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CNN This Morning
Senate Democrats Block GOP-Led Bill To Pay Federal Workers; Flight Cuts, Cancellations Grow As Government Shutdown Drags On; United States Airstrike On Suspected Drug Boat Kills Three In Caribbean; Americans Feeling Worse About Economy As Shutdown Drags On; Russian Double-Amputee Veteran Pulls 58-Ton Yacht; Victor Wembanyama Dunks On Kevin Durant In Texas Showdown. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired November 08, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:00:22]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: You made it. You made it to the weekend. Saturday, November 8. I'm glad you're here with me. I'm Victor Blackwell.
This is CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND. And here is what's happening today.
The Senate will hold a rare Saturday session as it tries to find a way forward to reopen the government. But with both sides dug in. there is little hope that a deal will be hammered out today. We'll tell you what to expect.
Also, new this morning, the Supreme Court has now paused a ruling ordering the Trump administration to fully cover SNAP benefits. We'll tell you the next steps in that case.
And it is shaping up to be another busy day at America's airport. Live look here at Atlanta's airport. It's one of many already seeing cancelations and delays today.
The transportation secretary says it could get worse. Plus, no end in sight to the bitter dispute between Disney and YouTube T.V. So, this -- the cord cutters have to find another way to watch some of the biggest games in college football today. Andy Scholes, break down what's going on. That's coming up.
We begin this hour on Capitol Hill, and senators are working through the weekend as the government shutdown approaches its seventh week. Now, on Friday, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican bill to pay federal workers during the shutdown, another sign that this record long stalemate on Capitol Hill is not close to ending.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): Federal workers have now gone without pay for more than a month, including the people in this building.
Will the far left not be satisfied until federal workers and military families are getting their Thanksgiving dinner from a food bank? Because that's where we're headed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Now, for more on the stalemate and the latest attempt by some Democrats to end the shutdown, here is CNN's Arlette Saenz.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Negotiations to end the government shutdown were deadlocked heading into the weekend, as Democrats and Republicans still have yet to find an agreement to reopen the government. Now, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, presented a democratic counter proposal to what Republicans have been talking about in recent days. He said that Democrats are united and ready to reopen the government if Republicans were to commit to a one- year extension of the expiring Obamacare subsidies.
But any Republican who has talked about extending these subsidies has always said that there needs to be reforms to the program, so that proposal really was a non-starter when it hit Republicans up here on Capitol Hill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that this is something that his caucus would not be able to move forward with, and that Democrats need to first reopen the government, and then, the negotiations can begin on those Obamacare subsidies.
But many Democrats are feeling emboldened in this moment, after their wins in places across the country where multiple Democratic candidates were able to win in Tuesday night's elections, they feel that those elections sent a message from voters that they want their democratic leaders to continue to put up a fight up here on Capitol Hill.
Now, there is a lot of big questions about how exactly this will all play out in the coming days. President Trump posted on social media that he thinks senators should stay in session over the weekend until they can reopen the government, but it's unclear if they do stay in session, what exactly they will be voting on, and if there is any forward movement on efforts to reopen the government.
Now, on Friday night, the Senate did hold a first procedural vote on a bill from Republican Senator Ron Johnson to pay federal workers during this shutdown. That bill failed to advance. Some Democrats have expressed concerns that it might not cover all furloughed workers in that bill text. So, that's just one element that's been playing out as many across the country are really starting to feel the pressure points and the pain of this government shutdown as it is now dragged on.
And right now, it does not appear that Republicans and Democrats can get on the same page in the immediate future to end this shutdown, guaranteeing that it will extend into next week, and potentially even longer. Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.
BLACKWELL: And be sure to tune in to "FIRST OF ALL", next hour. I'll be joined by Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. That's at 8:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. You can also stream the show on the CNN app. 42 million people who depend on government assistance to help feed themselves and their families will have to wait even longer to get help. That's because the Supreme Court paused a lower court ruling that ordered the Trump administration to immediately pay their full SNAP benefits in November.
