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White House Preps for First-ever Visit by a Syrian President; First Phase of U.S.-Brokered Ceasefire Reaches 1-Month Mark; Israel Received Body of Soldier Killed in 2014 War with Hamas; U.S. Looks to Transition to Second Phase of Ceasefire Deal; U.S. Senate Takes Big Step Towards Ending Government Shutdown. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired November 10, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: This is the scene in Washington, where in just a few hours, a historic meeting between Syria's President and
Donald Trump is set to take place. It is 09:00 a.m. and at 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".
Also coming up, the U.S. brokered Gaza ceasefire has been in effect for just one month as Jared Kushner meets with Israel's Prime Minister. And the
U.S. government is one step closer to ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history, as the Senate advances a deal to reopen the government.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered states to stop issuing full food aid benefits for November. I want to check in on the
markets. They're about to open in around 30 minutes. And in New York, it seems that it's set to be a good start to the week. You've got the NASDAQ
up 1.5 percent as tech stock showing some kind of potential recovery in anticipation of an end to the government shutdown that has been plaguing
market sentiment.
You've got the S&P up 1 percent and DOW, four tenths of a percent stronger. We'll check in on those markets in around 30 minutes from now. And in the
coming hours, U.S. President Donald Trump will sit down with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa for a historic meeting.
It is the first time a Syrian Leader has ever been welcomed to the White House, and it comes less than a year after Al-Sharaa's lightning offensive
to claim power in the war-torn countries. Since then, Al-Sharaa has gone to great lengths to rebrand himself as a global statesman and distance himself
from his past as a jihadist with links to al-Qaeda.
That transformation has been on full display since he arrived in Washington. And you can see him here playing basketball with top U.S.
military officials over the weekend. Now, CNN's Paula Hancocks is here in studio with me. Paula, great to have you with us. I mean, this is a
historic moment.
I mean, even those images where you see Al-Sharaa playing basketball and there's a total shift in sentiment. So, take me through what got us to this
point.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So that imagery, I mean, it's the most visual representation of just what a transformation we have seen. This is a
man who, in his early 20s was joining Islamist insurgents to fight U.S. troops in Iraq. He was fighting against the U.S. military, and now he's
playing basketball with the Head of CENTCOM.
The transformation, as I say, is quite remarkable. He then went on to found an al Qaeda backed group, which was trying to topple then President Bashar
al-Assad. Now that did happen. It happened very quickly, less than a year ago, and Al-Sharaa took control.
So really, we have seen this transformation from jihadist to Syrian President. He's gone from, you know, the battlefield to the basketball
court, and he's about to go to the Oval Office. It really has happened very fast, and he has the public support of the U.S. President Donald Trump,
which is significant?
GIOKOS: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's an incredible trajectory that we've seen incredible transformation as you say. What is on the cards today?
Because we know what Al-Sharaa needs. He needs the sanctions to be lifted, and he needs to talk about security as well.
But where do you think, this is going to land? Because frankly, Al-Sharaa has been asking for the lifting of sanctions for quite some time.
HANCOCKS: So that is expected to be his number one goal. He wants to make sure that all of the sanctions against Syria, against him, are lifted
during, or at least after this meeting. Now we know some of those sanctions were lifted back in May, when President Trump first met Al-Sharaa in Saudi
Arabia.
He did that via executive order. But a number of these sanctions need congressional support. They need congressional approval to be lifted, and
so that is a large part of the reason why Al-Sharaa is there. But as I say, he does have very strong support from the U.S. President himself.
He's called him a quote, young, attractive guy with a very strong past, and so he is publicly praising him. He is saying that he wants to give Syria a
chance. We know that this region, Saudi Arabia in particular, wants to give this new Syria a chance, and has been pushing the U.S. Trump Administration
to lift these sanctions.
So certainly, that is the hope that he will have. We know also Al-Sharaa wants Israel, for example, to stop launching strikes against certain parts
of Syria. Potentially, we're hearing about Syria joining the U.S. led effort to strike ISIS.
[09:05:00]
In parts of Syria, there are a number of issues that could come up, but for the Syrian President, he wants the sanctions lifted.
GIOKOS: All right. Paula Hancocks great to have you with us. Thank you so much for breaking it down. Right, we are now one month into the first phase
of the U.S. brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Israel has confirmed that the remains of an Israeli soldier held in Gaza since 2014
were returned Sunday.
