Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Zelenskyy: There Should Be No Room For Terror In The World; Ukrainian Resistance Fighters Target Russians In Kherson; Iranian Doctor Describes Brutal Crackdown On Protesters; Virginia Walmart Employees Saw Warning Signs of Shooter; Interview with Survivors Empowered Founders Sandy Phillips and Lonnie Phillips; U.S. Men's Soccer Team Plays Against England; Interview with Mother of USMNT Midfielder, Kellyn Acosta, Kanikah Perry-Acosta; Interview with Father of USMNT Midfielder, Kellyn Acosta, Ken Acosta. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired November 24, 2022 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:31]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead here on CNN Newsroom.
CHURCH (voice over): Missiles pound Ukraine, knocking our power to millions, just as temperatures fall. Now, President Zelenskyy says Russia is weaponizing winter.
Plus, workers at the world's largest iPhone factory clashed with Chinese police, demanding better working conditions and pay.
And Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo hopes to lead his national team to a win against Ghana, Thursday, the start of what could be his final run at winning a World Cup. All the latest from Qatar just ahead.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH (on camera): And thanks for being with us.
Well, at least seven people are dead after Russia launches a barrage of missile strikes across Ukraine, targeting the country's critical infrastructure.
CHURCH (voice over): The large scale assault on Wednesday knocked out power to much of the country, including in the capital Kyiv. But hours later, a number of regions were reporting that repair work had largely restored the power supply.
The strikes also caused a massive blackout in neighboring Moldova, where the prime minister sent a message of support to Ukraine after Russia's attack.
CHURCH (on camera): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling the latest wave of strikes, "The Russian formula of terror."
CHURCH (voice over): His comments coming as he urged an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to support the Ukrainian peace formula. Saying there should be no room for terror in the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Energy terror is comparable to the use of weapons of mass destruction. When we have the temperature below zero, and scores of millions of people without energy supplies, without heating, without water, this is an obvious crime against humanity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): Meanwhile, a senior World Health Organization official says Ukraine is in for an extremely dangerous winter ahead, not just because of fighting and power outages and shortages, but also because the fighting has devastated healthcare infrastructure across the country. Combined with fuel and electricity shortages, that could put more lives at risk in the coming months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. HANS KLUGE, REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR EUROPE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The winter will be a massive threat to millions of Ukrainians, due to the fact that maternity wards cannot function without incubators, Intensive Care Units cannot function without ventilators, and vaccine storages cannot function without fridges. It's that simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN Salma Abdelaziz is following developments for us. She joins us live from London. Good morning to you, Salma. So, these Russian airstrikes have been hitting Ukrainian power and water facilities relentlessly. And we just heard there, the W.H.O. warns that this will result along with the health issues in an extremely dangerous winter. What is the latest on this and what President Zelenskyy calling for?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Rosemary. Strikes so huge, so extensive yesterday from Russia, that even neighboring Moldova lost electricity.
Let's just take stock of what happened yesterday on the ground in Ukraine. According to President Zelenskyy, around 70 missiles fired by Russia, majority of those shot down, but those that did hit their target, the end result of that was nearly every thermal plant, every hydroelectric plant was damaged, already you have half of Ukraine's electricity grid that's been damaged or destroyed in the sustained attacks.
And that means almost every single Ukrainian yesterday, Rosemary, lost power in the city of Kyiv. The water pumps were no longer working. That means a majority of the city also lost access to running water. Now, some of that has been restored.
We understand the left bank side of the city of Kyiv water has been restored there. Some 30 percent of people in the city also getting electricity back, but still a majority there without running water, without electricity.
And of course, this is not just about people's homes, Rosemary. You heard of course, from the World Health Organization regional director, they are warning people about the hospitals, the clinics, the schools, all of these institutions that need to keep running.
[02:05:06]
President Zelenskyy's response to this yesterday was, as you mentioned, calling that emergency Security Council meeting, speaking and accusing Russia of terrorism, accusing it of human rights violations, accusing it of, essentially, trying to starve and freeze the people of Ukraine to death this winter.
Remember, temperatures are going to drop well below zero degrees Celsius. So, these are absolutely life threatening conditions.
Now, President Zelenskyy's allies, the United States, European partners, are sending billions of dollars-worth of aid, Rosemary. And this isn't just about weapons now, this is about generators, transmitters, equipment to fix power grids.
