something has changed within me ♪ ♪ something is not the same ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ it's time to try defying gravity ♪ we would love for you to be our elphaba. we want you to be our glinda the good. ♪ ♪ have and how much you're paying. what is the app called? rocket money

cnn this morning with kasie hunt next it's thursday, december 5th, right now on cnn this morning we will not rest until we identify and apprehend the shooter killer on the loose police still searching for the suspect who fatally shot the unitedhealthcare ceo. >> nearly 24 hours ago. and this. >> and we're going to fight like hell. there's no reason to back down remaining defiant donald trump's pick to lead the pentagon, fighting to keep his nomination from being derailed and this if we're talking about trump, i think it's very interesting. >> i'm i'm actually very optimistic this time around. >> a positive shift. jeff bezos, looking ahead to donald trump's next term with a positive outlook despite previously butting heads

all right. 5 a.m. here on the east coast, a live look at the united states capitol on this thursday morning. good morning everyone. i'm kasie hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us. we're going to begin with the ongoing manhunt for the gunman who shot and killed the ceo of unitedhealthcare, right in the heart of manhattan, nearly 24 hours ago, before calmly escaping and i do want to warn you, before we continue, we're about to show you surveillance video of the moments leading up to the shooting. we're not showing the entire clip because it's just too disturbing police say that 50 year old brian thompson traveled to new york from minnesota for his company's annual investor meeting. he was walking to that meeting yesterday when the gunman emerged from behind him

and opened fire immediately after shooting thompson, the suspect walked quickly across the street and then was picked up by surveillance cameras escaping on a bicycle into central park moments before the incident, the masked suspect stopped at a nearby starbucks providing police with the clearest images so far of his face every indication is that this was a premeditated pre-planned, targeted attack. >> we're reaching out to law enforcement in minnesota, and we're also interviewing his coworkers and family members to see if there have been any specific threats against him in the past. as far as who was he in the hotel with? uh, we're doing a search warrant in his hotel room right now. that might lead us. give us some more information and there is this from abc news this morning. >> the words deny, defend and depose were found on the shell casings discovered at the scene where thompson was shot. matt fogg is with us now. he is a

former member of the us marshals special operation group. sir. thanks very much for being here this morning what are the implications of the reality that this man who shot the ceo of unitedhealthcar e is still on the loose? >> well, he is he's definitely still on the loose. >> they're trying to find him. so all of the things they're doing, they're doing through all the investigative tactics, tactics, everything they know of, try to figure out you know, last surveillance, where he went all of the things that he was doing before, you know, he actually did the shooting. >> yeah i guess my my question is it seems remarkable in this day and age, considering the amount of surveillance and the level of information that we do have, that this person is still out there. so it seems as though he got on a bicycle, escaped into central park. they're looking at some of the data from citi bike even which is the company that provides these public bicycles in the in the city of new york to try to see if they can identify a bike. he may have

been on. what do you think is perhaps the most promising piece of evidence that police have right now, as they continue to try to find him? i would say starbucks. >> what he did at starbucks, if they can just backtrack, it's like a puzzle. >> they backtrack it all the way back. >> the way he went, all of his steps, if they can do that. >> but that starbucks is key because dna, anything they can get out of that they can identify him. >> that's the key, right now. >> is it still true that the farther we get from we're nearly 24 hours right from when this happened, the longer it goes without finding him? the harder it might be to find him or not. >> no, i think right now it's trying to identify him. and i think right now they've got information probably not even given us on the media because they want to make certain that they cannot nail this thing down. this man had a cell phone. maybe it's possibly if that if that is true, they will find him. but the bottom line is the starbucks is just trying to actually just identify him. and then that's when you can

start all of your tactical operations. on how to locate him the initial thought was that this was someone who was very professional. >> his face was covered, the clothing that he was wearing seemed to be easy to change. he had a backpack. that's right. but then there have been some things found at the scene that suggest maybe he was more of an amateur than they initially thought. the phone that was left, um, what do you think this is someone who is very practiced at doing this kind of thing. >> well, the fact that he had a silencer and the fact that he targeted this man and it was premeditated says to me he might have been even a hired gunman. we just don't know but the reality is, is he knew what he was doing. he knew exactly what he was doing and he waited. he stalked him and he shot him. so the bottom line is i think he's he's an expert. he knows what he's doing. so that's what they're going on. >> all right matt fogg for us this morning matt. thank you very much for being here i appreciate it. thank you. all right straight ahead here on cnn this morning. turmoil in france. the prime minister forced from office after pressure from lawmakers on both

sides of the aisle. plus, could jeff bezos become a trump ally during his second term in the white house and pete hegseth full court press against the allegations that threaten his pursuit to be defense secretary pete hegseth says these are all lies, and he's also promised that if he gets confirmed by the senate, he will stop drinking but if not he's storming the capitol grill at happy hour 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 sunday at eight on cnn i've been warned 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. >> hi, i'm pulmonologist doctor jamie rutland. did you know we take 20,000 breaths? a day and when we inhale, we invite all the contaminants in the room into our airways. indoor air quality can be five to even 100 times worse than outdoors. meet the air, doctor. it's your prescription for clean air. and the only hospital grade air purifier equipped with advanced ultra hepa filters proven to improve your indoor air quality and overall health, i can confidently tell you that if it's in your air it's in your body. check this out. this would have been in your lungs, and now you can breathe better with this exclusive tv only offer. >> save 40% now on your hospital grade. air doctor. >> what makes air doctor hospital great? well, it's a triple filtration, including an ultra hepa filter that removes

