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"No Kings" Protests Against Trump Underway Nationwide; Trump Administration Authorizes CIA Operations Inside Venezuela; President Trump: No Tomahawk Missiles For Ukraine; Active-Duty Troops Expected To Work, But Possibly Without Pay; Women Leaving Workforce In Numbers Not Seen Since Pandemic; Prince Andrew Gives Up Use Of Royal Titles; Instagram Adds New Safety Tools For Teens Using A.I. Chatbots; Many Alaska Storm Victims Will Be Displaced At Least 18 Months; Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Shoots Record-High Lava Fountains. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 18, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:01:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I am Jessica Dean here in New York.

And tonight, massive crowds of Americans gathering around the country to protest the Trump administration and its policies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In America, we don't do kings. We don't do thrones.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our nations democracy is at stake.

JOHN CUSACK, ACTOR: The authoritarians divide and conquer, and they create an other, and then they pick on it and then pick on the person and harass them. Jail them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just its all unconstitutional, unprecedented. It is not -- not what I want for my country.

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): In this moment in which we are seeing a president and an administration arrogating to himself power that doesn't belong to him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have somebody who, just like he said to Georgia, go find me 11,700 votes. He is trying to tell these states, go find me ten extra congressional seats or 15 seats or 20 seats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This country was founded by -- on a constitutional basis and that Constitution is being trampled by the present administration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Declaration of Independence was about no kings, about our personal liberties, about free press, about due process, about separation of church and state.

BILL NYE, THE SCIENCE GUY: No thrones. No. crowns. No kings. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Tonight's rally is taking place as tensions continue to rise over President Trump's policies, including his immigration crackdown and his push to send more federal troops into American cities. Events are underway right now on the West Coast. We are monitoring those live. Let's go now to CNN's Julia Vargas Jones, who joins us from Los Angeles.

And Julia, it is about 3:00 there. It seems like things are just getting underway. What are you seeing?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are -- we just started marching right now, Jessica, and as of now, the plan is to march for about two miles in Downtown Los Angeles.

Right here at the front of this march, there are some indigenous leaders. There are members of Los Angeles Unified School District Teachers Union. The main message that we are hearing from folks on the ground, though, here in Los Angeles, is about Trump's -- President Trump's actions around immigration. There is so such a high number of Mexican and Ecuadorian flags, that is the number one issue for people here.

Of course, as the march gets underway and more and more people started to join, we are hearing about other issues as well. We are seeing some Palestinian flags starting to pop up. We are seeing some folks talking about the shutdown.

We are even hearing people talking about Proposition 50, the redistricting proposition here in California meant to counter the five seats from the redistricting in Texas. It is a wide variety of issues that people are angry about, Jessica.

But the main thread that connects all of it is President Trump. We've seen a number of different caricatures of the President. I will let my photographer kind of roam around, you can have a sense of the tone of this. It is very much aimed at his person.

There are some insults, some expletives, but overall a very playful environment. A lot of the organizers have said how important it is to keep this demonstration peaceful. Folks that we've talked to have said that that is of utmost importance to them, including one woman that I spoke to earlier who surprised me as she was wearing an Antifa shirt. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: You're not who I think the administration is referring to, necessarily, when they're thinking or painting the picture of Antifa. You are a White blond woman in California. You work in a law firm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

JONES: What made you feel that this is an important message to share? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just feel like it is an important message.

There are -- you know, ICE is out here terrorizing our communities and we are out here protecting our communities. And I just think it is an important message to show that we are all together. And by calling us terrorists, we are going to fight back and show that we are not, and that's why I wore the shirt and why we are out here today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:05:23]

JONES: I will add, Jessica, that there are a lot of people here with helmets and goggles and seem to be ready for any kind of altercation with police in case those do happen. But as of now, it is a very peaceful protest.

DEAN: All right, Julia Vargas Jones with the latest. Thank you so much.

Let's get the latest now on the Trump administration's response to these protests. Let's bring in CNN's Betsy Kline, who has been traveling with the President. She is in West Palm Beach.

Betsy, what is The White House, the President saying about all of these protests this weekend?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER AND WRITER: Well, Jessica, we have seen President Trump reimagine the use of executive authority since taking office for his second term in January. We are witnessing that as he has deployed U.S. troops into Democrat-led cities. He has authorized strikes on what he says are drug cartels in the Caribbean.

