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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Calls for U.S. Senate to Scrap Filibuster Rules; Jamaica's Black River Community in Desperate Need; King Charles Strips His Brother Andrew of Royal Titles; Critical Needs in Jamaica After Destructive Storm; Top U.S. General in Israel to Monitor Ceasefire; Rebels Accused of Massacres After Seizing El Fasher. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired October 31, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Millions of Americans are feeling the effects one month into the government shutdown. "One World" starts right
now. Senators head home for the weekend as benefits are set to lapse. Payments are at a standstill and travel wars are on the horizon.
Andrew stripped off his royal titles and kicked out of the royal mansion. So, what's next for the Former Duke of York? We've got the latest. Plus,
large-scale massacres are nowhere to flee, as aid agencies say the world has failed Sudan. We'll bring you a report on the humanitarian crisis.
Hello, I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta. Great to have you with us. Well, the U.S. government shutdown is now in its 31st date, and is on track to become
not only the longest in history, but likely the most destructive as well. In just a matter of hours, 42 million of the most vulnerable Americans,
including 16 million children, will lose a critical lifeline.
On Saturday benefits for the nation's largest food assistance program, known as SNAP will expire, while many Americans are also finding out their
health care premiums will skyrocket in the new year. Well, despite that, Capitol Hill is largely empty. After a glimmer of hope surrounding
bipartisan negotiations earlier this week, the Senate has adjourned and won't meet again until Monday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to call lawmakers who have been in recess since mid-September back into session. And President Trump will be
spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. On Thursday, he indicated he may not be interested in negotiating by calling for an end to
the filibuster.
Scrapping that long standing Senate rule would allow the Republican majority to reopen the government without the need for any democratic
votes. CNN's Annie Grayer joins us now live from Capitol Hill. Annie, good to have you with us. So clearly, neither side willing to budge.
President Trump now flagging this so-called nuclear option, calling for the Senate to scrap the filibuster. Is that actually a viable option?
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: It doesn't seem so, because even top Republicans in the Senate are against this idea, and I just received a
statement from Leader Thune's spokesperson, who said that his position is unchanged, that Thune is against the idea of eliminating the filibuster.
And that's because this 60-vote threshold is really the bedrock of the Senate as an institution. It's what requires Democrats and Republicans to
work together. Now, both parties have explored the ideas of eliminating it over time, but have always stopped short of actually following through.
Because while it's nice to have gotten rid of that, while you're empowered be able to pass your priorities more easily, it doesn't feel as good when
you are in the minority and no longer have a seat at the table on any major legislation. So, Thune has continued to be against the eliminating the
filibuster. Take a listen to how he talked about it, just a few weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): There's always pressure on the filibuster. Sure, yeah. I mean, you know, you -- there are folks out there who think that
that that is the way we ought to do things around here, simple majority. But I can tell you that the filibuster through the years has been something
that's been a bulwark against a lot of really bad things happening to the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRAYER: So, with top Republicans pouring cold water on this idea, there's a question of what the president's fresh demands are going to do to the
beginnings of bipartisan negotiation that started happening in the Senate. There are no major breakthroughs yet, but the two sides are beginning to
talk because the pressure to end the shutdown continues to build.
Real people are feeling real pain. Millions of federal workers are going without pay, and tomorrow, 42 million Americans will lose their food
assistance and start to go hungry. Also, tomorrow is the first day that Americans on those Obamacare subsidies will be able to see how much their
health care prices are going up without those subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
So, there are a lot of dynamics unfolding this weekend, as senators remain back in their states. The House remains out of session. And clearly the
president coming back from his foreign trip, getting more involved in the stalemate here. We'll see how his calls for the filibuster continue to
change the dynamics of this shutdown.
KINKADE: All right. Annie Grayer, good to get that update from you from D.C. Thanks so much. Well, I want to go to someone who is impacted by this.
Alicia Byrd is a SNAP recipient, and she joins us now live in Orlando, Florida. We appreciate your time today, Alicia.
[11:05:00]
Just take us through the impact and how this is going to affect you and your family over the coming days, because you are one of the 42 million
people that will no longer get this food assistance from tomorrow.
