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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

Trump Warns Over Tomahawks To Ukraine; Trump To Meet With Putin In Hungary; U.S. Military Detains Survivors Of Strike In Caribbean; Investors Worry About Credit Stress Inside Financial System; Prince Andrew Gives Up Royal Titles; French PM Survives Two No-Confidence Votes. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 17, 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]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Jim

Sciutto is off. You are watching "The Brief."

Just ahead this hour, President Trump warns that giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles could escalate the war with Russia. Trump mocks a reported effort

by Nicolas Maduro to ease tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. And Prince Andrew gives up his royal titles in a response to a series of

scandals after a discussion with the king.

But first, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House proposing -- pardon me, proposing

the trade of his country's drones for long-range American-made Tomahawk missiles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: The war is another technological war. You don't use just Tomahawks. If you want to target a military goal,

you need thousands of drones. It goes together with such missiles. Ukraine has such thousands of our production drones, but we don't have Tomahawks.

That's why we need Tomahawks. But United States is a very strong production, and United States has Tomahawks and other missiles, very strong

missiles, but they can have our thousands of drones. That's why where we can work together, where we can strengthen American production.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, the U.S. president has not, to be clear, made any kind of decision on this. I want you to listen to what he had to say about

Tomahawks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We need Tomahawks and we need a lot of other weapons that we're sending to Ukraine. And one of the reasons we want to

get this war over is exactly that. It's not easy for us to give. You're talking about massive numbers of very powerful weapons. So, that's one of

the things we'll be talking about. Hopefully, they won't need it. Hopefully, we'll be able to get the war over without thinking about

Tomahawks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So, remember, President Trump plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary to discuss the war. That meeting expected in

about two weeks from now. Kristen Holmes is live at the White House, has been following all of this.

Now, Kristen, I'm sure your question is likely similar to mine. What's changed here? I mean, Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy clearly disagree about

whether Putin is ready for a ceasefire. What are you learning about what actually happened during this discussion, and if it changed anything?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It certainly doesn't seem like much has changed. I mean, one of the things that we knew going

into this meeting was that the Ukrainian president was hoping to get those Tomahawks, and it certainly seems as though he left empty-handed.

I mean, one of the things we saw is Zelenskyy came out and gave a press conference or brief remarks to the press after the meeting where he said

that he wasn't going to even talk about those Tomahawk missiles because he had agreed that he wouldn't talk about them with the U.S., they didn't want

to escalate. But when asked specifically if he was feeling optimistic or pessimistic about the Tomahawks, he said he was feeling realistic.

Now, moments ago, President Trump posted his interpretation or his readout of this meeting with Zelenskyy. He said, the meeting with President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine was very interesting and cordial, but I told him, like -- as I likewise strongly suggested to President Putin, that it

is time to stop the killing and make a deal. Unclear exactly what he means by make a deal.

One of the things to keep in mind here, earlier in February, right after President Trump took office, right when he had that contentious meeting

with Zelenskyy, he was saying that Zelenskyy was going to have to give up land. More recently, he was saying that in a deal, Zelenskyy shouldn't

actually give up land, as he grew more frustrated with President Putin. Now, it appears that he is saying something again along the lines of

Zelenskyy having to give something up.

Now, there was questions for Zelenskyy within the room with reporters before reporters stepped out, saying, would he be willing to give up

anything in negotiations? He didn't answer directly, but he said the one thing that was most important to Ukraine was these security guarantees. But

it certainly doesn't seem as though the needle has been moved that much. We also know when President Trump feels as though he might get a deal with

Putin, he tends to take all of those threats off the table, meaning the threats of Tomahawk missiles or the threats of sanctions.

[18:05:00]

And it certainly appears like that's where we are again ahead of this meeting now between the two leaders, Putin and Trump, in Hungary, which we

believe will happen in the next several weeks.

NEWTON: Yes, it is true that we have heard this before from the president, and we'll wait to see if anything changes in the next couple of weeks or

beyond. Kristen Holmes for us at the White House, appreciate it.

Now, following the White House meeting, President Zelenskyy spoke about the most difficult aspect of the talks to bring Russia's war to an endless end.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: I think the president understands that the most difficult questions will be in any kind of negotiations, in any format of

negotiations, will be the territory of -- it's a pity, but the territory of Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: OK. For more on this now, we're joined by Oleksandr Merezhko. He joins me, and he is a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of

the Foreign Affairs Committee in Ukraine. Welcome to the program, especially as we're trying to parse just the latest news that just broke in

the last hour.

