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One World with Zain Asher
Ukraine Launches Domestically-Produced Neptune Cruise Missiles; U.S. Carries Out 20th Strike on Alleged Drug Boat; Trump Briefed on Options for Military Operations in Venezuela; Epstein Estate Disputes DOJ Claim That It "Hid" Evidence; GOP Leaders Bracing for Mass Defections on Epstein Files Vote; BBC Rejects Trump's Compensation Claim Over Edited Speech. Aired 11a- 12p ET
Aired November 14, 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: Right, six dead and dozens injured in a Russian aerial attack on Ukraine's capital overnight. "One World" starts
right now. The attack on Kyiv comes as Ukraine struck a key oil terminal in Russia, causing infrastructure damage. Plus, the CNN exclusive, Venezuela's
President Nicolas Maduro has a message for Americans as President Trump mulls potential military action inside Venezuela.
And with some Obamacare subsidies expiring, I'll speak to one man who depends on the subsidies to help his critically ill wife. All right. Coming
to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher, my colleague, Bianna Golodryga is off today. You are watching "One World".
With diplomatic efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine at a standstill, the fighting has intensified. The source in Ukraine security service tells CNN,
Ukrainian forces struck the second largest oil export center in Russia. The strike reportedly caused infrastructure damage and ignited a major fire in
the Russian Port City of Novorossiysk.
These Ukrainian made Neptune long range missiles were among those used in the attack on the oil hub. Ukraine's President posted this video of the
Neptunes being launched. Meantime, Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB, says it foiled a Ukrainian plot to assassinate a high-ranking Kremlin
official while the alleged target was visiting a cemetery.
Ukraine denies the report calling it nonsense. And a Russian aerial assault overnight killed at least six people in Kyiv. You can see the night sky
over Kyiv, lit up as Ukrainian air defenses downed Russian drone and missiles during the attack. Ben Wedeman takes a closer look at the attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Flashes in the sky over Kyiv. It's another night of Russian bombardment. Ukrainian
air defenses managed to intercept most of the drones and missiles, but not all. This strike hitting the heart of the Ukrainian capital. Ukrainian
officials say the strikes killed at least six people, wounding dozens.
Peaceful residents live here, says Kyiv resident, Anastasia Shevchenko (ph), there are no critical infrastructure facilities here. These are
residential neighborhoods, ordinary people, peaceful residents are suffering. Officials say Russia fired almost 450 drones and missiles
overnight plunging parts of Kyiv and other areas into darkness.
My front door was blown off. Recalls Maria Kalchenko (ph), flames were bursting out of there. I grabbed my dog and searched for the cats, but I
couldn't find them. I made my way out to the street through a hole. The choice of targets is not accidental, says Kyiv Mayor, Vitaly Klitschko.
VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV MAYOR: Kyiv's -- symbol of Kyiv -- symbol of Ukraine is heart of the country, and that's why, from beginning the war, always
Kyiv wasn't still target of Russian army, and especially before the winter.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Since August, after presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Alaska, Russia has focused much of its fire on
Ukraine's energy sector, depriving Ukrainians of heat and power as winter approaches. The fire, however, is going both ways.
Ukraine launched hundreds of drones at targets in Russia. At a time when diplomatic efforts to end or even pause this war have come to naught, the
people on both sides are facing the prospect of a cold, brutal and bloody winter. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Right, will have much more on this developing story in the next hour, with Luke Harding, a Senior International Correspondent at The
Guardian. All right, turning now to the Caribbean, where the Pentagon says, U.S. has struck another alleged drug boat, the 20th such strike in recent
months.
At least four people were killed in Monday's attack, raising the death toll from all of the U.S. strikes to 80.
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The USS Gerald Ford, the largest warship in the Navy is currently in the region. Some experts say the boat strikes could violate U.S. and
international law. Meantime, multiple sources tell CNN that President Trump has received a briefing on possible military operations inside Venezuela.
The sources say that he has not yet decided on how to proceed. A Senior U.S. Official says the options are part of an operation dubbed southern
sphere. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted online about southern spear on Thursday, but said it targets drug traffickers.
Venezuela's President told CNN that he wants peace with United States. He spoke with the CNN Contributor, Stefano Pozzebon, and joins us -- who joins
us live now. So, this idea that American officials are essentially presenting President Trump with various sort of military options to
possibly attack Venezuela, including land attacks as well.
