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Israeli, Hamas and U.S. Delegations Head to Egypt for Gaza Talks; Federal Judge Blocks National Guard Deployment in Portland; Interview with Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL). Aired 3-4p ET
Aired October 05, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, take a trip around the world with Tony Shalhoub to discover how bread connects us in the brand new CNN original series, "Tony Shalhoub: Breaking Bread." That's premiering tonight at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
[15:00:52]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
We begin with breaking news. Delegations from Israel, Hamas and the U.S. are heading to Egypt, where negotiations begin tomorrow involving President Trump's 20-point ceasefire plan. It would include the release of remaining hostages in Gaza, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco rubio says is the Trump administration's number one priority.
But despite ongoing efforts to push the ceasefire proposal ahead, at least 15 have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza today, according to hospital officials.
We've got team coverage of all of these developments. Nic Robertson is in Egypt. First, though, let's get the latest from CNN's senior White House reporter, Kevin Liptak in Virginia where President Trump is set to deliver remarks. So, Kevin, the President spoke from the South Lawn earlier about the latest on Gaza. What did he say?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, what you're hearing from the President and from other administration officials is a degree of optimism that this deal is going to move forward while at the same time acknowledging that there are still some details that continue to need to be resolved.
And so we heard from the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said that the war is not over yet, that work remains to be done to determine whether Israel and Hamas are actually in agreement on this plan, and Rubio suggested that the coming days will be absolutely critical, saying that we want to see this happen very fast and that if it doesn't, I think the entire deal becomes imperiled.
So you do get a sense from him about just how fragile the administration sees this all becoming. That's part of the reason why the President is dispatching two top officials to Cairo, where these talks are going to take place. His Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to essentially ensure that this deal gets across the finish line.
Now, as President Trump was coming here to Norfolk, he did speak on the South Lawn of The White House. He said that this was a good deal for all sides of this, for Israel, for Hamas, for the Palestinians, and for the Arab world. But he also sort of acknowledged that there would need to be some flexibility.
Listen to what he said there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We don't need flexibility because everybody has pretty much agreed to it, but there will always be some changes. But the Hamas plan, I tell you, it is amazing. You're going to have peace.
If you think about it, peace in the Middle East. For the first time, in, they say really 3,000 years. So I am very honored to be a big part of that.
Look they've been fighting for a plan for years. We get the hostages back almost immediately. Negotiations are going on right now. It will probably take a couple of days, and people are very happy about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: So you hear the president there allowing that there will need to be some changes. What those changes are could be potentially significant. These two sides have been quite far apart on a number of details heading into this, and it is not clear that they are ready to cede any of that ground now.
Now here in Norfolk, the war in the Middle East will be sort of front and center. We are standing right next to the USS Harry Truman, which returned over the summer from a lengthy deployment in the Red Sea, where it was battling the Houthi rebels, that is sort of a fallen effect of the war in Gaza. And so, clearly, the President, very eager to resolve this conflict.
But whether this plan is what does it, I think still very much an open question.
WHITFIELD: All right, Kevin Liptak, thanks so much, in Norfolk.
All right, let's go to Nic Robertson now in Cairo.
So Nic, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are set to begin tomorrow in Egypt. So what should be expected?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, we shouldn't expect an easy ride, that's clear. Marco Rubio earlier today said 90 percent of the negotiation has been done, but the remaining 10 percent is very tough. The key thing to look for is going to be Hamas agreeing to Israel's withdrawal line, where it withdraws its troops back to inside of Gaza as part of a ceasefire. If they are agreeing with that, and if they're agreeing with the immediate release of the hostages, then the ceasefire can go into place. But for Hamas, that is conceding territory that even on a temporary basis, that they hadn't conceded.
[15:05:14]
If you go back to the middle of August, it is the line back in the middle of August that the IDF would locate themselves at, which is less territory, if you will, inside of Gaza than under previous proposed plans.
I think one of the key things we need to look at is the expectation of how quickly the talks can happen. Everyone is talking about speed, and that's very important. President Trump today mentioned that it could be a couple of days of talks away and we've just seen a sort of a key detail emerge here in the last couple of hours and that is when Israel sends its delegation to these talks tomorrow, the Prime Minister is not sending his Minister of National Security, Ron Dermer, to head the delegation.
