Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240703

And good morning to you, everyone. Welcome to cnn this morning. It is saturday, september 30th. The last day of the month. Im amara walker. October is almost here. Im omar jimenez in for victor blackwell. Amara, good to be with you, so close but so far away. I feel close to you. Same to you. Great to see you, omar. Were watching a lot of news this morning. In fact, here we are again. Just hours away from a Government Shutdown. Lawmakers still cant agree on a deal to fund the government past midnight. Were specifically talking about the house right now. The last ditch efforts are under way to keep that from happening. And the impact of a shutdown could have a huge impact from our National Security to clean drinking water. Well discuss. And flood waters ripped through parts of New York City, submerging cars, disrupting mass transit. Look at those images there. Prompting water rescues. Well show you the damage left behind and where were tracking more rain this morning. Police make an arrest in the decades old murder of rapper tupac shakur. The new evidence that they say led to his arrest and why hes just now being charged even though he admitted his role in the murder years ago. Outgoing joints chairman mark milley delivers a fiery speech. The apparent swipe he took at former President Trump swipe coming up. We are on the brink. Congress has less than 24 hours to pass a bill to extend government funding. At midnight that funding will expire and the government will shut down if nothing is done. The impact of that shutdown could be huge. Thats right. Millions of people may have to work without pay and hundreds of thousands of Government Workers could be furloughed. Air travel could be disrupted if unpaid tsa workers dont show up, which has happened before. So were talking about some delays at airports. And about 10,000 lowincome children will immediately lose access to head start Early Childhood education programs. Also fda food safety inspections could be disrupted and the list just goes on from there. Now, on friday, in a lastditch effort, House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy suffered yet another defeat when his chamber failed to advance a stopgap bill. So today n a rare move, the house and the senate will convene again to try to salvage something before tonights critical deadline. Try is the keyword there. We have Live Team Coverage all morning long as that deadline approaches. Were joined now by cnns annie grayer and Priscilla Alvarez. Good Early Morning to you. Annie, both chambers in session today on capitol hill. What can we expect to happen . Reporter well, omar, it is still unclear. After the house failed to pass the Stopgap Measure last night, members met Behind Closed Doors for hours and sources in the room told me that they left feeling like they still didnt have a plan. Now, i cant emphasize how high the tension is in the house right now because members in the house cant agree on how to fund the government. Listen to how some republicans in the house are feeling about this. Its a very dangerous tactic to take to say, hey, i want to shut the damn thing down. It literally benefits no one. Were the governing majority. This is what were supposed to do. Were supposed to lead. And its kind of hard to lead when you got significant number of people that are on the wrong snap count when you call the play. So, thats where we are. They killed the most conservative position we could take. And then called themselves the real conservatives, which is like make that make sense. So, while all of that is playing out in the house, guys, the senate is meeting later today to vote on a measure for their shortterm spending bill. But that bill contains funding for the war in ukraine, which many members in the house dont support. So putting that large issue aside, the senate is taking a procedural vote later today because of how things move through the senate, it will not be ready by the time the clock strikes midnight tonight. But back to the house, members are coming into session later today in a rare move mccarthy is trying to make a lastditch effort to try to keep the government open. But as members come back, starting at 10 00 a. M. , theres still not a clear plan on what bill they could vote on that could have the votes to keep the government open. They can meet in this rare move, but what will they be voting on. That is the question, annie. Thank you. Lets head over to Priscilla Alvarez at the white house. Obviously, priscilla, the white house is bracing, has been bracing for this shutdown. They have already begun furloughing some personnel. Tell us more about how the Biden Administration is preparing for this. Reporter well, the white house and the administration at large is bracing for this. Over the course of the week, we saw federal agencies send notice to their work force telling them that they could be temporarily furloughed as well as noting that those employees who will be considered essential and will have to still work without pay will be notified as well. Now, of course, the white house has spent the last few days