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APEC Leader's Summit Kicks Off Today; King Charles Removes Titles from Andrew and He is Eventually Evicted from Buckingham Palace; Melissa Death Toll Logs at 49. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired October 31, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

After his high-stakes meeting with the U.S. President, China's Xi Jinping shifts focus to other world leaders, including the new Canadian and Japanese Prime Ministers. We'll have the live team coverage from APEC.

When Andrew is officially Prince no more, while details on the extraordinary move by King Charles to strip his brother of his royal titles.

Plus, the latest on the ground in Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa leaves a path of devastation across the Caribbean.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: China's President is taking center stage at this year's APEC summit. Xi Jinping was welcomed by South Korea's President, who's hosting the annual gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. President Xi is expected to hold talks with Canada's Prime Minister at any moment, followed by a meeting with Japan's new conservative Prime Minister.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery is live in Tokyo with what we can expect from that meeting. But first, let's go live to Beijing and Mike Valerio.

Mike, Canada's Mark Carney in the wake of trade friction with the U.S., pivoting now to China. So take us through what he said so far and what we're expecting from that meeting between the two leaders.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, perhaps pivoting to China. It sure looks that way. Some very interesting comments, which we touched on in the past hour, Kim.

This one especially, as I just check the wires to make sure I'm getting the verbiage right, that Canada is aiming to double its non- U.S. exports over the course of the next decade. And why that matters is because the United States is such a huge trading partner with Canada.

We're really focusing in to see if any of these nations, which constitute more than half of global trade, start to move towards China, as Xi Jinping is trying to paint himself as the vanguard of stability, while global trade is being rocked, if we think about it. It's a giant boat sailing across the ocean because of the trade war.

We have him saying to that end, quote, "The world is undergoing rapid changes unseen in a century and the international landscape is marked by both changes and turbulence with rising instability and uncertainty affecting development in the Asia-Pacific. The more turbulent the times are, the more we must stand together in solidarity."

So the meaning is clear there with Xi's remarks to the APEC assembly this morning, saying that he is trying to position himself as the alternative to the United States, as again a vanguard of free trade. But look at any of the economic publications, or certainly critics of how China conducts itself on the world stage when we're talking about free and global trade.

A lot of critics, especially from the West, would say that perhaps Chinese firms have certain advantages when they conduct business here in China, especially with subsidies coming from the central government, advantages in financing that are given to Chinese monopolies and gigantic Chinese companies that sometimes shut out its international competitors. So I think there would be pushback on Xi Jinping's comments.

But certainly interesting to see when we have a country like Canada that has a now fractious relationship with the United States, when we're going to be looking to see what is really the result of APEC.

Will a country like Canada be moving more towards China after years of very tense relationships? This meeting this afternoon could be very interesting and help to answer that question, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Alright, we'll be watching. I appreciate that.

I want to bring in Hanako Montgomery now, who's following President Xi's planned talks with Japan's newly elected Prime Minister. Hanako, Prime Minister Takaichi has been critical of China. What kind of tensions are we expecting and what's at the top of their agenda?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kim, you're absolutely right. I think Takaichi's reputation as a China hawk long precedes her. She's repeatedly criticized China for its alleged human rights abuses for what she says are increasing military actions in the South China Sea around the Senkaku Islands, which are islands that both China and Japan claim to.

She's also pro-Taiwan, having visited the island as recently as April and calling for the need for both Japan and Taiwan to work more closely together for joint defense challenges, which of course ruffled many feathers in Beijing.

[03:05:00] She's also a regular visitor to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead and also convicted war criminals, which is actually something that Beijing has also launched protests against Takaichi for.

So needless to say, Takaichi's relationship with Taiwan is very good, but with China, not so much. But we do have to note that since taking office, since becoming the Japanese Prime Minister, she has taken a slightly softer tone on China. Here's what she said about Japan's neighbor in a recent policy speech.

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SANAE TAKAICHI, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): China is an important neighbor of Japan, and we must build a constructive and stable relationship. At the same time, it is a fact that security and economic security concerns exist between Japan and China. We will advance our strategic, mutually beneficial relationship through frank and repeated dialogue between our leaders.

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MONTGOMERY: So as you heard there, Kim, frank and repeated dialogue, stable relationship. I mean, this is very, very deliberate on Takaichi's part, because no matter what her personal beliefs are about China, to have a tense relationship with Japan's neighbor is not only very costly, but also potentially political risky for the Premier, given that it's only just days into her new job.

