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Georgia Democratic Incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock And Republican Challenger Herschel Walker Campaign In Runoff Election; President Biden Suggests South Carolina Be First Democratic Presidential Primary; U.S. Reports Indicate Low Unemployment Rate, Wage Increases, And Continuing High Inflation; Gas Prices Falling Across U.S.; USA Men's Soccer Team Loses To Netherlands In World Cup Match; Police Still have No Suspect for Murders of Four University of Idaho Students. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 03, 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]

KYLE WAIDE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: We've got 700 community partners for our food bank, 60,000 of those community partners across the country working with food banks. They're led by volunteers who are there just wanting to take care of their neighbors or inspired by our financial donors, or inspired by our own volunteers.

So we're inspired every day, and in particular we are inspired by the neighbors that we are serving who are just being resilient, resourceful in how they are dealing with these challenges. We have lots of inspiration and we're fortunate to have all these partners that we can go and serve our neighbors in need.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: I know a lot of families and individuals are really grateful for the family that you all are, that you represent to be able to help out each other in the way you do.

WAIDE: Well, we appreciate that. And support your local food bank. Right now, more than ever, we need your help. A lot of demand, high resource intensity. And you can help us build a stronger community across this country.

WHITFIELD: CEO and President Kyle Waide, thank you so much. Happy holidays.

WAIDE: Thank you. Same to you.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All eyes back on Georgia this Tuesday as the state gears up to hold its second U.S. Senate runoff election in just two years. Incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, spending the weekend trying to court voters ahead of this key race that will determine if Democrats hold a one-seat Senate majority or if there will be a 50-50 split with Vice President Kamala Harris -- excuse me -- holding a tie-breaking vote.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher joining us now from Atlanta. Dianne, what are you hearing from the last minute stumping, at the same time the sentiments coming from voters?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. Look, this is the first day in a week that there has not been early voting happening, so the candidate are out trying to shake hands with as many voters who didn't get out to the polls as possible. Of course, more than 1.85 Georgians have already cast their ballots, a record- breaking final day of early voting on Friday with more than 350,000 Georgia Georgians casting their ballots on that date. That broke the record that was set on Monday, and then again on Tuesday of this week.

But I do want to caution, we are seeing these very intense daily numbers. It's in part because of this compressed four-week schedule that only had five mandated days of early voting. Very different from what Georgians experienced in 2021 when they had three weeks of it, which is likely why the state is far behind with those early voting numbers in 2021.

Still, the candidates both say they are encouraged by the turnout so far. Senator Raphael Warnock, the incumbent Democrat, out on the trail early this morning with AFL-CIO, a union event, trying to get people excited about Tuesday's election and talking about his closing message. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): A couple of months ago when I found myself standing on a debate stage with a man who was woefully unqualified, woefully unprepared, and it gives me no pleasure to say this, but as a preacher I'm in the business of truth-telling, woefully unfit.

My opponent said if you are able-bodied and you have a job, you have health care. Now I'm not mad that he doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm mad that he doesn't know what he's talking about, and he thinks he ought to be a United States senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Dianne back with us. How about Herschel Walker, what's on his plate today? Where is he scheduled to be?

GALLAGHER: So, Herschel Walker does not have any public open press events today. He did hold a sort of tailgate, if you will, at the SEC championship game where the Georgia Bulldogs are playing the LSU Tigers here in the Atlanta area. It was not open to the press. They said it was a private event. And when media showed up and started asking questions, they were told it was a private event and to stop doing so.

But he was crisscrossing the state yesterday, and he has some events tomorrow. The Walker campaign has had a noticeably lighter campaign schedule than Warnock's campaign through this runoff period. But this was Herschel Walker, the Republican's closing message. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERSCHEL WALKER, (R-GA) U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: Our problem we have right now, we decided to get the wrong leaders in Washington. We've got to get people in Washington that know how to stand out. And they stand up, as my father when told me no, he meant no. And then I got too big for my britches, he said, boy, if you don't like the rules underneath my house, you leave my house. So maybe we need to get people in Washington to say, if you don't like the rules of the United States of America, you can leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:01]

GALLAGHER: Fred, both campaigns noticeably on the attack in these final days. People who live in Georgia can tell you the ads on television, again, more than $77 million worth of them, have gone far more negative, too, in these final weeks.

