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U.S. And China Drawing Closer To A Trade Deal Before Trump And Xi Meet; President Trump And President Xi To Meet Face-To-Face In South Korea; Federal Workers Applying For Federal Benefits; Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) Is Interviewed About The Government Shutdown And Federal Workers; Hurricane Melissa Forecast To Become Rare Cat 5; Arrests Made In Brazen Louvre Heist; Newsom Versus Rogan. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 26, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Well, I must say, I laughed a lot too. It was fun. It all worked, it is scary, but sometimes it wasn't just the big stuff. It was the little things, and it was the lighting and yes, the grabbing. And yes, it will get you. All right, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The "CNN Newsroom" continues with Jessica Dean right now.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the "CNN Newsroom." Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York. U.S. and Chinese officials say there is reason to believe a trade deal to avoid steep tariffs is in the works before President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet this week on Thursday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying this earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: I think we've reached a substantial framework for the two leaders who will meet in Korea next Thursday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: China echoing that message saying to state media both sides have reacted, reached a, quote, "preliminary consensus" on addressing trade concerns. Both countries have been in high level trade discussions, of course, ahead of this bilateral meeting now just a few days away. The latest agreement appears to have for now stopped a possible trade war. Meanwhile, the president is currently in Malaysia as part of a multi- stop trip through Asia. He is due to leave for Japan later tonight.

Let's bring in CNN's Ivan Watson in Kuala Lumpur. He's joining us now. Ivan, a big first day. What more do we know about this framework and how it might play a role moving forward with a more robust agreement?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think what's striking is the positive signals that are being sent both by the U.S. and the Chinese trade negotiators who have been meeting here in Kuala Lumpur for two days in the run up to what is expected to be a face-to-face meeting between President Trump and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping further on in Trump's tour through Asia when he is expected in Korea.

So you heard from Scott Bessent there. Take a listen to what one of the Chinese negotiators said after he emerged from these two days of talks here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LI CHENGGANG, CHINA TRADE NEGOTIATOR (through translation): The U.S. position has been tough, whereas China has been firm in defending its own interests and rights. Over the past more than a day's time, we have experienced very intense consultations and engaged in constructive exchanges and exploring solutions and arrangements to address these concerns.

The two sides have reached preliminary consensus on these issues, and next we are each going to go through our domestic internal approval processes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So the U.S. Treasury Secretary, he has said that 100 percent tariffs that President Trump was slapping on China that were set to go into effect on November 1st, they're effectively off the table and that he is expecting that China will not impose export restrictions that have to do with China's rare earth near monopoly, those minerals that are so essential for things like our phones and fighter jets and computers and TVs that made Trump very angry.

He's also suggested that there could be purchases from China of U.S. soybeans in the future. China, historically being the biggest purchaser of that and had suspended that, that's hurting American farmers very badly. And Bessent himself has said that he too is a soybean farmer and is believed to own some $25 million worth of fields in North Dakota that grow soybean and corn.

Another element where there could be progress is when it comes to fentanyl. The U.S. accusing China of sending the fentanyl precursors, selling them that are used for the fentanyl drug crisis that's killed so many people in the U.S. And finally on the TikTok sale that is getting a purchase of the social media platform from China and ending up in U.S. hands eventually. So by all accounts it sounds like the meeting was productive.

Then the next step will be what would happen if Trump and Xi get face to face on the last leg of Trump's journey in Korea? Can those two leaders come to some type of an agreement to end a trade war between the world's two largest economies, Jessica?

DEAN: Yeah. The essential question here, but that cautious optimism as we head into that meeting. Ivan Watson for us. Thank you so much for your reporting. We appreciate it. And we are joined now by career diplomat, five-time Ambassador Christopher Hill. He served in both Republican and Democratic administration with his last posting in Serbia. He also served as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

[17:05:01]

Mr. Ambassador, thank you so much for being here with us. We really appreciate it. I do want to pick up where we just left off there with Ivan, in that these tensions appear to have cooled with China just a little bit with this announcement of this framework. We're hearing from both sides projecting some optimism. How do you view this week, these few days ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting later?

CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR To SOUTH KOREA & IRAQ: Well, the picture looked pretty stark just a few days ago. So there is some room for optimism. And when you have the Treasury Secretary saying some of the things he did, and most importantly, or as importantly, the Chinese kind of echoing this, I think we have reason to believe that things may be on the mend.

They're on the mend because having a trade war benefits neither country and I think everyone understands that. We've seen our stock market jump whenever -- jump down whenever we've seen these kinds of things with China. So we'll have to see how this works out. But it's, I think, establishing some mood music, which might be really necessary. The Chinese, they don't just depend on the U.S. They world interests and they're pretty tough on these things. So we'll have to see how this plays out.

DEAN: One interesting piece of all of this is that China's strategy isn't constrained in the same way as the U.S. in the sense that we have these four-year presidential election cycles. So Trump right now has a set amount of time. China can play a very, very long game. So how do you then assess Xi's strategy in these trade talks, knowing that they can take their time and Trump is on a set time frame.

HILL: That's right. I mean, of course, even authoritarian governments have politics. So China also has its politics --

DEAN: Right.

HILL: -- that it indeed has to work through, but clearly, I think China has a little more elbow room to work on these things. Whereas I think the president has understood that he's got farmers who are in increasingly unhappy about what's going on and just a whole lot of constituents and the U.S. are very worried about this thing including Wall Street. So I think the president is under a lot of pressure to calm this down.

You know, this on-again off-again relationship with China in the last eight months has kind of left the situation where China is looking for other markets. And so part of the major leverage we've had with China is their dependency on the U.S. market. But now they're looking at other markets. So I think it's kind of time for us to see if we can make some serious and sustained progress on this.

DEAN: The president says China he believes can help when it comes to Russia. Sources are telling CNN some China state oil majors suspended buying some Russian oil following those U.S. and European sanctions. Do you think that supporting Russia in this war on Ukraine has shifted in terms of China's interest in doing so? HILL: I don't think China has an interest in helping Russia, but if we push them in that direction, they'll certainly do it if for no other reason than spite. But I think there would be room to have an adult conversation with the Chinese about Russia and the need to get the Russians to end this war. I think we've seen flexibility and Kyiv we're just not seeing it in Moscow and the Chinese have said repeatedly that they want the Russians to come wrap this thing up.

So there may be room there, but you know there's been a lot of mistrust between Washington and Beijing for obvious reasons. So it's going to take a little time to rebuild that, but I would hope that we can kind of find a way forward on the situation with Russia. Maybe ironically Russia can bring the U.S. and China into a better relationship.

DEAN: It would be a bit ironic; wouldn't it be? I do want to ask you, the president next heads to Japan. He is going to meet with the newly elected prime minister there and visit U.S. troops. You, of course, served as U.S. ambassador to South Korea. He'll also be stopping there. How people understand more broadly about the U.S. relationship to this region, our interest there, why this is important?

HILL: Well, first of all, the U.S. does have troops in Japan and has an extremely important security relationship with Japan, quite apart from all the economic issues that are also very serious. So I think the idea of touching base with the Japanese. I mean, we've had some problems with Japan in recent months, again, driven by this trade agenda. The trouble with trade agendas is they affect everybody. Everyone gets in a very sour mood.

So I think it's important to try to mend fences to the extent that this administration is interested in doing so. But you'll note, of course, that in addition to visiting Japan, the president will be visiting Korea. He wouldn't go to Korea without Japan. He wouldn't go to Japan without Korea.

[17:10:01]

And Korea is very much a country that relies heavily on the U.S. market. And given the events in Georgia that took place a few weeks ago, the ICE raid on a major Korean investment in the U.S., I think it is very important for the president to visit Korea as well not just because of the fact that he will be in an international meeting there, meeting with Xi Jinping, but also on a bilateral axis.

