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What We Know with Max Foster
Russian FM: Awaiting Latest Version Of Deal, "We Will See"; U.S. Official: U.S. And Russian Teams Meeting In Abu Dhabi; FBI Seeks To Interview Democratic Lawmakers Over "Illegal Orders" Video; FAA: Thanksgiving Travel Period To Be Busiest In 15 Years; New X Feature Exposes Foreign Pro-MAGA Accounts. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 25, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:27]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are tonight at a critical point.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
Donald Trump says there will be no meeting with the Ukrainian president or his Russian counterpart until a deal to end the war is final. Mr. Trump
says tonight there are only a few remaining points of disagreement left, while a Ukrainian source tells CNN that no final text has been agreed just
yet.
Posting online just a few minutes ago, Mr. Trump ordered his top envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Russian President Putin in Moscow. This comes
after a flurry of diplomatic activity today.
In Abu Dhabi, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is making a fresh push to find a resolution to the war with Russian officials. Mr. Trump says
Driscoll will soon meet with the Ukrainian officials, too.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, says an amended peace plan must reflect what he calls the spirit and letter of the Trump-Putin summit,
which was in Alaska.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEY LAVROV, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We have channels of communication with our American colleagues and they are being
used and we are awaiting their version, which they consider an interim version in terms of completing the phase of coordinating this text with the
Europeans and Ukrainians, then we will see, because if the spirit and letter of Anchorage are lost in the key understandings we have documented,
then of course the situation will be fundamentally different. But so far, I repeat, no one has officially communicated anything to us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, world leaders are closely watching these negotiations play out. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, urged Kyiv to have robust
security guarantees
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: We are clearly at a at a crucial juncture. Negotiations are getting a new impetus and we should seize this
momentum, not because there is reason for alarm. Ukraine is solid. Russia is slow and Europe is steadfast. But because there is finally a chance to
make real progress toward a good peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's Paula Hancocks following developments for us from Abu Dhabi.
So that's where the action has been today. How does the day end?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Max. What we saw today and yesterday, in fact, was the army secretary, Dan Driscoll, just go here
in Abu Dhabi. He was meeting with a Russian delegation. So that's a two-day meeting that has been ongoing. Now, we have just heard, as you mentioned,
from that post from the U.S. president heard, that Driscoll will also now be going on to meet the Ukrainian delegation, who we understand was also
here, but not part of those discussions.
Now, that could suggest that that there has been some progress made in the fact that there is now something to take back to the Ukrainian delegation.
Maybe that is the way that this element of this, this sudden burst of diplomatic activity is going to play out here in Abu Dhabi. But we have
seen some significant diplomatic activity across many different areas at this point. We have also been hearing some very positive statements coming
from the Trump administration.
We just heard President Trump posting that it is tremendous progress being made. We heard one U.S. official saying that Ukraine, the Ukrainians, have
agreed to the peace deal, that there are some minor details to be sorted out. It's worth pointing out, though, that what we're hearing publicly from
the Ukrainian officials is not as far forward as what we're hearing from the U.S. side. We have heard the Ukrainian president, President Volodymyr
Zelensky, saying there are solid results, but much work still lies ahead.
We also know that he was hoping to meet with the U.S. president in the coming days. This we heard from his national security advisor. He was
hoping to talk about what he called the more sensitive issues. So, clearly, some issues that that he does not want to be in this proposal. He was
hoping to meet face to face with the U.S. president to try and hammer that out.
Now, what we've seen from this social media post, from President Trump is that he doesn't want to see either Zelenskyy or President Putin face to
face until there is almost a deal, until the deal is almost finalized. So we'll have to see whether or not that meeting does, in fact go ahead.
But we are also, as you just played with the Sergey Lavrov sound, there, a suggestion that whatever is decided on the Ukrainian side and the U.S.
side, it still has to be approved once again on the Russian side. And potentially that is what we will see here in Abu Dhabi now with the meeting
about to happen in the coming days with Driscoll and a Ukrainian delegation.
FOSTER: Yeah. Paula, thank you so much.
Matthew Chance is with us.
