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Officials: M.N. Shooter Wore Mask, Body Armor During Attack; DHS Cut Funding To Mass Shooting Prevention Programs In Minnesota Before Shooting; M.N. Mayor: Let Cities Take Action On Reducing Gun Violence; Officials: Ukrainian Lawmaker Shot Dead In Lviv; 3 Dead, 37 Injured In Ukraine In Last 24 Hours From Overnight Russian Attacks. Putin Prepares For Security Summit With China's Xi Jinping Tomorrow; Indian Prime Minister Modi Will Join Putin, Xi At Security Summit; Jazz Musician Rebuilt Life After Losing Everything In Katrina; Coach Prime, Colorado Fall To Georgia Tech In Thriller; Vanderbilt Volleyball Makes Winning Return After 45 Years; Taylor Townsend Reaches Round Of 16 At U.S. Open; French Tennis Player Wins "From The Toilet" After Shelton Injury; Meet College Football's Newest "Mascat", Pudge; Dorm Room Glow Up; "Eva Longoria: Searching For Spain" Back-To- Back Episodes Air Sunday. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired August 30, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:00:38]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to the CNN Newsroom. I'm Victor Blackwell.
Trump's tariffs struck down. A federal appeals court rules many of the president's tariffs are unlawful. Well, that's brewing even more economic uncertainty. Plus turmoil at the CDC, the nation's top public health agency. New CNN reporting on what's going on there behind the scenes.
And later, college football is back. Coy Wire will be here for all of the highlights and what to watch in today's matchups.
The Trump administration is already promising to appeal a court's decision on a wide range of its tariffs. The court ruled that many of the president's tariffs were imposed illegally. The judges noted that imposing taxes and tariffs is a core congressional power meant for the legislative branch, not the executive. But the tariffs will stay in place for now because the court delayed implementation of its order until October. That's to give the administration time to appeal.
CNN's Camila DeChalus is with us this morning with how the president and the attorney general are reacting. What do they say?
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Victor. Well, this is a major blow to the Trump administration. And the White House has made it very clear that they are going to appeal this. So pretty notable to see that his attorney general also went on social media and she's had this to say about this decision. She called it wrong.
And she also said that it undermines the United States on the world stage. And what this really does is kind of set the stage that they are really going to try to appeal this. As you know, Trump has really used these tariffs as a way to kind of leverage his relationship with other countries, either in some ways to strengthen it and others just try to strong arm them into really forging relationships and kind of brokering deals on his end. And so what we see is that in the months ahead, this really ruling has given them a bit of time until October for the implementation of the ruling. So it's given them time to appeal this.
And it really does beg this bigger question that if more lower courts decide to kind of rule that the way that the Trump administration is going about this is unconstitutional. What this means for the White House and their way of trying to push forward their economic and even foreign policy agenda going forward.
BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus, thank you very much.
All right. Missouri is the latest state to announce redistricting efforts. Governor Mike Kehoe announced a special session that starts Wednesday. Specifically, it will zero in on a Kansas City area district that's currently represented by Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. He's an 11 term Democrat and he's already promised legal action to block any map targeting his seat. Governor Kehoe said in a social media post that the special session would give Missourians, quote, "the tremendous opportunity to elect an additional MAGA Republican next year."
Redistricting efforts are also playing out in Texas and California as other states weigh their options.
The New York apartment building of New York Times executive editor Joseph Kahn was vandalized early Friday. Look at this, the building was splashed with red paint and graffiti reading "Jo Khan lies, Gaza dies." This follows a similar incident at the paper's headquarters last month as criticism of the Times Gaza coverage intensifies. No arrests have been made. The Times condemned the act and said that people are free to disagree with their reporting, but targeting individuals crosses the line.
A church bus overturned on Interstate 29 in Buchanan County, Missouri. Eight of the 29 children on board were injured. Missouri State Highway Patrol told our local affiliate the children were soccer and volleyball players from a Christian school in Westwood, Kansas. The children were headed to St. Joseph for scheduled games. A Missouri State Highway Patrol sergeant said two tires blew out.
Two students had serious injuries, six had minor injuries.
