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NATO Defense Ministers Tackle the End of Russia-Ukraine War as the Ukrainian President Heads to the White House for Tomahawk Missile Requests; Trump Warns Hamas After Delaying the Release of some Dead Hostages; CNN Investigates Scammers Stealing Millions Using Crypto ATMs from Unsuspecting Americans. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 15, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead.

NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss their next steps in trying to end Russia's war with Ukraine.

Anger and frustration is building against Hamas as the militants have yet to hand over many of the deceased hostages still held in Gaza.

And a CNN investigation on how scammers are using ATMs to steal millions in cryptocurrency from unsuspecting Americans.

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

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us.

And we begin in Brussels where a meeting between NATO defense ministers is getting underway. Discussions are expected to center around the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also in attendance. The NATO Secretary General says the supply of weapons to Ukraine is on the agenda.

Now, this comes as the White House prepares to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday. Donald Trump says he already knows the Tomahawk missiles will be at the top of the Ukrainian President's agenda. Mr. Trump recently floated the idea of sending Tomahawks to Kyiv if President Putin refuses to end the war, which would allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia.

CNN's Clare Sebastian is following all the developments from London. We'll go to her in just a moment. I think she might be set up if I can just have someone let me know.

So Clare, what is the latest on this meeting and what's expected to come out of it? CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Rosemary. We've

been watching the NATO defense ministers coming into the meeting in Brussels this morning. I will say I was at this same meeting about seven months ago back in February when we saw a lot of turmoil when the U.S. Defense Secretary, now of course he's the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, came in and seemed to offer up a lot of Russia's key demands in the war, saying that there would be no NATO membership for Ukraine as part of a peace settlement, saying that it was unrealistic to expect Ukraine to win back its lost territory.

I think this is a very different atmosphere going into this meeting. We heard from Pete Hegseth just now speaking alongside the NATO Secretary General, saying that, you know, there was a historic summit several months ago when the NATO allies committed to spending 5 percent of GDP on defense, and praising all of that and talking about the momentum from what just happened with the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza.

Take a listen to Pete Hegseth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Also want to thank President Trump and you personally again, and of course the whole American leadership team for the fact that when it comes to Ukraine, you decided to again make sure that they have what they need from the U.S., paid for by allies, and that program is now running. Two billion committed so far, and today I expect many new announcements of countries who will participate.

So, all in all, we are making great progress. Again, thank you so much, Pete, for everything you are doing.

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Mark. It's great to see you. Great to be here.

And Mark mentioned it, firepower. That's what is coming, we expect it is coming from NATO. And it was a historic summit just a couple of months ago, brought about by the leadership of President Trump to say we need our allies to step up, and they did, and they have in those commitments.

Now those commitments will soon translate into capabilities, which is the most important aspect of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, look, I think going into this, we are seeing a united front from NATO, but there are certainly challenges. There are concerns that the level of NATO support has been dropping to Ukraine. There was a report from the Kiel Institute, which tracks Ukraine aid that said that it dropped sharply over the summer.

The Secretary General, Mark Rutte, has denied that going into the meeting. There's of course also the issue of the drone and jet incursions that we've seen going into NATO airspace and how NATO is going to respond to this going forward. The Dutch Defense Minister going in said, look, we were proud that our F-35s were used to help shoot down those drones over Poland, but of course it's not realistic to keep using F-35s on much cheaper Russian drones.

[03:05:01]

So, there's going to be talk of the technology around that, and interestingly as well, a lot of questions going into this about whether the U.S. should send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. This has been a big debate. Certainly we expect it to be on the table when Trump and Zelenskyy meet in Washington on Friday, and we've heard some support for that.

The Dutch Defense Minister said that they would support that. The Lithuanian Defense Minister also. I think this is a sign to NATO allies that perhaps the U.S. is now willing to really get tough on Russia, and I think that's why they're hoping to build on this momentum at this meeting today.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Clare Sebastian, bringing us that live report from London. I appreciate it.

U.S. President Donald Trump says phase two of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is now beginning, even as major questions remain about the path forward in Gaza. An Israeli source says negotiations on critical next stages in the agreement are still ongoing in Egypt.

In a social media post, the U.S. President also said the job from phase one is not done, as Hamas is yet to release all the deceased hostages. When asked if Hamas is holding up its end of the deal, President Trump said, we'll find out, and issued this warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: If they don't disarm, we will disarm them, and it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently. But they will disarm. Do you understand me?

