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New Day Sunday

Nine Dead Including Two Children In South Dakota Plane Crash; More Than 50 Million People Under Winter Weather Alerts; Trump Faces Two Big Deadlines For Impeachment Proceedings; London Terror Attack: Stabbing Victim Identified As 25-Year-Old Jack Merritt; Trump Set To Attend NATO Summit Next Week In London; Mother Of Man Body-Slammed During Arrest Speaks Out; Republican Groups Bulk-Buying Donald Trump Jr.'s Book. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired December 01, 2019 - 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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[07:00:14]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A plane crash in South Dakota has left nine people dead including the pilot and two children. It happened near the city of Chamberlain during a snowstorm. Three people survived the crash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A very powerful storm is bringing heavy rain and snow and threatening travel from coast-to-coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking about 50 million people impacted by weather advisories and alerts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Video shows bystanders showing a fire extinguisher on a noble task to bring down the London Bridge knife attacker before he was killed by police. Usman Khan was a convicted terrorist on parole who stabbed five people on Friday, two of them fatally.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-five-year-old Jack Merritt is one of two people murdered on Friday, and the second person killed in the attack is not yet being named.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. We are so grateful to have your company. I'm Christi Paul.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Martin Savidge, in for Victor Blackwell.

Breaking overnight: nine people are dead after a plane went down in Chamberlain, South Dakota. Three other passengers on board were survived but we are still waiting to hear news of their condition.

PAUL: The single engine aircraft crashed in blizzard-like conditions soon after it took off. It was en route to Idaho Falls. But again, you can see that the area which was pummeled by a snowstorm at the time of the crash. Visibility under less than a mile. And snow falling at inch an hour, that's according to National Weather Service.

SAVIDGE: The Brule County state's attorney says two children and the pilot were among the victims. She also praised first responders for their heroic action on what she called extreme weather conditions. We'll update you with more on this story as we get more details.

PAUL: The storm is creating a lot of problems though in South Dakota and is part of the same system that' really on move today toward the Northeast right now. It's already brought heavy snow from the West and into the northern plains, in the Midwest. And in places like Minnesota, struggles keeping roads clear as cars get stuck or slide into ditches.

SAVIDGE: And in the Colorado foothills, the strong winds are making conditions even harsher. Just check how it's whipping up the snow.

CNN Meteorologist, Allison Chinchar is tracking it all for us.

And, Allison, where is the storm now? And how bad is it getting today, especially for those traveling?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's in the mist and pushing into the Northeast. This is a live look at New York City, as people are waking up this morning. You have nice little pink and orange sunrise there, but the system is about to move in here very shortly. The key is that the current temperature right now, there is 30 degrees. So, that means any precipitation that moves in is likely in the form of winter precipitation, at least in the short term.

You got some type of winter weather alert stretching from areas of Wyoming all the way over into the Northeast. You've even got a couple of areas of ice storm warning and that's the concern where you start talking about that ice beginning to accumulate on the roadways, and that main focus there is going for be states like New York, as well as Pennsylvania.

Here is a look at the storm as a whole. Very heavy snow coming down across portions of the Midwest and heavy rain on the southern tier but look at the system as it begins to make its way into the Northeast. Look at this, these outer bands starting to slide in through Philadelphia and up towards New York likely start to see that change over there from that beautiful sunrise to a bit more of a dreary one here in the next hour or so as the system continues to slide to the north and east.

This is what we expect. New York likely going to start off as winter precipitation before transitioning over into rain sometime later on this afternoon. Similar scenario for Boston, Providence, Hartford likely to start out in the form of winter precip, then getting that transition into rain.

Look at all of this heavy rain around New York, portions of Connecticut as well, as we head into the evening hours tonight, and then we finally see a lot of that transitioning back to snow as the system pushes out over the open water and those temperatures cool back down as we get into the overnight. Look at the amount snow too. Both models forecasting at least some spots to pick up over a foot of snow before the system finally moves out.

