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CNN This Morning

Trump To Set Meet Biden At White House On Wednesday; Trump Names Susie Wiles As White House Chief Of Staff; No Roles For Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo In New Trump Admin; Why Voters In Deep Blue New York City Turned To Trump; Source: Trump Team Hasn't Submitted Transition Agreements; Qatar Suspends Mediating Gaza Ceasefire Talks; Lebanon State News Agency: Israeli Strikes In Central Lebanon Kill 40 Plus; Trump Wins Arizona By Appealing To Latino Voters. Trump Wins Arizona; Trump's Deportation Plan Will Cost Billions; Protesters Advocate Abortion Access; Seven States Vote to Protect Reproductive Rights. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired November 10, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): -- year of 2025, which will draw millions more visitors than usual to the Eternal City's popular sites. And for those who have come during this Roman construction season, all is not lost. They can still throw their coin into this smaller basin for luck, and they're getting an opportunity of a lifetime to see this fountain up close.

Barbie Latza Nadeau CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Is it good luck to throw your coin into a basin in front of the Trevi Fountain?

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: To each (ph) their own.

BLACKWELL: All right, Barbie Nadeau, thanks so much.

Next, our CNN This Morning starts right now.

WALKER: And good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Sunday, November 10th. I'm Amara Walker.

BLACKWELL: It's really good to have you with us. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Here is what is happening this Sunday morning. President-elect Donald Trump notches another big win as he prepares to head back to Washington. More on his face to face meeting with President Biden this week and what we're learning about who will not be in his administration.

WALKER: New this morning, more than two dozen people are dead following an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza. Details on that and why Qatar says it will no longer mediate ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think more Democrats are pushing Latinos to Trump, to tell you the truth.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: Latino voters helped propel Trump to win. We'll talk about what resonated with that key voting block and what it means for Democrats going forward.

WALKER: And a FEMA worker has been fired after she told her disaster relief team to avoid homes with signs supporting Trump. Reaction from the head of the agency is coming up.

We begin this morning with another big win for President-elect Donald Trump. CNN can now project that Trump will win in Arizona, completing his clean sweep of all seven battleground states. He will finish the election with 312 electoral votes in total, while Kamala Harris will win with 226 electoral votes.

BLACKWELL: The President-elect is preparing for an Oval Office meeting with President Biden. The meeting is political tradition, projects a peaceful transfer of power. However, the last one between Donald Trump and Barack Obama, that was in 2016 because Trump did not host Biden four years ago as he was fighting election results at the time.

Let's go now to CNN's Betsy Klein in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Betsy, what's the early read on this Oval Office meeting?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Victor, President Biden will host former president and now President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office this Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. for that traditional transition meeting. And we've also learned that First Lady Jill Biden invited Melania Trump also to the White House for a meeting.

It's unclear whether or when that meeting will take place, but certainly a notable and symbolic moment because Trump refused Biden the same meeting back in 2020 as he was baselessly contesting the results of that election. And a moment for Biden to show the country and the world that there will be a peaceful transfer of power even after he called Trump a threat to democracy.

And we're learning that this meeting is coming together after behind the scenes coordination between Trump's incoming Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, along with Biden's Chief of Staff, Jeff Zients, the two of them coordinating closely on this and other issues in recent months, including the aftermath of those assassination attempts.

And also we're learning that the Trump team is being nudged by the White House to complete some of the transition agreements to unlock some of those key briefings. And the holdup sources are telling us is over some concerns in part about that mandatory ethics agreement, but obviously, a key moment to watch on Wednesday as Biden hosts Trump and the first time that they will be together substantively since that really fateful CNN debate back in June.

WALKER: And Betsy, what are the President's plans for the rest of the week?

KLEIN: Well, Monday is Veterans Day and the President plans to commemorate that at Arlington National Cemetery. And then later in the week, he's going to shift his attention back to foreign policy. He will travel to Peru for a economic summit with world leaders and then go on to Brazil.

