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Trump Orders DOJ to Investigate Epstein Ties to Democrats; Trump Withdraws Support for Marjorie Taylor Greene; GOP Leaders Brace for Mass Defections on Epstein Files Vote; U.S. Issues Iran-Related Missile and Drone Sanctions; Russian Mass Attack Leaves Kyiv Residents Reeling; Illinois Attorney Sues over Curfew on Protest Activity; North Carolina Braces for Border Patrol Agents; Flooding, Mudslide Potential for California This Weekend; Trump Cuts Tariffs on Goods from Switzerland; College Football. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired November 15, 2025 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Redirecting fire: U.S. president Donald Trump orders investigations into Jeffrey Epstein's ties to prominent Democrats as the heat is turned up on his association.

A monumental split: Trump is rescinding his endorsement of congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had been one of his biggest supporters.

And CNN returns to Iran as the U.S. issues sanctions on entities that have supported that country's missile and drone production. A live report from Tehran.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. president has ordered a new investigation into late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's connections with powerful people and institutions. Donald Trump instructed the DOJ to target multiple high-profile Democrats, including former president Bill Clinton.

Now this comes after a House committee released 20,000 pages of documents it received from Epstein's estate. On a flight to Mar-a-Lago late on Friday, the president brushed off reporters' questions about the emails and redirected his focus toward Democrats. Here he is.

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QUESTION: What did Jeffrey Epstein mean in his emails when you said you knew about the girls? DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I know nothing about that, they would have announced that a long time ago. It's really what did he mean when he spent all the time with Bill Clinton, with the president of Harvard, who, you know, that is Summers, Larry Summers, whatever his name is and all of the other people that he spent time with.

Jeffrey Epstein and I had a very bad relationship for many years. But he also saw strength because I was president.

So he dictated a couple of memos to himself?

Give me a break.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. House is set to vote next week on releasing files from the criminal investigation into Epstein. Kristen Holmes has more on that and the inquiry ordered by the president a few hours ago.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Trump announcing Friday that he had asked the Justice Department to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's ties to a number of prominent Democrats as well as institutions.

Now this seemed to be a change in strategy for the president when it comes to this Epstein controversy, given that what we've seen for him for the last several months has been to deny that this is real, to say that this is a hoax and to avoid the topic altogether.

But now, shifting gears, particularly interesting, given that it comes right after House Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a number of emails that had Trump's name in them. They were from the Epstein estate.

Now we are told that this shift in strategy, this kind of changing and trying to take control of the narrative, comes after president Trump heard from a number of allies.

In particular, recently, at least one member on Capitol Hill, who told him that his strategy wasn't working, that he was getting bad advice when it came to how he was handling the Epstein controversy, particularly around denying it or delaying the release of those files.

So now we've seen president Trump with this marked shift, as we know that this Epstein case, the files, this has all plagued president Trump's second term. And the White House has not really been able to wrap their arms around this story or, at any point, get ahead of it.

Now interestingly, president Trump himself has been dictating much of the response to this idea of him not taking or not getting good advice. It's quite interesting, given that he is the one who is dictating how the White House has responded.

But clearly here they are moving in a different direction. All of this happening as it becomes more and more apparent that the House is likely to vote on this bill and pass this bill to release all of the Epstein files that will then be put through the Senate.

There are a lot of people within the White House believe it will pass in the Senate as well -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

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BRUNHUBER: President Trump is defending his policies and decisions after rescinding his endorsement of one of his biggest supporters.

His post on Truth Social marks a remarkable split between the two former allies. Marjorie Taylor Greene has criticized him for traveling around the world and neglecting issues facing Americans at home. The congresswoman has also repeatedly upset Trump by calling for full transparency on the Jeffrey Epstein files.

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She's one of four Republicans who signed a discharge petition to have them released and is expected to back a House vote for that in the coming week.

