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Israel, Hamas Renew Pledge After Deadly Strikes; Thieves Steal Precious Jewelry Inside Paris' Famed Louvre; Chilean Students Can Focus Their Studies with the Help of a Signal Blocker in Their Phones. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired October 20, 2025 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello, welcome to all our viewers joining us here in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Great to have you with us.
Just ahead, a high-level U.S. delegation is heading to Israel as the fragile Gaza ceasefire survives a major test.
Trump and Colombia's President trade insults as the U.S. military targets another boat carrying suspected drug traffickers.
And Paris' world-famous Louvre was closed to visitors after thieves stole priceless jewelry from the museum in a daring heist.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: The fragile ceasefire in Gaza appears to be holding up to surviving its first major test. Israel and Hamas are now renewing their pledge to the agreement after accusing each other of violating it.
U.S. President Trump reacted to the new round of deadly attacks Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We want to make sure that it's going to be very peaceful with Hamas. And as you know, they've been quite rambunctious. They've been doing some shooting and we think maybe the leadership isn't involved in that, you know, some rebels within, but either way, it's going to be, it's going to be handled properly. It's going to be handled toughly, but properly.
REPORTER: Is the ceasefire still in place?
TRUMP: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KINKADE: Israel says Hamas carried out an attack in southern Gaza killing two Israeli soldiers. Israel then launched a wave of airstrikes at Gaza hospitals, say, killed at least 44 people. Sources tell CNN that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to lead a delegation to Israel in the coming days.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, key architects of the deal, will also reportedly travel to the region. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now on how those deadly attacks unfolded in Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The Israeli military conducted a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday after two Israeli soldiers were killed in what Israel says was a Hamas attack. And all of this represents a major test, the most significant test for the ceasefire today, just nine days after it went into effect.
These are the most intense Israeli airstrikes that we've seen since the ceasefire went into place. One large underground tunnel route was struck in Gaza, as well as an additional 15-plus targets in just the southern part of the Gaza Strip alone, according to an Israeli military official.
But we do know that there were strikes in southern, central and northern Gaza, and they took place after the Israeli prime minister convened security officials for a consultation and after the Israeli defense minister vowed that Hamas would pay a, quote, "heavy price for this attack."
Now, this Hamas attack on Sunday apparently took place in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, with rocket-propelled grenade fire and sniper fire being directed at these troops, killing two Israeli soldiers and severely wounding one other, according to the Israeli military.
Now, Hamas, for its part, says that it is committed to this ceasefire. The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, claim to have no knowledge of any incidents in the Rafah area in southern Gaza where this all took place; they say that their communication has been cut off with their fighters in that area.
It's also important to note that we have seen other instances of fire in Gaza since this ceasefire went into effect, with Israeli troops opening fire at Palestinians who either approached or crossed this invisible yellow line in Gaza where Israeli troops withdrew to once the ceasefire went into effect.
On Friday, for example, at least nine people were killed, including four children, when a family was in a vehicle traveling to northern Gaza and apparently crossed that yellow line, the death toll there, according to Gaza's civil defense.
We should also note that the Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday also ordered a halt to humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, but it appears that he made a rapid about-face there with an Israeli official now telling us that aid deliveries will resume once these strikes end in Gaza. But all of this represents a major test for this ceasefire.
[03:05:02]
It has not yet fully collapsed, but certainly there are questions about its fate going forward, particularly as far-right members of Israel's government call for an all-out return to war. But for now, again, the ceasefire has not collapsed, but a very serious series of events that we'll be following very closely.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Aaron David Miller joins us now. He is a former State Department Middle East negotiator and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Great to have you on the program.
AARON DAVID MILLER, SR. FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE, AND FORMER U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT'S MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: Glad to be here.
KINKADE: So, we're just a little over a week into this ceasefire, and it's already marred by violence on both sides. Following the deaths of those two Israeli soldiers, the IDF launched a series of strikes inside Gaza.
How do you read this moment? Are we on the verge of a return to a full-scale fighting, or is the current ceasefire still salvageable?
