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New Day Sunday
Ukraine Rocket Attack; Traffic Jams Clog Crimea Bridge; Biden To Make Campaign Stops In Western States; Iranian State Broadcaster Hacked; Bus Drivers Rescue Toddler After Hijacking; Migrant Workers Help Florida With Hurricane Cleanup; Companies Hesitate On Hiring For Holidays. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired October 09, 2022 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. I'm Boris Sanchez.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Amara Walker.
A rocket attack strikes a residential area in Zaporizhzhya. And Russia is scrambling to repair a key strategic bridge crippled by a mass explosion. What that could mean for Putin's next move and strategy.
SANCHEZ: With less than a month to go until Election Day, we'll tell you who is hitting the campaign trail and look at some key races to watch.
WALKER: And nearly two weeks after hurricane Ian ripped through Florida, residents from Ft. Myers Beach will finally be allowed to go back to home.
SANCHEZ: A solid jobs report. What it means for companies getting ready for hire for the holidays.
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WALKER: Happy Sunday, everyone. It is October 9th. Thank you so much for waking up with us. Hello, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Good morning, Amara. Good to be with you, your first full weekend as the official new anchor of NEW DAY.
WALKER: It's been wonderful. Thank you for making me feel so welcomed, Boris.
We begin with a deadly rocket attack in Ukraine.
SANCHEZ: At least 12 were killed and dozens more were wounded in Zaporizhzhya last night. Authorities actually revised the death toll down. Earlier they said 17 had been killed. Ukraine's air force says the city was hit by six Russian cruise missiles and 16 anti-aircraft missiles. WALKER: The attack comes a day after an explosion damaged the only
bridge between Crimea and Russia. And Ukrainian officials celebrated the explosion without directly claiming responsibility. Let's get the latest now from Ukraine and CNN international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen.
What's the latest happening in Zaporizhzhya?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Ukrainians have revised the death toll down to 12 but revised up the number of wounded. And if you look, can you see why, the residential buildings, old Soviet era buildings, a lot of people, families, live in those buildings.
These images are coming from the overnight hours. You could see some of the fires around those buildings. The Ukrainians are saying some of those cruise missiles were launched were from strategic bombers.
You can see some of the ordnance is that the Russians fired at that city. At the same time, Russians still trying to get behind what happened to the Crimea bridge and also working overtime to get up and running again.
They say there is a trickle of traffic coming across the bridge but it remains a bottleneck and a big headache for Vladimir Putin.
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PLEITGEN (voice-over): The devastating blow to Vladimir Putin's war effort in Ukraine both strategically and symbolically. The Kerch Bridge that links Russia's mainland with occupied Crimea on fire and heavily damaged.
Moscow's investigative committee acknowledging that severity of the attack.
SVETLANA PETRENKO, RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE (through translator): According to preliminary information, a truck exploded on the automobile part of the Crimean Bridge from the side of the peninsula in the morning today, which caused seven fuel tanks to ignite on a train heading toward the Crimean Peninsula. As a result, two lanes partially collapsed.
PLEITGEN: This CCTV video appears to show the moment of the blast. A truck is seen driving on the lane leading toward Crimea when, all of a sudden, there's a massive explosion.
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PLEITGEN (voice-over): Though it's not clear whether it is a truck that actually blew up.
Russian officials saying several people were killed in the attack.
Moscow already pointing the finger at Ukraine. But so far, no claim of responsibility from Kyiv's leadership.
"Crimea, the bridge, the beginning, everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled," an adviser to Ukraine's president tweeted.
While Russian authorities say fuel and food supplies to Crimea are insured, videos released on social media show long lines forming at gas stations on the peninsula hours after the blast.
The Crimean Bridge is a vital supply artery for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine but it's also a prestige project for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin personally drove a truck across the bridge when it was opened in 2018.
The attack came just a day after Putin's 70th birthday, leading Ukraine's national security adviser to tweet this video, apparently mocking Russia's leader.
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PLEITGEN: Ukraine's postal service was quick to issue a stamp commemorating the bridge explosion. Residents in the capital taking selfies in front of the main postal service.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We have waited for the moment the bridge burns. I think all Ukrainians waited for it. We are very satisfied it's finally happened.
