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Kenvue Challenges proposed Label Change; Polls on Politics; Mitch Green is Interviewed about Troops in Portland; Vance Visits Israel Amid Phase Two of Ceasefire; Gina Plata-Nino is Interviewed about SNAP; Bear Attacks in Japan. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 21, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:54]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, Japan makes history, electing its first female prime minister ever. Conservative Sanae Takaichi won the vote in Japan's parliament. She's a former TV host -- go TV -- who played drums for a heavy metal band and once interned for a U.S. congresswoman. And she is inheriting several economic challenges, including soaring inflation and the Trump administration's new tariffs. She takes office just days before President Trump is expected to visit there.

This morning, one of the world's biggest gaming platforms under scrutiny. Florida's attorney general has issued criminal subpoenas to Roblox Corp., asking for details on how the company protects kids online. That includes how it verifies ages, monitors chat rooms and promotes its games to children. The move follows complaints that predators have contacted minors through the app.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES UTHMEIER, FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Roblox profited off of our kids while exposing them to the most dangerous of harms. They enabled our kids to be abused. Companies like Roblox have become breeding grounds for predators to get to and have access to our kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Roblox denies wrongdoing and says it has strict filters and monitoring systems in place. The app has more than 85 million daily users.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Also new this morning, the maker of Tylenol is pushing back against a possible label change that could be coming, linking it -- linking use of it during pregnancy to a risk of autism. The company says that there is no scientific proof that the pain reliever causes developmental issues and calls -- and calls the proposed changes, wrong, dangerous and contrary to law. This, of course, comes after the Trump administration and the

president very publicly and repeatedly said that -- told people to just not take it. Don't take it. Don't take it.

CNN's Meg Tirrell is here with much more on this.

And it sounds like Tylenol is now saying they're not going to take it. What are you hearing from Tylenol?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, filed this response to a citizen petition. So, this was an outside group that asked the FDA to update the label. And, of course, the FDA had said the day of that press conference from President Trump that they were going to initiate the process to change the label of over-the-counter Tylenol, acetaminophen, to suggest a possible link to Autism if used during pregnancy.

Now, Kenvue is pushing back against that, saying in this response, quote, "labeling changes are not supported by the existing science that shows no proven link between taking acetaminophen and autism."

And they argue that what's currently on Tylenol bottles and boxes, which is a warning that says, if pregnant or breastfeeding, ask a health professional before use. They argue that is the most conservative and the most appropriate language to have on the label. They say, if you put something else, a, they say there's no link that's been proven, so it would be wrong. They also warn about over warning because they say there are times when it's appropriate to use Tylenol during pregnancy, such as when you have a dangerously high fever.

BOLDUAN: So, kind of, what is also being revealed in this, and the response from the company is a little bit more of like just the process behind all of this.

TIRRELL: Yes. What they said was that they had had outreach from Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. September 1st, where he contacted the company and expressed his views that there may be a link between Tylenol and autism.

[08:35:06]

They met with him on September 8th, along with other personnel from HHS, and they expressed their views that that was wrong and that there were dangers to making this kind of warning. But then September 22nd, of course, was that press conference. And at the same time, the FDA said it was going to make this label change.

We should say, we checked in with the FDA. They wouldn't comment on the process.

BOLDUAN: All right, well, important to keep tracking this. Really appreciate it. Good to see you. Thank you so much.

John. BERMAN: All right, we've got an off-year election two weeks from

today. We've got midterms one year and two weeks away. And members of both parties looking for any sign as to who may be gaining momentum.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is here.

And I have to say, some new polling just out was really eye-popping to me.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: It was shocking to me, John. And it comes down to party identification. Do you identify as a Democrat or as a Republican? And traditionally speaking, this is a metric that has been quite telling of elections. And we'll get into that a little bit.

Party I.D. margin, Dem versus Republicans. Specifically I'm talking about Gallup. Back in quarter one of 2025 it was a tie. Look at how much Democrats have gained on this metric according to Gallup. Their latest metric, Democrats are ahead by seven points. That is a seven- point movement to the left. I looked at some other pollsters as well to see if there was similar movement. Among Quinnipiac it was plus one Republican. And you can see again, movement to the left, Democrats plus three.

