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Trump Admin Federalizing 300 Illinois National Guard Members; Israel, Hamas And U.S. Delegations Head To Egypt For Gaza Talks; Interview With Representative Dan Newhouse (R-WA); Navy's 250th birthday; Bad Bunny Hosts SNL; Therapy Dog Kerith. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 05, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: 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's nothing happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: That Oregon ruling coming as President Trump announced that he is also 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 back with us.

What more do we know about all of these plans?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's getting hard to keep track of what's happening in all of these three states, Fred. But let me give you some breaking news because this is just in. A White House spokesperson just issued a statement reacting to California Governor Gavin Newsom's decision to sue the Trump administration for attempting to deploy his state's National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon.

The statement says, in part, "President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement. For once, the California governor," and the president didn't use his name, but a name that he uses to be offensive against the governor, "should stand on the side of law-abiding citizens instead of violent criminals destroying Portland and cities across the country."

Now, President Donald Trump once again spoke about Chicago this morning, saying that he's going to, quote, "straighten the Windy City," during remarks made while departing the White House. The Trump administration announced Saturday the president had authorized hundreds of National Guard troops to be sent to Chicago the day after. At least 18 people were arrested at a protest at an ICE facility just outside the city. And the very same day, a federal agent shot and injured a woman within city limits. Trump and his administration have framed demonstrations there, and in

Portland, Oregon, as violent protests carried out by, quote, "domestic terrorists," arguing that military deployments are necessary to protect federal immigration personnel and property. But leaders in both states, not only in Illinois but also in Portland, insist that the ones creating the mayhem are federal agents by using tactics that terrorize not only undocumented immigrants and their families, but also U.S. citizens.

The two sides don't agree even on the facts of serious incidents like the shooting that occurred yesterday in Chicago that involved federal agents in the city's southwest side. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X that federal agents, quote, "were attacked, rammed and boxed in by 10 vehicles," including an attacker with a semiautomatic weapon, and a DHS spokesperson wrote on X that agents responded by firing what she called defensive shots, injuring a woman who was one of those allegedly attacking them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Very dangerous situation. And then in that situation as well, you know, this individual had threatened them previously and had told them that they all needed to go down and shouted expletives at them. So our intelligence indicates that these people are organized. They're getting more and more people on their team as far as attacking officers, and they're making plans to ambush them and to kill them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And here's the other side, Fred. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker says state officials have been unable to verify Noem's version of the incident, suggesting the federal government is obscuring the facts in order to match Trump's narrative about crime in Democratic-led states and cities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JB PRITZKER (D), ILLINOIS: In these sorts of incidences typically ICE puts out a press release before anybody else can speak with the press, and then it gets reported on social media and elsewhere. So here it's really hard to know exactly what the facts are, and they won't let us access the facts. They are just putting out their propaganda. And then we've got to later determine what actually happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: OK. This is what we know for sure. 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. So that much we know.

WHITFIELD: All right. This is going to be a bumpy week. I kind of predict.

ROMO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

All right. And this breaking news. Delegations from Israel, Hamas and the U.S. are headed to Egypt for key negotiations set to begin tomorrow. The focus is on getting President Trump's 20-point ceasefire proposal over the finish line. Trump says he expects discussions will take a couple of days, calling the plan, I'm quoting now, "amazing." He spoke earlier from the South Lawn of the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's a great deal for Israel and it's a great deal for everybody. And you want to get your hostages back, right? You want them back or do you not want them back?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Of course.

TRUMP: And it's a great deal for Israel. It's a great deal for the entire Arab world, the Muslim world, and the world. So we're very happy about it.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When do you think the hostages will start being freed?

[16:05:01]

TRUMP: I think very soon. They're in negotiations right now as we speak. They've started the negotiation. It will last a couple of days. We'll see how it turns out. But I'm hearing it's going very well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's get the latest now from Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Jeremy, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas set to begin tomorrow. What have you learned about them?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Fred. And listen, at this moment there is a clear sense of willingness on both Israel and Hamas' part to move forward with these negotiations and see if a ceasefire deal can be achieved. U.S. officials striking a very optimistic tone. As you heard, the president there himself about the prospects of this deal actually becoming a reality.

But it will be, as these indirect negotiations begin tomorrow in Egypt, that we actually get a clearer sense of what is truly achievable because it's important to keep in mind that despite all of the optimism, there are a number of sticking points here and disagreements between these two sides that will indeed need to be smoothed over.

