we have live coverage from france and england. plus china's censors block cnn's coverage of peng shuai. not seen after two weeks after accusing a former government official of sexual assault. ♪ ♪ >> announcer: live from london, this is "cnn newsroom" with isa soares. it is thursday, november 2 25th and after eight days of testimony 23 witnesses and 11 hours of jury deliberation, the family of ahmaud arbery has finally received the verdict they have been waiting for. a jury in southern georgia has found three white men guilty of murder and other charges in the killing of the 25-year-old unarmed black man last year. arbery was out for a jog when he was chased down, then shot, and then killed. this trial has been a long time coming for the arbery family. no arrests were made for about two months. only after a video of the killing was released sparking national outcry. now with the guilty verdict, arbery's parents say their son can rest in peace. have a listen. >> today was a very good day. to hear that the accused murderers were actually found g guilty, i mean, that was huge. we finally got the justice for ahmad that he deserved in 2020. >> cnn's martin savage has been following the trial and has more for you now from the courtroom. >> count one, malice murder. we the jury find the defendant travis mcmichael guilty. again, i ask whoever just made an outburst be removed from the court, please. >> reporter: loved ones for ahmaud arbery overcome with emotion this afternoon as all three defendants were found guilty of murder by a jury of nine white women two white men and one black men. the judge read through each charge. the man who shot and claimed arbery was found guilty of all nine counts. had i father gregory mcmichael was found not guilty of one charge, but guilty on the other eight. >> guilty. >> reporter: william roddy brian, jr., was found guilty on six counts. >> guilty. >> reporter: people outside the courthouse rejoiced. >> today justice was served. >> did you ever doubt this day might come? >> i did not. i felt good. >> the jury system works in this country. and when you present the truth to people and they can see it, they will do the right thing. and that's what this jury did today in getting justice for ahmaud arbery. >> reporter: the jury deliberated to for over 11 hours after 13 days of testimony from more than 30 witnesses. the three defendants claimed they were trying to make a citizens arrest of arbery, saying that they suspected he had burglarized a nearby home construction site, referring to the video of arbery wandering inside that home months before being killed. after the verdicts were read, arbery's family spoke outside the courthouse. >> it's been a long fight. it's been a hard fight. but god is good. >> i don't want to see no daddy l watch their kid shot down like that. it's all our problem. let's keep fighting. >> reporter: no sentencing date as yet. all three men in this case now face the possibility of life in prison without parole. there is also anticipated to be a federal trial on federal hate crime charges. if there, too, found guilty, they could face life without parole. the trial will begin in the same coastal community. martin savage, cnn, brunswick, georgia. >> ahmaud arbery's aunt is breathing a sigh of relief after hearing the guilty verdict. she wonders what impact this trial will have on the country. have a listen. >> i hope that everyone has learned this county has been a model for this situation. we have done everything in peace. with peace and prayer and motivation and get being up every day, mobilizing and getting out here and just working in these streets to make sure that we got justice for ahmad, i want everyone to take from this you don't have to tear up your cities. you don't have to burn things down. pray, do things in peace, and decency and order and justice will come. >> lastly, i know you and the rest of the family are relieved to finally have justice, but it doesn't bring your nephew back. he's still gone. so what do you want people to know about him, and how do you remember him? >> ahmaud was an amazing young man. he had a heart of gold, a smile that lit up a room. he was a giver. he was a little hard worker, especially when he worked with his dad. he was just an all around great kid. so the world should know that ahmaud's death was not in vain and we will continue to scream his name until we leave this ea earth. >> ahmaud arbery's aunt. they describe the verdict as accountability. justice he said would be having ahmaud arbery at thanksgiving dinner with his family. here's the reaction. >> the 11 white jurors in south georgia saw the facts as presented by an outstanding prosecutor, a very fair and able judge. i mean, i've been on this network and criticized the judge in kenosha, so i have to feed people out the same spoon. look, the judge in this case, in the ahmaud arbery case, was fabulous. he was stern. he wasn't there for the circus. he wasn't trying to get a cable news deal. he was there to do his job. and this jury saw that and they saw the humanity of ahmaud