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Trump Administration Takes Shape With New Roles For Allies And Loyalists; Far-Right Israeli Minister Orders Preparations For West Bank Annexation; Russians React To Trump's Election Win; Trump Win Brings Opportunity for Israel; Spirit Airlines Flight Hit by Gunfire on Approach to Haiti. Women in the Trump Administration; Philippines Braces for Two More Tropical Storm Systems; Unprecedented Toxic Smog Clouding Skies Over Pakistan; Authorities Shut Down Central China's Night Cycling Craze. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired November 12, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Team Trump is taking shape. The U.S. president-elect makes new picks for his administration, people who have vowed to roll back environmental regulations and deport millions of undocumented migrants.
Plus, a far right Israeli minister says Trump's victory brings opportunity while pushing for the annexation of settlements in the West Bank.
And a Spirit Airlines plane is hit by gunfire while trying to land in Haiti's violent capital city. A second airplane now says its plane was also hit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Hong Kong. This is CNN Newsroom with Anna Coren.
COREN: Well, it's not yet been a week since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency, but he's wasting no time lining up his team of loyalists for key positions in his cabinet and administration. The latest name dropped, Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
A source says Trump is likely to choose Rubio to become secretary of state or top U.S. diplomat, but no formal offer has been made. Rubio, who Trump mocks with the nickname Little Marco back in the day, sits on the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees.
We're also hearing Florida Representative Mike Waltz has been asked to serve as Trump's national security adviser. And former New York Representative Lee Zeldin says he has accepted Trump's offer to head up the Environmental Protection Agency. He went on Fox News earlier vowing to restore, quote, energy dominance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE ZELDIN, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: There are regulations that the left wing of this country have been advocating through regulatory power that ends up causing businesses to go in the wrong direction. And President Trump, when he called me up got, he was rattling off 15, 20 different priorities, a clear focus. He wasn't reading off of some sheet. It's the top of his head.
And if I challenged him to give me 50 more ideas of what to do with this agency to improve the economy, I'm confident he would have done that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: And sources say Trump is expected to appoint Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy. Well, Miller is best known for the hardline immigration policies that separated migrant children from their parents at detention facilities and the travel ban targeting people from Muslim majority countries.
Political analyst Michael Genovese is back with us. Michael, good to see you. I'd like to get your thoughts on Marco Rubio as secretary of state. We know he was in contention for vice president. Do you think this is likely?
MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: I think this was no surprise to anyone in Washington. His name was being floated around, and he is a strong presidency, the strong ally of Donald Trump's. He's very loyal to Trump now after initially being very opposed to Trump.
But Donald Trump is using this as an example of how he can control people and control the process. And he's doing a very good job of managing the process so that each day a different story is leaked out that draws attention to Trump.
COREN: Well, of course, he is drip freeding these appointments, one of those being the EPA head. Trump campaigned on mass deportations of illegal immigrants. Obviously, this is another appointment. By appointing immigration hardliner Stephen Miller, his deputy chief of staff, and Thomas Homan his border czar, he is certainly staying true to his word. Let me now play you some sound from both of these men.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNDIENTIFIED FEMALE: When will the deportations begin?
STEPHEN MILLER, AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDER: As President Trump said, they begin on Inauguration Day, as soon as he takes the oath office.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there a way to carry out mass deportation without separating families?
TOM HOMAN, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: Of course there is. Families can be deported together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Michael, what will U.S. immigration policy look like with both these men at the helm? GENOVESE: Well, it's hard to imagine mass deportations starting on day
one. It's such a massive undertaking. I think what they'll probably do is try to go after some of the more egregious examples of criminals and people who are sort of the bottom of the barrel. They don't want to separate families. The optics are terrible.
Plus, they know they can't put millions and millions of people into detention centers, put them on buses, put them on planes and get them out of the country. It's just too massive an undertaking logistically. So I think what they're trying to do is make a statement and send signals, and the signals are chilling.
I know at my university, we have students who are not legal and are dreamers and are worried and they have a reason to be worried because the signals being sent out from Washington are that things are going to get ugly and they're going to get ugly very quickly.
[01:05:05]
COREN: What is the hope that if they send out enough of these scary signals that people will leave undocumented, people will leave of their own accord?
GENOVESE: Well, that was the hope that, if you remember, Mitt Romney, when he was running for president, had that idea. People come here for a reason. It's incredibly hard to get here. They get here and they plant down roots. They pay taxes, they get jobs. Almost all of them are very law abiding citizens. But the fear of God has been struck in them. And you can imagine how day to day these folks are now saying, is today the day and it serves no positive purpose.
