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CNN This Morning

Pro-Palestinian Protesters Demonstrate As Gaza Officials Report 60 Plus Killed Saturday From Israeli Strikes; Trump Releases Map Of Initial Israeli Withdrawal From Gaza; Trump Says Israel Agrees To Initial Gaza Withdrawal Line, Awaiting Hamas Confirmation; 18 People Arrested During Protest Outside Chicago ICE Facility; Federal Judge Blocks National Guard Deployment In Portland; Rain And Storms Hit Gulf Coast & Central U.S.; Shutdown Stalemate In Washington. Dems at Impasse with Republicans Over Enhanced Obama Care Subsidies; Bad Bunny Mocks Super Bowl Backlash on "SNL"; U.S. Treasurer Confirms Draft of Trump $1 Coin is Real. Aired 7-8 am ET

Aired October 05, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:01:08]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Good morning. Welcome to a brand new week. It is Sunday, October 5th. Welcome to CNN This Morning. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Here's what's happening today. Delegations are arriving in Egypt for the start of ceasefire talks to try to end the war in Gaza. We'll tell you what we're learning about how these will happen and the U.S. involvement.

Also, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sending National Guard troops into Portland. She called the plan a detriment to the nation. The next steps in the legal fight. We'll have those for you.

Also, former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez is in the hospital and under arrest after his alleged involvement in a stabbing. We'll tell you how that all unfolded.

Plus, the President Trump's face soon be headed to your pocket. What we know about the Trump coin. That's in your morning roundup.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we also have some showers and thunderstorms right here along the Gulf Coast. But it's not the only area that could be looking to potential flooding. We'll talk more about that coming up.

BLACKWELL: This morning, we're starting this hour with the ceasefire talks to try to begin and end to the Israel Hamas war. They're set to begin tomorrow. President Trump is putting pressure on both Israel and Hamas to accept this 20-point Gaza plan. Both sides have signaled a willingness to accept the proposal. The President released this map on Truth Social. It shows Israel controlling significantly more territory in Gaza compared to what Hamas was offered back in July. In the meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he made his first public comments since Hamas's initial response to the proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translation): We are on the verge of a very big achievement. It's not final yet, but I hope that in the coming days during the Sukkot holiday, I will be able to announce to you the return of all the hostages in one phase, while the IDF remains deep inside the strip and the territories that control it.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: Pro-Palestinian protesters around the globe continue to express anger over Israel's military action in Gaza. Just yesterday, Gaza hospital officials reported the Israeli strikes killed more than 60 people. We have a team of correspondents covering this for us here.

International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is in Cairo. Let's start with CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann. So how are people receiving the ceasefire plan and Netanyahu's comments?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Victor, we have seen both Israelis and Palestinians push for this ceasefire to come into fruition, a realization of the finalization of the Trump 20-point proposal here. Both, at least as far as we have spoken to, realize that this is not a done deal. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even acknowledged that, that there is still work to go here. And there are still sensitive topics.

As you point out, the withdrawal map is one of those. Israel saying it will keep a tremendous part and occupy a tremendous portion of Gaza even after Hamas releases all of the hostages. That's unlikely to sit well with Hamas. So we might see some pushback there. And frankly, we could even see negotiations fall apart.

There's also the issue of disarmament. Hamas made no mention of that in their response to the Trump proposal back on Friday. So there are still very difficult issues ahead. And yet you see a desire and I might even say a desperation from Israelis and Palestinians to get this deal done.

There were massive protests yesterday. Now, we have seen weekly Saturday night protests for well over a year, for nearly two years, frankly. Those were different this time because everyone senses the opportunity that's at hand right now. And there was one massive sign, for example, that said it's now or never.

