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Millions of Americans Lose Access To SNAP Benefits; Judges Order Trump Admin To Fund Food Stamps Amid Shutdown; FBI: Potential ISIS-Inspired Terror Attack Thwarted In MI; Candidates For New Jersey Gov. Make Closing Pitch To Voters; Pentagon Says U.S. Can Spare Tomahawk Missiles For Ukraine. Parts Of Jamaica Cut Off Days After Powerful Storm; John King Visits All Five Boroughs To Unpack The NYC Election; Rescue Group Founder Helps Save Neglected And Abused Animals. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired November 01, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00]
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: -- has taken over Mexico City's main square. Witnessing parades and other events that trace their origins all the way back to the Aztecs.
And that is all we have time for. Don't forget, you can find all our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching and see you again next week.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
Starting today, millions of Americans no longer have access to critical SNAP benefits. The Federal Food Assistance Program serves as a lifeline for the nation's most vulnerable people. And now it has run out of funding because of the U.S. government shutdown, which is in its 32nd day now.
On Friday, two federal judges in two separate states ruled that the Trump administration must partially fund SNAP with emergency funding. But it's not clear how soon that could happen. The lack of SNAP funding only adding to the food hardship as hundreds of thousands of federal employees are also working without pay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE LEFEVRE, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER AT WASHINGTON DULLES INTL. AIRPORT: My bank account was the same that it was yesterday, so no money in there today, no paycheck.
CHRISTINE VIETEL, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVT. EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 777: Our officers are scared. You know, I have a few officers that have to drive over an hour to get to work. You know, and they're doing the best they can, but, you know, the morale is bad. The morale is bad. They're giving up. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, we have a team of correspondents covering these developments. Julia Benbrook is in Florida with the president. But let's begin with CNN's Rafael Romo at a food pantry in Atlanta, which is helping to feed furloughed TSA workers and federal employees who have not been paid in a month now.
Rafael, what are you seeing and hearing there?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, some of the things that we have seen and heard over the last few hours, Fred, give you an idea that there are many people in need right now here in Atlanta. It's been a steady line of cars over the last few hours right now. Not so much, but that's because those TSA workers are between shifts, so they come as they can.
And just to give you an idea, Fred, by the time we got here before 7:00 in the morning, there was a line already of 12 cars even two hours before this event was supposed to start. It started promptly at 9:00 in the morning, and it is expected to be here for the rest of the day as long as they have food.
You see the boxes upon boxes of food right behind me. That's expected to happen sometime by the mid to late afternoon. I had an opportunity to talk to one of the organizers here, and he told me they have enough food for about 800 to 1,000 families. And this is meant to help federal employees who have been furloughed because of the government shutdown, especially TSA employees.
Now, because they're working directly with the TSA, Fred, they've asked us not to speak directly with those employees who are being helped. But one of the organizers told me earlier today that based on conversations he's had with some of those people coming here to get help, he can tell that some of those people are already hurting.
This is what he had to say. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON WEST, VP OF PARTNER RELATIONS, ATLANTA COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: Some of these folks have gone almost a whole month without a full paycheck and missed another paycheck here at the end of last week. And so what they're telling us is they're in the spot right now where they're making some tough tradeoffs. A lot of these folks, individuals and households, are at the end of the resources that they have, and so they are looking for help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: And, Fred, another concern for organizations like the Atlanta Community Food Bank is the uncertainty surrounding SNAP benefits for tens of millions of Americans. They don't know if they're going to continue to get those benefits.
And just to give you an idea, Fred, and this is based on state figures, here in the state of Georgia, there are 1.4 million people who get that kind of assistance, including 640,000 children. Fred, now back to you.
WHITFIELD: Yes, very significant numbers from state to state.
Rafael Romo, thank you so much, in Atlanta.
Let's go to Julia Benbrook now in Florida. So what do we know about the status of SNAP funding overall after these two federal judges ruled?
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as this government shutdown drags on for more than a month now, there have been several key dates that we've been paying attention to, and today is one of them, when the funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is set to lapse.
[12:05:04]
Just yesterday, though, two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must tap into billions of dollars in emergency funds in order to at least partially fund this program in November. Now, those orders reject a claim made by the Department of Agriculture that it could not use a contingency fund in order to help provide those food stamp benefits.