arbery. my problem is that we finally get to the point where a jury sees the humanity of a black person, but these three men did not. and if people want to know exactly what i'm talking about, i think that they should reach out to their black friends today because all of us were sitting with a level of anxiety in our chest. we were all -- i don't even want to say cautiously optimistic. i mean, it was just a knot because we were unsure what this verdict would be. everybody else sees it and says this was a slam dunk, this is the way it should be. but there are a lot of people in this country who did not want this to go the wrong way because we know our democracy is fragile and if this would have gone the wrong way, like we felt like it could, this country was going to be in a bad predicament. well, u.s. president joe biden released a statement reacting to the verdict. it reads, in part, ahmaud arbery's killing is a devastating reminder of how far we have to go in the fight for racial justice in this country. while the guilty verdicts reflect our justice system doing its job, that alone is not enough. instead, we must recommit ourselves to building a future of unity and shared strength where no one fears violence because of the color of their skin. that statement there from u.s. president joe biden. well, georgia's republican governor brian kemp responded to the verdicts with this statement. ahmaud arbery was the victim of vigilanteism that has no place in georgia, he says. as legal efforts continue to hold accountable all who may be responsible, we hope the arbery family, the brunswick community, our state and those around the nation who have been following his case can now move forward down the path of healing and reconciliation. now, here in europe, 27 migrants trying to make the dangerous journey by sea from france to britain have died after their boat capsized in the frigid waters of the english channel. it is believed to be the worst disaster involving migrants trying to cross that narrow waterway. you can see there on your screen, in recent years. it comes as migrants crossings continue to surge. according to data compiled by the news agency, more than 25,000 people have crossed the channel to the uk so far this year. that is three times the total for all of 2020. french president manuel macron and british prime minister boris johnson said they'll step up efforts to prevent migrants from making this dangerous journey. they are asked to stop politicizing the migrant crisis for domestic gain. our correspondents are tracking the story on both sides of the channel. nic robertson in dover, england, and cyril in northern france. i want to start with cyril this hour. i think there is a sense of inevitability about this tragedy. tell us what more we're learning about the 27 people who have died, and critically the people smugglers, pocketing, of course, from these people's desperation. >> reporter: isa, i agree with your characterizations there is a sense of inevitability. migrant crossings have been a fact of life here on this stretch of the french coast line for 15 years. it hasn't always been by boat. it hasn't always been what we're seeing at the moment, but migrants trying to go from here to england, that has been a facts of life here for multiple years. england is that way, some 27 nautical miles. behind me is dover. that's 15 kilometers. it can be a pretty rapid both crossing if that is, you're successful. here's what we're learning. one of many dingies that is inflatable boats yesterday took to the sea. on board were 34 migrants we believe originating from the middle east. i'll tell you more about that in a second. they were then seen -- well, the boat had capsized and one of the many boats crossing this very busy waterway, isa, alerted the rescue operations that patrol these seas. by the time they got there, the interior minister said the inflatable boat had completely deflated and they found bodies. they pulled 27 bodies out of the water. two survivors who suffer from severe hypothermia, we know that they are from iraq and somalia. that gives you a sense of the journey that they have undertaken to get to this point. and to die tragically in these waters, isa, the french interior minister adding that five smugglers have been arrested, believed to be in connection with that particular boat crossing and tragedy, isa. >> cyril, look, for our viewers watching in the united states and really around the world to get a sense of this, it is incredibly cold at this time of year. normally the migrant crossers we see, having covered the migrant crossings and the crossings in europe is done in the summer when it's warmer. as we mentioned just now, more than 25,000 people have been crossing this last year. that's a huge increase from what we saw for the whole of 2020, three times more. do we know why we're seeing these level -- these numbers of people attempting to cross? is it because of covid-19? is it because of brexit? what are the reasons you're hearing behind the surge? >> reporter: you're right,ition -- isa, to point out