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New York Mayor Eric Adams Denies He's Exiting Race; 475 Arrested in Massive Immigration Raid at Georgia Hyundai Plant; U.S. Labor Market Stalls, Just 22,000 Jobs Added in August; U.S. Open Women's Finals Begins in New York; Phillies, Marlins Rally Around Fan After Home Run Ball Spat; How to Handle Massive Lottery Jackpot Winnings. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 06, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEIR: -- large, and for the first time more than 85 scientists have answered back, putting out a 450-page point by point rebuttal of the Department of Energy's climate skeptic memo that went out. It's a memo that was written by five notorious science deniers but is now forming policy. It may be the basis for the undoing of the protection clause and gives the EPA the power to regulate big industries and tailpipes. But this is just the latest skirmish in the war on science here in the U.S.

Bill Weir, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with the mayor of New York striking a defiant tone in the face of increasing pressure to quit his reelection campaign. Eric Adams insisting on Friday that he is not leaving the race, even as multiple reports indicate the Trump administration wants to offer him a job to do so. Trump aides have reportedly discussed offering Adams a position to help set up a head-to-head race between former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani.

CNN's Alayna Treene joins us now from the White House.

Alayna, why does Trump want this to be a two-person race without Eric Adams in it?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we actually heard the president yesterday talk about this when he was hosting some lawmakers in the Rose Garden last night, essentially saying that he believes it would be a lot easier to try and defeat Mamdani if it was only a two- person race. He said something along the lines of, you know, having two people like the former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, but also the current mayor, Eric Adams, both competing to try and defeat Mamdani would be harder than if it was a one-on-one race.

However, I will say we have heard, as you mentioned from the mayor himself, he said he wanted to speak directly to New Yorkers, and so he addressed them at Gracie Mansion yesterday and essentially said that he, one, is not planning on dropping out. He's still planning on running for mayor in the fall, and that he has no plans to join the Trump administration. Listen to how he put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (I), NEW YORK: Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar. I am in this race, and I'm the only one that can beat Mamdani. This polo shirt that I'm wearing that says "Eric Adams, Mayor of the City of New York," I'm going to wear that for another four years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, as you put it, Fred, I mean, definitely a defiant tone that Adams was striking there. But I do want to get into a little bit of the reporting that some of my colleagues and I put out this week, which was essentially that Adams had met in Florida with one of the president's top advisers, his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and they did discuss a potential plan of having Adams join the Trump administration.

Some of those discussions centered around him potentially taking an ambassador role. There were some countries discussed, including Saudi Arabia. Now, I will say our sources emphasized to us that these were just discussions, that there have been no formal offers made. And Adams himself said something similar in a statement yesterday, addressing some of these reports. He said, quote, "While I will always listen if called to serve our country, no formal offers have been made. I am still running for reelection and my full focus is on the safety and quality of life of every New Yorker."

But I do want to put out, though, or say here, you know, in lieu of that statement, is that in our conversations with sources, including those who are close to the mayor, to Adams, say that he is still currently planning on running, but they admit that, you know, he could change his mind, particularly if the state of the race changes more. And so a lot of this coming, of course, as we're seeing people like the president, but also other Republicans and even some Democrats and people in New York are worried about, you know, what this race could look like and if Adams or Cuomo could actually take on the Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alayna Treene at the White House, thanks so much.

All right. Let's discuss more with Spectrum News NY1 political correspondent, Kelly Mina.

Kelly, great to see you. So how are New Yorkers and people inside Adams' administration reacting to this talk about the possibility of the Trump administration offering him a job? KELLY MENA, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, SPECTRUM NEWS NY1: Well, thanks

for having me, Fredricka. Obviously, this is creating a lot of speculation and rumors about what could happen. As your reporter just mentioned, the mayor being very defiant at this time, but this has led to many questions of gaming out the calculus for the mayor.

Will he finish out the rest of his term left in this year? What would it look like for him to take a position with the Trump administration, if it were to happen in the next coming days or weeks? Would he announce it to everybody? And what type of position would it look like? Obviously, this year has been a difficult one for the mayor.

