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Hamas Moving to Reassert Its Dominance in Gaza; Gaza Crossing Closed Amid Dispute Over Deceased Hostages; Trump Authorizes Covert CIA Actions Inside Venezuela; NATO Members Pledge to Increase Their Defense Spending; Indian Police Investigate After Baby Girl Found Buried Alive; Celebrity Chef Creates Phone-Free Bar in D.C. Aired 12- 1a ET
Aired October 16, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, as Israel holds ceremonies for the victims of the October 7th attack, tensions are mounting with Hamas over the return of the remaining hostage bodies.
Drug war or pushing for regime change? President Trump confirms he's authorized covert CIA operations inside Venezuela.
And the final report is out on the ocean-gate disaster. What investigators believe is the real reason the Titan submersible imploded. ,
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: In the hours ahead, the Israeli government is set to hold state memorial ceremonies for the victims of the October 7th Hamas attack amid increasing anger that more bodies of hostages have not yet been returned.
The remains of two more hostages have been handed over by Hamas, but so far only nine of the 28 deceased hostages have returned to Israel since the ceasefire took effect. Hamas says it has handed over all the bodies it can access and will need. quote, "significant efforts and special equipment" to recover the remains of the rest.
Meantime, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt remains closed to the delivery of humanitarian aid as the dispute over the deceased hostages continues. One Israeli official said eight trucks have entered Gaza through other crossings, but with Rafah closed, only 308 trucks have entered the enclave and not the full 600 trucks agreed to in the deal.
Inside Gaza, Hamas militants have been looking to reassert their dominance since the ceasefire took effect nearly a week ago.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports on the graphic scenes of violence that have emerged. And we need to warn you, some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the middle of a public square in Gaza City, eight bound and blindfolded men are dragged out and forced to kneel. One by one armed Hamas militants take up their positions behind them, aiming rifles at their heads before opening fire. All eight men fall to the ground executed. This is part of the grim reality of post-ceasefire Gaza, as Hamas forces say they are carrying out a, quote, "comprehensive security operation" to root out those they accuse of collaborating with Israel.
With these bodies, Hamas also reestablishing the element of fear it has used to rule Gaza for years, as it looks to reassert its dominance over a decimated Gaza Strip. Amid its ceasefire with Israel, Hamas is now putting on a show of force in Gaza streets, attacking other armed groups from gangs backed by Israel to powerful clans that have a history of clashing with Hamas.
The Dughmush clan, which denies collaborating with Israel, has accused Hamas of killing nearly 30 members of its family in the last week. U.S. Central Command, which is monitoring the ceasefire, urging Hamas to immediately suspend violence and shooting at innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to hold up.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The violence is a reminder of unresolved issues at the heart of President Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza. Hamas's handover of power, the establishment of an international security force, and Hamas's disarmament, all still being negotiated.
TRUMP: They're going to disarm. And because they said they were going to disarm, and if they don't disarm, we will disarm them.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How will you do that?
TRUMP: I don't have to explain that to you. But if they don't disarm, we will disarm them.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The ceasefire deal already proving fragile. Hamas has only returned the remains of nine of 28 deceased hostages so far. Some are pending DNA testing. And Israel says one body Hamas handed over was not that of a hostage. Hamas says Gaza's destruction is complicating matters.
Israel has continued killing Palestinians. At least 15 since the ceasefire went into effect, according to the U.N.'s Human Rights Office. The Israeli military says it has fired on Palestinians who approached Israeli lines in Gaza.
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In the ruins of Gaza, an uncertain future and the long road ahead.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Joining me now from Amman, Jordan, is Sam Rose, the acting director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Gaza.
Thanks so much for your time.
SAM ROSE, ACTING DIRECTOR, UNRWA AFFAIRS, GAZA: Thank you. Thanks for having me on.
KINKADE: Sir, can you just paint a picture for us of what daily life looks like right now in Gaza for ordinary families and for your UNWRA teams on the ground? What are people dealing with hour by hour?
