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CNN This Morning
Marjorie Taylor Greene To Quit Congress After Trump Feud; Trump And Mamdani Form An Unlikely Alliance At White House Meeting; Democratic Lawmakers Report Thanksgiving Bomb Threats Against Their Homes; Heavy Rain Expected To Bring Flood Threats To Texas This Weekend; Trump Sets November 27 Deadline For Ukraine On U.S. Peace Plan; G20 World Leaders Meet In South Africa; Ex-Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton Could Face More Charges. DOJ Cites More Charges Possible for Former Trump Adviser John Bolton; Charlotte North Carolina Residents Mobilize Against Immigration Crackdown; CDC Site Features False Claims Linking Autism and Vaccines. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired November 22, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: It's Saturday, November 22nd. Good to see you. I'm Victor Blackwell. Thanks for joining me. Here's what's happening this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I'll be resigning from office with my last day being January 5, 2026.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Former firebrand turned Trump critic Marjorie Taylor Greene says she's resigning from Congress. Why? She says it's time for her to step down.
After a campaign of insults, President Trump and Zohran Mamdani, the mayor elect of New York City, they meet in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think this mayor could do some things that are going to be really great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: The president keeps praise on Mamdani, puts him at odds with some in the GOP.
Happening now, an electrical fire at the Port of Los Angeles has suspended operations at several terminals. There's a shelter in place order in effect.
Also a CNN exclusive. Another Sean Combs accuser speaks out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone is listening and I feel like I'm so close to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: What he says happened to him and why he waited until now to tell his story.
Start with that surprising announcement from one of the GOP's most vocal members. Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announced late Friday that she will resign in January. The announcement caps off a turbulent five years in office and came days after a very public spat with President Trump where she accused him of being too focused on foreign policy.
He shot back, called her a traitor for publicly calling for the release of the Epstein files.
In a video posted on X, she called out Trump and made a prediction for next year's midterms. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREENE: Loyalty should be a two-way street and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district's interests because our job title is literally representative.
Standing up for American women who were raped at 14 years old, trafficked and used by rich, powerful men should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I fought for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: President Trump responded in a statement to ABC News. He said her resignation is great news for the country. Meanwhile, her colleagues in Congress, they're weighing in Arizona. Democratic Representative Yassamin Ansari praised her work in pushing to release the Epstein files despite immense pressure from the White House.
GOP Representative Victoria Spartz of Indiana said there was a lot of truth in her announcement and she couldn't blame her for leaving. Greene was elected in 2020 and was known for vocally touting conspiracy theories, incendiary rhetoric, including prior comments endorsing violence against Democrats.
Earlier Friday, the president was busy meeting with New York Mayor elect Zohran Mamdani. Now, in a turn that surprised, well, a lot of people, the two left the meeting seemingly on very good terms. They acknowledged differences, but. But they say that they will work together for New Yorkers. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said his worst nightmare and accused him of having a fascist agenda. Are you claiming to retract any of these remarks in order to improve your relationship?
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D) NEW YORK: I think both President Trump and I, we are very clear about our positions and our views. And what I really appreciate about the president is that the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, which there are many, and also focused on the shared purpose that we have in serving New Yorkers.
TRUMP: And I've been called much worse than a despot. So it's not that insulting. Maybe. I think he'll change his mind after we get to working together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: During the mayoral campaign, the president backed former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo. He also threatened to pull federal funding from New York if Mamdani won. And New York's fiscal budget next year is counting on several million dollars. Almost seven and a half billion, I should say. The president said after the meeting, the better Mamdani does in office, the happier he'll be.
All right, let's get to Spectrum News political anchor Errol Louis. Errol, good morning to you. Let's start here with Marjorie Taylor Greene. This surprise late yesterday. She wouldn't be the first Trump critic to not run for reelection. See Thom Tillis. See Don Bacon.
[06:05:02]
But what do you make of this departure midterm and the way in which she's leaving.
ERROL LOUIS, POLITICAL ANCHOR, SPECTRUM NEWS: Good morning, Victor. I think the most important thing about this resignation is her projection that Republicans are going to lose the House. And she further went on to say in her video that she believes that Democrats, after they take control, they're going to impeach President Trump. She sees nothing but bad things ahead politically for her party.
