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More Grounded Flights as Airports Recover From Shutdown; Lawmakers Face Healthcare Deadline as Government Reopens; House to Vote Next Week on Whether to Release Epstein Files; Veteran Affairs Conducting Psychedelic Therapy Trials; Civil Rights Leader, Jesse Jackson, Hospitalized. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired November 13, 2025 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: -- went unpaid during the shutdown and there were some staffing problems we saw in Houston that was pretty notable. The lines there at one point, up to three hours long. Also in Atlanta, the big thing here now is that some things are beginning to level out when it comes to air traffic controller staffing and the Federal Aviation Administration just put out a new emergency order superseding the Trump administration's previous order that would've caused flights to be cut, mandated 10 percent coming this Friday. Now, it is frozen at 6 percent from here on out until further notice.

And I want to show you some of the data that they've been looking at. These are the FAA staffing triggers. These are the places where there have been short staffing at Federal Aviation Air Traffic Control Facilities across the country. Things got pretty bad here on Halloween, on October 31st. The high water mark was on November 8th, on Saturday. That was a really bad day for air traffic control staffing shortages.

But then, things really started to go down when a Senate deal was in sight, the trend line better and better, single digits by Tuesday. Now the number today, we have had exactly zero air traffic control staffing shortages reported across the country. American Airlines just sent out a memo to all of its employees saying that things will return to normal over the next few days. And I want you to listen now to Delta Airlines CEO, Ed Bastian, who told CBS that it'll take a little bit of time for things to get steady again. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED BASTIAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DELTA AIRLINES: I think we'll be back a lot faster than people think. The last couple of days actually were pretty good.

GAYLE KING, HOST OF "CBS MORNINGS," CBS: Were they?

BASTIAN: The staffing, as soon as the Senate deal on Monday got approved, staffing levels almost overnight improved dramatically. So, we will be back to normal this weekend. Yesterday, we were -- we were over 90 percent on time system-wide, every flight, all day long. KING: And no concerns about Thanksgiving?

BASTIAN: No concerns.

KING: Something -- OK.

BASTIAN: Thanksgiving is going to be a great holiday period to travel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Of course, the airlines want this to be over as fast as they can. They've been losing hundreds of millions of dollars a day due to these staffing shortages and mandated flight cuts at 40 major airports across the country. These are the places where there are still cancellations above two and three percent. These are the places where the Federal Aviation Administration has mandated this six percent flight cut as we go forward. The cancellations by day, they have gotten a lot better too. The high water mark was just over the weekend, trend line going down big time.

So, the good news here is that this is the new baseline. Airlines are now going to cancel flights, at least preemptively, in the hundreds, probably 800 as we go forward until the Federal Aviation Administration removes this emergency order and undoes these mandated flight cuts to alleviate the pressure on the air travel system and these air traffic controllers who were going unpaid. Transportation Secretary, Duffy says they'll get back pay, at least 70 percent of which in the next 48 hours.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": That is good news and good news about Thanksgiving for all of the travelers out there. Pete Muntean, really appreciate it.

(LAUGH)

MUNTEAN: Yeah, no doubt.

KEILAR: No doubt. All right. Coming up, the House planning to vote on whether to release the Epstein files as early as next week. We'll talk to a lawmaker about that vote, next on "CNN News Central."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:37:05]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Now that the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is finally over, the clock is ticking for the Republican-led Congress and the Trump White House to address the nation's rising healthcare costs. On December 31st, the enhanced Obamacare subsidies are set to expire, as we've noted, that will send insurance premiums skyrocketing for tens of millions of Americans by an average of 114 percent. Last night, President Trump again floated a plan he's calling Trumpcare. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm calling today for insurance companies not to be paid, but for the money, this massive amount of money to be paid directly to the people of our country, so that they can buy their own healthcare, which will be far better and far less expensive than the disaster known as Obamacare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Democratic Congresswoman, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona is joining us now. Congresswoman, thank you so much for being here with us. I appreciate it. I know House Minority Leader, Jeffries launched a long- shot bid to force this vote to extend the ACA subsidies for three years. He's previously said a one-year extension is not enough. Before any vote, Speaker Johnson says he wants a deliberative process on the issue.

From your perspective, what are -- what do you think Democrats should be willing to give in negotiations, which will have to be a give and take to get to a solution that could pass there in the House and also in the Senate?

