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CNN Projects Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto Will Win Reelection; McCarthy Faces Rocky Road To Speakership After Lackluster Midterms; CNN Projection: Democrats Keep Control Of Senate; Control Of House Still Up For Grabs Five Days After Election Day; Deadly Explosion Rocks Central Istanbul; Biden Arrives In Bali For Xi Meeting And G20 Summit. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired November 13, 2022 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:42]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with Democrats landing a pivotal victory for control of the U.S. Senate. CNN now projects Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto will win re-election beating her Republican challenger Adam Laxalt. Democrats defying historical trends reclaiming control of the U.S. Senate with another seat in Georgia still up for grabs.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The stakes were high. The margins were razor thin, but in the end, the Democratic incumbent prevailed. Catherine Cortez Masto gets to stay as the senator from the state of Nevada and with that, the Democrats get to keep and maintain control of the U.S. Senate.

Here's how it all went down. The Republican Adam Laxalt was in the lead for days and then on Saturday evening, Clark County released a batch of about 23,000 votes. And here's how those votes were divided, Catherine Cortez Masto receiving about 14,000 of those votes or 60 percent of the vote. Laxalt received more than 8,000 votes or about 35 percent of that batch. Now that put Catherine Cortez Masto in the lead, and CNN called the race at that point in time.

Her campaign taking to Twitter saying, quote, "What did people get wrong about this race? The first Latina Senator knows her community better than anonymous sources. The daughter of a Teamster knows how to fight for working families and CCM's or Catherine Cortez Masto's a formal AG -- and crime attacks couldn't stick." Again, the Democrat here, Catherine Cortez Masto, keeps her seat and stays as senator of Nevada.

WHITFIELD: Rosa Flores, thank you so much for that.

So while control of the U.S. Senate is sealed, the fate of the House remains a question mark. After falling short of expectations in the midterms, Kevin McCarthy's path to become House Speaker has become a bit more complicated. And some Republican senators are also calling for a delay in the leadership vote before committing to Mitch McConnell, as minority leader.

For more on all this, let's bring in Capitol Hill Reporter Melanie Zanona. So a lot of jockeying taking place behind the scenes, Melanie. Mitch McConnell, you know, was hoping to become the majority leader after the midterms. But we see that's not going to happen. So he is, however, facing dissension within the ranks. Explain.

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yes, that's right. Well, first, let me start by saying that based on our reporting, Mitch McConnell does have the votes to become a leader of his conference once again. But as you know, he is facing some dissension in his ranks, which is really rare for Mitch McConnell.

There is a small but very vocal group of Republican lawmakers who are calling to delay the internal leadership elections, which are scheduled for this week. They said we need more time to figure out what went wrong, especially after it was just determined last night that Democrats are going to hold on to the Senate and potentially pick up another seat depending on the Georgia runoff. And then there's at least one Republican Josh Hawley, who has publicly said he's not going to support Mitch McConnell for that job.

Of course, the blame game is heating up behind the scenes. There is an effort by Trump and some of his allies to try to make Mitch McConnell the Fall Guy. But there's a lot of frustration and finger-pointing at Donald Trump himself. It was his handpicked candidates who ended up losing in these key races that determine control the Senate, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. And now let's talk about the jockeying and, you know, cajoling and the phone call making for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who, of course, wants to become House Speaker, you touched on that, but what is the path for him look like?

ZANONA: Well, it's a rocky path. I'll just be blunt about it. He's in much more danger than Mitch McConnell. And the reason is because if Republicans end up winning the majority, it is going to be by a very, very slim margin. And there are about a dozen, two dozen potentially more hardliners, his far-right members were threatening to withhold their support for McCarthy's speakership unless he gives in to some of their demands and that's something that up until this point he has not wanted to do. He has been making calls ever since Wednesday trying to lock down support.

[11:05:15]

But, ultimately, whether or not he becomes speaker really depends on two things, just what is the size of that majority? If it's super narrow, there's a chance he might not be able to get it because there are some members, I'm told that absolutely will not vote for McCarthy no matter what he tries to offer them.

