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New Day Saturday
Biden Refuses To Assert Executive Privilege Over Trump Docs; Trump Tries To Claim Executive Privilege Over Subpoenaed Documents; U.S. Trending In Right Direction As COVID Cases Continue To Fall; COVID-19 Hospitalizations At Lowest Point Since Early August. Aired 7- 8a ET
Aired October 09, 2021 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:00:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fascinating than the world new Diana premieres tomorrow at 9:00 pm right here on CNN. Don't want to miss that.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Buenos Dias, good mornings and welcome to your NEW DAY. Good morning, Laura.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Boris. I'm Laura Jarrett in for Christi Paul on this Saturday. A lot to get to a congressional showdown, Steve Bannon, says he's going to defy a subpoena from the January 6th committee. How far will lawmakers go to get to the truth?
SANCHEZ: And a possible turning point in the pandemic. Experts pointing to promising signs as COVID cases and hospitalizations drop and the FDA may soon approve of Pfizer vaccine for kids. Details on that in just a few moments.
JARRETT: And lifting the ban on the ban. Just two days after a judge said Texas is abortion law should not stand, a federal appeals court is pressing pause on that order.
SANCHEZ: Plus, "Beat me up, Scotty." "Star Trek" Actor William Shatner gearing up for a real-life space mission.
It is Saturday, October 9th. We are thrilled that you're with us and we're thrilled that Laura Jarrett is joining us on weekend NEW DAY. Welcome.
JARRETT: Also, great to be with you Boris. It seems the legal news Gods knew that I was coming for. We have so much that happened overnight.
SANCHEZ: Absolutely. And we can certainly use your expertise especially when it comes to this subpoena showdown, a fight over executive privilege, and the center of this issue are documents from the Trump administration that are being sought by the committee investigating the January 6th insurrection.
JARRETT: That's right, former Trump advisor, Chief Strategist Steve Bannon says he plans to defy a subpoena from the committee citing Trump's claims of executive privilege, even though he is not the executive anymore. The current president says not so fast. President Biden is refusing to invoke the privilege over the Trump documents. CNN Political Correspondent Sara Murray has all the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Boris and Laura, the standoff over accountability. It continues as former President Donald Trump makes it clear he's going to do everything he can to make it difficult for the House Committee investigating what happened during the January 6 insurrection to get to the bottom of the events that day and the days leading up to it.
The former president has said he wants to try to assert executive privilege over a handful of documents that the National Archives we're going to hand over to the Congressional Committee. That was after the Biden administration said on Friday that they would not assert privilege over those documents.
They said it was too important to get to the bottom of this attack on democracy they were prepared to allow the archives to make those documents available to the committee, that is just one of the fights brewing. The other one of course is over witnesses. We know the Select Committee subpoenaed a number of former Trump loyalists.
For documents as well as testimony we heard from folks around Steve Bannon, a Former Trump Adviser, that he plans to defy that subpoena. His team believes that the executive privilege claims by the former president will ultimately cover Bannon and that he should not have to hand over certain documents, he should not have to provide certain testimony.
We are hearing though from the select committee that there are other witnesses they are trying to call on that appear to be at least engaged. They said Mark Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff, as well as Kash Patel have been engaging with the committee.
The Select Committee is also making clear. They don't want to dilly dally. They say that they are prepared to hold witnesses that do not comply with their subpoenas in criminal contempt. Of course, some of these fights, they can take a while, they can drag out and the committee does not have unlimited time. Back to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Sara Murray, thank you so much. Let's dig a little deeper on all of this and get some perspective from someone who knows a lot about it. Michael Zeldin. He's a Former Federal Prosecutor and Host of the podcast "That Said with Michael Zeldin." Michael, so nice to see you. We have a lot to get to here, so much to unpack. I want to start -- I want to start with the documents that the house wants from the National Archives.
MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Great to see you, Laura.
JARRETT: We're talking about phone records here, visitor logs, tweets, documents related to what happened at the ellipse before the actual Riot on January 6th.
Now, Trump says he's going to invoke executive privilege so that the house can't get these documents. But the current White House Counsel, Dana Remus, basically says it's not up to you. She writes this, "The constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield from Congress or the public information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself."