We do expect, though, that an Israeli delegation will travel tomorrow to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt. A Hamas delegation already in Egypt will meet them there. These discussions will be indirect, of course, mediated by Egypt and Qatar. The United States also set to be on hand for these discussions. We know that the Israeli prime minister tonight met with that negotiating team and held a lengthy discussion with them, according to the prime minister's office.

But interestingly, Ron Dermer, Prime Minister Netanyahu's closest adviser, who heads up the negotiating team, will not yet travel to Egypt tomorrow. Unclear why that is or when he might join the rest of the team there. We know that the Israeli military has claimed to have shifted to a more defensive posture inside the Gaza Strip, and indeed, residents in Gaza are reporting that they have seen a slower pace of bombardments, a decrease in Israeli strikes, but they have not vanished altogether.

In fact, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 20 people were killed on Sunday alone. Dozens had been killed yesterday as well. And so important to note that so much is riding on the line of all of this, including the fate of those 48 hostages still being held inside of the Gaza Strip.

Lastly, I'll just note that on some of the specific points here that Hamas has agreed to, they've agreed to release the 48 hostages based on the Trump framework, but they want to negotiate the details of that. And then, of course, there's this question of them being willing to disarm as part of a future plan for Gaza. That point they have not yet talked about publicly.

And that will be a key point of discussions over the course of the coming days, as the United States and Israel are clearly pushing for this to all come together very quickly in a matter of days. Both sides, both Israel and the United States, insisting they will not allow these talks to drag on -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says securing the release of Israeli hostages is priority number one for the Trump administration. And Hamas has already agreed to that part of the plan ahead of this week's talks in Egypt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I do have hope that they'll be released, and I think there's chances. Look, the field condition peace, which the president alluded to in his Truth Social post on Friday evening, is you can't have an exchange of hostages. You can't, you know, obviously bring them out if bombs are going off, an act of combat is occurring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining us now to discuss is Aaron David Miller. He's a former State Department Middle East negotiator and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Aaron, always great to see you.

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So Rubio says this is the closest they've come to a release like this. Are you optimistic that these hostages, dead or alive, will be released soon?

MILLER: You know, we've had this discussion, Fred, I don't know how many times in the last two years. The truth is, I usually default to the negative because it is Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. And the situation there usually gets worse before it gets worse. But this time around, I think it's more than likely that, in fact, there will be a deal.

And I think Secretary Rubio framed it up pretty well. The deal is going to be the priority for the administration, for the president is to release the hostages. It's hard to see under these circumstances whether or not we're going to be able to get much farther than that, given the implacable difficulty of reconciling what Hamas wants the end game to be and what the endgame of the Netanyahu government is. And I think that's really key.

Hamas is trading the hostages for its political survival and that would mean retaining its arms and not agreeing to decommission or demilitarizing the Gaza Strip. So phase one of the deal, reasonably confident, although only two speeds, as you know, Fred, in these negotiations, slow and slower.

[16:10:07]

I think there's a reasonable chance that you will see a hostage release. Hamas will want specific names that has not yet been agreed to, and there will be a tension over the line of withdrawal, which I think is far more -- far more expansive than Hamas would agree to.

WHITFIELD: OK, so you're somewhat optimistic, at least the phase one, all 48 hostages, dead or alive, being released in some sort of swap. So then I wonder, you know, overall, what is this process revealing about the standing of the current relationship between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu?

MILLER: I mean, you asked the core question. You really have. You know, I worked in administrations from Jimmy Carter to Bush 43. I've never seen an American president literally order because that's what he's done. Order an Israeli prime minister to comply. And I think it is virtually unprecedented. Yes, there have been periods of tension. I worked in the Bush 41 administration, but never, again, never have we seen this sort of pressure from an American president.

And the fact is, Benjamin Netanyahu has one major priority. It's not the release of the hostages. It's not ending the war in Gaza. It's how does he wage a successful reelection campaign probably in the spring of 2026? To do that, he needs Donald Trump on his side, campaigning for him. And I think that explains a great deal of why Benjamin Netanyahu, who has never complied with any of the Democratic or Republican presidents with whom he's worked on an issue like this, chose, had no choice, actually, basically to do what the president suggested. It is, by the way, Fred, a very pro-Israeli process. Let's be very

clear about that as well. So that made it easier for him. But I think, again, my head is still exploding from the way in which Donald Trump has essentially told prime minister to sign up. And if Barak Ravid's reporting is accurate, and I won't doubt him on this, that Trump basically said, you comply or we will leave you. That's extraordinary. Really.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And you have seen, witnessed, been a part of a lot as a career diplomat. I mean, do we chalk this up to, you know, the acts of diplomacy must be adaptive? Sometimes they really are, you know, very different from what serves as tradition. And you've got, in this case, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, headed to Egypt, as, you know, what some reporting is.

