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Judge Blocks Trump National Guard Deployment to Portland; U.S. Senate Holds Rare Saturday Session as Shutdown Drags On; Trump, Vance Continue to Push for Eliminating the Filibuster to End Shutdown; Mother Arrested as Search for 9-Year-Old Continues; Flight Delays, Cancellations Grow as Shutdown Drags On; Trump Makes Deal to Drop Costs of Certain Obesity Drugs; Full SNAP Benefits Put on Hold by Supreme Court. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired November 08, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:20]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

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, saying the administration had failed to prove that protesters were preventing him from carrying out his policies.

Let's discuss now with Portland City Councilman Eric Zimmerman, a Democrat. He's also a member of the Oregon National Guard who served in Iraq with the U.S. Army.

Eric, great to see you. So your reaction to the ruling?

ERIC ZIMMERMAN, PORTLAND CITY COUNCILMAN: Hi. Good morning, Fredricka. It's great to be here. You know, another very nice Portland day with a ruling that we're waking up to and the headline in the paper today is, "exceeded his authority," quotes. That's what the judge said that in 106 page opinion that the president, the federal administration, has exceeded authority in mobilizing and federalizing the National Guard.

This is the fourth ruling in a row now that does not support the president's position that there is a need for federalized troops on the ground. What we've been saying from minute one, when we were notified in September that this was happening, is that the facts on the ground just simply do not constitute a rebellion and certainly costume frogs don't represent a national security threat. They don't represent a rebellion.

So this ruling is very good for us today. It's a permanent injunction. And I think that that's incredibly important that our courts are stepping up to these big questions that are -- that are posed right now and questioning the norms of American justice, American use of military force, military force on civilian populations. These are norms that have held for a long time and for whatever reason, we're in strange times right now. WHITFIELD: Despite the ruling, we haven't heard that the president is

undeterred. So what do you and your, you know, fellow guardsmen make of the efforts overall, you know, across the country by the White House to put troops on the streets of a variety of cities?

ZIMMERMAN: Well, I'm speaking as a city councilor, and so as a party to that case, I care a lot that the -- that the federal government follow the case law, follow the judge's ruling. I think that the judge would say the same thing. We saw that she's issued this as a permanent injunction. This is not a temporary stay. And the authorities to bring troops into a civilian population, she even said that if the case on the ground and being deferential to presidential roles here, that she could see a place in the future where that could be the case. But it is simply not the case here and not the case now. And that makes it this mobilization of these soldiers not something to be legal, not something that we should be doing.

I think what we're really seeing, though, Fredricka, is that this has gone and I think we understand now, this is really about enabling more ICE activity to exist in Portland. Any place that they're trying to federalize troops, to put them in a position to then be in a way where ICE facilities are now manned by federalized National Guard, so that ICE officers can go out and conduct more raids within communities, I think that's really what we're talking about now.

And I think that we've seen that in my own community. We've seen that where U.S. citizens are being rolled up. We've seen that where people are being stopped, what appears to be purely on the color of their skin or their perceived language. So there's a lot more going on here. And this is one case of many talking about the norms of American way of life.

The judge in this ruling cited the Militia Act of 1792 that talked about common sense. She also cited that higher courts are probably going to need to weigh in on what a precise standard is, and I just want to use that and highlight that for everybody because for hundreds of years we have used common sense in this part of our relationship between Americans and the military. And right now where those norms are being questioned, we now have a legal system that is saying we're going to have to have a precise standard because the common sense doesn't seem to be very common in the federal administration right now.

I think that there's a whole lot of folks on the president's team. There are people who are talking about rebellion happening in Portland. You know, I think about Stephen Miller and I are about the same age. I don't think I ever saw him signing up in the -- in the recruitment lines to join the military and actually go deal with anything that was a real national threat the way many of us did.

[15:05:08]

So when they talk about that and when I hear Stephen Miller and others who are part of this administration talk about the dangers of Portland, I say, come back out here. You had your Homeland Security secretary out here, and she was greeted with a chicken costume. That's how Portlanders have reacted. Night after night, we have been vigilant that there is a -- certainly a demonstration of disagreement on the ground here in Portland with this -- with this increased ICE activity and with the notion that we might have federalized troops here.

