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KBB: Average Cost of New Car Tops $50,000 for First Time; Any Moment: Trump, FBI Director Patel Hold News Conference; Pentagon Sidelined Lawyers While Testing Legal Limits of Military Action; Soon: Hamas Set to Return Remains of 2 Israeli hostages; Senate Fails to Pass Bill to End Govt. Shutdown on 9th Attempt. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired October 15, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: They've been priced out of the market, right? They're often buying used cars. And that leaves more affluent buyers to buy the more expensive cars. And so, that has driven up the average price of a car that's being sold.

But I also think that this just underscores the K-shaped economy that we're in right now, where people have money in the market, they own their homes, they have bigger salaries, they're doing okay, but the lower income families, those are the ones that are struggling. They're not buying the new cars, certainly not at these prices. Back to you, guys.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Matt Egan, a complicated picture. We appreciate you breaking that down for us. And a new hour of CNN NEW CENTRAL starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: President Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel are set to hold a news conference this hour. The subject is the White House's crime crackdown, but they could face questions on several topics, and we'll bring that to you live when it happens.

SANCHEZ: And CNN investigating a cryptocurrency scam that has senior citizens putting up thousands of dollars into an ATM-like machine. We're following these major development stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEW CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Moments from now, we're expecting to see President Trump as he holds a new news event with FBI Director Kash Patel. And CNN has learned that the President and Patel will be making remarks about crime statistics here in the U.S.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the President, as he often does, likely to veer onto a number of other subjects, including potentially the government shutdown now on its 15th day, as well as the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. We'll see, also, if the President winds up taking questions. Let's get right out to CNN's Kristen Holmes, who's at the White House for us.

Walk us through what we should expect from this event, Kristen.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Boris and Brianna, I just got a little bit more insight into what exactly we're going to be looking at. Expect to hear the FBI touting these crime statistics, saying that crime has gone down, and particularly focusing on a period of time between June and September when they were launching this operation across the country called Summer Heat. This was in various cities, and it was a joint partnership with various law enforcement, including federal, state, local. All of these officials working together.

They're going to talk about some of the statistics, some of the good that came out of that, including people who were arrested, fentanyl that was seized, for example. And this really happened across the country. It comes at a time in which President Trump is pushing for these federal partnerships. He is pushing to have the National Guard in various states. He is pushing for more of a federal law enforcement presence. So, this is likely to roll into that.

Now, as you noted, there is a chance that they could get questions on a number of various issues. And one thing to note, a few moments ago, we saw the FBI Director Kash Patel coming into the White House, and with him was the Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Now, she is not slated to take part in this, but we'll see if she's there as well. I think there are a lot of questions that people have for the Justice Department as well.

KEILAR: All right, Kristen, thank you for that.

We have CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell with us as well.

And Josh, your thoughts ahead of this event and the message that Patel's been sharing up to this point about crime in America?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we know that, thankfully, various categories of crime have been on the decline for quite some time now. This administration has really focused heavily on a reduction in violent crime, which has led to a lot of those operations that Kristen just mentioned there across the country. I think we'll be looking for two things, style and substance.

On the style, it will be interesting to see what the demeanor is of these two individuals. We know that a lot of times with Cabinet meetings, for example, oftentimes the Cabinet officials will spend a significant amount of time actually praising the President. And so, that will be something that will be interesting to watch.

You know, I worked closely with three FBI directors in the past, and they and their predecessors had historically kept a distance from the White House trying to insulate that organization from any administration. But this is obviously someone that the President has installed who is very loyal to the President. And so, that will be interesting to watch what that actual demeanor is.

On the substance, we're waiting for those actual statistics. Again, we know that various rates of crime have been going down. Are there any new figures that they will provide? That's obviously something that we will be watching. And then, it's also just, you know, worth noting as well is that the

FBI has been saying that 10s of thousands of violent criminals have been arrested during the course of this administration. I've spoken with law enforcement sources who know that the bulk of those arrests, actually the heavy lift comes from state and local law enforcement that are part of these federal task forces.