And then is he willing to make deals? Make deals that could weaken his speakership if he agrees to some of these hardline demands. And Speaker Nancy Pelosi who knows this game very well, she was asked by our Dana Bash, does McCarthy have it when it comes to becoming speaker. Take a listen to what her response was. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: But why would I make a judgement about something that may or may not ever happen? No, I don't think he has it. But that's up to his own people to make a decision as to how they want it to be led or otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZANONA: Now, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made no secret about her distaste for Kevin McCarthy. But she makes the point, it's going to be very, very difficult and they don't even know if Republicans are going to win back the majority just yet, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And all of this with still 20 House seats undecided. All right, Melanie Zanona, thank you so much.

ZANONA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so where does all of this lead the country now? Let's turn to Presidential Historian Allan Lichtman, he's a Distinguished Professor of History at American University. So good to see you, Professor. It's been a while.

ALLAN LICHTMAN, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, AMERICA UNIVERSITY: It's been a while. Great to see you.

WHITFIELD: Yes, glad you're available. All right. So from a historical perspective, how significant in your view is it for Democrats to be in this position after a midterm, where the GOP was predicting a red wave or tsunami rather, of Republican victories? And obviously, that didn't happen?

ALLAN LICHTMAN: It is of enormous significance. There have only been three prior midterm elections in the history of the country in which the party holding the White House has fared well. And so, the Democrats really have achieved and historic victory going against the conventional wisdom, because we had these powerful winds blowing in the other way of the abortion issue and the democracy issue.

Look, here's the big picture. It's easy to point a finger at Donald Trump. That is superficial. The problem for the Republican Party runs from the bottom right to the top. These election deniers and candidates with extreme views are not contrary to the mainstream of the Republican Party. They are the new mainstream.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

LICHTMAN: Trump may have endorsed them -- listen, Trump may have endorsed them but the voters put them in to the nomination and two- thirds nearly of Republican voters in the exit poll said they still don't believe that Biden legitimately won the election. So forget about Trump, look at the whole Republican Party.

And the other thing, Fredricka, is that where is the Republican Party going in terms of what he stands for? Can I explain that? WHITFIELD: And that's a great question, because I was going to ask you that but since you asked yourself that, answer it for us.

LICHTMAN: Yes. Look, the Republican Party has now jettisoned virtually everything the Republican Party has once professed to stand for, personal morality, personal responsibility. It's become a joke for a party that embraces Donald Trump and Herschel Walker. States' rights, Republicans want to pass a national anti-abortion law, forget states' rights. Limited government, if such a law would go into effect that would be one of the most draconian impositions of big government on the American people in the history of the Republic.

Fiscal responsibility, the Republican stand for big tax cuts that ballooned to deficits. Finally, respect for traditional institutions, gone the Republican Party, a good portion of it sought to overthrow a democratic election and undermine American democracy. So what's left for Republicans culture wars and support for their big business donors, that is not going to cut it in the future.

WHITFIELD: So do you see this now as Republicans, perhaps facing that, they have to acknowledge this is a moment of correction. This is an opportunity now this point forward to return to some of those pillars of the Republican Party. And if they don't, then like you said, you know that they are looking at the demise of the party, as once they knew it.

But while many of those Trump picks made it through the primary, ultimately, they didn't make it all the way through. So how do you see the GOP making that acknowledgement or using this as an opportunity for correction?

[11:10:16]

LICHTMAN: They must do that. They had an opportunity after 2018 when they suffered grievous losses. They had an opportunity after 2020 when they were incumbent president loss. They did not seize either of those opportunities. This is may be their last chance to revamp the party to adapt to where the American people really are -- look, even the House, the Republicans would not have taken the House if not for the extreme gerrymandering in places like Florida, and Texas.

They're really out of step. And don't expect Ron DeSantis to come riding in a white horse and save the Republican Party. It's not clear he represents anything different than Donald Trump other than a different personality. And governors, whoever successful have not fared well under the unique white heat of a presidential campaign.

