like sacks of wet cement you are actually contractually obligated to show a clip from that episode whenever he used the word turkey drop. >> kate, how often do we use the word turkey drop, though? that's like, this is this may be a singular moment we should enjoy it together. >> like wet cement hitting wet bags of cement. thank you, j.b. let's go to this. now. if you mark it down, they will come. that is how one department store executive put it. this puts it this holiday season. but there are some early warning signs. they are currently bracing for a shopping slowdown. cnn's vanessa cave has been looking into this. she joins us now. and you say this could be the most normal holiday season. >> is that a good thing? >> can you believe it? can you believe it? yeah, we are expecting a record amount of shoppers over the holiday weekend and record spending. however, sales growth year to year is expected to be normal. so on average we have seen about 4.3% in sales growth from year to year, especially over the pandemic people were really

spending this year. it's about 3.3%. that is considered normal, moderate and that is because a lot of consumers are shopping discretionary. they're not going all out this year. they're choosing what do i really want to spend my money on for the people that i love? on average american families are going to be spending about $900 on gifts this holiday season. but you have retailers kind of trying to figure out where the consumer is right now. target for example, didn't do so well in the third quarter. so they are now really, really, really revving up their promotions and their sales to try to get shoppers in the door. but then you have a company like footlocker, which got stuck with a ton of inventory last year. so they inventory so they may not have as many sales or promotions. but one thing to look at is the holiday season. this year is a week shorter, and so that means that all retailers want to make sure that they get people in the door to get all their inventory off the shelves that

extra week that retailers normally have is a little bit of a cushion. this year. they simply do not have it. top gifts. this year, toys media, candy food and electronics. of course, people love that. >> i don't think there's ever going to be a time. it's the same thing every year. electronics is going to fall from that list for sure. it's good to see. >> thank you so much vanessa. really appreciate it. a new hour of cnn news central starts now the thanksgiving forecast looking cold and wet. >> just what you want to hear as millions of americans take to the roads and skies and then mark your calendar. january 20th is the day when a lot of products you know and love could get more expensive. if donald trump follows through on a promise slash threat he just made and the largest private employer in the united states, scaling back plan d efforts. the pressure felt by walmart this morning. sarah is out.

i'm john berman with kate bolduan this is cnn news central all right this morning millions are setting out on the roads and heading to airports across the country ahead of thanksgiving. >> today is expected to be the busiest day for air trav i'm he for, guys, you're headed to see family. awesome. likely headed to a delicious meal. >> even better. and in an attempt to keep it positive, you also may have some extra time to hang out a little longer than planned with a whole bunch of friends that you have just not yet met at the airport. the airports, as the faa is warning that they may be slowing down air traffic in the coming days. why the faa is still dealing with an ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers ryan young is on the ground in atlanta home to the busiest airport in the world. derek van dam is standing by with the latest weather forecast. ryan triple a

expecting record setting travel what's it going to look like this thanksgiving apparently pretty busy kate. >> of course, i'm not at the busiest airport. i'm outside near traffic here i-75 85 behind me. also one of the most congested areas across the country. but we're not seeing peak volume just yet. we're told that could be coming a lot later. triple a expecting more than 70 million americans to hit the road again. that's more than pre-pandemic levels. that's a million more than last year. so you can understand, of course, we always say this pack your patience when you get on the road, but make sure you have everything stocked up as you get in the car because they're really expecting things to back up. gas prices. the average is 3.07. that's down from 325 last year. and of course all this conversation, when you think about the airport as well, they're expecting nearly 3 million travelers to go through tsa just today alone. so it seems like people are ready to go to get out there and travel. maybe the political conversations are over and everyone's willing to slide into the table and have some

good thanksgiving meals and see family again. hopefully that's the case but what we know is with all this happening, they're worried about those peak hours in terms of traveling, which looks like between the hours of noon and 4:00, a lot of places across the country. so that's something that we'll continue to watch throughout the day. so far, so good as we look at the airport delays across the country, we've only seen less than 50 so far. and of course we'll be talking about weather earlier this morning. lots of rain. so i know derek van dam will get us up to date with that. but so far it seems like a lot of these systems are moving out. kate. >> all i'm saying is, if you say so far so good in terms of travel, let's just leave it at that and count at least for the moment, a win ryan, because we know when it comes to the roads, it's all on you. absolutely. and when it comes to the weather, it's all on derek. it's all on you guys no matter what happens. okay so derek, what are we looking at? we know you were you were yeah exactly. that's what i'm here for. just to apply the pressure. you told us yesterday that there was some winter weather to be focused on. what