I know the European Parliament, in particular, yesterday announced generators for peace campaign. So, the idea to send generators.
So, more and more you're going to see in this conflict, Rosemary, that the weapons, the armor, the arsenal that Ukraine needs is not just missiles and rockets and air defense systems.
It's going to be generators and transmitters, and civilian infrastructure.
CHURCH: Absolutely. Salma Abdelaziz joining us live from London. Many thanks for that update.
Well, in the recently liberated Kherson region, we are now learning how Ukrainian citizens mounted a fierce resistance and fought back against the Russian occupation.
CNN's Sam Kiley spoke with some of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARCHIE: KILLED TWO RUSSIAN SOLDIERS ON HIS OWN: (INAUDIBLE)
SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Archie (PH) killed twice while he was still a teenager.
KILEY (on camera): If I'm the guy who stops to pee, so, I'm having a pee. And then what did you do?
ARCHIE: (INAUDIBLE).
KILEY: Oh, God, I got a chilling.
KILEY (voice over): He says he left his victim to bleed on the grass in the pitch dark. Archie struck again moments later, another drunk Russian soldier. Another throat cut.
He acted alone, but now he was one of Kherson's resistance fighters.
ARCHIE (through translator): They were wasted. It had only been a few days since they entered the city. I finished the first one immediately and then caught up with the other one and killed him on the spot.
I threw with a knife and the jacket covered with blood and just left.
KILEY: Archie was only 19 when the Russians captured his city in March. With a friend, he says he drove around the city, gathering intelligence to send to Ukraine's armed forces.
ARCHIE (through translator): At least 10 Russians were slaughtered every night. I wasn't the only one in Kherson. There were a lot of athletic and clever partisan guys.
KILEY: For eight months, Ukrainian partisans waged the psychological war against the occupiers and their collaborators. Targeting Ukrainians who took top posts handed out by Russia.
KIRILL STREMOUSOV, RUSSIAN-APPOINTED DEPUTY HEAD, KHERSON REGION: As a result of a sneaky terrorist attack today, our colleague, my friend, Dmitry Savluchenko has died.
KILEY: Stremousov himself, would die in the final days of Russia's occupation of Kherson city, which ended three weeks ago.
Kherson was the only regional capital to fall to Russia. But its population made sure that the invaders were unwelcome from the start.
KILEY (on camera): That's incoming. Then, the last hour or so that we've been here in Kherson, there's been a constant shelling backwards and forwards. Almost all of that shelling will ultimately rely on somebody on the ground, telling the gunner where to drop those bombs.
KILEY (voice over): It was a young father, this warehouse is wrecked because of him.
IHOR, MEMBER OF THE KHERSON RESISTANCE (through translator): The Russian military kept here around 20 to 30 vehicles, there were armored trucks, APCs and the Russians lived here. I was passing by this place and I saw all the vehicles.
KILEY: Ihor communicated on his phone app with his handler, code name, the smoke.
IHOR (through translator): I turned on the camera and pointed it at the building, and I was just walking and talking on the phone. And the camera was filming. I deleted the video of course, because if they would stop me somewhere and check my videos and pictures, there will be questions.
KILEY: Less than a day later, he says, Russian vehicles were a mangled mess, as Ukraine rained missiles down on the newly identified target.
It was a crucial step in destroying Russia's capacity to hold on to the city.
With the Russians now massed on the eastern side of the Dnipro River. They're close and still control 60 percent of the province, which they claim is now part of Russia.
No doubt, there are many Ukrainians among them, who will also prepare to prove them wrong, and to kill.
KILEY (on camera): Do you feel sorry for the guys who killed at all?
ARCHIE: No.
KILEY (voice over): Sam Kiley, CNN, Kherson City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:10:06]
CHURCH: Day five of the World Cup kicks off in just a few hours with Switzerland taking on Cameroon. But the football world is still in shock over Japan's upset of former champs Germany.
CHURCH (voice over): Fans in Tokyo lost their minds, rushing into the streets near the famous Shibuya Crossing. Japan's 2-1 comeback marked the first time the Blue Samurai have beaten the Germans.
CNN's Don Riddell has details on the match and the poignant protests that preceded it.
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR (on camera): Germany are one of the most successful World Cup teams ever. They've won it four times.
But on Wednesday here in Qatar, they made a disastrous start in Group B.
RIDDELL (voice over): However, before they lost their opening match against Japan, they staged a creative protest accusing football's world governing body FIFA of muzzling their freedom of expression.
