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Israel-Hamas War Marks Two Years; French P.M. Resigns, Macron to Decide on the Fate of French Politics; Taylor Swift Raked Box Office Returns for Her Limited-Release Movie. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 07, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.

Israelis remember those killed and taken hostage on their second anniversary of the Hamas attack, with renewed hope for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Trouble for Donald Trump's National Guard takeover, how leaders in Oregon and Illinois are challenging the President's deployment of the National Guard.

Plus, leaked documents reveal Russia is training China's military for a possible invasion.

And later, it's the first supermoon of the year.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: It is a day of commemorations and mourning in Israel as the country marks two years since Hamas's deadly attack. Crowds have been visiting the Nova Music Festival site where hundreds were killed when Hamas militants stormed the area near the Gaza border in 2023.

And in Tel Aviv, a clock in Hostages Square shows the time that's passed since the attack took place. Israelis are set to gather there to mark the somber anniversary.

The kibbutz of Nir Oz, which was hit hard during the attack, held its own memorial ahead of the two-year mark. In total, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.

There are still 48 being held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. There's hope in Israel that they will return home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: All of the country, it's like all of our heart is not complete until they are home. In everything that we are doing, they are all the time in our mind and I really hope that this agreement will actually happen and will bring everybody home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The anniversary comes as a second day of indirect talks are set to begin in Egypt between Israel and Hamas. Delegations are working toward a final deal based on Donald Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan.

The talks, though, have not stopped Israeli attacks. Smoke could be seen rising above Gaza today. According to the health ministry in the enclave, more than 67,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed over the last two years. Here's what the U.S. President had to say about efforts to end the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think we're going to have a deal. Look, it's a hard thing for me to say that when for years and years they've been trying to have a deal with Gaza. I can't think of any country that's been negative about this.

This is why it should happen. I mean, everybody wants it to happen. And usually when everybody, including, I think, Hamas, and when they want it to happen, it's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Paula Hancocks is following developments and joins us live now from Abu Dhabi. So Paula, as Israelis mark this tragic two- year anniversary, how are they remembering their loved ones and what more are you learning about a potential peace deal that would finally bring the remaining hostages home?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, we will be seeing commemorations across the whole of Israel throughout the day. We have been seeing some at the Nova music festival, the site where almost 400 were killed on this day two years ago, and dozens were taken hostage. Now, we have been seeing some of the families of those victims going to pay their respects.

There's been a minute's silence at the time when the attack started two years ago today. And we see the placards throughout that site with the names and the photos of the victims of the Nova music festival nearby as well in some kibbutzim along the Gaza border. We will be seeing commemoration.

We did see commemorations on Monday from one of the worst hit kibbutz Nir Oz, this is a kibbutz where 65 residents were killed and some 83 taken hostage. According to the kibbutz, nine of them are still being held by Hamas and other groups in Gaza.

[03:05:02]

So we are seeing many commemorations around the country. The state's commemoration won't happen until October 16th. They follow the Hebrew calendar.

So what we're seeing today is the people of Israel coming together. And later today in hostage square in Tel Aviv, we will be seeing more and more residents of Israel coming to pay their respects, to commemorate those who have been affected, but also to call for this ceasefire hostage deal to be finalized. What we are seeing at the moment in Cairo is potentially this deal being finalized.

We have heard as you played there, Rosemary, some very positive words from the U.S. President Donald Trump saying that he believes that there will be a deal that is going to happen, that everybody wants it to happen and so that it should happen.

Now we know that we're going into the second day of these indirect talks between Israel and Hamas. Now we've heard from Egypt's state- affiliated media Al-Qaeda saying it's quote, "amid a positive atmosphere."

Now there's mediators from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, all present trying to put pressure on both sides to finalize this deal, this 20 point plan that the U.S. president Donald Trump has officially unveiled. He says he has the approval of Arab and Muslim nations, of nations around the world, of Israel. Hamas has agreed at least a part of it, other parts that we know that they would not be wanting to agree to, they simply haven't publicly acknowledged.

