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One World with Zain Asher
Next Hour, Trump Meets With Zelenskyy; The She-Cession, Why Women are Leaving the Workforce; Students Throw Principal a Surprise Wedding. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired October 17, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[12:00:00]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome to the second hour of One World. I am Zain Asher.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: You know, look it's only a feel. That's all I've done in my whole life. I've made deals. I know about deals. I do it
well.
GOLODRYGA: And then next hour, President Trump will meet with the Ukrainian president at a pivotal moment in that country's war.
ASHER: Plus, the she-cession is upon us. American women are leaving the labor force at some of the highest rates in history. Later this hour, we'll
tell you why.
Also ahead --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
GOLODRYGA: An incredible sight, a group of school kids planned a surprise wedding for their principal, and the moment she found out is just
priceless. The best video of the day, later this hour.
ASHER: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I am Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You're watching the second hour of One World.
And in the next hour, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be arriving at the White House to sit down with U.S. President Donald Trump.
He will be trying to convince President Trump to supply Ukraine with long- range Tomahawk cruise missiles.
ASHER: These weapons would give Kyiv the ability to strike deep inside Russian territory. The Ukrainian say a potential sale of the missiles to
Kyiv forced Mr. Putin to speak to Trump yesterday, a phone call that lasted over two hours.
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TRUMP: Do you mind if I gave a couple of thousand tomahawks to your opposition? I did say that to him. I said it just that way. He didn't like
the idea. He really did like the idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: President Trump says the pair did however agree to meet face- to-face in Budapest, Hungary, a meeting he says could happen within the next couple of weeks. But Vice President J.D. Vance doesn't seem to be
holding his breath for a breakthrough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Eventually you have to have the two parties who are willing to cut a deal. And right now, for all of our work,
and we're going to keep on working at it, the Russians and the Ukrainians are just not at the point where they can make a deal. I do think that we
will eventually get there, but it's going to take a lot more work because I think as we learned, the parties started so far apart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House. And interesting that we have the vice president sort of playing down any expectations out of
this potential meeting in Budapest in the next couple of weeks. Also notable that the president, unlike leading up to the meeting in Alaska,
which had been sort of planned and announced last-minute, is sending some of his top diplomats prior to his meeting with President Putin. Talk to us
about how this came together.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. I mean there's a couple things. One, I think the reason that this call happened is, of course,
because of Zelenskyy visit to the White House. He's set to arrive here in just an hour now, Bianna and Zain. But a part of it was also what the
president had been saying about those Tomahawk cruise missiles that you mentioned, those long range missiles that had the ability to go into
Russia, strike parts of Russia that the Ukrainians have not been able to do thus far.
That is what in my conversations with people throughout the Trump administration, but also I know Zelenskyy aides and officials are saying
this as well, they believe the threat of those Tomahawks is what actually forced Putin to come back to the negotiating table and to pick up the phone
and call President Donald Trump himself.
Now, during that phone call, I know from conversations were or sources, I should say, familiar with that conversation, they told me essentially that
the president did not say or completely rule out Tomahawk missiles, giving those to Ukraine and providing them to Ukraine. But he's also not expected
to offer them to Ukraine or commit to offering them to Ukraine in his meeting with Zelenskyy today.
And this is a big deal because, again, this is part of the reason that we think Putin even wanted to get on the phone with Donald Trump to try and
buy himself more time, but also because we have now heard from the Russians that they believe this would be a completely -- this would add a completely
different dynamic to the America's role in the war between Russia and Ukraine. And that's in part because these are U.S.-made weapons, but also
many believe that Americans would likely need to be the ones operating them.
[12:05:02]
It may not be, you know, boots on the ground type of situation, but perhaps American contractors, things like that. And that's something Putin said
will just absolutely change the the relationship that Russia has with the United States.
But to take a step back to your big other question just about, you know, having these Secretary Rubio, the secretary of state, but also other U.S.
officials, go and meet with the Russians prior to that meeting between Putin and Trump in Budapest. That's important because, of course, they want
to lay the groundwork for that meeting. But also they recognized that the Alaska summit, when Trump last met face-to-face with Putin didn't really go
well. There was a lot of expectations. The president himself had kind of raised the expectations for what he believed he would be able to get Putin
to agree to. And then, of course, we saw none of that actually happen in the weeks after that meeting.
And so they're trying to lower expectations. And also, you know, not much has changed between now and when Putin and Trump had last met. And so all
of this, of course, in a fragile state, all of these discussions are going to be continuing today when Zelenskyy arrives at the White House
momentarily. And there is an opportunity for, you know, them to strategize as well about what exactly they are looking to get out of that summit and
whether or not President Donald Trump is willing to try and give Ukraine more of the weapons and defense systems that they are looking for to try
and change the tide of this war.
