Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Ukrainian, Russian Leaders React to Trump's Sanctions on two Russian Oil Companies; NBA Players and Coaches Involved in Gambling and Match-Rigging Were Slapped for Charges; New Video in the Louvre Heist on Sunday Released to the Public; Pope Leo and King Charles Met for the First Time in Many Centuries. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired October 24, 2025 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."
President Zelenskyy and Putin react as the U.S. slams sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies. We'll look at how the measures could impact Moscow.
President Trump escalates his rhetoric on America's controversial lethal boat strikes. And now Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro is responding with a message for peace.
Plus, U.S. pro-basketball is rocked by gambling and sports-rigging indictments. We'll have details on the charges and how authorities say the schemes are linked to the mafia.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's allies and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are set to meet in London in the coming hours. They're hoping to increase pressure on Russia to end its war on Ukraine.
On Thursday, the European Union agreed to bankroll Kyiv for two more years. The E.U. also approved its 19th set of sanctions on Russia, which includes a ban on buying Russian liquid natural gas. A day earlier, the U.S. slapped sanctions on Russia's top oil companies but President Vladimir Putin says those sanctions won't hurt Russia's economy.
Here he is.
(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)
BRUNHUBER: Putin also said there will be serious, if not overwhelming, responses if U.S. Tomahawk missiles ever strike Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's President mentioned the new sanctions when he was asked to assess the results of his recent meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: So the result of this meeting, we have sanctions on Russian energy. We don't have meeting in Hungary without Ukraine and we have not yet Tomahawks.
That's it, this is the result, I think. Not bad.
REPORTER: Did you expect the missiles?
ZELENSKYY: Well will see. I don't know, really each day brings something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he's working to circumvent the new U.S. sanctions on Russia. Orban is an ally of President Putin.
Moscow is denying that two of its military jets violated Lithuanian airspace, NATO officials say two Spanish fighter jets taking part in NATO missions scrambled in response to the incident on Thursday. Lithuania says 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.
European countries are rushing to restock their military arsenals amid tensions with Russia. But the war in Ukraine isn't the only reason they're buying more weapons. The other reason is Donald Trump, as Germany's largest arms maker told our Fred Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Ukraine continues to face a massive Russian onslaught, and E.U. leaders gathered in Brussels vowing to help Kyiv and strengthen their own militaries, the head of Rheinmetall, one of Germany's largest defense companies, tells me the increase in European spending is significant.
PLEITGEN: What kind of things are being purchased?
ARMIN PAPPERGER, CEO, RHEINMETALL: Everything at the moment. So priority number one is for sure ammunition, air defense is priority number two. Then all the vehicles, but also on the naval stuff, a lot of naval stuff will come. PLEITGEN (voice-over): One driving factor, Armin Papperger tells me,
U.S. President Trump pressuring Europe to do more for its own defense or risk losing the U.S.' support.
PLEITGEN: Are you seeing then a Trump effect?
PAPPERGER: The pressure from the Americans is very high. And I think without the pressure from America, the German government and also the European governments would not make that decision.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Rheinmetall is one of the largest producers for artillery ammunition in the world. And the company's stock has soared as it's supplied massive quantities of shells to Ukraine.
But the Ukraine war has significantly changed the nature of warfare. Cheap drones often used to destroy expensive armored vehicles on the front lines.
[03:05:07]
Still, Papperger tells me he believes heavy armor will remain important in the future.
PAPPERGER: The Ukrainians very clearly say, without armored vehicles we are lost. You cannot win a war only with drones. A drone is one effector, but there are a lot of other effectors.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But with almost all types of weapons in high demand, Rheinmetall is branching out into new fields, producing jet fighter sections, recently purchasing a naval shipyard and even starting its own satellite venture. Armin Papperger saying he believes massive growth is possible on both sides of the Atlantic.
PAPPERGER: We expect over the next years that we have a potential of more than 50 billion every year out of the European Union side. And there is a huge potential also in the United States of America. There are huge programs, a new artillery program, the new infantry fighting vehicle, the new truck program.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): High demand from nations seeking to beef up their defenses in an increasingly uncertain world.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Israel at this hour, he says reaching the next phase of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza remains a top priority for President Trump. Rubio landed in Israel just hours after Vice President J.D. Vance wrapped up his trip to the country. Here's what Rubio told reporters while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We feel confident and positive about the progress that's being made. We're clear-eyed about the challenges, too. But the President has made this a top priority, I think as evidenced by the fact that both Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were here for much of the week, and I spent time with them.