In addition to what you said, President Trump ordering Netanyahu to, you know, comply, President Trump also talked about Hamas being totally obliterated if it doesn't comply. So is this what it's going to take to bring some modicum of peace, you know, to this situation, in this conflict?

MILLER: I don't see that happening. I don't see that happening, Fred. I mean, who knows what the president is prepared to deploy U.S. special forces to Gaza, which he is not going to do. He's relying on the Israeli Defense Forces, and they are extraordinarily competent. But in the last two years, we're entering the third year of this war, Fred, on Tuesday. Third year of this war. And yet Hamas remains as an insurgency, hollowed out as a military organization, command and control broken down.

Most of its senior leadership killed. Brigade commanders are making decisions. But the notion that somehow Hamas is going to be extinguished, the only way to fundamentally challenge and eradicate its influence as a -- as a determinative factor in Gaza would be to present an alternative, an alternative which offers good governance, legitimate authority for whatever Palestinian representation is elected by Palestinians, and to link Gaza to the future of the West Bank and a pathway to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

That is so far in the distance. It's probably not even relevant to talk about it right now. But that's how to beat us. I suspect that obliteration is not in its future. And it's going to remain, I think, a factor in post October 7th Gaza.

WHITFIELD: All right. So fascinating.

[16:15:00]

Aaron David Miller, always appreciate having you and hearing your expertise. Thank you.

MILLER: Thanks so much, Fred. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead, President Trump, congressional Republicans and Democrats, all pointing fingers at each other for the U.S. government shutdown. We'll tell you what party leaders are saying today about how the stalemate can end. And we're standing by for President Trump to speak at the Navy's 250th anniversary celebration. He's just now there arriving to the podium. We'll monitor the situation, take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:26]

WHITFIELD: All right. In Norfolk right now, President Trump is at the U.S. Navy's 250th anniversary celebration. We continue to monitor all that he's been saying. Let's listen in momentarily.

TRUMP: United States Navy has kept the stars and stripes soaring high and proud above those big, magnificent waves. You love doing it, too. There's not a thing in the world that you'd rather do, is there? Is there? No. I like your life better than mine. I have to be honest with you. Sailing on those beautiful waters all the time. You're so lucky. Because the American sailor never quits, never fails and never ever lets us down. They've never let us down. Thank you. Thank you.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And we're honored to be joined today by service members representing every part of this great naval tradition. Our incredible surface warriors are the reason America's enemies tremble at the sight of a Navy ship. Haze gray or underway. The instant U.S. carrier, cruiser or destroyer breaks across the horizon, every tyrant and adversary on the planet knows their choice is very simple. It's leave America in peace or be blown up in fire and fury never seen before.

WHITFIELD: We'll continue to monitor the president's remarks there in Norfolk, at the Navy anniversary celebration.

All right. Meantime, today marks the fifth day of the U.S. government shutdown with seemingly no end in sight. Both sides remain dug in as Democrats insist that they won't vote for any deal that does not include an extension of subsidies for Obamacare.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says Republicans are willing to negotiate, but the government must first reopen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Because we have plenty of time to debate that very complicated issue. It's not a simple one. There has to be reforms to that subsidy because there's a lot of fraud, waste and abuse involved in it. We're not saying that we won't negotiate it. We're saying turn the lights back on in Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's discuss more now with Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse of Washington state. He's on the House Appropriations Committee.

Congressman, glad you could be with us. Hopefully you can hear me OK. So, you know, during so many times in the past, Congressman, Congress has held negotiations while the government has been in a shutdown. Why is this different?

REP. DAN NEWHOUSE (R-WA): Well, it's good to be with you, Fredricka. And I appreciate a little attention to the West Coast, where we're cheering the Mariners on this weekend. But as the speaker said, and I'll just pretty much repeat what he said, we have offered a clean CR, something that has no poison pills in it, no Republican priorities other than keeping the government open so that we can continue our work to negotiate the appropriations bills that are before us.

The House and the Senate have that work in front of us. I'm on the Appropriations Committee. We have passed all 12 appropriation bills out of committee. We passed three off the House floor. The Senate is doing their work. We need a little more time to get -- to get this work done. And that's that -- it's as simple as that. We're just asking for --

WHITFIELD: So -- right, but the question is then, why not go ahead and get that work done even though government is closed? Might that help expedite the process of reopening it if everyone is back in Washington, on the Hill, trying to work things out?

