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Trump Considering Military Strikes in Venezuela; Trump Heads to Asia; Russian Envoy Expected to Hold Talks in U.S.; Mafia Families at Center of NBA Cheating Schemes; Canadian PM Ready to Resume Trade Talks with Trump; U.S. Inflation Hits 3 Percent, Rising Fastest since January; Dirt from East Wing Demo Dumped at Golf Course; South Korea President Enthusiastic about Global K-Impact. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired October 25, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in. The United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

The U.S. Navy calls it the most lethal combat platform in the world. And now it's heading to the Caribbean. We'll have the latest on president Trump's escalating tensions with Venezuela.

Trump is heading to Asia, where he's expected to talk with his Chinese counterpart. And he's also not ruling out a meeting with Kim Jong-un during his trip to Asia. We'll have details ahead.

Plus, while America's top diplomat expresses optimism about the Gaza ceasefire, he also says there is no plan B.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: U.S. President Donald Trump is setting what can only be described as a very ambitious goal. He says his administration will stop all drugs from coming into the United States. This is what he told reporters a short time ago. Speaking on board Air Force One.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I can tell you one thing. We stopped all drugs virtually from coming in by sea. And we'll stop all drugs from coming in by land very shortly. You'll see that starting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Meanwhile, there are signs that the U.S. could soon take military action inside Venezuela. The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford and its Strike Group are now heading to the Caribbean. And three U.S. officials tell CNN that president Trump is considering

plans to target cocaine facilities and drug trafficking routes inside Venezuela. The U.S. has already carried out military strikes in waters off the Venezuelan coast, including this one in September.

The White House has alleged, without offering proof, that the boat destroyed was trafficking drugs.

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro says the U.S. is inventing a new eternal war and he says he's mobilizing an international volunteer force to defend his country. The U.S. also issued new sanctions on Colombia's president, accusing him of playing a role in the global illicit drug trade. CNN's Jennifer Hansler is in Washington with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT PRODUCER: U.S. president Donald Trump is considering whether to militarily strike cocaine facilities and drug trafficking routes in Venezuela.

Sources say this is among a number of options that have been presented to the U.S. president, including a diplomatic route. Washington and Caracas have suspended diplomatic talks for the time being.

Now Venezuela is not known for its cocaine production but the administration has attempted to tie Nicolas Maduro to drug trafficking. They have accused him of being a narcoterrorist and they have said that he is wanted in the United States on those charges.

Now this news came the same day that the Defense Department announced it is deploying its largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, to the region, where it will join a number of other military assets that have been positioned there as part of what the administration describes as a war on trafficking.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday announced there had been yet another military strike on an alleged drug vessel, this time killing six people. There have been 10 known strikes on these alleged vessels, killing 43 people in total.

The administration has alleged that they were all tied to cartels and criminal organizations that have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations and they say they have the legal authority to do so.

But there are mounting questions of legality, as the administration has yet to provide evidence of these boats carrying drugs or of the individuals ties to these organizations.

Now at the same time, today and Friday, next door to Venezuela, in Colombia, the Trump administration ratcheted up the tensions between president Trump and Gustavo Petro, the Colombian president, today imposing sanctions on Petro, his wife and his son.

The Trump administration alleges that Petro has not done enough to combat drug trafficking in his country. They say that cocaine production has exploded under his watch. Petro fired back, saying he would fight the sanctions and that he had retained U.S. legal counsel -- Jennifer Hansler CNN, State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The USS Gerald Ford is the Navy's newest and most advanced aircraft carrier. Retired U.S. Army General Mark Kimmitt spoke with CNN to explain the message its deployment sends. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET.), FORMER ASST. SECY. OF STATE FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS: What you're seeing there is what we call a carrier strike group.

[04:05:00]

All those ships are basically part of that group that's there to support and defend that aircraft carrier. We have 12 carrier strike groups, probably six to eight of them can be on the water at any time.

The Navy has a worldwide responsibility. So as you can imagine, some are in the South China Sea. Some are in the Middle East. Some are in for maintenance and repair.

