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CNN This Morning
At Least Four Killed, 11 Injured After Driver Slams Into Tampa Bar; Senators Working Through The Weekend To End Shutdown; Supreme Court Pauses Lower Court Order To Fund SNAP; Arctic Air Blast Brings Record Cold To Dozens Of States; U.S. Launches 17th Known Strike On Alleged Caribbean Drug Boat; Officials: Missing Child's Mother Arrested On Unrelated Charge. Aired 6-7a ET
Aired November 09, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[06:00:45]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: It is Sunday, November 9th. Welcome to CNN This Morning. I'm Victor Blackwell.
We're starting with breaking news overnight, a car plows into a crowd in Tampa four people have been killed. We'll get you the latest developments on that.
Plus, it's just a travel mess today. More than 1,100 flights canceled already. Staffing shortages and flight cuts are plaguing travelers. Can the Senate make progress today on ending the longest government shutdown?
And tomorrow in historic visit, President Trump will meet with the president of Syria, former member of Al-Qaeda with the two leaders hope to accomplish.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And the cold air has arrived and that means snow showers across portions of the Midwest and the Great Lakes will detail this and how long the cold is expected to last, coming up.
BLACKWELL: We're beginning with that breaking news overnight. Tampa officials say at least four people are dead, 11 injured after a car crashed into a bar after a police chase. Now police say it started with two drivers racing each other just after midnight.
One bailed, the other kept going. Chopper video shows troopers trying to catch up and stop the driver on Interstate 275 South. Authorities say they stopped chasing him when he went into Ybor City, the popular entertainment district in Tampa. But the driver then smashed into a bar.
They identified the suspect as a 22-year-old. His name is Silas Sampson. He was arrested there at the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With all the promising and upcoming things happening to the neighborhood, it's just very very tragic. And, you know, just heartbreaking to wake up to this type of news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Court documents show that Sampson now faces multiple charges.
Senators are now working through the weekend to find a compromise to end the longest government shutdown in history. But no signs of significant progress yet. Saturday's session got off to a rough start when President Trump made it clear that he's not likely to compromise with Democrats on their demand for a one-year extension on Obamacare subsidies -- a point repeated by GOP lawmakers.
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SEN. JOHN THUNE (R), MAJORITY LEADER: Republicans are not about to further burden taxpayers by blindly extending a flawed program. The Democrats proposal is just more of the same -- masking, rising premiums and padding insurance companies' profits with more taxpayer dollars. The Democrat leaders proposal is a non-starter. There's still only one path out, it's a clean funding extension.
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BLACKWELL: Now for more on the stalemate and what comes next, here CNN's Annie Grayer.
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Victor, the Senate left session on Saturday without holding a vote to reopen the government. So the senators are back in session today. We'll see if they make any progress. But both sides really are at a standstill here.
There's huge divisions that remain. Let's just circle back to Monday. There really was bipartisan negotiations that seem to be ongoing. But on Tuesday when Democrats had a major sweep in the elections, that really reaffirmed for Democrats to hold firm in their key position which is they were not going to vote to reopen the government until Republicans made some sort of deal on those expiring Obamacare subsidies that are causing people's health care prices to go up.
So on Friday, Chuck Schumer presented the new Democratic offer to Republicans, which is that, if Democrats will vote to reopen the government, if Republicans extend those expiring Obamacare credits by one year, well, guess what? Republicans flatly rejected that proposal said it was a non-starter. So that is why the Senate was in on Saturday, but could not find an agreement on anything to vote on.
But Leader Thune is planning on keeping the Senate in session on Sunday and through the week hoping that that will create some pressure to senators to reach a deal. We know negotiations are happening behind the scenes but not enough for both sides to reach total agreement.
Meanwhile, the House has been out of session since September 19th. And as a shutdown now drags on the longest in history, real people are continuing to feel real pain.
Back to you.
BLACKWELL: Yes, they certainly are. Annie Grayer, thank you so much.
And with SNAP benefits in limbo for 42 million Americans, food banks across the country are trying to set up and fill the void.
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Last week, the Supreme Court paused the benefits so an appeals court could have more time to consider the Trump administration's objection to fully funding SNAP. While the legal process plays out, people are struggling. The food pantries report the demand they're facing is overwhelming.
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SISTER CAROLINE TWEEDY, ST. JOHN'S BREAD & LIFE: Hunger is not waiting for Washington. People need to eat. Children need to eat. And the people making the decisions have never been on a food pantry line.
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BLACKWELL: Let's get more now from CNN's Rafael Romo.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor, good morning. The decision by Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily pauses a lower court ruling that require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to transfer $4 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP.
The Trump administration had announced Friday that it was working to fully fund food stamp benefits for the month of November to comply with the earlier federal court order. But Jackson state it gives the administration appeal more time putting benefits on hold.
While the legal battle plays out, food banks, community organizations, and even neighbors are doing everything and anything they can to help families who would otherwise receive food through SNAP. Some states like Kansas are using their own funding to provide food assistance.
Reacting to Friday's Supreme Court order Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly said in a statement that, quote, "Today in accordance with the court's order and after receiving guidance from the USDA, Kansas sent full November SNAP benefits to all eligible Kansans." "These Kansans," she said, "most of them children, seniors or people with disabilities, were struggling to put food on their plates."
