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Trump Urges Republican Leaders To Scrap Senate Filibuster; King Charles Strips Andrew Of Royal Tiles & Mansion; Widespread Destruction In Jamaica In Wake Of Storm; South Korea Welcomes APEC Leaders, Including China's Xi. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 31, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:24]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers, joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Brian Abel. Thank you so much for being with us.

It is Friday, October 31st, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington, D.C. on this Halloween.

Straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump just calling on Republicans in the Senate to make an unprecedented move to end the weeks long government shutdown.

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): This isn't a political game. These are real people's lives that we're talking about.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Airlines are now pleading with Congress to pass a continuing resolution to reopen the government.

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Our traffic will be snarled, but it will be a disaster in aviation.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: King Charles has stripped his younger brother Andrew, of all his titles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a bit of an embarrassment, to be honest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

ABEL: The U.S. president is now calling on Republicans in Congress to make an unprecedented move to end the weeks-long government shutdown. Donald Trump wants them to eliminate the Senate filibuster, a 60-vote threshold needed for passing legislation. Senate Republicans have avoided changing the rules, arguing that it would ultimately benefit Democrats whenever they retake power. Now, this comes as millions of Americans face the loss of critical

food assistance this weekend. Funding for SNAP benefits or food stamps is set to run out on Saturday. But a federal judge is suggesting that she may intervene. She's questioning why the Trump administration is refusing to use billions of dollars in emergency funds to help cover the cost.

That's the same question raised by a coalition of about two dozen Democratic run states and Washington, D.C., which are suing the Trump administration over the expected lapse of SNAP funding. The top Senate Democrat lashed out at the president on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Six billion dollars in emergency funds that could keep SNAP going, and Trump has said, don't spend a dime. We want to use hungry people as hostages in this crisis. Trump is a vindictive politician and a heartless man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: The Senate Republican leader says he expects senators to continue talking over the weekend, but he's blaming Democrats for allowing the shutdown to drag on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THUNE: SNAP recipients shouldn't go without food. People should be getting paid in this country, and we've tried to do that 13 times and you voted no 13 times. This isn't a political game. These are real people's lives that we're talking about. And you all have just figured out 29 days in that, "Oh, there might be some consequences"? Thirteen times people here voted to fund SNAP, 13 times they voted to fund WIC. My aching back!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Meanwhile, food pantries are working overtime as the expiration deadline looms for America's largest food assistance program.

Our Danny Freeman has more from Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the impacts of these impending SNAP disruptions have been felt very fast. And also, they've been very stressful for at least this community here outside of Philadelphia. We spent the afternoon at Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry. It's a food pantry in Delaware County, Delco.

And we saw firsthand just a number of people come up here to take advantage of the food distribution on Thursday afternoon, specifically because they feared those SNAP benefits running out when the new month began.

Now, we actually spoke to the pastor who runs the food pantry, who's the director of the food pantry, and he said that here, they've seen a 30 percent increase in the number of families who have been trying to get that extra support. He also said that because of this fast increase in people who need these resources, he's had trouble stocking the pantry entirely in terms of what they're used to.

One of the other things, the pastor who runs this food pantry also noted, which was really striking, was that he has not felt this type of pressure really since the pandemic. And the big difference with the pandemic was there was federal and government help coming to the rescue in that particular time. And of course, federal government assistance leaving this moment is really leading to this surge in need here at this food pantry.

Now, I want you to take a listen to two residents that we spoke with who really describe that fear and that emotion. And I'll note that the first woman you're going to hear from, she also has four children.

KLOE MCGEE, DELAWARE COUNTY RESIDENT: It's a lot. It's just like a piece of your livelihood getting taken away.

[05:05:03]

Granted, I don't want to be on SNAP benefits the rest of my life, but it has carried us over this far. So yes, it's a big impact.

PAMELA KELLY, DELAWARE COUNTY RESIDENT: We don't know what we do. But just been praying to God that these politicians would make up their minds, whether its Republican or Democrat, but need to come together and fix these issues.