WHITFIELD: Indeed, it has been the case. Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much.

Let's talk more about all of this. Joining me right now, Bill Nigut the host and executive producer of "Political Rewind" on Georgia Public Broadcasting. Bill, always a pleasure seeing you. So --

BILL NIGUT, HOST AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, GPB'S "POLITICAL REWIND": Great to be with you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful. All right, so the countdown is on just a few days away. But then you've got your finger on the pulse. What do you think the potential outcome will be on Tuesday? And is it largely -- the outcome largely lean on independents and where they swing?

NIGUT: Yes, it does. But I hate the start with a cliche, but there is a truth to it, and that is everything is about turnout. We know that we had over 1.8 million people cast ballots early. Dianne was correct when she said that that is fewer people than we saw in the past runoff elections because they have a compressed schedule. Nevertheless, those 1.8 million people, many of whom are likely to have voted for Raphael Warnock, were an important step for the Democrats.

When Election Day comes, it's going to be flip-flopped. It is likely Republicans will be voting on Election Day. So what the Walker campaign hopes is that the lead that Warnock probably has run up in early voting will be more than corrected by Walker voters showing up on Election Day.

WHITFIELD: So right now a new CNN poll shows 52 percent of likely voters plan to support Senator Raphael Warnock versus 48 percent for Herschel Walker. That's roughly within the margin of error. Do you think there are particular segments of this state and its turnout that will help determine the outcome? NIGUT: Well, certainly the Walker campaign is going to be looking for

a big turnout in rural parts of Georgia. Those are the red parts of the state. They'll also be hoping they can attract some of those independent suburban, particularly women. But, Fred, I think the CNN poll had -- if you don't mind my adding this -- a really important talking point.

While the race is close, 52-48, within the margin of error according to your poll, I was taken by the fact that when the question was asked which candidate do you think is well qualified to be a U.S. senator, 52 percent said Raphael Warnock, and only 27 percent said Herschel Walker. If that's the case, it's a little bit stunning to think that this race is as close as it is.

WHITFIELD: Yes. That is the perplexing thing about all of this, because sometimes the math just doesn't add up based on the questions asked.

So Republican Governor Brian Kemp, he has lent his support to Herschel Walker in the runoff. Kemp got more than 200,000 votes than Walker did in the November election, Kemp being the incumbent for governor. So do you get a sense that Governor Kemp stumping for Walker will make an impact, will make a difference for him?

NIGUT: Well, there's no question right now Brian Kemp is the most popular and powerful Republican in the state of Georgia after his significant victory over Stacey Abrams. And so it helps Herschel Walker to have Kemp out there on the campaign trail. He did some events with Walker. He's also got a direct to camera endorsement of him in an ad, as you probably know.

But the thing is, Brian Kemp is not on the ballot anymore. It's no longer Brian Kemp who is driving voters to the polls. He has already won his election. So there's some question as to whether people are going to turn out to vote for Walker because Brian Kemp asks them to.

WHITFIELD: So a judge in Cobb County also ordered the county to extend its deadline for accepting absentee ballots until December 9th if the ballots are postmarked by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. And this after a lawsuit claimed that so many voters who had applied for absentee ballots had not received them. Will that make an impact?

NIGUT: Well, Cobb is now a Democratic county. If this race is extremely close, I suppose it could have an impact. The issue, though, is that there's only several thousand, I think, absentee ballots that would have to have an extended period to be turned in. I think it's unlikely. But it also suggests that Cobb County is starting to have some real problems with how they are dealing with their absentee ballots up there.

[14:10:04]

WHITFIELD: Let me ask you something about the national races in a different perspective and a different pursuit. The Democratic National Committee voted on Friday to approve a plan that would dramatically reshape the 2024 presidential nominating calendar, and the new plan would make South Carolina the first state to hold a primary and would move Georgia's primary ahead of Super Tuesday. What would that, I guess, more influential position mean for Georgia?

