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Efforts to End Government Shutdown; Food Assistance Concerns; Americans Face Growing Flight Cancellations and Delays; Powerful Typhoon Fung-Wong Battering Philippines; Russian Attack Causes Power Outages in Ukraine; Trump to Host al-Sharaa; Violent West Bank Attack. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired November 09, 2025 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.
U.S. senators are staying in Washington this weekend. We'll look at whether they're making progress towards ending the government shutdown and the extreme move President Trump wants to take. Americans who rely on federal food assistance are getting more worried about how they're going to eat Communities are now stepping up to help. And a violent attack in the West Bank as the United Nations warns of rising extremist violence there. We'll have the latest in a live report.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: It is 40 days and counting with no end in sight. The impact of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is taking its toll on many people across the country. And with Congress at an impasse, a government funding bill isn't expected any time soon. But the Senate Republican Conference is expected to meet around 12:30 in the afternoon local time to discuss the situation.
Now, despite being deadlocked, the Senate was in session on Saturday. A bipartisan group of lawmakers were in discussions throughout the day, but they have yet to come up with a solution. Majority Leader John Thune hopes progress can be made as the Senate will be back in session later Sunday. He already turned down the Democrats' offer to reopen the government, calling the Affordable Care Act subsidies a non-starter. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER: Republicans are not about to further burden taxpayers by blindly extending a flawed program. The Democrats' proposal is just more of the same, masking rising premiums and padding insurance companies' profits with more taxpayer dollars. The Democrat leader's proposal is a non-starter. There's still only one path out. It's a clean funding extension.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: So, while senators were in Washington, President Trump was golfing in Florida. Congressional Democrats blasted Trump for his actions as millions of Americans are without SNAP food benefits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS COONS, (D-DE): There's lots of us willing to negotiate if he would just stop playing golf and come back.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC LEADER: For this administration to go all the way to the Supreme Court just to get out of having to pay SNAP benefits for hungry kids is pathological leverage -- levels of vindictiveness.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER: A decision made by Donald Trump, supported by his so-called attorney general and House and Senate Republicans, is to weaponize hunger. They are intentionally withholding SNAP benefits from people all across the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: All right. So, here's a look at what's been impacted in the last 40 days. Air traffic controllers and other airport staff haven't been paid, resulting in flight delays due to staffing shortages. SNAP food benefits are on hold for millions of Americans after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to pause sending out payments. Federal workers like ICE agents, congressional staff and others have gone a full month without pay. The shutdown's economic impacts could be vast.
Meanwhile, as SNAP benefits run out, calls to local helplines for people seeking food pantries has skyrocketed since the shutdown began. Prior to the shutdown, calls were at 1,000 per day. Now, it's more than 4,000. That was as of Wednesday. CNN's Rafael Romo has more on the impact of the Supreme Court's decision to pause SNAP payments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The decision by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily pauses a lower court ruling that required the U.S. Department of Agriculture to transfer $4 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.
The Trump administration had announced Friday that it was working to fully fund food stamp benefits for the month of November to comply with the earlier federal court order. But Jackson's stay gives the administration appeal more time putting benefits on hold.
While the legal battle plays out, food banks, community organizations and even neighbors are doing everything and anything they can to help families who would otherwise receive food through SNAP. Some states, like Kansas, are using their own funding to provide food assistance.
[04:05:00] Reacting to Friday's Supreme Court order, Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly said in a statement that, quote, "Today, in accordance with the court's order and after receiving guidance from the USDA, Kansas sent full November SNAP benefits to all eligible Kansans. These Kansans, most of them children, seniors or people with disabilities, she said, were struggling to put food on their plates."
Something that is also happening across the country is that people are taking action to help their neighbors in need. CNN affiliate WWJ is reporting that in the community of Ferndale, Michigan, a social worker converted what had been a community little free library into what is now called a little free pantry, which is accepting food and hygiene items for their less fortunate neighbors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN MARIE YOUNG, CREATOR, "LITTLE FREE PANTRY": I'm a social worker, so I work with a lot of people in applying for those benefits and maintaining those benefits. So, I know a lot of folks that are feeling scared. Take what you need and leave what you can.
