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Soon: Trump Hosts Event Touting Drug & Crime Crackdown; FBI Busts Sprawling Gambling Schemes Tied to Mafia, NBA Players; Senate GOP Bill to Pay "Essential" Workers Does Not Pass; San Francisco Mayor Vows to Protect City Residents; ICE Plan to Rapidly Hire 10K Deportation Officers Hitting Hurdles. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired October 23, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

BIG CHIEF SHAKA ZULU, GOLDEN FEATHER NATION: ... this is one of the few cities where we all can coexist in peace and harmony.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: That looked like a lot of peace and harmony there, a place I would love to be, but I'm here with you. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to tease this. Be sure to tune in to a new episode of "New Orleans: Soul of a City." It airs Sunday at 10 P.M. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

I wish I could be in New Orleans, but as I mentioned, I am here because we have a whole lot of news that we are getting to. And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Two major FBI operations leading to the arrest of more than 30 people, including a current NBA player and a head coach. They're accused of being part of an alleged gambling ring the feds say took millions of dollars from victims.

Plus, U.S. cattle ranchers say they feel betrayed by President Trump. The outrage over the new White House plan to let Americans buy beef from Argentina.

And later, Suzanne Somers passed away two years ago, but her husband is keeping her memory and her voice alive with the help of artificial intelligence.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

JIMENEZ: We're monitoring for any new developments from the White House. Any moment now, President Trump is expected to hold a roundtable event touting results of his -- of his administration's drug and crime crackdown. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and FBI Director Kash Patel are among the top officials expected to attend.

This comes as the President announces that the plan to surge federal resources to San Francisco to address crime there, as he says, is on hold for now. In a social media post, Trump said he spoke with friends who live in the area who urged him not to go forward, citing, quote, "substantial progress by the mayor."

Now, the White House also saying this a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The President is willing to work with anyone across the aisle, across the country to do the right thing and clean up America's cities. He is genuinely interested in this effort to make our streets safer, to make our cities safe and clean again. And he heard from the mayor last night who told him that he is going to earnestly try to make his city better on his own.

The President heard him out. He said, okay, I'll give you a chance. We'll be watching. And if you need us, we are here. And if I feel as though you continue to fail your citizens, the federal government may have to step in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, while San Francisco is off the table for now, at least, many other cities are seeing continued deployments of National Guard and DHS agents as the administration ramps up its mass deportation effort. This roundtable event today also follows several military strikes on alleged drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which have killed at least 37 people. We're going to continue to monitor this event. We'll bring it to you live as soon as it begins.

But we want to get you to the earthquake shaking the NBA right now. And really a lot of the sports world. Just as the new season is getting underway, the FBI blowing the lid on two alleged gambling schemes that authorities say cheated victims out of tens of millions of dollars. Both schemes involving current and former NBA stars Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Chauncey Billups and former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones have been indicted.

KEILAR: The FBI says Billups and Jones are facing charges in their investigation, which they dubbed Operation Royal Flush. That involves the alleged rigging of illegal poker games with ties to a vast mafia network. Jones was also indicted in Operation Nothing But Bet, along with Rozier.

This case involves accusations of game rigging, sharing insider information about rosters as well to benefit betting rings. And just a short time ago, the NBA Players Union released a statement saying, in part, the integrity of the game is paramount, but so is the presumption of innocence. Both are hindered when player popularity is misused.

A lawyer for Terry Rozier also telling CNN, "Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight." We're joined now by the host of the podcast "Naked Sports with Cari Champion," Cari Champion, and host of the podcast, "The LZ Granderson Show," L.Z. Granderson.

A lot of name recognition there in those ...

JIMENEZ: Yes. You don't have to look much further than what we're seeing right here.

KEILAR: ... no, you sure don't.

I mean, guys, this story -- Cari, how are people inside of the league reacting to the news?

CARI CHAMPION, HOST, "NAKED SPORTS WITH CARI CHAMPION" PODCAST: You know what? I have to tell you -- thank you for setting it up so perfectly and also adding the fact that some of these players are saying, wait, I still -- I still am entitled to the fact of my due process in court.

