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JetBlue Passengers Hospitalized After Altitude Drop, Emergency Landing; Trump Demands GOP Use Senate Filibuster to End Shutdown; Millions of Americans Prepare to Lose Access to Food Aid. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired October 31, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. The breaking news, millions on the verge of losing critical food benefits tomorrow, as overnight, the president threatens to blow up hundreds of years of Senate precedent.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also breaking overnight, at least two people are confirmed dead tied to flash flooding across New York City. Record-setting, rainfall, submerging streets, subway stations, basements across the boroughs.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And this Halloween, we have a video that's simply bananas. Look at this costume. Oh, wait. That's awesome. That's a real monkey swinging inside a Texas Halloween store. How it got there and what happened when officers showed up.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: All right. We do have breaking news this morning. We're just getting new information and new audio for an emergency landing in Florida. At least 15 people were hospitalized, some with head injuries. The FAA says they're investigating what is being described as a flight control issue, and it's not clear at this point what caused it.

JetBlue says that Flight 1230 was traveling from Cancun in Mexico to Newark, New Jersey, when it, quote, experienced a drop in altitude. Again, we don't know why the flight was diverted to Tampa where a medical team was waiting. Air traffic control audio captured the pilot's radio call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tampa, JetBlue 1230, descending to 10,000 2 (INAUDIBLE). We need medical equipment (INAUDIBLE). It's both, Flight control issue that is because of a flight control issue, it caused a medical issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a flight control issue and we've got at least three people injured. Seems like maybe a laceration in the head again. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Laceration in the head. Again, so far, we know at least 15 people were injured. It's unclear why the plane did drop an altitude, but it happened right after a strong storm with heavy winds passed through Florida. JetBlue says they have taken the plane out of service. They're going to conduct a full investigation. Much more on this as it becomes available. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Breaking overnight with millions of Americans a day away from losing the critical lifeline of SNAP food benefits amid the government shutdown, President Trump is now calling on Republicans to go nuclear. The President posting online, it is now time for the Republicans to play their trump card and go for what is called the nuclear option. Get rid of the filibuster and get rid of it now.

The filibuster requires 60 votes to pass funding to reopen the government. Getting rid of it would mean Republicans could pass the bill with a simple majority vote. But it's empty on Capitol Hill this morning, and senators have left town for the weekend ahead of the critical day. Tomorrow marks the first day of open enrollment as well for Obamacare, where health premiums have skyrocketed, a major sticking point for Democrats.

And also tomorrow, 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps will see a lapse in benefits, forcing many to go hungry or skip paying certain bills so that they can buy food for themselves and their families.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is joining us now from the White House. Kevin, what is the latest? We have seen this post from the president making some demands on his Republican colleagues.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. And they call this the nuclear option for a reason. It's viewed as a last resort, even by members of the majority, and it would have the effect of incinerating precedent in the Senate. And so this is a step that even Republicans have been wary to use in the past, but, clearly, President Trump has made the determination that now is the time. He said he gave this a lot of thought on that lengthy flight back from Asia, where he says, he was asked repeatedly why the U.S. government remains shut down and now is calling on Republicans to eliminate that 60-vote threshold.

Now, as you know, the timing here is notable. We had started to see some glimmers of progress on Capitol Hill at trying to reach a deal to end this stalemate. Now, to be sure, the deal remains out of reach for now, and the president's call to eliminate the filibuster could have the effect of upending those negotiations.

[07:05:02]

And, you know, it's not at all clear that Republicans are going to be on board with this. We have heard from them in the past that doing this could have the effect of coming back to haunt them if Democrats come back into power. You've heard that from the Senate majority leader, John Thune, who just said earlier this month that the filibuster is, quote, something that's been a bulwark against a lot of really bad things happening with the country.

This viewpoint was also articulated by the House speaker, Mike Johnson, not that long ago. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA)I: Is it possible? Yes. Is it is it wise? You can have a lot of people who would tell you it's not. I mean, on the Republican side, I would be deeply concerned if the Democrats had a bare majority in the Senate right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, earlier this month, Thune said that he had received no pressure from the White House to eliminate the filibuster. Clearly, that has now changed, President Trump arguing that Democrats would be prepared to do the same thing if they came back into power.

Now, Trump is not the first president to call for altering the filibuster. Remember, Joe Biden called for a carve-out to pass legislation related to voting rights and abortion rights, but he was stymied by members of his own party.

Now, the Senate will be back in on Monday evening. That will put them just days away from breaking the 35-day record for the longest government shutdown in history.

SIDNER: Yes. Kevin Liptak, great reporting for you this morning, thank you so much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Awesome. Joining us right now for more on this is Stef Kight, political reporter for Axios. All right, so initiate the nuclear option, says President Trump. I mean, how are leaders likely to react to this? How does this, could this, will this change the dynamic of the what was and wasn't happening on Capitol Hill, which is negotiating?

