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One World with Zain Asher
Trump: $5,000 To Every U.S. Adult If Republicans Hold Congress; Trump's Midterm Standing: How Does It Compare With 2018?; Trump Touts Economy, War With Iran, Blasts Democrats; Insiders Warn A.I. Advancing So Fast It Could Pose Threat To Life; Earth Just Had The Hottest August On Record; Small Island Off Yemen Becomes Strategic Prize In Iran War; Rams And 49ers To play First Regular Season NFL Game In Australia; TOMS Shoes Founder Talks New Mental Health Mission; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired September 10, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:38]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. You are watching the second hour of "One World."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here is my promise. If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate,
I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: A pitchman's promise. Trump offering big payouts for Republicans -- for Republican wins rather. Is it possible? And is it legal?
Also ahead, a human extinction by 2030, a former anthropic employee is really alarmed on A.I. and he's talking to CNN.
And later, entrepreneur, philanthropist visionary, we catch up with TOMS' founder, Blake Mycoskie.
All right. We may hear more from the U.S. president when he visits the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas in the next hour, one
day after making a dubious promise to voters just weeks before a crucial election.
On the first night of the Republican midterm Convention in Dallas, Donald Trump pledged to send $5,000 to every adult American if his party retains
power in November. He didn't provide any details on how to fund this trillion-dollar offer, but it comes as wholesale inflation is rising in the
U.S. and as the national debt reaches $40 trillion for the very first time. The president also made this plea to voters as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So, please, I ask you this as maybe more important even than the Trump dividend. Please pretend that I'm running and get out and vote on
November 3rd or sooner.
Because in actuality, I really am running.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The U.S. vice president, meantime, may be trying to fill in some of the blanks when it comes to how this $5,000 will be funded. It's worth
noting the president has also talked about the DOGE dividend and separate tariff-based payouts that never panned out.
But here's what J.D. Vance suggested after Trump's remark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, what the president is talking about is fundamentally a dividend for American
workers. We're taking in an extraordinary amount of revenue because the president of the United States is actually standing up to both foreign
companies, but also foreign countries who have been taking advantage of America's workers for pretty much my entire life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Trump's offer to pay voters comes as he steps up his attacks on Democrats in recent weeks, portraying them as godless communists offering a
government handout -- handouts.
CNN's Kevin Liptak is joining us live now. So, Kevin, think back to 10, maybe 15 years ago, if we had ever imagined that you and I would be sitting
here on television talking about an American President promising $5,000 to anyone who voted for Republicans, or rather the entire country if the
Republicans win the midterms, we would be flabbergasted. I mean, it would be almost unimaginable. It would be unthinkable.
We wouldn't necessarily even believe it would be real. And the fact that we are here having this conversation really does beggar belief, especially
because it is just one of many remarkable things that this president has talked about.
Just give us a sense of what this means about where we are as a society here.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. It's a remarkable pledge, particularly coming from a Republican whose party was once the
party of small government and lowering deficits and debts and fiscal responsibility. There's no question that this would add to the already
ballooning federal debt, which is at $40 trillion at the moment. And so it is a remarkable thing for the president to come out and say.
You know, I don't actually know how real this is. The White House hasn't provided any information whatsoever about where the money would come from,
how they planned to track the spending of it, because remember in the speech last night, he said that this money would have to be spent in the
United States. He didn't want it to be spent in Germany or Canada, he said, but how exactly the U.S. government would actually police that also in open
questions.
[12:05:05]
So, a lot of details about this remain unanswered, which leads me to believe that this isn't something that's been fully fleshed out from a
policy perspective, but certainly from a political point of view, it is kind of an outlandish thing for the president to come out and say.
And there are, I think, some questions about just how legal it is. You know, it would be illegal for the government to put out expenditures for
particular voters or to try and get voters to vote in a particular way.
Now, this is, I think, more of a campaign promise. He's saying that this would happen after the election. He's not actually paying for votes. And it
would also go in his own telling to every adult American, whether they voted for Republicans or not.
And so it probably will be considered legal, but ethically some big questions about what the president is actually promising here. It would be
an extraordinary amount of money. There are about 270 million American adults. That would bring us to about $1.3 trillion going out in the forms
of these checks.
As you mentioned, the president has made this kind of promise before, whether it was paying for them with the tariffs or paying for it with the
DOGE savings. Obviously, those checks are not in the mail anytime soon. The amount of money that they would have needed also doesn't match up with what
actually came into the government's coffers because of those programs.
Now, you heard J.D. Vance saying that perhaps this could be paid for with the tariff revenue. The U.S. has not taken in nearly enough money to pay
for this kind of program from the tariffs.
