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CNN This Morning

Trump Says He Spoke to Putin; Trump's Gun Policy Plans. Security Tight Around New Orleans Ahead Of Today's Big Game; Winter Storm Bringing Snow, Sleet And Ice To The Northeast; White House, Musk Slam Judge's Ruling To Block Musk's Group From Treasury Access; Names Of 10 Victims In Deadly Alaska Plane Crash Released; Senate GOP To Start Budget Markup Wednesday. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired February 09, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

[07:00:00]

ALL: Yes sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am --

ALL: I am --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- somebody.

ALL: -- somebody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I may be young.

ALL: I may be young.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I am --

ALL: But I am --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- somebody.

ALL: -- somebody.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: So how do you think this ad will play, given the controversy over the NFL ditching the end race as a message and going with choose love this year?

PAUL HARDART, CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, NYU STERN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: I think it'll play really well. I think it's sweet. I think we can all relate to kids wanting to sort of figure out what their identity is and if they take up space in the world. And you notice it's not -- it's more about sort of people trying to live their best lives.

And I think the NFL has become such a part of our culture. Obviously, we'll see this during the Super Bowl. The NFL is trying to expand its audience, particularly following things like CTE. You know, fewer people are playing football as young kids.

So, there's going to be football, flag football in the Olympics and the L.A. Olympics. So I think this is all kind of on brand and feeling good and a really good time for the culture. I think it's a good ad.

WALKER: Paul Hardart, thank you very much.

And the next hour of CNN This Morning starts right now.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Super Bowl Sunday, February 9th. I'm Amara Walker.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell.

Here's what we're working on for you this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have never seen this level of security in the city of New Orleans in all of my years.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: Super Bowl Sunday and security around New Orleans is tight. One official tells CNN it rivals the inauguration. We'll talk about the plans in place to keep the fans safe in New Orleans.

WALKER: Fifteen million people are under winter weather alerts as a fast moving storm dumps up to 9 inches of snow across the Northeast. You've got your forecast ahead.

BLACKWELL: We can find out tomorrow whether the Trump administration so-called buyout deadline will remain paused or be reinstated. What to expect as both sides make the case to the judge.

WALKER: And it may be Super Bowl Sunday. But one of the biggest competitions is all about the puppies instead of the players. We are joined by the lead trainer from today's Puppy Bowl later on CNN This Morning.

Well, it's finally time for Super Bowl 59 and security is tight around the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. This is a live look from the stadium where kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

BLACKWELL: Kansas City Chiefs are aiming to pull off something that's never been done before winning three straight Super Bowl championships. Philadelphia Eagles are looking for revenge after losing to Kansas City two years ago.

Now, there's always a significant security presence around the Super Bowl. And because President Donald Trump, former First Lady Jill Biden are attending, there is added security. Of course, there was a New Year's Day attack there in New Orleans.

CNN's Ryan Young reports from the city.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor and Amara, the countdown for the Super Bowl is on and fans are crushing into the city of New Orleans to celebrate their teams and see NFL celebrities all up and down the streets. The big conversation, though, especially after what happened over New Year's, is security.

You look here, you can see heavy equipment from Homeland Security. That's just part of the thousands of officers who have surged into New Orleans to keep this place safe. And we've talked to people in the federal government who say they've never seen a security footprint like this before.

You got drones, you got people on rooftops, you got snipers, all that trying to supplement the security that's already been put in place. And we know the President's coming to the game tomorrow. We talked to the mayor of Kansas City as he was enjoying New Orleans, getting ready for his team to hit the field about the security that he's seeing as he's walking around.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MAYOR QUINTON LUCAS, KANSAS CITY: You know what? I feel safe. I knew after the previous tragedy, they would come up with a plan that makes sure that they address all of the different challenges that you face in a big event in a major city like this one.

I think they've done a wonderful job. You look down the street, you see the obvious presence, but people are still able to have fun. And I think that's a tough balance to hit. They're doing it right here in New Orleans. I commend everybody who's been a part of that.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, they're expecting about 100,000 fans to come into the city for the Super Bowl. When you multiply that, though, the Sierra One (ph) protection level that they've added for the Super Bowl extends all the way through Mardi Gras. They are concerned about a lone wolf attack. And they've told us they've been looking at dark websites.