So the talks will happen today on a very somber day in Israel and there are the hopes that this somber day could also mark a time when we get closer to that ceasefire hostage deal. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi with that live report. Many thanks.

Ambassador Dennis Ross joins us now. He is a counselor and distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Thank you, sir, for joining us.

DENNIS ROSS, COUNSELOR AND DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: Hello. Good to be with you.

CHUCH: So on this second anniversary of the horrifying October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel, high stakes talks are underway in Egypt in an effort to end the war in Gaza. Donald Trump's peace plan aiming to release all the hostages, put a ceasefire in place and negotiate what happens to Gaza after Israel withdraws.

So how much hope do you have that President Trump's plan will offer a path to peace and an agreement on an Arab-led governing body for Gaza?

ROSS: Well, I have some hope, I think there is a possibility now. I think President Trump has a great deal of leverage on Mr. Netanyahu. I think he also has leverage on the key Arab states in this as well and there's an interesting convergence of interest in wanting to see an end to the war.

Now, I feel fairly confident, as much as one can be in these circumstances, that there is that we will see the hostages get released. The real issue is going to be what kind of a pathway is going to be negotiated in light of the 20 points.

The 20 points are broad guidelines, but they won't implement themselves. There are different interpretations over the meaning of almost everyone.

So there's going to have to be a pretty systematic negotiation that goes on with teams of people. It starts, of course, with working out the details of the release of the hostages and the Palestinian prisoners.

CHURCH: And Ambassador, you recently wrote in an opinion piece for the "Washington Post," I'm quoting here: "Netanyahu is a master at agreeing and then introducing all sorts of issues to delay or water down implementation. But if Trump uses his leverage to bring Bibi (and the Arabs) along and produces on the possibilities in the plan on the table, he might yet get the Nobel Peace Prize that he covets."

So, sir, how likely is it that Trump uses his considerable leverage over Netanyahu to make this happen and gets Israel to agree to a total withdrawal from Gaza?

ROSS: Well, we certainly got an indication of it already, because the President very quickly responded to the Hamas answer, an answer that basically focused only on the hostages and technocratic government or administration and didn't address any of the other issues, didn't address the issue of disarmament, didn't address the issue of withdrawal, so didn't really address the issue of an international stabilization force, so didn't really address any of those.

[03:10:08]

So you really have two sides here that may be trying to stretch out or define the meaning of each of these points in a way that serves them more. That's why I say he has leverage on the Israelis and certainly Prime Minister Netanyahu, but I think he also has leverage on the key Arab states, too.

It's interesting that both Qatar and Turkey were putting pressure on Hamas to be responsive. So there's a convergence of interest in wanting to see the end of the war. I think it's going to take a really sustained effort.

That's the point. This is not something that you put out there and hope it takes care of itself. This is something that's going to have to be negotiated, the feet are going to have to be held to the fire.

It's very important to maintain momentum, which I think has just begun, but has to be sustained.

CHURCH: Ambassador, President Trump said over the weekend that Hamas faces complete obliteration if it refuses to give up power and control of Gaza. How likely is it that Hamas will agree to all this?

ROSS: I think there's a distinction between the internal Hamas and the external Hamas. From everything I hear from Palestinians I know in Gaza, they're saying that the internal Hamas is ready to end it. It's the external Hamas that is not, but the external Hamas is also much more subject to pressure from Qatar and from Turkey.

So I think there is a chance this process gets underway. But as I said, look, there's going to be a tendency to try to reinterpret points, to try to define them the way that fits the needs of each side. So we'll have to see but I think if you get the process begun, it will not be so easy to stop it.

CHURCH: And sir, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of this war. And you've written about the fact that no one has represented the needs of the Palestinian people, not Hamas, not the IDF. Could this plan change all that and will the new Arab-led administration protect that population and offer them a brighter future?

ROSS: I think, by the way, that's the key to, in the end, what Hamas will decide. The reality is that if you get an international stabilization force in there, and it's not only addressing the needs of Palestinians, but also protecting them from efforts by Hamas to coerce or intimidate, their collective attitude right now is driven by just the desire to live, to breathe, to be able just to reestablish their lives.

