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2,500-Plus "No Kings" Rallies Taking Place Today In All 50 States; Trump Rejects Zelenskyy's Ask For Long-Range Tomahawk Missiles In "Uncomfortable" Meeting; Trump Calls On Ukraine, Russia To "Stop The War Immediately"; Hungary Preparing To Host Second Trump-Putin Summit; Now: Nationwide "No Kings" Protests Against Trump Underway; Trump Says He Authorized CIA To Operate Inside Venezuela. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired October 18, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: That is all we have time for now. Don't forget you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio, and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Happening right now, "No Kings" protests are underway across the country. Millions of Americans in all 50 states are expected to take to the streets in more than 2,500 demonstrations against President Trump's policies. This is the second round of these anti-Trump protests.

The first "No Kings" rallies were staged in June. Organizers say they are opposing what they call Trump's authoritarian agenda, including immigration raids and Trump's push to deploy National Guard troops to American cities. Some Republican leaders have labeled the event as anti-American and an attempted distraction from the government shutdown.

President Trump was asked about that yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think that the government shutdown is all about this rally that's happening this weekend, the "No Kings" rally?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, I mean some people say they want to delay it for that, a king. This is not a king.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is more than that.

TRUMP: You know, they're saying, they're referring to me as a king. I'm not a king.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: We have team coverage of these protests across the country. Shimon Prokupecz is in New York City. Let's get started, however, in Washington, D.C., the nation's capital with Brian Todd. Brian, set the scene for us.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I can say that I'm pretty struck and our team is struck by how quickly this crowd has grown in a very short time. Really grown in size and in energy. Thousands of people have streamed down here on Pennsylvania Avenue at the foot of the Capitol and really have -- a lot of them have arrived just in the past 45 minutes.

Our photojournalist, Raphael Rodriguez, will kind of span the crowd here and tilt toward the Capitol. That's where the speakers are going to be a little bit later. Speakers including Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Chris Murphy, Bill Nye, the science guy (technical difficulty) the energy, but also by the colorful outfits and the banners and everything. It's really interesting to kind of see some of this.

And I'm going to go over here and interview some of the people who (technical difficulty). This is the group All In For Democracy. One of their folks here is Leigh Ayers (ph). We can talk to Leigh (ph) here about what your motivation is for coming out, Leigh (ph). And congratulations on the outfit, first of all, but what's your main motivation for coming out here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just see all of our institutions changing. And I don't want us to change as a country and as a people. And I want all of America to realize that the Declaration of Independence was about no kings. About our personal liberties, about free press, about due process, about separation of church and state. And these are the fundamentals that really make America what we are.

TODD: Thank you, Leigh (ph).

And I've got Bob Heft (ph) over here. Bob from D.C. Bob, some top Republicans are calling the people who are coming to these rallies America haters, anti-American, pro-Hamas and Antifa people. What do you feel about that kind of characterization?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's ridiculous and obvious, you know, falsehoods. There's -- it's -- there's a lot less truth coming out from the Republican Party than there is just vitriol, trying to gain political favor, trying to anger Americans for their benefit. In reality, they're working against America in democracy to a great degree right now.

I used to vote Republican. It's a real disappointment for me once I stopped, once Trump came into office. But it's really disappointing to see the party go off the rails and all in favor of one man instead of democracy and their beliefs in America.

TODD: Thank you, Bob, for talking to us. We thank all of you guys for talking to us. Let's get a quick shot of these outfits here. You see (technical difficulty) and that's kind of what makes it just very interesting to cover and what gives its energy. We're going to see how this goes later on and see how many people come down here. But already you can see just a packed crowd here on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Now, some Republicans, including Senator Roger Marshall from Kansas, have said that they may need to deploy the National Guard down here. Now, the organizers, I talked to them extensively before that, they say we don't see the need for that, that they have taken a lot of measures to possibly de-escalate any tensions here.