And here, if you will, is sort of the key ingredient for Prime Minister Netanyahu. When you see that Ron Dermer is going to the talks, you know that you're close to the endgame. Now, it is going to be senior officials in charge of hostage releases, in charge of intelligence and security issues. So it feels that we are still a little stretch away.
And of course, the key thing here is Hamas has not yet agreed to giving up its weapons, not yet agreed to not being part of the political future inside of Gaza, not agreed to what the political future inside of Gaza might be.
Is that ceasefire in sight? Yes it is. Are we there yet? Absolutely not.
WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson in Cairo, thanks so much.
All right, now to new developments in President Trump's immigration crackdown in American Democrat-led cities as his administration faces a legal setback in one city, at the same time, Trump is escalating plans in another.
In Oregon, a Trump-appointed federal judge has temporarily blocked his plan to deploy 200 National Guard troops to Portland. In the judge's ruling Saturday, the judge said Trump's claims about chaos in that city were "untethered to the facts."
Earlier today, the President blasted the judge's Oregon decision and continued to claim Portland is under threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Portland is burning to the ground. It is insurrectionists all over the place. Its Antifa and yet the politicians who are petrified. Look, the politicians are afraid for their lives. That's the only reason that they say like this, nothing happening. And you've seen it, the place is burning down, and they pretend like there is nothing happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: That Oregon ruling coming as President Trump announced that he is authorizing 300 members of the Illinois National Guard to be sent to Chicago over the objections of that state's governor.
CNN's Rafael Romo is joining us right now with more on all of this.
A lot happening in a lot of places all at once.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot happening, especially the three states that you mentioned, Illinois, Oregon and California.
And let me tell you, Fred, there have been anti-ICE protests in cities like Chicago and Portland, Oregon, for weeks now. President Donald Trump and his administration are framing these demonstrations as violent protests carried out by domestic terrorists.
In an interview with Fox News this morning, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem states, without providing evidence that protests and confrontations with federal agents are part of an organized movement funded by gangs, terrorists and drug cartel members. She cited drivers in Chicago who allegedly rammed their cars into a vehicle carrying federal agents, prompting one agent to shoot and injure a woman.
The Department of Justice announced that two people have been charged in federal court with using their vehicles to assault, impede, and interfere with the work of federal agents in Chicago and this is all happening the same week when Trump is deploying 300 California National Guard members to Oregon, according to California Governor Gavin Newsom, even after a judge temporarily blocked the order. Newsom says he is planning to sue over the deployment.
But this is what Secretary Noem had to say this morning. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I've encouraged the governor of Oregon and of Illinois, and that Attorney General should go down and spend some time with our ICE officers and with our Border Patrol officers and encounter the protesters that they do, because these individuals are shouting hateful things at them, threatening their families, putting their hands on them, and acts of violence are occurring on a regular basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: In an interview with CNN earlier today, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker criticized the Trump administration for last week's raid in the city of Chicago featured in a DHS video posted on X this weekend, and according to the Governor, U.S. citizens, children and elderly people were detained for hours without cause.
[15:10:02]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): What kind of a country are we living in? And this -- this -- this raid at this building is emblematic of what ICE and CBP and the President of the United States, Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino are trying to do.
They want mayhem on the ground. They want to create the war zone so that they can send in even more troops. Now, they are claiming they need 300 of Illinois National Guard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: Regarding that incident, the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told CNN that the raid was part of a multi-agency operation that led to the arrest of 37 undocumented immigrants, most of them from Venezuela, but also included people from Mexico, Nigeria and Colombia.
So a very complicated situation in all of those three states.
WHITFIELD: All right, Rafael Romo, thanks so much.
All right, up next, I will speak to an Illinois congressman on his response to President Trump, saying he will straighten out Chicago as he authorizes hundreds of National Guard members to head to that city.
Plus, Republicans "winning" the government shutdown according to President Trump. But congressional leaders say talks are at a stalemate. So how will this end? We will discuss, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:15:50]
WHITFIELD: As the shutdown drags on into its fifth day, a deal to reopen the federal government remains out of sight, with neither side indicating that they are closer to blinking.