If they see Hamas preventing that, they, I think you'll see, you'll see them turn up the heat on Hamas inside Gaza. And if they have protection, again, from what will be Palestinian forces that are trained from international stabilization force, I do think that creates the greatest promise of seeing this get fulfilled.

CHURCH: Ambassador Dennis Ross, thank you so much for joining us, I appreciate it.

ROSS: My pleasure with you.

CHURCH: The political crisis in France is deepening after the resignation of yet another prime minister. Like those before him, Sebastien Lecornu failed to build a stable majority. Unlike his predecessors, he lasted just weeks, not months.

And that's leaving the French president with few options. Emmanuel Macron has asked Lecornu to hold talks with political rivals one more time in hopes of a breakthrough, with an answer expected by Wednesday. CNN's Melissa Bell reports from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another French Prime Minister steps down, this time after just 27 days in office and only hours after naming his government, parts of which appeared unhappy from the start.

SEBASTIEN LECORNU, FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The very principle of building a compromise between political parties is to be able to combine green lines and take into account a certain number of red lines. But we cannot be at both extremes.

BELL (voice-over): Sebastien Lecornu becomes the fourth French prime minister to fail to build a stable majority since the June 2024 dissolution of Parliament. A staunch ally of President Emmanuel Macron, he took office after Francois Bayrou was ousted by lawmakers in September.

Before him, Michel Barnier had also lost the confidence of Parliament and much for the same reasons.

MICHEL BARNIER, FORMER FRENCH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We proposed a budget, a difficult budget, where everything was difficult, to reduce our deficit. This deficit did not disappear by the magic of a no confidence vote.

BELL (voice-over): After just three months in office, Barnier had been the shortest serving prime minister in the history of the Fifth Republic.

[03:15:02]

Now he's been beaten by Lecornu, who served just days rather than months, with the pressure on President Macron to call another parliamentary election growing.

MARINE LE PEN, NATIONAL RALLY (through translator): I'm calling on him to dissolve the National Assembly because we've reached the end of the road and there is no solution. And therefore, the only wise decision in these circumstances is to return to the polls and for the French to give direction to the country.

BELL: Those calls from the far-right growing all the more insistent that polls suggest that the party would do even better in a snap election today than it did in 2024. The problem for President Macron is that with this latest resignation, he's fast running out of any other options.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Several U.S. cities are starting to look like war zones just ahead while President Trump is trying to deploy even more National Guard troops and how state and local officials are fighting back.

Plus, CNN captures the moment a journalist deported from the U.S. reunites with his family. Hear his message to those considering migrating to the U.S. when we come back.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: U.S. President Donald Trump suggests he may invoke the Insurrection Act to send National Guard troops to U.S. cities. Oregon and Illinois are challenging the administration in court over the deployments. The President has said he wants the troops to crack down on crime and to protect federal immigration agents.

Chicago's mayor is urging Americans to fight back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D), CHICAGO: What this President is doing is illegal, it's unconstitutional and it's dangerous. This President wants to undermine the very constitution that we fought and died and bled for and it's incumbent upon all of us and particularly the residents across this country is to fight back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: State and local officials also say protesters at immigration facilities have been mostly peaceful and the troops are acting as instigators. More now from CNN's Omar Jimenez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're here at this ICE facility that's been at the center of a lot of protests just outside Chicago here. This is in Broadview and you'll notice there aren't that many people. In fact, there's actually no one really here but you see the fencing that was put up here in response to some of the level of protests that we've seen to this point.

We are at this point under a protest curfew instituted by the mayor but numbers here typically wildly fluctuate so this isn't really a direct indication of a response to that but it's also a place where National Guard troops could be deployed and the reason for that is because the orders that they are being given at this point as we understand from the White House is that they would be to protect federal property and personnel. And many in the Trump administration have argued that the personnel here have been under direct threat when faced with some of these protests but also critically a federal judge did not immediately block the deployment of National Guard troops here in Illinois.

