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CNN This Morning

Trump's Cabinet Choices Shape Up, Some Cause Concern Within Transition Team; Trump Picks RFK Jr. As HHS Secretary; Prosecutors Lay Out Evidence Against Suspect In Laken Riley's Murder; Elevated Fire Danger Across Parts Of Northeast; In New Interview, Zelenskyy Says "I Believe War Will End," But Adds There Is No Exact Date"; Giuliani Hands Over Assets To Election Workers He Defamed; FEMA Employee Fired After Telling Relief Team To Skip Houses With Trump Signs Following Florida Hurricane; Pentagon Received Hundreds Of Reports Of New UFO Sightings. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired November 16, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:18]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone, to CNN THIS MORNING. We're so happy to have you with us. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thanks for joining us. We begin with President-elect Donald Trump's transition to the White House and what could be the next big shake up at the highest level of law enforcement. Trump is weighing a push to get rid of FBI Director Christopher Wray and replace him with Kash Patel.

Now, Patel is the former Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense. Other names include Republican Representative Mike Rogers, former Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan, former St. Louis U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen also on the list.

WALKER: Now, for his cabinet, Trump is still undecided on eight rules. Seven, if he decides to get rid of the Department of Education as he has promised. He announced on Thursday, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is his choice to lead the Department of Interior. He wants to nominate Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence and R.F.K. Jr. for Health and Human Services Secretary, but his choices for Secretary of Defense and Attorney General are turning up concerns within his own transition team.

On Friday, an attorney involved in a sex trafficking probe against Matt Gaetz revealed one of his clients told the House Ethics Committee that she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor. The probe has dropped since Gaetz resigned from Congress, but now the question remains, will that probe report be released?

BLACKWELL: And sources tell CNN that Trump's transition team was caught off guard by allegations involving his choice for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. Within 48 hours of his selection, they got a complaint about a sexual assault allegation involving the former Fox News host. WALKER: Our sources say Trump's incoming Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles,

called Hegseth, asking if there were any other issues they should be aware of moving forward. CNN's Kyung Lah details the allegations.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Amra, Victor, these allegations swirling around Pete Hegseth date back to 2017, and it comes from Monterey, California. The city issued a statement saying that its police department did indeed become involved in a "alleged sexual assault involving Pete Hegseth. The city says that it dates back to the early morning hours of October 8th, 2017, and that its police department became involved with an incident that happened at the Hyatt Regency, and that its officers became involved four days after this date, after a complaint was made about October 8th.

Now, take a look at this Facebook post. It comes from the California Federation of Republican Women. You see there that Hegseth is standing at a podium. He was a speaker at their conference at around this time, according to these Facebook photos. The city says that while it is not specifically identifying Hegseth as an alleged assailant, it does say that he was involved.

There is also an unnamed victim and an injury. An injury described as "contusions to right thigh." The city says it would not be releasing a full police report, and a check of the county court showed that Hegseth has not been charged in any criminal case since 2017, up until today.

We did reach out to Hegseth's lawyer who says that yes, an allegation was made, but no charges were filed. And Trump's spokesperson, when asked by CNN to respond to all of this, says that Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and "we look forward to his confirmation."

Amara, Victor?

WALKER: All right, Kyung Lah, thank you.

And as Trump names his picks, some are bypassing a key step in the process.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Evan Perez explains why they're not going through FBI background checks.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Amara and Victor, the President-elect's transition team for now is bypassing the traditional FBI background checks, at least for some of his cabinet picks, while using private companies to conduct the vetting of potential candidates for administration jobs.

Trump and his allies distrust the FBI and they complain that the system is slow and plagued with issues that could stymie the President-elect's plan to quickly begin the work of implementing his agenda.

People close to the transition tell us that they believe that Trump team will eventually submit the names of at least some of its nominees to the FBI for background checks. And the Senate can, of course, request the FBI background investigations before they vote on nominations.

And in his first term, Trump ordered security clearances for about 25 people who had run into problems in their background checks, including for potential conflicts and unreported foreign ties, according to congressional testimony. His son-in-law Jared Kushner was among those who Trump ordered to be given clearances despite not completing the requirements in the background checks.

