putting two and two together and got 22? What happened there?

GOBEIL: I think, you know what, I think it was the latter, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes.

GOBEIL: I think that's what happened. He probably heard what was going on and offered some conjecture and moved forward from there, which is why we immediately mobilized. This happened at about 1:30. Our emergency operations center was up and running shortly after that.

We started to, you know, inform the public as to what's going on. We wanted to make sure that everyone knew what was happening. We immediately let people know that this was an accidental discharge and not an active shooter.

ACOSTA: Yes. But accidental discharge, if you don't mind that term makes it sound as though, you know, oh, whoops, this happened and no big deal. The fact that this person ran after this happened, that's more worrisome, I would think, from your standpoint.

GOBEIL: Well, again, this is going to be something that will be up to the police and the law enforcement officials who will be conducting the investigation so.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, what I mean is, Andrew, is --

GOBEIL: Yes.

ACOSTA: Standard operating procedure would be, let's say you're a passenger, you didn't mean to bring it to the airport. You forgot it was in your bag. The officer detects it, finds it, and you cooperate. You speak to the officer. You resolve it. Maybe you have somebody come by, pick it up, so on. Not every one of these situations gets resolved in the way it was resolved or how it unfolded this afternoon is I guess the question that I have.

GOBEIL: Well, that was a statement and not a question, but yes. ACOSTA: Yes. But you know what I mean.

GOBEIL: Exactly. Exactly. And so again, the processes involved, involving law enforcement and TSA, they trained for this, they understand what's going on. So I don't want to speak specifically as to what's happened here because, you know, when we look back and when we take a look at the video and when the investigation is ongoing, I want to make sure that everything I say here is correct and appropriate.

ACOSTA: Of course. Yes.

GOBEIL: So what happened from when this passenger entered the cue to going to the security screening area, that is still to be determined and investigated.

ACOSTA: And you said passengers who self-evacuated are being re- screened. I guess how do you know people who hadn't been screened yet didn't slip through security during that chaos? Was everything emptied out so you could do all of that rescreening over again? Is that essentially what happened?

GOBEIL: No, we didn't empty it out. What we're doing and I'm sitting here in our emergency operations center with a wall full of monitors and with officials who take a look at the screening area. They observe what's going on. They're able to come up with a specific count of people who had gone through and they will determine what's happening.

So again, coordinated with the TSA and with law enforcement we'll make sure that those who may have gone through in that area will be re- screened again. And that's why we're making sure that those who walked out on to the ramp will be brought to our screening area and sent on through.

ACOSTA: And are you experiencing some delays now that are cascading as a result of this incident?

[16:10:04]

GOBEIL: Again, as we are returning to operations and ramping everything up, we're dealing with the people who are being re- screened, but there is no substantial impact to operations.

ACOSTA: All right. Andrew Gobeil, thank you so much. Thanks for your patience in dealing with all those questions. We appreciate it very much. Thanks for your time.

GOBEIL: Of course, Jim. Sure.

ACOSTA: All right. And joining us now is CNN's Nadia Romero. She's live at Hartsfield-Jackson. Also with me is our transportation analyst, Mary Schiavo.

But first, I want to talk to the woman who recorded that video on board a plane of a pilot telling passengers that there was an active shooter in the airport, Isabel Rosales is a CNN Newsource correspondent for us.

And Isabel, I guess what happened in the moments after that video was taken? I suppose passengers were pretty alarmed by this.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NEWSOURCE CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Yes, Jim. It was honestly a stunned silence. Not a peep coming from passengers, which you wouldn't expect in that situation, but everyone was extremely quiet, understanding the potential gravity of the situation. The pilot even said, hey, if you have the means to get on the news, you know, to access the news on your phone, do that. You might get details more quickly.

So people started immediately turning their little monitors in front of their seats to the news, getting on the phone, trying to figure out what was going on. And we sat there for 20 minutes until we heard that it was an accidental discharge and there was an immediate moment of just relief because we know how ugly that can get, right?

We know here in the United States, how ugly an active shooter can get real quick, especially in a populated area as this airport here in Atlanta, which is a main artery for transportation through all parts here in the U.S. and beyond.

