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Thieves Steal "Priceless" Jewelry From The Louvre in 7-Minute Raid; Israel Strikes Dozens Of Hamas Targets In Gaza; Trump Commuted George Santos Sentence; Huge Crowds March In "No Kings" Protest Across U.S.; Johnson: "I Refuse To Allow" House To Come Back Until Government Reopens; Poll: Mamdani Remains Clear Favorite In NYC Mayoral Race. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 19, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:35]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. Let's begin with breaking news out of Paris.

Priceless jewels are stolen from the Louvre in an audacious daytime heist that took only seven minutes. A manhunt is now underway to try to find the thieves who police say used a truck lift, which you can see right there on the right, to break into an upstairs window. And then they stole rare historic jewelry and crowns before getting away on motorcycles.

Visitors actually had to be evacuated, and the museum, well, it's now closed for the day.

A tourist in the museum at the time of the robbery described the chaotic scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN CARPENTER, WAS VISITING LOUVRE DURING ROBBERY: We were headed out the exit, we didn't realize the whole museum was being evacuated. And then we asked a guard, and the guard said, we're having technical difficulties.

They wouldn't -- but they did a really good job of evacuating and then they evacuated the lobby. And then we went out an emergency exit underneath that hasn't been used for a while.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sirens going off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Pretty chaotic scene.

CNN's senior international correspondent Melissa Bell joining us now from Paris. So the museum was closed for the rest of today. What are you learning now about the investigation, Melissa.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The investigation, as we understand it, Fredricka, has led authorities to be looking for four people that they believed -- and believe entered the Louvre Museum. It was 9:30 a.m. so as you just heard there from that eyewitness. There were tourists -- people already inside what is the most visited museum in the world.

9:30 a.m. in the most brazen of heists, Fredricka -- heist. These men took that truck with its electrical ladder up into that window, broke in, stealing what were -- what are France's crown jewels.

This is what a tour guide had to say as he was showing a crowd of people around that very room, the Apollo Room, inside the Louvre Museum this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN EL MANDARI, EYEWITNESS AND TOUR GUIDE AT THE LOUVRE: I just like trying to figure out what's happening when I saw the museum staff going to that noise, and then they do -- they did like a turn around like real quick and they start running and saying, get out, get out, get out, get out. Evacuate, evacuate and nobody knew what happened.

Like we were -- we heard the sounds and we didn't have no clue that it was a robbery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: So, impressive scenes this morning for all those people who are inside the Louvre Museum.

What we understand happened is that the four robbers that they're now looking for, Fredricka, took off on scooters, motorcycles. What they dropped was the crown -- the crown, rather of the Empress Eugenie who was the wife of Napoleon III.

The rest of what they took, we have yet to have a full list. But we understand that these were extraordinary pieces of jewelry of an inestimable heritage and cultural value.

So quite extraordinary how brazen this was. Again, daylight hours, Sunday morning, lots of people around. Still they managed to get access to France's crown jewels and make off with several of them, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Melissa, there you are in front of the Louvre. I mean, so beautifully lit up at night, as it always is.

But I wonder, while they've released a photograph of the crown -- of the Eugenie crown that we're looking at right now, among the things that were dropped, will they eventually show pictures of some of the other items so as to, I don't know, assist in the investigation? Anyone out there who may see some of these things in the possession of others, that they would know that these are the items that came from the Louvre? BELL: I think, Fredricka, you put your finger on one of the most

puzzling pieces of this case. The idea of the robbery, how brazen it was. In the end, these are jewels that would be incredibly difficult to sell. Again, France's crown jewels.

[14:04:46]

BELL: We're expecting a full list to be given to us, but we begin to understand that these were brooches, earrings, things that had belonged to the kings and queens of France over centuries.

We don't know -- we know for now that the manhunt is ongoing, that single crown that you just saw is the only piece that we have a picture of since they managed to recover it -- slightly damaged, I might add.

But for now, the manhunt continues. Four people that have been looking for -- what we understand from authorities, though, is that it was incredibly well prepared.

