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Lake-Effect Snow Causing Major Holiday Travel Headache; Trump Picks Loyalist Kash Patel To Be Next FBI Director; Syrian Government Forces Step Up Attacks On Rebel Coalition; Biden Will Become First Sitting U.S. President To Travel To Angola; CDC: HIV Infections Dropping In U.S., But More Work To Be Done. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 01, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:33]

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

We begin this hour with the dangerous weather causing travel nightmares this holiday weekend. Lake-effect snow is blanketing the Great Lakes region as biting cold sweeps across most of the country.

Nearly four feet of snow is already covering western New York from the past few days. And now more than two million people in the region are under lake-effect snow warnings.

Officials across Pennsylvania spoke earlier today, driving home the message for people to stay safe by staying off the roads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEC. MIKE CARROLL, PENNDOT: My message to the public is simple. Don't travel unless you absolutely have to. Give us today and tomorrow to restore order to the -- to the transportation network that we have made great progress over the last 36 hours. And I have every expectation with the work of state officials, county officials and local officials will meet the needs of folks here in Erie County.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN correspondents Polo Sandoval and Rafael Romo are following the latest for us. Polo, let's begin with you, live from New York. How are people handling the cold and a lot of cancellations for air travel?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, we've heard from meteorologists, Fred, about 70 percent of us throughout the country here are having to deal with that bitter cold. So all we have to do really is bundle up.

So consider us the lucky ones. When you travel about 400 miles northwest from where we are near the Great Lakes region, that's where Erie County officials are describing what they've seen the last couple of days as a quote, snow-mageddon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Record-setting snowfall is complicating the post- Thanksgiving ride home for travelers in the Great Lakes region.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This could be a 24 to 35-inch snow for sure.

SANDOVAL: Daily snowfall totals have paralyzed stretches of the highly traffic to I-90 corridors this holiday weekend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a car underneath that. Yes.

SANDOVAL: Here in Erie, Pennsylvania nearly 23 inches fell on Friday alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yesterday I shoveled for four hours.

SANDOVAL: Wow.

Shattering a 1979 record, burying cars and interrupting flight operations at Erie International.

In Michigan's upper peninsula over two feet of snow fell on Friday, eclipsing a daily record set in 1942. And the list of cities impacted by the locally-heavy lake-effect snow goes on.

In Buffalo, New York Bills fans are once again being hired as shovelers to clear out the stadium ahead of a snowy Sunday night game against San Francisco.

And there's more to come warned meteorologists, with nearly two million people still under lake-effect snow warnings come Monday.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The biggest concern right here along that eastern flank of Lake Erie, as well as portions of Lake Ontario. Now, the reason you're getting that lake-effect you've got the slightly warmer lakes that very cold air rushing over it.

SANDOVAL: Then there's the cold. Some of the chilliest temperatures since last winter which are expected to linger into the week ahead. They've been felt as far south as Florida, where many residents endured freeze warnings this weekend.

Some are making the best of these snowy scenes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, the weather outside is frightful and the fire is so delightful.

SANDOVAL: But they may also be foretelling a wicked winter ahead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Yes, if you get stuck in traffic that's pretty much all you can do is just sing a few holiday tunes. AAA estimating that roughly 71.7 million people will be traveling back home in a vehicle, close to 6 million likely going to be taking to the nation's skies.

In terms of the best times to hit the road Fred, travel experts estimating that it is -- actually the worst time to do it is between noon and 6 p.m. today, and then 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. tomorrow.

So it's a little too late to hit the road right now. Wait for tonight or get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to try to beat that traffic.

WHITFIELD: Yes, except if you got to get to work early in the morning, you're probably hitting the road between that noon to 6:00, peak hours. What a disaster.

SANDOVAL: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Let's pick it up with Rafael --

SANDOVAL: Take care.

WHITFIELD: -- Romo, who is at the world's busiest airport in Atlanta. Tell us what you're seeing. Do you have a lot of aggravated travelers who are running into cancellations or anything like that or delayed traffic?

[14:04:48]

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know Fred, all things considered, not too bad if you can see the main checkpoint here behind me.

The lines, to be honest with you, I have seen them worse at different times of the year. But of course we don't have to put up with the snow and some of the issues that they have up north.