this is a seasonal activity, and crossings would take place in warmer weather. we spoke to residents who confirmed this with us. it's the first time we've seen so many boat crossings extend this far into the colder months, right, into the beginning of winter. i'm cold standing right here. those waters right there, i feel pretty comfortable guessing that if you fall in those waters, you're not going to survive very long at all. so why is this happening now? well, a couple reasons. some of it, if you look at it from a very short-term perspective, some of it, they wait for the best weather to cross. we are expecting more weather, more crossings today because it's not very windy. but bigger picture, it is not related to covid-19, we believe. we believe it's related to the fact that other routes have been shutdown. you see the ferry terminal behind my shoulder there? a couple years ago migrants preferred to try and hop onto the ferry somehow or hop onto a truck that would then cross the channel tunnel. those are now much more securely, closely guarded. so those routes have effectively been shutdown. and that has driven the migrants to choose other routes and it has pushed them into the arms of smugglers and those dangerous boat crossings, isa. >> yeah, my producer was telling me it's about 47 foreign. that's not factoring in the wind factor as you can see there. cyril vanier for us in kalle, thank you very much, sir. we want to turn to nic standing by. we have been covering this on cnn sometime. we've heard the uk government pledged to fund money for the problem. clearly that's not enough. what can be done politically here to prevent any further loss of life? >> reporter: yeah, isa, a long time just driving into dover last night, i was reminded i was here 20 years ago covering right in the port behind me a truck in which 58 chinese migrants were found dead. it was a disaster at the time, a horrible tragedy, and that really began to galvanize the tightening up of controls, ports to stop migrants coming across. and it has funneled them towards this much harder to stop, you know, crossings by these small craft. why? because at the ports, at least for authorities, there are guaranteed, you know, points of entry, points of departure, places to check. and speaking with the local n.p. here this morning, she told me, look, on the legal routes of crossing, she said, we have good cooperation with the french. we have french border officials here in dover. there are english border officials across the water in kalle. the two governments work closely, but what is clearly emerging is a picture where migrants are not hanging around in camps as they were in kalle, perhaps three or four or five years ago, but the people smugglers are now sort of keeping them outside of france, bringing them in to the point of departure from other countries, just maybe 24 hours before they leave. it's a very complex international, you know, criminal enterprises at work here. i think that's what we understand from listening to french officials this morning, that the effort going forward has to be now to sort of expand out this cooperation -- close cooperation on legal routes and expand it out to the illegal routes, and that needs to involve other countries, you know, perhaps germany where the boats have been purchased in some cases, perhaps belgium, perhaps the netherlands where the people smugglers are hiding the migrants before they bring them to france to make the journey. all of these things. and it's a hot political potato here in the uk because the conservative government has been under huge pressure to resolve this issue. they came to power partly based on the fact they could control this migrant issue. and i spoke to the n.p. here this morning. when i said to her, why has it taken so long for your government to get this under control, she pointed the finger of blame at the french, saying that the french police, according to her, were on the coast yesterday not stopping the boat. so you can see there's national rivalries as well as deep, you know, physical issues to try to control it. >> and you've just outlined, nic, perfectly the magnitude of the challenge. nic robertson for us there in dover. thanks very much, nic. still ahead right here on the show, coronavirus on the rise as americans prepare to celebrate thanksgiving. what dr. anthony fauci suggests people do to stay safe. we'll have that. plus, the latest on holiday travel. the long lines and short tempers really on the ground and in the air. both those stories after a short break. you are watching "cnn newsroom." 