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The Situation Room

Hurricane Melissa Hammering Cuba; Hurricane Melissa's Trail of Destruction in Jamaica; Roblox Responds to Safety Concerns; Air Traffic Controller's Message to D.C. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 29, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're following the very latest on Hurricane Melissa.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, the storm is hammering Cuba with severe flooding after making its second landfall this morning. Melissa has just been downgraded to a Category 2 storm with winds in excess of 100 miles an hour.

So, let's go straight to meteorologist Chris Warren. He is in the CNN Weather Center tracking the storm for us. Chris, even though the storm has lost some of its fury, it still remains powerful.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's a hurricane, and it's a Category 2 hurricane that is now starting to leave Cuba, Pamela and Wolf. And what we're seeing with the purple and the red, that's where the heavier rain is going to be. That's also where the stronger wind will be as well.

So, again, yes, it is a 105-mile-per-hour Category 2 hurricane. Those stronger winds are going to be closer to the center of circulation. One piece of good news here, though, is it is moving faster. It is moving north-northeast at 14 miles an hour. Remember, Melissa, for a while, was moving at like 2, or barely moving at all. So, this one now, finally, Melissa, is moving offshore. And though it is weakening, it is still, again, a hurricane. And hurricane warnings are posted here for the Bahamas. Category 2 expected anywhere between 110, 105- mile-per-hour winds at times throughout parts of the Bahamas.

And while that's happening, there will also be some very heavy rain. But with the wind, here's the timing. This evening now, right over the Bahamas, gusts up to 85, 90 miles an hour. That's more likely. And then at times, closer to the center, closer to the center is where it's going to be 110 to even 115-mile-an-hour wind gusts with this. And then moving away from the Bahamas.

Here's a look at the rain. The darker red, the heavier the rainfall. And you can see that just raking over the Bahamas through this evening and into the nighttime hours before it pulls away. So, this Hurricane Melissa will continue to drop a lot of very heavy rain. Still some heavy rain anticipated for Cuba. And also, Haiti has had day after day after day, about a week, maybe even a little bit more than a week of tropical rain. So, that could be some bad news there. And then, Pamela and Wolf, we're going to see, once again, Bermuda with another very close call. Close enough. We could see some hurricane conditions here.

BROWN: All right. Chris Warren, thanks so much. Wolf.

[10:30:00]

BLITZER: And today in Jamaica, the full scale of Melissa's destruction is just starting to come into view as residents begin to recover. I want to discuss that and more with Jamaica's Minister for Local Government, Desmond McKenzie. Desmond, thank you so much for being with us. I know this is a difficult moment. Help us understand big picture how badly did this storm impact your beautiful country of Jamaica?

DESMOND MCKENZIE, JAMAICAN MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Well, thank you, Wolf, and thank you for having me on CNN. Let me just give the perspective. Jamaica is in the top five -- one of the top five most disastrous countries in the world. We sit in the center of an earthquake fault line. Hurricanes and earthquakes is not unusual to Jamaica, but Melissa perhaps has been the greatest one that we have experienced in the country.

The entire Jamaica, from Negril Point to Morant Point, has been affected. The western half of the island, parishes like St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Clarendon, Manchester, parts of (INAUDIBLE) have been severely impacted. So, it is fair to say that Melissa did impact the entire Jamaica.

Presently, just about 73 percent or about 600,000 Jamaicans are without electricity. In our two parishes, electricity is up. We have water in some parishes. But in our breadbasket, where our economy depends heavily on agriculture, that parish is devastated. The capital of St. Elizabeth, Black River, has been totally destroyed. Hospitals have been affected, schools have been affected, police stations, fire stations. Just about a great, great majority of our infrastructure has been affected.

We are this morning doing an assessment to see what is the next step. There are various teams out. The prime minister will be going -- flying across the country to have a first look at the damage. We have been meeting from last night to look at our response. And we are now presently actively trying to restore commerce. We have given the go- ahead to the utility providers to start to restore power and telecommunication access. Clearing of roads, et cetera, have started.

So, we have in fact started to do some work as we have a long journey in terms of restoration and to look at damage across the entire country.

BLITZER: We're told, Desmond, that the death toll in Jamaica still stands at three people. Do you expect that number to go up? Is that the current number?

MCKENZIE: Well, we are not in a position to officially say yet because we have not had that information, because as I said before, some of the parishes are -- the communication has been difficult because of the volume of the effects in those areas. But we are hoping that there is minimal, if any at all, as it relates to death arising from the passage of Melissa.

BLITZER: President Trump says the United States is prepared to help the people in Jamaica in the aftermath of this brutal storm. Have you been in touch with any U.S. officials and is any U.S. aid or international aid, for that matter, already starting to come in to help the people in Jamaica?

