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Argentina Wins 2022 World Cup; Jan. 6 Committee To Vote On Criminal Referrals Tomorrow; El Paso Mayor Declares State Of Emergency; Kevin McCarthy Scrambles To Find Votes To Win House Speaker Race; Brutally Cold Temperatures To Blanket U.S. This Week; Soon: Annual Lighting Ceremony Of The National Menorah. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 18, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:27]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

What a match. And if you missed it, well here we go. The World Cup final living up to the hype and then some. Argentina defeating defending champions France in a thrilling penalty kick shoot-out.

The score tied up at 3-3 after an overtime period that saw each side hit the back of the net. For star striker Lionel Messi, it is redemption, capturing his first World Cup title on his fifth attempt.

CNN has reporters around the globe with reaction to this instant classic match. This is the scene in Buenos Aires. Thousands of soccer fans gather in celebration, I mean a sea of people.

And in the middle of it all, CNN's Stefano Pozzebon, he is there, wearing this confetti-like material because the crowd was all over you and all over this. This match went back and forth, how are the people there doing? I know they're excited.

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: A lot of excitement that is in the grandstand. You can see the sheer joy of celebration. It's a triumph that the Argentina national team -- sorry -- has been waiting for, for more than 36 years.

And finally these has been (INAUDIBLE). And it's just sheer celebration and pure South American passion for the football.

We've seen the match. The match has gone first the Argentinian, then they've change it and France was able to go back in. But then Lionel Messi, just as you said, Fredricka -- Lionel Messi, the prodigal son, the player who left Argentina when he was 13 to learn how to play football in Europe, learned how to play football at Barcelona, going back and giving this country a joy that has been missing for more than 36 years, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Stefano, thank you so much. I can see excitement but at the same time they're getting a little out of hand. I don't like the assaulting the reporter there. So Stefano, take care of yourself there.

Don, people are very excited from DOHA and beyond as you saw there in Buenos Aires. But you know, I know the soccer fans sometimes can, you know, get really super exuberant there and excited. But let's not go overboard.

So let's talk about what was an incredible finish there. I mean really it was an incredible game throughout and then that finish.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Fredricka, I mean, it's been an amazing tournament, to be fair. But often when matches or finals are overhyped they almost certainly never live up to the billing.

And for a World Cup final, often they're kind of cagey, tense affairs. This was anything but.

And myself and the reporters that I've spoken to that have just witnessed this game are all in agreement, this is the greatest match we have ever seen. And there have been some great matches over the years in different competitions.

But for this to have played out the way it did in the World Cup final was absolutely extraordinary. It was epic.

Argentina looked as though they had it in the bag. They were 2-0 up with about 12 minutes to go but then France, who of course, the defending champions, struck back with two goals in 97 minutes.

Then Argentina went ahead again with Lionel Messi second of the game. Then France equalizer Kylian Mbappe's hat trick, his third of the game. And then it went to penalties and those were all with rollercoasters and that is how it turned out to be again.

But this was a match that wasn't just a contest between France and Argentina. There were so many other sub plots and of course, the main one being could Messi in his fifth and final World Cup finally win the only trophy that had ever eluded him?

They came close to blowing it. But he is finally standing on top of the world. And it really feel like destiny fulfilled.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. That was exciting and it really was hard to, you know, anticipate how is this going to end because it got so close between those two teams. But congratulations to Argentina and of course Messi.

[14:04:50]

WHITFIELD: So Don, you know, as fantastic as all of this was, people are already thinking about the next World Cup and that will be hosted here in North America just four years from now. So any predictions on, you know, how the tournament might look compared to lessons learned there in Doha?

RIDDELL: Yes. Well, it's actually only three and a half years away so that's great news for football fans. We don't have long to wait because of course, this would have been a tournament played in the summer. But it was moved to the winter because it's so hot here in Qatar. It's going to be a bigger World Cup. It's going to be 48 teams playing as opposed to the 32 that have been competing here.

It remains to be seen whether it's going to be bigger and better. Honestly, it is going to be really, really difficult to match the drama that we have seen not just in this final but throughout this tournament.