We're first he'll visit the Amazon rainforest, one of those perks of the presidency and then go on to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. But obviously, the results of this election loomed so large over that meeting and Biden back in 2021 has said that he told world leaders America is back and French President Macron replied for how long.

So obviously, a lot of concern and uncertainty about the future of U.S. leadership in the world from Biden's counterparts this week.

BLACKWELL: Betsy Klein, thanks so much.

The Trump transition team is working to fill some important positions in the incoming administration. Let's go to CNN's Daniel Strauss. What do we know about how transition and the filling of these positions is going?

[07:05:03]

DANIEL STRAUSS, CNN REPORTER: I mean, ultimately a lot smoother than in the last two transitions, partially because both the Trump team and the outgoing Biden team are coordinating closely. Susie Wiles, the incoming Chief of Staff, and Jeff Zients, the outgoing Chief of Staff, have been coordinating closely on what they are both hopeful for to be a very smooth handover between administrations.

And right now, it's still early, but what we're hearing are a few pretty familiar names. Governor Doug Burgum could have some kind of a position in Energy or as an Energy czar, Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri is one of the names that's being bandied about for to be attorney general. So right now, what we're seeing is a cabinet that is full of people ultimately that Trump will know or feels pretty comfortable with.

WALKER: And, you know, Trump also pointed out last night that Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo who served in his first administration, they will not be having roles in this administration. Do we know why?

STRAUSS: I mean, it's pretty easy to see, especially with Haley, that Trump himself has maintained at best a frosty relationship with the former rival. And before that, his former top diplomat at the U.N., and the same with Mike Pompeo.

These are two alums of his previous administration whose ties to the incoming president himself has been frostier than he would like. So what we're seeing here clearly is that Trump does not forget old relationships as he's building his new cabinet.

WALKER: All right, Daniel Strauss, good to have you this morning. Thank you.

Well, New York may be a solidly blue state, but Republicans still managed to net some wins and flips this week.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Gloria Pazmino explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York City just got a little more Republican.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From corner to corner of New York City, we saw the Republicans gain traction.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Here in Brooklyn, Republican Stephen Chan defeated State Senator Iwen Chu, the Democratic incumbent, in a race defined by public safety, opposition to a homeless shelter in the district, and concern about newly arrived migrants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are not happy with the way things are going and they want change.

PAZMINO (voice-over): While Harris easily carried the city with about 68 percent of the vote compared to Trump's 30 percent, Trump made significant gains this election cycle. Roughly 94,000 more people voted for Trump than in 2020.

FRAN VELLA-MARONE, KINGS COUNTY CONSERVATIVE PARTY CHAIRWOMAN: If you look at a map of Southern Brooklyn now after this election, it's going to be actually almost all red.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Trump make gaze across all of New York City. The most significant shifts were in neighborhoods with large Asian and Latino communities. He narrowed the gap in the Bronx, parts of Queens, and here in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, where Asians, generations of Italians, and Latinos live and work side by side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we came, nobody supported us. Nobody gave us a hand. We went to work.

PAZMINO (voice-over): More than 200,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022. The crisis has manifested across different cities, but has been particularly heartfelt here.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: They're poisoning the blood of our country. That's what they've done.

PAZMINO: Why are so many immigrants willing to support that kind of language?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They understand exactly what President Trump is talking about. He understands that President Trump is not talking about them. PAZMINO (voice-over): This family from Ecuador agrees.

SILVANA SARI, TRUMP SUPPORTER: We need a change. Economic is really a mess right now. It's affecting all families.

Sari and her husband say they've spent years working to open up a barbershop and put their kids through school.

SARI: He has to work 14 hours a day to have what he has right now, to have a business open. And it's not fair, another business open in the corner with no permit, with no insurance. I don't think it's fair at all.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Republican operatives see Trump's inroads in New York as the beginning of what's to come. A chance to grow their party and elect more Republicans right here in Blue, New York.