And you said it well, Fred. Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport still remains the busiest in the world. And we know that traditionally the busiest days to fly are the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Sunday after the holiday.

Officials here at the airport were expecting 440,000 passengers over the entire Thanksgiving holiday. 200,000 of those just this weekend.

At the national level, the Transportation Security Administration, the TSA processed 2.4 million passengers Wednesday and 2.7 million Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. They were expecting more than 3 million passengers today.

We spoke with some of those passengers earlier. Some told us so far, so good, while others said catching early or very late flights is the key to not getting stranded. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSE WILLIS, RETURNING FROM WASHINGTON D.C. TO ATLANTA: It was pretty easy. It's not as crowded as it normally is I think because the flight was coming in later on in the evening, like about 12. So the crowd is not as bad.

but it does take some time. It's about an hour or two-hour wait to go through security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: In a statement last week, the TSA said it expected this to be the busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record, projecting to screen a total of 18.3 million people from Tuesday November 26th to tomorrow, Monday December the 2nd.

Fred, that's about 6 percent higher than last year.

Now back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo in Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson Airport. Thank you so much.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking the latest conditions from the CNN Weather Center. So I know one things for sure. It is unavoidable, you know, to escape the cold because its taking up, what, 70 percent of the country, maybe more today.

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Like all of us. And it's going as far south as the Gulf Coast. Some of those cold temperatures, the coldest air of the season so far, after a lot of us just wrapped up a record warm fall.

The lake-effect snow is what's causing problems. It continues to pump off the Great Lakes. It really won't stop until the wind direction changes. And these warnings have now been extended through Tuesday.

So you can see the lake-effect snow bands coming right just north of Cleveland. Erie has been slammed all weekend. I-90, just a headache, a mess just south of Buffalo where those fans are trying to shovel out all the snow from the stadium for that game later on today.

These are the snow totals down already. So far more than three feet off of Lakes Erie and Ontario and counting. We could still get another one to two feet as we go through today and into tomorrow.

Some of these totals or parts of western New York, 46 inches of snow again down in just this event, just since Thursday. 38 inches in parts of Pennsylvania.

So again, just a lot of snow already and continuing as we go through the rest of the weekend here because we still have these warnings in effect for the lake-effect snow now extended through Tuesday morning because we still have these winds coming over the very warm lakes.

The lake temperatures are about in the 50s, 40s and 30s -- that's record warmth. So when you have this colder air coming over the lakes, it picks up the moisture and it dumps the snow. The game for the Buffalo Bills -- the stadium is just south of

Buffalo, which often gets hit harder with some of the lake-effect snow because of that wind direction. So already several -- more than a foot of snow down there. And you could still have some snow showers through the game, windy and cold for that bills game later on today.

And again, like I mentioned, you've got the warmer lakes that picks up the colder air with all of that snow ad it just continues to pump. Which is why this machine just doesn't stop.

Here's a look at the temperatures. I mean, it is 35 degrees in Syracuse right now, 27 in Chicago, only 18 in Duluth. Wind chills in the single digits. So very cold. The coldest air of the season so far.

And it's taking up 70 percent of the lower 48 with temperatures below freezing. And it is getting as far south as the Gulf Coast. There are some freeze alerts in effect for parts of north Florida where we still have that growing season.

These are the morning low temperatures. 15 degrees as you wake up in Chicago tomorrow morning, 17 degrees in Cincinnati. Even in Atlanta 28 degrees as you start the morning.

Our average is 41 degrees here in Atlanta. So these are way below average for the time of year. And just, uh, I don't know, find your jackets if you haven't found them yet.

WHITFIELD: Find. Oh yes. Don't take off the jacket because its inescapable. I used bad grammar earlier.

The cold weather is inescapable. We all got to deal with it.

All right. Thank you so much, Elisa Raffa.

All right. Still ahead, President-Elect Donald Trump tapping more loyalists for roles in his administration. What his pick for FBI director could mean for Trump's political opponents and the future of the agency.

[14:09:46]

WHITFIELD: Plus, more drama for the Delta Airlines stowaway. Why authorities are struggling to deport the woman who snuck on to a flight from New York to Paris.

And if you want a dog for the family, but you don't want the stress, these A.I. alternatives -- interested -- could offer all the love of a puppy without the mess.