The remains of four deceased hostages are currently still in Gaza. Aid has resumed flowing into the enclave since the ceasefire took effect, but after
months of blocked and meager shipments, the scale of what's needed eclipses what can be provided. I want to go live now to CNN's Jerusalem Bureau
Chief, Oren Liebermann.
Oren, good to see you. Hamas is still transferring the remains of deceased hostages to Israel. So where are we in that process?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: The process is ongoing, but also nearing its conclusion. Over the course of the past eight or nine
days, on at least five separate occasions, we have seen Hamas transfer the remains of deceased hostages to the Red Cross and then on to Israel.
On Sunday, we saw the longest held hostage in Gaza, Lieutenant Hadar Goldin. His remains were transferred to Israel. He was killed in the
closing days of the 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas. And his remains have been inside of Gaza ever since. So, it is significant that those have
been returned.
We are now down to the last four remaining deceased hostages in Gaza. Israel has known for quite some time that Hamas might not know the location
of the final few deceased hostages, so that's an open question. The first phase of the ceasefire requires them to return all of the remains.
But this is at the point where it's expected that it may become difficult here. And still, one month into the ceasefire, it has largely held, and
it's clearly the mission of the United States and very much the international community to make sure that remains the case at this point.
GIOKOS: Right Oren Liebermann, thank you so much for that update. I want to stay on this. We've got Gregg Carlstrom, who is the Middle East
Correspondent at the Economist, joining us now live in studio. Greg, great to have you with us.
GREGG CARLSTROM, MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT AT THE ECONOMIST: Thanks for having me.
GIOKOS: Really important time. I want to start off with the Gaza ceasefire that's been in place for one month. And now we know that there's plans to
move into the phase two of the deal. What are you reading into this?
CARLSTROM: I think they're struggling to make that move into phase two of the deal.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
CARLSTROM: I think when the agreement was signed a month ago, the vagueness about phase two was the strength of it. The reason that Donald Trump was
able to push this through was because he fudged the details about the peacekeeping force that's meant to take place in Gaza, about the
transitional authority that is meant to govern the strip that was all left for a further round of negotiations.
And so that's how he was able to gloss over the differences between Israel and Hamas. Now that we're a month into the deal, though, that is the
weakness of the agreement. There's still no one who has signed up for this peacekeeping force. There's still no agreement on who is going to make up
this transitional authority.
All of that is sort of these are lingering questions that are a major impediment to reconstruction in Gaza.
GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, frankly, when we saw the framework that was agreed upon. And it was always just a framework, because it was just so lacking in
detail, but it was the vagueness that apparently got both sides to sort of agree. But now that we're hitting this point where we've got, you know,
still not enough aid, frankly, going in, right?
So, the realities for people in Gaza is still under pressure. We just don't know where it's going to go politically. What are the options that people
are pursuing? Do we have any idea of which direction this could go?
CARLSTROM: I think when we talk about the future of Gaza, we talk about reconstruction, there are two big plans floating around right now. There is
the Egyptian plan that was endorsed by Arab states earlier this year, that imagines, it's a five-year process of rebuilding the existing big cities in
Gaza.
But to do that, to get donors to contribute money to that, you need security in Gaza, and that requires this peacekeeping force. And again, no
one has volunteered for that. So, if that doesn't materialize, if there isn't a force that can disarm Hamas and create real security in Gaza, then
the Americans and some Israeli officials have started talking about a plan to rebuild on the Israeli controlled half of Gaza to the east of the so-
called Yellow Line, the ceasefire line in Gaza.
They want to start doing reconstruction there in areas that are not controlled by Hamas. The problem with that is no one is willing to donate
to that. You don't have countries in the Gulf or elsewhere, who are going to donate to a reconstruction effort in Israeli occupied parts of Gaza.
And so really, this issue of the peacekeeping force, this is the crux of it. And until you resolve that issue, it's very hard to see how you move
forward.
GIOKOS: Exactly. I mean, the question of who's going to ultimately pay for it, who's going to rebuild? I mean, you know, there's lingering questions,
but you know, we've got to sort out other details first. So, thank you for that. I want to talk I want to talk about the fact that Syria's President
Ahmed Al-Sharaa is going to be meeting with President Trump at the Oval Office.
