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Marjorie Taylor Greene Quitting Congress amid Feud with Trump; Trump Says "Great Honor" to Meet Mamdani; Ukraine Faces Thursday Deadline to Accept U.S. Peace Plan; Israeli Settler Attacks Surge in Occupied West Bank; Woman Shot Five Times by Border Patrol Speaks with CNN; Stock Markets Close Higher after Volatile Week. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired November 22, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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.

A split in MAGA land: one of president Trump's most loyal supporters says she's resigning from office amid a public feud. We'll hear Marjorie Taylor Greene's parting message following her surprise announcement.

I'll compare that to the good vibes as president Trump hosted New York City's mayor-elect, with people on both sides of the aisle shocked.

Plus, the new U.S.-backed peace plan for Ukraine is top of mind for world leaders at the G20 summit. We will take you to Johannesburg for a live report.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We start with a surprising announcement from congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and her message to the movement that she embraced. The Georgia Republican says she's resigning in January.

Now this comes just days after her public falling out with president Donald Trump. Greene and Trump were once staunch allies but their relationship soured recently. The release of the Jeffrey Epstein files was among the reasons. A source says Greene spent more than a week thinking about resigning as threats against her escalated. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Loyalty should be a two way street and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district's interests, because our job title is literally representative. Standing up For American women who were raped at 14 years old,

trafficked and used by rich, powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I fought for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Last week, president Trump rescinded his endorsement of Marjorie Taylor Greene. And as you heard, called her a traitor. She said those comments could radicalize people and put her life in danger. But at the time, Trump dismissed her concerns. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Marjorie Traitor Greene, I don't think her life is in danger. I don't think -- frankly, I don't think anybody cares about her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Joining me now for more on this is Natasha Lindstaedt, a professor of government at the University of Essex.

Thanks so much for joining us here.

So are you as surprised as many of us were when this was announced?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: I was absolutely shocked for a lot of different reasons.

One, I thought that she was just going to carry on the fight. There was also rumors that she had presidential ambitions. And she was starting to become a lot more mainstream.

But the other reason why I'm so shocked is she was just such a diehard MAGA figure and she was so incredibly loyal to Donald Trump. And with the issue of the Epstein files, which they just couldn't see eye-to- eye with, that was probably the final straw.

I mean, she also had other issues with Donald Trump's policies, particularly on health care, not having any kind of alternative to repealing or not funding the subsidies for ObamaCare.

But she also disagreed with him on foreign wars, particularly in the war in Gaza and why the U.S. military was being sent to all kinds of different places to do different things that she felt was not in line with the MAGA agenda.

And so, you would think, being so incredibly loyal to Donald Trump, that would be something that that he would hold on to. But as she mentioned in her resignation, loyalty is a two-way street. And that's not the way Donald Trump was dealing with people who just disagreed with him.

And I think she just found it to be too dangerous. I mean, if we were to look at what happened recently with the Democratic senators that put out this video, just basically telling the military not to obey illegal actions, at least Slotkin, one of the senators on the video, said she immediately received death threats.

And so it became just too dangerous. It wasn't just about the vicious politics that was going to face Marjorie Taylor Greene's primary. It was just that politics in general had become too vicious, too dangerous and she was worried for her own safety. And as the clip shows, Donald Trump didn't even really care about that.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, you wonder what that means, then, for her future. I mean, she said she'll be back, essentially.

So what is the next chapter?

[04:05:00]

I mean, there's a Senate race coming up here in Georgia. I know, you know, she wanted to run statewide before the White House didn't support it. You mentioned 2028.

I mean, what do you think is next?

LINDSTAEDT: I mean, it's a really good question. I mean, you would think that she would need to start gaining some kind of support from, you know, a wider range of people. And I think that's why you started to see her move more toward the center.

I mean, she had been one of these people that had focused on conspiracy theories, that there were Jewish space lasers that were the cause of wildfires in California. So she had some really wacky ideas at certain points in time.

But she seems to be moving more toward the middle, making appearances on CNN, making appearances on "The View."

And trying to reach a wider audience of possibly those independents or people from MAGA that are frustrated, that feel that they have been let down by Donald Trump, that that he is not delivering anything that he promised.