Youve been speaking to people in involved in these talks as well. I mean, they're talking about I mean, Trump's talking about these remaining points
of disagreement. The implication being that they're making progress. But the reality is they have to deal with every point of disagreement to get a
deal done, don't they?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, all along, U.S. officials have been really playing down the extent the
magnitude of the disagreement. President Trump in his social media post said there's been just a few remaining points of disagreement. Marco Rubio
in Geneva yesterday, when I was in a news conference with him, he said that he didn't believe any of the outstanding issues. Couldn't be gone around.
But actually, I've been speaking to a senior Ukrainian source with direct negotiation experience with knowledge of those negotiations, and he's been
saying there's still -- there's still a long way apart. There's still differences.
FOSTER: On those key issues.
CHANCE: On issues like the surrender of territory, on issues like limitations being asked on Ukraine to put on its military and on issues
like its future NATO membership. They still haven't agreed either a wording on that or sort of ingredient principle that they would do that. And so,
you can cast those things as small issues that can be got around as much as you like. But the truth is these are the, the sort of core issues sort of
in this negotiation. And also, they're key conditions, by the way, of the Russians, for them to end their war in Ukraine.
FOSTER: Could they park those issues and get to the other points and claim some sort of triumph?
CHANCE: Look, so what were what we're talking about right now is a negotiation to achieve a common position between the Americans, Ukrainians
and to the Europeans as well, who are backing Ukraine. Yes, certainly. They can sort of like park those issues, hope they can resolve them later.
But if you're talking about what do they present to the Russians? I mean, look, the Russians haven't been formally presented with any new draft yet,
peace proposals. They're still talking about the old 28-point one from a few days ago.
But, I mean, the Russians have made absolutely no indication up until now that they're prepared to compromise on those maximalist demands,
territorial withdrawal, NATO membership and limitations on the -- on the Ukrainian military, plus a number of other things as well. So, there's
nothing to suggest they're going to do so this time.
FOSTER: But you've been reporting on Putin for a very long time. When does he budge?
CHANCE: That's a good question. I mean, look, at the moment, it seems from everything you see and hear in Russia, from the newspapers, from the media,
from what officials say, they're absolutely adamant that -- you know, they feel that they're winning on the battlefield. They feel there's no reason
for them to compromise, and they're prepared to, you know, kind of plow on even though it's causing them, you know, a lot of casualties.
And it's costing them a lot of money in terms of the sanctions and the money it costs to actually fund this war. Now, the Russians are also very
good at hiding, the extent of the pain that this conflict is causing. Undoubtedly, it is causing them a great deal of economic pain. I mean,
there are estimates that it's lost in terms of dead and injured. A million people. So, these are vast numbers of people.
And obviously, that is having an impact. But are the Russians prepared to continue on regardless of that, to see if they can outlast the Ukrainians
or see if they can outlast western resolve to support Ukraine? At the moment, every indication is that they are.
FOSTER: Okay, Matthew, thank you so much. We'll bring you any updates when we hear them.
Now the FBI's looking to schedule interviews with the six Democratic lawmakers who urged U.S. service members to disobey any illegal orders. The
video prompted a furious response from President Trump, who said the lawmakers actions were seditious behavior punishable by death.
Senator Mark Kelly, who is also facing a military investigation over his role in the video, says he's standing his ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): So, I'm not going to be silenced. I'm not going to be intimidated. We wanted to just remind folks that they need to comply
with the law and be reminded and also explain to members of the military that we have their backs
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Betsy Klein joins us from the White House.
I mean, this idea of interviews with the lawmakers. I mean, I'm wondering how much there is to interview them about. They're very honest about what
they said and their view on it. So where are those interviews going, do you think?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, certainly marks a major escalation by the Trump administration. And this all comes just a
week after those six Democratic lawmakers posted this video to social media, essentially calling on current intelligence officials as well as
members of the U.S. military, to disobey what they described as illegal orders.
President Trump, subsequently lashing out on social media, calling them traitors and saying that this was seditious behavior that was punishable by
death. The White House position since then has only been to double down, and we are seeing those next steps as the Trump administration now says
that the FBI is seeking to interview these six lawmakers, those include Senator Elissa Slotkin, Senator Mark Kelly, as well as Representatives
Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio, Jason Crow and Maggie Goodlander.
Now the FBI reached out to the U.S. Capitol Police and U.S. Capitol Police, then directed them to the Senate and House sergeants at arms. Now, that is
essentially the main law enforcement -- chief law enforcement for the U.S. Capitol. The FBI has now sent a letter to these six lawmakers to the Senate
sergeant at arms requesting a meeting with these six lawmakers.
