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Oscar-Winning Actress, Diane Keaton Dies At 79; Israel: Hostage Release To Begin On Monday Morning; Israelis Await Hostage Release, As Palestinians Return Home; Gaza Ceasefire Holding, Israeli Forces Pulling Back; Source: Fed Prosecutors Finalizing Potential Bolton Indictment; Trump Targets Perceived Enemies With Investigations; What It Means When Gold Hits More Than $4,000 An Ounce. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 11, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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(END VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: Yum! Tune in tomorrow night. A new episode of "Tony Shalhoub: Breaking Bread" premieres Sunday at 9:00 p.m. only right here on CNN.

And now a new hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins.

[18:00:27]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

SIDNER: Welcome to CNN Newsroom. I am Sara Sidner in New York. Jessica Dean has the night off.

Breaking news just into CNN. Oscar-winning actress, Diane Keaton has died. She was just 79. Julia Vargas Jones is here with us.

I had -- I didn't know whether she was sick or what happened, but this really took a lot of us by great surprise. What do we know about how she passed and what happened here?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, very little still, Sara. So many people still in shock. Some of her co-stars in shock, posting on social media, what we do know from a producer who worked on some of her recent movies, Dori Rath, is that she passed away. She was taken -- somebody -- a person at her residence was taken to hospital this morning. The Los Angeles Fire Department told CNN that they received a call this morning to her residence here in West Los Angeles and took somebody to the hospital.

We later learned from her producer that Diane Keaton has died.

Now, we've reached out to her representatives and the Los Angeles Police Department, they are referring us to the Medical Examiner. There is still no record of her death there, and her death was first reported, Sara, by "People" Magazine.

Now, Diane Keaton, what an icon of just film and fashion as well. You know, she rose to fame as the wife of Michael Corleone on the great film, "The Godfather," and then with "Annie Hall" a few years later, coming into herself, showing her personality, her quirky, bubbly self and her sense of fashion as well in the screen, sharing the screen with Woody Allen and then Steve Martin and then Jack Nicholson, what a wide range this woman had.

And then in recent years, Sara, capturing so many of us during the pandemic, opening her wardrobe as she was giving clothes to donation, always so iconic, and as she developed that sense of style using men's clothes and blazers and ties and fake belts and oh, so many incredible hats, she just brought so much joy to so many people, young and old, and it is still such a shock.

So I want to read to you a few of the reactions that we are getting from some of her co-stars. One of them, Kadee Strickland from "Something's Gotta Give," she said: "That was one of her first jobs, and she was privileged to work opposite one of my greatest heroes. @diane_keaton wore the cape the entire time. She was welcoming, kind and so very focused. And of course, so funny. An artist of the highest caliber."

And then from Bette Midler, her co-star from "The First Wives Club," one of my favorite films: "The brilliant, the beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me. She was hilarious. A complete original and completely without guile or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was. Ooh la, la, la!"

Wow, I will leave you with just this one last one from the Screen Actors Guild who said that, that throughout her career, she was incredible, but that she was a member of the SAG-AFTRA since 1969, one of the real originals, Sara.

She had two children, Dexter and Duke, who she adopted when she was in her 50s and raised them by herself.

SIDNER: Yes, just incredible, and when you use the word "icon," you know, that's kind of thrown around a lot on social media, everybody has an iconic moment or this -- she truly was an icon in stage and film and in fashion, as you mentioned. Thank you so much, Julia. Stay with us. We will be talking much more about this ahead.

But first let's take a look back at her incredible career and some of just such good roles that she has played over the years.

Our Stephanie Elam takes a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Skilled at both drama and comedy, Diane Keaton was one of Hollywood's most enduring actresses.

Born Diane Hall, the L.A. native landed her first major roles in Broadway productions like "Hair" and Woody Allen's "Play it Again, Sam," a role she later reprised on the big screen.

LINDA, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: You always think of baseball players when you're making love?

ELAM (voice over): But it was another Woody Allen romantic comedy that launched her into stardom, "Annie Hall."

