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One World with Zain Asher
New Release: Epstein Mentioned Trump Multiple Times In Private Emails; House Expected To Vote Today On Ending Government Shutdown; Venezuela Announces "Massive Mobilization" Of Military Forces; At Least 12 Killed In Islamabad Suicide Attack; Up To 10 Percent Of Flights To Be Cut By Friday Per FAA Order; Sources: White House Plans Meeting Today ON Epstein Files; White House Weighs Tour For Trump To Talk Economy; Aurora Borealis Spotted Across The U.S.; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired November 12, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:33]
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Newly released emails reveal Jeffrey Epstein and mentioned Donald Trump multiple times in his personal correspondence. "One
World" starts right now.
The White House now accusing Democrats in Congress of leaking emails to try to smear the U.S. president. We have the very latest.
After 43 long days, the government shutdown could come to an end with a vote later today on Capitol Hill. We have a live report.
How long though before things get back to normal? New information on when U.S. air travel could be back on track.
Live from New York, I'm Erica Hill. Thanks for joining us for the second hour of "One World."
We begin with the breaking news on the Jeffrey Epstein saga. So the White House just responding to today's release of email messages from the
convicted sex offender. In those messages, which were made public, by Democrats in the House Oversight Committee, Epstein mentions Donald Trump
by name multiple times.
The White House says the email, some of them more than a decade old, were selectively leaked in its words to create a fake narrative to smear
President Trump.
All of this coming amid a fight to release more documents connected to Epstein and his accomplice convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell.
CNN anchor and chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins explained to Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown a short time ago, what is in these new
messages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So basically what we're learning is that Jeffrey Epstein himself personally
named Donald Trump in multiple emails, over the last 15 years or so.
And the reason we got our hands on these emails is because Congress got their hands on these emails because they had issued a subpoena to Jeffrey
Epstein's estate. They, in turn, handed over thousands of documents to both Republicans and Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.
And this morning, Democrats are releasing these three emails that mention Donald Trump specifically. And Trump didn't send or receive any of these
emails. He's not on them. They are just about him, of course. And -- and the White House has denied any wrongdoing. He hasn't been accused of any
wrongdoing when in Jeffrey Epstein.
But I want you to just put this in context, because the oldest email goes back to April 2011. That's about three years after Jeffrey Epstein got that
sweetheart deal down in Florida where he only went to prison for a couple of months. And it was basically later seen as a deal where he got off easy
for -- for what he was accused of.
But in the email that was dated from April 2011, Jeffrey Epstein emails Ghislaine Maxwell. And he says, I want you to realize that that dog that
hasn't barked is Trump, redacted, spent hours at my house with him. He has never once been mentioned. Police chief, et cetera. I'm 75 percent there.
Ghislaine Maxwell responds to Jeffrey Epstein and says, I have been thinking about that dot, dot, dot.
Now, the woman's name is redacted here in the email that was published by House Democrats, but House -- because they say she's a victim of Jeffrey
Epstein's, House Republicans have identified her subsequently since the release this morning as Virginia Giuffre, who, of course, was one of
Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent survivors, a huge advocate for survivors after that. And someone who died by suicide earlier this year. And her
family has been very outspoken on this.
She has written a book about her experience, about what happened to her and the assaults that happened to her. She doesn't accuse Trump of any
wrongdoing. She writes instead only in the book about how her dad was a maintenance worker at Mar-a-Lago. That's how she got her job as a locker
room attendant, which is then when she went on to -- to work at the spot in Mar-a-Lago. So that's the background there and something that Republicans
are pointing to when these emails are coming out.
There's another email though where Jeffrey Epstein is corresponding with Michael Wolff. And obviously, Pam, we covered the White House together in
Trump's first term. Michael Wolff wrote a book on the inner workings of Trump's West Wing at the time.
And Jeffrey Epstein emails Michael Wolff seeming to reference, when Trump was saying he had kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago. And Epstein
writes, Trump said he asked me to resign, never remember ever, of course, he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.
Now that seems to trigger what we had heard from Trump earlier this summer when he was saying that Ghislaine Maxwell was poaching and Jeffrey Epstein
were poaching women from his spot in Mar-a-Lago. That is where Virginia Giuffre worked, of course. And that the White House has said Trump has
kicked him out of the club for being a -- a creep, basically.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: So what is the White House saying in reaction to this?
COLLINS: They haven't issued a comment on the record or anything like that. Obviously, we reached out to them to let them know because this has been
something that they have been fielding for months now.
I mean, there has been a real pressure cooker here in Washington. This is likely to only inflame that over the Justice Department's handling of the
Epstein files and releasing that.
[12:05:04]
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, went and interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell for two days before she moved to her new prison, which one has much
less security in Texas as you all have been covering.
And so in that, you know, Ghislaine Maxwell denied in that interview ever recruiting people from Mar-a-Lago.