But the six lawmakers now striking back in a post to social media in a statement, they say, quote, "President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to
intimidate and harass members of Congress." They go on to say that "no amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs
and honoring our Constitution. We swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath lasts a lifetime, and we
intend to keep it. We will not be bullied. We will not give up the ship."
These six lawmakers are all Democrats who have previously served in the intelligence community, or have been service members themselves. So, it is
very personal to them. But this really marks, as I mentioned, a dramatic escalation for the Trump administration. They say that these Democrats are
undermining President Trump's authority, while the Democrats say that they are simply restating the law here.
Now, the FBIs involvement comes after the Pentagon announced plans to investigate Senator Mark Kelly for misconduct. It also comes as there have
been major questions on both sides of the aisle about the Trump administration's latest strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean,
something that they have expressed much concern about the legality there -- Max.
FOSTER: Okay, Betsy. Thank you so much for those developments.
Now, meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department is considering next steps after a judge tossed out cases against two of Trump's political enemies.
Indictments were dismissed on Monday against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The federal judge
ejected Lindsey Halligan, President Trump's handpicked prosecutor, calling her appointment defective. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said an
immediate appeal would be filed, but that hasn't happened so far as we know.
Anyway, the White House press secretary says the cases against Comey and James aren't over yet.
Here's what she told CNN's Kristen Holmes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What was President Trump's reaction to those indictments against Comey and James being thrown
out?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: His reaction was, we've seen this before. We've seen partisan judges take unprecedented steps to
try to intervene in in accountability before. But we're not going to give up. And I know that the Department of Justice intends to appeal these
rulings very soon, if they haven't already.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now, the woman convicted in the infamous "Slender Man" stabbing of her classmate will be extradited back to Wisconsin. A judge in Illinois
gave that order. Order a short while ago. Morgan Geyser was taken into custody near Chicago after disappearing from a group home in 2014.
Geyser pleaded guilty to stabbing a fellow student. She and a friend were trying to please the fictitious "Slender Man" character with their actions.
Jean Casarez joins us now.
I mean, it is an extraordinary case, isn't it, Jean?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is. And I think people were very shocked because this all happened back in 2014. And Geyser was
actually put in a group home. She was sentenced to 40 years in a state mental hospital. But a judge in January determined that she should be
downgraded and for conditional release, go into a group home.
Obviously, there's not as much monitoring, and authorities are saying that it was Saturday night around 8:00, that she cut off that electronic
monitoring device, and she made her way with a friend to Illinois. But now, as you say, that extradition has been granted. And in the United States,
extradition, obviously, as it is in other countries, means another jurisdiction. This would be Wisconsin, where it all happened, can come and
pick her up and take her back to Wisconsin.
And we think that will be happening soon. But we did just get a release from the district attorney of Waukesha, Wisconsin, which is very close to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And this is where it all happened at that park where she stabbed her 12-year-old classmate 19 times in 2014, and she actually
survived it.
[15:15:04]
But the district attorney is saying our office remains committed to protecting the community, ensuring that this case moves forward without
delay. Her alleged actions this past weekend only reinforce our position that a conditional release is not appropriate at this time. They want it
revoked. They want her sent back to the state mental facility.
Now, this friend that she was with who has said that they actually accompanied her on a bus from Wisconsin to Illinois. The person with Geyser
at the time of the apprehension asked CNN affiliate WKOW to be identified as Charly Mecca. Charly Mecca spoke to our affiliate and you will hear this
person speak as to why they accompanied her and what this all means going from Wisconsin to Illinois.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CHARLY MECCA, GEYSER'S FRIEND: We understand how to talk to each other and validate and just how to communicate in a really good, healthy way. And it
was -- it was really nice. It was like, I don't hate you. I said, clearly you're not that person anymore. And you're trying really hard to move away
from it. That much is very obvious. You ran because of me.
She already made it clear if I didn't go with her or not, she was still going and she was not going back to jail. And I know what that means. And I
was scared and I was nervous, and I still chose to for my friend who I knew wasn't going to make it on her own.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Prosecutors opposed vigorously her leaving the state mental hospital to go to a group home, and they argued in January before the judge
that Morgan Geyser was actually reading gory books about murder and communicating with a man in the United States that sells memorabilia from
the actual murderers themselves. And they said, this is someone who should stay in the state hospital. And now we see what happened.
