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CNN This Morning
"No Kings" Rallies During Government Shutdown, Immigration Crackdown; Tensions Mount In Israel Over Delay Of Return Of Hostages Bodies; 18 Deceased Hostages Remain In Gaza After Eliyahu Margalit Returned; Bolton Pleads Not Guilty In Classified Information Case; President Donald Trump. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired October 18, 2025 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: You made it to the weekend. That should make you smile. Saturday, October 18th. I'm Victor Blackwell. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING.
Here is what's happening today. Thousands of No Kings protests are expected to take place across the country today. What organizers hope to achieve through protests and how Republicans are responding?
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy will be heading home without those Tomahawk missiles. More on what came from his meeting with President Trump and Trumps message to Russia.
Also, former GOP Congressman George Santos, he is now a free man. President Trump commuted his sentence last night seemingly out of nowhere. The reason Trump says Santos should be free.
And Shohei Ohtani does it again. The Dodgers superstar helps lead his team to another world series. Weve got the highlights coming up.
In a matter of hours, millions of Americans are expected to participate in more than 2500 demonstrations all across the United States for round two of the No Kings protest. Organizers describe the event as a broad rejection of President Trump's authoritarian agenda.
GOP leaders are attempting to tie it to the shutdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA BARTIROMO, ANCHOR, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: Mr. President, do you think that the government shutdown is all about this rally that's happening this weekend, the No Kings rally?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No. No, i mean, some people say they want to delay it for that. A king, this --
(CROSSTALK)
BARTIROMO: Is more than that. TRUMP: This is not a king.
You know, they are saying they are referring to me as a king. I'm not a king.
BARTIROMO: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: One city to watch today is Austin, Texas. Because Governor Greg Abbott is deploying the national guard to the protest before it even begins.
CNN's Sherrill Hubbard has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMERICAN CROWD: Trump must go now!
SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The No Kings protest returns Saturday. This was the scene in June when some 5 million people across the U.S. took to the streets to protest the Trump administration.
Organizers say this weekend will be even bigger, with more than 2500 demonstrations in all 50 states.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): I support the right of every single American to participate in the rallies that are going to take place this week, and showing up to express dissent against an out-of-control administration.
That's as American, as motherhood baseball, and apple pie.
HUBBARD (voice over): The protests take place against the backdrop of the ongoing government shutdown, tension over immigration raids, and federal troops being deployed to democratic-led cities.
Republican leaders are calling Saturday's protest anti-American.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The No Kings rally this weekend; do you think you can make progress once that's over?
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I sure hope so. Are you talking about the hate America rally? That's what we call it, because it will be a collection of Antifa, BLM, the Marxist.
Wild leftist policy priorities, and that will be on display for the whole country.
HUBBARD (voice over): Organizers say they are planning for peaceful demonstrations in clear contrast to the Trump administration's show of force.
EZRA LEVIN, EXECUTIVE CO-DIRECTOR, INDIVISIBLE: It's because they are worried that they are losing their grip on power. They are worried that other people in blue states, red states, and purple states, in rural community, in Trump country, are going to see the public doesn't support this, and that makes them scared.
HUBBARD (voice over): Organizers say Saturday will be the largest single day protest in modern history. I'm Sherrell Hubbard, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: The body of another Israeli hostage is now back home.
Early this morning, spokespersons announced they identified the body of Eliyahu Margalit. He was killed in Hamas's initial attack on October 7th, two years ago. His daughter was also kidnapped, but later released, and now, the bodies of 10 hostages have been returned to Israel from Gaza under the recent cease fire deal. But 18 bodies remain, and there is frustration mounting over how long it's taken to return them to Israel?
CNN's Larry Madowo is with me now. So, Larry, what are Israel, what is Hamas? What are they saying about what's causing the delay?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor, Israel and Hamas are blaming each other. Israel believes that Hamas is in breach of the cease fire agreement, mediated by President Trump at the United States, but Hamas said it remain -- it said it remains committed to this cease fire deal, and he saw that in the release of Churchill, the 75-year-old whose body was received in Tel Aviv this morning in a convoy.
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Hamas says it's been difficult to retrieve some of the remains in Gaza, because it's so badly bombed out and Israel is not allowing more earth moving equipment, more heavy-duty machinery, more bulldozers into Gaza that would allow them to do this faster.