are you looking at and where are you watching most closely? >> how convenient that mother nature coincides these storms with the busiest travel day at the airports of the year. we've got a cold front coming through right now along the eastern seaboard. that's what brought rain to ryan's live shot earlier this morning. that's since moved on. so we're clearing things out near atlanta. hartsfield jackson international airport, same cannot be said, though, for jfk into the other airports across the east coast because this cold front is impacting you as we speak. so we do believe that this could have some knock on effects for future cancellations, or at least delays through the course of the morning and afternoon hours. that's why we've highlighted these potential airport problems from the nation's capital through the big apple all the way to boston as well, where the storm system is currently located another, more impactful storm will

really start to fire up over the western parts of the u.s. i'll show you that in just one moment. this is the current storm bringing some mixture of rain and snow across the northern sections of new england that will impact the roadways there, but closer to the largest population densities of the eastern seaboard. it is now bringing all rain. so this is all the liquid variety the i-95 corridor will be wet. so if you're hitting the roads to grandma and grandpa's house, expect some potential delays there. everybody has difficulty driving in that type of weather there's the weather moving on from atlanta though, so we've cleared things out for interstate 75, 85. that moves right behind that live shot that ryan was at just a moment ago. this is a major storm, though. over the western u.s. the good news is that the majority of the snow that's falling from the sky is actually west of the denver international airport, so i expect minimal delays there could be some impactful snow for salt lake city, but look at the rain falling along the west coast from san francisco southward into los angeles. this storm system will deepen significantly wednesday will be

your best day to travel on the roads or in the skies along the east coast. look what happens as i advance this radar from wednesday into thursday. a major storm system will impact this region bringing the coldest air of the season snow to the northern new england. but all rain along the coastal areas just in time for john berman to stand outside and talk about a big macy's day, thanksgiving day parade in the rain. kate and but one thing we know about john berman is he loves to stand out and get blown around in some rainy weather. >> the man loves loves it. and so we're going to so much john berman. you're welcome looking good. >> we're trying to be efficient and save on this special. so no umbrellas no umbrellas will be they're just distracting. >> they'll block your lighting. it's all important things but may i say really quickly because i know we've got nothing but time here all of those live pictures from those airports. look at those smiling faces. let's keep it positive. it looks like a party

so far keep it positive. >> the message from kate ball, which is hilarious exactly. all right. with us now haley berg, economist for the travel app hopper. haley, so nice to see you how are prices for people flying this year compared to years past the good news is most travelers who are hitting the skies this thanksgiving season should have seen lower prices. >> prices are down about 4% from last year, so travelers are saving a little bit at a time where many of them are concerned about being able to afford holiday travel you say should have seen is it too late if you haven't booked your travel to get where you want to go on thanksgiving, how big of the trouble is it that you're in you are in big trouble if you have not booked your thanksgiving travel yet, your best bet is to try to book a deal. departing on thanksgiving day itself but for those procrastinators who are trying to travel for christmas, there's one more day where you

can get a good deal on holiday travel, and that will be the tuesday after thanksgiving december 3rd. it's travel deal tuesday, and it's the last day we expect to see good deals on airfare for christmas, new year's eve. the end of the year trips. >> i'm going to come back to that in a second because i'm always thinking ahead. but actually, let's think way ahead first because people missed the deals for thanksgiving this year likely for next year. when should you book your thanksgiving travel the best time to book your thanksgiving travel is typically the middle of october. >> we usually see prices drop around october 14th to the 21st. that third week of the month for international travel. so you're going somewhere warm. you're going to want to book back in august, september so you missed it. >> everybody if you want to feel bad about yourself, yet another reason why you missed the chance for the good prices for thanksgiving, you still have one chance left for christmas. what do you expect to see in the airports over the

next few days we're expecting jam packed airports. >> tomorrow is going to be the busiest day for departures in u.s. airports, ahead of the holiday, but really, it's all about sunday. it's the busiest single day of the thanksgiving travel period. more than 3.7 million seats are scheduled to depart from u.s. airports and we typically see higher disruption rates, delays and cancellations on the sunday after thanksgiving. so that's really the day we're laser focused on to make sure travelers are getting home from their holiday trips. >> if you make it past sunday, talk a little bit more about this travel deal tuesday, something people might be able to do next week that could save them money in the months ahead if you're sitting down with family over thanksgiving, family you want to vacation with, definitely be thinking about what your next trips are, whether they are end of the year trips or 2025. >> because travel deal tuesday. this year it's tuesday

