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Appeals Court: Trump Can Deploy National Guard to Portland; Brazen Thieves on the Run after Broad Daylight Jewel Heist at Louvre. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired October 21, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: -- the end of the first quarter. Seahawks win, 27 to 19.

[06:00:06]

And the Toronto Blue Jays are headed to the World Series. George Springer's dramatic three-run homer put his team up 4 to 3 ahead of the Seattle Mariners in the seventh inning of game seven of baseball's American League championship series.

Very happy man, as you can imagine Toronto's defense holding on and the Jays are through to face the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for MLB's ultimate prize.

Game one of the best of seven series takes place on Friday in Toronto.

Thank you so much for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: One step closer. An appeals court clears the path for National Guard deployment in Portland. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TINA KOTEK (D), OREGON: Oregon remains united in the fight against this unwanted, unneeded military intervention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I'll talk to a congresswoman who represents Portland. We'll have that live.

Plus, ballroom blitz. The president pledged his White House edition wouldn't interfere with the existing structure. So, how's that working out?

And it works until it doesn't. A major outage exposes the fragile truth about the tech we count on at work, school, and home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do what you know is right and what your students want. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: A lesson in defiance. Several colleges signal to the White House they won't sell out -- sell out ideology in exchange for funding.

And what do you do with a bag full of priceless jewels? The great Louvre heist, and how the thieves pulled it off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNY LOGGINS, SINGER (singing): Highway to the danger zone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Flirting with "The Danger Zone" or just good taste. Kenny Loggins says his song was used without permission. But can he do anything about it?

It is 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. We're giving you a live look at Portland.

Good morning, everyone. It's Tuesday, October 21st. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here's where we begin.

That legal battle over National Guard deployments across the country. And a legal win for the Trump administration, specifically in Oregon.

So, last night, the 9th Circuit Court of appeals threw out a lower court order barring National Guard troops from being deployed in Portland.

So, two Trump-appointed judges sided with the administration, while the third judge dissented, calling the majority opinion, quote, "absurd."

Oregon's attorney general warns that the ruling signals a, quote, "dangerous path for America." Now, while Oregon's governor is vowing to appeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOTEK: This decision, from the dissenting point of view, attacks the sovereign authority of states to control their militia; also takes away the First Amendment rights to assemble and object to government actions that we don't agree with. I'm very troubled by the decision of the court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Troops won't be deployed immediately, because a second restraining order remains in effect, at least for now. But the president already seems to have his sights on another West Coast city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Going to go to San Francisco next.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to go to San Francisco. The difference is, I think they want us in San Francisco.

We're going to go to San Francisco, and we're going to make it great. We're going to make it great. It will be great against --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Local and state leaders in California dispute that. Governor Newsom responded saying, "Nobody wants you here," while a local state senator added, "Stay the hell out of San Francisco."

Joining me now in the group chat, Toluse Olorunnipa, staff writer at "The Atlantic"; Chuck Rocha, Democratic strategist and former senior advisor on the Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns; and Ashley Davis, former White House official under President George W. Bush.

Hey there, guys. Good to see you again.

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.

ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH: Hi.

CORNISH: Good to see you again.

OK, so Toluse, I want to start with you, because there were some facts laid out in this particular ruling where they said, look, since June, there's been regular arrests. There's been people throwing things at the building. There's people following ICE officers home.

So, I want to suss this out a bit, because it's a little different from what happened in D.C. when they said, hey, crime problem; or even California, when there was this kind of riot in the streets that you see. What's the distinction they're making?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, STAFF WRITER, "THE ATLANTIC": Well, this is definitely not Washington, D.C. Oregon has the control over its own National Guard, at least nominally. Nominally, it should have control. The governor should be able to tell the National Guard where to show up.

The governor has said that they don't need the National Guard. They have their own local police.

But in the first court hearing where there was this restraining order, the court said that what Trump was saying online about Portland being up in flames and this being a horrible situation, that that was not rooted in reality.

