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Former President Donald Trump Has Dinner With Controversial Figures Kanye West And Nick Fuentes; Elon Musk Announces He Will Begin Restoring Previously Banned Twitter Accounts; Law Enforcement Still Without Suspect In Murders Of Four University Of Idaho Students; Shoppers Across U.S. Taking Advantage Of Sales After Thanksgiving To Make Purchases For Holiday Season; Adidas Launching Investigation Into Misconduct Allegations Against Rapper Formerly Known As Kanye West; Director James Cameron Releases "Avatar" Movie Sequel; Second Person Dies From Bombings In Jerusalem; Chinese Government's Draconian Zero COVID Policy Causing Public Protests; Singer/Songwriter Irene Cara Dies. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired November 26, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: You're live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We're getting a new window into former President Donald Trump's willingness to associate himself with incendiary figures. Just days after announcing his 2024 run for the White House Trump is now trying to explain away why he hosted a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with white nationalist and holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and rapper Kanye West, who has been in the headlines for antisemitic remarks.

Trump saying in a statement this past week, "Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends whom I knew nothing about." Again, this is his statement. "We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. Then they left for the airport."

Joining me now, CNN political commentator, former Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania Charlie Dent and Democratic strategist and former Clinton White House aide Keith Boykin. Charlie, let me start with you first. What is your reaction to how Trump is -- it sounds as though he is trying to make this go away, but it doesn't sound like it's going to go away.

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, Jim. This is simply inexcusable that he would have dinner with this noted white nationalist, antisemite Nick Fuentes, and of course, Kanye West with all of his baggage. It is simply appalling that this happened.

And in fact, it's incumbent upon the Republican establishment, what's left of it, to stamp this kind of element from within the GOP once and for all. We saw it with William F. Buckley and many other back in the day, the John Birch Society, got rid of these radical, extreme elements. There needs to be a concerted effort.

This whole America First movement and the ugly historical connotations back to the 1930s has been forgotten by too many of our fellow citizens, regrettably. But it also speaks to a larger problem for former President Trump, that there apparently are no gatekeepers. There are no adults. There doesn't seem to be any political discipline to speak. How a dinner like this could even happen is also horrible.

But finally, I guess I would say this further diminishing Donald Trump as a serious political figure. His erstwhile presidential opponent should be quite happy about this event because it will simply elevate them and hurt Trump, and Trump is diminishing. But he's still a dangerous figure.

But the party needs to deal with this larger issue. We can't embrace the likes of Fuentes and Taylor Greene and others while alienating and ostracizing people like Kinzinger and Ms. Cheney.

SANCHEZ: And Keith, this really magnifies why Trump, even as an ex- president, is a global embarrassment. This isn't the first time Trump has claimed I didn't know who that was. He famously said that, infamously said that same thing back in 2016 when he was asked about David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard supporting the Trump campaign at that time. Let's take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke, OK. I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So I don't know. I don't know, did he endorse me or what's going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And then of course there was what he said after Charlottesville. I was actually there and heard it. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group -- excuse me, excuse me. I saw the same pictures as you did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And we all remember Trump telling the Proud Boys to stand back and stand by during a presidential debate. Keith, why is it so hard for him to just disavow these people?

KEITH BOYKIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: He doesn't want to disavow these people, Jim. This is part of his brand. This is how Donald Trump started his career in politics. Remember, he spent five-and-a-half years lying about the first black president's birth certificate. When he launched his campaign, he attacked Mexicans and said they were rapists and drug dealers.

He began to get some traction in his campaign when he attacked Muslims and claimed that he was going to have a total and complete ban of all Muslims coming into the country. And so he has had a history of dealing with racism, antisemitism, and bigotry in order to get support for his political ambitions.

I disagree with Charlie, though, because, Charlie, I think, suggests, and I understand why he would want to say this as a Republican. But I think Charlie is suggesting that somehow that Donald Trump is going to be hurt by this. I'm not convinced that he will.