Three former Memphis police officers convicted in Tyre Nichols beating death last fall will get a new trial. A judge ordered a new trial for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith. A warning, the video that we're about to show is disturbing. Now the men were found guilty in October of last year of obstruction of justice through witness tampering in the death of Nichols. But a judge sided with defense lawyers who argued the judge presiding over that trial was biased against the men.
[09:05:05]
It's Labor Day weekend, you know this already, but TSA says they're preparing to screen a record breaking number of travelers, 17.4 million people they expect to take to the skies. They're reminding travelers get to the airport early. You can keep your shoes on at the checkpoints.
Good news for those of you driving to your holiday destinations, though, according to GasBuddy, Labor Day prices are expected to average 3.15 a gallon. That's the cheapest since 2020. Drivers in some parts of the country will even find gas under $3 a gallon.
This morning we have some reporting on what weather you can expect to see over your holiday weekend. Joining me now, meteorologist Chris Warren. Good news for a lot of people. Not everybody --
CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not everybody.
BLACKWELL: -- but a lot of people.
WARREN: Most areas, Victor, weather's going to be your buddy. In most areas, it's going to be your sidekick this weekend. Few exceptions, some showers, some storms, possible flood threat, but that really is the exception. You step back, not a ton of green on this map. This cold front here in the winter, that'd be bad news, summer might be good news for you with temperatures like this.
Walking outside right now it's in the lower 60s in New York, even mid- 50s in Buffalo. Little taste of falls, we're getting ready for football today for so many people, highs 70s and 80s. While this is hot by most people's standards, if you live in the south, it's actually to be a little bit cooler than average with temperatures highs in Atlanta, mid-80s to lower 80s on Monday. Even in Orlando, it's going to be 86 there on Labor Day with upper 80s in New Orleans. And then the Northeast, some green on the map, that's 70s, 75 there in Boston on Monday.
And then this is going to be that potential, that wild card for where there will be some showers and the possibility of that some flooding could happen here from the Plains and the Gulf Coast states, we have the systems that could spark a few of the showers and storms. And that's what we're seeing right now. So do be careful if you are hitting the road running into what, you know, a few thunderstorms after what has been a pretty nice drive. So, Victor, there definitely is the exceptions. But for most areas, we've been saying could be worse.
BLACKWELL: Could be worst.
WARREN: It could be a lot (inaudible). BLACKWELL: We will take this. Chris, thanks so much.
All right, coming up on CNN this morning, or rather Newsroom, community members come together to remember the two children killed in a shooting in Minneapolis as we learn new details about the shooter. Breaking overnight, Russia launches another attack on Ukraine, signaling no movement toward a peace agreement. And later, 20 years after Hurricane Katrina, how music helped heal the soul of New Orleans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:12:30]
BLACKWELL: We are learning new details about the investigation into the deadly Catholic school shooting in Minneapolis. According to a search warrant obtained by CNN affiliate WCCO, the shooter was wearing a mask and body armor during the attack. Authorities also recovered even more magazines and unspent rounds at the scene. Law enforcement confirmed that they have been in contact with the shooter's parents.
We're also learning that a month before the shooter opened fire at Annunciation Catholic Church, the Department of Homeland Security cut funding to mass shooting prevention programs in Minnesota. The grants were ended as part of $18.5 million in cuts to a homeland security program that the Trump administration says was partisan and unsuccessful. Joining me now is former Minnesota State Senator Minority Leader Melisa Lopez Franzen.
Good morning to you. I think about this in the context that you were personally and many in Minnesota were already grieving the loss of Melissa Hortman when this shooting happened. Beyond the acute needs of these families, should there be some broader response, broader reaction?
MELISA LOPEZ FRANZEN, FORMER MINNESOTA SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Of course. And thank you for signaling that Minnesota is resilient. And we have been going through a lot of mourning lately, unfortunately. We all should take this seriously, regardless of where you are in your faith, in your belief in ideology when it comes to politics. Right now we are grieving two young children, eight and 10 year old Fletcher and Harper.
If you look at anybody's Minnesota feed, if you're from Minnesota, all you see is this news, this terrible news. And we should all be mourning together and try to figure out how to move forward together. Certainly there will be policies that will be discussed in the future. This is a time for mourning. But yes, we are -- we are really grieving in the state of Minnesota.