ANNIE HALL, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: Oh, why? You got a car?

ELAM (voice over): The 1977 classic was loosely based on her relationship with Allen, and showcased her quirky personality and style.

[18:05:19]

It also earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

DIANE KEATON, ACTRESS: "Annie Hall" gave me everything. "Annie Hall" gave me the opportunity to do all the things that I've been privileged to do.

ELAM (voice over): She was Allen's muse in several of his other films, including "Interiors" and "Manhattan."

MARY WILKIE FICTIONAL CHARACTER: You know, you've got a good sense of humor.

ELAM (voice over): Keaton made her mark in dramas as well. She played Kay Adams, the wife of mob boss, Michael Corleone, in the iconic "Godfather" films.

KAY ADAMS-CORLEONE, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: There would be no way, Michael, no way you could ever forgive me.

KEATON: I think that she was not a typical mafia wife. That's the problem. She didn't fit. She was the wrong fit.

And I thought that that was what was interesting about my part. I remember always the door being shut in my face.

ELAM (voice over): Keaton also gave a powerful performance in the dark, violent, "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and earned Oscar nominations for her work with then boyfriend, Warren Beatty in "Reds" and opposite Meryl Streep in the family drama, "Marvin's Room."

BESSIE, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: God, are you that old?

ELAM (voice over): Keaton turned to lighter fare in later years, starring in comedies like "Father of the Bride," "The First Wives Club" and Something's Gotta Give."

ERICA BARRY, FICTIONAL CHARACTER: I knew that I was still in love with you.

ELAM (voice over): Off screen, Keaton's attire generated buzz and made her a fashion icon and influencer. Her self-styled gender bending wardrobe first grabbed attention in "Annie Hall" and often featured men's ties, suits, vests, thick belts and hats.

And while she had relationships with a few of her famous co-stars, Keaton never married. She did adopt two children in her 50s, and in addition to acting, directed T.V. shows, wrote bestselling memoirs, and pursued her passions of photography and preserving historic buildings.

Diane Keaton, a Hollywood original who brought her unique, unconventional style to a host of unforgettable roles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: One of the things that she is quoted as saying has stuck with me. She said, "What is perfection anyway? It is the death of creativity."

Let's bring in an entertainment journalist, Brian Balthazar.

Thank you so much for being here.

Brian, there are so many people reacting to this, from Bette Midler to people you don't know anything about who just loved her so much. All of the things that she was in, all of the roles that she played, she did so exquisitely. Was there any sign that she was sick? Was there was there any reporting that she was having health issues? Because a lot of us sit here with our jaw dropped, just surprised to hear that she has passed away.

BRIAN BALTHAZAR, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Right. This is something we haven't heard about. You said that yourself. We haven't seen her publicly photographed since 2024. So that's possibly our first inclination that maybe she hadn't been well, although not being photographed and not being out in public can be two different things. But we didn't have any clear indication that she was having health problems. So that led to this feeling of alarm and shock that someone so treasured by so many of us seemingly is gone so suddenly. But we don't know yet from those people close to her what she was really going through in the past year.

SIDNER: Yes, I mean, can you talk a little bit about her impact on American society? Never mind in Hollywood and all of these roles that she played that many of us can really kick off, I mean, very quickly, no matter what age you are, too, because she is, you know, in the 70s with "Annie Hall" winning an Oscar and then sort of going on to do things like "First Wives Club." She is just -- she is iconic in all of the roles that she has played.

BALTHAZAR: Right. I think you really hit the nail on the head when you say every generation and really every decade has some really incredibly successful films, that some of them that you mentioned that are due -- their success due in large part because of Diane Keaton.

You have "Annie Hall" in the '70s and "The Godfather" in the '70s. Then you move into the '80s. You had "Baby Boom" and "Reds," the '90s, then escorted in "Father of the Bride" and "The First Wives Club," and then we had the 2000s with "Something's Gotta Give" and "The Family Stone" -- and I think the common thread obviously here is Diane Keaton, and I think what is so important to note is she brought an authentic individuality to her roles, and it was rooted in joy both on screen and off.