You know, President Zelenskyy briefed European leaders after this meeting with President Trump. Do you know any details about what he may have told

them about this meeting? And what is your understanding on what President Zelenskyy walked away with, if anything at all?

OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIR, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Well, I don't know details yet. It's a good sign that President Zelenskyy

had this communication with European leaders. And I hope that European leaders will have a chance to talk to President Trump, because what we have

now, I have this feeling of deja vu on the eve of this summit between President Trump and the Kremlin dictator in Alaska, which didn't produce

any tangible result.

And I'm afraid that we will have rerun of the same situation because what happened -- the whole situation is very clear and very simple. As soon as

President Trump started to hint that he can provide Tomahawks to Ukraine, Putin got scared. He initiated this phone call, and he's trying to buy some

time, and he's trying to avoid sanctions, but Putin remains sort of not interested in negotiating in earnest. That's why I don't see any prospects

for any kind of deal President Trump is talking about.

NEWTON: But in not seeing any prospects, given what we saw in the White House today, that means that President Trump is being played by President

Putin, right? I mean, do you have any explanation for that? Not much has changed even after Alaska, and we're at two months after Alaska and the

Alaska summit here.

MEREZHKO: I believe that President Trump is trying to reach a peace deal. He is interested in bringing peace to Ukraine. He is absolutely sincere

about that, and I have no doubts about that. At the same time, I believe that he made some lessons. He became very careful in the regard -- with

regard to Putin, because it's no coincidence that this kind of summit between President Trump and Putin will be preceded by the meeting between

State Secretary Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

I think that a lot depends on the results of this meeting. If President Trump sees that Putin has no intention to negotiate, this kind of meeting -

- possible meeting in Budapest will be canceled.

NEWTON: Right. So, you believe that meeting between the two foreign ministers will be key at that point in time. I want to ask you, though,

Ukraine likely, at least in the near future, will not get Tomahawks. There also are not the sanctions that were supposed to happen against Russia. So,

what do you believe Ukraine can get in terms of anything, any kind of leverage to get Russia to the negotiating table? Have you discussed more

elements, perhaps getting more military intelligence sharing between the United States and Ukraine?

MEREZHKO: Yes, it's absolutely necessary to bring to the table -- negotiating table Putin, but it can be done only under maximum pressure. To

do that, we need more military assistance from the United States, including long-range cruise missiles like Tomahawks, but not only Tomahawks. We are

talking about air defense systems which allow us to save lives of civilian population to protect our cities. And also, we need sanctions. Sanctions

against Russia, against its financial, banking sector, energy sector.

NEWTON: Right. But as I said, those do not look -- those look like they're not going to be a possibility in the next few weeks. So, I'm wondering what

can move these negotiations forward if there aren't any Tomahawks and there aren't any additional sanctions?

MEREZHKO: Well, I believe that President Trump should be consistent and to deliver on his promises made previously, several times, by the way.

[18:10:00]

So -- well, and, you know, the indication of whether it's worthwhile to negotiate with Putin or not is whether Putin will stop killing civilian

population in Ukraine, whether he will stop bombing practically each day, each night, Ukrainian cities. If he doesn't stop it, it means that he is

absolutely not interested in any kind of deals with President Trump.

NEWTON: We appreciate your time tonight and continue, obviously, to follow the story closely. Appreciate it.

Now, sources tell CNN the U.S. military is holding two survivors from a strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the Caribbean. There have

been at least six such strikes since early September. The only one with reported survivors took place on Thursday.

President Trump says the target was a drug-carrying submarine. The U.S. has been building up its military in the Caribbean as it carries out these

legally questionable strikes. President Trump says he has also authorized covert operations inside Venezuela.

Now, President Nicolas Maduro has been charged in the U.S. with narco- terrorism. The Trump administration has doubled the bounty for his arrest now to $50 million. Here's how the U.S. president responded to a report

that Maduro offered preferential access to the nation's natural resources to try and de-escalate tensions. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He doesn't want to fuck around with the United States. Thank you, everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: CNN military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton joins us. I mean, profanity in the White House. I know it's not

the first time we've heard it, but certainly it is to the point about what is happening or what the president believes is happening with the

Venezuelan leader.

I do want to ask you, though, what authority would give the U.S. military here to hold these survivors? And again, this goes to the very heart of the

issue of the legality of hitting these boats in international waters.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, it certainly could, Paula, and it's great to be with you. One of the things that they're doing

here is doing similar things to what the DEA, the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States has done for years, and that is to

actually capture people who are on vessels in international waters.

