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Millions Set To Lose Food Aid With Shutdown In Fifth Week; Speaker Johnson: No House Session While Govt. Is Closed; Strongest Hurricane Of 2025 Melissa Is About To Hit Jamaica; Jamaica Bracing To Be Hit By Its First-Ever Category 5 Hurricane; Trump, Xi Prep For Talks After Trade Deal Framework Reached; Early Voting In New York City Sees Surge In Turnout. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired October 27, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

SCOTT STRODE, FOUNDER, THE PHOENIX: So if you do have that slip up or that relapse, don't go into that shame place, just reconnect with your community and they can help pull you out of it.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: What do they say about what's on the other side?

STRODE: What's on the other side?

KEILAR: Yes, when they start getting into the lifestyle.

STRODE: You know, it's -- it's a life beyond your wildest dreams. It really is. Because you're present, you're connected.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Yes.

STRODE: You can start to dream about who you can be and you can show up again the next day, because you're not hung over or your mind's altered.

JIMENEZ: Scott Strode, appreciate you. Good to see you. And thanks for -- thanks for being here.

STRODE: Thanks for having me.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right, new hour of CNN NEW CENTRAL starts right now.

KEILAR: The Senate is back, but after weeks of failing to end the shutdown, has anything changed? The impact of this crisis could be felt by millions more Americans this week.

And the strongest storm seen on our planet this year, Melissa, is a Cat 5 hurricane bearing down on Jamaica. Officials warning that Jamaica faces, quote, "extreme devastation and danger." We're live from Kingston here in a moment.

JIMENEZ: Plus, President Trump admits he underwent an MRI during his recent physical without explaining why.

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

All right, happening right now, the Senate is coming back into session, following a long three-day weekend. Lawmakers returning to Capitol Hill on day 27 of the government shutdown, and not much has changed. Both Democrats and Republicans still entrenched, hoping the other side flinches first as money is about to run out for several critical programs.

KEILAR: On November 1st, more than 40 million people will lose federal food aid benefits, including SNAP. That same day, more Americans could learn their health insurance premiums are skyrocketing, which is something the Democrats are demanding Republicans address before they vote to end the shutdown.

CNN's Manu Raju is live on Capitol Hill.

Manu, the Senate is back in session. When could we see the 13th vote to reopen the government?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Likely tomorrow sometime. And we expect the outcome to be the same as what we've seen the past dozen times, just Senate Democrats blocking the Republican bill to reopen the government up until November 21st. The positions have not changed. In fact, they have only hardened despite the hardships growing for so many Americans who are now hurt very hard by this government shutdown now entering its fifth week. In addition to the real possibility of food stamps and so-called SNAP benefits drying up by this weekend, we could see other matters really coming to a head.

Federal employees not getting their payments, furloughed federal workers, hundreds of thousands of them missing yet another paycheck. And now we are seeing a push by the largest public sector union, the American Federation of Government Employees, coming out today and calling for a straight extension of government funding, essentially in line with the Republican position on this.

But right now, Democrats say that they won't move. They want to, in -- a negotiation and an agreement to extend subsidies expiring under the Affordable Care Act. They say if that is not dealt with immediately, then people's premiums, their health care premiums will skyrocket. But Republicans are where they were. They say no negotiations whatsoever until the government reopens. So, we are where we are as things are going to get very painful for so many Americans, guys.

JIMENEZ: Well, and Manu, as we watched the -- the Senate reconvening, the House is not in session again this week. It's now been over a month. As I understand, you spoke with Speaker Mike Johnson today. Why hasn't he called his members back to Washington?

RAJU: Yes, since September 19th. Now we are more than five weeks since the House last voted. The Speaker has been canceling one week after another, all in an effort to try to pressure Senate Democrats to approve that House Republican bill to keep the government open. I asked him about that decision, especially since the House could still act on any number of other issues. Committees could still meet. There could still be votes in committees. Hearings could still happen. Bills could still come to the floor. Why not have the House come back into session rather than have members back in their districts?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Why not bring them back and do the work they were elected to do?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Yes. So, we're evaluating this day by day. There cannot be a regular legislative session so long as the government is closed and Americans are feeling so much pain. We -- we -- we won't do that. Now, in the meantime, Republicans -- I don't know what the Democrats are doing other than publicity stunts, but I can tell you the House Republicans are doing some of the most meaningful work of their careers. They are in their districts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And the question is what will ultimately change things? We do know that November 21st is the -- the time frame in which the current Republican plan that passed the House last month to open the government, that November 21st date is something to watch because as they get closer, they may have to pass another stopgap measure. Maybe that's when the House will finally come back into session. But expect the House to be out this week, maybe next week, maybe even longer as the shutdown drags on, guys.