REP. YASSAMIN ANSARI, (D-AZ) HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: You know, I'm not sure why this should be such a long shot. There are dozens of Republicans over the course of this year, who have been vocal at different times on the need to protect healthcare for Americans. There were about a dozen Republican members of Congress during the big ugly bill who signed a letter that said they would never support a budget that cut Medicaid for 15 million Americans.

There were members of Congress including Congressman Lawler, for example, who confronted Leader Jeffries about the ACA and saying that it should be extended. So, there should be enough Republicans to sign this extension. I think it's vital that we extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for three more years and to ultimately, work together on a more comprehensive healthcare solution because people are really, really struggling right now. And as people are getting their bills right now, about their health insurance premiums doubling, tripling or worse, now is the time to vote on these extensions immediately.

DEAN: Yeah, and I hear you. Those premiums are absolutely skyrocketing for these Americans who really do have sticker shock. But there is the question of being able to get it through a 60-vote threshold in the Senate and three years is a big extension of this. Do you really think that's realistic in the environment in which you all find yourselves?

ANSARI: Oh, it's absolutely an uphill battle in the Senate, of course. I mean, this is why I was an extremely loud voice to say that we should absolutely not green light a Continuing Resolution that does not address the healthcare crisis because I don't trust the Republican members of Congress, the Senators, and I especially don't trust Donald Trump to care about this issue or to work on this issue.

[13:40:13] So, this issue should have been solved months ago. This issue should have been addressed months ago. I'm deeply disappointed in the Democratic Senators who voted for this Continuing Resolution that brought it back to the House. But now, this is the situation that we find ourselves in. We have to do everything that we can to get this through and then negotiate something that works for Americans in the long term. I personally think our healthcare system is deeply broken. I think we need Medicare for all. That is my long-term solution to the healthcare crisis. But right now, extending these track tax credits is going to be vital for the average American who relies on it and who is going to have to make very difficult decisions that nobody should have to make about seeing a doctor or being able to afford healthcare.

DEAN: You are the freshman class president for this group of Democrats. I know you're, I think, the youngest member on the Hill right now. You are the next generation of the Democratic Party. And as you all look to your leadership, a lot of people have been criticizing Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer pretty, pretty intensely. He did vote no on this, but they're still criticizing him, and others even your leadership and Hakeem Jeffries. How confident are you in your, your congressional leadership?

ANSARI: Well, first of all, I'm not the youngest. I'm the youngest woman, but Maxwell Frost is younger than me, but very proud to be part of a new generation of leadership that I think is demonstrating that fighting this authoritarian and corrupt administration is the most important thing right now. Look, I think in the House of Representatives, Leader Jeffries has done an excellent job leading us and making sure that we are united in fighting for healthcare.

Throughout this entire saga of this Republican shutdown, we have been loud and clear about the healthcare crisis. We have spoken to the American people, brought back constituent stories and concerns directly to Washington, D.C., and that is why the vast majority of Americans support the Affordable Care Act and why Donald Trump's numbers are in the 30s. He has a very low approval rating right now across this country.

When it comes to the Senate, I will just say that I think, again, deeply disappointed in the Democratic Senators, many of whom are not even running for reelection or are not up for many years, who decided that it was upon them to decide the future of healthcare for the American people. I'm gravely disappointed in that. I do think we need stronger leadership that understands the urgency of the moment and can make sure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to this is the time to fight. People's lives are literally on the line and we cannot have any compromises when it comes to healthcare and affordability.

DEAN: You also sit on the House Oversight Committee. House Oversight Democrats have highlighted these email messages from Jeffrey Epstein that mentioned the president. And we do want to be clear, the President Trump did not receive or send any of the messages, which largely predated his time as president. He's not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Epstein or Maxwell. The White House is saying these emails were selectively leaked to just smear the president as a distraction. What do you say to that?

ANSARI: That's a joke. I mean, that is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. This is 23,000 pages that were obtained from the Epstein Estates, representing emails between Epstein and several other prominent people. Over the course of 15 years, Donald Trump was named hundreds of times, everything from references to him being on Epstein's Island to him spending hours with victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, references to him possibly spending Thanksgiving in 2017, after he was already the president of the United States for the first time. This is damning.

There's a reason that Donald Trump and the Department of Justice under Pam Bondi have been outright refusing to comply with the Oversight Committee's subpoena for the actual Epstein files. Because I want to be clear, what we received, these are not the Epstein files as we call them. This was documentation from the Epstein Estate. The Epstein files, where there are photos, where there are videos, where there are long records of investigations from the FBI and the CIA and others, those are held within the Department of Justice. And if Donald Trump is truly innocent and his allies and his rich and powerful friends are truly innocent, they should release the files right now and make that clear to the American public.

