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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

CNN International: Russia Releases 74-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Stephen Hubbard; Fresh Round of Russian Drone Strikes Across Ukraine; Israeli Settler Violence in the West Bank; Tesla-Spacex Merger; Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion Fine to New Mexico; U.S. Senators Raise the Alarm Over Election Interference; South American Nation's Economy Transformed by Offshore Oil. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 21, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR, "THE BRIEF": Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, and

you're watching "The Brief."

Just ahead this hour, Russia releases 74-year-old U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard and says it is open to peace talks with Ukraine, but only after the

U.S. midterm elections. Expansion with impunity. A special report on how Israel has reshaped the occupied West Bank under Prime Minister Netanyahu.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRFAAN ALI, GUYANESE PRESIDENT: We are a sovereign state, and we are working with the U.S. as a partner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: -- the president of Guyana speaks with me about his relationship with the U.S., Venezuela, and much more.

We do begin with Russia offering to resume peace talks with the U.S. and Ukraine at the request of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who met with Russian

President Vladimir Putin for three hours in St. Petersburg. The talks are scheduled in Abu Dhabi for November 10th. That's a week after the U.S.

midterm elections. A Putin aide says the Kremlin wants to discuss a post- conflict security framework for Russia and Ukraine. Bear in mind, there are no indications that Moscow is willing to budge on any of its maximalist

positions. And by the way, it continues to bomb Ukraine incessantly.

Also, in St. Petersburg, Russia released that man there, 74-year-old American Stephen Hubbard. He's a retired schoolteacher who Russia accused

of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. The U.S. State Department said those charges were fabricated. Witkoff called Putin a, quote, "humanitarian' for

releasing Hubbard after a direct appeal from President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: He's a 75-year-old man, and you talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a

humanitarian also, sir. And I salute that. I commend you, and I thank you again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: That comment, that description as a humanitarian drew criticism, certainly from inside Ukraine, but also from lawmakers here, Democrats and

many Republicans, quite publicly.

National Security Reporter Jennifer Hansler joins me now. It's not the first time we've heard Trump administration officials and Trump himself

speak in kind terms of Vladimir Putin and of Russia here. I suppose the most basic question is, what substance does the administration believe

these latest talks have, right? Because we've been down this path before, and they've gone nowhere. Do they think these will be different?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Jim, that's the key question here. And what we've heard from the administration and

others around this whole negotiation is that at least they are talking, right? At least this is moving forward, particularly after this week of

extreme tension that we have seen between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky.

Of course, Steve Witkoff's visit to St. Petersburg to meet with Putin today followed his meeting in Oslo yesterday with Zelensky and European leaders

to try to shape what they have described as a framework towards peace.

Now, as you noted, there is no indication that Putin or Moscow is ready to give up its maximalist demands in these talks. However, they have said that

it is progress, that they are at least getting to the table. Now, of course, in terms of tangible outcomes from today's meeting, of course, the

release of Stephen Hubbard, that retired schoolteacher, now he has been detained, had been detained for more than four years in Russian detention.

He had moved in 2014 to an eastern Ukrainian city and was then detained by Russian officials in 2022 when they occupied that city at the start of the

war.

Now, they claimed he was a Ukrainian mercenary. This is something the State Department and his family has rejected as a lie. Now, today he is almost

back to the United States to meet with his family. But before he left St. Petersburg, there was kind of this strange moment where Witkoff brought a

Russian official, Kirill Dmitriev, in to meet with Hubbard. I want you to take a watch at that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HUBBARD: Nice to meet you very much. Thank you for your effort.

WITKOFF: This is Kirill Dmitriev. He had a lot to do with this happening. We just left President Putin, who sends you blessings and wishes you good

things. From today, you know, it's a new life for you. I met your son. Father Joseph. He's incredible, your boy. He's incredible. Should we call

him?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: Now, of course, Jim, it's incredibly odd to hear Witkoff relaying good wishes and blessings from Putin given Putin's government did imprison

Hubbard for more than four years.

[18:05:00]

The other thing we should note with this release, Jim, is the fact that President Trump directly tied the recent sanctions waiver for Russia to the

negotiations around Hubbard's release. He said that without those sanctions waivers, that Russia would have walked away from those negotiations. So,

the idea that the U.S. has been putting forward that Russia did not get anything in exchange for Hubbard's release is just not the case here, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Pretty straightforward in fact. Jennifer Hansler, thanks so much. Paul Whelan himself was wrongfully detained by Russia for more than five

years on espionage charges. He was released back in 2024, and he joins me now. Paul, good to have you back on the show.

