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Two People Killed at an Attack During a Yom Kippur Observance at a Synagogue in Northern England; Deadlock Remains Stalled as Shutdown Might Extend by Next Week but Firings May Happen; Taylor Swift's "Life of a Showgirl" Album is Officially Launched. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 03, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

New information on the U.K. synagogue attack. We'll share what we're learning about the victims.

Plus, a looming deadline. The White House gives Hamas just a few days to accept the terms of a peace plan for Gaza.

And people are listening to "The Life of a Showgirl." For the first time right now, Taylor Swift's new album is out.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We now know the names of the two people killed in an attack on a Jewish synagogue in Manchester, England. 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz were killed when a man rammed his car into the synagogue and stabbed people. It happened on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, as people gathered for a morning prayer service.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more from Manchester, but we do want to warn you his report contains some graphic content.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): As the injured lay in the street, armed police shout at the alleged attacker, whom they identify as Jihad al-Shami, a British citizen of Syrian descent, whom they say was wearing what appears to be an explosive device.

Then shoot as he refuses to comply. The deadly events unfolding early Thursday morning outside a synagogue in the northern city Manchester, on the holiest day of the year for the Jewish community, Yom Kippur. Gary Wernick was inside the synagogue. GARY WERNICK, SURVIVOR OF SYNAGOGUE ATTACK: I saw somebody, somebody I knew, sitting in a chair, or being put in a chair, covered with blood. And I realized it was not a place for me to be.

I went back. At that point I knew it was a serious incident.

ROBERTSON: And what do you think can happen at that moment?

WERNICK: I can get killed.

ROBERTSON: You thought that could happen to you?

WERNICK: Yes.

ROBERTSON: You might die.

WERNICK: Yes.

LAURENCE TAYLOR, HEAD, UNITED KINGDOM COUNTER TERRORISM POLICE: Two people have died. The attacker has been shot dead by the police. Based on what we know, counter-terrorism policing has declared this as a terrorist incident.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In this exclusive CNN video, shot in a residential street barely a quarter mile from the synagogue, two 30- year-old men were arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism, and taken away. Police say a 60- year-old woman arrested on the same charges too.

ROBERTSON: Do you feel safe living in the U.K. now?

WERNICK: Britain, I think, has always been unsafe.

ROBERTSON: Is this a safe place to bring your girls up?

WERNICK: No.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Police also praising the public for their quick actions, preventing even more bloodshed.

CHIEF CONSTABLE SIR STEPHEN WATSON, GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE: There were a large number of worshippers attending the synagogue at the time of this attack. But thanks to the immediate bravery of security staff and the worshippers inside, as well as the fast response of the police, the attacker was prevented from gaining access.

ROBERTSON: The attack so serious, the British Prime Minister cut short a trip to Denmark, returning in a hurry to the U.K. to chair a meeting of his top security officials.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm already able to say that additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country, and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): For some, it will feel too little, too late. Across the U.K., anti-Semitic attacks have been on the rise. So too, the fear that something like this could happen.

VICKY, MANCHESTER RESIDENT, LIVES NEAR SYNAGOGUE: We do have Orthodox people on this road. They're probably not safe now and we have lots of children. For somebody to know today's Yom Kippur, I just feel this has been definitely planned.

ROBERTSON: And after his security cabinet meeting, the British Prime Minister saying that this was an attack on Jews because they are Jews. Around here, people feel that this is one of the worst anti-Semitic attacks in the U.K.

[03:05:06]

It is a collective trauma that will be felt way beyond the victims' family and friends.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump will determine how much time to give Hamas to accept a plan to end the war in Gaza. The President said on Tuesday they had three to four days to respond, which would be today or Saturday. Israel supports the U.S. plan, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas has been reviewing the 20-point proposal, which calls on the group to disarm a move it's rejected in the past.

I want to go live now to CNN's Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, take us through where things stand right now.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, we do have that deadline that the U.S. President gave. He has been flexible on deadlines in the past, though. So we'll see whether Hamas feels compelled to give a response, we'll see that today or tomorrow, Friday or Saturday.