He has launched investigations into some of his political opponents. He has waged trade wars using his tariff policies. And most recently, we have seen him attempt to lay off thousands of federal workers during a government shutdown. That action halted by the courts for now.

But it is those policies and others that are really animating thousands of Americans to take to the streets across the country, cities and towns in protest. And then when I asked The White House for their reaction and comment to these No Kings Protests, a White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson told me, "Who cares?"

But the President cares. He is aware. He is tracking these protests and he was actually asked about this in an interview earlier this week. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK HOST, MORNINGS WITH MARIA": 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 OF AMERICA: Now, I mean, some people say they want to delay it for that. A king -- this is not a king. You know, they're saying -- they're referring to me as a king. I am not a king.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: The President is an avid consumer of news media, and you can be sure that he was watching these protests as they unfolded today from his West Palm Beach Golf Club, where he spent about eight hours. We also heard from other top Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson in the lead up to these protests. He called those protesters anti-American -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Betsy Klein with the latest there from West Palm Beach. Thank you for that.

I want to bring in Robert Weissman. He is the co-president of Public Citizens, one of the groups involved with today's rallies.

Robert, thank you so much for being here with us. I want to start first with that clip that Betsy just played where the President said, "They are referring to me as a king. I'm not a king." What do you say to that?

ROBERT WEISSMAN, CO-PRESIDENT, PUBLIC CITIZENS: Well, he is absolutely not a king, but he is behaving like an authoritarian and would-be king. All the things that were just described are illegal overreaches of an authoritarian, the illegal deployment of National Guard troops, the illegal use of ICE to kidnap people from our streets, the illegal firing of employees who protect our public health, the illegal shutdown of agencies that protect us from financial rip offs, the illegal attack -- using the Justice Department against his political enemies, and on and on and on.

He is behaving like a king, and the people of America today rallied like never before in American history to show that they reject that agenda.

DEAN: And of course, the President and his team would argue none of that's illegal, that they are within their executive power. I am curious, as we watch these images of these massive crowds across the country, as you know, really all the way, not just blue cities, but red and blue cities, red and blue states across the country.

What do you take away from this besides a day of protest? What's the tangible result?

WEISSMAN: Well, I think the first thing is to make clear that the American people are not on board for this authoritarian agenda. As you said, these rallies in every state, in every congressional district, rural, urban, suburban, everybody is turning out to reject this.

I think part of what happens is people feel that Trump has tried to make people feel fear and isolation, but when we come together for these protests, we feel a sense of solidarity, love, love for our country, love for each other, and a power that we can take him on. And I think it makes a difference in terms of how political figures

act. They feel stronger when they understand where the American people are in opposing the Trump agenda. I think it powers forward the rest of the work we do in opposing the Trump agenda in our communities, whether it is protecting immigrant families, whether it is getting food to people who are having trouble paying for their bills because of Trump policies and on and on.

But at the end of the day, what it is really about is building an ongoing momentum, a democratic momentum to resist Trump's authoritarianism.

[18:10:12]

DEAN: I want to play a clip of how some Republicans have described today's rallies, and then get your thoughts. This is what some people have said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM EMMER (R-MN): We call it the Hate America Rally because you'll see the hate for. America all over this thing when they show up.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It is all the pro-Hamas wing and the -- you know, the Antifa people, they are all coming out.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): There is considerable evidence that George Soros and his network is behind funding these rallies.

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: The farthest left, the hardest core, the most unhinged in the Democratic Party, which is, you know a big title and No Kings equal no paychecks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So well just before we went to that clip, we were showing video, I believe this was from San Francisco, but they were unfurling a huge American flag there. What did you say -- what do you say to how those Republicans have framed these protests?

WEISSMAN: Well, I think what you saw on the streets today was these are love America protests. These are patriotic protests trying to protect what is best in America, trying to make sure we are a nation of laws, not of men, that we are a nation that is empathetic, that promotes solidarity, and that doesn't permit an authoritarian to grift and graft his way through an administration.

I think when they label us those things, they should be ashamed of themselves. Protests makes us free. Protest is an expression of our democratic values. Protest makes us stronger. Protest has been behind every advancement in American society, including our independence and also when they start throwing around terms that they equate with domestic terrorism against their political opponents, and we are just nothing more than people who disagree with their point of view, they are trying to authorize the use of military force against people who are their political opponents and there is nothing more un-American than that.

