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What We Know with Max Foster
Vance Visits Israel, Tries To Ease Concerns About Gaza Truce; Source: No Plans For Immediate Trump-Putin Meeting; No Budget Deal In Sight, Shutdown Enters Day 21; Sanae Takaichi Becomes Japan's First Female Prime Minister; Book Fuels New Scrutiny Of Prince Andrew, Epstein Associates; Trump's H-1B Visa Crackdown Upends Dreams Of Many Indians. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired October 21, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:29]
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Not 100 percent, but J.D. Vance says he believes the Gaza ceasefire can work.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
The Trump administration trying to ease concerns about a shaky ceasefire in Gaza, even whilst moderating expectations. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance
carried out a delicate balancing act during a visit to Israel today.
Standing beside U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Vance said the ceasefire is going better than expected despite a brief flare up in
violence. He says he has great optimism that it's going to hold.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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 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)
FOSTER: Our breaking news into CNN, according to the Israel Defense Forces, the Red Cross says it's received two coffins of deceased hostages. That's
according to a post on social media just a few minutes ago.
Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv has more -- Jeremy.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Max, that's right. The bodies of two deceased hostages are now with the red cross headed towards Israeli
forces inside of Gaza. From there, they will go into Israel and be properly identified. DNA testing will be underway in order to confirm that these are
indeed the bodies of two deceased hostages.
We know, of course, in the past, there was at least one incident over the course of the last -- of this ceasefire, where one of those bodies that was
returned turned out not to be the body of a hostage, but if indeed these are confirmed to be positively identified as two additional deceased
hostages, these will be the 14th and 15th remains of deceased hostages to be returned out of a total, of course, of 28 deceased hostages -- Max.
FOSTER: And in terms of the Vance visit today not entirely clear that the ceasefire will hold because it is so delicate, isn't it? But he is
confident that it will last in some form.
DIAMOND: Yeah. And, you know, a big part of what J.D. Vance, the vice president, was here doing in Israel, was trying to shore up the ceasefire
by simply projecting confidence in it. You know, having the vice president of the United States here, you know, just a couple of days after the
ceasefire, faced a major test with the killing of two Israeli soldiers and then retaliatory Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip. You know, just
having him here, projecting confidence, projecting optimism in the future of the ceasefire agreement is going to go a long way to showing that the
United States is committed to this ceasefire and wants all parties to ensure that any violation by one side or the other, you know, should be
worked out through mediation rather than resulting in the collapse of the ceasefire and a return to all-out war.
And that's, of course, especially important on the Israeli side, where the Israeli prime minister is already under pressure from some of his right
wing allies to return to war after those two Israeli soldiers were killed over the weekend.
And seeing the vice president today at this, what's being called the CMC, the civilian military coordination center, about a dozen miles away from
the Gaza border. It was clear how many resources the United States is putting behind this. You know, you have this very large space with U.S.
troops all over the place, as well as soldiers from other militaries, including the Brits, for example, who are now participating in this,
coordinating with the Israelis, coordinating with nonprofit organizations to get aid into Gaza, to mediate potential disputes of the ceasefire. It's
clear that this was an effort to show how invested the United States is. And that, of course, serves as a message and a warning to the parties to
the ceasefire.
FOSTER: Jeremy, thank you for the updates from today there.
Now, it appears Donald Trump won't be meeting Vladimir Putin anytime soon. As CNN has learned, there are no plans for a summit between the two in the
immediate future. This, despite President Trump claiming just last week he would meet the Russian president in Hungary within two weeks.
Kylie Atwood is across this story from the State Department.
What went wrong then, Kylie?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, all we're hearing from an administration official at this time is, as you said, there are no plans
for a meeting between President Trump and President Putin in the immediate future. And that is surely an about turn from where we were late last week
after President Trump had that phone call with President Putin ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, he said that he expected to
meet with Putin within the next two weeks in a very short time frame.
[15:05:12]
That time frame does not appear to be holding with the expectation that there's no meeting in the immediate future, sources telling us also that
there is no plan for the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, to be meeting with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. That was a
meeting that Trump said would take place this week to set the stage for another Trump-Putin meeting.
