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Trump Weighs More Picks For Incoming Cabinet; Interview With Former Michigan Republican Congressman Fred Upton; FEMA Employee Fired; Biden Races To Cement Legacy Before Trump's Inauguration; Netanyahu Says He's Spoken With Trump Several Times In Recent Days; Messi, Inter Miami Crash Out Of Playoffs With Loss Of Atlanta. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired November 10, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:32]

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

All right. With the countdown clock ticking towards inauguration day, President-elect Donald Trump is focusing on key positions and priorities for his second term and also celebrating another big victory.

CNN can now project that Trump will win Arizona completing his clean sweep of all seven battleground states and as we wait to hear of his administration picks, Trump is sending out a clear message that he is emphasizing loyalty in his new hires.

The president-elect is now ruling out two former cabinet officials who criticized him in the past. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said he would not be inviting former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo to be a part of his new administration.

The president-elect is now preparing for an Oval Office meeting this week with President Joe Biden, a political tradition that didn't happen four years ago when Trump was defeated by Joe Biden as Trump was fighting the election results of 2020 and President Trump never invited incoming President Biden for a White House meeting.

We have got a team of correspondents covering these developments. Sunlen Serfaty is at the White House for us. Let's begin with Alayna Treene, near Trump's Florida home.

Alayna, good to see you. So what more are you learning about how the transition is going?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, they continue to be locked down at Mar-a-Lago, I'm told, including President-elect Donald Trump as he continues to review and go over a series of candidates that he is considering selecting for top cabinet roles, as well as other top White House roles. Now look, when I talked to Donald Trump's campaign about this, they

say there are a couple positions that he is prioritizing over all others. And that really their goal right now, their main focus is trying to fill out his cabinet.

But the top positions that Donald Trump views as the most important include his attorney general, the CIA director, the department -- excuse me, the secretary of Defense as well as the secretary of Homeland Security.

But I do think what you mentioned there about what he said last night -- he did not announce new hires -- but he did announce who he does not want to serve in his second administration.

I think that is very notable. Him saying that he does not want Pompeo or Haley in his administration does signal that he is really -- valuing loyalty above all else. It also shows that his team, excuse me, is keeping very close track of who has shown loyalty to him, who has been supporting him over the past several years and who is not.

Now, as for Pompeo, I can tell you my conversations with some of the people involved in the transition process, they said that many people who are close to Trump actually believe that he did right by Donald Trump, that he was a great secretary of state.

However, there was a lot of anger towards him for not endorsing throughout the entire Republican primary. And I'm told as well that in private conversations, Trump had actually asked the people around him whether or not they thought he would be loyal and whether he could trust him.

Now, as for Nikki Haley, I'm told that Donald Trump really still harbors a lot of animosity towards her for not only the attacks that she lobbed at him throughout the primary process, but also for staying in that primary so long, Fred.

WHITFIELD: and then also Alayna, so far, Trump has not signed the ethics agreement required for presidential transition. What is the story behind that?

TREENE: That's right. And I spoke to some around the transition involved in that process as well about this. And this is really -- the importance of this, of not signing this agreement by now is that it is preventing Donald Trump's team from accessing official and formal briefings from the Biden administration and the career officials overall, that will ensure a peaceful transfer of power as well as that he is getting the information he needs before he takes office on January 20th.

Now they said that he plans to sign this agreement, but they are still working out some of the details. One of the sources I spoke with said it is unclear exactly when it will be signed or what exactly is going to happen with this.

But I think the key thing, again, to keep in mind is that he has missed key deadlines. There are two important deadlines in particular that I want to share with you.

[14:04:50]

TREEENE: One is the GSA agreement that was due September 1st. That is what gives Trump's team access to office space and securing communications and other provisions. And then other deadline was that ethics agreement.

And so, I think, again when I talk to Trump's team, they say it will be signed, but really their priority, they argue, right now is filling out those cabinet roles, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you so much near Mar-a- Lago.

All right. To Sunlen Serfaty now, at the White House. Good to see you, Sunlen. So what do we know about how President Biden is approaching this Oval Office meeting with Trump on Wednesday?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred.

