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"Coalition of the Willing" Meets in London; NY Attorney General to ask for Indictment to be Dismissed; San Francisco Mayor: Sending Military in would "Hinder" Recovery; Trump, China's Xi to Meet in South Korea Next Thursday; NBA Star, Coach Arrested in Mafia-Linked Gambling Schemes; Canadian PM Carney Speaks after Trump Halts Trade Talks. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired October 24, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: President Trump is not happy and is declaring that all trade talks with Canada are terminated. But
what does Ronald Reagan have to do with it? It's 09:00 a.m. in Washington and 02:00 p.m. here in London. I'm Christina Macfarlane. This is "Connect
the World".
Also coming up, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with Ukraine's allies in London as we speak, the so-called Coalition of the Willing is
hoping to put more pressure on Russia. And New York's Attorney General, Letitia James appears in court for the first time after being indicted by
President Trump's hand-picked prosecutor.
And the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. And it looks like it's going to be a higher open. U.S. consumer prices increased
in September, putting annual inflation at 3 percent as people paid off more of that debt from tariff sensitive goods. However, this number is little
cooler than expected, and we will have some analysis on this a bit later in the show.
But we begin with a red-carpet welcome in London for Ukraine's wartime President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is here to meet with Britain's Prime
Minister and other European Leaders. The UK is hosting a summit of what it calls the Coalition of the Willing, and it's all about support for Kyiv.
But it comes after the EU failed to agree a deal to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. Mr. Zelenskyy and British PM, Keir Starmer are
expected to talk to reporters in a few hours from now, and as we watch for that, we're also hearing that China's state-owned oil companies are
suspending some of their Russian oil purchases. That's because of new U.S. sanctions on the Russian firms Rosneft and Luke Oil.
If demand for their oil fails, it could put a dent in Russia's war chest. Well, CNN's Nic Robinson is live for us now from Downing Street. So, Nic,
bring us up to date with what's been happening at the summit so far and what it could mean for Ukraine.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, so far, it's been a bilateral meeting, President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. One
of the things Keir Starmer wants to move forward with, when the full Coalition of the Willing get together, we're expecting the NATO Secretary
General, Mark Rutter, Danish Prime Minister, will be here.
The Dutch Prime Minister expected to be here, and maybe 20 other leaders joining virtually. One of the things Keir Starmer wants to do is to make
sure that Russia's ability to sell oil globally is diminished. That was supported, obviously earlier in the week by the United States, with those
sanctions by the European Union deciding not to import liquid natural gas products from Russia.
But it is about establishing an economic base for Russia not to be able to fight its war, an economic base to support Ukraine through a winter of
potential continuing and escalated Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, so to keep the lights on, to keep the heating on, to make
sure that the Ukrainian government can fund itself and fund the war.
And obviously commitments coming from the European Union yesterday. The other topic expected, President Zelenskyy and the EU yesterday, when asked
the question, said, and this, I think, is a reference to his meeting with President Trump, where he'd gone into that last week wanting to get the
authorization to receive U.S. made Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Didn't get it. When speaking at the EU yesterday, President Zelenskyy said, we don't have Tomahawks, and he added yet. So, I think there's a scope here
with the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing, some of whom have Tomahawks, some of whom have Tomahawk equivalents, perhaps to get to a
place where they can provide those to President Zelenskyy. That's not clear. We don't know what the final output of the meeting today may be, but
those are the key topics going into it.
MACFARLANE: And also, Nic I mean, we know this meeting comes just a day after the EU stopped short of releasing the billions of euros of frozen
Russian assets. Do you expect that conversation to continue here in London? And whether it will yield anything?
ROBERTSON: It's certainly something that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is keen to see the European Union doing. And the sense that we've had from
these sorts of European Leaders over the recent weeks about the -- on this topic. And we heard as well from Ursula Von Der Leyen, the European
Commission President last night as well.
Despite the concerns about the -- from the Belgian government, the Belgian Prime Minister that to make that loan with those frozen Russian assets
could leave banks in Belgium, where most of those assets are frozen liable, perhaps through courts if Russia tried to pursue the money later.
[09:05:00]
So, it does still seem to be an open and ongoing conversation. And it is a very sort of convoluted method of turning those frozen Russian assets into
something that's underwritten by many European Union nations, that can be then used as a guarantee for a loan to Ukraine that Ukraine would never
have to pay back, or would only have to pay back if Russia paid Ukraine war reparations.
A lot of ifs in there. But it really does come down to that concern of sort of making sure that if the European Union does that with those frozen
Russian assets, no one country is left sort of on the legal hook for what could be $140 billion worth of loan.
But the EU has already said that it will, for the next couple of years, give those economic guarantees that it -- to Ukraine that it needs to be
able to keep paying for the heating in the country, to keep the country working, to keep, you know, all the different government agencies running,
as well as, of course, funding and fighting the war.