VELLA-MARONE: Hopeful better watch out. We're going to come after her. And I -- she's going to be in trouble. And I believe that we can win the government's race in two years.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WALKER: All right, Gloria, thank you.

Let's bring in political reporter for Axios, Stef Kight. Stef, good morning. So on top of this red shift that Gloria was reporting about, you know, in some parts of New York City, CNN is projecting that Arizona will go to Trump, which means that Trump has swept all the battleground states.

So then how do you expect this Wednesday's meeting to go as President Biden will be hosting the President-elect at the White House?

STEF KIGHT, POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: I mean, first of all, it's pretty remarkable to see the fact that Trump has managed to, you know, win every single battleground state and also is on track to winning the popular vote. Certainly not something many of us were expecting, giving -- given how close the polling was leading up to this.

[07:10:14]

You know, Wednesday will be interesting to see what approach President Biden decides to take. Of course, this is something that Trump did not offer President Biden. When Biden won in 2020, this is traditional that the presidents meet after the election, that they start to, you know, ease the process of the transition.

That was not something that Trump was interested after 2020, of course, claiming that Biden had not actually won the election. So it's clear that President Biden wants to change the narrative there to take a different approach and offer Trump the ability to come to the Oval Office and speak with him. And it'll be interesting because, of course, they've had a lot of barbs thrown back and forth between the two of them. And Biden has a very recently called Trump a fascist and called him, you know, a real threat to democracy. So whether they kind of make up those differences or whether there's kind of more of a warning tone to their conversation will be interesting to see.

WALKER: It sure will be. And as we are waiting to hear, you know, who else, other names that will be filling key posts in Trump's administration, we know who will not be getting tapped. Trump on Truth Social Saturday night, he posted that his former ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley and his former secretary of state and CIA director, Mike Pompeo, would not be invited to join the administration.

What do you make of this public snub? I mean, what's the point of even mentioning them by name if they're not going to be tapped?

KIGHT: I mean, certainly, there is ongoing beef between Trump and Nikki Haley ever since the primary process. She, of course, throughout the campaign was offering to campaign for him, something that he never took her up on. It's very clear that he is holding a grudge there with, you know, her challenge to his nomination and the things that she said during the primary cycle as well.

So there's no real surprises there that he would turn her down just given what we've seen from him and his campaign over the past few months. And then Mike Pompeo also has had critical words of the former president, the President-elect, especially over his handling of unclassified documents. So that could be a part of the issue there.

Pompeo was on some lists. I had heard his name as a possibility at one point, but it's clear Trump is looking to other people, people who he feels like he can rely on. And we know from the first administration, loyalty is the number one issue for Trump.

WALKER: There are about 70 some days until Inauguration Day, and Trump's team has skipped several deadlines for the initial planning process. For one, Trump hasn't signed a legally required ethics pledge where he would have to address, you know, his conflicts of interest. That was due on October 1st.

There was also this pair of memos he was supposed to sign with the Biden administration to get access to federal agencies and unlock this planning process. What is the holdup and what bearing does that have on the transition?

KIGHT: I mean, we did expect that, you know, the Trump campaign, if they were to win, were going to have their own ways of going about the transition this time around. Of course, the Trump camp has claimed that, you know, they have signed their own kind of ethics memos that they have started to do what they're going to do.

But there still is that question of whether how Trump would handle his own conflicts of interest. And of course we know from the first time around that has been an issue given his business and other things that he's been involved with. But this is essentially just going to slow down what is already a pretty expedited process to make sure that, you know, come Inauguration Day, Trump is able to be up and running with the government functioning as it should be.

We do expect pretty significant shakeups within this next administration, especially given the focus on Schedule F, for example, a policy that Trump was working on towards the end of his first administration that would essentially allow him to, you know, replace civil servants with political appointees.

So, you know, the transition process is kind of just the beginning of what I think we'll see some real changes to how the future President Trump will deal with agencies and the people he has working for him.

