Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump and China's Xi Set for High-Stakes Meeting; Hurricane Melissa Now a Strong Category 2 Storm, Still Slamming Cuba; Video Captures Texas Police Saving Baby Trapped in SUV Rollover Crash. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 29, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. At this hour, we're standing by for President Trump to meet with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping today in South Korea. It will be their first in-person meeting since 2019. On the agenda, discussing the trade war that Trump started. Here's what the president said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think we're going to have a deal. I think it'll be a good deal for both, and that's really a great result, you know? That's better than fighting and going through all sorts of problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining me now is Patricia Kim. She is a fellow at the Brookings Institution Center for Asian Policy Studies. Thank you so much for being here this morning.

Is this a moment where China is able to show the world that it is now on equal footing with the United States, perhaps a bit different from how things were six years ago when these two men met?

PATRICIA KINM, FELLOW, CENTER FOR ASIA POLICY STUDIES, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Oh, well, you know, that's a great question. I think at this highly anticipated meeting between Trump and Xi, the two sides are expecting to announce a framework agreement that extends the trade truce with China temporarily suspending its rare earth export control and the U.S. walking back from the threat of additional tariffs.

And so, you know, is this a sign of Chinese strength? I mean, certainly, I think there are Chinese expectations that the United States will make concessions, such as on export restrictions on chips. It has certainly flexed its strategic chokehold of rare earths that has given China this leverage to bring the U.S. to this point at the negotiating table.

SIDNER: These are some of the things we're showing on the screen of items on the agenda for the Trump administration, the cooperation to stem the flow of fentanyl, China to buy substantial amounts of soybeans, because they have bought none. And soybean farmers are frustrated as a retaliation from the huge amount of tariffs that the president is putting on China, that China could delay export controls on rare earth minerals.

Can you give me some sense of what do you think is the top item that they really want to work out when it comes to United States and what China's top item might be?

KIM: Well look, I think the focus really is on extending the trade truce while the two sides work towards a broader trade deal. I think markets would welcome the de-escalation of tensions between the world's two largest economies. I think China, you know, has come out strong in this current iteration of the trade war. It is said that it's ready, it won't back down in the face of us threats, but at the same time, it's ready to deal. We have seen an impact on Chinese exports to the United States because of the tariffs.

And so I think that there's an interest on both sides to sort of tamper down the tensions that we've seen. There's certainly an interest on the U.S. side for China to sort of suspend or reconsider its rare export curbs, which has an impact on U.S. and global industries on everything from cars to engines, to chips. And so I think there is an interest in both sides in climbing down from where they've come to.

SIDNER: I do want to show folks just the difference between how much rare earth China has in comparison with the rest of the world. And if you look at that number there, look at that, you can see how they just dominate the supply of rare earth there. China is the yellow bar there. They seem to hold all the cards here when it comes to the rare earth's argument. Why are they such a big bargaining chip that China can use to try to get some of its items on the agenda checked?

[09:35:01]

KIM: Well, China has slowly cultivated a dominance in rare earths in the production and science behind sort of producing these rare earth magnets, and the U.S. is sort of, you know, has been caught flat- footed. And so there's been an effort by the United States to try to diversify its sources of rare earths. We've seen President Trump strike deals with Japan, Thailand and others in the region while he's out in Asia for rare earth cooperation. But the fact is that, you know, this is going to take a very long time for the United States to reduce its dependence on China.

And so I think Beijing understands that it has a major tool that it can use at the negotiating table with the United States to buy itself time and space to really run ahead in the strategic competition with the United States.

SIDNER: Patricia Kim, it has been great talking to you on this subject this morning. Thank you so much, great conversation. John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. The new forecast for Hurricane Melissa, where it is headed next on its historic and destructive journey.

And you thought you had a complicated day. A woman is suing SeaWorld after she was knocked unconscious by a duck that flew into her face while she was riding a rollercoaster.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hurricane Melissa now moving toward the Bahamas as a Category 2 storm, packing winds of up to 105 miles per hour. The Bahamas are set to see a storm surge of up to eight feet, rainfall totals could be as much as ten inches.