And there may be a groundswell of this. You see this with the recent elections that took place that the Democrats did overwhelmingly well in, which is not surprising. But what was surprising was how much support Donald Trump lost.

And if you also just look at his poll numbers, just last week, there was an AP poll that showed that only about a third of the American public feels that he knows what he's doing in terms of managing the government. And that's down from 43 percent in March.

And he's also hemorrhaging some support on that exact same question with Republicans from 81 percent in March, down to 68 percent. She may be sensing there's some momentum here and that she might try to carve her own space.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I wonder what her constituency then would be. I mean, there doesn't seem to be much, you know, intersection, I guess, between MAGA and moderates but we'll see.

In the meantime, broadening the lens here, what does the Republican Party lose here?

I mean, she was a huge fundraiser, a huge name. And, of course, you know, this shrinks the GOP's majority down even more.

LINDSTAEDT: Exactly. I mean, they have such a razor-thin margin now in the House. But I think the problem is this is like a major defection.

And sometimes it just takes one and then it can lead to other defections as they see that, that politics, as I mentioned, has just become so toxic and dangerous for anyone that disagrees.

And they're seeing that the way that Trump wants the legislature to function is like a rubber stamp legislature. He doesn't tolerate any disagreement in his own party about issues that, for some of these people, their constituents really, really care about.

So he's putting Republicans in a really difficult place. They have to have his support in order to win these primaries. But then when they get to the election, get to the midterms, they're not going to do well because they're not able to represent their constituencies properly.

And she actually mentioned that the Republicans are not going to do well in the 2026 midterms. And so she was jumping ship already, highly unusual for a member of the House to leave in the middle of their term because their terms are not that long.

So she may influence other Republican defections we've seen with the Epstein files. That has been the one issue that has really got Republicans willing to challenge Trump. And the more he feels like he's in a corner, the more aggressive he becomes.

So we've seen that he's been very loose with his language, talking about killing or death, it's punishable by death if you are a traitor is. This kind of language isn't going to be something that will appeal to even some of the more loyal Republicans. So we're starting to see maybe the first cracks.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, hers is a fascinating story, which I'm sure isn't done yet. Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

BRUNHUBER: President Trump is gushing about his meeting with New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.

He called it a great honor to sit down with the self-described Democratic socialist. He also admitted that they have more in common than he thought, as he shook hands and joked around in the Oval Office. Now comes after months of attacks against Mamdani, who president Trump repeatedly called a communist.

But now he says they could work together on crime, housing and the cost of living in New York. They spent more than half an hour meeting before reporters arrived. Listen, this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, look, I hope they have great leaders. This is a man that right now, I think, is focused on New York City. I really think he has a chance to do a great job. We're going to help him but I really think he has a chance to do a great job. But I'll let you answer that. Do you consider yourself the leader of the Democrats?

I think it's more appropriate for him.

MAYOR-ELECT ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NY), NYC: I consider myself the next mayor of New York City and I keep my horizons firmly on New York City.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Trump kept the compliments flowing and even pushed back against attacks on Mamdani from within his own party. CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House with more key moments from the meeting.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This meeting between Zohran Mamdani and president Trump was really striking. These are two men who have criticized each other for months.

President Trump has said the mayor-elect is a communist, that he's going to ruin New York City. And yet, when they were sitting there, he said that he would be happy or comfortable living in New York with Mamdani as the mayor. This was a really striking 180. Here is some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I've been called much worse than a despot, so it's not it's not that insulting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you affirming that you think President Trump is a fascist?

MAYOR-ELECT ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NY), NYC: I've spoken about --

TRUMP: That's OK. You can just say.

MAMDANI: OK. OK.

TRUMP: OK?

MAMDANI: Yes.

TRUMP: It's easier. It's easier than explaining it. I don't mind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you feel comfortable living in New York City under a Mamdani administration?

TRUMP: Yes, I would. I really would. Especially after the meeting. Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What makes you comfortable?

TRUMP: We agree on a lot more than I would have thought.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you fly here?

Aren't trains greener?