FREEMAN: Yeah, it seems like its for you. Its less about even one side or the other. Its like, please, both of you come because this is not sustainable.

KELLY: Exactly.

FREEMAN: Now, according to the Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, nearly two million Pennsylvanians rely on SNAP benefits at the moment, 713,000 children and nearly 700,000 older adults. Again, all of that really on display on Thursday afternoon at this food pantry behind me.

Danny Freeman, CNN, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: And food banks are also being set up at some major U.S. airports in an effort to alleviate some of the stress for staffers, including TSA agents and air traffic controllers. Things are particularly tough at busy airports like the one in Orlando, Florida. The Federal Aviation Administration is asking air traffic control supervisors there to help keep flights moving. The agency warned airlines to expect no arrivals for a time on Thursday evening.

Warnings are also coming from the Trump administration about what the coming thanksgiving travel might look like in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, it could be a disaster. It really could be, because at that point, you're talking about people have missed three paychecks. They've missed four paychecks. How many of them are not going to show up for work?

Thats going to lead to massive delays. We want people to be able to get home for Thanksgiving. We want people to be able to travel for business.

DUFFY: Our traffic will be snarled, right? It will be a disaster in aviation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: And just ahead, well hear from aviation correspondent Pete Muntean as Delta airlines CEO calls for an end to the government shutdown.

A live look at London this morning as we follow stunning news out of Buckingham Palace. In an extraordinary move, King Charles on Thursday began the process of stripping his brother Andrew of his royal titles and evicting him from the Windsor royal estate.

So, no more Prince Andrew. From now on, he will be Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The move comes as the crown attempts to distance itself from the ongoing scandal over Andrew's ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and recently published allegations from a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre. She was one of the most outspoken of Epstein's victims, and in her book, she accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her as a teenager. He has repeatedly and strenuously denied these allegations.

But here's how some in London are reacting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRY HUMPHRIES, CONTENT CREATOR: Is this what we represent? Is this what the people represent? No, it's a disgrace. So I'm happy he's got stripped of his titles, his royal titles as well.

CHARLIE CARTER, SENIOR RECRUITMENT CONSULTANT: We all saw it coming. To be honest, as soon as the first thing came out, we all knew immediately something was wrong. Just by the way that he got removed from all the royal duties, all of the lists and everything that was conveniently mentioned and got covered up.

What we're hearing, just the way that he was paying rent and all these sort of different things that we hear, it's sort of it's a bit of an embarrassment, to be honest, on the nation, on the country, everyone in general. This is a member of our royal family. These are our leaders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: And joining us now from London is CNN's Nic Robertson. And, Nic, these allegations are not new. What more can you tell us

about why King Charles is making these moves now?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, it's been snowballing for some time. I mean, there's been a number of years where Andrew's alleged activities have been brought into question. You go back to 2019, when he had an infamous interview with the BBC about his alleged relationship with Virginia Giuffre and that moment, he stepped back from royal duties.

But what we're witnessing today is something that's really historic. The last sort of precedent for this type of stripping of titles goes back more than 100 years. So, the king, it appears, has come to this with the realization that the public opinion in the U.K. has really shifted against Andrew.

The king himself was heckled earlier and earlier in this week, which is a rare occurrence, didn't he know more about Andrew's relationship with Epstein was the question.

What perhaps appears to have precipitated the latest move? And you only have to go back a couple of weeks less than that even, when the then-Prince Andrew said that he was voluntarily relinquishing his titles, the duke of York, the earl of Inverness, the baron of Kilele and other titles, that that was a sort of a voluntary step back by him, but then came to light, the evidence, apparent evidence of emails where Andrew had been in communication with Jeffrey Epstein subsequent to his arrest, in a way, and at a time that he had not made clear to the rest of the royal family and to the king.

[05:10:14]

So that -- that appeared to have been a shock.

And then, of course, Virginia Giuffre's book "Nobody's Girl", allegations there of sex with Andrew that he's denied on three different occasions, three different places. And within that book, photographs that show that Andrew had bought Epstein onto the royal estate in Windsor, it appears to be a culmination of all of those things.