Today, President Trump is expressing confidence in a positive outcome, telling CNN Republicans are winning the battle, but the top Democrat in the House says Republicans are nowhere to be found on negotiations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Well, the last time there was a conversation with Republican leadership was in The White House meeting last Monday and unfortunately, since that point in time, Republicans, including Donald Trump, have gone radio silent.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Let's discuss more now with Democratic Congressman Sean Casten of Illinois.
Congressman, great to see you.
How optimistic are you that something can get done this week and get government back up and running?
REP. SEAN CASTEN (D-IL): I'd feel a lot more optimistic if Mike Johnson was keeping the House floor open. I mean, I am sitting here right now wondering when we are ever going to go back to Washington because he is not there.
I think the challenge we have here is, you can't pass a C.R. except on a bipartisan basis because of the rules in the Senate. The Republican leadership in the House and the Senate did not pass a single appropriations bill prior to September 30th. That's how we normally fund the government.
And so we all knew we were coming into this moment while they were not passing appropriations bills, they were slashing health care. So we are now sitting there saying we don't want to be responsible for taking people's health care away. Let's come to the table and do this on a bipartisan basis and they are not even in town.
You know, there is a path that Johnson could do to get through this, but it would require him standing up to Trump. And so far, he has not been willing to do it.
WHITFIELD: So, so far, you know, Democrats are saying that they want the extension of enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, in any kind of deal to help reopen the government. Would you or other Democrats accept any other deal without that extension? Is there room to negotiate without that?
CASTEN: Look, the basic question as we are sitting here right now with 12 million people who will have had their health insurance stripped away from them. Why should we be party to making that worse? We can get all caught up in the nuance of the shutdown, but the Republicans knew that they did not have a single Democratic vote to strip health care away, because they stripped it away from so many people already.
There is a lot of other things I would argue we should be arguing for. I mean, I think one of the big challenges is that we have a White House who is openly ignoring the rule of law and the Republican leadership is refusing to do any oversight.
I'd like to see us pushing on that. I am really concerned that, you know, the cuts from DOGE have crippled -- you know, we have no pandemic preparedness office group at HHS anymore, Health and Human Services.
There are a whole lot of things I'd like to see, but as we sit here in this moment, I don't think health care is an unreasonable ask or is standing up for the people you represent an unreasonable thing to do if you are elected to represent them? WHITFIELD: The White House says thousands of federal workers could be laid off if a deal is not reached. And today, Trump said Democrats would be the ones responsible. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I call them Democrat layoffs. They're Democrat layoffs. They're causing it.
We are doing better than the country has ever done and the Democrats hate seeing that. It is up to them. Anybody laid off, that's because of the Democrats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, what do you think about what he has to say?
CASTEN: It is offensive and it is a lie.
This is the President of the United States. He should know the damn laws. He does not have the authority to lay people off because we are in a shutdown. The laws are very clear on that.
You don't have authority to spend money, but you can't change laws. These are congressionally appropriated positions doing congressionally mandated work. The idea that the President thinks that it is a good idea to hurt the American people, to take away people -- I mean, if the National Flood Insurance Program is out of money, if there is -- if we have a Hurricane Helene that comes through, who is going to solve that?
[15:20:04]
The EPA has no disaster people, and he is going to fire these people? That's not presidential. It is shameful. It is thin skinned. It is anti-American. And it is frankly evil.
WHITFIELD: And then as it pertains to the President's immigration crackdown. Today, he said that and I am quoting him, he is "going to straighten out the city of Chicago" after authorizing National Guard troops to be sent to the city. We have heard from the governor who says, no, thank you.
But your reaction to the President, who is using National Guard troops to enforce his immigration agenda in a variety of cities, but namely in your state of Illinois.
CASTEN: It is horribly disrupting communities. The number of constituents I have who are perfectly legal citizens of the United States and are now traveling with their passport in hand because they don't know whether they are going to get pulled over.
But at a larger level, the vast majority of the crime in this country is not done by immigrants. By shifting resources to these sort of Gestapo tactics, they are not enforcing anti-crime. The ATF office that tracks all -- the DEA, they are on a hiring freeze. So drug interdictions are falling in Chicago because the federal law enforcement is not available to do that if they're going and invading these communities. It is making us less safe, not more safe.
WHITFIELD: Congressman Sean Casten, glad you could be with us. Thank you so much.
