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Melissa Hits Cuba After Causing Widespread Destruction in Jamaica; Trump and China's Xi Set for High-Stakes Summit; Top 2025 CNN Heroes Revealed, Voting Begins at 12 p.m. Eastern. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired October 29, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We've seen so many pictures like this.

All right, happening now, monkey on the lam. Officials in Mississippi are looking for at least one monkey after a truck carrying several medical research monkeys overturned outside Jackson. Initially, the local sheriff's office says the monkeys were aggressive and carrying diseases including herpes based on what the driver told deputies at the scene.

As a result, all but one of the monkeys were killed. Tulane University, where the monkeys were housed, has since said the monkeys were not infectious.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

All right, breaking news. Hurricane Melissa with a new landfall, thrashing hundreds of thousands, dumping up to 25 inches of rain. Our reporter in the middle of it all.

And new this morning, a fresh prediction on huge hikes in health care premiums. How much you will feel and when.

And a 19 year old caught going more than 100 miles per hour, and when police pulled him over, he blamed his mother as one does.

I'm John Berman with Sara Sider and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get to the breaking news this morning. Just in a new forecast and new track for Hurricane Melissa as it is tearing across Cuba. Also coming into view now is the scope of the devastation in Jamaica from this historic storm.

Just look at that size. Melissa is now considered a strong category two hurricane after making landfall in Cuba overnight as what's deemed an extremely dangerous category three storm. So that's the change just this hour.

It is bringing still life threatening flash flooding up to 12 feet of storm surge with the potential for landslides. The hurricane is about the size of Texas. That's how big. About 770 miles across as it's moving across Cuba. The new update showing that it's hitting with maximum sustained winds now of 105 miles per hour. In Jamaica, the prime minister there has declared that whole island a disaster area after Melissa became the strongest storm ever to hit there. There are reports of catastrophic damage to homes, hospitals, schools and more than a half a million people there are without power.

Let's get back to CNN's Patrick Oppmann. He is in the middle of it in Cuba. Patrick, what's it looking like now?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: It's pretty ugly. The sun is coming up and you know, for about 12 hours we just continue to get hit by these wind gusts, torrential rain all night long. You can hear roofs being torn off trees coming down and tiles coming off roofs with incredible force and, you know, banging the side of the house where we are.

I'm in a hallway, very thick cement walls and that is what's keeping us safe being this very sturdy house. I think if I walked on the street I'd probably get knocked down by a wind gust and they come when they go and you can probably hear the wind right there. They're a lot less powerful than they were overnight.

You know, the wind was just screaming but still it's dangerous. Your guard goes down, you think you can go outside take a look around and then just a blast of wind comes in. So this is what people here in Cuba will be dealing with all day long.

We are in a blackout so people do not have power. It's been a blackout now for -- since late last night. And we have a generator that's why we can transmit.

Most people do not have that luxury here. So people hopefully are hunkering down. Police went by yesterday and announced that everyone needed to be inside until the storm passed.

It's taking a while though and Cuba is taking a beating in a slow moving storm. That just means that there's more time to inflict really, really terrible damage. The infrastructure here is already quite weak and so you just wonder how people have been able to get through this. And I think once we are able to go outside and look around a bit, we'll see some pretty stunning damage.

BOLDUAN: Yes, slow moving, giving more time for more rain to fall on what they already don't need more of. It's great to see you Patrick. Thank you for being there, being safe -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's go now to CNN's Chris Warren in the Weather Center for the latest forecast for us. But I do want to show you just quickly a couple of photos we just got in from one of the residents who is in Jamaica. We are trying to get in touch with her.

As you know, the communications there are difficult. But this is from Andrea Lee taking pictures of what looks like outside of her home. Bunch of trees down where she is on the northwestern side of the island.

There is expected to be extensive catastrophic damage on the western side of the island where the hurricane came through and the eye hit. We will talk to her hopefully in a bit once we establish communications with her.

[08:05:00]

But let's go back now to our fantastic meteorologist. First of all, give us some sense of where the storm is, what its power is at this point in time this morning.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Sara, right now it is in eastern Cuba, so it has left Jamaica and now in eastern Cuba, and it is weakening. The island itself, helping to disrupt the circulation of the storm and the fuel that these hurricanes need is the water. And so being over land helps to weaken them, the terrain also helps to weaken this storm. But still, 105 miles per hour sustained hurricane, a Category 2 hurricane. It's picking up speed now, so that is something we look for and hope for when we're talking about the rain threat.

But the winds are still up there, north-northeast at 14 miles an hour. Zooming in a bit, you can see the brighter colors associated with the bigger parts of the storms, more capable of dropping a lot more rain and producing some of the stronger winds. Where it's going next, it's heading to the Bahamas.