DEAN: Yeah. There are lot of dynamics at play over the next several days. Ambassador Christopher Hill, thank you so much for being here with us. We really appreciate it.

HILL: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, a number of federal workers going without paychecks as this government shutdown drags on. And now many are turning to unemployment benefits to try and make ends meet.

Plus, at least one rank-and-file Republican has continuously showed up to work at his office on Capitol Hill during the shutdown. We're going to speak with Congressman Kevin Kiley about why he's pushing his party to get back to work.

And Hurricane Melissa now forecast to become a rare Category 5 storm. We are live from Jamaica as the island braces for catastrophic flooding and mudslides.

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[17:15:00]

DEAN: This week, more federal workers will miss their first full paycheck as the government shutdown drags into its fifth week. But obviously, the bills don't stop just because there's not a payday. Thousands of furloughed federal workers are now trying to get unemployment benefits to help bridge that gap until the government reopens. But those benefits aren't always easy to get. Let's bring in CNN's Tami Luhby who's been looking into this. Tammy, good to see you. Tell us how many people are applying for these benefits right now.

TAMI LUHBY, CNN SENIOR WRITER: Yes, it's really been ramping up since the government shut down. We had over 20,500 federal workers filed for unemployment benefits in the first three weeks of the shutdown for the week ending October 18th. And if you just look in the past, sorry, if you just look in the past week, the week ending October 18th, it's over 10,000 employees, federal employees have filed.

These are furloughed workers who are not getting paid and are not going to work. And if you want some comparison in September, it was just a couple of hundred federal workers who applied for unemployment benefits.

DEAN: Yes.

LUHBY: This is the largest amount that have applied since the 2018- 2019 shutdown, which was our last one. And, you know, people think that all federal workers, many people may think all federal workers are in the D.C. metro area, but we actually had seen over 3,100 federal employees filed for unemployment benefits in Texas, which is just slightly smaller than the number that it filed in Maryland.

DEAN: Yeah, it is a good reminder that these federal workers are spread out all over the country. So as they're trying to do this, to apply for these benefits, what kind of roadblocks are they running into?

LUHBY: Well, I spoke to one woman in Massachusetts who applied, which she literally told me she put in her out of office message on October 1st. And the next thing she did was apply for unemployment benefits. And she's still waiting and she's worried about how she's going to pay her November 1st rent. So the problem is, as this worker also had encountered, there's a hassle in getting their wages verified. The state unemployment agencies have to reach out to the federal government, to the federal agency where these people work and get their wages verified. And a lot of those workers have also been furloughed. So there's a delay in getting the payments. And, you know, a lot of

workers don't think it's worth it. There's, you know, nearly 700,000 workers, around 700,000 workers who've been furloughed. But many of them are not applying because they don't think it's worth it if they end up, you know, getting a delay in the benefits. Because when the government actually reopens, then they will have to pay back. Presumably, they will get their retroactive pay, the back pay that they're owed.

There's a 2019 law that requires that, although President Trump has brought that into question. But assuming if they get their benefits re-paid, sorry, if they get their back pay, they're going to have to repay those unemployment benefits that they received. Now experts still say that people should apply because it's basically a no interest loan and they do have rent, food, they have to care for their families. There's a lot of necessities. So they should at least try to apply.

DEAN: And we are looking toward November 1. It's important for a number of reasons. You mentioned rent is due. A lot of things happen on the first of the month. Also, these SNAP benefits are going to expire. Funding for a number of programs is going to expire again across the country. What are you keeping an eye on as we head toward that November 1 date?

LUHBY: Right. Well, the food stamps is very important. Actually, USDA just posted that food stamp benefits will not go out on November 1st. This is a federal program. It's distributed by states, but it's a federal program. And the USDA said there is no funding for it.