And you can understand a touch of bitterness in her action by saying, look, I was more loyal than anybody. I went and fought for this president over and over again and I have to have at least a little bit of room to maneuver, especially on this issue of the Epstein files.
And it turns out politically, no, you don't get that kind of freedom to maneuver. And so she sized up the situation and has decided it's just not going to work for her.
BLACKWELL: And so she said in this statement that she doesn't want to end the campaign with the president attacking her. I think that undermines any of the assumptions that she's going to run for Senate or run for governor of Georgia, right? LOUIS: Well, that's exactly right. And there's a lot of speculation
that's really what lies at the bottom of all of this was that she expressed to the White House a desire to run for higher office and had it sort of shot down. There are others who have had that kind of conversation with the White House. She just went public with it and clearly, again, a bit of resentfulness there.
It was almost like she was complaining within the Republican caucus, saying like, look, we've got tough times ahead. I've been loyal. Loyalty should be a two-way street. I'm not getting anything. I'm not getting support for higher office. I'm not getting support for being able to speak the minds of my constituents on a hot button issue like the abuse of children. I'm not getting anything here. And the reality is she wasn't. So that's, you know, that's that for her.
BLACKWELL: All right, let's talk about Trump-Mamdani, Senator Rick Scott, before even the meeting, he posted this on socials. He posted, here's the new face of the Democratic Party, a literal communist on his way to the White House to be schooled by President Trump.
Well, let's take a little look at the so called schooling and this kind of buddy comedy that we saw from Trump and Mamdani yesterday.
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TRUMP: We had discussions on something. I'm not going to discuss what they Were, but that I feel very confident that he can do a very good job. I think he's going to be -- I think he is going to surprise some conservative people, actually, and some very liberal people. He won't surprise him because they already like him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: What do you think explains that?
LOUIS: Well, there are a couple of things going on there, Victor. I mean, one is, and you always have to remember this with Donald Trump, is that the family fortune comes from New York City. The family fortune, in fact, was built on his father, Fred Trump, striking deals with New York City mayors and other local officials to get, you know, grants and zoning approvals and access to federal funds and all kinds of other goodies.
So I think it's literally in his blood for Donald Trump that it can never hurt to be on good terms with the mayor of New York City. His first fortune, when he struck out on his own and came into the heart of Manhattan, involved getting concessions on a midtown hotel that he converted into what is now the Grand Hyatt. I mean, this is just what he does.
So, it never hurts to have that in your back pocket, to have a mayor who's friendly to you. I think also, though, there's some of what you often see with politicians is they're very good at schmoozing with each other. They're very good at sort of putting others at ease. And one way to deal with a political opponent is to turn him into an ally. BLACKWELL: So more than schmoozing and maybe being in conflict with
the general Republican narrative about Mamdani up to this point, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is running for New York governor. And I want to play what she says about Mamdani and again, a little clip of what the President says and then talk about it.
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REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): He is going to make New York more unaffordable and less safe. He wants to raise taxes. He wants to double down on failed bail reform and defund the police, and you're already seeing a mass exodus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you feel comfortable living in New York City under a Mamdani administration?
TRUMP: Yes, I would. I really would. Especially after the meeting. Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What makes you comfortable?
TRUMP: We agree on a lot more than I would have thought. I think he's -- I want him to do a great job, and we'll help them do a great job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So all obviously off message for her campaign. Let's look at the other side of it, though, in the last minute, we have, Errol. MAGA supporters a little shocked, unsettled maybe, by what they saw. Does this undermine or impress the Mamdani supporters in New York?
LOUIS: Well, I think the Mamdani supporters, they range from those who are purely ideological and just wanted a Democratic fighter to do battle with the White House and other Republicans.
[06:10:03]
And then there's the rest of us who are just hoping for safe streets, decent schools and more housing so that the prices can come down. And if he can deliver on that, I think everybody's going to be fine with him.
BLACKWELL: All right. Errol Louis, good to have you on a Saturday. Thank you.
The fallout continues as President Donald Trump squares off against a group of Democratic lawmakers. Democratic Senator Elise Stefanik. Sorry, Elissa Slotkin, I should say. Her office says that her home was the target of a bomb threat. Just hours later, Representative Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, they reported similar threats.
