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Negotiators Head To Egypt For Tomorrow's Gaza Talks; Trump Says Ceasefire Deal Talks Could Take "A Couple Of Days"; Democrats And Republicans Blaming Each Other For Government Shutdown; Interview With Representative Mike Flood (R-NE); Oregon To Fight Trump Sending California National Guard; Democrats Insist On Keeping Healthcare Subsidies; Taylor Swift Dominates Box Office And Music Charts; "New Orleans Soul Of A City" Premieres Tonight At 10:00 P.M. ET/PT. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 05, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: The president making it very clear he wants this done quickly. A short time ago, he posted on Truth Social about the talks, saying the first phase of negotiations he thinks should be completed this week. He says he's asking, quote, "everyone to move fast," writing, "Time is of the essence or massive bloodshed will follow, something nobody wants to see."

Let's bring in Julia Benbrook, who is there at the White House.

Julia, President Trump just getting back to the White House a short time ago from some travels to Virginia earlier today. What more are you hearing from the White House on all of this where it is quite clear they want to get this over the finish line and they want to move quickly?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just moments ago, while speaking with reporters as we gathered on the South Lawn, Trump said that he believes negotiations will move quickly but stopped short of adding specifics when he was pressed for a timeline.

Now, he continues to put pressure on Israel and Hamas to move forward with his 20-point plan for a ceasefire in Gaza. The plan calls for the release of all hostages held by Hamas. It also provides a roadmap for Gaza when the war ends.

Now, after receiving pressure and a deadline at that time from Trump, Hamas did say it would immediately start negotiations to release all the hostages, but stopped short of fully endorsing Trumps 20 points. In remarks earlier today, Trump was asked, you know, would there be flexibility when it comes to this plan? He said that he believes that this is a great plan for Israel and, quote, "a great plan for everyone."

But take a listen on those comments related to any changes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't need flexibility because everybody has pretty much agreed to it, but there will always be some changes. But the Hamas plan, I tell you, it's amazing. You're going to have peace. If you think about it, peace in the Middle East for the first time in, they say, really 3,000 years. So I'm very honored to be a big part of that.

Look, they've been fighting for a plan for years. We get the hostages back almost immediately. Negotiations are going on right now. Will probably take a couple of days. And people are very happy about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Now, when it comes to how the United States will be involved in these talks going forward, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are expected tomorrow in Egypt. And we do know that Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, as well as Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has been involved in discussions, will be in the region.

In an interview with ABC earlier today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that it is the administration's goal that 90 percent of the negotiations will be taken care of before United States officials arrive.

Now, it's important to note there's a lot of optimism. We have seen a lot of momentum towards a deal over this last week. But of course, this is complicated. You even hear Trump say there in those remarks that change is likely in this plan.

DEAN: All right. Julia Benbrook, with the latest from the White House. Thank you for that.

And just before leaving for Egypt, Israel's coordinator for hostage affairs sent a message to the hostage families saying that his country will negotiate with what he calls full commitment and determination to secure the release of all of those still being held by Hamas. And his comments come amid growing hope that the beginning of a resolution to the war could be on the horizon.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is there in Egypt with a preview of the talks -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, we shouldn't expect an easy ride. That's clear. Marco Rubio earlier said 90 percent of the negotiation has been done, but the remaining 10 percent is very tough. The key thing to look for is going to be Hamas agreeing to Israel's withdrawal line, where it withdraws its troops back to inside of Gaza as part of a ceasefire.

If they're agreeing with that and if they're agreeing with the immediate release of the hostages, then the ceasefire can go into place. But for Hamas, that is conceding territory that even on a temporary basis, that they hadn't conceded. If you go back to the middle of August, it's the line back in the middle of August that the IDF would locate themselves at, which is less territory, if you will, inside of Gaza than under previous proposed plans. I think one of the key things we need to look at is the expectation of

how quickly the talks can happen. Everyone is talking about speed, and that's very important. President Trump mentioned that it could be a couple of days of talks away. And we've just seen a sort of a key detail emerge here. And that is, when Israel sends its delegation to these talks, the prime minister is not sending Ron Dermer to head the delegation.

