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U.S. To Hold Military Drills Off The Coast Of Venezuela; Trump Suggests He's Made A Decision On Venezuela Military Operations; House Set To Vote This Week On Bill To Release Epstein Files; Federal Immigration Enforcement Begins In Charlotte; Pacific Storm Brings Heavy Rain To Southern California; Community Tries To Fill Urgent Need For Those Who Are Food Insecure. Trump Lowers Tariffs on Coffee, Beef and Fruits; New Documentary on Selena Gomez's Family; Drama-Filled Night for College Football. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired November 16, 2025 - 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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[07:00:47]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. It is Sunday, November 16th. Welcome to CNN This Morning. I'm Danny Freeman in for Victor Blackwell, and here's what's new this morning.

Happening today, the U.S. begins military drills with Trinidad and Tobago as Donald Trump says he's, quote, "sort of made up his mind" on military action in nearby Venezuela. A military expert is standing by to weigh in on how close we really may be to a conflict breaking out.

Plus, the GOP has a decision to make. A critical vote on the Epstein files is expected to happen in just a matter of days, and President Trump is viciously attacking two Republicans who say they'll vote to release the records. How will that weigh on other Republicans?

And later, Thanksgiving dinner in this economy? I'll speak with our favorite personal finance columnist about why some people are apparently considering charging guests to come on over for dinner, as a new report shows a growing number of people are living paycheck to paycheck.

We begin this morning in Venezuela, where within hours, the U.S. military is expected to begin five days of military drills in Trinidad and Tobago. Now, the island nation is located just off the coast of the Venezuela, and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro criticized the plans as, quote, "irresponsible" and accused the U.S. of pursuing a criminal war against his country.

Well, President Trump told reporters Friday that he has, quote, "sort of made up his mind" on a course of action in Venezuela after several high level briefings on the matter.

For more on this, joining me now is CNN Military Analyst, Retired Colonel Cedric Leighton. So good to see you this morning, Colonel. Listen, I don't want to sound naive as we are, you know, bombing boats in the Caribbean at the moment, but genuinely, how close are we to some sort of more serious armed conflict directly with Venezuela?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, good morning, Danny. It's great to be with you. One of the key elements to look at here is how these exercises in Trinidad and Tobago are going to go. That's really one way in which the U.S. can work out any issues between the different elements that they're going to possibly use in an invasion or some kind of attack on Venezuela. So this could be a signal.

You know, if we look at the way in which these exercises are going to be conducted, it's usually a way for everything to be sent, you know, as a diplomatic signal, as a military signal. And the one way to see this is if those exercises are terminated early for some kind of reason, that could be an indicator that they might be breaking things off, or it could be an indicator that it goes the other direction. But usually that's not the case.

And when it comes to the way in which, you know, the next steps could unfold here, it really depends on what Maduro does next to a large extent. Plus, of course, decisions have to be made in the White House whether or not they're going to proceed with something, because it could be quite messy, quite frankly.

FREEMAN: Yes, to say the least of the situation. But, Colonel, can you put it into context for us just for a moment? I mean, how common is this kind of saber-rattling or war games specifically in the Caribbean? It seems like that's not a place that we are normally doing military exercises like this.

LEIGHTON: Yes, you're absolutely right about that. We don't do that normally in the Caribbean. We kind of look at the Caribbean as being a fairly peaceful area. The types of things that we have done in the Caribbean include law enforcement-type actions like the Coast Guard going after drug runners, for example, and the DEA, the Drug Enforcement Administration. Both of those are law enforcement entities, especially in that capacity.

Bringing the military to bear on the narcotrafficking issue is, which is what the administration is talking about here for the most part, is a very unusual event. And they're looking at it as this is a national security issue. The use of drugs is something that needs to be stopped in the U.S. And, of course, there is a very high death rate, even though it has gone down considerably over the last few years.

But be that as it may, the U.S. government is, the Trump administration specifically, is using this element as a way of bringing the military in. It also fits with their philosophy of really protecting issues closer to home. In essence, protecting the homeland and protecting the Western Hemisphere in their view. But it is a highly unusual development in this particular part of the world.