PLEITGEN: Moscow says it got the railway section of the bridge up and running again quickly.
But the damage to the road section is more extensive, creating another bottleneck for Russian forces in southern Ukraine already struggling with logistics.
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PLEITGEN: Russian forces in southern Ukraine are suffering losses and have been around the Kherson area. One of the big problems they've been having is resupplying their troops. Certainly that's not going to get any easier with this bridge, not out of commission but certainly operating at a very diminished capacity.
WALKER: Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much.
SANCHEZ: Let's get some perspective from CNN national security analyst, Steve Hall.
We're grateful that you're sharing part of your Sunday morning with us.
What are the implications of this explosion?
STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think the first is the obvious one, which is it's disruption of Russian supply lines into the Crimean Peninsula, which they annexed in 2014. We're also seeing reports that the initial Russian emergency response to try to repair that bridge may have been overstated.
But the Russian government is officially acknowledging the attack. It really is a successful psychological and PR operation, smart on the part of the Ukrainians, who have struck something that is not only of military significance but perhaps even more importantly a psychological impact inside of Russia, which shows that Russia continues to really struggle to fight the Ukrainians.
That's a message that's dangerous to Putin's regime.
SANCHEZ: Let's dig in on that, Steve. The Ukrainians are not taking credit for the explosion yesterday but they are singing, happy birthday, Mr. President. There's also this commemorative stamp that I find very amusing.
Why is this so important within the Kremlin and to Vladimir Putin's leadership?
HALL: Yes, the stamp play was interesting. It's really no surprise the Ukrainians are not officially taking credit for this. It looks more like a paramilitary operation, sabotage operation, perhaps by the intelligence services.
So not confirming or denying the attack but, again, it's a direct poke in eye to Vladimir Putin which, you know, we can sit around and chuckle. And there's a good deal of emotional satisfaction from this.
But when you poke at the eye of Vladimir Putin and it gets out to the Russian people, then it's more severe because more Russians say, what's going on there?
Why were all of these young men trying to escape?
Why can't we buy things in Russia, because of Western sanctions?
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HALL: Why are so many Russians being killed. And infrastructure that Putin personally associated himself with, he built this bridge and drove a truck across it. Psychologically they're pretty explosive for the Russian people.
SANCHEZ: I'm confused by the jack and rose embracing (ph) at the front of the bridge as it's burning. I don't know what that's a reference to. But I'd rather ask you.
What do you think the response is going to be short term and long term from Russia?
HALL: No coincidence at all. You can go back to the early years of the Putin regime when the Chechen war was going on. His reaction was we're going to level Grozny and send them back into the stone age.
There is no doubt that Russia would continue to try to reply in the way that it did in Zaporizhzhya yesterday -- or earlier today, I suppose -- with these missile attacks. They've said as much.
But the Ukrainians have said this is war. We understand there's a price to pay for this. They effectively served notice to Russia and the world that Crimea is in play. That's also a significant message that the Russians will continue to try to respond to.
SANCHEZ: Steve, we originally invited you on to talk about Havana syndrome, because this week CNN reported that dozens of CIA officers accused the agency of soft pedaling their investigation into the mysterious ailment.
What are your thoughts on that report?
HALL: Well, you know, this is a difficult thing to diagnose. And I think that the medical community seems to say that this is not like finding cancer or something like that. But the Russians have, of course, had a long history of doing various and sundry sort of irregular attacks against intelligence personnel, against diplomatic personnel serving not just in Russia but also in their client states, like in Havana.
Of course, those who have been subjected to these attacks quite understandably are concern. And we just hope that the U.S. government and the CIA and other members of the intelligence community are taking this seriously. So we'll see where it ends up.
SANCHEZ: Steve Hall, appreciate the time, sir. Thank you.
HALL: My pleasure.
WALKER: Let's pivot to Asia now. This morning tensions are rising after South Korea and Japan's military say North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off the Korean Peninsula coast.
South Korea's joint chiefs of staff calling them a serious provocation, which harms peace and safety. North Korea launched several in just the last two weeks.