By early this afternoon, the center of the hurricane will be back over water. And then the speed, again, the faster it goes, the less time it has to drop more rain. But there's still, with these tropical systems, going to be enough of that heavy rain to produce some flooding.

Up to 120 mile an hour winds, still a possibility for parts of the Bahamas. And here, even late tonight, going into the overnight hours, still dealing with the effects in terms of the wind as far as the rain goes. The red, the orange, that's some of the heaviest rainfall that we're going to be seeing, and eventually it will kick out of here.

Now, as we look at the amount of rain, you see the red in here, that's 6 inches, 10 inches. If that happens in a short period of time, there will be some flash flooding. Also, the winds themselves can push water, the seawater, up and into some of these areas.

And where this all began here, a rapidly intensifying storm, and as we saw, making that turn Category 5 and making landfall right here. Sara, we do know that there is likely to be a lot of devastation with this, and now that we're seeing the day after, with the daylight, we're likely to learn a lot more going forward.

SIDNER: Yes, and as we said, communication's hard there right now, and I know our crews are also heading to that area to see just how bad it is. Chris Warren, I thank you so much for giving us the very latest on the storm -- John.

BERMAN: All right, it's pretty clear I'm not allowed to run. Why a fairly well-known politician just seemed to pull himself out of 2028 contention.

Millions of Americans about to see their insurance premium skyrocket, a brand new forecast that could cost you.

And then a driver seen pulling a gun on a man walking his dog. Police say this was a case of road rage.

[08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So we are standing by for President Trump to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during meetings in South Korea. This will be their first in-person meeting since 2019. Boy, do they have a lot to discuss, including this trade war that has upended the world economy.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is in South Korea, where the meeting will take place. Kristen, this is a big one.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, it really is. And what you've heard from President Trump over the last several days is a growing optimism. He started the week, he started the trip, essentially saying he didn't know what he would get out of it.

When we asked White House officials, they said it was just an opportunity for the two leaders to sit face-to-face. Now you're hearing President Trump say he believes he's going to come out of this meeting with a deal. Now, a couple of things are going on here.

One, we know that the Chinese negotiators and the United States negotiators have been in constant contact. They had meetings on the sides of Malaysia in which they came up with a framework for a potential trade deal. Now this touched on a lot of different issues.

Potentially China buying a substantial amount of soybeans from American farmers, which of course would be huge for those American farmers. In addition to that, the idea that China would defer their tightening controls on rare minerals. They would obviously have been trying to tighten those export controls, which was causing the price to raise, which also caused President Trump to say he was going to retaliate with 100 percent tariffs.

Neither side here wants to come out of this embarrassed, and both sides are seeking to de-escalate, to try and get away from the tension that is, as you said, disrupting the world economy. Now President Trump has made a series of deals since he's been here in Asia, including tonight he announced that he had made a trade deal with South Korea. We have no details on that, but of course that is something that South Korea has been working for for some time since they got imposed those 15 percent tariffs, which dramatically impacted their economy.

So that could be playing into the momentum that President Trump is feeling as well. One thing to keep in mind, President Xi would not have gone into this meeting, we know this is the way he operates, without an agenda, without a plan. His advisors have been in constant touch with the White House.

So again, if both sides are portraying some sort of optimism, it makes you think that there is something in place that they're going to sign off on, or at least they have plans to, but of course nothing is done until it's done.

BERMAN: Yes, I'll be interested to see how much this takes it back beyond just last April, like pre-April, whether or not this trade deal, whatever announcements come with China, are merely back there or goes even further, but that'll take a day or two to figure out. Kristen Holmes, great to have you there. Thanks so much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So right now Hurricane Melissa is hitting Cuba after devastating Jamaica as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes ever. People there, waking up to -- waking up to now, just begin to assess the damage of what they're looking at.

[08:15:00]

Plus, why Bill Gates is now calling on the world to pivot, pivot focus and resources away from battling climate change to what he sees as a more pressing threat to humanity.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This morning, CNN Heroes is back. For the last 19 years, this campaign has shined a bright light on the extraordinary work of everyday people changing the world in a very real way. And we're sharing some of their inspiring stories with you every week.

And now to announce the top five CNN heroes of 2025, the man, the myth, the legend, Anderson Cooper is here. Nineteen years!

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I know, it's crazy.

BOLDUAN: I mean, you started when you were seven. It was wild.

[08:20:00]

COOPER: That's right. Yes, I was barely a toddler.

BOLDUAN: It's such an amazing thing. I love when we do it every year and how you lead the way.

COOPER: Yes. So these are the top five CNN heroes. They've been nominated by viewers all over the world.