Well, this is certainly a big moment for both the outgoing president and the incoming president. And as you noted in the introduction, this is a tradition that normally happens every time, every four years, every time there's a new president here at the White House.

But this was an invitation that was not afforded to Biden by Trump in 2020 as he continued to fight the allegations, the defrauded allegations and the falsehoods about voter fraud that happened in that election.

So, it is very clear that the White House, in speaking to their aides and the president explicitly himself saying that this meeting on Wednesday is going to be about the smooth transition of power, about ensuring that there is a peaceful transfer of power and about ways that the country can be brought together after a grueling election season.

Now here is what the national security adviser Jake Sullivan said this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The first and most important will be that President Biden is committed to the peaceful transfer of power and to a responsible hand off from one president to the next which is in the best tradition of our country and has been for the last 240 years.

And then they will go through the top issues, both domestic and foreign policy issues, including what is happening in Europe and Asia and the Middle East. And the president will have the chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things, where they stand, and talk to President Trump about how President Trump is thinking about taking on these issues when he takes office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And that's certainly notable there that Jake Sullivan said that the president will be bringing up his domestic and foreign policy issues because this also comes at a time that Biden has been clear with his team. He likes to say that he wants to run for the tape in the final 71 days that he has still the presidency.

And the White House is very clear, he has very specific priorities he wants to make sure he's hitting, protecting his key accomplishments, making sure that he is still out on the international stage.

He has plans next week to travel to Peru for the APEC Summit, Brazil for the G-20 and then early in December, he will be traveling to Angola. So very clear here Fred that top of mind for Biden is, of course, the transfer of power, the peaceful transfer of power but also his legacy here as well.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And then Sunlen, there have been some discussions among Democrats about possibly replacing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. What is the White House saying about those discussions, whether they are taking them seriously?

SERFATY: Yes Fred. This certainly is a bit of chatter that is happening in some of the left-leaning circles here in Washington about potentially making a move to replace the senior-most liberal on the court justice Sotomayor before election day, potentially to tee up a much younger person that can be confirmed before President Biden leaves office.

But according to those close to her, they tell CNN that she has made no clear -- she has made clear that she has no plans to step down. That is according to people close to her. And they tell CNN, she is in great health and the court needs her now more than ever, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much. And Alayna Treene. Appreciate you both.

All right. Despite his criticism of Detroit while campaigning in the city, President-elect Donald Trump won the battleground state of Michigan by just over 78,000 votes.

His appeal towards black men and doing better in highly-populated areas like Wayne County helped him secure Michigan's 15 electoral college votes.

Joining me right now is Michigan Republican and former congressman, Fred Upton. Congressman, great to see you.

FRED UPTON, FORMER MICHIGAN RRPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN: Always a pleasure, Fred. Good to see you -- Fred and Fred.

WHITFIELD: That's right. This is going to be a great program.

All right. So Congressman, even though you know, Even though Trump won the state, voters picked the Democrat to represent them in the U.S. Senate. So, why is a Lisa Plotkin elected but not Kamala Harris? UPTON: Well you know, Michigan was a very complex state. The UAW

somewhat split with the leaders behind Harris, but many of the rank and file were behind Trump.

You also have the Gaza issue. We have a very large population of Palestinians in the state and they were not happy at all with the Biden-Harris administration in terms of what's happened there.

[14:09:50]

UPTON: So again traditional Democratic votes did in fact went for Trump or sat on their hands.

In Wayne County, if you look at the 83 counties in Michigan, Wayne County of course is Detroit.. Wayne County I think was the third lowest in terms of voting percentage of all 83 counties.

So they didn't get the votes for Harris that they thought they would. So you take those factors and Michigan has always been a purple state. You know, Trump won the state by about 11,000 votes back in 2016, Biden won it by 150,000 in 2020. And you said that Trump came back to win by about 75,000 this cycle.

So it's a tough state to call, (INAUDIBLE) for sure, Republicans and Democrats, very close. Plotkin beat a very strong challenge by Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate. But I think that she was able to get when it was finally called on Wednesday afternoon.

WHITFIELD: yes. Fascinating.