But the idea that that is somehow a rebellion is complete bull. And we've now seen time and time again and you're showing video where our own officers, Portland officers, have testified in this trial about the excessive use of force by federal officers. This is a ridiculous time in America. And the way that the federal officers agents, ICE agents are masking up, deploying tear gas in ways that has no connectivity to those who do the regular city and urban policing day in and day out across cities in America.

So I think these norms that we're seeing being broken down is why the court is going to say we need precise standards, because we don't have any common sense in the federal administration right now on this topic. Since 1792, we've said common sense and how we use our military and the deference to the American people that the military is not meant for civilian law enforcement. These are important norms that are breaking down one brick at a time.

WHITFIELD: As a city councilman and as a National Guard reservist, can you explain what you believe the parameters would be if, as a National Guardsman, you were on the streets there of Portland and how you believe you would be compelled to conduct yourself regardless of the instructions that might be coming from the White House?

ZIMMERMAN: Well, you know, I have not been mobilized, and I don't think that I want to comment on for those that were called up to duty. I don't want to comment on what instructions that they've been given. I think that's a really important line for me to draw here. As a city councilor who represents 165,000 Portlanders in my district, I have to be talking about my role as an elected official, talking about what is appropriate on the streets of Portland, what the Portland police role is.

It's really important that we understand that those soldiers who are mobilized in this, they're Oregonians. This order came down the same week that community college classes were starting in Oregon. So they've now been sitting on a base in Oregon, going through training and spending their time, but they've not come into Portland now since early October, when they were first called up.

So to what end? Right? We really need is we need the federal government helping make sure that these SNAP benefits are not turned off. We need the federal government to make sure that people's health care continues to be subsidized at an affordable rate, and instead, we continue to see these types of distractions. And that's exactly what I think they are. They are distractions because they are such important legal cases that they get a lot of attention, while everyday Portlanders, everyday Americans, are facing a tougher and tougher go, whether it be at the grocery store, whether their paychecks are coming in.

This is not normal. We shouldn't accept it to be normal. And I have been really proud of the Portland community, understanding that even before this ruling that these were Oregon members of the Oregon National Guard, our neighbors, you know, the people who maybe coach our kids in soccer, et cetera, et cetera, and that our disagreement is with the civilian control of the military and the decision to bring them here.

And it's not with the young kid on the line. And we haven't seen that young kid on the line. And I think that's important to remind people.

WHITFIELD: All right, Portland City Council Member Eric Zimmerman, thank you so much for being with us.

ZIMMERMAN: Thank you for covering it. It's very important.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, on Capitol Hill in the nation's capital, U.S. senators are holding a rare Saturday session in an attempt to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which is now in its 39th day. And just a short time ago, the Senate GOP leader says he intends to keep the U.S. Senate in session until the federal government reopens, but the path forward remains unclear as millions of Americans go without paychecks and critical food assistance.

We've got a team of correspondents covering today's developments. Kevin Liptak is in Florida, where the president is spending the weekend, and Annie Grayer is on Capitol Hill.

Annie, you first. Any progress on a possible agreement or a vote even?

[15:10:00]

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, the short answer is no. I mean, yes, senators are in session today and it is rare for them to be in on a Saturday, but there is no real progress being made, and there is no sense that they're even going to have a vote on anything today, let alone voting on reopening the federal government. And that's because both sides remain extremely dug in here.

I mean, let's rewind back to Monday. There was some sense of bipartisanship building and real negotiations underway. But after Tuesday's elections results, where Democrats had a major sweep across the board, many Democratic senators felt reinvigorated and were ready to hold out until they got a deal on those expiring Obamacare tax subsidies that are causing people's health care prices to rise.

So on Friday, Chuck Schumer presented Republicans with their latest offer, which is Democrats will vote to reopen the government if Republicans vote to extend those expiring tax subsidies by one year. Now, Republicans have completely shut down that offer. They say it is a nonstarter. Republicans have been on the Senate floor today talking about why they are against this idea. But Senator Thune says he's going to keep senators in session over the weekend, hoping that that is going to increase the talks that are happening behind the scenes.