ALICIA BYRD, SNAP RECIPIENT: Thank you for having me. With the SNAP benefits ending is going to impact how my kids are fed and how I'm fed.
It's going to start with me not eating and just feeding my kids so that they can have something to eat, to go to school with, to go to bed with, to
have leftovers, and that would require me not eating and skipping meals.
Not having enough is very scary. Not being able to provide for them, having to scrape up anything that I have just to get them something to eat. It's
going to be very scary.
KINKADE: Just Alicia, explain how old your children are? And what you're going to do over the next week?
BYRD: They are six and eight years old. And what I plan to do is use the United Against Poverty Program to help me feed my children. Here, they have
all types of resources as far as job training and food assistance and clothing assistance.
KINKADE: And have you been using that program also to search for work?
BYRD: Yes, they are also partnered with a lot of employers in Orlando to help us get ready for interviews, find jobs and stay employed.
KINKADE: So how does this shutdown affect that service as well? And just explain for us what a week without SNAP benefits would look like?
BYRD: A week without SNAP benefits that looks like, like I said before, just very minimum, eating, making something that can last for the kids,
hopefully, you know, feeding them in ration until I get something more stable, something more plentiful, far as food. It's just going to be a hard
week.
It's going to be a hard week, but as far as the program, I think more exposure for them and more help to get people to help them, so that they
can help us. That would help everyone in turn.
KINKADE: And Alicia, while you and your family, like so many others, are struggling to put food on the table. Lawmakers who are responsible for
keeping the government open and not only -- not doing that, they're not turning up for work. Capitol Hill is pretty much empty right now.
What is your message to the lawmakers who are on recess, who are taking their weekend off and not getting a deal done?
BYRD: That you're not only hurting your low income and your core, you're also hurting your veterans. I am an army veteran, and the sacrifice that we
put for this country, that we put ahead for this country everything that we gave for our service, it is not fair to be taken away any type of
assistance that we are allowed.
It is not fair that we have to go hungry. It is not fair that we have to scrape and beg and starve just to feed our kids. We don't deserve that. We
put -- we sacrifice everything for this country. And there are people out here, they're sleeping on the ground. There are people out here that don't
know that these services are available either.
And these services are limited because they're getting donations, and that's also limited. So, it's only going to go so far. It's only going to
go so far, as many people as they can feed and as people as they can cope. It's not going to last forever. And I already see that we won't recuperate
from this.
We won't recover from this, if we don't have the assistance that we need.
KINKADE: The Democrats say that they're holding out to ensure that there is an expansion to the health care subsidies.
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Will that impact you, too, if that doesn't happen, if there isn't an expansion to those health care subsidies going forward. Do you agree that,
that is a reason that that there should be a hold up in this, you know, in this deal? Who do you blame, essentially, for the shutdown?
BYRD: Who do I blame for the shutdown? I blame all the people that are in control, that are golfing on the weekends, that are taking flights to
islands, that have the power to feed a nation, to get us out of poverty, to get us out of homelessness, to get us out of hunger and starvation.
I blame them. They hold the power in their hands, and yet they make us beg on our knees for it. It is not right. It's not right at all.
KINKADE: It certainly isn't. Alicia, we wish you and your two children all the very best going forward, and hopefully the government has reopened very
soon. And I hope you didn't have to go out, you know, go for too long dealing with this situation. Alicia Byrd, thanks so much for your time.
BYRD: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, I want to turn to the Caribbean now, where rescue efforts are underway after a powerful Hurricane Melissa tore a path of devastation
across Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, even Haiti, killing dozens of people. It hit Bermuda Thursday as a Category 1 storm with strong winds and rains
closing schools, ferry routes and roadways.
Jamaica bore the hurricane's brunt as a Category 5, making landfall with 185 mile an hour winds as well as torrential rains earlier this week that
wiped out roads, homes, even entire communities in its wake. It left widespread power outages across the island, hundreds of thousands of people
forced to leave their homes.
Cuba suffered extensive damage from flooding and mudslides, especially in the east.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: -- people, 10 of them children. Our CNN team on the ground spoke to people gathering at the Black River bridge near one of the worst hit
communities in Jamaica. They're searching for food, water and of course, news about their loved ones, in the aftermath of a 15 feet storm surge.