And here, if you will, is sort of the key ingredient for Prime Minister Netanyahu. When you see that Ron Dermer is going to the talks then you know that you're close to the end game.

[19:05:01]

Now, it's going to be senior officials in charge of hostage releases, in charge of intelligence security issues. So it feels that we're still a little stretch away. And of course, the key thing here is Hamas has not yet agreed to giving up its weapons, not yet agreed to not being part of the political future inside of Gaza, not agreed to what the political future inside of Gaza might be.

Is that ceasefire in sight? Yes, it is. Are we there yet? Absolutely not.

DEAN: Nic Robertson, with the very latest from Cairo. We will be watching to see how that plays out. Thank you so much.

Five days now into the government shutdown here in the U.S., both sides are dug in. Democrats have used the shutdown as leverage to try and pressure Republicans to extend the enhanced tax credits, which help bring down the cost of health insurance for people covered under the Affordable Care Act. Those subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. Republicans, however, say they'll have that discussion, but only once the government reopens.

Let's bring in CNN's Tami Luhby.

And Tami, you are an expert at breaking down these really complex pieces of information like this. So help us understand, at the center of the fight for Democrats are these tax credits. What are these? Why are Democrats pressing to have these talks now?

TAMI LUHBY, CNN SENIOR WRITER: OK, so. Let me explain what the subsidies are. First of all, there have always been premium subsidies to help people afford the Affordable Care Act coverage. And those are not going away. But in 2021 Biden and the Democratic-led Congress at the time enhanced the tax credits, the subsidies, in order to make it more affordable for lower income people.

Now, many people can get zero premium coverage on the exchanges, and they also importantly increased it so that more middle class people would qualify for coverage. So generally, the Affordable Care Act became more affordable.

Now the issue is that these enhanced subsidies expire at the end of this year. So that gets to your second question now, why are the Democrats fighting for it now? There are two reasons. They're practical and political. The practical reason is, the Democrats want it now, want these subsidies extended now because the open enrollment begins on November 1st. And a lot of people are going to see their premiums be -- you know, these premiums without these enhanced subsidies, this month.

And many advocates and people from, you know, both red and blue state exchanges, people who want to have coverage, they're concerned that a lot of people will see these, you know, subsidies, premiums without the enhanced subsidies, and they're never going to come back. So the Republicans are saying we have until the end of the year. We can -- we have plenty of time. We don't have to do this now.

But others, the, you know, the Democrats and advocates are saying you do need to do this now because once people see their -- I hesitate to call them unsubsidized but the premiums without the enhanced subsidies, they're not going to come back. They're going to say, I can't afford this. And the political reason is, is because the Democrats see this as a must pass bill. You know, there has to be a spending bill for fiscal year 2026. So they say this is their best shot at getting the Republicans to agree.

DEAN: All right, Tami Luhby, breaking it down for us there. We really appreciate the information. Thanks so much.

And here to talk further --

LUHBY: Of course.

DEAN: Yes. Great to see you.

And here to talk further about all of this, Nebraska Republican Congressman Mike Flood.

Congressman, thank you for being with us on this Sunday evening. We really do appreciate your time. I --

REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): Thank you for having me.

DEAN: Yes. I know you've been talking with your colleagues. You've been hearing from leadership, but frankly, from what we've seen today from leadership on both sides of the aisle, it doesn't seem like anything is really moving.

Where do things stand, in your opinion, right now?

FLOOD: Well, in the House of Representatives, we did our job. We simply extended the Biden-Schumer budget that everybody voted for a year ago. And then did it again in March. We did it a third time to get to November 21st. And because Chuck Schumer now has the far left base that he's trying to please and water their grass, he has to do this show where he shuts the government down to show that he's fighting his nemesis, Donald Trump.