We do know that they have said they are carefully reviewing the 20- point plan. We also understand that there has been pressure put on them by officials from Egypt, from Turkey, from Qatar. Egypt and Qatar being the two key mediators up until this point trying to secure this ceasefire and hostage deal. So there is a push to try and convince Hamas to accept the deal as well.

Now, we understand from an official close to this U.S. plan that the U.S. will entertain some counter-proposals from Hamas. They certainly had that from Arab and Muslim nations last week when they put this plan forward. They've had it from Israel as well.

And so they want to see some kind of counter-proposal, but this source says that they're not going to accept a long and protracted negotiation. They want this to be wrapped up as quickly as possible. So when it comes to the deadline itself, we did hear something from the spokesperson of the White House.

Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The President made it very clear he wants to hear back from them very soon. I will leave it to the President or the Secretary of State to speak on that but we expect and we hope that Hamas will accept the plan that was proposed by Special Envoy Witkoff. It's a good plan, and as you know, it's been applauded by leaders all over the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: We've also seen the Israeli Prime Minister this week under pressure from some in his Cabinet, certainly the more far-right elements of his Cabinet. One of those far-right ministers, Ben-Gvir, saying that this plan is full of holes.

And we did hear that the Israeli Prime Minister, speaking to some of those lawmakers, said that it was coordinated. The coordination is closer than you think, suggesting that Israel did have a significant input into this plan. But he is also, of course, trying to sell it to his Cabinet.

Now, none of it has come to a vote at this point. Everything is on hold, waiting for the Hamas response. Of course, the military operation is not on hold and we do see the Israeli military continuing to push further into Gaza City, civilians trying to get out of the way of harm. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll see what happens as the clock ticks towards that deadline. Paula Hancocks, reporting in Abu Dhabi. Thank you so much.

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Pro-Palestinian protests broke out across Europe and elsewhere after Israel intercepted dozens of ships carrying aid to Gaza. Thousands of people rallied outside the Israeli Embassy in Athens on Thursday in support of the flotilla.

Tensions flared in Madrid as police moved to disperse protesters. Hundreds of flotilla activists are detained and awaiting deportation from Israel after trying to break the country's years-long blockade of Gaza to deliver aid. The U.S. and Israel condemned the flotilla as a provocation.

Now, this was the scene in Italy as police clashed with demonstrators. Other protests broke out in Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Karachi.

Italy's Prime Minister is criticizing a general strike now planned in her country. Giorgio Meloni spoke at an E.U. summit on Thursday, she also criticized the aid flotilla heading to Gaza. About 40 Italians were among the activists on board those ships.

Italian unions called a general strike in solidarity with the flotilla, but Meloni said the strike won't help Palestinians, though only inconvenience Italians. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIORGIO MELONI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): That said, I still believe that none of this is of any benefit to the Palestinian people. On the contrary, I understand that it will cause many inconveniences to the Italian people, the same Italian people who only yesterday were being thanked by the Palestinians for the work they are doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:10:07]

BRUNHUBER: Riccardo Fabiani is the interim Middle East and North Africa director at the International Crisis Group, and he joins me live from Lisbon. Thanks so much for being here with us, I appreciate it.

So, what's really driving this reaction that we're seeing in Italy?

RICCARDO FABIANI, INTERIM MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: I think there's a general, I would say, fundamental shift in the way the public opinion is relating to the conflict in Gaza. If we were to look at the same situation and the way the public opinion has treated and dealt with what was happening in Israel and Palestine one year ago or two years ago, obviously the situation was completely different.

People were kind of, I would say, sympathetic also to the Israeli point of view. They were often caught in the middle between the two sides.

What has happened over the past few months is that the scenes have been broadcast from Gaza, particularly observation, and lately, of course, after the beginning of the land operation and the takeover of Gaza by the Israeli military have really led to a major shift in the way the public opinion looks at this war and has really, I would say, fueled a surge in solidarity at every level of the Italian society that is almost unprecedented.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, exactly. Well, that's a good way to put it. Unprecedented.