Now, even before the election, some of Trump's advisors had begun circulating a memo urging him to bypass the traditional background checks for at least some of his appointees, among those who were behind that memo were people who had struggled to complete the background checks.

Victor, Amra?

[07:05:35]

BLACKWELL: All right, Evan Perez, thanks so much. Joining me now for analysis, CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein. Ron, good morning to you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Victor!

BLACKWELL: All right, so let's talk about Gaetz and Hegseth and these allegations of sexual assault. They both deny the accusations. Neither has been charged with anything. But if we look to the top, President- elect Trump has been found liable for sexual assault. He's a convicted felon. The Senate support -- the Republicans in the Senate support him. They confirmed Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford came and told her story. So, is there some reason that these two nominations are so different that we should expect a different outcome?

BROWNSTEIN: And of course, Victor, it's not only them, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has basically issued a non-denial about an allegation that he -- that he has faced of a sexual assault. Look, I don't think this -- you know, for the reasons you cite, this is unlikely to be the decisive factor in the case of Hegseth, certainly.

With Gaetz, you know, there are so many reasons to question this nomination on traditional grounds, you know, on the traditional qualifications that you look for in Attorney General that I do think this will certainly be part of it.

Now, you know, the House Speaker in an extraordinary move trying to intervene and prevent the House Ethics Committee from sharing its investigation with the Senate. I've got to think that is going to see the light of day somehow. But it is a pattern, you know, where this is not seen as disqualifying these kinds of allegations, certainly in the -- in the Trump selection process.

And look, in the Republican coalition, there are a lot of voters, you know, particularly male voters who believe that, you know, men are facing unfair allegations. Don't forget when Brett Kavanaugh faced his allegation, what do Donald Trump say? He said, this is a very dangerous time in America for men. That was his response to Christine Blasey Ford.

So, you could see some of that certainly from the top. I think there are going to be other issues that are probably the pivot here.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about RFK Jr., President-elect's choice to lead Health and Human Services. When it was announced on Thursday, some of the pushback was about the vaccine skepticism, some of the conspiracy theories around fluoride as well. But former Vice President Mike Pence released a statement calling the nomination at a abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning the millions of pro-life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades urged senators to oppose him.

What's the value of his opposition and in this context?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, that was fascinating, right, Coming from that angle. Essentially, it provides a more congenial or acceptable reason for Republican senators who might harbor doubts about RFK Jr. on all of the other fronts that you mentioned to justify opposing him.

Now, I think he has changed his language about abortion. And if he is confirmed, I think you would see much more pressure in this Trump Administration than you saw in the first to roll back access to mifepristone which is under the jurisdiction of the FDA, which would, of course, be under his authority.

But it does, I think, introduce a new wrinkle into the debate where Republican senators might find it easier to oppose him on those grounds than on the question of what he would mean to vaccines. Either way, he doesn't have to repeal in any way or undermine -- he doesn't have to repeal a state vaccine mandate to undermine it. The CDC, which, again, would be under his control, reported last year that the number of parents opting out of vaccines is now at an all-time high, three percent of the public school parent -- student parents.

At five percent, herd immunity starts to fail. So, the parents who are complying with the mandates, who support the mandates, who believe they protect their kids, would nonetheless be in a risky situation. And it's not hard to imagine that RFK Jr., whether at HHS or in the White House, through public fearmongering, could drive down that number of compliance into the danger zone.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the Democrats. Minority Leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, was asked the message he takes from the election result. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): We need to focus on the issues that matter, beginning, of course, with addressing the economic challenges facing every day Americans who for far too long in this country, not simply for years but for decades have been struggling paycheck to paycheck. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:10:25]

BLACKWELL: Your latest piece for the Atlantic is about the false optimism that the 2022 midterms gave Dems. How does that message that he received reconcile with what you found?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, very, very, very directly. What we saw in 2022 was that general dissatisfaction with the economy and with Biden's performance on the economy and the border and other issues hurt Democrats in red and blue states alike, except for the few swing states where both sides were actively spending money.

And in those swing states, Democrats did very well. In governors' races in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Senate races in places like Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, by focusing voters on other issues. And what you saw a clear pattern in 2022 was that a surprisingly large percentage of voters in those swing states who are unhappy with the economy voted for Democrats anyway, because of issues like abortion, democracy, or that they view the Republican, the Trump- alive Republican alternatives as to extreme. That gave Democrats hope. They could do the same thing in '24.