MCKENZIE: Well, yes, we have been in touch through our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Even prior to the advent of the hurricane, as the Ministry of Responsibility for local government have been in touch with the U.S. embassy.

We are doing an assessment on our airports to see how best for flights to come in with relief supplies. Because as I said before, the entire country was affected by the passage of Melissa. And by mid-afternoon we'll be doing that. But already our needs list has been prepared and we have been working with our international partners, including the United States. And I want to say on behalf of the government and people of Jamaica, we welcome the announcement by President Trump for his assistance to the people of Jamaica.

BLITZER: Do you have any sense at all, Desmond, how long it will take for the Jamaican people to recover from this storm?

[10:40:00]

MCKENZIE: Wolf, it's going to be a massive rebuild, Wolf, because presently we have over 20,000 or more Jamaicans in shelters and most of those persons will have to remain in shelters because a lot of damage has been done to homes. So, once we have done the assessment, Wolf, it is going to take us some time. It's going to be a long haul, but we are prepared to face the challenges that are ahead of us to start to rebuild this beautiful country.

And as I said before, we welcome the help of every well-thinking person across the world. And I want to assure the Jamaicans in the United States and across the world that the government of Dr. Andrew Holness have started the process to see how and how quickly we can return Jamaica to some level of activeness.

As I said before, we have now lifted all the restrictions and all the entities are up now making the necessary arrangements to start the progress of getting Jamaica back on track.

BLITZER: Jamaica's Minister for Local Government, Desmond McKenzie, good luck to you. Good luck to all the people in Jamaica. Thank you very, very much for joining us.

MCKENZIE: And thank you for having me on your program.

BLITZER: And to our viewers here in the United States and indeed around the world, you can find out how you can help Hurricane Melissa victims at cnn.com/impact or text Melissa to 707070 and you can make a donation.

BROWN: All right. Coming up here in the situation room or legal action against the popular gaming platform Roblox. Up next, we'll speak to the company's chief safety officer as parents worry if it's safe for their kids.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:00]

BLITZER: New developments, more illegal action against a popular gaming platform, Roblox, and even more families wondering if it's safe for their children. Roblox hosts more than 100 million daily users, many of them kids. Officials in Louisiana, Florida, and Kentucky now accuse the company of failing to protect children online and creating a breeding ground for predators.

Matt Kaufman is the chief safety officer for Roblox. He joins us now. Matt, thanks very much for joining us. I want you, first of all, to watch what Becca Dallas told us yesterday here in the Situation Room. She's suing your company for her teen son Ethan's death. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECCA DALLAS, SUING ROBLOX AFTER SON'S DEATH: We did our best. We put the parental controls. We talked to my son about the dangers. Don't click any links. Don't trust basically anybody. If you have any questions, please feel, you know, safe enough to come tell us. Just we wanted to be -- we were upfront with him because of the dangers of anything out there, viruses, and let alone little did we think this would happen to our child, a predator. Somebody would reach out to my son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Matt, is Roblox a safe platform for children?

MATT KAUFMAN, CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER, ROBLOX: First, thanks for having me this morning, Wolf. The first thing I want to say is what happened with Ethan, Becca's son Ethan, is a tragedy. Anytime somebody is hurt and it's related to Roblox, we take this incredibly seriously. And as a parent, I know that I cannot really comprehend just the toll that this has taken on Ethan's family.

Having said that, Roblox prioritizes safety. From the beginning, nearly 20 years ago when Roblox was founded, safety was a priority because Roblox understood from the beginning that there were kids on the platform. And that's why we've instituted a number of safety features built into the product from the very beginning. You cannot share video and images while you're chatting with somebody. We don't encrypt any communication so we can monitor all of it. And these are just some of the initial steps that we take because we want to build safety into Roblox by default.

BLITZER: Matt, as you heard from that mother, she was using parental controls and warning her son about possible dangers. If parents can't rely on those cautions when their kids play on Roblox, what can they really do to keep their kids safe?

KAUFMAN: What I tell parents and parents of my friends and family is the number one thing to do to keep kids safe online is to have a conversation with their kids about what applications they're using, who they're speaking with, and what content they're looking for.

The reality is that kids and teens have accounts on lots of different platforms. While Roblox prioritizes safety of kids, and remember Roblox was built from the beginning, understanding there were kids on the platform, there are other platforms out there that were never intended for kids and teens. They don't have the underlying safeguards in place. And it's really important for parents to have that conversation about all the places where kids are spending time on the internet. That's number one.

Number two, setting up parental controls is important, obviously. With Roblox, you can set parental controls and you can limit who your kids have contact with, you can limit what content they have access to, and you can monitor what's going on. But again, we're respectful of the fact that not all parents have time and the resources to set up these controls, and that's why we've built in safety by default.