And I think that that's what we are all attracted to, the joy that we saw in her interviews and in her red carpet and press appearances, and I was fortunate enough to interview her in 2014, there was a joy that comes through on the screen, but it was also the joy that was in the room, and I think she also defied expectations, I should say, of what a leading lady could be.

You know, she was not like every other actress on screen. She had an intelligence and an awkwardness, a little bit of vulnerability and humor, but also a strength and a really unique -- and you mentioned it earlier, the sense of style.

[18:10:16]

"Annie Hall" obviously was inspired by her, but she also used a lot of her own clothes now. Now, they tweaked them a little bit for the screen, but that sparked a fashion revolution in its own right. Women did not look at menswear the same way after seeing Diane Keaton wear it on screen and off.

SIDNER Yes, and we are looking at some of the pictures of her wearing her tie, her signature sort of look, and she just looks so good in it. She is also one of the actresses who sort of aged gracefully, didn't do a whole lot, always looked absolutely herself, but didn't -- seemed to sort of defied age in some ways by being, you know, quite natural, in the way that she looked. And a lot of people look to her, because of that.

Brian, thank you so much. I know you got to spend a little bit of time interviewing her, and lucky you, because she truly will be missed.

More on her death right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:55]

SIDNER: Breaking news, just in to CNN: Oscar-winning actress, Diane Keaton has died. She was 79 years old.

She was known as the "La-di-da Dame of Hollywood." Her captivating style and her iconic comedic timing had us all laughing and sometimes crying. Julia Vargas Jones is here with us now from Los Angeles.

What do we know about what happened here? Because I think for many of us, we had no idea that she may have been sick or was this something that even surprised her family?

What are you learning about what happened to her?

JONES: Well, there were definitely no hints or any kind of -- anything that would have let us know ahead of time -- in her social media and her recent appearances that would hint at some kind of illness. What we do know, Sara, is that the Los Angeles Fire Department received a call for her residence here in West Los Angeles early this morning, and then from there, paramedics took one person to an area hospital.

Now, both her representatives and the Los Angeles Police Department did not answer any questions and referred us to the Medical Examiner, who said there is still no record of her death, but we did speak to a producer who had been working with Keaton in recent years, and she did confirm her passing to CNN. Her passing was first reported by "People" Magazine. We will be sure to keep you posted on more details as we learn them -- Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much for your reporting on this.

Joining us now is executive editor for "Deadline Hollywood," Dominic Patten. Thank you for being here oh -- we now have Michael Musto. My bad!

Let's go to Michael.

Michael, can you give us any sense of what you knew or what we didn't know about Diane Keaton and the fact that she is gone at 79, I mean, it has just thrown us all for a loop here because most of us thought everything was just fine.

MICHAEL MUSTO, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST (via phone): I agree. I never thought I would see this day and she seemed to be the kind of star that would last forever. Fortunately, her work is lasting forever. That's for sure.

She emerged as a very quirky, likable star. "Annie Hall" was the big movie with Woody Allen. She won an Academy Award as an eccentric, neurotic, but lovable (INAUDIBLE). But she is also a terrific singer. And Diane, through the years, expanded and showed that she could also be a dramatic actress and did very well at that.

And as she matured, she refused to be discarded by Hollywood. She would come up with new things like "First Wives Club" about women who were discarded by their husband, or the movie "Tom," a few years ago, where she goes to the assisted living community because she is terminally ill -- but that's what I am talking about.

And, she always did well. She always opened doors, had tremendous range, but really suggested an accessibility and a likability.

SIDNER: You know what is funny about her, the sort of likability is that in her 2014 book, she talked about, you know, being liked and she actually wasn't a person that was after that. She said that she liked women who were inappropriate, women who do not want to do what they are supposed to do, that's the point, she said, why try to appeal to everyone? And yet she did, not only with her sense of humor, her sense of drama, but her sense of style.

