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Wet Weather May Impact Post-Thanksgiving Return Trips; Shoppers Hunt For Deals And Discounts Despite Inflation Fears; More Shoppers Relying On Credit Cards, Savings To Make Holiday Buys; Federal Reserve Signals Pace Of Interest Rates Hikes May Slow. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired November 26, 2022 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the weekend and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. I'm Boris Sanchez and look at who we are lucky to have with us today?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm lucky to be here with you, Boris. I'm Sara Sidner in for Amara Walker. If you are getting ready to head home from Thanksgiving festivities, you might want to pack some patience. Holiday travelers could get hit with cancellations and delays, thanks to a new round of severe weather. We'll have your latest forecasts, coming up.

SANCHEZ: And get ready for a weekend of deals and discounts. Shoppers flocking to stores this weekend as the holiday season kicks off. We're going to take a look at how inflation might be impacting their spending and what it means for the economy.

SIDNER: Plus, early voting begins today in parts of Georgia as Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker get ready to face off in a runoff election for the Senate. We'll tell, tell you what's at stake for both parties.

SANCHEZ: And investigators revealing new information about the Walmart shooter, including when he purchased the weapon he used and new details about a chilling death note he left behind before opening fire.

SIDNER: Good morning to you and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Saturday, November 26th. Could be a soggy Saturday for the millions of travelers looking to get home after this Thanksgiving holiday. Airports will face a surge of passengers heading home this weekend, most of them on Sunday.

SANCHEZ: Mother nature may wind up complicating the return home for people in the air and on the road. Already, there are more than 500 flights delayed this morning. With that number only expected to climb. Let's go to CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar who's at the weather center for us. Allison, where exactly are we going to see this severe weather.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Really the entire eastern half of the country is going to have some delays likely either today or tomorrow as this main system continues to make its way across the country. Right now, the focus is going to be the central portion of the U.S. where we've got the heavy rain and even the potential for some severe thunderstorms down along the Gulf Coast.

Out to the West, you've got a lot of snow showers making their way through the intermountain west. But you've got delays, we're talking today places like Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Atlanta, Kansas City, even Denver. Even if they're not happening right now, this is the forecast through the day. So, you're likely going to see some of those delays ticking up as we go through the morning and the afternoon hours.

Here's a look at the radar. Right now, those heavy showers are pushing into Dallas, areas of Houston starting to make their way up towards Shreveport and Oklahoma City as well. You've got the colder air in place behind this system. So, you've got a lot of that snow coming down right there along the Texas-New Mexico border.

Because a lot of this is heavy rainfall, we also have the potential for some flash flooding, so this is going to cause some big problems on the roadways, especially: Houston, Shreveport Little Rock stretching down to New Orleans all the way over towards Pensacola, where you can have that potential for that standing water on the roadways.

This system, as we make our way through the day, though, begins to push up into areas of the Midwest and the Southeast. So, later today, and even tonight, you're going to start to see those shower chances increase for cities like Atlanta, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago. And then by the time we get to Sunday, this is where you start hitting all the big cities in the Northeast: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., all looking at the potential to have the rain showers tomorrow.

So, that's why, tomorrow, Sunday, specifically, notice a lot of the oranges and the yellows in terms of flight delays that we expect to happen tomorrow, just because of that system making its way up there. But also, some delays in the Pacific Northwest because we have another system coming in here. So, Seattle, Portland, also likely looking at some delays as well. So, please make sure, Sara mentioned it, but I will emphasize it, pack your patience and maybe also the poncho as well.

SIDNER: Got to have that patience.

SANCHEZ: Allison Chinchar. Yes, got to have that patience. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much! So, shoppers have spent billions and billions shopping for deals since Thanksgiving morning and that spending spree is expected to continue through Cyber Monday.