You get the feeling of this desire to have this happen right now, and now it just has to be realized. Here is one protester.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP) KEREN SAAR, ISRAELI RESIDENT OF JERUSALEM: We know that President Trump has been pushing it. Unfortunately, knowing our prime minister, Netanyahu, we are very worried that he will find a way to sabotage like he did in the past two years already.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[07:05:20]

LIEBERMANN: And there you get a sense of a lot of the anger on the streets at Netanyahu with protesters accusing him of having delayed a deal for his own political benefit. Where does this all go from here? Well, proximity talks, that is, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, are expected to start tomorrow in the city of Sharm El Sheikh on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.

That is where the meat of this has to be hammered out. That is where Trump's proposal, which has a lot of vague points, a lot of details missing, that has to be turned into an agreement that both Israel and Hamas sign before the hostages are released and before this war can be declared over. Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Oren, you set the table here for us, some of the potential pitfalls and stumbling blocks.

Let's go now to Nic Robertson. Nic, what will you be listing for and watching for as the talks officially start tomorrow?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, I think a couple of specifics here. What, if any, meaningful pressure can the Arab partners, Muslim nation partners, who met with President Trump on the margins of the UNGA endorsed at that time his 21-point plan, and they released a letter today, the foreign ministers of Qatar, of the UAE, of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey.

So all the sort of influential players, what pressure can they put on Hamas? And they're putting positive language. They're saying, welcome the steps Hamas has taken, pointing out that this is a real opportunity for a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire.

But I think the point that they're making that would be the key point in the talks here is the speed with which you go from this phase one, which is Hamas saying, yes, we'll agree to hand all the hostages back, all of them dead or alive, and get an immediate ceasefire. That's on the table.

The pressure from these sort of regional partners and what Hamas would potentially want would be speedily to get into phase two, which is such a mixed bag, as Oren says. I'd be looking for any detail we get from Hamas on the whole disarmament issue, sometimes called decommissioning of weapons. It's been framed that way.

I'd be looking for key points on them accepting they have no political future, that some of their leadership might take the opportunity to leave Gaza, as Israel -- as this plan had offered. But all of those are such sticking points. The question here is does Hamas swallow, if you will, giving up its big leverage here, which are the hostages, and then go to a phase two, which has no predictable outcome at the moment.

So they would give up everything that they have considered their big bargaining chip. So any hint on that is what I'll be listening for, because if you get a tipping point on that, then you get into phase two. But it's such a big question at the moment. I don't believe we are that close to knowing if this is going to be positive or negative.

BLACKWELL: All right, Nic Robertson, Oren Lieberman as well, thank you both.

The Trump administration is federalizing 300 members of the Illinois National Guard. The White House says the move is necessary to protect federal officers and assets during the ICE raids in Chicago area.

Tensions hit a boiling point Saturday when protesters clashed with federal agents outside an ICE detention center. At least 18 people were arrested.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JOHN SANDWEG, FORMER ACTING DIR., U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: There are certainly protesters here who I think want to cause mischief, but also we're seeing increasingly aggressive tactics by the administration, which unfortunately I do think exacerbates the situation.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has a different take. He calls the administration's tactics outrageous and un-American.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

GOV. JB PRITZKER (D), ILLINOIS: In the past few weeks in Chicago, ICE has detained multiple U.S. citizens because they were black or brown. They shot gas pellets into the car of a journalist who had done nothing except drive past an ICE facility to observe what was going on. They raided an apartment complex in the middle of the night and perp-walked a group of young children out of the building with their hands zip-tied behind them, separating them from their parents.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: According to DHS, law enforcement officers were rammed by vehicles and boxed in by at least 10 cars Saturday morning during clashes with protesters. One of those drivers was allegedly armed with a semi-automatic weapon and was shot, but was able to drive herself to the hospital.