And you remember, the U.S. has also had to pay some of that money back because the tariffs were considered illegal by the Supreme Court. And so a
whole lot of questions about what exactly this would mean.
You also, I think, have questions about what it would portend for inflation. Remember, Republicans have spent the last two years criticizing
the Biden administration for putting out $1,400 stimulus checks after COVID and saying that that is part of what juiced inflation over the last five
years or so that continues to this day.
Why a $5,000 check sent to every American adult wouldn't do that is a question that they haven't necessarily explained.
ASHER: Yes, especially given that it comes at a time when oil prices are already elevated and so there are inflationary risks there and then you add
to it a $5,000 check to every American. I mean, obviously it would be not great in terms of inflationary pressures in the U.S.
Kevin Liptak, live for us. Thank you so much.
All right. While Republicans hold their midterm convention today in Dallas, we're taking a closer look at President Donald Trump's standing right now
at how it compares to where he stood at this point in the first time ahead of the 2018 midterm.
CNN's Harry Enten has the numbers for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey, Zain, Republicans are partying down in the great state of Texas, but there's nothing for them to celebrate
about President Trump's approval ratings.
At this point, it's a far different world. Great show, by the way. I think we've spoken about it. Then it was in term number one, heading into those
midterm elections back in 2018.
Look, President Trump's net approval rating was 14 points underwater, quite poor going into those first midterm elections for Trump. That is, of
course, approval minus approval rating. You think that's low? Look at these numbers.
Now, we're talking about 30 points underwater. We're talking about twice, in fact, more than twice as unpopular. We're talking about a president
who's down there in the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America, if you speak President Trump's language, and he's considerably less popular when he was
six points above water at this point at the beginning of his second term.
What is driving it, though? What is driving it? It's the center of the electorate. It's the center of the electorate. You think those numbers are
bad? How about among independents? Look at this. President Trump's net approval rating among independents.
Again, in term number one at this point, he was 18 points underwater. He is now nearly three times as unpopular among independents. Look at this, minus
50 points. My goodness gracious. Down there swimming with the fishes.
And 49 points Forty-nine points less popular with independents than he was at the beginning of his second term.
Now what is driving these numbers? Why is President Trump so unpopular among the overall electorate and independents? It's the economy, baby. It's
the economy, baby.
President Trump's net approval rating on the economy. At this point in term number one, look at this, overall plus five points. Now, minus 37. What is
that? That's 42 points less popular.
You think that's a big difference? How about this shift? Plus 10 among independents. Now, 52 points underwater. That is a change, Zain, of, get
this, 62 points. Woof.
Well, I'm going to toss it back to you because we were talking about parties at the beginning and I know that every single time I'm with you, it
is a party.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[12:10:00]
ASHER: Even when he records his messages, he's still hilarious. Harry Enten, live for us there.
Charlie Dent, former U.S. House Republican, joins us live now.
So, I just want to start on just getting your reaction in this, in terms of this promise that President Trump made to American voters, $5,000 to every
American across the country, if the Republicans win in the midterms.
I mean, there's so many different strands to pull on here. I mean, obviously, it does show the level of desperation, if you -- if you will.
But also on top of that, you have the Republicans or rather Americans who will likely not necessarily believe the president. I don't know if it's
going to necessarily move the needle, but just give us your take on -- on - - on just where we are, the fact that the president is making these kinds of promises.
CHARLIE DENT, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: Well, as a more traditional Republican, there was a time when Republicans would have
scoffed at an idea like this.
One, a $5,000 check that every American would be inflationary at a time of higher costs and inflation. So, that's a bad idea from the get-go.
And if we want to lower costs for Americans, well, maybe we should repeal the tariffs. Maybe we should also bring a conclusion to the Iran war and
reopening the Strait. That would also likely put a downward pressure on gasoline prices. So, why don't we just try to lower costs for Americans
rather than try to buy their votes?
So, I think it's bad policy. It would obviously require an act of Congress, which I'm not so sure Congress would be willing to make this kind of a
payment.
And by the way, the tariff money has already been spent, I think, three different ways. And it's already being refunded to many people because of
the U.S. Supreme Court decision.
So I just don't -- it is an act of desperation. And I don't think it's a serious proposal. I -- I would be shocked if that ever became lawful.
ASHER: No. I mean, of course. But just -- I mean, you brought up so many sort of practical reasons why there would be holes in this, not at least
because of the inflationary pressures.
And, yes, if you want to bring prices down, why not put an end to the tariffs and why not just bring the Iran war to an end? And that would, of
course, lower oil prices. But even just from a political strategy, I mean, it is -- it's shocking to say the least.