[15:05:04]

He's had to overcome many personal and professional obstacles on top of that now dismissed federal indictment, but also his ability to be electable. That has been dogging him this entire time, even though he didn't participate in the primary and many within the administration and those on the campaign said that they -- this announcement yesterday took them by surprise, that they weren't even sure if his campaign was going to continue after that announcement at Gracie Manon.

Now that they've had the green light they'll continue to try to sell him to New Yorkers, many of which are on the fence about him. Many of the New Yorkers who voted for him four years ago feel like he's done so much, not necessarily good, but had so many issues when it comes to his ethics, those around him, his inner circle, and they feel like maybe they shouldn't give him a second chance.

And that's really been the challenge for his campaign, to overcome those lingering feelings that New Yorkers have felt that they gave him a chance, the second black mayor in the city, and how can they elect him again, knowing that these issues may dog him in the second term, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, he sounded pretty adamant, right, though, during that press conference, you know, Gracie Mansion, that he intends to wear that polo shirt again, he intends to stay in the race? Flip side to that, though, you just mentioned the dismissed federal charges. Is there a feeling that people have that he almost kind of owes the favor to the Trump administration after those charges have been dismissed, and that perhaps he will say yes to any kind of job offer?

MENA: Yes, definitely. I mean, you bring up that now dismissed federal indictment and immediately people tie it to President Trump, even though both of them publicly have said that he's not involved in it. And as you know, here in New York City, registered Democrats outweigh registered Republicans eight to one. So having Trump involved in anything related to you when you're the Democratic sitting mayor is not a good sign. New Yorkers don't like knowing that maybe President Trump, a Republican who doesn't -- isn't well-liked in the city, is involved in anything to do with city politics or who they will decide as the next mayor.

We should also mention, you know, the mayor could have said whatever he said yesterday, but he was very specific about the words he used, that he hasn't had a formal offer, that he isn't going to D.C. on Monday. But as we know, there's six more days in the week. Who knows what could happen. President Trump is expected to be here in the city for the U.S. Open tomorrow. There's 9/11 coming up where many dignitaries come, as well as the president and the mayor attend many of those events.

And at those events, they naturally are going to mingle. The advisers are going to be there. You know, the mayor has been very specific these last couple days saying that he's not involved in those discussions. He hasn't heard anything directly, but it's really the advisers that you have to pay attention to. Those are the ones having the discussions. Those are the ones in those rooms deciding what type of a job could happen, what type of a job potentially could be offered to the mayor.

We also got reporting this week that the mayor, when it comes to that Saudi Arabia ambassadorship he's weighing things like, how does the Senate confirmation process work? Will he get through it? How does this -- what is an ambassadorship look like? What does the job entail? And we also have to talk about those millions of dollars that he still owes. It's now up to $3 million in debt he has for his legal fees, and how he will be able to pay those off in the coming months or for the rest of his time.

So that really are the three questions that he's deciding right now. Those are the types of discussions he's having internally with his top advisers. And we were told this week that he is headed to Washington sometime next week, though it doesn't have to be Monday, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Very curious. OK. And from voters to top Democrats, what is the feeling about a potential two-person race between a Mamdani and a Cuomo?

MENA: You know, I don't think that's something that they're looking for. If you look at the Democratic Parties here in the city, most of them have endorsed Zohran Mamdani. They feel that Cuomo had his chance in the primary, and he lost handily. And now it's an opportunity for somebody else to come in.

It's interesting that Cuomo got his first major endorsement for the general election earlier today from a major electrical union representing about 29,000 members. That's a big deal for Cuomo, because he's also been dogged by this ability to overcome his huge primary loss. How does he go from being a loser to a potential winner again. And that's his biggest issue right now. Getting that endorsement is going to give him some momentum.

Getting an endorsement signals that this person is the person that could win, is the person you should choose. And hopefully this for him he's thinking, will be able to bring in more endorsements. He hasn't been elected by or endorsed by any other major unions or sitting officials, and that's what he needs on top of bringing in fundraising funds.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kelly Mena, we'll leave it there for now. Thanks so much.