[07:05:10]

FREEMAN: Well, let's specifically talk about the past 48, 72 hours here. On Venezuela, President Trump said, quote, "I sort of have made up my mind -- yes, I mean, I can't tell you what it would be, but I sort of have." What should Latin America, certainly Venezuela and the world take from a statement like that?

LEIGHTON: Well, the President may not have completely made up his mind the way that sounds. So what that means, if you know you're sitting in Maduro's shoes, is you look at this and you say something actually could happen. They might try to remove me from office.

So they're going to prepare. The Venezuelans are going to prepare. You see there about 4 million people that Maduro claims to have sworn in as a kind of a civil guard, National Guard type entity. They actually have an official National Guard. But these would be auxiliaries that would, you know, help defend certain areas.

But the other thing to keep in mind is that the Venezuelans have basically decided that if there is an invasion and they've been thinking about this for some time now, if there is an invasion, they're going to basically melt away. So they'll let the U.S. take over certain areas. They would let the U.S. move into certain parts of the country temporarily. But then it would look like an initial success on our part.

But what would then happen is there would be guerrilla warfare. At least that's the Venezuelan plan. Now, whether they can exercise that, whether they can actually realize that is a completely different story. But that's the Venezuelan plan.

And it could be a difficult area to not only get into. It's easy to get into, really, but it's much more difficult to extricate yourself from something like that.

FREEMAN: Sure, sure. We've seen that time and time again.

Colonel, always great to see you. Thank you so much for getting up early and breaking it all down for us. Appreciate you.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Danny. Anytime.

FREEMAN: All right. Moving to D.C., we should find out this week how many Republicans in the House will break with President Trump and vote to release the Epstein files. Now, the issue has caused a high-profile rift between the President and his longtime ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The President is calling her a lunatic and pulling his support. Greene says his words are leading to threats.

For more on this, let's get the latest from CNN's Betsy Klein.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning, Danny. Well, this major political breakup would have been unfathomable just a couple of months ago. But as Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene ramped up her criticism of the White House and President Trump's strategy in recent weeks, it became clear to officials that it might be a matter of time before something like this happened. And Greene in recent weeks has been taking aim at the White House on a pair of issues, taking her message to outlets like CNN and ABC's The View. The first is on domestic policy. In her view, she believes that President Trump is spending too much time on relationships abroad and solving global conflicts and not enough time focused on affordability issues here at home.

Separately, on Jeffrey Epstein, Greene is one of four House Republicans who is calling for the release of the Justice Department's Epstein files. And that is going to face a major political test in the coming days as the House of Representatives is expected to vote as soon as next week on the release of those documents.

She has weighed in on the advice she's been providing to the White House, sharing on social media a screenshot of a text she sent to a top Trump aide where she told them that they need to stop ignoring the women. Now, President Trump has been asked about her conflicts repeatedly, including most recently as he made his way here to Florida on Air Force One.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Marjorie Taylor Greene said, oh, gee, I'm spending too much time overseas. So let's say I don't meet with China. You know what's happened right now to Georgia and every other state? They're not working because your magnets and your rare earths would have kicked in and there wouldn't be a factory in the world that was working.

If I didn't have a relationship overseas with China, I think that her constituents aren't going to be happy already. I have people calling me. They want to challenge her to a race in her district in Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: But that escalated significantly moments after he landed. The President announcing that he was rescinding his endorsement of Greene and lobbying increasingly personal attacks against her. Greene now warning that those attacks could have consequences.

She said in a post on social media, quote, "A hot bed of threats against me are being fueled and egged on by the most powerful man in the world. The man I supported and helped get elected. Aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats and multiple convictions of men who were radicalized by the same type of rhetoric being directed at me right now. This time by the President of the United States."

Now, Greene has been a major ally for President Trump and his MAGA movement. And this episode is raising new questions, Danny, about the future of that movement in the absence of Trump.

[07:10:12]

FREEMAN: Betsy Klein, thank you as always for that reporting. And coming up, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene will actually join CNN's Dana Bash this morning on State of the Union. It's her first on camera interview since her fallout with President Trump. That begins at 9:00 Eastern this morning right here on CNN.

And to this now, President Donald Trump has issued two new pardons related to the January 6, 2021 riot. Dan Wilson got a second pardon. He had remained behind bars after Trump's sweeping inauguration day pardons because of a separate conviction for illegally possessing firearms.