december 3rd. it's the best day in that post-thanksgiving shopping period to get good deals on airfare, hotels, even rental cars. we typically see double the number of deals available on travel deal tuesday as we see on black friday. so if you are thinking about travel definitely mark that on your calendar. you'll get some incredible deals on airfare, hotels, even rental cars. >> intriguing. i have to say and i also might add, maybe you want to travel without some of the members of your family that you will need a break for them. so don't be afraid to go to, you know, to go out on your own. haley burke, thank you so much for being with us appreciate it great being with you. all right. this morning we have some new reporting on how airlines have padded their bottom line with exorbitant fees charged to you, plus, a 40 year old mystery could soon be solved after a car was found submerged in a pond. who police believe may have been inside the vehicle, and a recall of raw milk. a recall of raw milk,

say that ten times fast after bird flu was found in one batch. >> watch cnn's coverage of thanksgiving parades around the country with special appearances by chef bobby flay t.i., andy grammer and more. john berman and erica hill host, cnn. thanksgiving in america live coverage starts at 8:00 on. >> this is an important message for everyone on medicare right now. is the medicare annual enrollment period. and today we are talking about medicare part c, commonly called medicare advantage. if you don't have a medicare part c plan, call now you may be eligible for plans in your zip code with additional benefits or cost savings you may not be receiving. now or that may have previously not been available to you. different part c plans are available in different parts of the country, so don't wait. call the number on your screen. now if you're on medicare you can call even if you called last year. we will check to see if there is a part c plan available in your area with additional benefits or

cost savings. call to speak with a licensed insurance agent before the end of the annual enrollment period. you don't get medicare part c benefits automatically, so call now for your free 2025 no obligation medicare benefits review. >> just call ( 800) 608-0087 806 080087. >> did you recently get a letter in the mail from your medicare plan? >> it could be your annual notice of change, and it's one of the most important documents for people on medicare. if you recently received this letter, call the number on your screen for a free medicare benefit review your annual notice of change informs you about all of the changes being made to your medicare plan for the upcoming year. that could mean changes to your benefits premiums, deductibles, or co-payments. network of participating doctors and pharmacies. if you're confused by your letter, we'll help you understand it and if you're unhappy about the changes being made to your plan, we can help you shop for other coverage

options in your area. the medicare annual enrollment period is happening now, so you may be eligible to enroll today. you only have until december 7th to switch plans, and you must take action to do so, call the medicare benefits helpline at the number on your screen. you don't need an annual notice of change to call even if you lost your letter, tossed it out or never received one. the medicare benefits helpline can assist. medicare plans can change every year, and those changes can affect benefits, premiums deductibles, or co-payments participation of doctors or pharmacies in your plan's network call the medicare benefits helpline now to see if there are any changes being made to your current medicare plan for the upcoming year. if you don't take action by december 7th, you may not be able to make changes to your plan for another year make sure you're in the best plan for your needs. even if you called last year, you should still call to see if there are plans in your zip code that may be a better fit for your needs. remember, new plans may be

added every year, so call today the medicare annual enrollment period is only for a limited time. the medicare benefits helpline is open now and ready to assist. call before the deadline for your free medicare benefit review cale of the generous donations to sponsor a wreath and honor a veteran, visit wreaths across america. >> org for over 25 years, lovesac has been rewriting the rules of comfort it's okay to change your style get messy get immersed with lovesac you make the rules

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chinese goods. >> that's on top of existing and maybe even more tariffs that he will be imposing, and a 25% tariff is coming on all goods from two close allies, mexico and canada. all of this making good on what was a singularly consistent threat and or promise from the campaign trail this will put a tariff of approximately 100 to 200% on each car. >> a 25% tariff on everything they send in. i'm just notifying john deere right now. if you do that, we're putting a 200% tariff on everything that you want to sell into the united states if i was mr. tariff, i would say please get me a pr agent. i have to straighten out. it's one of the most beautiful words in the whole world. the word tariff. it's more beautiful than love joining me right now, democratic senator from connecticut, richard blumenthal. >> senator, thank you so much for being here on this tariff

threat and or promise. do you take donald trump seriously? >> i take him very seriously because he apparently thinks tariff is a more beautiful word than love and he means what he says, i think, on tariffs. but when the practical consequences are known to consumers and when they see higher prices of goods, knowing how they feel about inflation, i've been on the campaign trail for a number of months i think the reaction is going to be hugely negative and i think he's going to have to live with those consequences and be held accountable, because that is a question right? >> this was obviously a consistent promise on the campaign trail. voters voted on the economy, so voting for his views in part on this how do you square that with what you see as a threat if, if and when these tariffs are imposed? >> i think that the president elect has failed to really face the practical consequences. i think he's heading toward a