And sadly, it's putting federal workers, making them pawns in a chess game just to protect his credibility with the far left. I heard all that stuff about the ACA. The reality is those were Democrat extras that were passed in 2021, and the Democrats set them to expire in 2025. We've got people in the Republican Party that see some value there. But I will tell you, there's a lot of fraud in that program. There's a lot of folks out there that are making pretty decent money, and they're paying $2.50 a month for their health insurance.

[19:10:02]

So I think we need to get to the bottom of that. That's not something we can do with a gun to our head, because we've got this shutdown looming. Meanwhile, you've got TSA agents that aren't being paid. You've got members of the military not being paid, a sailor on a aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean is going to bed at night wondering how his wife back in Norfolk, Virginia, is going to put food on the table next week.

Listen, this is not the way to run the government. This is not the way to get people's attention by fighting something that is so straightforward. And that's just a simple extension of the budget they've already voted for.

DEAN: And on your note, with the -- with the fraud, the Biden administration did acknowledge that there was fraud. They took some steps to combat it. And I hear you that you want to look into that further. KFS says 59 percent of Republicans that they polled think that Congress should extend those tax -- those credits, 40 percent think they should let them expire. I think -- and I've talked to some, as you know, Republicans, some of your Republican colleagues who are interested in having that discussion.

But I think what their concern is, is that it goes from having the subsidy, and then it just goes off a ledge and that it's that -- it's that gap that goes from subsidy to zero instead of a tiered down that's going to really surprise people.

Do you worry about that for your constituents who have these subsidies that it could -- that it could make health insurance unaffordable for them?

FLOOD: Well, I think that we need to sit down and understand who's on what in each state. I do know there are folks in Nebraska that are using this program, and they need it, right? So I'm the chair of the Main Street Caucus. We have several of our members, we have 86 members, and I think 13 of them have already introduced a bill that works to amend and improve and continue and extend some of those tax credits.

But look at what Democrats have put in the crosshairs in the meantime. So right now we have no women, infant and children funding. That's all been impacted. You can't enroll new mothers right now. Seniors aren't getting access to their telehealth. Small business loans are not approved. If you're trying to buy a house right now under the Democrat shutdown and you're in a floodplain, guess what, you can't do it because you can't get a policy.

Why put everything on the table? And by the way, I'm one of the Republicans that has always voted to fund the government, even when more than 100 members of my party were holding out for some policy goal or playing chicken with a train, I always voted even with Democrats to fund the government. So for me, I think I have a lot of credibility on this issue. We should never not fund the government because we're trying to get some other policy outcome.

And I'm very proud of the fact Speaker Johnson put a clean extension of funding on the table with no poison pills, no tricky games. All of this could have just happened. We could be talking about putting a mainline budget together. But sadly, this is politics. Democrats are trying to show their base that they're fighting President Trump. And ironically, the one person they're fighting, they have just ceded all of our Article One authority to him.

They have given the executive branch all of the power with the Office of Management and Budget to make all sorts of decisions. And so I think when reasonable people look at what's happened here, they have to say, enough, get the government back open, let's get back to work.

DEAN: And so you mentioned OMB and that's the Office of Management and Budget, as you note, and the president and the director of OMB have been very clear and very open that they want to use this opportunity with this shutdown to dramatically cut the federal government. And just as a reminder, I talked to someone yesterday that reminded me of this, that there are federal workers in Nebraska. There are federal workers in my home state of Arkansas. They're all across the country.

Does that concern you? Do you think that's appropriate to be using this time to be cutting the government in this way?

FLOOD: Well, we are $37 trillion in debt, so I think we have to put it all in perspective. Listen, we've been communicating as members in the House to OMB about the programs that we know are very important. Obviously, anybody that works for the Department of Defense, anybody that is engaged in law enforcement, food inspectors that are -- that are looking at the poultry coming out of Arkansas and the beef coming out of Nebraska.

The TSA workers that make our airports work. And you know what I think at the end of the day? What's likely going to happen if we can't get the Democrats to fund the government, it's going to come down to, when does the TSA not get paid and when do this flights start getting canceled? It's going to have to start really impacting people. And those folks that work at those airports, they don't deserve to be used as pawns.

