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CNN This Morning

U.S. Soccer Team to Play U.K. in World Cup; Coast Guard Rescues Man Who Fell Overboard from Cruise Ship and Remained in Water for Possibly 12 Hours; Video Shows Possible Assault on Woman Later Found Dead in Cabo San Lucas; Shoppers in U.S. Hit Stores for Black Friday; Community Rallies Around Club Q to Hold Annual Thanksgiving Meal; Biden, First Lady Call Club Q Owners To Express Condolences; Chasten Buttigieg Speaks On Colorado Club Mass Shooting. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired November 25, 2022 - 08:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Christmas music lasts maybe three to four weeks, and then you're like, OK, I can't really do it anymore.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's a time --

LEMON: I've got to ask you. This is weird. Do you watch, there are some channels movies that have like the Christmas movies on like year round. Do you ever do that? I know people who watch those Christmas movies on those channels year round.

COLLINS: There are some movies that I'll watch that are Christmas adjacent movies, but not primarily Christmas movies. I do not watch that.

LEMON: Speaking of, what's the movie, the Bruce Willis movie --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Die Hard."

LEMON: Is it a Christmas movie?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is.

COLLINS: I'm not getting it. I know.

LEMON: Christmas movie?

COLLINS: It's too early for that.

LEMON: All right, we've got to go. It's the top of the hour. We've got to get the news in.

COLLINS: CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.

LEMON: So good morning, everyone. As you can tell, it is the day after Thanksgiving. We're in a bit of a holiday mood here, a little life. But we have some big news to tell you about. And it is Friday, November 25th. Poppy Harlow is off. And there is a lot to get to this morning, including this fascinating

story. And I think we need to check on this, because they say it's 12 hours. That seems like a long time to be stuck in water. A passenger who went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard in the Gulf of Mexico, and in a moment we're going to speak to the Coast Guard officer who led the dramatic rescue mission.

COLLINS: Also this morning, an arrest warrant has been issued in Mexico after an American woman died while vacationing with six friends. We'll have the latest details on that there.

LEMON: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones responding to a 1957 photo showing him in the ground as white students protested against integration at an Arkansas high school. A member of the Little Rock Nine who integrated another school that same month is going to join us.

COLLINS: And Colorado Springs rallying around the LGBTQ community there. How they kept the Thanksgiving tradition, keep going in spite of the tragedy that happened at Club Q.

LEMON: But we're going to begin with the huge showdown coming up in just a few hours from the World Cup, right, the U.S. versus England, soccer versus football. It is a rare meeting of the two sides and a big test for the United States squad. They're hoping to be the latest team to pull off an upset in a tournament that has been all about the upsets. CNN's Anna Stewart is at BOXPARK to tell us what's happening. This is going to be major viewing all over the world, not just in the United States, not just in the U.K., but all over the world. Wait a minute. How did you get this assignment, you're inside of a bar?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: I'm in a bar all day, Don. But you know what, top secret, I don't really like football. But for today I certainly do. This is one of the biggest viewing areas in London, BOXPARK Shoreditch. There are lots of different rooms here. Tickets sold out days ago to watch this game tonight.

There is quite a lot of confidence, as you can probably imagine, from England. Some may even go as far as to say a little bit of arrogance. You can see it sadly in the tabloids today. We have "The Sun," "We'll Kane Yanks," hyping about that one. We also have "The Daily Star," with "Bunk-Off Friday." I am hearing, Don, that the offices in the U.K. and throughout the country are pretty quiet today. I think a lot of people doing a bit of work from home ahead of this match.

The thing is, I am told there is something of a curse with team England when it comes to matches against the U.S. in World Cup. In 2010 they drew. In 1950 they lost. They do have to get past that. I identify more as a Scot myself, and I slightly, only ever so slightly, Don, and I'll keep it quiet around here, slightly hope that Team USA wins to avoid some scenes that we saw here earlier this evening when England won. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERS)

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STEWART: A beer shower and I have my brolly at the ready. Don?