I'm going to play for you some sound from Leader Chuck Schumer earlier this morning and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, just to show you how opposed both sides still really are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): So why, why have Republicans dragged this shutdown on for so, so long? Because they don't want to lower health care costs, because they seem happy to let 24 million Americans see their premiums double on average. A one-year extension is something many Republicans themselves have said they want. It's something a great many Americans support. 55 percent of Trump supporters support it after all.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): We're not going to extend this program for a year because that would be unfair to the taxpayer. That would continue a health care system that's out of control. It would enrich health insurance companies even more. We're not going to do that. We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer to meet the goal of lowering health care costs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRAYER: So, as you can see there, Fred, both sides extremely dug in. But negotiations are happening behind the scenes and we're going to have to keep posted if any real momentum develops.

WHITFIELD: All right. Annie Grayer, do that indeed.

All right. Let's go to Kevin Liptak now in Florida with the president.

What is he saying? And what's his role in all of this right now?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Right now the president very much clinging to this strategy of encouraging Republicans to do away with the filibuster, that 60 vote threshold that's required for virtually any legislation in the Senate and would essentially allow Republicans to reopen the government without any Democratic buy in. The only problem here is that many Republicans don't support this move.

You know, the Senate majority leader, John Thune, has said pretty explicitly that the votes just don't exist to get rid of the filibuster. A lot of Republicans fear if they do that, it will just come back to haunt them if Democrats were to regain control of the chamber.

Now, the vice president, J.D. Vance, weighed in on this earlier today, telling Republicans who are concerned about this that they were wrong and that if they don't eliminate the filibuster now, that Democrats would just do it down the line. So they might as well just seize the initiative and use this to get the government reopened. But it's clear that Republicans aren't necessarily falling in lockstep behind the president on this particular issue.

Now, we did hear from the president earlier today offering what he seems to be raising as a compromise measure to try and get the government open. He says, "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."

So the president essentially saying there, get rid of the health care subsidies that are the heart of this dispute between Democrats and Republicans on the government shutdown and instead send the money directly to the American people. Now, this is going to face a lot of legislative headwinds. There's no way Democrats are going to vote to terminate Obamacare. And it also is an open question of how this will lead to the government being reopened.

You know, the bipartisan discussions that are underway right now are focused on extending those subsidies. And now the president is saying, well, he doesn't support the subsidies at all. So this could have the effect, potentially, of upending those discussions. So how this all resolves itself and where this all leads still very much an open question.

WHITFIELD: All right. Keep us posted. Kevin Liptak, thanks so much.

All right. Straight ahead, look at the real life impacts for families who depend on SNAP. What the next few weeks will mean for them without food benefits.

[15:15:05]

And next, the mother of a missing 9-year-old California girl has been arrested and faces charges of false imprisonment. But investigators say it's not directly related to her missing daughter. New details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We're learning new details in the search for missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard.

[15:20:03]

The California girl has not been seen in a month. And now a twist in the case, 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, Melodee's mother, was arrested yesterday on charges of false imprisonment though authorities say it's not related to Melodee's disappearance.

I'd like to bring in now CNN's Josh Campbell, who is in Los Angeles for us.

So what do we know?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just an unexpected turn here in this investigation into the disappearance of this California 9-year-old. As you mentioned, her mother now in custody, arrested on an entirely separate set of charges of false imprisonment. Authorities are not saying at this point what that actually entailed or who would involved, but they say that the mother has been taken into custody.

This, of course, all came to light last month when it was the girl's school who called authorities and said, we haven't seen her since August. That then caused the sheriff's department to go talk to the mother. They say that the mother was not cooperative, that she didn't provide any information about the whereabouts of her daughter. That then spurred this investigation. Authorities eventually mapping out a timeline.