The players that hope their captain Manuel Neuer would wear the OneLove armband, a campaign that promotes inclusivity and is against discrimination of any kind.
Germany's interior minister wore the armband at the game, and the German Football Federation tweeted a statement, saying that, "Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice."
FIFA say they will not take disciplinary action against Germany for the protest.
Germany made a decent start against Japan, leading at halftime through an Ilkay Guendogan penalty. But it was very different after the break, when Japan equalized through Ritsu Doan, and then Takuma Asana settled it with a brilliant finish.
A 2-1 win sparking scenes of jubilation amongst both the players and the fans.
Germany's biggest rivals in Group B are supposed to be Spain. And the 2010 champions dominated their game against Costa Rica, thrashing them, 7-0.
That is the biggest win of the tournament so far, and it was historic. Gavi, one of six different scorers on the night. He is the youngest World Cup goal scorer since Pele. And at 18 years, 3 months, and 18 days, he is also now Spain's youngest ever scorer in the World Cup.
Spain completed their route with a couple of late goals. Carlos Soler on target in the 90th minute, Alvaro Morata then added another for good measure in injury time.
RIDDELL (on camera): Wednesday's Group F match between Morocco and Croatia wasn't quite so exciting. That one finished in a goalless draw.
RIDDELL (voice over): But there was plenty of drama as Canada made their first World Cup appearance since 1986. Arguably, their biggest star, Alphonso Davies had an early penalty saved by Belgium's Thibaut Courtois.
And the Belgians took the lead on the stroke of halftime through Michy Batshuayi. And that turned out to be decisive in a 1-0 win.
RIDDELL (on camera): The team that Belgium knocked out of the last World Cup, Brazil will kick off their campaign against the potential Dark Horse in Serbia on Thursday. And, of course, all eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo as his Portuguese side take on Ghana. Back to you.
CHURCH: Thanks to that report.
CHURCH (voice over): Still to come, as protesters cry out for freedom and justice in Iran, the U.N. Human Rights Council will be meeting to discuss the dire situation in the country.
And the iPhone maker Foxconn backs down after violent worker protests rockets China facility, agreeing to pay workers as promised. We will have a live report on that just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:15:42]
CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone. We have some new developments out of Malaysia. CHURCH (voice over): Veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been appointed as the country's next prime minister and will be sworn in in the coming hours.
A general election at last Saturday ended in a hung parliament with neither of two main alliances able to secure enough seats to form a government.
State media say Malaysia's king picked Mr. Ibrahim after both parties missed Tuesday's deadline to put together an alliance.
CHURCH (on camera): The U.N.'s top human rights body will discuss the government crackdown on protesters in Iran later today.
CHURC (voice over): Especially the treatment of women.
The U.S. is imposing sanctions on three officials in Iran's Kurdish region after a brutal security response to demonstrations over the past few days where dozens of protesters were reportedly killed.
Anti-government protests have been sweeping through the country since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September.
CHURCH (on camera): As many as 14,000 protesters have been arrested and at least 2,000 charged so far, with at least six protesters receiving death sentences. Lawmakers have been calling for protesters to be taught a "good lesson to deter others who threaten the authority of the Iranian government.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh spoke to one protester about the relentless determination to keep going.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Iranians have been risking it all for freedom, to break free of the shackles of a repressive regime. That's brutality and bullets, really fueling the anger of those on the streets, making them more defiant than ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, as long as Islamic Republic is ruling the country, I couldn't do my duty.
KARADSHEH: This doctor were not identifying for safety reasons was one of hundreds of medical professionals who gathered in Tehran last month for a demonstration organized by their counsel, and it was violently broken up.
Doctors tell CNN, at least one person was killed, many injured, including one shot in the eyes and blinded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as I arrived there, the area was full of all kinds of forces. Plain clothes forces was too much. And they literally shoot everyone that was walking on the sidewalk of the street. I have bruises, multiple bruises in front of my body and back, and all of them was above my waist. But, I saw injuries with batons, and they beat a lot -- electric shocks.
KARADSHEH (on camera): Just for going out and protesting, you could go to jail or get killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not just death. It literally could be worse. We wish they would kill us on the streets rather than they arrest us.