Jamaican Defense Forces have landed helicopters, but the heat and humidity is adding another layer of suffering to the recovery efforts. Here's one
resident's experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYAN, BLACK RIVER RESIDENT: Six hours. It's frightening. I've never seen anything like this in my life. It was devastated, wind and rain. It was
unprecedented.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Meteorologist Derek Van Dam describes the chaos and the human suffering as desperation settles in. I don't think we've got that report. I
want to turn to a developing story now. The Director of the FBI says that a terror plot in Michigan has been thwarted. Kash Patel says the FBI has
arrested multiple suspects who are allegedly planning a violent attack over the Halloween weekend.
Sources telling CNN that the plot was inspired by ISIS and was uncovered through an online chat room. We've also heard that suspects are young in
their teens or early 20s. For more now, I want to welcome our National Correspondent, Brynn Gingras, who is tracking the developments for us.
Brynn, good to have you on the story. So, this sounds pretty frightening. Is there still a threat to the community, and what else is being done,
especially with Halloween happening tonight to ensure that people are safe at gatherings?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, Lynda, federal officials and officials at the local level were very clear that there is no
threat to the community right now. Of course, to your point, Halloween is a day that authorities are on alert.
We had that terrorist attack back in 2017 in New York City on October 31st. So certainly, this is something that they have been always on alert about.
In regards to this thwarted attack, information, to be quite honest, is a bit thin. But what we have learned from two sources is it is believed it
was ISIS inspired.
Now that is has a broad meaning. Does that mean that the people that are under arrest right now, were they aspirational, or did they actually have
the capability and means to carry out an attack? Again, from sources of our John Miller, we're learning that there was some chatter in a chat room that
there was an FBI undercover agent a part of and got wind of.
And in some of that chatter, there was the language of pumpkin day. So, there was a concern that maybe something was imminent, and that we're told
by sources, is why authorities sort of went in, right? They started with some arrests conducting search warrants in the areas just outside of
Detroit and Dearborn and Inkster.
What we understand at this point right now, that two people are under arrest, three people are being questioned.
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That they range from ages 16 to 20 years old, but right now we aren't seeing any charges, so it's possible that there is just a lot of
questioning and still trying to figure out what sort of evidence they've uncovered, to figure out what kind of charges could come next. So, this
seems very early.
Of course, this was all brought to the forefront when the FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted this morning that there was a big attack that was thwarted by
and multiple people arrested, and this is the information that we are learning right now, but we're continuing to call our sources to get more
information.
But to your point, it is important to note that no current threat is out there, specifically across the United States at this point and in Michigan.
KINKADE: That is good news. Brynn Gingras, thanks -- for that update. Appreciate it.
GINGRAS: Yeah.
KINKADE: Well after the break, from prince to commoner, Buckingham Palace attempts to end a royal scandal as the king strips his brother of all his
royal titles. Plus, Israel receives the remains of two deceased hostages held in Gaza as a fragile ceasefire holds. We'll have the details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade, the name Prince Andrew is being erased from British public life as King Charles seeks to distance himself
and the royal family from the scandal surrounding his brother. Andrew no longer appears in any official record of British peers after the king began
the process of stripping his royal titles away on Thursday.
It followed the release of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager under the
control of Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has always denied the allegations. Giuffre's family gave their reaction to CNN's Kaitlan Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S SISTER-IN-LAW: It was about acknowledgement for her, always and I think this last stroke of the pen
that memoir, even though she's not here with us, she left an everlasting proof and vindication. And I think she would be so proud, and I think she
would turn to her children and say, I did it. I got the bad guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Andrew is also being evicted from his house at the royal estate in Windsor. He will now move to Sandringham Estate at the expense of the king.
CNN's Nic Robertson explains what led up to the removal of his titles.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. It's been a slow roll, if you will. 2019 when Prince Andrew, as he was then, got taken off
of royal Judas. 2022 the queen takes away his military titles. Then just less than two weeks ago, he voluntarily says, well, I won't use the Duke of
York title.