Something that is also happening across the country is that people are taking action to help their neighbors in need? CNN Affiliate WWJ is reporting that in the community of Ferndale, Michigan, a social worker converted what had been a community little free library into what is now called a Little Free Pantry, which is accepting food and hygiene items for their less fortunate neighbors.
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ANN MARIE YOUNG, MICHIGAN SOCIAL WORKER: I'm a social worker so I work with a lot of people in applying for those benefits and maintaining those benefits. So I know a lot of folks that are feeling scared. Take what you need and leave what you can.
I'm just dropping off some toothpaste, a toothbrush, floss. I had done some Thai wheat noodles. Just staples for the community. I'm in a fortunate place right now where I can absolutely go out and and give more. And I know that if I can just even search in my house and see what things I have that people would be desperately needing, that I can take a half an hour out of my day and make a difference hopefully for somebody.
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ROMO: Young also told CNN affiliate WWJ in Michigan that she plans to keep this pantry going until SNAP benefits are fully restored. And this is but one example of what many people are doing across the country to make sure that nobody goes hungry during this record-long government shutdown.
Victor, now back to you.
BLACKWELL: All right, Rafael, everybody trying to help where they can. Thanks so much.
All right, let's take a look now live at the world's busiest airport. This is Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta. Airlines are canceling hundreds of flights and delays are mounting already as the shutdown drags on. The delays are impacting travelers here at LAX as well.
Last week airlines started to implement a 4 percent reduction in domestic flights at 40 airports. This week that will ramp up to 10 percent, all because of a shortage of air traffic controllers. And travelers just hoping for the best as they navigate the trips and all these connecting flights.
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EMMY HOLGUIN, TRAVELING TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: I'm under worried. Again, we have plans. We make plans based on the flights that we buy. So it worries me that maybe we can miss a flight and lose our jobs. But I also do want to go see my family. So, I mean, I'm going to take the risk, yes.
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BLACKWELL: The FAA said that air traffic control facilities were short staffed 42 times yesterday. It'll likely disrupt holiday travel plans if lawmakers cannot reach a deal this week. And we've got the number on your screen right now. 1,149 cancellations so far today, 490 delays at 6:09 Eastern.
All right, it may still be fall on the calendar, but winter weather is moving in fast. You got a blast of Arctic air that is set to bring record temperatures to several cities and even some snowflakes.
CNN's Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here. When, where, and how low?
CHINCHAR: Right. So in terms of how low, remember what January feels like?
BLACKWELL: I do.
CHINCHAR: That's what it's going to feel like right now.
BLACKWELL: Already?
CHINCHAR: Yes, yes. There are a lot of places where this is actually going to feel more like mid-January than it would say early November. And it's all because of this cold front moving in.
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Now, this cold front is going to be responsible not only for the cold air, but also some snow showers that come in and also very windy condition. So keep in mind, you may have some flight cancellations due to, you know, lack of staffing. But you may also have some delays due to very gusty winds not just today, but also tomorrow.
Here's a look at what we're talking about in terms of the snow showers. You can, again, see most of it across portions of the Midwest and even into the Great Lakes region. This is going to be sliding off to the east as we go through the rest of the day today.
That cold air, however, is really going to stick around for the next couple of days. All of these dots you see here on this map represent the potential for a record low. Either Monday or Tuesday, some places it could even be both days, but this is short-lived.
Again, you can see that cold air sliding by but then, look, we start to get more of those oranges and red color back on the screen by at least the time we get towards the end of the week. So that is some good news.
Looking at some of these temperatures, again, it's obviously very cold up across the northern tier. But you really start to see a lot more of that cold air dive down towards the Gulf Coast on Monday. It sticks around for Tuesday. And then finally, we start to see things rebound a little bit once we get to Wednesday.
Now here's a lot of those wind gusts. Again, you can see a lot of it focused across the Northeast, the Midwest, and even portions of the Mid-Atlantic. That's where you're looking at some of those wind gusts, 40 to 60 miles per hour. But even southern cities like Atlanta going to be very windy on Monday. And that's what's going to keep our temperatures, Victor, from probably not hitting 40.
BLACKWELL: Wait, which is a 26 is the low of Monday?
CHINCHAR: Bring those plants in if you still got a few outside. BLACKWELL: I'd rather going to have to get a hat --
CHINCHAR: Yes.
BLACKWELL: -- or something, you know, to cover this up.
All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.
All right, morning headlines for you now. This is a scary one. Health officials are investigating 13 cases of infant botulism across 10 states. They say they're linked to a recalled baby formula. The FDA says that all the infants were hospitalized after using ByHeart's whole nutrition infant formula. No deaths reported, but parents should stop using the formula and return it or throw it away.
In Louisville, the search is continuing where a UPS cargo plane crashed just after takeoff Tuesday. At least 14 people killed there, nine are still missing. Investigators are sifting through the wreckage of homes and businesses.
The NTSB says the plane's left engine fell off during takeoff and made recovery impossible. Out of caution, UPS and FedEx have grounded all their MD-11 aircrafts as the investigation continues.
14 women calling themselves suburban moms were arrested near Chicago after they blocked a road outside an immigration detention center. The group sat in a circle. This happened Friday as an act of civil disobedience and they demanded an end to what they call a campaign of chaos.
