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Trump Pulls His Years-Long Support For Rep. Greene; Interview With Jeffrey Epstein Survivor Liz Stein; Rising Prices Threaten Trump Economic Agenda; Rising Prices Threaten Trump Economic Agenda; Food Banks Hustle To Keep Up With Skyrocketing Demand; Geomagnetic Storm Flashes Northern Lights Across Parts Of United States; Unprecedented NASA Mission Taking A Winding Journey To Mars. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 15, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:37]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in Now York.

A major falling out as President Donald Trump pulling support for longtime political ally Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, writing on social media, quote, "All I see Wacky Marjorie do is complain, complain, complain."

The president went on to say he would back a primary challenger for Greene as well.

For her part, Greene says she's facing threats after this very public breakup last night, going so far as to say that she now has, in her words, a small understanding of the fear that Jeffrey Epsteins victims have gone through.

Of course, the Epstein issue continues to be a sore spot for the White House, as the House prepares to vote on the release of Epstein files as soon as this week.

CNN's Betsy Klein is joining us now. Betsy, how significant is this split? It's hard to think of two -- one person that was more aligned with the president for years and years and years than Marjorie Taylor Greene.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Jessica, this would have been unfathomable a couple of months ago. But in recent weeks, as Marjorie Taylor Greene really ramped up her external public criticism of the White House, that left some White House officials wondering if it was just a matter of time before something like this happened.

And Greene has really been escalating her attacks on the White House on two key fronts.

Number one, domestic issues. She believes in her view, that the president needs to be spending less time building relationships abroad and traveling overseas, and more time focused on affordability issues.

That began earlier this summer when the president ordered airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. And we saw some of that bear out after the elections earlier this month in some of those key races.

And separately, the issue of Jeffrey Epstein, Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of four House Republicans who has been publicly suggesting openness toward voting for a bill that will -- taking a vote expected later this week that would release the Epstein files from the Justice Department.

She has publicly said and shown screenshots of the advice that she's been giving the White House. She has told top Trump aides that they need to stop ignoring the women.

She has said that them being raped as teenagers is not a hoax. The president, continuing to describe the circumstances around Jeffrey Epstein as a hoax.

But the president was asked about recent comments from Greene as he traveled here to Florida on Air Force One last night. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Marjorie Taylor Greene said, oh, gee, I'm spending too much time overseas. so let's say I don't meet with China, You know what's happening right now To Georgia and to every other state. They're not working because your magnets and your rare earths would have kicked in.

And there wouldn't be a factory in the world that was working if I didn't have a relationship overseas with China. I think that her constituents aren't going to be happy.

Already, I have people calling me. They want to challenge her to a race in her district in Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: But this escalated significantly in the moments after the president landed here in West Palm Beach. The president announcing in a post to social media that he was formally rescinding his endorsement and support of Greene and attacking her in increasingly personal terms. He called her a raving lunatic.

He also called her Marjorie Taylor "Brown" because grass that is starting to rot is not green anymore. It is brown.

Now Greene is warning that these attacks from the president could have consequences. She said in a post to social media today, quote, "A hotbed of threats against me are being fueled and egged on by the most powerful man in the world, the man I supported and helped get elected.

Aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats and multiple convictions of men who were radicalized by the same type of rhetoric being directed at me right now, this time by the president of the United States.

Of course, Greene has been an ardent ally to Trump over the years. We'll see whether they can cool this rhetoric down, Jessica.

[17:04:47]

DEAN: It is certainly something to see.

All right. Betsy Klein, for us in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the president is also spending the weekend. Thank you so much for that.

We are joined now by CNN political analyst Alex Thompson. He's also a national political correspondent at Axios.

Alex, good to see you.

Listen, this has been brewing for a little bit now. But to see this spill out so aggressively into public view, what do you make of all of this and the context around it?

ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I mean, this is a broader fight about whether or not MAGA is just about Trump or MAGA is something more.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, and not just her, but other Republicans have made it very clear that they feel that their constituents want the Epstein files released.

You're also seeing some other ideological breaks within the MAGA coalition. You're seeing this on immigration, for example. Donald Trump had a pretty contentious interview with Laura Ingraham on immigration.