I mean, how much influence has she had in the American zeitgeist, if you will?

MUSTO: You really nailed her appeal there because the marched in her drum and in the process became an accessible star that everyone wanted to be like. I want to be quirky, and when they mean quirky. She had a tremendous career and so many sides to her talent, and she has doors.

She opened doors for women at every age of her career.

[18:20:10]

She showed that you don't have to only do comedy, you can do drama. You don't have to only play young, you can play all kinds of roles.

SIDNER: Yes.

MUSTO: And did it her own way. I mean, nobody dressed like her. She was even more extraordinary than the character of "Annie Hall." She was somebody that everyone who saw her in a film just wanted to embrace. We just love her. I can't believe I never got to meet Diane Keaton and I never will.

SIDNER: Yes, I think a lot of us feel that way, but you know, she has left behind an incredibly rich body of work that we can all go -- I am going to go and watch "First Wives Club." And I am going to watch it and probably have a few tears because, I am just really thrown by this that she is gone from this world, but her work will last forever.

Michael Musto, thank you so much for talking us through that. We will have much more on this story throughout the evening, and we will be right back.

A reminder, our breaking news: Diane Keaton has died at the age of 79.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:25:43]

SIDNER: We've got some breaking news for you out of Israel.

The country's hostage coordinator has sent a text message to the families of the 48 hostages being held by Hamas, saying their release will begin on Monday morning. Their return is part of the U.S.- brokered ceasefire deal for Gaza.

Tens of thousands of people gathered tonight in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv -- excuse me -- to celebrate the long awaited deal.

You see those incredible pictures there? U.S. Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff spoke, praising the leadership of President Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: Through heartbreak and fear, you never let go of the faith. Your courage and endurance inspired the world and it was your belief joined with the bold leadership of my friend and President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, that made this peace possible.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: And in Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians are beginning to return to what is left of their homes, most of them in ruins. After two years of brutal Israeli bombardment, many people are being greeted only by ruin.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has the very latest from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: There is a tremendous sense of anticipation here after two years of war, the return of the remaining hostages held in Gaza. Forty-eight hostages set to be released, 20 of whom are believed to be alive as we expect to see the first phase of the ceasefire agreement under President Donald Trump's 20-point proposal play out over the course of the next 48 hours or so.

The deadline for Hamas to release the remaining hostages is Monday at noon, but the timing remains unclear whether it happens on Sunday afternoon or overnight Sunday into Monday, that has yet to be determined.

But still, the anticipation here, we saw that and we felt it in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv throughout the day on Saturday. In the morning, there was a crowd of hundreds that were determined to be there and be together. Strangers coming together effectively as a family, waiting for the remaining hostages to come home and showing strength in a place that for so long, Hostages Square has been a location of mourning, desperation and anger. A very different feeling there and as it got into Saturday evening, we saw thousands, hundreds of thousands according to the hostages and Missing Families Forum packed the square and the surrounding streets.

U.S. Envoy, Steve Witkoff was there and spoke, as did President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Every time they mentioned Trump, there was a loud and boisterous applause, a sense of thanks that you could very much feel for the person they view as making this happen, as pushing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come to this agreement to sign the cease fire, to end the war, and to bring the remaining hostages home.

When Witkoff tried to mention Netanyahu, a very different reaction, boos across the crowd, loud and for quite some time here, until Witkoff was able to calm the crowd and move on and say he was a part of making this moment happen.

Now, the question when does this begin to play out? And that's what we are still waiting to see. After we see Hamas release the remaining hostages, again, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, 28 of whom are deceased, we will see at some point after that, Israel release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Palestinians detained since the beginning of the war.

In preparation for that, Israel has already begun to move Palestinian prisoners to locations and prisons in Southern Israel, from which they will be released, and a number of them will be deported.

The release of hostages, prisoners and detainees is the crucial first phase of this ceasefire agreement. After that comes the second phase, and that includes the International Security Force that is supposed to move into Gaza. The disarmament of Hamas, as well as the rebuilding of Gaza.

