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CNN This Morning
Ukraine, Russia Launched Hundreds Of Drones, Dozens Of Missiles Overnight; Vigil For Charlie Kirk Held At Utah Valley University; Mudslides Damage Homes, Bury Roads And Cars In Southern California; Source: Kimmel Met With ABC Execs At His Lawyer's Office. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired September 20, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:40]
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Saturday, September 20th. I'm Danny Freeman, in for Victor Blackwell. Here is what's new this morning.
Russia launched a wave of fresh attacks on Ukraine overnight, hitting the country with ballistic and cruise missiles as well as hundreds of drones. We have a look at the damage and the response from neighboring countries.
Plus, there is new CNN reporting on Disney and ABC's move to pull Jimmy Kimmel show off the air. We'll tell you what we know about a meeting between Kimmel, his lawyers, and bosses, and what's going to happen to his team while the show is off the air.
Plus, the Trump administration is cracking down on a program that accepts highly skilled foreign workers. We'll tell you the industries that could be hit the hardest coming up.
Plus, cleanup is underway in parts of California after mudslides damaged homes, buried roads and cars, we're tracking the chances for more rain in that area coming up.
We begin here, "NEW THIS MORNING", we are getting our first look at damage after Russian attacks in Ukraine overnight. Ukraine says Russia launched almost 600 drones plus 40 missiles. Poland says it scrambled jets as the attacks got close to its border. And it says its ground- based air defense systems are ready.
Russian drones violated Polish airspace earlier this month too, prompting NATO allies to pledge to beef up defenses in the region.
CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau joins me now from Rome. Barbie, what's the significance of this latest attack?
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, you know what it means more than anything, is these hopes for a cease fire or even a meaningful negotiation seem even further away. These incursions into airspace over Estonia on Friday, which prompted Italian fighter jets to respond, and those over Poland this morning are incursions that Russia actually denies. But you've got NATO, you know, warship warplanes scrambling.
And anytime that's happening over Europe, obviously that is a great concern for European leaders. It's also a concern for U.S. President Donald Trump, who had this to say on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- jets entered Estonia's airspace today for 12 minutes. Do you see that as a threat to NATO?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I'm going to have to look at it. They are going to be briefing me in a short while. Well, I don't love it. I don't love it. I don't know when that happens. It could be big trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LATZA NADEAU: And you know, big trouble is something that has been worrying European leaders for quite some time. There has been a fear since February of 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, that the war would somehow spill over into these European countries, or that NATO would somehow get involved. And the fear right now is those -- that's coming true. And so, you've got leaders across Europe right now really, really in discussions about what they need to do and what NATO needs to do going forward. It's a worrying time here in Europe. Danny.
FREEMAN: Yes. Worrying time, indeed. All right. Barbie Latza Nadeau from Rome. Thank you so much for your reporting.
We have new details this morning emerging on the sudden suspension of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
Sources tell CNN the crew will be paid through the next week, but beyond that, the show's future still hangs in the balance.
Now, protesters gathered outside of ABC offices in New York and Los Angeles, Friday, to voice their support for the late-night host.
Demonstrators slammed ABC and Disney for suspending Kimmel following comments he made about Charlie Kirk's suspected killer. Now, Trump ramped up attacks on the media, Friday, calling negative coverage of him illegal. CNN's Brian Stelter has more.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey, there, yes. This whole week has been one long stress test of free speech rights in the United States. There has been a roiling debate about polarizing political commentary in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder.
And now, ABC's ongoing suspension of Jimmy Kimmel is a key part of that discussion. But this free speech debate is happening on other fronts as well. You know, free speech groups, free expression advocates, are also raising concerns about the Trump White House's warnings that it wants to target opposition groups.
And there are also alarm bells ringing about Trump's latest audacious lawsuit against the news outlet. This week, it was the New York Times that Trump sued, charging defamation.
On Friday, however, a judge threw out the suit, saying the complaint was way too long and promotional. Trump's legal team indicated that they will refile the lawsuit and try again.
