Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Chris Spear is Interviewed about Changes for Truckers; India Prime Minister to Visit China; Bryan West is Interviewed about the Swift-Kelce Engagement; Big, Beautiful Bill Opposed by Americans; Cracker Barrel Backlash. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 27, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:23]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.

It's half past the hour, and here's what's happening right now.

The top U.S. diplomat in Denmark is now being summoned over reports of an influence operation in Greenland. Today, the country's public broadcaster reported at least three Americans with connections to President Trump have been trying to influence Greenland's society. The report believes the goal is to weaken relationships with Denmark from within the country.

And Israeli forces claim the hospital strike that killed 20 people, including several journalists, was aimed at a Hamas camera. They say the camera was being used to observe IDF troop movements. The prime minister called it a tragic mishap.

And the newest move for the Trump administration in their immigration crackdown, bringing back neighborhood checks. People applying for U.S. citizenship may have their home and work checked. They will also have their social media looked at for, quote, "anti-Americanism."

And the rules for truckers could get a lot tougher after a deadly crash involving an undocumented driver in Florida. Officials there aren't just checking cargo, they're checking paperwork, language skills and immigration status. Earlier this month, a California licensed truck driver made an illegal u-turn and crashed into a minivan. Officials say the man, an undocumented immigrant, failed a basic English test after the accident. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says if commercial truckers don't speak English, they shouldn't drive. And states that don't enforce the requirement could lose federal funding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: This is not just about saying we have some obscure rule that we want them to comply with that truck drivers speak English proficiently. This is about keeping people safe on the road. Your families, they have to be able to communicate to law enforcement when they're -- when they're pulled over or there's an accident. And if they can't do that, that creates a significant issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Critics warn turning weigh stations into immigration checkpoints will result in racial profiling and ripple through a supply chain already stretched thin.

Joining us now to discuss this, Chris Spear, he's president and CEO of American Trucking Association.

Thanks for being here, Chris.

CHRIS SPEAR, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION: Thanks for having me on, Audie.

CORNISH: So, according to the government, just 16 percent of commercial truck drivers are foreign born. This rule about being able to speak English has been there for a long time. What do you think is significant about this moment?

SPEAR: Well, I think it's a turning point, how we -- how we qualify a commercial driver's license holder. Just because you have a CDL doesn't mean you're qualified to drive an 80,000-pound commercial vehicle. And in the case of Florida, that's certainly the, you know, the qualification of being able to be proficient in the English language is -- is one of several foundational requirements. And that's been on the books since the 1930s.

So, what Secretary Duffy is pointing to here are existing laws and regulations. We just haven't enforced them. And we applaud the administration, actually, for stepping up and putting safety first.

This is a tragic accident last week. It was avoidable. And this driver in Florida should never have been issued a commercial driver's license from the states of Washington and California.

CORNISH: Yes.

SPEAR: It's -- it's really where you test for the CDL. We need to strengthen and make certain that that's consistent in every state for the purpose of safety.

CORNISH: I -- I feel like your organization was among those who were also pointing out the shortage of drivers for a long time. And I know there was a debate about this, whether there was a shortage or just high turnover. Do you worry something like this could affect that?

SPEAR: No, I really don't. I think the numbers that we're talking about here with these qualifications are relatively low. But even if it were significant, we're not going to displace safety. Safety always comes first in our industry. We don't want drivers behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound vehicle that simply aren't qualified. No different than if they have a history of alcohol and drug abuse. We don't want people that are in the country illegally operating this equipment.

Again, these are foundational requirements that have been on the books for years. And being able to look at this from a shortage point of view, we qualify the shortage as -- as drivers that meet the criteria. Anyone can have a CDL. That doesn't mean you're qualified to be behind the wheel and moving freight.

CORNISH: Yes.

[06:35:03]

SPEAR: So, that narrows the universe of -- of people that we want in our industry. This is a profession. And we don't want just anyone behind the wheel of moving freight, as we witnessed last -- last week in Florida.

CORNISH: One thing is, this is not only about checking for English proficiency. You will now have ICE, if I'm clear on this, and immigration also there, prepared to even detain people, right, which I don't know what that means, a truck set to the side. It's cargo secured. But it feels like this is a step further. Should there be immigration officials at these stations?

SPEAR: Well, you shouldn't have the ability to operate a commercial vehicle if you're in the country illegally. Meaning, you shouldn't even have a commercial driver's license. The state should be screening for that. And in this case, it seems that failed in Washington and California.

So, immigration is -- is certainly a part of it. If you are illegal in the United States and you illegally obtained a commercial driver's license, you certainly shouldn't be out on the roads moving an 80,000- pound vehicle.

