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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Looming U.S. Shutdown; Trump Suggests Troops Use Cities as "Training Grounds"; Trump Attends Meeting of Top Military Brass; Oregon and Portland Sue White House; Drug Cartels Recruiting Young Americans. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired September 30, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining U.S. from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. And
you're watching "The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, the U.S. government is hours away from a partial shutdown and there's no sign of compromise to keep it open. President Trump
tells generals that U.S. cities could be used as training grounds for the U.S. military. And inside the drug and weapons cartels using social media
to recruit new smugglers.
We do begin though with the threat of a U.S. government shutdown just less than six hours from now at this point. That is when funding is set to run
out without a last-minute deal, which looks like a long shot at this point. Republicans need at least eight Democrats in the Senate to join them to
pass a spending package.
Monday's meeting of congressional leaders ended at an impasse. Democrats are calling for concessions on Affordable Care Act subsidies, which
President Trump falsely characterized as demands for health care for illegal immigrants. The president said today a shutdown is, quote,
"probably likely."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're doing well as a country so the last thing we want to do is shut it down. But a lot of good can come down from
shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want and they'd be Democrat things, but they want open borders, they want men playing in
women's sports, they want transgender for everybody, they never stop and they don't learn. We won an election in a landslide. They just don't learn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: There's not a lot of facts to back up the president's statements there. The U.S. government is by far the biggest spender in the biggest
economy in the world. This has global ramifications. Each week of a shutdown generally subtracts two percentage points from GDP, but those
losses typically are quickly reversed when the government reopens. Of course, the question is how long it's closed.
The Office of Management and Budget normally post contingency plans ahead of a shutdown. This time that's not happening. We're told the Food and Drug
Administration, its inspections may be limited or delayed. There could also be delays at airports and a question hangs over whether national parks will
remain open. We are told that Social Security and unemployment benefits would continue to go out along with passport and visa services, weather
forecasting, Homeland Security, ICE of course, and Veterans Care.
For more on the looming U.S. government shutdown, Democratic Congressman Greg Stanton joins me now. Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time.
REP. GREG STANTON (D-AZ): Good to see you.
SCIUTTO: So, you have said the Democrats are going to remain firm on their health care demands including a rollback of the Medicaid cuts. Trump has
called Democratic demands a non-starter. I wonder, do you see any movement here? I mean, who's going to blink first?
STANTON: This is a very important fight. As you know and as the American people know, in the one big beautiful bill, more than 10 million people are
going to have health care ripped away from them in the form of massive cuts to the Medicaid program. That's the reason why that bill is so unpopular
with the American people.
Now, if we don't do anything, if we just move forward with a continuing resolution without making any appropriate changes, 4 million Americans will
no longer be able to receive health care under the Affordable Care Act. For 20 million Americans, their premiums are going to double and Democrats are
saying that is not acceptable to us. We are going to fight for people's health care. It's an important righteous fight. And we expect that the
president and the Republicans will sit down and have good faith negotiations, which so far, they haven't.
SCIUTTO: In terms of the polling, most voters do not want those health care cuts and not just Democratic voters but Republican voters. But when it
comes to blame for a potential shutdown, polls show voters essentially split. 26 percent of voters say they blame Trump and Congress. 19 percent
said they blame Democrats. 33 percent would blame both groups equally. I wonder, do you worry that Democrats might pay for this in midterm
elections?
STANTON: Other people can talk about the political fight or the ramifications for future elections. What we are trying to do as Democrats
in Congress is fight for health care for the American people. We're trying to do the right thing for the right reasons.
[18:05:00]
And if we don't do anything, if we just roll over and vote for this continuing resolution, millions of our fellow Americans will lose access to
see a primary care physician. That is not acceptable to us.
So, we're willing to negotiate. We're asking for negotiation. By the way, just like Kevin McCarthy negotiated with President Biden last year and they
did reach a bipartisan resolution, the same exact thing could happen here. But the president and the Republicans have to be willing to sit down and
engage in good faith negotiations. They haven't done so because they didn't expect the Democrats to be as united as we are in the fight for American's
health care.
SCIUTTO: You probably heard the president say today that some good could come from shutdowns. And as you know, some Democrats worry that in effect,
a shutdown will give the Trump administration Republicans the ability to make big cuts to government staff, for instance, which, as you know, has
been a priority there since the start of this administration. Is that a concern of yours as well, that they might take advantage of this?