But an administration official, senior administration official telling me that they effectively don't believe that a meeting between Rubio and Lavrov
would be useful at this time, because they don't think that Lavrov is an effective player within the Russian system. So, setting up a meeting
between these two top diplomats at this moment wouldn't necessarily prove to be all that effective when Trump and Putin are the ultimate
decisionmakers.
And at the working level, there's only really so much that can be done. And the U.S. would have to put in a lot of effort to stand up a high-level
meeting like that. So, it's not impossible that Rubio and Lavrov meet, perhaps on the sidelines when world leaders are going to be gathering in
Asia later this month. They'll both be there, presumably so they could have a meeting. We'll watch and see where that goes.
But there does seem to be a certain level of hesitation on behalf of the White House to get the wheels turning on another Trump-Putin meeting, even
though President Trump said after that phone call that that was the intention, that was where they were headed.
We should also note that this about-face does come after Trump met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy last Friday at the White House. It was not
necessarily the meeting from the perspective of the Ukrainians, who told European diplomats that President Trump raised his voice multiple times.
There were no commitments made on behalf of the United States for specific new weaponry, specific Patriot systems to the Ukrainians, which they have
been asking for.
So, we'll have to watch and see where all of this goes. But certainly, this is a new wrinkle in what we have seen as an ever evolving Trump position on
where he stands with regard to the Ukraine war and which side he's willing to put pressure on.
FOSTER: Kylie Atwood, thank you so much. Fascinating.
Now frustration seems to be growing by the hour on Capitol Hill now, three weeks into the U.S. government shutdown. To underscore just how far apart
Republicans and Democrats are, consider this, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says President Donald Trump is the key to ending the stalemate. But
House Speaker Mike Johnson insists the president won't negotiate with Democrats and has -- and has nothing to offer them.
Earlier at the White House, President Trump called on congressional Democrats to end the standoff and reopen the federal government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to just say from the beginning, our message has been very simple. We will not be extorted on
this crazy plot of theirs. They've never done this before. Nobody has. You always vote for an extension.
Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats need to vote for the clean, bipartisan C.R. and reopen our government. It's got to be reopened right
now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju is with us now from Capitol Hill.
It doesn't feel like the conversation has really changed, Manu, from when we spoke a week ago or so.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And look, starting tomorrow, this is going to be the second longest government shutdown in the
history of the United States. It's already the longest full government shutdown. The other two that have been longer so far were partial
government shutdowns. And there is a wide expectation that this is going to be longer than the most significant one, which is 35 days from 2018 to
2019, simply because there's absolutely no negotiations that are happening at the moment.
Democrats say as part of their conditioning to vote for the Republican bill to reopen the government, there must be a negotiation over expire -- over
extending those expire subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that are due to expire at years end. Democrats say they are not renewed now. People's
health care premiums will skyrocket.
Republicans say, let's not -- we're not going to talk about that at all until they agree to vote to reopen the government. But so far, just three
Democrats in the Senate have voted to advance that Republican plan. And it requires eight to do so. And one of those three Democrats is Senator John
Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who I caught up with earlier today. And I asked him about his party's position against the Republican plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLP)
RAJU: What do you say to Democrats who have blocked this bill now 11 times?
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Wrong, respectfully wrong to do that. Open up the government.
RAJU: Are you surprised that vote after vote, it's just been three Democrats time and again who voted for this bill. Does that surprise you?
[15:10:00]
FETTERMAN: Yeah, it's Groundhog Day, you know? And I'm just saying -- and it's not entertaining. That's a great movie. But this is (EXPLETIVE
DELETED) and now, it's like now real damage is going to are now touching the lives of regular Americans. And we all lose. And it's embarrassing to
our -- to our allies and to our enemies abroad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And as government services have been suspended, hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been furloughed, sitting at home and not getting
paychecks. There are some who have been forced to come into the office who are still not getting paid, so-called essential workers. Republicans want
to put a bill on the floor of the United States senate this week to pay those so-called essential workers, but Democrats are expected to block that
plan because they say all furloughed federal workers should get paid. Not just that smaller subset of so-called essential workers who can be deemed
that way by the administration.