These were seasoned thieves, they tell us, and they went in with a great deal of care. The entire thing, extraordinarily well-organized. Still, for now, they remain at large.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And it's so remarkable that they seem to know of a porous location, a familiarity with being able to use this kind of lift crane that, you know, Melissa as you know, is seen all around Paris for renovations of apartments, et cetera. It's how -- those things are used to haul debris or even furniture in and out of apartments, and that it would be used in broad daylight and then bust through a window.

I mean, these robbers seem to know the vulnerability of the Louvre, this section of the Louvre.

BELL: They must have done their homework, Fredricka, because you're quite right. These kinds of mechanical lifts, the ladders that you see from these trucks, of course, you'll see all around Paris. That it sort of parked itself on the outside of the Louvre, that they could make their way inside, under the noses, presumably, of policemen and women milling around the place is extraordinary.

Seven minutes in all they spent inside. You heard that tour guide. For the people inside they actually heard the window being opened. It was very fast. It was very well planned.

And what they made off with, again, of inestimable value, unsellable presumably on the open market. And now authorities desperately looking for these robbers.

WHITFIELD: All right. Melissa Bell, keep us posted from Paris. Thank you so much.

All right. Let's talk more about all of this. Joining me right now for another perspective on this is the founder of Art Recovery International, Christopher Marinello. Christopher, good to see you. You have spent many years tracking down

stolen masterpieces like a Matisse that was looted by the Nazis, which you ultimately were able to recover, among other things.

So talk to me about what your thoughts are about what we're learning about this break in at the Louvre, and the types of things that were taken.

CHRISTOPHER MARINELLO, FOUNDER, ART RECOVERY INTERNATIONAL: Well, these were very important pieces of cultural heritage. And the thieves don't really care about that. What they care about is converting this into cash as quickly as possible and hiding their crime.

So there's a race going on right now with the BRB, the French local police and the -- to recover these items before they get broken up because they will melt down the precious metals. They will recut the stones with no regard for the piece's integrity.

WHITFIELD: So then how quickly would that happen, as part of the, you know, the scheme of these robbers? I mean, because now you're adding a whole another layer that perhaps that's why a lot of photographs of the other items are not dispensed, because they may not be on the market in its entirety in whole pieces, but instead in these pieces, as you mentioned, break down material.

How long does it take to dismantle some of these brooches, to cut some of these gems.

MARINELLO: Unfortunately, it can be done within an hour. So that's why there is a race going on. In past museum thefts, I used to get phone calls from criminals, from fences, from people who say, oh, I have access to these items. I want a reward, I want to, or I'm holding them for ransom. I want a payment before I cooperate.

Now, what we're seeing is criminals melting things down for the value of the precious metals, recutting the stones to be able to sell them. No one would ever know where they came from. No one would ever know that these were Napoleon III jewels, or the important crown jewels of France.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Ok. So I wonder, just as there's an evolution of how these heists take place because of technology, because of access, et cetera, has there been a real evolution in how to crack these cases, how to find these robbers, how to, you know, bust these rings? Because that's probably what this is part of, right? A ring.

MARINELLO: Well, that's true. Most likely this is part of a eastern European gang that has -- one of the gangs that have been operating throughout Europe for the last several years.

There have been numerous museum thefts lately of gold items in the Netherlands, in the -- in Wales, in Paris previously, a few months ago in Egypt, in Cairo.

So thieves are going after precious metals and the problem we have with -- in recovering these pieces is they're just breaking them up that -- they're no longer stealing a Picasso that we can find hidden under a bed somewhere. They are just looking to cash out as quickly as possible.

[14:09:50]

MARINELLO: We need to break up these gangs and find another approach, or we're going to lose things that we're never going to see again.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's interesting. And so, you know, contrast this kind of break in with, as you just mentioned, for a painting, for example, the Mona Lisa that was lifted from the Louvre, what, back in 1911.

And in that case, it was kind of carved out of the frame, rolled up, and then was able to be kind of carried off.

Does this break in, reveal to you something more or something new about the strategy of people who want to take pieces of history like this and turn it around for profit?

MARINELLO: Yes. We're seeing that they are -- they're staying away from paintings and sculptures that, you know, you break up painting in half, it's worthless.

They are stealing things that they can break up, melt down -- the golden toilet from Blenheim Palace in London, the Drents Museum in the Netherlands, the Green Gallery in Dresden was jewels.

