Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Israel-Hamas Peace Talks to Begin in Egypt; Trump to Send National Guard to Illinois, Judge Blocks Trump Sending National Guard to Oregon; Second Week of U.S. Government Shutdown; President Trump Considering Bailout for American Farmers; High Tariffs Affecting Halloween Industry; At Least Five Killed In Russian Bombardment Of Lviv; Hundreds Rescued After Blizzard Near Mount Everest; Indirect Israel-Hamas Talks To Begin In Egypt On Monday; Lawmakers To Vote On Spending Bills To Reopen Government; Busy, New Term Begins For Justices At Top U.S. Court. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired October 06, 2025 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States, around the world and streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church, just ahead. Negotiators from Israel, the U.S. and Hamas are gathering in Egypt to discuss Donald Trump's ceasefire plan for Gaza nearly two years into the war.
Blocked for now, a federal judge again says the Trump administration cannot deploy any National Guard troops to Oregon.
Also, rescue operations are underway in Tibet after a blizzard traps hundreds of hikers on Mount Everest.
Plus, the swift effect in full force from Spotify to now the big screen. We'll explain.
Good to have you with us. Delegations from Israel, Hamas and the U.S. are set to begin key negotiations in Egypt in the coming hours. They hope to finalize a ceasefire deal based on U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza Plan. Ahead of those talks, President Trump says there have been positive discussions with Hamas and other nations. And he says technical teams will work through and clarify final details.
The U.S. president is urging everyone to move fast saying, quote, "time is of the essence or massive bloodshed will follow, something that nobody wants to see." And he had this to say when asked about setting a deadline for Hamas to release the hostages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Very quickly. We had some very good meetings. The countries of the world, lot of the countries surrounding Israel, frankly, Muslim, Arab and many others have had great meetings with Hamas and it looks like it's working. So we'll wait for a little while, see how it all turns out. I think it will work very quickly. I think it's going to go very quickly. The meetings seem to be very good. We'll find out. We'll let you know soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: But amid signs of progress, Israeli attacks inside Gaza are still ongoing. Hospital officials say Palestinians in Khan Yunis buried loved ones on Sunday that were killed in weekend strikes. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is following all the developments from Tel Aviv.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot of optimism in the air about the prospects of President Trump's 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza actually becoming a reality. But the rubber is going to meet the road on Monday as Israel and Hamas are set to begin indirect negotiations to actually turn that plan into something concrete that can be implemented on the ground. And this is where we're going to find out how big the gaps really are between these two sides and the willingness of the two parties to actually bridge those gaps.
These indirect negotiations are set to take place in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt and the Israeli prime minister has authorized that Israeli negotiating team to travel on Monday to participate in those talks. In fact, on Sunday night, the prime minister held what is being described to us as a lengthy discussion with that negotiating team ahead of those talks.
We know that there are still several major issues that need to be resolved before this plan can become a reality. One of those is going to have to do with the Israeli withdrawal lines, the lines to which Israel will withdraw within the Gaza Strip in order for that hostage release of 48 hostages to actually go through. Then there's the big question of disarmament. Hamas has so far not indicated publicly whether they are willing to disarm, which is a requirement for the U.S. and Israel in order for this war to end.
And then more broadly, there is still this question of whether Hamas will actually agree to release all 48 hostages upfront as they have signaled, they are, but without the entire plan having been agreed to. Will Hamas require that all 20 points of this plan have final agreement before moving forward with the implementation of the first phase, which is indeed that hostage release. There's no question though that the United States and Israel want this deal to be done quickly.
President Trump has been talking about how he hopes this can be achieved in a matter of days and threatening that Hamas will face complete obliteration if it doesn't agree to this deal.