Now it's gone way beyond that. This is something historic, monumental hasn't happened in the UK for over 100 years, no longer the Duke of York,
no longer the Earl of Inverness, no longer the Baron of Killyleagh, no longer a prince, quite simply, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor forced to leave
this 30 bedroom, 30 room mansion on the royal estate in Windsor, where he is going, he is still sort of, if you will, under the auspices of the king.
But it's a private estate, privately owned residents that have been moving to privately owned by the king. So, no burden on the taxpayer there. It is
something that has been met, I think, on the streets of the UK, with support, certainly at the beginning of the week King Charles was actually
heckled by people saying, what did you know about Epstein and Andrew and early stage?
So, this is something that has been building, and it is really going to remove, it certainly seems. Andrew, very much from the public eye.
Sandringham Estate is about 100 miles north of London, monumental, historic, and I think for a lot of people in the country.
This was something that was a long time coming and inevitable for the king, albeit a tough decision not to push him entirely out of the royal family.
By the way, no longer a prince, but Andrew does remain, still eighth in line to the throne.
KINKADE: Our thanks to Nic Robertson. Now we're returning now to Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm. The coastal
town of Black River hit especially hard and being compared to, quote, hell on earth. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are approaching the Black River area a bridge that we were concerned that had too much damage to drive across, but
it looks like cars are traveling, at least in. We've got to watch out for some of this damage that's just screwed about.
Look at people have their personal belongings on the back of mopeds trying to desperately get out of this area, carrying whatever they can, food,
supplies, clothing. It's utter chaos here, and the heat is adding a new level of dimension to this humanitarian disaster that is unfolding.
It's very loud, and I just want to show you the bridge here as this massive queue of cars. People carrying food, all the supplies they can to get out
of Black River, because this area was hit extremely, extremely hard, desperation. What once was paradise has now turned into hell on earth. This
is ground zero.
What's happened to your home?
BRITNEY SAMMS, BLACK RIVER RESIDENT: The storm everything gone -- it is, so everything right down. Right down.
DAM: Was it the wind or was it the sea?
SAMMS: Everything, sir, everything. We're surrounded by water.
DAM: What do you need most at this time?
SAMMS: A roof over our head sir. Me and my mother, my grandmother, we don't know what they're going to do.
DAM: There's a supermarket in town that we were told that people are taking supplies off of the shelf. This is a matter of life and death for people.
That one individual saying that, hey, this isn't looting. This is a matter of survival. People carrying whatever they can to get out of this region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's paradise, but it's hell and Earth as well right now. Six hours, it's frightening. I've never seen anything like this in my
life. It was devastating.
DAM: The bridge in Black River has become a makeshift shelter. You can see helicopter and the Jamaican Defense Forces flying and surveying the area.
This area has become almost a makeshift refugee camp, because the people behind me have nowhere to sleep. Their homes were completely decimated by
the fury of Hurricane Melissa.
They are desperate for water, food, any kind of medical provisions, and they need international aid desperately. I am CNN Meteorologist Derek Van
Dam in Black River Jamaica. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Our thanks to Derek Van Dam there. Well still ahead, witnesses and survivors are describing scenes of horror in Sudan after the RSF fighters
took control of a town in the Western Darfur region, a few days ago. That report ahead.
[11:25:00]
Plus, tomorrow the Global Citizen Festival Amazonia happens in Brazil. We'll tell you what it's all about and who's in the lineup.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Lynda Kinkade. Here are some of the international headlines we're watching today. It's day 31 of the U.S.
government shutdown and Capitol Hill is largely empty. The Senate has adjourned until Monday, and in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to
call lawmakers back into session.
But in just a matter of hours, critical food assistance will expire for 42 million Americans, including 16 million children. Hurricane Melissa is
losing strength as it moves north of Bermuda. It's left a trail of destruction across several countries in the Caribbean, as well as dozens of
deaths in Haiti and in Jamaica from high winds, flooding and landslides.
Officials say they expect the death toll to rise as recovery efforts continue. Britain's King Charles is to strip his brother Andrew of all his
royal titles and evict him from his residence in Windsor. It follows the controversy over Andrew's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Scrutiny increased following the release of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that he sexually assaulted her when she was a
teenager. Andrew has denied those claims. A fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza appears to be holding so far. On Thursday, Hamas returned the
remains of two deceased Israeli hostages.