They've been trying to make sure all the Internet chatter around this area, make sure it lines up in the proper way. And they put extra security at certain locations throughout this city. So, again, big time event tomorrow, the Super Bowl, one of the biggest that we have in this country.

You add in the fact that Donald Trump will be here and the eyes are on New Orleans and the security footprint that most folks say they've never seen before. Back to you guys.

BLACKWELL: All right, Ryan, thank you.

WALKER: A fast moving storm is crossing the northeast, leaving 10 million people under winter weather alerts.

BLACKWELL: So what started out as heavy snow then changed to sleet and snow and freezing rain in New York.

[07:05:02]

The storm has left slippery and dangerous roads across the region. It's also impacting flights across the country. About 300 flights across the U.S. have been delayed today and more than 360 have been canceled.

CNN's Allison Chinchar joins us now. I saw last hour New York had something on the ground, but it didn't seem atypical for New York.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Could be salt, could be snow.

BLACKWELL: Right, could be salt, could be many things.

CHINCHAR: Yes, yes, it could be. Yes, but if you go farther north or even inland where they got some more snow, it's on the ground. And we were talking about this. It's beautiful when you don't have to drive in it.

BLACKWELL: Through the window. Yes.

CHINCHAR: When you don't have to drive in it. So take a look at the image behind me. You don't have to be there right now for most folks. This is Bar Harbor, Maine. Absolutely beautiful shot. The water in the background, the snow still coming down and several inches on the ground as well.

It's likely going to continue snowing there for at least a little while longer as we start to get more of these bands wrapping up here. If we can push this forward here, you'll notice that on the radar we still have some of those shower bands expected in these areas that will kind of slide through.

But you look at some of these totals here. You've already had 8 inches of snow across portions of Maine, New Hampshire, New York getting several inches as well. Even when the system was in the Midwest, portions of Wisconsin and even Michigan getting at least half a foot of snow.

Ice, that was another concern we had here. Several locations picking up at least a quarter of an inch of ice. That sticks to not only roadways but also trees and power lines causing some more problems there.

Here's a look at that radar we talked about. There's still some snow out there, especially in places like Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and even portions of Massachusetts. But once that slides through, maybe dropping an extra 1 to 2 inches from what's already there, then it finally exits out and we get a tiny little break. Emphasis on tiny little break before the next system moves through as we start off the early portion of the week. Now, it brings some very heavy rain across the Tennessee and Ohio Valley. But on the northern tier where you have those cold temperatures in place, now you're talking more snow. And yes, for some of the same areas that just got snow the last few days. Then another system on the heels of that that arrives into the middle portion of the week.

And quite possibly, one of the bigger systems arrives as we finish out the rest of this upcoming week and head into next weekend. This is the one that has wide reaching impacts that likely could end up dumping pretty significant amounts of snow as we spread from the Midwest up into portions of the northeast.

BLACKWELL: All right. We know you're watching it.

Allison, thank you.

WALKER: Thanks, Allison.

And officials in Massachusetts are warning drivers to be really cautious on the roads this morning.

BLACKWELL: The snow and low temperatures have made traveling difficult across parts of the state.

Joining us now is Brianna Borghi, a reporter for CNN affiliate, WCVB. What's it look like out there?

BRIANNA BORGHI, WCVB REPORTER: Good morning, Victor and Amara. Yes, we have had it snow overnight here about up to 7 inches in some areas. Actually, I want to measure where we are, though. We're in Westborough, Massachusetts.

I've got my fancy snow measuring stick here. We'll stick it right down into the ground. We're at about 3 inches right now. So this really isn't anything New Englanders can't handle for the most part.

But like I said, since the snow came in overnight, crews were lucky. They have been out all night clearing the roads before most people headed out this morning. So that's a good sign.

We can see the blacktop. The bad news here, though, is that the pavement temperatures across the state are below freezing. So that means that with this drizzle sort of that we have coming down right now, that could lead to some slick and icy conditions, dangerous for driving.