They say that the mother actually took her daughter across several states as far as Nebraska, and in really unusual detail you can see there on the surveillance footage, authorities say that they were seen wearing wigs, disguises. At times, the license plates on the vehicle had been swapped. The mother came back to California. The young girl was not with her. Authorities are still trying to identify where she is. Meantime, we're hearing from family members that they are distraught. They want answers. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORI MIRANDA, GRANDMOTHER OF MELODEE BUZZARD: Totally numb and in shock. This is just so shocking to me in that my granddaughter is dressed in a disguise. This is just so overwhelming. It's just so really scary. You need to tell them where the baby is. You need to tell them who's setting all these things up for you. I know you're not doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now CNN is working to determine if Ashlee Buzzard has attorney representation. We also know that investigators are still trying to gather more details. They've released a map showing the suspected route of travel. They believe that the mother and the daughter took across the country.

If you go to CNN.com right now on our story, you can actually see a link to that map. Authorities are asking anyone with any type of surveillance footage along that path of travel at your home, at your business. If you see an indication of when and where these two may have been in the area, they want you to call authorities -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Josh, as a former investigator yourself, how might investigators approach their discussions with the mother even though she was arrested on unrelated charges? Might this be an opportunity for them to continue to ask questions about her daughter?

CAMPBELL: Yes, it's a great point, and this certainly could provide leverage to investigators up to this point. They've been trying to get answers from the mother, they say. They say that she has not been cooperative. But when she was taken into custody one step in that process is authorities tried to interview someone also called interrogation, if they're actually confronting her with some type of allegation.

Now she doesn't have to speak. She could, as they say, lawyer up and refuse to answer any questions. But I can tell you from experience, oftentimes people will speak, especially if they've been carrying around information. You know that, again, you know, we have no indication from authorities that she was complicit in anything involving her daughter, although there's a lot of, you know, mounting evidence that they've released. But sometimes people, you know, feel that it's somewhat of a cathartic

moment if they release themselves from that burden and actually tell investigators what they know. That is what authorities always hope. But again, we'll have to wait and see whether she's actually being cooperative. Up to this point, authorities say that she has not been -- Fred.

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

CAMPBELL: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, more than a thousand flights already canceled today as the FAA tells airlines to cut back on flights more than a month into the U.S. government shutdown now. We'll take you live to Newark International Airport with a look at just how bad things could get in time for Thanksgiving holiday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:21]

WHITFIELD: All right. Live pictures in the nation's capital right now on Capitol Hill. The U.S. Senate in session on a rare Saturday session on day 39 of the U.S. government shutdown.

You're looking at Senator Bernie Sanders there.

The TSA and other federal employees are still working without pay to keep the skies safe. To do that, the FAA cut back on flights at 40 airports to ease pressure on air traffic controllers. Staffing shortages are also contributing to the more than 4,000 flight delays nationwide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were very nervous. We have a -- we had a 10:30 flight and yesterday we changed it to a 7:00 flight because we were nervous that the planes were going to get stacked up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy anniversary. Anyway, we're hoping for the best, but, you know, we have no control over that. So if we get grounded, we're grounded. But we're cautiously optimistic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Happy anniversary. Hopefully they get to their destination.

CNN correspondent Leigh Waldman is at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Leigh, I bet you there are a lot of stories like that, folks with their fingers crossed hoping they get there.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, what we keep hearing from people is they're just hoping they can make it to work on Monday, two days from now. That's just how bad it is here at the Newark Airport. Checking in, delayed, delayed, delayed. Over here we have canceled, delayed. It's just the same story over and over again. More than 300 flights here have been delayed today. More than 100 have been canceled altogether. We spoke with one man who's pretty upset about his flight cancellation earlier.

[15:30:04]

Most people are trying to stay positive, trying to work with the hardworking TSA staff, with the flight attendants here, having some sympathy and empathy for the situation that they're in. But there's compounding issues here. Not only the FAA mandating that flights be reduced, but also staffing shortages at the air traffic control centers here.

We spoke to one woman who had suffered hours and hours' worth of delays, and now she's going to be stranded when she makes it to Dallas tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALYSSA MINCE, FLIGHT DELAYED: Our first flight, it got delayed an hour and then another hour, and now its delayed three hours. So we are missing our connecting flight from Dallas to Amarillo. We're kind of grateful in a way that we're getting through this before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everything else, we're just going to stick to driving or staying home probably.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: Driving or staying at home. That might be the most reliable option when it comes to the holidays as they get nearer and nearer and really no sign of this shutdown ending. We know that the major airlines, American, United, Delta, all canceling more than 100 flights each because of the FAA mandate -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, staycation is an option. I think a lot of people are going to take on this Thanksgiving holiday. All right. Leigh Waldman in Newark, thanks so much.

