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U.S. and China Have Tentative Trade Deal, Avoiding Steep Tariffs; Senator Bernie Sanders and AOC to Rally for NYC Mayoral Bet Zohran Mamdani; Three Dead, Dozens Wounded After Russia Strikes Ukraine Overnight; Trump Takes a Wrecking Ball to the White House; Air Travel Delays Worsen as Government Shutdown Hits Day 26. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 26, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:16]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And tonight the U.S. and China on the verge of a trade deal. Representatives for both countries have been working on high level trade negotiations ahead of next week's face-to-face meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. It seems they've come to some kind of consensus. 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: Trump is currently in Malaysia on a trip through Asia. He is due to leave for Japan tonight.

Let's bring in CNN's Ivan Watson from Kuala Lumpur.

Ivan, thanks for being with us. I know it's very, very early in the morning where you are and you've been up all night, but tell us a little bit more about what we know about this framework and how serious it is.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, there was pressure here because President Trump had imposed new sky- high tariffs on China. Angry with its export restrictions on its rare earth monopoly. And they were set to go into effect on November 1st of an additional 100 percent tariffs. So you had U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators here in Kuala Lumpur all weekend holding talks also in anticipation of a face-to-face meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday in Korea.

And emerging from those talks, we are now hearing these positive signals, both from Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, and from the Chinese negotiators who have said that both sides have reached preliminary consensus and then both sides also have to now go home and get domestic approval for what they've basically agreed upon. So the signals are that this trade war, the latest round of tension between the world's two largest economies, seems to be heading in a more positive direction right now, and it's now going to be up to the two leaders face-to-face to kind of seal the deal.

So what are some of the progress that we're hearing? Well, Bessent has suggested that that 100 percent tariff threat that was supposed to go into effect November 1st, that's effectively off the table. And he actually called this Trump creating leverage. It was effectively a bluff, if I'm to interpret what Bessent said, and that in exchange, the export controls are going to be postponed on those rare earths, these critical elements that we use in our cell phones and in most of our modern technology that China controls nearly 90 percent of this.

Both sides said they also were able to discuss issues like fentanyl. The White House constantly accusing China of exporting the fentanyl precursors that ultimately end up in the drugs that have killed so many Americans on U.S. streets, and that they've also continued their discussions about the acquisition of the social media giant TikTok. So these are a couple of the areas that they have been able to work on.

The question will be, what will Trump and Xi do if they in fact meet face to face? You know, the White House is saying this meeting is going to take place in Korea. We have not yet heard confirmation from the Chinese side that there will, in fact, be a meeting between the U.S. and Chinese leaders.

DEAN: All right, a big week. Ivan Watson setting it up for us in Kuala Lumpur. Thank you so much for your reporting.

And back here in the U.S., we're getting ever closer to election day and happening right now Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez headlining a rally with Zohran Mamdani tonight in Queens. Of course, he is running to be the new mayor of New York City. We do expect to hear from them in the next hour. He's currently leading that race. We're just nine days out from election day.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now.

I know you had an exclusive interview with Mamdani ahead of tonight's rally. What did he tell you?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Jessica, you know, this is a massive event that we're standing in the middle of here. He has been holding these types of campaign rallies in the last few days as we get into the final stretch of this election. This stadium that we're standing here in right now has a capacity for about 13,000 people and the campaign has told me that they expect to fill it.

Now I spoke to Zohran Mamdani earlier today specifically about how he is preparing to respond to President Trump if he does, in fact, win this election in just a few days.

[18:05:01] He has said that he wants to make sure that he's fighting President Trump's attacks on New York City by suing and making sure that the Department of Law here in New York City is responding. But here's what he had to say about how he would do that and why he is feeling confident going into this election day because of the support he's gotten so far. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: What you can stop is a culture of collaboration between city hall and Washington, D.C. Donald Trump right now has a mayor that he probably would have created in a lab because we have seen the Mayor Eric Adams who's been willing to sacrifice so much of what the city stands for in order to secure his personal freedom. Andrew Cuomo is offering much of the same.

