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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

Trump-Putin Summit Plans Stall; Two Coffins Said To Contain Hostages' Bodies Cross Into Israel; Vance Visits Israel; Sanae Takaichi Is Japan's First Female Prime Minister; Supreme Court Rulings Confuse Lower Courts; WBD Shares Rally As Company Weighs Buyout Offers; H-1B Visa Fallout. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 21, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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[18:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, and

you're watching "The Brief."

Just ahead this hour, plans for a new meeting between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin appear to be on hold. Sanae Takaichi makes history

by becoming Japan's first female prime minister, and how the Trump administration's visa restrictions are upending the American dream for

students from India.

We begin, though, with no more plans for another summit between the presidents of the United States and Russia, at least in the immediate

future, that according to a White House official. This comes just days after President Trump said that he would meet with Russian leader Vladimir

Putin in Hungary in about two weeks, just two months after their summit in Alaska yielded no progress.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was planning to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to lay the groundwork for that summit, but he

put that meeting on hold, apparently calculating the sides remain far apart. President Trump spoke about the reversal just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't want to have a wasted meeting. I don't want to have a waste of time. So, I'll see what happens. But we did

all of these great deals, great peace deals. They're all peace deals. They're agreements, solid agreements, every one of them, but this one --

and I said, go to the line, go to the line of battle, the battlefield lines, and you pull back and you go home and everybody takes some time off.

Because you've got two countries that are killing each other. Two countries are losing 5,000 to 7,000 soldiers a week. So, we'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Kristen Holmes, live at the White House. So, no more second summit.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, Jim, this was a pretty stunning reversal here -- sorry, let me take my earpiece

out. I can hear myself. What we heard from him today was, I don't want to waste my time. I mean, it was just Thursday that he was talking about how

he was going to go to Hungary, he was going to sit down with Vladimir Putin, that he was going to have another summit that they believe were

going to yield results. That was after his two-and-a-half-hour-long phone conversation with Putin earlier in the day.

And at that point, he actually said it was going to be within two weeks, so pretty quickly. That seemed to be hanging in the balance last night because

we started to get word that this Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister, and meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that President Trump had

forecast that we were hearing was going to happen this week, he himself, the president, saying it, was not happening any longer. And we couldn't get

a clear read on why exactly that was.

But as we've been reporting this out, it does appear that this is all stemming from a phone call that happened yesterday with Marco Rubio and

Sergey Lavrov. In fact, one administration official saying to us that they had a productive call, therefore an additional meeting between the

secretary and foreign minister is not necessary.

I just want to look at this as a whole here, Jim. I mean, let's go back a week-and-a-half where President Trump was flirting with this idea of giving

Tomahawks to Ukraine. Then he talks to Putin. We know the Tomahawks comes up. On Friday, he has a very contentious meeting with Ukrainian President

Zelenskyy where he tells him he's not going to be giving him any Tomahawks, as well as telling him that he's going to have to make some concessions on

the land front. At that point, we're still hearing about this meeting that's going to happen next week between Rubio and Lavrov, and then after

that in Hungary between President Trump and Putin.

Now, we are in a completely different space with him, Trump, saying that he doesn't want to waste his time. It doesn't seem that they're on the same

page. So, they're waiting to see that he hasn't made this final determination. But clearly here, I mean, he's really shifted just in the

last two days from what we saw.

SCIUTTO: Question, Kristen Holmes at the White House, thank you. Another story we're following closely. Two more coffins said to contain the remains

of deceased hostages in Gaza have now made it to Israel, the escorting of the Israeli military. So, far, 13 out of 28 bodies have been formally

identified as hostages after they were transferred.

Today in Israel, Vice President J.D. Vance tried to downplay concerns about the fragility of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Both sides are now

accusing the other of violations.

[18:05:00]

Sources tell CNN some U.S. officials are privately worried that the ceasefire could fall apart. Standing alongside U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff and

Jared Kushner, Vance said he has, quote, "great optimism" the ceasefire will hold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Given the history of conflict, I think that everybody should be proud of where we are today. It's going to require

constant effort. It's going to require constant monitoring and supervision. That's part of the reason that Admiral Cooper and his team is here, is to

mediate these disputes, to mediate these disagreements as they come up.

But, look, right now, I feel very optimistic. Can I say with 100 percent certainty that it's going to work? No. But you don't do difficult things by

only doing what's 100 percent certain. You do difficult things by trying, and that's what the president of the United States has asked us to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Joining me now, Ambassador Roger Carstens, former U.S. special presidential envoy for hostage affairs. Good to have you. Thanks so much

for joining us.

