shopping as well. >> i mean, my kids when they were younger, they used to love the santa's tracking app where you could track santa as he traveled around the globe. we're also seeing activity around trying to get people to click and download what looks like an app onto their device, and it's actually malware. so again, like you need to go to your browser and type in the web address, make sure you're only downloading genuine apps from the app store. again, you're looking at the reviews. the criminal is trying lots of different techniques to try and get access to your information, or to get things onto your device and make sure your devices are up to date. it's very easy not to click update and put the patches on there, but it's really important to make sure that all of your devices are up to date, particularly at this time of year when the scammers and the criminals are so active. >> all of this is essential and so helpful as we're kicking off this cyber monday and and hearing that this could be a record breaking one, no less. james murfin with visa thank you so much for your help. a new hour of cnn news central starts now

all right. >> new blowback just in on president biden's move to grant a sweeping pardon for his son hunter donald trump taps loyalists and ally kash patel to lead the fbi. patel has promised to go after journalists, among others, and more or less dismantle the agency. we've got new reporting on the confirmation battle that is brewing this morning and then feet of snow feet just in time for record breaking travel. sarah is out. i'm john berman with kate bolduan. this is cnn news center we are standing by to hear directly from president biden as we learn new details about his decision process, to do something that he and the white house repeatedly insisted that he would not do. he pardoned his son, hunter, and not just any pardon a full and unconditional pardon. he had faced sentencing later this

month for federal tax and gun convictions. now he will not face sentencing, but this pardon also grants him clemency for any other federal crimes he might have committed during a long ten year period. president-elect trump is weighing in as our lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. this does have the potential to affect confirmation of trump's nominees and possible pardons for january 6th criminals. cnn's arlette saenz is standing by in angola, in africa, where the president is traveling this morning. what are you hearing at this point? arlette well, john, it was a stunning reversal for president biden as he issued this pardon for his son, hunter biden. >> after months of saying he would not make this move. now, president biden reached this decision as he huddled with his family in nantucket massachusetts, over the thanksgiving holiday. i'm told he ultimately informed senior staff at the white house that he was moving forward with this decision. on saturday evening, the president had called a

meeting with his senior staff, and he in that meeting with some people in person and some over the phone, shared his decision to pardon his son, hunter biden. he ultimately told the team he wanted to release a statement on sunday night, and those details were finalized on sunday morning. for president biden this really caps off years of family internal struggles over not just hunter's addiction, but also dealing with the republican attacks on their family. ultimately, president biden said that he made this decision as a father. he believes that his son was unjustly and unfairly maligned by republicans. republicans up on capitol hill, and said that he believes that these charges were politically motivated simply because of the fact that hunter biden was president joe biden's son now, in his statement released on sunday night, the president wrote, i believe in the justice system, but as i have wrestled with this, i also believe raw politics has infected this

process and it led to a miscarriage of justice. and once i made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further, he added. i hope americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision. the statement makes no mention of his reversal, but it comes after, back in june both before and after hunter biden was found guilty on those felony gun charges in delaware, the president at the time had said that he would not pardon his son. take a listen to a few of those moments. back in june let me ask you, will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict, no matter what it is? >> yes. >> and have you ruled out a pardon for your son yes. you have. >> i am satisfied that i'm not going to do anything i said. i abide by the jury decision, and i will do that. and i will not pardon him now the president as he has been traveling here to angola has so far ignored reporters questions about this pardon for

his son. >> but there are certainly many questions for president biden especially as he staked so much of his political career in the senate and also in the white house. on the fact that he would respect the independence of the judicial system. but president biden really with this stunning reversal as he's now issuing that pardon for his only living son, hunter. >> all right. arlette saenz again in angola, that is where the president is traveling today. it will be interesting to see if and how he addresses this when he arrives. >> kate, that's a great point. and with this announcement by president biden in many ways he's pulling a move. his predecessor and now president elect would appreciate. trump, for his part, is quickly seizing on the hunter biden pardon and trying to equate it to those people convicted of crimes from the january 6th riots. cnn's alayna treene is in florida tracking this one for us and elena. donald trump has long said that he will pardon january sixth rioters. but what are you hearing from there today about this right.