So at this first meeting between she and Takaichi, we can largely expect them to emphasize the need for continued communication, for more open communication lines. We could also potentially see Takaichi bring up these maritime security risks and concerns regarding China.

Also on the agenda could be rare earths, given that Japan still imports about 70 percent of its rare earths from China. So she might bring up that topic just in terms of its economic security.

But really, Kim, the emphasis for this meeting is just to communicate more and have slightly less frosty ties between the two. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, those two meetings, Canada and Japan, fascinating for very different reasons, as you both expertly outlined there. Hanako Montgomery in Tokyo, Mike Valerio in Beijing, thank you so much.

Now to an extraordinary move in the U.K. King Charles says he's stripping his own brother, Andrew, of his royal titles and evicting him from the Windsor Royal Estate.

Now the move comes as Buckingham Palace attempts to distance itself from the ongoing scandal over Andrew's ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and recently published allegations from a posthumous memory by Virginia Giuffre, she worked for Epstein and in her book accuses Andrew of sexually assaulting her as a teenager. The King's brother has repeatedly denied these accusations.

CNN's Richard Quest has more.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: If you really want to get to the heart of it, you've got to look at the statement. And by that, it's the reference within it where it says His Majesty has initiated a formal process to remove the titles.

That formal process is what makes this different. In the past, the Queen just stripped away the patronages and the military and then Andrew voluntarily gave up titles. But now the King has actually moved. He's going to take legal action and also legal action to kick him out of the house that he has a cast-iron lease, they've served notice.

And the reason, I think, is because they're seriously worried about the stench of survivability about the whole thing. This is having seriously damaging effects on the House of Windsor and when it comes to that level, then the royals will act.

And I think also you have this statement. The Majesties wish to make it clear their thoughts and utmost sympathies remain with the victims of the abuse.

They've said things like this before, but they've never been seen to be so forthright. And it's basically saying to Andrew, go.

Go into exile, go and live in your new house on the south of the state where you can have privacy and no prying eyes. But for goodness sake, just go.

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BRUNHUBER: And the King's announcement was welcomed by many in London and as the public continues to vent its frustration over the long- running scandal and Andrew's ties to Epstein, here's what some Londoners had to say.

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MOOSA LWARRAICH, PHD CANDIDATE: I think it's fair. I also think that they should release the list. I also think that anyone who does quote- unquote "unbecoming things" deserves that kind of treatment.

HARRY HUMPHRIES, CONTENT CREATOR: It's a disgrace, I'll be completely honest. He's representing the country and he's meant to be the face of England.

Is this what we represent? Is this what the people represent? No, it's a disgrace. So I'm happy he's got a strip of his titles, his royal titles as well.

He should be kicked out of the country because these guys live off us. We're the working class. We're the people in charge, basically.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Hurricane Melissa is now impacting Bermuda as a Category 1 storm. It's expected to bring heavy rain and gusty winds as it brushes just west of the island then continues to barrel northwards.

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The storm left destruction across eastern Cuba, 735,000 people were moved to shelters ahead of the hurricane. In Santiago de Cuba, residents returned to sweep water from their homes and repair collapsed roofs. At least 49 people have been killed across the Caribbean, but that number is expected to rise as recovery operations continue.

Of course, it was Jamaica that was hardest hit by the storm. The coastal town of Black River was devastated by Melissa, homes were flattened and roads were blocked by debris. Jamaican authorities are now racing to clear the way and deliver aid to trapped communities like this one.

One government minister said that Jamaica's infrastructure has been severely compromised.

CNN's Derek Van Dam filed this report from just outside Black River.

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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are approaching the Black River area, a bridge that we were concerned that had too much damage to drive across, but it looks like cars are traveling at least in.

We've got to watch out for some of this damage that's just strewn about. Look at, people have their personal belongings on the back of mopeds trying to desperately get out of this area, carrying whatever they can, food, supplies, clothing. It's utter chaos here and the heat is adding a new level of dimension to this humanitarian disaster that is unfolding.

It's very loud and I just want to show you the bridge here. As this massive queue of cars, people carrying food, all the supplies they can to get out of Black River because this area was hit extremely hard.

Desperation, what once was paradise, has now turned into hell on earth. This is ground zero.