And, Martin and Christi, when up look at all of these dots, New York, Boston, D.C., even places like Chicago and Detroit, likely to have some travel delays today.

SAVIDGE: Yes, that's a situation we'll continue to monitor.

Allison Chinchar, thanks very much.

PAUL: Well, CNN's Natasha Chen is at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport which happens to be the busiest airport in the world year-round. And I can see that there are plenty of people behind you already.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Christi and Martin. A lot has changed actually in the last hour since I last spoke with you all. The line has really extended from the checkpoint all the way through the atrium to the back. There are multiple lines.

[07:05:01]

And, of course, airport personnel are doing their best to make sure the lines keep moving, that they're not stationary. You can see on the other side that people are still standing still. What they've done here is they've actually, within the last 20 minutes they have moved this barrier to widen the walkway to get more people through.

And if you look at the departure boards up on top, we're not actually seeing that many delayed flights. Maybe one or two heading to the Midwest considering all of those people that Allison mentioned who are under winter weather watches or alerts of some kind. This is actually pretty good news for the moment.

But you can see how long this line is any way without weather and delays to speak of at the moment. That's because the Atlanta airport is expecting about nearly 300,000 people traveling today. Of course, a lot of people returning home from Thanksgiving.

We talked to one person who is heading toward Boston where that snow is going to hit.

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KEVIN HAMMILL, TRAVELING TO BOSTON: This is how we booked it and then just the weather came when the weather came. It wasn't really, you know, hey, we got to get in there and get out early because of the snow. Boston can deal with this, only a couple of inches coming. No big deal to us up there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And, of course, they are used to it up there. But right now, people are just hoping that that doesn't create a domino effect of delays across the country. Airlines like American and Delta have issued travel waivers for people going to and from the northeast. Right now, things are looking OK. People have their fingers crossed and just patiently waiting in line.

PAUL: All right. Natasha Chen, we appreciate it. Good luck out there today.

All righty. We want to tell you about police in Arizona right now who say two children swept away by floodwaters have been found. Unfortunately, they have passed away. Authorities are now searching for a third child who is still missing after the floodwaters swept away their car. They were crossing a creek on Friday when this happened.

SAVIDGE: One adult and four other children did manage to get out of that car. They became stranded on an island in the creek. They were rescued by helicopter.

PAUL: CNN confirming this morning ten people have been injured, two of them critically after a shooting in New Orleans. This happened around 3:30 this morning local time near the French Quarter in the central business district. The area as we understand it was full of tourists in town for the annual bayou classic football game.

SAVIDGE: Police were monitoring the crowds. They were able to respond quickly. Authorities are now questioning one person from that scene, but it's unclear if that person is, at the time, considered a suspect.

PAUL: So, today is the deadline for the White House to decide if they will participate in the House Judiciary's impeachment hearing on Wednesday. Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, of course, inviting the White House to send attorneys to the hearings. No indication that will actually happen, though.

SAVIDGE: For weeks now, President Trump has complained he has been excluded from the proceedings. He even called the process a hoax.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is in West Palm Beach, Florida, this morning for us.

And, Kristen, the president says he can't participate Wednesday because what do you know. He is out of town in a summit in London, NATO. But he didn't have to go himself. He could have sent his attorneys, correct?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Martin, that's exactly right. He can absolutely send White House counsel in his place. In fact, that is what the invitation extended actually says so that President Trump has representation. Two big deadlines, the one today you mentioned.

This is just for Wednesday's hearing. Wednesday's hearing is a breakdown, a look, a contextual, historical look at presidential impeachment and is really just going to be legal scholars there, a setting of the scene. It is unlikely the White House counsel will participate in that and that unsurprising.

Now, there's a second deadline, that is Friday, and that is for the entire impeachment proceedings within the house in front of the Judiciary Committee. That is a request or an invitation for White House counsel to participate in any of the hearings that it lists exactly what they can do which is call witnesses and cross-examine witnesses and potentially even have president Trump cross-examine some of these witnesses and that is what we are waiting to hear about.

