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Trump: All Trade Negotiations with Canada Terminated; Trump Vows to Keep Striking Alleged Drug Traffickers; NBA Star, Coach Arrested in Mafia-Linked Gambling Schemes. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired October 24, 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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POLO SANDOVAL CNN ANCHOR: I'm Polo Sandoval, joining you live from New York. Wherever you may be watching, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. And here's what's ahead.

President Trump hints that land strikes could be waged on drug cartels overseas as Washington ramps up its effort to crack down on smuggling.

An enormous scandal rocking the U.S. pro basketball, and it involves players past and present and the Italian mob, with shocking details right out of a movie; and what it could mean for the future of American sports.

And Washington announcing just a few moments ago it is cutting off trade negotiations with its neighbor to the North. But why?

ANNOUNCER: Live from New York, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: President Donald Trump says that he is ending all trade negotiations with Canada over a TV commercial.

The ad, which Trump calls fake, features former President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs. This is that late-night message that was posted by Donald Trump just a few moments ago, making that announcement.

The president says that that ad from the province of Ontario is egregious behavior, he says.

A decision to end trade talks coming as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to double exports to countries outside of the U.S. because of the threat posed by Trump's tariffs.

And meanwhile, we are closely watching the markets around the world to see what, if any, impact we could potentially see. You see right now, at the moment, U.S. futures, at least up right now. Turning to Asia Pacific region, we do understand that those markets up, as well. But certainly, going to be numbers to closely track and follow, as we have seen, in the past, that Trump's trade war has potential to impact markets around the world. But those are the numbers as we're getting them as we speak. And the U.S. president says that he has every right to keep ordering

strikes against suspected drug traffickers and their boats without first asking Congress to pass a declaration of war.

He insisted on Thursday that we're going to, quote, "kill people that are bringing drugs into our country."

Donald Trump also suggested that his administration would start going after alleged cartel members within countries like Venezuela. Adding to -- adding to all of that, that he would notify Congress before beginning any operations on land, but that he doesn't expect any real opposition from lawmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We will go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be difficult for them to object.

TRUMP: I don't see any loss in going. No reason not to. You know, they'll always complain. Oh, we should have gone. So, we're going to definitely. I'd like to just say let's go. We'll go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And -- and Mr. President --

TRUMP: We're going to tell them what we're going to do. And I think they're going to probably like it, except for the radical left lunatics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: President Trump went on to deny what the U.S. -- that the U.S. Sent a B-1 bomber like this one that you're seeing here to fly near the coast of Venezuela on Thursday. Flight trackers clocking it at about 50 miles from the mainland.

It's not clear if the aircraft actually entered Venezuelan airspace at any time.

But the show of force and also soaring tensions, they have Venezuela on edge. Its government has been launching military drills for some time now, as President Nicolas Maduro issued this message in English.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT: Not war, not war, not war. Just peace. Just peace, just peace forever. Forever. Forever. Peace forever. No crazy war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The deadly U.S. strikes in the Caribbean and East Pacific. They have already unnerved many, given just how little evidence has been released by the administration about the targets, about these missions.

More now from CNN's Kristen Holmes in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump again on Thursday, reiterating that the administration might start to strike inside of countries like Venezuela, targeting these alleged cartel members.

He also reiterated that he didn't believe that he needed to go to Congress for a declaration of war to continue the strikes abroad.

HOLMES: I don't think we're going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we're just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. OK? We're going to kill them. You know, they're going to be, like, dead.

HOLMES: Now, President Trump did say they would go to Congress before they launched any of these strikes on land but noted that he would likely not have any pushback.

HOLMES (voice-over): And of course, given what we've seen since President Trump has took office -- or taken office, it certainly appears that Republican lawmakers on the Hill will be unlikely to push back on him.

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Now, we also heard from the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, who insisted that every boat that they had struck or every vessel that they had struck, they had confirmed, through the military, were carrying narcotics. But no details further than that.

HOLMES: Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Let's continue our coverage of these rising tensions with some expert analysis from Jamil Jaffer, a founder and executive director of the National Security Institute. He joins us from Alexandria, Virginia.

Jamil, it's great to have you.

JAMIL JAFFER, FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SECURITY INSTITUTE: Thanks, Polo.

SANDOVAL: So, defenders of the Trump administration's approach, they insist that the president is on solid legal ground right now and that he does, in fact, have the authority to order these strikes.