There was no question Trump was going to run better in the popular vote. I mean, there's no -- there's no precedent for a president's party not suffering losses when you have as much discontent as we saw in '24. But they thought they could quarantine his swing states again. It didn't work.

Voters are dissatisfied with the economy, voted for Trump in much higher numbers when they voted in '22. The economy trumps all in effect. It trumped all in effect in this general election.

BLACKWELL: Ron Brownstein, always good to have your insight. Enjoy the Saturday. Thank you.

WALKER: Nine months after the murder of 22-year-old college student Laken Riley, the trial for the suspect, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra has begun in Athens, Georgia. Ibarra faces multiple charges, and he has waived his right to a jury trial, meaning the court judge will be the one to decide Ibarra's fate.

During opening statements Friday, prosecutors said Ibarra "went hunting for females on the University of Georgia's campus before encountering Riley on a jog in a wooded area of the campus. CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now with more.

Yes, walk us through what we heard and the evidence that we saw in that trial.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Amara, good morning. The first day in the trial was full of powerful evidence, emotional moments, and heartbreaking test money. Perhaps the most disturbing evidence, Amara, was the body cam video of the police officer who found the body of Laken Riley. The prosecution called Sergeant Kenneth Maxwell with the University of

Georgia Police Department to the stand. He was the one who discovered Laken Riley's body the day of her murder, and the body camera video he recorded was played in the courtroom.

Judge Patrick Haggard paused the proceedings to allow anyone who didn't want to see Laken Riley's body shown to have an opportunity to get out of the courtroom. I saw about half a dozen people leave. Some of them in tears, a very heartbreaking moment. The video showed the moments Sergeant Maxwell found the body in a wooded area with the midsection and breast areas partially exposed.

In her opening statement, special prosecutor Sheila Ross described the heinous nature of the crime. This is part of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEILA ROSS, SPECIAL PROSECUTOR: And when we in Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly. That is what this case is all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Amara, Daniela Stuart, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Scene Specialist, testified that she took photos showing injuries on Jose Ibarra at the Athens-Clarke County Police Department the following day, noting scratches and injuries on his hands, arms, neck, and back.

Special Prosecutor Ross said all of that happened when the defendant attacked the victim. This is how she described it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSS: And in that fight, she caused this defendant to leave forensic evidence behind. She also marked her killer for the entire world to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Ross also said that Laken Riley's digital watch showed that she was attacked at exactly 9:11 in the morning of February 22, and her heart stopped beating exactly 17 minutes later. The trial against Jose Ibarra resumes Monday at 8:30 in the morning. Definitely very, very heartbreaking and hard to see, Amara.

[07:15:11]

WALKER: Yes, gruesome details. Rafael Romo, thank you.

Well, red flag warnings are up across five states in the Northeast as dry conditions are creating an elevated fire danger throughout the region.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Allison Chinchar is with us now. Very little rain. So, what's that look? ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: So, you're going to have two waves of rain though. And it's the second one that we're really hoping we'll actually be able to add something to this and really help be able to finally stop the fire that's ongoing in New Jersey.

But yes, you take a look at where these red flag warnings are as we speak. You can see pretty much up and down the northeast. You've got those wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour. The humidity levels are really low. But also remember too, the ground is just very, very dry. All of these areas are dealing with some level of drought.

In fact, the states of New Jersey and Delaware, 100 percent of them are in severe level. That's a level two out of four or worse drought even as we go into this weekend.

Now, you get the first round of very, very light rain coming in on Monday. And I emphasize very light. Most of these places will be lucky if they even get an inch of rain. But then the secondary wave comes. And that's going to be late Wednesday, really more into Thursday. This is going to be a bit more substantial rain for these areas. Possibly one, two, maybe even some spots of three inches of rain. That's what they need to see.

Now, that rain specifically is all coming from this cold front here in the central U.S. Now, before it gets to the northeast, it actually is expected to dump a pretty significant amount of rain over portions of Texas as well as Oklahoma.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thanks so much.

Well, nearly 1,000 days in a Russia's war in Ukraine, why President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it will end faster with President-elect Donald Trump heading back to the White House.