And for me, the message is, capability in the region, a clear sign of deterrence. And if deterrence fails, there's a capability to do what is ever necessary at the president's orders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Trump is now heading to Asia for a multi-stop visit that will include a highly anticipated summit with China's leader.

And he isn't ruling out meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Will you meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Yes, I'd like to.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) this trip?

TRUMP: He knows (INAUDIBLE). I don't know. I -- we let him know. He knows that I'm going to -- I would like to. I get along with him.

QUESTION: And are you going to target (ph)?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

This will be president Trump's first trip to the continent in his second term. The White House says he will make his first stop in Malaysia, where he's expected to meet with the country's prime minister.

President Trump will then visit Japan before attending the APEC summit in South Korea and that's where he's planning to hold a high-stakes meeting with Chinese president Xi. South Koreans gathered in downtown Seoul to protest U.S. tariff policies.

South Korea's president pushed aside trade concerns while speaking with CNN earlier this week. He is welcoming president Trump as a peacemaker.

I want to bring in Shihoko Goto, the vice president of programs at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and she joins me now from Boston.

Really appreciate you getting up for us early this morning. So I saw "Politico" called this "the riskiest foreign trip of his second term." That was echoed by Trump's former White House chief strategist, Steve Bannon, all because of what's at stake with the trade war with China.

Do you agree with their assessment?

SHIHOKO GOTO, VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS, FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Yes, absolutely. The stakes are very high for president Trump because, of course, the Indo-Pacific is where the interest, commercial as well as security interests, are very high for the United States.

He's going to three key locations; Malaysia for the APEC summit meeting, Japan to meet with -- the new Japanese prime minister. And then and then the ASEAN meeting -- I'm sorry -- in Malaysia and then the APEC meeting finally in Korea.

These are areas where U.S. interests need to be aligned more with the allies in the region. There's a great deal of concern about U.S. tariff policy. They are hurting the region.

But at the same time, there are opportunities for the United States to actually perhaps make some kind of compromise. One of the biggest areas is going to be whether Trump will be able to reach some kind of agreement with Xi Jinping.

But remember, this is about de-escalating tensions. The de-escalation of tensions comes from dialogue. And this is a step in the right direction. We all want to be less dependent on China for critical industries, including critical minerals.

And I think the region is looking for some kind of progress on the part of the United States to reach those goals.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. You say it's a step in the right direction. Obviously, it depends on the outcome. One expert said there are three potential outcomes from Trump meeting Xi: deal, no deal or disaster.

Which scenario seems most likely to you? GOTO: I think there's also going to be a fourth option, where they agree to disagree and that is to say that no side is going to be able -- to be able to claim a victory. But at the same time, they will agree to continue to discuss.

So there will be no mortgage (ph). There will be no noticeable change. But if we are able to ensure that both sides continue to discuss tariffs, discuss how they can compromise on tariffs as well as on critical minerals, this will be seen as a win.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Tariffs obviously the big issue with Xi. But Trump also says he hopes China can help the U.S. on Russia.

Do you think that's likely?

And what would Beijing actually want in return, do you think?

GOTO: Well, we have a China that is working much more closely together.

We are seeing a policy between Beijing and Moscow, which is seen as a no-bounds, no-limits agreement. We don't know what kind of relationship Moscow and Beijing will continue to pursue. But what we want from the U.S. side is to ensure that the United States remains a Indo-Pacific power.

[04:10:03]

That its interests are protected and its interests, above all else, is to ensure that the status quo in the regional order is remaining and that the United States remains a significant Indo-Pacific power.

BRUNHUBER: Obviously, the meeting with Xi is the most important but I want to ask you about another meeting, which is just theoretical at this point. President Trump said that he would like to meet with Kim Jong-un.

Do you have any sense of whether that might happen and what the aim of that might be?

GOTO: Well, remember that the meeting with Xi was on again/off again. And so now we're moving forward with the U.S.-China summit meeting. So this is good. We are not certain whether the meeting with Kim Jong-un will happen.

