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Deadly Clashes In Gaza Test U.S.-Backed Ceasefire; Interview With Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) About Government Shutdown; Chicago ICE Director Ordered To Appear In Court Monday; Trump Calls On Ukraine, Russia to "Stop The War Immediately"; CNN Original Series Features New Orleans. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 19, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:24]

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

And we do have breaking news tonight. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas being tested, as Israel has now launched a series of strikes on Gaza and is pausing humanitarian aid. Gaza hospitals saying at least 44 people killed in those strikes. CNN cannot independently verify that number.

Israel doing this because they say Hamas violated the ceasefire by firing upon IDF soldiers, killing two of those soldiers. Hamas has also accused Israel of violations. Under the deal, Israel has withdrawn from parts of Gaza, but the tensions obviously remain quite high. Sources tell CNN this week, Vice President J.D. Vance, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner all expected to travel to Israel. They are trying to get -- to nail down this next phase of the deal.

Let's bring in CNN's senior White House reporter, Betsy Klein.

Betsy, this is a key priority right now for the Trump administration to really land the second part of the deal and keep the ceasefire in place and progressing. What do we know about this trip?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, I think it's certainly significant that President Trump is deploying his vice president, J.D. Vance, to the region at this very critical moment. But there was so much hope when President Trump announced this first phase of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, but also the recognition that any peace deal would be extremely fragile and there was much work ahead toward the next steps.

The White House watching developments this weekend extremely closely as those two Israeli soldiers were killed and Israel subsequently launching those airstrikes. But for now, both sides are recommitted to this ceasefire. A U.S. official telling me that they are focused on implementation and working vigorously with their partners in the region. And to that end, as we mentioned, Vice President J.D. Vance expected to travel to Israel in the coming days along with the architects of that peace deal, special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, where discussions in Israel between those top officials are expected to center around phase two of this ceasefire deal.

And this involves some of those much thornier aspects moving forward in this conflict, including Hamas disarmament, as well as the major question of Gaza governance. Who is going to be in charge going forward? But President Trump also having an eye toward next steps. He was asked about plans for redeveloping Gaza in an interview taped earlier this week that aired today. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: In the past you've said Gaza could be beautiful. It could be developed. And you said you wanted to develop it.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes.

BARTIROMO: Do you have any plans for that?

TRUMP: Not -- not me as an individual. What --

BARTIROMO: The U.S.?

TRUMP: I liked it as like freedom place. You call it freedom place. And we would get all of the people that live there into decent homes throughout the region. Look at Gaza. I mean, you know, there's nothing standing. The whole thing is -- it's all rubble. So it's not too hard to top that. And we build houses and it would be paid for by the wealth of the, you know, the wealthiest countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: The president also told FOX News that there will be what he described as a board of peace working toward redevelopment of Gaza, and that he has been asked to be the chairman of that board. But as the events of the last 24 hours or so convey, there is still so much to be done before they can get there -- Jessica.

DEAN: Certainly. All right. Betsy Klein, with the very latest reporting there from West Palm Beach. Thank you so much.

And we are joined now by former State Department Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller.

Aaron, good to have you here. We are at a very tenuous moment. These things are notoriously fragile, but we are at this tenuous moment. What is your view of where we are right now?

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: Jessica, thanks for having me. There are going to be many, many, many tenuous moments. We're not talking days, weeks, probably months. And I think it's extraordinary. The president created a moment and did something that no other American president has done with respect to pressuring an Israeli prime minister on an issue that he considered to be critical to his politics and his definition of Israel security, and bringing the presidential power and focus on the Qataris, the Turks and the Egyptians to press on Hamas.

But let's be clear here. We have a moment. There is a pathway to end the war in Gaza. But the mountains that have to be climbed are very large. And the most important one is the international stabilization force.

[18:05:04]

Unless you can ramp that up, and it cannot be done in days, it -- weeks at a minimum and perhaps even more, it means deploying probably representatives security forces from Arab Muslim countries on the ground from areas in which the Israelis have redeployed to begin the process of decommissioning and demilitarizing Gaza.