virtually 100% of the smallest and most dangerous contaminants down to 0.003 microns, including mold spores, pollen, smoke pet dander, even bacteria and viruses that make you sick. that's 100 times smaller filtration than ordinary hepa purifiers. that means you can breathe easy knowing your family can get relief from allergies and asthma, and reduce airborne diseases. >> look what the air doctor trapped. i wouldn't want my kids breathing this in air doctor takes the guesswork out of clean air. >> a pre-filter captures larger particles. the carbon filter removes smelly odors dangerous gases, and harmful volatile organic compounds. the ultra hepa filter captures microscopic contaminants, even bacteria and viruses, and the air doctor. smart sensors measure pollutants automatically adjusting the filtration. >> it's pulling the pollutants out. >> it's pulling the allergens out. >> it's even pulling the toxic chemicals that our cleaning products leave behind. >> call or go to try air. doctor.com. now get 40% off our best selling air purifier. plus every air doctor comes complete

with our 30 day breathe better money back guarantee. call one ( 800) 290-7847. that's one ( 800) 290-7847. call now they are trying to shut down this legal loophole to get 100 milligram generic viagra or 20mg generic cialis delivered to your door for just $0.87 in less than two minutes. >> do this first, scan the qr code to go to get friday plans.com, then you select if you need generic viagra or cialis. the quantity you need and the dosage. i'll pick 100 milligram. thank you very much. and then their system will see if you qualify. give it a second to find the best deals and boom look at that $0.87 for each 100 milligram generic viagra tablet 20mg cialis is the same price. the prescription and shipping are free. scan the

qr code to go to get friday plans.com and see for yourself don't wait. scan the qr code now before it is too late i won't let my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis symptoms define me emerge as you with clearer skin with tremfya most people saw 100% clear skin that stayed clear even at five years. >> serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur before treatment your doctor should check you for infections and tb tell your doctor if you have an infection. flu like symptoms or if you need a vaccine emerge with clear skin. >> ask your doctor about tremfya i'm doctor sanjay gupta in atlanta and this is cnn all right. >> welcome back. french prime minister michel barnier, ousted by the country's parliament just three months into his term, throwing france further into political turmoil due to

the adoption of the motion of censure and in compliance with article 50 of the constitution the prime minister has to tender to the president the resignation of the government lawmakers on both the left and right, supporting a no confidence motion. the first successful vote of its kind since the early 1960s. barnier is facing backlash over an attempt to ram through part of his annual budget. earlier this week, french news outlets reporting he is set to formally resign this morning, making him france's shortest serving prime minister in history. his cabinet is expected to serve in a caretaker capacity until new leadership is named by french president emmanuel macron macron is scheduled to address the nation later today. with all this, let's bring in cnn international anchor max foster. max. good morning to you. can you help us understand some of the dynamics at play here and how the right wing, in particular in france is driving some of the dynamics? >> so we had some european

elections and the far right did extremely well in them for the for the country of france. president macron decided to assert himself by calling a snap election, which just didn't go the way that he expected. not only did the far right do better than expected but so did the far left, and he's caught in the middle as a centrist. and he refused to negotiate who he was going to appoint as prime minister. he forced barnier into that job, and the left and the right, bizarrely, have come together to oust the prime minister this is really not so much a story about barnier, who you see there. it's really about macron and what he did with this snap election, forcing a prime minister on the country. he's now been ousted. so the big question is what this means for macron. all eyes on that national address today. he's not a popular president. he's got some explaining to do. >> so max, we heard from marine le pen who many will will know

as the face of the right in france. let's listen to what she had to say about macron specifically. watch je ne peux pas. >> je ne demande pas. >> i am not pushing for. i am not asking for the resignation of president emmanuel macron. i am saying there will come a moment when, if we don't take the route of respecting the voters and political forces and elections, well then the pressure on the president will, of course be stronger and stronger. but he's the only one who will make the decision who will have the last word on whether he wants the french people to vote again before 2027, or whether he wants to stay in the horse at any price. so to speak what do you make of how she's framing this in this moment, and how does this turmoil that she's discussing there play in more broadly to the way things are changing in europe? >> well, it's fascinating seeing how she's handling this. i think she's very much trying to come across as a