GOLODRYGA: All right, and that meeting between President Trump and Zelenskyy expected in less than an hour's time.
Alayna Treene, thank you.
ASHER: All right. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, has left a Maryland courthouse after pleading not
guilty at his arraignment.
GOLODRYGA: Bolton was indicted on Thursday, charged with 18 counts of storing and sharing classified information. He's the third high-profile
Trump adversary to be indicted in less than a month. Bolton is accusing Trump of a presidential abuse of power.
ASHER: Now, Katelyn Polants joins us live now outside the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland. So, as Bianna was just mentioning, eight
counts of transmission of national defense information, ten counts of retention of national defense information. He's pleaded not guilty, he's
left the courthouse. Walk us through at more we know.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the proceeding today was quite short, under 20 minutes. It was the first
opportunity for John Bolton to go before a federal judge, understand he had a good handle on what he was charged with and what the potential
consequences would be if he were convicted. It's ten years maximum sentence in prison. And with John Bolton in court today, he was able to say he's not
guilty and this sets us off into the road toward a trial.
Now, Bolton didn't speak much other than that, telling the judge he was not guilty and telling the judge that he understood what his rights were, what
the indictment said, but Bolton has provided statements, so has his lawyer, publicly yesterday after this indictment came down.
Now, he's charged with essentially taking information he was learning when he was national security adviser, making notes to himself, getting them on
personal accounts, email accounts, into Word documents, into other messaging platforms, sending them to his family members or keeping them for
himself, even having printouts in his home, what he called in various text message prosecutors have shown in court or have put in the indictment, they
call that -- he was calling them diaries. That is what he is facing.
So, at this time, he and his lawyer, they're going to begin to get evidence in this case moving forward and they do say already that these are personal
diaries. This was unclassified material.
The next time Bolton will be in court, it will be at the end of November, just before Thanksgiving, and that will be before the federal district
judge that will see this case or oversee it to trial on his release. He doesn't have many conditions on him, so he's going to be able to move about
the world as normal, although he won't be able to travel abroad without permission, and he did have to hand over his passport today.
That next appearance, we don't have a trial date yet, but at the next appearance, that's very likely when a trial date would come into play and
be set by the judge.
ASHER: All right. Katelyn Polantz live us there, thank you.
All right, David Weinstein is a former state and federal prosecutor and a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. He
joins us live now from Miami. David, thank you so much for being with us.
Just explain to us how this particular case against John Bolton differs from other high-profile cases that we've seen involving classified
information, including Trump's, Mike Pence's, Hillary Clinton's, Joe Biden as well.
DAVID WEINSTEIN, FORMER STATE AND FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, Zain, this one centers on his notes and recollection of what he heard and then his
transcribing them to contain what the government says is classified information. That's one bucket of charges. And then the other is his
transmitting of these same documents to people over an unsecured channel and that they contain that same information.
[12:10:04]
Now, what makes it different from the other three cases you talked about is we're not going to see the actual documents themselves. We're not going to
see those cover pages with the red and the highlights on it, and saying that this is a particularly classified document.
And then with regard to that case as well, as you know, Pence and Hillary Clinton and Biden, there was no request at this point that's included in a
charge in the indictment. Give us back the documents. In fact, it says that they asked for them and they got some of the documents back, meaning his
notes. So, that's what makes them the same and that's what makes them a little bit different.
GOLODRYGA: We know that Bolton is already calling this political retribution by President Trump. Critics of Trump, as Zain has noted, have
seen the Justice Department in an unusual way target them, James Comey being the latest that has been charged, obviously, the attorney general in
New York as well.
Is there evidence to suggest though that this case is different from those, that these charges are indeed warranted? I mean, unlike those cases, career
prosecutors are the ones that brought these indictments forward. Just walk us through the difference.
WEINSTEIN: Well, there is a difference. In those two other cases that you mentioned, they were very short, non-speaking indictments. They were, from
what it appeared, quickly pushed through a grand jury. There was not a lot of extensive investigation leading up to it. With this case, we've seen
that a search warrant was executed, that documents were collected, and we have a very, very much speaking indictment where the government lays out
exactly what they knew, when they knew, and then what Bolton knew, how they can prove criminal intent, his knowledge of working with classified
documents, the fact that they looked and didn't include anything that was in his book as charges in this indictment.
