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Trump Team Preparing To Travel To South Korea Next Month; Trump's Former Surgeon General Calls For RFK To Be Fired; U.S. Labor Market Stalls, Adds Only 22,000 In August; Heavy Strikes As Israel Prepares All-Out Assault On Gaza City; Powerball Jackpot Hits $1.8 Billion, Elon Musk Could Become World's First Trillionaire; Aryna Sabalenka Beats Amanda Anisimova. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 06, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:37]

JESSICAN DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

And we do have breaking news at the top of this hour as officials tell CNN, President Trump and his top advisers are quietly preparing a trip to South Korea next month for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering. It is seen as a key opportunity for Trump to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Let's bring in CNN White House reporter Alayna Treene.

Alayna, this is your new reporting. What more can you tell us?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there had been questions of when and if President Donald Trump would meet with China's president. And now we are learning, and this is according to my conversations with three Trump administration officials, that the president is preparing to go to South Korea next month for this APEC summit and that the White House is viewing this as a key opportunity for him to sit down face to face with the Chinese leader.

I'm told that there have been serious conversations around setting up a bilateral meeting between the two on the sidelines of APEC. I should note that the details are not yet finalized, and such a meeting is not yet confirmed. But that is a big part of what is going into this trip, Jessica. And I'm also told that this expected visit, again, details are still being finalized. It's unclear if he's going to add more stops on his trip to South Korea, but they also see it as a key opportunity for a couple other things.

One is economic collaboration. We know that has been a huge focus of the president on other trips. For example, when he went to the Middle East, he wants to secure more investments from foreign countries in the United States. But one official told me other topics of discussion that they're really focused on include trade, defense and civil nuclear cooperation.

Now, one thing that's also very interesting about all of this is it could also provide the president potentially an opportunity to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. This actually came up when South Korea's president visited the White House this past week and essentially said that, you know, one, he wanted him -- he wanted President Donald Trump to help better relationships with North Korea.

He invited President Donald Trump to this APEC summit in South Korea. And then he also said that could be a great place for you to try and meet with face to face Kim Jong-un. Now, I will again caution you that according to my sources, they say the possibility of that kind of meeting if Kim is even attending, all of that is still a question. And they are more focused on a potential meeting with Xi Jinping.

But again, could be a good opportunity for Trump to sit down once again with that leader as well. All of this coming, though at a tenuous time in the president's relationship with both Xi and Kim. We know that just this past week, China had this major military parade, something the president was quick to criticize on social media. At one point, he said that essentially he believed that, you know, the Russian president who was there, North Korea, India, all of them were conspiring against the United States.

Kind of a far cry from the rhetoric we often hear from the president when he talks about having a great relationship with all of them. But all to say, this would be the first meeting between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping if it were to happen in South Korea. A lot of details still being worked out, but again, a very good opportunity for this White House as well as China.

DEAN: Yes, this is -- this is big. This is certainly big breaking news.

Alayna Treene, thank you. And I also do want to ask you before I let you go about RFK Jr. Obviously, he testified on Capitol Hill this week and now we have his own -- Trump's own former surgeon general calling on the president to fire Kennedy. What are you hearing about that?

TREENE: This was a fascinating interview our colleague Victor Blackwell did, Jessica, with Jerome Adams. Again, as you mentioned, he was the surgeon general for the president during his first administration. And he essentially said, I mean, our colleague Victor asked him, do you think Trump should fire Kennedy, and he said yes. He said, "I absolutely believe that he should, for the sake of the nation." Listen to how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME ADAMS FORMER TRUMP SURGEON GENERAL: I'm deeply concerned about the health and safety of our nation under RFK's current leadership. I absolutely believe he is uniquely damaging the credibility of federal agencies like the CDC, NIH, FDA, and he's putting us at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Jessica, of course, there is some important context here. You mentioned that really combative hearing. We know a lot of prominent Republicans are growing weary of Kennedy's tenure atop HHS, but as of now, President Donald Trump is not one of them. [19:05:03]

We heard him this week offer a full throated support of Kennedy. He was asked about this at a dinner, and he essentially said, I think he did well in the hearing. He noted he didn't watch it, but said that he likes that Kennedy has different policies when it comes to HHS. Of course, a lot of the policies that are being scrutinized right now are his policies on vaccines. A lot of question and skepticism around that.