U.S. officials have downplayed the possibility that Hamas is in breach of that agreement. They believe that Hamas has acted in good faith, and some leaked reports in the Israeli media that pointed to the text of this agreement, which has not been released, said that there was an understanding that the deceased hostages would not be immediately handed over to Israel. And so, that's why two U.S. advisors to President Trump have said that they intend to move to phase two of this fire -- this cease fire agreement.
But there are still 18 bodies that remain in Gaza, and there is a lot of anger in Israel about the fact that they continue to remain there, even for hostages that have returned, they are still alive for that fact.
Listen to this one hostage was released on Monday and went back home on Friday in southern Israel.
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OMRI MIRAN, RELEASED ISRAELI HOSTAGE (through translator): First of all, I am excited from all this support and love, the help given to my family and all. And to be honest, I am here. All who were released until today are also here. But there are still other people there. Still, there are families who didn't close the circle. It's a new start for them. There were funerals and memorial days in the past week. It's time now to return to life, to continue my life and return home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: On Friday, the Israeli Defense Forces said Hamas must uphold the agreement and take every step to release all the hostages. That's one part of the cease fire agreement. The other is aid. And the U.N. has been warning for a few days that there is just not enough aid coming in. They need aid to come in from all border crossings as fast as possible.
The World Food Programme said it had all the aid and the food necessary to feed Gaza for three months, but it needs to come in quickly. And some in the humanitarian community accusing Israel of blocking the Rafah border crossing from Egypt, which is crucial to bringing in thousands of trucks that are necessary to deal with the widespread displacement and hunger that has affected the strip this past few months. Victor.
BLACKWELL: Larry Madowo reporting. Thank you.
Well, George Santos, he pleaded for a get out of jail card, and he got it.
President Trump announced last night that he's commuting the sentence of the disgraced former congressman and releasing him from prison immediately. Santos was serving a seven-year term on fraud and corruption charges. They got him ousted from Congress.
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social Friday. He called Santos somewhat of a rogue, but said that he had been horribly mistreated and placed in solitary confinement for long stretches.
Now, the president ended his post saying, good luck, George. Have a great life.
U.S. officials say the military is holding two survivors of a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. Now, this marks the sixth known strike on alleged drug trafficking boats in the region, but this is the first time that anyone survived.
Those survivors are being held on a Navy ship, and it comes just days after President Trump confirmed he authorized the CIA to conduct covert action in Venezuela.
As CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports, President Trump directed some strong language at Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRUMP: He has offered everything. He's offered everything. You're right. You know why? Because he doesn't want to -- around with the United States.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Trump claiming his Venezuelan counterpart may be ready to strike a deal after the sixth U.S. strike targeting alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean. As numerous U.S. Navy destroyers and aircraft patrol off the country's coast.
Trump also threatening strikes on land.
TRUMP: We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea. So, you get to see that. But we're going to stop them by land also.
OPPMANN (voice over): Trump publicly revealing he authorized the CIA to carry out operations inside Venezuela, he says, to stop the flow of drugs and migrants.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the CIA have authority to take out Maduro?
TRUMP: Oh, I don't want to answer a question like that.
NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): Never before had any previous government since the CIA has existed, publicly said that it was sending the CIA to kill, to overthrow, and to destroy countries.
OPPMANN (voice over): Maduro, who faces a U.S. federal indictment on drug trafficking charges, which he denies, and a $50 million bounty for his capture, is accusing Trump of trying to topple his regime, and is responding with both a military buildup and a propaganda campaign, calling the U.S. a Nazi empire with supremacist ideologies.
Maduro is digging in and has implored the Venezuelan people to join militias to fight against any U.S. intervention. Venezuelan state T.V. even showing videos of some of the training, which includes calisthenics and the basics of handling firearms.
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Thousands have reportedly heeded his call, but many appear to be senior citizens or raw recruits, with little to no military experience.
MADURO: Our mobilization will be permanent and never stop.
OPPMANN (voice over): Maduro posting this video to Instagram today with a message, we continue completing all the necessary preparations, reaching the optimal state for the integral defense of the homeland. Maduro even trying, in broken English, to send a message directly to the American people.
MADURO: No, not war, just peace.
OPPMANN (voice over): Patrick Oppmann CNN, Panama, City, Panama.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BLACKWELL: This morning, we are learning an account of why prosecutors struck the plea deal that let Jeffrey Epstein avoid a federal trial. Former Trump labor secretary Alex Acosta brokered that deal as a U.S. attorney. He says it was not a sweetheart deal. And Acosta told lawmakers it was a crapshoot his word to take the case to trial.