WALKER: And it was deadline day for Trump ally Rudy Giuliani to turn over major assets to two Georgia election workers he was found liable of defaming, but the court fight is far from over.

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[07:21:45]

WALKER: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a bold prediction. He says the war with Russia will end, in his words, faster with Donald Trump and his team back in the White House.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Kevin Liptak is traveling with President Biden for the APEC Summit. So, that's an important statement from Zelenskyy who met with Trump in New York in September. Tell us more about it.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And you'll remember, after that meeting, Trump said that he had learned a lot from Zelenskyy. And I think it's clear this morning that Zelenskyy has also gotten a good sense of where Donald Trump stands on the war in Ukraine going forward.

These comments were made in an interview on Ukrainian radio this morning. Listen to Zelensky in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (through translator): I believe that the world will end, and it will not end in the abstract, but there's no exact date. However, the war will end faster with the policy of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their society. And it is also very important to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So, quite notable comments there from Zelenskyy saying that the war will end faster when Donald Trump comes into office. And of course, we know that Donald Trump has taken a skeptical view of American assistance to Ukraine. And he has also said that he would be able to resolve this conflict in one day.

He hasn't said necessarily how he would do it. But the implication, of course, is that it would require territorial concessions by Ukraine to Russia. And that is something that Zelenskyy until now has been vehement that he would be opposed to. He has said that he won't go to a negotiating table with Vladimir Putin if it requires Ukraine giving up its territory.

But I think these comments reflects certainly that Zelenskyy is aware that the conditions of American support are about to change pretty drastically, guys.

WALKER: And Kevin, President Biden, he said to have his third and final meeting today with President Xi Jinping as the outgoing president, and of course, as Donald Trump is looming over U.S. ties with China. What do you expect from this meeting, this last meeting?

LIPTAK: Yes, it's an important meeting. In a way, it's kind of a book ending talk between these two men who have known each other for more than a decade. Certainly, President Biden has a number of contentious topics that he'll want to bring up, whether it's Taiwan, whether it's fentanyl, whether it's hacking. Even the war in Ukraine will be a topic of discussion here. The U.S. wants China to put more pressure on North Korea, who has been sending its troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.

But at the end of the day, this is a moment for a reflection between these two men and a moment for them to discuss what the next four years might look like. Of course, Donald Trump has taken a hawkish approach to China. What President Biden wants to encourage Xi is to maintain open channels of communication in the hopes that this will be a stable relationship going forward.

WALKER: All right, Kevin Liptak, thank you very much. Live for us there in Lima, Peru.

Well, the FBI says offensive text messages targeting Black people across the U.S. after the election are now being sent to people in the Hispanic and LGBTQ communities. What we know about this investigation? [07:25:00]

BLACKWELL: Florida's Attorney General files a lawsuit at FEMA over claims that workers skipped homes with Trump signs in the yard. We have more in that case.

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WALKER: After months of legal back and forth, Rudy Giuliani turned over his 1980s Mercedes-Benz convertible, his luxury watch collection, a diamond ring, and financial assets to two Georgia election workers he defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

BLACKWELL: A federal jury ordered Giuliani to pay Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss nearly $150 million last year for accusing them of committing election fraud while the two were counting ballots in Georgia on election day in 2020. CNN's Katelyn Polantz has more for us.

[07:30:07]

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Two women in Georgia who were severely harassed after they were counting votes in the 2020 election, and Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's lawyer at the time spoke about them publicly as he was denying the result of the election. They are collecting on that $150 million that the former mayor of New York owes them.

They have been chasing him in Court for a year. And as of Friday, Victor and Amara, they now are receiving 26 watches that Giuliani shipped off via FedEx to them on Friday. And then, also, a Mercedes Benz from 1980 classic car that Giuliani was even driving around in on election day just a few days ago. That car is now being delivered to them in Florida. All of this has been confirmed by the lawyer for Rudy Giuliani.

In a Court filing on Friday, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, their lawyers are still working to get possession of other items that they are entitled to now so that they can try and sell them off. Things like a $6 million condo or apartment in New York City that Giuliani has moved out of. A lot of furniture and other items that's in that apartment, things like sports memorabilia, a Joe DiMaggio shirt. It's all in a storage facility, and they're going to have to pick through it and take possession of those things to sell them.

