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Teen School Shooting Survivor Is Home, 57 Days After Suffering Gunshot To The Head; Tropical Storm Melissa Expected To Become Category 4 Hurricane; Trump Heads To Asia For A High-Stakes 5-Day Diplomatic Visit; Trump's Argentina Beef Deal Angers Struggling Ranchers; Ballroom Project Soars To $300M Amid East Wing Demolition; Putin Envoy To Meet With Witkoff Amid Escalating U.S.-Russian Tensions. Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev Speaks to CNN; Salem Rallies to Keep Park Open for Halloween; Americans Expect to Spend More on Halloween in 2025; CA Gov. Newsom vs. Podcast Joe Rogan. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired October 25, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:04]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Sophia Forchas was shot on the left side of her head in the August 27th attack and has been recovering at a St. Paul Children's Hospital ever since. Videos shared by Mayor Jacob Frey shows Sophia returning home in a white limo with a police escort and then people gathered there with signs, balloons, and lots of hugs to cheer her on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)

(SIRENS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, that was some homecoming. Hennepin Healthcare shared an image of Sophia wrapped in a hug right there during a visit before she went home saying, "She was inspired" -- "She has," rather, "inspired so many of us and this day is truly a reason to celebrate," end quote. Sophia also made it home just in time to celebrate her birthday. She turns 13 this weekend.

Happy birthday, Sophia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

WHITFIELD: All right, hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with this breaking news on the threat from Tropical Storm Melissa. Right now, it's strengthening in the Caribbean and is expected to rapidly grow into a hurricane later on today. Because of its slow movement, Melissa has dropped torrential amounts of rain over the Dominican Republic and Haiti already. But Jamaica is right in its path. The island may look calm at this hour, but it's bracing for the possibility of a direct hit from this storm that could potentially reach category 5 strength.

CNN Meteorologist Chris Warren joins us with what to expect. Chris?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There are multiple reasons why this is a disaster in the making. First, the steering winds. Just not enough to pull this system away from land fast enough that the impacts will be limited. It is meandering around, caught between two areas of high pressure and not going to see these steering winds until the middle of next week as it eventually will pull it out into the Atlantic.

Now, where exactly it goes in relationship to Jamaica could still be on the east side or the west side. Computer models show us that, but still right in the middle is Jamaica and it's that rainfall, the amount of rain that's happening and the extent of it.

Look at this footprint here, just with one forecast model from here to here. So you can imagine it's shifting this far or this far somewhere in Hispaniola, including Haiti and Jamaica still going to end up potentially with feet of rain. So that is landslides, catastrophic flooding all on the table here.

And then there's the warm waters. So the warm waters is like the fuel for hurricanes, upper 80s, plenty warm. You need around 80 degrees, upper 80s, definitely there.

Then on top of that, the warmth is deep into the sea here. So what that means is these storms, when they kind of stall out and they're hanging out in the same spot for a while, it can help stir up the ocean, bring up that cooler water and weaken the storm. That's not going to be the case here because the heat is so deep in the water.

Then there's the terrain, another huge component. The fact that there are mountains and big hills here gets more lift out of that humid tropical air to getting up to where it cools, condenses and turns into even more rain. So the terrain is another factor. And on top of all of that, strong, damaging winds to the future satellite shows us an intense hurricane moving through the Caribbean.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Warren, thanks so much.

All right, President Trump is on his way to Asia for a high stakes, five-day diplomatic visit. The marquee event of the trip is his first sit down of his second term with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The meeting comes at a time of growing tensions between the U.S. and China over Trump's tariff policy.

And on his flight overseas, the President weighed in on U.S.-China relations, his trade spat with Canada and a possible meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us right now. Julia, bring us up to speed on what's at stake for this trip and what the President had to say en route.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump is traveling all day for this high stakes visit to Asia. And we do expect him to stop in Qatar soon to refuel. He'll meet with the Emir and the prime minister there. That's also where we expect Secretary of State Marco Rubio to join him.