AMB. ROGER CARSTENS, FORMER U.S. SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE AFFAIRS: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: I want to begin with the families, because you have worked with them for months, for years, right, to get their loved ones home. Sometimes

they get relief. They get what they want. Sometimes they're happy reunions, and sometimes, sadly, they're not. But tell me how the families have been

handling the returns of living hostages and, sadly, some dead.

CARSTENS: So, Jim, I just came back from Israel, spent a few days there. I had a chance to go to Hostage Square on Saturday night and go behind the

stage to spend time with the families and then spend time with the families afterwards in what they call the family room.

And the mood is somber. You would almost think, with a live return of 20 of the people that came out alive, that the mood in Israel would be euphoric.

And instead, there's this quiet tension because the entire nation, and specifically the families of the fallen hostages, are waiting for the

returns.

As you reported tonight, we're still waiting for 13 bodies. But I did have a chance to connect with the parents of Itay Chen and also Omer Neutra, the

two Americans whose bodies that were waiting to come back. And the parents are, as you might imagine, frustrated and a little tense.

SCIUTTO: Do you believe that Hamas is making every effort to return the deceased hostages?

CARSTENS: You know, I'm going to say no, and here's why. I guess, number one, they don't have a great track record with being very honest in

negotiations and in their actions. But, number two, there's an Israeli soldier that was killed in 2014, Lieutenant Hodder Golden, and clearly

people know where his body has been placed and where it is.

Now, granted, the body could be held behind the yellow line in Israeli-held territory or it could be buried under concrete, but there are people within

that organization that know where Hodder Golden is, and yet, he's not been returned. And that makes me think that they might be holding some bodies

back in reserve to use as leverage.

SCIUTTO: Yes, yes, sadly. Well, tell me, because you've been involved in negotiations for years, what is your current read of the stability of this

ceasefire agreement? Do you believe it's going to hold?

CARSTENS: You know, I think there's a chance. I think anyone who has a crystal ball or says they have one about what's going on right here, you

know, I wouldn't believe them for a second, but there is a chance. And I think what's notable is that we've now created a civil-military cooperation

center, and hopefully that will bring together those who want to participate in the international task force, and that's going to allow

people to establish unity of effort, I would say intelligence sharing, establish better corridors for humanitarian assistance, and that type of

work is what's going to provide for a safe and secure environment and then hopefully, for the citizens to start getting some of their needs met.

SCIUTTO: Sure, sure. I mean, one of the biggest challenges will be that to provide the soldiers for that force, nations are going to have to be

willing to put their soldiers at risk, right, because Gaza is a dangerous place, and as we're seeing in the last several days, the war doesn't stop

like that. Do you see those countries following through on those commitments?

CARSTENS: I'd like to think some will. It's going to be a tough fight because you can expect Hamas may not give up all their weapons. There may

be some semblance of a nascent insurgency. And so, the countries that put people at risk, I mean, I have to say that I see their concerns. And yet,

they've all committed to doing this.

So, if they can just follow through, and if I would say, the negotiators and the intermediaries from the United States can keep working with their

other intermediaries like Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt, hopefully we'll put a force together. But I think time is of the essence. This is not something

we want to do in two months. We want to do this in two days or two weeks.

SCIUTTO: Right. Do you believe that the Israeli prime minister is committed to this ceasefire because there are some that doubt his -- some inside

Israel that doubt his commitment?

CARSTENS: Well, I think one thing that's notable is when the troops pulled back to the yellow line, they assumed some risks there. For the Israelis to

go back in and take more territory again, the territory that they just left, that most likely will cost Israeli lives. I think he's kind of

interested to see how it plays out himself.

SCIUTTO: And then, in terms of what both made this deal happen and what might keep this deal going, the administration seems to believe it has the

power, the influence, to pressure both Israel and Hamas, right?

[18:10:00]

I mean, you've heard the president's words in the last 24 hours saying that, you know, Hamas will be obliterated, right, if they violate the

ceasefire in any way. Do you believe that the parties to this agreement believe that, believe that threat, that he's going to enforce this?

CARSTENS: I actually would have to say yes, at least what I'm seeing. Now, granted, I'm not in the government anymore. I don't have access to all the

classified information. But from my perch, I think in terms of that, I think we're in a good place.

SCIUTTO: So, to the next phase, because the next phase involves a lot of the harder issues, right? A ceasefire is one thing. Returning hostages is

one thing. But getting to, well, one, a security force, right, and all the risk that's involved there, but the thorny questions of disarming Hamas, to

what extent, who's going to be in charge of, over time, administering Gaza going forward. Those are the tougher issues.