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cleans itself. just add a drop of soap, water, and blend. recharge quickly with any usb port. order now on blendjet.com and get our best deal ever! now, u.s. president joe biden received a clean bill of health after his medical exams last week, though we are learning that doctors did remove a small polyp during his routine colonoscopy. the doctor says it was benign. though it could be considered precancerous, it doesn't require any treatment at this moment. good news indeed. well, coronavirus infections once again are in the rise in the united states. cases are averaging, you can see there, about 95,000 a day. and health experts fear things could get worse as temperatures turn cooler, of course. transmission rates are high in much of the country. the cdc predicts deaths and hospitalizations will likely increase over the next four weeks. well, in europe, the coronavirus situation is even more dire. have a look at this graphic. you can see there the map. infections are rapidly rising in the region and show no signs really of slowing down. it is especially bad if you look in germany as the country has topped 100,000 covid deaths and set back to back daily case records. cnn's phil black joins me now for more. terrible new record being marked in germany today, but it really does paint a picture of what europe is going to be facing this winter. talk us through the measures that are being put in place, whether they go far enough. >> the challenge for europe is a case of really bad timing. winter was always going to be rough. delta, people on doors. on top of that patchy vaccination coverage, a lot of variation from country to country, even region to region. but on top of that, even where there is significant vaccine coverage, there is a concern that protection is beginning to wane and that's a problem. the booster programs are only getting started. they've only had limited progress there. with all of that in mind there is still very much a feeling getting vaccines to arms and particularly booster shots into the arms of the most vulnerable remains the core in terms of protecting as many people as possible, particularly protecting the most vulnerable. there is also talk about increasing restrictions as well. we've seen austria in for a lockdown. beyond that, though, much of the changes seem to have involved tweaking to various health pass systems in different countries. these are the documents people show, showing vaccine or natural immunity or recent negative test to gain access to a crowded venue or something like that. what we've seen is the test option being cutaway. we've seen that in italy, other areas of germany as well. you essentially have to prove immunity to access a crowded venue. will that be enough? it is not just about the big numbers. the concern is the rate of increase, the rapid rise that we are seeing, and health experts from the world health organization down will tell you that, yes, vaccines are still the first weapon, but they must now be backed up with other public health interventions. more social distancing, more cautious behavior, more mask wearing. and without that, they say, then there is still the risk of further lockdowns and it means people are not doing everything they possibly can to protect each other a. >> i just came about from portugal. my mom should have had hers already. it makes me wonder, there need to be more restrictions in place. what we saw in austria, many people taking to the streets protesting, do we expect, fphil if things don't improve, governments will have to put lockdowns in place, more restrictions in place, even travel? what is europe's thinking? >> well, the warnings are so grim, and i don't think that is just. it's not just language, not just rhetoric. there is little reason to be optimistic about current trends and all the key figures. what it says if you are looking at rocketing admission rates, it means hospital admissions and deaths. as we move into winter it appears likely countries will have no option but to take tougher action. once you take that tougher action, there is a lag. there will be a number of weeks before you start to see the effects of those in terms of slowing down infections and, of course, also slowing down serious disease that has people ending up in hospital. >> that is a good point we always forget about. phil black, thank you very much. today marks the second thanksgiving holiday in the u.s. during the pandemic. that presents all sorts of challenges as well as uncertainties, even with vaccines. america's toppin infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci says people should enjoy themselves, but be smart about it, he says. >> if you are vaccinated and your family members are vaccinated, and if you have children who are too young to be vaccinated, just gather in the home. you don't need to wear a mask. and enjoy the holiday season. if, in fact, you have to travel, and we know that that increases the risk of infection when you travel. if you go to an airport, for example, which is a congregate indoor setting, make sure you keep your masks on. once you get on the plane, it's a requirement for having a mask on. but what people sometimes don't do, they get into the indoor setting of a crowded airport, particularly around food courts where people are taking their masks off. just be very careful. you can have an enjoyable restful thanksgiving. don't deprive yourself of that. be careful particularly when you travel. >> have fun, enjoy yourselves, but be careful. the holiday