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CNN This Morning

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Announces She Will Resign In January; Trump, Mamdani Leave White House Meeting On Good Terms; Democratic Lawmakers Report Bomb Threats; Trump Gives Ukraine Six Days To Accept 28-Point Peace Plan; Four Shot At North Carolina Christmas Tree Lighting; Additional Charges Possible Against John Bolton; Supreme Court Halts Order Blocking Texas' New Congressional Maps; World Leaders Arrive As G20 Summit Begins In Johannesburg; Travelers Without REAL ID Could Pay $18 Fee Under Proposed TSA Rule; Brian Walshe Pleads Guilty To Lesser Charges As Wife's Murder Trial Set To Begin; Suns Mount 8-PT Comeback In Final Minute To Beat T-Wolves; Jokic Scores 34 As Nuggets Dispatch Rockets 112-109; No. 24 Notre Dame Take Down No. 11 USC In Final Seconds; No. 1 UConn Hold Off Late Push From Michigan For 72-69 Win; Joey Chestnut Takes On Cavs Fans In Pierogi Eating Contest. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired November 22, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to your weekend. I'm glad you're starting with me Saturday, November 22nd. I'm Victor Blackwell. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING.

Here's what you need to know today. GOP firebrand turned Trump critic, Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling it quits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I'll be resigning from office with my last day being January 5th, 2026.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: We'll tell you the reason she gave for stepping down, plus the response just in from President Trump.

Some Democratic lawmakers say they're being threatened after President Trump accused them of seditious behavior. Despite the threats, some in the GOP say it's their own fault.

President Trump says Ukraine has until Thursday to accept his 28-point plan to end the war with Russia. What Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is saying about that.

Also, do you have one of those REAL IDs yet? If not, you could soon have to pay a little more to fly. The new fee that TSA wants you to pay and why. All right, just in minutes ago, President Donald Trump responded to

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor-Greene's resignation announcement. This is a post from Truth Social. He called her Marjorie Traitor Brown, saying that she was leaving due to plummeting poll numbers and saying that her relationship with Kentucky Congressman Tom Massie was not helping her.

Greene's announcement caps off a turbulent five years in office and came days after this very public spat with the President, where she accused him of being too focused on foreign policy. He shot back, calling her a traitor, doing it again this morning for publicly calling for the release of the Epstein files. In a video posted on X, she called out Trump.

(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 who my fought for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Green's colleagues are in Congress weighing in too. 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 and incendiary rhetoric, including prior comments endorsing violence against Democrats.

President Trump met with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani Friday. This surprised a lot of people because they left the meeting on really good terms. They acknowledged differences, but they said that they want to work together for New Yorkers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said I would be his worst nightmare and accused him of having a fascist agenda. Are you planning to retract any of these remarks in order to improve your relationship?

MAMDANI: 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.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I've been called much worse than a despot, so it's not that insulting. Maybe he'll change his mind after we get to working together. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: During the mayoral campaign, the President backed formal Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo. The President also threatened to pull federal funding from New York if Mamdani won. And New York's fiscal budget next year is counting on almost $7.5 billion. The President said after the meeting, the better Mamdani does in office, the happier he'll be.

The fallout continues as President Donald Trump squares off against a group of Democratic lawmakers. Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin's office says that her home was the target of a bomb threat hours after representatives Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan reported similar threats. They and three other lawmakers released the video earlier this week urging U.S. troops to disobey illegal orders, which service members must do according to Uniform Code of Military Justice and the U.S. Manual for Courts Marshal.

The video invoke the ire of the President. CNN's Arlette Saenz explains.

[07:05:02]

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Democratic lawmakers have expressed outrage over President Donald Trump's suggestion that those six Democratic lawmakers engaged in seditious behavior that could be punishable by death. But the reaction within the Republican Party has really been mixed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that he does not agree with the President's language, though he criticized Democrats for posting that video in the first place, while House Speaker Mike Johnson conceded that he would not have used that kind of language, even though hours before he defended what President Donald Trump said.

But I've caught up with many Republican lawmakers who really were split in their reactions. Take a listen to some who said that the President engaged in inappropriate rhetoric, while others defended him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN KILEY (R-CA): I mean, that rhetoric is not acceptable. That's not what I would -- certainly wouldn't have used it. 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 that anger.