Of course, even our camera equipment has a little bit of a thin layer of ice on it. The good news, again, though, is that MassDOT does have about 2,000 pieces of equipment out right now deployed across the state as part of its storm operations to keep up with the snowfall here. But, of course, they say if you don't have to be out, stay off of the roads. And if you see plows out, of course, give those plows plenty of room to move to.

Now, since this is a Sunday, a lot of kids are going to be wanting to play in the snow, I imagine. So I want to do a snow test to see just what we're dealing with here. As far as the snow consistency goes, it is pretty fluffy here. A thin layer of ice is covering the snow right now because of the rain coming down a little bit here, ice over.

Let's see if we can make a snowball, though. We'll love to do that, especially for any of the young ones that might want to get out and play while they have a day off before the Super Bowl. And even as fluffy as it is, we can still make a pretty decent snowball, give it a throw, maybe. Well, maybe it'll fall apart without hitting my photographer there.

But for the most part, this is great snow for the kids to play in. Hopefully easy to shovel if you get out before this rain really seeps into it. But, again, if you're going to be driving here in Massachusetts, slick conditions coming our way, snow will likely be wrapping up over the next few hours. But for the most part, most of the snow across our area has come down.

All right. For now, we're live in Westborough. Brianna Borghi, WCVB NewsCenter 5.

WALKER: It's fluffy snow. Thank you so much, Brianna Borghi.

BLACKWELL: You know, the snowball, not impressive, but that snow measuring stick that they sell you out there --

WALKER: I liked it, yes.

BLACKWELL: -- in New England, that's nice. They don't waste their money marketing that to us in Georgia.

WALKER: No, they don't. I don't --

BLACKWELL: We can use it.

WALKER: -- when I saw that, what she was, you know, holding in her hand, I was like, what is that?

BLACKWELL: It's fancy.

WALKER: Wow. It's a snow measuring stick.

BLACKWELL: Fancy.

[07:10:11]

WALKER: All right. Well, the White House and Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency blasted a judge's ruling to block access to the Treasury's payment system.

BLACKWELL: Musk says the Treasury jointly agreed to a number of changes, all of which would be implemented by existing longtime government employees, not members of his team.

CNN's Betsy Klein explains what could happen next with that ruling. Betsy, good morning. BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Victor and Amara, President Trump ran and won in 2024 on slashing waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. And as part of those plans, he has really empowered Elon Musk and the so-called DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency.

So we are starting to see DOGE employees deploy into different government departments and start going through different systems, including this very sensitive Treasury Department payment system. Now, New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other state attorneys general filed a lawsuit that contended that Musk's associates, who were categorized as special government employees, were unlawfully granted access to that Treasury system.

And a U.S. district court judge temporarily restricted the DOGE team from that system. That judge cited risks to sensitive and confidential information, as well as vulnerability to hacking.

Now, the White House lambasted that ruling on Saturday in a new statement. Spokesman Harrison Fields telling CNN, quote, "These frivolous lawsuits are akin to children throwing pasta at the wall to see if it will stick. Grandstanding government efficiency speaks volumes about those who'd rather delay much needed change with legal shenanigans than work with the Trump administration of ridding the government of waste, fraud, and abuse".

Now, for his part, President Trump himself appears to be pleased with the work that Musk and his team are doing. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there anything you've told Elon Musk he cannot touch?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we haven't discussed that much. I'll tell him to go here, go there. He does it. He's got a very capable group of people. Very, very capable. They know what they're doing.

They'll ask questions and they'll see immediately as somebody gets tongue tied that they're either crooked or don't know what they're doing. We have very smart people going in. So, I've instructed him go into education, go into military, go into other things.

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KLEIN: Now, Trump's team overall has much confidence in its ability to defend itself from these lawsuits. But a hearing is next scheduled for Friday, February 14th on the matter.

Victor and Amara?

WALKER: All right, Betsy Klein, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Officials say all 10 victims of the fatal Alaska plane crash have been recovered and identified. But the latest on the investigation next.