But the interesting thing about the Trump presidency is that anything is possible. There is opportunity for president Trump to meet with the North Korean leader.

But again, the success will be measured by, one, whether they actually meet or not and, two, whether they're able to simply agree to disagree that there are no expectations for immediate results. But the result will be evaluated in the fact that they are able to engage in dialogue.

BRUNHUBER: Listen, I really appreciate your analysis. Shihoko Goto, thank you so much.

GOTO: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine says at least one person has been killed and 10 others wounded in new Russian strikes on Kyiv.

Now images we received a short time ago show buildings on fire and firefighters scrambling to put the flames out. Officials say that was part of an overnight attack that involved ballistic missiles and drones, which hit 11 locations across Ukraine. Earlier, Ukraine had issued a rare ballistic missile threat warning for the entire country.

Russia's top economic envoy is expected to meet with U.S. officials in Miami on Saturday. That's from a White House official who spoke with CNN.

Kirill Dmitriev would meet with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff just days after the U.S. slapped sanctions on Russia's top oil firms. And that's after Europeans called for more countries to follow suit on Friday.

The U.S. and Russian presidents met in Alaska in August but made no breakthroughs on Ukraine. And earlier this week, president Trump said he'd canceled their anticipated next meeting. CNN's Matthew Chance looks at what Dmitriev is hoping to achieve with this visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: He was keeping it pretty vague by saying that, look, this is just an attempt to make sure the communication channels between the United States and Russia remain open. He said this was a meeting, a trip to the United States that was arranged a while back.

But because of the timing of it, it's taken on additional significance because, obviously, it's just a couple of days ago since president Trump imposed quite tough sanctions against Russia's two biggest oil companies, which could deliver ultimately, a big blow to the Russian economy and its ability to fuel its war in Ukraine.

And, of course, president Trump also kind of erratically -- or irritatedly -- canceled the discussions for a presidential summit with President Putin in Budapest as well.

But I think this visit shows that, you know, at least from the Russian point of view, they're still trying very hard to keep the channels of communication open. And, of course, the United States could have canceled Dmitriev's visa. They could have called off the meetings but they didn't do that.

And so it implies that they're -- the White House is also open to continuing to receive Kremlin officials and continuing to talk about the possible future economic relationship between the two countries.

The media is reporting that these new rounds of sanctions have been imposed by the European Union but also, of course, by the United States. It wasn't just about sanctions, it was about the idea that president Trump had in some way turned against Vladimir Putin or turned against the Kremlin.

That's always a possibility that people are speculating about here. But in terms of what impact sanctions are likely to have, I mean, I've been out in the streets of Moscow today, talking to people about whether they're concerned about the sanctions on the oil companies or about a new round of European Union sanctions.

And they're just not. And it's understandable because, you know, this is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world already.

There's been perhaps more than a decade of international sanctions that have been imposed against Russia because of its various actions in, you know, Ukraine, in Syria, in its meddling with democratic elections elsewhere as well.

And the fact is that the people of Russia have got used to that to some extent -- or at least come to expect it. And the economy has found ways of, you know, kind of keeping afloat.

[04:15:00]

And winding its way through the various complex legal measures that have been imposed upon it.

And I think the expectation is that this latest round of sanctions from the U.S. and from the Europeans is going to be more of the same. It's not going to force Russia to the negotiating table or collapse the Russian economy. It's just going to provide another ratcheting-up of discomfort for the people here and for the government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Lithuania temporarily shut down two of its airports on Friday night after radar detected tens of meteorological balloons drifting in from neighboring Belarus. That's according to crisis management officials. Officials suspended all traffic until 10 pm local time, as officials investigated.

Lithuania recently closed Vilnius Airport twice over smuggler balloons carrying contraband cigarettes. And the prime minister is now warning the country could close its border with Belarus if the incursions continue. It's the third such disruption this month across European airspace.

There have been recent drone sightings in Copenhagen, Munich and other Baltic countries.