Now, I want to break one thing down. You say President Trump says he is out of town on Wednesday. Well, the rest of these hearings for which the deadline to decide if White House counsel is participating on Friday, they are not while he's at NATO. But, yet, President Trump is just focused on this. He tweeted this out.

I will be representing our country in London at NATO while the Democrats are holding the most ridiculous impeachment hearings in history. Read the transcripts, nothing was done or said wrong. The radical left is undercutting our country. Hearings scheduled on same dates as NATO.

So, again, I just want to note the rest of the hearings which we know the House wants to get this done by December 25th and that's what they're hopeful for, those are not going to be while he's at NATO. Regardless of whether or not the president wants this to continue, it is heading forward at full steam. We know that report now is done and the Intel Committee they will approve it on Tuesday to move the Judiciary Committee.

[07:10:04]

PAUL: All righty. Kristen Holmes, appreciate that update, thank you so much.

SAVIDGE: And I'm joined now by Julian Zelizer. He's a historian and professor at Princeton University.

Julia, it's always good to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me.

SAVIDGE: All right. So, I want to get the historic precedent on this. It's pretty clear it seems that this administration is not going to -- at least at this point send a representative and participate in this process. And I'm wondering, historically, when you compare it to the others, let's talk about Nixon and Clinton, how does that shape up?

ZELIZER: Well, President Nixon had his counsel be part of the hearings and raising questions about the process, raising questions about the witnesses, and the Clinton team also participated in the hearings, and even had testimony from the counsel. The idea of not participating at all would be a break from the last two impeachment proceedings. SAVIDGE: The president and this administration has worked very hard

to delegitimize the whole process here, essentially to say it's a farce, to say it's a sham. And I'm wondering what is the danger here in going forward if, in fact, it is marginalized and impeachment is just seen as nothing but a political tool?

ZELIZER: Well, it's a danger for the democracy if two things happen. One, is if partisanship becomes the way through which impeachment is seen, it's just another tool of partisan warfare. Then when we have serious instances of high crimes and misdemeanors, no one will have confidence in the system and that is a danger of the president saying that's what this is.

But the other the danger is that impeachment is rendered meaningless. That in the end, the House isn't willing to go through with something like impeachment because they fear the partisan consequences. And then we have zero check on the president of the United States.

So, either way, there are huge risks to the democracy if this is not handled well.

SAVIDGE: Is part of the current struggle, and sort of my word I put to it with the impeachment process -- is part of because it's loosely defined in the Constitution?

ZELIZER: Well, it's always been loosely defined in the Constitution, and so that does raise difficulties. We don't have other than bribery and treason exact definitions of what we are looking for. This was left for the House of Representatives and then the Senate to decide.

That said, when we look back on history, many people agree that with President Nixon, for example, impeachment was the right thing, that we had seen high crimes and misdemeanors when we actually looked at the details. And I think there is many Americans who feel that is exactly what we are looking at with President Trump. The looseness does not mean it should be debilitating to Congress.

SAVIDGE: I mean, was it ever looked upon as supposed to be sort of a no confidence vote?

ZELIZER: Well, it's not a no-confidence vote but it is a vote for the record. I think that is what it's always been seen as, even if the Senate won't remove a president, it is a process for the House of Representatives to say this reached that level of wrong and this is exactly what we can't allow a president to do. So, I don't think it's always been seen as a mechanism to remove the president so much as a method for the House to state this is too much. And for presidents to fear that the House will go in that direction.

SAVIDGE: Yes. Well, as we move forward in this process, I think it is important to get that kind of historic perspective.

Julian Zelizer, you're perfect for that. Thank you.

ZELIZER: Thanks for having me. PAUL: And outgoing of grief for one of the people killed in the

London terror attack. What we are learning this morning about the man who friends say was admitted to social justice.

SAVIDGE: Plus, actor Leonardo DiCaprio goes on the defense at Brazil's president accuses him of the Amazon forest fires. How is that possible? We'll explain.