REP BYRON DONALDS (R-FL): They have engaged in seditious behavior. That message is 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)

SAENZ: And Congressman Byron Donalds was making those comments as Democratic Congressman Jason Crow, one of the six Democrats who was in that video was standing right behind him speaking to reporters. But these comments from the President have really rattled Democratic lawmakers. Senator Chris Murphy very forcefully said that this is a comment that could get Democratic lawmakers killed. We have Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries who have said that they both speak -- spoken to Capitol Police about offering additional security for those Democratic lawmakers. But overall Democrats have said that they will remain undeterred in the face of President Donald Trump's threats, saying they will not be intimidated.

Arlette Saenz, CNN Capitol Hill.

BLACKWELL: Breaking news, federal police in Brazil have arrested former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. And he was scheduled to start a 27-year prison sentence in just a few days. Bolsonaro was convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the country's 2022 presidential election. The right-winger, ally of President Trump, has been on house arrest since earlier this year. Bolsonaro has denied all wrongdoing and called the trial a political witch hunt.

Ukraine's President says his country is facing one of the most difficult moments in its history. This is after President Trump released a 28-point peace plan that he says Ukraine has six days to accept. Now, the plan heavily favors Russia and contains a series of demands Ukraine has previously rejected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (through translator): Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either the loss of dignity, or the risk of losing a key partner, or 28 difficult points, or an extremely harsh winter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: For more on the plan and Ukraine's options, here's CNN's Natasha Bertrand.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Ukraine is under intense pressure to accept a proposed peace deal drafted by the U.S. and Russia with President Trump saying on Friday that Ukraine has until Thanksgiving to sign on to the plan, which would force Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, limit the size of Ukraine's military, and prohibit Ukraine from ever joining NATO, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by CNN.

Now, many of the ideas put forward in this 28-point plan have been rejected in previous negotiations by Ukraine and by European officials because they are seen as major concessions to the Russians. The proposed plan was drafted by Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dimitrov. And restarting talks has really emerged as a top priority for President Trump in recent weeks. Shortly after, the U.S. helped broker that ceasefire deal in Gaza is when this re-emerged as a really important thing for President Trump, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Now, Zelenskyy said on Friday that the pressure on Ukraine to accept the plan is "now at its most intense." Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner or 28 difficult points or an extremely harsh winter. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll presented the plan to Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday.

Now, U.S. officials said the plan was still being worked on this week and that any final agreement would require concessions from both sides, not just Ukraine, but the document essentially only requires that Russia abandon its efforts to take over the entirety of Ukraine, while demanding that Ukraine relinquish territory that it currently controls to the Russians.

Europeans were not briefed on the details of the new plan beforehand and are now working with the Ukrainians on a counterproposal. And it's worth noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time on Friday that he had received the proposed plan, but he did not say whether Russia would agree to its terms, only that it "could form the basis of a final peace settlement." Victor?

[07:10:16]

BLACKWELL: All right, Natasha Bertrand, thank you.

Let's talk more about this with CNN Political and National Security Analyst David Sanger. David, good morning to you. And let's go into this plan. For all that Russia would get, Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk would be recognized as de facto Russian, including by the United States. Russia would be readmitted to the G8. Ukrainian Constitution amended to never seek NATO membership, reducing the Ukrainian military as well. Would that satiate Putin? I mean, that is not the totality of what he wants out of Ukraine.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's not, Victor, and good morning. But it's a remarkable document because while it doesn't give Putin everything he wants, it gives him most of what he wants. And frankly, parts of it look like they were drafted in the Kremlin. I mean, when you think about what the Ukrainians are being asked to give up, there's the land issue, and in some ways that's the least of it, because I think we all knew that in whatever agreement is reached, there would be some de facto acknowledgement that Russia now occupies parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, and particularly in this area, in the Donbas that's stipulated in the agreement.

The harder part, Victor, is that what Zelenskyy is being asked to give up is basically the ability to maintain a separate state under the terms that Ukrainians want. Their army is capped in size, as you heard from Natasha. NATO would not be allowed to keep troops, peacekeeping troops inside Ukraine. So, the ability to contain the Russians from taking over the rest of the country at some point in future years or going beyond that in NATO would be very limited.

