art piece, but also come from the history of the artwork, interaction with the artwork, and also like the owners history. i want to eat it to become a part of the history. >> for his money, he gets a roll of duct tape, a fresh banana, a certificate of authenticity and instructions on how to install it. >> we will continue to collaborate with all the exhibition and the museum around the world to display the banana. i also want to talk to elon musk to take this banana onto one of his spacecraft probably sends the banana to mars or the moon all right we're just going to slide on out of here now. >> thank you so much for joining me today. i'm fredricka whitfield. cnn newsroom continues with jessica dean. right now

you're in the cnn newsroom. i'm jessica dean in new york. >> and we begin with breaking news as we learn new details into how president-elect donald trump came to choose maga firebrand kash patel as his pick to lead the fbi. >> we're going to go straight to cnn's alayna treene, who is live in west palm beach. >> elena, i know you've got some new reporting. what are you learning reporter that's right. >> jessica. i've been talking to those close to donald trump. people on his team working with the transition process and asking them, how did he come to land on kash patel? i'm told that in recent days, he was really wavering between two people for the role of fbi director. that includes kash patel, but also missouri attorney general andrew bailey, someone we know that donald trump has considered for a number of roles. i'm told that essentially, donald trump had thought that patel was always going to have a big role in his second term, but there were some that were close to him,

including some people on his transition team who were wary of having him named patel for the fbi director slot. noting that there could be some controversy around a likely contentious senate confirmation battle. however, there's also people who are very close to donald trump who have his ear. people like his sons eric trump and donald trump jr., as well as stephen miller, his incoming deputy chief of staff for policy that were encouraging him to select patel, arguing that he was really the only person in their eyes that would reform the fbi in the way that they thought. donald trump wanted, and to try to root out the bias that they believe has kind of permeated the bureau in recent years. now i'm also told that donald trump interviewed both bailey and patel at mar-a-lago in person for the role of fbi director. however the sources told me that essentially trump wasn't that impressed by bailey's interview and didn't think that he would be the legal attack dog. the legal bulldog. really, that donald trump wants in the role for the leader of the fbi? i'm

going to read for you what one trump adviser told me who's been involved in these conversations. they said, quote, it came down to a matter of what trump wants and what he was looking for in terms of an fbi director. and bailey didn't fit that mold. he didn't have the personality. so again really getting into that sense of donald trump wanting someone who will carry out his agenda and be kind of the person he wants in the fbi to, you know, whether it's investigations or whatever else donald trump has planned for his second term, be that person to kind of carry that out. now, i will say similarly we also saw a number of people including people who are picked for top roles in donald trump's second administration, including mike waltz, his selection for national security advisor, but also senator mike lee, a top ally who donald trump had thought about for certain roles, and robert o'brien his former national security advisor. all of them really weighing in, defending donald trump's selection of patel. and then we also heard a number of top republican senators, those close to trump this morning on the sunday shows defending him as well. take a

listen donald trump campaigned on reforming the fbi and the department of justice. >> so i don't know why any of this is frankly surprising to people. >> there are serious problems that the fbi, the american public, knows it. they expect to see sweeping change in kash patel is just the type of person to do it. i got to say, all of the weeping and gnashing of teeth, all of the people pulling their hair out are exactly the people who are dismayed about having a real reformer come into the fbi and clean out the corrupted partizans who sadly have burrowed into senior career positions at the fbi. >> i think kash patel is going to be confirmed by the senate so, jessica there you have, you know, mike lawler ted cruz, bill hagerty, all kind of echoing what donald trump has been saying behind closed doors, which is that he really wants someone in this role who will be a disrupter to the bureau. >> and that's what he believes he has now in kash patel. >> jessica alayna treene with

that new reporting from west palm beach. >> thank you so much for that. >> and when this news first broke about patel last night, i spoke with former deputy fbi director andrew mccabe, and this was his immediate reaction the installation or the nomination? >> i guess we should say at this point of kash patel as fbi director can only possibly be a plan to disrupt, to dismantle to distract the fbi and to possibly use it as a tool for the president's political agenda. >> let's bring in cnn senior justice correspondent evan perez for more on how the law enforcement community is reacting. evan, i'm curious what you're hearing from your sources. >> well, jessica, look, i think there has been a frankly, a lot of expectation for this announcement. >> there's been a lot of talk obviously, behind the scenes that we've reported on, on trump's rumination on what to do with the fbi director spot and and obviously, patel was always at the top of the list.