What's happened to your home?

BRITNEY SAMMS, BLACK RIVER RESIDENT: The storm, everything gone. Right down, right down.

VAN DAM: Was it the wind or was it the sea?

SAMMS: Everything sir, everything. We are surrounded by water.

VAN DAM: What do you need most at this time?

SAMMS: A roof over our heads, sir. Me and my mother and my grandmother, we don't know what we're going to do.

VAN DAM: There's a supermarket in town that we were told that people are taking supplies off of the shelf. This is a matter of life and death for people.

One individual saying that, hey, this isn't looting, this is a matter of survival. People carrying whatever they can to get out of this region.

UNKNOWN: It's paradise, but it's hell on earth as well right now. Six hours. It's frightening, I've never seen anything like this in my life, it was devastating.

VAN DAM: The bridge in Black River has become a makeshift shelter. You can see helicopter and the Jamaican Defense Forces flying and surveying the area. This area has become almost a makeshift refugee camp because the people behind me have nowhere to sleep, their homes were completely decimated by the fury of Hurricane Melissa. They are desperate for water, food, any kind of medical provisions, and they need international aid desperately.

I am CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam in Black River, Jamaica. Back to you.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, if you want to help those impacted by Hurricane Melissa, you can go to cnn.com/impact.

All right, still ahead, President Trump's order for new nuclear testing surprised many people, including some of his own advisers. We'll have new details on his announcement that's coming up next. Please do stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: We're learning that Donald Trump's own advisers were caught off guard by his announcement that the U.S. would resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in decades, and the president himself refused to provide any details. Here he is.

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REPORTER: Any details around the testing, sir? Like where, when?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: When it will be? It'll be announced. You know, we have test sites. It'll be announced.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, President Trump said he instructed the Pentagon to resume nuclear testing after a 33-year pause, citing other nations, including China's and Russians' own capabilities. Neither China nor Russia have conducted a nuclear test in decades, though China has worked rapidly to expand its arsenal.

CNN's Alayna Treene has more from Washington.

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ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed to begin testing nuclear weapons on a, quote, "equal basis with Russia and China," potentially threatening to upend decades of United States policy at a time when tensions are continuing to grow between the world's greatest nuclear superpowers.

Now, there are a lot of unanswered questions about what exactly the President meant when he said this. I would note that the United States has not tested a nuclear weapon since 1992, but I do think the context for when he said this and where he said this is, of course, very notable.

It came, and just to set the scene, it unfolded when the President was on board Marine One flying to the South Korean airport to have a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. That meeting was really about trying to get back on the same page and have a more open dialogue with the Chinese and particularly between the two leaders.

And so the President might have upended that goal a little bit by doing this, but I would add that he then was answering questions about it again when he was flying on Air Force One back to the United States and still didn't offer any clarity for whether he meant actually testing nuclear weapons or potentially nuclear-capable missiles.

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Because a lot of what we've now heard from people kind of trying to predict what the President was saying, trying to read between the lines, was that perhaps this is in response to what we saw Russia do when essentially they ran a test last week of a nuclear-capable cruise missile and torpedo.

And that came after the summit that was supposed to take place between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest, Hungary, fell apart. And then there was this, and this was fortunate timing for a lot of reporters, was that the vice admiral, Richard Correll, he is nominated to oversee the United States nuclear arsenal. He was speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, and he essentially said that he was not reading anything into the President's comments.

Instead, he said that he would presume that the president's words did not mean nuclear testing, and that's because China and Russia have not actually tested nuclear weapons, essentially dropped nuclear bombs in several decades. Again, neither has the United States.

So we're waiting to learn more about what this could actually mean moving forward.

Alayna Treene, CNN, the White House.

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Well, 31 days into the U.S. government shutdown, and there's no end in sight. President Trump's urging Senate Republicans to break the stalemate by eliminating the filibuster, the 60-vote threshold needed for passing legislation. Senators have left Washington for the weekend, though a top Senate Republican says he expects some members to keep talking.

So while lawmakers are away, some 42 million Americans will lose access to the federal food aid. A federal judge has indicated she'll intervene over the Trump administration's decision not to tap into billions of dollars in emergency funds for the food program.

Well families in Rio de Janeiro had to line up outside a morgue to identify loved ones. Just ahead, what officials are saying about the police raid that left dozens dead.