Now, that is just one of several key meetings taking place in the coming days. We have part of the highlights of his schedule up for you there. He's making stops in Malaysia, Japan, as well as South Korea. And that's where we expect the highly anticipated meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to take place. The first sit down between the two of Trump's second term.

[13:05:09]

And as you mentioned, the meeting is coming at a precarious time for relations between the two countries as they recently slapped new measures on each other. While speaking on Air Force One, Trump said that he does expect to discuss tariffs and trade, but also a wide range of other issues. He predicts that this will be a good meeting, maybe even a great one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we have a lot of things to discuss, including our farmers. We have a lot of things to discuss. The various trade deals that have been made in the past, and some broken, some not broken. But we've got many, many things. I think it's going to turn out to be a very good meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Now, Trump did go on to say that he does believe that China would have to make concessions, but suggested that he would be open to that as well. The exact quote there was, "I guess we would too."

Now, officials from both countries are expected to meet prior to that sit down to kind of flesh out some of these trade negotiations and hopefully ease some of the tensions.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then as it pertains to Canada, there are tensions there. Canada's prime minister is going to be at the summit. Is there any expectation that President Trump will be meeting with Prime Minister Carney?

BENBROOK: Well, Trump was asked specifically what Canada can do to get back on track here. And he essentially said that there wasn't much they could do at this time. He does not have plans to meet with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney during this trip.

And we've got to take a step back here to understand what's happened in recent days. Trump said that he was ending trade negotiations with Canada. And he did this after taking issue with an ad put out by the government of Ontario. It used audio from a 1987 address made by then President Ronald Reagan, where he spoke out against tariffs on foreign goods.

Now, the Reagan Foundation did come out and say that they believe that the ad misrepresented what Reagan said. And while it did lack context, it was also edited down for timing. The overall theme of that speech was support of free and fair trade. So it's not immediately clear what specifics they took issue with.

But Trump really ramped up the stakes here. He wrote this on social media. He said, "The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is fake, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about tariffs." Adding then in all caps, "ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED."

Now on brief remarks on Friday, Carney said that his country is focused on what it can control. And he said that that includes developing new partnerships as well.

WHITFIELD: All right, Julia Benbrook, thanks so much.

All right, President Trump's plan to lower record high beef prices in this country is angering many American ranchers. They say his support of increasing beef imports from Argentina will have a dramatic impact on their bottom line.

CNN's Rafael Romo is joining me right now with more. All right, so Trump might be risking some support from a group of people that he has long been able to celebrate having support from ranchers.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is right. And it's a group that supported him not only in 2016, but also in the election where he was elected to a second term. And this people that are very alienated right now, because the price of beef has increased in the United States nearly 15 percent according to year to year data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The price hike is fueled by multiple factors, including a recent multi-year drought that decreased the amount of grazing land for cattle and made feed grains significantly more expensive, resulting in a shortage of cattle. As an agricultural economist told CNN, President Donald Trump's plan solution for high prices is importing more low tariff beef from Argentina, quadrupling the current 20,000 metric ton quota to 80,000 per year.

The move has angered many U.S. cattle ranchers who fear this is going to create chaos without affecting grocery prices, according to the National Cattleman's Beef Association. But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the President can help consumers and protect ranchers at the same time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The President loves our ranchers and he also loves American consumers and he wants to do right by both. So the immediate solution to the problem of the rising cost of beef, the President wants to bring that down as we have to increase our supply. And so that's what he's doing with respect to these imports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One last week, Trump dismissed claims that an influx of cheaper beef from Argentina is going to affect American cattle ranchers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The only price we have that's high is beef and we'll get that down. And one of the things we're thinking about doing is beef from Argentina.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But my question is, what do you have to say to U.S. farmers who feel that the deal is benefiting Argentina more than it is them as they are --

TRUMP: Look, Argentina's fighting for its life, young lady. You don't know anything about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:10:15]

ROMO: But many cattle ranchers count on higher prices to help balance out lean years and say the move is, quote, "a betrayal of the American rancher," as a cattle farmer from Illinois told us. It's a feeling echoed by a cattle sales manager in Montana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TY THOMPSON, CATTLE SALE MANAGER, BILLINGS LIVESTOCK & AUCTION YARDS: What is his problem with higher priced beef? Because consumers have a choice in proteins. There's chicken, there's pork, there's all different proteins.