PAUL: And for the first time, we are hearing from the mother of the man who was slammed into the ground by a Chicago police officer. You're going to hear her reaction to this violent arrest.

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[07:17:56]

SAVIDGE: Breaking overnight, a search under way for four teenagers considered dangerous. They escaped from a juvenile detention center in downtown Nashville.

PAUL: Take a look at your screen for those that are being looked for. The metropolitan national police department saying two of the teenagers are accused of murder. The others have histories of armed robbery and gun arrests.

But again, these pictures on your screen. That's what they're looking for. Please be careful.

SAVIDGE: Moving overseas now. British officials say they will begin to review their parole system after Friday's terror attack in London.

PAUL: Usman Khan, the suspect in the attack, was a convicted terrorist who was released from prison last year early. Khan was stopped by several bystanders who used everything as you can see from a fire extinguisher to disarm him.

But friends and family this morning have identified 25-year-old Jack Merritt as one of the two people killed in that attack. The second victim, a woman, hasn't been identified yet. Three others were injured, though.

CNN's Mark Bolton is with us now from London.

Mark, what have you learned about this first victim?

MARK BOLTON, CNN REPORTER: As you say, he is a 25-year-old man born in Cambridge and a graduate of Cambridge University, and a coordinator of a course for rehabilitation of prisoners at Fishmonger's Hall on the north side of London Bridge where Friday's attack began.

Usman Khan, the assailant on Friday, was due to tenant as part of his parole. He was electronically tagged. The great irony and sadness that Jack Merritt was there to help the man who ultimately took his life.

His father David has spoken of him being a beautiful spirit. Friends say he had a beautiful soul and he was setup to help the underdog, indeed, other members of the contingents at the event at Fishmonger's Hall, and those who had formally committed crimes said he had become a friend and one said he stood by him when the rest of society had abandoned him.

Now, Usman Khan, 28, from Stafford, England, an area of the country about 120 miles north of London, he has a history of criminality. He was convicted of a foiled bomb plot in 2012.

[07:20:02]

That man sentencing him at the time, Justice Wilke, he said he was a serious jihadist and should be reviewed before being put out on parole. But, of course, in 2013, saw his sentence downgraded to a fixed term, which meant he came out into the public domain less half sentence 16 years being served.

But he was known to the authorities as early as 2008 when his house was raided materials were taken into police custody on the back of the terrorist attacks that he was alleged to have been linked to even then.

PAUL: All right. Mark Bolton, we certainly appreciate it so much. Thank you for being here.

BOLTON: Pleasure.

PAUL: Uh-huh.

So, we have breaking news this hour. We are learning more information now about the shooting in New Orleans overnight. Multiple people have been shot. We have new details in just a moment.

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PAUL: Seven-twenty-four on a Sunday morning. And we are always grateful to have you with us. I'm Christi Paul.

SAVIDGE: And I'm Martin Savidge in for Victor Blackwell.

PAUL: We are following breaking news this morning. CNN confirming ten people have been injured, two of them are in critical condition right now after a shooting in New Orleans.

SAVIDGE: It happened around 3:30 in the morning local time near the French Quarter in the central business district.

[07:25:05]

The area was full of tourists in town for the annual bayou classic football game. A police spokesperson says that officers were monitoring the crowds and they initially thought they were the ones being fired upon. One person is being questioned. But police have not said if that person is a suspect.

PAUL: Meanwhile, President Trump is going to be in London next week to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the NATO alliance. The U.S. substantially cut its financial contribution to the alliance's collective budget. This is a move a lot of people questioned his commitment because of all this, as House Democrats begin another round of impeachment hearings next week.

CNN Military Analyst, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, is with us now.

Good morning, General.

LT. GENERAL MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Christi, good morning to you. How are you?

PAUL: I'm well. Thank you. How are you?

HERTLING: Good.

PAUL: Good. I want you to talk to us about the significance of a NATO alliance, itself, and the position of President Trump going into this, what you call a leaders meeting, not a summit and what is the distinction there?