Looking at the public opinion, I saw the numbers were pretty striking. According to polls, I saw only 9 percent of Italians think Israel's actions in Gaza are justified. I mean, why has it been so dramatic in Italy compared to other European countries? I saw in Britain, I think it's around double that in terms of support for Israel or France or Germany, where it's around 25 percent.

FABIANI: I would say that probably the scenes that I was mentioning, these images that have been broadcast directly from Gaza have really awakened a tradition of solidarity with the Palestinians that has always been there. It has just been, I would say, dormant for a very long time. It's important to remember that Italy is a country where the Catholic Church traditionally was very sympathetic with the Palestinian cause, and Italy was also the country where there was the biggest Communist Party in the whole of Western Europe.

And again, the links with the Palestinian resistance movements were very strong for many years, many decades. So, this solidarity was always there and has just been reawakened by the actions of Israel over the past few months.

BRUNHUBER: Okay, so Prime Minister Meloni came into office as one of Israel's strongest supporters in Europe, but now she's talking about sanctions and recognizing Palestine. I mean, that is quite a shift. Is that because of what you were just talking about there? I mean, Israel's actions being so unpopular and her just basically reading the room here?

FABIANI: This is effectively what's happening, right? I mean, Meloni has always been portrayed rightly as a far-right-wing politician, but the truth is that she's always been a very pragmatic, tendentially centrist politician since she's been elected in office. And she's realized that over the past few months there's been a radical shift in the way the public opinion looks at the conflict in Gaza, and she's trying to reposition herself as a little bit of a politician moving closer to what the median, average voter thinks.

So, you know, she proposed a few weeks ago, for example, to recognize Palestine as long as Hamas leaves Gaza. So, she's really shifting as the public opinion shifts because she knows that she cannot afford losing her popularity and, of course, her central position in any public debate, especially this public debate is becoming so important, so essential to every kind of position, every kind of political discussion in Italy right now.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, and Italy isn't alone here. I mean, I spoke about protests in other countries, and in terms of governments, we've seen Spain and other countries shifting their positions as well. Is this the beginning of a real fracture in Western support for how Israel is conducting this war, do you think?

FABIANI: I think so. I think there is something here that, as I mentioned before, is unprecedented, is fundamental, that is changing very rapidly, and it's a battle for public opinion that a few months ago was much more balanced and even, and now is shifting really in favor of the Palestinian resistance movement, and that is because of what has been happening recently, and particularly a certain perception of the hardline stance that Israel is taking that people are rejecting in Europe.

[03:15:01]

And I think this fundamental shift is here probably to stay, and it will be very hard in the next months and years for Israel to reverse these perceptions, to change this image that it has right now in the West, and particularly in Europe.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting, long-lasting consequences.

We'll have to leave it there. Riccardo Fabiani in Lisbon. Thank you so much, I appreciate it. FABIANI: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, lots of finger-pointing, but few actual negotiations. We'll have the latest on efforts to end the U.S. government shutdown when we come back. Please stay with us.

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[03:20:03]

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. government shutdown has entered its third day. In the hours ahead, we could get our first indication of just how severe the layoffs threatened by the White House might actually be. The Trump administration has said the number of federal workers who will be fired is likely in the thousands, and key programs popular with Democrats could also get slashed.

The U.S. Senate will reconvene later today to hold another vote on the Republicans' short-term spending bill, but Democrats are expected to vote it down as they did earlier this week. Senators could work through the weekend and keep holding votes, but the Republican majority leader said he thinks that's unlikely, meaning there's a strong chance the shutdown will stretch into next week.

All right, I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst and Bloomberg Opinion columnist Ron Brownstein. Good to see you again.