but there also was talk about perhaps some more palatable names. and so one of the concerns that i've heard from people inside the fbi is that, you know, obviously, this idea that that the bureau needs to be reformed or that there is some kind of political bias in the ranks of the fbi, i think they would dispute they they view the bureau really as being part of an effort by both political parties to try to use the fbi to settle their political scores. and so that's the big concern. you hear is that, you know, going forward is a director patel or anyone that is installed by donald trump at the fbi. they're going to make the fbi go after his political enemies. and what does that do? long term to the organization? >> yeah. and evan patel's distaste for the current setup at the fbi and his promise to go after trump's so-called political enemies is not a secret. i want to play a clip of what he said in recent interviews i shut down the fbi

hoover building on day one, and reopening the next day as a museum of the deep state, and i take the 7000 employees that work in that building and send them across america to chase down criminals. >> go be cops. your cops. go be cops. we will go out and find the conspirators. not just in government, but in the media. yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about american citizens who helped joe biden rig presidential elections. we're going to come after you. whether it's criminal or civil. we'll figure that out. but yeah, we're putting you all on notice. >> so evan, there's obviously a lot of questions about what that might look like. those promises and also to before you can even get to that, if patel will make it through senate confirmation. >> right exactly. and i think that's a that's still an open question. i think that's one of the reasons why trump was spending the last few weeks ruminating on this. this was a big job. and it was a priority. but the reason why he didn't immediately just go with patel, who was the obvious pick internally, was because you can

hear some of the concerns there that might come from those that inflammatory rhetoric that that is very common from kash patel. and one of the other things that i think, you know the the trump team probably has to be concerned about is what to do about chris wray. right because he still has more than two and a half years left in his ten year term. and either he quits, which at this point doesn't appear likely, or trump will have to fire him on day one of his administration and that will trigger a whole set of other circumstances as to how to replace. how to put someone temporarily in that job that he wants. so there's a lot of complications here and i think vote counting is going to be very key. >> yeah. and just lastly, in talking with people in the law enforcement community in this justice committee, what community? what is your sense of how they feel about kash patel priorities for things like political revenge? let's say this deep state risk that he wants to ferret out are they

concerned about him focusing on that? and if it takes the fbi's focus off of what they typically are trying to handle day in and day out? >> yeah. look, i mean priorities change when you have a new administration and that everyone takes for granted. one of the big concerns would be because you keep hearing from chris wray and from other people in the intelligence community that there's a lot of threats emanating both from the obviously, the wars in the middle east the ukraine situation, the russians and the threats from the chinese. all of those things are big national security threats that the fbi is at the center of. and then if you try to decide, as patel, just described, they're basically shut down the hoover building and send people to be cops then it's sort of like a mixed message there. and it's not clear which priority will take precedence, because one of the things is that they're going to miss things. if you start using agents to start investigating joe biden for instance, and merrick garland and jack smith those are the things that they've also talked about so we'll see

which of these priorities take precedence once donald trump takes takes office. >> it's going to be very interesting to see. all right evan perez, thank you so much for that reporting. we really appreciate it. joining us now, congressional reporter for axios julie grace julie grace good to have you on. thanks for being here thanks for having me. i want to talk a lot about the senate confirmation and the prospects for kash patel of getting through senate confirmations. a lot of republicans and trump himself has said trump has a mandate to pick whomever he wants for these positions in his administration. what is your sense? and again, i know we they you guys have not been back to the hill since this news broke last night. but what is your sense in talking with people about where kash patel chances stand now speaking with sources? >> i mean, the odds he gets any democrats are looking like they're 0%. and there does seem to be there does seem to be some reservations with republicans. we heard senator rounds earlier today praising christopher wray and his term isn't up until 2027.

christopher wray so it will be interesting to see if some of these moderates kind of get on board with keeping him there and we heard chuck grassley say that he would need to kind of prove to the judiciary committee that he's going to restore faith in the the people's faith in the fbi. so those aren't they didn't sound like rousing endorsements toward kash patel there. so i think he's got some convincing to do. but trump's allies are definitely pushing him so what? we'll kind of have to see how he navigates the different members and making his pitch. >> right and it will be interesting to see, because we saw matt gaetz, who ultimately bowed out of being considered for his nomination for attorney general, trying to you know, go behind the scenes and really do outreach along with trump allies to these senators to try to kind of test the waters before it got to that point. do you expect that will kind of be a similar situation or how might the trump apparatus kind of apply pressure on the senate around kash patel? >> so without democratic support, we can only lose three republicans. so it's with some

moderate skepticism. it could be a battle for him. that being said, there have been a number of controversial nominees that have been put forth, and i doubt that the senate's going to kill all of them. so it'll be interesting to kind of see how these confirmation hearings play out and whether some of these more controversial comments about kind of dismantling the fbi and if he's able to kind of smooth those over and quell some concerns with moderates. but i know that trump, when it came to matt gaetz, was making personal phone calls. and i'm guessing you can probably see we'll probably be seeing similar actions from him with kash patel and some of these other nominees. >> yeah. and you mentioned some of these more you know, let's call them swingy republicans in the sense that they're willing to vote with democrats from time to time. um but but do you there's just going to be an awful lot of attention on a number of republicans in the senate, because with that sort of small majority, as you mentioned, it's a very small number that that could peel off and kill a nomination there's a lot of pressure on them absolutely.