But really, it all begins with a conversation with your kid about where they're spending time, and it's not just about Roblox, it's about all of these different applications for social media and communication on the internet.

BLITZER: Do you believe, Matt, that parents need to just accept a possible risk to their children's safety if they play Roblox, or is there a way to eliminate all possible danger?

[10:50:00]

KAUFMAN: You know what, that's something that we've been thinking a lot about. Our goal is to make Roblox the safest platform on the internet, period. But we also understand, in order to keep kids and teens safe on the internet, it's really about raising the safety standards of the entire internet. And that's why Roblox is playing a leading role in trying to establish what are the right standards for kids and teens.

So, as part of that, we've done something recently where we've announced that by the end of this year, anybody who has access to communication on Roblox, who can communicate with anybody, has to go through a proactive age estimation process. And what that means is we're going to use a picture of you in order to determine how old you are, or estimate how old you are.

And this is critical because this allows us to move beyond people just typing in whatever birthday they want when they create an account on the internet. We are doing this proactively before anybody can access any communication on the platform, and really setting a standard which we hope other platforms will follow. Along those lines, we also just today announced a partnership with the Attorney General Alliance. And what that partnership is, is it's us working with attorney generals in partnership to establish what are the right standards for platforms to have that kids and teens can access online. Because it's, again, really important -- it's not just about Roblox setting the bar for what the safest thing on the internet is, it's really about raising the bar for the entire industry. Because kids and teens move from platform to platform, and it's important that we all abide by the same standards.

BLITZER: Matt Kaufman from Roblox, thanks very much for joining us.

KAUFMAN: Thank you very much.

BLITZER: Pamela.

BROWN: All right. happening now, Wolf Deliberations getting back underway in the trial of Sean Grayson. He is the Illinois sheriff's deputy who shot and killed Sonya Massey last year in her home after she called about a possible prowler. Body cam video shows Grayson ordering Massey to put down a pot of boiling water just before the shooting. The jury must decide if Grayson is guilty of murder.

And we are watching to see what happens in the civil trial involving that Virginia teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student back in 2023. This is a live look right inside the courtroom right now. Abby Zwerner claims, the assistant principal, ignored multiple warnings that the child had a gun and intended to use it. Zwerner needed six surgeries and still has a bullet in her chest. She is seeking $40 million in damages.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will reconsider its decision to let President Trump deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon. A three-judge panel made the original decision, and now 11 judges will rehear arguments. In the meantime, the Trump administration will be barred from deploying the National Guard to Portland.

BLITZER: And just ahead, working without pay, a veteran air traffic controller tells us why he's taking leave during this shutdown right now and he has a message for leaders here in Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:00]

BLITZER: New this morning, the NCAA is delaying a rule change that would let college athletes bet on professional sports. The change will now go into effect November 22nd instead of November 1st. College athletes will still be banned from betting on college sports, this comes a week after charges were filed in a betting scam connected to the NBA.

BROWN: All tied up, the Toronto Blue Jays bouncing back to take game four after a big two-run home run off Dodger star Shohei Ohtani.

BLITZER: CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes is joining us right now. Andy, did this one take 18 innings?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Thankfully no, guys. I'm still recovering from that game three marathon. I can't imagine how the players were doing yesterday. But I tell you what, nothing seems to faze these Blue Jays. They were down in the ALCS time and time again, always found a way to fight back. And they did it yet again in game four. And I tell you what, celebrities were out last night for this one. Brad Pitt, LeBron, Sidney Sweeney, Prince Harry and Meghan, they were all in attendance to see Shohei Ohtani on the mound.

And he had a 1-0 lead in the third when Jay Slugger, Vlad Guerrero Jr. came to the plate. And Vlad hits a home run, his seventh of the postseason. His first home run Ohtani has allowed since August 27th. Ohtani pitched into the seventh inning, but he left the game with runners on. And then the Jays once again get into that Dodgers bullpen. They scored four runs in the inning. Toronto would go on to win 6-2 to even the series with two games apiece. And here was Blue Jays manager John Schneider on bouncing back from losing game three.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN SCHNEIDER, TORONTO BLUE JAYS MANAGER: I feel really good about this team every night. You know what I mean? It's hard to play 18 innings and come back and kind of flip the narrative against a very talented team and a very talented individual and Shohei Ohtani on the mound. I feel really good about just us, you know, focusing on tomorrow's game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. So, the World Series is now a best of three. Game five tonight in L.A., guys. It's going to be a rematch of game one starters on the mound. Blake Snell taking on rookie Trey Yesavage. And you know, sometimes these teams just get that team of destiny feel to them. Blue Jays getting there the way they just keep fighting back --

[11:00:00]