ROSE: People are dealing with a fragile situation and a precarious one that's growing a bit more precarious with every day, as we see that these are not really landmarks, but the elements of the deal are not going ahead quite as we would like, both in terms of the volumes of supplies coming in, the continued armed incidents, the delays with the handover of the remains of the hostages, and also what we're seeing in terms of civil unrest, a bit of civil unrest on the street.
But, look, the situation is far, far better than it was up until about a week ago. So my staff, their families, their children are not going to bed at night worrying if they're not going to wake up in the morning, so they're not faced with the constant fear of bombardment and displacement. They're faced with another kind of fear, which is not quite so visceral, but is -- but is more complex if you understand what I mean.
KINKADE: Yes, I understand that. And I also understand that aid convoys are still facing serious delays and restrictions at border crossings. Are you seeing any actual improvement in access in operations in Gaza from your team there? Or are things still largely gridlocked?
ROSE: I mean, we are seeing improvements relative to the zero aid that's been getting in really since March. We're seeing improvements in the sense that people aren't being slaughtered on a daily basis in and around the sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. But, no, the hundreds of trucks of aid that are needed each day are not getting in yet. And people expected the start of this to be quite quiet. It's been a week of Israeli holidays.
So the crossings have only been open sporadically, but our teams are ready to go outside of Gaza and inside of Gaza. And those flows are not materializing just yet. But it's not that my staff are sitting idle. I have 10,000 staff and more at work every day cleaning up our facilities, reopening health points in Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of people have gone back, reopening shelters in eastern Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of people have been able to return over the past couple of weeks.
So people are working, people are preparing. But those supplies that we need are not yet getting in unfortunately. KINKADE: And just how much of Gaza is currently under direct Hamas
control versus contested or controlled by other groups or external actors? And how does Hamas's control or interference affect the ability of aid agencies to operate independently and safely?
ROSE: About half of the Gaza Strip remains under Israeli control. That is the key factor right now. So you have 2.1 million people hemmed in to half of the Gaza Strip, and they're not hemmed into homes for the most part. They're hemmed in on beaches, in tents, in rickety shelters lined up on the side of buildings, on roundabouts, on the side of roads, things like that. Within the half of the Gaza Strip that Hamas controls, they are reasserting their control on the streets.
The presence of police are there and there are sporadic clashes between the Hamas authorities and some of these local elements that have been filling the security vacuum over the past couple of years during the conflict. We predicted that this would happen. We forecasted that there would be a meeting out of this. And what we've seen over the past couple of days in terms of summary executions is absolutely horrific.
That's the last thing that anyone needs. We've called throughout this conflict for accountability, and it's accountability on all sides. So that, of course, needs to stop. And the United Nations are calling for it to stop. It's a worry, but it's less of a worry than the bombardment from the air and the sea and the ground that people have had to put up with for the past couple of years.
KINKADE: Well, we appreciate getting perspective from you and all the work your team are doing there.
Sam Rose, thanks so much for your time.
ROSE: Thank you.
KINKADE: President Trump confirms he has authorized covert CIA operations inside of Venezuela to fight the flow of drugs and migrants to the U.S.
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He also says he's considering expanding aerial strikes on suspected drug boats to include military operations by land. The U.S. has hit at least five boats off the coast of Venezuela in recent weeks. The latest killed six people.
President Trump stopped short of saying the CIA would have the authority to arrest Nicolas Maduro. The Venezuelan president called for an end to discriminatory and xenophobic statements about his country.
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NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Tell the American people no to war. We do not want a war in the Caribbean or in south America. No, not war. Just peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: More now from CNN's senior White House correspondent, Kristen Holmes.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump on Wednesday, acknowledging that he had authorized the CIA to operate on the ground in Venezuela for what he said was clamping down on illegal flows of drugs and migrants.
This is an escalation when it comes to Venezuela and this fight against alleged drug dealers. One of the things President Trump also said was that in addition to these strikes, which we have seen a number of off the coast of Venezuela, President Trump had authorized that some time ago that they might take these strikes from sea to land.
