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Trump Signs Epstein Files Bill; Australian Airports Spearhead Campaign to Fight Human Trafficking. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 20, 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]

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Great to have you with us.

Just ahead, the Epstein files close to 50,000 pages are said to be made public after President Trump signs a legislation to release the Epstein files. But will we actually see all of them?

And as bombs hit more residential areas in Ukraine, the U.S. attempts to hammer out a peace deal with Russia.

And Tackling Human Trafficking, the head of a new Australian campaign to spread awareness of global trafficking, joins us live.

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

KINKADE: U.S. President Donald Trump has signed legislation directing the U.S. Justice Department to release all the files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He shared the news on social media, calling the move a push for transparency, while also taking jabs at some Democrats for their past connections to Epstein.

The Justice Department now has 30 days to release all those files, about 50,000 in total. But some lawmakers are concerned the administration may find a way to block it.

CNN's Evan Perez reports.

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EVAN PEREZ, CNN SR. U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump has signed the bill that requires the Justice Department to release documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The question now is what happens next? The Justice Department has an ongoing investigation. Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, has assigned that to prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

And that investigation is now ongoing. During a press conference, the Attorney General addressed what happens now that that investigation is ongoing and now that Congress is requiring the Justice Department to release the Epstein files. Here's what she had to say.

REPORTER: Does the new investigation by the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney prevent the Department from releasing all of the remaining files?

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: So we have released 33,000, over 33,000 Epstein documents to the Hill. And we'll continue to follow the law and to have maximum transparency.

PEREZ: Now within the next 30 days, we anticipate that at least some of these documents are going to be released by the Justice Department. What is not going to be released is some of the terabytes of material that the Justice Department collected in its investigation of Epstein and of Ghislaine Maxwell, his accomplice who allegedly helped traffic some of these young women. Any videos or any material that depicts child sex abuse is not going to be released by the Justice Department.

Now what is in play are some of the documents that might show some of the communications with people that were associated with Epstein, even people who are not credibly accused of any wrongdoing. People who continue to associate with him even after he was convicted in Florida for sex crime. Those documents are likely now to see the light of day.

The question is, how soon will that happen? Because there is an ongoing investigation, that material is now part of that investigation and we anticipate that there might be some delay in when we see some of that material.

Now for the Justice Department and certainly for the Attorney General, there's a bit of whiplash because just a few days ago the President ordered that investigation and then just a couple days later he ordered Republicans or told Republicans that they should vote for the release of that very material that the Justice Department now is trying to figure out what to do with it. And so now we wait to see when we can see that information. The Attorney General says that she's going to comply with the law.

How soon that happens is everyone's guess. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Our thanks to Evan Perez.

In the coming hours, a meeting is expected to get underway in Kyiv that aims to bring stalled U.S. peace efforts in Ukraine back to life. The White House has been working on a new peace plan behind the scenes, according to a source familiar with the talks.

And President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet a delegation from the Pentagon to discuss the U.S. push for peace. Full details on the reported plan are still unclear, but a senior Ukrainian lawmaker is already calling it ludicrous and a nonstarter.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, CHAIRMAN OF THE UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: This plan seems to be aiming at surrender of Ukraine. And for us, it's totally unacceptable.

And I do hope that it's not serious. Everything looks very suspicious. And for Ukraine, it's totally unacceptable to take such decisions without our participation.

We hope that President Trump will continue to honor important principle, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Ukraine is also reeling from the latest barrage of Russian strikes, which killed at least 25 people in the city on the western side of the country. Emergency services says dozens of others were injured in strikes that also hit targets across Ukraine.

Poland and Romania scrambled fighter jets during the attacks, while Romania said one of the Russian drones crossed into its airspace on the way to its target.

I want to head over to Johannesburg, South Africa, where we're joined by Michael Bociurkiw. He is the senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the founder of the "World Briefing" report on Substack. Good to have you with us.

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, SR. FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL, AND FOUNDER, "WORLD BRIEFING" ON SUBSTACK: Great to be with you again, Lynda.

KINKADE: So, Michael, I understand your family comes from this region of western Ukraine. What was your reaction when you heard that Ternopil had suffered its deadliest attack of this war, with at least 25 people killed, including children?

BOCIURKIW: Horrible, Lynda. You know, this is an area where my mother and father were born. It's an area where millions of Ukrainian diaspora trace their roots.

