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Alabama Man Accused of Planning to Attack Synagogues Arrested; Federal Reserve Cut Interest Rates by 0.25 Percent; Hurricane Melissa Targeting Bahamas as Category 2 Storm; Millions of Americans May Lose Food Assistance Saturday; Trump Fires Board That Oversees White House Design. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired October 29, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- he could have carried out such an attack. Of course, this is so alarming on so many levels. The -- one being of course, an anti-Semitic incident, another one, the ADL reporting that it's now seeing in the last year, the most it has ever seen since reporting and keeping track of anti-Semitic incidents.

But again, a good thing is authority reacted quickly on this and the investigation is still ongoing.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": All right, Brynn, thank you for the latest on that. And a new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

To cut or not to cut, the Federal Reserve is set to release its decision on interest rates in moments. We'll look at whether they cut the benchmark rate and if they could go further in the future.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Plus, dangerous and growing, the windfield from Hurricane Melissa getting bigger while hard-hit places like Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti are confronting devastation left behind by the storm. A new forecast was just released moments ago. And a SNAP judgment, food benefits that are desperately needed by millions of Americans may be cut off by the government shutdown. Parents face the possibility of being unable to feed their families. We are following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

We start this hour with Breaking News, the Federal Reserve just making its decision on interest rates. And notably, it's a decision that comes without critical economic data used by the Central Bank to make monetary policy.

KEILAR: Yeah, that would be helpful to have. Let's get to CNN's Matt Egan who's at the Fed. Matt, obviously, we're all awaiting this. What can you tell us?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, the Fed just delivered an interest rate cut and it is the quarter point cut that was widely expected. So, this is the second straight interest rate cut from the Fed and it does lower Fed rates to the lowest level in three years. This shows that Fed officials are clearly more concerned about weakness in the job market than they are about stubborn inflation.

Fed officials in the statement that they just put out moments ago, they reiterated that risk to employment rose in recent months and that job gains have slowed this year. Now, what's unusual here with this decision is the fact that the Fed had to make it while flying mostly blind. Because of the government shutdown, many of the indicators that officials typically rely on were not available. That means that this was the first time since the Fed's Rate Setting Committee was established back in the 1930s, that they had to decide on interest rates without the monthly Jobs Report.

And the Fed's statement, it did allude to this problem, which is a big problem for Fed officials that consider themselves data dependent. There's just not much data out right now. But they did insert some new language that alluded to this. They -- for instance, Fed officials said that available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Previously, they said recent indicators. Also, Fed officials said that the unemployment rate has edged up but remained low through August. That's because we don't know what the unemployment rate was as of September.

And in this statement, they also said that more recent indicators are consistent with these developments. That seems to be a reference to some of those private alternative economic numbers that get put out and that we know Fed officials look out. So, what does all this mean for viewers at home? It does mean that borrowing costs are coming down. This is helpful for people who have credit card debt, home equity, lines of credit as well. And I do think that this does show that right now, the big focus for Fed officials remains on protecting the job market. They clearly are not as concerned about stubborn inflation. Boris and Brianna?

SANCHEZ: And Matt, what are you going to be listening for from Jay Powell, the Fed Chair, when he speaks moments from now?

EGAN: Well, first off, everyone wants to know what is Fed Chair, Jerome Powell thinking as far as an interest rate cut at the next meeting in December, and what about early next year? Also, what is Powell going to say about what are the economic indicators that he's looking at during this government shutdown? I'm interested to hear what he says about some A.I. driven layoffs such as the mass layoffs that we heard about from Amazon as well.

And just one last point for you, this was not a unanimous decision. 10 officials, including Jerome Powell, voted in favor of this quarter point cut. One official voted for no change at all. That was Kansas City Fed President, Jeffrey Schmid, and one official voted for an even bigger cut. Not surprisingly, that official is Fed Governor, Stephen Miran. Back to you guys.

KEILAR: All right, Matt Egan at the Fed, thank you. And as Hurricane Melissa barrels toward The Bahamas as a Category 2 storm, we're getting a brand new look at some of the damage in hard-hit Jamaica. This is video that just came in from Santa Cruz, Jamaica, that's located in the southwest part of the island. We're seeing stalled vehicles mired there in mud, tons of mud as you can see, and with 77 percent of the island with no power. Officials are still trying to really get a sense of just how extensive the devastation is from the strongest hurricane Jamaica has ever experienced.