You've been watching this for weeks now. We're nearly almost two months. What is your assessment of President Trump's authority?

JAFFER: Well, Polo, the president has authority under the Constitution, as commander in chief and the chief executive of the country, to undertake military actions when he believes the country is under imminent threat.

Now, as a general matter, Congress has tried to constrain that role by saying that the president has to report to Congress, which he's done, and that within a certain period of time, if he doesn't get authority from Congress to use military force or a declaration of war, that he must withdraw those forces.

No president, since that law was passed, the -- the -- the law was passed has -- has abided by that. At the same time, they've all indicated they have the authority to go on beyond that, and some have.

At the same time, it requires Congress to choose to constrain the president if they choose to do so, and they haven't yet demonstrated any willingness to do that in this circumstance or, frankly, in prior circumstances.

SANDOVAL: And then, of course, there's the opposition and also the criticism that we've seen in the United States from lawmakers, from -- from both sides of the aisle. But also concerns from -- from leaders throughout Latin America.

Obviously, we've talked about Colombia before, but listen to what Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Thursday. She clearly take -- takes issue with some of these strikes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Well, obviously, we do not agree. There are international laws on how to operate when dealing with the alleged illegal transfer of drugs or guns on international waters. And we have expressed this publicly to the government of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: That's Mexico's president, essentially echoing some of the concerns we've heard. In your view, what recourse could countries like Mexico have, if they decide to hold the U.S. accountable for killing one of their citizens without facing prosecution, even if they're suspected of drug trafficking?

JAFFER: Well, look, we haven't seen any of these countries take advantage of their -- of their options that they have, but they can, of course, go to the U.N. They can go to the U.N. Security Council and seek to have a -- a breach of the international peace declared and the U.S. held accountable.

But of course, the U.S. has a permanent seat on the Security Council, one of five permanent seats, and has a veto of any -- over any such action.

So, in a lot of ways, there isn't a lot of recourse. They might go to the various international courts, but the U.S. isn't subject to those, because it hasn't subjected itself to that jurisdiction.

And so, at the end of the day, there's limited recourse these countries have, except in the international realm, you know, to sort of hold the U.S. accountable.

That being said, many countries in the world, including the United States, have taken the position that, if other countries are unwilling or unable to effectuate the protection of their own national space from being used in attacks against the United States -- and in this case, the president has said that the trafficking of drugs into the United States, particularly fentanyl, but also cocaine, has killed tens of thousands of Americans a year. The -- this country and others have indicated their authority and their belief they have a self- defense right to not only go in international waters, which has happened so far, but to even go into other countries' borders and take action against threats and threats that those countries are unwilling or unable to control.

SANDOVAL: And you set up my next question nicely here. President Trump has insisted that he's considering expanding these strikes to include targets on land.

I mean, what could that look like? Obviously, he doesn't necessarily mean -- or he wouldn't mean U.S. soil. So -- so is he hinting that he would go after some of these organizations on foreign soil beyond the CIA covert ops that we heard about?

JAFFER: Well, it does certainly sound like that. The president has indicated publicly now, which is interesting, that he's authorized the CIA to take action in Venezuela.

The question becomes, where will he expand that authority, and will he go to regular military forces? And then, does that constitutionally -- constitute a violation of that country's sovereignty?

Now, again, the U.S., during the global war on terror and other circumstances, has taken the position that, if you as a nation are unwilling to control your territory and your space, and it's being used in operations against the United States, whether those are counterterrorism operations or, in this case, killing Americans through the use of drug -- of drug smuggling, that we have the right and authority and will take action, even if it violates your sovereignty to do so.

Now, that being said, other countries have a right, if their sovereignty has been violated, to consider that act of war and take action. But the odds of that happening in this circumstance, of course, are low.

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And so, we'll see what happens here. But at the end of the day, you know, the U.S. does have some amount of -- of -- of authority and right in its claim that it's taking action against things that other nations are unwilling to control. Then the question is, what is that nation going to do about it?

SANDOVAL: Yes. It seems to be the case, especially since we've seen, now, weeks of these strikes. And they're -- the administration promising that they will continue if they see more of these targets. Jamil Jaffer, always appreciate your analysis. Thank you for your

time.

JAFFER: Thanks, Polo.

SANDOVAL: For the first time in his second term, President Trump will be meeting with China's President Xi Jinping.