[07:05:00]
But the main flash point right now involves Trump, ABC, and the FCC. That's the federal agency that oversees local T.V. station licensing. Trump keeps floating his ideas about pulling T.V. station licenses if they air coverage or content that he doesn't like. He has been clear that he wants some station licenses to be revoked.
In practice, it would be very difficult for the government to go ahead and do that, but Trump keeps saying that networks like ABC are too critical of him, and he had a telling exchange with ABC's Jon Karl about this on Friday. Watch what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I mean, your network wrote very badly about me, and they had to pay me $16 million. I wasn't right for that.
(CROSSTALK)
JONATHAN KARL, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS: But you think you have the right -- Brendan Carr has a right to take away the license?
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: No, I think Brendan Carr is --
I think Brendan Carr is a courageous person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STELTER: So, there is two things to note there. Number one, Trump gives a strong endorsement to his hand-picked FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the man who publicly urged ABC to take action against Kimmel hours before ABC did just that.
And number two, it's revealing that Trump said ABC had to pay him $16 million, because ABC did not have to pay Trump a single penny.
ABC chose to settle a lawsuit with Trump last December, when he was president-elect, ABC chose to settle that lawsuit to make it go away. It was a practical business decision, but one that was widely criticized at the time.
And now, many media critics have been making the argument that, that act of capitulation last December set the stage for other media companies to reach settlements with Trump. We've seen that happen at Paramount, also at Meta and X. It also perhaps emboldened Trump to turn the heat up even higher, resulting in the moment we are now in with Kimmel benched. So, on Friday, there were further protests outside Disney's offices, both in New York and in California. And around the edges, at least, those protests and possible boycotts, they are a concern because Disney tries to have a squeaky-clean all-American brand. You know, the company doesn't like to have a single piece of trash lingering on the ground at Disneyland, and now they have protesters outside the Disneyland gates having a rally for free speech.
So, I think the reality is, Disney has an incredibly sticky brand. It has tens of millions of subscribers to its streaming service. It's unlikely for the company to have a big hit to its financial bottom line because of this controversy, but the network does have a perception problem. You know, if you take a look at Trump's approval ratings, he does not have a majority of Americans behind him, it is very clear the average American does not agree with Trump on numerous issues and doesn't want the government to be bullying the American press into submission.
So, the appearance of caving to the president can do long term reputational harm, both for Disney and for other media companies that are criticized for allegedly bending the knee.
Brian Stelter, CNN.
FREEMAN: Brian, thank you for that.
Security will be on high alert at tomorrow's memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk. It will be in Kirk's home state of Arizona, and thousands are expected to attend. Plus, President Trump is slated to speak.
Back on Friday, students from Utah Valley University gathered for another vigil honoring Kirk, just nine days after he was assassinated on their campus. Students held candles in a darkened auditorium accompanied by piano music. Their message was one of peace and unity, as CNN's Nick Watt explains.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Danny, this was religious, this was somber, this was a memorial, but it was also built as a vigil for unity. The watch words: unity, peace, respect. The choir sang, Let There Be Peace on Earth. We heard a quote from St. Francis of Assisi, where there is hatred, let us sow love.
You know, here on the UVU campus, there was some division before Charlie Kirk got here, a lot of kids didn't want him to come. A lot of kids did. After his assassination, it was unity, unity in decrying his murder.
And this is a national story, obviously, this is also a local story. One woman I spoke to in their tears in her eyes, she said, you know, we were in a bubble. We were not used to this. They are now. And you know, the security of this vigil today speaks to that. No bags allowed in, metal detectors. We were not allowed to broadcast live from inside. Things have changed here.
As I mentioned, unity was one of the watch words. And I was chatting before the vigil with a guy in a MAGA cap, red tie, and he said to me, you know, we need to find out what our common ground is, and we also need to treat others as we want to be treated ourselves. Maybe the people of Utah, maybe this vigil, that's the lessons for the rest of us. Danny?
FREEMAN: Nick Watt, thank you very much for that report.