They're referring to the Department of Homeland Security's midway blitz immigration operation. And they say families in their communities are living in fear as loved ones are detained and deported.
Next on CNN This Morning, international concerns over U.S. strikes on Venezuela. We'll be front and center at a summit today. We're live with a look ahead.
Plus, King Charles leads Remembrance Day ceremony. It's notably missing from the ceremony is the former Prince Andrew who was recently stripped of his royal titles and duties. We're live with new developments from overnight.
And you can spend eternity next to Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. Paris is raffling off burial plots near iconic graves. There's a catch there in the fine print.
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BLACKWELL: New this morning, an E.U., Latin American, and Caribbean summit is happening in Colombia. It's happening as the U.S. conducts strikes on what they say are drug boats in the Caribbean. At least 17 known strikes in September. The most recent one just Thursday. So far, at least 70 people have been killed.
Now, the Trump administration has not provided public evidence for the basis of the strikes and is not saw congressional approval. Let's go to CNN Contributor Stefano Pozzebon in Venezuela. Stefano, first, let's talk about this E.U. summit in Colombia. What do we need to know?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, well, we need to know that it's a testament perhaps, Victor, to the tense geopolitical air that is breathing all over South American, Latin America that these E.U. summit with Latin American and Caribbean leaders said that what is meant to be happening in a few hours in the coastal city of Santa Marta in the Colombian Caribbean coast.
Well, it was meant to be a summit where they hoped the Latin American community would present itself as united to discuss a trade and investment opportunities with one of the largest trading partners in the world, the European Union. However, as I was saying tense geopolitical winds breathing all over, it means that only one leading European leader has confirmed that his attendance to the summit that is the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, other leader -- European leaders have canceled their appearances though.
I'm talking about the French President Macron, the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. They were all attended -- expected to be attending the the summit in Santa Marta. Well, it's a no-show.
And perhaps one of the reasons behind it is of course who the host is, the Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is in a war of words with the White House, with Donald Trump exactly on the topic of those 17 strikes that the White House has conducted in the last three months or so.
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Well, less than a month ago, the White House placed the sanctions on the Colombian president and now many are seen in these inappetite, these these lack of appetite from the European Union to sit down with Petro as a way to avoid further trouble with Donald Trump himself.
But it's perhaps a testament as I was saying to the fact that the Latin American region is not presenting itself as united. It is a battled with a war of words between several leaders. There is also a dispute between Peru and Mexico going on. It's unfortunately a little bit of a messy situation.
And on the background, of course, just like you were saying, Victor, is those 17 strikes leading to at least 70 killed, most of them were of course Latin Americans. Victor?
BLACKWELL: Stefano Pozzebon, thank you very much.
Let's discuss now with CNN Military Analyst and Retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel, good morning to you. And so let's talk about the chronology here because you've got the 17 boat struck, 70 killed that we know of. Last month President Trump said that now he was looking at land in Venezuela for the next attack. He pulled that back. And just recently the administration told Congress that they don't have the legal justification for an attack inside Venezuela.
Talk about the significance of that one would say acknowledgement, another would say admission. And how quickly that could change if the administration then believes that it does?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. So good morning, Victor. This is actually very interesting. So what the administration is doing is they're making a distinction between what they're able to do on the sea, on the high seas as opposed to what they can do on land.
And the reason that they can't go in on land is that judicial reading that that the legal ruling that you talked about. So the reason for that ruling is that the laws of warfare, the way they're interpreting them are much stricter on land. In other words what they were are afraid of if they go into Venezuela on land, they won't really have the capacity to legally go after targets such as the Maduro regime, such as, you know, within that their communication set up or their military bases, those kinds of things.
Whereas on the high seas, they're basically looking at it as if they can go after any vessel that they think poses a threat. And this is using their language now to the U.S. now. You can make the argument that those vessels, those fast boats that you often see in those Department of Defense videos that are released those boats really do not pose a direct combat threat to U.S. forces or to any other entity that's out there on the high seas in the Caribbean or in the Eastern Pacific.
So this is a very, you know, kind of a splitting hairs here, really the laws of warfare apply both on sea and on land.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
LEIGHTON: And the administration is actually on tenuous grounds in both of these areas both domains of warfare.
BLACKWELL: Now, the administration says that the goal is not regime change. It's not to oust the the President, Nicolas Maduro. How does that -- let me come in it this way -- reconcile the deployment of resources to the region with the threat from these boats, which the Coast Guard if approaching the U.S. could intercept, take in into custody the people on board and then search them. What they're deploying to this region versus what the threat is, how do you reconcile those?
LEIGHTON: Yes, so that's actually really difficult to reconcile. So as we take a look at all these videos of all the different boats that have been struck -- and none of them pose a threat to U.S. naval forces, and you're right, the Coast Guard would normally be the ones to go in interdict these vessels as they're transiting the high seas. And if they -- there is suspicious, this is -- if there are suspicions that they have actually, you know, if they contain drugs or if they're doing anything that's illegal or illicit, then they could be taken into custody. So what we're not doing is we're not taking these vessels and the people on board into custody. So that's one aspect of this.