Mr. Trump leaving for a trip to Asia on Friday. He'll be visiting Malaysia and then Japan before attending the APEC summit in South Korea, where he'll be meeting with President Xi.

Well, the meeting comes amid growing trade tensions between the U.S. and China. American and Chinese officials are currently holding trade talks in Malaysia on Friday that continue throughout the weekend.

Well, Ukraine's president says that Thursday's killing of two journalists was part of Moscow's strategy against the media. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that a Russian drone struck the journalists' vehicle in Eastern Ukraine. A third journalist was wounded in the attack. They all worked for the Freedom Television Channel.

Zelenskyy says that Russia has already killed more than 130 journalists since invading Ukraine. He says Russia is trying to silence reports of its war crimes.

Moscow is currently denying that two of its military jets violated Lithuanian airspace. NATO officials say the two Spanish fighter jets taking part in a NATO mission, that they scrambled in response to the incident on Thursday.

Lithuania says that the Russian planes crossed into its airspace for about 18 seconds before flying back. Russia says the planes were on a training mission and didn't deviate from their flight plan.

It was just last month that Estonia and Russia [SIC] -- that Estonia said that Russian warplanes violated its airspace. And also Russian drones flew into Poland and Romania earlier this year.

President Vladimir Putin is brushing off new U.S. sanctions against Russia's two largest oil companies. He says they won't have much of an impact on Russia's economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): They will have certain consequences, but they will not significantly affect our economic well-being.

What we are talking about is, of course, an attempt to put pressure on Russia. But no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever make decisions under pressure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: That's Russia's president speaking on Thursday, just a day after the sanctions were announced. Mr. Putin also said that there will be a, quote, "serious if not overwhelming response" if U.S. Tomahawk missiles ever strike Russia.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that it's open to setting up a meeting between the U.S. and Russian leaders. You'll recall U.S. President Donald Trump, he canceled an expected meeting between the two in Budapest.

But the White House, it appears to have left the door open for another summit in the future.

Well, from the hard court to the poker table. A Hall of Fame coach and two veteran NBA players indicted in connection with Mafia-linked gambling schemes. The shocking details that we found in an indictment, coming up.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. The NBA season, it is less than a week old, but it has already being rocked by a massive scandal that we think you'll agree sounds more like a Hollywood blockbuster.

A Hall of Fame coach accused of luring unsuspecting victims to rigged poker games, which involves the Mafia. Hidden cameras, X-ray tables and special contact lenses that could read marked cards.

And a star player that's charged with fixing basketball games by tipping off others who could bet and win big.

CNN's Brynn Gingras puts it all together for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSEPH NOCELLA JR., U.S. ATTORNEY, EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Your winning streak has ended.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A takedown of an alleged gambling criminal enterprise, linking four New York City Mafia families and NBA stars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcoming Chauncey to the Hall of Fame.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Portland Trailblazers head coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups; Miami Heat star Terry Rozier; and Cleveland Cavaliers alum Damon Jones among more than 30 people arrested for their alleged involvement in one of two elaborate schemes involving illegal betting on NBA games or rigged poker games.

KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: Let's not, you know, mince words. This is the insider trading saga for the NBA.

GINGRAS (voice-over): One document describing Rozier and Jones as sending insider tips on players and teams, such as whether a player, including Rozier himself, was going to be sidelined or sick; placing bets to favor their odds and maximize profits; and then allegedly laundering their winnings, totaling millions of dollars.

JESSICA TISCH, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: They placed wagers on unders: on players to score less, rebound less, assist less, using information that was not yet public. In some instances, players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to make sure that those bets paid out.

GINGRAS (voice-over): In a second scheme, Billups and Jones allegedly teaming up with members of La Cosa Nostra crime families in underground poker games.

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NOCELLA: The scheme targeted victims known as, quote, "fish," who were often lured to participate in these rigged games by the chance to play alongside former professional athletes who were known as, quote, "face cards."

What the victims, the fish, didn't know is that everybody else at the poker game, from the dealer to the players, including the face cards, were in on the scam.

GINGRAS (voice-over): They allegedly also used high-tech equipment to rig play, like this X-ray machine, which authorities say could read cards that were face down on the table. Also, used hidden cameras and altered shuffling machines, which --

NOCELLA: -- read the cards in the deck, predict which player at the table had the best poker hand, and relay that information to an off- site operator.