Consumers have chose to buy beef. President Trump ran on being a free market guy. So what he was saying last week goes totally against what he ran on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: In a statement to CNN, Montana Senator Tim Sheehy said that "Montana ranchers have made clear they will oppose any plan to flood the American market with foreign beef. Empowering hardworking ranchers who feed America and lowering prices for American families at the grocery store are not mutually exclusive."

He said the Department of Agriculture recently unveiled a plan to help cattle ranchers that, among other things, would grant them access to federal land or grazing. But, again, prices are high, and many people do not know if this is the right solution to that problem.

WHITFIELD: Yes, prices are high from the farm, the ranches, all the way to your store shelves.

ROMO: Right.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

ROMO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, new reporting on the President's demolition job at the White House, the curious spot where the East Wing debris is being dumped.

Plus, the shutdown threatening to turn Halloween into a real horror story in the witch city. How the community of Salem, Massachusetts has rallied together to save their busiest tourist season of the year.

And, trick or tariff, what could be driving up the cost of your favorite candies this Halloween?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:42]

WHITFIELD: All right, an entire section of the White House now exists only in memory. Demolition of the East Wing began this week to make way for President Trump's multi-million dollar ballroom. You can see the yellow construction equipment on the left side of the screen there.

And dump trucks on Friday were spotted dumping dirt or debris from the project onto the historic East Potomac Golf Links in Washington. The activity even drew the attention of former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. There he is there in highlight, who showed up apparently hoping to score a memento or two of the White House remnants. A construction worker shooed him away.

Former President Ronald Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, spoke with CNN yesterday on this -- about this remarkable moment and how personal everything about the People's House is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTI DAVIS, DAUGHTER OF FORMER PRES. RONALD REAGAN: After my father died and we were in Washington, D.C. for his service, my brother and his wife and I got an invitation to go into the White House, to go on a tour of the White House, which we did.

And, you know, it was sort of a perfect time for me to do that, because my father had just died. I was grieving. And, you know, grief kind of opens up the seams in you, in your inner being, right? You absorb things more deeply. You experience things more deeply.

And we went in through the East Wing. And I remember the minute I walked in there, feeling history, you know, brushing past me everywhere I looked, and feeling just really awestruck. And I'm so grateful that I got to have that experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: On Friday, President Trump denied reports that he plans to name the $300 million ballroom after himself.

With demolition mostly completed, you can see in these satellite photos the remarkable scale of the project. So how will this new ballroom turn out? CNN's Brian Todd takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump has long been fixated on leaving his own personal imprint on the White House grounds. His latest project will cost about $300 million, he says.

TRUMP: They have wanted a ballroom at the White House for more than 150 years.

TODD (voice-over): Construction has begun on a grand ballroom at the White House, which will resemble the ornate Donald J. Trump Ballroom at Mar-a-Lago. There will be gold and crystal chandeliers, according to the renderings, gilded Corinthian columns, a coffered ceiling with gold inlays, gold floor lamps and a checkered marble floor. Three walls of arched windows will look out over the White House South Lawn.

LINDSAY CHERVINSKY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: It's certainly a departure from the historic elements of the rest of the state floor of the White House.

TODD (voice-over): The President and his team characterize this as a necessary addition to the White House, which has often hosted major events in a temporary tent that Trump calls a disaster, especially when it rains.

TRUMP: People are schlopping down to the tent. It's not a pretty sight. The women with their lovely evening gowns, all of their hair all done, and they're a mess by the time they get in.

TODD (voice-over): This is certainly not the first ambitious addition or renovation to the White House.