Now, ultimately, when the government reopens, all those furloughed workers can go -- who have not been fired by the White House, can go back to work
and will get back pay under federal law. But that could take a significant amount of time, which means so many Americans could be living without
paychecks for some time amid this very damaging standoff in the capitol -- Max.
FOSTER: Manu Raju, thank you.
History being made in Japan today as its parliament elected the nation's first female prime minister. In a landmark moment, Sanae Takaichi was
formally appointed by Emperor Naruhito, as you can see here.
Hanako Montgomery reports on this remarkable rise to power.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is hugely historic for Japan. For the first time ever, the country's parliament has elected a woman as
prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
At her first press conference as premier, she pledged to, quote, revive Japan, a bold promise for a nation at a crossroads.
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.
MONTGOMERY: Her victory marks a milestone many here thought they'd never see. Because we have to remember, Japan is deeply patriarchal. It
consistently ranks the lowest among G7 nations when it comes to gender equality, especially in politics.
Takaichi herself has talked about the challenges she's faced as a woman in a male dominated world. But while many are celebrating this symbolic
moment, critics say Takaichi's record doesn't necessarily align with feminist ideals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't really support Ms. Takaichi herself. I have a strong image of her as a woman who was raised
among conservative men. Even though she is a woman, I feel structurally nothing will change.
MONTGOMERY: And as we heard just then, Takaichi is indeed a conservative politician. For nearly three decades, she served in Japan's ruling liberal
Democratic Party, which, despite its name, leans to the right.
For example, she supports increasing Japan's defense spending, revising its pacifist constitution, and has opposed same sex marriage. She's also
hawkish on China, accusing Beijing of growing military aggression in the Indo-pacific.
At the same time, she's maintained close ties with Taiwan, the self- governing island that China claims as its own. Thats ruffled feathers in Beijing and sparked concerns her leadership could strain relations between
Tokyo and China.
But experts I've spoken to say that Takaichi might soften her tone and take a more pragmatic approach once she's in office. Beyond politics, she's one
of Japan's more colorful leaders. Unlike many of her predecessors, she doesn't come from a political dynasty. But she spent years in parliament
and held multiple cabinet posts.
Her mother was a police officer. Her father worked for a car company, and she's also a longtime fan of heavy metal and motorcycles.
Now her first major foreign policy test will come soon, with U.S. President Donald Trump expected to visit Tokyo later this month. It'll be an early
and consequential test for the new prime minister. She'll need to navigate Trump's unpredictable style and ongoing trade tensions following U.S.
tariffs on Japanese goods.
She and Trump are both conservatives and both in favor of boosting Japan's military strength.
Now, whether she reshapes the nation or reinforces the status quo, Takaichi's win is certainly a defining moment for Japan and its women.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Donald Trump's pick to head the office that handles government whistleblowers appears to have little chance of winning Senate approval.
Paul Ingrassia is due to appear before a Senate committee later this week, but some Republicans are already saying they will not vote to confirm him
to head the Office of Special Counsel. Ingrassia has a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, including saying that straight white men are
smarter than other demographic groups.
When one Republican senator was asked for her biggest concern about Ingrassia, she replied, "Where do I start?"
Our Annie Grayer is tracking this story.
It's an interesting one, Annie.
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: It really is. And it's really reaching a fever pitch here on Capitol Hill because the Republican Senate Majority
Leader John Thune was very clear, saying that there are not the votes to confirm this nominee and is encouraging the White House to pull this
nomination, which is a really remarkable statement from Thune, who has backed largely all of Trump's nominees and been in lockstep with the
administration.
But Thune is not the only Republican who has come out against Ingrassia. We've also heard from Republican Senator Rick Scott, who told me last night
that he does not support Ingrassia's nomination. So, there are enough votes to stop this nomination from moving forward. Ingrassia is expected to be in
front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Thursday for his nomination to run the office of special counsel, which oversees all federal
whistleblowers and civil servant laws.
But his nomination has been clouded with controversy from the beginning. His history of racist messages have come forward through reporting with CNN
and this "Politico" report this week has really caused a firestorm on Capitol Hill.