So what you have is a show of force that is greater than what is needed to interdict drugs, but it is far less than what would be needed to affect regime change. So what appears to be happening, Victor, is that they want to kind of have a show of force with all kinds of different instruments of power.
Not just the vessels that you see from the U.S. Navy like the aircraft carrier that's coming in the Gerald Ford, that's coming into the Caribbean, but also using aircraft such as B-52s and B-1s that have gone, you know, near the coast of Venezuela, near the coastline there. And those elements of force are designed in essence to coerce the regime, but they are not sufficient by themselves to affect regime change.
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BLACKWELL: All right, important clarity there. Retired Colonel Cedric Leighton, always good to have you on a Sunday. Thanks so much.
LEIGHTON: Thank you (ph), Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right, 1000-mile road trip, a trunk full of wigs and a missing child. How a cross-country mystery unraveled and led to a mother's arrest.
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BLACKWELL: A nine-year-old girl from California has been missing for weeks. And now her mother is under arrest. But authorities say it's not connected to her missing daughter.
CNN's Josh Campbell explains the newest details in the Melodee Buzzard case. Josh.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Victor, an unexpected turn in the investigation to the disappearance of nine-year-old California girl, Melodee Buzzard. Authorities say that her mother has been taken into custody, charged with false imprisonment, but involving a separate case. And authorities aren't providing details right now about who that other individual was.
But, of course, it comes as authorities have been trying to question her, Ashlee Buzzard, about the disappearance of her daughter. Authorities say that she has not been cooperative thus far. This all began when it was the young girl's school who contacted authorities asking for a welfare check. After she hadn't been seen in over a month, authorities going to the residence, interviewing the mother. The mother -- authorities say, did not provide any information that was useful, did not indicate the whereabouts of her daughter.
That then spurred this massive investigation by sheriff's officials and the FBI who conducted a search at the home. Authorities also identified a timeline saying that they believe that the mother took the child across several states as far as Nebraska.
In -- in really unusual details, they released surveillance footage showing that both the mother and the young girl were wearing disguises, were wearing wigs. Authorities say that license plates on the vehicle were swapped out at times.
Now the mother returned to California. The young girl was not with her. Authorities have been trying to identify her whereabouts ever since.
We are hearing from family members who were distraught. They want answers.
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LORI MIRANDA, MELODEE BUZZARD'S GRANDMOTHER: Totally numb and in shock. This is just so shocking to me and that my granddaughter is dressed in a disguise.
This is just so overwhelming. It's just so really scary.
You need to tell them where the baby is. You need to tell them who's setting all these things up for you. I know you're not doing it.
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CAMPBELL: Now it's unclear if Ashlee Buzzard has an attorney and CNN is working to determine whether she has representation. It's also unclear whether she's actually answering any questions that deputies are posing to her about the disappearance of her daughter.
We do know the investigation is continuing. Authorities have released a map showing the route of travel they believe that both of these individuals took across the United States. They want anyone along that route who may have surveillance footage at their business, at their home, to provide that to authorities if it indeed shows them as they again try to find the location of this missing girl.
Victor?
BLACKWELL: All right. Josh Campbell, thank you for that.
New this morning, King Charles and members of the Royal Family are appearing at the annual Remembrance Day ceremony in London. Live of pictures here, the service at the Cenotaph honors those who died in the line of duty. It happens on the Sunday closest to November 11th, the day when the world -- World War I ended. This is 1918.
We turn now to CNN correspondent Nada Bashir in London. We had some of those live pictures. We're expecting to see the King and Queen soon. Nada, good morning.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. Of course, as customary, we saw today the two-minute silence being held at 11:00 A.M. Big Ben clock striking there as the King, King Charles, led that two-minute silence by beside the Cenotaph in Whitehall in Central London, joined by the Prince of Wales, Prince William, beside him.
And, of course, as you've mentioned the Queen herself was also present as well as the Princess of Wales. They were seen watching from the Central Balcony of the foreign office as senior members of the Royal Family and senior politicians stood below to mark the armistice of the First World War and to commemorate those who were killed during the conflict.
Now, as is customary on Remembrance Sunday, we did see the King, as well as the Prince of Wales laying their wreaths at the Cenotaph to commemorate Remembrance Sunday.
Senior politicians, including the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, were also president -- present. The prime minister laying his wreath.
And behind him, former prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Tony Blair. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also president, as well as senior religious leaders from all faiths there to commemorate the occasion.
Now, according to officials, some 10,000 veterans and service members are expected to take part in the Royal Legion's march today. That includes some of the last surviving veterans from World War II and their family members, including bereaved children.
Some 10,000 members of the public are also anticipated to be lining the streets to watch at that march. And we've been hearing from the Prime Minister who has issued a statement on this occasion.
And I'll just read you a bit from that statement saying 80 years since the end of the Second World War, we remember a generation who stood against tyranny and shaped our future. Their legacy is peace and our duty is to protect it.
[06:35:00]
Now that ceremony is underway. That two-minute silence took place just about half an hour ago, but at the ceremony and commemorations are expected to continue over the course of the afternoon.
BLACKWELL: Nada Bashir reporting from London. Thank you.
An historic first at the White House tomorrow. President Trump will host Syria's president, a former jihadist. What this could mean for stability in the Middle East? That's next.