[14:05:00]

We had the same scandals or scandals like this when Trump ran for president in 2016, and it didn't stop him. He became more popular. And that wing of the party became more emboldened because of him. So I don't know that -- in a traditional world there would be enormous repercussions for Trump associating with Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist, and claiming he didn't know it.

But in the real world that we live in today, I am not convinced that this will actually hurt Donald Trump. I think it actually may help Donald Trump in some way with some quarters.

SANCHEZ: Charlie, how about that? And when are other Republican leaders going on speak out against this?

DENT: Well, look, I think a lot of Republicans are simply sick and tired of losing. And I agree with you. This is not new for Donald Trump, his embrace of these very sketchy, bigoted figures, going back to the Muslims and the Mexicans comments, and of course Charlottesville.

But until -- some Republicans are speaking up, and they're speaking up more forcefully. But really what brought them to the table, belatedly admittedly, is the fact that they have seen defeat. And nothing gets more people more motivated to change course than defeat.

Now, I wish people became more offended by these incendiary and inflammatory comments that Trump has been making over the years. We always knew these were disqualifying comments. But until enough of the elected leaders of the Republican Party and the Republican establishment stand up and forcefully condemn this, that is what will change the narrative.

If it's too few people, we're not going to make a difference. We need strong leadership. Silence is not a way to counter that ugly Trump narrative. You have to counter it with a voice and a strong collective voice. And I believe there are enough people out there. Slowly it's coming around. But we're not there yet.

SANCHEZ: Keith --

BOYKIN: I think that's a --

SANCHEZ: Go ahead.

BOYKIN: I think that's a bit of wishful thinking, Charlie. I join you in hoping that there would be something like that. But we are now at Saturday. Where are the Republican leaders who are condemning this? What did Kevin McCarthy say? What did Mitch McConnell say? Have they been asked about it? Have they stated an opinion about it? No one is really commenting because this is who Donald Trump is, the former Republican president, and they know that is who he is.

And so when you talk about the idea that there are no gatekeepers who are preventing this type of meeting from happening, I understand that, too, Charlie, but that is also part of Donald Trump's brand. There were no gatekeepers when he was in the White House. That was the reason why we had the insurrection that took, because there was no one to tell him no.

We saw that from the January 6th Committee hearings. He has consistently lived in a world from his business experience to his political experience where he has never had anyone tell him no. And when he does have someone tell him no, he continues to do what he wants to do anyway.

So I'm not convinced a gatekeeper would make a difference. This is who Donald Trump is. This is who the Republican Party chose to be their nominee for president in two consecutive elections. And this is now the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump.

SANCHEZ: And Charlie, go ahead. You were going to respond to that?

DENT: I was going to say, look, I think it is really important for a man like Mitch McConnell, for whom I have a great deal of respect, that he speak up. After the ugly comments that Donald Trump made about his wife and the anti-Asian insults, that's where my criticism has been.

Some of my former friends and colleagues in the Republican Congress is that they need to speak up. Silence is not an answer. And if not now, when, I guess. This is the time, Trump, I think, in many respects is reeling because of the midterm election and some of these other recent events. I think now is the time to put him down. And you can't let him off the mat again like they did after January the 6th.

We need this Republican Party to rid itself of these elements. We've got to do it. It's not just Trump but it's also elements of Trumpism that have to be stamped out and denounced, because I don't want to replace Trump with a Trump Mini-Me who is going to announce some of these same, ugly types of comments but with a happier face.

SANCHEZ: And Keith, let me ask you, because speaking of Trump and what he has been up to since he announced that he's running for president again, he was just reinstated on Twitter, and Twitter's new CEO Elon Musk, there are concerns that he is going to be elevating with extremist voices with his plans next week to restore previously banned accounts.

The National Urban League, the NAACP, the National Action Network sent a letter to Musk earlier this month writing, "In flippantly declaring that "the bird is freed," you might have unwittingly freed people to unleash the worst of human nature with communities of color and religious minorities bearing the greatest burden." What do you think, Keith, about what's happening on Twitter?

