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Now: Senators In Rare Saturday Session As Record Shutdown Drags On; Impact Of Record-Long Shutdown Spreads Across The U.S.; Supreme Court Allows Trump To Pause Food Stamp Payments For Now; Judge Blocks Trump Natl. Guard Deployment To Portland; Arctic Blast Brings Record Cold Air To Dozens Of States; Pennsylvania Father Starts Food Bank In His Front Yard; Dad's Front Yard Food Bank Goes Viral; Israel Confirms Identity of Deceased Hostage's Remains; Search for Melodee Buzzard. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired November 08, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, giving new chances, and you can go on to CNN.com/heroes right now to vote for Deborah Devine for CNN Hero of the Year, or any of your other favorite top five heroes.

All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, we begin this hour with another possible attempt to end the longest U.S. government shutdown in U.S. history. Senators are on Capitol Hill right now for a rare Saturday session as the government shutdown enters its 39th day now, but the path forward remains unclear as millions of Americans go without paychecks and critical food assistance.

On Friday, senators failed to pass a bill to pay federal workers during the shutdown, and Democrats refusing to yield to GOP attempts to fund any parts of the government without significant concessions for their party. It's the latest setback in this political standoff that is now causing major delays and frustrations at airports across the country. On Friday, the Trump administration ordered airlines to cut 4 percent of their flights to ease the pressure on shutdown- stressed air traffic controllers.

We've got a team of correspondents covering all of these developments. Kevin Liptak is in Florida, where the President is spending the weekend. Let's get started with Annie Grayer on Capitol Hill. So, Annie, any indications yet that the Senate plans to vote today on ending this shutdown, if there are any new ideas?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, we are pretty much at a standstill here. It is rare for the Senate to be in on a Saturday, but it's unclear if they are going to be holding any votes related to this government shutdown. And that's not how the Senate came in this week.

On Monday, there was some real optimism that there was movement towards a bipartisan deal, that there were ongoing negotiations. But then, on Tuesday, Democrats swept in the elections. And that gave a lot of Democratic senators fresh resolve to hold firm and not give up until they got a deal on those expiring Obamacare subsidies, which are causing people's health care prizes to really rise.

So then, on Friday, Chuck Schumer comes forward with a new deal by Democrats that was unified among Democratic senators, saying that they will vote to reopen the government if Republicans vote to extend those expiring Obamacare subsidies. Republicans flatly rejected that offer. They said it was a nonstarter.

And the Republican leader in the Senate, John Thune, was just on the Senate floor talking about how much he opposes that deal, but said that senators will remain in session until a deal to reach the government is open, until the government is open and the longest shutdown in history is ended.

Take a listen to what he has to say, though, about the current offer from Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Republicans are not about to further burden taxpayers by blindly extending a flawed program. The Democrats' proposal is just more of the same, masking rising premiums and padding insurance companies' profits with more taxpayer dollars.

The Democrat leader's proposal is a nonstarter. There's still only one path out. It's a clean funding extension.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRAYER: So Republicans have maintained that they will not vote to extend those expiring subsidies or have any negotiations really about them until Democrats vote to reopen the government. That has been their position this whole time. But we know that there are bipartisan talks happening behind the scenes. We'll wait to see if any of that percolates to the surface and at the leadership level.

In the meantime, on Friday, the Senate did vote on a bill to pay federal workers during the shutdown. But Democrats voted against that because they did not want to -- they feel like the bipartisan talks are not where they need it to be.

So we are watching all angles of this. And we're waiting for any movement. But so far, not a lot is happening.

WHITFIELD: All right. Annie Grayer, thanks so much.

Let's go to Kevin Liptak in Florida now, where the President is spending the weekend. So, Kevin, what is the President doing and saying about this ongoing shutdown?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, the President's still very much clinging to this strategy of encouraging Republicans to do away with the filibuster. That's the 60 vote threshold in the Senate that's needed to pass virtually any legislation and would allow Republicans to reopen the government without any Democratic buying. The President has written about this on Truth Social seven times over the last 24 hours. So it's clear that this is sort of his main objective in trying to get the government open. The only issue here is that Republicans just aren't on board with this.

You've heard that from the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, that the votes just do not exist to get rid of the filibuster. The President is adamant that they do this. We did hear earlier today from JD Vance, the Vice President, who said that his colleagues in the Senate, meaning Republicans, are just wrong when they say that this could come back to haunt them.