[07:05:02]
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued that temporary pause to allow an appeals court additional time to review the case. And that means, for now, the administration will not have to immediately honor that lower court's ruling to transfer the $4 billion to the Food Assistance Program.
It also means that millions of Americans who rely on SNAP are in danger of going hungry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was born with a mild form of cerebral palsy, so, I've been disabled since birth. So, I rely on food stamps and social security to survive.
I've been struggling. It's been really hard. I've literally been eating spaghetti for four days because it's all I have in my apartment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Millions of Americans flying this morning are running into growing travel trouble as the government shutdown drags on. Live look at Houston's airport now. Both of that city's airports are among the list that is seeing delays and cancelations. The travelers in other major cities also are seeing the impact.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRYSTAL WHITAKE, TRAVELER: Had a connection in Dallas, and that's where things started to go sideways. Spent all day in the airport yesterday. And by the time I got to Dallas, there were no flights to Orlando. So, the airline did give me a voucher for a hotel and an Uber and a meal.
I have a -- international flight for Thanksgiving, and I'm nervous about it. So, I'm going to go try to see make sure all the measures are in place that I can still take that flight, or I'll reconsider, because I don't want to get stuck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So far today, more than 800 flights are delayed, and nearly 1,000 have been canceled across the country.
Now, The FAA has reduced flights at 40 airports nationwide to ease pressure on air traffic controllers working without pay, some have called out causing staffing shortages, and if the shutdown stretches into next week, the transportation department says that flight cancelations could rise another 10 percent
CNN's Jason Carroll reports from Newark International Airport.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Newark International Airport, one of 40 airports across the country impacted by all of this. We've been speaking to passengers, obviously, a number of them very upset over what's been going on, frustrated over their travel.
Some of those who made it here to the airport, their flights were so severely delayed, they just gave up. Others, their flights were outright canceled. We've been speaking to people who decided to just give up on airline travel altogether. This go around and to drive to their destinations.
One thing is abundantly clear, the longer that this all drags on, the more impatient people are going to become.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN SOLKA, TRAVELER: I'm renting a car. I have to be back in Utah by Tuesday, and from what I hear with the counters, the airline counters and TSA, they literally said to me, if I were you, I wouldn't travel over the next three days.
JAY CURLEY, TRAVELER: They said, yes, you're still going to be flying out at 10:00. Well, of course, 10:00 came and ran --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 10 -- this is 10:00 (INAUDIBLE).
CURLEY: 10:00 at night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
CURLEY: And then, they said, cancel flight.
CINDY CURLEY, TRAVELER: But it wasn't even on the board, and we just went to an agent, and they looked it up, and they said, Nope, that's canceled too. Of course, the whole board, there were so many cancelations. So, we are going to just rent a car and drive.
J. CURLEY: So, well, we should ended getting a hotel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, drive from -- drive from where?
C. CURLEY: Here.
J. CURLEY: From here to Wilmington, North Carolina.
People are really hurting out here. And it's not just the traveling public, but it's affecting the whole economy, and you people are to blame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Obviously, the "you people" directed at lawmakers. The feeling is that they are simply not doing enough to end this shutdown, and everyday people are being affected by it.
Jason Carroll, CNN, Newark International Airport.
BLACKWELL: Jason, thank you very much.
Joining me now, CNN transportation analyst Mary Schiavo. Mary, good morning to you.
All right, so let's start with the --
(CROSSTALK)
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Good morning.
BLACKWELL: The percentage of the cuts, because there are some who call these arbitrary. Even the secretary says that this is art, not science.
So, when it comes to the for percent, then, escalated at 10 percent -- maybe 20 percent. Do you see any politics here? How are we to understand why the severity of the cuts?
SCHIAVO: Well, there is politics, of course, in the shutdown and not paying federal workers. But the problem is the unknowing and the uncertainty, because the Secretary is right, it is an art. So, what occurs is each FAA facility has a minimum staffing level. They have to have this in place or regulatory they cannot operate. You know, it's not discretionary. And so, if those different facilities go down on any certain day can literally cause chaos across the country.