BOYKIN: I think that's an excellent point, Jim. And I understand that just today Elon Musk indicated that he would support Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential election cycle.

[14:10:06]

I'm not sure if that's confirmed, but that's what I heard. And if that's the case, that's a criticism of Donald Trump in and of himself because he just invited Donald Trump onto the platform.

But I have to say this. I think Twitter has become a cesspool for racism and sexism and homophobia and bigotry and antisemitism. I have had a Twitter account since 2009. And just a few days ago when Donald Trump was allowed back on, I deactivated my account. I said I do not want to be a part of this.

I received more than my fair share of hatred and hate mail and venom from people because of the types of people who are allowed on the platform in the past. And I was glad that Twitter had some content moderation ability to be able to stop that.

But now that Elon Musk has moved in a different direction, it's a free for all again. I don't think it's an inviting place for people like me, for people of color, for people who have been oppressed and are now open to anyone to come and just attack them without any sort of repercussions.

So I don't think this is a good move for democracy. I don't think Donald Trump being back on Twitter is a good thing. And that's the reason I left Twitter, and I don't know if I will be back again depending on what happens in the future.

SANCHEZ: Charlie, final through from you? What do you think? Where is Elon Musk taking Twitter right now?

DENT: Really hard for me to tell. I think, frankly, we all spend way too much time on Twitter and other social media. This is where people go to hate. Of course we need content moderation. And I wish I had the right answer for all this, but I guess I kind of agree with Keith.

I'm just kind of sick and tired of people using social media to express themselves in such nasty ways. It has really debased our political dialogue in this country, and I think we would all be a hell of a lot better off if we did a hell of a lot less time on some of these social media platforms and expressing our political views.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it would be great to see Elon Musk making moves to ratchet that kind of behavior down rather than open the flood gates. Keith Boykin, former Congressman Charlie Dent, thanks very much for your time, we appreciate it. Turning now to the very latest in the stabbing deaths of four

University of Idaho students. Nearly two weeks after the killings, no suspect, no murder weapons, no arrest for that small Idaho community.

The public is flooding the FBI with tips. Investigators are now reviewing more than 260 digital submissions, including photos and videos on the night of November 12th just hours before the students were found stabbed to death in their Moscow, Idaho, home. Two of the victims were at a sports bar, the other two at a fraternity party.

And detectives are asking for all available videos near those areas, hoping it will shed some light on the mystery. But the small community of 25,000 is growing more rattled by the day. Police are trying to dispel rumor and false information that are stoking even more fears. And CNN's Camila Bernal joins me now. Camila, what more can you tell me about where investigators are in this case? It's just baffling that this mystery continues.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is unbelievable, Jim. It has been two weeks. And again, we are seeing no suspect, no weapon, no motive. Of course this community is frustrated, and of course they are scared. They're going over so much evidence.

You mentioned the FBI tip line. They've actually received over 1,000 tips. They're going over all of that. They've interviewed about 150 people, trying to figure out relationships, whether these students have any type of relationship that they think could be important to this investigation.

They're also going over the crime scene. There's still so much to be done there. Authorities were saying in terms of the blood, the footprints, the tire marks, all of this is part of this investigation. They have already taken about 4,000 pictures, collected about 100 pieces of evidence. And there is still more to be done here.

So they say it's not just time that they are going to need but also money, a lot of it. Already Governor Brad Little pledging $1 million in state funds to try to solve this case. And yet they will likely need so much more because there are so many resources, local, state, federal resources. I saw them while I was there, the officers nonstop working around the clock. They even worked Thanksgiving Day.

There is still a lot to be said because authorities are not answering a lot of the questions. There is a lot they are not saying. But there is one thing they continue to stress, and that is they believe this was a targeted attack. They're also keeping the timeline pretty much the same. We know these students went out Saturday night, came back on Sunday at around 2:00 in the morning.