sending out releases as to what this would mean for americans in addition to the federal work force. And that includes, for example, the Small Business administration having to stop processing new loans for Small Businesses, delays and longterm Disaster Recovery efforts. Risk of millions of women and children not getting Food Assistance and millions of federal workers not getting paid over the course of this time. Yesterday at the white house. They are furloughed. Senior aides have to learn the jobs of junior aides. Now, of course, President Biden and white house officials have laid blame on republicans, saying it is incumbent on them to avoid a shutdown. And the president saying in an interview with propubly ka that House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy who made, quote, a terrible bargain. The speaker made a terrible bargain, in order to keep the speakership, hes willing to do things that he i think he knows are inconsistent with constitutional processes, number one. Number two, i think it says that there is a group of maga republicans who genuinely want to have a fundamental change in the way the system works. And thats what worries me the most. Reporter now, the president is going to be briefed on this over the course of the day. And the days to come as we barrel toward a Government Shutdown. But it is clear that their eyes are on House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy and whether or not he can corral his conference to reach some sort of support and union. Well, we will see what happens. The day is young. Priscilla alvarez, annie grayer, thank you. Joining us now to break this down is political anchor at spectrum news, errol louis, good to see you. Good morning. Were less than 24 hours away from a shutdown looking at our countdown. 17 hours 52 minutes and 20 seconds away. Is there a way to avoid a shutdown at this point . Good morning, omar. In theory there is. But the reality is, as long ago as a week back people were saying, members of congress that i was talking to were saying theres going to be a shutdown. This is a stalemate. There are about 20 members of the Republican House conference who have voted over and over again procedurally and substantively for going in the direction of a shutdown and they will not take yes for an answer. Some of them wanted action on Impeachment Hearings against biden. They got that. They had the hearing this week. Some of them wanted deep, deep cuts to nonmilitary discretionary spending. Thats the procedural bill that mccarthy put up just yesterday. 30 cuts across the board. They wouldnt vote for that. So until they get to a point where theres something that you can actually bargain with, theres almost no way to avoid the shutdown. And its unfortunate to have to say that, but a lot of folks saw this coming and it doesnt look like theres any way to avoid it at this point. And look, i mean, clearly the frustrations have boiled over. Based on the reality that you just mentioned, reporting of shouting matches behind the scenes. We know after a house gop stopgap bill failed yesterday, there was also some frustration among republican members of the house. Take a listen to what republican congressman mike lawler told reporters after that effort failed. Theres only one person to blame for any potential Government Shutdown and thats matt gaetz. Hes not a conservative republican. Hes a charlton. Is he right . Is he the one to blame . This is tough language. Matt gaetz is said to be interested in running for governor of florida. So hes positioning himself in a particular direction. Mike lawler on the other hand is one of the 18 republicans elected in districts that joe biden also won. These are candidates, Mike Lawler One of them, who want to be seen as moderate that they cant afford to go down the path of closing down the government or trying to impeach biden and so forth because theyll get voted out of office. The political needs and desires of about 20 republicans who are on gaetzs side and 18 including lawler are really just at odds. Thats the tug of war that led us to this shutdown. Congressman matt gaetz for his part said he wants single subjects, spending bills passed and against any Stopgap Measure otherwise hell bring a motion to vacate the speakership. Thats the tension here. Mccarthy doesnt obviously agree with that. Politically theres a lot riding on the line i should say for mccarthy in this. Can he politically survive this now imminent shutdown . Im not so sure. There was some reporting, Chosk Matt Gaetz has denied, but there was some reporting that gaetz has been talking quietly with democrats about ousting mccarthy as the speaker. Now, if thats the case, then that might be what this is really all about. Because again, its really sort of stunning to see mccarthy give this faction of his conference everything every single thing theyve asked for and still sort of tying him up in knots. Even this question about whether or not we should move away from continuing resolutions to fullyear appropriations, the house is actually doing that right now. Theyve moved forward i think four of the 12 bills. And so, again, when you hear