But the proof of the pudding is going to be in the making. They're going to have to show that these documents that he retained that he says are his
diary do in fact contain the exact words, or pretty close to the exact words, of whatever secret classified documents he was looking at, and then
now appear in these records. So, it's going to be a case where the words matter.
ASHER: All right, David Weinstein, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: Well, now to Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented migrants in the U.S. and the pushback against it.
ASHER: Illinois State Police arrested several people today at a protest outside a controversial immigrant detention facility near Chicago.
Increasingly, larger crowds have been gathering at the facility on Fridays and Sundays, and it appears the crowd today moved into an area that was out
of bounds for protest. The protesters say they were being peaceful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not really in danger of being deported or being arrested if I had darker skin, or any -- you know, anything else. Like how
traumatizing would that be? We're here peacefully protesting. There are people in kind of costumes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: On Thursday, immigration agents arrested a man who had been serving as a police officer in the Chicago suburb. They say he entered the
U.S. illegally a decade ago. The mayor of the city where the man was employed says that if he is allowed to stay in the U.S., the city will
reinstate him to the police force.
ASHER: Anger over Trump's migrant crackdown has been -- has a growing number of people actively working to block immigration agents.
GOLODRYGA: One such incident was captured on video in a neighborhood outside of Portland, Oregon. Hillsboro has a Hispanic population of over
25,000. And residents say they won't let federal officers bring fear to their community.
Makenna Marks of CNN affiliate KPTV has the story.
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KARIM DELGADO, HILLSBORO, OREGON RESIDENT: Ultimately, I think it's our philosophy that the good people in this community outnumber these invaders.
MAKENNA MARKS, KPTV REPORTER (voice over): Around 9:30 Monday morning, Karim Delgado's wife heard from a local ICE monitoring group that agents
spotted in Hillsboro. When she arrived to the area in her truck, she saw two vans with what appeared to be federal agents inside.
Quickly, she started reporting on her phone and used her truck to block one of the vans from leaving.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can play. My car's bigger than yours.
MARKS: The woman's husband, Karim Delgado, later arrived to the scene and immediately approached the van in the middle of the street. Delgado says
the alleged agents lied about their identities.
DELGADO: When I asked them, you know, if they like who they were they said, police, and I said, are you Hillsboro P.D.? And then they said, yes.
And then when I asked them to show me their identification, they very like quickly flashed their badge at me. And the badge was actually Border
Patrol.
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MARKS: Within minutes, Delgado says about eight neighbors had come out onto the street. You can see multiple people recording the van in this
video.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's ICE. Please help me record. Get behind them if you have a car.
MARKS: Delgado says, both vans were ultimately able to drive away, but at least one of them had to drive up into this area outside an apartment
building. Delgado tells me he, his wife, and the group of neighbors acted without a plan, but felt like they had to step in.
DELGADO: We saw an opportunity to be able to disrupt what for them seemed to be a very comfortable position because they had been here so many times
before. You know, sometimes just taking up their time is the difference between them being able to detain, you know, a working father or mother.
MARKS: A video of the incident has been posted to social media and now Delgado says he hopes it inspires other communities to take action when
they can.
DELGADO: My hope is that them seeing a situation like this where the community successfully deterred them from being able to detain somebody
that they are inspired by that community action to then recognize that they are capable of the same thing in their communities.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Reporter Makenna Marks reached out to Border Patrol officials to ask if their officers lied about being local police in this incident. At
last check, they had not responded to her question.
ASHER: All right, still to come here on One World --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARAB BARGHOUTI, SON OF PROMINENT PALESTINIAN PRISONER MARWAN BARGHOUTI: I'm sending this message to the Trump administration and to international
and western governments. What are you waiting for?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: -- son of prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti is condemning western governments over the ongoing treatment of his father.
The latest allegations against Israeli authorities, just ahead.
Plus --
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DEBRA MESSING, ACTRESS AND ACTIVIST: You can be pro-Palestinian and pro- Israel at the same time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: -- what Hollywood is saying now after a cease by agreement has been made in the Middle East.
And Pope Leo is expected to do something no Pope has done since the 1500. Details on a historic visit coming up,
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GOLODRYGA: Prominent Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti was allegedly beaten by Israeli police guards this month -- prison guards, that is.
Barghouti's son tells us his father was beaten unconscious while being transferred between detention centers, according to the accounts of
recently freed Palestinian detainees. Israeli authorities have denied that claim.
[12:20:10]
ASHER: Barghouti is the former West Bank leader of the Fatah party and was jailed in 2002 for planning attacks that killed five civilians during the
second Palestinian intifada. He has denied the allegations and is considered the most popular political figure in the occupied Palestinian
territories. His name had been at the top of Hamas' list of detainees that wanted released, but Israel refused.