But there is still more of a court fight here, and it's very unlikely that Giuliani will ever get anywhere near paying off that full $150 million debt to these two women. They are still fighting over World Series rings that he has from his time as mayor, as well as another condo in Palm Beach that he says he is living in as his primary residence. And so, he wants to be able to keep hold of that. But it is quite a fall from grace for the former mayor of New York. That one Time Man of the Year at one point in time, all of the consequence of working for Donald Trump after the 2020 election.

But Giuliani is still around Donald Trump, and as a supporter, he says he wants to be at the presidential inauguration of Trump in January. That also was in the Court filing on Friday.

There is more to this story, as we have more in the court proceedings going forward, but it is a big day for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. Back to you.

WALKER: All right. Katelyn Polantz, thank you.

The FBI says a slew of new offensive and racist text messages targeted members of the LGBTQ plus and Hispanic communities. People who received these offensive messages say they were told that they were selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp. The FBI says the recipients have even expanded to include high school students.

Florida's attorney general says survivors of hurricanes Helene and Milton were discriminated against by the federal agency tapped to help them. The new lawsuit just filed against FEMA.

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[07:37:38]

BLACKWELL: Florida's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against FEMA after a now-fired employee advised her team to avoid a campaign signs -- at the Trump campaign signs in yards, going to those homes. FEMA has said that the matter has been referred to -- referred for investigation, I should say, to the office of the Special Counsel.

In a statement, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called the actions a clear violation of FEMA's core values and principles.

Joining me now is defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Shan Wu. Sean, good morning to you. Does the state have standing here? I mean, has the state been injured, or is it these individual homeowners?

SHAN WU, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think the state probably does have standing great question. It's should be one of the first things to be litigated. It's actually, to me as, from a defense standpoint, kind of weak lawyering by FEMA and vis-a-vis Department of Justice that would have to represent them.

That statement, basically, hanging the employee out the drive just made a little bit too quickly, because from the publicized reporting, there is a pretty good argument that the employee was just trying to avoid any hostility issues. Because we know there is a lot of hostility, a lot of false rumors being spread about the FEMA employees.

But the standing issue, probably the state can do that. Damages, tracing the nexus to specific households being injured, that be a tough, actual, factual case to make.

BLACKWELL: Yes, you mentioned this employee. Now, former female employee. She spoke with journalist Roland Martin, and she said that she didn't decide this based on her own political views. She says that she was following broadly agency guidance. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARN'I WASHINGTON, FORMER SUPERVISOR, FEMA: if you look at the record, there is what we call a community trend, and unfortunately, it just so happened that the political hostility that was encountered by my team. And I was on two different teams during this deployment. They just so happened to have the Trump campaign signage.

FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation. So, this is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance, not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas.

[07:40:00]

Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know. But if you ask the DSA crew leads and specialists what they are experiencing in the field, they will tell you.

Demand for FEMA to give you those incident reports. They will substantiate what is happening to us in the field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And if they can substantiate what happens in the field, what's that mean for this lawsuit?

WU: Well, it will be a pretty strong defense. I mean, again, with defense standpoint, that's what you get. FEMA when you hang your employee out to dry too quickly, they become quite adverse to you.

If they get those sorts of factual determinations that there really is danger to the FEMA employees, and that this particular one was following that guidance. Now, you have a complex factual matter which is not so easy for the plaintiff of the state of Florida, when in this instance. So, I would expect actually a motion to dismiss both on the standing issue, which I think will lose.

And then, Florida is looking for a quick victory here, but there is going to be a lot of factual work to actually determine about this. So, a quick win is highly unlikely.

BLACKWELL: So, what is a win? What's recoverable for the state? Is it financial?

WU: It's primarily a -- optics victory. They are asking for a declarative -- declaratory judgment. This happened, notably, they asked for nominal damages. And what that means, Victor is they're not saying there's going to be a lot of big compensatory damages for households injured.

