you know i got two home runs. you got two jacks. and then my grand slam. i signed a ball for you. okay. and it says papa i love you. why did you do that? because you've taught me everything about baseball. oh hunny bunny, that's so sweet. (♪♪) (♪♪)

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com (♪♪) making his case. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy's mission on the hill today win over republicans who are ready to shut off funding for the war. this as russia unleashes a wave of attacks across this country. and they're trying to burn the place down. house speaker kevin mccarthy accusing fellow republicans of political arson as he suffers another setback in trying to prevent a government shutdown now just nine days away. we'll take you live to capitol hill. plus, a surge at the southern border as the biden administration sends more troops to deal with an influx of migrants. will it be enough to ease the strain? we're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to cnn "news central." ♪ ♪

the brutal war in ukraine now complicated by political battles in washington. ukraine's president spent the morning meeting with lawmakers on capitol hill as his country reels from the latest onslaught of russian strikes. but the last time that he was in that building a year and a half ago, he had broad support from congress and the american public. that is no longer the case, now polling shows that americans are split on spending more on ukraine. speaker mccarthy won't commit to even holding a vote on ukraine aid. and some republicans are willing to shut down the federal government if any makes it into the latest budget. let's go to the hill now where we have cnn's lauren fox. lauren, tell us about zelenskyy's meetings, and if he was able to change any minds. >> reporter: yeah. i mean, this was such an important meeting for president zelenskyy, in part, because he was going to be sitting down in the same room with the house speaker, the man who will make the decision as to whether or

not more ukraine aid will come to the floor. but after that meeting i pressed kevin mccarthy repeatedly on whether or not he would commit to putting $24 billion in ukraine assistance on the floor before the end of the calendar year. and, time after time, he would not say, would not commit to making that vote happen on the floor of the house. he also was absent as zelenskyy walked into the meeting, he was joined with hakeem jeffries. you saw mccarthy was in the meeting, he met with zelenskyy. but he did not want an official photographer in the room. our colleague did get pictures from kevin mccarthy with zelenskyy. but, obviously, this is a very sensitive issue for the speaker because he is racing, trying to get this government funding bill passed. meanwhile, he has hard liners on his right who are arguing that if ukraine funding was included, it could be problematic for the speaker's future. so, you see there, why this is

such a sensitive issue for the speaker of the house. you also see over in the senate side, a very different picture with the leader of the republicans over there, mitch mcconnell, saying that it is essential for u.s. security to keep funding the war effort in ukraine. here's what he said. >> americans' support for ukraine is not charity. it's an investment in our own direct interests, degrading russia's military power, helps to deter our primary strategic adversary, china. >> reporter: and a few minutes ago, republicans were trying to pass a procedural step to pass their one-year spending bill on the defense department. they failed to do so. so right now leaders are actually talking about removing about $300 million in ukraine assistance, money that the u.s. has been giving to that country since 2014 as part of that bill. but it comes just hours after

mccarthy was in the same room with volodymyr zelenskyy. >> very interesting. lauren fox live for us on the hill, thank you. let's get the view now from the ground in ukraine, which is where cnn's fred pleitgen. these latest russian strikes on major cities including kyiv, the timing, obviously, pretty conspicuous here. >> reporter: absolutely conspicuous as volodymyr zelenskyy visiting washington, d.c., both the hill and the white house. the russians unleashing a massive amount of aerial barrages throughout the early morning hours of today. really involved a lot of things. they had artillery going, also ballistic missiles. but, first and foremost, it was cruise missiles. the ukrainians are saying that the russians used ten strategic bombers that took off from an air base in the west of russia firing 43 cruise missiles at various areas of ukraine. the ukrainians say thanks to their air defenses, they were actually able to take down 36 of those cruise missiles, nevertheless, some of them did

come through. there was one really horrible incident that took place in the center of a country where a hotel in the town of cherkosy was hit, injuring a lot of people. but the ukrainians say what's different about this one than what they've seen in the past six months is that a lot of the energy infrastructure was hit as well, especially in the west of the country and also in the center of the country. and they say that led to power outages for an extended period of time. some of their crews are still working on that. but, of course, if we look back to the past winter, the russians at that point, essentially, prosecuted a large-scale campaign to attack ukraine's energy infrastructure to essentially force the ukrainians into submissions by freezing them. and that's something that the ukrainians believe could be happening, once again, with these strikes that took place. it is almost the beginning of heating season where the temperatures really drop here in this country. and that's one of the reasons possibly why the ukrainian president, the first thing that he did this morning in washington, d.c. was he tweeted out saying that ukraine needs