COLLINS: We might need and umbrella for that.

LEMON: I know. Were they excited there?

COLLINS: They were a little bit excited.

LEMON: Anna, thank you very much. Be safe. Have fun, OK?

COLLINS: Now to this this morning. It was a miraculous rescue operation. U.S. Coast Guard somehow located a man who went overboard on a Carnival cruise ship that set sail from New Orleans. It was headed for Mexico. The man's sister reported the man missing at about noon on Thursday. He was last seen in a bar on board the boat around 11:00 p.m. the night before.

So joining us now is Lieutenant Seth Gross. He is the Coast Guard search and rescue coordinator who conducted this mission. This is absolutely fascinating. And first we just want to know how he's doing, but also how you found him.

LT. SETH GROSS, SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSION COORDINATOR, U.S. COAST GUARD: Yes, good morning, and thank you for having me. So currently at last known his condition is stable. He's receiving additional evaluation at a local hospital.

[08:05:00]

LEMON: So he is -- listen, Lieutenant, question for you, because they've been saying that he was missing for 12 hours, or he was in the water for 12 hours. Can you clarify for us, because 12 hours sounds like a long time to be in the water?

GROSS: Yes, sir, absolutely incredible. So the Coast Guard received their initial notification yesterday at 2:30 in the afternoon reporting that a potential man overboard from the Carnival Valor as they made their way outboard to Mississippi. We have not been able to confirm when he entered the water, so we're under the assumption at any point from 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday on he could have entered the waterway. So he realistically could have been in the water for 15-plus hours before we were able to successfully rescue him.

LEMON: Oh, my gosh.

COLLINS: Can you just walk us through, if you get a report like this of someone who has fallen overboard, someone who is missing, how do you find them in the waters?

GROSS: Every case is different, and this one was especially complex. So given the time difference between when he was last seen to when the Coast Guard received notification, we knew that communication with the mariners in the Gulf of Mexico was going to be critical. So we issued out a broadcast, a safety net message and an urgent marine information broadcast. That essentially alerts all mariners operating in the Gulf of Mexico of our situation. In addition, we launched all available resources to try to get on scene, understanding that time was paramount. So we had a small boat out of Venice, we had a Coast Guard helicopter out of New Orleans, and airplanes out of Clearwater and Mobile.

LEMON: So just for clarity here, have you spoken to him? I imagine the doctors are able to talk to him. Is he in any condition to speak? Because he could clarify, I would think, what time he went in the water, the conditions, how long he was in there. You know what I'm saying, Lieutenant?

GROSS: Absolutely. And details certainly to follow. So right now he is ongoing additional medical evaluating. I did speak with his family who was on board the Carnival Valor. One of those memories which will stay with me for a long time. Details to come as we learn more about his circumstance. But obviously a huge testament to the working relationship that the Coast Guard has with the mariners in the Gulf of Mexico. And then obviously the training and commitment and professionalism of the Coast Guard men and women really resulted in this successful outcome we're all thrilled about.

LEMON: Have you ever rescued someone who has been in the water for this long? What's the longest period?

GROSS: I'll be honest with you, 17-year career, this case is unlike anything I've been a part of. So I think it blows the normalcy out of the water here and really just show the will to live is something that you need to account for in every search and rescue case.

COLLINS: How long could someone realistically, speaking of this as something of a -- how long could someone realistically survive treading water?

GROSS: I couldn't say definitively. I think a lot of it depends on the individual, the water temperature, the sea state, the currents and wind. This is, like I said, one of the absolute longest that I've heard about, and just one of those Thanksgiving miracles.

LEMON: Well, the water in the Gulf is a little bit warmer. Do you know what the temperature was, Lieutenant?

GROSS: Yes, so I think the temperature reported to me was just above 70 degrees last night. Not so bad. A little bit colder in the river. I do think it's important to note that we had over 200 miles of active search in the Gulf of Mexico. So when the motorboat came upon him and get him in the helicopter, just a huge success story.