FOSTER: Yeah, okay, Jean. Thank you.
Coming up ahead, of one of the biggest travel weeks in years. Why is the U.S. transportation secretary worried about travelers wearing pajamas?
We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:20:21]
FOSTER: Well, Thanksgiving travel this week expected to be the busiest in 15 years, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. airports
will be put to the test as they continue to recover from the government shutdown, and passengers are being put on notice for that.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asking travelers to dress nicely whilst flying.
CNN's Pete Muntean has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: We're just getting started for what's going to be a huge week for the Thanksgiving travel rush. Not
totally without snags already.
In Monday, the FAA briefly imposed a ground stop for some flights going in and out of both main airports in Dallas. That was due to an air traffic
control radio frequency outage.
Tuesday is expected to be the busiest in terms of the number of flights in the air, 52,000 flights expected to be handled by air traffic controllers
in the U.S., and the head of the Federal Aviation Administration says this is the Super Bowl for air travel. On the heels of a government shutdown
that caused widespread air travel issues, air traffic controllers are getting paid again and staffing shortages have gone down.
But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says now it is on passengers to hold up their end of the deal. He's been pushing what the Trump
administration calls a new golden age for air travel. A big part of that is what Duffy calls a civility campaign. Duffy says it's important to say
please and thank you to flight attendants. Always a good idea, but also dress well like people did boarding flights back in the 1950s.
SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I call this just maybe dressing with some respect. You know, whether it's a pair of jeans and a -- and a
decent shirt, I would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which encourage us, encourages us to maybe behave a little better. Let's
try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come to the airport. I think that's positive.
MUNTEAN: It begs mentioning that the number of unruly passengers has gone way down from their high in 2021, when fights and ugliness on planes
occurred in regularity, due in part to mask mandates. But this year has not been without its issues. There have been 1,400 incidents of unruly
passengers reported by flight crews since the start of 2025, but that's more than four times lower than four years ago.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: That was Pete there.
So, what we want to know is who's responsible for restoring civility in the skies.
Joining us now is the ever civil -- Richard Quest.
Thank you so much for joining us, Richard. I mean, you've got so much experience. You've seen it all.
First of all, just on this pajama point, where do you stand on that? I can imagine
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: The transportation -- the transportation secretary is simply right. You don't have to dress in your
Sunday best as people used to, you know, put on a shirt, tie and a hat. But dressing up a little bit is to show respect, to show that you are -- you're
in the public, you're amongst other people in the public.
Now, I realize if you're taking a red eye to Asia or to Europe, so this is my rule. My rule is that I will change into my pajamas. Doesn't matter what
class of the plane I'm traveling in, I'll put sweats and a sweat shirt on if it's a flight over four hours, but I won't board the plane like that. I
won't go through the airport like that. I'll just, you know, dress up a little bit.
They'll look at those, look at those people there. That was the golden age. I don't think you need to do that. But I do think being civil and being a
little bit more aware of people around you is crucial.
FOSTER: Have you seen the growth in incivility, as it were? And what do you think is causing it?
QUEST: There's a -- yes, incivility versus argy-bargy. Yes. You see it at boarding. If you're not in boarding group one, two, three or four, you see
people pushing in and then being belligerent when they can't board. You see it at check in. If they can't, if their baggage is overweight, they start
having an out-out argument in it.
On the aircraft, you see it. If they're not, if they're refused another drink, they'll get belligerent. You see it when people recline the seat.
The old reclining seat that people do all sorts of things.
Oh, I'll tell you one of my favorites. The overhead compartment. Now look, that is designed for people who are sitting in the seats underneath you.
Again, doesn't matter on the class, but what happens now is those passengers who are at the back board shove it into the front. And there you
have incivility.
And it's a very fine line. Max, between being courteous. Do you mind or would you mind terribly turning down, or would you use headphones, please?
Oh, would you excuse me? If you do that -- versus I turn that down, which is what people now do.
[15:25:02]
FOSTER: Richard --
QUEST: And another one and another one.
FOSTER: Go for it.
QUEST: Wipe the basin. When did we stop wiping the basin in the aircraft toilet?
FOSTER: Well, world's gone to pot. Richard, thank you.
QUEST: Thank you.