means traveling and being with friends. aaa predicts it will hit pre-pandemic levels this year. the tsa expects to screen 20 million travelers in airports right across the country. on whether you're driving or flying for the holidays, there is some rain and some snow to be aware of. derek van dam fills us in. good morning. >> good morning, isa. so much to be thankful for, including a dry travel day for most locations, with the exception of the ohio river valley as a cold front has pressed through. that is going to help usher in the colder air behind it and set the stage for a more impactful storm by the end of the week and the early parts of next week. more on that in just one moment. let's talk about this cold front now. you can see from chicago to d.c. as well as new york and boston, just light rain showers for you. but you can see some snow starting to fly across northern new england. again, we're going to get a blast of cold air behind this system so that will help transition some of this rain to snow. but we will keep it all liquid for the i-95 corridor, perhaps some slow downs there with the rain. but this is through saturday. forecast rain and snow accumulation. and then look how the snow starts to pile up by the end of the weekend into early next week from the great lakes right to the east coast. so new york to boston, the potential for snow does exist. but again, in the meantime for your friday, traveling back from family and friends should just be rain showers along the east coast. there is sapp the clipper that has the potential to bring snowfall to those areas including the mid-atlantic by sunday and monday. across the pacific northwest, more snow in the mountains. coastal wind with rain expected in seattle to portland. speaking of wind, this is a dry wind also known as the santa ana winds into southern california. this also brings with it the chance of high fire danger for los angeles to san diego as winds gust out of the northeast, over 40 miles per hour in some of those higher elevations. let's talk temperatures for your thanksgiving day forecast. 53 near new york city. we're expecting a high of 65 for atlanta. 57 for the nation's capital. and a chilly 43 for chicago with our cold front pressing through. isa? >> thank you very much, derek. now, the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention is warning the new flu season could be starting. increased flu activity has been detected among young adults and college students. the cdc says vaccination rates against the flu are still low this year. anyone age six months and older can receive a flu shot, the agency warns that if the flu and the coronavirus both spread t could stress health care systems. now, chinese tennis player peng shuai may have resurfaced. questions still surround her time away from the public eye. just ahead, a look at china's efforts to scrub her story from the internet. later, the teenager acquitted after fatally shooting people gets an audience with the former u.s. president. that's next. and get back to yoyour rhyth. ♪ the relief you n need. the cah you want. switching wireless carriers is easy with xfinity. just lean on our helpful switch squad to help you save with xfinity mobile. they can help break up with your current carrier for you and transfer your info to your new phone. giving you a fast and easy experience that can save you hundreds a year on your wireless bill. visit your nearest xfinity store and see how the switch squad can help you switch and save. it's the xfinity black friday sales event. learn how to save up to $1000 on select phones by visitng your local xfinity store today. welcome back to "cnn newsroom." i'm isa soares. if you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour. three white men in the u.s. state of georgia have been found guilty of murdering a black man. ahmaud arbery was chased shot and killed last year. the three men were arrested months after the crime when video of the killing was released. a desperate journey ends in death for 27 migrants when the boat they were in capsized in the english channel. it is believed to be the worst disaster involving migrants trying to cross the narrow waterway in recent years. cnn, of course, will continue to bring you the latest developments on both those stories throughout the day here. well, as cnn continues to cover the story of chinese tennis star peng shuai, our coverage is being censored in china every step of the way. peng disappeared from the public eye for more than two weeks after alleging she was sexually assaulted by one of china's most senior communist leaders. cnn's will ripley reports. >> reporter: you can see that as soon as you started talking about this story, it went to color bars. when china's communist rulers don't like the message -- >> this broadcast is not being aired in china. it's being censored. >> reporter: they silence the messenger. they have an army of censors waiting to push that button. >> they don't want the people there to see it. >> reporter: cnn konccoverage o tennis start peng shuai blocked in china. >> it