And, you know, there is a bet by some people in the Republican right that MAGA will continue well after Trump, and they are beginning to fight and disagree with Trump because they believe that there is a larger ideological battle.

Now, Donald Trump has said MAGA is just because of him and that he knows MAGA more than anyone. He said that in an interview this week.

And that is part of the larger debate that is going on. It is not just about Jeffrey Epstein. It is not just about immigration. There's a larger fight going on about the future of the Republican Party and what and what Trump represents as part of it.

DEAN: Yes. And just this idea, kind of what you're getting at, the question of the president's hold on the Republican Party, which has been absolutely iron-clad. He's really had no pushback from Congress on his agenda, certainly this time around, for sure.

What is your sense of if that's shifting at all? Or is this more of an isolated incident?

THOMPSON: I think in isolation, you could think of this as just, oh, it's just about Epstein, in part because there were parts of the Republican Party, including vice -- now Vice President JD Vance, when he was running for Senate, that were very much on this issue.

But there are just a few little other cracks within the larger Republican coalition that signal that there are people that are already basically looking to the post-Trump era. And that is why Trump's hold on the Republican base is at least a little fractious.

And even beyond immigration and Epstein, you're also seeing this on Israel. You're seeing fights between Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro. There are -- there is evidence that, you know, Donald Trump in some ways kept the civil war of the Republican Party, and in some cases, the Democratic Party at bay over the last decade.

And now people are already starting to think about what comes after Donald Trump.

DEAN: And then, as you know, a huge piece of this is this Epstein issue. The Epstein files, the vote that's coming up. Our reporting indicates from our Hill team that they -- the Republicans are expecting mass defections, you know, to people who will defy the president and vote to release this.

This -- you know, I think there's a lot of questions around, ok, what actually, in terms of politically, what kind of impact does the Epstein issue have on the president? This certainly seems to be something that just won't go away.

THOMPSON: And despite many, many repeated efforts of Donald Trump to try to make it go away, and the latest one came just yesterday when Pam Bondi, after just a few months ago, saying there is no reason to, you know, investigate Jeffrey Epstein further at Donald Trump's behest. Said that they are now investigating Jeffrey Epstein connections to Democrats.

Now, the reason why this is important is because, and watch this, if there is a successful vote to release the Epstein files from the Justice Department, will Pam Bondi then say, oh, we can't release them because there is now an ongoing investigation, the same ongoing investigation she said a few months ago did not take.

Now Donald Trump, while he has very much bragged and boasted about releasing files on many, you know, many past controversies, whether or not it be JFK's assassination, the RFK assassination, he has been conspicuously circumspect about the Epstein.

And it's because, as were seeing from these emails, they had a long- standing relationship.

Now, clearly they had a break at some point. You know, Democrats see that Donald Trump is very defensive about this matter, and that's what's causing them to continue to push this investigation forward.

DEAN: And what is your reporting indicating on how the White House and even the president is thinking about this strategically moving forward?

[17:09:43] THOMPSON: Well, I can tell you in some ways this has veered from being strategic to an emotional issue for the president, according to Republicans that I have talked to in touch with the White House. And, you know, Donald Trump, they say, you know, he's a guy that a lot of mood swings, one would say. And he can get into a funk and obsess over something over and over and over again.

And that is in some ways what the Epstein issue has become for him. And I -- you know, they don't understand how it's going to switch over the next few months, what can sort of, you know, you can plan a strategy all you want, but if the -- if your principal, if the president is sort of obsessing over a certain issue, it makes it much more difficult to pivot.

DEAN: Yes.

All right. Alex Thompson, always good to see you. Thanks so much for that.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

DEAN: And just a note for you, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene will join our Dana Bash on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. It's happening right here on CNN.

Up next here, those women who survived abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein are watching this political fight on Capitol Hill as they hope for and work for justice. We're going to speak with one survivor about what she wants to see happen. That's next.

And President Trump is lowering tariffs on some of the things you probably have in your kitchen right now, including coffee and beef. But will it be enough to ease any pain for many Americans?