Just explain to us how President Nicolas Maduro is responding to that, Stefano?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, Zain, well Maduro yesterday, sort of struck the same tone as he has done in a multiple occasion. It's a
president who is on television here in Venezuela almost every night. More than once, he has said that an intervention in Venezuela would lead to a
Forever War, because, without word, by the way, the words that he said -- he told me just yesterday, in that moment where we were able to meet him on
the streets of Caracas.
That is not exactly what he said, but how he said that is crucial, because Maduro was just joining a march surrounded, frankly, by regular people.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: What is your message to the people of the United States, president?
NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA: To unite for the peace of the continent. No more endless wars, no more unjust wars. No more Libya, no
more Afghanistan.
POZZEBON: Do you have a message for President Trump?
MADURO: My message is, yes, peace. Yes, peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: Yes. As I was, Zain, it's not really what he told us, but the fact that he was able to, after the war, to speak with us on the streets of
Caracas, Maduro currently has a $50 million bounty on his head, as in, he's fronting up the arrival of the largest aircraft in the world, arriving to
the Caribbean just this week, surrounded, of course, by other warships and aircraft from the United States.
And I think that the message he wanted to give yesterday was that he's not afraid. He's not bending down to the pressure that is coming out of
Washington. That pressure, by the way, is also felt across regular Venezuelans. It's not that the Venezuelans do not even care or are not
aware of these geopolitical tensions.
But as you can see from where we are, we're in a regular square in the center of Caracas, where it's half past 12. It's 12 o'clock here. So,
people are maybe enjoying their lunch break. There is a sense of calm, there is a sense of quiet the end, that life simply goes on, despite, of
course, the feeling of expectation, the feeling of tension rising in the Caribbean.
So, these two different faces, from Caracas, on one side, a government on the edge, but at the same time that tries to portray himself still in
control, and on the other, the regular people for whom life, frankly, has to carry on, Zain.
ASHER: All right, Stefano Pozzebon in Venezuela. Thank you so much. Right, still to come, bracing for mass defections, the floodgates may be finally
opening in Washington when it comes to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Then back in business, but not fully functioning. What comes next, following an
end to the U.S. government shutdown. I'll speak with a political analyst just ahead.
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ASHER: All right, there is a new fight brewing in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that appears to be growing with every passing day. An attorney for
the estate of the late convicted sex offender is calling the accusations that it hid documents inaccurate. It began on Thursday when a Trump critic
blasted the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche over his interview with Ghislaine Maxwell.
The critic, implied he was too soft on the Epstein accomplice and convicted sex trafficker. Blanche responded by saying that at the time he didn't have
estate emails released this week. Those emails, meantime, appear to reveal Donald Trump may have known more about Epstein's crimes than he has
acknowledged.
And on Capitol Hill, there are signs the floodgates may certainly be opening. The House is bracing for a large number of Republicans to break
from the president next week and support a bill calling for the release of the Epstein files. It's something that could pressure the Senate to act, as
well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): As a general matter, I think I've said repeatedly, I think they ought to, I don't think this is going to go away.
And as a moral principle, I think they ought to release the records.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Alayna Treene joins us live now at the White House. And obviously there is an intense pressure campaign by the White House,
including talking to Lauren Boebert, for example, trying to get a number of Republicans to vote against releasing these files.
Just walk us through whether that's likely to have an impact here. And also, how the political fallout from this may affect the president, Alayna?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. Look, when it comes to this republic -- the number of Republicans who are joining I know from our
conversations with lawmakers on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue that more and more are going to Thomas Massie, the Republican, who was one of
the people who actually brought that initial bill forward with alongside Democrat Ro Khanna, and telling him, hey, we want to get on board with
this.
We didn't support that first vote on what they call in the weeds. Getting a little of the weeds here for the discharge position to force the vote. But
now that the vote is scheduled and is happening, more and more Republicans are saying they're going to vote to support it.
I think a key question, and this is what I'm hearing my conversations with the White House, as well as it's very unclear where this stands in the
Senate. You did hear that, that clip that you just played from Senator Kennedy, but it's unclear if this, that bill, will even get a chance to be
voted on in the senate.
The leader of the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, has said he's not sure they need to have a vote on that. But all to say, I mean, this is very
embarrassing, obviously, for President Donald Trump, his name was mentioned several times in this those troves of emails from Jeffrey Epstein's estate,
those private emails going over the last 15 years or so.