All right. Now to the latest on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. A months long investigation by federal authorities that led to a raid on a Hyundai plant in South Georgia resulted in 475 arrests and most of those were Korean nationals.

[15:10:07]

And now the South Korean president is vowing to use necessary measures to help its citizens detained by ICE. President Trump reacted to news of the raid yesterday from the Oval Office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you concerned at all about, you know, your immigration agenda potentially clashing with these economic goals?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we want to get along with other countries, and we want to have a great stable workforce. And we had, as I understand it, a lot of illegal aliens, some not the best of people, but we had a lot of illegal aliens working there. So, you know, look, they're doing their job. That's what they have to do. These are people that came through with Biden. They came through illegally. They came into our country. So we have to do our job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. CNN's Rafael Romo is here with more on this.

This investigation involved a lot of agencies, right, and intelligence.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And it is very important, Fred, to not only look at the facts, but also the context of how this is happening and when it's happening because this was one of the largest immigration raids in U.S. history at a sprawling manufacturing plant touted as great investment by state officials here in Georgia in a Republican led state that immigration authorities say was part of a month's long investigation.

What we know is that state troopers blocked roads leading to the plant and set up a security perimeter, setting the stage for nearly 500 federal, state and local officers to conduct the raid at the Hyundai plant located in a quiet southeast Georgia community.

By the time they were done, Fred, at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, agents had arrested 475 people, most of them Korean nationals, making it the largest sweep yet in the current Trump administration's immigration crackdown at American job sites. A Homeland Security investigation special agent in charge said this was a targeted operation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN SCHRANK, SPECIAL AGENT, HOMELAND SECURITY: This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses. This has been a multi-month criminal investigation where we have developed evidence, conducted interviews, gathered documents and presented that evidence to the court in order to obtain a judicial search warrant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: In a statement sent to CNN on Friday, Hyundai said the company was aware of what they described as an incident, adding that they were closely monitoring the situation. "As of today," the statement goes on to say, "it is our understanding that none of those detained is directly employed by Hyundai Motor Company. We prioritize the safety and well-being of everyone working at the site and comply with all laws and regulations wherever we operate."

In an interview with CNN, former deputy Homeland Security secretary under President Trump, Ken Cuccinelli, said that this type of immigration enforcement operation sends a clear message to employers across America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN CUCCINELLI, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR RENEWING AMERICA: This is becoming much more common in this administration. And so employers who have never had to worry about this before now know their own butt is on the line if they're going to break these laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: ICE and Homeland Security investigations agents were supported by the Georgia Department of Public Safety, as well as the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General, the FBI, DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the ATF, the IRS, and the Georgia State Patrol also participating in the raid which tells you a lot about just the size of this operation.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

ROMO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, we'll check on the state of the economy, what the Trump administration is saying and how it links up with how Americans are feeling. And later, President Trump is expected to attend the U.S. Open Men's Final this weekend. We'll take you live to the tennis center for a preview of the men's and today's women's finals.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:18:50]

WHITFIELD: All right. The latest jobs report is flashing major warning signs about the economy. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 22,000 jobs were added last month. That was far short of the more than 75,000 jobs some economists had expected. The unemployment rate also ticked up higher to 4.3 percent. That's a near four-year high. I'm joined now by Jessica Fulton. She's an economist and fellow for

policy at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Jessica, great to see you. So how concerning, in your view, is this latest jobs report?

JESSICA FULTON, FELLOW, POLICY AT THE JOINT CENTER FOR POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STUDIES: Yes. This jobs report is actually causing me a lot of concern. When you look at the overall unemployment rate, it hasn't changed that much from the past month but when you really dig deeper under the hood, you see that for black workers, unemployment rates have actually been kind of shooting up over the past several months. That's a concern because black workers sort of serve as a canary in the coal mine when you look at the labor market.