And it would end, Victor -- this is sort of the most remarkable thing, it would offer a complete amnesty to the Russians who committed war crimes during the course of this time of it, and all investigations.

BLACKWELL: The Ukrainian allies who are in Johannesburg for the G20, they're going to be discussing a way forward on the sidelines of this. We've got a lot of pictures now of this event over the next day or so. What is their move? Because European allies were not part of the crafting of this document. It conflicts with some of the direct demands of sovereignty and guarantees. So, where are they now, and what are their options?

SANGER Well, you know, this tells you what happens when you begin to cut your allies out, which is that when you need their support for something, you don't have it because you haven't consulted them. So, the G20 will be an interesting event. President Trump decided not to go to it, and Vice President Vance, who we thought was going to replace him, is also not going because of their concerns about the South African government. So, there's no senior U.S. official to go make the case for why they think this is the right kind of agreement. That's the first challenge they're going to face.

The second challenge is that the U.S. has said, we've paid enough for the Ukrainian war so far, the Russia-Ukraine war. So, the Europeans are going to pay to support Ukraine, they can buy American weapons. But what's happened is we've now given the Europeans the war to take care of but didn't involve them in the drafting of this proposed peace plan. So, you're going to end up seeing a division between America and the rest of its NATO allies on what these terms should be. And, you know, that's a division I suspect could have been avoided.

BLACKWELL: Less than a week for President Zelenskyy to make this decision. David Sanger, thank you.

SANGER: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, four people are in the hospital after a shooting at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony. This is in Concord, North Carolina. This was the scene in Concord's downtown, not long after the shooting. One witness described hiding in a pizzeria with children shaking and crying. And police say three victims were being treated for critical injuries. A fourth person was said to be in stable condition. It's not known this morning what led to the shooting. The remainder of the events, as you might expect, were canceled.

[07:15:08]

All right, a look at other headlines today. The Justice Department says President Trump's former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, could face additional federal charges. The DOJ is still going through a large amount of documents recovered in the case. It includes papers found in Bolton's Maryland home in Washington, D.C. office. And prosecutors allege that Bolton illegally shared classified information during Trump's first term. The review is set to last until at least the summer. No trial date has been set.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has now weighed in on new gerrymandering congressional maps in Texas. On Friday night, he blocked a lower court's ruling that barred the state from using them. That court determined that the new district lines were drawn based on race. And the new Texas congressional map sets the state up to likely flip five Democratic seats held to Republicans in next year's midterm elections. Now, Texas asked the court to act quickly because campaigning for the Midterm election has already begun.

The FBI is investigating the death of a teenage girl whose body was found on a cruise ship earlier this month. 18-year-old Anna Kepner was on board the Carnival Horizon cruise with her family when she died. Now, the FBI has not commented on the case, but experts say the investigation will take time. In court documents filed Monday and the stepmother's divorce revealed a minor child may be implicated in the case. A final autopsy report is pending.

Another round of heavy rain is bringing flood threats to central and northern Texas later this weekend. Chris Warren is tracking the storm for us. Where is it going and who's in for it?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it looks like Texas will see some of the heaviest rain in the most likely areas that there could be some flooding, Victor. But that system that eventually is going to be going into Texas is now moving into the southwest parts of California, Arizona, New Mexico. Meanwhile, Southeast is going to be warm once again for November warmth here and then some big changes for next week temperature-wise.

Here's what's going on right now. As far as the rain goes, a few thunderstorms are also here in the mid-Atlantic and in the Northeast with the yellow and orange showing some of the heavier rain, some lightning popping up there. Meanwhile, here across Southern California and eventually into Arizona and New Mexico, this is where that heavy rain is going to be coming again.

Here comes another round of rain for Texas. So, with the amount of rain that will come with these thunderstorms, possibly rounds of storms. The excessive rainfall risk, you can think of it as a two out of four here. We're in a slight possibility for too much rain that could lead to some flooding. This is kind of the zone right there. Forecasts are showing there from around mid-land to and around and including Dallas and Fort Worth could have some of the heaviest rain. It's looking like late tomorrow and into the overnight hours into Monday.

