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UPS Plane Crash in Kentucky; Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) is Interviewed about the UPS Plane Crash; Trump Speaks to Republicans; Closing Arguments in Teacher Shooting Case. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired November 05, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Just heard from the president who, in some ways blamed former President Biden, saying there were too many people on SNAP. Is that fair, with 39 percent of the SNAP recipients are children, 20 percent are elderly, and about 10 percent are people with disabilities who are not elderly.

MAYOR DAVID HOLT (R), OKLAHOMA CITY: Well, I thought -- what's interesting -- to me the takeaway of that comment is, this is no way to make policy. Of course, there are always rational conversations that should be had in the halls of Congress about who is eligible and who is not eligible for SNAP.

This is -- this is chaos to have that conversation in the midst of a government shutdown. I think that's entirely reasonable under normal conditions to talk about eligibility. But, no, right now we have people who have expectations. They have been told by their federal government that they will receive these SNAP benefits. And this is no time to pull the rug out from under them.

These are people who are -- who use this as a lifeline, who depend on this. This is -- that kind of policy conversation needs to happen in a different theater, at a different time, when people also have notice and can plan their lives. This is playing with people's lives. And it's completely unserious. It's based on politics. And it needs to stop. The American people need these SNAP benefits, and they need their federal government to reopen.

SIDNER: Your message to the Trump administration and Congress as well, fired up for the people that you represent who are desperate to have enough food to eat.

Thank you so much for joining us, Mayor. We really do appreciate it.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the breaking news, officials just told us the death toll is rising after a horrific crash in Louisville. A cargo plane explodes after takeoff. What are the clues left behind in the debris?

And then Democratic wave. Huge wins across the country in big races and small. This morning, what lessons have they learned to take on President Trump?

And will this top the list of things you do not want from artificial intelligence? How about a clone of your boss?

I'm John Berman, with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

All right, and we do have breaking news this morning. We just got new information on the crash of the cargo plane in Louisville. The mayor there told us just moments ago the death toll is now up to nine. The governor says at least 16 families have reported that they've not heard from loved ones since the crash. So, the death toll could rise even higher. We're going to talk to the governor in just a second.

The cargo plane went down moments after takeoff, slamming into multiple businesses. Workers were surrounded by flames and smoke. The airport there is reopened, but still so many questions in the investigation.

With us now, CNN's Isabel Rosales and Pete Muntean.

Isabel, you're there. I want to start with you. What's the latest you're hearing?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, since we last spoke in the past hour or so, John, there's a lot more activity happening behind me. We know that the runway where the crash occurred, that is still down, it's closed, as investigators will very carefully look through all of the evidence there on the runway to try to come to a cause for this crash. But behind me, on other runways, we are seeing some traffic moving along, airplanes starting to take off.

But that figure that we got from Andy Beshear, the governor, 16 different families whose loved ones did not return home last night, those loved ones unaccounted for. There are answers that need to be given to those families.

Meanwhile, I did speak with U of L Health, who tells me that they have ten patients that are being treated right now in its hospital system, two of them over at the burn center in critical condition. And we saw, of course, those stunning images, surveillance footage capturing the moment of the crash. We could see -- we could see the fire starting off from the left -- what appears to be the left side of the engine. And then this explosion that left a trail of devastation across this industrial area surrounding Louisville, Muhammad Ali International Airport, impacting businesses, including a petroleum recycling business that stored tanks of oil and propane. Further making the situation even worse.

Now, Louisville is home to UPS' Worldport. This is the main air hub in all of the world for UPS. It is the largest employer here in the city, with over 20,000 people, 300 plus flights per day. This is a form of identity for a lot of the folks here in Louisville.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETSY RUHE, LOUISVILLE COUNCIL WOMAN: My heart goes out to everybody at UPS, because this is a UPS town.

We all know somebody who works at UPS.

[09:05:02]

And they're all texting their friends, their family, trying to make sure everyone is safe. Sadly, some of those texts are probably going to go unanswered.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And right now there is still a shelter in place a quarter of a mile radius surrounding the airport. And I do want to leave you with this. This portion of UPS' statement saying, in part, "our heartfelt thoughts are with everyone involved. UPS is committed to the safety of our employees, our customers and the communities we serve. This is particularly true in Louisville, home to our airline and thousands of UPSers."

John.

BERMAN: All right, Isabel Rosales, in Louisville, stand by for a moment.

I want to bring in aviation correspondent Pete Muntean.