COREN: Michael, we know that the Environmental Protection Authority is clearly in Trump's sights. It certainly was during his first term. He rolled back more than 100 environmental policies and regulations. Many of them were restored and strengthened under Biden. We can expect, obviously, to see a dismantling of landmark climate regulations.
What is Trump's second term going to look like for the environment?
GENOVESE: Well, he has a mandate, he has the trifecta. He controls his party, controls the White House, the Senate and the Supreme Court. And so they feel that they know -- they're feeling their oats (ph). They feel that they can do just about anything. And so this will be a real test of Trumpism.
And what they want to do is stamp their personality and their policies onto American government in a way that they were unable to do in the first term when Trump brought in people he didn't know, and a lot of them were not Trump allies, the grownups in the room prevented him from doing certain things that he wanted to do. The second term will be very different.
He's going to bring in people who are loyal to him, people who are extremists, people who will do all the jobs that people refuse to do in the first term. So it's going to be a very different term. And on the environment, you're going to see deregulation take place. You're going to see a lot of the Biden policies undone and it's going to be a massive change on the environment.
COREN: Michael Genovese, on that sobering note, we thank you for joining us.
GENOVESE: Thank you, Anna.
COREN: And another name into us here at CNN. Trump has picked South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to serve as Homeland Security Secretary. Well, that's according to two people familiar with the selection.
Well, the possible selection of Marco Rubio as secretary of state would be a clear indication of Trump's willingness to aggravate China. The Republican senator was sanctioned by the Chinese government four years ago. CNN's Marc Stewart is following the story first live from Beijing. And Marc, how would the Chinese leadership be feeling about Rubio's appointment?
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONENT: Well, Anna, as you just mentioned, former or Senator Rubio does have these sanctions that were put upon him by the Chinese government. We may get some clarity about how Beijing is going to respond to that. And then the broader news is likely -- this likely pick in the next hour or so when the Ministry of Foreign affairs holds its daily briefing.
But from the surface, this is sending a message to Beijing. The mere mention of Marco Rubio sends a message to Beijing that this incoming administration is not afraid to be tough. And there are a long list of issues where the U.S. And China have interests and some contention. Of course, trade and tariffs. There is the security of the South China Sea, and of course there is Taiwan. We have seen Beijing be very diplomatic upon the election of the second Trump administration.
We heard in the congratulatory message from Xi Jinping to President- Elect Trump phrases such as win-win, coop and mutual cooperation. Now, whether or not that will hold as this new administration comes into play, especially with this likely appointment of Marco Rubio remains in question.
But Marco Rubio has been a long time student of China. He's very familiar with the issues. He's had a very long, keen interest. He has not been afraid to speak out about it. In particular, I want to take a listen to some remarks he made back in 2023 about China's role in the geopolitical landscape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: China today is the single most formidable adversary the United States has ever faced. Soviet Union was not an industrial power, a technological power, commercial power, and, you know, foreign policies, geoeconomic policies and military postures that were built for a world that no longer exists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: And Secretary Rubio is not going to be likely the only China hawk in this new administration. [01:10:05]
Of course, we are reporting that President-Elect Trump will likely will likely ask Florida Representative Mike Waltz to be national security adviser and he too has had a very firm stance on China. And I think the other interesting thing to watch from both Beijing and Washington is who will be treasury secretary. That will also dictate a lot of a future China policy.
Over the past year under the Biden administration, we have seen a number officials come to Beijing from the U.S. it was just a few weeks ago that we saw U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan here. We have seen Secretary, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen here as well.
So the future of these diplomatic visits certainly could be put into question depending on how this new administration and how China, how they receive each other. Anna.
COREN: Marc Stewart joining us from Beijing. Many thanks.
Right now, Moscow is leveling tremendous military pressure on Ukraine. Russian forces are ramping up their ground offensive on the eastern front. Thousands of troops, including North Koreans, are fighting to push Ukrainian forces out of Russia's Kursk region. And Russia has been launching relentless airstrikes for weeks on end.
Well, Mondays, deadly strikes on Ukraine's Dnipro region are just the latest example. Reports say three people have been killed, including a woman in the city of Kryvyi Rih. Officials say her three children could still be trapped under the rubble of their home.
Well, residents in the Ukrainian capital are seeking shelter in subway systems as air raid sirens blare. On Saturday alone, Ukraine said Russia launched 145 Shahed drones, a record for a single night.
And the outcome of the U.S. election could embolden Moscow to pursue its special military operation with even more force. CNN's Fred Pleitgen and brings us the Russian reaction to Donald Trump's win.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Russian state TV feasting on Donald Trump's election victory. The main talk program showcasing a social media post by Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. mocking Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying his so called allowance from the U.S. will soon run out.