[15:05:09]

KEILAR: All right. Manu, thank you, live for us on the Hill there.

In the meantime, we are following this story because this storm -- look at that. That is the strongest storm on Earth so far this year, and it's about to make a direct hit on Jamaica. Melissa' sustained winds are now clocking at 175 miles an hour. It's a Category 5 storm. The gusts are even stronger than that. And all of that power is expected to make landfall on the southern coast of Jamaica tomorrow morning.

So, the rough conditions that you're now seeing here just ahead of the storm, this is nothing, right? This is going to get so much worse. And Melissa is likely to become the worst hurricane ever to hit the Caribbean island.

JIMENEZ: And you're looking at live pictures right now as you see some of the swells even in the early stages of this weather making its way to Jamaica, home to nearly 3 million residents. And officials say 70 percent of them live within some three miles of the coast. Mandatory evacuations are underway, but state officials say the time to prepare is over and that people should now be listening for instructions.

I want to bring in CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam, who is live in Jamaica's capital Kingston.

Derek, what is it like there right now? What are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Brianna and Omar, we are preparing for the worst, hoping for the best here in Kingston, Jamaica. This storm is so powerful, it's in very rare Atlantic Basin company. Some of the most strong storms have only reached this threshold of 175 miles per hour or greater and it will go down in the history books as the strongest storm to make landfall in modern record keeping here in Jamaica.

Look at the mountains behind me, this in lies the problem. A lot of Kingston is within kind of a bowl and the water that gets squeezed out over these mountains is going to funnel down into the communities below, potentially causing catastrophic mudslides, landslides and flash flooding. That is a big concern aside from the storm surge, aside from the catastrophic winds that will come on shore west of here.

Look at this satellite presentation. As a meteorologist, I am awestruck at the perfect nature of how concentric that eye wall is. We call this a buzz saw look because of its outflow and the way that it just appears on satellite. This will come in likely is a high category four or low end Category 5 and it will continue to be a major hurricane as it moves across eastern Cuba as well.

So, it's not just Jamaica that is in the line of fire for this storm. We're talking about a long duration event that will put millions of people's lives at risk with this catastrophic wind, which could, by the way, last over 24 hours. We had the opportunity to talk to a government official about what they're doing to prepare their country of Jamaica ahead of this monster storm, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEARNEL CHARLES JR., JAMAICAN MINISTER OF LABOR & SOCIAL SECURITY: We are moving persons out of the communities where there have been evacuation orders such as Portland Cottage. And I want to tell everyone who's listening, who's watching, the evacuation order is not a suggestion. It is a directive and a directive to save your life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN DAM: There are so many vulnerable communities here across Jamaica. So, whether or not they're heeding the advice of officials, time will tell. Again, you can hide from the wind, but you need to run from the water. Storm surge, flash flooding, landslides, a major, major risk to this country. Brianna, Omar.

KEILAR: All right. You were there ahead of the storm and we know you'll be keeping an eye on it. Stay safe, Derek.

Let's turn now to CNN's Chris Warren. He is in the Extreme Weather Center.

Chris, when is the question? When are we looking at landfall in Jamaica?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Landfall, it could be not until tomorrow morning around sunrise, either before or after sunrise. But as Derek mentioned, we're looking at hours and hours, 20 -- maybe even 24 hours of very dangerous weather hitting Jamaica. Derek mentioned that buzz saw look.

Now, with tropical systems, hurricanes, the more symmetrical they are, the more dangerous they are, the more organized they are. And you see how big this one is. And this is really the worst of it. Close to the eye. It's the eye wall right in here. This big -- imagine this coming up here. That's where the buzz saw nature of it's going to happen. The catastrophic winds.

While the winds might not be to that nature over here, this is where the catastrophic winds are going to be, but all across the island, also as Derek mentioned, there's going to be that water threat. The rain coming out of the mountains or coming in from the -- the sea here, from the Caribbean. So Category 5, catastrophic wind impacts. And that continues to four. Category 3, still devastating wind impacts, and it's going to be here.