What you saw in the streets today was love of country, love of America.

DEAN: I do want to ask, we do see and we have seen a lot of that. We also have seen some protesters just in the clip we've been showing who are fully masked, or one of our correspondents interviewed a woman who was -- did say she was supporting Antifa and was wearing a shirt. What do you say about those elements?

WEISSMAN: Well, I think what that woman was saying is she is not going to reject the labels because they are trying to put us down. Fine. Call us what you want, we are just here out of love of country. We just saw seven million people on the streets, totally peaceful, driven by nonviolence and love. So that's the reality. We don't have to guess anymore what was going to happen. We can see what did happen.

But there is a problem of violence in this government. The violence of the deployment of National Guard to intimidate and chill speech, the violence of unleashing ICE on our streets to kidnap people, masked men roaming our streets, kidnaping people with no due process. So there is a problem of violence, all right, but the problem is from the side of the Trump administration, not from the protesters who today, in the largest protest in American history with virtually no clashes whatsoever, showed their love of country and their profound commitment to nonviolence.

DEAN: All right, Robert Weissman, thanks so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

WEISSMAN: Great to be with you. Thank you.

DEAN: We have a lot more to come on these protests happening across the country. We are going to talk with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass coming up in just a little bit.

Plus, some tense moments inside The White House at the meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The key weapon that could threaten Russia and why President Trump is not quite ready to hand it to Ukraine and the U.S. considering releasing the sole survivors of a military strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean. The legal and political issues that could be at play here. Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:18:39]

DEAN: President Trump says two survivors of a U.S. military strike on a boat in the Caribbean will be sent back to their home countries. In a post, the President called the survivors narcoterrorists, who will be returned to Ecuador and Colombia for detention and prosecution.

The two have been held by the U.S. since Thursday. The Trump administration says the strike was targeting drug trafficking. We are joined now by former associate counsel to President George W. Bush, Jamil Jaffer.

Jamil, thank you so much for being here with us.

It is unclear what legal authority the U.S. had to hold these prisoners. What, if anything, do you read into their release and where things stand today?

JAMIL JAFFER, FORMER ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, look, Jessica, the real challenge here is that President Trump has laid out in his message to Congress about these strikes, starting in September that his view is that these drug traffickers present a National Security threat to the United States, that it is clear and imminent threat, and that he is taking action, offensive military action against these individuals.

And so, that was the first strike. We've now seen six of them. This is the first strike where people haven't been killed -- all of the people haven't been killed. So we were able to detain these folks.

Now, under the authority the President suggested he has as commander- in-chief to conduct airstrikes, presumably he believes he has the authority to detain them as well. He is now returning them to their home countries, Ecuador and Colombia. Under the theory that they have been sort of taken out of the fight.

Now, whether he has gotten, you know, some sort of agreement with the Ecuadorian government and the Colombian government to detain these individuals and keep them off the battlefield, that is an interesting question. We will see what happens with that.

[18:20:10]

But at the minimum, the President has made clear that that's what he thinks his authority is, which is to take offensive action against people he believes are a security threat to the United States.

DEAN: And so, to that question, what legally needs to happen for that to be the case? What legal threshold do you have to meet? And do you think that the government so far has met that threshold?

JAFFER: Well, this is a tough question because we are in sort of unprecedented territory here. We don't have an authorization for the use of military force from Congress. We certainly don't have a Declaration of War, but presidents have engaged in offensive military activity for the entire 250 years our country has been around without those authorities by identifying threats to our National Security and acting in self-defense.

So in this case, what the President says he is doing, he says, look, these drug traffickers have brought drugs into the United States. Tens of thousands of Americans a year have been killed by these drugs. Our allies have gone after these folks. They have suffered losses as well. And as a result, his view is, this is a National Security threat and unless Congress acts to stop him, and we saw a vote in Congress just last week to try and stop him that failed, brought by Senator Kaine and a couple of other senators. Now they're trying to force a vote on an authorization for the use of military force. We will see if that passes or not. It is unlikely to pass.

And so what we are likely to see here is the President to continue to operate under his own executive authority, unless there is action taken to stop him from doing that and that has been true of presidents for decades.

DEAN: I also want to ask you about a separate issue, Ukraine and Russia. It does not appear as of yesterday that President Trump will give Ukraine the American long range tomahawk missiles, that President Zelensky has been seeking, that Trump had said he might give Zelenskyy if Putin didn't come to the table, that if he didn't do and if he didn't end this war. Do you think that's the right choice at this moment?