All right. To this now, we are following flight delays and cancelations at airports across Europe. Operations at several major European airports, including London's Heathrow, Brussels, and Berlin, have all been disrupted by a cyber-attack. Now, the attack is targeting a company that provides check in and boarding systems for several airlines. It's left some automated systems inoperable, allowing only manual check-in and boarding procedures.
[07:10:03]
Plus this, several people have been arrested after federal agents and protesters clashed outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Chicago's west suburbs.
Now, agents used tear gas and pepper balls multiple times against protesters who were blocking vehicles trying to leave a parking lot. The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild says federal agents arrested at least 10 protesters.
And Erik Siebert, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia is resigning. He made the announcement to staff yesterday, although, it's not exactly clear when that will take effect.
Siebert was under intense pressure from President Trump to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud. Siebert was nominated to the position by Trump back in May, and he had been serving as the interim since January.
Now, in a post on truth social early this morning, Trump claimed Siebert did not quit, but that he pulled his nomination after he received strong support from Democrats.
And the Trump administration is trying to make it even more expensive for companies to hire international workers. President Trump signed an executive action on Friday, which would impose $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas. Now, if it survives legal challenges, the fee would be a steep increase from current base filing fees of a few hundred dollars. The administration says this is all part of their effort to curb what they see is overuse of the program.
And, of course, this is just the latest in a series of efforts from the administration to crack down on immigration and place limits on the types of foreigners allowed into the country. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Trump taking a number of executive actions on immigration today, including imposing a new fee on H-1B visas, as well as creating what they are calling a gold card immigration program, or pathway. So, starting with those H-1B visas, which are essentially visas that allow companies to hire foreign workers for a minimal or used to be a minimal fee that have specialty skillsets that they couldn't potentially get in the United States. Now, that fee is going to be for an application waiver, $100,000.
Now, this is an enormous increase in what these applications are going to cost for these employers. So, there is two things going on here. One, we had heard from a number of employers who said it was growing increasingly hard to actually get these H-1B visas; this likely will make it harder.
But two, you see the administration here trying to do two things. One of them is get companies to essentially say that the person that they are hiring is so good and so unique, they could not be find -- found in the United States, and they are willing to pay $100,000 for that person to come into the country.
The other thing to keep in mind here is the companies that generally use these H-1B visas, they are likely to be able to pay that kind of fee. It's usually tech companies or computer companies who have said that they need this kind of foreign skillset that is not necessarily something they can find in a U.S. job pool.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD LUTNICK, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: The whole idea is, no more will these big tech companies or other big companies train foreign workers. They have to pay the government $100,000, then they have to pay the employee. So, it's just non-economic. If you are going to train somebody, you're going to train one of the recent graduates from one of the great universities across our land, train Americans, stop bringing in people to take our jobs. That's the policy here. $100,000 a year for H-1B visas, and all of the big companies are on board.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, when it comes to this gold card program, this is something that President Trump has talked about before. So, again, essentially an expedited visa process for those who are willing to "invest" in America $1 million. And some of the thinking behind this from administration officials is this idea that if you are willing to put that much into the United States, you are going to grow roots here. You might build a company here, you might then hire and create new jobs here, if you are putting that kind of investment into the United States.
Of course, though, as we hear from these administration officials saying that it's only going to bring the top of the top into the country, it's also clearly only going to bring those who can afford it, so, the wealthiest foreign workers into the country.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
FREEMAN: Kristen Holmes, thank you very much, as always. Still ahead, CDC advisers have stepped back from recommending the COVID vaccine. Now, they are saying it's your choice. We'll tell you what that could mean for your health. Plus, a tale of two economies. Why millions of Americans are struggling while Wall Street nears records highs.
Plus, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IAN JOHNSON, HOMEOWNER: It's hard. I worked hard for all this, and it's gone Simple as that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: Families look through what's left of their homes after massive mud slides swept through parts of Southern California.