STANTON: Well, illegal reduction, illegal firings, which they've been doing since day one with this administration. They bragged about DOGE. What a
disaster the whole DOGE process was. You know, random indiscriminate firing of key personnel, including safety personnel and the FAA, et cetera. We've
seen this story before, it doesn't end well. If they think that's going to scare us or get us to change our priority from fighting from health care,
they're wrong.
The American -- if they fire a bunch of key government officials and -- that can no longer provide important services to the American people, the
American people are rightfully going to say that that is on Donald Trump and the administration. The American people are very smart. They know
exactly what's going on here, and they're not going to fall for sort of threats from the White House.
SCIUTTO: On another topic related to the Epstein files, how do you respond to the speaker, Speaker Johnson's slow walking of the swearing in of newly
elected Democratic representative Adelita Grijalva oath of office. As you know, Republicans were quite swift in having their own members sworn in.
What's your reaction to this?
STANTON: It's totally unacceptable, and it's blatantly obvious to the American people exactly what is going on. Adelita Grijalva was
overwhelmingly selected by the people of Arizona District 7 to be their representative. She won in a landslide, and there should be no delay in
having her be sworn in and begin to act on behalf of her constituents. Hire staff, engaging constituent services, just like all the other districts
across the United States of America.
She is here in Washington right now. We had a session of Congress earlier today, and instead of swearing her in like she should have been so she can
take her rightful place as a full-fledged member of this body, the gentleman who was standing in for Mike Johnson pretended like he didn't
hear us or see us, it was a show, if you will.
And unfortunately, the people of AZ-07 don't have full representation in Washington for even a longer period of time. It's undemocratic. It's
totally unacceptable. He did it for the Republicans. When two Republicans were elected in special elections back in April, the next day they were
sworn in in a special session where we were out of town, but they did what's called the pro forma session. The exact same thing should have
happened today for Congresswoman Grijalva.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Do you believe that President Trump is effectively killing this issue? I mean, there was a lot, as you know, one of the rare issues
where there is quite broad bipartisan support for more details about the Epstein files, but this is dragged out for weeks now. I wonder if you think
the president is succeeding?
STANTON: I do not. I think, number one, there was incredible will, bipartisan will, as you have seen for the full release of the Epstein file.
These are very serious issues in terms of abuse of young women and abuse of power. And the American people, I think, are getting stronger in their
anger about the fact that justice may not fully come to these young victims.
It's important that these files be released. Important that the American people have full transparency, despite who may be involved in these -- in
the report. It doesn't matter how powerful those people are, the American people have a right to transparency. It was promised to them, as you know,
by President Trump himself, by Pam Bondi, by Kash Patel, they promised this, and there's no reason -- no acceptable reason for this ongoing delay.
I think Congress' desire to fight for this is getting stronger, not weaker.
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SCIUTTO: Congressman Greg Stanton, we appreciate you joining.
STANTON: Thank you so much.
SCIUTTO: Joining us now from Capitol Hill is Manu Raju. What do we got, five hours and 51 minutes to shut down, any chance of a deal before then?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Zero chance, Jim. And there's no discussion that's happening right now. There's no votes that are
expected to be approved by the United States Senate.
In fact, right now, they're voting on a Democratic alternative to keep the government open. That includes several provisions that they have demanded,
including to reverse the Medicaid cuts that are being -- that have been enacted under Donald Trump's signature policy law, the One Big Beautiful
Bill Act. Also, to extend expiring subsidies under the Obamacare program. Those subsidies would give and provide tax credits for individuals who are
using their health insurance under that program.
And also, to try to rein in Donald Trump's use of cutting federal spending without the consent of Congress, something Democrats say is blatantly
unconstitutional. None of those things are going to get into this bill because Republicans simply say that is not part of this negotiation. They
say, any negotiations need to happen separately beyond this funding dispute. And Republicans instead are pushing a bill that passed the House
about a week and a half ago that would extend government funding for seven weeks until November 21st. Democrats say, no way, they will not support it
unless they have those health care provisions added on to it.