But this has been a point of question about how, not just Trump and whether or not he has any involvement, which he's denied, but also how the White
House has handled this. Because Republicans, even some of his most loyal advocates, say that these files, these documents that the federal
government has, should be released.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And as I mentioned, as you know, Kaitlan, these emails were released by Democrats, Democratic members of the House
Oversight Committee.
What more do we know about their work to release even more Epstein documents? There's still plenty of them out there.
COLLINS: Yes. And that's what the House Speaker Mike Johnson is pointed to saying they don't need that discharge petition to force the DOJ to release
it because they're doing their own investigation. Obviously, these are coming out from Democrats on that committee.
But can I mention a third email that actually references CNN? It's from Michael Wolff to Jeffrey Epstein. This comes at the height of the 2016
campaign. So there are -- CNN was about to host a Republican primary debate. And Michael Wolff emails Jeffrey Epstein a heads-up. And he says
that he hears CNN is planning to ask Trump tonight about his relationship with you, either on air or in a scrum afterwards.
And Jeffrey Epstein, according to this email, said, if we were able to craft an answer for him, what do you think it should be? Michael Wolff
responds, I think you should let him hang himself if he says he hasn't been on the phone or been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a
valuable PR and political currency.
And Michael Wolff tells Jeffrey Epstein, you can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you. Or if it really looks
like he could win, you could save him generating a debt.
Now, I want to be clear. We looked at the transcript. CNN did not ask Trump about Jeffrey Epstein that night. So it's not clear where that's coming
from.
But I talked to Michael Wolff and he said he didn't really remember the context of these -- these emails, but it was when he was having in-depth
conversations with Epstein about his relationship with Trump at the time.
And so it just goes to show the times that Jeffrey Epstein was clearly emailing, talking to his closest confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, about Donald
Trump.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Well, House lawmakers in the U.S. are scheduled to meet on Capitol Hill at this hour to begin the final process of ending America's longest
ever government shutdown.
Well, it does appear they're on track to seal that deal until that last gavel bangs, of course, nothing is certain. There are questions about the
votes on both sides at this point. A House vote on the Senate pass funding bill is set for later this afternoon.
Republican lawmakers, of course, making their way back to Washington, many lawmakers across the aisle, making their way back to Washington after a
nearly two-month absence.
And so in terms of that vote, the other thing that we have to think about here is whether all lawmakers will actually be able to get back to D.C. in
time due to flight disruptions caused by the shutdown.
On Capitol Hill, tensions are running high. One top Democrat welcoming his conservative colleagues back during the Rules Committee meeting last night
by saying, long time no see, I hardly recognize you guys.
On Monday, a handful of senators who caucus with the Democrats joined Republicans to break the funding stalemate without getting any of the major
concessions they had talked about.
CNN's Manu Raju joining us now from Capitol Hill.
So, Manu, I know you have been doing what you do best, which is getting reaction to what is happening across Capitol Hill. And in terms of that, I
understand you've also been able to speak with the ranking member on House oversight about these emails that they had just released in relation to
Jeffrey Epstein.
So I'm hoping we can start there.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I'm going to try to get -- Congresswoman, how are you doing? Congresswoman, nice -- nice to see
you.
I'm wondering that you saw these emails that came out from the House Oversight Committee. What is your -- what do you think it shows you about
what we know about Trump's relationship with Epstein?
REP. ALEXANDRA OCASIO-CORTEZ (R-NY): Well, you know, I think we've been seeing Republicans have been trying to deflect and imply that. I mean, even
House Speaker Mike Johnson had insinuated a couple months ago that Trump was on some kind of secret mission.
I think what these emails demonstrate is precisely why House Republicans have been trying to block the release of the Epstein files for months now.
I think it illustrates in a very damning way. And I think it also implicates House Speaker Mike Johnson as well in as to why he has refused
to call the House back into session for over a month now and prevent the 218th signature from releasing the Epstein files, which is that, you know,
it seems as though Donald Trump had a very close personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and that he had personally spent time with victims in the
Epstein operation.
And I think that this is just -- I mean, it's -- it's horrifying. It's horrifying.
RAJU: And on the shutdown, how would you characterize with that Senator Schumer handle this shutdown?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I think it's important that we understand that this is not just about Senator Schumer, but that this is about the Democratic Party.
[12:10:04]
Senator Schumer, there's no one vote that ended this shutdown. We are talking about a coordinated effort of eight senators with the knowledge of
Leader Schumer voting to break with the entire Democratic Party in exchange for nothing.
And now people's healthcare costs are going to be skyrocketing and we want to make sure that we have a path to ending this moment and finding relief
for them right now.
But I think that when we talk about this debate about the Democratic Party, it is indeed about the party writ large in our ability to fight or not. And
I think it's important that we remember that.