It's been a tournament of (INAUDIBLE). There've been so many matches where the underdog has won, results have not been what we were expecting. Some exhilarating moments. And for it to end with a game like this I think it's going to be very, very difficult for any World Cup tournament to match what we've seen over the last month and over the last 120 minutes. It really has been an epic.

But of course, in North America -- Canada, Mexico, the United States -- where you and I both reside, there is going to be so much excitement about that tournament and especially surrounding the United States team who performed very, very well in this tournament.

They were one of the youngest sides here. They acquitted themselves very well. And of course, they'll be three and a half years older in 2026 and expecting to do big things.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, lots can change, of course, we know.

Don Riddell, Stefano Pozzebon, thanks so much for both of you bringing so much exhilarating football/soccer play here to our airways from DOHA, from Buenos Aires and also reporting on the fans who are very excited and passionate about their teams. But sometimes, as we just noticed in both of these live shots, sometimes a little too overzealous and got to know and respect the boundaries.

All right. Thanks to both of you all.

All right. Tomorrow, back in this country, the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection will use its final public hearing to vote on criminal referrals to the Justice Department against former President Donald Trump.

Over the past 17 months, the panel has interviewed hundreds of witnesses and held nearly a dozen hearings, investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his role in inciting the Capitol riot. On Monday they are expected to refer at least three criminal charges against Trump, these referrals to the U.S. Justice Department.

CNN's Zach Cohen joining us now. Zach, good to see you again. The committee meeting tomorrow. Lay out the plan. What can we all expect?

ZACH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, tomorrow is really the grand finale for a committee that spent the last 17 months investigating the January 6 insurrection and also Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. You know, this has really been an unprecedented investigation both in

scope and in scale. And tomorrow we're going to really get a chance to hear the committee's closing message. And part of that message is going to be that the former president committed crimes.

We know that the committee, sources are telling us, the committee is considering at least three criminal referrals to the Justice Department related to former President Donald Trump. Those crimes include obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the federal government, and most notably, insurrection.

Now, the last one is really interesting. That would be an unprecedented statute to try to lean on as a congressional body but, you know, we're going to hear more about that tomorrow as the committee runs through its evidence and runs through statute by statute why it believes the former president committed crimes.

WHITFIELD: And Zach, committee member Congressman Adam Schiff offered his thoughts on criminal referrals earlier today on "STATE OF THE UNION". What did he say?

COHEN: Yes. Fredricka, simply put, Adam Schiff believes that Donald Trump violated multiple laws in his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. And take a listen to what he told our colleague, Jake Tapper, earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): As a former prosecutor I think there is sufficient evidence to charge the president.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: To get a conviction, though?

SCHIFFER: Well, I don't know what the Justice Department has. I do know what's in the public record. The evidence seems pretty plain to me.

This is someone who in multiple ways tried to pressure state officials to find votes that didn't exist. This is someone who tried to interfere with a joint session, even inciting a mob to attack the Capitol. If that's not criminal, then I don't know what is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Yes. And Congressman Schiff also was asked specifically about that insurrection statute. And he seemed to think that Donald Trump's actions lined up pretty well with what the statute says as far as violating.

He pointed out interestingly that to violate the insurrection statue, you not only have -- you can incite the violence or you can give aid or comfort to those who did.

So it will be interesting to see if the committee tries to make that case tomorrow as it unveils its evidence and body of work during tomorrow's meeting. [14:09:57]

WHITFIELD: And with these potential referrals, what kind of impact are we expecting they may or may not make over all and even on the DOJ investigations?

COHEN: Yes. The referrals themselves are largely symbolic. The committee is not a prosecutorial entity. But at the same time we've heard over and over again from these members, especially the last two weeks that as the investigation went on and as they continue to receive the body of evidence that they had to say something because they believe more than ever that Donald Trump committed crimes and that for the historical record even, just to be on record as a committee and saying this is what we believe.

That is really the significance of the referral that we are likely to hear about tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: All right. Zach Cohen, of course, we'll all be watching. It will be live right here on CNN. Thank you so much Zach Cohen in Washington.

