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U.N. Experts Condemn Coercive Intervention In Venezuela By The United States; Putin-Trump Summit On Hold After Russia Rejects Ceasefire; Vance Downplays Concerns Over Israel-Hamas Ceasefire; Khalil Back In Court Amid Trump Admin Deportation Efforts; Louvre Heist Triggers Global Manhunt with 100+ Investigators; 1.4M Federal Workers Furloughed or Working Without Pay; Shutdown Creating a "K- Shaped Economy" in America; Trump Embraces A.I. to Post Videos Mocking Opponents; Giuffre Details Brutal Beatings, Sex Abuse in Memoir; Looking at The Cases of Gaza Medics Detained by Israel; Tropical Storm Melissa Forms in the Caribbean. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired October 22, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:27]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Great to have you with us. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, drug war or targeted killings. President Donald Trump and leaders of Colombia and Venezuela have very different views of the U.S. strikes on boys. Now U.N. experts are weighing in.

Ceasefire in the brink. The U.S. vice president is in Israel racing to shore up a fragile truce that may already be unraveling. His mission to stop Prime Minister Netanyahu from walking away from the deal.

Plus, Russia continues to attack Ukraine as a meeting between Trump and Putin is cancelled. Is Putin playing Trump? That story coming up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: U.N. experts are set sounding the alarm over the Trump administration's actions and threats directed at Venezuela and Colombia, calling them an extremely dangerous escalation that could impact peace and security in the Caribbean.

The experts say covert action in South America and threats of armed force violate Venezuela's sovereignty. President Trump says he authorized the CIA to operate inside Venezuela to curb illegal flows of migrants and drugs and is also weighing military action as part of a pressure campaign to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

The experts also noted reports of the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean as well as recent strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats. Those strikes prompted strong criticism from Venezuela's neighbor Colombia and are fueling the growing tensions between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Donald Trump. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUSTAVO PETRO, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): That's domination and it's why Trump got angry when I refused to buy his claim that he's preparing to invade Venezuela over drug trafficking. It's a lie. They've already killed 27 Latin Americans, innocent fishermen or not, with missiles, violating international law. This disproportionate force is a war crime. I'd say the same if Colombians were victims. The real motive is to seize Venezuela's oil, which will be worthless in 20 years anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez has more now on the warning from the UN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN EN ESPANOL U.S. POLITICAL DIRECTOR AND ANCHOR: The report by three United Nations experts urges the United States government to seize what they describe as unlawful attacks and threats against Venezuela. They state that covert action and threats of using the armed forces against the government of Venezuela violate that country's sovereignty and the United Nations Charter.

According to the experts, even if the allegation that vessels the United States military has attacked in the Caribbean are linked to narcotics trafficking were true, the use of lethal force international waters without proper legal basis violates the international law of the sea and amounts, according to the experts, to extrajudicial executions.

The United States has attacked at least six boats and a semi- submersible. It claims we're involved in transporting illicit drugs and killed at least 32 occupants. Two survived. And even though they were described as terrorists by the Trump administration, they were repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador with no charges filed against them.

The Ecuadorian government said there was no evidence linking their repatriated citizen with illegal activity. The report says, and I quote, the long history of external interventions in Latin America must not be repeated. The international community must stand firm in defending the rule of law, dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

President Trump claims he has the authority for the attacks because he is engaged in armed conflict with drug cartels to stem the flow of drugs to the United States. But the experts said in their report that these moves are an extremely dangerous escalation with grave implications for peace and security in the Caribbean region. Juan Carlos Lopez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, joining me now is Julian Gerez, an assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine. Good to have you with us.

JULIAN GEREZ, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE: Thank you so much for having me. I'm very happy to be here.

KINKADE: So, Professor Gerez, Colombia has been a key U.S. ally in the war on drugs for decades. But now, for the first time in nearly 30 years, Washington has added Colombia to a list of countries failing to cooperate with the US.

[01:05:00]

The U.S. president has called the President of Colombia an illegal drug leader. How would you describe the current state of relations between the U.S. and Colombia?

GEREZ: Yes, so certainly these incidents have strained this partnership. So Colombia has been one of Washington's long standing allies in the region. Colombia has been a central ally to the United States both for these issues, but for many others. But certainly for counter narcotics insecurities, especially since the planning of the large aid package of plan Colombia in the early 2000s.