KATIE GREEN, "LITTLE FREE PANTRY" DONOR: I'm just dropping off some toothpaste, a toothbrush, floss. I had done some Thai wheat noodles. Just staples for the community. I'm in a fortunate place right now where I can absolutely go out and give more. And I know that if I can just even search in my house and see what things I have that people would be desperately needing, that I can take a half an hour out of my day and make a difference, hopefully, for somebody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: And Young also told CNN affiliate WWJ in Michigan that she plans to keep this pantry going until SNAP benefits are fully restored. And this is but one example of what many people are doing across the country to make sure that nobody goes hungry during this record-long government shutdown.
Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Now, earlier, CNN spoke to the CEO of Hunger Free America, Joel Berg, on how the shutdown is putting a strain on food pantries and charities, as people call helplines for assistance. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOEL BERG, CEO, HUNGER FREE AMERICA: Our call volume has doubled just over the last week. And that's on top of a higher call volume since the pandemic that's never really gone down. So, people are panicked, people are angry, people are scared. 42 million Americans lost $8 billion worth of food. In some states, that is slowly being put onto cards now because of the original court decision. But food delayed is food denied. You can't really eat an IOU.
Most Americans who get SNAP are either low-paid workers, children in those families, they're obviously not calling us, you know, active- duty military families who are paid so little they need SNAP, veterans, people with disabilities, and seniors. So, the people who need this help are all over the map. We tell them as best we can what's happening in SNAP in their state.
We also remind them for anyone who is pregnant or has children under five, for now, the WIC program still exists for those families. Most schools are still serving school lunches, and many have school breakfast. So, we do refer them to those resources. And we do have the largest single database of food pantries and soup kitchens in America, tens of thousands of them. We do refer people to them. But people need to understand the safety net dwarfs all the charities in America.
And so, the food charities can't -- they're not even providing a safety -- they're not even providing a Band-Aid for this problem, they're providing a microscopic corner of a Band-Aid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: With the government at a standstill, Americans are facing growing flight delays and cancellations at dozens of airports. Airlines have already canceled more than 1,000 flights today, and at least 380 are delayed. On Saturday, passengers saw more than 6,600 delays and more than 1,500 cancellations. That's according to FlightAware.
Things are only expected to get worse after the government ordered airlines to ramp up cuts to 10 percent over the next week. CNN's Leigh Waldman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hundreds of flights here at Newark were either canceled or delayed today. We can see that reflected on the big board. Delayed, canceled, canceled. The same story time and time again.
We know that at one point there was a ground stop issued for flights coming into Newark. But it wasn't just this airport. The other two major airports in the New York City area also facing ground delays. Passengers here trying to pack their patients, trying to give some grace to the hardworking TSA and airport employees who are working without a paycheck right now. One woman says she's taking all of this into consideration when thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas.
ALYSSA MINCE, AIRLINE PASSENGER: Our first flight, it got delayed an hour and then another hour and now it's delayed three hours. So, we are missing our connecting flight from Dallas to Amarillo. We're kind of grateful in a way that we're getting through this before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everything else we're just going to stick to driving or staying home probably.
[04:10:00]
WALDMAN: It's compounding issues here. Not only the FAA mandated flight reductions that are in place this weekend, but also staffing shortages across the country making this travel nightmare all that much worse.
Leigh Waldman, CNN, Newark Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: For the second time in a week, powerful typhoons battering the Philippines. This new storm is called Fung-Wong and is expected to make landfall soon in the northern Philippines. Right now, people there are dealing with heavy rain, high winds and large waves. CNN's Ben Hunte has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Two powerful typhoons in a week. The Philippines once again in the path of a dangerous storm. This one named Fung-Wong that's hitting less than a week after Typhoon Kalmaegi tore through the central part of the country.
The Philippines Meteorological Agency is warning of life-threatening storm surges and destructive winds with Luzon at risk, which is the nation's most populous island and where Manila is located. But forecasters say the storm has a massive diameter and could impact the entire country.