And frankly, we have a cycle coming up with many primaries, not Senator Schumer's, but many Senate primaries that where voters are going to be
deciding between candidates. And my hope is that in places like New Hampshire, in places like Illinois, and in other places that we send
fighting Democrats, the United States Senate.
RAJU: So you're speaking of primaries. Are you considering priming him?
OCASIO-CORTEZ: He's not up for --
RAJU: But he's up at 2028.
OCASIO-CORTEZ: But he's not up for election this cycle. So I'll see you.
RAJU: Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.
All right. Erica, are you still with me there?
HILL: I am still with you, my friend.
RAJU: Yes, that's right. So, as you saw, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This is how it happens in the Capitol. You're about to go live and then as someone
comes and talks to you and you've got to grab them because that's the only minute -- only chance you have to talk to them.
So two points there from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and, of course, that are jumping on the news about the -- about the Epstein files that the documents
that came out today that Democrats released and then showing, talking about Donald Trump there. She made very clear her concerns about what was found
there.
And also, significantly, about the government shutdown. She is part of that group of Democrats who have been very critical of the Republican -- of the
Democratic leaders in the United States Senate, about the cut -- the deal that was cut by the Democrats to reopen the government, saying that they
did not get enough in exchange for reopening the government, and also calling very interestingly to -- for -- she said we need to send fighters
to the United States Senate because she believes the people that cut this deal are not of the ilk of where their party is right now.
So some pretty fiery words there from one of the leading progressives here in the United States House.
HILL: Yes. Sounded like she was essentially saying they should be primaried, as we look ahead to upcoming elections.
Manu, appreciate it, as always. Glad you were able to grab her. Thank you so much.
RAJU: Thank you. Yes.
HILL: Also with me this hour, Democratic Congressman Greg Stanton of Arizona, joining me now live from Washington. Congressman, it's good to
have you with us.
I'd actually love to pick up -- I hope that you could hear my colleague, Manu Raju, and some of his conversation with Congresswoman Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, when it comes to where things stand here heading into this House vote, saying that your party needs fighting Democrats in the Senate.
Do you agree with her assessment there?
REP. GREG STANTON (D-AZ): Well, look, I'm really proud of what Hakeem Jeffries has done on our side of the aisle, holding together our very
diverse caucus, Democratic caucus, where we have been united both in purpose and unified in message, focusing in on keeping costs down for the
American people, particularly healthcare costs. That's what this fight is about.
We need to reduce healthcare costs for the American people and we need to reopen the government. We must do both not one or the other or sacrifice
one for -- for the other.
I -- I plan to vote no tonight on the agreement that was made in the Senate. We don't have any promise of a vote here on the House. Certainly,
Donald Trump has been completely missing in action. We have no idea whether he would support such a proposal or not in terms of the ACA tax credits and
keeping costs down for the American people. So there was too much unknown, and that's why I plan to vote no on this CR tonight.
HILL: You plan to vote no. There are some questions about whether all of your Democrats -- Democratic colleagues will follow suit and -- and whether
all Republicans will vote yes. I know there is some waffling and -- and very few votes can be lost.
What is your sense of where this vote stands right now?
STANTON: Well, on the Republican side, like Donald Trump has said, he supports his agreement because it doesn't do anything to lower costs for
the American people on healthcare.
So as we've seen time and time again, whatever Donald Trump tells the Republican caucus to do, they are going to do. So we fully expect him to
have the votes. On our side, I think you're going to see a very small number of people support the Senate agreement.
Again, Hakeem Jeffries in the leadership team have done a great job keeping our caucus. We have a very diverse caucus. I'm a very moderate member. You
heard from AOC who's on the progressive caucus. He's kept our broad coalition together, united in purpose and united on a strong message. We
are fighting the lower costs for the American people and we're going to continue that fight.
HILL: You mentioned healthcare. I know how important this is to you when it comes to healthcare, the speaker, right? We know that Senator Thune has
said there could be -- there will be a vote in the Senate. The speaker has refused to say whether or not there would be a vote in the House when it
comes to an extension of these credits.
I'm just curious, based on conversations, perhaps with some of -- some of your colleagues on the other side of the aisle, how much support do you
think there would be in the House to extending those credits?
[12:15:08]
STANTON: A ton of support. It's the right thing to do, and politically, it's the right thing to do. Look what happened in Virginia and New Jersey
where moderate Democratic candidates for governor won overwhelmingly in those states because they ran on a message on lowering costs including
healthcare costs.
So what we're asking our Republican colleagues to do is not just the right thing for the American people to lower healthcare costs, it's a -- it's a
political must do for them.
If they don't do this, if they fight us on this issue of lowering healthcare costs, we will crush them in next year's election. That's what
we are heading. So we're giving them the opportunity to save themselves and do the right thing for the American people.