But over time, and since the -- especially the beginning of the second Trump administration, that cooperation has been steadily eroding. So even before these incidents, U.S. assistance has been already reduced by about a quarterfold, from about roughly 400 million to 100 million this year. And President Trump is also threatening additional tariffs that will -- that might further weaken the relationship.

KINKADE: And of course, in response, President Petro of Colombia says it'll stop the purchase of military hardware from the U.S., a major shift given the historic military partnership. Do you see that as symbolic or the start of a real foreign policy pivot?

GEREZ: Yes, I do think that this represents a reversal of long standing U.S. strategy toward Colombia. So for decades, the goal of U.S. policy has been to balance both sticks and carrots. Right. So sticks would be security assistance to help crack down on drugs, but also carrots, meaning sort of like incentives to help reduce the reliance on drugs.

So this would be increased trade and interrelationships between the countries. Development incentives aim to strengthen legal economies in Colombia and reduce the reliance on drugs. The current approach, I think, marks a shift toward more coercive measures. We're talking about aid reductions, militarizations, but I think these are all really linked rhetorically to the President Trump administration's language on drug control, crime, and migration. So it fits in within the broader administration, I think.

KINKADE: The U.S. of course, has begun launching military strikes in the Caribbean targeting what they say are drug boats, including one allegedly linked to Colombian rebels. The rebels have desired -- denied any association. The others have all been from Venezuela, although U.S. officials haven't provided any evidence for the details about who was killed. And the U.S. also says the CIA will be operating covertly in Venezuela. What are the legal and diplomatic risks here?

GEREZ: Yes, so I do want to clarify that I'm not a lawyer, but at the same time, you know, legal specialists have rightly raised concerns that these actions are violating international law. Militaries cannot target civilians who are not directly engaged in hostilities. And U.S. officials are justifying the strikes under a broad national security rationale. Right. They're calling their targets, narcoterrorists, to bring up that language of militarization and military actions and arguing that any activity linked to narcotics trafficking warrants this type of preventive military action.

And this is the first, you know, unilateral U.S. military action in Latin America, really, since the invasion of Panama in 1989. So we're seeing again that shift from cooperative bilateral action to fight on this issue toward more U.S. driven leadership.

KINKADE: And so with this rift widening, could it open the door for other powers like China to expand their influence in the region more broadly?

GEREZ: Yes, certainly. So I do think, especially if tariffs sort of weaken Colombia's legal export sector and other types of institutions that have helped support this kind of stability in Colombia. Coca cultivation has been growing in Colombia in recent years. However, there have been other types of substitution programs for crops and different types of more, like I mentioned, incentive based initiatives that the U.S. was using to try to sort of like increase their influence.

As the U.S. takes a step back and enters into this more punitive role, this helps other actors, such as China or increasing engagement in the region have a little bit more of an open freeway.

KINKADE: Julian Gerez, appreciate your time tonight. Thanks so much.

GEREZ: Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

KINKADE: Russia has launched an air attack on Kyiv, killing two people and damaging residential areas. The city's mayor says explosions jolted the Ukrainian capital early Wednesday morning and have continued ever since. Russia has been ramping up its airstrikes on Kyiv and Ukraine's northern regions in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, Russian drones struck the city of Sumy, where emergency officials say nine people were injured. Moscow is once again targeting power facilities to wipe out heat and water for Ukrainians as they head into winter.

[01:10:05]

Ukraine's president says Russia has become less interested in diplomacy now that the U.S. has refused to provide Ukraine with long range Tomahawk missiles. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine's ability to strike deep in Russian territory might be the key to forcing Vladimir Putin to consider a peace deal. But President Trump insists the war should end right now with the

battle lines as they are. He said he would meet with Russia's president within a few weeks. CNN's Kristen Holmes tell us -- tells us why that isn't happening.

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Well, from meeting in roughly two weeks or so to no meeting at all, it seems as though this sit down between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently on ice. Now, President Trump was asked about this when he was talking to reporters in the Oval Office. Here's what he said.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't want to have a wasted meeting. I don't want to have a waste of time. So I'll see what happens.

HOLMES: Now, this is really quite stunning, a waste of time. This is completely different from what we've been hearing from President Trump for the last several days. Now, just to take you back in time as to how we ended up here, a reminder that it was just over a week ago that President Trump was flirting with the idea publicly of giving these Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to fight against Russia.

These are these long range missiles that could go deep into Russia. Then on Thursday of last week, President Trump got a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those Tomahawks were raised as were a number of other things.