really tries to control the story, control the narrative. >> reporter: controlling the narrative means scrubbing social media. peng's explosive post on november 2nd accusing a retired chinese leader of sexual assault, erased within 30 minutes. look for the story on china's leading search engine, you get this message. sorry, no relevant results found. the scandal so politically sensitive, a high-profile state prop propagandaist said it's the thing people talk about. inside state media staying silent. no mention on the tv or digital media. outside, those news outlets eagerly tweeting updates and images of peng in english on a platform blocked in their country. an irony not lost on millions following the story outside china. some even mocking the state media tweets. peng is seen smiling, but not talking at a tennis tournament. having dinner with friends. and a chinese sports official who just so happens to mention the exact date several times. cnn has no way to independently verify these videos, or this email supposedly from peng to the head of the women's tennis association last week, claiming, everything is fine. a computer cursor visible in this apparent screen shot. the head of the wta telling outfront he's not convinced. >> i'm just struggling to agree to that and don't believe that's the truth at all. >> reporter: the wta demanding direct uncensored communication with peng. the organization's repeated calls and messages to the tennis star unanswered. >> china is well known for coercing statements to show that everything is fine. >> reporter: china's narrative bolstered by the international olympic committee. they handed out this single image of a video call sunday summarizing the call claiming peng is safe and well, totally ignoring her painfully detailed allegation of sexual assault. with billions of dollars in ad revenue on the line, critics call the ioc complicit in china's apparent silencing of a three-time olympian who many fear is being held under duress, censored by china's authoritarian government, which blames hostile forces for politicizing the issue. when cnn goes to the next story, our signal returns. as china waits for the news cycle to move on, the pressure keeps growing. the world keeps demanding answers. and you can see it right now live, real-time chinese censorship, because every time we start talking about this story, the minute, isa, you started talking, within three seconds or so the color bars reappeared. they stepped up the censorship. they are censoring our ticker at the bottom of the screen. if it starts to talk about peng shuai, the color bars go up again. >> viewers that are watching, this is what is coming out on chinese tv. we are being censored. will, i'm not sure if you're still with us. this pressure, the news cycle like you're saying, it keeps f focusing on peng shuai. pressure from the media, the wta and other organizations, has that made any difference at all? >> reporter: experts we've spoken with, isa, have said that if this pressure were not being applied, it is very likely that peng shuai could have been silenced and disappeared, and possibly be away for months, reeducated, if you will, or worse. this is what happens inside china when people aren't watching. it's been happening for a very long time, for decades, as a matter of fact. whenever somebody dares to speak out as a voice of dissent or does something that could be perceived as an em bearment or scandal for top party leadership, they're out. in the case of peng shuai, the fact she is being shown in these, which look to be pretty deliberately choreographed videos to prove she's okay, it shows china is listening and responding to the global pressure. what they're not doing is allowing her to speak freely and communicate directly in an uncensored unfiltered way with the women's tennis association or with foreign journalists. that's why these calls continue, whether or not china will heed those calls, most experts i've spoken with, isa, say it's pretty unlikely. they're going to wait until this dies down. meanwhile peng shuai believed to be held under duress. >> and i know you'll stay on top of the story for us. will ripley for us, thanks very much, will. good to see you. well, australia sending police and defense personnel to help authorities deal with violent protests. demonstrators set fires to buildings in the capital for a second day as you can see there, despite lockdown being ordered. protesters from the provence overlooked. they are calling the government to respkt the right of self-determination, to limit ties with dhchina and resume developments in malita. the u.s. embassy in can i he have is warning of unusual military activity along russia's border with ukraine and crimea. situations could change without notice. satellite images appear to show russia gathering close to 100,000 troops along with tanks and military hardware in the region. meanwhile, ukraine is launching a special operation along its border with belarus. it is aimed at preventing a migrant crisis similar to the one that erupted, if you remember, between