Plus, famous astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson will join us live and wait until you hear the one space fact he says -- he says everyone needs to know.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:11:21]

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DEAN: Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse are calling on Congress to release all files and information related to investigations into the late sex offender ahead of a House vote that's expected next week.

Survivors writing in a letter to the House of Representatives and also the Senate, quote, "You have the ability to vote to release all the Epstein files and with it deliver a promise the American people have awaited for far too long. There is no middle ground here. There is no hiding behind party affiliation."

Were joined now by one of the women who signed that letter, Liz Stein. She is a survivor of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's abuse. She's also an advocate for the anti-trafficking movement.

Liz, thank you so much for being here with us. We really, really appreciate it.

This is we -- I actually talked to you yesterday as well. And I think one of the things about this is that this has become such a hot button political issue. But at its heart, this is a human story about grave crimes that were done to young women, including yourself. And that you all are searching for justice.

What is your message to lawmakers right now?

LIZ STEIN, SURVIVOR OF EPSTEIN AND GHISLAINE MAXWELL'S ABUSE: I think that it's that exact point in a lot of ways.

We're getting very -- our attention is being distracted by turning this into a political issue when it's not. This is about a crime, and it's the crime of sex trafficking.

And it's important for us to remember that this has been ongoing throughout five administrations of both political parties. And this current administration is really turning it into a political issue when it's not. And we just want to see justice for the crimes that were committed against us.

DEAN: Yes. And you mentioned how long this has been going on. Are you frustrated with the justice system? Do you feel like it has not done right by you?

STEIN: Absolutely. I definitely think that we are collectively feeling that there have been so many starts and stops in this case. And every time we think that we're going to have some resolution to it, we're let down once again.

And it's really difficult for us to keep experiencing that over and over and over. We really just want these files released, and we just want the crimes prosecuted and the people who perpetrated them, you know, brought to justice.

DEAN: What you just said there that that last part -- is that the ultimate goal here? Is that the best-case scenario for you?

STEIN: Yes.

DEAN: Yes.

STEIN: We as a society should not be able to accept that a crime that, by our own government's admission, has a thousand victims, girls and young women. How can we stand for that as a society? Would you be ok with that happening in your community? I would hope not.

And so we're really just looking to see justice, but we're getting confused and our attention is being redirected because of the names of the people who are potentially involved.

And they shouldn't be getting any special treatment because they might hold powers of position. They committed a crime, and that was a crime of sex trafficking. And that really needs to be what our focus is.

DEAN: And you've said you want these files to be released with the victims' names redacted, but not those of the perpetrators.

I think getting at what you're talking about, which is -- which is holding people accountable and also protecting those who have already suffered so much. How hopeful are you that that can be a real outcome?

STEIN: I think that we have to be hopeful, right. Because this is not, at this point, this is not just about us as survivors.

[17:19:49]

STEIN: It's about who we are as a country and what message are we sending to people who are survivors of sexual assault.

If we don't see justice, how likely will it be for someone who's experienced this to come forward and tell someone and feel like they're going to be believed, and feel like they're going to see justice?

And how can we live with ourselves as a society and let survivors go without the justice that they deserve?

DEAN: The president has now ordered this new investigation into a number of high-profile Democrats. What do you think about that move?

STEIN: Again, I'm going to reiterate the fact that this has been ongoing through five administrations.

And I think to single out anyone just because of their connection to a political party is -- really doesn't make a lot of sense to me. We need to focus on the people who participated in these crimes, regardless of where they live or what political party they're associated with. They're perpetrators.

When it boils down to the very, very, most simple viewpoint of how to look at this, these men are perpetrators and they perpetrated sexual crimes against young girls and young women.

DEAN: And you were there in the House gallery this week when Representative Adelita Grijalva was sworn in. I want to play a quick clip of something she said. This is what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADELITA GRIJALVA (D-AZ): Our democracy only works when everyone has a voice. This includes the millions of people across the country who have experienced violence and exploitation, including Liz Stein and Jessica Michaels, both survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse.

They are here in the gallery with us this evening. Thank you for being here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Liz, what was that moment like?