So, by doing this across the board, cut, and, you know, basically it's going to be up to the airlines to get within these flight allowances. They hope to avoid this wholesale shutdown of certain systems by reducing the pressures on the controllers in the system.
[07:10:04]
That means putting more space between airplanes.
But, you know, you have to check with your own airline. And I checked this morning. There are -- there are various places you can check. The department -- the government has a web site, FlightAware, and places like that.
So, the cancelations and delays are still under 10 percent. Some airlines have only one percent. It varies airline by airline, and so, do the amenities.
The one traveler said, for example, that she got a hotel room. Well, that depends upon your airline. So, you have to check your airline's web site. And it's the fact that every traveler, every airline, every airport is different. That's what's so chaotic, and that's because that's how the system works.
We have allowed the airlines to set their own schedules, and the FAA facilities equipment are so old that it varies, literally, tower by tower and TRACON by TRACON, and that's why it's such a mishmash.
BLACKWELL: Mary, help me understand this. Again, when I get on a plane, all I do is sit down and put my seat belt on. So, if I'm going in the wrong direction, guide me where I need to be.
But if it's just a general thinning of the air traffic, and the airlines are not coordinating the flights, they are eliminating with the schedules of the towers, is that enough to eliminate the risk? It's not as if they are both saying no departures before 7:00 and then bringing everything into a time where they have concentrated staffing and the flights.
Is that eliminating the risk?
SCHIAVO: Well, the safety factor, the safeguarding safety, comes in and putting additional air space between the planes. And so, on the ground, it's a mess. But in the air, the whole idea is, for example, rather than being three miles and a thousand feet apart, which is kind of the, you know, the variable that -- the general variable, they might expand that to 10 miles and 2,000 feet.
What they have got to do is give those controllers, who are overworked, and they were overworked before the shutdowns came, but they have got to put more space in the planes, and that's what they are doing it because they are so short staffed.
So, on the ground, yes, it's a big mash. And everybody in the airport is in a mosh pit, practically. But in the air, the idea is to space the planes apart. So, yes, this, believe it or not, is bringing or trying to maintain safety.
BLACKWELL: OK. So, last thing here before we go. What we have been told is that even after the government reopens and airlines are allowed to return to their full schedule, it won't immediately recover. And so, have we hit the point because everybody is looking two weeks down the line through the week of Thanksgiving? Have we hit the point where the decisions today, the reductions in air travel today, will impact what happens in two weeks, even if they get make a deal sometime early next week.
SCHIAVO: Well, yes, at this point, I think it will, because we have already seen people quitting, you know, retiring, resigning. So, the shortage that we had before the shutdown now is increased. But, you know, I've been when I was a federal employee, I'm Inspector General, I went through almost a dozen shutdowns, and literally, the day after the shutdown ends, people back ready to go. You know, most people in the federal government just want to do their job, so, I think it's possible to recover by Thanksgiving.
But there is one more variable, and that's the weather. And some bad weather is coming, and that always messes up the system.
So, if we get them back to work, you know, within the next week, yes, Thanksgiving can go off as hopefully everyone plans.
BLACKWELL: Now, you add the weather to the conversation. Bright in the morning.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHIAVO: That's right.
BLACKWELL: Mary Schiavo, thanks so much -- yes.
SCHIAVO: Coming.
BLACKWELL: Thanks so much for the expertise.
All right. "THIS MORNING'S HEADLINES" now, FedEx has decided to ground its fleet of M.D.-11 planes, after the deadly UPS crash in Kentucky. FedEx says that the move is being done out of an abundance of caution.
In the meantime, three people are now reported missing from the crash site. So far, officials say at least 14 people have died. The UPS cargo plane crashed into an auto parts and recycling plant soon after taking off from a nearby airport. This was Tuesday. Kentucky officials say the three members of the crew on board the M.D.-11 plane are believed to be dead.