MACFARLANE: And Nic, I just want to mention because as you're speaking here, we are seeing live images of President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Keir
Starmer, doing a walkabout in the Center of London here with what seems to be, you know, an enormous number of Ukrainian supporters.
We're seeing Ukrainian flags as Zelenskyy speaking to members of the public here. There is, of course, a huge groundswell of support for him here in
Europe, continued across in the United Kingdom, continued across Europe. But just to get back briefly, Nic to your point about oil and whether or
not you know these oil sanctions are going to have a dent on the Russian war effort.
We know, of course, that Russia have been very -- have very easily evaded Western sanctions in the past. So, what impact do you think this will have,
realistically?
ROBERTSON: Yeah, I'm outside the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office here, and through the arch behind me, across the quadrangle, through
another arch that's Downing Street, and that's where we expected President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to walk into the Foreign Office.
And I can hear, as you're speaking to me, the cheers coming up, and I'm guessing that is part of the sort of the greetings that the president and
the prime minister are getting as they're walking. The fact that the United States has frozen, you know that has sanctioned Russell Luca, or the two
sort of major oil exporters for Russia is already having a knock-on effect.
It seems that China is now being more cautious, if not stopping at the moment, dealing with those companies. May be a similar situation that
emerges in India its early days yet. But the idea would be that this is going to cut off a source of funding that will make it much harder for
Russia to fight the war that it will potentially lead to inflation inside of Russia, so that the Russian public actually feels in their pocket the
effect of the war.
And that therefore becomes a pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war. And that -- that's been the argument of economists that going into next year,
that's where the Russia, Russian economy, paying for all the material to rebuild its forces that it's lost so much of inside of Russia, that the
recruiting of additional soldiers into its army to fight in Ukraine, that all of this is sort of reaching a tipping point is one assessment of where
Russia's economy is.
So just to press harder on it now will have a significant difference. Yet that said, Russia has proven so far to be quite ingenious about getting its
oil to markets, getting around sanctions, you know, using all sorts of different methods, shadow oil fleet, but we've seen the EU now sanction
more of the vessels within that -- within that -- within that shadow oil fleet.
So, the constrictions around Russia's economy, they are seen to be very important, and particularly so at this moment.
MACFARLANE: All right, Nic Robertson, I know you'll continue to follow it for us there in close to Downing Street, and we'll look ahead to that press
conference a couple of hours from now. Thank you.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is warning that there is no Plan B if the ceasefire in Gaza breaks down. He spoke to reporters at a base housing
U.S. forces in Southern Israel a short time ago, acknowledging there would be setbacks along the way.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This will be the journey to sort of get through the 21 plan -- points of the plan to get through all the things
that we're trying to achieve is not going to be a linear journey. There's going to be ups and downs and twists and turns, but I think we have a lot
of reason for healthy optimism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz has been following this for us. So, we had Rubio there and other U.S. officials clearly trying to make the case
here that failure is not an option, and that would explain their round the clock monitoring of the situation in the Middle East right now. But are we
getting any clearer picture on where this moves forward from here?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, the BB sitting has continued. Vice President J.D. Vance tapped shoulders with Secretary of State Marco
Rubio as they passed each other on the way. The Secretary of State, as you heard, there, was at a center that's been set up by central command to
monitor and facilitate this deal.
But as you mentioned, this is all about getting to phase two of the deal. If we could play what Secretary of State Marco Rubio said about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: If Hamas refuses to demilitarize, it will be a violation of the agreement, and that will have to be enforced. I'm not going to get into the
mechanisms by which it is going to be enforced, but it will have to be enforced. I mean, this is a deal, and a deal requires conditions to be met.
Israel has met their commitments. They're standing at the yellow line, and that is contingent upon the demilitarization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: He mentions the yellow line there, and I have a map for us to look at. What that yellow line refers to is where Israeli forces are
occupying Gaza. And they occupy just over 50 percent of the Gaza Strip right now. The other part is, of course, still controlled by Hamas, which
is of course still armed.
Now, as long as that's the case, any official will tell you, there will be friction, there will be clashes, and there have been clashes. We've seen
Palestinian civilians that have been fired upon for approaching that yellow line too closely. We've seen scrimmages over the weekend that threaten the
peace process. So, what's the solution?
Well, per the deal, that area that is occupied by Israeli forces should at some point be occupied by a stabilization force, or run by a stabilization
force, essentially an Arab led force that Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey would take ownership of that, and then they would train Palestinian forces
on the ground to eventually take over the part that is still controlled by Hamas well that would be where weapons would be eventually handed over.
Now this sounds very pie in the sky. This sounds very ambitious. This sounds very big, and this sounds like it's not going to happen overnight.
And that's part of the reason why you see U.S. officials on the ground saying Israel is committed to the side of -- to its side of the deal, and
we are going to hold it to account so that we can push these Arab mediators to say we need to get to phase two, but this is a long process, and is the
hand holding going to continue all the way throughout?