[02:04:59]
Now, Israel -- the Israeli military has said it shifted to a defensive posture inside the Gaza Strip, but that doesn't mean that bombardments have stopped altogether. Some residents in Gaza have reported to us that they've seen a decrease in Israeli strikes, but the killing is very much still continuing with at least 20 people who've been killed on Sunday alone, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Between that and the 48 hostages still being held in Gaza, it's clear that the stakes of these negotiations are very, very high. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
CHURCH: CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid has more on how the Trump administration and other nations are trying to ensure the latest ceasefire plan is a success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: What I hear is that there's quite a lot of optimism ah in the White House at the moment about the ability to continue on pushing both parties, Israel and Hamas, for its deal. The mediators, Egypt, Qatar, also Turkey are pushing Hamas very hard. President Trump is pushing the Israelis pretty hard. On the Israeli side, there's a lot of skepticism on the one hand, especially within the Israeli negotiation team.
Netanyahu who was more optimistic yesterday, today sounded a bit more careful. But I think everyone are going into this round of negotiations that will start tomorrow in Cairo with a lot of motivation to get a deal. That's at least my feeling from talking to all the parties. There's a lot of will on each -- on every party to try and get a deal this week.
I think what the focus is now on the first several points in President Trump's 20-point plan. And what we're going to see this week is very focused on several specifics. One, the release of hostages. Two, the release of Palestinian prisoners, including 250 Palestinian prisoners who are serving life sentences for killing Israelis. This is extremely significant, both for Hamas. It's a huge achievement, and it's extremely difficult for Israel to go and do this, release those people that have tons, gallons of Israeli blood on their hands. That's number two.
Number three, an Israeli withdrawal from parts of Gaza, initial withdrawal, that would be quite significant, and obviously, the end of the war. I think Hamas realized, and I think the White House made it clear to them, that once they release the hostages, the war is over because Netanyahu will not have a pretext to continue the war. Israeli society cares about the hostages. It wants the hostages out.
There will not be -- there is not lot of support to this war right now within the Israeli society. When the hostages are back home, there will be close to zero support for continuing this war and I think this is what the White House has been telling Hamas, and I think this is what Hamas has realized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Around the world, supporters and families of the remaining hostages are adding pressure to secure their release.
(VIDEO PLAYING) In New York City, Hamas captivity survivors and families of hostages joined a rally in Central Park ahead of the second anniversary of the October 7th attacks. And in London, large crowds attended a memorial observing the solemn milestone. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem and Gaza, Israelis and Palestinians expressed cautious optimism ahead of the Egypt negotiations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHEL ILUZ, FATHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE GUY ILUZ (through translation): Two years have passed and we are still waiting. We are committed today as we were from the beginning to an agreement that can end this bloody war and restore our values, life, recovery and space for a dignified life. We must not let this opportunity be damaged.
ASMAA RIHAN, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translation): We are worried really that the deal they are talking about will fail because every time they reach a solution, they say a truce will be declared. We wake up on a terrible nightmare at the end. No, we hope to go beyond this stage. The truth comes into effect and we go back to Gaza City despite the debris, despite its destruction, despite everything, but nothing is more valuable than the homeland soil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: A federal judge is again blocking Donald Trump from sending any National Guard troops to Oregon. On Saturday, that same judge told President Trump he could not deploy the Oregon National Guard to the city of Portland. The White House then said it would send National Guard soldiers from California or Texas. But this new ruling shot down those plans. The White House cites the need for troops to protect federal agents and facilities during protests.
[02:10:00]
Meanwhile, troops are being deployed to Illinois amid demonstrations outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Chicago. CNN's Rafael Romo has the latest.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president and his administration are framing anti-ICE demonstrations in democratic-led cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland as violent protests carried out by, quote, "domestic terrorist." In an interview with Fox News on Sunday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated without providing evidence that protests and confrontations with federal agents are part of an organized movement funded by gangs, terrorists and drug cartel members.