The message from Russian media Ukraine is concerned U.S. aid could dry up and Russia will win the war. On Moscow streets, optimism about the incoming administration in Washington.
PLEITGEN: Since the war in Ukraine, relations between Moscow and Washington have continued to plummet to new lows. But now many people here hope and believe that a new Trump presidency could bring those relations back on track. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think he can directly stop the war, but I
feel he can set ultimatums to both sides, which will definitely bring this conflict closet to an end.
PLEITGEN: Trump also said he wants to end the war in Ukraine?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all want that. We really want the war to end now. This situation is impossible. I hope we get to a mutual understanding.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But what could a so called mutual understanding look like? This video from Ukraine's military purporting to show Kyiv's forces hitting Russian troops in the Kursk region of Russia, where the Ukrainians say they are now facing off against nearly 50,000 Russian and also North Korean troops.
The Ukrainians acknowledge they probably wouldn't be able to sustain their operations without U.S. military aid. Aid Donald Trump has in the past insinuated he might cut altogether in an effort he claims, to end the war.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: They're dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying and I'll have that done. I'll have that done in 24 hours. Take over, Elon. Yes.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): A Ukrainian source now saying Trump was joined by billionaire Elon Musk on a recent phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Musk, who while helping Ukraine by providing Starlink satellite Internet, has in the past also criticized military a for Ukraine ridiculing Zelenskyy in posts on his Platform X.
The Kremlin is vehemently denying Washington Post reporting, claiming a Trump Putin phone call has already happened. Still, Vladimir Putin openly praising the president elect's stance on Ukraine and on Russia. What was said concerning the desire to restore relations with Russia to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, seems to me to be at least worthy of attention, Putin said.
The incoming Trump administration certainly has the attention of many in Russia, hoping for improved relations with the U.S. and even possible sanctions relief. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:15:00]
COREN: Well, for more on this, let's bring in Mick Ryan, retired major general with the Australian Army. He joins me now live from Brisbane, Australia. Mick, as always, good to.
Let's start with this news that 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops have converged on Kursk. That certainly does not bode well for the Ukrainians. What's the latest information you're receiving?
MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: Good day, Anna. The Russians over the last couple of months have already chipped away probably about a quarter of the territory the Ukrainians seized in the August Kursk offensive. So with that 50,000 person counteroffensive the Russians had, are we hoping to seize the majority, if not all of that, before the inauguration of Donald Trump in January next year?
COREN: Well, the Kursk offensive, as we know, was designed to change the projection of the war for Ukraine. And look, initially, as we discussed at length, it caught the Russians off guard, but it would now appear that strategy has failed.
RYAN: Yes, unfortunately, it hasn't really drawn the Russian reserves out of Eastern Ukraine that it hoped to draw out of there. It hasn't posed the political problems for Putin that the Ukrainians had helped. And it just hasn't changed the trajectory of the war at this point.
Putin has maintained his singular focus on seizing territory, on destroying Ukrainian forces, and projecting this strategic message that Russian victory is inevitable in this war. And he's doing that in Eastern Ukraine. He'll now seek to do that in Kursk as well.
COREN: Mick, Donald Trump, President-elect, claims to have told Vladimir Putin not to escalate the war. This is something the Kremlin has denied. But how does this war now play out, in your opinion, you know, up until Inauguration Day?
RYAN: Well, the Biden administration has provided a lot of military assistance, not just in equipment, but in training and in other areas for the Ukrainians. But unfortunately, it just has not been enough for the Ukrainians to be successful in defeating the Russians in Ukraine.
So, they're already on a bad trajectory in this war. The Trump administration will be seen by the Ukrainians to reset the relationship and hopefully get more assistance. We're not sure whether that'll happen, but they'll certainly be hoping for it.
COREN: But certainly the message that we've heard from Donald Trump and his team is that he is going to cut U.S. aid. He's going to end the war. If that is the case, Mick, if this is his intent, isn't this something that should be happening right now rather than dragging this out for a few more months until January and more young men on both sides, you know, end up being killed or seriously injured.
RYAN: Yes, it's the great tragedy of this conflict is that the west has provided just enough assistance for Ukraine to continue its struggle, but not enough to win. Both sides now, really, not so much in a stalemate, but not gaining a lot of ground. The Russians are gaining just enough to project this image that they're winning the war. And in the minds of Western politicians, I think that is driving them to want negotiation sooner rather than later.