DEAN: All right, Congresswoman Ansari, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it.

ANSARI: Thank you.

DEAN: And coming up, the Department of Veterans Affairs is reportedly expanding its research into psychedelic therapies. Ahead, what that could mean for many veterans who suffer from PTSD and anxiety disorders. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:49:25]

KEILAR: Today on Home Front, hope for some veterans who are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder or depression. The Department of Veterans Affairs is conducting psychedelic assisted therapy trials for vets struggling with mental health issues. With an average of 20 veterans dying by suicide every day, this is welcome news for many who support this unconventional treatment. I want to bring in Marine Corps Veteran and Executive Director of Healing Breakthrough, Juliana Mercer.

Juliana, thanks for being with us. Your group has been advocating for this therapy in Washington.

[13:50:00]

You yourself have undergone this therapy. Tell us about your experience with it and how you think this could impact the veteran suicide crisis?

JULIANA MERCER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HEALING BREAKTHROUGH: Hi, Brianna. It's so great to be here with you. So, my experience was one of seeking for solutions for the veteran community, not just for myself, but for others, and really hitting a brick wall and finding solutions that actually worked. Found myself in a place where I needed help and was able to access psychedelic assisted therapy outside of the country where it's not illegal, so I had to leave the country.

But the treatment that I received was almost overnight instant relief from 20 years of collected trauma and grief. And when I woke up the next day after having this experience, knew that it was a solution I had been looking for, for my veteran brothers and sisters.

KEILAR: I want people to understand how your story is one that we hear so many times from veterans, right? They will -- they will say almost exactly what you just said. They're traveling out of the country to do this. And I think people have a lot of questions about it because it is unconventional, but what kind of tools could the huge system of the VA unlock when it comes to this kind of treatment?

MERCER: Yeah. So it's encouraging that the VA has been doing research on both psilocybin and MDMA. Since 2022, there's a dozen trials that are happening within the VA and nationwide and the VA is funding additional trials here in the future. The reason that they're doing that is because they see that there's great promise in these modalities. It's not just a medication, it's therapy in conjunction with this medication that produces just incredible results.

MDMA, for example, their Phase III FDA trials showed that it was 71 percent effective in eliminating the PTSD diagnosis. The VA has 660,000 veterans in their system that suffer from PTSD and no solutions that can say that they eliminate the PTSD diagnosis. So, you can imagine that this is something that they're excited about.

KEILAR: And talk -- you talk to policy makers, of course, they have concerns because, like you said, this isn't legal in the U.S. That's why they're looking at it in trials. Talk about the concerns that you've heard from people, and their concerns about keeping people safe and what you say to them.

MERCER: Yeah, I think probably the same reaction that I had when I first heard about these modalities was the stigma associated with drugs. These are schedule one substances, which means that there's no medical purpose for them. Well, what we're finding is that there in fact is a medical purpose. And one of those medical purposes is helping with both PTSD, anxiety and depression in major ways and in ways that we've never seen before.

So, when I heard the data and the science behind it, it was -- I was easily able to quell the misconceptions and the stigma around these drugs as we know them to be and look at them as actual medications and things that can be used to help people that are suffering from both PTSD and depression.

KEILAR: Yeah. In our veteran community, I mean, most people they don't serve, right? So they're looking at these numbers when it comes to deaths by suicide. Tell us about the need for finding a solution to cut through that. MERCER: Yeah. I spent the last 20 years, actually almost 25 years, looking for solutions for the veteran suicide epidemic and for veteran PTSD. And since 9/11, we've been losing over 6,400 veterans a year here on American soil. If you do the math, by the end of 2025, we'll have lost 160,000 veterans here in the U.S. to suicide. There is a dire need for solutions for veteran PTSD and these modalities are a bright light at the end of the tunnel for those of us who have been suffering but also looking for solutions.

KEILAR: Yeah, that cost is incredibly high. Juliana Mercer, thank you so much for talking with us about this. Really appreciate it.

MERCER: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: And we do want to note for our viewers, if you or anyone that you know are struggling, you can text or call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:59:41]

DEAN: Taking a look now at some of the other headlines we're watching this hour, Civil Rights Leader, Jesse Jackson is in the hospital. The Rainbow Push Coalition, the group he founded, says the 84-year-old is under observation for progressive supranuclear palsy. It's a newer degenerative disease or condition rather. Jackson rose to national prominence in the 1960s, supporting racial equity, economic justice, and voter rights, working closely --