[06:05:02]

Now, obviously, a lot of the president's social media posts do engage in a lot of hyperbole. And that's what the first court was saying. But the second court said that, even if you put the president's social

media posts to the side, there are situations in Portland that are violent, that are disruptive, that are threatening to the federal building that is there. And --

CORNISH: So, they're saying, look, we see what he says online. We're not blind to that. But don't ignore the other things that have actually happened.

OLORUNNIPA: Right. And they've set a pretty low bar, basically saying that the president does have the ability to protect federal buildings, and he does have control over the National Guard in regards to those federal buildings that are under threat.

CORNISH: So, I think that low bar is the thing that they're worried about. Right, Ashley?

I mean, when you think about your security concerns, I think what the -- the plaintiffs are saying is like, look, you're giving the president a lot of leeway over when and where and how.

DAVIS: And a lot of this, Audie, you know, we've talked about this a lot. A lot of this is political fights, too, against anything that Trump does. Right? I mean, we know this.

What I just don't understand is there were 19 shootings in Portland this weekend. So, like, the problem still does exist. There were 95 cartridges found at these various sites. And then in Chicago, four people died, and there are 17 people that are extremely hurt because of shootings.

CORNISH: At an ICE facility?

DAVIS: No. And not all in Chicago.

CORNISH: Well, the reason why I'm sticking with this is because this is specifically around protecting those facilities. Let me just play one thing for you, because now people are starting to figure out, well, how should we protest that won't be the subject of somebody's ire.

Here's what some protests currently outside the facility were saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't know how to react to people with humor and silliness. So why not try that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whimsy of it is really fantastic; makes it fun, makes it accessible, feels safe. It really takes the argument out of the idea that this is a violent thing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to come up with an alternate narrative when you have people dancing, you know, in costume.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: So, there's two approaches to protests here, Chuck. And as

much as I love the furry approach, there's another approach that is, like, throwing bricks at the building.

And so, is it time for Democrats to -- to start talking about alternate ways that do not further draw troops?

ROCHA: Agreed. I think Democrats fall into the trap of automatically defending the protesters, which they should. But they should always start by saying we should keep our federal buildings and everybody safe, and that nobody should be put in harm's way. But do you need the National Guard to do that?

If you want to help the local government, give them more money to have more citizen policing there, which is what they should have there. So, I think Democrats sometimes get sucked into defending things that are indefensible, especially when furries are surrounding your building.

DAVIS: Is that really a fur? Have you seen real furries? I'm not sure that's a furry.

CORNISH: It's too early to actually define furries for the audience. So, group chat, stay with me. You stay with me in case you're going to Google it. We're actually going to have an Oregon Democrat on to talk more.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, vice president -- Vice President Vance is actually on a mission to shore up the shaky ceasefire in Gaza, even as his boss threatens to eradicate Hamas.

Plus, it's demolition day. President Trump's ballroom dream closer to reality at the White House.

And what do you do with priceless jewels that everyone in the world is looking for? The manhunt for the brazen thieves who robbed the Louvre.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clever to use a cherry picker and a glass cutter to steal priceless -- well, sentimentally priceless jewels from the Louvre. The fact that it was done in daylight is also astounding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:12:59]

CORNISH: Vice President J.D. Vance is now in Israel.

He arrived within the last hour, and he joins the presidents Middle East special envoy and son-in-law. They're there to push for the second phase of the Trump administration's fragile peace plan.

And this comes after Gaza health authorities claim that nearly 100 people died in airstrikes after two Israeli soldiers were killed over the weekend.

Now that, along with fighting between Hamas and rival militant groups, is raising concerns that both sides could walk away from the ceasefire agreement. It's something President Trump is warning Hamas against.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They're going to behave; they're going to be nice. And if they're not, we're going to go, and we're going to eradicate them, if we have to. They'll be eradicated. And they know that.

