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Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Lashing Jamaica, Landfall In Hours; Trump Visits U.S. Troops At Yokosuka Air Base; Japanese PM Takaichi Welcomes U.S. President Trump; Over 40M Americans On Verge Of Losing Critical Food Aid. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 28, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:32]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Brian Abel. Thank you very much for being with us. It's Tuesday, October 28th, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington, D.C.

And we will begin with that breaking news coming from Jamaica, which is bracing for a direct hit from what's already one of the strongest hurricanes ever in the Atlantic. The outer bands of category five hurricane Melissa are hitting the island now, and one of the biggest concerns is just how slowly this storm is moving, increasing the likelihood of life-threatening conditions as it starts to move ashore. Emergency responders on the island have already received reports of landslides and downed power lines.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center warns total structural failure is possible, particularly in higher elevations. Jamaica's health and wellness minister says three people have died while preparing for the storm, and another minister warns many more could die if official warnings are not heeded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEARNEL CHARLES JR., JAMAICAN MINISTER OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL SECURITY: It is very slow. It is very, very, very intense and that means the outcome may potentially be extreme devastation and danger. And I want to tell everyone who's listening, who's watching the evacuation order is not a suggestion. It is a directive and a directive to save your life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: And tracking the latest on this storm for us is CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar -- Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we just got the latest update here at the top of the hour. So, what we can tell you is that incredibly slow movement. The good news is has now doubled. It is now moving at five miles per hour, which unfortunately still isn't saying all that much given how slow it has been the last few days.

But even at five miles per hour, it's better than what we had. We are starting to see that pull to the north and east. That's what's going to slide it over portions of Jamaica, eventually over portions of eastern Cuba and eventually the Bahamas here over the next 24 to 36 hours.

It is still expected to maintain its category five strength as it crosses over the island of Jamaica, and then gradually begin to weaken as it pushes off to the north and east. By far, the biggest concern is certainly going to be the water component of this. You have a lot of water coming down because even though we've started to see it pick up speed at least a little bit, it's still moving incredibly slow, which means it has a lot of time to dump a tremendous amount of rain, not just over Jamaica, but even some of the surrounding countries as well.

Even portions of western Haiti still expected to pick up a significant amount of rain out of this system, even though they will be nowhere near the center of the storm.

You will notice a lot of red and pink color on the screen that indicates at least another 6 to 10 inches of rain. This is on top of what they've already had. So, while six to 10 inches may not sound like all that much, you have to understand that many of these places have already picked up half a foot of rain, and now, they're going to be doubling that here in just the next 12 to 24 hours.

Some of these spots could pick up as much as 20 inches of rain before the system finally exits. In addition to that, you're also looking at the wind component. A lot of these areas looking at wind gusts well in excess of 100 miles per hour, even for areas of Cuba and the Bahamas, which aren't necessarily going to see the storm as a category five when it makes landfall, its still going to be very strong. So the two of them are going to lead to some pretty significant impacts in the next 24 hours.

ABEL: All right. Allison Chinchar for us, Allison, thank you.

U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is celebrating a successful trip to Japan. Just a short time ago, he visited American troops aboard the USS George Washington. It is one of the final stops in the country before he leaves on Wednesday. President Trump also meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo earlier. The two leaders signed an agreement on critical minerals and rare earths and showered each other with praise.

We are covering all the angles of the president's trip to Japan. Hanako Montgomery is standing by for us in Tokyo, but first, let's bring in senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes.

And, Kristen, it seems like the partnership between these two countries has only grown more with this trip.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, absolutely. And that's kind of what we expected, particularly given who this prime minister is. She is a mentee of Shinzo Abe, who President Trump was incredibly close to his first term.

[05:05:01]

In fact, he's called Shinzo Abe one of the best friends that he had. And when you look back at the fact that President Trump was close to almost no world leaders his first term, it really shows you just how deep that relationship was.

And what we saw today was nothing short of that. He praised not only Abe, but the new prime minister, and said they believed he was going to be a great relationship. He also praised the alliance between the U.S. and Japan, and it was a clear flex of muscle.