Now, submarines are an interesting feature here, and it is true that narco- traffickers have in the past used submarines to transport drugs to various transshipment points, including the Dominican Republic as well as the

United States. So, there are certain elements here that have happened in the past, but the key thing for this particular moment in time is that

there is so much conventional military force that's being applied to this issue, and it seems as if it's, you know, at the very least,

disproportionate to the actual threat that these narco-traffickers are posing to the United States.

NEWTON: And yet, Congress so far isn't saying anything. I don't know if in the coming weeks we'll hear more from them. If we just look at the issue

itself, though, and well-documented by CNN is the military buildup. I'm sure you'd agree it's quite significant right now in that region.

So, I want to ask you, I'm having trouble understanding what the endgame is here for the Trump administration. Is it the drug trafficking? Is it regime

change? We had, you know, the commander of Southern Command just basically say, I'm retired, ending a decades-long career. What do you think is at

work here?

LEIGHTON: Yes. So, there are a lot of different factors, I think, Paula, and certainly the retirement of Admiral Holsey is a significant moment

because normally when things are building up like this, the commander of the combatant command that is responsible for that particular area of the

world is going to be staying on. And in Admiral Holsey's case, he'd been there not only a year or so as the commander of South Com, but he was also,

before that, the deputy commander for several years.

So, he has very key experience at the very highest levels of the military relationship between the U.S. and Latin American countries. So, him going

out the door is a significant loss for the United States and for our ability to influence events on the military side in the region.

Having said that, I would say that one of the key elements is also that the endgame is one that really is not known to most of us on the outside of the

White House, but what it looks like is that they are, in essence, ginning up a lot of the drug charges. Yes, there is drug trafficking coming out of

Venezuela, absolutely, but it is not the kind of drug trafficking that is having a major impact on the United States.

One of the key ingredients in the U.S. is fentanyl. That comes through the Pacific, basically from China, through places like Ecuador and Peru, and

then it goes up to Mexico and then across the border.

[18:15:00]

So, those are the things that -- those are the areas where there should be a lot of interdiction going on. Venezuela is a different case, and it seems

that this is more focused on effecting a change in the regime as opposed to actually combating the drug menace.

NEWTON: Yes, and a very precarious policy at this point in time, depending on how this is going to play out in the future. But as I said, if you go to

our CNN website or our app, you will see the buildup there is significant. Colonel Cedric Leighton, for us, thanks so much.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Paula.

NEWTON: Now, a second round of so-called No Kings demonstrations is expected this weekend in the United States. Protesters will be taking to

the streets right across all 50 states on Saturday to rally against what organizers are calling President Trump's authoritarian agenda. Now, Mr.

Trump is asserting that he, in his words, is not a king.

Still ahead for us, Wall Street wraps the volatile trading week as stress in the U.S. credit markets causes stress for everyone else involved. Can

investors still bank on banks? We'll discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: And welcome back to The Brief. In today's Business Breakout, U.S. stocks finished a volatile week higher. Fears about trade with China and

credit markets stressed eased on Friday. All the major averages rose by more than half a percent. Oracle shares, however, fell nearly 7 percent.

Investors seem skeptical about the company's lofty new A.I. revenue target.

In today's Business Headlines, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the trade tensions that flared up with China last week have de-escalated.

He says he will soon travel to Malaysia to meet with Chinese officials ahead of the planned meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi

Jinping. That should happen later this month. Now, Mr. Trump said today that the 100 percent tariff he threatened against China just last week,

quote, "would not be sustainable."

Now, Meta has announced new safety features for parents worried about artificial intelligence. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram will

let parents block one-on-one conversations between their children and chatbot characters. The app will also give parents information about the

topics teens are discussing with chatbots. The new features come amid growing concerns over how A.I. can impact teens' mental health.

Apple and Formula 1 are racing, all revved up, after reaching a streaming deal under the agreement, Apple TV has the right to stream all Formula 1

races exclusively for the next five years in the United States.

[18:20:00]

Now, it's been, as we were saying, a highly stressful week in the U.S. financial sector. Banking stocks fell on concerns that they've lent too

freely to businesses that won't be able to pay them back. It all began with the stunning collapse of auto parts giant First Brands. It filed for

bankruptcy earlier this month amid allegations of accounting fraud and massive off-balance sheet debt. Financial firm Jefferies, which was a

lender to First Brands, said Friday it was defrauded by the firm. Separately, U.S. subprime auto lender Tricolor has also filed for

bankruptcy. Two U.S. regional banks reported bad loans this week as well.