NIGUT: Well, one of the reasons the Democratic National Committee is reshuffling its schedule is because Iowa and New Hampshire for years have, as you know, gone first. And they are white states. And Democrats have always relied on African American votes. And so part of the reason they have done this is South Carolina has a large black voting population. Georgia is a state with a large black voting population. So it does mean that we're going to see more diversity in the lineup of Democratic primary states.

Now, in Georgia it continues this possibility that Georgia becomes more and more blue. Right now it's kind of purple. But if the Democrats hold their primary really early in 2024, it's going to encourage more people to look at the Democratic slate.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating. Always filled with insight, that's why we love to call upon you. Bill Nigut, good to see you.

NIGUT: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, for more on this, let's bring in CNN's Arlette Saenz as well from the White House perspective. Arlette, so why does President Biden want to change the primary calendar?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Biden's decision to try to shake up the Democratic primary calendar comes as he wants to have more diversity in the early nominating process. This is something that he often pointed to when he was a candidate, saying that diverse states and voices needed to be heard as Democrats were electing their nominees.

Iowa, he has argued, is not necessarily, the demographics aren't representative of much of the country, and also of the democratic constituency as well. And so that is why President Biden has proposed these changes, moving up South Carolina to the very start of the primary calendar, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on the same day, and then Georgia, which has increasingly become a battleground state in recent years, followed by Michigan.

Iowa, of course, also hosts those caucuses. The president has said that he does not believe there should be caucuses going forward, calling them restrictive. Now, the Democratic National Committee approved this proposed rule, but it will have to go to a broader vote before the committee early next year.

But there are some logistical hurdles that also exist in actually getting this into place. Each states sets their own primary date and has their own process. You also have the Republican side which has said that they're going to stick to the calendar that is currently existing. But the president is hoping these changes will get pushed through for 2024.

WHITFIELD: And then Arlette, how about the new jobs report and how the White House is touting it and showing that it really does reveal some encouraging economic signs?

SAENZ: Yes, Fred, the president yesterday really celebrated this better than expected jobs report, 263,000 jobs created last month, which is higher than what economists had forecasted. Also, the unemployment rate holding at 3.7 percent. Of course, the White House is aware of what these better-than-expected numbers, the impact it could have when it comes to the Federal Reserves and their decision to possibly raise interest rates and how much longer they will be doing that for.

But also yesterday, the president touted another improving economic indicator which is the lowering price of gas. Gas prices are now below the level they were before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and it's something President Biden promoted yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For months you couldn't look anywhere without seeing headlines screaming gas prices at the pump are up. But look, folks, gas prices are down. And you barely hear anything about it right now. They are continuing to go down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Of course, gas price is something that Americans are keeping a very close eye on, so the White House trying to promote to Americans and voters in and around these jobs numbers.

WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

All right, and even though gas prices are now lower than they were, they might not say that way much longer. CNN's Pete Muntean looks at what is behind the drop in prices and how the relief is expected to last.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oil producing nations are holding a key meeting on Sunday, and the latest signs are that OPEC will not increase oil production, which means the prices of oil could go up, and this drop in gasoline could be short-lived. The latest numbers from AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular now $3.45.

[14:15:02]

Think about where we were back on February 24th, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine, $3.54 cents was the national average for a gallon of regular. So we are now well below that. And industry analysts say that gas prices are starting to stabilize. We have seen it go down about 13 cents in the last week.

Not all good news, though. There are still fears about a Chinese COVID lockdown. There are still fears about a recession. Remember, oil is traded on a global market. For now, industry analysts think we could see gas continue to fall in the short-term. Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy says we could see gas on average below $3 a gallon by Christmastime. Think about where we were back on June 14th when we saw the all-time high of $5.01 a gallon. We are down more than $1.50 since then, down 30 percent since June.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Alexandria, Virginia.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: That's some important relief there.

Coming up, the Netherlands advances to the quarterfinals and kicks out the U.S. men's national team. We'll have the latest on the FIFA World Cup.

Plus, the Alabama man who fell off a cruise ship and was rescued after more than 15 hours at sea is now speaking out. We'll bring you his amazing story of survival.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:21]

WHITFIELD: A bitter defeat has sent the U.S. men's soccer team home after an invigorating run in the Qatar World Cup. The team falling three to one to the Netherlands who will now move on to the quarter finals. The Netherlands scoring two goals in the first half, the U.S. scoring their one in the 76th minute thanks to a beautiful flick from Haji Wright. But in the end, the Netherlands slammed the door shut with their third goal just three minutes later.