I don't want to ask you to handicap this, but I'm just curious, do you believe that the parties have the commitment and can make this happen over

time for the people of Gaza?

CARSTENS: OK. I'm going to be an optimist, which is probably, you know, a dangerous thing to be. But the good news is it seems like the Trump

administration has the commitments. Secondly, people know how to do this. I don't think we've ever really done it well, but there is actually, I would

say, protocols, doctrine on how to disarm, demilitarize, and then establish security and then move towards a transition environment.

So, people know what to do, and I'm sure the people in Israel and the Civil Military Coordination Center are already trying to, like, plan this and

start to work with their counterparts. And yet, even though we know how to do it, it kind of is in the PhD level of hard.

SCIUTTO: Right, no question. And people there certainly, well, they deserve peace. Roger Carstens, thanks so much for joining us.

CARSTENS: Jim, thanks for having me on.

SCIUTTO: Appreciate it. The ceasefire is bringing to light the heroic efforts of Gaza's doctors and medical staff and the challenges and dangers

they face during two years, more than two years of war. Some of them have been detained by Israel. Some remain in custody. Nada Bashir looks at the

plight of one of those detained doctors and the current public calls for his release.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Gaza's leading pediatrician, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. From the outbreak of the war in Gaza,

his life-saving work providing emergency medical care had been widely documented and shared with the world.

This footage was filmed in November 2024. Dr. Abu Safiya had been on an almost daily basis recounting the harrowing realities inside Gaza's Kamal

Adwan Hospital, where he was director, as the facility became the focus of an Israeli military siege on northern Gaza. Just weeks later, he would be

detained by Israeli troops.

At the time, Israel claimed that he was suspected of being a, quote, ""Hamas terrorist operative." And the hospital was used by Hamas as a

command center. But no evidence has since been provided linking him to the militant group. Now, his legal team says his detention has been extended by

another six months.

BASHIR: This behind me is Israel's controversial Ofer military prison, where Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is currently being detained. NGO Physicians for

Human Rights Israel says the renowned medic has not been brought before a judge nor interrogated, not even informed of the legal grounds of his

detention. A lawyer for the NGO has also reported that Abu Safiya has been subjected to abuse and starvation and has had medical care withheld despite

a pre-existing heart condition.

BASHIR (voice-over): The Israel Prison Service declined to comment specifically on Abu Safiya's detention, but provided a statement saying,

all inmates are held according to legal procedures and their rights, including access to medical care and adequate living conditions, are

upheld.

Those closest to him, however, have been left with little reassurance over his treatment or his possible release.

My innocent father is facing great suffering and humiliation, Dr. Abu Safiya's son, Elias, says. He is not guilty. He is not a criminal to

deserve these forms of torture and deprivation inside the prison. My father was simply a doctor who was committed to providing medical and humanitarian

care to children, patients and the wounded. He is not guilty of anything to justify his detention or to be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

With the recent ceasefire deal, there had been hopes that Dr. Abu Safiya, along with other Palestinian healthcare workers, would be released and

returned to Gaza. Among those who had been desperately waiting for positive news is Aya. She says her father, Dr. Marwan al-Hams, and her sister, Nurse

Tasneem al-Hams, were both abducted earlier this year. Their whereabouts or possible detention by Israeli forces remains unclear.

Where is the protection of doctors' rights during war? Aya says. Is it their crime that they are humanitarians treating the wounded and the sick?

What did they do?

[18:15:00]

CNN has reached out to the Israel Prison Service for comment on those cases. The detention of healthcare workers from Gaza, like Dr. Hussam Abu

Safiya, is viewed by many humanitarian organizations as part of the systematic targeting of Gaza's healthcare infrastructure by the Israeli

military. The Israeli military has rejected claims that it detains medics on the basis of their profession. In a previous statement, it said, such

allegations ignore the activity of terrorist organizations in Gaza.

The U.N. World Health Organization and several NGOs, however, have widely documented assaults on medical staff and facilities in Gaza since the war

began. The charity Medical Aid for Palestinians says an average of two healthcare workers a day have been killed since the start of the war.

Meanwhile, NGO Healthcare Workers Watch Palestine says at least 115 healthcare workers from Gaza are still believed to be held in Israeli

detention facilities, including at least 15 senior specialist doctors. Israeli non-profit Physicians for Human Rights Israel has also reported

accounts of torture and starvation while in detention.

While Israeli authorities have offered little clarity over the fate of Gaza's detained medics, calls for their release are growing louder, both at

home and internationally. And as the fragile ceasefire continues to hold, the need for unhindered access to medical care for so many remains

desperate.