President Trump came out of that meeting saying that he was going to have a sit down with Vladimir Putin again, even though he had a one- on-one with him in Alaska that yielded little to no result but that meeting was going to be in two weeks or so pretty quick.

Now we started getting word that it might not be happening or at least seem to be in a strange position late on Monday night when were told that the two leaders who were supposed to meet ahead of Putin and Trump, which were Secretary of State Margot Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, had canceled their meeting. Administration officials saying that the two of them had a productive call and because of that, an additional sit down, which is not necessary.

Well, one thing to keep in mind here, this was something President Trump had said was going to happen, that these two leaders, Rubio and Lavrov, were going to have their meeting before the big sit down with Putin and Trump. With that off the table, it became clear and we heard from an administration official that this meeting was not happening in the immediate future.

Now why exactly seems to be up in the air. But we do know that Rubio had this phone conversation with Lavrov on Monday and the results were no meeting with them and now no immediate meeting with President Trump and Putin.

So of course be tracking this down to see what exactly happens next and what we hear from the Kremlin on President Trump now saying this is a waste of time. Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, the U.S. delegation is in Israel trying to shore up the cease fire deal in Gaza following Sunday's deadly violence. Hamas has handed over the remains of another two hostages. The Israeli military has identified them as Arye Zalamanowicz and Tamir Adar. They were boys from the kibbutz near Oz Nir in southern Israel. 85-year-old Zalmanovich was the oldest hostage taken according to the Missing Families Forum.

Well, the U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has downplayed concerns about the fragility of the ceasefire while speaking in Israel. Vance's presence in the region is meant to and at least partly to ensure the Israeli prime minister remains committed to the ceasefire. CNN's Kevin Liptak explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The vice president, J.D. Vance, is in Israel to try and shore up support for the ceasefire that President Trump helped broker. And it was evident as he was speaking during a press conference on Tuesday that the administration still views this truce as somewhat delicate.

Now, Vance did say that the ceasefire is quote, going better than I expected. But neither he nor the other officials who spoke, which included the president's foreign envoy Steve Witkoff and his son in law Jared Kushner, offered many details about the next phase of this cease fire proposal which includes having Hamas disarm, rebuilding the strip, providing new governance for the Palestinian enclave. And so it was evident that there remains a lot of work to be done.

And according to officials, what Vance is doing in Israel is essentially trying to ensure that Israel upholds its commitments to keep this ceasefire in place. As one official described it to me, he and these other officials are on the ground there, quote, Bibi sitting, essentially ensuring that the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upholds Israel's commitments that it made as part of this 20-point plan that the president has been proclaiming.

[01:15:05]

And it will be a challenging road ahead. You have seen flare ups of violence in Gaza since the ceasefire was brokered. President Trump and Vance and Witkoff and Kushner have all urged what they call proportional responses to some of the Hamas violence that has occurred in Gaza since this ceasefire was signed.

But you also hear an urgency from these officials in to try and move very quickly to these next phases of the deal and principally rebuilding Gaza. In the view of these officials, helping the Gazans return to their homes and helping rebuild some of the devastated areas of the Strip could help tamp down on some of the violence that they've seen flare up since this deal was brokered.

Now, Vance did try and downplay the idea that his trip was intended to keep the ceasefire in place. He says that this was planned for several weeks and that he feels, quote, confident that we're going to be in a place where this peace lasts.

But he's warning, and this is similar to what we've heard from President Trump, that if Hamas doesn't cooperate, it will be obliterated.

Now, earlier Tuesday, the president suggested on Truth Social that a number of Middle Eastern countries had committed to provide their own troops to go onto the ground into Gaza to go after Hamas if the violence continues.

Now, where those countries are wasn't precisely clear and it's not at all evident that countries in the region would be willing to send their own troops into harm's way if they fear Israel could restart this war again.

President Trump is also making clear that he has not put that request in yet to those countries that he thinks the ceasefire is holding, however delicate it may be. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, still to come, Mahmoud Khali is challenging the Trump administration's efforts to deport him. We'll have the latest on his case. Next.