HILL: Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia who has become -- begun breaking with the president on a number of levels, has called out the high cost of
healthcare. She has mentioned the impact of the rise in healthcare costs on her own family. Do you think she could be a potential ally for you in this
fight?
STANTON: If MTG is serious about what she's -- she's saying, she should vote no on the CR tonight. Use your leverage. The Republicans only have a
very small margin of the House of Representatives. And we can just get three of them to do the right thing and vote no.
It would give the leverage to do what MTG says she wants to do which is to work with us to lower healthcare costs for the American people. So they've
got to use their power, use their leverage.
There's a lot of letters that have gone out from members of Congress asking that we restore the tax credit for -- for the Affordable Care Act, but
they've got to use -- use their power. Now is their moment of leverage. If they really have the courage of their convictions, they'll vote no on this
CR and allow us to negotiate a much better agreement for the American people.
HILL: Congressman, I also want to talk to you about these emails that were released overnight by Democrats in the House Oversight Committee. I'm
hoping you've had a chance to look at some of those messages and some of the reporting.
We did just hear, of course, from the White House as well talking about how about this is -- this is part of a smear campaign against President Trump.
What do you make of these messages? And I do want to reiterate, of course, that the President has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing here.
STANTON: Look, we're pissed off. This -- this file should have been released a long time ago. The president ran on wanting to release the
Epstein file. Many of the people in his cabinet, including Kash Patel, said they wanted to immediately release this Epstein file.
So instead of accusing us of selective -- selective release of these file, just release the whole thing.
That's why tonight is so important. I'll be introducing Adelita Grijalva on the House floor. She'll be sworn in tonight. She'll be given her speech.
And she's going to turn right around on the House floor and sign the discharge petition. She'll be number 218.
So all of the discussion about selective release will go away. We can get the entire file. And the American people will see who they have been
protecting.
And it doesn't matter what political position they hold or how much power they have in American society. We need to be on the side of the victims.
That's why tonight is so important.
HILL: That discharge petition that -- that you're referencing, that would force a House vote on whether the Justice Department should release the
Epstein files.
How quickly do you believe that vote will happen once it's signed?
STANTON: Well, once -- once the discharge position is -- gets a 218, which is going to happen tonight, then there's a very limited time period that
the speaker has to put this on the floor. I hope and pray he does not try to play political games and not have what's called pro forma sessions to
elongate this.
The American people, and tonight the American Congress, is going to be absolutely clear, it is time to release those files. Quit protecting
powerful people or people in high political office. Let's see the entire file and let's get justice for these victims. That needs to be our highest
priority.
HILL: The Congressman-elect Grijalva who will be sworn in, of course, nearly two months after she won that special election.
Congressman Stanton, appreciate your time this afternoon. Thank you.
STANTON: Thank you so much. Thank you.
HILL: Venezuela announcing a massive mobilization of military forces in response to U.S. naval activity in the region, saying it suspects that the
U.S. wants to oust its president, Nicolas Maduro.
The Pentagon has moved its largest war ship meantime, the USS Gerald Ford, to Latin American waters. And all of this unfolding as the U.S. continues
to hit what it says are drug-running boats in the Caribbean. Colombia says it will stop sharing intelligence with the United States until those
strikes end.
Joining us now live from Caracas, Venezuela CNN contributor, Stefano Pozzebon.
So as all of this is escalating, there are major concerns about where, ultimately, this ends up. What are people saying there in Caracas?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Erica, I actually, like -- like -- like -- just like you said, like, we are seeing two different images here
in Venezuela with most of the people simply going on with their lives, not because they're not paying attention to what is going on, but because many
people here believe that this is just the end of this chapter -- chapter of Venezuela under the rule of Nicolas Maduro.
I met a new friend here. His name is Alex. I wanted to ask him what he feels is going to happen with the arrival of the Gerald Ford in the region.
[12:20:26]
It's -- it's a delicate issue. He says that he's very aware of that, for example, but that he tries not to think too much about it.
Alex, like millions of Venezuelans, told me that he also has a family in Spain, for example, his sister. He dreams with the return of them here in
the city of Caracas.
I think that this is the position of millions of Venezuelans. This is the position, Erica, of most of the Venezuelans that I've been able to speak
with since I came here about three weeks ago, Erica.
We think that -- we're hearing that, well, people life, in a way, simply has to go on. AS people, either struggling to make their ends meet or, for
example, Alex here is an interior -- he's a web designer who works as a young professional, and in a way doesn't really have much to say, doesn't
really have much in play here.
It's not because Venezuelans don't care or not aware, it's just that the vast majority of the 30 million people who live in this country don't have
an active stake, at least for now.
For the government, of course, it's a complete different matter. The government is taking the White House's threat very, very seriously. And
they are, for example, really preparing these -- the -- the -- the possible defense of the nation.