Nada Bashir, CNN, in the occupied West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Nada Bashir reporting there, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Back now to our top story. There are now no plans for a second summit between the presidents of the United States and Russia, at least in

the immediate future. President Trump says he does not want to have, quote, "a wasted meeting."

Michael Carpenter is a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He was a senior director for Europe at the National

Security Council during the Biden administration. Thanks so much for joining. Good to have you on.

MICHAEL CARPENTER, SENIOR FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES AND FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE OSCE: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, one can be forgiven for having whiplash over the several months of the Trump administration with regards to its policy towards

Ukraine, but even over the last several days. Going to give them Tomahawks, actually no we're not. They've got to give back even more territory than

Russia's already won, or maybe we'll stop at the battle lines. There's going to be a Budapest summit, now there's not going to be a Budapest

summit.

[18:20:00]

But you say this is not by accident that this is a deliberate strategy by President Trump. How and why?

CARPENTER: Well, that's my reading of the situation. Look, I mean, I could be wrong, but this sure feels like a deliberate rollercoaster ride from the

Trump administration to keep pundits and to keep the media guessing as to where the administration is going to go next.

Because if you don't know where Trump is going to land the following day, then you reserve your criticism of the fact that, you know, there have been

no sanctions applied on Russia, no tariffs, despite the fact that there have been tariffs on every other country in the world, and no support for

Ukraine. So, if you want to keep people guessing as to what you're going to do next, you tack back and forth continuously. And then, people think, well

you know, maybe if there's a convincing argument that's relayed by President Zelenskyy, or this or that European leader, then maybe the

president will change his mind.

And the result has been that you've had Europeans coming into town, you know, every week trying to convince the administration to stand by Ukraine.

And that's exactly sort of what they want is my view.

SCIUTTO: When you look at this, do you believe that the president's priority is more to reset relations with Russia than it is to find a just

and secure end to the war in Ukraine?

CARPENTER: Yes, the way I read it -- and you know, I've had conversations with officials from this administration, and my understanding is that the

top priority for the president is to reset relations with Russia. And you know, folks haven't said exactly why, but I'm guessing it's in order to be

able to lift sanctions, to be able to go back to business, to do deals basically with Russia. And in order to do that, of course you have to end

the war. You can't reset relations while you've got sanctions on Russia.

So, I think the president is genuinely committed to trying to end the war, but if the overriding priority is to reset relations with Russia, then

obviously he's not going to put pressure on Russia. He's not going to give Tomahawks to Ukraine. He's not going to do things that are going to upset

Vladimir Putin. And that is the consistent through line that we've seen from day one of this administration, is not doing anything that would

offend Russia, not even statements that could potentially offend Russia.

And so, you know, I think he has thought at various different points that maybe he could bring the two sides closer together, but the Ukrainians are

not going to capitulate. And Putin, as we've seen with the cancellation of this summit in Budapest, keeps insisting on, you know, the five oblasts of

southeastern Ukraine belong to him. And so, between those two positions, there's just no trade space.

SCIUTTO: Who has the upper hand in the relationship between Putin and Trump?

CARPENTER: Well, you know, I think Putin has so far benefited more than anyone else because, look, he got a summit on U.S. territory in the State

of Alaska with a red carpet rolled out for him. This is a guy who's been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. He's been

accused of crimes against humanity in Ukraine. He's been isolated for all these years of this full-scale war with Ukraine. And here he gets an

invitation from the president of the United States. And what that signals to the rest of the world is that you can do business with Russia, because

if the U.S. is now meeting with Russian leaders, then you can, too.

So, I think, you know, he's pocketed that. He hasn't given up anything. And, you know, I think Ukraine is in a worse position now than it was in

January. So, altogether, I'd say Putin is coming out ahead. But -- you know, but Russia's weak. So, let's see how the situation the battlefield

develops in the coming months, because I think a lot of people overestimate just how strong Russia is.

SCIUTTO: So, Ukraine gets the rug pulled out from under them once again. One could argue that Zelenskyy travels here, goes home with nothing after

this, you know, being teased, in effect, on the idea of Tomahawk missiles. He goes to Europe immediately. And Europe, as well, has to decide, together

with Ukraine, how they react to what is clearly the Trump administration policy here. At a minimum, no more help, it seems, for Ukraine in an effort

to reset relations with Russia. What do they do?

CARPENTER: Right. So, the Europeans have been in this sort of wait-and-see mode since the beginning of the Trump administration, sort of deferring to

the United States, deferring to President Trump to see where the diplomacy goes. They've come up with this concept of a reassurance force, which I

find, frankly, fantastical, because they say that they're not going to deploy this until there's a ceasefire.