[07:10:09]

Also, Governor Pritzker is going to be among the guests this morning on State of the Union. That's at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN. New this morning, a federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from sending the National Guard into Portland. The White House is planning to appeal. Now, in her opinion, the judge described recent clashes between protesters and federal officers as inexcusable. Oregon's Attorney General agrees.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DAN RAYFIELD, OREGON ATTORNEY GENERAL: Mobilizing the United States military in our cities is not normal. It should not be normal, and we will fight to make sure that it is never normal. Today's ruling is a healthy check on the President's power, and as the President, you must have an actual fact based on reality, not social media or just your gut feeling, if you want to mobilize the military here in the United States.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: For more on the judge's ruling and what's next for Portland, here's CNN's Julia Vargas-Jones. Julia?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, what this decision is doing is basically pressing pause on the deployment of the National Guard to Oregon. The question that the judge, Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, I should add, had to answer was, was this an overreach by the federal government to federalize the National Guard?

In the complaint, both the state of Oregon and the city of Portland had called this deployment unlawful and unwarranted, but there were three basic pillars that her decision was based on. One of them is Section 12406 of the U.S. Code. It says basically that the President exceeded his authority here and that he did not prove that he was, quote, "unable" with regular forces to execute the laws there.

A second one is the concept of rebellion. The standard for rebellion here was not met. She said that the protests were recently small and mostly peaceful. There were some sporadic incidents, but it wasn't an organized and armed rebellion, as the federal government was using to justify this deployment.

And thirdly, the conflict with the Tenth Amendment. She said that this federalization of the National Guard would be invading the state's sovereignty. And then she talked even further about how unwarranted this was, citing some -- the positions from law enforcement, local law enforcement in Portland, saying that in recent weeks there were about 20 people, give or take, at these protests. There was minimal activity, and the regular forces in Portland itself would have been able to handle this very well.

Now, what's notable here is when the judge got into talking about the history of the United States and military power. She said, quote, "This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs."

She says the U.S. is a nation of constitutional law, not martial law, and that, quote, "The defendants ", so this is the federal government, "have a made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power to the detriment of this nation."

Now, Victor, this decision is only good for 14 days, and the court will contact all parties on October 17th to see if there is a need for an extension. Victor?

BLACKWELL: All right, Julia, thank you.

This morning, former NFL Quarterback and Fox Sports Analyst Mark Sanchez is in custody in Indiana. Police say the 38-year-old was involved in a stabbing in downtown Indianapolis yesterday. Now, officers found two men hurt, including Sanchez, one with cuts, the other with stab wounds. Detectives believe that this was an isolated fight between the two.

Sanchez was arrested at the hospital. He was charged with public intoxication, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and battery. He's in stable condition. He was in Indianapolis to work today's Colts-Raiders game.

A Mexican Navy training ship left New York this weekend more than four months after it hit that Brooklyn bridge, killing two crew members. Remember that? More than a dozen people were hurt. The ship is heading back to Mexico. It's scheduled to make several stops before joining Independence celebrations next month. Federal investigators say their review of the crash could take up to two years.

More than 800,000 Uber drivers and Lyft drivers in California will soon be able to join a union. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new state law giving rideshare drivers the right to unionize. They're currently classified as independent contractors. That means they're not entitled to benefits like overtime pay or paid sick leave. The law does not apply to drivers for delivery apps like DoorDash.

All right, today, rain, thunderstorm. They're moving across the Gulf Coast and central parts of the country. Downpours could cause some flooding. Winds could make for dangerous beach conditions.

[07:15:01]

Let's talk to CNN's Meteorologist Allison Chinchar now. There -- I'm looking at the map behind you. There's a lot going on. Also, I see the word snow.

CHINCHAR: Yes, I know -- I mean, it is October. And if you're far enough north, and yes, it's that time of year, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CHINCHAR: It is that time of year, yes. Now, these are the typical places you would normally see snow. It's not like we're talking snow in Florida. But yes, we do have some snow, and it has been quite heavy in some areas across the Intermountain West, and more of that snow is expected to continue today. Now, where it's a little bit warmer, the main focus is going to be rain, especially across the Midwest, the central U.S., and then right here along the Gulf Coast. And for a lot of these areas, it's going to be days of rain, either because the system itself isn't moving very fast, which is the case here along the Midwest.