And, you know, I got to say, and it's difficult for me to say this, almost brings a tear to my eyes. I remember just a few days after the start of the Russian full-scale invasion, I was sitting with your former excellent colleague, Michael Holmes, live on set in Ville.

And we had this beautiful western Ukrainian background behind us. And I reminded him and your viewers that this is where the Ukrainian patriotic heartbeat beats. This is the founding area of Ukrainian nationalism.

And it's such a beautiful area. And I said at the time, the Russians will never touch this. We were wrong and I hate to be wrong.

And, you know, the Russians would like nothing more than to eradicate completely western Ukraine for those very reasons that this is really the patriotic place, a lot of historical significance to Ukrainians, and once again, where a lot of diaspora trace their roots. KINKADE: Yes. I'm so sorry to hear that. I mean, the strike really

deep inside Ukraine, far from the front lines.

What does this signal to you about the escalation of Russia's strategy here?

BOCIURKIW: Well, it's very bad because it reminds everybody, those who stayed behind in Ukraine and those who left, that no inch of Ukraine can be considered safe. And I worry about this, Lynda, because those millions of Ukrainians who fled are watching this very carefully, obviously. And this is yet another deterrent for them to return to Ukraine amid a huge manpower shortage in Ukraine.

And also, it shows the extent of Russian brutality, according to Ukrainian state-linked media, 26 confirmed dead, that could double, and well over 100 injured.

This is the war, as Nick Paton Walsh pointed out, is not going very well at all for the Ukrainians on the front line, but now also those daily barrages, and of course, on top of all of this, the lack of power and heating, 13 plus hours, Lynda, without power, where I'm usually based in Odessa on a daily basis, with temperatures just around zero Celsius.

KINKADE: Wow. So, certainly not going well on the front lines, but also doesn't seem to be going very well diplomatically.

We understand the U.S. is secretly drafting a new plan to end the war, reportedly a 28-point new plan, without Ukrainian involvement. U.S. officials, of course, are in Ukraine right now. Does it look like Ukraine is being backed into a corner? What's your view?

BOCIURKIW: Oh, absolutely.

And without European involvement, I may add. Look, this is a Donald Trump who is acting as if he's a mafia Don. He should focus on his area, the Western Hemisphere, Venezuela, whatever.

We know this is a president with a short attention span, who can't handle many things at once. And, you know, let Turkey come back into this. Turkey has Mr. Erdogan, Turkey has Mr. Putin, Mr. Zelenskyy, both of them on speed dial.

Turkey is very interested, of course, in Black Sea security. They have enormous investments in Ukraine, and I think they're trusted by many different quarters. But for the Americans to come back in here, and Lynda, I've got to say, this worries me too, because it looks like, if we trust the reporting from Politico and others, that the Americans feel that they have Ukraine backed into a corner for two reasons.

Not going well on the battlefield, and secondly, this widening corruption scandal. So they're going to push an agreement that's going to be very difficult for the Ukrainians down their throats once again.

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KINKADE: Yes. Certainly plenty more to discuss, especially regarding that corruption scandal. But we're running out of time.

I'll have to leave it there for now. But Michael Bociurkiw, as always, thanks so much for your time.

BOCIURKIW: You're welcome.

KINKADE: Well Hamas is warning of a dangerous escalation in Gaza after Israeli strikes across the enclave killed at least 28 Palestinians on Wednesday. Health officials in Gaza say nine children were among those killed.

The IDF says it attacks Hamas targets after the group fired on Israeli soldiers operating in Khan Younis, violating the ceasefire deal. Hamas denies that claim and accuses Israel of trying to, quote, "justify its ongoing crimes and violations."

A newly freed Israeli hostage will meet with President Trump in Washington today. Bar Kupershtein says his faith helped him survive during captivity. CNN's Oren Liebermann had a chance to speak with him.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Bar Kupershtein, thank you for sitting down with us. How are you and how is it to be back in Israel?

BAR KUPERSHTEIN, FREED ISRAELI HOSTAGE (through translator): It's an amazing feeling. There is an excitement every day when you wake up in the morning here and not there in the tunnels.

And you are alive and breathing. I thank God every day for this.

LIEBERMANN: Take me back to the 7th of October. What do you remember from that day?