[14:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was terrible. The wind, it was violent, it was terrible for all of us. I have a son here and believe me, he was actually crying, so we were all full up (ph) and we are -- we was (ph) just weeping.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Government officials say it's too early to know how many were killed or hurt by this historic storm, and that's because teams are struggling to get to the western part of the island, which took that direct hit. And Melissa is far from done as it is heading out of the Caribbean. Now The Bahamas is preparing for the hurricane, which could bring life-threatening storm surge. More than 1,500 people just evacuated.

And we're joined now by Michael Brennan, the Director of the National Hurricane Center. I know Michael, there's a sense, as a Cat 5, it just went through Jamaica, horrific. It's still a big storm, right, in The Bahamas, it is in the path of it. Tell us what you're watching.

MICHAEL BRENNAN, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Yeah. The Bahamas are very vulnerable to, as you just talked about, storm surge. Very low-lying islands here in parts of the southeast Bahamas, especially like Crooked Island, Acklins, could see four to seven feet of inundation above ground level near to the right of where the center moves through the southeastern Bahamas, as we go through the next few hours. Hurricane-force winds, you have the maximum winds in Melissa around a hundred miles per hour right now.

The good news is that the storm is moving faster now off to the northeast at 15 miles per hour. So it'll be moving through The Bahamas a lot more quickly than it moved through Jamaica, but still expecting to see five to 10 inches of rainfall across parts of The Bahamas. A lot of water for those low-lying islands to contend with here as we go through the afternoon and into tonight.

KEILAR: And so, I mean, that really is a difference, right? Jamaica, the mountains actually creating --

BRENNAN: Yeah.

KEILAR: -- some of the dangers, but also slowing down the storm. In The Bahamas, I was reading that the vast majority of the islands and anyone who's been there knows this, it is so low lying. We're talking about -- so much of it about just a meter over sea level. How does that change how people are preparing there?

BRENNAN: Yeah. Well, there the concern for across a lot of these islands is storm surge. You are talking about the elevation, might be three feet or less. If you're talking about four to seven feet of inundation, you could see, especially the smaller islands, see a lot of inundation there. That inundation could be accompanied by dangerous waves on top of the storm surge, that can be deadly and can destroy homes, can move cars. So, you're going to try to move people out of those low-lying areas, but you also have to contend with the high winds and the heavy rainfall as well. So that potent mixture of hazards is going to be there for parts of The Bahamas. It's different than Jamaica, but still dangerous nonetheless.

KEILAR: And Michael, I wanted to ask you, because there have been these viral videos on different social media platforms. They're not real. I'm not sure if you've heard about them, but they're A.I. generated.

BRENNAN: Yeah.

KEILAR: It's total misinformation, right? Sharks swimming in hotel pools, Kingston's Airport wiped out. And I'm sure a lot of people who look at them, maybe they don't even know, right? They get -- there's so many views on these things, they don't necessarily know. But for you, as someone who's in the business of giving people accurate information to try to help save lives, what kind of concerns does that raise for you, when that kind of stuff is out there?

BRENNAN: Well, in an aftermath of a catastrophic event like Melissa in Jamaica, it takes a long time, as you've already been talking about, to get the true picture of what happened. There aren't a lot of images. There's not a lot of people who can get information out of the most heaviest hit areas, hardest hit areas. Can't get people in to check on that. So it's just an important reminder for people to find your trusted sources of information, whether it's for weather information, emergency information from your local government officials, your local meteorological services, your trusted local media. Make sure you know where that information is coming from and that you have that trust in it to understand and digest that as it comes in.

KEILAR: Yeah. It's so important. Michael Brennan, thank you for bringing that trusted information to us. We really, really appreciate it, at the National Hurricane Center. Thank you.

So we'll have a lot more on Hurricane Melissa, including the utter devastation left behind in parts of Jamaica where, honestly, we are still trying to get a sense of the extent of the damage there as officials are struggling to search for victims amid widespread damage.