And I think the experience here for the Israelis is a very checkered one. UNIFIL in Lebanon, with 10,000 deployed peacemakers, never had the will, understandably perhaps, to confront Hezbollah. The same problem is likely to occur here. So that's just one of the problems. And then you have the issue of governance and creating a legitimate and authoritative board of peace. Fine. But you're going to need Palestinians who are viewed as legitimate and authoritative to actually administer Gaza.

So a lot of hurdles, an extraordinary amount of work to do. If the president, Jessica, is prepared to apply the same focus and attention and involvement that it took to get this far, then I think there's a chance. If this is one and done or this is the eighth conflict he now claimed he's resolved, you and I are going to have a lot more conversations and they won't be happy ones.

DEAN: Yes, we know, as Betsy was saying, Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, Vice President Vance all headed to the region this week. They're going to try to get these details. A lot of what you're talking about, at least make some progress on those.

When you're in a moment like this with your past history, help us understand the importance of time and momentum and building on something and not letting this sit too long. It would seem to me you have to move quickly and continue to push those pressure points.

MILLER: Yes, and you have to demonstrate, in fact, that this is succeeding, not failing. You could look at what happened over the last 24 hours either with -- as a glass half full or empty. Half full in the sense that the Israelis have drawn back. Whether or not this was a sanctioned Hamas operation, guys appearing with anti-tank weapons out of a tunnel in Rafah, Hamas has very little command and control.

It doesn't really matter. There's no trust and no confidence between two parties who were pledged to one another's mutual destruction. And there's no direct negotiations. I suspect, and I'm not sure I'd recommend this because very politically sensitive, the administration is going to have to open up his own channel directly to Hamas. President has already done that in March, and he did it again in order to get to this agreement in Sharm El-Sheikh when Steve Witkoff sat down with Khalil Al-Hayya, probably the most important member of the external leadership, representing those who are actually making the decisions in Gaza.

So again, this is going to require breaking a lot of diplomatic crockery, going where no president has gone before with respect to restraining Israel and leaning on Hamas and organizing an Arab coalition ultimately an international one and launching a tin cup to raise the $60 billion, at least, that it's going to be required to engage in meaningful reconstruction.

DEAN: Do you think that's possible?

MILLER: Is it possible? I mean, I think yes, I think it's possible because, frankly, Jessica, to default to the negative frankly leads to paralysis. Nobody ever thought Apartheid would come to an end. Then you had Mandela and de Klerk. Egyptian-Israeli peace, Sadat, Begin, and Carter. Israeli-Jordanian peace, King Hussein, the late King Hussein in the late Rabin. So yes, it's possible, but it requires leaders in Israel who are masters of their politics, not prisoners of their ideologies.

It means sorting out the problem of who's going to represent the Palestinians. Hamas, on one hand, Abbas on the other, and a monopoly over the forces of violence within Palestinian society. And it's going to require a degree of leadership in Washington in which it's not just one and done, it's not having a big peace conference in Sharm. It requires being all over this 24/7, deploying people who know what they're doing and working, applying a lot of honey and a lot of vinegar, a lot of incentives and a lot of disincentives.

Can it be done? Yes, it can be done. But it is a really heavy lift. And I might add, what happened on the West Bank today, settlers running rampage against unarmed Palestinians, that's the other elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about.

[18:10:00]

You want to go broader to make sure Gaza first is not Gaza only? Then you're going to have to deal with the problem of the West Bank and some sort of political horizon to give Israelis and Palestinians a sense that all of this is leading somewhere. And that in itself is going to be tough. But again, leadership, that's what is necessary and that's what's missing.

DEAN: Yes. And that's it. It is the leadership. And look, you did, you said credit to the administration for getting this done, for doing what had so far been not possible and had not come to fruition. And now they have to look ahead.

In terms of what you're talking about with Kushner and Witkoff and Vance all going this week, what does success look like there? What do they need to achieve for that to be meaningful?

MILLER: You know, they're talking about a U.N. Security Council resolution, which I think would be helpful. That would essentially pronounce on the fact that you're not going to have a U.N. mandate for this. I don't know what the Russians and the Chinese would agree to or not if you wanted to pass a resolution in the Security Council. But you've got to get this international stabilization force, this ISF, up and running.