U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio is warning that there is no plan B if the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza falls apart. But he appears optimistic that it will successfully end the war. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has the latest on Rubio's trip to Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Bibi-sitting continues with Vice President J.D. Vance tapping shoulders with Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he came to Israel to continue the monitoring or Bibi- sitting, if you will, of the ceasefire deal. He visited the Civil Military Coordination Center, which has been set up by CENTCOM, to implement and

oversee the agreement, including the aid and any potential scrimmages that happen.

But, of course, it's not just about keeping the truce and keeping the peace. It's about pushing these warring factions to phase two of the deal. Now,

the Secretary of State did, of course, reference that. Take a listen to how he described it.

MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If Hamas refuses to demilitarize, it will be a violation of the agreement and that will have to be enforced. I'm not going to get into the mechanisms by which it is going to be enforced but it will have to be enforced.

I mean, this is a deal and a deal requires conditions to be met. Israel has met their commitments. They're standing at the yellow line and that is contingent upon the demilitarization.

ABDELAZIZ: You hear the Secretary of State there referencing the yellow line. So that is a reference to the portion of the Gaza Strip which is still under Israeli military control. Just over 50 percent of the enclave is still occupied by Israeli troops. The rest of it, of course, is under the control of an armed Hamas.

Now President Trump's 20-point plan envisions that Hamas would disarm and that an Arab stabilization force would step in to provide a political and power transition and eventually train Palestinian forces on the ground.

And President Trump's envoys and senior officials are imagining that, that will take place first by replacing Israeli forces in that 50 or just slightly more than 50 percent of the enclave where they occupy with those Arab-led forces.

And that, again, that would allow Hamas to disarm. But this is a hugely ambitious, bold, some may say, pie-in-the-sky idea that will take many more months to complete.

And the question is, will the hand-holding, the babysitting continue throughout this process? -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, the FBI uncovers rigged NBA games and underground poker and the people involved might surprise you.

Plus, a growing threat in the Caribbean sea. Tropical storm Melissa is intensifying and could potentially become the strongest hurricane ever to hit Jamaica. We'll have the latest. And later, we'll have the latest on what president Trump is saying

about the anti-tariff TV ad that sparked his anger and caused him to end trade talks with Canada. It's all coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The FBI revealed details of two massive investigations into gambling and sports rigging on Friday. And at the center of the schemes, the Mafia.

The probes were dubbed Operation Nothing but Net and Operation Royal Flush and they examined allegations of insider information used to place bets on NBA games and underground poker games.

CNN's Brynn Gingras has more on who's really holding all the cards.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a cheating scandal that's rocked the NBA. And at the core members of New York City's most notorious crime families.

JESSICA TISCH, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese crime families.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Spook, Flappy, Juice, The Wrestler, some of the nicknames of men allegedly tied to the scheme, all reminiscent of a scene straight out of Hollywood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Better check.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: don't rush me, sunshine. You're rushing me all -- night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he didn't study this hard in school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cry me a river. Three beautiful kings.

GINGRAS (voice-over): La Cosa Nostra is the nickname given to the Italian-American mob. Their lore dates back decades to when the families ran criminal enterprises in New York City, often in competition with each other.

This court paperwork alleges, though, the mob families are not a thing of the past. And for one gambling scheme, they teamed up, adopting new technology to rig poker games, allegedly taking nearly $2 million from a single victim.

TISCH: And when people refused to pay, these defendants did what organized crime has always done. They used threats. They used intimidation. And they used violence.

GINGRAS (voice-over): As part of the investigation, authorities scanned thousands of hours of surveillance video, at one point spotting these men, including one dubbed, Big Bruce. Court documents show this group already ran illegal gambling operations backed by the Bonanno crime family when they got involved in the poker scheme.

Same goes for a defendant who went by the name Flappy, who in text messages confirmed his illegal ring was backed by the Gambino crime family.

CHRISTOPHER RAIA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR IN CHARGE, NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE, FBI: This alleged illegal gambling operation hustled unwitting victims out of tens of millions of dollars.

[04:25:00]

And created a financial pipeline for La Cosa Nostra to help fund and facilitate their organized criminal activity.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Defendant Robert Stroud, referred to as Black Rob, allegedly supplied, along with other defendants, rigged shuffling machines to the operations.

