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Extremely Cold Weather Grips Much of U.S.; San Jose State University Women's Volleyball Team Faces Multiple Forfeits from Other Teams after Transgender Athlete Discovered to be Playing for Them; Parents Moving with Transgender Child from State Restrictions Concerned over President-Elect Trump's Promise to Federally Ban Gender Affirming Care for Minors; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Visits U.S. President-Elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago after Trump Issues Tariff Threat to Canada and Other Countries; Donald Trump's Son-in-Law Jared Kushner's Father Charles Appointed U.S. Ambassador to France; Documentary Exposes Environmental Costs of Consumerism; Syrian Rebels Take Control of Country's Second Largest City of Aleppo in Surprise Attack; Woman Gets Past Multiple Security Checkpoints at New York Airport to Become Stowaway on Flight to Paris; Author and TV Host Emily Calandrelli Becomes 100th Woman to Visit Space. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired November 30, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:04]

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

And we're following the latest this hour as treacherous snowfall and bone-chilling temperatures colliding, hitting most of the U.S. this weekend. Lake effect snow is more than three feet in parts of the Great Lakes region with the worst still to come.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issuing a disaster declaration for Erie County after heavy snowfall shut down several highways in the area. Nearly 2 million people are under lake effect snow warnings through Monday.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here with the latest. So how long is this arctic blast going to be around?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I mean, the heavy snow is expected not only through the day today, but through tomorrow and really even to a portion of Monday. So we're not even really halfway through for some of these areas at this point. And then that cold, the cold blast that's coming, that's going to be around for a little bit longer. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Just the beginning.

CHINCHAR: It is. So we take a look. This is a live look at Blue Mountain Lake, New York. You can see some of the snowflakes kind of flurrying off and on throughout there. We've had at times very heavy bands. At other times it's been almost whiteout conditions where it's very impossible to see. And we've been seeing similar conditions on portions of highways. Interstate 90 that runs from Buffalo back through Cleveland is now closed in some spots because of how bad the roadways have gotten. Interstate 81 that runs just south of Watertown, New York, also having some pretty treacherous spots. And again, even some of the side streets, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, all looking at times at some very heavy bands of snow moving through.

You're going to continue to see the heaviest bands coming off of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario as we go through the rest of the day today and also into the day Sunday. Now, keep in mind, whatever we get from this point on is on top of what they've already had. Some of these areas, this began late Thursday evening for some of the snow. Look at this, northeast Pennsylvania picking up over 40 inches of snow. Ohio, Michigan, New York also picking up amounts that are well above 30 inches already.

Keep in mind, too, some of these reports, they don't do them every hour. Some of these reports are two, three hours old, so we know those numbers are even higher than what they're showing now. You've got all of the winter weather alerts in place.

But we also have a secondary system independent of the lake effect. This one is stretching from portions of western Missouri all the way over into West Virginia. Now, this one not quite as high of a snow maker. Most of these areas picking up about two to five inches. But if you're traveling along Interstate I-70 through St. Louis, going down over towards Louisville, you are looking at that snow to stick to the roadways. The heavier snow, however, is going to be farther north here. Not necessarily inches, but feet is what we're measuring. Some of these spots when it's all said and done could end up seeing as much as six feet of snow in just a few short days.

WHITFIELD: No.

CHINCHAR: Well, you think about it, we've already had three.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

CHINCHAR: they don't have that much farther to go. But the cold air is going to impact a lot more people. You're talking 70 percent of the U.S. population is going to see those temperatures at or below freezing over the next several days. But look at how far south this stretch is. We're not just talking the northern states that are used to the cold. A lot of these areas right here along the gulf coast are looking at these frost and freeze alerts. Panama City, Tallahassee, Mobile, these places that are not used to temperatures this cold, especially this early. Some of these temperatures you might see maybe mid to late January. Certainly not the very end of November.

But the other thing we talked about, it's the prolonged event of this cold. Take a look at this, New York City, they are going to spend every single one of the next seven days below their average of 49 degrees. And honestly, Fred, even if I took this out a few more days, it's not like they're going to be seeing them jump right back up anytime soon.

WHITFIELD: No, because it's just getting started.

CHINCHAR: Get those ugly Christmas sweaters out. They're going to be out here for a little while.

WHITFIELD: That's right. Is it officially winter yet?