And the Vice President just left. We crossed on the way. And then I'm here now today because this is a priority, it's a very important achievement, but there's more work to be done and bigger achievements that lie ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: CNN's Jeremy Diamond is following the 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, 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 that one U.S. official termed as Bibisitting, a play on the Israeli Prime Minister's nickname, Bibi Netanyahu. And that's because U.S. officials 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 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 this 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 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 a 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)
[03:10:09]
BRUNHUBER: President Trump says he's ending all trade negotiations with Canada over a T.V. commercial. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN, THEN-U.S. PRESIDENT (voice-over): When someone says, let's impose tariffs on foreign imports, it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works, but only for a short time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The ad, which Trump calls fake, features former President Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs. The President says the ad from the province of Ontario is egregious behavior. The decision to end trade talks comes 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.
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 ahead.
And the former co-founder of a major cryptocurrency exchange gets a presidential pardon. We'll tell you who President Trump blamed for the former Binance CEO's plight.
And new video of a brazen getaway after that slinging jewelry heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris. We'll have the latest on the investigation.
All those stories and more coming up, please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:15:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: Returning to our top story, Ukraine's allies and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are set to meet in London in the coming hours. It follows the European approving its 19th set of sanctions on Russia, which includes a ban on buying Russian liquid natural gas. A day earlier, the U.S. slapped sanctions on Russia's top oil companies.
For more, we're joined by Alexander Kolyandr, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. He's covered Russia's politics and economy for years, first as the chief correspondent for the "Wall Street Journal" from Moscow and then as a strategist at Credit Suisse Bank.
Thank you so much for being here with us, I really appreciate it.
So we've seen sanctions pile up against Russia for years now, but their economy sort of keeps chugging along. What's different about this latest round? Could these sanctions actually bite?
ALEXANDER KOLYANDR, SR. FELLOW, CENTER FOR EUROPEAN POLICY ANALYSIS, FORMER MOSCOW CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, "WALL STREET JOURNAL", AND FORMER STRATEGIST, CREDIT SUISSE BANK: Hello, thank you very much for having me.
Yes, you're absolutely right. Sanctions keep on piling, but Russian economy is still standing. However, it doesn't feel as good as it was, say, two years ago or in 2024.
However, these sanctions might really hurt, because now Russia has all its major oil producers sanctioned by the United States, and its main buyers of oil, India and China, they might be worried about the American secondary sanctions. But everything depends on three major things.
First of all, on the implementation of those new sanctions. Just to remind you, they will come in force only in a month if nothing happens.
Secondly, whether India and China would be really afraid of secondary sanctions. So we need some clarity on the secondary sanctions as well, whether the United States are prepared to hit Russian partners with secondary sanctions.
And thirdly, how India and China would react and how Russia would try to circumvent the sanctions as it did before.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, and we've seen already Viktor Orban saying that they're going to look for ways to circumvent these bans. So I want to ask you about the effects of this and whether it's actually being felt by Russians.
I mean, Russia is dealing with really high inflation and a serious labor crunch right now. Putin says Russia can live with these sanctions. I mean, can they? How much worse could things get for ordinary Russians in the next coming months?
KOLYANDR: I think the fact of the latest sanctions would not be felt immediately, like in 24 hours. It will take some time to sink in.
Firstly, because Russian budget does not directly depend on the price of sold oil, there will be some time gap. Secondary Russian economy is still pretty much market economy, quite flexible and quite resilient. So the effect would not be immediate.
However, those sanctions in time will definitely hit the budget. It will force the government to make a hard choice between spending on the war, on social issues, or on infrastructure. Then it will also hit the current accounts.
It might hit the exchange rates, inflation, it would keep the current high base rate of the central bank high and in time, probably in a year, it will also hit oil companies, because they will have less money to spend on new production and on keeping the current production going, which in turn will reduce Russian oil output. However, all that will not be felt by an ordinary Russian immediately, it will take a bit of time for the fact to sink in.
[03:19:59]
BRUNHUBER: Yes, and so no immediate impact on Russians. I mean, what about the rest of the world? You talked about Russia's output.