KARADSHEH: Because of all the horrors in detention facilities, all these risks, the threats to you and to your family, that's not stopping you and others.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course not. They killed more than 1,500 In three days, in less than a week, about two years ago. We know it could happen. And all of us we will continue. There is no other way. We came from a long journey, and we realize that Islamic Republic cannot change and don't want to change.
It is our duty to our next generation that we fight it, and hopefully we can change it.
KARADSHEH (voice over): Only Iranians can change it, this protester and others say. But they believe the international community can do more than just watch, condemn, and announce symbolic sanctions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They could close Islamic Republic ambassadors, United Nation, UNICEF pay more attention. We need actual action. The most important question is are they willing to do that or not? To stand in the right side of history or not?
KARADSHEH: Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:20:02]
CHURCH: A gag order has now been imposed in Israel, barring the release of any details on Wednesdays double bombing in Jerusalem for at least 30 days.
CHURCH (voice over): A teenager was killed in one of the blasts and 18 other people were wounded. No one has claimed responsibility and police are searching for the suspects.
Hours after the attacks, hundreds of people attended a funeral for the 15-year-old who was killed. Prime Minister Yair Lapid says the perpetrators will be found.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YAIR LAPID, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): I want to tell the citizens of Israel, we will get them. They can flee, they can hide, but that will not help them. The security forces will reach them. If they resist, they will be eliminated, if not, we will punish them to the fullest extent of the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (on camera): Mr. Lapid also said the attacks were different than what Israel has seen in recent years. And there is concern more could follow in what's already been one of the most violent years since the Second Palestinian Intifada.
The United Kingdom's top court says Scotland can't hold a second referendum on independence without the approval of the British Parliament.
CHURCH (voice over): It's a blow to the Scottish National Party, the dominant force in Scottish politics, who have been campaigning for a split from the U.K. for years.
Party leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she accepts the court's ruling, but she also accused the British government of "outright democracy denial".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLA STURGEON, LEADER, SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY: The United Kingdom is not a voluntary partnership of nations. Any partnership in any walk of life that requires one party to seek the consent of another to choose its own future is not voluntary, it is not a partnership at all.
CHURCH: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says it's an opportunity to address other more important challenges facing the U.K.
CHURCH (on camera): And still to come.
CHURCH (voice over): As new COVID infection surge across China, one family says they have paid the ultimate price for Beijing's zero COVID policy. Their story when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH (on camera): Coronavirus problems are mounting for China, despite net-zero COVID policy. The country recorded more than 31,000 local cases Wednesday, its highest since the start of the pandemic.
[02:25:02]
CHURCH: Beijing alone reported its third consecutive day of more than 1,000 local infections.
Despite the uptick, Shanghai Disneyland will reopen on Friday after a shutdown of more than three weeks.
The park says it will limit daily capacity and implement enhanced health and safety measures. Now, this comes as violent protests erupt at the world's largest iPhone assembly factory in central China. With workers, they are upset about pay and insufficient anti-COVID measures.
Social media video shows workers at the Foxconn plant confronting police in hazmat suits. The company is offering those who are willing to quit their jobs and leave the Zhengzhou compound a $1,400 payout.
And for more on this, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins me now from Hong Kong.
Good to see you, Kristie. So, what more are you learning about these protests at the iPhone factory, and, of course, Foxconn's apparent back down?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, Rosemary, we have been closely monitoring this remarkable online video, showing clashes at this massive iPhone factory in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou.
Foxconn workers are fed up and they're furious about their pay, about the working conditions and COVID restrictions about the sanitary conditions inside the factory.
In this day, we also learned that Foxconn is now offering $1,400 U.S. dollars to new hires to incentivize them to leave and to quit all this in a bid to somehow end the violence and restore order there.
Now, if we look at the video that's been going viral on social media, you will see the following. You will see a tense standoff between the Foxconn workers and the hazmat clad security forces.
You would see that workers tearing down barriers and throwing them. And also, in live streams have since been taken down, you could hear the workers complaining about the COVID restrictions, the sanitary conditions, the pay situation inside the factory.
We have a fresh statement out from Foxconn this day. Let's bring it up for you. The company now saying this, "Taking care of the health and safety of employees is the primary operating principle that the group has always adhered to. We fully understand the concerns of some newly recruited employees at the Zhengzhou Park about possible changes in the subsidy policy. Our team has been looking into the matter."
LU STOUT (on camera): Now, CNN has also learned that Apple now has staff on site at the Foxconn Zhengzhou factory. Apple has issued a statement, saying the following, "We are reviewing the situation and working closely with Foxconn to ensure their employees concerns are addressed."