CHINCHAR: No.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Yes, we've got a long way to go.

CHINCHAR: We're just getting a preview.

WHITFIELD: Right, it's coming. OK, thank you so much, Allison.

All right, in just hours from now, the San Jose State University women's volleyball team will compete in the conference championship after it faced forfeits from multiple college teams over unconfirmed claims a transgender player was on their squad. CNN's Camila Bernal is joining us right now with more on this. Camila, so it's a pretty complicated, it's a controversial story. It's been unfolding for months now, so what is the latest besides that championship?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the championship actually begins in three hours, Fred. And what's interesting here is that San Jose State, they did not play their semifinal game. So they're in the final because Boise State essentially withdrew, saying they did not want to play against them. And in fact, it wasn't the first time that Boise refused to play against San Jose. They did not specifically give a reasoning behind this, but said they were disappointed at having to withdraw. And in general, San Jose State had six victories because of teams that refused to play against them.

[14:05:02]

Now, San Jose State has not confirmed the identity of the player in question here, and the player herself has not spoken out publicly about this. This became politics in April, when a conservative website published the name and the gender identity of the player in question here. A lot of the players and the other teams did not know about this. So once this became public, there were a lot of questions. And that's when the controversy really grew, because this player had actually played with the team since 2022. She had already played three different college seasons, and of course, two with San Jose. But after this came out, that's when at least one of the players filed a lawsuit, not wanting this player in question to essentially participate in the competition. So it's been really difficult since that publication came out, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then tell us about the legal challenges, because it's not over, is it?

BERNAL: It's not. And the co-captain of the team in San Jose, her name is Brooke Slusser. She filed this lawsuit, and in the lawsuit she said it was not fair for the girls on the team and also in the lawsuit said that it puts them at a physical risk. But unfortunately for her, a judge disagreed and allowed the player in question to continue competing. This was a federal judge in Denver. Then the appeals court also agreed, allowing this player to continue in this championship, which means that they will go on and play.

I want to read a statement from the conference commissioner about the players eligibility. She said this, "The student athlete in question meets the eligibility standard." And then she went on to say, "It breaks my heart because they're human beings, young people, student athletes on both sides of this issue that are getting a lot of national negative attention."

And despite the negative attention, despite what's going on here, we said, you know, this game will go on in three hours. And if San Jose State wins, what happens is they automatically get into the 64 game NCAA tournament. So this means it can continue this controversy. It could be at an even bigger scale as, of course, the NCAA tournament is a big deal when we're talking about volleyball. So we'll see what happens in a few hours. But it could continue this controversy as this tournament continues, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, pretty incredible. Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

BERNAL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a potentially explosive case involving transgender care. The case centers on a Tennessee law enacted last year banning puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children. Critics say the law injects the state into family medical decisions and overrides parental rights. When Missouri banned transgender care for minors, one family left the state to find a place for their 12-year-old transgender daughter. But President-elect Trump's promise to roll back transgender rights has them wondering if their child will be able to get the health care she needs.

CNN's Gabe Cohen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So what am I looking at here?

KATIE, TRANS CHILD: My pride flag. This shows to the world that I don't want to hide and pretend to be someone else. I want to be me.

SARAH HALUF, KATIE'S MOTHER: Our child should have the same rights as any other child. Because she's transgender doesn't make her any different.

COHEN (voice-over): Twelve-year-old Katie and her family moved across the country last year to flee state restrictions on their daughter's rights. At her parents' request, we're not showing her face and we're using an alternate name.

S. HALUF: I don't have the answer of why people hate her and have never met her. Where is Katie allowed to exist, how is she allowed to exist?

EREZ HALUF, KATIE'S FATHER: Is she allowed to exist? DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We won't be changing your children's gender with their transgender craziness.

(CHEERING)

COHEN (voice-over): Transgender rights have become one of the biggest flashpoints in this country's culture wars, marked in many cases by flat out lies and conspiracies.

TRUMP: There are some places your boy leaves to school, comes back a girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamala supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners.

COHEN (voice-over): Republicans spent more than $200 million on anti- trans ads before the election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.

E. HALUF: This is 100 percent BS.

S. HALUF: It's sowing fear. And then by doing that, you're sowing hate. And all of this comes back to people like our child. We thought that by leaving Missouri and coming to Maryland, that we would be safe. And now were being threatened with anti-trans legislation on a federal level.