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Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check today's top stories.

Britain's King Charles said Thursday he's stripping his brother Andrew of royal titles and began the process of evicting him from his royal residence in Windsor. Now this comes after a posthumous memoir by Jeffrey Epstein's victim, Virginia Giuffre, who's accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her as a teenager, and who has repeatedly denied these accusations.

Hurricane Melissa is passing Bermuda this hour as a Category 1 storm. At least 49 people have been killed as the powerful storm tore through the Caribbean, but the true scale of the devastation won't be known for weeks. Jamaica bore the brunt of Melissa's wrath, with authorities racing to deliver aid to communities cut off by debris.

Israel has identified two deceased hostages released by Hamas on Thursday. 85-year-old Amiram Cooper and 25-year-old Sahar Baruch both were kidnapped during the October 7th attacks and were later killed in captivity. Their handover is a press sign the ceasefire in Gaza is still on track.

Families in Rio de Janeiro had to line up outside a morgue Thursday to identify loved ones killed in a police raid. At least 132 people died in the Tuesday raid aimed at organized crime. The state governor says police confiscated a large quantity of drugs as well as several firearms.

Funerals for four Brazilian police officers killed in the raids began Thursday. Officials say drones were used to target police during the raid, more than 80 people were arrested. Now police raids are common in Rio ahead of international events, Rio is hosting a major climate conference next week. Authorities posted on social media that the raid was to stop expansion of a criminal group.

We're joined now for more on this by Sandra Pellegrini in Paris, she's a Latin American and Caribbean senior analyst with the independent monitoring group ACLED. Thank you so much for joining us again.

These raids have left dozens dead, the images coming out of Rio are shocking. Brazilian authorities say it was a necessary crackdown on gang violence, but critics say the police response was completely disproportionate. What are you seeing?

SANDRA PELLGRINI, LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN SR. ANALYST, ACLED: Well, I think Brazil has been facing several challenges when it comes to security for years. In ACLED's latest conflict index, Brazil has ranked sixth globally, with levels of conflict categorized as extreme. And most of the violence indeed leads to the pervasive method of organized crime dynamic.

What we have been essentially witnessing in terms of the recent evolutions of the gang landscape has been indeed an evolution of the violence. When we analyze violence and gang violence dynamics in Brazil, it's important to look at the subnational level. So the drivers of violence tend to vary from state to state.

[03:29:58]

That said, a key structural factor behind the current escalations is the expansions of the Red Command in recent years, which has started to position itself in the transnational trafficking market, which has been historically dominated by its main rival, the Primeiro Comando do Capital.

So what we have been seeing essentially as part of this expansion has been an increase in violence, especially in the north-northeastern states, as the Red Command tries to control the northern trafficking corridor that connects cocaine-producing countries like Peru and Colombia. That being said, the response that we have seen in Rio is truly unprecedented and raises severe questions as to how the states are planning to be dealing with rising organized crime.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, you talk about a rise in violence. I mean, one of the most striking things about these raids was the discovery that gangs are now using drones to drop explosives, which just shows how, I guess, sophisticated and well-armed these gangs are now.

PELLEGRINI: Yes, indeed. Operation Containment drew attention to the use of drones by criminal groups in Brazil.

This is not an entirely new phenomenon. Drones have been used for surveillance, for the smuggling of drugs into prisons in the case of Brazil, and actually has recorded several incidents where the Red Command has deployed drones carrying explosives, including in clashes with militia groups. But this actually mirrors, I would say, original trends that we have seen, for instance, Mexican cartels or Colombian armed groups also similarly using weaponized drones, which I think here is quite illustrative of the challenges that need to face law enforcement and how they have to adapt to these evolving tactics.

BRUNHUBER: Let me ask you about law enforcement on this. I mean, Rio has always had a reputation for violence, but things, as you're saying, seem to be on a different scale now. I reported from some of the favelas in Rio some 10 years ago before the World Cup and the Olympics, and I saw some of those security crackdowns that were targeting the gangs, and we've seen this sort of pattern of massive militarized police operations that sort of rack up these huge death tolls.

Any proof that these crackdowns actually work at all?

PELLGRINI: No, that's a good question. And it's true that this operation is unprecedented, and actually to put things into perspective, since ICAID began systematically recording clashes between state forces and criminal groups, we have documented a monthly average of around 170 people killed in clashes at the national level.