MILLER: No, I think it's definitely salvageable. I mean, I'm not surprised. You have two parties who have pledged to one another's mutual destruction.
There's zero trust and confidence. You don't have direct negotiations between Israel and Hamas, even through cutouts.
The reality is, Lynda, if this is going to work, obviously Israel and Hamas are going to be pushed, have to be pushed to make it work, but that's really going to depend on the key mediator.
Not the Qataris, they'll have a role. Not the Turks, they'll have a role. Not the Egyptians, they'll have a role.
It's President Trump and his team. Henry Kissinger spent 30 days negotiating the Israeli-Syrian disengagement agreement in 1974. Baker had nine trips, nine months, to plan the Madrid peace conference.
Unless President Trump is prepared to intercede personally, but also to deploy his emissaries in a way that literally keeps them in the region, this process will not happen quickly. But planning for it needs to be done quickly, if it has a chance to succeed. And the key here is an international stabilization force.
It's going to be a heavy lift, but it's got to happen. Trump empowering Kushner and Witkoff, working with the Egyptians, the Turks, and the Qataris, maybe a U.N. Security Council resolution, there's got to be some demonstration of American will and skill.
KINKADE: So you're saying that U.S. delegation has to not only head back to the region, but stay in the region for a period of time to see this through?
MILLER: In other words, I don't see how this works. It's not good. It's not a weekend thing, it's 24/7.
And the mountains that need to be climbed here, not just the stabilization force, decommissioning, the demilitarization of Gaza, keeping the delivery points open. The administration interceded today to restrain Israel, and by tomorrow, Monday, soon, I suspect Rafah crossing may be open, and the Israelis will have resumed humanitarian or facilitated humanitarian aid deliveries. This came as a consequence of American pressure.
And that's what's going to have to take prime time in the primary role here. Otherwise, if it drifts and they aren't on this all over this, it's not going to succeed.
KINKADE: You mentioned the U.S. envoy, Steve Witkoff, and also Jared Kushner, the President's son-in-law. They spoke with "60 Minutes" and said it was crucial that Hamas understand that Israel will not relaunch the war once all the living hostages were returned. I just want to play some sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARED KUSHNER, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SON-IN-LAW: Hamas' worst nightmare in the deal would be that Israel withdrew to the agreed-upon line. Hamas released all the hostages. And then once that occurred, Israel just resumed the war and went back to going after them.
STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: The President said, we will stand behind this deal. We will not allow the terms of this deal for any party to be violated.
KUSHNER: And both sides will be treated fairly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Aaron, you've been in the room with both Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. How central is the hostage issue to the dynamics at the negotiating table?
MILLER: It's critically important because the return of the hostages, in many respects, diffuses the justification, the need for the massive and relentless military pressure that the Israelis applied over the last two years. I took a flyer here. I think we've probably seen the end of that kind of military operations, the artillery strikes, the deployment of thousands of Israeli forces, the massive airstrikes.
But as yesterday suggests, there still may be military conflict.
[03:10:00] But the argument that the Israelis need to continue to deploy in Gaza and conduct these operations in densely populated areas, I think, has now been diffused because the live hostages, the 20, have been released. And Hamas, I think, was brought to understand that the hostages were no longer an asset.
In fact, they were a liability. Now that they're returned, you watch what happens in the streets of Gaza. Hamas's margin for reasserting its control in the open, demonstrating its power, both through cooptation and through intimidation and executions, to reassert its control, has gained.
So I think Hamas has no stake in resuming this war. And I think the current Israeli government is going to be highly constrained by the United States to prevent returning from what you and I witnessed over the last couple of years.
KINKADE: Aaron David Miller, always great to get your analysis. Thanks so much for your time.
MILLER: Thank you, Lynda.
KINKADE: Well, the U.S. Defense Department has confirmed yet another military strike on Friday on alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean. This is the seventh known similar strike.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claims the boat was loaded with narcotics and that it had ties to a Colombian guerrilla group designated as a terror organization by the Trump administration. Hegseth called these drug cartels the al-Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere.