real horror show where the consequences can't be squared with the promises he made. for example slashing government spending at the same time as preserving medicare and medicaid. i think medicare and medicaid and social security ought to be protected but he's got a hit squad with musk and others that may slash it. i think tariffs will increase prices and other kinds of measures, such as reducing taxes, are going to increase the deficit. it is very hard to make those kinds of promises and fulfill them and republicans will be held accountable, not only the president elect when he takes office, but also my republican colleagues in the united states senate. if they go along with these irresponsible policies. >> well, and there's a lot of ifs in there, right? i mean, if they go along but there's been no suggestion to the contrary in what we've seen, obviously. so far, you are on two very key

committees on any given day, and especially in the coming months, you're on judiciary and armed services, meaning you will be among the first to vet donald trump's choices for attorney general and defense secretary donald trump's team has yet to file paperwork to essentially launch the fbi background checks that all candidates essentially, for these jobs have have faced over. and those underneath and those below them have faced for who knows how long so when it comes to pam bondi and pete hegseth, can you consider their nominations without fbi background checks? >> not responsibly and i think my republican colleagues know that we cannot really responsibly do our duty as senators to advise and consent. that's a constitutional obligation without that kind of routine vetting. remember that these kind of background checks are done as a mandate routinely on the guards at the white

house on fbi agents themselves, on the people who do security at the airports over this thanksgiving weekend. there's nothing unusual about a background check, and we need them. >> same question. how do you square it, then? why wouldn't why not do it? why not move that direction? is it just. do you think it's hard? you never. i'm not asking you to get in the mind of donald trump, but is there any practical reason? any logical reason not to, other than breaking with tradition and norms? >> no practical reason to avoid a background check, except maybe they have something to hide. just saying common sense tells you when someone doesn't want that kind of vetting or check, which is done routinely. there's something to hide and there are a lot of indications that pete hegseth has quite a bit to hide in the investigation that was done out in the west coast of the alleged sexual assault. here's a man who is supposed to lead the military, which is trying to attract and recruit and

retain women, trying to end the scourge of sexual assault. i've taken measures, along with senator gillibrand, of new york, to try to end sexual assault in the military. what kind of model and and leadership is he going to provide? so there is a lot here to vet and know, because these two positions have national security implications. the attorney general of the united states is responsible for prosecuting terrorism espionage, spying that's a national security issue on pete hegseth he denies any, any, any of it was an assault um, any of it was an assault. >> but he obviously there are questions for him to answer. that's part of the vetting. um, you are also the chair of the permanent subcommittee on investigations and you just released a report this morning perfect timing, because everyone's heading to the airports on u.s. airlines, revealing how much airlines have made charging customers junk fees like seat upgrades. what i saw just the top line, is your investigation. finding

over five years, the five major u.s. airlines have made more than $12 billion. with these junk fees and that's from customers. and you're holding a hearing next week to bring in executives from these airlines to testify. what do you want to know from them? what do you do with this report? >> well, this report is based on a year long investigation involving documents, interviews and a lot of previously undisclosed evidence and what we have found is that the airlines are relying more and more on these junk fees as a source of revenue and they are obscuring them very often. you as a passenger won't know how much you're being charged until after you buy the ticket. you can't do comparison shopping. you can't do the kind of analysis that you've just heard from the interview that john did. so we want these airlines to come clean with the american people, tell them the facts, provide the data. number two, support an end to these junk fees like seat choice with your

children or other kinds of fees that are charged for taking baggage onto the plane checking baggage and carry ons and also cancellations, changing the flight that you want to take and here's what's really, in a way most disturbing these airlines now are so consolidated. four airlines control almost 70% of the whole market. they march in lockstep. they charge these fees in effect together, raise them together. so now they're skyrizi questions of collusion on that. >> is that what you're saying? >> that's an issue. and i think the department of justice should be looking into it. it's announced a public inquiry as of october this year. i think that the noncompetitive situation and the possible collusion there is an issue that deserves investigation. and what's more the airlines are now moving toward the use of algorithms in