[07:15:03]
We will take a look at the damage coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FREEMAN: A vaccine advisory panel voted Friday to move away from a broad recommendation for the COVID-19 vaccine. But President Donald Trump is defending the shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[07:20:01]
TRUMP: Operation Warp Speed, it was -- just, according to just about everybody, was one of the greatest things that any president has ever done in this country. So, we're very proud of it. I'm very proud of it. But I had the vaccine, I was very happy with it. Here I am, right? Here I am.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, this is --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: Now, that panel decided to recommend that anyone can still get the shot, but they must talk to their doctor first. And it's not the only major decision made at their whirlwind two-day session.
CNN's Meg Tirrell explains what more could change.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This two-day meeting concluded with a vote, essentially to soften the recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination, to one that for everyone, they say should be based on individual decision making. Now, that essentially leaves the decision up to the person in consultation with a health care provider.
They further emphasize that for people under the age of 65, they say that the risk benefit profile should be emphasized that it's most favorable for people who are at an increased risk of severe COVID-19. They also voted on whether the covid 19 vaccine should require a prescription. That was a very close vote, six to six, and the chair of the committee actually had to break the vote, and he voted against that.
And some of the concerns among committee members who voted against, were that, that could make access to the vaccine more difficult. We should also note that the Department of Health and Human Services says that this vote would provide for insurance coverage of the vaccine.
We also know from private health insurers that they have said they will cover COVID shots at least through 2026.
Now, we should also note there were two other vaccines considered through the course of this meeting, the hepatitis B vaccine, and specifically the dose of the vaccine administered at birth to prevent chronic infection with that virus. That was a pretty controversial vote, and the committee had discussed pushing it back to at least age one month for babies whose moms test negative for hepatitis B.
Ultimately, they decided to delay that vote, because there were some disagreements on what the vote should be. And so, we don't know exactly when or if they might revisit that.
There also was a change to the recommendation for the measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox vaccine. It's offered as a combination of all four, and they changed the recommendation to say that for kids under the age of four, typically you get your first dose around a year of age, they said that you should get the chicken pox vaccine separately. Essentially, that's because of a small but increased risk of febrile seizures, which doctors say have not shown to -- been shown to have long term health consequences, but the people on the committee said they wanted to reduce that risk, and some of the reasoning, they said, were because they thought that might reduce vaccine hesitancy.
We should also note that some of the criticisms of this were that this could potentially take away from parent choice.
So, that wraps up this meeting. We'll see how the CDC adopts these recommendations, because that is the next step.
FREEMAN: Meg Tirrell, thank you very much for that reporting. Staying on health right now, President Trump says his administration is prepared to make a major announcement concerning autism. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think we're going to have something very, very big coming up soon on autism. Autism is totally out of control. And one of the biggest, one of the most important things that, in my opinion, I had to do is to see what's going on with autism. It's out of control. Autism out of control. And I think we maybe have the reason why.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FREEMAN: Now, the president also defended his appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health and human services secretary. Kennedy has promoted debunked claims about both vaccines and autism. Research has shown no link between the two.
All right, to weather now, sudden heavy rain in Southern California unleashed mudslides that just plowed into homes and trapped drivers for hours. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
I. JOHNSON: There is nothing I could do. I got swept and pinned against the door with a log in the couch, and I was stuck against the door, screaming for my friend to come help me, but he was screaming because he was stuck on the side of the house getting swept away.
AMY JOHNSON, HOMEOWNER: I'm probably most thankful because my kids weren't here. Sad my kids were here. I think it would be a totally different story. Thankful that my husband made it out and I'm not planning funerals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: According to the fire district, authorities rescued 10 people who were stranded on State Route 38 near the San Bernardino National Forest. And in San Bernardino County, a 2-year-old boy drowned after his family's vehicle was swept off the road by flood waters. The boy's father was separated from his son as they were both swept away by the water, and officials say the father was rescued. The boy's body, though, was found on Friday.
County damage assessment teams are working to evaluate the number of buildings damaged and the extent of property loss from these mud sites. But I mean, it's just so intense, you see right there.