Let's talk more about all of this with John Dean. He is a CNN contributor and a former Nixon White House Counsel. So good to see you.

So based on what you have heard so far from these hearings, do you believe the committee has made the case that former President Trump should be charged with one or more crimes?

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think they've made an overwhelming case, Fredricka. I wouldn't miss the fun (ph) back here in Washington to watch it live tomorrow. So I think that they have much more evidence than we know.

We know from the ten hearings what they have generally laid out. They have cited criminal statutes along the way. Liz Cheney read from a statute and then showed how they had evidence that hit right on all fours (ph) on that statute.

But I think the report that they are preparing to release later in the week will be highlighted tomorrow. They may even release an executive summary of it tomorrow.

So it's a big day. It's an important day. It's a historic day. That Watergate committee didn't venture this far when they were investigating Richard Nixon.

WHITFIELD: And then I wonder, you know, in your view, what will the statement be if after 17 months, a dozen witnesses and thousands of documents, no charges are filed by the DOJ?

DEAN: Well, that would be kind of surprising given the fact that the attorney general has selected a special prosecutor to make that decision. And they don't do that lightly. The department is very proud and they can say no as well as a special

prosecutor. Very unlikely you'd bring a special prosecutor in to say no though. They've got somebody who is trained and able to prosecute these cases.

And I think that you know, even if they didn't do Trump there are certainly many others. But I think they will include Trump. And that's a unique problem in our system. We have not prosecuted a former president.

And there are all kinds of political fallout from that. There are practical fallouts from that. And there are legal fallouts from it.

WHITFIELD: And will those legal fallouts, the political fallouts, I mean could that kind of overwhelm the importance of proceeding? You know, might it outweigh or allow for any real reticence to move forward on prosecuting a former president?

DEAN: I think that they'll make decisions along the way that, you know, there's a very real possibility that his violation of national security laws in protecting documents that he took with him could come before the department has to make a decision on January 6 and his participation in the insurrection. He's already been impeached for that. The public is generally aware from the impeachment proceeding of what he did and how he did it.

But he may well find himself facing an indictment even before the recommendations of the committee this week come to play. So it's a very complex and very interesting and very historic event.

WHITFIELD: It is. I mean during the Watergate hearings, you know, as you just mentioned, you know, President Nixon faced impeachment charges and a federal grand jury, you know, was also prepared to indict him on four criminal counts for his role in the Watergate scandal. But he resigned and was pardoned so he was never charged.

For Trump, he has already announced that he is running for president again, 2024. Isn't he already sending the message that he thinks he will escape indictments?

DEAN: It's hard to read his decision to run for president and as early as he made it as anything other than a defense of sorts that would cast the effort to prosecute him in a very political light.

That's the way he would want it. That's the way he can attract attention to his base and say this is just a witch hunt. They don't want me to win the presidency again.

[14:14:55]

DEAN: Well, I don't think he's going to win the presidency again. I'm not even sure he will win the nomination again. But this gives him some cover, political cover, which actually in a court of law should make no difference.

WHITFIELD: In your view, are these committee findings, whatever the report might say and the potential, you know, DOJ next moves. Is it all less about former President Trump and more about protecting the sanctity of the U.S. presidency and democracy?

DEAN: I think it's very much about our democracy and not having our presidents abuse their power and use it to somehow corrupt the election process. I think the president has to be called on this, and it would be surprising if this doesn't play out in what for Trump will be the worst case scenario.

WHITFIELD: John Dean, always a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much. You will be right in front of that television set, as we know millions of other viewers will, too.

And of course, this programming reminder. Thank you so much and happy holidays to you.

DEAN: You too.

WHITFIELD: Here's a reminder. We will have special live coverage of tomorrow's January 6 committee hearing and that begins at noon Eastern right here on CNN.

All right. Still to come, the city of El Paso, Texas declaring a state of emergency following a surge of migrants from across the border. It's a surge that is expected to increase with the end of Title 42 this week. We'll take you live to the southern border next.