The strikes are sparking criticism from lawmakers, even some Republicans, as the White House uses a classified legal opinion to justify this lethal action. Republican Senator Rand Paul says the U.S. is executing people without due process.
A clash on social media with Colombian President has Donald Trump saying that he will announce new tariffs on the Latin American country in the hours ahead. Tensions have been growing as the U.S. carries out those strikes on those alleged smuggling vessels.
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro recently accused the U.S. of murdering an innocent Colombian national in one of the strikes. President Trump accused Mr. Petro of doing nothing to stop drug production in Colombia, adding that he would be cancelling all U.S. payments and subsidies to the country. He rejected the idea that denying aid to Colombia could impact its ability to combat drug trafficking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: They are a drug manufacturing machine, Colombia, and we're not going to be part of it. So we're going to drop all money that we're giving to them. It has nothing to do with them stopping drug production. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: President Petro called Mr. Trump, quote, rude and ignorant towards Colombia.
The U.S. Senate is back in session this week as the country enters day 20 of the federal government shutdown. But there's no indication that Democratic and Republican lawmakers will come to an agreement on a funding bill any time soon. CNN's Camila DeChalus tells us what they're saying.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The government shutdown is now entering its fourth week, and it is very clear that there is still no clear path forward for lawmakers to take to potentially reopen the government. Now, lawmakers still remain deeply divided over how to fund the government, and both parties are really blaming each other for the continued stalemate.
Now, on the Republican side, the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, has really been pointing the finger, saying that it's the excessive Democratic spending priorities that they have when it comes to health care and funding for public broadcasting, and it's some of the reasons that he's claiming that the negotiations have stalled. But Democrats are really pushing back on this argument, saying that it's really Republicans who are the ones trying to make massive, sweeping cuts to health care and social programs.
Take a listen.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER: They want to reinstate free health care paid for by taxpayers to illegal aliens. That's $200 billion as part of it. They want to give money back to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, they want to take a half a billion dollars from rural hospitals, and they want to engage in all sorts of spending on foreign projects around the globe.
That is actually on paper, that's their kind of proposal, we can't do that.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), U.S. HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: We're talking about the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. Hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based health centers are closing all across America because of what Republicans have done with their one big ugly bill, and now they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
DECHALUS: Now both sides are really framing this as a fight over health care spending, not just about reopening the government, but also about what the country should prioritize moving forward. And as the government shutdown continues, there's really this building pressure we're seeing not just from federal workers who are going without a paycheck, but also from constituents who are calling their lawmakers and really voicing their concerns about how much longer this is going to go on. Camila DeChalus, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: I'm going to take you live now to Paris, where lines are once again forming in front of the famed Louvre Museum that follows a historic heist that has sent shockwaves through the French capital. Still ahead, an update on the press as items stolen by jewelry thieves and the evidence they left behind.
[03:15:10]
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KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade.
French police are searching for priceless jewelry following a daring daytime heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The evidence suggests that three to four thieves broke into an upper story balcony before stealing French crown jewels from the Apollo Gallery. The heist was carried out in just seven minutes as the museum was opening to the public on Sunday.
For more, I want to go straight to the Louvre. Our senior international correspondent Melissa Bell is outside or nearby, I should say.
Melissa, great to have you with us. So just can you describe the feeling right now in Paris today? Is the museum opening to the public? What's the security like?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lynda, it has reopened, although probably not the very room where it happened. You can see up there, that's the window into which they broke using that truck and the mechanical ladder up to it, entering the building.
Just seven minutes, as you said it all, they were inside. But through that window and that broken pane of glass, they managed to get in, break into the display cases, the alarms were set off, there was some kind of an altercation with the security guard, and within minutes they were in and out with a number of these priceless jewels.
[03:20:08]
What investigators and police are saying is that the first 48 hours are crucial, and this is why this manhunt is underway. There's still no sign of them, but it is eight pieces of jewelry that investigators, authorities believe are still in their possession.