They do not expect there to be any trouble here. But Republicans are warning that this could, you know, they're trigger some violence and they're saying possibly deploy the National Guard. The organizers say we're going to do everything possible to prevent that from happening. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Brian Todd, thanks so much. We do know that a lot of the organizers of this "No Kings" Day protest across the country have vowed that the movement here is a nonviolent one.

[12:05:09]

Let's go now to New York City where Shimon Prokupecz is. He's there in a pretty sizable crowd as well. And Brian Todd made reference to some very colorful outfits, as you see behind you as well, Shimon.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So behind me, this is Karen. It's hard to talk to her right now, but she was inspired to wear this because of what was happening and what's been happening in Portland. Remember the scenes out there, many of the people choosing to protest by wearing costumes after President Trump said that it was a city that was under siege, that it was a city at war and that it was crime infested and all kinds of chaos.

And remember all of these protesters started wearing costumes because one person who was one of the first to wear a costume was pepper sprayed by federal law enforcement. And we're seeing scenes like this now play out everywhere. People in costumes like this to sort of express themselves. This is how they're choosing to express themselves.

We just stepped off of Times Square. This is where the march began. And we've been going now south. We're a couple of blocks down. But I just want to kind of give you a sense of the number of people here. It's tens of thousands.

I'm going to have Ken. Ken, why don't we go up, if we can, and show her around. And you can see all the people here. I mean, this stretches for blocks, several blocks. Organizers were hoping at least 100,000 people. But this is definitely a massive presence here. We're seeing all the signs.

One of the biggest themes that we're seeing here are people who are raising issue with ICE and what ICE is doing. That is a common theme as we've been walking through the marchers and the protesters. I actually want to bring in someone, if I can, Rhonda.

Rhonda, thank you. I know you're a little nervous to talk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am.

PROKUPECZ: Don't be nervous. You've done this before in your life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I have. I've been doing this since the 60s.

PROKUPECZ: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's different now. Then we -- in the 60s, we wanted to expand rights, women's rights, gay rights, minorities' rights, voting rights. But all that's being taken away now. Now our entire democracy is being threatened.

The basic tenants, the press, the judiciary. It's very frightening.

PROKUPECZ: What's life been like for you right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard to explain. It's very sad, a sense of loss, fear. I think we all have to hang on to whatever joy we see to help us get through. That's important to remember. But these are scary, tumultuous times.

PROKUPECZ: When you thought about coming out here, what did you think you -- what are you hoping to do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, I'm hoping together we can all save democracy. I hope that this is a major, peaceful march throughout the entire country and maybe even international. We need to say that because we love America. We are out in the streets trying to preserve our democracy.

PROKUPECZ: Thank you, Rhonda.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

PROKUPECZ: You did great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

PROKUPECZ: Thank you for speaking, OK? Thank you.

So that is going to be the theme of the day, no doubt. And I think as we get going, we're starting to hear the crowd make noise. It's been relatively quiet, but there are pockets of noise and people start to cheer, as we're hearing now. So we'll see as this day goes.

This is expected to go on for several more hours. We're right now at around 39th Street and 7th Avenue, and this is -- we're expecting this to end somewhere around 14th Street. So about another 20 to 30 blocks before the marchers stop there, and then we'll see what happens after that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Shimon Prokupecz, we'll check back with you along those 20 or so more blocks to go throughout the afternoon. Appreciate it.

All right, joining me right now to talk more about these "No Kings" protests happening across the country, Colleen Connell, she is the executive director of the Illinois ACLU. Colleen, glad you could be with us. So your organization helped plan some of the events in your state. And I understand you plan to speak at a "No Kings" protest today in Chicago. What will be your message?

COLLEEN CONNELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ILLINOIS ACLU: Our message will be that what's special about America is the fact that we believe in the rule of law and in democracy. And it is special because we believe that the rule of law applies to protect all people and all rights, the rights of women to make reproductive choices, the rights of LGBTQ people to make decisions about who they love, the right of people of all races to have the equal protection of the law.

[12:10:13]

And that we need to welcome and protect immigrants as opposed to persecute them as is happening today.