We want our leaders to grieve with us instead of fighting between them.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has talked about the availability of extended magazines, assault rifles in recent interviews. He was asked about a way forward. I want to play what he told an NPR station.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JACOB FREY, (D) MINNEAPOLIS: If the federal government or the state government is not going to take the necessary steps to protect my constituents, let me do it. Give the city, give Minneapolis, give around the country the ability to take the action to keep their constituents safe. If there's other levels of government that don't want to take action, let us do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:15:15]
BLACKWELL: As a former state lawmaker, would you support legislation that allows cities to enact bans on weapons or magazines?
FRANZEN: Well, it's a good step forward to actually have the conversation, but it's also really needing to be included with folks in all segments of the law enforcement population. I think it's really hard to have state by state jurisdiction -- or city by city rules, but certainly it brings the topic forward. I think we need to do something. I think it should be done at the state level. But if this prompts a conversation, I'm all for it.
Certainly we want to work with our law enforcement because the practicality of enforcing these particular bans or whatnot can be practically unfeasible. So instead of putting a band aid, I think this is the moment, if not any other, to do something. We don't need weapons that are meant for war to be in the hands of civilians. We can all agree on that. We need to protect our babies not more than our guns or not less than our guns.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
FRANZEN: So we need to make sure that we are doing something. So the conversation needs to happen. And if it happens, starting at the -- at the city level, yes, but at the same time, I think it's not going to solve the bigger picture that we need national conversation on this particular issue. This is enough. We've had enough of these additional high caliber guns in our -- in the hands of people who should not have them.
BLACKWELL: Two years ago, the Minnesota Catholic Conference wrote to Governor Walz and their request was that $50 million in building and cybersecurity grants that was proposed include nonpublic schools. They said this in their letter, that their schools were under attack, "The exclusion of one sector of schools, as you know, nonpublic schools serve many students and families in need of services and resources, is a discriminatory act against our students." Should public dollars be afforded to private schools for security?
FRANZEN: For national interests, of course, that should also be something we should evaluate. I tend to agree without hearing more than what I just heard that that schools are schools, churches are churches, and we should make sure that they're all safe regardless of whether they're public or not. At the end of the day, we are all public citizens. We all live in a sphere of government. So there comes a moment where we need to make sure that we all protected.
The sad thing is that we thought we were protected in our schools, we thought were protected in our places of worship and now we're seeing that no one's safe anywhere. We're living in fear. And politicians need to step up to the plate and do what they're supposed to do to keep our community safe and stop the lip service and stop attacking one community over the other. At the end of the day, we're all people. But what we all have in common is that we're getting access to weapons that we should not have access to.
So that is the first step. And I'm not saying that's the only solution. Let's be clear, we have some of the worst counselor rates in terms of helping our students and therapists in schools. Let's do something like that we can do at a bipartisan nature to make sure people have supported, starting with our little ones. This community is going to need support, not just the children, their families, our neighbors, our entire state.
So what do we do there? Can we at least agree that we need to do something there and bring the right supports instead of cutting health care, instead of cutting mental health supports, like you mentioned, we need to start investing in people's health care and in people's mental health.
BLACKWELL: Melisa Lopez Franzen, thank you.
FRANZEN: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:23:29]
BLACKWELL: Breaking overnight, three people are dead, more than three dozen injured after Russia launched massive aerial attacks on Ukraine. In Zaporizhzhia, first responders work to contain a fire at a residential community and a retail area. According to Ukraine's air force, Russia launched more than 500 drones, 45 missiles. Ukraine says it shot down the vast majority of them. That's after dramatic video emerged of Ukraine.
Look at this, blowing up two key Russian bridges with inexpensive drones and Russia's own mines. CNN Senior International Correspondent Melissa Bell is with me now.
Before we get to the strikes, you have some breaking news on a Ukrainian lawmaker. Tell me about that.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Victor. A Ukrainian lawmaker who's been killed, shot in Lviv, the western Ukrainian city there. And what Ukrainian authorities are saying is that this is an act of terrorism. He was murdered, they say. We don't know much more about who might have been involved in this, but certainly a dramatic piece of news there from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. It comes, of course, Victor, as you say, after another night of aerial attacks across the country, more than 500 drones, many of them taken down by air defenses. But still another indication, and we've heard this from President Zelenskyy in the wake of that, after what we saw earlier this week, which was the second largest aerial bombardment of the Ukrainian capital since the full scale invasion began. So what we've been hearing from President Zelenskyy is that this is another reminder that there is no will for peace on the other side.