[15:05:01]

So, with that being said, I can tell you that this is earth shattering, because as we have learned and as we have heard over the -- the coming hours, players and now head coach Chauncey Billups, beloved within the league, considered someone of massive integrity. And so, to find that perhaps this indictment involves him and he was arrested this morning less than 24 hours after coaching a game is earth shattering. The same for Damon Jones.

We all know the first time that I heard this indictment and I heard his name, I thought, well, my goodness, I hope LeBron James isn't connected. We read further into these indictments and we see that some perhaps alleged insider information was given about player number three, which was later identified as LeBron James.

This could not be any more harmful to a league that has been considered itself thriving for so long and has in many ways dodged a lot of what people have said, the betting issues. It's been in the background, but this is shocking. And as you all know, the league just opened its opening season just Monday night. And here we are having this conversation.

JIMENEZ: Well, and sort of the -- this idea of the rise of sports betting is something the NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, has really toed the line on and talked about at various points coming into -- I mean, well before we learned the news this morning.

L.Z., you know, as Cari was talking about, the season just started. What impact could this have on teams around the league? And I mean, especially for the Portland Trail Blazers, their head coach was just arrested. And -- and just how -- how are teams going to navigate this moment?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, HOST, "THE LZ GRANDERSON SHOW": Yes, I mean, you know, Cari summarized it perfectly. I mean, it's completely earth shattering for the media sort of fallout. You know, to answer your question, ESPN is reporting that one of his assistants -- one of Chauncey Billups' assistants, Tiago Splitter, is going to assume the position of head coach for the temporary kind of relief.

But, you know, as Cari talked about, Chauncey Billups was beloved. This is a player that I covered like 20 years ago. I was completely shocked when I heard his name was caught up with it. And again, he is innocent until proven guilty. But just being associated with this was completely earth shattering.

I reached out to members of his inner circle, and they, too, are -- are completely dumbfounded by his name being connected with this. And so, you know, I'm sure the players are just as shocked as, you know, many of us who have covered him is shocked. And we are definitely waiting to see what the details are with his connection with this.

And as the league as a whole, I mean, this is just absolutely awful. If you recall, you know, maybe 2007, the name Tim Donaghy ...

JIMENEZ: Yes, the referee.

GRANDERSON: ... former referee with the NBA, was caught with -- yes, exactly -- improprieties. And, you know, and I -- and, you know, time has moved the name away, but the -- the cloud may still hang a little bit and just does nothing to dissipate that cloud.

JIMENEZ: Well, since -- since the Tim Donaghy days, since 2007, I mean, the rise of sports betting through -- through legitimate purposes, I should say, has risen 10-, 20-, a hundred-fold. And -- and Cari, how has the NBA handled the rise of sports betting over the last, let's call it seven years or so?

CHAMPION: You know, and I -- and I'll say this, and this is just truly my opinion, I think that the NBA is far more one of the progressive leagues in terms of how they handle things that have seemed to be controversy for other leagues. And that means I feel as if they've handled whether it be issues with players wanting to protest or issues with players wanting to have their own certain identity. They -- they're head and shoulders to me above other leagues.

And as far as sports gambling has been, Adam Silver has been ahead of it. As a commissioner, he understood that this was something that was on the horizon. He couldn't run from the issue as if some other leagues will try to put it behind. He was meeting it head on and saying, look, this is what's happening. And I -- I understand that now some 35 states have legal sports betting. And he was like, we can't run from it.

So, I believe the way the NBA has handled it has been correct. And then, in terms of how we watch their shows, television shows, you watch ESPN, their sports betting shows, no one's afraid of what needs to happen because it was inevitable. It had to run this way. It was heading this way anyway.

And so, now I feel as if Adam Silver -- I heard him this morning say, look, we've done our best to accommodate, regulate and be in a space -- and I'm paraphrasing -- be in a space where fans can do such things. He was like, but we also know that fans can also be a problem. Those who are yelling things to players, oh, you're ruining my parlay.

