from any other morning show anchors. i was telling him what gayle king said to me and quoting gayle who said something very nice. she said, you never get used to the hours because they are, i won't say the word this early in the morning. idi, but one of the best jobs in television because it's an honor to have people wake up with you. i agree with you, people in their homes. a funny moment. actually did a shot on television. >> of what? >> tequila. >> espresso? >> cull on! >> tequila. in honor of cnn. if you can't drink on cnn on new year's eve you can drink on my show so we did a shot. of course, probably giving it to our boss, which was his exec tib producer not so long ago. >> there's that. i'll watch it all tonight. not with the kids. "cnn this morning" continues right now.

top of the hour. good morning! so glad to have you here. we're glad to be in your homes this early in the morning. we have a lot of news to get to from threats of imprisonment to torture. why the families of iranian soccer players could place consequences if they don't fall in line against the match today against the u.s. also a cnn exclusive with bank of america brian moynihan. in studio to talk about what's happening with the economy, a rail strike coming, economy and a lot ahead with him. and i sat down with brian kemp yesterday. keeping herschel walker at an arm's length. what's different this time around. >> two big cnn interviews to get to but we begin with soccer and a geopolitical stand off. talk about pressure's when the u.s. and iran play their highly

anticipated match at the world cup this afternoon, the iranian players will be competing under extreme duress. cnn learned warned by their government to behave, or their families will be tortured and imprisoned. last week the iranian players refused to sing their national anthem before a match against england. we're live in istanbul. hello, thank you for joining us. what are you learning about these threats? >> reporter: well, don, what we understand from a security source who's involved in the security of the world cup and who has been monitoring the movements of security agents from the regime who are in doha for the games, after that first match, as you mentioned, when the team didn't sing the national anthem. seen as a sign of support for protesters back home, quite an embarrassment really for the regime and humiliation. we understand from the source is after that game the players met

with members of the feared revolutionary guard corps who threatened and intimidated them telling them that they have to "behave." sing the national anthem. not take part in any sort of political moves against the government, any sort of protest, or their families back home will face torture and violence, and we understand, don, from this source that there's a large number of regime security agents in qatar right now monitoring the team and making sure that they don't mingle with anyone outside the squad. >> here's a question, though. because not every player, jomana, plays for iran, actually lives in iran. could the government actually do something to these players and their families outside of the country? >> reporter: well, this is really a concern. i mean, this is a regime, don, that has a history of targeting and plotting against dissidents and opposition figures outside

the country. there have been plots and attempts against dissidents here in turkey where i am and in the u.s. we know security agencies there have plots against dissidents and opposition figures in the past, and this is really not a threat that is only within iran's borders. it goes way beyond that. just a few weeks ago we heard from an opposition tv news channel based in london saying that three of its journalists had been informed by london's metropolitan police there was a serious, credible threat and an imminent threat against them and their families by iranian agents in the uk. so there's a lot of concern, don, in the past week. i've gotten so many messages from iranians around the world who are concerned about fans opposed to the regime currently in doha. and we heard from the source there's a large number of regime security operators currently in the country. >> jomana, thank you so much for your reporting.

appreciate it. also this morning, the would us is closely watching the protests unfolding across china because of covid lockdowns. president biden and hits team are carefully weighing how to respond. they're reacting cautiously to the scenes like this one that have been playing out. cnn's reporter live at the white house. mj, notable the administration is focused on the substance of china's zero covid policy xi jinping is trying to impose? >> reporter: publicly the white house is treading carefully showing caution talking about these events and these events taking place now not only just in china but have spread even to the united states with protests on certain college campuses, for example, here. two things that the white house made clear is that, one, it generally supports any people's right to generally protest and,

two, doesn't see beijing's covid policy as sound policy, but as we saw at the white house briefing room yesterday, beyond that, they are being very careful not to go too far. i asked a senior official yesterday, what role the u.s. might play as people in china are asking for and crying out for more freedom, and they said, look. for the time being, it's best to leave things that we are monitoring things very carefully. all of that goes to capture how much sensitivity there is around this issue. as you know, u.s. and chinese relations have really reach add low reached a low point and they're trying to mend that. >> reporter: ask you about something else playing out. the fact we're on the verge of this rail strike potentially and biden took an aggressive step yesterday that wasn't always expected from him saying that congress should actually pass legislation to resolve this, saying topless dealing with this basically don't see any path forward at the bargaining table