Instead, he gave the Trump administration two days to respond but also wanted answers to three questions. In particular, when National Guard troops will arrive in Illinois, what municipalities they will be sent to, and what the scope of the troop activities will be once here with the hearing set for Thursday morning.

Now, we mentioned the Illinois National Guard troops. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says around 400 Texas National Guard troops were authorized to send to other states including Illinois along those similar lines to protect federal personnel and property though we don't know exactly what that will look like here on the ground just yet and for context in the Chicago area if we want to go into the city limits we are coming out of what has been a very tense week.

Just Monday, the mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson signed an executive order barring federal immigration officials from using city property to prepare for operations that includes staging for potential raids and we've seen a controversial raid in the city of Chicago where 37 people were arrested but a lot of damage done and a lot of people detained including American citizens as well.

On that order, I asked the mayor if that would mean if police officers could be arresting federal agents. He told me that it really was more about setting a legal way in for accountability if they find federal immigration officials are breaking those rules and we saw responses from a number of local state leaders today against the Trump administration but I think the sentiment across all of them was summed up best by Mayor Johnson who said, quote, I'm calling on this President to leave us the freak alone.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, Broadview, Illinois.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration for a second time from sending National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon. The White House calls the decision untethered in reality and in the law and the Trump administration has filed an appeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Portland is on fire. Portland's been on fire for years and not so much saving it. We have to save something else because I think that's all insurrection, I really think that's really criminal insurrection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:25:00]

CHURCH: City officials say the protests against ICE agents have been confined to a small area of Portland and the Oregon Attorney General says the U.S. military does not belong on the streets of U.S. cities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN RAYFIELD, OREGON ATTORNEY GENERAL: It's wild what's coming out of these people's mouths and so we're watching incredibly closely because this is dangerous. This is a dangerous point in American history where we're normalizing the use of the military in our cities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: After months in U.S. federal custody, a deported journalist is starting to adjust to his new normal. A Spanish-language live streamer, Mario Guevara, gained popularity by documenting immigration raids in Georgia. He talked about his bittersweet return to El Salvador and his advice to others who were thinking about migrating to the U.S.

CNN's Gustavo Valdes reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mario Guevara is a tourist in his own country. We're discovering a place he left over 20 years ago after facing threats for his work as a journalist.

This is where he was attacked, he said, with sticks and rocks before fleeing the country. He sought asylum in the United States but it was denied in 2012. But yet, immigration authorities allowed him to stay and work as a journalist.

That changed in late June when he was arrested by local police while covering a protest in Atlanta. Immigration authorities took notice and reopened his immigration case and detained him for nearly four months. He says an agent confronted him while in custody.

MAIO GUEVARA, JOURNALIST DEPORTED FROM U.S. TO EL SALVADOR: Mario, why are you following us? You give us a hard time.

I tell you, don't take it personally. It was my job, I tried to inform my community, it was nothing against you.

VALDES (voice-over): He was deported last week and as he finds again the city he grew up in, food is helping him deal with the change.

He lost 30 pounds while detained, so for now, he's allowing himself to regain some of it back. Sharing the experience with the family he left behind, he says he was ready to comply with the judge's order to return to El Salvador in 2012.

But immigration authorities told him he could stay. Now he wonders if it would have been better if they had.

GUEVARA: They have to be honest. They have to tell the immigrant, you don't have option. You don't have a choice to stay here.

You will lose the case, you will lose the case and you will be deported. You only waste time and money. Don't do it.

VALDES (voice-over): He admits he likes some of the ideas put forward by Donald Trump. Because the ideals of the Republican Party align more with his Christian faith, but he regrets dismissing Trump's message on immigration.

GUEVARA: But I never imagined there would be something like he's doing now. He's doing something terrible against our community.

VALDES (voice-over): This week he gets to enjoy time with his two sons who came to visit and deliver equipment so he can go back to be in our report.

A journalist who says his stories about the immigrant experience will now be different.

GUEVARA: I think it's more human because I will understand more than before because now I'm sure what they live, I'm sure what they told me.