[14:16:26]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Federal officials are preparing for a surge in migrants at the U.S./Mexico border when Title 42 expires this week. The Trump-era policy allowed border officials to turn away asylum seekers over public health reasons amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In a new interview Texas Governor Greg Abbott said migrants coming across the border pose a public health risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Whether it's COVID or some other issues, when you have people coming up across the globe without knowing at all what their health status is, that almost by definition is a public health risk. there's every reason to keep that in place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: More than 2,000 migrants arrived in El Paso, Texas, each day in the past week, according to officials there. The mayor says hundreds of migrants are on the streets in unsafe conditions as temperatures begin to drop.

Live now to CNN's Gustavo Valdes in Ciudad Juarez Mexico -- across the border from El Paso. So Gustavo, the mayor of El Paso just declared a state of emergency in response to the increase of people. How might this help, and what are you experiencing on the Mexican border?

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is something, Fredricka, that he had been facing pressure to declare the state of emergency, even local officials in El Paso has been asking him to do this, that perhaps would allow to request more federal money to help him with this issue.

He says that come Wednesday when Title 42 expires up to 6,000 migrants might arrive, and he believes that the federal government is not ready to deal with them.

It's not just Wednesday that they have to deal. Let me show you. They continue to cross. This is a group of about 50 that are arrived in the last 20 minutes. They are waiting to be let into the country and today we're not seeing the vans or buses taking them somewhere else. They're actually being walked into the city somewhere else. That is been the case in the past couple of days. The crossings are continuing and the temperatures are dropping.

You can see there's a family there that they're whether to pass or not. A couple of children. It's very cold. The temperature is in the low 40s, but the windchill makes it feel a lot colder.

One thing you don't see much of is police presence on the Mexican side. We have seen some local police sometimes just making sure that nothing happens warning the migrants who are gathered here not to throw rocks or do any action that might be perceived as aggressive towards the border patrol.

But the local authorities here are fearful that come Wednesday if the federal immigration agents on the U.S. side are overwhelmed with the migrant crossing here, the legal crossings might be harmed and that might also have an effect on the trade that goes on daily and people who have to cross every day to go to work on both sides of the border.

The concern here is what response will the U.S. government have to this surge on Wednesday and the effect it might have on legal crossings along El Paso and Juarez.

Oh my goodness. Gustavo, I want to ask you more about the welfare, you know, of the people there on the Ciudad Juarez, Mexico side where you are. You mentioned no police, no accommodations. I mean there are no comforts whatsoever.

I saw a lot of this shot before we even came to you live. I mean it looks absolutely miserable. And so, I mean is there a way in which you can describe how people who do show up there, I mean what do they do? I mean how are they hunkering down in these cold temperatures, again, no comforts. I mean it just looks miserable.

VALDES: Yes. And it has been complicated. There are some shelters that are overwhelmed and people are just crowded. Some people tell me they have just stayed at the bus station. They get off the bus, they come see that they can't cross and they decide that's a safe place. The local authorities here also fear that if they know there are

thousands of people waiting in the shelters. There might be even more in this so-called fast houses.

[14:24:53]

VALDES: Those are the people who are -- they pay somebody to smuggle them in or help them cross into the states. They might be waiting until Wednesday to release them and let them come. So the numbers are changing by the minute.

And then we just saw a lady who just got off the bus coming all the way from Nicaragua, a 22-day journey over here. She just crossed. She said for her days don't matter, she just needed to get across.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Gustavo Valdes, thank you so much for your reporting. Of course, we'll continue to watch as the days get closer to that expiration date.

All right. Now to the brewing battle on Capitol Hill over who will be the next House Speaker. In just a little over two weeks, House Republicans are scheduled to vote on the speakership and GOP leader Kevin McCarthy is still scrambling to find the votes to win the job. Several conservative hard-liners are threatening to upend his bid.

CNN's Daniella Diaz is here with the latest on this very heated fight.

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the clock is ticking for Kevin McCarthy, who is running for speaker on January 3rd and hopes to clinch the gavel but right now does not have enough votes to do just that.