[13:20:01]

In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt undertook an extensive remodeling, which relocated the president's offices to the West Wing. In the late 1940s, Harry Truman basically had to gut the entire infrastructure of the White House.

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: What Truman did was he oversaw the restoration of a White House that was falling apart. It was so weak that one of the legs of Margaret Truman's piano broke through the floor in the residence of the White House.

TODD (voice-over): First lady Jacqueline Kennedy brought in historic furniture and fine art.

CHERVINSKY: Jackie Kennedy wanted the White House to be of museum quality when people came to visit. She wanted them to see the finest American art, furniture, but also to capture the history of the White House. TODD (voice-over): President Trump says the $300 million project will be funded by him and other private donors. Trump's already replacing the White House Rose Garden with a patio, but still keeping the roses. He also added a flagpole and a massive flag, and he's added his taste for gold to the Oval Office. Here's a comparison from just after last year's election to more recently.

CHERVINSKY: Most usually change out the carpet and the draperies and some art, but he definitely changed out more than is, I think, standard for presidents, and it reveals his preferences.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on-camera): White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the ballroom project is expected to be completed long before the end of President Trump's term. Trump himself offered to build a new White House ballroom when Barack Obama was president, and Trump says it would have been about half the cost of the current project. But Trump says he never heard back from Obama's team on the idea.

Brian Todd, CNN, the White House.

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, President Trump tightening sanctions on Moscow. And how big a blow are they to Russia's war machine? And will it bring Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table? We'll hear what one of Putin's key envoys told CNN ahead of official talks with the White House today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:26:24]

WHITFIELD: All right, today, top envoys for the U.S. and Russia are set to meet face to face as tensions escalate between the two nations. In a post on social media, Russia's Kirill Dmitriev says he's sitting down in Miami with the Trump administration's Steve Witkoff to continue what he calls the U.S.-Russia dialogue.

CNN's Jake Tapper spoke with Dmitriev, who revealed if another meeting between Trump and Putin will actually happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: You said your visit was planned a while ago, but now you do arrive amid growing U.S. frustration over the Kremlin's refusal to take steps to end the war in Ukraine. What do you hope comes from meeting with Steve Witkoff tomorrow? Are you going to ask for relief from these new sanctions? What are you going to tell him?

KIRILL DMITRIEV, KREMLIN SPECIAL ENVOY: No, Jake. First of all, thank you for having me here. And secondly, I think dialogue is important. Only through dialogue can conflicts be solved. I think it's important to understand Russian position, Russian security concerns.

Sanctions are really not such a big issue. President Putin mentioned yesterday two points. He said Russia will never act under pressure. And secondly, those sanctions will just lift oil prices in the world, will result in higher gasoline prices in the U.S., and Russia will be just selling maybe less oil at a higher price. So I think the real issue is just how to continue dialogue, how to have a peaceful resolution to the crisis while really having realistic solutions rather than pushing forward unrealistic solutions.

TAPPER: So, from President Trump's perspective, he has, perhaps more than any other Western leader, been willing to work with Putin. He has praised Putin. He literally had the red carpet rolled out for him on U.S. soil in Alaska. That summit did not yield any real progress in terms of ending the war, and now a second summit planned for Budapest fell apart.

I want you to take a listen to President Trump's tone this week.

TRUMP: Every time I speak with Vladimir, I have good conversations, and then they don't go anywhere. They just don't go anywhere.

I don't want to have a wasted meeting. I don't want to have a wasted time, so I'll see what happens.

TAPPER: President Trump does appear to be frustrated with Putin. What's your reaction?

DMITRIEV: Well, first of all, I think President Trump has done great successes in achieving peace deal in Gaza, and I think his big success is having dialogue with Russia. And, by the way, we had the first stop of heating on energy infrastructure of Russia and Ukraine because of President Trump. And I'm sure this conflict will have a diplomatic solution. So all those efforts will lead to a result.

I think a very important solution that came out of Alaska is that it's not just about ceasefire, but about having a final solution to the conflict, so that the conflict doesn't resume. So the meeting between President Putin and President Trump will happen, but probably at a later date.