CNN's Don Riddell is there in Doha for all of the action. So Don, certainly not the result that the U.S. wanted. But the U.S. men's team did not go down without a fight.

DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: Yes. I would agree with that. I think they can leave Qatar with their heads held pretty high. Nobody was quite sure what to expect of this team, 25 out of 26 players in the squad had never played in a World Cup before, one of the youngest squads in this tournament. And they did really well. They came through what at times was a pretty difficult group.

They performed really well against England who I considered one of the favorites to go on and win the whole thing. They came through and extraordinary match and build up to the match against Iran, which was just so difficult on the field and off it with all the political subplots and all the distractions that came with it.

And against the Dutch today, they met their match. If you look at the stats for this game, it was pretty even. The Americans actually had more of the ball. They had about the same amount of chances on goal. But the difference was the U.S. don't really have an out-and-out striker. They don't have a finisher. And they had their chances, and they couldn't put them away. The Dutch this their chances, and they buried them in the blink of an eye. So that was a difference between these two sides in the end. Weston McKennie, though, one of their star players says that this

four-year run leading to this point has changed the way the world sees U.S. soccer. And of course, this was always regarded by the team as a steppingstone to four years time, 2026, when they're co-hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico, and they are expecting to make a much more impressive showing then.

WHITFIELD: So what are the chances now with Argentina and Australia playing right now, star forward Messi surely giving Argentina a leg up in the competition. What will you be looking for?

RIDDELL: Well, I'm looking to see if Australia can pull off one of the greatest World Cup upsets of all time. And we've already seen one. The first game, or one of the first games I attended in this tournament, was seeing Saudi Arabia come from behind to beat Messi and Argentina, which could have completely derailed their World Cup hopes there and then. Messi and Argentina recovered after that. They were much better against Mexico. They completely dominated Poland.

And you would expect that the Argentine side would beat Australia in this game. This is only the second time the Australians have been playing a knockout match in World Cup history. Argentina, of course, are trying to win the World Cup for a third time. Messi has never won it. It's his fifth World Cup tournament. It is widely expected to be his last.

They've got a great team this year, but can they do it? Can they keep going and getting it done? They should do it against the Aussies, but hey, we'll see. It hasn't been easy for a lot of big teams already at this tournament. We've already had so many surprises. Can we get another one? We'll see.

WHITFIELD: That's right, this has been full of surprises, and that's what is making it so mesmerizing. Don Riddell, thanks so much. We'll check back with you from Doha.

Meantime, the U.S.'s advancement to the knockout rounds of the World Cup did earn them a big cash bonus, and one they will now split with the women's national team. CNN's Brian Todd spoke to a former star from the women's team about this new agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With its stirring win over Iran and its advance into the knockout stage of the World Cup, the U.S. men's national soccer team gets a $13 million bonus as a team. And, for the first time ever, they will split that bonus equally with the U.S. women's time, $6.5 million for each squad. That's because of a new collective bargaining agreement that the women's team reached with the U.S. Soccer Federation back in May.

For Briana Scurry, a goalkeeper who played in four women's World Cups and made an iconic penalty kick save to help the U.S. win the 1999 Cup, it's a sweet moment.

BRIANA SCURRY, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL WOMEN'S TEAM GOALKEEPER: For decades it was very difficult to always be shouting at the rain, so it seemed. But now we have made this a reality. And it took every single player who has ever played and worn the jersey for the women's national team to get it there.

TODD: In fact, the $6.5 million the U.S. women will make from the men's team advance is more than the woman earned by winning the 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cups combined.

[14:25:06]

Their 2015 minute paid out $2 million, doubling to $4 million in 2019.

SCURRY: You know, FIFA has been unfair with the women. We have always been an afterthought to them.

TODD: For decades the U.S. women's team had fought against the U.S. Soccer Federation, demanding equal play.

MEGAN RAPINOE, WINGER, U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM: Every time a woman is not paid equally, everyone is not, and nobody's potential is able to be reached.