That essentially, if the Democrats were to regain the majority in the chamber, that they would just use the Republicans' moves to eliminate the filibuster to pass all of this progressive legislation.

[13:05:10]

What Vance is arguing is that if they don't do it now, that the Democrats, if they were to regain the majority, would just do it themselves and do the same thing. And so, it doesn't seem as if that is getting any place in the Senate.

Now, the President did offer what seems to be a new compromise offer earlier today. And I'll read you what he wrote on Truth Social, because it is somewhat convoluted. He wrote, "I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the hundreds of billions of dollars currently being sent to money-sucking insurance companies in order to save the bad health care provided by Obamacare be sent directly to the people so that they can purchase their own much better health care and have money left over."

The President went on to say, "In other words, take money from the big, bad insurance companies, give it to the people, and terminate, per dollar spent, the worst health care anywhere in the world, Obamacare." And so the President essentially saying here, do away with the subsidies that are provided by Obamacare, and which sort of are the crux of the Democrat argument here, and instead send that money directly to the people.

Now, this proposal seems like it's going to be a non-starter with Democrats. Obviously, terminating Obamacare is not something that they're ever going to go along with. It also doesn't seem particularly clear that every Republican is going to be on board with this.

You know, Republicans as a party have spent the last 15 years trying to get rid of Obamacare unsuccessfully. And I think doing so without sort of a concrete plan of what will replace it is going to raise some questions among Republicans. I think it also is an open question of how this is going to lead to reopening the government.

You know, those moderate Democrats who are in these bipartisan discussions, the thing that they're asking for is an eventual vote on these subsidies. The President here is making pretty explicit that he doesn't want to extend those subsidies. And so the President's message here could have the effect of upending those discussions. So how all of this gets resolved, still entirely unclear. Now, the President did ask Republicans to stay in Washington over the weekend. They have obviously done just that. But the President himself is, of course, down here in Florida. He arrived to his golf course this morning at about quarter of 9:00, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kevin Liptak, keep us posted. Thanks so much.

All right, here to talk more about the impact this shutdown is having on millions across the country, our next guest, Betsey Stevenson. She is the former chief economist for the Labor Department under President Obama. And she now serves as a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan.

Professor, great to see you. So the Trump White House Economic Adviser, Kevin Hassett, says the impact, the economic impact of the shutdown is far worse, his words, than expected, but expects the economy to rebound quickly. He said that on Friday. The longer the shutdown goes on, how, in your view, do you see it impacting the country?

BETSEY STEVENSON, FORMER LABOR DEPT. CHIEF ECONOMIST UNDER PRES. OBAMA: This is definitely going to be the biggest economic impact of any shutdown in history. So that's true. It's also true that Kevin Hassett's right, there'll be a big rebound in the first quarter.

And that's because a lot of what we see in terms of the measured harm in measured GDP is simply the fact that the government doesn't engage in contracting, it doesn't pay people. And what they don't get done when they reopen, hopefully in Q4, will end up getting pushed to Q1.

But I think that's a really mistaken way to think about the costs, because what we're not thinking about is the opportunity costs and the way that these costs spill over into the business community. So think about all the airline executives that have now spent the last week or two scrambling to figure out how they redo all of their flights to deal with, you know, over 1,000 flights having to be canceled due to this.

Think about the millions of people who are going to face travel delays. How would people be spending their time instead? And would they be doing something that's more productive than trying to work around a failed government shutdown? So I think there are real costs.

And of course, there are the families that don't have access to SNAP benefits. And those kind of costs ricochet through the economy, and they're not easily made up, right? So, first of all, it's just the human cost of being hungry. That's never measured in GDP, but it's real, and let's not ignore it.

And then, you know, when you don't have access to SNAP benefits, what are people doing? They're cutting back on the grocery store. They're cutting back on going to a sandwich shop or a coffee shop. The government employees that aren't getting paychecks, they're cutting back.

Well, as they cut back, guess what? The grocery store might have to cut back in terms of scheduling shifts for people.

WHITFIELD: Right.

STEVENSON: The coffee shop has to cut back. All of that ends up leading to everybody making sacrifices that never get really made up.