So, explain here for folks at home. We only have one president at a time last time I checked. So, what exactly does the President, the former President, I should say, think he's up to here. Who does this privilege belong to?
ZELDIN: Well, the privilege belongs to the United States. And it is the current president's voice that matters most. The former president has a right to his opinion and can inform the current president of that opinion, but in the end, it should be and we saw this litigated in Nixon, where he tried to defy Congress's effort in the archive's effort, to make documents available that he didn't want. And he lost in court. I think that's what will happen here. Great deference is given to the current president, the former president has a right to an opinion. But that's well, he has a right to.
[07:05:24]
JARRETT: Well, and it's not even clear that he was acting in his capacity as president at the time of the January 6th insurrection, I think there's an argument to be made, there should be an exception there for evidence of a crime. You also have the former president chief strategist, Steve Bannon.
He's now defying the subpoena from House investigators. This is separate from the National Archives issue. It's all in one, but it's separate. But he wasn't even a White House employee on January 6, that man had been fired years ago. And so, now he thinks that this should be covered by executive privilege, how is that possibly going to work?
ZELDIN: Well, he should lose because executive privilege is a privilege that allows the executive, the president at the time, to receive candid advice from his senior advisors. That's what the privilege is intended to protect. Bannon didn't work in the White House since 2017. Therefore, on its face, the privilege is inapplicable to him. I think this is just typical Bannon stalling his case should be resolved pretty quickly, and he should lose.
JARRETT: So, if you're on the House Committee, Michael, what do you do here because you don't want this to drag out. You want to be able to issue report quickly. But you also want to be able to enforce your subpoenas, you want to send a signal to the world, that these subpoenas actually have some teeth and actually matter. So, if you were on the House Committee, would you refer to this to the Justice Department?
ZELDIN: If a person refused to comply with the subpoena, assuming he was served.
JARRETT: Right.
ZELDIN: Because Scavino hasn't been served, and that's another whole matter.
JARRETT: Well, Politico -- just so we know, Michael. Politico is reporting that Scavino has been served. But Bannon, we know, is not cooperating.
ZELDIN: Correct. So, the answer to the question is, if you have been served, and you refuse to show up, then Congress should enforce its powers of contempt, civil and criminal, to force the person in. We saw this in the Don McGann case during the Mueller investigation where he refused to come in. And the court resolved that he has to come in and testify, and he ultimately did.
The problem is speed. And if the courts are dilatory, and they don't move quickly, then this will drag on for a long time. Again, it took two years to get done. But I think Congress has an obligation to inform the American people what happened here, and they should use all of their contempt powers, civil and criminal to get these people in there.
JARRETT: Well, and also the complicating factor here, of course, is it being referred to the Justice Department? What is the current Attorney General want to do with that, you know, it's uh, he's Merrick Garland is going to be the one in the decision making seat on that one. So, we will see where that goes. And hopefully we will get your analysis again as these twists and turns continue. Michael Zeldin, thank you.
ZELDIN: Thanks, Laura.
SANCHEZ: Some good news to share with you this morning on the COVID front. The United States starting to trend in the right direction, as COVID-19 hospitalizations, cases and deaths continue to decline nationwide.
New Coronavirus infections have fallen below 100,000 cases a day for the first time in two months. But U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is still stressing the importance of vaccinations. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Certainly cautiously optimistic, and I think whether or not we see another surge of the virus depends in part on what we do to really accelerate vaccination rates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Hospitals in states like Alaska and Pennsylvania are still seeing a surge in patients sick with COVID-19. As community transmission remains high in certain areas. CNN's Polo Sandoval breaks down the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The nation's COVID-19
hospitalization rate is at its lowest point in nearly two months. Add to that, the average number of new COVID cases each day which fell below 100,000 this week, for the first time since August. It's clear to many health experts that most of the nation is on the right path with over 65 percent of eligible Americans to receive COVID-19 shots being fully vaccinated.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: There are some communities that are really well vaccinated and went really well protected, and then there are pockets of places that have very little protection. And the virus isn't stupid. It's going to go there.