statesperson. so someone that could potentially be president, the, you know, the speculation is that she never wanted to be prime minister. if that was offered to her, she would want to be president. she would make the leader of her party the prime minister. and she's speaking in this sort of language. you don't really associate with her. she's not calling for him to resign. but she is really calling for him to resign. and the reason she's couching it in that way is because he can't be forced out the president isn't can't be forced out by parliament in the way the prime minister is. so he needs to resign. and she's basically appealing to him to do that as you know, casey, definitely not his style. everyone's expecting him to ride it out until 2027, but you know, he's under immense pressure and the reason this matters is because france is central to the european union, as is germany both countries are in political crises. a snap election also being held in germany. and you've got the two most powerful countries in the european union weakened and unable to deal with bigger

issues. frankly, right now, like ukraine or dealing with the new trump administration, who appears to have it in for the european union. so it has a huge impact. >> it really does. all right, max foster for us this morning, sir. always grateful to have you thank you for being here. all right. still to come here on cnn this morning, a massive manhattan manhunt. the suspect who gunned down the unitedhealthcare ceo still on the run but he left a few clues at the scene. plus, trump's pick for defense secretary back on capitol hill today. pete hegseth meeting with senators as he denies new reports of alcohol abuse at work can't fool myself it was the most exciting time in the world. >> his life has 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. an

alternative to pills, voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine directly at the source. >> voltaren the joy of movement from creating memories to finding the perfect gift let us make this holiday season a little easier right now. >> save up to $60 on select a.s. battery sets for more than a decade, pozega has been trusted again and again and again pozega pozega pozega ask your doctor about pozega one simple but brilliant trick to get 100mg generic viagra for just $0.87 in less than two minutes, cvs and walgreens don't want you to know about this, because they sell the same tablets for 30 to $40 each.

>> don't believe me? look at this. this is from cvs. look, nine tablets, 100mg sildenafil, aka generic viagra for $406. that's $45 a tablet. this is from walgreens, $417 for nine tablets of 100mg. sildenafil or $46 a tablet. you can now get the same nine tablets, the same 100mg strength from friday. plans for just $0.87 each to get generic viagra from friday plans, text adult adult to 69069. once you text, they will send you a special link and all you need to do is select why you need generic viagra the quantity you need, and the dosage. i'll pick 100mg. thank you very much. and then their system will see if you qualify. give it a second to find the best deal and boom

look at that $0.87 for each 100 milligram generic viagra tablet. the prescription and shipping are free friday plans delivers your medication in a plain white package like this in 2 to 3 days. once you open it, you find this inside each tablet comes individually wrapped so you can tear one off and put it in your wallet. if you need generic viagra, you need to take advantage of this program. over 40,000 men across the us have already signed up right now. friday plans is offering a special deal for new customers. $10 off your first package. the prescription is free and the shipping is free as well. don't wait. text adult adult to 69069 today. >> you'll love this! centrum silver is clinically proven to support memory and older adults, so you can keep saying you mastered it, you fixed it, you 's

rocket money? they didn't cancel it for you. really? yep. all you have to do is tap a few buttons and they take care of it. download rocket money today

cnn news central today at 7:00 eastern. >> all right. 20 minutes past the hour. here's your morning roundup. jury deliberations resume in just a few hours. and the new york city subway chokehold trial. former marine daniel penny facing manslaughter charges in the death of former street performer jordan neely. his defense argues he was trying to protect the other people on the train. the supreme court's conservative supermajority appears ready to allow tennessee's law banning gender affirming care for minors. during oral arguments wednesday. chief justice john roberts and justice brett kavanaugh suggesting the issue should be left up to legislatures. a decision expected by july. the russian woman accused of stowing away on a delta flight from new york to paris, now in fbi custody. she is due in court today after being returned to the us yesterday. it is still unclear how the 57 year old avoided tsa

checks to sneak onto the flight last week. she is expected to face at least one federal charge all right. time now for weather. the great lakes, parts of the northeast getting hit with more snow. the eastern part of the country seeing a drastic drop in temperatures. let's get to our meteorologist, our weatherman, derek van dam. derek. good morning. it is, in fact, cold this morning. >> yeah. good morning casey. and we're dealing with a clipper. we've been talking about this now for the past couple of days. it came in hard. it came in fast, and we're feeling it. this morning. and that means conditions are going to be treacherous, especially for some of those northern new england interior regions. so here's a look at the latest winter weather alerts. and i want to point out what's just been issued by the national weather service. this is a blizzard warning for erie, pennsylvania. just off of lake erie. the winds there whipping. of course we're getting that lake enhancement with the snowfall. but also in combination with this clipper that's moving through, it's going to be near whiteout conditions for that area. and along the i 90 interstate 90 corridor right here that had

such travel troubles last week from the lake effect snow event. so this is the storm system moving through the majority of this is rain right near the coastline. but you work your way just a couple of miles inland. it is cool enough and high enough elevation where this is wet snowflakes that are falling from the sky. even along the boston area, the massachusetts turnpike into the i-90 corridor. this is an area that could see some slick spots this morning, but it's not really accumulating too quickly. another quick 1 to 2in of snowfall on the on the ground, but higher elevations could see certainly more than that now. temperatures here really warm enough for rainfall. you can see new york to washington. so with this system moving through. but boston flirting with that freezing mark. that's why we have that light snow mixing in at times. but of course behind it the big story, the wind that is dropping our wind chill values into the single digits. and lower teens. it is very, very cold. so bundle up as you head outside this morning. again, the additional snowfall for this area 1 to 3in. in general there is a windy day ahead of us across the northeast. it is cold. it is