And we have whittled it down to the top five and we are announcing them for the first time. These are five amazing individuals who are really helping to change the world. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): In Chicago, Quilen Blackwell is cultivating opportunities for low income youth to blossom. His social enterprise transforms vacant lots on the city's south side into flower farms, training and empowering young people to grow, harvest and sell the blooms.

From San Rafael, California, Heidi Carman and her nonprofit are on a mission to ease the stress of first responders, connecting them with visits from certified therapy dogs that bring much needed comfort and relief.

In Los Angeles, former assistant director Hillary Cohen is making sure that gourmet meals left over from TV and film sets aren't going to waste. Her nonprofit rescues excess food and delivers it to people in need, saving it from landfills and reducing hunger.

From Indianapolis, former crime reporter Debra Des Vignes is using the power of writing to transform lives behind bars. Her program helps incarcerated people process trauma, build community and share their stories.

And in Gallatin, Tennessee, Tim Woodward and his Animal Rescue Corps respond to large scale cruelty cases, mobilizing to save lives from further suffering and give them a fresh start.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: As you see that screen right there, voting opens --

COOPER (on camera): Yes, voting opens at noon today. You can vote up to 10 times a day. You can spread your votes around. You go to any -- use any device to vote.

It's at cnn.com/heroes.

BOLDUAN: The important thing is it's -- one, it is a huge platform and microphone for their cause always.

COOPER: Right, absolutely.

BOLDUAN: But they also win money. What does the CNN Hero win?

COOPER: Each CNN Hero is awarded $10,000 to continue their life- changing work. The Elevate Prize Foundation also gives them training and helps them with their work. And then the winner, who's selected by our viewers, by anybody out there, wins an additional $100,000.

BOLDUAN: I still am in touch with some of the heroes that have sat at my table over the years. It's such an amazing night for them, and it's such an amazing night for us. Do you enjoy standing on the stage?

You have to work that night. We get to enjoy and celebrate.

COOPER: It's fun though. Laura Coates is my co-host. And yes, it's always fun to see these people who are -- you know, they don't have access to resources necessarily, money.

They just had a great idea. They wanted to do something. They rolled up their sleeves and they started doing it.

And it's great to be able to kind of give them a microphone to amplify their work and also the reward as well.

BOLDUAN: And they have very real, tangible ideas of what they want to do with the $10,000+.

COOPER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Like they have plans of what they can do with their cause.

COOPER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: It's awesome to see you.

COOPER: Yes. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks for waking up so early, buddy.

COOPER: Thank you so much.

BOLDUAN: Up, here she comes.

SIDNER: Like the rest of America, I'm stalking you. I'm just happy to see you here this morning. And this is such a good show.

Like I cry every single year.

COOPER: I know. I know.

SIDNER: It's beautiful.

COOPER: I always say I'm not going to. And then suddenly I find myself.

BOLDUAN: There's always a moment.

SIDNER: You can't help it.

COOPER: I know.

SIDNER: Love to see you here this morning.

COOPER: See you.

BOLDUAN: Yes. She is stalking you. Don't worry, the security's off. Don't worry.

BOLDUAN: I'm here for you. How do you all feel about Anderson? There's a lot of muscle in here this morning.

So five amazing individuals and you can help decide which one of them will become 2025's Hero of the Year. A reminder, go to CNN.com/heroes starting today at 12 noon Eastern and vote every day for the hero that inspires you the most -- Sara, my dear.

SIDNER: Vote, vote, vote.

All right, still ahead. Sticker shock. Health insurance premiums jumping as much as 25 percent, costing people hundreds, if not thousands of dollars more. What you might be able to do about this, new CNN reporting ahead.

And special hacking teams, covert cyber attacks, and secret operations. What we're learning about CIA action around Venezuela. Those stories and more ahead.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Happening now. Hurricane Melissa slamming parts of Cuba and moving north towards the Bahamas. While in Jamaica, recovery efforts are beginning after they took a direct hit when Melissa was a Category 5 storm.

The prime minister there has declared the entire country a disaster area. Neighborhoods flooded, roofs ripped off, and power lines knocked down. You see the ferocity of the winds in this video here.

We know, though, that Kingston was spared, but the western part of the island could have sustained catastrophic structure failure. CNN's Derek Van Dam was there as the storm raged through and has more on the aftermath this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Damaging winds are subsiding in Jamaica, but now it is a race against time to get the critical aid to the hardest hit areas, especially over the western parts of the country, where major Hurricane Melissa made landfall. The prime minister actually declaring the entire country a disaster area to prevent price gouging. We have hundreds of thousands of people without power. And as of late on Tuesday, internet activity -- connectivity actually dropped to just 30 percent of normal levels across the entire country.

Now the threats still remain, even though the storm has moved well offshore.

[08:30:00]