The deal saw Epstein serve only 13 months in prison for state prostitution charges over his involvement with underage girls.
A former Des Moines Iowa school superintendent, Ian Roberts, is facing new federal charges now. A grand jury added account of making a false statement on job documents. Roberts, who is a native of Guyana, is also accused of being an undocumented immigrant in possession of firearms.
A prosecutor say he lied on his I-9 form, claiming to be a U.S. citizen. He was arrested last month after allegedly fleeing from ICE agents.
Roberts is in federal custody. And the FAA is giving Boeing the go ahead to boost production of its 737 Max jets.
Now, the agency had capped output at 38 planes a month after a door panel blew out on an Alaska Airlines Flight. You remember that was in January of last year.
Boeing can now build up to 42 planes per month after extensive safety reviews. The company says any future increases will also need FAA approval.
And for the third time in three weeks, a perceived enemy of President Trump has been indicted. This time it's former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton. Now, Bolton faces eight counts of transmission of national defense information and then 10 counts of retention of National Defense Information.
He insists he is a victim of weaponization at the DOJ. We have more now from CNN's senior justice correspondent Evan Perez. Evan?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor.
John Bolton, former Trump National Security adviser and now critic of the president, pleaded not guilty to 18 counts, and he's facing an arraignment in federal court.
Bolton is accused of retaining and transmitting sensitive and classified information. Prosecutors allege that he used private, unsecure e-mail accounts to send himself and his wife and daughter diary entries, detailing information that he obtained from intelligence briefings and meetings during his time in office.
The investigation dates back to 2021, when suspected Iranian hackers reached one of Bolton's e-mailed accounts and the FBI raised concerns that the Iranians had obtained sensitive U.S. government information from Bolton's private accounts. Bolton has denied wrongdoing, and he says that the charges are an attempt by the President Donald Trump to intimidate his opponents.
Now, the issue of selective prosecution is expected to loom large over this case, and the indictment includes a reference from prosecutors about the Signal-gate controversy, in which defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top Trump administration officials shared details of military operations in Yemen in real time on an unsecure signal messaging app.
Prosecutors cited Bolton's criticism of Hegseth to show that Bolton knew better than to use non -- government platforms to share that information.
But we also know that prosecutors at the Justice Department and FBI investigators have had their own concerns that Trump officials have not allowed them to investigate the Hegseth episode. Now, expect that issue to become part of the story as the Bolton case moves ahead. Now we don't have a trial date yet for Bolton.
Now, the hearing Friday in Greenbelt, Maryland, a judge told Bolton that he faces up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted. Now, while the case is pending, the judge ordered him restricted from international travel without prior permission from the Court. Victor?
BLACKWELL: Evan, thanks.
Crews in Mexico is searching for at least four dozen people still missing after deadly flooding and landslides.
Mexico's president said Friday that at least 72 people died during heavy rains and devastating floods last week. At least 100,000 homes have been impacted in five states around Central Mexico,
In Alamo Veracruz, people cleaned up damaged homes as crews worked to restore electrical service.
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A flood victims say humanitarian aid is slowly arriving in those impacted areas.
Dangerous round of storms is taking aim at the Mississippi River Valley. Several cities could see damaging winds and even a few tornadoes later today, CNN's Chris Warren is with me now, with what to expect.
I learned from you every one of these hits, right?
CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, yes.
BLACKWELL: And so, the last one, I said tornadoes in October? And you said, well, there is another season that comes.
WARREN: We call it our second season.
BLACKWELL: So --
WARREN: Right? And a big part of that is the jet stream starts to come back down a little bit, you know, retreats to the North during the summertime that starts come back down. But the Gulf is still warm, still providing some of that warm fuel, that moisture is needed for storms.
And then, you need a system to kind of spark things and get things going, stir up the atmosphere, if you will. And that's what we're seeing right here, moving into the East tomorrow.
But the big threat for the dangerous weather today is here. Damaging winds, again, with these thunderstorms, they can kind of sneak up on if you're not paying attention. And also, some hail. Small hail, but isolated, large hail in a few spots. And even tornadoes.
Showers and thunderstorms with lightning always dangerous, and we've seen time and time again, it can be deadly as well. So, storms moving through Chicago right now. The stronger storms on the future radar showing a push through Little Rock into Memphis between about 5:00 and 8:00.