He is not only losing those titles and the king now has begun the formal process. It's not a case of Andrew giving them up and not using them. They are being removed. There are questions about whether something would go through parliament or not. Law to make these even more stringent, if you will. It's not clear that that will happen, but it's something that's still being discussed here.

He will move out of that 30-room mansion on the royal Windsor estate, and from there go to another royal estate. But the difference being the house will move into about 100 miles from London on the Sandringham estate is owned by the king. And therefore, he will still, have a house, still have a home, but it won't be one that in any way the British taxpayer is liable for.

And of course, many people may ask, well, why does the king even do that for him? If Andrew has been so wrong in in his conduct? And the answer, perhaps, is that better to keep a senior royal like Andrew, who, by the way, still remains eighth in line to the throne to keep him inside the royal tent, if you will, in some way, rather than outside, perhaps looking to throw more scandal at the royal family, a difficult position for the king, but one that's -- one that he has arrived at.

And really, I think as you heard from the people, we were talking to on the streets last night this is a feeling that most people here widely support. It was time, and it needed to be done.

ABEL: Stunning and historic sequence of events for the royal family.

Nic Robertson reporting for us in London -- Nic, thank you.

A torrential downpour in New York has left one person dead and another clinging to life. A city official telling CNN that firefighters arrived at a building in Brooklyn and found a person who they believed had been electrocuted. The victim could not be saved. The official also said divers responded to another home and found a person inside their basement. That victim was in cardiac arrest and taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

And Hurricane Melissa is now hitting Bermuda as a category one storm. It is expected to bring heavy rain and gusty winds as it brushes just west of the island and then continues to barrel northwards. The storm left destruction across eastern Cuba, 735,000 people were moved to shelters ahead of the hurricane.

In Santiago de Cuba, residents returned to clean and repair damaged homes and communities. At least 49 people have been killed across the Caribbean, but that number is expected to rise as recovery operations continue. It was Jamaica that was hardest hit by the storm. Homes flattened and roads blocked by debris. One government minister said that Jamaica's infrastructure has been severely compromised.

Journalist Jonathan Petramala shows us some of the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN PETRAMALA, JOURNALIST: The agricultural loss is going to be staggering. Crops like coconut. This is one grove of coconut trees that every single one in that grove, every single one of these trees has been flattened by the force of the winds from Hurricane Melissa.

Then you look over and you see the brown where the leaves were stripped away from the trees. Here again, from the force of the winds of Hurricane Melissa. It's like fall has come to this tropical island. It only happens to the strongest of hurricanes.

What's been astounding to see is just the effort of everyday Jamaicans who are getting out with their machetes, with their own chainsaws to try and clear just a tremendous amount of trees and power lines and even bamboo because they know so many people need access to the hardest hit area here in the western part of the island where Hurricane Melissa made landfall two days ago. It's just a race against time to try and get help and aid there as quickly as possible, or at the very least, just to be able to make contact with a loved one that they still don't know if they're okay.

Where are you trying to get to?

STEFAN, RESIDENT OF BAMBOO, JAMAICA: Westmoreland.

PETRAMALA: The worst hit from what I understand. How are you feeling about it?

[05:15:00]

STEFAN: So bad. Because -- my friend called me and told me that my house is gone, man. I'm leaving from all over, checking to see what's going on down there.

PETRAMALA: That is a very good sign, heavy equipment. We have not seen that the last couple of days as miles and miles of roadway has been cleared again. There's only one main highway to get back to these areas, and so, it's very difficult as it's just strewn with debris from the force of the winds from Hurricane Melissa.

Near Bamboo, Jamaica, I'm Jonathan Petramala for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: And if you want to help those impacted by Hurricane Melissa, you can do so by going to CNN.com.

World leaders are in South Korea for the APEC summit. Why all eyes are on China's Xi Jinping.

Also ahead, the identities of the two deceased hostages released from Gaza and what their return says about the strength of the ceasefire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:20:28]

ABEL: China's president is taking center stage at this year's APEC summit. Xi Jinping was welcomed by South Korea's president, who is hosting the annual gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Heads of state and senior officials from 21 APEC member nations are attending.