Trump also pardoned Suzanne Kay. She had been sentenced to prison for threatening to shoot FBI agents trying to question her about her presence in Washington on January 6. President Trump has issued more than a thousand pardons and commutations of those involved with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. And said last month he was, quote, "very proud of it."

And to this now, federal officials confirmed Saturday that the immigration crackdown in Charlotte, North Carolina has indeed begun. ICE agents were seen making multiple arrests throughout the city. Charlotte's Mayor Pro Tem criticized the move by federal officials, saying there is no justification to deploy federal law enforcement in Charlotte.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR PRO TEM DANTE ANDERSON, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: So here's the thing about Charlotte. Charlotte is a lawful city. Our crime is low and has decreased year over year. Our Charlotte Police Department just recently released their Q3 numbers. And we can see that crime across the board is down.

We know that violent crime year over year is down. And so we don't need any assistance as it relates to crime or public safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Now, CNN also has new video in that shows the moment immigration officers smash the window of a resident's truck and force the man who said he was an American citizen from his vehicle. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: So the man in the video told CNN he was driven away along with other people who were detained that day. But after telling the officers several times he was a U.S. citizen, an officer finally checked his ID and confirmed he was indeed a citizen. They then pulled the car over and let him exit the vehicle.

This morning, we're also following more than a month's worth of rain that has fallen in parts of Southern California causing floods in some counties. The storm has already left behind debris and evacuation orders are in effect until the morning for parts of the Palisades, Hearst and Sunset burn scar areas.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has more on the severe weather.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If the forecasts are correct, this will be the wettest November on record since 1985 for Southern California. Here in Malibu it's been like this, raining for hours and hours. Under a flash flood warning for part of the day on Saturday as well, 3 million people under that flash flood warning.

Not just here in Malibu, also in other parts of Los Angeles County affected by those fires earlier this year, both Palisades and Eaton Fire. I do want to show you though where we are. This is near the Las Flores Creek. It's going straight into the Pacific Ocean. It is not usually like this.

This looks like a river of mud going straight into the ocean, which, by the way, also has a warning for high winds and big waves. I will say, though, earlier on Saturday, we did see at least two people with their surfboards fully intending to surf on these waters.

Now there are warnings from authorities here in Southern California, the city, the county, the sheriff's department saying that if you do not have to leave your house, do not leave your house. And if you are on those areas with mandatory evacuation orders, you are supposed to heed them. Leave, look for higher ground and definitely do not leave your house if you don't have to.

In total, about 20 million people on flood warnings across Southern California. That's going from Santa Barbara all the way down to San Diego. And that is the main concern is those quickly rising waters after the soil is fully -- full of water. 2, 3 inches make a huge difference here in Southern California.

It's not a part of the world that gets a lot of rain. We're getting a lot of rain in a very short amount of time. Now those warnings will be in place through Saturday and on to Sunday morning until at least 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Malibu, California.

[07:15:04]

FREEMAN: Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much.

All right, for more on this, let's go now to CNN's Allison Chinchar. We're talking record rainfall here, Allison. But you can't keep the surfers away in Southern California. They --

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, you can't.

FREEMAN: No matter the weather, you can't keep them away.

CHINCHAR: They really should stay away, but you're right. FREEMAN: Yes.

CHINCHAR: You just can't do it. Yes. So, yes, record rainfall in several locations, including San Diego, Riverside, California, even Las Vegas, setting a daily rainfall record yesterday. And there's more on the way.

This is a live look at the radar. You can see most of it right now is kind of focused across central California, essentially from San Francisco down through about Santa Maria area. But that is going to change in the next 24 hours.

You've got the threat for excessive rainfall from Southern Oregon all the way down the entire California coast. But, again, the focus really for the first half of the day today is going to be this area right here between Monterey and San Luis Obispo. This is where the heaviest rain is really going to be funneled.

But starting tonight, that's going to change. That next wave is going to start to move in across Northern California, impacting San Francisco, Sacramento, even around the Eureka area. And then by the time we get to overnight tonight and especially into Monday, then we start to see the transition of that rain shifting down to the south, once again hitting San Diego, L.A., and down towards Las Vegas.