The investigation is now underway. Pete. You've been poring over the timeline and the video here. What will investigators be looking at?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the story is still developing 16 hours after this crash. But to -- important to stress right now, no clear cause yet. Investigators tell me it is much too early to speculate on why this unfolded.

But the early visual clues are painting a picture that UPS 2976 was doomed from the very start. I want to show you our clearest view yet of the moments leading up to this crash. Investigators will go through this video, no doubt frame by frame. And a few key things here. This is taken from a tug on the airport grounds. You can see the flames coming from under the left wing. Possible that the flames are coming from the left engine. Not confirmed yet, though you can see the nose of the airplane is up, struggling to get airborne.

Want to give you some context here. Here is the very same airplane photographed back in 2021. It's an MD11F built by McDonnell Douglas before the company became part of Boeing. Three engines. The number one engine is under the left wing. The number two engine is back on the tail. The number three engine under the right wing. Those are some very key clues for investigators. It's important to contextualize, although we don't have the image.

Also important to show you the aerial video of what appears to be a part of the engine cowling on the ground. That's the outer covering of an engine. A lot of physical debris there.

And also the new images overnight that show an entire engine on the ground. You can see the compressor section and the turbine section of the engine visible there.

The challenge now for investigators will be building a timeline of a sequence of events for a sequence that was very, very short. And according to the publicly available flight tracking data, from the very start of this takeoff roll on Louisville's one-seven right, to the moment of impact, this flight lasted only about a minute. Aircraft very likely heavy with fuel, about 30,000 to 40,000 gallons worth for that eight hour trip to Honolulu. No doubt that this will be a very deep investigation.

Takeoff is probably the worst time for a fire to break out. You're low to the ground, low on airspeed with the fewest options. It's exactly why professional pilots practice this all the time in simulators.

As Isabel mentioned, Worldport is a huge part of the Louisville identity. I have been there. I have flown the simulator of the MD11F. It's a very complicated airplane, but with a lot of automation to aid the pilots. Really feel for the UPS family right now because they really pride themselves on so many safety advancements, especially when it comes to putting out fires. All of their airplanes have very advanced fire suppression systems to put out fires in cargo, in the cargo hold, John.

BERMAN: Yes, a lot of questions, but also a lot of data points here with all of the video and the different angles and the debris.

Pete Muntean, thanks to you. Isabel Rosales, on the ground there, thanks as well.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's get the very latest now. Joining us now is the Democratic governor of Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear.

Governor, thank you for being here.

The death toll -- the mayor had said that the death toll is now at least nine. This -- there was this mention that you'd made of 16 families reported missing. How much further do you fear that this death toll is going to reach?

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): Well, we do think it's going to grow, sadly. But the search and rescue mission went through the night, has been able to intensify today. So, hopefully it won't grow by much.

We also have two individuals in critical care at U of L Hospital. We're praying for them and for their recovery. It's hard to lose nine plus people in such a violent way.

But let me tell you, this plane barely missed a restaurant bar. It was very close to a very large Ford plant with hundreds, if not a thousand plus workers. It was very close to our convention center that's having a big livestock show that people were arriving for.

[09:10:02]

So, really tough, but recognize it could be worse.

BOLDUAN: That just gave me chills thinking about all of the people that were right in the line of this crash.

I mean when you see the debris field and what happened once -- with this plane, its terrifying. I mean how much destruction and damage are we talking about here?

BESHEAR: Well, it's a huge amount of damage in about a city block, about a mile. Think about the plane loaded with 38,000 gallons of air fuel hitting a petroleum -- not refinery, but recycler.

BOLDUAN: Right.

BESHEAR: Which also added to the -- to the challenges. And then an auto parts lot. And so what we saw is not just the direct impact and explosion of the plane, but everything that then occurred on the ground.

Thankfully, there wasn't any significant hazardous material inside the plane. The air quality conditions are improving significantly. We now have a shelter in place only around a very small area. We're monitoring water, because of the air fuel -- the jet fuel. But the area that we're concerned about is smaller than originally anticipated.

And then we've just got so many incredible first responders on the scene, from dozens of different agencies that do such a great job. So, we are very quickly getting a hold of the environmental search and rescue and other challenges we face. And we'll probably have some pretty close to final information mid-afternoon.

BOLDUAN: All right, we'll be looking for those updates as well.

While this, your focus very squarely remains here, also happening, there was a big election last night for Democrats. I raise this because you are the incoming chair of the Democratic Governors Association. And I know that you had said you had worked on the races in Virginia and New Jersey, the governors races there.

What do you, if you've had time to process the election results given the tragedy that you're working on, what do you think the big message is coming from last night's big night for Democrats?