There were reports that it would be Egyptian led. I think that would be extremely significant. President Scott, what, he's deployed 200 American forces that from CENTCOM, they're going to monitor the ceasefire. I think that's also extremely important. But getting the Israelis to cooperate when there's no trust and confidence, getting a brutal terrorist organization to cooperate with external leadership who don't have the confidence of the internal leadership, the brigade commanders on the ground who are making these decisions.

All of this, again, don't think days, don't think weeks. You're right. Moving quickly is really important. Maybe finding a way to identify a piece of this. There's talk of sort of creating a zone in Rafah that could be presumably governed by Palestinians, which would be Hamas free. The Egyptians and the Israelis could also facilitate this, to demonstrate that, in fact, you could have piece by piece a bit of Gaza as actually normalized. But again that's -- that in itself is going to be difficult.

DEAN: Yes. So much more to come. Aaron David Miller, great to have you. Thank you.

MILLER: Thank you. Jess.

DEAN: The Senate set to reconvene tomorrow. The House of Representatives still out as we head into nearly three weeks now of the government shutdown. Those impacts are increasing. Plus, a judge says she is profoundly concerned about the tactics ICE agents have used on people in the streets of Chicago. We're going to break down tomorrow's big hearing with ICE's field director there in Chicago.

Plus, the key to man. Vladimir Putin reportedly made during his call with President Trump. We'll bring that to you ahead.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:43]

DEAN: We are on day 19 now of the government shutdown. Still no sign yet of any break in the political stalemate. And for now, Democrats and Republicans are sticking to their guns, blaming each other. Here's what we heard from leaders of both parties today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I refuse to allow us to come back and engage in anything until the government is reopened. When the Democrats do the right thing for the people. They're playing politics, and we have to use every ounce of leverage we have to make sure they do the right thing.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): We need to reopen the government, stand by our hardworking federal civil servants. But we also, of course, have to decisively address the health care crisis that Republicans have visited upon the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining us now is California Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia.

Congressman, thank you so much for being here with us. We appreciate it. I just first want to start with your best thoughts on where we go from here and when this government gets reopened.

REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): Well, we've been pretty clear. Obviously, we want the government to be reopened. We know there's a lot of concerns from a lot of folks across the country. Federal workers. It's a real impact of folks. But what we're seeing right now very clearly is that because Republicans chose to give billionaires a massive, massive tax break, just as we know earlier, a few months ago. Now the consequences of health care are real on the American public.

Health care subsidies are about to expire. When those expired, folks' insurance in some cases is going to double. So if you're on the Affordable Care Act, if you are on some kind of subsidy federally in one of the many plans across the country, you're going to start receiving letters in the mail over the next few weeks where you're going to start seeing these premiums skyrocket. And we know that President Trump has talked about affordability.

He said he's going to bring costs down on groceries, down on housing, down on health care. And instead they've all gone up. So what we're saying is let's reopen the government, but let's continue this health care support so these costs don't go up for the -- for the American public. And that's what we're so focused on at this moment.

DEAN: Your colleague, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said one-year extension of the subsidies is not enough. What do you think?

GARCIA: I agree completely. One-year extension essentially just kicks the can down the road. We have to structurally address this issue.

[18:20:02]

And people cannot afford right now their health care insurance to double. If you are watching this right now and you are on the Affordable Care Act and any of the -- any of these programs, of course, that are -- that are nationally supported by the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, it is highly likely that your health care costs are going to skyrocket in the next few weeks or months ahead. And so we know that most folks can't afford this. And so it's very easy for Republicans to say, look, we're going to reopen the government and extend these subsidies.

They just gave massive tax breaks to billionaires in this country. It's time that we stand our ground and ensure that these health care costs are covered for the American public.

DEAN: The Republicans have said they'll have this conversation with Democrats if you just vote to reopen the government. Why not do that? GARCIA: I mean, I don't find what they say very trustworthy. Donald

Trump is not known for being very honest and certainly I think Speaker Johnson has now gone back on his word on a variety of different measures. And to be clear, one of the reasons why we're doing this is because the budgets that we have put in place in the past, through the House and the Congress, Donald Trump has chosen essentially to pick and choose what he wants to fund or not fund.