>> and i think the senate, uh, just kind of the nature of it, from what we saw with matt gaetz, is kind of pushed back on trump. and we know republicans kind of want to go in with a unified front now that they have control of the house, senate and the white house. but i think some of these concerns, there will be some some senators that push back on a number of these nominees. so it's going to be interesting to kind of see who ultimately makes it through in the end there. >> yeah. and i'm also curious kind of what their take might be on bucking some of these traditions, i.e. chris wray serving out what is typically a ten year term. of course that in 2017 he was put into that place because trump fired james comey at the time. but typically fbi directors served these ten year terms. just what the appetite is for bucking that tradition or if that's a tradition that maybe we may see go away i mean, we've seen a lot of trump allies like ted cruz come out for kash patel and he seemed very supportive and, uh, for chuck grassley kind of criticized christopher wray's uh, job performance there.

>> so i think a lot of kind of the more maga republicans are going to be on board with that, but i think you'll definitely see. i mean, we've heard from democrats that ultimately would like to see christopher wray to serve out his term. and i think there's a handful of republicans that are also kind of like to see that happen. but whether that's going to be enough to kind of pressure trump not to fire christopher wray, there kind of remains to be seen. but i think he's kind of very much been pushing for his loyalists. so i think things kind of look like they would be leaning in that direction of wanting to get his people in there. >> yeah, there's going to be plenty to follow on capitol hill, no doubt about that. uh, julie grace, thank you so much. we appreciate it thanks so much coming up, heavy snow breaking records and making a big mess for people trying to get back home after the thanksgiving holiday through nearly four feet of snow in some places. plus, syria's president is vowing to fight, quote, terrorist organizations as syrian rebels fight to take complete control of the city of aleppo. more on that. you're in the cnn newsroom marshi smith, cnn heroes, an

all star tribute meet and celebrate the honorees then find out who will be hero of the year. >> plus, a special tribute to michael j. fox, cnn heroes, an all star tribute next sunday at eight on cnn with dexcom, g7 managing your diabetes just got easier. >> so what's your glucose number right now? good thing you don't need a finger stick. how's all that food affect your glucose? >> oh, the answer is on your phone. what if you're heading low at night wow. it can alert you and you can even track your goals, manage your diabetes with confidence. with dexcom g7, the most accurate cgm. learn more at dexcom.com. no matter what kind of teeth you got, a brush or will be electric cleans better with one simple touch. oral-b's dentist inspired round brush head hugs them, cleans them and gets in between them for 100% cleaner teeth. your perfect clean starts with oral-b. when i

move, you move move just like that. >> when i move, you move just like that. when i move, you move just like that hell yeah. hey, dj, bring that back. when i move, you move. just like that. when i move, you move remember when they said you've got your whole life ahead of you at unitedhealthcare we say you still do wouldn't it be nice if we were older then we wouldn't have to wait so long and wouldn't it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong? oh wouldn't it? >> it's nice to know you're free to focus on what matters with reliable medicare coverage from unitedhealthcare who's coming in the driveway daddy. >> hi goodness. >> my daughter is being treated for leukemia i hope that she

lives a long, great happy life and that she will never forget how mom and daddy love her saint jude. i mean, this is what's keeping my baby girl alive you can join the battle to save lives by supporting saint jude children's research hospital for just $19 a month. >> you'll help us continue the life saving research and treatment these kids need now and in the future cancer makes me feel angry. >> like it? not in the like feel on the outside, just the inside. i'm angry at when your kid is hurting and there's nothing you can do about it that's the worst feeling in the world 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer in the u.s. >> will not survive those that donate to saint jude i hope that you will continue to give.

>> they have done so much for me and my family join with your credit or debit card for only $19 a month, and we'll send you this saint jude t-shirt. >> or for a limited time only. join for $39 a month to receive this exclusive saint jude jacket. you can proudly wear to show your support. are you ready to go have some fun? >> yeah when we came here, we didn't know what tomorrow would hold. >> saint jude showed us that tomorrow there's hope for our little girl to survive let's cure childhood cancer together. >> please donate now my hair was thinning all around my hairline. >> my dermatologist recommended nutrafol. >> it's 100% drug free and clinically tested. >> my hair is longer. thicker. >> nutrafol is life changing for me. >> get growing at nutrafol. >> com finish ultimate

engineered for the toughest conditions dry. >> burnt on stains. old dishwashers very hard water. finish ultimate with cycle sync technology helps deliver the ultimate clean so you're 45. that's the perfect age to start screening for colon cancer. i'm cologuard a noninvasive way to screen at home on your schedule. i'm for people 45 plus at average risk, not high risk false, positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider for me. cologuard. >> i'm arlette saenz in nantucket massachusetts and this is cnn treacherous lake effect snow is today hitting parts of the great lakes region, impacting post-thanksgiving travel with more than 4000 flights delayed across the country. >> so far, the frigid weather is set to continue, with nearly 70% of the u.s. forecast to see temperatures dip below 32 degrees. this week in erie, pennsylvania officials are urging residents to stay safe following what one county executive is calling a

snowmageddon event you know, stay in place, stay safe only travel when necessary. >> we just need you to hunker down for today and tomorrow, potentially into tuesday. and then we're going to reassess based on the snowfall from there our meteorologist, elisa raffa, is tracking the latest conditions from the cnn weather center. >> and alisa, i know temperatures are expected to plummet this week and it's for a lot of america. >> yeah. and it lasts really through the workweek. we'll find temperatures well below average. this is the lake effect snow that really hasn't stopped since thursday night. these bands of of cold that come off of the lakes picking up the moisture and get all of that snow to pump. and i want to point out oh, wait, there it is off of lake huron. we actually have some lightning bolts that are starting to come up in this band too. that's kind of over canada. that is how dynamic these snow bands have been. we've had thunder snow. you get so much lifted, the cold, moist air, it starts to act like a thunderstorm and you get