people not taking yes for an answer, you start to think maybe theres Something Else going on here and that Something Else might be an attempt to Depose Mccarthy as speaker of the house. Yeah. And i want to shift gears slightly to the other Breaking News we have been following on capitol hill. California senator Dianne Feinstein passed away friday. She was a trail blazer, icon in the senate. What do you feel will be her Lasting Impact on congress and American Politics . And where does California Governor Gavin Newsom go from here . Well, for a lot of us of a certain age, omar, shell always be the person who stepped in when the mayor of San Francisco was assassinated inside city hall and stepped in. He was is president of the Board Of Supervisors and became the first woman mayor of San Francisco. That was way back in the 70s. Since then, of course, shes done quite a lot of legislating and has quite an impressive legacy. Look, Governor Newsom has said that of the many people who were already planning to run for this seat, hes not going to name any of them. And so, i think what well see is the governor playing some of his own california politics, rewarding somebody who is not in the Current Group of ambitious legislatures who were running for the seat. And it will probably be him. I would say playing to part of the base of the democratic party, maybe name a la tina, maybe name someone from the Asian American community to sort of work his local politics. It will be almost ceremonial because theres going to be a very tough race and well have a new senator by the end of next year. A lot to follow in congress these days per usual. Errol louis, thank you so much. Much more still ahead as the shutdown is just hours away. And one thing is clear, if no deal is reached, the impact will be felt far and wide, including when it comes to National Security. Think Border Security, airports and more. How exposed would it make the u. S. . Also, a State Of Emergency in New York City. Torrential rains flood the city, Wreaking Havoc on the subway system. Plus, four Baton Rouge Police officers face charges amid investigations into a street crimes unit. How it coincides with probes and lawsuits related to an alleged Police Torture warehouse. So now we are less than 18 hours away from the United States first Government Shutdown since 2019. And if that deadline comes and goes, well, the impacts will be significant, from National Security to the military. We will have much more on the ramifications throughout the morning. Another story were following, states of emergency in both new jersey and new york after torrential downpours caused widespread flooding. Yeah. The water rose so quickly, Turning Street Into Rivers that it caught a lot of people off guard. Cnns Polo Sandoval has more now from brooklyn. Reporter chaos in New York City as heavy rain pounded the five boroughs and the surrounding areas and more is yet to come. Brooklyn saw months worth some 4. 5 inches in only three hours. Wow. This is unbelievable. I never seen this situation happen. This is crazy. I dont know how theyre going to get this water up. Reporter knee deep water flooded streets. Within i guess about ten minutes it was waist high water. Forcing some residents to abandon their cars and create makeshift barriers to protect their holmes and businesses. Buses taking on water while still in service. Oh my goodness. As they try to wade through the floods New York Citys airports werent spared either. Laguardia terminal flooded. Bronx National Weather Service Warning that they reached major flood stage with levels hovering close to 5 feet. State of emergency for the city. This is time for heightened alertness and extreme caution. If youre home, stay home. If you are at work or school, shelter in place for now. Reporter the mayor facing criticism for taking so long to declare the State Of Emergency and to address the public. This administration operates as a team. And i want my commissioners, my deputy commissioners, the leaders of this team, who are closest to the ground of a situation to communicate throughout this administration. We have good team leaders that are competent, that understand the Subject Matter and they know how to lead. Leadership is not only the mayor. It is all of those who are placed in those positions. Thats what you saw. Reporter according to the new york times, adams attended a Campaign Fundraiser thursday to celebrate a 63rd birthday earlier this month. He did not declare State Of Emergency until shortly before noon on friday, just before the Press Conference and hours after the deluge of rain begun. Officials said friday marked the wettest day on record in the city since Hurricane Id Aca two years ago. Warden its not over yet. Our priority in the immediate aftermath of this first wave of the storm, it could come back again. Reporter during the height of the storm, one New York City official said what we experienced on friday offers a window into the future. That these kinds of events can happen more frequently. Officials saying that Climate Change is moving faster than the infrastructure can respond. Am amara, omar . Polo sandoval, thank