Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Team of All-Female Referees Officiate Men's Match for First Time; Biden Will Serve Butter-Poached Lobster at First State Dinner; Will and Kate in U.S. as Buckingham Palace Faces New Race Controversy; Failed Crypto Firm Founder: I Did Not Intend to Commit Fraud. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired December 01, 2022 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Today's match between Germany and Costa Rica is being officiated by an all-female squad of referees. This is the first time this has happened. French ref Stephanie Frappart is the first woman to referee a men's World Cup match. She's joined by assistants Neuza Back from Brazil and Karen Diaz from Mexico.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: CNN sports anchor Don Riddell is live in Doha. A bit of history today. How's it looking? How's the match?
DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: Well, look, the match is amazing and the history is amazing too. She's officiating the game between Costa Rica and Germany, and this group is tight. It's one of those groups where anything could happen and everything is happening. I guess we'll come to the Stephanie Frappart history bit in just a moment, but I need to tell you about this.
So, there's currently Costa Rica, 2, Germany 2. And in the other game in this Group E, Japan beating Spain which means that as it stands, Japan and Spain will go through. Germany, the four-time world champions look like they're going out. So that's that.
The Stephanie Frappart news is extraordinary. She's ended up refereeing a really, really important game where the tension and anxiety are now just off the charts. This is a huge moment for women in professional football. She is already known as a trail blazer. She's a 38-year-old French referee. She's refereed a lot of important club games in Europe and in France. She's been known trailblazer for some time.
But for and all-female crew to take on a men's World Cup match is a first. It is historic and remember the part of the world that it's happening in, so that is hugely important too. And she's spoken to CNN in recent years and she said she's just doing her job. She doesn't really feel like she's just making history, she's just getting on with it. You may know this phrase about referees in soccer. When they're doing a good job, nobody notices them. That's what they want. But it's really hard not to be noticed when you're out there making history like she is right now. CAMEROTA: It definitely sounds high stress. Meanwhile, tell us about
Christian Pulisic. So, he's a team USA midfielder. He was hospitalized were this pelvic injury. Will he be back for the game this weekend?
RIDDELL: That's what everybody hopes. Nobody's going to say so yet, but the signs are encouraging. He is a talismanic player for the United States. He's not the captain, but they call him "Captain America." He of course, scored that crucial goal against Iran the other night, without which they would not be in this tournament anymore. It was a pelvic contusion that he suffered and think a lot of people are wondering what exactly does that mean and people are imagining perhaps what it could mean. Really painful, right, for a guy. Anyway, this is what he had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIAN PULISIC, USA MIDFIELDER: I mean, it's a pelvic contusion, you know. It's not a euphemism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what it sounds like.
PULISIC: No. But at the same time, it's not. Like I didn't get, like, hit in the balls -- I'm all right. It was very painful, and it just, you know, that bone is there for a reason to protect you I think, and I hit it well, and it was sore, but like I said, I'm getting better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: Really glad to see that Christian Pulisic is doing OK. The United States of course, into the knockout round.
[15:35:00]
They are playing the Netherlands which is a really tough match on Saturday. It's a knockout game, winner goes through, loser goes home.
CAMEROTA: We appreciate it he dropped the euphemism there. He just spelled out what the injury was.
BLACKWELL: The boys are all right, he says. The boys are all right.
CAMEROTA: Don Riddell, thank you.
BLACKWELL: Thank you, Don.
Well, Boston fans -- well, they were being Boston fans. Last night with William and Kate there, they were booing as the royals visited the city.
CAMEROTA: That's not nice.
BLACKWELL: Yes, really isn't, Celtics fans.
CAMEROTA: Yes, Beantown.
BLACKWELL: We've got it for you next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:40:00]
BLACKWELL: Tonight, President Biden and the first lady will host a state dinner for the French counterparts on the South Lawn of the White House. A tent and dance floor will also be installed. I'm sure they're up by now.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
BLACKWELL: They really have to be.
CAMEROTA: I'm sure that it's happening right now. CNN's Kate Bennett joins us live. Kate, you have a preview for us on what's going to happen tonight. So, is the tent up, number one, and what's on the menu? That's what I would like to know.
KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: OK. The tent is up. The White House is calling it a pavilion, but it is really a tent with just clear sides. It's lovely. It's very big, but it is up deep on the South Lawn.
The menu tonight, you know, the trick to a good state dinner is that you've got to complement both countries. You have to do so sort of organically and seamlessly and not too hokey. So, on the menu tonight, caviar, poach Maine lobster, beef for the main course, and an orange cake -- a chiffon cake for dessert. But things like champagne flutes made France will be used but American sparkling wine will be served in them. There'll be a cheese course, but the cheeses will actually be American cheeses.
