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One World with Zain Asher

Assessing The Damage From Hurricane Melissa; Jamaica Devastated By Its Strongest-Ever Hurricane; Paris Prosecutor Holds News Conference On Louvre Heist; Israelis Call For Release OF Remaining Deceased Hostages In Gaza; U.S. Government Shutdown Enters Day 29 As GOP, Dems Remain Deadlocked; Aired 12-1p ET

Aired October 29, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:29]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You're watching the second hour of "One World."

Hurricane Melissa is moving away from Cuba and eyeing the Bahamas as it leaves behind a trail of destruction across the region. We've just learned

25 people were killed in Haiti after a river burst its banks following heavy rain from Melissa.

Meantime, as Jamaica begins to assess the damage caused by one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Earlier, Melissa made its second

landfall in eastern Cuba as a Category Three storm. The hurricane has now entered the Atlantic after dropping in strength to a Category Two storm.

It left Cuba drenched with heavy rain and flooding. The President said his government has prepared for the worst-case scenario. At its height, Melissa

was roughly the size of Texas, about 1,200 kilometers or 770 miles across.

ASHER: In Jamaica, Melissa made history roaring a short Tuesday as a Category Five hurricane. Jamaica's government has now given the all-clear

notice, but more than 70 percent of the country is without electricity.

There are reports of catastrophic damage. The Prime Minister has declared the whole island a disaster area.

GOLODRYGA: CNN's Patrick Oppmann is in Santiago de Cuba and joins us now from the island nation.

So Cuba spared the wrath of a Category Five hurricane. It was Category Three and then Two once it struck the island nation. Still, we know that

there were severe outages as well and a lot of destruction in its wake.

What more are you learning now?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And you're ab -- you're completely correct that the Category Four, Five, like we saw, the -- the

impacts in Jamaica is -- is a much more catastrophic storm. Really terrifying.

A Category Three does a lot of damage. And when it's your house and water is leaking in, when trees come down, when power lines come down, of course,

it has a big impact on people all the same.

So, you know, on the rooftops across the city right now, I see people trying to repair the roof, so the water doesn't come into the house.

We still don't have any power. It's been, you know, getting up to about 18 hours in -- in where I am right now. It's Cuba's second largest city that

we are without power.

You start to go for -- for power more than several days and -- and food begins to spoil. People's tempers begin to get short and we've seen Cuba.

The people actually come out and -- and protest against the government, something the government does not like at all to say the least.

So at this point, people are somewhat thankful that they were spared the worst, not as bad as it was in Jamaica. But, of course, power remains out

and no signs when that will be restored.

And there are significant damage here. So it was -- it was a hard storm for Cubans.

And while it could have been worse, I suppose, you know, if your house suffered damage, if you got water in your house, if you had flooding, if

you had evacuate, then at this moment, you may be thankful that it wasn't bad as it could have been, but it's still -- still pretty bad here for

many, many people.

And -- and there are communities that authorities have not been able to reach as of yet. So we are still not aware of the full impact of the storm.

GOLODRYGA: So at 18 hours now without power. I believe we're hearing some construction behind you, perhaps people assessing early indications of the

damage there.

Patrick Oppmann, thank you so much.

ASHER: All right. Experts say that Hurricane Melissa is a prime example of what climate change can do to the planet's fiercest storms.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. The water around Jamaica had been simmering all summer and that heat and moisture helped supercharge Melissa into that monster

Category Five storm.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam traveled to the hard hit west side of Jamaica and has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're now traveling to the western side of Jamaica. That's where obviously Hurricane Melissa made landfall. And

this is the first time we've been safely been able to get out of the capital city of Kingston.

And you can see just some of the overwash here on the roadways. We've encountered a lot of rock slides and mud slides and downed trees, some

power lines over the roads. And it's difficult to navigate this area.

I mean, here's -- here's an electrical wire dangling right in front of us as well. This is, obviously, very typical of hurricane damage. But as we

get further and further into the disaster area where the core of the hurricane struck, we anticipate the destruction to be more widespread.