But Putin is never going to agree to a ceasefire as long as he knows that there's European, potentially, European boots on the ground following the

conclusion of that ceasefire. So, they've been spending all this time doing the diplomacy around this reassurance force, rather than taking concrete

actions that would support Ukraine. And that's where I think they've -- you know, they've sort of missed the goal.

[18:25:00]

The clear thing that they ought to do, which they're now working on, is using these frozen Russian assets to give a loan to Ukraine. They're

looking at doing one for about 180 billion euro. That would be a real game changer, because then Ukraine would have the resources to be able to fight

on, and Putin would see that his runway is dramatically shortened.

So, hopefully, the Europeans will start to focus on what they can do, and we'll stop waiting to see what the U.S. administration is going to do next.

SCIUTTO: Michael Carpenter, thanks for helping us see through it all. Appreciate it.

CARPENTER: My pleasure.

SCIUTTO: Well, the Japanese parliament made history on Tuesday, electing its first female prime minister. Sanae Takaichi is a hardline conservative,

a protege of former prime minister Shinzo Abe. It is a landmark moment for a country where both politics and the workplace are dominated by older men.

But Takaichi has a tough road ahead. Japan, facing a mountain of economic problems. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANAE TAKAICHI, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): For the nation and its people, I will work boldly and tirelessly, unafraid of

change. I will build a strong Japanese economy and protect Japan's national interests at all costs, through diplomacy and security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Joining me now, David Boling, director of Japan and Asian trade at Eurasia Group. David, good to have you on. First on foreign policy, is

Japan, under this new prime minister, likely to have a more robust foreign policy in the region, more willing to flex its military muscle to confront

China, for instance?

DAVID BOLING, DIRECTOR, JAPAN AND ASIAN TRADE AT EURASIA GROUP: Good morning, Jim, from Tokyo. Great to be on the show. Yes. The short answer is

yes. Takaichi is a hawk. She, as you mentioned, is a protege of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, and very much has an Abe Shinzo view of the

world when it comes to foreign policy.

I think she would like, you know, basically to replicate and have an Abe 2.0 approach to the region. And what that means is that, you know, Japan is

in a tough neighborhood. It has China, North Korea, and Russia nearby. And there has been an increasing realization in Japan, among Japanese voters

too, that after Russia invaded Ukraine, that, hey, this could happen in our region, and we need to bolster our defense spending.

This is something the Trump administration certainly welcomes. They're on track to getting to 2 percent of GDP spent on defense. She probably would

like to take that higher. But as you also mentioned, there's some real fiscal constraints that she'll be facing.

SCIUTTO: Does Japan trust the mutual defense agreement with the U.S. in the midst of that mindset there, greater awareness of the threat from China,

for instance?

BOLING: Yes. Fundamentally, I think so, that it is the cornerstone of Japan's defense policy, and it's also, for the United States,

extraordinarily important. I mean, when you think of the region, who can the United States turn to as the most trustworthy ally in the region? And I

think you can make a very strong argument that it's Japan. It is taking the steps, as I mentioned, to build up its defense spending.

I think that, you know, Takaichi, she's going to be meeting with Trump probably later this month. She needs to be able to show to him that Japan

is really an asset. I think Trump thinks of foreign relations like a balance sheet. Are you an asset, or are you liability? And I think Japan

has a really good argument to show, hey, we're an asset. We're doing what we can to defend ourselves.

SCIUTTO: Abe and Trump famously had a meeting of the minds, a warm relationship. Takaichi, given she's an Abe protege, might we expect that

they could have a similar connection?

BOLING: Certainly gives her an edge. I mean, when she meets with him, I think she should be mentioning Abe frequently. And it's genuine. It's not

something that's artificial, right, that she and Abe were extraordinarily close. They very much have a similar world view. I think when it comes to

policy issues, also she and Trump are in line.

One of the big issues when she ran for head of the Liberal Democratic Party as president was immigration. And I think all the candidates feel like that

in Japan, immigration needs to be -- more restrictions on it. And she was probably the most strong voice on that. And I think she and Trump will be

in line on that. So, I think the prospects for them having a good relations are pretty high.

[18:30:00]

She should also use the Abe playbook and use some flattery, go golf clubs, things of that sort, will probably win some points, too.

SCIUTTO: Yes, not just the Abe playbook these days, right? Seems to be across the world. David Boling, Eurasia Group, thanks so much for joining.

BOLING: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Just ahead, recent emergency rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court have left lower courts confused, to say the least. We'll explain why, what

the consequences are after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto and here are the international headlines we're watching today.