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[01:21:40]

KINKADE: Welcome back. A pro-Palestinian activist appeared at a federal appeals court in Philadelphia Tuesday to challenge a Trump administration deportation case. A lower court ruling released Mahmoud Khalil from a Louisiana immigration jail back in June, where he was detained for his role in pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia University. Now the government is seeking to overturn that ruling and return him to federal custody. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mahmoud Khalil, the pro- Palestinian activist that was arrested earlier this year and held an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention for over 100 days, appeared before a federal appeals court. His attorneys asking the court to affirm previous rulings from a lower court that ordered Khalil's release on bail and found the justification for his arrest was likely unconstitutional.

Now, this case has had many twists and turns. It is playing out both in the federal court system but also in immigration court, and that was a large portion of the hearing arguments on who has jurisdiction when it comes to the release and removal of Mahmoud Khalil.

The Justice Department, for example, saying that the lower court judge overstepped in ordering his release and that this should be happening in the immigration court system, which falls under the executive branch.

His attorneys, however, contesting that both the grounds for the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, which the administration says is based on obscure law that argues that he would be a risk to foreign policy, and his attorney also saying that he should remain released and not be re detained, saying, quote, Mr. Khalil is being deprived of speech.

Now, this case is still ongoing. And the panel of judges heard the argument from both Khalil's attorneys as well as the Justice Department, though they did not say when exactly they will rule. But certainly the crux of the hearing was whether or not Khalil will be redetained and then removed. Now, when the proceedings ended, Kahlil left the court and had this to say.

MAHMOUD KHALIL, ACTIVIST: The Trump administration is still trying to redetain me. They're trying to stop actually the federal court from looking at my case because they know they don't have a case against me. So, we'll keep fighting the legal fight until the end and we're pretty confident that we'll prevail.

ALVAREZ: Now, while the case has centered on Khalil, this has bigger implications. Of course, the administration earlier this year also arrested many other activists who they said posed a risk to foreign policy or national security and have revoked the visas of others for, again, a similar basis.

So while this case is ongoing and it has been centered on Mahmoud Khalil, there are many experts watching to see how this unfolds moving forward, seeing it as a cornerstone of the Trump administration immigration agenda. Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Still to come, using AI to mock opponents. We'll examine President Trump's increasing appetite for posting manipulated images.

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[01:30:10]

KINKADE: Welcome back.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

The global manhunt is growing for a gang of thieves who stole crown jewels from the Louvre in Paris. There are now around 100 investigators working on the case according to museum officials.

The Louvre curator estimates that the stolen jewelry is worth a total of $102 million. But a Paris prosecutor warned the thieves will never obtain these considerable sums should they dismantle, melt down or resell the artifacts.

French police have recovered one of the two getaway scooters used in the heist. They're also searching for DNA evidence in the ladder truck that was left outside the museum after the suspects failed to burn it during the break in.

The Louvre is expected to reopen in the coming hours, but the Apollo gallery that was targeted will remain closed.

Roughly 1.4 million government workers have been furloughed or are working without pay due to the U.S. government shutdown, which is now in its third week.

Lawmakers are no closer to reopening Washington. The Republicans failing to push through a temporary funding bill, and the Democrats holding out for talks on health care.

But Senate Republican leader John Thune may bring up a bill this week to pay employees required to work throughout the shutdown. Though Democrats are likely to oppose any legislation that would allow the president to pick and choose which workers would be paid.

President Trump says he, quote, "would love to meet Democrats to talk, but first they have to let the country open".

Well, the U.S. economy is feeling the sting of the government shutdown as well.

CNN's Richard Quest explains how the wealthy continue to thrive while low-income Americans are struggling even more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Now, apart from the federal workers, the shutdown is having a direct effect, whether its farmers and small businesses, a whole load of businesses that rely on government contracts. And it's one more factor that's contributing to what is now being called the K-shaped economy.

Why the K-shaped economy? Because on the upper branch, you have the high earners who investments are soaring, secure jobs, they're continuing to spend. That's this bit.

At the lower part, the low income and middle-income housing feeling the pinch of inflation about worries of jobs.

And as we look at the total of the whole thing, if you take, for example, on the top bit, you've got consumer sentiment, current consumer sentiment where stock owners have strong positive and that we see that, for example, in the way people are spending.

The airlines, for example, Delta and American, they are selling premium seats, expensive ones at the front where you turn left, not right. They are still selling very strongly.

Compare that with the budget airlines of Spirit and Frontier. Spirit, of course, very out of bankruptcy and struggling to sell cheap seats no matter how low the price goes.

And it's not just in travel. Let's take, for example, goods and expensive goods. Why is LVMH doing so well? It is at the top part of the K curve.