Barghouti's son has a message to western governments regarding his father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARGHOUTI: I'm sending this message to the Trump administration and to international and western governments. What are you waiting for? This is a
man who is my father, who has been calling for the two-state solution, who has been calling for coexistence, who is the most popular Palestinian
leader, and he's been targeted, but where is his protection? It's unbelievable to see all of this, and only silence from western governments
on this.
My father can bring and gather all the Palestinian people, and he has the credibility and the track record to do so towards a political solution, a
political vision that is accepted by everyone in especially the international community. And this is why I truly don't understand the
silence regarding his, you know, targeting and assault and so on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: You can catch the full interview in the next hour on Amanpour.
GOLODRYGA: In Hollywood, which has been long outspoken about the war in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire, now that there is a ceasefire in place, what
are the celebrities saying now?
Our Elizabeth Wagmeister joins us from Los Angeles with more. And, Elizabeth, for months now we have heard from prominent actors, celebrities
from around the world protesting and calling for a ceasefire, demanding some even boycotting of Israel. Now that a ceasefire is in place, they
don't appear to be as active. What are you hearing from your reporting?
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That is correct. And, look, ever since October 7th, 2023, as you said, this has been a hot
button issue in Hollywood. You have had stars who have been dropped from projects, who have been dropped from agencies for making their stances
public. And even with the ceasefire, the war in Hollywood has not slowed down in any way, Bianna.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (BLEEP) and free Palestine.
WAGMEISTER (voice over): From Hacks Star Hannah Einbinder on the Emmy stage --
JAVIER BARDEM, ACTOR: What we are witnessing is a genocide.
WAGMEISTER: -- to Javier Bardem on the red carpet, many celebrities have used their platforms to oppose the war in Gaza.
MESSING: You can be pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel at the same time.
WAGMEISTER: Debra Messing is among those in Hollywood who've been vocal in support of Israel and is now calling out other celebrities in the wake of
the ceasefire deal.
After two years of screaming ceasefire now, she wrote on Instagram, it is clear that was never the issue. Messing reposted a statement calling it,
quote, obvious that it's only about terrorizing Jews.
On the day of the ceasefire agreement, Aaron Foster, creator of Netflix's Nobody Wants This, called out what she perceived as Hollywood silence,
reposting, quote, I'm not sure why everyone is being so utterly quiet today, but there's a deal in place that will finally bring peace to
Palestinians.
Roughly 500 artists, including Mark Ruffalo and Cynthia Nixon, signed the Artist for Ceasefire petition, which called for an end to Israel's war in
Gaza, which was launched after the October 7th massacre by Hamas.
HEN MAZZIG, SENIOR FELLOW, TEL AVIV INSTITUTE: Celebrities shouldn't turn real wars into branding exercises.
WAGMEISTER: Hen Mazzig of the Tel Aviv Institute has counsel pro-Israel celebrities. He says they feel the ceasefire has only deepened the
Hollywood divide.
MAZZIG: Now when the war is ending, they're looking for their friends. They're looking left and right, and no one is there with them. No one is
willing to say this very basic. You know, we're not looking for anyone to go down with an Israeli flag. They just want solidarity.
WAGMEISTER: Artists for Ceasefire released this statement after the ceasefire deal, calling it a heartening moment of relief while calling out
Israel's bombing an intentional starvation of Palestinian civilians and demanding the enforcement of international law against all responsible
parties.
It did acknowledge the loss of Israeli life on October 7th and concluded with the call for lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
For his part, Ruffalo has focused on Palestinians since the ceasefire, reposting here a call for new homes and clean water while continuing to
criticize Israel.
[12:25:00]
He has not acknowledged the release of the Israeli hostages this week on social media.
MAZZIG: If those celebrities gave even 1 percent of their activism to calling out Hamas, as they do call out Israel on a daily basis, I believe
that the ceasefire would've happened much earlier on.
WAGMEISTER: Before the ceasefire, nearly 4,000 Hollywood artists signed a pledge to boycott any Israeli film institution that is implicated in
genocide of the Palestinian people.
BARDEM: I cannot work with somebody that's justify or support the genocide. I can't.
WAGMEISTER: Paramount rejected the boycott, saying, silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not advance the cause of
peace. Warner Brothers, which shares a parent company with CNN, called the boycott a violation of this policy. While we respect the rights of
individuals and groups to express their views, we will continue to align our business practices with our policies and the law.