at this time. what is the white house saying about this? >> reporter: yeah. you know, the very, very last thing the president wants to see is these railroad workers going on strike. it would be an economic nightmare obviously, particularly before the holiday season, and this is precisely why we saw the president take this almost last resort step of calling on congress to intervene, to pass a bill that would essentially force everyone to adopt this agreement. just keep in mind, though, earlier this year when this agreement was reached the president himself was very closely involved, and it was a real celebration when that agreement came to fruition. so now the white house is very invested in making sure that things don't fall apart at the last minute. now, as far as this vote, this bill on capitol hill, hill colleagues report the votes seem to be there in the senate. timing is up in the air. could end up happening sometime this week. could also get pushed back to next week, too. >> waiting to see what the senate does.

mj, thank you. dig a little deeper on the economic impact of a potential rail strike. if the two sides cannot reach agreement soon, estimated a str could cost the nation up to $2 billion a day. a strike means food prices could skyrocket, because rail is absolutely crucial in getting those products to consumers. even gas prices could increase, given 300,000 barrels are moved daily by rail. and about 75% of all cars and trucks built in the u.s. are imported, or imported here, i should say, are moved by rail. that could mean a big shortage and massive price hikes, and if you're a commuter, you may be in trouble, too, as nearly 97% of rail, passenger rail used by amtrak usually runs on freight lines. and on top of all of that, holidays are right around the corner. meaning this strike could come during peak buying season.

now to a cnn exclusive. talking about congress preparing to act to avert this rail shutdown. president biden warning if that happened, it would devastate the economy if we had a strike like that. joining me to talk about this and a lot more is bank of america's brian moynihan, chairman and ceo, one of the biggest banks in the world. you know where the economy is headed. get into all of that and we appreciate you coming in to cnn this morning. >> first of all, congratulations on your new show to you and your colleagues. >> thank you, things like the rail strike or the war in ukraine and, know, what happens in china, shutdowns, all sort of things that can really derail the economy and everybody knows that. we've been dealing with it for quite a period of time. if you look at the core economy, hour team has a, a mild recession predicted middle of 2023. and coming back out of it later in 2023. now, that was predicted to happen this year earlier this year. there was going to be a real slowdown. fed raise rates and all pushed out largely because of one thing. u.s. consumer, spending money

and just got our spending from thanksgiving to last saturday and it was up 3% over last year, up 23% over the year before. 20% where it was in '19. you see, booking travel and things like that, you see consumers employed. you see them spending money. you see them having money in their accounts. that means inflation has to be tackled by the fed, but the consumer actually is a buffer against that and makes it difficult. >> interesting about you, brian, you've been like the optimist in all of this. so you just said, yes, a mild recession next year, but we'll get through it by the following year. jamie dimon jpmorgan an economic hurricane, his words, are coming. we just don't know how strong an economic hurricane. >> hurricane season is now closed. having a house in carolinas used to dealing with that. end of the day, the belief was if any of those horribles came together, you could have really a different outcome than the fed tightening. fed is tightening in an

unprecedented way, because we have an unprecedented inflation. 40, 50-year long inflation. where does that effect first? housing. changed dramatically. but rent increases are only coming through now. end of the day, consumer held in well and end of the day consumer stays reasonably strong because they're employed. >> hearing no economic hurricane from brian moynihan? >> a mild recession. >> tick through those things. housing matters. much more expensive to buy a house now because of mortgage rates and your own research at bank of america how much rents increased. people feel out of hope. when will it get better for housing for americans? >> toughest thing. you have to slow down the economy and inflation. the way you do that, raise interest rates. >> the fed wants us to buy a home? >> exactly right. intended outcome doesn't feel good trying to buy a home. a young family trying to buy your first home. that will straighten out. sort housing in two pieces.

