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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Trump Refuses To Answer Question About Epstein Emails; More Flights Canceled As Airports Recover From Shutdown; Ukraine Rattled By Largest Graft Scandal Since War Began; U.N. Reports Surge In Settler Attacks In West Bank. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired November 14, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:21]
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 this morning.
It is Friday, November 14th, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington, D.C.
And straight ahead on EARLY START.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House spent yet another day fielding questions about the so-called Epstein emails.
SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Donald Trump ran on a platform to release the files, and now he's doing everything he can to bury the files.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The number of short staffing reports have gone way, way down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really happy about that for the people that are traveling.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Chinese astronauts are returning to Earth more than a week later than planned.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A slight crack in the window, made conditions not safe for a proper return for these astronauts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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ABEL: A growing number of Republican lawmakers are breaking with the party line by backing the idea of releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files in full. House Speaker Mike Johnson scheduling a vote on the matter set for next week. A senior White House official says Johnson made President Trump aware of that decision once it became apparent the vote could not be stopped. Newly released emails from Epstein mentioning Trump have helped fuel
the push for this vote.
CNN's Kristen Holmes has more on the Trump administration's handling of the crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House spent yet another day fielding questions about these so-called Epstein emails that mentioned President Trump's name, but it was clear that neither the White House nor President Trump wants to talk about this. This is President Trump getting asked about it at an event.
REPORTER: Sir, any response to the Epstein emails that mention your name?
HOLMES: Well, this story has plagued the White House for much of President Trump's second term, and there are a lot of conservative allies and supporters of President Trump's who are perplexed why the White House has handled this situation the way that it has, saying that they have never been on the offensive, that they've only been playing defense this entire time, asking why the White House will not release more information when it comes to Epstein.
We talked to one source within the White House who said that that's just simply not the case. The White House is not being caught, quote/unquote, flat footed, but instead they are responding as soon as they are getting this information. That being said, I was told by a number of sources that President Trump himself is dictating much of this response, meaning that is why they are responding to documents or various stories being put out, not going on the offensive, because that is what President Trump wants.
But one thing that is very clear this isn't going away any time soon. As we saw the speaker expedited this vote on the floor to release the Epstein files, it is believed, at least within the White House that that's going to pass, that there are going to be enough Republicans who are going to vote in favor of releasing everything around that Epstein case.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Well, CNN's Elex Michaelson spoke with U.S. House Democrat Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California. He asked her what she makes of the rising number of Republicans joining the list to release the files.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: I think it's very hard to say I support continuing to cover up pedophilia, pedophiles and a child trafficker. So, yes, we have to let this discharge petition ripen. Adelita Grijalva was the 218th signature on that. When she got sworn in, there were some survivors of Jeffrey Epstein in the gallery, and she talked about the need to release the files.
I think it's interesting, however, that Donald Trump ran on a platform to release the files, and now he's doing everything he can to bury the files, including calling Lauren Boebert into the Situation Room with creepy Kash Patel and Pam Bondi, who were trying to intimidate her to take her name off this discharge petition.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: We have seen emails leaking out now thousands of pages of emails. Anything surprise you, anything stand out to you?
KAMLAGER-DOVE: I love that Jeffrey Epstein said Donald Trump is a low down, dirty dog, essentially, right? He said he's someone who -- he's the worst. So, when you have a human trafficker say that Donald Trump is the worst, that should tell you something.
MICHAELSON: Although we do not have any evidence of Trump actually doing anything with these underage women.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: We do not. We do not. We do not.
MICHAELSON: Which is an important thing to say.
KAMLAGER-DOVE: But we have 20,000 emails that are being released. More to come. We hope that as much can be redacted. And this should not just be an oversight. It actually should be in our Judiciary Committee as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Rep. Kamlager-Dove there with our Elex Michaelson.
The federal government is back open, but things are not yet back to normal. For example, the SNAP food benefit that 40 million Americans rely on, 19 states rushed to issue the full amount due to people, but some states have sent only partial payments.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told CNN on Thursday that relief is on the way.