you. The weather is expected to clear up as the storm system moves further east. But as polo mentioned, its still raining in some parts of the northeast at this hour. Cnn meteorologist Allison Chinchar is joining us to give us the latest updates. What are we looking at . Unfortunately more rain. This is a look at what it looked like yesterday on not just this road but so many roads across new york yesterday. Just covered in water. You can see we still have some rain pushing across the northeast, sprinkles right now across much of new york. You have heavier bands making their way across connecticut, rhode island and portions of massachusetts. We do still have the bulk of the heaviest Rain Out To Sea but likely still going to see at least some showers as we go through the morning hours. Most of this should wrap up by about lunchtime today. We do still have some Flood Warnings in effect. Those arent necessarily for the rain thats expected to come, but how much rain fell because it takes time to lose all of that rain. And weve had a ton of it. As polo mentioned, yes, jfk airport breaking an alltime record, picking up over eight inches of rain yesterday. You had numerous locations picking up, 6, 7 even as much as 9 inches. Thats correct. Valley stream new york, just crossing over that 9 inch threshold. For the rest of the day today, again, you have a lot of showers going to be coming from some of the outer bands of the system, but it will gradually make its way east farther out to sea and taking with it the moisture. So the good news is by the time we get to sunday, we will finally have a day with sunshine from start to finish. We just got to get through the rest of the day today. Overall, though, were not expecting anywhere near the amount of rain that we had yesterday. Most of these areas likely picking up about half of an inch up to one inch at best. But when you already had six, seven, eight inches of rain, even one inch of rain is likely to cause problems. That ground is very saturated at this point. Another concern, too, will be coastal flooding. You still have some of those across new york, new jersey and even delaware. Also, too, if you plan to head to the beach, be aware of rip currents along the coast as well. And allison, you talked about record rain. I was in new york yesterday. It very much felt like record rain in a lot of parts of the city. Allison chinchar, thank you so much. Still to come for us, Cybersecurity Officials are on high alert with a Government Shutdown on the horizon. Details on how theyre preparing for what comes after the clock strikes midnight without a deal in place. The power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. And thats a good thing . Great in my book who are you . No power . No problem. Introducing stormready wifi. Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. Home of the xfinity 10g network. So the clock is ticking and we are less than 18 hours away from the u. S. Government shutting down. House speaker Kevin Mccarthys lastditch stopgap bill failed last night. Yeah. He says aid for ukraine proved to be a major sticking point. Youre taking a live look at capitol hill, where house gop leadership says further votes are expected later today. But, its not clear what the chamber will vote on. And House Republicans arent in agreement. So, if theres a shut down, only essential Government Employees will still be clocking dom. Without getting paid, of course. Thats got some Cybersecurity Officials on high alert. Cnn explains how the government is already preparing to make sure we are as protected as possible. U. S. Officials are weary of the potential impact that a Goth Shutdown could have on their ability to defend against cyberattacks from criminals and state actors alike. The u. S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are the main agencies for Cyber Defense is set to furlough up to 80 of its employees. Now that could have an impact on the agencys ability to test the networks of hospitals and schools and other Critical Infrastructure they help to defend. U. S. Officials tell me they have contingency plans in place in which theyre using the Skeleton Staff that they have to help try to defend networks. However, they are very concerned about the longterm and mediumterm effect this could have on their ability to recruit new talent to their agencies in a field that is lacking in qualified personnel. Im sean lyngaas in washington. Thank you. So the outlook for Homeland Security employees is pretty grim. The Department Says nearly three quarters of its work force will have to work without pay. And that could leave us less safe as a result. Here now is cnn senior National Security analyst and former assistant dhs secretary juliet. I want to get your reaction because you worked in the government. You know that this is something that lawmakers are very aware of that this deadline, this fiscal deadline comes up every year at this time. Were in a very extraordinarized polar situation right now. Is this frustrating for you to see this play out again . Absolutely. I was furloughed one of these during the clinton administration. Youre required to work. Youre