And then, continuing into the nighttime hours, not packing as much of a punch in the morning, but still some heavy rain moving through the Atlanta area first thing tomorrow. And then, into the Northeast for rain and wind for a lot of the football games in the NFL tomorrow and for today. That tornado risk is there. Damaging wind risk is there. And Victor, yes, the possibility, once again, for tornadoes and large hail.
BLACKWELL: OK. Folks should be ready for it.
WARREN: Got it.
BLACKWELL: Chris, thank you.
All right. Still to come, President Trump warns that giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles could escalate the war with Russia. What we are learning from yesterday's meeting between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Plus, a troubling new trend for women in the job market. New data shows hundreds of thousands of women are stepping away from the workforce. Plus, baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani played a game for the ages.
Howie punch the Dodgers ticket back to the World Series.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dodgers in Game Four of the LCS, and there goes Ohtani, Shohei, lighting up the highlights already. It's a leader --
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BLACKWELL: Los Angeles Dodgers are headed to the World Series after a legendary night from pitcher Shohei Ohtani.
CNN's Carolyn Manno joins me now.
Carolyn, Shohei just told his team, climb on my back. We're going to the World Series. I mean, he --
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CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: He is unbelievable.
BLACKWELL: Absolutely.
MANNO: You know, this performance, Victor is being hailed as the most masterful individual game that has ever been played in the sport, and the greatest playoff performance by a single player in the history of Major League Baseball. And when you look at it, it's hard to argue with that.
I mean, this was just mind boggling, a two-way show sealing his team's trip to the World Series in the process. Like you said, on the mound, he threw six scoreless innings. He recorded 10 strikeouts, only allowing two hits and three walks. And then when you think about what he did at the plate, he hit three home runs as well, becoming the first pitcher in postseason history to hit multiple home runs in a single game.
And by the way, they were absolute bomb. One of them recorded as a 469-foot blast. The Dodgers superstar becoming the first player in league history to go yard three times, and report 10 strikeouts as a pitcher in the same game. He was named as the NLCS, MVP afterward, deservedly so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHOHEI OHTANI, LOS ANGELES DODGERS DESIGNATED HITTER (through translator): It was really, you know, fun on the both side of the ball today. You know, really, as a representative, I'm taking this trophy, and let's get four more wins.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To the people.
MANNO: And Victor, the Dodgers, now, like you heard, four more wins, waiting to see whether they are going to face Seattle or Toronto in the fall classic. Right now, the Mariners up 3-2 in that series, with Game Six set for tomorrow. So, we'll have more on that coming up in sports. But just an incredible night.
BLACKWELL: Incredible indeed. We'll be watching Carolyn, see you in a few minutes. All right. New this morning, Columbia's president is condemning what he calls an unacceptable attack outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota. Officials say four police officers were hurt when demonstrators used explosives, flares, and arrows against security forces.
The U.S. embassy is open, but running with a limited staff and warning Americans to avoid that area.
Ukraine is not getting those Tomahawk missiles, at least for now. Instead, President Trump is telling both Ukraine and Russia to stop the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I met with President Zelenskyy, as you know, today, and we had a very good meeting, very cordial meeting. In my opinion, they should stop the war immediately. You go by the battle line wherever it is. Otherwise, it's too complicated. You'll never be able to figure it out. You stop at the battle line. And both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing. And that should be it.
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Stop right now at the battle line. I told that to President Zelenskyy, I told it to President Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington, D.C. yesterday. He hoped to get long range cruise missiles. They would allow Ukraine to hit the oil and energy facilities deep inside Russia. But he appeared to come away empty handed.
The meeting came a day after President Trump spoke with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- Vladimir Putin on the phone.
Sources say that Putin stressed that the Tomahawk missiles wouldn't have a huge impact on the battlefield, but they would damage relationship between the U.S. and Russia.
Now, President Trump later told reporters that he and Putin would meet in Hungary in about two weeks.
A CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier joins me now. Good to have you in studio here in Atlanta. So, let's start here with I just characterize this as Zelenskyy coming away empty handed. Do you think that's accurate?
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Look, the Tomahawk missiles were always more of a political gesture that would help on the battlefield. But Ukraine already has its own long-range missile called the Flamingo that it just came out with, but giving Ukraine tomahawks would have signaled that the U.S. was firmly behind Kyiv and had lost patience with Putin.