And so, it will just be interesting to see, is this something that, you know, the FBI is trying to -- trying to, you know, take credit for, whether that credit is actually shared across various levels. When the FBI Director had recently testified, he said, for example, that the American public should thank the FBI for being on track for a reduction in murder in this country at one of the lowest rates ever seen in history.

[15:05:01]

I don't think we've ever seen law enforcement so forcefully asking the public to thank them. And so again, that will just be interesting to see what is the kind of the -- the framing of this and obviously what are the statistics and what other operations might we expect in the future.

SANCHEZ: Josh Campbell, thank you so much for that reporting. We're going to be monitoring this news conference at the White House set to begin at any moment.

Meantime, the Pentagon is under fire from dozens of media organizations protesting new restrictions on journalists that cover the Defense Department.

KEILAR: That's right, nearly all major news outlets, including CNN, have turned in their press credentials today. They did it in protest. And CNN also has some new reporting on how the Pentagon has sidelined top military lawyers who raised concerns that many summary firings could be illegal and might hurt the military's ability to fight. And they also raised a number of concerns about other legal issues as well.

SANCHEZ: Yes, no question. CNN National Security Correspondent Natasha Bertrand is here with more.

Natasha, share your reporting and what you've learned.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so this was something I was really interested in exploring just because there are so many different ways that this Pentagon and this administration, of course, writ large, have looked to kind of push the boundaries of the law in the policies that they've enacted over the last several months.

And what we learned is that earlier this year, this is one anecdote, just -- just underscoring this, the top uniformed lawyer for the Army had begun raising concerns internally about policies being rolled out across the military, including the Texas National Guard deputizing -- the Texas governor deputizing Texas National Guard soldiers to help with immigration enforcement. That is something that this lawyer was concerned about because there were questions about whether they had the appropriate training to carry out this kind of immigration enforcement.

Another issue that was raised at the time was the question of mass firings of probationary employees across the Defense Department, something that many officials at the time were raising questions about whether it was legal.

And this lawyer, Lieutenant General Joe Berger, he was actually fired several weeks later. And Secretary Hegseth said that his firing as well as the firing of the Air Force, top JAG for the Air Force, was because they potentially were going to serve as roadblocks to policies being implemented by the Commander-in-Chief.

Now, I spoke to over a dozen sources, including several current uniformed lawyers for the story. And they all said that this really seemed to them, these firings, like a warning shot by this administration who are intent upon remaking the military justice system. And that is something actually that Secretary Hegseth's personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, has been involved in as well.

One of the initiatives that he has been pushing, we're told, is trying to get fewer lawyers in the Pentagon, essentially move more of them out into the field so that they are not at headquarters, where, of course, these very important and often very political decisions are made that they need to be weighing in on. And just to -- just to, you know, put a bow on it here.

One JAG officer actually told me, quote, "Hegseth's rhetoric and policies are perceived as a bit unhinged and counterproductive, but the way forward is just to eat it and put your head down and act in accordance with his new policies. No JAG is trying to rock the boat or get fired."

So, you can see that there has even been somewhat of a chilling effect with some of the lawyers in the military being afraid that they're going to be terminated.

KEILAR: I think we knew, right, that Secretary Hegseth saw these military lawyers as an obstacle, right, to some of the policies. You -- you do a great report here where you're talking to a lot of people who are involved in this. And there's even questions about these lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers.

But just explain for people to understand it, and this, we should remind people, it's a Pentagon where historically there have been questions about things that go up to the line of what is legal and what should be done. And I think looking back in history, there are times where there's still questions about maybe that wasn't the best idea, right?

So, it's not as if these are lawyers who are like blocking every single thing all the time. But just explain a little bit about how they see their role when it comes to looking at the law, what they're supposed to be doing when it comes to protecting the military and American values in what the military does. BERTRAND: Yes, absolutely. So, the JAG Corp, they are expected to be

kind of neutral arbiters of the law. And they are expected to provide extremely candid legal advice to commanders and troops all the way up and down the chain of command so that they can disobey unlawful orders is the key, right? If there is an unlawful order that comes down, they need to know that that is either legally questionable or completely unlawful.