All right. President Trump revealed a plan to make some extremely popular weight loss drugs much more affordable for all Americans battling obesity.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:36:08]

WHITFIELD: All right. President Trump announces a deal that will drop prices for some of the most popular weight loss and diabetes drugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a triumph for American patients that will save lives and improve the health of millions and millions of Americans. Amazing thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Under the new deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, certain GLP-1 medications could cost as little as $149 a month if you qualify. Coming on the heels of this announcement, obesity researchers and clinicians gathered for Obesity Week. It's an international annual conference, and this time it was held in Atlanta, where they discussed the latest efforts in advocacy and public policy.

And joining me right now to discuss is doctor of obesity medicine, Christina Nguyen.

So good to see you.

DR. CHRISTINA NGUYEN, OBESITY MEDICINE: Hi, Fredricka. Thank you so much for having me here. I'm excited to be here.

WHITFIELD: So this is a big deal, is it, potentially? Because it can be very expensive in order to get any, you know, if you get a prescription or you have the OK to use any of these drugs for obesity, for weight loss or for your diabetes. How much of a potential breakthrough is this for cost to be down like this?

NGUYEN: This is a humongous deal, and we're so thrilled that the Trump administration has offered this to patients because it will ensure that millions of America will have this life medication for Medicare. We've seen that the co-pay is going to be about $50, which is much lower than it had been before because patients on Medicare were not ever allowed to have these medications. They were never covered at all. And so patients have to pay cash price for it. So for it to be 50 bucks is a huge, huge thing for our patients.

WHITFIELD: Yes. That's a great offering. So initially really it was, I mean, considered a real breakthrough medication mostly for diabetes. But the discovery of its use in helping, you know, to promote healthy bodies has been kind of a continued advantage. So is there real advocacy now as a medication that is -- has far-ranging, you know, kind of use?

NGUYEN: Absolutely. Because it wasn't until 2013 that obesity was recognized as a true disease state. And we've changed the narrative with all the science and research now that, you know, this is a true metabolic disease and it's not a disease of choice or a disease of lack of willpower. And when we convey this to patients, it really helps them because they've been, you know, shamed or they've had bias for all these years.

And now there's medications that have been developed that will target the biology of the disease. And when patients are losing 15 percent to 20 percent of their weight loss, and when their diabetes have improved, their blood pressure improved, it makes a difference. Definitely makes a difference.

WHITFIELD: What would you say were the real breakthroughs from this Obesity Week conference? I mean, what were the new discoveries? What are the, you know, hot things that people are talking about that offer some real encouragement? NGUYEN: So there's two new medications that have come out that are

very exciting for us. The first one is from Novo, which is the CagriSema, which is cagrilintide, an amylin derivative plus semaglutide. And that's a weekly injection for weight loss. The weight loss was about 20 percent, which is the big deal. And the other one, I guess the hottest topic is the Orforglipron from Lilly. And that is a medication in a pill form that actually will help with weight loss. And --

WHITFIELD: How much of a big difference do you think that's going to make that there would be a pill form versus exclusively it has been about injectables?

NGUYEN: You know, some patients are afraid of using injections so that will help a lot with just a daily oral medication. And then, you know, a few years ago they did have shortages of these injections, these shots, because the manufacturer, you know, was unable to make the pens and that decreased the amount of medications that was available for patients.

[15:40:08]

WHITFIELD: With this government shutdown right now, and, you know, real limitations on data gathering, how do you see it impacting, you know, the work that you're doing?

NGUYEN: Well, we are still, you know, advocate for patients and still treat patients. But we just -- we just want to make sure that the patients get what they need.

WHITFIELD: And, you know, among the other things that were talked about, you know, during this week, in addition to medications, but other things like, you know, snack foods and some other tools in the fight against obesity. To what extent?