[11:30:00]
They were identified as 25-year-old Sahar Baruch and 84-year-old Amiram Cooper. 11 deceased hostages remain in Gaza. A top American General is in
Israel today to monitor the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza. Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine is visiting the U.S. military's truce
Coordination Center and receiving briefings.
Here's the latest in a parade of top-level U.S. officials to visit Israel over the past few weeks. The U.S. brokered agreement is largely holding so
far, despite pushing Israeli strikes on Tuesday in punishing Israeli strikes on Tuesday in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier in
Rafah.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says the Israeli strikes killed more than 100 people. Want to turn now to Sudan's Darfur region, where we're
getting reports of large-scale massacres. Days after the paramilitary rapid support forces, or RSF, took over the City of El Fasher.
Survivors fleeing the violence describe summary executions and mass killings. The U.N. Humanitarian Chief, Tom Fletcher says the world has
failed Sudan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM FLETCHER, U.N. HUMANITARIAN CHIEF & EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: We cannot hear the screams, but as we sit here today, the horror is
continuing. Women and Girls are being raped, people mutilated and killed with utter impunity.
I urge colleagues, if you haven't already, to study the latest satellite imagery of El Fasher. Blood on the Sand. Mr. President, I urge colleagues
to study the world's continued failure to stop this blood on the hands. What is unfolding in El Fasher recalls the horrors that Darfur was
subjected to 20 years ago.
But what is different today is that we're seeing a different global reaction, one of resignation. So, this is also a crisis of apathy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Our Nada Bashir reports on the deepening brutality more than two years into Sudan Civil War, and we want to warn you, a report does contain
very disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With each passing day, more harrowing videos emerge from El Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region, in the
wake of the retreat of the Sudanese armed forces and a violent takeover by the paramilitary rapid support forces.
Civilians in the besieged city have faced atrocities on an unthinkable scale. Some of the footage we have obtained from El Fasher is simply too
graphic for CNN to broadcast. Civilians gunned down as they attempt to flee, bodies strewn on the ground, lying in pools of blood filmed by RSF
fighters.
In this video, two men are stopped by an RSF vehicle. Within seconds, one of them is shot, the other is heard pleading with the soldiers. Moments
later, we hear another gunshot. As the camera pans back around, the man is seen lying motionless on the ground.
DENISE BROWN, U.N. RESIDENT COORDINATOR IN SUDAN: We have received credible reports of summary executions, of unarmed men lying on the ground being
shot, and of civilians as they try and flee the city. There are still civilians who remain in El Fasher. We're not sure how many could be 120,000
could be more than that.
BASHIR (voice-over): The scale of these attacks, are such that evidence of the RSF's atrocities are now visible from space with indicators of bodies
and what appear to be large bloodstains detected by experts at the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab. In satellite imagery of El Fasher's Al Saudi
hospital, clusters of white objects consistent with the size and shape of bodies and reddish discoloration nearby appear to reflect reports of mass
killings in the area.
As documented by the Sudan doctor's network, which claims that the RSF quote, cold bloodedly killed everyone they found inside the Al Saudi
hospital, turning it into a human slaughterhouse. The RSF has described the claims as baseless, but according to the U.N. nearly 500 people were killed
in the assault.
NATHANIEL RAYMOND, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF YALE HUMANITARIAN RESEARCH LAB: We have seen over the past 48 to 72 hours, the proliferation of objects across
El Fasher that are consistent with human bodies, to the point where we can see piles of bodies across the city from space. They're moving neighborhood
to neighborhood. They're systematically wiping out those they find that remained.
BASHIR (voice-over): While many remain trapped in El Fasher, thousands have fled the violence on foot in search of safety. The accounts of those who
survived the journey are distressing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They harassed the people and beat some of them. They separated the young men from the women. I don't know where they took the
men.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been many tragedies. Men and women have been killed. We hope that the international community will stand with us.
[11:35:00]
BASHIR (voice-over): The leaders of both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces have faced Western sanctions due to their involvement in alleged war
crimes, but U.N. officials say the RSF has displayed a pattern of systematic and often ethnically motivated attacks on a large scale.