chilly. be prepared, windy as conditions settle in by this evening for new york. >> casey. all right. good to know. derek van dam for us this morning. derek. thank you. i'll see you next hour. okay. all right. all right. still ahead on cnn this morning, another one of the world's richest men. optimistic about a second trump term. why jeff bezos believes the trump white house will be different this time. plus trump's choice for secretary of defense. pete hegseth remaining defiant in the face of the growing list of allegations against him. >> what you're seeing right now with me is the art of the smear. it is the classic art of the smear. there's no reason to back down. why would we back down 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. >> think you've been harmed by products containing talc? you may have the right to vote on the plans of reorganization

filed by amyris, talc and cypress mines. it's important because the plans determine how talc claims are treated, which may affect your rights and claims. vote by december 16, 2020 for or object by march 26th, 2025 to help determine how injury claims are treated. visit instyle.com for details. that's instyle.com you'll love this! >> centrum silver is clinically proven to support memory in older adults, so you can keep saying you mastered it. you fixed it, you nailed it you did it. with centrum silver clinically proven to support memory in older adults, your emblem of devotion have your engagement ring custom made by the jewelry exchange. >> choose a one carat lab grown diamond for $5.99, or a natural gia for 1998. mounds are 4.99. thousands of choices. always the best deal. the jewelry exchange direct man. >> remember that time when our eye bags made us look sexy?

yeah me neither. now we can reduce our eye bags by drinking less alcohol, sleeping more cold compresses, blah blah blah blah and blah. one that's way too much work and two. don't worry, there's particles 6 in 1 face cream for men. all you have to do is wash your face daily and then rub in some particle for 30s and boom! you'll look a lot less like that guy. and a lot more like this guy. particles 6 in 1 face cream for men first of its kind, anti-aging cream designed specifically for men. fights eyebags dark spots and wrinkles. visit particle men.com and use the promo code on your screen to receive 25% off your entire order plus, we've got free shipping and a 30 day money back guarantee w-w-w dot particle men.com. because seeing is believing. >> a heart attack. >> do they have life insurance? >> no, but we have life

insurance. >> john, i'm trying to find something we can afford. >> fortunately, in only a few minutes, selectquote found john a $500,000 policy for only $29 a month. and his wife, anne, a $500,000 policy for only $21 a month. go to selectquote comm now and get the insurance your family needs at a price you can afford select quote. >> we shop you save you weight loss is changing for so long i felt stuck on repeat i tried and tried again. >> lost weight gained it back. >> but z-band means change setbounds for adults with obesity to help lose weight and keep it off activating two naturally occurring hormone receptors in my body. >> xépon works differently. it's changing what i believe is possible when it comes to weight loss. >> it's changing how much weight i lose up to 48 pounds

and it's changing what happens don't take if allergic to it or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer or multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type two. >> tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, stop, set bound and call your doctor. if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction. severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. tell your doctor if you are experiencing vision changes. taking a sulfonylurea or insulin. having suicidal thoughts if you're nursing pregnant or plan to be, or taking birth control pills. side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. xai bound means change, and when it comes to weight loss, change is good discover the weight loss you could be bound for. >> talk to your doctor about bound sounds like you need to vaporize that cold nyquil vapor. >> cool it's nyquil plus vicks

vapors people who nyquil vapocool the vaporizing, nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing best sleep with a cold medicine. >> i'm clarissa ward in beirut and this is cnn all right. >> 5:28 a.m. here on the east coast. it's 4:28 a.m. in dallas, texas, where we find this beautiful live shot this morning good morning everyone. i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. donald trump's choice to lead the department of defense remains in peril on capitol hill. in the face of allegations of past sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement at veterans groups. but amid all of those allegations, pete hegseth remains defiant and says the president elect is telling him to keep fighting. >> hey, pete, i got your back. it's a fight they're coming after you. get after it. we're going to fight like hell. there's no reason to back down. why would we back down hegseth is also denying that he

has ever had a problem with excessive drinking first of all, i've never had a drinking problem. i don't, i've never. no one's ever approached me and said, oh you you should really look at getting help for a drink. never. i've never sought counseling, never sought help. i respect and appreciate people who who do but new reporting wednesday night from the washington post cites several employees from his time as a fox news host that seemed to undercut those claims. >> they write this quote hegseth had a reputation as a heavy drinker. according to six former fox news employees who worked directly with hegseth and saw him drinking on the job or visibly drunk at work events. they spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. hegseth lawyer denied the reports when asked for comment by the washington post. now, hegseth needs to win over republican senators to get confirmed it was a frank and thorough conversation engaged in constructive conversation.