more western air defense systems. one of the things that we keep hearing from the ukrainians here on the ground is they tell us especially those patriot systems are extremely valuable to them. they say that the ratio of those, the hits of those, the kills of those, that those are making are almost 100% for the nasms. something they need more of on the ground here as they believe the russians are only going to expand that aerial campaign against the infrastructure here. >> that is what they're experiencing at home as no doubt ukrainians are watching president zelenskyy on this trip here in america. fred pleitgen live for us from zaporizhzhia, thank you. boris? >> congress is running out of time, and the government is running out of money. there are just nine days left to avoid a potential government shutdown. and for house speaker kevin mccarthy, the threats are coming from inside the house. just a short time ago, a visibly frustrated mccarthy spoke to reporters about how members of his own party blocked a key rule

on defense spending. listen. >> it's frustrating in the sense that i don't understand why anybody votes against bringing the idea and having the debate. you gotthis is a whole new conc of individuals that just want to burn the place down. it doesn't work. i know it's an obstacle but i find it as a challenge and we're going to solve it. >> what's this latest road block mean for a potential vote on a spending bill? let's take you live to capitol hill with cnn's melanie zanona. bring us up to speed with what's happening. >> reporter: well, boris, the house is paralyzed right now. this latest defeat was a huge embarrassment for kevin mccarthy and his leadership team. it is the second time that a procedural vote on a defense bill has failed on the floor, and this one today stung even more for leadership because they were not expecting it after they spent hours yesterday behind closed doors with their members trying to work out their differences. so, it is back to the drawing board.

now, i am told by multiple sources including with my colleague lauren fox, she helped me report this story that, gop leaders are weighing cutting ukraine assistance from their defense bill in order to win over hard-line conservatives. now, in this bill it has $300 million for a ukraine security assistance initiative. but this is money that has been appropriated to ukraine since 2014. it is not the same thing as the 24 billion that the white house is requesting for additional aid in ukraine. but even if they make that change, it's unclear if the moderates and the defense hawks in the party would go along with that change. so, it's very unclear how they move forward at this point on that defense bill. and if they can't even support a defense bill in the republican party, boris, it's very unclear if they would be able to solve an even stickier situation, which is avoiding a government shutdown. i want you to take a listen to dan bishop, one of those hard-line republican who's voted against the rule today. here's what he had to say. >> there are those who don't

think we should make a change to anything that happens up here. i came here to change it, and i'm going to cast every single vote to see to it that the direction changes. we're going to change the way this institution functions. so far as i have any control of it. >> reporter: so, kevin mccarthy has a decision to make. does he keep catering to his right flank, which could be a dead end anyway, because anything that they are able to pass in the house is dead on arrival in the senate. so that wouldn't solve the problem of avoiding a government shutdown. or does kevin mccarthy start to reach across the aisle and start working with democrats to try to get out of this jam? the problem there, of course, is that it could put his speakership at risk. so just an incredibly messy and chaotic situation in the house of representatives right now, boris. >> yeah, melanie zanona, thanks so much for keeping an eye on it for us. let's dig deeper with republican congresswoman salazar from south florida. she's also a member of the committee on foreign affairs. congresswoman, thank you for

sharing part of your afternoon with us. what's your message to fellow republican who's, according to mccarthy, want to burn the place down? >> well, i don't see it that way. i see that the democracy -- and thank you for having me. wonderful to be talking to you. another miami fellow. and democracy is messy. it is not pretty. and we are a pretty democratic conference. republicans, we do have a voice in front of the speaker of the house. and that's why you see what's happening with my good friend mr. bishop. but i think that we should look at it from a journalist point of view is that this is democracy, it's messy, and we have a major problem in washington, which is spending. we're spending $4 million a minute. that is $6 billion a day. that's $70,000 a second. we cannot sustain that trend. we have an addiction problem of spending in washington. we know that. we do not want to shut down the government.