WALKER: Plus, President Trump has signed an executive order to review and roll back policies that regulate Second Amendment rights. Coming up, what this could mean for Biden era gun control policies.

BLACKWELL: And you made those deviled eggs yet?

WALKER: Have you?

BLACKWELL: No, I'll make it right after the show.

Super Bowl is coming, but also the Puppy Bowl is tonight. We'll meet Boris -- a different Boris -- and talk about the other stars of the dog extravaganza with the trainer later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:18:10]

WALKER: Here are some of the top stories we are following this morning. Investigators have recovered all major wreckage from last month's midair collision between an American Airlines plane and a Black Hawk helicopter.

The debris from the January 29th collision over the Potomac River in D.C. has been moved to a secure facility for a detailed examination to determine what caused the crash. The accident killed 67 people, making it one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent history.

Five former hostages from Thailand released last week are now back in their home country. Hamas abducted the men during the October 7th attacks. Thailand's labor minister says around 5,000 Thais were employed in the area where Hamas attacked. Human Rights Watch says Thailand has dominated the foreign migrant worker market in Israel for the past decade.

And after more than 24 hours of disruption, Sony says its PlayStation network is back online. The company announced on X just after midnight that services had fully recovered from an operational issue, marking one of the platform's longest outages. With an estimated 116 million monthly users affected, Sony is offering all PlayStation Plus members an extra five days of service for the inconvenience.

BLACKWELL: This morning, new details are emerging about the victims of a deadly plane crash in Alaska. The small commuter aircraft carrying nine passengers, one pilot, vanished shortly after taking off from Unalakleet on Thursday. The wreckage was discovered Friday about 34 miles southeast of Nome, the flight's destination.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has more.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Recovery operations are still ongoing. The fact that this crash happened in the middle of winter in northern Alaska is certainly not helping. This was a small commuter plane that was going from Unalakleet to Nome on Thursday afternoon and never made it to its destination. [07:20:01]

On Friday, crews did find the aircraft with the 10 passengers inside, nine passengers and one pilot. Ten victims inside. We're now learning some more about those victims. Two of them worked for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. They're Rhone Baumgartner, a utility operations technician, and Kameron Hartvigson, a utility operations specialist.

They were there to work on a critical system for the community's water plant. The organization is saying they gave the ultimate sacrifice for the people they served.

We're also learning more about the details of this investigation. We heard from the National Transportation Safety Board on Saturday saying that the recovery of those victims is being made more difficult because of inclement weather.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIRMAN, NTSB: We do have a short window where we have weather, bad weather coming in, some snow. And please understand that some difficult conditions because this is on an ice flow, which is moving about 5 miles a day.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VARGAS JONES: A winter weather advisory is in place for that region until about 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. Three of the victims have been retrieved by the Coast Guard from the aircraft. Seven others are still in there. They say they don't know how long that operation could take, could be days. And investigators are still looking into what is it that caused that plane to lose contact with the tower in the first place.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

BLACKWELL: Julia, thank you very much.

The White House is getting close to potentially a question about the funding of the government. We're about a month away from the next government funding deadline. Could that be the leverage Democrats use to counter the GOP?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:26:13]

WALKER: A federal judge has set a hearing tomorrow afternoon on the buyout offered to federal employees by the Trump administration. Now, before the judge's ruling, eligible federal workers had until midnight on Thursday to decide whether or not to take the offer, which will generally allow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September.

Joining us now, Tia Mitchell, Washington Bureau Chief for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Tia, it's great to see you.

Let's talk about the judge's ruling. We're really seeing the legal pushback mount as President Trump tries to push through his orders. But how significant is this ruling because the judge ordered, the destruction of downloaded info from the payment system, but do we know who's checking to make sure that that's happening?

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Yes, I mean, I think the judge's ruling is significant in that it does halt what the Trump administration is trying to do. There have been several rulings that have slowed down the pace of things that President Trump has tried to implement.

But you're right in saying there hasn't been a lot of transparency on some of the things that are happening behind closed doors, particularly where Elon Musk and his DOGE Commission are involved. So we don't quite know what is still going on behind the scenes.