SANDOVAL: That's what concerns both the current White House and the last. Admiral Brett Girior served as COVID Testing Czar under the Trump administration. He agrees that the nation is in a promising point that the war against COVID is far from over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was associated with an increase in vaccination rate, more testing and about doubling of the mask wearing, so the amount Can people did the right things but we are not out of the woods yet. As a surgeon general says, there are still a lot of Americans who do not have natural immunity and who have not been vaccinated. They are still susceptible.
[07:10:12]
But most of the lower 48 seems to be turning a corner, Alaska remains on high COVID alert. This week, state health officials reported a COVID case count five times greater than the national average. According to the health department, 20 of the state's medical facilities implemented crisis standards of care as a last resort when medical personnel have to ration care.
Pfizer's race to secure emergency use authorization for its vaccine continues for children five to 11 as well it's trials according to the company. Vaccine advisors at the CDC. We'll meet in the next couple of weeks to discuss Moderna and J&J boosters, and early November to discuss pediatric COVID vaccination that reduces the likelihood that U.S. children 11 and under will begin receiving shots before Halloween. Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York,
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Polo, thank you and some truly devastating new data for you this morning, roughly one in 500 American children has lost a mother, a father, or a grandparent who cares from them since the start of the pandemic, one in 500. That is more than 140,000 Kids nationwide according to the CDC research. It's even worse for minorities.
Take a look at this. The data shows children of racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 65 percent of those who lost a primary caregiver. And that's even though minorities make up just 39 percent of the total U.S. population. While, while white children only accounted for 35 percent of that. And Boris, you know, it strikes me so much that this is happening at
the same time that kids are expected to go back to class, act as if everything is normal. Everyone's talking about how great it is that we have moved on from this virus. And it is great that we are making progress. But these children are still dealing with the loss of a caregiver.
SANCHEZ: Yes, it's problematic for a number of reasons. If you think about the short term, the way that childcare impacts the economy, we're seeing that in the jobs report. But the long-term implications are painful to think about because kids that have difficulty securing care, have an increased risk of health issues, mental health issues, a risk of sexual assault.
And that's an entire generation of kids that are now going to have to deal with the ramifications of this pandemic. And the way that that's going to affect our society moving forward, it's not something that you can digest easily.
JARRETT: That's right. I think the trauma here is going to be one of the lingering effects of this pandemic for sure.
Well, still ahead for you. A federal appeals court reinstating the six-week abortion ban in Texas why that fight could end up in front of the Supreme Court again.
SANCHEZ: Plus, the U.S. hitting an economic roadblock. Now President Biden trying to put a positive spin on a second disappointing jobs report in a row. We'll be right back.
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[07:17:12]
JARRETT: New this morning abortion in Texas banned once again. Overnight a federal appeals court reinstated the most restrictive abortion law in the country, placing a pause on a lower court decision from Wednesday that had found the abortion restrictions in Texas were likely unconstitutional.
That law in Texas bans abortions as soon as a doctor finds a heartbeat, that's as early as two weeks after you miss a period before so many women even know that they are pregnant and it also allows private citizens, anyone off the street to sue abortion providers.
Now, last night's decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals was largely expected from this highly conservative court, as many abortion providers had opted not to reopen their doors while this case continues in court.
Because of the ban in Texas, nearby states like Louisiana and Oklahoma are seeing an influx of women hoping to get their procedures before it's too late. Joining me now is Kathaleen Pittman. She's an Administrator for the Hope Medical Group in Shreveport, Louisiana, whose office is one of those that has seen this increase in traffic. Kathleen, good morning. I really appreciate you being here on such an
important day. First, this appellate court ruling overnight women in Texas went to sleep last night with constitutional rights. They wake up this morning no longer able to get a legal abortion. What's your reaction?
KATHALEEN PITTMAN, ADMINISTRATOR, HOPE MEDICAL GROUP: It's not unexpected. I think across the nation providers were expecting the Fifth Circuit to intervene. So, we're not shocked.
JARRETT: I've also read that you said your phone lines have been absolutely flooded with calls from women in Texas over the last month since this law was passed on September 1st. I want to hear from you. What has it been like on the ground in Shreveport?