All right. Well, you know, no one can really remember, you know, a time when so many Republicans voiced their public support for the Democratic ticket. So many in the GOP were willing to cross the aisle and endorse the Dem ticket, yet it didn't seem to move the needle, did it?

I mean what have you learned about your Republican Party?

UPTON: Yes. Well there were -- as I looked at the list, there were 33 Republican, former members of Congress that endorsed Harris.

I think, primarily, it was because this Congress has been broken. That is for sure. They have not gotten a lot done. Not a lot of bipartisanship, for sure on -- you name the issue.

But many thought that perhaps Harris was going to change the equation a little bit. She talked about putting Republicans in her administration, including a member of the cabinet, similar to what Obama did when he picked Ray LaHood as his secretary of Transportation.

But you know, now Republicans have a real chance to govern. They're going to have all three branches between the House, the Senate, as well as the White House. They have a lot to look at in terms of an agenda to pursue. He is going to get -- Trump is going to get his cabinet members. That

should be done pretty much by the time that he is sworn in on January 20th.

But there are still some pretty big issues. You know, the continuing resolution expires December 20th. And as you look at the leadership races that are going to occur for the next Congress, that are going to occur literally in the next week or two, both in the House and the Senate, they're going to have to make promises, the Republican leaders whether that be Thune or John Cornyn, maybe Rick Scott in Florida, but Mike Johnson in the House as well.

They're going to have to tell their rank and file what they are going to do in terms of the continuing resolution funding levels, as well as you know, figure out how to govern with the new administration.

So it's -- you know we had a complex election time coming up to now. It's going to maybe even be more complex between now and January 3rd when the new Congress gets sworn in.

WHITFIELD: You know, if Tuesday's elections has shown us anything, it is that, you know, Trump's loss in 2020 was perhaps was an anomaly. His 2024 win was historic on so many levels, including that he won the popular vote. And this, regardless of two impeachments, felony convictions, and other pending cases.

So does this exemplify that the Republican Party is forever changed? I mean how would you even characterize or describe your party?

Ok. Oh, ok.

(CROSSTALKING)

WHITFIELD: Oh ok. I'm sorry. This is terrible. You may have to start over.

UPTON: Yes. Look, it is the Democrats that are really fractured (ph). The economy is number one and that was evident in terms of, you know, the price of inflation, job numbers, all of that.

Those pocketbook issues carried the day.

WHITFIELD: All right. I think our signal froze up one more time. Ok -- no, you are there. You actually just stopped talking. I thought there was another thought there.

Ok, I'm wondering, you said there is the continuing resolution deadline that is upcoming.

But I wonder prior to that, prior to inauguration day, the president- elect, you know, he's made a whole lot of promises on the campaign trail including mass deportation of migrants. And allies of the president-elect say you can expect that to happen.

Just listen to what we saw on morning television today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVEK RAMASWAMY, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump's campaign promise was the largest mass deportation in American history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok.

RAMASWAMY: and he's going to keep that promise.

And I'll tell you, let's just start very pragmatically here. I think most Americans agree with this.

You take the number of people who have entered the country just in the last 18 to 24 months. That is millions of undocumented immigrants, illegal migrants who have really no place in this country.

[14:14:53]

RAMASWAMY: Anybody who has committed a crime. Automatically that already is the largest mass deportation in American history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: What do you see on a potential mass deportation effort? And I'm wondering if there are other issues that you are very concerned about that you believe the Trump administration may not address?

UPTON: Well, immigration is going To be addressed. I would like -- you know, they were close to getting a bipartisan deal through the House and the Senate this year and it did not happen.

But the president said -- the new president, Trump has set the stage for immigration to be the number one issue beginning on the day that he gets sworn in.

You're going to see a number of steps to reverse the executive orders that Biden put into place, whether it be the catch-and-release program, stay-in-Mexico, all of those things.

But you're to see some deportations. That is for sure. I think first off, of course, they're going to be looking at folks with criminal records, gang members.

How far it goes, how much it is going to cost, I do not know the answer to that. But you know, the new president is going to follow a line -- promises made, promises kept.