As far as the big travel week goes here across the U.S. from this weekend into early next week, there's one system and then another system moving in. Nothing major at this point as far as the systems go, but here and there could have some travel issues next week.

Here are the warm temperatures starting off the week in Atlanta and Orlando, lower 70s to lower 80s. But by the end of the week, as these systems come through and cold air drops down, Victor, temperatures will be cooling down considerably in some spots by about 20 degrees. BLACKWELL: All right, we can take it. I mean, today is a gift here in

Atlanta.

WARREN: It's gorgeous. Right.

BLACKWELL: Mid-70s, so I'll take the trade-off. Thank you, Chris.

Still ahead, between the extra money for the groceries and the travel and the gift giving, there are a lot of people, their budgets just cannot take it. We'll take a look at what's really pressing, paychecks. Plus, a man on trial for murder says he did not kill his wife, but he admits that he moved the body and he misled police. We'll dig into his unusual defense.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:23:45]

BLACKWELL: Happening now, discussions at the G20 Summit in South Africa. World leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starman -- Keir Starmer arrived in Johannesburg and were greeted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. There is one notable absence from the gathering, a delegate from the United States.

Let's go to CNN Correspondent Larry Madowo. Larry, the leaders are in disagreement about how to address some of the world's issues and they're approaching these issues without the U.S.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are approaching them without the U.S., Victor. And actually the specter of President Trump looms large over this because even this leaders declaration essentially a statement that they all agree on at the end of the summit is usually very vanilla boilerplate. They have to work out some language that all the leaders can sign on to.

And the host here, the South African Broadcasting Corporation had said the U.S. was opposed to any kind of leader's declaration. However, they tried to get that approved this morning as a first order of business in the opening session. And the South Africans said they had gotten that leaders declaration across the line. But then the Argentinian minister who's representing the Argentinian president said, no, there was no consensus and we should admit when there is no consensus. We didn't agree on this. And he -- some of his language is vague but on one of the issues they disagree on is Gaza. So, even here without President Trump, that U.S. position, that U.S. absence is being felt here.

[07:25:13]

Many of the leaders who came defended multilateralism. They said the world has got to work together to confront geopolitical challenges. President Macron, Keir Starmer of the U.K., the Finnish President, the African leaders all have said that there should be more collaboration not less. They've all criticized the transactional way that President Trump does business without necessarily namechecking him.

And President Ramaphosa in his opening also said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, PRESIDENT, SOUTH AFRICA: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: And that was aimed again directly at President Trump. President Cyril Ramaphosa had said he will not hand over the G20 presidency to the American charge d'affaires. That is the acting ambassador of the U.S. embassy here in South Africa. He says the U.S. was always welcome to participate in this. And if they chose not to come, then that's on them. That's their loss.

But what South Africa has done here is invited many countries, many of them African nations to center African demands to the G20 for reforming the global financial architecture for more financing for the effects of climate change, issues that probably would not have gone well with the Americans. And that's part of the criticism you heard from Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary that said, this is more like the G100. And the South Africans embraced that criticism, saying, we have the stable. It's here in Africa for the first time. We've opened it up to as many people as possible. Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Larry Madowo from Johannesburg, thank you.

A record holiday travel rush is on the way. Up next, we'll give you a look at what you can expect as you hit the roads and go to the airports this Thanksgiving week. And this is a fun one. Three basketball fans team up to take on competitive eater Joey Chestnut. This is a pierogi eating contest. What do you think? You think they were able to keep up? We'll find out in sports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:46]

BLACKWELL: If you're planning on traveling this Thanksgiving week, brace yourself. According to the FAA, this year's holiday travel season is shaping up to be the busiest in 15 years. More than 52,000 flights scheduled next Tuesday alone. The TSA expects to screen more than three million passengers on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It's a potential record for the agency.