They arrest the criminals, but they never find the jewels because if you don't find them, 24 hours, you're not going to find them.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Fascinating. Christopher Marinello, thank you so much. Learned so much. Appreciate it.

All right. We're also following breaking news out of Gaza, where two Israeli soldiers were killed earlier today, that's according to the Israeli military. Israel says Hamas militants fired at its forces across the so-called yellow line, which was established in the ceasefire agreement. Israel then carried out dozens of strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza and cut off all aid into the enclave.

CNN Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond is with us now. Jeremy, what more are you learning about the latest?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEWM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military conducted a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza. Strip today after two Israeli soldiers were killed in an incident that happened on Sunday morning.

The Israeli military says that it was Hamas operatives who opened fire on Israeli troops on Sunday morning, killing these two troops, severely wounding at least one other.

And since then, we've seen a severe response from the Israeli military. A wave of airstrikes across Gaza that have killed at least 36 people so far, according to Gaza's hospitals. Among the dead, we do know that there are -- there are civilians,

including children. And these represent the most intense Israeli airstrikes that we've seen since this ceasefire went into effect nine days ago.

According to an Israeli military official, the targets included an underground tunnel route in Gaza, as well as at least 15 targets in the southern part of the Gaza Strip alone.

But these strikes happened across several cities in Gaza after the Israeli prime minister held a security consultation with his team in Israel today. Israeli officials had vowed that Hamas would face a, quote, "heavy price" for this alleged attack that took place Sunday morning and we are now witnessing the results of that heavy price.

We were told that this attack that happened on Sunday morning against Israeli troops involved Hamas militants firing a rocket-propelled grenade and also directing sniper fire at these troops.

Now Hamas, for its part, has said that it is committed to this ceasefire. The al-Qassam brigades, Hamas' military wing, says they have no knowledge of any incidents in the Rafah area and that their communications have been cut off with their fighters there.

The prime minister had also ordered a halt to all aid shipments to Gaza, which would be another way of retaliating for this attack.

But there now appears to be an about-face on that already with a senior Israeli official saying that aid deliveries will resume once the strikes are over, so presumably tomorrow.

And it's also important to note that there have been many other incidents as well, of the Israeli troops opening fire on Palestinians in Gaza since this ceasefire has been put into place with people who have been killed, Palestinians have been killed, after the Israeli military said they either approached or crossed this invisible yellow line where Israeli troops are now positioned inside the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, for example, at least nine people were killed, including four children, when a family was in a vehicle that they -- that the Israeli military says crossed that yellow line.

So we are now in a quite a tenuous position with this ceasefire. It doesn't seem to have collapsed altogether quite yet, but certainly the most significant test of this ceasefire that has been faced to date, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much.

All right. Still to come, millions took to the streets across America. But was the message received? We'll look at the potential political impacts to come out of the "No Kings" protests.

And George Santos is making plans for his post-prison life. His new interview on CNN straight ahead.

[14:14:47]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Disgraced former Republican congressman, George Santos, speaking out on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" today less than two days following his release from prison after President Trump commuted his sentence.

[14:19:43]

WHITFIELD: Santos served just three months of a more than seven-year prison sentence. He had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.

Santos says he learned about his commutation from the prison TV.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE SANTOS (R), FORMER NEW YORK CONGRESSMAN: I wasn't even aware until I learned it off of the chyron of mainstream media inside of the prison myself. I was -- I had just been released from segregated isolation after 41 days.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: That's incredible. You were standing in prison, you looked up at television, and that's where you saw that your sentence was commuted?

SANTOS: More like I didn't see it. Other inmates saw it and called me over to see it. I was not in the room at the time. And then I made my way to see it.

I called my family and they told me it had happened. But I was not aware. It was surprise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. With me now to talk more about this, Ron Brownstein. He's a CNN senior political analyst and a Bloomberg opinion columnist. Ron, great to see you.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Fred.

So President Trump, you know, claimed that Santos had been horribly treated in prison and praised him for, quote, "always having the courage, conviction and intelligence to always vote Republican".

So is this beneficial to Trump, or might this backfire?

BROWNSTEIN: Well look, I think, you know, this is of a piece with what we have seen for the first nine months of this second term.

You know, there's, a famous or maybe infamous quote attributed to a South American strongman in the early 20th century in Peru who said, "For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law."