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[14:14:45]

WHITFIELD: New reaction today to President-Elect Donald Trump's decision on picking a longtime loyalist and partisan firebrand to replace FBI director Christopher Wray. Kash Patel worked in Trump's first administration as a national security council official. Trump's selection of Patel would mean firing Wray or Wray stepping down early from his ten-year term.

Trump appointed Christopher Wray as the FBI director back in 2017. Patel is a highly divisive figure who has accused the so-called deep state of targeting Trump and proposed a comprehensive housecleaning of the Justice Department.

It's a controversial pick that almost certainly sets up another potentially explosive confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate.

CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now from Florida near Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. So Alayna, what more can you tell us about this pick and the reaction to it.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right.

Well Fred, I think first of all, just to note that Donald Trump and his choice of Kash Patel is making clear that he's putting in a like- minded loyalist into this role.

I remind you that Patel has been a fierce critic of the FBI for several years now. He has called for them moving and dismantling and really shutting down the FBI's Washington headquarters, of firing top leaders at the FBI. And also for what he's referred to as rooting out bias within the bureau.

Now, we know that both Donald Trump and Patel have this long held distrust of the agency. On Trump's part, it really began back in 2016 when they began investigating him over his former campaign's ties to Russia. It's actually something Donald Trump brought up in his post in that announcement of Patel yesterday evening.

But look, you mentioned that there's likely going to be an uphill battle in the Senate about trying to confirm him. I know from my conversations with those working on the transition, those close to Donald Trump, that there had been some skepticism behind the scenes of whether Patel would be right for the role.

Again, because he is controversial and some of the beliefs that he has about wanting to root out the so-called deep state. But also because some of the other comments that he has made about national security in the past, including wanting to go after journalists and seek retribution on Donald Trump's opponents.

However, I will also say that today, and you mentioned this, Fred, we've seen a lot of people within the Republican Party including many of Donald Trump's cabinet picks and top advisers to him praising the choice of Patel. Many of them as well, trying to argue that he is the type of disrupter that the bureau needs to kind of root out, again what they have been calling bad actors within the FBI and people who have been biased unjustifiably in their eyes against Donald Trump.

Now, as for the Senate part of this, we actually did get some reaction as well from many Republican senators including the incoming, top Judiciary Republican, Chuck Grassley. I want to read for you some of what he wrote. He said, quote, "Chris

Wray has failed at fundamental duties of FBI director. He has shown disdain for congressional oversight and hasn't lived up to his promises.

It's time to chart a new course for transparency and accountability at the FBI. Kash Patel must prove to Congress he will reform and restore public trust in the FBI."

So that's just one key senator that Patel is going to need on his side in order to move through with that confirmation process.

And one other thing as well, you mentioned that Chris Wray would need to step down. He is currently still serving out his ten-year term. It expires in 2027. So far, there hasn't been a clear indication that he is going to step aside.

So Donald Trump would need to fire him in order to install Patel. So all of that is still likely in the weeks to come, Fred.

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

All right. Joining me right now to talk more about these developments is Juliette Kayyem. She is a CNN senior national security analyst and a former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

Juliette, great to see you.

So, all right, let's talk about Kash Patel first. I mean, he's a fierce Trump loyalist who has vowed to go after the so-called deep state.

What concerns do you have with someone like Patel in direct control over sensitive intelligence and the ability to investigate the president's enemies?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, he has no other agenda but revenge. I mean, it's not like he has a theory of law enforcement, a theory of reducing crime or financial crimes. He exists for one reason, and he's close to Trump for one reason, which is he will be the enforcer of what might be called sort of the revenge tour of this second term.

So it's not really a matter of, you know, what do I think or what should people think. It's he -- this he is appointed for this purpose, and how is he going to do that?

So the way to think about it is there's two ways. One is going to be sort of acts of omission, right -- excuse me of commission, right.

[14:19:42]

KAYYEM: He's going to go after Trump's political enemies, likely the Biden family, the Cheneys, people who have been in involved with the -- with the January 6th committee. Just simply to sort of scorch the earth against them. I'm not saying they'll end up in jail but he'll start investigations

simply to sort of whitewash Trump's involvement with incitement, illegalities, Russia, whatever it is.

