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Hundreds Of Aid Trucks Move Into Gaza Ahead Of Hostage Release; Three Qatari Diplomats Killed In Car Accident Ahead Of Gaza Summit; Families Notified After Tennessee Explosives Plant Blast Kills 16; Joe Biden Begins Radiation Treatment For Prostate Cancer; Nor'easter Bringing Tropical Wind, Rain To NYC And Northeast. 4K Plus Federal Workers Fired; Black People Rally Around Bad Bunny; Tyra Banks' "Hot Ice Cream" Flavors. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired October 12, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:01:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: It's October 12th. I'm Victor Blackwell. Welcome to CNN This Morning.

Right now, we've got live pictures for you from Gaza City. A convoy of aid trucks are now arriving. Thousands of Palestinians are returning to see what's left of their homes. Now trying to get some of the aid that they've been waiting for. 600 trucks a day expected to go in now after just as our Clarissa Ward has reported a few dozen on some days and none, as we know, on other days during this two-year war.

Later today, President Trump heads to the Middle East to mark the historic ceasefire deal and return of the hostages. Also, no survivors. 16 people are now declared dead after that massive blast at a Tennessee explosive plant.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back! Get back!

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: More than a dozen people are arrested after these clashes outside an Illinois ICE facility. It's happening as an appeals court blocks the White House from deploying National Guard troops there.

All right, let's get back to what's happening right now. Hundreds of aid trucks moving into Gaza as the ceasefire holds for a third straight day. But the death toll is continuing to rise as more bodies have been pulled from the rubble. Tens of thousands of Palestinians, they're returning home and some of them, most of them, are just finding ruins. This morning, Israel's hostage coordinator told families that the last group of these hostages will be released early Monday. And President Trump is set to leave for Israel later today.

Look at this, a huge crowd, about a half million people packed hostage square in Tel Aviv for a rally last night. U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff spoke to the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: To Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu --

CROWD: Boo!

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: We're following all of the developments with CNN's Clarissa Ward in Tel Aviv, CNN's Nic Robertson in Egypt. Clarissa, you're up first. And as I said at the top, finally seeing those aid trucks moving into Gaza. Tell us more.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, as you mentioned, Victor, about 600 trucks now expected daily to go into Gaza. This is an integral part of President Trump's plan. A massive surge in aid, as our viewers have already been tracking over the last couple of years.

We're really seeing a historic humanitarian crisis playing out in Gaza at the moment. The IPC, the body that determines when a famine is taking place, just a few months ago, said that essentially northern Gaza, parts of it are in a state of famine. The Lancet medical journal last week releasing a study saying they estimate 55,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition.

So this is clearly a desperate and urgent situation. We have been talking to a number of aid organizations. They say that the scale of what they need to get in, the U.N. has 170,000 metric tons of aid waiting to get in. UNICEF saying they have 1,300 trucks waiting to get in.

That 600 will be a welcome spike in terms of the numbers that we have been seeing, particularly since the last ceasefire broke down earlier this year. But aid organizations are very much hoping that they will see even more of a surge once the hostages are safely out. Now, as you mentioned, that is expected to take place sometime in the next 24 hours.

Gal Hirsch, the hostage coordinator, so to speak, here in Israel, telling families that he expects it to happen in the morning, presumably before the arrival of U.S. President Trump. But there are also indications that we could be talking very early morning, Victor, by which I mean effectively the middle of the night here in Israel.

[07:05:07] And certainly, on this side of the border, there are millions of Israelis and hundreds of hostage family members who are waiting with their hearts in their throat. They have been waiting for this moment for two years, and now it finally appears that at least for here in Israel the end of a very ugly and dark chapter could soon be in sight, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Clarissa Ward for us there in Tel Aviv. Clarissa, thank you very much.

Let's go now to Nic Robertson in Egypt. Nic, President Trump expected to leave for Israel later today, and then he'll be on to Egypt. What should be expected from this upcoming trip and the summit?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, a picture- perfect setting here, Victor, for what the Egyptians are calling a peace summit. This is Sharm El Sheikh, known as the City of Peace. There's going to be 20 different leaders from different countries, according to the Egyptians. We know the British, French, Germans, the Italians will be here.