MACFARLANE: And was there any indication in that press conference as to where the Arab nations sit on being part of that stabilization force? What
have they said so far?
ABDELAZIZ: So, we've already seen offers for example, Turkey has said that it is willing to send troops. But in response to that, the Israeli
government has said, we don't want to see Turkish troops on the ground. So already, there you have this back and forth over who can be a part of this
group? Who will be approved by Israel, which the United States says has to happen on the ground before any of these forces are deployed.
And how does this all take place without a U.N. mandate? That's the other question. Is, some Arab countries are saying we need a U.N. mandate to have
that legitimacy to back it up. So far, far from getting to that phase two.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, one wonders how much longer the hand holding can continue. Salma, appreciate it, thank you. Now, New York Attorney General
Letitia James is expected to appear in a federal court later today on felony bank fraud charges lodged against her by the U.S. Justice
Department.
James' legal team plans to challenge the appointment of a prosecutor hand- picked by President Donald Trump and ask for her case to be dismissed. James denies any wrongdoing and calls the charges against her baseless and
quote a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz is following the story for us from Washington. Kaytlen, the president's push for the case against a political opponent,
has critics worried. The Justice Department here is becoming increasingly under the president's personal command. What are you hearing from your
sources? And talk to us about what we're expecting today.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah Christina, this is something that is very likely to even come up in this case, and much of
the focus will be around the prosecutor here who leads the U.S. Attorney's Office that brought this case. The prosecutor who was appointed by
President Donald Trump just before this case and another case in that district, James Comey were both charged and personally took them through
the grand jury.
Her name is Lindsey Halligan, and what we -- the reason we know that this is going to focus, at least in the short term, on her, is because we know
Letitia James's team already wants to challenge Halligan's authority as the prosecutor. The top prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia for the
Justice Department.
[09:15:00]
And we also know that they are taking issue with some exchanges that Lindsey Halligan had with a journalist recently over the messaging platform
Signal. They have already gone to court and asked to cut off her ability and other prosecutors' ability in this case to make what called
extrajudicial statements, so basically contacting the media or commenting on the case in any way.
That's all on the table. But what is expected to happen today in court Christina? It's going to be much more perfunctory, very likely. It will be
Letitia James and her attorneys appearing facing the charges including bank fraud, including making false statements to a financial institution, she
will be told that what those charges are, what her rights are.
There may be some talk about when a trial would come, and then James is very likely to enter her pleading of not guilty. But this is a very
interesting case, one that is very different from what the prosecutors of the Justice Department typically would bring when it comes to the idea of
bank fraud.
What James is accused of doing here is when she applied for a mortgage five years ago for a home that she was buying in Norfolk, Virginia, she told the
banks it was her second home, but prosecutors say she shouldn't have done that, because she ended up renting it to family and got in -- got a
slightly better interest rate there that gave her the benefit of a few $1,000 over the life of the loan. Back to you.
MACFARLANE: We will continue to watch to see what happens in court today. Katelyn for now, appreciate it. Thank you. Now still ahead, President Trump
angrily halts trade talks with Canada over an advertisement featuring words from a Former U.S. President. Why Mr. Trump is calling the ad a fake?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. U.S. President Donald Trump says he's terminating trade talks with Canada after an advertisement was released by Ontario's
government featuring a speech by Former President Ronald Reagan. In the 1987 speech, Reagan criticized tariffs as hurting American workers and
consumers and triggering fierce trade wars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When someone says, let's impose tariffs on foreign imports, it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting
American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while, it works, but only for a short time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, the Ronald Reagan Foundation says the ad misrepresents the full speech, and in a social media post, President Trump called the ad
fake and announced the end of the talks. Well, last hour on CNN, a Democratic Congressman said President Trump's actions against Canada will
have a negative impact on his upcoming trade talks with China. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): I think that pushing away Canada is exactly the wrong move when we're trying to isolate the Chinese Communist
Party and trying to curb their aggression. I think that the president has important leverage with regard to China and that includes restrictions on
export controls, restrictions on exports of semiconductors, market access in the U.S.
[09:20:00]
As well as our partnerships with our friends, partners and allies like Canada. But when he pushes away, Canada imposes tariffs on them, he ends up
hurting our bargaining position with the Chinese, and he hurts Americans, including farmers in Illinois who are paying much higher costs for inputs
that they buy from Canada and other places.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Paula Newton is joining us from Ottawa. And Paula, this is pretty curious, isn't it? Not least because of what we just heard from the
House Democrat there, but because this ad wasn't fake, it was edited, and it came just a few weeks after Carney and Trump seemed to have a very
cordial sit down at the White House.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a couple of things here. What you touched on Christina? This touched a nerve with the president. And why?
Because Ronald Reagan is a conservative icon. That's all you have to know here, and in using his own words and invoking his own words, it was not
Mark Carney in Canada, but Doug Ford and the Province of Ontario that decided to take a message directly to Americans during the World Series.
