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OpenAI Launches Internet Browser; Interview With State Rep. Hoan Huynh (D-IL); Russia Launches New Wave of Attacks on Ukraine. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 22, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Oh, no, no, there is.

(CROSSTALK)

MATTINGLY: That's why it's the most fascinating about all the dynamics.

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Yes, I agree. I agree. It's all about Indiana, guys, all about Indiana.

TAMARA KEITH, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Always.

BASH: Thank you for joining INSIDE POLITICS today.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Easier said than done. President Trump's peacemaking dreams facing brutal reality, hours after plans for a meeting with Vladimir Putin were put on ice, Russia unleashing new attacks on Ukraine.

And show of resistance. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley takes a stand on the floor of the Senate, a speech that is now the sixth longest in the chamber's history.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: And a warning sign for the economy. We're going to tell you why economists are worried about one group falling behind on its car payments.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: A woman, a young girl and a 6-month-old baby among at least six people reportedly killed in a punishing new wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine, attacks that also caused massive power outages.

Today's strikes come after -- hours after President Trump said a potential second summit with Vladimir Putin could be a waste of time. And, still, Moscow says preparations are under way for another meeting.

In just a few hours, Trump will be hosting NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House as Europe works with the administration to try to end the war. Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tried and failed to secure U.S. Tomahawks missiles, which he believes could deliver a decisive blow to the Kremlin's war effort.

Today, Zelenskyy expressing more doubts about Putin's willingness to talk peace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: After our conversation, you saw messages, public messages from Trump. He proposed, stay where we stay and begin conversation. I think this -- that was good compromise, but I'm not sure that Putin will support. And I said it to President...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We're joined by Jim Sciutto, our CNN anchor and chief national security analyst.

These strikes really punishing. Can you walk us through these latest ones?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Listen, what's interesting is, the strikes often expand after Trump talks to Putin and after Trump claims a warm relationship with Putin and also claims that Putin's interested in peace.

But we see the pattern again, I mean, this one on a kindergarten in Kharkiv. Children are the victims here. And, by the way, these strikes, particularly when they involve ballistic missiles, they're not accidental. That's not collateral damage. Ballistic missiles, you enter the coordinates for the target and you strike your target.

And we saw a similar pattern after the Alaska summit, when the Alaska -- post-Alaska summit, Russia actually expanded its ballistic missile and drone attacks on Ukraine. So the facts of the matter speak to Russia pushing harder after these supposed overtures for peace, as opposed to pulling back and signaling that they're interested in a peace agreement.

KEILAR: And Zelenskyy, he has said that this fell apart, a discussion with Vladimir Putin, because Trump did not give Ukraine Tomahawk missiles. Talk to us about the Tomahawks. Are they really a game changer? He seems to really think they are.

SCIUTTO: Listen, they are. I mean, they're highly capable. They have an enormous range. And let's just show you that range, because it goes deep, deep inside Russia, far beyond where most of Ukraine's munitions go.

Now, the truth is, Ukraine has been able to strike deeper. You will remember that drone attack where they actually drove the drones into the country and hit targets way out in Siberia. But this would be a more powerful, longer distance with regularity and the ability to hit what's really -- hit pay dirt, as it were, for Ukraine has been striking Russia's oil facilities, because it is breaking down its ability to sell oil on the market, which finances the war and keeps the government operating.

So it would be potentially a game changer. And Zelenskyy is not alone in saying that this matters, right? Because it's not just about the Tomahawks, right? It's about sanctions that President Trump has repeatedly threatened against Russia, but not imposed. And it's also about tariffs that President Trump has repeatedly threatened against Russia and not imposed, while imposing tariffs virtually on everybody else in the world.

KEILAR: So how is Russia viewing all this?

SCIUTTO: Russia -- listen, you read the state media in Russia -- and, by the way, the media in Russia is largely controlled by the government. And their coverage in the last 24 hours has said things like, Trump is not ready to impose harsher measures on Russia. That's how they're reading the situation.

One of the papers even accused Trump of intellectual laziness, right? So, again, this impression Trump has that, well, my friend Putin and the Russians respect me as a strong leader, it's certainly not reflected, one, in the actions Russia's taking, but also in the way that Russian media talks about Trump.

[13:05:11]

KEILAR: Yes, belittling him, really.

Jim Sciutto, thank you so much for taking us through that.

SCIUTTO: Thank you so much.

KEILAR: Omar.

JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, here in the U.S., California Governor Gavin Newsom says he will send in the National Guard, but on a humanitarian mission to support food banks across the state. He says the Guard will not be acting as law enforcement and that the move is meant to fill in the gaps with millions of Californians at risk of missing meals amid the ongoing government shutdown.

Now, nationwide, roughly 42 million people, or one in eight Americans, are in danger of losing critical food assistance next month. And that's on top of, by the way, the 1.4 million federal workers who are now going without pay, some of whom are also turning to food banks.

With that in mind, at least one Republican lawmaker is criticizing that American taxpayers could soon potentially be on the hook, by the way, as President Trump claims he could be owed $230 million for past Justice Department investigations into him.

I want to bring in CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju, who is live on Capitol Hill for us.

So, Manu, let's just start. Obviously, we have this umbrella of shutdown that we're all operating under right now, but what are you hearing as the president floats potentially being paid an amount in the hundreds of millions of dollars?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I have asked a number of Republican and Democratic senators this same question today. It really falls into three camps. If you're a Democrat, you're expressing outrage over all of this, the taxpayer money, the ask to cover these legal bills, and the fact that Trump's own attorneys and who are now in the Justice Department, former attorneys now in the Justice Department, would have a role in overseeing all that.

There's that one camp. Then there's the deflection or the response from a lot of Republican senators, saying they have not seen the details, they want to understand more about it, some defending Donald Trump as well.

And then you have some very few Republicans raising some serious concerns, including Senator Thom Tillis, who's a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who told me earlier today that this has bad optics written all over it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Well, it seems odd. And I think he's in the difficult position where he's asking for something that he would approve. I think it's terrible optics.

RAJU: Do you have any issues with the $230 million ask that Trump had to the Justice Department for his legal bills?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I would want to find out more about it, because I'm -- I don't know what the details are.

RAJU: The president had asked the Justice Department to pay for his legal bills with taxpayer money, $230 million. Are you OK with that?

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Can I -- you're telling me this right now, Manu. Can I kind of track it down? So, let me -- before I comment, let me read that on my own.

RAJU: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And a lot of Republican senators had a similar refrain today, waiting to get the details, including the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, who didn't really weigh in directly on this as well when he was asked earlier today.

This, of course, comes at a complicated time for Trump to be making this ask, when the government is shut down, when so many people are being furloughed from work and not getting their paychecks. That is still an ongoing issue in the Capitol, how this will ultimately be resolved.

In fact, at the moment, the senator from Oregon, Jeff Merkley, has been on the floor all night long railing on this shutdown and giving one of the longest floor speeches in American history, now the sixth longest in the history of the United States.

It's unlikely to change any of the dynamics here. In fact, some Republicans are criticizing Merkley himself for doing this while these Senate staffers and police officers that have had to staff this Capitol also not getting paid through all of this.

But, nevertheless, it just shows you the moment that we're in as there is no end in sight to this crisis created by lawmakers here in Washington.

JIMENEZ: Now past day 20, well past day 20.

Manu Raju, appreciate the reporting, as always.

Still to come for us: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth takes his communications crackdown a step further. We're going to tell you who he is banning Pentagon personnel from speaking with.

Plus, with economic data limited amid the government shutdown, we will explain how car payment data, yes, car payment data, is revealing some serious concerns about the state of the economy.

But first:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STATE REP. HOAN HUYNH (D-IL): I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh. I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These guys are telling us to stop following.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: An Illinois lawmaker says federal agents stopped his vehicle at gunpoint after he tried to warn Chicago residents of their presence. That lawmaker joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:13:49]

KEILAR: In just a few hours, a hearing over the National Guard's deployment to Chicago is set to resume.

This morning, the judge overseeing the case and who temporarily blocked the deployment earlier this month gave the parties time to figure out the next steps. It's happening as the restraining order keeping troops out of the city expires tomorrow and as the Supreme Court reviews the case.

Several protests, some of which have turned contentious, have erupted outside of an ICE facility just outside of Chicago.

We're joined now by Illinois State Representative Hoan Huynh, who says that he was held or was -- had a gun pointed at him yesterday by ICE. We do want to show you a part of this moment from the vantage point of Representative Huynh's friend who was a passenger in the car at the time and started videotaping afterward. You don't see a gun, but you do hear some of what unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUYNH: I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh. I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These guys are telling us to stop following.

HUYNH: I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're Customs and Border Patrol.

HUYNH: I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's three agents behind us. Why is my window not working?