Here was the head of that department, Secretary Brooke Rollins, just hours before the judges' orders. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE ROLLINS, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: So there is a contingency fund at USDA, but that contingency fund, by the way, doesn't even cover, I think, half of the $9.2 billion that would be required for November SNAP, but it is only allowed to flow if the underlying program is funded. It's called a contingency fund, and by law, contingency fund can only flow when the underlying fund is flowing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BENBROOK: Now, it is clear that that fund alone will not cover everything. The agency says that there's about $5.3 billion still available and that funding SNAP for a month costs somewhere between $8 billion and $9 billion. President Donald Trump reacted to the rulings on social media. He said that government lawyers believe that they do not have the authority to use the money available to fund SNAP.
He added this, quote, "Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible." Even with these rulings, though, Fred, recipients will likely see delays, as it will take time to get the funding flowing once again.
WHITFIELD: OK. And then, Julia, meantime, where do things stand when it comes to negotiations to end this U.S. government shutdown? BENBROOK: Well, the arguments remain the same, and there still doesn't seem to be a lot of any real substantial negotiations taking place. Republicans continue to push for essentially an extension of current funding levels on a short-term basis, and Democrats, they are focusing in on health care, pushing for an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies.
Open enrollment for Obamacare started today, so Americans are already seeing those higher prices. And all of this has the potential to have a political impact. We're just days away from Election Day and barreling toward what will likely become the longest shutdown in history.
WHITFIELD: All right, Julia Benbrook, thanks so much.
All right, we're also learning new details about a potential terror plot in Michigan. The FBI says an ISIS-inspired attack was being planned online. Law enforcement sources say an FBI undercover person was brought into the online chat, which included a cryptic reference to Pumpkin Day. The official say two people have been arrested and three others are being questioned now.
CNN Correspondent Leigh Waldman is on the ground in Dearborn, Michigan. Leigh, tell us more about what you're learning.
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we've spent the morning here in Dearborn knocking on doors, speaking with people who live in that neighborhood where that FBI activity was happening early on Friday, and so many people said they were shocked, confused about what was happening.
They saw state police here, but they saw most of the people who were wearing that FBI gear and focusing on a house just down the street from where we are now. We actually spoke to someone who is inside of that house. He wouldn't share his name, wouldn't tell us much, but he said it was just kids and all of this was blown out of proportion.
We spoke to a neighbor who lives just a couple of houses down. He would only share his last name, Ahmed, wasn't comfortable showing his face on camera, but he said his neighbors are nice people. He would have never expected this.
And when I told Ahmed what happened, that it was the FBI who said that they had stopped a terrorist plot, he was confused. Take a listen to that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMED, NEIGHBOR: 100 percent this guy is very good guy.
WALDMAN: To hear from the FBI that they're stopping a terrorist plot, what -- that's what the FBI is saying this was for?
AHMED: No, no, no, no, I don't think so. No, no, no. I don't think so.
WALDMAN: You don't think it's anything like that? AHMED: No, no, no. He's a very good guy, you know. That's all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALDMAN: I could see the shock there on his face when we told him what the FBI is saying about all this. Fred, we know that two people have been arrested. Three others are being questioned in this. They said this was an ISIS-inspired plot that unfolded in online chat rooms.
They say that the group that was being monitored by the FBI went to a shooting range, shooting AK-47s. They practiced high-speed reloading there. We got a statement from a man who says that he's an attorney representing one of the people who's been arrested. His name is Amir Makled.
[12:10:06]
In that statement, it said in part, quote, "Unfortunately, the premature public statements issued out of Washington, particularly by the FBI's national director, have fueled unnecessary alarm and unfairly cast suspicion on a community that has repeatedly been subjected to this type of profiling." That's something that we also heard from local leaders in this community that say they want people to come here, see the diverse population that lives here.
This incident does not represent the people who call Dearborn home. And the local police are saying there's no threat to the community in this community of Dearborn and also in neighboring Inkster, where there was also FBI activity reported on Friday, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Leigh Waldman, thanks so much, in Dearborn.
All right, for more perspective now, I'm joined by Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jason Pack. Great to see you, Jason. So FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media the plot was connected to international terrorism, his words, and that multiple subjects were arrested.
You heard from at least a couple residents there who seem rather perplexed. What kind of details do you think the public needs to hear?