SAL PIACENTE, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSAL GAME PROTECTION DEVELOPMENT INC.: That shuffle machine is altered to transmit to an earpiece to tell the people who were going to win.

GINGRAS (voice-over): And in one case, allegedly helped carry out a robbery to steal one.

"S getting real in NYC," a text read after the alleged heist.

Federal prosecutors have asked that some of the dozens of defendants be detained on the new charges, citing their mob ties, like Angelo Ruggiero Jr. a member of the Gambino family who allegedly once boasted in prison about being tight with former boss John Gotti Sr. and that he had shot a man in the chest.

Some defendants have entered not guilty pleas and in some cases have even posted bail -- Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Tropical storm Melissa is getting closer to hurricane strength. Earlier Saturday, it was packing sustained winds of 70 miles an hour, just below hurricane force. The storm is expected to become a major hurricane by Sunday, thanks to some of the hottest ocean water on the planet.

It could become the strongest storm ever to hit Jamaica. That island nation, along with Haiti and the Dominican Republic, are likely to endure catastrophic rainfall and destructive winds. Now at least four people have already been killed. Officials are warning anyone in the storm's path to prepare for life-threatening conditions. All right, we'll take a quick break for our viewers in North America.

I'll have more news in just a moment. And for our international viewers, "CNN CREATORS" is coming up next.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

Just moments before departing Washington, president Trump says he doesn't plan to meet with the Canadian prime minister during his trip to Asia. On Friday, Mark Carney said he's ready to resume trade negotiations with the U.S.

His comments come after Trump shut down talks with his northern neighbor over an anti-tariff TV commercial, paid for by the Province of Ontario.

The White House released a statement about the ad, saying, quote, "Ontario's taxpayer-funded ad campaign on American TV networks that misleadingly edited President Reagan's 1987 radio address about trade is the latest example of how Canadian officials would rather play games than engage with the administration."

Trump has accused Canada of cheating and called the ad "fraudulent." Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know, it's a -- it's a crooked ad. I heard he's airing it, Canada. That's why I pulled everything Canada. They wrote a -- they did a crooked ad. They knew it was. Ronald Reagan loved tariffs. What they did is really dishonest.

And I heard they were pulling the ad. I didn't know they were putting it on a little bit more. They could have pulled it tonight. Pull it. Well, that's dirty playing. But I can play dirtier than they can, you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Ontario's premier is defending the commercial, saying Reagan favored free and fair trade with Canada. But as CNN's Paula Newton reports from Ottawa, the provincial leader hopes the concession he's offering gets talks going again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: This ad really struck a nerve. First in the White House but then it reverberated throughout the country as well as Americans heard from Ronald Reagan himself, that conservative icon, in his own words, say that tariffs were damaging to both the American worker and American consumers.

Now look, Doug Ford, understanding that president Trump was now halting all trade negotiations with Canada -- remember, Doug Ford is the premier of Ontario. Kind of like being the governor of the of the state of California, he does not really have that much influence over trade negotiations.

Nonetheless, Doug Ford said, after speaking with prime minister Carney, that he would indeed pull the ad but not before it was viewed by millions more people during the World Series this weekend.

Doug Ford did say he posted on social media that, in speaking with prime minister Carney, Ontario will pause the U.S. advertising campaign effective Monday so that trade talks can resume.

But that is the question.

Will trade talks resume?

President Trump, at this point in time, does not seem like he wants to get back to the negotiating table with Canada. In fact, Canada and the United States had been close on perhaps a couple of deals on steel and aluminum, which would have done a lot for Canada.

But also a lot for American manufacturers that do not have another market that they can go to in order to easily and cheaply buy both steel and aluminum. I want you to listen now to Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, before he left for a summit in Asia. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARNEY: We can't control the trade policy of the United States. We recognize that that policy has fundamentally changed from the policy in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. And it's a situation where the United States has tariffs against every one of their trading partners to different degrees.