NEWHOUSE: Well, we got our work done. We put the CR on the table. We passed it out of the House. It's over in the Senate. So we're awaiting action there for the Senate to do something. So what's -- it's really simple here in my -- in my humble opinion. The Democrats have -- you don't always get your way when you're in the minority. And things -- your priorities don't always become front and center. The majority rules in a lot of occasions.

But they're using a shutdown as whatever -- for whatever leverage they can muster in order to move their agenda forward. And I can tell you from the shutdowns that I've seen in the past, when this kind of a strategy is utilized, I've never seen it be successful. So I think the best thing to do, and I hope that they come to this realization as well, is let's move on. Let's get the government back open so the American people could continue to depend on those functions and those services that they do from the federal government and get our work done.

[16:25:07]

WHITFIELD: OK. Except you've seen some of the polling, the most recent polling where Americans polled are actually blaming Republicans for the shutdown as opposed to what you just said, which was Democrats, you know, taking the blame for the shutdown. And I wonder if you can reflect, you know, that, you know, one of the biggest reasons the GOP lost the House in 2018 during Trump's first term, at the core was the attempt to repeal Obamacare.

You were one of those Republicans who voted to repeal and replace it. Do Republicans once again risk losing the House by not extending these tax credits, which would force the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare health insurance premiums to double for some recipients? NEWHOUSE: So, Fredricka, there's lots of polls out there in this

finger-pointing and blame game that's going on. Whoever is going to win the messaging war, I guess, that's a separate thing. But I think it's very important for us to put aside these political strategies to -- for each side, but particularly the Democrats in this case to try to appease the left flank of their Democratic base, to stand up to the Republicans, stand up to President Trump, and show that they're fighting.

I think that the time for that has passed. They've made their point. We understand that these issues may be priorities of theirs. And I've heard both the speaker and Leader Thune commit to having a debate on these issues as we move forward into the next seven weeks before November 21st. So I think, like, again, I think it's simple. We just need to get our work done. But we shouldn't be holding the American public essentially hostage by denying many of the important services that they depend on while the government is closed and they can't access.

WHITFIELD: Including paychecks.

NEWHOUSE: So we should get back to work.

WHITFIELD: Including paychecks of federal workers. That's being held up.

NEWHOUSE: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: So this shutdown is happening right in the middle of harvest season for a lot of U.S. farmers. You're a third generation farmer, I understand. Right? Help us understand how this is impacting farms, many of which have already been suffering significantly as a result of tariffs, especially soy farmers who are unable to export to China, which is a leading, you know, customer of America's soy farmers.

NEWHOUSE: So, absolutely. And thank you for acknowledging that. This is a very busy time on the farm. Harvests are happening all around the country, and it's no secret that it is a very challenging time as well for agriculturalists across the country. The cost of inputs are -- keep going up and up and up. The prices that we get paid for the products that we produce have not been keeping pace. So profitability is kind of a difficult thing to achieve in these days. And you're right. The president has --

WHITFIELD: Are you blaming tariffs?

NEWHOUSE: On the cost of inputs? I'm sure it has an impact. But these things have been happening for the last couple of years. The squeezing of profits have been a struggle for a couple of years now. I do applaud the president for trying to achieve something that's very important. That's access to international markets. We need those markets. Farmers can compete with anybody in the world. I'm confident of that, in the American farmer. But we need to have a level playing field. And the president is working very hard to achieve that. Granted, it's taking time. There's a lot of countries we do business

with that takes a lot of time for these negotiations to happen. Jamieson Greer, our trade representative, is working around the clock in order to accomplish these things. But farmers, like I said, are feeling a pinch and we cannot wait for the -- for these markets if they're going to be six months from now or a year from now. We have to have help now. So I applaud the administration for stepping up and offering to provide some assistance to get over this hump that we're experiencing right now.

My message to the administration has been consistent. I'm in touch with them as much as possible is to treat all crops equitably in this -- in this situation. Certainly the soybean farmers are particularly in focus right now because of the issues with China. But I represent district that produces a lot of what's called specialty crops. You know, things like apples and cherries and pears and hops, where the hop capital of the country.

We also have issues with profitability in all of these other crops. And we need to be not forgotten when it comes to assistance that may be coming out.

We don't -- would rather have markets available to us, though. That's -- the access issue is what's most important.