One which was a crown that belonged to the Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, was found somewhere out here on the floor as they made their getaway on motorcycles. The other eight pieces remain, things like brooches, earrings, necklaces, all of them belonging to former Queens of France, because after all, this here in the Apollo Room is where France's crown jewels are held. They are of an inestimable value, not just because of the rubies and emeralds and diamonds involved, Lynda, in the pieces of jewelry themselves, but of course because of their historical, cultural significance, and that's something authorities have been speaking about a great deal. A lot of questions as well this morning around the Louvre about how this could have happened.
Something as brazen as that, parking a truck outside, managing to get inside the Louvre, completely open of course. This was at 9:30 yesterday morning, it had opened its doors half an hour before. An extraordinary story here in Paris, and by this morning, so not quite 24 hours after it happens, still no sign, Lynda, of the thieves or the missing jewelry.
KINKADE: Yes, it's quite incredible seeing that scene behind you, that this is the time yesterday that this robbery took place in broad daylight, the thieves using a basket lift to get up into that balcony. Are authorities giving any more information about how they were able to do it in such a brazen way? Is it possible that it was an inside job?
BELL: There are a lot of questions, as you can imagine, a lot of speculation in the French press this morning. Was this a planned operation, someone who had ordered the jewelry that was inside? One of the questions of course, what they would possibly do with these jewels on the open market, whether they would be cut up, which of course would be a tragedy in itself.
So really authorities for now, all they're saying is that these people were extremely well prepared. This had been a well plotted and very well executed operation. And whilst it appears brazen, you're quite right, the idea of parking a truck outside making their way in broad daylight seems extraordinary, it worked.
There are questions as well about how well prepared, how well defended, how well secured the Louvre Museum was with one report we understand from the country's highest constitutional court that was not yet published, but going to point to certain lapses in the security arrangements.
For instance, the Denon wing, which houses the Apollo room, only had a third of the rooms with actual CCTV cameras in them. These kinds of things also prominent in this morning's newspapers here in France. But questions of course, how they got in, why they were attempting to choose those jewels and where those jewels of course are now, where the people involved are now the thieves.
What we do understand, and we've been able to see some of this, we're just trying to get it for ourselves, is that some of the CCTV camera footage of those precious, crucial few moments inside the Louvre is available, which will help of course investigators try and figure out exactly what happened. Lynda.
KINKADE: Yes, that CCTV footage, no doubt key, but also there were other pieces of evidence left behind by these thieves. What can you tell us about that? BELL: They did find beyond the crown that I mentioned, a sort of
yellow vest that one of these robbers wore. So these are the kinds of yellow vests that workmen wear when they're going about the city and what this truck looked like are the kind of mechanical lifts that you used to go in and out of Parisian buildings when, for instance, you're moving them or doing works on a building. So it is possible that they had dressed in these to make themselves look like workmen carrying out genuine work on the facade of the Louvre.
That the only significant piece of evidence that we've learned about from investigators that was found near the scene of the crime, just one crown and one yellow vest. And of course they will even now be combing through all the CCTV footage they have.
Again, first 48 hours are crucial. That leaves 24 more in which they can find these thieves whilst investigators say they remain particularly vulnerable.
KINKADE: All right, Melissa Bell for us outside the Louvre in Paris. Great to have you on the story. Thank you.
Would you understand the larger context behind this robbery? CNN spoke to Christopher Marinello, the founder of Art Recovery International, an organization that specializes in recovering stolen and looted art.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER MARINELLO, LAWYER AND FOUNDER, ART RECOVERY INTERNATIONAL: Most likely this is part of an Eastern European gang, one of the gangs that have been operating throughout Europe for the last several years.
[03:25:00]
There have been numerous museum thefts lately of gold items in the Netherlands, in Wales, in Paris previously a few months ago, in Egypt, in Cairo.
So thieves are going after precious metals. And the problem we have in recovering these pieces is they're just breaking them up. They're no longer stealing a Picasso that we can find hidden under a bed somewhere.