So that's -- that's -- we know that's going to happen. And that's why Biden has to consider whether he's going to pardon his son at this stage.

But what we do know is Trump's not messing around. So there's a few weeks in which Biden can respond.

I want to also say something about the acts of omission. The FBI has a broad agenda. That's not just national security or political and media enemies. It has civil rights laws to enforce. It has financial rights and protection laws, consumer protections. One can assume that's not a high priority of Kash Patel and that you will see crimes that are committed that are likely not to be investigated.

WHITFIELD: And so how is this not weaponizing a government agency when this is the very thing that Donald Trump ran on that he wanted to upend any alleged efforts in his view of the government, of government agencies being weaponized or being used as --

KAYYEM: I mean, there's -- yes, there's really no, no -- look, he's going to have a confirmation hearing, maybe. There's theories and legal -- in the legal analysis that I follow about ways in which he could become the FBI director.

Some of this will depend on what Chris Wray decides to do. But look, I believe the president-elect, when he says that he is picking Patel because of this revenge tour of this, of this attempt to get back at his political enemies.

I don't think there's any reason to doubt the president-elect at this stage. So it will weaponize the FBI. It's a large agency. It's distributed throughout the country. There's lots of things it can do without the FBI director maybe meaningfully being able to direct.

But what we also have to remember is that the FBI does not investigate in a vacuum. It brings investigations that are ultimately prosecuted by U.S. attorneys. Those U.S. Attorneys also are going to be replaced by Donald Trump. So that's the -- that's the agenda right now.

I say this flatly only because there's really no other explanation for the appointment than that as Donald Trump says and writes to go after his enemies.

WHITFIELD: So, the head of the FBI is appointed to a ten-year term.

KAYYEM: Yes.

(CROSSTALKING)

WHITFIELD: Christopher Wray has a ten-year term. It's supposed to end in 2027. The role is supposed to be nonpartisan.

Take a listen to what Patel has said about his plans for the FBI if he was in charge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASH PATEL, NOMINEE, FBI DIRECTOR: I'd shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopening the next day as a museum of the deep state.

And I take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals. Go be cops. You're cops. Go be cops.

We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government, but in the media. Yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.

We're going to come after you whether its criminally or civilly, we'll figure that out. But yes, we're putting you all on notice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And in addition to Patel, you know, saying those things, he has authored three children's books which depict Trump as a king. Enemies are Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Joe Biden.

Plus, he's the author of a book which Trump called a blueprint to help us, I'm quoting Trump now, "a blueprint to help us take back the White House and remove these gangsters from all of government".

So what do you think that confirmation process is going to be like?

KAYYEM: Well, it's hard to tell right now. Part of it is how does Patel sort of -- does he transform himself? He spent four years in sort of the bro podcast and the manosphere and sort of -- talking very, very tough.

He clearly also does not know what the FBI does. He's going to have to educate himself about what it does, you know, to say that everyone has to go out, out into the country.

The FBI is actually based around regional offices. Anyone who's ever worked in law enforcement knows that there's FBI agents in every state.

And so he's going to have to educate himself on what the FBI actually does, rather than the sort of podcast that he's been on in which he sort of talks really tough.

There's also laws, I'd like to remind people, that would prohibit certain behavior, whether they're by an FBI director. Whether they're enforced or not, we don't know, but they're certainly out there.

There's been a history, you know, we don't have to go back too far to know FBI directors have abused their powers.

[14:24:43] KAYYEM: And whether they are prosecuted or simply history looks at them as unqualified for the job is something that we will determine maybe in the future.

So that's sort of how this is going to play out. And I don't -- I can't predict what, you know, there's a lot of controversial cabinet officials that are -- that are moving forward. I don't know what Republicans -- which ones Republicans really want to examine or not.

But basically we'll see the transformation of Patel from sort of, you know, as I said, bro podcaster, that's basically what he's done the last four years and the books and the children's books to potentially FBI director.

WHITFIELD: Ok.

A quick pivot to the investigation now of these threats that we're launched at least six Democrats in Congress who say they were targeted by bomb threats over the holiday. And then there were several of Donald Trump's cabinet picks and administration appointees who also say they were targeted.

So how -- how is this investigation going to be carried out to find out who or what entity might be responsible especially since if there are threats now during the Thanksgiving holiday, maybe these people are anticipating the same might happen over the Christmas holidays.