WHITFIELD: All right. Congressman Dan Newhouse, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

NEWHOUSE: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

[16:30:25]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As the U.S. government shutdown drags into its fifth day, the President and first lady are in Norfolk, Virginia to commemorate the U.S. Navy's 250th birthday celebration.

[16:35:02]

WHITFIELD: The President is speaking there right now at the podium. Let's bring in Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. What have you heard the President say?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (live): Some brilliant minds --

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITEHOUSE REPORTER: Yes, this is very much an ode to the Navy on its 250th anniversary. The President spent most of today out on the USS George H. W. Bush, surveying sort of a demonstration of U.S. Naval might. He saw submarines. He saw ships. He saw Naval aircraft. All, sort of, meant to demonstrate the power of the Navy, as it nears this anniversary. Now, the President delivering sort of a history of the Navy in this speech that he's delivering now. I think there are a few different backdrops to this speech. One, of course, is the government shutdown.

And the President said, on Friday, that he was intent on going forward with this event, and actually blamed the Democrats for trying to stymie this celebration of the Navy. The other are the changes that the President is trying to make to the U.S. military.

We heard him talk about that, at some length, earlier last week at Quantico. Talking about trying to get rid of Woke programs. Trying to get rid of diversity programs. Really, sort of, recentering the military on being a fighting force.

But, also very controversially, trying to use U.S. cities as training grounds for the military. We haven't heard the President make similar comments today, but certainly that's a very interesting comment for him.

The other backdrop, of course, is the war in Israel. And the President did make passing reference to that in his speech, saying that he's trying to put out fires around the world. That he is close to putting out one of the biggest fires, but that he didn't want to talk too much about it.

So, clearly, the President, recognizing that those negotiations are still underway and still quite fragile.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kevin Liptak in Norfolk. Thanks so much.

All right. Up next, Bad Bunny plays for laughs over the Super Bowl halftime controversy on SNL.

[16:37:06]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, singer Bad Bunny kicked off the new season of "Saturday Night Live" last night. And in his monologue, he told fans how proud he is of the achievements of Latinos, making light, as well, of the criticism over his upcoming performance at the Super Bowl halftime show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAD BUNNY, MUSICIAN (transcribed): More than just my achievement, it's everyone's achievement, proving that no one can ever erase or take away Latinos' mark and our contribution to this country. And if you didn't understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The rapper's SNL appearance follows a record-breaking run of concerts in Puerto Rico. But some U.S. officials are turning his Super Bowl moment into a political flashpoint over his past anti-ICE remarks. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your message to the NFL? What is your message to Bad Bunny? Will there be ICE enforcement at the Super Bowl?

KRISTI NOEM, SECRETARY, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY: There will be. Because the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for keeping it safe. So, I have the responsibility for making sure everybody goes to the Super Bowl, has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave. And that's what America is about.

So, yes, we'll be all over that place. And I can't -- we're going to enforce the law. So, I think people should not be coming to the Super Bowl unless they're law-abiding Americans who love this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, here to discuss is Vanessa Diaz, Associate Professor at Loyola Marymount University, and the author of a forthcoming book about the global impact of Bad Bunny.

Professor, great to see you. You're also the co-founder of the Bad Bunny syllabus project so lots to talk about here. You know, what is it about Bad Bunny --

DR. VANESSA DIAZ, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: -- that makes him the subject of a college course, center of now political controversy rooted in being the main event at Super Bowl halftime?

DIAZ: Well, Bad Bunny is one of the most popular artists in the world and in the U.S. He has broken countless records, while performing in Spanish, right. He was the most-streamed artist several years in a row. He has the most streamed album in the history of Spotify.

He was the first Spanish-language album to ever be nominated for "Album of the Year" at the Grammys. He just breaks record after record.

And I think, in terms of teaching with him, you know, he doesn't just perform to perform. He doesn't just make music to make music. He centers his homeland of Puerto Rico. He talks about history. He critiques U.S. colonialism.

You know, I teach with his music because it's educational. It's party music. But you get to listen, dance and learn. So, it doesn't really get any better than that.

WHITFIELD: And he got a lot of attention. And, I mean, I guess his popularity soared even further with this residency in Puerto Rico. And he was very conscientious as to why he did not tour the mainland U.S.

Talk to me about how that kind of magnified his impact as an artist, how it perhaps even, you know, took him to a whole other level of respect among so many people.

DIAZ: Yes. I mean, I think one of the things, if you've followed Bad Bunny as an artist, it always feels like we're really getting this really authentic presentation. Because everything feels really intentional.