[15:10:02]

This is seven o'clock in the morning. That's possibly your landfall here as a Category 5 or 4 -- four or five same wind effects impacts, catastrophic damage.

It's going to take several hours to go across the island. The time it's going to take to go across the island, about as long as it would take to drive from New York City to Miami, or at least that's when some of the worst of the weather is going to be, even before landfall until after landfall.

The chances of getting tropical storm-force winds across Jamaica, 100 percent. That's what this shows us. The chance for that. But again, that buzz saw portion of the storm, the part that's going to bring the catastrophic threat will be a little bit more localized. However, that rainfall will be immense.

We're looking at three to maybe even four feet of rain. And here's another look at that duration going hour after hour, mud flows, landslides and flooding certainly will be a huge, huge concern. Omar and Brianna.

JIMENEZ: Chris Warren, a very serious situation that we will continue to monitor. Appreciate the reporting there.

Still to come, while the government shutdown drags on, President Trump is in Japan for the second stop of his Asia tour. And he says he's open to extending the trip to meet with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un. We'll tell you why.

Plus, Zohran Mamdani rallies alongside Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as early voting gets underway in New York's mayoral race.

KEILAR: And later, we now know more about President Trump's second medical exam this year. He told reporters today that he got an MRI during that recent trip to Walter Reed. We have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:16:02]

KEILAR: President Trump is in Japan today ahead of his high-stakes sit-down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week, and the two are expected to meet in South Korea.

JIMENEZ: As a potential trade truce is being hammered out, officials say the framework for a deal is done. With us now to discuss is CNN Political and National Security Analyst David Sanger, author, by the way, of "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West."

David, good to see you in person.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be here.

JIMENEZ: I want to ask you about what we've heard from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who says that there's this framework agreement between the United States and China, but what is it actually going to look like when these two leaders, President Trump and Xi Jinping, actually meet?

SANGER: Well, we don't know exactly what's in the framework agreement right now.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

SANGER: But so far from this description, I think the best framework for it might be a ceasefire, right? I mean, the President created a crisis here by putting in the tariffs. He then got outraged when the Chinese predictably responded by cutting off the rare earth metals and so forth. Meanwhile, the soybean farmers are out saying, you just killed our biggest market. So, he's going to get the soybeans turned back on. They'll probably have a truce of a year or so on the rare earths.

But, you know, at this point, Xi Jinping has made his point, which is the U.S. can go ahead and deprive China of the most advanced semiconductors, of the equipment to go make them, but that they've got cards as well. And actually, the Chinese right now have a deeper bench of things we need than we have of things they need.

KEILAR: You mentioned soybeans. And -- and Bessent also when he was on ABC's "This Week," said that he's personally kind of felt the sting of these trade tensions. He said, because, quote, "I'm actually a soybean farmer." Now, he owns farmland -- farmland worth millions of dollars, some of which ...

SANGER: Yes.

KEILAR: ... has soybeans growing on it. Nonetheless, what's hanging in the balance for America's soybean farmers, especially if they don't have, you know, a -- a cushion of hundreds of millions of dollars to lean on the side. SANGER: I've got to say, of -- of all of the soybean farmers I'm worried about here ...

KEILAR: He's the least.

SANGER: ... Secretary Bessent is not really high up on that -- on that. I think he's going to be okay. All right.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANGER: But, you know, they're sort of caught in the crossfire here. And to some degree, I think this is playing right to Xi Jinping's strengths. Because what would -- if you're the -- if you're the Chinese president, you'd love to limit this discussion to trade issues where he knows he can buy off the U.S. with soybean contracts, buying Boeing planes, Ford cars or trucks or whatever.

What the President isn't focusing on, although he has hinted at it in recent times, is China's nuclear buildup, Taiwan, the Chinese move into Philippine territory, the expansion in the South China Sea, all of which are higher on Xi Jinping's priority list. And so, the most he can -- more he can keep this focused on trade, which is manageable and so forth, and the less he can talk about Taiwan, the happier Xi is.

JIMENEZ: Well, you know, you -- you wrote in one of your recent pieces that President Trump made a strange public plea to the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to meet with him, even though his last diplomacy was followed by this surge in the size of the nuclear arsenal. We've got some of the words there on -- on screen. But how should the President's recent history with Kim Jong-un instruct any potential meeting with him this week?