She cited drivers in Chicago who allegedly rammed their cars into a vehicle carrying federal agents, prompting one agent to shoot and injure a woman. The Department of Justice announced that two people have been charged in a federal court with using their vehicles to assault, impede, and interfere with the work of federal agents in Chicago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I've encouraged the governor of Oregon and of Illinois and that attorney general should go down and spend some time with our ICE officers and with our border patrol officers and encounter the protesters that they do because these individuals are shouting hateful things at them, threatening their families, putting their hands on them and acts of violence are occurring on regular basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: And in an interview with CNN also on Sunday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker criticized the Trump administration for last week's raid in the city of Chicago featured in a DHS video posted on X this weekend. According to the governor, U.S. citizens, children and elderly people were detained for hours without cause.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JB PRITZKER, GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS: What kind of a country are we living in? And this raid at this building is emblematic of what ICE and CBP and the president of the United States, Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino are trying to do. They want mayhem on the ground. They want to create the war zone so that they can send in even more troops. Now they're claiming they need 300 of Illinois' National Guard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told CNN that the raid was part of a multi-agency operation that led to the arrest of 37 undocumented immigrants, most of them from Venezuela, but also included people from Mexico, Nigeria and Colombia. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
CHURCH: In the coming hours, lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill to vote on bills that could end the U.S. government shutdown. They'll hold a fifth vote on a spending bill drafted by Democrats, which includes measures to restore parts of the Affordable Care Act and on a stopgap bill by Republicans, which would fund the government until late November. But nearly a week into the shutdown, neither Democrats nor Republicans seem willing to budge on their demands.
A new CBS News poll is offering insight into who Americans think are responsible -- 39 percent say President Trump and Congressional Republicans are to blame, while 30 percent blame Congressional Democrats. Thirty-one percent say both Democrats and Republicans share the blame equally.
Larry Sabato is the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. He's also the co-author of "Campaign of Chaos: Trump, Biden, Harris, and the 2024 American Election." Great to have you with us.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Thank you so much, Rosemary.
CHURCH: So, Larry, as the government shutdown enters its second week, Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other, even as polls show that most Americans blame Donald Trump and his party for this shutdown. With no clear end in sight, of course, where do you see all of this going?
SABATO: It's really interesting in following this one. It's a little bit different than some of the other shutdowns. In this case, the polls have been remarkably consistent. Trump and the Republicans in Congress do get most of the blame, and by a decent margin. It's not a couple of points. Democrats, of course, get the blame among hardcore Republicans and a slice of independents. There's still a large group, though, between 20, 25 percent of Americans who either blame everybody or don't know who to blame.
Well, over time, they will distribute themselves, depending on what happens and how this goes on. The Republicans have been more effective at offense. They have been blaming the Democrats pretty consistently with lines that seem to go over well. But the Democrats have the better argument because of healthcare.
Most Americans are concerned about the healthcare cutbacks and worried that they may not be able to afford insurance at all. So that's buoying the Democrats. It's difficult to know where this will go. It certainly seems to be lasting quite some time.
[02:14:58]
CHURCH: That is the concern, isn't it? And of course, Larry, the White House says federal workers could be laid off if no deal on the shutdown is reached and President Trump blames the Democrats for those potential layoffs, while the Democrats refuse to budge as you point out, insisting on keeping healthcare subsidies in place and the White House is also freezing funding for blue cities and states amid this shutdown. So the consequences are many aren't they? There's just a few. So how do they reach a deal with where things stand right now?
SABATO: Well, the obvious way for them to reach deals through a compromise but neither party seems very inclined to do that. They're both pretty dug in. And listening to the leadership, sometimes you can tell if one party is feeling the pressure more or is hearing from voters who are unhappy more. And I don't think that's happening. They both seem to think they're winning and that combination is dangerous, Rosemary. It will produce a longer shutdown.
Now, it could change at any point if, for example, we go past October 15th, which is the next payday. And that will be a day when troops don't get paid, when the TSA workers don't get paid, when air traffic controllers don't get paid, and loads of other people too. It doesn't take long for the bills to pile up and people to have no resources. So, that would be a critical moment, the middle of October.