we want to improve the economy. but we need to rein in the spending. and that is the bickering in the party. the senate needs to also do its job because the senate has put through committee or approved through committee bills that are full of pet projects and that are requiring more spending. the dems, why aren't they voting with us? don't they want to improve the economy, lower inflation? this is a blame that is shared among many people. but i repeat, i will take this any time versus what's happening in cuba or venezuela. and that's why the venezuelans are trying to cross the border to come to america. so we're doing something right, but we need to fix it for the american people. >> on the conundrum that mccarthy is facing, if he doesn't sway some of these hard-liners in your party, there are democrats out there that are having discussions about potentially cutting a deal with the speaker.

of course, the threat is that members like your republican colleague matt gaetz see that as a political death warrant. so, would mccarthy making a deal with democrats really lead to him losing his job as speaker? >> listen. ronald reagan and tip o'neill, they had a very good relationship. this country is bipartisan. there are only two parties, the republicans and the democrats. we go to work with them. i am a very good example. i went across the aisle, i put together an immigration landmark called the dignity act with veronica escobar, a liberal from the other side. that's the way we need to work. this thing about just trying to do everything within our conference, whether as a democrat or republican, that doesn't work, because america is bipartisan. i'm not sure what he is negotiating. but what everything he does, as long as we move the economy forward, we are serving the

american people, and we do not shut down the government, anything is good if it's within congress. >> you said that democracy is messy, and it's okay for there to be disagreements even within parties. one point of contention where it seems as though members of your party are far apart is ukraine funding, should it be included in a spending bill? should it be part of a separate bill? and what's your message to people like congressman byron donald who's say there's no money in the house for ukraine right now? >> well, look. i represent the city of miami, full of cuban americans, people that we know what socialism means. we know what vladimir putin is along to do. if we don't help the ukrainians, continue helping them, mind you, with guardrails, we need to have transparency, we know where the money is going, we need to know exactly what they're doing with our dough. but if we abandon them, then what are our allies going to say, that the united states of america is not a reliable partner, number one. number two, vladimir putin could

say, okay, look, biden is pretty weak and congress abandoned the ukrainians. now why don't we try poland and then we'll have a major monstrous problem. so sending the message to vladimir putin that we're going to abandon ukraine at this hour is not good. we should've done it back then, back when when the biden administration did not prove force and sent a very strong and monumental message to vladimir putin, don't dare to go in. like it happened during the trump administration. you know, everything is measuring force. and unfortunately, the biden administration did not send the right message. look what the mess we're in right now. >> congresswoman salazar, unfortunately, we have to leave the conversation there. would love to continue it at some point in the future, though. >> sure, thank you, boris. pushed to the brink, officials at the southern border struggling to handle the influx of migrants in texas.

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of the river here in eagle pass. and this is what's unfolding, despite all of the wire that is along the river bank here. this is an area where just at the bottom of that bank is difficult to see from this vantage point. but there's been a group of about 50 or so migrants who have been waiting for hours and they've now just started crossing through the wire literally dragging each other underneath it and turning themselves into authorities. now, many of the state troopers, state authorities that are here, border patrol authorities haven't really been engaged with the migrants. it's been kind of on their own to figure out how to get through that. we saw a number of toddler-aged children that were first brought through. and now what will happen to them is they will turn themselves into authorities and then they will be processed. and we keep asking many of these migrants why they're doing this at this particular time. because the penalties for crossing like this is deportation, much more severe penalties for crossing through this. they say many of them what we

hear over and over from them is that they have been waiting for months and months trying to get through what is known as the cbp 1 application process. and that is supposed to create an orderly way of people waiting in mexico, applying and getting an appointment to apply for an asylum case. but many of the people we've spoken to say they have been waiting for months and the sense of desperation is now setting in. so they're willing to risk being deported instead of waiting on the other side. that is what's causing a lot of -- [ inaudible ] who also say that they think that one of the reasons why you're seeing this surge here in the last few days is because of cartel human smuggling operations on the southern side of the border. but right now all of that is kind of set aside because this is the scene that is unfolding here in eagle pass as up and down the river we've seen large groups of people crossing. and right now these people literally dragging each other, pulling each other through the wire. and there is two levels that just on the bank of the river

here. and many people and the authorities here just watching them do that, and then waiting for them to get through, and eventually they'll turn themselves in. they'll be taken away by border patrol authorities here on the ground and processed. and we are told by dhs officials that the penalties for doing this will be very strict. but for whatever reason, many people say they insist on still doing it this way because from what we've gathered from speaking with migrants, it's that sense of desperation and tired of waiting on that other side. obviously some very dramatic scenes unfolding here this afternoon in eagle pass. >> incredibly dramatic, ed. how long have you been there, and how long has this been the scene in this area? >> reporter: well, we've been here on this particular scene all morning long. i think we can probably get you a little bit closer here so you can see what it looks like down here at the bottom. many of these people have started to clear out.