You know, last year, going into the 2024 presidential election, that was the rare time in which Republicans actually held a lead in Gallup's party I.D. measure. That Republican lead is no more. Adios, amigos. Eliminated. Now, Democrats ahead by seven points, at least according to Gallup.

BERMAN: And this is when pollsters call and ask you for your party. Basically, this is self-reporting of what party you're in. And now you're seeing this seven point swing in what people are saying in this. And historically, what has that meant?

ENTEN: Yes, OK, what does it matter when Democrats have a lead on party I.D. at this particular point in midterm cycles? Well, I want you to take a look back at some past midterm cycles.

OK, right now we've got the Democrats ahead by seven. You go back four years ago, the Democrats were only ahead by one point. This doesn't look anything like what we had at this point going into the 2022 midterm cycle. It looks much more like what we had going into the 2018 midterm cycle, in which Democrats were ahead by four points. They're actually doing better at this point than they were doing during the 2018 cycle. If you average in the Quinnipiac, it's about the same. But at this this particular point, what you're seeing is Democrats doing considerably, considerably better than they did back in the 2022 midterm cycle. And more than that, Democrats been gaining throughout this year compared to what we saw back in the 2021 year in which we saw Republicans gaining during the year. And what we've ended up with in quarter three is Democrats ahead by seven. Much better than the position that they had going into 2022, when they were only ahead by one point in quarter three of 2021.

BERMAN: So, four points was a good year for Democrats in 2018. One point was a bad year for Democrats in 2022. The number seven, where does that rank? What does that tell us about how they might --

ENTEN: Yes, what is that? Exactly right. All right, so we have 2022 midterm. We have 2018 midterm. Now let's go all the way back. We'll jump in the Delorean and essentially look at party I.D. advantages in midterms. When the GOP gains House seats, look at this, Democrats were ahead by only a point. When the Dems gained House seats, look at this, Democrats were ahead by eight points. Democrats are up by seven right now. If this seven-point lead holds in the next year and it averages out next year in 2026, Democrats plus seven, there is no historical precedent for Republicans actually gaining House seats. The Democrats gain in every year that looks like what Gallup shows right now.

BERMAN: Yes, again, and this number right here for Democrats may be one of the better numbers they've seen in some time.

ENTEN: You got it. Exactly right, John.

BERMAN: All right, Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Also new this morning, Oregon National Guard troops could soon be on the streets of Portland. This after a win in court for the Trump White House, overturning a lower court's order. Barring that deployment. The legal fight, though, it is not over. Boots will not be on the ground immediately as there is another restraining order halting the troops still in place, at least for now. The majority of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, both nominees, two of the three, are both -- are nominees of President Trump's, writing this as part of the decision, "even if the president may exaggerate the extent of the problem on social media, this does not change the other facts -- that other facts provide a colorable basis to support his decision." The president has cited protests outside of Portland's ICE facility to justify the need for federal troops.

CNN's Nick Watt was at the facility last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the ICE facility at the center of this issue. And these are the allegedly war-ravaged streets, according to President Trump, where he wants to send the National Guard.

It's going to be interesting to see over the next few days, and we will be watching, the reaction from the people here on the street if and when, probably when, National Guard troops arrive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: An Joining me right now is Mitch Green. He's a member of the Portland City Council, also an Army veteran himself. Thank you so much for being here.

You've been very outspoken against the President's desire and decision to try to deploy troops to Portland.

[08:40:02]

What's your reaction now to this appeals court decision?

MITCH GREEN, CITY OF PORTLAND COUNCILOR: Hi, Kate. Yes, my reaction's the same as it has been in anticipating the court not necessarily seeing it in line with the facts that are on the ground, which is to sort of organize in our veteran communities and talk to actively serving servicemembers, to urge them to think about their moral position as they face orders from this President.

BOLDUAN: You've called -- what you're getting at is that you have called on current members of the National Guard to reject a Portland deployment. Do you think that's a good thing? You've said it here to my colleague John Berman. You've said that you're not -- you not -- you have not only the right but the duty to disobey an unlawful order.