We know that the Saudis, the Emiratis, the Jordanians, the Turkish, the Qataris, as well as the Indonesians, as well as the Pakistanis, all who met with President Trump, by the way, in New York and agreed to that 21-point plan, now a 20-point plan. They're coming here.

Now, there's been so much momentum until now, and everyone has said, focus on phase one. President Trump will be arriving here as phase one, sort of has its maximum momentum. The hostages are being released, and with that expected the Palestinian prisoner to be released.

And what the President will hear when he gets here is leaders saying, we need to use this momentum, we need to focus on the next phase, we need to get that international stabilization force into Gaza, which will take up some of the security vacuum that, by the way, Hamas is already filling on its own side.

The international stabilization force, once ready, will allow the Israeli forces to draw back. There are so many questions about the scale of the stabilization force, how many troops, where will they deploy, what will their mandate be, will they be backed by the U.N. All these questions are really the core issue, because for Israel, the trade here is that Hamas is no longer a threat to Israel.

They will look at the stabilization force for that. Gazans will look at the stabilization force as providing them security and the material, the wherewithal to rebuild their shattered lives. So expectations are huge for things that could go wrong, are massive.

This summit here, perhaps putting some flesh on the detail of what President Trump sort of laid out in that 20-point plan. Victor?

BLACKWELL: One more for you, Nic, before we go. What can you tell us about these three Qatari diplomats who were killed overnight? ROBERTSON: Yes, this is a very, very sad development here. They were driving on the highway here just outside of Sharm El Sheikh, and, of course, they've been here for over a week because they've been -- the Qatari delegation has been the mediators to get, you know, the phase one deal up and running.

They were in some kind of road traffic accident. Egyptian authorities are saying the steering failed. Three of these Qatari diplomats, one of them, by the way, a member of the Qatari royal family, were killed. Two others were badly injured. They're in hospital here right now getting treatment.

It really is, you know, a sign of the hard road that has been traveled figuratively and literally to get to this moment and such a sad turn of events for the Qataris who've laid so much on the line in terms of mediation here.

BLACKWELL: Nic Robertson for us there in Sharm El Sheikh. Thank you so much.

Control room, before we go to David -- we've got David up now, CNN Political and National Security Analyst David Sanger with me now, can we keep up the pictures, the live pictures from Gaza of the distribution? I want to make sure people see that as we continue our conversation here, David.

And I'll carry over where Nic left off on the summit. He described what's on the table. What does the White House expect to come out of the room? Because they have increased over the weekend the number of invitees to this summit and to this signing.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think the trick here, Victor, is to try to get the rest of the region incredibly invested in Gaza's future. And perhaps to get President Trump invested in it as well. And tomorrow could be an incredibly emotional and dramatic day.

We expect it will be with the release of these last 20 living hostages and the remains of many of the other 28 or so.

[07:10:08]

But after that comes the business of improving the lives of people who have nothing at this point, that Gaza has been completely destroyed. And it's up this -- the work of this summit is to figure out both how to put in this stabilization force, and we're not entirely sure who's sending troops and what their mandate will be, and then to raise the money and a plan to do a rapid rebuild since 90 percent of the homes in Gaza have been destroyed.

So it's a huge order. And I think there's some concern among the Arab states, at least some of the leaders I've had, that President Trump might, you know, sort of come in, declare victory, and go away from this and lose some focus on it. I think the Americans are concerned that some of the Arab states and some of the other supporters won't step up the way they need to. BLACKWELL: And if you're just joining us, you're seeing live pictures on the right side of your screen of aid distribution as 600 trucks a day are now starting to go in. This is part of the agreed ceasefire deal of phase one, which is holding in that 72-hour window that will end with the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

As we look to some of those phase two elements that you described, the international stabilization force, standing up a group in Gaza, de- arming or disarming Hamas, has the White House set up the infrastructure to do that, some of the elements that were missing after the first ceasefire that happened earlier this year?

SANGER: That's a really fascinating question, because the President basically accepted as a victory an agreement from Hamas to release these hostages. But they did not agree to the disarmament. They did not agree to the conditions there that said that they would give up all claim over ruling any part of Gaza.

And the President, in order to kick-start this, basically said, well, that's good enough, we'll get this going, because he knew he needed to get the hostages back. But what happens once the hostages are back if Hamas refuses to disarm? I mean, they are, after all, an armed militant group, and this is the core of their identity.