Now, J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon is now warning about wider credit issues in the banking sector. He says, when you see one cockroach, there are

probably more. That said, credit ratings agency Moody's said Friday that the banking system is sound with no sign of systemic problems. Alexander

Gladstone joins me now. He has been reporting on the First Brand collapse for The Wall Street Journal and on all things market-related as well for

The Wall Street Journal.

Good to have you here on a Friday just to try and figure our way out of this week. I will start with the cockroaches. The cockroaches comment got

everyone's attention, firstly, because it's true, right? Both bad loans and cockroaches, it's true. When you've seen one, you probably will see more. I

ask you, though, is the sentiment now that this will get a little bit worse before it gets better, especially given the allegations of fraud?

ALEXANDER GLADSTONE, REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: I mean, for First Brands, this is the biggest American accounting scandal since FTX, and

there are professionals now sorting through the wreckage, and people are trying to find out, you know, who owes what -- or, you know, who is owed

what. And there's billions of dollars missing. So, when the company over the summer was trying to refinance itself, it told investors it only had $6

billion of debt. After it collapsed into bankruptcy, it said there is actually $11.6 billion of debt. So, it's a huge mess, and it's likely to be

a contentious process.

Is it a harbinger that there could be broader problems in the credit markets? People are still trying to figure that out. It could be there's

more companies like First Brands out there.

NEWTON: And that's exactly -- I mean, my theory is that Jamie Dimon wants the Band-Aid ripped off, right? That he said this because he wanted to

catch everyone's attention, and he wants everyone to be very thorough and really uncover some of this fraud. The amount of losses, though, you make

such a good point. To me, the numbers were staggering.

And now, given the froth in the market, is there a risk that banks really didn't quit that easy money? And it brings into question their due

diligence practices. How did they let this happen?

GLADSTONE: That is the big question. How did this thing get so big and attract so much money from Wall Street without people seeing the red flags?

There was a pattern with the founder of the company, First Brands, where he'd been accused of things in the past. There were other signs that could

have been identified that there was a problem with First Brands.

So, the big question that people have is, there were major banks like Jeffries and UBS who got involved in this, is, you know, why didn't people

identify the problems earlier and sound the alarm? And so, I think that many financial institutions are now considering whether they should, you

know, revise their due diligence practices or look at things more carefully before they invest.

And so, I think that's what people are thinking about now is, you know, what does it mean going forward? Are there other problems like other big

cockroaches like this lurking out there that people should be on guard?

NEWTON: It's such an image. I don't have a lot of time left, Alexander, but I want to ask you. I mean, you're a veteran of covering the markets. There

doesn't seem to be any risk here of contagion, right? You know, the U.S. economy seems to be barreling along here and we're not in some subprime

crisis. This isn't 2008.

GLADSTONE: You know, I haven't done enough reporting on the broader systemic issues. I'm more focused on sort of like what's going on with

specific companies and First Brands in particular this week. So, it's still too early for me to say whether there's a broader systemic problem and just

more issues buried that haven't surfaced yet. But I think that Jamie Dimon, you know, hit it pretty well that when you see one cockroach, there's

usually more. So, we're on the lookout for that. And at The Wall Street Journal, we are trying to find the next cockroach.

NEWTON: What a job. Someone's got to do it, as they say. Alexander Gladstone from The Wall Street Journal. Appreciate it. And if you get any

of that reporting, we're going to have you back. Appreciate it.

[18:25:00]

GLADSTONE: Thank you so much.

NEWTON: Now, the head of Thailand's top natural gas producer tells Richard Quest Bangkok can remain neutral between the U.S. and China in their trade

war. PTTEP is a subsidiary of a Thailand state-owned energy firm and plays a critical role in Thailand's economy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MONTRI RAWANCHAIKUL, CEO, PTT EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION: We're not only looking at exploration production for resource, but we're looking at

protection of the energy security to Thailand. Thailand economy rely on energy security. People take it for granted. You know, GDP saying, you

know, if you don't have the economy of the energy security at all, you probably look at $10 million loss easily. You need to import energy. You

need to import LNG to depress domestic gas. So, our role is to find domestic gas to supply to the country.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE AND CNN ANCHOR, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: And to --

RAWANCHAIKUL: And to bring in, you know, neighboring countries that we find gas. And tougher challenge, we also listen to the stock market. Our

shareholders would like to see return. So, you oversee investment, you need to get a good return. So, we got two roles, energy security to Thailand and

oversee investment.

QUEST: And then you add in what one -- because the LNG industry, fossil fuel, is very, very familiar with geopolitical and strategic risks.

RAWANCHAIKUL: Indeed. Indeed.