Now, the COVID-19 disruptions have been ongoing and Zhengzhou have hit output at Apple. In fact, it was just not that long ago when Apple warned of lower iPhone 14 production as a result of what's happening in that Chinese city. Back to you.
CHURCH: All right, Kristie Lu Stout reporting there from Hong Kong. Many thanks.
Well, some Chinese residents are now blaming Beijing's strict policies for the deaths of their loved ones. CNN Selina Wang spoke with a man who says his father may still be alive if it weren't for zero COVID.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They sit together, sobbing, shaking, looking at photos of his father, her husband, and mourn his death at their home on the outskirts of Beijing.
The local government killed my dad, he tells me, breaking down in tears.
I just want to get justice for my dad. Why did you lock us down? Why did you take my dad's life away?
His 58-year-old father needed emergency medical help when their building was locked down. He says there were no COVID cases in the building. But China seals off entire neighborhoods, even when there are only suspected cases nearby.
WANG (on camera): Do you blame your father's death on this country's zero-COVID policy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, very sure.
WWANG (voice over): He says his father was in healthy condition. When he suddenly collapsed, no one could go in or out of the building for help.
He shows me the numerous calls he and his mother made to the emergency line. He recorded one of his many calls as he became increasingly desperate.
He says the ambulance took an hour to arrive. By then, it was too late.
He shows us the way to the hospital.
WANG: It took us about five minutes to get from his house to the hospital, less than two miles away. When his father was sick, he had four relatives waiting outside his building begging to go in and drive him to the hospital. But they wouldn't let them in.
WANG (voice over): He says authorities in the hospital gave him no explanation for why the ambulance took so long. All they gave him was this document, stating the date and time of his father's death.
His mother unable to speak, overcome with grief. She cries like this day and night.
Why are you taking the risk to speak to us?
[02:30:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want this kind of thing to happen again in China and anywhere in world. Because of the lockdown and the medical shortage, shortage of ambulance caused my father's death.
WANG (voiceover): Outrage in China is mounting over the human costs of the country's draconian zero COVID policy. China carefully counts every COVID death but not the countless people who died because they couldn't get emergency care during lockdown. Authorities have acknowledged many of those cases, but they usually blame poor enforcement of zero COVID instead of the policy itself.
Before his father's death, he fully supported the country's zero COVID policy. But the local governments execution of the policy is beyond reasoning, he says. It is inhuman.
He shows me his favorite picture of his father, surrounded by family. His son who was closest to his grandfather now struggles to eat or focus, he tells me. The quarter of his room piled with lettuce, potatoes, leaks and canned food.
WANG (on camera): He says all this food here is in case they get locked down again.
WANG (voiceover): The corn planted by his father is one of the few things he left behind. His grief now mixed with fury. He struggles to comprehend the meaning of it all. His father's death in the name of zero COVID.
Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, still to come here on "CNN Newsroom," employees at a Walmart in Virginia say they saw warning signs before a coworker opened fire inside the store. We'll hear from one of them. That's next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WANG (on camera): Welcome back, everyone. Well, police in Chesapeake, Virginia have identified the gunmen who opened fire inside a Walmart as an employee at that store. He killed six co-workers and himself. CNN's Brian Todd has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIANA TYLER, WALMART EMPLOYEE WHO WITNESS SHOOTING: He just looked around and just shot, and there were people just dropping to the floor.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Another mass shooting less than 70 hours after one in Colorado, this time at a Chesapeake, Virginia Walmart, busy with holiday shoppers. Briana Tyler, an employee who witnessed the shooting recounting the horror of what took place last night just after she arrived for her overnight shift. TYLER: He shot near my head, and it was about inches away. In that moment, it still hadn't really kicked in that it was real because I was thinking it was like a simulation type of thing. Like this is what we do if we have an active shooter. And the reason why I think it was that was because I recognized his face.
[02:35:00]
TODD (voiceover): The City of Chesapeake identifying the shooter is 31-year-old Andre Bing. Walmart confirms Bing was an overnight team leader. His home seen here with the door smashed in by police when they and other agents were on the scene investigating.
Police say the gunman was armed with several magazines and a pistol that he can used to kill at least six people. Two of the victims were found dead in the break room along with the gunman, who police believe died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Another victim was found near the front of the store. Three victims were taken to local hospitals but later died. At least to six other victims were also taken to the hospital with two in critical condition. Briana telling us of warnings she'd gotten from other employees about Bing.