FOSTER: Still to come, X wants to know where that incendiary post is coming from. Details on the social media platform's newest transparency
feature coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Returning to our top story tonight, Donald Trump says there will be no meeting with the Ukrainian president or his Russian counterpart until
a deal to end the war is final. In a Truth Social post, the U.S. president adds that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will meet with President Putin
in Moscow as talks to end the war in Ukraine ramp up. A source says there's been progress, but still no final agreed upon text between the U.S. and
Ukraine. The White House says further talks are needed to iron out some delicate details.
A Ukrainian official says Volodymyr Zelenskyy could meet with Donald Trump in Washington to finalize key steps of a scaled back 19-point deal. Russia,
meanwhile, likes Donald Trump's original 28-point peace proposal, which is seen as highly favorable to Moscow.
Well, Kristen Holmes is in West Palm Beach, where Donald Trump will be heading this evening.
He wanted a deal by the weekend. That doesn't seem likely, but he seems really positive.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, he seems really positive and so does the entire White House. They continue to say
that great strides are being made, that they believe that people are working in the right direction, that there are still some changes that are
happening and that its likely it's not going to happen by the set deadline, but instead, now you're seeing President Trump sending his special envoy,
Steve Witkoff, to meet with Putin. You have Dan Driscoll secretary of the army going to meet with the Ukrainians to try and smooth this out.
I mean, look, we think -- we talk about this. We've been talking about this for months, even before President Trump was in office. But even just while
he has been serving as president, you know, we've gotten close, or at least the White House has indicated we've gotten close, only to have everything
seem to fall apart.
So, of course, we're looking at all of this with some skepticism. But we are hearing even behind the scenes, that they really feel like they are
getting into a groove here on making headway towards some kind of deal. The question, though, is, is there any kind of last-minute backlash?
For example, are the changes too great with the Ukrainians that Russia just decides it's not going to go through with it, that they only want their
version of the plan or nothing, and we just don't know what that looks like. Again, the White House has been surprised by Russian President
Vladimir Putin before and not in a positive way when it comes to trying to end this war. But I will say they do seem even more positive and more
optimistic than we've seen in the past.
FOSTER: What happens if he doesn't get any sort of deal? Does he keep pushing forward with it, or does he start getting tough with one of the
sides?
HOLMES: I think -- well, look, I think he could get tough with one of the sides at any point. I think President Trump has made it clear that he wants
this to get done. There have been moments in time where he has tried to back away from this altogether. For example, after he sat down with Putin
and came up with this idea that it should be Zelenskyy and Putin sitting down, he had all the European leaders there, and essentially just nothing
happened for several months. And it seemed completely stalled.
Now, you're starting to see him get involved again. So that tells me that President Trump wants to be involved. He wants this to end, and he wants to
be responsible for it. It's something he promised on the campaign trail. We've also seen him vacillate. We've seen him go from saying Zelenskyy
doesn't have any of the cards, to then saying, I'm disappointed with Putin, then, then saying Zelensky doesn't have any of the cards again.
So, it's unclear how this is going to play out. I will say one of the most interesting things I heard Zelenskyy say was almost directly addressing
President Trump's previous criticisms of him. He said that he doesn't want anyone to be able to say that Ukraine was standing in the way of diplomacy,
that it was Ukraine who didn't want an end to that war.
And that's something we've heard Trump say, that Ukraine isn't willing to play ball, that they don't -- they might not want an end to the war as
well. He clearly is very highly attuned at this point to that criticism from President Trump and does not want that narrative out there and is
addressing it head on.
Whether or not that actually works with the president obviously remains to be seen. But at least now, we're -- he is at least aware of that narrative
and pushing back on it before they even got to the drawing board here. So we'll see how that plays into President Trump's feelings and relationships
with both of these two countries.
FOSTER: Kristen, thank you so much, joining us from West Palm Beach. Looks lovely though.
Now this as Russia and Ukraine trade attacks, another sobering reminder that despite all the hopeful talk war raging on, Moscow launched a barrage
of missiles and drones on Kyiv, killing at least seven people. Residents of the Ukrainian capital forced to take shelter underground during the latest
Russian strikes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): I had a car, onions, potatoes and homemade preserves in my garage. There was nothing else there. There was
nothing military at all.
It's terrible. What kind of peace agreement can we talk about? We see the consequences. But what happened here is terrible and very scary.
