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The Situation Room
Trump Says United States and China Have a Deal; At Least 30 Killed as Melissa Leaves Trail of Destruction in Caribbean; Testimony Underway in $40 Million Lawsuit Involving Teacher Shot By Six-Year-Old Student. Aired 10-10:30a ET
Aired October 30, 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, landmark agreement. President Trump and China's Xi Jinping reach an economic truce that could help boost the global economy.
The nuclear move, President Trump may just before striking the deal that may reignite tensions.
And why the clock is still ticking for the future of TikTok.
Plus, trail of devastation, Caribbean Islands completely wiped out and left under water. CNN is on the ground there with a look at the catastrophic damage left by Hurricane Melissa.
And jewelry heist takedown, Paris police make new arrests in connection with the brazen daytime theft at one of the world's most famous museums.
Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is on assignment, and you are in The Situation Room.
And we start with that breaking news. President Trump says the world's two largest economies, the United States and China, have a deal. That announcement came after the president's meeting with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping in South Korea. According to the president, he and Xi agreed on almost everything, including trade and tariffs related to fentanyl.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I've agreed, as you know, I put a 20 percent tariff on China because of the fentanyl, (INAUDIBLE) soon, which is a big tariff. And based on the statements today, I reduced it by 10 percent, so it's 10 percent. That's instead of 20 percent effective immediately.
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BROWN: Just before that announcement though, President Trump instructed the Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis with China and Russia for the first time in decades. So, this would be a shift in policy, a major shift.
Let's go live now to CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Ivan, what more can you tell us about this consequential meeting between President Trump and Xi?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, it's good news for global trade when you have the leaders of the two world's two largest economies sit down and agree to put a pause in their escalating trade war and try to get back to business as usual.
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TRUMP: Xi Jinping of China's coming.
I look forward to seeing.
WATSON (voice over): After days of hype, the moment us President Donald Trump was waiting for his landmarked meeting with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping a chance to reset the relationship between rival superpowers.
TRUMP: He's a very tough negotiator.
WATSON: Warm words as they sat down face-to-face for the first time in six years.
TRUMP: President Xi is a great leader of a great country. And I think we're going to have a fantastic relationship for a long period of time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always believe that China's development goes hand in hand with your vision to make America great again.
WATSON: The world closely watching whether these two leaders can heal the damage caused by months of a brutal trade war.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do not always see eye-to-eye with each other, and it is normal for the two leading economies of the world to have frictions now and then.
WATSON: Friction that has roiled the global economy after escalating rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs and other penalties.
Speaking on board Air Force One, before leaving South Korea, President Trump appeared confident a deal had been made.
TRUMP: Every year we'll renegotiate the deal, but I think the deal will go on for a long time, long beyond the year.
WATSON: Trump confirming that a range of thorny topics were on the table, including rolling back at least some of China's sweeping export controls on rare earths, critical resources that are essential for the manufacturer of almost all high tech products, from iPhones to electric vehicles.
Also discussed, ending the war in Ukraine, China's purchase of US soybeans, a key issue for Trump's rural supporters and the global fentanyl trade. Trump announcing he'll immediately slash fentanyl- related tariffs on China from 20 to 10 percent after his meeting with Xi.
TRUMP: I believe he's going to work very hard to stop the death that's coming in.
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WATSON: China's Commerce Ministry announced the U.S. would also halt a 24 percent reciprocal tariff on Chinese goods for a year and suspend some export controls.
For months now, China's leader has gone toe to toe with Trump, not backing down despite punitive U.S. tariffs. In Korea, Xi demonstrated he can negotiate with the unpredictable U.S. president to stabilize bilateral relations, even as China sprints towards self-sufficiency from American tech.
Trump left Korea promoting a big ticket finale to a trip that's seen him ink deals across Asia.
TRUMP: I guess on the scale from zero to ten, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12. Okay. I think it was a 12.
WATSON: As for the Chinese leader, he released a much more restrained statement, saying his time with the U.S. president was very pleasant.
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WATSON (on camera): Pamela, it's such a fascinating example of the contrasting styles and comportment of these two leaders. You know, this relationship has been volatile in the past. It could be in the future, but there are some good signals that have also been sent with both sides apparently agreeing that President Trump will make a visit to China sometime towards the beginning of next year and that Xi Jinping will make his own visit to the U.S. after that at some point next year, and that at least will keep this dialogue between these two important trading partners going. Pamela?
BROWN: dialogue is important. Ivan Watson, thank you so much.