SIDNER: But inflation is taking a bite out of shoppers' budget. CNNs Alison Kosik has the story.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Boris and Sara. It looks like deals and discounts will bring out our record number of shoppers over this long holiday shopping weekend. 166 million shoppers across the country are expected to shop from Thanksgiving Day all the way through Cyber Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:12]

KOSIK (voiceover): Of those, 115 million shopped just on Black Friday with more than half, 67 percent, shopping in store, which is interesting because a lot of us think that people only like to shop online. Now, inflation is certainly the elephant in the room for a lot of shoppers, it's taking away a lot of spending power for shoppers. So, they're having to get creative on what they buy for their family and friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the problems is inflation, prices high, so we have to make some adjustment, what we're going to buy this year. So, yes, it is little bit downsizing in terms of buying gifts, not like last year. So, yes, inflation is affecting us.

KOSIK: So, it looks like shoppers are sticking to their budgets. And it's the discounts or the deals that are helping shoppers decide which item to buy this holiday shopping season. But the National Retail Federation is upbeat about how it thinks the holiday shopping season will go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: It thinks that Americans will spend eight percent more than last year, adding up to anywhere from $940 to $960 billion for the month of November and December. Boris and Sara.

SIDNER: Our Alison Kosik there. Joining us now is Catherine Rampell, a Washington Post Opinion Columnist and CNN Economics and Political Commentator, thank you so much for coming on the show.

CATHERINE RAMPELL, CNN ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Great to be here.

SIDNER: So, I love to window shop. I love going and looking at the windows for the holidays. But when you look at the situation right now, have retailers actually rebounded from the pandemic yet?

RAMPELL: They have more than rebounded and more than recovered. In fact, if you look at retail sales today, relative to when the pandemic began, they're way above trend even after you adjust for inflation. And I think that's for a few reasons. One of which, of course, is that for a while, people were cooped up, and there were limited things that they could spend money on, they were reluctant to go out to restaurants travel, that sort of thing. So, they spent their money on physical stuff, goods, to refurbish their home or get a new wardrobe or what have you.

And then, of course, the government also gave American families a lot of money during COVID, during the, the initial shutdown, and then for the next couple of years, things like stimulus checks, Child Tax Credit, unemployment insurance, you know, was, was more generous than it had been in previous recessions, et cetera. So, consumers amassed a lot of savings, had limited places to spend that savings than they really wanted to. So, the result was they went to retail stores or, or often shopped online. So, yes, retailers are actually doing quite well.

SIDNER: It's so interesting, because we're in this like strange time when inflation is so high, and yet the retailers seem to be doing quite well. But this is an interesting little point of view here that more consumers are relying on credit cards and savings to make purchases this year. Can this impact interest rates moving forward?

RAMPELL: The interest rates, of course, have already been rising because the Fed has been raising them as a, as a plan to or an attempt to tamp down inflation itself. So, what that means is, mortgage rates are higher, credit card rates are higher, car loans -- basically, any kind of financing has gotten more expensive. And again, the goal was to cool down demand a little bit because supply chains are still tangled.

And so, you wanted to discourage people from spending quite as much. Now, they're still spending, as we've just discussed, they're still spending quite a lot. And that's partly because they have all of these savings accumulated. What happens going forward is, is an interesting question. Because if consumers continue to spend a lot, you're going to see inflation continue.

It's moderated somewhat, but it's still way higher than the Fed wants it to be, than really any of us want it to be. And you might see as a result, that the Fed will need to keep raising interest rates for a while, which will in turn, make that spending more expensive, right, at least if you're buying on credit cards. So, it's this, this feedback loop.

SIDNER: Is there though signaling from the Fed that it's going to slow those, the pace at least of hiking those rates. And if that's correct, does that mean they believe that inflation is becoming or is being controlled a bit now?

RAMPELL: Well, we've seen some good signs in the last month or so indicating that inflation is like, I said, moderating, cooling. I don't know exactly what word you want to use. It's still too high, of course, but it's not, the prices aren't growing as quickly as they had been earlier this year. And so, the Fed when it released its minutes from its last meeting, indicated that a number of the decision makers there thought that maybe it's appropriate to start raising rates a little bit less sharply.