Just to read a few more samplings of those alleged text messages, Ingrassia allegedly texted, quote, "Never trust a Chinaman or an Indian, never."
Another quote from Ingrassia quote, "Blacks behave that way because that's their natural state. You can't change them." He then added, according to
the chat, quote, "Proof, all of Africa is a shithole and will always be that way," end quote.
But I just want to also mention that he and his attorney are firmly pushing back on these alleged text messages, saying in a statement, quote, "In this
age of A.I., authentication of allegedly leaked messages which could be outright falsehoods, doctored or manipulated or lacking critical context is
extremely difficult. We do not concede the authenticity of any of these purported messages," end quote.
So, we are waiting to see from the White House if the opposition to this nominee from Republican senators is enough to pull his nomination.
Republican senators were just at the White House today. We are still waiting to see if the White House weighs in here.
FOSTER: Wow.
Okay, Annie. Thank you.
The chess world is mourning the loss of American grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky at the age of 29. That news coming from the academy where he was
head coach. The chess phenom and respected educator attracted a massive online following through his livestream play and accessible teaching. His
talent and passion for the game was evident from an early age, when he won many regional and world championships. The cause of death hasn't yet been
released.
Coming up, she has made history in Japan, now is the country's new prime minister, the world's most powerful woman. We'll take a look at that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:20:57]
FOSTER: As the first female prime minister in Japan's history, Sanae Takaichi has today become one of the most powerful women in the world. As
we heard earlier, her election marks a remarkable rise through Japanese politics and makes her the second current prime minister of a G7 country,
along with Italy's Giorgia Meloni. They join other prominent female leaders, such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde. Taylor Swift might be up there for some as well.
What we don't know is, does this make Japan's new prime minister the most powerful woman in the world?
Joining me now is the person who can answer that question. Emma Hinchliffe, the editor of "Fortune's" most powerful women list.
And when I looked last, von der Leyen was at the top. But surely someone who runs the fourth largest economy in the world has to overtake?
EMMA HINCHLIFFE, MOST POWERFUL WOMEN EDITOR, FORTUNE: It's an interesting question. I'm interested to hear that you seem that way.
Personally, I'd still vote for von der Leyen. I think her symbolic power and the respect she's garnered for Europe and from Trump really speaks to
her power right now, but would love to hear why you'd vote for Takaichi.
FOSTER: Well, just because I think von der Leyen, obviously, she oversees many countries, but she doesn't have direct control over any of the
countries. So, I think a prime minister of a major economy is arguably going to be more powerful, have more direct power. And I seem to believe
that when Germany had a female chancellor, she was seen as the most powerful woman in the world. And she has a smaller economy than Japan.
HINCHLIFFE: It's a strong argument, and I think we'll be interested to see what happens under her leadership.
FOSTER: When it comes to power, as you say, von der Leyen, she's got the contacts, hasn't she? She's got the platform. She's got that presence. So
it's a lot of the softer skills, I guess, that come into it as well.
HINCHLIFFE: Absolutely. She has the power. She has the symbolism, she has the respect and the track record. So those certainly help in evaluating who
we put on top.
But of course, power is kind of hard to define. It's really squishy and it doesn't mean the same thing to everyone, but economics and the size of an
economy is certainly a hard metric to put on it.
FOSTER: Takaichi has been talked about -- she's talked about being inspired by Margaret Thatcher, who was obviously another conservative, a different
type of conservative. Obviously, she broke through that glass ceiling as well. Giorgia Meloni is a conservative as well.
Is there something about the rise of political power amongst women that they're all going to be further right?
HINCHLIFFE: I think it's unavoidable when global politics is shifting to the right. Of course, women are going to be included in that. And it raises
interesting questions about what it means for women if the women who are rising to power are not necessarily supporting policies that those who
support women's rights believe would advance all women, but the only way to reach parity is for women to rise to power in every political party. And
so, it really is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.
FOSTER: Yeah. Because it's interesting. That was always the debate around Margaret Thatcher, wasn't it, because she would always promote men. And a
lot of feminists said she wasn't a feminist, but just by being in that position is empowering for women. Is that the point you're making?