He said he would do this and I think that there are many of his supporters across the country that are going to make that demand pretty evident as his presidency begins on January 20th.

WHITFIELD: All right. Congressman Fred Upton, so glad you could be with us. And see, good things happen when you get two Freds together. We still had good television --

UPTON: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- even though we had, you know, a couple of little glitches there but we hung in there.

Thank you so much.

UPTON: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right.

A FEMA employee is fired from her job and now the head of FEMA is being called to testify on Capitol Hill about it.

Wait until you hear why.

[14:16:43]

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WHITFIELD: The head of FEMA, Deanne Criswell, is being asked to appear before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee later on this month. Chairman James Comer wants answers after it was discovered that a FEMA employee told a disaster relief team in Florida to avoid houses with signs supporting Donald Trump following Hurricane Milton. That employee has since been fired.

CNN's Rafael Romo is joining me with more on this.

So Criswell called the situation reprehensible. Does FEMA think this is an isolated incident?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're saying it is an isolated incident, but at the same time, we have investigations from both FEMA and the state of Florida, so this is not over by any means.

And House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican has invited FEMA's top official to testify at a hearing to discuss what happened.

FEMA administrator, Deanne Criswell is set to appear at the hearing Tuesday, November 19.

What we know so far, Fred, is that the employee has been fired. According to Criswell, the employee advised their disaster relief team to avoid homes with signs supporting former president Donald Trump while canvassing in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

FEMA is now investigating how many Houses were passed over, although the agency says it believes it was an isolated incident, as we discussed before.

Criswell, the FEMA administrator, called what happened reprehensible. In a statement published Saturday, Criswell said the following. "More than 22,000 FEMA employees every day adhere to FEMA's core values and are dedicated to helping people before, during, and after disasters, often sacrificing time with their own families to help disaster survivors."

Criswell also added that this is a clear violation of FEMA's core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.

We've also heard from Republicans who are demanding swift action and condemning the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): Anybody involved with that should be fired immediately. Not asked to resign, not brought in front of a congressional hearing. They should be fired immediately.

We are not going to have a country where we're going to decide who gets help and who does not based upon who you support politically or what you look like or anything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: The allegations resurfaced there in a report published by "Daily Wire" citing internal correspondence between the employee and workers canvassing homes in Lake Placid, Florida.

A FEMA spokesperson told CNN, the incident happened on October 27, and the agency has deployed a new team to knock on doors in the affected area to contact those who may not have been previously reached.

The spokesperson declined to provide additional information on the incident or detail how agency officials were notified of it, citing the investigation, but said in a statement that FEMA officials are horrified that this took place and therefore had taken extreme actions to correct the situation and have ensured that the matter was addressed at all levels.

In a new development, Fred, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he has directed state officials to also investigate the incident.

And one thing that makes it very sad is that those of us who have covered those hurricanes and have talked face-to-face to people in need, when you think about something like this happening, it is just beyond tragic.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Rafael Romo, keep us posted on the investigation, which looks like it is broadening out further.

ROMO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

All right. Coming up, as the Biden presidency winds down, his administration is working to cement his legacy before Donald Trump takes office.

What they could do to prevent Trump from undoing their accomplishments, after a quick break.

[14:24:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: In just 71 days, the U.S. will have a new president and with him, a new chapter in American history. But before inauguration day, President Biden is looking to cement his legacy.

On Wednesday, he will host President-elect Trump in the Oval Office, where national security adviser Jake Sullivan says Biden will share his views on top domestic and foreign policy issues.

Joining me right now, CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali. Tim, great to see you.

So Biden is preparing to step down --

(CROSSTALKING)

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: -- as his party suffered sweeping losses on election day.

[14:29:50]

WHITFIELD: How do you think he is proceeding to, I guess, avert some real detriment or impact to the legacy that he has built?

NAFTALI: There are a few things that the president can do. The Democrats have lost the Senate. They are likely not to have the Senate for 2 or 4 years. The next cycles don't look very good for Democrats. He can push forward as many nominations as possible, with judicial nominations.