STEF KIGHT, POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: The reality is most Republicans in the Senate are opposed to doing away with the filibuster, and they've been on the record saying this for a long time. In particular, Majority Leader John Thune has been asked about this on multiple occasions and has made it clear that's not option that he would like to move toward.

So, it's not going to be received particularly well in the Senate among Republicans, but it is going to make people uncomfortable. This is a party that does not like to break from President Trump. It's a party that likes to do what President Trump tells them to do, and so it's going to make things uncomfortable.

The other side of this is that Democrats have been hoping to work with Trump in particular to try to get him to some kind of an agreement to move forward and push for extending these Obamacare enhanced subsidies that are expiring at the end of the year. Democrats have had a lot of hope that they can get in the room with Trump and get Trump to put more pressure on, especially the House speaker, Mike Johnson, to get this done.

This doesn't particularly indicate that Trump is willing to work with Democrats on this issue as he is coming back from this overseas trip. So, it does threaten these, you know, slow conversations that we've seen this week.

BOLDUAN: And you might be hitting on it. Possibly, there might be an element of the president doesn't want to have his hands on this very -- on this negotiation, have his fingerprints on a shutdown. And so he's saying eviscerate the filibuster so you guys can handle it, and I don't have to be part of this at all. It could be part of the motivation here.

Then you now have another industry coming out and speaking out, the nation's four largest airlines largest coming out to say that it's time to pass a clean C.R. You've got United CEO told reporters about this, said that Congress should negotiate about other policies, including healthcare subsidies after the shutdown's over.

Is this going to have an impact on top of the fact that you have millions of low income families are going to go without food stamp benefits starting this weekend?

KIGHT: I mean, of course. The pressure just keeps building for Congress to figure this out and figure it out quickly. You know, not only did we hear from these unions associated with the airlines, but we've also heard from Teamsters. And earlier this week, there was the largest federal government worker union also came out calling for a clean C.R.

So, again, all of this on top of the fact that you're going to have millions of people potentially losing access to food assistance that they need, open enrollment, elections next week. This just keeps building into more and more pain points, and that is going to continue to push both parties to get to the negotiating table and finally hash something out.

BOLDUAN: But what does it? I mean, you've got after the -- I actually thought a breaking point would've been the largest federal workers union, and now that didn't change the dynamic enough, if you will. Let us see.

It's great to see you, Stef. Thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Kate.

Hell on Earth in Jamaica, hospitals and schools destroyed, the people there are desperate for food.

[07:10:02]

The pictures of the crisis in the wake of Hurricane Melissa just beginning to unfold. And the first grade teacher shot by her 6-year-old student thought she was, quote, on her way to heaven. The emotional testimony in court describing the moments leading up to the shooting.

And Prince Andrew a prince no more. He's being stripped of his royal titles by his brother, King Charles. And there are other punishments being meted out by the king. We'll talk all about it ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: This morning, the devastation from Hurricane Melissa is widespread across the Caribbean. New images show Jamaica in ruins, parts of Jamaica just destroyed.

[07:15:03]

You're looking at what's left of the main hospital at St. Elizabeth Parish, the building reduced to rubble there. The storm left the entire communities leveled. One resident said the coastal town of Black River is now hell on Earth.

CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is there with a firsthand look at the terrible damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are approaching the Black River area, a bridge that we were concerned that had too much damage to drive across, but it looks like cars are traveling, at least in. We got to watch out for some of this damage that's just thrown about. Look at people have their personal belongings on the back of mopeds trying to desperately get out of this area, carrying whatever they can, food, supplies, clothing. It's utter chaos here. And the heat is adding a new level of dimension to this humanitarian disaster that is unfolding. It's very loud.

And I just want to show you the bridge here as this massive queue of cars, people carrying food, all the supplies they can to get out of Black River, because this area was hit extremely, extremely hard. The desperation, what once was paradise, has now turned into hell on Earth. This is ground zero.

What's happened to your home?

BRITNEY SAMMS, BLACK RIVER RESIDENT: The storm, everything gone (INAUDIBLE). So, everything right down, right down.

VAN DAM: Was it the wind or was it the sea?

SAMMS: Everything. Everything, sir. Everything. We're surrounded by water.

VAN DAM: What do you need most at this time?

SAMMS: Our roof over our head, sir. Me and my mother and my grandmother, we don't know what they're going to do. VAN DAM: There's a supermarket in town that we were told that people are taking supplies off of the shelf. This is a matter of life and death for people, that one individual saying that, hey, this isn't looting. This is a matter of survival. People carrying whatever they can to get out of this region.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's paradise, but it's hell on Earth as well right now, six hours. It's frightening. I've never seen anything like this in my life. It was devastating.