>> well, he has long said that, and he made that pledge repeatedly throughout his time on the campaign trail. kate. but ever since he was elected on november fifth, he's been silent on the matter. and it's raised questions i know from many of his supporters and others who have really been anticipating that donald trump would carry out that pledge and his vow to pardon the january 6th convicts. but donald trump did for the first time, address it last night in responding to this pardon of hunter biden, he released this statement on his social media website, truth social. just moments after that announcement this is what he said. he wrote, quote, does the parting given by joe to hunter include the six hostages who have now been imprisoned for years such an abuse and miscarriage of justice now kate, i can tell you i've asked donald trump's transition team about that pledge to to pardon these january sixth convicts in the weeks since donald trump won the election, essentially i've been told that they were focused more so on putting together donald trump's cabinet

and some of the other hires before january 20th. so it's something they said that was a matter of what they would address in the coming weeks. but this may be the reopening now that they need to kind of reform and rethink how they are going to handle that i will also argue, though, that in the aftermath of of this pardon, we've really seen a lot of donald trump's allies including republicans on capitol hill, but also many members of donald trump's transition team and incoming cabinet kind of seize on this moment as well, to argue that it is an example of what they've been arguing for the last several years now, which is that they believe that president joe biden weaponized, in their words, the justice system against donald trump and others. and so this as well could be kind of an opening that they may use to kind of support some of the big changes that donald trump wants including a lot of the shakeups he wants at both the fbi and the justice department more broadly. >> and train. thank you so much from florida for us, john. all right. >> with us now is democratic congressman and new jersey gubernatorial candidate josh

gottheimer. congressman, thanks so much for being with us. thanks for having me. president biden promised us that he would not pardon his son, hunter. he just did. your reaction? >> so i'm always for accountability but what i'm not for are political prosecutions and let's be honest, the only reason why they went after hunter the way they did and i've talked to many federal prosecutors about this, is because he's the president's son, right? it's somebody who has a lifelong drug addiction and prosecutors would have handled this differently. so this was all politically motivated. so i understand your lawyer. >> have you ever seen a pardon like this that not just grants him clemency for specific crimes, but also over a ten year period for anything he might have done? >> i mean, presidents have obviously used their pardon authority over the years. the bottom line in this case, though, is as a dad with his son who was prosecuted because of the president, united states and the states and the way he was, he should have been handled, given his addiction. he should have been shouldn't have been handled differently. this was a political prosecution. >> all right, nate silver, who you know is a data reporter online but voted for kamala harris is representative of some opinions on this. nate

wrote i discussed here how i voted for harris despite feeling like democrats indulged in a lot of bad behavior that voters were rational to publish after the white house. lying about the hunter pardon i'm not sure how much more i can tolerate. don't vote for any democrat in 2028 who doesn't repudiate the pardon within 48 hours. forget 2028. you're running, you know, next year you're not repudiating it. nate saying that he won't vote for you. >> well, i don't think nate lives in my district or in the state. let me focus on what? actually, if i were talking to nate, i'd say, listen, what do voters care about because i've been talking. i've been in diners in 21 counties, i think 18 counties of our 21 now across the state of new jersey over the last weeks talking to folks, what do they care about? they want to make their lives more affordable. that's what i'm focused on. is running for governor of being the lower taxes lower cost governor, people want to know how we're going to make their lives better, and let's talk about them what we're going to do to get costs down, health care costs down utility costs down. right. do everything we can to get taxes down. people want and i think this election made it pretty clear they want to make sure that we stand up for them and, and their pocketbooks and make it so that they can afford

to go to the diner. >> okay. talk to me more about the lessons you learned from the democratic troubles in 2024 and new jersey alone. like huge red shift, their shift. so what did you learn there? but also, what does it tell you about how, while you're in congress, because you'll still be in congress no matter what? for a while how you need to stand up to the trump administration as a democrat. >> listen, my first race i had on my lawn signs i've always had lower taxes, jersey values, and that's been the way i've governed. right? and i believe voters basically said loud and clear look out for us in our pocketbooks. the basic stuff. make sure our communities are safe. make sure you do everything we can to get those childcare costs down and get those utility bills down. and i think as democrats, we've got a great record on that. we just got to remind people the basics that that's what we fight for them, right? for regular folks, right, to make sure we do everything to make their lives more affordable and their lives better. we got to get back to the basics and communicate about that. so i talk about jersey values all the time, making sure we have smart, common sense gun safety. we look out for our air and our water, protect choice but but

