Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Trump Signs Funding Package To Reopen Federal Government; U.S. Airlines Optimistic About Resuming Normal Schedules; Protesters Force Their Way Into COP30 Summit Venue, Clash With Security. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired November 13, 2025 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:30:35]
BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: More now on our top story, the end of the U.S. government shutdown.
President Trump signing the bill to fund the government through the end of January late Wednesday night. The funding package passing just hours earlier in the House. The deal -- it guarantees an early December vote in the Senate on the expiring Obamacare subsidies that Democrats demanded during the shutdown fight.
CNN's Arlette Saenz has the details on what's part of the funding package.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The bill to reopen the federal government now extends funding until January 30, giving lawmakers a little over two months to avoid a similar shutdown situation from playing out next year.
Now this funding bill also included three full-year appropriations bills dealing with military construction and veterans affairs, the legislative branch, and the Department of Agriculture.
One program that will be extended for a full year -- until the end of September of 2026 -- is the food stamp program. That was something that 42 million Americans had seen their benefits under threat as this shutdown dragged on, but now that provision will ensure that those food stamp programs can continue to function for the coming year.
This bill also would reverse those federal worker layoffs that occurred during the shutdown. The White House had used that as a tool to try to push Democrats to bring this shutdown to an end. Those federal workers will now be reinstated into their jobs. It also produces backpay for workers who worked throughout this shutdown as well as furloughed workers.
Then there is some new addition of funding for -- to boost security measures for lawmakers up here on Capitol Hill. There's $203 million dedicated to enhancing security protocol and measures for both members of the House and the Senate. That is something that a lot of lawmakers pushed for after the assassination of Charlie Kirk when many had been concerned about their own security not just at the Capitol but back home at their districts.
And then there is a very controversial measure that House Speaker Mike Johnson has taken some steps to try to appease some conservative House members on. The Senate bill included a provision that would allow senators to sue the Justice Department and the FBI if they subpoenaed their records or investigated senators without notifying the Senate.
This arose because some senators are very angry and frustrated with the fact that the special counsel during President Biden's administration, led by Jack Smith, had subpoenaed their phone records without notifying senators as he conducted his investigation on President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election results.
So this provision was included last minute in this bill, something that upset many conservative members who were surprised to see that in there and thought that it produced bad optics.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has now offered his -- some conservative members this agreement so they can bring up a standalone vote to strip that measure in the future. They can't do that with the funding vote right now because that would just delay the government shutdown and make it continue if it had to go back to the Senate to be rearranged there. So what House Speaker Mike Johnson has done is offered his conservative caucus a commitment that there will be a standalone vote on that measure but it's still unclear whether the Senate would take it up and pass that once it makes its way to the other chamber.
Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: The U.S. government is opening again. Ahead, what it will take to get the nation's airports back to normal ahead of the busy holiday season.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:38:52]
ABEL: Welcome back to EARLY START. This is your business breakout.
And here is where the U.S. futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. The Dow is up but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq starting the day in the red.
And checking some of today's business headlines, now that the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is over furloughed employees are being directed to return to work. The Office of Management and Budget has issued a memorandum ordering them to come back to the office today. Roughly 670,000 federal workers were furloughed while the government was shut down. The American penny is officially out of luck. The U.S. has minted the final pennies at its production facility in Philadelphia after making them for more than 230 years. President Trump cited the cost -- four cents to produce each one -- when he ordered the end of the penny in February. Pennies will remain legal tender so you can still use then to buy things.
Apple is launching is digital ID, a new way for users to verify their identity when traveling in the U.S. Users can upload their passport or driver's license information. TSA checkpoints at more than 250 airports are set to accept the digital ID for domestic flights. But it's not a replacement for a physical passport, so it cannot be used for international travel and border crossings in place of a U.S. passport.
[05:40:15]
Now that the U.S. government is reopening airlines and airports can focus on getting flights back on schedule and passengers through checkpoints quickly. The airlines are expressing optimism about returning to normal, but the effort won't be easy or immediate.
CNN's Pete Muntean explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Both Southwest and Delta Air Lines said Wednesday they are hopeful that air travel will rebound quickly when this government shutdown officially ends.
