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Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) is Interviewed about SNAP Benefits; Polls in New York City Mayoral Election; A.J. Fraser is Interviewed about Jamaica; Wendy Sherman is Interviewed about Nuclear Weapons Testing; Brett Barley is Interviewed about North Carolina's Shoreline. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 30, 2025 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:30:00]

DONOVAN MIKESELL, SNAP RECIPIENT: So out of control, I mean, you might be standing there five, six hours to get any food.

RICHARD DAVIS, SNAP RECIPIENT: It would be a matter of, do we eat or do we pay rent? And right now, the way things are going, it looks like, you know what, it's just pay rent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining me right now is Republican Congressman Mark Alford of Missouri.

Congressman, thanks for coming in.

REP. MARK ALFORD (R-MO): Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: The administration has found ways to fill the gap with some priorities, reprogram billions to pay border agents, keeping pay going for members of the military for now, found money to keep funding WIC, a different food assistance program as well. Should the administration find a way to fill the gap here, even as this shutdown continues?

ALFORD: Well, Kate, thanks for having me on.

I am on the Appropriations Committee, so this is very important to me. We have many recipients in the Fourth Congressional. District of Missouri that are taking part in the food stamp program we call Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. So, I know that people are very concerned.

Look, we fully funded the SNAP program on September 19th when we voted for an extension of current funding, 2024 level funding, under Joe Biden. We have done our job.

Now, I know that people are concerned about what's going to happen over this weekend. We have a contingency fund in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but these are for natural disasters, not for manmade disasters, like the Schumer shutdown. It is not fungible money that can be moved from one account to another to help offset the -- or mitigate some of the damage that Chuck Schumer is doing to our great nation.

BOLDUAN: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, on its website, in September, ahead of this shutdown, did say that those contingency funds could be used. That has since been removed from its website. The administration says, as you've just said, they cannot be used.

Chuck Schumer's take, he told reporters this, "the bottom line is they can fund it, just as in 2019, just as in other shutdowns, for a long period of time."

Your Republican colleague, Nicole Malliotakis, was on with me yesterday. She says she would like to see the administration to figure out a way to fund this program while the shutdown continues.

If they don't, is the administration then using food stamps as leverage, like Republicans have accused Democrats of doing with the shutdown in general?

ALFORD: Kate, I don't think we're using anything as leverage. This is all in Chuck Schumer's head, I believe at this point. His arrogance, his pride, his fear of losing a primary to AOC come next election cycle. This could end today if they would -- they're going to vote, I assume today, for the 14th time. They have voted against a continuing resolution.

We are just asking for a clean CR at current funding levels. We've -- we've funded the military. We've funded the WIC program. We've funded the SNAP program. Chuck Schumer has poured gasoline on America. And my fear is, because of the pressure, the misery that they are bringing about purposefully to gain people over to their side, someone's going to light a match. And it's going to be on Chuck Schumer.

We have got to make sure our nation is protected. People are fed. That we get back to regular order in Congress.

We can do that. We can get back here. I'm here now. I'm going back to Kansas City today. But we can come back and -- and begin again the appropriations process to pass the remaining nine funding bills and get this done.

BOLDUAN: The -- the question then remains, though, is there something that can be done while that -- while anything is being negotiated? And that's where USDA said one thing and now is saying something different. And you do have a difference of opinion where I don't think there should be on what can be used and when, when it comes to feeding the hungry.

I want to ask you, though, also, as you're talking about Missouri --

ALFORD: Well, Kate, I do find it -- I find it funny that, for the last eight months, our friends on the other side of the aisle, on appropriations committee, including our ranking member, who I'm friends with, they are really in a stew about the administration taking away our Article Two or impinging upon our Article One authority. And now they want to give the administration Article One authority. Either we have Article One authority or we don't. I'm for protecting our Article One authority.

My take on this matter is that these funds are not fungible. You cannot move them to a contingency fund that is made --

BOLDUAN: OK.

ALFORD: That is designed for natural disasters. If we get hit by a hurricane, which we could still get hit this season, we need that money to help people out who are in dire straits. And I know that people are going to feel like they're in dire straits now.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

ALFORD: Our churches and our charities need to step up this weekend to make sure that people get some assistance. It shouldn't be totally on the government. SNAP is a -- is a program. And I heard a -- two -- two segments prior, a mom with kids.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

ALFORD: Worried about feeding those kids and talking about what a job is.