We've been here before, you and I, talking about shutdowns, but Republicans seem to be operating from a different playbook this time, threatening to use this to cut programs and fire workers, sort of basically take this as an opportunity to do what DOGE couldn't do, I guess. Is this a new dynamic here? Is this something different from what we've seen before?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST, AND OPINION COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG: Yes, I think it is. I mean, I think that President Trump, as on many things, is willing to do things to advance his agenda and to really punish those parts of the country and parts of the coalition that he views as his adversaries that we had not seen previous presidents do, and it does add an extra layer of pressure on Democrats. It is largely the reason why Chuck Schumer chose not to shut down the government in the spring.

But even with all of this added pressure, you know, Democrats are fighting on ground that they feel fairly secure about, both in the sense that health care remains probably the only top-tier issue on which more of the public expresses trust in them than Republicans, and that the specific cuts that they are fighting against are very unpopular, particularly the ending of the enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which I think is the crux of this dispute.

BRUNHUBER: Okay, so for Democrats, I mean, that's the policy reason, but let's talk about the politics. I mean, how much of the motivation for Democrats is the amount of flack they've taken from their base that they're not doing enough to stand up to President Trump? BROWNSTEIN: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I think that this was unavoidable

in that sense. I mean, as I wrote this week, I mean, if you look across the board at all the things that are happening in the country, with Trump firing prosecutors until he finds one who will indict a specific person that he dislikes, when he tells the military to prepare to fight the enemy from within, dispatches the National Guard to Oregon, has a military-style ICE raid on an apartment building in Chicago, and so forth.

It's really hard to argue, Kim, that the most important problem facing the country is the expiration of these enhanced subsidies under the ACA, but that does affect a lot of people. It is where congressional Democrats have chosen to draw the line, and I do think that it is, you know, that the fact that they are fighting Trump here, as you suggest, and the fact that they're fighting him is at least as important as what they're fighting him about.

And so yes, I think there is pressure on them to not only precipitate this shutdown, but to hold the line for a while to show that they are pushing back at least in one area, even if I think it's hard to make the case this is the most urgent threat facing the country in Trump's second term.

BRUNHUBER: It is, for Democrats, a high-stakes gamble, I guess, for both parties, so let's talk about the blame game here. Typically the party out of power takes the blame, but I saw a recent poll saying more people right now at least blame the Republicans. If that's true, do you expect that to hold once the effects of the shutdown actually start to bite?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, this is a little, I'm trying to think, this is a little unusual in that it's a shutdown when one party has unified control of government. I mean, when Republicans shut down the government in '95, '96, and in 2013, it was Democratic-controlled -- Democrats controlled the White House and Republicans controlled at least one chamber of Congress. 2018, you had kind of this weird shutdown precipitated almost from the top when Republicans controlled all three chambers.

Now you've got a shutdown when Republicans are, again, in control of all three chambers, the House, the Senate, and the White House, all three levers of government. And I think it probably does scramble the idea in the public of who is responsible for running the government at this point. I will say that whatever the immediate assessment of who won and lost in a shutdown, it's tougher to track the implications through the succeeding election.

The '95, '96 shutdown did help Bill Clinton, the Democratic President, but Republicans kept control of both chambers in the '96 election. And while Republicans were blamed in 2013, it didn't stop them from holding the House and winning the Senate in 2014.

[03:25:03]

So, I'm not sure the long-term consequences, political consequences of this are going to be that immediate or lasting or predictable, but I do think, as you suggested, Democrats feel a lot of pressure to show that they are willing to fight Trump on something, somewhere, somehow.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, and the effect of the blame. I guess, will depend a lot on how long this lasts. We shall see.

I really appreciate getting your expertise on this. Ron Brownstein, thank you so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

BRUNHUBER: Well, now I want to take you to Southern California, where a massive fire broke out a few hours ago at a Chevron refinery. Now, these are live pictures we're showing you. A spectacular fire there going on, and you can see all the smoke.

Well, we're showing you the live pictures, which is why they're zooming around there, but potentially troubling for all the people who live in that area. It is very close to many homes.