WHITFIELD: And what are your expectations about how influential these protests can be? Because you've heard from Trump, you've heard from many Republicans use the language of anti-American, that these protests are anti-American. So, you know, you're not trying to influence those who are with you, but part of your objective is to influence others. So what are your expectations of being able to succeed with that?

CONNELL: I think we already have. We have millions of people turning out today. There are clearly more of us than there are of those who want an autocracy or a dictatorship. And so the message is pretty clear that we, the people, you know, own this country and that we are going to respect the rule of law and we are going to stand up and we are going to protect our democracy with peaceful protest and peaceful dissent.

WHITFIELD: And, Colleen, you know, in recent weeks, Chicago, you know, has become the epicenter of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Help us understand, you know, what you've been seeing in Chicago, what concerns you have had and how you also helped to perhaps explain some of that in your messaging today at the "No Kings" protests.

CONNELL: Yes. What we've seen in Chicago over the last few months or few weeks, excuse me, of the Trump administration's blitz is that the rule of law is holding strong. Last week was a really bad week for the Trump administration in court with four federal courts ruling against him, including a significant case that the ACLU filed with our litigation partners to protect freedom of speech and protest and to really restrain the Trump administration and its immigration enforcement officials from retaliating against people who are peacefully protesting and retaliating against the press who is covering that.

That case, the block club case, resulted in a restraining order against the Trump administration. We also saw the state of Illinois succeed in enjoining the deployment of National Guard to aid in immigration enforcement. And as the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal court of appeals that sits here in Illinois, ruled just Thursday, dissent and protest is not a rebellion and dissent and protest cannot be used as a pretext by the Trump administration to bring in the National Guard. And we are communicating that message loud and strong.

WHITFIELD: All right. In Chicago, Colleen Connell, thank you so much, as we continue to kind of hopscotch around the country to see what has become very sizable turnout at many of these "No Kings" protests in about 2,500 different cities.

All right, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy left the White House empty handed after his latest visit with no promise of U.S. Tomahawk missiles. What President Trump says both sides should do to end the war instead.

And we'll continue to track today's "No Kings" protests across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:18:31]

WHITFIELD: All right, live pictures right now from coast to coast in more than 2,500 locations. You're seeing "No Kings" protests there in Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta in -- on your screen right now. Thousands of "No Kings" rallies are planned across the country kicking off.

And millions across the country are expected to turn out to protest President Trump's policies. We're monitoring these rallies and, of course, we'll bring you live updates throughout the day.

All right, it's been a pretty busy week of diplomacy. And it's now ended as what's being described to CNN by several sources as a tense and at times uncomfortable meeting between Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two leaders meeting yesterday for several hours at the White House with Trump making it clear Zelenskyy would not be receiving the long range U.S. missiles that he hoped he would be getting to counter Russia's attacks. Trump now says peace is the priority.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TRUMP: They should stop the war immediately. You go by the battle line wherever it is. Otherwise, it's too complicated. You'll never be able to figure it out. You stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Betsy Klein is live for us in Florida, where the President is spending the weekend. Betsy, initially, the President seemed open, right, to the idea of giving Zelenskyy these weapons. So what changed? What are you learning today?

[12:20:07]

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Fredricka, this has been a remarkable week for diplomacy in the Middle East. And President Trump now trying to take some of that momentum and shift it toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Of course, peace there has been so elusive for the Trump administration.

But sources described Friday's meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as tense, frank and at times uncomfortable. Zelenskyy pushing President Trump, making a direct appeal for those long-range Tomahawk missiles for his country.

And just to remind you, it's been now more than two months since President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Since then, the President growing increasingly frustrated with Vladimir Putin about the lack of pace on negotiations, the lack of progress. And he is looking to increase pressure on Putin.

Putin, meanwhile, has been increasing his own -- taking his own steps to intensify that pressure. But the U.S. has been sharing new intelligence with Ukraine on the topic of Russian energy infrastructure. And President Trump has been both publicly and privately weighing the provision of those very critical long-range Tomahawk missiles.