one, people with mortgages outstanding locked in below 4%, 5%, 80% below 4%. locked in 30 years. >> other folks? >> go to buy a house, feeling that effect. that slowed down dramatically and why home builders and others -- intended outcome. what happens, seeing inflation slow down and rate of growth of inflation slow down. you see rates come back down to more the target wand adjust. take two years. >> two years of pain? >> slower activity. rental size is key. rents increased and seeing rents having increased and already starting to decrease in some towns, cities around the country. that's where you have to be more concerned because half the people in america pay rent. don't own a home. where it's -- still ahead of us. >> millions have a lot of outstanding credit card debt. can you help us understand why credit card interest rates are at a record high now? i understand the fed's raising rates, but the fed funds target rate compared to apr seems

extreme. i know there's no collateral to back credit cards. do they really need to be that high? >> reality, one-third of our credit cards pay off every month. don't pay interest. 30, 45 days later, pay us. >> two-thirds don't. >> the ones that don't, rate structure far lower because of the different things going on. look, those rates adjust with the market. they'll come dback down with th market. low a long time. reality, good news is for america is delinquencies on credit cards are lower. low are than '19, good credit times for banking systems. our job help customers continue to prosper and lish. remember this, unemployment is mid-3s. worst projections get to 5s, where it was in the 17, 18 range. >> you met with president biden i think in july at the white house. wonder how you -- presidents get a lot of credit when the economy does well and all the blame when it does poorly.

how do you think he's handling this economy? >> dealing with unprecedented times. the job of the american people is decide that. just had elections. >> what does brian moynihan think? >> i think our economy isaled hoing on better than the rest of the world today. reality, give more stimulus than anybody could cal late? >> too much stimulus? lesson learns? >> nobody knew at the time. where people can look through the rearview mirror and have a -- a sports writers cam, placers on the field had to make a decision. was it right or not? and they did. now we have to adjust and why you see inflation. >> you employ so many people at bank of america and have taken, led on wages, increasing wages now to $22 an hour at bottom. going to be $25 an hour by 2025, but real wages down for folks because of inflation, and something's going on with workers. i was home in minnesota this

weekend. coffee houses closed. couldn't find workers. restaurants can't find workers. unionizations as never before. starbucks, news feeds like buzzfeed. what's happening with the american worker? >> labor market is very tight. dynamics shifted with the kind of employment levels we had, claims for unemployment still bumping as lower levels not seen since numbers 25% lower. so, you know, the labor market is very tight. the negotiation power moves around. right? what happens. quick rates got way high. seeing mitigate. actually good from the fed perspective in terms of the economy. seeing mitigation. how do we think about that? an 18-year-old join our company and be here their entire career and get themselves educated and trained with us. do that all day. just celebrated a 50, 55, 65, 75-year-old employee. think of 75, do math, started at

18, went to college. great employers do that. our turnover rate moved up like everybody else's. already moved back down. my guess, back next year like it was. how do i holistically help a person develop a career? >> and money to pay for child care, asked them to come back. talk about china. you do a fair amount of business in china. h how worried what you see in china and zero grasp on covid? >> still dealing with covid the way we were dealing with it in 2020, in the spring. your choice is to shut down. disruptive as a supply chain, the economy, jumped down to 3% gdp, economy grew 5% to 6%. affecting their economy and the worldwide economy. don talked about railroads, shortages. don't have goods, can't ship

them and that supply clayne is still not evened out. somewhat good news, bought harks , has to get through the system pand slowed down, people don't think they can get something. that's happening in china. leave aside the human struggle, hoshlg. from an economic perspective, they're shutting down is causing the world disruption and they don't have a choice, seems because we don't have the structure as in the united states with vaccines and people through the system. >> you're concerned about it? >> always concerned about it. >> twitter. financed elon musk's take jove takeover of twitter. elon musk tweeted twitter could go bankrupt. hanging on to a lot of debt. "financial times" big banks waiting for a business plan from musk. what it will look like to unload that debt. have you gotten a business plan and how do you make how he's

leading? >> not something we talk about with clients, customers. by the way, i'm the worst person to be in the middle of this, that's not what i do. people talk about market-to-market every friday. all through the pnl and whatever impacts and, look, he'll run the company the way he does. he owns it. has tremendous equity. see what happens. >> hoping for the best? >> we don't hope. we plan for the best. >> ask you about crypto. cautious always on cryptocurrency. look what's happened. ftx collapsing, this week blockfi, crypto lender. it's important people know, lends for -- for average folks. for the main street average joe collapsing. what went wrong? with crypto? >> what went wrong i think an asset got high came crashing down, leverage embedded, how that happened, relatively predictable and many said be cautious here. good news is, think about the