And this morning, people across the Caribbean are digging out from Hurricane Melissa as the storm's destruction is really coming into focus. Melissa has claimed the lives of more than 30 people, and most of those in Haiti, after an official says flooding killed at least 23 people.
CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more from Jamaica, where Melissa caused major destruction. Derek?
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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice over): Widespread devastation after the deadly Category 5. Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, whipped through Jamaica Tuesday, leaving behind a path of destruction, most of the island without power.
On the ground, a muddy mess. As people come out to survey the damage for the first time, crumbling infrastructure, flooded roads, down trees, causing major disruption and making getting aid to those most in need a very difficult task.
We are literally on the frontlines of the Jamaica Defense Force ambulances, local NGOs, police, volunteers, trying to clear the roadway leading into Black River, some of, what we believe, is the hardest hit areas from Hurricane Melissa. It's a monumental effort to try and get aid through to this area, including medical provisions.
We've seen ambulances and people coming together to push those ambulances through debris and thick mud, this effort trying to get aid and people and the help that is desperately needed into portions of Western Jamaica.
People banded together. Some did whatever they could to survive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had to climb over a house, a wall, just to get shelter in, in another person's home just so that I didn't drown to death with my child.
VAN DAM: Jamaicans also can't get a break from the heat. The humidity from Melissa shot the heat index over 100 degrees, making conditions to clean up even harder.
ANDREW HOLNESS, JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER: Black River is what you would describe as ground zero. The people are still coming to grips with the destruction, but from what I've seen and the interaction, the people here are strong, resilient, and positive in outlook.
VAN DAM: Melissa also hit Cuba, flooding streets of Santiago and cutting off road access.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a lot of wind, a lot of rain. This area was flooded. Where you see now, the water reached almost knee-high.
VAN DAM: In Haiti, Melissa's outer bands brought deadly flooding.
Back in Jamaica, the road to recovery is long but some are staying strong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jamaica is in a disaster right now. So, we just have to pray up for the best and the good, help each one we can help, and that's it.
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BROWN: Our thanks to Derek Van Dam. And find out how you can help Hurricane Melissa victims at cnn.com/impact, or you can text Melissa to 707070 to donate.
Well, right now, testimony is underway right inside of Virginia courtroom as a teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student makes her case for $40 million. And then later, the shutdown's human toll, we're going to speak to a senior transportation security officer working without pay and her fears about making ends meet for her and her children.
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You're in The Situation Room.
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BROWN: Now, testimony in the civil trial for a case involving a former elementary school teacher, Abby Zwerner, who was shot by a 6- year-old student, is currently underway. Yesterday, Zwerner's lawyers introduced body camera footage from the first responders. We're going to show you some of that, but we also want to warn you that some viewers may find it disturbing.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Abby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 25.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 25. Do you have a history of (INAUDIBLE)?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She has a bullet in her hand (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. All right, you're doing just fine, okay?
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BROWN: The $40 million lawsuit is against a former school administrator who Zwerner says failed to act after several people voice concerns that the student had brought a gun to school.
Let's go live now to CNN's Jean Casarez. So, Jean, what more have we learned about the case during these first few days of the trial?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the basic, this is a civil case, and so it is gross negligence, and the defendant is actually the vice principal, Ebony Parker. She was the vice principal at the elementary school, and her job was to take control if there was a crisis in the school. And what we have learned through the testimony so far in the plaintiff's case is that that morning of January 2023, that's Ebony Parker right there, that there were four teachers that went to her office separate and alone, one after the other.
Now, the first one said, a student has just told me they believe this first grader has a gun. They've seen the gun. She didn't do anything. Second administrator and teacher came in saying, we have just learned that someone saw him take something out of his backpack and put it in his pocket. And, actually, Abby Zwerner, the victim here, is the one that saw that. It's in his pocket. It's big. We don't know what it is. Nothing was done. Then a male administrator came in, can I check his backpack? The vice principal, no. Finally, two teachers came in and said. We want to search his person. We believe a gun is in his pocket. The vice principal, defendant, said his mother's coming. Don't do anything now.
Minutes later, he takes that gun out. He points it at his first grade teacher, Abby, shoots her through the hand. It goes into her heart. She was fighting for her life. That bullet was very close to her aorta and that bullet remains in her.
So, those are the basic facts right there. The defense is saying she had other things to do that day she was doing standardized testing. She shouldn't have had to do this. The teachers can take control and they can monitor the situation. But an expert witness yesterday in education said, no. The teachers have the duty to report it to the vice principal, who is in charge of crisis, and it is the vice principal that has the duty to act.