And I would say this if my party was struggling to fund the government, I don't like government shutdowns. So I think it makes us weak as a nation. It ends up costing more in the end. And you are playing these games with people that just get up every day and try to do the right thing for the government that they work for.

I just think it's a bad look. It's bad for America and it's definitely going to be bad for the Democratic Party if they don't get things changed here quick.

DEAN: Congressman Mike Flood, thank you for your time. We do appreciate it.

[19:15:03]

FLOOD: Thanks for having me on.

DEAN: Still ahead, we're going to break down some new polling on how the government shutdown could potentially impact the midterms next year. Plus, the federal immigration crackdown in Oregon now turning into a legal battle between President Trump and California's governor, Gavin Newsom. The latest move from the White House the Democrats say is intentionally ignoring a judge's ruling. More on that.

You're in the CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:06]

DEAN: The state of Oregon is headed back to court to challenge the Trump administration's deployment of California National Guard troops to Portland. The administration sent California troops there today after a judge said the president could not deploy those from Oregon. Governor Tina Kotek has been adamant troops are not needed in her state.

And of course, this is just one day after the White House said Trump is ordering 300 Illinois National Guard troops to Chicago.

Let's bring in CNN's Rafael Romo, who joins us now to talk through the Trump administration's fight over this in various states, California, Oregon and Illinois -- Rafael.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jessica. And we have fresh, really very fresh information because at the top of the hour, top officials from the state of Oregon announced that they're going to challenge President Donald Trump's decision to send members of the California National Guard to their state.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield spelled out the reasons why his state plans to go back to court to challenge the Trump administration's deployment of the California National Guard to Portland after a judge temporarily paused the plan to use the Oregon National Guard.

Rayfield said, Jessica, that Saturday afternoon at 4:30 local time, the state of Oregon received a court order detailing why President Trump did not have authority to federalize National Guard troops in the state, and it was only five and a half hours later, the attorney general said, that Oregon received notice that California's National Guard, again, California, not Oregon, was going to be deployed to Portland, something they will challenge in court.

Let's take a listen to what the attorney general said just a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAN RAYFIELD, OREGON ATTORNEY GENERAL: As this press conference is going on right now, we are working to amend our complaint in federal district court to add California as a complainant and file our second temporary restraining order to pause the actions of the president of the United States. What was unlawful yesterday is unlawful today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Earlier this afternoon, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that President Donald Trump is sending National Guard troops from his state to Oregon, a move the governor says, he will immediately challenge in court, though Oregon's Governor Tina Kotek says more than 100 troops have already arrived.

As a matter of fact, Jessica, during the press conference, she said that the number is closer to 200. The White House fired back at Newsom, saying that, and here I'm quoting, "President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement. For once, the California governor should stand on the side of law-abiding citizens instead of violent criminals destroying Portland and cities across the country."

And Jessica, finally, we're listening from not only the Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Governor Tina Kotek, and also Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, that are holding at this hour a virtual press conference about this issue.

Now, back to you.

DEAN: Much more to come. Rafael Romo, thank you for the latest.

There is a lot of finger pointing happening from lawmakers over who's to blame for the government shutdown. But how do Americans feel about it? We're going to take a look at some new poll numbers with our political panel. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:51]

DEAN: Even though both parties are blaming each other for the government shutdown, which at this point has no end in sight, a new poll published by CBS News is offering some insight into who Americans are holding responsible. 39 percent of Americans say President Trump and Republicans are to blame, 30 percent say Democrats. 31 percent say both Democrats and Republicans are equally responsible.

Let's jump into this with our political panel. Joining us now, Republican strategist and CNN political commentator, Shermichael Singleton, and Democratic strategist Adrienne Elrod.

Really good to see both of you guys tonight. Thanks for being here.