And because of the United States Senate requires 60 votes to advance legislation, the Senate has broken down 53 Republicans, 47 Democrats. If
there is not bipartisan agreement, if there are not at least seven Democrats, really eight Democrats will be needed because of one Republican
opponent, eight -- you know, to vote for that Republican spending bill, if those eight Democrats are not there, this government will shut down. And we
do not expect eight Democrats to vote for this Republican plan.
Plus, the House is out of session. So, the GOP plan is the only one that can be law to avert a government shutdown. But, Jim, expect it to be
filibustered by Democrats, expect the first government shutdown in six years to happen. And then, all the damaging ramifications of the aftermath,
we will wait to see what happens. The federal workers being laid off, being fired, federal services essentially being suspended for an indefinite
amount of period of time.
The question will be how do they get out of the shutdown? Something no one knows the answer to quite yet.
SCIUTTO: Manu, you talked to quite a number of lawmakers on the Hill, Republican and Democrat, and I know it's not a scientific polling question
here, but what's your sense as to which party fears it has more to lose from a shutdown?
RAJU: You know, in covering these past shutdowns, it typically is the party that is demanding additional provisions and extraneous matters onto a bill
that ultimately causes them to lose political support among voters, or at least it forces them to relent in some way or the other.
We saw back in 2013, Republicans had demanded to defund Obamacare as part of the government shutdown, government funding fight. That led to a
government shutdown. Republicans got blamed. We saw Donald Trump, when he vetoed legislation to -- or opposed legislation to keep the government open
back in 2018 into 2019 because he wanted money for the border wall, that led to a 35-day government shutdown. He got blamed for that.
And here, Democrats are demanding healthcare policy changes, reversing existing cuts, it remains to be seen, Jim, but if history's any guide, they
could incur the blame for their demands here because it is the Republicans who are pushing a simple straight extension of government funding. So,
we'll see.
Democrats believe they have the political upper hand because of how healthcare lands among the American public, but -- and the -- when voters
start to see their services dried up, or people getting laid off, they may not care about those extraneous matters, they may simply want the
government open, which could mean that Democrats ultimately are forced to capitulate. Republicans are banking on that possibility. They plan to vote
over and over again on their seven-week stopgap bill, believing that Democrats ultimately will capitulate and vote for their plan, Jim.
SCIUTTO: Manu Rajan on the Hill, thanks so much. Turn American cities into training grounds for the U.S. military. That is what President Trump
suggested quite publicly at today's meeting of top officers in Quantico, Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They're very unsafe places, and we're going to straighten them out one by one. And this is going to be a major part for some of the people in
this room. That's a war, too. It's a war from within. Controlling the physical territory of our border is essential to national security. We
can't let these people in. But I want to salute every service member who has helped us carry out this critical mission. It's really a very important
mission.
And I told Pete we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military. National Guard, but military.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[18:15:00]
SCIUTTO: There are laws. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from all over the world to Marine Corps
Base Quantico. Sources say it was meant to be a pep rally, but the audience was largely silent as the event turned quite overtly political.
Hegseth's lectured top brass about what he called America's warrior ethos. He accused U.S. forces of becoming fat. You heard that right. And he
slammed past policies on COVID, transgender troops and diversity, saying many in the military had become woke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: An entire generation of generals and admirals were told that they must parrot the insane fallacy that, quote,
"our diversity is our strength." Our job, my job has been to determine which leaders simply did what they must to answer the prerogatives of
civilian leadership and which leaders are truly invested in the woke department and therefore, incapable of embracing the War Department and
executing new lawful orders.
The words I'm speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Quite a demand there. Joining me now is someone who wore the uniform of this country as a lieutenant general, Russell Honore. Thanks so
much for joining, sir.
LT. GEN. RUSSELL L. HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Hello, Jim.
SCIUTTO: What was your reaction to hearing the defense secretary, in effect, lecture uniformed commanders from around the world?
HONORE: Well, he's a real warrior, isn't he? Preaching to Korea generals and noncommissioned officers with multiple tours around the world and
currently leading the force as we know it in an honorable way. It was quite a challenge. Something could have been done over a video teleconference. It
was very tactical level observations. We expected a lot more in terms of guidance. But what we did get from the president is damn right scary, to
deploy U.S. forces attack in our cities to practice our war fighting skills. That was scary as hell.
And they got what they deserved. Starry eyes, no applause, respect. And all these generals are on the way home now. Thank God.
