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Trump Heads to Asia; Trump Considering Military Strikes in Venezuela; Russian Envoy Expected to Hold Talks in U.S.; Canadian PM Ready to Resume Trade Talks with Trump; National Guard Deployment to Portland on Hold; Shutdown Could Rob 42 Million Americans of Food Aid in November; Toronto Clobbers L.A. in World Series Game One. Aired 5- 6a ET
Aired October 25, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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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.
President Trump is heading to Asia, where he's expected to have talks with his Chinese counterpart. And he's not ruling out a meeting with Kim Jong-un during his trip.
Trump escalates tensions with Venezuela. Details on the significance of his U.S. aircraft carrier being sent to the Caribbean.
Plus, Americans are at risk of losing federal food assistance benefits as the government shutdown grinds on. We'll have a look at who will be most impacted and the state of hunger in the U.S.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: President Donald 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.
(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)
BRUNHUBER: 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 quote, "peacemaker."
Now earlier, I spoke with Shihoko Goto, the vice president of programs at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. And I asked her if she agrees with "Politico," calling this "the riskiest foreign trip" of president Trump's second term. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: As he left on that trip, president Trump also said his administration will stop all drugs from coming into the United States. This is what he told reporters a short time ago, speaking aboard Air Force One.
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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)
BRUNHUBER: 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.
Now 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 boats it destroyed were trafficking drugs.
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro says the U.S. is, quote, "inventing a new eternal war."
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And he says he's mobilizing an international volunteer force to defend his country. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has more from Caracas.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Friday saw a dramatic escalation in what the White House is calling a campaign against the drug traffickers in South America.
Washington has deployed military forces and the Pentagon said it's conducting 10 kinetic strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats, killing at least 43 people since the campaign began earlier last month.
However, in that time, they failed to provide any conclusive evidence to justify their actions. But on Friday, the U.S. Department of Defense announced it was moving a Carrier Strike Group from Europe to the Caribbean to join the campaign, which is largely seen as an effort to put more pressure onto Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
While the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier will take several days to get into position, the move signals that this position from Washington to provide even more firepower to these efforts. Maduro has so far denied any allegations linking him to drug trafficking and has vowed to stay put.
But even more dramatically, also on Friday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned the sitting president of neighboring Colombia, Gustavo Petro, together with members of his family, accusing them of colluding with drug traffickers.
For his part, Petro has long claimed to have been a bastion against cocaine. This is what he said on the matter on Friday.
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GUSTAVO PETRO, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): The first test I gave -- and I think we've been successful -- is to go after the bosses of drug trafficking and not the peons and the workers. Go after them wherever they are. And for that, to expand the collaboration with intelligence agencies all across the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: The White House accuses Petro of receiving funds from drug trafficking organizations through his son during the presidential campaign in 2022.
And despite Colombia being one of Washington's closest allies all across the Americas, the White House has yet decided to move in an unprecedented step, sanctioning the head of state of a major non-NATO ally as tensions all across the region continue to escalate -- for CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.
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BRUNHUBER: Former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke with CNN about the moves in the Caribbean. He says president Trump must clearly tell the American people what his plans are. Here he is.
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LEON PANETTA, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We're dealing with a very serious deployment of our forces right now. We've had B-1 bombers going near Venezuela. We've had B-52s, F-35 squadrons now in place.
I think there's something like a submarine that's been in place; eight warships that are already in place, Reaper drones. And now this carrier group, that's a lot of men and -- American men and women in uniform that are being put in harm's way.
And in order to kind of make sense of this so we don't just find ourselves by accident in war, I think it's really important that the president had better present a strategy to the American people and to the Congress as to exactly what are the objectives here.
Is this about regime change?
Is this about narco trafficking?
Is it about something else? Because when you're deploying that many men and women in harm's way, you are, in fact, putting their lives at risk. And you better have a damn good explanation for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Thousands of Colombians are rallying around their president in light of the U.S. sanctions on him and his family.