>> it's a tough road for him but it is a 100% doable. i'm not. >> it's not clear to me who he wants the secretary of defense right now joining me now to talk about all this stuff, politics reporter at axios and jaron gainer, white house correspondent for thegrio. >> welcome to both of you. thank you so much for being here. so steph, obviously he is pushing ahead. pete hegseth with what he's doing here. he spoke to megyn kelly in that interview yesterday. we also heard from his mom yesterday on fox because of course she had written an email to him back in the middle of his second divorce decrying his treatment of women. i want to show you a little piece of that interview, and we'll talk about it let's watch. >> i wrote that out of love, and about two hours later i retracted it with an apology email. but nobody's seen that. he's a changed man, and i just hope people will will get to know who pete is today, especially our dear female senators that you would listen

to him listen with your heart to the truth of pete. >> so right there, she's appealing directly saying to female senators, i hope you will you know, see the truth of pete hegseth. where does this nomination stand right now? i mean, you saw that joni ernst was not exactly warm and fuzzy. shall we say, in her description of the meeting that they had. >> right. and joni ernst is really the person to watch, right now. >> i heard repeatedly from sources yesterday that that was really the big meeting for hegseth, that he needed to go. >> well, based on that statement, what we've heard, it doesn't sound like it went super great. >> it's a very curt response, very curt description of their meeting. joni ernst, of course is a combat veteran and she has experienced sexual violence. so some of the allegations against pete hegseth probably hit home for her specifically because of her history there. i mean, a lot of people are looking at her for that experience and also because she's sitting on armed services, the committee that will vote for pete hegseth to move him forward and look he

has survived another day. he's fighting another day. and this is a game of the next 24 hours, the next 24 hours. and i have heard from sources who say that if he can just make it to the weekend when senators leave town again, maybe he pushes through maybe he gets to the actual confirmation process. but there's no question that he his his chances are in jeopardy. at one senator say that they don't think that his nomination is going anywhere. >> yeah. jaron, let's watch a little bit more of what hegseth had to say in that interview he did yesterday with megyn kelly, as he talked about this confirmation process. let's watch what you're seeing right now with me is the art of the smear. >> take whatever tiny kernels of truth and there are tiny, tiny ones in there and blow them up into a masquerade of a narrative. i owe an answer to the members of the united states senate who are going to vote for a confirmation here, and my meetings with them have been fantastic. no one has looked me in the eye and say, i have concerns and i can't vote for you. in fact, most have said, let's take a picture and i'm behind you all the way.

>> so most may have said that, but it really only takes four for this nomination to be derailed. he does acknowledge there that there are kernels of truth in some of this. and of course, the question about his drinking and one of the things we heard from senators coming out of these meetings was that he is out there assuring them that he is not going to drink at all if he is confirmed as secretary of defense. is that obviously you get calls any time of day or night weekend, you know, it doesn't it doesn't matter. and it's not just you and your family who are involved. it is the entire united states military the nuclear arsenal. et cetera et cetera. what are your what is your sense of his confirmation chances? >> you know, there is reporting that, you know, there are some senate republicans like susan collins and even mitch mcconnell who are a little skeptical of this nomination. and so i think it's an uphill battle for pete hegseth, especially when you think about the fact that president-elect trump and his transition team is already shopping around other nominees, including his own former nemesis, ron

desantis, which would be very interesting if that was to be the case. but the fact that there is a list shows that there is even doubt within the trump camp camp. i think even broader. i think that it's interesting that the volume and the speed at which the trump transition team has been announcing these nominations is interesting because there's a universal understanding that when you move quickly, you make mistakes and i think that that was maybe a tactic by the president elect to sort of rush through some nominees, but it's showing that there are some holes in in this nomination process in terms of the vetting process. and senate republicans are showing that they are likely this is likely a bird's eye view into the dynamics that will play out in next year, when the trump team comes into office because senate republicans are not scared to push back against the president elect's nominations. and so his control of the party will be closely watched in his

first few weeks and months. because we're seeing that despite the fact that he tried to have a recess nominations, they're taking this advise and consent process very seriously. and so i don't know that pete hegseth will be a will be confirmed, but it's certainly a concern on the hill. >> well, what we saw steph from him clearly was an effort aimed at an audience of one. right. and donald trump in terms of doing this interview stacked up against as jeremy points out, all the reporting about a list in the works of potential replacements. that is one thing i feel like when i've talked to republican sources, they'll basically say, well, i mean, donald trump will be loyal to him until he's not. and there's plenty of other people that he could choose right and, you know, i've spoken to senators who say, look at what happened with matt gaetz that signaled to senate republicans that trump's picks are not set in stone. >> he's willing to change his mind if it feels if it looks like that his initial pick

isn't going to be able to get through the process and, you know, yesterday was fascinating to watch because when you start having names floated as alternatives, you're in a bad place and hegseth responded by really doubling down. he wrote the op ed. his mom went on an interview he had an interview, he went to the hill. he talked to house republicans who have no say in this nomination. but he went in asking them, telling them, i need your public support. he met with the incoming majority leader. right. he is. he's not giving up yet. and that's also something that we know that the president elect appreciates. he wants people who want the job, who are going to fight, who are going to be loyal. and so, you know, there are still some people who think there's a way for him to to work this out and make this work for him. again. the stakes, it does not look super likely right now. all things are possible. >> yeah. all right steve gaynor, thank you both very much. really appreciate it. all right. let's turn now to this story. billionaire jeff bezos taking on a hopeful tone when he was asked about donald trump's next administration, speaking at the new york times dealbook summit, bezos said he