We're hearing that, for example, just yesterday, on Tuesday, Erica, the government of Nicolas Maduro has called for the mobilization of over
200,000 between soldiers and members of the militia, but it's not something that you can see here.
We are, by the way, Erica, in a very busy bus terminal in the center of Caracas. Think of this as Port Authority or maybe think of this as Oxford
Circus if you live in -- in the States. If you London, sorry.
And, yes, it's not -- it's not that life has stopped just because the Gerald Ford has arrived here. Life simply has to go on with a lot of
tension and a lot of an expectation, Erica.
HILL: Absolutely. Stefano, good to have you there on the ground. Appreciate it.
Coming up here, the deadliest suicide attack in Islamabad in nearly 20 years. We'll take you to Pakistan for the latest on that violence.
Also ahead, Donald Trump once again asking for a pardon for his staunch ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Those details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:25:15]
HILL: Turkish investigators want to know why a military cargo jet plummeted from the sky. Video of the crash surfacing on social media Tuesday. It is
tough to watch that going down.
Turkish officials say all 20 soldiers on board die. The jet itself had just taken off from Azerbaijan. It was heading home when the crash happened. You
see the twisted metal here strewn across a field. This is near Georgia's border with Azerbaijan.
Pakistan's president says, he strongly condemns the suicide bombing that killed 12 people in Islamabad on Tuesday. The explosion happened in the
parking lot of the city's judicial complex. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast. It is the deadliest suicide
attack in the capital in nearly 20 years.
CNN's Sophia Saifi has more now from Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: I'm just a couple of 100 feet away from where the suicide attack took place on Tuesday afternoon. It's the car park of a
busy judicial complex.
We're being told by police officials here on the ground that part of that judicial complex has already been sectioned off because for very grim
reason an investigation is still underway.
The identity of the suicide bomber has not been confirmed. There's still body parts of victims as well as of the bomber that's being found in
different parts of the parking lot as well as of the complex itself.
We've been told that there is a high security situation in the capital. It's very rare that attacks take place in Islamabad at all. The last major
attack happened in 2008, close to two decades ago.
The Pakistani defense minister has come out and said that the country is in a state of war. He's blamed Afghanistan. Pakistan's prime minister has also
blamed Afghanistan for harboring the Pakistani Taliban, providing them safe havens.
And he's also saying that it's been backed by India. India, of course, simply denied this allegation. There was also in other attack on a cadet
college where 500 students had to be evacuated also in the northwest of the country.
So the country itself, Pakistan is on edge at the moment. There are talks with the Afghan Taliban that have failed between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
There is an unsteady calm on the northwestern border. There are concerns that Pakistan is going to carry out strikes in Afghanistan.
The Afghan Taliban have not addressed any of the statements by the Pakistani prime minister or the defense minister. But we're just going to
have to wait and see what next steps are taken by the leaders of this country and how that's going to affect regional stability.
Sophia Saifi, CNN, Islamabad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: With every day, the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk is getting closer to falling into Russian hands. New video shows Russian troops advancing closer
to the city in the Eastern Donetsk region.
Here's why Pokrovsk is so important. It is situated on a key road that Ukrainian troops use to supply the frontline. So taking the city would also
give Russia a foothold from which to take the larger cities in the Donetsk region.
In addition, Moscow wants to convince the West that taking Donetsk is inevitable. And it would just be easier to hand it over as part of a peace
deal.
Ukraine, not surprisingly, denies that assessment and is vowing to defend Pokrovsk.
Meantime in Zaporizhzhia, police are evacuating civilians to safety as Russian forces march further into the region. Troops have been fighting
fierce battles in two villages. Most of the evacuees are elderly and those who can't leave on their own.
Meantime, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have recently floated the idea of fresh nuclear test.
Well, now the Kremlin spokesperson is sounding the alarm about, quote, dangerous nuclear rhetoric. Dmitry Peskov recently sat down for an
exclusive interview with CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen. Here's part of that exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON: We're sorry that we're not as fast as we would desire. And we're ready to go as fast as -- as Americans that is
ready.
We have to improve our (INAUDIBLE). We have to -- we have to open new possibilities for trade and economic cooperation. We have that very, very
brilliant horizons waiting ahead. And we're losing time. We're losing money. We're losing profits. This is what we do.
And, of course, we -- we -- we sincerely hope that President Trump is still willing -- is still willing to contribute in -- in -- in political and
diplomatic settlement of Ukraine problem.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How -- how dangerous do you think this nuclear rhetoric can be? Because I know there
are people who ask you whether we're at a stage like the Cuban Missile Crisis. I know that you denied that.
But I mean, speaking about new nuclear tests is certainly something that seems to -- to raise the ante somewhat.
PESKOV: Well, nuclear -- nuclear rhetoric phase is -- is always dangerous. It's always dangerous. From one hand, nuclear weapons is -- is -- is very
good things for the peacekeeping in terms of -- of mutual deterrence.