Israel has identified the remains of a deceased hostage received from Hamas yesterday. The IDF confirmed that the remains belonged to Command Sergeant Major Leo Ru Dayev. The Israeli military says that Hamas took Ru Dayev's body after he was killed during the October 7h attack in 2023. This is the fourth exchange of remains this week. The bodies of five deceased hostages are still in Gaza.
The return of remains of deceased hostages is a key condition outlined in the first phase of the U.S. brokered cease fire agreement.
[07:15:04]
Fox Sports has fired NFL analyst Mark Sanchez and replaced him with Drew Brees. A spokesperson confirmed the firing to the Associated Press yesterday. Former Jets quarterback was let go after being charged with felony battery last month in Indianapolis. He was in town covering the Colts-Raiders game, and police say he was stabbed by a truck driver outside a hotel in a dispute over parking. Sanchez has been off the air since that incident. The truck driver is suing Sanchez and Fox Sports.
This weekend, a rush of arctic air is moving in, bringing in deep freeze to more than two dozen states, and temperatures will drop below normal, with some areas seeing their first snow of the season.
CNN meteorologist Chris Warren joins us now. Chris, Mary just mentioned weather is coming.
CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
BLACKWELL: And maybe the snow isn't a big deal, but we were getting so comfortable with the warm temperatures this week.
WARREN: I know, and we have one more day for most areas. But you know what, Victor? You mentioned it that arctic air. The air is coming from the Arctic.
BLACKWELL: OK. Well, what else would you expect?
WARREN: And it's cold up there, right?
Yes, right.
WARREN: It's cold in the Arctic now that air modifies on its way down, and regardless of how much it modifies, it's going to get very, very cold here in the coming days.
Here is that bumpy weather we're expecting over the next couple of days, including today, with some cold fronts in the eastern half of the U.S. This is also where early next week, as far as the cold goes record temperatures expected to be set for several locations.
This is where things are starting out. This morning, current temperatures as cold as we can find in most areas here in the big cities, Minneapolis, 32 degrees, still in the 50s and 60s in the southeast right now, warming up to the 70s and even 80s today. But by Monday, the low temperature will be in the 20s and 30s from Cincinnati to Atlanta and New Orleans. So, it is that arctic air that's coming down through Canada in oozing down here into the U.S., all the way down to the Gulf Coast and into Florida, which is also going to be quite chilly.
So, here are the highest today. Still, the yellow and the orange on the map, that's the 70s, that's the 80s, the blue, that's the cold. And we are going to watch that start to come down even more so tomorrow. Here is Sunday, the high-temperature in Nashville, 49. still 20 degrees warmer in Atlanta, it's 69.
But then, by Monday, totally different deal. The high-temperature, Victor in Atlanta, 40 degrees, 39 for a high in Nashville.
BLACKWELL: For a high. Chris, thank you. We'll be ready.
Still ahead, the U.S. has launched more strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean. How Venezuelans are reacting now to those attacks off their coast?
Plus, college football fans are caught in the middle of Disney's dispute with YouTube T.V. More on the game day blackout, we have that in SPORTS.
And a former Russian soldier is now a world record holder. Coming up, the stunt that landed him in the books.
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BLACKWELL: The Senate has voted not to block the Trump administration from attacking Venezuela, and while the White House is not ruling out potential future strikes, sources say there are no current plans to strike land targets inside Venezuela.
Now, The Pentagon confirms it attacked another alleged drug vote in the Caribbean on Thursday, killed three people. The administration has now launched 17 strikes against suspected Narco boats in September, killing at least 70 people.
Stefano Pozzebon joins us now from Caracas.
Stefano is President Maduro responding to this vote in the Senate on Thursday?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, Victor, we have haven't heard a reaction directly from Maduro, from the Miraflores Palace, the presidential palace here in Caracas, to that vote in the Senate.