And I think that Secretary Hegseth has viewed them as overbearing, out of touch, particularly when it comes to rules of engagement. He's called them JAG-offs pejoratively in his books previously. He clearly views them as more of an obstacle than a benefit, something, of course, that JAG officers would very much disagree with, saying that they're necessary in order to uphold the laws of the Constitution and -- and domestically.

KEILAR: That's a great report. You clearly put a lot into it. So, thank you so much, Natasha Bertrand, appreciate it.

[15:10:01]

And still to come, the ceasefire in Gaza facing a serious test as anger grows in Israel. One of the bodies returned by Hamas was not that of one of the hostages.

SANCHEZ: Plus, he was a key figure in prosecuting Donald Trump during the Biden administration, and now he's speaking out against President Trump's Justice Department. Some scathing words from Jack Smith straight ahead.

KEILAR: And later, a crypto scam that is helping criminals steal millions of dollars from innocent Americans. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN News Central.

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[15:14:54]

KEILAR: We do have breaking news into CNN. A federal judge is extending a temporary restraining order blocking National Guard troops from being deployed in Portland, Oregon. The pause was set to expire on Saturday, but it will now stay in effect for another 14 days.

And this comes as the administration awaits a ruling from the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court on whether the National Guard deployment in Portland is legal.

SANCHEZ: Any moment now, Hamas says it will hand over the bodies of two more Israeli hostages. The remains of 21 hostages are still apparently in Gaza. Under the ceasefire deal, all living and deceased hostages were supposed to be returned within the first 72 hours. And because of this slow return of remains, Israel is telling the U.N. that it will delay or cut the aid that is going into Gaza. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is with us now from Tel Aviv.

Jeremy, can you tell us a little bit about the latest that you're hearing and if this threat is going to be heard by Hamas and -- and actually help to get things sped up here?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, we are learning right now that the Red Cross is on its way to a meeting point inside of the Gaza Strip to receive the bodies of additional hostages. Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades has said that it will release the remains of two hostages.

Earlier in the day, we had heard from an Israeli official saying that Israel expected four or five remains of hostages. So, still some uncertainty there. But Israel is putting that threat into effect already, it seems. We've spoken with an Israeli official tonight who said that only 300 trucks of humanitarian aid were allowed into the Gaza Strip today. That was half the amount that was agreed to under this ceasefire agreement.

And -- and so, Israel does appear to be restricting the amount of humanitarian aid going into Gaza as a way to try and pressure Hamas into releasing additional remains of hostages being held in the Strip. So, far, they have only released the remains of seven of the 28 deceased Israeli hostages that it has been holding. One of the bodies that it released last night ultimately proved not to be the body of a hostage, according to DNA analysis conducted by Israel's National Forensic Institute.

But this notion of using humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip is already facing criticism from the United Nations human rights -- human -- humanitarian coordinator, I should say, Tom Fletcher. He called on Hamas, first of all, to release the bodies of these deceased hostages. But he also said that Israel should not be using humanitarian aid as a bargaining chip, calling on Israel to open more crossings into Gaza. Only two of the seven crossings are currently open, and we know that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is indeed disastrous.

In addition to that, Hamas has said that it is having trouble retrieving some of these bodies of hostages due to the devastation in Gaza, some of those bodies believed to be under the rubble of buildings struck by the Israeli military.

SANCHEZ: Jeremy, there are also ongoing concerns about the security situation in Gaza and some Hamas activity, including executions. What do we know about that?

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. I mean, we are clearly seeing Hamas making some very public and at times violent efforts to reassert its dominance and its power inside the areas of the Gaza Strip from which the Israeli military has withdrawn. We've seen Hamas fighters back in the streets, sometimes in uniform or wearing headbands associating them with Hamas. We've also seen them engage in violent clashes with other armed groups inside of Gaza, including some gangs and clans that have been accused of being backed by the Israeli government.