A Trump administration official tells CNN there are, quote, "no plans" for another summit between the U.S. president and the Russian leader Vladimir

Putin, at least in the immediate future. The announcement comes days after Trump himself said he'd meet the Russian president in Budapest within two

weeks or so to try to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is hoping to shore up the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. He visited Israel today expressing, quote, "great optimism." The

truce will hold, saying, in his view, it's going better than expected. Despite that show of confidence, sources tell CNN some U.S. officials are

privately concerned that the ceasefire could collapse.

The jewelry stolen from the Louvre Museum is estimated to be worth $102 million. A Parisian prosecutor says some 100 investigators are now working

the case. The Louvre is expected to reopen on Wednesday, but the Apollo Gallery, where this remarkable theft took place, will stay closed.

Emergency requests have flooded the U.S. Supreme Court during the second Trump term on everything from tariffs to deploying the National Guard to

U.S. cities. It has put pressure on America's highest court, and that pressure is showing.

[18:35:00]

One big section missing from some of the rulings, explanations, the reasoning, as in the actual explanation for why the justices ruled the way

they did. That is causing trouble for judges on lower courts, who then have to interpret what they think those rulings mean and what they were based

on. The New York Times recently queried hundreds of affected judges, some of them saying the rulings were, quote, "mystical, troubling, and that they

were hurting the relationship between district courts and the Supreme Court."

Joining me now is a former judge for the New York County Supreme Court, Jill Konviser. Thanks so much. Good to have you back.

JILL KONVISER, FORMER NEW YORK COUNTY SUPREME COURT JUDGE: Hi, nice to see you.

SCIUTTO: So, first of all, since President Trump took office, the Supreme Court has issued a series of emergency orders, more than President Biden

saw in his four years combined, they're often brief, they often have no explanations. How does that affect lower courts, who then have to, in

effect, rule based on those rulings?

KONVISER: Well, it's, it's an obvious challenge. Judges who are in the lower courts see the overwhelming majority of cases. They make the

overwhelming number of decisions, and they essentially tell us what the law is. Their job is to faithfully follow the law and interpret it. But in

order to interpret it, they need to understand it.

So, an emergency docket, for those of your viewers who may not know, is essentially getting before the Supreme Court without briefs, without oral

argument, just on an issue because they're there, because they believe there'll be some irreparable harm if they don't get an answer. If they went

straight through the process from the appellate courts, there would be something irreparable.

And the best example would be the death penalty. Someone is on death row, they've exhausted their appeals, and they want to get before the Supreme

Court on an emergency basis on that docket, because if they don't, they will be executed, and then that would be the end of the issue, irreparable

harm. Here is the same thing.

SCIUTTO: The Trump administration files these emergency appeals quite regularly. I wonder, is it playing the court, playing the process to some

degree, knowing that they might very well win out on most of these decisions?

KONVISER: Well, every litigant is trying to game the system in some way. We would hope that the Supreme Court is somewhat beyond that. However, it

appears that this administration is using that emergency docket to enhance their policy and their political goals, and the Supreme Court is allowing

that.

Now, understand that an emergency ruling is not a ruling one way or the other on the merits. It's simply saying we are going to stay in order, you

can continue doing what you were doing, until we've had a chance to do the full briefing. The problem there is, and the irony, is that normally we're

worrying about irreparable harm, and the emergency docket is supposed to stop that.

But here, what seems to be happening is the opposite. The danger is occurring because of the emergency docket, because they are staying a lot

of these orders, and immigrants are being sent to South Sudan, or they're being arrested and stopped based on what their skin color is, or what they

look like in Chinatown or anywhere else. And that seems to be the policy that's being pushed. And yes, it's part -- sure, it's part of gaming our

court system.

SCIUTTO: Even if the court hasn't decided on the merits in these cases, because the Trump administration is barreling ahead with these policies,

whether it be deportations or deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities, isn't that, in effect, the law, I mean, at least as it's playing

out in this country right now?

KONVISER: Well, the answer is definitely maybe. And I say that because nothing has been analyzed. And that goes back to your original question,

which is, what do these federal district courts and these lower courts do when the same or similar issues come before them? If these issues aren't

briefed and decisions aren't written by the Supreme Court, how will they know how to interpret the law when they don't know what it is?

Anyone who is a constitutional scholar or Supreme Court watcher knows full well that those decisions that they render are 50 pages, 100 pages, 150

pages. And they give you a full-on analysis with precedent, with case law, with arguments, with, you know, everything that would help and assist a

lower court judge make a decision, but the emergency docket doesn't have any of that. It just gives the stay, the conclusion, like a temporary

restraining order. And that's very troubling to a lower court.