What happens if they don't all leave? Do the Israelis go back in and try to clean them out? Is that up to the international force, which is really there for stabilization, but not for counterterrorism? So there's a lot we don't know and a lot that could go wrong.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk Iran, backer of Hamas, weakened over the two years of this war and other conflicts in the interim fit their piece into this puzzle as this phase one continues and all the parties look toward phase two.

SANGER: You know, Victor, yesterday I was talking to some of the Americans who had been involved in this during the Biden administration, others who had been picked it up during the Trump administration, and I think what they agree on is that the one change that really made it possible for this agreement to come together was Iran's inability to defend itself, much less strike back, during that 12 days of war with Israel in June, ending in the U.S. participation in destroying three of the major nuclear sites.

And I think that convinced Hamas that the Iranians weren't here to come rescue them in their last moments here, that there would be no more flow of weapons, that there would be very little money flowing out, that the Iranians didn't really have a way to strike back, and I think that was the big change.

BLACKWELL: All right, David Sanger with us as we're watching these live pictures of aid distribution in Khan Yunis there in Gaza.

David, thank you very much.

All right, there are no survivors of that massive explosion at a munitions plant in Tennessee. Sixteen people were killed. Investigators are carefully working their way through the rubble in the recovery phase of the search because more explosives may be on that property.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CHRIS DAVIS, HUMPHREYS COUNTY SHERIFF: We got communities here, Sheriff Craft (ph) and I on both sides have communities that have been truly devastated.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

[07:15:00]

BLACKWELL: CNN's Isabel Rosales has more for us now.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've learned that all families have now been notified, and the big update here is that the number of those presumed dead has actually gone down from 18 people to 16 after the Sheriff's office were able to locate two individuals who were not inside of the building.

But the work still continues, the investigative work to figure out the cause of this explosion, and also DNA work to try and identify these remains. The sheriff saying that the families of these workers understandably are upset. The sheriff of Humphreys County, Chris Davis, was visibly pushing back his words. He was upset. He revealed that he himself personally knew some of these individuals killed at the explosion.

Meanwhile, another person who was hurting is Janie Brown, who sought comfort at a prayer vigil. She says she knew or worked with some of the victims. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JANIE BROWN, KNEW VICTIMS KILLED IN BLAST: It's going to be a sad, sad day in our community for a while. They were people, they were loved by their families and by their communities. They've been all around the communities. Everybody knew them and it's just a sad, sad day.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROSALES: Sheriff Davis warned that this could take a matter of days, if not weeks, to get to and answer us to the cause of this explosion. And adding to the complexity slowing these investigative efforts down is the fact that this is what the sheriff calls a volatile environment with unexploded ordnance that they're working to clear so they can make -- continue to make progress in their investigation. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Rosales, thank you very much.

Still to come, a nasty coastal storm is strengthening off the southeast coast. We'll have more on where it's headed next.

Plus, President Trump says he's identified funds to pay troops next week as the government shutdown heads into a third week. And former President Joe Biden has started radiation therapy as part of his treatment for prostate cancer.

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[07:21:49]

BLACKWELL: All right, morning headlines now. President Trump says that he has, quote, "identified funds" to pay U.S. troops as the government shutdown heads into a third week. The Pentagon said the money to meet this Wednesday's military paychecks will be redirected from a research and development fund that's available for two years, although reallocating funding directed by Congress could prompt legal challenges.

A federal court has said that National Guard troops in Illinois can stay under federal control, but cannot be deployed while this case continues.

At least 15 people were arrested yesterday outside a facility in Broadview, Illinois after police declared an unlawful assembly and for weeks, protesters have gathered there to push back against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Former President Joe Biden has started radiation therapy as part of his treatment for prostate cancer. A spokesperson says he's also receiving hormone therapy and started that treatment a few weeks ago. The former president was diagnosed in May with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.

Doctors say the disease is serious but treatable. President Biden turns 83 next month.