And also all of the firings we've seen of late, specifically the firing of the CDC director less than a month that she was confirmed to her role.

DEAN: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you so much. Amazing reporting all throughout the evening. Thank you so much.

We are joined by CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.

Ron, good to see you. Let's go back --

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Jessica.

DEAN: Yes. Hi. Let's go back to what we were just talking to Alayna about first, her breaking news that President Trump is preparing to travel to South Korea. Of course, this is coming on the heels of this immigration raid on the Hyundai manufacturing plant, where 475 people were arrested, most of them South Koreans. This visit will focus on trade, but kind of put all these pieces together for us.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, look, I think South Korea like, you know, many of our allies in Europe are more looking for ways to manage conflict with Trump than to engage in confrontation with him. So I'm not sure how hard they push back. I think the real significance here is, you know, this discussion of him going to South Korea and meeting with Xi follows the very successful meeting that Xi has engineered with a, you know, series of large nations that Trump has alienated or are kind of gathering in resistance to his kind of vision.

DEAN: Absolutely.

BROWNSTEIN: You know, when Trump came in, I think it was pretty clear he envisioned a kind of return to almost a 19th century sort of sphere of influence global politics, in which strong men around the world, in Russia, in China, maybe Saudi Arabia and Israel, would, you know, and him would basically govern world events. You know, the other parties and that have not behaved the way that Trump expected.

I mean, Xi has not made the concessions on trade that he wanted. And obviously Putin has frustrated and somewhat embarrassed him by his dismissing of Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine. And so, you know, we'll see, you know, whether this meeting, if it occurs, can change that. But I think his vision has mostly kind of run aground against the realities of other big, powerful nations pursuing their own interests in a way that have left them cool to his advances. DEAN: Yes, I think you're absolutely right. The big takeaway here is

that the president may be sitting down with Xi after all these questions around, will they meet, will they not meet? How will they meet? And then -- and then the timing of this comes after they, you know, China hosted Putin and Kim Jong-un and had the big military parade.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Yes, absolutely. I mean, you know, as I said, I mean, I think Trump's vision was very clear. It was -- it was kind of a 19th century vision of how the world should be governed by kind of strongmen leaders that have spheres of influence and are essentially given a lot of deference within those spheres, and, you know, wanted the U.S. to kind of get the best deal he could in that world.

But the other parties are not really responding as he expected. I mean, he talked about ending the war in Ukraine on day one. You know, the Anchorage summit really looks just like a -- it's hard to see what he got out of that other than allowing, you know, an indicted war criminal to step on the U.S. soil. So, and then, you know, Xi, I mean, obviously, the tariff struggle with China, you know, goes on.

So I think maybe he's looking for a reset, but I think the stubbornness, the inability to move these other nations is kind of a key takeaway of his first few months.

DEAN: Yes. The other issue that we were talking or topic that we were talking to Alayna about is the fact that Trump's former surgeon general today said that the president should fire RFK Jr. And of course this comes after his testimony on the Hill and him previewing that he says he's -- that they're going to find a cure or, I'm sorry, a cause for autism. How --

BROWNSTEIN: Right.

DEAN: Walk me -- there's like the medical piece of this, but the political piece of this and Trump really bringing RFK into the fold, the MAHA movement into his fold, politically what is that? How meaningful is that relationship to Trump?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I think this hearing is going to be a turning point in RFK Jr.'s tenure at HHS. Whether he is fired or not I think the leash is going to get shorter. Trump has been very reluctant to rein him in in any way, given all the energy that he brought. And he likes just having, you know, the RFK name in his cabinet and attached to him. But we've seen some important developments over the last few weeks, particularly since the firing of the CDC director being confirmed only weeks earlier.