You know, fatalities happen when we -- we don't put safety first. Last week's incident in Florida is a great example of that.

I applaud the administration for enforcing the law. I think that keeping people, you know, from getting behind the wheel of these vehicles, if they don't speak English, if they have a history of drug and alcohol abuse, if they're not in the country legally, these are foundational elements that we need to -- to, you know, put first when we're screening people for commercial driver's licenses.

And states need to be audited. They need to have consistency across the board just for the sake of safety, Audie. I mean it's -- it's really about safety. And again, I applaud Secretary Duffy for putting that first.

CORNISH: In the meantime, should we expect delays and should your drivers expect delays as a result?

SPEAR: I don't think so. They -- we get roadside inspections all the time. If there are immigration officials that are also at the weigh stations, if that person is here illegally, that's an action that they would -- would take, appropriately so. But, you know, taking a driver out of service, we get roadside

inspections all the time. There's procedures for that. What they're doing is just certain that the enforcement agent is applying the English language proficiency test, which is a skin. It's been on the books since the '30s. This is a requirement. And that person should not have been behind the wheel in Florida. It would have saved lives had that been properly screened in Washington and California. And that leads (ph) us to a roadside inspection to make certain that our motorways are safe.

CORNISH: Chris Spear, president and CEO of the American Trucking Association. Thanks for being with us this morning.

SPEAR: Thanks, Audie. Appreciate it.

CORNISH: And overnight, President Trump made good on a threat doubling tariffs on goods from India. The tariffs on most imports are now at 50 percent, twice the amount that Trump said weeks ago, and one of the highest rates of any country. The new levies are punishment for India buying Russian oil. It will impact prices of certain clothes, shoes, jewelry and furniture. Indian manufacturers now warning it could lead to layoffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be job losses. And it's very painful that, you know, thee are people who hardly make $300 a month. This is worse than Covid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have no other work if this goes away. I don't know how to do anything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: CNN's Mike Valerio is in Seoul, but has the updates on the tariffs.

Tell us what's going on. I know that India's prime minister is actually set to visit with China this week. So, should the U.S. be worried they're sort of nudging them towards -- towards a competitor.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that's the crux of the -- crux of the issue, Audie, right there.

So, this is by far the biggest story that has hit Asia over the past 24 hours. That's why we're talking about it here in our Seoul newsroom. The ramifications are huge. So, not only do we have the human cost of all of this, when you have a gigantic economy that thought an economic shock like Covid was in the rear-view window, when you hear an exporter like that a couple of seconds ago who's saying that this could be worse than Covid for the world's fifth largest economy because of this 50 percent tariff put on by the Trump administration, I mean, that is something that is driving economic shockwaves across the continent.

And then when we move past the human and economic dimension, as you noted, could this be pushing India in a new direction? So, Exhibit A is the Sunday and Monday meeting that you were just alluding to, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to be visiting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, which, you know, to refresh our viewers memory, that is a security group founded by Moscow and Beijing to try to reshape the world order in the way that it wants it to be.

[06:40:00]

Also, India and China do not have warm and fuzzy relations at all. Quite the opposite, because of the border clashes along the Himalayan Mountain boundary. So, super notable that that is happening.

Vladimir Putin, for his part, also visiting India by the end of the year. So, D.C. absolutely is taking note at both of this -- those developments as India moving in a direction that America does not want it to.

So, we actually have just a quick soundbite from somebody who is a leather exporter, back to the human dimension. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAMEEM AZAD, LEATHER EXPORTER (through translator): Whatever orders we had from the U.S. are now null. Customers have told us to halt previous orders. See this? A U.S. customer has told us to stop production until there is a resolution to the tariff situation. We got the mail on August 16th. The situation is really bad right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: Yes, that could be the understatement of the evening right there. So, orders are already being canceled. But where we go from here, it could be a trade deal, five rounds of negotiations have already failed. So that is what is to be kept an eye on in the next couple of days and weeks. Can D.C. and Delhi come to a deal with this 50 percent tariff running the tableau new economic reality that India is going to have to face, Audie?

CORNISH: OK, And we'll keep an eye on that meeting as well between India and China.

Mike Valerio, thank you.

VALERIO: Yes.

CORNISH: Next on CNN THIS MORNING, they heard the backlash, and Cracker Barrel won't be changing their logo after all.

Plus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not going to use the term great big beautiful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: From one rebrand to the other. Why President Trump wants the big, beautiful brand to go away.

And, she's marrying the football star, and it's all feeling so high school. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged.

And take a look at this. A live look at the tomato fight underway right now in Spain. The Tomatina. These are live images of that famous food fight.