Do we have to worry about rising oil prices? Can we expect a spike of prices at the pumps?
KOLYANDR: We've already seen the spike of global oil prices. The prices responded by 6 percent rise immediately because the markets are really afraid of suddenly getting rid of 7 percent of the global markets, which is Russian parts of oil.
But at the moment, I do not think that we should expect anything like a global oil crunch of 1970s. There is still enough oil, demand is pretty much stable, supply may be increased.
And at the end of the day, I do not think that Russian oil will completely disappear from the global markets. It seems that China will continue to buy Russian oil and by and large ignore the American sanctions. And China would be able to absorb all the Russian oil output that, say, India would be afraid to buy.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, we'll see if that is a topic of discussion between Presidents Trump and Xi, if and when they meet. Alexander Kolyandr, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
KOLYANDR: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: President Trump has pardoned the co-founder of crypto exchange Binance.
Changping Zhao pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge in 2023 and was sentenced to four months in prison. Zhao stepped down as the CEO of Binance and the company agreed to pay over $4 billion in fines. President Trump has shown support for cryptocurrency during his second term. CNN's Kaitlan Collins pressed the president on Zhao's connections to Trump's family businesses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Today, you pardoned the founder of Binance. Can you explain why you chose to pardon him? And did it have anything to do with his involvement in your business, the founder of Binance?
He has an involvement in your business.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I believe we're talking about a temporary because I do pardon a lot of people. I don't know. He was recommended by a lot of people.
A lot of people say that he's talking about the crypto person.
COLLINS: Yes.
TRUMP: A lot of people say that he wasn't guilty of anything, he served four months in jail. They say that he was not guilty of anything. I don't know.
I don't believe I've ever met him, but I've been joined by a lot of support and a lot of support. And they said that what he did is not even a crime.
It wasn't a crime that he was persecuted by the Biden administration and so I gave him a pardon at the request of a lot of very good people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The NBA season is less than a week old, but it's already being rocked by a scandal. A Hall of Fame coach accused of luring unsuspecting victims to rigged poker games, hidden cameras, x-ray tables and special contact lenses that could read marked cards. A star player charged with fixing basketball games, tipping off others who could bet and win big.
CNN's Brynn Gingras has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSEPH NOCELLA JR., U.S. ATTORNEY, EASTERN 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.
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: That's not, you know, mince words. This is the insider trading saga for the NBA.
GINGRAS (voice-over): One document describing Rozier and Jones 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.
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.
[03:25:07]
They allegedly also used high tech equipment to rig a play like this X-ray machine, which authorities say could read cards that were faced 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)
BRUNHUBER: From sea to land, the U.S. President suggests he could widen the military strikes against accused drug traffickers, one of his latest threat, and how Venezuela is responding.
Plus, as Americans digest images of the rubble that was once the East Wing of the White House, President Trump says he has enough money now to pay for his huge new ballroom. Those stories and more coming up, stay with "CNN Newsroom."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check today's top stories.
President Vladimir Putin is dismissing new U.S. sanctions against Russia's two top oil companies. He said they won't have much impact on Russia's economy and that no self-respecting country gives in to pressure. The U.S. announced the sanctions on Wednesday and urged Moscow to accept an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.
Donald Trump says he is terminating all trade talks with Canada. The U.S. president says an ad featuring Ronald Reagan talking negatively about tariffs is fake and egregious. The decision comes as Canada has announced plans to double exports to countries other than the U.S.
A star NBA player and a Hall of Fame coach are facing charges as part of gambling schemes tied to the mafia. Bets say Chauncey Billups lured unsuspecting victims into rigged poker games and Terry Rosario is accused of fixing basketball games so bettors could profit.
The U.S. President says 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 the U.S. will, 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 that he would notify Congress before beginning any operations on land, but that he doesn't expect any real opposition.
President Trump went on to deny that the U.S. sent a B-1 bomber like this one to fly near the coast of Venezuela on Thursday. Flight trackers clocked it about 50 miles or 80 kilometers from the mainland.
It's not clear if the aircraft entered Venezuelan airspace, but the show of force and soaring tensions have Venezuela on edge. Its government has been launching military drills 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. Peace forever. No crazy war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, questions are mounting about the legality of these U.S. strikes. CNN's Kristen Holmes picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SR. 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.