PAUL WHELAN, FORMER RUSSIAN PRISONER AND U.S. MARINE CORPS VETERAN: Thank you. Nice to be here.

SCIUTTO: So, first, most basic question, given your own experience, spending five years in a Russian prison, not quite sure when you were going

to be released, what is Hubbard likely to be feeling right now? What mix of emotions?

WHELAN: Probably a little bit of shock, meeting the people that he's meeting, finally being free on an airplane, flying home. It won't seem real

until he actually touches down in the United States and he sees his family again.

SCIUTTO: Yes, no question. When you were released back in 2024, of course, the Ukraine war continued and Russian attacks have, frankly, expanded since

then over the course of the last year and more. The administration is hoping that this release is a sign that at least a path to negotiation is

open. The channels are open between the U.S. and Russia.

Do you see this release as potentially paving the way for a broader reconciliation between the two sides, or is it more likely to be like your

situation, a good thing on that day, but no great kumbaya moment followed?

WHELAN: Right. So, we have to remember that Russia is a state sponsor of wrongful detention and everything with the Russians is transactional. So,

Putin is not going to do anything to help us unless he's getting something that benefits him in return. So, this whole concept of him being a

humanitarian, why did he held me for 2043 days? Why did he hold Stephen, you know, Andre Khachatoorian, Chuck Zimmerman, a Navy veteran? Those guys

are still being held.

So, I think everything that that Putin is doing, they don't do things for free. Everything that they're doing is transactional and it's to benefit

them, not us.

SCIUTTO: It's such a good point because recent history has shown that Russia collects right hostages quite deliberately as bargaining chips.

WHELAN: They do. They do. And it's troublesome that we're not doing more. Our State Department and our administration to get our people back. I mean,

it's a drip, drip, drip of people coming home. We should be tightening the screws on Russia and we should be demanding that our people be returned.

And, you know, don't be fooled by this Dmitriev of guy. He's FSB. He's not a diplomat. He's not an envoy. He's FSB. So, that's who we're dealing with.

SCIUTTO: So, when you hear the president say, hey, look, Putin did this as a favor to me, I didn't have to give him anything in return. Is he getting

played by Dmitriev of and by Putin, both FSB?

WHELAN: Well, you know, Trump was president for the first two years of my detention and him and his friend Putin didn't get me back. So, this whole

thing about, you know, goodwill and humanitarian gestures and whatnot, I don't believe it. It's all about what benefits Putin and what benefits

Russia. So, although we are glad that Stephen's home and he's a fellow Michigander, so we're glad in Michigan that he's coming home.

You know, we have to be careful with the accolades because Putin's a bad guy. He's still got our citizens and we want them back.

SCIUTTO: You've been very public with your own challenges since returning to the U.S. And you and I have spoken about that on the air before. What

advice would you give Hubbard now? And perhaps more significantly, what support should he receive now?

WHELAN: Well, he's going to go to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, then to the joint base, San Antonio, for three weeks of

reintegration. And really what he needs to do is just kind of kick back and relax, you know, fall back and regroup. He's going to need all sorts of

things. He's older than I am. He'll probably need glasses. He'll need dental care, some mental health care, other medical care. Unfortunately,

right now, the U.S. government doesn't have a means to help former hostages.

[18:10:00]

And in the house, Haley Stevens introduced a bill that would provide compensation for former hostages. And on a personal note, I've just set up

a nonprofit and that nonprofit is going to directly help former hostages as well as help those citizens of ours being held hostage so that when they

come home, we can give them the sorts of help they need right away until other things can kick in.

But, you know, I'm glad Steven's coming home. He should be home. He should never have been arrested. He should never have been held. But he does have

a long road to go.

SCIUTTO: Well, kudos to you for starting a nonprofit with the intention of helping folks like Hubbard. We appreciate you coming on the show. Thanks,

Paul Whelan.

WHELAN: Yes, thanks, Jim. Appreciate it.