In central U.S., you can see that line of showers and thunderstorms developing really mostly this afternoon. It will continue to spread east. But then you also start to see some of that influence from the Gulf moisture spreading into states like Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, even into southern Missouri over the next several days. And that, too, is also going to produce quite a bit of rain for some of these areas.

Then you also have the area along the Gulf Coast that's also going to bring some rain. But here's a look at some of these totals. Again, widespread, lots of yellow on the map. You're talking 2 inches to 4 inches. But then you see some of that little areas of the orange and the red. So 6 inches, 7 inches, not out of the question for some of these spots.

Now, we also talked about the Gulf. This is, again, that low-pressure system that's just essentially kind of stalled off the coast of Florida. And that's going to provide that surge of moisture not just this afternoon, but into Monday and Tuesday and probably into Wednesday as well.

BLACKWELL: Oh, stretching out.

All right, Allison, thank you.

Still to come, day 5 of the government shutdown, and there appears to be no end in sight. When we might expect lawmakers even to begin voting on funding the government.

Plus, a coin proposed by the U.S. Mint could feature images of President Trump. How the design gets around a law on coinage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:21:40]

BLACKWELL: Let's talk government shutdown now. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says that Democrats are not involved in high-level talks at the moment. The Speaker has canceled votes for this week and is not calling back the House. But we've heard from Republicans, including Congressman Mike Lawler, who argue that Democrats are to blame for the standoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MIKE LAWLER, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: The unfortunate reality here is this is not about health care. This is about Democrats wanting to show their progressive left base that they are fighting against Donald Trump and Chuck Schumer being petrified of a primary from AOC. And that really is ultimately what this is about. (END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: Here's Congresswoman Madeleine Dean with her response.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MADELEINE DEAN, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: He's just plain wrong. It is ridiculous. I'm an appropriator. I'm on the Appropriations Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. And he's just plain wrong. This is not about talking to our base. This is about talking to our constituents and caring about health care.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN White House Reporter Camila DeChalus explains what might happen in the week ahead.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Lawmakers say that there's really no clear end in sight to the government shutdown. Just this past week, senators voted on a series of proposals put forth by both Republicans and Democrats in an attempt to move forward with reopening the government. But so far, all those efforts have failed.

Now, the main reason lawmakers have just not passed a spending bill to reopen the government is because of the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Democrats say that any bill they support must include language to extend these subsidies, while Republicans argue that the issue should be debated at a later date, not as part of the immediate funding measures.

Now, looking ahead, the House is not expected to take up any votes next week. House Speaker Mike Johnson has really emphasized that he believes the Senate should continue voting on proposals, noting that the House has already passed its own spending bill.

But it's clear that more discussions are needed. Lawmakers have acknowledged on both sides of the aisle that a compromise must be reached if the government is to reopen again and federal workers are able to return back to work.

BLACKWELL: All right, Camila, thank you very much.

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is closing temporarily as a result of the government shutdown. This is the first major museum in D.C. to do so because of the impasse. The Smithsonian Institution, which runs several of the museums, says that it will stay open through the end of the week.

All right, the Morning Roundup is coming up next, and some of the most popular comedians in the U.S. face online wrath from their fans for taking part in a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia. We'll dig into the controversy

Also, Bad Bunny made his return to Saturday Night Live after being named a Super Bowl halftime act. What he had to say about the backlash he's faced. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:28:58]

BLACKWELL: The government shutdown is going into its second week. No end in sight. Food banks are now preparing for the possibility of increased demand. Federal workers are furloughed or working for no pay.

Joining me now for the Morning Roundup, Bill Nigut of WABE, Jason "Jah" Lee of Bossip, and Judge Ashley Willcott. Welcome to you all.

Let me start with you, the political reporter for so many years. There doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency at all. Mike Johnson is not calling the House back. No votes from the Senate over the weekend. And there appears to be no end in sight with no off-ramps. What do you see?

BILL NIGUT, HOST, WABE ATLANTA PODCAST "IN THESE TIMES": Well, I think what you just said is correct. I think that certainly there's a feeling that President Trump doesn't sense -- feel any sense of urgency at all. I think Democrats would like to get to the table and try to work out some of the issues that they see are so important, which is not letting ACA subsidies disappear.