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BROOKE ROLLINS, U.S. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: Hopefully by the end of this week, most will receive it at the very latest on Monday. It's moving, it's coming. And for those who really depend on it, good news is on the way.
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ABEL: Meanwhile, many federal workers are waiting for their paychecks. Government agencies are just starting to process their backpay.
This comes as U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem handed out $10,000 bonus checks to TSA employees in Houston. She cited their work ethic during the shutdown. Noem said more will receive bonuses, but it's not clear how many or the criteria used to choose the recipients. All TSA agents are expected to receive back pay in the coming days.
As the federal government reopens, airports across the U.S. are still being hit by the consequences of the shutdown. Flights continue to be delayed or canceled across the country, as the FAA cuts traffic, citing safety concerns. However, many travelers are grateful that the shutdown is over so workers can get paid as the holidays kick into full gear.
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LOLA CHAFFIN, TRAVELER: I'm really happy about that. For the people that are traveling for the holidays, you know, at least that takes it off their plate.
METREIA WHITE, TRAVELER: I am happy that it will get back to some kind of normalcy, or just a little bit better before the holidays. I know it's important for people to see their families, especially right now, because things are a little bit crazy. You know, you might need that comfort of your families.
JUSTIN BATTLE, TRAVELER: Family time is so important, and during the holidays and travel. So, getting everybody back to work with the flights and airplanes is very important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: CNN's aviation correspondent Pete Muntean explains what Americans can expect as we enter the holiday travel season.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The hangover from this historic shutdown has not completely worn off yet for airlines. The good news is the number of short staffing reports at Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control facilities nationwide have gone way, way down. The high-water mark was about 63 nationwide on Saturday. On Thursday, the number is down only to the single digits.
The big question is, how long will airlines have to comply with this mandate from the Trump administration to slash flights by about six percent at 40 major airports nationwide until further notice? American Airlines has sent out a new memo to all of its employees saying that it may take a few days for normal operations to resume and may still have to cut flights in order to comply with that mandate.
I want you to listen now to Delta Airlines CEO, Ed Bastian, who says it will take some time for airlines to get back to normal, but he is feeling positive about the upcoming Thanksgiving rush.
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ED BASTIAN, CEO, DELTA AIRLINES: I think we'll be back a lot faster than people think. The last couple days actually were pretty good.
GAYLE KING, CBS HOST: Were they? BASTIAN: The staffing -- as soon as the Senate deal on Monday got approved, staffing levels almost overnight improved dramatically. We will be back to normal this weekend. Yesterday, we were -- we were over 90 percent on time system-wide, every flight, all day long.
KING: And no concerns about Thanksgiving?
BASTIAN: No concerns.
KING: Okay.
BASTIAN: Thanksgiving is going to be a great holiday period of travel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: The good news is flight cancellations are down significantly, 2,900 nationwide on Sunday, now hovering around a thousand flight cancellations nationwide. Most of those are airlines complying with this Trump administration mandate, which requires that airlines cancel flights four days out, meaning if that order went away today, it would still cause flight cancellations into next week.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: And investors are assessing the impacts of the shutdown on the financial sector, as Wall Street had its worst day in a month. The Dow Jones Industrials falling nearly 800 points, or one and two thirds percentage points. The Nasdaq slid 536 points, or more than two percent, while the S&P 500 was down more than 1-1/2 percent.
This comes as some on Wall Street are expressing concerns that delayed economic data from the shutdown may impact the Federal Reserve's economic outlook.
A strong Pacific storm is pushing into southern California with potentially life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas hit by recent wildfires. Officials there are warning people to be prepared to evacuate in the coming hours. Expect an initial wave of heavy rain. It should ease off at some point, but Friday night, a second, more intense wave is expected to move in. It could bring prolonged heavy rain.
Most of the Los Angeles area is under a flood watch through Saturday night.
Russia takes aim at Ukraine's capital, leaving scores of casualties and buildings on fire.