[07:10:06]

So, rather than three quarters of a percentage point, maybe we get half a percentage point, which is still quite a lot, but not as, not as sharp or not as painful, I guess, as some of their previous decisions. So, what does that mean? It means that they're going to keep their foot on the brakes, but maybe they're not going to like, slam on the brakes, quite as forcefully as they had been doing. But I think we should expect to continue seeing interest rates rising, but perhaps not see as big of a jump, each meeting. SIDNER: OK. There is also another thing that a lot of people look at, economists especially, they look at the sort of what's happening in the housing market and mortgage rates have actually dropped for a second week in a row, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.58 percent. Now, a year ago, I get it, it was like half of that, it was like 3.1 percent.

But what does this mean for potential homebuyers who have sort of been standing back and saying like, I don't know, these interest rates? I don't know if they're going up and how far they're going up? Is this a good time to buy? Is this a window where they should be really thinking about going for it?

RAMPELL: Well, I think it's helpful if you're a buyer, if interest rates come down a little bit. The problem is that, as you point out, they've gone up so much. And the house prices themselves haven't come down a ton. They've come down a little bit in some markets, but, but not enough to offset how much more expensive it is to borrow, if that makes sense. You know, like if you have budgeted 2000 bucks a month, to, you know, to spend on your, your monthly mortgage payment. That buys you a lot less house today than it did a year ago, just because interest rates have gone up so much.

So, I don't know. I mean, my usual advice to people on home buying is if you have to move, if you need a house, then obviously you have to move and buy a house. But it seems likely that house prices will continue to come down a little bit going forward. So, it's very hard to time the market of course, but now may not be the best time given that interest rates are quite high. Like you said, they've come down bit, but they are still quite high and, and sales prices haven't quite adjusted to that reality yet.

SIDNER: It's such a personal decision. It is what you have in your account and what you're making and all those decisions you have to make before you jump into buying that huge purchase. Catherine Rampell, thank you so much for coming on and giving us your expertise. We appreciate it.

RAMPELL: Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: We have new details this weekend about the gunman in Tuesday's horrific shooting at a Walmart in Virginia that left six people dead and two others seriously injured. Officials say, the suspect purchased the handgun he used the morning of the attack. And he left a death note on his phone outlining grievances against people in his life. CNN's Brian Todd has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSIE WILCZEWSKI, WALMART EMPLOYEE, SURVIVED SHOOTING: He just had the gun up to my forehead and, and, yes, it's really hard.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Chilling new details released by police revealed that the man who killed six Walmart employees bought his weapon that very day. City officials say the shooter had no criminal history and that he legally bought the gun he used, a nine-millimeter handgun.

Officials releasing screenshots of writings found on the gunman's phone, the title: Death Note. He describes the grievances he had writing his associates were laughing and mocking him saying they "gave me evil twisted grins, mocked me and celebrated my downfall the last day. That's why they suffered the same fate as me."

In another part. He writes, "I wish I could have saved everyone from myself. My God, forgive me for what I'm going to do." While the gunman spoke of specific people in the note, police say, none of them were his victims, and the names were redacted for privacy. CNN reached out to Walmart to inquire if the shooter had any complaints against him or had ever been disciplined or demoted.

In response, Walmart said, "There is nothing that can justify taking innocent lives." One survivor a fellow employee told us earlier this week that she had been warned about the gunman.

BRIANA TYLER, WALMART EMPLOYEE, SURVIVED SHOOTING: I am new but I heard from the very beginning that he was the one to watch out for.

TODD: The city also released the identity of the youngest victim now identified as 16-year-old Fernando Chavez Barone. Friends say the teen had just started working at the Walmart and used his first paycheck to buy gifts for his mother.

JOSHUA TREJO-ALVARADO, FRIEND KILLED IN SHOOTING: I was hoping if there was a (INAUDIBLE) until they wasted, he's still with us here standing with me.