As President Trump goes into this meeting at the end of his trip with Chinese President Xi, one of the interesting things we heard from President Trump, particularly when it comes to defense, was an announcement of U.S. missiles coming to Japan.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm delighted to report that I've just approved the first batch of missiles. You saw a couple of them coming down with me. I hugged them. We need them. They're the best in the world. Nobody has them like we have them.

They all want our missiles. That's the problem. Everybody wants them.

But it's the first batch of missiles to be delivered to the Japanese self-defense forces for Japan's F-35s. And they're coming this week, so they're ahead of schedule.

So, I just want to tell, Madam Prime Minister, they've been waiting for those missiles, and we got them here right away.

(END VIDOE CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, a couple of other things to note. They also agreed to a free and open and clear Indo-Pacific. This idea that this was not sovereign territory, that is in direct really in the face of China, who in recent years has tried to claim sovereign territory over the Indo-Pacific. In addition, they signed a rare minerals deal which is very important to President Trump as he's trying to get the U.S. to be less dependent on China for these rare earths.

All of this to say, this has gone not unnoticed by us as we've been reporting on it, obviously, how close the two seemed, how strong the bond seemed, but also by China. We also just saw a statement from the foreign ministry spokesperson, essentially urging Japan to maintain and respect the security concerns of their neighbors.

So, a direct response, China having to what they are seeing as well, which of course, is what President Trump wanted in this situation.

ABEL: All right, Kristen Holmes, along with the president's trip in Japan for us.

Let's now go to Hanako Montgomery, also in Tokyo for us.

So, Kristen gave us kind of the breakdown of what this meeting means for the United States. But what about Japan, Hanako?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Brian, this meeting was really a test to see whether or not the two leaders had chemistry for the Japanese side. And it's clear, judging from the events that we saw unfold today, that they do, they have a very good personal relationship. We saw that on display during their first bilateral summit earlier on Tuesday, where they exchanged a lot of compliments, a lot of praise for one another.

And we also saw that at the Yokosuka navy base. And I do want to note here, Brian, that it was very interesting. Takaichi joined Trump on Marine One, on Trump's helicopter. Now, this is really rare for foreign leaders to actually do this. But again, just symbolically, it shows how close the two leaders have gotten in just a matter of hours.

Now at Yokosuka navy base, both of them gave some remarks to troops. And Takaichi mentioned just how close the U.S. and Japan are hoping to be in the next few months and in the next few years. Give this a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANAE TAKAICHI, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER: Japan and the United States will advance together. With our sails raised high across a free and open sea, and I am very confident that the sea routes from Yokosuka will make our bond even stronger and stronger and bring our two nations on the path to a shining future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MONTGOMERY: Now, there's also a video that I think we have here, Brian, that I want to show you where Trump again praises Takaichi and says that, you know, she's a formidable woman, someone who is very powerful and praises her for making history in Japan as the first female prime minister. And when he compliments her, Takaichi puts her fist up in the air, pumps her fist up in the air, and does a little spin around.

So again, just the optics of this meeting just goes to show how close the two have gotten. Now, also at the Yokosuka navy base, Brian, Trump mentioned that Toyota, Japan's largest carmaker, was going to develop more automobile manufacturing and factories abroad in the United States to the tune, quote, of 10 billion U.S. dollars.

So again, its not just about the sort of political fanfare and the theater that we're seeing here, but also really a lot of economic and defense commitments as well to strengthen the U.S., alliance, Brian.

ABEL: And, Hanako, you mentioned how rare it is for a foreign leader to be on marine one. Also rare seeing the reaction from a foreign leader alongside President Trump on stage like that. [05:10:02]

Hanako Montgomery for us in Tokyo, thank you.

We will have much more on Hurricane Melissa still ahead, including a look at the impacts already being felt in Jamaica.

Plus, as lawmakers spar over who's to blame for the weeks long U.S. government shutdown, millions of Americans worry about how they're going to feed their families and pay their bills. Here's why things could soon get worse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW HOLNESS, JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER: I don't believe there is any infrastructure within this region that could withstand a category five storm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:15:00]

ABEL: That was the Jamaican prime minister with an ominous warning about the devastation still to come from Hurricane Melissa.

And here is a look inside the eye of the category five storm. The strongest on the planet this year, and now even more intense than Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005.