JAFFER: Well, look, Jessica, I've long been a believer in giving Ukraine everything they can have, everything that we have in our arsenal to win this fight. I've said that since the Biden administration, President Biden did give them some weapons, but he leaked them in slowly over time, making it impossible for Ukraine to win.

President trump then cut that back in an effort to force Putin and Zelenskyy to the table. That failed because Putin doubled down after multiple meetings with President Trump. And so now the question is, how can President Trump get Vladimir Putin back to the table? Some of us thought that what he would do and in fact, what he said he might do, was to double down on Ukraine, give them everything they needed. But he appears to have, at least in this instance, walked that back. He is not going to give them the tomahawk land attack missiles, which are very long range, very serious weapons. Some of the best weapons we have in the U.S. military from the early 90s, but still very effective.

And so we will see what happens with this over time. He is scheduled to meet with President Putin again in Hungary. We will see if that conversation goes the way the last one did, which is President Putin makes promises that he doesn't live up to.

If he keeps doing that, I think President Trump has learned the lesson from both Putin and Xi, you can't trust them and he may need to double down on Ukraine, and that may be the time he sends these tomahawk missiles over.

DEAN: Right. And as we were saying in our last hour, it is this question of you have the leverage, but you have to use the leverage to get Putin to do what you want him to do.

JAFFER: No, that's exactly right. And, you know, President Trump talks about how he is the greatest dealmaker. Well, this is a scenario where he has talked about getting this war ended even before he took office. He hasn't been able to get that done. He is clearly frustrated with the situation. He is clearly frustrated with Vladimir Putin, and so the question is when will that frustration turn into him doing something to double down on Ukraine and give them what they need to force Putin to the table, which is to cause more casualties in Russia? DEAN: And we do have a little bit of breaking news I want to ask you

about, the U.S. State Department is saying it has some credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against Palestinians in Gaza. The State Department has gone on to say in this new statement: "This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts. The guarantors demand Hamas uphold its obligations under the ceasefire terms."

So again, this just coming in, the U.S. State Department saying it has credible reports indicating an imminent cease fire violation by Hamas.

I just want to get your reaction to that.

JAFFER: Well, look, obviously, President Trump has been very clear. If either side violates the ceasefire, it could result in serious consequences. The biggest concern has always been that Hamas would not uphold its end. It hasn't fully done its part. It hasn't handed over all the dead bodies of Israeli hostages that it said it would.

And now, if it is going to conduct some sort of an attack or is planning an attack that demonstrates a couple of things. One, it demonstrates that we or the Israelis have insights into what Hamas is planning. And number two, it demonstrates that President Trump isn't willing to let this just go by, wait for the attack to happen. He is making it clear to Hamas, we know what you're doing. Don't do it. And if you do, there will be a lot of pain.

And surely Prime Minister Netanyahu is ready to take action if he needs to. The question is, will the U.S. back it? It sounds like the answer to that is yes. So we will see what Hamas does now.

DEAN: Yes, and it is worth noting that these would be against the Palestinian people themselves. So we will certainly keep an eye on that breaking news. Jamil Jaffer, always good to see you. Thanks so much for your time.

JAFFER: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, we are keeping track of rallies that are taking place from coast-to-coast as millions of Americans join the No Kings Protest. We are going to take a closer look at just how much traction these demonstrations are getting online.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:29:43]

DEAN: Happening now, massive crowds are protesting the policies of the Trump administration in thousands of locations all across the country, and while there has been heavy turnout in big cities like Chicago and New York, people are also showing up to make their voices heard in smaller cities and towns, again, all across the country. [18:30:00]

CNN's Brian Stelter is joining us now.

Brian, I know you've been keeping an eye on this throughout the day. What's been standing out to you?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, I've been talking to some of the people who turned out in smaller cities and towns from coast to coast because obviously, you know, for very natural reasons here on television and also on social media, we focus on some of the big crowds and some of the big cities. You know, we've had those television news helicopter images today from cities like Boston and Los Angeles. But we are also seeing this in so many other hundreds of towns.