MAMDANI: I'll use every form of transit and I want to make sure that they're all affordable in New York City. And that's why making buses fast and free is a central piece of ours.

TRUMP: Did you --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where's the bus that is fast?

TRUMP: Well but -- I know. But if you flew, that's a lot quicker, too. No, I mean, he's working very hard for him to be -- that's a long -- that's a very -- that's a very long drive. I'll stick up for you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Republican Elise Stefanik has campaigned multiple times by calling Zohran Mamdani a jihadist. Do you think you're standing next to a jihadist right now in the Oval Office?

TRUMP: No, I don't. I met with a man who's a very rational person. I think you really have a chance to make it great.

MAMDANI: I appreciate that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: This was again, an incredibly different kind of meeting than we had expected. And one thing to keep in mind, president Trump, when he brings the cameras in and the reporters, he usually does that at the beginning of the meeting when he's just sat down with the world leader and they haven't begun their discussions yet.

This time, he brought everybody in or the White House brought everybody in at the very end, which goes to show you there was consideration to kind of see how this meeting went.

And by president Trump's telling, again, a man who doesn't feel like he has to say anything, even if the person is sitting next to him, it was a remarkably productive meeting.

Both of these two men completely centered on New York and did try, at least when answering questions, to focus on the things that they agreed on, like affordability, like housing and their joint love of New York City -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp says this one meeting doesn't necessarily mean the president and Mamdani will continue to be friendly. She explains what could be behind their about-face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think Trump sees in Mamdani a winner. Right?

This out of nowhere, he goes from zero to hero in a few months. Mamdani does in New York City.

And I think Trump kind of admires that. And, you know, as Ben says, he loves the press attention that Mamdani courts and cultivates. He loves that this guy is charming.

And I think Mamdani understood the assignment really well. And he buttered Trump up early by talking about one of Trump's favorite things to talk about building buildings in New York City.

And I think he got him really put, put Trump really at ease, which I don't think is hard to do. I think you just have to flatter him. And I think Mamdani got that.

And I think the calculation for Mamdani was, well, you know, my base wanted to see a fighter but if I can keep Trump's troops out of New York City and if I can keep federal funding flowing into New York City, I think they'll be really happy with that, too.

So I think he's trying out this posture with Trump. I think Trump is trying out this posture with Mamdani. But guys, tomorrow is a new day. They could both turn on each other on a dime and Trump is going to need this foil that he's told all of MAGA to be afraid of when it comes time for the midterms. So I wouldn't expect the detente to last forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is facing a bitter choice as the clock is ticking to agree to a U.S. draft peace plan. Still ahead, president Zelenskyy explains in plain language why the plan is hard to accept.

Plus, some leaders who weren't included in the U.S. peace effort debate their next move at the G20 summit in South Africa. Those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Losing dignity or losing a key ally in the middle of the war, that's how Ukraine's president is framing his choices as he faces a deadline to accept a draft U.S. peace plan.

President Donald Trump is giving Kyiv until Thursday to get on board with the plan, which appears to give Russia almost everything at once. And he suggested president Volodymyr Zelenskyy should say yes because he doesn't have much of a choice. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: At some point, he's going to have to accept something. You know, he hasn't accepted. You remember, right, in the Oval Office not so long ago, I said, you don't have the cards. Don't forget I inherited this war. I would have never -- this war never would have happened. I inherited this war. And I thought he should have made a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The proposal includes major territorial concessions to Moscow, which Ukraine has called its red line in the past. Zelenskyy explained why the plan is so hard to accept.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The national Ukrainian interest must be taken into account. We're not making loud statements. We will calmly work with America and all partners.

There will be a constructive search for solutions with our main partner. I will present arguments. I will convince and offer alternatives. But we will definitely not give the enemy a reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace, that it is they disrupting the process and that Ukraine is not ready for diplomacy.

I did not betray Ukraine then. I definitely felt everyone's support behind me. Each of you, every Ukrainian, every soldier, every volunteer, every doctor, diplomat, journalist, all of you people, we did not betray Ukraine then and we will not do it now.