HINCHLIFFE: I think it's certainly an argument, and people will feel different ways about that, but it's not surprising to hear that Takaichi
really views Margaret Thatcher as one of her idols. If you look at the photos of the new prime minister from this morning, you see her standing in
parliament being applauded, surrounded by men. And she is not just the new prime minister, but she is the only woman there.
So, she has risen as the exception, as the only one, not as a wave of new women rising to power. She has succeeded by really being the exception. And
so, she certainly has that in common with Margaret Thatcher.
FOSTER: I think what makes her story even more extraordinary is because obviously, Japan is a particularly patriarchal society, isn't it? But also,
that many of her male peers come from these long political dynasties, and she didn't come from that. As our reporter was saying earlier, her father
worked at a car company and her mother worked as a police officer.
[15:25:00]
So, it's not just the fact that she's a woman, it's the fact that she came through a completely different route.
HINCHLIFFE: Absolutely. And she identifies with Thatcher for that reason as well. And she's also said that she identifies with Thatcher's ability to
combine her kind of hard line politics with what she's called a womanly warmth. And so, she has risen to power, not eschewing the fact that she's a
woman, not trying to pretend anything else. And she seems to get that from Thatcher.
FOSTER: Okay, Emma Hinchliffe, I look forward to seeing her at the top of your "Fortune" list, because my argument works so well.
HINCHLIFFE: I take your point of view and perspective.
FOSTER: I'll be watching.
Still to come, another threat from Donald Trump to Hamas as a fragile ceasefire holds, for now, at least in Gaza.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:29:09]
FOSTER: Back to our top story. U.S. Vice President, J.D. Vance, is trying to shore up a fragile ceasefire for Gaza. He visited Israel today,
expressing great optimism that the truce will hold, saying its going better than expected. But he was short on many details, including when Hamas will
disarm and who might end up ruling Gaza. Sources tell CNN, despite the public show of confidence, some U.S. officials are privately concerned the
ceasefire could collapse.
Earlier today, U.S. President Donald Trump said numerous Middle East allies are standing by enthusiastically waiting for the chance to straighten out
Hamas if needed. Trump did not specify which countries offered to go into Gaza.
CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House for us.
It does have this tone to it, doesn't it? J.D. Vance going in quite confidently when a lot of the evidence on the ground is pretty negative.
[15:30:02]
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think that it was very clear the vice president wanted to be on the ground to send
assurances, not just to Americans at home, but also throughout the region, that the United States takes this very seriously, that this is important
for President Trump, and that they were going to put all the resources that they possibly could towards making sure that this ceasefire held.
One of the things you heard from him was talking about patience. Yes. He sounded optimistic. He actually at one point said that he was very
optimistic that this was going to work out, that the ceasefire was going to hold. But he did say that people had to be patient, that they understood
that this was incredibly fragile and that not everything was going to happen as quickly as they wanted to.
And Vance, in particular, kept stressing this idea of not getting hysterical. We heard this from Jared Kushner, President Trump's son in law
as well, who took the microphone at one point saying don't necessarily get upset or think that this means its falling apart just because of what
you're seeing or hearing on the news. We were aware that this was going to be an uphill battle, and we believe that this is going to work out in the
end.
There's going to be a few hiccups on the way. I mean, at one point he actually said there's going to be hills and valleys talking about this
ceasefire lasting and not breaking. And as you mentioned, there are U.S. officials who have been very concerned, and that is in part why J.D. Vance
chose this moment to go to Israel. There are a lot of when you talk to these U.S. officials, they think that the most critical point where this
cease fire is the most fragile is right now in the short time span.
And they wanted to reiterate, have a show of force by having the second highest person in command there on the ground to essentially say that this
is going to happen and to keep everyone in all parties in line. And what you're talking about specifically, you mentioned this timeline about Hamas
returning hostages and obeying or following all the levels of the ceasefire agreement. And he said he's not going to put a time limit on it, and
neither is President Trump that they know that some of this stuff is going to take a long time. And as they believe that that Hamas is operating in
good faith, at least when it comes to the hostages, they're not going to kind of rock the boat is basically what Vance was saying.
