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Senate Voting Again on Bill to Reopen Government; Sean Combs Expected to Address Judge at Sentencing Hearing; Hamas Says Response to Trump's Peace Plan Coming Soon. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired October 03, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: ... which were always debates that I welcome. But rather, it's now the difference between the Republican Party that wants to add $2 trillion to the national debt and the Democratic Party that wants to add $3 trillion to the national debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: A pox on both your houses. I don't know, what do you think about what he said?

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VP MIKE PENCE: I think it's better said than I said it. I mean, I was trying to make the same point that, you know, this was a bill that two years ago a lot of Republicans were uncomfortable with. And here we are, you're basically extending spending at the Biden levels, which was a cry of Republicans, we can't keep doing that.

And now every Republican is basically on board with this. And Democrats are saying, no, no, no, we're going to shut down because we want a $3 trillion increase and not a $2 trillion increase to the deficit. And so it's, yes, I think it is a pox on both houses that neither side is really being serious about the $37 trillion in debt now that we face as taxpayers.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Marc Short, appreciate the analysis. Thanks for joining us.

SHORT: Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: So we are still covering the sentencing hearing for music mogul Sean Diddy Combs. He is expected to address the judge who is deciding his fate as he faces years behind bars. We'll bring you the latest from inside the courtroom when we come back.

[14:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Back to our breaking news out of New York. A sentencing hearing for Sean Diddy Combs is underway. And just moments ago, Combs' defense attorney asked the judge to consider some of the, quote, untreated trauma that he says Combs suffered from in his life. KEILAR: We have Laura Coates back with us. We also have CNN legal analyst Elliott Williams and former Miami-Dade County court judge Jeff Swartz. Laura, first off, just kind of tell us where we've been today and where we are at this moment in court.

LAURA COATES, ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Right now we are hearing from defense counsel who are making a compelling case for the judge. They hope that this is somebody who is deserving of a second chance and a release that is far below what the prosecutors want or even below what is recommended between the five and seven year range from the pre-sentence report. There is a huge disparity here, though.

The defense asking for 14 months, which essentially would mean by the end of the year, given the time he has waited to be sentenced and the trial, he'd be out by the end of the year. The prosecution says they want 11 years. Why the huge disparity?

Well, the prosecution believes it's the manner in which the remaining counts, transportation to engage in prostitution, were actually carried out. They want the judge to consider violence and fraud and the violence we saw with respect to Cassie Ventura and a pseudonym witness as well. They want that to be part of the calculus, even though it wasn't part of the charge.

The defense is saying, no, no, the jury had a chance to weigh the violence and the fraud and the coercion for the sex trafficking and RICO, and they did not find him guilty. Therefore, you should not consider. This judge is balancing a number of things this afternoon.

He's heard from the family members already of Sean Diddy Combs from his adult children who were sobbing in one another's arms, talking about their need to be with their father and an eye towards the youngest of them, the 2-year-old named Love, who they don't want to see go fatherless.

We also have seen a video which brought Sean Diddy Combs to sobbing tears, a video documentary style that went through a kind of this is your life as a family man and a charity and a role model person in the New York community and beyond. The lawyers are talking about this, that they think it would be an unfair sentence to give him anything higher than what they've asked for.

But the judge is also weighing what's already been given before today. Statements from the prosecution star witness, Cassie Ventura, a letter that she wrote, also one from her parents where they described the fear that she continues to have and the trauma that she's experienced at the hands of Diddy for over a decade and believes still might be forthcoming in retaliation.

Meanwhile, right now we're hearing from defense counsel who wants the judge to take Sean Diddy Combs' personal childhood trauma into consideration, including referencing that his father was murdered close by this courthouse and that he was a drug addict that played very much into where he was then as compared to where he is now.

The judge, who I'm probably believe, probably has it already in his mind. What is the ultimate sentence? Waiting likely to hear from Sean Diddy Combs to maybe turn his mind one way or the other.

SANCHEZ: Jeff, we're just getting a read from inside the courtroom and we're learning that defense attorney Brian Steele has told the judge that at one point during his incarceration, a guard had to stop an inmate from attempting to shank Sean Combs -- from attempting to stab him. Brian Steele saying that for other inmates, Diddy is a trophy and that he lives now in fear.

How much does that weigh on a judge, the idea that the defense is presenting that the defendant or the convict now who's being sentenced is going to potentially face danger behind bars?

JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE: I think that the judge will take some consideration for that, but they also believe that the Department of Prisons or the Bureau of Prisons has the ability to protect Diddy and place him in the appropriate facility to do that.