[13:10:06]

WHITFIELD: Right. You're talking about the cascading effect, the ripple effect. I mean, people can't pay their rent. They can't pay for groceries. You know, landlords are not receiving the rent, right?

I mean, people don't have gas money to get to work, then you lose your job. I mean, it's unbelievable. But the last thing you just said is you really can't recoup some of these losses at all.

STEVENSON: Right. So, you know, the one thing we can never, ever get back is time. And what we're all doing is spending our time in a really bad way because the government shutdown -- the executives that are rescheduling flights, they can't ever get that time back. The people who are waiting, they can't get that time back.

So the -- what -- the productive things we would be doing to grow the economy, to improve our lives in that time that we're wasting, we're never, ever getting that back. Luckily, you know, if you didn't purchase a car, you didn't purchase a new appliance, you put something -- maybe you didn't even go out to dinner, and so you go out to dinner a few extra times in Q1 if you get all your money back.

That's the way we talk about it being made up. But I want you to realize the welfare costs of that. I don't know about you, but I would trade a few extra meals out in January or February to get a paycheck today --

WHITFIELD: Right.

STEVENSON: -- and be able to, like, get that cup of coffee today. So even though it gets made up in the measured GDP data, the real human impact is never fully recovered.

WHITFIELD: Right. It's really destroying a lot of lives. I mean, really destroying a lot of lives and livelihoods. So as it pertains to the food stamp SNAP, you know, the U.S. Supreme Court is temporarily blocking a lower court ruling that would have required the administration to fully fund food stamps for tens of millions of dollars.

It really is to give the appellate process, I guess, the time to weigh in. But, I mean, talk to us again about who this ultimately hurts. Someone who may have for a second right before the weekend thought, OK, great, I am actually going to get, you know, my SNAP benefits in November.

But now it, too, is being delayed because the appellate process sometimes can take a long time. What do you see as potentially happening as we look at continued pictures of people from furloughed workers and beyond who are going to food banks and food drives to get a meal or two?

STEVENSON: What I see is the most vulnerable members of society being pawns in a government game, and that makes me really angry. And these are children who aren't getting enough food. Those SNAP benefits feed a lot of children, and those are not the people.

If you want to stop sending money to somebody, let's do it to the top of the income distribution, because those people have the power to put pressure on government. And they also have the financial ability to withstand it. The people who are not getting the snap benefits have neither. They have no power. They have no influence. And they're simply trying to get by.

So making them the pawns in this game is incredibly cruel. And I -- you know, in a lot of ways, ineffective. It's not going to bring the shutdown -- you know, it's not going to end it faster. Because what the Democrats are fighting for is people's health insurance, which also matters for the bottom of the income distribution.

And so giving them their health and, you know, giving up health insurance so that they can get, you know, their SNAP benefits today is not an easy tradeoff. So I don't think this is going to necessarily bring the shutdown to an end sooner, but it certainly is going to raise the human cost of it.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right, Betsey Stevenson, great to have you. Thank you so much for breaking it all down like that.

STEVENSON: Great to talk with you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, a major setback for President Trump's efforts to deploy the National Guard in cities across the country. A Trump appointed federal judge ruled Friday the President overstepped his authority when he tried to deploy troops to Portland, Oregon, adding that the administration had failed to prove that protesters were preventing him from carrying out his policies.

President Trump has described Portland as, his words, war ravaged, claiming troops were needed to protect federal officials during protests at a building used by ICE. Oregon's attorney general is praising the ruling, saying the courts are holding up -- holding Trump rather accountable. So far, the White House has not returned a request to comment on that.

All right, coming up, a mother of a missing nine-year-old has been arrested and faces charges of false imprisonment. Investigators say it's not directly related to her missing daughter. New details, we're learning about this case, though.

And winter weather is coming to much of the country. A major cold snap that will bring freezing temperatures to the South, along with snow to the Midwest in the coming week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:19:49] WHITFIELD: All right, this weekend, a rush of Arctic air is moving in, bringing a deep freeze to more than two dozen states. Temperatures will drop below normal, with some areas seeing their first snow of the season. Can you believe it? Before Thanksgiving.

CNN Meteorologist Chris Warren has the detail or a few details on who's getting hit the hardest.

[13:20:10]

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Big changes, temperature wise are on the way for the eastern half of the U.S., where there's going to be quite a bit of activity throughout this weekend. From Saturday to Sunday, many areas seeing a 20-degree temperature drop for daytime highs. Record cold temperatures settling in.

