Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Georgia Senate Runoff; U.S. Falls To The Netherlands Three-One Ending World Cup Run; Hawaii Volcanic Lava Moves Closer To Major Highway; Interview With Rep. Steve Horsford (D-NV); Congressional Black Caucus Preps For Challenges In GOP-Led House; NFL QB Deshaun Watson To Play Sunday For First Time In 700-Plus Days; Shoppers Spotting Tip Requests In Unusual Places. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 03, 2022 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:30]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just four days until Tuesday's runoff, and neither candidate is letting up.

HERSCHEL WALKER (R), GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: We've got to do it. We've got to get out and vote.

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): Georgia, I need you to do it one more time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An incredible story of survival.

JAMES MICHAEL GRIMES, FELL OFF CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP AND SURVIVED: From the moment I did come to and regained consciousness, I can just remember breathing and thinking, "Well, it's a miracle that I'm not already dead."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Proud of them, but sad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was an exciting game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, it hurts right? But if you asked me before the tournament, this was a win for us. Right? Getting out of the group for a young team.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Right now in Georgia, the clock is ticking and the tension is building. We are now just three days away from the final election of the Midterms as Georgia decides the nation's only undecided Senate race.

Tuesday's runoff election pits incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock against Republican challenger, Herschel Walker, and the winner will serve in a sharply divided Senate for six years.

Let's bring in CNN's Dianne Gallagher. So, tell us what are these final days of campaigning looking like? DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Pamela,

you have the candidates who are essentially trying to get to those voters who didn't show up for early voting and convince them they need to do it on Tuesday.

Now, real quick on early voting. There were just those five mandatory days because of the new law. It's a shortened runoff period. But they saw more than 1.85 million voters come out. They set a record for the most votes in one day for early voting in the State of Georgia, more than 350,000 yesterday, there were really long lines.

And even with those convincing numbers, they still haven't reached the number of early voters that we saw on 2021 for the runoff, in part because of that compressed timeframe.

And look, that is something that the incumbent senator, Democrat Raphael Warnock, his stop this morning talking to union members here in the Atlanta area. He talked about going to Court, trying to get a weekend optional voting for people here and about what he thinks that means for him as a Senator, what he would do for people in Georgia., Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): What may be a convenience for some is a necessity for others. Wage workers need Saturday voting and Sunday voting because they don't need to have to lose a wage in order to vote.

They knew what they were doing when they said you couldn't have Saturday voting and Sunday voting. They were afraid that workers would show up. They were afraid that students would show up. They were afraid that single parents would show up, and so they said we couldn't vote last Saturday, and I thought about you, and that's why I sued them and we won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Now, that was the first event for Senator Warnock today. We are at his third event that will get ready to start in just a few moments, the AAPI Victory Fund.

He is going to have sort of a reunion with his fellow Georgia Senator, Jon Ossoff a little bit later this evening. Now as far as Warnock's opponent, Republican Herschel Walker, he has had a much lighter campaign schedule throughout the duration of the runoff.

There were no actual public events with open press for him today, but he did hold a private tailgate just before the SEC Championship game here in Atlanta. Of course, look, Herschel Walker played for the Bulldogs. He won the Heisman Trophy, and so he is hinging a bit on that before the Dogs took on LSU's Tigers.

But look, the press wasn't allowed to ask him questions, which has been typical at Walker events for the entire runoff period. He hasn't held a press conference since before the General Election and doesn't really participate in gaggles with the press afterwards, when we all get to ask him questions.

But he did meet voters and that is going to be key for both Walker and Warnock, getting those millions of voters that showed up, Pamela, in the General Election to come back out four weeks later, especially those who maybe don't really care for one or two of the candidates and felt soft the first time, convincing them it's important to come out on Tuesday.

BROWN: All right, Dianne Gallagher, thanks so much for that.

And be sure to join us for CNN's Special Coverage of the Georgia Runoff Election starting at 4:00 PM Eastern on Tuesday. I'll be there that night covering the Voting Desk.

Well, for millions of American soccer fans, the World Cup runneth over with disappointment.

[18:05:10]

BROWN: The US Men's National Team is eliminated after falling to The Netherlands three to one. The Dutch will now move on to the Quarterfinal. The Americans will just have to move on.