SCIUTTO: Well, despite the diplomatic overtures, Russia's attacks on Ukraine are not letting up at all. This was the scene in Ukraine's Cherkasy

region after a Russian strike. You can see smoke, fire rising from a hypermarket. In the Kharkiv region, an overnight drone attack killed two

people, wounded 11 others, including children. Russian drones struck Kyiv as well, killing at least two people there.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Elon Musk is the one who ordered a slowdown of the military grade version of Starlink used by Ukraine to help

defend itself, a version called Starshield. The journal cited unnamed people familiar with the matter. President Trump told reporters today he

does not know who did it, but that he was not involved.

On Fox News, President Zelensky said he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Starshield connectivity in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: About Starlink, Starshield, it's still limited, but the secretary told me that he will work with his team on

this to unblock this question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: U.S. Congressional candidate Brad Lander says that he was detained by the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank as he

accompanied a group of volunteers aiming to protect Palestinian farmers. Video shared by activist groups shows the moment Lander, you see him there,

was loaded onto a bus by Israeli police. He's since been released. This comes as Palestinian residents there report a wave of Israeli settler

attacks at the start of what is the Palestinian olive harvest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD LANDER, U.S. DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: This is land that is owned by these Palestinian farmers. They don't need to get a permit from

the IDF to harvest their own olives. Now, the IDF wants to make life difficult for Palestinians in every way they can to drive on their roads,

to live in their homes, to harvest their own olive fields. They don't need a permit and they shouldn't to harvest their olive fields.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: This violence by settlers is surging as the Israeli government is turning what were illegally built outposts in the West Bank into legal

settlements now. It's part of a broad campaign there that's been going on for many years, accelerating now. CNN's Jeremy Diamon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For more than two decades, these attacks have been an inescapable reality for

Palestinians in the towns of Khusra and Jalud.

Israeli settlers, often descending from a hilltop outpost named Esh Kodesh, have broken windows, set homes on fire, and beaten local residents.

BASHAR QARYOUTE, PALESTINIAN PARAMEDIC (through translator): You can't even describe the tragedies we've witnessed inside this ambulance. We've

seen tragedies, disasters, bodies, injured.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Bashar Al Qaryoute has been a medic here for 25 years, witnessing that settler violence up close.

DIAMOND: As we're driving through the town, I mean, it's like every 20 seconds or so, Bashar is stopping to point out yet another place where a

settler attack took place.

DIAMOND (voice-over): For as long as Bashar has driven his ambulance, Esh Kodesh has stood here illegally under both international and Israeli law.

But that changed in December when the Israeli government retroactively legalized it. Israel's finance minister, who directed the approval process,

was among the first to show up at the newly minted settlement, which is still considered illegal under international law.

But the violence didn't stop. It intensified. Esh Kodesh is one of 104 new settlements approved by the Israeli government since 2023.

In just this area alone, Esh Kodesh is one of six new settlements, five of which were previously illegal outposts. Settlers have established hundreds

of these outposts over the last three years, affecting dozens of Palestinian communities across the West Bank.

[18:15:00]

That's because where there are outposts, there is almost always violence. Attacks against Palestinians have surged, doubling in the last three years.

Mahmoud Tubasi is all too familiar with that reality.

DIAMOND: He says he watches this security camera, his two homes there, 24 hours a day.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Three months ago, Israeli settlers forced him to flee the homes he built for his family.

DIAMOND: What would happen if you went back?

MAHMOUD TUBASI, VICTIM OF SETTLER ATTACKS (through translator): They would kill me.

DIAMOND (voice-over): That nearly happened last month, after the Israeli military acted on a Supreme Court order to return the Tubasis (ph) to their

home. More than 100 settlers attacked, hurling stones and setting fires. Tubasi sees it as yet more evidence of the Israeli government's support for

violent settlers.

TUBASI (through translator): Why does the army have the power to stop Palestinians, but when it comes to these settlers, suddenly it has no

power? No, the army has exactly the same power. It simply does not want to stop them.

DIAMOND (voice-over): It is a cycle of impunity Tubasi first experienced 25 years ago, when he says he was shot by an Israeli settler near the Esh

Kodesh outpost.