But I have seen that the governor, though, Counselor, disagrees. I mean, the governor said those who take an oath and those who are committed to the Oregon National Guard will follow the chain of command because that is what they're required to do, even if I disagree with that chain of command. You say she's wrong?

GREEN: Well, I respectfully disagree with the terminology in the Oath of Service. The Oath of Service says that you are obligated to follow the Constitution. You are to protect and serve the Constitution.

Your duty is to the Constitution. And there may be times when you face an order from your chain of command that is illegal. And whether or not you follow that order in the moment is going to be a decision that any given soldier or airman or Marine is going to have to make based upon their moral compass.

BOLDUAN: You -- you -- you've been saying this for a bit now. Have you heard from any members of the military that they would plan on rejecting a deployment like this?

GREEN: I have not heard, nor has my office heard directly from members of the military. But what I have heard is in talking to veterans who have served and still have connections in those spaces with folks who are actively serving, the vibes are definitely feeling a lot of confusion and wondering if this is what they signed up for.

So, I expect in the days to come, in the weeks to come, when troops do show up, if that's the case, if that's the unfortunate outcome, that every morning troops are going to wake up and think about, is this really in line with the Constitution?

We had 50,000 people marching in the streets last Saturday saying we don't want dictators and we don't want a king in the White House. And we -- I was -- I was marching with a veterans contingent that was sort of denouncing and calling upon troops to think about that with some clarity.

BOLDUAN: Counselor, if and when any member of the Oregon National Guard would reject their deployment and take your advice, I mean, they'll face consequences. Are you prepared to provide legal support for them if and when that comes about?

GREEN: I am 100 percent prepared to connect those soldiers who make that choice to the legal resources that exist. The National Lawyers Guild Military Law Task Force has a website and a one-pager that members of the service are allowed to have as a pamphlet, one copy on their person. That connects them to resources.

Yes, of course, it's a legal risk that they will have to take, but they are not alone in a community of people who have made this decision, and we will have their backs.

BOLDUAN: During your time in the military, did you ever reject a deployment or reject an order?

GREEN: I did not. I was not faced with a clearly illegal order to deploy to an American city.

BOLDUAN: Portland City Counselor Mitch Green, thank you so much for coming in. This legal fight, not over. Let us see what happens truly in just the coming days ahead.

John.

BERMAN: All right, the breaking news this morning, Vice President J.D. Vance is in Israel, he arrived this morning, as the administration looks to shore up the fragile Gaza ceasefire. He's expected to hold a news conference around 11:00 Eastern time this morning.

The visit comes as "The New York Times" is now reporting that several Trump officials are concerned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could collapse the deal. The truce survived its first major test when violence flared in recent days.

With us, CNN political and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh.

Sabrina, good to see you this morning.

Obviously, one of the concerns here is, when you get to steps two and three of this 20-point plan, how to disarm Hamas and how is Gaza actually governed. And there haven't been salient plans for that just yet. What kind of leverage does J.D. Vance or the White House have on Israel right now?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTOR: Well, thanks, John.

In terms of the vice president being there, I think that is a good sign and a good show of force from the United States that we're still united here, that we are supporting the ceasefire plan. But in terms of leverage, I mean, the U.S. still does hold a lot.

[08:45:01]

And, you know, we're still supplying arms to Israel, including, you know, military support. We are setting up that civil and military coordination cell inside Israel that will help with getting aid trucks into Gaza, but also the location of some of those bodies that -- of the hostages that have since passed, we're helping with some of those efforts. So, there is leverage that the United States holds. And I think you saw that on display when the president flew all the way around the world to speak to the Israeli parliament and then met with Arab leaders as well.

BERMAN: And what leverage is there on Hamas?

SINGH: Yes. Well, I think Hamas faces a real threat here. I mean, Israel has made it very clear that they will go back in and continue to systematically dismantle Hamas if they -- if they continue to violate or if they do violate that ceasefire. We did see some skirmishes on both sides just a few days ago with claims that the ceasefire had been broken. But ultimately, with the U.S. saying, let's, you know, let's keep this process going with Arab nations rallying behind the ceasefire plan, and European nations, it is still working and in place.