CASTEN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, the U.S. Supreme Court begins a brand new term tomorrow with a set of cases on the docket that could completely reshape President Trump's agenda and impact the country for many years to come. What to watch for, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:26:13]
WHITFIELD: A major U.S. Supreme Court term begins tomorrow with hugely significant cases on the docket that could test the power of Donald Trump's presidency.
This follows an unusually contentious summer as the justices were flooded with a record number of emergency appeals from The White House weighing in on immigration, foreign aid and even who Trump can fire.
So what can we expect from this new term? CNN's chief Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic is here to help break it all down -- Joan.
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Fredricka, after a rough summer with deep disagreements over Trump administration policies, the Supreme Court is about to hear several important cases that involve even more Trump controversies, but also difficult culture war issues.
I will first mention two that will be heard this month. The justices on Tuesday will take up a dispute from Colorado over whether states can stop licensed health care professionals from engaging in so-called conversion therapy. That is the practice of working with LGBTQ teens to try to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Trump administration is siding with the counselor who brought the case, a woman who describes herself as a practicing Christian engaged in talk therapy. She says the Colorado ban violates her right to free speech.
Next week, the justices will hear a dispute over the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act that could affect redistricting practices across the country and influence election results as soon as the 2026 cycle.
The Louisiana case tests whether states found to have discriminated in their maps with boundaries that diluted the voting power of Blacks or Hispanics, can then be required to draw so-called majority/minority districts. These districts are intended to give Blacks and Hispanics a chance to elect their candidates of choice.
In November, it is tariffs. The court will hear a Trump appeal of a lower court ruling that found he had exceeded his power with the sweeping tariffs that date to April in what the President called Liberation Day.
The justices fast tracked this case, as the administration stressed that billions of dollars were at stake. Then, in December and January, the court will take up two cases over Trump's effort to remove leaders at independent agencies. Rulings here could ultimately affect the power of the Federal Reserve, which Trump has been heavily pressuring on interest rates.
Now, usually when the nine justices start an annual session, they have had a relatively restful summer, but last summer was anything but restful. The justices ended up ruling on a series of rushed emergency appeals from the administration on its immigration raids, foreign aid cuts, wide-scale firings and virtually all of these disputes, Trump won.
The three liberal justices in the minority on a court that has a conservative supermajority have protested strongly and I will leave you with this line from Sonia Sotomayor, the senior justice on the left, in a July case involving deportations, she said as she dissented, "Today's order clarifies only one thing, other litigants must follow the rules, but the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial." -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Joan Biskupic, thanks so much.
All right, coming up, a cartel leader talks to CNN in a rare look inside America's drug war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR US NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Have you had to kill people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, you have to.
CULVER: And does that not weigh on you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I am not bad. I am not a bad person.
CULVER: You don't think you're a bad person?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not a bad person. But I do. But I have to -- I have to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:34:37]
WHITFIELD: CNN's David Culver got some incredible access to both sides of the drug war playing out in America, both with the Mexican drug cartels, as well as the federal and local authorities trying to stop them. David discovered the cartels are feeling the heat from the Trump administration and increasingly using social media to recruit American teens into their operations. Here is David with that investigation.
[15:35:06]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll do another drive by westbound.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy. I'm moving in. And then we'll do kind of like a fill-in and stop.
CULVER: Right now, we're with several Cochise County deputies in several different units as they're moving in on their targets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys just hunker down where you're at. Okay, we'll stand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up. Please don't move.
CULVER: Some of them you'll notice are undercover. You won't see their faces. You won't hear their names.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there anyone else in the car with you?
CULVER: And they're fanned out here just north of the U.S. southern border to dismantle a smuggling network one arrest at a time.
An investigation, mind you, that's been going on for 18 months.
It's not just your everyday criminal. It's definitely taking the bigger fish off the streets. The suspect just handed over his phone, revealing what investigators say are key details about a migrant smuggling operation that's happening right now.
It's a coordinated pickup. That's all playing out in real time. And there's several more that you're trying to arrest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eighteen in total.
CULVER: Eighteen in total --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
Aside from the air pressure right now we still have eyes in the car.
CULVER: These Americans we're talking about?
With the exception of one, all are U.S. citizens. They're tied to a faction of the cartel. They are a tight knit crew all working together for the betterment of a larger organization.