President Biden tweeted his support: "Fellas, you made us proud. We get up and keep going. Here's to a bright future in 2026 back here at home." That's a reference to the next World Cup, which will be hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada.

CNN's Don Riddell was in Doha, Qatar and joins us now.

So Don, how is the American team responding to the loss?

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: Well, I mean, they were bitterly disappointed at the end, Pamela, and you could see it. There were a lot of tears out there on the field, but already they've begun processing it, and it has been really interesting hearing from guys like Weston McKennie saying, you know, what we've achieved here has completely changed the way the US, the rest of the world looks at US soccer. Christian Pulisic, Captain America, saying he is so proud of this team.

We'll show you what happened in the game because in some ways, it was really close. A three-one score line doesn't imply it was close, but this was a game of fine margins. This is Pulisic here really, really early on just after less than a few minutes having a shot saved, but the Dutch, when they got their chances, they took them.

That's Memphis putting the Netherlands ahead on 10 minutes on the stroke of half time, it was two-nil, Daley Blind, and to be honest, I wasn't so sure that the Americans were going to be able to come back from that, especially since they've had trouble scoring goals at this tournament.

But Haji Wright somehow got the ball into the back of the net 15 minutes from time and that made it interesting for a moment. The American fans in the crowd were on their feet, they were making noise, but then Denzel Dumfries was left completely unmarked at the far post, and he put it away to secure the game, three-one, meaning The Netherlands go on to play Argentina in the Quarterfinals, and the Americans are licking their wounds, and this is what the coach had to say afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COACH GREGG BERNHALTER, US MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: This is a difficult one to handle. It's such a good group of guys, such a close group of guys. And we came up short today, but not for the lack of trying, not for the lack of effort. The guys poured everything they had into this game, and unfortunately, we lost it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: And Pamela, if you look at the four games that they played in this tournament, they did really, really well in the group stage against England. That is a team that some have tipped to go on all the way and win the tournament. The drama and the emotion of the kind of political backdrop to the Iran game.

It was an amazing experience for those American players, and they successfully navigated that. And they always saw this tournament as a stepping stone to 2026 and imagine what they are going to be capable of in four years' time when they are four years older and wiser and they've got all that increased experience under their belts.

That's the one they're aiming for: Home advantage. That's when they want to peak. And so this all in all has been a terrific experience for them and I think they leave with their heads held high.

BROWN: I think that's a great perspective and we're all looking ahead then to 2026 here in America. Don Riddell, thank you so much.

Well, tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern, two-time Olympic gold medalist, Lindsay Tarpley is going to join us to talk about the Cup and what's next for soccer in America. That's just two hours from now right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, Team USA' loss to the Netherlands is certainly disappointing, but the fans CNN spoke to, they are still upbeat for the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The better team won today, that's for sure. But really proud of the US and the effort we made. We made it to the Sweet 16, which is good, and we weren't even here last tournament.

So, I'm optimistic about the future. The next tournament is going to be in America. And you know, the team is young. So, I think the future is very bright.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're a young team and we have a lot of potential and this wasn't our year, but that's okay. We're looking forward to the next one. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was an exciting game. It's unfortunate the way

it turned out, but I think we played well through the group stage. I'm really excited about 2026 in our hometown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Well, Brazilian soccer legend, Pele, has just posted on a statement on his social media saying he is: "... strong with a lot of hope." Local media reports today had suggested his health is deteriorating, but hospital officials say his health is stable as he recovers from a respiratory infection.

The 82-year-old has been hospitalized the last few days so doctors can reevaluate his cancer treatment. He had a tumor removed from his colon 14 months ago. Pele played in four World Cups and won three of them.

Well, molten lava is creeping towards one of the most important highways in Hawaii tonight as the world's largest volcano continues to erupt for the first time in decades. Look at this extraordinary video here.

Officials say the lava's rate of travel appears to be slowing down, but threats still remain on Hawaii's Big Island and that is where we find CNN's David Culver.

David, set the scene for us there on the ground.

[18:10:10]

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Pamela. You're probably seeing those live images that were just posted from USGS. This is a stream that's going out and they just put this up and it is interesting, because while you can't see it behind me, that's about 17 miles in that direction, maybe a bit more and that is not even the summit of what you see spewing out, and that's the only active part that's putting lava right now out here into the Big Island, and that's from Mauna Loa.