They are just looking to cash out as quickly as possible. We need to break up these gangs and find another approach or we're going to lose things that we're never going to see again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, still to come, the latest on the efforts to bring the U.S government back online as we enter the fourth straight week of the government shutdown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Lynda Kinkade. Let's check today's top stories. U.S. President Donald Trump says the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is holding, that's despite a new round of deadly attacks in Gaza Sunday. Israel says two of its soldiers were killed by Hamas, prompting a wave of Israeli airstrikes.
Jewelry thieves struck the Louvre in Paris, getting away with priceless artifacts from the Apollo Gallery.
[03:30:03]
Officials say three to four suspects were responsible for the seven- minute heist; they used a truck-mounted ladder to break into a balcony window. Cultural treasures, including some of the French crown jewels, are missing.
At least two people are dead after a cargo plane slid off a runway and into the sea at Hong Kong International Airport. Officials say the victims were airport ground staff, whose vehicle plunged into the water, along with the plane. Authorities are investigating why the plane veered off course.
As the U.S. federal government shutdown enters its fourth week, more federal employees are about to be out of work. Today, the agency overseeing the U.S. nuclear stockpile will furlough about 1400 people, that's the vast majority of its workplace. The Trump administration's agricultural secretary warns that the food stamp program will run out of money in just two weeks, that will leave about 42 million people at risk of losing vital food assistance.
Republicans, including House Majority Leader, blame the Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: They've been dealt this situation, dealt this hand by Chuck Schumer, and they have to make the most of it. They have to triage federal spending because Schumer and the Democrats turned off the revenue streams.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The Democrats say Republicans are stonewalling and refusing to negotiate a deal to extend the enhanced health care subsidies that millions of Americans rely on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFRIES: Republicans have repeatedly voted against extending those tax credits because they care more about George Santos and freeing him than they do about providing health care to everyday Americans. That's the unfortunate reality that we confront.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Larry Sabato is the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. He's also the co-author of "Campaign of Chaos - Trump, Biden, Harris and the 2024 American Election." Great to have you with us. What a good looking book there.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA-CENTER FOR POLITICS: Thank you so much, I appreciate it, Lynda.
KINKADE: So, Larry, the Republicans and Donald Trump are still taking more blame for this government shutdown, but not by a wide margin. Why do you think the public is assigning clearer blame given the dysfunction?
SABATO: Basically, because both parties have managed to secure their base, their party base now, and you have almost all Democrats blaming Trump and the Republicans in Congress and almost all Republicans blaming the Democratic leadership in Congress. And as long as you maintain your party base, you're within hailing distance of the other party in terms of blame or credit.
I don't see that changing simply because it's obvious to most people that neither side thinks it's losing. And because they're not losing, they're not going to give anything to the opposition.
KINKADE: So we're now just days away from this becoming the second longest shutdown in U.S. history. Most people in D.C. seem to think this will break the record for the longest. Are we really stuck until there is some crisis-level disruption like mass flight cancellations or worse?
SABATO: I think you put your finger on one of the scenarios that would very probably end the shutdown, and that would be air traffic controllers calling in en masse, at least at some airports, and saying they were sick, or TSA agents also not showing up for work. Because remember, those two groups in high-pressure jobs are not being paid, they haven't been paid since the very beginning of October.
So this is a very difficult time for tens of thousands of government workers. And that's going to show up and when it starts inconveniencing the public or when benefits cut off, and some of the food service benefits will be cutting off in just a few days, then congressmen are going to start hearing from average constituents who maybe are even in their same party.
KINKADE: And you've said before, Larry, that bipartisan negotiation in Washington seems harder than the Middle East peace process. Is that because of structural gridlock, or is this truly a Trump effect, where even rank-and-file Republicans are unwilling to move an inch?
SABATO: It's mainly Trump. And, of course, Trump has heightened the party political polarization that we've had for years. It's really extreme now. Republicans will not break with Trump about anything.