TYLER: They warned me that he was just the manager to look out for pretty much. You know, he would write you up just because he could or just if you did something that he wasn't, you know, a big fan of. You know, he just -- he picked a lot, I guess, that's what I heard. It's just -- he was just that manager that would probably give you issues but not anything to this extent.
TODD (voiceover): Other employee witnesses in shock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just left out of the break room. (INAUDIBLE) come in there, started capping people up in there and started shooting, bro.
TODD (voiceover): Two days before Thanksgiving, family members receiving frightening calls and texts from their loved ones.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His wife received a phone call we -- about 10:18 saying that he had been shot. He clocks in at 10:00. So, he hadn't even been there 10 minutes.
TODD (voiceover): Joana Jeffrey (ph) says her mother was inside the store during the shooting and sent her these text messages, saying there was an active shooter in the store. Those surviving the incident thankful.
TYLER: We could be all gone in the blink of an eye, literally, like my life to truly did flash before my eyes.
MELVIN (on camera): We've asked Walmart to respond to Brian Tyler's account that she was previously warned by other employees to watch out for Andre Bing, and we asked Walmart if Bing was ever the subject of any disciplinary measures or if any other employees had ever complained about him. They have not responded to those questions.
Brian Todd, CNN, Chesapeake, Virginia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: I'm joined now by Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, founders of Survivors Empowered. Their daughter, Jessica Ghawi, was killed at a screening of the "Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado back in 2012.
Sandy and Lonnie, thank you so much for being with us. And of course, our deepest condolences to you both for the loss of your daughter. It is, of course, every parent's nightmare. What were your thoughts when you heard about this latest mass shooting, this time at a Walmart in Virginia just days after Colorado Springs mass shooting?
SANDY PHILLIPS, FOUNDER, SURVIVORS EMPOWERED AND MOTHER OF AURORA SHOOTING VICTIM, JESSICA GHAWI: We've been to -- we've responded now to 23 mass shootings across the country in the 10 years since our daughter was killed. So, this is unfortunately a very common occurrence for my husband and I and for most Americans unfortunately. But we take it very personally. It brings back all the trauma that we suffered when our daughter was killed, and that's what we try to take care of for other people now is helping to guide them through those -- that traumatic event that estranged their lives forever.
One of the things that I think is very important to note that in the 10 years since our daughter was killed and Sandy Hook happened, approximately 400,000 Americans have been killed by guns and over a million people have been wounded. And when you hear statistics like that and then, look to your leaders to do something about it, you can't help but be very frustrated and very angry that they're not doing what they could and should do.
CHURCH: Yes. Those are horrifying numbers. And of course, politicians and American citizens who oppose any form of gun control say that this is about mental illness, not easy access to guns. What do you say to those people that insists that's the case?
LONNIE PHILLIPS, FOUNDER, SURVIVORS EMPOWERED AND FATHER OF AURORA SHOOTING VICTIM, JESSICA GHAWI: We find that disgusting. Minutes before we went on air, and the answer is always a same, we have the same mentally ill people in this country as you have on that country, as Japan has in their country, as the other civilized nations have in their country. The only difference is, they have laws that will not allow their mentally ill people or any other citizens to get their hands on unlimited supply of guns.
S. PHILLIPS: So, what we really need is a federal law that really regulates guns in this country, and it has to be based on the states that have the strongest gun laws, not states that have the weakest gun laws. So, until we have that -- we get that accomplished, we are going to continue to see these mass shootings that take the lives of children and young people and adults, and your mother, your father, your daughter, your son. It will just continue.
And if it hasn't come to your door yet, you've been lucky, but it will. The way we are going, it will come to your door. So, you better start speaking up and doing something about it now before you -- it's too late.
[02:40:00]
L. PHILLIPS: We have a traumatized nation. This country is being traumatized by gun violence and it's really gotten worse since Aurora was one of the first since Columbine and that was called a stretch of time between those two shootings. But now, they're happening so often. It's become like accepted in this country and we can't have that.
CHURCH: Polls show that most Americans want to see common sense gun controls put in place. So, why are some politicians refusing to do that when their own constituents want to see that happen?
S. PHILLIPS: It's the control of the gun lobby in America and money and profit. So, they are profiting off the blood of our children in this country. And until we have leadership in -- on both sides of the aisle that are willing to stand up and do the right thing.