And if you're hitting the road to avoid the stress of the airport, AAA expects 81 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles by road for the holiday, up more than a million from last year. So, if you don't have your REAL ID or your passport, that may not be a problem. The TSA has a new proposed rule that allows travelers to pay a fee and use a new biometric kiosk. It would allow travelers to access TSA's checkpoints for a maximum of 10 days. That fee is $18. There's no word on when the alternate plan will take effect. And as they get ready to buy the Thanksgiving meals and do their

shopping, more Americans, probably you, you've been feeling pessimistic about the personal finances. Here's CNN's Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. Wage growth is stalling. For the second straight month, earnings were flat, holding steady at an annual rate gain of 0.8 percent. Blue-collar and service industry workers' wages were even weaker than that. And as you can see here, wages have outpaced inflation since April of 2023, but those two lines you see on your screen are starting to close the gap. Inflation rose to three percent in September for the first time since January.

Affordability is very much front and center for so many Americans. Just look at housing costs. According to Zillow, the average rent is about $2,000 a month. And home prices are still on the rise. About $360,000 on average for a home. And with a 6.26 mortgage rate and 20 percent down, that's roughly $2,100 a month.

And food costs, that's something that's consumed daily, that's still feeling so pricey for many Americans. Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs are up 5.2 percent in the last year. Fruits and vegetables up 1.3 percent and dairy up 0.7 percent.

But there are some costs that are easing -- pharmaceuticals. The Trump Administration announced that certain weight-loss drugs will be available at a lower cost. And he also announced deals with big pharma companies to try to help lower the prices of their drugs. The price of eggs has also fallen from $8.00 a dozen to about $2.00 a dozen after the Trump Administration invested in biosecurity to combat the deadly avian flu. And also, oil prices have fallen which translates to lower gas prices. Some credit may be given to the president for putting pressure on OPEC Plus to increase production.

But overall, consumers are really still feeling lousy about the economy. Consumer sentiment out on Friday shows a five percent drop in sentiment this month and a 29 percent drop in sentiment over the last year. And Victor, consumers said that they just remain frustrated about the persistent costs, the high prices, and their weakening incomes, Victor.

[07:35:07]

BLACKWELL: All right, Vanessa Yurkevich. Thank you.

Still to come, an unusual start to a murder trial. A husband insists that he did not kill his wife, but he admits to disposing of her body. We'll talk about the defense strategy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: There's a pretty shocking twist in the trial of Brian Walshe. He's the man in Massachusetts accused of murdering his wife in 2023. Just before jury selection, Walshe pleaded guilty to disposing of his wife Ana's body and lying to police. However, his lawyer insists that he is not admitting to killing her.

[07:40:19]

Prosecutors alleged that on New Year's morning, Walshe used his son's iPad to make dozens of disturbing Google searches, including how to stop a body from decomposing, how to get blood out of hardwood floors, and his body still has not been found. Investigators searched a dumpster complex near where Walshe's mother lived and recovered a number of items. They found a hatchet and a hacksaw. Several items that had both Brian and Ana Walshe's blood and DNA on them.

Joining me now is CNN Legal Analyst and Criminal Defense Attorney Joey Jackson. Joey, good morning to you. Now, we should say that state law does not allow Walshe to plead guilty to first-degree murder, right? So, that's one thing. But Walshe is not admitting it either. What is the defense strategy that you see here to admit plead guilty to moving the body, misleading police, but he says he didn't -- he didn't kill her.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So, good morning, Victor. It's a strategic play. And remember what the stakes are. And you noted that you can't plead guilty to first-degree murder. Well, why can you not? You can't because you're looking at Massachusetts does not have the death penalty, but you have life in prison without parole. And that's what a conviction would come with. So, you don't allow people to do that. It has to be proven to the jury unless there's some lesser thing that could be established. What lesser thing am I speaking about?

The issue here is going to be how she died. And I think what the strategic move is when you're trying to save your client from life without parole is number one, practical -- from a practical perspective, you're not getting out from under the other compelling evidence. They have video that is police and prosecutors showing him bringing all of these bags into dumpsters. And it's not only the bags into dumpsters. OK, he did that. But it's what's inside those bags. There's a hacksaw there. There's blood there. There's his DNA there. There's her DNA there. There's a bag. There's all types of stuff. They have surveillance of him getting all these cleaning supplies.