[05:10:01]
Still ahead, the aftermath of what Ukraine calls a new mass attack on Kyiv. Plus allegations of shady deals and money changing hands under the table. You'll hear about a massive corruption scandal that could inflict political damage on Ukraine's president.
And later, an arson attack on a West Bank mosque. It's the latest violence from Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. A live report from the region ahead on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ABEL: Kyiv residents are trying to recover following what Ukraine calls a mass attack on its capital overnight.
[05:15:03]
Officials say at least three people are dead and scores of others wounded after a new wave of Russian strikes.
All this is happening as Ukraine deals with its worst corruption scandal since the war began. It involves allegations of $100 million in kickbacks from contractors, including those protecting critical energy infrastructure. That's a sore point for Ukrainians who are facing power blackouts because of Russian strikes on their energy grid.
Ben Wedeman is keeping an eye on developments in Ukraine. He joins us from Rome.
And these developments, Ben, are significant for the war-torn country at this stage in the conflict.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, certainly, what we're seeing is the Russians -- the Russians themselves say that they are targeting, in addition to the military industrial complex, the energy sector. And as winter approaches, that is critical. And what we're seeing as a result of these overnight strikes by the Russians on Ukraine that there are partial power cuts in the Kyiv, Odessa and Donetsk regions.
And certainly, what were seeing, in fact, I can update you the death toll at this point. According to Ukrainian officials from these overnight strikes, is now risen to four, with at least 30 people injured. Now overnight. What we saw, according to the Ukrainians, was 449, what they call aerial objects were fired from Russia into Ukraine.
This includes around 430 drones, 300 of which approximately were these Iranian Shahed drones that the Russians have been using quite a lot in recent years. Now the Ukrainians claim that all but about 29 of those either missiles or drones were shot down, but it was enough to get through to create, not only to cause a for people being killed in at least 30 injured. But as I said, to partially knock out the power in large parts of Ukraine.
And what we're seeing is that since May of last year, the Russians have certainly upped the number of daily, nightly strikes that they're doing on Ukraine, and certainly since August, when President Donald Trump and President Vladimir -- Vladimir Putin met in Alaska, what we've seen is that the Russians have really been focusing on Ukraine's ability to generate power.
And of course, it is the power sector, the energy sector that is at the center of that corruption scandal that you mentioned. And this has really angered Ukrainians that in such an important part of the Ukrainian economy that not only keeps the country running, but I can tell you, having been in Ukraine in December and January, a blackout means that there is no heating and it is very, very cold.
So, the Russians know what they're doing. They are clearly trying to make life unbearable for Ukraine and to bring the country to its knees. And this, of course, takes place at a time when the Russians in Eastern Ukraine, and particularly the Zaporizhzhia region in the south central area, they are making progress. Slowly but surely, they are taking more and more towns. And the Ukrainians are on the defensive.
And the last thing they need at this point is a corruption scandal that shakes the confidence of European, American and international donors in their ability to keep corruption at bay -- Brian.
ABEL: Ben Wedeman, for us in Rome -- Ben, thank you.
Earlier, CNN's Kim Brunhuber discussed the corruption scandal with Michael Bociurkiw, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He said the scandal could be very damaging for President Zelenskyy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, SENIOR FELLOW, THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Imagine if you're one of my neighbors in Odessa or someone in Kyiv or whatever, in Odessa, the other day, and it continues into this week. They're getting more hours of the day without power than with up to 13-1/2 hours without power. And although most people, of course, attribute this to those really, really fierce Russian strikes, including ones overnight, as your reporter, as you referred to earlier, now they're beginning to ask.
I mean, could our power stations have been protected better if people weren't putting their hands into the honey pot? $100 million siphoned away. This was siphoned away from funds that were supposed to go to protect the infrastructure of power plants, especially nuclear power plants. So, a lot of disappointment right across Ukraine.
[05:20:01]
It's absolutely disgusting.