And I should note, it doesn't appear in any of those emails that there's any implications that the president had done anything legally wrong. But
again, it's embarrassing, and it is something that he is very much fixated on. And I do want to turn your attention, Zain, to what we're hearing from
the president today, because he has not been I'll say this, we've had he's had two public events now, since these emails were released, he has not
taken any questions.
He has avoided questions from reporters relating to Epstein since then. So, this is what we're hearing from him today. One of these is him lashing out
at Democrats as well as Republicans. He says the Democrats are doing everything in their withering power to push the Epstein hoax again, what's
more interesting, I think, a little further down, when he talks about Republicans.
He says some weak Republicans have fallen into their clutches because they are soft and foolish. Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrats
problem, not the Republicans problem.
[11:15:00]
And so clearly, already putting pressure on a lot of those members who are quietly saying they might back this, and it's something I know the White
House has recognized that number is growing. But to that point, he posted again, just moments after that, and he talked about how he now is going to
be directing his attorney general and the Justice Department as well as the FBI, to open up an investigation into, I think, who are -- some people who
are unquestionably the president's political opponents.
He references, he wants them to investigate Epstein's relationship with Former President Bill Clinton, with Clinton's Former Treasury Secretary,
Larry Summers, LinkedIn, Co-Founder, Reid Hoffman. He mentions JP Morgan. I would note interesting that one, because Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan CEO, was
actually just at the White House having dinner with the president this week.
Chase and he said, and many other people and institutions to determine what was going on with them. This, I think, is a remarkable statement from the
president, and there's a few things to take away from this one. It does, of course, appear as a deflection.
There's no question that I think this White House has been dealing with so much political heat on Epstein, not just this week, but for months now,
because they are not lining up with some of the transparency, we know that the president and other top officials had promised when it relates to the
Epstein case.
And a lot of people questioning, why won't you just release the files? What are you protecting here? But the fact that he's going to open up this
investigation as well. I think, will only, of course, prolong this conflict, but also that part of it wanting to put the heat on Democrats and
other people who, I will say, Clinton and Summers.
They have -- they are known to have had relationships with Epstein, trying to put the heat on them and take it away from himself, Zain.
ASHER: All right, Alayna Treene live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, the record-breaking U.S. government shutdown is now over, but it's
not quite business as usual yet in Washington, and there are still signs of travel glitches nationwide, many federal employees who haven't received a
check in weeks are still waiting for back pay, and that could come as soon as today.
The SNAP food benefits that more than 40 million Americans rely on won't be available until Monday, according to the agricultural secretary. The
Smithsonian has announced that their museums will begin reopening on Friday, with all 19 museums, as well as the National Zoo, expected to be
open by Monday.
And questions still remain about when flight disruptions will end. More than 600 U.S. flights were canceled today, and some 500 others delayed.
CNN's Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein joins us live now. Ron, thank you so much good to be with you.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: -- welcome.
ASHER: So just one of the things that I think is really important to note about this particular shutdown is yes, of course, it was the longest in
history. But more importantly, Democrats caved when so many people were relying them to fight for those expanded health care subsidies to ensure
that their premiums would not go up at the end of the year if they were going to cave anyway.
Lot of people asking, what was the point of all of that to begin with?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. You know, look, I mean the history of government shutdowns. I mean, we've had them in 95, 96, 2013 and 2018, 2019 each time
the party that precipitated the shutdown did not ultimately get what they want. It has not proven a powerful enough lever to get a president to do
something they really don't want to do.
For example, Republicans shut down the government to get Bill Clinton to sign their budget in 95, 96 and he wouldn't. So, I'm not surprised the
Democrats didn't get everything they want. But as you point out, the kind of the way this ended with the party so obviously splintering immediately
after Trump turned up the heat by threatening those SNAP benefits, very cynically.
But in this case, you know his calculation was right that Democrats would fold, enough Democrats would fold if he did. I think that is what really
frustrates so many Democrats, and it really, I think, undermines their ability to use legislative threats almost of any kind against Trump going
forward, because his calculation about what the party would do, I think, was borne out by events.
ASHER: And just in terms of how this is going to affect Republicans in the midterms. I mean, poll after poll shows that most Americans blame
Republicans for the fallout. How do you think it's actually going to affect both parties come next year?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, well, I think two things are true at once. As I said, I think the way the shutdown ended compounded the Democrats image of
weakness, particularly among the on voters, and it's going to lead to a lot of pressure. It's going to have a lot of impact in kind of the internal
civil war in the Democratic Party for control of the party's direction.