hoped to help trump i'm actually very optimistic this time around that we're going to see i'm very hopeful about this. >> his he seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation and my point of view, if i can help him do that, i'm going to help him. >> what i've seen so far is that he is calmer than he was. the first time, and more confident, more settled bezos and trump have clashed in the past during trump's first term, trump targeted bezos and his companies, including amazon and the washington post. >> joining us now, axios media reporter cnn senior media analyst sara fisher. sara, good morning. it's always wonderful to have you on the show. we don't get to hear from bezos on camera very often what do you think? what did you hear kind of underneath those comments from him? >> well, he's definitely cautiously optimistic. >> and that's something to note because he was cautiously

optimistic in 2016. he was one of the big ceos that went and visited trump and the trump tower he was very optimistic at the time that trump would be good for big business. and that kind of came back to bite him. you know, amazon later sued, arguing that they were not getting government contracts under the trump administration due to bias. you'll recall that trump really targeted amazon for its work with the us postal service. of course, he's gone after amazon founder jeff bezos for the ownership of the washington post. and so i think he's trying to hedge his bets so that going into this next administration, he doesn't have as much to worry about. but i think that could be wishful thinking. >> sara one of the dynamics at play here is obviously the billionaire versus billionaire dynamic between elon musk and jeff bezos. and of course both are very focused on their endeavors in space. bezos, with his blue origin and of course, musk's space x bezos was asked about musk at the dealbook

summit. let's watch. and then we'll talk about it. >> i take at face value what has been said, which is that, you know, he is not going to use his political power to advantage his own companies or to disadvantage his competitors. i take that at face value. again, i could be wrong about that, but i think it could be true could it be true? >> i think again, that's wishful thinking. i mean, if you think about it, elon musk really has donald trump's ear right now. and even though doge isn't an official government agency, he will be very influential in figuring out where they cut red tape, where they add regulation. i also think that when it comes to spacex in particular, you've seen trump appointed officials think about the fcc chair brendan carr come out and say that they want to do more to favor elon musk. and that's from a broadband perspective. and so i think that he does have something to be worried about. but again, coming out publicly and sort of being optimistic bodes well for him

as they head into this next administration. >> yeah. sara, what do you know about the personal rapport between bezos and trump? what is it like? >> it's contentious. i mean, you think about it, they had sort of an agreement in 2016 that they were going to be publicly okay with each other trump again inviting him to trump tower and then donald trump completely bait and switched and used bezos as a big target to go against the media because of his ownership with the post, you know, publicly lambasting him because of the us postal office issue. and so i think that this is a contentious relationship. but both recognize that it needs to be a working relationship. you know, jeff bezos is serious when he says that he wants there to be a deregulatory environment and i think donald trump recognizes that part of his agenda is going to be making america the big innovation capital of the world. and so he's going to need jeff bezos on his side to do that. >> all right, sara fisher for us this morning, sara, always grateful for your perspective. thank you so much for being here. >> good to see you. >> all right. coming up here on cnn this morning, a candid confession from lebron james. why the lakers superstar

calling his own team embarrassing. that's next in the bleacher report. plus a manhunt in new york city for the assassin who gunned down au ceo. why? his wife says there were concerns ahead of his death you found the right model for sure. >> now, how can you be sure you're getting the right deal? i have to talk to my bestie. >> hey girl, this one's like your last boyfriend. >> it's got issues let's ask the experts for the right used car. >> just say show me the carfax value. >> you'll get the most accurate price based on the vehicle's accident history look for me and stop overpaying shop at the all new shop at the all new carfax dot com. >> sometimes omega three fish oil supplements can be difficult to absorb. >> i recommend all advanced omega three with phospholipid bound omegas for up to ten

times better bioavailability kunal advanced omega three the power of ten-x. >> they are trying to shut down this legal loophole to get 100 milligram generic viagra or 20mg generic cialis delivered to your door for just $0.87 in less than two minutes. do this first, scan the qr code to go to get friday plans. com then you select if you need generic viagra or cialis, the quantity you need and the dosage i'll pick 100 milligram. thank you very much. and then their system will see if you qualify. give it a second to find the best deals and boom look at that $0.87 for each 100 milligram generic viagra tablet 20mg cialis is the same price. the prescription and shipping are free. scan the qr code to go to get friday plans dot com and see for yourself don't wait. scan the qr code

or go to get friday plans. dot com. now watashi no sato hiro toomaj salehi. >> lulu garcia-navarro park chung-hee qizan al-najjar evenity honeybunny umami. umami judge chutkan mahmoud almadhoun naresh bhatt. thomas massie okaasan to issho. ni ni