And I know for sure that this is truly one of the most difficult moments in our history. And I'm not alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: Sources are telling CNN there's a reason why the White House is pushing the plan now. Among other things, it has something to do with a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Natasha Bertrand explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Ukraine is under intense pressure to accept. A proposed peace deal drafted by the U.S. and Russia, with president Trump saying on Friday that. Ukraine has until Thanksgiving next week to sign on to. The plan,

which would. Force Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, limit the size of Ukraine's military and prohibit Ukraine from ever joining NATO, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by CNN.

Now many of the ideas put forward in that 28-point peace plan have been rejected in previous negotiations by Ukrainian and European officials because they are seen as major concessions to Russia.

The proposed plan was drafted by president Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff and the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev. And restarting those talks emerged as a top priority for president Trump in recent weeks. Shortly after the U.S. Helped broker a ceasefire in Gaza, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Now president Zelenskyy of Ukraine. He said on Friday that the pressure on Ukraine to accept the plan is, quote, "now at its most intense." He said that Ukraine may now face a very difficult choice, either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner or 28 difficult points or an extremely harsh winter.

Zelenskyy was presented with the plan by army secretary Dan Driskill in Kyiv earlier this week. Now U.S. officials said the plan was still being worked on and that any final agreement would require concessions from both sides, not just Ukraine.

But the document essentially only requires that Russia abandon its efforts to take over the entirety of Ukraine, while demanding at the same time that Ukraine relinquish territory to Russia that it currently controls.

Now Europeans were not briefed on the details of this new plan beforehand and they're now working with Ukrainians on a counterproposal. And it's worth noting that Russian president Vladimir Putin, for the first time, acknowledged on Friday that he had received the proposed plan.

But he did not say whether Russia would agree to its terms, only that it, quote, "could form the basis of a final peace settlement" -- Natasha Bertrand, CNN, in Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The mayor of Lviv in Western Ukraine says his country wants peace. Here's what he told our Fred Pleitgen at a public event in Portugal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ANDRIY SADOVYI, LVIV, UKRAINE: There is no country in world that want to peace more than Ukraine. But you must understand very simple position. I think it is not plan about -- is plan about capitulation (ph).

I think we will have a long discussion together with other partners, European partners, together with America. And I am optimist. I think we will have good agreement in United States about next step.

But you must understand very simple position. Russia was, is and will be source of strength for Ukraine and all democratic countries in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Of course, Ukraine is expected to be a top issue at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, where world leaders have gathered at this hour, European leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of the event to discuss their next steps on the U.S. peace proposal. All that while Washington is staying away.

For more, Larry Madowo joins us live from Johannesburg.

So Larry, how are world leaders reacting to that U.S. peace plan with president Trump, not there, boycotting the summit?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, European leaders have been alarmed that this plan (INAUDIBLE)

BRUNHUBER: Yes, a bit of technical problems with Larry's signal. Hopefully we can bring him back later.

Well, police say more than 200 students were abducted in Nigeria Friday after a group of armed bandits stormed their private Catholic school. The Christian Association of Nigeria says a dozen teachers were also taken.

Officers have been searching through a nearby forest for any sign of the students. Nigeria has seen a growing wave of attacks by armed groups as well as religiously motivated crimes.

Violence in the occupied West Bank has surged to new levels in recent months. CNN's Nic Robertson reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's clearly an issue that's caught international attention. The U.N. has said since 2006 that it's the highest level of settler violence. On average, more than eight attacks a day. Last night, there were more attacks, not just that scrap dealer who had 150 cars incinerated.

It's a scrap dealership but so many Palestinians rely on these secondhand parts to keep their aging vehicles running in the West Bank. So this was a source of income for his family. But it's a tactic that we've seen the settlers turning to more in recent weeks, targeting businesses.

[04:25:02]

It was a dairy distribution processing plant that was targeted last week.

And as I say, some of the other places that were targeted last night again by settlers were businesses. I was in the West Bank just yesterday with a group of Israeli peace activists.

And they had taken us there to show a pattern where they say these groups of settlers that the prime minister calls a small group of extremists are now moving out of their targeting of rural Palestinian communities, small farmers and are moving their attacks to be more close to towns and putting more pressure on Palestinian towns and businesses.