And I'm sure that his diplomatic efforts will succeed, because it's much better to have dialogue with Russia than like President Biden had no dialogue with Russia, wanted to have strategic defeat of Russia, and, obviously, that strategy failed.

TAPPER: In regard to those talks, that second summit in Budapest, Hungary, had Vladimir Putin ever agreed to meet with Trump there, or was the summit publicly announced before any firm commitments had been made?

DMITRIEV: Well, I'll just refer to President Putin's public comments, and he mentioned that actually President Trump offered this meeting, and then they wanted our foreign ministers and State Department head to work out the details. And maybe there was a solution that this stage, all of the details have not been worked out. So, I think the meeting is more for postponed and needs to be well prepared by our diplomats.

TAPPER: President Zelenskyy has agreed to freeze the lines of conflict where they are right now for a ceasefire, why hasn't President Putin?

DMITRIEV: Well, I think Russia really wants not just a ceasefire, but a final solution to the conflict. And actually, President Trump made the Truth post about this, because ceasefire can always be broken. It's really a temporary solution. Many people can use it to do all sorts of rearmament and preparation for continuation of conflict.

Whereas I believe Russia and the U.S. and Ukraine are actually quite close to a diplomatic solution. It's a big move by President Zelenskyy to already acknowledge that it's about battle lines. You know, his previous position was that Russia should leave completely. So, actually, I think we are reasonably close to a diplomatic solution that can be worked out.

TAPPER: So, one of the things that President Trump has said in terms of his frustration with Putin, he told a story before the Alaska summit about how he told his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, about how a good conversation he had just had with Vladimir Putin. And then Melania said something along the lines of, oh, well, Russia just bombed a nursing home. And this revealed the disparity between the words that Vladimir Putin says to President Trump and the actions. Can you understand why President Trump is frustrated?

DMITRIEV: Well, first of all, I think Russia military -- and I'm not a military guy, I'm focused on economic and investments, as you know. But the position of Russian military is they really hit only military targets. And by the way, that's very different from some of the wars fought around the world, where many more civilian casualties are happening.

So, I think only now all of the complexities of the conflict are emerging. I think it's very important to have the right narratives and understand that, for example, lots of Russian-speaking people in the Donbass region were actually originally attacked by Ukrainian forces in the beginning. So, I think we all want this conflict to be finished diplomatically. I think we are finding those compromises that would work for all of the parties. And I do understand some of the frustrations, but I think there is also quite a bit of misinformation about what's going on. So, thank you, Jake, for having me to at least share some part of the Russian position.

TAPPER: Well, sir, with all due respect, I mean, I've been to Ukraine since the war began, and it's not only military targets. I've seen apartment buildings that were flattened. Just earlier this week, a kindergarten in Kharkiv was bombed. I mean, it is not true that Russia is only targeting military targets. There are civilian targets throughout Ukraine that are being targeted.

DMITRIEV: Well, of course, Russia is not targeting kindergartens, and our military needs to be asked about this specific situation. But there is lots of unfortunate -- and by the way, any casualty is a huge tragedy, and this is why we want to finish this conflict as soon as possible.

TAPPER: So, why not agree to ceasefire? DMITRIEV: But Russian position is that military targets are being attacked. Sometimes Ukrainian air defense rockets, you know, hit their targets. But again, it's not my area. I'm not a military guy. I'm just working to have dialogue and make sure that the conflict is ended as soon as possible.

TAPPER: You recently proposed the construction of a Trump-Putin tunnel between Alaska and the Russian Far East. Similar ideas to physically connect the U.S. and Russia have been floated before, including in 1904 during the Cold War, to no avail. Although President Trump did tell reporters that your idea was interesting, has there ever been any actual conversation privately about something like this?

DMITRIEV: Well, I think this idea is important just to showcase once we overcome political difficulties what the future may look like. And the origin of this idea is actually going back to almost 150 years ago when it was proposed by American business people to Tsarist Russia. It was discussed as Kennedy-Khrushchev peace bridge. And Elon Musk has technologies that can get it done. And there is lots of economic rationale to do it.