KUPERSHTEIN (through translator): Everything. It's etched here in my mind for the rest of my life.

LIEBERMANN: You came out of captivity a month ago, you've told your story. You've spoken at Hostages Square. What is it that, even when they hear your story, people simply can't understand about what you went through?

KUPERSHTEIN (through translator): There were moments when they tried to execute us, when they starved us, when they abused us, whether with beatings, physically, verbally, depriving us from basic human conditions. It was awful. You feel like the most miserable person in the world.

Whatever we went through, we said among ourselves that we are simply in hell. I think that God put us in a kind of test. We told ourselves that we are now at the lowest point, the bottom of the bottom, and from there we can only go up.

LIEBERMANN: You've talked about your religion and how it became stronger while you were in captivity. How? Why?

KUPERSHTEIN (through translator): In captivity, one really connects to God. You can talk to him. He saved me, not once or twice.

I was supposed to be killed in bombings or something else in these whole two years. Every day was a miracle that I stayed alive. And you want to express gratitude for that, so you give what you can of yourself.

LIEBERMANN: You're going to the United States. You're going to meet President Donald Trump. What are you going to say to him?

KUPERSHTEIN (through translator): First of all, thank you very much. He played a big part in us getting out of there, and I don't know what else, I guess whatever is on my heart. I see him as an emissary of God.

God said we needed to get out of there, and he was the emissary. He did it.

LIEBERMANN: Bar, thank you for your time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The new public awareness campaign aims to combat human trafficking. Australia's major airports are informing travelers how to spot and report exploitation ahead of the busy holiday travel season. We'll have that story next.

Plus mud and ash blanket Indonesian villages after a volcano erupts on the island of Java. More on that after a short break.

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KINKADE: A volcanic eruption in Indonesia sent thick clouds of hot ash soaring into the air and racing along the valley floors. Officials say more than 300 people were evacuated from villages near Mount Samuru in Java, the world's most populous island.

Local media have also reported that authorities are struggling to reach around 200 people stranded at a monitoring post on the mountain. A spokesperson said the people are currently safe as the post is not in the path of the hot ash clouds.

With the busy holiday travel season fast approaching, Australia's major airports have launched a nationwide campaign to help passengers spot and report possible signs of human trafficking.

The group A21 says the purpose of its Can You See Me campaign is to help the public recognize potential warning signs and indicators of trafficking and then report suspected instances. The group hopes that more awareness of that issue will lead to an increase in reports and more victims being identified and rescued.

I want to go live to Sydney now and welcome Blake Loaney, the A21 Australia Mobilization Coordinator. Great to have you with us.

BLAKE LOANEY, A21 AUSTRALIA MOBILIZATION COORDINATOR: It's great to be here. Thanks for having me.

KINKADE: So Blake, the Epstein case brought renewed attention to how trafficking networks operate in plain sight. Just how widespread is human trafficking today and what trends are you seeing in the Asia Pacific region?

LOANEY: Yes, great question. Well, the reality is that human trafficking and modern slavery takes place all across the globe.

There's no place that is immune and the best estimates that we have at the moment through the Global Slavery Index, so that they're estimated to be 49.6 million people enslaved across the globe today.

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And within our region, in the Asia Pacific region, it's estimated to be two-thirds of those victims are here. And so it's really important to be raising awareness about this issue and what it looks like on the ground.

KINKADE: Absolutely. And for those unfamiliar, can you explain the Can You See Me campaign and how it's expanding globally, including the rollout at another major Australian airport? I mean, places where it's often crowded and chaotic and a critical point of trafficking, right?

LOANEY: Yes, absolutely. So our Can You See Me campaign has been launched with an aim to educate and equip the public with information on the signs and indicators to look out for, because the reality is we can all come into contact with a potential victim in our day to day lives.

And so the Can You See Me campaign has been rolled out in a number of countries across the globe, reaching more than three billion people with awareness through the billboards and videos that have been created. And we were able to launch this last year here in Australia with Melbourne and Sydney airports jumping on board to run a month- long campaign. And yes, exciting that we've been able to bring that again this year with Perth Airport also joining on to this campaign.

KINKADE: Yes, it's great to see it expanding, especially in light of the recent data, which suggests that the Australian Federal Police have, you know, seen reports of trafficking double in the last five years. What's driving that increase and what role does A21 play when a survivor is identified and rescued?