VALDES (voice-over): For the people who are thinking about migrating to the U.S., he has a message. Don't do it, it's not worth it right now.

GUEVARA: It's the only thing I can say, President Trump, be fair with others. Don't matter the color of the skin.

VALDES (voice-over): Gustavo Valdes, CNN, San Salvador.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, we will hear about one woman's guilt and grief after surviving the Nova Music Festival attack, but losing her brother that day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

Just hours after the French Prime Minister resigned, he agreed to hold one final round of talks with political rivals. That request came from the French President, who is under pressure to force snap elections. Sebastien Lecornu was the fifth Prime Minister of France in less than two years; he quit shortly after unveiling his new cabinet.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggests he could invoke the Insurrection Act if courts continue to block his efforts to send troops to U.S. cities. Oregon and Illinois are fighting the deployment of the National Guard amid weeks of protests against the administration's immigration enforcement campaign.

[03:35:00]

Israelis are marking two years since Hamas's deadly October 7 attack. Commemorations are being held in communities in southern Israel and Tel Aviv. The anniversary comes as indirect talks are being held in Egypt between Israel and Hamas, delegations are working toward a final deal based on Donald Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan.

Two years ago today, festival-goers gathered in Israel to share their love of music, only to be met with indescribable horrors. Earlier, I spoke with Jenny Sividia on life after surviving the Hamas attack, and coping with the loss of her brother, who was killed that day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNY SIVIDIA, NOVA MUSIC FESTIVAL SURVIVOR: For a long time, I suffered from a survivor's guilt, because I was there with my brother, and I survived, and he didn't. And I asked myself a lot of questions, mainly, why did I come back home? And I'm searching for a meaning, because I don't know why I came back

home, because I feel inside that there is a reason why I survived. And what I'm doing today is, I'm a social psychologist in my profession, so I'm combining my professional and personal experience to help others who suffered from that day. And this is my way of coping and making a meaning out of it.

CHURCH: Yes, I totally can understand that situation, but it's just impossible to really understand what you're going through here. I mean, as a survivor of the Nova music festival, you're dealing with the grief of tragically losing your brother on that fateful day, and you're trying to cope with those difficult memories, of course, and trying to return to some sense of normalcy. Do you see that there's a possibility you can get to something that resembles normalcy?

SIVIDIA: Until not long ago, my main trauma was the fact that I lost my brother. I have one brother, he was my only brother, three and a half years younger than me. He was my anchor in life, and I lost him, tragically.

And until not long ago, that was my main trauma. I like, I never, I didn't thought about the fact that I was actually there, I survived. I faced death more than once during that day.

So only I can, I can easily say that only on the last few weeks, I'm actually starting to feel that I was there. I feel it like I have dreams, I understand that I was actually there. I didn't thought about it.

I didn't, I said that I don't care. The fact that I was there, I don't care about the fact that I faced death. I don't care about the fact that my life were in danger, I only care about the fact that my brother is gone.

And I can't really say that because I was there. And only on the last few weeks, like two years after, two years after, I'm starting to feel emotionally and physically that I was there. I survived something horrifying.

And I'm not the only one. A lot of people only now start to realize, only now start to deal with all the emotional effect of that day.

And for society, for other people, it's like, we are for the world, actually. It's like you are two years after. So you to, you know, go back to normal life because we are two years past after what happened.

But it doesn't work like that, we are only two years and a lot of us only now start to grasp what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well the numbers never tell the whole story, of course, but they do highlight the sheer scale of misery and suffering caused by two straight years of war in Gaza.

According to UNRWA, more than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed. 18,000 of those victims were children. Gaza's health ministry is reporting a higher number of casualties, more than 67,000 killed and nearly 170,000 wounded.

Those who have survived live in severely degraded conditions, with nearly 80 percent of all structures damaged or destroyed, 98 percent of crop land has been damaged or made inaccessible.