But the details to make that happen, crucially, have yet to be worked out and those will be very difficult negotiations that have to be held in the days ahead.

Oren Liebermann, CNN in Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: And just to remind you that were hearing from an Israeli hostage coordinator who sent messages to the families saying that they expect the release of the hostages to begin on Monday morning.

[18:30:38]

We are joined now by CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein.

Thank you so much for being here.

RONALD BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Sara.

SIDNER: Look, there -- there is a -- a great deal of jubilation after so much sorrow in both Gaza and in Israel. The Palestinians celebrating not having being rained down -- having bombs rained down on them, and the -- and the Israelis celebrating hoping to see their loved ones again and, of course, the end of this war. I am curious from hearing from Oren, who says, look, in that crowd you heard cheers for Donald Trump and you heard boos for Prime Minister Netanyahu by the crowd in Hostage Square. How -- how is this all playing out politically for the two men?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, well, look, I mean, each stage of this, as Oren noted, is going to get more difficult. But it's an undeniable achievement to get to this point for President Trump. And, you know, one thing you can say about President Trump, whatever else you might say, is he does understand the leverage that the U.S. brings into any negotiation. Now, sometimes he applies that leverage for questionable goals, like starting trade wars with our allies. But here he used it to pressure really more to bully than to cajole both sides toward reaching an agreement.

I mean, he gave Netanyahu a lot of rope during the first months of the second Trump presidency to rain a lot of destruction on Gaza and to impose a lot of suffering with the -- the aid cutoffs. But in the end, he was willing to push him more forcefully than we saw under Joe Biden, ultimately, to get this deal. And I think this success in many ways underlines the failure of Biden, who was handcuffed by his historic kind of affinity for the Israel of Golda Meir and maybe his concern about the role of the Israeli lobby in the U.S. to demand, to kind of act like the superpower and put the level of pressure on Netanyahu that Trump ultimately seemed to have done.

SIDNER: I'm curious of the -- if you think this will be seen in the United States, sort of a President Ronald Reagan moment when he told Gorbachev to tear down this wall because this war has raged on for so long. Is that how you think it will play here in the United States?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I don't think it's of that historic -- world historic magnitude of, you know, kind of the end of the Cold War that had defined international relations for four decades. But I think it is it is an important moment. It's just kind of a reminder, you know, that, as I say, Trump really does not accept limits on American power. And sometimes that raises real questions both at home and abroad, you know, whether it's the trade wars that he is launching or the way in which he is really trying to undermine constitutional safeguards in the U.S. and deploy the National Guard into cities.

But at times in international diplomacy, it can be kind of a wrecking ball level weapon. And, you know, here he was willing, it looks, you know, from all indications, he was willing to do what Joe Biden would not, which is put the full leverage of the U.S. relationship on -- on the table and pressuring Netanyahu.

Sara, you remember the famous story when Bill Clinton had his first meeting with Netanyahu, which would have been three decades ago, to give you a -- yes, of how long he's been a critical figure here.

SIDNER: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: Clinton supposedly emerged from the meeting and said, who's the blanking (ph) superpower here? And I think, you know, Trump reminded Netanyahu and -- and Hamas of that and ultimately got a result.

SIDNER: You're talking about something else that -- that President Biden would not do, and that has to do with what is happening here at home. You have mentioned some of it, sending troops to cities ...

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SIDNER: ... after saying that they were purposely going to send in the Trump administration to Democratically run cities. How -- how is that playing with the American public?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I mean, as I said, I mean, Trump does not -- I mean, a core unifying theme of the second Trump presidency is the attempt to expand presidential power in all directions internationally and domestically. And you know, in court, they are asserting that judges cannot review his decisions on whether the conditions are meant to federalize the National Guard in a state or to deploy the National Guard from another state into, you know, a second jurisdiction.