VAN DAM: The bridge in Black River has become a makeshift shelter. You can see helicopter and the Jamaican Defense Forces flying and surveying the area. This area has become almost a makeshift refugee camp because the people behind me have nowhere to sleep. Their homes were completely decimated by the fury of Hurricane Melissa. They are desperate for water, food any kind of medical provisions. And they need international aid desperately.

I am CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam in Black River, Jamaica. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Unbelievable the devastation that he's seeing there. Derek, thank you very much for that.

Ahead still for us, there's wild video showing a moment -- the moment a Baltimore police officer in a patrol car starts chasing down a man on foot, narrowly missing him more than once. Today, there's now a new investigation into that officer.

And a new concern about COVID, pregnancy and autism, the new study and the new implications.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: So much sports. We have a potential World Series-deciding game tonight, we've got a basketball player who frankly may just be changing the game completely, and there was football with Lamar Jackson back on the field.

Let's get right to CNN's Andy Scholes. Woo, you're a busy man.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I just love this time of year, right, Berman.

And Ravens fans, they got an early Halloween treat last night after missing the last three games with that hamstring injury. Lamar Jackson was back against the Dolphins. It was his first game in more than a month.

And Lamar said he felt a little bit rusty, but he sure didn't look like it. In the first quarter, he is going to hit Mark Andrews for this short two-yard touchdown. And that duo was not done. In the second quarter, Lamar found Andrews again, this time it went for a 20- yard touchdown. Ravens were up 14-6 at the half and Dolphins just couldn't get anything going all night. Their fans are not happy. They were booing the team over and over again.

Lamar ends up throwing four touchdowns in his return. Ravens went big, 28-6 to get to three and five on this season, and here was Lamar afterwards on being back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAMAR JACKSON, BALTIMORE RAVENS QUARTERBACK: I just wanted to get out there with my guys chasing the game, you know, but, unfortunately, I couldn't. But it was just great to be back, man. Like I said, get it over.

JOHN HARBAUGH, BALTIMORE RAVENS HEAD COACH: We had two games that we needed to win in four days, and they were absolute must wins both of those two games. And for our guys to step up the way they did and to step out the way they did, and to play the kind of football they did with their backs to the wall on the canvas, all right, and to get back up and do what they did is commendable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. Meanwhile, in San Antonio, I imagine one of the most popular Halloween costumes this year is going to be an alien with a Victor Wembenyama jersey. What he's doing this season is just out of this world. The things he can do at 7'5", absurd. He had 27 points, 18 rebounds, 5 blocks last night. Spurs beat the Heat 107-101.

And you know, they had so many great teams with Tim Duncan and David Robinson. This is the first time in franchise history they've started a season 5-0.

All right, finally, trick or treating is going to have to be early if you live in Toronto or super late if you're in L.A., that's because tonight, game six of the World Series, the Dodgers season is riding on the arm of their Japanese ace, Yoshi Yamamoto, he threw a complete game masterpiece in game two.

[07:25:04]

And after that amazing game three, Shohei Ohtani quiet in games four and five, and he started game five on the mound. And manager Dave Roberts was asked if we could see Ohtani pitch again tonight with the season on the line.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE ROBERTS, LOS ANGELES DODGERS MANAGER: I think we'd consider everything. And it's more of just kind of doing whatever we can, telling you to get through tomorrow and then pick up the pieces and then see what's the best way to attack a potential game seven. So, everything should be on the table and will be, for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: All right. We'll see if the Blue Jays are partying tonight or if the Dodgers can make or force that to a game seven.

If you couldn't tell Berman, I'm Lionel Messi for Halloween. I got the tattoos going. I got the -- I got full uniform. You couldn't tell, but I got cleats on and everything. My wife says the tattoos make me look 80 percent tougher.

BERMAN: Look, I'll show you my tats once we're off there.

Andy Scholes, great to see you this morning. A lot of fun sports to talk about.

BOLDUAN: I'm so gullible. I'm like, that's what was under Andy's suit, shirt sleeves this whole time with these tats? I was like totally fell for it for a second for one second.

BERMAN: Trust me, that's not all.

BOLDUAN: John --

SCHOLES: I'll leave it there.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Andy.

Knee-deep water -- knee-deep flood waters in Brooklyn flash flooding. Just take a look at this. This is New York City, turning deadly in New York City. We've got an update on that.

And King Charles is stripping his brother, Andrew, of all of his royal titles, and he is evicting him from the royal mansion. What else the British monarchy is now doing to distance itself from any alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein now.

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[07:30:00]