BESHEAR: Well, it was a big night for Democratic governors. We went two for two, showing that the DGA is primed to come into next year when we have 36 races and change the map. Thankfully, we had two incredible candidates. And that's where you always ought to start.

Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill worked hard, and they knew what the American people are so focused on, their everyday challenges. You heard them talk about people's jobs and whether they could afford what they needed. You heard them talk about people's next doctor's appointment, the roads and bridges they drive, the school they dropped their kids off at, and whether they feel safe in their communities. What you saw were two candidates that are ready, not just to win an election, but to govern. Because when Democrats win these races, we do what Republicans can't, we govern well.

BOLDUAN: And they are two -- their brand of Democrat, if you will, is they are moderate Democrats. I would not typically ask you about a mayor's race in New York, but given the -- given how this -- given what happened last night, I do want to ask you about it, I mean, because it has raised questions about the direction of the Democratic Party going forward for midterms and potentially for presidential candidates in '28.

Zohran Mamdani is a Democratic socialist. A -- that is not your brand of politics in the Democratic Party. But has people saying that he is or should be the direction that the party is going.

Do you think -- what do you think of his win, and do you think that he is a leader in the Democratic Party?

BESHEAR: I think what we're seeing is, it's less about what people call themselves and more about what they're focused on. The winner there in the -- in the New York mayor's race was unquestionably more focused on people's struggles, on the inability to afford housing, on the inability to pay the bills at the end of the week and at the end of the month. And I think people are less focused right now on even the policy proposals. But what they want is someone committed to trying to address it. And I think you see that across all the races. And that should be a wake-up call, not just to Democrats, but to everybody.

You know, people are concerned the American dream is slipping away. And that's a huge threat to the country. And we have to believe that if we work hard and we play by the rules, we can get ahead. But I think the people turning out to vote are saying, wait a minute, I'm doing that and I still can't afford a home or an apartment at the same age that my parents could. I'm worried that the next prescription that I or my children need will put me under.

[09:15:01]

I think that's where the American people are. And there's lots of different ways to speak to that.

But now, all the winners from last night need to do what Democratic governors do, and that's govern well and get results. Running and winning is great, but we've got to deliver for the American people.

BOLDUAN: Governor Andy Beshear. Thank you so much, Governor. Really appreciate you taking the time, especially with what you all are dealing with down there. Our thoughts are with you. Thank you so much.

Sara. SIDNER: All right. Just moments ago, President Trump addressed last night's big wins for Democrats across the country, pinning the blame for Republican losses on the government shutdown.

CNN anchor and chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins joining us now with the very latest.

You've been covering every aspect of this White House and all the responses it's had to many different things. What piqued your interest in what you heard from the president today?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Sara, we were in the room. CNN's the pool today, so we were the reporters inside the room for this breakfast that was scheduled before last night's major Republican losses. But it was quite an awkward environment to a degree once we got in there. It was a pretty small room. It's in the state dining room here at the White House. And the president came in. And after a few moments, he was up at the lectern, saying that he did not think that last night was good for Republicans. He said he didn't think it was good for anybody. And he blamed the ongoing government shutdown here in Washington on last night's election results, and said that that had to do with what we saw play out with these Democrats walking away with these major victories.

And the president was very clearly frustrated with his party as he was in the room. He said that once the press left that they were going to have a talk about what they need to do going forward. And he also spoke directly about eliminating the filibuster, something that he was talking about right as the leader, John Thune in the Senate, was just sitting a few feet away from the president, someone who has not expressed any desire to eliminate the filibuster and has said the votes are not there to do so.

But listen to what the president said to his own party just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I thought we'd have a discussion after the press leaves about what last night represented and what we should do about it, and also about the shutdown and how that relates to last night.

I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative, for the republicans.

Its' time for Republicans to do what they have to do, and that's terminate the filibuster. It's the only way you can do it. And if you don't terminate the filibuster, you'll be in bad shape. We won't pass any legislation. There'll be no legislation passed for three and a quarter -- we have three and a quarter years left. That's a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Now, Sara, this stands out. This is the first time we have this explicitly heard the president say that he believes the shutdown is hurting Republicans and calling on them to end it today by eliminating the filibuster, which he said he wanted to happen today, Sara. Something that a lot of the Republicans in that room, I've spoken to several of them, have said they do not believe is the right answer to Democrats voting against reopening the government.

But the president said there that this conception that has been going around that -- this perception that this idea of Democrats being willing to reopen the government after they secured those victories last night, the president said he does not subscribe to that, and he does not believe that that is accurate and that that is going to be the case.