HERTLING: Well, well, I tell you, Christi, NATO is an extremely important security arrangement among 29 different nations all across Europe and plus the United States and Canada. The important thing is in my view, having served in NATO and under the NATO command guidance, they are very adaptable.

Since the wall came down in Germany and prior to that, they were almost singularly focused on the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. Over the last 30 years or so, they have become adaptable with those different nations involved with new nations, addressing issues -- any various issues such as terrorism, expansion of Russia and now China, budget issues, refuges, climate control, climate change, all of those things have been issues that NATO as a security alliance has said, hey, this is a new world, we got to continue to evolve and make sure our security is focused on the important things that are existing around the continent and the globe.

PAUL: Of course, we know that Thursday, NATO -- it seems somewhat offered an olive branch to the president because he is complaining about the financial contributions of all the member nations and the fact that the U.S. pays the most. They did decrease the U.S. financial contribution 16 percent now from the U.S. and down from 22 percent. Is that a win for the president? And why did NATO do it now?

HERTLING: Yes, it isn't exactly the way you explained it, Christi. That is their headquarters fund, called their direct fund. It's a much smaller fund. It's not the complete tranche of NATO contributions. It's just what goes towards the headquarters.

I think it was a political move by the secretary general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, to kind of keep the president satisfied as he comes into this leaders meeting. You know, he has repeatedly said, as all of the issues I talked about before have been at the forefront. President Trump is continuing to go to these NATO summits and only exclusively focus on NATO funding and what is coming from the member nations.

There has always been a plan by 2024, that's the important date, to have all of the members contributing at least 2 percent of their GDP toward their own defense. This issue that came across last Thursday is different from this.

PAUL: OK.

HERTLING: This is direct funding to keep the headquarters running. I think Mr. Stoltenberg did it just to appease President Trump as he came in. In fact, interestingly enough, Germany is paying as much as the United States is in this directing funding, and I think a step by Germany to get back to the real issues and quit talking about this stuff.

PAUL: All righty. Ahead of this as well, we need to point out that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned President Trump to stay out of the U.K.'s upcoming general election --

HERTLING: Yes.

PAUL: -- which happens early this month.

So, President Trump is alienated a lot of members in NATO. Now you've got one of who is normally one of the U.S. biggest alliances. What do you make of the relationship and where this may be going?

HERTLING: Well, you're going to see probably at this leaders' meeting a lot of the NATO president, prime ministers basically talking to Trump, being very diplomatic in their approach to him because they know that at any time he can go off on this funding issue.

Mr. Johnson has said stay out of our politics. It's important to all of the leaders of the world to not have other nations be involved in their politics. And this Brexit certainly is a key issue in Great Britain.

But I think you've seen also even though they are very diplomatic in their approach to Mr. Trump, they know he throws the hand grenade on the table and then walks away.

[07:30:04]

He's very chaotic in his approach to some of these meetings. So they want to calm them down so they, in fact, can talk about some of these other key issues like Turkey's involvement with Russia, refuge flow, terrorism --

PAUL: Yes.

HERTLING: -- and the continued action of Russia.

They want to get back to the real, important things in these meetings as opposed to just focusing exclusively on a funding issue.

PAUL: Lieutenant Mark Hertling, we so value your insight, thank you for being with us.

HERTLING: Always a pleasure, Christi. Thank you.

PAUL: Uh-huh.

SAVIDGE: This week, Brazil's president is blaming actor and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio for the Amazon forest fires. He claims that DiCaprio donated half a million dollars to an NGO, a non- government organization, that Bolsonaro says set the fires.

It isn't the first time that President Bolsonaro has pointed fingers at NGOs for the fires. He has provided no evidence to back up those claims.

PAUL: And DiCaprio refuted the accusations on social media, saying this, quote: The Future of these irreplaceable ecosystems at stake and I am proud to stand with the group's protecting and while worthy of support, we did not fund the organizations targeted, unquote.