But what's strange about this to me, Victor, is this is unlike any shutdown we've seen in the past.

The president has decided to go to war with not just Democrats, but -- but Democratic voters across the country. I thought Jamelle Bouie said it really well in his column in the New York Times this week. This is a president who thinks of himself as only representing Republicans. And so in the shutdown, he's denying funds for Democratic cities. New York is getting billions of dollars in cuts in funds.

The president actually seems to be sort of enjoying himself in the middle of all this and thinking it's OK to advance his strictly MAGA agenda.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: He also said on social media that he's going to start cutting Democratic programs.

NIGUT: Well, right.

BLACKWELL: In the government specifically.

And Jah, there is also the social media element of this, the messaging. And that video that he sent out depicting the OMB director, Russ Vought, as the Grim Reaper. We've got the video here.

He's playing the cowbell in this video. But there's one still specifically that stood out. And let's put it up. And this is federal workers depicted as zombies staggering by the unemployment office. I mean, in a previous era, the lack of compassion would have been enough to at least move something or to change at least the -- the public perspective here. What do you see? JASON "JAH" LEE, SENIOR EDITOR, "BOSSIP": I mean, to me, this has always been the danger of Donald Trump is putting out these kind of messages, not having that compassion, not being, for lack of a better term, a serious person.

You know, this is a government shutdown is going to affect tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of people that you mentioned, people working for free, going to the job, doing a job for free. And he thinks it's a game. He thinks it's funny. He thinks it's a joke. He thinks it's something to play around with. And this is people's lives.

So, this is just standard fare for Donald Trump, unfortunately. But this is where we are in America under his administration.

JUDGE ASHLEY WILLCOTT, RETIRED JUDGE: But I want to take it a step further. It's the food subsidies that affect so many Americans. Those kinds of cuts mean literally people may not be able to feed their babies.

BLACKWELL: Yeah.

WILLCOTT: And no matter where you stand on that, that's a frightening thought.

BLACKWELL: Yeah. Let's talk about something a little uplifting. Well, for some people, Bad Bunny. For others, frightening, too.

He was back at SNL for a second time hosting. This is the season 51 premiere. Let's play a little of his monologue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAD BUNNY, Rapper And Record Producer: And I think everyone is happy about it.

(APPLAUSE)

BUNNY: Even Fox News.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bad Bunny --

REP. MIKE JOHNSON, (R-LA) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: -- is my favorite --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- musician.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he should be the next --

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: -- president.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, a good play for him there. He had some funny moments throughout the rest of the show. But how do you think he's going to be received here?

WILLCOTT: First of all, it's freedom of speech, right? So, legally, I look at that and say he absolutely gets to do it. I think it will be controversial. I'll turn it over to you. But I think it's -- it's going to be a lot.

LEE: Oh, sure. Obviously, there's people who are going to be upset about this. You've already seen commentary and reactions from people saying that, you know, this is America and he's speaking Spanish and no one's going to understand the songs.

And this fake hand-wringing about the NFL fans and whether or not he's appealing to the fans of the NFL as if the only people that like football are English-speaking white people, I guess. I'm not sure what that commentary is supposed to mean. But I legitimately hope that for the people who are angry, I hope that they're denied access to every taco, every burrito, every dollop of guacamole. I hope they're banned from all arroz con pollo and esquites and elotes. I hope they're don't -- I hope they're not able to consume any of it because this is what -- where -- this is where we are right now. People are going to speak out and Bad Bunny, I don't expect him to bite his tongue when he comes to this Super Bowl halftime.

NIGUT: Here's what's really interesting to me about this. Corey Lewandowski, who's advising Homeland Security, has already put out a statement saying we're coming after you if you're at the Super Bowl and you might be an undocumented worker. But here's what's fascinating. The NFL and the owners of the NFL are hardly bastions of radical liberal Democrats. They donate to Republicans multiple times more than Democrats. So, why did Bad Bunny end up with this gig?