So just relief. But right now, things are, Jim, seeming to return back to normal slowly. But still, a nightmare for these passengers. They're waiting in massive, massive lines, being re-screened through security. There is no clear. There is no TSA pre-check. Everyone is barefoot, trying to get out their laptops, taking off jackets and waiting in these long, long, long lines, and it's just packed here.

ACOSTA: All right, Isabel. Thanks for that report.

Nadia Romero is also live for us at Hartsfield-Jackson. What more do we know about this accidental discharge? I think we just got a whole boatload of new information there from Andy Gobeil with the airport.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. And I just want to digest that a little bit more. When we look at reporting coming from the TSA, they said in the last 10 months, they saw some 4600 firearms being brought through the TSA all across the country. The majority of them loaded firearms.

This is a major issue that we're seeing not only here in Atlanta, but in other major airports across the country. It is a crime. It is a misdemeanor felony charge if you do try to bring that firearm on through a checkpoint. $2500 for an unloaded weapon up to about $10,000 for a loaded weapon. So there are penalties for doing this. Of course, the investigation into the man who had his gun at this airport earlier this afternoon is still under investigation and now we're still in the midst of it.

So as Isabel mentioned, the airport now starting to get back to normal, but it is at a very slow pace. We have video sent in. My in- laws were coming into town. They landed. We're getting off their plane about 1:30 right when all of this happened and my father-in-law Greg Romero sent in a bunch of video showing people, a sea of people really, waiting by the escalators off of the train so you can take trains to different concourses throughout Atlanta's airport because it's just so big.

And they're just waiting there as he's in a sea of people and so many other people are trying to make their way to other concourses hoping they can connect, to make that connecting flight and trying to get to baggage claim or anywhere else in the airport. That's what's happening on the inside.

On the outside, we're finally starting to see more planes taking off, but not what you would normally expect from the nation's busiest airport. We're also seeing cars here moving much more smoothly but still a lot of red lights. A lot of stop and go traffic. We know that so many people inside immediately called their loved ones and told them what happened so you had people who were already on their way to the airport who then were already here and there was plenty of congestion.

You had more people coming to the airport adding to that congestion. So now we're starting to get back to normal, but still, Jim, so many more unanswered questions about the person with the gun, how it happened and where he is now -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes. What a mess. And let me go to Mary Schiavo, former inspector general for the Department of Transportation. I would think in your former position, you would be pulling your hair out right now. The airport officials calling this an accidental discharge, but you just heard the airport spokesman telling us a few moments ago this gun was caught during screening, it went off at some point, and then the passenger took off. What did you think of that?

[16:15:00]

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, you know, the best thing that a passenger can do if they've accidentally brought a gun to the airport is obviously stop and cooperate and surrender.

ACOSTA: Right.

SCHIAVO: The first offense is about $4,000. It can go all the way up to $13,000 per offenses, but here you had additional possible offenses on for fleeing, et cetera. Atlanta has cameras everywhere, including on the areas leading up to the airport. So if he left the airport, even went in the grounds around the airport, sidewalks, the roadways, those are covered with cameras, too. I'm sure they have him already.

And I have to mention the pilot. You know, what the pilot did actually made sense if the pilot was aware and I'm sure that he or she was, of the Ft. Lauderdale airport shooting back in I think it was 2017. In that case five were dead, six were injured.

And what happened is the people poured out on to the tarmac from the airport. They literally opened the doors, went in through the secure areas and ended up on the airport tarmac, and there was a question for a long time as to whether the shooter was there, where the shooter was. So the pilot actually was just, you know, using an abundance of

caution and I'd give the pilot credit for knowing that and knowing to stay away from the airport until they got the all clear.

ACOSTA: Yes. Absolutely, Mary. And honestly, when pilots are passing on information like that to the passengers, it is just so valuable and it helps calm a lot of nerves out there because people just want to know what's going on.

Mary Schiavo, great insights as always. Nadia Romero, Isabel Rosales, great reporting in that unfolding situation. We appreciate all of your efforts this afternoon.