We don't quite know what has been accessed and what's been done with everything. So, yes, the judge's orders have impact, but it'll be hard to gauge for a long time, really, what was and was not done, what was and was not halted.

WALKER: So we are five weeks away from a government funding deadline, Tia. The budget bill will be the Democrats' one piece of leverage to counter Trump. What are you hearing about what the Democrats might demand and how forcefully they might push during their negotiations?

MITCHELL: Yes. So I think Democrats are on two tracks. On one track, there are concerns about President Trump and the things he's done, and they want some safeguards. For example, not freezing government grants, not trying to lay off workers en masse, just some safeguards against some of the things we're seeing. That's one track that I think Democrats have in mind.

But the other track is some of kind of the more normal policy things. For example, not wanting to ensure there are no cuts to Medicare -- Medicaid, Medicare and food stamps, for example. No cuts in spending in safety nets. I think the -- what we call the top line spending, the overall spending of federal agencies, wants to make sure that that's not reduced in any significant fashion.

So that's really we're going to see where Democrats put their foot down because their votes are going to be needed, you know, for the government funding, which we think will be, you know, short term funding a continuing resolution. They're going to need some Democrats probably in both chambers to support it.

WALKER: But do they risk looking weaker if they push too hard and they end up with nothing?

MITCHELL: Yes, I mean, of course, if they end up with nothing, that's part of the political calculation. So they don't want to push too hard. They've got to figure out something that Democrats can support, but also enough Republicans can support because they've got to get to something where a bill can pass in both chambers. That's where the compromise comes in. But that's where Republicans also have the risk. They can't go all in because they know they don't have the votes for that. And they know also there's a filibuster in the Senate they have to deal with.

WALKER: So we're also learning, Tia, that President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin is saying they can't deny nor confirm that. How high of a priority is it for Trump to get both the Russians and the Ukrainians to the table as the war between the two countries continues?

MITCHELL: I mean, I think President Trump would like to find a conclusion to this war because he would like to take credit for the war ending on his watch. He said repeatedly that the war would never have started had he been president, you know, over the last four years.

I think it is also, we should note significant that, you know, we don't have a lot of details about when President Trump is meeting with foreign leaders. We're not getting as the readouts that we would have received, perhaps under previous administrations. So, again, there isn't always. the most transparency. There are a lot of question marks as to when and what was discussed. But I do think Trump has made it clear that he is going to work to bring them to the table, both Ukraine and Russia.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And before we go, I want to quickly get to some of your reporting about Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and that she might be eyeing a run for the U.S. Senate or Georgia governor?

MITCHELL: Yes, I mean, she definitely didn't rule it out. You know, a lot of times when we talk to elected officials their line is, well, I'm happy with the job I have, but we'll see. And she -- you know, she said, I'm going to be honest, I'm looking at it, I'm considering it. And we asked her, was she leaning towards a U.S. Senate seat or the governor's race? Both will be open in Georgia in 2026. And she said she's looking at both and hadn't made up her mind. So, in a lot of ways, I think she knows she's becoming a leader in Congress as one of Donald Trump's most vocal members of Congress, but she's considering other positions.

WALKER: All right. Tia Mitchell, good to have you on. Thank you.

MITCHELL: Thank you.

WALKER: And Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Senator Cory Booker will be on the State of the Union at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: The White House is ordering a sweeping review of federal firearms regulations, what this could mean for gun control measures signed during the Biden administration.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:00]

BLACKWELL: President Trump is taking aim at some Biden-era gun laws. The president signed an executive order on Friday. It directs the attorney general to review and potentially roll back any policies that the Trump administration believes may be infringing upon Second Amendment rights. Now, the A.G. will specifically be looking at any actions taken by the federal government during Biden's time in office.

With me now is CNN Contributor Stephen Gutowski, gun safety instructor and firearms reporter for TheReload.com. Stephen, good morning to you. So, the question is, why is this happening now? As soon as I read this this headline, I've thought back to about seven years ago this week, actually after the Parkland shooting, where the president had a different tone about the NRA and gun regulations. And now, saying that there's a look to see how far they've gone or maybe too far. Why now and why this?