The president even said that he saw the ad on Monday and he said it in a speech the day after that well, I wouldn't blame them for using it, but
it's not going to work. I think what is happening here, though, is that Donald Trump has not been happy with Canada using any kind of leverage
whatsoever against it. And for that reason, he decided that he was going to stop trade talks.
Now I will add Christina. Let's remember something he didn't also say that I'm lifting tariffs on Canada by 25, 30, 100 percent. So, that is at least
some progress. We do expect to hear from Mark Carney in the next hour. In fact, as he leaves for an international summit, Donald Trump will also be
there.
They were supposed to try and sit down and hammer out and finally sign some kind of agreement on steel and aluminum. It seems like that now won't
happen. What's interesting here, though, is, remember, this is not Mark Carney in Canada. This is Ontario and Doug Ford. What does that mean?
Mark Carney doesn't have any control over what Doug Ford does. Donald Trump doesn't have any control over what Governor Gavin Newsom does in
California. So right now, it will be interesting to see if Mark Carney can separate what the Province of Ontario did to what he's trying to do on the
trade file.
Just last week, Carney said again that, look, this is not the time for retaliation against the United States. It is time for talks. So, it'll see
if cool heads prevail here, or if not, there is no doubt, though, Christina that as many cards as Canada is holding, and it is holding several, not to
mention just critical minerals or rare earths.
But Canada's economy is incredibly vulnerable at this point in time, and antagonizing the president is likely not the best move.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, and it's no secret, of course, that Ontario have been hit particularly hard by this tariff war from the United States. Has Doug Ford
come out and said anything today, Paula, any words?
NEWTON: Yeah. So yeah, he hasn't said anything, but he did repost the entire speech of Ronald Reagan. Because again, the president said that it
was fake news, but what it was, was edited. And again, Ronald Reagan was actually talking in that speech about levying tariffs on Japan at the time
because he felt Japan was being unfair in trade.
So, the point about this foundation with Ronald Reagan and the Institute is saying, look, you took his words out of context. They are his words. Now,
look, Christina, I'm going to really age myself here. OK, as a young journalist in Ottawa, I was at a summit with Ronald Reagan and Brian --
MACFARLANE: Oh.
NEWTON: -- yes, I know. I can't believe I just did that on TV. And I can tell you Ronald Reagan was categorical. He was a free trader. And there is
no MAGA movement or conservative that is going to be able to run away from that post haste here. So, let's see where this goes.
But again, likely not a good move on the part of Ontario, even, even if Ronald Reagan's words should be taken --
MACFARLANE: And that --
NEWTON: -- you know, as a warning to American consumers.
MACFARLANE: And that is why we need journalists with experience Paula, who were there in the room, who can set the record straight. We appreciate it.
Thank you. Now back in the U.S., the Trump Administration wants to speed up building a network of centers across the country for detaining migrants.
And now CNN has learned that the Department of Homeland Security is funneling $10 billion through the Navy to help pay for it. A source
familiar with the project says construction of some of the facilities could begin next month.
Well, let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. San Francisco's Mayor insists sending the National
Guard into the city and ramping up on immigration enforcement could hinder the work local officials have already been doing to improve safety.
Daniel Lurie made the comments after he and the president separately announced that Trump had called off plans for a surge of federal resources
into San Francisco.
[09:25:00]
In Southern India fire killed at least 20 people on Friday after a bus and motorcycle collided in the Town of Kurnool. According to Reuters, officials
say it was sparked by a fuel leak following the crash. They say 21 of the 41 passengers were rescued, adding only 11 victims have been identified.
Alaska Airlines has resumed operations after an information technology problem forced hundreds of its flights to be grounded Thursday night. The
airline, which is the fifth largest in the U.S., according to its website, had a similar outage in July and one in 2024 after a systems upgrade.
OK still to come, a critical inflation report released in the last hour gives us a snapshot of how prices are trending for Americans. We'll bring
you the numbers just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines this hour. Watching
for a news conference from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. They've been meeting in London at the
UK's Coalition of the Willing Summit about boosting support for Ukraine. This comes after the EU failed to agree a deal to use frozen Russian assets
to help Kyiv.
U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio is in Israel, working to push the U.S. ceasefire and post war Gaza plan forward. Earlier today, he told reporters
that there was no Plan B, and acknowledged challenges ahead, including the formation of the international force to provide security in Gaza.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is expected to ask for the indictment lodged against her by the U.S. Justice Department to be
dismissed today in court. Her legal team is challenging the quote unlawful appointments of President Donald Trump's hand-picked prosecutor in the
case. James was indicted on felony charges of bank fraud and denies any wrong doing.
We are watching Tropical Storm Melissa crawl through the Caribbean. It has already killed three people in Haiti and brought flooding to the Dominican
Republic. But Jamaica is bracing for the brunt of the bad weather. The storm is forecast to become a category four hurricane this weekend, as it
slowly moves south of the island.