The judge overseeing the Georgia 2020 election interference case has thrown out more charges against Donald Trump and his allies. The charges that were dismissed include filing false documents and conspiring to file false documents.

But most of the sprawling racketeering indictment remains intact. This comes as a new prosecutor takes over the case. Peter Skandalakis assigned the case to himself after he couldn't find another prosecutor willing to take it on.

A pretrial conference is scheduled for December 1st but a former U.S. attorney tells CNN he's skeptical the case will move forward.

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MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: If there's any life being breathed into this thing, it's because it's on CPR. And I'll just tell you, this case is probably circling the drain, if you ask me.

Remember that Mr. Skandalakis looked for some other prosecutor to take the case and was not able to find anybody willing to do it. And that speaks volumes, I think, as well. I mean, nobody wants to necessarily come in and clean up the mess that was left there.

But Mr. Skandalakis also was involved in an investigation related to the case as it related to the current lieutenant governor and whether or not there was something that went on there, dealing with election interference.

And, you know, he decided that there was nothing to be done and he did not move forward on any charges at that point. So I think this case and where we are now is probably likely to meet the same fate and that is to find its way to a dismissal, you know, fairly quickly. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Trump says he has an obligation to sue the BBC over a misleading edit to his speech ahead of the January 6th storming of the Capitol.

The BBC has apologized for the edit and the corporation's director general and head of news resigned. President Trump previously threatened to sue for $1 billion but he now says he'll probably sue for between $1 billion and $5 billion.

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TRUMP: I think I have an obligation to do it. I -- look, I'm not looking to get into lawsuits but I think I have an obligation to do it.

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BRUNHUBER: The BBC said it strongly disagrees that there's any basis for a defamation claim.

All right. Joining us to discuss all of the news of the day is Natasha Lindstaedt, a professor of government at the University of Essex, coming to us from Colchester, England.

Good to see you again. Thanks so much for being here with us.

So returning to the Epstein matter, I mean, we're seeing something pretty unusual happening on Capitol Hill these days with the Epstein files. You've got these high-profile Republicans all breaking ranks with Trump on this.

I mean, why is this the issue that's actually causing cracks in support among House Republicans?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: That's a really good question, because almost every issue -- the Republicans are so incredibly loyal to Trump -- it doesn't seem to matter what he does. They are willing to get in line.

And this just isn't one of those issues. He keeps trying to make it go away. The more he tries to squash it, the worse it seems to get for him. And it may have been really his own doing because he was fanning the flames of this release of these Epstein files.

And there are parts of the MAGA movement that were obsessed with this idea that there was this group of elites, political elites, economic elites that were involved in some kind of pedophile ring connected with Epstein. And they want transparency on this.

And they were hoping that, when Trump got elected, that that was going to be something that he was going to do. He was going to have a release of all the files.

Instead, he has made things worse by trying to pretend this is much ado about nothing, that, you know, you shouldn't be paying attention to this. This is some kind of Democratic hoax.

Going even so far as to bring representative -- Republican representative Lauren Boebert into the Situation Room, which is where you would normally be focusing on conflicts or terrorism or high-level national security matters.

And he's bringing her in, trying to convince her not to support the vote on this to release the files. And that just makes it all look worse.

And I think then you see some of these Republican -- particularly the handful of Republicans in the House that made clear how they're going to vote, not wanting to be controlled on this issue.

And we're hearing rumors that there are more Republicans. There's a groundswell of Republicans that that may turn against Trump. We see he's not doing well with polling on this.

His handling of the Epstein files according to polling, shows that you have somewhere around 57 percent disapprove, compared to 19 percent. So if you're a Republican up for reelection and you're trying to appeal to your constituency, you may be better off going against Trump on this one.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. And on the -- that groundswell, I mean, next week's vote is just going to be fascinating to watch. Thomas Massie, one of those Republicans who's been leading this push, saying that he wants to hit that two-thirds threshold in the House, which would mean they could override a Trump veto.