SANCHEZ: We're going to tell you about President Biden's latest efforts to try and help Democrats keep control of Congress.
WALKER: And it's still really difficult to come to terms with the damage left behind by hurricane Ian back. We'll have the latest coming up.
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WALKER: This week President Biden will make a campaign swing through Western states. SANCHEZ: He's going to try to highlight his party's efforts to tamper
(sic) rising inflation. Let's take you to Wilmington, Delaware, where President Biden is spending the weekend.
Kevin, what do we know about the president's upcoming trip?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's an interesting trip because the president isn't going to some of these states with the marquee races that we've been talking about this midterm cycle, your Pennsylvanias, your Georgias.
But he is going to states with tighter races. It was an open question whether President Biden would be welcome on the campaign trail, a help or hindrance to Democrats. His poll numbers are ticking up and he certainly has a lot he wants to talk about.
But this trip really does show how the White House is calibrating his travel. So on Wednesday, he will head to Colorado. While he's there, he plans to designate a new national monument. It's actually a World War II training site high up in the Rocky Mountains.
That had been a key priority for Michael Bennet, the Democratic incumbent in Colorado. He's facing a reelection battle in November. Certainly the president wants to boost his Democratic colleague there.
From Colorado, the president will head to southern California. Of course Los Angeles is always ripe fund-raising ground for Democrats. And I'm told by sources that the president will hold a fund-raiser on the west side of Los Angeles for House Democrats this week.
From there, he'll head to Oregon; the Democratic governor's race in that state is close. President Biden certainly wants to help the Democratic candidate there.
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LIPTAK: On all of these stops, the White House says that the president will talk about the infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act. And he is expected to ramp up his travel ahead of the mid-term elections in November. Boris and Amara.
SANCHEZ: Kevin, thank you so much.
In Georgia, Herschel Walker still trying to find a new campaign director after denials that he paid for an abortion for the mother of his child. His opponent has not addressed these allegations directly. But yesterday he did have this to say about his rival.
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SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): It's up to Georgia voters and it's not up to him, it's not up to me, it's up to them. My opponent has trouble with the truth and we will see how all of this plays out. But I am focused squarely on the health care needs of my constituents, including reproductive health care.
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WALKER: And on Tuesday, Florida senator Rick Scott will travel to Georgia to rally for Walker. Scott leads the Senate Republican campaign committee.
Now it is the latest sign that Republicans continue to view the contest as a critical race that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Another tight race also shaping up in Utah, incumbent senator Mike Lee is being challenged not by a Democrat but an independent. His rival is looking to appeal to voters on both sides of the aisle.
SANCHEZ: Jeff Zeleny looks at how Republicans could be at risk of losing a seat in deep, deep red Utah.
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EVAN MCMULLIN (I-UT), SENATE CANDIDATE: We have to be willing to stand up to the broken politics of division and extremism.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's no longer a Republican and he's never been a Democrat. But Evan McMullin is asking voters from both parties to join his insurgent campaign to win a Senate seat as an independent from Utah.
MCMULLIN: Our democracy is at great risk right now. We will decide over the next two cycles whether we are a democracy or whether we're going to head down the road of authoritarianism.
ZELENY (voice-over): McMullin is going against the grain to challenge Mike Lee and take on the entrenched two-party system in Washington.
It's become one of the most unique Senate races of the fall after Democrats here decided to stand down and not field a candidate. Ben McAdams is a former Democratic congressman and mayor of Salt Lake County, who is supporting McMullin.
MAYOR BEN MCADAMS (D-UT), SALT LAKE COUNTY: We've been calling on Republicans for years to put politics aside and do what's right for the country. And it's time for the Democrats to do the same.
ZELENY (voice-over): As he introduces himself to voters, McMullin talks about his service as an undercover CIA officer.
MCMULLIN: My experience in the agency shaped the way I look at our country.
ZELENY (voice-over): And why he left the Republican Party in protest of Donald Trump, even announcing a presidential campaign in 2016.