And -- and obviously, the weather's been a challenge as well. We've been cut a lot of fog. So these narrow roads that wind through these regions, as

we head towards the St. Elizabeth Parish, the western portions of -- of Jamaica.

[12:05:13]

We're getting closer and closer to New Hope where the official land point - - landfall point was. This is going to be quite a challenge, but we're going to try and report from this area that was so heavily impacted by the

hurricane.

Look at this gully here that was washed out from the heavy rain. Just really, really incredible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. CNN spoke with David Watkins, an American man who is stranded in Jamaica with his family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID WATKINS, AMERICAN STRANDED IN JAMAICA: Nerve racking. Just (INAUDIBLE) wind speeds. I've never been through anything like that in

little beach.

We just did the best we could to secure it to the center room. We fortified our room our glass. On the -- the hotel we're staying at, there's that

least 16, 17 rooms that the slides ended up blowing out right as the eye was getting close. Blew the slider out all the way back to the other door,

out into the main hallway.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Was there ever a time are you worried about your safety, your life and your family's life?

WATKINS: I'm sure subconsciously. But when it's going on, I was dipped in pure survival mode, make sure my kids are in my life and my parents and my

aunt.

Just have step one, step two, step three of if this happens, we're doing this. If this happens, we're doing this. I had plans in place. And just

thank God it didn't come to that. Other places aren't so fortunate.

BROWN: Yes. You were in full action mode. The adrenaline was probably going. And I'm sure you're thinking, oh, my gosh, we came here as perfect

family vacation. Now, we're dealing with this historic hurricane.

Do you have any idea when you'll be able to leave the island?

WATKINS: As of right now, from what we're getting preliminary is Kingston Airport will be open Thursday. Montego Bay has some level of impact to

where they don't know when that will be open. So we're looking at any in all options.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN's Pamela Brown speaking with an American tourist trapped on the island. Obviously, the damage is still being assessed. And we know that

search and rescue operations are ongoing there.

All right. Now to France where the Paris prosecutor is scheduled to hold a news conference this hour on the next steps in the investigation of that

brazen heist at the Louvre Museum.

Officials have been questioning two suspects related to the heist BFMTV reported earlier that the two men whose names have not been released are in

their 30s and hail from a Paris suburb.

GOLODRYGA: Now, you'll recall that thieves pulled off that daytime heist 10 days ago stealing crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million.

ASHER: We're going live now from Paris is senior international correspondent Melissa Bell.

I mean, one of the things that the Paris prosecutor did say, Melissa, is that, you know, she kind of regrets the fact that the arrests of the two

suspects were disclosed, and she fears that that could have perhaps jeopardized the investigation.

I'm being actually told that the prosecutor is speaking now, Melissa. So let's listen into that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURE BECCUAU, PARIS PROSECUTOR (through translator): I am speaking to you today because the investigation into the Louvre heist has raised

significant attention and there have been major breakthroughs.

So alongside me is the dear commissioner, Mr. Carreau, who is head of the BRB, the Banditry Repression Brigade and also Jean-Baptiste Felicite, who

is chief of the central office in the trafficking of cultural goods. And we also have the deputy prosecutor, head of the (INAUDIBLE) Division working

alongside us here today.

I wanted these colleagues to be alongside me to congratulate all services for their excellent work in their respective authorities. And I would like

to thank them.

Since the event, this investigation has been led with the specialized jurisdiction, the jurisdiction (INAUDIBLE) the five and a half day

investigation, allowed magistrates to provide the necessary authorizations for immediate action.

All police officers in the BRB, the Banditry Repression Brigade, the police prefecture have been working around the clock to track the thieves and to

track down the stolen jewelry. I would like to congratulate them for their work.

[12:10:17]

The investigators at the OCB Central Office of Investigation as well, all of the scientists working alongside us who have analyzed over 150 DNA

samples. The police prefecture laboratory have carried out the necessary analyses in the greatest urgency.

The brigade for the fight against cybercrime have used all cyber resources at their disposition. We have had a number of these officers working

alongside other brigades in Paris. The criminal brigade, the brigade for the protection of minors, the brigade for the decision for justice

decisions, the brigade for financial and cybercrime alongside territorial services as well.