Even the things they tell you privately they dislike that Trump is doing. And Democrats feel outclassed, really, in almost every way, politically and governmentally. They have to stick together, even if they're unhappy with their leadership, which they are.
And remember, Democrats got a real jolt of energy on Saturday with the 7 million people across America in 2500, 2600 localities showing up for the No King's Day march. And I think that makes it even less likely that Democrats will offer any kind of compromise soon.
[03:35:05]
KINKADE: Yes, it certainly seemed to energize the party, didn't it, that mass demonstration. But is passion enough to move votes, or are we looking at another round of both sides digging in for the long haul?
SABATO: Oh, I think they'll dig in for a while. I think they'll dig in. Again, I say the key is whether average citizens and average party members start throwing in the towel and saying enough is enough, lock yourselves in a room, order some pizza, don't let yourselves out until you make up some kind of compromise that works.
That will happen at some point. But it's difficult to say when.
KINKADE: Yes. Larry Sabato, as always, great to have you on the program. Thanks so much.
SABATO: Thank you, Lynda.
KINKADE: U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is acknowledging that the Gaza ceasefire deal is going to have its complications, but he remains hopeful that it will eventually bring long-term peace. Sources say he prepares to head to Israel this week with other top officials. CNN's Betsy Klein reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: There was much hope and optimism at the White House as President Trump unveiled phase one of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, but also the implicit recognition that any peace deal would be a fragile one, and there was still much work to do. The White House very closely tracking the events of this weekend as two Israeli soldiers were killed and Israel subsequently launching airstrikes.
But both sides have now recommitted to that ceasefire for now and have an eye toward next steps. A U.S. official tells me that they are now focused on implementation of phase one of that deal and working vigorously with partners in the region.
And to that end, Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to travel to Israel in the coming days, according to sources familiar with the matter. Also traveling with him are two of the key architects of that peace deal, Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and the President's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The three of them and top Israeli officials are expected to discuss phase two of that potential deal, which has some of the thornier issues to discuss, like the future of Gaza, who is going to govern the war-torn enclave, as well as the possibility of Hamas disarmament. But Witkoff and Kushner weighing in on this historic deal. Listen. KUSHNER: Now that the war is over, if you want to integrate Israel with the broader Middle East, you have to find a way to help the Palestinian people thrive and do better.
LESLEY STAHL, "60 MINUTES" HOST: How are you doing with that message?
KUSHNER: We're just getting started.
STAHL: Is it true that once the deal was agreed to, that the Israelis there at that meeting and the Qataris began to hug each other?
WITKOFF: Absolutely. And I thought to myself, I wish the world could have seen it.
KLEIN: President Trump also reiterating his interest in redeveloping Gaza in an interview this weekend. He says that there is going to be a board of peace and that he has been asked to be chairman of that board. But as the events of this weekend clearly show, there's still much more work to do.
Betsy Klein, CNN, traveling with the President in West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: The U.N.'s Chief Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, says he was overwhelmed after witnessing the devastation in Gaza City first hand. He described it as a wasteland after more than two years of Israel's war with Hamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM FLETCHER, U.N. CHIEF EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: So we're driving through south of Gaza City now. So these are parts of Gaza actually visited back in the start of the year. And vast areas that came from them that were standing and now completely pulverized, flattened. A wasteland.
It's just such a massive task ahead. It's hard not to be overwhelmed by that.
But the people here picking their way through the rubble and putting their tents back on their homes. They, I mean, of all the people in this equation, they're the ones who don't look overwhelmed. Somehow, they're just living.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, Donald Trump is again calling on both sides to freeze the war in Ukraine along the current battle lines. His comments follow Friday's White House meeting with Ukraine's President. There, he denied President Zelenskyy's request for the long-range Tomahawk missiles.
It comes as the Kremlin ramps up aerial barrages across Ukraine, looking to lock in territorial gains before winter settles in. While speaking with reporters on Air Force One, President Trump remained adamant about stopping the fighting swiftly.