Because you always, everyone says, oh, well, they won't disarm. They will disarm. And I spoke to Hamas, and I said, you're going to disarm, right? Yes, sir, we're going to disarm.

That's what they told me. They will disarm, or we will disarm them. Got it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Hamas has so far released just eight of the 28 deceased hostages held in Gaza, and we're now learning that the families of three of those hostages have just released their names. Uriel Baruch, Eitan Levy, and Tamir Nimrodi were returned to Israel late Tuesday alongside another deceased hostage who is yet to be named.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is following all the developments from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The bodies of four more hostages are now back on Israeli soil after Hamas handed them over to the Red Cross late Tuesday night. You can see in this video from inside of the Gaza Strip these Red Cross vehicles arriving at some kind of Hamas building where the bodies were indeed handed over. This now makes eight bodies total that Hamas has handed over to the Red Cross.

From there, they were handed over to Israeli forces inside of the Gaza Strip and then made their way into Israel, where they will undergo forensic analysis at Israel's National Forensic Institute. The primary purpose of that, to confirm that the bodies are indeed those of the hostages that Hamas claims them to be.

But despite the handover of these additional bodies, there are still 20 bodies being held by Hamas inside of Gaza, and that's why we've been seeing the families of some of these deceased hostages going public and making clear that the fight for the hostages is not over yet until all of those bodies are handed over, calling on the United States, calling on Israel to ensure that Hamas is held to its end of the bargain. And amid those calls, we've heard from President Trump directly in a Truth Social post saying that while a big burden has been lifted, the job is not done. He says the dead have not been returned as promised.

Now, given the slow pace of Hamas handing over these bodies, the Israeli government seems to be planning to take action now. Israeli authorities informing the United Nations that aid shipments into the Gaza Strip will be reduced or delayed as a result of not all of the bodies having been handed over yet.

In addition to that, Israel's security establishment recommending that Israel not open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Wednesday, as previously scheduled, seemingly in retaliation for Hamas not returning more bodies of hostages. And all of this is a reminder of just how fragile this ceasefire agreement actually is.

And that's before we even start talking about the next phases of this agreement, which we are told are currently being negotiated in Egypt as we speak. Those next parts of the agreement, of course, revolve around everything from Hamas disarming, Hamas handing over power in Gaza to a transitional authority, and of course, the Israeli military withdrawing from the rest of the Gaza Strip, ensuring that this end to the war in Gaza, as President Trump has said it is, actually sticks in the long term.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Argentina's president leaves the White House with a $20 billion commitment, but the money comes with strings attached. The conditions set by President Trump. We'll take a look at that just ahead.

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CHURCH: Donald Trump says a $20 billion lifeline for Argentina is contingent on President Javier Milei staying in power. They met at the White House on Tuesday.

The currency swap or bailout comes in the middle of the U.S. government shutdown and budget cuts from the Trump administration. Here's how the U.S. President defended the decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What's the benefit for United States in helping this way Argentina?

TRUMP: Just helping a great philosophy take over a great country.

[03:15:00]

If the President doesn't win, I know the person that he'd be running against, I believe, probably. We probably have the person.

A person is extremely far-left and a philosophy that got Argentina into this problem in the first place.

So we would not be generous with Argentina if that happened. If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Inflation has eased in Argentina as President Milei has slashed government spending, cut regulations and fired tens of thousands of public sector workers. He posted on social media, "The situation is crystal clear: If the country were to stray from the path of the ideas of freedom to return to populism, the United States would stop supporting our country."

Well, there's growing confusion over the number of federal employees being furloughed as a result of the U.S. government shutdown now in its third week. New court filings reveal that hundreds of workers were mistakenly sent layoff notices, some of which have been rescinded. But as the shutdown drags on, more jobs are on the line.

Michael Yoshida has the latest on the impacts.

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MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem appearing in a Transportation Security Administration video intended to be played at airport security lines.

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government. And because of this, many of our operations are impacted and most of our TSA employees are working without pay. YOSHIDA (voice-over): Multiple U.S. airports now refusing to play the

video, citing the political nature of the message. The shutdown blame game on full display, fear of not getting a paycheck, forcing some military families to seek assistance at a Texas food pantry.