TRUMP: 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 launch any of these strikes on land, but noted that he would likely not have any pushback. 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.
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.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHHUBER: For the first time in a second term, President Trump will meet China's President Xi Jinping. Trump leaves for a trip to Asia on Friday. He'll meet Malaysia and Japan before attending the APEC summit in South Korea, where he'll meet with President Xi.
Now, the meeting comes amid growing trade tensions between the U.S. and China. American and Chinese officials are holding trade talks in Malaysia on Friday that continue through the weekend.
[03:35:02]
Well earlier, I spoke with John Nilsson-Wright, head of the Japan and Korea's program at the Center for Geopolitics at Cambridge University. He told me how he sees Trump's trip as emblematic of how he approaches the presidency. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN NILSSON-WRIGHT, HEAD OF JAPAN AND KOREA'S PROGRAM, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY-CENTER FOR GEOPOLITICS: I think it's very much characteristic of Donald Trump that he makes these commitments, makes a commitment to visit the region. Superficially, one might see that as an indication of the United States maintaining its regional presence, attending the ASEAN meeting in Malaysia, and meeting with allies such as Japan and South Korea, and, of course, those critical negotiations with Xi Jinping. However, it has to be said, I think Donald Trump, of course, sees
himself as a dealmaker. His visit to Malaysia is prompted, I think, by his desire to associate himself with the Cambodia-Thailand peace deal that has been negotiated by the Malaysian Prime Minister.
And then on his visits to both Japan and South Korea, he's looking to focus, I think, on economic results, extracting concessions from both the Japanese and the Koreans. And, of course, that's very much true of his planned meeting with Xi Jinping at the summit in or at the meeting, the APEC meeting in Seoul, in Gyeongju, rather. This, I think, is, in a way, it's emblematic of the challenges that Trump faces in using a more coercive approach.
And Xi Jinping himself, of course, has been pushing back by introducing new global measures to restrict the export of rare earth minerals. If you like, both these leaders, both Trump and Xi, are playing the tit-for-tat game of coercive economic policy. It's not quite clear at this stage who's going to win.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, exactly. Well, with that meeting, I mean, Trump keeps saying he has a great relationship with Xi, but that trade war just keeps flaring up. So, what do you expect to come out of that meeting here and how much do those interpersonal relationships actually affect the outcome?
NILSSON-WRIGHT: I think we shouldn't put too much emphasis on the interpersonal connections. I mean, it's very much Trump's desire to see himself as being able to make a lot out of those personal ties.
But Xi knows that his much more combative approach is playing well at home with the Chinese domestic audience. China knows that, in a way, it's got a lot of leverage. Those rare earth minerals, for example, are critically important to the United States defense industry.
Banning, for example, the purchase of American soybean exports is also hurting American farmers. I think what's most likely is that we will see some sort of negotiated pause to some of these economic pressures, if you like, which will then be hailed by Donald Trump as a great breakthrough. But I think it would be wrong to exaggerate the likelihood of a major deal coming out of this agreement, this meeting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: President Trump has completely demolished the entire east wing of the White House and is pushing ahead with plans to build a massive, multi-million dollar new ballroom in its place.
Have a look at this satellite image of the White House taken on Thursday. It shows just how much Trump has drastically altered the historic structure. Piles of debris have temporarily replaced the buildings which traditionally served as the office of the First Lady.
And President Trump says there's more than enough money to build the massive ballroom. The President said he's raised $350 million from private donors to pay for construction of the ballroom.
The White House press secretary insists that the administration has been transparent about its plans. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: With any construction project, changes come. And we have informed all of you. We've been keeping you apprised of this project, we've shown you the renderings.
And if you look at the renderings, it's very clear the east wing was going to be modernized.
REPORTER: But modernized is tearing down two different things.
LEAVITT: Well, again, the president, the plans changed when the president heard counsel from the architects and the construction companies who said that in order for this east wing to be modern and beautiful for many years to come, for it to be a truly strong and stable structure, this phase one that we're now in was necessary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: All right, now to the latest on the investigation into the jewelry heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris. A new video which appears to show the suspects make their getaway on Sunday. We have more now from CNN's Melissa Bell in Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New video appearing to show the moment robbers left the Louvre on their mechanical lift carrying off eight pieces from France's crown jewels.