[15:20:01]

Basically what happens to black workers today is what's going to happen to the rest of the workforce tomorrow. And that's pretty clear from yesterday's jobs report. One of the -- one of the things that was notable there is that the economy actually lost jobs for the first time since the pandemic in June 2025. And almost nearly five million, so 4.7 million workers are working part time, not because they want part time jobs, but because their employers aren't giving them enough hours or because they're unable to find full time jobs. So I think we really have something to be concerned about today.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you're painting a pretty dismal view there. And while the overall unemployment rate, you know, bumped up slightly, the unemployment rate for African-Americans as a whole jumped significantly higher to 7.5 percent. I mean, that's double the rate for white workers. So help us understand what's going on here.

FULTON: Yes. So black workers are really more sensitive to changes in the labor market. There's this term that folks use. Last hired, first fired. And it means that black workers are often the first to be let go at the start of an economic downturn. And black unemployment rates actually take longer to recover as the economy grows. That could be for a number of different reasons, right? It could be because of intentional or unintentional discrimination in the labor market, but it could also be because black workers are in roles that are more sensitive to the business cycle.

The roles like customer service jobs, where employers might be more inclined to let workers go early on if they're not getting enough sales or jobs in this -- in this particular instance, like administrative roles, that might be easier to replace because of advances in technology. Either way, it really points to challenges in the labor market that are affecting black workers now, but will likely be affecting other workers moving forward.

WHITFIELD: And black women are disproportionately struggling right now, too. There was a "Washington Post" report earlier in the week that talked about among the federal layoff, federal worker layoffs, disproportionately. Black women were hit very hard. And then overall, now you're looking at these numbers, the jobless rate for African- American women is at 6.7 percent. And the last time it was that high was September of 2021 during the pandemic.

What do you see with these trends and how do you read these numbers?

FULTON: Yes, exactly. The black women's unemployment rate is something that I've been keeping an eye on and typically do keep an eye on year round, no matter what part of the economic cycle we're in. Last month there were just over 300,000 fewer black women with jobs than there were in February 2025. And I think there are a few reasons for that. One is because of the federal layoffs. As soon as the administration announced that they were going to be cutting workers from the federal government, that raised an eyebrow for me, because we know that black women are overrepresented in the federal workforce.

In 2024, they made up about 12 percent of all federal workers, compared to about 6 percent overall. So cuts there are going to affect black women in large numbers. There also has been a lot of pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which really are there to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to get a good job with good benefits, right? That employers are able to attract and retain the most qualified workers, regardless of their race or gender, regardless of, you know what, what school they went to or what kind of background they're from.

And so that's another place where I'm really concerned that the black women that have lost jobs has been partially due to a chilling effect in that space. And then finally, I think we're headed for an economic downturn. There are -- there's sort of increasing uncertainty due to things like tariffs that are leading businesses to hire fewer workers and stall in their decision-making about growing their workforces.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jessica Fulton, we'll leave it there for now. Hope to have you back. Thank you so much.

FULTON: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, a young fan at the Marlins-Phillies game gets showered with gifts from both teams. We'll show you the outrageous moment that preceded this beautiful moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:29:13]

WHITFIELD: All right. We're just moments away from the women's finals at the U.S. Open between Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova. Let's get straight to CNN's sports anchor, Andy Scholes, who is joining us live from Flushing Meadows.

OK. I mean, the top of the world players. This is going to be really exceptional. What's going on? Tell me about the energy there.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, I'll tell you what, it's always an electric atmosphere here at the U.S. Open. It's also a wet one right now. We've got some bad storms in the area. It started pouring here moments ago. All the fans had to run into Arthur Ashe Stadium, but luckily retractable roof now on that stadium. So we'll have no delays for the women's final. And we should have a really good one.

Aryna Sabalenka trying to become the first woman to win back-to-back titles here at the U.S. Open since Serena, and then you got American Amanda Anisimova trying to win her first ever grand slam title.

[15:30:03]

And it's already been quite the season for Sabalenka. Despite not winning a grand slam, she made it to the Australian Open Final, the French Open Final, and now she's here in this final. The only grand slam final Sabalenka didn't make it to this year was at Wimbledon, where she lost to Anisimova in the semifinals so she could be out for a little bit of revenge today.