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So if they get anywhere close to that number, I mean, how much real pressure does that put on the Senate to follow through?

I mean, what are you watching for in terms of the margin here?

LINDSTAEDT: I mean, I think you have it right, that, if you get to somewhere around two-thirds, that could really impact the way the Senate is going to vote on this. And earlier this week, we we're hearing reports that, oh, no; this is a no-go in the Senate. It will go nowhere in the Senate. They're going to vote in line with Trump on this one.

But they may really have to rethink this if they see so much overwhelming support from the House. And so that's really what we're looking for, was what are the margins here?

It's not just a handful of House Republicans that decide to defect but a much larger amount will put pressure on senators because they don't want to be the ones that are going to be caught out, saying that they voted to suppress this information that many Americans see as critical.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. You talked about that conspiracy involving elites. And we heard president Trump wants the attorney general to investigate the links between Epstein and notable Democrats.

Do you have any sense of whether this might be enough to deflect scrutiny from himself?

LINDSTAEDT: No, I think it just makes it worse because the whole issue is that he is trying to prove that he is innocent. And he said it's much ado about nothing, that he hasn't had any involvement of it.

But how does that satiate the desire of people to know, OK, are you actually not involved in this in any way?

And supposedly NBC News had reported that, that he hadn't had any kind of direct involvement. But because there's just all this murky -- murkiness to this, there's a lack of clear information and transparency that makes it worse.

That makes people think maybe he was much more involved than he's saying or even than some of these emails, that have been released by the Democrats, reveal. So by not going fully transparent, he makes people think that it is a much bigger thing than it possibly may even be.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And I guess that's some of the advice that he was getting, saying that he's handling this wrong and it's just leading people to the wrong conclusions.

We'll have to leave it there. Fascinating to watch that vote next week. Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

BRUNHUBER: Well, the U.S. will begin military drills a short distance from Venezuela on Sunday. The exercises in Trinidad and Tobago follow the latest U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean in more than 25 years.

Venezuela believes Washington wants regime change in Caracas. But as Stefano Pozzebon reports, Venezuela's president is trying to send a message of peace.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Caracas, the Venezuelan government is yet to react to the announcement late on Thursday night. The U.S. Department of War is renaming the deployment of aircraft and warships in the -- in the southern Caribbean as a new Operation Southern Spear.

That's the name that the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, gave to this deployment that, in theory, allegedly is meant to stem drug trafficking coming out of Venezuela.

But when we spoke with the Venezuelan president earlier on Thursday, he had a different message to send to Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) QUESTION (from captions): President, are you concerned about the possible aggression?

NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): We're focused on the. People governing with. Peace, with these young people building. Unite for the peace of the continent. No more endless wars, no more unjust wars, no more Libya, no more Afghanistan.

QUESTION (from captions): Do you have a message for president Trump?

MADURO (through translator): My message is yes, peace. Yes, peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: Now those. Words are consistent with previous messages that Maduro had given to the press and especially here on Venezuelan television, trying to mediate and trying to reach a negotiation with the White House.

However, it's important to notice that that was Maduro's first appearance in a non-controlled environment in weeks.

And especially he wanted to be seen surrounded by regular people, supporters of the Venezuelan government, and to send a message, perhaps to the White House, that he is not just ready to bend to the pressure coming out of Washington -- for CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas.

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BRUNHUBER: New U.S. sanctions target Iran's missile and drone program. The new sanctions reach a sprawling network of individuals and entities across several countries. We'll have a live report from Tehran next. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. is trying to pressure Iran over its nuclear program with a new round of sanctions. The U.S. Treasury issued sanctions on more than 30 people and entities across several countries for supporting Iran's ballistic missile and drone production.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has reported from Iran many times over the years and he's now back in Tehran and joins us live.

Fred, so whether Iran will negotiate with the U.S., that's the critical question here.