President Trump called Gustavo Petro a, quote, "illegal drug leader."
In Bogota on Friday, supporters carried banners reading, "Thank you, President Petro" and "Petro is not a drug trafficker."
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine says at least two people have been killed and 12 others wounded in new Russian strikes on Kyiv. 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 threat warning covering the entire country.
Russia's top economic envoy is expected to meet with U.S. officials in Miami later today. 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 after Europeans called for more countries to follow suit.
In an interview with CNN, Dmitriev said it's still important to keep the U.S.-Russian dialogue going.
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Ukraine's allies are urging more countries to take a cue from the U.S. and slap sanctions on Russian oil companies.
The group, known as the Coalition of the Willing, met in London on Friday. That came days after Washington hit Russia's top two oil companies with sanctions. European leaders also made it clear they will work hand in hand to ramp up pressure on Moscow. As Nic Robertson reports, they believe that's what it takes to make Russia negotiate.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the very clear messaging from both the British prime minister and the Ukrainian president, that pressure on Vladimir Putin to get him to the negotiating table, is what's required.
And also, both leaders are very clear that it's important to work with the United States, that this is the way to achieve the goals, that this is the way, as prime minister Keir Starmer said, to remove Russia's oil and gas sales from the global markets, to cut off their war economy.
The British prime minister saying that it was Vladimir Putin, is the only one right now who doesn't want peace. And the thing to do is force him to the negotiating table.
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KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: Putin is the.
Only person.
Who does not want to stop this war. His strikes on civilians this week made that crystal clear, once again targeting energy infrastructure ahead of winter, hitting young children in their nursery. This coalition is determined to go further than ever to ratchet up the pressure.
On Putin.
From the battlefield to his war economy, because that is the only way to change his mind and push him back to the table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: And president Zelenskyy also talked about the importance of long-range weapon systems like the Tomahawk, the Storm Shadow. The Storm Shadow, the British already providing to Ukraine, Zelenskyy saying that these longer-range weapons aid the diplomacy, aid the pressure on President Putin.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: The long-range capability.
Directly strengthens diplomacy.
The more losses Putin suffers on his own territory, the fewer assaults he can carry out on the front line and the faster he will agree to meaningful diplomacy. That is why we are working to secure Tomahawk cruise missiles, additional Storm Shadow missiles, other capabilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: And on the issue of those longer-range missiles, both Starmer and Zelenskyy indicating that progress has been made in discussions to get those available. Not clear precisely when it will happen.
The British prime minister also doubling down supporting the European Union, finding a way to use those frozen Russian assets to provide loans for Ukraine to continue fighting the war. He said it's important that that's done in a timely manner.
And president Zelenskyy reaffirming again that the way forward is to work with the United States. And that's the way, he said, they can get those long-term security guarantees, the boots on the ground, to come in and support Ukraine when a ceasefire is in place -- Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: All right. Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, what president Trump is now saying about the anti-tariff TV commercial that sparked his anger and caused him to end trade talks with Canada.
Plus New York's attorney general faces federal charges. We'll hear from Letitia James and what she says about the charges against her. Stay with. Us.
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BRUNHUBER: Just moments before departing Washington, president Trump said 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, "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.
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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: For more on this, I want to bring in Pedro Antunes, who's the chief economist at The Conference Board of Canada and he joins us from Chelsea in Canada.
Thank you so much for making the time for us. Really appreciate it. That Ontario ad really got under Trump's skin.
Did Ontario mess up by poking the bear like that?
Did they miscalculate how the president would react?
PEDRO ANTUNES, CHIEF ECONOMIST, THE CONFERENCE BOARD OF CANADA: Well, I mean, who knows if this was really the cause or if president Trump was just looking for another reason to shake things up as it may be.
Certainly we didn't have a very coordinated approach to dealing with the initial tariff announcements that the U.S. administration has imposed. We've become a little more, how should I say, pulled together a little bit better, provincial and the federal government?