Lee, who was first elected during the tea party wave of 2010, cast himself as a fighter. But his close ties to Trump and helping craft a legal strategy to overturn the 2020 election still infuriates voters, like Andrew Mayfield. ANDREW MAYFIELD, UTAH VOTER: Peaceful transfer of power and free and
fair elections are the bedrock of a functional representative government. And I would expect at a minimum that he act like an adult and he showed good faith in the principles he committed to uphold.
ZELENY (voice-over): Not all Republican are looking for a new senator. Mia Love, a former Republican member of Congress who's backing Lee, questioned whether voters know enough about McMullin.
MIA LOVE, FORMER REPUBLICAN REPRESENTATIVE: He is an unknown to Utah. Seems like he really wants to get himself to Washington somehow.
ZELENY (voice-over): The question is how many Republicans are willing to vote for him.
JASON PERRY, DIRECTOR, HINCKLEY INSTITUTE OF POLITICS: It is the math. He needs almost all of the Democrats. He need most of the unaffiliated and independents and a chunk of the moderates.
ZELENY (voice-over): McMullin says he understand the challenge but urges voters to see that his allegiance is to Utah, not a political party.
MCMULLIN: I will work with anyone to get things done for our state and country but at the same time, it's my job to hold them accountable.
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SANCHEZ: Thanks to Jeff Zeleny for that report.
Iran's state broadcast was hacked live on the air. We're live with very late breaking acts of defiance next.
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WALKER: Twelve reform protesters allegedly hacked Iranian state TV Saturday, disrupting its nightly news program, which was airing a program with their supreme leader Khomeini.
SANCHEZ: They replaced the broadcast with his photo, a target superimposed on his face, alongside photos of women who have died in the last month.
Violent protests have gripped that country for weeks following the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by the government's morality police for apparently not wearing her hijab properly. Nada Bashir joins us now.
Nada, has anyone taken credit for that hacking? NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. We have seen one group taking credit for this in a message last night. This was quite a remarkable and very public show of defiance against the Iranian regime, as you laid out there. This is a real show of protest against the hardline regime.
That photograph, featuring front and center an interruption of Iran's state broadcast. That would have been around 9 pm local time, many sitting down to watch the state broadcast around that time with the graphic of a target superimposed on his face.
The message there, rise up and join us, of course, in reference to the protests we've seen taking place across the country. As you laid out, there were these four key photographs at the bottom, quite a message, the photograph of the 22-year-old woman whose death has sparked protests we've seen.
But also the photos of three other women who have also come to represent this movement. And we see continued violence at the hands of Iran's forces and morality police. But this was really quite a public message showing really the sentiment there, the dissent that is growing across the country.
WALKER: More on the protests, Nada, if you will. You mentioned the brutality from the government. We know there were at least two more people who were killed in terms of the intensity and scale of the protests, has any of that changed in terms of momentum or size?
BASHIR: Well, look, despite the violence we are seeing and this is really heavy handed tactics being used by the security forces, we continue to see those demonstrations taking place up and down the country.
Over the weekend in two Kurdish cities we saw at least two people being killed according to one human rights group after security forces opened fire on protesters. And we are continuing to see the crackdown by the security forces.
We've heard from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the excessive and lethal means of force. We're talking about against peaceful protesters. The death toll has been hard to independently verify but we've heard from one human rights group, at least 154 deaths and hundreds of others injured as a result of that crackdown.
SANCHEZ: The arrests and crackdowns on social media are difficult to watch. Nada Bashir, thank you so much for your reporting.
WALKER: Up next, Florida governor Ron DeSantis has made it clear, migrants are not welcome in his state. Yet some of those bused out of Texas are now making their way to Florida to help with the recovery efforts. That's next.
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WALKER: Welcome back, everyone.
CNN has learned that top Biden administration officials met in person with the Taliban Saturday, the first meeting since the U.S. killed the leader Ayman al Zawahiri in Kabul late July.
SANCHEZ: The talks were held in Doha and the U.S.' top State Department official responsible for Afghanistan attended. The U.S. accused the Taliban of a clear violation of the Doha agreement, that they would not harbor terrorists if the U.S. withdrew forces from Afghanistan.
Here in the U.S., a 17-year old parked at a fast food restaurant, apparently just eating a burger, is now in critical condition, fighting for his life after he was shot by a police officer in San Antonio, who said he recognized him from a previous stop.
