Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Airlines to Cut Flights as Americans Brace for Travel Chaos; Kalmaegi Devastated Vietnam Before it Weakens, Another Powerful Typhoon Could Hit the Philippines; Criminal Gangs Tortured Migrants and Extorting Ransom Payments. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 07, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

Americans prepare for severe disruptions to air travel as the U.S. government shutdown drags on.

The U.S. carries out a new deadly strike on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean, and the Senate rejects a proposal that would require congressional approval for any military action against Venezuela.

Plus, a powerful typhoon is weakening, but did major damage in Vietnam. We'll have a live report.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Senate appears to be barreling toward a dead end after a new push this week to end the government shutdown. Democrats are indicating that they might block Republicans from forcing a vote to reopen the government in the coming hours until they deal with the expiring Obamacare subsidies.

Now, this comes as Americans brace for chaos today at dozens of airports across the country. The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering airlines to cut flights amid staffing shortages fueled by the shutdown. President Trump says the FAA is reducing flights to make sure it's 100 percent safe to fly.

CNN's Danny Freeman has more on how this is impacting travelers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Thursday really was a remarkable day at Newark Liberty International Airport and at so many other airports as well because the delays arrived, those cancellations rapidly approaching so much of it directly and explicitly because of the shutdown and confusion and frustration really boiling up as well. So let's start at the top level. We understand that on Friday,

hundreds of flights are going to start to be canceled across airlines, across 40 major airports across the entire country.

But remember, that's already on top of cancellations and delays that airports have been facing because of this ongoing government shutdown and staffing shortages for air traffic controllers over the evening hours and early evening hours at Newark Liberty International at times, there was as much of a three hour delay on the ground specifically because of staffing shortages.

Now, on Friday, airlines, as we understand, are going to start with a 4 percent cut of flight traffic at many airports across the country. And then the goal is to increase that percentage over the course of the next several days as long as the shutdown continues until they reach 10 percent of flights being cut.

But again, that all just describes how not only is this current status quo challenging, but in the days to come, it's going to get potentially even worse.

I want you to take a listen to some of the emotions that really have been running high. We met a mom who had her flight canceled on her way to Boston.

She couldn't get a spot on a train because it was full. She was thinking about getting a car. She had to tell her kids, basically, she can't come home for dinner.

Take a listen.

HEATHER BOESCH, AIRLINE PASSENGER: Luckily, I'm not going that far. I can figure out a way to get to Boston or not. But you immediately start running through a lot of scenarios.

Am I going to get a hotel here? Do I need to get a car? What are the train options available? Is it worth staying or not? What's the next flight going to happen? Got to call the husband, got to call the kids that thought you were going to be home for dinner. You're not going to be home for dinner.

JULIE CHARNET, AIRLINE PASSENGER: I did want to travel for the holidays, but we didn't book anything, any permanent reservations yet because of what's going on. We wanted to wait and see what's happening. No kidding.

FREEMAN: You were holding off to book before seeing what happened with the shutdown.

CHARNET: Yes.

Yes. We're waiting.

FREEMAN: And then you heard that last one right there. She's looking ahead, concerned that she's not going to actually commit to booking travel for Thanksgiving because the impending intensity of this shutdown just does not seem to be on its way to resolving anytime soon.

So this impact not just felt by federal workers, not just felt by air traffic controllers. The flying public is about to feel this potentially very hard, very soon.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Newark Liberty International Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: U.S. military conducted a news strike against an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the Caribbean on Thursday, killing three people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted video of the strike on social media. He claims the military attacked a quote "designated terrorist organization" but didn't provide any proof the U.S. has killed 70 people in 17 strikes in the Caribbean.

Now this comes as the U.S. Senate rejected a resolution that would block strikes against Venezuela without congressional approval. The bipartisan resolution failed 49 to 51. The White House said on Wednesday that it doesn't currently have legal justification to attack land targets in Venezuela.

President Trump will welcome Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban to the White House today.

[03:05:03]

Hungary's insistence on buying Russian oil despite U.S. sanctions is expected to top their agenda. Orban has been a strong supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout the conflict in Ukraine. The Hungarian Prime Minister has also threatened to veto some European Union sanctions against Moscow.