But Putin, with his intervention, seems to have headed that off. So, that's one way to look at it, and the way it's being seen in the capitol today is disappointment.
Zelenskyy failed. But if you talk to those close to Trump, they said, negotiations were frozen, this, at least, this threat of giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles brought Putin back to the negotiating table. And the only way this is going to end is in a negotiation. So, now, we see what happens in Hungary.
BLACKWELL: Is the rejection of giving those Tomahawk missiles to or at least selling them to Ukraine. Is it a surprise?
DOZIER: Giving Ukraine tomahawks was a U.S. idea. It would have meant, though, that the U.S. had to be much more embedded in the Ukrainian war effort. In that other systems that the U.S. has given Ukraine or sold to Ukraine rely on things like GPS.
Tomahawks are guided by U.S. military guidance systems. So, basically, the U.S. would have been hand in hand, having to help Kyiv pick every target and reach every target. That would have given the White House approval, disapproval, and Russian officials have been complaining that that would mean the U.S. was actively striking Russian targets.
But from the Ukrainian perspective, it would have helped Ukraine step up attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure. They have already conducted about 56 strikes since August, and Russia's gas stations have lines stretching out. 40 percent of their oil refineries are off line because of Ukrainian strikes. The idea is to hit Moscow hard enough that it wants to negotiate.
So, that's why Ukraine wanted them. And I think the U.S. will still -- if Trump doesn't get what he wants in Hungary, if Putin keeps stringing him along, it's an idea that's going to keep coming back.
BLACKWELL: And so, we're showing the range. We just showed that on camera, of the range of the Tomahawk missiles. OK.
So, let's talk about this stringing along, right? There was the summit, I guess, a month ago, six weeks ago or so, in Alaska, not much progress toward an end to the war since then.
The president said yesterday in the Cabinet Room that he is convinced that Putin wants peace. Is there any indication of that versus what we saw leading into the last summit?
DOZIER: Nobody else sees it. But Trump's belief is driving this. European officials have taken a long time to bring Trump over to their side of the way of thinking about Ukraine and Russia as a threat.
They are worried that an in-person meeting will lead to resetting Trump, to believe that Putin really wants something out of this, but European officials, Ukraine, all they can do is keep saying yes, to try to keep Trump on their side and hope that Putin stumbles and overreaches and that triggers Trump's ire even more so this time around.
BLACKWELL: And so, what is achievable realistically in Hungary? I mean, we are still waiting for a date, and there's questions about how to even get President Putin to Budapest because of the charges against him and airspace. But what's really achievable?
DOZIER: The most immediate thing they could get is a cease fire along the lines of where they are.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
DOZIER: Which would also make sense, because we're about to go into winter when Ukraine's farmer's fields turn into a sea of mud and nothing moves very much.
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And that is what Ukraine has agreed to and Trump has been pushing for since before Alaska cease fire.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
DOZIER: So, if we got a cease fire, that would be a positive step.
BLACKWELL: Likely?
DOZIER: No.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
DOZIER: But we can hope.
BLACKWELL: OK. Well, we can leave it there. Kim Dozier, good to have you in. Thank you.
All right. A day of protest planned across the U.S. Coming up, we speak with an organizer of one of today's No Kings protests.
Also, parents will soon have a new tool to protect their children on social media. Coming up, the new limits on artificial intelligence chat bots.
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BLACKWELL: Well, hours from now, millions of Americans across the United States are expected to gather for a second round of the No Kings protest. The demonstrations aim to broadly reject what organizers describe as the president's authoritarian agenda, includes his push to deploy National Guard troops to American cities and the recent ICE raids across the country.
Organizers say they are planning for peaceful demonstrations aimed at providing a clear contrast to the Trump administration's recent show of force.
With me now to talk about all of this is Jaime Contreras, executive vice president for the Service Employees International Union.
Good morning to you. So, of course, we'll talk about the shutdown in just a moment. But let's start with the protest today, and I want to get your response to the characterization from some Republican leaders of the millions of people who be at these more than 2,500 sites today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TOM EMMER (R-MN): We call it the hate America rally, because you'll see the hate for America all over this thing when they show up.
JOHNSON: It's all the pro-Hamas wing and the, you know, the Antifa people, they are all coming out. There is considerable evidence that George Soros and his network is behind funding these rallies.