He essentially is not even following the direction that Congress has put in place as it relates to budgets. So we have no confidence that they are just going to, oh, have this debate at a later time. The American public can't wait and see their health care costs essentially skyrocket, and then deal with the problem after the fact. What we're saying is let's come to the table right now and negotiate this extended health subsidy for the American public and reopen the government.

DEAN: And at the moment, the Republicans are saying, we're not doing that. And there is this stalemate in place. And I hear you on what's going to happen with people's health care premiums that that is true for people who are on those specific plans. Those are going to cost more when these subsidies go away. At the same time, right now with the government closed, we have thousands of employees who are being fired by the Trump administration and a lot of these federal programs.

I was -- I was interviewing Mayor Karen Bass out in L.A., who I know you know, about their programs to feed low-income children and families. Those are threatened. Things like that. There are real implications of federal workers not getting paid. The military potentially not getting paid. They've been paid. But will they continue to be paid? Is it worth it in your mind to have this fight when there are real implications because the government remains closed?

GARCIA: The implications are real. I think you've laid some of those out, and I've talked to federal workers as well. I was out at a bunch of the events yesterday, the "No Kings" events. And what I heard overwhelmingly from people, including federal workers that I've met with, is that we need to take a stand to ensure that health care costs across this country for the average family, don't skyrocket.

So this is an opportunity for us to stand tall against these plans by President Trump and the House Republican majority. Now, look, as it comes to other support, we've also said and we've been very clear to House Republicans, the military should be paid. Let's put something in front of the Congress and ensure that our military members get paid. Mike Johnson refuses to do so. We have said seat Lisa Grijalva, who is waiting to be able to represent her constituents in Arizona so she can help us move an agenda forward. They refuse to do so.

Republicans have been on vacation now for over two weeks. We could be paying the military. We could be reopening the government. We could be extending health care premiums. But they're not showing up to work. We've been in D.C. and we're about many of us to go back to D.C. and wait for Republicans to actually join us to try to get some of these negotiations. DEAN: Have you talked to any of your Republican colleagues about this?

GARCIA: I have, and look, and there's a growing group that understand that we've got to solve this affordability challenge on health care. It's many of these Republican districts, by the way, that have huge chunks of folks that are on the Affordable Care Act and they need access to health care, and they actually can't afford an increase in premiums.

And imagine being on a fixed income and getting essentially notice from your insurance people are going to start getting in the weeks ahead, saying your costs are about to double. People can barely afford what's happening right now. And so why we are not addressing this, but are willing to send everyone's hard earned income off to billionaires or large corporations? I think that is the key question here.

DEAN: Congressman Robert Garcia, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

GARCIA: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, a federal judge is demanding answers from the head of ICE operations in Chicago about violating her order on using tear gas on protesters there. Reaction from someone who once helped run ICE. That's next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:29:18]

DEAN: Chicago has continued to be the epicenter of President Trump's immigration crackdown, as attorneys have faced off in courtrooms and agents confront protesters on the ground there. A federal judge now demanding Chicago's ICE field director appear in court tomorrow to explain the agency's use of tear gas being deployed without any warning out in the field and what she called concerns over violating an order she'd already given.

Former ICE acting director during the Obama administration, John Sandweg, is with us now.

John, thanks for being here with us on this Sunday.

JOHN SANDWEG, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, ICE: Yes, thanks.

DEAN: Thanks. You know, Chicago, as we noted, has been a real epicenter here. What are your thoughts as we head into this hearing tomorrow around this particular situation?

[18:30:02]

SANDWEG: Yes, Jessica, I think the administration really has set up the men and women at ICE and at the Border Patrol for failure here. Look, a lot of the concerns the court has really are where activities not taken by ICE necessarily, but by Border Patrol agents. And really, that's not surprising to me because we've pulled them up out of their natural environment where, you know, the southwest border, right, where the threats they face, the use of force, all of that, and all of their training is radically different than what you confront when you're doing civil immigration enforcement in a city like Chicago.

And then on the ICE side as well, although they are better trained in terms of operating in an urban environment like Chicago, typically this crowd control and dealing with these protesters themselves is not their responsibility. And so you take these agents, you tell them they want, what this administration wants them to be, you know, confronting and policing these crowds, with training or experiences that are brought from a different environment, it's just not a surprise to me that we're seeing this court raise these concerns, or that they're quick to use tear gas or other less than lethal force, despite the fact that, you know, they just don't have the training to deescalate the situation.