CHURCH: Yeah, I mean, it is nerve-racking for those workers, isn't it? And Larry, inflation and the economy are the top issues, with most Americans saying Donald Trump's policies are making them financially worse off. That is according to most polls, including the latest CNN News poll. What could this potentially mean for the midterms next year? SABATO: Trump is in a precarious position. He was low in his first
term, and of course he lost badly in the midterms of 2018. Well, this is the second term, and if anything, he has gone downhill quicker than he did in the first term. His overall average is somewhere around 42 percent job approval, which isn't terrible. Some presidents have been in the 30s and even the 20s, but it certainly isn't robust.
And it isn't enough just to have your base behind you in a midterm election. You have to have at least 40, 45 percent of the independents. Right now, he's not even close to that. So there are real stakes here, but it is early. It's more than a year away from the midterms. And I'm sure they have some positive scenarios in mind.
CHURCH: Larry Sabato, I want to thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
SABATO: Enjoyed it, Rosemary.
CHURCH: Americans can expect a fright this Halloween. Why President Trump's tariffs are devastating the Halloween industry. That's next.
And hundreds of trekkers are stranded on Everest after a rare October blizzard. Up ahead, we will hear the latest on the challenging conditions impacting rescue efforts. Back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:20:00]
CHURCH: All right. Now, for a look at U.S. stock market futures. So far, you can see there all three indices are in positive territory. We'll keep an eye on that, see what happens in the hours ahead.
Well, U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war is hurting American farmers. Tariffs have caused surging costs and foreign retaliation. And there have been immigration-related labor shortages. Data reveals that farm bankruptcies rose in the first half of the year to the highest level since 2021. Now, the Trump administration is considering a massive bailout of at least $10 billion to try to bring relief to the agriculture industry.
And now trick or treaters, beware the scariest thing. This Halloween might turn out to be the price tag on your costume. That's because President Trump's tariffs on China are leading to higher costs for many of this season's Halloween products. CNN's Natasha Chen has more.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
UNKNOWN: We do have a kid one right up here.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Halloween, Reyna Hernandez's six-year-old wants to dress as Carl from "The Walking Dead."
REYNA HERNANDEZ, HALLOWEEN COSTUME SHOPPER: It's just ridiculous. We cannot even afford this at all. CJEN (voice-over): This hat would work as part of her son's costume,
but it costs $30 alone.
HERNANDEZ: I'd rather just do it if I've had the time, little by little, you know, paycheck from paycheck.
CHEN: The Halloween and Costume Association says roughly 90 percent of Halloween products contain at least one component made overseas, most often in China. Because of tariffs imposed on most Chinese imports, suppliers and retailers say this Halloween's products will cost a little more and you'll see less variety.
CHRIS ZEPHRO, PRESIDENT, TRICK OR TREAT STUDIOS: We're all kind of on edge, but we're trying to stay positive.
CHEN (voice-over): Chris Zephro's business, Trick or Treat Studios, designs and produces all things scary and fun.
ZEPHRO: Horror is not necessarily Halloween. It's really a lifestyle.
CHEN (voice-over): But the real life horror flick for him has been the overnight jump in cost this year. In April, President Trump increased tariffs on most Chinese goods to a whopping 145 percent. That made a lot of people cancel production orders right then and there. Then in May, when tariffs on Chinese goods fell to 30 percent, some production in China resumed, but the stoppage had already caused a delay or shortage of items for the season. All told, Zephro's tariff bill --
ZEPHRO: Upwards of almost $800,000.
CHEN (voice-over): -- meant he had to lay off 15 employees.
ZEPHRO: It was one of the worst days of my life.
CHEN (on camera): There's a trickle effect. Importers like Trick or Treat Studios, who design and supply costumes, props and masks, are paying an extra 30 percent for everything coming in from China which they then have to share with their retail customers.
Like Phantom Halloween, who then sells the products to customers. And the owner here is also making a tough decision about how much of the extra cost to absorb and how much to pass on.
RYAN GOLDMAN, OWNER, PHANTOM HALLOWEEN: The majority of kids costumes have probably gone up $3 to $4. The majority of adult costumes have probably gone up $5 to $8.
