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Leo XIV Speaks in First Formal Interview Since Becoming Pope; Harris Book: Buttigieg Would Have Been an Ideal Partner; WNBA Franchises See Record-Breaking Growth. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 18, 2025 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Pope Leo says he is concerned with, quote, some things happening in the United States. The remark was made in a brand new sit-down interview, the first since his election. And in it, the Pope shares his thoughts on politics, the LGBTQ community, sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, and he reveals what he said to Vice President J.D. Vance during their one-on-one meeting.

CNN Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb joins us now live. So, Christopher, what are we learning from this interview?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, Pope Leo is being very diplomatic in this interview. It does cover a huge range of topics and interestingly he goes into his relationship with President Donald Trump. He's asked whether Leo being an American Pope will help him engage with the president. And Leo says not necessarily.

Now he says he's concerned about some things in the United States. He doesn't go into huge detail, but it is clear he's talking about immigration. And he explains that when he met with Vice President Vance.

He said -- One of the last conversations I had with the Vice President United States I talked about human dignity and how important that it is for all people wherever you're born and hopefully to find ways to respect human beings and the way we treat them in the policies and choices we make. Obviously, there's some things going on in the states that are of concern.

[08:05:06]

Now, Leo also talks about a letter that Pope Francis sent to the bishops of the United States, where he rebuked the Trump administration over immigration policy. So, whilst Leo is being very diplomatic, he's sending a clear message. He also says he has yet to have any direct contact with President Trump, although does point that President Trump has met with his brother, Louis Prevost, in the White House. But Leo, yet to talk to the president.

SANCHEZ: Christopher Lamb, thank you so much for that update.

So it turns out that Governor Tim Walz was not Kamala Harris's first choice for running mate. Next, hear who the former VP says she really wanted beside her, but thought it was too risky.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:10:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Another bombshell revelation just dropping from former Vice President Kamala Harris's upcoming book about the 2024 election called 107 Days. An excerpt published by The Atlantic reveals Harris's first choice to run as her VP was actually former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, but she decided the risk was too great.

She writes, Buttigieg, who is gay, quote, would have been an ideal partner if I were a straight white man, but we were already asking a lot of America to accept a woman, a black woman, a black woman married to a Jewish man -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Harris also writes that she wanted to say, Screw it, let's just do it, but that it was too big of a risk and there was too much at stake.

Let's discuss with Jamal Simmons, the CNN political commentator and the former communications director for the former VP. Jamal, great to see you as always. Why do you think she thought Buttigieg was an ideal partner?

JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, as she wrote in the book, and as so many of us who've watched Secretary Buttigieg over the years, he's just a great communicator. He's from the center of the country, so he's got a very easy way to relate with people in terms of how he communicates on the issues. I think that really matters, and I think she was comfortable with him.

You know, I don't know if they always started out that way. Remember, they took a kind of a trip together that first year when they were in the White House to kind of lay concerns that maybe they might be running against each other at some point in the future. But when I was there, what I saw was the transportation department, under secretary Buttigieg, was very supportive of the vice president. Whenever she would do trips that had to do with transportation issues, he would often fly with us on Air Force Two. So I think they developed a pretty good relationship over time.

SANCHEZ: Do you think having Buttigieg as her VP pick would have made a difference on the outcome of the election?

SIMMONS: You know, she may be right about the concerns about having so much change at one time. I mean, you know, in America, the hashtag America, right? We are living through seeing so many Americans feeling left out of the political process when it comes to those of us who are on the left, who are really interested in social change and making sure everybody has a chance to participate in the American experiment.

But the question is, how much change can you have at one time? And so I think she saw, obviously, her family was a very blended family, both, you know, she and Doug, obviously, she mentioned who's Jewish- American. They've got family members and different kinds of, you know, different kinds of collaborations between, you know, mixes of races. You know, her mom's Indian American, her dad was Jamaican, you know, so there's a lot going on there.

So I think for her perspective, getting somebody who she thought could help her and move in spaces that she couldn't move. She talked a little bit about in the book, she talks a little bit about talking to people who've made this choice before about picking vice presidents and expanding the reach of the vice presidency so the vice president can go places that she couldn't go. Could they go to rural areas? Could they talk to, you know, union white guys? Could they, what could they do that would make it all work for the entire ticket?

SANCHEZ: I also want to ask you, Jamal, about this excerpt, the first one from her book, where she laments her time as vice president, saying that President Biden's staff not only didn't defend her against attacks from opponents, but were unhappy when she succeeded. I wonder if you think that experience informed who she chose as her running mate, and overall, just what your reflections are on that.

SIMMONS: Yes, you know, being vice president is a very particular thing. And Kamala Harris is a particular kind of vice president. You know, in my experience, I don't think the White House ever built an institution around her that really supported her very well because she was so different, right? First woman, first woman of color.

Also remember, she was not a Washington insider. And so many of our recent vice presidents from Dick Cheney to Joe Biden to Al Gore, you know, Mike Pence, they were people who were the Washington insiders while the president was an outsider. Joe Biden didn't need a Washington insider.

What Kamala Harris was for him was somebody who could go out in the country. People felt comfortable talking to her. She could bring those stories back to the White House, and she was building an external coalition that helped the White House succeed. And we saw that in 2022 when I was there, when Democrats really surprised people and were able to win that midterm election and gain seats in the Senate and almost hold on to the House. So she was able to help really bring that coalition together.

I don't know the Biden White House quite understood how to use her in that role, and I think that may be part of what she perceived as she was looking for somebody that she would feel comfortable with and would be able to give them the running room and support them while they were also supporting her.