And ringing the opening bell today, Grayscale Investments, the firm's multi-asset Crypto Fund, which recently started trading on the New York
Stock Exchange.
[09:30:00]
And we're watching to see how Wall Street reacts to brand new U.S. inflation numbers out in the last hour. The latest consumer price report
that was delayed two weeks due to government shutdown, shows the cost of living has got even more expensive for Americans last month. Consumer
prices rose 0.3 percent in September, taking the annual rate of inflation to 3 percent that's the highest since January.
Let's discuss with Rana Foroohar CNN Global Economic Analyst and Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor, "The Financial Times". Great to
have you back on the show.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Great to be here.
MACFARLANE: So, let's start Rana with this new inflation data. As I said, two weeks late, better late than never I guess it's at 3 percent which I
think is slightly lower than what was anticipated. Can you just talk us through that number?
FOROOHAR: Yeah, absolutely. Expectations were that we were going to see 3.1 percent. We got 3 percent. What that does is it essentially opens the door
for the Fed to potentially do a rate cut. And you know, as you know, the Fed has really been sitting on a knife's edge in terms of, should we cut
rates, or is inflation just about to rise?
And we really need to get ahead of that, and we're going to hold, or even potentially think about raising rates. I think that this kind of a report,
particularly, you know, if you see the next one coming in at least modestly below expectations, it makes a strong case for a rate cut, maybe even a
couple of rate cuts.
And Wall Street's pretty excited about that. In fact, they've been pricing that in. It's one of the reasons that you saw gold going down the other
day. Gold tends to be an inflation hedge, and it had a big correction the other day. So, I think generally the bulls on the street are hoping we get
another cut, and that will tend to buy stocks, and the music will keep playing a little bit longer.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, and of course, the late release of this data has just made the job of deciding what to do for him. I think much harder. Can we
pivot to oil prices Rana, which jumped on Thursday over supply fears after the U.S. imposed sanctions on two Russian oil companies. Is that -- did you
see that as a momentary jolt, or could we see a more of an upward trend here?
FOROOHAR: Yeah, that's a great question Christina. I actually think we are going to see an upward trend for a couple of reasons. You know, there's a
kind of a technical relationship between gold and oil. When gold goes down, oil tends to go up. So, I do think that we're starting to see this sort of
parabolic shift there, but there's a deeper story here.
Some folks would argue that, you know, we're probably heading into a softening. We're due for a recession. Actually, we're overdue for recession
when you have slower demand that would tend to argue for lower oil prices. But if you look at the fact that in September, the International Energy
Agency had a big report saying, look, 80 to 90 percent of the large known reserves of oil around the world are tapped out.
We really are at peak oil. And so just looking at how long it takes new supply to come online, looking at how much investment that takes, all of
that's inflationary. So, I think it's pretty hard to argue that within the next 5 or 10 years, you're not going to see somewhat higher prices. Now, if
you were to get a major global slowdown, a major correction, we'll see but I think all things being equal, prices are going to rise.
MACFARLANE: We know, of course, at this time as well, that President Trump is preparing for a highly anticipated meeting with China's Xi Jinping next
week in South Korea. Relations between the White House and Beijing, I guess, can be described at best, as tempestuous at the moment. The markets
will either, I guess, jump for joy over this, or sink because there's so much at stake. How optimistic are you feeling?
FOROOHAR: Well, I think that you're right to call out the summit as a potential market moment. That's what I think we're going to see. This is
going to be a moment where even more than the words that are spoken, even more than any deals that we may hear about which could or couldn't change.
What is the energy coming from both sides? Is China coming in a little hesitant? Are they trying to work with Trump? Are they trying to negotiate?
Are they coming in strong and saying, look, we've got the carbs, we've got the rare earth minerals?
You know the fact that China has really, for the last 30 years, been developing these choke points where it has rein fends the commodity, rare
earths that everybody needs, for computers, for electronics, for fighter jets, for defense, for the clean energy transition.
[09:35:00]
It's looking pretty strong right now. It has choke points in pharmaceuticals. These are all things that we heard about during COVID.
They're now coming back into play. And I think Trump is realizing that, yeah, you can threaten tariffs all the time, but if you don't have some of
these key choke points that can really have an immediate effect, your position may not be as strong as you think.
Now, the one caveat is, I will say that Trump's sanctions on and pressure around Russian oil are beginning to have an impact on China and India. So,
sanctions still have power. And, you know, I don't think we're going to come out of this summit with anything that resembles normalcy. I think -- I
think it's going to be a show of strength, and it might be a tip as to who has the better hand of cards.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. And another, well, not really a market mover, perhaps, but still significant. I'd like to get your thoughts on President Trump has
managed to have another quarrel with Canada, this time over an advertisement. Let's just play a quick clip of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout the world, there's a growing realization that the weight of prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist
legislation and promoting fair and free competition. America's jobs and growth are at stake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: So just hours ago, you'll have seen Trump said he was terminating all trade talks with Mark Carney's government, which is rather
harsh, since you know the ad was the idea of the Ontario Province. So, I mean, what do you make of this? And how worried should Canadians be?