TATIANA SIEGEL, EXECUTIVE EDITOR OF FILM AND MEDIA, VARIETY: I think that everyone is looking at the film festivals moving forward, are they going to
continue with this soft cancelation of Israeli filmmakers, which has been going on for two years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WAGMEISTER (on camera): Now, I reached out to the organization Artists for Ceasefire asking for an interview to talk about next steps for the
organization now that a ceasefire is in place. They declined to do an interview. I also asked them about the executions that we have seen carried
out this week in Gaza by Hamas, and they did not respond to that question.
ASHER: All right. Elizabeth Wagmeister live for us there, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: Thank you, Elizabeth.
ASHER: All right, British royalty will soon be heading to the Vatican.
GOLODRYGA: King Charles and Queen Camilla will meet Pope Leo next week in a visit seen as a sign of close in Catholic and Anglican ties. The king and
the pope will pray together in the Vatican Sistine Chapel, making it the first joint prayer, including a British monarch and Catholic pope since
1534.
ASHER: All right. We are moments away from a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. After
the break, we hear from ordinary Russians and Ukrainians about the state of the war.
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GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to One World. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher.
About an hour from now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the possibility of the U.S.
providing Kyiv with powerful long-range Tomahawk missiles that could strike deep inside Russian territory.
GOLODRYGA: On Thursday, Trump and the Russian president agreed to a surprise second summit in Budapest that could come in as little as two
weeks. Mixed feelings from both Russians and Ukrainians on these talks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRIGORY, MOSCOW RESIDENT: God willing, everything will end peacefully and perhaps even the special military operation will come to its logical
conclusion. May its goals be achieved by both our side. Well, mostly by our side. And may the Ukrainian side finally cease participating in this
senseless military clash.
OKSANA GOLDSHTEIN, MARIUPOL, UKRAINE RESIDENT: Unfortunately, I don't believe that anything from this meeting will be good for us, for
Ukrainians, because Trump says something like a plan and then does the opposite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Time now for the exchange. Joining us is the president and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis, Alina Polyakova. Alina, good to
see you.
So, once again, Putin knows how to, at least short-term, checkmate the situation. This had been something of an advantage for President Zelenskyy
in terms of this meeting at the White House, and lo and behold, a phone call two days before potentially usurps whatever can come out of today's
meeting. It does seem that Tomahawks are not going to be delivered or announced at least today. What does this do in terms of European leverage?
Because it does seem that one of President Putin's goals is to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe. This meeting in Hungary is
technically in a European NATO country. But we know how close Viktor Orban is with Vladimir Putin.
ALINA POLYAKOVA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CENTER FOR EUROPEAN POLICY ANALYSIS: Well, I think certainly Putin has figured out how to play the game with the
U.S. president, meaning we've seen the cycle over the last eight months or so where President Trump starts to lean more in favor of Ukraine. Many
European leaders come and speak with the president, and he seems convinced that Russia's the aggressor, Ukraine is the victim. And that the only way
to bring some sort of ceasefire, end to the war, which the president has prioritized since the very beginning of his term, is to put the maximum
pressure possible on Russia.
And then Putin has learned that once some sort of decision is about to take place, whether it's right now with the delivery of new long-range missile
capabilities, the Tomahawks, or previously before the Alaska summit the potential of the U.S. imposing real sanctions on Russia, Putin calls the
president, he flatters him, and as a way, he ends up buying much more time and we've seen what Putin does with that extra time. He accelerates the war
and launches far more massive attacks on Ukraine as well as increasingly testing NATO territory in Poland, Denmark, and elsewhere.
So, I think this is a movie we've seen before, unfortunately. I hope that, you know, President Trump sees this pattern as well, and that despite
whatever conversations he may be having with Putin, that he will stay the course, which is the right course the president has been on.
ASHER: And just in terms of the potential meeting between Putin and Trump in Budapest, why on earth would Trump think that anything concrete, just
based on Putin's previous behavior and lack of seriousness overall in terms of ending this war, why would Trump think that anything concrete or
anything different could come out of meeting Vladimir Putin a second time?
POLYAKOVA: Well, I mean, the president has just had a very successful negotiation with Israel to put a ceasefire with the Israeli war with Hamas,
huge achievement. I think many agree with that. I think he probably sees an opportunity now that he has achieved this ceasefire to restart the
conversation.
[12:35:05]
And I think some of the lessons learned from the Israel ceasefire negotiation is that that personal relationship that President Trump had
with Netanyahu was very effective at the end, exerting the kind of pressure on Israel to change course while at the same time aligning other Middle
East partners to put pressure on the other side.