And it looks like Monday and Tuesday will be the coldest days. And some of the coldest air we have felt in a long time, certainly all season. It's that cold air dropping down from the Arctic. Air starting close to the North Pole, crossing down Canada. That air modifies a bit, but it's still going to be very chilly as that air reaches the Gulf Coast and even into Florida, where it's going to be quite chilly as well for Florida standards.

But the blue on the map showing highs on Sunday in the 30s. Atlanta, Jacksonville still feeling some warm fall temperatures. But that's going to change in a big way. In fact, a huge way.

Here's Monday's. Keep in mind, high temperatures. Atlanta topping out as warm as it gets 40 degrees. Most of the day will be in the 30s. Jacksonville, not quite getting to 60. It'll be 59. And then on Tuesday, starting to see things moderate a bit.

Now, when we go outside and we feel the air, you throw in some of the wind that'll be gusting at times 30 to 40 miles an hour. It's going to feel even colder than freezing in many locations. Some locations seeing and experiencing some of the first snow of the season. That's the blue and the purple colors in here.

A little bit of lake effect snow hanging out as well around the Great Lakes. Monday now going into Tuesday. This will be a short burst of cold air not going to last too long. We can see by the time the mid to the end of next week rolls around temperatures getting back to normal.

WHITFIELD: Hot cocoa weather even just for a few days. Thank you, Chris.

All right, coming up, what began as a small act of kindness to help his neighbors has gone viral. I'll be joined by the dad who turned his front yard into a food bank. And now, he's got a whole lot of support pouring in, including from a football player of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:26:50] WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, we're continuing to follow the latest on Capitol Hill. It is a working Saturday for Senators Lindsey Graham right there. And the Senate is holding its first Saturday session since the government shutdown began more than a month ago.

A source tells CNN that senators have been advised to be flexible with their schedules so that they can vote if and when a deal to reopen the government is announced this weekend. We'll continue to follow this and bring you the very latest on all the proposals and the considerations and potentially a vote.

So this shutdown has led to a lot of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. And AJ Owen is one of them. AJ is a father near Pittsburgh who wanted to help as people were losing their SNAP benefits. So he and his kids turned their front yard into a mini food pantry with just two hand coolers and a tote, as you saw right there. And that homemade sign.

Well news of his actions spread like wildfire. And then one day, he discovered an anonymous envelope filled with thousands of dollars in cash in his mailbox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AJ OWEN, STARTED FOOD BANK AT HOME: I just looked in my mailbox. Are you kidding me? There's no name. Just says, "Make God prosper and bless your food pantry." We're really not letting people go hungry, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. So once that post took off on TikTok, the message has turned into a constant supply of donations from friends and neighbors, local law enforcement agencies, businesses, and even alignment from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And we're lucky enough to have AJ Owen with us right now. I mean that was so heartfelt and beautiful and so in the moment, AJ. I mean what you're doing is so extraordinary. Congrats and good for you for wanting to help out your neighbors and helping your neighbors like you did.

So then what happened with that money once you received it? And we saw your reaction. What was your instinct, you know, to do with that money, and what did it mean to you?

OWEN: Truly I couldn't comprehend what was happening in that moment. And I'm so grateful that so many of our neighbors, businesses people in Pittsburgh have shown up that I've spent a chunk of that money and recouped it all immediately. So I still have that original amount that I started with. And the generous outpouring has just been unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: So AJ, what was that moment where kind of the light bulb went off where you were like, you know what, I realize, you know, people are, you know, in situations worse than mine and I want to help and let me pull out those couple of coolers I have in the garage or wherever they were in your house. Let me fill them up with me and my kids, you know, with the stuff that we have.

I mean, when was that light bulb? I mean how did this whole thing come together?

[13:30:00]

OWEN: Yes, the day -- it was Sunday, October 26th, you know, with just days looming on impending cuts, I try to keep my boys, they're seven and nine years old, up to date on what's happening in the country in terms that they can understand. And what mattered to them was that people weren't going to get food. So, we took what we had, like you said, the tote, we scribbled up Christmas lights on it. We went out and got food and we started helping people.