Melissa is lashing Jamaica right now with top sustained winds around 175 miles an hour. Landfall on the island's southwestern coast is expected in a matter of hours, and the big concern is just how slow Melissa is moving. That's increasing the chances of life-threatening conditions.

Meanwhile, we are now nearly a month into the U.S. government shutdown and an ominous deadline is just around the corner. Unless a deal is made before Saturday, more than 40 million people across the country will lose access to the critical SNAP food assistance program. Republicans and Democrats in Congress continue to blame each other for the stalemate. The Republicans, they've been pushing for a short-term measure to reopen the government for a few weeks now.

But Democrats, they are standing firm on their demand for an extension of health care subsidies. First, before agreeing to any such Republican plan. Caught in the middle of all of this, the many government employees who are not getting paid and the millions of families who depend on food stamps to eat. Now, one Republican senator is calling on her colleagues to stay in Washington and get a deal done.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): We just kind of feels like business as usual. And yet it is so not business as usual. We're pretending that everything is okay. We're pretending that people are not being impacted by this shutdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: The government shutdown has left part of Arizona with no representation in Congress. Adelita Grijalva won a special election back on September 23rd to replace her late father, Representative Raul Grijalva. But now, more than a month later, she still hasn't been sworn in and she's locked out of federal systems and even email until the shutdown ends.

CNN's Steve Contorno has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEMONSTRATORS: Swear her in!

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER (voice-over): Voters here elected Democrat Adelita Grijalva over a month ago to replace her late father, but they're still waiting for their voice in Washington.

CONTORNO: What is it like not having a representative at this moment?

DOUG HAYDEN, DEMOCRATIC VOTER: It's frustrating because it's something that should be just a given. And for them to kind of hold us hostage to get what's going on, it's political baloney.

CONTORNO (voice-over): Arizona's 7th district spans 300 miles of desert along the U.S.-Mexico border. It's home to an air force range, a major university, and a large veterans hospital.

CONTORNO: It's the middle of the day and we're walking up on what is the Tucson district office, a black ribbon for the late congressman. But the office is closed and actually there's a sign saying to contact the senators instead.

CONTORNO (voice-over): Grijalva says she thinks Republicans are stalling her swearing in because she would be the final House member needed to push for a floor vote to release the Epstein files.

HAYDEN: If Donald is innocent, why wouldn't he want them totally out?

CONTORNO (voice-over): Republican Daniel Butierez lost to Grijalva in the September special election and said he would have also voted to release the files.

DANIEL BUTIEREZ (R), FORMER CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: I just think that's just a talking point.

CONTORNO (voice-over): He argued the district hasn't had representation for the past two years, noting the hundreds of votes Grijalva's father missed while undergoing cancer treatment.

BUTIEREZ: The fact is, Grijalva was physically incapable of representing Arizona and he should have stepped down. He didn't. So why didn't anybody care then?

CONTORNO (voice-over): Machine shop owner and Republican voter Jerry Ward said the lack of representation doesn't concern him yet.

JERRY WARD, REPUBLICAN VOTER: We're not going to have much of a voice, I don't think, under Grijalva as a Republican. But, you know, she definitely needs to get her seat. And if she be -- if she's patient, it will happen.

CONTORNO (voice-over): But it's not just about politics. Some say they no longer have access to the help they need.

RACHEL WILSON, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: Here I am paying taxes to the federal government. Not only is it closed, but I don't have a representative either.

CONTORNO (voice-over): Rachel Wilson is an immigration attorney who typically contacts the congressional office weekly for federal assistance. We listened as she tried calling the local district office.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, this is --

CONTORNO (voice-over): It went to voicemail. She then called the D.C. Office.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please call our Tucson office.

WILSON: Call the Tucson office.

CONTORNO: We just tried calling the Tucson office.

WILSON: Yes, yes. And the thing is, I mean, we can -- our senators are helpful as well, but they don't know our district like the Grijalvas do.

CONTORNO (voice-over): Grijalva has an office in Washington, but she says she lacks resources to help constituents back home. Only in recent days does she get a government e-mail instead relying on less secure technology.

[05:20:01]

REP. ADELITA GRIJALVA (D-AZ), REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT: We're using texts and Signal and Google Chat.

CONTORNO (voice-over): Speaker Mike Johnson says he'll swear her in when the House comes back in session and reopens the government. Until then, she can't vote and she says she needs to be escorted around certain parts of Capitol Hill.

