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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Chinese Reusable Booster Explodes During First Orbital Test; Trump Pardons Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar; Jurors See Photos Of Items With Possible Bloodstains In Walshe Murder Trial. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired December 04, 2025 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And when we're talking about cold overnight lows dropping below zero, you factor in the winds, and it could be dangerous for some.
So why is it so cold? Well, not only do we have the arctic air coming in from the north, but we have this fresh layer of snow that blankets much of the northern tier of our country -- so roughly about 40 percent of snow coverage at this moment. This has only been exceeded by three previous years since records have begun -- since 2003. So that's really saying something as well.
So the arctic air will come in, and the winds will pick up, especially across the Plains here. Look at these forecast wind chills on Thursday morning. Negative 24 in Fargo, negative six in Chicago. They don't call it the Windy City for nothing. And then that could air moves eastward and we'll start to feel the chill in places like Detroit, Cleveland -- eventually, into New York City as well as Albany and Boston. So no one can really be spared from this cold air.
And guess what? The hits just keep on coming. Look at the arctic blast -- the reinforcing shots of cold air that continue through the weekend and into next week and even beyond. What you're looking at here is where locations will be below average compared to this time of the year. So here's Thursday. Watch how the cold air advances eastward for the day on Friday. The entire I-95 corridor stretching all the way to Atlanta.
You can see the temperatures on Thursday in Chicago will only reach 20 degrees, 14 for Minneapolis, and then we'll see the temperatures drop on Friday as that cold air moves eastward along the Atlanta Seaboard.
So here it is -- the below average forecast as we had into the middle of the month. Be prepared and, yeah, it is -- winter is here to stay.
Back to you.
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BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Winter is here, indeed. Derek, thank you.
China's first attempt to land a reusable space rocket ends in a fiery explosion. What it means for China's space race with the U.S. coming up next.
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[05:36:32]
ABEL: Welcome back to EARLY START. This is your business breakout.
And here is where U.S. futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. The markets looking poised to add to their gains from earlier this week, all starting the day in the green.
Let's check some of today's business headlines.
The Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants is taking a toll on the distributor of Modelo and Corona beer. Sales have plunged with Modelo losing its spot as the number one selling beer in the U.S. Latinos estimated to make up roughly half of the market for distributor Constellation beer are increasingly fearful of venturing out in public amid the immigration raids. Stock in Constellation Brands has fallen nearly 40 percent this year.
The French president is on a three-day state visit to China. Emmanuel Macron attended a welcome ceremony with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier before their talks began. The big focus is trade. President Macron also called on Beijing to help achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine.
And the CEO of tech giant NVIDIA says he met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday and discussed export controls. Jensen Huang told reporters he supports the exports measures but believes that NVIDIA cannot sell China degraded or lower quality computer chips. The White House would not comment on the meeting.
All right. Now to a video that is getting a lot of attention. An explosion as China challenges SpaceX and Blue Origin in the new space race. This was a test to land China's first reusable space rocket, but the booster exploded and crashed back to Earth. Space flight experts are telling CNN, however, don't count China out.
CNN's Mike Valerio has more from Beijing.
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MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It's an explosion that experts say is far from a failure. For the first time, one of China's private startups, LandSpace, sent a rocket into orbit. Its payload made it but its booster, while trying to land upright, crashed near the launchpad.
BLAINE CURCIO, FOUNDER, ORBITAL GATEWAY CONSULTING: I think it's an important milestone for LandSpace. They proved a couple of different technologies for the first time of any Chinese companies. VALERIO (voiceover): The Beijing-based firm, only 10 years old, is still hoping to successfully land its booster soon. It would be only the third private company to do so after Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which only accomplished the same feat a couple of weeks ago.
LIU YUZHANG, DIRECTOR, TAIBO THINK TANK (through translator): From 2015 up to this year, 2025, China's commercial space sector has essentially gone from nothing to a new critical point.
VALERIO (voiceover): That critical point, says this expert, is the dawn of Chinese startups working outside the country's largely military-run space program hoping to compete with the United States in reusable rocket technology.
DAVID BURBACH, PROFESSOR, NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS, U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE: China is interested in reusable technology because they've determined, and I think correctly, that that's really the key to make access to space less expensive and to be able to get there more quickly and more frequently.
VALERIO (voiceover): Which analysts say works towards China's space goals over the next decade and beyond.