It is coming this direction, and it is moving at a slower pace than in days past. So, that's good for those folks who were concerned that it was going to cause some issues, particularly with one of the major Interstates that crosses over the Big Islands here. But for now, it is keeping its distance at about two and a half miles from us.

But this is a huge volcano, and it is one of five that make up the Big Island. And if you want to give it perspective for size, you could take all the other islands in Hawaii, and they would fit into Manau Loa, that tells you how massive it is.

Folks are taking their time out of their day to take in the sight. You see people driving along this road. It has become a one-way street, because officials want to be able to give people a safe space to pull over, and to check out the view.

And I'll tell you the best view, Pamela, tends to be at night. So you come out here at two, three, four in the morning, and you will see cars lining along this roadway as they see that glow from the lava reflecting against the sky.

It is like nothing I have ever seen before. It's quite stunning.

The concern though, as I mentioned, though, is that the lava will continue this way, and if that happens, they're going to have to close down this road. They are going to have to close down that main highway, the Saddle Road.

But as of now, they are saying that it may not do that. And if it did, they would have enough time to give folks a heads up, potentially up to two days' notice, and they would be able to close it safely. Still, though, it would cause a logistical nightmare.

One of the other real concerns is what it's up in the air, and it has to do with the vog, that's volcanic smog, acidic gases, so it is not smoke that you're seeing go up, but rather that vog, and so it can be very toxic. They are advising people who have respiratory issues to really keep away from here.

But for other folks, it's safe enough distance. They're using this as an opportunity to obviously capture photos, to bring lawn chairs, and just watch and some have made it a very spiritual, cultural, significant journey and brought offerings -- Pamela.

BROWN: With everything there, all right. David Culver, thanks so much. Just a remarkable sight, can't blame them for wanting to take it in.

Well, we have a lot more to cover tonight in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Coming up here directly from the man who survived falling off a cruise ship and then spent 15 hours floating in the Gulf of Mexico. His first interview with CNN.

Plus, Deshaun Watson making his NFL return this weekend after he was exiled from the league over sexual assault accusation. So, what kind of reception will he receive?

And then later, the head of the Anti-Defamation League says Kanye West's antisemitism isn't just a problem for Twitter or Adidas, it is a problem for all of us. That's ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:15]

BROWN: Well, the Alabama man who fell off a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico is speaking to CNN for the first time since his incredible rescue. He swam overnight for more than 15 hours before the Coast Guard pulled him out of the water.

CNN's Leyla Santiago joins us now. So, what did he tell you -- Leyla.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, he says that he is still alive today because he had a strong will to live and because he stayed positive. So let's talk about the timeline as he laid it out. He says Wednesday

night, he was on the cruise ship with his family. They had spent about two years planning this out. It was a pretty big group, 18 people and the last thing he remembers is hanging out with his family on that Carnival Cruise Ship around 10:30, Wednesday night.

He admits he had a few drinks but said he was far from inebriated and then somehow, and this is where there's a lot of questions, somehow he ends up going overboard. He finds himself in the ocean, blacked out at one point, finds himself in the ocean, swimming and the cruise ship is long gone. He doesn't even see it.

So I asked him, "How did you survive this?" He said a few things. He said one, I prayed a lot, even kind of bargained with God, he said. He expected there would be a rescue effort. He didn't at any point think he wasn't going to survive he says because he knew his mom would make sure a rescue effort was launched to find him.

And then he says he stayed positive, and one of the things he says that helped him do that was he sang songs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANTIAGO: What songs did you sing?

GRIMES: "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay." But I kind of just made up my own words to it. It's more like, I wish I was sitting on the dock of the bay, but the waves pushing me away just a beast of burden.

But it was more like I've never been a sea urchin. I swim for miles, Lord. My body is hurting. Now, I was just trying to stay positive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANTIAGO: So, he really did find positivity to be sort of the strategy to stay alive here, and I know he has a pretty good sense of humor about it. But when you get real here, I mean, this was shark infested waters.

He was stung by jellyfish that he had one stuck to the back of his neck. He was sunburned. The saltwater was getting to him.