It took just seven minutes from the moment a member of the public called the police on Sunday morning at 9:30 about suspicious individuals wearing motorcycle helmets outside the museum. By 9:37 a.m., a museum alarm was triggered as the robbers wearing yellow vests broke into display cases before escaping through the window they'd used to get in.
The thieves made off with jewelry worth about $102 million, but historically priceless. Items worn by French queens in the 19th century.
[03:40:08]
The headpiece, necklace and one earring of Queen Marie-Amelie. The large bodice bow and tiara of Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.
The Louvre has now reopened to the public with a reckoning about the security failures that allowed its Apollo gallery to be broken into.
LAURENCE DES CARS, LOUVRE MUSEUM DIRECTOR (through translator): Unfortunately, on the Apollo gallery side, the only camera that is installed is in the west direction and therefore does not cover the balcony affected by the break-in.
BELL (voice-over): The window used by the robbers to get in and out of the Louvre now something of a tourist attraction in its own right.
CHRIS TABRIZI, CANADIAN TOURIST: I think it's like an eventful thing in Paris. And I think it's a new tourist attraction, honestly.
So we're like, oh wow, this is happening in real life. So we're like, you know what, let's go take a picture. He just got here, so it's the perfect time.
BELL: One hundred investigators are working on this case to try and figure out who was behind this most brazen of heists. They're considering not just the equipment that was used by the robbers, but some of the things they left behind.
A glove, a helmet, one of the scooters they made their escape on and of course the truck that they're combing through for fingerprints. But for now, a big breakthrough in this case remains elusive.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Massive cuts in U.S. foreign aid are starting to have a severe impact around the world. Coming up, the difficulties it's causing for one million refugees. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: Alright, welcome back to CNN. This is your Business Breakout.
We're watching U.S. futures after President Trump announced he's terminating trade talks with Canada. All three indices have been higher since his social media post just before midnight Eastern Time.
Now turning to the Asia-Pacific region. Tokyo's Nikkei index posting strong gains, there's still about 15 minutes of trading left in Hong Kong, Shanghai is up, and the Seoul KOSPI is 2.5 percent higher.
And checking some of today's business headlines.
Microsoft's CEO says his company's A.I. chatbot will be emotionally intelligent, supportive and trustworthy and safe for kids to use. That means no erotic content, not even for adults.
Mustafa Suleyman says CoPilot will encourage users to interact with other humans, not just A.I., and strengthen human-to-human relationships. CoPilot has been about 100 million monthly users, which is well below competitors like ChatGPT, which has 800 million.
Elon Musk says he needs to become the world's first trillionaire. Musk is currently the world's richest person, he says he needs even more money to increase his stake in Tesla and protect it from what he called corporate terrorists.
Now he's referring to two influential research firms that advise shareholders how to vote. The two firms have recommended voting against Musk's sky-high pay packages. Musk has called their recommendations asinine and said they have, quote, "no freaking clue."
Retailer Target is laying off 1000 corporate employees and closing 800 open positions. The cutbacks will impact about 8 percent of the global corporate workforce. Sales have fallen for the past three quarters, but a spokesperson says Target didn't lay off employees to cut costs, but rather to rewire the organization to make decisions more quickly.
More than a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face a new crisis, hunger. When the U.S. slashed funding to international aid groups, it left one of the world's most vulnerable populations with few options. CNN's Ivan Watson explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Safiya Bibi is 13 months old, but hunger and illness leave her looking much younger. Her mother feeds her baby ready-to-use therapeutic food, an emergency ration provided by the U.S. government.
I'm so grateful for this assistance, Safiya's mother says. If they didn't send this money, how could we survive?
That is an increasingly urgent question here in the world's largest refugee camp. Around a million Rohingya Muslims have fled to this corner of Bangladesh over the last decade, escaping ethnic cleansing in neighboring Myanmar that U.S. and U.N. experts have called acts of genocide.
An impoverished community of refugees utterly dependent on international assistance. But that budget was dramatically cut this year. So far, the U.N. says these refugees only got 37 percent of their annual budget.
JULIE BISHOP, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL ON MYANMAR: This is already having dire consequences for the Rohingya in camps with critical cuts to their food rations and a sharp decline in access to education.
WATSON (voice-over): Each refugee in these crowded camps subsists on rations of $12 worth of food a month. But now aid workers are seeing more children going hungry.