the bottom line is you got to do both. and if you don't do the basics, make their lives more affordable so they can afford their rent and their mortgage, then that's what we have to get back to. and that's really what they want what are jersey values say about donald trump's likely nominees for key positions? >> pete hegseth kash patel running the fbi. >> listen, i saw the the most recent mr. patel's nomination or word of his nomination. and the bottom line is, obviously, i'm very concerned about the political prosecutions and what he said about that but this is why we have the senate and the constitution says you should have advise and consent, and you should actually have hearings and listen and investigate. and i think for all the nominations, as we always had, that's the responsibility of the senate. we should take that responsibility seriously. you know no, like just throwing a bunch of recess appointments and pushing them through. you actually have to run a proper process. and that's what the country wants. >> i want to ask you specifically about pete hegseth, if i can. there are a number of reports about him, but including one in the new york times where they got a hold of a letter his mother wrote him, his mother. this is several years back when apparently he had been having

issues with women. his mother wrote, according to the times. i have no respect for any man that belittles lies, cheats sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. you are that man and have been for years, and as your mother it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth. >> well, i hope they put that front and center in those nomination hearings, because the bottom line is, given what we've heard about his record and his history that's exactly the kind of information that should be front and center in these nomination hearings right. people need to understand who these nominees are. you don't just shove them through obviously, things like that from his own mother. i mean, like, i can't believe that you know, things like that, you know, will that exist? and i think the country deserves to know. and when the senate makes decisions, when they're going to have senators are going to have to vote for that and make a decision on, on information like that. and i hope they do the right thing. but the bottom line is what the country wants. this gets back to the point in all of their leaders they want people focused on making their lives more affordable. that's why i'm running as a lower taxes, lower cost governor for the state of new jersey. right to to grow, to make sure that we

can give more opportunity to people get their childcare costs down, their health care costs down, those utility bills and food costs down. that is what i keep hearing in diner after diner after diner from folks. the same thing please help us afford life more and i think that's got to be our number one focus. >> it's a lot of diners. i hope you're eating well. look, new jersey, the best diners, plus the best pizza. >> you know, in america pizza was invented in connecticut, new jersey and virginia will be worth watching next year, as we will see signs, perhaps, of what's to come politically. >> josh gottheimer, great to see you. great to see you. >> thanks for having me, kate record breaking, freezing temps. >> matt gaetz record breaking travel numbers. not a recipe for fun. today we have the very latest for you. and also still today the trump transition continues to ignore the need for fbi background checks for trump's nominees. not only is this not normal, we now hear from two people who ran vetting for the key senate committee for years republican and democrat coming together to say it's appalling and dangerous and respiratory viruses are on the rise. this season. what you need to do right now to protect

you and your family cnn heroes on 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 sunday at eight on cnn. >> hi, my name is damian 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 vitamins, pain relievers, first aid supplies, and more. the healthy options allowance is loaded onto a prepaid card each month, and whatever you don't spend carries over from each

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derek van dam tracking the forecast. first, though, the mayor of reagan national airport, pete muntean is watching things there. i have to say, the lines don't look that bad behind you pete the morning rush has come and gone. w, john,ou know it was so big earlier that the rush was past me and all the way to the coffee shop pretty close to the metro station here. really really stretched a long way. and speaking of lines, the lines getting into the airport were pretty big too. just really continues the the theme and the trend that we have seen so much of over this thanksgiving rush and also throughout 2024. tsa says they screened about 3.08 million people at airports nationwide yesterday. >> that bests the previous record we saw back on july 7th. >> people coming home after that holiday when 3.01 million people passed through airport security checkpoints nationwide. so yesterday, about 70,000 bigger than the previous record in 2024. tsa says the top ten biggest days it has seen have all occurred this