But you know, if you think about kind of the broader electoral impact the way the shutdown ends leaves Republicans with a very clear problem. I mean,
you know, health care is one of the few issues on which polls show most Americans still -- more Americans still trust Democrats than Republicans.
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And with the likely expiration of these ACA subsidies added to the effects of the Medicaid cuts in the reconciliation bill last summer, something like
15, 16 million Americans are going to lose access to health insurance, and another 20 million or so are going to see their premiums go up
substantially.
And that is, I think, going to be exhibit A for Democrats. And what they want to make their core argument in 26 is, which is that you elected Donald
Trump to solve your cost-of-living problems, and if anything, he's only made it worse while enriching his rich buddies and focusing on his
personal, you know, priorities, like prosecuting people he believes his adversary.
So, you know, this kind of, from a process point of view, this exposed kind of, I think, a real weak spot for Democrats, but from a substance. And
policy point of view, I think it highlights a real problem for Republicans.
ASHER: And then, just in terms of the political infighting, I mean this shutdown, certainly laid bare a lot of the divisions that the Democrats are
grappling with. You know, obviously, on one camp, you have a lot of Democrats who really believe that they should have held out for much
longer.
You have the more sort of progressive camp who are in that line of thinking, and then you have obviously the more moderate ones. I mean, what,
how was the level of infighting and the lack of, sort of everyone singing from the same hymn sheet going to affect Democrats next year?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, look, I think there are two axes. Kind of the Democrats are dividing along. One is kind of that left right on policy, progressive
versus moderate, and the other is kind of business as usual versus Trump is such an existential threat to the American constitutional system that you
have to fight by any means necessary to resist him.
And there is some overlap. You know, it is not the case that all moderates supported ending the shutdown, but pretty much the only Democrats who did
support ending it in the Senate were the moderates. So, as I said, I think in general, this is something that could weaken moderates in kind of this
internal struggle.
Democrats are going to have a lot of really significant primaries in places like Michigan and Maine to pick their Senate candidates that will kind of
include these dimensions. It's worth noting that I don't think there was anyone out of office, anyone running for a Democratic nomination, who
supported this deal.
And I think it does, I think underscore the desire in the party for a transition, a generational transition. It's hard for me to imagine that
Chuck Schumer will be the next Democratic Senate Majority Leader. It might keep them there as long as they're in the minority, but I think you know
what you -- if you look at people like Newsom and Pritzker, they are emerging, getting a big audience among Democrats, not so much because
they're moving left.
In fact, news is moving conspicuously to the center, but because they are fighting Trump, they are kind of meeting the moment in the eyes of
Democrats, and I think that is the dominant strain in the party that and people who are outside of that, like these eight, are going to be
increasingly isolated.
ASHER: And just finally, one question about Epstein, as you know, the Trump White House seems to be putting pressure on some Republicans not to vote
yes or essentially to vote no when it comes to the releasing of those files. I mean, what does the White House need to do to make this problem
for them go away?
Because the political fallout especially obviously, if the files get released is going to be beyond measure.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, I'm not -- look Trump has an iron grip on the Republican Party in general, and very few Republicans have felt comfortable opposing
him on anything look in those New Jersey and Virginia Governors races. You know, the candidates wouldn't even criticize him for doing things that
unquestionably hurt their state.
So, he really, you know, there's a lot of reluctance in the Republican Party to cross him on almost anything. But these latest revelations, they
are much more damning, I think, you know, as Lance said, not necessarily in a criminal sense, but certainly in kind of a relationship sense, with Trump
and Epstein.
They're more damning than I expected, and I think it just makes it almost impossible to shut it off at this point. I mean, you know, there's -- this
adds a lot of fuel to the idea that there's more out there that we don't know. The way Trump is behaving is not someone you know when you're someone
said the other day, you know, when was the last time someone tried this hide-to-hide evidence, tried this hard to hide evidence that would you
know, uphold their view.
So, it's something I think, that is not going to go away. And this latest round of revelations, I think, puts a lot of pressure on other Republicans
not to seem as though they are helping Trump kind of sweep this under the rug.
ASHER: Right, Ron Brownstein, live for us there. Thank you so much. Have a good weekend. I appreciate it. All right, the election interference case
against Donald Trump and several others is back on in Fulton County, Georgia. A new prosecutor has been selected to handle the case.