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BLACKWELL: President Trump will host Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House tomorrow. This is an historic first for a Syrian head of state and a remarkable development, given that Al-Sharaa is a former jihadist who until recently had a $10 million bounty on his head.
President Trump met the Syrian president in Riyadh. That was in May, six months after Al-Sharaa toppled the half-century old Assad regime.
The U.S. removed sanctions on Al-Sharaa on Friday, a day after the U.N. Security Council did the same.
Let's talk now about this with CNN global affairs Analyst, Kimberly Dozier. Thank you for coming in.
So, let's -- let's first, you know, divide this by motives of each party right here.
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes.
BLACKWELL: And so let's start with -- with the White House. What do they want primarily out of this visit?
DOZIER: They want stability in the Middle East. Sharaa is not the guy anyone would have chosen in the West or in the region to head the country, but he's emerged as the strong man who can make most of the other Islamic State-related or jihadist-related groups listen to him.
So they are invested in his success as part of this visit. He's supposed to join the anti-ISIS coalition that the U.S. leads.
He's also hoping for more sanctions relief, namely the repeal of the Caesar Act.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
DOZIER: So that he can get more money into the country. The country has been flattened by 15 years of civil war, and before that, Assad's dictatorial rule. And it needs money.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
DOZIER: Saudi Arabia and Qatar have promised money, but a lot of the international investment that Syria needs to stand back up again, it can't get because no international business wants to invest there with the threat of sanctions hanging over.
BLACKWELL: So Al-Sharaa was in Moscow three and a half weeks ago with -- with Putin there. And obviously Russia has a military interest and a significant military presence in Syria.
How much of that relationship will influence what is on the table for the two men, the President -- President Trump and Al-Sharaa tomorrow?
DOZIER: I don't think the White House has all that disturbed. I mean, the Russian military has a longstanding presence in Syria, in its ports. And Russia isn't in a position right now to provide too much aid to Syria. It's fighting another war in Ukraine.
What the White House really needs, though, is for Congress to back the repeal of the Caesar Act. And right now, the Senate has done that. But on the House side, you've got a number of members saying, we're not convinced that Sharaa is doing everything he can to protect the Alawite minority, the Christian minority, the Druze minority.
And there are also reports from diplomats working with the government that Sharaa has hired some of his own relatives, that there have already been kickbacks and cronyism, the same kind of thing that the previous Syrian regime did, corruption.
And they want guarantees that if they repeal this act, there will be a checklist of measures that Syria has to follow or the sanctions come straight back.
BLACKWELL: And how likely do you think that is and if they get the -- the assertions, the commitments that they'll be held?
DOZIER: I think because at this point, the Republicans hold Congress that the White House will eventually prevail and convince the various lawmakers that, look, Syria is, in a sense, too big to fail, if that place becomes a failed state.
It stops things like the expansion of the Abraham Accords, it becomes a center for potential jihadist militia and militant activity. Therefore, yes, we'll put these requirements in place, but we can't let it fall back into chaos.
BLACKWELL: Yes. You know, you brought up the Abraham Accords, and the president was asked at the end of the week, if he will talk with Al- Sharaa about expansion of the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations with Israel.
How much progress do you think there can be in the near term, considering all that's happening in -- in the region?
DOZIER: Well, the Israel-Syria situation has to be sorted out first. And the U.S. has been trying to negotiate that.
Israel wants a total demilitarized zone in southern Syria, and it's grabbed a large part of Syrian territory. It wants demilitarized zones stretching all the way up just about to Damascus.
The U.S. is trying to broker an accord that would be an agreement that Syria wouldn't attack Israel, and that possibly you'd have peacekeepers, even U.S. peacekeepers, in that zone to make sure that hostilities don't break out. That's got to happen first before you talk about any other expanded peace in the region.
BLACKWELL: All right. Kimberly Dozier, we'll all watch this historic meeting. Thank you.
[06:45:03]
DOZIER: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: All right. The most visited cemetery in the world is home to celebrities. We're talking Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, and in the future, maybe you, if you want it.
CNN's Saskya Vandoorne walks us through the Paris cemetery, and how you can now get your own plot there.
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SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: People are entering a lottery to be buried in the same cemetery as celebrities such as Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. This is the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, one of the most visited in the world.
But back in 1804, no one wanted to be buried here because it was far outside the city center and people preferred traditional church cemeteries.
So officials moved the remains of figures like Moliere, La Fontaine and it worked. The once empty cemetery suddenly became the place to be buried in Paris. And it's been that way pretty much ever since.
Now, the city is trying another unusual idea and it's organized a modern day lottery that gives regular Parisians a chance to win a burial plot here, if they help restore one of the cemetery's neglected tombs.
Each plot costs around $4,500. And if you win, you're responsible for restoring the old tomb and you'll earn a burial plot next to it.
It's a rare opportunity since space in the cemeteries has been nearly impossible for more than 100 years.
Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Paris.
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BLACKWELL: Up next, turning heartbreak to whole power. Former crime reporter is helping people in prison heal through the power of the written word. She is a CNN hero nominee. Her story is next.
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BLACKWELL: Listen, if a cold weather isn't getting you in the spirit yet, this sure sign of the holiday season in New York will. The Rockefeller Center tree just got its -- its position there in New York, 75-foot Norway spruce, 11 tons.