Kazakhstan will become the fifth majority Muslim country to join the Abram Accords, according to U.S. President Donald Trump, who hosted a dinner for Central Asian leaders in Washington on Thursday. He claims more countries want to join the agreement, which provides a framework for normalizing ties with Israel.

But Kazakhstan has had diplomatic relations with Israel for decades, and it's not clear if this marks a substantive change. Trump says a signing ceremony will be held soon. Sudan, Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates have already joined the agreement.

Typhoon Kalmaegi is weakening, but it did do major damage in central Vietnam. Now so far, the storm has killed at least five people in Vietnam. There are reports of homes collapsing, roofs blowing off buildings and trees and power lines down, more than a million people without power.

Days earlier, Kalmaegi left a deadly trail of destruction in the Philippines. Authorities say the storm killed at least 188 people there.

CNN's Mike Valerio is following the storm, joins us live. So, Mike, take us through what you're keeping your eye on right now. MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're keeping an eye on the

intensification of Fung-Wong. Certainly the good news is that Kalmaegi, typhoon number one, is weakening, as you mentioned. But the bad news is that this is the double whammy portion of the storyline, that the Philippines, specifically Luzon Island, the northern stretches of the Philippines, is preparing for the second typhoon about 500 miles away from where the first typhoon hit only a few days ago.

So we'll take you to the forecast map in addition to the latest video that we have from Vietnam. The pictures that we have from Vietnam are not as catastrophic as what we've been able to see from the Philippines, partially because the storm is still moving through Vietnam with winds sustained speed around 185 kilometers an hour, 115 miles an hour. So we should be getting more pictures of the devastation and the reporting that we have here at CNN in the next couple hours as our teams are able to sort through that footage.

So what we know about Vietnam, half a million people, Kim, were evacuated by boat, according to the Associated Press, from Dak Lak province. That is pretty much in the center of the path of this storm, Kalmaegi.

Three people are still missing when they were swept out to sea from Ly Son Island, that's in Quang Ngai province. This is all happening only days after Vietnam was beset by torrential rain in many of the same areas where this typhoon has passed through.

But if we change our attention, if we shift it to the Philippines, the Red Cross first responders are still wading through waist-high water, trudging through mud as rivers certainly crested over their banks. Cebu City, a tourist hotspot, is absolutely the epicenter of the damage.

We should also note that, you know, not just one city or a province or two are under a state of calamity in the Philippines. The entire country is under a state of calamity. In order to get disaster funds and equipment more easily cut through the red tape, not just to Cebu, but through the entire country, for Kalmaegi, typhoon number one, and also for typhoon number two, Fung-Wang, which is expected to begin to reach the Philippines late Sunday into early Monday.

And we, of course, are continuing to report the frustration, the dismay of so many people in the Philippines who not only are dealing with mud and the destruction in their hometowns, but are also voicing so much anguish that from their points of view, money that was supposed to be spent on flood control projects, there are so many allegations, Kim, of money like that was earmarked for these projects going instead in the form of kickbacks to local officials, to construction companies, even senators or legislators, protests that have been going on for the better part of the autumn that we've reported on for CNN. So adding to the anguish, that is another dynamic as the Philippines is waiting again for that second typhoon, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, misery upon misery. Mike Valerio, thank you so much. I appreciate it. VALERIO: Yes.

BRUNHUBER: All right, still to come, migrants captured and tortured by criminal gangs who send videos of the abuse to the victims' families. CNN heads to Libya to investigate these horrific crimes when we come back.

[03:10:08]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Global immigration has hit record levels this year. More and more migrants from countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia are fleeing war and persecution. Many of them make their way to Libya in the hopes of reaching Europe, Canada and the U.S.

Now, we just want to give you a warning. What you're about to see is disturbing.

One of those migrants reached Libya and then many of them are captured by criminal gangs. CNN has identified videos of these migrants being brutally tortured. Those videos are then sent to family members around the world who demand thousands of dollars in ransoms.

[03:15:08]

CNN's Isobel Yeung traveled to the heart of the story in Libya, where this horrific abuse is taking place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We're here in this barren southernmost part of Libya, at the heart of the migrant trail.

Authorities say they're overwhelmed with the influx of recent arrivals.