He needs 218 votes on January 3rd (ph) to become speaker and we know of at least five Republicans who have come out and said they do not plan to support him on that day. Those five being Ralph Norman, Matt Gaetz, Andy Biggs, Matt Rosendale and Bob Good. Of course these members saying there are more out there that do not plan to support McCarthy but these are the ones we know of just right now.

But look, McCarthy and his allies have expressed optimism that it might take a few times, a few ballots on January 3, the first day of the new Congress for him to become speaker. But they believe that he can and McCarthy receiving an 11th hour endorsement from former President Donald Trump who told Breitbart Radio over the weekend that he thinks it's important for Republicans who oppose McCarthy to rally behind him now because he deserves the best shot for this.

Of course, that being what Trump said. And his allies, very optimistic. That he can pull this through. Take a listen to what Mike Gallagher, Republican in the House told our Jake Tapper earlier today on "STATE OF THE UNION" about the optimism he's feeling that McCarthy can pull this through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-WI): Well, I think we will get there. And I'm not budging off my support of Speaker McCarthy. But you're right to suggest that there's no time to waste here. We can't spend all of January just mired in this internal battle. We need to populate various committees. There's all sorts of work that needs to be done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAZ: Now, it's not just Mike Gallagher expressing those sentiments. We're hearing that from McCarthy himself who has said repeatedly he plans to take this fight for the Speaker to the floor. So that is what we would expect to see in the next coming days whether he can persuade those five House Republicans to support him, whether Trump's endorsement for McCarthy will change their minds as well.

Daniella Diaz, CNN -- Washington.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.

Coming up over 260 million Americans will see temperatures at or below freezing this week in some areas. Wind chills could dip as low as 60 degrees below zero.

Is that even possible? We'll bring you the latest forecast straight ahead.

[14:28:11]

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[14:32:44]

WHITFIELD: A polar plunge will send temperatures plunging this week. Two hundred sixty million people, that's 80 percent of the population, will see temperature at or below freezing throughout the two-week holiday travel season. The arctic blast coming on the heels of a nor'easter that has dropped more than two feet of snow in parts of the northeast this weekend.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking all of it for us.

I mean, 60 below. How is it being possible?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is, and it's also very dangerous. Frostbite can set in in less than five minutes. So, again, when these conditions come in, you want to stay indoors as much as possible and cover up any exposed skin that you may have.

Now that cold air is going to begin in the northern plains, but eventually it's going to start to spread elsewhere, we're talking dangerous levels. Not just the temperature but the wind. When you combine the two, you're going to get wind chills, dangerous ones, which is why you have wind chill and watches in effect. Well, a lot of these areas, that wind chill will get down to minus 45 and minus 60. For some of these areas it's for a prolonged period of time, too.

Again, it's not just the northern plains. That area will continue to spread down to the south and east impacting so many other states and communities even southern ones. To emphasize how cold it will get this is Fargo. The high temperature, not the low, the high temperature that day is only going to get to minus 11. That doesn't take into account the wind chill for some of those days.

Chicago likely to get into the 20s the early portion of the week. By Saturday those temperatures will be in single digits. Here is another reason why that matters. When this low-pressure system that will enter the Pacific Northwest on Monday and Tuesday of this week continues to slide across the country, that means that cold air is already in place so the bulk of the moisture this system will bring will be in the familiar of snow, not just for the West, Fred, but as it moves through the Midwest and Great Lakes as well.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. That is a dangerous forecast. Thank you so much, Allison Chinchar.

All right. In just a few hours, the first night of Hanukkah and the national menorah lighting ceremony will begin outside the White House.

[14:35:02]

I'll talk with the rabbi who is leading the ceremony next.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Tonight, Lisa Ling is back with the final all- new episode of "THIS IS LIFE." Up first, Lisa takes a look at how the country's alcohol problem exploded during the pandemic and is now impacting record numbers of people around the country. Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, CNN HOST: So, how hard does someone have to drink to get to the point where they develop liver disease?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So for a woman, that would be four drinks a day. A man, it would be five. If you're binge drinking, it's that pattern of alcohol use that leads to more severe liver dysfunction.