[14:15:00]

They are believed to have been killed during the early morning hours, stabbed multiple times. Likely these four students were sleeping at the time. Some of them had defensive wounds, so it's possible that they fought back. But there is still a lot they don't know. That 911 call came in at around noon the next day. Authorities are ruling people out. They say the surviving roommates

that were also at the house, some of the people they had interactions with, they have ruled them out. But yet we're still looking as to who killed these four students. There's still a lot of questions, Jim.

SANCHEZ: Indeed, there are. Camila Bernal, thank you very much.

Coming up, tis the season for spending as Americans head to the malls or online for holiday shopping. Will inflation have them holding back at all? Or are you on the hunt for bargains like my family is? We'll have more on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:19:55]

SANCHEZ: Like a lot of Americans this weekend, President Biden and his family are doing some holiday shopping. The president and first lady Jill Biden were spotted going store to store on Nantucket's main street just a short time ago where they are spending the holiday weekend. U.S. online shoppers, by the way, set a record on Black Friday. Adobe Analytics says they spent $9.1 billion despite persistent inflation worries.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now. Gloria, the deals are sticking around with Cyber Monday right around the corner. And it sounds like people are in the mood to spend some money.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Jim. I have been here all morning watching shoppers go into the Macy's here behind me, talking to them about what they are planning to buy, what sales they are hoping to score. I don't know about you, Jim, but I wait until the last minute to do my holiday shopping. I haven't bought a single thing.

But there are millions of Americans, including, apparently, the president and the first lady, who will be going out to do some of that shopping today. Record breaking numbers all in the face of rising inflation.

And that's what I wanted to talk to shoppers about here, if they were concerned about the high prices, if they will be spending a little bit less considering inflation is a record high. And some things have gotten more expensive. This is what they have to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY MANCINO, HOLIDAY SHOPPER: We're a little worried about inflation. That's why we are hoping to get some sales.

JIM MUENNICH, HOLIDAY SHOPPER VISITING NEW YORK FROM MICHIGAN: I'm amazed by the amount of people in this town that are spending money. And it's like, where are the hardships? I don't see them. I know they're there, but it's not these people.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PAZMINO: Holiday sales are predicted to increase this year from six percent to eight percent compared to the previous year. That's according to the National Retail Federation. And we do expect to see an increase in the number of shoppers, 60 million alone are predicted for this Saturday.

A slight decrease from Black Friday, but it also goes up during the rest of what is very much a shopping holiday season. Black Friday is not just a day. It now appears to be a full season.

And as you pointed out, despite high inflation, despite concerns about the economy, it does look like people are out here willing to spend their money and preparing for the holiday season ahead. Jim?

SANCHEZ: Gloria, I love New York this time of year. The window shopping behind you looks terrific. And yes, I do wait until the last minute as well, I have to admit it. I can't help myself.

PAZMINO: Sometimes when you're under pressure, if you're under pressure, sometimes you pick better stuff.

SANCHEZ: And I feel like maybe the deals might be better the longer I wait. I don't know. That's probably the wrong approach, but we'll see. All right, Gloria --

PAZMINO: We can tell ourselves, we'll tell ourselves we're getting a deal.

SANCHEZ: That's it, exactly right. Our Gloria Pazmino, thank you very much.

With travel back at near pre-pandemic levels, the nation's airports will be packed with millions of holiday travelers. TSA officials say tomorrow's numbers could be record breaking, possibly surpassing the all-time record set in 2019 of more than 2.8 million people screened at airports on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

I want to bring someone you know well, the Points Guy, Brian Kelly. He is no stranger to the TSA line. Brian, people were cooped up during the pandemic. That might explain why they are shopping so much over this holiday weekend. And I suppose they're traveling too. What are you seeing?

BRIAN KELLY, FOUNDER OF THEPOINTSGUY.COM: Absolutely. Malls are packed, but airports are even more packed. And Jim, I just have to say, as a procrastinator myself, do not wait to book travel these days. We're seeing dramatic increases and even flights selling out to popular destinations.