TODD: With two people still in the hospital, dozens gathered Thursday to pray for the victims. As the community struggles to move forward, the survivor can't stop reliving the terror does.

WILCZEWSKI: The sound of the droplets, it replays, and replays, and replays of how much blood was coming off the different chairs. It was making a rhythm, and it was one of the most disturbing things. I will -- I think will never let go of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:15:18]

TODD: The mayor of Chesapeake, Rick West, has announced that there will be a vigil for the victims on Monday evening at City Park in Chesapeake. Meanwhile, Walmart's still not answering CNN's questions about whether any disciplinary measures had ever been taken against the suspect or if any other employees had ever made complaints about him. Boris, Sara.

SIDNER: Still ahead, early voting kicks off in George today as Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock get ready for a runoff election. We'll talk about what's at stake for both sides as the candidates get ready for a rematch.

SANCHEZ: Plus, new details about a meeting between former President Donald Trump and a Holocaust denier who visited Mar-a-Lago. We're going to tell you why they met and what the former president is saying about it.

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[07:20:09]

SANCHEZ: Early voting is getting underway in Georgia today as Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock fights for re-election in the December 6th runoff against Republican challenger, Herschel Walker. The high stakes race is drawing big bucks and big names to the Peach State with former President Barack Obama slated to stump for Warnock next week, and a slate of Republicans hitting the trail for Walker as well.

If Warnock wins, Democrats will have 51 seats out of 100 in the chamber, which means they will need to rely on vice president Kamala Harris to break tie votes. Let's bring in Tia Mitchell now, she's the Washington Correspondent at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Tia, we're grateful to have you as always, Happy Thanksgiving weekend. Let's bring people up to speed on that court battle over early voting. Why was this so controversial? What were Republicans trying to accomplish?

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION: Well, it was controversial from the start because Democrats, number one, know that there was early voting the Saturday after a holiday just back during the January 2021 run offs. Democrats also said the law was being misinterpreted by Republican state officials who control elections, and they accused those Republican state officials of trying to distort the law to suppress the vote by disallowing early voting on the weekends, which we know it's popular for people who work regular 9:00 to 5:00s.

Of course, Republican said that wasn't the case. They just received new guidance and found out they were mistaken. And that Saturday voting could not be allowed. Because there were, there's a law that says for general elections, you can't have early voting within two days of a holiday. We had Thanksgiving. There's also that state holiday that used to be named after Robert E. Lee, which is the day after Thanksgiving.

But ultimately, the courts sided with the Democrats. It was appealed. The appeals court also sided with the Democrats in Warnock's campaign, and then the Supreme Court some the state did not appeal to the Supreme Court, but the Republican Party did. And the Supreme Court said: Nope, we're not going to hear that case. Those lower court ruling stand as a result about 27 counties throughout Georgia. They are both Democratic and Republican leaning counties that have opted into early voting today.

SANCHEZ: That was a lot. We appreciate you walking us through all of that. Tia, Herschel Walker is now caught up in yet another controversy on top of that abortion scandals, several abortion scandals. He's now facing questions about this tax break that he got on his home in Texas that's meant for primary residents of Texas, even though he's running for Senate in Georgia.

The Republic tax files that were reviewed by CNN's K-File that showed that he got a $1,500 homestead tax exemption in recent years in Texas. What does it mean for his campaign if he's getting this tax exemption for being a resident in Texas, even though he's running for Senate in Georgia?

MITCHELL: You know, what we think throughout this campaign is that people who are all in for Herschel Walker are all in for Herschel Walker in the many controversies and misstatements, even these residency issues that have plagued his campaign really, throughout, haven't really fazed his supporters.

You know, we all know that he moved from Texas to Georgia, just to launch this campaign. Prior to that he was living in Texas, his wife got some scrutiny for voting in Georgia, even though there were indications in 2020, that she still lived in Texas. Ultimately, the officials decided she did nothing wrong, but there was some scrutiny there too.