This is where you're going to see the bulk of it on Monday itself. By Monday evening, it finally makes it all the way to extreme Southern California down near San Diego. That's why Monday we still also have that threat for excessive rainfall, but you're noticing the shift of the focus point really now being more across portions of Southern California, where, again, another 1 to 2 inches of rain could fall.

And I know some folks at home may think, OK, but 1 to 2 inches isn't that much. Keep in mind, too, this is accumulated. This is on top of what a lot of these areas have already had over the last few days.

We're now adding on top of it. Same thing for the snow. We could be looking at another 1 to 3 feet.

FREEMAN: Wow, just incredible. And, again, people still have to be vigilant because that rain is still coming down.

Allison, thanks so much, as always. Appreciate you.

All right, still to come, clashes between young protesters and police in Mexico. We'll tell you what the Gen Z demonstrators are demanding.

Plus, Americans are stretched thin. We're going to take a look at why millions of people are living paycheck to paycheck.

And don't miss this story. A Texas state trooper sidelined after an incident at a college football game. We'll tell you what led to a confrontation with a player up next.

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[07:21:57]

FREEMAN: Now to some other headlines we're following, anger over a lack of security and systemic corruption brought thousands of protesters into the streets of Mexico City on Saturday. Take a look.

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(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Now I'll note, the demonstration began as a peaceful Gen Z- led march. Organizers are demanding action on rising violence, government corruption, and rampant crime, which they say goes unpunished across Mexico.

And back stateside, Senator John Fetterman is home from the hospital after he fell last week and was badly bruised. You can see on your screen right there. The Pennsylvania Democrat posted a photo showing cuts on his face from above his eyebrows to his nose.

He explained his heart started beating erratically on Thursday during a morning walk near his home. He became lightheaded and collapsed. Fetterman says he needed 20 stitches to close up his wounds.

And the government may have reopened, but federal workers and SNAP recipients who were scrambling to feed themselves or their families are still trying to get back on track. CNN's Rafael Romo has more on how one Georgia community is stepping up to fill the immediate need for food.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The food drive is being held here by Ebenezer Baptist Church, the historic church here in Atlanta. And as you can see, there are tents behind me where food is being donated, anything from vegetables to chicken, to potatoes. We saw a big truck with potatoes being delivered here.

And we have an army of volunteers who are greeting people like family. They say this is not about charity. This is about helping a family member in need. And some of the things that we're hearing from people here is that some of them are underemployed. Many other people are employed, but maybe there are federal government who hasn't received a paycheck for many weeks, and so they need this help.

And even though we're less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving, they say that they need the help right now. For this event, the King Center and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church have come together to help people. I had an opportunity to speak earlier with Pastor Stokes from the church, and she said that it's a need that has been aggravated by recent events. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. CARLA STOKES, EXECUTIVE PASTO, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: We've seen an increased need. We've seen seniors coming that need assistance. We've seen families, of course, they had their SNAP benefits cut or changed or altered, and it's caused such a ripple effect. We've seen federal employees absolutely coming -- needing food because they were stretching their dollars to try to pay their bills.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: The King Center and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church have come together to, at this location, deliver about 1,000 boxes of food for as many families. I had an opportunity to talk to one of those beneficiaries earlier today, and she told me that her concern is not what she's going to put on her table two weeks from now or three weeks from now, but what she's going to have for dinner tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's every day. It's tonight. I need dinner for tonight. So that's how serious it is for me. It's not trying to get holidays. This is going to make a huge, huge difference in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:25:11]

ROMO: And yes, the good news is that the government shutdown has come to an end, and President Trump has announced that he's going to lower tariffs on some basic grocery items like beef and coffee as well. But a lot of these people say that the ripple effect has been widespread, and it's going to take a while before they can get back on their feet.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

FREEMAN: Rafael Romo, thank you as always.

Along those lines, times are tough headed into the holidays, with more Americans saying they're living paycheck to paycheck. And the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner isn't cheap. So what's the best way to have a full spread and save some money? A personal finance expert is going to weigh in coming up next.

Plus, a potentially major shakeup in the college football playoff rankings after Oklahoma upsets Alabama. Carolyn Manno is here with the highlights in sports in just a minute.

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[07:30:00]

FREEMAN: With 1 in 4 Americans living paycheck to paycheck, President Trump is taking action to bring down prices. Announcing he is scrapping tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruits and other commodities despite the fact that he always claimed tariffs don't cause prices to rise.