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

of them. that's actually pretty helpful cnn heroes an all-star tribute sunday at eight on cnn. >> closed captioning brought to you by aarp. join and get instant access to member benefits. >> join aarp for $12 for one year and get instant access to member benefits and social programs. join and get an insulated trunk organizer free. plus aarp, the magazine this does not appear to be a random act of violence. >> it appears the suspect was lying in wait for several minutes, and as the victim was walking to the conference hotel the full investigative efforts of the new york city police department are well underway, and we will not rest until we identify and apprehend the shooter. >> reporter new details in the manhunt for a gunman who assassinated the ceo of unitedhealthcare on the streets of new york city. 50 year old brian thompson was in manhattan

for his company's annual investors meeting when the masked suspect shot him in the back on wednesday morning. thompson's wife, paulette, telling nbc news, quote there had been some threats basically. i don't know, a lack of coverage. i don't know the details. i don't know details. i just know that he said. there were some people that had been threatening him. she suggested that those threats may have involved issues with insurance coverage. >> we're looking at everything. we're looking at his social media. we are interviewing employees. we are interviewing family members. we will be speaking to law enforcement in minnesota these images from a surveillance camera at a nearby starbucks show the suspect before the shooting, buying two powerbars and a bottle of water. >> moments after the shooting he's captured on surveillance footage escaping on a bicycle into central park, but not before reportedly dropping a water bottle and a phone near the scene. let's bring in criminologist behavioral analyst casey jordan. casey. good morning. thank you so much

for being here. you have seen the video of the gunman. i mean, it is very hard to watch, but what do you see in those frames that maybe those of us with less practiced eyes might miss well, the biggest thing that people have been focusing on is the fact that the gun has a silencer and seems to be malfunctioning. >> in other words jamming. >> he gets three shots off but in between he has to hit the side of the gun to make it reload. it was not automatically reloading and law enforcement analysts who know ballistics and understand the training that's involved in the handling of a firearm like this do believe that this is a person who had plenty of practice. you can't jump to the conclusion that this is a person who is in the military or law enforcement but it's not just the sort of thing where he woke up that morning and decided to do it. he clearly has spent time at a practice range using that weapon and knew almost as an auto response, how to clear the chamber when it was jamming. so

they're going to be looking for somebody who is a little bit more sophisticated with weapons. he didn't just buy this a day or two ago, and this was his first time using it. >> so casey, what does it say to you that he was able to escape and that he is still on the loose, nearly 24 hours later? i mean, this seems astonishing. >> it is. but again it's not random. it is a brazen attack that was incredibly targeted and, well planned. you know, the fact that there was a a bike waiting for him, the idea that there was a way to escape into central park, you know, which in that time of the morning is really jammed with early morning traffic and the simple idea that he was waiting and waiting and waiting. i know a parking attendant across the street said he was there for hours had noticed him standing kind of against the wall in the shadows now he's wearing that dark clothing that gray backpack he went to starbucks. so even though it was well planned, he's already making

huge mistakes. he's underestimating the amount of video that there is on the streets of new york and in these places he bought a bottle of water, which, if he drank from it, probably has his dna on it dropping a phone that isn't confirmed yet. but if that is true, if they have recovered the phone of the assailant, that is going to be one of the very best ways that they are going to track down who did this and and going to starbucks, did he swipe your credit card or did he pay cash? they're going to attack this investigation. really from a number of different angles. and video is probably what's going to solve it. but that phone and that water bottle may turn out to be key along with those threats that they are going to be very carefully going through to see if if this was somebody who may have held a grudge against brian thompson, or was it really about unitedhealthcar e right. >> and casey, in terms of the cell phone is there any i mean, you sometimes see activists, for example, in the political space make sure that they don't go anywhere with their cell phones so that they're not tracked. do you see this as

likely part of. because i totally take your point. it seems very sloppy to go into a starbucks and do all these things that you have outlined, but would there be like a reason to drop your phone at the scene that could protect you or not really? >> great question. so you raised the question of is the phone a contra indicator? is it a plant? is it a red herring? is it something that he brought along? maybe a burner phone, maybe a phone he stole from somebody else or found or that somebody had lost that he is dropping intentionally maybe the water bottle is a piece of garbage. he picked up and dropped intentionally. these things are sometimes done by highly sophisticated assailants to throw investigators off and in fact, it can work. it can send you in a completely wrong direction and waste a lot of time in trying to track down the actual culprit so they're going to be considering the possibility that these are planted pieces of evidence, because with the level of sophistication we see in the planning and having the bike

ready for escape, it really is not consistent. it's either sloppy or incredibly intentional. >> it's fascinating all right, casey jordan, for us this morning casey, thanks very much for being with us. i really appreciate it. >> great to be here all right. >> time now for something lighter. sports. lebron james and the lakers lose to the heat in one of the worst blowouts in franchise history. andy scholes has this morning's bleacher report. andy. good morning. yeah. good morning casey. >> so since winning six in a row the lakers they've now lost six of their last eight. >> and they lost last night in miami by 41 points. >> the lakers defense was just nonexistent in this game the heat made a franchise record 24 three pointers. >> tyler herro he made nine of them on his way to 31 points. now lebron did break out of his shooting slump, finally making a three after missing 20 in a row. he scored 29, but the heat just blowing out the lakers in this one. 134 to 93 was the final was the eighth worst loss in franchise history. and jj redick well he