L. PHILLIPS: So, I can give you a simple answer. The only thing easier to buy in this country beside guns is a (INAUDIBLE). They take money from the gun manufacturers and they -- and it is common knowledge they do it.
CHURCH: So, you think they are being bought off by the Gun Lobby?
L. PHILLIPS: Oh, of course.
S. PHILLIPS: Yes, yes. Of course, they are.
CHURCH: And that's why we are seeing a paralysis in Congress?
S. PHILLIPS: Absolutely, absolutely.
L. PHILLIPS: I'm not saying that they're handing them wanting to cash, you know, openly. I'm saying they contribute to their campaigns and keep them in Gun Lobby and they go after the people that run against them.
CHURCH: What advice would you give to families that have been through mass shootings and lost loved ones on how to cope as we go through the holidays?
S. PHILLIPS: No, it's not just during the holidays, it's every single day for the rest of their lives.
L. PHILLIPS: Holidays makes it worse, of course.
S. PHILLIPS: And the one thing that we always recommend from the very beginning is that they get trauma counseling. Not grief counseling, not trauma-informed counseling, but trauma therapy. And there are so many new trauma therapies out there that they're having success with that treaty both the PTSD and the anxiety and the depression that everybody suffers from once they have had this happen to them.
So, it's a long, long journey back to finding joy and the joy that they find eventually will be very different than the joy that they once had, but it is there. So, we always give them hope, we always tell them, we know exactly how they feel and what they're going through and that it does change in time. It doesn't get better. You don't move on. You don't forget what happened. You don't move -- you just move forward, and you move forward in a way that honors the person, the loved one that has been taken from you.
CHURCH: And, of course, the tragedy is that you both had to do this. Sandy and Lonnie Phillips, thank you so much for sharing your experiences and your understanding of this situation of this all. We appreciate it. We appreciate you and our thoughts are with you both during the holidays, particularly.
S. PHILLIPS: Thank you, Rosemary.
L. PHILLIPS: Thank you.
CHURCH: Such brave parents there. And you can find more information about the Phillips nonprofit organization, Survivors Empowered, by going to survivorsempowered.org.
I'm Rosemary Church. World Sport is coming up next. And I'll be back in the 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:00]
VAN DAM: -- wet weather going forward into the rest of the week, and this cause -- could cause some travel delays, especially as you home by Saturday and Sunday from visiting family and friends. We have winter weather advisories and winter storm watches in place for the Texas Panhandle.
You can see of some of the snow that's already forming across the Northern Rockies. But this is the wet weather that could cause some delays. Dallas into Houston, we're getting a lot of Gulf of Mexico moisture here going forward.
And just check out this forecast radar, time this out for you, Thursday, being Thanksgiving Day, you can see the wet weather starting to develop. But Friday, things are going to get messy across the deep south and southeast. We are anticipating one to two inches of rain just South of Atlanta as the system moves through. And you can just see this forecast accumulation going forward, Alisyn, things are looking a bit on the wet side.
There is a snowfall for New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle. Really kind of a wet looking forecast for this area. Again, for the second half the weekend. But in terms of today, getting out the door, at least, I should say, Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, forecast looking pretty decent.
But Sunday, that's a whole another story. We're anticipating travelers for D.C. as well as New York City. And you can see a storm system developing across the Pacific Northwest. CAMEROTA: So, Derek, basically is your advice that everybody should travel tonight or tomorrow for Thanksgiving and then get out of there before Sunday?
VAN DAM: Great question. And yes, you hit it perfectly. That's exactly what I would advise. Get out the door today, if you can still, or perhaps early in the morning on Thursday, because the weather will be most tranquil on Thursday.
But as you wind off the weekend, you need to get home quicker than what you'd anticipated because Sunday, that's when things will get very interesting along the East Coast. That's when I anticipate the travel delays, as people head home from grandma and grandma's house, head home from family and friends. They will then hit in some of these major airports along the Eastern Seaboard, and they could see moderate travel delays that could slow you down getting home.
CAMEROTA: OK. We will heed your advice, Derek Van Dam. Thank you very much.
VAN DAM: Thanks, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: OK. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:50:00]
CAMEROTA: OK. Just as you're sitting down to devour some turkey left over, the U.S. men's national soccer team will be playing England in a rematch that maybe the biggest things since the Revolutionary War. And we all know who won that.