[03:40:09]

Hundreds of thousands of children have been forced out of school, with nearly every school building requiring repair or a full reconstruction. Nearly 90 percent of Gaza's water sanitation and hygiene resources have been destroyed, forcing families to live near uncollected waste, which of course spreads disease.

While Palestinians in Gaza remain hopeful that the latest round of negotiations could lead to a lasting ceasefire, many remain wary that a potential deal could fall through. One mother in Khan Younis shares what a truce would mean for the people living there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): We hope they won't fail us like every time. Each time they tell us there will be a truce and it fails. God willing, this time it will be truly serious and real, a permanent truce, a truce for life.

No wars, no fighting. We want to end this war and this bloodshed, we want to protect these lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Newly leaked documents show Russia may be working closely with another U.S. adversary to train its troops for a military invasion. CNN's senior international correspondent Will Ripley has details from Taipei.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A trove of leaked documents verified by a leading think tank reveals Russia may be teaching China how to drop tanks and troops from a plane.

This risky Cold War maneuver Russian airborne forces call landing in a train. A former Ukrainian intelligence officer who helped verify the leaked documents says it's clear why the Chinese want this training.

OLEKSANDR DANYLYUK, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE: It's actually a very critical component which is needed for China being ready to invade Taiwan.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Oleksandr Danylyuk and a team at Royal United Services Institute examined 800 pages of documents leaked by hackers. They suggest Russia's more experienced airborne forces may be helping China prepare for a Taiwan invasion. Moscow may also supply armored vehicles, weapons and training a battalion of Chinese paratroopers, the documents say.

DANYLYUK: So you have this full airborne regiment landing on Taiwanese soil and it's all around the capital so the capital could be taken in just a few days.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Chinese military planners have long been looking for ways to seize control of Taiwan's sea and air within the first 72 hours before the U.S. and others have time to respond. CNN has not verified the leaked documents and it's not clear if the deal is in effect.

Taiwan's foreign ministry says they've taken notice of Beijing and Moscow's recent military cooperation. We also asked the Chinese and Russian defense ministries for comment, so far no response.

U.S. intelligence says China's People's Liberation Army is also rapidly expanding its rocket force, well over 3000 missiles, new missile bases up and down the Chinese coast facing Taiwan.

This base built in just two years. Look at these satellite images from 2020 and 2022. They're even putting new bases in old buildings.

JOSEPH WEN, OPEN SOURCE INTELLIGENCE RESEARCHER (through translator): This is where the artillery brigade of the 73rd Army Group is stationed. What's unique, they used a deserted textile factory as their base.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Joseph Wen is an open source researcher in Taiwan. For the past four years, he's been using satellite imagery to map out China's massive military footprint.

WEN (through translator): What you're looking at on this map now is Pingtan, the closest point of China to Taiwan. And there are many long-range artillery units at this location, established at the end of 2022, right after Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

RIPLEY: So what does it tell you that China is bolstering its artillery bases that are within firing range of Taiwan?

WEN (through translator): In recent years, China has put more focus on lower-cost and higher-volume long-range artillery, which could deplete Taiwan's reserve of air defense missiles.

RIPLEY (voice-over): China's rocket force has been rocked by corruption scandals, and no one knows how well its missiles perform in actual combat. Experts warn sheer numbers could overwhelm Taiwan's defenses. The island is responding with military drills, turning city streets into combat zones, subway stations into mock battlegrounds.

A message to the public, be ready.

RIPLEY: Here in Taipei, people would only have a few minutes warning if China fired a missile. That's how quickly they could arrive here. Experts say China's military buildup is the largest the world has seen since before World War II. And while the People's Liberation Army has surpassed Russia in almost

all areas, the airborne forces are an exception.

[03:45:05]

That's because Russia's airborne forces have combat experience while the PLA does not. But they certainly do seem to be preparing for combat.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, Taylor Swift proves her fans are still interested in the "Life of a Showgirl" with a big box office release to coincide with her new album. Back with that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:50:08]

CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN, this is your Business Breakout. Markets in Hong Kong and Seoul are closed today, but investors are keeping a close eye on Tokyo as Japan is expected to see its first female Prime Minister, you see there the markets only slightly up. We'll keep an eye on that.