I suggest it's because he's good for the business of the NFL. They'd love to have more Hispanic fans coming into the stadium. So, it's a good business decision. And it points out how strange this sort of thing could become.

LEE: But to your point, people are concerned of that very thing, that ICE is going to have an elevated presence at the Super Bowl. And it would be shocking to me if the NFL did this without having a conversation with the administration.

[07:35:12]

To your point, the owners are probably hardcore Republicans, and they probably donated millions and millions of dollars to Donald Trump's coffers.

I would not be surprised at all if they had a conversation with them to say, hey, this is -- this is our business, like, lay off whatever it is that you're on for at least five days so we can make our money and have our event, and then go back to whatever your business as usual.

BLACKWELL: Danica Patrick, former NASCAR driver here, she tweeted, no songs in English should not be allowed at one of America's highest- rated television events of the year. Listen, some years you're not a fan of the halftime show performer. That's just what it is. The Aerosmith year, I didn't know a single song. I didn't complain. I just waited until next year.

LEE: We got the Super Bowl here, and everybody wanted OutKast. We got Maroon 5. That's just how it goes.

BLACKWELL: We also got Beyonce and Bruno Mars.

LEE: That's fair. That's fair.

BLACKWELL: Some years it's just not your year, and maybe you learned something you didn't know before.

WILLCOTT: But look how many people in America speak Spanish.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WILLCOTT: We're overlooking that.

BLACKWELL: Yes. All right. Everybody stay with us, because we've got to talk about much more.

Is it a sign of the times? Maxwell House is now Maxwell Apartment. We'll tell you what that's about.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:09]

BLACKWELL: All right, Morning Roundup is back. Bill, Jah, and the Judge are here. Let's start with this Trump coin, we'll just call it, judge. Let's put the image up of a rendering here from the U.S. Mint is considering. They say no fake news here. This draft is real, but there are some legal concerns.

WILLCOTT: Legal concerns. So, the first concern was you cannot have a living president until two years after their death for it to be minted. Well, they got around that.

So, Congress said, "Oh, we're going to say that for the 250th anniversary of the Americas, then we can do this as a commemorative for one year." But then they changed. If you look at that, his profile is on the front, not on the reverse. And the reverse has more of his body to get around what the law says is allowed and not allowed.

BLACKWELL: The head and bust.

WILLCOTT: Right, right. Exactly.

NIGUT: This branding -- this coin comes along the same week that we've learned about Trump Rx, his so-called new plan for direct sales of certain medications to consumers. A brand that also is questionable. I mean, Trump Rx. What comes next now? Is this going to be Trump's United States of America? Because that's what that coin suggests. That he's branding himself as America. It's really scary stuff.

LEE: I find it interesting that he used that one of the images that they wanted to use was the photo of him yelling fight after the assassination. It just feels like the only people who want to remind people that they were shot more than Trump is like 50 Cent. Like, why? Like, why that image? Why is that supposed to be the image that you want to have on your MAGA money?

BLACKWELL: And also, if the point is to celebrate the 250th, the only suggestion that that's what the point of that coin is, is 1776 to 2026. I mean, Trump's on both sides of the coin.

NIGUT: Right, right.

BLACKWELL: And so that's the only way you'd know that that would be to commemorate the 250th of the United States.

Let's talk about this other controversy that there are some big-name comedians right now who are performing as part of this Riyadh Comedy Festival. Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, Pete Davidson. Of course, it comes around the seven-year anniversary of the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

President Biden, Bill, said that he was going to make Saudi Arabia a pariah nation. Apparently, things have changed. Is it going to be backlash?

NIGUT: Yeah, I think it's really important that you point out that this festival is happening right at the anniversary of the murder, the assassination and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The thing that's more troubling to me, there are a couple of the comics who have said very openly, they're offering -- they've offered me so much money, there's no way I was going to say no.