And -- and when it comes to the president's other political strategy here, his idea of sort of, you know, pretend -- pretend I'm on the ballot, how
much has that actually helped him or her -- him given that the president is relatively unpopular right now?
DENT: Well, I think it's a real challenge for Republicans. What -- what I think Republicans would like to do is replicate the 2024 turnout model.
That was a presidential year when Trump was actually on the ballot. They're not going to be able to do that in 2026.
And what we're finding is, in these non-presidential election years, Republicans now have a structural disadvantage in terms of turnout, partly
because the voter -- the -- the voting-based Republican Party has shifted to more working-class voters without a college degree. They are less likely
to vote, maybe, than those with higher incomes and college degrees. That used to be Republican demographic, by the way.
When I first got in politics, Republicans had that structural advantage. Now, it's a structural disadvantage. So, the Democrats have that advantage
going into the midterm.
But when you combine -- when you combine that disadvantage Republicans have on the turnout with the president's unpopularity, and just a lack of
enthusiasm generally, I -- I don't know how the president is going to get the turnout numbers up.
He should take that $400 million or whatever he has, and he should start spending that for turnout issues. That's the best thing he could do. But
right now, he's -- I'm not sure what he's doing with that money. They've been pretty slow about opening the wallet.
ASHER: You know, I think -- I thin what is surprising to a lot of international -- our international audience, obviously, this is CNN
International, is the sort of the underhanded methods that the president and the party is using to desperately try to win these elections come
November.
Whether it's through redistricting, whether it's the mail-in ballots fights, whether it's promising Americans $5,000, if -- if Republicans --
just talk to us just more broadly about some of the strategies being used here that we haven't really sort of seen before.
DENT: Well, even -- let's take the redistricting and the mail-in voting issues. Republicans, because of the presidential pressure, redistricted
many states. But again, I think my party made a lot of bad assumptions. They drew these seats based on past performance, 2024. Well, guess what?
We're not running in 2024, it's 2026.
So, take Texas. They drew what they thought would be five additional Republican seats. I'm sitting here telling you Republicans will be lucky to
win three of those seats. So, they -- they overreach. They're diluting seats. And I think they've overplayed their hand. Will they pick up some
seats as a result of redistricting? Yes, but not as many as they think.
And on mail-in voting, which, again, they're up -- the -- the president is, you know, he's obsessed with it. The truth is, by discouraging mail-in
voting, he's also suppressing Republican votes, as well as democratic votes. It doesn't make any sense. States like Utah and Florida are very
reliant -- reliant on -- on mail-in voting. Many rural areas of the country that tend the vote Republican, also rely on mail-in voting.
[12:15:09]
So, I'm not sure that even those -- these attempts are -- are meant to help Republicans. I don't think they're going to help them as much as he thinks.
Now, I said, I am worried about the -- the Post Office trying to intervene with these elections because this is a state and local function. The
federal government has very limited authority to administer elections.
ASHER: And just last one, you know, this is basically a glorified Trump rally. I mean, there's obviously, there's no platform, there's no one being
nominated.
But what do you make of the -- the -- the messaging this time around at this particular convention? They spend a lot of time going after Democrats,
this idea that, you know, if Democrats win in November, you're not going to have a country anymore. This -- this country is going to fall to pieces.
You know, there's -- there's going to be an influx at the border. That is the sort of scare tactic -- tactics that we're seeing at this convention.
What do you make of that strategy?
DENT: Well, yes, the barbarians are coming over the gate strategy is about the only thing they have right now.
And look, if I are a Republican running for office right now, you know, they don't have a lot that they can run on. The One Big, Beautiful Bill
really isn't that popular, so they really can't brag about that too much, maybe some elements of it.
But frankly, the Democrats have given Republicans an opening with some of these democratic socialist candidates or DSA-like candidates. Those folks,
that -- the -- the platform of that party or that -- that movement, I should say, is quite radical.
And -- and trying to tie Democrats to the DSA is probably the smartest and best things Republicans can do at this point. I'm not saying it's going to
be successful. I'm just saying.
But given the environment they're in, they've got to throw something. And that might be the only thing.
Hey, I guess it's merciful that they're not talking about the ballroom. They're not talking about the arch. They're not talking about, you know --
you know, the latest grievance or fighting with the Canadians. You know, that's -- I guess that's merciful.
But this -- this stuff -- I mean, it's better that they talk about the DSA and, you know, the Democrats being bad. I mean, you know, it's -- that
message is, hey, we might not be very good, but they're worse. And that -- that's -- that's all you can do at this point.
ASHER: Well, listen, we are -- we're weeks away, right? So, we'll see if any of this pays off. Charlie Dent, live for us. Thank you so much.
Appreciate your perspective.