FOROOHAR: Well, you know, Canada does have more to lose in the sense that they send a lot more products to the U.S. than the U.S. is buying from
Canada. However, that said, I will say that Canadian lumber, Canadian energy, very important to the U.S.
Mark Carney is a very smart guy. He's just as tough as Trump, but he's very different than Trump. I mean, he really is a kind of an old school
mannered, we are going to do things by the rule's kind of guy. And he's clearly making a stand for trade, for globalization, for kind of, going
back to the 1990s.
This is not what Trump wants to hear. I think, you know, he's very wedded to other states, particularly a smaller economy like Canada behaving as a
vassal. That is not what Mark Carney is about. And I think he does have a few cards to play, because the Arctic is becoming very important to the
U.S.
Shipping pathways through Canadian seaways are becoming more important to the U.S. This is unfortunate, because, to be honest, Canada could be a
fantastic ally for the U.S. as it pivots, as the Trump Defense Department has said it wants to, to the West and to the North, away from the South
China Seas, ideally away from the Middle East.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, and we will wait to see what Mark Carney has to say about it. We're expecting a press conference in the next hour or so. But for now.
Rana Foroohar, we really appreciate your analysis as always. Thank you.
FOROOHAR: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: And we'll be back after this quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
MACFARLANE: The U.S. government shutdown will extend into next week as Senators leave Washington without a deal to end the stalemate. House
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he's willing to consider a bipartisan bill to pay federal workers during the shutdown.
Meanwhile, a number of Senators admit they're concerned about funding for federal food assistance running out. The White House says benefits for low-
income families could end within days in some states. Republican Senator Roger Marshall says a lot pregnant and breastfeeding women rely on the
programs. And he thinks the risk of a cut off is a good pressure point for Democrats.
As the shutdown goes on, it's also affecting veterans who depend on government services and departments. CNN's Brian Todd looks at the impact
of the shutdown on the Department of Veteran Affairs.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: VA Secretary Doug Collins is now warning that many veterans are starting to suffer as a result of the government
shutdown, and that more suffering could be felt in the coming days. Collins has already written a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,
imploring him to work with the Republicans toward ending the shutdown.
Roughly 30,000 of the VA's 470,000 employees are furloughed as a result of the shutdown. First, we can tell you the critical services at the VA that
the VA offers, which are not impacted by the shutdown. And it's important to point those out, because they are very critical.
All medical care is proceeding normally. That includes hospitals and clinics being open, doctors working, nurses on the job, everything there
fully operational, which is very crucial for veterans. In addition, suicide prevention services are still operational. The 24-hour Veterans Crisis
Hotline is also still operating, still operating normally there.
Education, disability and pension payments are continuing, but some of those payments are being given out by employees who themselves are not
being paid. That's according to Doug Collins. Burials are still going on at Veterans cemeteries. They're being done by people who are exempted, by
employees who are exempted from being furloughed.
Now here's what has been impacted, as far as the services that the VA offers, what has been impacted that the shutdown is affecting. VA regional
offices they're called VISMS. Those are places where veterans can go to get their questions answered about their benefits and their disability claims.
Well, those offices are closed right now. The GI Bill Hotline is not being staffed, and for service members leaving the military in need of vocational
counseling, those services are also not available. The cemeteries, according to Doug Collins, they can do some basic, excuse me, they cannot
do some basic maintenance, even though, as we mentioned, the burials are continuing.
But the basic maintenance of VA cemeteries has been pretty much paused during this shutdown. And of course, Doug Collins warning that more pain
could be felt ahead if both sides don't work together to end the government shutdown. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
MACFARLANE: Federal prosecutors have announced the indictments of a Hall of Fame NBA Coach and a current and former player. They say Portland Coach
Chauncey Billups lured people into rigged poker games that featured hidden cameras, X-ray tables and marked cards.
More than 30 others have also been indicted in the schemes, which authorities say are linked to mafia crime families. The Miami Heat's Terry
Rozier and former players Damon Jones, are accusing -- accused of fixing basketball games so betters could profit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA TISCH, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: They placed wagers on under, on players to score less rebound, less assist, less, using
information that was not yet public. In some instances, players altered their performance or took themselves out of games to make sure that those
bets paid out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Now prosecutors say scammers used a variety of techniques to cheat poker players out of tens of millions of dollars, including hidden
cameras X-ray tables and marked cards. Sal Piacente, who's an expert in exposing casino scouts and cheating, explain to CNN how some of it works.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAL PIACENTE, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSAL GAME PROTECTION DEVELOPMENT, INC: Well, let's talk about the X-ray table since you have that up. That's a table
that was designed for cheating. It has cameras underneath the table built in that can actually see through the felt. That way you can use legitimate
cards. They don't have to be marked anything special any deck, and you can see it.