NGUYEN: So, of course, we know that obesity is a very complex chronic disease that relapses. So if, when you treat it, it's not just the pharmacotherapy piece that is important. There's the nutrition part of it. The behavioral changes that you have to make, the increased physical activity. And of course, any time that a patient loses weight, we always try to enforce and let them know that protein is a huge deal.

We have to make sure you have your protein intake. And there are more types of protein supplements that patients can take and at the conference, you know, there's, I guess there's more, more variety of protein instead of just the shakes or the powders.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Lots of good options.

NGUYEN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Chrisina Nguyen, thank you so much.

NGUYEN: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:10]

WHITFIELD: All right. New today, UPS and FedEx say they are immediately grounding their fleet of MD-11 aircraft, quote, "out of an abundance of caution," following this week's deadly aircraft crash in Louisville, Kentucky.

A warning that the footage of the crash we're about to show you may be upsetting. The NTSB said the engine and the pylon, which support the engine, fell off of the left wing of the UPS Flight 2976 during takeoff on Tuesday, which you can see when the video slows down and then that freeze frame right there. Crash investigators say it reached a speed of about 210 miles per hour when it plunged to the ground.

The McDonnell Douglas aircraft make up about 9 percent of UPS's fleet. Tuesday's disaster killed at least 14 people and destroyed nearby businesses and buildings, leaving a fiery trail of destruction about a half mile long.

And now to the latest on the U.S. government shutdown, we are on the 39th day of the shutdown, and that means a lot of people who receive SNAP benefits are waiting for lawmakers to reach a deal, and some are having to make hard choices on where their next meal will come from. Adding to the uncertainty for these recipients, last night, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily paused a lower court order requiring the government to distribute full SNAP payments this month.

CNN's Rene Marsh visited one mom in West Virginia who says sometimes she has to sacrifice her own meals so her two young boys can have full plates for dinner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ONITA NORRIS, SNAP FOOD STAMPS RECIPIENT: And the top teeth. That's enough soap. I thought I heard something.

Food is the last thing that we should have to be stressed out about.

RENE MARSH, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): In Martinsburg, West Virginia, mornings move fast for Onita Norris, a single mom juggling two toddlers, a dog, breakfast and a full-time job. The government shutdown has made life even harder, disrupting SNAP, the federal food assistance program she relies on, to feed her kids.

NORRIS: It will be, you know, meatless meals and things that obviously you can stretch a lot longer. I work 40 hours a week. I work for the state, and I am on government assistance.

MARSH: Yes.

NORRIS: Because I am still not making ends meet unfortunately. It hurts because it's like I'm not -- I don't want to be on it, but I need it. MARSH (voice-over): Norris earns $2800 a month.

NORRIS: Rent, for instance, $1475.

MARSH: After paying bills, she's left with barely $100 for gas and anything else. SNAP, also known as food stamps, added $265 a month to her budget for food.

What is the difference of having this $265 versus not?

NORRIS: Rather than myself having like a full plate of food along with my kids, I'm making sure that they have a full plate of food and their bellies are full. And I may have either less or I may not eat what they are eating just for the sake that they are getting enough.

MARSH: So moms having to sometimes skip a meal or curb.

NORRIS: Yes. It feels like I'm failing them because I am trying. I'm trying to do all that I can. And of course, as a human, you get frustrated, and I never want my kids to see that or feel like I'm taking that out on them for something as simple as dinner.

LEIGH FLEMING, CCAP/LOAVES & FISHES FOOD PANTRY: Do you need a gallon of milk?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma'am.

FLEMING: OK.

MARSH (voice-over): We visited this food pantry in Berkeley County, a place that's voted for Donald Trump in every election he's been on the ballot. Nearly a quarter of the people here live below the poverty line. And now furloughed federal workers are lining up alongside families who rely on SNAP.

FLEMING: You could see how busy we are. Our waiting room is filled up. We doubled our typical weekly amount of households.

[15:50:03]

MARSH: After two federal judges ruled the use of emergency funds for SNAP could not be blocked, the Trump administration agreed in court last week to use that money to make partial payments.

NORRIS: I don't want to sound ungrateful by any means, but we still have to cut back. We're still having to scrape and ration.