Two of the largest environmental groups working in the Amazon also condemned Bolsonaro's acquisition, we should point out.

SAVIDGE: A mother in Chicago is demanding answers from the police department there. She wants to know why an officer body-slammed her son on to a sidewalk during an arrest. We'll hear from her next.

PAUL: And bit of an early Christmas present for Donald Trump Jr., perhaps? Republican groups have bought copies of his new book in bulk. What we're learning about their six-figure purchase.

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[07:35:19]

PAUL: Well, the mother of a man who was slammed to the ground during an arrest on Thanksgiving Day in Chicago says that officer has to be held accountable for his actions.

SAVIDGE: But Chicago authorities say that there is actually a good explanation for police -- for police response.

Will Jones from our Chicago affiliate WLS has more on the story.

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WILL JONES, WLS REPORTER: Cell phone video showing a Chicago police officer body slamming a 29-year-old man to the ground.

KEISHA JOHNSON, MOTHER: When I seen it, I dropped to my knees.

JONES: Keisha Johnson is the mother of Bernard Kersh. She says he was on his way back to their home at the time after picking up some alcoholic beverages for the family gathering for Thanksgiving.

JOHNSON: We were waiting to eat Thanksgiving dinner for him because he always blessed the table. JONES: Johnson says she was on the phone with her son during this

encounter with the officers when suddenly the call ended.

JOHNSON: I was like at a loss. I didn't know what happened to him.

JONES: Later, she got a call from Kersh's father.

JOHNSON: And he says there's a video floating on Facebook of police slamming somebody on 79th and Cottage, and I'm like what, he said it don't look good.

JONES: Chicago Police say the two officers approached Kersh who was drinking alcohol at a bus stop in the Chatham neighborhood. They say he became irate, threatening them, leaking one officer's face and then spitting in the same officer's eye and mouth and after that they performed an emergency takedown.

Jovanna Jamison recorded this cellphone view she requested we not show her face.

JOHNSON: I thought he was dead. I started praying.

JONES: Kersh was treated at a hospital. He remains in police custody. He's mother says he is father of two little girls, he's schizophrenic and blind in one eye. She says the officer needs to be accountable for his actions.

JOHNSON: He could have died on that hit on the head. Thank god he is still here but anything could have happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And our thanks to Will Jones from our Chicago affiliate WLS for that.

In response to that video, Chicago police say, quote: This incident is under investigation as the actions and the video are concerning. The specifics of what transpired prior to the officers executing an emergency take-down will than scrutinized closely by us and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. If wrongdoing is discovered, the officers will be held accountable.

PAUL: So, Donald Trump Jr. is a "New York Times" bestselling author now. Some critics are disputing that claim to the title, though.

SAVIDGE: His book "Triggered" has topped the bestsellers list for two weeks but Republicans groups helped boost the sales by buying thousands of copies.

CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter is joining us now.

So, this bulk buy, Brian, what does it say about Republican organizations and their reasoning for it? Were they trying to boost the sales?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think it's a couple of things. It speaks to Donald Trump Jr.'s popularity, his celebrity power in the Trump age. You know, Donald Trump Jr. is a big hit on college campuses. He attracts lots of Republicans.

And this book "Triggered" is kind of part that. It speaks to his interesting culture wars and how he believes the Republican Party should fight the culture wars. And, you know, it is speaks to the hypocrisy or the hollowness of the Trump family's media attacks, right? They called "The New York Times" failing, but they also really want to be on "The New York Times" bestseller list.

Here's one of Donald Trump Jr.'s tweets from earlier November when he said: Hey, it would trigger everyone on the left if my book makes "The New York Times" best seller list.

Well, sure enough, it did. It debuted at number one at a couple of weeks. "Triggered" was the bestselling book of the week, by far. It would have still been number one even if not bulk purchases. But it is notable and a little bit controversial that the Republican National Committee and some other conservative groups all chipped in buying thousands of copies.

