Return to Transcripts main page
One World with Zain Asher
USDA to Provide More Partial SNAP Benefits in November; Israel Striking Hezbollah Targets Across Southern Lebanon; U.N. Chief Urges Countries to Ditch Fossil Fuels; 600,000 People Worldwide Taking Part in CNN's Annual Campaign; CNN's "Guard Your Green Space" Initiative Under Way. Aired 11-11:30a ET
Aired November 06, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher, and you are watching "One World". At this hour, we
are waiting for President Trump to announce potentially good news for those hoping to lose weight.
Two Sources tell CNN that Trump is going to announce a price cut for popular weight loss drugs. They add the administration is working on deals
with drug makers that could bring the price down to less than $150 a month. This includes drugs like set bound for Wegovy and Mounjaro, and under the
expected agreement, Medicare could cover the drugs for some beneficiaries.
But while the president is touting his deal making on drug prices, the big question is whether a deal can be struck to end the government shutdown. It
is now day 37 and there are some federal workers who will miss a second paycheck as they struggle to make ends meet.
There are intense talks happening right now among a bipartisan group of Senators trying to strike a deal, but some Democrats are saying this week's
electoral victory for their party should embolden them to actually stand firm on their demands. And just moments ago, the Speaker of the House,
Republican Mike Johnson, suggested the election results is no reason for his party to cave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): There were no surprises on Tuesday night OK. You had blue states and blue cities that voted blue to the alarm of no one, to
the surprise of no one. That was what was expected. It just so happened that New York and New Jersey and Virginia were the states that were in the
national spotlight on Tuesday.
If the tables had been turned, and if the calendar had been different, and you had three red states, we'd have an entirely different narrative that
you all would be writing about. Don't, don't, don't, lose the simple facts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: And air travel will soon become even more difficult if the government shutdown continues. The Federal Aviation Administration says it
will cut back flights at 40 of the nation's busiest airports by around 10 percent starting tomorrow, as it deals with staffing shortages among air
traffic controllers. The cutbacks could result in thousands of flight cancelations each day, but the Transportation Secretary says this must be
done to keep the skies safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I anticipate there will be additional disruptions. There will be frustration. We are working with the
airlines. They're going to work with passengers, but in the end, our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Perhaps nobody is more affected by this historic government shutdown than the 42 million Americans who are not getting the food that they need
to survive. Although the Trump Administration says it will allow partial payment of SNAP benefits after two federal judges rule that the freezing
the funds is actually unlawful.
A top official says that that could take weeks, or possibly months. The USDA, meanwhile, has revised its guidance to states and now says it will
reduce benefits by 35 percent instead of by 50 percent but it declined to shift money from other programs to snap to allow it to pay full benefits.
CNN's Betsy Klein joins us live now from Washington. So, you really have to think about what this means for working families across the country. I
mean, even though they are going to get a partial payment, it's still going to be a tight squeeze for a lot of them.
When you think about the fact that this is now the longest government shutdown ever in history. Democrats and Republicans rarely agree, but they
do agree on one thing, the shutdown did contribute to the Republicans dismal showing during the off-year elections on Tuesday. So, what is Trump
and the Republicans in general going to do about that Betsy?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well Zain, as you mentioned, this has been a record setting, 37-day government shutdown. And there are
deep political divides in both parties, within those parties, about how to move forward and end this.
And this has been 37 days of very acute pain for nearly 1 million federal workers. Many of those federal workers already are living paycheck to
paycheck. Many of them have been deemed essential and are having to go to work every day without being paid.
And there's also this factor of uncertainty, as President Trump has questioned whether the furloughed federal workers will receive back pay at
the conclusion of this shutdown, all contributing to mounting, mounting stress and pain for all of those people.
But the American people more broadly, are also about to see intensified pain. Number one on air travel, as you mentioned, the Transportation
Department announcing plans to reduce air traffic by 10 percent at 40 of the country's busiest airports that impacts New York, Chicago, airports in
California, Atlanta, some of the busiest air traffic places all heading into the very busy Thanksgiving travel season.
[11:05:00]
And on SNAP, that is the vital nutrition benefits for so many low-income Americans. Nearly 42 million Americans, about one in eight people are on
SNAP. And those benefits are set to be -- those people are set to receive partial benefits after some disagreement, initially, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture was set to provide a 50 percent reduction in those benefits.
But after a court order, the Trump Administration now required to provide a 35 percent reduction, so a little bit of relief, but for those people who
depend on this to eat it is going to be a very, very big problem. So, what is the plan to get us out of this?
Centrist Democrats have been working behind closed doors with their Republican counterparts in recent weeks on this idea of finding seven
Democrats to cross the aisle and vote to fund the government. But as of now, there are major concerns from their progressive counterparts, who say
we need to learn from what the voters showed us on these Tuesday elections.