CHEN (voice-over): Ryan Goldman's family started Phantom Halloween stores in the 1980s.
GOLDMAN: The idea is to hold as many prices as we can.
[02:24:59]
CHEN (voice-over): Some items made in Mexico, Vietnam, India or the U.K. won't see a price hike. But anything involving plastics or textiles is predominantly made in China.
GOLDMAN: I'm not that political. So, we just are dealing with the aftermath of it. The aftermath isn't pretty.
CHEN (voice-over): But Zephro is clear about who's responsible.
ZEPHRO: I would love to have a conversation, closed doors with Trump because if you really want manufacturing to come back here, you have to look at why manufacturing left and start there.
CHEN (voice-over): Policies and regulations, he says, that have made manufacturing in the U.S. extremely difficult and inefficient. For now, both he and Goldman have stopped bringing in items made too expensive due to tariffs.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
(On camera): If it's 150 more for you, how much more is that for the customer?
GOLDMAN: At least 300. And that's the reason why he didn't get reordered this year.
CHEN (voice-over): And there are certain products like one-sixth scale action figures that Zephro won't even produce.
ZEPHRO: No one's going to spend $400 for an action figure.
CHEN (voice-over): The only ones available in his warehouse came in before tariffs.
(On camera): So what you have here is it.
ZEPHRO: That's it. Until maybe the midterms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Still to come, Ukraine's president slams allies for not putting enough pressure on Moscow after more Ukrainian civilians are killed in Russian attacks.
Hundreds of trekkers stranded by a Himalayan blizzard on Mount Everest. We will bring you the latest on the race to rescue them. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:18]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Ukrainians in the western city of Lviv are surveying the destruction after a massive Russian air attack. Lviv's governor says Russia launched its largest ever assault on the region overnight into Sunday, involving 140 drones and 23 missiles. At least five people were killed. Four of the victims were members of a single family who died in a strike on their residential building.
Russia also targeted the city of Zaporizhzhia, on the opposite side of the country. At least one person was killed in that attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces fired more than 50 missiles and nearly 500 drones over the weekend, proving once again that Putin craves the destruction of Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Sadly, there's no strong adequate response from the international community to what's happening. Constant escalation and brazenness of these strikes. Putin is doing it and seems to mock the West and its silence and lack of strong actions in response. Russia has rejected every proposal to end the war, or even to halt the strikes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Meanwhile, Russia's president is warning the U.S. against supplying Ukraine with tomahawk missiles. Vladimir Putin saying that move would lead to the destruction of U.S.-Russian relations. Ukraine's president has asked the U.S. government to sell the long- range missile systems to European Nations, which would donate them to Ukraine. If so, Kyiv would have the ability to strike deep inside Russia. White House officials have recently said that Donald Trump is considering allowing the deal to go through.
In the coming hours, Syria will release the results of its first election since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. Officials are describing Sunday's indirect vote as a defining step in Syria's political transition. But critics are calling the indirect vote unrepresentative of the people. Authorities postponed the vote in three minority held provinces, and although women have been guaranteed 20 percent representation, it's unclear how many will be elected or appointed. The election will fill 210 parliamentary seats, in which two thirds of lawmakers are elected by local bodies and one third are appointed directly by the president.
Hundreds of trekkers stranded by a blizzard on the Tibetan side of Mount Everest have been guided to safety. That's according to Chinese state media. The storm began on Friday night and continued through Saturday. It trapped visitors in a remote valley near the mountain's eastern face. About 350 people have reached safety, with more than 200 others still on the mountain but in contact with rescuers. Officials say the remaining trekkers are being escorted down in stages.
So, let's go to Taipei now, where CNN's Will Ripley has the latest on the rescue efforts.