KAYYEM: That's exactly right. When people are home with their children. The Connecticut one is interesting because some of those people are not well-known names. So I think the investigation will begin with the FBI in Connecticut, determining how the communications were made, whether there's any connections between them, trying to hunt down what those -- what those connections might be. And then -- and then prosecuting if they can.

Going back to our first theme is things like this one wonders to what extent the FBI would be given license to investigate say, threats against Democrats.

As we know, wrongfully you know, Republican nominees for cabinet positions have also been targeted. It's a very scary time for them as well, because they don't have the protections yet of being cabinet officials.

And in both instances, that should be prosecuted by the FBI aggressively as it now stands and then determine, you know, we'll find out if Patel becomes the head of the FBI what that will look like in the future.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Juliette Kayyem, we'll leave it there. Thank you so much. Have a great rest of the holiday weekend, the few hours left of it.

KAYYEM: Thank you. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Coming up, Syrian rebels making advances in Aleppo after wrestling for control of most of the country's second largest city. How the government is fighting back.

[14:27:25]

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[14:31:50]

WHITFIELD: New today, at least four people were killed when Syrian government forces backed by Russia launched airstrikes against the country's rebel coalition. The attacks are in retaliation after opposition forces took control of most of Aleppo, Syria's second largest city. It was a surprise offensive that is renewing a civil war that had largely been dormant since a ceasefire was reached in 2020.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joining us right now -- right now.

So, Nic, do we expect this to turn into an all out battle for Aleppo?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, so far it appears to have been pretty much a clean sweep for the rebel alliance. But if you think back just less than a decade ago, when the Syrian government first took control, complete control of Aleppo, it was an absolutely brutal relentless campaign that smashed part of the you know, the ancient city's marketplace, which was you know, a place of a place that tourists from around the world would come to.

So there was nothing spared, if you will, in what Assad wanted to do to take control of that city. Right now has been caught off guard. It appears as to his sort of main sponsors, Russia and Iran not ready for this rapid rebel advance. There are reports that Assad is gathering forces in the next largest city to the south, Hama, 60, 70 miles away.

Assad himself, meeting with the Iranian foreign minister today, the Iranian foreign minister saying that his visit is shows the strength of support from Iran for Syria and for Assad, and Assad, saying that they will continue to fight back against all what he calls these terrorist elements across the country.

So the language is all there. And if you look at what the Russian news agency is portraying, the situation as today, they're saying that the Russian air force, the Syrian air force, together have bombarded and smashed the rebels. You know, the sort of death toll that the Russian state media is claiming usually inaccurate this time appears to be outlandish.

But if that's a statement of intent, then the answer to your question is yes. This could yet become a big battle.

WHITFIELD: And this rebel coalition is fairly new, right? Where are they getting this support from? ROBERTSON: Yeah, they're sort of -- the coalition itself is new but

the groups themselves are not that new. They've been -- they sort of grew out of different elements during the Syrian civil war. So we're going back to sort of 13, 14 years or so now.

One of the groups is backed by Turkey. One of the groups is grew out of al Qaeda. It's a Sunni fundamentalist group not as extreme as ISIS. And they've sort of moderated some of their views.

So they're they represent a large number. And really on the back of this sort of Sunni fundamentalist ideology are able to draw in fighters from, you know, all across the Muslim world. So they appear to have a number of, you know, a significant enough number of fighters to be able to launch this advance.

But when you when we talk about who is behind them with those fundamentalists, it's going to be their motivation to take back the land that Assad, who is from a minority non-Sunni group of Muslims, then, you know, it's part of it its going to be a religious motivation there.

[14:35:15]

And that's what's going to power them.

WHITFIELD: Very fascinating.

All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: Tonight, President Biden will travel to Africa and become the first U.S. sitting president to visit Angola. The historic three day trip will highlight U.S. investments made in the region, as China continues to deepen its ties across the entire continent of Africa.

[14:40:01]

Joining me right now is CNN Washington correspondent Sunlen Serfaty.