Well, meanwhile, there's still a lot of anxiety around rising prices across the country and that's especially weighing on people planning for Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays. Washington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary joins us now. Michelle, thank you so much for being here. Let's start at the top line. What's your reaction to that reporting that 1 in 4 Americans are living paycheck to paycheck? Why do things feel so hard for so many right now?

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST AND AUTHOR, "WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR MONEY WHEN CRISIS HITS": Well, the cost of housing, child care, utilities, gas, groceries, it's all up. Now, relative to when the inflation rate was really high, it's come down. But for many families, they're still struggling to put food on their table and keep that roof over their heads.

FREEMAN: And what advice are you starting to give your readers, the folks that you speak with, about how to deal with these prices staying stubbornly high?

SINGLETARY: Yes. So, if you're struggling, you've lost your income or you were furloughed and now you're trying to get back, you know, just pay the bills that are the absolute necessities, right? And some other bills are not going to get paid, that doesn't mean that you don't contact your creditors, but you just contact your credit card company, anybody else that you owe that isn't part of the basic needs that you have and say, listen, I'm in trouble. What can you do for me? Can I put off some of the payments while I get myself situated?

And then just -- they have to just -- I know it sounds crazy for people who are just living paycheck to paycheck. Just cut whatever you can. Go back to your budget. And if you've cut as much as you can, then there are some things you can do, like perhaps, and I say this all the time and people push back a little bit, but, you know, maybe you can't live in an apartment by yourself. Maybe if you're a young adult, you go back home and live with your parents or relatives if you're able.

FREEMAN: By the way, talking to the bank, I feel like a lot of times banks feel very big and kind of scary, but talking to them, I found in other instances, can actually sometimes yield help. Michelle, listen, Thanksgiving week personally is when I start to think about holiday shopping for the first time. It's right around the corner. Do you think people are going to cut back on their spending the holiday season?

SINGLETARY: I think we already see surveys that showing that people are going to cut back and you should, right? You know, you give out of your extra your abundance. And so, it's OK this year if you're struggling to say to your family, for instance, listen, you know, my budget doesn't allow for me to be as generous as I've been in the past. And so, how -- you know, we don't exchange gifts.

And, you know, sometimes that's the best holiday when you're not worried about spending money that you don't have. We know the studies show that when people spend at the holidays, they spend, you know, at least half the next year trying to pay off that debt. I want to release you from that. Because, you know, what do (INAUDIBLE) of us do anyway, right?

And if you've got small kids, you know, they don't know anything after, you know, five and under, they're not going to remember. So, just pull stuff from their toy bin that they don't play with, wrap it up, put it on the tree. They won't know the difference.

FREEMAN: Well, well said. All right. I got to talk about the column that you put out recently about people wondering if it is a good idea to charge guests they have over for Thanksgiving. Michelle, what's up with that?

SINGLETARY: That's crazy. That's like -- you know, that's rude. You know, as a host, you are supposed to host people. You know, this is not a restaurant. If you can't afford to host people, then you reduce the guest list or, you know, maybe cook less.

I mean, I've come from a big family and we have Thanksgiving dinner. It is like 10 sides. Do we really need 10 sides? You don't need greens and straight beans, you know. And I'm joking because I want people to feel empowered to live within their financial truth. And if you are charging someone that's not living within your financial truth.

FREEMAN: No, no, no.

SINGLETARY: And in our family, we have potluck. Everybody brings something and that helps reduce the cost.

FREEMAN: Yes, that's what I'm saying. Like this, this was a foreign concept to me because I was like, you contribute. Like everyone brings one thing. That's the shared cost. And bonus, everyone doesn't hate you afterwards. Michelle Singletary --

SINGLETARY: That's right. I don't know a person who can't cook, can't make potato salad, bring the potato salad. That's OK, honey. You know, you can bring some bread.

[07:35:00]

FREEMAN: Yes, exactly, or wine. That always works, too. Michelle Singletary, always a delight to talk with you. Thank you so much for sharing your insight, as always.

SINGLETARY: You're so welcome.

FREEMAN: All right. You know her name, Selena. She's the iconic singer we all know and love so well. But a new documentary wants to make sure people also remember to add y Los Dinos. That and much more coming up next.