effect, a form of artificial intelligence to target individuals based on their specific attributes, where they live, their zip code, for example, and charging them differently for the same flight at the same time. and that kind of use of algorithm ticket price setting is very disturbing. >> and the most basic and the most basic level transparency. if you're going to do it, be transparent about it and then let customers decide. and that's what your investigation, thankfully, is going to reveal. this will be a very interesting hearing next week. thank you so much senator, for coming in and bringing us this. thank you. really appreciate it. also overnight, russia firing a record number of drones on kyiv. ukrainian officials say 188 missiles hit the country's capital and major changes at america's largest private employer. why walmart is scrapping its diversity equity and inclusion initiatives

we're unboxing unbeatable values for your home every friday in november and that means i've got stylish sofas in multiple colors with bob baer seating for just 3.99 each. >> because every day is black friday when you dare to compare as a cardiologist, when i put my patients on a statin to reduce cholesterol, i also tell them it can deplete their coq10 levels i recommend taking kunal. >> coq10. kunal has three times better absorption than regular coq10. kunal. the brand i trust. >> hi, my name is damien clark and if you have both medicare and medicaid, i have some really encouraging news that you'll definitely want to hear. depending on the plans available in your area, you may be eligible to get extra benefits with the humana medicare advantage dual eligible special needs plan most plans include the humana healthy options allowance, a monthly allowance to help pay for eligible groceries utilities, rent and over-the-counter items like

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but that's what my podcast is all about. >> join me in my guest for a new season with new conversations about loss, life and love. all there is with anderson cooper. listen on spotify or wherever you get your podcasts all right. >> this morning you can see these live pictures from in and

around beirut an airstrike. a series of simultaneous airstrikes taking place in lebanon. this comes even as the israeli cabinet is set to vote on a cease fire deal with hezbollah, which of course operates inside lebanon. the white house middle east envoy has arrived in saudi arabia, as u.s. officials say a deal is quote, close. getting to the region to help finalize the details of that deal. again, you can see here where the strikes are taking place in and around beirut, even as the negotiations go on with us now is retired air for leighton. colonel, great to see you. people can get a sense of what's been taking place in lebanon over the last several months. here you can see this area in red is where israel has made ground incursions over the border to root out the hezbollah militia groups, the areas in yellow here, areas where israel has called for evacuation so they can carry out airstrikes. so talk to us about a cease fire deal why do you think israel would agree to

this? now? what have they achieved in lebanon well good morning john. >> yeah. the main thing is that they think that they achieved enough of their military objectives to agree to a cease fire deal so basically, the area that you were pointing out is the area that is south of the litani river. that is basically the border line between southern lebanon and basically serves as a buffer zone between hezbollah forces and and the israelis. now, what the israelis want to do is they want to bring their 70,000 or so people that live in northern israel back into northern israel. those people have evacuated their homes and it's very much in the interests of the israelis to bring them back, to make that region economically viable, or at ve b decimated. i think we have to remember the major attacks and, you know, those efforts by the israelis to go through every single layer of command that hezbollah has and to include killing the leader of

hezbollah. so when you go into all of the details here, the israelis have achieved a considerable portion of their military objectives. and if they push hezbollah back to above the litani river, they believe that that will at least give them the breathing space that they need in order to make that region of northern israel one that they can consider safe and relatively secure. >> and just to be clear, hezbollah, negotiating here at a position of weakness, correct yeah absolutely. >> and that's that's really part of the israeli effort they've been able to make this make hezbollah very much weakened force. and it also means, because hezbollah is a proxy of the iranians, that iran's position against israel is also a much more weakened position than it was just a few months ago. >> yeah. talk to us a little bit more about that. if there is a some kind of a cease fire deal between israel and hezbollah, which again operates inside lebanon what would that

mean for the region and what would it mean? or could it mean for israel's continued war against hamas in gaza yes. >> so as far as the region is concerned, just before the october 7th attacks on from hamas against israel, from gaza and those there were efforts between israel and saudi arabia to achieve a comprehensive peace settlement. saudi arabia is not going to agree to a peace settlement unless there is a deal with hezbollah, and unless there's a deal with hamas. so this is basically the first stage for the israelis to try to get back on track. that way. in other words, have that that track toward a peace settlement with saudi arabia and basically other countries in the region. so this is in essence, an extension of the abraham accords that were done during the first trump administration. now, as far as iran is concerned, they are definiteooking at this from a different perspective with

their fairly recently inaugurated president. they are looking at a very different way to try to engage with not only israel, but also with the united states. now, whether we or the israelis take them up on that is, of course, a completely different question but it seems as if the iranians are starting to begin a bit of a policy of in essence, making things a bit more of a detente, like situation than was the case just in the last few months. >> look, they've lost some of their assets in the region to be clear. all right, colonel cedric leighton, thank you so much for being with us this morning. have a wonderful thanksgiving so this morning, the largest retailer in the country becomes the latest company to roll back dei initiatives as companies face pressure to be, quote less woke hello, mrs. harris. >> has anything changed? address insurance? >> actually yes.