It continues to be the rallying cry for working class people across this country. And for us, it's that New York City is not for sale, and we say that because we have the same billionaires who funded Donald Trump's campaign funding Andrew Cuomo's.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now that last point that he was making there, Jessica, is important. It's been the central thrust of his campaign. He has tried to cast this as a choice between democracy and oligarchy here in New York City. Many of the billionaire donors that he's talking about have been supporting the former governor Andrew Cuomo, and tonight, Zohran Mamdani will be standing alongside Senator Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but also Governor Kathy Hochul.

And the reason that's significant is because he is trying to show there's a united front going into this election, not just the support of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, but also the three top legislators here in New York, which will be key in order for him to try and enact his agenda. They'll be here rallying alongside him tonight. So as we get into this final stretch, New Yorkers have already taken to the polls.

Thousands of them have already cast their vote. They will continue to do so for the next several days. Election day is on November 4th. Mamdani told me earlier today that he is feeling confident but not taking it for granted. He will continue to campaign until the last minute -- Jessica.

DEAN: Gloria Pazmino in Forest Hills, Queens, for us. Thank you for that reporting.

We are joined now by Emily Ngo. She's a political reporter and co- author of Politico's "New York Playbook."

Emily, good to see you. Thanks for being here. Thinking about what Gloria was just walking us through, it does stand out that New York Governor Kathy Hochul is going to be there. Bernie Sanders has been campaigning with Zoran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That seems to fit very nicely with Mamdani's platform.

But to see Kathy Hochul, who has endorsed him, but to show up with him, it has been interesting to see what Mamdani has done to the Democratic Party, both here in New York, and seeing hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer and others trying to decide if they'll endorse him or not, or what do they do with that. So to see her there tonight is interesting.

EMILY NGO, CO-AUTHOR, POLITICO'S NEW YORK PLAYBOOK: Oh, absolutely. Especially because this comes right before she is set to run for reelection next year herself. But indeed, when it comes to Mamdani and his campaign, it shows of course that he's already locked down that progressive wing of his party, but there's been outreach to and growth in his base among those who may be considered more moderate or more mainstream.

The three state leaders that you're talking about now that Gloria referenced weren't necessarily with him in the primary, but here they are again in person, which is a big show of faith on their part. They love to stress that while there are differences of opinion among them, that they are united as a Democratic front when it comes to affordability, which of course is an underlying theme of populism that Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez stress as well.

DEAN: Yes, and as we noted, we're nine days away. If you look at the polling, it, you know, Mamdani is very far ahead at this moment. And that has been the case throughout this race. So what dynamics are you watching in these final days?

NGO: Well, we have the totals for the first two days of early voting in New York City. And they are much, much higher than four years ago in the 2021 race for mayor. And that may say something about enthusiasm likely for Mamdani, perhaps for Cuomo, too. We have seen in the last couple of days the anti-Mamdani coalition start to begin to get their game together, get their act together, urge Curtis Sliwa to get out of the race, the Republican nominee for mayor.

That's not likely to happen, but certainly we saw the incumbent Mayor Eric Adams endorse Cuomo and try to transfer some of the votes. I don't know if that will be anywhere near enough to close that gap, that double-digit lead that Mamdani has over Cuomo in polling.

DEAN: Yes. And there has been the question more broadly about the impact on the Democratic Party. I think it's, you know, we can all agree this is New York City. New York City is different than Virginia, where there's a governor's race going on, or New Jersey where there's a governor's race going on. But in New York City, you know, Mamdani, of course, running as a Democratic socialist.

[18:10:04]

Cuomo, the former Democratic governor of New York, who lost to Mamdani in the primary state and is an independent. In your reporting and in talking to people as they think about what this might mean for the Democratic Party going forward, what are you finding? NGO: I'm finding that we'll talk about the Republicans, the first

nationally in those campaign arms that work with congressional Republicans are salivating at the chance to make Mamdani the face of the Democratic Party. We also have battleground House Democrats trying to distance themselves from Mamdani and say that, you know, his views don't represent ours as they seek reelection in very tough races in purple districts. But again, if Democratic Party leaders, those who are considered more moderate, more mainstream, even those who are more supportive of Israel, the complete opposite as Mamdani and some of the folks with him tonight are more critical of Israel can show that they're a big tent party that has differences in their contrasts, of course, but they are united in the goal of driving down cost of living, where, as President Donald Trump had campaigned on that issue as well and failed on that front, I think that maybe they might have a case to make to voters in the midterms next year.