However, if you speak with the diplomatic community here in Venezuela and with people who know Maduro well and his way of thinking, they will think that he will take it as a point in his favor. Maduro knows, Victor, that he needs to leave another day. The time is on his side, because the patience from the White House and the interest from the White House might wade away very, very soon, and all the scrutiny that is mounting up in Washington into these -- into these successive strikes in the Caribbean, of course, plays to the advantage of Maduro.
Maduro has been there for more than 12 years. Has been ruled in his country with an iron feast, actually, since 2013. So, he knows that the more the lawmakers, the more there are -- there are investigations into the strategy of pressure from the White House, and the more this pressure will probably wane away.
So, he thinks that he will take this week as a more successful one, sorry, Victor, compared to others in the past, where the White House seemed it was mounting up momentum to oust him. Victor?
BLACKWELL: Stefano, politicians aside, how are the people, the Venezuelans there on the street in Caracas, reacting to this tension? What are they telling you?
POZZEBON: Yes, that is the key question, because we know that Maduro is not a popular figure here in Venezuela according to a voting polls that CNN verified last week.
[07:25:03]
He told what was about to 30 to 35 percent of support in Venezuela. There is, of course, a lot of tiredness around his ruling here.
And the people here, unfortunately, Victor, don't really have much to think about these strikes, because, frankly, they are dealing with more urgent problem, and that is the economy. This is still a country that is dealing with dramatic economic conditions, the country where prices rise every single day, we are totaling about 400 percent inflation in 2025 in Venezuela, and nothing coming from Washington. Signals that the end of their economic troubles, which is what really is in their minds, will change anytime soon.
So, unfortunately, you have the millions of lives of millions of Venezuelans in the mid of this geopolitical standoff. Let's not forget about that. BLACKWELL: Yes, the basics of food and energy. Trump, what's happening in the Caribbean for most folks? Stefano Pozzebon, thanks so much.
Not so great news for college football fans. Disney's dispute with YouTube T.V. is spilling over into week 11. That means ESPN, ABC, still off the platform.
CNN's Andy Scholes, here to break it down. So, what's happening now?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Victor, still no end in sight. You know, we thought last week, you know, Monday night footballs come in. Certainly, they are going to come to a deal before Monday Night Football.
BLACKWELL: Nope.
SCHOLES: Yes. Didn't happen. And, you know, it appears that both Disney and YouTube T.V. have really just dug in their heels and now subscribers, you know, like me, going to have to be finding one another way, scramble to find other ways to watch college -- the big college football games today, like the Texas Tech BYU game. That's at noon Eastern.
This, a huge game, seven versus eight. All the tech students in Lubbock. They have actually been sleeping outside the stadium all week to be the first ones in for this game. They call it Raiderville.
Game day is there. alum Patrick Mahomes is going to be the guest picker. Red Raiders head coach, Joey McGuire, he told Pat McAfee, just the excitement in Lubbock for this game is through the roof.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOEY MCGUIRE, HEAD COACH, TEXAS TECH: You can't shy away from it. You know, I mean, they are -- there, they see it. My power point, whenever I introduced the team Tuesday to BYU, I actually had some of the tents, some pictures of the tents, you know. And I left Tuesday night at 9:15 out of the front door. My truck literally is 30 yards away. I got in my truck at 10:46.
So, it -- and my chief of staff saved me, or I'd have been there even longer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hell you, hey, no --
MCGUIRE: I was signed kegs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
MCGUIRE: I signed a lot of Copenhagen cans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hell yes.
MCGUIRE: ZYNs. A lot of ZYNs. It's unreal, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: Good time. Again, Texas Tech BYU, they kick off at noon Eastern. Big game in the SEC at 3:30 between Third ranked Texas A&M in Missouri. And then, tonight, you got at 7:30 fourth-ranked Alabama and LSU, they renew their rivalry.
All those games on ABC, if you have YouTube T.V., you will not be able to watch them today. Victor.
Would you sleep in a tent all week for anything?
BLACKWELL: No. Absolutely not. Will you?
SCHOLES: Maybe in college if it's like an experience. Not now.