DEAN: Yes, that same federal judge ordered ICE agents wear these body cameras in the field.

SANDWEG: Yes.

DEAN: What do you think about that?

SANDWEG: Look, I applaud the use of body cameras. Typically, although historically when body cameras really became involved in the last 10 or so years, law enforcement agents historically would oppose those, Jessica. They'd be reluctant to wear them. But over time, I think they found that it helped them beat back false allegations. It helped them secure convictions in criminal cases.

So there are a lot of questions about some of these use of force incidents that have happened. And again, I know we often use the word ICE, but it is a little more complicated than that because of the presence of the Border Patrol, which is really unprecedented, I think, and I do think is the source of a lot of the problems right now in Chicago. But when these use of force incidents have happened, there've been questions about exactly who's at fault.

And I think the body cameras will at least provide a transparent record. So I imagine the administration is going to appeal that. But for the agents, the protection of the agents themselves, I think actually wearing body cameras can only help them and help the public as well.

DEAN: Help us zoom out for a second and help people understand what we're seeing play out right now. And I think the use of Border Patrol agents is a key piece of this. But there are others as well. what we're seeing happen right now with this immigration crackdown versus what we've seen from ICE in the past, in past administrations.

SANDWEG: Yes, there's a lot of lip service right now, Jessica, that this is about criminal aliens, right, about criminal law enforcement. But really, the way in which these operations are undergoing and where they're making these arrests tells me it's really about mass deportation. Right? This is a giant area sweep in Chicago that's designed to be very overt to, you know, almost a show of force, right, to make sure that their presence is felt in the city. And from a targeting perspective, what we're seeing is a lot of traffic stops, a lot of raids, if you will, on low-wage places where there's low-wage workers.

Now, that's a good way to make a large number of immigration arrests. You're likely to find people there who are out of immigration status. The problem is it's just not where you find your criminals. So traditionally, you know, the other day, the White House, the FBI and DOJ announced a nationwide criminal operation that was kept very low profile, was worked hand in glove with our state and local partners, and they made a lot of good arrests. And then at the end of the operation, they announced it.

That's typically how immigration enforcement would work as well. ICE would want to come in and keep it very low profile so the targets didn't know that they were coming. Go out and make arrests of individuals where research had been done in advance. You know, that person poses a real threat to public safety and you take them into custody. But it's done quickly, surgically, in a way that doesn't raise as much attention as these operations.

And again, what we're seeing here, we have Border Patrol agents or ICE agents marching down through downtown Chicago or some of these very visible raids that are happening, just tells me that this is much more about mass deportation and much more about making sure that their presence is felt than it really is about, you know, criminal aliens.

DEAN: All right. John Sandweg, good to have you. Thanks so much.

SANDWEG: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Tonight there's new reporting on what Russian President Vladimir Putin wants from Ukraine as President Trump sets his sights on ending the more than two-year conflict. We're going to talk with the "Washington Post" reporter who broke this story about how the White House is viewing Putin's demands, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:38:52]

DEAN: President Trump appears to want to give diplomacy another chance to end Russia's war in Ukraine, even as Russia continues nightly barrages of drones and missiles. After meeting with President Trump on Friday, Ukraine President Zelenskyy acknowledges one of the key sticking points in negotiations is over territory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: Let me ask you, because President Trump said property lines should be defined, quote, "by war and guts," after your meeting. They should stop where they are, he said. You have said territory would be the most difficult part of negotiations. Are you now willing to negotiate some territory to give up some of Ukraine's territory in order to end this war? VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I understand that we have to

finish this war and begin this, finishing from the place where soldiers stay from the contact line as I understood correctly. Yes, I agree that if we want to stop this war and to go to peace negotiations, to urgently and in diplomatic way, we need to stay where we stay, not to give something additional to Putin because he wants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:40:09]

DEAN: The "Washington Post" is now reporting Putin demanded in a phone call with Trump that Kyiv surrender the crucial Donetsk region. Citing two senior officials familiar with the conversation. This suggests Putin is not backing down from demands. CNN has reached out to the White House on this and so far has received no response. But we're joined now by the "Washington Post" Michael Birnbaum, who wrote that piece, broke this news.