DEAN: Yes. And what about the Trump of it all as well? Because we've seen him kind of dabble in this a little bit.

NGO: Yes, absolutely. That's the prevailing question is how Mamdani, if he is elected, if the polls are right and he has this massive lead and he gets a mandate on election day, will govern with Trump as President Trump has threatened to send in the National Guard to arrest Mamdani if it interferes with federal immigration enforcement. So how Mamdani Trump-proof his policy, how he shores up New York City's finances if federal funding is taken away, how he stands up to Mamdani with Hochul as his partner, that's some of the things that we're watching for as he prepares to govern if he indeed wins this race.

DEAN: Yes, the bottom line is being mayor of New York is a big job indeed.

Emily, thank you so much for being here with us. We really appreciate it.

Still ahead, Russia hits Kyiv with another night of deadly air strikes. This as Vladimir Putin claims Russia has successfully tested a nuclear powered cruise missile. And air traffic control staffing problems spiked this weekend, causing more disruption at airports nationwide.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:49]

DEAN: New tonight Russian President Vladimir Putin says his military has successfully tested a nuclear powered cruise missile and is working to deploy it. Russia killing at least three people in Ukraine as it launched more than 100 drones at Kyiv overnight.

CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been a deadly weekend across Ukraine, in particular in the capital Kyiv. Residents woken once again on Sunday morning to further drone attacks. More than 100 drones being fired from Russia.

We know over the past couple of days there has been loss of life. There has also been a number of people injured, including children among the injured. The youngest we know of is just 4 years old now.

Now we have heard from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying, "They've been striking residential buildings, our people, our children." He also had quite a sobering number, saying that just over the past week, Russia has fired some 1200 drones and more than 1300 guided aerial bombs.

Now he did renew his call once again for more Patriot missile guided systems, saying that the air defenses need to be bolstered in Ukraine. We do know from the air force there that there have been the majority of these missiles and drones being shot down, but those that are getting through are deadly, and we really are seeing that the recent Russian launches are showing the shortfalls in the Ukrainian air defense systems.

Now, we have been speaking to some of those impacted in the latest strikes. Let's listen to what they said.

NATALIA ZURA, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): We had a terrible night. We had to climb down the fire escape from the third floor. Thank you to our rescuers, our guardian angels. We are very grateful because almost suffocated, we almost burned to death.

MARIA ZURA, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): When I was climbing down, I stopped being nervous because I realized that if I was nervous, I'd get in the way of the person who was rescuing me.

OLHA MOTIANINA, KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): Look, it's a very sad picture. People have died, and I don't know how to describe it. It's very sad and affects my mental state.

HANCOCKS: Now, at the same time as Russia is launching these attacks, it is also testing new weapons. According to the head of the armed services, saying that they have successfully tested a nuclear powered Burevestnik cruise missile.

Now, he was showing the president, Vladimir Putin, claiming that it remained airborne for some 15 hours, that it managed to travel some 14,000 kilometers. That's about 8500 miles. These claims coming from the Russian military side, not any independent source. But we did hear President Putin saying that he wanted to see these weapons deployed as soon as possible.

Now, of course, diplomacy is very much on hold when it comes to this situation. Just last week, the U.S. president, Donald Trump, canceled his plans to meet with President Putin. It was going to be in Budapest. And then we heard just on Saturday again him saying that it simply wasn't the time to be meeting with Putin, saying, quote, "It didn't feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get to."

[18:20:08]

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Paula, thank you.

We're joined now by former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker. He also served as U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations during President Trump's first term.

Ambassador Volker, thank you for being here tonight. We really appreciate it. I just want to start first with the question of if you were advising the president, what message would you say Putin is sending with this claim? Paula was just talking about of testing its nuclear powered missile and the timing of all of this.