LOANEY: Yes, that's a great question. So there are a number of reasons why that number can be increasing.

One is increased awareness about human trafficking, more people knowing the signs and indicators to look out for and making a report. Of course, in terms of the growth of exploitation and human trafficking across the globe in the last six years or so, it grew to 49.6 million from 41 million so we are seeing that growth. But yes, new ways of people understanding what human trafficking is, what to look out for.

And so in Australia, our focus is on prevention, awareness and education, helping people to be able to identify and respond to human trafficking so that the more reports that come through, the more it can paint a picture for law enforcement and agencies on the ground to be able to respond to instances of trafficking and receive the support for victims.

KINKADE: And of course, Blake, holiday travel is one of the busiest times of the year, a high risk period for human trafficking. So if a traveler does notice suspicious behavior, I mean, what should they look out for and what should they do immediately?

LOANEY: Yes, great question. So there are a number of signs and indicators that people can be looking out for specifically within airport settings, so such as someone travelling with a companion that they don't speak the same language or they're overly fearful or submissive to the person that they're travelling with.

They're not in control of their identification documents. Someone is communicating on their behalf. And there seems to be that control element taking place as well as not being in the appropriate clothing for the travel route and destination where they're going.

So these are just some of the signs and indicators that people can be looking out for. And as part of the Can You See Me campaign, we have billboards, hundreds of billboards across these three major airports that have a Q.R. code to our website where more of those signs and indicators are displayed.

But we're encouraging people to report any concerns, anything that they see to the Australian Federal Police, who are the national investigative body of human trafficking cases in Australia, because one report combined with another can help to paint a picture and see the potential rescue of a victim.

KINKADE: Excellent work and such a great campaign. Blake Loaney, thanks so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

LOANEY: Thank you.

KINKADE: Well, despite growing tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, the Trump administration is sending more deportation flights to Caracas. CNN was there as the latest plane arrived. We'll have that report next.

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KINKADE: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Lynda Kinkade. Let's check today's top stories.

President Donald Trump has signed a bill directing the Justice Department to release all the Jeffrey Epstein files. Congress passed the bill titled the Epstein Files Transparency Act this week. Trump had previously opposed -- was opposed to releasing the files, but changed course after facing pushback from members of his own Republican Party, the Department of Justice now has 30 days to release all 50,000 documents.

[03:29:59]

President Trump will host New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House on Friday. The self-declared Democratic socialist has been a frequent target of the President. Mamdani says he hopes to talk about how to make the most expensive city in the U.S. more affordable for residents.

A plane carrying Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States has arrived at Caracas's international airport. Deportation flights from the U.S. to Venezuela have continued despite tensions over military strikes in the Caribbean. The flight from Phoenix, Arizona, was one of nearly 50 deportation flights over the last eight months.

Stefano Pozzebon was on the tarmac when that plane arrived and filed this report.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: We're coming to you from Caracas International Airport where that flight has just arrived from Phoenix, Arizona. It's carrying hundreds of deported migrants from the United States who are returning home here in Venezuela.

In fact, in the last eight months or so, Venezuela has welcomed more than 50 such flights directly from the United States with more than 13,000 deported migrants returning here, which is a big achievement for an administration like the Trump administration, which has made deporting as many migrants as possible one of its top priority.

This plane, and by the way, it's a rare occasion when we see the stars and stripes in Venezuelan soil. This plane shows us two things.

Number one, that there are indeed conversations between the government of Venezuela and the government of the United States, if only to allow for this plane to arrive. And number two, that Venezuela would be open, and we're hearing that from the ground here, to welcome even more migrants if Donald Trump would allow it so.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.

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KINKADE: Well, President Trump says visas for skilled foreign workers are necessary, barking criticism and backlash from some conservatives, as well as his MAGA base. He explained his position at a U.S.-Saudi investment forum in Washington on Wednesday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm going to welcome those people. Now, I love my conservative friends. I love MAGA, but this is MAGA.

And those people are going to teach our people how to make computer chips. And in a short period of time, our people are going to be doing great. And those people can go home.

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KINKADE: The President said certain industries like computer chip manufacturing require foreign workers to open factories. He claimed it would be impossible for major new investments to move forward in the U.S. without foreign workers. He suggested those who oppose the H-1B visas don't understand the complex business dynamics at play.