And on the other side, proving the point, rising auto loan delinquencies. Again, those who don't have money are finding it very difficult. And if you want the archetypal, traditionally snacks, biscuits, fast food does ok. They're not quite recession proof, but they are recession resistant. We're not seeing that.

Certain ones, like McDonald's, for example, are actually having to offer discounts with low-income customers spending less.

This is a classic case of the K-shaped economy actually, in real life, in action.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Our thanks to Richard Quest there.

Well, President Trump says he could be seeking $230 million from the U.S. Justice Department. He claims that some would be compensation and damages for past investigations into his actions.

It comes after he reportedly submitted complaints during the two years before he was reelected.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins pressed him on that earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Because "The New York Times" is reporting that your legal team is seeking $230 million from your own Justice Department now, in response to the investigations into you.

(CROSSTALKING)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It could be.

COLLINS: Is that something you want your legal team to do.

TRUMP: I don't know what the numbers are. I don't even talk to them about it. All I know is that they would owe me a lot of money. But I'm not looking for money. I'd give it to charity or something. I would give it to charity, any money.

But look what they did, they rigged the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:34:52]

KINKADE: The president acknowledged that he would be the one to decide how much he gets paid. And of course, its taxpayers who would foot that bill.

President Trump is no stranger to using artificial intelligence to insult his perceived enemies like Democrats and the millions of people who protested during the "No Kings" rally across the country last weekend.

His latest fake videos may have turned some stomachs, but allies and aides are defending his use of these manipulated images.

CNN's Tom Foreman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the unauthorized use of a popular song and an unabashed taste for trolling, President Donald Trump has once again posted an A.I.-generated video ridiculing millions of Americans who oppose him and energizing those on his side.

GREG GUTFELD, FOX NEWS HOST: Something as absurd as protesting kings in a country without kings doesn't merit anything more than a meme, with poop landing on protesters.

FOREMAN: Fake videos of former president, Barack Obama being arrested, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries as a mariachi, and a dark promise to keep firing federal workers as the government shutdown grinds on.

The White House shrugs off the parade of presidential propaganda as just good fun.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He likes to share memes. He likes to share videos. he likes to repost things that he sees other people post on social media as well. And I think it's quite refreshing that we have a president who is so open and honest.

TRUMP: We will make America great again.

FOREMAN: Trump's campaign to retake the White House last year sizzled with A.I. created images, including this one claiming mega pop star Taylor Swift endorsed him, although she actually ended up backing Democrat Kamala Harris. And these after Trump lied about Haitian immigrants in a debate.

TRUMP: They're eating the dogs. The people that came in, they're eating the cats.

FOREMAN: As President Trump posted this A.I. video months ago suggesting he would turn war-torn Gaza into a beach resort. And this one of him dancing with billionaire Elon Musk and more and more and more.

"The New York Times" found Trump has posted A.I.-generated images or videos at least 62 times on his Truth Social account since late 2022.

It's all counterfeit, much of it patently untrue. Yet top Republicans show virtually no qualms with Trump's fakery.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: He is using satire to make a point. He is not calling for the murder of his political opponents. And that's what these people are doing.

FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN -- Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: A posthumous memoir by accused of Virginia Giuffre is reigniting controversy around the Jeffrey Epstein case with new claims. The book contains harrowing details of the abuse she allegedly suffered with Jeffrey. At one point writing, quote, "I believed I might die a sex slave."

CNN's Max Foster reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Virginia Giuffre, a key accuser in the Jeffrey Epstein case, has released a posthumous memoir revealing harrowing details of her abuse and exploitation.

The book titled "Nobody's Girl", sheds new light on Epstein's sex trafficking ring. Published almost six months after her death, Giuffre's memoir details how she was repeatedly exploited and trafficked to wealthy and influential men.

She describes the physical and psychological abuse that she says she endured, including instances of violence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were on Epstein's island when I was ordered to take this man to a cabana. Immediately, it was clear that this man, whom I've taken pains to describe in legal filings only as a prime minister, wasn't interested in caresses. He wanted violence.

FOSTER: Giuffre doesn't name the prime minister or most of the other men involved. Her co-author, Amy Wallace, says it shouldn't be up to survivors to out their abusers, but instead up to the authorities, which is why she's calling for the so-called Epstein files to be released.