MARSH: But it's hard to know what to believe after the president posted on social media that he'd withhold the funds until the shutdown ends.

NORRIS: Mom is improvising because I don't want to -- I don't want to use up all of you all's milk.

MARSH: All of it putting Norris and families like hers in an agonizing limbo.

NORRIS: I just don't understand how we've come to a point where we're using food in politics and being essentially political pawns.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Rene Marsh, thank you so much for bringing us that perspective.

And don't forget, in the United States, you can now stream CNN whenever you want on the CNN app. Just visit CNN.com/WatchforMore.

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[15:55:44]

WHITFIELD: All right. Voting is underway for the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year. And we're also catching up with remarkable CNN Heroes, whose work continues to grow and inspire positive change.

We met Amanda Boxtel in 2018 and learned about her story of resilience after becoming paralyzed. She dedicated herself to bringing high tech physical therapy to others with mobility challenges. And now Anderson Cooper shares how Boxtel's efforts are moving onward and upward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA BOXTEL, 2018 CNN HERO: I feel like the mountain had robbed me of the use of my legs, but I was determined to show that I wasn't going to give up so easily.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): At 24, Amanda Boxtel was paralyzed in a skiing accident. After years of physical therapy, she had the chance to try a new, costly technology. An exoskeleton designed to help people with mobility challenges.

BOXTEL: I stood up and I walked for the first time in 18 years, and it was as if all of my dreams were burgeoning to life in one upright, powerful moment.

COOPER: Amanda purchased her own exoskeleton and walked 130,000 steps in a year, easing her chronic pain.

BOXTEL: Right leg was the first to come back. Was that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.

COOPER: In 2015, she founded Bridging Bionics to help other people with mobility issues benefit from the technology.

BOXTEL: It's not easily accessible. It's not affordable. And I thought we could get a whole community up and walking with this unit.

COOPER: She even teamed up with her fellow 2018 CNN Hero, Ricardo Pyeongchang, who provides free housing and support for sick children and their families while they undergo medical treatment in Lima, Peru. When Amanda learned a child in his program needed a wheelchair, she wanted to help.

BOXTEL: She has cerebral palsy and she was in a stroller. She's been in a stroller for her whole life. It's time, don't you think, for her to have a wheelchair to call her own?

Look what we have for Alaska.

RICARDO PYEONGCHANG, 2018 CNN HERO: Thank you so much.

With this new wheelchair and with her surgery, she's going to have a better life.

COOPER: Amanda recently secured a dedicated space for her work, allowing her to help more people access high-tech physical therapy.

BOXTEL: We are truly giving the gift of mobility for free or next to nothing, to help our community get upright and walking again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Amazing. I mean to learn more about all of our CNN Heroes, past and present, or to vote for the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year, go to CNN.com/Heroes.

All right, comedian Jenny Hagel and sports journalist Bomani Jones joined the crew on "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU." Here's a sneak peek as Roy Wood Jr. and friends learn about some issues the state of Kentucky encountered on election day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JR., CNN HOST, HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU: Tuesday saw record voter turnout across the country, with voters excited to cast ballots in places from New York to New Jersey and Maine and Georgia, Kansas and Kentucky.

Question, why was the enthusiasm for the Kentucky elections so unusual?

AMBER RUFFIN, CO-HOST: Because all that fried chicken.

WOOD: The excitement around the Kentucky elections was unusual because there weren't any elections in Kentucky on Tuesday. On the morning of election day, the Kentucky secretary of state tweeted, quote, "We're getting calls about polls being closed. They are closed because we do not have elections today. Kentucky votes next year. You cannot vote today in Kentucky for the mayor of New York City or the governor of Virginia. Sorry."

JENNY HAGEL, COMEDIAN: That's what happens when your whole state is just full of Bourbon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: My, my. The season finale of "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" premieres tonight, 9:00 eastern, right here on CNN and next day on the CNN app.

And we're also continuing to follow the latest on Capitol Hill. The U.S. Senate is holding its first Saturday session since the U.S. government shutdown began more than a month ago. We'll continue to follow this and bring you the very latest.

Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "SMERCONISH" starts right now.