PITTMAN: Oh, it's been a constant, constant ringing of phones I can tell you yesterday, the highlight of my day was the gratitude expressed by women as we were moving their appointments from the end of the month, and managed to squeeze them in next week.
One of our nurses spent the entire day rearranging appointments and confirming other appointments. So, it's, it's just been ongoing over the last few days. Normally, under normal circumstances, about 18 to 20 percent of the women we see are from Texas, and at this point in time we're running closer to 60 percent.
JARRETT: Wow, it's jumped up that much in just the last month. How far out are you booked?
PITTMAN: Until the end of the month. We're booking, we're trying to move forward and, and rearrange. I can tell you we've extended our hours that were on our consult days, right, you know, because of COVID and the distancing that we're still practicing here. We're having to limit the number of people in the building at times. So, it requires a lot of juggling on our end.
JARRETT: Well and I know the Hurricane Ida also threw a wrench in this whole thing with you know, so many clinics forced to shut down and then you have more women coming from Texas, so it's just almost the perfect storm here. Can you help give people a sense of just how onerous this process is? I think, you know, there's a lot of misinformation out there.
And I want you to sort of fact check this for us. You can't just sort of take a day trip over to Louisiana to get an abortion, there's a mandatory 24-hour waiting period after your initial appointment. So, essentially, perhaps a woman has to take off work, she has to spend the night in Louisiana, if she wants to get this, is that right?
[07:20:36]
PITTMAN: That is absolutely correct. Currently, we do have a 24-hour waiting period, which actually was extended to 72 hours. However, we are challenging that. So, in the meantime, we are at 24 hours. And a lot of women cannot be away from home for extended periods of time. Most of the patients we see here already have families, they have
jobs, or they're in school. So, we're seeing a lot that are not able to return the next day due to scheduling and you know, because our schedules are pretty much packed at this point. So, you know, there's a lot of juggling involved at this point.
JARRETT: This is such an important point you make there most of the women you're seeing, these are not teenage girls, these are women who already have children. And that is why they are coming to your clinic. I wonder, finally, if I could Kathaleen, what is your -- what is your take on, on what you're hearing from women who come in. Maybe even women in Louisiana? How worried are they that they are going to see a similar law in their state, like what's happening in Texas?
PITTMAN: Oh, everybody is absolutely worried. Not just the providers, but we're hearing it from Louisiana patients as well. I mean, it's a known fact that what manages to pass in one state, well then just has a domino effect across particularly the South. So, we're all very worried about it. We're hearing it from women from providers, and we're already hearing rumblings from legislators.
JARRETT: Yes. Yes. Yes. That that is certainly the issue whether this will serve as the blueprint for other states that want to take the same approach as Texas. Kathaleen Pittman, thank you so much. Appreciate you coming on and telling us your story.
PITTMAN: Thank you for having me.
SANCHEZ: Still ahead, a disappointing jobs' reports. Democratic infighting and fading poll numbers, what this means for Joe Biden's ambitious agenda?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: President Biden is trying to put a positive spin on a dismal September jobs report.
JARRETT: The report shows just 194,000 jobs were added last month. It's the latest disappointment for the president who is also facing plunging poll numbers and a stalled agenda. CNN's Jasmine Wright is live at the White House with the very latest. Jasmine, good morning to you. What is the president saying about this jobs report? How's he going to put a good spin on this?
JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Laura. That's right. The President is facing a number of problematic, problematic issues that are all inter connected. And while there were some small victories this week from that debt ceiling agreement that was short term, he still is unable to find really a consensus within the Democratic Party on his economic agenda.
So, on that jobs report yesterday that those disappointing numbers in his thinking poll numbers, the president really tried to put a positive spin on things. He honed in on the fact that for the first time since March 2020, the U.S. has hit under five percent of unemployment. Now, he did not mention the fact that that could be partially due to the fact that a lot of Americans have left the workforce completely because they were unable to find jobs. But still, the President in his optimistic manner, really said that the progress of his administration is moving forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Right now, things in Washington, as you all know, are awfully noisy, turn on the news, and every conversation is a confrontation. Every disagreement is a crisis. But when you take a step back and look at what's happening, we're actually making real progress, maybe doesn't seem fast enough. I'd like to see it faster, and we're going to make it faster. But maybe it doesn't appear dramatic enough. But I too, would like to, as I said, move it faster. We're making consistent steady progress, though.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: Now, yesterday, in his remarks at the White House, President Biden made the case that to make more progress, Congress needs to pass his economic agenda, both that bipartisan infrastructure bill and also that social safety net expansion package. And administration officials really support him saying that weak jobs report released yesterday just bolsters the case.