[09:25:05]
Remember that it was just a couple of days until that deadline has been set for the Ukrainian leader to meet with President Putin. That was according to President Trump's plan. That doesn't look like it's going to happen. And what we've been hearing from European leaders, specifically President Macron has been saying that if this deadline comes and goes, it will be yet another example of Donald Trump being played by Vladimir Putin. And of course, it comes even as this violence continues. not just the attacks that we saw overnight in Ukraine, but as you mentioned, of course, the attacks on Russian oil fields by Ukrainian forces essentially hope for peace hasn't seemed further, couldn't seem further than it does now and certainly no sense of any progress being made towards that trilateral meeting feature.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Melissa Bell for us. Melissa, thank you.
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to resist. As we heard from Melissa there's international pressure to end the war in Ukraine. As he tries to push back on that pressure, he will soon join Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a security summit. Here's CNN's Ivan Watson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three world leaders whose countries dominate the map of Asia are about to meet in China for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. But looming over this Eurasian gathering will be the elephant not in the room.
YUN SUN, CHINA PROGRAM DIRECTOR, STIMSON CENTER: For this particular summit. US May not be at the table, but the U.S. is always present.
WATSON (voice-over): India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first trip to China in seven years --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We did it with India.
WATSON (voice-over): -- days after Trump slammed a 50 percent tariff on Indian exports to the U.S. China and India's relationship cratered after a series of deadly clashes first erupted along their disputed border in 2020.
JOE BIDEN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So welcome again, Mr. Prime Minister. We have a big agenda. WATSON (voice-over): For decades, Washington has been grooming India as a democratic counterbalance to China. But that suddenly changed in July when Trump called India a dead economy and announced his punishing tariffs, insisting it was a penalty for buying Russian oil.
SUSHANT SINGH, LECTURER IN SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES, YALE UNIVERSITY: India needs the support of the United States. And with that support no longer assured or in fact almost gone, Mr. Modi had no option but and cut a deal with President Xi.
WATSON (voice-over): Meanwhile, Russia's president will stand with his old friend Xi Jinping again shortly after Trump rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
TRUMP: Thank you very much, Vladimir.
I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin.
WATSON (voice-over): But Trump's on again, off again overtures to the Russian strongman unlikely to impact Russia and China's so called no limits partnership. Analysts say the glue that binds these once hostile neighbors ever closer is their shared perception of the U.S. as a threat.
SUN: For Washington's traditional terms that has been used is how do we break the Russia, China collusion? Well, it's a catch 22 because your desire to break their collusion is the reason that they collude at the first place.
WATSON (voice-over): In 2022, just days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin and Xi called for the creation of a new world order. The U.S.'s big global competitor is now capitalizing on Trump's chaotic diplomacy.
SUN: The message here that we have seen China emphasize this is China represent credibility, it represents stability, it represents policy predictability.
WATSON (voice-over): Expect Xi to use this summit to present a Chinese led alternative to a world long dominated by the U.S.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Tianjin, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right, with me now to discuss all of these developments, former intelligence officer Matthew Shoemaker.
Matthew, welcome back. Let's start here in Ukraine with this aerial assault overnight, 45 missiles, 500 drones, talk to me about the timing of this, the relevance of when this has happened in the context of this summit that's going to happen with Xi.
MATTHEW SHOEMAKER, FORMER INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Absolutely. Victor, thanks so much for having me on again. With regards to the situation in Ukraine itself, you know, over the past number of days, this is only the second or third night where we've had a series of hundreds of these drones being sent from Russia to Ukraine. The thing that I noted most specifically about Russia's attack on Ukraine the past week or so is how it's not focused on military targets from the looks of it, more than anything, in contrast to what Ukraine has been doing over the past series of weeks, which has been targeting Russia's ability to generate oil and to be able to sell it on the black market.
There's been about a dozen or so oil and gas refinery locations in Russia that Ukraine has attacked. And so, the contrast between the two strategies between the two countries really is notable. So, it's -- it's unclear what exactly Russia is trying to achieve at this point, other than just create sheer terror in Ukraine.