[08:35:08]

Bless mothers taking care of their children. That is the job. Believe me. My -- my -- my wife did it. My mom did it. But we're not kicking anyone off of the SNAP program under the reforms of the one big, beautiful bill. If you have dependents, you're not getting kicked off. And that is a misnomer, a lie that the left is telling.

BOLDUAN: Congressmen, I appreciate -- I appreciate you coming on. I appreciate you offering clarity, where a lot of people are trying to avoid answering the question when it comes to what this is going to mean for people on SNAP, you're at least giving your opinion and I appreciate your time coming on today. Thank you very much.

ALFORD: Kate, thank you so much.

BOLDUAN: Sara

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Kate.

New Yorkers have a big decision to make. Mamdani, Cuomo or Sliwa. What early voting is telling us in New York's mayoral race.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten running the numbers for us.

All right, so, is this race close in early voting or no?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, I mean, we'll look at the polling and then we'll look at the early voting. And what the polling suggests is this race is, simply put, not close at all. I know there are a lot of people on Twitter, a lot of Cuomo fans, who think that this race is closing. I want what they're having. Because if we take a look at the choice for New York City mayor, look, back in September, Mamdani was ahead by 15 points, my aggregate of polls, 45 to 30 percent. You jump to now, it's basically the same story. If nothing else, Mamdani might have actually gained a point or two. Mamdani closing in on that 50 percent mark, 48 percent. You see Cuomo here at 31 percent. At this particular point, and we're getting close to where this particular point is Election Day, this race is, simply put, not close at all.

SIDNER: There's been talk about, you know, older voters coming out and that that was going to change things because he has such huge support from younger voters. What are you seeing on that?

ENTEN: OK. Yes. So, what could cause the polls to possibly be wrong? Well, maybe they're mis modeling the electorate. What Cuomo wants is a surge of older voters and younger voters to make up a lower percentage of the electorate than the polls suggest. Is that happening so far? Well, take a look here. The 2025 New York City electorate under age 45. If you look at Marist, they're projecting among all likely voters that it's going to be 38 percent.

What do we see in the early vote so far? It's basically the same percentage. We see him making up 36 percent. And I will note that the overall vote is usually a little bit younger than the early vote suggests. So, this number is likely to climb a little bit and probably match this number.

What we're seeing right now is it does seem to me that the pollsters are modeling the electorate correctly. They are getting that age divide right. Which of course is very good news for Zohran Mamdani, because obviously those under the age of 45 very much support his campaign. Those older support Cuomo. And at this point, those under 45 are being modeled, it seems to me, correctly by the pollsters.

SIDNER: Yes, there's always been this push to get younger people to vote, and now it is happening, and they are going (INAUDIBLE).

ENTEN: That is exactly right. A much higher percentage of younger voters than four years ago.

SIDNER: Is there any precedent, though, for this, for any New York City mayoral candidate to overcome, to surpass expectations, compared to the polling?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, so the question is, right, are the Cuomo folks living in a fantasy land. The fans of Cuomo living in a fantasy land that maybe they can overcome this large polling lead for Zohran Mamdani. Well, at this particular point, it, to me, suggests, no, based upon history. They are living in a bit of a fantasy land if you think you're going to be overcoming the polling. Why Mamdani leads by 17 points right now.

I look back at all of the final polling dating all the way back since 1989, the largest final polling average error was 11 points in 2005. Eleven points is way less than 17 points. So, at this point, it would take something unprecedented, at least in the last 36 years of New York City mayoral races, for Andrew Cuomo to overcome Mamdani's lead. Mamdani has the ball. It looks like he's running right for the end zone with no tacklers in front of him.

SIDNER: I saw all these things. You did the jumping and the Heisman. Like, you're on it today. You're on one today.

ENTEN: I feel -- you know, I will tell you, I just -- maybe I'll dress up. I'm feeling the Halloween spirit. Maybe I'll dress up --

SIDNER: Oh, we know you will.

ENTEN: As a nice running back for Halloween, right, like that.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Harry. For the Bills, obviously.

ENTEN: Of -- obviously. James Cook. Let's go, baby.

SIDNER: Good times. Thanks, Harry.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, overnight, Hurricane Melissa ramped back up to a category two storm. But remember, before that, when this all began, it slammed into Jamaica first, making landfall as one of the strongest hurricanes ever in recorded history there as a category five storm. Officials are not yet sure how many people were killed from the hurricane in Jamaica, but at least four bodies have been recovered in St. Elizabeth Parish.

And across the island, roads are blocked to emergency vehicles. Buildings have been reduced to rubble. Most of Jamaica is still without power today. Which means help from anyone, everyone and anywhere is critical in this moment.