Several hundred migrants are being held in this detention center after illegally crossing into the country.

YEUNG: You have not left this room for three months?

UNKNOWN: Yes, no one cares. Nobody cares for us.

UNKNOWN: There are some sick here.

YEUNG: People are sick?

UNKNOWN: Yes, sick.

YEUNG: I'm not surprised people are getting sick. It's crowded. People are in pretty shocking conditions.

YEUNG (voice-over): Crammed in among them is a man who has just been arrested on suspicion of collecting money for ransoms. The police interrogate him over his involvement. UNKNOWN (translated): Okay, but what's your role?

UNKNOWN (translated): My role is transfers --

UNKNOWN (translated): So therefore, you are a partner.

YEUNG: It seems like this guy is admitting to his involvement, saying that he's involved in the whole of this, which is taking money from these migrants and paying his boss, who is the big trafficker.

YEUNG (voice-over): The suspect hands over crucial details about a farm where he says the migrants who paid him are held for ransom.

The police gear up and plan to raid the premises.

YEUNG: So these guys are heading towards a location that they believe a trafficker is operating where he's holding migrants that they believe have been tortured and held for ransom.

UNKNOWN (translated): This room is a secret prison.

YEUNG: So they are searching through this room that they believe is where migrants were being held. It doesn't look like anyone's here anymore. It looks like they've fled or been taken to the next spot.

There's a lot of clothes hanging up here.

UNKNOWN (translated): The traffickers keep the migrants' passports in this room, and when the ransom is paid, they return the passports.

YEUNG (voice-over): Unknown numbers of migrants are still under the control of their captors. Women and children are often the most vulnerable.

In this detention center, almost everyone tells us they've been trafficked and tortured. Mostly Eritreans and Ethiopians, they've paid their ransoms and are now waiting for help from the U.N. Because of the harrowing details of what they've been through, we're keeping some people here anonymous.

UNKNOWN: These guys, they touched me and they did something every day. Like, four boys they do like that.

YEUNG: It sounds like you've been sexually abused. Have you had any medical treatment for it? None?

UNKNOWN: She checked me, like, for pregnant.

YEUNG: You're not pregnant?

UNKNOWN: No, I'm not pregnant.

YEUNG: OK.

UNKNOWN: But it hurts too much. Even I want to die, but I cannot do it. YEUNG: You've been hurting yourself?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

YEUNG: On this hand?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

YEUNG: On this arm?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

YEUNG: It's so awful to hear someone who's so young, you're just 16 years old, talk about not wanting to live anymore.

UNKNOWN: Every girl, they do this. Every girl.

YEUNG: Every girl is the same?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

YEUNG (voice-over): Suddenly, everyone in the room breaks down.

UNKNOWN: Everyone having pain?

YEUNG: Everyone?

UNKNOWN: Everyone.

YEUNG: I mean, it's actually unbearable amounts of pain in this one room. Just every single woman, child in here.

[03:20:07]

It just seems like they've suffered the most horrific experience imaginable.

YEUNG (voice-over): Girls as young as 14. Children, pregnant women. These are just a small sample of people trafficked through a living hell.

It's rare that authorities get to the torture sites in time. Back in 2022, acting on a tip-off from migrants who'd escaped, they were able to free over 150 people. They were held inside these rooms for months and said they'd been brutally abused.

Standing outside, guarding the rooms, was an Eritrean man called Tsinat Tesfay. In this footage, you can see the newly released migrants pointing and screaming at Tesfay.

We received special permission to meet with Tesfay in a high-security prison. He's been convicted of kidnapping and is serving a life sentence. He says he's innocent and that he was one of the migrants being trafficked rather than someone responsible.

YEUNG: How do you explain the fact that so many of the migrants that you were with that day say that they were tortured and abused and treated horrifically and you're saying that you saw nothing?

TSINAT TESFAY, PRISONER FROM ERITREA (translated): No, I didn't see torture.

YEUNG: Why is it, do you think, that Eritreans end up working with these Libyans in these human trafficking networks?

TESFAY (translated): It's all about money. They want to change their lives.

YEUNG (voice-over): This business is bigger than one man.

The network Tesfay was accused of operating in stretches across this vast desert and has links to traffickers in Uganda, Ethiopia and the Emirates.