And on the stand right now is the psychiatrist that assessed Abby talking about her diagnoses, and saying that she continues to have nightmares. She relives it, and that live testimony is going on right now.
BROWN: And do we expect the teacher, Abby Zwerner, to actually take the stand at all?
CASAREZ: That is what we have heard. We have heard that she will be taking the stand.
Now, what I just heard when the trial began today, and we heard the plaintiff's attorney say it yesterday, they may rest today. So what does that mean? That means they have a final witness and you always want to end strong, right, and that would be Abby, I believe, taking the stand to describe firsthand.
And, you know, this is so unusual because, normally, a victim doesn't survive. You're talking about someone who has died. This is a living victim that will be able to take the stand to describe exactly what happened to her as she witnessed it herself.
BROWN: And you said the bullet is still in her, right?
CASAREZ: The bullet is still in her chest, yes. And yesterday, the physician that did her surgeries for her hand from Walter Reed, he did hand surgeries on war -- in the war, on victims from Afghanistan. He said this was equivalent to a war injury, that the amount of bullet fragments inside her hand, the bone fragments inside her hand.
And we saw her hand yesterday and it's very puffy. It's swollen. She did a strength exercise with her surgeon, but he had to take bone out of her hip with a chisel and a hammer is how he got it to transplant it into her hands so she would have bones again. BROWN: Jean Casarez, thank you so much. And I know we'll continue to monitor this and bring you back with the very latest. You're going to have special coverage of the trial on CNN All Access as well. You can watch that and other CNN shows by scanning the Q.R. code right at the bottom of your screen or by going to cnn.com/allaccess.
Coming up right here in The Situation Room, President Trump is ordering the Pentagon to begin testing nuclear weapons. Why the change after more than three decades? That's just ahead.
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BROWN: Happening now, a top border official is sitting for what's expected to be a five-hour deposition. This is all part of a lawsuit accusing the agency of using aggressive behavior against peaceful protesters in Chicago, and it comes after video recorded CBP Chief Greg Bovino throwing what appeared to be a tear gas canister into a crowd of demonstrators.
The Department of Homeland Security says Bovino had been hit in the head with a rock thrown by what it called, quote, hostile and violent protesters, and the agency released video from the incident, which shows the crowd throwing objects, but does not seem to show Bovino being hit in the head by anything.
Our Priscilla Alvarez joins us now.
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Priscilla, what are we expecting out of this five-hour-long deposition?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the focus of all of this has been trying to understand the tactics that federal agents are using on the ground in Chicago, and those federal agents are led by Gregory Bovino, who is a top Border Patrol official and has been tapped by the administration to head the charge of the federal crackdown in Los Angeles and now in Chicago.
So, this hours-long deposition is trying to get to the crux of what is happening on the streets. We see so many videos, especially on social media, of what has been happening in these confrontations, these clashes, these aggressive, heavy-handed enforcement actions, but this is trying to get to the source, by speaking to the source, of what exactly is going on.
And that is something that we saw from the federal judge in this case as well this week when she ordered Bovino to come to her on a daily basis for the next week for him to share what it is that's going on every single day because she similarly said, look, I am seeing all of these videos, I am not on the ground, but I need to hear from you what is actually happening.
Now, the Justice Department did appeal that, and that has been temporarily blocked. So, yesterday, Bovino did not have to appear for his daily check-in. We'll see what additional briefings happened today, and whether perhaps that's back on the books later this afternoon, and in the following days. But what has become clear is that there has been so much confusion and chaos around what is happening in Chicago, be it the immigration enforcement tactics, be it the clashes with protesters and journalists.
And so a lot of this has been building over time and leading to these moments where Bovino has taken the stand earlier this week where he's now sitting from the deposition, where the judge is waiting to see if she'll have those daily check-ins that she has asked for. So, certainly, there has been an attempt to put them under the microscope and to try to get more answers.
I have talked to Bovino and he has said that he is doing the job he was tapped to do, that he is doing the administration's bidding, by arresting doing these immigration arrests. And when they come under threat and when he sees that they come under threat, acting accordingly. So, it'll be interesting to see what happens in this deposition, which is behind closed doors, and, again, whether the judge does get those check-ins back on the books.
BROWN: All right, we shall see. Priscilla Alvarez, thank you so much for bringing us the latest there.
And just ahead right here in The Situation Room, without food benefits and a paycheck. Up next, we'll speak to a senior transportation security officer about her mounting bills and worries as this shutdown drags on.
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