KYIV RESIDENT (through translator): I don't believe what they say on TV and that it will be something good or bad. It seems to me that this is all
some kind of circus. That is all being done for them and not for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, what we don't know is will the lasting peace in Ukraine actually be achieved?
Joining us now, Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and founder of GZERO Media.
Thank you so much for joining us, Ian.
We had Matthew Chance on earlier. He spoke to someone on the Ukrainian side with direct knowledge of the talks. Not denying what the White House is
saying, which is that they're down to some a small number of key points.
But what the Ukrainians are saying is those points are insurmountable -- things like membership of NATO and giving up that extra piece of land and,
you know, limiting the military as well
IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT, EURASIA GROUP & GZERO MEDIA: Membership of NATO, frankly, isn't happening and wasn't going to happen. You cant get consensus
on that. But I do agree that the idea that Ukrainians would give up territory that they presently occupy is not just a nonstarter for President
Zelenskyy, but also for the entirety of the Ukrainian people. I mean, there would be very significant domestic outcry and instability if he were to
accept that.
[15:35:04]
And you're getting to the crux of the matter. The Ukrainians can certainly come to terms with the Americans, but the Russians won't accept those
terms. And the terms that the Russians have written are not acceptable to the Ukrainians or to NATO.
So as much as there's been movement on the diplomatic front on two different diplomatic fronts bilaterally, we are actually no closer to a
ceasefire today than we were a week ago
FOSTER: So where might Russia budge on any of those three key points, do you think?
BREMMER: Russia doesn't feel the need to budge on any of those three points.
The Ukrainians are considerably more flexible, right now than they were six months ago, a year ago, because they feel like over time, this war is not
going in their direction. And most Ukrainians, though they want a ceasefire on Ukrainian terms, do want a ceasefire. They don't want to continue this
war. That wasn't the way they were polling six months ago, 12 months ago.
The Russians don't have to worry about popular opinion, and their view is either accept all of our maximalist demands, or we're very happy to
continue fighting.
And here's what I think people don't understand. Russia is not trying to get to a deal that the Ukrainians will accept. Russia's intention is to try
to split apart the United States from its NATO allies, to get the Americans to accept things that they know that the Ukrainians can't accept, and that
NATO won't accept because the Russians are perfectly happy to continue the fight.
But they don't want the Americans to escalate sanctions against them. They don't want the Americans to provide support, intelligent support,
permissioning support for Ukrainians to use American weapons to hit targets deeper inside Russia.
So, the Russians are not really interested in getting to yes, on a deal here.
FOSTER: Do you think Donald Trump gets that Russian strategy? There was a point when he was pulling back a bit, wasn't there? He was giving more
support to Ukraine, but now he seems to have gone back the other way with this long initial proposal, which was entirely weighted on Russia's side.
At what point do you think he'll realize that he's doing what Russia wants, which is moving away from Europe effectively?
BREMMER: Look, two months ago, Trump publicly said that he thought that Ukraine was winning and that with European support, they could retake all
of the land that Russia has taken. He said that publicly. Now I didn't really buy that at the time, and I don't really buy Trump's support for the
28-point plan that was written by the Russians.
Right now, what Trump says changes a lot over time and doesn't have an awful lot of meaning. But Trump does consistently want the war to be over,
and he's angry and frustrated that despite him being the most powerful leader in the most powerful country, he's not been able to get the
Ukrainians and the Russians to yes. And from his perspective, he's blaming everybody except for him. He was the one that said he could get this deal
done. He's not getting this deal done.
And even though my perspective and I think most of American congressman's perspective, Republicans and Democrats and most of Americas allies
perspective is that the Russians are responsible for this, Trump does not feel that way. He thinks that the responsibility is at best shared and at
worst is mostly on Zelenskyy because he knows he can beat up on Zelenskyy more easily than he can beat up on Putin.
Think of how he treats Xi Jinping as the G-2 partner, as you know, the great leader. Why? Because Trump has found out that he has a hard time
pushing Xi Jinping around. It's a lot easier for Trump to push around Zelenskyy than it is for him to push around Vladimir Putin.
FOSTER: Ian Bremmer, thank you so much for joining us with your unique insight every time. Really appreciate it.
BREMMER: Sure.
FOSTER: Now, it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are surging. Look at that. The Dow is up more than 600 points.
This is our business breakout.