Where do things stand right now? FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Kim. Yes, as far as these possible indirect negotiations in the not- too-distant future is concerned, it certainly seems as though at the moment the prospects are fairly dim, at least as far as the Iranians are saying.

The supreme leader of Iran, ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he came out a couple of days ago and said that there was strategic distrust toward the United States on the part of the Iranians at this point in time. He does not believe that any negotiations, even indirect negotiations, are prudent for the Iranians.

This, of course, having been strengthened, really, after president Trump came out a couple of days ago and claimed that he had been very much in charge, as he put it, of Israel's bombing campaign of sites here in Iran. That, of course, happened this summer. That's definitely something that angered a lot of Iranian officials.

One of the interesting things, though, that we've picked up on is that, also, a couple of days ago, someone from the supreme leader's office.

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One of the advisers to the supreme leader said that negotiations are not banned forever, that it is something that could potentially happen in the future.

However, that it would have to be in Iran's national interests, as that person put it, to say that the Iranians need to see that there would be benefits from such negotiations. And the Iranians also saying that they certainly don't want to be pressured by the United States, especially as far as their nuclear program.

But, of course, also as far as their missile program is concerned. We, of course, mentioned those sanctions that the U.S. has just put forward. The Iranians are continuing to say that they believe that their nuclear program is the intrinsic right that they have, that this nuclear program is for peaceful purposes solely.

And it is certainly something that they want to follow and even strengthen in the future. So as far as we're seeing right now, the prospects of any near-term negotiations, at least as far as the Iranian side is concerned, certainly don't seem to be very high.

But they haven't also, it appears, closed the door on any future negotiations if, they say, it would be in their national interest.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So the door for negotiations open. But just a crack. I want to pick up on what you mentioned there. You talked about the missiles, Fred. Recent reports suggest Iran may be expanding or reconstituting aspects of its missile capabilities.

I mean, how does that all factor into this?

PLEITGEN: Well, it certainly is a big factor for the Iranians. The Iranians have never made a secret that they believe that their missile program and their drone program as well is very important to them.

Because it gives them, they believe, a weapon to equalize against some of the modern technologies that the U.S. has and that the Israelis have as well. The Iranians, of course, have not commented on any of those reports that came out saying that they are trying to strengthen their missile program.

But they've also in the past said that they believe that their missile program needs to be very strong and they also believe that their missile program is something that really helped them through that 12- day war that they had with the Israelis, which, of course, with the U.S. also chiming in with their bombings of Iranian nuclear sites and other sites.

The Iranians believe that it was their strategic missile capabilities, their longer-range missiles that forced the Israelis and also the U.S. to enter into the ceasefire that then ensued.

Because the missiles were doing so much damage and also depleting not only the anti-aircraft capabilities and the anti-missile capabilities that the Israelis have but also that the U.S. and some of the other allies have as well.

So the Iranians certainly still putting forward that missile program. One of the interesting things that we saw is that, a couple of days ago, there was an exhibit for Iran's missile program by Iran's Revolutionary Guard and that was open to the public.

And that was also something that was shown here in media channels here in Iran as well. So they are still saying that this missile program is something that they believe is of national pride but also something they say is very important for this country's defense and, of course, also for Iran to project power here in this region as well.

The signal that were getting here from the Iranians is that they're certainly not stepping back from that missile program and, in fact, strengthening this missile program, understanding, of course, that the main conflicts that they have here in the region, especially with Israel and the United States, are far from over.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Fascinating idea, that missile show-and-tell. Fred Pleitgen, great to get your reporting from Tehran. Really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Dramatic video shows the moment Ukrainian drones and missiles hit a key Russian oil terminal. Have a look.

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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Ukraine says the strikes caused a major fire and damage to oil facilities in the port of Novorossiysk on Thursday. Russia claims at least four people were wounded and multiple private homes were hit, too. Ukraine is ramping up strikes on Russian oil infrastructure to disrupt the cash flow for its war machine.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: And people in Kyiv are picking up the pieces and trying to move on from yet another wave of Russian strikes. The Kremlin launched a mass attack against the city Friday morning and, as Ben Wedeman reports, residents say it was clearly aimed at civilians.