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lawyers for donald trump are conducting an internal investigation right now into allegations one of his top aides is involved in a pay to play scheme. >> boris epstein, one of trump's most loyal advisers is accused of asking for money in exchange for promoting candidates for cabinet positions. in one instance, he allegedly asked for as much as $100,000 per month for his services and help. cnn's sara murray is in washington tracking this. boris epstein says the claims are fake and wrong and not true. what are you learning, sara well, we learned that this was these allegations were concerning enough that attorneys for donald trump decided to move ahead with this internal investigation. >> again, this isn't a criminal probe, but half a dozen sources told me, kristen holmes, our colleague kate sullivan, about this internal investigation that was looking into allegations that epstein for instance, requested payment in exchange for promoting people's names with donald trump and around mar-a-lago for administration positions. and one of the people he allegedly did this to was scott bessent, who was donald trump's pick

eventually to be the treasury secretary. allegedly, epstein asked bessant for tens of thousands of dollars which is a fee that bessant refused to pay. and all of this kind of reached a head last week at mar-a-lago. and there was a very heated exchange between epstein and bessant. you know what the lawyers found was so troublesome to them that they actually recommended that epstein should be removed from donald trump's proximity and that he should not be paid by any trump entities. now, boris epshteyn has denied all of this, he said in a statement to cnn. these fake claims are false and defamatory and will not distract us from making america great again. kate. >> but with that, what does all of this mean for kind of his future in working with donald trump in the donald trump orbit? and he really was part of the inner circle. what does this all mean? >> yeah, i mean, it's a great question because as you point out, he has been with trump for so long. he's been an advisor. he's been at times a lawyer. you know, he helped shepherd donald trump through these four criminal indictments. but he's

also been a very divisive character. people kind of see him as one of the key in fighters in trump's world. you know, they see him as a very brash personality who often boasts about his closeness to trump. he sits in regularly on these very important transition meetings. now, a spokesperson for the transition told us, as we were doing this story that essentially this review is not really a big deal. it had been conducted and completed, everyone was moving together ahead as a team, but donald trump himself struck a different tone when he was talking to a conservative news outlet. he basically said that people should not be trying to profit off of those who are trying to join his administration, he said no one can promise any endorsement or nomination except me. i make these decisions on my own, period. so kate, for now, boris epshteyn still very much in the trump orbit in the trump universe but i know people are watching closely to see how this plays out over the next couple of days, as these allegations have become public. >> sara murray. great to see you. thank you john. >> all right. this morning, new reporting on how some democrats

are gearing up for the next four years. and not just any democrats, but democrats in one of the swingiest swing counties in the whole country. so as part of his wonderful all over the map reporting, john king went back to northampton county pennsylvania and pat levin is 95 years young, fit and feisty trying to keep up with you. >> pat she's off to the races. a lifelong democrat, scared and stunned donald trump will be president in her twilight. >> i want to fight. i think i don't want to fight, but i think i have to because i think there's no such thing as staying neutral. i think once you stay neutral, it's the oppressor who wins and the oppressed who suffer. >> you use the term oppressor. i assume when richard nixon won or ronald reagan won, or either of the george bush's won, even though you're a democrat, i'm guessing you didn't use that term. >> never, never. >> what does that tell you about how you feel and what you see? >> well, i see a man who is not or regime now who is not paying

much attention to our history and to our to our norms. the democratic norms that we have always lived by pulled the bar back. >> republican friends tell levin to relax. the trump will fix the border and juice the economy. that all will be fine. fdr was president when levin got her first taste of politics. she's seen a lot, trusts her instincts, his willingness to go around, the intent of our constitution and the democracy that we live in scares me his people, that he's nominating now, they scare me is elon musk. >> the shadow president, or is vance really the vice president? isn't that scary to have to ask that question? have we ever had to ask that before? >> levin sees mass deportations as mean and harmful to the economy, sees trump rewarding 's in retreat, sees her american dream. the idea that you leave things better than you found them at severe risk. >> that's why i'm afraid i'm not so afraid for me. i'm not going to be around to