So, what does that speak to? It speaks to his clear knowledge and information that she's dead and he's going to dispose of the body. So, from a practical perspective, the evidence is overwhelming. And then you have the issue of not only the conveyance of the dead body, which he plead guilty to, which is misleading investigators. Clearly, given the information he provided, he was lying.

And so, based on all of that, if you're going to come to trial and say, I didn't know anything, I didn't see anything, I didn't do anything, guess what that means? Conviction of first-degree murder. What the defense is doing is turning the plate to how she died. Perhaps they can say it was an accident and he panicked. And as a result of that panic, he had to dispose of the body. It doesn't make it first-degree murder. Perhaps he could say that she died because they had an argument and he was justified because she was coming at him. Guess what, Victor? It doesn't make it first-degree murder? Perhaps she could die by saying it was a heat-of-passion defense which would lessen it to manslaughter which is not first-degree murder.

So, the answer to your question is I think what they want to do is take away the first-degree murder charge, focus on how she died and to the extent -- and the argument will be if the state can't prove that, it doesn't make it again, I've said it, first-degree murder.

Quick-quick thing other, Victor, is that it also limits the evidence. Police now don't have to put on all these witnesses and prosecutors don't as to how he lied and what he said. Don't have to put on all the evidence of forensics about the body and the disposal of it. So, you're limiting the issues. You're limiting what the jury hears. They're going to hate your client less, still hate him, but you have a chance to save him from first-degree murder. That's the entire play here, I believe.

BLACKWELL: OK. So, in this play to save him from first-degree murder, I should point out that the guilty plea to those two lesser charges were not part of a deal with prosecutors. This was independent of the prosecutors offering one. Is there a possibility here that this is a play to get that deal to a charge -- a plea deal on something maybe manslaughter, something lesser than, as you said repeatedly, first- degree murder?

JACKSON: Yes. So, I do think Victor that certainly you are trying to box the prosecutor in. OK. My client has already given the admission he disposed of the body. He's given the admission that he gave false information to the police. What are we doing here? Why then are we going forward? Well, prosecutors would say because we're holding you accountable, sir, we're not interested in any negotiations. We think you're guilty of first-degree murder for killing your wife. You did it intentionally. Prosecutors will note it was premeditated. We believe you did it cruelly. And as a result of that, there is no deal.

[07:45:05]

Now, so it could be, as you noted, to box the prosecution in for a deal. But the other thing, if the prosecutors say no, you as a defense can still make these other arguments, it was simply an accident. If you remember, there's precedent for this. Not to go far field, but there was a case that riveted the nation some years ago, Casey Anthony. She was accused of killing her daughter who was two at the time. She was on trial and literally, Victor, it was for her life. It was a death penalty case in Florida. She argued and the defense argued she died in an accidental drowning in a pool. Guess what? She was acquitted. And so -- of the particular murder.

So, I think it gives the defense options to argue that it was not the intentional killing prosecutors say it was. And they could argue an accident. They can argue heat of passion. They could argue everything they want to. Limit the evidence that the jury sees with regard to what he did in his conduct, which is egregious by the way. And I think it gives them a firmer play. You admit what you need to admit. You deny what you need to deny. It gives him an opportunity to get out from under this first-degree murder conviction.

BLACKWELL: All right, the case picks up after the Thanksgiving holiday. Joey Jackson, thanks so much.

Question, are Catholic exorcisms on the rise in the U.S.? Well, CNN reached out to all 196 Catholic dioceses and archdioceses across the U.S., and out of the 48 that responded, more than two dozen say they've seen an increase in inquiries for exorcisms over the past two decades. CNN's David Culver went to Arizona, home to one of the fastest-growing Catholic dioceses in the country. And he spoke with an exorcist who has never spoken publicly about the right before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Can you give me a sense early on, 26 years or so ago? What were you seeing as far as the request for exorcisms and what have you seen since?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What there has been is a surge in requests.

CULVER: How often every week or month back then versus now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say when I began maybe there were three to five every one to three months. And now I'm going to guess it would be three to five maybe every week.

CULVER: It's, I assume, non-stop for you then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is. I find that Satan is very astute.