[19:10:06]

You saw three Republican senators at that hearing raised significant concerns, not only Cassidy, who has gone back and forth, and Tillis, who has been critical, but Barrasso, John Barrasso. I mean, when was the last time John Barrasso publicly disagreed with the Trump administration about anything? You saw a "Wall Street Journal" columnist on Friday basically say, look, this guy isn't even a Republican. Why are we, you know, why are we going to war for him?

The medical -- key medical professional associations that were pretty quiet about his nomination and pretty quiet about the Medicaid cuts and the one big, beautiful bill, they have come out much more firmly. You saw a coalition on Thursday call for his resignation, and the polling has been quite clear. You know, Kaiser KFF and "Washington Post" polling this week, 80 percent of Americans, including three quarters of Republicans, still support vaccine mandates.

And although the president made positive comments about Kennedy, he also told reporters on Friday that Florida had to be careful about, you know, rolling back, DeSantis now proposing to become the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates for attending school and the language the president used, I thought, could very easily double as a message to RFK Jr. about how far he's willing to let him go.

Don't forget, there's a key meeting coming up in mid-September among for the CDC Advisory Committee that could recommend changes in childhood vaccinations. And I thought the president was sending a little flare of concern about where this may be headed.

DEAN: Yes, there is more to come on that front for sure.

Ron Brownstein, always good to see you. Thanks so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Happening now, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders joining New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on stage in New York. The two are taking part in a town hall in Brooklyn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: New York City is not for sale to Donald Trump's billionaire donors. It is not for sale to corporations like DoorDash. It is not for sale to corrupt politicians like Andrew Cuomo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The election for New York City mayor now just two months away. And it's an interesting dynamic because you have three Democrats all running against each other, even though Zohran Mamdani is the nominee. And there's a question of if the Democratic establishment is actually going to support Mamdani, who is a Democratic socialist.

Just this week, the city's mayor, Eric Adams, had to deny that he had any plans to drop out of the race after reports Trump aides were talking to him about a possible job in the Trump administration as a way to get him out of the race. And in their minds, hopefully clear a path for former governor Andrew Cuomo to beat Mamdani. Mamdani beating Cuomo and Adams in the primary just a few months ago.

The August jobs report has some economists warning the job market is stalling. The U.S. economy adding just 22,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3 percent. That is the highest it's been since 2021. Of course, during the pandemic.

CNN's Harry Enten is running the numbers for us.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey there, Jessica. Happy Saturday to you.

Look, Friday was an ugly day when it came to the jobs report. That's the only word we can use. Ugly. In fact, I'll utter it a few more times. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Only 22,000 new jobs added in the month of August. We're now looking at four consecutive months in which each month had less than 100,000 new jobs added. That's the first time that has happened since the Great Recession. My goodness gracious.

But I'll tell you who's not surprised. The American public. They have been pessimistic on this economy for a while, and they've been getting more pessimistic. What are we talking about? Well, take a look here. U.S. economy is getting worse. You know, back in November of 2024, look at that, it was 42 percent. That, of course, was just after Donald Trump was elected when this measure was taken.

But look at where it is now. Jumped all the way up to 56 percent. That's a 14 point rise in less than a year. And this has occurred under Donald Trump even as Trump was elected to fix the economy, fix the economy, and of course, as Friday's jobs report indicated, it's no longer just about inflation. It's no longer just about tariffs. It is downstream of that. We're talking about jobs here, which had been a strength of the U.S. economy, had been a true strength.

But look at this, on jobs and employment. We are on the wrong track or the right track. In January, the plurality said we were on the right track, 40 percent. Only 32 percent said we were on the wrong track. But look at where we are now. The latest reading in August, get this, 48 percent say we're on the wrong track. Only 33 percent of Americans say we're on the right track. So back in January, the plurality said, hey, pretty gosh darn good. We're on the right track. Now the clear plurality by a 15 point margin say that we're on the wrong track.