[03:40:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We think that what they should do is just stop at the lines where they are, the battle lines. You have a battle line right now. The rest is very tough to negotiate.
If you're going to say, you take this, we take that, you know, there's so many different permutations. So what I say is they should stop right now at the battle lines, go home, stop killing people and be done.
REPORTER: What do you think should happen with the Donbass region?
TRUMP: Let it be cut the way it is. It's cut up right now. I think 78 percent of the land is already taken by Russia.
You leave it the way it is right now. They can negotiate something later on down the line. But I said cut and stop at the battle line, go home, stop fighting, stop killing people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well the "Washington Post" is reporting that President Putin laid out clear terms to end the war during a phone call with President Trump the day before the Zelenskyy White House meeting.
According to two senior officials, Putin demanded that Ukraine surrender the strategically crucial Donetsk region to Moscow. That hardline stance suggests that Putin is not backing down from past demands.
And still ahead, China's five-year plan. Leader Xi Jinping looks to push forward his strategy to strengthen the world's second-largest economy as a powerful committee meets. The details in a live report next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back to CNN, I'm Lynda Kinkade. This is your Business Breakout.
Markets across Asia kicked off the week posting solid gains with Japan's Nikkei seeing the biggest jump of more than three percent. New economic data from China also on the minds of investors. The Shanghai Composite there in positive territory as well.
And these are the business headlines.
Gasoline prices are falling across the U.S. According to AAA, the average price per gallon of regular gas could hit the $3 mark for the first time in four years. Besides a number of factors including lower demand, cheaper crude oil and a mild hurricane season so far.
[03:10:00]
Coffee prices in the U.S. jumped nearly 21 percent in August compared to the same time last year. And some retailers say Donald Trump's tariffs on major international suppliers are largely to blame. The U.S. imports more than 99 percent of its coffee from countries like Brazil, Colombia and Vietnam.
President Trump is defending his bailout for Argentina. He told reporters Sunday the South American country is quote "fighting for its life" and shrugged off criticism of his administration's $20 billion lifeline saying it's benefiting Argentina more than the U.S. He also suggested he's considering a deal to purchase beef from Argentina.
President Trump says he's not looking to hurt China with high tariffs and ongoing trade tensions but is calling for a fair deal. He spoke just hours ago aboard Air Force One.
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TRUMP: I'm not looking to hurt China, but they have to give us things too. I want them to buy soybeans.
One of the things I want is China's going to buy soybeans. I want China to stop with the fentanyl.
Very, you know, normal things. I don't want them to play the rare earth game with us.
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KINKADE: In an interview with Fox News, President Trump said China forced him to raise tariff rates earlier this month after Beijing tightened its rules for exports of rare earth minerals. The U.S. President says that he'll be meeting with China's Xi Jinping in two weeks in South Korea on the sidelines of the APEC summit.
At this hour, a key closed-door meeting of China's elite central committee is underway. The focus is the country's five-year plan.
CNN's Ivan Watson joins us now from Hong Kong with all the details. So, Ivan, they're going to discuss the next five years over the next four days. What do we know?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that this will result in China's 15th five-year plan, a blueprint for political, economic, cultural strategy moving forward in the country. You've got more than 300 members of this central committee who will be meeting behind closed doors, so it's anybody's guess how these proceedings will move forward.
Now, a development that emerged on Friday raised some eyebrows because the second-highest-ranking official in the Chinese military, a general named He Weidong, was summarily removed from office, as well as eight other senior military commanders. General He is a member of the Politburo, which is one level above the central committee, a 24-person body, and also somebody who'd been working alongside Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, for decades. China Watchers seeing this as a bit of a flex on the part of Xi Jinping, demonstrating his absolute control over the leadership, both civilian and military, going into this central committee meeting to chart China's course forward.
Also, in the last couple of hours, we've gotten the latest GDP figures for China, the world's second-largest economy, and it shows that from July to September, the economy grew at 4.8 percent, which would be enviable for many other economies around the world, but is actually the slowest growth rate that China has seen this year, and not on track with the 5 percent growth that the government wants to have.