KURT VOLKER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: Yes, well, Putin is definitely signaling that he is never going to strike a deal. I know that President Trump has done everything possible to try to make a deal available to Putin, to get a ceasefire in place, to accept that Russia is going to occupy a lot of Ukrainian territory, lifting sanctions. But Putin has not moved on anything.

He has doubled down on all of his maximalist demands, and he continues to say that Ukraine is run by Nazis. It has to be a neutral country, meaning that Russia gets to dominate it. So Putin is not really interested in a deal. This means that the only way you actually get an end to the fighting is to put enough pressure on Putin that he actually needs it for his own reasons. So the sanctions that President Trump has just done is a good step.

We need to do secondary sanctions as well for those in China or India that are willing to trade with Russia. And we need to increase the capacity of Ukraine's military by giving them the longer range systems that they've been asking for, so that they can take out the drone factories and the missile factories that Russia is using.

DEAN: You mentioned China. Obviously, the president planning to sit down with Xi Jinping later this week, but he has said in the last couple of days that he was hoping, believing that China might be able to, in his words, help out when it comes to Russia.

How likely do you think that might be, speaking of those secondary sanctions?

VOLKER: Well, it's interesting because on the one hand I think President Trump is working towards some kind of trade deal with China, which would establish a reasonable relationship and some predictability and stability between the U.S. and China, which could then also lead China to want to maintain that until Vladimir Putin it's time to stop the war.

On the other hand, China has shown willingness to sell goods to both sides, to buy cheap oil and cheap gas from Russia. It's their own interests that they're watching out for there. And that means that President Trump might be tempted to apply these secondary sanctions to Chinese entities, which would cause China not to want to help. So I think it's a little bit of push and a little bit of pull, but it would be very good. And I think President Trump is right. If China were to say to Putin, that's enough, you're never going to win here, just stop the fighting, that would be good for all sides.

DEAN: We have seen the president really go hot and cold toward Putin over a lot of time, but certainly in the last several months and now we see him in the position he's in now where he has pushed forward with these sanctions. He's trying to get China to help out.

Do you think this is a meaningful shift that lasts?

VOLKER: I think that President Trump has actually been fairly consistent in wanting a deal. He wants to end the war. He wants a peace agreement. And he's just been doing whatever he thinks is going to be necessary to get there. Sometimes it's carrots and flattery and offering things to Putin. Sometimes it's now pressure on Putin. Same thing with Ukraine. Pressure on Zelenskyy and support for Zelenskyy.

He's just trying to zig and zag to see if he can get them to a peace agreement. The problem here is that Ukraine wants peace and Russia doesn't. So the only way you really push here is to be consistently putting pressure on Putin. And that's something that President Trump hasn't done yet. He's begun. Let's see if he continues.

DEAN: Do you have faith he will continue? Are you hopeful?

VOLKER: You know, you never know. President Trump takes his own counsel. I don't think he's really listening to his advisers. I think he is making his own judgments as he goes along the way. I think he must feel embarrassed and angry at Putin because Putin has lied to him directly a few times now when he had all those European leaders in the Oval Office and he called Putin and Putin told him he would meet with Zelenskyy, there would be a bilateral and a trilateral meeting in order to end the war, and Putin reported that to those European leaders.

Putin backed away from it within a day. And that is very embarrassing for President Trump and very belittling of Putin to treat Trump that way. So I think he is genuinely irritated right now. And I think that that is one of the reasons why he is willing to take these extra steps now.

DEAN: As we noted, Kyiv was again targeted in these Russian strikes last night, prompting for President Zelenskyy to once again call for more Western air support.

[18:25:03]

You mentioned those Tomahawk missiles at the beginning of our interview. Would you be telling Trump to go ahead and supply those?

VOLKER: Absolutely. I think that he needs to use them for leverage. He should deliver them to the Ukrainians with a promise from the Ukrainians not to use them if the Russians agree to a ceasefire. And then President Trump can say to the Russians yet again, they have the weapons, they can hit you hard, agree to a ceasefire now. If you don't, then they will be taking out the drone and the missile factories, but use them for leverage to get that ceasefire that Trump wants.