And we want to know what's in your group chat. Send it to us now at X. We're going to be talking about ours in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:19]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAYLOR SWIFT, MUSICIAN (singing): It's a love story. Baby, just say yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, she's been singing about it for about 17 years. Now she's finally getting her love story. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged. The two posting the news on Instagram Tuesday with the caption, "your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married."

Just a few weeks ago, on the "New Heights" podcast, Swift talked about how their relationship was something of her wildest dreams.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAYLOR SWIFT, MUSICIAN: So, I was like, if this guy isn't crazy, which is a big if, this is sort of what I've been writing songs about wanting to happen to me since I was --

JASON KELCE, CO-HOST, "NEW HEIGHTS" PODCAST: Yes.

SWIFT: A teenager.

TRAVIS KELCE, CO-HOST, "NEW HEIGHTS" PODCAST: Yes. And I was sitting there at the Era's Tour listening to every single one of those songs, like, she -- I know what she wants me to do.

SWIFT: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Kelce's dad telling CNN affiliate WEWS that the proposal was about two weeks ago, but had been months in the making. Swifties around the world could not calm down over their girl getting her forever and always. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pumpkin spice and Taylor Swift's engagement in the same day, this is a white girl national holiday. I've never had more text messages.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do think she should have done a countdown though, because we weren't emotionally prepared to find out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's engaged!

JASON KELCE, TRAVIS KELCE'S BROTHER: Congratulations for being engaged! Yeah! The proposal heard round the world!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, we're going to bring in an expert, although we could have bring (ph) in any of those people. Taylor Swift reporter for "USA Today," Bryan West.

Bryan, welcome to your Super Bowl, I guess.

What's been the reaction for you and your group chats?

BRYAN WEST, TAYLOR SWIFT REPORTER, "USA TODAY": Hi, Audie. Thank you so much for having me.

Everybody has just been delighted and elated. I mean, this is the type of proposal that was even mentioned before a cabinet meeting at the White House. It went around the world within seconds. Swifties have been rejoicing and trying to figure out every single little detail.

You know the outfit she's wearing by Ralph Lauren, that sold out within minutes. That's the impact of this proposal.

CORNISH: I want to get your take on this headline from "Deadline." They said, "Taylor and Travis' engagement is true love as the ultimate marketing touchdown. A master class on how to control your brand."

Can you talk about this, how this was rolled out right ahead of her album, ahead of his games to come, and it's been rumored for so long, and they had real control over how it was announced.

WEST: What's been interesting is the narrative two years ago, when she first appeared at the game, was, is this relationship even real? Is it a PR stunt? And she later divulged in the "Time" magazine interview where she was "Person of the Year" that they had been dating in secret for months.

Fans knew that this relationship would end up being the real deal because when he traveled for the Era's Tour to Argentina, she sang the song "End Game." So, it seems that for a while they have definitely been gushing about each other and -- and knowing that this would be the next step.

What is interesting, though, is even to announce her new album, she went on a podcast, a safe space that she felt protected, where she could share her story. It does seem from the Ed Kelce interview that has popped up overnight that this happened just shortly after that interview, but she waited, in true Taylor fashion, 13 days to make the announcement, to do it on her own terms on Instagram.

CORNISH: She has been so open in her music about wanting to be married. Also, this kind of heartbreak along the way. I don't know if this is the end of your beat or the beginning of another -- of a whole beat for you at "USA Today" with this wedding to come.

WEST: I call it a Ta-nado (ph). So, it's whenever Taylor makes an announcement of news and it takes the internet by storm.

[06:50:03]

But she constantly is something that people are talking about in this twelfth era. And I imagine right now what we're watching unfolding is her thirteenth era, her bridal era. But when it comes to Taylor, there's always news. She's always creating. There's so many ways that she can go. So, I hope this beat keeps going.

CORNISH: OK. Bryan, good luck to you. Appreciate your time.

WEST: Thanks, Audie.

CORNISH: As the Trump administration looks to keep control of Washington ahead of next year's midterms, they're banking on selling the so-called big, beautiful bill to voters, or at least that was the way they were describing it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The bill that I'm not going to use the term great big, beautiful, that was good for getting it approved. But -- but it's not good for explaining to people what it's all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The president says he now wants to focus on the tax cuts in the bill, but if the administration is working on rebranding it away from that name, he may have wanted to let his cabinet secretaries know before Tuesday's meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER, LABOR SECRETARY: The one big, beautiful bill, because it equals one big, beautiful workforce.

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: In anticipation of your one big, beautiful bill.

BROOKE ROLLINS, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: Through the big, beautiful bill.