The storm made landfall on Cuba overnight. The damaging hurricane force winds are expected to decrease and to start dissipating by this afternoon, but it packed a punch while it was there. And meanwhile, recovery efforts are really just getting underway in Jamaica, where the U.N. Agency Fighting Hunger, the World Food Programme, is among those that are there now on the ground to help.

Joining us right now is Brian Bogart. He's the lead -- He leads the World Food Programme's Caribbean office. Thank you for being here.

You're in Kingston. I understand. Brian, what are you and your teams seeing first in terms of the damage?

BRIAN BOGART, DIRECTOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME CARIBBEAN MULTI-COUNTY OFFICE: Well, I think what we're seeing is absolute and utter devastation, particularly in western parts of Jamaica, washed out roads, bridges, homes completely destroyed or submerged in floodwaters, storm surges that have come on to land and really devastated communities as well.

And what we are doing now is really just trying to get on the ground. We have teams that have deployed together with UNICEF and our partner in Jamaica, Food for the Poor, in coordination with government to begin the assessment and to begin to understand what the damage has been from this terrible storm.

BOLDUAN: Yes. First, you need to make this assessment and then you can jump in to help, as you well know.

The World Food Programme is going to be critical in getting food and more to all of the people impacted in Jamaica. What are your estimates now, and it may be early, of how many people are going to need your help and where it is really going to be needed most today?

BOGART: It's very difficult to say with certainty how many people are in need because we really have to get out there on the ground and begin to appreciate the scale of impact. But we are talking about at least hundreds of thousands of people and that some of those people in need assistance immediately.

So, what we're focused on is really trying to scale up the delivery of food assistance as quickly as possible to reach those people, and we're also working with partners across the U.N. system and the humanitarian community in support of the governor of Jamaica to set up logistics capacity for the delivery of that assistance, so mobile warehousing, staging areas that we can use to receive goods downstream, close to the affected communities, and we're also working at the international level to deliver assistance and coordination with governments around the world.

BOLDUAN: And getting the resources in and out is, you know, obviously a huge challenge when you're talking about an island nation.

This morning, the Kingston Airport remains closed. The Jamaican Minister of Energy and Transportation was just on with us and told John Berman that getting that airport up and running and open again is a top priority. What impact will that have and how hampered are efforts and will they be if airports have to remain closed?

I mean, obviously the airports are a lifeline in any emergency response. We need to get emergency workers on the ground and we need to be able to surge assistance through cargo planes. So, it is essentially the most critical aspect of enabling the response. But there's also the delivery of assistance at scale from maritime transport from ships. And we are looking at collaborating with governments from around the region to be able to deliver assistance by vessel to compliment that, which is coming in by air at scale.

BOLDUAN: All important and critical and coordinating it all, quite the job.

Brian, thank you very much for what you do, thank you so much for coming on. Good luck today. John?

BERMAN: All right. A baby trapped beneath an overturned car, the officers who flipped it over and got her breathing again.

And then fear of STD-infected monkeys on the run after a crash carrying medical research animals.

[09:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: New this morning, the woman is suing SeaWorld Orlando after she says a duck flew into her face while she was riding a rollercoaster and knocked her unconscious. The woman who was on the park's Mako rollercoaster is seeking $50,000 in damages for what she says is negligence by SeaWorld that left her injured. Her attorney says, quote, SeaWorld created a zone of danger for bird strikes due to placing the rollercoaster over or near a body of water, which creates a higher risk of bird strikes.

[09:50:05]

CNN affiliate WFTV says they did reach out to SeaWorld. So far, no response. Park officials typically though do not comment on pending lawsuits. An investigation is underway in Australia after an elderly cruise ship passenger was found dead after she was left behind on a tropical island. The woman who was in her 80s was reported missing on Saturday night after a check of the cruise ship confirmed she wasn't on the ship. Queensland Police said the woman's body was found Sunday on Lizard Island where the ship had docked a day earlier. They described her death as sudden, but not suspicious.

Happening now, officials in Mississippi searching for somebody that looks like that, at least one monkey, after a truck carrying several medical research monkeys overturned outside Jackson. Initially, the local sheriff's office said the monkeys were aggressive in carrying diseases, including herpes based on what the driver they said told deputies at the scene. As a result, all but one of the monkeys were actually killed.

