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CNN This Morning
Senate Passes Deal to End Shutdown, Now Heads to House; Real Singers Speak Out as Fake Pop Stars Top Charts. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired November 11, 2025 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:00:15]
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: So, which Democratic Party will show up to the midterms in 2026? The one that slayed on election day or the one that caved during the shutdown? CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normal people like us are out here kind of feeling the effects more than anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: With the end of the shutdown in sight, some wonder was this really worth it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm exhausted. I am tired; I am mad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: You think passengers are mad? Some air traffic controllers got scolded by the president, and they're still not getting paid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we are not slaves to Wall Street. This 50-year mortgage idea is a spit in the face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Backlash to a plan that's supposed to make homes more affordable. How it could backfire on buyers.
And a Veterans Day mission to rebuild. Former troops find new ways to serve in the aftermath of disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing and no one on earth will ever be able to justify A.I. to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: Real singers speak out as fake ones now top the charts. Is this the end of the pop star as we know it?
It's 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a here's a live look at Capitol Hill, where all the action is. Good morning, everybody.
It's actually Veterans Day, Tuesday, November 11th. We are honoring all veterans today. And as always, thank you for your service.
And thank you all for waking up with me. I'm Audie Cornish, and here's where we begin.
The longest government shutdown in U.S. history, nearly over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On this vote, the yeas are 60; the nays are 40. Three-fifths of the center --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: And with that vote, the Senate approved a bipartisan deal to fund the government through the end of January.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully, progress gets made quick and things go back to normal sooner than later, because normal people like us are out here kind of feeling the effects more than anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, here's what's not included in the bill: an extension on Affordable Care Act subsidies, which is what Democrats initially demanded to reopen the government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): No, because we did our job, and I'm not part of the negotiation. The House did its job on September 19th. I'm not promising anybody anything. I'm going to let this process play out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK. That was House Speaker Mike Johnson, talking about what's next for this bill. And I want to turn to our group chat now.
Joining us today, we've got Zolan Kanno-Youngs, CNN political analyst, White House correspondent for "The New York Times"; also, Chuck Rocha, Democratic strategist; and Penny Nance, CEO and president for Concerned Women for America. You guys, thank you so much for being here.
So, Chuck, during the break, it seemed like you had some thoughts about how Democrats should have played this.
Context here. You once worked for Bernie Sanders, and he took to the floor earlier this week to express his dismay. So, we should say that.
But where do you stand on what success looked like in the end for Democrats in this standoff?
CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I also still work for Senator Ruben Gallego, who's on the other side of this, but also voted no.
The thing that you can see there is nobody's happy in the Democratic Party. And if you're on Twitter or X for about two seconds, you can see that Democrats are big mad.
CORNISH: But isn't that an evergreen tweet? Like, I feel like Democrats are always mad at each other about how they're handling things.
ROCHA: But there's a special kind of evergreen about this one, because we just had the best election we may have had in ten years Tuesday night. Not a month ago, Audie, just a couple days ago, like hours ago.
So, the base was really feeling itself, thinking that they had done something good, standing up to Donald Trump and Republicans. And Democrats caved.
And nobody wins out of this. You're talking about kids missing Food Stamp payments or 22 million people's insurance going up.
I hate to see this fighting, but there's one thing for sure that's undeniable, Democrat or Republican, is people are mad about the cost of things in their lives.
CORNISH: Yes.
ROCHA: And they stood up Tuesday.
CORNISH: Can I ask, Penny, you about that? Because you heard Speaker Johnson we played earlier. He basically wasn't -- e's saying he's not necessarily going to honor this promise by Senate Republican leaders to vote on healthcare subsidies. And he's like, not my problem, which -- it feels weird. Because it's --
PENNY NANCE, CEO/PRESIDENT, CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA: I don't think it's -- I don't actually -- some of the reporting I've been reading this morning, I don't think that's exactly what he was saying.
[06:05:03]
I think what he was saying was that we will have our bill. The Democrats will have their own bill. I think part of the -- the agreement was that the Democrats got to write the bill for the Senate. I don't know that they do for the House.
The House did their work and got through all their appropriation bills. We need to go back to regular order. But honestly, I think --
CORNISH: Let me play the clip -- Hold on. Let me play the clip of him for a second, just so we know what we're talking about here. This is the House Speaker after he was asked whether or not he was going to go ahead and do that Senate promised vote on healthcare costs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: No, because we did our job, and I'm not part of the negotiation. The House did its job on September 19th. I'm not promising anybody anything. I'm going to let this process play out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: You've got people like Marjorie Taylor Greene out there who are talking about these healthcare subsidies. They're kind of not letting the cost question go.
NANCE: Well, can I just say, though, I want to go back to something that Chuck said. I think everybody won by getting the government reopened and back to work.