In summary, I would like to highlight the exceptional work by around 100 detectives working throughout the week, night and day, in order to identify

the criminals and recover the jewels.

There are 152 units working on this. It is -- thanks to this work that on Saturday the 25th of October in the evening, two men were arrested. One was

arrested at 8:00 P.M. at Roissy Airport as he was attempting to leave for Algeria without a return flight to France.

A second suspect was arrested at 8:40 at his home. He was not planning to travel abroad, unlike what some media outlets have been reported.

These are men aged 30 of Algeria nationality living in France since 2010 in Aubervilliers. He was unemployed on the day of his arrest, but previously

had worked as a delivery man. Already known by the police services for delinquency and had also been condemned for -- sentenced for theft in the

past.

The second suspect is aged 39 living in Aubervilliers where he was born. He is working as an illegal taxi driver, but also worked as a delivery man. He

has already been known to the police for aggravated theft in 2008 and 2014, and is under judicial supervision at the moment linked to another case that

will be managed in November.

During the hearing, the information occurred showing that it was about an ATM machine in Aubervilliers. His DNA was located on the glass had been

broken. And this is unlike what was said in some media outlets. They were not wearing a yellow construction worker vest.

So they are currently being presented in front of the investigating magistrates before their formal charge for organized gang theft. This has a

sentence of 15 years in prison and a high fine.

The qualification for the second suspect has been identified as up to 10 years imprisonment. We have requested pretrial detention. And a -- the

investigating magistrates are going to be issuing declarations.

[12:15:04]

All members of the perpetrators have not yet been caught, so I am only providing you with the information that we have.

The investigation remains secret and confidential regarding those still being sought. The jewels have not yet been returned to our possession. I

hope that they will be found and will be able to be returned to the Museum of the Louvre and to the nation.

These jewels are unable to be sold because anybody who would buy them would become implicated within this crime. It is important to return them.

Regarding the facts of the events, we know now that the cherry picker used to penetrate into the gallery had been stolen on the 10th of October 2025

just before 9:00 A.M. in the Val-d'Oise (ph) in the municipality of the Louvre.

The victim of this theft came that he had been contacted for a removals and was held in place by two men who stole the keys and then the vehicle.

In depth and monumental CCTV work has been carried out in order to identify how the individuals arrived at the Louvre Museum. The Banditry Repression

Brigade has been working on this. This means that we are able to reconstitute the movements of the perpetrators before the heist.

They changed vehicles before going to the Louvre Museum using CCTV cameras at the museum. And in the city of Paris has revealed the presence of at

least four perpetrators. Two of them were wearing yellow vests in order to look like construction workers. They went up on the cherry picker which was

being maneuvered by their accomplices up into the gallery.

They then broke through the glass and then smashed the showcases using a disc cutter, stealing the jewels at 9:28. They left using the same means as

the entry.

We were able to recover -- the investigators have been able to recover the jewels dropped. And it will be very delicate to restore these workers

present in the gallery. We're able to evacuate visitors without any danger around 20.

Witnesses have been interviewed by detectives. The use of disc cutters were frightening, but nobody claims to have been threatened. Unlike what some

media outlets are reporting, nothing allows us at this stage to say that there were accomplices within the museum itself.

Some saw that there was an attempt to burn to set fire to the basket that they used and lit a jerry can was identified. Museum security and police

officers were able to prevent the perpetrators from setting fire to this basket.

The two perpetrators reached their two accomplices and were able to leave using two motor scooters along the scene before joining their vehicles.

There are two investigating magistrates working in the fight against organized crime. There is a collective determination support from the legal

system and, of course, the same objectives in pursuing this case.

There is significant interest in this case and that is understanding. However, I remind you that the proceedings need us to remain calm and

discreet as we move forward. And this is why I will not be saying any more this evening.

[12:20:06]

If any further information can be communicated, we will return to you at a later date. Thank you very much for your attention. And I am now going to

take some questions even though -- of course, I will not be able to answer all questions, and I will not be able to state any more than that I have

already specified. Thank you.