And it's in that context that our officials, my colleagues, have been working with their American colleagues on detailed, constructive negotiations, discussions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now it's clear he is looking to diversify from the United States on trade. But no one is kidding themselves here. That would take years in order to put it into operation.

Right now, Canada still needs a very comprehensive deal with the United States and they wait to see if the president will allow his negotiators back at the table -- Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The cost of living in the U.S. climbed again last month. It rose by its fastest pace since January, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's the first major federal economic report released since the government shutdown started on October 1st. CNN's Matt Egan has more on what's driving higher prices.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Inflation is not nearly as bad as it was a few years ago but prices, they're still going up uncomfortably fast and that is making the cost of living even worse. Now the good news is that consumer prices, they only ticked up by 0.3 percent between August and September.

[04:35:03]

That's a step in the right direction and that is better than feared. And yet the annual inflation rate still ticked up to 3 percent, that's the highest annual inflation rate since January.

And when you look at the trend, what's notable is that inflation is higher today than it was last Fall. Back when candidate Trump was crisscrossing the country, saying that inflation was out of control.

And inflation is significantly higher than it was back in April when it bottomed out at 2.3 percent. Of course, April is the month that many of the president's tariffs kicked in. Now what's getting more expensive?

Well, one of the drivers in this report was the fact that gasoline prices jumped in September. They're not high but they did move up last month.

And we have to pay close attention to that because the U.S. just imposed major sanctions on Russian oil companies. But this is not just about gas prices. There's also evidence of tariff-driven price increases.

For example, some items that are largely imported into the U.S. got more expensive, including footwear, clothes for men and boys, watches as well.

And then the grocery store aisle, prices for lunch meat surged by just over 4 percent. That's the most on record. And bad news for doughnut lovers, prices for donuts spiked by almost 6 percent in a single month, that's the most since 1999.

Now I love this analysis from Moody's because it does demonstrate how inflation is cumulative and how there's this snowballing effect from years of high inflation.

Moody's found that due to higher prices, the typical U.S. household had to spend a little over $200 more per month than they did last September to buy the same goods and services. So it's not that they're buying more necessarily, it's just that they're spending more because of higher prices.

And $200 more per month, that's nothing to sneeze at, especially for families that are living paycheck-to-paycheck.

And zooming out, households are spending a little over a $1,000 more per month than back in January of 2021, again, because of higher prices.

Bottom line, inflation is not as bad as it was back in 2022 and it's not as bad as some had feared it would get this year because of tariffs. But as those numbers show, inflation doesn't need to be run away for it to still be painful to many families -- back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Still, U.S. stocks surged to new highs on Friday after that inflation report, which came in a little cooler than expected. The Dow surged 473 points to close above 47,000 for the first time ever. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also ended at fresh record highs.

The new data has investors betting the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates as soon as next week.

New York attorney general Letitia James pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges related to alleged mortgage fraud. Her attorneys say they plan to challenge the legal standing of the attorney who brought the charges. Attorneys for James also told the judge they feel she is being unfairly prosecuted by the Trump administration.

As attorney general, James brought charges against president Donald Trump in 2024. He was accused of falsifying financial records for better loan rates. Outside the courthouse Friday, James said she will fight the charges against her. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: But this is not about me. This is about all of us and about a justice system which has been weaponized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The trial date for Letitia James is set for the end of January.

The U.S. Justice Department says it will have federal election monitors in some polling sites in California and New Jersey for next month's elections. Officials will be onsite in five counties in California and one in New Jersey.

The Republican Parties of California and New Jersey requested the monitors. Attorney general Pam Bondi says the monitors will ensure transparency at the polls and build bipartisan faith in the electoral process.

The Los Angeles county clerk says the procedure is standard practice and that election observers are welcome.

All right. Still to come, dirt from the White House's East Wing demolition site is being moved to a place very familiar to president Trump. We'll have details coming up after the after the break. Please do stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Plans to deploy National Guard troops to Portland are on hold, at least until Tuesday. A federal appeals court issued a stay in the case on Friday. The decision keeps in place a restraining order blocking the deployment while the court reviews the case.