So, I think there's probably a renewed sense of possibilities that President Trump has in mind. But, unfortunately, my sense is that he'll be
disappointed because Russia is not Israel. Putin is not Benjamin Netanyahu. And the end of the day the Russians have signaled very, very clearly
they're not interested in a ceasefire.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And Russia has not even subtly reminded the world that they have the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons as well.
Alina, if I can get you to respond to something that stood out to me in a Financial Times, a Max Seddon piece, where he said that the Russian
president appears to have calculated that as long as he has the upper hand on the battlefield, there's no need for him to make any concessions right
now, even if his war economy is sputtering. And then he quoted a senior European official saying, this isn't about money for Putin. It's his
legacy. He wants to go down as the best Russian ruler since Peter the Great. Would you agree with that assessment?
POLYAKOVA: I think that's the exact right assessment. As long as Putin thinks he has an open hand in Ukraine to continue to make progress on the
battlefield, to continue to terrorize the rest of Ukraine, he thinks he has the upper hand. And we've known from the beginning when Putin made this
irrational decision to invade Ukraine in 2022, that this was not about territory. This is about Russia's imperial vision, Putin's own imperial
mindset.
So, any sort of ceasefire in which Russia retains even control of Crimea or the areas currently occupies illegally in the Donbas will not satisfy
Putin. He wants complete capitulation of Ukraine. That's always been the goal because he very much sees himself as carrying out the history of, you
know, the great Russian czars before him and even Joseph Stalin during the Soviet Union who all regained so-called Russian territory. And that has
remained their legacy and that's very much the historical legacy in which Putin sees himself.
ASHER: It's interesting because Donald Trump has sort of been playing both sides of the fence, just in terms of one minute telling Zelenskyy, listen,
you're going to have to cede territory, there's no other way around it. You know, the only way this war to end -- can end is if you give up some
Ukrainian land. And now he appears to be telling Ukraine the exact opposite. Listen, you guys could actually win back territory if you play
your cards right.
I mean, just given that, you know, Donald Trump cannot essentially be trusted by Zelenskyy to side with Ukraine completely 100 percent and
consistently, what does Zelenskyy make of that? How does he navigate somebody who is so unpredictable?
POLYAKOVA: Well, I think President Trump has been moving in the right direction, I should say that. You know, we saw -- we have been seeing a
slow shift, but a positive shift, the comment the president has made recently, including the Ukraine could take back all his territory. He's
also said at the U.N. General Assembly interview that NATO is completely legitimate to shoot down Russian drones or Russian planes when they enter
NATO airspace. So, these are quite assertive statements.
I think the question mark is whether the president is still in his mind in negotiation mode, where he says these things as a form of getting leverage
over Russia, getting Putin to come to the table, or whether he has, you know, really aligned himself with a more pro-Ukrainian, pro-European point
of view on the conflict.
I think that remains to be seen, but I think President Zelenskyy has done, frankly, an incredible job, really shifting how he speaks to President
Trump. We all remember the disastrous Oval Office interview, and, frankly, after that it was very difficult to see how the relationship could be
repaired. But, clearly, it has been. And we've seen Zelenskyy, I think, understand how to talk to President Trump, how to deliver deals.
There's also a discussion of potential drone deal that could be announced potentially today that would benefit the United States and Ukraine and
European allies. So, there's been a huge amount of progress, and I think that's because Zelenskyy takes the opportunities when he has them to really
speak with the president and to push forward very, very specific deals that appeal to the president's more transactional mindset.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, that meeting, a reminder set to take place within the next 20 minutes or so, if they're on time.
Alina Polyakova, good to see you, thank you so much.
ASHER: All right. Still to come --
POLYAKOVA: Thank you.
ASHER: -- it's been dubbed a she-cession, American women leaving the workforce in droves. A look up what's behind the exodus just ahead.
[12:40:00]
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY HAMMON, HEAD COACH, LAS VEGAS ACES: If men can lead women, there's no reason why women can't lead men.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Could a woman eventually lead a men's basketball, professional basketball team? A WNBA coach on why she thinks it could happen in her
lifetime.
And later --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: it was more than I ever thought that anyone would do for me. This is so special.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: God, how could you not get emotional for the story? A heartwarming lesson in love as students throw their principal a surprise school -- oh,
school wedding. Oh my gosh. So, adorable.
GOLODRYGA: Those kids' parents raised them well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Let's get a check on how the U.S. markets are doing, green arrows. We like to see green arrows. The Dow up on nearly 200 points,
the S&P 500 up about two tenths of a percent, and Nasdaq as well of about two tenths of a percent. This is your Business Breakout.
For the first time, since April, the U.S. stock market has moved into extreme fear on CNN's fear and greed index. Excessive fear tends to drive
down share prices. Wall Street has been growing increasingly concerned about banking, stocks and exposure to bad loans.