but all of this area down here just at the bank of the river was filled with people. you can see the clothes kind of hanging on the wire. and if we look back over here in the distance, you can see this was the group that has been waiting down here in the river, waiting in waisthigh waters for hours and hours this morning. now as they come through here, they're essentially turning themselves in. i see mostly state authorities down here at this point, i think there are some border patrol officials down there as well. but the processing center out here in the field is just over this way. but, i don't want to give anyone the impression that these people are crossing and then scattering wherever they might want to go. it's all very controlled and they're all kind of grouped up down there at the end of this road, which is extending into private property here on the banks of the rio grande. >> all right, ed lavandera, an incredible scene there on the border, thank you for showing us that. i want to go now to washington and to our cnn white house

reporter priscilla alvarez. priscilla, before you give us some more details on the president expanding who's going to be under temporary protected status. i know that you're getting some new numbers on how many people are trying to cross into the u.s. >> reporter: that's right. homeland security official tells me that over the last 24 hours across the southwest border, border patrol arrested more than 8,600 people. now, compare that number to late may post-title 42 lifting when it was about 3,500. so a marked increase happening this week, and straining federal resources. now, as you saw in those images fred, people are crossing despite knowing that there are consequences because they are crossing unlawfully. but we should also note that we don't know the nationalities of those people we saw there. venezuelans pose a unique challenge to this administration. the united states has frosty relations with venezuela, which makes it very difficult to

deport them back to venezuela. that means they are often processed and released into the u.s. as they go through their immigration proceedings. and so that is a unique challenge to this administration. one of the steps that they also took yesterday was expanding temporary protected status, allows people to work and gives them deportation protections to an additional 472,000 people. that is a big number, it is the largest expansion of this type of status. and it addresses a major political sticking point between new york city and the white house. if you recall, mayor adams had called for more work on work authorizations for migrants as they came into his city. and that was a back and forth between the white house and the mayor. now the administration taking this big step to provide work permits to more venzans. now, they have had to be living in the united states on or before july 31st.

this does not apply to recent border crossers, but all of this just part of what the administration is doing. >> priscilla, and to answer your question, we just checked in with ed, and we learned that those people that we saw crossing in through that wire, they did say that they were coming from venezuela, which is significant because, as he was saying, the penalties very high, very strict for what they are doing. but, to your point, difficult to deport them back to venezuela because of frosty relationships between the u.s. and that country. >> reporter: exactly. that's really what this all boils down to. there are millions of venezuelans who have left that country because of political and economic turmoil. they have been moving across south and central america for months, crossing that darien gap, that jungle between panama and colombia. officials have been watching that gap. they have known people are on the move. what we are seeing now is those people arriving at the u.s. southern border, which is a

unique challenge to this administration. >> we are watching something stunning unfold here. priscilla, thank you so much for bringing us that information as you're covering the white house angle of this. boris? >> so, could your favorite shows and movies soon be making a comeback? the writers and studio heads left their latest talks feeling encouraged. we're going to have an update on where negotiations stand. and rupert murdoch has been involved in everything from movies to politics to news. but now he is stepping down. up next, what this means for the future of his vast media empire. it has derm-proven retinol that targets vital cell turnover, evens skin tone, and smooths s fine lines. wiwith visible results in just one week. neutrogena® retinol

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we're following two major stories that could reshape how you are informed and entertained. first, rupert murdoch is stepping down as the chairman -- sean hannity, tucker carlson and bill o'reilly, to name just a few. he will soon be replaced by his son lachlan. also today there may be a new glimmer of hope in tinsel town. striking hollywood writers are meeting with the heads of four major studios. that's where we begin with cnn's natasha chen who's outside of the headquarters in los angeles. natasha, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, boris, the ceo of this company is currently

inside meetings with other studios and writers trying to negotiate a deal here. at least he was with other ceos yesterday during talks. and it's expected that they're back at the table today. he, along with the ceo of warnerbrothers discovery, of disney. and to keep in mind the writers who are along this picket line here have been on strike for four and a half months, plus, and they are really trying to negotiate a new deal that protects them as far as artificial intelligence goes, as far as streaming residuals go. and the effect really of the strike has fallen far beyond writers and actors. there are so many businesses that serve these productions that have been at a standstill as well for months. we talked to the owner of a prop shop who had to lay off half her staff. here she is. >> i'm the one who, you know, worries at night about what's