They are asserting essentially unlimited power. So far, the lower courts have rejected that. And it is unnerving the public to an increasing extent. We have two polls recently where about 60 percent of Americans say they -- including two thirds of independent voters, say they oppose his deployments of the National Guard into -- into cities. And, you know, you have this -- you have judges, including in Illinois, basically now saying that what the administration seems to be doing is trying to provoke a confrontation that will justify a further crackdown.

[18:35:01]

I mean, these are very serious and ominous moments beyond the legal questions.

SIDNER: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: I mean, there is just simply -- you know, this is so far out of the tradition in American history, limiting the domestic use of the military to the most rare and egregious circumstances. He clearly is trying to numb Americans to the sight of armored troops on the streets of big cities, particularly those run by Democrats.

SIDNER: Yes. Right now, the -- the courts are -- the staving some of this off in Chicago and in Portland. But the -- the administration, Trump himself, sort of talking about the Insurrection Act and that had raised more than just eyebrows. A lot of people concerned about that kind of language.

I do want to talk to you quickly about the government shutdown.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SIDNER: We're -- we're now in day 11. You know, paychecks will -- will not be going out for hundreds of thousands of federal workers. And the Trump administration has now begun the layoffs that Trump promised, the --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SIDNER: -- the permanent firings of some federal workers. What do you think about how Democrats deal with this? Do -- do they need to rethink the strategy that -- that they employ?

BROWNSTEIN: By the way, it is possible the Supreme Court will agree with the Trump argument that the courts can't review his -- his declarations, in effect.

SIDNER: That's interesting.

BROWNSTEIN: Taking over the -- taking over the -- the National Guard, in which case this -- this could, you know, go much further or faster. On the -- on the shutdown, I think Democrats feel like they are on strong ground, you know, and I don't think that layoffs are going to -- are going to change them.

I mean, you know, we are at a point where the Democratic image is probably at the lowest ebb since the late 1980s and early 1990s.

SIDNER: Yes, but one issue on which the public still says more people say they trust Democrats than Republicans is health care. And in particular, these subsidies and under the Affordable Care Act that were increased during the COVID pandemic are allowing over 20 million people to get health care. And more of them are in Republican districts, Republican health house districts than in Democratic districts. And a lot of these are lower middle income working white people, often without a college degree, who have become the cornerstone of the modern Republican coalition.

So, you know, there are a lot of Republicans who are conflicted about this. You have -- you have fiscal conservatives who don't want -- want to let these subsidies expire, who still want to go after the Affordable Care Act. And then, you have others who recognize that it's their own voters who are on the firing line.

So, I think Democrats feel that they are driving a wedge. And I don't see them backing down anytime soon, although all shutdowns eventually have to end.

SIDNER: Yep. They well know, as do Republicans, that the notices of the increase of premiums are going out ...

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SIDNER: ... and they will be in the hands of Americans shortly as signups happen in November 1st. So, people will be seeing the result of not having ...

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SIDNER: ... this sorted out. And -- and that could cause some real issues for the Republicans and --

BROWNSTEIN: And they're big.

SIDNER: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: Oh, it's big. It's big premium increases. I mean, this is ...

SIDNER: Right.

BROWNSTEIN: ... this is a lot of money. And it -- and this is on top of the big cuts in Medicaid that ...

SIDNER: Right.

BROWNSTEIN: ... that they made in the One Big Beautiful Bill, which also hit a lot of Republican constituencies. Democrats clearly see health care as a centerpiece of their argument for 2026, that in essence, you elected Trump to solve your cost-of-living problems. He's only made them worse with his tariffs and his health care cuts. And what he's really done is enrich his rich friends.

So, this is kind of advancing the core argument they want to make in 26. So, I -- I think they're going to stick with it for, you know, for -- for a while, but all shutdowns do end and they will have to find kind of a way off the ledge to some kind of negotiation that will allow them to reopen the government.