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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. 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.

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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.

MAYOR VITALI KLITSCHKO, KYIV, UKRAINE: 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

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BRUNHUBER: About 100 indigenous protesters from Brazil's Amazon blocked the main entrance to the U.N.'s COP30 climate conference.

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(MUSIC PLAYING) BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The peaceful demonstration on Friday was the second in four days. Protesters demanded to be heard about threats to the Amazon forest from agribusiness and other commercial plans. The protest ended after the climate talks president joined them for a conversation.

California governor Gavin Newsom visited the Amazon rainforest after days at the climate talks in Brazil. He criticized Donald Trump's decision not to send a high-level delegation to the conference.

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BRUNHUBER: For all of you watching us here in North America, we'll have more news in just a moment. For our international viewers, "CNN CREATORS" is next.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States and Canada. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

More than 20 people were arrested Friday during a protest outside a Chicago area Immigration and Customs facility. It's the latest incident in what has become the epicenter of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Sherrell Hubbard has more.

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SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What started as a peaceful protest in a suburb west of Chicago Friday turned chaotic after protesters reportedly pushed past barriers.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, has been at the heart of Operation Midway Blitz and the site of repeated clashes between protesters and federal agents.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They got the right to protest. Have at it. But don't cross the line. I was watching the video before I came out here. When they put hands on a law enforcement officer, they're getting arrested, going to jail.

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HUBBARD (voice-over): Immigration enforcement is a part of the Trump administration delivering on campaign promises. But the protests come amid a number of legal cases revolving around the facility. An attorney in Illinois filed a lawsuit last month in a U.S. district court over the curfew that was imposed on protesters. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What several federal judges have determined is

that the predicate for Operation Midway Blitz is false.

HUBBARD (voice-over): And amid legal claims by advocates that the center has, quote, "inhumane conditions," a U.S. magistrate judge and a small group of attorneys visited the detention center Thursday to investigate.

The Department of Homeland Security has denied any claims that there are subprime conditions at the facility.

And in yet another legal battle, a top Border Patrol official, Gregory Bovino, was rebuked by a U.S. district court judge over heavy-handed tactics and issued a preliminary injunction blocking the use of force against protesters and journalists -- I'm Sherrell Hubbard, reporting.

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BRUNHUBER: The top Border Patrol official and some of its agents have left Chicago and are headed to Charlotte, North Carolina. That's according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning. Local officials say they weren't initially aware of the move.

The sheriff's office said it was later told ICE personnel would arrive on Saturday or early next week. The news has some people in Charlotte on edge. North Carolina governor Josh Stein encouraged residents to remain peaceful, follow the law and not let themselves be provoked.

All right. Joining me now from Charlotte, North Carolina, is Stefania Arteaga. She's the co-founder and co-executive director of the Carolina Migrant Network.

Thank you so much for being here with us. So as I understand it, this operation could start as soon as today.

So what's the reaction been there?

What's the mood like in the city? STEFANIA ARTEAGA, CO-FOUNDER AND CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CAROLINA MIGRANT NETWORK: You know, first of all, thank you for having me.

We first heard news that this operation may have -- would take place, just a couple of days ago. The mood in our city quickly changed. We started people not seeing -- seeing people not show up to work. People who are buying groceries in bulk to try to hunker down at home.

And in total, the mood is fear. We are concerned. People are worried about what it will mean to have CBP here in Charlotte. We're a very different city than Chicago. We're smaller, we're a southern new town. And so there's a lot of concern of what it can mean to have these forces here.

BRUNHUBER: Now it sounds as though your hotline has been lighting up with calls from worried families across the city.