COREN: Mick, I know you spent a lot of time in Ukraine. You're obviously in touch with people there. I want to get a sense, you know, the feeling on the ground because obviously there is a great deal of anxiety about what a Trump administration will mean, you know, what Ukraine could potentially have to give up for peace. But there is without doubt a sense of exhaustion amongst the Ukrainian
society that enough blood has been spent and that it is time for peace. What are the people that you're talking to saying?
RYAN: Well, I guess there's three key issues. Firstly, Ukrainians know the Russians better than anyone, and they know the Russians are never as strong as the Russians want us to believe, but they are taking ground in eastern Ukraine.
Secondly, there's a great deal of uncertainty about the Trump administration. There's lots of leaks, but there is no plan at this point in time. And often it is uncertainty that is the most difficult for people to bear.
COREN: Absolutely. Mick Ryan, always a pleasure. We're going to have to leave it there. Thank you for joining us.
RYAN: Thank you.
COREN: A far-right Israeli minister's comments are drawing condemnation after he called for Israeli sovereignty over settlements in the West Bank. Those details ahead.
Plus, the U.S. State Department warns against travel to Haiti as two commercial aircraft are hit by gunfire at the capital's airport. Those details next on CNN Newsroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:21:47]
COREN: Israel's far right finance minister says Donald Trump's election win in the U.S. brings an important opportun for Israel. Bezalel Smotrich's comments come as he calls for Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank next year and orders preparations for the annexation of settlements.
The prime minister's office has yet to comment, but it's not clear whether Smotrich's push has any chance of being implemented soon. Around half a million Israelis live in West Bank settlements which are considered illegal under international law. Smotrich says Israel was on the verge of applying sovereignty during Trump's first term, but says now is the time to do so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEZALEL SMOTRICH, ISRAELI FINANCE MINSITER (through translator): I intend, with God's help to lead a government decision that says Israel will work with the new administration of President Trump and the international community to apply the Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria for American and international recognition and to end the Israeli Arab conflict in the Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Well, his announcement drew swift condemnation from the Palestinian Authority and from the EU's top diplomat who wrote on X quote, I unequivocally condemn Minister Smotrich's call to apply sovereignty in the West Bank, a clear step towards illegal annexation. Such rhetoric undermines international law, violates Palestinians rights and threatens any prospects for a two state solution. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is following all the developments from Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: There's no question that the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, is seeing an opportunity here to realize one of his long held dreams of annexing Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
And that is exactly what he is laying the groundwork for announcing in a speech to lawmakers that he is ordering key departments that he oversees within the Ministry of Defense to begin making preparations for applying Israeli sovereignty to those settlements in the West Bank, effectively taking steps that would allow the Israeli government to annex those Israeli settlements into the State of Israel, into full blown Israeli territory.
Now, Israel, he said, would work with the Trump administration to, quote, apply sovereignty and achieve American recognition. And that's what's key to all of this and the reason why he's doing it now. He made explicitly clear that he believes now is the moment to push for this annexation move in the wake of the election victory of President Donald Trump.
He believes that a Trump victory and a Trump presidency, most importantly, will mean support for Israel in terms of moves like this regarding Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He even said that he has, quote, no doubt that President Trump would support Israel with this initiative.
And he has good reason for believing that when Donald Trump put a peace plan on the table back In January of 2020, it did indeed call for allowing Israel to annex those Israeli settlements in the West Bank
[01:25:00]
And that the U.S. after a four-year freeze of any settlement expansion activity, that the U.S. would indeed recognize that annexation, that of course, never actually came to pass. And we don't yet know how President Trump would actually react to this latest plan from Smotrich, especially as it comes amid the ongoing war in Gaza, amid Israel's war in Lebanon and so much turmoil already happening in the region.
But there's no question that Smotrich, Netanyahu and other members of this right-wing government are certainly hoping for and expecting that they will get far more leeway from a Trump administration than they currently do under a Biden administration.
And Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, is certainly preparing for that. He said that he has now spoken with President-Elect Trump three times in just the last week. Certainly seems to be the most times that any foreign leader in the last week has spoken with the President- elect. And very much an indication, as Netanyahu said, that he believes he sees eye to eye with Trump, especially on the number one concern for Netanyahu, and that is Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Jeremy Diamond reporting there. Well, Yaakov Katz is a senior columnist for the Jerusalem Post and a fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. Yaakov, good to see you. He's also the author of "Shadow Strike: Inside Israel's Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power."
Yaakov, I want to start by asking you, you know, right wingers like Smotrich, you know, pushing for sovereignty, illegal annexation of the West Bank. This is nothing new, but how much support is there within Israel for this?
YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, THE JERUSALEM POST: Well, I think that in Israel, there are in some circles, definitely within the right wing. There's a feeling that right now with Trump's return to office, there is an opportunity for Israel to gain once again, some strategic benefits. It looks back at the four years of Trump's first term in office when he moved the embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and there were talks at the time between the prime minister and the president about the prospect of annexation or Israel's application of sovereignty, also in the West Bank, territory that is still disputed ever since Israel conquered that land back in 1967.
So the right wing in Israel definitely feels like there is a windfall and there's an opportunity right now to try to gain some of these benefits. It'll be a question to see whether Trump is willing to give his support for that to happen.
COREN: Well, in the past, Trump has said that he is, quote, not a big fan of Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank. But could he be persuaded to change his mind and give, you know, Israel his blessing?
KATZ: Well, I think it really will depend on maybe the bigger picture, what else is at play here? Right. The way it potentially was supposed to go down last time was, you recall, Anna, back in 2020, President Trump outlined his, what he called the peace to prosperity, what he often also referred to as the deal of the century, a peace deal that he was trying to create between Israel and the Palestinians.
And on the one hand, the deal basically embraced past concepts, such as the establishment of a Palestinian state, dividing up part of the West Bank. But what it did not call for was the demolition or evacuation of Israeli settlements.
And it basically said that Israelis would be able to remain inside those homes that Israel has built over the years throughout the West Bank. In that case, Israel could potentially make once again the argument if Israeli homes are staying, then we should at least apply land to those parts of the West Bank. Obviously, I think in the right and Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of
one of the more far-right parties in the Israeli Parliament, is calling for an application of Israeli sovereignty over the entire territory. So not just where the Israeli settlements are, but that opens the door for some sort of negotiation, maybe in a compromise on both sides that would allow for something like this to happen.
COREN: Smotrich said that Trump's election win brings, quote, an important opportunity for Israel. What does he mean by that?
KATZ: Well, I think he feels that after four years of the Biden administration that for him personally, at least, they were not willing to engage with him, they were not willing to meet with him, and they basically cut him out of any dialogue between Israel and the United States because of his more radical views on the right wing spectrum here in Israel.
He feels that now with a conservative movement and the Republican Party now coming into office, there's an opportunity for them to be able to work together and meet, maybe achieve some of these objectives. It's important to remember, Anna, that there are members of the Trump administration who might be coming in definitely of the past administration.
[01:30:00]
We saw that, for example, with the former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo -- big advocates and proponents of Israel's presence in what is referred to as Judea and Samaria in the West Bank.
So there is a hope in that side in Smotrich's circles that there will be people who will come back to office and hold similar views. But I think that Israel and at least the prime minister for the time being, has his eyes set on -- I wouldn't call it necessarily the bigger prize, but yes, the bigger prize, which is Iran and a way to align opinions and views between Jerusalem and Washington on how to confront Iran.
We saw that Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that he's already spoken with President-Elect Trump three times over the last few days, maybe the most any foreign leader has spoken with the with the president.
He's dispatched his strategic affairs minister to meet with Trump. They sat for a couple hours just the other day. So there's a lot of alignment and dialog that's taking place right now between Israel and not just the Biden administration, but also the incoming Trump administration.
And I would argue that it has a lot to do more with Iran than anything to do with the Palestinians at the moment.
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: Our thanks to Yaakov Katz for that interview.
Well, a group of eight aid organizations say the Israeli government has failed to meet the criteria requested by the U.S. to improve the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. The group released a joint scorecard coinciding with the 30-day deadline for action set by U.S. officials to act on more than a dozen measures.
The organizations note that as many as 95,000 people remain besieged in northern Gaza without food or medical supplies and said, quote, "Israel not only failed to meet the U.S. criteria that would indicate support to the humanitarian response, but concurrently took actions that dramatically worsened the situation on the ground, particularly in northern Gaza.
The scorecard was compiled by Anera, CARE International, Med Global, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Refugees International and Save the Children.
Well, women are expected to fill some key roles in President-Elect Donald Trump's administration. A look at who could end up in his inner circle and what it was like the last go round.
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:34:45]
COREN: Welcome back. You're watching the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Anna Coren.
Well, Haiti has suspended all flights to the international airport in the capital until November 18th after two commercial jetliners were hit (ph) with gunfire around the airport in Port-au-Prince.
JetBlue says its stopping all service to Haiti after a bullet was found in the exterior of one of its planes upon arrival from Port-au- Prince. Well, that discovery came shortly after a Spirit Airlines flight from Florida was hit by gunfire as it tried to land in the Haitian capital.