UNKNOWN: We're only two and we're struggling, so I can't imagine what families with more people are struggling with.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): Over the weekend, President Donald Trump posted the administration had, quote, "identified funds to pay troops if the shutdown continued." Tuesday, DHS said the Coast Guard would also get paid, saying the money would come from the tax and spending cuts bill passed by Congress over the summer. Democrats, meanwhile, holding firm, pushing for an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies to keep health care costs from skyrocketing.

REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): Of course I want our military paid. Of course I want federal law enforcement officers to be paid. There's a way to do that.

I'm an appropriator. We should have passed appropriations bills. There's a way to run a government, and this is not the way to run a government.

YOSHIDA (voice-over): Last week, thousands of federal workers across seven agencies received layoff notices. Tuesday, the White House Budget Office said it was prepared to ride out the shutdown with more layoffs. Each day, the stakes rising, with no indication any progress is being made between Democrats and Republicans.

In Washington, Michael Yoshida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining us now is Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia and co-author of "Campaign of Chaos - Trump, Biden, Harris and the 2024 American Election." Good to have you with us.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA-CENTER FOR POLITICS: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Larry, more than two weeks into the government shutdown and after thousands of federal workers have been fired and millions of government workers are going without pay, President Trump has announced a $20 billion bailout for Argentina. Democrats accusing the President of using taxpayer money to help another country while the U.S. is shut down and Americans are hurting. What's going on here?

SABATO: Well, the Democrats are trying to get an edge on Trump and the Republicans by pointing out that Argentina is getting a $20 billion loan. And in fact the Middle East peace agreement that the U.S. has been right in the middle of has also cost Americans quite a bit of tax money. So they're trying to point out that there's plenty of money for Trump's pet projects abroad. But the major peace deal ought to be here in America. He ought to be

bringing the two parties together to settle what is already the sixth longest shutdown. And we've had over 20 of them just in recent years.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, Speaker Johnson says this will be one of the longest shutdowns ever now into its 15th day. The longest was 35 days, and that was under Trump as well, wasn't it?

So what happens if it takes another week or two, perhaps, to fix this? What are the likely consequences for this country?

SABATO: The consequences will be felt by just about anybody who's traveling, for example. There are going to be lots of flight cancellations. There may be unexpected cancellations while you're at the airport because air traffic controllers may be calling in sick, TSA agents may be calling in sick.

And another excellent example, I think, one of the laid off workers said, I understand what's going on, I understand why I can't get my paychecks as I usually do. But am I supposed to go to my landlord and give him an IOU? Am I supposed to send in an IOU to my insurance agent?

And on and on. Of course, they don't accept IOUs.

[03:20:06]

And Larry, we are already seeing cracks in the Trump base with Marjorie Taylor Greene calling Republican men weak, scared to stand up to Trump on the shutdown. She stands with the Democrats on this fight and on calls for the release of the Epstein files. What impact might all this have long term, particularly on the midterms next year?

SABATO: Marjorie Taylor Greene is a very interesting case. And I've heard Democrats in her district joke because they can't possibly get a Democrat elected in that heavily Republican district that they may nominate Marjorie Taylor Greene.

She's clearly moved away from Trump. I don't know for how long, but she has been criticizing him and criticizing conservative Republicans, male conservative Republicans. She's got a point, by the way.

Very few women are in leadership positions in the House. Dramatic change there because even Republicans and certainly Democrats have had dozens of women in major positions. And that has faded away under this current speaker.

CHURCH: And Larry, you touched on the airports at breaking point, putting air travel at risk. Who will the American voters blame for this shutdown as it increasingly hurts more and more people?

SABATO: Both parties have to be careful every day what they say and who they put out front to deliver the message, because it can change the public's evaluation at any time. But pretty consistently so far, Americans have been disproportionately blaming Trump and the Republican leaders in Congress. Now, that doesn't mean nobody's blaming Democrats, a good quarter or so of the public blames Democrats primarily for the shutdown.

And there's also almost a third who say we blame both sides or we don't know who to blame. We just want it to end and there'll be more of that, I suspect that percentage will also grow with time.

CHURCH: Larry Sabato, always good to have you with us. I appreciate your perspective and analysis.

SABATO: I enjoyed it, Rosemary. Thank you.

CHURCH: Hundreds of communities in Mexico have been cut off by deadly landslides and widespread flooding. We'll take a closer look at the devastation and how the survivors are coping.