WALKER: Yes, and of course, Trump's plans to remake the federal workforce is obviously causing a lot of concerns and anxiety amongst federal workers. Lastly, you have some reporting about the Senate Majority Leader race. It is a three-way race.

As we know the Republicans will be retaking control of that chamber. This is to replace Senator Mitch McConnell. You have reporting that Trump is privately weighing in on this. What are you hearing?

KIGHT: So I have heard from sources familiar with the situation that in the weeks before the election, Trump did kind of wave off Senator Rick Scott from Florida, his bid to be a majority leader, saying that it was, quote, "not serious".

[07:15:10]

Rick Scott has been viewed as more of the outsider running in this race. Most people view this as coming down between the current whip, John Thune and Senator John Cornyn. But on the other hand, we do know that there are people close to former President Trump who are fans of Rick Scott. And we've seen even online some momentum from kind of Trump's sphere, who do see Rick Scott as the most kind of MAGA choice.

WALKER: All right, Stef Kight, we'll leave the conversation there. Thanks so much.

BLACKWELL: An Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed at least 30 people overnight and Qatar leaders walk away from playing mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. The latest in a live report.

And jury selection starts on Wednesday in the trial of an undocumented immigrant charged with murdering a nursing student in Georgia. The judge's ruling about what evidence can be used in the trial, that's coming up.

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[07:20:42]

WALKER: ?New this morning in the Middle East, Gaza's health minister says that at least 36 Palestinians have been killed and several others have been injured following an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza. A warning, this video you're about to see is disturbing.

The airstrike happened earlier today. A hospital official says most of the dead are children. Israel's military officials say the strike killed terrorists. The IDF says the airstrike is under review, but that precautions were taken to reduce the risk to civilians.

Qatar is no longer serving as mediator for Gaza ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. Qatar's foreign ministry says officials notified the countries 10 days ago. Qatar's spokesperson says the mediation was paused because both Israel and Hamas were unwilling to negotiate a deal in good faith.

BLACKWELL: Talks for a ceasefire deal, an agreement to secure the release of hostages have been on and off again for more than a year. CNN Correspondent Paula Hancocks joins us now from Abu Dhabi. So what does this mean for the likelihood of a ceasefire in the future? It obviously in the near term makes it much harder to get there.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Victor. It can only lessen the likelihood of this ceasefire and hostage deal being done, given the fact that Qatar has been such a key mediator over the last year plus. Now, we know Egypt is also a key mediator.

But at this point, Qatar has said that there just doesn't seem to be the willingness on either side to try and push this deal through talking about Hamas and Israel. Now, the Biden administration, a senior official said that they have been invaluable when it comes to these talks.

And just last year in November, there was a deal that had been struck to release some of the hostages along with some Palestinian prisoners and Qatar was key in getting to that point. So what they have said is that about 10 days ago, they notified both sides as they were negotiating saying that if this time the agreement is not made, they will pull out of that role.

They haven't ruled out getting involved again though. They say if those talks restart and it looks like there will be good faith negotiations on both sides, which they say there hasn't been up to this point. They've also said they're going to close or suspend the Hamas office in Doha.

The Hamas officials of the Political Bureau have been allowed to stay and operate in that country. It's not clear, though, that they are expelling Hamas. A diplomatic source says there doesn't seem to be a timeline or an ultimatum for those members to leave.

Again, they say that can be restarted, reopened if there is a willingness to talk. It is a very disappointing notification to the families, the friends of the hostages still inside Gaza to millions of civilians in Gaza who are finding it increasingly desperate.

Their situation to survive, to find food, water and shelter, as you mentioned that just more than 36 have been killed just in one area in northern Gaza over today itself. Now, we're hearing also a similar situation of desperation in Lebanon. This is where the Israeli military say that they are targeting Hezbollah. And we understand that at least 40 have been killed in Lebanon since late Saturday.

Victor, Amara, back to you.

BLACKWELL: All right, Paula Hancocks, thank you.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants on his first day in office. We start the process then. One expert says it would be nearly impossible to pull off. We'll talk to her next.