year alone we are not totally out of the woods yet. today is going to be another big day. about 2.8 million people anticipated at airport checkpoints nationwide may not be totally smooth sailing. the faa has said that there could be some ground stops and delay programs put in place for flights going to airports like newark, which has been a big pain point for the faa. there's an air traffic controller shortage there. the faa has gone as far as moving the facility responsible for that airspace from new york to philadelphia to try and shore up some of the staffing shortages. there also might be some ground stops in place in seattle, tacoma seatac international airport because of low cloud ceilings. there also in a few spots in florida and the faa says there are bit of delays right now in pittsburgh. in cleveland, salt lake city, minneapolis-saint paul because of deicing there. so the weather is also having a big impact here. that is always the x factor during the thanksgiving travel rush. it will also be a big factor for all of the people driving home today. triple a says about

70,000 or sorry, 70 million people took to the roads. of the 80 million people traveling 50 miles or more over this seven day long rush used to be a five day long rush. now includes today, monday, and really the big worst times are at the end of the day when there's the confluence of not only holiday travelers, but also the normal commuting traffic that you see. we are already seeing it here in d.c. it was tough getting here this morning. glad you made the live shot. reporter should never miss their first live shot. pete, you left early enough to get there in time. derek van dam pete was talking about the weather, some of the snow around the country is ridiculous. when will it all end yeah, some places get this received over five feet of snow. >> and i want to show you just how quickly things can change on the roadways there. so this is a sped up kind of a time lapse of somebody driving between the town of adams to watertown. this is in northwestern new york state. so

watch how quickly we go from clear visibility to nearly complete whiteout conditions. and very treacherous on the roadways. this is the nature of lake effect snowfall. it is very hyper localized and it all is a matter of miles depending on who gets the worst and most snow. so here's an example that is 65.5in of snow just south of watertown that picked up several feet, but 65.5. yeah, that's nearly as high as this weatherman you can swim in that snow. it's so deep now. this is because of the wind direction, right? you can see the sped up radar over the past weekend and how they lined up these snow bands really just south of buffalo, where the airport only received a little over an inch. but just about ten miles to the south, over two feet of snow fell. is there more snow to come? yes, indeed. there are still the advisories in place across the great lakes as we continue with this northwesterly flow. good news, though, that interstate 90, which was closed this weekend because of lake effect snow, has been reopened and things are running pretty smoothly despite additional snowfall in

this forecast. >> john wright, cnn meteorologist and apparent snow swimmer derek van dam, thank you very much for being with us. all right. this morning, retailers encouraging shoppers to stock up on certain goods before prices soar. we've got new details on which products you should focus on this cyber monday and a new bipartisan push to support fbi background checks for presidential nominees. will it be enough to sway president elect donald trump 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 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 if you have high blood pressure or diabetes and

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is still ignoring standard procedure of submitting nominees for fbi background checks. >> this has been met by outcry from senate democrats and relative silence from republicans. here's one democrat. 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 now, in a news piece for the new york times, two men who helped run vetting for that key senate committee for years are speaking out. >> here it is, in part, we were the republican and democratic counsels who reviewed presidential nominees. background checks for the senate judiciary committee. we know how the confirmation process is supposed to work, and how important fbi vetting is to that process. that's why we're appalled by reports that the new senate republican led

senate and the incoming trump administration may dispense with it. joining us now are those two men, noah bookbinder, he was counsel for democrats on senate judiciary for years he's now executive director of citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington crew. and greg nunziata. he was counsel for republicans on senate judiciary. now executive director for the society of the rule of law. gentlemen, thank you guys for being here. i read your piece with a lot of interest. noah, why is this appalling? what should people understand that they might be missing well, first of all, we have a system where they're supposed to be checks and balances. >> there should be checks on executive power particularly in this case, making sure that the people who are nominated to fill really important positions that affect our lives are people who are suited to do that, who have the appropriate character, the appropriate respect for law and the senate's consideration of those nominees is really key. to make sure of that. and the senate