Anisimova, meanwhile, she's trying to bounce back from that Wimbledon final where she lost six-zero, six-zero to Iga Swiatek. This is her second straight grand slam final appearance of the 24-year-old New Jersey native. She said she's always dreamed of winning this tournament, and she says she's just super pumped to have the chance to do it today against the top player in the world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA ANISIMOVA, 9TH WTA-RANKED TENNIS PLAYER: I'm super excited. To be in the U.S. Open Final is really special and I'm just going to try and do all the right things. Really prepare, you know, to be in in the best possible mindset and physically. But, yes, I'm really looking forward to it. And I think it's a great opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. So the women's final starts at the top of the hour. On the men's side, we've got an epic final one versus two. Carlos Alcaraz versus Jannik Sinner. And Alcaraz is already having his best run ever here in New York to this point. The 22-year-old, five-time grand slam champion has not dropped a set yet in this tournament. He beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals in straight sets. He's the first man to not lose a set all the way to the finals since Roger Federer back in 2015.

Sinner, meanwhile, he just continues to prove he's the top ranked player in the world. The 24-year-old Italian has now made it to every grand slam final this year. He's been in five straight now. He's won three of them. And with the finals being between these two, it now means that Alcaraz or Sinner will have now won the last eight grand slam titles on the men's side.

Fredricka, we are truly living now in the Alcaraz-Sinner era and the cheapest ticket to get into tomorrow's men's final, just to sit in the nosebleeds here at Arthur Ashe Stadium, it's going for more than 750 bucks. Even President Trump wants to be here. He is expected to be in attendance tomorrow. There's going to be enhanced security. So, hey, if you're coming out here for the U.S. Open Men's Final tomorrow, maybe give yourself some extra time.

WHITFIELD: Get there early.

SCHOLES: With that enhanced security.

WHITFIELD: I mean, yes, I don't know. I think with Alcaraz, maybe, you know, coming in with the shave and haircut that said everything, that kind of set the tone. And then it looks like for the women's final --

SCHOLES: Now (INAUDIBLE) he might have to keep it.

WHITFIELD: I know. He has to keep it now. And for the women's, it looks like it was redemption. It's about redemption for both Sabalenka and Anisimova for different reasons. But we'll be watching. I cannot wait. I'll be right in front of the TV set as soon as I get off the air. But you're there. Have fun.

Andy Scholes, appreciate it.

All right. It was a moment baseball fans, you know, has baseball fans, rather, crying foul in Miami last night as the Phillies faced the Marlins. Phillies center fielder Harrison Bader hits a home run to left in the fourth inning. The ball lands in the outfield stands and a father snags that, you saw right there, and gives it to his son, but uh-uh, another fan who was not happy about that move confronted him until he relented and gave her the ball. And you see her walking off with real certainty.

Well, guess what? That moment, it quickly went viral. The Marlins gave the kid who got the ball taken away a gift bag, and then the Phillies invited him to meet Bader and also gave him a signed bat. How's that for a moment or two?

Joining me right now is Jackie Baseball Fritz with Philadelphia sports radio 94 WIP.

All right. Good to see you. Oh, my goodness. So everyone is talking about this moment. And I mean, you had the ball and then now you have the whole kit and caboodle that goes to the kid and his dad and that whole moment. So what are your fans, what are your listeners, what are the viewers of that game saying?

JACK FRITZ, AFTERNOON HOST, 94.1 WIP: Well, listen, I mean, everyone is kind of saying the same thing. What is she doing? I mean, you got to know baseball etiquette.

WHITFIELD: Who is that?

FRITZ: Yes, listen, you got to grab the ball before -- you got to have both hands on it before you claim it as your own. So, you know, hopefully this doesn't stick to us like the snowballs at Santa Claus. Hopefully Philly Karen is not the new era of that. But, yes, whenever we do anything in Philadelphia, fan-wise, it certainly seems to go national.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. And then, I mean, does anyone know you know who she is? I mean, not to, you know, not to pile on or anything, but I mean, what do we know about this moment and what was said? And, I mean, what's really at the root here of the problem?