There's been barely any time to recover from the previous typhoon which struck on Tuesday and killed around 200 people in the central part of the nation. Officials say many of the victims drowned after the slow-moving storm dumped huge volumes of water over highly populated areas. And in some places residents were still counting the dead.
VIOLA DANIAG, PHILIPPINES RESIDENT (through translator): We have lost parents, a husband and children. Our family is incomplete with some members still missing and we don't know if we'll ever find them.
NEWTON (voice-over): The earlier typhoon also slammed into Vietnam. At least five people were killed and thousands of homes were damaged. The storm knocked over power lines and cut electricity to more than a million and a half people. With about 500,000 households still without power on Saturday.
In some areas the water was also cut off and residents collected drinking water from waterfalls while others began to clean up the wreckage of their houses.
PHAM THI HAO, VILLAGER IN VIETNAM (through translator): My house had never collapsed before during previous storms. They only took my roof which I could fix and I could live in the house again. But this time it took the whole house and everything else I own.
NEWTON (voice-over): The latest typhoon Fung-Wong isn't expected to hit mainland Vietnam. But weather experts say the Philippines should brace for another round of pummeling weather.
Ben Hunte, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: A tornado in southern Brazil killed at least six people and injured hundreds more on Friday. It ripped through the state of Parana tearing roofs off buildings and reducing some structures to rubble. Authorities say at least 750 people were injured and one person is missing. The state government declared a public calamity allowing officials to mobilize resources and request federal support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GILBERTO BRECAILO, AUTO MECHANIC (through translator): There's not much we can do. Forgive me for crying. All we have left are our clothes and documents. My livelihood, my mechanic shop is gone and my son worked with me. We'll ask God for strength and courage for the people, not just me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Parts of the U.S. are in for some major weather whiplash in the next few days. After a stretch of near record warmth, temperatures across the east are set to plunge and some may even see their first snowflakes of the season. Meteorologist Chris Warren has more on the Arctic blast coming our way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Big changes for much of the eastern half of the U.S. From Saturday to Sunday, many locations will have temperatures 20 degrees colder from one day to the next and then even colder on Monday and Tuesday and a bit of a bumpy go as well with some showers and even some storms for Sunday. Starting to see some light snow and really starting to feel that cold.
In fact, by Monday and Tuesday, record cold temperatures both for overnight early morning cold, so low cold and high minimums if that makes sense. So, not getting as warm as it should in record levels. So, quite cold day and morning. So, morning and afternoon is going to be cold. No matter where you want to slice it here, that cold air is coming from the Arctic.
So, essentially up by the North Pole, that air is coming down here and it modifies a bit, but still very chilly even down to the Gulf Coast and to Florida. For Atlanta, another day pretty warm. Temperatures are going to be in the upper 60s. For Sunday, here's Jacksonville, 84 degrees.
This changes in a big way. And this is what's coming. You can see this blue, it's going to get farther to the south. You can see a move in here and these are high temperatures for Monday. Monday, 40 degrees. That's as warm as it gets. Most of the day will be in the 30s for Atlanta. It will be in the 30s all day long here. Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Buffalo, 31. And then on Tuesday, it starts to moderate a bit. But while all of this is happening, the wind will be blowing. The yellow and the orange, 30, 40 mile an hour winds making that cold air feel even colder on exposed skin.
[04:15:00]
And we'll see as this moves through, moves out here on Monday, behind it still some showers. There will be snow lingering around here in the mountains with temperatures eventually moderating by mid to the end of the week. We will see these temperatures in the upper 60s. Temperatures getting back closer to normal, if not even a little bit warmer than normal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump is inviting a former leader of al Qaeda into the White House. We'll preview the visit by Syria's new president and look what role the U.S. might play in the country's reconstruction. Those stories and more when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRUNHUBER: A massive overnight Russian aerial attack has caused widespread power outages in Ukraine. The attack killed at least two people and injured many more. Russia has targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure more frequently as winter approaches. The latest attack hit nine regions using more than 450 drones and 45 missiles.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The strike was massive, with a lot of ballistic missiles. There were at least 25 ballistic missiles, as well as aero-ballistic and cruise missiles, and more than 450 drones of various types. It was a very flagrant, largely demonstrative strike.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is set to visit the White House on Monday. Earlier this year, he met with President Trump in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. president subsequently directed the easing of U.S. sanctions on Syria. Now, the U.N. Security Council has voted to lift sanctions on the Syrian president as well. Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., praised the passing of the U.S.-drafted resolution. The dropping of sanctions marks a real reversal of fortune for al-Sharaa, a former jihadist who once led al-Qaeda's official wing in Syria.