ASHER: Now, the U.S. President says the price of Ozempic will be lowered. This has led shares of the weight loss drugs maker Novo Nordisk to fall.
Since returning to office, Donald Trump has vowed to narrow the gap between drug prices in the U.S. and prices abroad.
GOLODRYGA: So far this year, nearly half a million women have left the U.S. labor force. This is one of the biggest losses on record. Now, if the
exodus continues, U.S. economic growth could be stifled and it could erase the historic gains made by women in recent years.
ASHER: CNN's Politics and Business Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich is covering this she-cession for us. I think the big question everyone wants
to know is why, Vanessa?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really, it's an alarming trend that we're seeing right now, women leaving the
workforce in such large numbers, not seen since the pandemic, when essentially the entire world shut down.
And economists are warning that if this trend continues, this will really reverse a lot of the gains that women made in the workforce post-pandemic.
And it can also be really bad for economic growth. And as you mentioned, the number there, 455,000 women, almost half a million women leaving the
workforce between January of this year and August, and leading the exodus are highly educated women, women with very young children and black women.
[12:45:05]
And the reasons why are because a lot of these women are mothers and childcare costs are rising. And it doesn't make sense to be in the
workforce but also pay a lot for others to take care of your children. The math does not math there.
Also, when a lot of women returned to the workforce in big numbers after the pandemic, it was because of that workplace flexibility, that hybrid
work structure. Now, a lot of companies mandating that people come back to the office. And emotionally and financially, it's just not working for a
lot of women. And then you see there on your screen the slashing of public sector jobs, but also the rollback of DEI initiatives that are particularly
hitting black women in terms of opportunities out there.
Now, how do we reverse all of this and get women to get back into the workforce? Well, we just reverse everything I just talked about. So,
essentially, bringing down childcare costs, allowing for that flexibility in the workforce.
Now, the data shows this trend is happening, but we also spoke to more than two dozen women who just talked about how difficult it's been for them, the
frustration around this situation. But also we did hear some joy from women who were able to then spend some time with their children that they maybe
wouldn't have otherwise.
Also worth noting that the majority of women we spoke to did say that they felt like it was sort of assumed that they would be the ones to leave the
workforce, not their husbands. Because look at this other alarming trend that we're seeing. Women now, according to the Census Bureau in 2024, were
making $0.81 to every dollar a man earned. So the pay gap, the wage gap is widening right now.
In the last two years, we've seen the pay gap widen, not shrink, and that is not good news for women who are having to make a really big decision
right now about whether or not they can afford to stay in the workforce.
ASHER: You bring up so many important points. Vanessa, thank you so much for that. I appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: Well, the female coach of the Las Vegas Aces says she sees no reason why a woman can't lead an NBA team in her lifetime. Becky Hammon
says it would take a whole lot to pull her away from her current role.
ASHER: Now, Hammon's comments come after Dawn Staley, longtime head coach at University of South Carolina, suggested she doesn't think professional
basketball is ready to have a woman lead an organization. Hammon took a more optimistic tone in an interview with CNN Sports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAMMON: There's really not a good reason that it hasn't happened already. I think there's qualified women that could coach in the NBA. It's just a
matter of getting that opportunity. You know, when I was in the NBA, in some ways, I felt like it could happen right away. And then in other ways,
I was like, man, this isn't -- this is 20 to 30 years from happening.
But I think the growth and I think just the idea of women leading men, I mean, if men can lead women, there's no reason why women can't lead men.
And I think it's just kind of that old hat of like just because it hasn't been done doesn't mean it can't be done.
And at the end of the day, this is basketball, you know? And I think people follow great character and great leadership and people follow people that
know that can help them. And in my experience with the NBA, it was never -- the players were always great. I think it's the higher ups that are the
decision-makers that have more of a issue of maybe taking direction from a woman or whatnot.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Hammon was a six-time WNBA star in her 16 year playing career and has guided Las Vegas to three championships in the past four years.
GOLODRYGA: Well, investors looking for a safe haven have driven gold prices $4,200 an ounce. That's past $4,200 an ounce, I should note.
Analysts blame the trade tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as the U.S. government shutdown for the record highs.
ASHER: Yes, more demand means more people looking to sell old golds.
CNN's Anna Cooban visited a smelting factory to find out how the metal gets smelted into bars.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER (voice over): Hidden away, a warehouse on the edge of London. CNN has agreed not to reveal the
exact location for security reasons. That's because it's the U.K.'s largest gold refinery capitalizing on a new gold rush.