You may recall that the original prosecutor, Fani Willis, was removed from the case by Georgia appellate court that brought the prosecution to a
screeching halt. Peter Skandalakis, the Head of the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council, was told to pick a new prosecutor. He says that he could
not find one, so he's taking on the case himself.
[11:25:00]
With more on all this. Let's bring in CNN Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn Polantz. Just walk us through what we know about Peter Skandalakis,
firstly, but also what a new prosecutor does to single to sort of signal impartiality in this case, obviously, especially because it's so high
profile.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Zain, Peter Skandalakis, he is saying he's going to be the person that does take on
U.S. v. Donald J. Trump at all. That's the case title. It is the case against Trump and many others alleging conspiracy in the State of Georgia
related to the 2020 election.
The case had essentially been a zombie case since Fani Willis, the previous prosecutor who brought that indictment, was removed from overseeing it and
Skandalakis today, he's saying that he has looked at the evidence, or some of the evidence. He has started to look very closely at witness statements,
at boxes of documents.
He's even gotten a hard drive from the previous prosecutors, and he has tried to find a prosecutor, and no one would do it, so he is going to deal
with it himself. He has a couple of options going forward. He could try and move this case forward in the court with Donald Trump as a criminal
defendant, who is also the sitting President of the United States.
He could, though, also decide to dismiss the case or put it back on ICE while President Trump is in office in the presidency, but Skandalakis, he
says that there is a need for him to pick this up as a prosecutor. This is what he said in a statement this morning. The decision to assume
responsibility for this matter was reached only after careful and deliberate consideration.
While it would have been simple to allow judge McAfee's deadline that was today to lapse to inform the court that no conflict prosecutor could be
secured, thereby allowing the case to be dismissed for want of prosecution. I did not believe that to be the right course of action. The public has a
legitimate interest in the outcome of this case.
Accordingly, it is important that someone make an informed and transparent decision determination about how best to proceed. He says he made the
decision to assign himself the case, and thus will be making some decisions going forward. Donald Trump's lead counsel in this however, Steven Sadow,
he's a Defense Attorney in Georgia, says this politically charged prosecution has to come to an end.
We remain confident that a fair and impartial review will lead to a dismissal of the case against President Trump. So, there is a moment to
remember right now, Donald Trump is still a criminal defendant in the State of Georgia, but what that means, if there will be any proceedings going
forward of significance for the sitting president, a big question hanging over this new prosecutor now, Zain.
ASHER: -- we'll see Katelyn Polantz live for us there. Thank you so much. Right, still to come here on "One World", a very public apology, but no
money. Why the BBC says it won't agree to Donald Trump's compensation claim over an editing blunder.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher, New York. Here are some headlines we are watching for you today. Ukraine's President
says his military is now using domestically produced Neptune missiles against Russia. Ukrainian officials and the Neptunes were among the weapons
striking Russian second largest oil hub in the City of Novorossiysk.
This comes as a Russian aerial assault killed at least six people in Kyiv. The U.S. struck another boat are suspected of trafficking drugs in the
Caribbean. Monday's attack was the 20th U.S. strike against alleged drug vote since the U.S. campaign began. All four people on board were killed.
This has been there's been increasing pushback on the strikes, with some experts saying they violate U.S. and international law. And a bad situation
just got a whole lot worse in Gaza City. Displaced families woke up to water rushing into their tents after heavy rain overnight.
Families say their bedding and their clothes are soaked. Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland by two years of Israeli bombardment. The BBC
has apologized to U.S. President Donald Trump over an editing blunder in a documentary that aired in 2024. But it's refusing to give in to Mr. Trump's
demand for compensation.
The president's attorneys have called the piece defamatory. The BBC is rejecting that claim. The president, meantime, is threatening to sue for a
billion dollars. Our CNN's Anna Cooban joins us live now from London. So, despite the apology, the BBC obviously apologized.
Despite the apology, they're saying that it does not concede to the defamation claims and there's no money that's going to be paid up here.
Walk us through it, Anna.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yes, well, the BBC has already issued a statement saying that acknowledging this error in judgment
and splicing these two different parts of the same speech together, which gave the false impression that Trump was directly calling for violent
action at the capital.