history of it. the rate of movement out of our accounts into crypto slowed way down meaning investors have gotten more cautious. >> you guys so highly regulated. >> yes. >> watch any of those, testimony before congress. where are the regulators on this? is it safe for anyone to have a crypto market that exists anymore without regulation? >> if you -- you would have to back up two things. blockchain, technology very good. hundreds of patents on it literally. idea of a currency and stuff not needed. we can transact in ways wonderfully fast. realtime payment system connecting around the world. fed building one. already built one in the industry. ability to send money anywhere in the banking system. these things are important. are there areas where, that industry has to lead and other entrepreneurs see opportunity? yes. small balance, cross-border payment and working on stuff to make it easier. >> got to let you go. one second. political headline, preaching

sustainability, by the banks. you're all about green, green, green, gut you invest in fossil fuels and oil, see it as a balance. what's working on climate change, what's not and should conversations do more at this point than government? government seems not to be able to break through? >> corporations around the world, commitments made to make atransaction happen are stunning. saw one the other day. i think microsoft agreed and others agreed to buy renewable power in ireland. 30% of the power. >> yeah. >> stunning commitments by people who see the need to make a transition. we got to give them time and we as a company have to help finance that transition. so we believe that we need oil and gas companies to make that transition and help lead that. we believe we need, renewables companies to make it. and operating companies of the world to figure how to change how they buy power, what they use in thproduction capability and our job educate people and do it. that is amazing thing you see as

a appreciate sector driving this. $200 billion of financing in 2021. talk about $100 billion in paris per year. our company, and many others did it likewise. >> so companies more than government is driving it. brian moynihan, come back. we really appreciate you being here. >> great to be here. congratulations again. >> back to you. fascinating interview there. poppy. up next, a headline this morning, having trouble remembering things, scientists say you can slow your cognitive decline by eating more of this food. we'll explain. >> i need to go to the farm stand right after this. and our kaitlan collins sits down with governor brian kemp and asks why he is now campaigning with herschel walker after trying to avoid him. with gold bond... you can age on your own terms. new retinol overnight means the smoothing benefits of retinol are

now for your whole body. plus, fast-working crepe corrector diminishes wrinkled skin inin just two days. gold bond. champion your skin. new projects means new project t managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidate whose resus on indeed match your job criteria. visit indeed.com/hire and get started today. ♪ we all have a purpose in life - a “why.” maybe it's perfecting that special place

that you want to keep in the family... ...or passing down the family business... ...or giving back to the places that inspire you. no matter your purpose, at pnc private bank, we will work with you every step of the way to help you achieve it. so let us focus on the how. just tell us - what's your why? ♪ if your business kept on employees through the pandemic, innovation refunds could qualify it for a payroll tax refund of up to $26,000 per employee. all it takes is eight minutes to find out. then work with highly qualified professionals to fill out your forms and submit the application. go to innovationrefunds.com to learn more. not flossing well? then add the whoa! of listerine to your routine. new science shows it gets in between teeth to destroy 5x more plaque above the gumline than floss. for a cleaner, healthier mouth. listerine. feel the whoa!

welcome back to "cnn this

morning." it's half past 7:00. what's coming up. there's a reason why people tell you to eat your fruits and vegetables. tell you what a new study found. also today, senate lawmakers are set to vote on landmark legislation to protect same-sex marriage. what to expect on that front ahead. tell you from capitol hill. also this morning, georgia governor brian kemp sounding off on everything from his high-stakes senate runoff happening next tuesday to president trump dining with an anti-semite. m my interview coming up. how many times have you heard this from mom. eat your vegetables. no, really. eat your vegetables, a new study saying eating more vegetables can slow down the rate of memory decline. joining us, dr. narula here to explain the benefits. what was i talking about? i can't remember. >> eat your broccoli. >> mom was right. >> my memory's terrible. i think we only have so much capacity.