The better than expected earnings from chipmaker Nvidia. But is it enough to allay fears of a potential A.I. bubble? We'll take a look next.

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KINKADE: These are the business headlines and you can see the markets are pretty mixed right now. The Nikkei up almost about 2.5 percent.

Well, the long-delayed U.S. jobs report for September is due out in the coming hours. It was supposed to be released early last month, but that was put on hold due to the government shutdown. Some experts believe the hiring will remain anemic, as it has been for several months now.

Retail chain Target's problems are intensifying. The company reported a drop in sales in its latest quarter and cut its four-year profit guidance on Wednesday. Target sales have stagnated over the last four years. Last month, the company said it would cut 1000 corporate employees, that's roughly 8 percent of its global workforce.

Nvidia's new earnings report Wednesday surpassed Wall Street's expectations. Sales grew to $57 billion in the October quarter, that's up 62 percent from the same time last year. Most of the world's artificial intelligence technology runs using Nvidia chips.

And the Nvidia earnings report indicates that the demand for A.I. chips remains strong. But questions remain about a potential A.I. bubble. CNN's Anna Cooban explains.

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ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC REPORTER: So the question of whether we're in an A.I. bubble and is it going to pop is a difficult one. We don't yet know, but there are a few indications that might help us answer this question.

So take a look here. You've got CapEx spending by four of the big hitters. You've got Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta. Now, CapEx is just a fancy way of saying companies spending money on physical stuff.

And a lot of this physical stuff at the moment are data centers that are really powering this A.I. boom. And you can see here that by 2030, these four companies alone, they're expected to have a CapEx that is up to around $600 billion.

And we have an estimate from the International Energy Agency that this year it's expected that total global spending on data centers will supersede that of the amount spent on the global oil supply. So that gives you a sense of how much money is going into this.

And then this chart here, I mean, look at this. Look at this mess. This is just an enmeshed web of companies investing in each other billions of dollars with the promise of other companies buying their technology.

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Now, what's worrying investors is that it's all a little bit cozy. You know, you can imagine one quarter, one company has very bad results or disappointing results. Investors head for the exit, not only with that company, but other companies too, because their financial fates are seen to be quite tied together.

And then here we've got the S&P 500 price to earnings ratio. Now, a high P to E sometimes can be an indication that a stock is overvalued. Not always.

But I'm going to take you all the way back to the late 90s, the dot com bubble, which did then burst. It then popped. We are now approaching the levels we saw around that period of history, it doesn't mean we're in a bubble.

It doesn't mean it's going to pop but yet again, it's another indication that's worrying investors, especially when you consider that a really big chunk of the S&P 500, its value is made up of tech companies that are spending big on A.I.

And then lastly, you've got Nvidia, one of the darlings of the A.I. world, hit a $5 trillion market cap just a few weeks ago. Its stock has fallen around 12 percent since then. And we've seen big investors, Peter Thiel's hedge fund, SoftBank in Japan, say they've dumped all of their Nvidia stock.

Now, for different reasons, it doesn't mean that they don't think the company is valuable or it is going to do well, but it is an indication that they aren't seeing that their best results, their best growth is going to come from this company.

Again, another crack in the picture that up until this point for A.I. has been nothing but positive and rosy. And that is making people worried and asking the question, are we in a bubble and is it going to pop?

Anna Cooban, CNN, London.

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KINKADE: We take a look at the latest images of a visitor from another solar system. This is an interstellar comet, only the third one ever to be observed.

NASA pivoted a variety of space probes and missions to capture the rare site. But the images were only released now because of the government shutdown. The comet is racing through our solar system, it will be the closest to Earth on December 19th.

After that, it will begin to leave the solar system. And once it does, it will likely never return.

And a new study is unlocking some of the mysteries behind locking lips. Researchers estimate that kissing dates back about 21 million years in animal species, with the earliest recorded human kiss around 4500 years ago in West Asia and ancient Egypt.

Biologists say they're not sure why or how kissing came about, but they believe it's an evolved trade occurring across primate species. Though not all humans do it. A 2015 paper says kissing is documented in about half of all cultures and the vast majority of human kisses are not mouth-to-mouth.

Thanks so much for joining us, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Do stay with us, "World Sport" is up next. You are watching CNN.

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