Stefano Pozzebon has the details
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: -- we know as of now is that on Monday mor4ning, a plane owned and operated by Spirit Airlines was hit by gunfire as it was approaching landing at the international airport in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.
The airline said in a statement that the flight, which originated in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, was safely diverted to the Dominican Republic.
However, one flight attendant reported minor injuries in the incident. And footage and photos verified by CNN show bullet holes on the body of the plane and inside the main cabin.
The airport in Port-au-Prince has been shut down as a result of this incident that occurred as there's deep political, social and security crisis in the Caribbean nation shows really, no sign of resolution.
Last month, a U.N. helicopter was also targeted by gunfire as it was flying over Port-au-Prince and the same occurred to vehicles owned and operated by the U.S. embassy that was driven on the streets of Port- au-Prince which is ridden by criminal gangs all across the capital.
On Monday, the transitional presidential council swore in Alix Didier Fils-Aime as the new prime minister, who pledged to restore democracy and security to the nation. And we will be monitoring closely whatever happens in Haiti in the weeks to come.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon -- Bogota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: The shape of Donald Trump's second administration is emerging from Mar-a-Lago, where reports of his picks for top posts have been trickling out.
Word came minutes ago that South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been selected as his Homeland Security secretary. Well, that would put her in charge of everything from Customs and Border Protection to Immigration Enforcement to Emergency Management and even the Secret Service.
A source says Trump is likely to nominate Senator Marco Rubio in the upper left as Secretary of State while longtime aide Stephen Miller is expected to be named deputy chief of staff for policy. And sources say Florida Congressman Mike Waltz has been asked to serve as national security adviser. And Lee Zeldin has been tapped to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
Women held some key positions in the first Trump administration.
CNN's Brian Todd takes a look at the role they could play in the president-elect's return to the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes. Susie. Come Susie. Come here.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump has already picked two women for prominent roles in his administration. Susie Wiles, Trump's co-campaign manager for 2024 and a 40-year veteran of Republican politics will be the first woman ever to serve as White House chief of staff, and Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a vocal supporter of the president-elect has been tapped to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a position that will need Senate approval.
Trump has characterized both women as quote, "tough and smart".
MEREDITH MCGRAW, NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: Donald Trump has always listened carefully to the female voices around him. If you think back to the first Trump White House, his female advisers were some of longest lasting officials in his White House.
TODD: Longer lasting than many of the men in the first Trump administration. Trump went through four chiefs of staff in his first term. The first of those, Reince Priebus, lasted only six months. General Michael Flynn had the shortest tenure ever for a national security adviser, 24 days. Communications director Anthony Scaramucci lasted ten days.
Conversely, senior Trump White House advisers Kellyanne Conway and Hope Hicks and press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders lasted much longer, left on their own terms and left on good terms with Trump.
MCGRAW: I think they all had their own style of communicating with Donald Trump, whether it was Hope Hicks behind the scenes or Kellyanne Conway. And they were known for being able to deliver messages to him that maybe some of the men around him couldn't.
TODD: Another analyst who covered the Trump White House, Annie Karni of "The New York Times", told NPR Trump didn't see those women as direct competition with him as he saw people like political strategist Steve Bannon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These women who survived their kind of play along with him, there's no evidence that they challenged him or wanted to be seen as kind of the main player. They were oftentimes obsequious to him.
[01:39:47]
TODD: And Trump critics say there's hypocrisy at play that while Trump elevates and trusts some women he denigrates others, such as women who served under him and then either left under less-than-ideal terms or challenged him like Omarosa Manigault Newman, who was fired from the first Trump White House.
This is what Trump called her after she published a book criticizing him.
TRUMP: Lowlife. She's a lowlife.
TODD: Or Nikki Haley, ambassador to the U.N. in Trumps first term, a loyalist until she ran against him in this year's Republican primaries.
TRUMP: Birdbrain. You know who Birdbrain is, right? Nikki.
MCGRAW: Trump is somebody who really values loyalty above anything else and saw Nikki Haley as turning against him, even though in the end she offered to campaign for him.
TODD: Meridith McGraw of Politico says in the second Trump term, the formula for survival for the women in top positions, like the men, will be to pick their battles wisely and to not overshadow the boss.
Susie Wiles, Trump's new White House chief of staff, is widely seen as someone who has that capability.
Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COREN: Day two of the U.N. climate conference will get underway in the coming hours. We'll have a look at how the U.S. could continue the fight against global warming, even under Donald Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: The COP29 climate summit is underway in Azerbaijan. Dignitaries began their 12-day conference under a cloud of uncertainty after Donald Trump's reelection.
The U.S. president-elect disputes the existence of man-made climate change, and he vowed to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement once again.