COHEN (voice-over): At least 26 states, including Missouri, have passed restrictions on gender affirming care for minors.

S. HALUF: This was their final protest in Jefferson City.

[14:10:00]

We did everything we could to fight this and there was nothing that we could do to change their minds.

We moved to Maryland to be able to access gender affirming care for Katie. What that looks like is therapy services. It's clothing. It's haircuts. And at this age, it is a hormone blocker to prevent her from going through puberty.

KATIE: This is my hormone blocker right here.

COHEN: Could that treatment be reversed at some point?

S. HALUF: Yes, absolutely. It's really a pause button. Katie gets more time to live in the body that she has now.

TRUMP: On day one, I will revoke Joe Biden's cruel policies on so- called gender affirming care.

COHEN (voice-over): Trump has promised federal restrictions on transgender rights, including far stricter rules about gender affirming care, especially for minors.

One trans rights organization saw a nearly 700 percent increase in calls to their crisis hotline after the election.

What would happen if your daughter didn't get that care?

S. HALUF: She would end up going through puberty, and it would be traumatizing to her to see all of those things happen to her body.

COHEN: I know you get some treatment from doctors, from other care. What would happen if you didn't get that?

KATIE: I would be upset and scared.

E. HALUF: In the LGBTQ community, the suicide rate is high for those who are not being supported by their caregivers.

S. HALUF: We want her to survive childhood.

COHEN (voice-over): So families like Katie's are trying to prepare for what's ahead, even drafting an asylum application.

S. HALUF: We have to start thinking about a backup plan.

E. HALUF: If push comes to shove, we will need to go north. We will go to Canada.

COHEN: What would it take for your family to say we need to leave this country?

S. HALUF: A federal health care ban would likely be the moment we know that it's time to leave here.

COHEN: What does this symbolize to you?

KATIE: Freedom and rights. This proves that everybody has their own rights to be themselves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Gabe Cohen, thank you so much for that report.

All right, coming up, a surprise attack by rebels in Aleppo, Syria, is reigniting that country's civil war. CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us live with the latest developments and what it could mean for the region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:17:10]

WHITFIELD: We're continuing to follow breaking news out of the Middle East. After years of relative quiet, the civil war in Syria appears to be reigniting. Syrian rebels have taken control of most of the country's second largest city of Aleppo in a surprise attack. Video shows rebel fighters patrolling the city's streets. Government forces now appear to be retaliating, carrying out an airstrike today. Rebel fighters have not been inside Aleppo since 2016.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is following the developments. Ben, did this attack catch the government off guard?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it clearly did, Fredricka. The government, which is accustomed to the support of Russia, Hezbollah, and Iran, doesn't seem to have that support at the moment, at least not in the way it used to. And what we're seeing is that the government is confused, dazed and confused in a sense, not quite knowing how to react to this sudden lightning offensive by the Syrian opposition.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

WEDEMAN: The facade of government power in Aleppo was poster thin. Friday evening, rebels stomp on pictures of Syrian president Bashar al Assad. Just a few days ago, they were far away from Syria's second city. Now they control some of Aleppo's most iconic landmarks, like the vast central Saadallah al-Jabiri Square, and the city's ancient citadel. Eight years ago, opponents of the Damascus regime left Aleppo in defeat, bused out to nearby rebel held Idlib province. Now they're back after a lightning offensive.

Ali Jumaa fled his native Aleppo eight years ago. "It's an un- describable feeling," he says, to return to your land, your city, the place where you were raised." Syrian government ground forces haven't put up much of a fight. Residents report seeing them leave several areas. The defense ministry in Damascus issued a statement saying troops had conducted a, quote, "strategic redeployment aimed at reinforcing defensive lines." In other words, they retreated.

Russian forces are hitting back, conducting airstrikes on both Aleppo and nearby Idlib province, a stronghold for the anti-regime coalition. A major component of that coalition, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is an offshoot of Al Qaeda but has distanced itself in recent years. Russia came to the rescue of the Syrian government in 2015 but diverted some of its resources to the war in Ukraine. Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon fought alongside the regime during the civil war's darkest days. Most returned home to join the war against Israel, opening the way for the rebel offensive.