And coming up, there's been a lot of reporting about who isn't talking to the select committee investigating the January 6th insurrection, but we've learned about 200 people have testified. Who's sharing and what are they saying?

We'll ask a member of that select committee, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:55]

ACOSTA: It's been over 10 months since rioters stormed the Capitol and the House Select Committee investigating the attacks says it has issued 35 subpoenas and interviewed over 200 witnesses so far. But with much of the work taking place behind closed doors what can we expect next?

Let's bring in a member of the January 6th Committee, Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of California.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for making time for us this afternoon. Help us out a little bit here. Can you provide any specifics about who these 200 people are that you've interviewed? I'm not asking for names, you know, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, but can you give us a little bit of context?

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): Yes. Many of them are people who were in the administration during the former president's term who have information that they want to give to us, as well as people involved in the events leading up to the 6th, and they want to voluntarily give information.

You know, we're putting the pieces together. It's painstaking. And -- but it's thorough. And we hope when the process is completed, that we will have a very reliable and complete picture of the events that led up to that terrible day.

ACOSTA: And can you say a former White House staffers have testified? Trump campaign staffers? The staff of the former vice president Mike Pence? All of the above?

LOFGREN: Well, maybe not that specific, but let me say certainly there have been people, part of the Trump administration who have spoken to us and provided important insights that have led us to further questions. Many people are coming in voluntarily. Some we're going to have to subpoena and have in some cases, there will be more subpoenas. Some need a subpoena, you know, to give cover for coming in and then there are also third parties who might have information.

For example, we are following the money to find out who paid for it. That's an important element of following the money trail and that's not always just testimony. It's documents.

ACOSTA: Yes. I want to ask you about that in just a second, but your committee blasted former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for refusing to say whether he used a private cell phone on January 6th or where his text messages are. Can you give us some context on that? Does the committee have information that he destroyed devices? Deleted messages?

LOFGREN: Well, you know, he has an obligation to come here and give testimony to the committee under law. He gave a very vague sort of absolute immunity. He doesn't have to come in and testify because the former president and he spoke. Well, there's a lot of questions that we have for Mark Meadows that have nothing to do with his conversations with the former president. Some of them have to do with his use of his -- potential use of a private cell phone and e-mail, and what happened to those records.

As you know, we are pursuing records from the National Archives which scoop up all the presidential records after the term of a president. We don't know that everything has been captured. We'd like to ask him about that. But there are other conversations that he had with people other than the president relating to the events leading up to this. He has to come in and tell us. He can't just say I don't want to.

ACOSTA: Right.

LOFGREN: And if he thinks that he has a claim of privilege, he has to assert that question by question. For example, putting executive privilege to one side. If you, you know, the Fifth Amendment says you don't have to testify against yourself. But you can't just say that blanket. You have to go question by question on that point.

[16:25:07]

ACOSTA: Right. And -- but I guess just to button up that subject, are there concerns that you have or others on the committee, that they might have that Meadows destroyed evidence?

LOFGREN: I don't want to -- it would be unfair of me to say that. But let me just say we would like to know about his use of a private cell phone and what happened to that cell phone and whether those records have been captured by the National Archives as the law requires.

ACOSTA: And back to the money trail, Pro Publica recently published a report outlining text messages from Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, where she appears to brag about raising millions of dollars for the January 6th rally before the insurrection. Guilfoyle's attorney says the messages were taken out of context and denies she raised money for the January 6th rally. Has the committee been given those text messages and if not, do you want to see them?

LOFGREN: Let me just say this. I'm not going to get into, at this point, to what evidence we have secured so far and what we're still seeking, but I will say this. It is possible to follow a money trail. We have a whole team of investigators that is following the money trail and we believe we have a very high chance of actually determining who paid for what and I think that's an important thing for people to know.