U.S. climate envoy John Podesta said his country remains committed to its green energy goals, even with Trump set to take charge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN PODESTA, U.S. CLIMATE ENVOY: What I want to tell you today is that while the United States federal government under Donald Trump may put climate change action on the back burner, the work to contain climate change is going to continue in the United States with commitment and passion and belief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Climate activists held a silent protest on the sidelines of the summit's opening day. Demonstrators said the U.N. prevented them from chanting or making speeches and they could only congregate in designated areas.\
No respite yet for the Philippines, which is bracing for two possible typhoons just days after being hit by back-to-back tropical storms.
CNN meteorologist Chad Myers has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: What a couple of weeks for the Philippines, eh? I mean this is an area that is used to typhoons, but four so far and possibly two more on the way.
Yinxing and then Taraji -- and here's Yinxing making landfall as a category 3 hurricane equivalent here across the northern part of the Philippines that is now moved toward Danang, kind of falling apart. This has really made landfall at the end of last week.
[01:44:51]
MYERS: But here's the landfall here right around Danang, kind of coming on land and really losing an awful lot of power.
Here's Taraji as it moved a little bit farther to the south, but still made torrential rainfall, especially in the mountains. There will be places and if you add it all up from the storms that have already made landfall and the ones that are still due to make landfall, because there are still two out there.
There will be places that will have 2,000 millimeters of rainfall from these storms just over the past couple, three weeks.
Here is another storm. Here's Usagi. This was tropical storm number 27 earlier. Now has a name, guess where its headed? Right toward the Philippines.
And yes maybe a glancing blow to the northern part of the island of Luzon here but there's still going to be significant rain in the same places that have picked up so much that likely makes landfall on Thursday.
There are still a few more back out there to the east and yes, they're going to get very close as well. Just kind of the crossroads here into the Philippines of one storm after another with the wind gusts, with the next storm probably somewhere in the ballpark of 140, maybe 150 kilometers per hour.
Here's Man-Yi. We're still watching this. This is way off toward the east. But there's Guam, we'll have to watch out for that, because there's certainly a landfall possibility there somewhere in the 100 kilometer per hour.
But again, it's more of that surge in the wind. And obviously the rainfall still to come.
So one, two, three, four -- they're all lined up and most of them, at least this year, have been getting too close to the Philippines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Chad Myers, thank you.
Well, new satellite images from NASA show just how extensive the toxic smog has become over parts of eastern Pakistan. Officials say this season's smog has reached unprecedented levels. It's all thanks to a dangerous combination of coal-fired power plants, traffic, burning waste and weather.
On Monday, air quality levels in Lahore reached more than four times the level considered hazardous by IG Air.
CNN producer Sophia Saifi joins me now from Islamabad with the latest.
Sophia, how long is this expected to last?
SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Anna, this is the problem. We don't really know.
I mean Punjab, the capital city of Islamabad where I am, is known to have beautiful autumns. But over the past couple of years, it's been plagued by this horrific smog that has enveloped not just the capital city, but just a few hours away, the second largest city of Lahore.
It's the levels -- the AQI levels which are at 301, which is considered the safe limit, have been over 1,000 almost every day over the past week. In the Punjabi city of Multan, it was over 2,000.
People are incredibly concerned. This is not just a health crisis. People can taste the acidic air. It touches their throats. It stings their eyes.
It's causing a health crisis to the magnitude that the UNICEF has come out and said that 11 million children under the age of five are at peril because of this dirty air crisis.
There is attempts for artificial rain that are going to be done by the Punjab government later on in the week. They have said that they have a road plan but critics have said that just shutting down schools, which is currently in effect, closing down offices -- 50 percent of office staff have been told to stay home.
The province is heading towards a lockdown and there has been -- there have been fingers pointed at local industrial emissions as well as the fact that there is stupendous amounts of crop burning in the province by farmers.
However there is the fact that the rains, the winter rains that come and clear away this toxic air have just not happened this year.
And we have to realize that Pakistan while having its own local emissions problem, is only responsible for less than 1 percent of global air emissions.
So it's very much a problem that is connected to climate change as well. People are just looking up to the skies and praying for rain here in Pakistan. And wondering when this catastrophe will end, Anna.
COREN: Let's hope those rains come soon. Sophia. Saifi, we appreciate the reporting. Thank you.
Well, dangerous wildfires are being fueled by bad weather on the East and West Coasts of the U.S. In California, the Mountain Fire is just one of the multiple blazes firefighters are attempting to contain. So far, it has burned an area larger than 10,000 football pitches and is less than 50 percent contained due to strong winds.