They want Democrats to be fighting. President Trump, meanwhile, has been encouraging Republican Senators to end the filibuster. That is that 60 vote
thresholds required in the Senate for passing any legislation. The president making that push, even though he understands that he does not
have the votes. Listen to how he described the tension there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If we got rid of the filibuster, we would approve so many good things, common sense things,
wonderful things, that it would be hard to beat us. If we don't, it's always going to be a slog.
Do I want to lose my relationship with those Republicans that have been very good to me for a long period of time? Do you ever have people that are
wrong but you can't convince them? So, do you destroy your whole relationship with them or not? I'd be close to losing it, but probably not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KLEIN: Now, throughout this 37-day shutdown, President Trump has been casting this shutdown as a positive for him and for his party. But taking a
very drastically different tone after Tuesday's election, saying that Democrats are not bearing the blame here, Zain.
ASHER: Betsy Klein, live for us there. Thank you so much. After nearly 40 years in politics, one of the most powerful and influential voices in the
Democratic Party has announced plans to walk away from Washington.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she will retire at the end of 2026 and not seek a 21st term in Congress. The 85-year-old, trail
blazing lawmaker who made history as the first and only Female Speaker of the House made her decision public in a nearly six-minute video that also
served as a love letter to her constituents in San Francisco.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I have truly loved serving as your voice in Congress. And I've always honored the song of St. Francis. Lord make me an
instrument of thy peace, the anthem of our city. That is why I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know I will not be seeking re-
election to Congress.
With a grateful heart I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative. As we go forward, my message to the city I love is
this San Francisco, know your power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The California Democrat led her party in the House for two decades, serving as a crucial ally for presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. All
right turning now into the investigation into the crash of a UPS cargo plane in Kentucky, and a warning we're about to show you some really
graphic video here.
New footage appears to show the plane's left engine missing. Left engine missing. Just as the aircraft goes down, you see it in a massive fireball.
Investigators say that end in -- that engine essentially detached during takeoff. Officials say at least 12 people are now confirmed dead, a figure
that is expected to climb. One business owner says that three of his employees are still missing after that crash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN GARBER, OWNER, GRADE A AUTO PARTS AND RECYCLING: I've never been in a war zone, but I would have to imagine is what a war zone looks like. All of
our buildings in the path of the airplane are destroyed. The most important thing for us is figuring out where these -- where these three people are,
and identifying the customers that were there so we can provide information to their families.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Transportation Safety Investigators say they found the so-called black boxes and have been sent off to be analyzed. All right, Israel says
it launched strikes on Hezbollah targets across Southern Lebanon on Wednesday. The IDF says its response, it's in response, rather to what it
describes as the group's attempts to rebuild operations in the region.
Separately, Israel has received the body of another hostage as part of the U.S. brokered ceasefire. It was transferred to the Red Cross in Gaza on
Wednesday.
[11:10:00]
The remains have been identified as belonging to Joshua Loitu Mollel, an agricultural student from Tanzania. He was abducted from a Kibbutz during
the October 7th attacks back in 2023. This is the third such transfer this week. This leaves six hostage families still waiting for the remains of
their loved ones.
Journalists, including our own Jeremy Diamond, have repeatedly urged Israel to let them into Gaza without restrictions, to independently show the world
what exactly is happening there. While we're still waiting for that kind of access, Israel has allowed Jeremy and other journalists to embed with the
IDF and visit a part of Northern Gaza. Here's his report.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: So, we've just arrived at this Israeli military position along the yellow line inside the Gaza Strip, and
you can see all around me, the first thing that catches your eye, obviously, is the enormous extent of destruction here.
We are in Gaza City's Shujaiyya neighborhood, or at least what's left of the Shujaiyya neighborhood, because you can see that there is almost not a
single building that is still standing in this area. This is about as far as we foreign journalists can get into Gaza right now.
The Israeli military, the Israeli government, has only allowed us in, in limited circumstances on these types of militaries embeds for more than two
years now. Israel has barred foreign journalists from freely entering the Gaza Strip. We would of course, like to go further down where there are
actually Palestinian civilians, to be able to talk to them directly and cover their experiences.
But you can see in this area, there are no Palestinian civilians, just an established Israeli military position. And so much destruction beyond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND: Have you taken us on this military embed today, but we as foreign journalists cannot independently access Gaza. We can't cross that yellow
line and go and speak with Palestinian civilians. Why not? The war is over.
LT. COL. NADAV SHOSHANI, INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, ISRAEL DEFENSES FORCES: Well, that's a question I think that you should ask people about my
pay grade, and I'm in charge of embeds. I'm an IDF spokesperson. I'm in charge to bring reporters to see what IDF is doing to do my best.