But Tulane University, where the monkeys were housed and where they were traveling from, has since said the monkeys were not infectious. Kate?

BERMAN: I'll take it because she's speechless.

This morning, incredible video of police in Fort Worth, Texas, trying to save a one-year-old pinned inside an SUV that had rolled over in a crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, under here. We need to move the car.

I think the baby's under there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep moving. Keep moving. Keep moving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. They were able to flip the SUV upright, which is amazing in and of itself before an officer administered CPR on the baby who was not moving or breathing. After an excruciating three minutes, they got the sound they were waiting for.

Oh my.

All right, with us now, Sergeant Nichols and Officer Bounds from the Fort Worth Police Department who were there and saved a life. Guys, great to see you.

Just tell me what was going through your head. You see this overturned car, you see this one-year-old. What happened?

OFC. E. BOUNDS, FORT WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, we didn't really have a lot of time to think it happens. Everything happened so fast. We just happened to be in the area when the accident happened. And it was just one of those things where you just react without thinking almost. And just hope for the best. And I just -- I'm glad Sergeant was there with me. SGT. R. NICHOLS, FORT WORTH POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes. Obviously, when we rolled up, there wasn't much information. We kind of went on with the bystanders were saying, and it ended up leading to searching for a baby or anybody else that was involved, and we ended up finding the baby under there just by the luck of the search, really.

BOLDUAN: I mean, look, your training kicks in. You guys are amazing. But even just looking back and looking back at this body camera video, I mean, what goes through your mind even now when you see, look back at what happened and how it all went down?

NICHOLS: It's kind of unreal. Still, in the moment, you're just trying to figure out a plan of action, something to do. The baby was lifeless and the Lord was just at work. We're trusting on him to help us through the situation. And once he started breathing, it was just an unbelievable sigh of relief, that, okay, she's going to make it so let's keep working until we can actually get the medical assistance out here that we need.

And it was just a huge effort by -- everybody was there. You know, we couldn't have done it with every without all the citizens.

SIDNER: Is it right that the mom was thrown from the car? And I'm just curious how you realized there was still a child inside.

BOUNDS: Yes, it is true that the mother was thrown from the vehicle. And there was another bystander that was already on the ground looking through the car, digging through some of the rubble in the car. And he made a mention, I think there's a baby in here.

[09:55:00]

And so we just started looking and looking, and finally we're able to actually see the baby through the sunroof of the vehicle. Luckily it had a sunroof, so we could see into the -- and, you know, see the baby.

BERMAN: All right. So, talk to me about the CPR here, because training is one thing, it's another thing when you're holding this one-year-old child in your hands who isn't breathing or moving. Just talk to me about that.

NICHOLS: It's probably I've seen a lot in my 19 years. That was the most scary situation I've ever been in just because, you know, this baby is sitting there lifeless and it's extremely intimidating or everybody is expecting you to do something. You are expecting yourself to perform and you just go with what you know and trust that it is going to work out. And like I said, Officer Bounds was there trying to clear her airway and it worked. The training kind of kicked in and took over, and she came too.

BOLDUAN: And real quick, how -- have you heard, have you been able to, I don't know, reconnect with the mom and see the baby? I think I read that they're expected to make a full recovery, but what can you tell us? BOUNDS: I actually went up to the hospital the next morning and visited the mom because it was weighing on my mind all night, the night before. So, I went up to the hospital Friday morning and visited with the mom. Obviously, I couldn't see the baby. She was in a different hospital, but I did talk to the mom and some of the other family. And both the baby and the mom are supposed to make full recoveries.

BERMAN: Because of you.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: Because of you and what you both did there.

Sergeant Nichols, Officer Bounds, thank you so much for what you did. Thank you for sharing these moments with us. I know it, you know, hasn't just changed their lives, but probably changed your lives as well. Thank you.

SIDNER: A beautiful piece of humanity to leave everybody with.

NICHOLS: Sure. Thank you.

BOUNDS: Thank you.

SIDNER: Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you for joining us. This is CNN News Central. The Situation Room is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]