But bottom line here, Laura, and Boris is that these issues are central to President Biden and his administration's success. And when you talk to White House officials, as I have, as my colleagues have over the past few months, they make the case that not only is it just getting control of the pandemic, but it is also making the economy work for everyone.
That is what is going to bring them that success. And that is what they feel that these two bills, that bipartisan infrastructure bill, and that social safety net expansion package will do. But it obviously has been kind of a struggle trying to get all of these things passed, Laura and Boris.
JARRETT: Kind of, kind of a struggle to say the least. I think that is putting it mildly, for sure. Jasmine Wright live at the White House, thank you so much.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Jasmine.
The Biden administration is canceling more Trump era contracts to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico. The latest termination covers sectors in the Loretto and Rio Grande Valley of Texas. And as part of President Biden's pledge to stop border wall construction, the government is returning some of that property to land owners who've spent years fighting the Trump administration in court over the land seizures.
[07:30:09]
JARRETT: Cancelling some walls while bringing back others. President Biden is expanding three national monuments, it's a move that restores protections undone by former President Donald Trump. JARRETT (voice-over): The president signed the proclamations Friday during a ceremony outside the White House, calling a "The easiest thing I've done as president." So far, the three monuments are Bear Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, as well as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the coast of New England.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): Still to come, the Nobel Peace Prize, honoring two journalists for standing up for press freedom. We'll tell you who they are, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:35:20]
SANCHEZ (on camera): This morning, two journalists are being singled out for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.
JARRETT: Yes, Maria Ressa from the Philippines who, by the way, is a former CNN employee and Dmitry Muratov of Russia have each been awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Both have faced a serious legal and physical threats during their careers as their respective government crackdown on the rights of journalists.
SANCHEZ: CNN's Will Ripley takes a deeper look at Ressa's fight for journalistic freedom in the Philippines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA RESSA, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE: Philippine economy has --
WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For award winning journalist Maria Ressa, who's been in the media industry for almost 35 years, being the story was never part of her remit.
But hauled through the Philippines' justice system, accused of libel, alleged tax offenses, and violation of foreign ownership rules and media, Ressa has made headlines around the world.
BERIT REISS-ANDERSEN, CHAIR, NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE: Ms. Ressa and Mr. Muratov are receiving the Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines, and in Russia.
RIPLEY: No headline will be more widely reported, or more vindicating for Ressa than Friday's announcement that she had won this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Sharing the award with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov. Representatives of the fight for press freedom everywhere.
RESSA: Journalists will keep doing those stories. And that's what I hope. That's what I hope will give us more power to do this.
RIPLEY: Last year, a judge in the Philippines found the veteran journalist and her former colleague Reynaldo Santos, who wrote the story guilty of cyber libel.
It followed the publication of an article in 2012 on her online news web site Rappler, about a top-level judge with links to a businessman with an allegedly shady past. The article was published two years before new libel laws were enacted.
Authorities initially dismissed the case. But then President Rodrigo Duterte came to power.
RESSA: The arrest warrant --
RIPLEY: He took exception to Ressa and her company scrutiny and coverage of his war on drugs, where thousands of extrajudicial killings took place. In frequent media attacks, he even went so far as to say that journalists are not exempt from assassination if they did something wrong.
Suddenly, Ressa was facing 11 criminal cases from cyber libel to tax evasion, an attempt Ressa believes to scare and silence her. The former CNN bureau chief and Time Person of the Year for 2018 said she was devastated by what she has always said were trumped-up charges. But Ressa has continued to inspire her colleagues not to give in.