So what we have been seeing here in Rio is that in just one week, we're actually nearing the nationwide average. Whether those operations are effective, I would say that it's quite questionable. Even comparing to recent operations, so I'm thinking of Operation Summer in Sao Paulo in early 2024, which left over 50 people dead, what we tend to see is that these operations lead to a temporary drop in violence during and perhaps shortly after the operations, but it's generally followed by a surge in violence soon after.

And even if we look more broadly at the regional level, there is little evidence that militarized security policies achieve lasting reductions. If anything, we have seen that it tends to perhaps displace the violence. And again, what operations containment did was essentially target lower-ranking members of criminal organizations, which are individuals that are generally easily replaced, and whose removal does little to disrupt groups' overall structures.

And even if those operations were to target top leaderships, they usually rarely achieve the outcomes of dismantling organizations. If anything, we see that those strategies tend to trigger internal power struggles or to reform these rebel groups who are trying to fill the resulting vacuum.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, and you say in terms of getting the leadership, I understand in this case as well, the leader of the gang escaped capture. So one questions the efficacy of this, but you really put it in perspective when you said that the national average of people killed by police was reached in just one week. Incredible, we'll have to leave it there.

Sandra Pellegrini, thank you so much for your analysis, I appreciate it.

PELLEGRINI: Thank you for having me.

BRUNHUBER: And we'll be right back here on "CNN Newsroom." Please do stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: All right, now checking some of today's business headlines.

Russia's second largest oil company, Lukoil, has accepted an offer from the commodity trader governor for its international assets. The deal is subject to approval by the U.S. Treasury Department. The sale would be the most consequential move by a Russian company triggered by the war in Ukraine, it comes after the U.S. slapped sanctions on Russia's two top oil firms.

Apple says it's been a record year for sales of the iPhone 17 series, even though they came in lower than expectations. iPhone sales in the fourth quarter hit $49 billion, which is up from last year. Overall revenue for Apple exceeded $102 billion. Apple says both numbers are records for fourth quarter earnings.

And Amazon is laying off 14,000 employees, and it's citing culture as the driving force behind the decision. After announcing the cuts, Amazon said it hired too many people, which weakened the ownership of other employees over their work.

[03:40:06]

Well, think of it as VIP access for Roman emperors. A tunnel underneath Rome's Colosseum was kept secret from the masses during the Roman Empire, but almost 2000 years later, it's opening to the public for the very first time.

CNN's Ben Wedeman has the story.

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UNKNOWN: Slave.

UNKNOWN: Will you remove your helmet and tell me your name?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was the arch-villain in Ridley Scott's epic drama "Gladiator," the Emperor Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, squaring off against Russell Crowe.

UNKNOWN: My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): This week, visitors to the Colosseum will, for the first time, have the chance to enter a long, closed-off passage named after Commodus. WEDEMAN: This corridor was constructed after the completion of the

Colosseum in 80 A.D. It was designed to allow the emperor to reach his seat without mingling with the common folk. Many of the emperors weren't very popular.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Commodus, who fancied himself Hercules reincarnated, was more into bread and circuses than managing the complex affairs of a vast empire.

His 15-year reign marked the beginning of Rome's decline.

It may have been in this 180-foot-long subterranean corridor that, according to one Roman historian, someone tried but failed to assassinate the erratic Commodus.

The Colosseum's chief architect, Barbara Nazzaro, believes this was indeed the place.

BARBARA NAZZARO, CHIEF ARCHITECT, COLOSSEUM PARK: It's the only corridor that comes underneath, so it's the only corridor that could be. So if it happened, it happened here.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): The Colosseum sits on watery ground. The only way to properly renovate the passage of Commodus was to use ancient Roman methods, says restorer Angelica Pujia.

ANGELICA PUJIA, CHIEF RESTORER, COMMODUS PASAGEWAY: So we restored the gallery using exactly the same materials that Romans used back then. Natural potty lime, pozzolana sand, so materials that Romans found around here, but created in a modern way.

WEDEMAN (voice-over): Last year, more than 14 million people visited the Colosseum, but only 24 people per day will be allowed into the passage of Commodus. Better book now.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, thank you so much for joining us. I'm Kim Brunhuber. "World Sport" is next, followed by "Amanpour," and stay tuned for "Early Start" beginning at 5 a.m. in New York, 10 a.m. in London.

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