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Monster Cat 5 Hurricane Melissa Makes Landfall in Jamaica; NOAA Says Melissa's Winds Could Bring Total Structural Failure; 42 Million Americans on Verge of Losing Food Assistance; USDA Won't Use Contingency Fund to Pay November Food Stamp Benefits; Air Traffic Controllers Miss First Paycheck; Man Accused of Stabbing Two Teens With Fork on Flight to Germany; FBI Employees Told to Dig for Jimmy Hoffa Documents. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 28, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:49]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": CNN is tracking historic Hurricane Melissa. It's the worst storm to ever hit Jamaica. It's the second strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic. It's a Category 5 system that made landfall less than a half hour ago. And here's just one example of the impact from Melissa. On the left, Flat Bridge today. It's a route that provides travel out of Spanish town. You see the span fully submerged there. On the right is what Flat Bridge looked like last night when cars were able to make their way across it. We have CNN Meteorologist Chris Warren here with the latest on Melissa's path. All right, Chris, where is the eye of this hurricane right now?

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it is working online right now, Brianna, on land and not completely on just yet, but it has officially made landfall. That's when the center of the eye gets on land. And that's telling us that for the areas that were at the front end of this, we're halfway through, because now the backside is going to come through. Winds are going to change direction, still strong winds well over a hundred miles an hour. This making landfall with 185 mile per hour sustained winds.

[13:35:00]

Now, that is in a relatively small part of the hurricane. You look over at Kingston, sustained winds at 24. So, the difference between here and here is huge. Even the difference in wind speeds from right there to right here is huge. Now, you get into these bright reds. This is still hurricane-force winds, but the destructive, catastrophic-type destruction, that is in the blues and the greens. That's the eye wall of the hurricane. So we'll see where this did come on shore, the front end of it. Again, it's not over yet for these areas. New Hope, Black River, again, making landfall near New Hope, Treasure Beach, another spot that was -- remains to be hard hit. There's still a lot of water, a lot of the sea water, the salt water being pushed on land.

But then next, as the hurricane moves across the west side of Jamaica and expected to stay and remain a major hurricane as it moves across the island, Montego Bay, including the airport, couple of areas we're going to have to keep a very close eye on. Now, the strongest of the winds, those Category 5 Hurricane-force winds, relatively small location compared to the rest of the island. However, the whole island's still at risk for catastrophic flooding because of the heavy rain.

You can see here, some of these peak wind gusts in Montego Bay over the next several hours, going to be up around a hundred miles an hour. And then we'll be watching it as it moves back over water, and then eventually, Melissa working into Cuba. And then from there, it is expected to impact and threaten The Bahamas with hurricane warnings for a lot of The Bahamas and Brianna, tropical storm warnings in effect also for Turks and Caicos.

KEILAR: All right, big news right now as Jamaica is bracing there. Chris, thank you so much for the very latest. Tens of millions of Americans are just days away from losing critical SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps. We're going to talk to the administration official who oversees that program next.

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[13:41:25]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Starting this Saturday, millions of the nation's most vulnerable citizens will begin losing critical food and aid to the government shutdown, because of the government shutdown. Nearly 42 million people, or about one in eight Americans receive help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, also known as food stamps. According to a memo obtained by CNN, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will not tap into its $6 billion emergency fund to cover next month's benefits saying, "Contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits."

However, the agency's original contingency plan dated last month and since deleted by -- from its website expected to keep food assistance funded, saying "Congressional intent is evident that SNAP's operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for state administrative expenses to ensure that the state can also continue operations during a federal government shutdown.

Joining us now to discuss is U.S. Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins. Secretary, thank you so much for making time for us this afternoon. So, you've said the USDA will not tap into that $6 billion contingency fund for SNAP benefits in November. The president was asked about this on Friday, whether he would direct USDA to fund food stamps. The president told reporters, "Yeah, everybody is going to be in good shape. Yeah." What has the president said to you, secretary, about using that money to pay for SNAP?

BROOKE ROLLINS, (R) UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: Well, I think first, it's really important to level set this. And Boris, by the way, it's good to be on. I don't think we've been on together before. But I want to level set this whole conversation and then we'll talk directly to your question. The Democrats have voted 12 times to keep this government closed. On October 10th, USDA sent a memo to all the states saying, we're not going to have money in November. Everybody start just preparing for that. October 24th, we did the exact same thing.