CULVER (voice over): Cochise County spans 83 miles of border, south of this line, an underground network tied to the fractured but powerful Sinaloa Cartel. Plaza bosses control each corridor, deciding who and what gets through with lookouts posted on nearby hills, constantly watching for U.S. patrols.
To keep undetected, migrants and their cartel-backed guides, often dressing camouflage, moving through the rocky desert terrain. They follow a pin drop, often to a road a few miles from the border. Drivers race in for the pickup and cash payout. Many are young Americans recruited online.
For six months, we tracked hundreds of cartel recruitment posts on social media, some aimed at luring teens. Coded language, emojis, and cash offers, offering thousands per pickup.
Deputies are going after the drivers. In the past six months, the Justice Department reports 431 people charged with smuggling in Arizona alone, many recruited online. Attorneys say most of their clients are between 18 and 25.
After the pickup, drivers head to stash houses on the U.S. side, run by cartel syndicates. To understand the impact this cartel crackdown is having, we spend weeks trying to get a senior cartel leader to speak with us. He finally agrees, meeting us in a Phoenix parking lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am with the Sinaloa.
CULVER: The Sinaloa cartel.
CULVER (voice over): From killing to coordinating smuggling operations, he says he's done it all.
CULVER: Do you help in bringing people drugs --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People and drugs.
CULVER: Are you a citizen here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.
CULVER: No, and so you're able to still come in and out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER (voice over): Among those helping with transportation, U.S. citizens.
CULVER: You all are using social media to get to young people, young teens, and recruiting them to be part of it. Some of them, many of them are American citizens too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
CULVER: That's life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like that, you know.
CULVER: So even though they may get caught and spend many years in prison, that's their fault, as you see it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER: When you see, for example, the impact of violence and everything that is caused from the cartel movements, from essentially your employer, do you feel like you are part of this problem?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you know, because I got a kid, like a you know, family, you know when they want to kill you, and you defend.
CULVER: So, you see it as defending yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's what I say. I don't like throw it. You have something wrong to me. I do something bad to you.
CULVER (voice over): And not so subtle threat, and yet he seems to regret some of his own life choices.
CULVER: What is your motivation for wanting to talk?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why I come here?
CULVER: Exactly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want people to listen, and I tell them it's not a life, it's not a good, you know, it's not good, it's not --
CULVER: Have you had to kill people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, you have to.
CULVER: And does that not weigh on you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I'm not bad. I'm not bad person.
CULVER: You don't think you're a bad person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not a bad person, but I do what I have to do.
CULVER: Why do you say you do what you have to do? Couldn't you stop doing this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CULVER: You can't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once you get in this --
CULVER: Once you get in, you can't get out.
Do you think what President Trump has been doing has been making your job tougher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh yes, yes.
CULVER: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER: But it's becoming more difficult you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER (voice over): For now, the cartels are still at it.
Now, you heard that cartel boss say that his job is getting tougher and because of that, officials say cartels are now charging much more to get migrants across.
It has jumped from about $6,500.00 a person earlier this year, that's what they were charging to nearly $10,000.00 a person is what they're charging now, according to deputies.
The thing is, a lot of migrants simply cannot afford that and deputies say roughly a third who have crossed through Cochise County alone admit that they still owe the cartels even after crossing, it is something called "migrant debt."
Some are essentially put on cartel payment plans, according to officials. Others are forced to work for the cartels in some capacity so as to pay down their debt. It is just another layer of this constantly evolving criminal enterprise that law enforcement is battling.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:51]
WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk some sports.
In a stunning postseason debut on the mound, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Shohei Ohtani struck out nine Philadelphia Phillies hitters, while in a surprising upset in college football, powerhouse teams Texas and Penn State were taken out by unranked opponents. What's going on?
CNN Sports anchor, Don Riddell is back to discuss the shocking weekend of sports.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: Some of it was shocking.
WHITFIELD: Shocking.
RIDDELL: Yes, I will tell you --
WHITFIELD: Maybe not Shohei. That's what he does.
RIDDELL: I will tell you about the football because it was pretty wild in the college game, and it guarantees a massive shake up in the rankings. Those top ranked teams, Fred just mentioned both taking their second loss of the season in only week six to unranked opponents. Penn State's 42-37 defeat to UCLA was littered with mistakes. That's the biggest upset of the season so far.