TRUMP: I authorize for two reasons, really. Number one, they have emptied their prisons into the United States of America. They came in through the, well, they came in through the border. And the other thing are drugs. We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Does the CIA have authority to take out Maduro?
TRUMP: Well, I don't want to answer a question like that. That's a ridiculous question for me to be given. Not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn't it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?
HOLMES: Now Trump had updated and expanded the CIA's authorities at the same time that he had signed a secret directive that allowed for these lethal strikes on these boats against these alleged narco terrorists.
One of the things that we have heard repeatedly from the Trump administration when talking about these strikes is they know that these are domestic terrorist organizations or organizations they have deemed as terrorist organizations. But we're still unclear of who is actually involved in these strikes. Other than these allegations that they were drug dealers on these various boats, we still have almost no details about the strikes themselves other than the fact that they happened.
And of course, this has for many members of Congress made them slightly uneasy. We know that President Trump had transmitted a notice to Congress saying that the U.S. was in an armed conflict with drug cartels, that they designated as these domestic terrorist organizations, which gave him more leeway. But, of course, there are still members of Congress, mainly Democrats, but also some Republicans who have expressed hesitancy about this plan.
Now, one of the things to note here is President Trump has continued to avoid this idea of regime change. Not really talk about it, but today he almost got there saying that he believes that the leaders of Venezuela, Maduro, feel the heat, that they could feel the ramped up pressure. So where this goes from here, that is the big question. But of course, it's going to be a huge escalation if the U.S. begins targeting these alleged drug dealers on Venezuelan soil.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, the Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, is calling on President Trump to stop what she calls Nicolas Maduro's war on her country. Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize last week and has been in hiding since last year's election. She calls the Maduro government a criminal narco terrorism structure that traffics in drugs, gold, weapons and even people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Venezuela right now is a safe haven for Hezbollah, Hamas, the drug cartels, the Colombian guerrilla operate freely. And they are part of this liaison with the regime. And what we have done, the Venezuelan people, as I said, has already mandated regime change. We won and we need help to enforce that decision. And that help comes in terms of applying, enforcing the law, cutting those flows that come from these criminal activities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, now to a step towards peace in Colombia and away from six decades of internal conflict. On Wednesday, a dissident group handed over explosives, grenades, mortars and other munitions to the government, which would then destroy it in a series of controlled demolitions. The National Bolivarian Army coordinator, which emerged from the former FARC guerrilla movement, has pledged to turn over some 14 tons of war material as part of the ongoing peace process. Two more deliveries are expected in the coming days.
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NATO members are reaching into their pocketbooks as they work to counter Russia, and as the U.S. weighs whether to provide Ukraine with a powerful weapon. We'll have that next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. Donald Trump says the Ukrainian president will make a case to, quote, "go offensive" when the leaders meet at the White House on Friday. The U.S. president is likely referring to Ukraine's request for American made Tomahawk missiles capable of striking Moscow. But he has yet to commit to supplying such powerful weapons.
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NATO defense ministers have been discussing strategies for countering Russia.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Both NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and the U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, have praised NATO member states for increasing their defense spending and pledging to do that. They say that this is important in two major ways. On the one hand, it obviously increases NATO member states' capabilities and then allows them to contribute more to common defense.
But Pete Hegseth says it's also important in terms of helping Ukraine and trying to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. One of the things that he's talking about is an initiative called PURL, which essentially has European and other NATO member states buying U.S. weapons and then giving those weapons to Ukraine.
Now, Pete Hegseth said that that spending also counts against defense spending of NATO member states, and he's calling for more of it. Here's what he had to say.
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: All countries need to translate goals into guns, commitments into capabilities, and pledges into power. That's all that matters. Hard power. It's the only thing belligerents actually respect.
Your continued investment and leadership are vital to helping Ukraine defend itself and to bring an end to this conflict. Peace through strength.