SANCHEZ: Plus, 42 million Americans are just days away from losing their SNAP benefits amid the government shutdown. We're going to speak with a mom who's worried about how she's going to feed her kids. That and much more coming your way on "CNN News Central."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:14:14]

SANCHEZ: As millions of Americans face losing critical food aid because of the government shutdown, Senate Democratic Leader, Chuck Schumer today says he is willing to vote for a Republican-led bill extending food stamp benefits.

KEILAR: He's pressuring Senate GOP leadership to bring the measure up for a vote but Republican Leader, John Thune says the Senate will not consider standalone bills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, (D-NY) MINORITY LEADER OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE: There's a bill right now from Senator Hawley, a Republican, a conservative Republican that could ensure SNAP is funded. It has Republican and Democratic support. It's a bill I'd happily support and vote for. And as soon as Thune would let Hawley put it on the House floor, it will pass, plain and simple.

SEN. JOHN THUNE, (R-SD) MAJORITY LEADER OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE: Democrats really want to fund SNAP and WIC.

[14:15:00]

We have a bill for them, clean, non-partisan CR to fund SNAP, WIC, and the entire federal government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The Trump administration has also said it will not dip into an emergency fund to keep the program running. We're joined now by Joel Berg, the CEO of Hunger Free America and Kasey McBlais, a SNAP recipient concerned about losing her benefits. Kasey, thank you so much for being with us and really telling people what it's like here. So if you don't receive your SNAP benefits after Saturday, what happens to you and your family?

KASEY MCBLAIS, SNAP RECIPIENT CONCERNED ABOUT LOSING BENEFITS: Oh, thank you so much for having me here. So, losing SNAP for my family and my children would mean tightening our budget, of course. I won't let my children go hungry. They're going to be fed. So for me, it will be a matter of picking and choosing which bill I can go a month without paying. It will mean meal planning even more than I already do.

I have a seven and a five-year-old. My seven-year-old has autism, ADHD and anxiety. And so, along with that comes some sensory sensitivities. Meal planning is already pretty challenging for him, so it will just look like being more strategic than I already am.

SANCHEZ: Kasey, I wonder what your message is to President Trump and to lawmakers, specifically on funding for SNAP in part because so much of what we've heard regarding this government program, like from Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, is that there's a lot of abuse and waste and fraud, and that a lot of folks are getting these benefits that don't deserve them. What's your response to that and what do you say to these folks?

MCBLAIS: I think every system is bound to have some fraud and corruption. I think we all know that. But the majority of families like my own are not abusing the system. I am a working professional mom, a single mom. I work as many hours as I possibly can without having childcare. I live in a rural area in Maine and there aren't any childcare options, especially one that can meet the needs of my autistic son. So, the majority of us are not abusing the system.

We're your neighbors, we are your coworkers. We are the parents at pickup. We're Republicans, we're Democrats, we're independents. We're foster and adoptive families. We all use SNAP. It is not a partisan issue.

KEILAR: Yeah. And Joel, Agriculture Secretary Rollins has told us that the USDA can't legally tap its contingency fund to pay for November benefits. Even if they could, it wouldn't be enough. How do you see it?

JOEL BERG, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, HUNGER FREE AMERICA: Well, President Trump told CNN just last Friday night that the federal government could and would. So, I wish they'd get their story straight. I did work at USDA for eight years, and I do believe they have administrative authority to do this. If they really believe they don't, then they should get Senator Thune, as Senator Schumer said, to bring this bill to the House floor. I know Senator King from Maine will vote for this.

The question is whether Senator Collins will. 42 million Americans are about to lose $8 billion worth of food, and over 260,000 food retailers are about to lose that money. So this is an emergency, and frankly, the Republicans need to act now.

SANCHEZ: And speaking to Secretary Rollins yesterday, Joel, she deflected from the idea that there was a legal obligation for USDA to use that contingency fund -- I believe it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 billion -- to fund SNAP, even though what would be required for November is something to the tune of $9 billion. This administration has used donations to pay members of the military. They have used tariff money to fund other interests. Is it really hard to believe that they wouldn't be able to find somewhere to funnel government funds to be put to a program that helps feed some 40 million Americans?