DEEPIKA SHARMA, UNICEF: More and more children are being detected with the severest form of malnutrition and they're at a risk of mortality because of that.
WATSON (voice-over): When aid money dries up, that also affects access to health care and medicine. Mariam Khatun's family suffered unthinkable tragedy earlier this year.
[03:50:05] In February, her seven-year-old daughter, Estafa, suddenly got sick. She was rushed to a camp hospital, but within three days she was gone. Cause of death, pneumonia and encephalitis.
Her grieving mother claims a lack of health care.
MARIAM KHATUN, ROHINGYA REFUGEE (through translator): Big countries used to support us, we still need their help. My child died by the will of God, but the place where I took her couldn't treat her properly. My child suffered and died in pain.
WATSON (voice-over): The U.S. has long been the world's biggest aid donor, but this year the Trump administration cut some $8 billion in international assistance. Since then, CNN has documented disruptions in basic services for refugees from war-torn Myanmar living in camps in both Bangladesh and Thailand. Aid workers predict it will only get worse.
SHARMA: If that money is not there, if that funding is not there, there is no hope. Children will be impacted, they will die.
RUBIO: We are not going to fund an NGO industrial complex that built itself up, that was taking a substantial percentage of the money and not going directly to the recipients.
WATSON (voice-over): The Trump administration insists it is cutting wasteful spending.
RUBIO: No one has died because the United States has cut aid. No.
WATSON (voice-over): When a war leaves so many people with so little to survive, any disruption can make the difference between life and death.
Ivan Watson, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: For the first time in five centuries, a British king worshipped alongside a Catholic pope. Just ahead, we'll give you an update on a visit that hasn't happened since Henry VIII was on the throne. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: For the first time in nearly 500 years, a British monarch and a Catholic pontiff shared a worship service. King Charles and Pope Leo prayed together in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel on Thursday. Latin chants mixed with English prayers during the service.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a state visit to the Vatican and Rome. Christopher Lamb is in Rome with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): History made in the Sistine Chapel. For the first time in more than half a millennium, an English king and a pope prayed together.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla on a historic visit to the Vatican.
[03:55:00]
Emphasizing unity and the king and the pope's concern for the environment. The royal and Vatican choirs singing together underneath the famous Michelangelo frescoes.
The king's trip is an extraordinary historical turnaround. 500 years ago, Henry VIII broke with Rome and established himself as head of the Church of England.
For centuries, the papacy and the monarchy saw each other with suspicion. Now, King Charles, who is the supreme governor of the Church of England and the first American pope, have put those historic divisions to one side.
Charles and Pope Leo exchange gifts and honors: a papal knighthood for Charles, and membership of the Order of the Bath for Leo, an ancient British title traditionally given to heads of state.
Later, at the Basilica of St Paul's outside the walls, Charles took part in another service. He was seated on a specially commissioned chair engraved with the motto, "That They May Be One".
The king's visit comes as his brother, Prince Andrew, is embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that risks overshadowing this trip, and as the king continues with his treatment for cancer.
At a moment of difficulty, the king is drawing on his faith. And at the Vatican, showing his desire to build bridges between churches in a way no British monarch has done for centuries.
Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Alright, now to southern Australia, where millions of large crabs are on the move. This is Christmas Island's biggest tourist attraction.
The mass of bright red crustaceans migrating from the forest to the ocean, where they'll breed. But first they have to make it across roads, streams, rocks, and beaches, as you can see there. The journey begins with the first rainfall of the wet season.
When they reach the sea, they'll build burrows, where each female can crank out up to 100,000 eggs. But sadly, most little larvae don't make it. Fish, manta rays, and whale sharks find them delicious.
Alright, we now have a heartwarming video showing a future service dog, meaning his namesake, NHL legend Alex Ovechkin. The Washington Capitals star played with 18-week-old Ovi at the team's practice facility. The pup's named in honor of Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record. Ovi will be trained in obedience, proper household behavior, and the basics of becoming a service dog. Later, he'll learn specialized skills like retrieving dropped items, interrupting nightmares, and operating handicapped accessible doors. Eventually, Ovi will be assigned to a veteran or first responder with disabilities.
Alright, that wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. "Amanpour" is next, then stay tuned for "Early Start," beginning at 5:00 a.m. in New York, 10:00 a.m. in London.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