But I think it's more important to not just the project itself, but once the political difficulties are overcome, we believe there is lots of economic cooperation that can happen, and this economic cooperation can be the foundation of peaceful relationship between Russia and the U.S. And we need that foundation because the security of the whole world depends on it.

So, we are seriously studying this project. And by the way, it's feasible and it can be done. But we also understand that political difficulties need to be overcome first.

TAPPER: Before you go, sir, just a quick question. Can you explain why there were Russian drones over Poland several weeks ago? That really was distressing for many people who believe in the NATO alliance, because Poland obviously is a member of NATO.

DMITRIEV: Well, again, I'm not a military guy. Some of our military guys say it's actually not our drones, it's provocation. So, I don't have specific information on this.

[13:35:00]

I think it's very important to have people discuss specific incidents. And I know Russia's open if there are any questions about specific incidents, Russia is open to discuss, to my understanding nobody reached out to Russia to have an investigation of this, and Russia is open to an investigation on this.

TAPPER: Kremlin Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev, thank you so much. Good luck in your conversations with Steve Witkoff. I think we all would love for this war to end.

DMITRIEV: Thank you so much, Jake. Thank you for having me.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks so much to our Jake Tapper for that interview. Coming up, the escalating war of words between the governor of the most populous U.S. state and the host of the most popular podcast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE ROGAN, HOST, "THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE": You killed Hollywood. Like Hollywood doesn't exist anymore. It's literally gone.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): I'm punching Joe Rogan, OK? That son of a bitch is not used to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. The U.S. government shutdown put a big scare into a Massachusetts town that banks big on Halloween tourism.

October is the busiest time of the year for Salem, Massachusetts, and each year about a million people visit the so-called witch city during the Halloween season to visit the place where the infamous Salem witch trials took place in the late 1600s. But the recent government shutdown forced the closure of a Salem National Park Service visitor center and its bathrooms. And that's when city leaders rallied to reopen the visitor center with the community covering the costs.

So, how's it going? Joining us right now to talk more about all this is Annie Harris. She is the CEO of Essex Heritage, a nonprofit that promotes local history and helps staff the visitor center. So, Annie, great to see you.

ANNIE HARRIS, CEO, ESSEX HERITAGE: Nice to see you as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, first at the stage, how big of an occasion usually is October leading up to Halloween and, you know, the history of the city?

HARRIS: Well, it's huge. We are a small city, about 43,000, and we get over a million tourists coming in October. So, it's a very big deal for us. And they're actually now starting to come even earlier in September and last through November. So, we get a lot of people coming.

WHITFIELD: So, when it meant the U.S. government shutdown and the closure of this National Park Visitor Center, how is it that so many kind of corralled, came up with this idea of let's find a way to keep things open, albeit a little different than usual, but we're going to make something happen?

HARRIS: Well, we weren't sure we could do it and we weren't sure the government was going to close until September 30th. But then when it was clear it was going to close, I approached the superintendent and asked her, is there any way we can possibly keep the Visitor Center open? And she said, I don't know. I don't really know, but I'm going to try. Let me see what I can do. And so, she went up to her folks in Washington and she got approval and we were really very surprised by that. It was wonderful.

WHITFIELD: So, what's the experience like when folks go to the Visitor Center today in the middle of a U.S. government shutdown versus, you know, other previous Octobers or fall periods when everything was up and running?

HARRIS: Well, I don't think the visitor notices a difference. The Visitor Center is fully open and the bathrooms are working and we have maps and information and volunteers and our staff that are there really helping the visitors. But behind the scenes, it's a big difference for us. We've had to pull in our staff, a partner of ours, Eastern National, they run the bookstore there, and they've had to bring in a lot of staff. The Park Service -- we actually pay for another Park Service ranger to help us there as well.