ACOSTA: And Steve Bannon, as you know, just pleaded not guilty to contempt of Congress for refusing to appear before the January 6th Committee. Let's play a little bit of what he said about his indictment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP CHIEF STRATEGIST: This is going to be the misdemeanor from hell for Merrick Garland, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. Joe Biden ordered Merrick Garland to prosecute me from the White House lawn when we got off Marine One. And we're going to do -- we're going to go on the offense. We're tired of playing defense. We're going to go on the offense on this and stand by.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: He said stand by. Some phraseology that may ring a bell for some of our viewers. Do you see some of that language as a threat?

LOFGREN: Certainly. He is a very bellicose individual and certainly apparently thinks he's above the law. The Department of Justice felt otherwise as did the committee. He's not permitted in the American system of justice to just say I don't want to answer any questions. I don't have to. The law applies to all of us. To the former president. To Mr. Bannon. To me. To you. And there's no special elite that is excused from complying with the law.

ACOSTA: All right. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, as always, we appreciate your time. Thanks for coming on this afternoon. We appreciate it.

LOFGREN: You bet.

ACOSTA: All right. Coming up, the U.S. secretary of State sounding the alarm about unusual military activity on Russia's border with Ukraine. What's got Tony Blinken so concerned? Next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:32:36]

ACOSTA: The days are getting shorter. It's cold outside. It's also the time when we start looking back at the past year.

And what a year it was over at FOX. or what I describe as the bullshit factory. Just in the last week, they've been churning out so much B.S. it's hard to keep up.

Laura Ingraham did this bit where she tried to pretend she didn't understand that Netflix has a show called "You."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was watching an episode of "You" where measles came up.

(CROSSTALK)

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST, "THE INGRAHAM ANGLE": Wait, wait, wait. When did I mention measles?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. It was on "You."

INGRAHAM: What was on me? What are you talking about? I never had the measles.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- was on "You."

INGRAHAM: We never did a -- we never did a measles and vaccine episode. Is this a joke?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was on "You." It was on "You."

INGRAHAM: I've never had -- Raymond, I've never had measles. What are you talking about? It's stupid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was an episode of a show, Laura.

INGRAHAM: What's it called?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "You."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Ingraham insisted this was a scripted segment. The problem is -- and how should I put this -- we thought it was real because it's Laura Ingraham. That's why it's funny.

You also had Jesse Waters suggesting that the recent concert tragedy in Houston had something to do with satanism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FOX NEWS HOST: So that looks to you like the gates of hell, the way that I guess they designed that?

JESSE WATERS, FOX NEWS POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That seemed like it wanted you to go to the other side. And so it did seem you are kind of going down, you know, "Dante's Inferno," the various stages of hell. There's flames kind of in the front there and you are kind of going

deeper and deeper.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Oh, we're going deeper and deeper.

Jesse, if you're looking for the gates of hell or "Dante's Inferno," check out the studio just down the hallway and listen for the maniacal laugh. Be careful though, the doorknob might be hot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST, "TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT": The one thing we know for sure about Kamala Harris is we should all be very, very grateful to have here because she's historic for reasons no ever explains.

But there's a lot we don't know about Kamala Harris.

Most people don't know she really grew up in Canada. It's where she went to high school. She's not from this country in that sense. Or she's certainly also from Canada.

[16:35:05]

OK. But that doesn't mean she's not going to be a good vice president. But why haven't we heard that?

ACOSTA: Yes, Tucker Carlson, your suggestion that Kamala Harris isn't quite American because she spent part of her childhood in Canada has put you over the top.

We once honored you with the distinction of bullshit factory of the month now, but now that 2021 is coming to an end, we decided to recognize you as our first ever bullshit factory employee of the year.

That's right, Tucker. You've earned it. You've spent the past year peddling vaccine conspiracy theories about Bill Gates. You served as a mouthpiece for white supremacists who embraced the Great Replacement theory.

You spread the false-flag conspiracy theory that Trump supporters were not responsible for the insurrection on January 6th only to contradiction himself days later.

And now, your latest low light, you had a crew embedded with Kyle Rittenhouse during his trial. Yes, during his trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYLE RITTENHOUSE, ACQUITTED IN KENOSHA SHOOTING TRIAL: It's the stuff that keeps you up at night. Like, once you finally do get to sleep, your dreams are about what happened and you're waking up in a dark, cold sweat. You know?