Government officials are attributing this slowdown to the, quote, "complex and severe external environment," in other words, the trade war with the U.S., with President Trump threatening 100 percent additional tariffs on all Chinese exports to the U.S., starting at the beginning of November, and that's why talks between the two governments are going to be so essential.
So much is riding on that in the next couple of weeks, with the U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, saying that he's going to meet with his Chinese counterpart in Malaysia later this week, and then again this possible President Trump-Xi Jinping talks that could come later. So an awful lot riding on that, but there are internal factors as well, Lynda.
China is struggling with high youth unemployment, overproduction of things like electric vehicles and batteries and solar panels, which China has surged at recently, but has led to what critics claim is China dumping some of these goods on international markets, and problems like deflation, which are hard to deal with.
But if you do in fact have the meetings of these leaders, these two governments in the coming weeks, there's a final bit of context that I'd like you to look at. China's planning the next five years of how it's going to govern itself, and strategies and a blueprint for the future.
[03:50:04]
In the meantime, the U.S. is doing very little of that, because it's locked in gridlock and political crisis. The U.S. government shut down with no foreseeable end to this crisis in the near future. Lynda.
KINKADE: We are covering both those stories. Great to have you with us from Hong Kong, Ivan Watson. Thanks so much.
Well still to come here on "CNN Newsroom," a new crackdown on phones in schools. A high school in Chile is using phone cases that magnetically lock students' devices.
And the kids don't seem to mind. Still ahead, why they say the new policy is helping them in the classroom.
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KINKADE: A Chilean high school is cracking down on cell phone distractions among students, and educators say it's making a difference. There's a secret assigning phone cases that block cellular signals.
CNN's Christopher Ulloa takes a closer look.
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CHRISTOPHER ULLOA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For these students at high school in Santiago, Chile, things were clear. Both they and their classmates easily lost concentration because of their cell phones.
[03:55:00]
JOSE PRIMERA LEAL, STUDENT (through translator): I played (inaudible). I spent half the time on my phone and then went to play volleyball with my classmates.
ULLOA (voice-over): At least until now. The school leaders decided to implement a pilot program that they say seeks to limit the cell phone use during the school day and promote more concentration, social interaction, and learning in the classrooms.
HUMBERTO GARRIDO SAN MARTIN, DIRECTOR, BICENTENARIO DE LO BARNECHEA INSTITUTE (through translator): This is a project born from the need for schools to pay more attention because they were using technological devices a lot.
And these cell phone signal blocking cases were developed. It's a case, a kind of soft-shelled fabric. You put the cell phone in it, and it doesn't get a signal.
UNKNOWN (through translator): Here at the entrance, they give you your case, each with a roll number. You put your phone in, close it, and then when you leave, you put a magnet on it, and it unlocks.
ULLOA (voice-over): And while the TikTok dances and Instagram photo sessions have stopped while they're at school, most students appreciate the measure.
LEAL (through translator): I actually thought it was great. I've had the case for two months and have gotten used to not having my phone during the school day.
UNKNOWN (through translator): I think it's a good idea because people concentrate better in class and aren't distracted by their cell phones.
ULLOA (voice-over): The program is in its first phase, which includes 100 students. Authorities are already reporting good results, and students are paying more attention during the school day.
Christopher Ulloa, CNN, Santiago.
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KINKADE: That sounds like a great initiative.
Well, it is indeed spooky season, and crowds gathered in the capital, Santiago, Chile, on Sunday to take part in the annual zombie walk. The parade was equal parts horror and fun with people dressing up in their most gruesome costumes.
This year's motto was Monsters Gather to Celebrate, and here you can see the creativity on display. This year, the event paid tribute to the sinister character Dr. Mortis, a Chilean horror icon.
Thanks so much for joining us, I'm Lynda Kinkade. "Amanpour" is next, then stay tuned for "Early Start" with Brian Abel, starting at 5:00 a.m. in New York, that is 10:00 a.m. in London.
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