[14:20:08]

"We participated in the operation to liberate Aleppo, to kick out the militias of Iran and Hezbollah, to lift the oppression from our brothers in Aleppo," says rebel fighter Mohammad Hammadi. "And we're going to clear all of Syria, God willing." A brutal war stalemated in recent years rages again.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WEDEMAN: And now the rebels say that they have control of Aleppo's international airport, which obviously isn't working anymore at this point. And they also say that they are gaining ground north of the city of Hama. That is the next largest urban center south of Aleppo on the road to Damascus. At this point the pressure on the regime of Bashar al Assad is growing ever more dramatic. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, thank you.

Coming up, President-elect Donald Trump and Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau meeting at Mar-a-Lago just days after Trump's tariff threat. What Trudeau is saying about that meeting next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:40]

WHITFIELD: Trade tensions are heating up after President-elect Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on the U.S.'s biggest trading partners, including Canada. Last night Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The two had dinner alongside some of Trump's senior allies and cabinet picks. The meeting comes just days after Trump spoke over the phone with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. and Trump announced this week that he would inflict 25 percent tariffs across the board on imports from Mexico and China and Canada once he takes office.

CNN's Alayna Treene is in west palm beach near Mar-a-Lago. Alayna, has Trump said anything new about his talks with Trudeau last night?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: He did. He posted just moments ago on his social media website Truth Social, Fred, where he kind of laid out his impression of the meeting. I'm going to read for you some of what he wrote. He wrote, quote, "I just had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, where we discussed many important topics that will require both countries to work together to address, like the fentanyl and drug crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of illegal immigration, fair trade deals that do not jeopardize American workers, and the massive trade deficit that the U.S. has with Canada."

He went on to say that they also spoke about energy and the arctic. But look, this is notable. I think the one thing he didn't say in that was that he didn't make any announcement to move away from that commitment he made earlier this week when he vowed to impose steep hikes in tariffs on both Canada and Mexico.

And what's been fascinating about the fallout of that post, Fred, and that threat of him -- he specifically said he would impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods coming from Canada and Mexico, is that we really have seen the leaders of both countries react swiftly. We know that Justin Trudeau earlier this week got on the phone with Donald Trump. They said that they had a productive call, or at least that's according to our sources familiar with that phone call. But then we saw him yesterday fly down to Mar-a-Lago to meet directly with Donald Trump.

And one thing as well is we heard the prime minister of Canada, in an unrelated press conference yesterday morning before taking that flight to Florida, addressed this as well. And he said when Trump makes threats like this, when he makes statements like this, you have to take them seriously. Listen to how he put it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: One of the things that is really important to understand is that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There is no question about it. Our responsibility is to point out that in this way, he would be actually not just harming Canadians who work so well with the United States, he would actually be raising prices for American citizens as well, and hurting American industry and businesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Fred, one thing to keep in mind as well is that both Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump have worked together before, and Donald Trump used a similar tactic when it came to trade when he was trying to replace the North America Free Trade Agreement with Canada. He had actually imposed tariffs on Canada then as well. So they are refamiliarizing themselves. But I do, again, find it very striking that Trudeau not only called up Donald Trump, but then came in person, the first G7 leader to do so, and meet with him after the November 5th election.

WHITFIELD: And Alayna, we now know Trump's pick to be U.S. ambassador to France?

TREENE: Yes, we do. Donald Trump also moments ago, he's been very active on social media this last hour, announced that he is going to be choosing Charles Kushner, the father of his son in law, Jared Kushner, to serve as his U.S. ambassador to France. That's known as one of the more cushy ambassador posts that Donald Trump can be giving out, that a U.S. ambassador can be given out.

But there is an interesting back story on this. We know that, of course Kushner is in the family. But I'd also remind you that Charles Kushner was prosecuted in the early 2000s by none other than the former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie. At the time he was a U.S. attorney prosecuting this case. He convicted Charles Kushner on a series of federal crimes. Donald Trump actually pardoned Charles Kushner in 2020. Now he is naming him to be his ambassador to France. So just another sign of sometimes how Donald Trump is really keeping a lot of this in the family. Fred?