thunder and lightning. cleveland with some heavy snow bands coming across right now, i-90 has been a mess near erie southern suburbs of buffalo, where they're about to do a game. a bills game here in a couple of hours. again, some heavy snow there. watertown i-81 problems on the roads there because of three feet of snow on the ground already. look at these bull's eyes from erie south of buffalo. watertown. we have had many totals well over three feet. we have one total so far. that's over four feet, 49in in saybrook, ohio 41in for parts of western new york again, 39in other communities in ohio, just incredible to see the totals already. and we are still expecting another foot or so. i mean, look at that. erie. this is additional snow. could still be up to 12in or more through the next day, and a half. again, what's happening is we have this very cold air coming over the record warm lakes that picks up the moisture and then dumps the snow as it starts to go inland and it really

doesn't stop until that cold wind stops again. the wind picks up the moisture, and then the snow just keeps going until that wind stops, which is why this lasts a long time 18 degrees right now in duluth, 26 degrees in chicago. wind chills in the teens and single digits in the northern plains, and the below freezing temperatures make it as far south as the gulf coast, where we have some freeze alerts in effect for northern florida. we're looking at temperatures below freezing even here in atlanta. jessica. >> yeah, there's a lot of blue on that map. all right. elisa, thank you so much. and as elisa just told us in new york state, there was thunder snow on top of nearly four feet of snow in parts of that state. there was that thunder storm, thunder snow phenomenon. this is what it sounds like let's turn now to cnn correspondent polo sandoval, who is live in new york. paula, tell us more about how people are handling this extreme weather that blue on the map

you just talked about. >> we are definitely feeling it here in new york city with those very chilly wind chills. and it's really what so many americans throughout the country are experiencing. but really, the worst of the worst. about 400 miles northwest of here, near erie, pennsylvania, where officials there have been dealing just with the snowy mess for days now record setting snowfall is complicating the post-thanksgiving ride home for travelers in the great lakes region. >> this could be a 24 to 35 inch snow for sure. >> daily snowfall totals have paralyzed stretches of the highly trafficked i-90 corridor this holiday weekend. >> there's a car underneath that. yep here in erie, pennsylvania, nearly 23in fell on friday alone yesterday i shoveled for four hours. >> wow shattering a 1979 record, burying cars and interrupting flight operations at erie international in michigan's upper peninsula.

>> over two feet of snow fell on friday, eclipsing a daily record set in 1942. and the list of cities impacted by the locally heavy lake effect snow goes on in buffalo, new york. bills fans are once again being hired as shovelers to clear out the stadium ahead of a snowy sunday night game against san francisco and there's more to come warn meteorologists. with nearly 2 million people still under lake effect, snow warnings come monday, the biggest concern right here along that eastern flank of lake erie, as well as portions of lake ontario. >> now, the reason you're getting that lake effect, you've got the slightly warmer lakes that very cold air rushing over it then there's the cold. >> some of the chilliest temperatures since last winter, which are expected to linger into the week ahead. they've been felt as far south as florida, where many residents endured freeze warnings this weekend some are making the best of these snowy scenes. >> oh, the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful but they may also be

foretelling a wicked winter ahead it being the sunday after thanksgiving. >> the race is on now to head back home after the holiday. if you're listening to us in your vehicle, well then you're likely one of the roughly 71.5 million people, according to triple a that will be returning home from their holiday by actually driving there. they're still close to 6 million people that will be flying instead. finally, jessica, if people are still perhaps planning that return home for tomorrow, travel experts saying that the worst time to hit the road is between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. tomorrow. so maybe an added reason to get up at the crack of dawn, especially if you have to deal with some of those. some of that snow up in the northeast. >> yeah, no doubt about it. and if they're driving, we're glad we can keep you company. be careful out there. all right. polo sandoval thanks so much allies are coming to the aid of syria as rebels take control of more of the country's second largest city. we'll talk more about it right here in the cnn newsroom pep guardiola. mr.

yael alexander to 30 years, i've been saying publicly what people are saying to themselves i have enough money. >> i could just shut up. you know i just i can't carp now streaming on max precise designs, subtle curves curated upgrades elevated design for thoughtful living. >> thuma which now i get to decide when i get paid. >> my pay lets me get up to $500 of my pay when i need it there's no interest, no credit checks no mandatory fees, and that's why i chime. join me at time.com and get paid when you say attention star shower christmas lights are a viral sensation and sell out every year. >> stay tuned to get yours before they're gone. hanging lights is hard work and takes too much time. there's the