Now, this is happening in the coastal city of El Segundo, south of Los Angeles. Local media say there was an explosion, but so far no reports of injuries or evacuations. An L.A. County official said the fire is likely to affect air quality.

Now, crews are on site. You can see them there, and they've been working to put out the flames. We're hearing flights at the nearby LAX airport haven't been affected.

Now, this Chevron refinery is the largest oil-producing facility on the U.S. west coast, and it processes more than a quarter million barrels of crude oil each day. Now, as you see how severe those fireballs are there, as they're still working to put out those flames.

We'll bring you more information when we get it, please do stay with "CNN Newsroom."

All mysterious drones show up near another airport in Europe causing a temporary shutdown. A disruption affecting thousands of passengers just days after similar incidents in Denmark. We'll have that story just ahead.

Plus, what Russia's Vladimir Putin is saying about claims that he could be behind recent drone incidents.

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[03:30:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is "CNN Newsroom." Let's check today's top stories.

Two people are dead in Manchester, England, after a man ran his car into a synagogue and started stabbing people. It happened on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, people were gathering for a morning prayer service. During the attack, the suspect was killed by police.

The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump will determine how much time to give Hamas to accept a plan to end the war in Gaza. The President said on Tuesday Hamas had three to four days to respond, which would be today or Saturday; Hamas has been reviewing the 20- point proposal, which calls on the group to disarm, a move it has rejected in the past.

U.S. lawmakers will reconvene in the hours ahead, but no breakthroughs are expected when it comes to ending the government shutdown. Democrats say they will keep voting against a Republican short-term spending bill as the White House threatens mass firings.

The Munich airport is open again after closing temporarily because of drone sightings in the area. It was shut down for about seven hours on Thursday before resuming operations about a few hours ago, the closure affected thousands of passengers. Unexplained drone sightings temporarily shut down airports in Denmark last week, and there have been a series of suspected Russian airspace incursions into Poland, Estonia and Romania.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the suspected airspace incursions show Russia is ready for escalation, he addressed a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen on Thursday. He said the Kremlin has been emboldened, and if Moscow has its way, he says no place in Europe will be safe. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: If the Russians dare to launch drones against Poland or violate the airspace of northern European countries, it means this can happen anywhere. In Western Europe, in the South, we need fast and effective response and defense forces that know how to deal with drones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia will respond quickly if it believes Europe is provoking it. On Thursday, he dismissed a recent statement by President Trump who called Russia a paper tiger. Putin said if Russia was that weak, NATO should find a way to deal with it, he also issued a warning to the U.S. about a powerful missile it's considering supplying to Ukraine.

Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Can tomahawks harm us? They can. We'll be shooting them down and improving our air defense systems.

Will this damage our relations, which are now seeing some light at the end of the tunnel? Of course it will. But how could it be otherwise?

Using tomahawks without the direct participation of American military personnel is impossible. This would mark a completely new, qualitatively new stage of escalation, including in relations between Russia and the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:35:03]

BRUNHUBER: NATO is beefing up its military presence in Eastern Europe after those airspace incursions blamed on Russia. Operation Eastern Sentry includes surveillance flights looking out for Russian drones and warplanes near the alliance's borders.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen flew on a military plane that keeps an eye on possible Russian intrusions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A quick takeoff from an airbase in Western Germany. We're on a NATO E-3 Sentry surveillance plane on a mission deterring Russian incursions into NATO airspace.

PLEITGEN: Now the reason why these flights are so important is that this plane has a massive radar on the top, and it can see really far in all directions, about 650 kilometers for higher flying objects, a little less for lower flying objects, but that means that it can see planes and other aircraft coming towards NATO airspace long before they get there.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): While Moscow is praising what they say are improved relations between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, it's also been testing NATO's readiness. NATO jets recently scrambling to shoot down several Russian combat drones that crossed into member state Poland's airspace.

And in late September, NATO says Russian MiG-31 fighters flew over Estonia's airspace for 12 minutes while alliance interceptors were rushed to escort them back out, even though Russia denies its planes ever crossed into NATO territory.