[14:40:00]

The length of his incarceration will have something to do with that, because if he's under five years, he may be eligible to be placed in what some people call a club fed, but a type of facility that doesn't have the kind of hardened criminals that you will find in the detention center or in a medium to maximum security prison. So a lot of this might come into play, but probably not too much.

KEILAR: Yes, that's really interesting. His attorney saying that Combs, Elliott, has been praying for healing for those he has harmed or injured.

Does the judge see this language and we have to see what Combs says --

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

KEILAR: -- but I wonder when he's listening to the defense, does he see it as sincere or does it come across as platitudes?

WILLIAMS: Yes, it's hard to say. It's incredibly common for defendants to come into sentencing and talk about some measure of how sorry they are. Now, as we talked about early in the hour, what we did not hear Sean Combs say is I am sorry I committed these two offenses that I was convicted of having done.

He has not said that. He said, I'm generally sorry. I'm a better man. I'm trying to improve myself and so on.

Now, certainly sorrow or remorse for the things one's done, it can absolutely weigh on the judge. But the judge is also looking at recommendations from prosecutors and recommendations from a probation committee that are far above anything that Sean Combs is asking for.

So there's a big slurry of issues that will be in the judge's head when deciding how much is a fair sentence to punish the crime and deter future people from doing the same thing. KEILAR: And we are still awaiting Sean Combs addressing the court. Everyone stand by for us, if you will. We are going to keep -- Brian Steele saying that Sean Combs has punished himself more than anyone will ever be able to punish him. We'll see what the judge ultimately decides, though.

And ahead, Hamas just said a response is coming soon after President Trump gave them an ultimatum to accept to -- to accept his Gaza peace plan or face all hell. Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We have breaking news into CNN. A senior Hamas official says the group's response to President Trump's Gaza peace plan is, quote, coming soon. Earlier today, the president issued a firm warning that if the terror group does not accept his plan by Sunday evening, quote, all hell like no one has ever seen before will break out.

CNN Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: President Trump has just given Hamas a new ultimatum, telling them that they have until 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday to reach an agreement with Israel for a ceasefire that would lead to an end of the war in Gaza. This comes just days after President Trump gave Hamas three to four days to respond to his new 20 point plan to end the war in Gaza.

And now he has basically upped the ante, changing it from three to four days for a response to an agreement must be reached by 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. That would be around 1 a.m. on Monday morning here in Israel or in Doha, Qatar, where we know that Hamas is chief negotiators are located.

And this adds a ton more pressure to an already pressure filled situation to try and get Hamas to agree to the terms of this 20 point plan. Previously, we had been told that there would likely be negotiations off of this 20 point plan.

This was the understanding of many of the Arab countries involved in this, including the key mediators, Qatar and Egypt. A source involved with the U.S. plan also told me that they -- the United States understood that there would be negotiations here, although they specified that they would not allow for protracted, drawn out negotiations.

Well, President Trump has just come into the equation and basically short circuited that process altogether, giving a very, very short timeline for Hamas to not only respond to this plan, but for any kind of negotiations that would need to happen back and forth in the wake of that to actually reach a successful conclusion.

Our understanding is that Hamas is likely to respond with requesting some changes. It's unlikely to be a kind of straight yes or no answer to this 20 point plan, which would likely mean that you would need some time for negotiations. But once again, it seems that President Trump is short circuiting that process.

We also see that in this Truth Social post, President Trump is making quite clear what the alternative would be here, saying that if Hamas rejects this proposal, then, quote, all hell will break out against Hamas.

The president has previously said that if Hamas rejects this proposal, he would give basically a blank check to Israel to continue and perhaps even intensify its military operations inside of the Gaza Strip, where we know, of course, that many of those who are bearing the consequences of those military actions are indeed Palestinian civilians.

In this post, the president says that he is asking all innocent Palestinians to immediately leave this area of, quote, potentially great future death for safer parts of Gaza.

Of course, what we have found out over the course of two years of war is that no part of Gaza is truly safe.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Thanks to Jeremy Diamond for that report.

And ahead, more on the ongoing sentencing hearing for music mogul Sean Diddy Combs. He's expected to address the court. Stay with us.

[14:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A new CNN original series premieres this Sunday and is hosted by a very familiar face. The man that you have seen across your screens for years in a variety of roles from Monk to the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. But this time he'll be himself, Tony Shalhoub.