They and three other lawmakers released a video earlier this week urging U.S. troops to disobey illegal orders that invoked the ire of the president. He responded to the video on social media and said seditious behavior punishable by death. Members of the GOP, they were split on that statement. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN KILEY (R-CA): I mean, that rhetoric is not acceptable. That's not what I would, I certainly would have used. I don't think there's any place for it.
REP. DON BACON (R-NE): You know, I think most people know it's hyperbole, doesn't literally mean it. But in a country of 340 million people, you're going to have a few people that aren't stable and they hear this stuff and they overreact. And that's what we saw with Charlie Kirk, in my view. And so I think we owe it as elected leaders to try to tamp down on the angry.
REP. BYRON DONALDS (R-RL): They have engaged in seditious behavior. That mess you just heard over there about not being intimidated. No, the intimidation came from them when they launched their stupid video that nobody asked for, that nobody was talking about to try to get clicks and likes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: And Democrats have roundly condemned the president's comments. They said that they won't be intimidated, as you heard there from the congressman. According to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the U.S. Manual for Court Martials, service members must disobey unlawful orders.
All right. Now to this morning's headlines. A major electrical fire aboard a cargo ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles prompted a massive response. Look at this. The fire broke out below deck just after 6:30 pm. More than 120 firefighters responded. They evacuated all 23 crew members from the ship safely with no injuries reported.
About 90 minutes after the fire started, an explosion knocked out power to lights and cranes. Several cargo containers carrying hazardous materials are involved in the fire and officials issued a shelter in place for the surrounding area as the fire department continues to monitor the air quality.
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CAPTAIN ADAM VAN GERPEN, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: If you can smell it, you want to stay indoors, turn off your air conditioning units so that if you put your car on recirculating so it's a shelter in place, meaning that you don't want to have that air coming in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: The L.A. Fire Department is reporting that crews are still slowly containing that blaze.
New this morning there is outrage in Rhode Island after ICE agents surrounded a Superior Court judge's car and detained a high school intern. Video shows agents restraining the teenager who the judge was driving to school. DHS tells CNN this was a case of mistaken identity during the hunt for a child predator. But state leaders, they're not buying it. Governor Dan McKee called
the incident indefensible. The teen was eventually released after being questioned at the scene.
NASA astronauts captured really a stunning cosmic light show from space. NASA released footage of the northern lights. These are seen from the International Space Station. It's a sight the astronauts are seeing more frequently now because the sun is at its solar maximum. That's the peak of its 11-year activity cycle.
Another round of heavy rain is bringing flood threats to central and northern Texas later this weekend. Chris Warren is tracking the storms for us. What do they need to know?
CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Tomorrow's the day for Texas for the chance for more flooding once again here. So we're looking across the US. There are some showers and storms that we're watching also here in the mid-Atlantic. That's the system right there that's going to be moving into Texas for tomorrow. That's the rain right now.
Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast right now. Some showers, even some thunderstorms may be waking you up a little bit early here in Southern California in the deserts with some rain. We'll watch this and track this as it moves across Arizona, New Mexico and eventually into Texas. And this is where there is the risk of just getting way too much rain, excessive rainfall risk for tomorrow. And this includes areas from San Angelo to the Dallas Fort Worth area, all the way up into and around Oklahoma City.
And as far as the amount of rain we're going to see looks like anywhere from about 2 to 4 inches of rain here across some of the Hill Country in Texas. Also the purple and pink colors showing up on the map, a reminder that can start to see more and more snow in some of the higher elevations and going into what of course is a busy, busy travel week here.
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A couple of systems we're going to be watching and in some cases by the middle of the week, there will be a chance for some snow, maybe even some ice. Victor. So a lot to watch going into next week.
BLACKWELL: Are you into skiing?
WARREN: Skiing and snowboarding.
BLACKWELL: OK, skiing and snowboarding. This next story is for you.
WARREN: All right.
BLACKWELL: All right. Some good news for folks like Chris who are into the slopes want to get back the powerful storm system dumping fresh snow out west just in time for Thanksgiving. Mammoth Mountain in California and Mount Roski Tahoe have officially opened for the season. Now, the resorts, they didn't need much help from their own
snowmakers. Mother Nature gifted them more than 30 inches of snow in some areas this week alone. I, myself not so much into skiing. The boots are torturous, but I'm into some snowmobiling.
