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CNN This Morning
FAA to Cut Flights at 40 Airports Starting Tomorrow; Investigators Seek Cause UPS Plane Crash Killing 12; How Will Tuesday's Democratic Sweep Change Midterm Strategies? Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired November 06, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: -- celestial events, lighting up the skies over India. This is the second of three back-to-back super moons this year.
[06:00:08]
Here's a view over Sydney's Bondi Beach. According to "The Old Farmer's Almanac," this full moon is known as the Beaver Moon.
And these images come from the German city of Cologne here. The "Almanac" says the Beaver Moon is named for the time when beavers begin making preparations for the winter.
Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now planning to fly.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Planning to fly? Prepare for mass chaos. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we do not get paid by this weekend, my prediction is that it will become catastrophic around the country.
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CORNISH: Week six of the government shutdown, and flight cuts are coming to dozens of major airports.
And defining Mamdani. How the left and the right are marketing New York's mayor-elect to change the course of the midterm elections.
A blue wave in an off-year election. Are Republicans ignoring serious warning signs?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can feel the heat from far away. We make a decision: run for our lives.
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CORNISH: A deadly plane crash in Kentucky. How some victims survived. And the search for those who did not.
And a Supreme Court decision. Is the high court about to crush the centerpiece of Trump's economic agenda?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Republicans decide to cower before the likes of neo-Nazis and their propagandizers, they deserve to lose. And they will lose.
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CORNISH: A MAGA civil war. The divide over antisemitism that threatens to tear the movement apart.
Six a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look of a pretty sunrise over New York City. Good morning, everybody. It is Thursday, November 6th. I want to thank you for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here is where we begin.
Is history repeating itself? President Trump's last government shutdown ended after too many unpaid air-traffic controllers called out sick.
Now, the FAA is making plans to cut air traffic by reducing flights at 40 major airports nationwide, starting tomorrow. Now, only a deal to end the shutdown will avert those cancellations, which could impact thousands of flights.
Air traffic controllers will miss out on a second paycheck next week.
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SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I anticipate there will be additional disruptions. There will be frustration. We are working with the airlines. They're going to work with passengers.
But in the end, our sole role is to make sure that we keep this airspace as safe as possible.
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CORNISH: So, there have been more than 400 staffing shortages reported at FAA facilities since the start of the shutdown on October 1. TSA workers are also feeling the strain.
CNN spoke with one woman who had to quit her job last week as the pressure of working without pay took its toll.
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ROXY KNIGHTLY, FORMER TSA OFFICER: I tried to push through for as long as I could, but my lease is literally about to end within the next two weeks. Landlords require two pay stubs. I do not have two recent pay stubs. I kind of feel a little bit lost, to be honest with you, because I
did, you know, intend to continue working as a transportation security officer. Here in Chicago for as long as I could.
But obviously, all of this has happened, and everything is starting to look drastically different.
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CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Zach Wolf, CNN senior political writer and the author of the "What Matters" newsletter; Mike Dubke, former Trump White House communications director; and Meghan Hayes, former Biden White House director of message planning.
I think we're at the point now where no average person cares whose fault it is. And yet they are living with the ramifications of it.
So, is that finally starting to put pressure on lawmakers to find their way to a deal? I don't know, Mike or Meghan, what you're hearing in your group chats.
MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, I'll jump in first on, you know, I think there was a high hope amongst Republicans that this week was finally going to be the week that the Democrats came and voted for the clean C.R. And maybe we extend the length of the agreement, but that we would get there.
I think, you know, there are some within the Democratic Party that is that are taking the wrong message out of Tuesday, which is, hey, we won in 3 or 4 blue states, big wins. So, let's -- the American people want this to continue. I don't think that's right.
And we're also seeing, just like classic rock keeps bringing back the oldies but goodies. TSA, the air, the airspace being shut down. That's what ended, as you said, at the top of the program, the last shutdown. I think we're starting to feel that this time.
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CORNISH: Meghan.
MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING. I think Mike is right, that the American people don't care, and they want this solved. And I think that they are just starting to negotiate.
You saw some bipartisan negotiations with Don Bacon and Tom Suozzi come out on Monday. And I think that that's what people want to see. And I think that's what they need to see.
To get it back open. I disagree a little bit that there are -- Democrats are riding high from Tuesday, saying we don't need to negotiate.
I think they understand deeply that people want to get their SNAP benefits and people -- the airports need to function safely. But also, the cost of health care is important, and those are things that we need to figure out before we open up the government. And Republicans need to negotiate just as well as Democrats do. But the American people deserve to have their government working for them.