untangling, unsafe ladders, and the freezing cold. introducing star shower ultra nine laser light show the fast easy way to decorate in seconds and bring the wonder and magic of the holidays to your home. there's now nine different decorative light patterns for you to choose from. you can select between twinkling stillness, moving stars, or blinking lights. get in tight. i've got it on motion. it's like we're in the middle of a 3-d light field. but look at this folks. look at the coverage you've got thousands of star shower lights hitting the entire side of the house. it covers up to 3200ft÷ with star shower. you can have lights way up high on the house where it's impossible to hang them and even decorate shrubbery and trees. it's weather resistant and can withstand freezing temperatures just one string of lights can cost you up to $40, and that doesn't light up your house. ultra nine costs pennies to operate. >> this is amazing, i love it. >> we're going to have the best house on the block. >> i want to have them every year. it's magical. >> call or go online to order

star shower ultra nine for just 39.99. but wait, order now and get an instant $10 discount. so it's only 29.99 now. that's an amazing value. you can have our cold, hard guaranteed that star shower will work in any conditions or your money back and find out how you can get the star shower remote. forget going out in the cold to change your star shower pattern or color now just press a button from inside your cozy, warm home. breaking news star shower sells out every single year, so there's a strict limit of three per order. this year's supplies are limited, so call or click now call one ( 800) 214-0482 or visit ultra 9.com. >> so call one ( 800) 214-0482 or visit ultra nine dotcom order now. bah bah bah bah bah bah head 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 quinol coq10. ♪ ♪

♪ something has changed within me ♪ ♪ it's time to try defying gravity ♪ ♪ ♪

now the situation room with wolf blitzer weeknights at six on cnn. >> closed captioning is brought to you by mike, an all in one home access and monitoring system mike garage. >> i'd be closing while i'm hiking in wyoming if my home just had a brain syrian rebels control nearly all of the city of aleppo. >> after their surprise attack. rebel forces securing the eastern entrance to the city and key sites including the airport. a person living near the military academy telling cnn the syrian regime regime soldiers gave up without a fight, but syrian and russian jets now retaliating, stepping up airstrikes against the rebels. cnn's nic robertson is following all these developments for us. so, nic what is the situation in aleppo tonight and how is president bashar al-assad responding? >> yeah in aleppo tonight, there are a couple of neighborhoods there that are under kurdish control and it

appears as if those areas are preparing to depart and hand over to the rebels again. this is sort of by organization rather than fight the kurds, they're not formally part of president bashar al assad's army or his forces although in and out of alliance with them at different times. but right now it appears that assad is intent on retaking aleppo. he is he is certainly saying that saying that he'll he'll regroup and come back at the terrorists he met today with the iranian foreign minister who flew in to who flew into syria for conversations. it does appear at this moment, though, as if the syrian government under bashar al assad has really been caught on the back foot. and it does appear as well as if this group of different rebel factions has has put in some pretty thorough planning over the past few months that has led to this lightning attack, but i think it is far from over. assad in

the past fought a four year campaign in 2012, 2016 to get control of aleppo and it was bloody and it was brutal. and that really seems to be where russia and syria are going with their bombing campaigns right now. in fact, the russian state news agency claiming some pretty high death tolls among the rebels, the russian state news agency. however not always known for its accuracy and impossible for us to confirm those figures. but is there going to be a fight for aleppo? that's certainly what the what bashar al assad is indicating. yeah. >> and what are you learning about the group leading the rebel offensive? >> yeah. well, there's two principal groups and the main group here is a proscribed terrorist organization that was once affiliated with al qaeda, hayat tahrir al-sham is the is the group's name yes. there they are. sunni fundamentalists , but not as hardcore as al

qaeda. and certainly not as hardcore as the isis groups inside syria that the u.s. has forces inside of syria not in the same area further east so they are still a fundamentalist force, and they appear to have sort of, um, be working in alliance with a turkish backed free syrian army group, which is a which is another grouping of rebels, but doesn't have the same sort of religious fundamentalist tendencies but they've combined their forces here and and done it with speed and with secrecy. so the united states has reason to be concerned about this. this group that's leading them, that's leading the rebel forces. right now because it's a terrorist based organization. but on the other hand, they're taking on russia's interests inside syria, taking on bashar al assad's interest, taking on iran's interests inside of syria so it's complicated, but

there will be things in this that are that are that the united states might see as beneficial here yeah, it is complicated. >> there's no doubt about it. all right. nic robertson, thank you so much for laying that all out for us. and joining us now is cnn political and national security analyst david sanger. he's also the author of new cold wars china's rise russia's invasion, and america's struggle to defend the west. david, good to see you. >> great to see you, jessica. >> i first just want to get your reaction to the speed and the success so far of this rebel offensive. >> well, it's been pretty remarkable. >> you know it was back during the obama administration that washington thought that assad would go, that he basically wasn't going to survive. here he is, a survivor at the end of 2024. but this definitely did take him by surprise. many here in washington are trying to figure out how to feel about