not getting paid. It is frustrating. It is scary. I didnt have kids at the time. It is, you know, you need life to go on, be able to pay the bills and yet youre being required to work. So it is distracting and frustrating and its like a value. People value their work. And we show value through committing to a budget process. Thats congress job. Its the House Majoritys job to get a budget. So all of those things will factor into essentially mood and commitment and focus, which is most important in the National Security arena. So tell us how this makes our National Security more vulnerable. Well, one is so im looking at the number here. Last count 185,000 people will still be working for dhs. But not getting paid. So all the issues around the stress, the distraction, the frustration of telling employees to keep their job. They have to pay required to work but were not required to pay you is absolutely ridiculous. Its absurd because this goes to things like border enforcement, maritime security, aviation security. The second batch we should focus on is, of course, the coast guard. The coast guard is overseen by dhs, but its a military asset. The coast guard will be coast guard personnel will be required to still work, not get paid and then here is the wrinkle for them. Because they have military status, they also cannot apply for unemployment benefits. And thats different than government civilian workers. So theyre literally stuck. The third piece, of course, is related to Disaster Management. You were just doing a segment on new york. The Disaster Management apparatus to pay funds to satisfy claims, to get homeowners and those who are victims the money and support that they need will be lacking. So this is how were going to feel it. We heard that from with all these disasters that happened this year, they are running out of money. Lets focus on Border Security for a moment because we know theres so many agencies that fall within dhs. One of which is the customs and border protection. So Border Security is going to be impacted by this obviously as you said. House republicans, as you know, theyre demanding that Border Security be a part of any pac pac package. The government will shut down if they fail to coalesce around any package. Youll have 19,000 Border Patrol agents that wont get paid. What will happen at the border if the government shuts down . So, i think this idea that if we just the republicans are promoting if we just pay border agents, well be fine at dhs. Border security is a bunch of different agencies that are working together to try to minimize the threat at the border and have a lawful process of border controls. You cant just say, okay, well this little piece, we just pay them, everything will be fine. I think it shows a lack of sophistication by the republicans about how Border Security works because Border Security isnt just about border enforcement. Its about getting a Million People across the u. S. mexico border every single week lawfully. So they focus on this little piece as if that little piece will solve the problem. And also, lets just say this again. One should not ask people to work without taking on your responsibility as the House Majority certainly knows its a responsibility to pay them for that work. This is not fair to the hundreds of thousands of employees who are going to essentially be stuck. They have to work. They cannot support their income and they wont get paid. This could lead to longer lines when it comes to the airports, right . Tsa also falling under dhs. Appreciate you. Thank you so much. Coming up, an arrest 27 years in the making. Well explain how police finally put someone behind bars in connection to the shooting death of hip hop icon tupac shakur. Welcome back. Lets take a look at your other headlines this morning. United autoworkers are exipandig their strike again. At the Ford Assembly plant in chicago and gms plant in michigan but not against stellantis. The union says theyre making some progress. Total walkoffs now stand at 25,000. Sad reality in all this is they could double our wages right now and double our benefits and they would still not raise the price of vehicles and still make billions in profit. Thats the big lie thats going on right now. Union president fain also fired back at ford executives saying their comments about significant progress in talks were overly optimistic. A grand jury indictmented a 60yearold man in the 1996 murder of rapper tupac shakur. Police say Dwayne Keith Davis admitted his role in the murder back in 2009 but could not be charged because of an earlier agreement that prohibited any statements from being used against him. Officials describe davis as the ring master of the plot to kill tupac. But his public bragging about the incident that provided evidence leading to his arrest on friday. Police say hes the only living suspect linked to tupacs murder. Three other suspects have passed. And a michigan judge has ruled that Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley can be sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parol. Despite being only 15 years old when he murdered four of his classmates