TODD: It took a lawsuit settlement earlier this year to finally get the Federation to play the women fairly.

LINDSAY GIBBS, SPORTS REPORTER, "POWER PLAYS" NEWSLETTER: There have been so many lockouts, so many times skipping camp, so many moments of labor solidarity, and things have really revved up after the women won the 2015 World Cup. Every step of the way there's been -- it's been a fight.

TODD: And every step of the way there has been a different kind of disparity on the field. In all of U.S. soccer history, the women's team has won four World Cups. The men have won exactly none.

GIBBS: I mean, women carry soccer in the United States. I love the men's team, but it's the women who have put the sport on the map, who are the pride of the nation.

TODD: But while U.S. soccer has made progress on fair pay, world soccer remains far behind. This year the total prize money for the men's World Cup is $440 million, more than 14 times as much as the prize money for the last women's World Cup.

GIBBS: They have just felt proud of themselves for giving the women props. It's just now that women's soccer has thrived despite the lack of investment.

TODD: I asked Briana Scurry if she or any other former players will benefit from this fair pay deal. She said she'll only benefit if the players union for the women decides to give former national team players some money. Either way, she says, she's OK with it. She says she is just honored to have played a role in raising the visibility of the women's game in getting that deal done.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, the Alabama man who fell off a cruise ship and was rescued after more than 15 hours at sea, speaking out on his story of survival.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:31:39]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. We're learning new details on a deadly accident aboard a Viking cruise ship. The cruise line says an American woman died after the ship was hit by a rogue wave on Thursday. Officials have not identified her but say that she was hit by a pane of glass that broke in the middle of the incident. The ship, the Viking Polaris, was in the Antarctic traveling to Argentina. Four others were hurt, suffering non-life-threatening injuries. Viking Cruises said they are investigating and have canceled the Polaris next trip.

Meanwhile, that Alabama man who fell off a cruise ship into the Gulf of Mexico on Thanksgiving eve is now sharing his amazing story with CNN. James Grimes said he was naked and treading water in high waves and wind for more than 15 hours before he was finally rescued. CNN's Leyla Santiago joining us with more on this. Oh, my gosh, what an incredible story of survival. I can't wait to hear now from him. What did he tell you?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Fredricka, even I said to him, look, this is a little hard to believe. It's unbelievable. Do you understand why folks might be sort of in shock. And he said, yes, I get it. It's a miracle. Even he acknowledged that.

So, OK, let me kind of walk you through how he lays this out. He went on a cruise with a pretty big family, about 18 people. And he admits he had had a few drinks, but says he was far from inebriated. But bottom line, we still don't really understand how he went from having a good time with his family to ending up in the middle of the ocean on his own.

Eventually, his family reported him missing. And it was hours on end that he says he just kept on swimming and swimming. And here's the interesting thing. I asked him, I said at any point did you sort of accept or think about I might not make it out of here?

And can you believe he said no, never even considered that as a possibility. He said he felt like he was praying. He was soaking in, if you will, everything that was around him, enjoying the sunrise, whatever he could see, to try to stay in a positive mind frame. Listen to how else he described it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES MICHAEL GRIMES, SURVIVED 15 PLUS HOURS IN OCEAN: Well, I was really just trying to stay as positive as I could. From the moment I did come to, regained consciousness, I can just remember right then thinking, wow, it's a miracle that I'm not already dead. And I felt like I was given a chance right then. The whole time I was out there I just tried to stay positive. I was making up songs, just enjoying -- I seen the sunrise come up. I stopped for a minute and just took it all in, enjoyed the sunrise. And I was praying out there a lot. It was more like a 20-hour baptism really.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANTIAGO: So a lot of questions even by him. He will tell you, listen, I swim, but I'm not the greatest swimmer. I don't really float often. So he doesn't have a good sense as to how he was able to stay out there for so long. Here's another new thing he mentioned. He said he went through two very large groups of jellyfish, had jellyfish attached to the back of his neck at one point.

[14:35:06]

He talked about how one of the ways that he kind of tried to stay in that positive mind frame, he sang songs, and specifically "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay," except he would change it a little bit and say I wish I were sitting on the dock of the bay.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

SANTIAGO: So look, he has a good attitude about it. Clearly that's what got him through it, right.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

SANTIAGO: But a lot of questions of how exactly did he end up out there?