BLACKWELL: No, no, no.
This right hip cannot take a week in a tent for anything.
Andy Scholes, thanks so much.
SCHOLES: All right.
BLACKWELL: We'll see you back in a minute.
All right. Still to come, government shutdown and rising prices may not put a dent in holiday shopping. How much Americans are expected to spend over the holidays.
And listen, if you can't watch the games today, remember, tomorrow morning, you can stream CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND in the U.S.
[07:28:42]
Andy will be back with the highlights, and you can watch it on cnn.com. To learn more, visit cnn.com/watch.
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Financial news for you now. The NASDAQ suffered its worst week since April. Tech stocks took a bruising this week over potential artificial intelligence bubble.
The NASDAQ closed lower by 21 percent -- 0.21 percent I should say. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 ended the week in positive territory.
Consumer sentiment also dropped to a three-year low, dropping to 50.3.
Now, according to the University of Michigan's latest survey, people fear the government shutdowns effect on their personal finances. And despite the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, holiday spending is expected to rise this year.
The National Retail Federation's forecasts holiday sales will top a trillion dollars. Last year, total spending reached more than $976 billion. Despite a projected rise in spending, experts say shoppers are more price sensitive and will be searching for deals. The government shutdown could also make holiday spending uneven across different income brackets.
Now, on this shutdown, it's making Americans more pessimistic about the economy. Concerns over the economy as President Trump trying to seize on affordability, the buzz word that propelled Zohran Mamdani's mayoral win in New York City.
President Trump claims that prices are down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you look at affordability, which they campaigned on, they lied, because they talked about all prices are up. No, no. Prices are down under the Trump administration, and they are down substantially.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So, that's even though the consumer price index showed inflation hit three percent last month, the highest this year. And we turn now to CNN global economic analyst, Rana Foroohar, she is also global business columnist and associate editor for Financial Times.
[07:35:03]
Rana, good morning to you. Let's start here.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Good morning, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Because I want to separate, although, we've learned in past elections how sometimes they are equal.
Separate fact from feeling. And so, the fact first, when the president says prices are not only not going up, they are down and -- down substantially. What's the fact check on that?
FOROOHAR: That is false, Victor. You know, as you pointed out, the consumer price index is still rising annually at three percent That's the same rate that it was when the president took office. The Fed's target is two percent, prices are not falling.
Now, anecdotally, we are beginning to see in certain industries, in certain categories, that tariffs are having an impact. The prices are rising in certain sectors and industries. You also see consumer sentiment is down. There is a weak job market, and certainly across the board, but in certain areas, new graduates really suffering higher than average unemployment rate.
So, I can't say that this is a better economy than when the president took office, and you definitely can't say the prices are lower.
BLACKWELL: Let's talk about feeling because this was something that we talked about during the 2024 campaign, and the Biden administration saying that things are going well, but people didn't feel it.
Consumer sentiment, it's hard to convince people that their money is going further when they are the actual one's going to the supermarket? FOROOHAR: Well, 100 percent, Victor. And, you know, all of us can, you know, walk out in our communities and see people that are hurting, see people that are lining up at food banks.
You know, we know new graduates that are having a hard time getting a job. There is a sense of anxiety, I think that, you know, a lot of people think that, because the market, although it's had a big dip recently, it's been high relative to historical rates, I think people feel that there is this real disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street, between what the president might be saying and the numbers he's looking at and what people are really feeling in their average lives at the kitchen table. I think we all have a sense of that.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Affordability was the hallmark of the mayor-elect in New York. Zohran Mamdani's campaign.
I wonder what -- as the president tries to refocus his party toward affordability, although, he says sometimes he doesn't want to hear about affordability, what that could look like as we close out the year?
FOROOHAR Yes, it's really interesting. I think that affordability, rents, housing, utilities, food, these are all going to be things, first of all, that you're probably going to see prices going up in the short term. And you're also going to see this being a huge political issue. In the midterms, in the 2028, presidential elections.