Some U.S. businesses are eating the costs of Donald Trump's tariffs rather than passing them on to consumers. It seems. That's what some analysts are
reading into the latest inflation data, out Tuesday. Wholesale prices ticked higher in September, with some sectors like car retailers reporting
smaller margins as tariffs kick in.
U.S. gasoline prices are now back where they were a year ago under Joe Biden, the national average for regular gas is around $3.05 a gallon,
almost exactly the same as they were last year. It's the first time since Donald Trump took office that prices have risen to those levels. U.S. home
sales are at their highest levels in nearly a year. It's a sign that lower mortgage rates are encouraging people to buy home sales in the Midwest saw
the most growth in October. That's according to the national association of realtors.
Users on X can now see where individual accounts are based, and the results may surprise you. In the case of some accounts that may have a lot of --
made a lot of noise about making America great again, the actual posters are often a long way from American soil, as Hadas Gold reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The X account MAGA Nation with nearly 400,000 followers, boasts itself as standing strong with
President Trump and America first with post after post backing Trump.
But one click shows it's based in Eastern Europe. One of its most popular posts about the Epstein files has been viewed 1.9 million times. It's just
one of a number of popular political accounts, mainly pro-Trump, outed when Elon Musk's X rolled out a new feature that shows where accounts are
actually located, from Russia to Nigeria. Dozens of accounts revealed to be based outside of the United States.
Another, this account named America First, featuring the image of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. It's operated by someone based in
Bangladesh, posting things like this image saying President Trump will go down in history as the greatest president of all time.
Even President Trump himself, reposting several accounts that are not from the United States on his Truth Social platform, like this account called
Commentary Donald Trump posting about whether foreign born citizens should be barred from running for office. The account itself based in Africa.
The revelations bringing back memories of 2016, when Russian state-run networks of fake accounts and bogus online personas to tried to influence
that year's election by boosting Trump.
JEH JOHNSON, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: It's going to get worse before it gets better. And bad cyber actors all the time
are more and more ingenious, more tenacious, and more aggressive.
GOLD (voice-over): While it's not clear any of these accounts are from a coordinated foreign influence campaign, experts say there are financial and
political incentives behind such accounts.
JAKE SHAPIRO, PROFESSOR OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: There are some people who hop on lots of different issues that
can get attention and therefore drive revenue and monetization and ads. And then there are people who have political goals, both benign and more
malign. Foreign countries that have organizations that are dedicated to trying to shape U.S. politics.
GOLD (voice-over): While X has suspended some of the MAGA accounts, the company did not respond to a request for comment. Its head of product said
the new feature is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square, while warning there were still some kinks to work out
on the feature.
SHAPIRO: Well, I think X and many other companies have an existential problem that's coming, which is it's going to become increasingly hard to
figure out what is real human and what is A.I. agents.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Now, there are developments in last month's heist at the Louvre. The number of suspects just doubled. What we know about them and the one
question that still hasn't been answered.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:47]
FOSTER: French police say they have detained four more people they say were involved in the Louvre heist. No word yet on what charges they may
face, but we do know its two men and two women. Four others are already in custody in connection with the brazen heist.
Last month, thieves broke into one of the most famous museums in the world and made off with priceless jewelry. The jewels have yet to be recovered,
crucially.
CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller, joins me now.
So, we've now got eight people. That feels like a gang. Do you think they've got there, at least in terms of people that might have been
involved?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So, yes, Max, I am told that one of the four people arrested in the last 24 hours is
one of the robbers. They already had three of the robbers. That makes four. At least the four that we know of that were on the set during the
commission of that brazen robbery. So that's a real leg up for investigators.
And it gets us to that other question about -- well, okay, of the four who actually committed the robbery and had the jewels, does one of them -- do
all of them know where the jewels went after the robbery?
And that is going to be certainly a starting point in the conversations they're having with those people. The other three, how are they involved?
Youve got an additional man and two women 31 and 40 years old. And prosecutors are not saying what role they allegedly had, but they can hold
them for 96 hours. And that's when we find out whether they keep them and they're charged and they've determined how they were involved, or they cut
them loose.
FOSTER: Will they actually know who they sold them to? I mean, if you're the sort of person that's going to buy this stuff, you're not going to want
to be tracked yourself, are you? So, you're going to have some sort of clean break from them, aren't you? You know, you don't want them to know
anything about you.