Shermichael, let's start first with you. I just went through the numbers. I know both sides thinks think they're winning right now, but Americans seem pretty divided on all of this. What's there to gain?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. Look, one, I'm not surprised that Americans are divided. And when you incorporate, like, let's say, a margin of error, that 39 percent to 30 percent difference, then you're almost talking about a split tie quantitatively speaking.

With that said, I think, Jessica, it tells me as a strategist that the American people just want Congress to do the job, get the job done. Adrianne is a Democrat. We're going to have some differences, but I think they don't want people to -- Americans, that is, I want to be clear on this. They don't want Americans to lose their healthcare. But at the same time, they want government to work and function and be open.

And so it's like, why can't Democrats and Republicans compromise on this and do their jobs? It's why Congress approval rating is at an all-time low because for the average layperson out there, they're looking at people who they send to do the job. They're making decent money in terms of what the average American makes, and they're not able to get anything done. And so my advice to members of Congress would be to do the job. However complicated and difficult it may be. That's why we vote for you guys to figure out this complicated, difficult, challenging job that most people don't want to figure out because they're working, trying to take care of their families.

DEAN: And, Adrienne, look, Democrats have said, listen, we are holding out because we want to make sure that these people can get these subsidies to make sure they can afford their health insurance. At the same time, President Trump has been very open and Russ Vought as well, that they want to take part in mass layoffs while the government is shut down and that there -- and there are so many people who work for the federal government, including the military, who may start missing paychecks soon. Do you think it's worth it for Democrats?

[19:30:15]

ADRIENNE ELROD, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Look, I think it's worth it, Jessica, for Democrats to fight for health care. I mean, this is not -- the Democrats who have decided that they want to lay off federal workers. This is something that Republicans who, by the way, Jessica, as you know, control The White House, the Senate and the Congress have decided to do is essentially a punishment. You know, for Democrats not coming along, or at least enough Democrats coming along you know, to pass the government funding bill.

The bottom line is, Jessica, when one party controls the House, Senate and The White House, it is incumbent upon that party to come to the negotiating table with Democrats and have a conversation and work out a compromise. That is how you actually get Democrats to support this and Democrats are holding out because they want those health care subsidies passed that part of Obamacare. They want those extended. They expire at the end of this year. So, we are fighting our party -- my party is fighting to keep health care for 15 to 17 million Americans who are scheduled to essentially lose health care at this point. DEAN: And Shermichael, if you're -- go ahead, go ahead.

SINGLETON: I understand Adrian's point. I'm not a Democrat. I certainly don't agree in terms of extending some of the COVID pandemic extensions that occurred. I had assumed that many of those at some point would have zeroed out. We kept them. It's difficult to give people something and try to take it back. I completely understand and acknowledge that, I've been in politics long enough.

However, I have a hard, hard time rationalizing why penalize veterans? Why penalize active duty military personnel? Why penalize hard working Americans who do work for the federal government to serve the 300-plus million people in this country? Why penalize struggling families who may rely on SNAP benefits to feed their themselves and their children? Open the government?

Adrienne just stated, we have until the end of December to figure this out. Why not figure this out while keeping things open?

To me, that just seems so illogical to say, well, we're going to fight now penalizing all of these other folks versus saying, well, you know what? Let's not harm anyone else. Let's open the government and hey, Republicans, we do want to figure this out with you. Which, by the way, Trump, Thune and Mike Johnson have stated that they're open to negotiating with Democrats on those points. So long as the government is open. Let's open the government and do the darn job.

DEAN: Adrienne, what do you say to that?

ELROD: We agree with you on this. We are in full agreement. Let's keep the government open. Let's come to the table. Let's make this work.

Unfortunately, Republicans do have control of The White House, House, Senate and the Congress, so it is incumbent upon them to come to the negotiating table with Democrats to make this happen.

It is not our fault, the Republicans have the votes. It is not the Democrat's fault. We're not in control. We're not in power. It is incumbent upon Republicans to come to the table and negotiate.

DEAN: But Adrienne, they do need Democratic help in the Senate. And so, what you're saying is, in order to get that support, your opinion is, they need to negotiate first and then get that Democratic support to reopen the government.