So, it's behind the scenes where we're kind of really working hard and we're only going to keep the Visitor Center open for October. We sort of exhaust our resources after that. It costs about almost $19,000 to keep the Visitor Center open for the month of October.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So, where does that money come from? How are you able to, you know, scrounge together those kinds of funds?

HARRIS: Well, we're very fortunate, when the Park Service said that we could reopen the Visitor Center, they said, though, you're going to have to cover the costs, the utility costs and the custodial costs and the park ranger. And that's about almost $19,000. So, I reached out to the mayor and I said, you know, I think we can keep the Visitor Center open, but this is very expensive. But he really geared up his staff. They went out, they put a call out to the business community and we had a tremendous response.

In fact, we raised the money in 48 hours. So, I really credit the mayor and his staff for, you know, really going out there and the business community for rallying so quickly. We're very, very grateful for that.

WHITFIELD: Well, I'm sure a lot of the tourists are very, very grateful, too. At least they get to continue to enjoy it until, like you said, you know, the season or the money runs out, whichever one comes first. All the best to you and good thinking on behalf of so many of you, Annie Harris. Thanks so much.

HARRIS: Hopefully, the park will open soon. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Very good. All right. All right. The National Retail Federation reports nearly 80 percent of Americans expect to pay more to celebrate Halloween overall this year. And if they're hoping for some chocolate treats, well, they're not wrong for several reasons. Chocolate prices are also going up. CNN's Anna Cooban reports.

[13:45:00]

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: This Halloween, trick or treaters may be in for a fright. Chocolate is particularly expensive, and this is due to many reasons.

Firstly, the price of cocoa, the essential component of chocolate skyrocketed in 2023 and 2024. And some of the chocolate on shelves now will have been made with that pricey cocoa. Add to that, poor harvests in major cocoa producing regions like Ghana and the Ivory Coast and tariffs in the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump has slapped 50 percent duties on aluminum imports. Many chocolate bars are, of course, wrapped in aluminum foil. You then have the perfect storm for a frighteningly pricey Halloween.

But then, how have chocolate makers responded? Well, some have reduced the cocoa content in their products, while others have opted to shrinkflate, in other words, reduce the amount of product for sale, but keeping the same price.

On top of all of this are changing preferences among younger consumers. With many opting to buy gummies, sweets, and sour candies over chocolate. So, this Halloween may also have a different flavor than in years past.

Anna Cooban, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Tomorrow, discover the breads that bond Sao Paulo on a new episode of the CNN original series "Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread." here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SHALHOUB, HOST, "TONY SHALHOUB BREAKING BREAD": What is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They call it guanabana.

SHALHOUB: It's a fruit, though, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a fruit, yes.

SHALHOUB: And this one?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cashew.

SHALHOUB: Many of the cocktails at Sororoca contain muddled Amazonian fruit.

What is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's cupuacu.

SHALHOUB: Oh, it's this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's this fruit, yes. It's the same family of cacao.

SHALHOUB: It's probably very good for you, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For sure. We make a caipirinha.

SHALHOUB: A cocktail?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, a cocktail. A little bit of sugar. Cachaca.

SHALHOUB: Topped off with some ice and stirred, not shaken. Is this a very popular cocktail in Brazil?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every restaurant, every bar has a caipirinha in Brazil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a drink to keep going. It's easy.

SHALHOUB: It would be easy to pound three of these. This used to be a show about bread.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I was going to say, where's the bread in that? OK. Well, we're going to be tuned in to a new episode of "Tony Shalhoub Breaking Bread," premiering tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only on CNN.

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[13:50:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. A very public feud between two political heavyweights, California Governor Gavin Newsom and podcaster Joe Rogan. They're trolling each other, trading insults and laying down challenges. CNN anchor Elex Michaelson explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM, (D-CA): Well, you start with Joe Rogan and I'm going to start cursing.

JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER, "THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE": He wants to be president so bad.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The governor of the most populous state and the host of one of the most popular podcasts are feuding.

NEWSOM: This is Gavin Newsom.