This is a gift of Judy Russ. It's an honor of her husband, Dan, who died five years ago. When Rockefeller Center's head gardener saw the tree, he said he just had to get it.
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ERIK PAUZE, HEAD GARDENER, ROCKEFELLER CENTER: It's very exciting. It's a great tradition here at Rockefeller Center. There's a lot of people around. Everybody's having a great time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Now, the tree had adorned the Russ' home in Upstate New York. It'll sparkle with 50,000 colored lights and a nine-foot star when it's lit on December 3rd.
Voting is happening now for the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year. And Debra Des Vignes, she's a former crime reporter. She's now helping incarcerated people transform their lives through creative writing. It's giving them the tools to reflect and grow and build brighter futures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBRA DES VIGNES, FORMER CRIME REPORTER: But when Sheriff SWAT team members arrived at the home, no one was found inside.
I was a television news reporter and I covered crime.
I didn't really understand humanity as I should have as a young reporter in my early 20s. It wasn't until much later that the faces had stories and had names.
I decided to volunteer in a prison because I was always inquisitive and curious about their stories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is one more reminder that inmates --
DES VIGNES: I saw the raw talent. And that's what led me to create this 12-week creative writing curriculum.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was convicted of dealing in a narcotic and dealing marijuana. I pretty much grew up on the streets. I lost my mother, my father, my sister, and my brother, and came to a crossroads and had to make a decision of whether I was going to use that as fuel to do better.
DES VIGNES: Thank you for sharing that. Yes, I know that was heartfelt.
We never excused what they've done. In fact, a lot of them write about their remorse. We're just giving them a sacred space where they can let their shoulders down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eventually though, I began to confront my grief with a clear mind and an open heart, accepting the fact that no matter what I did or who I heard, nothing was going to bring my brother back from the dead. I look forward to my Friday afternoons more than most days. People just let their souls bleed out of their pens onto that paper. And for two hours a day, everyone can just truly be themselves. And we're like a little small-knit family here.
I plan on going into college and majoring in psychology when I get out. So I feel like this is a huge step towards them.
DES VIGNES: That's going to make me tear up. We'll end on that one. That was really powerful.
Some people would think it's a lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key. And if a lot of these prisoners are going to be released, then why not use writing as a tool to become better in the space that you're in?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: You can go to cnn.com/heroes to vote for Debra for a CNN Hero of the Year or any of your favorite top five heroes. You get 10 votes per day.
[06:55:00]
Also, take an intimate look into the extraordinary political career and life of New Zealand's former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is in a new CNN film, "Prime Minister."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you can credibly lead a government?
JACINDA ARDERN, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: Would you like to tell me why you don't think I can?
We will remain relentlessly positive. That is who we are as New Zealanders.
Lies have now turned to just (INAUDIBLE). I have three years to do as much as we can. They thought, how am I going to do this with a baby?
Crisis make governments and they break governments. You can lead just like me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Prime Minister" premieres November 16th on CNN and next day on the CNN app.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: A nine-year-old girl from California has been missing for weeks. And now her mother is under arrest. But authorities say it's not connected to her missing daughter.
CNN's Josh Campbell explains the newest details in the Melodee Buzzard case. Josh.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Victor, an unexpected turn in the investigation to the disappearance of nine-year-old California girl, Melodee Buzzard. Authorities say that her mother has been taken into custody, charged with false imprisonment, but involving a separate case. And authorities aren't providing details right now about who that other individual was.
But, of course, it comes as authorities have been trying to question her, Ashlee Buzzard, about the disappearance of her daughter. Authorities say that she has not been cooperative thus far.
This all began when it was the young girl's school who contacted authorities asking for a welfare check. After she hadn't been seen in over a month, authorities going to the residence, interviewing the mother. The mother -- authorities say, did not provide any information that was useful, did not indicate the whereabouts of her daughter.
That then spurred this massive investigation by sheriff's officials and the FBI who conducted a search at the home. Authorities also identified a timeline saying that they believe that the mother took the child across several states as far as Nebraska.
In -- in really unusual details, they released surveillance footage showing that both the mother and the young girl were wearing disguises, were wearing wigs. Authorities say that license plates on the vehicle were swapped out at times.
Now the mother returned to California. The young girl was not with her. Authorities have been trying to identify her whereabouts ever since.
We are hearing from family members who were distraught. They want answers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORI MIRANDA, MELODEE BUZZARD'S GRANDMOTHER: Totally numb and in shock. This is just so shocking to me and that my granddaughter is dressed in a disguise.
This is just so overwhelming. It's just so really scary.
You need to tell them where the baby is. You need to tell them who's setting all these things up for you. I know you're not doing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMPBELL: Now it's unclear if Ashlee Buzzard has an attorney and CNN is working to determine whether she has representation. It's also unclear whether she's actually answering any questions that deputies are posing to her about the disappearance of her daughter. We do know the investigation is continuing. Authorities have released a map showing the route of travel they believe that both of these individuals took across the United States. They want anyone along that route who may have surveillance footage at their business, at their home, to provide that to authorities if it indeed shows them as they again try to find the location of this missing girl.
Victor?
BLACKWELL: All right. Josh Campbell, thank you for that.