TUBASI (through translator): Instead of imprisoning him, instead of restraining him, they legalized the settlement as a reward. This confirms

that the government encourages every settler to attack Palestinians.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Facts on the ground bear that out. A month after the government legalized Esh Kodesh, settlers established new illegal outposts,

and violence surged. We saw firsthand how settlers besieged another home in the area. The Israeli military deployed troops, but failed to clear out the

settlers. The Israeli prime minister has condemned the violence, but he has also downplayed it.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The settler violence thing is a tremendous hoax. Not because there isn't settlers -- it's not settlers,

actually. It's about 150, 200 juvenile delinquents who are doing this.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Netanyahu's government, the most right-wing in Israel's history, has emboldened the settlers, funneling more than $6

billion to settlements, including $450 million to support newly legalized outposts. His ministers of defense and national security have weakened law

enforcement of Jewish violence against Palestinians, with only 6 percent of cases leading to an indictment.

Bashar's colleague was shot and killed while driving this ambulance. He says no one was ever arrested, and the attacks continue.

QARYOUTE (through translator): It's terrible. Whenever I go out in the ambulance, I expect that I might not come back. I expect I won't return

home.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Bashar says much of it can be traced back to the government's outpost legalization.

QARYOUTE (through translator): After that, the settlers in Esh Kodesh bared their fangs. Their ambitions grew significantly. Anyone who commits a

crime is supposed to be punished, but instead, they are rewarded for committing crimes, and this is very dangerous precedent taking place in the

Esh Kodesh area and this entire area southeast of Nabius.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The cycle is now repeating itself across the West Bank. Settler playbook now well-established.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: It's so clear when you drive through there to see. Reporting there from Jeremy Diamond, Israel heads to an election next week, of

course, and the government's current policies will have lasting impacts, no matter who wins. Visit our website for an immersive story on how the

administration has fueled the so-called settler revolution in the occupied West Bank.

Still ahead, Elon Musk says a merger of Tesla and SpaceX is a good idea. We'll ask an investor of both firms -- in both firms if he believes it

makes sense, and discuss Tesla's just-released earnings. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. In today's Business Breakout now, solid gains across the board on Wall Street. The NASDAQ rose more than 1 percent with

shares of Elon Musk, SpaceX, and Tesla both rallying, making him richer, of course. SpaceX rose more than 7.5 percent after reporting stronger-than-

expected earnings and robust demand for its A.I. and Starlink services.

News that SpaceX and Tesla committees will soon discuss a potential merger helped boost the stock too. Musk says combining the two firms would be a

good idea. Of course, the market was listening. Tesla reported its Q3 results a short time ago. Auto revenues declined, but its free cash flow

came in positive, which surprised investors.

Also, after the closing bell, shares of Facebook parent company Meta are higher after reporting market-friendly results. Meta says it will create a

new class of stock to help fund its massive A.I. investments. Earlier today, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion civil fine in

connection with the Cambridge Analytica data breach that exposed the personal data of some 87 million Facebook users without their consent in an

attempt to manipulate elections. The company says it will appeal.

Joining me now is Ross Gerber, co-founder and CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management. His firm owns shares in SpaceX, Tesla, and Meta,

among other things. Ross, good to have you back on.

ROSS GERBER, CEO, GERBER KAWASAKI WEALTH AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: All right. So, Tesla and SpaceX, is this a Frankenstein merger or does it make good business sense?

GERBER: Well, you had to add business sense. I don't know about business sense, but it definitely makes sense, I guess. You know, what this deal

looks like and how it gets done is probably an all-stock deal. I don't know how this will work for SpaceX long-term, you know, with so many different

assets doing so many different things and such a different financial profile between SpaceX and Tesla.

But I think if you're looking for a way to invest in Elon Musk's businesses and moonshots, having one company makes a lot of sense. And so, that, from

an investor perspective, I think it makes a lot of sense for them to merge. From a business perspective, I think whatever SpaceX pays for Tesla is

probably way more than it should. But that's for SpaceX shareholders to deal with.

SCIUTTO: Is Elon Musk still interested in making cars? Basic question.

GERBER: I mean, he kind of tried to pretend like he was today talking about selling a lot more EVs. But I'm like, you got a Model Y. You know,

it's like you got one car, basically. Nobody's buying the Cybertruck. And, you know, if you want to sell EVs, you got to make EVs. And I've got

employees here waiting for Teslas that are not coming for months.