With me now for more on this is CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
Allison, I mean, again, the video of those mudslides is so scary, and these cars are just getting overtaken.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. And the key thing was, when you look at the total amount of rain, it wasn't that high, it's just that it all came in such a rapid, very fast amount of time. And that's unfortunate what caused issues, and you ended up seeing video like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[07:25:03]
CHINCHAR (voice over): Again, take a look at this. All of this water just rushing down, and not just in these, some of these valleys, you also had it rushing into roads, into homes, and businesses, all of that stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHINCHAR: The other key thing too, though, is that all of this moisture came from a tropical system. It was the remnants of Tropical Storm Marco that you can see there, kind of sliding up the coast. Now, eventually, it fell apart, but all of the moisture stayed there, and it ended up surging into not just portions of Southern California, but also neighboring states like Arizona and Nevada, and that's unfortunately, what led to a lot of the issues that we had.
Now, here is a look. Again, you can kind of see that rain. Now, one thing to note is that today is expected to be dry. This will be very beneficial for a lot of those crews that are trying to clean up and assess a lot of the damage that has taken place. But notice, once we get into Sunday, especially Sunday afternoon, you've got another surge of rain that is going to be coming back into this area of Southern California, and also even into Arizona, especially as we spread into the day on Monday, like early and into midday on Monday.
Because of this, we do have the potential for excessive rainfall. So, you've got a level one out of four risk for portions of Southern California as well as Arizona. Again, this is for Sunday, but it's very possible that we could see a lot of these very same areas, Danny, end up being under the same risk yet again on Monday, because we are still anticipating more of that moisture to surge back into those areas as well.
FREEMAN: Yes. And that moisture comes into some of these dry areas. I mean, it's just -- it's scary stuff over there. Thanks, Allison. Appreciate you.
All right, still to come, Republican Senator Ted Cruz is lashing out at the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, calling his recent comments, "unbelievably dangerous", saying he is using mafioso tactics.
Plus, the father and son reunion at last night's Pittsburgh Pirates game. We'll tell you about the moment 19 years in the making. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:31:13]
FREEMAN: Critics are raising the alarm about First Amendment protections following Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show being pulled from the air. Reactions from lawmakers, though, are mostly split along party lines. But, now, Republican Senator Ted Cruz is denouncing the head of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, for his threats against ABC. Cruz, even likened Carr to a mob boss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Look, look, I like Brendan Carr. He is a good guy. He is the chairman of the FCC. I work closely with him. There is dangerous as hell. He says, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CRUZ: And I got to say, that's right out of goodfellas. That's right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going nice bar you have here. It would be a shame if something happened to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: Now, President Trump says he disagrees with Cruz's criticism of the FCC and called Carr a patriot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think Brendan Carr is a great American patriot. So, I disagree with Ted Cruz on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: Joining me now, Rick Edmonds, media business analyst with Poynter Institute.
Rick, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
Let's take a step back for a moment. You co-wrote a column four Poynter, in which you called Kimmel's suspension stunning and disturbing. Can you just explain why you feel that way?
RICK EDMONDS, SENIOR MEDIA BUSINESS ANALYST AT THE POYNTER INSTITUTE: Sure. I think that it -- the event itself was bad. That's disproportionate to take a kind of ill-considered comment and cancel the show. I think that comedians are a part of journalism, their commentary, their satire, is a sort of form of reporting and judgment about what can be said. The more disturbing part, though, is as Senator Cruz suggesting this is really a kind of a threat. And, you know, like a protection racket, you need to pay tribute and watch what you say, or you'll be in trouble.
And there is so many different threats, particularly from the administration directly, it's analogous, I think, to the university situation that you better watch out and watch your step or more troubles coming.
FREEMAN: Rick, you know, when I first heard about the story, I was initially as a person who came from local news, I was thinking just all about these affiliates. Nexstar, Sinclair, all right, two media companies that own several ABC affiliates. Part of the reason, ABC ultimately pulled Kimmel off the air. Can you explain what is the significance of these massive affiliate companies weighing in?