As for what Republicans are going to do, what Trump's going to do, I expect that they are going to talk more about drug prices. You've seen things like Trump RX, which is the president's, you know, public online purchasing, the center where you can -- you can get federally unwritten drugs. That's actually a democratic idea, by the way, but, but he correctly took it on to his platform, I think.
And I think that you're just going to see a lot more talk about the K- shaped economy. The K-shaped economy is the sense that a lot of people that are wealthy, that depend on the stock market, have been doing pretty well, and a lot of people that just get money in their paycheck are struggling every day.
It's that -- it's that K-shaped America, and I don't think it's going away.
BLACKWELL: Can we talk about A.I. and the fears of this artificial intelligence bubble?
FOROOHAR: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Are there significant indicators of potentially approaching that point?
FOROOHAR: Oh, 100 percent. I -- you know, I've been saying probably for six months now that we're in a bubble. This is not unusual, by the way. When you have a new very, very impactful technology, and AI, is that it is going to change things. You do get these periods of froth and of hype, and everybody wants to get into it. But, you know, one of the historical examples I like to use when you go back to the turn of the century and you look at the shift from horse and buggy to car. We knew it was happening, but there were 800 automobile companies. There is now three.
So, you know, at some point there's a shakeout, you're going to see which companies are going to survive, which are going to fail. And I don't think we've reached the bottom on this yet. One of the markers of a bubble is when there is a single narrative.
A.I. is going to change the world, and no nuance in that. That's the kind of narrative we have now, and so, I'm wary of that.
BLACKWELL: When you said turn of the century, I thought you were talking 20th into 21st and we're going to bring up pets.com or something.
You win -- yes, yes.
FOROOHAR: Well, that's new. That's new, Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right. Rana Foroohar, thanks so much. Enjoy the Saturday.
Well, he's a man on a mission. Coming up, the world record this Russian veteran managed to break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:44:32]
BLACKWELL: This is a story of strength and determination. After losing his legs in a drone strike, a Russian veteran has now set a new world record. CNN's Fred Pleitgen gives us a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Evgeny Ivanov is a veteran of what Russia still calls its special military operation. He lost both his legs in a drone strike in Ukraine. But he said that he never gave up, he kept training, getting stronger, and is now trying to set this world record.
[07:45:08]
EVGENY IVANOV, RUSSIAN VETERAN (text): I was on combat mission at night and at that moment I heard a drone flying. Immediately, one leg melted and all that was left from the other was a small piece below the knee. An evacuation team arrived and I was taken straight to a hospital in Donetsk.
PLEITGEN (voice over): The organizer say that the yacht weighs more than 58 tons, and he is doing it crawling on the floor while pulling himself forward on a rope.
It's extremely difficult, and you can see that, obviously, for him, he's really putting all of his strength into it.
IVANOV (text): My biceps will explode now.
PLEITGEN (voice over): However you view the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, what it is doing is it's killing a lot of people, and also, a lot of people are getting injuries that are life-altering, like, for instance, Evgeny Ivanov.
Now, a lot of those people are now trying to claw their way back into their lives.
IVANOV (text): On the 5th day after the injury, I told the doctor, you have a gym here in the hospital? The doctor looked at me and said, are you crazy? So, I said that I think that if I don't do sports, I'll go crazy, and it was sports that pulled me out psychologically.
PLEITGEN (text): How was your life changed?
IVANOV: It changed for the better. I had become, let's say, a more spiritually rich person than before, and if I were offered to return to a past life, I would have refused anyway. Well, that is, if I knew that I would get such an injury, I would still go to the special military operation. I am satisfied with my life now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: Now, the organizers say that in the end, Evgeny did manage to break the world record after a lot of effort. He managed to pull this yacht a distance of six meters and 43 centimeters, obviously, leading to big cheers from the organizers and also from Evgeny himself here in Moscow.
BLACKWELL: Al right, Fred. Thank you.