DENT: Thank you, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Still to come on "One World," destructive waves are crashing into the California coast from a hurricane that wasn't even close.
That's coming up.
Plus, this sweltering summer just broke a bunch of records or melted them, rather. After the break, we'll show you what's behind the sizzling season.
Also ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, Zain, for the first time ever, the NFL is heading down under for a regular season game. And the Rams and 49ers
could not have had more different strategies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: American football fans in Australia are getting ready for tonight's game between the Rams and the 49ers. But are the teams ready? That's later
on the show as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:45]
ASHER: We're hearing more from the former A.I. researcher who walked away from his job over fears about where the technology is headed.
Jacob Coxon sounded the alarm on Tuesday when he resigned from his job at Anthropic and posted blunt warnings about A.I. on social media. He warned
that some A.I. developers genuinely believe that these systems could become powerful enough to threaten humanity before the decade is out.
Coxon spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper about his concerns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACOB COXON, FORMER ANTHROPIC RESEARCHER: The precise scenario sounds a little bit like science fiction. It sounds like something that's not real,
but it is frightening real and it's -- it's easiest to understand it if you think about real things that happened two months ago.
So, two months ago, OpenAI agents, A.I.'s, hacked into third-party infrastructure entirely at their own accord. And this was like a
concentrated hacking spree that they carried out of their own volition.
And I think that if you extrapolate into the future the level of capabilities of these A.I.s with the same independent volition, they could
cause extreme havoc, for example, hacking critical infrastructure, building extinction level bio-weapons. There's a lot of ways that the A.I. could
actuate itself in the world.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we've mentioned a former colleague of yours who currently works at Anthropic, basically endorsing the assessment
that A.I. could potentially kill everyone within a decade.
In a follow-up post he said, "To be clear, as we say in our -- in our latest risk report, I think the risk from present models is low. What I'm
worried about is superintelligence arising from recursive self-improvement, as we've said is happening faster than -- than we thought."
I assume that's what you -- the recursive self-improvement what you've just spoken about.
COXON: Exactly.
Cooper: Do you agree with him that the current models, the risk is low, but it's -- it's just the speed with which this is now improving?
COXON: Exactly, I completely agree. It's right now, there's no risk of extinction. The current models, the worst they can do is maybe hack into
something, potentially cause a lot of damages in -- in infrastructure, but there's no -- they're not intelligent enough to outsmart us at the level
that would lead to -- to extinction.
I think what's just crazy is to look at the -- the rate of progress. And there is a very real possibility that in the immediate future, these are
years that like next year, the year after, recursive self-improvement will happen and will enter the phase of Evan's post where he argues that there's
a chance we could all die. Like that -- that is coming soon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Over the past few days, Southern California has been slammed by huge waves washing out beaches and damaging coastal homes. The
powerful swells generated hundreds of miles away by the remnants of Hurricane Marie. The high waves are creating life-threatening surf and rip
currents as well.
You don't need to tell us that it was a hot August, trust me, we already know. In fact, Earth just had its hottest August on record.
And the records, by the way, do not stop there. This summer, as a whole, tied with the summer of 2024 as the hottest season on record across the
world. Europe's Climate Monitoring Agency, Copernicus, blames two factors, human cause, global warming, as we know, and the strengthening El Nino in
the Pacific Ocean.
Bill Weir takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: It's official, the summer of '26 was a full three degrees hotter than average. And it showed us vividly
how the symptoms of this manmade fever range from annoying, to expensive, to deadly.
Summer camps and fireworks displays disrupted by wildfire smoke and extreme heat. Explosions of ticks along hiking trails and algae blooms on lakes and
reflecting pools.
A hotter atmosphere brings wetter wets and drier dries, which meant record wildfires in the parched northwest and near constant flash flood warnings
from the hill country of Texas to the canyons of New York City.
Data from Copernicus shows similar overheating around the globe, with deadly heat domes in Europe, fires in Indonesia, and that glacier collapse
in the Himalayas.
And the record does not include the full force of a growing El Nino, which is just starting to shatter temperature records in the Pacific and could
devastate a California coast already reeling from mudslides and erosion.
[12:25:07]
'26 now unseats 1936, when a heat wave turned disastrous, agriculture policy into the Dust Bowl.
And there are parallels today. The United Nations just announced that humanity will definitely break the Paris Accord promise to hold global
heating at temperatures lower than they are now, while American politicians shrug off climate science and protect polluters. So, a lot more heat is on
the way.
And for the rest of our lives, the only question is how much?