SCOTT TURNER, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY: With the one big, beautiful bill.

DOUG COLLINS, VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY: The bill, the big, beautiful bill.

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We had 12.5 billion in the big, beautiful bill.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HHS SECRETARY: I want to mention the big, beautiful bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: And the group chat is back to talk about the big, beautiful bill.

One of the reasons why we wanted to talk about this is because, since the bill was passed, it has suffered in the polls. When you look at the Americans who say they oppose it, you're talking about that number upwards of 61 percent. And that number actually goes a little bit higher, I think, with independence. Yes, there it is, 67 percent.

I want to start with you, Meghan, because I remember when Democrats had to talk about "building back better," and that became a joke and that became a thing people didn't believe in. The Infrastructure Reduction Act never quite caught on, didn't roll off the tongue. What do you make of this messaging?

MEGHAN HAYS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I actually think that the Democrats finally did something really well. They messaged around this very well. They made sure that everybody knew that they were cutting Medicare, they were cutting children's food benefits for kids. So, the Democrats really coalesced together and really marketed this very well to their constituents. Then they passed it right before August recess, where all these members had to go to their districts and have town halls, and they are all getting, when they have the town halls, people are showing up and really holding Republicans and Democrats feet to the fire on this.

But it is creating a storm around what this bill actually does. And I think the Democrats really did do their work here.

CORNISH: Is that a lesson learned from their Biden era?

HAYS: I absolutely think so. And I think that they definitely knew that they needed to stick together. There was no infighting. There was no deviating from the message. It was, this -- we will lose health care and you will lose benefits for children. And this is not something that we do in America. And we are not giving tax cuts to the rich to -- to -- to -- to take away stuff from the poor.

CORNISH: So, Melik, what can Republicans learn from -- from that experience, right? They had the experience of messaging around something and making sure it takes the hit.

MELIK ABDUL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes. CORNISH: Now you've got to promote something. And you -- I feel like whenever Trump comments like this, like he's, earlier in the week, talking about not being a dictator, it's because he's like heard the criticism.

ABDUL: Yes.

CORNISH: It has reached his desk.

ABDUL: Yes. And I think this is part of the larger problem with the Trump administration, because many times when it comes to their messaging, they're messaging to MAGA.

When it came to this bill, what you heard from the administration is the things that they wanted to take away. It is not easy -- anyone who's done messaging can tell you it is much easier to message what you're going to do for someone, as opposed to what you're going to take away. So, they were trying to split the baby and say, well, no, this is only for people who, you know, are able bodied and can work. That's not a message that actually resonates with people. And I think what the -- what Trump is saying himself is that they need to do something else because when many people -- that's why I feel a little bit validated here, when I was saying, talk about the tax cuts, talk about the child tax credit, these are the things that you need to talk about, they were --

CORNISH: But the more you debate things, and it's out in the open, and it drags out, I mean, Sara, you know, like, that's when messages are diluted.

SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: Yes. I also think the Elon Musk fight really, really screwed them on this.

CORNISH: Of course. Yes.

FISCHER: Because Elon Musk came out swinging very hard and he has a huge platform saying, you're doing so many corporate tax cuts for the rich that you're actually not going to lower the debt the way that I want you to. The message that that signaled loud and clear was that this is not for the middle class, that this is for wealthy people to benefit.

So, now they're seeing the take that this is having in the polls, and they're trying to reframe this for the middle class. But that's a hard thing to do when you've had months and months and months of the world's richest person saying that even this was too beneficial to the rich.

CORNISH: OK, another rebrand, one that we have been talking about a lot, Cracker Barrel. On Monday, the restaurant was like defending its new logo. By Tuesday, not so much. The southern style restaurant is scrapping its new minimalist logo. People online were very upset about the removal of the iconic "old timer" and his barrel. You can see there.

[06:55:05] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As for me and my house, we will no longer be going to Cracker Barrel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Y'all messing up Cracker Barrel. Nobody asked for this. Man, that's one place you could leave it just like it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: But that didn't faze the company's CEO as of last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE FELSS MASINO, CEO, CRACKER BARRELL: We are listening to our guests. We're doing this all for them. What they've said is they love the new seating. We've -- we're adding in booths, making the chairs more comfortable, putting in new lighting, brightening up the paint color. But what's important is, things that people love about Cracker Barrel, the soul of Cracker Barrel is not changing.

Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK. Then President Trump entered the chat. He posted on Truth Social yesterday, saying the company should, quote, "go back to the old logo, admit a mistake."

And then, of course, just hours after that, Cracker Barrel released a statement saying everyone was right, they're going to go back to the old logo.