So if you snooze, you lose this year with travel. More people will be traveling than last year certainly because we were up against the Omicron outbreak this time last year which really put a damper on travel. But consumers want to spend and they want to travel. And even internationally we're seeing a huge amount of Americans now saying, hey, let's go to Europe and the Middle East for the holidays. SANCHEZ: Let me ask you this, because this has been on my mind. Over

the summer we saw something like 50,000 flight cancellations because of staffing issues at airlines. People were pulling out their hair. But this time it seems that the airlines were prepared -- I don't want to jinx everybody -- and had even gone on a hiring binge. Can you tell us about that?

KELLY: Yes. Honestly, we like to bash on the airlines, but they have done a great job this holiday season. Some moderate lines in certain airports. And even in Europe, Amsterdam and London and Paris all summer long were melted down, missed bags -- 10,000 missing bags at Heathrow. They have really worked through a lot of kinks. Everything I'm hearing is that things are running pretty smoothly.

But I will recommend to people prebook as much as you can, including your parking, your transportation, because stuff is selling out. People are getting to the airport and you can't even find a parking spot. And some airports will actually let you prebook your security where you can prebook the time to go through security so you don't have to wait in that long line.

[10:25:01]

SANCHEZ: That is interesting. OK, now you're talking to somebody, I just recently went through this when I went to DCA National Airport here in Washington. I did not prebook my parking in advance. And for the first time ever, I was going all the way out to the satellite parking lot, the last space available type of situation. You're absolutely right. You have to plan ahead even for the parking these days. Let me get back to the flights. For people who do deal with delayed or canceled flights, can they get compensation? What's going on with that?

KELLY: So we still don't have a passenger bill of rights like in Europe if your flight is canceled you get a cash sort of compensation. Secretary Buttigieg pushed the DOT, they do now have a website that states if your flight is canceled or delayed, what the airline will give you. Some airlines are more generous than others.

The budget airline, Spirit, don't expect to get anything if your flight is canceled beyond a refund. But that's really what you're owed. If your flight is canceled, you are owed a cash refund. Don't let the airline give you a voucher that you may or may not use. Demand an actual refund. So yes, there's not a whole lot of passenger rights out there, unfortunately.

SANCHEZ: No.

KELLY: But also go to your credit card company. That's the one thing, I always forget. If your flight is canceled or delayed, you have all these extra costs, a lot of times your credit card will have coverage for that. So if the airline is not going to compensate you, you can at least go to your credit card.

SANCHEZ: This is why we go to you, because these are things that we don't know or we don't remember. And plane tickets right now, the airfares are so expensive. Everybody is talking about how expensive it is if you want to fly out west or even to go to skiing destinations in the Rocky Mountains and so on. Very expensive right now. What's going on there.

KELLY: I would say exorbitant. I was looking at a Las Vegas flight, $3,000 one way on JetBlue for business class. I've never seen anything like that. This for actually -- using your frequent flyer miles can make a lot of sense. The airlines now, United actually just got rid of all the fees associated with canceling frequent flyer mile tickets.

And on Black Friday, a lot of the airlines sell frequent flyer miles. So it may actually make sense, hear me out, to buy airlines miles at a discount and then book flights to popular destinations. Not only can you save money, but it also gives you that extra flexibility, if you need to cancel at the very last minute, you get all those miles and taxes back free of charge with most airlines.

So it's tough out there, especially for families with their school holidays where you don't have a lot of flexibility. But instead of domestic, look to go to Europe, because the U.S. dollar is so strong right now against most global currencies, that's where you're going to find the deal, going where the dollar is strong and gets your more.

SANCHEZ: I've noticed some of those fares have gotten a little cheaper, and you're absolutely right about using miles right now. I always tell people you might as well burn them, because it just gets more expensive.

They want to take more miles from you a year from now, two years from now. So why not use the instead of hoarding them? Brian Kelly, great advice, as always. This is why we come to you. You've got the answer for us. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.