According to a report presented to the U.N. by a panel of experts, the RSF and its allied militias have allegedly received support from the UAE in the
form of weapons. Though, the UAE has denied backing the paramilitary group. The RSF has also been accused by the United States of committing a genocide
during the ongoing civil war.
The paramilitary group has acknowledged what they've described as violations in El Fasher. Its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo saying in a
statement that an investigation will be carried out to hold those responsible for criminal acts accountable. In a directive issued to its
fighters, RSF leaders also called on all personnel to adhere to rules of conduct and to ensure the protection of civilians. Evidence on the ground,
however, tells a very different story.
RAYMOND: The rapid support forces have surrounded this city in an earth wall called a berm that's as high as nine feet. So, the context here is
these people are inside what we call a Kill Box. They have been walled-in to be killed systematically.
BASHIR (voice-over): The fall of El Fasher could mark a dangerous turning point in the conflict, allowing the paramilitary group to consolidate and
strengthen its grip on the broader Darfur region. All the while putting civilian lives at greater risk of violence, persecution, and what aid
groups are already calling a humanitarian catastrophe. Nada Bashir, CNN in London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: A new study is raising some interesting questions about a possible link between COVID-19 and autism. Researchers found that children may be
more likely to be diagnosed with autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders if their mothers had COVID-19 while pregnant. Here's CNN's Health
Reporter Jacqueline Howard with more.
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: This new study is getting a lot of attention. The researchers analyzed data on more than 18,000 births that
happened between March 2020, and May 2021.
[11:40:00]
They found that among the mothers who had COVID-19 while pregnant, about 16 percent of them gave birth to a child who was diagnosed with a
neurodevelopmental disorder by age three. But in comparison, fewer than 10 percent of the babies born to mothers who did not have COVID during
pregnancy had a neurodevelopmental diagnosis by age three.
And these findings, they were most pronounced for two factors, one, if the child was a boy, and two, if the mother had COVID in her third trimester.
So, we already know that when a pregnant mother's immune response is activated because she has an infection like COVID-19, then that can have
impacts on the fetus's brain development.
We also know that when a high fever occurs during pregnancy, that can impact fetal brain development. So, another possible factor could be how
many of the mothers in the study had a high fever as a symptom of COVID-19.
KINKADE: Well, the 2000-year-old tunnel known as "The Passage of Commodus" was once used by Roman Emperors to slip into the Colosseum unseen. The
passage is now opening to the public offering visitors a rare glimpse of the arena's imperial backstage. CNN's Ben Wedeman gets a tour of the
corridor before it opens to the public, examining the work that's gone into its restoration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- remove your helmet and tell me your name.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was the arch villain in Ridley Scott's epic drama "Gladiator" the Emperor
Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, squaring off against Russell Crowe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): This week, visitors to the Colosseum will for the first time have the chance to enter a long closed off passage named after
Commodus.
WEDEMAN: This corridor was constructed after the completion of the Colosseum in 80 A.D. It was designed to allow the emperor to reach his seat
without mingling with the common folk. Many of the emperors weren't very popular.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Commodus, who fancied himself Hercules reincarnated, was more into bread and circuses than managing the complex affairs of a
vast empire. His 15-year reign marked the beginning of Rome's decline. It may have been in this 180-foot-long subterranean corridor that, according
to one Roman historian, someone tried but failed to assassinate the erratic Commodus.
The Colosseum's Chief Architect, Barbara Nazzaro, believes this was indeed the place.
BARBARA NAZZARO, CHIEF ARCHITECT OF COLOSSEUM PARK: It's the only corridor that comes underneath. So, it's the only corridor that could be. So, if it
happened, it happened here.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): The Colosseum sits on watery ground. The only way to properly renovate the passage of Commodus was to use ancient Roman methods,
says, restore Angelica Pujia.