But the comics who have actually, and I frankly don't remember which one specifically, maybe one of you will, who have said, well, there's more freedom of speech right now in Saudi Arabia than there is in the United States. It strikes me as really a troubling thing to hear. Saudi Arabia, we know, is an incredibly repressive state where people are never given real freedom of speech. So, I'm even more troubled by those people who try to justify it as if Saudi Arabia is a more open society somehow.

LEE: Yeah, yeah, Bill Burr made the comment that, you know, oh, I thought that there was going to be people here screaming death to America and all these people wanted to do is laugh. And it's like, well, you've been in Saudi Arabia, what, a day, a couple of days, like, and of course they're not taking you to the prison to perform. They're not going to take you to where they're doing atrocities to perform.

So, these like surface level kind of low intelligence statements don't really speak to actually what's going on. There's no way to really square going to perform for Saudi Arabia other than the money. And Pete Davidson was very open about the fact that, hey, I saw the routing number and I said, hey, I'm going. [07:45:13]

BLACKWELL: Well, Judge, the other thing is, is that a couple of years ago, when Phil Mickelson was derided for accepting that $200 million contract with LIV Golf sponsored by Saudi Arabia, the next year they pitched a merger with PGA Tour.

WILLCOTT: Right.

BLACKWELL: And so there wasn't much backlash because all of them were going to be in some point still stalled, but --

WILLCOTT: And it's because of the money. Saudi Arabia has the money to pay these bills to make sure they go into a collaboration in a way that there's not going to be a backlash. And I think the only issue here is the date on which they're doing it, because if they did it any other time of year, I don't think anybody would have cared.

BLACKWELL: Let me talk to you about Maxwell House, 133-year-old coffee company now rebranding as Maxwell Apartment. Kraft says in a time where value matters now more than ever, Americans seek value in areas of their everyday, including where they live, with nearly a third opting to rent versus purchase a home. This is for National Coffee Day. What do you think? Rebranding in part.

WILLCOTT: Two words, cracker barrel.

NIGUT: Well, my thought was that I'd rather not talk about this now because I'm going to put this into my new book, which is being published by Random Apartment.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: Well said, good place to end. Bill, Jah, Judge, thank you all. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:02]

BLACKWELL: Take a trip around the world with Tony Shalhoub to discover how bread connects us. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY SHALHOUB, AMERICAN ACTOR (voice-over): Mary O's Irish Soda Bread Shop is the neighborhood's worst-kept secret. The instant I walk in, I'm drawn to the flour-dusted proprietor herself.

MARY O'HALLORAN, PROPRIETOR: Welcome to Mary O's.

SHALHOUB (on camera): Thank you. I have to admit, I've never had an Irish--

O'HALLORAN: Don't tell me you've never had an Irish soda bread. Is that what you're going to tell me? SHALHOUB (on camera): I am going to tell you that.

O'HALLORAN: Shame on you.

SHALHOUB (on camera): I think I might have heard about it. But is it sort of like in a far-off galaxy? I am.

O'HALLORAN: It's not any far-off galaxy.

SHALHOUB (on camera): No --

O'HALLORAN: It's from Ireland, you know?

SHALHOUB (on camera): Well--

O'HALLORAN: Ireland.

Come, look.

SHALHOUB (voice-over): You won't find pages of menu options here. It's either the loaf or the scone. I love simplicity.

SHALHOUB (on camera): So, there's a difference between Irish soda bread and the Irish soda bread scone?

O'HALLORAN: Right.

[22:00:00]

SHALHOUB (on camera): So, you're giving me a scone too?

O'HALLORAN: Yes.

SHALHOUB (on camera): So, they're not -- yes, they're not -- they're like, more like a muffin shape, not a traditional scone.

O'HALLORAN: Don't use the word, muffin.

SHALHOUB (on camera): OK.

O'HALLORAN: They're not a muffin.

SHALHOUB (on camera): I never said the word, muffin.

O'HALLORAN: A scone--

SHALHOUB (on camera): And we're just going to edit that out.