There is a contingency fund with about $6 billion in it and advocates and democratic lawmakers are pushing the federal government, they're pushing USDA to tap into the contingency fund in order to pay the benefits and possibly shift money around as they have with other of their priorities.

[17:20:00]

And President Trump was asked actually by CNN on Friday night whether he would urge USDA to tap into the contingency benefit. And he told us everyone's going to be in good shape. So maybe this week he will actually get USDA to change his mind. We're not sure. But the other thing happening November 1st is open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act begins.

And that's when people are really going to start -- they're going to start signing up for 2026 coverage and they're going to see just how expensive it is without these enhanced subsidies. And these enhanced premium subsidies are what Congress, what the Democrats and Republicans are actually fighting about right now that has caused the government to shut down.

DEAN: Yeah. All right, Tami Luhby, thank you for walking us through it. We appreciate it. And we're joined now by California Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley. Congressman, thanks so much for being here with us. The president is currently out of the country. The House is currently out of session at the direction of Speaker Mike Johnson. The Senate is working. They did try to -- they did vote, but it ultimately failed on paying some federal workers. They haven't agreed to anything related to a broader deal.

You are the one Republican in the House that has continued to go to your office every single day there on Capitol Hill. And I know you've been urging your colleagues to come back to work. Do you think Republicans are taking this shutdown seriously?

REP. KEVIN KILEY (R-CA): Well, I certainly think that having the House closed is not treating it with the seriousness that it deserves. Now, I should be very clear that I did vote for the measure in the House that would keep the government open and avoid a shutdown. And I did the same thing when President Biden was in office. Shutdowns are an absolute disaster for the American people and an institutional failure of Congress.

And I wish the Senate would just go ahead and pass that continuing resolution, which would open the government at once, or at least passed a bill to make sure that our federal workers get paid. But all of that is completely independent of the decision that the Speaker has made to keep the House of Representatives closed down. What that has meant is now for going on five weeks, all of the business that we have in the House related to committee hearings, related to legislation, to oversight, everything else has been postponed or delayed.

And I think it's made it a lot more difficult for us to reach the kind of bipartisan agreement and to find the common ground that is going to be necessary to get the government open.

DEAN: Yeah, and I think that's why some people wonder if they are taking it seriously. To your point, it's harder to get a deal if you're not there.

KILEY: Exactly. And I think that so much of the energy has been focused on, can we blame the other side? And very little energy has actually been spent, okay, on can we find a constructive solution here that is going to get us out of this? Like I've actually said, we should be talking about this ACA subsidy issue that Senator Schumer has sort of made the main plank of his position because I'm really concerned about the potential for premiums to go up for a lot of my constituents and I know there are a lot of Democrats and Republicans who are concerned about that as well.

There's going to need to be a deal on that issue so if we can at least start talking about it now and reach you know the beginning stages of a deal as a pathway out of the shutdown I don't know why we wouldn't at least be exploring that option.

DEAN: So do you think that this gets resolved? We're just talking about the importance of November 1st, obviously starting a new month and all that comes along with that. Do you think it gets resolved? Any chance it gets resolved before then?

KILEY: Well, I sure hope so. I mean, it's already dragged on a lot longer than I think many people expected. And we're seeing the costs continue to pile up, as your last guest was talking about, in terms of the air traffic controllers, for example, not getting their paycheck, having to figure out how they're going to make ends meet and provide for their families. And then the cascading consequences of that with millions of people seeing delays in their flight.

We have all kinds of other federal workers, of course, who are being furloughed. People are losing access to critical services. So this does need to be treated with a much higher degree of urgency. And the fact that you have the two sides that have kind of just backed into their positions and these positions have calcified, I think it underscores why faith in Congress as an institution is so low in this country.

DEAN: And I do want to talk about specifically the redistricting proposal that's up in California in just a second, but just to get people kind of read them in on the context here, it's very likely you could lose your seat if that redistricting proposal in California goes forward. I thought it was interesting. "The New York Times" profiled you and they described you as, quote, "behaving like a lame duck with nothing to lose." What do you think about that description?