So, they're not executing on delivering what the capacity is with extremely high gas prices that we have. People want electric vehicles. And boy, I

think it couldn't be a better time to buy an electric vehicle if you're a consumer in America. But unfortunately, Tesla is not able to meet the

demand.

[18:25:00]

SCIUTTO: I want to ask you a question about Starlink. Not a political question, just a business question. Given all the reporting and discussion

of the slowdown in Starlink speeds via Starshield, which is the defense- related product for Ukraine, is that bad for Starlink's businesses? Because I speak to a lot of European officials who don't, I mean, they don't trust

the U.S. as a defense partner anymore, but they also begin not to trust defense companies in the U.S.

GERBER: Right. So, I'm going to try to say this as palatable as possible, but what happened this week, as a SpaceX shareholder, I'm disgusted. I am

disgusted with Elon Musk. I think that these decisions were strategically horrendous, and from a humanity perspective, just horrible. So, I'm really

upset about it because now they've given everybody a reason not to use Starlink.

That Starlink isn't reliable for national security for anybody but Trump. I don't even know if maybe he'd turn it off on the United States if he didn't

like policy and he didn't like the president. One person should not have that control. And so, it is imperative now that competitors to Starlink be

made. They literally created a situation where they proved that we cannot just have Starlink. And that's just too bad. It's just too bad.

SCIUTTO: Is there -- I mean, the trouble is, Starlink's been at this for a while. They've got a lot of satellites in space.

GERBER: And they're good at it.

SCIUTTO: And they're good at it. Is there any credible competitor on the near horizon?

GERBER: I don't know the time frames. There are several competitors already working on this, and you have many different companies seeing the

upside to the financial side of launching a global internet satellite program. So, there's financial sense to be a competitor.

So, I know that Europe will develop their own. And I don't think the technology that Starlink has today is not repeatable by somebody else. I

think they can do this. It's just very expensive. And part of the way that Starlink works is by having access to rocket launches on a consistent

basis. They can continually upgrade their satellites. So, it gives a lot of credence to a company like Rocket Labs and what they're building there.

SCIUTTO: Ross Gerber, always good to have you break it down.

GERBER: Yes, thank you.

SCIUTTO: Just ahead, on "The Brief," a small group of U.S. officials are said to be preparing lawmakers for possible election interference by this

White House. The Washington Post reporter who broke that story joins us just after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

SCIUTTO: -- back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto, and here are the international headlines we're watching today.

The Kremlin says it is willing to resume three-way talks with the U.S. and Ukraine next month. This follows a three-hour meeting between Russian

President Vladimir Putin and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in Russia. A Putin aide says talks could take place in Abu Dhabi. So, far, there's been

no sign Putin is willing to cave on any of his hardline positions in order to end the war.

The Vatican says that Pope Leo's recent cancer surgery was a success and that no further treatment is needed. The pope today held his first general

audience since a growth was removed from his lung. The 71-year-old pontiff had planned to visit South America next month. No word yet from the Vatican

on whether that trip will take place.

A U.N. climate report warns that the Earth will likely heat up by more than one and a half degrees Celsius. That was the limit in the Paris climate

agreement. The U.N. expects average temperatures to pass that threshold within the next few years. And that means an increasing risk of

irreversible changes, including the thawing of the permafrost, damage to coral systems, and what the report describes as devastating impacts on

human life.

The head of America's broadcast regulator says that U.S. networks could violate their rules if they air what he calls entirely fake polls. FCC

chairman, Brendan Carr, has faced pressure from President Trump to crack down on journalists in any way possible. This comes as CNN's new poll of

polls shows Republicans losing key races in Texas and Ohio, the president's approval rating, far underwater as well.

Ohio, of course, is the home state of Vice President J.D. Vance. He's warning Republicans not to break ranks amid backlash over, in particular, a

new ad in the governor's race there. The ad, by Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, features the mother of his Democratic rival, Amy Acton. We should note

Acton has been estranged from her mother since she was 12. That's when her stepfather, her mother's husband, was charged with raping her.

In the ad, Acton's mother accuses her daughter of lying. The ad has garnered criticism, even from Republicans. President Trump, however, had

this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I guess, you know, if it was about a Republican, I could guarantee you they'd let it go. So, that's why you're

asking. The fact is, I know nothing about it. But I hear the mother went very rogue on the daughter, doesn't have a lot of respect for the daughter.

And I think the mother is a witness to things also.

