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Hundreds of Flights Canceled as FAA Make Major Cuts Amid Shutdown; Interview with Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-KY): Judge Orders Trump Administration to Restart SNAP Payments and Trump Saying Prices are Down; 7 Sickened by Suspicious Package at Joint Base Andrews. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired November 07, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, it's interesting, you know, you talk about a good bubble and a bad bubble. I mean, you need -- you need bubbles actually, speculation is what fuels innovation ultimately, but not everybody wins. We know that if you go back to, you know, the turn of the century, and you know, when you were shifting from horse and buggy to automobiles, there were 800 car companies out there in America, there's three big ones now.

So somebody's going to win, somebody's going to lose. What worries me is that the market as a whole is so concentrated in the AI story.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Right.

FOROOHAR: If you look at capital spending, not just in AI companies, but in every company, it's all on AI.

And also, you're beginning to see small and midsize companies that have negative earnings, you know, ones that are basically spending more than than their earning, outperforming by stock price, positive earning companies. That is another classic bubble setting. We saw that in the late 1990s with dot com bust.

BOLDUAN: It is so interesting. It's so good to see you, Rana. It's been too long. Thanks for coming in.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Prepare for chaos at airports across the country. At least 800 flights have already been canceled as the FAA slashes flights because of staffing shortages caused by the shutdown. This morning, a possible deal to reopen the government has hit another dead end.

Breaking overnight, a white powder scare at Joint Base Andrews, where the president and vice president fly through all the time. Several people sick and sent to the hospital there. What we're learning about the suspicious package delivered to this highly secure base.

And do not pass go, do not collect $200 and maybe avoid doing this if you're stopped by an officer. A California driver pulling one heck of a card to get out of a ticket. The question, did it work?

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

BOLDUAN: All right, the breaking news really setting off this morning in a new way, bracing for coast to coast travel messes and travel chaos. This is the first day that the Trump administration is putting in place those cuts, that big cut to air traffic nationwide due to the government shutdown, now at day 38.

Do we even need to keep counting? I know you're asking.

And already we are seeing major disruptions at airports. So far, airlines have canceled. The numbers we've got -- the latest numbers we have, 800 flights around the crunch -- around the country. That's four times the number from yesterday, and it will likely only increase. The FAA is starting by cutting 4 percent of air traffic to 40 of the nation's busiest airports.

That number then will go up. That will increase by 10 percent by next Friday if a deal is not reached to reopen the government.

At the center of this is, as we've been discussing for now weeks, air traffic controllers. They're really caught in the middle of this. They're being told and forced to work without pay now for 38, 39 days and facing now major staffing shortages as this shutdown drags on. It could spell serious trouble as we head towards Thanksgiving -- Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, it is kind of a terrifying prospect.

All right, joining me now is Democratic Congressman Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky.

Thank you so much for being here this morning. Look, this is, as you well know, now the longest shutdown in history. It is causing families to have to choose between bills and food.

Some families going hungry and thrown airports into chaos. Shouldn't that alone scare you all into making a deal?

REP. MORGAN MCGARVEY (D-KY): Yes, I mean, look, I hate the government being shut down. That's why I've been in Washington every single week since the shutdown. I'm only home right now because of the terrible plane crash we had in Louisville this week.

We've been there to open up the government, to lower the cost of people's health care, to have these negotiations. And I say this, Sara, it's the first time we've ever had a shutdown that the Speaker of the House has not had House Republicans come back. But I want to talk about why I think that matters.

That matters because of how we get things done. Without the House Republicans in Washington, we're not running into each other in committees. We're not running into each other in the hallways or in the House gym in the mornings where we talk, where we figure things out. I've talked to some of my Republican colleagues on the phone even this week. And I think the Republicans need to come back to Washington so we have that connection with each other so that that's how things actually get worked out.

SIDNER: Can you address Americans who are struggling right now? We have talked to a mother who can't put enough food on her table, travelers whose flights are canceled because of a lack of air traffic control. And you know, air traffic controllers who are working under this terrible stress without pay.

How are you addressing them? What do you say to them?

[08:05:00]

MCGARVEY: Yes, I met with Louisville's air traffic controllers on Monday morning before leaving for D.C. And then, of course, with what's happened here in Louisville, I've talked to them every single day this week. Of course, they're upset.

And let's point out, too, before the shutdown, particularly with our air traffic controllers in some of these other areas, our air traffic controllers were overworked, underpaid and understaffed before the shutdown.

SIDNER: Right.

MCGARVEY: What I will say is, as upset as they are, in Louisville, I know they are going to work every single day. They are doing it for each other. They are doing it for everybody out there.