DEAN: Yes. And how likely do you think he might get there? I mean, again, I know you're -- he takes his own counsel but I think that is the big question because it does seem like that, it's all about leverage and if the president chooses to deploy it, right?

VOLKER: Yes. Well, I think he's heading that way. He said the other day it would take six months or a year for the Ukrainians to learn how to use these missiles. I think that is a gross exaggeration. Probably someone told him that. But, look, these things are programmed. They are basically, once they're programmed, you just push the button and they hit their target. So I think that this is quite doable.

And I think that he is getting frustrated enough that he does really want to get there in terms of a ceasefire. And this may be one of the few things that he can do that would make that kind of difference.

DEAN: All right. Ambassador Kurt Volker, thanks so much for your time.

VOLKER: A pleasure. Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, the White House East Wing has been demolished to make way for a massive ballroom. What might this say more broadly about President Trump and his second term?

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:31:06]

DEAN: Construction crews have officially made way for President Trump's 90,000 square foot ballroom, demolishing the White House's East Wing in the process. The shocking scenes from this week show the destruction, prompting outrage from Democrats and historians.

CNN's Stephen Collinson writing this, quote, "There may never have been a better metaphor for a presidency. Trump has spent nine months tearing away at the federal government, the rule of law and democracy, and now he's turned his wrecking ball on the White House itself, all without consulting the citizens who gave him a temporary lease on the place."

Stephen joins us now to talk more about this.

Stephen, help -- walk us through a little bit more about how you see this as having significance on the big picture.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, I think that when the history of the Trump administration comes to be written, those images of backhoes clawing away at the white plaster of the East Wing are going to be one of the key moments. A lot of people have spoken about how this is a metaphor for the way that the president has tried to obliterate parts of the federal government and how he sees no constraints on his behavior, and believes he has absolute power.

And I think that's true. But there's a particular way I think this is relevant to analyzing the Trump presidency because he has absolutely removed the East Wing. There's no way it's coming back. And I think one of the goals of the Trump presidency, the assault on the federal bureaucracy, is to change things so fundamentally, domestically and internationally that there will be no coming back for some of these conventions and parts of the government and U.S. foreign policies abroad once Trump has left the White House.

So for that reason, the permanence of this East Wing demolition, I think, really is something that's quite remarkable.

DEAN: It is. And look, you know, American people get to decide, for better or worse, what those huge changes and likely lasting changes, if they're -- if they're good or bad in their minds, but it certainly seems to be to your point that things are changing very quickly, and this is likely lasting change in a lot of ways.

When it comes to building this ballroom, the president wants to use private donations from various companies. Help us understand the president's view of private money and its place in the government and its influence on government.

COLLINSON: Yes, this administration is entangled in the kind of ethical conflicts that previously I think we wouldn't have believed would be attached to a presidency. The idea that companies, big corporations, individual business, people who have business before the administration would be financing a project which is very dear to a president's heart and using that as a way to get access to the administration, I think, would have been very unusual before the Trump administration.

There were some questions about the financing of Gerald Ford's White House swimming pool, but nothing on this scale. But the fact that this corporate intervention here, the paying for this ballroom to be erected hasn't really created that much of a stir I think speaks to the absolute blizzard of ethical conflicts that we've seen throughout this administration. After all, the president accepted a jumbo jet worth hundreds of million dollars from Qatar, which is a key country, in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.

That's, on the face of it, a massive ethical conflict. But we see these things almost every day. So there is certainly a blurring of the line. And I think when this ballroom is eventually built, if it towers over the White House and stands there for decades to come, it will be a monument to the way that this administration obliterated, I think, a lot of the ethical questions that past presidents decided that they didn't want to confront.

[18:35:19] DEAN: And for the average American who's watching this or sees a clip of this, or is watching us talk about it, do you think this cuts through to -- breaks through to their daily life? Do you think that Americans are seeing this and thinking about it the way you're talking about?

COLLINSON: Well, it was certainly a dramatic image. And the power of the pictures may make this something that cuts through more than many of the other difficult and complex issues that we were just talking about regarding ethics and the links between the administration and the corporate world. So that's certainly possible.