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[03:25:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

NATO defense ministers are meeting in Brussels today to discuss the war in Ukraine. This comes ahead of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the White House on Friday. A request for Tomahawk missiles is expected to be at the top of the Ukrainian President's agenda, the long-range weapons system would allow Kyiv to strike deeper into Russian territory.

Donald Trump said in a social media post phase two of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is now beginning. But the U.S. President also said the job is not done while calling for all deceased hostages in Gaza to be released by Hamas. An Israeli source says negotiations on next stages in the ceasefire deal are still ongoing in Egypt.

Three deceased hostages who were brought back to Israel late Tuesday have been named by their families, they are Uriel Baruch, Tamir Nimrodi and Eitan Levy. The body of another unnamed hostage was also returned, 20 more remain in Gaza. Israel's Prime Minister says his country will spare no effort to bring them all home.

A U.S. military strike has killed six people on board a boat that was allegedly trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela. It's at least the fifth time that President Trump has announced such a strike, which is likely to further inflame regional tensions. CNN's Gustavo Valdes has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The United States military destroyed another alleged narco boat in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people on board. It was President Donald Trump who made the announcement on his social media through social arguing that the vessel was trafficking narcotics and was associated with illicit narco terrorist networks but did not identify a criminal organization.

This would be the fifth known attack in the Caribbean in the past couple of months, killing at least 27 people that we know of. And this is an activity that has been controversial.

[03:29:55]

The White House argues that the United States, the President, has the authority to conduct these attacks because they argue that the United States is in an armed conflict with international organizations. But some, even Republicans in Congress, question this authority.

The attacks have also been criticized by the experts in the United Nations, saying that the attacks go against international law. And the president of Colombia said that in one of those attacks, recent attacks, there were Colombians on board of one of the vessels that were killed, he didn't offer any proof and the White House refuted those accusations.

But this is another example of how President Trump is trying to escalate the attacks against what his administration perceives as a national threat to the United States and also escalate tension in the region. The Venezuelan government has condemned these attacks.

Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Torrential rainfall is triggering landslides and flooding across central and eastern Mexico, cutting off more than 300 communities. The government estimates that at least 64 people have died. CNN's Valeria Leon has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Scenes of destruction as torrential rain and heavy landslide devastate several Mexican states. For thousands, the losses are overwhelming, some impossible to repair.

One of my friends died, Sarahi recalls. There are others we haven't found.

Rescue teams search for those still missing, even inside smashed cars where they hope to recover bodies.

But amid the tragedy, solidarity rises. In Hidalgo, the state with the highest number of people missing, Oscar Vasquez delivers food to his neighbors.

People are very isolated, food is running out, and getting it through these roads has been really difficult.

Access has just been restored to the El Pantano community, situated between two hills left unstable by the rains. Authorities have begun assessing the damage, having already inspected over 4000 homes, one of them belonging to the Hernandez family. LEON: This house was completely destroyed following the intense rains

across central Mexico, killing a woman inside while the family was left with nothing. But members of this community, located in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, now fear that new landslides coming from that cliff could bury their homes.

LEON (voice-over): With danger still looming, Leticia Hernandez, mother of a newborn, prepares to leave.

He's only three months old. Of course I'm scared, she says. We can't handle it yourself, but when you have a baby, you think about them.

In the middle of the emergency, it's mothers who carry the heaviest burden. Maria Angelina lives with her son Fidel, who has a disability.

Honestly, it's scary, she says. It's never rained like this before.

In their small house covered with cardboard, Fidel can barely move on his own.

This house is fragile, and since I can't walk, they couldn't get me out of there. The rains have left him afraid, haunted by the thought of being caught again, but this time, unable to escape.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Hidalgo, Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Now to Chicago, where U.S. Border Patrol agents were involved in a car chase that resulted in multiple crashes and growing anger. Agents were trying to detain someone the Department of Homeland Security said was in the country illegally, and had tried to flee after ramming a Border Patrol vehicle; two people were eventually arrested. Police say the crowd began throwing objects at the agents, who then deployed tear gas.

A Chicago teen told CNN she could barely keep herself together when both of her parents were taken by ICE agents on her 10-year-old brother's birthday. Video showing the confrontation and questioning by ICE agents has gone viral. Yurithsi Enciso and her older brother have been left to care for her younger siblings as they wait for answers on what will happen next.

CNN's Maria Santana has their story.

[03:34:58]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA SANTANA, CNN EN ESPANOL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This video quickly spread across social media. A teenage girl on the side of the road shielding her younger siblings as ICE agents arrest their parents and older brother after a traffic stop in September.