Look at Bush and Kasich in 2016, look at Inslee on the Democratic side or earlier, Howard Dean, don't know how a candidates can affair when they face a presidential campaign. And it's not clear that DeSantis offers the reconsideration and restoration that this Republican Party really needs.

WHITFIELD: And you're saying this two days ahead of the former President planning to make a special announcement. Do you believe that he's receiving the signals of a GOP who might reject him, or perhaps even give him another opportunity to reconsider what it is that he might be announcing on Tuesday?

LICHTMAN: I guess it's possible but Trump has been tone deaf to any kind of advice that challenges his extraordinary self-image. But look, if he does announce a presidential bid, it's going to be with a whimper, not with a bang after the tremendous disappointments in this election.

But, you know, Trump never takes personal responsibility. Speaking of that pillar of bygone Republican ideology. He said, you know, if they lose, it's their fault. If they win, it is, you know, to me. I think, you know, partly, he may be announcing in order to forestall an indictment, but just because you're an announced candidate does not immunize you from an indictment only if you are a sitting president.

Moreover, a Trump announcement may hurt Republicans in the Georgia run off on December 6, because it might energize Democrats. And, you know, the big reason why Walker came so close to Warnock in the initial round was that Republicans believed a vote for Warnock might -- vote for Walker rather might give them control the Senate, that's off the board. And that might not be motivating Republicans in that run off. And it is important for Democrats to get that extra vote. So they're not totally beholden to the relatively conservative Joe Manchin.

WHITFIELD: All right. All great points. Professor Allan Lichtman, great to see you. Thanks so much, of American University.

LICHTMAN" Great to see you. Take care.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, we're following this breaking news out of Istanbul. Officials say at least six people are dead and over 50 injured after an explosion in a popular tourist area. The latest on the situation next.

Plus, the first ever regular season NFL game in Germany. Right now the Tampa Bay Bucs are taking on the Seattle Seahawks in Munich. We'll take you there live straight ahead.

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[11:18:10]

WHITFIELD: All right this breaking news, a deadly explosion rocks a popular tourist area of central Istanbul.

Wow, that blast in Turkey captured in this video posted to social media terrified people on the busy street immediately fleeing as you see there. The governor of Istanbul says at least six people are, dead 53 more injured.

Let's get right to CNN Scott McLean who was following the latest developments. How did this happen?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. Yes, so this happened about three hours ago now late afternoon Istanbul time. Obviously, new information is still coming in. This happened on Istiklal Street. The reason that I mentioned this specific name of the street is because if you've ever been a tourist in Istanbul, you have almost certainly been to this street.

This is the beating heart of Istanbul. It's a pedestrianized Street. It has shops, restaurants, bars, galleries, you name it. It is popular with tourists. It's also popular with locals and I know from speaking with my colleague there that the weather today was absolutely gorgeous. And so you had a lot of families out on a Sunday stroll with their kids. You had young people sitting at bars and cafes and then you had this explosion.

Images shown as you can see them there on Turkish TV are absolutely horrifying. A freelance journalist and witness to this told CNN that he was in a shop not far from this literally meters he believes from where the explosion took place. And when he came out of that shop, he saw people lying on the ground, people bleeding from their arms and from their legs.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he spoke to reporters today, the latest numbers at least six killed, at least -- or more than 50 now injured. The cause of the explosion is unclear, but Erdogan called it an attack, promising that those responsible would be identified. and punished.

[11:20:01]

Now he is just about to leave for the G20 summit in Indonesia. He is still planning to go. He has been active in trying to coax the Russians and the Ukrainians back to the negotiating table. He may now also be there to appeal to Western allies for more help in with security and then fighting terrorism in his country.

Of course, he stressed that there was no clear link at this point between -- or with terrorism but he says the local governors told him that this smells of terror. And that according to preliminary information, a woman was somehow involved again, though, that's very preliminary at this stage.