After the rescue, he says he was in the ICU for four days, now kind of struggling to figure out how he is going to pay for that, but he walks away positive, with a sense of humor, and a sense of gratitude.

He says that next year, he is hoping to head down to Louisiana to say, "Thank you," and shake the hand of the Coast Guard officer that rescued him -- Pamela.

[18:20:04]

BROWN: Wow. What a story. My goodness, and what resilience he has and positive attitude as you pointed out. Incredible.

Leyla Santiago, thank you. Well, Democrats are on the verge of changing how they pick a nominee

for President and it's not just about Iowa and New Hampshire anymore.

Up next, the changes and what they could mean for future presidential elections.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, the Midterm Election isn't quite over with the Georgia Senate seat to be decided on Tuesday, but the Democratic National Committee it is already looking ahead to 2024, on Friday, voting to let South Carolina move to the front of the line for presidential primaries.

[18:25:07]

BROWN: CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us now with more. So, Arlette, this change, it also has to be approved by the DNC. Why would it be such a big deal? Help us better understand that.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela President Biden's proposal to change the primary calendar will upend decades of how these primaries have been conducted. The President propose moving South Carolina to the very start of that calendar and kicking Iowa out of the early nominating process.

After South Carolina, the President has suggested they do New Hampshire and Nevada. On the same day, of course, New Hampshire has been the first primary while Iowa had been the first caucus. And then they are also introducing Georgia, which has really become a battleground state in recent years, and also adding in Michigan.

Now, the President's reason for making this proposal is he wants to see a more diverse slate of States having an early say in the nominating process. This is something that the President talked about as a candidate back in 2020, saying that diverse States and voices needed to have their voices heard.

Of course, Iowa and New Hampshire are two states that have a predominantly white population. You have a much more diverse population, especially in the Democratic Party down in South Carolina and Nevada as well, and the President is hoping that Democrats will be making these changes. That rule has been -- the proposed rule has been approved, but the Democratic National Committee will have to have a broader vote on this proposal early next year.

BROWN: And this is also a challenge for the States to organize because of party politics, right?

SAENZ: Yes. There is definitely some hurdles ahead for actually getting these calendar dates changed. Each State selects their own primary dates and has their own process for doing so, and there is also -- they will be running up against the fact that Republicans are planning at this moment to keep their slate of primary States the same in the calendar, and if you take a look at a state like Georgia, for instance, the Secretary of State there is charged with selecting a single date for both the Democratic and the Republican primaries in that State.

So each of these States certainly will have many hurdles that they will have to overcome. Iowa and New Hampshire have it in their legislation that they are enshrined to have those first in the nation caucuses and primaries, but the Democratic National Committee has said that these five States that they are proposing will be in their early nominating contests that they will have until early January to make those changes to ensure that they can do that.

BROWN: All right, Arlette Saenz, thanks so much.

And joining us with more is Nevada Democratic Congressman, Steve Horsford.

So Congressman. Hi, good to see you.

This new primary schedule could make your home state the second with New Hampshire to hold its primary. How do you think this new calendar will help your party get a better nominee for President?

REP. STEVE HORSFORD (D-NV): Well, thank you, Pamela, for having me on. And, you know, we're very pleased that Nevada has been moved up and because we are a cross section of diversity that represents America, that is what we said from the very beginning of the process.

We've done a great job in selecting our Democratic nominee since 2008, since we were brought into the pre-window, and we believe that now that we are number two behind South Carolina that this will provide an opportunity for more diverse constituents, from Latino, Asian- American, Pacific Islander, African-American, indigenous communities, labor households, working class, individuals here throughout Nevada to have a voice in the selection of our presidential nominee.

BROWN: And we should note this week, you were elected to Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in the upcoming Congress. You will serve your two-year term under a GOP-controlled house. What do you think? Can you work with Republicans in Congress on CBC priorities?

HORSFORD: Well, first, I am absolutely honored to be coming in as the 28th Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 118 Congress, but another historic selection was that of our Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries from the New York, who is the first African-American to serve as the head of any party, any major party for Congress, and will be the next Speaker, when we take back the majority.

We are going to work on behalf of the American people to protect democracy, to create economic opportunity that doesn't leave anyone behind, and to make sure that we hold the majority accountable, to make sure that that agenda reflects what the American people want, which is for us to focus on their issues, and not partisan issues.