ELROD: Absolutely, and, Jessica, look, I was a chief-of-staff during the last government shutdown in 2013 on the Hill. I've certainly been there. I've experienced this, but you don't -- first of all, the party that is in power is the one that has the majority of the American people tend to blame for this, which is why you're seeing not just the CBS poll with 39 percent of Americans blaming Republicans. But also, you've seen "The Washington Post" poll and several other major polls that have come out, they've indicated that this is on Republicans not on Democrat, number one.

Number two, yes. I mean, look, the first time this happened in March, Chuck Schumer did get the Senate Minority Leader did get in some trouble by siding with Republicans to keep the government open.

This time around. Democrats have said, we want to negotiate. We want to have a seat at the table. Let's protect health care. Let's keep those subsidies extended. Republicans have barely had conversations with Democrats.

So, if Republicans really want to keep government open, want to keep those veterans employed, want to make sure, as Shermichael eloquently noted, that snap benefits don't expire, the federal workforce is still getting paid for the work that they're doing. Let's come to the table, let's have a conversation, and let's make sure that health care is protected.

DEAN: And so -- okay, go ahead.

SINGLETON: This isn't about to me, Adrienne, cited Chuck Schumer and she said he sided with Republicans. This isn't about siding with Republicans or siding with Democrats. It's about doing what's in the interests of the American people. And I have to beg the question. I guess, kind of oblige me to say this aloud, what happens in three, four, five weeks, seven, eight, nine, ten weeks when they're still trying to negotiate on health care and the federal government isn't open?

That's not going to happen overnight, Adrienne, has an extensive amount of experience in politics and on Capitol Hill, as do I. We both can acknowledge here that this is not something that can occur in 14 or 21 days. It's going to take significant time and back and forth between the leadership on both sides.

So to me, it just seems nonsensical to not reopen government, knowing how complex, Jessica, this negotiation process will be as both sides are approaching health care from different perspectives on what the role of government should be. How long some of those extensions we gave during COVID should continue to move forward, and also, who should and shouldn't be covered?

[19:35:28]

DEAN: Yes. and then that's a piece of it as well. Is who is going to be covered and by which subsidies. Adrienne, we're running out of time. I'll give you the last word on that though.

ELROD: Look, I think at the end of the day, Republicans didn't want to extend the Obamacare subsidies. They would have come to the table before the 11th hour, before the last minute, when government was going to shut down. That is why there is a lack of trust and faith and confidence in the Republican Party by the leadership in the Senate and the House, by Democrats.

So, if Republicans want to do this, look, the Democrats will sit down. Let's make sure that there is a vehicle for those subsidies to be renewed as opposed to expiring without a vehicle at the end of the day.

DEAN: All right, Shermichael and Adrienne, our thanks to both of you. Tomorrow will be day six and we will see how long this will go on. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

SINGLETON: Thank you. Good to see you, Jessica.

ELROD: Thanks, Jess.

DEAN: Still to come, Taylor Swift isn't just leading the charts this weekend, she's also topping the box office. We'll discuss ahead.

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[19:41:04]

DEAN: Taylor Swift didn't just dominate the music industry with her new album. This weekend, he also crushed the box office. The movie, the official release "Party of a Showgirl," coordinated to hit at the same time as the album beat out film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Leonardo DiCaprio. Her film, expected to pull in about $30 million in the U.S. over the weekend. CNN media analyst Sara Fischer is joining us now. Sara, good to see you. Those are some big numbers. Was this expected?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: It was a little bit expected but not that big. I mean, we've seen artists before debut similar things in theaters, whether it was Halsey during COVID or Beyonce. But you're not talking about $33 million, Jessica.

The reason Taylor Swift can bring those types of numbers in is because she's developed such a big fan base around a cinematic universe within her musical lyrics, constantly trying to get people with little puzzles and surprises. And I think people showed up because they want to make sure that they're not missing any part of the Taylor cinematic experience. It's not just her albums, it's not just her concerts.