You know, of course, the organizers had said they expected this in more than 2,500 locations. We'll see what the final count ends up being. But it was really interesting today seeing people telling their own stories, posting their own photos and videos to social media and making sure that their hamlets, and villages and towns are represented. You know, and some of these, you know, places I'm going to name, they're not that small. They're significant cities, but they're usually not covered, you know, on the national news. You know, the Bismarck, North Dakota, the Plano, Texas, you know, Hammond, Louisiana, The Villages, Florida, Charleston, West Virginia.

In some cases, some pretty red parts of the country and other cases in purple states. The point is that these kinds of protests are taking place everywhere today. I was talking to a woman in Charlottesville, Virginia, who told me that she thought the turnout was much bigger than at the first "No Kings" rally back in June. One of the pictures she sent me, it says, "Protest while you still can."

I was talking to a man in Ashland, Oregon, who said, of course, there were lots of dinosaurs and other costumes, right, people wearing their Halloween outfits in some cases to these protests. And, of course, the through line we're seeing in these photos, whether you're looking at major cities or the smallest of towns, it's the number of American flags.

I have to think that some of the people who turned out today who showed up with their flags were doing so in order to bring it and show House Speaker Mike Johnson how ugly and how vicious his words were earlier in the week when he talked about this being a hate America rally. So, so many flags, such a telling display in these smaller towns and cities today.

DEAN: Yes. The -- the Speaker and other Republicans really calling this anti-American. And again, as you know, we've seen a lot of -- of flags and -- and other items like that today.

Over the past few months, we've also seen a lot of talk about free speech. I mean, you and I talk about this a lot.

STELTER: Yes. DEAN: What's the significance of this event, what we're looking at

right here in that broader context?

STELTER: Well, number one, the organizers will say it was a big success, that people were able to get out and be heard. And, you know, it's one thing when you see pictures on the news. It's another thing when you're just out on a random Saturday driving to the mall and you see people on the highway overpass with signs and flags. And that's what happened to me this morning when I was driving out in New Jersey.

I think a lot of people have had that experience today where they are seeing these protests in their own lives, or at least seeing them on their own Facebook feeds from their friends or their family members. And that makes a difference. It hits differently. And that's what the organizers were going for.

Yes, they wanted, you know, big turnout in -- in major metro areas, but they also wanted lots of other people to see that this is a widespread movement. So much of President Trump's success in the first nine months back in office comes from this sense of invincibility, this sense of invulnerability.

And these organizers are clearly trying to challenge that by having a widespread turnout for the second time in a small number of months. And I think more broadly, we've heard an argument from the right that, you know, certainly President Trump's not a king. What are you all complaining about?

This -- this argument, this -- this -- this movement today, it speaks to that as well, that many of the signs we're seeing, many of the concerns we're hearing about, it's not about democracy versus tyranny. It's more about that sliding scale, that spectrum. You know, countries don't change overnight. But what we are seeing in the U.S. is a form of democratic backsliding. Threats against the free press, threats against freedom of speech are a part of that democratic backsliding.

And what we've heard from many protesters today is a concern not about America changing all at once, but about America changing slowly and surely in a less democratic direction. That's why I suspect, Jessica, this was not going to be the last of these No Kings protests that we've seen.

DEAN: Yes. Democratic backsliding with a -- with a little D. All right. Brian Stelter --

STELTER: Yes.

DEAN: -- yep, thank you so much. Good to see you.

Still to come. The stress is growing for many families with lawmakers now nearing three weeks with no agreement on how to fund the government. Up next, we're going to talk to an advocate for military families on the real-life impact this is already having on those in uniform and their families and millions of others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:39:06]

DEAN: With the government shutdown now dragging into its third week, Republican Senator John Kennedy predicts it could last past Thanksgiving, while politicians go back and forth over the next steps. As that's happening, military families are living in fear they're not going to be able to pay a mortgage or buy groceries. Nearly a quarter of military families already fear they're not making enough to buy all the food they need. That's according to 2020 statistics from the Defense Department.

And joining us now to talk about what these families are facing is Libby Jamison. She's married to a Navy helicopter pilot and advocates for military families. Libby, thank you for being here with us. We are really glad that we can talk to you about just the real-world implications. We talk about this in kind of broad terms, but this is impacting real Americans, real families. What are you hearing from them?

LIBBY JAMISON, MILITARY FAMILY ADVOCATE: Absolutely. Well, thank you for having me. But it has been a -- a tough few weeks for our military community.