All right. President Trump, his new plan to end the war in Ukraine. We'll get into that because it's raising alarms. Why critics say it's a win for Putin and how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is responding this morning. We have that for you.
Plus, world leaders are gathering as the G20 summit kicks off. There will be talks on global security and the economy. And we're live in Johannesburg, South Africa with the latest there.
A new voice comes forward in a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, too. We'll hear from this latest accuser about what he claims happened and why he speaking out now.
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BLACKWELL: Ukraine has until Thursday to decide whether to accept or not President Trump's peace plan. Trump's 28-point plan would end Russia's war on Ukraine. But the plan pressures Ukraine to surrender territory, restrict the size of its military and it forces the country to give up its goal of joining NATO.
It's widely viewed as favoring Russian President Putin's demands. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Vice President J.D. Vance yesterday. Zelenskyy does not appear to be giving up on negotiating more favorable terms.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I will convince and offer alternatives, but we will definitely not give the enemy a reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace. We did not betray Ukraine then and we will not do it now. I know for sure that this is truly one of the most difficult moments in our history and I'm not alone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Yesterday, President Trump signaled that President Zelenskyy has no choice but to accept the deal or lose all U.S. support.
Happening now. The G20 summit kicked off just a short time ago in South Africa as gathering of world leaders is missing key participant, a delegate from the United States. President Trump said no government officials will attend the summit. He claimed that, quote, human rights abuses against Africaners. That's despite strong denial from South African authorities. With me now, CNN correspondent Larry Madowo. Larry, we're just getting started there in Johannesburg. Get us up to speed.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, the opening ceremony of the G20 leaders' summit is going on right now. President Ramaphosa welcomed everybody to this, the first summit on African soil. And you hear so many of these leaders here saying that the way to deal with the global challenges is to show up, is to collaborate. That's what President Emmanuel Macron of France said when he arrived in Johannesburg. He's just spoken here a short while ago and many of the leaders who's been speaking here, whether European or from other parts of the world, Africa, Asia, say they've given a strong defense of multilateralism.
They say the way to deal with the geopolitical challenges the world faces is to come together, tables like these, the G20, and talk not to walk away from it in the way that President Trump did. President Ramaphosa of South Africa said that it's Trump's loss that he's not here, that they will move full steam ahead, have a declaration, and that if the U.S. wants to participate, they're open to do so.
The final thing is tomorrow the handover of the G20 presidency, which is to the U.S. and the U.S. and Shahjid affair, they essentially be acting ambassador to Pretoria and South Africa said no, President Ramaphosa will not hand over to an acting ambassador. If President Trump is not here, they will hand over to an empty chair. He also said this in his opening.
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CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: As this is the first G20 leader summit to be held in Africa. It carries the hopes and must reflect the aspirations of the people of this continent and of the world. We should not allow anything to diminish the value, the stature and the impact of the first African G20 presidency.
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MADOWO: That is aimed directly at President Trump. He's not here, but he's center stage. European leaders will be having a side meeting shortly after what's going on behind me to talk about Ukraine and Keir Starmer of the U.K. describes as Ukraine's partners and friends. They're discussing what President Trump's administration has put forward. They want to make sure that the European and Ukrainian interests are guaranteed and that Ukraine doesn't have to cede so much ground.
So that's going to be happening in the hours ahead. We'll keep you updated, Victor.
BLACKWELL: I know you will. Larry Madowo for us in Johannesburg. Thank you.
ICE raids. They are shaking Charlotte's immigrant community and churches are now stepped up to support them.
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We'll hear from a pastor about fear, faith and standing up for neighbors.
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BLACKWELL: More charges could be filed against President Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton. According to the Justice Department, prosecutors are still going through a trove of documents recovered from Bolton's home in Maryland and his office in Washington, D.C. and since some of them are allegedly classified, they must be reviewed by the intelligence community before Bolton's defense team even see them.
President Trump demanded Bolton be prosecuted and said this about his former adviser.
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TRUMP: I think he's, you know, a bad person. I think he's a bad guy. Yes, he's a bad guy. Too bad.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you reviewed the case against him?