But yes, this is just another upset in the situation. And it creates, again, another level of uncertainty for Canadian businesses as to when and whether we will have a trade deal with our very important trade partner.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. And I want to get to the effect of those uncertainties in a moment. But just before we do, I mean, the prime minister wasn't responsible for the ad and, in fact, he's tried to tamp down the controversy.
But how much of this do you think is just down to a clash of personalities between the two leaders, Carney and Trump?
ANTUNES: Well, it's very hard to say exactly what is driving the announcement here from president Trump. You know, I think obviously the fact that he's drawn attention to this ad has probably caused more Americans to listen to it.
But, yes, I don't -- you know, I think for, up until very recently, it seemed that our prime minister and president Trump had a very, how should I say, a very friendly relationship. And we were making progress on things.
But again, I would argue that we are still in a situation, as our prime minister has mentioned several times, where the status quo is a situation where Canada does have most of our products trading with the U.S. under rules. And that means no tariffs. It's only in a few sectors that we're getting hit and this situation continues.
BRUNHUBER: At stake here, some, you know, several billion dollars' worth of goods that go back and forth every single day.
I mean, how bad for business is this for Canada?
I mean, who is hurting the most right now?
ANTUNES: Well, the trade that we have with the U.S. is we're intricately tied on the manufacturing side. There's no doubt about that.
And here we are, seeing tariffs that are already applied on some very important industries for Canada; namely the auto sector but also steel and aluminum, as was just mentioned, and the forestry sector. And that's been an ongoing trade dispute with the U.S. for decades.
But in any case, those industries are hit. We have, in fact, seen aluminum exports to the U.S., for example, halved for Canada. So some sectors in Canada are feeling a lot of pinch already. We've lost jobs in some of these sectors as well. The broader impact, though, is really around confidence.
The uncertainty for most industries, most exporters, even though we're under Kutzman rules (ph) still, the uncertainty about future access to the U.S. consumer, this is causing essentially a seize-up in private investment and in job creation, not just in those sectors directly affected by tariffs but more broadly.
So the situation here needs to be resolved. And I think this ongoing uncertainty, this ongoing, how should I say, ruckus that we're feeling with these, this tariff war does end up moving investment.
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We've seen it in the auto sector, even just in the last few days and weeks, does end up moving investment south of the border.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. And also, one of the effects, presumably, I mean, the Canadian dollar as well hasn't been doing very well. We heard earlier in that report, I mean, this isn't just bad for Canada. Americans are getting hurt, too.
Canada buys more from certain U.S. states than any country does. Canadian tourists aren't coming down like they used to. And border towns in the U.S. especially must be feeling the pinch.
ANTUNES: Yes. I mean I -- certainly we keep saying that, you know, the effects of globalization were a win-win for the U.S., for Canada, for the world. When we're seeing a trade war now with the U.S., you know, not just against Canada but globally, this is a lose-lose for everyone.
And Canada loses in more than one way. You know, we're talking about here the kind of direct effects on Canadian exports, the effects on the fact that U.S., the economy is sinking or is doing not as well.
That is also going to affect Canada more broadly. But also a trade war with the entire world, I mean, we're talking about the U.S. and China here. And, you know, significant trade war as well. The biggest economies in the world at it.
This is going to slow global growth and it has an impact on resources. And, of course, Canada is a major exporter of resources. So that's having another impact indirectly through the prices that we're getting for our exports more broadly.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Such huge effects for both countries. It must be certainly uncomfortable for Canada to be in the headlines in this context.
We saw even the pope getting involved, saying that he regretted the friction between the two countries. So certainly many on both sides hoping that this will be resolved soon. Pedro Antunes, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.
ANTUNES: It's a pleasure. Thanks for having me.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Still ahead, the attorney general of New York is speaking out about the federal charges against her. We'll hear from Letitia James plus find out the latest on her court case.
And the NBA commissioner breaks his silence after federal gambling indictments shake the league. We'll look at what Adam Silver is now saying about the accusations after the break.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check some of today's top stories.