Players are well aware of this every single night when they go out and they play the sport. That betting is a huge thing. And people try to get to them in various ways. Or you have to trust your inner circles because you never know how people are using you.

Some of this is -- is going to have to be chalked up to just human nature in the world that we live in. And we can't assume that these players knew exactly what was happening. And that's the stage that we're in right now.

[15:10:00]

KEILAR: L.Z., what lessons should the NBA be taking from these incidents?

GRANDERSON: You know, if I -- if I may, I would like to pivot just slightly.

KEILAR: Mm-hmm.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

GRANDERSON: This isn't a lesson for the NBA. To me, this is a lesson for the NCAA. The exact same day, within 24 hours of these arrests going down, the NCAA announced that it was going to allow student athletes as well as athletic staff to -- to gamble on professional sports. And it got -- that news got overshadowed by what's happening right now in the NBA.

So, if I'm in the NCAA and I see what's just happened, I am reconsidering letting my 500,000 plus student athletes be vulnerable to this -- this underbelly of sports gambling. Because you're right, people are gambling legally, but we are going to be woefully, woefully pained if we allow our students to be exposed to the illegal aspects of this world as well.

KEILAR: Yes. Such a good point. They could be one year out of being pro, right? These are the --

JIMENEZ: Less than, yes.

KEILAR: ... a lot of connect -- less than.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Yes.

KEILAR: In some cases, a lot of connections between professional sports (INAUDIBLE) ...

GRANDERSON: Think about all that NIL money. Think about -- think about all the NIL money that they have right now, that -- that people might be looking at trying to get a hold of. I mean, this is what I'm talking about. It's not just about the NBA. This is about the sports industry and protecting the most vulnerable. And in this case, this is student athletes I'm referring to.

KEILAR: Yes, it's such a good point, L.Z.

L.Z. Granderson, Cari Champion, thank you so much to both of you. We really appreciate it.

And still to come, a bill did not pass today to pay federal workers as the federal government shutdown reaches day 22. We've got the latest on the negotiations.

JIMENEZ: Plus, Suzanne Somers' partner says he's turning to A.I. to keep her memory alive. He says he created an artificial intelligence clone of her.

And later, a surprise benefit from some covid vaccines. They might help some cancer patients fight tumors. That and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:16:21]

KEILAR: After today's failed vote in the Senate, more than a million federal workers will miss their first full paycheck tomorrow. And as lawmakers leave Washington, the government shutdown, which has lasted 23 days now, apparently will last several more days at least. CNN's Annie Grayer is there on Capitol Hill for us.

Annie, not all Democrats voted against this GOP bill today. That's important to note. Does it show that they're feeling any pressure to end the shutdown?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, at least some, Brianna. There were three Democrats who joined Republicans here. They are Senator John Fetterman from Pennsylvania and the two Democrats from Georgia, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

I caught up with Senator Fetterman after his vote, and he told me that his message to his fellow Democrats were -- was to, quote, "cut the shit." Meanwhile, Senator Warnock said that he voted with Republicans here because even though he supports the Democratic position, he doesn't want to see federal workers continue to get hurt as the shutdown continues to drag on.

But just to backtrack on how we got here, Republicans decided to put a bill on the floor that would pay just essential workers during the shutdown. So, that means people who work for the federal government who are currently still showing up to work, not receiving a paycheck as the government remains shut down. So, that's people like TSA agents, Border Patrol agents and military troops.

And that was a bit of a shift in strategy for Republicans. At the beginning of the shutdown, they weren't planning on putting anything on the floor other than the bill to fund the entire government. But as it's dragged on, we've seen them make that change here. Now, Democrats have their own bill. They say that the Republican bill

doesn't go far enough. They want a bill that addresses all federal workers. So, that includes paying furloughed federal workers during the shutdown. And they say that they don't trust the way the administration has handled this shutdown, where a number of federal workers have been fired and the administration has canceled a number of federal projects that they say don't align with their priorities.