But yesterday, the statement by the BBC made it clear that a personal apology has been sent by the BBC Chairman to the White House. But within
the statement, they also made it clear that they just don't simply believe that the bar, the legal bar for defamation, has been reached.
And the BBC's lawyers gave more information around this. They said that in three different ways. Firstly, the documentary was not broadcast in the
United States. Secondly, there was no intent to mislead. And that's very difficult thing to prove in these kinds of cases that there was malice
involved.
And then, thirdly, that Trump has claimed himself that he's been materially damaged by this reputationally damaged. But the BBC lawyers are saying,
well, you know, matter of days after this documentary was broadcast, he was reelected to the presidency of the United States, so it kind of impacted
him in a very meaningful way.
Trump, we're yet to hear his response to the response we're waiting on that today, but this is what he had to say a few days ago about the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They defrauded the public, and they've admitted it. That's a pretty sad event. They actually
changed my January 6th speech, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech, and they made it sound radical, and they actually
changed it.
What they did was rather incredible. They're showing me the results later on, the results of what they did, how they butchered it up, but it was very
dishonest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOBAN: Well, Zain, the BBC is in a very unique position. It is not -- it is mostly publicly funded through a license fee model, and that has meant
the BBC is often in the crosshairs in the UK politics, in the UK media, and simply reputationally, financially, BBC just cannot afford to paying out
vast sums of money and compensation or as a settlement to U.S. President.
[11:35:00]
ASHER: All right. Anna Cooban in London, thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right. Still to come, millions in America are about to feel the sting
of skyrocketing health insurance premiums. How families are preparing to cope with the high costs, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Millions of Americans enrolled in health care on the Affordable Care Act marketplace are facing sticker shock. Premiums for many are set to
skyrocket when enhanced Obamacare subsidies expire at the end of the year. The subsidies helped push a record 24 million people to sign up for
Obamacare this year.
Most of them receive some kind of subsidy to help pay for it, according to Health Policy Research Group KFF, allowing the enhanced subsidies to expire
could cause premiums to skyrocket 114 percent on average, making insurance unaffordable for many Americans. On Wednesday, President Trump had this to
say about health care.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So, I'm always willing to work with anyone, including the other party. We'll work on something having to do with health care. We can do a
lot better. We can do great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Tami Luhby has more on how skyrocketing premiums might affect families across the U.S.
TAMI LUHBY, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR WRITER: The U.S. government has reopened, but the deal passed by Congress does not include an extension of the
Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium subsidies that are set to lapse at the end of the year. These enhanced subsidies were enacted during the Biden
Administration.
They made ACA coverage more affordable, especially for very low-income Americans who now pay nothing or next to nothing in premiums, and for the
middle class who qualify for federal assistance for the first time. These enhanced subsidies helped push a record 24 million people to Obamacare
coverage this year, more than 90 percent of them receive subsidies.
Without the subsidies, the cost of that coverage will more than double in 2026 on average, according to KFF, an older couple making $85,000 a year
could see their premiums skyrocket by more than $20,000 a year. I spoke to several people whose premiums will jump to unaffordable levels.
They are desperately trying to figure out a way to maintain their coverage. One woman who has medical issues told me her premiums could triple next
year, and she might have to give up her private therapy practice and find a job with health benefits.
[11:40:00]
Another woman battling breast cancer told my colleague that she just can't afford a tripling of her premiums and will become uninsured. About 2
million fewer people will have insurance next year if the subsidies lapse according to the Congressional Budget Office. Republicans in Congress are
racing to come up with a package that would lower healthcare costs in time for a vote next month, but it likely won't include an extension of the
enhanced subsidies.
ASHER: For more on how this impacts Americans. I'm joined live now by Doug Butchart, who depends on subsidies for coverage for his wife, who is
battling ALS. Doug, thank you so much for being with us. I think that, you know, I mean, obviously I can't imagine, you know, what it's like to care
for a spouse or a loved one that has ALS.
I can only imagine that you are living in constant crisis mode, that obviously it is a very slow and painful grieving process. There's emotional
overwhelm. There's a feeling of helplessness, and the list goes on. And on top of that, given the expiration of these Obamacare subsidies, there's a
fear that health care costs, that health care premiums, could double, possibly even triple, by some estimates.
I think we have an estimate that it could rise next year by at least 114 percent. Just from your perspective, in addition to the emotional costs of
caring for somebody with this illness. Just talk to us about the financial toll. What do you want Americans to know?