that. they don't care for assad at all. >> obviously, this is a man who's gassed his own people, but the part of the rebel group, as you just heard nic describing is a group that's been on u.s. terror lists and was at one point affiliated with al qaeda so not the ideal freedom fighters in america's view. >> the really fascinating part is that this has once again lined up the russians and assad's become, you know another of the areas in which the u.s. and moscow are at odds. >> yeah. i think that's such a great point to remind everybody how it how it is all kind of connected. it is connected. the u.s. has forces in syria to fight isis, but national security advisor jake sullivan said american troops are not at a greater risk now. i am curious, though what you think all of this means, and this rebel offensive means for u.s. interests in the region just kind of going off of what you just where you just, you know

your last point there right well, you know, russia has made no secret. >> and vladimir putin has made no secret that he wants to develop, you know, an alternative system with an alternative set of alliances uh, to the one that the u.s. dominates syria has always been critical to that. it's got a major russian naval base. i think the only one that the russians have outside of russian territory. so he's got significant interests there. and i think the question for the u.s. is going to be how much do they get involved here? i notice that early on uh, the administration, the biden administration turned out statements saying this had nothing to do with us. right right. >> and i and david, i also want to talk about georgia, where we have new video of people taking to the streets for a fourth straight night of mass protests after the government suspended

the nation's bid to join the european union. and we've seen riot police using water cannons there also, reports of injuries after clashes with police. what are you kind of tracking? and again, just going back to how so many of these things are connected. this this also plays into what we're seeing kind of across the world, globally in this time in between, when biden leaves and when trump takes over it is jessica. >> you know, part again of the new cold wars, which is to say that georgia is are caught here now between huge pressure long existing pressure from russia to stay in its orbit as it attempted with ukraine and other former soviet states and pressure from its own people, particularly its young people to join the west, and that means joining the european union. and you've seen that georgia leadership saying, well, by suspending this for

four years, we don't mean that we've given up any hope of integrating with europe just not necessarily on the pace we were scheduled to do. well, everyone knows what that means. and this is another point of struggle as ukraine was. i thought it was interesting that you heard some russian officials say that georgia runs the risk of making the mistakes ukraine made before it was invaded, and of course, we've seen russia invade georgia once. it's been a number of years, but it did happen. >> yeah. and that is that's my other question is what is the russia of it all when it comes to this? and how does that connect back to what they've done in ukraine and what they might try to do in other places well, you know, this is the ukraine war is clearly stretching the russian economy. >> you've seen that with the fall of the ruble. but at the same time, putin probably believes that president

trump's uh, coming back to power on january 20th means he has a good shot at ending the ukraine war on terms very favorable to russia. we'll see whether or not that's right and one of the fears about that has been that putin would then train his sights elsewhere. and georgia estonia lithuania, those are all in his in his mind, possible marks. >> all right. david sanger as always, thanks so much. we appreciate it great to be with you. you too. president biden, about to do something he's never done before as president. you're in the cnn newsroom who should be the cnn hero of the year? >> visit cnn heroes dot com to vote khuza'a. >> this isn't the way home. >> that's right james. it isn't where are we going we're

here the future isn't scary. >> not investing in it is. >> were you in on this? >> nothing gets by you james. >> nasdaq 100 innovators one etf. >> before investing, carefully read and consider fund investment objectives, risks, charges expenses and more in prospectus at invesco com and harbor freight. >> we do business differently from the other guys we design and test our own tools and sell them directly to you. no middlemen, no folks in suits telling us to raise prices for the heck of it. just quality tools. you can trust at prices you'll love that's how we like to do business anyway. whatever you do, do it for less. at harbor freight. hurry in for black friday deals. up to 70% off. what do people want more of? more. oh yeah. more laughs. more hangouts. more mhm. so

good. yeah. give us more of all that little stuff that makes life so great. but if you're older or have certain health conditions, you also have more risk from flu, covid 19 and rsv. vaccines help keep you from getting really sick. and that is huge i just found out i've been paying for 27 subscriptions. >> yeah. it's like finding out you had 27 kids. you didn't know about money. rocket money yes, it was rocket money. i had two netflix. you had two netflix accounts? i had two fubo accounts. how much money did it save you? $700? 700 bucks? i guess if you guys want to save some money, download rocket money. it probably will cover the drinks finish ultimate engineered for the toughest conditions dry, burnt on stains old dishwashers, very hard water. >> finish ultimate with cycle sync technology helps deliver

the ultimate clean this is the carry on closet. >> the suitcase with the one of a kind closet system that keeps you organized anywhere. pack all you need for up to ten days and travel without ever unpacking think you've been harmed by products containing talc? >> you may have the right to vote on the plans of reorganization filed by emirates and cyprus mines. it's important because the plans determine how talc claims are treated, which may affect your rights and claims. vote by december 16th, 2020 for or object by march 26, 2025, to help determine how injury claims are treated. visit instyle.com for details that's instyle.com if you know luxury it's not just award winning it's rewarding. >> saatva mattresses, supports all types of sleepers luxury is handcrafted and assembled in

american factories and brought directly to you with our complimentary in-home delivery and setup service. >> which is why, over 90% of customers would recommend saatva to friends and family. saatva luxury mattresses made affordable. >> i find it challenging to come up with a gift that's really impactful, something that really makes a difference. jolie has been a tremendous gift. it's something that is not only looks beautiful, but makes us feel amazing and is something that we get to use every day it's time yes, the time has come for a fresh approach to dog food. >> every day more dog people are deciding it's time to quit the kibble and feed their dogs fresh food from the farmers dog made by vets and delivered right to your door, precisely portioned for your dog's needs. it's an idea whose time has