For more, I'm joined by Jasmine El-Gamal, former Pentagon Middle East advisor and the host of "The View from Here" podcast. It's good to see you again. Thanks so much for coming on with us. So, this is the first time a Syrian president has ever visited the White House. And as I mentioned just months ago, al-Sharaa was literally on a terror watch list. Quite the turnaround there. Walk us through the symbolism of this visit.
JASMINE EL-GAMAL, FORMER PENTAGON MIDDLE EAST ADVISOR AND HOST, "THE VIEW FROM HERE" PODCAST: Good morning, Kim. It's good to be with you. The symbolism is obviously very significant. I mean, as you said, this is the first visit by a Syrian president to the White House ever. And so, especially considering who Ahmad al-Sharaa is and his past, it is extremely significant and it just shows how far Syria has come since those days of the Assad regime.
And I think it's really significant also that President Trump has seemingly taken a really personal interest in helping Syria to succeed. I think he has been influenced by many of Syria's neighbors, most notably Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, MBS, and President Erdogan in Turkey, both of whom have really close personal relationships with Donald Trump and who have been encouraging him to look at Syria as an opportunity to increase stability in the region, and he's listened to them. But also, as you said, he met with President al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia and seems to take -- seems to have taken a really personal interest and seems to like him as well.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, and we know that's so important for President Trump. He famously operates on personal chemistry and gut instinct, and he called al-Sharaa, I believe, a young, attractive guy after their first meeting in Riyadh. So, you think a lot of this may be riding on Trump's personal read of al-Sharaa?
EL-GAMAL: I think both Trump's personal read, and you know, he also calls him a strong man in a tough neighborhood, and we know how much President Trump likes and admires people who he thinks are strong and can get the job done.
But it's not just Trump's personal feelings towards al-Sharaa, it's also the region really coming together and agreeing that Syria's success will be a success for the region as a whole. Syria, as you know, throughout the reign of the Assad family, both the father and the son, whatever happened in Syria always had ripple effects across the region, whether in Turkey with what happens in the north of Syria, whether in Lebanon, or whether on the southern border where it affects the border with Israel.
And so, everyone has come to the same conclusion that focusing on the twin pillars of security and economic development in Syria will actually contribute to a more stable and secure region. And so, that's why you have so many actors invested in trying to help Ahmad al-Sharaa succeed.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Let's talk about that path to success then and what al-Sharaa will be looking for from the White House. I mean, President Trump's already lifted most sanctions. He's pushing for the law that punishes anyone doing business with Syria's government to be repealed permanently. So, what does Damascus really want from Washington beyond just economic relief?
EL-GAMAL: I mean, economic relief is certainly at the top of the agenda. I mean, President al-Sharaa is set to be extremely involved personally in even the most minute and complicated details of Syria's economic reconstruction plan. And the World Bank puts that bill, that cost of rebuilding Syria, at about $216 billion. That is a huge amount. And Syria is going to need a ton of investment from the outside to try to help rebuild that country. But investors still are scared, right? A lot of these sanctions, the removal of sanctions, are not permanent. Some of them are six-month waivers. The Caesar sanctions, which are quite significant and still have not been repealed, that's something that's going to be on the table for discussion.
[04:25:00]
What investors want to see is that this sanction removal is a long- term project, that they can go into Syria and start investing, and they don't have to worry that six months later, that sanctions relief won't be renewed. So, they want to see a more permanent step in that direction. And that's really important for Syria's economic recovery.
BRUNHUBER: And before we go, I did want to ask you this, because, I mean, investors presumably are also scared about the insecurity that's still there. And we've seen since the Assad regime fell, there have been massacres of minorities and violence against Christians. I mean, is there a danger that the U.S. is moving too fast towards normalization?