They keep doing it, then we're going to go in and straighten it out, and it will happen very quickly. And pretty violently, unfortunately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining us now to discuss, Avi Mayer, founder of "The Jerusalem Journal."

Welcome back, Avi.

AVI MAYER, FOUNDER, "THE JERUSALEM JOURNAL": Good morning, Audie. Good to be with you.

CORNISH: Now, it was known going into the initial phases of the ceasefire process, that the remains of all the hostages would not be easily obtained, right? That even the Israeli government knew that Hamas didn't necessarily have a handle on things.

So, is this definitely going to be considered a violation of the ceasefire agreement?

MAYER: Well, Audie, the terrorist group had committed, as part of the agreement to hand over those bodies by noon on Monday last week. So, it's now the eighth day of its continuous violation of that agreement.

It is true that they had said that they were going to have trouble reaching some of the bodies. But what we understand from Israeli officials is that they actually know where more bodies are that they're telling the international community, which suggests that they are intentionally dragging out this process in order to, as you said, target those rival groups in the Gaza Strip.

They have slaughtered dozens of people just in the past week, trying to enforce their authority in that territory. And to use those bodies as further leverage in ongoing negotiations about the future of the Gaza Strip.

[06:15:09]

That, of course, is a very significant violation of the ceasefire deal. But at the moment, neither side has an interest in making that deal fall apart.

CORNISH: I want to share a little bit more from what the president said yesterday about dealing with Hamas. Here it is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've had countries calling me when they saw the -- some of the killing with Hamas, saying, We'd love to go in and take care of the situation ourselves.

In addition, you have Israel would go in in two minutes. We're going to give it a little chance, and hopefully, there will be a little less violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I want to ask you about this comment, because we know that Netanyahu, in a way, was sort of backed into this deal, right?

It wasn't his first choice. The way it was going down. Is there a sense that this government is going to see reason and will want to return to fighting?

MAYER: Well, look, the No. 1 priority was bringing back those live hostages. Thankfully, that has been achieved. All 20 of the live hostages were indeed brought home.

We, of course, do need to figure out what happens with the remaining dead hostages, the murdered hostages still held by Hamas. And that, I think, is important, as well.

But a very key goal of this military campaign was ensuring that Hamas would no longer pose a threat to the people of Israel.

Now, we know that Hamas of today is not the Hamas that existed on October 6th, or the one that carried out the October 7th massacre, but it has stated openly that it wishes to do exactly that: that it will continue to carry out more and more October 7th-like massacres until Israel is destroyed.

And so, there are very significant security concerns in Israel. There's a mechanism that's built into this 20-point plan presented by President Trump that sees the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, the disarming of Hamas, the establishment of a technocratic government. But we don't actually understand how that's going to happen.

Who's going to be disarming Hamas? Who's going to be ensuring that the territory is demilitarized? Who's going to be making up this technocratic government? We understand this morning that Hamas is having a significant role in the very makeup of that -- of that authority.

And so, there are concerns in Israel. And if those concerns are not addressed, you could indeed see a return to fighting sooner rather than later.

CORNISH: OK. Many open questions there, Avi. Thank you for raising them.

And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, it's like a scene out of a movie. How the thieves pulled off a daytime heist at the Louvre. Where the investigation stands this morning.

Plus, is it a lesson in defiance? Some colleges give the cold shoulder to President Trump's offer to sell out ideology in exchange for funding.

And good morning to Toronto, because your Blue Jays are heading to the World Series. They clinched the ALC's in a 4-3 win last night over the Seattle Mariners. The Blue Jays will face off against the L.A. Dodgers on Friday in game one of the World Series.

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[06:22:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON CHEADLE, ACTOR: Oh, leave it out (ph). You tossers. You had one job to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: A real-life robbery, more brazen than anything from "Oceans 11."

Thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in France. They grabbed nine pieces from a rare collection of jewels in broad daylight. The whole operation lasted less than ten minutes.