And there are positive trends in the air travel space after 43 days of chaos caused by this shutdown. The number of air traffic control facilities with short staffing went way, way down on Wednesday. It was about 40 on Monday. Wednesday it was about five.
That also means the number of flight cancellations has gone down bigtime. Twenty-nine hundred was the high water mark on Sunday, the worst we have seen of this government shutdown. It's gone down to about a quarter of that. Most of those are airline cancellations that were preemptively done by the airlines because of this mandate from the Trump administration to slash airline schedules at 40 major airports across the country because of the stress on air traffic controllers who have been working unpaid during this government shutdown.
The industry's top lobby held a press conference on Wednesday in which they said that consumers are concerned, and airlines cannot wait for an end to the shutdown.
CHRIS SUNUNU, FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR: There's a lot of pieces that have to kind of line up here but I'm very hopeful that if they take this step there is still plenty of time. I don't want to use the term "Save Thanksgiving" but really make sure that the American travel and the American public can enjoy Thanksgiving as they always have.
MUNTEAN: The airline industry's top lobby also says airlines have been losing hundreds of millions of dollars a day because of the government shutdown.
When it comes to pay, air traffic controllers will be getting paid back relatively quickly. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has vowed to pay them 70 percent of the backpay they are owed in 48 hours after the official end of the shutdown.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Hundreds of people arrested by federal agents in the Chicago area are expected to be freed soon. Details on the setback in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:46:50]
ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel. Here are some stories we are watching today.
The U.S. government will be reopening today after President Donald Trump signed a bill to temporarily fund the government and end the longest shutdown in American history. The bill doesn't include anything about subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. That was a point Democrats had been pushing to address. But House Speaker Mike Johnson says he has already been in touch with House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries about possible fixes.
The House is expected to vote next week on a bill to release all the Jeffrey Epstein files. Democrats have made public several emails from the late sex offender in which he mentions Donald Trump. The president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has never been charged with a crime in relation to Epstein.
President Trump has written a letter to Israel's President Isaac Herzog asking him to fully pardon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his ongoing corruption trial. However, Herzog's office says anyone seeking a pardon must submit an official request.
In the coming hours the USDA is expected to inform states to release the full amount of SNAP benefits to those in the program, according to a Justice Department lawyer. But the timeline of when recipients get those benefits may vary by state. The American Public Human Services Association says it could take up to a week for some people to get those funds. For those who have already received partial benefits the state will calculate how much more to disperse.
A judge has ordered the U.S. Justice Department to release hundreds of people arrested by federal agents in Illinois. That is according to CNN affiliate WLS. The plaintiffs in the case alleged more than 3,000 people were arrested in the Chicago area between June and October as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Now 615 of them must be granted bond by the end of next week.
An attorney for the National Immigrant Justice Center praised the ruling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK FLEMING, ATTORNEY, NATIONAL IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CENTER: And I think it will show that this whole operation for the last two months -- the terrorizing of our neighborhoods, the brutalizing of people here -- has all been unlawful. All of the tactics of Mr. Bovino, all of the tactics of ICE have been unlawful in the vast, vast majority of arrests.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Now, in response, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the judge's decision is putting American lives at risk.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says America's recent military strikes in the Caribbean did not come up during his meeting with G7 foreign ministers in Canada. When asked about European concerns regarding the attacks on alleged drug boats, Rubio said they shouldn't have a say in how the U.S. defends its national security. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I don't think that the European Union gets to determine what international law is. And what they certainly don't get to determine is how the United States defends its national security.
I do find it interesting that all these countries want us to send, you know, and supply, for example, nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to defend Europe, but when the United States positions aircraft carriers in our hemisphere where we live, somehow that's a problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:50:07]
ABEL: The UK has stopped sharing certain intel with the U.S. over those boat attacks.
Venezuelans are expressing concern, fear, and skepticism as tensions between their country and the U.S. intensify. America's most advanced aircraft carrier is now in the Latin American region while Venezuela announced a massive mobilization of military forces. The U.S. claims its buildup is to combat drug trafficking, but President Nicolas Maduro believes the Trump administration is trying to remove him from power.