WHITFIELD: Wow. The humor and the prayers, right, carried him through. And the songs, it's an incredible story. So glad James Grimes is with us today to be able to tell us that story, because treading water in treacherous waters and all kinds of things swimming in it, yes, he's a lucky man. He's a blessed man. Thanks for talking to him.

SANTIAGO: For sure, to say the least.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right, Leyla Santiago, thank you so much for bringing his story. Appreciate it.

All right, meantime, quite the opposite. It has been three weeks now since four Idaho college students were killed, and police still have neither a suspect nor a murder weapon. And now a series of confusing statements has investigators on rumor control as they try to debunk false theories about the unsolved deaths.

CNN's Camila Bernal is joining me from Los Angeles with the very latest. So what are the, I guess -- how are officials trying to rectify so many wrongs in the stories that are being told?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's frustrating, because it's been confusing for us, for the families, for the friends. It's been three weeks since they were last seen alive, and people are still just asking so many questions. We still don't have a motive. We still don't have a weapon. We still don't have a suspect.

So here are some of the things that they are trying to clarify. Earlier in the investigation they said none of these victims were tied or gagged. There were reports of deceased animals. That's not related, they said. There were other stabbings nearby, unrelated. They also ruled out the surviving roommates.

And one of the things they recently clarified is that there were more people on the lease. There was another person, a sixth person on that lease for that house. And police now saying that person left the house before the beginning of the school year, and they ruled that person out. They also ruled out people that interacted with Kaylee and Maddie when they went to the food truck, the person that drove them home. They are ruling people out but not saying who they believe did this. So, of course, the question remains, who did it.

There was also some back and forth about the fact that it was a targeted attack. Police say, yes, it is a targeted attack. But what they are saying now is that they don't know if it was the house that was targeted or if it were the students that were targeted. So people are very upset about this back and forth by police. And they're trying to clarify things.

Here's what they said in their latest statement. They said "There is speculation without factual backing stoking community fears and spreading false facts." So what they are saying now is wait a minute, wait for investigators and wait for more answers from detectives. They say, yes, they are making some progress, but it's all behind the scenes. There is a lot that they cannot say. So they are asking the public to continue to wait.

And also still asking for any tips, any surveillance video, any information that may help in the investigation. They are still reaching out to the students, to the people in that community trying to find those answers. Of course, still so many just worried and scared because they have still not figured this out. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And all of these poor families are going through so much. Camila Bernal, thank you.

All right, coming up, it's not a trick. Merriam-Webster's word of the year really is "gaslighting." What does it really mean? And what does it say about the world that we're living in? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, here we are at the end of the year, and believe it or not, "gaslighting" Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2022, meaning the practice of grossly misleading someone, especially for one's own advantage. The folks at Merriam-Webster's say they picked it because, as they put it, it has become the favored word for the perception of deception. Nicole Hemmer has written about gaslighting for CNN.com. She's also an

associate professor of history at Vanderbilt University and the author of a book on conservative politics in the 1990s, "Partisans." So good to see you, Professor.

NICOLE HEMMER, HISTORIAN, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY: Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful. So the designation of "gaslighting" as word of the year makes what pronouncement or statement to you?

HEMMER: Well, it certainly suggests that this word, which had kind of entered the political lexicon in 2016, 2017, around the candidacy and then the presidency of Donald Trump, that this idea of mass deception, of the big lie has really become rooted not just in our politics and not just in our descriptions of Donald Trump, but in our culture more broadly.

WHITFIELD: So the synonym of gaslighting is lying, as you note in your CNN.com write. But you also say it's really much deeper than that. So is your concern that people are just too cavalier about it?

HEMMER: That's right. The origins of the term "gaslighting," it comes from this 1938 played which was turned into a film that had to do with a woman who was being abused by her husband. He was trying to get her institutionalized who he could steal all of her money. And it became a term that psychologists and therapists used to describe abuse that happened within domestic violence situations.