So, who knows? And you have to figure that out. It's a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much, but I don't think

that has anything to do with Vivek.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Less than two weeks before the midterms, Democratic lawmakers are raising the alarm over not just disinformation, but potential foreign

interference in the election. The Washington Post says a small group of current and former Defense Department officials are quietly advising

lawmakers, preparing them for election interference, not just from abroad, though, but by the Trump administration inside this country.

Noah Robertson is the national security reporter at The Washington Post who broke that story. And he joins me now. Noah, thanks so much for joining the

show.

NOAH ROBERTSON, NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Good to be here. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: So, your reporting describes national security officials issuing warnings privately, but issuing warnings to state and local officials to

prepare for federal interference in these upcoming midterms. What kind of interference, particularly?

ROBERTSON: I think the group that I spoke with is concerned about a wide array of things that the Trump administration could do to help Republicans

in the midterms. I think some of them range from the administration's public actions, like promising voters a $5,000 payout if the GOP retains

its control of Congress, but also far more extreme measures, things like deploying ICE agents to polling stations, or even having National Guard

troops go and seize voting equipment.

[18:35:00]

I should say that the administration has tried to play down some of these concerns, including saying on behalf of the DHS that ICE agents have no

plans to conduct an operation of that kind.

SCIUTTO: What responses do these officials recommend? In other words, in addition to warning them that this may be coming, what do they advise them

to do?

ROBERTSON: I think it splits between the groups that they've been meeting with. With lawmakers in Congress, they broadly urge them to be prepared,

especially politically if they're Republicans, to oppose these measures in a way that would help validate the security of American elections and

prevent any interference.

If you're a state official that they've been meeting with, they've tried to counsel them to go over their procedures, think about vulnerabilities,

really approach this if you were thinking from their perspective of how they're vulnerable to different kinds of interference, not from foreign

governments, but also to the federal government.

SCIUTTO: There's been talk, even threats, of confiscating ballot boxes, going so far as to do that. Is that included among the warnings?

ROBERTSON: I think those are among some of the more extreme warnings that the group has had with the members of Congress and also the state officials

that they've spoken to. And you see also President Trump earlier this year speaking in the New York Times in an interview said he actually regretted

not having the National Guard seize voting machines in the 2020 election during his months-long campaign to challenge the results.

So, I think a really unprecedented situation where you have these officials warning that interference could come, again, not from foreign governments,

which the U.S. is always prepared for, but also from the federal government.

SCIUTTO: I mean, the thing is now we know President Trump is willing to try to steal an election, we saw that in 2020, we saw January 6th, we saw

the degree he's willing to go. The lesson of this second term is that on things that he tried, to some degree in the first term, he's trying quite

more aggressively this time around. And he controls the federal levers of power, DHS, et cetera. National -- well, not National Guard, but he

certainly controls the military, ICE, et cetera.

What are the checks, right? I mean, what are the barriers between this taking place and not taking place beyond the warnings that we're seeing

being issued? Is this ultimately going to be up to state and local officials to hold the line?

ROBERTSON: Sure. Well, I think the checks are that states are entrusted under the Constitution to conduct elections and they retain that authority.

So, you see a wide array of state officials that does include Republicans publicly warning that they are concerned about some of the administration's

actions, but also saying that like any other year, they are prepared to conduct the election in a free and fair way.

And they're thinking very carefully about how to make sure that the officials, the election volunteers, the state officials who are entrusted

to do this each year are very well-versed in the rules and regulations, the chain of custody to make sure that the election is secure.

SCIUTTO: Before we go, did they make any recommendations to voters for what they should do, right, to protect their right to vote?

ROBERTSON: I think the group was more focused on election officials and protecting them and making sure that they're prepared. But to voters, I

think they would just urge folks to participate.

SCIUTTO: Noah Robertson, thanks for keeping a light on this.

ROBERTSON: Thank you for the time.