SCIUTTO: How did you interpret that phrase that U.S. cities should become training grounds for the U.S. military?
HONORE: It's a reflection of absolute power. You can say anything and do anything at any time. And the only thing that destroys absolute power is it
destroys itself from within. I don't think the American people is ready to see a number of army divisions going into major cities and maneuvering to
ferret out people that may have criminal records or people that are here illegally. I don't think the American people is ready to see this.
It's almost getting to a point that the breaking news coming out of the White House is somewhat tiring. Because they make breaking news once or
twice a day of stuff that we've never heard of, and it's not shared experience by everybody in the country. I didn't think we had a crime
emergency in D.C. Don't think we got one right now in New Orleans. Don't think we got one in Chicago. But that's the way it's being painted in order
to be able to deploy the military and the thousands of ICE agents that will go in. And the biggest operation will be the deportation of people. That's
what's really going on. And sending the military in as a backup force to them.
The president kind of scared me today. He was talking off the top of his head. And was reinforced by the secretary of defense. That being said,
they're in charge. The general will execute. Generals will execute legal orders. And I think we're a long way from deploying troops into cities to
go do major maneuver operations, practicing eliminating criminals from cities using the United States Army, that's against the Posse Comitatus
Act. And I think the judges will stay with us on that.
SCIUTTO: Let me ask you about the message about diversity. You heard the defense secretary there talk about diversity as woke, as a dirty word, in
effect. He talked about meeting the highest male standard of fitness.
[18:20:00]
I wonder if you believe some of those in the audience might have interpreted this as saying that white males are the ones welcome to lead.
HONORE: Well, that's clearly a message he said. Within the first couple weeks in office, he fired all the female four-stars, competent people doing
their job responding to his orders. And for a week or two, he had the African-American chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, a career fighter pilot
who went through all the loops to be able -- and former chief of staff for the Air Force that was appointed by President Trump in his first term, and
he fired him.
So, he's going on this tirade, and I feel sorry for those serving in a way. Being a minority myself, I wonder - and having been attacked during Katrina
people would send me e-mails saying I was a quota hire, I was a firm interaction hire while I was running the operation in Joint Task Force
Katrina. So, I've lived with this all my life, but I thought that was in the rearview mirror, and here we are again not judging people by the
character and the competence, but immediately firing women and firing black officers, senior black officers, minority officers at a high rate for no
cause, just fired.
SCIUTTO: Lieutenant General Russell Honore, it's good to have you on. Thank you for sharing your experience.
HONORE: All right. Jim, God bless America. And our troops will be OK. They'll rock steady. I'm convinced.
SCIUTTO: We'll be watching. Still to come on "The Brief", 200 U.S. National Guard troops are ready to deploy to Portland, but the city and the state
say no thank you. How Oregon is now fighting back, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: The State of Oregon and the City of Portland are suing the Trump administration after the president ordered his defense secretary to
federalize 200 Oregon State National Guard troops for deployment to Portland. The White House says ICE facilities there are, quote, "under
siege." State attorneys filed suit Monday asking a federal judge to temporarily block the move calling it unlawful. Here's the governor of
Oregon.
[18:25:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TINA KOTEK (D-OR): We do not need military intervention in the City of Portland or any city in our state. We have entire communities in our state
who are fearful of not only the rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration but the actions of immigration enforcement that has sent a
chilling effect from our schools to our businesses about what's going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Referring to Portland Trump has said, quote, "it is anarchy" out there. Joining us now is the Attorney General for the state of Oregon Dan
Rayfield. Thanks so much for taking the time.
DAN RAYFIELD, OREGON ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes, good to see you.
SCIUTTO: So, Oregon's governor explicitly rejected Trump's deployment, yet he invoked Title 10 authority anyway. Can you explain to us how much danger
this poses to the principle of state control over their National Guard?
RAYFIELD: Think about how much danger it proposes to the American way of life. This is not normal in America. Having the United States military in
our cities is not normal. Now, it's not normal for a reason because we have laws that prevent it except under extreme circumstances. Things that are
pretty common sense, right? Like you've got an invasion, you got a rebellion. These are things that aren't going on in Oregon despite the
president's rhetoric.
And I think what's incredibly dangerous is that we set this precedent where the president can say anything, they want about the condition of a
community that isn't grounded in facts or reality and then just start mobilizing the United States military in these cities. It's incredibly
dangerous, and that's why we filed that lawsuit right away.