KELLY: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Coming up, Kanye West not just in the news for his dinner with Donald Trump. Why Adidas has now launched an investigation into how the rapper treated his staff.

But first, on an all new season of "This is Life with Lisa Ling," find out why there is always more to the stories we think we know all about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING": Most of the time Tasha (ph) spends her days in a finished bedroom in Tony's (ph) basement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, ready to get that makeup off and get changed?

LING: A place he built just for her, where the two of them can be alone.

Are you physically intimate with Tasha?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LING: What's that like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's different. It's different than I would have expected. But there is a relationship there. Right now, sex is a very small part of it. It really is.

Look at how gorgeous you are.

LING: Sex may be why Tony (ph) first purchased Tasha (ph), but tells me that was just the beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right, "This is Life with Lisa Ling" airs tomorrow night at 10:00 right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Adidas is launching an investigation into misconduct allegations against the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. "Rolling Stone" obtained an anonymous letter sent to the company by former high ranking employees of Ye's brand Yeezy.

They accused the rapper of verbal abuse, bullying, and offensive remarks, especially towards women. The letter also claims that senior leaders at Adidas turned a blind eye to the abuse. The company ended its partnership with Kanye after he made a series of antisemitic remarks in recent months.

Let's bring in CNN entertainment reporter Chloe Melas. Chloe, these former employees offered up some very disturbing details about working with Kanye West. What did they say?

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Look, Jim, like you said, in this scathing letter that came out Tuesday that was directed to the executive board of Adidas and the newly installed CEO, they said that Adidas was aware of Kanye's alleged toxic workplace behavior.

They were aware that he would allegedly show pornography to female employees, to high-level executives, and that he would really create not just a toxic environment for his employees but really specifically for women.

[14:34:54]

Now, this letter, which CNN has not been able to independently confirm, we have not obtained it at CNN, and Kanye West has not responded to my requests for comment, and he has not responded to "Rolling Stone's" request for comment, they also claim that he showed inappropriate pictures of Kim Kardashian, his ex-wife, and that he would show allegedly his own sex tapes to employees.

This is what Adidas is saying now, quote, "It is currently not clear whether the accusations made in an anonymous letter are true. However, we take the allegations very seriously and have taken the decision to launch an independent investigation of the matter immediately to address the allegations."

Remember, Jim, they cut ties, Adidas, with Kanye recently. They're not going to be selling his Yeezy sneakers. You saw Kanye's net worth plummet. Just a few weeks ago I myself put out an investigation about toxic workplace behavior with Kanye's other companies, and we actually obtained a settlement between Kanye and a former high level executive who claimed that he would use antisemitic behavior and remarks in the workplace, accused him of harassment, and that Kanye would openly talk about his admiration for Adolf Hitler and that he was even going to potentially name an album "Hitler" several years ago.

So again, this is just the latest in what has been an incredibly confusing and turbulent and shocking series of events. And again, not hearing much at all from Kanye.

SANCHEZ: Yes. I'm not sure how much we want to hear from him. He's got a lot of problems, got a lot of issues. No question about it.

MELAS: Yes, exactly.

SANCHEZ: And Chloe, let's turn to some other news. And this one really stood out to me in the entertainment industry in just the last several days. Director James Cameron -- and by the way, he is an amazing director, but he is revealing that his upcoming movie, "Avatar, The Way of Water," which looks incredible, will need to make $2 billion at the global box office to break even. Am I reading that correctly? Cameron told "GQ" the movie is very effing expensive?

(LAUGHTER)

MELAS: It's very expensive. James Cameron, he has done "Titanic", he has done the previous "Avatar" movie. He does not do anything cheap, right. So he is pushing the boundaries of the cinematic universe. And so "Avatar 2" is going to come out on December 16th. It's also going to be released in China, which is huge news. We are expecting this to break box office records.

But James Cameron says it's going to take a lot of money for him to break even. And like you said, it is going to take over $2 billion because he has gone so far with the budget. He has gone overbudget. He's missed all the different release dates when this movie was supposed to come out. It's been pushed back several years. But I am telling you, Guillermo Del Toro has come out and it looks as though he has seen the film or some final cuts, and he said it is just a feast for your eyes.