[08:40:04]

And that is where people like A.J. Fraser come in. He's a Marine veteran and a member of the Cajun Navy. He's on the ground in Mandeville, Jamaica, one of the places that was very hard hit.

A.J., thank you so much for being here.

Jamaican officials seem to be really still trying to grasp the scope of the devastation. What are you seeing in terms of damage?

A.J. FRASER, MARINE VETERAN HELPING WITH STORM RESPONSE, CAJUN NAVY SPECIAL OPS: If they're (ph) coming from Kingston to Mandeville, you know, Mandeville needed a lot of rescues, a lot of flooding. Then I went through St. Elizabeth Parish yesterday. And, man, it's -- it's -- it's -- driving through there is like a nightmare. You know, every other turn you're worried about busting your tire or falling in something or hitting something. There's a bunch of flooded roads, flooded homes, destroyed homes, debris from destroyed homes all over the place.

You got to understand, Jamaica houses are built a lot stronger than they are in America. They have stricter codes. So, their houses are built out of -- all the new homes have to be built out of stone and steel. But, you know, when you're taking a direct hit from a cat five and the eyewall, there's really nothing you can do.

This -- this hurricane has tied the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the most intense hurricane to make landfall in history -- at landfall in history at an -- at an 892 pressure. You know, so this is it. This is the most powerful hurricane in history to make landfall anywhere -- anywhere on earth. It only happened once in recorded history since 1851, and that was in 1935 Labor Day hurricane. So, it's bad. And we knew it was going to be bad.

The biggest issue right now is people trapped. It's just like I thought when I spoke to y'all last time. You know, I'm -- I'm driving around getting on tickets (ph) for people who are missing and for people who need rescued. And the vast majority, some are OK, but the vast majority I can't even get to because you need a helicopter to get there. Police have stuff -- have road closures. And it's destroyed bridges. There's damaged bridges. They -- people won't let you cross -- police won't let you cross. There's flooded bridges. There's, you know, there's -- there's roads that look like a giant just went and took a sledgehammer to them and they're half gone.

You know, some of these roads, you know, when there's oncoming traffic, you're both risking falling off a cliff just to barely squeak your way across. There's -- there's vehicles that are broke down everywhere. The vehicles stuck in mud. It's -- it's -- it's bad. Like, we're really, you know, I -- one thing I heard, it's important that I have to bring up, and I saw a post, hopefully it's true. I haven't really had service to see what's going on, on the news. But I saw a post that they just opened up the Kingston Airport for humanitarian aid and relief to come in. That's very important.

I also run (INAUDIBLE), by the way, and I'm a member of 50 Star Search and Rescue, (INAUDIBLE). I'm a member of Aerial Recovery and Halo Relief and stuff like that. You know, I -- we work with Global (ph) Search and Rescue. But, you know -- and there's a Cajun Navy task force right now working on this. But, you know, we have a lot of stuff going on. But we have to get units like that and others in with the helicopters. If we can stage in Kingston, that's great. But we need helicopters, airplanes, stuff like that, because the vast majority of people, and not just people, the whole communities, we can't get to. I was able to get within 25 kilometers of Black River (ph), out there in St. Elizabeth. I was in Santa Cruz. And that's the closest you can get because that -- I think it's called Wacovia (ph) Bridge out there is really badly damaged. And the police aren't letting you drive through there. And that's really from 82 (ph) -- really, that's a way from east to west to get into Black River.

BOLDUAN: Wow.

FRASER: And I'm assuming people can't get in from the west (INAUDIBLE) either. It's -- it's -- it's bad. And, you know, and I'd hate to see what a lot of the mountains are like when it comes to getting in. But we're -- we're really not going to not going to know the scope of who needs rescued or what. Seventy-five percent of the island have no power and no service, no GPS, all that.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and that's the -- FRASER: Yet those are (AUDIO GAP). So, you know, we don't even know how bad it is right now, but we just know it's bad. What I've seen it's -- it's -- I won't even drive in St. Elizabeth Parish at night because it's hard enough to not crash your vehicle or drown, you know, even get attacked by a crocodile in the daytime. It's hard enough to see that stuff at night. It's impossible.

BOLDUAN: And that's the thing. I mean what you're describing is it just -- it -- it is impossible to get around right now, which is also -- means impossible to really understand the scope of the damage and how -- but the -- the need is so urgent to try to help people, rescue people and get supplies in and humanitarian aid in.