Texas falling to Florida by 29 to 21. Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning struggled, throwing two interceptions and was sacked six times by the Gators.
WHITFIELD: Oh no!
RIDDELL: Meanwhile, the MLB postseason got into its stride with the start of the division series. The Yankees got thumped by Toronto, while the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani made history. The Japanese megastar admitted that he was dealing with some nerves in front of a hostile Philadelphia crowd for his postseason pitching debut.
Not exactly smooth sailing for the Dodgers superstar, but remember, he is doing it all. The crowd are -- right? The crowd erupted when he struck out to lead off the game. He went oh for four with a walk and four strikeouts as a hitter, but it was a different story from the hill. Across six innings, Ohtani allowed just three hits. He struck out nine. He is the only player in Major League History to start a game as a pitcher, and another as a non-pitcher in a single postseason.
Ultimately, it was Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez who made the difference, giving the Dodgers their first lead of the game with a three-run shot in the seventh. L.A. landing the first punch in the NLDS with a five-three win. Game two Fred is tomorrow night.
WHITFIELD: Wow, I am just laughing listening to the announcer. The excitement in his voice. Okay, so then still with, you know, baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers have the best record in baseball, but could a World Series run put the spotlight on their most delightfully ridiculous tradition that you love a lot, right, too, the sixth inning sausage race? What's this all about?
RIDDELL: So I hope so. I hope so.
So first of all, the Brewers are one of only a handful of teams never to have won the World Series. As you say, best record in baseball this year. They had a big win in game one yesterday. So hope so. If you're a Midwesterner, you hope so.
But I decided to write about this because I just think this is one of the most delightful traditions in baseball. If you don't know, it is the sixth inning sausage mascot race. They do it every game. They've been doing it since the mid-90s.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
RIDDELL: And it is ridiculous. It is completely ridiculous. But when they started --
WHITFIELD: We like ridiculous every now and.
RIDDELL: Then when they started doing this, nobody was doing it and I hope we can run some of the video because it is a lot more fun to look at than me. WHITFIELD: Okay.
RIDDELL: This is the footage of the first ever race.
WHITFIELD: Now, that does look crazy silly.
RIDDELL: I spoke to the guy who made the costumes. He won the first ever race, and when he came up with this idea, he didn't think it was going to become what it has become, but now more than half the teams in baseball do it and, you know, as I was speaking to him and as I was writing about it for cnn.com, I thought, we live in troubled times, it is quite depressing.
WHITFIELD: Yes. We need some humor.
RIDDELL: And I found this just to be the most wonderful escape, learning about it, writing about it, taking something seriously that is so clearly so absurd.
So if you need an escape --
WHITFIELD: I mean, that takes a lot to do that actually. I mean --
RIDDELL: It is legit.
WHITFIELD: I mean, hello? It is a little top heavy. You could easily fall over and they are seriously hauling.
RIDDELL: Yes, and the Brewers take this seriously.
WHITFIELD: Wee!
RIDDELL: They've assured me that these races, they're not rigged.
WHITFIELD: It's fun!
RIDDELL: It is big race.
WHITFIELD: We all need a little levity, you know, and sports is always a great outlet.
RIDDELL: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And why not have, you know, a little moment like that.
RIDDELL: Go to cnn.com/sport if you want more sausage action.
WHITFIELD: Wonderful. Glad you brought it to us. All right, Don Riddell, thank you so much. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:54:35]
WHITFIELD: All right, new details now surrounding the apparent stabbing of former NFL quarterback, Mark Sanchez. The Fox Sports analyst is now under arrest facing three charges related to an argument with a 69-year-old man in Indianapolis.
CNN's Leigh Waldman is watching all of this for us.
So, Leigh, the details of what happened are quite bizarre and now detectives say they have viewed footage of what was basically a fight between these two men.
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, it is a crazy turn of events. Initially, everyone thought that Mark Sanchez was a victim of a stabbing in the hospital, but now, we are learning, he was seen as the aggressor in that surveillance video according to police.