TRUMP: No, I haven't. I haven't. But I just think he's a bad person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: All right, for more now on the DOJ's case against Bolton, here's CNN's Katelyn Polantz.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Victor, the case against John Bolton, Trump's national security adviser in the first administration, it has a long way to go. That was confirmed so much by prosecutors on Friday that the judge actually was growing a little bit exasperated about why things can't move faster.
One of the things that's happening in this case against John Bolton, remember, it is about his alleged mishandling of national defense information, classified information that he is accused of taking down into diary-like single spaced pages, keeping those pages for himself outside of any sort of secured facility on an electronics or on his e- mail accounts that were not secure places, even printing out documents, e-mailing them to his wife and his daughter.
Those accusations involve so much classified information that the government hasn't even gone through all of it. That's what prosecutor Thomas Sullivan said to Judge Ted Chung on Friday in Maryland's federal court. The other thing that they said is that they haven't seen everything. Meaning that there could be more charges that come into play against Bolton, charges that aren't yet even filed.
The charges that Bolton currently faces include about ten, that detail exactly what the type of classified information is that Bolton is alleged to have had. It's not documents with classification markings, it's these diary-like pages that would be allegedly recollections Bolton was jotting down on his own as he was working in the Trump White House and collecting them, things like information he was being told about foreign adversaries, foreign leaders.
The U.S. military facilities that may be facing military strikes. So, a lot of very sensitive national security information that the government says they are still working through, still need more time. We're not even going to get an update for a potential trial date until January at the earliest. So many months of discussion and very careful handling of the amount of classified information in this case for a very -- person with a very high level for security clearance previously whenever he worked in the first administration. Back to you.
BLACKWELL: All right, Katelyn, thank you. People in Charlotte, North Carolina, are now mobilizing against the immigration crackdown in their city. More than 300 people have been arrested and the Department of Homeland Security says the operation is not over. So, parents are escorting their kids to school. They're using whistles to let neighbors know if they spot any ICE activity. Others are simply pulling their children out of class.
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DAVID GILLESPIE, CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG TEACHER: I'm not sure which of my students I'm going to see again, whether that be because their parents were involved in detainment, or whether that be because their parents have to perform a really unfortunate safety calculus of is it worth it to send my student to school, to put myself at risk?
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BLACKWELL: I want to talk about this with Reverend Joel Simpson. He is the pastor at First United Methodist Church in Taylorsville, North Carolina. Reverend, good to have you this morning. Before we talk about the specifics of what you're doing with some other congregations, the Department of Homeland Security posted something on social media after the reports that this Operation Charlotte's Web, was over an increased ICE deployment had ended.
They posted, "Dear criminal Illegal Aliens, we are gone. It's safe to come out." Obviously, some reverse ploy, maybe to get people to come out of hiding. Have you seen any difference in the day since in the scope or intensity of ICE presence or operation?
JOEL SIMPSON, PASTOR, FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: Yes, we have seen a lesson -- a lessening of the intensity, but the fear and the level of concern in the community has still been the same. So, we're taking that threat or that statement pretty seriously.
BLACKWELL: OK, and so, you are part of training, there's actually training today, I read on your website that's happening in your sanctuary today. It's happened at other churches as well. Talk to me about the training, what you're teaching people, and the degree in which you want people to get involved or not get involved.
SIMPSON: Right, yes, so, we've been planning this training for 3 or 4 months, actually, and it happened to begin and fall on the same weekend that, border patrol showed up in Charlotte. So, there's kind of this as a pastor, there's this underlying belief that whenever pain and suffering and violence show up, so does love and goodness.
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And so, these trainings have all been happening teaching people how to care for their communities, make more safety for more people is the language we use. People are taught how to go on patrols to support their community, what to do if they see border patrol or ICE detaining someone, which is, we encourage people to video record.
We've seen in Chicago and other states that have experienced this in cities, that this is what has helped when people have been detained and arrested in their legal cases. Hey, here's a video of what's happened. The person shares their name in the video and the judges and the lawyers are able to use this as evidence.
Now, most of the time, we role-play this out. So, we invite people to come up and people act out Border Patrol, People act out being taken. People act out being the patrol units. So, videotaping, if we have more than two people, we invite people to have whistles, and they warn the surrounding community.
Speaking in Spanish and saying, hey, immigration is here. And then if we have even more people and there's a bigger crowd in the community, we invite people to begin singing. And this is to help channel all that they're feeling, whether it be anger, fear, we really want to avoid violence because what we care about is how that violence will lead to impacting the immediate community.