STEIN: Well, first of all, we had no idea that we were going to be named and for her to, in her acceptance speech, when she is thanking her children, her husband, her mother -- to be thanking us and for us to get a standing ovation from the House floor was so incredibly validating.

You know, we oftentimes feel like our government isn't hearing us. And to have that experience was really transformative for me in a lot of ways.

DEAN: Yes. All right, Liz, thank you so much for being here with us. We certainly wish you peace and justice in the coming days, weeks and months ahead. Thank you so much for being here.

STEIN: Thanks.

DEAN: If you are worried about the price of your morning coffee going up, President Trump says he hears you. We're going to tell you what the White House says they're going to do about it, and we'll assess how it might help you.

You're the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:22:52]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: President Trump is walking back some of his tariffs as higher prices threaten not just his economic agenda, but also Americans' household budgets. The move will cut tariffs on items that include beef, tomatoes, coffee and bananas.

If the White House needed evidence Americans are frustrated by inflation, it got it earlier this month when Democratic candidates won elections across the country after campaigning on that very issue.

Here with us now is Rana Foroohar, CNN global economic analyst and "Financial Times" columnist.

Rana, thanks so much for being here with us. Let's talk first just with the practicality of this. What kind of impact might these tariffs -- these lower tariffs have for Americans out there?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, it could have a big impact. There's a couple of factors that go into this. The tariffs -- there's a percentage increase in prices. You know, 15 percent, 20 percent, whatever it is.

Then there's the percentage of that hike that actually gets passed on to the consumer.

So if you're Walmart, if you're Kroger or, you know, a big -- a big grocery store, you can eat some of that hike, but you might have to pass some of it on to the consumer. So it's interesting. You see the White House saying, along with

rolling back those tariffs, they're also putting pressure. They're saying, look, we expect retailers to actually pass on any savings to the consumers. So there's a little bit of pressure which we've seen in the past, of course, from the White House to CEOs.

DEAN: Yes. And how soon might people notice a difference.

FOROOHAR: Well it depends on inventory.

So you know, tariffs are put on products as they're coming into America. So probably for pretty perishable goods -- bananas, you know you could see an impact right away. Coffee maybe a little bit more time.

But basically if something is coming in regularly and it spoils frequently -- food items, you could see an impact pretty quickly.

DEAN: Yes.

The president is defending his tariffs. He says the United States has in his word, no inflation. How does that compare to the data that you're reading?

FOROOHAR: Well, that's just not true, Jessica. When Trump came into office, we were at about 2 percent inflation. We're now at 3 percent. The data simply doesn't support what the president is saying.

Yes, inflation has come down from the peak in 2022 when it was in the high single figures. But we're not out of the woods. And in fact a lot of folks at the Federal Reserve are saying, you know, we may not get another interest rate cut in December. We may have more inflation coming down the pike. They're very worried about that.

And of course, the blackout in data that happened during the shutdown didn't help things. It's created a much more confusing picture for policymakers.

DEAN: Right. And I do want to ask you about that because, just to remind everyone, while the government was shutdown, all of this data that private companies, and also, others relying on to make -- you know, the Fed also, to kind of drive things forward, was not being released.

[17:30:08]

And so, we are going to get some of this missing economic data. What are you expecting to see there, and what are people going to be looking for?

FOROOHAR: So, it's really unfortunate that the shutdown happened at that particular point, because the last couple of months are when we were beginning to see those tariffs -- the bigger tariffs from Liberation Day start to trickle through into the system in areas where it takes longer for that to happen. You know, food is one thing. But auto tariffs, electronic tariffs, things like that, it takes longer. We were beginning to get a picture of how that was playing out, and then, the screen went black. And so, we don't have that picture.

The BLS is going to be trying to get online, trying to get those numbers up. But we may never have a good sense of what really happened in October.

Hopefully, we are going to quickly have a sense of what's happening in the future, but it does just make it more complicated for the Fed in an already very complicated policy environment.

DEAN: Right. Because they are trying to really get this exactly right. Do you -- do you have any sense of how they might respond to all of this moving forward?