QUEST: And Thailand has got a few of those, whether it be the skirmishes of Thailand, Cambodia, or the forthcoming election and changes of government.

RAWANCHAIKUL: It's volatility. It's fluctuation on the LNG price. It depends on a lot of geopolitical inference. You see Russian and Ukraine,

you see shortage of gas in Europe. You see the surplus supply from Qatar. You see the new LNG coming from U.S. So, it's unpredictable.

QUEST: What about -- there'll be an election in the next six months. To some extent, you know, you'll live with whatever the result is. But the

changes of government that's taken place over the last five years, the sheer number of prime ministers or governments makes it very difficult to

get policy certainty or not.

RAWANCHAIKUL: For us as the upstream player, we produce gas. It's not impacting on us. But I'm looking at Thailand as a whole. Thailand as a

country, we need to import 40 percent of the gas. So, if you don't have security on the import of the gas in terms of contracts or community, you

put yourself at risk.

And to look at it, you know, 10 years from now, the gas that we produce, indigenous gas declining big time, because we've been producing for 40

years. It's declining. So, you need to import more gas. So, the question is, what would be the balance of importing gas on contracted firm or spot

market?

QUEST: We heard a lot -- and we've heard a lot about the agility and the ability of Thailand to adapt with a 19 percent tariff rate with the U.S.

and difficult supply chain and tariff issues with the U.S.

RAWANCHAIKUL: Yes.

QUEST: Is the country sitting comfortably?

RAWANCHAIKUL: Yes and no. Exporting market, we have some difficulties because you have the tariff. Importing markets, we don't have much to

import, you know, particularly in gas. But yes, later on, when you put in LNG importing from U.S., you can balance it out. Because when you're

importing, you can think about, you know, the compensation you have with the tariff.

QUEST: Do you see a situation where Thailand has to make a choice between, for want of a better word, China and the U.S.?

RAWANCHAIKUL: I don't. I think we live in neutral because we do trade with China, we do trade with US. China also need a lot of energy supply.

Thailand also need a lot of energy supply. But where it comes from, that's a big thing.

QUEST: You're optimistic.

RAWANCHAIKUL: I am.

QUEST: Smiling.

RAWANCHAIKUL: I like to be --

QUEST: What would you said -- what were you telling me about the smile?

RAWANCHAIKUL: A land of smile. I live in a land of smile. I live in Thailand. Thailand is a land of smile. Whatever, you know, you suffer, you

smile. Because you believe that one day you're going to solve the problem, no matter what.

QUEST: And then you smile.

RAWANCHAIKUL: And you smile.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: We should all adopt that motto. Coming up for us, France's political crisis and how it's impacting the nation's finances. I will speak

with one of the country's newest ministers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

NEWTON: And welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Paula Newton. Here are the international headlines that you're watching today.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with President Trump at the White House earlier. The Ukrainian leader offered to trade drones for

Tomahawk missiles. Though the U.S. president says he hopes the war between Russia and Ukraine can end without those long-range American missiles.

President Trump plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary in about two weeks.

Former White House Adviser John Bolton has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts related to the mishandling of classified information. Bolton is the third

perceived enemy of President Trump to be charged in less than a month. He says his book about his experience in Trump's White House was vetted by

authorities. Trump this week called him a bad guy.

OpenAI has blocked deep fakes of Martin Luther King Jr. on its Sora video generation tool after his family complained. The company says, quote,

"Public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used." Sora lets users make realistic looking A.I.

generated videos using real and historical people.

And this just in, U.S. President Donald Trump has commuted the sentence of George Santos. Now, the commutation released says that Santos, it will

release Santos from prison effective immediately. The disgraced former congressman had recently begun serving a seven-year sentence for federal

fraud.

And a surprise announcement Friday from Britain's Prince Andrew. The disgraced royal says he will stop using his royal titles following a string

of negative headlines, including the Epstein scandal. A royal source tells CNN the change will take effect immediately. Max Foster has the latest now

from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: So, it seems as though the British royal family has finally had enough of the scandal engulfing Prince Andrew,

which just does not seem to go away. All his associations with Jeffrey Epstein. They came up again more recently with a new set of e-mails

published in the British newspapers.

According to Prince Andrew, in discussion with the king and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me

distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family. I'm told by royal sources that the king, King Charles, Andrew's brother, is glad of the

outcome.

[18:35:00]

Now, what does this mean in terms of titles? Because the reality is that technically, Prince Andrew hasn't been stripped of any of his titles. He's

just agreed to stop using them. Titles like the Duke of York. He has many other titles as well. He's going to stop using those titles, but they still

exist.