New this morning, King Charles and members of the Royal Family are appearing at the annual Remembrance Day ceremony in London. Live of pictures here, the service at the Cenotaph honors those who died in the line of duty.
It happens on the Sunday closest to November 11th, the day when the world -- World War I ended. This is 1918.
We turn now to CNN correspondent Nada Bashir in London. We had some of those live pictures. We're expecting to see the King and Queen soon. Nada, good morning.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. Of course, as customary, we saw today the two-minute silence being held at 11:00 A.M. Big Ben clock striking there as the King, King Charles, led that two-minute silence by beside the Cenotaph in Whitehall in Central London, joined by the Prince of Wales, Prince William, beside him.
And, of course, as you've mentioned the Queen herself was also present as well as the Princess of Wales. They were seen watching from the Central Balcony of the foreign office as senior members of the Royal Family and senior politicians stood below to mark the armistice of the First World War and to commemorate those who were killed during the conflict.
Now, as is customary on Remembrance Sunday, we did see the King, as well as the Prince of Wales laying their wreaths at the Cenotaph to commemorate Remembrance Sunday.
Senior politicians, including the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, were also president -- present. The prime minister laying his wreath.
And behind him, former prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Tony Blair. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also president, as well as senior religious leaders from all faiths there to commemorate the occasion.
Now, according to officials, some 10,000 veterans and service members are expected to take part in the Royal Legion's march today. That includes some of the last surviving veterans from World War II and their family members, including bereaved children.
Some 10,000 members of the public are also anticipated to be lining the streets to watch at that march. And we've been hearing from the Prime Minister who has issued a statement on this occasion. And I'll just read you a bit from that statement saying 80 years since the end of the Second World War, we remember a generation who stood against tyranny and shaped our future. Their legacy is peace and our duty is to protect it.
[06:35:00]
Now that ceremony is underway. That two-minute silence took place just about half an hour ago, but at the ceremony and commemorations are expected to continue over the course of the afternoon.
BLACKWELL: Nada Bashir reporting from London. Thank you.
An historic first at the White House tomorrow. President Trump will host Syria's president, a former jihadist. What this could mean for stability in the Middle East? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:40:04]
BLACKWELL: President Trump will host Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House tomorrow. This is an historic first for a Syrian head of state and a remarkable development, given that Al-Sharaa is a former jihadist who until recently had a $10 million bounty on his head.
President Trump met the Syrian president in Riyadh. That was in May, six months after Al-Sharaa toppled the half-century old Assad regime.
The U.S. removed sanctions on Al-Sharaa on Friday, a day after the U.N. Security Council did the same.
Let's talk now about this with CNN global affairs Analyst, Kimberly Dozier. Thank you for coming in.
So, let's -- let's first, you know, divide this by motives of each party right here.
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes.
BLACKWELL: And so let's start with -- with the White House. What do they want primarily out of this visit?
DOZIER: They want stability in the Middle East. Sharaa is not the guy anyone would have chosen in the West or in the region to head the country, but he's emerged as the strong man who can make most of the other Islamic State-related or jihadist-related groups listen to him.
So they are invested in his success as part of this visit. He's supposed to join the anti-ISIS coalition that the U.S. leads.
He's also hoping for more sanctions relief, namely the repeal of the Caesar Act.
BLACKWELL: Yes. DOZIER: So that he can get more money into the country. The country has been flattened by 15 years of civil war, and before that, Assad's dictatorial rule. And it needs money.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
DOZIER: Saudi Arabia and Qatar have promised money, but a lot of the international investment that Syria needs to stand back up again, it can't get because no international business wants to invest there with the threat of sanctions hanging over.
BLACKWELL: So Al-Sharaa was in Moscow three and a half weeks ago with -- with Putin there. And obviously Russia has a military interest and a significant military presence in Syria.
How much of that relationship will influence what is on the table for the two men, the President -- President Trump and Al-Sharaa tomorrow?
DOZIER: I don't think the White House has all that disturbed. I mean, the Russian military has a longstanding presence in Syria, in its ports. And Russia isn't in a position right now to provide too much aid to Syria. It's fighting another war in Ukraine.
What the White House really needs, though, is for Congress to back the repeal of the Caesar Act. And right now, the Senate has done that. But on the House side, you've got a number of members saying, we're not convinced that Sharaa is doing everything he can to protect the Alawite minority, the Christian minority, the Druze minority.
And there are also reports from diplomats working with the government that Sharaa has hired some of his own relatives, that there have already been kickbacks and cronyism, the same kind of thing that the previous Syrian regime did, corruption.
And they want guarantees that if they repeal this act, there will be a checklist of measures that Syria has to follow or the sanctions come straight back.
BLACKWELL: And how likely do you think that is and if they get the -- the assertions, the commitments that they'll be held?
DOZIER: I think because at this point, the Republicans hold Congress that the White House will eventually prevail and convince the various lawmakers that, look, Syria is, in a sense, too big to fail, if that place becomes a failed state.
It stops things like the expansion of the Abraham Accords, it becomes a center for potential jihadist militia and militant activity. Therefore, yes, we'll put these requirements in place, but we can't let it fall back into chaos.