So, it was interesting to hear him kind of lay out this idea that, yes, they know that some of the hostages, the deceased hostages are not no one
is aware of where they are. They are located under rubble, they said, or in places that are unknown, but they are trying to get everyone home. It's not
going to happen overnight.
FOSTER: Okay, Kristen, thank you so much for that.
Now, Jeffrey Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre feared she might die a sex slave. Six months after her death by suicide, Giuffre's new memoir,
"Nobody's Girl", hit shelves today and contains harrowing details of the abuse she allegedly suffered as a teenager. Giuffre alleged she was
trafficked by Epstein whilst underage and forced to have sex with high profile men, including Britain's Prince Andrew. For his part, the king's
brother has always denied Giuffre's accusations.
Here's a closer look at Virginia Giuffre's new memoir.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER (voice-over): Virginia Giuffre, a key accuser in the Jeffrey Epstein case, has released a posthumous memoir revealing harrowing details of her
abuse and exploitation. The book, titled "Nobody's Girl", sheds new light on Epstein's sex trafficking ring, published almost six months after her
death, Giuffre's memoir details how she was repeatedly exploited and trafficked to wealthy and influential men. She describes the physical and
psychological abuse that she says she endured, including instances of violence.
"NOBODY'S GIRL" NARRATOR: We were on Epstein's island when I was ordered to take this man to a cabana. Immediately, it was clear that this man, whom
I've taken pains to describe in legal filings only as a prime minister, wasn't interested in caresses. He wanted violence.
FOSTER: Giuffre doesn't name the prime minister or most of the other men involved. Her coauthor, Amy Wallace, says it shouldn't be up to survivors
to out their abusers, but instead up to the authorities, which is why she's calling for the so-called Epstein files to be released.
Among those who are named Prince Andrew, whom Giuffre accuses of sexually abusing her as a teenager, something the British royal vehemently denies.
The memoir also reveals new details about the alleged tactics she says Andrew's team used as her story came to light.
"NOBODY'S GIRL" NARRATOR: After casting doubt on my credibility for so long, Prince Andrews team had even gone so far as to hire internet trolls
to hassle me. The Duke of York owed me a meaningful apology as well. We would never get a confession, of course. That's what settlements are
designed to avoid. But we were trying for the next best thing, a general acknowledgment of what I'd been through.
FOSTER: Prince Andrew hasn't responded to the book and denies any wrongdoing in relation to Giuffre.
[15:35:00]
CNN has reached out to him regarding this new allegation.
Despite the denials, the fallout has been significant. Last week, under mounting pressure, Prince Andrew announced he would relinquish his duke of
York title, amongst some others that he's been using. The memoir does also mention Donald Trump. Giuffre recalls meeting him at his Mar-a-Lago resort
whilst working as a locker room attendant. Giuffre makes no allegations of abuse against Trump in this book.
"NOBODY'S GIRL" NARRATOR: It couldn't have been more than a few days before my dad said he wanted to introduce me to Mr. Trump himself. They weren't
friends, exactly, but dad worked hard and Trump liked that. I'd seen photos of them posing together, shaking hands.
So, one day my father took me to Trump's office. This is my daughter, dad said, and his voice sounded proud. Trump couldn't have been friendlier,
telling me it was fantastic that I was there.
FOSTER: The Epstein scandal has already had political and social consequences on both sides of the Atlantic. Giuffre's memoir adds a
powerful and tragic voice to the ongoing call for accountability and justice.
Now, it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are pushing for record finish. Actually, the Dow has been up all day and could close an
all-time high. This is our business breakout. Warner Brothers Discovery officially up for sale.
The company, which is the parent of CNN, says it has received multiple inquiries from potential buyers. Warner Brothers had originally planned to
split the company in two. Now, it started an official review of its options.
Coca-Cola shares are up after releasing its third quarter earnings. The company is enjoying success with its sugar-free and healthier options. It's
also revealed its begun selling a new version of Coke that uses cane sugar instead of corn syrup, something that Donald Trump, of course, has been
requesting.
The company that makes Tylenol is pushing back against plans to change the labels on its bottles. Donald Trump has warned pregnant women not to take
the drug, claiming without evidence of a possible link with autism in children. Kenvue says the drug is, quote, one of the most studied medicines
in history, and says relabeling it would be contrary to law.