WHITFIELD: And did you notice anything peculiar about the pattern? I mean, I did read, you know, that I guess a lot of people were coming at night. They didn't necessarily want to be seen, you know, reaching into the cooler. But talk to me about the habits that you noticed when you would see that, you know, the bins needed refilling. What kinds of items did it seem that people wanted to grab most? I mean, talk to me about that experience and your observations.

OWEN: Yes, we've expanded greatly. You know, we started with proteins and soups and chilies and things that would keep. And as we've grown, hygiene products are so important. Diapers, formula is so expensive. We people -- we have a lot more people coming during the day now. They feel more comfortable.

A lot of the times I'm out there, I always want to give everyone their privacy. A lot of them don't mind that we're stocking and we have a conversation and I've heard every walk of life from someone going through a divorce to, you know, a furloughed employee to a TSA agent not getting paid. You never know who's out there is going to need a hand.

WHITFIELD: And then just looking at the expansion, I mean, you started with the two, you know, tubs, the coolers, and now we're seeing a multitude of them. And it seems like you've got almost like an assembly line of people helping. I mean, talk to me about that effort, how it has expanded, how you've been able to keep up with clearly the demand that continues to grow.

OWEN: Yes. First of all, thank you to my boss who has been so gracious with my time and understanding the need that is out here. But yes, we have a new sign that someone hand-painted and donated. The canopy we have now is donated by a local couple. Totes were donated. All food, pet food, so much stuff has been donated by just people who have seen the story and want to help. And that's their way to do it.

WHITFIELD: I have so many questions for you still. I mean, A, did you ever find out who donated that money? Tell me about the Pittsburgh Steeler that came around. Maybe even tell me about some of the people and the stories that they've been willing to share who have come to benefit from, you know, your generosity here. What are they telling you? And you can go in whatever order you want.

OWEN: Sure. Yes, it was Yahya Black, who plays defense for the Steelers. His fiancee had reached out and see -- and saw the story and just was so moved. And they went to Walmart and at least three or four hundred dollars' worth of groceries. They came to my house. They were so humble, so generous. They helped me unpack things. If you would have told me two weeks ago that, hey, there's going to be a Pittsburgh Steelers in your living room, I would have laughed at you.

But it's just been incredible to see just the need, one, which is, you know, horrible, but just to the want to help. The people I see on TikTok who have tagged me, who have shown photos, who have sent me messages and comments that they felt inspired.

You don't need to build a shed. You don't need to -- you know, you just need a tote. And you're helping people. It's just been incredible to see the outpouring quite literally from all over the world as well. It's just amazing.

WHITFIELD: That's so nice. How long do you think you can keep this up, AJ?

OWEN: That's the magic question. Every day, something new evolves. Today, it was I needed to get a special formula for somebody, and it was $40 a can. And thankfully, we had gift cards dropped off. I was able to run to the store and get those with my kids this morning. So, every day is new. As long as people need this, as long as people are willing to help, it's going to be out there.

WHITFIELD: I love that you said earlier, you know, your boys are seven and nine. You try to keep them abreast of things that are going on. So, what do you believe the lesson is that they're learning here? I mean, they're seeing you, you know, as a whole family, you pitching in, but what do you think is perhaps even, I mean, really resonating with them or even transforming them? I know they're young, but this is a very big experience.

OWEN: Yes, this has grown larger than we could have obviously ever expected. And I was just talking with their mother about this yesterday. Their maturity and all of this has skyrocketed. They understand -- we went for a walk and we're turning down to our street and they saw, oh, somebody might be picking things up. Let's wait so they can have their privacy.

And just things they say as seven and nine-year-olds, you know, they see me stressed out like, dad, you know, maybe put the phone down for a little while, or just they put their arm around me and give me a hug. It's like, wow, I really did need that. If they weren't here, I wouldn't have done that. And just their emotional maturity has skyrocketed during all of this. And I truly couldn't be more proud as a father.

[13:35:00]

WHITFIELD: Wow. Well, you're a great dad, great leader, great neighbor, AJ Owen, so glad you could join us and share your story and really convey, you know, all that you are doing, your community is doing. And you know, this is -- I'm sure this is very contagious. A lot of folks are now starting to rethink, wait a minute, that cooler in my garage, you know, my yard, what can I do? How can I help? You're a great inspiration. Thanks so much.

OWEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. New today, Israel says it has identified the remains of a deceased hostage returned from Gaza yesterday. Israel says the remains belong to Command Sergeant Major Lior Rudaeff. Israeli officials say the 61-year-old Israeli soldier was killed responding to Hamas' attack on October 7th. This marks the fourth exchange this past week as part of the U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. CNN's Nada Bashir has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this has come as a major source of closure for the family members and loved ones of Lior Rudaeff, who was the Deputy Security Coordinator for the Rapid Response Team within his community, Kibbutz, near the attack. He was killed on October 7th, according to the officials in Hostage and Missing Families Forum, while responding to the sound of gunfire in his community as it came under attack by Hamas militants on October 7th.

His body was then taken captive and held in Gaza. Until now, his remains returned to Israel as part of that ceasefire agreement. And of course, this is one of many deceased hostages that have been returned as part of the ceasefire agreement. But it's understood that at least five continue to remain in Gaza.

And there has been mounting pressure on Hamas to arrange for and coordinate the return of the remains of these deceased hostages to Israel as soon as possible as per the terms of that ceasefire agreement. But as we understand it, there is a huge amount of complexity around that process, given the sheer scale of the destruction in the Gaza Strip. And of course, this is a process that is being closely coordinated by Red Cross officials who are providing support on that front.

But as we understand and as we've been hearing from Gaza's own civil defense, who has been carrying out recovery missions to recover the bodies of Palestinian civilians from beneath the rubble, this is a hugely difficult undertaking. But of course, for many families in Israel waiting to lay their loved ones to rest, this is of course a moment of great anxiety.

We've been hearing from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum with regards to the return of Lior Rudaeff, of the 61-year-old Israeli soldier. They have released a statement and I'll just read you a little bit from that. They have said, alongside the grief and the understanding that their hearts will never be whole, Lior's return provides some measure of comfort to a family that has lived with agonizing uncertainty and doubt for over two years.

And of course, as I've mentioned, the return of these hostages is a crucial element of the ceasefire agreement. It really rests on the return of all hostages, living and deceased, for this ceasefire to continue to be implemented. And in addition, we're also seeing efforts to ramp up the amount of aid getting in, or at least pressure from U.N. officials and humanitarian groups, another key element of the ceasefire agreement.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Nada Bashir, thank you so much. All right. Coming up, disguises, a swapped license plate, and a thousand-mile drive. Now, the mother of missing nine-year-old girl, Melodee Buzzard, has been arrested on unrelated charges.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. We're learning new details in the search for missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard. The California girl has not been seen in a month. Recently released surveillance video shows Melodee just before she went on a cross-country road trip with her mother. And now, a twist in the case. 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, the mother, arrested yesterday on charges of false imprisonment, though authorities say it's not related to Melodee's disappearance. Let's bring in now CNN's Josh Campbell, who's in Los Angeles. Josh, tell us more about this arrest.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly an unexpected turn in this investigation into the disappearance of this nine-year-old. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department announcing yesterday that Ashlee Buzzard has been taken into custody. As you mentioned, they say this is not for a charge related to the disappearance of her daughter, but a false imprisonment charge involving someone else. And they're keeping the details of that very close to the vest as this investigation continues. We, of course, are working to determine whether Ashlee has any type of attorney representation.

I'll remind our viewers that this all came about, the disappearance of this nine-year-old, not because her mother reported her missing, but it was actually the child's school who said, we haven't seen her since August. They then called police, who conducted a welfare check last month at the residence where they live. They say that the mother was uncooperative, had no explanation about where her daughter may have been. That then caused this massive investigation to be launched by sheriff's officials, as well as FBI agents searching the home.

They were also able to put together this timeline showing this trip across the country, multiple states. As far as Nebraska, they made it. And as you mentioned, these bizarre details that they were seen on surveillance footage wearing disguises, wearing wigs. The license plates on the vehicle were swapped out at various times. And then the mother returns back to California, but without her daughter.

And so, certainly a lot of questions remain about the disappearance, about where she may be. We are hearing from family members who are certainly distraught. They want answers. They want to know where this missing nine-year-old is. But authorities say all hands-on deck right now, Fred, to try to determine where she is because the mother is now in custody. That potentially provides authorities some type of leverage to try to question her if she's willing to be questioned.

[13:50:00]

But of course, we're waiting to see whether she will actually be cooperative. Up to this point, authorities say she has not been.