BLACKWELL: Now, let's talk about this summit. President Putin, President Xi. Ivan (ph) pointed out that Xi is trying to stake his claim as the reliable alternative to a chaotic approach from President Trump, but fill out the picture of what the goal is and add Narendra Modi to that equation as well.
SHOEMAKER: Well, your previous report was, I think, 100 percent spot on in that the United States has spent decades, especially since the end of the Cold War, trying to cultivate a relationship with India itself. Of course, there's a lot of problems with trying to create that relationship, not least of which is the practical implications of the Indian government is rather difficult to work with just based off of how it has organized itself. But from moving on from there alone, the fact that that President Putin is relying so heavily on President Xi Jinping of China is really rather a product of our time more than anything.
Certainly, Ukraine is going to be on the topic between the two leaders themselves. But more than anything, it's about the interdependence of their two economies and how Russia has become very dependent on the Chinese market more than anything, to help prop it up with its war in Ukraine bringing in India into that as well. Of course, India has been one of the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas. So, the fact that the Ukrainians themselves are trying to interrupt that and to try and make it far more expensive for India to try and purchase oil from Russia and try to decrease the supply that's there is certainly going to play a role.
One thing that I actually really noticed in all of this, more than anything, is the fact that President Putin is going to be there for all four days. That's really unusual for him. Usually, he just drops right in and does what he needs to do and leaves. So, the fact that he's there for all four days shows how much time and effort he's investing in this more than anything.
BLACKWELL: All right. We'll look for headlines out of this summit. Matthew Shoemaker, thank you so much for being with me this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:37:30]
BLACKWELL: It has been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The storm that didn't just wash away homes, but entire lives.
Jazz bassist Michael Harris lost everything when the levees broke, his home, his belongings, his city. Well, he returned to ruins with nothing but the clothes on his back and his base.
Well, two decades later, he has rebuilt, thanks in part to Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit organization built a neighborhood called Musicians' Village after the disaster. And CNN's Randi Kaye caught up with Harris at his new home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Music is part of the soul of this city. And when Katrina flooded New Orleans, the music stopped.
MICHAEL HARRIS, MUSICIAN, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: It went silent for a minute. It did, it did. Who had money to go to the club or whatever?
KAYE (on camera): Was it even open?
HARRIS: Really, really. There was no place to go.
KAYE (voice-over): Musician Michael Harris grew up in New Orleans, in the city's Lower Ninth Ward. He plays bass and acoustic guitar. He was out of the country touring in August 2005 and came home to find his house had been destroyed.
HARRIS: I was like about three or four blocks from where the levee actually broke. And that barge came through and my house wasn't where I left it.
KAYE (on camera): Did you find any belongings?
HARRIS: I found one piece of paper. How paper survived. A piece of paper and a license plate from a vehicle that we had.
KAYE (voice-over): Still today, the memories of Katrina remain.
HARRIS: It's still -- they still lingers, you know. We're coming up on the 20th anniversary, and it's still, those memories are fresh, you know. One of the things I really remembered that really shocked me was the smell of death in the air. You know, that, I don't know about the body and the mind or whatever, but it's still there. It's still there.
KAYE (on camera): How much did music help you through some of the really the darkest times after Katrina?
HARRIS: That was my therapy. The music was therapeutic because there were so many mixed emotions and everything, and that was my release.
[09:40:07]
It helped me to be even more grateful and appreciate music even more.
KAYE (voice-over): Music was medicine in a city blessed with such rich history. The sounds of Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino and Louis Prima, to name a few. So, for Michael, there was no doubt music would bring the community together.
HARRIS: I think that the music has helped the city to recover because it's like they sing Psalms in the bible, you know, make a joyful noise unto the Lord. And that's what that was, making a joyful noise.
KAYE (on camera): This is Musician's Village. It's a neighborhood located in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Musicians Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr. partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build this and provide housing for musicians who had lost their homes in the storm. The goal was to preserve the city's unique musical culture.
(Voice-over): The first keys were given to homeowners in 2006.
HARRY CONNICK JUNIOR, ACTOR/MUSICIAN: Let's go over to the car.
KAYE: Today, Michael Harris lives in Musician's Village.