You know, so a lot of people kind of assumed Herschel Walker was a Texas resident that has launched the campaign in Georgia. And so, I think, again, like with many of his other controversies, it's not his base that might be thwarted by that. But those a relatively small number of votes that are in the middle in Georgia, but that can sway a close election.

They're the ones who are constantly saying, we don't know if we can trust this guy. We don't know if he's ready to represent us in Washington, because we do have so many concerns about things he said and done. That's where this latest controversy could have an impact.

SANCHEZ: Yes, Tia, I found this interesting. Georgia's Governor Brian Kemp won big in the midterms, defeating Stacey Abrams. He had largely stayed away from Herschel Walker, but he recently cut an ad for him for the runoff election. I think we have a clip of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): Families are struggling because of Biden's inflation, and Washington won't change unless we make them. Georgia is doing better than the rest of the country because we stood up for hard working families. Herschel Walker will vote for Georgia. Not be another rubber stamp for Joe Biden. That's why I'm backing Herschel. And I hope you'll join me in voting for him too.

[07:25:18]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senate Leadership Fund is responsible for the content of this advertising.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Seems, seems like Kemp waited until the run off to really throw his name behind Herschel Walker. What does it mean for the walker campaign? MITCHELL: Yes, I think it means a lot. You know, Brian Kemp and Herschel Walker ran very separate campaigns through the general election as you noted. At the time, Brian Kemp was focused on getting himself elected, he wasn't worried about Herschel Walker, you know, he had his own race to run. But it's clear that Now Brian Kemp is re- elected. He's being leaned on as the head of the party in Georgia to put his machine and his political capital behind Herschel Walker.

And that's what we're seeing happen. He's lit his grassroots campaign. He has campaigned and shared the stage with Herschel Walker for the first time. And now he has this ad that, again, is going to remind voters what, what the Party is trying to do is get those Republican voters those moderate voters who split their ticket. Many of them voted for Brian Kemp, and also Warnock. They're trying to convince some of those voters this time vote for Herschel Walker. If you like Brian Kemp, his candidate is Herschel Walker.

SANCHEZ: Tia Mitchell, we got to leave the conversation there. We hope you'll come back before December 6th to talk more about this huge, huge race in the Peach State.

MITCHELL: Thank you. Happy Holidays.

SANCHEZ: Thanks. Same to you.

SIDNER: And coming up, it was a week of serious legal blows for former President Donald Trump this week. Now, we're learning new details about a meeting between the former president Kanye "Ye", as he's known now, West, and a Holocaust denier the details next.

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[07:31:14]

SIDNER: Former President Donald Trump host a white nationalist and Holocaust denier for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The dinner was at the request of rapper Ye West, who has changed his name obviously from Kanye.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Trump acknowledged the dinner with Nick Fuentes, who's known for his anti-Semitic and racist comments.

Trump says he doesn't know who Fuentes is. Details now from CNN national political reporter Maeve Reston.

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: Good morning Boris and Sara.

So, it's only been about a week since the former president announced that he is running again for the White House in 2024.

But he's already facing controversy over some of the guests he hosted at his private Mar-a-Lago club this week.

We learned from Kanye West's twitter feed that the rapper had dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, and that he was accompanied by white nationalist and Holocaust denier, Nick Fuentes. West became engulfed in controversy as you guys know in October, after repeating anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and making other offensive claims during an appearance on a podcast.

Those anti-Semitic remarks by West cause companies that he was affiliated with, including Adidas to sever their relationships with him.

But more recently, he's been spending time with Nick Fuentes, who the Anti-Defamation League has identified as a white supremacist.

Fuentes has also been banned from most major social media platforms for his white nationalist rhetoric. In the video that West posted to Twitter on Thursday -- he claimed that Trump is really impressed with Fuentes. But a source familiar with the dinner told our Kristen Holmes that Fuentes was a guest of Kanye's and was not invited by the former president.