So, Will, what -- what are you hearing on this story?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this really was kind of the perfect storm, no pun intended, where you had China's national day holiday and you had October, what you were expecting to be October weather on Everest, which is usually clear skies, you know, nice cooler temperatures, stable weather. But take a look at this video to see what actually happened to these poor people. I mean, I guess you know what you're signing up for when you're hiking
Everest, right? But like, they're expecting October weather and they got snow, rain, thunder and lightning all at once. So, they're stranded there, freezing.
You're hearing thunder and lightning. I mean, this is a blizzard on Mount Everest style that people are enduring there. And this is a serious business. This is the same weather system that causes deadly floods and landslides in Nepal. So, you had people who are really at risk of hypothermia, perhaps in these freezing winds, you had the deep snow drifts that made travel impossible. Zero visibility, a real nightmare.
This happened hundreds of people who were trapped in the Karma Valley, which is on Everest's eastern flank in Tibet. Now, this area is particularly remote, particularly hard to reach. No roads, obviously. No quick exits.
Unlike the north face, which is also in Tibet, which has become far easier ever since China built a paved road that can take you almost all the way to base camp. This area, it's much more difficult. They actually had to enlist the help of not just the typical mountain guides, but just locals in general who are used to this terrain so that they could help dig out these trails and then escort people down. As you mentioned, a group by group to get them safely to a warm meal, medical care.
[02:35:02]
I'm sure after being as freezing cold as they were, just a can of soup would be a -- would be a blessing for them. If you've ever just been trapped in that amount of cold.
The good news, Rosemary, despite the dangerous conditions on Everest, you know people often die every season. You hear about this, you know, there are bodies that are on the mountain. And yet, in this case, it seems as if all these people are currently accounted for. If they're still on the mountain or they've been taken down safely. And so far, knock on wood, there have been no reports of anybody killed because of this blizzard. So that is a piece of good news.
CHURCH: And let's hope it stays that way, right?
CNN's Will Ripley joining us live from Taipei, appreciate your live report.
Well, more than 40 people are dead in Nepal from landslides. A lightning strike and flooding. Officials say heavy rain caused landslides that swept away entire villages on Saturday. Police confirmed violent flash flooding and a lightning strike have killed several others. Swollen rivers also submerged roadways leading to the country's capital of Kathmandu, largely cutting the city off from the rest of the country. The heavy rain, even temporarily grounded domestic flights in Nepal on Saturday.
In China, Typhoon Matmo has made landfall, lashing the southern coast with torrential rains and strong winds. More than 116,000 people were forced to evacuate to temporary shelters in the city of Zhanjiang on Sunday. The storm disrupted flights and public transportation in the region amid a busy holiday week in China. China expects people to make more than 2 billion trips during the overlapping cultural holidays of national day and the mid-autumn festival.
Well, just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, Taylor Swift's new smash hit, she's done it again, turning her new album into a box office blockbuster. Back with that in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:40:04]
CHURCH: Authorities have learned what was behind the hot air balloons that forced them to shut down Lithuania's Vilnius Airport on Saturday. Smuggled cigarettes up to 25 hot air balloons entered Lithuania's airspace. Border police recovered many of them, along with 18,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes. The disruption interfered with 30 flights and impacted about 6000 passengers. The incursion comes at a time when leaders are on high alert after a number of incidents with drones violating European Nations' airspace.
Well, Taylor Swift is a top at the box office and in streaming music. This time, it's with her new album and film. The official release party of a showgirl. The three-day theatrical run brought in $46 million worldwide. Theater chain AMC says nearly 4,000 theaters in the U.S. screened the event. It coincided with the release of Swift's new album, "The Life of a Showgirl".
(MUSIC)
CHURCH: The album became Spotify's most streamed album of the year, just 11 hours after its release. Well done.
Well, thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is coming up next. And for our viewers here in north America, I'll be back after a short break.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:45:25]
CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.
I want to return now to our top story. The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Those talks are set to begin in the coming hours. And U.S. President Donald Trump is sharing his hopes that a ceasefire deal will be finalized.