So, I mean, we can only imagine what is happening now behind closed doors. The president did not take any questions from reporters, something that he typically does when we're inside the room with him, and instead ushered us out of the room so he could have his conversation with those Republican senators.

SIDNER: I mean, there was a decisive win in several different states when you look at the numbers. But I'm curious, Kaitlan, if he gave any indication of bringing the Democrats to the table with Republicans instead of doing the nuclear option and busting the filibuster. Did he give any indication that he would be willing to sort of bring the two sides together, that many presidents have done in the past to try and get the government back open?

COLLINS: Yes, obviously, the beginning of this shutdown, he hosted Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries here at the White House. That has not happened since. I know they've expressed an interest in coming to the White House and having a meeting. But I don't think so, Sara. I mean he likened Democrats to kamikazes inside the room there. He said that they don't care what happens to the country. They want to keep the government shut down. And so it didn't exactly sound like someone who thought that Democrats could come to the table and have any common ground with Republicans on reopening the government. Instead, he said he believes the way out of this government shutdown is to get rid of the filibuster because he thinks that if Democrats retake control in the Senate, that they will do so when they have that control.

SIDNER: Very interesting. The Senate, we know, is loathe to do that. We will see what happens going forward after this talk that you are telling us he's going to have and that he told us he's going to have with his Republican Party colleagues.

COLLINS: Yes.

SIDNER: Kaitlan Collins, it's always a pleasure. Thank you so much for being up nice and early. We will see you at 9:00.

All right, coming up this morning, closing arguments begin in a massive $40 million lawsuit filed by a former first grade teacher who was terrified in her classroom after being shot by a six-year-old student.

[09:20:02] Also, what started off as a routine drop off for a food delivery driver ended in a brawl in a mall. We'll tell you what happened here and whether anyone ended up behind bars.

Plus, Tom Brady revealing he has a new pup. But that's not the news. The news is this dog is very similar to his old dog because it's a clone. We'll talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: All right, next hour, closing arguments are expected to begin in the $40 million lawsuit filed by a former Virginia teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student in her own classroom. Abby Zwerner is suing the school's former assistant principal, Ebony Parker. Zwerner says the child who shot her had a history of concerning behavior and alleges that Parker failed to act despite being warned that the child had brought a gun to school that day.

CNN's Brian Todd is live with us now.

[09:25:03]

What can we expect in these closing arguments? This case has really captured all of our attention.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really has, Sara. You know, this is an extraordinary case in so many ways. At its core, it could really set a precedent for who can really be blamed when school shootings occur.

As Sara mentioned, in less than two hours, in circuit court, in Newport News, Virginia, the jury will get instructions. Then lawyers for both sides will present closing arguments. The jury could get the case and possibly start deliberating even later today.

Ebony Parker, the former assistant principal at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, is being sued for $40 million by Abigail Zwerner. She is the teacher who was shot by a six-year-old first grader in January of 2023. Parker's attorneys have argued that this incident was not reasonably foreseen, that no one could fathom that a child so young would bring a gun to school and actually shoot the teacher. This civil trial could be a dry run for what's to come next month when Ebony Parker faces a criminal trial on eight counts of felony child neglect.

Now, on that day in January 2023, Abby Zwerner was shot through the hand while sitting at a reading table in her classroom. The bullet actually went through her hand, struck her chest, and doctors say it narrowly missed her heart. Her lawyers and investigators have said that the child in question here had a history of troubling incidents at the school, including one where he had previously choked another teacher. Zwerner's lawyers say she told the defendant, Ebony Parker, that the student was in a violent mood that day, that Parker had had other warnings that day. The shooting occurred on the same day that the student had returned from a suspension after slamming Abby Zwerner's cell phone. Ebony Parker has denied the accusations against her in this case. An

expert witness for the defense, who is an expert on education administration and school safety, testified this week that Parker did not breach professional standards or act with indifference. But, Sara, we're going to see what is said in closing arguments today.

You know, and Abby Zwerner and her sister both testified, some of the most compelling moments in this entire case.

SIDNER: Yes. And what Abby Zwerner has gone through is every educator's nightmare.

TODD: Right.

SIDNER: We have been watching this closely. Brian Todd, I know you have as well. Thank you so much. I do appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, a Democratic romp. Election wins in races coast to coast. What is the message to the country then this morning? One of the big winners from last night joins us next.

And add -- add -- you can add this one to the file of things you did not know existed. A retirement home for penguins. Yes.

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