Bill Weir, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Still to come on "One World," a tiny island in a crucially important waterway becomes the center of a global conflict. CNN's
Nic Robertson gains exclusive access to Perim Island.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Suddenly, we just had to turn around. We're told it's because drones have been reported in the
area. This is a hot war, and this is one of the epicenters of that war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels are making a push to take control of the Red Sea, a key waterway vital to international shipping
and an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
The information minister for Yemen's internationally recognized government tell CNN that Houthi rebels have seized control of the Red Sea port of
Mocha, bringing them closer to the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait.
CNN's Nic Robertson and his team gained exclusive access to Perim Island, just south of Mocha, and it's become a strategic prize in the widening Iran
war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Yemen's navy is taking us to Perim Island, the heart of a little-known local war that's getting pulled into America's war
with Iran.
ROBERTSON: So, what happens here next could affect just more than the Iran war already has. These islands, this vital waterway, the price of oil, it
is all vulnerable right now. And what happens here could impact President Trump's political fortunes.
[12:30:18]
ROBERTSON (voice-over): In recent weeks, Iran-backed Houthis have hit several Saudi oil tankers on these waters. They're a bypass to the Strait
of Hormuz. As we find out, Houthis are a constant threat here.
ROBERTSON: Suddenly, we just had to turn around, we're told, it's because drones have been reported in the area. This is a hot war. And this is one
of the epicenters of that war.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Our second attempt, getting closer.
ROBERTSON: This here that you're looking at out across the Red Sea, the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait, the narrowest point on that Red Sea. Those ships out
there, that's what this is all about.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Commercial shipping, critical for the global economy.
Eventually, we make it, greeted by Yemeni government forces, keeping the vital waterway open.
Not many outsiders make it here. We're the first international journalists they've seen in years, but we're not going to have long. The Houthi drone
is still a threat.
ROBERTSON: And it looks for all the world, like the place that time forgot. It is really stuck out here in the middle of the ocean.
Looking out across the ocean this way. Bab-al-Mandeb. Bab-al-Mandeb. I'm looking across out there.
You can see Africa across there. Djibouti literally just across the sea there.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Perim is at the Strait's narrowest point, just 12 miles from Africa. Since Iran blocked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,
Saudi diverted its oil exports through the Red Sea, helping keep global oil prices down. Ten percent of global oil used to flow through here.
ROBERTSON: It's down to about less than half of that, or about half of that now. And if the Houthis get control of the Red Sea, if the Iranian proxies
or Houthis get control of the Red Sea, they can shut the oil flows here down -- down to almost nothing.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): What we don't see on our short visit is a military force that measures up to the scale of what's at stake for the rest of the
world. For the commander in charge of this region, that's a worry.
ROBERTSON: Because the Houthis would try to kill you, right? The Iranians would love to have you dead.
TARIK SALEH, VICE PRESIDENT, YEMEN PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL: So many -- so many times.
ROBERTSON: So many times. I know.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Vice President Tarik Saleh is a rarity at the moment. A political leader still in Yemen and still fighting the Houthis.
SALEH (through translator): We told the world that this is an Iranian plan, but no one listened to Yemenis back then, that this is a battle that would
not only affect Yemenis, but the region and international community.
ROBERTSON: This is Iran trying to put pressure on President Trump.
SALEH (through translator): Exactly.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Are you getting any support from the United States?
SALEH: Just talk.
ROBERTSON: Just talk. And how do you feel about that?
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Disappointed, he says.
Even so, Saleh is bullish about his troops, claiming gains on the battlefield with new equipment and new tactics, hitting Houthi hideouts
with quadcopter drone attacks, similar to those used in Ukraine.
But it won't be easy, after years of fighting, the Houthis are well dug in. Control the capital, the northwest of Yemen, including much of the Red Sea
coast.
The government has the east and the south, with the Houthi attacks pressing towards the last stretch of Red Sea coast under government control.
What Saleh's troops organize for us next is a hard reality check about what they're up against.
ROBERTSON: So right now, we've just got into a big armored vehicle. Interestingly, it's all blacked out. The windows are blacked out, so we
don't know where we're going.
ROBERTSON: It's here to a highly secret and secure stash of Iranian-made Houthi weapons, snatched, the Yemeni military says, from smugglers at sea.
This sophisticated anti-ship missile capable of hitting tankers from hundreds of miles away. Cutting-edge anti-aircraft missiles ultra-high spec
optic radar. They readily admit more gets through to the Houthis than they can catch.
ROBERTSON: What's Iran's strategy with the Houthis?
ABDEL NASSER EL-MAMIOUH, DIRECTOR, NRF MEDIA (through translator): The U.S. siege on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz has made Iran look at its options and
activate the strongest one, the Houthis to close Bab al-Mandeb. They are saying, if our economy collapses in Iran, so will the world economy.