And Hamas, in a very public move, Hamas militants executed eight individuals that they accused of being collaborators with Israel, but they appear to have done so without any kind of trial or formal judicial proceedings, executing them in very violent and -- and public fashion in the middle of a square in Gaza City. And this also appears to be Hamas' attempt to kind of reassert a -- a key element that it has used to rule Gaza over the years, and that is re-instilling fear in the people of Gaza, and they appear to be willing to use any means to do just that. Boris, Brianna.

SANCHEZ: Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv for us, thank you so much for the update there.

Coming up, another failed vote in the Senate as the government shutdown stretches into its 15th day. What we're hearing from lawmakers as Speaker Mike Johnson accuses Democrats of playing games.

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KEILAR: This just in, the Senate has now failed to pass the Republican stopgap spending bill for the ninth time and that means the government shutdown, now in its third week, will continue on.

SANCHEZ: Simultaneously, a judge just halted President Trump's planned layoffs of federal workers caught in the shutdown, saying the move is unlawful. Earlier today, the director for the Office of Management and Budget estimated that shutdown-related layoffs would likely exceed 10,000 cuts. Let's go live to Capitol Hill with CNN's Manu Raju.

Manu, not surprising to see another failed vote on the Senate floor. What comes next?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, this is going to be weeks and weeks of gridlock. At least that's the prediction from a number of senators on both sides of the aisle. In fact, I just caught up with one of those senators, Senator John Kennedy. He's a Republican from -- from Louisiana.

He told me that he thinks this is going to be the longest ever in United States history.

[15:25:00]

He thinks this is going to go past Thanksgiving. And the longest ever, of course, was 35 days. That was in 2018, 2019.

So, people are girding for something that could be pretty devastating for so many Americans here. The big problem that's happening right now is that there are absolutely no negotiations whatsoever. For the ninth time, Senate Democrats blocked this bill. This one was in a vote of 51-44. Just three Democratic members of the Democratic caucus voted to advance this plan. They need eight in order to get to the 60 votes to reopen the government under the Republican terms, which is a straight extension of government funding until November 21st.

But the Democrats are holding firm because they are demanding an extension of those Obamacare subsidies. They're saying -- to expire at the end of the year. They help people pay for their health insurance. Democrats say they must be dealt with immediately or else people will see their premiums skyrocket. But Republicans say reopen the government first, then we will negotiate.

And because of that position, the two sides are not talking. The Senate is done voting for the day. They're expected to go home tomorrow afternoon. The House isn't even in session. So, things are going to go on for quite some time. And I just asked the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, who is spearheading the strategy on the Democratic side, if it is time for his side of the aisle to give in a little more.

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RAJU: Isn't it incumbent upon you to compromise, move a little bit closer to their position, scale back your demands? Shouldn't you still be able to get here?

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The bottom line is they won't even negotiate with us. So, that's a premature question. But, of course, I'm not going to negotiate in public. We need to address the crisis that is afflicting, and that's the right word the American people ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: But Republicans are very clear, they don't plan to negotiate at all until the Democrats come to their position. In fact, I asked the Speaker of the House that, whether it's time for him to change tactics, whether it's time for them to sit down and negotiate. He said there's nothing for us to change. There's nothing for us to negotiate. The Democrats must vote for our bill at this moment, which is why there is so much fear that those hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have been furloughed, who are not getting paychecks, they could miss paychecks for quite some time. The administration, even going further, the White House warning of firings and moving forward with firings for many federal employees who could lose their jobs because of this partisan stalemate in the Capitol, which at the moment is showing no signs of slowing down, only intensifying and threatening to drag on for weeks, potentially even months, guys.

KEILAR: Wow. All right, Manu Raju, thank you.

And be sure to tune in tonight. Kaitlan Collins will moderate "Shutdown America: A CNN Town Hall with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez" live tonight at 9 P.M. Eastern on CNN.

And coming up, former special counsel Jack Smith back in the spotlight with a rare and pretty scathing review of the Trump administration's Justice Department.

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