Now, of course, Donald Trump wants to pass that buck.

[19:15:01]

He wants to pass it along to anyone he possibly could. It's Jerome Powell's fault. It's Joe Biden's fault. Well, guess what, the American people say the buck stops with Donald Trump because take a look here. Look at this, net approval rating on jobs and employment, look at where Donald Trump now is in August of 2025. Minus 13 points. That is significantly worse than where he was back in January of 2025, when again it was thumbs up from the American public. He was at plus nine points.

But perhaps more worrisome than anything else for Donald Trump. Look at this. Joe Biden was underwater back in December of 2024 on jobs and employment, but he was at minus eight points. Donald Trump is even lower than Joe Biden. And of course, Joe Biden was in the basement. And when you go below the basement, I don't know where you are, but you certainly don't want to end up there, Jessica. And the bottom line is, the American people do not like what they're seeing in terms of jobs and employment. And I bet you that was only reinforced by that jobs report that came out on Friday.

Back to you.

DEAN: All right, Harry Enten, thank you so much.

And still to come, Israel warning Gazans to evacuate as it gears up for an all-out assault on the enclave's biggest city. The growing pressure Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing to end the war from both inside and outside his country.

Plus, as many people struggle to make ends meet, the world's richest man about to become a lot richer. The massive Tesla paycheck that could make Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire.

Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:04]

DEAN: Thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square earlier calling for the release of all hostages still being held by Hamas. That rally comes as Israel is preparing to launch an all-out assault to take Gaza City. Hamas has released video showing two Israeli hostages it says are being held in Gaza City, warning Israel's impending assault will put them in even more danger.

Paula Hancocks has more now -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've been seeing heavy strikes in and around Gaza City this Saturday as the Israeli military tries to control the whole of Gaza City. They've said that at this point, they believe they control some 40 percent of it.

Now, we have been seeing as well the IDF targeting high rise buildings in the city. There was one in particular on Saturday, the Al-Susi Tower, a 15-story residential building that we know families were living in, and we believe there would have been displaced families there as well.

Now, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order, and then just over an hour later struck the building, bringing it to the ground. The IDF says that it was being used by Hamas. They say that there was intelligence gathering equipment within the building. This has been rejected by Hamas, saying that they weren't present.

Now, what we know of this tower is that before 2021, there was a Ministry of Foreign Affairs presence there. We know that journalists had to go to one of those offices to try and secure permits from Hamas to enter Gaza. It's not clear, though, if Hamas has had a presence there since then.

Now, what this does is it increases the fear of the people in Gaza City not knowing where is the least dangerous place for them to go to. There have been leaflets dropped by the Israeli military on Saturday morning telling residents and those displaced in the city to move south, specifically to go to Al-Mawasi, which the Israeli military calls a humanitarian zone. It is not in the strictest sense of that term, though.

We know it is an area that is very overcrowded, that does not have humanitarian aid sufficient for the people there, and it is an area that has also been targeted by the Israeli military a number of times over recent months.

It's worth pointing out that this is an operation, the operation to take over Gaza, that has widespread global condemnation. The United Nations, countries around the world are calling on Israel not to carry out these strikes and this effort to try and occupy the city. We also know that the top military general in the country, the head of the chief of staff is also saying he doesn't believe that this should go ahead according to two Israeli sources.

He's concerned that the hostages would be at risk. He's concerned that soldiers will be at risk, and also that the humanitarian situation could get worse.

Now, when it comes to the hostage situation, we also heard from the U.S. president, Donald Trump, and he really questioned whether or not the number of hostages still alive or believed to be alive, that the Israeli military has put out is, in fact, accurate. There are 47 hostages that are still being held by Hamas and other groups that were taken on October 7th. The Israeli official figure is that some 20 are believed to be alive.