STEPHEN GUTOWSKI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, GUN SAFETY INSTRUCTOR AND FIREARMS REPORTER, THERELOAD.COM: Well, this was one of his campaign promises. He didn't make a lot of campaign promises on gun policy. But one of them was to roll back a lot of the things that the Biden administration had done through executive orders like the pistol brace ban or the ghost gun ban.

So, it's actually a bit late. He promised to do that in the first week. Obviously, it's still pretty early in his presidency, but technically, he's a touch late to doing this.

BLACKWELL: How much of this is about the new A.G. Pam Bondi? Because gun rights activists are a bit suspicious of her. She supports red flag laws. There's the quote in the video of her talking in 2018 about authorities taking guns. Is this to reassure some of those folks?

GUTOWSKI: Yes, I mean, Bondi got through her nomination process pretty easily without much pushback from any Republican senators on this issue. And this executive order does leave a lot up to her to put sort of meat on the bone here to decide which of the policies she believes are infringing on the Second Amendment. And so, that may be something to watch for as far as what Second Amendment activists think of how this executive order turns out.

Although, I would still expect that most of the things in here, which happened to be many of the top priorities for the gun rights movement, will probably see action and a lot of the gun rights activists are going to be pretty happy with it.

BLACKWELL: So, 30 days and you mentioned some of the things in here. 30 days is really for the federal government, a narrow window to do a review and then come back with recommendations or some action. So, they go into this, or at least she goes in with a checklist of things to look at specifically.

GUTOWSKI: Yes, that's actually one of the interesting things about this order, unlike some of the other stuff we've seen from the Trump administration, where they're just kind of taking action immediately, this one list out all of the top priorities of the gun rights movement, but it doesn't immediately take action on them. It sort of leaves it up to Bondi as to which ones she wants to pick and choose to prioritize.

And so, I mean, that -- while it suggests, they're probably going to do a number of these things, it might also suggest they're not going to do all of them. So, yes, 30 days is very fast to kind of formulate what they want to do. But these are all known issues, this is all stuff that gun rights groups have been talking about wanting the Trump administration to do when they get into office for quite a while now. And so, the 30 days is kind of -- it feels like a formality more than anything. They could have just immediately taking action. So, it may just be an opportunity to let them decide which things they really want to do. Give them a little -- just a bit more time to make a final decision.

BLACKWELL: Yes. You pointed out earlier, Stephen, that the president didn't make a lot of promises as it relates to gun rights. Is it because the issue this cycle has become less prominent, less of a driver? Is it related to the overall strength and influence of the NRA, which we've seen their internal struggles over the last several years?

[07:40:00]

GUTOWSKI: Yes, I think it's a combination of both of those things. Certainly, guns were not a top issue in this last campaign on either side of the aisle. It was there, obviously. I mean, somebody tried to assassinate President Trump and you had a school shooting during the campaign, but we actually had fewer mass shootings than on an average year last year's as far as like your high-profile events as categorized by the Violence Project. And so, it didn't have as much public attention as it normally does the issue of guns.

And then, additionally, yes, you saw the NRA is struggling through a half decade long scandal that they just wrapped up and that didn't happen until the election was basically over and they had fewer resources to devote to the campaign. They have fewer connections with the Trump administration than they used to. So, you know, I think that has played a role in the prominence of guns as an issue.

BLACKWELL: Stephen, what's the outlook for the ATF? Attorney General Bondi early on, I mean, I think this was day one or two, kind of suggested or ordered that the resources would be moved away from alcohol and tobacco There's no director. There's no acting director. There's no nominee. So, what's the outlook for the agency?

GUTOWSKI: Yes, it's kind of just the F now, I guess left in ATF. Although, from what I've read, the alcohol and tobacco enforcement arms of the ATF were already pretty atrophied at this point anyway. So, it may not be as significant of a shakeup as it seems -- similar to some of these attempts to roll back the Biden rules, a lot of those rules have been blocked in court already anyway. So, it might not have a big practical effect in, you know, the day to day lives of Americans.