EDMONDS: Sure. They have skin in the game, in particular, because they are trying to merge. There have been a number of mergers, there will be more a couple in process.
So, the sort of hostile position from the FCC, one of their biggest regulator is a real problem. And so, they are -- they are kind of tiptoeing to not lose favor damage themselves as regulatory issues come up. FREEMAN: Rick, do you see this as a -- listen, we've been watching these local media companies just absorb littler ones -- absorb little ones, year by year by year. And really, these massive companies are getting more powerful.
Do you see this as a good thing? I mean, some of the -- you know, your local station might not have had the call to air Kimmel or not, but the company really was in charge here. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
EDMONDS: Well, I think it carries with it, the dangers of too much concentration, which is true in other industries. It's also kind of a natural dynamic in the way our capitalism works.
[07:35:01]
Big companies that want to get bigger and roll up to smaller companies. But sure, it puts power in their hands. Sinclair, one of the biggest ones, is willing to sort of mandate certain kinds of local coverage. That's not something that we're used to from back in the day.
So, yes. They can be -- they can be intimidated, and it seems as if they have been here.
FREEMAN: Now those same affiliates are demanding that Kimmel apologize and donate money to Turning Point USA, which is Kirk's political organization. Just curious, how likely do you think something like that is?
EDMONDS: Well, I can't say for sure that --
That seems a fairly drastic demand. You know, it's principle of journalism that we don't -- we don't make big donations or affiliations, and we try to preserve independence. That's incredibly important value. So, donating to admittedly extremely partisan cause, I think, it's unpalatable. I don't know for sure that under the circumstances, that line is going to hold.
FREEMAN: Well, again, I think we're going to be talking to you more, because this story clearly is not over, and the influence of these bigger local affiliate companies clearly is just growing.
Rick Edmonds, thank you so much for your time this morning. Really do appreciate it.
EDMONDS: Thank you, Dan.
FREEMAN: All right. Still ahead, lower interest rates near record closes on Wall Street. All signs of a strong economy. So, why are so many Americans still struggling? We are looking for the answers coming up after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:41:27] FREEMAN: The Federal Reserve made its long-awaited decision on interest rates this week. The Fed decided to lower the federal funds rate by a quarter point. That was widely expected. But many people sitting on the sidelines when it comes to buying or refinancing a home took note of mortgage rates.
The 30-year-fixed mortgage rate dropped to 6.26 percent. That's the fourth consecutive weekly drop. It's also the lowest rate in nearly a year. And still, yet, there are growing concerns about tariffs and other Trump policies and their impact on prices of everyday essentials.
Let's discuss this all with nationally syndicated personal finance columnist Terry Savage. She is also the author of "The Savage Truth on Money."
Good morning, Terry, thank you so much for being here with us. I have so many questions for you, but let's start here.
(CROSSTALK)
TERRY SAVAGE, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST: OK. All right.
FREEMAN: OK. The fed -- the fed did the thing. Everyone's been waiting for and talking about for months now, interest rates were lowered. What does this mean for the regular consumer?
SAVAGE: Well, it depends on which side of the aisle you're on. Are you a borrower or a lender? The Fed, we hear so much about the power of the Fed that basically they set short term interest rates. Short term interest rates like overnight rates that banks lend to each other.
They actually have less influence on longer term rates. You know, the United States has borrowed trillions, like about $38 trillion that's our national debt, and we finance it by selling short term IOUs and longer terms Treasury notes and bonds, and the rates on those are set in the bond market, and rates on short term notes, interest rates will drop. Savers are going to see their C.D. rate yields drop when they come to renew treasury bills are a little bit lower, under four percent now. But funny thing happened on the way.
A year ago, when the Fed cut rates long -- short term rates by a full percentage point, mortgage rates went up by a percent. And just this week, although, short term rates have dropped a bit, longer term rates inched up in the last two days. That's what sets mortgage rates.
So, mortgage rates dropped in anticipation, we're down about six and a quarter percent on a 30-year mortgage. They may not drop much further. If the rest of the world says, wait, there could be inflation in the United States. We don't want to lend at low rates. We are worried about that.