[09:45:00]
And then that information will be transmitted to another player or another person who would relay that information back to the table. Now they also
have shuffle machines, the deck mate two that machine legitimately has a camera in it. That way, the shuffling machine could know every card that
was dealt, and can know if, know exactly, if any cards are missing and what that card is.
You can actually take that deck, put a deck of cards into that machine, and then that machine will sort this deck out in order. The cheaters, OK, the
cheaters. The cheaters took that camera and used it for their advantage. They hacked the machine where they can utilize that camera to know what
everybody is getting, and then that machine will actually transmit to the cheaters who's going to win.
If I put this deck right here, that looks like a regular deck of cards, if you ask yourself, what is that top card? Honestly, I can't tell you. But if
I put my contact lenses on, or if you're wearing these poker glasses, you'll be able to look right through that filter and see exactly what that
card is. It's very easy. This stuff's all available online.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Fascinating stuff. Now tropical storm Melissa is hovering over the Caribbean, and it's forecast to get stronger over the weekend. It could
create a dangerous situation for islands in its path, including Jamaica. Right now, it's dumping heavy rain on the Dominican Republic. Streets of
Santo Domingo have been turned into rivers with more on the situation there CNN's Jessica Hasbun is in the Dominican Republic.
JESSICA HASBUN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Tropical Storm Melissa continues its slow crawl across Central Caribbean. And according to the
U.S. National Hurricane Center, it is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane by late this weekend or early next week.
Its sluggish pace is worrying authorities, because it raises the threat of prolonged impacts, several days of heavy rainfall, damaging winds and life-
threatening flooding. Here in the Dominican Republic, Melissa is already having a serious impact. Several regions are under alert due to the risk of
flash flooding, overflowing rivers and line flights.
Rainfall has been concentrated in the south, where some communities are already affected. Here in the capital, the rain has been steady, and that's
a concern for officials, because the soil is saturated, and that's causing major flooding in different parts of the country.
The National Water Institute reports that more than half a million people are now without access to drinking water at sea, low visibility, small and
medium sized vessels are banned from living -- leaving port in the Caribbean because of these dangerous waves and the thunderstorms and that
poor visibility I just mentioned.
In neighboring Haiti, particularly along the Tiburon Peninsula, strong winds could persist for more than a day, according to the hurricane center.
And for Jamaica, the island is bracing for the storm. Conditions could be as early Friday or Saturday, with strong winds, flooding, landslides and
coastal surges. All are possible, according to authorities, who are urging people to act quickly to protect life and property.
And in Cuba, officials are also closely monitoring Melissa's trajectory, while calling all residents to stay alert to the latest advisories. Melissa
could intensify rapidly as you can see, the winds are pretty strong right now, and it's expected to intensify rapidly in the coming hours.
CNN will continue to track its path and its impact across the Caribbean. That's all for now. Jessica Hasbun, CNN, Santo Domingo.
MACFARLANE: More than a million Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh are facing a new crisis, hunger. When the U.S. slashed funding to international aid
groups, it left one of the world's most vulnerable populations with few options. CNN's Ivan Watson explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sophia Beebe (ph) is 13 months old, but hunger and illness leave her looking much
younger. Her mother feeds her baby ready to use therapeutic food, an emergency ration provided by the U.S. government.
[09:50:00]
I'm so grateful for this assistance Sophia's mother says, if they didn't send this money, how could we survive? That is an increasingly urgent
question here in the world's largest refugee camp. Around a million Rohingya Muslims have fled to this corner of Bangladesh over the last
decade, escaping ethnic cleansing in neighboring Myanmar that U.S. and U.N. experts have called acts of genocide.
An impoverished community of refugees, utterly dependent on international assistance, but that budget was dramatically cut this year. So far, the
U.N. says these refugees only got 37 percent of their annual budget.
JULIE BISHOP, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL ON MYANMAR: This is already having dire consequences for the Rohingya in camps with critical
cuts to their food rations and a sharp decline in access to education.
WATSON (voice-over): Each refugee in these crowded camps subsists on rations of $12 worth of food a month. But now aid workers are seeing more
children going hungry.
DEEPIKA SHARMA, UNICEF: More and more children are being detected with the severest form of malnutrition, and they are at a risk of mortality because
of that.
WATSON (voice-over): When aid money dries up that also affects access to health care and medicine. Mariam Khatun's family suffered unthinkable
tragedy earlier this year. In February, her seven-year-old daughter, Estafa (ph), suddenly got sick. She was rushed to a camp hospital, but within
three days, she was gone, cause of death, pneumonia and encephalitis. Her grieving mother blames a lack of health care.
MARIAM KHATUN, ROHINGYA REFUGEE: Big countries used to support us, we still need their help. My child died by the will of God, but the place where I
took her couldn't treat her properly. My child suffered and died in pain.