UNKNOWN: Your brother, is he a citizen?

UNKNOWN: We don't answer questions.

YURITHSI ENCISO, PARENTS DETAINED BY ICE: That's all I could say. No other words came out of my mouth. I was not prepared for that.

SANTANA (voice-over): 19-year-old Yurithsi Enciso and her 22-year-old brother Moises Jr. speaking publicly for the first time about that viral moment that they say turned their lives upside down.

Y. ENCISO: My heart was just, it kept pounding, kept pounding. My legs, my legs, my hands kept shaking.

SANTANA (voice-over): She says she was only able to hold it together for her 12-year-old sister and her little brother, who was turning 10 that day.

Y. ENCISO: I didn't want them to see me crying because that was going to affect them more. So I just had to make sure they were calm. It's okay, we're going to be okay.

SANTANA (voice-over): Moises Jr. says that morning he went with his parents to pick up supplies at Home Depot before the family's birthday celebration when they were pulled over for allegedly making an illegal U-turn. He proposed three ICE vehicles blocking them in and agents surrounding their car demanding to see their IDs.

MOISES ENCISO JR., PARENTS DETAINED BY ICE: And they just kept asking us these questions and my dad kept looking back at me and saying like, should I answer? What should I do? And I was kind of like also panicking.

SANTANA (voice-over): Yurithsi and Moises Jr. both are awaiting approval for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival Status, or DACA. Their siblings are U.S. citizens.

According to DHS, their parents, Constantina Ramirez and Moises Enciso Sr., are undocumented Mexican immigrants. They have lived in Cicero, a suburb outside of Chicago, for nearly 20 years, the family attorney told CNN. They are now being held in separate detention centers.

Y. ENCISO: And I remember that first night, the first thing I wanted to do was sleep in my mom and dad's bed because it felt like if I was sleeping there, I had like a part of them.

SANTANA (voice-over): That night marked the beginning of a new reality, one where they were suddenly left to care for their younger siblings.

Y. ENCISO: We haven't been doing good. They're always saying that they miss us whenever we're about to eat. And they have flashbacks about my mom and dad.

I remember when my mom and dad kissed. And they just like go quiet. They're sad.

SANTANA: What would it mean for your family if they were to get deported? M. ENCISO: I try not to think about it.

SANTANA: It's hard.

M. ENCISO: We don't know. Like, we don't know if my siblings can stay here with us. Like, we don't know if they have to go to Mexico.

There's just a lot of like, insecurity or uncertainty that we just don't know.

SANTANA (voice-over): According to DHS, if the parents have a valid claim, it will be heard by a judge. If not, they will be subject to removal. But their children say they'll keep fighting until their family is together again.

M. ENCISO: Okay, Quincy.

Y. ENCISO: See, they're not criminals. They're hardworking people who, I don't know if I consider my parents more best friends. I know they're going to be there for me and support me.

SANTANA (voice-over): Maria Santana, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Instagram is launching new safety settings for teens and it's going to change what millions of young people see on the social media platform. We'll explain.

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[03:40:00]

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CHURCH: We have this just into CNN. Reports from Reuters and an Indian newspaper say former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died, he held the office from 2008 to 2013.

Odinga's work as a pro-democracy activist led to important political reforms including multi-party democracy and a new constitution, he also led protests that plunged Kenya into its worst political violence since it gained independence from Britain in 1963. Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga died at the age of 80.

This is your Business Breakout. Financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region are posting some big gains today despite lingering uncertainty over the United States trade policy with China. You see there the Hang Seng up nearly 2 percent there.

And these are the business headlines.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary says the government shutdown is starting to affect the real economy after two weeks. Democrats and Republicans remain far apart on an agreement to fund the government. The White House budget office says it will ride out the crisis by continuing layoffs and cutting federal programs.

Jerome Powell says the Federal Reserve is doing a difficult balancing act trying to tame inflation while boosting the job market. The Fed chair says there's no risk-free path going forward and the outlook for employment and inflation has not changed much since September's rate cut.

[03:45:04]

American car buyers are facing record-breaking prices at the dealership. Kelley Blue Book reports the price for new cars topped $50,000 last month for the first time ever. Tariffs have driven up prices, but Kelley says the hike is mainly fueled by sales of luxury cars and expensive electric vehicles.

