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Trump Arrives in Tokyo on His Diplomacy Swing Through Asia; Hurricane Melissa to Slam Jamaica as Strongest to Hit Island; Two People Arrested in Brazen Louvre Jewelry Heist. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 27, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, catastrophic category five. Hurricane Melissa is targeting Jamaica, feet of rain, landslides, and destructive winds. It is the strongest storm ever to hit the island.

And shocking video, watch this, a plane misses hitting a car by near feet as it crash landed. How this even happened?

And manhunt intensifying, two suspects arrested in that brazen Louvre heist. At least two are still at large. So, where are the $100 million worth of stolen jewels?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump's trade push, the president is in Japan, the second stop in his Asia trip, just ahead of his critical meeting with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.

Plus, crucial shortfall, air traffic control, staffing shortages, what's happening right now at airports across the United States.

And later, President Trump, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, all three now talking presidential runs in 2028. Our new reporting straight ahead.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Will Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

Happening now, President Trump is making a major diplomatic swing through Asia this week. He's in Tokyo for a meeting with Japan's emperor and later he'll visit with the country's newly elected female prime minister. This trip already yielding a framework agreement on trade with China. If it's finalized, it would avert massive new tariffs on China and a potential all-out trade war between the two countries.

Here's how President Trump put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We have China coming and it's going to be very interesting.

I have a lot of respect for President Xi and we are going to -- I think we're going to come away with the deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: President Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to meet later this week.

Let's go live right now to CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes. She's in Tokyo for us. Kristen, what are we learning about this potential deal with China?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, so far, all we know is that they have a framework that was worked out by the U.S. secretary of treasury, Scott Bessent, and his Chinese counterparts in what was the fifth face-to-face sit down conversations on the sidelines in Malaysia.

Now, what we've heard and pieced together on this framework comes from Bessent, as well as his Chinese counterpart, and they weren't necessarily 100 percent agreeing. Bessent sounded incredibly bullish at times talking about this deal going through, whereas his Chinese counterpart sounded much more reserved, which is to be expected.

So, here's what we've pieced together is likely to be part of this framework that these leaders would have to discuss when they meet in Korea. Part of this would be further cooperation on stemming the flow of fentanyl in the U.S., obviously a big issue for President Trump, China to buy a, quote, substantial amount of US soybeans. This is huge for American farmers, if this was to go through. This has been an ongoing issue. China could delay export controls on rare earth minerals.

Now, just a reminder, these export controls that China was putting in place was why President Trump levied this 100 percent tariffs set to go into effect on November 1st because the prices were raising. We have heard from Bessent who said he expects them to defer us. At one point, he said that might even defer a year on those export controls, which then, of course, would knock that 100 percent tariff starting in November, right off the table.

And then lastly, and this is one of the things we believe to be the most certain, is finalizing a deal to transfer the TikTok ownership to the U.S. done. All it needed essentially was the signatures of those two. Going to be a monumental meeting, there is a belief that this could end the trade war, the ongoing back and forth between China and the U.S., but some U.S. officials are still tempering expectations. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Kristen Holmes in Tokyo for us, Kristen, thank you very much. Pamela?

BROWN: Breaking news, Wolf, Hurricane Melissa is now a dangerous Category 5 storm with top winds of 160 miles an hour. Right here, this is a view of the monster storm from space.

[10:05:01]

The catastrophic hurricane is set to make a direct strike on Jamaica in just hours from now.

And right now, conditions are already deteriorating. This is a live shot from Kingston Harbor with more than three feet of rain expected in some areas. And officials are warning everyone on the island do not venture out of your safe shelter.

CNM Meteorologist Chris Warren is tracking Melissa's path. You know, look, Jamaica is about the size of Connecticut -- about that in comparison here, Chris. This is really going to wallop the island nation. What's the latest?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, this is an extremely dangerous hurricane. A hurricane, a Category 4 or 5, the wind damage is going to be about the same, catastrophic.

Now, that the sun is coming up, getting the first daylight images of Hurricane Melissa, and you can even see the shadow here in the eye. This is really the most dangerous part of the storm in terms of wind. And this is heading here. It is heading to Jamaica. You see how large it is. You mentioned, not a very big island.

So, the entire island will be either getting hurricane force winds, tropical storm force winds, or, and/or, getting an immense amount of rainfall, well over a month or two's worth of rainfall here as it moves across. So, again, catastrophic, catastrophic, catastrophic categories here and devastating still, like major hurricane three, four or five, as it moves across Eastern Cuba.

But the duration, how long it's going to last, not just being battered by the winds, but the rain and the mountainous terrain is able to get just that much more water out of the atmosphere. So, while this hurricane is moving and inching toward Jamaica, here's 6:00 this evening and you're going to be in it at 6:00 this evening, landfall not happening until the overnight, maybe even predawn hours. So, you're looking at. Several hours of rainfall before this moves off and strong damaging winds.