belarus and p poland about a week or so ago. now, a bombing in the somali capitol killed eight civilians and wounded 17 others. chi children are among the injured. it is believed to be associated with the united nations and the somali national news agency. if ethiopia's prime minister is directing troops on the front lines of his country's civil war with tigrayan rebels, we have yet to see any images of that. cnn's david mackenzie is tracking this live from johannesburg. good morning, david. so far no images he's gone to the front lines. where are we on the diplomatic front? why has it failed to actually move at all, put pressure at all on the government there? >> reporter: well, that is a huge question because at this stage, you don't get much optimism from diplomats that this can actually be solved or de-escalated very easily. and the proof of that, isa, is what foreign nations are doing. the uk and the e.u. have said citizens should get out of the country while they can, out of the commercial airport there, in case the situation does deteriorate rapidly. you have the u.s. government, several sources telling cnn they've stationed special operation forces in djibouti, neighboring djibouti in case there is a need to evacuate people out. so those signs show that this is a very serious situation indeed. and also i think the fact that state media is talking the fact the minister is on the front lines. no images of that. he is a former soldier, the prime minister. i don't think the irony is lost on anyone he is marshaling the troops directly supposably, though he is a nobel peace prize laureate. that is less of a concrete way of sort of marshaling the troops and more a propaganda effort, i think, to rally up people in addis ababa and elsewhere to join the fight, to volunteer, to push back the rebels which have been encroaching on the capital in recent weeks. the state of the military play is very unclear at the moment. the national forces, federal forces of ethiopia have been disspirited and gutted, say analysts, through the many months of this campaign, and many of the tigrayan and senior leadership is purged from there. it is unclear how this will go in the next few days and weeks. but most people i'm speaking to believe it could be a very in tractable conflict if some kind of peaceful solution is not found. isa? >> david mackenzie there for us in johannesburg. thanks very much, david. now, former u.s. donald trump is calling the teenager who shot people dead during the protest a really nice young man. details of the meeting at mar-a-lago next. brilliant. l always be crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whititest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. i'm m jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get 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about home security or get our self-monitored solution starting at just $10 per month. now, the teenager acquitted of fatally shooting two people during a racial justice protest last year has become a darling of the far-right, and now it seems the former u.s. president is among his fans. cnn's brian todd reports on their meeting at mar-a-lago. >> reporter: the way donald trump tells it, kyle rittenhouse just happened to be in the neighborhood. >> kyle, i got to know him a little bit. he called. he wanted to know if he could come over and say hello because he was a fan. >> reporter: so the former president told sean hannity on fox, he welcomed rittenhouse and his mother to trump's mar-a-lago resort in florida. >> he came over with his mother, really a nice young man. >> reporter: that was just a few days after the 18-year-old was acquitted of all charges in the fatal shootings of two people and the wounding of a third during last year's protest in kenosha, wisconsin. trump played the role of legal analyst supporting rittenhouse's claim of self-defense. >> that was prosecutorial misconduct. he should not have had to suffer through a trial for that. he was going to be dead. if he didn't pull that trigger, kyle would have been dead. >> reporter: but even trump didn't gush over rittenhouse as blatantly as fox host tucker carlson did in rittenhouse's first interview since his acquittal. >> kyle rittenhouse struck us as bright, decent, sincere, dutiful and hard working. exactly the kind of person you'd want many more of in your country. >> reporter: for his part rittenhouse said he was simply trying to protect businesses from rioters. >> kenosha is my community, um, and i just was upset seeing my community up in flames. >> reporter: rittenhouse is being hailed as a hero in other corners of the far-right with republican congress members matt gates, laurenne boebert and madison cawthorn competing offering kyle rittenhouse internship on capitol hill. >> he said he would wrestle me for the kyle rittenhouse internship. but madison cawthorn has some pretty big guns, and so i would like to challenge him to a sprint instead. >> reporter: congressman cawthorn uses a wheelchair. republican congresswoman marjorie taylor greene is also