[14:30:07]

WHITFIELD: And I like your play on words, a cushy post for Kushner.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, it's easy to shop until you drop when you're swimming in Black Friday deals. But all that buying is taking a toll on planet earth. The new documentary exposing retail overconsumption.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:35:07]

WHITFIELD: The holiday season is here, and shoppers are turning out in record numbers to get a jump on the best deals, spending a record $10.8 billion on Black Friday. But a new documentary reveals the true cost of overconsumption on the planet. It's called "Buy Now!" and was released on Netflix last week. The film explores how brands make mindless purchasing too easy and what the consequences are of buying more than we need.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People say, oh, I gave my clothing away. They imagined that a way to be something abstract. But for us who are working on the ground, a way is here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining me right now is Flora Bagenal, who produced the documentary. Flora, great to see you.

FLORA BAGENAL, PRODUCER, "BUY NOW! THE SHOPPING CONSPIRACY": Hi. Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right, so you've worked on a lot of documentaries, but I'm wondering what's the genesis of why this one, and why now? "Buy Now!"

BAGENAL: Yes this one was really, this has been a very special documentary, because it's got such a huge platform on Netflix, and it's an environmental film, and very much from the beginning of the start of the project, we wanted to do something that felt different, looked different from the kind of environmental films that people see out there. And we just wanted to capture people's attention. We wanted to use the color and the language of advertising to pull people in and tell them a story about the world that surrounds us that we don't necessarily see, but it's always there.

WHITFIELD: And, you know, people love a great deal. But when they look at the consequences of mass production, you reveal to them, just as we heard the woman talk about all of these clothes, all this fabric showing up on these beautiful, what were pristine beautiful beaches in west Africa. And they are now stuck with all of this trash, so to speak. That's eye opening for a lot of people. How do you how do you expect consumers to see what is now the consequence of mass production?

BAGENAL: And I think that's exactly it. It's scale. And the documentary is all about scale. And you'll notice when you watch it that we have these big graphics, these big pictures of these huge scenes. And some of it is created by us in order to give a sense of what could happen or what it would look like if all this stuff that we buy was around us. But as the film goes on, the images become more and more real, and you see those pictures in Ghana which are completely un-doctored images of what's happened to this beach. And it's really about the amount of stuff. And obviously individually

we buy stuff we, we need things. But when you times that by everyone in the world and you look at the way that shops are kind of pushing all this stuff, this conveyor belt of stuff, when you think of it in those terms, hopefully I think it changes stuff for people and it feels different.

WHITFIELD: And when you say stuff, it's not just clothes, the stuff that we wear, but it's other, there are other things that are unmendable things, as you put it, in your documentary, I mean, which is essentially a lot of trash that we're buying. It might be a great deal, but then it's not built to last. So then it just either fills up a landfill or, again, ends up at the bottom of the ocean or on a shore.

BAGENAL: Yes, exactly. And we, and as when we were making the film, this was something that we kind of saw everywhere. This is not just clothes. It's technology, it's toys. It's just the things that we buy in the shops that we might need for something, I don't know, a birthday party or whatever it is. But quality is really a big issue here. And if you're going to make things cheap and at scale, then the thing that often goes is quality. And then if something doesn't last for a very long time, then you buy it, it wasn't very expensive. It breaks. It's annoying, but you chuck it out. And I think that's where consumers have a bit more power to make some more choices around the things that we buy, and just not falling for stuff that is probably not going to last very long and is going to end up getting ditched quite soon.

WHITFIELD: Through this documentary, "Buy Now!" you're hoping to incentivize us to do what? Or think about what before our next action of buying?

BAGENAL: Well, I think there's various different points that we want to capture people. We want to capture consumers and people who are kind of in this, all of us, me included, all of us, and just get people to think a bit more about the things they're buying. But we also wanted to capture companies, people working for companies. We wanted to capture that corporate space and kind of look at the role that some of these big organizations, these fashion brands, these well-known tech brands, these kind of friends of ours who are producing all this stuff and who have some responsibility to play as well.

[14:40:07]

We'd love to capture the, you know, the attention of lawmakers, the people that make -- have the power to change some of this stuff. So we're trying to kind of get -- open peoples eyes across the scale to what's going on. And then we can all have a conversation about how to change it hopefully.

WHITFIELD: Flora Bagenal, the documentary is "Buy Now!" It is very much eye-opening and intriguing and disturbing. But that's the intent, right?

BAGENAL: Yes. Thanks very much.

WHITFIELD: Thank you, appreciate it. Have a great rest of the holiday.