In terms of his legislative legacy, the Chips Act and the infrastructure bill are both actually bipartisan. But if he has any concern about their future under a Trump administration, he can push more money out the door to try to spur on those two initiatives. It's in foreign policy that his legacy, besides his political legacy, is most at stake and there he has some challenges to meet in the next two months.

The first challenge is Iran. The last time that a foreign government tried to kill a former president and now a president-elect, the Clinton administration responded by attacking that government. It was 1993. The former president was George Herbert Walker Bush, and the country was Iraq.

It's really important for the United States to send a military message against any foreign state that seeks to kill either a living -- a current or past chief of our country. So I suspect the discussion between Biden and Trump would be about how to respond and when to respond. It would be a lot easier and better for the country if the response is by Biden and not by Trump. It actually gives President Trump, President-elect Trump, some more diplomatic latitude if the response is from the previous administration.

Of course, Iraq -- Ukraine is another foreign policy legacy here, conversations with president useful. What will be useful, though, is to give the Ukrainians a stronger hand. We know that the American people have given a mandate to President Trump to engage in some kind of negotiations to end that war.

The Biden administration has an opportunity to strengthen the hand of the Ukrainians in that discussion there are a number of limits we have placed on Ukrainian use of our weapons that could be lifted in order, as I said, to achieve a stronger hand for the Ukrainians in a Trump- led negotiation.

And finally, the president, I think wants to cement his legacy as promoting the rights of all Americans, but particularly of American women and in 2020, Virginia was the 38th state to ratify the equal rights amendment. There are legal complications, but it is possible that the administration could promote publishing that amendment because it has received three quarters of the states necessary to make it part of our constitution, and that would be a way of symbolically, at least making clear that despite the outcome of the 2024 election, American women are protected, respected and have equal rights.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. All right. And now reflecting on Election Day and a lot of folks have had a lot of different theories about what happened or how to read the tea leaves. So before Election Day, many Democrats were praising Biden for stepping down to allow Harris to run against Trump and then now you have a lot of Democrats who are blaming Biden for not dropping out sooner to allow for an open Democratic primary.

How do you think history will look at what happened, or you know, what is the causation of what happened?

NAFTALI: Well, I can share how this historian looks at it. First of all, there is no doubt that there was something special about the Biden coalition. If we look at why President-elect Trump was so successful on Tuesday it's that Vice President Harris could not keep the Biden coalition going.

And so it made sense as long as President Biden was hale and hearty and vital that he should lead the party in a reelection bid. But as we learned dramatically, this earlier this year, he actually wasn't.

And so I think historians will ask, who knew when and why didn't President Biden, after the more successful than expected midterm elections, just say, I've done my job? It's now up to a different generation to move forward. I don't know the answer to that. Historians will ask that question.

Secondly, I think that historians are going to view what Democrats are saying now as sour grapes. There are a lot of reasons why Vice President Harris lost. And one of them is that the Biden-Harris administration is so unpopular.

[14:35:01]

And I think that historians will say or will ask Democrats why was this administration so unpopular? Yes. Inflation was out of your control. And then until you controlled it.

But what are the other lessons that might be learned about why an administration that in legislative terms, was remarkably successful, given the narrow margins they had for two years? Why weren't they more popular with the American people?

The answer has to do with the pandemic, but it may also have to do with the administration and Vice President Harris was part of that administration.

So I think the answers are complicated. The Democrats seem to want very simple ones. I think historians will be broader in their investigation of what happened. And by the way, I suspect younger Democrats will be too because the conversation just can't end on January 20th. This is an issue that Democrats are going to have to grapple with for the next for the years to come as they settle their own internal debate between progressives and liberals.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. All right. Tim Naftali, great to see you. Thank you so much.

NAFTALI: Thank you, Fredricka. My pleasure.

All right. In the days following the U.S. election, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has spoken with president-elect Trump several times. Do these talks suggest a new relationship between the United States and Israel? A report from Jerusalem, next.

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[14:40:55]

WHITFIELD: In Syria, state media says at least seven people were killed when Israeli airstrikes targeted a residential building outside Damascus. Israel so far has not commented on the strikes and it comes as Israel's prime minister is preparing for a new administration in Washington.