One of the thing to mentioned, Fredricka, and that is that, look, Istanbul is no stranger to terror attacks. It has seen though a relative period of calm for the last five years. But if you go back to 2010, there was a terror attack in Taksim Square not far from Istiklal Street had a wave of terror attacks either from ISIS or from Turkish militant groups in 2016. And nightclubs and public squares, you name it.

And so, there's an election coming up in the country next year. The economy, obviously, has been front and center perhaps because of this security, will also be part of the discussion as well, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Terrible situation. Scott McLean, thanks so much.

All right, coming up. President Biden is gearing up for his first face to face meeting with China's leader since taking office. What's on the table in these high stakes talks, next.

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[11:25:58]

WHITFIELD: President Biden has now arrived in Bali, Indonesia for the G20 Summit and a high stakes meeting with President Xi Jinping of China. The two leaders will meet on the sidelines of the summit on Monday. And it will be their first face to face meeting since President Biden took office and is taking place as tensions between the U.S. and China are high.

CNN White House Correspondent M.J. Lee is traveling with the President in Bali. So M.J., give us a sense of what is on the agenda and what is at stake.

M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, President Biden landed here in Indonesia about two and a half hours ago to attend the G20 Summit. And you're right that there is so much on the agenda. Of course, this summit is taking place in front of the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine. We know that leaders will want to talk about the economic challenges that that war has posed across the globe.

And we also know that they will talk about other important issues like climate change, and the President Biden essentially will have a very busy couple of days as he meets with various world leaders. But the President's meeting with Xi Jinping of China, that really is said to be the highlight of this summit. Because keep in mind, the two men haven't met face to face ever since President Biden took office, even though of course, they have a working relationship that goes back years back to when President Biden was vice president.

And it really does come at a real low point for U.S.-China relations. That tension really was exacerbated when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently visited Taiwan. And President Biden before he left Cambodia earlier today explained to reporters that he thinks this meeting could really help the two leaders understand each other's red lines. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know Xi Jinping. I spend more time with many other world leader. I know him well, he knows me. There's no -- we have very little misunderstanding. We just got to figure out where the red lines are and what are the most important things each of us going into the next two years and his circumstances change to state the obvious at home. And so, we're going to have a, I think -- I've always had straightforward discussion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: I did want to just quickly note, a couple of things that national security adviser Jake Sullivan just told reporters on Air Force One about this summit, he said that there's no time limit set to this meeting tomorrow. So it's a meeting that could end up lasting a couple of hours. He also said that President Biden will communicate to Xi that the U.S. is prepared for. quote unquote, stiff competition with China, but that he really wants to also convey that he isn't interested in conflict or confrontation with Beijing. And they're also going to be talking about hopefully, he said, areas of mutual agreement as well. So this is a very high stakes meeting, again, coming at a moment of real tension for U.S.-China relations, Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, a lot on the table. M.J. Lee, thanks so much, in Bali. And we'll be right back.

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[11:33:13]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. As the Ukrainian city of Kherson celebrates its liberation from Russian occupation, an adviser to the mayor says restoring electricity is a top priority. He said Russia, quote, completely destroyed all infrastructure and life support in the city. And warn some of the facilities they're restoring could be armed with Russian mines.

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy and first lady sat down with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on her show Thursday, and they discussed the resilience of the Ukrainian people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Do you still stand by what you said a few months ago that you would not negotiate with Vladimir Putin?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): His proposal has no substance as regards ending the war. Other than ultimatums, I have not heard anything from the current president of the Russian Federation. Starting from the 24th of February, there have been only ultimatums, densification, debt nationalization.

Every issue they raise starts with a D. They always want to deprive us of something violently on our own land. So I said that I'm not going to talk to this person. If this person conducts these sham referendums, and recognizes all those sham authorities that they set up as legal. We said this clearly. And I said that if they do that, then this means they don't respect our people, our sovereignty, our rights and our freedoms.

What is there to talk to them about, but I have closed the door. I said we would be ready to talk to Russia but with a different Russia. One that is truly ready for peace. One that is ready to recognize that they are occupiers, ready to reimburse our people.