Don't be fooled. This is not a bucket of dirt. This is a bucket of pure gold worth about $2 million. And it could be turned into one of these very
heavy gold bars.
In times of uncertainty, gold is seen as a safe bet by investors. That's giving gold prices their biggest rally since 1979, meaning that this
jewelry is now worth more when thrown into the flames and melted down.
[12:50:03]
Here we go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right there.
COOBAN: Baird & Co. buys old jewelry and turns it into pure gold that can be traded by investors.
At this stage, the gold is still only considered around 50 percent pure.
Whoa.
It is taken into the refinery for further purifying.
So what are these called?
LEE TOLLOW, SENIOR REFINERY TECHNICIAN, BAIRD & CO.: So, these are called cornflakes.
COOBAN: Cornflakes?
TOLLOW: Yes.
COOBAN: But you can't eat them?
TOLLOW: No.
COOBAN: And each of these flakes is around 90 percent pure and will be worth around a thousand dollars, but they're still not ready to be sold.
TOLLOW: We do them as cornflakes, so they're all different shapes. So, then there's space in between, but when the acid drops, it can get to the
whole surface of the cornflake.
COOBAN: The gold sand is taken back to the furnace and turn into these 99.99 percent pure gold grains. These are cast into molds, rolled out and
weighed, ready to be stamped and sold. Each of these tiny bars can then be bought direct by investors or even available in retailer Costco for around
$7,000.
And there we go, a gold bar with a stamp of approval.
12 months ago, they were selling for less than $5,000, and it's returns like these that are making gold so popular with investors, from the trading
floor to the supermarket aisle.
Anna Cooban, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Finalizing a wedding guest list is never an easy task, especially when you want to invite around 400 students.
GOLODRYGA: Well, luckily, for one principal in the U.S. state of Buffalo and the U.S. State of New York, her pupils came up with a way to ensure
that they could all watch her walk down the aisle.
Taylor Epps from our affiliate WKBW has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COURTNEY CHAMPLIN, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, BUFFALO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE CHARTER SCHOOL: We're giving you a surprise wedding,
BRIANNA LANOYE, PRINCIPAL, BUFFALO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE CHARTER SCHOOL: And I just had no idea it was something to this magnitude. I'm still shocked.
It was so special.
Are you kidding me right now?
TAYLOR EPPS, WKBW SENIOR REPORTER (voice over): Some brides prefer no kids at their wedding, but not Brianna Lanyoe.
LANOYE: I had talked to actually my amazing assistant principal about how I'd love to be with our students, you know, have this massive wedding.
She's like, you can't do that. I'm like, okay.
EPPS: No way. You can't have 400 kids as your wedding guest, even if you're the principal.
LANOYE: Oh, leader, stand up (ph).
EPPS: Unless --
CHAMPLIN: I always kind of had in the back of my mind that I wanted to do something really big and special.
EPPS: This school community had some tricks up their sleeve. So, Sshhh. the Buffalo Academy of Science staff, students, and Brianna's husband-to-
be, Zach, were all in on this.
LANOYE: So, all these girls are dressing these beautiful gowns and I was like, wow, you guys are really showing up today. I was like, oh, can I
borrow that for my wedding?
EPPS: But that was already covered. Assistant Principal Courtney Champlin had the dress ready to go and her own T-shirt tuxedo for this magical
moment.
LANOYE: Instant tears. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Just seeing our school community out here.
MALAYLA MANUEL, STUDENT, BUFFALO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE CHARTER SCHOOL: I was so excited. It touched my heart because that was my first time seeing a
wedding.
AMAYA GNOHUE, STUDENT, BUFFALO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE CHARTER SCHOOL: And she had some fifth graders come and they were talking for her and saying how
amazing she was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will never forget the difference you have made in my life.
EPPS: And with their candy rings, Brianna and Zach said their vows.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Promise to love Zach even on Mondays before coffee?
LANOYE: I do.
EPPS: Then it was time to party.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was doing my moves for Ms. Lanoye and everything.
LANOYE: It means that our school is working, that we are creating a space where students feel safe, feel celebrated.
EPPS: And this wedding made the real deal much easier, which was also right here at (INAUDIBLE).
LANOYE: It was more than. I ever thought that anyone would do for me. It was really special.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: How much do your students have to love you in order to do that?
GOLODRYGA: I mean, she is by far, I would imagine, the most favorite teacher at that school for them to go to those lengths. And what a surprise
for them. And you know what? Kudos to those kids.
ASHER: We're being out cue with the music. It's time to go.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, I love that story. We love that story. All right.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: I hope you have a great weekend. That does it for One World today. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