SIDNER: Yes. There's a lot of people being hurt during the shutdown, of course, and a lot of worries about air traffic controllers, et cetera. So, Ron Brownstein, what I am not worried about is your expertise. You've got the numbers. You are always with your finger on the pulse and I do appreciate you coming on, on a Saturday. Appreciate you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

SIDNER: All right. New details tonight about the Justice Department's efforts to prosecute former Trump advisor John Bolton months after the FBI searched his home and office.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:43:39]

SIDNER: We've got some new information for you tonight. A source tonight telling CNN federal prosecutors are meeting this weekend to finalize a potential indictment against John Bolton. Bolton served as national security advisor during Trump's first term and has since been a frequent critic of the president. CNN has reported that prosecutors had previously pushed back on pursuing an indictment against him, arguing they needed more time to firm up a case.

We're joined now by defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Shan Wu.

Shan, we all remember seeing the images of the FBI going in to his home and --- and to his business or his office. Now, we're seeing this sort of statement that they needed more time to -- to firm up a case. Is that -- is that normal?

SHAN WU, LEGAL ANALYST: Oh, yes. That -- that is normal to take more time. A case like this, high profile, high stakes, possibly involving classified information, you would want all your ducks in a row before you bring it forward. Now, they may have said more time here because they're being pressured to hurry up and bring it as part of what appears to be, you know, President Trump's campaign against enemies.

But I will note a distinction between prosecutors saying they need more time versus in some other cases where they said, hey, we're not doing it, there's no evidence here. So that's a very important distinction, not a good one for Mr. Bolton.

[18:45:03]

SIDNER: What does it tell you -- multiple sources telling CNN that the Bolton case is viewed by prosecutors as different than the case against Jim Comey, the former FBI director, and Letitia James, the New York A.G.? Which, of course, you know, Trump very publicly pushed his DOJ with Pam Bondi at the helm to go after them. Is there a difference in your mind that you see between these cases?

WU: Well, it's hard to say until we see what the evidence is going to be in the case, of course. But given that they did execute the warrants, if you look for things, the search warrants, and those had to go through a judge, had to be some organized way of presenting what the concern was, what was the probable cause.

So, if you just look at that, it does seem that there's more there there in -- in this case. And, of course, you know, very serious charges if they involve ...

SIDNER: Yes.

WU: ... mishandling classified information and such. But at least just on the surface, it looks like there might be a bit more substance. And certainly, at least some of it's been previewed by a judge already for the probable cause, much lower standard, of course, for the search warrant.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, it is interesting when you're talking about mishandling of classified documents because of what was found in Mar- a-Lago at the hands of Donald Trump, right? I mean, this is one of those things, a case that could have gone forward and -- and hasn't gone anywhere, and now we're seeing this. Any thoughts on -- on that?

WU: Well, there's certainly a lot of irony in that, it sort of seems like the Trump administration wants to charge people with similar things that the President once charge with. I mean, Letitia James with the bank fraud, you know, here with Bolton with maybe mishandling classified information.

I think what will be important to see is just how much it involves actually retaining information. And if that's the case, I'd be looking for a selective prosecution. Dismissal motion is coming from his defense team saying, hey, unlike President Trump, he was not given numerous instances, letters from the archivist saying, hey, return the information. There wasn't any attempt to sort of work this out before having the search warrant on his house and now bringing the charges.

To that extent, if that's what's going on there for the Trump DOJ, it may end up only reminding people what happened in Mar-a-Lago rather than kind of distracting them from what happened there. But we really have to see what the evidence is ...

SIDNER: Right.

WU: ... you know, potentially very serious charges and also potentially very good defenses.

SIDNER: Yes. We will, like you said, have to wait and see reserve judgment until you see the evidence, which is the most important thing in any case.

Shan Wu, it is a pleasure. Thank you for taking your Saturday night to hang out with me a little bit and talk through these important issues. Appreciate it.

WU: Anytime. Good to see you.

SIDNER: All right. Still to come, gold rush. The metal is seeing an unprecedented jump in value, hitting its highest prices since the 1970s. What the rapid rise tells us about gold's role as a political and economic bellwether.