The iterative memos that you're speaking of, I think we -- those are posted almost semi-regularly on this, then that, if this happens then that. Since then, we've opened FSA offices to pay farmers. We've got our food safety inspection guys back up at least for the short term and so many others. So, to be at this point in the process, to be so close to opening the government, just a yes vote on the CR. The SNAP program in November costs $9.2 billion. We don't have the legal authority as of today to distribute anything less than that through the formulas, et cetera. We're obviously looking at all of this as we move forward. But as of today, that $9.2 billion, we don't even have close to that in contingency funding. We've got to get this government open

SANCHEZ: Secretary, help me understand how it could be that. As of a few weeks ago, the USDA's website specifically listed that those funds in the contingency plan could use to fund SNAP benefits, but suddenly they can't.

ROLLINS: Well, as I mentioned, these are iterative documents, right? And we did fund through all of October, as we were raising the flag. Hey guys, this isn't going to continue. We got to open the government. I think that there's a lot of thinking, at least I'll speak on behalf of myself, that the fact that we're at Day 28, I did not think this would ever happen. It's not like the Republicans are saying, oh, well, let's do another round of tax cuts in exchange for your illegal healthcare or your healthcare for illegal aliens and your gender, transgender and the Balkans programs.

I mean, that was never really part of the equation because the Republicans and the president have said, we'll negotiate all you want but we're not going to use the government, this cliff and fall off of it, and shut the government down and take all these people's benefits away.

[13:45:00]

So the fact that we are here today, that we're facing a Saturday deadline or 42 million Americans, maybe another show about whether that program's too big, but there's no doubt that a big chunk of Americans are going to be losing a very, very important benefit. And we can talk legalistics and is it legal and can we move this money? And is that $5 billion available and is it not? But all it takes is a yes on a Continuing Resolution to keep the government going and to send that money out to the states.

SANCHEZ: To be precise, secretary, that's not exactly what Democrats are demanding. They're trying to hold on to certain Obamacare, ACA subsidies that are set to expire. And there's a debate about whether some of the folks that would be receiving those benefits, the administration argues that they're illegal, many of them are TPS recipients that they have permission to be in the country, they're asylum seekers. Notably though, the Trump administration previously diverted some $300 million in tariff revenue to keep funding WIC and also funneled this $130 million donation from an anonymous ally to pay military service members during the shutdown.

So, how is the argument from the administration simply that they can't use the contingency fund nor find any other alternative to help feed 42 million Americans?

ROLLINS: Listen, $9.2 billion, Boris. I don't want to speak on behalf of my boss, but if George Soros wants to step up and write a $9.2 billion check to keep those benefits moving for this -- for the month of November, I am guessing that that would definitely be on the table. I mean, this is such an incredible American that kept those soldiers paid, the $130 million. The tariff funds, that's a whole different lane of policy that funded the about $350 million for WIC for October. There's a whole other conversation on WIC that's happening right now.

But SNAP, the food stamp program, 42 million Americans, 22 million families are being held hostage by Katherine Clark, one of the leaders of the Democrat Party, her own words that they can use these poor families and these benefits for the leverage. Are planes falling out of the sky, another staffer said. If not, then we're going to keep the government closed. Our -- what Chuck Schumer said about every day that goes by, it gets better and it gets better.

Even their own union, even the Democrat's own union that's mostly left-leaning is saying, please open the government. And that's what we were saying too. Vote yes, let's stop this insane march toward, I don't know what they're thinking, some sort of destruction, but using our most vulnerable Americans as negotiating points and leverage is just not, it's just not OK.

SANCHEZ: What is your response, secretary, to the lawsuit now filed by 25 states and the District of Columbia arguing that you're legally required to use those contingency funds to pay for these benefits? A lot of those states that are filing this lawsuit, eight of them were states that went for President Trump in the last election.

ROLLINS: Listen well, and all run by Democrat governors. I find it extremely rich that the elected Democrats of California and New York and Washington and Oregon, and by the way, all governors that I work with in USDA on a lot of these different programs, the SNAP waivers and getting healthier food into SNAP, et cetera. But I find it very rich that they are suing the Trump administration because their friends on the Hill won't vote yes to keep the government open.

Again, this is not complicated. We're not asking for more tax cuts. We're not asking for any myriad, a more secure -- more money for securing the border, the issues that we disagree on. We're not asking for any of that. We just want to keep the government going and then we can have these negotiations alongside that. But again, I believe that they're -- they have been very clear up on the Hill, the Democrats have, that they want to use this and they want to use those who are the poorest among us as leverage points to expand their policy agenda. And there's no doubt about that. And you and I can have a big discussion about ACA and subsidies and 400 percent of poverty level, and you know, what that looks like, and I'm happy to do that another time. But at the end of the day, what they are doing is holding these programs hostage so that they can move forward, what most Americans would say, should not be appropriate for policymaking using taxpayer dollars.

SANCHEZ: Secretary Brooke Rollins, we have to leave the conversation there. We look forward to the next one. Thanks for joining us.