experience it. but i'm afraid for those i love, for those i don't love, those i know, those i don't know it's all those people coming after me who who might have to live under this, this is northampton county, pennsylvania, a place that picks presidents. >> the county is now back. the winner in five straight presidential elections and in all but three over the past 100 years, northampton's rural stretches are ruby red. trump country democratic hopes rest on the county's two urban anchors. bethlehem and easton. >> good deal of it goes to our food pantry. >> lifelong easton resident marvin boyer is still shocked at the size of trump's win but not shocked he won. >> there's any number of reasons why it went the way it did. the economy being one. i believe racism played a role in it. >> misogyny plus more black men voted for trump this time why would you vote for an individual who i think is a racist, who is a misogynist, who is with the january 6th situation? >> why would you vote for a guy

like that because he tells it like it is, and that resonates with me it's one of the things that i hear from black men who support trump you know, can't have thanksgiving without the turkey. >> boyer is a lifelong civil rights and community activist. these thanksgiving meal bags filled in a room dedicated to his mother. there's a hero. that's the one. the easton community garden another way to lend a hand helping others helps boyer channel his disappointment, and he urges angry democrats to do the same because i often run into people who complain a lot, you know and i'm a doer and i say be the change that you want to see in the community. >> get involved in a local organization, be more of an activist. >> you're not going to believe this ladies, look at the jokers. >> caroline murphy is already doing just that. >> friends of mine have started groups we're calling it the quiet resistance i feel like i'm standing on the edge of a cliff and like, everything's

kind of falling down around me. it's falling down what happened to the foundation? what happened? will america fall down? i never had thought this. i never thought this. this is just a this is just a huge shock to seniors, john. huge. okay now we're going to rack them and see what we got. >> murphy teaches the chinese tile game mahjong. our third time at the table. over the past year. third time murphy and catherine long have sparred with pam aida, i don't have to have dinner with donald trump. >> i don't care what he does. just keep me safe. keep my grandkids safe and have money in our pockets. >> that's all i'm scared to death of what he's going to do, and some of that comes from what's happening with his cabinet choices. >> i think we have to just knock it off. he's president for four years. we'll have another election we hope. and then you know, i have fears that he won't leave. oh, come on i'm not kidding. >> i have fears that he won't leave a debate for the next

four years. >> if we're still here on this earth. >> yes, we might not even be here. john, do you ever think of that? >> i'm not i'm not going to allow myself to think about that back to the game. one on this day mahjong by the trump supporter and those voters critical to our series all over the map because of who they are and where they live, who they are senior citizens among the country's most reliable voters nationally, kamala harris and donald trump split the senior vote 49 to 49. but in five of the seven battleground states, trump won it by four points or more, including pennsylvania. so senior voters are a key part of his coalition. and, john, they're also important as you noted, at the top of the piece, because of where they live northampton county, now one of only 15 counties across the country, only 15 that have gotten it right in five straight presidential elections, twice for obama then for trump, then flipped to biden and now flipped back to trump, 15 of them across america. >> it really is extraordinary. it's so few. do you play mahjong john? were you playing there? just to be clear so i was not. >> i'm learning though slowly.

and i promised the ladies it's fascinating having these conversations. they admit their own vulnerability because they're old they're mad. the democrats that trump's president in their twilight. and i said i wanted to come back four years from now. and they said we're not sure we're going to be here. and i said, how about if i learn the game, if i learn the game, will you be here for me in four years? and so they're going to hold me to that bet. >> they say they want to clean your clock is what they want to do. they want they want to jump in the table. >> i have no doubt about that. >> all right. john king terrific report as always. thank you very much. thank you so a new poll finds who is among the more popular of donald trump's cabinet picks. it might surprise you it's your surprise. scientists and drake is taking his very public beef with kendrick lamar to court accusing record companies of using bots to illegally boost lamar's diss track i am tony hawk, and like many of you, i take a statin to reduce cholesterol. >> but statins can also deplete coq10 levels. that's what my

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>> yeah, my head's in the game the imperium is a fragile. >> the great houses fight for control we must act doom. >> prophecy. >> streaming exclusively on max.