So, tonight, I have with me the family of the U.S. men's national team's midfielder, Kellyn Acosta. With us now are Ken and Kanikah Perry-Acosta Acosta. And there's a long delay. So, everybody be patient for this conversation because we hope technology will help us.
Great to see you guys tonight. And your son made this incredible play in the game. People call it the World Cup saving foul. Basically, he, you know, fouled his -- well, his friend. But also, the competitor. And everybody says that he saved the game. So, tell us what that moment was like.
KANIKAH PERRY-ACOSTA, MOTHER OF USMNT MIDFIELDER, KELLYN ACOSTA: That was actually pretty amazing. I was wondering if you are going to go ahead and take the foul. We had to have it. We knew he had to take it. And, you know, they -- he does not play with the other players. So, you know, you don't want to hurt anybody. But we needed it to save us though. Kellyn did what he definitely needed to do. And he took him out.
KEN ACOSTA, MOTHER OF USMNT MIDFIELDER, KELLYN ACOSTA: He playing for the USA. It was much needed, or it could've been a goal. So, it was a great play. CAMEROTA: And so, I mean, back domestically, he plays with Gareth Bale. But I guess that all bets are off, you know, when you are in the World Cup.
PERRY-ACOSTA: Oh, most definitely.
ACOSTA: Definitely.
CAMEROTA: And so, what has it been like for you guys -- sorry, the delay is making me interrupt you guys. What it's been like to be watching this? And what's the mood, by the way, in Qatar? Because we've heard about the controversies. What's the atmosphere there?
PERRY-ACOSTA: Well, it's been -- actually, been great here. It's a beautiful city. We've got a lot of mostly family-oriented things with the U.S. Team. So, you know, it's been fun. They make sure that everything is taken care of. Everything is like handled. You know, they tell us where to be. So, it's perfect. And we have all these activities. A lot going on here. And it's been a great, great experience.
ACOSTA: And the fan base is great too. I mean, the crowd got into it, before the game, after the game, lot of chanting before and after the game. So, it's been great so far.
CAMEROTA: That's wonderful to hear. Well, it's been wonderful to watch. And great to cheer your son on. And he saved the World Cup, basically, for the U.S. So, congratulate him and we will be watching on Friday. Thanks so much, guys, for joining us tonight.
PERRY-ACOSTA: All right. Thank you.
ACOSTA: Thank you so much.
CAMEROTA: OK. So, the holiday season is here, of course. And with it comes the traditions that make it special, including all of those holiday movies and TV shows that we love to watch. So, this year, CNN is bringing us a unique look at our favorites. The new CNN original series special event, "'Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen," unwraps the most memorable and festive moments of holiday classics new and old and explores why these stories continue to delight audiences. So, here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HANKS, ACTOR: Christmas movies and television specials are always about someone who has lost their faith in humankind, regaining it.
PHIL ROSENTHAL, CREATOR, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND: Christmas story is one of the best movies about nostalgia, family, and Christmas.
SARA SIDNER, JOURNALIST, CNN: I watch it every year at least twice. It's the script of my life.
RAMI MALEK, ACTOR: It's hard to beat "Home Alone," just a fun and a high jinxed. DAVID E. TALBERT, WRITER/DIRECTOR: It is on the Mt. Rushmore of holiday movies.
RON HOWARD, DIRECTOR: I lost myself in "Miracle on 34th Street."
ALFONSO DURALDE, FILM CREATOR/AUTHOR: "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" was capturing how the holidays made us all insane.
BEN MANKIEWICZ, HOST, TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES: There is that consistent Christmas element in "Elf" of change and realization.
TIM NAFTALI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Watch a good Christmas show, and it doesn't matter when it was made. These ideas do not get old.
[02:55:00]
Unwrap the stories behind everything we love to watch at Christmas. A two-hour special event. "'Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen." Sunday at 8:00 on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAMEROTA: It's been an awful 10 days in the U.S. for mass shootings. I know it's hard to think about this every day and every night. But we do have a list to show you that really drives home what we're talking about. In less than a week, there have been eight mass shootings in America. Innocent people killed at everyone, lives ruined, family members in mourning virtually forever.
More than 600 mass shootings in the United States so far just this year. This is part of an epidemic that America cannot seem to solve. But we are talking about solutions tonight. But first, let's about the crimes and the latest.
[03:00:00]