EL-GAMAL: That's a really good question. It's an important one. And security is obviously the other pillar of Syria's reconstruction and development. President Trump -- we expect to see President Trump and President al-Sharaa sign a joining of Syria to the Defeat ISIS Coalition, to be part of the 88 other nations that are part of that coalition to defeat ISIS, because that is still a threat in Syria so is some of the sectarian violence that you've mentioned, that has affected all communities, really, whether it's the Sunnis, the Druze, or the Christians. That's something that President al-Sharaa has committed to make progress on, and that's something I think the U.S. will be helping him with, is not only counterterrorism, but also how to govern inclusively, and make sure that all of Syria's communities are safe.
BRUNHUBER: We'll see what concretely comes out of that very important and unique meeting that they're having. Jasmine El-Gamal, thank you so much for your expert analysis. Really appreciate it.
EL-GAMAL: Thanks for having me.
BRUNHUBER: Still to come, Venezuela's president says Donald Trump is trying to push him out of office, and is using the U.S. military to lay on the pressure that's ahead.
Plus, as the U.S. government shutdown enters day 40, President Trump's urging Senate Republicans to end the filibuster. We'll look at how this could work next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:30:00]
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom. All right. I have a live look now at Capitol Hill on day 40 of the U.S. government shutdown. Senators are remaining in Washington this weekend in the hopes of striking a deal to fund the government. But no real progress has been made.
Meanwhile, President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance are pushing for lawmakers to end a controversial procedure in order to bypass the stalemate. CNN's Kevin Liptak has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump is clinging to the strategy of encouraging Republicans to end the Senate filibuster as a way to bring this government shutdown to an end. The filibuster, that 60-vote threshold that would essentially allow Republicans to end the shutdown without any buy-in from Democrats. The president has posted about this on Truth Social almost a dozen times since Friday. And he continues hammering away at this idea.
The only problem here is that many Republicans oppose this move. They say it could essentially come back to haunt them if Democrats were to regain the majority in the Senate. And even the Senate majority leader, John Thune, has said pretty explicitly that the votes are just not there.
Now, on Saturday, we heard from the Vice President, J.D. Vance, who said that Republicans who were worried about this were wrong. He said that Democrats would eventually just do this anyway and that it was up to Republicans to kind of seize the initiative and use this opportunity to bring the shutdown to an end.
Now, for his part, President Trump is raising a new idea when it comes to health care. Remember, that has been sort of at the core of this argument between Republicans and Democrats. He posted on Truth Social Saturday that instead of extending those Obamacare subsidies, that instead the government should send that money directly to the American people.
He wrote on Truth Social, I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the hundreds of billions of dollars currently being sent to money- sucking insurance companies in order to save bad health care provided by Obamacare be sent directly to the people so that they can purchase their own much better health care and have money left over. And the president went on to say, in other words, take from the big bad insurance companies, give it to the people and terminate per dollar spent the worst health care anywhere in the world, Obamacare.
So, the president raising this new plan here. You know, this is going to be a nonstarter with Democrats. Of course, they're never going to vote to eliminate Obamacare. It's also not entirely clear how many Republicans will be on board with this. You know, the Republicans as a party have spent the better part of the last 15 years trying to get rid of Obamacare unsuccessfully, and it's not entirely clear that all Republicans want to go down that road again.
You know, it could also have the effect of really upending the negotiations that are underway on Capitol Hill between Democrats and Republicans to bring the shutdown to an end. You know, the Democrats as part of these negotiations have wanted assurances that there will be a vote on these Obamacare subsidies. And now, President Trump is saying that he doesn't want them extended at all. So, how this all portends the delicate negotiations that are underway remains to be seen.
Now, President Trump did encourage Republicans to stay in Washington over the weekend, and they have done just that. But President Trump is down here in Florida. He spent most of Saturday on the golf course.
Kevin Liptak, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein blames President Trump for not working with Democrats to end the shutdown. Here's what he told CNN earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST AND OPINION COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG: What's missing here and has been missing from the beginning is presidential leadership trying to move the two sides toward an agreement. I mean, we are now at the point of a government shutdown where it really is biting in ways that I think are completely unacceptable to most Americans.