We know that back in preproduction for this movie in 2017, some of the actors, they were practicing underwater training. And James Cameron says that you'll see the actors and that they actually are underwater holding their breath, even a seven-year-old actor at the time, upwards of three, four minutes long, and that they are actually acting underwater.

I remember when I took my children to Disney World. I took my five- year-old son this summer on the Avatar ride. And I'm telling you, it's all he still talks about, OK. So we are all going to be going to see this movie in a few weeks.

And you saw people sort of fall off of going to the movie theaters during the pandemic, obviously. And now they're starting to go back. So it will be interesting to see if people rush to theaters. I think they will on December 16th.

SANCHEZ: Nobody does epics like James Cameron. And this looks just incredible. I loved the first one and I'm really looking forward to this one.

And Jay Leno returning to stand up tomorrow. Tell us about that very quickly. It's good news.

MELAS: Hardest working man in showbiz. Just a week after suffering second and almost third-degree burns. That's a picture of him at the Grossman Burn Center in California. He is set to return to the stage tomorrow night at a scheduled show in southern California, doing what he loves, stand-up comedy.

He had said himself that he is even going to get back to working on that same car, driving in it that exploded that gas tank in his garage when he was working on it. You know he is an avid car enthusiast. He is always working on cars. But he suffered those very serious burns on his neck and his face and his hands. And he's lucky to be OK. But yes, he's going to be back on stage tomorrow night.

SANCHEZ: Good for him.

MELAS: And I'm sure we will hear him talk about it, too.

SANCHEZ: That's great. We wish him all the best. Chloe, as always, thanks so much. Great, great stuff. Nice to see you. Appreciate it.

MELAS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Coming up, we're learning new details about twin blasts in Jerusalem that have left two people dead. The latest next. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:43:49]

SANCHEZ: Just into CNN, a second person has now died after Wednesday's twin explosions in Jerusalem. Let's go to CNN's Hadas Gold in Jerusalem with the latest. Hadas, what are we learning?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, just in the last few hours, we learned that a second victim has died from those two bombings that occurred on Wednesday. The victim was announced as Tadesse Teshome Ben Madeh. He was in his 50s.

He actually died last night, but the media was only notified tonight about his death. He was in his 50s. He is now the second victim. The first victim, of course, was that 15-year-old Canadian Israeli student. They were both killed in these twin bombings that happened Wednesday morning just after 7:00 a.m. at the height of rush hour.

One of the bombings was at a bus stop just on one of the main routes in and out of the city. And then just 30 minutes later, another bomb took place at a different bus stop not far from the first. Police are calling it a coordinated, well-organized attack. They say in both case some sort of bag or parcel was placed at both bus stations and hidden out of view and that likely detonated remotely, possibly by cell phone. Jerusalem and Israel have not seen attacks like these in several years, these sort of coordinated, well-organized bombs that are placed.

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It's been several years since there's been such an attack, and for many people it brings back memories of the Second Intifada when suicide bombings and bombings of buses and bus stations became almost a regular occurrence. So there's a lot of concern right now because so far they have not -- the police have not announced that they have found any potential suspects.

And no militant group has yet claimed responsibility. In fact, the police have actually issued a gag order on the media from reporting on any sort of investigation. This is likely to prevent the perpetrators from understanding where the investigation stands. Jim?

SANCHEZ: And Hadas, any fears that we might see something like this repeat itself heading into the holiday season?

GOLD: Well, a lot of fears, especially because the police have not said who they think are the suspects behind this. This has already been an incredibly violent year for both Israelis and Palestinians. It felt as though the ground is full of dry kindling for more violence. There's so many fears here that these attacks are just the beginning of a new, potentially even larger wave of violence.

Like I've been saying, many people here are starting to think about the days of the second intifada when there were these regular bombings, regular attacks. A lot of fears that this is potentially coming back to that once again.