DOUG BUTCHART, WIFE DIAGNOSED WITH ALS, WORRIED ABOUT INSURANCE COSTS IN 2026: Well, my wife's policy for next year to get the same coverage went
from costing us $600 a month to the next year with the tax credit to being almost a little bit over $1,400 a month. So that's a lot.
ASHER: And how are you going to afford that?
BUTCHART: We're probably going to have to go to a lower grade policy with higher out of pocket and higher deductible to try and offset the
difference.
ASHER: This program is actually broadcast, not just in the United States, but actually around the world. And obviously the sort of ins and outs of
health care in the United States is something that perhaps some of our viewers who are watching from different countries may not necessarily
understand.
Are there any financial assistance programs that can possibly help you to offset some of the increasing costs here?
BUTCHART: Not really. The assistance from the government is about the only help we get. It's a lot of money are out of pocket. Next year will be
almost $11,000 on top of the premium costs.
ASHER: $11,000 for the whole of next year. I mean, obviously, as you know, we were just in the middle of the longest shutdown in American history, 42
days and counting. And one of the sorts of biggest sticking points, as you know, in all of this was the issue of these Obamacare subsidies expiring
and the possibility that premiums could go up.
If you could say one thing to lawmakers, because I think we have photographs of you and your wife actually going to Washington, going to
Capitol Hill.
BUTCHART: Yes.
ASHER: Trying to advocate for lower premium costs, trying to raise awareness that of how expensive this particular illness is for a lot of
people in your position, if you could say one thing to lawmakers, this was the center of this government shutdown, if you had one message to them,
what would it be?
BUTCHART: We were in Washington with the Muscular Dystrophy Association talking about the Affordable Care Act, and what I would like the people in
Congress to understand that, that it's not sustainable, and if they put themselves in our position, what would they do?
They have good insurance that's paid for by taxpayer dollars. We just want the same thing that they get.
ASHER: And just finally, Doug, you mean, you mentioned that exorbitant sticker price of $11,000 having to pay $11,000 extra for the whole of next
year. You mentioned there were possibly some small ways in which you could offset those costs, but just in terms of the difference that is going to be
left over at the end. How are you going to make that work for you and your wife?
[11:45:00]
BUTCHART: We're just going to have to go. I don't know. We do have some money saved up, but we don't want to spend all of it next year. You know,
it's -- I'm too old to go out and get another job. So, it's very disheartening.
ASHER: Doug, I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I mean, obviously, as I mentioned, you know, there is a massive emotional toll, just in terms
of the feeling of overwhelm that caregivers in your position are dealing with when caring for a loved one who has this particular illness.
But then on top of that, you're dealing with so much with the significant rise that is set to come your way in terms of the premiums that you end up
having to pay for I wish you the best of luck, and thank you so much for coming on the show and talking to us about what you're going through. We
appreciate it.
BUTCHART: Thank you -- very much.
ASHER: Of course. Doug Butchart, thank you so much. We'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, after a nine-day delay, three Chinese astronauts are safely back on Earth. Their journey home from China's space station was
postponed after suspected debris hit their spacecraft, leaving it with a cracked window. Chinese state media says the astronauts had to wait for
another spacecraft to arrive. CNN's Mike Valerio picks up the story.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chinese state media say that all three astronauts are in good physical condition, and a hearty dinner awaits
them after the three of these astronauts had to engage in an unusual backup plan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIO (voice-over): After nine days of suspense in space, three Chinese astronauts are now back on -- Their delayed homecoming caused by a damaged
spacecraft likely hit by Orbital Debris while it was docked at China's Tiangong space station. China's Manned Space Agency described the concern,
saying, quote, the return capsule window glass of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft had developed a slight crack, most likely caused by an external
impact from space debris, and does not meet the release conditions for a safe, crude return.
VALERIO: What was your reaction when you heard that there was a crack in the window?
QUENTIN PARKER, ASTROPHYSICIST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG: These cracks could fissure and get larger and under this extreme heat and vibration, who
knows how serious that could be?
VALERIO (voice-over): So, China came up with a plan B, sending the astronauts back in the craft.
[11:50:00]
Their replacement team arrived in only a few days ago. The Chinese astronauts, or taikonauts, as they're called in China, didn't have to stay
for nearly as long as the nine extra months American astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spent on the International Space Station, all
because of concerns their return craft would malfunction upon reentry.