(CROSSTALK)

FOROOHAR: Yes. Yes, I mean, first of all, I want to say two things, I trust the BLS data, and I trust the Fed, you know. I think that both government agencies are doing a good job. They are doing the best they can in a difficult situation.

I personally think we are going to be in a somewhat more inflationary environment.

Aside from technology, A.I., there is not too much happening in the economy right now that's disinflationary. You know, re- industrialization is inflationary. The demographics are inflationary right now.

There is -- there is just a lot that's happening that would drive prices higher. And so, that's what I expect. I'm not expecting some huge inflation peak next year, but I do think it's going to be a slow and steady uptick, unless you really see some change in the overall tariff picture, which I don't expect to see. It usually takes years to get tariffs down once a baseline is set higher.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Rana, thank you so much for that context. Super helpful. We really appreciate it.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

DEAN: And while the tariff decision could help with some groceries, Americans who rely on food stamps that were cut off during the government shutdown have bigger concerns. Food banks have been a lifeline for so many families, but the challenge isn't over.

On top of serving SNAP recipients, who only receive partial food benefits this month, many government employees hope organizations can help them fill their pantries as well as they wait for their first paychecks. CNN's Rafael Romo spoke with people at one food drive in Atlanta.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The food drive is being held here by Ebenezer Baptist Church, the historic church here in Atlanta. And as you can see, there are tents behind me where food is being donated, anything from vegetables to chicken to potatoes. We saw a big truck with potatoes being delivered here.

And we have an army of volunteers who are greeting people like family. They say, this is not about charity, this is about helping a family member in need. And some of the things that we are hearing from people here is that some of them are underemployed. Many other people are employed, but maybe their federal government, who hasn't received a paycheck for many weeks. And so, they need this help.

And even though we're less than two weeks away from Thanksgiving, they say that they need the help right now. For this event, the King Center and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church have come together to help people.

I had an opportunity to speak earlier with Pastor Stoke, from the church, and she said that it's a need that has been aggravated by recent events. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. CARLA STOKES, EXECUTIVE PASTOR, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: We have seen an increased need. We have seen seniors coming that need assistance. We have seen families, of course, they had their SNAP benefits cut or changed or altered, and it's caused such a ripple effect.

We have seen federal employees absolutely coming needing food, because they were stretching their dollars to try to pay their bills.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: The King Center and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church have come together to at this location, deliver about a thousand boxes of food for as many families.

I had an opportunity to talk to one of those beneficiaries earlier today, and she told me that her concern is not what she is going to put on her table two weeks from now or three weeks from now, but what she is going to have for dinner tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's every day. If tonight, I need dinner for tonight. So, that's how serious it is for me. It's not trying to get holidays.

This is going to make a huge, huge difference in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And yes, the good news is that the government shutdown has come to an end. And President Trump has announced that he is going to lower tariffs on some basic grocery items like beef and coffee as well.

[17:35:00]

But a lot of these people say that the ripple effect has been widespread and it's going to take a while before they can get back on their feet.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

DEAN: Rafael, thank you.

The northern lights brighten the night skies this week, even in some parts of the country that can't usually see them. Why? Why did they get to see them? Neil deGrasse Tyson joins us next to explain this and so much more. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:05]

DEAN: If you were lucky, when you looked up at the night sky this week, you may have seen something spectacular. A powerful display of the Northern Lights was visible as far south as Arizona, here in the United States. NOAA's polar orbiting satellites capturing these image -- these images of the rare auroras.

And we are joined now by astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium, Neil deGrasse Tyson. He is also the author of the new book, "Just Visiting This Planet".

Neil, thank you so much for being here with us tonight.

Let's start there. Can you explain what's happening when we see these light events, and why this time it stretched so far south?

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, DIRECTOR, HAYDEN PLANETARIUM: Yes, there was a mondo explosion on the sun, a coronal mass ejection. That happens often during solar max, which is where we are now. The sun goes through an 11-year cycle of high activity to low activity, and we're at maximum now. So, you'd expect these. But most of them will explode in a direction, not headed directly towards Earth. And this one headed directly towards Earth.