WHITFIELD: I see. All right. Josh Campbell, thanks so much.

CAMPBELL: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, it's like a scene right out of "The Jetsons."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, hop aboard as we take these flying cars for a test drive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. From bread baked in an Icelandic volcano to Tokyo's renowned Japanese milk bread. Join Tony for a special back-to- back episode finale of the CNN original series, "Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SHALHOUB, HOST, "TONY SHALHOUB BREAKING BREAD": My strategy is to try not to look like a complete fool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a good start.

SHALHOUB: Don't mock me, Dan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's so cute.

SHALHOUB: What's the word for not terrible in Japanese?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mashi (ph).

SHALHOUB: I don't want to say that mine's the best, but it's too perfect. I'll just say it. It's sweet, it's crunchy, and it just might be the cutest thing I've ever eaten.

How many melon pounds do you eat in one week? 50, 60?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once every other week.

SHALHOUB: One every other week? Because I'm going to eat like four today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Yummy. Be sure to tune in to the back-to-back episode finale of "Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread," that airs Sunday night at 9:00.

All right. And just like "The Jetsons," the concept of having your own personal flying vehicle is now a reality. CNN's Nick Watt got a chance to check one out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are clear for takeoff. Have fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger that, clear for takeoff.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You don't need a pilot's license, and you don't even need a runway.

WATT: There, can you see it? It's just there.

WATT (voice-over): If you've ever played a video game, you can fly this thing. It's one joystick, seriously. And there's a lever to release a parachute if it all goes horribly wrong.

WATT: It looks awesome from down here. What's the feeling?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Such a great feeling. It's the best view ever. In normal aviation, you don't get to fly this low to the ground that often. So, getting to do it in this point of view is spectacular.

WATT: I'm going to stop talking to you because I don't want you to crash.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Appreciate that.

WATT (voice-over): Kitty Hawk gave birth to the age of aviation, and all this might be another massive milestone in the history of flight.

WATT: It looks wrong. You know, my brain can't quite get a handle on the movement. I'm used to seeing how cars, motorbikes, airplanes move. This just moves differently. It's disconcerting. It's weird. I mean, it's awesome, but it's weird.

What are we calling this? We call it, like, an aircraft? Do we call it a flying car? I mean, what is it?

JOE MORSE, ASSOCIATE TEST PILOT, PIVOTAL: So, technically, it's an eVTOL, which stands for Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing aircraft.

WATT: You need a sexier acronym or sexier name.

MORSE: Yes, exactly.

WATT: And why don't you put some wheels on it and actually make it a flying car?

KEN KARKLIN, CEO, PIVOTAL: We definitely don't have the weight budget for wheels to be taking it on the road, unfortunately.

WATT: Disappointed, guys.

WATT (voice-over): They've got to keep it in the FAA's ultra-light category so that you don't need a license to fly under 254 pounds before some safety stuff.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

WATT (voice-over): But, hey, his flying car didn't have wheels either. Listen, we've been dreaming of something like this since "The Jetsons."

Look, there's an old-fashioned land car. Pivotal says they've sold five of their first model Blackfly and trained dozens to fly them.

KARKLIN: One of them is a professional pilot, and he flies it to his airport from home.

WATT: So, you do have somebody commuting already?

KARKLIN: We have a couple of people commuting.

WATT (voice-over): There is a catch. You aren't allowed to fly over so-called congested areas with lots of people and buildings. A couple of other downsides, starting price, $190,000. And for now, the battery life is only around 20 minutes, the range only about 20 miles. Pivotal says that will improve.

WATT: Whoa. Jeez, Louise.

WATT (voice-over): Another issue, they won't let me fly for real because I haven't practiced long enough in the VR simulator.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let go.

WATT: I'll let go of the trigger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WATT: Wow. It feels great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's cool, right?

WATT (voice-over): Ignore my histrionics, this is very easy.

WATT: I mean, this feels very cool, and I'm just pretending.

WATT (voice-over): You have to pass a test in the simulator before you can buy a Pivotal personal aircraft. It isn't a legal requirement. They say they're just being responsible. And also looking into uses helpful to humanity, maybe for getting a smoke jumper into a wildfire or getting a doctor to a hard-to-reach patient. And, of course, there's the military.

WATT: You've given them to the U.S. Air Force already?

KARKLIN: That's correct.