PARKER: I think it shows an abundance of caution, but it shows that they care about their taikonauts. It shows that they care about the track record
of their missions, and they don't want to risk the excellent track record they developed, which you have to say, is amazing.
VALERIO (voice-over): The voyage home comes at a major moment for Chinese space flight. This month, private Chinese company Landspace hopes to launch
and land its rocket booster for the first time, matching the achievements of Elon Musk's SpaceX, and as of this week, a milestone also reached by
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
The new crew aboard Tiangong includes China's youngest astronaut, and the combined teams also enjoyed what they dubbed the first barbecue in space.
It's a small chapter of the new China-U.S. Space Race, which also has China's sights set on a manned lunar landing by 2030 a new moon base in the
coming decades, and a Mars probing mission.
China says a new spacecraft, Shenzhou-22 will launch next year to retrieve the latest crew of astronauts, who, for now, are floating in space without
a return option.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIO (on camera): And for what it's worth, Chen Dong, the first crew member who was taken out of the Shenzhou capsule, expressed gratitude to
all who helped make this mission a success. And he also said, quote, the path of humanity's exploration of space is not smooth. It is full of
difficulties and challenges, and that is also why we choose to walk this path. Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.
ASHER: Right, at this moment, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is headed into orbit. The rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Thursday to
deliver a pair of satellites about 1.5 million kilometers above Earth. Late next year, the two satellites will separate and head to Mars, arriving in
September of 2027.
Their mission will be to take measurements of the Red Planet's upper atmosphere. And artificial intelligence is playing a greater role in
everyone's lives these days, from homework to jobs and even relationships, but it's not a lot of oversight. So OpenAI and Microsoft are teaming up
with states to develop some basic safeguards. CNN's Clare Duffy has more.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yeah, the idea here is to bring together the developers within tech companies who are building AI technology with
State Attorneys General, who, of course, are the top law enforcement officers within states, to try to develop and recommend basic safeguards
that AI companies should be implementing into their technology, and then to continue to track emerging risks as AI technology develops.
And to do all of this in a bipartisan fashion, this task force is being formed by North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Utah, who is a
Democrat, and Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, who is a Republican. And this, of course, comes as concerns around AI safety risks have only
continued to escalate as we've seen these reports of users saying that AI caused their delusions or self-harm.
And also comes as we've seen little action from Congress to create broad regulations around artificial intelligence. And North Carolina Attorney
General Jeff Jackson told me that he doesn't have a lot of faith that Congress will move quickly to regulate AI, especially after Republicans
pushed for a provision in Trump's big, beautiful bill earlier this year that would have banned states from regulating AI for 10 years.
That was ultimately removed. But here's what Jeff Jackson told me about why this is so important. He said they did nothing with respect to social
media, nothing with respect to internet privacy, not even for kids, and they came very close to moving in the wrong direction on AI by handcuffing
states from doing anything real.
Congress has left a vacuum, and I think it makes sense for AGs to try to fill it. Now they do also expect that more tech companies, in addition to
OpenAI and Microsoft, will join this task force, as well as other state attorneys general. And while the recommendations, the guardrails that they
come up with here will technically be voluntary.
Jeff Jackson told me that another benefit of this group is going to be bringing together state attorneys general to track AI risks and potentially
take joint legal action if they recognize that tech companies are harming users. Back to you.
ASHER: All right, thanks to Clare Duffy for that report. And if you worry that artificial intelligence is artificial intelligence is taking over
everything, the new Russian AI robot may calm your fears. Despite the Rocky theme, the reveal at the tech event in Moscow was actually a knockout for
the wrong reason.
[11:55:00]
Nicknamed AIdol, the staggering drunk -- machine stopped lifted its right arm to wave and then oh, oh fell flat on its face. The private tech company
blamed the normal risk of developing cutting edge products. Russian media quoted the CEO saying, this mistake will turn this into an experience, and
that it was.
Right, finally, this hour for cheese lovers, this was a tasty task, getting to judge the world's best cheese this year. 5000 cheeses from dozens of
countries were in the running at the World Cheese Awards in Switzerland, more than 260 judges sniffed crumbled and tasted before deciding the
winner.
An aged Swiss Gruyere made from cow's milk at a small dairy in Western Switzerland. One judge described its flavor as butterscotch, caramel,
savory, some fruit funk notes and some slight burn on there like charcoal. Yum. All right, stay with CNN. I will have much more "One World" after this
short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