And we can predict these and their arrival of the charged particles from the sun with very high precision, in ways that we were not able to just a few decades ago.

And so, here it is. We've got the charged particles emanating from the sun, streaming through interplanetary space. They see Earth's magnetic field. They split by negative and positive charges. They cram, slam into our atmospheric molecules and render them a glow.

So, what we in the United States saw is the Aurora Borealis, and typically, it's paired with a similar display in the south called the Aurora Australis, or just more collectively, for us, the Northern Lights.

DEAN: Yes. TYSON: The beautiful colors of blue and green and red. And the last couple of days, I was in North Carolina, and I tried to look -- we were just a little bit too far south. Some people outside of the city saw it low on the horizon, because the Aurora is created very high up in the atmosphere of 50,000-60,000 feet. And at that elevation, there is typically, it goes well beyond your horizon, so you can see it even if you're far away. And in this case, it went very far south in the United States.

DEAN: There is -- It's so, so cool, and it's amazing to look at. One of the great -- so, the great thing about your new book is that people can just ask you questions, and you get them these wonderful answers about so many things they are curious about. And one of the questions in your book asks, if you can hear the Aurora Borealis. What was the answer to that?

TYSON: Yes. Well, there is some reports that people have heard them. I personally have not heard them. And so, but others have reported this, and to the extent that that's true, I'd have no hesitation adding Aurora to that list of things in our lives that go snap, crackle, and pop.

So, you know, it's what electrons are doing as they slam into our atmosphere. And so, there is -- it's, in a way, it's like mini electrical activity. And, you know, electrical activity can sound crackly.

So, it is so high up, I find it hard to believe that the sound would make it this far. But we've had some eyewitness accounts of it. So, I don't have a problem just saying, sure, snap, crackle, and pop all the way.

DEAN: OK. If you say it, then, I feel good about it.

We also saw the Blue Origin launching this rocket this week, carrying a pair of satellites destined to take a long and winding trip to Mars.

Another question from your book asks, in many scenarios, when we look at going to Mars, about this roundabout approach to getting there. And it goes on to ask, why not take a direct approach to Mars? Why have to take this roundabout approach?

TYSON: Completely sensible question. And so, here is the thing. If you want to go sort of straight there, it takes a certain amount of fuel. However, you don't -- if you have a big payload, then maybe there is not enough fuel to get you to Mars all by itself. So, what you do is you fly behind other planets. Be at Venus or come back to Earth again.

And if you come in behind them, you can get a -- what's called a gravity assist, but it's really an orbital assist. As you fall into the planet and toward not hitting it and come out the other side, you've acquired the orbital speed of the planet itself. And thereby, you don't have to fill your gas tank with as much fuel as would otherwise have been necessary, and you can use that for payload weight.

And so, sometimes it can be very circuitous to accomplish this with double flybys, double gravity assists.

So, yes. as long as it's not human beings, you know, on board and it's just a piece of hardware, it doesn't care how long it takes.

[17:45:01]

So, why not just let it -- let it go the cheapest way you can.

DEAN: Yes.

TYSON: And, by the way, this -- people remember the first stage of this returned and landed safely on a platform in the ocean, just as SpaceX first stages have been doing.

So, what we're witnessing here is space exploration and space access having its price become greatly reduced, possibly opening up an entire next generation of science and business interests in the rest of the universe beyond Earth's surface.

DEAN: It's an incredible idea.

Lastly, I do want to ask you, this is a question we were all curious about. What is something most people don't know about space that we should know?

TYSON: Yes, I hesitate to say. But there is no sound in space.

So, most movies, most science fiction movies, have explosions, and you hear the engines were -- no. And, by the way, the T.V. series, "The Expanse", invests a lot of intellectual energy getting all that correct. And also, the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey", did that correct way back in 1968. Nobody else does it correct. Nobody.

So, that's -- I, you know, I hate to be -- to spoil people's enjoyment of all the great sounds in space, but they would all just be silent movie if that were the case.

DEAN: Wow. I did not know that. It is silent in space. There is no sound. OK. We've all learned something today.

TYSON: Yes. What if they said that at the beginning. With the "Alien", the original "Alien series, what did they say? In space, no one can hear you scream. Very effective tagline for that film.