UNIDENTIFIED FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: You had dreams about what happened?

RITTENHOUSE: Every single night.

It's quite scary, actually, because the dreams feel so real. And they're not the same at all. They're all different. They're the different scenarios that run through your head during the day, like what could have happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What makes this this shameful is that you were filming this latest piece of one-sided right-wing propaganda while FOX was slamming other media outlets for their coverage of the trial.

Of course, projection and "what aboutism" are two key pillars of the FOX News bullshit factory.

Which reminds me of something Tucker acknowledged earlier this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLSON: I mean, I lie. If I'm really cornered or something, I lie. I really try not to. I try never to lie on TV. I don't like lying. I certainly do it, you know, out of weakness or whatever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Or whatever.

So congratulations. Enjoy the honor.

This was a tough decision because we had to limit the award to current employees of FOX. Not aspiring ones.

Ted Cruz, he could have been a contender with his criticism of Big Bird and his accusation that Liz Cheney suffers from Trump derangement syndrome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-FL): I look at the situation of Liz Cheney and I think it's sad. I think she falls into the category of people who Donald Trump just broke. Just shattered.

She's lashing out at Trump, at Republicans, at everything. And she's become a Democrat. And it's sad to watch what's happened. It is Trump Derangement Syndrome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Cheney's response was pointed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY) (voice-over): I think that Ted Cruz, Ted Cruz used to say he was a constitutional conservative. But now he is like so desperate for political approval that he will even advocate succession.

And I think that a real man would be defending his wife and his father and the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

But what almost did it for me was this Cruz tweet slamming Biden for his plan to spend Thanksgiving with his family on Nantucket?

Cruz tweeting, "There once was a man from Nantucket" -- which begs the question, is he trolling himself now? Because immediately, there were so many renditions of "There once was a man from Nantucket" about Ted Cruz. They were everywhere.

Mine goes like this. "There once was a man named Ted. When Texas froze, he fled. He went to Cancun but came back too soon. Rest in peace, irony, you're dead."

The reason why Cruz and Carlson spend so much of their time spreading manure is because there's a marketplace for it. It's dominated by FOX News. So much so that it's spawned copycats, like Newsmax and OAN.

The head of FOX News, Rupert Murdoch, has indicated he's ready to move on from Trump.

Murdoch recently told his shareholders conservatives will be held back if Trump stayed focused on the past and that the past is the past and it's time for conservatives to think about the future.

I wonder if the company Murdoch runs or the Republican Party he controls will even listen to that. I kind of doubt it.

Look at how the GOP responded to one of its own, Paul Gosar, being censured for sharing a violent Anime depicting him attacking prominent Democrats with swords.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Today we're critiquing Paul Gosar's Anime. Next week, we might be indicting the Wylie Coyote for an explosive ordnance against the Road Runner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Or really anything Marjorie Taylor Greene has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): We need a good plan that restores America back to the republic that it was originally founded to be because our freedoms are so precious, Steve, that we do not want to lose them and the only way you get freedom back after you've lost it is with the price of blood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:40:11]

ACOSTA: The price of blood.

Ted Cruz talks about Trump Derangement Syndrome, but what we've just played for you sounds pretty deranged to me.

FOX News can't run away from Trump or Trumpism. FOX is Trump. And Trump is FOX.

This idea that Murdoch is suddenly going to change course, pull the plug, now? I'm calling bullshit on that one, too.

And we'll be right back.

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[16:45:12]

ACOSTA: Developing right now, Secretary of State Blinken says the U.S. is monitoring some unusual military activity on Russia's side of its border with Ukraine.

Tensions have been high between the two nations recently due to a deepening Ukrainian energy crisis they believe Russia is responsible for.

CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us from the White House.

It's always worrisome what's happening in Moscow for any administration. Arlette, what are we learning?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, Secretary of State Blinken today said that the U.S. has very real concerns about Russia's military activity at the border of Ukraine.

This is the latest expression from this administration of how seriously they are taking these Russian activities.