Michael, thank you so much for being here with us. We really appreciate it. As I noted, the White House did not immediately respond to our request for comment. It didn't respond to your request. Have you heard anything since about how the administration views this?

MICHAEL BIRNBAUM, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: We've not heard anything directly from the White House in response to our reporting. All we know is what our reporting says about the contents of the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy and the contents of the phone call with Putin.

DEAN: Why is this particular region so strategically important to Putin?

BIRNBAUM: Well, so it's strategically important to both sides. The war in Donetsk has been going on for 11 years. It's really been the site of a lot of fighting ever since the first round of war started between Ukraine and Russia. Russia has controlled most of this region for a long time. But the parts that Ukraine still has are strongholds for Kyiv, and they've been able to hold on to it for a long time. It's strategically important territory. They're really dug in.

Russia, the Ukrainians say, would like it because it will give them an advantage in any future war. It'll help them press even deeper into Ukraine. And the Ukrainians don't want to give up that last territory.

DEAN: So knowing all of that, when you did this reporting, were you surprised that Putin demanded this?

BIRNBAUM: Well, I mean, Putin has said this in the past. It was something that he was saying ahead of his August summit with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska. So it's not shocking that he is still pushing for it, but it's notable that he's not backing down. President Trump is saying he wants to end this war. He's saying publicly that he wants to freeze the conflict along the current lines. That's not what Putin is saying is his price to end the war, the conflict. And it's suggesting that he's continuing to push forward. It would be a major sacrifice, the Ukrainians say, for them to give up

this territory. And Putin continues to want to bite off pieces of Ukraine that he hasn't been able to conquer by force. So it's notable that even at this late point, when Trump is really focusing on ending the war in Ukraine, Putin is not backing down.

DEAN: Yes. And what is your sense of how the administration and the president, even himself, is thinking about it at this moment in time?

BIRNBAUM: Well, so based on my conversations with these officials who are familiar with the meeting between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, it sounds that behind closed doors, President Trump and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, are pretty sympathetic to the Russian position. At the very least, what they want, what they're focused on is ending this war at all costs.

They are not that interested in Ukraine's protestations that this is important land that, you know, they don't want to hand over anything further to the Russians. It sounds as though the White House line right now is quite unsympathetic to the Ukrainians, and that they've been -- Trump has been very willing to listen to Russian President Vladimir Putin heading into this latest round of negotiations.

DEAN: And then we have this other piece of all of this. Obviously, Zelenskyy meeting with the president on Friday and not getting, at least at this moment, these long-range Tomahawk missiles that he's been seeking for some time now. The president not saying no forever, but certainly not saying yes right now. What is your sense of that?

BIRNBAUM: Well, so that's right. The Ukrainians went into this meeting with Trump hoping that they would be allowed to purchase these U.S. made long-range Tomahawk missiles. They say that being able to strike deep into Russian territory with this advanced weaponry would help pressure the Russians into giving them a better piece. They -- the Ukrainians are endorsing what, you know, Trump says about peace through strength. And they say they want more strength.

In the end, Trump said Friday that, you know, the U.S. needs these Tomahawks, that what he wants to do is end the war and so that he doesn't have to send Tomahawks.

[18:45:01]

And Zelenskyy came out from the White House. I was at a news conference that he gave right afterward, and he said that he was realistic about his chances to get the Tomahawks. He doesn't sound very optimistic that that's something that Trump is going to do.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Michael Birnbaum, thanks so much. We really appreciate your insight here. Thanks.

BIRNBAUM: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still to come, it is a big time break in. Thieves making off with priceless jewels from the Louvre. It only took them seven minutes. More of these incredible details ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:12]

DEAN: The new CNN Original Series, "NEW ORLEANS SOUL OF A CITY "explores the city's unique food, culture and, of course, live jazz. Tonight's brand new episode takes a look at the history behind New Orleans music and one of the city's most famous voices. Louis Armstrong. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOUIS ARMSTRONG, MUSICIAN: I'm Louis Armstrong.