CORNISH: Zach, what do you make of how the White House has been dealing with this? Obviously, there -- there is a way out, right? We've seen in the past you pass something that is clean, so to speak.
And then you promise the opposing party a little bite at the apple of the things they want in some sort of separate bill. I don't know what's going on now, but did the visit from the White House to the hill clarify anything?
ZACH WOLF, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER: I mean, I don't think anything's clarified. We still don't know. We know how this movie is going to end.
You described it exactly. There's -- somebody is going to give on something. Somebody else is going to give on something else. There's going -- there are going to be some votes. And suddenly, the government is going to open.
Does that mean that, you know, the specifics of the Obamacare subsidies are fixed? Probably not immediately. But, you know, we'll just have to see.
What I don't understand is how the puzzle kind of fits together. That can happen very quickly when people finally decide to do it. But the moving parts are still very much running into each other at this point.
So, you know, when -- when people start saying, there's a deal, I'll get interested. And that might not even -- even equal the end of this. So, we'll just have to see.
CORNISH: I think politically, even if you don't have sympathy for federal workers, if you somehow don't have sympathy for people in food lines, it's interesting that when commerce flights get affected, that's when people start to feel the pressure.
I want to play for you, the CEO of Frontier Airlines. In a statement -- or actually read to you. In a statement to CNN, he said this: "If you are flying Friday or in the next ten days and need to be there and don't want to be stranded, I highly recommend booking a backup ticket on another carrier."
I paused because I went to look at my watch and see the date. If that's going to hit Thanksgiving and my in-laws won't make it. What is it about this moment? Or what is it that you think about air travel that pushes, politically, things to move?
DUBKE: I'm sorry, Audie. Now, I'm only thinking about whether that's a positive or a negative for you, if your in-laws don't make it on Thanksgiving.
CORNISH: I love my in-laws. I'm actually upset.
DUBKE: OK. Look, I'm going to take exception with the lack of sympathy. I think both parties have sympathy for the cuts, but they're not real, in the sense that where you're seeing it across the board affecting, you know, across the economic spectrum.
So, that's why -- part of the reason, I think, that this transportation disruption is, is always kind of one of the things that moves folks forward.
But as we see this, I think we're going to get a deal sooner rather than later for the sheer fact that those who are negotiating are very quiet now, and those who are not are very loud and boisterous.
CORNISH: That is my favorite tell among lawmakers. Once they go silent, you finally know something is being done.
You guys stay with me. We're going to talk a lot this hour.
And by the way, if you want to read some of Zach's writing, you can subscribe to the "What Matters" newsletter because it drops every weekday. Sign up for that online at CNN.
And coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, the search for answers. Why did a UPS plane crash at takeoff? What the NTSB says could hurt the investigation.
Plus, the USDA is revisiting its plans for Food Stamps. The partial benefits could be more than expected.
And is it a revenge tour? Why is Marjorie Taylor Greene rebranding?
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of this stuff is personally motivated. There is no signs of revelation.
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[06:13:36] CORNISH: OK, so the black boxes have been recovered, and this morning investigators are combing through a half-mile-long trail of destruction after a deadly UPS freight plane crash in Louisville, Kentucky.
Right now, the death toll stands at 12. Officials worry it could rise, because they don't expect to find anyone else alive.
The plane destroyed homes, roads and businesses, and one of those businesses, Grade A Auto Parts, took a direct hit. The owner says three of his employees are still missing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEAN GARBER, OWNER, GRADE A AUTO PARTS: I've never been in a war zone, but I would have to imagine it is what a war zone looks like. All of our buildings in the path of the airplane are destroyed. The most important thing for us is figuring out where these -- these three people are, and identifying the customers that were there. So, we can provide information to their families.
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CORNISH: CNN's Leigh Waldman joins us live from Louisville. And so far, what more is known about a potential cause of the crash?
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Audie, it's good to be with you.
We know that the NTSB arrived here on Wednesday. Today will be their first full day that they're able to analyze and dig through this massive crash site. We know that there is a half-mile-long debris field.
They've uncovered that black box from the plane, and they said it suffered some heat, but they're built to withstand that. They're able to still analyze the data from the black boxes.
[06:15:08]
Last night when we were here around 7 p.m., we saw them actually hauling off what appeared to be part of the plane's engine, the NTSB confirming that -- that there was a fire on the left wing of that plane, and the engine of that plane actually came off.
Now, they're not going to determine a probable cause in the week that their investigators are here on scene, but they're using the black box data. Also, surveillance video, to try and determine what exactly went wrong here.