Now, it's her discography, and it's her music videos, and it's her theatrics. And so, I don't think that this is going to be the last time we see something like this out of Taylor Swift. But one thing I should note, Jessica, two weeks of promotion. That's what makes this pretty incredible. You have movies that the studios spent months promoting, not to get those kinds of numbers. That's an extraordinarily small window of marketing to get something like that.

DEAN: Yes, because she just announced it, as you noted, just two weeks ago. And so, to build that of audience and to your point, that audience is built in and ready to go, but to be able to do that is no small feat. Do you think that this will stay? It was originally slated to be in theaters for three days. Do you think they'll keep it longer?

FISCHER: I mean, I'm sure that the theaters would love to keep it longer. Anything that works, they want to keep it running. It depends on what her goals are. I mean, for one, she might want to keep this as a very tight sort of exclusive experience because if she does that, the next time she comes around to a theater, people are going to be even more eager and excited.

Once you extend windows, you sort of lose some of the exclusivity and the excitement around it. But I'm sure this type of experience will make it to streaming or will make it to one of her websites. It will be existing from now on. The big question I have is, do other artists think that they can pull this off, seeing what Taylor Swift has done?

My thought on that is probably not. It takes somebody of the Taylor Swift level of fame and magnitude to be able to get something like this, to be successful in two weeks, not even Beyonce could pull numbers like this, Jessica.

DEAN: It's really remarkable and, Sara, I'm also curious your thoughts on just how she is able to move through the media landscape because so much of what she doesn't do a ton of interviews, although she's done some press around, especially in London, around this album, but generally she's very much direct to consumer, as it were, like direct to her fans. She uses social media very effectively and kind of sparingly. But then when she needs to like with this film and rolled out, you know, the announcement of the album on her fiance's podcast with his brother, how does she move through the media landscape that makes her unique?

FISCHER: You're so right that she's very direct to consumer. Even thinking about announcing this new album on Travis Kelce's podcast and not going to, you know, a big newspaper or big network or something like that. One of the reasons that I think she is very intentional is because she's been burned a lot by the press.

I mean, anybody in Hollywood or in music is going to get burned, but hers has been particularly personal. I think back to when she won that VMA and Kanye West jumped up on stage and said that Beyonce should have won it. That was a very, very sensitive time in her career. She probably felt as though the industry was not protecting her in that moment.

And so, for her, going direct to consumers means that she has a level of control. And for somebody who's so obsessed with Easter eggs and keeping things secret until they launch, control is a big deal, Jessica.

DEAN: Certainly, All right, Sara Fischer, good to see you, thanks so much.

FISCHER: Thank you.

DEAN: New Orleans is famous for its Creole cuisine But what exactly is Creole? Where does it come from? Up next, we're going to talk to "New York Times" food writer and James Beard award winner, Brett Anderson for a look at the new CNN original series, "New Orleans Soul of a City."

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[19:49:52]

DEAN: The new CNN original series "New Orleans Soul of a City" explores the city's unique food culture and sports from the sounds of live jazz to the iconic Mardi Gras. The smell of warm beignets revealing how 20 years after Katrina, the city is louder and more resilient than ever.

The first episode takes a look at the diverse influences and history behind New Orleans food culture. Here's a preview.

[19:50:16]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT ANDERSON, FOOD WRITER AND CONTRIBUTOR, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": When people talk about Creole cuisine. On a really basic level, were talking about traditional New Orleans food. We're trying to differentiate it from Cajun food, which is a rural expression.

ZELLA PALMER, DILLARD UNIVERSITY: Creole is a mixture of many cultures. It's a new world culture. It began with the Portuguese word Creole. However, when we talk about creolization or we talk about Creole culture, we have to remember that creolization didn't actually begin in the United States. It began in Africa.

ANDERSON: You can't overstate the contributions that enslaved Africans made to the creation of New Orleans cuisine. You know, that contribution has been understated. In fact, understated is probably too mild a word. It's been ignored.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And joining us now to discuss is "New York Times" food writer and contributor, Brett Anderson, who you just saw in that clip.