They took an emerald necklace and earrings gifted to Napoleon to his second wife. Also, this diamond and sapphire jewelry set. Some believe it once belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette.

Cue the parodies on TikTok.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PINK PANTHER THEME)

GRAPHIC: How those guys robbed the Louvre.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't wait to watch the documentary like Netflix.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do we think the Louvre jewel robbers are going to be hot? It's about time for our annual sexy criminal reveal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: No sign yet of that reveal, or the thieves, with plenty of questions about how its signature French institution became such an easy target.

Joining us now, Juliette Kayyem, former Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary.

Juliette, good morning.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good morning.

CORNISH: So, first, just to give people an update, I understand that at least one piece of jewelry was found outside of the museum on the street. What are investigators going to be looking for now in this massive manhunt?

KAYYEM: Well, that -- that piece of jewelry is -- is relevant only if there are fingerprints or some identifying feature to -- to link to the robbers, in the same way, if a helmet or other materials were found on the ladder that they used, that will be helpful.

But the fact that they dropped it is -- you know, just shows how quickly this was done.

But it's important to remember that they -- they arrived together, but they left separately. So, their plan was, if one of them got caught, the other four or three would be able to get away.

So, this was a group of people who knew how to divide the vulnerability to them. And -- and chances are they may not even be back together now because they're -- you know, separated is harder for law enforcement to catch them.

CORNISH: Yes, we're showing these images. It may be confusing to people. They're literally wearing bright yellow vests. Right? This was not "Oceans" anything. This was like climbing a ladder and then attacking the display case in literally brightly colored outfits.

So, can you talk about the how of this? I mean, obviously the Mona Lisa was stolen in the early 1900s by someone walking in and sticking it under their coat. But was this more or less complicated than past heists?

KAYYEM: Well, it's just -- they -- they used the openness that morning as a way to get in, rather than try to, you know, sort of subvert nighttime security or look sneaky.

[06:25:05]

It's the brazenness of it -- of it that becomes the way that they do it.

They put a ladder outside. Everyone thinks that maybe they're just workers. They're in yellow vests. Maybe people think that they're just in construction or they're fixing the glass casing.

And then they're out of there. So, no one really approaches them. No one says, hey, what's going on? And so, it's -- and they're using -- the fact that it was daytime was the plan. And that because the public just didn't know, essentially, what was going on.

CORNISH: What happens to this jewelry? It's famous. But is it the kind of thing where someone shows up to your office in new earrings and you're like, huh? Like, where does this stuff actually go? KAYYEM: I want to know who you work with. Look, this is --

CORNISH: They work later in the day.

KAYYEM: This is -- this is a challenge. And I think -- I think when you hear from French politicians about this loss, they know exactly what has happened.

Look, a painting has value because it is intact. The jewelry has value because, obviously, you know, royals owned it, but it also has intrinsic value. It's a commodity that you can sell.

So, what has likely happened -- if not already, is about to happen -- which is, you know, it is -- the gold is melted, the diamonds are split up. You -- you put -- you break it up to make it unidentifiable. But the jewel itself is able to be sold on the black market.

But look, you don't even have to go to the black market. You could go to a public market and say, I have these beautiful diamonds and hope that -- that no one notices or no one is able to put it together.

This is where the international art community, our criminal investigation community, comes in. Interpol and other organizations are focused on, essentially, matching.

We now know that they're gone. Now, everyone is going to be on the lookout for beautiful jewels, maybe smaller, more accessible, that may be on the market and try to match those and then find the culprits.

But honestly, I'm as pessimistic as the French are, because it's jewelry. A painting, someone wants to keep intact. This, you know, melted, broken up. It's going to be hard to find.

CORNISH: Mm. OK. Juliette Kayyem, thanks so much.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

CORNISH: Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, an appeals court will let the National Guard deploy to Portland. I'm going to talk to a congresswoman who represents that city, next.

Plus, the government shutdown now tied for the second longest in history. The strategy session at the White House today.

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