can't make that kind of evaluation in a responsible reasoned way. if it doesn't have a consistent and thorough review of who those people are and whether they meet kind of minimal standards. and that's what that fbi review process does, because it leads to the question, greg, of what's the danger here what could happen? >> what is what is your fear? while you consider that i want to play? well, one of donald trump's biggest allies in the senate republican senator bill hagerty, said about this. and it's really been sticking with me i don't think the american public cares who does the background checks what the american public cares about is to see the mandate that they voted in, delivered upon. greg, what do you say well, look, i believe the president is entitled to have appointees who share his worldview. >> and he won the election, but he's not entitled to have is appointees who don't have the character and the judgment to wield the responsibilities of the office to which they have

been appointed. this is the whole purpose of the senate confirmation process. the founders set it up to make sure that a president cannot install unqualified loyalists into positions at his pleasure cannot put the trust and faith of the american people and the powers of this government in the hands of people who cannot be counted on to wield that power responsibly. so that's the point of this whole process. and the fbi review. it's not about fbi approval. it's about the senate having an informed basis on which to render its judgment on confirmation. >> and then what do you say then, when the response from the transition so far is we're using a private vetting company with a private vetting company, first of all, we don't know who that is. >> we don't know what their qualifications are. but more importantly we don't know if they are going to be consistent and thorough in the way that they review those nominees. and

and what that throws away to is this long established senate process that greg and i were a part of in a in a bipartisan way, where the senate judiciary committee would receive these fbi background checks, would know what to look for, would follow up if there were gaps or things that that required further investigation so that the senate would have all the information it would need to make sure that these nominees were appropriate people to serve, serve the american people with a private company, you just have no idea that that's going to happen. and that that the senate is going to get the information that it needs. um, we have a bipartisan process that has worked for years and years. it just doesn't make sense to throw that away and bring in something unknown. >> yeah. and greg the question is, what's the harm in putting them through the fbi background check? why not is there any good reason that anyone out there would have to say no? let's throw out. let's throw

out the system as it as it's been in place, the system, the vetting that you guys have used for years when you guys were counsel to the committee, is there any good reason not to there's no good reason. >> i could see this is, as noah said, been in place for years and years, decades even. this has been how things have been done in washington for a very long time. it's a system that works it's a system that's also confidential, which i don't think people understand. the senate confirmation process has a public component the hearings that everybody is familiar with. but the background investigation is done on a bipartisan basis behind closed doors and is taken very seriously. noah and i worked together at a time when confirmation battles were maybe the most politically divisive issue in washington, but that never extended to the background investigation, which we handled again confidentially and responsibly on a bipartisan basis it was never weaponized or misused it was just used in service of informing our bosses in the u.s. senate and performing their constitutional

duties yeah. >> and this is and to your point greg, this is when you say this is how things have been done for years and years and years. this is one of those situations, even if you want to, if you want change in washington, this is one of those things you want to have happen for years and years and years. this isn't one of those throw it all out situations with regard to this, no, i did want to ask you in your capacity is heading up crew. what's your reaction to president biden pardoning pardoning his son hunter biden well i think that that um, you know, look, the pardon power is a is a constitutional power. >> it's a broad power. and so you know, i think that presidents are entitled to pardon who they want to, um obviously there are questions that come up when pardons are used. uh for, for people very close to a president. we saw that when donald trump was leaving office we're seeing that now with president biden. i think we'd ideally prefer

that pardons be used when you have a vetting process and it's sort of a case that that is objectively um, the type of case where there's been some kind of injustice. we don't know what kind of review or vetting. there was here. so, you know, i don't want to get too far into it, but but i think that um, you know, this is a thing that happens in washington and you know, it's not necessarily ideally how you'd see that power used. yeah. >> well, i will say when it comes to the senate confirmation process in the case you guys make together on a bipartisan basis it's worth everyone taking a look at and reading gentlemen, thank you so much for your time. we really appreciate it so coming up for us shoppers are expected to spend a record breaking $13 billion today. what you may want to buy now before any potential trump tariffs take effect and as respiratory viruses are starting to peak, the number of people getting vaccinated remains low. why the cdc