ANGELICA PUJIA, CHIEF RESTORER OF COMMODUS PASSAGEWAY AT COLOSSEUM: So, we restored the gallery using exactly the same materials that Romans used back
then, natural putty lime, pozzolana sand, so materials that Romans found around here, but created in a modern way.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Last year, more than 14 million people visited the Colosseum, but only 24 people per day will be allowed into the passage of
Commodus. Better book now. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, in early Halloween at the White House, President Trump and First Lady Melania handed out candy to kids on the South Lawn on Thursday,
it was a day early, but still fun. A military band played bullish songs and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" even blared out as the Trumps walked out to
greet kids and parents.
And while the couple did not appear to be wearing costumes, President Trump was ecstatic when a child had on a navy suit, red tie and red hat. A tie,
very familiar to the president. Well humans aren't the only ones enjoying Halloween at zoos around the world, animals, they're getting some holiday
squishy treats of the squash variety. Thanks to an abundance of pumpkins. CNN's Polo Sandoval reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's trick or treat time at zoos and animal sanctuaries around the world, and pumpkins are the prized
snack. The gourds are downed in one big gulp by these hippos at the San Antonio Zoo. But it's a slow crush at the Oregon Zoo, with elephants using
their powerful feet to crack open the pumpkins.
[11:45:00]
It was part of an annual event called the squishing of the squash. It attracts visitors to the zoo each year, the donated pumpkins can weigh
hundreds of kilograms, too much for eight-month-old Tula-Tu, who prefer to show off some tricks rather than eat or treat. Bears at a sanctuary in
Kosovo, also enjoyed their seasonal eats, but they had to work for their meals.
Sanctuary workers say that they hit the pumpkins so that the bears could forage for food the way they would in the wild.
TAULANT HOXHA, SANCTUARY SPOKESPERSON: Now it's autumn, the season of chestnuts and pumpkins, but at the same time, we've also decorated these
pumpkins to match the Halloween celebration atmosphere. So, the idea is to make it interesting for the animals and to make them more active. You can
see how they run after the fresh pumpkins, their seeds and the fresh chestnuts.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): Visitors say it was a delight to watch the bears getting a taste of the season.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very lucky to have come today, because we saw the bears having a special ceremony with the pumpkins.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We really liked what we saw. We loved landscape. We loved bears.
SANDOVAL (voice-over): No costumes, nothing scary, just full bellied fun and the hopes of bigger pumpkins to come maybe next year for little Tula-Tu
in Oregon. Polo Sandoval, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: So cute. Well, much more to come on "One World". Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. The first Global Citizen Festival to take place in Latin America begins Saturday. Amazonia is being held at
the Paralympic Stadium in Belem, Brazil. And after 13 editions of the festival happening in New York City, the mission driving this celebration.
This concert, is the culmination of a large scale 12-month advocacy campaign to raise $1 billion to protect, restore and re wild the Amazon
rainforest. The lineup of amazing singers and musicians will help amplify the voices of local and indigenous people to the world.
I want to welcome CEO of Global Citizen, Hugh Evans, and with him is indigenous Amazonian Activist Jose Kaete. He works with local communities
to support fair trade and also creates content on social media about the Amazon. Great to have you both with us on what is a hot day there in
Brazil, looking great. Hugh, I'll start with you.
[11:50:00]
What can we expect from this festival aim, which aims to raise $1 billion to protect the Amazon. And take us through the lineup you've got there of
international and local stars.
HUGH EVANS, CEO OF GLOBAL CITIZEN: Well, thank you. Thank you so much, Lynda. I'm here in Belem, Brazil, and tomorrow night, 50,000 global
citizens will join us here at the stadium, and you can see the stage behind us. And this is all part of Global Citizens Campaign to Protect the Amazon.
It's going to be headlined by amazing artists like Chris Martin of Coldplay, Anitta, Seu Jorge, Gilberto Gil, Charlie Puth is coming in, Gaby
Amarantos, so many artists from the Amazon, as well as across Brazil and also all around the world, united behind this central mission of raising a
billion dollars to protect, restore and rewild the Amazon rainforest.
KINKADE: Amazing. And Jose, you've spent over a decade supporting indigenous communities in the Amazon through Fair Trade initiatives. How
does having the Global Citizen Festival there in the region help shine a spotlight on the communities and the ecosystems that you've been working
with.