[12:30:12]
But from the other hand, it's even dangerous to speak about that. And with frankly speaking, we'd prefer not to -- not to -- to make -- to make
statements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen there speaking with Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Well, attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers are surging in the occupied West Bank with this year's olive harvest marred by extreme
violence.
In this latest incident, dozens of Israeli settlers launching an arson attack on Tuesday evening in an area farmed by Palestinians. The IDF says
four Israelis were arrested after what it called extreme violence. A United Nations report alleges Israeli settlers have launched more than 250 attacks
in October. That is the most nearly two decades.
Donald Trump is now asking the president of Israel to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is, of course, facing corruption charges. The U.S.
president writing to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, saying Netanyahu has been a formidable wartime prime minister who is now, quote, leading Israel
into a time of peace.
Mr. Trump also raised the possibility of a pardon when he spoke to Israel's parliament last month. Netanyahu is facing charges of fraud, bribery, and
breach of trust in three separate cases, which began during Mr. Trump's first term in office. The prime minister has pleaded not guilty.
The situation at airports across the United States is getting a bit better. So, what does that mean if you have travel plans in the near future? We'll
take a closer look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:35:17]
HILL: Welcome back to "One World." I'm Erica Hill.
U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson says Republicans are very optimistic. They have the numbers to end the 43-day government shutdown. And that could happen in
a matter of hours. House lawmakers are set to vote later this afternoon on the government funding bill, which has already passed the Senate.
Republican legislators have not been in Washington effort early two months after Johnson called for an extended recess. If this bill is approved as
expected, though, it then heads to President Trump's desk where it will be signed.
The Republican led Senate passed the measure on Monday night with a handful of Democratic defectors despite the fact that they didn't get their key
demand when it came to healthcare.
Despite the progress, the country's air travelers still feeling -- is still facing rather major delays and cancellations. The government has continued
to order airlines to cut flight capacity, continuing to cut that capacity through Friday where we could see some 10 percent of flights grounded. Six
percent today. It's expected to be eight percent tomorrow.
Here's CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean with more of the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The end in sight for this government shutdown also means an end in sight for a chaotic 43 days for
air travel. But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is warning the House must do its job or else air travel could get even worse.
The good news here is that the number of staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities across the country has gone down big time. We saw 40
nationwide on Monday. Today, that number only about two, also means the number of flight cancellations has gone down in a big way, 2,900 nationwide
on Sunday.
Today, that number a quarter of what it was, primarily those preemptive cancellations made by airlines to comply with this Trump administration
mandate for airlines to slash the number of flights to siphon off some of the stress on the air travel system and for air traffic controllers who
continue to work unpaid during this government shutdown.
I want you to listen now to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy who says it is now on the House to do its job or else things could get worse this
coming weekend. Listen.
SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: What we see with our air traffic controllers. Good day today. If the house doesn't pass this bill, I think
you're going to look at Saturday, Sunday and Monday as tiddlywinks. It was beautiful. It's going to get much worse than that.
MUNTEAN: It is a pretty concerning message considering we're only about 10 days away from the start of the Thanksgiving air travel rush, which is
expected to break even more air travel records.
The good news here is that air traffic controllers will get about 70 percent of their back pay, Duffy says, within about 48 hours of the
official end of this government shutdown.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Breaking news just into us here at CNN. We are learning top Trump administration officials were planning to meet today to discuss the effort
in the House of Representatives to force a vote on releasing the Justice Department's Epstein files.
My colleague Katelyn Polantz is joining me now with this new exclusive reporting.
Of course, Democrats hoping to force that today when they get that 218 signature for the discharge position. What -- what was going to happen at
this meeting or what is happening at this meeting?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know right now from multiple sources is that this meeting would be about the
vote in the House related to the Justice Department files that they have up there.
There's a question of whether there's enough support on the Hill and it appears there is enough support on the Hill to force a vote to put these
out.
And, Erica, what's important about these documents from the Justice Department is that they would span years of FBI and Justice Department
investigation around Jeffrey Epstein that was never brought forth and made public at trial that had only resulted in the cases against Epstein and his
co-conspirator convicted child sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell.
This is something that the Justice Department has dragged their feet on for quite some time. And one source tells me that while the Trump
administration is planning or was planning to have a meeting today about what to do about this effort on the Hill, some of the meeting would be
involving top leadership of the Justice Department and the FBI and a key Republican who has supported transparency of these Justice Department
files. That would be Representative Lauren Boebert.
So the politics here are stunning, especially to see Justice Department officials and FBI officials potentially wanting to take part in this
discussion on what to do as the Hill wants to potentially release these files that they have.