And what are people most scared of right now? ARTEAGA: To be honest, we're hearing a lot of calls about fear of family separation. We're hearing calls from parents who are worried about what will happen to their children if they are detained.

What will happen to their homes if they are taken all of a sudden?

People are very concerned about what's going to happen if they're also not found right away.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I can imagine.

And we've seen in other cities -- in Chicago, for instance, as I mentioned; in Los Angeles -- with these Border Patrol operations agents, you know, kneeling on people's necks, tear gas against protesters.

Are you expecting the same kind of heavy-handed enforcement in Charlotte?

And how are you preparing residents for that possibility?

Well, certainly it is a grave concern that we have that we will be seeing similar actions from CBP here in Charlotte.

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Many of our community members have seen the videos that have gone viral of 1-year olds being pepper sprayed, parents having seizures while being detained by ICE agents. So there's a lot of concern that that may be replicated here.

What we are doing is trying to inform community that, regardless of the behavior of this administration, people still have constitutional rights. They should be creating emergency plans, talking to their family, talking to their neighbors on how to prepare in the event that we do have operations as early as today.

And that can look like making sure that people have groceries or have people who can take care of their children or drive them to work if need be.

BRUNHUBER: I would say Immigration and Customs Enforcement are keen to point out, in their other operations that they've done in other cities, that they've arrested people who have criminal records.

Do you have any sense of exactly who you expect to be targeted here?

ARTEAGA: You know, what's extremely concerning about the operations that we've seen is that it doesn't matter your immigration status, these types of operations are harming folks that are immigrants and non-immigrants alike.

We've seen an uptick of U.S. citizens who have been getting arrested by agents. And so, you know, we're hearing one narrative from the administration, allegedly, who they're going after. But then we're seeing a different story, in places like Chicago, Los

Angeles and Portland, where we are seeing more racial profiling taking place and aggressive behavior toward protesters as well.

BRUNHUBER: I want to ask you, I mean, why Charlotte?

I mean, it doesn't leap to me as the first city I'd think of. Now Charlotte did end the program that allowed local law enforcement to work with ICE. And some people think that that's why the city is now being targeted.

I mean, do you do you see this deployment as political payback in a way?

ARTEAGA: You know, that's a very good question.

Charlotte is the largest city within the Carolinas. We also are home to the immigration court for the Carolinas and the largest ICE field office for the region. And so, we are very different city.

We are very young in terms of our immigrant population, really spurring and growing in the early 2000s. And so I think it's a mix of ICE, CBP trying to have a wow factor and scare other Southern cities.

You know, our -- the contractual agreement (INAUDIBLE) 2017 that you just referenced was done away with back, back almost eight years ago. And so it has been a while. And our state legislature has been retaliating against Mecklenburg County for a while, to the point that now there is some state-mandated collaboration.

And so we definitely believe that this is for political show. Also because we are not a Chicago or New York and L.A., we're a young city. We are vastly different. We're a sprawling city. You can call it a very large suburban area. It's a vastly different geographic location.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. Well, listen, we'll be watching. Stefania Arteaga, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.

ARTEAGA: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: A new, stronger Pacific storm is bringing soaking rain to Southern California. This is the second storm in the past two days and it's raising the risk of life-threatening flooding, mudslides and debris flows.

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BRUNHUBER: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, the chaos at U.S. airports may finally be coming to an end. We'll look at why the FAA is easing up on its mandatory cuts on flight traffic. That's coming up next.

Plus, Donald Trump slashes certain tariffs as rising prices spark frustration among Americans. We'll look at why Trump is pivoting his economic agenda. That's coming up next. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, some good news just in time for holiday travel. The FAA is beginning to ease its mandatory cuts on flights now that the government shutdown is over. Air traffic controllers are returning to work.

And starting today, airlines will be able to operate at 97 percent of their normal traffic at 40 major airports. The FAA cuts were originally made as controllers began calling out of work as the shutdown dragged on.