Here is how "The New York Times" described it. They said it is neither illegal nor uncommon for candidates and political organizations to use books in fundraising drives. But the breadth of the Republican establishment's efforts behind Donald Trump Jr. is striking for a none candidate whose most significant claim of fame remains his parentage and who sought to deflect criticism of his recent attacks on impeachment witnesses by asserting that he is merely a private citizen.

Right. So, he is a private citizen when it's convenient. Other times, not so much. I think the point of this is that whether there were bulk purchases or not and there were, this book was a true sensation, a true hit. It speaks to Donald Trump Jr.'s success in the Republican Party and it makes you wonder what office he will run for someday.

SAVIDGE: Uh-huh.

Hey, Brian, where is that book now on the bestseller list?

STELTER: Well, that's the added wrinkle. I'm glad you asked. Let's look at this week's "New York Times" list. After two weeks at number one for "Triggered", is that anonymous book, "A Warning" by the anonymous senior official that is number one this week.

[07:40:02]

So, "Triggered" at number two at "The Times" list.

PAUL: Wow, a lot of people into politics.

SAVIDGE: Yes.

PAUL: Keep it off the table during the holidays. I don't know how Thanksgiving went for people but if politics came up and those are the two books that are number one.

STELTER: Exactly.

PAUL: Yes.

STELTER: I'd like to think, though, that maybe some people found some common ground over the holidays. That's my -- that's my prayer this December 1st.

PAUL: All right. I love it. Hey, what you got coming up today, Brian?

STELTER: I'm talking to a professor from Columbia who's been wondering whether any minds are changing about impeachment. That's very related to what we're talking about. He has new some research into that coming up at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

SAVIDGE: All right. That will be fascinating stuff.

Brian Stelter, thanks very much.

PAUL: Thanks, Brian.

SAVIDGE: Always good to see you.

Be sure to watch Brian Stelter at "RELIABLE SOURCES." It's today, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

PAUL: So, weekend college football fans loves to hate. Rivalry weekend was incredible. O-H!

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I-O.

PAUL: Yes.

WIRE: You are going to see some dancing. There was fighting. There was heartbreak, including an instant classic of the Iron Bowl, Auburn crushing the Crimson Tide's playoff dreams. We'll have the highlights coming up after the break.

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[07:45:25]

SAVIDGE: Alabama and Auburn, a college football rivalry steep in history and I wouldn't say hatred, but they are not really keen about whether or not, are they?

PAUL: I would say there's hatred. So, he's just saying what it said.

WIRE: Yes, we would not be wrong, Mr. Savidge.

PAUL: Yes, Coy.

WIRE: Good morning to you. But were there ego? I mean, Auburn shattering Alabama's hopes and dreams. They're going to be out of the playoffs for the first time since the playoffs started five seasons ago. This is one of the wackiest, wildest games that you could want on a rivalry weekend.

The crowd absolutely electric for the 84th edition of Iron Bowl, 87,000 plus, and points every possible way and especially in the second quarter when they combined for 48 points, including Alabama's Jaylen Waddle waddling his way 98-yard kick for a kickoff return touchdown. That happened immediately after Auburn's defense returned an interception for a touchdown.

And here in the third, they did it again. This time Zakoby McClain going 200 yards for the touchdown for the interception. This all leads up to the final two minutes where Bama needed a field goal to tie it.

And Joseph Bulovas would take the field, all eyes on him, and it doinks off the upright here. Here's how it sounded on Auburn radio network.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kick is the on the way. The kick -- he missed it. He's hit the upright. He's hit the upright.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: My goodness, that poor kid. But Auburn pulling off the upset 48-45, fans flooding the field there at Jordan Hare. And even some of them getting stuck in the hedges! Oh, my goodness!

Yes, Jordan Hare going wild.

Coach was in the locker room afterwards re-enacting the playoff dreams the Tiger just crushed. Number one Ohio State, say it, Christi, O-H.

PAUL: I-O!