SCIUTTO: Coming up on "The Brief," after striking a massive production deal with ExxonMobil, the leader of Guyana says that his nation is now

working with the U.S. as a sovereign partner. Note that word. My conversation with President Irfaan Ali right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. The economy of Guyana is being transformed by Enormous oil fines offshore. Guyana is a small English-speaking country at

the top of South America. It is a population just under 1 million people it borders Venezuela. I sat down with Guyana's president, Irfan Ali today. I

began by asking whether he believes his country is getting a fair share of its oil wealth under its contract with U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IRFAAN ALI, GUYANESE PRESIDENT: The contract, the production sharing agreement with Exxon was signed by the last government. And we recognize

that sanity of contract is important. We recognize that we have entered into a contract. And whilst it may not be a contract that offer the best

deal to the country, it is a contract that we've entered into as a country. And what we are doing now is maximizing the benefit out of that contract.

So, it is how we manage the contract and how we manage a sector to bring more benefits the Guyanese and the Guyanese private sector, and that is

what we're focused on.

SCIUTTO: So, you believe you can, in effect, get more benefit to the people of Guyana over time in this contract?

ALI: Most definitely, not in the administration of the contract and in the sector itself. Incrementally, we want to transfer more and more benefits to

the Guyanese private sector and Guyanese citizen as a whole. So, you will see in the coming months that we'll be developing investment vehicle

through which the ordinary Guyanese families can invest in important projects in the energy sector, giving them fair return and at the same

time, an opportunity to participate in the sector.

SCIUTTO: What about the U.S. role? Because when I speak to, for instance, members of the opposition in Venezuela, they are very concerned about the

structure of their oil deal involving the U.S. That one, the Venezuelan people didn't have a voice in it, right? Of course, it's not a government

that they believe was elected fairly. But also, that, again, too much of the benefit goes outside the country. Do you believe the U.S. is a fair

partner in helping to negotiate these deals?

ALI: So, we have had excellent relationship with the U.S. And that relationship is based on some shared values and shared priorities. So, I

believe that, from our perspective, we have entered into an agreement with Exxon, now Chevron is a partner, CNOC is a partner, and the government of

Guyana. And we have other exploration with other companies, global companies. So, our investment in the sector is pretty diversified from a

global footprint.

SCIUTTO: When you listen to President Trump as he speaks about this hemisphere, you'll hear it described as the Donroe Doctrine, right, wanting

to have more influence. Oftentimes, he'll speak in terms of acquisition not partnership, right? We want to take Greenland. We are running Venezuela. We

want to make Canada a 51st state.

[18:45:00]

Are you concerned that in these, in this partnership with the U.S., that the U.S. under Trump wants to control Guyana as opposed to be a partner

with Guyana?

ALI: So, we have to look at this from the broader regional perspective. When the Shield of America's, for example, that initiative, what we saw was

a coming together of like-minded countries with specific priorities and specific goals.

I don't see the U.S. as trying to force us or trying to be a dominant force with Guyana. We have made it very clear that we're deeply interested in

partnership, working together with the U.S. We see the U.S. as an important ally of Guyana and the partnership that we built must be built on shared

values, shared benefit, and the joint development and prosperity of our region.

If we pursue the development of our region and the advancement of our relationship from this perspective, it will be long-term, it will be

sustainable in the long-term, and it will be beneficial for the U.S. and for us and the region in the long-term.

SCIUTTO: If you pursue it from that perspective, do you believe that that's how both sides are pursuing this?

ALI: 0Well, I can speak for Guyana. That is how we are pursuing this relationship. We are a sovereign state and we are working with the U.S. as

a partner, as a partner in development, as a partner in security, and that is how we see this.

SCIUTTO: You, of course, have this ongoing border dispute with Venezuela regarding the Essequibo region. Do you believe you'll be able to come to a

peaceful resolution?

ALI: The borders were settled in 1899 in the Arbitral War. Going on to independence, Venezuela raised controversy and that is before the

International Court of Justice now. We're hoping that early in the new year there will be a ruling and we will abide by that ruling, whatever that

ruling is, and we have encouraged Venezuela to also abide by the ruling, the rule of law.

SCIUTTO: You mentioned biodiversity as being a priority for Guyana. There's a lot of, well, pessimism in the both climate change community,

biodiversity community, that one, nations are not meeting their goals. They consistently fall short of their goals, but also that the U.S. has largely

removed itself from this. You know, you even, speaking from climate perspective, questioning the very science behind it.

Are you pessimistic or optimistic that countries like your own in partnership with other nations around the world can do something?