Now for many Indians, a degree from an American university often meant the launch of a successful career. But now people are rethinking that strategy.
This after the Trump administration announced a $100,000 fee for H-1B work visas, and amid concerns over the additional scrutiny of international
students.
CNN's Ivan Watson reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.
SUNDAR PICHAI, CEO OF GOOGLE: Good morning.
ARVIND KRISHNA, CEO OF IBM: 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.
SHANTANU NARAYEN, CEO OF ADOBE SYSTEMS: 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. Thats 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?
"PUJA", INDIAN LAW STUDENT IN THE U.S.: 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 STUDENTS: 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.
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.
[15:40:03]
HEMAKSH SWARA, OVERSEAS GRADUATE PROGRAM APPLICANT: 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)
FOSTER: Still to come, dancing chickens, unicorns, pink frogs -- they've all filled the streets of Portland, Oregon recently. It now appears U.S.
federal troops may soon join them there, thanks to a new court ruling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: President Trump is now one big step closer to being able to send federal troops into Portland, Oregon. That's after U.S. appeals court
overturned a lower court ruling blocking the deployment. A second separate restraining order remains in place, but likely not for long. President
Trump has called Portland war-ravaged, a claim local officials have rejected. The impact of the ruling could be far reaching, giving the
presidents plans to deploy National Guard troops to Democrat-led U.S. cities a major boost.
A man pardoned for his role in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol has now been arrested on new political threat charges. According to New
York state police, Christopher Moynihan said he would kill Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Moynihan has been ordered to stay in
prison whilst awaiting a hearing on Thursday.
Kara Scannell joins us now.
I mean, for obvious reasons, this is getting a lot of attention, Kara.
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Max. I mean, we have seen the rising concerns about threats about political violence, and this all
unfolded very quickly. According to the New York state police, an anonymous person called the FBI saying that they had heard from this man, Christopher
Moynihan, who said that he had said he would kill the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries.
[15:45:05]
This tip came in on Friday. That's when the person said that they had heard this from Moynihan, and then he was quickly arrested by New York state
authorities. Now, as you said, he is being held behind bars until he will appear in court on Thursday to face these charges. This man was someone who
was arrested and convicted for storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. He was one of the hundreds of people who were pardoned by President Donald
Trump soon after he came into office earlier this year.
Moynihan was not someone who was charged with any violence that day, but he was someone who did breach the Capitol, who was, according to the court
filings at one of the lawmakers desks, taking photos of things on the desk. Now, according to the New York state police, this informant had said that
they believe that there was some drugs involved in a change in this man's behavior. But all of this still yet to play out.
Now, Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that threats of violence will not stop us from showing up, standing up and speaking up for the American
people. He did say that law enforcement are being forced to spend their time keeping communities safe from violent individuals who should never
have been pardoned. This man, Christopher Moynihan, does not yet have an attorney. But we are tracking that to see what his response will be to
these charges -- Max.
FOSTER: Kara, thank you for the update.
Still to come, the most famous address in America will soon get a new look. Why demolition crews are ripping down the East Wing of the White House as
we speak.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Demolition underway to replace the East Wing of the White House with Donald Trump's vision of a grand ballroom. You can see the heavy
equipment tearing through the building. According to the White House, the president and private donors are putting up the $200 million, would you
believe, to allow more room for entertaining? President Trump says the ballroom will be completely separate from the White House itself, whilst
keeping the theme and architectural heritage of the mansion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I said, if I do this again, I'm going to get a ballroom built and were putting up our own money with the government is paying for nothing.
You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction to the back. You hear that sound? Oh, that's music to my ears. I love that sound.
Other people don't like it, I love it, Josh.
[15:50:01]
I think when I hear that sound, it reminds me of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: What we want to know is, is Donald Trump allowed to rebuild the White House?
Joining us now is Alexis Coe. She's a presidential historian, a fellow at New American, and the author of "Young Jack", a biography of John F.
Kennedy, 1917 to 1957.
Alexis, thank you so much for joining us.
I mean, he is the president. I guess he can do it. But that sort of work in this country would have taken decades to get through the planning
authorities, but that hasn't been the case. What do you make of it?