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Police looking at that video and speaking to that 69-year-old victim in all of this, it happened just after midnight on Saturday. They said the victim tells them that Sanchez came up to his truck that he was working in. He didn't know who Sanchez was, but smelled alcohol on his breath and noticed some slurred speech and that Sanchez actually tried to get inside of that vehicle he was working in. That surveillance video shows Sanchez grabbing this man, throwing him up against the wall.
Now, the man telling police in an affidavit that we've been able to read that he used pepper spray to try and get Sanchez away from him. That didn't work, so he had to pull out a knife and defend himself. He is quoted in that affidavit as saying "This guy is trying to kill me."
Now, a short time later, police were called to a bar nearby. That's when they found Sanchez with those apparent stab wounds. Take a listen to the police scanner audio.
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DISPATCH: One of the officers on scene inside the bar, to make sure we locked that bar down. Treat it as a crime scene. Don't let anybody in or out for now.
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WALDMAN: Sanchez is still in the hospital right now, being treated for those stab injuries, but he is facing three misdemeanor charges, including battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication.
We are also getting a statement from the Marion County prosecutor in this saying "What began as a disagreement between a 38-year-old former professional athlete and a 69-year-old man should not have escalated into violence or left anyone with serious injuries. As with any case, we will follow the facts and the law wherever they lead us."
Now, Sanchez was supposed to be on Fox Sports, today, obviously that's not happening. He is still in the hospital. He is still waiting to be booked into the jail -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Leigh Waldman, thanks so much. All right, Chef Paul Prudhomme, he was a legend in Louisiana and helped put creole Cajun cooking on the map.
A new CNN original series, "New Orleans: Soul of a City" premieres tonight and looks at his impact on New Orleans dining culture and revisits his interview with the one and only, Larry King.
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LARRY KING, TALK SHOW HOST: No matter what's on the stove, Chicken Big Mamou or maybe Cape Cod mussels, if Paul Prudhomme is stirring the pot, you're going to remember what was in it.
PAUL PRUDHOMME, CHEF: The blackening started out as --
KING: Was it beautiful --
PRUDHOMME: Yes. It started out as grilled redfish and it started out cooked on an open fire. And then when we opened K-Paul's, we couldn't afford to have a stove that had an open fire to it. And so what we did is we started looking for different ways to do it.
And since everything is out, you probably should cut the fire off.
KING: Don't put me down like that.
PRUDHOMME: No, no, I am just --
KING: All right --
PRUDHOMME: That was a problem, man.
KING: Okay. Why can't he get his food black?
PRUDHOMME: Okay. The blackening method was created at K-Paul's. The first time it was served was March of 1980. And it is just -- I mean, people just loved it immediately because it is the perfect way to cook.
You take the surface of things like we are doing here. You ought to taste one of those, Larry. I mean, you cooked it, you know?
You take this -- you brown the surface like we are doing here, and except you take it to nth degree before it gets bitter, before it gets ashy. It is not burned, it is blackened, and it makes the surface sweet and wonderful and absolutely delicious.
And you start chewing it, and it says perfect stocking. Isn't that good?
KING: This is fantastic.
PRUDHOMME: Larry did it. I mean, Larry did it.
KING: Yes, I did it.
PRUDHOMME: Okay. I mean --
KING: This is one of mine.
PRUDHOMME: You know, I think we've got first time, guys. Somebody help me in this studio. Let's get some -- let's get some going here.
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WHITFIELD: Yum, yum! Bon Appetit. Tune in to see the first episode of "New Orleans: Soul of a City." That's tonight, 10:00 only on CNN.
We begin this hour with another threatened lawsuit against President Trump's plans to send troops to Oregon. Just a short time ago, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on X that President Trump is sending California National Guard troops to Oregon, a move the Governor says he will immediately challenge in court.
And just yesterday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the President's plan to deploy 200 National Guard troops to Portland. In the judge's Saturday ruling, the judge sided with Oregon officials, saying Trump's claims about chaos in the city were, "untethered to the facts."
Today, the President blasted the judge's Oregon decision and continued to claim Portland is under threat.
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TRUMP: Portland is burning to the ground. It is insurrectionists all over the place. Its Antifa. And yet the politicians who are petrified -- look, the politicians are afraid for their lives. That's the only reason that they say like this, nothing is happening. And you've seen it.
The place is burning down, and they pretend like there is nothing happening.
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