JOSE KAETE, INDIGENOUS ACTIVIST: So Global Citizen is this huge platform that connects to the rest of the globe. So having Global Citizen here, the
first in America, Latina -- Latin America, to be in Belem, will really help to amplify our voices and show a little bit of our culture and how
welcoming our people are, and the fighters, the defenders of the Amazon region, will be on stage.
We're going to talk for ourselves and not having someone speaking for us. So really help us to amplify our fight to protect the Amazon.
KINKADE: And Hugh, the timing is interesting, because the concept comes just ahead of the COP 30 Climate Conference, which will also happen there
in Belem. Just explain how the festival is tied in with that and what you're hoping to achieve?
EVANS: Well, the festival is focused specifically on protecting the Amazon rainforest, and we set ourselves this ambitious goal of raising a billion
dollars. We're proud that countries like Norway have already stepped up, but we do need other countries right now.
We need Keir Starmer the prime -- we need Chancellor Merz of Germany. And we also need President Lula here in Brazil to step up and actually enforce
policies to protect the Amazon in line with what Jose just said. It's critically important that these countries and countries will all be
represented this week at the COP 30 gathering.
Don't just make these highfalutin pledges, but they actually follow through with it, with action.
KINKADE: And Jose, indigenous voices, often --
KAETE: Yeah --
KINKADE: Yeah, I was just going to say indigenous voices are often unrepresented or underrepresented in global climate discussions. Take us
through the key message that you will be sharing there with festival goers.
KAETE: So, we got to share three main messages. The first one is against fossil fuels, and also raise awareness to protect the Amazon region, and
also to talk about climate justice. But I will introduce and give like a context on how many indigenous groups we have in the Amazon region, not
only in Brazil, but in the other countries.
And tell the world how diversity we are here. We have a lot of diversity of languages, of people, different cultures, songs, food, and I think that's
why the climate leaders, when they come here to cop study, they will see, they will experience not only the heat, but how welcoming we are and how
diverse we are. So, when we protect the forest, we protect the diversity of our peoples.
KINKADE: And Hugh, just break down for us the commitments you've had so far you mentioned Norway has made a commitment. What exactly they committed to?
And what else are you calling on the Prime Ministers of Belem, Brazil and other world leaders, what are you hoping that they will commit to?
EVANS: So, in addition to their own country commitments, monitoring their own climate change reductions that they do as part of the cop process.
We're calling on them specifically to support the Amazon Fund, which is why they're here in Belem, Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
Norway, has already committed $60 million and their prime minister announced that on stage at the Global Citizen event that took place in Rio
12 months ago when we kicked off the campaign in Brazil and we need the UK's Keir Starmer. We got an encouraging message from the prime minister
this morning.
But we said to the prime minister, messages of encouragement are lovely, but we need real commitments to support indigenous leaders in the Amazon.
So, we absolutely need Keir Starmer and the UK government to step up alongside the German government.
But as I mentioned, also President Lula, who we expect will be with us tomorrow night here at the festival in the Amazon. We need the Brazilian
government and the state governments, because together, they administer this Amazon Fund.
[11:55:00]
They've already distributed over $550 million to support indigenous communities, as Jose mentioned, not just here in Brazil, but across all
regions that are the touch the Amazon. But we ultimately need significantly more than that. We set ourselves the goal of protecting 100 million
hectares of the Amazon rainforest.
And we hope tomorrow night, we're on track to be able to announce close to a billion dollars in new commitments to support the Amazon Fund.
KINKADE: Excellent sir, great to hear all about that. I hope the festival goes really well to mark Hugh Evans, Jose Kaete, appreciate your time and
wish you all the very best.
EVANS: Thank you, Lynda.
KAETE: Thank you. Thank you so much.
KINKADE: Well, finally, a new museum comes to life, spotlighting Egypt's ancient history after years of construction. The grand Egyptian Museum will
officially open its door Saturday with tens of thousands of artifacts on display. The long-awaited museum will also showcase.
What officials say is the complete collection of King Tutankhamun's treasures filled the first time, located near the Giza Pyramids. The hope
is this new mega project will boost tourism in the country. That -- for this edition of "One World". I'll be back with much more news at the top of
the hour. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