I don't know if anybody wishes. Hello, Maxime for BFMTV. Do you have any m leads on the two prosecutors not yet arrested? As said, there is a lot of

information that needs to be investigated. Investigations are ongoing, but I will not be able to say any more at present.

This is a traditional police techniques. We need to outline in this case that there was the intense mobilization of all investigative services. And

I pointed them out one after the other as there are many of them this weekend and in the following days, specialist services and the repression

of banditry.

All of the central services in the prosecutor's office have been following up on all leads. The CCTV may be used or DNA samples. And we are able to

compare this with anything on record.

And as you know, the two suspects, as presented before the magistrate today were already known by police. There was a match. And in this case, we are

able to find the current known addresses and then arrest those responsible.

We don't need to hide this. The announcement that one of the suspects was attempting to leave the country on Saturday evening led to an acceleration

of arrests.

Once again, would say that the technical work and mobilization of police services was vital in this.

I am not going to be able to say anything further than I have said in my declaration. The investigating magistrates, the judges are currently

involved. I know you are following this closely.

And I am going to be reserved because I do not know who will be listening and other perpetrators may be able to hear my remarks.

Today, in any case, today, as explained, when we have any new information, and I hope that we will have new information, there will be another press

conference. Today, I am going to be the only one speaking today. The presence of my colleagues alongside me is to congratulate them on their

performance.

I am not going to be able to respond in terms of the number of persecutors involved, the number of perpetrators involved who might be a ringleader or

not. Through CCTV systems, we have been able to identify with certainty the involvement of four perpetrators, but we do not exclude the possibility of

a larger group with a ringleader or somebody that may have received the jewels that were stolen.

I will not be able to answer this question. Answering you would mean that I share information that we are not able to at the moment. So I'm not going

to expand any further on this.

Two more questions and then I will thank you for your attention today.

[12:25:01]

As I explained, the fact that they stole the jewels is something of which I have no doubt. Collectively, we will be able to identify how they

structured their operations, this kind of command.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: All right.

ASHER: All right.

GOLODRYGA: You've been listening to the prosecutor in Paris there just lay out a bit more details in terms of the investigation into the heist at the

Louvre some 10 days ago. Two suspects, she said, have been arrested. The big headline, however, is that no additional jewelry has been found at this

point.

ASHER: Yes. Those two men that Bianna just mentioned were indeed known to police. They'd been arrested previously. They had -- they were in their

30s. They were of Algerian descent. They'd been here since about 2010.

One of them, she gave a little bit more detail on the rest of one of them because he was actually arrested at the airport, apparently, headed to

Algeria, about to board a fight to Algeria. And it was a one-way ticket.

She also warned that anybody considering buying these stolen jewels, I mean, that would be a major mistake. Obviously, these jewels are incredibly

recognizable. And you would then be implicated in this large-scale crime.

Let's go to senior international correspondent Melissa Bell, who has been listening to this press conference. She joins us live now from Paris.

One of the things that I thought was interesting, just reading up about this earlier this morning, is that the Paris prosecutor had previously said

that she regrets all that, you know, there had been some regret over the disclosure of the arrests of these two suspects, previously, because it

kind of -- it -- it sort of jeopardized the investigation.

Talk to us more about that, and also, what stood out to you in this press conference, Melissa.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's -- that's right. Her initial statement, when those two arrests were made on Saturday

night, after they were made, was quite pointed about the fact that it was regrettable that this should have been leaked to the press and that,

therefore, the prosecutors had to put out this statement to confirm the arrests because of the fact that others remained at large, that the jewels

had yet to be recovered, that this was a case that was very much at the heart of their preoccupations and what they were taking care of now, and

that the leak of the information, the confirmation of the arrests, ran the risk of compromising their important manhunt for the other suspects.

What we did hear her say there, and I thought it was interesting, Zain and Bianna, to hear her confirm a lot of what we knew.