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[07:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP) FREEMAN: I mean, just the best music. You likely know the story of Selena, but do you know about Los Dinos? Well, a new documentary is trying to tell a more complete story of the late singer's life by using rare home video footage and interviews with her family to show how they helped her become an icon of Tejano music. Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was amazing how talented she was. Even when she was very young.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went and bought some instruments. Got a bass for my son, Avey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd put it on, put the tone and everything, and I would get the bass, and I would look in the mirror, and just like, yes, I'm going to be a rock star, man. I'm going to be a rock star one day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They started talking about, well, who's going to play the drums? And I just remember my dad goes, well, we only have one more kid left, and then he looks at me, he goes, who's that going to play the drums? And I look like, wait, what? No, no, no. Dad, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, we got the guitar player, the drummer, and the singer. I got a complete group.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SINGLETARY: Just incredible. Now, Victor spoke with the documentary's director, Isabel Castro, who says it's impossible to imagine Selena's success without her family. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: So, this was not Selena. It was Selena y Los Dinos, right? This is as much about her siblings and her parents as this is about Selena. This was really a family operation. Talk about that.

ISABEL CASTRO, DIRECTOR, "SELENA Y LOS DINOS": Absolutely. I think that Selena is singular, irreplaceable, and I think people know Selena y Los Dinos music because Selena was the singer and kind of the face of the band. But in actuality, the music was created by the whole family, by the whole band that was her family. The brother was the songwriter. He wrote songs along with two of the band members. The sister was the drummer. Dad was the manager. Mom was kind of the glue that held it all together.

And so, one kind of big focus of this documentary is showing that, is showing kind of the behind-the-scenes effort that went into making this music that all of us know today. BLACKWELL: This isn't the first documentary about Selena. Of course, there was the movie starring Jennifer Lopez in '97. There have been other movies. What's new here for the Selena fan? What are they going to get from this one that they did not get out of the others?

CASTRO: It was really important to us that we make something that felt different from things that have been made in the past. Unfortunately, what doesn't change is the story itself. And as much as we would all want it to have a different ending, the story is the same.

But what's different is kind of the tonality of it. And it is -- it's just -- it's more intimate and kind of more authentic and more raw than anything that has been made in the past because you're hearing the story directly from the family. You're seeing their home videos, their home photographs, like their family photographs directly. So, it's not the kind of Hollywood-ification of their story. It's them telling their stories to you directly.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it's full of home videos, videos from the tour. We saw her brother A.B.'s. There's one screenshot of his school picture and a yellow ribbon from school that looks like it's still in the family album. So, it really is that intimate of an approach to this story. And usually when I do interviews about entertainment and documentaries and movies, I always ask the question, why is this the story for now? And so, why now to tell this angle of Selena's story and her family's story?

CASTRO: Well, the reason that it happened now is because the family was ready after 30 years to share their story. They were ready to share their archive and their personal albums.

[07:45:00]

I think that they had, you know, wanted to keep some things for themselves, and it wasn't until this moment that they were ready to share it with a wider audience. But now -- you know, the film is -- and what the film explores, I think is more important now than ever before. I think that we're living at a time in which, you know, Latinos communities are being marginalized. They're being attacked.

And I think that this film and Selena's legacy really is a celebration of Latino culture. It's a celebration of bicultural identity. And I think not only is it a celebration of it, but it's also kind of an illustration of the power of that identity. And there's no one better that signifies that power than Selena.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Oh, man. Thanks so much to Director Isabel Castro and Victor for that incredible conversation. "Selena: y Los Dinos" drops on Netflix on Monday. Can't wait.

All right. Tonight, on The Whole Story, an investigation from Donie O'Sullivan. Well, President Trump claims white South Africans are suffering from human rights abuses, even calling it a genocide. And he refuses to send a U.S. delegation to the upcoming gathering of world leaders at the G20 Summit in South Africa. Well, as Donie O'Sullivan looks into what is actually happening in South Africa, he visits a whites-only town that has inspired one man to build his own version in Arkansas. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Right now, there's about 40 or so people living here, give or take. But you tell me there's hundreds of people want to move here. Hundreds of people have applied.

ERIC ORWOLL, CO-FOUNDER, RETURN TO LAND: Yes. There are quite a few people waiting to be interviewed.