BLACKWELL: Yes. GUTOWSKI: But the ATF, yes, I mean, it's fairly hamstrung at this point. The director resigned. He was appointed by Joe Biden. He resigned before Trump came into office. There hasn't been any nomination for a new director. It's not clear there will be for a permanent director. He may just put in an acting director like he did in his last administration.

So, it's a bit rudderless at the moment, but there hasn't been a lot of significant changes yet in policy. The zero-tolerance policy is still there. So, we'll have to wait and see really on the ATF. There's been a lot of action in other areas of the Trump administration, a little bit slower on guns and the ATF.

BLACKWELL: All right. Stephen Gutowski, thanks so much. Enjoy the Sunday.

WALKER: Still to come, we're going to discuss the stars of the Puppy Bowl and even meet one of them. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:00]

BLACKWELL: Millions of people are going to turn on their TVs tonight to watch a football game, but it will not be the Super Bowl.

WALKER: It's the Puppy Bowl, of course. And these pups have been getting ready for their moment in the spotlight, and they're all revved up for some on field fun.

Now, Mr. Pickles who is competing in this year's Puppy Bowl, there he is, who now goes by Boris, joins us from Philadelphia, along with his owner, Victoria Schade. She is the author of "Who Rescued Who" and the lead trainer who is in charge of making sure these puppies feel their best during the Puppy Bowl. Victoria, good morning. Good morning to you, Boris or Mr. Pickles.

VICTORIA SCHADE, LEAD PUPPY TRAINER, "PUPPY BOWL": Good morning.

WALKER: So, give us the idea behind the Puppy Bowl, first of all.

SCHADE: So, the idea is a great way of spreading the message about rescuing dogs and shelters. I think people really misunderstand what wonderful dogs are available. So, Puppy Bowl is just a really cute way highlighting how incredible these dogs are needs of homes.

BLACKWELL: And so, how do you cast Puppy Bowl? What are you looking for to know if there'll be a star?

SCHADE: Well, we're looking for grit, determination, speed, agility, all the things that a good player needs. And luckily, Mr. Pickles had all of that.

WALKER: So, you trained hundreds of dogs. What would people see you doing off camera on the sidelines as we're seeing all this adorable action on the field? SCHADE: What you see behind the scenes is me making a lot of ridiculous noises. I get up on stage, you know, the camera's here, I'm standing right next to it. You want to hear mooing, meowing, barking, I do it all to try and get these puppies to look in the right direction. So, lots of hijinks behind the camera.

BLACKWELL: So, tell us about some of the things that that happened during Puppy Bowl. I have to admit, this is my first-time watching Puppy Bowl. I know I'm supposed to be looking at you or the camera. I'm watching the video of this because it's my first one. So, what happens here and how do you get them to, I don't know, do this?

[07:50:00]

SCHADE: Well, we're lucky that puppies just -- they want to play. So, you put them out in a field with a bunch of other puppies and a football and you're going to get lots of cute action. So, what to expect. I mean, you're going to see some really high-quality football, but you're going to see so many cute faces, and that's really the best part.

WALKER: That dog just pulled off the handkerchief of the other dog. I mean, that -- which leads me to my next question --

BLACKWELL: Flag on the play. Did you see that? Flag on the play for taking the bandana.

WALKER: What other naughty behavior might we see and have you seen in the past?

SCHADE: Well, there's a lot that you don't see and it's a lot of pottying. Think about puppies. They potty. So, we see a lot of fouls on the field and we will all jump up to help clean. You'll see a lot of that. You'll see unnecessary rough, rough, roughness stealing (INAUDIBLE) the rep's whistle. They get up to all sorts of silliness and it's adorable.

BLACKWELL: How do you determine who wins?

SCHADE: Oh, who is saying that we're determining? The puppies are determining who wins.

WALKER: So, do most of them get -- do they all get adopted by the end of the show?

SCHADE: Typically, yes. All of the dogs have found their forever homes, including Mr. Pickles. This is my first adoption. I've worked on the show for 19 years, and this was the first time I had to bring one home. I do fall in love every year. But we had the space in our house this year to bring someone home.