WALKER: And Mother Nature helps California fire crews get the upper hand on a massive wildfire that has already scorched more than 20,000 acres near Los Angeles.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:29:08]

WALKER: Donald Trump's win in Arizona completes a full sweep of the seven battleground states that secured his election victory.

BLACKWELL: A key campaign goal that contributed to Trump's win was reaching out to Latino voters. CNN's Ed Lavandera takes a closer look at Trump's appeal to the Latino community.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 2016, this happened at a Donald Trump rally in Arizona.

TRUMP: Look at that sign. Latinos support Trump. I love you. I love you.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Next thing, Betty Rivas knew, she was on stage with the future president.

TRUMP: I love her. I've fallen in love, Melania, I've fallen in love with her.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Eight years later, Rivas remains fully enamored with the President-elect.

BETTY RIVAS, DONALD TRUMP SUPPORTER: (Speaking in Foreign Language).

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Betty Rivas told us she felt a connection with Trump on that stage when they looked into each other's eyes. Betty and her husband, Jorge, own Sammy's Mexican Grill near Tucson. In this temple to Trump, they serve tacos and enchiladas and the popular MAGA burger.

LAVANDERA: If someone were to come up to you and say, you're a Latino immigrant, how can you support Donald Trump?

JORGE RIVAS, RESTAURANT OWNER: I will tell him that the man love this country.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): He says Trump speaks about the things he cares about faith, family, and the economy.

RIVAS: I know he's not perfect. I know he's not like the pope. We believe in, you know, teaching our kids about God, our Christian values, family values. And the Democratic Party is embracing all the woke left leaning ideas that doesn't go with our values.

LAVANDERA: I think there's going to be a lot of people who have a hard time hearing you say, I like Trump because of family values.

RIVAS: I don't go by his lifestyle. I don't go by what he has done.

LAVANDERA: Do you think it's the Democrats pushing Latinos to Trump or is it Trump bringing in Latinos?

RIVAS: I think more Democrats are pushing Latinos to Trump.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Tony Arias and Idelfonso Armenta or the host of a radio show called Los Chavorrucos, which loosely translates to young geezers, on La Campesina radio network, which airs in five states. They take dozens of calls a day on a radio station founded by the iconic labor organizer, Cesar Chavez, and they've sensed Trump winning over Latinos in the last few years.

Democrats did not impress people, said the caller. Donald Trump spoke well and stole their hearts.

Another caller said, I fought with my oldest son. He told me Trump is better than Kamala. I said, I cannot accept that.

LAVANDERA: Are you seeing that it's a generational divide?

TONY ARIS, RADIO HOST: I see a lot of young people voting for Trump because they're thinking about the economy.

RAQUEL TERAN, FORMER DEMOCRATIC LEADER IN THE ARIZONA SENATE: We need to do a better job of engaging our community.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Raquel Teran is a former Democratic legislator in Arizona. She recently ran for Congress and spent months knocking on doors trying to turn out Latino voters.

TERAN: What they're hearing from Trump is that there's going to be a better economy under his administration.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The night after Donald Trump won re-election, Jorge Rivas told us about their path to becoming U.S. citizens. He was born in El Salvador, granted asylum in the U.S. at age 17. Betty immigrated from Mexico. Now, she thinks, many migrants are lying and trying to take advantage of the asylum process. They want the immigration crisis fixed.

RIVAS: If they let in hundreds of thousands of people who already have criminal records, if deporting them creates a mass deportation, I'm all for it.

LAVANDERA: But what if rounded up in all of that are people who work on a farm? If you're doing the jobs that Americans don't want to do, does that worry you?

RIVAS: That wouldn't be fair. Of course, you know, they need to make sure that they don't throw away, they don't kick out, they don't deport people that are family oriented.