And I just want to read to you the former president's statement on this on Truth Social. He said, "This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about. We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport."

So, the former president clearly trying to distance himself here from Fuentes. But he did not ask him to leave the club, which would have, of course, been his right. And we've seen Trump use this pattern of behavior before when he has been associated with controversial figures.

Back to you guys in the studio.

SANCHEZ: Maeve Reston, thank you so much for that.

Let's dig deeper now with defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Shan Wu.

Shan, good morning and happy Thanksgiving. We'll set aside the question of why Donald Trump is inviting two unrepentant anti-Semites to dine at his home. We'll focus on the question of Trump claiming he had no idea who Nick Fuentes was. The implication being that nobody seemed to do research into this guy, yet he's being invited into Mar- a-Lago, doesn't that play into concerns from the Department of Justice, about the way that classified information was being handled there?

SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. Exactly, Boris. I mean, it's hard to know, which is worse that he knew the views of these people and invited them, or he has such poor screening there that he doesn't know who's coming to his home.

And, of course, that doesn't bode well for keeping documents regarding national security safe, when they're scattered about the resort. And they're all these people that he doesn't even know wandering around. So, that certainly plays into the concerns that naturally, the national security folks at the Justice Department had been worried about.

SANCHEZ: So, could that bit of new information have any impact on the investigation into his handling of classified information?

[07:35:07]

WU: I think it could, in the sense of if it's a pattern of this poor security there, people who are in charge or not in charge, as it may be, could be witnesses for the department in terms of this mishandling idea of the documents.

SANCHEZ: So, Trump also suffered a series of legal blows this week, including the Supreme Court clearing the way for Congress to access his tax returns. What do you think lawmakers could potentially learn?

WU: Well, I think they could learn a lot. He's previously submitted this list of some 500 LLCs, which are limited liability, corporations, and he keeps all the different businesses sconce in.

And the important part of the returns is they can match up information about that. So, rather than just a listing of the entities, now, Congress and perhaps DOJ, and other prosecuting entities can find out how he actually treated that income.

It may also divulge what kind of foreign assets may have been involved if he had foreign taxes being paid, or foreign income as well. And interestingly enough, it'll also I think, show what he was actually doing in terms of charitable contributions.

He likes to say he's a big donate -- donator to charities, and oftentimes doesn't follow up. So, we can take a look at what was actually done there.

SANCHEZ: And Shan, just a minor point, I wanted to clarify, lawmakers couldn't just release those tax returns to the public, right? They have to be used for some kind of lawmaking mechanism?

WU: The lawmaking aspect was what the original fight was, which is, do they have the right to request and gain access to them has to be part of legitimate legislative function. And the courts have found that was. Meaning, they were looking to do a review of the system of looking at presidential tax records.

The release though, interestingly, Boris, that's very much in their discretion. At least two courts, lower courts have said that they don't necessarily think they should be willy-nilly released, but they could release them if they think it's in the public interest.

SANCHEZ: The DOJ also announced this week that they are seeking testimony from former Vice President Mike Pence about January 6th. His team has said that they are open to possible discussions.

This is very different than the January 6 select committee asking him to testify. This is the Department of Justice that carries a lot more weight, doesn't it?

WU: It does. They carry the weight of being a criminal investigation, and I can see how Pence would treat Congress differently. He feels he can say that's really a political issue. He's in a different branch.

But this being DOJ which is within the executive branch really carries a lot of problems for Pence if it comes down to a fight, which is, if he's going to try to claim executive privilege, which Trump likes to try to invoke on behalf of people who worked with him or for him, and Pence himself has mentioned that he resisted Congress because he felt these were, "internal deliberations". That's going to be a problem with the executive branch because it's an executive privilege.

He's going to have a hard time to claim executive privilege against the executive branch. And so, I think ultimately, he loses on that legally. But, of course, delays the big problem.