But we've all seen the videos now of this massive black plume of smoke and a huge fireball from this devastating crash. It's been described as apocalyptic.
Heare what the governor here had to say.
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GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D), KENTUCKY: As governor, I've seen a lot. I've had to order freezer trucks in a pandemic. I've walked the line of an EF-4 tornado through my Dad's hometown. I've seen towns hit by flooding we'd only describe as biblical. And what this scene is, is violent.
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WALDMAN: And, Audie, you mentioned the death toll stands at 12. Now, we expect that to continue to rise. And to add more heartbreak to this situation, we know at least one of those victims is a young child.
CORNISH: CNN's Leigh Waldman, who's going to be reporting out of Louisville.
Thank you.
And after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, was Tuesday's election a warning for Republicans? Our next guest explains how Democrats repaired the cracks that President Trump made.
Plus --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tariffs are a big thing that has really affected the pricing.
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CORNISH: Small businesses hurt by the president's tariffs. And the Supreme Court also seems skeptical about the policy.
And good morning to Miami.
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[06:21:15]
CORNISH: So, a lesson for Democrats and warning signs for the GOP. The Democrats' election sweep could shape the GOP's playbook going into next year's midterms.
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REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Stay tuned, because more is coming. Republicans are going to be unable to gerrymander their way into rigging the midterm elections. That scheme is over, buried, dead in the ground. And so, we're going to take back control of the House and fight for every inch of territory.
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CORNISH: Republicans in California now filing a federal lawsuit, challenging the passing of Prop 50, which could flip several congressional seats.
President Trump, doing what he does, raising claims of potential election interference.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We should pass no mail-in voting. We should pass all the things that we want to pass, make our elections secure and safe, because California is a disaster. Many of the states are disasters.
But can you imagine when they vote almost unanimously against voter I.D.? If they take power -- and it's more likely that they take power if we don't do it, because we're not going to be passing any legislation. They're not going to approve anything.
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CORNISH: Joining me now to discuss, CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein.
Ron, I love reading your writing. You help me make sense of things, and I want you to help me make sense of this. The argument from Republicans that these were blue states anyway, a California, a New Jersey or Virginia. And so, it doesn't matter that they voted in opposition to Trump.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Look, I think what ought to be troubling for Republicans about the results this week is how normal they were.
You know, in the 21st Century, without question, the driving force in off-year elections has been voter assessments of the incoming -- incumbent president. And that, in normal times, should be worrying to Republicans, because we've seen Trump's approval rating fall significantly since he's taken office again, particularly among the groups where he made his biggest gains in '24, which were working- class minority voters and young people.
But all year, Audie, there's been kind of a counter view among many pundits and strategists in both parties that says, well, voters are really down on Democrats. And that's evident in poll after poll, and maybe that will offset the mounting discontent with Trump's performance.
Well, we had a real-world test of those competing propositions on Tuesday. In both Virginia and New Jersey, about half of all voters said they had an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party. And yet, Spanberger and Sherrill won by double digits, because their views about Trump, their negative views about Trump mattered more.
Over 90 percent of voters who disapproved of Trump voted for Spanberger. Over 90 percent of voters who disapproved of Sherrill [SIC] -- Trump voted for Sherrill.
And even Jay Jones, the scandal-tarred attorney general candidate in Virginia, won 89 percent of voters who disapproved of Trump.
And that is the core relationship that ought to be worrying to Republicans. What it says, is that pretty much, you know, in red states, this isn't going to be a problem.
Anywhere where Trump's approval rating is under 50 percent, though, next year, Republicans are looking, I think, at a traditional relationship, where the vast majority of those voters dissatisfied with the incumbent are going to vote against the incumbent's party, whatever their feelings about the party out of the White House.
CORNISH: Especially with all these questions about the economy --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. CORNISH: -- that are starting to brew. Ron Brownstein, thanks so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
CORNISH: Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, protesters, a pastor, and members of the media all taking the stand in Chicago, testifying about why they think federal agents are using excessive force.
[06:25:03]
Plus, the FAA -- FAA says, if the shutdown goes on, they will be forced to cut flights as more TSA agents and air traffic controllers call out sick.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody wants to come to work. They're -- they're patriots. They don't feel like they're supported by their employer, by the federal government. And that they're just -- we're being used as pawns right now, like in political games.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Food Stamps, EBT and the shutdown. We need things like this. Got kids to feed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see what's happening in D.C.? I don't believe that they're going to --
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