Brett, welcome. Thanks so much for being here with us. You in that clip --

ANDERSON: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: Yes, it's great to have you. First of all, it made me very hungry. But also, just what a special place, New Orleans. You began to explain the origins of Creole and Cajun cuisine in that clip. How would you define Creole cuisine?

ANDERSON: Well, you know, to paraphrase a little bit what I said in the clip, it is -- well, let me start with this, there are Creole cuisines that exist outside of New Orleans. You can eat Creole cuisine -- cuisine that's identified as Creole in other parts of the country particularly in the Caribbean.

But when we're talking about Creole cuisine in New Orleans, it is an urban expression of food that was developed here in the city over the generations, with a lot of contributions from people that have come through here, immigrants that have come here, through here, over the centuries.

There are strains of France, Spain, Italy, Vietnam, Haiti in the food. But I would say that by and large, the way to see Creole cuisine in New Orleans as African diasporic food.

DEAN: Oh, that's so interesting. Yes, that makes a lot of sense, and you said there look, the contributions that enslaved Africans made to that cuisine and the creation of that cuisine in New Orleans is ignored, has been ignored. But help people understand just the incredible role they played in developing this unique cuisine that comes out of New Orleans.

ANDERSON: Well, you know, when people think about New Orleans and its food, I don't think I'm -- I think I'm safe to say a lot of people think of the of the dish gumbo, right. It's a dish that has come to be synonymous with New Orleans and in some ways, a metaphor for New Orleans, because gumbo contains all of these elements from all of these different cultures, or at least the story so goes, right.

You have gumbo file, which is a sassafras powder which comes from Native Americans, for instance. But the word gumbo comes from the Bantu language that's spoken across Africa and that's the word they use for okra and okra came to New Orleans during the slave trade, and the food here developed during the period when, the economy of Louisiana and New Orleans in particular, which was the largest slave market in the United States for a period of time, was dominated by slavery. And those were the people that were doing a lot of the labor and a lot of the artistic work that, that goes into this food.

And I think you also need to recognize that when the slave trade was still going, you know, the people who were enslaved were often chosen for the skills that they had, and that included culinary skills and agricultural skills. And so, I don't think that's why I say, I don't think you can overstate the contributions of these people who have gone nameless.

DEAN: Yes, absolutely, absolutely and it endures -- and there's also a component to this show that really focuses on how New Orleans mirrors kind of this melting pot that America is known for. Have you found that when you've been in New Orleans?

ANDERSON: Yes, I mean, it is a melting pot cuisine for sure and, you know, and in the 20th century, as the particularly as the restaurant culture here has developed in New Orleans, and as New Orleans became really known for its food and became a tourist destination built on the backs of the restaurant culture here, you know, you did see the contribution and have seen the contribution of immigrants from across the globe.

You know, as I mentioned earlier, you see a lot of Italian cooking here. You see a lot of Vietnamese food, which has been particularly prominent over the last several decades. And, and it has developed in that way with people adding to what you see in restaurants generation after generation.

DEAN: Yes, it really is special. Brett Anderson, thanks for that. We really appreciate it, good to see you.

ANDERSON: Thank you so much.

DEAN: And be sure to tune in, a new CNN original series, "New Orleans Soul Of A City" airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and pacific only here on CNN. But still ahead tonight on our show, we're going to tell you what we're hearing from President Trump and Israel as the delicate ceasefire talks are now just hours away from getting underway in Egypt. Stay with us, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Jessica Dean here in New York. We are now just hours away from the beginning of negotiations aimed at ending the war in Gaza. A delegation from Hamas arrived in Egypt a short time ago. Teams from Israel and the U.S. are headed that way for the beginning of these talks tomorrow.

And ahead of that, President Trump told CNN Hamas faces, "complete obliteration if it refuses to give up power in Gaza." That comment, part of a text conversation with our Jake Tapper, who asked, what would happen if Hamas insists on staying in power?

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