come. the time has come coming back. >> he's not going to make it. >> he might make it. this could happen oh my god! the tbs original wipeout. >> all new tonight at nine on tbs later tonight, president biden will travel to africa becoming the first sitting u.s. >> president to visit angola. the three day trip is meant to highlight u.s. investments in the region. as china continues to deepen its relations across the entire continent. cnn washington correspondent sunlen serfaty is joining us now. so sunlen, let's start first with why it's so important that biden is headed to angola just weeks before he leaves office. >> yeah. jessica. certainly, biden here is mindful of his legacy going forward, making good on the promises that he made while he's in office. and so it is notable that he is making this trip. it is also long awaited. this was something that was originally

scheduled back in october. it had to be postponed due to two hurricanes that were hitting the u.s. and biden then promised that he would indeed do that trip. now, when he is there, he'll be meeting with angola president. he'll be delivering some remarks, talking about the strength of the relationship. but importantly, as you noted with china's growing influence in the region, a senior administration administration official says that so much of what biden is going to be talking about, while there is going to be about investments in infrastructure and africa specifically he's going to reference many times the rail corridor project, something that the u.s. supports, a project that potentially would start an angle is something that means a lot to the economy there. that will be something that the president will be speaking about. and also white house officials suggesting this is the sort of initiative that they hope that the trump administration will carry on and, jessica, certainly, that is what is going to be hanging over the head of this trip. the fact that biden is now just two

months away from leaving office and making room for the next incoming president jessica. >> yeah. yeah, definitely. and we know that the president spent thanksgiving with his family on nantucket. he was back in d.c. and had an event at the white house earlier today. what more can you tell us about that? >> yeah, this was interesting event, something that i think the whole time i was thinking about biden's legacy and trying to, in advance frame how he wants his legacy to be remembered. so he did have this very big event to mark world aids day on the south lawn of the white house. and while there he and his wife, you could see in the background it was the it was the aids memorial quilt. you see pictures there, um, that has been displayed for many, many years. but this is the first time that they displayed it on the south lawn of the white house and something that biden really elevated in his marks. he appeared with families who have lost, loved ones. he appeared with survivors of aids, and he talked about the progress that he believes his time in the white house has made towards the epidemic. and

notably, jessica the white house says that they will be coming out with a progress report to show what they believe, the gains that they have made against the epidemic. this week again in the final days that he is in the white house, biden here really trying to frame his legacy and point to wins and progress that they believe they've made. jessica. >> all right. sunlen serfaty at the white house tonight. thank you so much for that during rivalry week several college football games turned into brawls. we'll show you. that's up next in the cnn newsroom there are amazing things that are happening all over the world, things that can make our lives better. >> that's the goal of my podcast to try and find the secrets to a longer and happier and healthier life, and then we bring those secrets to you. listen to chasing life wherever you get your podcasts. >> dry eyes still feel gritty, rough or tired. with my bow. eyes can feel my bow, bow. my bow is the only prescription dry eye drop that forms a protective layer for the number

one cause of dry eye. too much tear evaporation for relief that's my bow oh, yeah remove contact lenses before using my bow. wait at least 30 minutes before putting them back in. eye redness and blurred vision may occur. my bow. ask your eye doctor about prescription. my bow you on guard tonight? >> oh, no. they just got simplisafe. it protects the whole home inside and out stop. >> this is simplisafe whoa. >> that was impressive. >> there's no safe like simplisafe consumer cellular is lowering the price for those 50 and up. >> get two unlimited lines for $30 each. that's just $60 a month. so switch to the carrier ranked number one in network coverage satisfaction visit consumer cellular.com today. >> when i started college, so many people warned me about credit cards. they just seemed really scary when i needed a car i realized that i needed to build credit, so i got the time. credit builder card because i could safely build

credit without being afraid of fees or interest, and there was no credit check. my score went up over 60 points and i bought my first car as a busy college student, having a car is an absolute must. i feel like i could do anything. my next goal a 700 credit score. join me at time.com. >> i've been worn by celebrities, athletes and world leaders, but i've always felt most comfortable up here with the folks that made me who i am. i'm right at home out here on the land, and i'm in my lane on the shoulder of the interstate. because this is where i come from. i've been showing up here for nearly 200 years, and i can't wait to see what's next. >> hats off to the future. >> nothing runs like a deer shop etsy cyber spectacular until december 3rd for up to 60% off all kinds of gifts. >> carefully crafted by small businesses save big on the perfect presents for practical

parents cute and cuddly creations for kids and other fetching finds made to make the holidays for any hard to shop for person on your list when you want up to 60% off gifts that say i get you. etsy has it well i went to a party and i wanted to dance all night so i swivel my hips and i shook em all down to the ground for over 25 years, lovesac has been rewriting the rules of comfort. >> it's okay to change your style. get messy, get immersed