Instagram is tightening its safety settings for teens with guidelines that are similar to P.G.-13 movies. The Meta-owned platform says it will now hide from teens accounts posts featuring strong language and encouraging what it calls harmful behaviors. More now from CNN's Clare Duffy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Instagram rolled out these teen accounts privacy protections and content restrictions last year and now the company is making its content limits even stricter by aligning the content teens can see on the platform with P.G.-13 movie ratings. Now what does that mean?

That means teens on Instagram will have a harder time seeing posts that include strong language or posts that could encourage harmful behavior because they feature risky stunts or drug paraphernalia. Instagram is making it harder for teens to search for terms like alcohol and gore, they won't be able to follow or interact with accounts that regularly post age-inappropriate and teens' conversations with Meta's A.I. chatbot will have to remain within P.G.-13 guidelines.

Now this won't necessarily catch every potentially harmful or risky post. Here's how Instagram head Adam Mosseri described it on "The Today Show" this morning.

ADAM MOSSERI, HEAD OF INSTAGRAM: The way it works is by default, every teen that has a teen account will be in the 13-plus rating which means that the content they see on Instagram will largely align with a P.G.- 13 movie. Now like in a P.G.-13 movie where you might actually occasionally hear a swear word, you will occasionally come across content that might be risky because we either missed it or because it was said by a friend. But generally there is a lot more restrictions on what you can see.

DUFFY: Now this comes as Instagram has continued to face criticism from parents and online safety organizations who said that the previous teen account's safety settings weren't enough to keep young people safe on the platform. So Meta is trying to do more to make its guidelines clear and to give parents more control over their teen's experience on Instagram.

And a key feature of this Tuesday launch is with the old teen account's safety settings, 16 and 17 year olds were able to just go back in and change it back to the normal Instagram experience. They'll still be able to do that for the teen account's privacy protections.

But with these content restrictions that are rolling out today, all teens under the age of 18 will have these settings applied automatically and they'll have to get a parent's permission if they want to go back to that more adult experience on Instagram.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, thousands of Americans are becoming victims of a global crypto scam using ATMs. We'll bring you that CNN investigation after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.

CNN investigates a growing scam with a modern twist, one where police often can't do anything to help the victims. You've likely heard of people being duped by crooks who tricked them into believing they had to pay off a debt or were in legal trouble and to fix it, the person needs to give them cash often routed into the scammer's account.

Well now more and more Americans are being told to feed their cash, usually thousands of dollars, into a crypto ATM. CNN reviewed more than 700 criminal cases and complaints with ties to these ATMs. Our senior investigative correspondent Kyung Lah shows us how the scams unfold and how they try to steal money from her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SR. INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You are watching a victim get scammed.

UNKNOWN: They're scamming you.

UNKNOWN: No, they're not.

LAH (voice-over): One of thousands of Americans caught in a growing global crime spree that's no secret to police--

UNKNOWN: This is the police department.

UNKNOWN: I don't care.

LAH (voice-over): -- or even store clerks.

UNKNOWN: Don't do it. A lot of people have been scammed recently.

LAH (voice-over): From Georgia--

UNKNOWN: Somebody on the internet, some scam caller told them to do this.

LAH (voice-over): -- to Massachusetts.

UNKNOWN: What they tell you to do?

UNKNOWN: Take $31,000 and then put it into Bitcoin.

UNKNOWN: Oh no.

LAH (voice-over): Texas--

UNKNOWN (on the phone): I noticed an elderly lady feeding thousands of dollars into the cryptocurrency machine.

UNKNOWN: Please, I have the bank on the phone and I'm in danger. This is Chase Bank.

UNKNOWN: Okay, no you're not ma'am.

LAH (voice-over): -- and Ohio.

UNKNOWN: How much money have you already sent to them?

UNKNOWN: $10,700.

UNKNOWN: Jesus Christ.

UNKNOWN: Man.

LAH (voice-over): I even talked to one of these scammers.

UNKNOWN (on the phone): You need to withdraw $9500 from your account.

LAH (voice-over): And you'll see how he tried to steal $10,000.

LAH: This is a scam. You know it and I know it. I'm talking to the reporter.

LAH (voice-over): In all of these cases, these machines called crypto ATMs become the getaway car for the scammers who prey on victims like Gus Cason.

GUS CASON, SCAM VICTIM: That's where I stuck them $100 bills. It would prompt you for everything to come up and I had him on the phone too.