LING: I know there are probably a lot of people who may not be seeing the consequences now, but is it giving birth to what could be just a disastrous situation years down the line?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think we're already there.

[14:40:00]

The number of referrals for liver transplants in young people, particularly young women, have gone up. I mean, a week before Friday, we got 24 referrals for liver transplant in one day.

LING: In your entire career, have you ever --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no.

LING: -- would you have ever thought?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, never. Alcohol is the biggest problem in America and it's one that no one has really talked about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Until now.

Lisa Ling is talking about it with "THIS IS LIFE".

Good to see you, Lisa.

So that doctor says alcohol is the biggest problem in the country right now. Help put that into perspective. How did we get to this point?

LING: Well, Fred, I can't think of a substance that is more celebrated or used to celebrate than alcohol but, in fact, it is one of the biggest killers in America. It kills more people than prescription spills, heroin and cocaine combined. Approximately, 15 million Americans struggled with alcohol use disorder.

But you're right, we don't talk about it. I mean, that doctor we featured in the clip, he has been a transplant surgeon for over 20 years, and he said that for most of his career, he would conduct transplants on men who had been progressively drinking up until their 60s. But in the last couple of years, there has been a 325 percent increase in people waiting for a liver transplant, and the biggest population these days has been women under the age of 35.

WHITFIELD: And why did they believe that is?

LING: Well, women just don't process alcohol the same way. Our bodies are different. And it's been astounding. I mean, Fred, I'll be honest. When the pandemic started, I started drinking, just to get myself through the day at the end of the night, when my kids went to bed, I had to have a drink

And then, seven months later, it became two drinks. Then I started to realize like I'm starting to feel like I need this. And after I worked on this episode, I -- I just stopped because you can see, alcohol is a progressive -- alcoholism is a progressive disease. It's not like heroin or fentanyl, which you can develop an addiction to very quickly. But these days, people are drinking so much more that it's requiring less of a progression.

WHITFIELD: Like a coping mechanism, being treated -- alcohol being treated as if it were a coping mechanism, and especially as you just described yourself experiencing that, so many people particularly over the pandemic felt the same way at home feeling also that it's safer that, you know, they were at home and drinking. I mean, I think probably a lot of curb sides noticed a whole lot more bottles in the recycle bins, right --

LING: For sure.

WHITFIELD: -- during the pandemic.

LING: For sure. And what we want to convey in this episode is that you can actually heal if you catch it soon enough. You don't want to get to the place where you end up on the liver transplant list. The liver is actually a very resilient organ. So, that liver can heal itself if your disorder is caught early enough.

The problem is that most primary care physicians aren't trained in addiction medicine. So, you have to really be astute and monitor yourself.

WHITFIELD: So, Lisa, you have just really opened our eyes over the years on so many experiences that people encounter on a regular basis through your series "This is Life." Sadly, I don't like good-byes. I mean, this is so long in a way for now. Your final episode is upcoming.

But I'm wondering if there's a way in which you can help reflect on the journey that you have allowed all of us as viewers, as colleagues, to go on with you as you made all kinds of discoveries about what people, you know, the crossroads people have been reaching on so many occasions.

LING: Well, Fred, tonight, our final two episodes of "THIS IS LIFE" airs and one is a religion that believes it knows the key to racial harmony, and that is by the blending of cultures through marriage, interracial marriage.

And on the bigger front, you know, it has been the greatest honor of my life to have been welcomed into people's homes and lives. Ands these days, as our country has been fractured and so deeply polarized, the need to get to know one another, to understand each other's stories, has never been more important and so while I am so sad the show is ending, I really hope to get another opportunity to tell these kind of stories because they're important and, frankly, are urgent during these deeply divisive times.

WHITFIELD: Well, Lisa, beautifully said. I continue to celebrate all that you do and how you enlighten -- continue to enlighten so many people as you have over the years.

Lisa Ling, great to see you. And it's been a great pleasure for us to work together even in this form, maybe not in person too many times, but even this way, it's been a great pleasure.