LAVANDERA: The question that persists is why Donald Trump's history of offensive comments hasn't fully turned off Latino voters. Some pointed out to us that younger Latino voters in particular don't know much about Trump. That they simply see him as a celebrity businessman. And others also pointed out that many Latino immigrants come from countries with truly dangerous and evil political leaders and they view Trump as much more harmless.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Phoenix.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Ed. Joining me now is the director of the Bush Institute and SMU Economic Growth Initiative, Laura Collins. Laura, good morning to you. So, we call this a mass deportation plan, but there really is no articulated plan. It's a goal. It's a promise. What would a plan look like to pull this of?

LAURA COLLINS, DIRECTOR, BUSH INSTITUTE-SMU ECONOMIC GROWTH INSTITUTE AND FORMER DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRATION POLICY, AMERICAN ACTION FORUM: Good morning. You're a lot of details about what this plan would look like. I've seen some reporting since the election about potentially focusing on people with final deportation orders or just going after criminals. I think it's important to note that the United States government considers people who violate immigration law to be removable because of the crime of violating immigration laws.

So, you really are talking about the entire undocumented population, many of whom are here working and paying taxes. So, this would be incredibly expensive, for starters, not to mention difficult since there are so many undocumented workers in the United States.

BLACKWELL: Yes, they pay an estimated $96.7 billion a year in taxes. But beyond the taxes, the president-elect told NBC News that there is no price tag. There is a cost, obviously. Walk us through the framework of how much that would cost if he were somehow to get the personnel to identify, apprehend, deport 11 million undocumented people in this country.

COLLINS: Absolutely. So, just the cost alone would be about $400 to 600 $billion. That was an estimate from about a decade ago. It's possible that would be even more expensive today.

[07:35:00]

But the economic cost is something that I think is not well understood. And when you're removing that many people from our workforce, you're talking about potentially over a trillion dollars and lost GDP. We also know that, really, in order to fully enforce immigration law, you'd have to fully stop more people from getting to the United States irregularly or from overstaying a visa, and that will also take time given the number of flows that we have at the border.

So, you're looking at a process that's probably not going to get done in four years, even if it were to get done in the next four years. decade or two would be incredibly expensive and harmful economically.

BLACKWELL: And you've worked on immigration policy for many years. Is this something that is exclusively of the executive branch or would there need to be congressional support for this? Republicans have control of the Senate, but they don't have a filibuster proof majority. So, Democrats could stop a lot. How much would have to go through Congress?

COLLINS: When you're talking about deportation, so much of that is about what the executive branch can do. And there's a wide array of places where they can really implement that policy, but they're going to need money to do it. And so, Congress obviously comes into play when you're talking about the budget piece and the money and appropriating those funds.

When you talk about the border and about trying to stop people from coming, because we know so many people have been trying to utilize the asylum system as their only legal pathway, if you really want to, in an airtight way, change the dynamics of that, Congress has to change the law on asylum. We've seen administrations try to tighten asylum access at the border. Ultimately, that gets challenged in court. So, when you want to make some real lasting changes, Congress does have a role to play here.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and the U.S. has signed on to some international commitments as it relates to asylum as well. Let me ask you, the president's record -- his rhetoric, I should say, is that the undocumented people in this country are a drain on healthcare. They're a drain on education. They are raising the cost of housing across the country. Are they a net negative economically when you look at -- you've discussed some of the contributions, if you look at the cost of all the systems versus the work that they do in the taxes that they pay, what's the bottom line?

COLLINS: You know, it really depends on which level you're looking at. If you look at a federal level, there are probably a net gain economically. In the State of Texas, several years ago, there was a study done that said that the undocumented workers in the State of Texas were a net gain for us economically as well. But we know that, just like you and I, people are more burdensome to their local economies and their local cost and their local government. So, it's a mixed bag there. The burden on state and local government tends to be a little higher than it is on the federal government.