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BLACKWELL: Watch an all-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY" with Anderson Cooper, The Exorcists, tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN, and next day in the CNN app.

The NBA Cup plays on, and there were some fantastic finishes last night which outshine those colorful courts, and they are colorful. Andy Scholes has the highlights next.

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BLACKWELL: We had some fantastic finishes in the NBA Cup games last night. CNN's Andy Scholes is here. And we got to see those colorful courts.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, yes, Victor. They were all out last night. Yes, red, blue, green, purple. But we're actually going to start in the orange court there in Phoenix where the Suns pulled off just an incredible comeback against the Timberwolves. So, they were down eight with under a minute to go. Devin Booker had fouled out. And on this play right here, Royce O'Neale is going to get the offensive rebound. He puts it back, makes it a six-point game.

Well, then Collin Gillespie, he's going to steal it. Jordan Goodwin hits a three. It's now a three-point game with 43 seconds left. Well, then Dillon Brooks steals it from Julius Randle. Goodwin goes the other way for a layup. We now have a one-point game. Anthony Edwards gets fouled, misses both free throws. Suns called timeout. And then Gillespie, the hero here, the floater, gives Phoenix the lead. The Timberwolves had no timeouts. And Randle's shot here on the final possession is going to end up being no good. Suns end the game on a 9- 0 run to win it.

And here was the hero Gillespie afterwards.

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COLLIN GILLESPIE, PHOENIX SUNS: That's our group, man. We don't quit. No giving, no quit.

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SHOLES: Fun time. Dogs, Victor, dogs. Meanwhile, in Houston, it was big-time showdown between the Rockets and Nuggets. Second quarter, Alperen Sengun, look at that steal. He did a no-look over-the-head pass up the court to Reed Sheppard for the slam. Fast forward to the third quarter of this one. Nikola Jokic is going to take this one to the hoop, throws it down on two Rockets. Jokic 34 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists. Houston had one last chance to tie this game in the final seconds, but Sengun deep three no good. Nuggets win that one 112-109.

We had some big-time match ups in women's college hoops last night. 24th ranked Notre Dame tied with 11 ranked USC. Under 10 seconds to go, Hannah Hidalgo knocks down the clutch jumper. The crowd there goes crazy. Fighting Irish, they pull off the upset winning 61 to 59.

Elsewhere, the top-ranked Huskies hosting sixth ranked Michigan, the first-ever meeting between these two programs. UConn pouncing on the Wolverines on this one. They're up 22 to five. After the first quarter, they led by 17 midway through the third, but Michigan battled all the way back. Syla Swords, the three here from way downtown, makes it a one-point game. It was a three-point game with eight seconds left. And this was a wild finish. UConn steals it, then Michigan steals it back, but then they're not able to get a shot off to try to tie it. Huskies hold on to win 72-69.

All right, finally, back to the NBA where at the Cavs game the halftime entertainment was eating legend Joey Chestnut taking on three Cavs fans. Two minutes to see who could eat the most perogies. Victor, this was one versus three. Who do you think won?

[07:55:08]

BLACKWELL: Oh, my money's on Chestnut.

SCHOLES: Yes, it wasn't even close. He won 36 to 23. How many pierogies do you think you could eat in two minutes?

BLACKWELL: Two or three.

SCHOLES: Two or three?

BLACKWELL: I'm driven. I'm driven.

SCHOLES: I think I -- seven or eight.

BLACKWELL: I like to savor.

SCHOLES: OK.

BLACKWELL: I'm not going to --

SCHOLES: They were not savoring right there.

BLACKWELL: All right, Andy, thank you.

"FIRST OF ALL" is coming up at the top of the hour. I'm going to speak to the woman at the center of a story that disturbed a lot of people this week. Maybe you saw this on social media. A mother led out of a hospital in Indiana, but she said she was going into labor. And minutes later, her baby was born on the side of the road. The hospital just made a major announcement, and that mom is here to respond.

Plus, a business owner in Charlotte explains the drastic measures he took this week to protect his Latino employees. Also, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen is with me to talk about being detained by immigration enforcement, only to be dropped off in the woods. Those stories and conversations you will not see anywhere else coming up on "FIRST OF ALL."

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