About 18 hours or so, 18 hours or so of some of the worst of the weather, you can drive from Washington, D.C., to all the way down to Miami in that period of time. And all along that time, Jamaica's going to be getting clobbered. You can see here the terrain's somewhat exaggerated, but shows you that extra lift, you're going to get more rain on the south-facing slopes in Jamaica. So, that water running out of the mountains, Pamela, trying to get out to the Caribbean while Hurricane Melissa is pushing that sea water up, in some cases, ten feet above normal high tide, so that water's not going to have anywhere to go. This is looking at like a disastrous situation.

Pamela there's going to be very little sleep tonight and a lot of praying in Jamaica.

BROWN: Yes. I mean, we're all praying for those in Jamaica. Our hearts are with them. How scary it must be right now to be there embracing for this impact of this hurricane five storm.

Meteorologist Chris Warren, thank you. Wolf? BLITZER: And I'm especially worried about the elderly and the kids in Jamaica right now. And there are a lot of them. Let's hope for the best.

Also new this morning, the U.S. Navy investigating two separate crashes in the South China Sea, both incidents happening within the same hour. The first crash involved a Seahawk helicopter, which went down while conducting what was described as a routine operation from the aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz. Three crew members were rescued. And just 30 minutes later, an F-18 fighter jet also crashed into the sea while conducting, once again, routine operations from the Nimitz. Both crew members ejected from the plane and were also rescued.

BROWN: And the Caribbean, Wolf, the Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Venezuela over alleged drug trafficking. A U.S. guided missile destroyer is now docked and printed out in Tobago, just a few hundred miles from Venezuela. And the arrival of the USS Gravely only adds to the U.S. military presence there in the region. The USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier is also on its way to the Caribbean, as the Trump administration puts extraordinary pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and cracks down on alleged drug boats, these traffickers, drug traffickers in the region. Wolf?

BLITZER: Dramatic developments indeed.

Still ahead, a driver's very close call with a plane all caught on camera in Oklahoma.

BROWN: And next, arrests made in the Louvre heist. Two others still on the run, but where are those jewels? We're going to speak to an expert on if they'll ever be found.

You're in The Situation Room. We will be right back.

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BROWN: Happening now, two men have been arrested in connection with the daring jewelry heist at the Louvre Museum in Paris, and an urgent manhunt is underway at this hour for two more suspects. Paris prosecutors say the men were arrested Saturday, and one of them was actually at the airport in Paris, about to board a flight to Algeria. Investigators use DNA found at the museum to track the suspects down.

I'm joined now by Chris Marinello, the CEO and founder of Art Recovery International. That's an organization that specializes in the location and recovery of stolen and looted works of art. Hi, Chris.

So, investigators haven't said anything about the recovery of the stolen jewels, which are valued at more than $100 million. At this point, how likely is it that those jewels will be recovered?

CHRIS MARINELLO, CEO AND FOUNDER, ART RECOVERY INTERNATIONAL: Well, the French police did a phenomenal job in locating these individuals. They had been watching them for some time and only made the arrest at the airport because they felt that one of them was going to flee the country. But the squeeze is on. I mean, nobody's going to be beating these guys with a baguette, but they will be making deals with them to give up their other compatriots, to tell them where the jewels are. I mean, this is a desperate situation to locate the jewels before they have a chance to be broken up.

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BROWN: And just tell us how -- what kind of an investigation this is like to find these two men, one of them about to board a flight to Algeria, and just kind of the race being on to find these other two?

MARINELLO: Just brilliant police work from the BRB and the OCBC in France. I mean, a week is a very short period of time to locate people who -- you know, usually, you locate these things when they get placed for sale in the marketplace. They were really working from scratch and did a phenomenal job.

BROWN: So, does it make you question how sophisticated the operation was if they left behind all this DNA that then led to the arrest of two of them?

MARINELLO: Absolutely. We were led to believe from the outset that this was a Oceans 11-type heist, but we're seeing more and more mistakes made by these guys, DNA left at the Louvre, tools and materials left and then being caught at the airport on their way out rather than driving across the border, I mean, one mistake after another. A well-planned smash and grab, it sounds like.

BROWN: So, then how much of a wakeup call is it this brazen robbery that wasn't as sophisticated perhaps as we were initially led to believe?

MARINELLO: Well, they were very successful in stealing a hundred million worth of jewelry. So, this is a wakeup call to museums everywhere that if you have jewelry of this nature, if you have gold, you need to secure it as if your museum were a bank vault. And that's exactly what the French had done with the remaining jewels. They have moved them to a vault elsewhere in Paris for their protection.

BROWN: All right. Chris Marinello, thank you so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And coming up, caught on camera throwing tear gas at protesters. Now, one group is suing the Department of Homeland Security saying it lied about why a senior Border Patrol official used it, breaking a judge's order.

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BROWN: We are getting video of chaos in the Chicago neighborhood during an immigration operation. Tear gas was apparently deployed.

BLITZER: And it happened as children were supposed to be marching in a Halloween parade, prompting last-minute changes to that event. Tre Ward with our affiliate, WLS, has the story.