Sunlen, Biden promised African leaders at a Washington summit two years ago that he would visit the continent. So why is it so vital for him to make good on his promise? Seven years or seven weeks before, you know, he leaves office?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Fred. Notable that he only has about two months left in office. He certainly is mindful of the promises that he's made and the legacy that he wants to leave behind. And it's also notable that this trip is long awaited. This was originally scheduled back in October, and Biden at the last minute had to postpone this trip due to two hurricanes that were hitting the U.S. at the time.

Now, while there, he will be meeting with the Angola president. He'll also be giving a speech talking about, according to a senior administration official, the shared history. The highlight -- highlight the growth of their relationship over the years. But it is notable, as you referenced, that certainly China and Chinas growing influence in the region will have a big impact on the message that Biden is going to deliver while there.

A senior administration official telling us that Biden will be playing -- talking a lot about and playing up U.S. investment in Africa, in infrastructure, in specifically talking about the rail corridor project that the U.S. is in support, that potentially would be something that starts in Angola, something that means a lot to the people there. And that according to a senior administration official, is an initiative that they hope will continue on in the incoming Trump administration. And that is notable because certainly hanging over this trip, every part of this trip is the fact that Biden, Fred, only has two months left in office, and he's about to hand over the White House to present incoming President Trump in just two short months. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then, Sunlen, before he departs there at the White House, he is expected to commemorate World AIDS Day. Tell us more about that moment.

SERFATY: That's right. In just a few minutes on the south lawn of the White House, the president will be appearing along with the first lady as you noted, to commemorate World AIDS Day. Now they will, for the first time be putting out the national, the AIDS Memorial quilt. This is the first time it's actually going to be displayed on the south lawn of the White House, something that is symbolic of the struggles of so many, the deaths of so many.

And he'll be appearing with people who have lost -- families of people who have lost loved ones to the crisis, and also again, notable that here Biden is doing an event commemorating not only National AIDS Day but doing an event to highlight some progress that he believes that he's made at the White House. The White House, this week is set to release a progress report on the administrations strategy again, so notable that they are trying to highlight the progress that they believe that Biden has made during his time here at the White House.

WHITFIELD: All right. A significant live view, we're just looking at the south lawn just ahead of that ceremony. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much.

SERFATY: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: So, World AIDS Day has been recognized since 1988. Thanks to education and resources, HIV numbers are actually dropping in the United States. The CDC estimates infections have declined 12 percent between 2018 and 2022. But while most racial groups are experiencing a fall in cases, Latino infections have actually ticked up 12 percent.

Joining me right now to discuss is Professor Vincent Guilamo-Ramos at Johns Hopkins University.

Professor, great to see you.

PROFESSOR VINCENT GUILAMO-RAMOS, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me on, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Well, first, before I ask you about, you know, the epidemic for the Latino population, you know, that you and others have called an invisible crisis. I'm wondering that view of the White House on the South Lawn, the quilt that there will be a ceremony today. How significant is that to you? As we look at the live pictures again?

GUILAMO-RAMOS: I think that its quite significant because it brings really to the American people to people all over the world of the sort of real lives of people that have been lost to HIV/AIDS and it really centers the importance of World AIDS Day and the progress that we've made, but also the work that we need to do, including in the Latino community, where there remains an invisible crisis.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Now you and others have called the HIV epidemic for the Latino population an invisible crisis. Why?

GUILAMO-RAMOS: You know, Fred, there's been so much progress over the past 40 years in really ending HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and across the globe, that in some ways that progress has really foreshadowed the fact that the Latino community in the U.S. has not made progress. And in fact, it's worse than that. It's -- Latinos have had an increase in new infections.

And across the entire continuum of HIV prevention and treatment, Latinos fare worse than the general population.

[14:45:02]

And so while it's fair to say and there's much to celebrate, and I have been part of that story, as many others have in terms of the advances, there still work that needs to happen, and new infections among Latinos have gone up. And in particular, when we look at Latino MSM, there's been a 24 percent increase. When we look at young Latino MSM, there's been a 95 percent increase. This is unacceptable and we need to act and we need to act in a way that is collective.

WHITFIELD: I mean those are big numbers. Why do you suppose that is? It has something to do with the stigma associated with, is it a lack of education? The message isn't getting out to the right, you know, corners of the population. I mean, what's happening here?

GUILAMO-RAMOS: Well, the good news is that we have many of the tools that we need to end the epidemic in our nation and for that matter across the planet.