That is something that is of grave concern to Putin. It would mark a major escalation. But Trump told Zelenskyy yesterday that for now, the U.S. will not be providing those weapons. He's calling on both sides to push for a ceasefire along the current lines of battle.

And White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hinting at some of the tension in that meeting afterward yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The United States of America is growing very weary and tired of this war. Enough is enough. Both sides need to recognize the reality on the ground right now and come to a peace agreement. Because President Trump's patience and the patience of the American people is growing very thin with this war. And so he was very frank and direct. But President Trump will never give up.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

KLEIN: Now looking ahead to next steps, President Trump says he wants to meet with Putin again in Budapest, Hungary within the next two weeks. He said that Zelenskyy could be present. But those two leaders are unlikely to meet face-to-face because President Trump says there is so much bad blood.

But the more time this drags on, the better it is for Russia. Giving them time to expand their campaign and shore up those gains on the battlefield, Fredricka. WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein, thank you so much in Florida.

All right, let's continue this conversation now with Evelyn Farkas, who is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia and Ukraine and Executive Director of the McCain Institute. Great to see you. So President Trump, and he's prioritizing peace over Tomahawk missiles and suggesting that both sides accept current battle lines. Sounds idyllic, perhaps, but realistic?

EVELYN FARKAS, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RUSSIA AND UKRAINE: Fredricka, it's completely unrealistic. And, frankly, it's a nightmare scenario, because if we allowed Putin to keep all the territory that he seized, it would be a signal to China and others that they could do the same thing, that they could, for the first time since World War II, use force to order -- to alter borders.

President Trump, you know, is simplifying things to the point where, again, it can be fantasy-like, the idea that they could just put down their arms. That's an oversimplification of the situation and, frankly, of the stakes here, because for the United States, it's really important that Putin not succeed. He is losing and he's afraid of losing, really losing, ultimately. And that's why he's basically asked President Trump for a meeting.

WHITFIELD: Right. So the President makes it seem that he strikes a tone of optimism by saying, look, at the battle lines, just end it right there, wherever the two parties are. But as you just underscored, that would mean Ukraine giving up land, just simply acquiescing.

Why does the President, especially ahead of yet another planned summit with Putin, why does the President feel like Zelenskyy would be pleased with that, Ukrainians would be happy with that? I mean, clearly, Putin would be happy with that.

FARKAS: Right. I mean, I think if you're trying to negotiate a peace deal here, even a ceasefire, you have to be mindful of both sides' objectives. There's nothing in it for Ukraine, except, of course, they would like relief from the constant bombardment, especially the innocent civilians who are being targeted deliberately by Russia, counter to international law and human rights criteria.

So, yes, the Ukrainians would love the bombs to stop falling, the drones to stop attacking them. But the reality is that they actually do have the Russians in a weakened spot. And Putin is not going to make any kind of compromise on the territory or anything else unless he's forced to do that.

[12:25:10]

And President Trump keeps, you know, threatening to use leverage, whether it's sanctions, which was the last time around before the Alaska summit, or this time, you know, the provision of Tomahawk missiles. Each of these threats have caused Putin to say, no, no, no, don't do that. Come and meet with me. And then he gets more weeks and more time. And Putin just thinks he can, you know, work on getting more time. And somehow, you know, he doesn't think strategically, President Putin. He just wants to get more time. And then in the end, he'll work it out somehow so that he doesn't lose. And President Trump, unfortunately, is playing into that strategy.

WHITFIELD: And through it all, Zelenskyy wants security guarantees. Is he going to get them?

FARKAS: Look, he's not going to end this war without security guarantees. And here's the thing. Even if, let's say, this idealistic, you know, scenario where they put down their weapons and Zelenskyy says, you can have the territory that you took, Vladimir Putin, and Russian, you know, imperialist Kremlin, the Ukrainian people are not interested in this.

So they will continue an insurgency. So there will not be an end to the war. You have to make sure that you have a just, negotiated compromise that both sides can agree to. And right now, Putin is feeling weak. If we put more pressure on him, he might be weakened significantly because let's forget about Tomahawks, but long-range missiles.