But what you're hearing, I think, in the last 48 hours from Republicans is moving further away from an agreement. I mean, you have Lindsey Graham and the president talking about reopening their drive to repeal Obamacare, which, you know, the Affordable Care Act, far -- you know, moving far away from the idea of reaching some kind of agreement with Democrats to extend the subsidies that are making the ACA policies more affordable for people as a way of ending the shutdown.
[04:35:00]
So, you know, look, I mean, these kinds of fights ultimately demand a president willing to reach reasonable compromise with both sides. We haven't seen that from Trump very often in his presidency. And he's really been AWOL in this fight from day one, focusing on other things like, you know, building his ballroom.
Ultimately, he's going to have to get involved and in a constructive way that forges some kind of agreement here, because I don't think Republicans are going to make an agreement unless they feel confident he's not going to turn around and condemn it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Authorities in Florida are investigating a police chase that ended in a deadly vehicle crash into a crowded Tampa bar. Tampa Bay police released video of the moments before Saturday's crash. According to police, the car was seen street racing during the chase. Officers attempted to immobilize the vehicle, but they say the driver lost control and hit more than a dozen people outside the bar. Four died and 11 were hurt.
Silas Sampson is accused of being the driver. The 22-year-old was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail and is facing several charges, including four counts of vehicular homicide.
The Department of Homeland Security claims a driver shot at border control agents on Saturday as they carried out an immigration operation in Chicago. Chicago police responded and said there were no reports of injuries. DHS officials say agents are being targeted by agitators.
Meanwhile, a federal judge says the head of the Border Patrol operation in Chicago admitted lying about an alleged attack. Gregory Bovino said he was hit by a rock before deploying tear gas against protesters. The judge says video evidence proved that didn't happen. The judge issued a preliminary injunction restricting the use of force by Homeland Security agents.
Colombia is hosting a summit of E.U., Latin American and Caribbean leaders in the coming hours to discuss trade investment and security. It comes at a time of extraordinary tension between the United States and Venezuela as the U.S. takes extrajudicial military action against vessels in the Caribbean Sea. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The standoff between Washington and Caracas is continuing this month with the United States secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, announcing this past week that the U.S. have conducted yet another kinetic strike leading to the death of at least three alleged narco-traffickers. It's the 17th attack against a speedboat in between the Caribbean Sea and the Eastern Pacific Ocean. And we need to say that at least 70 people have been killed without the U.S. really presenting any proof or any justification, any conclusive proof that these 70 people were indeed narco-traffickers.
In the meantime, the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro maintains that this is a campaign to force him out of power as a way to put pressure on his government. He hasn't reacted to that latest strike this past week. However, we know that Maduro is trying to stay put and is standing up to what he says is an American aggression. And at the same time, it's worth noting that millions of Venezuelans are kind of in the middle in this standoff and they are dealing with much more urgent problems.
Think that in the last two and a half months since the United States deployed those warships and aircraft around the Venezuelan coast, well, the local currency here in Caracas, the Bolivar, has devalued almost 50 percent against the U.S. dollars. It's a country that is still living with double-digit inflation every single month, and these are the dramatic conditions that, of course, have led to millions of Venezuelans to flee their country. None of what is happening in the Caribbean is actually bringing any solution to the situation here in Caracas, and that is why perhaps most of the people that we're speaking with here in Venezuela say that they are dealing with what to put on the table at dinnertime rather than entertaining the thought of a transition in the weeks to come.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon. Caracas, Venezuela.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: South Africa is pushing back against the U.S. boycott of the G20 summit in Johannesburg later this month. President Trump says that no U.S. officials will attend the meeting because of what he described as ongoing human rights abuses against the country's Afrikaner population. The ethnic groups descended mostly from Dutch settlers as well as German, French and British immigrants. South Africa's foreign ministry calls Trump's claims regrettable, saying, quote, "The characterization of Afrikaners as an exclusively white group is ahistorical. Furthermore, the claim that this community faces persecution is not substantiated by fact."