BLACKWELL: Yes. You know, you brought up the Abraham Accords, and the president was asked at the end of the week, if he will talk with Al- Sharaa about expansion of the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations with Israel.
How much progress do you think there can be in the near term, considering all that's happening in -- in the region?
DOZIER: Well, the Israel-Syria situation has to be sorted out first. And the U.S. has been trying to negotiate that.
Israel wants a total demilitarized zone in southern Syria, and it's grabbed a large part of Syrian territory. It wants demilitarized zones stretching all the way up just about to Damascus.
The U.S. is trying to broker an accord that would be an agreement that Syria wouldn't attack Israel, and that possibly you'd have peacekeepers, even U.S. peacekeepers, in that zone to make sure that hostilities don't break out. That's got to happen first before you talk about any other expanded peace in the region.
BLACKWELL: All right. Kimberly Dozier, we'll all watch this historic meeting. Thank you.
[06:45:03]
DOZIER: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: All right. The most visited cemetery in the world is home to celebrities. We're talking Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, and in the future, maybe you, if you want it.
CNN's Saskya Vandoorne walks us through the Paris cemetery, and how you can now get your own plot there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: People are entering a lottery to be buried in the same cemetery as celebrities such as Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. This is the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, one of the most visited in the world.
But back in 1804, no one wanted to be buried here because it was far outside the city center and people preferred traditional church cemeteries.
So officials moved the remains of figures like Moliere, La Fontaine and it worked. The once empty cemetery suddenly became the place to be buried in Paris. And it's been that way pretty much ever since.
Now, the city is trying another unusual idea and it's organized a modern day lottery that gives regular Parisians a chance to win a burial plot here, if they help restore one of the cemetery's neglected tombs.
Each plot costs around $4,500. And if you win, you're responsible for restoring the old tomb and you'll earn a burial plot next to it.
It's a rare opportunity since space in the cemeteries has been nearly impossible for more than 100 years.
Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Up next, turning heartbreak to whole power. Former crime reporter is helping people in prison heal through the power of the written word. She is a CNN hero nominee. Her story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:50:36]
BLACKWELL: Listen, if a cold weather isn't getting you in the spirit yet, this sure sign of the holiday season in New York will. The Rockefeller Center tree just got its -- its position there in New York, 75-foot Norway spruce, 11 tons.
This is a gift of Judy Russ. It's an honor of her husband, Dan, who died five years ago. When Rockefeller Center's head gardener saw the tree, he said he just had to get it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIK PAUZE, HEAD GARDENER, ROCKEFELLER CENTER: It's very exciting. It's a great tradition here at Rockefeller Center. There's a lot of people around. Everybody's having a great time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Now, the tree had adorned the Russ' home in Upstate New York. It'll sparkle with 50,000 colored lights and a nine-foot star when it's lit on December 3rd.
Voting is happening now for the 2025 CNN Hero of the Year. And Debra Des Vignes, she's a former crime reporter. She's now helping incarcerated people transform their lives through creative writing. It's giving them the tools to reflect and grow and build brighter futures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBRA DES VIGNES, FORMER CRIME REPORTER: But when Sheriff SWAT team members arrived at the home, no one was found inside.
I was a television news reporter and I covered crime.
I didn't really understand humanity as I should have as a young reporter in my early 20s. It wasn't until much later that the faces had stories and had names.
I decided to volunteer in a prison because I was always inquisitive and curious about their stories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is one more reminder that inmates --
DES VIGNES: I saw the raw talent. And that's what led me to create this 12-week creative writing curriculum.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was convicted of dealing in a narcotic and dealing marijuana. I pretty much grew up on the streets. I lost my mother, my father, my sister, and my brother, and came to a crossroads and had to make a decision of whether I was going to use that as fuel to do better.
DES VIGNES: Thank you for sharing that. Yes, I know that was heartfelt.
We never excused what they've done. In fact, a lot of them write about their remorse. We're just giving them a sacred space where they can let their shoulders down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eventually though, I began to confront my grief with a clear mind and an open heart, accepting the fact that no matter what I did or who I heard, nothing was going to bring my brother back from the dead.
I look forward to my Friday afternoons more than most days. People just let their souls bleed out of their pens onto that paper. And for two hours a day, everyone can just truly be themselves. And we're like a little small-knit family here.
I plan on going into college and majoring in psychology when I get out. So I feel like this is a huge step towards them.
DES VIGNES: That's going to make me tear up. We'll end on that one. That was really powerful.
Some people would think it's a lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key. And if a lot of these prisoners are going to be released, then why not use writing as a tool to become better in the space that you're in?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: You can go to cnn.com/heroes to vote for Debra for a CNN Hero of the Year or any of your favorite top five heroes. You get 10 votes per day.
[06:55:00]
Also, take an intimate look into the extraordinary political career and life of New Zealand's former prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is in a new CNN film, "Prime Minister."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think you can credibly lead a government?
JACINDA ARDERN, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: Would you like to tell me why you don't think I can?
We will remain relentlessly positive. That is who we are as New Zealanders.
Lies have now turned to just (INAUDIBLE). I have three years to do as much as we can. They thought, how am I going to do this with a baby?
Crisis make governments and they break governments. You can lead just like me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Prime Minister" premieres November 16th on CNN and next day on the CNN app.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