ROLLINS: Boris, thank you very much.

SANCHEZ: Sure. So, air traffic controllers were supposed to get paid today, and instead this is what they got, nothing, zeros.

[13:50:00]

The head of the controller's union is now warning about declining safety as the shutdown continues. We'll discuss in just moments.

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KEILAR: Now, to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour, a Lufthansa passenger is accused of stabbing two teens with a metal fork and slapping a woman on a flight from Chicago to Germany. Authorities say one of the teens was stabbed in the shoulder, the other in the back of the head.

[13:55:00]

The flight was diverted to Boston where the Indian national was arrested over the weekend. He's charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and is facing up to 10 years in prison and a quarter million dollar fine.

Also, sources tell CNN the Trump administration has ordered FBI employees to search their workstations and digital files for recordings pertaining to Union Leader Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance 50 years ago. It's the latest unusual directive given to FBI workers who were told earlier this month to search for files related to Amelia Earhart's missing plane. Numerous efforts to solve the Jimmy Hoffa mystery, of course, over the decades have proved fruitless.

SANCHEZ: And a high-speed chase between a murder suspect on a motorcycle and police ending in a violent crash. An off-duty officer eventually intervening, you see it there, hitting the bike with his car. The suspect flying in the air, eventually airlifted to the hospital, said to be in stable condition. He's accused of killing a sheriff's deputy. Authorities say Deputy Andrew Nunez was fatally shot by the suspect during a domestic violence call. Nunez was a six-year veteran of the force and leaves behind a wife who's pregnant and a two-year-old daughter.

Air traffic controllers across the country were supposed to get paid today. Instead, they're getting this. Take a look at Paystub showing $0 deposited in their bank accounts, the first full paycheck they've missed since the government shutdown began 28 days ago.

KEILAR: Now, as some airports are dealing with these staffing shortages, some travelers worry their own flights could be less safe.

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DWAYNE BOUCAUD, TRAVELER: I know that there was at least one crash out of here not too long ago and there was an issue with the air traffic controllers then. And now that we have the government shutdown, I don't think that that's made it any better.

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KEILAR: CNN's Pete Muntean is at Reagan National Airport right outside of Washington, D.C. And Pete, Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy just spoke a short time ago. What's he saying about these staffing issues?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Not much new rhetoric from Trump Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy about a resolution to this government shutdown and a resolution to getting controllers paid again as they now go 28 days without pay. You mentioned that first $0 paycheck they just received. No wonder that many controllers are calling out sick in some areas. Remember, all it takes is a handful of controllers to call out sick in a certain spot to lead to this outsized impact.

And we have seen the staffing alerts pop up today from the Federal Aviation Administration in places that there are typically not staffing problems. Newark is a place where there are typically staffing problems, that is on the list today. But Atlanta is now emerging as a trouble spot. Also, air traffic control facilities in Denver, the Denver Center, responsible for tens of thousands of square miles of airspace over sort of the flyover area of the country, if you'll pardon the pun. And then also, the Denver Control Tower, that's a huge hub for United Airlines, and that will have a big impact as the day goes on.

We will see, though, thankfully, the delays in cancellations for today remain relatively low. This is what controllers are doing. They're really sort of taking this literally into their own hands here at Reagan National Airport and about 20 airports across the country. They're handing out these pamphlets. It's top of mind for travelers. Now, they're forcing travelers to really learn about this. They're at the curbside zone at airports here at O'Hare, at LAX, at Miami, at Tampa, handing out these pamphlets, telling folks to call their representatives to end the government shutdown now.

We will see if it has any real impact. I want you to listen now to air traffic controller, Peter Lefevre. He is a controller at the Dallas International Airport Control Tower in Virginia. He says this is a double whammy because his wife is also a federal employee, also not getting paid. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PETE LEFEVRE, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: My colleagues and I, we just don't know how long this is going to go. So right now, when you don't know when your next check is going to come, you have to make tough choices. You have to make sure that you can provide for the essentials, babysitting, gas, that type of thing. But, there's not an indefinite stream of savings and it's tough. It's tough. You just don't know when the next check is coming.

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MUNTEAN: Everybody's situation is a little bit different. Pete tells me also, remember that there have been about 275 staffing shortages since this government shutdown began, at air traffic control facilities across the country. That's about four times larger than during the same period a year ago.

SANCHEZ: And Pete, this is already a pretty stressful job. It has to be tough doing such a difficult gig while also not getting paid.

MUNTEAN: You have to consider the stress that controllers are already under, working mandatory six-day weeks of 10-hour shifts in some spots. It's a job that's so stressful. There is a mandatory retirement age of 56.5, and there is already a huge shortage of air traffic controllers nationwide. We're still short of --