Crucially, he will still be Prince Andrew, because that title came to him at birth as the son, as the grandson of a monarch. So, that won't go away.

He will still be living in his grand house on the Windsor Estate Royal Lodge. He has a private lease there. We're saying that isn't affected. In

terms of his public appearances, they're literally going to dry up.

We have seen him at family events, not necessarily state events, but family events on camera. But we're told that this year, he won't even be invited

to Christmas. So, in terms of what Prince Andrew did have, in terms of public profile and prestige, has now been completely stripped away.

Max Foster, CNN London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: France's prime minister on Thursday survived not one but two no- confidence votes. Sebastien Lecornu has the Socialist Party to thank for that. But that came at a cost, suspending the French president's

contentious pension reform until after the 2027 election.

Now, the infighting has raised questions about President Emmanuel Macron's leadership ahead of next year's G7 summit. French parliament has yet to

pass next year's budget, and the uncertainty is prompting the S&P Global to downgrade France's credit ratings. That happened earlier today.

Eleonore Caroit, France's minister-delegate for the Francophonie, international partnerships and French nationals abroad, is in Washington

for the World Bank and IMF meetings, and she joins me now live. Thank you for being on the program. We do appreciate it.

And, you know, you will forgive me, but to get straight to the heart of the matter, politically, France, you know, c'est le bazar. It is a bit chaotic.

It seems a mess, to be frank. Now, your prime minister, we just said, survived this week. But how, you know, does the government, you included,

continue with France's economic priorities, given all the turmoil?

ELEONORE CAROIT, FRENCH MINISTER DELEGATE FOR FRANCOPHONIE: No, it's true that we're facing challenging times, but all democracies go through

processes similar. And, you know, we're in a very -- a better position than we were just a week ago, because as you mentioned, there were two censure

votes that were actually not passed.

So, we now have a debate that will take place at the parliament. And this is really healthy, actually. What will happen now is that the different

groups at the National Assembly will discuss and will adopt a budget that will reflect the powers that are enforced in our country.

And you were mentioning President Macron's legacy. Well, this is precisely why I'm here in Washington, because we need to continue our international

agenda, which is extremely rich and important. And I think France's leadership needs to continue. And this is exactly what we're doing it.

NEWTON: But the International Community needs a France that is fiscally strong. By putting over this pension reform until 2027, everyone indicates

and the numbers show that it will compromise France's economy in the years to come. And like we were saying, whether it's the Francophonie or Europe

or the G7 presidency, France is an essential leader. So, how to balance that? Because your country is in a precarious fiscal situation and remains

so.

CAROIT: Yes, but this is not the only reform or the only structural reform that will actually structurate France's economy. We do have strong bases,

strong institutions. And as I said, obviously, there are challenges. I'm not going to deny it. But the debate is going on, and we don't know where

it's going to land.

One thing is for sure, the government will push for savings to keep the trajectory that we've committed to, and we will fight for this to happen.

But within our democratic institutions, there is no shutdown in France. There are no institutions that are stopped. We're continuing to work and we

will do everything in our power to ensure that this needs to --

NEWTON: Apologies, Madame Caroit, the president of the United States is speaking and we're going --

CAROIT: Of course.

NEWTON: -- to go him now live. Thank you.

TRUMP: -- be able to figure it out. You stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killed. And that

should it. And I told that to President Zelenskyy. I told it to President Putin. Thank you very much, everybody.

[18:40:00]

NEWTON: And that was the President of the United States again reiterating something that he had said in the White House just in the last few hours as

well, that he wants this war to stop and that he told both leaders that it was time to at least get to a ceasefire, if not a long-term deal.

Madame Caroit, again, my apologies and we will return --

CAROIT: No, no. No worries.

NEWTON: -- to the issue of France here. And obviously, Ukraine has featured prominently in this as well. And again, another reason that France needs to

remain strong politically and fiscally. In terms of global leadership though, when we do look at the situation with development. The United

States has very deliberately taken a step back on so many issues.

In your meetings this week, and again, if you're insisting that France will lead, what will change here? Because a lot of countries around the world

are dismayed and feel abandoned, quite frankly, not just by the United States, but allies like France as well.

CAROIT: Well, as you said, the budgetary situations are tight, and this is true in France, but it's also true in other democracies. And the funds that

are available for public aid and development funding are scarce. So, what we need to do, and this was exactly the agenda I was promoting here in

Washington, is reforming the system so that the development funds that are spent have more impact and also for people to see how this impacts also

their daily lives here in the United States, in France, and throughout the world.