TRE WARD, REPORTER: The family of Luis Villegas says he was working on this now unfinished project before he was chased down and arrested by federal agents just around a corner from here in front of the house. That's when neighbors came outside of their homes in his defense, before witnesses say tear gas was deployed. That concern impacting a Halloween tradition here in this neighborhood for kids.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my brother.

WARD (on camera): A teenager pleads with federal agents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off of me, bro.

WARD: As he says, his oldest brother, Luis Villegas is seen in this video being led away in handcuffs by immigration officers.

Another brother, Julian Villegas, responding to the scene.

JULIAN VILLEGAS, LUIS VILLEGAS' BROTHER: It takes a toll on me, you know, because I'm the one that that's responsible for him at the end of the day, you know? Because he's working over here for me and, you know, all this happening and putting him in danger is just -- it -- I feel guilty.

WARD: It happened Saturday morning while the 35-year-old father, a construction worker with his brother's business, was working on this home near Kildeer and Waveland. Villegas' family says he is an undocumented immigrant and has lived in the Chicago area for most of his life after coming from Mexico with his family at four years old.

Witnesses say a woman and a man seen in this video were also detained. We've blurred their faces since it's unclear if they face charges.

BRIAN KOLP, NEIGHBOR: The man is my neighbor who lives right here. He's seven years old about, and they essentially hauled him out of the driver's side of his car and threw him onto the ground.

WARD: And during the confrontation --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tear gas at Old Irving Park.

WARD: -- apparent tear gas was deployed, clouding the very street where kids in their costumes were supposed to march in the neighborhood Halloween Parade.

ANNA WARE, NEIGHBOR: We were supposed to be standing on this corner with hundreds of families walking around and we're just being terrorized by ICE. Instead, we're keeping ourselves together, resisting with joy at Disney 2, doing the parade around the track.

WARD: City leaders condemning the federal actions that unfolded. BEATRIZ PONCE DE LEON, CHICAGO DEPUTY MAYOR OF IMMIGRANT, MIGRANT AND REFUGEE RIGHTS: Lawyers are doing their job of holding these agents accountable and working through the courts and using the legal process that we have to challenge what is happening.

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BLITZER: Our special thanks to Tre Ward for that report.

The Homeland Security Department has now released a statement on the incident, and it reads like this. On October 25th, 2025, Border Patrol conducted an operation that resulted in the arrest of a criminal illegal alien from Mexico who has previously been arrested for assault. During the operations, Border Patrol agents were surrounded and boxed in by a group of agitators. Federal law enforcement issued multiple lawful commands and verbal warnings, all of which were ignored.

BROWN: And during the operation, two U.S. citizens were arrested for assaulting and impeding a federal officer. The statement goes on to say, to safely clear the area after multiple warnings and the crowd continuing to advance on them. Border Patrol had to deploy crowd control measures. Our officers are facing 1,000 percent increase in assaults against them as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, abusers, and gang members.

[10:25:01]

Secretary Noem's message to the rioters is clear, you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

So, that is the full statement.

BLITZER: Yes, end quote. Pamela, go ahead.

BROWN: Yes. And new this morning, top Border Patrol Official Gregory Bovino is accused of violating a judge's restraining order. A combination of protesters, Chicago area clergy, and media group cite (ph) this video right here. They say that Bovino threw tear gas into a crowd without justification during a protest against federal immigration authorities in Chicago last week.

CNN Correspondent Priscilla Alvarez is here in The Situation Room with us to tell us what's going on here and what the potential consequences are for him over this.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a federal judge has ordered that Gregory Bovino, who has been the Homeland Security official, charged with the federal crackdown in these cities and currently in Chicago, come before the court. So, he is expected to testify tomorrow in this case where, as you mentioned, there is a temporary restraining order over the use of tear gas, pepper spray, and other tactics against journalists and protesters unless under imminent threat, which brings us to this situation last week where the tear gas was used.

Now, according to the plaintiffs in this case, it was a peaceful protest and that there was no justification for throwing the tear gas canister. And we see in the video that Bovino throws that. However, the Department of Homeland Security vehemently denies this and says that rocks were being thrown at the agents and after quote, repeated multiple warnings to back up and that chemical agents would be deployed. That was the warning from the agents.

Now, we only are getting bits and pieces of the video that was shot by people there and that we're seeing on social media. So, the entire series of events was not captured on video, and that is why there are still questions and there's this finger pointing between the Department of Homeland Security and the plaintiffs in this case about what exactly happened.

But what is clear is that there have been multiple confrontations between protesters and between Border Patrol agents, which, again, have been fanned out across the country to do immigration enforcement, and this is yet another incident where the judge and the attorneys will be asking more questions certainly of Bovino tomorrow when he takes the stand.

BROWN: Yes. I know you'll be tracking it all, Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And just ahead, President Trump revealing he got an MRI during his recent health exam at the Walter Reed Medical Center. The new questions being raised about his health, they're coming in right now.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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