[18:40:01]

And as you referenced, this is a community that was already financially fragile even before the shutdown began with the food insecurity rate that you mentioned. But also, a 20 percent unemployment rate among military spouses. So, what we saw on the 15th was good news. A lot of service members were paid, but some were not. Some were paid too much. Some were paid too little. And I think that really reflects the instability that military families are experiencing right now.

And so, what I'm hearing from other military families is really frustration over why any of this is necessary. As we have seen with previous shutdowns, Congress could pass a stand-alone bill to make sure that service members are paid and not used as leverage in this shutdown negotiation. But unfortunately, the current congressional leadership hasn't made it a priority to do that.

DEAN: And as you noted, America's military families, a lot of them did get a paycheck on Wednesday. But in order to meet that payroll, the Pentagon had this unusual fix where they used billions of dollars of unspent money that was meant for research and development. This is temporary. It's a temporary Band-Aid.

So, it is, as you noted, good news that a lot of people did get paid, although you noted there were discrepancies there and some people didn't. But -- but then you just get to the next paycheck. And there is continued uncertainty. What does that feel like?

JAMISON: Right. I think it's a really unnerving time. And as we're seeing, even just the threat of a missed paycheck has massive ripple effects. And so, although folks were -- a lot of folks were paid, military families have already started cutting back so that they can make sure that they can make that rent payment, that mortgage payment, the next child care payment.

And for some families, you know, there are quite a few military spouses who work in the federal government or are federal contractors. And so, they are dealing with a furlough or even firings at this time, creating double the upheaval in some of these households. And I would also add it's not just the -- the paycheck insecurity that's happening right now. Military families rely on other benefits to make ends meet, like SNAP and WIC and the commissaries and tuition assistance.

And so, the longer the shutdown drags on, the -- the more in jeopardy those programs are.

DEAN: Yes. If -- what is your message to congressional leadership and the President right now?

JAMISON: The -- the message for me and that I'm hearing from many military families is that they don't need another lecture on resilience or financial planning. They need to be paid on time. They need benefits that they can rely on. And they need the government to honor their service and sacrifice with stability.

DEAN: Yes. And it's that - it's -- because they -- I think people don't always remember that military families move a lot. Oftentimes, spouses can't work because it's really hard to be in the normal workforce if you're moving that much. You also need to, if you have children, make sure they're getting what they need and that -- and so, there's -- there's these particular stresses on military families. Some people are serving away from their families. Do you think that -- that -- that Washington understands that sort of sacrifice?

JAMISON: I think there are folks that -- that do and that are -- are coming to the table with solutions and -- and those solutions just need to be elevated and -- and escalated. But I do think we have to look at this in the broader context of everything that's happening at DOD. And, yes, I'm -- I'm still calling it DOD.

But we have service members who are being deployed on the -- the streets of American cities, which is not what they signed up for. And we have censorship in military schools. We were just hearing from -- from some of your previous statements about instability in the Middle East and Venezuela. And we have a leader who hasn't been -- been held accountable for a very public breach of safety protocols with Signalgate.

And so, military families, to your point, are already dealing with so much uncertainty, so much chaos. And now they're being put in the middle of -- of the shutdown and they just want to serve their country. And instead, they're being stretched from -- from all ends here.

DEAN: Yes. Libby Jamison, thanks for your time. We really do appreciate it.

JAMISON: Thank you.

DEAN: A growing number of women are quitting their jobs and careers and exiting the workforce altogether. And economists say it's a troubling trend that could set women back from progress made since the pandemic. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich takes a closer look at just how many women are leaving and why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor.

Women are leaving the workforce at a really alarming rate, a rate not seen since the pandemic when the entire world shut down.

[18:45:03]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 455,000 women left the workforce between January and August of this year. And if this continues, economists are warning that this will erase gains made by women since the pandemic and could hurt economic growth.

Highly educated women and black women are leading the exodus. And here's why, child care costs too expensive for many families. Also, women who had children were able to reenter the workforce post pandemic because of flexible work policies like hybrid or work from home. But now companies are making return to work mandates much stricter.

Also, the cutting of public sector jobs and the rollback of DEI initiatives have impacted black women. So, how do we encourage women to return? Well, you have to reverse all of that. We have the data that is pointing to this concerning trend. But CNN also spoke to more than two dozen women who recently left the workforce.