you don't need. >> take control of your money. download rocket money today this is cnn, the world's news network closed captioning is brought to you by skechers. >> men's slip in pants. >> are you still wearing regular pants when you can wear

new skechers slip in pants? >> they have a stretchy elastic waistband. >> plus, skechers slip in pants are breathable and flexible. >> try new skechers slip in pants some ugly scenes across college football this weekend. >> players brawling after several big rivalry games punches being thrown, pushing shoving all over the field. police even reportedly using pepper spray at one game. cnn's don riddell is joining us now. don walk us through what we saw this weekend. >> hey jessica. well, some of the reasons for this, i guess could be pride, ego, testosterone perhaps. but seriously, for quite some time now, players and teams have got into the habit of taking a huge flag with their team's logo on it and planting it in the middle of their opponents field. kind of a final stake in the heart of their rivals and it seemed to be a real epidemic this weekend, starting with the ohio state and michigan incident that we brought you at this time yesterday police reportedly using pepper spray to break that up. similar scenes in chapel hill, where a

north carolina player ran away with an nc state flag and threw it away after it had been planted on the middle of their field. both sides then brawled for a few minutes before they had to be picked apart. more melees breaking out when florida put their flag into florida state's midfield logo. seminoles coach mike norvell confronting florida coach billy napier about it. napier apologized afterwards saying his team's actions were embarrassing and it almost happened in texas. big win over texas a&m. players were gathering at the 50 yard line to do it, but coach steve sarkisian stopped them. not sure if more coaches did that kind of thing to prevent more of these incidents happening over the weekend. hopefully though, jessica, they can handle this and perhaps put a stop to it because there's already enough drama and and physical drama on the field without this as well, right. >> yeah nice to see some leadership from coach sarkisian there. don we also just saw the

latest ap college football poll. how far did ohio state fall after yesterday's loss. because that was that was a big win as you just mentioned. and obviously the heart of one of these brawls. >> yeah i mean a defeat this late in the season is pretty big for teams. but in this new era of the 12 team playoff, it might not be entirely devastating. the buckeyes falling from second to seventh in the ap poll which was released just a couple of hours ago texas now second, followed by penn state, notre dame and georgia miami fell six places down to 14th after their upset loss at syracuse, and clemson also falling six places down to 18th with their defeat against south carolina, clemson could still get in if they win the acc championship game on saturday against smu. miami was eliminated with that title game with the syracuse loss, but remember jessica this is just the associated press poll, not the official college football playoff rankings that come out on tuesday night but it is a pretty good indication of what

we think is going to happen. >> yeah, a lot of eyes on that one. all right. don riddell, thank you so much for that. president elect trump's plans to appoint kash patel to the fbi's top job is drawing criticism from both sides of the aisle. also getting a lot of praise from some of trump's biggest allies. we're going to talk more about that here in the cnn newsroom cnn heroes, an all star tribute. >> meet and celebrate the honorees. then find out who will be hero of the year, plus a special tribute to michael j. fox cnn heroes, an all star tribute next sunday at eight on cnn. >> my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. >> now i have skyrizi. i've got places to go and i'm feeling free controlling my crohn's means everything to me control is everything to me. >> and now i'm back in the picture. feel significant symptom relief at four weeks

with skyrizi including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi helped visibly improve damage to the intestinal lining, and with skyrizi, many were in remission. at 12 weeks. at one year, and even at two years. >> don't use if allergic serious allergic reactions increased infections, or lower ability to fight them may occur. before treatment, get checked for infections and tb. tell your doctor about any flulike symptoms or vaccines. liver problems leading to hospitalization may occur when treated for crohn's. >> now's the time to take control of your crohn's. control is everything to me. ask your doctor about skyrizi, the number one prescribed biologic and crohn's disease. >> everyone's running to subway for three. all new spicy footlongs. wait. subway did what? that's right. they're bringing the heat with creamy sriracha jalapenos and all new ghost pepper bread. but hurry! these subs are only here for a limited time. >> 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 call 800 523 1704. >> that's 800 523 drop everything and get some magic of your own during the xfinity black friday sale. xfinity internet customers, our best deals of the year are back!

switch to xfinity mobile and get your choice of a free 5g phone, plus your next unlimited line free for a year. get amazing savings and connect to wifi speeds up to a gig on the go with xfinity mobile. fly don't walk to get our best deals of the year. connect to the world of wicked this holiday, in theaters now. out front weeknights at seven on cnn

you are in the cnn newsroom. >> i'm jessica dean in new york. and tonight, new details into president-elect donald trump's decision to choose kash patel as his new fbi director. it's a move that's reverberating across washington. cnn's alayna treene is live in west palm beach, florida, with new reporting on how trump came to land on patel as his choice. elena, tell us more what you're hearing from your sources right well, jessica, what i've talked to donald trump's team and those working on the transition, some of those involved in these conversations about kash patel directly. >> they told me that donald trump really over the past several days was wavering between two top candidates to helm the fbi. and that was kash patel but also missouri attorney general andrew bailey. now i was told that there were people close to donald trump who who knew that the president elect wanted kash patel in some big role, whether it was at the fbi in the doj. more broadly,