PLEITGEN: Now the NATO secretary-general also said that while initially six NATO member states had signed on to the PURL program, as of the summit on Wednesday, it was half of NATO member states who had made commitments.
Now, another topic that was not officially on the agenda but still loomed large was Ukraine possibly receiving U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles from the Trump administration. There is, of course, set to be a meeting between President Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House on Friday, where that could be a topic. And asked about this, the NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that he couldn't really comment directly because this was a bilateral issue between the United States and Ukraine.
Also, the NATO member states, of course, right now, dealing with flaring tensions between NATO and Russia after several incursions by Russian aircraft and drones on to NATO territory.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Russia could be on the verge of losing a key source of funding for its war machine. President Trump says the Indian prime minister has assured him that he will stop Russian oil imports, adding that he and Narendra Modi have a great relationship. But the India's oil purchases have allowed Russia to continue with this, quote, "ridiculous war." President Trump imposed another 25 percent tariff on India in August as a penalty for its Russian energy purchases.
Well, CNN has reached out to the Indian embassy for comment. India has long been reliant on Russia for crude oil to supply its booming economy and growing population.
Still to come, a newborn baby girl found buried alive in India. We'll have the heartbreaking case of Baby Pari next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
Donald Trump is turning up the heat on Venezuela. The U.S. president says he's authorized covert CIA operations inside the South American country to stop the flow of migrants and drugs. But Mr. Trump stopped short of saying the CIA could remove President Nicolas Maduro from power.
President Trump says he will attend the Supreme Court session on his landmark tariff case next month. The nation's highest court is set to decide whether the president can continue to levy tariffs without approval from Congress, and whether businesses are eligible for big refunds.
The family of Oscar winning actress Diane Keaton has revealed the cause of her death. They released a statement to "People" magazine saying the 79-year-old died on Saturday of pneumonia. Keaton was renowned for her complex, quirky and independent characters. Her family says donations to a local food bank or animal shelter would be a wonderful tribute to her.
An infant baby girl was found buried alive in a northern village of India. Police are looking at possible motives, including if she was left to die because of her gender, making her another victim in a nation grappling with a deep seated preference for sons.
CNN's Hanako Montgomery reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her hand was the first thing farmer Shyam Babu saw poking through the dirt. A baby girl around 15 days old was buried alive here. CNN has chosen not to show the mobile phone footage taken by locals the moment she was pulled from the ground. But this is the scene in North India's Shahjahanpur district of locals gathering to help.
"It's a girl," they shout after hearing her soft cries. They gently remove the soil and hand her to a policeman, who places her in a female villager's arms before she's rushed to hospital.
SHYAM BABU, MAN WHO FOUND PARI (through translator): When I saw the scarf, a child's hand sticking out of the dirt caught my eye. I went closer and saw its fingers were moving and could sense a heartbeat. Her head, some of which was visible, was also moving. I was terrified and thinking about how someone could bury a child alive. I felt very sad and began to cry.
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MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Babu says he ran for help, afraid he'd be falsely implicated if he touched the child himself.
Police are investigating multiple theories for the motive, like her parents mistaking her for dead, or far grimmer theories: rejecting her for syndactyly, a birth defect where two or more fingers or toes are joined together.
There's another theory, too: that they didn't want a baby girl; a reality of female infanticide in India, and a deep-rooted social preference for boys.
As a search began for her parents, doctors treating her found she had a severe infection, respiratory distress, injuries, and sepsis. But they were hopeful about her recovery, even giving her a name: Pari, or "angel" in Hindi.
But just a day after CNN's team left, Pari died.
India has one of the worst gender imbalances in the world. In rural communities like Shahjahanpur, daughters are often seen as a burden. A 1994 law looked to curb female infanticides and sex-selective abortions by banning the disclosure of a baby's sex during ultrasounds.
SAPNA SINGH, SHAHJAHANPUR RESIDENT (through translator): Earlier, people would openly say they weren't (ph) boys. Now they don't. They don't share anything with others. They do whatever they need to do within their four walls.