jumping in, pushing a bill to award rittenhouse a congressional gold medal, which has been bestowed on people like george washington, nelson mandela, winston churchill and the wright brothers. >> he stands as an icon on the far-right as someone who pushed back against the black lives matter movement and he stands as someone who sort of stands for gun rights because he was open carrying during a protest and he used his gun in a violent way in the minds of many people on the right, an attack on their version of america. >> reporter: in the carlson interview, kyle rittenhouse said the incidents that led to his prosecution never had anything to do with race, and that he supports the black lives matter movement. he is also hinting at possible legal action against people who have implied that he's a white supremacist, like then candidate joe biden did in a tweet last year. rittenhouse now saying that was actual malice and defamed his character. brian todd, cnn, washington. now, some brazen thieves in the u.s. are targeting high-end stores in a string of smash-and-grab burglaries. police say an apple store in santa rosa, california, were targets in broad daylight, right in front of customers and staff. the thieves got away with $20,000, excuse me, in merchandise. stores in some other cities have fallen victim to similar crimes in recent days. this comes just as stores prepare for the u.s. christmas shopping season which traditionally begins on friday after today's thanksgiving holiday. ahead, a thanksgiving tradition returns. we'll explain what will be different from last year at the macy's thanksgiving parade in new york. the events get underway a few hours from now. we'll explain it all next. are you a christian author with a book that you're ready to share with the world? get published now, call for your free publisher kit today! now, you could say a national hockey league team should have gotten a delay of game penalty governor wales were on their way to play the new jersey devils last night and a major tunnel was closed and they got stuck in new york traffic. and that forced the game at the arena to be pushed back by half an hour. the delay of game an infraction results in a two-minute penalty. no one was sent to the penalty box. they edged the devils 3-2. now, germany is getting the holiday spirit as well as its leader prepares to pass the torch. have a look at this. ♪ on wednesday german chancellor angela merkel helped with the christmas tree. giving them a chance to see how the two leaders work. >> translator: this tree will experience two german governments, an acting one and the new one. something not many christmas trees have seen. but i think the colorado tree will like it. thank you very much. >> and merkel was germany's first female chancellor and chose to not seek a fifth term in office ending her run in power after 16 years. now, a thanksgiving tradition is returning to pre-pandemic form. the macy's thanksgiving day parade will get underway just a few hours from now in new york city. on wednesday, thousands of people traveled to the city's upper west side to see the parade's giant helium balloons being blown up as you can see there. the crowds were not allowed last year because of covid. and last year's parade was a tv-only event. but today crowds will once again line the streets. some covid changes will remain in place. notably, that children younger than 12 are only allowed as spectators and not participants. and that does it for me. thanks very much for joining. i'm isa soares. for all of you celebrating thanksgiving, have a wonderful and healthy day. plenty to be thankful for. "early start" with christine romans is next. i shall see you tomorrow. bye-bye. i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price that can't increase, and a price that fits your budget. i'm 54, what's my price? you can get coverage for $9.95 a month. i'm 65 and take medications. what's my price? also $9.95 a month. i just turned 80, what's my price? $9.95 a month for you too. if you're age 50 to 85, call now about the #1 most popular whole life insurance plan available through the colonial penn program. it has an affordable rate starting at $9.95 a month. no medical exam, no health questions. your acceptance is guaranteed. and this plan has a guaranteed lifetime rate lock so your rate can never go up for any reason. so call now for free information and you'll also get this free beneficiary planner. and it's yours free just for calling. so call now for free information. every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. good morning and welcome to a special thanksgiving day edition of "early start." i'm christine romans. laura jarrett has the holiday off. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we have reports from georgia, france, capitol hill, tel aviv, the uk and, of course, the thanksgiving parade route in new york. we'll take you there live. so, let's begin in georgia. cheers and tears in brunswick after verdicts were handed down for three men convicted of killing an unarmed black jogger. >> we the jury