Nearly a dozen people were attacked by masked individuals in the occupied West Bank. It's just the latest wave of what the U.N. warns is rising extremist violence in the Palestinian territory. We'll have details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:40:00]
BRUNHUBER: Six people have been killed by a fire that broke out in a perfume warehouse in northwestern Turkey. The youngest victim was just 16. Local officials say the fire started around 9:00 a.m. local time Saturday, engulfing the building before it was brought under control. An eyewitness told reporters they heard an explosion and yelling and saw a person on fire. Turkish officials are investigating the cause of the disaster, including possible negligence. The country's justice minister says three people have been detained.
A violent attack in the West Bank was caught on camera. People wearing masks and armed with clubs attacked journalists, farmers, and activists. One of the victims, an Israeli activist, says the attackers were Israeli settlers. Now, in this video, you can see people being clubbed, including a Reuters journalist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're being attacked. They're being attacked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Activists were helping Palestinian farmers with their olive harvest when they say settlers descended from a hillside above them. Victims of the attack, both Israeli and Palestinian, say it was overwhelming and brutal. The Israel Defense Forces tell CNN they were aware of the incident and had dispatched soldiers to an Israeli outpost nearby. CNN's Nada Bashir joins us live from London. Nada, what more are we learning about this? NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, olive harvest season in the occupied West Bank is typically marred by violence carried out by extremist Israeli settlers targeting the Palestinian farming community. But what we have seen this year is a sharp increase in the number of attacks carried out, and this is just the latest example. As you mentioned, journalists, medics, and activists accompanied those Palestinian farmers as part of their harvesting efforts in the occupied West Bank in the town of Beita near Nablus before they were attacked by masked individuals believed to be, according to activists, Israeli settlers who descended from the hill and attacked these individuals using clubs.
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Now, we have been hearing from the activists involved in supporting the Palestinian farmers in this particular area discussing the issue and describing the incident. We have also been hearing from individuals on the ground. Take a listen.
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MUNTHER AMIRA, MEMBER, P.A.'S COLONIZATION AND WALL RESISTANCE COMMISSION (through translator): Within an hour we were surprised by a monstrous attack. It was barbaric, savage-like call it what you want from more than 30, 40 settlers who attacked us from everywhere. I compared it to a zombie attack like zombies coming out of everywhere hurling rocks and killing.
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BASHIR: Now, the IDF has issued a statement that it is aware of the incident that soldiers were dispersed to an outpost checkpoint nearby and that soldiers attempted to disperse the crowd and the settlers from the scene that those injured were evacuated for medical care. But this is one of several attacks that have taken place since the olive harvest season began last month. In fact, U.N. data indicates there have been more than 260 attacks just in that period. So, there has been that sharp increase in rising concern over the brazen extremist attacks that we have seen increasing on an almost daily basis now in the occupied West Bank. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that. Nada Bashir in London. Thanks so much. Israeli protesters are demanding a stable democracy in the latest wave of action calling for the release of remaining deceased hostages. Demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv last Saturday and many carried photos of hostages whose bodies are believed to still be in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel confirms remains Hamas released this week are of 61- year-old Lior Rudaeff, he was killed while responding to Hamas' October 7th attack in southern Israel. That means five deceased hostages still remain in Gaza. Their return is part of the U.S. brokered ceasefire agreement.
Air quality in India's capital city is back in the hazardous range blanketing New Delhi with smog. Each winter, cold air traps dust emissions and smoke, exposing millions in the region to toxic air. Residents report coughing, burning eyes, and impaired visibility. Experts say the chronic pollution takes a heavy toll on residents' health ultimately shortening life expectancy. Government data puts the air quality index at 392 among the worst in the world.
All right. Still to come, how do you make kids who need medical help relaxing when they face a scan in a scary machine? If you're a Lego company, you make a toy. We'll explain coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla led the royal family at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance on Saturday.
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BRUNHUBER: The event at London's Royal Albert Hall honored fallen soldiers from across the U.K. and the Commonwealth and marked 80 years since the end of the Second World War. The royal family stood with thousands of others to observe two minutes of silence. The ceremony comes ahead of Remembrance Day on Tuesday.