>> your mom was right. food is medicine, and we really don't talk about nutrition and the power of nutrition in terms of our health enough. >> what foods? >> so this particular study looked at flavonols, a class of flavonoids flavonoids. found in plant pigments and plants have over 5,000 flavonoids. human and animal studies show flavonoids can protect against cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disease and now cognition. brain function. researchers looked at about 961 adults average age 80. followed them seven years and end of each year gave a diet or food question henaire and those that ate the most flavonoids one cup of dark, leafy green vegetables versus 5 milligrams had a 32% slower rate of

cognitive decline. exciting and interesting and definitely one more research study to prove the power of vegetables and fruits. >> i have to ask. what is a flavonoid? >> yes. so they also looked at different types of flavonols and something for everybody. find in spinach, kale, onions. found in wine and tea. >> say that again. >> wine. >> say that again -- >> wine, and even herbs, chives, dill, tarragon. you can find them in a lot of things that are fruits, vegetables, seeds, roots. that class. >> favorite fruit is -- >> wine? >> pomegranate. >> i think kaitlan's correct. >> is tequila a fruit? no. pomegranates. i can eat one of those every single day, how does one eat it? >> very carefully. >> seeds? >> carefully. i eat the seeds.

love it and love pomegranate. i love everything about pomegranate. >> it is important. always want to caveat the studies say they're not cause and effect. right? this is an observational study and based on self-report. may not be the most accurate. population in the midwest, mostly women, mostly educated. mostly white, i don't know if we can translate this to everybody. important thing sometimes those who eat plant-based diets or flavonoids, is it the other healthy behaviors helping prevent decline and finally the whole plant. difficult to say it is really the flavonoids or just the plant? >> favorite word of the day. flavonoids. >> wine -- wine. >> supposed to read the -- >> i remember it. didn't eat my vegetables this morning. today the senate votes on a bill to protect same-sex marriage nationwide and could

become law. huge. and early senate runoff election, of course, between democrat raphael warnock and republican herschel walker. up next my interview with georgia's governor, brian kemp, playing a pivotal role in this election. >> reminds me something said on the campaign. who do you want to fight for you in a senate? a guy who represents our values like herschel walker or somebody who voted with president biden 96% of the time? does herschel walker share your does herschel walker share your values? and twice the choice. sirloin salisbury steak and all-natural sasalmon. perfect for lunch or dinner. only a at ihop. download the app and eararn free food with everery purchase. ♪ subway's drafting 12 new subs for the all-new subway series menu the new monster has juicy steak and crispy bacon. but what about the new boss? it looks sgood it makes me hangry! settle down there, big guy the new subway series. what's your pick my most impoant kitchen tool?

my brain. so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think bigger. i'm a vegas hotel. i know what you're thinking. it's cool, i don't want anything long term either. just a few nights of fun. i'm looking for someone who will let loose, dress up a little, see a show, order the steak, and the lobster. some people say i'm excessive, but who cares. i just want to enjoy some late nights. and some very late checkouts. think you can keep up?

i'd like to thank our sponsor liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. contestants ready? go! only pay for what you need. jingle: liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. i brought in ensure max protein with 30 grams of protein. those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. uhhhh... here, i'll take that. [woo hoo!] ensure max protein, with 30 grams of protein, one gram of sugar and nutrients for immune health. (snorting) if you struggle with cpap... (groan) (growling) (chuckle) ...you should check out inspire. no mask. no hose. just sleep. (beeping) learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com.

so this is happening today. senate set to vote on a landmark bill to protect same-sex marriages nationwide. while it does not set a national requirement that all states must legalize same-sex marriage it would require individual states to recognize another state's legal marriage. cnn's melanie joins us from capitol hill. good morning to you. a major win for democrats and a rare show of bipartisanship in

the senate. doesn't go all the way for codification or codifying but it is a step in the right directed. >> reporter: good morning, don. a big bipartisan and his tore eck moment not just for democrats but the entire country. this bill gaining steam since this summer where roe v. wade was overturned. votes weren't there initially. democrats works behind the scenes with republicans, made changes to the bill and also delayed the vote until after the midterm elections in hopes of alleviating some political pressure that some of these gop senators may have been under, and look. appears to have paid off, because a dozen republicans voted to advance this bill yesterday. we are expecting a similar amount, if not more, to vote for final passage in the senate today, but still one more step this has to go through. still has to go through the house. that could happen in the coming days. expecting another big bipartisan vote there since 47 republicans voted for a different version