First of all, that these two suspects are arrested on Saturday night. They've now spent four days on their 96 hours that authorities could hold

them to question them and will now be charged. So that does tell us that -- thanks that DNA evidence that they found, we understand, just listening

there to the chief prosecutor from one of the helmets that was found after their escape, and managed -- they managed to link it because these men were

known to French police services, so clearly their DNA had been in a database, so quickly a match was found.

But the fact that they're now being charged suggests that they do feel they have the right men, two men in their 30s who say in Algerian nationality,

but here for several years. But they were known also for very low-level delinquency and low-level crime.

So I think another important thing of which, part of which she said, was when she said, although there were four people, thanks to CCTV footage,

thanks to their investigations on the scene of the crime, there were actually there that Sunday morning, it is not to be excluded that there are

other people, maybe someone who commissioned it, other people may be involved in the plotting of this, someone else may actually be holding the

jewels now that may be responsible.

And this is something that we've heard from people looking at this criminologist who said, what was remarkable about this is how carefully it

was planned, and in the end how poorly executed, given the many DNA traces you were just hearing about there that were left behind at the scene, given

that they tried and failed to burn this mechanical ladder that they'd been on, and that so many pieces of evidence left behind, the helmet in which

the DNA traces were found, one of their scooters of glove.

So it was quite messy towards the end of it and in their flight. And I think the profile of these two men, certainly low-level criminals from this

Paris suburb, does suggest that that theory appears to be proven correct, maybe they had been hired to carry out something that had been commissioned

by someone with a much better plan.

So we wait to hear more on that, because that's another thing that Laure Beccuau had to point out, was that this is an ongoing investigation, there

are still arrests to be made. And for now, we have to be -- they have to be very cautious about what details they're giving away, which is why she said

she would be saying not very much more than what you heard there, essentially a confirmation very much of what we already knew.

ASHER: All right. Melissa Bell in Paris for us. Thank you so much.

We'll be right back with more news after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:21]

GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ASHER: I'm Zain Asher.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 104 people overnight. It was the deadliest day in Gaza since the US-backed ceasefire came into effect. Prime

Minister Netanyahu ordered the strikes because Hamas had killed an Israeli soldier and allegedly staged the discovery of a deceased hostage. Hamas is

denying all of this.

GOLODRYGA: Meantime, Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square on Tuesday to pray. Hamas has yet to release 13 bodies of deceased hostages,

28 were to be returned in the first phase of the ceasefire.

Orna Neutra, the mother of Israeli hostage, Omer Neutra, whose body remains in Gaza, says there's no closure because she cannot bury her son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORNA NEUTRA, MOTHER OF DECEASED ISRAELI HOSTAGE OMER NEUTRA (through translator): We were fortunate to see and embrace some of those who came

out of the tunnels. It felt like a real miracle. But at the same time, we remain trapped in a nightmare that has lasted 753 days with no clear end in

sight.

We're fighting with every bit of strength for something no parent should ever have to fight for. The uncertainty surrounding the death of our son,

Omer, it's an impossible struggle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Ruby Chen also knows about that ceaseless struggle with grief. He is the father of American-Israeli hostage Itay that was taken captive to Gaza and

later confirmed to be dead. Ruby Chen joins us now from Tel Aviv. Ruby, welcome to the program.

First and foremost, we are so sorry that now 754 days after that horrific day on October 7th, 2023, you are still without your son, without being

able to now, sadly, properly bury him as well. But you remain determined to speak for your son and the remaining 13 hostages and their remains that

have not been returned just yet. So thank you for your courage. I know you speak as a father, as -- as an Israeli, as an American, as a human being,

just to see that closure and justice being brought there.

[12:35:37]

You have talked about how President Trump and his administration have been fully committed to not only maintaining the ceasefire, but seeing that all

of these hostages will be returned. We've heard these same words from Orna and Ronen Neutra, the father and mother of Omer Neutra. We've had them on

the show many, many times.

And I know you met with Secretary of State Rubio over the weekend, and he posted this. "We will not forget the lives of the hostages who died in the

captivity of Hamas. Today, I met with the families of American citizens, Itay Chen and Omer Neutra. We will not rest until their and all remains are

returned."