So, we want more safety for more people. That includes people who are observers, people who live in their community. We want to avoid tear gas. We want to avoid things we've seen as much as possible in other cities --
BLACKWELL: Yes --
SIMPSON: And communities.
BLACKWELL: I went, as I said, to your church's website, to prep for this conversation. There's a tab for ICE updates. There is a Christian response to American fascism. And again, I read that you're hosting this training at the sanctuary today. How does your faith inform the decision to get involved to this degree?
SIMPSON: Well, it demands it. And there have been recruiting videos for ICE and Border Patrol that have used Christian and Jewish scripture. And so, I've been trying to make very clear that whatever scripture they're using isn't the scripture that Jesus spoke of or Jesus says, welcome, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
It's not the scripture in Leviticus 19 that says, you shall love your immigrant neighbor as you love yourself, and treat them as a citizen among you. So, this is embedded in the Christian tradition and all faith traditions to welcome the stranger. And so, it's an important practice and something we're trying to live out well.
And as we've seen the violence and harm that's been happening, we know this is part of our obligation and part of our call as people of faith.
BLACKWELL: All right, Reverend Joel Simpson, I thank you for your time.
SIMPSON: Yes, thank you.
BLACKWELL: RFK Jr. orders changes to the CDC website. It involves new guidance on vaccines and autism. But experts say decades of science have been replaced by misinformation. And we'll show you how this happened next.
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BLACKWELL: Let's talk about some of the false claims now on the CDC website. Scientific information on the lack of a link between autism and vaccines now replaced with anti-vaccine talking points. In an interview with the "New York Times", Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic, says that he personally pushed for those updates. Many health experts are alarmed.
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PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: Essentially, what RFK Jr. does, he used the technicality of the scientific method, which is that you can never prove never, and just to keep this fear alive, and it's really unfair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: CNN's Julia Brenbrook(ph) -- Benbrook, I should say, joins me now with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Medical professionals are voicing concerns as scientific information on the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions website has been replaced with anti- vaccine talking points. Bullet points on the site now state that vaccines do not cause autism is not an evidence-based claim.
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who recently resigned as director of the CDC's National Center on Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the change was a, quote, "national embarrassment".
DEMETRE DASKALAKIS, INFECTIOUS DISEASE PHYSICIAN WHO RESIGNED FROM CDC: My advice to parents is talk to your pediatrician. The American Academy of Pediatrics completely disagrees with this update. The Autism Foundation disagrees with this update, so speak to people who actually are experts and take care of children.
BENBROOK: While the main heading on the page still states vaccines do not cause autism, it comes with an asterisk that directs readers to a footnote, there it states the wording was not removed due to an agreement with the chair of the U.S. Senate. Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, that it would remain on the CDC website.
That seems to refer to a commitment by HHS Secretary and long-time anti-vaccine activists, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Republican Senator Bill Cassidy during his confirmation process. In a statement following the website change, Cassidy said in part, "I'm a doctor who has seen people die from vaccine preventable diseases.
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What parents need to hear right now is vaccines for measles, polio, hepatitis b and other childhood diseases are safe and effective, and will not cause autism. Any statement to the contrary is wrong, irresponsible and actively makes Americans sicker." An HHS spokesperson defended the changes, saying they reflect gold standard evidence-based science.
But it is important to note that there are many credible studies that have found no relationship. At the White House, I'm Julia Benbrook.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: There are new claims against music mogul Sean Combs, and I want to warn you that what you're about to hear includes some graphic details that may be disturbing to some viewers. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's department is investigating sexual battery allegations made by music producer Jonathan Hay. He spoke exclusively with CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister about what he says happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN HAY, PUBLICIST & RECORD PRODUCER: He violated me. Like I've -- like I've never been violated.
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Jonathan Hay in his first TV interview since the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department opened a new investigation into allegations that Sean "Diddy" Combs forced Hay to perform oral sex on him.
HAY: Someone is listening, and I feel like I'm so close to justice finally.
WAGMEISTER: Hay, a music publicist and producer, says his first incident with Combs came in 2020, when they collaborated on new music honoring Biggie; the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. This is Hay modeling Biggie's actual clothes, a photo he says he gave to the police taken on the day he says he found himself alone with Combs.