And frankly, if I were advising the special counsel and I had enough evidence to indict, I would suggest hey, let's just go ahead and charge and what, you know, Trump worry about trying to raise executive privilege later.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Shan Wu, thanks so much for the time. We'll let you get back to those leftovers.

WU: Thanks to you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

SIDNER: All right, facing the impact of a decade's long mega drought firsthand. And now, some communities in Arizona could soon lose access to water as early as next year. More on this looming water crisis that is sure to have a ripple effect, coming up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:43:36]

SIDNER: Thanks for sticking with us. Here are some of our top stories this morning. Almost a month after the death of 25-year-old North Carolina native Shanquella Robinson, while vacationing in Mexico, prosecutors have now issued an arrest warrant for one of her friends. They have yet to name which friend, though authorities say her death was not an accident, but the result of a "direct attack" that involved one of her female friends.

SANCHEZ (voice over): In Colorado, a hero is getting recognized. Support for the man who helped stop the Club Q gunman poured in this week at his family's brewery in Colorado Springs with a line stretching out the door.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA MCGUIRE, CUSTOMER: He deserves all the respect that he can get for just coming out and loving the community, and then helping the people in the community right where he was at the right time. MICHAEL, CUSTOMER: Anytime somebody does what everybody needs to do, and then, you ask them, oh, you're a hero. And they say no, I'm not. I'm just doing what people need to do. You support him. You make sure that his business thrives.

SANCHEZ: Army vet Richard Fierro is one of the men hailed as a hero in the LGBTQ shootings that claimed five lives, including his daughter's boyfriend.

Police say the night could have ended in more carnage had he and others not stepped in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: As the climate crisis intensifies, residents in Arizona are feeling the impacts of a decade's long mega drought.

[07:45:05]

Some communities are now facing the very real possibility they may not have access to water beginning next year.

SIDNER: And farmers say the water crisis is threatening their future.

CNN correspondent Lucy Kafanov has more.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This picture perfect, but parched corner of Arizona is the Rio Verde Foothills. And unincorporated expanse of upscale homes and sprawling ranches, about an hour's drive from downtown Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREN NABOTI (PH), ARIZONA RESIDENT: And there here is a 5,000-gallon water tank.

KAFANOV: Karen Naboti (PH) loved her little slice of paradise until it began to run dry.

What keeps you up at night?

NABOTI: Water, water, water, water.

KAFANOV: Neighbors' wells have begun to dry up. Others harvesting rainwater as an extra buffer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the stockpile that's about to go into the house to be used to flush our toilets.

KAFANOV: Many homeowners rely on private water deliveries from nearby Scottsdale, which no longer has enough to spare.

JOHN HORNEWER, OWNER, RIO VERDE FOOTHILLS POTABLE WATER HAULING: So, come January 1st, we're done.

KAFANOV: Last November, Scottsdale informed water hauling companies that, starting in 2023, they could no longer buy Scottsdale water to deliver outside city limits, including the Rio Verde Foothills.

The man delivering the water and, more recently, the bad news is John Hornewer.

HORNEWER: There's no question about it, the drought is reality. Rio Verde is the first domino to fall because of the drought that we're in.

KAFANOV: Are people taking it seriously enough?

HORNEWER: They're not.

Water is more precious than you realize. And once you go to your faucet and you turn it on and there's no water, then its value becomes real.

KAFANOV: Across swaths of urban Arizona, signs of drought aren't immediately obvious. As the taps run dry, developers keep building.

NABOTI: This is a symbol of the massacre of the Maricopa County.

KAFANOV: Maricopa County, which includes the Rio Verde Foothills, is the fastest growing in the nation, adding more residents last year than any other county.

But as cities, boom, the drought pushes Arizona farmers to the brink.

Thanks to Colorado River, Pinal County is, or at least was one of the most productive farming regions in the United States. The crops grown here are shipped all over the country.