BROWN: But just following up on the initial question. How do you plan or do you think you can work with Republicans? It is one thing to say we are going to hold them accountable; it is another to say, we're going to work with them. We're going to work with them on priorities, we're going to reach across the aisle. What do you think? [18:30:11]

HORSFORD: Well, I'm also a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, which is half Republican and half Democrats. As you know, in the last two years, under a Democratic majority in Congress and with President Biden, we have worked to pass the bipartisan infrastructure and Investment act, a Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and so many other bills.

So yes, on behalf of the American people, we will work to deliver on their issues, but we'll do so putting people over politics and that will be the focus that we will carry into the 118th Congress.

BROWN: So there are currently no GOP members of the Congressional Black Caucus, do you see that changing under your leadership?

HORSFORD: Well, there's nothing that prohibits it and any member can seek to join and to participate within the Congressional Black Caucus. We have had Republican members join the Congressional Black Caucus in previous sessions. And so I look forward to having them, if that is the case, and again I'm willing to work with anyone that will put the issues of the American people around voting rights, around economic opportunity around healthcare before partisanship.

BROWN: So just to be clear, so there are two Republican black members of the House. You would welcome them into the CBC because as you may recall, in 2021, Byron Donalds claimed he was being blocked from admission.

HORSFORD: Yeah. Well, that - I'm not going to rehash the past all I can say as there's nothing prohibiting any member from joining the Congressional Black Caucus from the other side of the aisle. And so my - I'm open to hearing from them, if that's the case and we have our swearing in for the 118th Congress in January and under our rules, and the bylaws of the Congressional Black Caucus, that's when any new members would be sworn in.

BROWN: So before we go, we got to mention Congress is staring down at December 16th deadline to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. Here we go again, right? So can you get it done? I mean, you got it - the American people are just so tired of this.

HORSFORD: I agree. I am one of them and I understand the impact that not having a budget that's approved through the appropriations process, the impact that that has, I'm on the Budget Committee as well as Ways and Means, so we have an obligation now.

In the House, we've done our part. We've passed all of the major appropriations bills. This upcoming week, we will pass the National Defense Authorization Act. And I believe that before the end of December, we will pass an appropriations bill.

But it cannot be another continuing resolution, because that does harm, not only to our defense, but our non defense areas of our federal budget and the American people are expecting Congress to do its job and we will work to do what they expect of us. BROWN: All right. Congressman Steve Horsford, thank you for your time,

nice to have you on the show. Appreciate it.

HORSFORD: Great to be on, thank you.

BROWN: Well, Deshaun Watson, he has not been on a football field in over 700 days, but fans and the women accusing him of sexual assault haven't forgotten why he wasn't playing. I'm going to speak to Bob Costas about the controversy and why the NFL has had such a hard time handling in. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:37:50]

BROWN: Well, tomorrow, Deshaun Watson will play in an NFL game for the first time in more than 700 days and he might not be returning too many cheers. Watson's return comes after an 11 game suspension and $5 million fine. More than two dozen women have accused the NFL star of sexual misconduct. Watson will take the field with his new team the Cleveland Browns against his old team, the Houston Texans. Some of his accusers say they'll be in the stance.

CNN Contributor Bob Costas joins us now.

So Bob, Watson, he was fined, suspended, but he is back playing for the Browns, millions of fans will be watching him. What do you make of all of this?

BOB COSTAS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it could be quite a scene in Houston. Obviously, no love lost there. Texans fans, he didn't play all of last year while the situation was adjudicated. So he'll probably hear not just boos but catcalls of one kind or another.

And Tony Buzbee, the attorney who represented the vast majority of the women who brought suits against Deshaun Watson has rented a suite at the stadium and says as many as 10 of his accusers will be in attendance, so there you go.

BROWN: Yeah. And we're actually going to have in a lawyer for the accusers on the show tomorrow. But you mentioned the fact that some of the accusers are going to be there at the game and you have to wonder, do you think Cleveland regrets trading for him?

COSTAS: Well, obviously, their biggest concern, no matter what they say is whether he can play to his previous level. He was a terrific player. But keep in mind, the shelf life of most pro athletes is relatively short. And essentially, he hasn't played in two years. They gave up three first round draft choices to Houston to get him.