going to happen because, you know, you don't lay somebody off without thinking, i'm not just taking their job, they're going to lose their home, they're going to lose their apartment. because nobody makes enough to live in los angeles. this is an extremely expensive city to live in. so, you're really impacting someone's life. >> reporter: and the impact is nationwide. the milken institute tells me that the economic damage has reached beyond $5 billion, now pushing $6 billion. this, of course, is affecting major production hubs like here in california, georgia, new york. so we will track and see how those talks go today. there is a very important window of opportunity here, boris. >> natasha chen, please keep us up to date with the latest on negotiations. we want to turn now to cnn's oliver darcy who's been tracking the news out of fox news and

news corps. this move by rupert murdoch coming at an interesting time, not only for fox but across the media landscape. >> yeah. this is a huge moment in the media landscape. right now there are trends that are making it difficult for companies, linear television companies like fox news to survive. and, so, murdoch stepping down, he'll give the reins of the company to his son lachlan. rupert murdoch is also a very big political figure. and, so, he's stepping down at a crucial time in politics with donald trump set to be on trial next year, with the 2024 election gearing up. and he runs fox news, which is, of course, a major player in right-wing politics, and will have a big role in the 2024 election. and, so, the important thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn't expect a major change in editorial policy from fox

news because rupert murdoch himself is saying that lachlan murdoch is really aligned with his vision, his right-wing world view in. this note that he sent to fox news staffers and fox staffers at large, he talks about how there is a fight -- he says a fight for the freedom of speech, and ultimately the freedom of thought. and he goes on, and he says that members of the media, i guess he doesn't include himself, but he says, members of the media are in cahoots with the elites pedaling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth. this comes just months after he paid a historic $787 million settlement to dominion voting systems for doing just that, pedaling narrative versus the truth. >> oliver darcy, important context to keep in mind there. a breakthrough in the months-long blockade on hundreds of military promotions but only for some. senator tommy tuberville keeps digging in his heels over the pentagon's abortion travel policy where things stand now.

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senate majority leader chuck schumer moving forward with a handful of military nominations up for individual votes. the chamber just confirmed yet another nominee general randy george to be the next chief of staff in the army. also confirming general cq brown as the chairman of the joint chiefs last night. and also confirming the nominee for marine commandant. this is coming just a day after the democratic leader narrowly avoided a rare and unprecedented move from republican senator tommy tuberville who threatened to hold his own vote on the

marine corps commandant. the alabama lawmaker blocking more than 300 promotions of flag and general officers and vowing to continue his blockade if the pentagon does not get rid of its abortion travel policy. we have cnn national security reporter natasha bertrand here with more on this. tell us where this stands. >> reporter: well, nothing really has changed, except for these three nominees who have now been moved forward because of a threat by tuberville to kind of try to force a vote on his own here. and, so, we do have the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, the next chair confirmed. we have the army chief of staff confirmed. now we are just waiting on the marine commandant. there are three senior positions. and the pentagon is pretty pleased with that. but there are still over 300 of these nominees that are being held up. tommy tuberville says he is not going to lift his hold until the pentagon revises or lifts its reproductive health policy which allows women to travel and be reimbursed for it by the department if they need to get that out-of-state care. now, the pentagon is obviously

happy that there won't be any kind of gap between the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff because mark milley is going to be retiring next week. but, at the same time, secretary austin said in a statement last night, quote, senator tuberville's continued hold on hundreds of our nation's military leaders endangers our national security military and readiness. and this is really important because, while three of the most senior leaders, yes, they have been confirmed, the gridlock that remains because of the other hundreds, it is really kind of grinding everything to a halt here. people can't go to their new jobs. of course, they can't move to a different state. they can't get new houses, put their kids in school. it's really having an effect on the families. and of course on military readiness because you have lower-level people in jobs that would normally have more senior officers in place for them. so, look, schumer says that he has been forced to do this, get these three people to the floor because they say they have to confront tuberville's

obstruction head on. but when it comes to confirming all of the other ones, it would take over 700 hours' cording to the congressional research service, to do them all one by one. congress says they're simply not going to do that. >> this is incredibly disruptive. i misspoke. we're still waiting on the marine corps commandant to be voted on? >> it just happened or it's about to happen. don't expect much opposition to him. >> natasha bertrand, thank you so much for that report. boris? house speaker kevin mccarthy hitting another road block in his attempts to stop a government shutdown. he's now frustrated especially at hard-liners in his party who he says are just trying to burn the place down. we're live on capitol hill in just a few moments. ♪ with wet amd, sometimes i worry my world