A coastal flood warning is now in effect for New York City and the surrounding areas. A powerful nor'easter is expected to deliver damaging wind, torrential rain. The system has already caused devastating floods along the mid-Atlantic coast.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking the system for us. This doesn't look like it hit it and quit it. It might stay for a little while?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, and actually what we're seeing is that the low is actually splitting in two. So now you're getting two separate lows. The one that's just deciding to stay right here off the coast of North Carolina and then the previous one that we already knew about that's now starting to slide up the east coast. So you've got kind of that double whammy here.

So let's take a closer look. You can even see some lightning with these storms across South Carolina. So you've got some thunderstorms into the mix. That also means you've got very heavy rain coming down in some of these bands.

And then the original line of storms, that's the one that's starting to spread into the northeast. You're going to start to see those conditions deteriorate very quickly across the nor'easter, six to 12 hours here. And you also have the two separate areas where we have the biggest flood potential. Again, lining up with where those two heavy rain bands are expected to be throughout the day today.

Here you can see again a lot of heavy rain still expected for the Carolinas at least through the evening hours tonight. The bulk of the heavy rain is going to shift into the northeast on Monday, but it's not just the heavy rain. It's also going to be the winds that are going to be quite gusty, especially Monday morning and into Monday afternoon. So keep that in mind too.

If you've got some travel plans in the northeast tomorrow, whether that is by car or by plane, it is likely going to cause some delays. So keep that in mind because you'll notice a lot of these winds really don't die back down until late into the Tuesday and possibly even early into Wednesday across the northeast.

We're also keeping an eye on river flooding because river flooding is more of a delayed effect. It's not instantaneous. And we're looking at about 17 river gauges that could reach major flood stage over the next three to five days.

BLACKWELL: All right, Allison, thank you.

So the Virginia governor's debate, it got a little testy.

[07:25:01]

You've probably heard the one from the Republican candidate where she talks about denying a gay person a job or marriage. It's not discrimination, but there's another brow-throwing comment that you probably have not heard. We'll get into that in the morning roundup.

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BLACKWELL: Well, the government shutdown continues, and the Trump administration is thinking -- thinning the ranks, I should say, of federal workers by laying them off. More than 4,000 workers got fired Friday. Some may not even be aware yet.

Joining me now for the morning roundup, Rahul Bali with WABE, CNN Entertainment Reporter Lisa Respers France, and political analyst and author of the Substack, Below the Stack, Charles Blow. Welcome to you all.

And, Rahul, let me start with you. The president announced on social media that his administration has identified funds to pay the military. They were going to miss that first pay on Wednesday. If the shutdown goes through without this. That could have been -- I mean everybody wants to be paid, but that could have been an accelerant to reach some negotiations at the military when unpaid.

RAHUL BALI, WABE/NPR NEWS POLITICS REPORTER: Completely agree with you. And I think what's really happened is that this is one of those possible stopping points that now gets passed that may keep the government shutdown going. I should mention. I was at a birthday party. Some of those people had come from out of town for the birthday party and there -- they were thinking about like, what if the TSA thing all goes down or air traffic control? So, there are still things out there that could bring it to a sudden stop.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Speaking of TSA. I had a representative from the union that represents the TSA on yesterday who equated TSA workers to slaves because he said that, you know, they're working without pay. Now, slaves didn't get back pay at the end of it, but it shows how dire it is for these essential workers who have to go to work and are not going to be paid.

CHARLES BLOW, POLITICAL ANALYST AND AUTHOR, "THE BLOW STACK" NEWSLETTER: Right. There is the short-term of the disruption that will happen because some people will not be able to get paid and some people may not, you know, show up to work. We've seen some work shortages already in -- among those air traffic controllers.

The bigger issue here though is the cuts of actual jobs that are happening under the radar of this slowdown -- this shutdown, because it is part of this -- the dismantling of the administrative state. This is what Bannon talked about. This is what Project 2025 talked about. And what it does is that it's supposed to cripple the function of the agencies so that they will eventually not work. People will be angry that they don't work. It'll be easier to get rid of them. It's a bigger thing that's happening here than just what's happening with the workers who may not get paid.

BLACKWELL: Yes, Lisa.

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Yes, and for some areas will be harder hit. You know, Victor and I are from the DMV area. And the government has propped up the black middle class so much there. I think about Prince George's County where I literally know people who have multiple family members, a husband a wife, maybe one of their kids, who all work for the government, who all are facing this. I mean, you know, there's a lot of conversation about some of the inconveniences that, you know, we might suffer because of this.