And these are the business headlines.

OpenAI says it's buying 6 gigawatts of computing power from data centers that will run exclusively on AMD chips. The move comes just two weeks after OpenAI announced a $100 billion partnership with the industry's go-to AI chip maker, NVIDIA. In a post on X, OpenAI chief Sam Altman insisted the new AMD partnership is incremental to its work with NVIDIA.

Fifth Third Bank has agreed to buy regional lender Comerica to create the ninth largest bank in the U.S. It comes as U.S. lenders are trying to build larger and more diverse franchises while taking advantage of lighter regulations under the Trump administration. The all-stock deal is valued at nearly $11 billion and is set to close in the first quarter of 2026.

CBS News has named its next editor-in-chief. Journalist and entrepreneur Barry Weiss runs the "Free Press," which has since been acquired by CBS parent company Paramount. The digital magazine is known for its so-called anti-woke content and opinion pieces in support of Israel, Weiss said in a memo to staffers that she wants CBS to become the most trusted news organization in the world.

Well Taylor Swift has struck box office gold once again. The pop star released "Taylor Swift, the Official Release Party of a Showgirl," over the weekend in theaters earning more than $50 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. The film acts as an informal listening party for her latest album, also released last week.

CNN's Lisa Respers France has more on Swift's return to the spotlight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN REPORTER: Taylor Swift just keeps on winning. From raking in more than $33 million at the box office for her limited run film "Taylor Swift, the Official Release Party of a Showgirl," to breaking Spotify records and ruling the top of the streaming charts all at the same time, the pop superstar is continuing her reign of success.

Even with some of the Swifties expressing that her 12th album, "The Life of a Showgirl," may not necessarily be up to her usual standards as far as they are concerned. Swift continues to be a force in the music industry, selling 2.7 million copies on the first day of its release. But don't expect her to slow down anytime soon.

After all, she recorded this album on her off days while in Europe on her highly successful Eras tour, and she's been everywhere promoting the new album ever since it came out. And while yes, she does have a wedding to plan with her football playing fiance Travis Kelsey, Swift said during a recent interview that she'll focus on that after she's done promoting her new album. When it comes to her career, Taylor Swift keeps it 100 at all times.

Lisa Respers France, CNN, Atlanta.

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CHURCH: A rare October blizzard strands hundreds near Mount Everest and exposes just how little we know about weather on the world's highest peak. That story just ahead.

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[03:55:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

More than 200 trekkers trapped by a powerful blizzard near Mount Everest are being evacuated after spending three days stranded in Tibet's remote Karma Valley. Rescue operations began Monday following an unexpected and unseasonably intense storm. One rescue tourist described how difficult the conditions were.

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ERIC WEN, RESCUED TREKKER (through translator): On the one hand, even our team leaders underestimated the difficulties. There wasn't much of a contingency plan, no real plan B.

Even locals said they hadn't seen snowfall like this in over 10 years. Our equipment wasn't prepared for it. Snow gear can handle an hour or two, maybe, but after hiking for 10 straight hours, it just can't hold up. In moments like this, you truly realize how small humans are in the

face of nature.

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CHURCH: Around 350 other trekkers have already been led to safety, guided by local villagers and rescue teams, with yaks helping to clear paths through heavy snow. Officials say all remaining trekkers should be escorted to safety today.

Well, stargazers around the world are lifting their eyes to the skies to witness 2025's first supermoon. The larger, brighter display is a phenomenon occurring when a full moon coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth, and two more supermoons are forecast to appear in the coming months of this year.

In Brazil, crowds gathered along Rio's iconic beaches to photograph the luminous moment, and this was the view over Pakistan. This particular full moon is often referred to as the Harvest Moon in the northern hemisphere due to its close proximity to the autumn equinox.

I want to thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "Amanpour" is next, then stay tuned for "Early Start" with Brian Abel, starting at 5:00 a.m. in New York, 10:00 a.m. in London, enjoy.

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