So, you know, yes, these are challenging times, and yes, the U.S. is withdrawing from several programs, but they were present at the World Bank

and IFM fall meetings. And there are points where we aspect issues on where -- on which we can work together, and with other European countries and

other G7 countries.

France is taking the presidency of the G7 next year with a very ambitious agenda of reforming the system, and I think this is really needed. We need

to reform to continue having an impact.

NEWTON: Well, we'll continue to follow French politics closely. It has been riveting, but I believe the people of France want it to be a little calmer

in the months to come.

CAROIT: Yes.

NEWTON: Appreciate it, Madame Caroit. Thank you so much. And thank you again for joining us. Straight ahead, Meals on Wheels. I'll speak with the

CEO of One Delivery Robot Company. This is interesting. You're going to want to hear about their new partnership.

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[18:45:00]

NEWTON: So, some of them -- some of you may have seen them in your neighborhood, little robot boxes trucking along. Yes, food. Serve Robotics

makes some of those robots. The company has just announced a new partnership with DoorDash. Serve has already worked with other meal

delivery companies like Uber Eats.

CEO Ali Kashani joins me now. I am intrigued by this. We'll get to that in a minute. But just explain how these robots work and what you hope to get

out of your partnership with DoorDash? Because as we just explained, you do have a partnership already with Uber Eats.

ALI KASHANI, CEO, SERVE ROBOTICS: That's right. We've been working with Uber Eats for a number of years. Now, we have brought DoorDash on board,

the largest delivery platform in the U.S. We have expanded our number of robots from 100 at the beginning of the year to 1,000 today. And we would

have another 1,000 before the year ends.

So, if you bring new partners, you can be in cities like L.A. or Miami or Chicago and order food just like you do on a DoorDash or Uber Eats app, and

your food would show up in a robot.

NEWTON: Your food will show up in a robot. Let's get to that. There must be some logistical challenges. I mean, I'm looking at it now, and it seems

like a good idea, but it is a pretty antiseptic environment that we're looking at right now. The real-world environment doesn't look like that.

Beyond the fact that somebody can interfere with the robot, it must be a difficult navigation to get your spaghetti to you and, you know, for it to

work properly.

KASHANI: Absolutely. It's not easy, but we've been working on it for eight years, and technology has come a long way. There are some incredible

sensors and computation power, all this new A.I. that you see. Our robots is really a physical embodiment of A.I. So, after eight years, I think

we've got it to a place where they're working more reliably than even couriers in terms of the successful completion rate of a delivery. So,

that's why we are scaling them now.

NEWTON: It might be a funny question, but why replace couriers?

KASHANI: It's not to replace couriers. The cost of delivering something from, you know, your city to your front door is about $10, like a fully

loaded cost. If you want something from China, it only costs $2 to get it to your front door. I think by bringing the cost of delivery in the local

economy, you can really increase the number of jobs, you can increase demand, you can make it better for the merchants, and you can make it more

accessible to more consumers who want to use these services.

Because right now, you have to have, you know, more money to be able to afford this kind of, you know, conveniences. But we want to make that more

accessible to more people. And I think this is actually going to create even more jobs.

NEWTON: I see. So -- well, I'm not sure it'll create more jobs, but you're saying it will mean that this kind of delivery, if you drive the price

down, will mean that more of us can take advantage of this.

KASHANI: Absolutely. That's usually what happens. You bring the cost down, a lot more people start using something, and that's how more jobs get

created. Because if you think about ATMs, when they first got introduced, a lot of people worried that teller jobs are going to be killed. Automated

teller is in the name. But it actually made banking more accessible. A lot more people opened bank accounts, and they had to hire more tellers.

Because, you know, ATMs do really simple things.

Our robots are kind of the same thing. They do a lot of deliveries that are, you know, in the shorter distance, that can be done more efficiently

this way. But more people adopting delivery means there's going to be more delivery jobs, more jobs maintaining robots, more jobs inside restaurants.

So, it's generally, usually historically causes more jobs to be created, not less.

NEWTON: OK. We shall see if that comes to fruition. But I do have to ask you, I'm looking at these robots thinking, are there times that people

interfere with them, that kids just jump on top of them? I know you're going to tell me there's a lot of safety features, but what has happened?

Because this looks difficult.

KASHANI: Again, I would absolutely agree with you. It's difficult, but that's why, you know, a lot of work has gone into it over so many years.

But it's really fun. Kids love robots. They do jump in front of robots. We've learned that if you see children, one trick to play is go near

adults.