Is it going to be massively influential, for instance, in the midterm elections in about a year? That's more difficult to say. There is, though, a growing sense, I think, that this administration has plenty of money to spend on projects that it wants to spend on, for instance, the ballroom, the $20 billion proposed bailout for Argentina's economy and its MAGA friendly president, Milei. But at a time when we've just seen new numbers showing that inflation is rising, the cost of groceries is high, and the cost of rent is very difficult for many Americans, this looks like a profligate administration at a time when many Americans are struggling. And that could have a political impact.

DEAN: Yes, and not to mention the government continues to be shut down with no end in sight. And a lot of those programs that people rely on are going to be out of money very, very soon.

Stephen Collinson, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

DEAN: After the break, major flight delays this weekend as staffing shortages pile up at airports across the country.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:41:42]

DEAN: A warning to air travelers as this government shutdown drags on, the FAA reports more flight delays and says this has been the worst weekend for air traffic control staffing since the government shutdown began. On Saturday, 29 different FAA facilities were short staffed, the most for any day of the shutdown so far, more than 50 staffing shortages have been reported since Friday.

CNN's Rafael Romo is joining us now from Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson Airport.

And Rafael, what have you found?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica. A good sense of frustration here among the passengers because these are some of the longest lines that I've ever seen and we don't know if it's the weather. We don't know if it's the situation with the shutdown. But definitely a lot of people waiting here. It feels like a holiday.

And what may explain, in part, the shortages of air traffic controllers this weekend is the fact that Friday marked the first full paycheck missed by some federal workers since the government shutdown began. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier in an interview that there were 22 notices of understaffing around the country on Saturday, adding that, quote, "That's a sign that the controllers are wearing thin."

Also on Saturday, the tracking Web site FlightAware listed more than 5400 flight delays nationwide, with the Dallas-Fort Worth airport hit particularly hard. Since the shutdown began October 1st, there have been about 200 air traffic control staff shortages reported at FAA facilities, more than four times the number seen during the same period last year.

And Jessica, in an interview with FOX News Secretary Duffy also said he's concerned airports around the country may see more staffing shortages during the upcoming week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: What I see coming forward as we get to Monday, tomorrow Tuesday, and Wednesday that you're going to see more staffing shortages in towers, which means you're going to see more delays, more cancellations, and then you see more Americans frustrated at Democrats and they'll say, open up the government. Enough is enough.

ROMO: How much of a concern is it for you as a traveler?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot. It's a big concern.

ROMO: Can you tell us why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, because I'm thinking that if I weren't getting paid, I would be very angry and it would be very difficult for me to do my job. And that's a critical function. And I'm hoping that somebody is taking care of them. So I'm flying today on sheer faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Secretary Duffy also said that more air traffic controllers are calling in sick. He also expressed concern, listen to this, Jessica, that some may need to resort to food banks after missing paychecks. Now back to you.

DEAN: Yes, we were just reporting on federal workers who are having to resort to different outlets to make ends meet.

Rafael Romo, thank you so much.

Still ahead tonight, Hurricane Melissa barrels down on Jamaica getting stronger as it goes. The dangerous storm could become a monster category five storm tonight before it makes landfall tomorrow. We'll have the very latest when we come back. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM/

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:49:23]

DEAN: It is the party of all parties. Mardi Gras in New Orleans. CNN's Original Series, "NEW ORLEANS SOUL OF A CITY," peels back the curtain and shows how New Orleanians can keep the fun going even in the hardest of times.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIEN FERTEL, HISTORIAN: We are a city that floods. We are a city living on the edge of precariousness every single day.

CAROLINE THOMAS, ART DIRECTOR, REX ORGANIZATION: I think for New Orleans, we found a way to kind of create this balance using Mardi Gras as a tool. No matter how difficult things are you can still find an opportunity to find joy.

[18:50:04]

BIG CHIEF SHAKA ZULU, GOLDEN FEATHER NATION: I feel like this city has a lot to teach to the rest of the country because this is one of the few cities where we all can co-exist in peace and harmony.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Be sure to tune in a new episode of "NEW ORLEANS SOUL OF A CITY" airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only here on CNN.