And we should be clear, Cracker Barrel shares jumped more than 7 percent in pre-market trading on the news. The White House took its own victory lap, mocking the backtracking on that -- that remake.

I want to turn to you guys because this is a great example of, like, a corporation that thinks it's minding its own business, wandering in the wild --

FISCHER: Yes.

CORNISH: Getting completely -- like stepping on the culture war rake.

FISCHER: Yes, everyone's got to do polling before they do anything nowadays because you never know when you're going to get pulled into a culture war.

But I'll say this, we do a brand reputation poll at "Axios" that I help oversee every single year, and there is one through line, Hobby Lobby, Patagonia, those companies do well every single year. It's not about your politics, it's about consistency. Anytime you step out from what you actually stand for and your core values, you're going to get dinged for it. Nobody asked Cracker Barrel to change. So, when they unilaterally made

this shift, they got dinged for it. And it's a big, clear warning sign, a case study for other brands of how you have to be prepared, if you're going to make such a shift, either do a ton of polling and focus groups around it and beforehand, I'm sure they did, but clearly they missed this.

CORNISH: Yes.

FISCHER: And be prepared for backlash simply because, if no one's asking for change, it typically means they don't want it.

CORNISH: It's interesting thinking in the context of Target, which sort of like leaned so hard into its diversity initiatives, and then u-turned on that. Like you said, would they have taken the hit if they hadn't done that big switch?

I -- I have to admit, I was shocked at the level of backlash, in part because people were saying, oh, no, it's woke. And I was like, how did woke people get involved in this?

ABDUL: Right.

CORNISH: What was it about the CEO, the way she presented herself, like, what was it that drew that really direct kind of personal attack?

ABDUL: Well, I've been -- I was following this online. If you look at some of the influencers online who pushed these type of woke narratives, what they referenced is, is that the Cracker Barrel, at some point, supported LGBT and other, you know, type of cultural issues. But this is, you know, and I called them the "woke right," and they hate it, but I think this ended up, well, a bipartisan thing where people were like, whoa, whoa, wait, wait a minute, what's going on here? It ended up being a rallying cry for the woke right and many people who feel as if -- and you saw them online saying they're taking away our culture. This is about our culture. To me, I thought that it was a bad rebrand. I would have at least done the barrel with Cracker Barrel in the middle, not just take the guy off.

CORNISH: I like you offering some design options here. But, yes, it became a cultural conversation about, like, basically taking away the old south.

ABDUL: Yes.

CORNISH: Because it's also about the decor of the restaurants, right? That it looked kind of more like a generic modern mall than it did --

ABDUL: It's lighter. Yes.

CORNISH: You like the light? OK. Direct him. At -- at reply.

OK, tell me.

HAYS: But I -- but I also think when you listen to that interview by the CEO, she never once brought up the logo. She talked about the interior. She talked about the different things inside the store. But the -- the -- the brand is really what that logo is. And I think that's what people were having a reaction to.

But I agree with you, it's the same as Target. You -- you vary from your -- what you are -- stand for and what your -- what you believe and -- and your authenticity, you will get smacked by consumers.

CORNISH: OK, who has a fun group chat option I defer.

FISCHER: This is going to be a fun week kind of for me. So, YouTube this week has said that if they don't come to an agreement with Fox, they're going to black Fox out for over -- over eight million customers. This is coming ahead of college football season and the NFL.

Audie, these things happen every year.

CORNISH: They do. They do.

FISCHER: I cover blackout threats every year. But what's interesting is the chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, actually weighed in on this yesterday, saying, YouTube, Google, get a deal done. So, basically, favoring Fox. That is new. We don't typically have regulators stepping into these inter-market disputes.

CORNISH: Oh, interesting. OK.

Group chat?

ABDUL: So, I want people to know that on this issue of crime is that there are conversations being had -- I live in Ward Eight here in D.C. -- there are real conversations being had about what is the government's role and what is our role in solving crime. And so as much as you see people complain on this side or the other,

[07:00:03]

I want people to know that real conversations actually are being had in the community about this.

CORNISH: OK.

Last word to you.

HAYS: My group chat is much more fun. We were talking about Taylor Swift.

CORNISH: Of course. Of course.

HAYS: And on every single group chat. And we went down the rabbit hole, where the ring was made, where -- where are the -- where they posed right now, where are those flowers? So, that -- we were having fun yesterday with that.

CORNISH: Fair. You're not the only one. HAYS: No. Nope.

CORNISH: To survive the ta-nado, as I learned the name of it today.

Thanks to our group chat. Thank you for waking up with us. I'm Audie Cornish. And CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.