Among those who are named -- Prince Andrew, whom Giuffre accuses of sexually abusing her as a teenager, something the British royal vehemently denies. The memoir also reveals new details about the alleged tactics she says Andrew's team used as her story came to light.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After casting doubt on my credibility for so long, Prince Andrew's team had even gone so far as to hire Internet trolls to hassle me. The Duke of York owed me a meaningful apology as well. We would never get a confession, of course. That's what settlements are designed to avoid. But we were trying for the next best thing -- a general acknowledgment of what I'd been through.

[01:39:52]

FOSTER: Prince Andrew hasn't responded to the book and denies any wrongdoing in relation to Giuffre. CNN has reached out to him regarding this new allegation.

Despite the denials, the fallout has been significant. Last week, under mounting pressure, Prince Andrew announced he would relinquish his Duke of York title, among some others that he's been using.

The memoir does also mention Donald Trump. Giuffre recalls meeting him at his Mar-a-Lago resort whilst working as a locker room attendant. Giuffre makes no allegations of abuse against Trump in this book.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It couldn't have been more than a few days before my dad said he wanted to introduce me to Mr. Trump himself. They weren't friends, exactly, but dad worked hard and Trump liked that. I'd seen photos of them posing together, shaking hands.

So one day my father took me to Trump's office. This is my daughter, dad said, and his voice sounded proud. Trump couldn't have been friendlier, telling me it was fantastic that I was there.

FOSTER: The Epstein scandal has already had political and social consequences on both sides of the Atlantic. Giuffre's memoir adds a powerful and tragic voice to the ongoing call for accountability and justice.

Max Foster, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Still ahead, some of Gaza's top doctors and medics are still being detained by Israel, even as the ceasefire appears to be holding and the calls for their release are growing.

[01:41:15]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is bringing to light the heroic efforts of Gaza's doctors and medical staff, and the challenges that they face during the two years of war. Some of them have been detained by Israel and remain in custody.

CNN's Nada Bashir looks at the plight of one of those doctors and the calls for his release.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is Gaza's leading pediatrician, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. From the outbreak of the war in Gaza, his lifesaving work providing emergency medical care had been widely documented and shared with the world.

This footage was filmed in November 2024. Dr. Abu Safiya had been on an almost-daily basis recounting the harrowing realities inside Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital, where he was director, as the facility became the focus of an Israeli military siege on northern Gaza. Just weeks later, he would be detained by Israeli troops.

At the time, Israel claimed that he was suspected of being a, quote, "Hamas terrorist operative" and the hospital was used by Hamas as a command center. But no evidence has since been provided linking him to the militant group. Now his legal team says his detention has been extended by another six months.

This behind me is Israel's controversial Ofer military prison, where Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is currently being detained. NGO Physicians for Human Rights Israel says the renowned medic has not been brought before a judge nor interrogated nor even informed of the legal grounds of his detention.

A lawyer for the NGO has also reported that Abu Safiya has been subjected to abuse and starvation and has had medical care withheld, despite a pre-existing heart condition.

The Israel prison service declined to comment specifically on Abu Safiya's detention but provided a statement saying, "All inmates are held according to legal procedures and their rights, including access to medical care and adequate living conditions, are upheld."

Those closest to him, however, have been left with little reassurance over his treatment or his possible release.

"My innocent father is facing great suffering and humiliation," Dr. Abu Safiya's son, Elias, says.

"He's not guilty. He's not a criminal to deserve these forms of torture and deprivation inside the prison. My father was simply a doctor, who was committed to providing medical and humanitarian care to children, patients and the wounded. He is not guilty of anything to justify his detention or to be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations."

With the recent ceasefire deal, there had been hopes that Dr. Abu Safiya, along with other Palestinian health care workers, would be released and returned to Gaza.

Among those who had been desperately waiting for positive news is Aya (ph). She says her father, Dr. Marwan al-Hams (ph) and her sister, nurse Tasnime al-Hams (ph), were both abducted earlier this year. Their whereabouts or possible detention by Israeli forces remains unclear.

"Where is the protection of doctors rights during war?" Aya (ph) says. "Is it their crime that they are humanitarians treating the wounded and the sick? "What did they do?"

CNN has reached out to the Israel prison service for comment on those cases.

The detention of health care workers from Gaza, like Dr. Abu Safiya, is viewed by many humanitarian organizations as part of the systematic targeting of Gaza's health care infrastructure by the Israeli military.

The Israeli military has rejected claims that it detains medics on the basis of their profession.