So, what we were seeing coming out on Capitol Hill right now, that would not be the full extent of the amount of documents they have because this
trove of information from the FBI and the Justice Department has been so great over time. A lot of people have called for the release.
And one thing to point out too here is that there is likely to be more political pressure on the White House to release whatever the federal
government might have in these documents because there's the possibility of them mentioning very powerful individuals across the country and around the
world, potentially even including Donald Trump.
[12:40:18]
One of the things we know too that the Justice Department has done in its past is it sent the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche down to Florida to
speak with Ghislaine Maxwell. In that interview, Maxwell still incarcerated, told Blanche, we have the transcript of this, that she never
saw anything that Trump did that was untoward any women and did not see any wrongdoing there.
Back to you.
HILL: Really appreciate it, Katelyn. Thank you. We'll continue to follow those developments.
Also still to come here, a penny for your thoughts, the American coin now facing its official demise. Why the once popular penny is fading into
history and why today is such an important day for the penny?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Let's get you a check now of how the market is doing here in the U.S. as your "Business Breakout."
You see the Dow. Dow Industrial is up nearly a point there. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 in green territory. Little dip there about a quarter
percentage point for the NASDAQ.
Well, Google is looking to take down a ring of alleged Chinese scammers involved in a phishing scheme. The company filings suit today in New York.
Say the group created phishing software called Lighthouse to steal sensitive information for millions of people by posing as trusted sources
like Google and the U.S. Postal Service. That complaint accuses the alleged scammers of creating 200,000 fake websites.
No one hit the jackpot in the Mega Millions lottery drawing in the United States on Tuesday. That sum, the available jackpot, now up to nearly a
billion dollars. The estimated cash payout, 445 million after taxes.
In case you're wondering, by the way, the odds of winning that jackpot, come Friday, there are about one in 290 million, so you've got a chance.
After 238 years, the U.S. is minting its very last penny today. Earlier this year, President Trump ordered the nation to stop making the penny,
saying the one cent coin cost nearly four cents to create. Pennies, though, will still remain as valid currency.
As many in the U.S. are feeling the sting of rising prices, President Trump's advisers are weighing a nationwide tour for him to focus more on
the economy.
[12:45:01]
As Trump claims that prices are down, many Americans will tell you they disagree. And that's also what the price tags say.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten takes a closer look at how Americans view the economy in this moment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Donald Trump has a massive, massive problem on inflation, and no amount of wishing will make it go away.
What are we talking about here? Well, let's take a look at Americans on inflation. Remember, Donald Trump was reelected back in 2024 to solve the
inflation problem. Indeed, Americans trusted him more in inflation than Kamala Harris by a nine-point margin.
Now come over to this side of the screen. Those same exact polls that had Trump ahead of inflation now have a way underwater, 26 points underwater.
His net approval rating is on inflation. That's a switcheroo of over 30 points in the wrong direction for the president of the United States.
Now, some fans of Donald Trump, even one member of his administration has tried to pass the buck onto Joe Biden. But you know what? Americans aren't
buying it, because guess that -- get this, more responsible for the current economy, Donald Trump, 54 percent, Joe Biden just 21 percent.
And I've seen this in poll after poll after poll. More folks hold the current president responsible for the state of the economy than the former
one.
Now, of course, it's one thing to say that Americans don't think that Trump's doing a good job on inflation. But it's another thing that believe
he doesn't even care about the problem.
But indeed, what we're seeing in the polls is Trump's attention lowering a cost, not enough. He's not paying enough attention, not caring enough. Get
this, three in four Americans, 75 percent say yes. Trump is not paying enough attention to the problems of lowering costs.
And even among Republicans, this rock solid Republican base that is almost always by Trump, 85, 90 percent approval, even 57 percent of them say
Trump's not paying enough attention to lowering costs.
Now, of course, Trump's not going to be able to go for reelection yet again, at least according to the Constitution. But there are Republicans on
the ballot, midterm elections a year from now. If I were those Republicans, I would be running scared because what we just saw a week ago shows that
economy-first voters are shifting away from the Republicans and towards the Democrats.
How economy-first voters went in 2025? Look at this, the margin of gubernatorial elections in New Jersey, Democrat, Mikie Sherrill by 33
points. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, the Democrat, won those economy-first voters by 27 points.
The bottom line is this, Trump has a massive problem on inflation, and therefore Republicans, down ballot Republicans, also have one not something
so good for them heading into 2026.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: All right, Harry. Thanks for that.
Take a look at this stunning site in the skies across the United States, an Aurora Borealis. This view coming to you from the state of Iowa. A powerful
burst of energy from the sun send solar wind crashing into the Earth's magnetic field. The severe geomagnetic storm means these northern lights
could be seen as far south as Florida.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more now on the stunning sites and the latest as well on a possibly dangerous storm system moving into California.