What more would you like to see from the U.S. administration, the Israeli government, and other mediators to make sure and put additional pressure,

if need be, on Hamas, to make sure they end up fulfilling their deal that they would return all of these hostages?

RUBY CHEN, FATHER OF ITAY CHEN, DECEASED AMERICAN-ISRAELI HOSTAGE IN GAZA: Yes. First, thanks for having me.

You know, just want to give the backdrop -- backdrop, which was the agreement signed a couple weeks ago that talked about 48 hostages. And

until now, we only got 35 out.

Initially, there were 12 U.S. citizens that were taken hostage. My son was the youngest U.S. citizen taken, and he's still unaccounted for.

And he, according to my definition, more than anything, he's still a hostage, regardless of the physical status. And the United States have

shown its determination and conviction from the president and his administration to get this to the finish line.

What we know is that the ceasefire is very delicate. So we have this window of opportunity to get all the hostages out, and now is the time to make it

happen. And we have the mediators that have, you know, vouched for Hamas that they -- they are indeed sincere in wanting to give up the hostages in

order to benefit the people that in Gaza have been suffering for such a long time.

Well, now is the time for them to show up and bring those hostages out to allow us to move to the second phase, for the benefit of the people in

Gaza, and allow us to have a closure as well.

What exactly that is, you know, that's a little bit above my pay grade, but I'm looking at the president. And, you know, he has this unique way of the

only people when he did. So I would hope to believe he's doing that at this moment when it comes to releasing U.S. citizens that have been held hostage

over two years.

ASHER: Ruby, I am so, so deeply sorry for your loss. And I honestly cannot imagine what the last couple of years have been like for you and your

family.

It's been a few weeks now since the 20 last living hostages from Gaza have been reunited with their families. And that, of course, means that the

rallies and the protests that we were seeing have dwindled in numbers because of that.

Just talk to us a bit about how you carry the loss that you feel inside your soul through your everyday life, when the world has continued to move

on, but you're still living without this obvious sense of closure. Your heart is still waiting.

Just talk to us about what that journey has been like for you.

CHEN: Well, I think I would maybe talk about it from a different perspective. The last two weeks, I've had the opportunity to meet the

president of the United States, the vice president of the United States, Mr. Steve Witkoff, Mr. Jared Kushner, and Secretary of State Rubio. All of

them, you know, stated to me that the job is not done. And they, on a personal level, feel committed.

(INAUDIBLE) me, a U.S. citizen, a U.S. taxpayer with my son, which is an obligation on this administration, as well as making sure that this

ceasefire lasts to enable a better future for the people in the Middle East, prosperity, then also the United States' economy could benefit from

them, because they see the big opportunity. This is a very unique window of opportunity.

[12:40:02]

If you look at the last year what happened in Lebanon, what happened in Syria, what happened here, that is a window of opportunity. It's an

inflection point to change the compass of the Middle East.

And I think they see that opportunity in front of them. And the president, you know, sees that as well. And when she's taken a second. And when she's

to execute on that.

So I don't feel abandoned. I think, you know, we have that conviction. The people here in Israel also understand that we can't be in a state where 13

citizens are unaccounted for. And they need to come back.

We can't say, well, we got 90 percent of them out. That's not good enough. Like just think of those 13 citizens were taken on a random day. Yesterday,

for example, we would all be in shock that there are 13 hostages held by a terrorist organization.

So I think that we have the people behind us. Yes, you know, we had the good feelings of having those living hostages come out and united with

their families.

But as I said, the job is not done. The president of the United States just tweeted about that the other day. The vice president did as well, Secretary

of State.

So I have to keep my hopes up that I know that they want this to happen. And I feel that they're obligated to make this happen.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. I know you said that this is above your pay grade in terms of when this happens. But I have to tell you, Ruby, and all of the other

hostage families in the hostage family forum, it is because of your fight and your determination and your humanity that I think this deal ultimately

got done, and that clearly caught the president's attention and his heart. And he's fully -- he's made it very clear he and his administration are

committed to seeing your son come home as well.