There are signs the United States could soon take military action inside Venezuela. The U.S. is sending the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford and its Strike Group to the Caribbean.
And three U.S. officials tell CNN that president Donald Trump is considering plans to target cocaine facilities and drug trafficking routes inside Venezuela.
President Trump says he would like to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un while visiting Asia in the days ahead but he's not sure if it will happen. The president is expected to stop in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, where he's planning a summit with Chinese president Xi.
President Trump said he doesn't plan to meet with the Canadian prime minister during his Asia trip but Canada says it's ready to resume trade talks with the U.S. That's a day after Trump shut down talks because of an anti-tariff TV commercial.
Ontario's premier, whose province created the ad, said he will suspend their broadcast after this weekend.
New York attorney general Letitia James pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges related to alleged mortgage fraud. A trial date was set for the end of January.
Attorneys for James told the judge they feel she is being unfairly prosecuted by the Trump administration. Outside the courthouse, James said she'll continue to fight the charges. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: There's no fear today. No fear, no fear, no fear, no fear because I believe that justice will rain down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Attorneys for Letitia James also say they plan to challenge the legal standing of the attorney who brought the charges, Lindsey Halligan. She's the interim U.S. attorney for Northern Virginia after the former interim U.S. attorney was pushed out.
James' attorneys argue she's unlawfully serving in the position. CNN's Kara Scannell has more on the day in court.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Outside of the courtroom, New York attorney general Letitia James emerged to chants of, "We stand with Tish." Inside the courtroom, there were a number of friends and family members there to support her.
One friend of hers that I spoke to said that the entire back row of the courtroom was filled with family members who were there. Ant when Letitia James entered the courtroom, she looked toward them. She smiled to acknowledge their presence.
And then she entered her plea of not guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution.
Then the judge got down to business. He set a trial date in this case for January 26th. The prosecution said they initially wanted two weeks to try the case, saying they might call as many as 8-10 witnesses. The judge said that's not how it works in this district and he would set aside five days for the trial.
But there's a lot of litigation that's going to happen beforehand. Letitia James' lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said he plans to challenge the appointment of Lindsey Halligan. She was Trump's hand-picked choice and she was in the courtroom today, just sitting a few feet away from Letitia James.
Lowell said he also expects to file a vindictive prosecution motion, as well as trying to get the indictment thrown out by arguing that the allegations in the indictment don't support the charges that she is facing. So the judge set several hearings leading up to the trial date. He
said it would take about five days. And Letitia James left the courthouse today just on her own signature until she'll be back to face these charges. She's on her way back to New York to resume her duties as New York's attorney general -- Kara Scannell, CNN, Norfolk, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Department of Justice says it will have federal election monitors at some polling sites in California and New Jersey for next months election. Officials will be on site 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.
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.
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All right. Turning to the ongoing case of the Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Department of Homeland Security now says it wants to deport him to Liberia. It's the latest efforts by DHS to deport Garcia and comes after three other African countries said they won't accept him.
He was returned to the U.S. in June after being sent to El Salvador, despite a judge prohibiting it. The government then indicted him on charges of unlawfully transporting illegal immigrants. He pleaded not guilty. Abrego Garcia says he would like to be deported to Costa Rica. That country has agreed to accept him.
The NBA commissioner is now speaking out for the first time about explosive federal gambling indictments rocking the league.
During Prime Video's first NBA game broadcast, Adam Silver acknowledged the investigations involving Portland Trail Blazers' head coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former player Damon Jones. The league has previously said it reviewed a game involving Rozier and found no rules were broken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: We frankly couldn't find anything. Terry at the time cooperated. He gave the league office his phone, he sat down for an interview and we ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence despite that aberrational behavior, to move forward.