WALKER: The department has fired that officer and released video of what happened. We do warn you, it is quite disturbing.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't fire, don't fire, don't fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) on it right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired, shots fired.
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WALKER: The district attorney's office said they would not move forward with any charges against the teen but will be reviewing that shooting.
And now to an incredible moment in Michigan.
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WALKER (voice-over): These are two frantic parents who waved down a public school bus driver after their car was stolen with the little 2- year old inside. CNN affiliate WXMI reports the bus driver then called 9-1-1.
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SANCHEZ (voice-over): The bus driver radioed other bus drivers to be on the lookout. And another bus driver found the toddler near where the car was stolen. You see them, picking up the child and keeping him safe. It's thanks to their quick thinking that the child was returned safely to his parents.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: This hour in Ft. Myers Beach, Florida, evacuees who left their homes after hurricane Ian are finally returning there. It means for the first time since the hurricane hit, they're seeing for themselves the damage that was done to their homes and businesses.
WALKER: It's got to be a very difficult moment for them. As the clean-up efforts continue in Florida, Polo Sandoval reports they are being helped by a vital workforce in that state and so many others.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's going to be far more work than workers here for two, maybe three, maybe four years.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All you have to do is walk down these streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All you have to do is walk down these streets and look at it.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Resilience Force is a national nonprofit advocating for workers who descend on disaster stricken communities, helping fill demand for essential recovery and clean-up jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they're earning money for their families but the cost of this work is enormous, costs to their health and safety.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): He says a significant chunk of that workforce are migrants. Many, not all, are undocumented.
DESANTIS: We are not a sanctuary state.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Migrants are flocking to Florida just weeks after the governor flew asylum seekers from Texas to Martha's Vineyard to score political points.
DESANTIS: We've worked on innovative ways to be able to protect the state of Florida from the impact of Biden's border policies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor DeSantis needs these workers. He is now presiding over a recovery and is also aspiring to higher office and is going to be evaluated on how he leads this recovery. And the one thing he cannot do without is workers.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): This group of Venezuelan men made the trip from states where which their status is pending.
When this young Venezuelan father heard there were opportunities to make money in the clean-up effort, he spent the little he had to make his way down south. He sends dispatches back to New York, where his family waits for his return.
"Just like I'm starting from zero," he says, "many of the people here are doing the same. I came here happy to help," he says.
It's impossible to know how many migrants like him might be working off the books. DeSantis changed the subject when asked by CNN specifically about laborers like him.
QUESTION: There are asylum seekers in New York that are being reportedly recruited to come to the state of Florida to work on the recovery.
What is your response to those reports?
DESANTIS: First of all, our program is a voluntary relocation program.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Florida, not the first state to see this migrant workforce after natural disasters, this man says he has offered his services throughout the country since Hurricane Katrina.
This Nicaraguan father says he doesn't it for the money but to help people. He says, despite the politics at play, he's proud to be among the migrants helping Florida rebuild.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is three months alone of work just to get this city block back up and standing. There's enough work for immigrants and locals.
SANDOVAL: In recent months, migrants are likely to continue traveling to Florida. One local advocacy group here in New York City says asylum seekers are being actively recruited on the streets and online with promises of weeks-long post-hurricane clean-up gigs.
And those are jobs that are difficult to pass up. Of the roughly 17,000 asylum seekers that arrived since the spring, they've yet to receive their work authorization from the federal government because of a backlog.
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SANDOVAL: That's why they are working for $14 an hour rather than sitting idly by -- Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.
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SANCHEZ: It's almost the holiday shopping season. But retailers are holding off on their holiday hiring blitz. We're going to talk to an expert about that next.
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SANDOVAL: Despite a robust September jobs report, there are still mixed signals in the U.S. economy. The Labor Department said 263,000 jobs were added last month.
The hospitality industry seeing the bulk of that. Ahead of the holidays, many companies are holding back on seasonal hiring. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, says it would only be adding 40,000 workers this holiday. It may sound like a lot.
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SANCHEZ: It's actually a 27 percent decrease from last year's seasonal hiring. Let's discuss further with chief economist at ZipRecruiter, Julia Pollak.