[11:35:04]

That's not about money. They need to return everything, land, rights, freedom, money, and most importantly, justice to parents who lost their children. Money is not enough. It's not a priority. Bring back justice. And so far, I haven't heard statements like that from the Russian Federation, either from Putin, or from anyone else. AMANPOUR: Mr. President, after all your powerful calls to the world for help, weaponry, most especially training, all that kind of intelligence help that you've needed, are they finally delivering what you need to win? And do you feel that you're getting enough to win or just not to lose?

ZELENSKYY: It's enough when you can no longer hear explosions. It's enough when the air defense system and sure no missiles hit the ground or buildings. It's enough when you're not being fired, and no missiles are launched against you. Because Russia is working together with its partner, if I may call it that with Iran.

Since the 10th of October, we've seen them use around 450 Kamikaze drones, attack drones, air reconnaissance, attack drones, Kamikaze drones, missiles. Over this time, we've had over 2,500 hits, that's without artillery, 3,500 hits by drones, explosives, or missiles. That's a large number.

Do we have enough defenses? No, I don't think we have enough at all. Is it enough to make 100 or 1,000 calls? Probably not enough either. So if you -- but I'm ready to make 1,000 calls if every call I make results in more air defense systems. I'm ready to stay on the phone and just do that.

It's difficult. A joint decision on the protection of Ukrainian and Ukrainian airspace will definitely help us. And all the answers are there. I'm sorry. It's not even like the start of the COVID epidemic. When people didn't know what to do about it, when we needed to create a vaccine, and it didn't exist, there is a vaccine against Russian strikes, and we know it, there's a vaccine against Russia and we know exactly which countries have it and in what amounts.

And I would say frankly, there are even countries that have a surplus amount, from my point of view. So I guess, in answer to your question, there is not enough willingness, I would say.

AMANPOUR: What strength do you get from each other?

ZELENSKYY: No, not together. Not together. It means how we help each other.

AMANPOUR: Yes, and what strength do you get from each other?

ZELENSKYY: What I have from you, and what do you have from me. I know what you have from me.

OLENA ZELENSKA, FIRST LADY OF UKRAINE: Exactly. You know.

ZELENSKYY: Yes. If I can say.

AMANPOUR: Yes.

ZELENSKYY: That is my love And that is my best friend. So that is my energy. I wanted to answer your question at the very beginning, when Olena told you like she prepare breakfast for the children in the morning and prepare clothes, and et cetera. And what I wanted to tell you that -- but I have no such possibility. So nobody gives me breakfast in the morning. I mean, that it's such difficult period.

AMANPOUR: Because you're living apart?

ZELENSKYY: Yes.

AMANPOUR: Is it true that you said to President Biden, when they offered to evacuate you at the beginning, that you said I don't need a ride, I need ammunition?

ZELENSKYY (through translation): Yes, that's right. Nothing changed. You know, my answer is still the same.

AMANPOUR: And I want to ask you another question, because I've noticed that Ukrainians are not afraid to poke the bear. So the bear is the Russian bear. And you guys are constantly poking on the ground in the battle, in the airwaves, in the Twitter accounts of the Ministry of Defense, all over. A lot of people outside are afraid of Russia and what Russia might might do. Where did this come from?

ZELENSKYY (through translation): You know, I think that Russia feeds on these fears. And I think this is a big mistake of the last few decades. Russia feels it has this power. The more you give it, the more it feels your fear. It lives by it.

ZELENSKA (through translation): I think historically, we've been under pressure for so long. It's no longer scary. It's not even interesting. We just wanted to stop. It's more of an emotion rather than the fear. Centuries of Russian Empire, then dozens of years of Soviet Union, with all these famines, with all the depressions, with all the expulsions of Ukrainians to Siberia and Kazakhstan. We've suffered so much from them, that if we don't put an end to this now, there may be no chance in the future.