Libya can't tackle this alone. While a rise in anti-immigration politics is failing to translate into international cooperation, many thousands of people making this treacherous journey will continue to live through this never-ending nightmare.

Isobel Yeung, CNN, Libya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Coming up here on "CNN Newsroom." In Mali, militant attacks on tanker trucks trigger long lines for fuel. We'll take a closer look at the jihadist threat.

And if you're planning to fly in the U.S. this weekend, you better check your flight. We're tracking cancellations across the country as the government shutdown drags on. Those stories and more coming up, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check today's top stories.

The U.S. government is now asking major airlines to reduce the number of their flights by 4 percent in the coming hours. Hundreds of flights have already been canceled at dozens of airports across the country. The move is supposed to relieve pressure on air traffic control facilities, which have seen an uptick in staffing shortages since the shutdown began.

The U.S. carried out a new strike against an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the strike killed three people, he claimed they're part of a, quote, "designated terrorist organization." So far, the U.S. has killed 70 people in 17 strikes in the Caribbean. Typhoon Kalmaegi is weakening as it moves to Cambodia and beyond. The

storm slammed central Vietnam on Thursday, unleashing torrential rain and destructive wind, at least five people were killed and more than a million are without power. Earlier this week, the typhoon left a destructive trail in the Philippines and killed close to 200 people.

Right now to the growing militant threat in the country of Mali. A well-armed jihadist group is closing in on the capital, Bamako, and the country's young military government is struggling to respond. The al-Qaeda-linked militants have been ambushing fuel trucks, causing major shortages and paralyzing parts of the country.

Many schools are closed and businesses hit with power cuts. The U.S., UK, and Germany are among the Western countries urging their nationals to get out while they can.

Ulf Laessing is the director of the regional Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. He joins us from Cairo, Egypt. Thank you so much for being here with us.

Now, you are normally based in Bamako. I understand you left last week, presumably because of the security situation I just mentioned. I mean, what is it actually like on the ground there in Bamako as these jihadi fighters tighten their grip around the capital?

ULF LAESSING, DIRECTOR OF REGIONAL SAHEL PROGRAM, KONRAD ADENAUER FOUNDATION: Yes, the situation is a bit tense. Everybody is searching for fuel.

There's little electricity because power is generated also by diesel. Nobody knows what's the next step of the jihadists who have been engaging in siege to the capital.

[03:30:09]

I mean, it's a major escalation. The first time they're trying to target the capital where 4 million people live.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I mean, you say people are tense. I mean, are they, you know, fearing for their lives at this point?

LAESSING: Everybody is remarkably calm. I think the reason for that is if they now kind of riot or start protesting against the government, they know, you know, the next government could be someone who might work with the jihadists. I mean, they're not strong enough.

It's not like a Taliban, they can have enough fighters to take over a capital, but they hope to find allies in the capital in Bamako and, you know, provoke riots or protests against the government.

So, to have a new opening. For now, people stay calm because they don't want the jihadists to take over the capital.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. So, you're saying it's not like in Afghanistan where the Taliban took over. So, take me through then who exactly these jihadists are and how numerous are they? LAESSING: Yes, they started in 2012 taking over with 200 rebels to the

north of Mali. And they were initially, you know, pushed back by a French military intervention. And there was a major, you know, U.N. peacekeeping operation in place.

But they slowly came back and they have been expanding since then. You know, exploiting an absence of Somalian state in the countryside. They've also moved to Burkina Faso, to Niger, they're trying to reach the West African coast.

And now, most recently, they also, you know, turned up in the south. And it's the jihadists linked to al-Qaeda. And they're very good at adopting to the local context.

I mean, they started with Tuareg in the north. And they had, like, you know, Fulani cattle herders in the center. And now they actually hire or, you know, recruit South Amalians that makes it so dangerous for the government.

And they thrive on grievances such as poverty, you know, corruption, and absence of state. You know, which is only, you know, concentrated in the capital, basically.

BRUNHUBER: Looking at the wider context here, I mean, the U.S. just pulled out of those massive bases, military bases in Niger. France is gone. Now we're seeing these aid cuts by the U.S.

I mean, you've been warning about this for years. Is this exactly what you predicted would happen when the West sort of walks away?