And we've got breaking news, more and more reaction pouring in tonight as Hollywood is responding to the death of iconic actress Diane Keaton. What we know about her passing coming up.

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[18:53:03]

SIDNER: The price of gold going bonkers. It's crossed $4,000 an ounce for the first time ever and sits at $4,035.50 after yesterday's close. We want to be exact here on NEWSROOM. That's not just making headlines around the world but has people everywhere thinking about investing. And it's also got many others rummaging through grandma's old jewelry to see if they might want to sell it. Y'all are wrong for that.

David Uberti from the Wall Street Journal joins us now.

David, this really is different than a typical sort of rally that we see on Wall Street. This isn't a situation where traders are sort of putting on their party hats. Why is that? Because when you see something go up like that, you think, oh, well, that's a -- that's a great thing. We should invest maybe in it or should have, you know, back in November of 2024. What does the -- the rise of the price in gold tell us about the economy?

DAVID UBERTI, WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER: Well, it's definitely flashing a warning signal of sorts. If you look at gold, investors like gold because it sort of retains its value over the course of time despite what happens in terms of uncertainty around the economy and political instability. And if you look over history, the times when gold has really surged in value have been times of crisis. So, you have 1979 when there was an inflationary shock, 2008 with a great financial crisis, and of course, 2020 with COVID as well.

What's unusual now is that we've had this -- this huge surge in 2025, but there is no financial meltdown. The stock -- the stock market is at records. The economy is not in a recession. So that's really puzzling a lot of investors on Wall Street on why that's happening. And it all really amounts to inflation and the lack of trust that governments around the world will be able to tame it.

SIDNER: Yes, I mean, I lived in India in -- in 2011, and I remember seeing -- because outside of every Indian jewelry store, it tells you the price when you go in to buy jewelry.

[18:55:02]

And it was like $1,600 an ounce. And I thought that was expensive. Now we're talking $4,000. I am curious about the -- the -- the uncertainty that you speak of here and some of that uncertainty coming because of President Trump and tariffs. He just decided to do another one on -- on China yesterday. But gold has been going up for the past three years or so before President Trump came into office. What -- what are the big picture reasons that we're seeing this go up like this? And at the same time, the stock market here in the United States is doing just fine.

UBERTI: Right. Certainly, a weird array of factors contributing to this. So, since 2022, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a lot of central banks around the world really started ramping up their gold purchases. The thinking being the U.S. and -- and -- and Western countries really unleash an array of sanctions against the Russian economy. If you're a separate country around the world, gold can give you a store of value that's not tied to the U.S. financial system. So, it's sort of a hedge in that respect.

More recently, earlier this year, with the trade wars in -- in April, the U.S. dollar took a huge hit. And that was very positive for gold. People around the world were very uncertain about whether the U.S. dollar would maintain its value. And then more recently, since August in particular, there's been a lot of uncertainty around whether the Federal Reserve in Washington and also other central banks in places like Japan, for example, can -- can really get inflation under control over the course of time. And what's more, whether elected officials in those countries will care whether those central banks will be able to get inflation under control.

Now, you made a good point about the stock market being at records, which is what's very weird about this entire situation. We have on the one hand this sort of manic, speculative, AI-crazed stock market. It's just broken record after record after record this year. But you also see investors want to hedge against the risk of all of that coming, crashing down. And one way they could do that is through buying things like debt, U.S. government treasuries. The other way that they're increasingly doing so is through gold. So,

if you have distrust in the U.S. government, if you have distrust in central banks' ability to tame inflation, you might bet on gold as opposed to other types of assets to really -- as a form of insurance, more or less.

SIDNER: Yes, it's fascinating to -- to look at the markets and what is happening. Some of it just doesn't seem to make sense, but maybe we will figure it all out at some point.

David Uberti, thank you so much for your expertise.

UBERTI: Thanks for having me.

SIDNER: Straight ahead, the death of Diane Keaton, sending shockwaves through Hollywood and beyond tonight. Reaction to her surprising death.

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