RICKY RICCARDI, ARCHIVIST, LOUIS ARMSTRONG HOUSE MUSEUM: But no man or being has ever changed the way people play music on their instruments and changed the way people sing like Louis Armstrong. A lot of young people might think of him as a heavyset jolly entertainer.

MICHAEL WHITE, MUSICIAN AND HISTORIAN: But his true contribution to jazz and American music is often overlooked.

RICCARDI: The next hundred years of music is still following in his footsteps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining us now to discuss is Louis Armstrong historian and author Ricky Riccardi.

Ricky, great to have you here with us. We got a little flavor of it there, but explain just the incredible impact that Armstrong has had on music, including what we listen to today.

RICCARDI: I mean what he set in motion 100 years ago we're still dealing with. And that's both as a trumpet player and as a vocalist. As a trumpet player, I mean, the way he constructed solos, the way he told the story with his horn, his rhythm, his swing that sets up not just jazz geniuses like Charlie Parker, but also B.B. King, Eddie Van Halen, you name it. They're all following Armstrong's lead.

And with his voice, you hear his phrasing, you hear his rhythm. And Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. But also any pop singer, R&B singer, soul singer, rap, hip hop. It all comes from Louis Armstrong.

DEAN: It is kind of incredible. And he's certainly a product of New Orleans. Talk about how the city shaped him. He shaped the city. It seems pretty symbiotic.

RICCARDI: I mean, I don't think a day went by where Armstrong did not reminisce about New Orleans, talk about New Orleans, sing songs about New Orleans. He learned about music, about food, about race, about women, about the police, about -- you name it. It all happened those first 21 years in New Orleans. And he also learned, you know, you could say right from wrong because after he got out of there, he was in no rush to go back. And people ask us all the time at the Louis Armstrong House Museum,

why is this museum in Queens, why is he buried in Queens? By the end of his life, he considered himself a New Yorker, but he always considered New Orleans his home.

DEAN: That's so interesting. And so tell us a little bit more about that. Why he -- why he considered himself a New Yorker at the end but really had those roots in New Orleans?

RICCARDI: Well, the way he put it, he once said in an interview, I don't got Northern Five. Meaning he left New Orleans in 1922, and he spent the next decade in Chicago, in New York City, Central Avenue in Los Angeles, these thriving cities with incredible black art scenes. And then in 1931, he goes back home to New Orleans and a white announcer won't announce him on the radio, calls him the N word.

Armstrong could only play in front of a whites only audience. The only venue that would book him down there. And after about two or three months of being there, I think he realized that's enough. Like I said, he never lost his love for the city. But even two years before he died, he complained that it was always disgustingly segregated.

DEAN: Yes, and look, you mentioned he was in New York. He was in Chicago. He was obviously known all across this country, but also he really introduced the world to jazz and to his music as well. How did he do that?

RICCARDI: Well, one of his favorite stories, he went to Europe for the first time in 1932, and he actually lived there for 18 months, beginning in July 1933. And there wasn't much of a jazz scene. You know, he was playing in Italy and places like that. Then he comes back 15 years later, after World War II, and he comes back to Italy, and he's met by a band of young Italians called the Roman New Orleans Jazz Band.

And that was not there the first time he visited. And it was really for him, a moment that's like, wow, this music that we created on the streets of New Orleans, this has become art. It's really been embraced around the world. And from that moment on, he was beloved as Ambassador Satch, America's ambassador of goodwill.

DEAN: Yes. He leaves -- he left behind quite a legacy.

Ricky Riccardi, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

And be sure to tune in a new episode of "NEW ORLEANS SOUL OF THE CITY" airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only here on CNN.

We still have another hour ahead, and in that next hour, some of the key architects behind the Gaza ceasefire deal are headed to the Middle East this week to help keep that fragile deal intact and continue to expand on what they've already done. This is as the agreement faces its first major test.

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We've got the latest for you when we come back.

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

Tonight. Israel and Hamas both accusing each other of ceasefire violations. Israel launching a wave of strikes on Gaza and pausing humanitarian aid after the Israeli military says they were fired upon by Hamas, killing two of their soldiers. According to Gaza hospitals at least 44 people were killed by Israeli strikes.