JASON PACK, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Good afternoon, Fred. I think the devil will really be in the details of this criminal complaint and the affidavit attached to that that we should see sometime next week with the initial appearance of these two people that were arrested.
So what you'll see oftentimes in these types of cases, and I was on the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Jackson, Mississippi, we actually had a case like this about 10 years ago where it was ISIS-inspired, and the overt act that those folks did was get on an airplane and try to go overseas.
So it looks like the overt act and the thing that really brought this case to a head yesterday was when they started going to that shooting range and maybe another overt act. So a lot of times these things will come in as a tip, Fred, and or they'll have some type of eyes into online chat platforms from across the world, and they're able to get in there.
And they actually don't try to set up people. They actually listen to the people who have these ideations. And then if they choose to go down that route, then they'll introduce some other sophisticated techniques. All those techniques, though, we mentioned the undercover person in there, all are really closely and carefully monitored by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and there's -- they're really highly regulated so that people are not entrapped. And this -- details will come out in the affidavit at the arraignment and the initial appearance here.
WHITFIELD: The FBI says undercover operatives, as you mentioned, did monitor online communications from a number of people in chat rooms, but does there have to be other actionable evidence beside what you said, you know, the overt acts of, say, you know, the shooting training? What other kind of actionable evidence are you hoping is going to be in this evidence?
PACK: Well, they'll lay out whatever those criminal charges that they're going to lodge against the folks, and there are elements to those crimes. So they'll have to meet each of those, and apparently, they have met each of the elements of this crime to establish probable cause because a federal judge issued an arrest warrant to say that that's happened.
So there's a least probable cause to believe that these people were under the influence or they were inspired by ISIS, and, you know, you want to back up and say, is this inspired or directed, and so far it seems like these are just ISIS-inspired. But we've been talking about a little bit over the past couple of days are the difference between the lone wolves online that get inspired by watching the propaganda and then acting, or in this case, it seems to be a little bit different.
There were more than one person. There was at least a couple of people that we know about and three others, as your folks reported, that are being questioned. So I think right now, Fred, we saw the search warrants with the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Detroit field office there yesterday. I saw a computer being brought out.
They'll exploit the things that they recovered at this search warrant yesterday, combine that with the interviews, and they'll look for additional clues to see if any other people were involved and just what else that may be able to be used in court based on the probable cause they got in the affidavit for the arrest warrant.
WHITFIELD: What kind of questions do you still have about the investigation and the way in which it was conveyed?
PACK: Well, again, we don't know all the details clearly. But in these types of investigations, I was an online undercover, so you want to take this as far as you can to make sure that everybody involved who might pose a threat to the United States or to any other country for that matter are being neutralized or the threat's being neutralized. And you want to make sure that that is really what you're focused on. So my questions would be, who else is involved, if anybody. And the fact that they had to take this down, did they leave anybody else out there? I think those facts will come out in the affidavit that we'll see at the initial appearance next week.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jason Pack, great talking to you. Thanks so much.
PACK: OK. Thanks, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, candidates in critical governor's races trying to get out the vote in the final days before Election Day, a vote that could reveal how Americans are feeling about Donald Trump's presidency.
[12:15:09]
And images of catastrophic damage coming out of Jamaica as U.S. search and rescue teams arrive.
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[12:20:04]
WHITFIELD: All right, with just three days to go until the first major electoral test of President Trump's second term, candidates this weekend are making their closing pitch to voters in one of the top races. We're watching Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill is locked in an increasingly tight race with Republican Jack Ciattarelli to become the next governor of New Jersey.
A new poll shows Sherrill ahead of Ciattarelli by seven points among the state's likely voters. Democrats are rolling out some of their biggest names to help push Sherrill Mikie Sherrill over the finish line, with former President Barack Obama set to headline a rally in Newark just hours from now.
Let's discuss more now with NJ.com Politics Reporter Brent Johnson. Brent, great to see you. So this race is getting a whole lot of attention, with a former president also stumping for a candidate. Why is this race so close?
BRENT JOHNSON, POLITICS REPORTER, NJ.COM: Well, of the four governor's races I've covered at NJ.com, this is by far the most hated and the closest. And it's because it's an off-year election for in -- the first election after President Trump was reelected last year. So there's a lot of attention, one of only two in the country, along with Virginia, of governor's races this year.