And that really is the North Star for the administration of justice in the second Trump term. If you are someone he perceives as an ally, there is no offense too significant, No matter how strong the evidence against you that he is unwilling to contravene by pardoning or commuting.

I mean, we saw him pardon rioters from January 6th who violently attacked police officers. We saw them drop the case against Eric Adams in New York because he was an ally. We see them commuting the sentence of George Santos, as he has done for multiple Republican elected officials.

On the other side of the coin, if you are someone he identifies as an adversary, he has shown that he is willing to apply the full force of federal prosecution against you, no matter how flimsy the case.

Whether its James Comey or Letitia James, John Bolton, the charges might be more serious, but I don't think -- does anyone imagine that the Justice Department would have brought this case if he was writing op eds about how skilled Trump was in foreign policy?

So essentially, we have a justice system that has been transformed into an extension of the will and the personal whims of the president in a manner that we've really never seen in American history. Not even in the Nixon era when the Justice Department resisted many of the same impulses from Nixon.

And that's a world that I really wonder whether everyone is thinking through. Because, you know, power is going to change hands again someday. And all of the people who are being silent now might find themselves targets of a future administration, might wish they are raising more alarms about this kind of development today.

WHITFIELD: Yes, politically-motivated indictments, pardoning the January 6th. You know, offenders, as you mentioned, even the U.S. government shut down -- all at the core of what the "No Kings" rallies were all about from coast to coast yesterday.

And organizers say more than 7 million people showed up at these 2,700 rallies to protest President Trump's policies, his agenda.

So how much does this potentially energize Democrats or other opponents of Trump's agenda, especially ahead of the New Jersey, New York, Virginia races? Might there be an impact?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, look, I think, you know, there are two big problems Democrats had in '24. And I think the massive turnout of the "No Kings" rally suggests that one of those problems is on its way to being solved. And the other one, we're going to have to wait and see.

The problem that's on its way to being solved -- I mean, you know, in '24 Democrats drooped in white-collar, well-educated suburbs that had really provided the core of the opposition to Trump in the 2018 and 2020 elections.

If you look at the 40 seats the Democrats won in the House in 2018, and 30 of them, there were more college graduates than ever than average. And in 2020, Biden ran up historic margins in all of these kind of

white-collar suburbs. That's the kind of voter I think predominantly you saw come out yesterday. And I think the massive turnout is a sign that those voters are very alarmed by what they are watching from the second Trump administration, and they probably are going to turn out in big numbers.

And we'll be watching in places like Fairfax County, Virginia, and Bergen County, New Jersey in November to see whether that's on track. And all signs are that it is.

The other problem, the problem Democrats had in '24 was that their vote declined in a lot of heavily minority, working class areas in inner cities.

[14:24:50]

BROWNSTEIN: And that is probably less affected by the kind of issues that are motivating the marchers on the "No Kings" rally. I mean, these are voters who are really struggling to keep their head above water economically.

So we're going to see in a place like Passaic, New Jersey whether those voters are returning to Democrats. But I do think no doubt the "No Kings" rallies show, there's a lot of energy in these white-collar suburbs, and you're probably going to see margins that look more like 18 and 20 than 21 and 24 in those places.

WHITFIELD: All fascinating.

All right. Ron Brownstein, always great to have you. Thank you so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. The U.S. government shutdown is entering its fourth week. Well speak with a congressman about what needs to happen to find a solution.

[14:25:31]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. As the U.S. government shutdown drags on, one branch of Congress is MIA on Capitol Hill.

[14:30:05]

Speaker -- House Speaker Mike Johnson is extending the House's recess for a fifth week starting tomorrow. But today, the speaker is facing questions on why he's keeping lawmakers at home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Why is the House not in session, as -- REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The House did its job

exactly a month ago today, on September 19th, we passed the clean resolution.

KARL: But I'm still not understanding why is the House not in session? You passed a seven-week temporary funding bill. Is that the entirety of the Republican agenda? Why aren't you --

JOHNSON: No, it is not. No, it is not. But I refuse to allow us to come back and engage in anything until the government is reopened and the Democrats do the right thing for the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's discuss more now with Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley of California. Congressman, great to see you.

So, are you satisfied with the House speaker's reply there and response ?