earlier this summer. all that to say this landmark bill could be on president joe biden's deck by end of the week. >> following that. thank you, melanie. appreciate it. a record day of voting in georgia. many runoffs more than 300,000 voters turned out to cast ballots early. most in a single day in the state's history, and comes after more than 180,000 georgians vote and polls that opened over the weekend. early voting happened saturday. i took a trip to speak with republican governor brian kemp not on the ballot. won re-election a few weeks ago but could be crucial to herschel walker's campaign, he is now campaigning with. a change of pace after distancing himself from walker in the midterms. could make all the difference as walker is appealing to 200,000 voters who voted for kemp a few weeks ago but did not vote for walker. here's what brian kemp told us. >> over 180,000 georgians cast

ballots over the weekend taking advantage of an extra day of early voting because of the lawsuit filed by senator warnock. did you a ggree with the judge' condition is? >> let them go vote. a turnout election. my meg to people don't get distracted just get the vote out. >> you think it's good, there was early voting. >> always had option getting out early. fighting that fight, could have been don other things. it wasn't my decision. i wasn't involved in it. all that matters on oh lection day who's got the most votes? it's really that simple and i think republicans don't need to guess distracted. that happened in the last runoff and didn't turn out very good for us.

>> i want to return to that but since i've seen you you've won your re-election and got about 200,000 more votes than the republican candidate for senate. herschel walker did. now appearing on the campaign trail in a much bigger way than you were last time i saw you. why now and why do you think 200,000 people voted for you and not for her vol walker? >> listen, i was focused making sure i got re-elected and also as you know from our past interviews and what people saw us doing and our campaign doing, it wasn't just helping me. it was helping our whole ticket and we had a really good night here in georgia. won every state-wide race, republicans did, and then we got an incumbent u.s. senator in a runoff. had an incredible night here, but really to me the runoff now is a very simple choice. you know? are you going to vote for somebody that's been with joe biden 96% of the time or going to vote for somebody that going to go up there and fight for georgia and that's the way i'm voting. >> herschel walker the

republican who did not win in december on a state-wide ticket. you said on the campaign trail recently a choice. who do you want to fight for you in the senate? a guy who represents values like her vol walker or somebody who voted with president biden 96% of the time. does herschel walker share your values? >> listen, when i'm talking about going to washington, d.c. and fighting for what georgians need i'm talking about the border, 40-year high inflation. astronomical gas prices since joe biden took office and the agenda raphael warnock supported up there. to me it's that simple in this race, and that's why i'm voting for herschel walker. i want somebody to go up there and fight for our state and fight for our citizens. not fight to support a president that really, in my view, is not upholding values of what georgians want. >> you think herschel walker does that when it comes to values? >> i think he will do that in

the united states senator. >> you're campaigning with herschel walker but senator warnock seems to be campaigning with you. >> did a press conference talking about, you know, me and my agenda, which hopefully, because they did that, people will listen to what i've been telling them. to vote for a guy that's going to fight for us. >> rare to see a democratic senate candidate campaigning with people who voted for the republican governor. >> yeah. i mean, look, warnock's got a lot of resources and can do whatever he wants. end of the day i don't think any of that stuff matters. money doesn't matter. you know? somebody's views that's going on the television commercial doesn't necessarily matter. it matters what people think and what they're dealing with in their everyday lives. i know people are dealing with 40-year high inflation. i know they know that the border's a disaster and you got joe biden saying after the november election he's not going to change a thing. and i just think there's a lot

of georgians that want things to change in washington, d.c., and they want people fighting to lower gas prices, and lower 40-year high inflation, interest rates are going up. i mean -- it's -- you know, a lot of people starting to get laid off. big companies that are out there. thankfully our economy has been more insulated than most around the country, and we're very thankful and blessed by that, but, you know, we don't want to risk that continuing into the future. >> you talked about lessons learned after the last runoff election. what are those lessons? >> one reason we control our own destiny on the ground game. turned that over to senate leadership fund and they're out there working. they're knocking doors. we're getting people to the polls which is what this race is all about. and we built something pretty special here that worked. didn't just work for me but worked with the rest of the republicans on the state ticket and we're trying to make that work hopefully in this runoff.