HUYNH: I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somehow, they're able to open my windows. These people are -- there's three officers in front of us, three officers behind us.

[13:15:01]

HUYNH: I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has a -- you know, there's video recording.

HUYNH: I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's three officers behind us.

HUYNH: I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I'm going to keep following this guy. This guy is -- this other car behind us...

HUYNH: Yes, they just put a gun...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they just had a gun. We're at Montrose and Kimball now. Telling us to stop following them. I guess the other car behind me was following me. I didn't realize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, CNN received a statement from the Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, which reads: "Representative Huynh was stopped not once, but twice for stalking law enforcement and attempting to interfere with operations.

"He was given a warning the first time he was stopped and he ignored that warning, forcing agents to get out of their car a second time to assess if he was a threat. This behavior is on becoming of a public servant and is just another example of sanctuary politicians putting our officers at risk."

And State Representative Huynh joins us now here in the studio.

I'm going to ask you to respond to that in a second. But, first, because this video doesn't show this entire interaction, can you take us through what happened?

HUYNH: And thank you so much, Brianna, for having me here today.

We were out yesterday making sure that we talked to our local small businesses about their rights as civilians, right? And we wanted to let them know that they have the right to remain silent, they have the right to an attorney when they're interacting with ICE agents.

And that's what we really have been doing as part of the rapid response network with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. So we received a report yesterday that a landscaper was captured by ICE agents in my district, in my neighborhood of Uptown.

And so we went to the location to again provide assistance and to make sure that folks know their rights. And so, at one point, we were sandwiched in between two ICE cars, one in front of us and one behind us, where an ICE agent went to the passenger side of the car which I was in.

And he pointed a gun directly at my face without any warning whatsoever, and then told us to identify ourselves, of which I then said: "I'm an elected official. I'm State Representative Hoan Huynh. We are within the rights to do what we have to do to inform our neighbors of their rights."

And, at that point in time, they wanted to bash in the windows of the car as well.

KEILAR: How did you know -- how did you know they wanted to bash in the windows of the car?

HUYNH: They said literally at that moment that -- they were like: "We're going to bash these windows in."

KEILAR: This is before the recording starts?

HUYNH: This is before the recording starts. That's absolutely right.

And so they had a gun pointed to my face on the passenger side before the recording starts. So when my colleague started recording, they then realized that there was a camera to them. And, again, these are ICE agents who are wearing masks. Their badges aren't very clear. And so they then drew the gun away from the car, and then they went away. And so when we, again, went to make sure that we inform our neighbors

of their rights, and, again, we were passing construction workers, landscapers. They then again stopped us and told us that we could not do that and that they were going to, again, detain us, and of which they did not.

KEILAR: Had you encountered ICE or immigration officials before in your district? I mean, have you been making a practice of checking them out as they are doing apprehensions or reported apprehensions?

HUYNH: So we have been a part of the rapid response network to make sure that we're out there talking to our neighbors about their rights. And when we receive tips of ICE agents in our district, in our neighborhoods, it's our job to make sure that we inform our neighbors of their rights.

So I have not seen these ICE agents in my neighborhoods until yesterday, when they appeared, and they have been really making sure that they have been expanding their appearance throughout our district.

KEILAR: So this was the first time that you encountered them?

HUYNH: This was the first time I actually encountered six ICE agents.

KEILAR: You saw that response from the Department of Homeland Security. Do you take issue with anything they said?

HUYNH: Absolutely. I think what they said is an absolute lie. I think if they were...

KEILAR: What part?

HUYNH: If they were being truthful, they should release the body cameras of these ICE agents and what they actually did to me and to my colleague, right?

So I think that's the first thing is, we want to see that there's transparency in this process. And I think the other thing is, we are within our rights to make sure that we can tell our neighbors about their rights.

This is a best practice that's been done in Illinois and in Chicago to make sure that we're out there informing their neighbors -- our neighbors of their rights to not speak to them, of their rights to speak to an attorney, of their rights to not sign anything if they do not understand the language or the document of which they're signing.

So we were within the laws and within our rights to make sure that we are able to tell our neighbors about their rights.

KEILAR: You see this as providing assistance.

HUYNH: Yes.

KEILAR: And DHS sees this as you putting their agents in danger, right? You're at an impasse, I think, on how you are viewing this.

[13:20:05]

I do want to ask you, though, because there are many people who feel as you do that you are providing assistance, and they may want to model what they do after you, right? There are a lot of people doing that. Do you have any concerns about them doing that and it not going -- I mean, this is a scary situation, but it not going as well, quite frankly?