HARRIS: New Orleans is home. I just knew that for me, in my heart, it was here in New Orleans, in this city, I had to come back. And this is pretty much the story of my life since Katrina.
KAYE: As the city continues to bounce back, so has the music.
HARRIS: We are recovering. We are resilient. And this too shall pass.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: New Orleans is all about the music. So, when the music venues reopened after Katrina, it was a place for people to go, to bond, to heal. And as that musician said in my story, he got therapy from music after he lost his home in the storm. And when these venues started up again, it was really a place for collective therapy for the people here.
And then you had jazz fest returning about a year after the storm, and that not only brought music, live music, but it also brought money, poured money into the community, which was much needed. And then you had the second line parades return like we saw for the 20th anniversary here. So that brought a lot of jazz music, and it was really a way for the people here to reclaim joy, which is much needed -- Victor.
BLACKWELL: Randi Kaye, thank you. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:47:08]
BLACKWELL: All right. It is Coy's favorite time of the year. College football is back. Everything you need to know ahead of today's kickoff Coy is here.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: First of all, that suit is fire.
BLACKWELL: Oh, thank you very much. WIRE: Can I borrow that sometime?
BLACKWELL: I don't know if it's going to fit you but you can try it.
WIRE: I like them medium. Hey, listen, we had an absolute thriller kicking off week one in Boulder, Colorado. Coach Prime Deion Sanders led his Buffaloes onto the field to face Georgia Tech. After multiple surgeries, blood clots and most recently beating bladder cancer, he joked, I depend on Depends. Well, they had a Depend private bathroom for him in case he needed it.
Now, Coach Prime's Buffaloes started off hot. Defense forced three turnovers on their first three drives. New quarterback Kaidon Salter zinging that touchdown pass on his very first drive. But Georgia Tech, despite the long trip out west high altitude and players cramping up, they fight back, took the lead with just one minute to go.
Quarterback Haynes King with his third rushing touchdown of the game. He had 19 carries, 156 yards. The Yellow Jackets win 27-20.
Now, get your popcorn ready or better yet, your burgers and brews for a huge day of week one action today. We start off with number one Texas, at number three Ohio State, at number eight, Alabama and Florida State. And then LSU and Clemson.
Buckle up, Victor. You let me know where were going. All right. Vanderbilt volleyball didn't exist for 45 years. But it was reinstated in yesterday, Victor. They built a court in the middle of campus outside. How awesome is this? And what's more, they beat Belmont in four sets. It's their first win since 1990.
U.S. Open now maybe the story of the tournament so far. American Taylor Townsend taking on number five Mirra Andreeva. And she pulls off the upset, 7-5, 6-2. She advances to her second career major round of 16. She dedicated the win to her son, AJ. He's just four years old. He's heading up there today to come see her. After her last win, remember. her opponent Ostapenko got in her face, called her uneducated. Townsend says her win is about more than just herself. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAYLOR TOWNSEND, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: It's bigger than me. It's about the message. It's about the representation. It's about being bold and being able to show up as yourself. And I did that tonight. You guys saw the real Taylor Townsend tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Let's go. American Ben Shelton had high hopes in front of a home crowd facing Adrian Mannarino. But he'd end up in tears as a shoulder injury forced him out of the U.S. Open. He was leading this match until the injury in the fourth set, when he could just no longer go.
Well, Victor, his opponent, had to go to in another way. When Shelton retired, Mannarino was on the bathroom. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADRIAN MANNARINO, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: I'm 37 years old, and it's my first time winning a match from the toilets. So, you know, there's always new things coming up and -- yes, I mean, I'm still enjoying my time on court and I hope that I'm going to extend it for a little while.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:50:11]
WIRE: That might be an all-time quote right there. First time I'm winning on the toilets. That's a keeper.
BLACKWELL: Listen, it works. All right. So today what are we going to do?
WIRE: We're going to have some burgers, some brews, or I know you like your gin but -- you know, we'll do that.
BLACKWELL: Gin and tonic, three limes.
WIRE: Yes, and college football. Awesome.
BLACKWELL: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. All right. Coy, thank you. All right. So, listen, a few games, stick around for this one, have been played, but there is already a new breakout star this college football season. But it's not for a player. This is Pudge the Cat.
WIRE: Yes. Let's go.