O'SULLIVAN: Wow. Are they all racists?

ORWOLL: Well, it depends on what you mean by racist. Are they racist in the sense that they hate other groups of people and want to deprive other groups of people of resources or opportunities? No.

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): People like Eric are afraid that white Americans are being replaced and a projection from the U.S. census has them worried.

O'SULLIVAN: I think America is due to become a minority white country for the first time in the 2040s. Are you concerned about that?

ORWOLL: Of course, I'm concerned about that. And look what's happened in South Africa, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Fascinating stuff there. And be sure to tune in an all-new episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. "Misinfo-Nation: White Genocide" airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN and then the next day on the CNN app.

All right. Coming up, the NFL on the move all the way to beautiful Spain. It's Spain's first time hosting an NFL game. We'll tell you why the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins both have quite a lot to prove.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:00]

FREEMAN: Well, it was a drama-filled Saturday for college football. CNN's Carolyn Manno joins me now. Carolyn, yes, quite a fun day.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It really was. A lot going on. And what an impressive effort, Danny, from Texas A&M. This historic comeback that they pulled off. Somewhat overshadowed, though, by an incident involving a State Trooper that I want to tell you about.

Let's start with the game. The third-ranked Aggies beat South Carolina 31-30. Thanks to the largest comeback in program history. They were actually down by 27 points at the half. Plagued by turnovers, really costly mistakes. Then they went on to score 28 unanswered points after the break.

A four-yard touchdown run by EJ Smith. Giving them their first lead of the entire game early in the fourth quarter. And their quarterback, Marcel Reed, ended up throwing for a career-high 439 yards and three touchdowns to keep Texas A&M undefeated at 10-0.

However, a separate incident in the tunnel during the game has everybody talking. After Nick Harper scored an 80-yard touchdown in the second quarter, this now-viral video showing a uniformed Texas Department of Public Safety trooper intentionally stepping in front of the South Carolina receiver and a teammate as they're returning to the field through the tunnel. The trooper also appeared to be berating the players. He was immediately sent home from the game. An investigation is now underway into what exactly happened, but not a good look.

Elsewhere in college football, second-ranked Indiana beat Wisconsin and Bloomington to move to 11-0 on the season for the first time in program history. Hoosiers quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, incredibly efficient in this game, completing 22 of 24 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns. But really, they did it with the defense in this game, especially in the second half. Indiana limiting Wisconsin to just 23 total yards and one first down while forcing a pair of turnovers. The team can now clinch its first Big Ten championship appearance with a win over rival Purdue in the final game of the season. So, very exciting for them.

And the NBA, big game for the Lakers. Luka Doncic last night against Milwaukee. He scored 41 points, added 9 boards and 6 assists, helping L.A. build a massive lead early in this game. They blew the game open in the second quarter, held off a wave of Bucs rallies late in the game to win it 119-95. The final, that game marking the 50th 40-point game of Luka's career.

And in a few hours, I know you've been talking about this, Danny, fans are going to be treated to the first ever NFL regular season game played in Spain. The Dolphins and Commanders kicking off at 9.30 a.m. Eastern in the world-famous stadium that belongs to Real Madrid, usually.

[07:55:00]

Madrid, now the fourth European city to play host to the NFL, is part of the league's continued strategy to expand its global footprint. And Spain is really viewed as a major new market with the potential to develop something of a lasting fan base.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been in Spain for 34 years, and I was born in Miami. So, when they said that Miami's coming to Spain, I was the first one to get tickets. I'm a passionate Miami Dolphin fan, and I have a huge tattoo right here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: You love to see it, tattoos, fans, everybody out there. And, Danny, it was funny, when I bumped into you this morning, you said, what time's the Spain game? And I thought, I did a double take. I'm like, are we talking about football, European football? What are we talking about? I'm like, oh, yes, we do. We've got the NFL just about everywhere today.

FREEMAN: Yes, exactly, which I love. I just hope so much that this isn't actually a good game, because I remember the one in London with the Jets and the Broncos, it was like a disaster. I hope they put on a show for the fans in Spain. They deserve it. Carolyn Manno, thanks so much. Appreciate you this morning.

And thank you all for joining us for CNN this morning weekend. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju is coming up right after a short break. Thanks so much.

[08:00:00]