WATSON (voice-over): The U.S. has long been the world's biggest aid donor, but this year, the Trump Administration cut some $8 billion in
international assistance. Since then --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: We are going to take you right now to -- Mark Carney is speaking as he before he departs for his trip to Asia. Let's listen in.
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: We can't control the trade policy of the United States. We recognize that that policy has fundamentally changed
from the policy in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. And it's a situation where the United States has tariffs against every one of their trading partners to
different degrees.
And it's in that context that our officials, my colleagues, have been working with their American colleagues on detailed, constructive
negotiations, discussions on specific transactions, specific sectors, steel, aluminum and energy. And a lot of progress has been made.
And we stand ready to pick up on that progress and build on that progress when the Americans are ready to have those discussions, because it will be
for the benefit of workers in the United States, workers in Canada and families in both of our countries.
Now what we can control absolutely is how we build here at home, and that's the focus of budget 2025, generational investment here in Canada. And what
we can also control, or at least heavily influence, is developing new partnerships and opportunities, including with the economic giants of Asia,
which is the focus of this trip.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[09:55:00]
MACFARLANE: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking before he leaves to Kuala Lumpur for that Indo-Pacific Summit. Responding in part to Donald
Trump's moves to terminate all trade talks with Canada, saying he's still continuing to work on detailed, constructive progress with the U.S., saying
they are controlling what they can.
And we -- let's go now to Paula Newton, I believe is standing by. Paula, were you listening in there? Just give us your take on what you heard.
NEWTON: I was an incredibly sobering message there, but not really much different from what he has said in the last few weeks. It was actually at a
speech that he gave a couple of nights ago when, again, he spoke of this so-called rupture with the United States.
I think again, Christina, it's a sobering message, not just for Canada, but really for the world, including Europe, China, anyone who wants to make a
deal with the United States that the fact is, the United States is operating on a completely different plane when it comes to trading with
their country. It is sectoral, it is transactional, it is piecemeal.
And under those circumstances, Canada is vulnerable, but so are, to be frank, American consumers. Notwithstanding all of that, the prime minister
made clear that he is now headed to Asia, going to try and make something happen there, as well as continuing discussions with other allies, he is
not hitting back.
He refused to take questions and again underscoring that Donald Trump initiated what would be a freeze on negotiating any kind of a trade deal
because of what the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, did in that ad from Ronald Reagan. It did not come from the federal government. It did not come
from Mark Carney.
Mark Carney not choosing to speak to that directly. Again Christina, very sobering, and I think it is very clear to Canadians about where they stand
with this trading relationship and how much is at stake.
MACFARLANE: And we know Paula the Trump Administration, have posed some 35 percent levy on Canadian imports, as well as individual tariffs, of course,
on industries like car and steel manufacturing. How important is it then for Carney to forge new alliances out of this summit to reduce the
dependence on the United States, especially in light of what has just happened.
NEWTON: It is absolutely crucial, but it is only crucial in order to kind of soften the blow and look at new markets going forward in the next 2, 5,
10, years. The problem is Christina, no matter how much work this prime minister does now, all you have to do is look at a map and then look at the
economy.
These two countries, the United States and Canada you know, they're very large trading partners. And trade has been so easy for so many decades
between these two countries. So as much as he's there to sell Canada, sell Canadian products, sell Canadian resources. This is a tall order, and
Canadians will not feel the benefits of it for several years, at least.
MACFARLANE: And as we were talking earlier, Paula, I mean, all of this is really the spat. The most recent spat that's happened with Donald Trump has
been somewhat out of his hands. Obviously, this has been coming from the Province of Ontario.
And so, you know, Doug Ford has been speaking out about that today. I will wait to see if Mark Carney has anything more to say when he lands on the
other side in Asia. Of course, they'll be facing the press, so I'm sure there will be more to come. But for now, Paula, we will wait and see, and
appreciate you chipping in. Thank you.
And the second hour, I'll be back with the second hour of the show in just a few minutes -- actually, it's starting right now. Guys, stay with us. I'm
Christina Macfarlane in London. And we are also watching a UK Summit this hour that's all about supporting Ukraine as it fights off to hold Russian
forces ahead of the harsher, colder months.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in London at the Coalition of the Willing gathering right now, meeting with Britain's Prime Minister and other
European Leaders. Mr. Zelenskyy and Keir Starmer expected to talk to reporters later today. And on Thursday, the EU failed to agree a deal to
use frozen Russian assets to help Kyiv.
CNN's Nic Robertson is live for us now in Downing Street. So, Nic, just bring us up to speed with what's been discussed so far and what all of this
means for Ukraine?
ROBERTSON: Well, there was a bilateral meeting, initially, between President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Keir Starmer has said he
wants to make sure that Ukraine can be supported through the winter financially, also with the weapons that it needs to stop the Russian
attacks.
END