BLACKWELL: I'm going to watch this year.

WALKER: It's so fun.

BLACKWELL: I'm going to watch. WALKER: It's like adorable mayhem all at once. How cute.

SCHADE: It is. It's the cutest show on TV today. It might be the best show on TV today.

WALKER: I would agree. I would probably pay way more attention to this than to the real football. Victoria Schade and Boris, or Mr. Pickles, I heard you use both names, so I'll call them both Boris and Mr. Pickles. Thank you.

SCHADE: Thank you so much. Have a great one.

WALKER: Take care. And remember, you can catch the Puppy Bowl on the networks of Warner Brothers Discovery. It'll also be streamed on Max. Warner Brothers Discovery is the parent company of CNN.

BLACKWELL: Saints linebacker Demario Davis and his wife are stepping up to show support to the New Orleans community. We'll talk about that after the break.

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[07:55:00]

WALKER: As the Chiefs and Eagles gear up for tonight's Super Bowl, New Orleans Saints superstar linebacker Demario Davis is making a powerful impact off the field.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Coy Wire has more on Davis' devotion to the community.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: This week of Super Bowl festivities in New Orleans has really lifted this community and the many who are still heartbroken after the deadly terror attack here about a month ago. Today's difference makers are the New Orleans Saints very own star linebacker Demario Davis and his wife, Tamela. We were there when the Davis' surprised a clinical nurse supervisor at University Hospitals, Stevey Kells, whoever saw the treatment of 26 patients on the night of the Bourbon Street attack with tickets to the Super Bowl.

TAMELA DAVIS, DEMARIO DAVIS' WIFE: I would describe Devoted Dreamers as a vehicle that really strives to empower today's citizens, tomorrow's future leaders through holistic development.

DEMARIO DAVIS, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS LINEBACKER: We are deeply into being believers and showing up in that way. And I think the way you show up that in that way is love. And so, love is firstly going to be kindness. It's just going to be acts of kindness. How can you just show up with an act of kindness? If someone needs a bed, someone needs clothes, someone needs a tutor or a mentor, you know, it's like, how can you just show up and use the resources that you have to help them?

And I think it's -- the bible talks about it, so much better to give than receive. But when you do give, you truly do receive. WIRE: What is a difference maker?

D. DAVIS: A difference maker is someone that goes into an environment and the environment doesn't change them, they change the environment. And I think the way that you do that is -- it's an overflow of who you are. And I think that's the type of people that we are. We're faith centered. And so, we have a servant's mentality.

This has been a city, I think, that wants to do that as well. And so, it's a city that has loved us and it's easy to love it back.

T. DAVIS: Yes. Yes. We always say we hugged the city and the city hugged us back. And it's been a unique experience just being here and being a part of this culture and wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

WIRE (voice-over): Demario and Tamela were two of the many who stepped up to show support for the New Orleans community and the first responders who jumped into action after the deadly terror attack on New Year's Day.

D. DAVIS: You're going to be going to the Super Bowl.

STEVEY KELLS, NURSE: Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much.

T. DAVIS: I love doing things like that. I get super excited. Almost like I'm winning. I don't know.

D. DAVIS: Yes, it was unreal. It's a resilient city. And that response began with the first responders, those who are on the scene and those who, you know, had to react quickly and she was there. So, that means a lot. And so, to be able to give back to somebody who's given so much, it was awesome. That's what it's all about.

T. DAVIS: That's what it's all about, for sure.

D. DAVIS: I'm Demario.

T. DAVIS: And I'm Tamela.

KELLS: And I'm going to Super Bowl.

WIRE: Through their devoted Dreamers Foundation and their friends at Ashley, the Davis' have been a spark of joy for New Orleans for more than a decade, raising money, spreading love. And turns out Ms. Stevey Kells is a Chiefs fan. So, something tells me she's going to be making plenty of memories right here at the Super Bowl today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right. Coy, thank you for that. And thank you for spending your morning with us. Inside Politics with Manu Raju is next.

WALKER: Have a great day.

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