Tony is embarking on a journey around the globe to make and break bread and learn about how food has the power to bring people together. Here's a preview from the first stop on his journey, New York City, where he learns about Irish soda bread.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TONY SHALHOUB, HOST, TONY SHALHOUB BREAKING BREAD (voice-over): Mary O's Irish soda bread shop is the neighborhood's worst kept secret. The instant I walk in, I'm drawn to the flour dusted proprietor herself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Mary O's.

SHALHOUB: Thank you. I have to admit, I've never had it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't tell me you've never had Irish soda bread. Is that what you're going to tell me?

SHALHOUB: I am going to tell you that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame on you.

[14:55:00]

SHALHOUB: I think I might have heard about it. But, you know, is it sort of like in a far off galaxy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a far off galaxy. It's from Ireland. You know, come look.

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

SHALHOUB: So there's a difference between Irish soda bread and the Irish soda bread scones.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

SHALHOUB: So you're giving me a scone, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't use the word muffin. They're not a muffin.

SHALHOUB: I never said the word muffin. I'm just going to edit that out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Not edited out. And joining us now to discuss is Mr. Tony Shalhoub. Tony, this -- I think I speak for a lot of people when I say this is the show we needed.

Bread, you, this looks awesome. How cool was it to do this?

SHALHOUB (on camera): Well, it was it was really, really cool. And I'm still -- I still can't quite believe that they -- that they went for this idea, you know, of me just traveling around on someone else's dime and eating food and talking to bakers and mostly eating my favorite thing, bread. But they went for it. And here we are.

KEILAR: Yes, I think it's a lot of people's favorite thing. And I wonder, though, that was very funny as you were meeting your new friend there. And she can't believe that you haven't had Irish soda bread.

Was there any other food that you were introduced to as you were in New York City or a New Yorker that kind of surprised you?

SHALHOUB: Well, you know, there -- the great thing about the New York episode was that we were able to go and visit places that I'm familiar with, places that, you know, were in my neighborhood, bakeries that I that I love and I've always gravitated to. But then there's always in New York. What is that thing about New York where there's always something new to be discovered, something, something special that's just been hiding in plain sight, right? And so there were there were two specifically.

Well, Chinatown was incredible. There's so much going on down there. Young people really bringing traditional Chinese food, but, you know, into putting a whole new modern spin on it.

We also -- we also visited the best pizza place in New York, which is actually in Jersey City called Razza. I had some extraordinary sourdough pizza dough pizza there.

So there were just -- there were just there's a lot of hidden treasures. There's a lot of new stuff that I I didn't know was right, you know, right down the block from me.

KEILAR: Yes, it's amazing. And you're putting a lot of these places on the map, too, for people who aren't just in the neighborhood.

SHALHOUB: I hope so.

KEILAR: Of course, when you think of yes, when you think of New York, of course you think of pizza, but you also think of the bagel.

What is your go to New York bagel order?

SHALHOUB: Well, yes, we don't -- we don't feature bagels that much in the show, although we do a chapter because I have Lin-Manuel Miranda with me on on the show in one segment. And he went for the bagel sandwich.

For me it's always the pumpernickel bagel. You know, it's the locks, the tomato, the capers, occasionally some cucumbers. But I don't know that I could live without the pumpernickel bagel.

KEILAR: All right, you got to have -- I'm the everything bagel, the pumpernickel. I like that. I'm going to give that a try. I'm going to try exactly what you just said.

There is something about bread --

SHALHOUB: OK.

KEILAR: -- I feel like people are they're making it more. They're sort of they're more interested in it. Right.

It's really something that is so on on people's minds. They weren't always making it in their own homes. And now they are.

SHALHOUB: Certainly, the pandemic had a lot to do with that. You know, there was a lockdown, more people not, you know, not going into work or working remotely, spending a lot more time in their kitchens and not going out to restaurants necessarily as much. And so there was this -- just this gigantic boom in people getting into making bread at home, specifically, I think, sourdough bread.

And since the pandemic and it just it's stuck, people are staying with it because it's that kind of instant gratification. You know, it's fills your kitchen with great smells. It's something that you can, you know, share, bring to a party, bring to a dinner, share with your guests.

It's that ultimate comfort food, really.

KEILAR: Yes, I'm not mad about it. There's a sourdough loaf sitting on my counter right now from my neighbor, who's very much carrying on that tradition. But in some of these episodes, Tony, I think people will be interested to know that you're joined by family members like your wife, Brooke, your daughters take part.

What was it like getting ...

END