HAY: He took a phone call, sat down, I could hear like sex noises. He was really like masturbating. And this goes on for a few minutes, and I just like want the whole thing, you know, to be over. And next thing you know, he ejaculates into one of Biggie's shirt. That was the shirt -- I mean, he was like, rest in peace, Big.
WAGMEISTER: Hay in this police report says that he kept the incident to himself, but it began to eat at him and eventually told Biggie's son, C.J. Wallace, who was collaborating with him on the new music. HAY: I finally got that off my chest after almost a year.
WAGMEISTER: But Hay told police that the dynamic of the partnership changed. In March 2021, Hay went for what he thought was an interview for Combs' "Revolt TV". Instead, he says, he was taken to a house where Combs entered the room.
HAY: Chaos erupted and he was screaming at me. He was in a rage, and that's when he violated me.
WAGMEISTER: Hay told police Combs stuck his penis inside of his mouth. Hay says he pulled away, but Combs pulled his head back and allegedly did it again, approximately 3 to 4 times.
(on camera): What was going through your mind in that moment?
HAY: Shock, like blur, I didn't know if I was going to die at that point. It's the first time in my life where I felt suicidal.
WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Combs' attorneys told CNN, "Mr. Combs categorically denies as false and defamatory all claims that he sexually abused anyone". In July, Hay filed a civil suit against Combs and Wallace, Biggie's son. Wallace is now suing for defamation, claiming Hay became irate at the decision to not release the remainder of the songs that Hay had produced and retaliated.
His attorney adding, "the allegations will be shown to be complete fantasy".
HAY: C.J. knows what happened. He was there.
WAGMEISTER: Combs is now serving four years in federal prison. Hay hopes that his case will add to that.
HAY: Biggie was like his -- supposedly his best friend, to just do that in his shirt and to attack me like he had, he doesn't need to be out on the streets.
WAGMEISTER: Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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[06:50:00]
BLACKWELL: Roblox is one of the most popular online kids games, but it's coming now with a lot of scrutiny. Reports are mounting of children being groomed and abused by adults they met on that platform. So, Roblox is making changes. Now, anyone who wants to chat online will need to verify their age.
They can use an I.D. or a new A.I. face-scanning technology. CNN's Clare Duffy breaks down the new rules.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CLARE DUFFY, CNN REPORTER (on camera): Unlike many online platforms,
Roblox allows children under the age of 13. It markets itself as this place for children to learn how to code, and it has around 50 million of those under 13 users. And the company has faced this growing string of lawsuits and claims that it is allowing adult predators to be in contact with children.
So, the company is now trying to make it harder for adults to talk to children who they don't know by requiring every user on the platform, regardless of age, to verify their age before they can access these chat features. Users over the age of 13 can provide an I.D. if they want, or anybody can use this A.I. face age estimation tool, where basically you'll hold up your phone in front of your face.
It looks at your face as you move around, and then it puts you in an estimated age group, and users can only talk with people in or around their age group. So, for example, a user at the age of 12 who is estimated to be 12 could talk to users under 15, but not over 16. Again, all in an effort to try to keep children from talking to adult strangers on the platform.
I think the question about this going forward is going to be how accurate it is. Roblox says it believes that the age estimation tool is pretty accurate for users ages 6 to 25. That is going to be something to watch here as we move forward, as well as whether there are ways for people to get around this tool.
[06:55:00]
You know, we've seen other social media platforms, other online platforms try to do similar things, estimate users ages to protect young people. And some people have found ways around it using selfies of other people or video game characters. So, those are two things i think, to keep a close eye on here as this moves forward.
But certainly, an important step here as Roblox tries to keep its youngest users safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right, our thanks to Clare for that report. We're closing in on Thanksgiving, and two turkeys in North Carolina, they got their pardons. Two hefty hens named Krispy and Kreme, 45 pounds each, they're thick. Butterball joined the event, pledged 1,500 turkey breast to the statewide food bank.
And as for Krispy and Kreme, they're headed back to the Nealler(ph) family farm to live out their best turkey lives. All right, there's much more ahead on the next hour of CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND, we'll go back to Johannesburg, South Africa, where the G20 Summit is now underway. Live report coming up in the next hour.
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