After a few weeks ago, the secretary of state said he's concerned Russia might be trying to rehash that 2014 incursion and annexation of Crimea.

But take a listen to what Blinken had to tell reporters speaking today in Senegal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have real concerns about Russia's unusual military activity on the border with Ukraine.

We have real concerns about some of the rhetoric we're seeing and hearing from Russia as well as in social media. We don't know what president Putin's intentions are, but we know what's happened in the past. We've been in very close consultation with partners throughout Europe.

And I can tell you there's a widely shared concern and a real focus on that concern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now in addition to speaking to partners and allies, the U.S. has spoken directly with Russia.

Just earlier this month, President Biden dispatched the CIA director, Bill Burns, in a very rare trip to Russia to meet with the Kremlin officials there and they were monitoring their activities along the Russian/Ukraine border.

Also, the national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, spoke with his counterpart on the Russian Security Council.

The White House didn't detail if Ukraine exactly came up in the call, they did say there were frank and constructive discussions.

Now Russia did have a military buildup along the border in the spring that did not amount to anything.

But there are very lingering concerns about Russia's intentions when it comes the Ukraine given the past history there -- Jim?

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

Arlette Saenz, thanks so much for that report.

And a programming note. Join Fareed Zakari for an in-debt look at Chia's leader, Xi Jinping. "CHINA'S IRON FIST, XI JINPING AND THE STAKES FOR AMERICA," beings tomorrow night, very important episode, at 9:00 p.m.

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[16:52:41]

ACOSTA: The dreaded out-of-stock messages popping up on sites all over the Internet these days as a global supply meltdown causes shortages ahead of the all-important holiday shopping rush.

CNN's Tom Foreman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Over two billion times, that's how often the words "out of stock" came up as researchers tracked just 18 different product categories online in October.

That's worse than last year and much worse than two years ago.

Among the hardest hit items, according to Adobe Analytics, electronics, jewelry, clothing, homewares and pet supplies. The trend has been driven in large part by months of people sitting at

home shopping online in the pandemic and the holidays are amping it up.

JONATHAN GOLD, VP, SUPPLY CHAIN & CUSTOMS POLICY, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: The demand for the products as well as the materials to make those products is just far outpacing the available supply of those products and materials and what's needed to move those products through the supply chain to the consumer.

FOREMAN: Imported goods are especially vulnerable. Not only are manufacturers and shippers navigating a maze of periodic shutdowns, but even when their cargo arrives, they are piling up in ports waiting to unload.

Rosemary Coats is a supply chain expert.

ROSEMARY COATES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RESHORING INSTITUTE: There's a shortage of truck drivers. There's a shortage of warehouse space and workers all along that supply chain. So this is not, you know, a snap your fingers and organize a solution.

FOREMAN: That means for consumers, the day after Thanksgiving could be more like bleak Friday with some products hard to find and prices rising.

Best tips? Shop early. If you see what you want --

GOLD: Buy it now.

COATES: Buy it. Definitely. Buy it now.

FOREMAN: And have faith, just like many retailers, that the holidays will wind up happy anyway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, are you ready to fly to grandma's?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Thanks to time for that report.

Is there life on other planets? It's a big question. The new CNN film, "THE HUNT FOR PLANET B," follows a team of female-led scientists who are leading the quest to find another earth.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anyone wants to know why there's life out there. I guess, it's because we're kind of a lonely species.

[16:55:02]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we started, we didn't even know if there were any planets beyond our solar system.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In our own Milky Way Galaxy, we have hundreds of billions of stars. Another earth is undoubtedly out there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the huge eye in the sky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to see deeper into space than any other telescope in history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have the sensitivity to detect a child's night light on the moon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Part of the point of looking out there for life is to realize just how valuable the life is that we have here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're betting on the fact that life can originate and evolve anywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we expect to see?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a lot more searching to do.

ANNOUNCER: The quest for another earth begins.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there's life out there. Can we find them in my lifetime? God, I hope so.

ANNOUNCER: "THE HUNT FOR PLANET B" premieres tonight at 9:00.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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