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this week a new series, a series done for years, really a new set of these stories called "champions for change." spotlighting everyday people making huge differences in the world through invasion and compassion. >> today sara sidner brings a personal look at a bold mentor and one-of-a-kind personality unlocking women's potential. no one else like sofia chang. >> reporter: this is my 27th

year in television news. i have reported from -- oh, from at least 15 countries. i moved to new york in march of 2022, after 14 and a h1/2 years field, pivot from field to anchor chair uncomfortable. people think i'm fearless because i go into war zones other conflict. >> important day especially for the rebels. >> reporter: but i am afraid of failure because i grew up with very little. that battle to survive taught me to work really hard. >> yes! >> reporter: what sofia does is teaches you to break through that fear to get to where you need to be. >> people always say, how do i start? i knew the second i met you. i needed to invite you to one of my dinner parties.

>> you did? five seconds, i'm going to show you my new york, come over my house. [ doorbell ] >> hey! >> reporter: gather humans like flowers. why do you do that? >> a major, a play i studied. most famous line means one must cultivate one's garden. i love pulling people together. >> hi, beautiful! >> chartreuse? >> there are lawyers and actors and there are professors. >> cheers, everybody. >> reporter: you are there as a vessel to learn and to give back. so it's a beautiful quilt of human beings. sofia stimped a storied career of alist royalty. >> never stop saying my name is sofia chang and i was raised by wu-tang. i was a yellow girl in a white world high wanted to be white and the then i meet wu-tang and

they're so reverential of asian culture and brought me around to a luv of my culture and therefore a love of self. >> reporter: a self-love later motivated sofia to create a space exclusively for women of color. she calls it "unlock her potential." not promising outcoming but it promises pos possibilities. >> i wanted to very specific about this. for 18 and older. why? if you google mentorship programs, the vast majority are for young people. those folks absolutely need mentorship. >> sure. >> but so do we, and as we get older, as women of color, we are erased, and so i am fighting for all of the other women of color out there. >> i'm so thankful to sofia.

>> give a hand for sofia! [ applause ] >> reporter: how old were you when you decided i want to be a stand-up comedienne? >> 48. 10 years ago i had a mid-life crisis and then saw the ads for unlock her potential. russell peters is the mentor i chose and also he picked me. >> my husband, he said he woulds here but he's not here. that's great news for me. i mean, i -- i would love to keep my job as a housewife. [ laughter ] >> the big goal of going to my -- >> reporter: sofia is a champion making sure you feel proud of whatever it is that you've accomplished. >> and sara is with us now. incredible. tell us what it was like getting

dialed in hi her community? >> reporter: normally can be overwenning in a room and someone's head of this or the, you know, of a world denouned author, a director. when you walk in that room it's like we're all 15 again. maybe a smarter 15 and everyone wants to know what everyone else is doing what they're up to. mostly, how are you feeling? how are you doing, girl? you feel embraced when you walk in that door and she does it with people from all different areas and all different walks of life. it a beautiful thing. >> sara, one of the things you and i talked about many times. i note, the pride of miami makes, florida, whenever i see you on the air. how much personality you bring on the air and struck me talking about feeling intimidated by becoming an anchor, and fitting in to a corporate box that often doesn't handle outsized personalities? >> reporter: it's still hard.

still hard, but i think one of those things i really learned about myself and also somethinging that sofia champions is to get comfortable being uncomfortable. that's how growth happens. and so that is one of the things she's like -- how are you feeling, girl? if you're uncomfortable, push part it and learn. look at this. this is her. a master at kung fu and it is incredible all of the different things she does. the thing live she does most, bring us together and make us see the world in the best possible light. >> got to say, that watermelon salad -- >> talking about it. on the screen -- >> sarah sidner always great to see you. pleasure. >> good to see you, too. be sure to tune in saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern for "champions for change" one-hour special and stay with "cnn news central." much more news to get to right after a quick break.

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