KILEY: Well, I would not agree with that characterization in the sense that I think that whatever way this map comes out in California, I will be able to win re-election. I think that I have a track record of getting votes from people on both sides of the aisle of all party affiliations, because I've really focused on issues that are not of a particularly partisan valence, but are of importance to the quality of life for folks in my community.

So however that comes out, I think that I'll be able to win re- election. I very much want to continue to represent the beautiful district that I represent now, not have it butchered into six different pieces as they're trying to do in California right now.

[17:24:57]

And frankly, you know, when it comes to the criticism, I've had of the speaker in terms of how he's handling this shutdown and specifically having the House of Representatives out of session for five weeks, I don't really think I'm going out on a limb that much by saying that we should have a House of Representatives that is open and serving the American people. I think the vast majority of Americans would agree with that.

DEAN: And you've also said, I believe, that you don't think there should be mid-decade redistricting, that it should stick to what it normally is, which is every 10 years when they do the redistricting. Why do you think the rest of your party, pretty much writ-large, doesn't agree with you?

KILEY: Well, I think a lot of people in the party actually do agree with me. I've had a number of members on both sides of the aisle who come up to me all the time saying that they agree with my bill. I've proposed legislation saying we should not be doing mid-decade redistricting. When you do it in the middle of the decade, by the way, gerrymandering

is the entire point of the exercise. Whereas when you do it in the regularly scheduled way, you'd still get gerrymandering, but at least it's being done because there's a constitutional requirement to redistrict every 10 years.

So I'm against gerrymandering wherever it occurs. I believe that it is a plague on democracy. I don't like when it happens in Republican states. I don't like when it happens in Democrat states. So I don't like that it's happening in California right now. Our voters do have a say in the matter. They have to approve the gerrymandered map that the politicians in Sacramento have drawn.

And so my basic reason for voting no on this is that while we might not like what's going on elsewhere, we do have the power to reject gerrymandering in one place in particular, and that's our own state in California. And by the way, the map the politicians drew that they're trying to institute in California isn't just a gerrymandered map.

Princeton University analysts called it one of the two worst gerrymanders in the last 50 years and gave it an F grade. So my message to Californians is I think that we deserve better than an F.

DEAN: Yeah. And of course, coming on the heels of what Republicans did in Texas and so on and so on. Congressman Kevin Kiley, we really appreciate your time. Thank you.

KILEY: Of course. Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Yeah. Coming up, we are tracking Hurricane Melissa as it barrels toward Jamaica, where people are now seeking shelter as the storm bears down. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is there.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, Jessica, Hurricane Melissa strengthening again. We're getting our first taste of some of these initial rain bands with the winds picking up behind me. I'll have a complete live report on the ground from Kingston, Jamaica coming up after the break.

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[17:30:00]

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DEAN: Hurricane Melissa is hurtling toward Jamaica. Forecasters saying it could strengthen into a rare Category 5 hurricane tonight. The National Weather Center is warning people there to seek shelter now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: This is what the weatherman predicted. Where we never get this in the Caribbean. This may be the worst one. I watch that it's the hurricane season to the finish, so we're frightened.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is joining us now live from Kingston. Derek, obviously, quite rainy where you are at this moment. What else are you seeing and feeling as you're standing there in Kingston, Jamaica?

VAN DAM: Yeah, Jessica. So, this is actually the first kind of intense rain band that has come through here at our hotel in Kingston, Jamaica. This country, this island nation is facing what could potentially be the strongest landfalling hurricane in modern record keeping. And it's the slow duration of this storm that is going to be so impactful for the three million residents that call this country home. One million of them reside here within Kingston.

The National Hurricane Center just had their 5 p.m. update, a critical update. Uh, what we are noticing is a subtle shift west of -- of Kingston, but that is going to put us in a very susceptible place for heavy rain, days of heavy rain that will lead to landslides, mudslides, and catastrophic flooding that could potentially, in National Hurricane Center's own words, isolate communities for days.