And I think one of the things that not just the Palestinians in the West Bank look for or the Israeli peace activists look for, would be for the prime minister to instruct his defense minister, Israel Katz, who, when he took over the post late last year, one of the first things he did was to remove administrative detention for the settlers.

Administrative detention is something that Israel uses a lot to hold Palestinians in detention in the West Bank but many people see the absence of that administrative detention for settlers as an implicit open door for them to continue that there's no penalty for what they're doing.

Now we've heard Avi Bluth; the IDF commander for the West Bank, calling the settlers -- this violence, calling them anarchists. They've sprayed paint and graffiti during one of their attacks, saying they don't care what he says.

And I think it's risen to the level of concern here that you now have opposition figures saying, look, we need to treat these -- this settler violence, treat it as we would Palestinian terrorists, call it Jewish terrorism and treat them as such.

So there's -- there is a lot more public debate and discourse about it. But aside from that government meeting last night, we're not seeing steps that people could interpret as curtailing the free hand the settlers perceive that they have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: For viewers in North America, more news in a moment. For our international viewers, "CNN CREATORS" is next.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States and Canada. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

The Supreme Court is allowing Texas to use a newly-drawn congressional map that favors Republicans -- for now. Justice Samuel Alito has temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that barred Texas from using that map in next year's midterms. He'll likely refer the case to the full court soon. Now it comes after Texas filed an emergency appeal, saying the lower

court order had caused chaos. In a scathing opinion on Tuesday, a federal court found that focus on race when drawing the new map likely violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

President Trump has repeatedly called for red states to redraw districts and increase the number of Republican-held seats.

The offices of three congressional Democrats were targeted by bomb threats Friday. Spokespeople for representatives Chris Deluzio, Christie Houlihan and Jason Crow say everyone is safe.

They're part of a group of six lawmakers who released a video this week, urging U.S. troops to disobey illegal orders that might be issued by the Trump administration. Here's the video that president Trump described as, quote, "seditious behavior punishable by death."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHRIS DELUZIO (D-PA): The threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad --

REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): -- but from right here at home.

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): You can refuse illegal orders.

DELUZIO: You must refuse illegal orders.

SLOTKIN: No one has to carry out orders that violate the law.

REP. CHRISSY HOULAHAN (D-PA): Or our constitution.

SLOTKIN: We need you to stand up for our laws.

DELUZIO: Our constitution.

KELLY: And who we are as Americans.

CROW: We know this is hard.

KELLY: And that it's a difficult time to be a public servant.

SLOTKIN: But whether you're serving in the CIA --

CROW: -- the Army --

DELUZIO: -- or Navy --

HOULAHAN: -- the Air Force --

KELLY: Your vigilance is critical.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: The home of Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin, who was also

in the video, was targeted by a bomb threat as well. She wasn't there. And police confirmed no one was in danger.

Indiana governor Mike Braun says he and his family are among state Republicans who have been targeted in a wave of threats. At least eight Republican state senators have also been swatted or threatened this week. Law enforcement hasn't attributed the threats to a specific person or identified a cause.

But this comes as state Republicans face pressure to redraw Indiana's congressional map. On Tuesday, the state Senate adjourned until January, rejecting Braun's call for a special session focused on redistricting.

A federal judge in Chicago dismissed criminal charges against a woman shot by a Customs and Border Patrol agent.

Marimar Martinez is an American citizen and was charged with assaulting federal officers last month. In an exclusive interview, she spoke with CNN's Omar Jimenez about her story and how the government's case against her fell apart.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIMAR MARTINEZ, BORDER PATROL SHOOTING VICTIM: Can I show them?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

MARTINEZ: OK, so I was shot in my arm right here and then it went through my triceps and then I grazed the side of my chest.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Reminders of what could have been Marimar Martinez's last day. October 4th, the Department of Homeland Security claimed she rammed a Border Patrol agent's vehicle in Chicago with her car before that agent got out and shot her multiple times.

She says she was on her way to donate clothes until she saw what appeared to be federal agents already becoming a familiar sight in Chicago's neighborhoods.