SANCHEZ: Jamal Simmons appreciate the perspective.

SIMMONS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: The WNBA's franchise values and attendance are soaring, but its players say that their revenue shares are not. The controversy right after this.

[08:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. Tesla says it's looking into redesigning its door handles after accidents reportedly left people trapped inside of burning vehicles because rescuers could not open the doors.

Right now, Tesla's futuristic looking handles are flushed to the car's exterior. They open electrically, but they might not work if the car loses power in a crash. In other cases, without an accident, parents have had to smash windows to get their kids out of a Tesla. It's not clear if Tesla is working on making this change for all of its cars or just the new ones.

Also, Cracker Barrel stock tumbling today. It says its business has been hit hard by the intense controversy over its logo, and it isn't showing any signs of coming back. The restaurant chain says traffic is down 8 percent since it tried to refresh its logo and decor, resulting in a huge backlash.

[08:20:00]

But the Tennessee company scrapped those plans and then went back to its old timey logo. It's forecasting that business is likely to keep dropping off in coming months.

And catch her if you can. American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone just ran the fastest 400 meters in 40 years at the World Championships in Tokyo. Her winning time of 47.78 seconds was less than a quarter second short of the all time world record set in 1985 by Marita Cook of then East Germany -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: It is playoff time for the WNBA and the Women's Pro Basketball League is breaking records on and off the court, and as franchise values soar, the players say their revenue is not quite there. We hit the virtual court to take a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: In the past year, the WNBA's 13 franchises have seen record- breaking growth, increasing in value by over 180 percent, according to Sportico. You can chart the league's growing popularity not only in financial gain, but in name recognition too.

Stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese becoming household names, as well as a spike in celebrity endorsements and attendance. In 2024, Caitlin Clark's team, the Indiana Fever, averaged more than 17,000 fans a game. That's more than six NBA teams and three MLB teams in the same span. The uptick in popularity corresponds with a $2.2 billion TV rights deal the WNBA signed for 2026 that covers the next 11 years, which ESPN reports will increase the league's annual revenue by about $200 million a season.

Yet WNBA players say they're not being paid what they're owed. Right now they get less than 10 percent of the league's total revenue, a strikingly slim margin when compared to other pro sports leagues, and which athletes typically split revenues about 50-50. That's almost 40 percent greater than WNBA players, and why some of the league stars say they're do a higher percentage of revenue, though they're not looking for dollar for dollar parity.

Keep in mind, despite historic gains since it was founded in 1996, the league has always operated at a loss, annually losing 10s of millions of dollars, even with large cash boosts coming from the NBA, which is the majority stakeholder.

But as the league is poised to keep growing, adding two more teams next season, expanding to 18 total by 2030. The question remains, what will the league do with the new revenue? Are we headed for a lockout or can the owners and players agree to new terms that align with what they feel they're owed?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ (on camera): Round one of the WNBA playoffs continue tonight. Sad to report, Brianna, none of the cash around me was actually real. I tried to pick it up and put it away, but. It wasn't like Pete Muntean's plane yesterday that I just folded into my shirt.

KEILAR: It's like a dream. You wake up and it's not real. Did you get to at least work on your jump shot?

SANCHEZ: No.

KEILAR: No.

KEILAR: No.

KEILAR: You should because you --

SANCHEZ: The ring was also not real.

KEILAR: Oh.

SANCHEZ: I mean, virtually, it's real. It's real in our hearts.

KEILAR: Well, you could probably do something where, like, you make every shot. You should experiment with that.

SANCHEZ: Not a bad idea.

KEILAR: I'd like to see --

SANCHEZ: I like that.

KEILAR: -- some action.

SANCHEZ: I like that.

SANCHEZ: Never happen.

KEILAR: Don't let its cute name fool you, because the kissing bug can actually be deadly. And the CDC says it's now a constant in the U.S. We have Sanjay Gupta here to answer all your questions to our doctor about the disease right after this.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: You may not be familiar with Chagas disease, but in the future, we all will need to know more about it. It's a disease that was more associated with the tropics, where it's spread by kissing bugs, but experts say the disease may be more prevalent in the U.S. than expected.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with answers to your questions about it. All right, Sanjay, our first question comes from Deidra, and she simply wants to know, what's the treatment for kissing bug disease?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so kissing bug disease or Chagas, as you mentioned, is a is a parasitic disease. It was a neglected tropical disease and kind of amazing because now it's in 32 states in the United States.

But it's a parasitic disease, which means anti-parasitic drugs can work and we know that they they do work. There's two drugs in particular that have been quite effective. It's a commitment to take. So a couple things. One is that you have to be diagnosed pretty early for these drugs to be most effective.

So if you're worried you have Chagas, if you have any of the telltale sort of signs of Chagas, get it checked out. A blood test will tell you if you have it or not. Then you can start the anti-parasitic, typically about 60 days. Brianna, you got to take these medications, but pretty effective. You know, there's thousands of antibiotics. There's hundreds of antivirals. There's only dozens of anti- parasitics, but luckily in this case, two of them work pretty well.

KEILAR: So our next question is from Fatima in Miami, who -- I think she has a couple questions actually that I think we all want to know. Can it affect pets and would mosquito repellent help in keeping them from biting?

GUPTA: So the answer to the first question is yes, it can affect pets. And in fact, usually we see Chagas in animals first, including pets, and then we see it in humans after that. It seems to be more of a carrier when it comes to cats. So cats don't necessarily get sick, but they can carry the parasite. Dogs can get sick, much in the same ...

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