They found that the storm is getting stronger and that is because, frankly, the water that it is moving over, just over my left-hand shoulder, that water temperature is like a bathtub, and that's like jet fuel for a developing and strengthening hurricane.

So, let me show you on the satellite loop here a very well defined, what we call a concentric eyewall. The hurricane hunters flying in. They saw the stadium effect develop in and around the hurricane's eye. Good representation of a very powerful high-end Category 4. But this storm moving into the warmest waters in the entire Atlantic basin, so that will help fuel a stronger storm.

And the National Hurricane Center is actually indeed specifically, explicitly I should say, calling for a Category 5 hurricane to top winds of 156 miles per hour or greater when it makes landfall sometime late Monday into early Tuesday morning on the south-facing shoreline of Jamaica. You can see there's new warnings issued too for portions of, uh, that is eastern Cuba as, uh, the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

Let's talk about this long duration storm because this is so critical. I'm going to highlight something here, too. Look at the mountainous terrain across Jamaica. Some of these peaks towering above 5,000 feet. So, picture you're holding a wet sponge. You press that wet sponge against an immovable object, meaning those mountains directly over my shoulder. It's going to squeeze out all of that water and it's going to produce rain. Kingston, where I'm located, is in almost a valley or a bull, so that water will rush down, but it's going to be met by a rising storm surge.

[17:35:02]

So, when those two collide, we actually anticipate the water to rise in those very, very susceptible areas. Jessica, we're concerned here for the communities that call this area home. DEAN: Certainly. All right, Derek Van Dam in Jamaica, thank you so much. I want to bring in Dana Morris Dixon, the Jamaican minister of education and information, also live from Kingston right now. Thank you so much for being here with us. Our meteorologists laying out what's -- what's coming to Jamaica imminently. How are you preparing residents there?

DANA MORRIS DIXON, MINISTER, JAMAICA'S EDUCATION AND INFORMATION: Thank you, Jessica, and thank you for asking. Um, it's really a storm and a hurricane of proportions we have never seen. And we are trying our best to educate the entire Jamaican population about what is to come. We cannot take it lightly. You heard from the report that you just had how big of a storm storage we're going to have. The important thing also is that we're going to have a lot of rainfall. And these numbers are numbers that we've never seen in Jamaica.

And so, we have been working to open as many shelters as we can. We have 881 shelters across the country. They've all been activated. And so, anyone who needs to go to a shelter, we are urging them to go there now. They are ready. I was just in a meeting with a team that is ensuring that we have supplies in all of the shelters. And so, we are urging Jamaicans who may be in low lying or flood-prone areas to evacuate and go to a shelter.

DEAN: Yeah. And I'm curious. Do you feel like you have the adequate resources you need for -- to respond to a storm of this size?

MORRIS DIXON: You know, this is unprecedented. But we do have a very robust disaster preparedness system. I'm actually today speaking to you from our National Emergency Operation Center. And we've been through many storms before. We -- we know how to do it. And the administration has put a lot of resources into our hurricane response.

Last year, we had a brush with a hurricane that caused tremendous damage and it wasn't a direct hit. And we learned a lot from that experience last year, and we have beefed up our systems here. But when you hear some of the levels in terms of rainfall and even the wind of a Category 5, that is really, really strong and really unprecedented. But we think that in terms of, uh, preparation, it's definitely better than we've ever had, and we are going to do our best to save as many lives as we can.

DEAN: Yeah. You also have beautiful mountains there in Jamaica. And that can increase the risk of not just flooding, but in that case, with the mountains, the likelihood of landslides. How does that factor into all of this?

MORRIS DIXON: That's another concern. And the ground is already quite saturated. We've been having rains. October is really the high point of rain in Jamaica traditionally, and we've been having our October rains. And so, the ground is already very saturated. And so, when we have Melissa coming with the numbers we're hearing in terms of rainfall, that's going to add to all of that. And so, we are expecting significant landslides.