REP. KEVIN KILEY (R-CA): Not at all. I mean, the House of Representatives should be in session. I mean, we have a lot more to do than simply pass a seven-week funding resolution. We have oversight hearings. We have legislation to mark up.

I'm the chair of the K-12 Education Subcommittee. We had a hearing just a couple of days ago on a very important topic career, technical education. But the hearing didn't happen because we weren't there. So I was a member of the state legislature in the early years of covid and was very vocal against the decision by Sacramento's leadership to keep our legislature out of session then. For the same reason, I'm being vocal in opposing Speaker Johnsons decision to keep the House of Representatives out of -- out of session now.

This is about giving the American people the government they're paying for. It's about protecting representative government. And by the way, it's about avoiding the next government shutdown as well because even if this seven-week funding resolution became law, we've already burned a few of those weeks.

WHITFIELD: So -- and I -- and I hear what you're saying, and it's hard for you to get in the mind of the House speaker, but I'm wondering if you could take a just a guess. Why does the House speaker find this approach beneficial and beneficial to whom?

KILEY: I really don't know. I can't speculate on his motives. I find it very, very puzzling. I mean, because if the idea is that, you know, we're trying to punish Chuck Schumer or the Senate for not passing our version of the continuing resolution, we're really only punishing ourselves because we have a lot of other things that we could be doing, a lot of other policies that we should be fighting for, hearings that have been planned for weeks or for months, legislation that's now getting backlogged, that we're not going to be able to have floor votes on once we get back.

And, you know, on top of all of that, it's also just a lot harder for us to actually reach the sort of bipartisan agreement we need to end the shutdown when the House of Representatives isn't even there. And the position that, you know, the speaker has taken that under no circumstances will we negotiate in any way, shape or form, it's actually precisely the opposite of the position that that Republicans took two years ago, when there was this question of extending the debt ceiling.

At that point, the Democrats wanted a clean extension of the debt ceiling, and the Republican position was, no, you need to negotiate with us on policy in order for us to agree to that.

So, it's hard to see what kind of the consistent principle that is being adhered to here is.

WHITFIELD: I know you've already -- you know, you've said that energy is being wasted on, you know, assigning blame. But at the heart of this U.S. government shutdown is, you know, Democrats do want to extend Obamacare subsidies to help people afford health insurance. The House speaker and other Republicans have said blame the Democrats on this shutdown. You have called for temporary relief for those who will be impacted.

What do you mean specifically?

KILEY: Well, I don't think there's any one particular you know, know, solution that I'm going to insist upon. What I'm saying is this is an issue that a lot of us on both sides of the aisle feel is very important. We don't want to see our constituents get a huge increase in premiums, all of a sudden. Millions of people.

And so, I do think there's going to need to be a deal on this issue. And so, if we can at least reach sort of the beginning stages of a deal on that now as a potential pathway out of this shutdown, which has been so harmful for people all across the country, I don't know why we wouldn't at least explore that option.

But as long as the House of Representatives is canceling its own pre- scheduled sessions week after week after week, we're not going to be able to reach that sort of resolution.

WHITFIELD: So do you feel that you and other members of Congress who don't like the approach that the House speaker is taking? Do you feel that you are empowered to do something in order to get, House members back to work, contrary to, you know, the point of view that the House speaker is, is, you know, delivering?

KILEY: Well, I did the one thing that I could do, which is I showed up for work in Washington, D.C., last week. And I don't want to say that other people aren't working, by the way, I know people are doing very important work in their districts, but we have scheduled district work periods, like, for example, the whole month of August was a district work period. The month of October was supposed to be a work period in D.C., where we're carrying out legislative business, and now we've had four consecutive weeks that have been canceled.

[14:35:06] And that, as we've discussed, has really upended a lot of things going on. So, what I did last week is I said, all right, even if the House isn't in session, I'm going to be here. I've encouraged other people to do so, and there were other people who were in town. And I think that this coming week, you're probably going to see even more people in town. So hopefully that will, you know, try to encourage the speaker to bring us back the following week at the very latest.

WHITFIELD: And then I wonder, the 7 million people who showed up for the "No Kings" protest, do you see that that movement will in any way get the attention of whether its House speaker, you know, Johnson or others who are upholding embracing the Trump agenda, when 7 million people were on the streets to say they are not in support of the agenda and they want some change.