And usually that makes kids behave better. If they interfere for a long time, you can just play dead and they get bored and they walk away. So,

we've learned a lot of things over the years, how to kind of navigate those environments. But the reality is over time, people just get used to it. It

becomes like a mailbox that moves. So, you know, it becomes boring. And then that's when, you know, this becomes just part of life.

NEWTON: I'll put that to the test as well. Kids are kids. I guess at this point in time, we will see if they get used to it. They'll move on to

whatever the next technology is that they can interfere with. We will await to see the results of this in the next few years. Ali, thanks so much.

Appreciate it.

KASHANI: Thanks for having me.

NEWTON: All right. Coming up, the L.A. Dodgers one game away from making World Series history. We will tell you about what's new in the MLB.

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[18:50:00]

NEWTON: There are two Major League Baseball playoff games on the schedule tonight. In about 90 minutes, the L.A. Dodgers will try to punch their

ticket to a second straight appearance in the World Series. The Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers last night and are now up 3 to 0 in the National

League Championship Series. But in the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners are tied at two-a-piece. Game 5 underway right

now.

Patrick Snell is going to tell us what it's looking like, plus what happened last night with all of this. And of course, I am not objective, as

you know.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: I know. I know all too well, Paula.

NEWTON: We want it all. The Blue Jays.

SNELL: Yes. Absolutely. Look, it's excitement and exciting times, isn't it, in the world of Major League Baseball. Can anyone stop -- this is a big

question. Can anyone stop the L.A. Dodgers, led by Japanese superstar, the iconic Shohei Ohtani? We're just over two hours away now from Game 4, where

Shohei will be on the mound.

Well, they took a 3-nothing lead in the NLCS with their 3-1 win Thursday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. The game was actually tied up in the

bottom of the sixth, when Tommy Edman lofts a single to center, just enough. But Will Smith to score the game's go-ahead run from second base.

Real drama there.

The history books, you know, very much in the Dodgers' favor. Teams taking a 3-0 lead in any best-of-seven postseason series have gone on to win it 40

out of 41 times, at 97.6 percent by my mathematics. It means they're poised to become the first defending champs to reach the World Series in 16 years,

a major step in their quest to become the first back-to-back champions since the Yankees a quarter of a century ago.

Now, as I said, Ohtani the starting pitcher later on this evening in Game 4. This will be a second pitching start of the postseason. Ohtani won Game

1 of the NLDS against the Phillies with nine strikeouts.

Now, Paula, as you said earlier, the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners playing in their Game 5. Right now, as we speak, it started just a short

while ago. I do want to go back, though, to show you some Thursday night action, where the Blue Jays leveled up their series against the Mariners at

two apiece. 8-2, they took Game 4.

What a storyline around 41-year-old Max Scherzer putting in a wonderful performance on the mound for Toronto in his first start this postseason in

the fifth inning. Now, watch this as his manager comes out visiting him on the mound there after giving up a single, presumably to put in a reliever,

but Mad Max all fired up there. He was going nowhere, yelling, I'm good, let's go. He stayed in and made it count, striking out the next batter,

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., notching up a seventh inning homer to give Toronto just a nice bit of insurance there. His fifth home run of this postseason,

giving him a new record for a Blue Jays player. A great moment for him there.

So, Osklen, Seattle catcher, Cal Raleigh, a.k.a. the Big Dumper, as he's affectionately known. As he said, though, it's a best of three. I'm telling

you, Paula, the excitement is mounting as we speak. Back to you.

[18:55:00]

NEWTON: We have ourselves -- we definitely have ourselves a series. We will continue to watch. Patrick Snell, thank you so much.

Now, paleontologists in England take a giant step into the past after discovering a 200-meter-long trail of dinosaur footprints in an Oxfordshire

quarry. Buried beneath tons of rocks, the trackway was revealed in a dramatic fashion, marking a rare and remarkable discovery believed to be

one of the longest of its kind ever discovered. Experts say these huge prints likely belonged to the sauropod species, a group of herbivores that

roamed this region during the Middle Jurassic period. You should hear the paleontologists talk about this. They could not be more passionate and

enthusiastic.

Now, finally for us, have you seen this painting? Still life with a guitar. A painting by Pablo Picasso mysteriously vanished on its way to an art

exhibition in Spain. Investigators still don't know exactly where the painting disappeared to, and they are reviewing surveillance video along

this route. The small painting is owned by a private collector and insured to the tune of $700,000. I wonder if it's worth more than that.

I want to thank you for your company. I'm Paula Newton in New York. You've been watching "The Brief." Stay with CNN.

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[19:00:00]

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