SCIUTTO: So, the president has used this, you know, invasion language, national security justification for a whole host of things, as you know,
even going back to the case for tariffs, which of course you challenged as well previously. How have courts so far limited if at all presidential
claims of such crises to justify in this case the deployment of well really taking over state and National Guards to deploy them in cities like
Portland?
RAYFIELD: Right. And I think, you know, as a society we do want to give some deference to presidents, as you think about as they're deciding
whether or not you need certain things. Like you -- do you really want to debate how much there is a rebellion? Do you want to debate how much of an
invasion is there? There needs to be a little bit of deference to the president. However, what we're seeing in, you know, today's culture and the
way that this current president is doing that is he's making up facts.
Now, the courts have said that some of these things are reviewable, and that's what we're doing right now, is we're taking the set of facts on the
ground here in Oregon putting them in front of a judge and saying, under these conditions, does the president have the authority under these
statutes to federalize the National Guard? And we believe he clearly does not.
Again, it's not normal it's incredibly un-American when you think about what's going on. And even more so, think about the normalization of what
this president is doing. California, Memphis, D.C., he's talking about Illinois, here in Oregon, and then today, incredibly concerning talking
about using American cities as training grounds for a military. This is not a third world country, this is not normal, it's un-American, and that's why
the courts have to be the backstop for this type of behavior.
SCIUTTO: A federal judge deemed Trump's use of the National Guard in Los Angeles illegal, but the soldiers came and went before that decision and
that seems to be, you know, something that Trump has perfected, right, just kind of barreling ahead delaying a sort of decisive court decision here.
Can you see the same happening with Portland?
RAYFIELD: You know watching what he did, you're absolutely right, Jim. And what I wanted to do and what I instructed our attorneys and staff at the
Oregon Department of Justice is the moment that we got notice that this was going to be happen I wanted to be in court in less than 12 hours. And we
had a complaint filed within less than six hours, and tremendous credit to the people at the Oregon Department of Justice.
And we have a hearing on Friday morning at 10:00 a.m., what we call a temporary restraining order which would effectively pause the president's
actions. And hopefully, all of this will occur before the National Guard ever reached the City of Portland.
SCIUTTO: Big picture, have the courts, in your view, proven a sufficient enough check on presidential power and Trump's presidential power on a
whole host of issues? I mean, you yourself has been involved now in this National Guard case but previously, tariff powers and that's still working
its way through the court. We're waiting for the Supreme Court to ultimately decide. Tariffs are in place in the meantime. I mean, a lot of
folks put a lot of faith in courts to be the backstop here. Are you seeing that happen?
[18:30:00]
RAYFIELD: I do put my faith in the courts. It doesn't mean that I like all of the decisions to get made, because absolutely I do not. I disagree with
a fair share of them. However, when pushes come to shove, I think you've seen even our United States Supreme Court speak out about the independence
of the judiciary even at odds with our current president, and that's incredibly important.
What's disturbing that's going on right now is a president that normalizes criticizing one of the pillars of our democracy which is having an
independent judiciary. So much so that he was able to compel Congress to even pressure the court system. That is inappropriate, wholly un-democratic
in our country. And so, that's very concerning.
At the same time, you see all these other things going on where he's criticizing free press. He is going after right now the military in our
elections. So, the backstop, again, frankly, it's all of U.S. as voters, it's all of U.S. as people in our communities, and it's also our courts.
And I do have faith ultimately as we move through the legal system. I think you have to right now.
SCIUTTO: Dan Rayfield, we wish you luck in your case. Thanks so much for joining.
RAYFIELD: Thanks for having us.
SCIUTTO: Just ahead, our own David Culver speaks to a senior cartel leader as cartels are using social media now to recruit American teenagers. We're
going to have more on that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. Here are the international headlines we're watching today.
It appears the U.S. government is headed for a shutdown. Republicans and Democrats in the Senate remain bitterly divided ahead of a major deadline
to extend funding. President Donald Trump says a shutdown is likely and is warning of mass firings.
[18:35:00]
President Trump has told top military officers that U.S. cities could serve as training grounds for U.S. troops. He was speaking to hundreds of
generals and admirals who've been summoned to a base in Virginia. Also, at the meeting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlined his vision for how the
military should look and act, telling them, if you don't agree, resign.