ALI: In the interest of our planet, we have to be optimistic, and biodiversity is linked to our ecosystem. So, we believe that it is not only

about protecting biodiversity and regenerating biodiversity that we've already lost, but it's also about finding a system of value and we find a

formula that values this asset so that countries who have this great asset that they can also earn from the asset. We have to find a viable economic

model, market-based model, and that is what we are pursuing. That is part of the agenda in the Global Biodiversity Alliance.

SCIUTTO: Before we go, as you know, King Charles is supposed to visit Guyana at the end of the month. You've called for a formal British apology

and justice for slavery. Britain has said the King can acknowledge the wrongs, but not quite issue a formal apology. Is that insufficient in your

view?

ALI: First of all, King Charles has been a great friend to Guyana. He has really helped us and worked with us closely on climate and climate change,

and we look forward for this visit. King Charles has already described that era as some of the darkest days in British history, and whilst we are part

of the CARICOM community and we have always propagated that an apology should be followed by a form of reparation.

But I believe that, like King Charles would have alluded to, there must be a mature discussion around this. There must be a dignified discussion

around this. What I am proposing is for us to look at a model, a development model, the development gap that is taking place, the

inequalities that has taken place, the lack of development in important sectors like health and education, human capacity, technology.

So, I'm saying that the development model can look at concessional financing, a blend of soft resources in new loans, support for adaptation

and mitigation measures.

[18:50:00]

The conversation should not be misguided by countries looking for some payoff or payout because that is not the case at all here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Our conversation there with the president of Guyana. Just ahead, when it comes to the new Apple iPhone, you've got to know when to hold them

and know when to fold them. CNN Tech Editor Lisa Eadicicco gives us her review of the iPhone Duo next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Early in the show, Paul Whelan claimed that Kirill Dmitriev is a current member of the FFB. I repeated that claim in error. Dmitriev is a

Kremlin envoy and head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund. We regret the error.

Another story now, the new iPhone Duo is set to go on sale this Friday. It is Apple's first ever foldable device and an attempt to catch up with rival

Samsung, who's been selling foldables for years now. The big question is, do a worth the weight and a hefty price?

Lisa Eadicicco has been given early access to the duo. She joins me now. Lisa, I saw this in an Apple store recently. I mean, I get the idea. By the

way, they're not the first to try this. Is it worth it?

LISA EADICICCO, CNN TECH EDITOR: So, as you mentioned, Jim, they are not the first to try this. Foldable phones have been around for years. There

are some things that Apple does a bit better than these Android competitors that have come out earlier. For example, I think the software is more

fluid, especially when you're switching from the front screen to the inside screen. It's just much more seamless.

But I will say that the one area where Android has really kind of gotten a jump start is in apps being optimized for that bigger display. So, as I've

been testing the iPhone Duo, one of the things that I've noticed here is that not every app has been optimized and updated to adjust to that inside

screen yet. And it's not even just a matter of adjusting to fit the screen. But ideally, when you're paying this much for a foldable phone, you want

the experience to be a little different, a little special.

And we're seeing some of that with Apple's apps. Apple's done a great job of that with things like the messages app and the mail app. There's --

since the screen is bigger, you can view your message and your inbox at the same time, things like that. I think that will change over time.

Again, this phone isn't even out yet. So, developers do have time to update their apps and think about how they want to make those experiences. But I

do think that's something to pay a lot of attention to moving forward. A few other things I noticed that the screen is really bright and colorful

and there's barely any crease. So, that's great. The hardware has been really smooth and easy to use. But again, I think those apps need a little

bit of time to catch up.

SCIUTTO: Question with previous iterations of this by other companies. Does like the foldable part wear out over time? This is a very basic

question, like this, the screen stay flush? I guess we'll only know over time.

[18:55:00]

EADICICCO: Yes. That's a really important question. So, early foldable phones had a little bit more, had more durability issues over time. They

felt a little flimsier. But over the years, companies like Samsung and other companies in the space have really kind of boosted their engineering

and they've redesigned the hinge and things like that. And I think that's one of the benefits for Apple now, coming into the space a little bit

later, they've had more time to work on those types of engineering issues that really plagued early foldable devices.

SCIUTTO: Well, let's see how it looks in six months. That's what I want to know.

EADICICCO: Yes, absolutely.

SCIUTTO: Lisa Eadicicco, thanks so much for joining.

EADICICCO: Of course.

SCIUTTO: And thanks so much, all of you. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." Please do stay with CNN.

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