DIAMOND (voice-over): We asked where exactly that yellow line is, and I was just told that it's slightly beyond some of those few remaining buildings
that are still standing there. But it's almost impossible for us to distinguish exactly where that yellow line is, and we know that it's also
the case for the Palestinians on the ground who have been shot at. Some of them have been killed as they have approached or accidentally crossed that
invisible yellow line.
DIAMOND: How are Palestinians on the ground supposed to know where that line
is?
SHOSHANI: Well, the line was also published publicly, social media, leaflets and so on. But also, our troops are extremely careful. There's
warnings in real time. One does not get lost into IDF fire. In most cases, the people crossing the yellow line are Hamas. It's not an accident, and
when it is civilians, in most cases, they are able to move back.
DIAMOND: But you have -- but the Israeli military has killed civilians who crossed the yellow line accidentally. There was a family that was traveling
in a vehicle they were fired upon by an Israeli military tank shell. Do you need to revise those policies.
SHOSHANI: It's a work in progress as I said.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli military has begun to deploy these yellow concrete blocks in order to distinguish where exactly that yellow line
stands. But it's still not covering the entirety of that yellow demarcation line.
We have heard talk, of course, of establishing this international stabilization force. There are efforts now at the United Nations Security
Council to actually establish a resolution that would send that force into Gaza. But for now, all of that has yet to actually be implemented on the
ground, and you can see behind me the enormity of the challenge that remains.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Brazil's Amazon rainforest is the backdrop for this year's biggest Summit on Climate Change. Brazil President -- Brazilian President, rather
Luis Inacio Ludo de Silva, along with leaders from dozens of countries, are gearing up for COP-30 to kick off on Monday.
But this year's event comes with a bit of controversy. In a stunning reversal, tech billionaire Bill Gates is arguing that more resources should
go towards fighting hunger and illness instead of climate change. This is the U.S. says it won't send a delegation to the summit as President Donald
Trump called climate change, quote, "The Greatest Con Job".
Not losing sight of the purpose of the summit. The United Nations Secretary General urges countries to wean themselves off of fossil fuels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO GUTERRES, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS: If we act now at speed and scale, we can make you overshoot as small, as short and as safe
as possible, and bring temperatures back below 1.5 degrees celsius before centuries end.
Small by picking global emissions immediately cutting them deeply this decade, accelerating the phase of the fossil fuels, slashing methane and
safeguarding forests and oceans nature's carbon sinks.
[11:15:00]
Short by reaching global net zero by 2050 and moving swiftly to sustain net negative emissions afterwards and safe by drastically increasing
investments in adaptation resilience and delivering early warnings for all by 2027.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Typhoon Kalmaegi made landfall in Central Vietnam earlier today. It's one of the strongest typhoons on record to hit Vietnam, equivalent to
a category three hurricane with maximum sustained winds of around 125 miles an hour. It left the trail of destruction in the Philippines, where at
least 114 people were killed. Here's our Mike Valerio with more.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we have here is actually not just one, but two typhoon paths moving through the region. We have Vietnam in
the path of a recharge, Typhoon Kalmaegi. And then we have the Philippines that is getting ready, girding itself to be hit by a second typhoon in just
a few days.
So, let's look at those tracks that we have here on the map. Typhoon Kalmaegi on its course through Vietnam. And Fung-Wong. Typhoon Fung-Wong,
which is locally, going to be known as Uwan in the Philippines by Sunday, poised to potentially hit the Island of Luzon in the Philippines.
The catastrophic scenes that you're looking at are in the Philippines, Cebu, specifically, tourist hotspot. This is damage from the first typhoon.
And putting this into greater context, parts of Cebu are still recovering from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that rattled the region on September 30th,
just over a month ago.
So, to that end, and to the damage that is now been experienced by this region of the Philippines, we spoke with the Head of the Philippine Red
Cross earlier on CNN, and listen to what he told us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD GORDON, CHAIRMAN & CEO, PHILIPPINE RED CROSS: Right now, direct cross is putting in several water tankers, four of them, and we have front
end loaders to help clear delivery. Along with the government they have other equipment, of course, but the important thing is to get to the heart
of the dimension that we can start distributing food.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: So, adding to what the area is going through, six people were killed when a Philippine Air Force helicopter crashed. That chopper was on
a humanitarian mission responding to this storm damage. And this comes after we've reported on protests throughout the Philippines, people furious
that flood control projects have been inadequate or, they say, non- existent, with allegations of corruption tied to some of the new flood control projects.
So where exactly does this leave us? Where is the story line going here, as it relates to these two storms? Well, Vietnam is preparing for again,
Typhoon Kalmaegi, with ground in the area of this storm path that is already saturated and cannot take too much more rainfall.