BLACKWELL: Unofficial new mascot for the Bowling Green Falcons. A three-year-old feline has become a locker room staple to boost morale. Pam Brown talked to Pudge's owner.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE CARLSON, PUDGE THE CAT'S OWNER: So, we had a practice in fall camp. It was a scrimmage practice. And early on we had a player go down with a serious injury. And everyone was pretty down from that, and, you know, morale was a little low.
And the next day, we had an off day. And I said, you know, I might as well bring my little cat in. And, you know, I brought him in. Everybody loved it. And it has taken off from there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Incredible stuff.
BLACKWELL: What I like is that Pudge is so attentive. Like if you look back at that soundbite, the entire interview, Pudge is looking right up at him.
WIRE: Oh, yes. BLACKWELL: Just in rapt in every word.
WIRE: And, Victor, they had Pudge on the sideline of their game. Their head coach of Bowling Green is Eddie George, the NFL legend. He's allergic to cats. People are calling this the best thing going in college sports right now.
BLACKWELL: Well, listen, Pudge, I support it. I had a cat when I was a kid, Smokey.
WIRE:
BLACKWELL: RIP. But Pudge on sidelines, I'm for it.
WIRE: Yes.
BLACKWELL: All right.
WIRE: Shout out Pudge.
BLACKWELL: All right. Say goodbye to bland cinder block walls, college dorms are getting a bit of a glow up. We're talking wallpaper, luxury linens, even custom cushioned headboards. Have you seen this online?
TikTok, it's full of videos showing these extravagant dorm rooms. Some parents are even enlisting the help of interior designers to decorate. This wasn't a thing when I was in college.
WIRE: Man, we had -- like a straight cinder block cell block feel, right?
BLACKWELL: Yes, yes.
WIRE: I mean, I feel like there has got to be some sort of -- you got to earn that. You got to go and feel nothing --
BLACKWELL: Yes, you got to start at zero so that when you get that first apartment, then you put up some stuff that's nice. I remember moving in the first day. It was the hottest day God ever created when I moved into Drew Hall at Howard. But it was that extra-long twin mattress and it was the -- it was -- like it made noise --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: -- plastic.
WIRE: -- off the edge.
BLACKWELL: Yes, that crunchy plastic. No AC. But yes, you got to start off basic. Don't send these kids off with interior designers.
WIRE: Yes. I mean, if you're like, maybe the roommate, right? And you're meeting your roommate for the first time and you walk into that and you're like, what is happening?
BLACKWELL: It looks like Wicked. WIRE: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Like one side of the room is all done up. The other side is not.
WIRE: Oh, yes.
BLACKWELL: All right. Thanks, Coy.
WIRE: You got it.
BLACKWELL: So, how did Spain become such a culinary powerhouse? Eva Longoria uncovers how the cuisine transformed on a special night of "EVA LONGORIA, SEARCHING FOR SPAIN." Back-to-back new episodes start tomorrow night at 8 p.m. on CNN. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA LONGORIA, HOST, "EVA LONGORIA, SEARCHING FOR SPAIN: I love when Rocio is in my kitchen because I know I'm going to eat well and amazing.
(Voice-over): Tonight's dinner party would not be complete without some help from my girls Rocio and Maria.
I first met Maria, a former actress, on a film set in the States. And she introduced me to Rocio, her best friend. And we've been friends for over 20 years. But they never cease to surprise me.
We're preparing some traditional salads using local produce loved by Marbellies. Both Rocio and Maria have vivid memories of growing up here.
MARIA BRAVO, ACTRESS AND FOUNDER OF GLOBAL GIFT FOUNDATION: Marbella was a small little town, and when I was a little girl there were no pavement.
LONGORIA: What was the road?
BRAVO: It was dirt.
LONGORIA: Dirt roads?
BRAVO: Yes.
LONGORIA: Do you remember a moment when it did change?
BRAVO: It was when you stopped seeing horses on the street, and you saw Ferraris.
LONGORIA: Horsepower to horsepower.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[09:55:03]
BLACKWELL: Still looking. "EVA LONGORIA, SEARCHING FOR SPAIN" back-to- back episodes air tomorrow at 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
Thanks for joining us this morning. I'll see you back here tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. eastern. "TABLE FOR FIVE WITH ABBY PHILLIP is next after a quick break.
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