SCOTT BESSENT, UNITED STATES TREASURY SECRETARY: The farthest left, the hardest core, the most unhinged in the Democratic Party, which is, you know, a big title. And No Kings equal no paychecks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: So, are you a pro-Hamas left wing, anti-American?
JAIME CONTRERAS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION: You know, the real threat to this country isn't peaceful protesters. It's politicians shutting down governments to protect their billionaire friends and corporate greed.
I am an immigrant who was brought here as a child in 1988 from El Salvador, where we had a bloody civil war going on. And yes, you know, I was brought undocumented, but guess what? I am a U.S. citizen. I have served in the United States military. I love America, and this is just going to be far from the truth. And what's ironic and more insulting to me is that you call people who destroy our nation's capital building patriots, and you call people like me, America haters. That's just so ironic and far from the truth.
BLACKWELL: And so, what is the goal for today? Obviously, there is going to be the spectacle, right? Seeing these huge crowds across the country, if the people who have registered and say they are going to be there show up. But what do you want to accomplish today beyond the pictures?
CONTRERAS: I mean, this is in reality, this is about our fundamental values as a -- as a nation, as a democracy. It's about the type of country, our children, and our grandchildren are going to inherit. We are working families, we are immigrants, we are veterans, we are Democrats, and we're Republicans.
What's happening right now in the United States, it's hurting people in red states, it's hurting people in blue states, it's hurting Democrats, and it's hurting Republicans. And enough is enough. You know, our protests today and around the country are peaceful. Our movement is peaceful. It's always been peaceful. It's discipline.
And, you know, we are going to have train marshals, community safety teams and partnerships with local communities to make our message powerful and peaceful as it's always been. We've been doing this for a long time. BLACKWELL: Yes.
CONTRERAS: And it's always been peaceful.
BLACKWELL: Let me ask you about the shutdown now. You represent thousands of janitorial and security workers, staff that -- you know, contractors, some of them who work at federal buildings, I'd imagine, because of the rate of pay, that your members feel this shut down more intensely than many other federal workers.
CONTRERAS: Yes, we do. I mean, we have 185,000 members in 32BJ SEIU, 2400 of those workers are federal contracted workers, which, last time the government was shut down for 35 days, those workers never got paid because they don't work directly for the federal government.
These are people who already leave paycheck to paycheck, people who already made less money than people who work for the federal government. And, you know, these are families, these are people who are public servants, and every day, from this shutdown on, they are trying to figure out whether they are going to be able to feed their families or pay the bills.
But it's -- I mean, it's not, you know, it's not just contracted workers, it's TSA people, it's traffic controllers, it's military families who are now are going to go without a paycheck. And, you know, that's just not a way to treat our public servants in the United States of America.
[07:40:04]
BLACKWELL: Jaime Contreras of SEIU, I thank you so much for your time this morning.
All right. just into CNN, we're learning that the Trump administration officials have privately discussed setting up a meeting between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Now, this would happen when the President visits Asia next month, but there are a lot of people who are skeptical that this will actually happen.
A source tells CNN; officials have not yet done any serious logistical planning for the visit. But you may remember back in Trump's first term, officials arranged a handshake between the two men in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. That came together in less than 48 hours after the president tweeted an invitation to get together.
Still to come, a growing number of women are leaving the workforce. What's driving the so-called, she-cession?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This morning, a growing number of women are stepping away from the workforce. It's a troubling trend economists warn could stall progress made since the pandemic.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich, takes a closer look at what's driving their exit and just how many women are leaving their jobs.
Vanessa, good morning.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor.
Women are leaving the workforce at a really alarming rate, a rate not seen since the pandemic, when the entire world shut down.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 455,000 women left the workforce between January and August of this year. And if this continues, economists are warning that this will erase gains made by women since the pandemic, and could hurt economic growth. Highly educated women and black women are leading the exodus. And here is why, child care costs. Too expensive for many families. Also, women who had children were able to re-enter the workforce post pandemic because of flexible work policies like hybrid or work from home.
But now, companies are making return to work mandates much stricter, also the cutting of public sector jobs and the rollback of DEI initiatives have impacted black women. So, how do we encourage women to return? Well, you have to reverse all of that. We have the data that is pointing to this concerning trend. But CNN also spoke to more than two dozen women who recently left the workforce.
The majority of women said that it was assumed that they would be the ones to drop out of the workforce and stay home with their kids instead of their husband. And this tracks with another alarming rate.