[12:35:13]
ROBERTSON (voice-over): In recent weeks, the Houthis have been stepping up attacks on Saleh's forces in Mocha. It's a vital trade port. A regular
Houthi target hit multiple times. So much so, the harbor walls are littered with sunk and sinking ships.
ROBERTSON: And here, this is a piece, the tail fin from one of those Houthi missiles. See it heavy, ripped into the ground, splattered across here in
the port, all across this boat here. So many missiles landed. The port authorities had to shut the whole port down.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Sixteen people lost their lives, the port director tells me, and 1,500 employees are now without work.
The Houthis, he says, are trying to kill their economy as well as the people.
More than 10 years of civil war have all but broken Yemen. Humanitarian groups say more than half the population need their help. But now, Iran's
war with the U.S. threatens to push Yemen over the edge.
Saleh has a salutary warning for Trump. Yemen's losses could be his economic pain.
SALEH (through translator): We see the high cost paid by international community to secure the passages of few ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
If the Yemeni forces were supported right now, they will make more achievements with a much lower cost than the Strait of Hormuz.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Trump's Iran legacy is getting more complicated.
Nic Robertson, CNN, in the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Let's take a quick look before we go to break at where oil prices are now. Brent crude, $106 a barrel. WTI, that's the U.S.
benchmark, just slightly over $100 a barrel.
We'll be right back with more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Let's take a look and see where the markets are right now. Red across the board. The Dow, the NASDAQ, and the S&P 500 down, all
half a percent each. This is your business breakout.
[12:40:07]
Global oil prices are still rising with both Brent crude and WTI trading at over $100 a barrel. Costs have continued to creep up as fighting continues
in the Middle East, stoking concerns over further disruptions to global supplies and the flow of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
The iPhone is getting its biggest change in its nearly 20-year history at Wednesday's Apple event. The tech giant revealed the new iPhone Duo, the
company's first foldable smartphone. It retails at around $2,000 and will launch in October.
And for any Spice Girl fans watching, get ready to spice up your life this fall. The group is releasing a new special collection complete with all of
their singles, B-sides, and a few surprises from the vault. The singles collection will be dropping on November 6th and is already available for
pre-order.
The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers have their season opener tonight in Australia, the first regular season NFL game there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 49ers, yes. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bang, bang, baby. Bang, bang, Niner gang. Let's go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: 49ers fans are pumped for this game to actually be held in Melbourne.
One of the biggest questions, will traveling more than 12,000 kilometers have any effect on how they play? No NFL team has attempted a trip like
this during the regular season. Fans though do not seem too concerned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's awesome. I mean, I've been a fan for going on eight years now and just only being able to watch it 2:00 A.M. in the
mornings on Mondays and the best feeling when you've got work. But being able to come over here on a -- on a Friday morning, you know, not ideal,
but I mean, I'm pretty stoked to be able to see it in person and at a reasonable hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Andy Scholes has a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHOLES: Well, Zain, for the first time ever, the NFL is heading Down Under for a regular season game. And the Rams and 49ers could not have had more
different strategies when it came to getting there.
The Niners got to Australia a week ago to adjust to the time change. The Rams, meanwhile, travelled there yesterday and they're trying to just keep
everyone on West Coast body clocks despite the 17-hour time difference.
Now, here was Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan and Rams head coach Sean McVay discussing their different travel strategies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYLE SHANAHAN, HEAD COACH, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: I think some guys that'll help, some guys that'll hurt. That'll be the case for us. That'll be the
case for them. But there's some guys on our team that it would have helped to just come in right away and get out right away.
And I think there's a lot of guys that'd be miserable for. I think it's going to go both ways on that. So, that's stuff that we can discuss. I'm
sure will be a good case study for anybody else in the future to sit there and overthink which one helped and not.
SEAN MCVAY, HEAD COACH, LOS ANGELES RAMS: We're just excited to play and this is a part of it. We're not going to let it bother us anymore. And I do
feel good about our plan.
You know, I think our players trust, you know, the plan that we put play -- in place for them and -- and how we're going to travel, make it as seamless
as possible, not minimizing the length of it. And then try to go be at our best when we kick off at 10:35 or whatever time it is that we're kicking
off in Australia, but 5:35 on Thursday in our head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: All right. We'll see which strategy ends up working. The game, it's going to be played at the iconic Melbourne cricket ground which holds
more than 100,000 fans. It's going to be televised on Netflix.
The kickoff is at 8:35 Eastern Thursday night, but the game is actually at 10:35 Friday morning in Melbourne.
Now, this is going to be our first look at this Rams team that is the overwhelming favorite to win the Super Bowl.
But, Zain, that actually isn't great news for the team, because teams that have been that big of overwhelming favorites like the Rams, they're
actually 0 in 20 when it comes to winning the Super Bowl over the last 30 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Andy Scholes there.