You identified yourself and ultimately you were permitted to leave. You're a state representative. With that, I think, may come some privilege. Do you have concerns for people where their interaction with officers may not end that way?

HUYNH: Look, this is not about me. This is what happened to me. And I think what's important, when we're telling folks about their rights, is that we push out the SALUTE method.

And the SALUTE method basically tells civilians that when we are encountering ICE agents in our neighborhoods, we want to make sure that you can pull out a camera to record what they're doing and record what they're doing to our neighbors.

And, again, these are people that they're picking up off the streets indiscriminately, right? They're picking up working families, working people who are out there trying to earn an honest day's work. And so it's racial profiling. They're picking our neighbors.

And so we need to make sure that we are able to record them, record their actions which is illegal. And we need to also make sure that we provide the safety to all of our neighbors as well.

KEILAR: Can you address that discrepancy, that they're saying you're putting agents in danger, where you feel that you are providing assistance to residents?

HUYNH: Yes.

And, again, this is a best practice that has been done in Illinois with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and OCAD), where we're able to train our neighbors about their rights. We're also able to be out there to inform our neighbors when there is ICE presence in our streets, because what they're doing right now is terrorizing the streets of Chicago, terrorizing our neighborhoods, and making -- and they're doing it, again, in a way that is not legal.

And so it's our job and it's my job as an elected official to make sure that we inform our neighbors, that we're able to protect our neighbors as well. And what's happening right now in Chicago is just the beginning. It's a harbinger of what's going to happen across this country when we have ICE agents in cities run by black mayors.

So I think we need to be very clear about what's happening. We need to also be very clear about the overreach of these ICE agents and of this current administration as well and of Secretary Noem. And we know that we are within our rights to protect our neighbors in this manner.

KEILAR: And I know you say this isn't about you, but can you -- how does your family's immigration story inform how you are seeing this moment?

HUYNH: I am a refugee from Vietnam. My family and I lived under an authoritarian regime in Vietnam before we were granted political asylum from the United States.

And we lived in fear every single day of being picked up by the secret police. And what's happening right now in America is similar to what happened to us in Vietnam. And I'm not going to stand idly by and let this happen to our neighbors.

So, again, it's my responsibility to make sure we protect all of our neighbors and that we, again, make sure we get the message out about the rights that we all have and we keep all of us safe.

KEILAR: State Representative Hoan Huynh, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

HUYNH: Thank you so much.

KEILAR: And still ahead: For decades, Googling something has been shorthand, right, just for searching online. But is that about to change? We're going to show you how OpenAI is getting into the Web browser game.

And a lifesaving moment caught on camera, two police officers rescuing a 10-month-old baby who was choking. We will have more of that amazing video coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:14]

JIMENEZ: OpenAI has a new browser driven by its popular artificial intelligence juggernaut ChatGPT. Atlas, as it's being called, aims to go head to head with browsers like Google Chrome, but it's also drawing privacy concerns from watchdog groups.

Atlas works with your Web pages and documents like in this online demo, so you don't have to open up new tabs or windows for a new task. You can also, though, pay extra for an agent that can perform tasks, for example, adjusting a recipe to serve eight people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ChatGPT is going to go ahead and read the Web page, figure out the ingredients, kind of do some math for me and tell me exactly what I need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Then the chatbot can go to a grocery store and then actually order the ingredients. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just so useful having the cart filled out and delivered to you like this, right? It doesn't need to go all the way to making the purchase order. In fact, it's better for me if I can review what it did and decide to buy or add more things to my cart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: For right now, Atlas is for Apple users, but OpenAI says it's coming soon to P.C.s.

But I want to bring in Lance Ulanoff to get some expert take on this. He's editor at large for TechRadar.

So, all right, we saw a little bit of what came from that demo there, but just top lines here, how does Atlas plan to compete with other popular web browsers like Chrome? I mean, it's -- Chrome at this point seems to be pushing people to try Gemini, but that's really in search for the most part.

LANCE ULANOFF, EDITOR AT LARGE, TECHRADAR: Well, so Chrome has like 70 percent of market share. And now, if you open up Chrome, you have A.I. -- the A.I. option right in the address bar. So that's a big market advantage.

But here comes OpenAI with ChatGPT Atlas, which, by the way, uses the exact same browser engine as Chrome. It's called Chromium. So this is in some ways a familiar experience.