CNN's Julia Benbrook has more details from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump is keeping pressure on both Israel and Hamas to move forward with his 20-point ceasefire plan in Gaza. The plan calls for the release of all hostages held by Hamas within 72 hours of an agreement, and lays out a roadmap for Gaza following the war.
Now, after receiving pressure and a deadline from Trump, Hamas said that it would immediately enter negotiations to release all hostages, but stopped short of fully endorsing his 20-point plan. While taking questions from reporters on the south lawn Sunday, Trump was asked if there was any room for flexibility in this plan. He said that he believes that it is a great deal for Israel, adding, quote, "a great deal for everyone".
But when it comes to potential changes, here's what he had to say.
DONALD TRUM, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't need flexibility because everybody is 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. We'll probably take a couple of days and people are very happy about it.
BENBROOK: When it comes to how the United States will be involved in negotiations going forward, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas are expected to take place in Egypt on Monday. We also know that Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, as well as Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner, will be in the region.
In an interview with ABC, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that it is the administrations hope that 90 percent of the negotiations are taking care of before United States officials arrive. There's been a lot of optimism, a lot of momentum towards a deal over this last week, but there are still a lot of questions as to how and when a deal could come together.
At the White House, Julia Benbrook, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Ahead of the ceasefire talks, Donald Trump spoke with CNN about his expectations and what might happen if Hamas refuses to give up power.
Our Jake Tapper has details of that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, THE LEAD: The president answered my questions on text about his hopes for this nascent deal. I asked him what happens if Hamas insists on staying in power in Gaza. The president said complete obliteration. Then I said, I assume you saw that Senator Lindsey Graham interpreted
Hamas's response as a rejection, since Hamas insisted on no disarmament, keeping Gaza under Palestinian control and tying hostage release to negotiations. Is Lindsey Graham wrong? The president said, we will find out. Only time will tell.
I asked him, when will you know if Hamas is truly committed or just stringing the world along? And is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on board with ending the bombing, as you called for, and whatever else you need him to do to make this peace proposal a reality? The president said, yes on Bibi, soon, on the rest.
I said that I thought the Arab League calling on Hamas to not be part of any future leadership in Gaza. Palestine was a remarkable step. Are they committed to seeing your plan implemented and will they help with funding and a law enforcement presence or whatever is needed? I said I hoped peace would become a reality. The president said, I hope, and that he was working hard.
I also asked the president, how do you think the government shutdown is going to end? He said, good, we are winning and cutting costs big time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, more now on the U.S. government shutdown. Congressional leaders are doubling down on pointing fingers at who is to blame for the lack of movement in Washington. A new round of voting to try and reopen the government is set to begin in the coming hours, but it doesn't sound like there'll be much movement on the issues.
Here's what party leaders had to say on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Well, the last time there was a conversation with Republican leadership was in the White House meeting last Monday.
[02:50:01]
And unfortunately, since that point in time, Republicans, including Donald Trump have gone radio silent.
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), MAJORITY LEADER: The Democrats just need to open up the government. Right now, we're at a stalemate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Well, meantime, the White House has frozen funds for government projects in Chicago and New York. They are Democratic led cities that President Trump has shown ire toward before.
CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look at projects on the chopping block.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the windy city of Chicago, $2.1 billion in federal funding for transit has been blown away by the White House, according to the Illinois governor, "Hurting our economy and the hard-working people".
In New York, $18 billion federal dollars have been frozen for transportation projects.
Amid all that, President Trump posted this video portraying his budget boss, Russell Vought as the Grim Reaper who, like Trump, wants to pressure Democratic lawmakers from blue strongholds to end the budget stalemate that triggered the government shutdown.
RUSS VOUGHT, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: We're not going to be held hostage to these kinds of insane, ridiculous demands by the Democrats.
FOREMAN (voice-over): One of the administration's tools for removing all that money is the idea that some of it might be spent to promote race and sex-based contracting, DEI programs that the White House has forbidden. But the administration has also canceled what it calls nearly $8 billion in green new scam funding, hammering 16 states, all of which Trump lost in the last presidential race.