Despite staffing numbers increasing, there were still some shortages at busy airports on Friday.

President Trump is cutting some of his tariffs on groceries. He signed an executive order on Friday, lowering tariffs on things like beef, coffee, tomatoes and bananas. The move comes as grocery prices around the country are rising, sparking affordability concerns for many voters.

Also on Friday, the White House said it's reducing tariffs on imports from Switzerland from 39 percent to 15 percent. That could lower prices of things like watches and medical equipment. In exchange, Swiss companies agreed to invest at least $200 billion in the U.S.

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The CEO of the retailer Walmart has announced his retirement. Doug McMillon will be succeeded by a company insider, John Furner, on February 1st next year. CNN's Phil Mattingly has more on the transition.

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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: One of the most powerful and.

Profitable companies.

In the entire.

World is getting a new boss.

Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart since 2014, the man is really overseeing the transformation of the nation's largest retailer and largest private employer is going to step down in February.

He'll be replaced by one of his deputies, somebody that also, like McMillon, started working at Walmart when he was a teenager. Now McMillon was expected to step down at some point. This wasn't some type of forced action.

But it is significant in a moment, a very tenuous regulatory and political environment, one that Walmart and McMillon especially has navigated over the course of the last several years quite successfully. Investors, shareholders, the board hoping that Furner can do the same.

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BRUNHUBER: Shows under the Disney streaming umbrella are reappearing on YouTube's pay TV platform after the two companies signed a new multiyear deal. The agreement ends a two-week blackout of Disney on YouTube.

The shutdown meant that millions of YouTube viewers were deprived of Disney-affiliated shows, sports, entertainment and news programming like ESPN and ABC. Now officials say things are getting back to normal. The shutdown was over fees, a common issue in the streaming and cable worlds.

Researchers estimate that nearly 70 percent of the American diet is made up of ultraprocessed foods that contain additives, like artificial flavors and dyes. Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ordered the Food and Drug Administration to phase out several such items by the end of next year.

And some companies are already on board, including PepsiCo, which is introducing Simply NKD or Naked Doritos and Cheetos. CNN's John Berman and Harry Enten discuss it.

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HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: This is actually a pretty popular move, Mr. John Berman. I mean, you know, there was a poll question that was asked earlier this year. You want to restrict, you know, artificial dyes and added sugars to your, you know, your foods. And what do you see is the vast majority of Americans favor it.

Look at that, 66 percent favor it. Just 12 percent opposed. So I think that, you know, RFK Jr. has some controversial stances. But this idea definitely is a popular one. And it's no wonder that food companies are following through.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: If it tastes the same, which is the big question here -- and we have the goods.

ENTEN: We have the goods.

BERMAN: The reason you're here is to eat.

ENTEN: You can't tell. We have the original Doritos. We have the Cheetos. And John, I want you to try each of them right here. Let's start. Just take a pick and you let me know.

BERMAN: All right, all right.

ENTEN: So that's one of the Doritos. You tell me how that is.

BERMAN: I mean, it's good.

ENTEN: Very good?

BERMAN: The Dorito.

ENTEN: OK. Now try the other Dorito and let's see if you can taste the difference.

BERMAN: Got on my pants.

ENTEN: I'm going to have one too.

BERMAN: I really can't taste the difference. I think maybe, I can't taste the difference.

ENTEN: You can't taste the difference?

BERMAN: No.

ENTEN: Do you even have a guess?

BERMAN: I think maybe this is the original.

ENTEN: That is the original. That is right.

BERMAN: But I can't tell the difference --

ENTEN: You can't tell the difference.

BERMAN: Right.

ENTEN: All right, let's try the Cheetos.

BERMAN: All right. That's good. Good TV, by the way.

ENTEN: This is fantastic.

BERMAN: They're both very good. This one's spicier. That one's spicier.