WIRE: The domination over Michigan continues. Running back J.K. Dobbins had career highs 211 yards and four touchdowns. Michigan's defense doing anything they can to stop them. They even untie and take off his shoes at one point! It didn't work.

The Buckeyes beat-down 56-27. Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh 0-5 against Ohio State.

Now to the rest of the top four real quick. Number two LSU's Heisman contender Joe Burrow with a huge win over Texas A&M. Joe tosses 44 touchdown of the season on senior night, tying the SEC single season record.

How about number four Georgia? In their rivalry with Georgia Tech showing why it's so clean but not clean in this one. Blowout win for the Bulldogs 52-7. They face LSU in SEC championship next weekend. And the reigning champs, here we go, Martin and Christi, number three

Clemson in their Palmetto Bowl win over South Carolina 38-3, broke the SEC record for most career touchdowns.

What a day for college football it was, but we do have to go. On a more serious note, former NFL and Ohio State player Terrelle Pryor recovering after allegedly being stabbed by his girlfriend.

Pittsburgh Police it happened during an argument in their apartment early Saturday morning. Pryor needed surgery but he's expected to recover. Shalaya Briston faces charges of attempted homicide. Pryor who last played for the Bills in 2018 faces a charge of simple assault.

We'll keep on this story. Good news that he does seem to be in stable condition is the good news according to reports.

SAVIDGE: Thank you, Coy.

WIRE: You're welcome.

PAUL: Coy, thank you.

SAVIDGE: Well, do you have your Christmas shopping done?

PAUL: Oh please?

SAVIDGE: Because we know a lot of you, more than ever, did shopping online the past few days. The Black Friday numbers, they're in, and shattering all kinds of records. We will have the details, next.

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[07:53:13]

PAUL: Following breaking news this morning, and some new numbers to share with you here. CNN has confirmed 11 people have been injured now, two of them in critical condition, after a shooting in New Orleans.

SAVIDGE: It happened around 3:30 a.m., that's local time, near the French Quarter in the central business district. The area was full of tourists in town for the annual classic football game.

You're looking at video that we just got in from our affiliate WVUE, at the scene of the shooting. Police have the area cordoned off as they investigate what happened. A police spokesman says that a officers were in the area monitoring the crowds, and initially thought they were being fired on. One person is being questioned but police have not said if that person is a suspect.

PAUL: What's interesting in that video if you look at the video, you can see all of the bullet markers as well, and you can imagine how crowded it was at that moment, too. So as we get more information, obviously we'll pass it along to you.

Changing gears here, obviously, Black Friday, apparently the shopping frenzy broke some records this year.

SAVIDGE: Apparently a lot of people wore their mouses out. Americans spent $7.4 billion Friday. It was one of the biggest online sales days on Black Friday. And combine with the more than $4 billion that was spent on Thanksgiving Day, yes, that's more than $11.6 billion in just two days.

PAUL: Good numbers. People are going to have a good Christmas, I hope.

Live look at the White House here. A giant red ribbon adorns the north portico there in honor of today being World AIDS Day. According to UNICEF, a record 33 million people are currently living with HIV, including more than a million right here in the U.S.

SAVIDGE: The secretary general of the United Nations tweeted this on World AIDS Day. Let's reaffirm our commitment to ending the epidemic by 2030, scaling up access to health services, fighting stigma and ensuring people enjoy their rights.

[07:55:08]

PAUL: And I want to remind you to join Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa live. They're naming the 2019 CNN Hero of the Year. "CNN HEROES", it's an all-star tribute, you don't want to miss it. It's next Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

SAVIDGE: So many great people are involved in so many worthy causes there.

PAUL: It's ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

SAVIDGE: Yes, it's hard to choose, it's hard to pick one.

PAUL: It is hard to pick one and it shows what's possible, of what we're able to do as well. Doing something for other people. If you need to be uplifted, it is the show to watch.

Thank you so much for, you know, starting your morning with us. We appreciate you being here for sure. And we hope you make some good memories today.

SAVIDGE: "INSIDE POLITICS" is up after a quick break.

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