MILLER: I think that that is a wise tact for the fence who may receive these, which is to have some kind of wall between you and the robbers. But
in reality, this happens on a Sunday. By Wednesday, BRI, the French police surveillance unit have two of the suspects under surveillance.
By Saturday, they're both under arrest. A couple of more are arrested three days later. Now, this group here.
So, what you're seeing is they didn't have a lot of time between the very well planned and moderately okay executed job itself and the time it would
take to get the gems away, get them to a spot where they could transmit them to another person, get them out of the country. So, it's entirely
possible that they are still somewhere in some highly inappropriate place, buried in somebody's yard in the back of somebody's garage, in some
satchel, under some floorboards.
And if that's the case, that really becomes, with all four robbers. Now, we are told in custody the bargaining chip, that could mean the difference
between everybody going away for a 10-year prison sentence, at least those who are charged, and maybe a deal that the gems reappear and they get a
much better deal. We'll have to see how that goes.
FOSTER: Yeah. John, appreciate it. Thank you.
MILLER: Thanks, Max.
FOSTER: Still to come, is new construction destroying old landmarks. That's the question investigators in Rome are asking. We'll look at the
clues after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:51:47]
FOSTER: An 800-year-old medieval tower undergoing renovations in Rome suffered two partial collapses earlier this month, killing a worker. Weeks
later, authorities are still investigating exactly what happened.
CNN's Ben Wedeman has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fire brigade was on hand after part of the tower had caved in, when another
section of the 800-year-old structure in the heart of old Rome collapsed in a cloud of dust.
For more than 15 years, the Torre dei Conti was left abandoned until 2022, the city began to renovate this medieval landmark. The tower's collapse in
November killed one Romanian worker, badly injuring another.
WEDEMAN: Because a worker was killed in the partial collapse of the tower, a special investigation has been launched. And as part of that
investigation, all work on this brand new metro station, which is just down the street from the tower, has been halted.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): It happened in an area undergoing massive underground work. Down the boulevard in Piazza Venezia, a metro station for
the new sea line is being dug 11 floors below the surface.
According to a statement from Rome's city prosecutor provided to CNN, "Among the hypotheses being examined is vibrations from the metro sea
construction sites, but the central question remains about human error during the renovation."
When asked for comment, the municipality issued a brief written statement. "The city is cooperating in the ongoing investigation and refrains from
comment until the outcome of the judicial investigation into the partial collapse of the tower."
Earlier this year, officials said structural surveys and load tests confirmed it was safe to start the latest phase of work last June.
TOM RANKIN, ARCHITECT, DIRECTOR OF BORROMINI INSTITUTE: But it's not a city that needs more architecture.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Architect Tom Rankin has lived and worked in Rome for decades. Part of the problem, he says, is that the city's bureaucrats
don't share their plans with the public.
RANKIN: The lack of transparency about what's actually being designed, where I think that should be participatory. Like, urban regeneration works
best when it's participatory, where other people can weigh in on it, and that just doesn't happen here.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): In a city that counts its history in millennia, old habits die hard.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: A mission to return stranded Chinese astronauts in space is underway. Earlier today, China launched the unmanned Shenzhou-22 spacecraft
to its space station. It will bring home the November 1st crew, whose spacecraft was used to rescue other astronauts. Their craft was previously
damaged.
A short while ago, I spoke to former NASA astronaut about this mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CADY COLEMAN, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: That ship that you go up on, there's -- it's -- there's seats for three people and really not much room for
literally anything else.
[15:55:03]
It's very small. So. three people in that spacecraft go up to the space station, and then we work up there. That ship is also our rescue ship.
Whatever one you came up in, typically that is your rescue ship.
Now, the crew that was on board there, they noticed a crack in the window. I haven't heard a lot of details about what's actually wrong with that
craft. But in any case, they deemed it unsafe for return.
And so, when the new crew came up, then they took the new cruise spacecraft or rescue craft home. So, for about a week or so here, this crew has not
had a way home that is safe enough, so to speak.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Lonely place to be.
Finally, tonight, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been cleared to play in his country's opening World Cup matches. He has avoided a three-
match ban after being sent off in a World Cup qualifier against Ireland earlier this month. The two -- the final two games of his three-match ban,
have been suspended for a year.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW.
Stay with CNN. We'll have more after the break.
END
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