FREEMAN: All right. Well, Terry, listen, I'm one of those millennials who has been salivating for a while trying to buy a home. But, you know, I feel like I and many others have been told, wait, wait, wait, mortgage rates are high, et cetera. What's your take right now? Is it more feasible at the least, or even the right move today to try and buy a home?
SAVAGE: Oh, sure, it absolutely is, if you are securing your job. And that's the other thing weighing on the mortgage market. There is a lack of supply, and all those people that got their mortgages at three percent a few years back, don't want to sell, because if they move, they will have to pay over six for a new mortgage. That gap is narrowing now.
But this, historically, six and a quarter percent is not high. There was a time when mortgage rates were 13 and 14 percent back in the early '80s, and people still bought homes and waited for rates to drop and refinance.
So, if you're comfortable and secure in your job, which is something many people are not these days, then, you should go out and grab the six and a quarter, worst comes to worst rates drop, you are just refinanced.
FREEMAN: All right. That's good news. I like that, Terry, appreciate that.
Tell me, though, does this economic news of the week mean that prices may start going down as well for say, everyday things like at the grocery store?
SAVAGE: Do not hold your breath. First of all, a lot of --
(CROSSTALK)
[07:45:02]
FREEMAN: You had me happy for a minute there, Terry.
SAVAGE: I know. I know, I'm sorry about that. But think of all the things we import. In fact, I just went to my coffee, and I buy those K cups, I am not embarrassed to admit. And I usually look for them at discount stores where they are like, $0.51 a cup. I mean, at Walmart, it was $1.40 something, you know, the unit price.
Stuff we import went up and is staying up because the tariffs continue to exist. So, whether prices continue to rise depends on the items we're importing. In the winter, we'll see more of it, because we import fruits and vegetables from Mexico and so forth. But I don't think you're going to see prices drop, not for a long time, and it would probably only happen if we had a terrible recession and people stopped buying pricier things.
So, while you can hope for prices to level off, that's what the Fed is hoping for, they are still rising around three percent a year from very high levels that's all cumulative. People who are on fixed incomes are finding it very tough at the grocery store.
FREEMAN: Terry, what about consumer goods? And we're focused on the grocery store for a moment there. But what about, you know, things, clothing, furniture? Is there -- is there a sector that you're looking at where prices may fall?
SAVAGE: I don't think prices are falling. The question is, will they level up? And a matter of fact, even the Fed chairman said, we don't know, with all the tariffs that have been paid a trillion dollars collected by the government already, if that's already been passed on to consumers.
FREEMAN: Right.
SAVAGE: Right now, it looks like the consumer is strong and still spending. But wait, where are they spending? Credit card debt is at an all-time high, and that doesn't even account for all these buy now, pay later. That's not included in credit card debt. You know, four easy payments. Well, I'll do it once. Well, no, I'll do it for this. And pretty soon those payments start overlapping. So, consumers are carrying a record amount of debt. They are two thirds of the economy. We are coming up on the holiday season. Higher prices exist. May go higher as more tariffs get passed through. It's going to be a very tricky season for retailers figuring out how much they can raise prices and for consumers how much more they can charge.
FREEMAN: All right. Well, a lot to look forward to, and still a very developing story. Terry Savage, appreciate your time this morning. Thanks.
SAVAGE: Thank you, Dan.
FREEMAN: All right. Coming up, in "Sports" WNBA playoff history as the mercury eliminate defending champions, Liberty. Andy Scholes has your highlights.
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[07:51:55]
FREEMAN: During this time of divisiveness and division, there are two men in South Carolina, one black and one white who decided to reach across the racial divide and take a deep dive into their shared history. Here is a sneak peek of a special from CNN Sara Sidner called "SIMRIL'S: A FAMILY IN BLACK AND WHITE".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, the name of this church is --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allison Creek, Presbyterian Church, was founded in 1854 right before the Civil War.
SIDNER: Wow. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Simril family were among the founders.