[16:45:01]

DIAZ: And I think this is a really heightened political moment, and he's aware of that.

And when we think about what it means to say, you know, Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, right? It's actually, legally, not a part of the U.S. It's owned by the U.S.

And so, I think that centering his homeland of Puerto Rico for this residency and saying, you know, if you want to see my culture, if you want to hear my music, come to me. It really decenters what we think of as the U.S. mainland, because he made Puerto Rico the mainland for his shows.

And I think that it didn't just bring in hundreds of millions for Puerto Rico. It also exposed, you know, many thousands of people to history and culture that they might not have otherwise been able to see.

WHITFIELD: Is there something else about, I guess, a statement, whether it be inadvertently or inadvertently, you know, that Bad Bunny is making to about Puerto Rico? Especially during this administration because, I mean, who can forget, you know, it was the first Trump Administration during the Hurricane Maria.

And Puerto Rico hit very hard. And there were a lot of things that happened that people were, you know, very offended by and insulted. And now, Bad Bunny, you know, is magnifying this island in a different way.

DIAZ: Absolutely. I mean, Bad Bunny, you know, people say, oh, is he an artist? Is he a politician? I always say, you don't have to be a politician to speak about the things you care the most about.

Bad Bunny, even before I think he was seen, you know, he wasn't at this level of magnitude, in terms of recognition. And he certainly wasn't as political in his lyrics.

But even his very first performance on Jimmy Fallon, back in 2018, a year after Hurricane Maria, he spoke directly about that situation. And said, you know, it's been a year since Hurricane Maria and people still don't have electricity. Thousands of people have died. And Trump is still in denial.

So, he's never been afraid about speaking up for what he believes in. And that has nothing to do with whether he's a politician or not.

WHITFIELD: OK. Vanessa Diaz, what a pleasure talking to you. We're going to leave it there. Thank you so much. We'll be right back. [16:47:04]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: First responders are there to serve so many others in crisis, but the people who do this work often find it hard to seek the help or get the mental health support they need. That's where this week's CNN Hero steps in.

Heidi Carman and her golden retriever became a therapy dog team in 2019, and she soon realized all emergency workers would benefit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To fight the fires in California, it's like a war zone. It's grueling work. It's smoky. It's hot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got a post in it, guys (?) ?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's dangerous. They go for a minimum of two weeks. Twenty-four hours on. Twenty-four hours off. That's stress to have it lightened with a therapy dog visit is priceless.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got Kerith in 2018, and we were training her to become a working guide dog.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come touch (?). Miss (?).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was just too friendly to every single person, so I started doing therapy dog work with her.

During the 2020 fire season, going around to fire base camps, she was so good at just making the firefighters feel better. I started posting pictures on her Instagram. Then, I was getting messages, can you come to my husband's police department? I'm, like, yes, sure.

Now, we have hundreds of therapy dog teams across the entire country. We go to fire base camps, fire stations, police departments, 911- dispatch centers. All first responders would benefit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The average adult male lives around 18 years longer than the average adult police officer, and that is often because of chronic stress. And, oftentimes, as a defense mechanism, we close up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is she just for first responders?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And she's so soft.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we are around emotional support animals, you just see that all sort of melt away. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cortisol levels go down. The endorphin levels go up. I can feel that goodness just coming up the leash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to have a dog come by. And she can't talk. Can't ask questions. It can kind of break the ice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I missed you, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first time I met Kerith, I had undiagnosed PTSD. She just picked up on it right away. She just went nose to nose with me. And we just had a moment, and it broke me down.

This is my wake-up call that I needed to go to therapy. They're man's best friend for a reason.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have helped so many people. I'm grateful to Kerith for showing me the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, so sweet. For the full story about Heidi and her important work, and to see more of those adorable therapy dogs, go to CNN.com slash heroes.

[16:54:34]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Let's take a trip around the world to discover how bread connects us. In a brand-new CNN original series, Tony Shalhoub breaking bread. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY SHALHOUB, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dan continues to draw his community together in all kinds of imaginative ways.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had a dream one night and I came up with the clam calzone.

SHALHOUB: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reveal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Think of it as a bowl of steamed clams.

SHALHOUB: My two favorite things in the world, clams and bread. It's actually my three favorite things, because leeks --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You like leeks?

SHALHOUB: I'm a leek freak, OK? I'm just going to -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of clams in Green Bay?

SHALHOUB: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just asking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are we waiting for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go. Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look at the salt water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's nice and salty. From the salination of the clams.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that.

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