ENTEN: The spicier one, this was the artificial, this was the original. But the bottom line is you can't taste the difference. And therefore, I think this will actually work out. And they both do leave the residue, which I think is most important on your hands.

BERMAN: That's the important thing, right?

You have -- you can get it on your fingers --

ENTEN: The Cheetos.

BERMAN: It's good.

ENTEN: The Cheetos stays on your hand. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, a single ticket sold near here in Atlanta, Georgia, has won the $980 million Mega Millions jackpot that ends a drought that's lasted 40 draws.

This is the eighth largest prize in the game's history and the largest in state history. It's still not clear if the ticket has one or multiple owners. If the payout is taken as a lump sum, it would be cut to $452 million with taxes taking out another big chunk.

A lost Roman city brought back to life and you get to step inside. We'll take a look at the immersive new Pompeii exhibit, bringing history alive through technology, next.

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BRUNHUBER: A new exhibit in London is giving people an amazing look at one of history's most famous disasters. Visitors can step a little closer to the fiery destruction of Pompeii and see what life was like there. CNN's Ben Hunte has more.

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Step back in time to witness the last days of Pompeii, reimagined in a new immersive exhibition in London. The city was famously frozen in place after Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago, burying its surroundings in volcanic ash.

JORDI SEILAS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: The volcano is one of the iconic things of The Last Days of Pompeii exhibition. And we built it in the latest cutting-edge 3D technology.

So you will be inside our immersive room, being in the moment when the volcano exploded and living, like in first person, what the people of Pompeii should have lived at that time.

HUNTE (voice-over): And while visitors may be familiar with the city's catastrophic end, the exhibit also shows what life might have looked like before the eruption.

People can tour a suburban villa with frescoed walls and gardens, recreated by large-scale projection screens and virtual reality, for a glimpse of life in the once-thriving city.

But some of the most haunting images from Pompeii are the plaster casts of bodies recovered from the archeological site. The exhibition created replicas of them to put on display. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): But given the challenges of

taking, for example, the recovered bodies, for all the security that these objects had, we opted to display objects from a private collection that would illustrate daily life in the city.

And, at the same time, to create 3D printed replicas of the corpses to understand the history and everything related to Pompeii.

HUNTE (voice-over): With the help of technology, Pompeii is resurrected from its ashen shadows. The exhibition runs in London for 16 weeks -- Ben Hunte, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, the college football weekend got off to a great start Friday with a nail-biter between Clemson and 20th-ranked Louisville.

[04:55:00]

The Cardinals missed a 46-yard field goal that would have given them the lead.

With less than two minutes to play, Clemson headed home with a 20-19 upset win. They need one more victory to become bowl-eligible for the 21st consecutive year.

Meanwhile, number eight Oregon trounced Minnesota on Friday night in Eugene. The Ducks were dominant from beginning to end, beating the Golden Gophers 42-13. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was dialed in, throwing more than 300 yards. Only three incomplete passes in 30 attempts.

Minnesota was coming off a bye but were held to just 200 total yards. The Oregon Ducks are now 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Big 10 conference.

Britain's King Charles has just celebrated his 77th birthday and, to mark the occasion, Buckingham Palace released this photo of the king, taken in May at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England.

Earlier, Charles and Queen Camilla traveled to Wales, where he received a birthday cake in the shape of a local castle.

And in London, cannon salutes were fired near Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge. Royal watchers say the king's trip was a sign of his determination to keep working while receiving cancer treatment.

The Catholic faithful gathered in northern Peru Thursday for the unveiling of a statue of Pope Leo XIV. The 16-foot-tall monument is intended to honor the pontiff's ties to the country.

Born an American pope, Leo served in Peru from 1985 to 2023 and became a citizen. Authorities say the roundabout where the statue stands will be renamed as the Papal Oval. It's all part of a new tourist route in Peru called Paths of Pope Leo XIV, which aims to showcase sites connected to his work in the country. All right. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

I'll be back with more news in just a moment.