There was a recent "Washington Post" poll that said that 68 percent of people believe that the Democrats are out of touch with the American people. And I think it's because of this kind of thing. People are sick of government not doing its job.
We need -- and I think Sean Duffy did a great job of expressing the risk for flights. And people are thinking about going home for Thanksgiving. But they want their government to do the job. They want air traffic controllers back.
CORNISH: Let's let Zolan jump in here. Zolan Kanno-Youngs, tell me how the White House is handling this. We saw this interview with Trump last night where he's showing, like, the gold filigree in the White House. And he's saying the economy is fine.
It feels like there are still rumblings in the economy that people don't think is fine. And so how sensitive are they to the conversation about costs?
ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: They're definitely sensitive. Right?
After the election, you actually saw some backlash within the MAGA base, the president's own followers. You mentioned -- you mentioned Marjorie Taylor Greene, an ally, who called on the White House and the administration to focus more on the home front -- domestic policy, cost of living, kitchen-table issues -- rather than just the foreign policy issues that you've seen a lot of the attention on.
You're now seeing as well, Kevin Hassett yesterday at the White House getting pressed over costs and the president's claims that grocery prices are down. They are up, as well.
So -- so they definitely are feeling the pressure as far as costs and what they're doing for the daily lives of Americans.
CORNISH: And to show that they're doing something.
KANNO-YOUNGS: And to show they're doing something. And I think that's also a result of this shutdown, even though those in the White House do feel, look, if we wait it out long enough, the Democrats will cave. There are those that are aware that the Democrats were able to put pressure on them, as far as costs.
CORNISH: Yes, exactly. And here's a look at the folks who voted yes on the deal to end the shutdown. People like Dick Durbin, who's retiring, and then someone like John Fetterman, who just doesn't worry about those things.
KANNO-YOUNGS: It exposes an age dynamic. It does expose an age dynamic.
CORNISH: Oh, say more about the age part.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Absolutely. Many -- many -- many of these Democrats that went for this are not up for reelection.
ROCHA: This is the most important part.
KANNO-YOUNGS: Right? Are also getting old, so they don't have to answer to those constituents that might have wanted them to hold the line.
CORNISH: You said getting old real quick. I heard it. I heard it there. And you're the political consultant, of course, thinks that that's the important part.
ROCHA: None of these people are up. You can't -- you think that this don't matter now. Damn sure don't matter in three years.
CORNISH: OK. Well, we're going to talk more about this, this hour. You guys stay with me.
Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, the median age of today's homeowner is 40. So why is the idea of 50-year mortgages being floated?
Plus, why the FDA is removing one of its toughest warnings in women's health.
And thousands of flights canceled, air traffic controllers stretched thin. The president says he's not happy with them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the most disciplined safety workforce in America is forced to think about survival instead of public safety, this is the cost.
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[06:13:27]
CORNISH: It's almost 15 minutes past the hour. Here is your morning roundup. An investigation underway this morning into a car explosion on a busy
street in India. At least ten people are dead, dozens more injured. The cause is still unknown.
In Pakistan, at least 12 people are dead and 20 more injured after an explosion in the capital city of Islamabad. A source telling CNN it's being investigated as a suicide attack.
And a big change coming in women's health. The Food and Drug Administration removing its toughest so-called black box warning from more than 20 hormone-based therapies used for perimenopause and menopause.
Officials say the move reflects newer research showing risks are much lower when treatment starts earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A male-dominated medical profession, let's be honest, has minimized the symptoms of menopause. And as a result, women's health issues have not received the attention that they deserve.
So, some doctors, still urging caution.
And crazy weather phenomenons [SIC] at home and abroad. We begin in the Philippines, where this suspension bridge looks like it was made out of rubber bands. A typhoon with major hurricane-force winds made landfall.
And then in Hawaii. Have you ever heard of a volnado? Well, this is what it looks like. It's a tornado-like swirl of dust and ash inside of an erupting volcano. Frankly, terrifying.
In the meantime, after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, this Veterans Day, troops caught in the middle of the shutdown, the new warning from a military group.
[06:15:01]
Plus, this.
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TELISHA NIKKI JONES, CREATOR OF XANIA MONET: A.I. is the new era that we're in. And I look at it as a tool, as an instrument. Utilize it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: A.I.-generated musicians filling the charts. Is this the future of music, or is technology gone too far?
Good morning, Atlanta. Live look at, of course, the airport. One of the many airports where flights are being reduced today by the FAA.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XANIA MONET, A.I. POP STAR: How was I supposed to know what love looked like when Daddy never showed me what felt right? How was I supposed --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK, you're looking at the music video for one of the hottest songs on the Billboard charts right now. The actors in the video are real. The singer is not.