[14:45:03]

And that kind of application of the term, that it described abuse of women and domestic violence, that has really fallen away. And I think we lose something when we lose that connotation of the word because it enters into the political language around Donald Trump, who was a specifically and especially misogynistic politician, and who has dozens of allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against him. And I think we do lose something when we use those misogynistic origins.

WHITFIELD: So you think the use of "gaslighting" now kind of, yes, dismisses its derivation, and that in a way, especially using it, to describe the behavior and the word choice of former President Trump and others who might be trying to convince people you didn't really see that, you believe it's kind of becoming normalized?

HEMMER: It's becoming normalized, but it is also repeating a pattern that we see often in American society and politics, that the abuse of women, which is often involved in things like mass shootings. Mass shootings off begin or have connections to domestic violence and abuse of women, that often disappears from the stories that we tell about mass violence, about mass shootings.

And to see that misogynistic origin disappear from this word as well, I think what this does is it makes domestic violence, it makes patriarchy and misogyny less visible in society when, in fact, it's the platform for a lot of things that occur, especially in our politics. So it's not to never use the word "gaslighting" except when it's talking about domestic violence, but to remember its origins and remember the key place that misogyny plays in politics and culture in the U.S.

WHITFIELD: So given that and the history that you just shared with everybody, how are you hoping the word "gaslighting" would be, should be used from this point forward?

HEMMER: So hopefully people will use it, first of all, to describe not just lying but this kind of big lie that we have seen in politics, these attempts to disorient people by completely denying their realities. That's a good way to remember that it has this kind of specific origin. And then also just to know and to learn the history of the term so that we can recall where it came from and that the power that misogyny and abuse have in society.

WHITFIELD: Professor Nicole Hemmer of Vanderbilt University, thank you so much. Glad you could be with us.

HEMMER: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

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[14:52:07]

WHITFIELD: The world's largest active volcano is still spewing molten lava on Hawaii's Big Island, and the river of flaming hot molten rock is creeping close, about two miles away from a major highway. Fountains of lava are shooting more than 100 feet into the air. And while lava flows are unpredictable and slow, Hawaii's governor says it's safe to visit the Big Island for now.

And forget sharks. It's a bear that has gone viral in a just released movie trailer. But let us introduce you to the real cocaine bear. CNN's Jeanne Moos claws her way to the true story that inspired the movie.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When the name of a movie is "Cocaine Bear" --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bear did cocaine.

MOOS: You can expect critics to snort. But the bonkers trailer has moviegoers salivating to see the film featuring a bear high on coke embarked on a murderous rampage. "Sharknado" but for bears, but on cocaine.

And then there's the tease, "Inspired by true events." This much at least is true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Millions of dollars worth of cocaine fell from the sky this morning in Knoxville, Tennessee. MOOS: That did happen in 1985 when a drug smuggler named Andrew

Thornton died in someone's backyard when he jumped from a small plane with bricks of cocaine in a duffel bag attached to it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman jumped out of an airplane with a parachute that was too small for his load.

MOOS: Before he jumped, he apparently dumped other cocaine filled bags, and a 170 bear was found dead among the drugs on a Georgia hillside. Officials said he OD'd. The movie shows the bear dining on coke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no. Don't eat that, don't eat that.

MOOS: The real bear died from the drugs and there was no killing spree. It's believed the stuffed bear eventually ended up in a place called the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall where you can buy cocaine bear earrings, and even what they call a blow globe, does not contain cocaine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the -- is wrong with that bear.

MOOS: The poor guy is being compared to "Scarface." Some are calling him Pablo Escob-bear, a nickname even a coked up bear might not take lying down.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, and because we just can't seem to get enough about nature, the world's oldest land animal is no spring chicken. In fact, it is 190 years old.

[14:55:03]

A Seychelles giant tortoise named Jonathan is celebrating another trip around the sun this weekend, marking a historic milestone. And while there is no real record of his birth, Jonathan is thought to have been born around 1832, though island officials say he could be as old as 200.

He was brought to the South Atlantic Island of Saint Helena in 1882 as a gift and was even pictured with the queen back in 1947 there. And as you see here, officials have made a series of commemorative stamps to mark the occasion. So this weekend, happy birthday to Jonathan.

Thanks so much for being with me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN Newsroom continues with Jim Acosta after this.

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