RESSA: I appeal to you, the journalists in this room, the Filipinos who are listening to protect your rights. We are meant to be a cautionary tale. We are meant to make you afraid. Right? So, I appeal again, don't be afraid.
RIPLEY: High-profile human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has represented Ressa as part of her international legal team, fighting what she has called a sinister attempt to silence the journalists for exposing corruption and abuse.
Ressa out on bail as she wins her Nobel Peace Prize has proven she will not be silenced.
Will Ripley, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): So, welcome to "UNDERSCORED" here. This is your guide to the best in textile, health, travel, all of it. The editors at "UNDERSCORED" work to find test and rate products to help you make informed decisions before you spend your money, because you earned it right?
So, Mike Bruno is with us now. He is the editorial director for CNN underscored and we're talking about blenders this week. And listen, the price varies a lot, but sort of the features. Yes?
MIKE BRUNO, CNN UNDERSCORED EDITORIAL DIRECTOR (on camera): That's true. That's true. Yes.
Our pick -- our overall pick is the Breville Super Q.
PAUL: Right here.
BRUNO: This is a premium appliance and it comes at a premium price. It's about $500. Now, that said, if you're an everyday blender person, if you make smoothies every day, if you're making your own nut butters, this makes hot soup, you put the stuff in there, purees it really nicely for you heats it up right in the container.
PAUL: That is brilliant.
BRUNO: It also comes with a 10-year-warranty. So, you're paying the $500, you're getting consistency, you're getting a really heavy, it's a very sturdy piece.
And for 10 years, you know, it could be worth the investment for the right person. It's for a person that is every day blender. 1,800-watt motor. That's the biggest of any that we tested. Anything over like about 12 or 14 is considered high performance. This is 1,800 watts. They say the blades spin at 186 miles an hour.
So, it's also kind of quiet, relatively quiet, quiet compared to others.
[07:40:01]
BRUNO: Now, if you have someone in the next room and you're doing ice, you're going to wake them up. But compared to others, you do notice it, it's one of the things that they advertise is the quietness, and it does a good job.
Everything was perfectly silky for us. The soups, the nut butters, everything there was no chunks, there was no anything. Perfect consistency all the way through.
Has a digital display on it. As you'll see over here, it has a 12 setting manual, and also has some presets down there, so, you kind of set it and it just kind of runs for you. It will do like ice or smoothie just with one touch.
It's not cheap but you are getting a top-of-the-line appliance. And it's a little cheaper than some of the other players out there that are at that top-of-the-line level.
PAUL: And it comes with all of the extras, yes?
BRUNO: That's true. It comes with the big 64 or 68-ounce jug, the big main one that you see also comes with this little smoothie cup, I think that's a 24-ouncer.
(CROSSTALK)
PAUL: Nice.
BRUNO: It comes with your spatula there, your masher, or you get a book with some recipes, another top for your smoothie. So, you get some accessories as well. It's true.
PAUL: That's awesome. OK, so, this is $500.
(CROSSTALK) BRUNO: Yes.
PAUL: For all of you who want to -- I love the fact you can make soup, heated up, and just pour it out.
BRUNO: Just pour right out and go.
PAUL: That's fantastic. Especially if you have a family.
BRUNO: It's wonderful, it's really cool.
PAUL: It's one less dish, right, people? All right, then this is --
BRUNO: This is our budget Blender pic. This is the Ninja Professional Plus. This is only $100. This is quite a nice Blender, it has an 1100- watt motor, so you're a little bit low, but that's still quite strong.
This is our best pic under, this is our only pic really on our $100.
PAUL: Really.
BRUNO: When you get into like the $40 or $50 range, you start to get like maybe a 700-watt motor, and everything we tested, we don't recommend anything that low. Chunks, it just the consistency, it didn't feel like it was going to last.
This is 1100 watts. It does a great job. It's got this cool triple- blade design which is a little intimidating. But don't worry, it's safe.
It does a good job. We did have a little bit some shards of ice a little bit mixed in the powder. There was the occasional chunk, it wasn't quite as smooth. You don't get the hot soup.
The nut butters were a little powdery. So, if you're a nut butter person, if that's the reason you're going to do it, I probably would consider something else.