and injured seven others, the harshest punishment the state can hand down. Crumbley pleaded guilty to four count of first degree murder. His sentencing is set for december 8th. In baton rouge, officers are facing criminal charges after allegedly hitting and tasing a suspect during an arrest in 2020 and then covering it up. That is according to the police chief. Yeah. These charges coincide with other investigations into the socalled brave cave where officers have been accused of misconduct and a lawsuit is pending. Cnns ryan young takes a closer look at these cases. Reporter amara and omar, theres a lot of fall out from the brave cave and all the conversations being had in baton rouge about the investigations that are on going. Theres an fbi investigation and theres also at least three current investigations outside of that. But the police chief told us Something Different on friday. Theres nine administrative investigations in total and four officers have been arrested. Thats actually connected to another case. In september of 2020, a man was arrested and brought to a Police Department building. And when officers wanted to conduct a strip search, because they believed he had some drugs the man was struggling. Those officers brought out their tasers, they started to tase the man several times but they didnt realize that activated their body cameras. Later on a supervisor became aware of how this went down. They watched what happened through an app and tried to have the body camera destroyed, according to the chief. That way the video wouldnt be logged into a server. Now those four officers face charges for this. This goes deep into this community. Batton rouge mayor is speaking out. To put it in terms that you can relate to. This is not a time for just an annual checkup. This is time for a fullbody mri. To diagnose and reveal any dysfunctions or wrong doings. Reporter yeah, omar and amara, in another incident a man claims he was beaten by officers, grandmother says she was forced into a Body Cavity Search at the brave cave. This is now all in an area where people are concerned about whats going on with this Police Department. The Police Department for its part, homicides have gone down, the chief is stepping down and this Investigation Continues as people look into what happened with these officers over the last few years. Disturbing story there. Ryan young, thank you for bringing that to us. All right. Still ahead with a shutdown looming, more than a million active duty troops and their families are place bracing to go without a paycheck. Well talk about the impact. A final salute to a pillar of americas military. Mark milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff got all praises as he turned over his command officially. Milley advised two president s, donald trump and joe biden, through tests, domestic and foreign, january 6th, the afghanistan withdrawal, russias war in ukraine, just to name a few things. Milley delivered a passionate speech which he seemingly criticized former President Donald Trump asserting that the u. S. Military does not pledge allegiance to someone aspiring to be a dictator. We dont take an oath to a country. We dont take an oath to a tribe. We dont take an oath to a religion. We dont take an oath to a king or a queen or to a tyrant or dictator. And we dont take an oath to a wanna be dictator. We dont take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the constitution. Milley also used the ceremony meant to honor him to honor his Brothers And Sisters in arms and their sacrifices. Speaking of the military, a Government Shutdown would have a Significant Impact on countless families and active duty troops. Cnns pentagon correspondent Oren Lieberman takes a look at the toll it could take on americas brave men and women. Well, well take a look a little later at that. You know what we have it now. On the last Military Payday before a looming Government Shutdown, joanna is worried about the unknown. We have child care costs. We have student loans. We have bills to pay. We have a mortgage to pay. And where is that money going to come from . Reporter shutdown would leave her family and 1. 3 million other active Duty Service Members without pay, even as they have to keep working. A recent Family Emergency makes it even harder. We were not anticipating this on top of an already financially challenging time. Reporter ginger lost her husbands paycheck during the last shutdown in 2018 to 2019. At the time, congress made sure the military got paid except for the coast guard, where her husband serves, which falls under the department of Homeland Security. This time, theres no such measure to pay troops. Its difficult when you cant count on your elected officials to protect you when you are literally protecting them and your country. Reporter its not just military paychecks that would stop. Some Defense Department Child Care Centers will close and on base commissaries could close if this goes on too long. A shutdown would only make things harder, especially for junior enlisted. Organizations like the armed services, ymca are ready to offer more help now. Making sure that if