But importantly, they are asking for punitive damages. They want to teach federal government a lesson, and you know, that's a big optical sort of political standpoint win for them.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And would also be naive to suggest that the politics plays nothing in this decision to the State of Florida to sue an agency during the Biden administration. Last thing, we talked about standing of the state. How about those individual homeowners? Do you expect, and is it likely that there will be individual lawsuits filed for some injury against them? Class action, maybe.

WU: I'm not sure about the class action. The individual plaintiffs would more easily have standing, and it would be more clear than if they actually suffered damage. For example, there is damage their homes they didn't get compensated for.

So, I think that would actually be a stronger move if you had the individual plaintiffs involved.

BLACKWELL: All right. We'll watch it. Shan Wu, thanks so much.

WALKER: The truth is out there. A former military intelligence officials who test -- official who testified in a congressional hearing this week on UFOs, says we are not alone in the universe. We're going to talk to an astrophysicist about it all, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:47:19]

WALKER: We are not alone in the cosmos. A former Defense Department official making that statement at a congressional hearing this week, as a new Pentagon study shows reports of UFO sightings are on the rise here in the U.S.

With me now is Hakeem Oluseyi. He is an astrophysicist and visiting professor at George Mason University.

The Pentagon reiterates there is no evidence of alien activity, and this annual report is part of a government effort to track and investigate these sightings. I just wanted to first get your reaction to the former official's comments, and then we'll talk about this report.

But what did you think about what he had to say? And, of course, his criticism, you know, for the defense community, for the Department of Defense, about just this culture of excessive secrecy, as he called it, around these UFO reports.

HAKEEM OLUSEYI, ASTROPHYSICIST AND VISITING PROFESSOR, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: Good morning. It's so good to be here.

Listen, these claims are nothing short of astounding. They are completely unsupported by evidence. But, you know, on their face, this guy is claiming that there is very clear evidence of being aliens, right? That's to be frank about it.

He claims that there are clear pictures and videos, not what we get into the public. He claims that there are actually pieces of technology that have been retrieved over years and decades, and that there are even parts of beings.

So, this is, you know, this is, if true, which there is no evidence of it, it truly astounding.

WALKER: Why isn't we seeing the evidence? Do you believe the government has evidence and is just not releasing it?

OLUSEYI: Well, that's the other side of it, right? So, if the claims are true, then, they are making, you know, the idea here is that there's a grand conspiracy that's been going on for decades to hide this information, and why isn't we seeing it?

Now, I have worked in the federal government myself as a scientist. And every time I am there, you know people are very careful. Don't waste the people's money, maintain transparency. You know, you don't want yourself to fall on the wrong side of the law or the directives that you receive.

So, you know everything, it -- well, not everything, but, you know, this, the government is of the people.

If NASA produces something, you can take it, slap it on a shirt and sell it. It's yours, because of the federal government. So, you know, jibing all of these different claims that these people are making with the way that things run normally. You know, you can -- the only conclusion is that is some sort of conspiracy, or something similar to incredibly top secret classified information.

[07:50:02]

WALKER: Interesting. Then, Hakeem, what are we to make of this newly released annual report from the Pentagon that it has received? I think, 757 new reports of UFO sightings between May 2023 to June 2024.

It looks like there has been an increase in these kinds of sightings during this time span. All the 272 of them occurred before that time period, which means that they were not previously reported. But what are we to make of that?

(CROSSTALK)

OLUSEYI: Right. Well, you know, now, the public has been activated. These things are being taken more seriously to Congress. You know the fact that there is actually a hearing in Congress discussing this is a major sea change from the way things were, you know, even a decade ago.

So, everyone has a camera in their homes. People are looking up at the sky. We've been, you know, it's been a great astronomical few years lately, with the -- with the total solar eclipses and the amount of tension that it gets in the media.

So, people are looking up. People have their phones. They see things that they don't understand, and they report them, because the stigma against reporting is much less. But that's a far step for from proving that I understand what I see.

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: Right.

OLUSEYI: And I definitively know that here is where this object or craft or whatever originates from. Right?

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: That's an important distinction. Yes. And before you go on --

(CROSSTALK)

OLUSEYI: Yes.

WALKER: If you don't mind me asking you then.

(CROSSTALK)

OLUSEYI: Yes.