And it's for an open seat. So Phil Murphy is term-limited, can't run again. So we'll have a new governor no matter who wins. And the question is whether the state stays in blue hands or flips red. And there's been a lot of signs that either could happen. A lot of insiders in New Jersey consider this kind of a jump-all.
WHITFIELD: Wow. So not just the former president who's, you know, stumping for a candidate, but we've also seen Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also out-stumping for Sherrill in Jersey. So what does it say, you know, that the party is rolling out some of the biggest names on what has become a pretty high-profile race?
JOHNSON: Well, they're definitely trying to nationalize the race. It's considered an early referendum on Trump's return to the presidency. New Jersey is considered a blue state in federal elections, but we often see-saw between both parties.
The last time one party won three terms straight in the governor's office was 1961 in New Jersey, which was three years before the Beatles even appeared on Ed Sullivan. So it's been a while. So that seems like it would favor Republicans, but Democrats think they have a strong chance of showing us a show of force after what happened last year.
WHITFIELD: You have written about how, you know, both candidates in this race have their strengths and their weaknesses. So tell us more.
JOHNSON: Yes, well, Sherrill is a congresswoman who flipped a red district in 2018 in the first Trump midterms. And Ciattarelli is running for governor a third time. He almost came -- he came close to upsetting Governor Murphy four years ago in a race that not a lot of people were paying attention for -- or paying attention to.
This time, he has Trump's endorsement. He's been a Trump critic in the past, and Trump has stepped into this race saying that he cares a lot about New Jersey. And so it depends on whether Trump voters are going to boost Ciattarelli or whether there's going to be a backlash among moderate voters for Sherrill to support her.
WHITFIELD: Is there a way to kind of gauge whether, you know, Trump's endorsement is at all influential just a couple days now ahead of Election Day?
JOHNSON: Polls have showed that it's a major factor that voters are weighing. And he's unpopular in the state. He is underwater, but not -- he's in the 40s most polls show, so he's not in the territory of being in the teens or being completely underwater.
So it's a real question. It's a question of whether his voters are going to come out to support Ciattarelli or whether they're going to go against Trump and really boost Sherrill. I mean, again, she is up in most polls so far, but the question is whether it's going to -- whether the gap will be closed in the closing days.
WHITFIELD: All right. Brent Johnson, good to see you. Thanks so much.
JOHNSON: Thank you. Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right, the Pentagon says the U.S. has enough Tomahawk missiles to give to Ukraine for its assistance in the war against Russia.
Straight ahead, we'll hear why it's still not clear Ukraine will actually get any of those missiles.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:28:38]
WHITFIELD: All right, new today, Ukraine is now waiting to see if the U.S. will supply it with long-range Tomahawk missiles. CNN Senior International Correspondent Melissa Bell explains why the decision now rests solely with President Trump.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon's given the White House its green light for giving Kyiv Tomahawk missiles, saying that this would not damage U.S. stockpiles. It was last month when President Zelenskyy had visited Washington and gone home empty-handed that there'd been a lot of surprise at the fact that President Trump should announce that contrary to what he'd been saying before, he would not be providing Ukraine with Tomahawks because of that fear of U.S. stockpiles being damaged.
Now, still, even with this Pentagon green light, of course, the decision remains President Trump. And there is some indication that his wariness with Russia is growing more intense. We saw for the first time last month him slap sanctions on Russian oil firms given his frustration with the lack of progress that Russians have been making towards starting peace talks.
The question now, whether he will move that step further and authorize those Tomahawks, Tomahawks that the Ukrainians have been asking for for some time. They believe that this could play a significant part in furthering their strategy of taking on oil and energy installations in Russia.
There's been a spike, record high gas prices as a result of some of those strikes. They believe that this not only helps prevent Russia from funding, from feeding its war effort, but also brings some more pain of the war to Russians as well.
The point of the tomahawk, says President Zelenskyy, would be to level the playing field to get a fairer deal ahead of the end of the war.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much, Melissa.
All right, still ahead, desperation in the Caribbean as search teams face to find, race rather, to find survivors and save lives after Hurricane Melissa hit the region.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[12:35:23]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Me and my mother and my grandmother, we don't know what we're going to do. We need a shelter. We need somewhere to stay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I need food for my kids. I need clothes for my kids. And not only for me, but everybody who can come and help us. Jamaica really need your help.