But I think the important thing to remember here is when you look at certain industries that are really important to our economy, agriculture, construction healthcare, lots of different areas, there are people here who are doing these jobs. Your housing points an interesting one because we know that a large percentage of the undocumented population works in construction. And so, construction is one of those places where we really would need for -- we really would need the workers that are already here. BLACKWELL: Laura Collins, thank you.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: FEMA fires one employee who allegedly told relief workers to skip certain hurricane ravaged houses in Florida all because of what was in their front yards. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00] WALKER: And here are some of the top stories we are following for you this morning. A FEMA employee has been fired for advising their disaster relief team to avoid homes with Trump signs while canvassing in Florida after Hurricane Milton. FEMA's administrator called the actions, quote, "reprehensible" and emphasize that such behavior will not be tolerated. FEMA is investigated -- is investigating how many homes were missed and has called on a new team to the affected area. Now, Florida's governor has also directed state officials to investigate.

Tony Todd, the actor best known for his iconic portrayal of "Candyman" in the horror franchise, has died. He first gained recognition for his role as Warren in Oliver Stone's Academy Award winning film "Platoon" and went on to star in other notable movies like "Bird," "Lean on Me," and "The Rock," but it was his performance as "Candyman," a spirit summoned by saying his name five times in a mirror that cemented his status as a horror legend. He was 69 years old.

Jury selection is set to begin Wednesday in the trial of Jose Ibarra, the man accused of murdering nursing student Laken Riley. This comes after a judge denied several motions to suppress evidence in the trial against Ibarra. Riley was jogging near the campus of University of Georgia in Athens when she was attacked and killed.

BLACKWELL: Protesters rallied outside of the Heritage Foundation headquarters in Washington, D.C. yesterday to advocate for access to abortion care and other gender related resources. The Heritage Foundation is the conservative think tank that published Project 2025. This was the first protest in Washington since Donald Trump's election win. Attendees say that they are already planning another march, just two days before Inauguration Day.

[07:45:00]

And as states determine a path forward after the repeal of Roe v. Wade, more are deciding to protect access. CNN's Jacqueline Howard recaps the voting results.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: These are the states that voted this week to protect abortion rights, Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York. But in most of those states, five total, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New York, in those states, abortion is already legal and the ballot measures maintain access under the state's constitution. Voters in only two states, Arizona and Missouri, approved measures to expand abortion access. And keep in mind, even if the ballot measures in Arizona and Missouri improve access in those states, about 40 percent of women of reproductive age will still be living in states where abortion is either banned or restricted.

Now, it's not clear what the new Trump administration's strategy will be around abortion. We know Trump's campaign has said he would veto a federal abortion ban if elected, but we also have seen his position on the issue shift many times over the years. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Jacqueline Howard, thank you very much. Fires are burning on both U.S. Coast this morning. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking the fire alerts for millions of people. That's straight ahead.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: All right. And it's a good time to be in the goalpost making business because they were coming down again yesterday. Coming up, I'll show you what the students in Oxford and Atlanta ended up doing with them.

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[07:50:00]

WALKER: A volunteer forest ranger has died while working to put out a wildfire in New York.

BRUNHUBER: Officials say the volunteer was responding to the Jennings Creek Wildfire that has burned 2, 000 acres across parts of New York and New Jersey and has not been contained. CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking the fire threat for us this morning. All right. Tell us more.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So, you could actually see that smoke yesterday. And take a look at this image right here. You can see that smoke plume right through there, kind of crossing over New Jersey and into New York. This was yesterday. There is still a fire concern today, but it's just a little bit farther north and east.

So, the red flag warnings today are for Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, where you're still going to have those gusty winds and also incredibly low humidities. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. We are finally going to see some rain, especially late this afternoon and into the evening across much of this -- much of the northeast. Again, not a ton of rain, but at this point, anything helps not only with the fire, but a lot of this area has been dealing with extreme drought conditions too. So, that's certainly going to help many of these areas, even though the rain finally moves out by Monday.

Another area that is dealing with very heavy rain has been portions of the Gulf Coast, especially Louisiana, portions of Mississippi and East Texas. You look at how much rain has already fallen. Look at this, just from the last 24 hours, widespread, three to five inches, but there were some spots that picked up eight to 12 inches of rain.