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake has struck the central Philippines. The Red Cross reports at least 13 people have been killed. Motorbike riders on this
bridge struggled, as you can see, they're shaking there just to keep upright. Authorities issued and then canceled a tsunami alert for several
provinces. The quake also disrupted this beauty pageant, which was on television at the time.
Young Americans are getting recruited to smuggle drugs, weapons, even people into the U.S. CNN investigation has found the cartels are using
social media and offering large amounts of cash to new recruits. Authorities, though, are hot on their trail. CNN's David Culver spoke with
law enforcement and even the boss of a cartel about these operations. Here's his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll do another drive by westbound.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy. I'm moving in. And then we'll do kind of, like, a felony stop.
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, we're with several Cochise County deputies in several different units as they're moving in on their
targets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys just hunker down where you're at.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We're staying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up. Move.
CULVER: Some of them you'll notice, are undercover. You won't see their faces. You won't hear their names.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And is there anyone else in the car with you?
CULVER: And they're fanned out here, just north of the U.S. southern border to dismantle a smuggling network one arrest at a time. An investigation,
mind you, that's been going on for 18 months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not just your everyday criminal. It's definitely taking the bigger fish off the streets.
CULVER: The suspect just handed over his phone, revealing what investigators say are key details about a migrant smuggling operation
that's happening right now.
To coordinate a pickup. That's all playing out in real time. And there's several more that you're trying to arrest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 18 in total.
CULVER: 18 in total.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Right now, still in the car.
CULVER: Are these Americans we're talking about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the exception of one, all are U.S. citizens.
CULVER: Wow. They're tied to a faction of the cartel. They are a tight knit crew all working together for the betterment of a larger organization.
CULVER (voice-over): Cochise County spans 83 miles of border. south of this line, an underground network tied to the fractured but powerful Sinaloa
cartel. Plaza bosses control each corridor, deciding who and what gets through with lookouts posted on nearby hills constantly watching for U.S.
patrols.
To keep undetected, migrants and their cartel-backed guides, often dressed in camouflage, moving through the rocky desert terrain. They follow a pin
drop, often to a road a few miles from the border. Drivers race in for the pickup and cash payout. Many are young Americans recruited online
For six months, we tracked hundreds of cartel recruitment posts on social media, some aimed at luring teens. Coded language, emojis and cash offers
offering thousands per pickup.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not saying they're cheap in the parking lot here.
CULVER (voice-over): Deputies are going after the drivers. In the past six months, the Justice Department reports 431 people charged with smuggling in
Arizona alone. Many recruited online. Attorneys say most of their clients are between 18 and 25.
After the pickup, drivers head to stash houses on the U.S. side, run by cartel syndicates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking for a bright orange trailer. So, they're up to something.
CULVER (voice-over): Inside, deputies say they hold people drugs and weapons. Guns sourced in the U.S. head south into Mexico. Migrants and
narcotics move north to Tucson, Phoenix and beyond. Every step closely coordinated.
To understand the impact this cartel crackdown is having, we spend weeks trying to get a senior cartel leader to speak with us. He finally agrees,
meeting U.S. in a Phoenix parking lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're with Sinaloa.
CULVER: The Sinaloa cartel.
CULVER (voice-over): From killing to coordinating smuggling operations, he says he's done it all.
CULVER: Do you help in bringing people, drugs, weapons?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. People and drugs.
CULVER: Are you a citizen here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.
CULVER: No. And so, you're able to still come in and out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER (voice-over): Among those helping with transportation, U.S. citizens.
[18:40:00]
CULVER: You all are using social media to get to young people, young teens, and recruiting them to be part of it. Some of them -- many of them are
American citizens too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like.
CULVER: That's life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: it's like that, you know.
CULVER: So even though they may get caught and spend many years in prison, that's their fault as you see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER: When you see, for example, the impact of violence and everything that is caused from the cartel movements from essentially your employer, do
you feel like you're part of this problem?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You know, because I got a kid, I got, you know, family. And when they want to kill you, you want, you defend.
CULVER: So, you see it as defending yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's what I say. Yes. I don't -- I don't like it. You have something wrong to me. I do something bad to you.
CULVER (voice-over): A not-so-subtle threat. And yet he seems to regret some of his own life choices.