If we provide long-range missiles to Ukraine, they can take out enough oil refineries to basically squeeze the oil that is required for the military to continue their fight, the Russian military, and also squeeze the oil -- the revenues from the oil that the Russians sell overseas.

Not to mention, of course, causing some tensions internally because the Russian people, the price of gas is already going up for them. So the reality is that we do have Russia actually in a good position right now because the Ukrainians have a good strategy, which is targeting the oil. But if President Trump goes and meets with Putin, he's just giving him more time.

WHITFIELD: OK. And, I mean, and sounds like from what you're saying, it gives Putin the upper hand. But this is what President Trump said yesterday about any possibility that Putin would be playing him. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TRUMP: Yes, I am. But, you know, I've been played all my life by the best of them. And I came out really well. So it's possible. Yes, a little time. It's all right. But I think that I'm pretty good at this stuff. I think that he wants to make a deal.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: How do you interpret this? And why do you suppose the President keeps making a reference to, you know, cutting a deal when we're talking about war?

FARKAS: Yes, this isn't real estate and the stakes are really high. And I think what President Trump doesn't fully appreciate is the history and how existential it is for the Ukrainian people, and frankly, how it is not existential for the Russian people. It's existential for Vladimir Putin, at least politically, meaning that if he loses the war, he'll likely lose his job.

But that doesn't mean he'll necessarily lose his life either, because we've seen also in Russian history where they don't necessarily kill the losing leader. He can go off to his vacation home, to his dacha. But the reality is for the Ukrainian people, there's a lot at stake here, and frankly, also for the United States.

We do not want to encourage Putin to then turn to other countries who were part of the former Soviet Union, including NATO countries. We don't want to encourage Putin's partner in all of this, China, to also turn towards Taiwan. It just makes the world much more insecure. And frankly, after World War II, we created the system that we have today with all these rules about the sanctity of boundaries, because we don't want a World War III.

WHITFIELD: Evelyn Farkas, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

FARKAS: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And of course, we're going to continue to track today's "No Kings" protests across the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:33:34]

WHITFIELD: All right, happening right now, millions of people marching in the streets as more than 2,500, No Kings rallies get underway across the country. Today's protests are happening as outrage intensifies over Trump administration policies. CNN's Rafael Romo is in Atlanta where organizers say protesters showed up. Actually wearing costumes is kind of a de-escalation technique to keep the mood light as well. So, Rafael, kind of set the stage for us there. What's happening? I certainly see a lot of people.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Fred. That's exactly right. A lot of people, we're only a couple ways away -- weeks away from Halloween. A lot of people that we've seen here wearing costumes, I just saw a man in a banana costume, other people wearing frog costumes.

And I'm standing in the middle of the Atlanta Civic Center. It is a very big parking lot right behind me. To my left, there's a grassy area. The entire place has filled up with people from different parts of Atlanta, Georgia, and other places. And essentially, they are sending one message collectively. And the message is, no kings. It's been that way since 1776, and we want to keep it that way.

[17:34:53]

Now, the organizers here obtained a permit from the city of Atlanta to not only hold this rally, but also do a march. And once the rally is over here in about 30 minutes from now, all of these people, or most of them, are going to march to the Georgia State Capitol about a mile and a half away from here. But organizers are making sure that safety is a big priority. They have entire teams of people who know about de- escalation tactics.

And we had an opportunity to speak to one of them earlier, and this is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY DIEMERT, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, 50501 GEORGIA: Today's protest is a peaceful demonstration that we all are united, regardless of where we came from, what our history is, what our backgrounds are, because our nation's democracy is at stake. And we are here to say we are a nation that will not be bowing down to any authoritarian rule. We are not going to be ruled by a king.