Also tonight, it's this week's episode of "BREAKING BREAD" with award- winning actor Tony Shalhoub. He travels to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he explores his Lebanese heritage and discovers the unique blend of cultures and cuisines that exist there.

I sat down to talk with Tony about his favorite meals from that city and the bread he ate there that reminded him of his childhood. Here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: In this episode, you go to Sao Paulo in Brazil, and this was fascinating to me. You learned there are more Lebanese people living in Brazil than in Lebanon. What did you find with this kind of collision between this mixing of Brazilian and Lebanese culture?

TONY SHALHOUB, AWARD WINNING ACTOR AND HOST, "TONY SHALHOUB BREAKING BREAD": Like Marseille and like New York, Sao Paulo is just a massive, massive melting pot. Given the fact that this city especially was such a -- it was a place a lot of immigrants came not just from Lebanon but from Japan. And of course, the Portuguese came there and they speak Portuguese. So you have all of these different cultures mingling and mixing and co-existing. They're doing amazing things with food. I discovered things in Brazil I'd never heard of.

DEAN: You met with Chef Thiago Castanho, who really exposed you to foods made from the Amazon, including this special fish sandwich.

SHALHOUB: You know, it's like a bao bun, right? But made with acai cut. And then with a grilled fish inside. And I just kept thinking, everybody should be eating this every day. It's sustainable. It's delicious. And they know the nutritional benefits of it.

DEAN: And you had what's called dirty bread.

SHALHOUB: Dirty bread is, I mean, it's what we called Zatar bread growing up. I'm not sure if a lot of other people do that because it looks sort of like, it has a sprinkle --

DEAN: That's a Shalhoub family --

SHALHOUB: I think so.

DEAN: OK. OK, OK.

SHALHOUB: I think so. Zatar is a -- it's an acquired taste. The thing about Zatar bread is that at that point in which you start eating it, you can't get enough of it.

DEAN: My husband is like that. We have more thing -- more containers of Zatar in our apartment. He puts it on everything I make. Everything.

SHALHOUB: Really?

DEAN: Yes.

SHALHOUB: Like ice cream?

DEAN: He would.

SHALHOUB: Yes. Yes.

DEAN: And so when you're saying this, I get it. But I think, much like you, it really takes him back to his childhood, too. And I wonder when you bit into it, did it take -- it sounds like it took you back.

SHALHOUB: The thing about bread for me is that it's so much about memory. It's so much about family. When we did go to Sao Paulo, it was so much like the bread that I grew up on. The texture, the flavor. It's simple. And I like to think that this show reflects that. It's like we're in a time that's complicated. And maybe is a good time to kind of let's get back to basics.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: It's a great episode, and Tony is so much fun to hang out with. He's fun to watch on TV, too. Be sure to tune in. It's a new episode of the CNN Original Series, "TONY SHALHOUB BREAKING BREAD." It airs tonight at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific only here on CNN. Still ahead in our 7:00 hour, SNAP benefits are at stake. Many federal

employees are now lining up at food banks, and there is no end in sight for this government shutdown that continues to drag on. Tomorrow is going to mark day 27.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:38]

DEAN: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

And this week, President Donald Trump sitting down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for their first face-to-face meeting since the president won reelection. Those talks coming after months of escalating threats between the two countries. There could be an end in sight. Both Chinese trade officials and U.S. officials sounding optimistic today.

Here's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Meanwhile, the president is currently in Malaysia on his trip through Asia, due to leave for Japan later tonight.

Let's go to CNN's Ivan Watson in Kuala Lumpur to talk more about this.

Ivan, let's start first with this potential deal, this framework, let's call it. They'll obviously need to add some meat to that bone. But what do we know about this framework?

WATSON: Right. The U.S. Treasury secretary calling it a framework. The Chinese trade representatives saying that they have reached preliminary consensus. So basically both sides sending positive signals.

We've learned a little bit more from Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary. He has said that he thinks that the 100 percent tariff that President Trump had declared would go into effect on November 1st against China, adding up the tariffs to more than 150 percent on Chinese goods, that is effectively now off the table.