>> we'll find out next tuesday. since i last saw you, georgia's highest court reinstate add ban on abortion after six weeks. basically put on hold a decision by a lower court that overturned that 2019 law that you signed into law. if the appeals court comes back and overturns the law what will you do? >> we're going to keep fighting the legal process. i mean, we knew three years ago when we passed this bill it was going to take a long time to be, to get it through the courts, and to get it implemented. knew there would be a lot of people fighting us. but that's the path that we've taken, and that's what we're do and so we're just going to wait and see what the court does, and -- and, you know, then we'll re-assess. i believe that they're uphold our law and it will be implemented. >> let me get your reaction to something former president trump has been under fire for, which is having dinner with nick fuentes, and outspoken white supremacist and anti-semite? >> i just put a statement out

there. i'll let that statement speak for itself. i mean, that was a bad decision. there's no place for that in the republican party, and i know he's got, you know, his answer to that question and i'll let him speak to that, but my views on that are very clear. >> he has defended it saying he was a guest of kanye west, who was his guest. but he hasn't criticized or denounced the statements seen, hateful language from nick fuentes. >> listen, i am not privy to who said what and all of that. i'll just let my statement speak for itself. it's very clear. >> in recent days you have filed paperwork to create a federal pack of your own. makes people wonder if you've got your own future national ambitions's what would you tell them? >> we're working hard to get herschel walker elected to the united states senate, and that's what people in georgia need to stay focused on. we cannot get distracted with other things. that pack is designed to do that and help federal candidates in the future in our state.

what we built with our ground game and georgia's first committee was very effective at the state level, and we want to have that same tool available to help some of our friends that maybe are serving in congress or perhaps other nominees or other folks in the future, and so we thought it was wise to do that. to capitalize off of really a great effort that we've put together and continue to build off that and keep our state in good hands and have people in washington, d.c. that are voting georgia values. >> could that be to help other people who are running for the republican nomination for president, potentially? >> that's not what the focus is. you know? you need to worry about next tuesday. that's what i'm worried about. staying focused on getting herschel over the goal line. >> next tuesday is obviously what everyone's eyes are on, but you did see the former president announce he will be running in 2024. would you support him for that? >> i did see that.

>> would you support him in that run? >> i haven't seen who else is going to run. so i'm going to keep focused on getting herschel elected to the united states senate. we do not need to get distracted from that. >> that was so fascinating. felt like he really opened up. >> i think a little more emboldened, just won re-election handedly. what he send at the end, interesting. trump made sure he was not the next governor or did not get re-elected governor of georgia. he did so and interesting to see how he uses that federal pack. >> interesting. take a wait and see attitude. see who the other person or om people are. >> attitude seen from other republicans. note while on the ground, busy driving all around. we did also go to a senator warnock event to talk to him. meeting with honor students, waiting to talk to him trying to get those 200,000 voters who voted for kemp not walker and trying to appeal to them. i asked senator warnock about

this controversy that is happening with trump and his meeting with nick fuentes. >> anti-semitism has no place in our political system, and what we know about the former president is that he is quite skilled and well-practiced in the politics of division. my opponent is his acolyte. i'm proud of the fact that georgia in one fell swoop sent its first african american senator and its first jewish senator to the united states senate and we've been able to do great work for georgia together. >> see if georgia does that again next tuesday. send senator warnock back to washington. >> warnock is very good staying on message at interviews as kemp is. >> they don't do a lot of interviews. i don't know how you got to georgia, to even -- good job

kemp barely does interviews and warnock, haven't seen a lot. looking forward to tomorrow. thank you, kaitlan. russia continues to launch air strikes on critical infrastructure across ukraine that's left millions without power and the cold, cold winter is upon us. up next, we'll talk to former astronaut scott kelly, just on the ground in ukraine just met with president volodymyr zelenskyy. ♪birds flyin' high, you know how i feel.♪ ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i el.♪ you don't have to take... ] ...copd sittg down. ♪it's a new dawn,...♪ ♪...it's a new day,♪ it's time to make a stand. ♪and i'm feelin' good.♪ start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd...