Ruby Chen, thank you so much.

CHEN: Bianna, if I can just say one more sentence.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

CHEN: Just as a terminology aspect, but a way to at least help us understand what we were talking about.

When we're fighting to my son as a body, that kind of, you know, doesn't provide the dignity that he should have someone that fought on the

battlefield and saved a lot of people. He's a human being. He's a person. And he's my son as well.

And, you know, when we use that term, it kind of shows maybe the less of urgency to bring him back. And I hope that you and the viewers can

understand that, you know, we as a family need to be whole again. And that is having our son united with us, having a place to be with him.

And, you know, it's the dignity that he deserves to be, you know, a place that, you know, we say rest in peace, you know. That means that he needs to

be at a place of peace. And that's not we're here at the moment and hopefully God willing that happens soon.

GOLODRYGA: And may his memory be a blessing. He has a beautiful smile, Ruby Chen. Thank you so much.

CHEN: This is what my wife's. Yes.

GOLODRYGA: We'll be right back with more. There's a little bit of you there, too. We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:45:35]

GOLODRYGA: Well, since the pandemic, the phenomenon of remote work has opened up a world of possibilities for businesses.

ASHER: But it isn't always easy. Businesses face challenges of having remote workers with the technology to do their jobs.

In this week's African Insider, we look at a company trying to fix that problem in Nigeria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OGOCHUKWU FRANCIS OSIFO, CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, RAYDA: It almost feels like magic. You come on your platform and with a few clicks

and three days later, an employee in a foreign country has the equipment they need to work.

We just started actually about two and a half years ago. I was the co- founder and CTO of my previous company, called 54gene.

I had an employee joining the business in Kenya. And I tried shipping a computer from Nigeria to Kenya. And the computer got stuck in customs for

two months.

Obviously, it was not a great experience for the employee or for the business.

That led me start asking, how do other companies in Africa or across the world solve this very problem?

When I eventually left 54gene, that problem led me to a co-founding Rayda. Rayda enables global companies with employees across 170 countries to

equip, manage, store, and recycle IT equipment for their global teams.

BABATUNDE VAUGHAN, HEAD OF GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS, RAYDA: Every time a new company needs to make a new hire, one of the things they're looking at is

how do you make sure that you empower this individual for success? And that has to do with getting them the right equipment right before the resume,

and making sure that they have all the resources from headset to accessories.

We make that happen by the partners that we have across the globe. We have about 70 partners right now.

OSIFO: When the employees leave, we actually enable collection of those equipment and we do proper wiping of those data. And we ensure that the

devices are properly recycled or reused. Because again, we are seeing a growing challenge of (INAUDIBLE) across Africa as well, and across the

major markets in general.

What makes us different is in how we approach the problem. Today, a lot of our global competitors ship internationally. That makes it very expensive,

because again, it has to go through the dozen customs.

We are trying to avoid that by building local vendor network and relationships in the country.

Our goal really is that we want to make companies that have IT teams super human. We want to make them look good 100 percent of the time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:40]

GOLODRYGA: All right. The second longest government shutdown in U.S. history is now in its fifth week with no end in sight. Democratic-led

states are suing the Trump administration to keep SNAP food assistance funds flowing, calling the cuts to SNAP illegal.

CNN's Marshall Cohen joins us now live in Washington.

And to add to the uncertainty about when all of this ends, Marshall, the president is overseas now. And we are slowly creeping up to November 1st.

And that is a crucial day in terms of what impact this could have on millions of Americans.

Talk to us about the timing now.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. Well, time is really of the essence. Forty-two million Americans get these SNAP payments, more commonly

known as food stamps.

And before I get into the nitty-gritty of the fight on Capitol Hill, let me just remind everybody, 42 million Americans, that's one out of eight

Americans.

And the whole point of this program is federal assistance so that they can buy food, so that they don't go hungry.

Now the Trump administration says because of the shutdown, which they blame on the Democrats, that funding for this program will run out at the end of

the month, which would mean the benefits could stop on Saturday.