COLLINS: This is absolutely amazing.

LEMON: It is a holiday miracle, as you said.

COLLINS: It is a holiday miracle. And I know you said you spoke to that man's family. I'm sure they are so grateful for your efforts. And thank you for coming Lieutenant Seth Gross to talk about this with us and tell us what happened.

GROSS: Yes, it was my pleasure, and thank you so much for having. And obviously, a team effort, but thrilled with the successful save.

COLLINS: You and your team did amazing work, so thank you.

LEMON: So authorities in Mexico have gotten an arrest warrant and have started the extradition process after 25-year-old Shanquella Robinson of North Carolina was found dead last month at a place she and six friends had rented in Cabo San Lucas. CNN's Ryan Young joins us with more details on this. Ryan, this is, I mean, an unusual story. What progress are they making on this? I understand that they have someone extradited? What's going on here.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're working on that right now, Don. You know as much as I do sometimes. Black social media can be pretty strong. This story went viral pretty quickly after this incident. So many questions about exactly what happened here. And there's a piece of video that we would love to show you but we haven't got it authenticated yet. But it's all over social media. And what you see is this social media video is someone beating someone and hitting them over and over, and apparently someone from that villa shared it.

We actually talked to Shanquella Robinson's father, and he confirms that he thinks it's his daughter in that video. I've watched the video myself, and you can see her not even fighting back to the person who is hitting her over and over.

[08:10:01]

At some point authorities were called to this location where this disturbing video was shot, and she is unresponsive. Apparently, she suffered some sort of spinal injury, a severe spinal injury. And as you can imagine, the friends we turned back to North Carolina having conversations with the parents at some point before the funeral, and then they took a turn.

Obviously, the Mexican authorities are looking into this. They put that extradition movement in. But here is the thing so far. They have not released a name. We don't know what friend it is. And as you can imagine for friends in Charlotte, they are upset about exactly where we are now and can't believe this happened. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm glad that it's getting the attention that it needs, because I wish it was like this from day one. I'm more so disappointed that she was around people that she thought were her friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: To be clear with our viewers, this happened back on October 28th. So you can understand there's been a large gap here. The FBI is involved, Mexican authorities are involved. We're hoping to get a name of somebody or maybe a mug shot sometime soon, but you had those friends sitting in there. Should have been a great time, should have been a time for people to enjoy their vacation. But instead now there's this homicide investigation involving someone who didn't even seem to be fighting back when they were being hit over and over again.

LEMON: Ryan, please stay on top of this story. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

COLLINS: This morning it is Black Friday, which is typically the biggest shopping day of the year, but rising inflation and slowing consumer confidence have tempered the expectations that economists have for what it could look like. It's also forced retailers to put a lot of those deals out much earlier. CNN's Alison Kosik joins us live. She's at the Macy's flagship store in New York City. So Alison, we were talking to you this morning. There were a lot of people there early on. What are you seeing so far? What are you hearing from consumers about their concerns about the economy?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, if you had any doubts that Black Friday shoppers were in store were no more, I'm here to tell you, truth is, in-store shopping is happening at least in this iconic Macy's store in Herald Square. I think a lot of people as you saw on that video there that you showed, the couple hundred people waiting outside in the dark, in the cold to come in here when doors open, they just want to come in and touch the product, feel it. It's like something new, right, instead of just going online.