But overall, it did a great job and it's as cool quick and -- quick release lid. It's sturdy. It's got little suction cups on the bottom to keep it sturdy. This is a really nice Blender for $100 for an everyday use, maybe go with something else. But if you're an occasional Blender, $100 bucks.
PAUL: All right. Hey, Mike Bruno, thank you so much.
You can learn more about all of these products by visiting cnn.com./underscored.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:47:07]
SANCHEZ: The coach of the Las Vegas Raiders Jon Gruden is now reportedly under fire for using racist language in a decade-old e- mail. JARRETT: Coy Wire is here with this morning's "BLEACHER REPORT".
So, Coy, the coach could have just apologized, but no?
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, not -- maybe not exactly the way most people would want to hear it.
Good morning to you, Laura and Boris. Jon Gruden says he is sorry for the language he used to describe NFL players union Executive Director DeMaurice Smith.
WIRE (voice-over): In an e-mail sent in 2011, Gruden, who was working for ESPN at the time wrote to Washington's team president Bruce Allen, calling Smith, "Dumboriss Smith". Saying that he has lips the size of Michelin tires.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the e-mail saying it was discovered during the investigation into Washington's workplace culture.
And when asked, Gruden told the journal, he doesn't remember writing the e-mail but apologized, saying he was upset and that he doesn't have a racist bone in his body. Gruden has not replied to CNN's request for comment.
The NFL condemned Gruden's words as appalling. Raiders' owner Mark Davis called them disturbing and says he is addressing the matter.
DeMaurice Smith, meanwhile, telling CNN, in part, "This is not the first racist comment that I've heard and it probably will not be the last. I will not let it define me."
Also yesterday, the players union voted to retain him as Executive Director for a fifth term.
WIRE (on camera): All right, let's talk playoff baseball now.
WIRE (voice-over): Starting with the Red Sox and Rays ALDS Game 2 in the bay the trap got happened early last night.
First, inning bases juiced and Jordan Luplow orange crushes it. Grand Slam and the Rays are squeezing every last drop out of the home-field advantage. Rays up 5-2. But the bow Sox busted out their big bats for the party.
Xander Bogaerts, and Alex Verdugo blasted back-to-back solo shots in the third, bring in Boston within one. Then, in the fifth, Kike Hernandez is turned for takeoff solo shottie in the game. He had a play-off record time, five hits.
Just a few batters later, nail and coffin. Two runners off from J.D. Martinez. Bye, bye, baseball. Boston leads and just for good measure. Rafael Devers on uncorks -- Devers uncorks another man (INAUDIBLE).
Boston bombards the Rays 14 to 6, for the team postseason record five home runs, tying the series at 1-1. National League now, 49ers legends Jerry Rice and Steve Young firing up the San Francisco crowd and Giants legend Buster Posey answering the call. First inning, the three-time World Series champ hits a cannonball. Lucky fan fishing the home run out in McCovey Cove.
And that's all, Giant says Logan Webb needed.
10 strikeouts, no walks, no runs before being pulled into eighth. Rice-A-Roni for the fans of San Francisco treat in game one for zip.
Meanwhile, the Brewers took game one of their series against the Braves and the Astros now have a commanding lead, 2-0 over the Chicago. White Sox, condolences to Laura Jarrett, who believe is a de facto White Sox fan.
[07:50:04]
WIRE: You can catch both nationally game shoes Today on our sister network TBS Playoff baseball has been nothing short of magnificent this early on.
JARRETT (on camera): I always root for my home team even if I don't follow it day-to-day, I root for my White Sox.
WIRE (on camera): There you go.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Coy, someday you're going to --
(CROSSTALK)
JARRETT: Thanks, Coy.
SANCHEZ: You're going to -- you're going to have some Miami Marlins highlights in there. I will -- I will hold my breath until that finally happens. Coy Wire, great to see you as always.
WIRE: All right.
JARRETT: Thanks, Coy.
SANCHEZ: A quick programming note for you. On an all-new season of "THIS IS LIFE", Lisa Ling is exploring historical events that changed America but are rarely found in history books.