CHEF JOSE ANDRES, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: You see the images, they are all desperate equally. So that's why right now, in the next 48 hours, is when the increase of aid use has to be exponential. Because again, it's day two, day three, day four, is when, hey, we need food. Hey, we need water. Hey, we need --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, first, you heard residents of Black River, Jamaica. And then Chef Jose Andres from World Central Kitchen talking about the devastation after Hurricane Melissa hit the western part of the island. CNN's Ivan Rodriguez has the latest on the rescue and recovery efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Days after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica, parts of the island remain inaccessible.
SEN. DR. HON. DANA MORRIS DIXON, MINISTER OF EDUCATION, SKILLS, YOUTH AND INFORMATION: They are cutting their way on foot through blocked roads by foot. This is not easy.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Emergency officials are picking up the pieces and clearing roads to reach isolated communities in need of relief. Torrential downpours and forceful winds unleash widespread destruction across the Caribbean, damaging homes, causing severe flooding, and widespread power outages, and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands.
MARTEL BRYAN, WITNESSED HURRICANE MELISSA IN JAMAICA: I've never seen anything like this in my life. It was devastating. You know, and the wind and the rain, it was -- it was unprecedented.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): In Haiti, Melissa did not make a direct landfall, but was still deadly and caused flooding. In Cuba, roads are also covered in mud and trees, leaving many communities isolated from help. Cuba is already receiving some aid from partners such as China and Venezuela, as well as the United Nations.
But Jamaica took the heaviest battering. Melissa made landfall there as a Category 5 storm, with estimated maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour.
DIXON: I think the entire Jamaica is really broken. We are working to get to those who need as much assistance as possible.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio activated the Regional Disaster Assistance Response Team on October 29th.
In Atlanta, I'm Ivan Rodriguez.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, for more information about how you can help Hurricane Melissa victims, go to cnn.com/impact or text MELISSA to 707070 to donate.
All right, right now, Andrew Cuomo is meeting with voters in New York City ahead of what could be a historic choice for mayor of that city. Coming up, CNN speaks to New Yorkers in all five boroughs about what they think about the candidates.
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[12:38:13]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, are we going to live in fear and only do things in reaction to Trump for the rest of our lives? Because then we're really -- excuse -- excuse my French.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, this weekend is the final blitz for New York City mayoral candidates who are hoping to pull in every last vote. CNN's John King is talking to New Yorkers visiting all five boroughs. He's listening to what New Yorkers really think about these candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you today?
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: We're here to figure out who's going to win the mayor's race. That's why we're here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.
KING: Who's going to win? Cab drivers know everything, don't they?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Most of the people say that the Indian guy.
KING: Mamdani.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
KING (voice-over): Brooklyn is critical to Mamdani's chances.
ALICE HENTY, NEW YORK VOTER: I believe in socialism. So for me, he's a beacon.
KING (voice-over): The liberal Bushwick neighborhood is home to Diego and filmmaker Alice Henty.
HENTY: Well, I think the country's just going really badly down the toilet, and I think Zohran is like the glimmer of hope for me and for everyone I know.
KING (voice-over): Not swayed by Trump's threat to slash federal aid if Mamdani wins.
HENTY: Nope.
KING: Too bad?
HENTY: No, I just think that's what we're going to live in fear and only do things in reaction to Trump for the rest of our lives, because then we're really --. Excuse -- excuse my French, but we've got to stand up.
KING: I don't think that's French.
HENTY: It is in France.
KING: And in New York.
GIOVANNI LANZO, NEW YORK VOTER: Pizza, it never fails.
KING (voice-over): Luigi's is in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood, opened 52 years ago by Giovanni Lanzo's father.
LANZO: I'm tossed up still.
KING (voice-over): That's Brooklyn for undecided, but a clue here. Mamdani says he's changed his mind, but he did in the past call for defunding the police.
LANZO: Now, what am I going to do? I said, get rid of them. And then when I need them, I'm going to call who? Superman. Cloth cats don't exist.
KING (voice-over): A taste test.
KING: Simple, excellence, sauce, mozzarella, a little basil, lunch.