KILEY: Well, look, I think anyone, you know, who goes out and expresses their first amendment right and engages in activism, I applaud that. That's what this country is all about. Obviously, we live at a time when there's fierce disagreements on a whole variety of issues, and I think that the folks who participated have every right to express their views.

I do think we've reached a point right now where the political division in this country has really gotten alarmingly high, and I think that the government shutdown is in some sense a manifestation of that. And by the way, just to be clear, I voted against the shutdown. I wish the Senate would pass that short term C.R.

I think government shutdowns are an institutional failure of congress, but the American people, I think, see this as just sort of congress failing to do its job and a lack of bipartisanship, excessive partisanship, reaching peak levels.

And I think that, you know, that's one of the biggest problems we face right now as a country is an unwillingness to find the common ground that we really all ought to share as Americans. So maybe if we can try to find a way to do that right now to end the shutdown, then that will create some momentum for doing things differently moving forward.

WHITFIELD: All right. Representing the third congressional district in California, Congressman Kevin Kiley, thanks so much.

KILEY: Of course. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, there's a clear frontrunner in the New York mayoral race. Could this election signal a trend for the midterms?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:03]

WHITFIELD: All right. Just over two weeks now until New Yorkers head to the polls in a mayoral race that could redefine the city as well as the future of the Democratic Party. New polling showing Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani remains the clear favorite, leading his closest competitor, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, by more than 20 points.

But his fiercest opponent may not be on the ballot, with Mamdani becoming a frequent target of President Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And he's pretty slick. But he doesn't have what it takes. He's -- he doesn't have what it takes. This -- the city will be in big trouble.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's discuss more now with Kelly Mena. She is a political correspondent at Spectrum News New York One.

Kelly, so good to see you. I mean, it sounds like Trump is more worried than anybody else. So how are New Yorkers feeling about this election?

KELLY MENA, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, SPECTRUM NEWS NY1: Hi, Fred.

Well, they're feeling some mixed reactions, but many of them are really have made up their mind at this point. This election really started many months ago. Now, it's really just the candidates focusing on their final message to New Yorkers. They actually -- early voting starts next Saturday. The first votes will be cast.

So focusing on their message, making sure that they're getting their policy proposals out there and making sure that New Yorkers know that they're the candidate to be in this race.

WHITFIELD: All right. There's another very important New Yorker who is not necessarily sharing feelings. And that would be House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. He has not endorsed Mamdani.

Listen to how he addressed that this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIERS (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: I expect to have a conversation with him at some point this week. We've had very good conversations over the last few months in advance of the government shutting down that were forward-looking, that were community-based, that were focused on, in particular, his efforts to make New York City more affordable. That's the right issue to focus on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, is there more to decipher here about whether or when he will fully endorse Mamdani?

MENA: You know, I think that he's, you know, toeing that political line, unlike some other Democrats, maybe like the governor and other Democrats here that have endorsed Mamdani, the -- Hakeem Jeffries has a lot to lose, the congressman. He's thinking about the rest of the nation and it's interesting that so many people are asking him whether he's going to endorse the Democratic nominee, because really, Zohran Mamdani won the. Democratic primary without his support, without his help or that of Senator Chuck Schumer.

So I think that whether he endorses him or not, it's not going to make a difference to those Democrats that have already decided Mamdani is the person they want to see as the next mayor. And overall here for Democrats in the city, that clearly -- they didn't need that signal from Jeffries to say, this is the person that you should choose, and they are representative of our party.

[14:45:08]

WHITFIELD: And while you're talking, we're looking at pictures of the most recent debate there. And during that debate that happened on Thursday, Mamdani, you know, took a lot of heat from Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa over the positions on -- over his positions on Israel.

How influential might this be in this race on expressed points of view of this Israeli Gaza conflict?

MENA: You know, it has been a sticking point for Mamdani, particularly, we know that there's a lot of Jewish New Yorkers and this is their number one issue. They wanted to hear on that debate stage on Thursday night exactly what Mamdani, his position is on this issue, to clarify his position, whether he would denounce some of the things he said in the past.

But a recent poll showed that. Many people actually agree with Mamdani's position, more so than Cuomo's when it comes to the Israel- Hamas conflict.