In this week's episode, Lisa shines light on the murder of a Chinese American in the 1980s, and the community combating a new wave of anti- Asian hate crimes. Here is a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
LISA LING, CNN HOST (on camera): When did you sort of realize, I'm working for a Chinese company? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably after about six months that I was here.
LING: Did you think anything of it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, actually we're Really good hand in hand with them. So, I actually made really good friends with a lot of them right away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, does it show that break status is on right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, right here.
LING (voice-over): One of the Chinese engineers has become a role model for Danny and a friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is always 100 percent there. Thank you, sir. Have a good day.
LING: Since we start hearing about all the attacks on Asian people,
LING (on camera): Do you worry about your Chinese colleagues?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I Do. I worry about them outside of work, you know, because you never know who you're going to cross paths with. I hear people a lot of times saying no to Chinese companies. Chinese is Chinese.
But you know, this is an American company. It's in Lancaster, California. We sell buses in America. We employ everybody, Chinese, American, right? It doesn't matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ (voice-over): The terrific episode of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" the season premiere airs tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. right here on CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:56:30]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR , PORTRAYED CAPTAIN KIRK: Imagine being weightless and you're thin enough but I'm not imagine being weightless and staring into that blackness and seeing the earth and that's what I want to absorb.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Beam him up, Scotty or in this case, Bezos, right? Captain Kirk headed back to space on Tuesday. Star Trek actor William Shatner, a 90-year-old man is going to be part of the Blue Origin crew that lifts off for a suborbital trip to space. CNN's Kristin Fisher has a preview of his trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is in command?
KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He led the USS enterprise on an intergalactic odyssey. Now, he will get to go on his own odyssey.
SHATNER: Things I've only played as an actor. I'm going to see firsthand.
FISHER: Star Trek's iconic Captain James Kirk will soon get to go to space for real.
SHATNER: I'm thrilled and anxious, and little nervous, and little frightened about this whole new adventure.
FISHER: Blue Origin announced on Monday that actor William Shatner will be on the company's next flight alongside Audrey Powers, Blue Origin's vice president of mission and flight operations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one.
FISHER: Shatner, Powers, and two others will lift off from a remote stretch of West Texas next Tuesday, less than three months after the company's first crewed launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
FISHER: The crew will enjoy about four minutes of weightlessness during an 11 minute suborbital trip to space, similar to what Jeff Bezos, his brother, and two others did during the summer.
SHATNER: Tuesday morning, I go to the edge of space and pick -- and loosen this restraints around me and be weightless, and looking into the vastness of the universe.
FISHER: Shatner who played Captain Kirk on the hit television series Star Trek and went on to star in seven Star Trek films, joked about this opportunity years ago.
AL ROKER, WEATHER ANCHOR, NBC: If you were given the opportunity to go into space, would you?
SHATNER: if I got to guarantee you that we come back.
FISHER: That opportunity is now here. And 90-year-old Shatner seems surprised himself.
SHATNER: Because 55 years ago, I was destitute, I'm looking up at the sky, at the astronauts stepping on the moon, and I had a little bit to do with those astronauts. And 55 years later, I'm going to the -- into space. I want to come back and tell you about how I really felt when I saw these things that we've only learned about secondhand.
FISHER: His fans are excited to hear about his mission too. Many taking to Twitter to express their excitement.
Late Night host Stephen Colbert, even making a joke about the mission, tweeting, "I hope William Shatner doesn't have unrealistic expectations of what space is like."
Kristin Fisher, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Thanks to Kristin Fisher for that report.
(CROSSTALK)
JARRETT: Well, leave it to (INAUDIBLE)
SANCHEZ: Yes, and good luck to Captain Kirk. It's going to be quite an adventure. I still can't believe he's 90 years old and he's going to space.
(CROSSTALK)
JARRETT: I know, he looks good. Yes.
SANCHEZ: He looks great for 90, yes.
JARRETT: We'll, next month NASA will send a spacecraft into orbit that will intentionally crash into an asteroid moon.
JARRETT (voice-over): It's not usually a sentence you want to hear with a crash in space, but it's all in the name of planetary defense.
[08:00:03]
JARRETT: It's called the DART mission, which stands for NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test. NASA will test its asteroid deflection technology in September next year.