So, senators say that they are going to negotiate to see if they can find a compromise here. But to have this bill fail the day before over a million federal workers are set to not receive their paychecks for the first time since this government shut down is going to be hurting a lot of Americans. And this is going to continue to hang over politicians' heads as we head into the weekend with no end in sight to this government shutdown.

KEILAR: Yes. Short tempers flaring, the curse words flying there on Capitol Hill.

Annie Grayer, you were there to report on it all. Thank you very much.

And ahead, President Trump says he's no longer sending federal agents to San Francisco. We'll have the reason why right after this.

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[15:23:28]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR DANIEL LURIE, (D) SAN FRANCISCO: I told him the same thing that I have told our residents, San Francisco is on the rise. Visitors are coming back. Buildings are getting leased and purchased, and workers are coming back to the office. We have work to do and we would welcome the continued partnership with FBI, DEA, ATF and U.S. attorneys to get drugs and drug dealers off of our streets.

But having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: That was San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaking moments ago, vowing to protect residents in his city. And it comes after President Trump announced today that he was backing off plans to deploy federal agents in the city for now. The President says it's because he spoke to friends and the mayor, Lurie, about not going forward with the crackdown. Protesters, though, were already gathered outside a U.S. Coast Guard facility in the Bay Area ahead of expected arrival of federal agents. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is here with more on this.

So, Priscilla, what more are you learning here?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, just 24 hours ago, the preparations happening in San Francisco were very much that the federal agents were going to be arriving and that they were going to launch an immigration enforcement operation. Fast forward to this afternoon and the conversations that occurred between the President and the Mayor have now resulted in that operation being called off for now.

[15:25:00]

Now, both the mayor and the President have -- described the conversation they had as a good one. As you heard there from the mayor, he was still emphasizing that he wants to work with federal agencies, but he doesn't want this to be a militarize enforcement operation.

Now, he also spoke to the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The President suggested that in addition to the Mayor, he spoke with his friends about how the Bay Area or the -- the situation in the Bay Area as it stands.

So, everything for now points to this being called off as they have said. It could come back at another point, Omar. What's we've seen with these operations is that there are often lots of twists and turns in them. But it appears that conversations were productive. And for now, they will not be doing their immigration enforcement operation in San Francisco as we thought they would just yesterday.

JIMENEZ: And -- and I want to talk about your new reporting before we go about DHS efforting to hire more officers for DHS or, excuse me, deportation efforts. What are you learning there?

ALVAREZ: Yes. The Department of Homeland Security has been very public about their hiring initiative. They have been offering signing bonuses. They have been blasting out emails and social media and taking to airwaves to get recruits to come join the ranks of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But what's happening on the back end, according to sources I've talked to, is that they are completely overwhelmed with the number of applications. And that has meant they've had to cut corners. No interviews, for example, offering provisional clearances.

So, a promise of a fuller background check down the line, which means that some people have fallen through the cracks. In one situation, an informant for the DEA had gotten a conditional offer. But it wasn't until the DEA flagged it to ICE that that was then pulled. So, there have been a lot of roadblocks along the way as they are trying to onboard officers, including, for example, that some of those recruits just can't even meet the physical requirements that they test at the academy in Georgia.

So, this has all proven to be far more challenging. The administration wants to reach 10,000 officers by January. For some perspective here, Omar, back in the 2000s, CBP tried to do the exact same thing. They brought in 10,000 people over six years and they faced immense challenges that they have only now been able to overcome. That included misconduct, corruption, infiltration. So, the concern among many officials is will this replicate itself now

with ICE? While they may have strong recruits, they're also finding that they have recruits who are not qualified to be there. The Department of Homeland Security stands by the standards that they have put in place. They say they've gotten 175,000 applications and that they also are getting a lot of law enforcement officers who, of course, aren't qualified to be carrying a gun and are already trained.

JIMENEZ: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, appreciate the reporting as always.

Following a lot more news, including President Trump saying he loves America's cattle ranchers, but they say he's selling them out. That's after the White House announced plans to let Americans start buying beef from Argentina to help lower meat prices. Stay with us.

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