JOAN PRESS, RALLY ATTENDANT: We're a democracy, and that in a democracy, people can stand up and voice their opinions, and that we are not going to be silenced that it's, you know, my father was in World War II, and we've all fought for a country where, you know, everyone matters, regardless of your race, your religion, who you love. And that's the country that we want to keep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Again, Fred, a very festive environment so far here in Atlanta. Just a few moments ago, we heard Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock speak to the crowd. He animated the crowd and made the point that, indeed, this is a democracy, this is a country ruled by the Constitution, and this is no land for kings. That's what he had to say in front of these thousands upon thousands of people here in Atlanta. Fred, now back to you.

WHITFIELD: OK, and Rafael, I know you got a chance to talk to a lot of the other protesters, too. That was one of the organizers. But what are they telling you about, you know, how impressed they are about the turnout, if they feel like they are out there, you know, at some risk, or if they feel like, you know, their cause to be there is just?

ROMO: Yes, so far, based on the conversations that I've had with people here, Fred, nobody has expressed any fear about any sort of turmoil developing here. Everybody has been very friendly, very cordial. There's a sense of camaraderie here because we have seen a lot of people who used to work at the CDC. And as you know, this year, many of them lost their jobs.

There's also a lot of sympathy for, for teachers. As a matter of fact, I had an opportunity to talk to Fulton County Chairman Pitts, and he told me that he spoke with a teacher who, of course, is a citizen, but she said that she was here representing a lot of the students who are in mixed status families because, as she says, the students are afraid that one day they're going to come home and not find their parents there waiting for them. So a lot of causes here. There's also a lot of people talking about human rights, civil rights. They say this is America. We respect the Constitution, and we are no monarchy. We are a democracy.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rafael Romo in Atlanta at one of the many protests taking place across the country. Thanks so much.

[17:38:20]

All right, still to come, more deadly strikes in the Caribbean are fueling the tensions between the United States and Venezuela. In a moment, what may be the next step for the Trump administration?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back as we continue to watch today's No Kings rallies across the country. Right now, you're looking at live pictures out of Boston where crowds are packing into the common there. Demonstrations are planned in all 50 states.

U.S. officials say two people are in military custody after surviving a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. This is the sixth strike targeting suspected drug traffickers in waters near Venezuela. It's the latest development in the increasingly tense relationship between the Trump administration and Venezuela's Maduro regime. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He has offered everything. He's offered everything. You're right. You know why? Because he doesn't want to fuck around with the United States.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump claiming his Venezuelan counterpart may be ready to strike a deal after the sixth U.S. strike targeting alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean, as numerous U.S. Navy destroyers and aircraft patrol off the country's coast. Trump also threatening strikes on land.

TRUMP: We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea, so you get to see that. But we're going to stop them by land also.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Trump publicly revealing he authorized the CIA to carry out operations inside Venezuela, he says, to stop the flow of drugs and migrants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the CIA have authority to take out Maduro?

TRUMP: Oh, I don't want to answer a question like that.

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Never before had any previous government, since the CIA has existed, publicly said that it was sending the CIA to kill, to overthrow, and to destroy countries. OPPMANN (voice-over): Maduro, who faces a U.S. federal indictment on drug trafficking charges, which he denies, and a $50 million bounty for his capture, is accusing Trump of trying to topple his regime, and is responding with both a military buildup and a propaganda campaign, calling the U.S. a Nazi empire with supremacist ideologies.

[17:45:12]

Maduro is digging in and has implored the Venezuelan people to join militias to fight against any U.S. intervention. Venezuelan state T.V. even showing videos of some of the training, which includes calisthenics and the basics of handling firearms. Thousands have reportedly heeded his call, but many appear to be senior citizens or raw recruits with little to no military experience.

MADURO (through translator): Our mobilization will be permanent and never stop.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Maduro posting this video to Instagram today with a message, we continue completing all the necessary preparations, reaching the optimal state for the integral defense of the homeland. Maduro even trying, in broken English, to send a message directly to the American people.