This is part of the U.S. and its allies' answer. More surveillance flights, the operation named Eastern Sentry. Captain Jacob Anderson says if Russian jets come close, they'll see them.

CAPT. JACOB ANDERSON, U.S. AIR FORCE: At that point, we've probably been watching them for a while, so we're pushing them over the military-tactical data links, so it's not just us that are aware of it, it's the whole theater is aware that this track is approaching the airspace.

PLEITGEN: If we go back and look at the map, you can see that we're cruising around Eastern Europe right now. This is Kaliningrad, that part of Russia, you have Belarus down here. So the plane is situated here but can still look very far into territory, even beyond the borders of NATO. PLEITGEN (voice-over): And the E-3 needs to stay in this area for hours, only possible thanks to U.S. Air Force tankers providing gas to extend the mission. Air-to-air refueling a plane the size of a commercial jetliner is extremely challenging, the pilots tell me.

MAJ. JASON SANCHEZ, U.S. AIR FORCE: Essentially, the power management, the lateral management, ensuring that you feel nice and comfortable in your closure to and from a certain position.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Crew members come from various NATO member states, all of them with the same stake in the mission's success, Lieutenant Colonel Steven Wahnon tells me.

LT. COL. STEVEN WAHNON, U.S. AIR FORCE: It's not one nation, it's all of NATO that's represented on this aircraft right now. So when we are patrolling these borders, they're our borders, right? So it means a lot for us to be here to defend our borders.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): And NATO says surveillance, seeing possible threats before they get close, is key to keeping those borders safe.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Gailenkirchen, Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Taylor Swift's newest album is out and fans are already lining up. We'll have details of the singer's 12th studio album after the break. Stay with us.

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[03:40:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." This is your Business Breakout and a first look at how Asia-Pacific markets are finishing up the week. The Nikkei and KOSPI ending in positive territory, although Hang Seng is down about three-quarters of a percent.

And these are the business headlines.

There will be no U.S. jobs report this week due to the government shutdown and federal workers will be waking up in the hours ahead wondering if they still have jobs. The White House has warned thousands will be fired during the political deadlock over government funding. The last shutdown caused a $3 billion loss in economic growth, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate.

Amazon delivery drones are flying again after two crashed in flames in Arizona. The 80-pound drones hit a construction crane and shattered to the ground near Phoenix on Wednesday. Federal aviation experts are investigating the company launched airborne deliveries three years ago.

A new sales record for Tesla means CEO Elon Musk is now even richer. The company sold nearly 500,000 vehicles worldwide from July through September, sales in the U.S. were driven by a rush to take advantage of a federal tax credit for electric vehicles before it expired. Musk's net worth is now $500.8 billion, according to Forbes.

Taylor Swift's eagerly awaited 12th studio album was released a few hours ago. It's a mix of breezy and literary ballads with a total run time of about 42 minutes. Have a listen.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

"The Life of a Showgirl" features 12 songs Swift said she wrote while on her Eras tour last year. It's about her experiences during the tour and her life with fiance, American football player Travis Kelsey.

Earlier, fans showed they're more than ready for the new music. Swifties in Minnesota lined up well before the midnight release. Time to buy the album and maybe share some trivia about their favorite artist.

[03:45:10]

Joining me now is John Jacob Wembridge, who is known as the U.K.'s ultimate Swiftie and he leads a Taylor Swift tour in London. Thanks so much for being here with us.

Listen, I listened to the album, but nobody is interested in my opinion on this. I mean, you basically live and breathe Taylor Swift. So let's start with the obvious question.

You've heard it. What do you think?

JOHN JACOB WEMBRIDGE, SWIFTIE TOUR GUIDE, "U.K.'S BIGGEST SWIFTIE": I really like it. Shocked.

BRUNHUBER: No surprise.

WEMBRIDGE: I know. I'm not going to say I hate it.