[01:49:47]

BASHIR: In a previous statement, it said such allegations ignore the activity of terrorist organizations in Gaza.

The U.N. World Health Organization and several NGOs, however, have widely documented assaults on medical staff and facilities in Gaza since the war began.

The charity Medical Aid for Palestinians says an average of two health care workers a day have been killed since the start of the war.

Meanwhile, NGO Health Care Workers Watch Palestine says at least 115 health care workers from Gaza are still believed to be held in Israeli detention facilities, including at least 15 senior specialist doctors.

Israeli nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights Israel has also reported accounts of torture and starvation while in detention.

While Israeli authorities have offered little clarity over the fate of Gaza's detained medics, calls for their release are growing louder both at home and internationally.

And as the fragile ceasefire continues to hold, the need for unhindered access to medical care for so many remains desperate.

Nada Bashir, CNN -- in the Occupied West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back with much more news. You're watching CNN.

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KINKADE: Welcome back.

Peanut allergies are plummeting. Advice to feed babies small doses of peanuts early in life has helped tens of thousands avoid developing an allergy as they get older.

That recommendation now, a decade ago, has found that in a new "Journal Pediatric Report", peanut allergy rates in children under the age of three dropped by about 43 percent after those recommendations were expanded in 2017.

At least 40,000 children in the U.S. have avoided developing peanut allergies. Roughly 2 percent of children here suffer from peanut allergies, with symptoms including hives, respiratory issues and potentially deadly anaphylaxis.

Well, the hurricane season isn't over just yet. Tropical storm Melissa could strengthen into a hurricane by this weekend.

CNN's Chris Warren lays out the forecast for the storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Melissa is going to be around for a while, and it's going to mean bad news for somebody.

Right now, it doesn't look like a whole lot. I mean, it is a tropical storm and there are thunderstorms around it. But what I mean is the area of circulation, what makes it a tropical storm, the winds and the circulation is removed from some of the worst of the weather.

Now, when it does get its act together, it's going to have more of this around the center, or think of this like right over here. So that's what it's going to look like going forward.

But the forecast in terms of what we're expecting going forward, there is enough confidence to say there's going to be some very heavy rain, likely tropical storm, if not hurricane conditions for Jamaica and Hispaniola.

Hurricane watch posted there for Haiti and tropical storm watches already posted for parts of Jamaica. In fact, the whole island here.

And as we go forward in time, you look at how slow this is going to move. And that is something we'll watch when it comes to rainfall. Long lasting tropical systems can drop a lot of water out of the sky.

So here's Thursday. Look how far it moves -- Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. In several days it doesn't move very much.

[01:54:44]

WARREN: So Jamaica and/or Haiti likely to get absolutely clobbered with very heavy rain, if not very strong winds depending on how this goes.

Still some uncertainty, not 100 percent guaranteed it's going to go right in that direction because some of the forecast models are showing it going over right over the mountains there in Hispaniola, or going a little bit farther to the west. So still some uncertainty.

I want to show you a couple of the scenarios, couple of the possibilities here. And one is to go this direction and back out over the Atlantic. That was the American model.

The European model takes it more of that westerly track, bringing more of that heavy rain into Jamaica. Not just as there warm water, but the depth of the warm water is there.

So the area of low pressure or tropical storm or hurricane, once it gets going it's not really going to bring up much cool water because of how much warm temperatures are going deep into the water.

So it's going to sustain itself for a while and the amount of rain that's possible could be measured in feet. And already the forecast showing several inches here. But this would be feet of rain.

So the track's going to make a huge difference in who gets the worst of the rain and possible flooding. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Our thanks to Chris Warren for that report.

Well, a vast collection of music memorabilia is heading to auction this week in London. Hundreds of items will be up for sale from renowned artists and bands including The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Michael Jackson and many others.

Among the highlights, John Lennon's iconic tinted glasses worn during his so-called "lost weekend" period in the early 1970s. They're expected to sell for about $400,000.

More than 150 Oasis items will be sold, including Noel Gallagher's 1960 red Gibson guitar. The entire auction is expected to raise more than $4 million.

Well, the Hindu community in Pakistan held up lights and held prayers to celebrate Diwali. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, and it's celebrated either on Monday or Tuesday, depending on variations in local calendars.

The vast majority of Pakistan's population is, of course, Muslim, but the country does have a minority population of Hindus. Happy Diwali.

Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

Stick around. CNN NEWSROOM with my friend and colleague Rosemary Church is up next.

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