MADURO: No, not war, just peace.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Panama City, Panama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, we're also tracking some dangerous storms that could hit millions of Americans this weekend. We could even see some tornadoes, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:51:18]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. We continue to watch today's No Kings rallies across the country. You're looking at live pictures right now out of Boston, where crowds are also marching through the streets in both Boston and in New York City. We'll continue to monitor all the cities. Some 2,500 locations of this No Kings rallies today alone.

All right, let's take another look at the weather. Americans across the South and Midwest are facing severe weather threats. Officials are warning of a potential tornado threat over the Mississippi River as powerful storms clash elsewhere. CNN's Chris Warren has a better look for us. Tumultuous conditions everywhere.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It looks pretty active eventually. It's not going to last all day or all night for most areas. We're watching one system move into the Pacific Northwest, but it's right here, this area of low pressure. Here in late October, mid to late October, seeing the ingredients come together, reminding us more of a springtime pattern.

So that's that second severe season we often talk about. And so with that, the potential for some of these thunderstorms to come rolling into town, with it bringing damaging winds, small hail on average. Some areas could see some large hail. And yes, a few tornadoes are a possibility. From the Arklatex, Shreveport, Little Rock, Memphis, Springfield, all the way up to Indianapolis, showers and thunderstorms are firing, are popping right now across parts of north central Texas, eastern Oklahoma, into Missouri, and getting into Arkansas.

With storms earlier in Chicago moving off, but this whole system is moving in that direction, lasting into the night and into tomorrow as well. This is the high-resolution future radar. It gives us a general idea of what the storms could look like and where they'll be through time. Here's this evening, 8:30. Storms will have gone through Little Rock. Think about dinnertime for Little Rock, moving into Memphis and through Memphis, around darker, so a little bit after sunset.

St. Louis is going to be messy and nasty. Again, damaging winds, large hail, the potential for tornadoes. And remember, lightning is always dangerous and can be deadly. By the overnight here Sunday, 2 o'clock in the morning, moving through Jackson, now through Atlanta by the morning tomorrow. And then it is going to be at times wet and windy around the Great Lakes and throughout the northeast.

But again, Fredricka, we do want to remind everybody, with that severe weather threat, it is possible, once again, there could be some tornadoes. Just make sure you are paying attention and do have a way to get alerts today.

WHITFIELD: It almost seems like this is like year-round. Tornado season is almost year-round nowadays.

WARREN: In a sense, it really is.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

WARREN: But we do see the uptick this time of year.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

[17:53:56]

All right, stay with us this afternoon. We're tracking today's No Kings protests around the country. We'll have a live report from Chicago in a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, each week we're catching up with remarkable CNN heroes whose work keeps growing and creating positive change. We first met Mama Shu in 2023 and watched as she turned an abandoned street near Detroit into a vibrant community hub. Anderson Cooper shares how she and her organization are moving onward and upward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SHAMAYIM "MAMA SHU" HARRIS: CEO AND FOUNDER, AVALON VILLAGE: I would look at this block like, wow, man, if we just clean up this block and do this and do that. And I just had dreams about it. I really did.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): In 2007, Mama Shu lost her two year old son when he was hit by a car. Determined to turn her pain into purpose, she began buying abandoned lots in her beloved Highland Park and building a better future for her community.

HARRIS: We kept buying the land because it was so many things inside of my head that I wanted to actually build for the people.

COOPER (voice-over): In 2023, she was honored as a CNN Hero for her remarkable efforts to transform her block into Avalon Village. Today it covers dozens of lots and includes a homework house, basketball court, STEM lab, and community gardens. And Mama Shu isn't slowing down anytime soon. She hopes to build a cafe and laundromat in the village. Recently she completed the addition of bleachers around the basketball court, giving the community a space to gather. And renovations on the Village Healing House are set to begin soon.

[18:00:16]

HARRIS: I remember every inch of how this whole block used to look. Folks hated to come over here. Now they're like bringing their children over and stuff. It's just really a beautiful thing to see. You can change your environment. You really can. Sometimes I just sit and I just smile. But then I say, you know what, I'm not done yet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And to learn more, go to CNN.com/heroes.