we need to we are adding Food Distribution events either through our branchs or through our Partner Organizations to ensure that at least once a week there will be a Food Distribution in those areas where possible. Reporter melissa shaw says Service Members in her husbands unit have put on a brave face about a potential shutdown, but the concern is real. Over the last 24 hours in particular we had a chat thread going with many of the families in our unit. What theyre telling us is right now theyre choosing to be optimistic. Hope for the best and plan for the worst. Reporter Military Life requires to make sacrifices like facing the channels of deployments and moves. But a shutdown is different. Not a threat from an enemy but a self inflicted wound. Its always a sacrifice. This is just another way that we are potentially being forced to sacrifice so that my spouse and our family can serve. Reporter in previous shutdowns, congress has acted to make sure that military Service Members get paid. Even if and when the government gets shut down, but at least to this point that hasnt happened in this case. Which means we are a very short time away from 1. 3 million active Duty Service Members having to work without pay. Omar and amara . Oren lieberman, thank you. Up next, it is the final weekend of the regular season in Major League Baseball. Go braves. Who is destined for the playoffs . And who is on the outside looking in . Youre probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. But what if we told you its possible that comcast Business Mobile can save you up to 75 a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers . Its true. Plus, when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. There are no Term Contracts or line activation fees. And you can bring your own device. Oh, and all on the most reliable 5g Mobile Network nationwide. Wireless that works for you. Its not just possible. Its happening. The final weekend of the Major League Baseball regular season is here. And there are still five Playoff Spots on the line. Look, a lot to talk about. A lot to get into. Cnn Sports Correspondent Carolyn Manno joins us now. This is coming down to the wire here. Reporter good morning to you both. Exactly right. And this is really what Major League Baseball had in mind when they expanded the post season field before the 2022 season. They wanted these close playoff races. Now here we are. The battle for the American League west title may not be decided until the very last out. You could not draw it up any better. Mariners went into the friday game rangers with their backs against the wall. They ended up with one of the most dominant wins of the season. Shortstop crawford coming up huge with a Grand Slam Home Run in the fourth inning, leading seattle to the 80 win. The mariners now just two games out of first place with two games remaining. The Houston Astros meantime taking another step toward a sevenstraight Playoff Appearance on friday. They got an absolute gem from pitcher jose against arizona through six scoreless innings in his first start many more than a month. So jose abreus tworun double in the sixth was all houston needed to hold off the diamondbacks. Originally they thought this was a threerun shot but it was overturned on reviews. With the 21 win houston now needs just one more win to clinch a playoff birth. Take a look at the a. Lcht west standing. Rangers can punch their ticket with a win or an astros loss but still remains the possibility of a threeway tie for a division title. Elsewhere in the wnba, asia wilson and the Las Vegas Aces headed back to the finals for the third time in four seasons. They have been dominant. Finished off a threegame sweep of the dallas wings on friday night with a dramatic 6461 win. The aces holding the wings scoreless during the final five minutes of the game. They closed on a 110 win. Vegas now has the chance to be the first to win backtoback title since the l. A. Sparks back in 2001 and 2002. New york liberty, one win away from advancing to their first wnba final. They outscored the connecticut suns, 3716 in the first quarter. That actually ties a playoff record. Breanna stewart, just showing everything why she was named league mvp earlier this week. She finishes 25 points and 11 rebounds in new yorks 11point win. Game four set for sunday afternoon there. And College Football under the Friday Night Lights a battle here between a pair of ranked teams. Number 19 oregon state knocking off 10th ranked utah, 217. Wide receiver leading the way for the beavers. Scored touchdowns on 27yard catch and 45run. Oregon state fans loving this, storming the field after the upset of the twotime defending pac12 conference champions. Oregon state proving that one loss is not going to define their season. These are the images omar and amara that College Football fans have been waiting for. Weather is turning colder now and really nice effort there from bolden, too. Pivot because youre glowing. Youre glowing. No. I was going to say, did you get a tan, or on vacation . You just got married. We want to congratulate you. I did. Thank you. Youre just as beautiful. And youre back