CULVER: What is your motivation for wanting to talk?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why I come to here.
CULVER: Exactly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Want people listen. And I tell them it's not a life. It's not a good, you know, it's not good. It's not.
CULVER: Have you had to kill people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. You've had them.
CULVER: And does that not weigh on you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I'm not bad. I'm not bad person.
CULVER: You don't think you're a bad person?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not a bad person. But I do what I have to do, you know?
CULVER: Why do you say you do what you have to do? Couldn't you stop doing this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, no.
CULVER: You can't.
Once you get in, you can't get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CULVER: Do you think what President Trump has been doing has been making your job tougher?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.
CULVER: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER: But it's becoming more difficult, you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CULVER (voice-over): For now, the cartels are still at it.
CULVER: Where we're at right now, it's a very remote area.
CULVER (voice-over): And so too are the Cochise County deputies jumping in to help border patrol.
CULVER: Camera lost visual shortly after he watched them cross the border.
CULVER (voice-over): They're tracking four people who crossed illegally, either by scaling or cutting open a section of the border wall, or by
walking through open floodgates like these.
CULVER: This is all being coordinated, and they're being guided by the cartel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about a mile that way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounded like somebody had eyes because they called them running.
CULVER (voice-over): After a nearly two-hour pursuit, agents catch up with the migrants and their suspected cartel-backed guide.
CULVER: I think what stands out to us is going back to late last year, when we were last here, you would have never seen this many border patrol
focused on four individuals. Most of that was because they simply didn't have the bandwidth.
CULVER (voice-over): With fewer migrants crossing, agents say they can finally focus on enforcement. As for local deputies, they press ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got some pending charges, right, dude?
CULVER (voice-over): Not so much targeting the migrants, but rather those who they're paying to cross illegally.
CULVER: They're going to be charged with criminal syndicate.
CULVER (voice-over): A criminal enterprise that they warn is growing increasingly desperate.
David Culver, CNN, Cochise County, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Still ahead, Asia's economic momentum now expected to slow. This according to the Asian Development Bank. What's behind the forecast cut,
coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:45:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back, and this is your Business Breakout. Wall Street ended Tuesday's session higher, even as investors braced for a likely U.S.
government shutdown. The S&P closed out its fifth straight winning month after setting a record last week. Past shutdowns have had limited impact on
the stock market.
Checking some of today's other business headlines, Pfizer has agreed to lower drug prices in the U.S. in exchange for tariff relief. This is under
a deal with the Trump administration. President Trump says Pfizer will cut the price of its prescription drugs in the Medicaid program for low-income
Americans at, quote, "most-favored-nation price." The president has also announced a direct-to-consumer website called TrumpRx for Americans to buy
medicine at discounted prices.
YouTube agrees to pay more than $24 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump. He sued YouTube over his account suspension back in 2021
following the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. This comes after Meta and X settled similar lawsuits earlier this year.
The government tax credit for EV buyers expires in the U.S. The $7,500 federal subsidy was passed by the Biden administration back in 2022 to help
support electric vehicle sales. It is going away tomorrow as part of President Trump's tax and spending bill. EV sales increased to $1.6 million
last year in the U.S., according to a government agency.
The Asian Development Bank has cut its economic growth forecast for the region to 4.8 percent this year, down slightly from April's forecast of 4.9
percent. It expects growth to slow further to 4.5 percent next year. The multilateral bank warns that U.S. tariffs and trade uncertainty will slow
the region's economic momentum. The forecast covers an area of 46 countries from the Caucasus to the Pacific Islands.
Joining me now is Albert Park, chief economist for the Asian Development Bank. Thanks so much for taking the time.
ALBERT PARK, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK: Great to be here.
SCIUTTO: So, this is a reduction in the growth forecast, but frankly not a big one. I wonder, what are the main factors behind this, and do you see
them worsening over time?
PARK: Well, obviously, very high tariff rates from the U.S., and even higher on many Asian economies than the rest of the world, because Asia --
many Asian economies have been running trade surpluses with the U.S., those are a real headwind and create lots of challenges, they hit different
countries differently, but definitely creates headwinds. And we know the Trump administration continues to consider new tariffs announced almost
daily or weekly. So, the uncertainty continues.