[15:35:04]

FRITZ: Well, I mean, the problem is I think people get a little too worked up about, you know, being at sporting events. I mean, here in Philadelphia, she is forever going to be known as Philly Karen. That seems like the nickname that is going to stick for a little while around here. But, you know, I think a lot of people are giving proper credit to the dad here for I think having a good teaching moment of, hey --

WHITFIELD: Hey, it was gracious.

FRITZ: It's not, it's not that big of a deal.

WHITFIELD: You don't scrap over it.

FRITZ: It's just a baseball at a baseball game.

WHITFIELD: Right. And he's sending a great message to his kid, too, right?

FRITZ: Yes. Yes.

WHITFIELD: OK. You know what? Take the high road. Take the high road. Let's be calm. Let's move on. OK, so, you know, we have seen a lot of, you know, folks behaving badly, you know, at sports arenas, et cetera. I mean, hopefully this does serve as a great example of, you know, being graceful no matter what.

FRITZ: Yes. I mean, it seems like her whole life is being turned upside down today. Yes. She went to one baseball game in Miami, and all of a sudden she wakes up today as a viral sensation. So there's cameras everywhere. There's cameras everywhere.

WHITFIELD: Right. That's true. That's true. Well, you know, hopefully it's not going to be all about, you know, her or anything, you know, any ill will. Instead, folks need to look at this as half glass full, right? I mean, we saw a great example of really kind of upstanding behavior, just kind of taking the high road and showing that to his son. And then being celebrated for that by these incredible players in this very special moment.

FRITZ: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And isn't that just lovely in and of itself?

FRITZ: Yes. It's a fantastic point, you know, and the Phillies and the Marlins, kudos to the Marlins for immediately hopping on this. And then the Phillies, you know, they're a first class organization. So of course they did the right thing. Harrison Bader did the right thing. And ultimately they made that kid's day. So, you know, it was a great -- a great teaching moment and one that I think should represent the both teams and the city of Philadelphia in a positive way.

WHITFIELD: I love it. Always good to find the highlights. Find the best outcome in a moment. And that's what we're doing.

All right, Jack Fritz, with your help, appreciate it. And your listeners as well. Jack Fritz, great talking to you. Thank you.

FRITZ: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. You could afford to buy your own baseball team after tonight. Potentially. In a moment some important advice as you dream about winning tonight's more than $1 billion Powerball jackpot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:17]

WHITFIELD: All right. Tonight is the big drawing. $1.8 billion up for grabs in the second largest jackpot in Powerball history. 42 drawings have come and gone since someone last won the big prize. And that was the end of May. So if you do get the winning numbers tonight, you'll have some homework to do. There is a winning strategy to that as well.

Earlier today I spoke with tax attorney Kurt Panouses, who has represented more than 50 big jackpot winners. And here's his advice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We all hope we're lucky. We all hope we have this problem of actually having the winning ticket. So what should the first thing be that we do if indeed one of us out there has a winning ticket?

KURT PANOUSES, TAX ATTORNEY: Well, I know it's going to be very difficult for whoever holds that ticket to get any rest or sleep. But what they have to remember is this is the biggest financial decision they're ever going to make in their life. It will affect not only them, but their children, grandchildren and future generations. So they need to take their time and they need to be patient.

The first thing that I tell the person to do is secure the ticket. The ticket is the cornerstone. So make a copy of the front and the back of the ticket and put the ticket in a safe place. You will not need the ticket until the day of claiming and put a plan together. Again, this is not a claim. This is the time for a plan. So you need about two to three weeks at this level of win to put together a plan that encompasses taxes as well as what you're -- who you're trying to help.

WHITFIELD: So you say among those things that you do, you know, before you even put it in that safe place, you're not even going to sign it, you say. Don't sign the winning ticket. Don't tell anyone, even though, you know, you've got this news and you're bursting at the seams, you want to share it but don't. And when you say establish a team, who is part of that team?