Let's listen to the U.S. president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But you have many dead people that are coming out as part of the deal. It's 20 people. But I think of the 20, there could be some that have recently died, is what I'm hearing. I hope that's wrong. But you have over 30 bodies in this negotiation. Can you believe? I mean, we negotiated for people that are living. Here we know that at least 30 people are dead. And we're negotiating to get them out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: President Trump also said that he believed there shouldn't be these incremental releases of hostages, not to here, to there. He believes that all hostages should be released at once, which goes against the proposal on the table at this point, which was drafted by his own Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, alongside Israel.

[19:25:11]

We know that the Israeli prime minister has also changed his strategy, saying he wants a full release of all hostages and a comprehensive deal. This shift in strategy, one of the main reasons, really, that the negotiations and the hostage ceasefire proposal deal have stalled. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

DEAN: Paula, thank you.

And still to come. Long lines and big dreams. We're going to go live to the gas station in California that seems to be the epicenter of Powerball wins, where right now many people are hoping to buy tonight's winning Powerball ticket.

Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:09]

DEAN: We are just hours away from what has become the second largest Powerball drawing in U.S. lottery history. As of tonight, the jackpot has grown to a massive $1.8 billion. CNN's Natasha Chen has been spending her day at a California gas station where the largest winning ticket ever was sold.

Natasha, obviously, there is a long line behind you. People are hoping that lightning will strike twice.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's gotten even longer since I last talked to you a couple hours ago. Look at this, it's gotten all the way to the streets. And, Jessica, there are other stores selling lottery tickets right next to us with zero lines. They could very easily leave this line and immediately get a ticket next door. But that is not happening because people believe this is the lucky store.

I actually talked to an older gentleman earlier today, said, do you mind the wait that's going on with this line? And he said, I came to this country in a boat, so, this is nothing. There's actually quite a spirit of the American Dream here, especially when I talked to the owner who says a lot of people call him Papa Joe. He came from Syria about 40 some years ago with very little money in his pocket, and built up this business. He's never seen business like this in 30 years. This is what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: I can tell you were telling every single person. Good luck.

JOSEPH CHAHAYED, OWNER OF GAS STATION THAT SOLD THE LARGEST WINNING POWERBALL TICKET: Yes, of course, I have to. I feel like it's my obligation, but, America, the dream of the America -- dreams to come true to anybody, work hard, be honest and do what you have to do. Obey to the law and believe me, no matter where you come from and you will be successful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: He feels there is going to be a winning ticket tonight. He has had this business for 30 years, he said. And three years ago is when he sold the historic largest jackpot in Powerball history. And it's not just the winnings that make this place lucky, people believe its lucky because it survived the deadly Eaton Fire in January, when just up the street, you know, crews of CNN with me, we were going up the street here just covering these flames, devouring homes. And yet this place still stands, and so, there is that spirit of survival and luck. So, we'll see, Jessica, if lightning strikes twice.

DEAN: Yes, we will. Natasha Chen, thank you so much for that.

And joining us now, lottery expert Jonathan Cohen, author of the book "For a Dollar and a Dream."

Jonathan, thanks for being here with us. It's rare we get a lottery expert. So, this is this is good stuff. The odds of winning are one in 292 million. I think everyone knows the odds are against them and yet we all stand in line, and people really flock to the gas stations and bodegas when this happens. Why do people get so obsessed?

JONATHAN COHEN, LOTTERY EXPERT: I think the previous -- what Natasha was saying is exactly right. That it speaks to the spirit of the American Dream. And in particular, the American Dream has changed over the last couple decades where, you know, it used to be like a white picket fence in the suburbs. And now it's like a multi-million dollar mansion with a Lamborghini in the driveway.

And for a lot of folks, the only chance they have of getting anything like that is going to come through luck and through a jackpot.

DEAN: Yes, and so, why are these jackpots now to that end, it's not just hundreds of millions of dollars. This one's $1.8 billion, an incredible amount of money. Why are they so big now?