LAESSING: Yes, they were kind of pushed out. Obviously, the French were, you know, hugely unpopular. They kind of overstayed their welcome in their former colonies, and Russia seized the chance, they sent, you know, mercenaries but they only made the conflict worse, you know, with their brutality attributed to their fighters.

And the aid cuts from, you know, from Western nations, you know, that means more poverty. And that means there's more recruitment for jihadists who just, you know, thrive in that type of environment where people are desperate and don't have, you know, any opportunities.

BRUNHUBER: Doesn't sound as though there are any easy solutions. I mean, is there any way to turn this around at this point?

LAESSING: I mean, it's difficult. I mean, there was this week, you know, a phone call. The Deputy Secretary of State Landau spoke to the Malian foreign minister.

I mean, there has been some interest from the Trump administration in Mali that maybe they provide intelligence sharing to, you know, help position, you know, the al-Qaeda, you know, positions their leaders that might stop it a bit. But ultimately, it's a landlocked country that just two roads from Senegal to and from Cote d'Ivoire.

They're very potholed, lined with mango trees, so plenty of, you know, ambushes. So it's very hard to secure these roads. And obviously, the jihadists mean business this time.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, you know, people who are watching this elsewhere might think, you know, why care about Mali specifically? But, you know, what happens there sort of has regional repercussions. And as you were talking about, I mean, the plight of what's going on here, I mean, it's a hugely widespread movement.

What are the stakes right now?

LAESSING: I mean, this region is, it's true, it's one of the poorest and many people don't know these countries, but they're very, you know, also vital for Western interests.

First of all, if, you know, al-Qaeda was able to expand its presence there, it would create this huge retreat place for jihadists in general in West Africa, covering several countries. And then the main migration routes from South Sahara Africa to North Africa and ultimately to Europe pass through the Sahel, where the Canary Islands belong to Spain, or in Libya, North Africa, Italy.

So whoever, you know, when there's chaos and instability, it means more migration to Europe. And that kind of, you know, plays into all these fears in European politics, which are quite, you know, toxic anyway about the migration issue.

[03:35:09]

BRUNHUBER: Yes, such a tense situation with lots on the line. Thanks so much for giving us the context for this. Ulf Laessing in Cairo, thank you so much.

Well Elon Musk just got a pay raise that could dwarf what many countries make in an entire year. Still ahead, a staggering amount he could receive if his job performance meets shareholders' expectations. That story and more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to CNN. This is your Business Breakout.

Let's look at Asia markets. The Shanghai closed down about 10 points, Nikkei down 607 points, the Hang Seng down about 244 points, and the KOSPI closed about down 72.

Now checking some of today's business headlines.

Elon Musk could become the world's first trillionaire in the coming years. Tesla shareholders approved his new pay package on Thursday, which alone could earn him $1 trillion. Now that'll happen if Tesla meets the number of benchmarks, including a market capitalization of $8.5 trillion. OpenAI is backtracking on comments from its CFO that it might need more than $1 trillion in support. Executives now say taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook. OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, is a private company valued at $500 billion; the Trump administration says if one A.I. company fails, others will take its place.

And prices for U.S. airline tickets are likely to go up as airports cut back flights starting today. Fares were already forecast to be up 7 to 10 percent, according to going.com but now fares could be even worse during the holiday season because of staffing shortages fueled by the ongoing government shutdown.

Prince Harry is in Toronto this week for events ahead of Remembrance Day, which is observed in Canada on Tuesday. The Duke of Sussex went to a veteran center where he sought stories with members of the country's reserve forces and some of its oldest surviving war heroes; he also attended a charity event honoring the military community. Prince Harry completed two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army.

Scientists say ancient Roman road buildings were so groundbreaking, well, it's comparable to the Industrial Revolution. And now you can virtually explore their intricate network of 100,000 kilometers, or 63,000 miles, of roadways stretching from Britain to Egypt and Syria.

Scientists made this visualization tour that shows roads as Romans would have used them more than 2000 years ago, with carts on camels and with pack mules. Now the project is a work in progress as scientists plan to add maritime and river connections and some Roman roads are so resilient, they're even in use today.

All right, that wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. "World Sport" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)