But as the mega drought continues to worsen and water supplies like this dry up, the farmers here fear their fertile fields could become desert again.

WILL THELANDER, FARMER, TEMPE FARMING COMPANY: Once we hit tier-two shortage, we lost all of our water.

KAFANOV: For three generations, Will Thelander's family has tilled the soil in Pinal County, an hour's drive south of Phoenix.

THELANDER: Now, we're looking at where I grew corn last year, but we didn't have enough water. So, field sits empty.

50 percent of my farm is fallow now.

KAFANOV: And that's a big economic hit?

THELANDER: Yes.

KAFANOV: Neighboring farms have folded up. Others have sold their land to solar companies and developers.

Do you fear that the future of farming in Arizona is under threat?

THELANDER: Yes. No one can produce it like the Colorado River can for food. So, yes, I'm really worried. 50 years down the road, unless we come up with solutions, farming won't be here.

KAFANOV: To survive, Thelander is placing his hope on a new crop.

THELANDER: We're looking at a plant called guayule.

KAFANOV: A drought resistant desert shrub that produces natural rubber for tires, while using a fraction of the water.

But he wants politicians to listen up.

THELANDER: People just keep saying, we'll pump some water. What happens in 50 years? What happens to people's kids and grandkids and where is all the food come?

Just kicking the can down the road and hoping for the best is what everyone seems to be doing, I don't think is a path for success.

KAFANOV: Back in the Foothills, residents see their plight as a warning to others.

NABOTI: America, wake up. For the folks that are sitting there and surrounded by water and have great wells and other states and that kind of thing, don't think you're not going to be affected.

KAFANOV: Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: It's really a terrifying situation there in the West.

And a quick programming note for you now, settle in with CNN for the stories behind everything we love to watch at Christmas time.

"TIS THE SEASON: THE HOLIDAYS ON SCREEN" airs tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Here is a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After the end of World War II, when the country just seen the awfulness of war and lost people who they cared about in the war, they needed to recognize the brotherhood of mankind.

So, in the 1940s we get some great Christmas movies that captured the zeitgeist of the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER (voice over): I know you have a favorite like, maybe, It's a Wonderful Life or Christmas Story. Watch "TIS THE SEASON: THE HOLIDAYS ON SCREEN" tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

[07:49:43]

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: No sign of the so called special relationship yesterday on the pitch, as Team USA took on England in a very tense showdown in the World Cup.

SIDNER: And a few goalless games have been so dramatic. Leaving USA fans with plenty to be proud of. Andy Scholes watch the game with some of them.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, ever since the draw was announced, people have had this United States versus England games circled on their calendars in here at Fado Irish Pub in Atlanta, it was packed.

People were lined up around the building, they waited hours to get in. Some showed up six hours before the game in order to get a spot.

And I tell you what, I've seen a lot of ties in my lifetime. Never have I seen a 0-0 draw be more exciting than that.

This place was hanging on every single kick.

[07:55:00]

And in the end, a draw for Team USA was considered a win by many of the fans here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm pretty proud of the way the U.S. played. They definitely had chances that they could have capitalized, but I think the next game will come out really strong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 0-0, we'll take it. Still show score, 0-0 one, but you know, go USA.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really proud lesson to possession. You know, I just excited to see the guys really fight really hard, and just -- it's kind of on the result.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my opinion, a 0-0 for the United States is a win. It's a win, in the fact that, I don't think we're on their level, but we're getting there. And I just like, we got to go beat Iran. Let's beat Iran, and let's see what happens.

If we tie Iran, yes, so, it's in our hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And so, it all comes down to Tuesday versus Iran. And you can bet that this bar and places all around the United States will be packed once again.

In Atlanta, Andy Scholes, CNN.

SIDNER: It was an exciting draw.

Now, coming up heavy rain, thunderstorms, even some possible snow.

SIDNER (voice over): I'm sorry travelers. We will tell you what you might expect to happen coming up in just a bit, as you head home from Thanksgiving.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)