Still, just today Black Friday shoppers expected to reach 115 million across the country. Half of those are expected to shop in store. But as you know, many people love to shop online as well. One Macy's exec I talked with said lots of people like to do it both ways. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC MASTRONARDI, CHIEF STORES OFFICER, MACY'S: I think we have a really big base of consumers that shop online, but we also have a lot of consumers that show in stores, and our best shoppers shop both of them. They really show by their situation. They shop by their occasion. And that's why we spend so much time and energy on being an omni-channel retailers that allows our customer to use all the different options that we offer whenever it's most convenient for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And Kaitlan, you mentioned inflation and how that's impacting the shopper. And yes, inflation, higher prices on just about everything, it's taken some of the spending power away from consumer. But I went ahead and talked with several shoppers who said they're staying positive, they're sticking to their budgets. They're looking for deals, something like this special, 60 percent off the original price. This is kind of what they're factoring in when making their decisions on what to buy this holiday season. The National Retail Federation is being upbeat as well, saying that spending is expected to increase eight percent over last year, adding up to about $940 billion in holiday spending for November and December. Kaitlan?

COLLINS: Alison Kosik, thank you.

LEMON: So many Republicans condemning the Colorado Spring shooting on an LGBTQ night club that left five dead, but has the rhetoric of some of those lawmakers contributed to the rise and attacks against the LGBTQ community. We're going to ask the author, educator, and husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg a couple of questions about that. That's next. Chasten.

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[08:15:00]

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The community in Colorado Springs has rallied around Club Q, which was the site, of course, of the shooting that left five people dead. Every year this club prepared a Thanksgiving meal together. It's a tradition that they say goes back 10 years. And after the shooting, the questions remained about whether or not they were actually going to go through with the dinner still. A local church, though, stepped up to host an event for Club Q, and with the help from volunteers and donations from local businesses, there was a huge Thanksgiving meal that was available to a community that is very much still grieving.

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JOSEPH SHELTON, COLORADO SPRINGS COMMUNITY LEADER: So many people are coming together because they care about this community. They care about what's coming out of this community. They're not looking at it as black, white, gay, straight. They are looking at it as this is my community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: This comes as President Biden and First Lady Joe Biden called the two owners of Club Q on Thanksgiving to offer their condolences and their support after speaking with the hero, Rich Fierro.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: So, I want everyone to sit down and watch this as I know it's going to be fascinating, and to just talk about all the facets that we're dealing with when it comes to this story and stories like them. Joining us now is author and educator, Chasten Buttigieg. He is married to the Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Chasten, thank you so much for joining us, and happy belated Thanksgiving to you.

CHASTEN BUTTIGIEG, AUTHOR AND EDUCATOR: Good morning, same to you. Thanks for having me.

LEMON: You have been outspoken on these issues after what happened in Colorado Springs and what these families are dealing with. How are you feeling? What's important to you this morning?

BUTTIGIEG: Yes, you know, it's tough. It's hard and it's definitely hard being in a position to watch people continuously attack your community. And it's happened again, right, after Pulse, our community was shattered. And seeing this happen again, and seeing what's happening with the rhetoric surrounding it, is certainly painful. LEMON: Can we talk about the rhetoric surrounding it? Because, listen, a lot of -- especially lately, a lot of politicians have been using gay people, not just lately, but it's ramped up and ramped up during the Midterms, using gay people as political pawns in their messaging, in their ads, and things that they're trying to get accomplished, and trying to rollback certain issues. How do you respond?

[08:20:10]

BUTTIGIEG: Yes. Certainly, it's uncomfortable watching them try to have it both ways. They spent the entire Midterms, and they've -- for many of them, they've spent their entire time here in Washington, attacking the LGBTQ community, attaching awful terrible labels to any LGBTQ person, attacking trans people specifically. And then, something like Club Q happens, and they want to send us our thoughts and prayers. And I know these Congressmembers understand that words have meaning. There's power in the way we use our words for good or for bad. And they have created a very dangerous atmosphere for LGBTQ people with their language. And then, something like this happens. And they -- and they quickly jump on social media and say thoughts and prayers, how awful. They can't have it both ways. And they need to wake up and understand that their ideology, and their rhetoric, and their language is hurting people.

LEMON: What do you say to members of the community who are frustrated with the hate out there?