Now, 25 states that are run by Democrats filed a federal lawsuit yesterday, asking a judge to force the administration to pay these benefits out.

They claim that there's actually $6 billion in a contingency fund that has already been allocated for emergencies just like these. And the democratic

states that filed this lawsuit say that they believe that Trump administration is illegally withholding the payments as a negotiating

tactic for the shutdown.

Now, the agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, was on our air yesterday responding to the lawsuit. And I want to play what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE ROLLINS, U.S. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: But I find it very rich that they are suing the Trump administration because their friends on the Hill

won't vote yes to keep the government open. Again, this is not complicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So like I said, Bianna and Zain, time is of the essence. The judge that was assigned to this case scheduled a hearing for tomorrow, which is

Thursday. The Trump administration says the benefits, if nothing changes, will run out on Friday and that means payments would stop going, or the aid

would stop flowing to Americans on Saturday.

GOLODRYGA: So much at stake right now. Marshall Cohen, thank you so much.

Before we go, we want to bring you the story of a nine year old boy who has made history by becoming the youngest stem cell donor ever.

ASHER: Yes. The recipient was his father who's fighting acute leukemia. CBS Los Angeles, Rina Nakano spoke to the family about this life-saving

operation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RINA NAKANO, REPORTER, CBS L.A. (voice-over): There's nothing Nick Mondek loves more than being a dad.

NICK MONDEK, DONOR RECIPIENT: There it is.

NAKANO (voice-over): But in 2022, an aggressive form of Acute myeloid leukemia put the then 45-year-old on his deathbed.

N. MONDEK: I'm thinking about my sons and I'm thinking about how I'm not ready to move on yet.

NAKANO (voice-over): Thankfully, his older brother, Dave, was a match. Several rounds of chemo erased Mondek's cancerous cells and replaced them

with his brothers.

By the end of the year, he was able to return to work as an anesthesiologist.

N. MONDEK: It was an incredible feeling just to have, you know, someone that you've idolized your whole life come and save you.

NAKANO (voice-over): Unfortunately, remission didn't last long.

N. MONDEK: April of this year, it came back ferociously fast.

NAKANO (voice-over): The cancer had found a way around his brother's stem cells. With Dave no longer an option, Mondek searched for cousins in the

National Bone Marrow Registry, but no donor match. Desperation got him thinking.

N. MONDEK: I had a friend who had lymphoma, and his 19-year-old son donated to him. So I started thinking, can my own son do that for me? But he's only

nine and he's 70 pounds.

NAKANO (voice-over): Test revealed that his older son, Stevie, was a 50 percent match, enough to confuse the current cancer cells and replace it.

N. MONDEK: I just told him we were looking for other donors because I didn't want him to feel pressured, feel like this is something he has to

do. And I just left it up to him.

NAKANO: Stevie tells me he didn't even have to think for a second. The answer was obvious.

[12:55:05]

STEVIE MONDEK, SON OF NICK MONDEK: I wanted to help him get rid of his cancer and I wasn't nervous at all.

NAKANO (voice-over): In July, Stevie made history, becoming the youngest stem cell donor ever at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job.

NAKANO (voice-over): The transplant was a success. Test show 99 percent of Mondek's body is now made up of Stevie's healthy cells.

N. MONDEK: He donated six million stem cells and saved my life. So, it's not just an honor to call my son. It's -- I'm proud to call him my hero.

NAKANO (voice-over): This whole experience has had a profound impact on Stevie.

N. MONDEK: Nice.

NAKANO (voice-over): I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up.

S. MONDEK: I want to be a doctor in baseball.

NAKANO (voice-over): A sports doctor. How perfect.

N. MONDEK: He's great at baseball. And he's already on his way to becoming a doctor. He already saved one patient. So, he could save more.

NAKANO (voice-over): In Torrance, I'm Rina Nakano, CBS L.A.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: What a beautiful, a heartwarming story there.

GOLODRYGA: I love seeing that father and son together.

All right. What a good way to end this show on today. That does it for "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "Amanpour" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:00]

END