>> i'm elizabeth wagmeister in los angeles, and this is cnn all right. >> new this morning, georgia police believe a car found underwater with human remains might be tied to a new york couple who disappeared in 1980. a human bone was found inside a lincoln continental, the same type of car that charles and catherine roemer were driving when they went missing in april of 1980. the couple had been on vacation in miami. they disappeared near the brunswick holiday inn while on their way back to new york. their bags and personal items were found in the hotel room the next day. police have not officially confirmed the identities of the remains. this morning, the largest private employer in the united states is reducing some diversity equity and inclusion efforts. walmart will stop racial equity training and reassess programs meant to boost supplier diversity. the decision follows pressure from some conservative groups. and this morning drake is suing spotify and record label universal music group over kendrick lamar's song not like

us. the song earned five grammy nominations. it is perhaps the most famous diss track to be released, and is part of an ongoing feud among the two artists. drake is accusing universal of using bots to artificially inflate the number of streams to make it go viral and maximize profits. all right, this morning dictionary.com has announced its 2024 word of the year. if you were watching one hour ago, you know what it is. here's a hint. >> see how you do my makeup for work? very demure very mindful right. >> the word demure exploded in popularity thanks to that post from tiktoker jules lebron see how i'm reading this book? >> very demure. >> you see how i show up to work very demure, very mindful straight hair, very demure, wearing a seatbelt, very mindful that was lindsay lohan and jamie lee curtis, i think doing like a freaky friday

remix of the word demure. >> there which makes it all worthwhile. kate. >> absolutely. breaking overnight major strikes in ukraine's capital, kyiv. russia launching a record breaking 188 drones. cnn's salma abdelaziz has much more on this for us. salma, what's the latest? you're hearing? >> absolutely striking number again, as you said, a record number of drones, more than 180 fired overnight. >> our teams on the ground said that they could hear those air raid sirens just going off all night. >> most of those drones were intercepted. but of course, some debris did fall, causing damage to homes and residential buildings. but it's part of this larger uptick that we've seen on the ground. kate, really in the last couple of weeks, as both sides prepare for a president donald trump let me just remind our viewers here. it was only a couple of weeks ago that president biden approved the longer range missiles to be used in russia. those are being used on the

ground right now by ukrainian forces. the u.s. made at comes the response from president putin was to change the country's nuclear doctrine, lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons and to continue to push on those front lines in the east, where he keeps grabbing territory back in kursk, this russian region also pushing, of course, in donetsk the major prize for him and then, of course, that massive attack that we saw in dnipro with an experimental new ballistic missile, all of this taking place as g7 foreign ministers are meeting in in italy today alongside ukraine's foreign minister. you can expect that they're going to use that same rhetoric. we've been hearing throughout, which is we are in lockstep with ukraine. we will stand with you for as long as it takes, but you can very much look at the happenings on the ground and see that both of these militaries are preparing for, again, for that possibility of talks. once there's a president donald trump in the white house. >> salma, thank you so much for

your great reporting. john all right. >> new this morning california state officials have issued a warning that bird flu has been detected in a batch of raw milk. they are urging consumers not to drink it. a recall effort is in effect, as health officials are seeing bird flu outbreaks and wild birds, poultry and dairy cattle. let's get right to cnn's jacqueline howard for the latest on this. good morning good morning, john yeah, this is really showing how health officials are staying on top of tracking raw milk and other dairy products, looking for bird flu in this particular recall, what happened is the virus was detected in a batch of cream top whole raw milk produced and packaged by the company raw farm in fresno county. >> if you have this product, look for the lot code number 20241109. and health officials say to return the product back to the store where you got it. if you do, in fact have this product, of course. do not drink it. we do know

that this recall is just for raw milk, not pasteurized milk. the pasteurization process, which is a heating process is effective in killing bacteria and viruses like bird flu. so this is just raw milk. but again john this is health officials really staying on top of tracking for this virus. and like i said they're telling everyone if you have this product at home don't drink it. return it to the store. >> what are some of the risks associated with raw milk because raw milk isn't pasteurized, you do have the risk of bacteria like salmonella and e coli viruses like with this recall, like bird flu so that's why health officials say to be very, very cautious and not drink raw milk. >> because of these risks. and symptoms of any foodborne illness like salmonella and e coli can include vomiting can include a stomach cramping, diarrhea so again, these are symptoms that can come with

exposure to bacteria that are typically killed during the pasteurization process. so those are the risks to be mindful of. >> all right jacqueline howard, thank you very much for sharing that reporting. a brand new hour of cnn news central starts right now prepare yourself to be thankful and a little bit chilly the thanksgiving travel rush is upon us and early. >> an early blast of what winter weather could be hitting you and delaying your arrival time at your friends and family's homes. we've got an update we're tracking it all for you and donald trump vowing to make good on one of his most consistent campaign promises, pledging to impose tariffs on some of america's closest allies and trade partners. the potential fallout it could have on the economy and your wallet. and nearly 30 years ago, the murder of jonbenet ramsey became a national obsession. now, a new documentary is reexamining her case, and her father