Women, on average, make $0.81 for every dollar that men make, and the wage gap is moving in reverse, according to data from the Census Department.
Just two years ago, women made $0.83 to every dollar that men made. So, Victor, as you can see, the wage gap is only widening.
BLACKWELL: All right. Vanessa, thank you.
Still to come, the Seattle, Mariners are looking to make history. Carolyn Manno has the story coming up in sports.
Also, the next episode of the Sean Original Series New Orleans, Soul of a city looks at second line parades, a tradition at the very heart of New Orleans Music scene.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A second line is this Rolling Block Party through the city.
CHEEKY BLAKK, PIONEERING RAPPER, NEW ORLEANS: Second line is like a walking concert. That's what I would call it, a walking concert. You're in the street party. TROMBONE SHORTY, MUSICIAN: The same way people have to have water, food to eat, we have to do a second line. That's how important it is to us.
MICHAEL WHITE, MUSICIAN AND HISTORIAN: I remember the first second line parade. I played the first three beats of the bass drum to start the music.
The music was so exciting, like a joyous twilight zone, and it seemed like you stepped on an ant pile and thousands of people came from nowhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: And be sure to tune in a new episode of "NEW ORLEANS: SOUL OF THE CITY". Airs Sunday, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.
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[07:53:13]
BLACKWELL: Seattle Mariners are close to making history. CNN's Carolyn Manno is back. Talk to us about it.
MANNO: Well, the Mariners just one win away, Victor, from joining the Dodgers in the World Series and making some history of their own.
Shohei Ohtani was a show, no doubt about it. But this is a great team effort. And if they can get past Toronto tomorrow, they are heading to the World Series for the first time, which is significant milestone for a franchise that's been around for quite a while, since the 70s. They were down to their last six outs Friday night. The Mariners battling back in Game Five, all while producing two of the biggest swings in the history of the franchise. You had the lead-off home run from Cal Raleigh in the bottom of the eighth, and that was followed by an opposite field Grand Slam from Eugenio Suarez to lift the Mariners to a 6-2 win. The eighth-inning heroics, leaving the mariners with two chances to win the first A.L. Pennant. They'll have to do it at the Rogers Center in Toronto.
In college football, a pair of significant upsets on Friday, Miami had their backs against the wall. The entire night against Louisville, they were handed their first loss of the season. Carson Beck throwing four interceptions, a career high for the Georgia transfer. Nebraska also had a poor showing. They got beat on the road by unranked Minnesota, and you've got a number of high-profile games on the slate today, featuring teams in the top 25.
Among the most notable, number five, Ole Miss, number nine Georgia squaring off this afternoon in a game that will be critical for the SEC championship race and the college football playoff. Alabama's new coaching staff going to be tested against Tennessee's high-powered offense.
You've got the top ranked Buckeyes on the road against a very tough, unranked Wisconsin team in a crucial, big 10 test. And then, later on tonight, USC and Notre Dame squaring off, always fun. As do Utah and BYU in what's known as the holy war rivalry. So, a lot to look forward to today in college football.
And wrapping it up on the ice this morning, Alexander Ovechkin, scoring his 898th career goal as the Capitals beat the Wild 5-1.
[07:55:06]
So, that goal bringing him that much closer to becoming the first player in the NHL to reach the 900-goal mark. The effort part of a very dominant showing overall for the Capitals, who earned a fourth straight win, Victor.
So, a lot of good stuff on this Saturday in sports, and planning to look forward to this afternoon with college football. Back to you.
BLACKWELL: Carolyn Manno, thanks so much.
"FIRST OF ALL", it's coming up at the top of the hour. There is a debate happening on social media. Maybe it's happening in your group chat too, ahead of the nationwide protest expected today. Will or even should Black women attend?
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just need to know, do I show up or not on the 18th black people, are we going, are we not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I won't be out there in that festival, because, listen, as a black woman, I'm taking a rest. OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But stand down, my black Americans, do not go to that march on the 18th. Period. That is not for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: We've got a special group here to help make sense of how the 92 percent are navigating this moment.
Plus, Congressman Jim Clyburn joins us to talk about the president's threat to cut so called Democrat programs during the shutdown. Also, later, a peek at the new exhibit honoring fashion icon, Andre Leon Talley.
Those stories and conversations you will not see anywhere else are coming up after a short break on "FIRST OF ALL".
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