YUZHANG (through translator): More efficiently sending satellites into orbit, deliver cargo to the Space Station, and support lunar and even Martian exploration with high reliability and lower cost.
[05:40:00]
VALERIO (voiceover): A pressing priority for China's space startups competing with SpaceX. In the past decade, SpaceX has launched hundreds of reusable rockets essential for its Starlink internet network -- a constellation of satellites able to deliver internet service almost anywhere on the planet.
CURCIO: The lack of reusability is a major issue for a Chinese launch because you need reusability if you want to launch dozens or, you know, a hundred times per year as Starlink is doing now pretty routinely.
VALERIO (voiceover): Catching up with Starlink also serves China's strategic interests.
BURBACH: Better access to space means that they'll be able to put up more satellites to, you know, keep tabs on the U.S. military or if they were to lose satellites during a conflict they'd be able to replace them more quickly by having more rapid launch technology on hand.
VALERIO (voiceover): But there's also huge profits to be made during peacetime. With cars and communications now deeply connected to satellites, China's space startups do not want to cede this growing market to American rivals.
While the U.S. may be in the lead now, even American analysts expect an increasingly tight race thanks to China's deep bench across the space industry.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.
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ABEL: A key witness is expected to testify in the trial of Brian Walshe today. Walshe is accused of murdering his wife almost three years ago. Stay with CNN.
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[05:45:48]
ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel. Here are some stories we are watching today.
The Pentagon will release an inspector general's report today on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of a messaging app Signal. Sources tell CNN it concludes Hegseth risked compromising sensitive war plans, which could have endangered American troops when he discussed an impending attack on Houthi rebels.
Democrats and Republicans are demanding answers about U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. U.S. Navy Admiral Mitch Bradley will meet with lawmakers today. The Trump administration says he gave the order back in September to take out people who survived a first strike at sea.
At least eight people were injured after Russian forces hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk on Wednesday. The regional governor says one of the aerial bombs hit a residential building. This latest attack comes as a delegation from Kyiv is reportedly heading to Miami for peace talks today.
President Trump has issued another pardon bringing his second term total to more than 1,600. Many of those are related to January 6. But the latest beneficiary is Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas, a conservative Democrat who denied bribery charges against him. The president accused the Biden administration of taking out a member of its own party.
Meanwhile, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez is thanking President Trump for his pardon. Trump called his drug trafficking conviction a Biden witch hunt. Hernandez wrote on X, "My profound gratitude goes to President Trump for having the courage to defend justice at a moment when a weaponized system refused to acknowledge the truth."
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis is among those crying foul.
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SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I think the pardon recommendations coming out of the DOJ do not make sense to me. Let's keep in mind how -- where --
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Is it going to be Ed Martin? TILLIS: -- the pardons office works and the recommendations flowing in that direction. I cannot imagine in some of these cases -- in some cases maybe the president and I could respectfully disagree. But I can't imagine if he had a fulsome explanation of what was going on and how it was going to be perceived by the American public, Republican and Democrats, that some of these pardons would have actually occurred.
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ABEL: Prosecutors in Brian Walshe's murder trial are expected to call to the witness stand today the man who was having an affair with Walshe's wife before she disappeared in January of 2023. On Wednesday jurors were also shown photos of items covered in what appeared to be blood.
CNN's Jean Casarez has the latest developments.
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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Once law enforcement got the cell phone number of Ana Walshe -- they went before a judge and got a warrant because they wanted to be able to track and find out where Brian Walshe was around town in the days after his wife was reported missing.
And what they found was that Brian Walshe was actually taking black, large trash bags and dumping them into dumpsters. So law enforcement was able to collect most of those bags. The jury today saw the contents of those bags.
First off, the personal effects of Ana Walshe -- and many bags had personal effects but this one in particular -- it had her hunter boots. It had her black jacket. There was a bracelet inside the pocket of the jacket. It had her purse. Her COVID card, which is hard to see but it is there, was in the purse. You will -- there were also black socks. There was also a wallet of Ana Walshe.
In another bag you saw towels that had red-brown stains on them. So many items. There was pieces of the rug that had red-brown stains on them. And then you saw Ana's bathrobe. And then you saw Ana's slippers. They had brown-red stains and there were some hairs on her slippers.
The jury saw all of these photos. This evidence will be able to go back with them into the jury deliberation room, according to the judge, if they want to actually view them close up. And I would assume they would be in plastic because there is some biohazard issues there.