All right. Still to come on "One World," taking a step in the right direction. In just a moment, I'll be speaking with the founder of TOMS
shoes about his new mission focusing on mental health.
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[12:45:51]
ASHER: All right. Imagine having it all, fame, money, popularity, and still being miserable. That is what happened to Blake Mycoskie, the founder of
the popular TOMS shoe brand.
After selling the company, he suffered from mental health challenges. Mycoskie went on a healing journey and came back to his entrepreneurial
spirit.
Time now for The Exchange. Blake is joining me to talk about his new venture, the mental health movement called We Are Enough. He also has a
podcast called No Magic Pill. Blake, thank you so much for being with us.
I mean, you founded TOMS shoes back in 2006. You ended up selling it, 50 percent of it, about a decade or so later for $300 million. And, you know,
we live in a culture that tells us that you are not a fully realized person unless you have made it, right?
We glorify, at least in this country, and -- and much of the Western world, we glorify money, we glorify fame, we glorify having more Instagram
followers, this -- this endless pursuit of more, more, more.
And we're sold this idea that you're not really complete until you've achieved the next level of success. It's not enough to make $100,000 a
year, make half a million. It's not enough to make half a million, go for $1 million.
You are somebody that has achieved what society told you, would make you whole, made $300 million selling your business. And what did you discover
on the other side of that success, Blake?
BLAKE MYCOSKIE, FOUNDER, we are enough: I -- I discovered that it was never enough. You know, I thought, you know, building TOMS shoes, we helped 100
million children get a pair of shoes. I made hundreds and millions of dollars. I had a beautiful family. And I thought that I would finally feel
that I was enough, that I was whole, that I was good.
And the reality is, is once all that happened, and I still didn't feel any different, my whole world came crashing down, and I entered a very dark and
scary depression that lasted almost seven years.
ASHER: You know, it is heartbreaking because I've followed your journey for such a long time, and so many of us were inspired by your TOMS shoes,
because there was such a philosophy of giving behind it, you know, the sort of --
MYCOSKIE: Yes, yes.
ASHER: -- one-for-one model. People buy one pair of shoes here in the United States, and you give away a free pair of shoes to someone in
Argentina who has been going barefoot. Such a beautiful model.
And then, obviously, I think a lot of people were cheering for you when you managed to, quote- unquote, make it.
And then obviously this really dark period that happened to you afterwards. Just -- just explain to us, you know, as I imagine, some of the darkness
that came around that time, you were really enveloped in a feeling of -- of deep emptiness.
What was it that helped you?
MYCOSKIE: Well, also --
ASHER: Go -- go on -- go on, Blake.
MYCOSKIE: Yes. Also, I was -- I had a lot of shame, you know. I was very prolific on social media during the TOMS days. And I didn't make a single
post on Instagram for three and a half years, because I felt like, who am I to be depressed? You know, I've made all this money. I've helped all these
people, like, I can't be honest and tell people how I'm really feeling.
And if I have a message for people today is, that is the worst thing possible for your mental health. Because I was ashamed, because I didn't
tell anyone, it got worse and worse and worse until it got so bad that I eventually had to reach out for health because it was a life or death
situation.
[12:50:13]
And thank goodness I did, because one of the things that had the biggest impact was working with a therapist and realizing that I had this -- this
thing called a core wound that I didn't even know existed. And it was this belief that I'm not enough and that I will never be enough. And that
started when I was a very young boy, you know, playing tennis and all these things.
And, ultimately, once I realized that that was at the core of my pain and that the drive that I had had for all these years, it was insatiable. And I
did the work and started to realize that, no, I am enough just as I am, then it really started to help me and then it gave me a new purpose in
life.
And that was to help people with their mental health by helping the world realize that we are enough just as we are. And I started this new
nonprofit. We make these bracelets. I don't know if you can see that right there.
ASHER: Yes, I see it.
MYCOSKIE: It's a beaded bracelet. We make them, hand-make them by these amazing women in India. And every time we sell them, we sell them in a
pair. So, you get one for you to wear and one to give to someone else.
And the bracelet is a daily reminder that you are enough, just as you are. And it's a way to deeply connect about how you're really doing with
someone.
And 100 percent of the profits go to mental health organizations that are really helping people like they help me. And it's something I've just
become extremely passionate about.
ASHER: There's so much in here, Blake. There's so much that people can take away from your story and people can really learn from.
And, you know, we all know sort of intellectually that money doesn't buy happiness. I mean, that is sort of oldest --
MYCOSKIE: Yes.
ASHER: -- cliche that there is. We all know that intellectually. But yet, for so many of us, it is so hard not to believe it. It's one thing to know
something in theory. It's another thing to actually embody it.