And then we have the Philippines again, Luzon Island, the northern stretches of the Philippine archipelago, preparing for that second typhoon,
Fung-Wong or Uwan, as it's known in the Philippines, that's expected to arrive by late Sunday. Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.
ASHER: CNN's School to Earth Day is underway right now, with people around the world doing their part to raise awareness for environmental issues.
Next, we're going to go to Atlanta, where high school students are cultivating a garden in an effort to nurture green spaces that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
ASHER: All right, welcome back. Right now, CNN's Annual Call to Earth Day is swinging into action in celebration of how people can come together to
help protect the planet. More than 600,000 people of all ages are taking part in a day-long event around the world on TV, digital and social media
in English, Spanish and in Arabic as well.
This year's theme is called "Guard Your Green Space". We are asking participants to show us how they're guarding their shared spaces for future
generations. CNN has a team of reporters covering call to Earth Day across the globe, LA, Atlanta, London, Nairobi, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo as well
there.
CNN's Lynda Kinkaid is at a high school in Atlanta where she highlights efforts by students to really nurture green spaces. So, Lynda, I can see
all the activity behind you. I mean, this really does go to show that all of us, in our own special, tiny and small, unique ways, can do one small
thing to rejuvenate the planet, to address climate change and environmental issues, just talk us through what's happening behind you there.
LYNDA KINKAID, CNN ANCHOR: That's exactly right, Zain. It's about starting local, thinking global when it comes to the environment. And here at
Midtown High these students have been busy getting their hands dirty. These young men from grade 12 have been planting local shrubs and testing the
soil.
This garden, of course, has been a neglect for many, many years. Talk to us, gentlemen about the soil testing that you had to do to ensure that this
was fertile ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, in our APES class, which is AP Environmental Science, we tested some soil for its PH level. It's better basic. We also
did nitrogen testing and phosphorus testing, so that was really cool. But yeah.
KINKAID: Excellent. And what sort of plants are you planning here, and will they survive the colder months?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have the woodland sunflower --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dark Tower --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, dark towers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Georgia Aster.
KINKAID: Excellent. And talk to us about your favorite green space, because this whole thing is "Guard Your Green Space".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, mine would probably Zonalite Park. Usually like being six or seven, my friends go over there and bring tabletops, hang out
there. It's a really good time. It's really pretty over Zonalite Park so.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, it's a Jimmy Carter Center. They have a garden, a lot of green space. It's my favorite place to take my dog, especially
when it's nice outside.
KINKAID: Awesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really enjoyed just going on walks in Piedmont Park, maybe taking my dog for a walk, or playing some sports.
KINKAID: Yeah, as you know, Zain, we spend so much time indoors. It is great to get outside into nature, boost your mood, lower your stress. And
this is the other part of the project. This is the mosaic tiles. Now this is the French class in grade 12 doing this. Gigi and Zelda, just talk to us
about this project. What did you do?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, so basically, in French, we're not just studying France, we're studying all Francophone countries, and that includes
Morocco. So, we're basically learning about this type of mosaic art called Zelig art, which dates back to the 10th century. And so basically you use
geometric shapes made out of glass and create colorful patterns.
KINKAID: Excellent. And talk to us about your design. How did you come up with it? And sort of, why is it important to not only plant this beautiful
garden, but beautify it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, so essentially, me and Gigi (ph), we did our Zelig Mosaic together. When we were trying to come up with how we wanted to
lay it out, how we wanted to design it, we took inspiration from the idea of that Zelig is not really focused on like real things, like animals or
design like that, such as that.
But we did more, like abstract when we were doing ours. So, we focused on patterns and things like that and just colors. So also, when for your
question on why it's important to beautify I think beautifying areas, it just adds to a community.
[11:25:00]
I mean, we wouldn't be out here today in this garden if we hadn't made these pieces. So being able to connect through art and through
sustainability is, I think, a huge reason why we need to beautify these areas.
KINKAID: Excellent. And just finally, quickly, this is the teacher behind this particular French class getting involved? Why did you get involved in
this initiative?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's a great school wide initiative that Ms. Olive started, and I'm really grateful to have my kids be a part of it.
They came up with some really creative designs, and I've just got the greatest bunch of kids that had amazing ideas, and I'm so grateful to have
them as a part of this initiative.
KINKAID: Well, done. Grade 12 students here, Zain, and we will be here throughout the day. We're going to look at their recycling and composting
later in the afternoon, Zain.
ASHER: I love seeing these sustainable communities. I mean, just those little sustainable habits, if we can keep them up, you know, things should
hopefully turn a corner. Lynda Kinkaid, live for us there. Thank you so much. And stay with CNN, there's much more "One World" in about 30 minutes
or so, but CNN Creators is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END