[14:45:03]

All the best to you.

LING: Likewise, Fred. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And be sure to tune in to the final all-new episodes of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" airing tonight starting at 9:00 p.m., only right here on CNN.

We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tonight, Jewish families worldwide mark the first night of Hanukkah through the tradition of lighting the first candle on the menorah and then the national menorah lighting will celebrate the Festival of Lights in the ceremony just south of the White House on the ellipse.

[14:50:01]

Joining me right now to discuss is Rabbi Levi Shemtov, executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch-Chabad.

Rabbi Shemtov, so good to see you.

So, the message of this season is the potential for light to push back the darkness.

What does this season mean for members of the Jewish faith as we look ahead to the next year?

RABBI LEVI SHEMTOV, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN FRIENDS OF LUBAVITCH-CHABAD: Well, obviously, Fredricka, thanks a lot for having me again. And the message of light over darkness and the triumph over darkness could not be more timely than what we are going through right now with a rise in anti-Semitism and people actually becoming very cautious about their Jewish identity as a result.

We are here on America's front lawn with representation from the administration to bolster the point and the message evil will not prevail in the United States even as anti-Semitism seeks to pervade. Yesterday there was an incident not too far from here saying that Jews are not welcome. Well, President Washington said that Jews are welcome and the leaders of the United States upheld that for 230 years.

So, I believe that while we are somewhat shaken by what we're seeing, we are resilient, we're not afraid. We are concerned but we are confident that with strong faith and a very energetic robust Semitism, meaning a Jewish identity and education in response to these acts, we'll see that once again, righteousness and light will prevail over darkness and evil.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder how impactful you believe it will be too that the U.S. attorney Merrick Garland will deliver remarks at tonight's event. I mean, how important it is to have this ceremony, as but particularly this year outside the White House there. We see it in the view over your right shoulder behind the menorah and the world is watching.

SHEMTOV: The world is watching. And I have to say not too long ago, the second gentleman and senior White House officials convened a high level meeting actually inside the White House together with leaders of American Jewish organizations, and in that room, we discussed some of the trends as well as interesting ideas to monitor and combat that. The State Department elevated the special envoy to Senate confirmed status. The fact that we have representation from the administration is

significant. We also will have the secretary of interior, Deb Haaland, who is the, I guess, host on this park, the entire National Park Service. You asked about the significance of the attorney general specifically and having those that formulate the laws and policies and those that implement them.

If we're not going to have people looking for and identifying and then exposing those who wish people of the Jewish faith ill through the anti-Semitism and then implement strong policies to combat that and in order to eradicate it then I don't think any meeting can be effective.

But if the attorney general shows up and participates in the lighting of something like a menorah on the White House lawn it sends a message across America that Jews are welcome and we will be here and as long as we want to be the United States leadership expressed the willingness to reinforce the notion.

Just a few days ago we were inside the Pentagon and the assistant commandant general smith joined us in the lighting of a menorah to go to the men and women serving stateside and abroad so that they should know that even if we are a small percentage of the American population, we are as welcome here as any other part of the population. We helped found the country, we have defended it, we have a fair share of those who gave their lives for it, we have Jews serving in the armed forces today, all over the world, and we're not going anywhere for now.

WHITFIELD: Rabbi Shemtov, what a pleasure to have you back. Thank you so much. Have a beautiful ceremony this evening and a happy Hanukkah.

[14:55:02]

SHEMTOV: Thank you, Fredricka.

I just want to say one thing, if you are for light and decency, it doesn't matter if you're Jewish or not. Hanukkah has that message for you. If your message is evil and hate, just know, most of America is not going to stand for it. Happy Hanukkah, everybody. Make some light this week, and thank you very much again, of course, for having me on your broadcast.

WHITFIELD: Beautifully said. Thank you so much.

And thank you, everyone, for being with me today and this weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

"CNN NEWSROOM" continues with Jim Acosta after the break. And we will leave you with images of Lionel Messi and Argentina lifting the World Cup trophy right there. Congratulations.