GINGRAS (voice-over): And then, authorities say, some defendants would resort to old-school Mafia tactics to collect their earnings, such as robbery and extortion.

"I'm going to wait outside poker games and pistol whip five winners a week," one text message read in court documents.

Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right. Let's go through some of these details with our expert, Andrew Brandt. He's the executive director of the Center for Sports Law at Villanova university. He's also host of "The Business of Sports with Andrew Brandt" podcast.

Andrew, thank you so much for joining us tonight.

ANDREW BRANDT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR SPORTS LAW, VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY: Yes, the start of the NBA season is clouded right now for all these reasons.

SANDOVAL: We're just days in, and it really is out of a movie here.

BRANDT: Yes. SANDOVAL: One of the schemes: you have a rigged poker game involving the Mafia. And in the other, you have the alleged profiting off of insider player information. It's out of a script here.

Were you -- when you heard about these charges, when you heard from prosecutors today in that announcement, were you surprised to hear about the extent of these conspiracies?

BRANDT: Yes, I first heard about some prosecutorial conduct against these players, but then I turned on and saw Kash Patel in the FBI and major, major crimes getting involved here. Yes, I was surprised.

But let's give a little background here.

For many years, 50 years, it was all taboo. Sports betting, you had to go to illegal bookies. It was under the table. It was in Vegas only.

But as of 2018, we've had legalized sports betting by state. And today, we have 38 states plus the District of Columbia, where it's legal.

Now, the leagues like the NBA, fought this forever and used tens of millions of dollars in lawyers' fees to fight it in court. But they lost.

But maybe they won, because all the monetization angles they've gone through with sports betting now. As everyone knows who watches sports, watching this right now, knows, you cannot engage in sports viewing without being inundated with sports betting. The apps, the lines, the touts. So, it's all around us.

So, in some ways, I'm not surprised that this has embroiled and ensnared a coach and a player and other players, because it is so rampant, so in-your-face, so embedded, so embraced right now, it's hard to believe.

SANDOVAL: And I'm so glad you mentioned that, too, Andrew. You're talking about leagues that really put up a fight, as you point out. But now bringing in from -- from fan engagements, revenue, you're looking at hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue that's generated for these professional leagues.

And that's not even getting into what's down the road here with college sports.

So, then, the question of how much of a difference could this particular case, these crackdowns actually make when it comes to cracking down on gambling schemes? I mean, given that popularity that you point out, it must be very difficult to regulate.

BRANDT: Yes. I mean, everything I said is, of course -- doesn't answer the fact that still -- still -- players and coaches can't gamble on their sport.

Now, they can gamble on other sports. Basketball players can gamble on football. Football players can gamble on basketball. But let's be obvious here. You can't bet on your sport. So that happened here.

And this is affecting what every commissioner, what every league tries to protect: the integrity of the game, the all-important integrity of the game.

So, the NBA has got a problem here. And Adam Silver, the commissioner, who was one of the first leaders in sports to say, back in 2014, let's take illegal gambling out of the darkness into light. And lo and behold, we have legalized sports betting.

And as I said, as you said, it's been a monetization gift to all these leagues that are now embracing it, where they fought it for so many years.

Now, do I want to excuse Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier for these alleged crimes? Of course not. But you can see the mixed messages.

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And yes, with gambling all around us -- legal, out-front, embraced -- maybe it is hard for players and coaches to say, yes, maybe I should get in on that a little bit, as well.

SANDOVAL: It is an absolutely fascinating case, one that we'll certainly be following as it plays out in the courts.

Andrew Brandt, thank you so much for -- for spending some time with us to -- to help us better understand these just completely remarkable case [SIC]. Thank you for your time.

BRANDT: You got it. Thanks.

SANDOVAL: Well, a string of top U.S. officials, they are currently descending on Israel this week as they try to keep the Gaza ceasefire on track, in place. That story and much, much more when CNN NEWSROOM returns.

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SANDOVAL: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently in Israel at this hour. He says that reaching the next phase of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza, that that remains a top priority for President Donald Trump.

Rubio met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. He landed just hours after Vice President J.D. Vance wrapped up his trip to that country.