LAH: Had you ever seen this before?

CASON: Never been here before. Never been here after. LAH (voice-over): Just outside Cedar Rapids, Iowa is where Gus Cason

calls home. Aged 71, a retired union worker and super fan of the band Nickelback. Two years ago as he was recovering from a stroke.

CASON: I got a phone call. Well he told me he was president of the bank. I said now you tell me I want you to swear that you're not a scam.

I swear I'm not a scam and he convinced me he was good. He was good. I just had a stroke, I wasn't thinking right at all.

LAH (voice-over): The scammer told Gus that he would be arrested unless he withdrew $15,000 in cash and deposited it in that crypto ATM.

It looks like a normal ATM but a crypto ATM is different. Put in cash and it converts it into cryptocurrency in an instant.

Victims like Gus have lost about $240 million so far this year says the FBI. Double the pace of last year.

CASON: I should have known better. I should have known better. I was stupid enough, I fell for it.

LAH (voice-over): The scammer took off with Gus's cash in the form of cryptocurrency. But the crypto ATM company also made money from the transaction.

Our investigation found the companies that operate crypto ATMs profit off the fees and markups often at 20 to 30 percent that they charge on transactions scam or legit. And when police have seized the scammed cash out of the ATMs the crypto ATM companies hit back hard in court to get that cash back. Which is what happened to Gus Cason.

MAJ. CHAD COLSON, LINN COUNTY, IOWA SHERIFF'S OFFICE: This is our evidence processing room.

LAH (voice-over): Major Chad Colson and his deputies at the Linn County Sheriff's Office managed to recover the $15,000 in cash that Gus had put into that crypto ATM as evidence in a crime.

LAH: How confident were you that the victim would get that money back after you took it out of the machine?

COLSON: So we were very confident.

LAH (voice-over): His confidence was short-lived. Bitcoin Depot, the company with the most crypto ATMs in the U.S. fought in court to get the $15,000 back. The company points out its machines, like many crypto ATMs, have multiple on-screen warnings alerts of scams and requires that customers agree that they're only sending money to their own accounts.

So in court Bitcoin Depot won.

[03:55:03] COLSON: We ended up getting a communication from Bitcoin Depot. They said it was a glorious day gentlemen. When can we come get our money, which was our victim's money?

A multi-million dollar company is overjoyed that they get $15,000 and our victim is you know hurting. I mean that's a life savings.

LAH (voice-over): Bitcoin Depot has used tough tactics to stop police from seizing money for evidence like threats to immediately litigate or suspending fee refunds in entire states if a single officer tries to seize cash. Bitcoin Depot even sent an Amazon gift to mock one police department, a copy of the U.S. Constitution with a note calling the seizure of the scam victim's money a fourth amendment violation.

After we reached out to Bitcoin Depot about these messages to police, the company told us the messages were unacceptable and the employee responsible is no longer with Bitcoin Depot.

LAH: What do you think Gus that everybody seemed to get money but you who saved that money?

COLSON: You know Bitcoin had no business getting that money at all. I mean really when especially when it's a scam.

LAH: You think that's fair?

COLSON: Well hell no.

LAH (voice-over): Lawsuits from attorneys general accused the top three crypto ATM firms of profiting from scams and not protecting customers. Iowa's A.G. more than half of all money taken in by Bitcoin Depot in Iowa over three years came from scams. Washington D.C.'s A.G. at least 93 percent of deposits over several months from Athena Bitcoin machines came from scams.

Athena Bitcoin tells CNN it strongly disputes the allegations in the complaint and says it has strong safeguards against fraud. Bitcoin Depot tells us we do not profit from scams and the vast majority of our customers use our kiosks for lawful purposes. The company adds if it can't stop the transaction it reviews every potential scam case individually for possible fee relief or refunds.

But we spoke to nearly a dozen victims who were tricked by scammers while using Bitcoin Depot machines and only one said she got a fee refund.

LAH: These scammers are so convincing that a lot of the victims actually say it's almost as if they're hypnotized. They are fully convinced that they're going to get in trouble if they don't insert all of this money into a crypto ATM. We actually spoke to a scammer on the phone, he tried to steal $10,000 from me and it wasn't until I told him that I was a news reporter that he hung up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A cautionary tale. Thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day.

"Amanpour" is next, then stay tuned for "Early Start" with Brian Abel, that's at 5 a.m. in New York, 10 a.m. in London.

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