MARTINEZ: So I started beeping my horn as a Mexican-American first generation USA citizen. I felt it was my responsibility to let my neighborhood know that ICE agents were near.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): They turned out to be Border Patrol.

MARTINEZ: So I just got next to them and I was like, like, get out of here. And I was just like honking.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): That's when she says they sideswiped her, contradicting Border Patrol's narrative.

MARTINEZ: They immediately stopped. I got to go somewhere safe. I went to my furthest left, make sure that I wasn't going to hit them. As I was passing them, they started shooting at me through the side. JIMENEZ (voice-over): The agent got out of his vehicle and shot Martinez five times.

JIMENEZ: It feels like it's still top of mind for you, right?

MARTINEZ: It's painful. Like, just to like talk about it, it's like, think about it, like just me remembering like what happened that day. It's like traumatic, honestly.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): She was charged with forcibly assaulting and resisting or impeding a border agent and labeled a domestic terrorist by the Department of Homeland Security.

[04:35:00]

And then over a month later, in what became a critical court hearing, the agent who shot her, Charles Exum, testified the collision was more of a hit, not rammed.

Then --

JIMENEZ: These text messages came out where he appeared to be bragging about shooting you. "Read it. Five shots. Seven holes. Put that in your book, boys."

You were sitting right there.

MARTINEZ: What type of agent brags about it?

This is what the administration has out in the street.

CHRISTOPHER PARENTE, MARIMAR MARTINEZ ATTORNEY: For 15 years, I was a federal prosecutor. I worked every day with FBI, DEA, DHS. I have never come across an agent like that. And it's something that's embarrassing to me as a former federal prosecutor.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): Thursday night, there was suddenly a major shift. The case was dropped and at the request of the prosecution. Despite the case being dismissed, DHS stuck to their original accusations.

JIMENEZ: "On October 4th, Border Patrol law enforcement officers were ambushed by domestic terrorists that rammed federal agents with their vehicles.

The woman, Marimar Martinez, driving one of the vehicles, was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and has a history of doxing federal agents. We will not allow domestic terrorists to attack our law enforcement."

This was after you were cleared of these charges.

MARTINEZ: Where are they getting all this fake information from?

I was just shocked, honestly. JIMENEZ (voice-over): While a gun was found in her car, it was never brought out. It was still inside a holster with the snap closed. She also has her concealed carry license, her attorney says.

PARENTE: They're still putting out these false statements that are disputed by their own people, right?

Agent Exum testified that there was no ramming. I mean, he's the driver. He was there.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): For Martinez, she's just happy this chapter is over with. But she can't avoid its reminders.

JIMENEZ: When you look at those, I mean, scars on your body, what do you think about?

MARTINEZ: I'm a survivor.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): And it's not just the physical scars she lives with.

MARTINEZ: I don't want to remember that day. You're laying there at night and you're just thinking about it, like, what's going to happen?

Like, it's really emotional to me. So it's, like, it's hard for me to talk about it but I'm trying.

JIMENEZ: Now as for Martinez moving forward, she is a Montessori school teacher and says she's just excited to get back to her kids but knows life won't be quite normal after this.

Now when you look at the significance of this case, this was actually a case that the Trump administration cited in trying to get the Supreme Court to sign off on deploying the National Guard here to the city of Chicago, saying, essentially, their agents needed more security.

And that attorney you just heard from, Chris Parente, a former federal prosecutor, he actually credited the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney here in the Chicago area for what he said took guts to not move forward with a case that likely had a lot of pressure on it.

And for what it's worth, the U.S. attorney's office, Andrew Boutrous' office told me they are constantly evaluating new facts and information, a dynamic that applies here as well -- Omar Jimenez, CNN, Chicago.

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BRUNHUBER: More than half of the container terminals at the Port of Los Angeles have been shut down after fire broke out aboard a cargo ship. More than 100 firefighters have responded to the major emergency.

Officials say the blaze started as an electrical fire on a lower deck before rapidly spreading to shipping containers. Some of those containers hold hazardous material. All crew members aboard the ship made it to safety. And so far no injuries have been reported.

Ukraine's president says a new U.S. peace proposal has left him with no good options. Still ahead, we'll look at why critics say the plan gives the Kremlin basically everything it wants. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is facing one of the most difficult moments in its history.