If he turns out to be only so, so then I think, despite all the protestations to the contrary, that's when they would really regret it. They made every possible excuse for him, the owners, the front office people, we think he's working on improving himself, we believe in him. For Watson's part, he has not acknowledged forthrightly any wrongdoing. He kind of talk surrounded and whatever. [18:40:01]

He's shown no contrition, no true contrition and he's going to hear it every place but Cleveland. Sadly --

BROWN: Yeah.

COSTAS: -- although I'm sure that many Cleveland fans are not happy with the situation, either. There's always no matter what franchise you're talking about, there's always a portion of fans who as long as the guy performs and as long as the team wins, that's more important to them than whatever else is in the background.

BROWN: Yeah. No, I think that's a - that's the reality for sure. And you mentioned he doesn't show contrition, he refused this week to answer any questions, not about football.

COSTAS: Mm-hm.

BROWN: What do you think about that? Is that a smart move to avoid more legal trouble or is it a mistake, since he's talked about it in the past, right?

COSTAS: Well, that's probably what he's been advised to do. The NFL has a PR problem on its hands, but at least they've made clear that their desire was to suspend him for the entire year. The independent arbiter at first, although she said that Watson's behavior was the most egregious when compared to anything that previously has been on the radar in terms of misbehavior of a sexual assault sort with an NFL player and she directly called him a predator based on precedent, she felt she couldn't suspend him for longer than six games.

The NFL appealed that they wanted a full season and then they settled on the 11 games in negotiations with the NFL Players Association. But to show you how cynical some of this stuff can be, he has a guaranteed contract for well over $200 million. But the way they structured the contract when he came to Cleveland and anticipation of a suspension is that he's only making a million dollars this year.

So the 11 games will cost him a little bit less than $700,000. That's serious money to most of us, but he's getting more than $200 million, so it's a cynical move.

BROWN: Shaking my head on that one, Bob Costas. Wow.

And with that as the backdrop, what you just mentioned, he is not the first player to be let back in after allegations of sexual assault and to get these big paychecks. I mean, is the NFL really hardening its stance? How do you think they've been handling this?

COSTAS: Well, I think they have a legitimate concern, I'd like to think they have a legitimate concern about the severity of his actions or the accusations against him. And he's settled all but one or two of these cases without a direct admission of guilt, but you can infer whatever you infer from having settled most of these two dozen or so cases. But the NFL is also aware that a large portion of its fan base is

female and this looks terrible. But what they'll try to put out there and they will have truth on their side to a large extent is that they wanted a more serious penalty. And they got what they could get, after the arbiter decided what she decided in the NFL Players Association and any players association, no matter how egregious the behavior, it's part of what they do to try and mitigate the penalty against the player. That happens in all leagues, regardless of how they may feel about the behavior itself, it's part of their job to reduce the penalty to whatever extent they can.

BROWN: All right. Bob Costas, so great to have you on the Saturday. We appreciate your time and a reminder that tomorrow at 6 pm, we're going to talk live with Tony Buzbee, an attorney representing some of Watson's accusers we were just talking about in that conversation with Bob there.

Well, a rogue wave kills one woman on a cruise ship coming out of nowhere and a store. We're going to have more on that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:06]

BROWN: Well, investigation is underway by Viking cruise lines after a rogue wave hit one of their ships killing an American woman and injuring four others. Passengers were taken an Antarctic cruise aboard the Viking Polaris when it was hit by a storm as it sailed towards Argentina this week.

The wave hit the side of the ship breaking windows and then broken glass from those panes apparently hit the victims. So where do these rogue waves come from? We're going to talk to CNN Meteorologist Gene Norman next hour, so be sure to stay tuned for that.

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is calling out the European Union for its "weak position" on capping the price of Russian oil. The EU agreed to set the cap at $60 a barrel just days before its ban on most Russian imports comes into force. Zelenskyy tonight called the cap still comfortable for the budget of a terrorist state.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister says there is no reason to think the U.S. is playing behind Ukraine's back. He was responding to President Biden's willingness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin if "he's looking for a way to end the war."

And former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the U.S. and its allies should keep up military pressure on Russia. She spoke to CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: The real challenge for us is to keep supporting the brave people of Ukraine, especially as they fight back and push back the Russian occupiers. The fewer Russian occupiers who are on their territory, the fewer women and girls who will be subjected to rape.