A.J. Fraser, with the Cajun Navy, you're there to do what so many people need help with right now. We really appreciate you coming on. Thank you so much.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking overnight, what seems to be a major policy shift. The president announced the United States will resume nuclear testing. The president posted online he wants testing on "an equal basis" with other countries. The Kremlin has already responded. A spokesperson for Vladimir Putin said that Russia will act accordingly if anyone breaks the ban that has, more or less, been in place for 33 years.

[08:45:07]

With us now is Wendy Sherman, the former deputy secretary of state.

Thank you so much for being with us.

Now, look, it's unclear whether President Trump means exploding warheads again, which hasn't happened in 33 plus years, or he means testing weapon systems. We just don't know. But if he does mean nuclear explosions, again, nuclear tests, the likes of which haven't happened in decades anywhere other than North Korea what would the significance of that be?

WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: It would be tremendously significant. I'm hoping, John, that this is about Russia's recent tests of nuclear capable torpedoes, drones, and that's what the president is responding to. The last time we conducted an underground test in Nevada, and I think Nevadans would not be happy about a new underground test, that was in 1992. We have voluntarily complied with the comprehensive test ban treaty, which was (ph) ratified but signed.

But, you know, John, he did this before his meeting with Xi Jinping. And I know that he has said that was a fantastic meeting, all of 90 minutes, which is pretty short when you have interpretation. But, in fact, we just got back to the status quo ante because she really holds the cards with his control of critical minerals. So critical to the technology that you all have been discussing this morning. BERMAN: Talk to me about that. You use the word "returning to the

status quo." Because what we know in terms of what the president thinks he got out of this was, number one, he's reducing the tariffs on China by 10 percent. Two, China is going to buy some soybeans, which they stopped buying. They were buying soybeans before May. They stopped buying any soybeans after the president first initiated the tariffs there. And then China is going to put off for a year sort of the bans on these rare earth metals.

So, does that put the United States in a better position than it was before April, worst position or what?

SHERMAN: Well, look, it is good that we have de-escalated the situation with China. China and the United States are the two largest economies in the world, and it is critical that we make sure that we don't get into conflict with each other.

But the president really escalated to de-escalate, to get back to where we started. As an analyst said this morning, he's all about tactics more than he is about strategy. And he uses tariffs to try to create leverage. But in fact, Xi, as Nick Kristof of "The New York Times" has said, really holds the critical leverage. And that is these critical minerals that are so important to everything we need in the world of artificial intelligence and quantum technology.

So, this is a tough moment for the United States. And, you know, I think President Xi had it right. America first is important. Every country puts itself first. But the president is away while our country is shut down. He could get our leaders in a room, our congressional leaders in a room, and solve the shutdown in 15 minutes if he would agree to make sure that Americans both can be fed under SNAP, which you've been discussing this morning, and can get their health care needs met as they see their rising prices come this weekend with open season on Obamacare.

So, the president really needs to turn his attention to America now that he's gotten this moment of calm with China. And it is an important moment of calm, but it really gets us back to where we started, in my view.

BERMAN: Wendy Sherman, great to speak with you this morning. Thanks so much for your time.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, coming up, swallowed by the ocean. Why so many homes are now collapsing in the Outer Banks.

And a daring rescue on a California cliff. How firefighters ended up saving this sweet pup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:53:39]

BERMAN: In just minutes, testimony resumes in the civil case filed by a Virginia first grade teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student. Abby Zwerner is suing former school administrator Ebony Parker for $40 million, claiming Parker ignored repeated warnings that the student had a gun at school that day, hours before he shot Zwerner. New body camera video was released of paramedics saving the teacher's life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's your name, hun?

ABBY ZWERNER: Abby Zwerner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old are you?

ZWERNER: Twenty-five.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) a history.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

We're going to pick you up, OK, we're going to get you on the stretcher. You got to --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: CNN is streaming every moment from inside the courtroom on CNN All Access on the CNN app. You can scan that QR code right there.

Firefighters in San Francisco rescued a dog clinging to the side of a cliff. Officials say the dog was playing with another dog up above when it slipped and fell over the edge. The dog spent more than 20 minutes on that narrow ledge until firefighters were able to repel down and save the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's falling apart now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Homes in the Outer Banks community of Buxton, North Carolina, getting swallowed up by the ocean.