Why is it so difficult for us to actually get our head around this idea, even though we -- we all know it in theory to actually not fall for this
idea that money is going to make us happy?
MYCOSKIE: I think it's our programming and our culture. I mean, that starts at such a young age and it is prolific through our culture.
And the other thing that our culture tells us is that there is some magic pill. There is some promotion, or there is a relationship, or there is
something that's going to make you feel OK. And that's why I started the No Magic Pill podcast, because I realized in my healing journey for me to get
back to feeling great again, there was no magic thing.
I mean, I got trans-magnetic brain stimulation at Harvard. And I went to India and sat in an ashram for a month and I did all these retreats. And
what I realized is what made me feel better mentally, actually, there were lots of simple things that are free to everyone.
And so I have people come on the show, like Matthew McConaughey came on the show, and he shared, like, hey, look, my life looks really good from the
outside, and it has been amazing, but I've gone through some really dark times, and this is how I got through, you know. Or a Kevin Love, you know,
an NBA champion.
And so what I'm trying to do with this kind of mental health focus, especially with No Magic Pill, the podcast, is have all different types of
people on to tell their stories, because when we hear someone else's story, we feel a little less alone. And that's what I felt. I felt so alone during
that time.
And by sharing these stories and giving people practical tools and tips that help people with their feeling stuck or depressed or confused every
week, that I really feel is like what my mission is now.
And honestly, I look back at it all, and I never want to go through it again, but I can look back and actually be thankful for the intensity of
what I experienced because it gave me the empathy and the understanding to do what I'm doing now.
ASHER: Yes, I mean, absolutely. I mean, the Buddhists talk about the importance of turning poison into medicine, and I think that is what you're
essentially saying.
I -- I do want to talk about relationships, because I'm sure that the past few years have not only changed you as a person, but changed how you relate
to others.
I mean, you know, the thing about money and fame is that if you're not careful, it can completely destroy your ability to connect to other people.
And, you know, money can buy a lot of things, but it cannot buy -- I mean, it can even buy you friends technically, but it cannot buy you intimacy and
it cannot cure loneliness.
How has the journey --
MYCOSKIE: I'm so glad you --
ASHER: Yes. How has the journey that you've been on, Blake, over the past, I don't know, decade or so, changed how you relate to others?
MYCOSKIE: I mean, I'm so glad you brought that up. It's -- it's -- it's everything. I mean, I really think one of the most important anecdotes to
suffering, depression, anxiety is connection.
You know, it -- you know, it really is about connection and about investing in those relationships. I am very blessed. I just turned 50 years old for
my 50th birthday, 14 of my very best guy friends from all walks of life went with me on a surfing trip.
[12:55:02]
And we sat down and we said, you know what? I actually think investing in this men's group, almost 20 years ago, is what kept me alive. And I really
believe that. And I think that's such an important message.
And interestingly enough, when I asked guests on No Magic Pill, what has been the most important thing for keeping their mental health good, not
just getting them out of the depression or the feeling of stuckness, but actually keeping them mentally healthy and really living life to the
fullest, nine out of 10 guests talk about specific relationships.
You don't need a ton of them, but the ones you have, you need to be able to be honest with each other and really talk about how you're really doing.
Because if you don't, then you feel lonely and you don't share and that's when the mental health troubles really can -- can get on top of each other.
ASHER: Yes. Because that's what you were saying earlier, this idea of feelings that you had no right. You had made so much money, you had
achieved all the success, you had no right to be unhappy and therefore you bottled up all of the pain and suffering that you were experiencing, which
obviously amplified everything.
I mean, the one thing I think we can all learn from this is just the importance of human connection.
MYCOSKIE: And one thing I just want to say --
ASHER: Go ahead.
MYCOSKIE: -- about relationships that has been so important, especially with the Enough bracelet, is the relationship to my kids. I have an eight-
year-old and 11-year-old. And I didn't realize until I started doing this work that I was subconsciously projecting to them that they weren't enough,
because I didn't feel enough.
If I don't feel enough, how can I make my kids feel that they are enough just as they are? And so when I started to do this work and had this
healing and was very honest with them about why I was suffering and gave them the bracelet and then they started giving it to their friends, it has
had the most transformative fact on my parenting than anything else that I've experienced.
ASHER: Blake, unfortunately, we are out of time. But thank you so much --
MYCOSKIE: Oh, OK.
ASHER: -- for that and very inspiring to hear about, you know, how this has changed out your relationship with your kids.
Blake Mycoskie, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
MYCOSKIE: Thank you.
ASHER: All right. That does it for "One World." I'm Zain Asher. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