...medicine has the power to treat copd... ...in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler,... ...trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler... ...for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating,... ...vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand, and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy... ...and save at trelegy.com.

the first time your sales reached 100k was also the first time you hit this note... ( screams in joy) save 20% with the lowest transaction fees and keep more of what you make. with a partner that always puts you first. godaddy. tools and support for every small business first.

the first lady of ukraine is urging the world not to forget the tragedy ukrainians are facing this christmas. her plea comes as russia continues to launch air strikes on critical infrastructure across ukraine, leaving millions without power ahead of the cold winter months. captain scott kelly, retired nasa astronaut and ambassador

for ukraine's united 24 fund-raising platform just went to ukraine, met with president zelenskyy and joins us now. from kyiv. thank you so much for being here. good for you for going. and you were -- not only did you meet with the president, you were focused on the children. you went to a children's hospital. what did you see? >> yeah. po poppy, i went to this children's hospital in kyiv, the largest children's hospital in ukraine, and inspiring to talk to the doctors, the nurses, the administrative personnel that have been living there for the last several months in the hospital. kind of like being in space where you're at work when you wake up you're at work when you go to sleep. so little bit similar there, but also seeing the children. some severely injured by, you know, putin's attacks of this country. but also to see their spirit. even though their bodies have been broken by this, their spirit has not been broken.

>> listen, i see you in your vest, it gets very cold there. there is a great, great need for a lot of things there, right? they need -- many people need food, they need shelter and they need clothing. the interesting thing for me is all the money that is being sent from the united states. a lot of that is going to the munitions and ammo and towards the war effort. but what about for people who actually need help there? speak to us about the need on the ground, please. >> yeah, don, that's -- there is serious need. i met last night with some of the other ambassadors, with president zelenskyy, and their biggest need right now is for power infrastructure, generators and fuel to run them, because putin and the russian military is attacking civilian infrastructure. you know when i got here there were no lights on. slowly they have been coming back over the last couple of days, but if we can't get that power to them, people will die over this winter because they

don't have electricity and heat and water. >> i know ambulances is another big need they have when it comes to that infrastructure that just has been pulled by russia. you did -- you came face to face with president zelenskyy. what did he say? what is his biggest concern right now? >> yeah, so, from a humanitarian perspective, his biggest concern is electricity, keeping the lights on, the heat running, they have a central heating system, but it uses hot water, but it does require electricity. so, right now that's the biggest need because, you know, the russian military, directed by putin, is basically committing genocide here by attacking this civilian infrastructure. so, you know, that's the big need right now. my other focus is raising money for ambulances. russia destroys ten of those a week. they save people's lives. so whatever anyone can do to

help in those areas, i would much appreciate it, obviously the ukrainians, of course, will as well. and really, really need that. >> yeah. not just appreciate t it is life saving. captain scott kelly, thank you for being there and thank you for joining with us what it is like to be on the the ground. >> be safe over there. >> my pleasure. thank you. also this morning, will smith is speaking out about that infamous slap. it is an emotional new interview from will smith. that's ahead. it has been 35 years since the '80s classic "dirty dancing" hit theaters. 35 years is all it took to get a sequel. we have the details next.

♪ and i owe it all to you ♪ ♪ because i had the time of my life ♪ ♪ and i owe it all to you ♪

okay, so it is a timeless classic. hard to believe it has been 35 years since johnny pulled frances housman up on stage. good news for all of our dirty dancing fans, a sequel is still in the works. yeah. set to begin that filming next year. jennifer grey says she'll be reprising her role as baby. she teased a new movie in a recent interview with "extra." >> exciting. >> i would say that you can count on it being at kellerman's, returning to kellerman's. >> okay. >> and baby, quite a few years older, you will see other characters that are from the original. >> well, sadly, the one familiar face we won't be seeing obviously is patrick swayze, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2009. >> won't be the same without him. >> no.

no. he was so, so great. they both, together, the chemistry, both of them -- >> that moment was -- >> we tried here on "cnn this mor morning." i didn't want her microphone to fall off. >> kaitlan was very concerned for me, right? looking out for me. >> 7:00 in the morning. >> the 6:00 a.m. hour. no one puts baby in the corner. >> no one puts poppy in the corner. >> that's what i'm saying. we'll get the lift next time, right? >> yes. >> and "cnn this morning" continues right now. so glad you could join us on this tuesday morning, november 29th. welcome, everyone, to "cnn this morning." good morning to you. a lot to get to. geopolitical tensions rising ahead of today's big world cup