But for these people, these are their livelihoods. These are the reasons why they're able to afford their homes. And so, it's just -- it's devastating when you think -- look at the human impact of it.

BALI: And beyond the federal workers, something that is interesting is what are the effects beyond for just regular people? I was at an event yesterday for the Arthritis Foundation and at that event one of the speakers spoke about what's happening with federal cuts and what it means for those who have arthritis and also what that means for research in the future.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BALI: So, you're going to -- some of those effects may not even be measurable. BLACKWELL: And we've seen some of the -- not only the furloughed employees, but those laid off from the CDC and some of the research that is not continuing because those jobs have been ended.

BALI: And where do the -- and my question is, where do those -- where does that talent go? Does it go to academia? Does it go to the private sector, or does it leave the country?

BLOW: And I saw a story this morning about special ed being devastated.

BLACKWELL: From the Department of Education.

BLOW: Yes, from the Department of Education. That's immediate -- like, you know, how do you rebuild that? Those kids need that. That is not like some sort of luxury that these schools had. These were kids who were really in desperate need of special services that they will no longer have because those people will be gone. That is a real problem.

BLACKWELL: You mentioned the DMV. Let's go to Virginia. The gubernatorial debate, Democrat Representative Abigail Spanberger, Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears. Her declaration that denying a gay person a job or the right to marry was not discrimination got a lot of attention, as it should have throughout the week. But she also said this about solar energy that maybe you have not heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WINSOME EARLE-SEARS (R), VIRGINIA GUBERNATIONAL CANDIDATE: Well, she's already voted that way, because, well, that's all she wants is solar and wind. Well, if you look outside, the sun isn't shining and the breeze isn't blowing. And then, what, Abigail, what will you do? What will you do? You're smirking. And you know that the people of the Southwest have a lot of energy issues.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ms. Earle --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: She said, what happens when the sun goes down?

FRANCE: It's called battery to me.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

FRANCE: It's called -- there's a way to actually store that energy. This was -- this is why -- I don't like this timeline that we're living in.

[07:35:00]

Because, I mean, the fact that she doesn't know basics of how solar energy works and she want to condemn your opponent by saying, well, this is what she voted for. Right, she's voting for cleaner energy. She's voting for, you know, something that would actually help people.

BLACKWELL: But what's also interesting is that she placed that soundbite on her Facebook page to promote her answer.

FRANCE: Oh, proud of it. Proud of it.

BLACKWELL: Is that -- there's no one on the campaign who suggested that that energy can be stored. And I guess they still don't know. I mean, why would it still -- and they're still comments that say, well, it can be stored.

BLOW: The sun went down, the lights not on. Nobody's at home. I mean, like I'm so fascinated by how the anti-science people are also anti- google because you could have fixed this, like this is not a big thing. But the whole idea of like the opposition to alternative energy is always some craziness or windmills are causing cancer. What are you talking about?

BLACKWELL: Killing all the birds.

BLOW: Killing all the --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BLOW: I mean, there is a bird issue, but like it's not causing cancer. The sound of the windmills is not causing cancer. And what we see is China rushing into alternative energy and we are stuck with politicians who keep saying crazy things about why they oppose alternative energy.

BLACKWELL: All right. We got it. We're going to pause it here. We'll pick it up right after the break. Rahul, Lisa, Charles stay with U.S. After the break we'll discuss a very controversial topic, hot ice cream. OK. So, Tyra Banks -- stick with us now -- she has this new dessert idea that is taking over the internet. We'll asked the panel what they think. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

BLACKWELL: So, rapper Bad Bunny does not appear to be letting the controversy over his Super Bowl selection get to him. And now, he's getting a groundswell of support, especially from some black people. Welcome back to the Morning Roundup. Rahul, Lisa, and Charles are still here. Lisa, you wrote this piece about solidarity this week.