MICHAELSON (voiceover): California Governor Gavin Newsom, who hosts his own podcast, has invited Joe Rogan onto his show and publicly asked to be invited onto Rogan's show.

NEWSOM: Joe, why won't you have me on the show? He won't have me on the show. It's a one-way and he has guests coming in attacking and bashing. But he will not have me on the show, period, full stop. He should have me on the show. Come on my show, Joe.

ROGAN: I think I'll probably vote for Bernie. MICHAELSON (voiceover): Rogan expressing support for Bernie Sanders' presidential run in 2020 --

ROGAN: It's standup. It's funny stuff.

MICHAELSON (voiceover): -- and backed President Trump in 2024, though he's criticized some of his policies in recent months.

NEWSOM: What we're experiencing is America in reverse.

MICHAELSON (voiceover): But Rogan doesn't seem impressed by a potential Newsom presidential run in 2028.

ROGAN: You can't ruin a city and then go on to ruin a state and say guys, that was just practice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know.

ROGAN: Once I get in as the president, I'm going to fix it. I'm going to fix it all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, it's so crazy. But he's such as great politician. I mean, he's so smooth.

ROGAN: No, he's not. He's not, though.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't think so?

ROGAN: No, no. I think he's terrible.

MICHAELSON (voiceover): Rogan attacking Newsom's job performance in California.

ROGAN: You have the highest unemployment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ROGAN: You have the highest homelessness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at even Hollywood. You have --

ROGAN: What is missing? He killed Hollywood. Like, Hollywood doesn't exist anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ROGAN: It's literally gone.

MICHAELSON (voiceover): Newsom responding to Rogan on X posting, California is the fourth largest economy in the world, but number one in manufacturing, farming new business starts, tech and VC investments, Fortune 500 companies, public higher education. I could continue. Invite me on any time, Joe Rogan.

ROGAN: It was all that -- before you were there. It was all that -- forever. It's because the weather is perfect. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ROGAN: It has nothing to do with you.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Newsom's team posting this photo on X writing that, quote, "Little Joe is snack size because he can't handle full-size debates."

NEWSOM: I'm not afraid to go. I'm punching Joe Rogan, OK? That son of a bitch is not used to that. And he's going to dismiss it. He's going to laugh it off. I mean, you know, tough guy, all that. But he's going to have me on.

Here's a guy who celebrated Bidenomics just this week.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Newsom debated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Fox News in 2023.

NEWSOM: You are making a damn dent.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): And hosted conservative guests like Charlie Kirk on his own podcast.

NEWSOM: I'm debating these sons of bitches. I'm out there on these right-wing shows, so I'm not scared to do that. Where the hell is the Democratic Party? Where's our equivalent of Turning Point USA?

[13:55:00]

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Newsom's team doubled down, repeating the snack-size slap on X. Joe Rogan is a snack-size podcaster who can't stop talking about me. Obsessed? Crush? No thank you. But is too scared to have me on and let his audience hear the truth.

ANDREW SCHULZ, STAND-UP COMIC, ACTOR, PODCASTER: He's talking some -- on Twitter.

ROGAN: I know, it's like, you think that's going to work? Like, that's so stupid. Like, this is such a bad look.

SCHULZ: Yes.

ROGAN: It's such a bad choice.

SCHULZ: There's a little desperation in it.

ROGAN: But it's just stupid. It's like, this is a bad strategy. Like, I probably would have had him on.

SCHULZ: Yes.

ROGAN: But now I'm like, what are you doing?

SCHULZ: There is a fun version where you just do it and cook him. You know?

ROGAN: He'll cook himself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Elex Michaelson, thanks so much for bringing that to us. Of course, you can hear and see more of Alex's new show. The Story Is with Elex Michaelson premieres Monday at midnight Eastern time, 9:00 p.m. Pacific, right here on CNN.

Coming up, outrage after an A.I. mishap. New body cam video showing armed police swarming and handcuffing a high schooler after the school's A.I. security system confused his bag of Dorito chips for a gun.

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