Scientists say they may have discovered a way to permanently reduce high cholesterol. In a small study published Saturday, 15 patients with severe disease tested a new medication and technique which cuts a targeted gene to modify it or turn it on or off. Preliminary results showed the protocol reduced low-density lipoprotein or LDL by half. LDL is the bad cholesterol. Too much of it can lead to heart disease, the number one killer of adults in the U.S. and worldwide.
Medical technology can be a little scary for some children who need to be diagnosed in big machines with scary noises, but specialists in Denmark are using a toy from a beloved Danish company to ease the kids' anxiety. CNN's Paula Newton reports.
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PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Playing with Legos can be much more than just fun. The Danish toy company says its specialized play set that looks like an MRI procedure room is helping hospitals around the world explain the daunting scan to children.
JANNIE BOGE STEINMEIER LARSEN, PROJECT RADIOGRAPHER, AARHUS UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: When children go through MRI scans they meet our equipment. It's very huge. It makes loud noises and the children have to lie still throughout the examination that can make them a bit nervous and some have anxiety. NEWTON (voice-over): A hospital in Denmark is one of the facilities using Legos mini mock-up of an MRI, which includes a scanner and figurines of a patient and medical staff so children can learn about the procedure in a way that's less intimidating to them.
LARSEN: We play through the examination at the preparation and the children get familiar with what's going to happen and that empowers them throughout the examination so they can do this MRI scan without any use of anesthesia.
NEWTON (voice-over): A new report from Lego says healthcare professionals have reported that using the play sets nearly cuts in half the need for sedation or anesthesia in children undergoing MRIs and that's a relief for many worried parents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I could see that she was calm and she knew what was going to happen and that made me at ease as well. I also think it was really good for her to have something familiar from home. The Lego toys that was really beneficial to see that used in a more serious setting.
NEWTON (voice-over): Lego says it has donated more than 10,000 of its kits to medical facilities right around the world since 2023. Legos that won't turn into pirate ships or fantasy worlds but that could help kids boost their confidence in uncertain settings.
Paula Newton, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: Well, a sure sign of the holiday season is going up in New York. Have a look. Rockefeller Center just got its traditional Christmas tree. The 75-foot Norway spruce is a gift of Judy Russ in honor of her husband Dan who died five years ago. She says they always thought it would be great at the New York landmark. When Rockefeller Center's head gardener saw the tree he says he just had to get it.
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ERIK PAUZE, HEAD GARDENER, ROCKEFELLER CENTER: It's very exciting. It's a great tradition here at Rockefeller Center. There's a lot of people around. Everybody's having a great time.
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BRUNHUBER: The tree had adorned the Russ' home in upstate New York. Its departure attracted a crowd of excited neighbors. It'll sparkle with 50,000 colored lights and a nine-foot star when it's lit on December 3rd.
Well, the U.S. college football season is heading into its final stretch and fourth ranked Alabama has picked up its eighth straight win. The Crimson Tide beat rival LSU 20 to 9 on Saturday night. It's another loss for the Tigers in a disappointing season. This was LSU's first game since firing head coach Brian Kelly. Alabama takes on number 11 Oklahoma next Saturday. LSU faces Arkansas.
And with seven seconds left in the game, ninth ranked Oregon nailed a 39-yard field goal to beat 20th ranked Iowa. Ducks kicker Atticus Sappington hit three field goals on the night. Final score, Ducks 18, Hawkeyes 16. And number three, Texas A&M stayed undefeated by beating Missouri in Columbia. The Aggies led 7-0 after a touchdown late in the first quarter and they kept the momentum going in the second half. Final score, Aggies 38, Tigers 17.
Well at 38 years old, Novak Djokovic likely isn't worried about his place in the history of tennis. Now, the Serbian superstar has added another accolade. He's now the oldest champion on the men's tour and that's after he beat Italy's Lorenzo Musetti in three hard-fought sets in Athens on Saturday to claim the Hellenic championship. This is his 101st ATP title, eight shy of Jimmy Connor's all-time record. Djokovic already has 24 Grand Slam wins. Unbelievable.
That wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.
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