But Hamas, I mean, faces a real threat, not only from Israel going in, I mean, I don't know what the president's words have meant where he has said, you know, we will go in and -- and, you know, basically defeat them. I don't think that means U.S. troops on the ground. But if the U.S. is willing to put up potentially more military support behind Israel, that could be a real game changer on the ground in Gaza.

BERMAN: And "The New York Times" reporting that there are concerns in the Trump administration that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, could basically torpedo this deal. What pressures is Netanyahu facing internally or otherwise that might be driving his decision making?

SINGH: Well, this was always something that we were concerned about, even in the Biden administration, when we had ceasefire deals or agreements that went into place and then, you know, Israel would say, Hamas violated them or Hamas would violate them. And then, you know, you'd see this holdup of aid trucks. You can't weaponize humanitarian aid going into the Palestinian people who actually don't want to be governed by Hamas.

At the same time, Netanyahu knows that he is facing extreme political pressures at home. He wants to maintain his stronghold and his force within the parliament as well. But it's clear that the Israeli people are breaking with him. And so, this war, unfortunately, has been a political tool that he has been able to use. And so, there are some concerns that he will continue to want to continue this war for his own political gains, which is not what we want to see.

BERMAN: Sabrina Singh, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for coming on.

All right, bear attacks in one country reaching record highs. For a while it seemed like we were reporting on a new one every single day. New data on what might be causing this startling spike. And an NBA rookie chased down by police on the freeway and arrested for erratic driving. The excuse he gave officers for his performance.

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[08:52:08]

BERMAN: This morning, 42 million Americans are just days away from losing critical food assistance as a result of the government shutdown. In less than two weeks, the food stamp program known as SNAP will run out of money. And it's not clear if the Trump administration will step in to try to find the funds to keep paying the benefits.

With us now is Gina Plata-Nino. She is the interim director for SNAP at the Food Research and Action Center.

Thanks so much for being with us.

So, explain to me what's going to happen in two weeks if this government shutdown is still going on. Forty-two million people just -- just lose benefits?

GINA PLATA-NINO, ACTING DIRECTOR OF SNAP, FOOD RESEARCH AND ACTION CENTER: Not necessarily lose them. They will be delayed until and when, however, the government reopens or USDA decides to utilize its contingency funds to be able to pay for benefits.

BERMAN: And what will those people have to endure? I mean, who are these people? How much slack do they have in their weekly budgets for this possible delay?

PLATA-NINO: Well, that's the thing. Majority of people on SNAP is, you know, it's working, you know, working hard Americans who, you know, they don't get paid livable wages. And so, their budget is the difference between them being able to pay their rent, being able to pay child care, car insurance, all of those things when people are living paycheck to paycheck. The majority of people on SNAP are children, followed by people with disabilities, and then followed with people, you know, older adults. They're veterans, youth aging out of foster care. You know, it really does vary. But as a whole, it's individuals who rely on this benefit to be able to stretch their money, to be able to have the necessary food that they need in order to be able to go to work, go to school, be able to survive.

BERMAN: You know, we're not that far away from the holidays. And every year at this time we report how stretched food pantries and whatnot are. I mean, can these institutions make up the slack?

PLATA-NINO: They don't. Historically, they haven't been able to. For every meal that these wonderful food banks and food pantries give, SNAP provides nine. And I think it's also important to note that our food is more expensive than it was last year, right? The latest labor statistic was 2.7. You know, a piece of bread costs a lot more. Everything costs a lot more. So, the money is not going as far as it should. So, even with food pantries, there's -- there's limits as to what -- how much they can give.

BERMAN: So, there have been examples now paying the troops, in the case of WIC, you know, assistance for women, infants and children. And the White House has done some accounting to find out ways to get money to it. Any signs that they'll do this for SNAP?

PLATA-NINO: Well, we hope so, right. Like other shutdowns, and I think we can go back to the first Trump administration, the very long shutdown that we had in 2018, 2019, they issued benefits early, right, because they knew, if we go into a shutdown, we want to ensure that there are benefits ahead of time. This is a different type of scenario.