But you know, genuinely, I really -- I was a bit worried. I was a bit unsure about it at first. But as soon as it started, I was just kind of sold instantly.

BRUNHUBER: So what makes it may be different than what she's done before? If you look at sort of this as a whole, as part of an oeuvre, I guess. This is her 12th original album.

How different is it from what she's done before?

WEMBRIDGE: I think definitely the fact that she's gone back to working with producers that she's not worked with for quite a long time. And I think you can hear that straight away as well, because the minute the first song starts, I'm very big fan, obviously. And I've loved all the stuff that she's been doing the last few years.

She's been working with Jack Antonoff quite a lot as a producer. And it's really great. But it's quite heavy stuff sometimes. And I think this instantly just seemed more fun. I think you can kind of tell how much fun she was having on tour as she was writing this.

I don't know. You kind of feel that there's a lot of times where you can actually hear her smiling while she's singing instead of kind of the heart-wrenching stuff that we've kind of got used to over the last few years.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I wonder how much of that lighter touch has to do. You mentioned the producers, Max Martin and Shellbeck, the Swedish producers, how much of it has to do with their lighter touch and how much has to do with her own life.

And, you know, her relationship with Travis Kelsey, which apparently she talks about in, you know, in glowing terms on the album. What did you hear specifically sort of that was speaking to you?

WEMBRIDGE: I mean, the first song, "The Fate of Ophelia," I that just seemed really different to me straight away. And I was kind of like I said, I was frantically messaging my friend who was also awake at 5:00.

So I'm not the only one. But we kind of were saying, I feel like a lot of the stuff lately has been especially the "Tortured Poets Department" because it was so long. You could kind of say, oh, this sounds like a song from Red.

This sounds a bit like a song from Midnight's. This sounds, you know, you can kind of reputation that you could kind of place them on different albums.

Whereas I feel like with this, it sounds really new, like it doesn't it's you know, we haven't heard stuff like this from her. Not for a really long time anyway.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, well, let's widen it out and look at the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift. I mean, you saw it yourself last summer. The Eras tour was a huge economic boost to London. Do you think we're going to see that all over again?

WEMBRIDGE: I mean, the fact that she didn't even release a single in the lead up to this album being released and she's just dropped it without any kind of none of us knew what it was going to sound like or anything like that.

I think that kind of speaks for itself a little bit. That is probably going to be okay. I think she kind of knows what she's doing.

I mean, her fan base is so solid, obviously. But definitely kind of, I don't know, listening to a lot of the songs, I felt like they might appeal to kind of a wider range as well.

I feel like my mom and dad will listen to it and like it. You know, not just the fans.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So I mentioned you lead a Taylor Swift tour. I mean, briefly, you know, tell me what is that exactly? And are you combing through this album, listening to it, trying to find hooks and locations that you might be able to add to your tour?

WEMBRIDGE: I would love to. I feel like she might not write about London anymore, maybe. But no, definitely. I mean, there's kind of -- there's a lot to take from it, like lyric wise.

No, the tour is really great. I mean, last summer was kind of a much bigger thing because obviously the Eras tour was going on and she was here. So the whole of London was kind of Swiftified.

But yes, we kind of go around locations that she sings about, places she used to visit, places that have inspired her to write specific songs and stuff.

She was in London when she wrote "Clean," which is my favorite Taylor Swift song. So kind of working around that is quite a personal tour, actually. But people seem to like it, which is a good, good thing.

BRUNHUBER: We'll let you go and enjoy maybe another listen to this. John Jacob Wembridge in London. Thank you so much.

WEMBRIDGE: Thank you.

[03:50:08]

BRUNHUBER: Hip hop mogul Sean Diddy Combs is set to be sentenced today following his conviction on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. His lawyers say Combs intends to address the court.

Ahead of sentencing, Combs submitted a letter to the judge pleading for mercy and a second chance. He wrote that he's humbled and broken and that he got lost in the drugs and the excess. Federal prosecutors are asking for Combs to serve more than 11 years, the defense wants him sentenced to 14 months with credit for a year already served.