They will just buy the medicines after getting to know if it is a boy or a girl. Whether the woman lives or not, it doesn't matter to the family.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to address this issue with his campaign: Save the girl child, educate the girl child. It's a central focus of his government.
But Sarita Singh, one of the nurses caring for Pari, is skeptical over the change it could bring.
SARITA SINGH, NURSE (through translator): No one is following it. It's just a catch phrase. Humanity has been killed by burying this child in the ground.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): For Shyam Babu, the farmer who found Pari, the discovery still haunts him. He has two daughters of his own, and he and his family even considered raising Pari themselves.
BABU (through translator): My wife was very worried. She kept saying I should bring the baby home so we could look after her, that there would be no problem. I would work harder and raise her. We would not cause any sorrow to our children.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): After the news of Pari's death, CNN spoke to Babu again.
BABU (via phone): (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: I took her out of the dirt, but now she has returned to the soil. What do I do now? I was hoping to meet her.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Pari won't be the last baby girl in India whose life ended far too soon. Pulled from the earth, only to return: an angel before her life could begin.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: We'll be right back with much more news. You're watching CNN.
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KINKADE: U.S. transportation investigators are blaming faulty engineering for the deadly Titan submersible implosion in 2023.
It was crushed by underwater pressure on a voyage to the Titanic wreckage site, killing all five people on board.
The final report says the vessel was not designed strong enough for such a deep dive, and that the Titan's owner, OceanGate, did not test it properly.
The company later suspended its operations and went out of business.
The investigators have recommended setting up a panel to study submersibles.
Well, many people are connected to their cell phones almost every waking minute of the day, but "Hell's Kitchen" winner chef Rock Harper is trying to break that nonstop connection. He's created a space in Washington where people can disconnect to reconnect.
CNN's Michael Yoshida reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Welcome.
MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A night out without distraction. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying to actually engage with people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They turn to the person next to them, start talking, making a friend.
YOSHIDA (voice-over): This new Washington, D.C., bar and restaurant is phone-free.
ROCK HARPER, HUSH HARBOR OWNER: Most people said they were skeptical or just told me I was crazy as hell.
YOSHIDA (voice-over): Chef Rock Harper says the idea for a phone-free space came after examining his own relationship with his devices.
Harper hosted a few comedy free events where phones weren't allowed and then decided to go further, opening Hush Harbor.
HARPER: I'm betting on humanity. I'm betting on humans being in community with other humans.
Welcome back. Welcome back.
YOSHIDA (voice-over): When you arrive, your phone goes into a magnetically closed pouch that you carry with you. For mobile pay, a tab can be set up before sealing it shut.
Need your phone? The pouch can be unlocked anytime. You'll just be asked to use it outside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like my phone. I like seeing, you know, my messages and emails and things come through. But sometimes, you've got to unwind.
YOSHIDA (voice-over): Studies have shown cellphones can hinder social interactions: from the negative signal it can send to others when you glance at your device, to the simple distraction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We often think we are very good at multitasking, but we're not. Turning your attention away to Your smartphone, even for a brief second, that pulls you away from the conversation.
YOSHIDA (voice-over): Harper hopes offering a space for people to disconnect from the digital world will allow them to reconnect with the real one.
HARPER: We as human beings need offline spaces to commune and convene. And just to be around one another is really important right now.
YOSHIDA (voice-over): In Washington, Michael Yoshida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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KINKADE: Well, contemporary artists from more than 40 countries are showcasing their work in London through the end of the week. The Frieze Art Fair in Regent's Park is in its 23rd year, featuring
pieces from more than 160 galleries.
The fair's director says the popular event helps to highlight some newer artists, who may become the, quote, "leading voices of tomorrow."
Experts say the global art market fell by more than $57 billion last year, so the fair could literally make or break the next big artist or gallery.
Well, thanks so much for watching this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade. I'll be back with much more news at the top of the hour. Stick around. WORLD SPORT is next.
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