And I hope that as we move into the winter, which we know will be especially brutal for the people of Ukraine, that we don't lose our commitment or our absolute passion to help them with every tool that they need with military means, with humanitarian aid.

[18:50:08]

And I also think it's time for the United States and NATO to take another look at providing more defensive weapons. Because what the Russians are doing is trying to literally bomb the Ukrainian people into submission by destroying their power generators, their electricity grid. They will not succeed, but the suffering will increase.

So anything that can be done to give the Ukrainian military more means of rebuffing these brutal bombing attacks, we need to be looking much more closely at doing that.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: So you think and you would support the United States getting more sophisticated anti- missile defense systems, and also the U.S. has called several times I've spoken to senators on both sides, that their big ally, Israel should do the same thing with the Iron Dome that the U.S. provides, et cetera. What would you say to your own country and to allies in this regard and others in Europe as well?

CLINTON: I would say exactly what you said, it is time to give much more sophisticated defense measures. And I know there's a new government in Israel and they are rightly concerned about Iran. And because they are, they need to understand that Iran and Russia have now made an alliance where Iran is assisting Russia, particularly with drone technology to reap even greater destruction on Ukraine.

I now believe it should be understood to be in Israel's interest to try to undercut and prevent Iran from succeeding because if Iran and Russia deepen their military alliances outside of Syria, where they've also been working together for a number of years, that is very dangerous for the entire world, but in particular for Israel.

So Iron Dome, other means of defense, I think defensive measures are called for and wherever they come from the United States, other NATO nations Israel, now is the time to send a very clear message to both Russia and Iran, that their behavior, their bombardment of Ukraine, they're learning lessons that they could maybe apply in invading, occupying or bombing other nations will be stopped right now.

So yes, I agree completely with those calls and I hope that there's a lot of conversation going on to try to move forward on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

Well, we are seeing more businesses offering you a chance to tip employees, I'm sure you've noticed that. And it's not just restaurants anymore, and not everyone is so happy about all of this. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:57:47]

BROWN: Well, the next time you grab a baguette from the supermarket, you'll be buying an official piece of French cultural heritage. How about that? This week UNESCO added this style of bread to its list of items that should be safeguarded and passed on to future generations and for good reason.

The French buy 6 billion baguettes every year. For instance bid to receive this designation included over 200 endorsements, letters from bakers and children's drawings.

Well, everyone knows you should tip servers at a restaurant and now other businesses are asking for the same and it is a trend that not everyone likes. Here's CNN's Isabel Rosales.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THOMAS FARLEY, ETIQUETTE EXPERT: I actually prefer not to call it tipflation, but a tipping invasion.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's the unwelcome shopping surprise that a social media buzzing --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eighteen percent gratuity is already included in the bill. Girl, it's water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES (voice over): Tips, a staple of the service industry now extending far beyond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the drive through they've been asking for a tip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES (voice over): On TikTok you'll quickly find folks aren't too pleased about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ordering online myself, you add a tip at the bottom. A tip for what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a little too crazy for me and I refuse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES (voice over): So what's the deal?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIPAYAN BISWAS: The wage moving I see becoming more widespread.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES (voice over): Professor Dipayan Biswas who studied tipping for a decade, he says this new tipping trend started with the boom of digital kiosks. Then the pandemic plus inflation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISWAS: It added fuel to that fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES (voice over): More businesses allowing tips to make jobs more lucrative at your expense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISWAS: That's my biggest worry that it might actually affect the industry where it really matters the most.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES (voice over): This is Mr. Manners (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FARLEY: The very concept of a tip is that we are rewarding a service employee who's being paid less than minimum wage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES (voice over): Thomas Farley has a tip without hesitation list and just three people make the cut: servers, bartenders and washroom attendants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FARLEY: I really wonder where's the line. It is accelerated beyond all of our wildest nightmares.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES (voice over): To avoid tipping, pay cash. But if plastic is a must --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FARLEY: You need to own your position. You do not need to feel guilty about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROSALES (voice over): There's power and saying no.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FARLEY: Now, that's worth a tip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:00:02]

I'm Isabel Rosales, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.