Much more ahead here on "CNN Newsroom." Please do stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Princess of Wales made a royal visit to a British Air Force base Thursday. It was Catherine's first official visit in her role as honorary air commodore. King Charles appointed his daughter-in-law to the role two years ago.

She was briefed on operations, inspected training facilities and even took a turn operating a flight simulator; she also met with Royal Air Force personnel and their family members. Last year, both Kate and the King underwent treatment for cancer and the princess is now in remission.

Those diagnoses were on Prince William's mind when he spoke with Eugene Levy, host of "The Reluctant Traveller." The Prince of Wales talked about his history, his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, among other personal feelings. Here's CNN's Max Foster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Windsor Castle, history and ceremony are everywhere. But for the Canadian actor Eugene Levy, the royal encounter that awaited him was anything but traditional.

EUGENE LEVY, HOST, "THE RELUCTANT TRAVELLER": This is your mode of transportation.

WILLIAM, PRINCE OF WALES: It is right here.

LEVY: On the grounds.

FOSTER (voice-over): It was meant to be part of a bucket list filmed for his travel series on Apple T.V. Plus. They were looking for someone to give them a tour.

They aimed high and got a yes from the future king, who, it turns out, has seen Levy's classic movie, "American Pie." Who knew?

FOSTER: The tone was set, in a way, wasn't it, by Prince William turning up on a scooter. Then you go on his tour and he admits he doesn't really know his way around. And then you go into the history part.

FOSTER (voice-over): And what follows is a vulnerability the prince rarely shows in public.

LEVY: Do you ever get overwhelmed just by the sheer history of the place?

WILLIAM: When you say it like that, it sounds like I should say yes. I wouldn't say history overwhelms me. Other things overwhelm me, but not history, no.

Because I think if you're not careful, history can be a real weight and an anchor around you. But also I think if you're too intrinsically attached to history, you can't possibly have any flexibility.

[03:55:09]

And I like a little bit of change.

LEVY: I guess what you're saying is you want to open up some--

WILLIAM: I want to question things more. That's what I'm saying.

LEVY: Do you miss your grandmother?

WILLIAM: I do, actually. Yes, I do miss my grandmother. And my grandfather.

Yes, it's been quite a bit of change. So you think about them not being here anymore. And particularly being in Windsor. For me, Windsor is her. She loved it here, she spent most of her time here. Showing you around

today is very much the case. I'm trying to make sure I'm doing it the way she'd want you to see it.

FOSTER (voice-over): Inside the nearly 1000-year-old castle, William spoke of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, his school days and his children racing through its halls. But also the stresses that come with being a father and a husband.

FOSTER: It does take this turn into something I'm not sure if you expected to go there. He talks about being overwhelmed by the family stress.

And then you go deep. You talk about the princess's cancer diagnosis and how last year was the worst year of his life. Do you think he's changed coming out of that?

LEVY: It changes what's kind of truly important. And he seemed to indicate that it did kind of alter his way of thinking.

FOSTER (voice-over): We learn the prince and princess juggle their jobs with a daily school run and kids waking up in the night. The conversation turned more personal still at a Windsor pub over a pint talking about learning that his wife Catherine and father King Charles III both had been diagnosed with cancer.

WILLIAM: I'd say 2004 was the hardest year I've ever had.

LEVY: Are you optimistic?

WILLIAM: I am optimistic. I'm generally a very optimistic person. Especially when I'm with someone like you, Eugene.

You know, life is sent to test us as well and it definitely can be challenging at times. I'm so proud of my wife and my father for how they've handled last year. My children have managed brilliantly as well.

LEVY: Well, I'm hoping every other prince I run into is as nice, open and human as you.

FOSTER (voice-over): A remarkably candid glimpse into life behind castle walls and the very relatable pressures that its inhabitants experience.

Max Foster, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, thanks so much for joining us, I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta. "Amanpour" is next, and then you can stay tuned for "Early Start" with Brian Abel in about an hour.

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