Now, is actually coming from the Gulf Coast. You can see those flood watched that we do still have an effect and one flash floods. But when we talk about where, look at this, Tropical Storm Rafael well out into the Gulf of Mexico. But a lot of that moisture is being drawn up from Rafael into the cold front that has been slowly starting to creep across the southeast, and that's what was fueling a lot of that incredibly heavy rainfall that was there. But there's no concern here about it actually making landfall in the U.S. or even really Mexico for the next couple of days because there's just so many things out there that are blocking it.

So, it's basically, for lack of better words, just spinning doing donuts essentially in the Gulf of Mexico and is likely going to continue to do that over the next several days and then will likely just dissipate at some point in the coming days, not really having much of an impact at all, which is the kind of news you want to hear when it comes to the tropics.

WALKER: All right. Allison Chinchar, thank you. And we're slowly closing in on the first ever 12-team college football playoffs. And several teams shook up the rankings yesterday.

BLACKWELL: Andy Scholes is here. Lots of upsets.

SCHOLES: Lots of upsets. Goal posts were not safe anywhere yesterday in the South, they were coming down. And we had a huge SEC matchup in Oxford. Ole Miss hosting third ranked Georgia. It's a very rainy day there in Mississippi. In the third quarter, Jaxson Dart, he's going to throw the touchdown to Antwane Wells Jr. They made it 22 to 10 Ole Miss. And the Rebels defense was just amazing all day long. They had five sacks, nine tackles for a loss.

With 16 seconds left, the Ole Miss students, they jumped the gun and rushed the field, while the refs got mad and made them all get off the field because the Rebels still needed to kneel it to end the game. Once they did, students rushed the field again, and of course they went for those goal posts. The final was 28 to 10. This is the first time Georgia has lost to a team other than Alabama since 2020.

But those students, they took one of those goalposts all the way out of the stadium and then walked it through the heart of Oxford. Imagine just being one of those cars waiting at that stoplight and you see a goalpost with all the students walking by.

All right. And meanwhile, Georgia Tech, they pulled up a stunner against Miami. The Canes were down five with the ball in the fourth, but Cam Ward gets sacked here. Jordan Vandenberg recovers for Tech. They shock force ranked Miami 28 to 23. Their students then rushing to field as well. They went straight for the goalpost. Now, they didn't get the whole goalpost, they just broke off the uprights and --

BLACKWELL: Oh, come on.

SCHOLES: -- the students they took one of those uprights out of the stadium and then they threw it into the pool/pond outside the president's mansion. So, there you go. That's where that one ended up.

All right. Maybe the most exciting play of the day it came in the Jacksonville State-Louisiana Tech game last night. Tech leading 37-31, four seconds left. Jacksonville State, Tyler Huff going for the Hail Mary, and that might have been the easiest Hail Mary catch of all time.

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Kim Vaughn was just back there all alone. Look at this. The homecoming court. It was homecoming by the way. They're stunned. They can't believe what they just saw.

Now, Jacksonville State actually missed the extra point. So, it went to overtime, but they did end up winning 44 to 37.

All right. Finally, we also had a shocker in the MLS playoffs last night, Miami hosting Atlanta winner take allm game three. Messi, a magnificent header here in the 65th minute to tie the game at two. And then, tempers kind of flared because Messi's teammates not happy that Atlanta goalie Brad Guzan kind of bumped their star.

Fast forward to 76th minute, look at that, Miami defender down in the box. Atlanta though plays on. They get a header. And that would be your winner, Atlanta stuns Miami guys. Atlanta, their whole payroll $5 million less than Messi alone, but they move on.

BLACKWELL: You see --

WALKER: Amazing.

BLACKWELL: -- they left the goal right where it was. See, all of that.

WALKER: You don't have to rush the field and take a souvenir.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

WALKER: Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju is up next.

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