President Xi held high profile meetings with Japan's new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, as well as Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney. That's after he met with the U.S. president on Thursday. Donald Trump says they came to an agreement on, quote, almost everything, including tariffs and rare earth minerals.

But President Trump chose to skip the APEC summit after wrapping up his whirlwind tour of Asia. Instead, he sent U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stand in for him during the discussions.

And CNN's Mike Valerio is covering this live from Beijing. Hello, my friend. So, what are the headlines coming out of the summit?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Okay, so, Abel, you know, we're watching Xi Jinping, but not only what he is doing, but who exactly he's meeting with and how he is trying to position himself in this critical global meeting of economic power.

So, the latest headline that we have for you, Xi Jinping, has just finished meeting with Japan's new prime minister, Takaichi. And we are watching that meeting because Takaichi in her past has had quite critical comments about China. And as she's establishing this new rapport with the United States, we all seen the pictures of her ceremony with President Trump in Tokyo the other day. We were all wondering, how is this Xi-Takaichi meeting going to go when she has so much -- she's voiced so much support for Taiwan in the past, leveled criticism about allegations of human rights abuses towards China again in the past.

This latest headline from Xinhua News, the state media arm, one of them from China, saying Xi says China to work with Japan for constructive, stable bilateral ties that meet requirements of the new era.

Our Tokyo reporter Hanako Montgomery in the last hour, Abel, she was saying what these two countries needed were more conversations and less frosty relationships. And it seems as though the early indications that were getting from this meeting in South Korea seems to have checked that box.

Now as to what China's leader, Xi Jinping, how -- what he's doing and how he's trying to reposition himself. It's been fascinating to see the headlines and the notes that have come out of these meetings early in the morning. He's trying to characterize himself as a vanguard of free trade and certainly a vanguard of stability. When we're thinking about what this meeting does, its really to help stabilize the ship and the tumultuous sea of global trade.

So, to that end, Xi Jinping, two sentences here. They're a little long, so stay with me telling the morning meeting, quote, "The world is undergoing rapid changes unseen in a century. The international landscape is marked by both changes and turbulence, with rising instability and uncertainty affecting development in the Asia Pacific. The more turbulent the times are, the more we must stand together in solidarity."

So, you don't even have to read between the lines there. He's trying to say that with the trade war tumult and tariffs, the United States is not the center of stability anymore.

I think it's worth pointing out, Brian, that myriad allies of the United States, countries and businesses in the west would disagree with that, saying that it is quite difficult for them to do business here in China. Again, stressing from their point of view when they see a huge state subsidies that come from China, perceived lack of clarity and opacity in the rule of law when they try to do business here. So, I think that there would certainly be a lot of disagreement. But

wrapping up here, when we're looking at what is going to be the concrete result of APEC, will more countries start to gravitate towards China and begin to reevaluate their relationships with China when there are all of these trade tumultuous situations happening with the United States?

Look at Canada. Mark carney, the prime minister of Canada, meeting with China, saying that he wants to, quote, double his non-U.S. exports over the next decade because of the situation with the United States. China is a huge market. So, we're watching this space to see what other movements could be happening towards China in the very near future, Brian.

ABEL: We see the global power struggle continue between the U.S. and China, despite those agreements recently.

CNN's Mike Valerio live for us in Beijing -- always good seeing you, sir.

Ahead, the state of the Gaza ceasefire, people who lost everything in the war talk about why they have little faith in the truce.

[05:25:06]

Plus, President Trump's order to resume nuclear testing surprised many people, including some of his own advisers. New details on his announcement still to come.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABEL: A ceasefire is formally in effect in Gaza, but for many Palestinians, the truce is still a matter of seeing is believing. More than two million have been displaced by the war, with many now living in camp cities like this one. This past Tuesday, when Israeli strikes reportedly killed more than 100 people, it was the deadliest day since the ceasefire began.

And some Palestinians say they don't have much faith that the truce will hold.