The majority of women said that it was assumed that they would be the ones to drop out of the workforce and stay home with their kids instead of their husband. And this tracks with another alarming rate. Women, on average, make $0.81 for every dollar that men make. And the wage gap is moving in reverse, according to data from the Census Department.

Just two years ago, women made $0.83 to every dollar that men made. So, Victor, as you can see, the wage gap is only widening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.

Still ahead, we are tracking the protests still taking place in cities all across the country.

Plus, a string of scandals. Prince Andrew, decide -- after a string of scandals, Prince Andrew decides to give up his royal title. What that means for the British monarchy. That's ahead.

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[18:51:29] DEAN: A string of scandals has led to a rare move for the British

Royal Family. Prince Andrew giving up the use of his royal titles. He made that announcement yesterday after years of controversy surrounding his friendship with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. CNN's Max Foster joins us now with more. Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: So, it seems as though the British Royal Family has finally had enough of the scandal engulfing Prince Andrew, which just does not seem to go away. All his associations with Jeffrey Epstein. They came up again more recently with a new set of emails published in the British newspapers.

According to Prince Andrew, "In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family."

I'm told by royal sources that the King, King Charles, Andrew's brother, is glad of the outcome. Now, what does this mean in terms of titles? Because the reality is that technically Prince Andrew hasn't been stripped of any of his titles. He's just agreed to stop using them. Titles like the Duke of York. He has many other titles as well. He's going to stop using those titles, but they still exist.

Crucially, he will still be Prince Andrew because that title came to him at birth as the son, as the grandson of a monarch. So that won't go away. He will still be living in his grand house on the Windsor Estate Royal Lodge. He has a private lease there. We're saying that isn't affected. In terms of his public appearances, they're literally going to dry up. We have seen him at family events, not -- not necessarily state events, but family events on camera. But we're told that this year he won't even be invited to Christmas.

So, in terms of what Prince Andrew did have in terms of public profile and prestige has now been completely stripped away.

Max Foster, CNN, London.

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DEAN: Max, thank you.

Instagram is rolling out new safety tools for teens who use A.I. chatbots. And this follows growing concern over their impact on young users' mental health. Parents will be able to block certain A.I. characters and get chat summaries. The platform will also (INAUDIBLE) and sexual topics. The company faced criticism after reports some chatbots engaged in inappropriate conversations with minors.

Thousands of people displaced by a powerful storm in western Alaska will not be able to return home for at least 18 months. Typhoon Halong killed at least one person and washed away dozens of homes in several remote villages last weekend. More than 2,000 people across that region have taken shelter in places like schools or had to be airlifted to Anchorage to stay in a sports arena or convention center. To help with the recovery, the Alaska governor has asked President

Trump for a disaster declaration.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano lighting up the sky with large flows of lava shooting from its crater. The U.S. Geological Survey says lava fountains reached a near record high of nearly 1,500 feet. It lasted more than seven hours, and it's part of a series of eruptions that have been taking place since last December.

This Sunday, from classic French combinations like baguettes and boule de pain (ph), discover the breads that bring the world together on a new episode of the CNN Original Series, "Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread." Here's a preview of Tony's time in the city of Marseille.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you had a look in the kitchen, like this little kitchen, so we have basically a guy from Gabon making chicken with another French people, like -- and then I'm beside.

[18:55:07]

TONY SHALHOUB, CNN HOST, "TONY SHALHOUB BREAKING BREAD": Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then, we have Caroline (ph) making little plates like that. This is Marseille. This is basically Marseille. You know, people, they like to share and exchange with others. And I think that a little boy like me that was born in Algeria can talk with a great actor like you. Welcome to Marseille. The creativity, everywhere.

SHALHOUB: What is this? Oh, my god.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this is basically fish, strawberries, maybe sea bream or sea bass.

SHALHOUB: Oh, I see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe strawberries.

SHALHOUB: So good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ...

SHALHOUB: No, no, you're good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've -- I've seen you. You eat a lot.

SHALHOUB: I'm -- I'm still working on the lamb and the chicken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Be sure to tune in. It's a new episode of "Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread." It is premiering Sunday at 9 PM Eastern Pacific, only here on CNN. Still ahead here tonight, Americans taking to the streets in mass to

send their message to Washington, No Kings in America. Up next, we're going to speak with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Los Angeles, of course, protests still going strong there tonight. Stay with us. You're on the CNN NEWSROOM.