O'HALLORAN: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: That looks so good. Tony Shalhoub, "Breaking Bread," premieres tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

The showdown between the Dodgers and Phillies did not disappoint. CNN's Carolyn Manno joins me now. Take us into it.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Victor. Well, you can always count on the very hostile crowd in Philadelphia. And Shohei Ohtani admitted he was dealing with some nerves before taking the mound last night for his postseason pitching debut.

Not exactly smooth sailing for the Dodgers superstar, but in the end, he got it done. The crowd just erupted when he struck out to lead off the game. He went 0-4 with a walk and four strikeouts as a hitter. But the two-way phenom is not easily rattled. Across six innings, Ohtani allowing three hits. He struck out nine. He is the only player in Major League history to start one game as a pitcher and one as a non- pitcher in a single postseason. He's also only the second starting pitcher to bat higher than eighth. The other was, you guessed it, Babe Ruth, who hit sixth for the Red Sox in Game 4 of the 1918 World Series.

Teoscar Hernandez giving the Dodgers their first lead of the game with a three-run shot in the seventh. And that would be the difference in this one as L.A. lands the first punch in the NLDS with a 5-3-win, Game 2 set for tomorrow night.

In his first at-bat of the American League Division Series against the Yankees, the face of the Blue Jays franchise, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., launching his first career postseason home run, which was part of a statement 10-1 win for Toronto that shifts the ALDS in their favor. The Yankees' bats were just nowhere to be found in this one. The blowout, Blue Jays' first postseason win since 2016.

It was a wild Saturday afternoon in college football. That guarantees a massive shakeup in the rankings. The pair of top ten teams, Texas and Penn State, both taking their second loss of the season in Week 6 to unranked teams at that. Mistakes plaguing the Nittany Lions in a stunning 42-37 loss to UCLA, the biggest upset of the season so far.

And Texas fell to Florida 29-21. Longhorn's quarterback, Arch Manning, struggling in his first career SEC road start at the Swamp. He threw two interceptions. He was sacked six times. The Gators looking pretty good all of a sudden. And in the NFL, today's games begin in just a few hours from now. You've got the Vikings and the Browns getting set for a rematch in London at 9.30 Eastern. This is Minnesota's second week abroad so far this season. They lost to the Steelers in Dublin last week.

Still favored over the 1-3 Browns, who are trying their own version of the changing of the guard after announcing this week that rookie Dillon Gabriel is going to replace 40-year-old quarterback Joe Flacco.

And the day ends with the Patriots at the Bills on Sunday night football in Buffalo, where the Bills have won the last three games against the Patriots. Josh Allen needing just one win to become the first reigning MVP to start 5-0 since Aaron Rodgers in 2015, guys.

So, big rivalry game tonight on Sunday night football. And it looks like pretty good weather for this one as well. We're used to those really snowy games, but pretty temperate. BLACKWELL: Yeah, and despite the great weather, we're still going to get a little taste of winter at the Bills game. The fans are going to get an early taste of winter. Let's take a look at this.

[07:55:17]

They're debuting their cold front uniforms when they play the Patriots. This all-white feel gives off a snowy feel. And you've got something here, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes. Yes, got the promo towel ready to go. Bring the storm in honor of their all-white uniforms. But I, you know, again, I'm not a huge Bills fan. I hope Coy didn't hear me say that. But again, I'm very excited about this.

BLACKWELL: See, this is the intersection of weather and sports. If only --

MANNO: I love it.

BLACKWELL: If only you were here with us, Carolyn.

MANNO: Well, I think these were a couple years in the making from what I read. And it's like the fabric of the city is stitched into this. I mean, there's so many iconic games in cold weather. The Bills are just known for that. So, it's like the DNA is in the jersey. I love them. I love them.

BLACKWELL: And apparently the shoulders and the leg pads are designed to look like cracked ice, so --

MANNO: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Well-designed there. Carolyn, thank you so much.

Thank you at home for joining us for CNN This Morning Weekend. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju is up next.

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