We're grateful to have you this Sunday morning.
What was your take from the jobs report and what does that mean for the economy going into the holidays?
JULIA POLLAK, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ZIPRECRUITER: This report contained two things the Fed wanted to see, moderating job growth and slowing wage growth.
But still a very, very strong number. It's 60 percent more than the average monthly job gain in 2019. And job gains were still very broadly spread across the economy. So American workers are still finding lots of new jobs and good jobs.
SANCHEZ: How about going into the holidays, with retailers like Walmart perhaps not being so bullish on hiring seasonal employees?
POLLAK: So we did see earlier in the week in that jobs report that companies have reduced their job openings. What seems to be happening is companies are reducing their head count growth goals and going into this holiday season very cautious because they are hearing from the Fed that there will be a recession and that demand could fall.
So anticipating there might be a slowdown, companies don't want to be caught flat-footed and don't want to overhire. That said, there are many companies boldly moving ahead with holiday hiring plans.
They understand this is a very supply constrained labor market and they have drastically changed their hiring situation, their hiring processes to meet this moment. For example, by shrinking their hiring time from three weeks to two weeks to one week, now to a 20-minute cell phone interview that ends with an on-the-spot offer.
SANCHEZ: That is incredible.
What did you make of the number of Americans that stopped looking for work?
I think it was like 57,000.
POLLAK: Yes, and women, a huge decline in the amount of women in the labor force and that is very concerning. One reason is that child day care services have 100,000 fewer employees than before COVID-19.
And public schools have more than 300,000 fewer teachers and support staff. With reduced quality and access to education and child care, it makes sense a lot of that burden is failing on women, putting their careers aside to meet the gap. SANCHEZ: Some of the concern is, if the labor market remains this
hot, the Fed is going to continue to raise interest rates and that could unintentionally harm the economy.
Do you share that concern?
POLLAK: Well, we're already seeing high interest rates take a toll in parts of the labor market. Whenever there's this kind of uncertainty, one of the first things businesses do is cut advertising spend.
We saw advertising agencies shed almost 5,000 jobs in this report. We are also seeing a huge slowdown in the housing market. That's showing up in a number of places. Building supply stores lost a lot of jobs. We're seeing that in many industries, mostly mortgage lending.
That industry gained 50 percent more workers during the pandemic because everyone was rushing to refinance their house. That is dried up because there isn't that much of a need in the industry.
There are fears that could spill over into other industries as well, construction could slow down. So far it's pretty much held steady but there are risks ahead certainly. If the Fed has to hold interest rates higher for longer, that will certainly take a toll.
SANCHEZ: Julia Pollak, got to leave the conversation there. Thank you for your expertise. Appreciate it.
POLLAK: Thank you.
WALKER: Before we go, it's prime pumpkin season. An Illinois man is carving out a place in the history books. This isn't your average pumpkin. Weighing in at more than 1,700 pounds, it's the largest one grown in the entire state of Illinois this year.
Joe Atkins, the man behind the giant gourd, said it grew at a rate of 40 pounds per day, needed 150 gallons of water every 24 hours for three months. His labor of love paid off and his front yard has turned into quite the fall attraction.
Thinking of my home state of California, no way you could grow a pumpkin like that with the drought there.
SANCHEZ: I'm not a huge pumpkin person. I take something more tropical.
What do you think?
WALKER: Yes. I'll eat the seeds and carve it. That's about it.
Thanks for starting your morning with us. "INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY" with Abby Phillip is up next.
SANCHEZ: And here's a preview of "STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY" that premieres tonight on CNN.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Stanley Tucci is back in Italy. And there are more surprises to be found.
STANLEY TUCCI, CNN HOST: I have never seen anything quite like it.
There you go, Dad. It's your family home.
A million different flavors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they as good as mine?
TUCCI: I'm not answering that question.
Man, incredible. Amazing. Wow, wow, wow.
The food is amazing. Look at that.
Wow. Come on. That is (INAUDIBLE) amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY," new season premieres tomorrow at 9:00 on CNN.
TUCCI: You can stop filming. We are just going to eat.
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