Two and a half years later, he still hasn't been convicted of anything. In fairness to Terry, obviously it doesn't look good. But he's now been put on administrative leave. And so, you know, there's a balance here of protecting people's rights and investigating. And as I said, we've been working with the government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Prosecutors accused those involved of betting schemes linked to the Mafia, including the use of insider tips to influence wagers on NBA games. Now the connection to organized crime is one of many jaw-dropping allegations in the federal case. 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 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: In a matter of days, 42 million Americans could lose the federal help they need to put food on their tables. Ahead, SNAP benefits and the government shutdown. Plus, where people might turn to if they don't get the financial help they need.
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BRUNHUBER: President Trump says his administration will fund SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, during the government shutdown. When asked about the program on Friday, the president said, quote, "Everybody is going to be in good shape."
Now previously, a USDA memo indicated that the agency wouldn't pay for food stamp benefits as the shutdown drags on. If nothing is done, roughly 42 million Americans will lose critical food assistance.
For more on this, I want to bring in Joel Berg, who's the CEO of Hunger Free America and he joins us now from New York.
Thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it. So the government shutdown is putting SNAP benefits at risk for millions of Americans.
What are you seeing right now at food banks and pantries across the country in terms of the demand?
JOEL BERG, CEO, HUNGER FREE AMERICA: Well, people around the country are rightfully scared, 42 million Americans. And most of them are children, seniors, working people, veterans and people with disabilities rely on SNAP.
If these benefits aren't issued in November, they will lose 8 billion -- that's billion with a B -- worth of food. And understand, your viewers need to understand, soup kitchens and food pantries and food banks play a vital role in filling in a few of the gaps.
But they are a microscopic portion of a Band-Aid to meet this need. The SNAP program provides 10 times the amount of funds. But does every charity in America. So if these benefits are not issued early in November, this will be the greatest hunger catastrophe in U.S. history since the Great Depression. And that's not hyperbole.
BRUNHUBER: Wow.
What do you mean by that?
I mean, why would it be so severe?
BERG: SNAP is the last broad-based assistance program for limited income Americans.
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I worked for president Clinton and he really did eliminate welfare as we know it. So very few Americans get cash assistance.
The other large benefit program that aids low income people, Medicaid, that money goes into the pockets of doctors, hospitals, HMOs, insurance companies, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies. It doesn't help low income people meet their bills.
And the SNAP program is really the last program in America that helps tens of millions of Americans meet basic expenses; in this case, food expenses. Many people already don't have enough food to get by.
Between 2021 and 2023, the number of Americans who lived in houses that couldn't afford enough food increased 40 percent. Even before the shutdown, 47 million Americans struggled against hunger, so they didn't have enough food as it is.
And if you take away $8 billion worth of food from 42 million Americans, you're going to have a major crisis on our hands.
I also note these benefits are redeemed at over 260,000 retailers -- farmers' markets, big box stores, grocery stores, bodegas and corner stores across the country. They're going to see a crisis, too. And if this goes on much longer, some of them may have to lay off staff.
BRUNHUBER: The consequences, as you say, seem to be really far- reaching here. And adding to that, many federal workers will have missed their first full payday on Friday. I imagine that will just add to the numbers of folks who might need food banks and stressing that system, that you already said, isn't enough to compensate.
BERG: Absolutely. Some federal workers are fairly well compensated in the upper middle class but some of the lower level federal workers don't make much more than above the poverty wage.
And there are also many workers for federal contractors who are out of work because of this. So they are compounding all these problems.
And it's also important to note that the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress, as part of their big, beautiful bill, as they call it, just cut $183 billion out of SNAP. So they're claiming, oh, they're so worried that low income people are going to suffer if the shutdown goes on.
They're the ones not only that cut the most money out of SNAP in U.S. history, they're the ones responsible for the shutdown. The House of Representatives isn't even meeting to even negotiate how to end the shutdown. So this is clearly on president Trump and the Republicans.
BRUNHUBER: Well, both parties, I would argue, have a role here in this shutdown. And both parties seem to be, at least in part, playing chicken with people's lives here.