Allison Creek was the home church for black and white symbols during slavery in the early days of reconstruction.
SIDNER: Som both slaves and slave owners would come together to church. Now, they didn't actually come together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
SIDNER: And the reason why I am where I am, which is up here on a balcony, is because this is where the slaves had to be, right?
It makes me really sad. Like, it's heavy being up here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: An all-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER: THE SIMRILL'S: A FAMILY IN BLACK AND WHITE" airs tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.
All right, pitcher Clayton Kershaw, making his final regular season start at Dodger Stadium in what was an emotional night in L.A.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes.
FREEMAN: CNN's Andy Scholes joins me now. I loved watching that last night.
SCHOLES: I am so good.
FREEMAN: Yes.
SCHOLES: You know, Kershaw now said after the postseason, he is, in fact, going to retire. And, you know, he played all 18 seasons of his career there with the Dodgers. Is the first ballot Hall of Famer won three Cy Young, just so many records, and last night, made that final regular season start at Dodger Stadium.
Sold out crowd on hand to see it in the fifth inning. He gets Rafael Devers looking for the strikeout, and then, Dave Roberts, well, he makes his way to the mound. Kershaw hugging all of his teammates, and he motioned to the crowd, giving him a hug as he left, give it -- as they gave him a big old standing ovation.
His wife there watching from the stands, just in tears. It was -- it was an awesome home exit for one of the best pitchers to ever play the game. The Dodgers, they would go on to win this 163 to clinch a playoff spot. But here was Kershaw afterwards on this special night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAYTON KERSHAW, PITCHER, LOS ANGELES DODGERS: It was such a special night. It's such a special night.
Just everybody here -- yes. I can't even put into words how special tonight was to me. This crowd, this group of fans, has been with me from the very beginning. Yes, and just thank you guys. Thank you, guys so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP) Meanwhile, in Houston, the Mariners and Astros playing a huge series that will likely decide the AL West, and it was Seattle getting four solo home runs on the night. And their ace Bryan Woo, he pitched five shutout innings, but he did leave the game with pectoral tightness. That's one to watch.
[07:55:00]
Now, final ended up being 4-0 Seattle. They now have a one game lead in the division, with eight games left to go.
Elsewhere, we will have a new WNBA champion this season as the reigning champs New York Liberty knocked out last night by the Mercury.
Alyssa Thomas with the first 20-point triple double in playoff history. She had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. And it was Kahleah Copper with this huge bucket in the final minute to put the game away. Mercury wins 79-73 to take the series. They now move on to face the links in the semifinals.
All right. It's week for the college football season. We got some good ranked matchups on the schedule today. 16th ranked Utah, it's going to host. 17th ranked Texas Tech. That's at noon, Eastern Auburn at Oklahoma at 3:30 this afternoon. And tonight, two good ones, Florida at fourth ranked Miami, and you got 19th ranked Indiana hosting ninth ranked Illinois.
All right. Finally, back to baseball. So, 19 years ago, four-year-old Jacob Wilson threw out the first pitch to his dad, Jack, who played shortstop for the pirates at the time. Well, fast forward to last night in Pittsburgh. They recreated the first pitch, but now it was dad throwing it to Jacob.
Jacob having an incredible rookie season for the A's. That 317, with 13 home runs. But Danny, how proud must dad have been in that moment to be able to recreate it, and now his son is starring in the big leagues.
FREEMAN: That's like every like American father son dream.
SCHOLES: My dreams. But I did not play in the big leagues, it's still my dream.
FREEMAN: Yes, exactly. That's a good -- and have you ever been to the Pirates Stadium?
SCHOLES: I've been outside. Beautiful, right?
FREEMAN: Yes, it's great. Great, just so pretty. And just -- I love that. That's where that moment was able to happen to.
SCHOLES: Yes.
FREEMAN: Andy Scholes, thanks, man. Good to see you. Appreciate it. All right. Coming up in the next hour of CNN THIS MORNING. A cyber- attack disrupting operations at airports across Europe. We'll take a look at the cancelations and delays. Stay with us.
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