It really doesn't also feel, Jim, as though there's any sort of political force anywhere that's really trying to stop this next wave of violence. There's an incoming Israeli government. The Palestinian Authority leadership is increasingly unpopular. A lot of fears here that there's going to be just even more violence in the future.

SANCHEZ: All right, Hadas Gold, that does sound very ominous. Thank you very much for that update. We appreciate it.

Growing tension in China today over lockdowns brought on by the country's largest COVID outbreak. Videos posted to social media show protesters smashing fences and calling for an end to the lockdowns which they blame for delaying firefighters from reaching the scene of a deadly fire on Thursday. CNN's Selina Wang is in Beijing with more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anger is rising and tragedies are mounting, but China shows no sign of budging on zero COVID. Authorities are clamping down with more lockdowns, mass testing, and quarantine, and people are getting more and more frustrated. Adding to the anger is a fire that broke out in the capital of China's far west Xinjiang region on Thursday night.

Ten people were killed and nine were injured at a fire at an apartment building in Urumqi. Most parts of Xinjiang have been under lockdown for more than 100 days. The deadly fired sparked nationwide outrage because widely circulated videos which have now been censored in China show that COVID measures, COVID lockdown measures very likely delayed firefighters from getting to the scene.

State media claims that people in the compound were allowed to leave the building, that it was considered a low-risk COVID area. But video shows fire trucks unable to get close to the scene because the compound entrance was partially blocked. The video shows it's blocked with fences, tents, and metal barriers that are normally used as part of COVID measures.

The videos also show smoke and flames coming from a high floor of the building, but the water failing to actually reach the fire. What adds to the tragedy is that those who died in the fire likely spent their last three months largely confined to that building, if not entirely.

The fire really struck a chord with the public here because we have seen scenes of tragedy and suffering play out over and over again since the start of the pandemic, countless stories of people struggling to get enough food, daily necessities, and emergency care in lockdown.

Three years into these draconian policies, frustrations are more frequently turning into public protests, which are normally rare in authoritarian China. Last week in the southern city of Guangzhou some residents revolted during lockdown by tearing down barriers and marching through the streets. There were violent clashes at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou this week. But still there's no end in sight to zero COVID.

Selina Wang, CNN, Beijing.

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SANCHEZ: Coming up, she was the Oscar-winning voice behind some of the biggest hits of the 1980s. We remember Irene Cara.

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SANCHEZ: Irene Cara, known for starring in the movie "Fame" and singing its Oscar-winning theme song, died today in her Florida home, that's according to actress and singer's publicist. Cara also started in the 1976 musical "Sparkle" and wrote and sang the theme song, how can we forget this one, "Flashdance What a Feeling." In a statement to CNN, Cara's publicist says, quote, "Irene was a

gifted woman whose body of work is loved by millions of people the world over. She became an icon for music lovers of the 1980s and inspired many of today's most influential singers. We are all mourning her death but will celebrate her legacy as a bright spot in our lives." Irene Cara, just an unforgettable artist. She was 63 years old.

In the meantime, one person is dead and about 10 others are missing after a landslide of the Italian island of Ischia. A video shows heavy flooding literally sweeping cars into the ocean there early this morning. Search and rescue crews are searching the rubble and debris for survivors as we speak, but they say weather conditions are making that very difficult. This is a developing story. Stay on top of it. We will give you the latest as we get updated information coming into CNN.

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A remarkable rescue in New York City to tell you about. Take a look at this dramatic police bodycam video that shows a good Samaritan and a team of NYPD officers rushing onto the subway tracks where a man had accidentally fallen from the platform and was lying on the tracks. They managed to hoist him back on the platform just moments before an incoming train arrived. Thank goodness for that. The man was taken to a local hospital where he is listed in stable condition with minor injuries.

After back-to-back mass shootings, President Biden vows to move on an assault weapon ban, but with Congress entering a lame duck session, what can realistically get done? We'll talk about that next.

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