So, there are things that are sort of cross cultural. The decor, we caught a glimpse yesterday. I got a sneak peek. It's red, white and blue, the shared colors of our two flags. Kind of a tricky color palette for an event but it looks lovely. The table costs are blue, the candles are red, the flowers are mostly red roses. So, there's a nice, you know, nod to both countries here as this goes on.
And you mentioned the stage and the dance floor. John Batiste, the Grammy award-winning singer will be performing tonight, for I hear about 400 guests. It's significantly larger than the state dinner that Trump had for the Macrons back in 2018. That was about 120 people. This is going to be closer to 400. I think' we're going to see a lot of VIPs, a lot of donors, a lot of people who have been anxious for this Biden administration to finally be able to hold its first -- and I hear not its last -- state dinner of his tenure so far.
BLACKWELL: You all didn't see this, but Alisyn was literally cheering. Like, whispers of yes and fist bumps as you were reading butter poached lobster and beef.
CAMEROTA: This is my sport. It's competitive eating. And I was like, caviar, yes, poached lobster, yes.
BENNETT: They flew in 200 live lobsters the day before yesterday from Maine to make these 400 butter poached lobster appetizers with the American caviar. So, it's going to be a very decadent dinner tonight, but for sure, definitely Maine lobster being featured on the menu.
CAMEROTA: Great. Now I'm starving.
BLACKWELL: Sounds delicious.
CAMEROTA: I'm sorry.
BLACKWELL: Kate Bennett, thank you.
CAMEROTA: All right. It's day two of William and the other Kate's visit to the U.S.
BLACKWELL: Right now, they're in Boston. They took in an NBA game last night, but when the royal couple sat courtside, the greeting was mixed with some fans booing and then chanting, "USA." I mean, what are you supposed to do when the entire place is booing you?
CAMEROTA: That's horrible. I mean, we were rude, Max. That's horrible.
MAX FOSTER, CNN WROTE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm told it was a bit of a tradition when, you know, foreigners as it were turn up at these games, particularly the British. Kate and William are currently there right behind me. So, you came to me at exactly the right moment. They're taking in, you know, what's being done to protect the coastal erosion here in Boston. And this is, you know, there's been lots of distractions on this very short tour so far. But what they're -- I'm being told is they are determined to keep calm and carry on which is the royal tradition and not be distracted too much by it. They've addressed the racial issue for example, and the racism allegations back in London, but they're really focusing on the environmental challenge which is what they're here to talk about. That's what I'm told anyway.
CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, I just think they deserved a warmer welcome, but it is Boston fans after all.
BLACKWELL: It's Boston.
CAMEROTA: OK, so also, we're learning that the trailer just dropped for Harry and Meghan's Netflix docuseries. So, what's in it?
FOSTER: Well, you know, some question about the timing there about this docuseries. We have been told very little about it whatsoever. Which is why there was a flare of excitement when they released this trailer earlier today. What's going to be in it? Is there going to be more concern about the racist allegations that Meghan leveled to Buckingham Palace as well? This is all we have so far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX (voice-over): No one sees what's happening behind closed doors.
PRINCE HARRY: I had to do everything I could to protect my family. [15:45:00]
MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: When the stakes were this high, doesn't it make more sense to hear our story from us?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, that's a big question, isn't it? I think There's a huge sense of anticipation about what might be in that docuseries. We'll find out next week. Particularly I suspect Kate and William, what more allegations are going to come out about the family, what damage will it do to the monarchy? We've not been given any insight at the moment yet, but certainly a big talking point and a lot of distractions frankly from the tour here.
CAMEROTA: Well, you'll be busy, Max Foster. We will rely on you to help us parse through all of this. Thanks so much for being on.
All right. So, the man behind the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX speaks out and perhaps shares a bit too much. Ahead, why he says he never tried to commit fraud.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Just in, the Supreme Court says that President Biden's student loan forgiveness program will remain blocked for now, but the justices have agreed to hear oral arguments in the case in February and a decision is expected by June.
CAMEROTA: Now nearly two weeks ago, the Biden administration began notifying people who are approved for federal student loan relief. About 26 million people had already applied to the program by the time it was frozen prompting the government to stop taking applications. No debt has been cancelled thus far.