SCIUTTO: Before I go, I'd like your read of a case now working its way through the appeals court. And this is regarding the deployment of National

Guard troops to Portland, where it was appealed. Ninth Circuit, I believe, allowed the policy to go forward. Now, I think the next step might be an en

banc review, where all the judges on that appeals.

[18:40:00]

Do you have any sense of where this goes, or if you think that the Supreme Court ultimately is going to decide the president can deploy troops

wherever he wants to?

KONVISER: You know, it is a little bit like reading tea leaves, but we have a roadmap here. And I think what is the most significant about your

question is that it came from the Ninth Circuit, which is the northern area of California and some of those Pacific states. And that is known

historically as being the most generous to plaintiffs and being an extremely liberal court.

So, the fact that that's where they have gone in this situation, knowing full well where, you know, how the Supreme Court has expanded presidential

power, I suspect we kind of know the result that that will be something that will be allowed. Former New York judge, nice to talk to you.

KONVISER: Nice to talk to you.

SCIUTTO: Still ahead, one of the world's most iconic entertainment companies, which happens to own this network, says it is now considering a

sale. The latest on the future of Warner Brothers Discovery. Parent company CNN after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. In today's Business Breakout, a mixed day on Wall Street. But the Dow hit fresh records, thanks to solid earnings from blue-

chip companies. Meme stock mania could also be back in the headline. Shares of vegan meat firm Beyond Meat soared 146 percent today after rallying more

than 100 percent on Monday. Shares of the one-time penny stock are skyrocketing after its inclusion in a meme stock ETF. It's also struck a

distribution deal now with Walmart.

Checking some of today's other business headlines. Car giant General Motors says its exposure to President Trump's auto sector tariffs is not as severe

as it first thought. GM reported better-than-expected earnings and raised its profit guidance Tuesday. It sees its full-year tariff exposure at no

more than $4.5 trillion below earlier estimates. It also expects smaller losses on its electric vehicles. The company shares rallied 15 percent on

that news.

Gold, however, reverse course on Tuesday, posting its worst one-day loss in five years. The precious metal, which has recently been hitting record

highs, is still up more than 50 percent this year. Silver also suffered its biggest loss in years Tuesday, falling more than 6 percent.

[18:45:00]

OpenAI is taking direct aim at the dominant player in internet search, Google. The parent company of ChatGPT has unveiled a new A.I.-powered web

browser called Atlas. It says the browser is built with ChatGPT at its core. Shares of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, pulled back on the

news. One analyst calls Atlas a wake-up call for Google.

Well, a bidding war could soon be underway for one of the world's most storied entertainment companies. Warner Bros. Discovery, parent company of

CNN, announced Tuesday it is open to a sale of all or parts of the content empire. The company confirms it has received, quote, "unsolicited interest"

from a number of parties and says it will now review all options. Reports have been swirling for weeks that Paramount Skydance, in particular, has

offered to buy the entire firm more than once.

In other entertainment news today, streaming giant Netflix is just out with its latest results. It announced weaker-than-expected earnings because of a

tax dispute in Brazil. It says the dispute probably will not affect its results going forward.

Joining me now, CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter. So, Brian, the plan had been split WBD into two companies, streaming assets, all the sort of

highly profitable stuff they say, and then some of the legacy assets, and then sell. Now, they're saying, because they've had these bids for the

whole shebang, that they're at least open to that possibility?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: That's right, and we don't know how many bidders will ultimately come to pass. But imagine, you know, this is

like selling a house, a very expensive house. You and I, Jim, we're in the kitchen, CNN's part of the house. It's a very big house with lots of wings,

a streaming service, a movie studio, et cetera. The plan was to break it in half and try to unlock the value of that streaming service, HBO Max, for

example.

We know that Paramount has been trying to bid for the entire thing, for all of WBD. But like anybody selling a house, WBD CEO David Zaslav wants

multiple bidders. He wants to have a lot more interest. And the indication this morning from the company's statement is that there are multiple

parties that are interested in making bids.

We don't know, however, if other companies have actually come forward and named a price. We know that Paramount, according to my sources, has offered

somewhere north of $20 per share for all of WBD. And that price is important because when this company was formed through a merger back in

2022, the shares were hovering around $25. They declined markedly in the last -- for about two years. Those shares were under $10. Only recently,

because of this report about Paramount trying to buy the company, have those shares recovered. And they're now around $20 a share.

So, what we see here now, first in private, now in public, Zaslav and the board trying to figure out how much they can get for WBD and in what form.

Will they sell all the assets at once, sell the entire house? Will they split it up? Will they sell part and let the other part spin off? None of

that is known yet, Jim.