PANOUSES: OK. So, again, keeping the circle of people that know as small as possible is critical. So the reason for keeping the ticket blank at the -- for the time being is you want to secure your advisers, you want to secure that attorney that's going to be the leader of that group who will put the plan together. So they need a, like we're artists almost. And we want to paint the picture. So based on what the client is trying to do, who they're trying to help, what their goals are in life, you want to paint that picture on the back of the ticket.

So it may not be putting your name. It may be putting a trust. It may be putting a limited liability company. It may be a combination, a club. So let the -- let the attorney have some time to put that plan together.

[15:45:02]

You know, that's really our responsibility is to help the client seek out their goals and then to help them with the process.

WHITFIELD: And every state is different, right? Because I know you represented a jackpot winning group in Michigan while some groups say you really do have to reveal yourself, you can't proceed with anonymity. Sometimes there's an advantage to winning as a group, and then maybe you can introduce an LLC in some cases or a group name? Explain all that.

PANOUSES: Yes. So it's all state specific. So wherever the ticket is purchased, that's the law that applies. And I always tell people give me about 12 hours to do a deep dive into that state's lottery commission laws, their rules, their promulgations, whatever they have because several states have said we are you know, not anonymous. We'll disclose who the winner is. And then after I've gotten involved, we found the little crack to be able to be compliant with their laws, but to keep them anonymous.

Like Michigan, they were on TV the very next day talking about how they were going to be able to identify who the winners were. And of course, we were able to work through that, through the attorney general's office. So you really want to take your time and plan this out. At this point in time, I have to say I don't know of any state that would be -- that would not be anonymous if given the opportunity to work our magic sometimes.

WHITFIELD: And then real quick, what's the biggest mistake that you see people make?

PANOUSES: You know, just being in a hurry. You know, people have to understand that this is -- there's no do-overs. So take your time, place the ticket in a secure place so that you don't lose the ticket. You know, someone doesn't steal the ticket. The ticket won't be needed until the day of claim. So just put that ticket away. Copies all the attorneys are going to need, and then they can put the professionals together, whether it's the finance people, the tax people any other attorneys that would be necessary for any specific specialty type areas.

But they'll put that all together for the client. They'll give the client some choices, and then the client will make those choices. There's a lot of questions you have to ask that client before you paint this picture. So again it takes a while. It's going to take two to three weeks in this case. The winner may also decide to wait 180 days and claim the ticket in January, which will allow them to have use of the money and not have to worry about the taxes until next 2026. WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. All right. Packing the patience as well.

Kurt Panouses, thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. The comedy quiz show "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" returns tonight. This week's guests are Representative Jasmine Crockett and comedian Dave Foley. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JUNIOR, HOST: Here's Florida's surgeon general Joseph Ladapo.

JOSEPH LADAPO, FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL: The Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the governor, is going to be working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida law. All of them, all of them.

DAVE FOLEY, COMEDIAN: There's an argument that can be made that people, adults, should have the right to make their own decisions, and they have the intelligence to make those decisions. But clearly that doesn't apply to Florida.

WOOD: What did he compare giving your kid a life-saving measles shot?

AMBER RUFFIN, HOST: Roy.

WOOD: What did he compare vaccinations to?

RUFFIN: Roy, I don't know this news story.

WOOD: What did he compare --

RUFFIN: But if the answer is slavery, I'll kill us all.

(LAUGHTER)

WOOD: Play the clip.

LADAPO: All vaccine mandates in Florida law. All of them. All of them. Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery.

RUFFIN: No! Knives. Dead. Dead. You're dead. You're dead. You're dead. I'm dead. Oh. I got to start watching news before I come here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Be sure to tune in. A new season of "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" airs tonight, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

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[15:53:52]

WHITFIELD: All right. A pretty terrifying scene in New York, just take a look. A driver in his vehicle, of course, flying over six lanes of traffic. And the whole thing is caught on video. Then the crash happened in Long Island this week in the middle of rush hour. A dash camera captured the unbelievable moment. Police say a 70-year-old driver sped across an embankment, then went airborne right there, and crashing into a tree. And by a miracle, that driver is actually OK. Police have not said what caused the driver to lose control like that.

All right. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jessica Dean right after this.

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