OK, so just weeks after the crypto firm FTX imploded and cost traders billions of dollars, the founder, Sam Bankman-Fried is speaking out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, FORMER CEO OF FTX: I mean, look, I've had a bad month. That is not the new economy for me. But that's not what matters here. Like, what matters here is the millions of customers. What matters here is all the stake holders in FTX who got hurt and trying to do everything I can to help them out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: He had a bad month. You heard the people laughing there. CNN's Matt Egan joins us now. What else did he have to say? First, it's remarkable that he's saying anything considering all that could come as far as lawsuits pretty soon.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, it is. Can you imagine the headaches that he's giving his lawyers who are, I'm sure, advising him not to say anything at all. But in this interview, he admitted that mistakes were made here. He called out, said, look, I screwed up and he apologized. Because those screw ups they hurt real people.
Now we know regulators and law enforcement around the world are looking into this bankruptcy and this collapse. But SBF, he stressed that he did not try to knowingly commit fraud on anyone. Now, this whole story, I mean, it's really just been an incredible situation.
I mean, a month ago, SBF was a 30-year-old crypto billionaire, right, sitting on top of this massive kingdom of crypto companies. His company's logo was on the home of the Miami Heat, their arena. It was on the logos of MLB umpires. He had endorsement deals with Steph Curry, Tom Brady and Gisele, and now his company is bankrupt. And everyone is wondering, how did this happen, is this Enron? Is this Lehman Brothers, is he Bernie Madoff. Now in an interview with "Good Morning America" he rejected the comparisons to Bernie Madoff because he said that his company was a real company.
He did -- he also said that they didn't knowingly mix customer money to prop up their hedge fund. But he did concede to being cocky and he did admit to failing to provide adequate oversight. Listen to what he said to "Good Morning America" this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BANKMAN-FRIED: I wasn't even trying. Like I wasn't spending any time or effort trying to manage risk on FTX. Trying like -- And that obviously --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a stunning admission?
BANKMAN-FRIED: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a pretty stunning admission.
BANKMAN-FRIED: Yes, I mean it I don't know what to say. Like what happened, happened. And like if I had been spending an hour a day thinking about risk management on FTX, I don't think that would have happened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
EGAN: That is a stunning admission there. You know, we've seen this before in traditional finance where you have this dangerous mix of over confidence, excessive borrowing and nonexistent regulation, and now we're seeing it play out in the crypto space.
CAMEROTA: Well, I guess it's a bad combo.
EGAN: It's an awful combo, and a lot of people have been hurt by it.
BLACKWELL: Matt Egan, thank you.
EGAN: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: Let's take a look at the Senate floor now. Lawmakers are voting on whether to approve a house passed resolution that would avert a rail strike. We're live on The Hill with an update. [15:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: So, what is on your play list right now. What's at the top? Well, let's see now if it made Apple's top tunes of 2022. Here are the top five. Number one, "Stay," from The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber. "As it was" by Harry Styles in second place. In third, "WAIT FOR YOU" from Future featuring Drake and Tems.
CAMEROTA: OK, then there's "Super Gremlin," by Kodak Black in fourth- place, and Adele's "Easy On Me" in fifth.
OK, let's talk about ours.
BLACKWELL: OK.
CAMEROTA: OK, so I love The Weekend. You and I just had a debate about this.
BLACKWELL: Debate, indeed.
CAMEROTA: Yes, and so, I mean, he has great, great, great songs, but one of them, I was surprised to find out that "Blinding Lights," which I love, it was actually first released in 2019, but it's still on Apple's 20 --.
BLACKWELL: Still a hit.
CAMEROTA: That means how good it is. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THE WEEKEND: I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch I'm blinded by the light no I can't sleep until I feel your touch
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: Isn't it just great. It's so catchy.
BLACKWELL: It is catchy. It's probably in a lot of ads, but would you go to a concert?
CAMEROTA: Well, yes, I loved the Super Bowl when he was the half-time show. I loved it. I know he got grief for it. I thought it was great.
BLACKWELL: All right, OK.
CAMEROTA: What's yours?
BLACKWELL: All right, I'm going with "Smoking Out the Window" by Silk Sonic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[16:00:00]
SILK SONIC: Smokin' out the window (Smokin' out the window of the Benzo, the Benzo) Singin', "How could she do this to me?" (How?)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: I love that tune because Bruno Mars is so charismatic.
BLACKWELL: Why do we end it, we had 13 more seconds of that, actually.
CAMEROTA: You're right.
BLACKWELL: The show's almost over. But it's just so rich. It is so beautiful.
CAMEROTA: It is beautiful. I'm not going to argue with you.
BLACKWELL: All right, breaking news -- transition here -- the Senate has just passed legislation to prevent a nationwide rail strike that would cripple the economy if that happened. "THE LEAD" now takes it over with Jake Tapper right now.