And so, we do urge those who are in the low lying and flood-prone areas to move, but those who are also in areas that are prone to landslides on those beautiful mountains. We ask them to be as cautious as possible. And if they need to leave, leave now because we will not be able to get our emergency services to them if they do not leave before the time that we get the brunt of this hurricane, which is Monday night into Tuesday morning.

DEAN: Yeah. I hope everyone hears you and follows those directions, and we really wish you all the very best. Dana Morris Dixon, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.

Still to come tonight, new details in the museum heist that shocked the world. How authorities were able to track down and arrest the suspects who robbed priceless jewels from the iconic Louvre in Paris last week. Stay with us. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:40:00]

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DEAN: One person is dead, six others injured after a shooting at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. The gunfire started last night during homecoming at the historically Black college about an hour west of Philadelphia. Several people were rushed to the hospital, others treated at the scene. Authorities say one person is now in custody. They're not sure what motivated that shooting.

A U.S.-guided missile destroyer now docked in Trinidad and Tobago just a few hundred miles from Venezuela. The arrival of the USS Gravely only adds to the U.S. military presence there in the region. The USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier also on its way to the Caribbean as the Trump administration puts extraordinary pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and cracks down on alleged drug boats in the region. Maduro is condemning the show of force, accusing Trump of trying to fabricate what he calls -- quote -- "a new eternal war against his country."

The sports world is mourning the death of former New York Jets' all- pro center Nick Mangold. The team announced his passing Saturday night due to complications of kidney disease. The news coming two weeks -- less than two weeks after Mangold issued a public plea for a kidney donor saying no one in his family matched his blood type.

[17:45:02]

He has been battling the disease for nearly 19 years. The seven-time Pro Bowl center played all of his 11 seasons with the Jets and was inducted into the team's Ring of Honor in 2022. Nick Mangold, just 41 years old.

Two people are now in custody after a daring jewel heist at the world- famous Louvre Museum in Paris. Thieves stealing tens of millions worth of France's crown jewels last week and what authorities are calling one the boldest thefts in recent memory. CNN's Melissa Bell explains how investigators were able to track down two of the suspects. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, two men have been arrested here in France in connection with the Louvre robbery of last Sunday morning. The two men, we understand from the Paris prosecutor, were arrested on Saturday night, one of them as he tried to leave the country. A hundred investigators have been working on this case over the course of the last week. And what we understand, again from the Paris prosecutor, is that 150 different traces of DNA were found on the scene of the crime, and that is what has helped them make progress in this case.

For now, they're remaining tight-lipped, the prosecutor's office, in terms of the rest of the details as this is an ongoing investigation. But we understand, Jessica, from French press reports, that the two men are in their 30s and the one who was attempting to leave France was trying to get to Algeria.

No sign, we understand yet, of the jewels themselves. It was more than a hundred million dollars-worth of jewelry that was stolen in just seven minutes. They managed to get into that Apollo gallery and steal some of the jewelry of some of the queens of 19th century France. Since then, the pressure on French authorities to make some kind of progress in this case has been huge. Those two arrests, a significant breakthrough then in this case, Jessica.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Certainly. All right, Melissa Bell, thank you so much. Dive deeper into the greatest museum heist in a century. The CNN special documentary, "The Heist: The Louvre's Stolen Crown Jewels," airs at 8 p.m. tonight, coming up right after this show.

Still to come tonight, a war of words between the governor of California and a popular broadcaster will break down the political rift and why it's making waves online.

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[17:50:00]

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DEAN: A very public feud between two political heavyweights. California Governor Gavin Newsom and podcaster Joe Rogan trolling each other, trading insults, and laying down challenges. CNN's Elex Michaelson explains the rift.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Well, you start with Joe Rogan.

(LAUGHTER)

I'm going to start cursing.

JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER: He wants to be president so bad.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The governor of the most populous state and the host of one of the most popular podcasts are feuding.

NEWSOM (voice-over): This is Gavin Newsom.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): California Governor Gavin Newsom, who hosts his own podcast, has invited Joe Rogan onto his show and publicly asked to be invited onto Rogan's show.

NEWSOM: Joe, why won't you have me on the show? He won't have me on. It's a one-way. And he has guests coming and attacking and bashing, but he will not have me on the show. Period. Full stop. He should have me on the show. Come on my show, Joe.

ROGAN: I think I'll probably vote for Bernie.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Rogan expressing support for Bernie Sanders presidential run in 2020.

ROGAN: It's stand up.

(LAUGHTER)

It's funny stuff.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): And backed President Trump in 2024. But he criticized some of his policies in recent months.

NEWSOM: What we're experiencing is America in reverse.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): But Rogan doesn't seem impressed by a potential Newsom presidential run in 2028.

ROGAN: We can't ruin a city, and then go on to ruin a state and say, guys, that was just practice.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): I know.

ROGAN: Once I get in as a president, I'm going to fix it, fix it all.

UNKNOWN: I mean, it's so crazy. But he's such a great politician. I mean, he's so smooth.

ROGAN: No, no, I think he's terrible.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Rogan attacking Newsom's job performance in California.

ROGAN: You have the highest unemployment.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Yeah.

ROGAN: You have the highest homelessness.

UNKNOWN: (INAUDIBLE) Hollywood.

ROGAN: Money is missing. You killed Hollywood. Like Hollywood doesn't exist anymore. It's literally gone.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Newsom responding to Rogan on X, posting "California is the fourth largest economy in the world but number 1 in manufacturing, farming, new business starts, tech and VC investments, Fortune 500 companies, public higher education. I could continue. Invite me on any time, Joe Rogan"

ROGAN: It was all (bleep) before you were there.

(LAUGHTER)

It was all that (bleep) forever. It's because the weather is perfect, man.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Yeah.

ROGAN: It has nothing to do with you.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Newsom's team posting this photo on X, writing that -- quote -- "Little Joe is snack-sized because he can't handle full-sized debates."

NEWSOM: I'm not afraid to go. I'm punching Joe Rogan. Okay? That son of a bitch is not used to that. And he's going to dismiss it. He's going to laugh it off. I mean, you know, tough guy and all that. But he's going to have me on.

Here's a guy who celebrated Bidenomics just this week.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Newsom debated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Fox News in 2023.

NEWSOM: You are making a damn dent.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): And hosted conservative guests like Charlie Kirk on his own podcast.

NEWSOM: I'm debating these sons of bitches. I'm out there on these right-wing shows. So, I'm not scared of that. Where the hell is the Democratic Party? Where's our equivalent of Turning Point USA?

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Newsom's team doubled down, repeating the snack-sized slap on X. "Joe Rogan is a snack-sized podcaster who can't stop talking about me. Obsessed? Crush? No, thank you. But is too scared to have me on and let his audience hear the truth.

UNKNOWN: He's some (bleep) on Twitter.

ROGAN: I know. It's like you think that's going to work. Like that's so stupid. Like this is such a bad look.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Yeah.

ROGAN: It's such a bad choice.

UNKNOWN: There's a little desperation in it.

ROGAN: But it's just stupid. It's like this is a bad strategy.

[17:55:00]

Like I probably would have had him on.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Yeah.

ROGAN: But now, I'm like, what are you doing?

UNKNOWN: There is fun version where you just do it and cook him, you know?

ROGAN: He'll cook himself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Elex Michaelson, thanks for that. You can catch more of him on his brand-new CNN show, "The Story Is." It premieres tomorrow night at midnight Eastern, 9 Pacific, here on CNN.

Still ahead in the next hour, fresh air travelers facing flight delays and cancellations. How staffing shortages at air traffic control are facing the added problems of a government shutdown with no end in sight. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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