Here's CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says he and president elect Trump have spoken three times in recent days. A sign of just how closely the two figures are now collaborating. Netanyahu described the conversations as very good and important and, quote, aimed at strengthening the solid alliance between Israel and the United States. He added that he and Trump see eye to eye on the Iranian threat and the dangers that it poses.

Well, Netanyahu was a -- was among the first leaders to congratulate Trump after his us election victory last week, calling it the worlds greatest comeback. Many Israelis expect the new Trump administration will offer full throated support for the Jewish state, especially amid ongoing Israeli confrontations with Iran and its allies in the region.

Well, this weekend, Israel stepped up its military strikes across the Gaza Strip, killing more than 40 people. At least half of them were children, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military says it struck terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, in the north of Gaza, where it says it's facing a resurgent Hamas.

Meanwhile, officials in Lebanon say Israeli air strikes killed more than 40 people there, too. The Israeli military says it eliminated dozens of Hezbollah fighters. It also reported that at least ten rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel.

Fredricka, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Matthew Chance.

All right. Season over. Lionel Messi and Inter Miami's record breaking season ends early after a shocking loss in the first round of the MLS playoffs. That's next.

Plus, we remember the life and legacy of a trailblazing dancer, leader and international icon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:47:40]

WHITFIELD: The head coach of the University of Florida men's basketball team is under investigation over claims of sexual harassment and stalking multiple women, including students. Coach Todd Golden acknowledged the schools inquiry and says he is considering a defamation lawsuit, presumably against his accusers. Golden statement comes after the university's student newspaper ran a story on the investigation.

And CNN's Don Riddell is with me now with the latest.

These are some pretty serious allegations.

DON RIDDELL, CNN ANCHOR, WORLD SPORT: Yeah, extremely serious.

Todd Golden says he's been participating in this inquiry for the last month, but the rest of us didn't actually learn about this until literally just a couple of days ago, when the student newspaper broke the story. The newspaper is the "Independent Florida Alligator" and they say that he is being investigated for a series of charges, including allegations of sexual harassment allegations of sexual exploitation, stalking and cyberstalking of multiple women, including students, unwanted sexual advances, sending photos and videos of genitalia.

And this is all based on a Title IX report that was apparently filed at the end of September, on September the 27th. Now under federal law, schools cannot comment or even confirm Title IX inquiries, complaints or investigations.

Todd Golden, in his defense, is now going on offense. This is the statement that he released saying, quote, for the last month, I have actively participated in and respected the confidentiality -- confidentiality of an ongoing school inquiry. I have recently engaged the attorney, Ken Turkel, to advise me on my ability to bring defamation claims while this confidential investigation is ongoing. My family and I appreciate the support we have received and remain confident the university will continue its efforts to finish its review promptly.

Meanwhile, the season has just started. He is coaching the team. They've made a good start. They're 2-0.

WHITFIELD: And coaching as this investigation carries.

RIDDELL: We understand he'll be on the sidelines again for the next game on Monday. And remember he is on an extremely lucrative contract which was recently extended to run through until 2030. And he's earning $4 million every year.

WHITFIELD: Wow. It's extraordinary. And what -- what an incredible distraction this will be really for the entire team, right?

[14:50:02]

RIDDELL: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: While this carries on.

RIDDELL: And actually, if you look at the history of the school and their athletics program, this is the third time now in just eight years that a head coach has faced a very serious set of allegations. And in one of those cases, the coach resigned. And in the other case, the coach was fired.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Well, keep us posted on the ongoing investigation. Appreciate it.

All right. Don Riddell.

All right. And it was another shakeup Saturday in college football. You should be doing this when you can tell me if I'm delivering this correctly two top playoff teams go down in stunning upsets. The fourth seeded Miami Hurricanes couldn't handle business against Georgia Tech, while the third seeded Georgia Bulldogs couldn't escape a maelstrom at Ole Miss.

Here's Andy Scholes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, Fredricka, goalposts were just not safe across the country yesterday. We had a huge SEC matchup in Oxford.