COHEN: So for a couple of reasons, but the biggest one is that the lottery, the administration, the groups that run these games have made the odds worse over the course of time, on the assumption that seems to be proven correct, which is that people don't really care about the odds of winning. They only care about the prize. So, it's sort of its really easy to tell the difference between, you know, one in a hundred million dollars jackpot or $100 million jackpot and a one billion dollar jackpot.

It's really hard to tell the difference between like one in 40 million odds of winning, or one in 400 million odds of winning. It is already so improbable that it might as well be bigger when the amount of money you can win is that much larger.

DEAN: And do you think more people are playing the lottery now? Fewer people? Where are we in terms of context around Americans and lotteries?

COHEN: Actually, until this week, lottery play was definitely on the decline. Indications are that that Gen Z in particular is just not picking up the lottery habit, which I think actually makes a lot of sense given the other gambling options that they have on their phone, on things like sports betting, crypto, Robin Hood and so on. But I wonder if this week -- it's weeks like this, it's these lotto mania, the lottery fever weeks that create sort of recurring customers that might sort of reinvigorate lottery sales for the new generation.

DEAN: And there is this kind of conventional wisdom, I guess, idea that the lottery takes advantage of people who have the fewest resources that can't afford to be spending money on lottery tickets. Is that true?

COHEN: It's absolutely true and this week is the exception, right. You see long lines of people from all walks of life that is usually not who's playing the lottery. As many as 70 to 80 percent of lottery sales come from just 20 to 30 percent of lottery customers, and that group is disproportionately non-White, lower income and less educated than the rest of the population.

DEAN: All right, Jonathan Cohen, thank you so much. You shed a lot of light on all of this, we really appreciate it.

COHEN: All right, good luck tonight.

DEAN: Thank you.

[19:35:31]

And coming up, a trillion-dollar paycheck, why Tesla's board is willing to make the world's richest man even richer. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:40:17]

DEAN: The world's richest man could soon become the worlds the world's first trillionaire, and that's because Tesla is offering Elon Musk the biggest pay package in corporate history. Here's CNN's Hadas Gold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: I think, obviously, there should be compensation for -- if there's something incredible is done, that compensation should match that something incredible was done.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It seems the Tesla board took that to heart, laying out an ambitious list of targets Elon Musk would need to hit to get the biggest pay package in corporate history. Made up of 423.7 million Tesla shares worth around $900 billion if Tesla hits those targets. Those include increasing Tesla's overall valuation eightfold to $8.5 trillion, deliver 20 million Tesla's, one million autonomous robotaxis, one million autonomous Optimus robots, and stay at Tesla for at least seven-and-a-half years.

Under the plan, Musk would also end up owning just over a quarter of Tesla voting shares. Musk has previously made it clear that he views his pay package as a reflection of his leadership at Tesla.

MUSK: It's not a money thing. It's a reasonable control thing over the future of the company, especially if we're building millions, potentially billions of humanoid robots. I can't be sitting there and wanting to get tossed out by -- for political reasons, by activists.

GOLD: Tesla has suffered slumping sales and a volatile stock price from increased competition and consumer backlash to Elon Musk's work with President Donald Trump's administration.

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You can't be penalized for being a patriot, and he's a great patriot, and he's also done an incredible job with Tesla.

GOLD: And their eventual falling out.

Notably, Tesla's plan does not place any restrictions on outside activities, including politics. Musk had previously announced plans to start a new political party. Tesla noted in its filing that during negotiations, Musk threatened to leave the company and pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence.

ROBYN DENHOLM, CHAIR, TESLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The plan is super ambitious and that that is what motivates Elon. So, in coming up with a plan that will incent, motivate, have his time, focus and attention on Tesla we needed to come up with a plan that was super ambitious.

GOLD: Tesla shareholders will get a chance to have their say and vote on the plan on November 6th.