[11:40:18]

This is our last stand. And when it is the last stand, we've all seen it in the movies, there's only one winner. And of course, our sole desire is to be that winner. Otherwise, we will have no future for this nation. Because everything that's happening is elimination on ethnic grounds. All these calls for denazification, this is all about the Ukrainian nation being wrong, not having a right of exit to exist.

The Ukrainian language is not a real language, it's just about Russian. It's all about losing the values, there are no values for humanity. This is something we can never put up with really, because it would mean rejecting ourselves. Therefore, there is no fear. There is resilience, there is bravery. All we need is swifter and more powerful support than we're getting now.

ZELENSKYY (through translation): And this dignity, Ukrainian dignity is very important. And that's why we have this resilience. Russia keeps wondering what's happening here. I don't understand why that's so keen to know what we're up to. I think thy should be more interested in their own country, in their own history, in their own culture to preserve it, if they still have it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks to our Christiane Amanpour for that interview. And you can see more of this exclusive interview across the weekend right here on CNN.

All right back in this country, the NFL is making history today, well, overseas, with the first ever regular season game being played in Germany. We'll take you there live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:46:29]

WHITFIELD: All right happening today, Tom Brady in the Buccaneers hitting the road and flying over the pond to Germany. They're in Munich to play the Seattle Seahawks. It's the NFL's first ever regular season game in Germany and fans are excited.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a feeling like to have NFL game in Germany? Like five years ago, it was simply impossible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a Bengals fan, but since today, it's Seahawks against Bucs, I go with the Bucs because they have Tom Brady and actually I'm Tom Brady fan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have a lot in further down the twelves out here. We're going to win today. Whoa!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, they're saying wunderbar. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is live for us in Munich. So Fred, I mean the crowds are pretty impressive.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So the crowds were absolutely wunderbar. You're absolutely right, Fredricka. And, and you know, the NFL guys here in Europe, they were saying they sold about 67,000 tickets to this game in the arena. The game is actually still going on behind me.

But they said they could have sold millions of tickets. And certainly from what we saw today, it was really seen that Germans are star for NFL football and they want to see NFL football. One of the great things that you could see in the crowds there is that it's obviously a Bucs-Seahawks game. But people are coming with jerseys from pretty much every team around the NFL, because they're simply starved for football.

It's one of the biggest sports here on TV. And people say they want more of it. I talked to some more fans, here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the first time I'm seeing the game ever and I wanted to see a game and this is perfect. My favorite is, of course, Miami Dolphins, Buccaneers is the second one. But I would say, go for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very special. I hope that it will be (INAUDIBLE) here in Germany.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: (INAUDIBLE) touchdown as they say here in Germany. Obviously, the fans excited. Tom Brady, by the way, he was also excited as well. He said this when the press conference before the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: I think there's going to be a lot of emotion by everybody. It's very exciting for everybody to be here. I know the fans will be excited. So I think naturally is going to be more energy for us. And, you know, we're playing against a good team. So once the ball is kicked off, it's going to feel pretty normal, but it definitely doesn't feel like a regular season game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So there you can see a lot of the action, a lot of excitement here inside the stadium. Right now, you know, little I can tell you it's going quite well for Tom Brady, one of those typical Brady clinical games that he's playing right now.

And I can tell you the fans here, the German fans and all the others coming from all over Europe, they're really cheering on every play from both teams simply because they're so excited to finally have a regular season game here on their turf.

WHITFIELD: I bet they are excited. I mean, it is so unique. All right, Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.

PLEITGEN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:54:02]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Dolly Parton, while she's being honored and not just for her many musical talents, the country music legend and longtime philanthropist is the latest recipient of the Jeff Bezos courage and civility award and it comes with $100 million that has no strings attached. Parton has donated to various causes for decades and she donated $1 million toward vaccine research during the pandemic. The singer also has a library initiative and scholarship program.

Bezos spoke with CNN's Chloe Melas about the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHLOE MELAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Talk to me about choosing Dolly Parton.