BERG: Your question frankly answers itself. They're giving tens of billions of dollars to Argentina to help an American billionaire, even though that's going to hurt American cattle producers. Obviously if there is a will, there is a way. If President Trump and the Republicans in Congress wanted to make sure 42 million Americans wouldn't go hungry, they would ensure that today.

KEILAR: Kasey, we are so glad that you were here.

[14:20:00]

Putting -- we talk so much about SNAP and frequently we're not hearing from people who are on SNAP. And I know you've also said that you feel shame sometimes using SNAP and I know there's a lot of people who feel that way. Can you tell us a little bit about that and maybe how that flares kind of in the middle of this debate. Especially, is there -- is a talking point out there that there's a lot of people abusing it?

MCBLAIS: I can, yeah. So, I separated from my former husband in January of 2023. And after that happened, I applied for SNAP. And it was the first time in my life that I had ever applied for public assistance. I fought lots of feelings of shame and embarrassment, and I still do. The narrative that is out there that really just perpetuates the stigma that we're lazy, we don't want to work, that we feed our children junk food, it's frankly just not true. And it's harmful and it's very hurtful. And I think it helps to prevent families from really reaching out when they do need help.

Access to food should be a human right. Children deserve food security. And I wish that folks would lead with compassion and assume positive intent.

SANCHEZ: Kasey McBlais, Joel Berg, thank you both for being with us. Please stay in touch as we get closer to Saturday to see if there is a resolution. We'd love to hear from you again.

BERG: Thank you.

MCBLAIS: OK. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much. Still to come, a source says that an entire commission dedicated to advising the president on design has been fired. What we're learning as the president pushes forward with the construction of a massive new White House ballroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:26:42]

SANCHEZ: A source says the White House fired the Federal Arts Board that would've advised on plans for President Trump's new White House ballroom.

KEILAR: Since returning to office, Trump has made dramatic changes, paving over the Rose Garden, gilding the Oval Office, and demolishing the East Wing. And the president is proposing a permanent arch in Washington. It's being called the 'Arc de Trump' to mark America's upcoming 250th anniversary. CNN's Alayna Treene is with us now. She has more on this. Alayna, do we know why the White House fired those committee members and what it is going to mean going forward?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: We don't know the reasoning and the White House has not yet provided it. I will say, a White House official has confirmed that the president and the White House had ousted these six members of the Commission on Fine Arts, but did not give further reasoning. Of course, the timing of this is notable because of all the construction projects that the president is going to do.

And just to take a bigger look at this, Boris and Brianna, the Commission on Fine Arts is an independent federal agency. It's typically been charged with advising the president, but also Congress and the City of Washington, D.C. on all matters of design and aesthetics. And these six members, I would note, they were actually appointed by the former President Joe Biden to four-year terms. Those terms were expected to expire either in 2028 or even beyond that we were told.

They were all told that they were being, essentially, their positions terminated in an email from a member of the Presidential Personnel Office and essentially read that, "On behalf of President Donald Trump, I'm writing to inform you that your position as a member of the Commission on Fine Arts is terminated effective immediately." And again, the reason for this is still unclear, but the timing of it isn't.

We know that the president, someone who of course is a real estate developer himself, he has a heavy background in that and has not been shy about all the changes he wants to see around the city. This comes, we know he's building that triumphal arch. He actually picked it up and showed it around to a group of donors who came to the White House earlier this month. He's planning that. He's also planning, of course, his new presidential ballroom. It's something that has really required the demolition of the entire East Wing. He's paved over the White House Rose Garden, putting in umbrellas that are very similar to the style of his Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.

The list goes on. And this commission, it was actually created in 1910, would typically be involved in a lot of these decisions. What's unclear is what's going to happen next, who might continue to advise on this, but it isn't keeping with some of the firings we've seen at other commissions as well, such as the National Capital Planning Commission. We also know he got rid of some of the people who were on the board of the non-partisan Holocaust Memorial here in D.C. So we'll have to see where this leads.

KEILAR: All right. Alayna Treene, live for us at the White House. Thank you.

Still ahead, a look at Hurricane Melissa's widespread destruction in Jamaica as residents begin to pick up the pieces and many are left without homes. We're going to talk to a Jamaican official on what's needed right now to help the island.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)