KING (voice-over): Off to Manhattan, up the stairs way uptown.
[12:44:58]
KING: After most of the day in Brooklyn, this is evening in Manhattan. Manhattan is by far the wealthiest of the five boroughs. The median income here $106,000 a year. It's also the most educated, 65 percent of Manhattan residents have at least four years of college, meaning a bachelor's degree or higher.
KING (voice-over): Trivia night at the Gaffe East draws a lively crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a few rules for trivia.
KING (voice-over): This table all in for Mamdani.
KING: What do you think is the single most important issue for the next mayor of New York?
ANNA ST. CLAIR, NEW YORK VOTER: I definitely think it's affordability.
LAL LOPEZ, NEW YORK VOTER: To protect us from what's going on, on the federal level.
KING (voice-over): Anna St. Clair works in public relations. Lal Lopez is a nurse, 29 and 40 young professionals who welcome Mamdani ideas. Others call socialist, unrealistic and worse.
LOPEZ: And everyone just calls him a communist. And, you know, I don't have reservations with him. I think he's fully capable.
ST. CLAIR: He has like new ideas that are like different, like the grocery stores, which like, you know, something like that. OK, like maybe that won't work out. But I think the idea that he's like, I have this new policy proposal or like the -- the free buses is like inspiring.
KING (voice-over): Up with the sun on day two.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome aboard the Staten Island ferry.
KING (voice-over): On our way to the city's conservative outpost.
KING: We're starting our morning on the Staten Island ferry. Officially, Staten Island is Richmond County on the map. Famous for these ferries. You see us here passing by, the Statue of Liberty behind me heading over to Staten Island. We started in Manhattan. Staten Island is the least populous of New York's five boroughs.
Still about 500,000 people, that's roughly the size of Oakland, California or Raleigh, North Carolina. It is also unique among the five boroughs because Staten Island is majority white. About 56 percent of its residents are white. And here's another unique Staten Island distinction. It is the only borough Donald Trump has ever won in his three runs for president, and Trump has won it all three times.
KING (voice-over): The island coffee shop is a Staten Island landmark.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I watch you every day. I watch you every day.
KING: Well, then you need to find something better to do.
KING (voice-over): Abelardo Alemin sees his vote as a message to Trump.
ABELARDO ALEMIN, NEW YORK VOTER: If Mandani wins, I mean, it will be probably a relief, probably for our immigration, immigrant community, you know, because he gives us hope.
KING (voice-over): Joe Rinaldo prefers a counter seat.
JOE RINALDO, NEW YORK VOTER: I've been all over the world. This is probably the best breakfast place in the world.
KING (voice-over): Rinaldo believes Sliwa still has a chance to beat Mamdani, especially if voters accept his test for picking a mayor.
RINALDO: Twelve o'clock midnight. You're on a train. Three thugs get on the train. You want him, but you and the other car or do you want the guardian angels? Tell me what you want. Tell me the truth. You tell me the truth.
KING: I don't answer questions. I ask questions. Sorry.
RINALDO: If you love your daughter, you can't vote for Mamdani. You can't vote for him.
KING (voice-over): The coffee and service are great. The conversation crackling. We have a lot more ground to cover. So back to the ferry and then a drive up the BQE. Teitel Brothers is on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, an Italian grocery founded by a Jewish family 110 years ago.
KING: How's business?
KING (voice-over): Gil Teitel is a registered Republican. A Trump voter may be Cuomo for mayor if he thinks he can win. Title says Mamdani's math just doesn't add up.
GIL TEITEL, NEW YORK VOTER: He will raise real state taxes. He will freeze rent. But then how do you go about paying real estate taxes?
KING (voice-over): Michael Teitel doesn't live in the city anymore, but his daughter does.
MICHAEL TEITEL, NEW YORK VOTER: She's 30 years old.
KING (voice-over): He worries about her safety. Michael's gift to a visitor, his signature Italian combo.
KING: That is spectacular. Wow.
Well, the Bronx is the poorest of New York's five boroughs. The median income here is about $50,000 a year. That is less than half of what it is in Manhattan. And while all of New York's boroughs are diverse, the Bronx has this distinction. It is the only borough of the five that is majority Latino.
KING (voice-over): This auto shop is busy. More Trump-Cuomo talk in the blue color Bronx. Jose Hernandez is a 47-year auto body veteran, also a Trump voter.