ALEXIS COE, AUTHOR, "YOUNG JACK": The East Wing was never designed for spectacle. It serves governance, not grandeur. So it seems to be that it's
veering away from its purpose, which is supposed to be accessibility, not access.
And it's also very hard, as an American to see an image of the White House being ripped apart. You know, Mr. President -- President Trump said that
there would be no change to the esthetics of the East Wing, that there would be no demolition there. And we see that's not true.
It's the working hard of the White House. It was built for public service. And so, it's being stripped to its bones for something that doesn't totally
make sense. There was no need for it. And we are in a government shutdown.
FOSTER: What was the historical importance of this part of the White House?
COE: Teddy Roosevelt expanded it in about 1902. And then, it has served various functions during wartime. It's been an expansion of different -- of
different necessary offices. There have been White House activities as far as supporting legislation, civil rights. There has been an incredible
amount of work done there, not only by, by first ladies, but also by the presidents themselves.
But it was meant to be a receiving area. It was never meant to be like a massive entertaining area that you would have in a hotel if you were
hosting weddings.
FOSTER: So, you don't feel as if there's some architectural importance being lost here in, in the brickwork, as it were?
COE: Oh, absolutely I do. I don't think it will fit at all within the architecture. It is not going to look at all like it. It will be commodious
compared to the rest of it. It is going to be an eyesore and also very expensive to maintain. And again, you're going from a capacity of 200
people for a state dinner, which is, you know, about optics and about diplomacy, but it's not really about governing.
And suddenly, there's this need for 600 to 900 people and to outfit it and to maintain it. It's definitely going to cost taxpayers money.
FOSTER: But architecture should reflect the times, right? And if this is this huge grand, as you say, eyesore, maybe it does reflect the times right
now.
COE: It does. It seems certainly to be emblematic of what is going on in America. Not only this sort of very stark difference between what's going
on in Congress. We're nearing the end of the year when ACA will expire. But yet, Congress has health care, very nice health care, prestige, health care
with helicopters and on call doctors.
And they also have a ballroom now, whereas, you know, most of us are just hoping to keep the lights on so we can continue the services that so many
Americans depend on. I think it's -- really speaks to the times. I think you're right, certainly.
FOSTER: It's a very unsettling times, aren't they? And people are looking for security and stability. And they do look to the White House, obviously,
as the power center, but also somewhere they look in times of crisis.
You know, what does it do for the nation's psyche to see the most important building in the country? Arguably, being torn apart. You know, it does look
aggressive, doesn't it?
COE: It does. The last time we've seen such a dramatic change to the White House was when the British burned it down in 1812. So we don't -- we
haven't really seen anything like this in a very, very long time.
And I think, you have to remember that autocrats tend to build ballrooms and presidents build libraries. And so, this is a renovation of the
presidency itself. And also, the relationship between the leader of America and the citizens are we talking about.
You know, we just had a massive "No Kings" protest that was peaceful in New York, where I lived. There was -- there were no arrests, which is amazing
if you consider the turnout. The public service aspect seems like it's being gutted. The policy aspect, the governing itself is just not
happening. And the self-image, though, is definitely being expanded.
And so, we keep coming back to this question, whether it is in renovation, or policy or titles or you name it, what kind of country do we have here?
[15:55:03]
Do we still have a democracy or is it something else?
FOSTER: Briefly, there are other presidents who've done a lot of work at the White House, to be fair, and they haven't come under the same
criticism, have they? Maybe they did at the time.
COE There's -- there's been renovation and they have faced criticism, but I mean, now, it looks paltry if you think about redoing the dish room as its
sometimes been called, in the White House, it's nothing compared to this. Mrs. Kennedy did massive renovations. Most of those were necessary, and
they all worked within the framework of what already existed in the White House. They did not completely gut, tear out. I mean, the images just
alarming. It was -- it was more scaffolding. It was not just a complete obliterating of it, very obliterating.
FOSTER: It does look pretty obliterative.
Alexis, thank you so much.
I'm Max Foster. That is WHAT WE KNOW.
Do stay with CNN. Richard is up after this quick break.
END
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