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of shoes and a pair of running tights into cyber monday myself confession all for me, not for anyone else. >> yes, start with yourself first, then move on to the family. but listen, this year people are spending, they're looking for deals and they really did wait till this weekend and today we're going to see the biggest shopping day in history $13.2 billion expected to be spent this year compared to last year which is up about 6%. the key shopping times today, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.. where we're going to see about 15.2 billion, $1 million spent every minute during those two hours. so people are going to be online shopping at that point. black friday was also really big. we saw numbers about $10.8 billion this year compared to last year. that's up about $1 billion. and the trends that we're seeing this year are more people are shopping directly from their phones, not cozying up with their laptops anymore directly from the phones and buy now, pay later. this is like the modern day layaway, so you pay in installments you don't have

to pay everything up front. $7.6 billion to date and today alone on cyber monday, $1 billion expected to be buy now, pay later. experts are concerned about this because that's when you start racking up debt, where $1.1 trillion in u.s. credit card debt right now. so just keep an eye on how much you're doing. buy now, pay later today. >> yeah, that seems like it could be a problem any sense of like, what products are hot or cheap or we should be looking for besides the running shoes that i found a great deals on. >> good for you for getting the running shoes. because if president elect trump goes through with his tariffs, shoes are going to be impacted. so this these are how people are shopping. but let's go to the list. yeah. so major household appliances kitchen items. if you want to get those to beat the tariffs. there you go. there's your shoes john. beat the tariffs a lot of sneakers made in china gaming accessories obviously smartphones. almost all of our smartphones are made in china except for apple which has moved some of their production

to india to beat the tariffs. and then portable electronics which are laptops and tablets so these are the items that if you want to get a deal this holiday season, but also beat these tariffs that may be coming into play, especially that 10% on china. these are the items that you want to pick up this holiday season. >> time to plan. all right vanessa yurkevich, thank you very much for that kate. >> with the cold weather setting in so begins the season of respiratory illnesses. of course, across the country. and it is beginning to ramp up now covid flu, rsv, all major concerns and an additional concern now low vaccination rates putting children at greater risk. cnn's meg tirrell tracking this one for us. she's back with us now. what are you hearing about this. and seeing well, first the good news. >> if you look at the overall respiratory illness activity level in the united states right now, it is still low. although the latest data we have from the cdc, we expect they will be updated today are from about two weeks ago mid-november. but as of that point, you can see across the country really low levels, a little bit elevated in certain

states. but still not at the really high levels we expect to potentially get into later this fall and into the winter. also, though, we all just got together for thanksgiving with family and friends and so what doctors are telling us is that about a week after thanksgiving, often you can start to see an increase in levels of these respiratory viruses so covid right now is actually at pretty low levels and declining after a bump we saw in the summer. that's a pattern we often see and then we have seen every year since covid joined us that we get a bigger bump during the winter. and so we're sort of bracing ourselves to see what happens there. right now, flu is pretty low, but is starting to increase, especially among younger children. the same with rsv especially in the south. and that's a pattern we often see. it starts there first. so these levels are starting to rise. but kate, there's another thing that's been afflicting children basically since late summer called mycoplasma pneumoniae. that's sort of a walking pneumonia. it's a bacterial infection that has been affecting kids. you can see here we're showing you the flu vaccine rates for children

and this is something that's really concerning public health officials right now the rates in that blue line right there are underneath the orange line. that is the vaccination rate for kids for flu before covid. so we're tracking quite a bit lower in terms of pediatric flu vaccination rates. and that's something that's worrying folks because they do find that kids who are hospitalized for flu are typically ones who have not received the updated flu vaccine. kate. >> yeah, vaccination rates have impact. all of these trends for sure. it's great to see you, meg. thank you so much for tracking this for us. one hollywood star now threatening. maybe, maybe going for a flare for the dramatic here. threatening to quit acting if the director of dune. dune part two does not get an oscar nod nomination. that film's director joins us next