At the moment, the worst thing that could happen is that Western donors back off supporting Ukraine, because it needs a very badly that aid. But the other thing that should worry Zelenskyy and his circle is the Ukrainian diaspora, which is absolutely huge and kind of unofficial ambassadors around the world of the presidency. I think, of course, it's too early for Zelenskyy to call elections to trust, to test his support among the population. But what he could do, and I put this in "The New York Times" op-ed earlier this year, is do some kind of smaller elections in outer parts of the country where the war isn't as present. And one more thing, Kim. You know, looking down the road, this could
open the door to more. Defections or firings from the office, even the chief of staff, Mr. Yermak. And it could open the door to, too, newcomers, to the political system, for example, General Zaluzhnyi, who used to be the head of the army and the head of intelligence, Budanov, and maybe even a comeback for Mr. Poroshenko, the former president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: NATO is conducting military drills focused on defending its Eastern Flank. The exercises, called "Dacian Fall 2025", have been underway in Romania since mid-October. Their goal is to practice moving forces rapidly to Romania and Bulgaria in case of an attack.
Thousands of troops are taking part in the drills. NATO has been beefing up forces in Eastern areas following reports of Russian airspace violations in multiple countries in the region.
Still ahead for us, an arson attack on a mosque is the latest in a surging number of Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. What we know about the incident, next.
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[05:26:13]
ABEL: Outrage in the occupied West Bank after the latest attack by Israeli settlers. Palestinian authorities say Israeli settlers burned a mosque and sprayed it with racist graffiti early Thursday. Images show parts of the mosque interior damaged by the fire and glass windows smashed.
The Israeli military says it dispatched a team to review the incident, though no suspects were identified and the case has been transferred to Israeli police.
On Tuesday, dozens of Israeli settlers launched a major arson attack in a northern West Bank village, setting fire to a new dairy factory and torching vehicles and tents in a nearby Bedouin community. Settler attacks on Palestinians in this territory have surged this year. A U.N. report last week described more than 260 settler attacks for the month of October alone, a record high number since the U.N. began tracking incidents in 2006.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIHAD HUSHDESH, BEIT LID RESIDENT: The settlers attacked us. They beat three of us. Me and my two brothers. Two are in hospital, one at the ICU.
They broke the windows of the house. They attacked the sheep with sticks. They also broke the truck and then they left.
NABEEL MUHAMMED HASSAN, BEIT LID RESIDENT: The army was standing here looking at them. They were protecting them. I've gone to soldiers and told them why this happened. We didn't do anything. They told me that's what happened. Nobody cares about us. The army is also protecting them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Let's go live now to Jerusalem and CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson.
And, Nic, are there any indications of the impact of this West Bank violence on the ceasefire or, and the future peace plans.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There doesn't seem to be, but perhaps, you know, the context of the ceasefire and the peace plan around these West Bank settler attacks on Palestinian villages is perhaps can be put in context when you look at that broad ceasefire initiative with lots of steps to it. An international, stable, stabilizing force for Gaza, a disarming of Hamas.
There really does not seem to be substantial progress on that, and certainly not a un security council resolution, which is what a lot of the potential donor nations of troops would be looking for. And this settler violence, if is really, as you mentioned, there, a surge and it does have significance in this context because, while the focus has for a long time been on Gaza, the pause there, if you will, is really focusing international attention on this surge in settler violence that's been happening in the West Bank.
And I think what's noticeable about the attack on the Hajjah Hamidah Mosque, which is the one in in the village of Salfit, which was attacked last night, is that it is relatively close, just 10 miles away from the attack in Beit Lid, where that dairy factory was -- a dairy distribution point was.
The numbers of settlers involved also is striking, larger numbers. It appears to point to not only the fact that people have talked about that. This -- the sort of the powers that the police have to detain administrative detentions have been taken away from them by the defense minister late last year when he came into his position, that there has been -- because there aren't those controls, because the focus has been elsewhere, a real push on these Palestinian villages.
And what we were hearing about the attack last night was pointed out, and I think this is significant here, that villagers pointed out, look, they didn't attack.