SCIUTTO: OK. There's another dimension to this story, which you have covered. And that is the -- this is Ellison buying another media company,

right? And already bought the CBS assets and has attempted to exercise some more editorial control, including with a more conservative bent. Is any

part of this response to that bid related to the political element there?

STELTER: It is certainly true that there are some people watching this, both inside WBD and outside, who don't want to see Paramount be able to

take over HBO Max and the Warner Brothers studio and CNN. The political factor is a real factor here because David Ellison, the new CEO of

Paramount Skydance, he has come in and saw Barry Weiss as the editor in chief of CBS News. He's also gone ahead with an FCC condition, having an

ombudsman at CBS. He has made some changes that have unsettled journalists at CBS News. Although I do want to say the news division needs to crank out

expert -- excellent and expert work covering the political world day in, day out.

So, there is this political dynamic here. Is Trump trying to align with these media billionaires and take control of media assets in the U.S.? It's

very much an unanswered question right now. And that is why I think this bidding war for WBD is so interesting.

I'm told from sources that Comcast, the parent of NBC Universal, is one of the other companies that's going to be circling these assets now and

wondering about making a bid. There's also been talk about Netflix, maybe even Apple. We will, I think, know in the weeks to come how many media

companies are actually interested in these WBD assets or if David Ellison, the controlling man at Paramount, is actually the most serious bidder for

these assets.

And ultimately, Jim, there are so many different combinations here. We don't know who will own CNN a year or two from now.

SCIUTTO: We don't. And there's always the possibility of a hostile takeover. Tempt, always possible. Brian Stelter, thanks so much.

[18:50:00]

Still ahead, young people around the world hoping to one day enter and work in the U.S. are seeing their dreams dash, due to Trump administration's new

H-1B visa crackdown. What's it all mean? A special report just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." For years, the United States has been able to attract some of the best and brightest minds from around the world

in fields such as tech and health care. But overseas students hoping to study and work in the U.S. are now beginning to look elsewhere because of

new Trump administration visa restrictions. They fear they're simply not wanted in the U.S. anymore. Ivan Watson has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, everyone.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They run America's biggest tech companies, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, all four

Indian nationals who started out on student visas and then H-1B work visas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I've always said, you know, as an immigrant to this country, it's given me everything that I have.

WATSON (voice-over): For decades, the H-1B has been the golden ticket, turning students into CEOs and dreams into careers. So, prized that in

India, some temples are dedicated to praying for visa approval. But the Trump administration is cracking down.

HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: Train Americans, stop bringing in people to take our jobs. That's the policy here. $100,000 a year for H-1B

visas and all of the big companies are on board.

WATSON (voice-over): H-1B work visas will now cost employers $100,000 apiece. Until recently, nearly 70 percent of those visas went to Indian

nationals.

WATSON: We're not going to reveal your identity --

WATSON (voice-over): Many Indians in the U.S. now facing crushing debt with little chance of finding work in the U.S.

WATSON: How much are we talking about in terms of U.S. dollars?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, it's more than $90,000 for me. And I took a pretty hefty loan. So, for somebody like me who doesn't really have generational

wealth back home, it was a big and heavy investment. It almost feels like you're not wanted here.

WATSON (voice-over): Online, hostility is rising, with some people calling foreign workers job thieves and outsiders. The message, go back home.

SUDHANSHU KAUSHIK, FOUNDER, NORTH AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF INDIAN STUDENT: It's a climate of fear and uncertainty. And it goes against what we've been

conditioned to for the past 20, 30 years, that you work hard, you study, you get the grades, you get admission, you know, you get the scholarships

or you pay the tuition, then there will be a reward, you know, and you will be able to prosper and you'll be able to contribute to the American growth

story.

WATSON (voice-over): U.S. government statistics show a sharp drop in foreigners with student visas coming to the U.S. in 2025 versus 2024. With

the arrivals of students from India plunging around 45 percent.

[18:55:00]

In India, the H-1B ripple effects are already visible. The dream of studying abroad reflected in entire neighborhoods of Indian cities. Tutors

and students describe a recent shift away from studying in the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reasoning now due to the Trump H-1B visa. I have decided to drop U.S. from my plans. I'm looking into European countries,

maybe even India.

WATSON (voice-over): And this appears to be the White House's message, international students should no longer dream of starting their careers in

the U.S.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: In sports now, the Toronto Blue Jays are back in the World Series for the first time since way back in 1993. Canada's only major league team

now beat the Seattle Mariners in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. They will now face the Los Angeles Dodgers seeking a second

straight title. No team has won back-to-back championships since the New York Yankees won in 2000 to win their third in a row. The World Series

begins on Friday in Toronto.

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