You know, I was talking to the air traffic controllers and they said, we have family who want to come home for Thanksgiving. We have family and friends who want to travel. We feel a responsibility to them.

That's why they've been doing their jobs. It's why we want to see Republicans come back to Washington to open up the government. And you mentioned something else.

You mentioned about food. I mean, my office is getting flooded with calls right now from people who are seeing their health insurance premiums go through the roof. We're seeing calls from people who are saying, where am I going to get my next meal?

I mean, last weekend in Louisville, we had lines around the block at our premier food pantry and they could only give out produce. I mean, things are not going well, but the administration is making this worse. They cut off SNAP benefits while the money is still there.

Two courts have said, you've got to fund it. Yesterday, a judge said you have to give this money out. It's causing irreparable harm because you're not feeding kids.

Health insurance premiums. We've known that these health care tax credits were going to expire at the end of this year, and they haven't been willing to even talk about it or do anything about it. But when the tax cuts for billionaires were set to expire also at the end of this year, it was the number one priority. And they called us back in over the 4th of July to deal with that.

Let's talk about these pocketbook issues. Talking about the fact that people are really inconvenienced right now because of how they've been handling air traffic control before the shutdown and since the shutdown.

They're choosing to pay masked ICE agents (INAUDIBLE) controllers. They're choosing to cut SNAP benefits into one big, awful bill and as part of the shutdown. They're choosing to let people's health insurance premiums go up while bringing down taxes for corporations and billionaires.

And I think we need to be back together to talk about these shouldn't be red or blue issues. This impacts everybody. Let's come back together, open up the government, make some progress.

SIDNER: All right, I do want to talk to you -- because you talked about affordability and the Democrats use that as a huge issue that they won on this past week. The president has a brand new line of attack against Democrats after that decisive win.

Here's what he's now saying about the issue of affordability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our groceries are way down, everything is way down, and the press doesn't report it. The press reports whatever the con people say. You know, I call the Democrats con men and women.

They make up numbers. So I don't want to hear about the affordability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: He went from saying that this was an issue to saying that you all are having usually are, you know, doing a con job on the American people because, you know, these prices aren't really what people are saying they are. I mean, how do you respond to that?

MCGARVEY: Yes, I would invite the president to come to Louisville, Kentucky, and go to Kroger with me off Bardstown Road or the Wal-Mart off Bardstown Road, do our grocery shopping. I've got twins -- I've got three kids and my twins are in the eighth grade. Come see what an eighth grade boy eats and then go to the grocery and try to buy it.

Milk is up, eggs are up, meat is up. Everything is up right now. There's no denying that.

Just go to the grocery and shop. Start listening to people who are out here doing that and stop listening to the people who want to fund your ballroom.

SIDNER: Congressman Morgan McGarvey, thank you for joining us. I know that you have been in Kentucky, as you mentioned, for that horrific crash there with the UPS flight and dealing with the aftermath of that. So I do send you some luck this morning.

Thank you. Appreciate it.

All right, coming up, a suspicious package sending several people to the hospital at U.S. military base used all the time by the president and other high profile leaders. What sources are telling us was found inside the package.

Plus, a daycare teacher detained by ICE in front of her students. We are now hearing from one of the parents who was at that -- whose child was at that school and terrified during this raid.

And a Bruin bear. I what -- a what, a bear. What's happening here? Bear aside. I'm so tired.

You'll just have to find out what happened here. Goodbye.

[08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: We have more breaking news this morning. We've just learned at least six people got sick or became ill and had to be taken to the hospital after a suspicious package was sent to Joint Base Andrews. Sources say that the package contained white powder.

The package also containing political propaganda is how it's being described.

Zach Cohen joining us now with the very latest on this. Clearly a huge investigation now just now getting underway.

ZACH COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Kate, seven people reporting feeling ill after the suspicious package was opened yesterday at Joint Base Andrews. We're told that they were taken to a medical facility on the base and treated for their symptoms and subsequently released. But again, this really does speak to the seriousness of this ongoing investigation into the origins.

And the person behind this suspicious package, as you mentioned, we're told that when it was opened, there was discovered to be unknown white powder inside the package itself. Also a piece of political propaganda included in the package.

[08:15:00]

Factors that are leading investigators -- and it will help investigators ultimately determine what the motivation behind this was.