Hadas Gold, CNN , New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Hadas, thank you. And coming up, some exciting headlines from the world of sports in just a moment. We'll be starting, but not stopping with today's Women's Final at the U.S. Open and then what's to come tomorrow?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:33]

DEAN: There were high hopes today at the U.S. Open for the Americans playing in the Women's Singles Final, but Amanda Anisimova ended up losing to the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. That makes the winner the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to repeat as U.S. Open champion. Christine Brennan joining us now.

Christine, good to see you. In addition to being a CNN sports analyst and columnist for "USA Today," you're also the author of "On Her Game, Caitlin Clark: And The Revolution of Women's Sports." But let's take people now to the Women's Final. Sabalenka, ranked number one in the world, and she only boosted that today.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Oh she did, but it's interesting, Jessica, because even though she is number one in the world, she had not won a Grand Slam title this year and this is the one she wanted. And this is the one she got. And of course, her opponent, Anisimova, had actually been in the Wimbledon Final and lost six zero, six zero to Iga Swiatek. And so, you've lost six-zero, six-zero, double bagel. That's as bad as

it gets. Totally embarrassing for Anisimova. What does she do? She comes right back, makes another Final. And this one, obviously, she lost but it was six-three, seven-six, much better performance by the 24-year-old American who's from New Jersey, home game for her. But for Sabalenka, finally, you know, just a power game. Both these women played a very strong power game, hard hitting, you know, just back and forth, great tennis to watch. Just, you know, powerful and fun and interesting and very different from those old days of hitting it back and forth the way we remember from the, you know what, 30 to 40 years ago.

Very different game. Powerful, strong women. But Sabalenka finally gets that Grand Slam title that she wanted to cement that number one ranking, as you said.

DEAN: Yes, it is amazing. And Tamara Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz for the Men's Final. Sinner shaping up to be -- to try to be a repeat champion as well. What are you expecting from that match?

BRENNAN: Well, if people are saying, wait a minute, haven't these guys played before?

DEAN: Yes.

BRENNAN: The answer is yes -- and they -- as you know, this is the eighth straight Grand Slam Men's Final that has had these two players. It is an extraordinary turn of events. Both of them, by the way, born in this century. So get used to this folks, because these are young guys in their early 20s and they are going to just keep doing it. And yes, you know what, Sinner-Alcaraz, they are just two fantastic players.

And for those who are wondering how we would -- how the tennis world, how the sports world, how fans around the world would react and who would they cheer for after Federer and Nadal, Djokovic -- well, here they are and they are so dominant, so young, so good, and they usually have terrific matches. So, I would expect to see nothing less than that on Sunday.

[19:50:20]

DEAN: Yes, it will be hopefully quite dynamic.

There's also another layer to all of this. We know President Trump is planning to attend the Men's Final. It's the first time he's going back to the U.S. Open since 2015. There's already a potential controversy, I guess about what broadcasters are being told about crowd reactions. We reached out to the USTA about this and a spokesman said we regularly ask our broadcasters to refrain from showcasing off- court disruptions. What do you think about all this?

BRENNAN: Well, again, yes, so, there's reporting now from several outlets that the USTA, U.S. Tennis Association, Jessica, has asked the broadcast partners, which in this case in the U.S. would be ESPN to basically cut the mics, right, to not have booing or cheering. And I'm assuming there would be both and there might be booing. Maybe the booing would drown out the cheering. Who knows and who knows where this come from, Donald Trump himself, from The White House. Are they concerned about how people are going to react when they see this on T.V.?

This is the U.S. Open. Everybody gets booed. Everybody gets cheered. Its Queens, you know, it's right by LaGuardia, It's noisy. The notion and also, that's the funny part of this, But let's go to the very serious part of this.

DEAN: Yes.

BRENNAN: A national governing body for sport is trying to censor a broadcaster or a series of broadcasters, if it's around the world, that's absolutely outrageous. And no one, no journalist, no broadcaster, no one in the media should ever go along with anything like that. You let the crowd noise come in and people will make that determination. And for some reason they cut the mics, there are going to be 100,000 tweets and Instagram posts showing people exactly the video of what happened when they when they announced Trump.