FRANCE: I did. Isabel Rosales and I talked to some folks about how this is in direct opposition to how some in the black community felt after the election. And when the information came out about Trump's increase in Latino support. And so, we found that there were, especially on social media, a lot of black influencers and just people who don't even consider themselves to be influencers who were saying, yes, we have four months now to learn Spanish so we can get ready for Bad Bunny show. And I'd also like to say, even though I don't care about what people say on social media, I do see it. And there is this sense that we just made this story up out of thin air because black people don't even know who Bad Bunny is. Number one, Afro Latinos are a real thing. But number two, regular black people actually do know who Bad Bunny are -- or is because that's how they were able to actually talk about it on social media. And we have black people in the story. So, I would advise everyone to read beyond the headline before you can complain.

BLACKWELL: Four months to learn Spanish, but also Turning Point USA now has four months to plan what they call their all-American halftime show as an alternative, they say, to this.

BLOW: Nobody's watching that. In the same way that conservatives get a kick out of owning their lives and things to make liberals unhappy, I think people on the left are getting a kick out of watching conservatives lose their mind over this Bad Bunny thing and also say crazy things like get an American, like, sir --

BLACKWELL: Puerto Rico, yes, is part of America.

BLOW: If you had left it alone, it would be America, but you didn't. So, now it's America.

BLACKWELL: Listen. All right. So, we talked at the top of the last break about this new invention from former supermodel Tyra Banks. OK. So, she has this new ice cream brand, SMiZE and DREAM. And she had this epiphany recently that she said just came to her in a dream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYRA BANKS, AMERICAN MODEL: I am talking about hot ice cream, something that has not been done before. I ain't talking about a latte. I'm not talking about it is flavored hot chocolate. I'm talking about hot ice cream. Tyra's favorite cold. Tyra's favorite hot. Mama, that is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Rahul, you get the first one here. What's hot ice cream?

BALI: I have no idea. And I tried to go find out. I don't know. I really don't.

BLACKWELL: And so -- go ahead.

BLOW: I have a great idea.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BLOW: What if we took hot chocolate and put it in the freezer?

BLACKWELL: Oh, then it would be ice cream, right?

FRANCE: I'm here for it, though. First of all, I love Tyra Banks' hustle. BLACKWELL: OK. Sure.

FRANCE: Like, you know, and she -- right. And we -- how much many different things we have frozen ice cream. We have those pellets. So, why not hot ice cream? But I thought it was interesting because she appeared to drink it. So, clearly, it's so hot, it melts the ice cream. So, is it just like a sundae? I don't know. I just want it. I want it in my face.

BLACKWELL: Here's what she said. She says, it's not a latte. It's not hot chocolate. It's, quote, "your favorite scoops transformed into liquid," which to me just sounds like melted.

FRANCE: Melted ice cream.

BLACKWELL: Here's one of the flavors. Fairy Doe Diva Hot Mama. The description sounds delicious. Buttery vanilla biscuit infused hot cream topped with Chantilly rainbow sprinkles finished with a slice of the super buttery house made fairy dough crunch biscuits.

FRANCE: People already mad about that.

[07:45:00]

BLOW: Everybody would have been sent home from America's Top Model if they ate that, right? I just got to sit here and smize.

BLACKWELL: Smize and dream. All right. Charles, Lisa, Rahul, thank you all. Hot ice cream. It just sounds melted to me.

All right. Still to come, Indiana shows last season's strong showing wasn't a one-off, pulling off a stunning upset road win over number two Oregon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:00]

BLACKWELL: Today from French classics like baguettes to bouillabaisse, discover the breads that bind Marseille on a new episode of the CNN original series, "Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread." Here's a preview of Tony's time in the city eating one of the city's most classic treats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SHALHOUB, HOST, "TONY SHALHOUB BREAKING BREAK": Panis are small discs made from chickpea flour and seasoned with sea salt. Reminiscent of a potato chip and served in paper cones.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, you can have your panis with aioli. Aioli is a special mayonnaise we have here.

SHALHOUB: With garlic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes. And then we don't talk to each other anymore because we will smell garlic.

SHALHOUB: We can only talk to each other but not to others.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You like it?

SHALHOUB: That is so good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's crispy outside, very soft inside.

SHALHOUB: I can't stop eating these.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's part of the tradition. If you haven't eaten too many of them, you're not a true Marseille.

SHALHOUB: If you're not feeling a little weird.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You'll be done when you have too many in your stomach.