Joint Base Andrews itself responding to our request for comment, saying, quote, "As a precaution, the building and connecting building where this package was found were evacuated. Joint Base Andrews first responders were dispatched to the scene, determined there was no immediate threats and turned the scene over to the Office of Special Investigations. An investigation is currently ongoing." Now, an initial field test of the white -- unknown white substance did

not find anything hazardous, according to one source. But that's going to go through multiple more layers of review before investigators can really determine what that substance is.

And regardless, this is a concern and it's going to prompt a review of the security protocol at Joint Base Andrews. Obviously, this package seems to have been delivered via mail. So there's going to be an assessment of some -- of some kind to determine whether or not that is a potentially soft target of vulnerability for the base itself.

And it bears repeating that this is not just any military base. This is a military base that is called the home of Air Force One, the plane that Donald Trump, the president, United States uses, along with several other top officials and foreign dignitaries.

BOLDUAN: It's a great point, just kind of putting -- putting a point on just how urgent this investigation really will be. It's good to see you Zach. Thank you so much for that update.

Also new for us this morning, the U.S. military is striking another suspected drug boat in the Caribbean. What we know about the now 17th strike.

And a move that will affect the passports of thousands of Americans. The Supreme Court weighing in.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Voting now underway for the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year. Over the next few weeks, we're reintroducing each of our top five heroes as you cast your votes. Deborah Des Vignes is a former crime reporter helping incarcerated people transform their lives through creative writing, giving them the tools to reflect, grow and build brighter futures.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBRA DES VIGNES, CREATED INDIANA PRISON WRITERS WORKSHOP: But when sheriff's SWAT team members arrived at the home, no one was found inside.

I was a television news reporter and I covered crime. I didn't really understand humanity as I should have as a young reporter in my early 20s.

It wasn't until much later that the faces had stories and had names.

DES VIGNES (voice-over): I decided to volunteer in a prison because I was always inquisitive and curious about their stories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is one more reminder that inmates had no --

DES VIGNES (voice-over): I saw the raw talent and that's what led me to create this 12 week creative writing curriculum.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was convicted of dealing in a narcotic and dealing marijuana. I pretty much grew up on the streets. I lost my mother, my father, my sister and my brother and came to a crossroads and had to make a decision whether I was going to use that as fuel to do better.

DES VIGNES: Thank you for sharing that. Yep, I know that was heartfelt.

DES VIGNES (voice-over): We never excuse what they've done. In fact, a lot of them write about their remorse. We're just giving them a sacred space where they can let their shoulders down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eventually though, I began to confront my grief with a clear mind and an open heart, accepting the fact that no matter what I did or who I hurt, nothing was going to bring my brother back from the dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I look forward to my Friday afternoons more than most days. People just let their souls bleed out of their pens onto that paper and for two hours a day, everyone can just truly be themselves and we're like a little small knit family here. I plan on going into college and majoring in psychology when I get out, so I feel like this is a huge step towards that.

DES VIGNES: That's going to make me tear up. We'll end on that one. That was really powerful.

DES VIGNES (voice-over): Some people would think it's a lock them up and throw away the key. If a lot of these prisoners are going to be released, then why not use writing as a tool to become better in the space that you're in?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: She is doing some incredible work. You can go to CNN.com/heroes right now to vote for Deborah for CNN Hero of the Year or any of your favorite in the top five.

All right, right now, flight cuts, in effect at dozens of America's top airports. What this means for you if you are heading out for a flight this weekend.

And a former NFL player detained and extradited after spending months on the run. What we know about how police and where police track down Antonio Brown.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: So, if you are supposed to fly today, good luck and stick close to your travel apps. More than 800 flights have already been canceled this morning as the Trump administration begins its drastic move of cutting air traffic at 40 of the country's busiest airports. The FAA says it is all in the name of safety and they are looking at mounting staffing shortages from the record long government shutdown.

Also new this morning, the FAA is reporting staffing problems at three facilities that handle flights at Newark, Boston and Southern California. Controllers, air traffic controllers, are now supposed to work continuously, supposed to work without pay for more than a month and they just can't. And it's all expected to start snowballing because, as we well know, one flight delay and cancellation in one airport has ripple effects at so many other airports.

So how can you best prepare with this kind of falling on all of us? Joining me right now is Hayley Berg, the lead economist for the travel app and website Hopper. Haley, it's all on you now to give us best advice because this is really hitting a lot of people.

What are -- first and foremost, before we get to the advice, what are you seeing just in terms of trends already among fliers and people scheduled to fly and booking flights during this shutdown?

HAYLEY BERG, LEAD ECONOMIST, HOPPER: We've already seen an increase in travelers feeling apprehensive about disruptions even before this announcement from the FAA. We have a product, disruption assistance, that helps travelers rebook on any airline if they're,