was not happy with his team's effort it's embarrassing. >> um i'm embarrassed. we're all embarrassed there has to be some ownership on the court and i'll take all the ownership in the world. this is my team and i lead it and i'm embarrassed. >> we got to figure it out because it's a it's definitely embarrassing for sure. >> jj questioned the togetherness. i agree with everything jj said. he already talked to you all. >> whatever he said i agree 100%, 1,000%. >> all right. meanwhile, in college basketball, the top two teams in the country both going down. unranked creighton taking down number one kansas. they never trailed in this one. led by as many as 17. and the fans all having a good time. they rushed the court in omaha as creighton won this one 7663. the blue jays. they had never beaten a top ranked team, a year ago. they were zero for six, but they've now won two in a row, beating uconn last season and now kansas last night. and coach doug mcdermott joking about his home court advantage afterwards everybody

stepped up and did a great job when we needed them and you know, what can you say this is this is the building number one. >> teams go to die up and down all right. >> so number one kansas going down second ranked auburn also losing thanks to another great performance from duke. freshman cooper flagg. the 17 year old had it all on display. look at that the spinning fadeaway jumper early on in the second half he was showing off the fancy footwork. he gets the bucket. plus the foul here. lots of nba teams hoping they end up with the number one pick and the chance to draft this guy. flagg ended up with a game high 22 as duke beat auburn 84 to 78. all right. finally, week 14 of the nfl season kicks off tonight. got a great thursday night matchup. the 11 and one lions hosting the nine and three packers. the lions they've won ten in a row. but the packers may have an upper hand in thisame. aft lions running back jahmyr gibbs inadvertently posted the team's secret play calls on social media. he made this post of his teammate. i guess not realizing all the play calls

were on the whiteboard behind him. now, packers head coach matt lafleur downplaying the intel they got from it though. i don't think it's like at the end of the world either. >> you know, i don't think you gain a real competitive advantage off of that personally. i think it's probably a little bit overrated. i mean, ultimately, you still got to stop whatever it is they're doing and they're a good football team. now casey, he says that. >> but you know the packers printed that image blew it up, put it on a wall. studied it. poor lions had to redo all of their play calls. the lions head coach, dan campbell, said it doesn't matter. we'll give him the whole playbook. if they beat us, they're better than us. so i liked his attitude about it but i'm guessing they had a social media talk at some point this week there in detroit. >> hey guys, just just don't do it. just stay off the social media. not necessary at all. oh my gosh that's. oh dear. all right andy, thank you very much. i really appreciate it.

see you soon. all right coming up next here on cnn this morning, the pardon debate taking a new turn. the white house weighs the possibility of preemptive pardons. who might be on that list? plus pete hegseth still donald trump's pick for defense secretary. but could the president elect change his mind president elect trump is considering replacing pete hegseth with florida governor ron desantis as his nominee for defense secretary. >> when asked it's the most wonderful time with verizon trade in any phone, any condition for an iphone 16 pro on us and ipad and apple watch series ten. >> all three on us only on verizon. >> when a tough car finds you on the go, it would be silly. >> hey trying to robert lighthizer juice pack with the power of robitussin and every bite easy to take cough relief

anywhere. chew on relief, chew on a doesn't jack the turkey with gravy and fixings. >> fa la la la la la la la la. >> dad we are at a restaurant. >> tis the season for ham and pork roast. >> fa la la la la la la la la. >> good thing i forgot my hearing aid. >> we wish you a lot of yeast. >> hank used to suffer from what felt like a cold and flu medicine hangover in the morning then he switched to mucinex nightshift. >> mucinex is uniquely formulated to leave your system faster. >> so you wake up ready to go. >> dry mucinex nightshift and feel the difference. >> the perfect gift. the jewelry exchange has three carat topaz pendants for 59 one carat bracelets, 199 star bypass rings 792 carat bands, 1991 carat studs, 599 always the lowest price, the jewelry exchange direct. >> they are trying to shut down this legal loophole to get 100 milligram generic viagra or 20mg generic cialis

delivered to your door for just $0.87 in less than two minutes. do this first, scan the qr code to go to get friday plans. com then you select if you need generic viagra or cialis, the quantity you need and the dosage i'll pick 100 milligram. thank you very much. and then their system will see if you qualify. give it a second to find the best deals and boom look at that $0.87 for each 100 milligram generic viagra tablet 20mg cialis is the same price. the prescription and shipping are free. scan the qr code to go to get friday plans.com and see for yourself don't wait. scan the qr code or go to get friday plans. dot com. now i've been warned 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. >> an alternative to pills. voltaren is a clinically proven arthritis pain relief gel which penetrates deep to target the source of pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatort

call the number on your screen. >> call 1-800-845-4316. >> this is cnn, the world's news network it's thursday, december 5th, right now on cnn this morning every indication is that this was a premeditated pre-planned, targeted