[06:20:05]
Her name is Xania Monet. She's completely A.I.-generated. "Singer" in air quotes, of course. Reportedly has $3 million record
deal and has appeared on multiple Billboard charts since debuting this summer, including an R&B radio play airplay chart.
And this is believed to be the first known A.I. artist to do so. Monet's rise comes amid the debate in Hollywood and the music world over artificial intelligence replacing human creativity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Xania is an extension of me, so I look at her as a real person.
GAYLE KING, JOURNALIST: But you can't sing.
JONES: I still put in the work. And anytime something new comes about and it challenges the norm and challenges what we're used to, you're going to get strong reactions behind it.
And I just feel like A.I. is the new era that we're in, and I look at it as a tool, as an instrument.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: OK. Since the person behind this A.I. artist has come out, you've heard real pop stars speaking out. Singer Kehlani saying, "Nothing and no one on earth will ever be able to justify A.I. to me. I'm sorry, I don't respect it."
Sza also questioning it, saying, "Why devalue our music?"
Author C.J. Farley takes on the subject of A.I. and how it's changing our world in his new novel. It's called "Who Knows You by Heart." He joins me now. He's also a former music critic for "TIME."
Welcome to the show, C.J.
C.J. FARLEY, AUTHOR: Hey, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
CORNISH: So, your novel, in a way, it's about a coder, a black coder who is sort of dealing with the background to how this technology works out and the culture of the people who make it. I want to talk to you about the idea of who's behind the technology
versus what we see. What do you make in this controversy over this particular pop artist?
FARLEY: Well, first of all, I think we need to change our language about how we refer to some of the A.I. product that's coming out.
I've noticed that a lot of news reports people refer to these -- these releases as A.I. artists, and that personifies them. That anthropomorphizes them in a way, I think, that's unearned. It is just product, to separate it out from real people.
And one thing that people can -- have found who really study A.I. is that anything A.I. can do, it eventually does better and often pushes out humans who are -- who are doing the same thing.
And so, when we start having some of these A.I. products released in the Billboard charts alongside human artists, that's a slot on the Billboard charts that a human doesn't get, someone who may have broken big, had they been on there.
So, it's going to cost human jobs. It's going to come with the cost of human creativity.
CORNISH: I'm glad you said this. I'm probably never going to --C.J., I'm probably never going to refer to them as artists again. You solved a puzzle for me.
I want to play for you, the songwriter and producer Dallas Austin. Very well known in R&B. Here is how he's approaching this whole issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DALLAS AUSTIN, SONGWRITER/PRODUCER: One of the things you've got to understand with A.I. artists is it's going to coexist with real artists. It's not going to take them away. So, it's an entry point that allows -- you know, just like everything else. It's just another industrial revolution.
And it's not just A.I. artists. It's A.I. music, A.I. film, A.I. actor, A.I. clothing. I mean, every -- it's just a world we're going to have to understand that it's seeped into a different environment now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CORNISH: Can you talk about this coexisting idea?
FARLEY: Yes, a lot to unpack there. And it's something that I get into -- into in my book, "Who Knows You by Heart."
The problem with A.I.-generated content is it is often trained -- almost always trained -- on human creativity. And so, it thin-slices it.
But, you know, when rappers sample people, they have to pay money to the people they're sampling. It's often unclear whether the artists that are being copied by these A.I. creations, whether or not they're getting any kind of due compensation. So that's a real problem.
I think there's a -- there's a fix here that -- it's not a complete fix, but it's one they should adopt, is there should be a separate chart for A.I. product. It shouldn't be listed alongside human creators, so it can't push them out.
Billboard has a chart for everything. They have a chart for a country and -- and they have a chart for Americana. They have a chart for R&B. They should have a chart for A.I. product, so it's not competing alongside human creators.
It's funny how they're always talking about authenticity in music. Remember just a few months ago, Beyonce's terrific album, "Cowboy Carter," was being challenged for not being country enough?
And yet, now we see Breaking Rust, an A.I. product -- an A.I. product, on top of some of the country charts.
So, I think if you're going to question Beyonce about her country -- her country authenticity -- and they shouldn't because, you know, she's -- she's a real country artist when she wants to be -- we need to challenge the authenticity of A.I. product that's claiming to be part of these genres.
[06:25:05]
CORNISH: OK. Again, C.J.'s novel is called "Who Knows You by Heart." It's out today. C.J. Farley, thanks so much.
FARLEY: Hey, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
CORNISH: Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, rebuilding Jamaica. On this Veterans Day, a group of vets helping with the relief efforts. I'm going to talk to one of them next.
Plus, has Marjorie Taylor Greene, quote unquote, "lost her way"? Why President Trump and one of his staunchest supporters are trading barbs.
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