JEFF BEZOS, FOUNDER, AMAZON: Well, look at what she's done and how she's led her life and the way she's done it. She's bold things always with civility and kindness. She's is a unifier. You know, we have big problems in the world. And the way to get big problems done is you have to work together.

We have too many examples in the world of conflict and people using ad hominem attacks on social media and so on and so on. You will find Dolly Parton doing that.

[11:55:04]

LAUREN SANCHEZ, JEFF BEZO'S PARTNER: And when you think of Dolly, look, everyone smiles, right? And all she wants to do is bring light into other people's world. That's all. And so, we couldn't have thought of someone better than to give this award to Dolly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And we'll have more of the exclusive interview airing tomorrow on CNN this morning.

President Biden alongside leaders from around the globe, sounding the alarm on climate change this week at a U.N. Climate Summit in Egypt. But thousands of miles away in the American Southwest, the effects of climate change couldn't be more real. This is Arizona's La Paz County where shallow wells are bone dry, amid a worsening mega drought.

Last year when water workers in Wenden, Arizona lowered a camera into the town's well, they noticed the normally still water was moving. The reason, according to officials, the water was being pumped rapidly out of the ground by a neighboring well. That well owned by a UAE-based company Aldora (ph), that farms alfalfa in the southwest to feed cattle overseas.

Well one of those officials, Gary Saiter, joining me now from Wenden, Arizona. He is the head of the Local Water Improvement District. So good to see you. So you told CNN that you said you've never seen anything like this before. Tell us what you were thinking when you saw images after dropping that camera into the well?

GARY SAITER, HEAD OF THE LOCAL WATER IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT: Well, Fredricka, we always pay attention to the water levels here. We're very sensitive to that. And when we were videoing the inside of that well to inspect it, they stop it every now and then and to get a still picture.

And I saw water moving through the casing and generally that water it's not like a river underground, is still. And I asked the well guys who had much more experience even than I did, if they had ever seen it before, and they said no. And that was -- that well that was pumping was about a half a mile from where we are. WHITFIELD: And so, let me also put up this graphic, you know, that shows well use typically in Arizona. And you can see how deep residential homes and farms have to drill based on the groundwater levels. And you can also see how much deeper wells have to be in 2022 than they were in the 1950s. So what does this mean for people living in La Paz County and their water use?

SAITER: Well, most residential wells are between 300 and 500 feet. And it has to be below the water level so that the pump and motor that goes inside the well is not exposed to air because that'll burn it up. And a lot of people around our area who had wells between that range, they've gone dry now. And I can tell you that in 1957 where we are right now, the water levels were 107 feet.

In 2013, that was 469. And this year, it's now 541 feet deep. That's out of the beach financially for most individual resident. Our Water Department, water wells are 1,500 feet deep. So from a municipal standpoint, we're OK. But if we were individuals drilling here, that would be very problematic.

WHITFIELD: And I do want to point out that Aldora (ph) did not respond to multiple requests from CNN for comment on this story. You live near the Aldora (ph) farm. Tell us about the impacts that you are seeing from their water usage in your own daily life.

SAITER: Well, my own daily life we had monsoons a couple of weeks ago that were about as aggressive as we've ever had. And this part of town, the northern part of town saw some severe flooding, which it never does. And what has happened is that they have changed the natural water flow on the farm. And the farm starts not even half a mile from here. It's right on the edge of town.

And that change caused the water to flow right down the ditches and down the road into the town, bringing an enormous amount of silt, caused some property damage. And we have a video of it and it looks like a river. And it's about a 1.5 foot deep when it comes in here.

Generally, that water naturally would flow into the centennial wash and buy (INAUDIBLE). But because the changes they've made it now comes into town.

WHITFIELD: Gary Saiter, we're going to leave it there for now. Thank you so much for being with us. And, of course, to read more on this story from our climate team, check it out on cnn.com.

Thanks so much for being with me this morning. I'm Fredericka Whitfield in Atlanta. See you back here again 2:00 Eastern time. In the meantime coming up on CNN, Dana Bash talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor-elect Josh Shapiro.