BUTTIGIEG: I share in your frustration. But I also want to say, I believe that folks on the MAGA right, the people who have these megaphones on social media, or here in Congress, are a very, very vocal minority. You have to understand. And remember, that the majority of Americans believe in LGBTQ equality. The majority of Americans are with us. The majority of Americans believe in marriage equality. The majority of Americans believe that trans people should be respected and protected. These folks just have really big megaphones on social media. And I think it's a good time to remember that not everyone is spending their days on Twitter or on Facebook. They're going about their lives. These are folks who, rather than focusing on getting things done, rather than coming to Washington and focusing on solutions, have just decided to focus on us.

LEMON: Listen, Chasten, normally, I don't like to give things like this oxygen, but I think it's really important, one, because of what's happening; two, because you responded to it. And it was a direct criticism and attack on your husband. This is Fox News's Tucker Carlson attacking your husband and about this tragedy. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: Pete Buttigieg wants to talk about identity. He always wants to talk about identity. And the funny ironic thing is, until just a few years ago, Buttigieg wouldn't even admit that he was gay. He hid that, and then lied about it for reasons he has never been asked to explain. Why not? But whatever. Now, he's happy to use his sexual orientation as a cudgel to bash you repeatedly in the face into submission. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. So, listen, it's obvious the policy was called, don't ask, don't tell. And I think it's sort of self-explanatory there. But you responded to this criticism with this post. It's of your husband waving in his military uniform. What did you mean with that picture?

BUTTIGIEG: All right. Man, well, you just said my husband served under don't ask, don't tell, which meant that he would have been discharged from the American military had he come out of the closet. I know on the clip Tucker Carlson goes on to talk about how it seems that my husband only wants to talk about identity rather than his job. And I would just love for him to follow Secretary Pete on Twitter. He can follow along all of the things that are happening at the department.

But remember, this kind of rhetoric is easy. It's so easy to attack people, and to go on your talk show, and fire people up about something that's not actually happening. I love my husband deeply. I know he's a committed public servant. And he has everyone's best interests at heart. I just think these people, again, with these megaphones, they have -- they have a big platform. And rather than focusing on real issues, people's lives, making them better. They've decided to focus on hate.

LEMON: Listen, I like to focus on the reality of America, and that is there are members, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender community who are doing things and having great interactions with their families, and sitting around and, you know, talking about all of these issues. I was -- I am a member of a family like that, and understand, you have twins now. And I am wondering how you spent your Thanksgiving, and was it great, and did they eat way too much? I hope they did.

BUTTIGIEG: Oh, they can -- they can polish a plate quite well. Thanks for asking. We had a lovely day. They are walking and talking, and the most beautiful babbling, you know, having conversations with you, but there aren't words yet. We're destroying everything that we can get our hands on. So, it's lovely to have this time to spend together as a family.

[08:25:02]

And without bringing too much politics into it, I know that we're on the precipice of a marriage equality vote. And for any senator out there who's wondering whether, you know, they should vote yes or no, I invite them to get to know my family, spend some time with us the way we spend our Thanksgiving yesterday, just a family doing everything that everybody else was doing. You know, spending time on the floor, playing with toys, eating a good meal, and enjoying our time together.

LEMON: That's why I brought it up. And it's a good thing to end on. You're right about the Marriage Equality Bill. And listen, I think it's wonderful to see your family. I know that it's tough when you are married to a politician to talk about these sorts of social issues independently of that, but I think in this day and age, people would say that it's definitely necessary when you consider what's happening with the hate that's out there. Chasten, best of luck to you. Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Holidays to you.

BUTTIGIEG: Thank you.

LEMON: Regards to your husband as well.

BUTTIGIEG: Same to you.

LEMON: Thank you. Thank you very much.

BUTTIGIEG: Thank you.

LEMON: So, Jerry Jones responding to a 1957 photo that has reemerged showing the Dallas Cowboys owner among a crowd of white students trying to keep black students from integrating in Arkansas High School. Coming up, we're going to talk to a member of Little Rock Nine, a group of black students who integrated another Arkansas high school that same month just miles away.

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