CHRIS WRIGHT, SECRETARY OF ENERGY: We're going to count on energy imports.
FOREMAN (voice-over): The secretary of energy suggests red states may be involved as well. And he's just saving money.
WRIGHT: These cancellation decisions are absolutely not tied to the government shutdown.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Yet hundreds of millions in disaster preparedness grants are being withheld, too. The White House is demanding states recount their populations in the wake of aggressive deportations. So, the distributions can be adjusted. That move came just hours after a federal court put a temporary block on efforts to divert FEMA funds, largely away from Democratic led states.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson says the president just wants the government running again.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: And is he trying to apply pressure to make that happen? He probably is. Yeah, and I applaud that.
FOREMAN: But Democrats say Republicans strong arm tactics will not work.
JEFFRIES: They need to come to the table. We can go back to the White House, or they can come up here and we can have a conversation to end this shutdown. They're hurting the American people.
(END VIDEOTAPE) FOREMAN (on camera): Democrats are even pointing out a type of irony here. They're saying that while the white house is putting this big squeeze on the blue states and their supporters, the Democrats say the health insurance matters that they are fighting for will help millions of families in red America.
CHURCH: Federal officials are investigating the arrest of a man found with explosives on Sunday outside a church just hours before a Catholic mass meant to bless those working in the legal field.
The mass also marks the start of a new Supreme Court term, though no justices were present at the event, the man was found to have vials of liquid and possible fireworks in his belongings. The scare comes as the court is set to hear several high-profile cases.
CNN's chief Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic previews what's on the docket.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: After a rough summer with deep disagreements over Trump administration policies, the Supreme Court is about to hear several important cases that involve even more Trump controversies, but also difficult culture war issues.
I'll first mention two that will be heard this month.
The justices on Tuesday will take up a dispute over whether states -- here, it's Colorado -- can stop licensed health care professionals from engaging in so-called conversion therapy. That is the practice of working with LGBTQ teens to try to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Trump administration is siding with a counselor, a woman who describes herself as a practicing Christian engaged in talk therapy, who is challenging the Colorado ban as a violation of her right to free speech.
Next week, the justices will hear a dispute over the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act that could affect redistricting practices across the country and influence election results as soon as the 2026 cycle. The Louisiana case tests whether states found to have discriminated in their maps with boundaries that diluted the voting power of Blacks or Hispanics can then be required to draw what are known as majority- minority districts. These districts are intended to give blacks and Hispanics a chance to elect their candidates of choice.
[02:55:03]
In November, it's tariffs. The court will hear a Trump appeal of a lower court ruling that found he had exceeded his power with the sweeping tariffs that date to April, and what the president called Liberation Day. The justices fast tracked this case, as the administration stressed that billions of dollars were at stake. Then, in December and January, the court will take up two cases over Trump's effort to remove leaders of independent agencies. Rulings here could ultimately affect the power of the Federal Reserve, which Trump has been heavily pressuring on interest rates. Usually, when the nine start a new annual session, they have had a
relatively restful summer. But last summer was anything but restful. The justices ended up ruling on a series of rushed emergency appeals from the administration on its immigration raids, foreign aid cuts, wide scale firings in virtually all of the disputes, Trump won, the three liberal justices in the minority on this court that has a conservative supermajority have protested strongly.
And I'll leave you with this line from Sonia Sotomayor, the senior justice on the left, in a July case involving deportations. She said as she dissented, quote, "Today's order clarifies only one thing, other litigants must follow the rules. But the administration has the Supreme Court on speed dial," unquote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Well, more than 800,000 Uber and Lyft drivers in California now have the right to join a union. A new state law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom will allow them to bargain collectively for better wages and benefits. Currently, rideshare drivers are classified as independent contractors. This means they're not entitled to perks like paid sick leave or overtime pay, but unionizing could help them change that.
This law does not apply to drivers for delivery apps like DoorDash.
I want to thank you for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after a short break. Do stay with us.