President Trump ordered up to 800 troops to be on standby to deploy but the administration now says it plans to send no more than 200. Oregon's attorney general says the pause protects residents' rights, while the courts consider the constitutional questions at stake.

The White House is using the U.S. Navy to help build a network of migrant detention centers across the country and it's spending $10 billion to do it. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The Department of Homeland Security is. funneling $10 billion through the Navy as it tries to rapidly set up detention facilities across the United States.

Now. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had received $45 billion for the purpose of increasing detention earlier this year from Congress as part of president Trump's agenda.

This latest arrangement between the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security would essentially allow the administration to move far more quickly by leveraging the U.S. military and its vast experience in contracting.

Now. according to the. Solicitation that we reviewed, this would include, for example, a. range of structures like courtrooms. and support space for staff, as well as emergency services and transportation. And each of these facilities, according to sources, could accommodate up to 10,000. People.

And these facilities. Would be set up. Across the country.

Speaking to how the administration. is. Trying to ramp up detention and. Deportation of those. that they have arrested in. The United States.

Now. sources. Have called. This arrangement unprecedented but experts say. That it does make some sense because. The military. Is, as. One expert said. Good at. logistics and. They have experience with quick turn construction

projects.

So in this case, the Department. Of Homeland Security. Leaning on that. And leaning on this contracting arm to move forward with their plans of expanding facilities to detain undocumented immigrants across the country.

All of it providing a preview in the ways in which the administration is doubling down on its immigration crackdown, both on the detention. Front but similarly on deportations -- Priscilla Alvarez, CNN. Washington.

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BRUNHUBER: As president Trump brushes off criticism over his demolition of the East Wing of the White House, dirt from the site is being dumped about three miles away at the historic East Potomac Golf Course.

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The East Wing was completely demolished on Friday to make room for Trump's massive $300 million ballroom.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Now have a look at this before-and-after satellite imagery, which shows how much Trump has altered the historic structure. And it's sparked outrage and alarm among many Americans.

Meanwhile, the president told reporters he doesn't plan to name the new ballroom after himself but may call it the presidential ballroom or something like that.

The demolition of the East Wing this week is just the latest transformation of what is now the White House complex. There have been other changes, both big and small, over more than 200 years, as CNN's Tom Foreman reports.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid the rubble and rancor, Team Trump is digging out, calling public concern over the demolition fake outrage.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Because nearly every single president who has lived in this beautiful White House behind me has made modernizations and renovations of their own.

FOREMAN (voice-over): That argument has a foundation, according to some who study the White House.

KATE ANDERSEN BROWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's always been a lot of hand-wringing about any changes inside the White House.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And then, they say --

LUKE BROADWATER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": The pattern, though, that we've seen over time is people tend to like the renovations.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Indeed, since the White House was built around 1800 with a focus on avoiding excessive fanciness, there have been many repairs and expansions.

In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt added the West Wing as a workspace for presidents. About 30 years later, his distant cousin Franklin Roosevelt installed an indoor pool for his polio therapy.

And then, when World War II was raging, he built the East Wing to cover an emergency underground bunker. That's where Vice President Dick Cheney went during 9-11 and where President Trump was taken during protests in his first term.

HARRY S. TRUMAN (R-MO), 33RD U.S. PRESIDENT: When you live in the White House, you live pretty high.

FOREMAN (voice-over): By the 1950s, Harry Truman was renovating the whole old, sagging place. And on it goes. Jackie Kennedy built up the Rose Garden Trump has paved over. Richard Nixon added a bowling alley and turned FDR's pool into a press room. Jimmy Carter put up solar panels. Ronald Reagan took them down.

Barack Obama converted the tennis court for basketball. Yet almost every change came with oversight by historians, outside experts and both parties in Congress.

BROADWATER: The normal process is to treat the renovation like it is a community project, like it is not the decision of one man.

FOREMAN (voice-over): That's what sets apart the demolition of the East Wing's movie theater, traditional guest entrance, the hall where First Lady Melania put those red Christmas trees, all at Trump's sole command.