SANGER: So in the first term, I actually thought the decision by the president to meet with Kim Jong-un was a brilliant one because we had spent 30 years negotiating back and forth with lower-level North Korean officials, and nothing worked, right?

[15:20:07]

So, the President's idea that he would do this, personality to personality, was fine. But he went into it underprepared. And they came out of the first meeting in Singapore with no real agreement. A second meeting in Hanoi fell apart because the President wisely pulled back when he realized the deal was not going to cover a lot of -- of North Korea's nuclear activity.

This time, he sounded almost desperate to meet him. He said, you know, they don't have many -- he said, there was a very good line the President had. They have more nuclear weapons than telephones. You know, there had been no communication. So, he was basically appealing through the press for this meeting. But that means there's no preparation going into it. It's, again, just a meeting of personalities where he thinks, we have a great relationship. We'll work it out.

Well, the last time he went into this, the North Koreans had 20, 30 nuclear weapons. They now have 50 or more. I'm not sure he's got a lot to show for the personal diplomacy.

JIMENEZ: David Sanger, I appreciate you being here, as always. Good to see you.

SANGER: Great -- great to see you.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

We got a lot of news we're following, including early voting now underway in New York City's mayoral election as more Democrats rally around their nominee, Zohran Mamdani. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:26:04]

JIMENEZ: As voters head to the polls in New York City, Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani sent a message to voters during a rally on Sunday asking them not to settle.

KEILAR: Some of his supporters gathered for the event in Queens yesterday. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders also taking the stage alongside him. The city had an immense turnout in the first weekend of early voting. Election officials say more than 164,000 people cast their ballots. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is in New York and joins us now.

And Gloria, you were there at the rally last night. Tell us about it.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, Brianna, Omar, I have to say -- I know 164,000 people doesn't sound like a lot, but it is actually a lot of people in the past three days when you compare it to how many people had voted around this time in the last election where they were voting for mayor and early voting was available. Turnout is through the roof at this point and we're only three days in to early voting. Still eight more days to go.

So, I think turnout and what it will mean about this race is really a significant part of the story.

Now, last night, there was more than 10,000 people packed into the Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. I've never seen anything like that in terms of a -- a mayoral campaign. These are the types of crowds that we see around presidential rallies, around presidential campaigns. So there is definitely a lot of energy. But Zohran Mamdani spoke to his supporters there yesterday and said, I don't want you to take the double-digit lead that we have in the polls for granted. He said that they have to continue to canvass and to get out there and talk to voters until the very last minute.

He -- he did say that he's feeling confident, but he doesn't want them to take it for granted. He sent a message to President Trump as well, trying to cast this election as a choice between democracy and oligarchy.

JIMENEZ: And Gloria, you know, as I understand, you sat down with Mamdani ahead of the rally. What did he tell you? Yes, tell us about that conversation.

PAZMINO: Yes, you know, we sat down ahead of the rally to talk to him about how he is preparing to govern if he wins this election. In many ways, the campaign is very hard. He's been running in this election for almost a year. But the harder part will be to govern a very complex, complicated city with a massive bureaucracy.

And one thing that he said a few days ago is that he intends to keep the NYPD Police Commissioner, Jessica Tisch, on the job. That's significant. You guys know how prominent the Police Commissioner here in New York City is. And the relationship between the mayor and the police commissioner is really pivotal in helping to determine whether a mayoralty is successful. Crime rates are closely watched and scrutinized here in New York City, just as much as anything that's coming out of City Hall.

But I learned in talking to him that even though he intends to keep her on the job, he actually hasn't asked her. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Have you gotten a commitment from her that she would take you up on that offer?

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D) NEW YORK MAYORAL NOMINEE: I haven't had a private conversation with her on that. And I continue to be confident, however, not only in my own decision to retain her, but that she would also stay and do this work. And that's because of the fact that her commitment that she's shown time and again is a commitment to the work itself. And so often that has been work that has been made more difficult by the Adams administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So, this is a risky move for him. The fact that he has not yet gotten a public commitment or a private commitment from her that she will stay on the job. He does have the power to appoint her, to keep her, to fire her, or possibly to have to pick a whole new commissioner if she decides she doesn't want to stay on. Omar, Brianna.

[15:30:00]

KEILAR: Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much for that.

And ahead, the impact of the federal government shutdown on military families. The treasury secretary says money will run out to pay service members if the shutdown stretches on. We'll have that next.