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gifts at untuckit. com in more than 80 stores worldwide i'm hanako montgomery in tokyo and this is cnn but my father's always been guided by the calculus of power this would not be the first time the harkonnens have done his dirty work here in the shadows of arrakis lie many secrets but the darkest of them all may remain of house atreides that's a clip from the science fiction blockbuster dune part two. >> director denis villeneuve, his film adaptation of frank

herbert's epic novel, one of the world's best selling science fiction books of all time. and now there is a brand new series out on max dune prophecy, which expands the world of the dune universe even further. the dune films are produced by warner bros. pictures part of the cnn parent company warner bros. discovery and i'm really excited because we have the director here of both dune films here with me today. it's great to meet you. denis, thank you for being here. um, i guess i should admit to everyone at home. i'm a huge dune fan, so i've been. was so excited to see part one. and part two is part two. as soon as it came out, um, as an adaptation, i can't imagine the undertaking of doing that just given how complex dune is and frank herbert's work was part one as an adaptation harder or easier than part? >> i would say that in part one, the most difficult thing the people who have not read the book yet that

was the tough part. it's a very complex world, world, world very dense, very rich so to make sure that people want to understand who is who and who is coming from where anyway, that was the big task. >> the part almost seems easier than part two, though, because part two seems like you really are starting to get into a lot of the complexities. >> yeah, but the ground has been laid and let's say that part one was like a massive rehearsal for me. and my team and my team and i to to to do part two, which is a much more ambitious film. yes. >> one, i heard you say in an interview around the initial release of dune two, dune part two that the book is your bible, and then it was your task to kind of fill in some of the gaps on all along the way. and it's you just have to even watch part one and part two to understand just how complex the world is. the dune universe is. what were some of the gaps that you found you really needed to

fill in, or were most challenging to fill in one? >> one important thing is that when frank herbert, the author of the novel uh i know that he was like, disappointed the way the book was received, because some people saw the book as a celebration of the main character, paul atreides, as he wanted to do a cautionary tale. and in order to make to correct that perception, he wrote a second book called dune messiah and the screenwriter jon spaihts and i knew that. so we in a way, we tried to make this adaptation more faithful to frank herbert than to the book, meaning that we transform one of the characters, chani into a character that will give you give us a distance with the main character, so people will understand that the movie, in fact, is a warning against charismatic figures because she was almost not to dive too deep into it. >> she's almost more skeptical and offering more more questioning that character than it comes across in the book. >> absolutely. and in the book, she is in the shadow of paul. she's in love with him. she

believes in him. we i gave her an agenda. i gave her a her own view of the world. and there's a gap political gap between both of them. the whole movie structure on their love story and sadly, there's a break at the end. and from that, that moment, we embrace her perspective on things. >> she's so badass just like, that's definitely a technical review term, but she's so that character is so, so strong zendaya did an amazing job. >> she's a fantastic actress. and in the third act, she she she delivers all the nuances mostly without words. it's really she's a very she's a true cinematic actress. if i can say. >> so what does part one and part two you've described as almost one movie? it's one movie broken into into two parts, and then the third installment will be dune messiah. and what does that all mean for, for for the third installment? >> i mean the thing is that i'm always shy or reluctant to talk about things that don't exist yet. >> i respect that it's like

still in the womb, you know, it's not born yet and but i will say that it's just that both dune movies for me was a diptych, an adaptation of the first book was in two parts, because the world was too rich to approach it in one movie, and so the third one will be like a comment on the two other movies. >> but it's not really a trilogy, right? that's why i will i don't feel it's not right for me to say it will be a trilogy. >> i cannot wait. so finally i saw this from from josh brolin i had to ask you about it, he told variety recently. i'm sure you saw it. if he doesn't, you if he doesn't get nominated, this year, i'll quit acting. and he's talking about getting a best director nomination what do you say about that i adore love josh brolin. >> he has a strong sense of humor. and of course that would be a lost if he was quitting absolutely. it puts pressure on my shoulder it means i will have to find him a new job so yeah it's great to meet you huge fan of your work and very much looking forward to what comes next thanks for coming.

thank you madam. thank you for the invitation thank you very much. >> john. did you hear i was he called me madame you deserve it. >> you definitely do. and i think we all share your love of dune cnn news central is the official morning show of worms. big giant big giant worms. >> exactly don't listen to anything he says. >> very nice to have you here thank you all for joining us. this has been cnn news central. cnn newsroom is up next can't fool myself. >> it was the most exciting time in the world. >> his life had extremely joyful moments and some really difficult moments. >> you only come across an artist like luther vandross once in a lifetime. >> luther. never too much. new year's day on cnn giving the giving that's possible through the power of del. >> i with intel. so those who receive can find the joy of giving back. >> you'll find them in cities, towns and suburbs all across

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