So, this is really stunning. And again, I'm shocked if it's true that the USTA even thought this was even remotely a good idea because it's a terrible idea.

DEAN: All right, so we'll look and see what happens with that tomorrow. Quickly, before we let you go, Caitlin Clark out for the rest of the season with an injury to her right groin. I know you have documented her career. You have the book on it. What do you make of this? Certainly, she was not happy about this.

BRENNAN: No, no, and you know, the last time she missed a game was her sophomore year of high school, one game for a sprained ankle back in 2017. And now she's missed most of this season with various injuries to her legs and her groin. Stunning turn of events, so disappointing and disheartening for her and for the WNBA because we know the all- star game ratings dropped 36 percent when she was out, and we may well -- we will definitely see those ratings drop again in the playoffs even though the Fever look like they will make it, Caitlin then will be on the bench, of course.

DEAN: Yes, disappointing, indeed. All right, Christine Brennan, thank you. Always good to see you. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:57:43]

DEAN: All this week on CNN and next Saturday at 10:00 P.M., you can catch our special "Champions for Change" series eight CNN journalists spotlight the inspiring stories of change makers who've made a lasting impact in their communities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN, HOST OF "OUT FRONT": Do you get to eat it sometimes?

VOICE OVER: Join us for champions for change.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": When was the first time you went to Africa?

VOICE OVER: As CNN journalists spotlight trailblazers creating a better tomorrow.

DANA BASH, CNN NEWS ANCHOR, HOST OF "INSIDE POLITICS" AND CO-ANCHOR OF "STATE OF THE UNION": My champion, gives hope.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN NEWS CENTRAL, HOST: Love it man, thank you so much.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: I think I'm crazy enough to think that change can happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Create a community where young people could be their best self.

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Do you feel that energy?

VOICE OVER: Experience the very best of humanity as these champions challenge today's uncertainties, making breakthroughs across communities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: we are literally changing the way that drug development research is done.

VOICE OVER: Hear what motivates them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe in doing work that's greater than me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone should have access to equitable maternal health care.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR OF "NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP": It's like a workout.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.

Making the school busses safer, reliable and efficient.

BILL WEIR, CNN HOST: How are you? I'm Bill.

VOICE OVER: And how their actions are making a positive impact.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am fighting every day for people with mental health disorders.

VOICE OVER: CNN journalists introduce you to their champions.

BURNETT: It means a lot to all of us.

VOICE OVER: "Champions for Change" next Saturday at 10:00 on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: A whole new season of Have I Got News for You returns tonight with guests Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and Comedian Dave Foley. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JR., AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: I'm going to give you all a situation, and you guess how a recent Trump administration decision might make you die.

AMBER RUFFIN, AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND WRITER: Great.

MICHAEL IAN BLACK, AMERICAN COMEDIAN AND ACTOR: Okay, I like this game.

WOOD: Okay, Jasmine, you're up first.

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-TX): It's a long list, honey.

WOOD: Okay. It's a lovely Thanksgiving Dinner, you're there with your family. Your uncle just came in, asked you to borrow $20.00 and you got the turkey. How will you die?

CROCKETT: It's the turkey. The bird flu or something because they're not even testing for stuff anymore. It's the food. It's the food.

WOOD: Points, yes. The answer is salmonella poisoning. The Department of Agriculture is withdrawing a rule proposed to prevent food poisoning from poultry contaminated with salmonella.

BLACK: Salmon's supposed to be very good for you. It's got those fatty oils, it's very good.

WOOD: Not in a bird, it ain't supposed to be in the bird.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Be sure to tune in. It's a new season of "Have I Got News for You." It airs tonight at 9:00 Eastern only here on CNN.

And thank you so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. I'm going to see you again tomorrow night. We start at 6:00 Eastern, "Real Time with Bill Maher" is up next. Have a great night.

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