BROWER: There has been nothing like this because we have never seen a wrecking ball taken to an entire wing of the White House before.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And that has many critics saying even if Trump's plan for radically changing the People's House is not legally wrong, it's far from right -- Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

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BRUNHUBER: Still ahead, the movie K-pop demon hunters is the latest smash hit to come out of South Korea. We'll take a look at how Korean culture has become a global phenomenon. Please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The Toronto Blue Jays won game one of the World Series in dramatic style, upsetting the L.A. Dodgers in a 20-hit slugfest. With the home crowd roaring in the Canadian city, the Dodgers grabbed an early 2-0 lead. The Jays answered with two in the 4th inning. Then the roof caved in

on the visitors. Toronto scored nine runs in the 6th inning, including this grand slam by outfielder Addison Barger. It was the first pinch hit, bases-loaded homer in World Series history.

Japanese slugger Shohei Ohtani later smacked a two-run homer in the 7th but it was too little, too late. Final score 11-4. Game two from Toronto is tonight.

Global pop culture is increasingly dominated by what's popular in South Korea, trends that influence everything from music to food to film and, most recently, Netflix's big hit movie, "K-Pop Demon Hunters." CNN's Will Ripley recently spoke with South Korean president Lee Jae-myung, who discussed his country's cultural impact.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When I sat down with South Korean president Lee Jae-myung, we talked a lot about things like South Korea's manufacturing and its hard power, its military power.

But we also wanted to talk with him about soft power. And it turns out the president is a fan of some Korean programs that you probably recognize.

We've got a whole spread here. This is like that scene from "K-Pop Demon Hunters," where they're in the plane and then they're -- yes, right?

That's what it looks like right now.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Yes, even South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is a fan of "K-Pop Demon Hunters," the most popular Netflix movie of all time.

And then there's the Netflix mega-hit "Squid Game," two global sensations with one thing in common, K-culture.

LEE JAE MYUNG, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I believe K-food is probably one of the healthiest cuisines in the world.

RIPLEY: We also brought these apples here, which I believe are from Andong, your hometown. We also have on the table tangerines.

MYUNG (through translator): So Korean tangerines are quite different from oranges but I must say they are very delicious. Once you try them, you'll see just how delicious they are.

RIPLEY: What do you like about the K-drama, "When Life Gives You Tangerines"?

I heard you binge-watched it and you even cried.

MYUNG (through translator): This drama is very Korean and it depict an area, a very specific part of Korea, Jeju Island and it is set in the past.

And so, when I watched this, I was curious whether the audience in the global community would empathize with this drama and I was very surprise to find that many, many people around the world empathize with it.

RIPLEY (voice-over): The world is obsessed with K-culture, from hit K-pop songs.

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Like Rose's "APT." --

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RIPLEY (voice-over): -- to Oscar-winning films like "Parasite." President Lee says he knows why.

MYUNG (through translator): K-pop and then K-drama and movies. Now K- beauty and K-food. But I believe on top of all of this are the values and orders.

I believe Korean democracy will be able to become the golden standard for democracy around the world, because as you might have seen last December 3rd, many Korean protesters were peacefully demonstrating with their light sticks.

RIPLEY (voice-over): He's talking about the shocking and short-lived martial law declaration by his now-impeached and imprisoned predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol. Democracy and the peaceful transfer of power prevailed.

MYUNG (through translator): And if the success of Korea can be a source of hope for many other countries around the world, that is also a good thing.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Surprisingly, President Lee was not shy about eating on camera.

MYUNG (through translator): It's very good. And I hope you get a good filling today so you will be able to skip dinner. If you visit Gyeongju during APEC, I am very sure that you will be able to have this bread. I hope you try a lot of Korean cuisine, experience the culture here and have a nice time.

RIPLEY: I look forward to it. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you so much for your time.

The president certainly hopes that world leaders will get to enjoy some Korean food and perhaps other aspects of Korean culture, like music and maybe even catch a K-drama while they're here in the country for APEC -- Will Ripley, CNN, Seoul.

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BRUNHUBER: And that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.