An investigation now is underway to find out how a woman got past multiple security checkpoints at New Yorks JFK International Airport and boarded a plane to Paris. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:29]

WHITFIELD: It's still a mystery to investigators how a stowaway passenger managed to board a Delta plane and fly from New York's JFK airport to Paris this week. The woman somehow got past multiple security checkpoints with no boarding pass and may have been hiding in the aircraft's restrooms during the flight. Here is the moment the plane landed in Paris, and the captain alerted passengers about the stowaway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Folks, this is the captain. We are just waiting for the police to come on board. They may be here now. And they've directed us to keep everyone on the airplane until we sort out the extra passenger that's on the plane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Lybrand is joining us right now. Holmes, what can you tell us about this investigation?

HOLMES LYBRAND, CNN REPORTER: That's right. So investigators have determined that this was a woman in her late 50s. She had a Russian passport as well as a U.S. green card. She was able to slip past two I.D. verification stations, one of which included the boarding process itself where you show your I.D., you show a ticket to get on that flight.

Now she was screened by TSA in that initial security screening, and both her and her bag did go through that screening. But she was also able to avoid detection, as you mentioned, on the aircraft itself, where she seemed to jump between lavatories during what one passenger called a completely full flight.

Now the flight crew did not detect her until they landed in Paris, where Paris authorities arrested her, detained her, and will send her back to the U.S.

One explanation, one potential explanation could be the fact that she was able to do this during a very busy, busy time for the TSA and for airlines. We're talking about one of the busiest weeks for those airlines where they're managing the flow of millions of people.

WHITFIELD: Oh, sure, human error happens, but wow, this is a big one, because there are a lot of things you have to produce, like a passport and a boarding pass usually before you get on the plane. So is anything being said about security, whether it's the airline or TSA, what they're looking at now?

LYBRAND: Right. So I spoke to one TSA official who really highlighted the fact that airports are kind of cash squeezed when we're talking about infrastructure but there are solutions like e-gate solutions and more automatic process for people to go through security where it's really make sure that those more porous kind of areas are really kind of cut off because of that automatic process.

Now, you'll have to remember, too, that the boarding process is not up to TSA. That's up to the airline. So that still remains. Now Delta is launching their own investigation, but we still don't know how she was able to get in line without a boarding pass and get on that plane.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Oh, my gosh, still so many unanswered questions. All right Holmes Lybrand, thank you so much.

LYBRAND: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMILY CALANDRELLI, 100TH WOMAN TO VISIT SPACE: That's our planet. Oh, my God, that's space.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You can hear the excitement in her voice. She just became the 100th to venture into space. And she's here to tell us all about her experience. Author, TV host, and space lover Emily Calandrelli, I can't wait to talk to you. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:53:41]

WHITFIELD: All right, it's a new milestone for women reaching for the stars. Blue Origin launched its ninth crewed flight with six space tourists on board, and among them, the 100th woman to go to space.

EMILY CALANDRELLI, 100TH WOMAN TO VISIT SPACE: That's our planet. Oh, my God, that's space.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, that's Emily Calandrelli, so excited there. The author and TV host said all of that while seeing earth from space. It was an emotional moment, she says just as emotional as the moments that her children were born.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMILY CALANDRELLI, 100TH WOMAN TO VISIT SPACE: I immediately turned upside down and looked at the planet. And then there were so much blackness. There was so much space. I didn't expect to see so much space. And I kept saying, like, that's our planet. That's our planet.

It was the same feeling I got when my kids were born, and I was like, that's my baby. That's my baby. and I, like, had that same feeling where I'm like seeing it for the first time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, that is so wonderful. Joining me right now, space gal herself, Emily Calandrelli. Emily, boy, we talk about all kinds of interesting life moments, but this is definitely an apex as well. So are you still feeling that kind of emotional high?

[14:55:02]

EMILY CALANDRELLI, 100TH WOMAN TO VISIT SPACE: Oh, I will never get over it. I want to go back immediately. Truly it feels like it transformed my life. It was the coolest experience I've ever had.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. And how did this opportunity happen for you?

CALANDRELLI: Yes. So I'm an aerospace engineer. I've been working in the space industry for decades. It's a dream that's been a couple decades in the making. And for me, I worked with a number of partners to help sponsor me to fly. One of the biggest ones is Marshall University, a University in West Virginia. I'm a West Virginia girl, and they wanted to see a West Virginia girl in space. So for me, there was a lot of people involved.