We know now that there's a ceasefire, but I think that this issue is not going to dog Mamdani going into the -- going into early voting next week. He still holds a very strong lead. He is the person to beat. A recent poll earlier this month showed that he still has almost two-double digit lead over Cuomo.

So that is not going to be an issue. If Cuomo is going to make that an issue. It's not one -- it's not one that's hampering his ability. Maybe he should move on to something else or meet Mamdani where he is when it comes to affordability, which is the issue. He tried to stick to on Thursday night.

WHITFIELD: What about for Andrew Cuomo? I mean, he's trailing by double digits in polls. Is it too late for him to make an impact?

MENA: You know, it's interesting. I think it's not too late for him to make an impact. If he strategizes the right way. If we think. About the primary, his strategy then was attacking Mamdani constantly, not talking about his own policy proposals, not talking about his own mayoral administration, what that would look like.

And that seems to be the same line of attacks and strategies that he's taken into this general election. He hasn't really changed. If maybe he can change that strategy and not focus so much on that perceived frontrunner and really pitch his own ideas for the future here in the city, maybe that can make an impact, because many of the New Yorkers we spoke to said they were so tired at the debate on Thursday about these barbs back and forth, the criticism back and forth.

They want to hear these real true policy proposals that Cuomo has. He was the governor. He did a good job there. But how can he translate that into city hall? How can he translate that to New York City here, right now, without having to discuss any other candidate in the race?

WHITFIELD: All right. Kelly Mina, thanks so much. All fascinating and very close. It's going to be quite the race to watch. Thanks so much.

All right. Still ahead, terrifying moment in mid-flight when a lithium battery spontaneously ignited in a passengers carry on luggage.

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[14:52:41]

WHITFEILD: All right. We're approaching a fourth week now of the U.S. government shutdown with no end in sight. Republicans and Democrats remain locked in a standoff over health care subsidies. The effects of the shutdown are becoming increasingly widespread, with critical food assistance set to end in just two weeks for millions of Americans and thousands of government workers remaining on unpaid leave.

CNN's Camila DeChalus is joining us now from Washington, D.C.

Camila, what are you learning about? What's the latest? How are people getting by?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Fred. We are officially on day 19 of the government shutdown. And so far, what we're hearing is the house is going to remain out of session next week. But the Senate is going to take up voting again tomorrow on proposals to potentially reopen the government. But what is clear right now is that there's really no clear path forward. Now, lawmakers are, as you mentioned, are really still deeply divided on how to fund the government. And both parties are blaming each other for the continued stalemate.

Now, on the Republican side, the House Speaker Mike Johnson has really been pointing the finger, saying that Democrats are excessively trying to spend, and that's why their priorities are conflicted when it comes to health care, and even for funding for public broadcasting. And he's really pointing to that as some of the reasons why the negotiations have stalled.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: They want to reinstate free health care paid for by taxpayers to illegal aliens. That's $200 billion as part of it. They want to -- they want to give money back to the corporation for public broadcasting. They want to take a half $1 billion from rural hospitals, and they want to engage in all sorts of spending on foreign projects around the globe. Thats that is actually on paper, that's their counterproposal. We can't do that.

JEFFRIES: We're talking about the largest cut to Medicaid in American history, hospitals, nursing homes and community based health centers are closing all across America because of what Republicans have done with their one big ugly bill. And now they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, as you can see there, Democrats are really pushing back on Republicans argument. You just heard there how the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, is really saying that Republicans are the ones that are trying to make these sweeping cuts to health care and other social programs, and that is something that were just hearing time and time again in just the past few weeks, when both sides have really pointed the finger at each other saying this is the reason why nothing is getting done.

But as we mentioned, next week is a new week.

[14:55:01]

And lawmakers are still saying I've been talking to them day in and day out the past week, and they're saying that this is really the time that both sides need to get serious about finding a path forward, because as you mentioned, there's hundreds and thousands of federal workers that are going without a paycheck. And that's really affecting thousands of lives at this point.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, in a very big way.

Camila DeChalus, thank you so much, in D.C.

All right. Still to come, a manhunt is still underway in Paris following a brazen heist in the middle of the day. The latest on the investigation next at the Louvre.

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