WALKER: Because in this report that was released by the Pentagon, it talks about nearly 400 FAA reports that were received, and there was one report that mentioned a possible flight safety issue. And this is how it reads. "In this instance, a commercial air crew reported a near miss with a cylindrical object while over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York."

A cylindrical object flying over the Atlantic.

OLUSEYI: Yes. Right.

WALKER: I mean, that sounds alienesque to me. I mean, what do you -- what do you with this information? And again, I mean, what are your thoughts?

OLUSEYI: Well, here is the thing. What do -- what do you expect from an alien? If you've never seen aliens, how do you have an expectation for what they would be like? Right?

WALKER: Right.

OLUSEYI: Maybe it's coming from your entertainment. Well, here is the thing. There are -- there is -- this is a serious issue what is going on in our skies. And that's why, when I see this, you know, we do need more, or at least if I was a, you know, if you're a responsible person in charge of keeping a nation safe, and you are seeing objects in your skies that you can't identify, they could be from your own population, they could be a part of experiments from your own government, or they could be adversarial nations.

You want to or at least, right? They are hazards. So, you don't want to jump to erroneous conclusion.

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: Yes. Right.

OLUSEYI: You want to take in the data and determine from the data what you are actually witnessing, and then, you can mediate whatever or take advantage of whatever is going on.

WALKER: We are out of time. I would love to take this offline with you. I'm fascinated. Hakeem Oluseyi, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

OLUSEYI: Thank you, ma'am.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:57:23]

BLACKWELL: Social media star Jake Paul, Mike Tyson, they finally faced off in their highly anticipated bout last night in front of more than 72,000 fans in Arlington, Texas.

WALKER: You know, Victor was in front of his T.V. with popcorn, watching it, mesmerized.

BLACKWELL: Asleep. I would --

WALKER: Asleep.

CNN's Carolyn Manno has the highlights. Hi, Carolyn.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys.

Well, the hype was off the charts heading into Friday night. You know that it was the hot topic. And most water coolers across the country. Social media influencer turned pro-boxer Jake Paul excels at setting a grand stage.

And the former heavyweight champ, Mike Tyson did his part on Thursday, making headlines when he slapped Paul in the face at the weigh in.

So, everybody wanted to see how this went down. But at 58 years old, Tyson had to back that up in the ring, and he hasn't fought professionally in decades.

Iron Mike able to keep up through the first two rounds, but then we saw a steep drop off. Tyson trying to pick it up, trying to get something going in the third round, but just had no stamina left, and Paul was able to get some well-timed punches against the former champ, eventually beating him via unanimous decision.

And then, despite a ton of trash talk before the fight, Paul gave Tyson his flowers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE PAUL, AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BOXER, ACTOR, AND YOUTUBER.: First and foremost, Mike Tyson, it's such an honor. Let's give it up for Mike, bro. He is a legend. He is the greatest to ever do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is the GOAT.

PAUL: He is the GOAT. I look up to him. I'm inspired by him, and we wouldn't be here today without him. This man is an icon, and it's just an honor to be able to fight him. And he's obviously the toughest, baddest man on the planet. So, it was -- it was really tough, like I expected it to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: And just when you think LeBron James has done it all over his 22 seasons in the NBA, the superstar finding a way to set a new milestone. On Friday night, the 39-year-old recording a four straight triple-double for the first time in his career. He had 15-point, 16 board swelled assists against the Spurs in the Lakers, first NBA Cup game of the season.

No coincidence that L.A. has also won the last four games they have played with his contributions. He said there is no secret, guys, he just puts in the hard work.

And despite Mike Tyson doing the same, came up a little bit short in this fight.

WALKER: All right, Carolyn Manno, good to see you this morning. Thanks.

And "FIRST OF ALL, WITH VICTOR" is up next. Hey, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Hello.

WALKER: Hello, again.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, here is we got going on.

President-elect Trump's choice to lead the Pentagon says that the military is too woke. What does that even mean? And is diversity and equity in the Armed Forces really the threat that Pete Hegseth claims it is?

We'll talk to two combat veterans whose personal stories suggest otherwise.

Plus, a family in Missouri is pleading for the outgoing governor and the incoming governor of the state to not release a former officer convicted of killing their son.

[08:00:07]

Both leaders say they are considering it. We'll explain why and speak to Cameron Lamb's parents.