[05:50:05]
But along with that physical evidence that has now been shown to the jury, the officer of the Cohasset Police Department -- he was the first officer that went to the home of Brian Walshe to talk with him on January 4 about his wife who went missing in the early morning hours of New Year's Day. Listen to his testimony of Brian Walshe when he went up to talk to him in his home.
OFFICER GREG LOWRANCE, COHASSET POLICE DEPARTMENT: I exited my cruiser and approached the side door of the residence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then what happened?
LOWRANCE: I was met by the resident of the house, Mr. Brian Walshe. He wanted to file a missing persons report for his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was his demeanor?
LOWRANCE: He was calm, collected. He contacted her workplace, and they had not heard from her. And he had not heard from her in a few days. She -- he had tried to call and text her and also was reaching out to friends and co-workers in the D.C. area.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did he say whether or not this was typical behavior?
LOWRANCE: It was not.
CASAREZ: On Thursday a big witness for the prosecution will take the stand, William Fastow. William Fastow is a very successful real estate entrepreneur in Washington, D.C., currently with Sotheby's. Ana Walshe was having an affair with him. He will take the stand as a prosecution witness to testify about that relationship. And on cross-examination the defense is saying we want every single text that he and Ana exchanged to go before this jury.
It will be quite a day.
Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Umbrellas, phones, cooked frogs, and wheelchairs have all gone missing during commutes in London. Ahead, we will take you inside London transport's largest lost property office.
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[05:56:27]
ABEL: The doctor who pleaded guilty to selling actor Matthew Perry ketamine in the weeks before his death has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. A federal judge told Dr. Salvador Plascencia he "exploited Mr. Perry's addiction for his own profit."
Perry took the drug, a surgical anesthetic, as a treatment for depression. He sought out the doctor and others when his regular physician wouldn't prescribe the amounts he wanted.
The popular star of "FRIENDS" overdosed on ketamine in 2023 after struggling with addiction for years.
Four other defendants have also pleaded guilty in connection with his death.
From phones and jewelry to cooked frogs and prosthetic limbs, London transit's lost property office holds an array of items gone missing on the commute in England's capital. Some items have been missing for months; other relics since World War II. Check it out.
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DIANE QUAYE, LOST PROPERTY MANAGER, TRANSPORT FOR LONDON: So this is the lost property office for Transport for London. So when the items are lost, they'll hopefully end up here if someone hands it in. And what we do -- we input it -- put it into our system and collect as much information regarding the item. So if you do inquire about it, we'll try and match the item and return it to you.
So this section is our famous umbrellas. This here is one of my favorite areas. It's items that we've kept for longer than three months; some as long as World War II. So one of the items I really like to look at is the stuffed pufferfish because it's just unbelievable.
If the items are not found within the three months, we basically put all of those items together and decide if it should go to auction or charity.
I always say miracles happen on Transport for London because as you can see, we've got a few wheelchairs.
About 5,000 items are lost within a week. The items can be from an umbrella to a mobile phone, money, jewelry. I could go on. You name it, it comes through these doors.
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ABEL: A fencing helmet and a blowfish, OK.
And finally, and update to a story we told you about yesterday. You might remember the rowdy raccoon that went on a rampage in a Virginia liquor store and ended up passing out drunk next to the toilet. Well, we are hearing from the animal protection officer who rescued that trashed panda. She says the raccoon, now nicknamed Al (for alcohol), took hours to sober up -- enough just to lift up his head.
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SAMANTHA MARTIN, HANOVER COUNTY ANIMAL PROTECTION OFFICER: I did see his eyes going back and forth like a typical drunk person. And he obviously could not stand up. So that told me that he needed to lay down for a little bit in order to regain his consciousness. And he was probably in the back of the shelter for a good six hours before he was able to pick up his head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: So he failed a sobriety test, that sounds like.
Well, during his bender, Al fell through the ceiling tile and took out the security cameras. He also damaged 14 bottles worth -- about $250.
[06:00:00]
Martin says she deals with raccoons all the time but never like this.
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MARTIN: As far as intoxicated raccoons, this is a first for me. But in general, raccoons get themselves into so many things. I am constantly fishing them out of dumpsters all the time -- trash cans, under cars. You name it, that's where they're at. They love to get in trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: What a story.
That does it for us. Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.