Those lights though, starting on the positive, beautiful.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, really stunning. And what's make it so unique is how far south that people got to see it and experience it
overnight all the way down to Florida. That's really saying something about the power and the magnitude of this coronal mass ejection, which I'll kind
of break down for you in a few minutes, really truly was.
So, it agitated the atmosphere enough to bring these colors to Perry, Iowa, for instance. And it's very rare, by the way, to see some of the pinks and
the reds. You typically see the greens.
So what is actually happening? We have what is called a solar flare or a coronal mass ejection. This is sending basically highly charged particles
via solar wind, which by the way can travel up to five million miles an hour. So just incredibly fast, racing from the sun towards the Earth.
And once it reaches the Earth's magnetic field, it kind of gets displaced around the planet. But some of that charged particles makes its way into
the north and south poles. So those funnels getting charged and funneled towards these poles. And that's where we start to look northward or in the
southern hemisphere southward to actually see the Aurora Borealis or the Aurora Australis, depending on what continent and what hemisphere you're
actually located on.
So there's different ways that we've been able to observe these from the space prediction center. They have the solar wind prediction so that you
can actually see the CMEs or the coronal mass ejections taking place.
Here was the first one that moved through last night. And then I advanced this. You can see yet another one approaching Earth here into the overnight
timeframe tonight.
So this is what we're monitoring for the potential of more aurora activity across North America, Northern Europe as well, certainly a possibility.
This is a little bit of a timing issue. And let me say -- explain why. We do see the severe geomagnetic storm levels that they have been predicting,
but it is the timing of when those extreme levels will actually reach here. So 1:00 to 4:00 P.M. Eastern time. So that's still daylight hour. So we
wouldn't actually be able to see much of the Northern Lights if the surge of really highly charged particles reach the Earth before the sun actually
dips below the horizon.
[12:50:03]
But if we get lucky enough and it's still continuing, we could see another round of Aurora Borealis across the U.S., especially across the north,
perhaps through the Tennessee River Valley, but potentially as far south as the Gulf as well, similar to what we experienced last night.
So let's cross our fingers, cross our T's, dot the I's, hope for the best. Maybe we can see another spectacle like we saw last night.
All right. So get into the storm system we're monitoring over the west coast. We won't have viewing conditions, prime viewing conditions for the
Aurora Borealis tonight because there's simply too much cloud.
This is the other storm system we're monitoring, this one here based on Earth. We have a heavy rain event that will move through California from
the north coast to the central coast, eventually ending into Southern California bringing a walloping of rain from San Francisco all the way to
Los Angeles. It could pile up in excess of 150 millimeters.
Mind you, this area has had recent burns from forest fires, so there could potentially be landslides and mudslides in some of these areas across the
mountains of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
And then on top of that, we're going to get a lot of snow. So that's going to make skiers and snowboarders very happy. I am, at least. And a lot of
wind energy with this as well, so that could knock down some power lines and call some problems right along the coast line.
So, Erica, so much to -- to cover here from space to here on Planet Earth, but that's what makes my job interesting, I guess.
HILL: That is for sure. It certainly does. Derek, appreciate it. Thank you.
And you're watching "One World." Stay with us. We'll be right back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: The hardest opening monologue he's ever had to give. That's how late night host Jimmy Kimmel characterized it on Tuesday night.
In a moving tribute, Kimmel honored his best friend, his show's longtime band leader, Cleto Escobedo, who -- Escobedo had passed away earlier on
Tuesday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, LATE-NIGHT SHOW HOST: I've had to do some hard monologues along the way, but this will -- this one's the hardest.
And even though I'm heartbroken to lose him, I'm going to take yet another lesson from him and acknowledge how lucky I was to have him at -- literally
at my side, for so many years.
Cherish your friends. We're not here forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Remembering him as a, quote, great friend, father, son, musician, and man. It's important to note they've been best friends since childhood.
Cleto Escobedo was just 59 years old.
Happy little trees for a very good cause. Famous painter Bob Ross brought the joy of painting to millions of homes in the '80s and the '90s.
[12:55:01]
Well, now some of his works are helping to raise funds for public broadcasting. Three paintings by the T.V. legend were sold for a total of
more than $600,000 at auction on Tuesday. They're the first of some 30 paintings by Ross that are being sold to benefit public television stations
in the United States after the Trump administration, of course, slashed funding for public broadcasting. More paintings will be auctioned later
this year or sorry next year.
And as for bees, well, I want you to file this sort of way and bring it out at your next dinner party. It turns out bumblebees can process time.
Researchers have just released a new study that says bumblebees can measure how long a light flashes and then use that information to find food.
The bees learn to fly toward a short flash that led them to something sweet and they're able to repeat the task even without food. Proving, according
to researchers, that they remember the timing and have a flexible learning capabilities. So there you have it.
Thanks so much for joining me today for "One World." I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned. "Amanpour" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