Those tools prevention and treatment tools are not reaching the Latino community in the ways that they should. And so when we think about, for example the numbers of Latinos that are receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis, the HIV prevention pill or injection, too few Latinos are receiving that who have indications.

When we think about Latinos knowing their HIV status and being offered an HIV test, too few Latinos who are at risk are being offered HIV testing as part of their routine care. When we think about Latinos being engaged in HIV treatment for those Latinos that are living with HIV, too few are engaged in care and too few achieve what we call viral suppression, which is really what we want in terms of preserving someone's health who's living with HIV, and also preventing further transmission of HIV to others from the person who is living with HIV.

We can do better, Fred, with the Latino community. We know how to do this. We've done it. We've just got to apply the tools that we've applied elsewhere to Latinos in our country.

So how optimistic are you to turn to be able to turn things around? I am optimistic, I actually think that we have been shining light on the invisible crisis, and we've made it less invisible. So thank you very much for the opportunity to address the audience today.

I think the concern is that we wont take action. We need to collectively come together a multi-sectoral approach from the government, from the private sector, from media, from universities and research scientists, from the Latino community and really, you know, do what we've done in the past 40 years to actually end HIV in Latinos.

WHITFIELD: Professor Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, thank you so much, all the best in your endeavors, as we continue to look at the live pictures there at the White House on the south lawn, where there will be a ceremony, a recognition by the sitting president, President Biden, before he takes off for his Africa tour later on today. Thank you so much.

GUILAMO-RAMOS: Can I just say one last thing about some resources?

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes.

GUILAMO-RAMOS: So I just want to share with the audience that at the LAFH.org (ph), there's an action toolkit, a video conversation guide in English and Spanish where anybody can actually download the materials and make the Latino invisible crisis less invisible. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful. Very instructive. Very important. Thank you so much, Doctor.

GUILAMO-RAMOS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, the woman who flew from New York to Paris as a stowaway earlier this week was scheduled to be deported to the U.S. yesterday. Why that plan got diverted.

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[14:52:58]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

We have new details about the stowaway passenger who made it through multiple security checkpoints at New York's JFK. Got on to a Paris bound Delta flight, all without a boarding pass. But once that plane landed in Paris, she got caught. Yesterday, the woman was scheduled to be deported back to the U.S. but

that plan didn't take off because sources tell CNN say she created a disturbance and was removed from that plane before takeoff. If and when she is returned to the U.S., the stowaway -- stowaway rather faces arrest and a civil penalty. The TSA is still investigating how she breached security in the first place.

All right, a tumultuous season ends with a conference championship loss for the San Jose State University women's volleyball team. Colorado State beat the San Jose Spartans in the Mountain West Conference Finals. The Spartans made it to the finals after several other college teams canceled or forfeited games over claims a transgender player was on the San Jose team. Neither the player in question nor San Jose State have commented publicly on the player's gender.

Having a pet can offer lots of love and companionship, even though it comes with a lot of upkeep, training and care. But now there's another option. How about a robotic dog?

CNN's Hanako Montgomery has details from Tokyo.

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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Prayers for health and a long life for a beloved and battery operated group of pets.

These robotic pups are at a celebration of Shichi-go-san in bows and kimonos, strollers and baby carriers, to be blessed just as young children are at this traditional Japanese festival.

SUMIE FUJII, AIBO OWNER: AIBO has become part of my family and I truly love it and treat it like a child.

MONTGOMERY: AIBO by Sony is a companion without the commotion for an aging population, just looking for a little puppy love.

[14:55:06]

There's no need for walks or feeding. Just a charge for when all the play makes AIBO a little tired.

HIROMI INOUE, AIBO OWNER: At first, I wanted a real dog. But there are a lot of issues with a real dog, such as having to take it for walks and not being able to take it on vacation.

MONTGOMERY: Shigeru Nishimori adopted an AIBO after his dog, Kuchan (ph), passed away, and gave it the same name. Now, he says, he prefers his not so furry friend to the real thing.

SHIGERU NISHIMORI, AIBO OWNER: It listens to what the owner says better than the original Kuchan, so I really enjoy being with it. Just seeing Kuchan's face every day after work becomes my motivation to work harder.

MONTGOMERY: A toy to some, a pet to others, a robotic best friend for many.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.

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