SHALHOUB: Yes, I'll know, I'm sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Good enough to make you hop in a circle. Be sure to tune in a new episode of "Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread" premieres Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

All right. College football upset, baseball showdown set. There's a lot to talk about in sports this morning. That's why Core Wire is here. Morning.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning. Happy Sunday Funday until Indiana got a signature win. A lot of football fans kind of thought that they were just going to be a basketball team, right? Well, this was their signature win facing Oregon. And Indiana, they found a way to silence the crowd quarterback, Fernando Mendoza. He threw it looked to be a game changing interception. Oregon's Brandon Finney took it back for a touchdown. Tied the game. But Mendoza answered. Finding Surat for the touchdown and the defense would seal it with two interceptions.

Now, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, phenomenal leader. He was on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama some years ago, making 350,000 a year. But he wanted to be a head coach. So, he took a pay cut to 120 a year to lead a Division 2 school. He bet on himself. The rest is history. Indiana was the worst program in the Big Ten when he took over. But now are 17-2 under Cignetti. That was their first top five road win in program history. Final score 30-20.

Now, enormous rivalry. Auburn was about to go up 17-0, but officials say this was not a touchdown against Georgia. That the quarterback fumbled before the line. Many fans did not agree, except those Bulldogs. Georgia were to cover the fumble. They'd march at 99 yards on the score and then kept scoring. They scored 20 unanswered points. So, the number 10 Bulldogs moved to 5 in 1 on the season after a 20 to 10 win. Red River rivalry. Say that five times real fast. Texas and Oklahoma getting into a huge scuffle before the game. Texas was bounced from the top 25 after a second loss last week, but bounced back to upset number six, Oklahoma, Arch Manning. 21 of 27 and a touchdown. Longhorns win 23 to 6.

Brewers and Cubs in a winner-take-all game five with the NLDS. These teams traded three solo home runs. Brewers were up 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh. And Brice Turang hits another. Brewers up 3 to 1 now, and in the ninth, Milwaukee. The team of so-called average Joes get the final out on that ground ball there, and the win. They advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2018 to face the Dodgers in a rematch of that championship series. Pop that champagne. That's Victor, me, and Allison after the show.

Speaking of Sunday Funday activities, two victory celebrations to start our day off, right. First landing right from Washington State, not the backflip in full pads. Yes, please. After schooling against number four Ole Miss. But Ole Miss caught fire later on. So, they had to bring out the fire extinguisher. 24-21 win moving to 6 and 0 on the season. Lane Kiffin has that team rocking. Looks like they have some fun.

BLACKWELL: Absolutely. What do you guys think? We talked in the last segment about this hot ice cream.

WIRE: I'm hungry now. That would look delicious.

BLACKWELL: So, you're into it? For you, it's more than just melted ice cream?

WIRE: Yes, yes. I mean, it just looks lovely and dreamy. I'm down.

BLACKWELL: Melted ice cream or is this something unique and original?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I would try it. I would give it a try just to see. I don't know if I'm going to be a huge devoted fan, but I would give it a try.

BLACKWELL: And also, let's say I just want to be clear here, melted ice cream is not bad, right? Even if that's what it is and it's not hot ice cream --

WIRE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- it's still as good as it is.

WIRE: It's like the best part. Like at the end of the bowl, it's kind of like that good cereal milk at the end.

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BLACKWELL: Yes. That last scoop. All right. So, one other thing that we had for the panel, I want to talk to you guys about Crocs are back for dogs. OK. I'm generally against dressing up dogs. However --

WIRE: I'm generally against Crocs.

BLACKWELL: OK. We'll see. No, I do love (INAUDIBLE) Crocs though. Barkbox subscribers can now get them $52.99. They sold out the last time they were available. What do you think?

CHINCHAR: I mean, you know what? I don't know that I would do for my dog, but my sister, I mean, she has a whole rain outfit for her dog, the boots, the jacket, everything So, there is obviously clientele for something like this.

WIRE: I'm a big fan. When I lived in Buffalo I felt bad for pets that had to walk in the snow. Now, that I live in Georgia, I feel bad for those pets that have to walk on the hot black top. So, anything to cover their paws.

BLACKWELL: My idea, Timberlands for dogs. Think about it. The lace- ups, that gum sole. It'll work. All right. Thank you all. And thank you for watching this morning. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju is up after a quick break.

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