The ceasefire has allowed aid groups to surge more supplies into Gaza, but the World Health Organization is currently warning that it's still just a fraction of what's truly needed.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond, following the very latest from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yet another senior U.S. official touching down in Israel to meet with the Israeli prime minister and senior members of his government.

This time, it's the secretary of state, Marco Rubio --

DIAMOND (voice-over): -- who is the latest in a parade of senior U.S. officials who visited Israel just this past week, a week that began with Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff arriving in Israel. And then you saw the U.S. vice president, J.D. Vance, doing the same. And now we're up to the secretary of state.

It's all part of an effort --

DIAMOND: -- that one U.S. official termed as "Bibi-sitting," a play on the Israeli prime minister's nickname, Bibi Netanyahu.

DIAMOND (voice-over): And that's because U.S. officials, you know, have been concerned that the Israeli prime minister is simply not as committed to this ceasefire agreement as the United States is; not as committed to ensuring that this ceasefire agreement not only holds, but actually results in that enduring end to the war in Gaza that President Trump has described.

We have seen that Vance and Rubio have already talked about, you know, the efforts necessary to ensure that this ceasefire actually sticks, as the U.S. is expending really significant diplomatic and political capital --

DIAMOND: -- here in Israel in order to not just monitor this ceasefire, but actually mediate potential disputes that may arise. Standing up this new civilian military coordination center about a dozen miles away from the Gaza border, where you have U.S. Military officials and others monitoring the ceasefire, ensuring the entry of humanitarian aid, and starting to prepare for the next phases of this ceasefire.

And we heard the vice president, J.D. Vance, on Thursday, talk about some of those efforts: standing up this international stabilization force that will go into Gaza and take over parts of the strip from both Hamas and from the Israeli military.

We also heard for the first time, from the vice president, a timeline for the potential rebuilding of parts of Gaza, including the Southern city of Rafah.

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I think that we could actually have tens of thousands of Gazans moving into Southern Gaza, where again, you have the Hamas-free zone, in the next couple of months. And then tens of thousands beyond that.

I think the -- the hope is to rebuild Rafah over the next two to three years. And theoretically, you could have half a million people live in a rebuilt Rafah. DIAMOND: The vice president also addressed the vote that happened in

Israel's parliament while he was in Israel. This was a vote to advance a bill that would see Israel annex large swaths of the West Bank.

J.D. Vance, the vice president, saying that he was not only insulted by this vote, calling it a stupid political stunt, but also reiterating that the U.S. would not allow Israel to do so.

The Israeli prime minister, for his part, his office blaming Israel's opposition, even though most of the votes in favor of this bill came from his own governing coalition.

But he did say that, without his party's support, the Likud, this vote would not go anywhere.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Pakistan is now banning the Islamist party TLP. This comes after recent anti-Israel protests turned deadly when the group's members clashed with authorities.

Pakistan says that its cabinet unanimously approved the ban, accusing the TLP of, quote, "terrorist and violent activities."

In a statement to Reuters, the group called the ban "unconstitutional, vindictive, illegal, and dictatorial."

This is the second time Pakistan has banned an Islamist party in four years.

And for the first time in five centuries, a British king worshiped alongside a Catholic pope. Just ahead, we'll update you on a visit that hasn't happened since the reign of Henry VIII.

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SANDOVAL: For the first time in nearly 500 years, a British monarch and a Catholic pontiff, they shared a worship service.

King Charles and Pope Leo prayed together in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel on Thursday. That hasn't happened since King Henry VIII broke with Rome back in 1534.

Latin chants mixed with English prayers during the service. King Charles and Queen Camilla, they are on a state visit to the Vatican and Rome at the moment.

The king is the supreme governor of the Church of England.

I love Halloween, and it seems that hundreds of people in Southern Florida do, as well, as they took over the streets of Key West in a spirit of Halloween. From a horse with wings, inspired from the popular film "How to Train a Dragon" to a pair of pugs dressed as Samson and Delilah. And of course, they are riding Puff the Magic Dragon there.

This year's pet masquerade theme was "Bedtime Stories and Magical Monsters," with favorites including a Chihuahua dressed as a shark and also a dog trading in the man's best friend title to be a big cat, a lion for the day. You see him there.

Proceeds from this event all going to support local rescued and adopted animals. A fantastic cause there in Key West.

And from the entire team, I want to thank you so much for joining us at CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval. I'll join you again at the top of the hour. For now, though, it's WORLD SPORT.

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