JOSE HERNANDEZ, NEW YORK VOTER: Mamdani, I don't like him. He talk too much. I don't believe it when the people talk too much. I promise you, my promise it will sting.
KING (voice-over): Four down one to go.
KING: This is Astoria in Queens. In terms of population, Queens ranks second among the five boroughs. It's right in the middle of the five when it comes to median income. And Queens is the most diverse of the five boroughs, 28 percent Hispanic, 26 percent Asian, 23 percent white, 16 percent black.
KING (voice-over): Mamdani is a fan of this Bangladeshi restaurant. So is Soleyman Abu.
[12:50:01]
KING: What's the biggest problem in the city or the biggest challenge?
SOLEYMAN ABU, NEW YORK VOTER: The crime and rent control.
KING (voice-over): Abu favors Cuomo because of his experience. But Mamdani has a lot of fans here.
KING: Who's going to win the mayor's race?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mamdani.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mamdani.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mamdani.
KING: We sure about this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we hope so.
KING: Yes. Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?
KING: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New, we need somebody new.
KING (voice-over): Five distinct boroughs, one giant choice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: In one giant city. All right, John King in New York. Thank you so much.
All right, this election night, streaming exclusively on the CNN app. Join Charlamagne tha God, Ben Shapiro, and other big voices react to all the big races in real time. The CNN election live cast streams Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., exclusively on the CNN app.
All right, also coming up here, firing AK-47s, practicing high-speed reloads, and using online chat rooms. New details about the people arrested for what officials are calling a thwarted ISIS-inspired attack.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:55:53]
WHITFIELD: All right, the top five CNN Heroes of 2025 are out, and you, our viewers, will help us choose which one of them will be named CNN Hero of the Year. This week we meet Tim Woodward, a man who has made it his mission to save neglected and abused animals.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM WOODWARD CO-FOUNDED ANIMAL RESCUE CORPS: We see animals living in conditions that I would have never imagined before doing this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got a little dog down here in this crate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, mama.
WOODWARD: Their physical condition is incredibly debilitated. It can be very gruesome. Your average shelter is used to taking animals in one or two at a time. We pull in large numbers of animals from a crisis situation. We'll work with law enforcement. They will designate us as an agent of law enforcement to go onto the scene to seize those animals.
You're OK. See?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at that smile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
WOODWARD: We bring a very tight, trained team, including a state- licensed forensic vet, vet techs, as well as an intake team, and, of course, our trained handlers.
They're in five different pop-ups. We'll split them up, two, two, and two.
We're kind of the midway point between where they came from and where they will find their forever home.
We'll get you all fixed up.
So for the time that they're in our care, we try to make sure that they are becoming healthier.
What are you doing, huh?
And we try as best we can to prepare them for life in a home. The change in the animals is always remarkable. They come out of situations where they have no trust, and then with time and attention, they begin to literally blossom.
You're getting out of here.
We've rescued well over 10,000 animals.
Where's that tail at?
My hope is that they have the best life possible and forget all about where they came from.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Oh, so cute and special. You can vote at cnn.com/heroes to help decide who will be the next CNN Hero of the Year.
All right, it was a tragic refuge during Hurricane Katrina and became a defying symbol of resurrection for the people of New Orleans. Twenty years later, CNN looks back at its long road to restoration on New Orleans' soul of a city that Sunday night at 10 o'clock right here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a lot of tragedy and pain as people were in that Superdome. It was an awful time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pictures from the Superdome, it's like the worst nightmare in the world. American citizens basically stuck without any help just because everybody and everything was on their back and so it was a really difficult space for people to be in for a period of time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the despair, it's the hopelessness, it's the fear because that's a lot of what you saw. And there's no cell phone, there's no power, there's limited water. And so it became survival.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Wow. Hard to believe and hard to forget. Be sure to tune in to New Orleans: Soul of a City, The Stadium airs Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.
All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin this hour with new details about a potential terror plot in Michigan. The FBI says an ISIS inspired attack was being planned online.
[12:59:52]
Law enforcement sources say an FBI undercover person was brought into the online chat which included a cryptic reference to Pumpkin Day. The officials say two people have been arrested and three others are being questioned. CNN correspondent Leigh Waldman is on the ground in Dearborn --