On the east coast a historic drought is driving the Jennings Creek Fire burning in New York and New Jersey.
Well, CNN's Gloria Pazmino has details on how the fires are affecting local residents.
[01:49:52]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: From a New York City park to forests across the Hudson River in New Jersey, unprecedented fires are burning across the northeast, fueled by strong winds and months without significant rain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never seen it like this before. PAZMINO: The Jennings Creek wildfire in New Jersey has scorched
thousands of acres and is still going. Across New York and New Jersey 600 wildfires have burned since October.
THOMAS HOWLEY, GREENWOOD LAKE, NEW JERSEY MAYOR: In my over 50 years of living here, this has been the most significant and probably most potentially dangerous situation I've seen or been involved in.
PAZMINO: Dario Vasquez, an 18-year-old Parks and Recreation Employee, was killed Sunday while he was responding to a fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a very dangerous profession. This is a very dangerous incident that we have here.
PAZMINO: Strong winds across the region have carried the heavy smoke across New Jersey and New York, leading to air quality and red flag warnings for millions of people.
The water supply is also under strain.
ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: October was one of the driest months we've had in recorded history.
PAZMINO: A man was charged with arson after he fired an illegal shotgun, believed to have sparked a fire in Jackson Township, New Jersey, prompting evacuations in surrounding communities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daughter and I, we packed up our important papers and all of our prescriptions and got the dog ready. And when they said go, we were ready to go.
PAZMINO: Gloria Pazmino, CNN -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Authorities are cracking down on cycling at night in a city in central China. Why young people are filling the streets singing the country's national anthem.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Well the wait is finally over. China unveiled its highly anticipated J35 -- a stealth fighter jet, during the Zhuhai air show on Tuesday. It's more than a decade in the making. The new military asset is widely seen as part of Beijing's bid to match the United States aerial power.
Few details are known about the aircraft's performance or stealthiness other than it is designed mainly for air combat operation and can also conduct air to surface attacks.
That's according to a report by China's military affiliated media.
Huge numbers of university students in China have been taking nighttime bike rides to Kaifeng. It's an ancient city known for its historic sites and soup dumplings. The government had encouraged the trend to promise local tourism, but
now it says the situation is out of hand.
Will Ripley has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pedaling under the glow of street lights, tens of thousands of Chinese students on a 40-mile impromptu adventure. From Zhengzhou to the ancient city of Kaifeng, students have been biking here for months, most joining for the thrill, some for the popular and juicy jumbo soup dumplings.
Others just letting off steam under the intense pressure of finding a job. China's economy is spiraling. Youth unemployment is skyrocketing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wanted to take the challenge of riding a shared bike to Kaifeng City. We're only young once.
RIPLEY: Some riders carry Chinese flags. Others sing the national anthem.
[01:54:52]
RIPLEY: State media even released this viral video. Students chanting about their passion.
Then came the crackdown. Authorities closed key bike lanes this weekend, citing safety and traffic concerns. Bike sharing companies issued warnings. Some colleges restricted students from leaving campus.
All temporary measures, police say. authorities insist the Situation became unmanageable. Traffic disruptions from abandoned, shared bikes, massive youth gatherings, all of it happening in China, an authoritarian state led by a party that itself came to power with the help of mass movements often led by students.
From Tiananmen square in 1989 to the COVID lockdown protests of 2022 -- large, organized student gatherings rattle the ruling party's nerves, even if participants insist they are not political.
It also happened in Shanghai, the site of huge Halloween celebrations last year. This year, heavy crowd control, police escorting away plenty of people in Halloween costumes -- one of the most conspicuous, President Donald Trump.
Chinese censors have been working overtime to get this scrubbed off the Internet. Every time we mention this topic our signal inside China goes to bars and tone. And it likely has to do with the sensitivity of this imagery.
In the spring of 1989, for example, university students in Beijing rode their bikes to Tiananmen Square to join pro-democracy protests. Of course, we know that ended in a bloody crackdown by the Chinese military. In late 2022, it was mostly young people who took to the streets in major Chinese cities protesting those COVID era lockdowns. And so to see young people gathering even for something as benign as a craving for dumplings, not happening in today's China.
Will Ripley, CNN -- Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: First it was Venice, now Pompeii is tackling overtourism. Officials in the ancient Roman city will start capping daily visitors to just 20,000. The city saw a record-breaking summer season of more than 4 million people.
Pompeii Archeological Park officials say the huge number of visitors is causing problems at the ancient site. The new measures are set to begin on Friday.
Well, thank you so much for your company. I'm Anna Coren. I will be back with more news after this short break.
See you shortly.
[01:57:23]
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