[08:55:02]

Five more homes collapsed Tuesday in that rough surf. No one was in the homes at the time. But this is the second time in a month that homes there have collapsed into the ocean due to ongoing beach erosion, worsened by storms. You can see the difference over just a few years. Once built several hundred feet away from the shore in the '70s, '80s and '90s, these homes are no longer at the water's edge, but they are directly in the water.

Buxton resident and professional surfer Brett Barley has been documenting what's been happening in his community. He took some of the videos that you just saw there.

Thank you so much for joining us.

You've lived in North Carolina your whole life. You love the ocean. I can see the surfboards behind you.

BRETT BARLEY, BUXTON, NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENT AND PROFESSIONAL SURFER: Yes.

SIDNER: And your father helped build one of these homes decades ago, I think in the '80s, where you've been posting some of the pictures of him and where the homes were back then. What are you seeing?

BARLEY: Yes. Yes, so, I mean, he actually built a lot of the houses through that area. His construction company was one of the main ones back in the '80s and '90s.

But, yes, it's crazy to see the landscape changing the way it's -- it's changed. You know, up until August, we've had a pretty steady -- you know, we've had tide come under houses. That's normal here. You know, we live on a barrier island. You're going to deal with storms.

What we're dealing with now, and the erosion we're seeing in Buxton, is unprecedented. It's historical. So, it's -- the landscape has changed.

SIDNER: I did want to talk to you about that, because a lot of people see these houses and they're like, well, they're built on stilts. Of course they were expecting, you know, water to come. What has changed? What have you noticed that has changed? And when did you start seeing this sort of coastline changing?

BARLEY: Yes, as you said, they're built on stilts on purpose. But they're built like that, you know, because of hurricanes. That -- that is kind of why the code exists, because that one storm a year or two storms a year, you have to deal with the tide coming, whether it's from the ocean or from the sound side. And so, you prepare for that, like, you know, one or two day event. You don't prepare for months and weeks or years of it.

So, what's changed, especially in Buxton, is that Buxton, back in 1973, actually had houses falling in the water. And the Navy had a base here that they built jetties around to shore it up back in 1970. And in '73, when the houses were falling, and the land was eroding, they came in and did a giant beach nourishment project. And the beach nourishment, with the jetties, helped shore up Buxton for 40 years. Unfortunately, the Navy was only here for a short amount of time. North Carolina, back in the '80s, put in a law that banned hardened structures. So, we weren't allowed to rebuild those jetties as they fell apart. And so now we're at a point where the jetties have -- have enough holes in them, they no longer hold sand. And once we hit a point where the holes were too far inland, now our sand is just, you know, being accelerated out of here at a speed that's, you know, never happened before.

SIDNER: Look, there are still -- BARLEY: It's actually pretty dynamic.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, as you talk through that, there are -- there are still a number of people, including the president, who think that climate change is a hoax. If you could have a conversation with folks that still believe that, what would you say to them?

BARLEY: I mean, I think that it's a more complicated, you know, conversation. I think that, you know, while the climate is changing, a lot of these barrier islands, you know, the sand ebb and flows. It doesn't just wash away. Like even when you look at all the videos of Buxton, if you go one half mile north, the beach looks pretty normal. These storms that we're seeing actually aren't stronger swells. As a professional surfer, navigating the ocean and the waves is part of my job. So, I look at the buoy data from all the NOAA buoys, every single swell, as the swell comes in, as it goes out. And we haven't seen any numbers any different than storms we see in the past.

What's happening now is that, without -- you need sandbars to break up the swell energy first. And so the waves hit the sandbar and they dissipate, and then they hit the beach and dissipate, and then ideally hit a dune line or something and so it protects the homes.

As we have lost the sandbars, so then we've lost the beach and the dune line. And so what's happening now is that whole area is just nearly sea level. There are no hills left. There's no sand dunes. There's no sand. And so, there's absolutely nothing to stop the energy coming in. So, it's not actually like more energy coming in, there's just no buffer. We have zero buffer. And so --

SIDNER: There's nothing. Yes.

BARLEY: It's just taking things out one by one. And, honestly, a lot of the homes that are going down aren't necessarily -- on their own, they would stay standing up, but they're being hit by other homes that are falling. So, it's like a domino effect.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean we've been watching them over and over and over again.

BARLEY: Yes, it's painful.

SIDNER: And I know you had told me earlier that you used to get excited about some of these, right, some of these storms coming in when they were small because it would kick up the swell and you could get out there and surf when they were not big, dangerous storms. And now when you see a storm coming, what are your thoughts?

[09:00:02]

BARLEY: Well, I mean, my job professionally surfing has been somewhat revolved around big waves.