I mean, what would you say to those in Congress, from both sides of the aisle, if you could talk to them now?
BERG: I don't agree it's both sides. Today's a Saturday in New York and we don't have to pretend; it could be Friday. It could be Sunday. And we can debate which side is responsible.
The fact of the matter is, Senate Democrats did vote to reopen the government while restoring health care benefits for tens of millions of Americans. The House of Representatives isn't even meeting.
The Republicans, including president Trump, haven't even offered a full year budget. Only a seven-week budget when there are 52 weeks out of the year.
The bottom line is the president and the Republicans in Congress need to compromise with the Democrats. That's how our system works.
And they need to reopen the government, ensure that SNAP benefits are delivered and ensure that tens of millions of Americans don't have hundreds of dollars of increases per month in health care premiums. If people spend more on health care, they have less money for food. So this health care fight is also an anti-hunger fight.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, certainly so many people hoping this can be resolved soon because you lay out the stakes very well there. Joel Berg, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.
BERG: Thank you.
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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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 similar.
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BRUNHUBER: Tropical storm Melissa is getting closer to hurricane strength as it moves slowly through the Caribbean. It has sustained winds of 70 miles an hour just below hurricane force.
It's expected to become a hurricane in the coming hours. And thanks to some of the hottest ocean water on the planet, a major hurricane on Sunday. Now Melissa could become the strongest storm to ever hit Jamaica.
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A hurricane warning is now in effect for the island nation, along with parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. At least four people have already been killed. Officials say anyone in the storm's path should prepare now for life-threatening conditions, including catastrophic flooding, landslides and damaging winds.
Well, Canadians are loving this. Game one of the World Series is in the books. We'll have highlights from the slugfest and blowout between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers next. Stay with us.
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Game one of the World Series turned out to be a 20-hit slugfest between the favored L.A. Dodgers and the underdog Toronto Blue Jays. By the last out, fans of the home team were overjoyed as the visitors wondered what hit them. CNN's Andy Scholes has the highlights.
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ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: It was an absolute party.
Here at the.
Rogers Center.
For game one of the World Series. And one thing is for sure. Blue Jays fans are.
Never going to forget the 6th inning of this game. It was all tied up at 2 coming into the inning, the Blue Jays were able to knock out Dodgers ace Blake Snell from the game.
Then, with the score 5-2, Addison Barger coming through.
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With a pinch hit grand slam that just sends the stadium into a frenzy. This was the first ever pinch hit grand slam in World Series history and the Jays did not stop there.
Alejandro Kirk then also hit a two-run home run later in the inning. Blue Jays have a nine-run 6th inning; Shohei Ohtani would hit his first World Series home run in the next inning. But the Dodgers just never recovered. Blue Jays run away with game one, 11-4, to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's probably as good.
As it gets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Large man.
He didn't budge.
He was ready to.
Go and hit a mistake pitch. So that was a little bit more than what we could have hoped for. But that inning, to watch those guys navigate, that was pretty cool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just madness.
I mean, the fans are so energetic and you know, we really.
Feel it.
And, yes, I thought we put together a lot of.
Really good at-bats and we made things happen and it worked out.
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SCHOLES: And Blue Jays fans had been waiting 32 years for a night like this. And it was only one game. But taking game one of the World Series has been a very good sign
recently; 23 of the last 27 teams that won game one went on to win the series. The Blue Jays fans certainly going to be pumped up for game two. You can expect another crazy atmosphere here at the Rogers Center Saturday night -- back to you.
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BRUNHUBER: A zoo in France is getting ready to say goodbye to two of its star attractions. Pandas Huan Huan, a female, and Yuan Zi, a male, have called France's Beauval Zoo home since Beijing loaned the pair to France in 2012. But last month, the zoo announced they would return to China at the end of November.
Huan Huan has kidney problems and time is running out for them to make the journey to China.
All right. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber for our viewers in North America. "CNN THIS MORNING" is next for the rest of the world. It's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