Still to come, the Miami Heat put on a record setting performance in last night's win over the Hornets Andy Scholes is back with highlights next.
Plus. take an intimate look into the extraordinary political career of the life of New Zealand's former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern in the new CNN film premier, "PRIME MINISTER". Here is a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you can credibly lead a government?
JACINDA ARDERN, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: Do you like to tell me why you don't think I can?
We will remain relentlessly positive. That is who we are as New Zealanders.
Lies have now turned to Jacinda Ardern.
I have three years to do as much as we can.
They thought, how am I going to do this with a baby?
Crises make governments and they break governments.
You can lead just like me.
ANNOUNCER: "PRIME MINISTER" premieres Sunday at 9:00 on CNN, and next day on the CNN app.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[07:52:26]
BLACKWELL: There were multiple NBA Cup games last night. The heat, Red Hot Miami.
Andy is back.
SCHOLES: Victor, you know, sometimes when you're on, you're just on, right?
And the heat, they had it all going last night against the Hornets in the first quarter. I mean, it was a historic first quarter. It scored a franchise record, 53 points. They made 10 threes. They shot 68 percent from the field. They were up by 20 after the first went on to win easily. 126 to 108.
Now, this win, it comes just a day after head coach Erik Spoelstra's house caught fire and burned down.
Now, before last night's win, Spoelstra, he thanked first responders and the community for all their support, and he said he was really grateful no one was hurt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIK SPOELSTRA, HEAD COACH, MIAMI HEAT: As you can see, I have my kids up here right now. So, things in the house, those things can be replaced. And if they can't be replaced, what does it really matter?
You know, this is -- this is really what matters, family, the closest ones, our dog, also was safe, not in the house. Thank God. And we're just grateful. We are grateful that everybody is safe and in a great place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. Meanwhile, in San Antonio, big showdown between the five and two Rockets and five and two Spurs. Third quarter, Wemby gets the ball in the lane, throws it down on Kevin Durant. K.D. though would come right back, crosses Wemdy, and then, he throws down the two-handed slam.
And the fourth quarter was tight game. Six-point lead for the Spurs. Wemby the fade away here. That pretty much put the game away. He finished with 22 points. Spurs win 121 to 110, to remain undefeated at home.
Now, in college football, last night, we had some next level trickery from Head Coach Lincoln Riley and USC against Northwestern. So, in the second quarter, the Trojans were punting. They send out the punter, but it's a fake. He completes the pass for the first down, good pass too.
The thing was that wasn't the punter, it was actually third string quarterback, Sam Huard, but he was wearing number 80, which is the same number as the normal punter, Sam Johnson.
So, in college, you know, multiple players routinely wear the same number. USC actually changed Huard's number for this game, and then put it on the official roster they submitted.
So, the trickery, Victor, it was completely legal. And Northwestern head coach David Braun, he credited Riley, says, pretty creative. But now, Braun said he is going to go through the opposing roster with a fine tooth comb to make sure that no one's doing this.
BLACKWELL: You got to salute that.
SCHOLES: Oh, yes.
BLACKWELL: That is fantastic. They changed his number for this play.
SCHOLES: For the game. Yes.
BLACKWELL: Yes, I'm into it. All right. Andy, thank you.
SCHOLES: All right.
BLACKWELL: "FIRST OF ALL", is coming up at the top of the hour. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will join us live.
[07:55:02]
Democrats in the Senate say they will agree to end the shutdown if they get a one-year extension on Obamacare subsidies. I'll ask for his take on that.
Meantime, airports are becoming a mess. TSA workers are not getting paid. SNAP recipients are not getting their benefits. I'll speak to -- speak to a TSA worker impacted by the shutdown, and someone who is trying to help feed families on a Native American reservation, which is feeling the impact of this shutdown harder than most places.
Also, shaggy will be here. He just got back from Jamaica after helping with hurricane relief. He'll tell us what he saw and how we all can help.
Those stories and conversations you won't see anywhere else coming up after a short break on "FIRST OF ALL".
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