Here's what some people in Caracas said about the rising tensions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through translator): I feel worried because this affects everything. There is a lot of tension.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The United States should not interfere in this manner. I think it's an abuse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: In Brazil, indigenous protesters are defending their decision to storm the United Nations Climate Change Conference there. They clashed with security guards on Tuesday -- you see it here -- demanding climate action and forest protections, specifically in the Amazon where their communities live. The protesters say they want to gain the attention of world leaders because they were excluded from the summit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): They aren't concerned about our struggle. What they say is that we're against the government. On the contrary. We're not again the government. We need to the government with us, but it must be honest with everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: The indigenous communities joined the Peoples' Summit, which is running parallel to COP30. They took part in a 200-boat convoy in Belem, Brazil on Wednesday. Thousands of activists and environmentalists are attending in an effort to express their commitment to climate and social justice.
And of note, the U.S. did not send a high-level delegation to COP 30.
Well, for the first time in almost two decades two American men's tennis stars qualify for the season-ending ATP finals. Still ahead, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton talk with CNN.
[05:56:40]
ABEL: The San Franciso Municipal Transportation Agency says operator fatigue was the cause of a recent incident where passengers were jostled and knocked to the ground, and there's video of it. It shows train riders swaying and falling as the train lurched without warning. And the tired train operator lowering her head, then -- you see that there -- grabbing the controls after the train jerks. The SFMTA says the operator has been placed on non-driving status -- scary.
American tennis stars Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz have been representing the U.S. in the season-ending ATP finals this week. Shelton lost his match yesterday and is reportedly eliminated from title contention, but Fritz is moving on in the tournament. Still, it's been almost two decades since two Americans qualified for the men's singles event.
They sat down with CNN's Amanda Davies to talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: A really big year for U.S. men at the finals. How much pride do you take that -- in that as Americans?
TAYLOR FRITZ, 2024 U.S. OPEN FINALIST: It's cool. I think we're both obviously doing our -- doing our thing and we both end up here. And it's -- yeah, it's great to share this with Ben. And honestly, I think there could have even been more of us.
BEN SHELTON, 2-TIME GRAND SLAM SEMI-FINALIST: I think that's what we're striving for and looking for. We want to have multiple guys at the top of the game, and we want to be dominant as a country in tennis. So we've had our work cut out for us to catch up to the women who have been dominating and have four girls in the -- in the finals in Riyadh, but we're getting closer.
FRITZ: You know, it's not just this year that they've had those successes. It's for a -- I mean, pretty much every year for a long time the women have been carrying -- really carrying the U.S. tennis. So it's -- it is time for the men to step up.
DAVIES: Is that how you see it? The women carrying the men.
FRITZ: I mean, as far as winning grand slams in the U.S., we've -- we're always, always having champions on the women's side. So I feel like it is -- it is our time at some point.
DAVIES: Yeah. So when is that? I know, Ben, you've said it is coming -- the next U.S. men's grand slam champion.
SHELTON: Yeah.
DAVIES: When -- have you -- have you set yourself a timeframe for that?
SHELTON: No, I don't have a timeframe. I've said a lot that's for the media to speculate and there's too much talent out of our group right now for us not to break through at some point. And the media will write article after article about the drought or who is going to be the next or when is going to be the next. I just know that it's inevitable and I'm just excited to kind of be a part of that surge that we're making.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Three original paintings by renowned TV artist Bob Ross have fetched a total of $662,000 at auction. Two of the pieces sold in Los Angeles on Tuesday were created on Ross' PBS show "THE JOY OF PAINTING" which aired from 1983 to 1994. Some pretty little trees there.
In all, 30 paintings by the late artist will be sold, organized by American Public Television or APT. The sale aims to support U.S. public TV stations amid recent federal funding cuts.
[06:00:00]
And a stunning light show is on display above our planet. For example, footage here of the glow from the Southern Lights over Australia's state of Victoria. And the rare Aurora Borealis painted the sky red over the Matterhorn mountain on the Swiss-Italian border Wednesday. Dazzling waves of color are lighting up the sky across North America
as well. The Northern Lights filled the skies in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Wednesday night. And this was the scene in Iowa.
It's all due to eruptions of energy from the sun interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. So if you can step outside and take a look, do so.
That does it for us. Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.