That's because the White House gave him until Thursday to say yes or no to its new draft peace plan. The plan would give Russia this territory, marked in red. That's now Ukraine.

This aligns with land Russia has taken since it started the war. In the past, Ukraine has rejected giving up this land. U.S. President Donald Trump says Zelenskyy doesn't have many options. The Ukrainian leader says his country is facing a choice of losing dignity or losing a key ally in the middle of a war.

Nigel Gould-Davies is a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He's also a former U.K. ambassador to Belarus and he joins us live now from Kyiv.

So you are there in Ukraine.

So just to start, I mean, what is the mood there?

I imagine not great, right?

NIGEL GOULD-DAVIES, SENIOR FELLOW FOR RUSSIA AND EURASIA, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: Very alarmed indeed.

And to cut to the chase, no appetite whatsoever among any parties that I've spoken to here. No appetite to contemplate any version of this so-called peace plan. It's a very alarming development.

I take some comfort from the fact that we've been here before.

Over recent months, there have been previous episodes when the United States have tried to impose extreme pressure on president Zelenskyy, both in respect of peace although less detailed proposals than we have now, but also in respect of the so-called minerals deal.

You might remember a few months ago, there was a similar ultimatum. President Zelenskyy was told, well, you have to sign right here, right now. He artfully avoided doing so. And ultimately Ukraine got a much better deal.

So there is a recognition of the ways that this situation has to be dealt with but certainly resolve not to sign anything like what has been presented.

BRUNHUBER: But from a morale point of view, I mean, they expended all of this effort in a charm offensive, you know, with president Zelenskyy going to the White House repeatedly.

And now, I mean, is there a sense that, at least in the battle for president Trump's support, Putin has won?

GOULD-DAVIES: I think there's still fluidity and much to play for. I mean, paradoxically, on the one hand, this is, on paper, a much more detailed set of proposals than we've seen before.

On the other hand, president Trump himself is, if not entirely invisible from the process, certainly much less prominent in promoting it. It was the Army Secretary, not even a cabinet level official, who was sent to here to Kyiv to present the proposal. And there are voices in the administration which are expressing reserve about it.

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There's some curious mixed noises from the Kremlin itself. Clearly, there is Russian inspiration behind many of the points in this the so- called plan. But President Putin himself has been very equivocal and said remarkably little.

So I think there is still a great deal to play for. And this is only the start of yet another protracted and complex and, no doubt, tangled diplomatic process to follow. What's clear at this point is there's no way that Ukraine can possibly sign this by the Thanksgiving deadline that's been presented.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. That's right. And the Ukrainian foreign affairs committee chair told me yesterday the plan was ludicrous and unacceptable. But you know, you talk about that deadline.

I mean, what choice do they have?

I mean, as president Trump, you know, just reiterated, I think yesterday, Zelenskyy doesn't have really many cards to play here.

GOULD-DAVIES: We've heard that language from president Trump before, most notably in the -- that difficult Oval Office meeting, that we all remember back at the end of February. President Trump then appeared to depart from that view.

And we've seen signs of him putting significant new pressure on Russia in recent weeks. And indeed, some very significant oil-related sanctions have just started being applied in the past couple of days. They are causing real difficulty for Russia.

That's something we don't hear enough about in the context of these present developments, the growing economic strains and difficulties and constraints that Russia faces. But it's certainly Ukraine with European support, which has once again been marshaled very, very quickly, does have options, difficulties on the battlefield. But Ukraine has plenty of diplomatic support. There is no sense

whatever, despite the real challenges of the war that Ukraine faces, that it has to accept this plan or accept some larger defeat. That's -- that would be a completely mistaken framing of the situation Ukraine finds itself in today.

BRUNHUBER: I appreciate your analysis as always. Nigel Gould-Davies live in Kyiv. Thank you so much.

Ukraine is expected to be a top issue at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, where world leaders have gathered at this hour. For more, Larry Madowo joins us now live from Johannesburg.

So we heard our guest there talking about Europe's strong support. Take us through how world leaders are reacting to that U.S. peace plan.