And, but now, they are on earth. What they should have said, that movie -- that the series, now, that alien is now on Earth. So, I think, they should have said, on Earth, everyone can hear you scream.

DEAN: Yes! All right. Neil deGrasse Tyson, it's a great book. Thank you so much for being here and congratulations. We appreciate it.

TYSON: Thanks for the shout out.

DEAN: Yes, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [17:51:47]

DEAN: President Trump claims White South Africans are suffering from human rights abuses, even calling it a genocide, and he refuses to send a U.S. delegation to the next gathering of world leaders at the G20 summit in South Africa.

And tomorrow night's "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER", senior correspondent Donie O'Sullivan, investigates what's actually happening in South Africa. He visited a whites-only town that inspired one man to build something similar in Arkansas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, there's about 40 or so people living here, give or take. But you tell me, there is hundreds of people want to move here. Hundreds of people have applied.

ERIC ORWOLL, CO-FOUNDER "WHITES-ONLY" SETTLEMENT, ARKANSAS: Yes, there are quite a few people waiting to be interviewed.

O'SULLIVAN: Wow. Are they all racist?

ORWOLL: Well, it depends on what you mean by racist. Are they racist in the sense that they hate other groups of people and want to deprive other groups of people of resources or opportunities? No.

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): People like Eric are afraid that white Americans are being replaced, and a projection from the U.S. Census has them worried.

O'SULLIVAN: I think, America is due to become a minority White country for the first time in the 2040s. Are you concerned about that?

ORWOLL: Of course, I'm concerned about that. And look at what's happened in South Africa. Right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Be sure to tune in tomorrow night for an all-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER: MisinfoNation: White Genocide." It's Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. And then, you can watch it the next day in your CNN app.

Voting is underway for the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year. We are showcasing our top five heroes as you vote for your favorites.

Assistant director Hilary Cohen found a way to take something from Hollywood movie sets and give it to those who are in need.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY COHEN, FOUNDER, EVERY DAY ACTION: Working on a film set with this whole team of people, a prop department, the classroom department, and electric department, and a lot of people that need to be fed. There is just so much food that's available, steak and salads. So much good food every day. When lunch was over, they would just throw it out. Doesn't make any sense.

I really was always told we can't donate the food. It's too hard if someone gets sick, it's liability. As an assistant director, I was the logistical planner of a set. This is just the logistical problem. I think it's so easy to solve.

Everyday action picks food up from film sets, corporate events, grocery stores to deliver the food to those in need.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's nice to meet you.

COHEN: We are the grub hub. We take it from point A to point B.

At the beginning, was just me and Sam, one of my co assistant directors in the heart of COVID. We have this big cooler from Walmart, thermal bags just picking the food up.

I would like to see what the fancy meal is of the day.

Film and T.V. set, that's like our bread and butter. All you have to do is give us a call sheet, sign liability over, and the food is ours.

STEPHEN FAUST, EXECUTIVE CHIEF AND PARTNER, MCGUFFIN CATERING: For decades, it broke my heart to throw food away, so, we're happy to do it.

It's just like clockwork, they show up.

COHEN: Hi, it's so good to see you.

FAUST: We pass off the food and we're all set.

COHEN: We pay production assistants and background artists, and then, they drive the food from place to place.

[17:55:05]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The salads. Too many fruit.

COHEN: There you go, just --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

COHEN: So, it started with encampments.

Would you like some free food?

Then, it's food pantries, nonprofits. Anyone that's struggling with food insecurities.

Here is three meals, and I'm going to get you some sides too.

Giving someone that's hungry in food is the best thing one can do. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.

COHEN: Of course.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, God bless you.

COHEN: And that's about 80,000 meals a year that we save from landfills. I feel like my skill set is like called to do this. Now, more than ever, we have to help each other.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Really such an amazing idea. You can go to CNN.COM/HEROES to vote for the heroes who inspire you the most.

The U.S. military plans to carry out new drills in the Caribbean, as President Trump suggests he's made up his mind about military operations in Venezuela. More on that, next. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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