GRIJALVA: I am basically a tourist with an office in D.C.

CONTORNO (voice-over): Steve Contorno, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ABEL: Over to the White House now.

There's plans for a major shakeup of its immigration enforcement in response to lagging arrest totals. The administration says it has deported half a million undocumented immigrants since the start of President Trump's second term. That figure includes people who were turned back at the border or ports of entry, and who never lived in the U.S. those numbers, they are falling far short of the administration's goal of a million deportations a year. Plans are underway to reassign at least a dozen directors of ICE offices that senior officials believe are underperforming.

And as the government shutdown drags on, U.S. airports are reporting more and more air traffic control problems. The facility that controls flights, landing and taking off from Las Vegas was short staffed until just a few hours ago. It is one of eight Federal Aviation Administration facilities that suffered shortages on Monday.

There have been more than 270 reports of understaffing since the shutdown began. That's been causing delays at airports across the country, and it will likely get worse. Today is the day controllers are set to miss their first full paycheck since the deadlock began.

We are keeping an eye on Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm of the year, as it is inching towards Jamaica. The latest developments from the region, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:26:15]

ABEL: Here is a look into the eye of one of the most powerful storms to ever form in the Atlantic. The U.S. Air Force Reserve crew, known as the Hurricane Hunters, capturing this footage as they flew through Hurricane Melissa on Monday. The crew made multiple passes through the storm to collect critical information for the National Hurricane Center, and Melissa is due to make landfall in southern Jamaica in the coming hours. While other islands in the Caribbean are also bracing for the impacts.

So, let's go to Jamaica now. Joining us from Kingston is Michael Taylor, a professor of climate science at the University of the West Indies.

Michael, thank you for being with us.

First, how are you holding up and how are you writing this out?

MICHAEL TAYLOR, DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, UWI: We are doing our best to hold to ride this out. One of the things is that we've been preparing for this for -- from about a week now. And so there is a real mental fatigue. There's anxiety, there's nervousness, certainly amongst, you know, my own family.

But across the population. But we're riding it out. I am, in a concrete, you know, home with a -- with a slab roof which gives you some -- some kind of feeling of security. You know, that's not the case with everybody, however, so that's a big challenge.

ABEL: Yeah. Michael, with this being the strongest storm this year, what about it from your scientific perspective, are you most curious to see play out?

TAYLOR: Well, I'm not sure about -- I don't know if we even want to see play out, but the things about it, you know, in terms of science, for me are the slow speed. And I think that's what's making it so devastating, you know, or creating the greatest worry. This is a storm that has really been going very slow, which is what has caused it to hang around for almost, you know, a week. And because it's so slow, of course, as it moves over, if that slow speed continues, it's going to dump a whole lot of rain. You know, catastrophic rain is projected on the country.

There's a greater opportunity for that storm surge to push inland. And of course, the landslide potential, because Jamaica has a strong, hilly interior. So, the very slow speed is one of the scientific, you know, I would say curiosities for us. But, of course, it's a massive storm. So, its size as well. It's going to cover the entire Jamaica. So we're going to have multiple hazards and risks at the same time. And of course, just the strength.

ABEL: And we know at the top of the hour, our Allison Chinchar says that the storm has doubled in speed, but that's still only about five miles per hour. So still very slow.

TAYLOR: That's right.

ABEL: We talk about the potential devastation. Can you give us a sense for those who may have never been to Jamaica, a sense of the infrastructure there and its ability to withstand a storm like this.

TAYLOR: So, certainly, depending on where you are in Jamaica, we have, you know, the capital, Kingston.

And there are other major cities, and we have lived through, through storms in the past. Never one like this, but certainly even coming out of very last year, we had a the last major one of this kind of strength, but not this was in was Gilbert in '88. Infrastructure has -- there have been improvements in infrastructure all geared around trying to be resilient. And that would be largely in the capital cities, of course.

Of course, when you move out, there are informal settlements which are less, less secure. And then places where people live also pose significant kind of damage. But they, you know, the critical infrastructure the utilities have done their best to be resilient. So that would be water, light, you know, internet abilities. It's a mixed -- it's mixed across the country, as you would expect.