MADOWO: European leaders are working to make sure that Ukraine does not have to accept this plan presented by the U.S., even though they were not really included in that.

One of the most strongest statements, I should say, came from Ursula von der Leyen. She is the European Commission president. She had a call with president Zelenskyy Friday and then she posted this on X.

"We have been working for a just and sustainable peace with Ukraine and for Ukraine, together with our friends and partners," she added, "today we have discussed the current situation and we're clear that there should be nothing for Ukraine without Ukraine."

That is a line from European leaders overnight. Also, the E3, the German chancellor, the U.K. prime minister and the French president Emmanuel Macron, who is speaking out here at the G20 leaders' summit, had a call with president Zelenskyy and they agreed on how to safeguard Ukrainian and European interests for the long term.

Only one of them has spoken to president Trump since that plan came out. That was the German chancellor. And he said that they agreed on the next steps at adviser level.

So there's some way there, some path forward to bring in the European perspective in this 28-point plan presented by president Trump that many Europeans are honestly alarmed by.

So in the hours ahead after this meeting where president Macron is speaking, European leaders will have a separate sideline meeting to try and find a way forward.

Can they pull into this plan and make sure that, for instance, Ukraine doesn't have to cede territory, which is something the Russians have been asking for a long time?

The German readout of that call also had an interesting point, which disagrees with the U.S. position. They said that the Ukrainian military had the -- has the capacity to safeguard the Ukrainian sovereignty. So essentially Ukraine would not have to see this territory or reduce

the size of its military as part of this peace deal that president Trump expects them to agree to by Thursday.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Good to have you there in Johannesburg, Larry Madowo. Thank you so much.

Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, U.S. markets close out a volatile week on Wall Street. Concerns about an AI bubble and whether the Fed will cut interest rates have left investors puzzled about what comes next.

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Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: U.S. markets closed higher on Friday, capping off a confusing week for investors. The Dow ended the day nearly 500 points higher or 1.8 percent. The Nasdaq closed up by 0.88 percent and the broader S&P 500 finished out the day just shy of 1 percent higher.

The bounceback came after the New York Federal Reserve president said he supported lowering near-term interest rates. CNN's Richard Quest has more from New York.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN HOST AND CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: It was a fascinating week. In the markets that brought to the fore the. Deep worries. That investors have.

Particularly over the sustainability. Of AI and the investments. In the companies. That are promoting it. Nvidia was the overarching tone of the week. At the beginning. The worries about what the results would show and even when they showed pretty good, well, then investors thought, well, maybe not good enough.

And could it be sustained?

And what. About all those other companies?

So any gains that came back on the Nvidia earnings quickly evaporated and attention focused on interest rates.

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We're back to what's the Fed going to do. Here it was all about the jobs numbers, unemployment, new jobs being created. By the end of the week, the consensus seemed to be that the Fed may or may not cut rates at the December meeting. And that gives you a flavor of where this week in the markets ends. By

the time we got to Friday, there was a consensus that maybe, if there is a bubble because of AI, it seems to be arguably a rational bubble, as Mohamed El-Erian put it to me.

What that means when that bubble, if that bubble bursts, we really can't tell. But for the time being, the markets are marginally calmer, if not quite at peace -- Richard Quest, CNN, New York.

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BRUNHUBER: Eli Lilly is the first drugmaker to reach a $1 trillion market value. It's an exclusive club dominated by tech giants. This year alone, Eli Lilly's stock is up more than 35 percent. It's been fueled by surging demand for its popular obesity and diabetes drugs.

In the last quarter, those products brought in more than $10 billion and that's more than half of the company's total revenue. The company's value could soar even higher next year if its new oral form of the drug is approved.

Well, if you're planning on traveling for Thanksgiving this week, brace yourself. According to the FAA, this year's holiday travel season is shaping up to be the busiest in 15 years, with more than 52,000 flights scheduled next Tuesday alone.

The TSA expects to screen over 3 million passengers on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, a potential record for the agency.

And if you're hitting the road to avoid the stress of the airport, AAA expects 81 million Americans to travel at least 50 miles by road for the holiday. That's up more than 1 million from last year.

All right. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.