And that also makes it harder for companies to strategize and make long- term investments to adjust sourcing strategies. And yet, you're right, growth tends to be resilient in the region. It's been resilient through
many shocks in the past three or four years, partly that's because these economies are very -- they're young economies, many of them. There's robust
domestic consumption demand, which has helped support growth. And also, the trade competitiveness is very high.
And since many of the countries -- export countries, got very similar tariff rates of 15 to 20 percent, there has been less demand to shift
supply chains radically from one country to the other. So, I think the new trade deals, even though they put in place pretty high tariffs, which will
be a drag in terms of demand, they also relieve some of the uncertainty.
[18:50:00]
And so, we're still optimistic that growth will stay resilient, although it will slow into next year. The effect of this year's tariffs, we'll see them
a bit more next year than we are going to see them this year.
SCIUTTO: That's interesting. You're saying because the tariffs were so broad-based, it hit so many countries, that it has reduced the movement of
some of that manufacturing from country to country. So, that's helped keep business growth afloat?
PARK: Yes, that's right. So, take a country like Vietnam, which has been a big exporting country to the United States. Initially, we thought that
there would be a big hit on growth from the U.S. tariffs. But because Vietnam is a very competitive economy, and they've also taken measures to
stimulate their economy in terms of monetary and fiscal policy.
And what we've actually seen is that FDI has still remained very robust into Vietnam. So, companies are still betting that this is a place where we
can invest and plan to continue producing goods for export, not just to the U.S., but for the rest of the world.
The other thing that's happening, I think, which has created some resilience, is that economies are trying to deepen integration with each
other and other parts of the world. So, for example, China, even though it reduced its exports to the U.S., has been able to increase exports to many
other countries in the world. And as Chinese exports to the U.S. have declined, exports from other parts of the region have increased. So, there
are many ways in which countries and firms can adjust, and I think it has led to this resilience in the region.
SCIUTTO: Big picture, you know, because it's interesting in the U.S., and I ask a lot of businesses and economists, et cetera, and they've been saying
for some time, uncertainty, and, you know, that someone's going to have to pay the costs, and they expected business to contract. But even in this
country, the economic growth effects have, at least to date, been not as dramatic as some envisioned. I mean, is it possible, in your view, that the
world economy dodges the tariff bullet at the end of the day, at least in terms of growth?
PARK: You know, it's a bit hard to say, because the data can be misleading, because there was a lot of front-loading of exports when the Liberation Day
tariffs were announced. So, people increased exports from China and other countries to try to get those exports, or from the U.S. standpoint, those
imports in before the higher tariffs. And so, we're not sure how much slowdown we're going to see in terms of the other side of the front-loading
now that tariffs are in place. And we do think that as we go further, you will see effects.
I don't think we're going to escape the effects of the tariffs, either the U.S. or other countries. I think, you know, the economics of that is pretty
clear, and we -- the manufacturing numbers, there have been some real effects in a number of economies, especially in the second and third
quarters. But we're starting to see a little bit of stabilization in some of these numbers starting to stabilize and go back to expansionary
territory.
SCIUTTO: Albert Park, thanks so much for joining, and we look forward to having you back as you continue to monitor this.
PARK: Thank you very much.
SCIUTTO: And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:55:00]
SCIUTTO: In today's Good Brief, we're on a wing and a prayer. A Slovenian athlete has made history becoming the first climber to complete a route
under the wings of a glider in midair. The 31-year-old climbed out of the cockpit and scrambled around both wings of the aircraft, despite high winds
and sub-freezing temperatures. It took him less than a minute to complete that really, really dangerous task before deploying a parachute and landing
safely. He said it is harder than it looks. And let me tell you, that's easy to believe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOMEN SKOFIC, PROFESSIONAL CLIMBER: There are no words that I would know that would completely describe what I experienced. It's -- for sure,
something like this has never been done before, and, yes, it's so much more than I -- like, I tried to visualize and stuff, but, like, the wobbles and
the fluctuation of the g-forces and everything included, like, these things, I could not imagine how they're going to actually feel, and it was
incredible sensation, much harder than on the ground. I thought I'm prepared, but I wasn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: I mean, got to be harder than on the ground. The glider itself is called a Blanik, and it's able to fly very slowly while remaining steady.
Although the pilot did say the climber's weight on the wings made flying more difficult. I can imagine that as well.
Thanks so much for Joining us today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