Ole Miss hosting third ranked Georgia, a very rainy day in Mississippi. Third quarter Jaxson Dart is going to throw the touchdown to Antwane Wells Jr. That made it 22 to 10.

And the Rebels defense was just amazing all day long. They had five sacks, nine tackles for a loss and with 16 seconds left, the Ole Miss students -- well, they jumped the gun and rushed the field. The refs made them all then get off the field because the rebels still needed to take a knee to end the game, and once they did, all the students rushed again and they went, of course, to tear down those goalposts the final in this one, 28 to 10, Ole Miss. First time Georgia lost to a team other than Alabama since 2020.

Now, Georgia Tech meanwhile, pulling off a stunner against Miami. The Canes down five with the ball late in the fourth, but Cam Ward gets sacked here. Jordan van den Berg recovers for Georgia Tech. They shock fourth ranked Miami 28 to 23. Their students rushing the field as well, going straight for the goalpost.

Now, they didn't get the whole goalpost down. They only broke off the uprights. And the students, they took one of those uprights out of the stadium and they threw it in the pool at the president's mansion for some reason.

All right. Finally, we also had a shocker in the MLS playoffs last night. Miami hosting Atlanta and winner take all game three. Messi a magnificent header in the 65th minute to tie the game at two. And tempers flared as Messi's teammates not happy with Atlanta goalie Brad Guzan bumping their star.

But fast forward to the 76th minute. A Miami defender, he goes down and is just laying in the box. Atlanta. They play on and Barton slips a header to take the hold on pulling off one of the biggest upsets in MLS history.

So Atlanta fans super excited and get this their entire team makes about $5 million less than Messi alone.

Fredricka, this though big loss for the MLS. You know, Messi and Miami, they were the best team all season. And you know for national appeal the league was certainly hoping to have Messi in his first full season playing for the MLS cup.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Surprises is what makes it so much more fun.

Thank you so much, Andy Scholes.

All right. Crews are racing to contain a deadly wildfire raging near the border of New Jersey and New York that has claimed the life of a state park worker in New York.

Plus, remembering the life of a world renowned dance luminary Alvin Ailey artistic director Judith Jamison.

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[14:57:46]

WHITFIELD: All right. This just in: a man accused of firing his shotgun that sparked a wildfire in New Jersey is now facing arson charges. Authorities say the man used illegal tracer ammunition when he fired his weapon outside a shooting range. And that now -- that now so-called shotgun fire scorched 350 acres of land, forcing people to leave the Jackson Township area. Investigators say the flames are now 90 percent contained.

And we're also learning all of this as police say, a state park worker has died while battling a different wildfire in New York. He was just 18 years old. Firefighters in New Jersey and New York hope better weather conditions can help them get a grip on the uncontained flames.

CNN's Elisa Raffa is tracking the forecast for us.

So how might this wildfire were talking on the East Coast now impact, you know, conditions?

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, I mean, the air quality has been pretty poor, actually. A family that live in New York, and they were saying that it smells its hazy. They could really feel that wildfire smoke.

So that's why you have poor air quality alerts in effect for parts of New Jersey. New this goes until midnight. And then it stretches all the way up the Hudson Valley up to Albany, where we have these air quality alerts because of the smoke from these fires. And we've been able to see the smoke from satellite and again, its cutting across New York City, making it pretty hazy again it smells. And that air quality is poor.

This Jennings Creek Fire has burned more than 2,000 acres. Again, the ground is very dry. We had gusty winds and dry air over the weekend, and you can see the multiple fires that have sparked and you see the smoke there in the sunrise. We've got red flag warnings in effect for Connecticut and Massachusetts where we still have gusts up to 35 miles per hour. That relative humidity is very low and the drought conditions again, have just been a problem.

The good news is we do have some light rain starting to move into this area. That should help quench some of this. So, hopefully, help make some of those conditions better. And we really need the rain because these drought conditions have taken over more than half of the Northeast.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. All right, Elisa Raffa, thank you so much.

All right. In a very sad departure in the dance and entertainment world to share with you Alvin Ailey American dance theater icon Judith Jamison passed away yesterday in New York after what's being called a brief illness.