[08:55:04]

But they appropriated money for October benefits. We know that USDA currently has about $6 billion in their contingency funds. It's about 8 billion to be able to pay all of the benefits for -- all across America. So, it's just a matter of them utilizing the authority that they do have. As you have said, they utilized it in other spaces. But the secretary does have the authority to look at other funding within USDA to make up the difference in the contingency funding and utilize that to ensure that people's benefits are on time in November.

BERMAN: A lot of people being caught in the middle here and waiting for answers, no doubt.

Gina Plata-Nino, thank you for the work that you do, and we appreciate you being with us.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: This morning, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began the first day of his prison sentence. Sarkozy was sentenced last month to five years in jail for criminal conspiracy for his role in a scheme to finance his 2007 presidential campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favors. He's appealing the verdict. The former French leader denounced the ruling and says he is innocent.

Indiana Pacers' rookie Cam Jones was arrested Monday after a police chase in Indianapolis. According to court documents, an Indiana state trooper recorded Jones going 90 miles an hour as he passed the trooper. The speed limit in that area, 55. Jones was held on preliminary charges of reckless driving and resisting law enforcement. Why was he going so fast? Jones told police he was running late for practice and did not realize he was speeding.

There is new video also in from Alaska showing water just rushing into a home as it then drifts off its foundation. The homeowner actually took this video a week ago as remnants of a typhoon hit his town -- just take a look at this, you guys -- hit is town and became trapped inside. He became trapped inside. Water can be seen up to his knees. Thankfully, the man's brother says a board that was sticking out of the ground somehow stopped the home from continuing to drift away just five feet from a river. After being rescued through a window, the man posted online, "I was inches away from death." John.

BERMAN: His home drifted away.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: All right, new this morning, deadly bear attacks are on the rise in Japan. More than 100 people have been injured and seven have been killed just this year.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery is live in Tokyo.

And, Hanako, you know, we've been -- honestly, like, it's almost every day we report on this new bear attack. We see incredibly gruesome video like this. What are they saying about why this is happening?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, I mean, I wish it weren't true, right? I mean, as you mentioned, these videos are really gruesome to look at and pretty, pretty horrifying. I mean we've seen a video of a woman in her mid-80s getting attacked while she was simply crossing a parking lot. Another video shows a bear loitering around a nursery when children are inside the building. Local media is also reporting about a man who was severely mutilated by a bear when he was cleaning an outdoor bath at a hotel he was working at.

Now, John, according to local authorities, the reason why this is happening more and more frequently is because of climate change. Authorities say that because natural resources for food for bears are getting more and more scarce, they're having to come into cities. And when they're coming into cities, that means naturally more interactions, more confrontations with humans that can lead to deadly consequences.

And as you said, at least seven people have died this year alone, and at least 100 people have been injured. Weve actually spoken to a man who said he survived a bear attack earlier in October. A man named Billy Halloran. He originally comes from New Zealand, but has been living in Japan for several years now. He said he was actually out for a run in early October when he came across two bears on the trail. He said that he's never seen bears in the wild before, so he was pretty startled, until one of the bears actually started coming for him.

Here's what he said about his experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY HALLORAN, BEAR ATTACK SURVIVOR: It grabbed my arm and I got pushed to the ground. And then, in one -- one bite, my arm was like, done. And at that point I was just screaming, trying to -- trying to get it off me. And, yes, didn't really know in that situation like how it was going to go.

Once it let go of my arm, I was like, you know, is it going to get my face or something next? So, very lucky that wasn't the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MONTGOMERY: I mean, John, just hearing his experience gave me goosebumps talking to him. Now, Billy said that he was a bit traumatized from the experience. He said that it might take him a while to get back out on that trail. But he has now a renewed sense of appreciation for life. He said that he's really grateful for the fact that he is alive, because he knows that so many people were not as fortunate as him.

John.

[09:00:04]

BERMAN: Yes, what a harrowing story that is. And to see the apparently increasing frequency.