WHITFIELD: Wow. That's so beautiful. I mean, it's lovely to have that kind of network. So then I wonder, you know, I mean, perhaps this was an aspiration for a very long time to be able to go in space, but was there ever a feeling where you really weren't sure if it was going to be something that you could reach? I mean, it was strictly a dream and really not something that you thought you'd grasp.

CALANDRELLI: Yes. I mean, I worked for years trying and failing and trying and failing, applying the NASA astronaut route, applying to other contests. Inspiration Four was something that I applied to and got close to being chosen, and I was seeing a lot of my friends in the industry fly to space. And I thought, you know, I'm happy for them, because we all have this shared dream. But I always thought, like, is this ever going to happen for me? And this year it did.

WHITFIELD: Wow. That's incredible.

CALANDRELLI: It's truly a dream come true.

WHITFIELD: So if you can kind of walk me through what you were thinking, feeling, experiencing there. I mean, there's the -- just ascending is one experience. I mean, well, I'm sure there are multitude of experiences, but I'm envisioning, if I could break it down to just like the ascension, being there, and then, you know, the return. Can you break it down for me, I mean, some of the moments and describe for them emotionally for us?

CALANDRELLI: Oh, yes. So we're training in the middle of west Texas for three days before the launch, and so we feel really prepared, not only for the nominal or the normal scenario, but for any emergency scenarios. So we're feeling really well prepared. But we get on the rocket, and my heart is pumping because, you know, I'm on top of a rocket. That's a normal human reaction, I think. And then the engines ignite. We see the flames engulf us around the windows. I see the inside of the capsule aglow with this orangey red flame. And then we start to ascend. And then eventually the world falls down beneath us. The sky turns from blue to dark black, and then at that point, the capsule where we're sitting gets ejected from the booster.

And so the booster goes back and lands back down on land to be reused for another future flight. And then the capsule is in space, and all of a sudden, you're weightless and you're floating. And I'm looking out the window. And we just had this like, quite beautiful, but also sort of terrifying experience of launching our bodies into space. And so I'm like a little bit fearful. I'm still like my adrenaline is pumping, and I'm looking out the window, and I'm seeing new colors and contrast and details that, like, my eyes have never seen before. And I feel like my eyes are darting left and right and up and down to try to consume it all. And it was this overwhelming sense of like, I did it. I'm here. That's the planet. Oh, my God. And I think it was just everything wrapped into one, the most overwhelmingly beautiful experience I've ever had.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my God, you just took us there. I mean, that's beautiful. It was kind of that sensory overload. But at the same time, I mean, this is just out of this world, I mean, so unique.

So I understand you got to have your own personal payload. You took something up there, or a few things up there. What were they?

CALANDRELLI: Oh, my gosh, I thought about what I wanted to bring to space for years. And one of the most important things that I wanted to bring into space was my dad's college ring, because my dad grew up in poverty in West Virginia. He was the youngest of four kids, and he was the only kid in his family to go to college. And so he worked his way out of poverty, and his college ring is his most prized physical possession. And so when I told him that I was going to space, I asked him, can I bring your college ring with me? And we both broke down in tears because I feel like he ran so that I could fly. And I owe so much to the success that I've seen in my life, to the hard work my parents did growing up. And so that was one of the most meaningful things I was able to bring.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's so gorgeous. And now you, too, are, and you continue to be an inspiration for a lot of young ladies, young men too. But particularly since, you know, it was your goal for a very long time growing up to be in space, how are you hoping your opportunity to fly is also going to be kind of a liftoff for someone else?

CALANDRELLI: Yes. So I feel like my mission with this, with my flight begins now, because now I get to use this experience and use this story to bring back to the kids, the girls who see themselves in me, the kids in West Virginia, back in Appalachia, who see themselves in me. And so now I feel like my work begins, because I do a lot of public speaking. I love traveling to schools. I love doing Zoom calls with schools. And so now my goal is to go and talk to those kids and bring that experience to them. Because I feel like Marshall University helped me get into space. West Virginia country roads took me to the stars. And now it's my job to bring those stars back down to them.

WHITFIELD: Well, keep soaring, Emily Calandrelli, thank you so much. That was a beautiful flight that we got to be alongside with you, even just for the last two minutes.

All right, thank you, everyone for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Smerconish starts right now.