So, this is important for many reasons. Firstly, it's the first Syrian President to be welcomed there. And then secondly, it's this transformation
of this man from jihadist to now a statesman, and that's how he's positioning himself.
[09:10:00]
How are you reading into not only the optics, but also what this means for the Middle East?
CARLSTROM: It's a transformation for him. It's a transformation for Syria. I mean, this is a country that has been really a pariah state for a decade
and a half, that has been ruled by a blood soup dictator during the Assad regime, and now suddenly you have the Syrian President coming to the White
House.
So, you talk to people in Syria, and they're very happy, I think about the reinvention of the country on the world stage, but there's also growing
frustration about the way President Sharaa is governing at home. I think he's done a very good job as a diplomat, as a statesman.
There are more questions about his rule inside of Syria, which is very insular, you have power concentrated amongst a handful of his relatives and
a handful of his advisors. You talk to people who want to do business in Syria, and they often say, we can't go talk to the economy ministry or
another ministry, because the bureaucracy isn't functioning in Syria.
If you want to do business, you go talk to the president's brother. He's the guy who's basically in charge of that. So, he's very good on the world
stage. But again, there are growing questions about the style of rule that he has.
GIOKOS: Yeah. There are no institutions that have been built yet, because it's sort of such a new country, so to speak. We know that what will be
discussed, inevitably is the lifting of sanctions and, importantly, security as well. Let's talk about sanctions first, because I know that he
wants to see FDI flowing in.
He wants to rebuild Syria again with lack of institutions. But how do you think that conversation is going to go down with Trump?
CARLSTROM: I think part of it is out of Trump's control. Part of it is up to Congress. The biggest impediment to reconstruction in Syria is what's
called the Caesar Act, which was a 2019 piece of legislation imposed on the Assad regime to punish it for atrocities that it committed.
And it imposes particular sanctions on construction, energy and the financial sector in Syria, and obviously all of those things. If you're
trying to rebuild the country, you need investment there. So that piece of legislation, it has been repealed by the Senate. There was a long debate
about that, but ultimately, they passed legislation to repeal it.
The House hasn't done that yet. Trump has waived the sanctions temporarily, but until Congress fully repeals them, some investors are sitting on the
sidelines because they're worried, you know, what if these sanctions come back in six months or in a year? They want to see Congress completely and
cleanly lift those sanctions.
GIOKOS: I also want to talk about Israel here, because this is also a big part of the security issue. And we know Al-Sharaa has been talking about,
you know, Syria being bombed numerous times, hundreds of times since the fall of the Assad regime. We also know that there are talks underway to
reach an agreement that was based on the 1974 disengagement deal that was mediated back then by the United States. Where do we stand on security?
CARLSTROM: So, the ultimate goal here for the Trump Administration is to end up with some sort of security pact between Israel and Syria. I don't
think it will be Syria fully joining the Abraham Accords like the UAE and other countries did, but a non-aggression pact where they agree to stop
fighting one another essentially.
The Syrians are eager to make that deal. I think one of the impediments has been the Trump Administration hasn't so far been able or been willing to
guarantee the Israeli side of that deal, to guarantee that Israel will stop bombing Syrian territory, that it will stop interfering in Syria's domestic
politics.
And I think until they're willing to deliver that, until they can deliver the Israeli side.
GIOKOS: Yeah, what about the Golan Heights? I want to talk about that, because that's occupied right now.
CARLSTROM: Yeah.
GIOKOS: Do you think that's going to be sort of up for grabs or something you know, I don't know how to phrase this, but I mean, I think, you --
CARLSTROM: I think there are some people in Ahmed Sharaa's government.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
CARLSTROM: There are some people around him who are willing to negotiate on that. This is something that no Syrian government has been willing to do
for half a century. But there is some willingness, I think, to talk about that.
GIOKOS: All right, fantastic. Gregg, really good to have you with us. Thank you so much.
CARLSTROM: Thanks for having me.
GIOKOS: Much appreciated. All right, ahead on "Connect the World" U.S. Senate takes a big step towards ending the government shutdown. Details of
the funding measure that cleared a key procedural hurdle that's coming up next. Plus, how the shutdown is impacting hunger for millions of Americans
and where the tug of war of a food aid stands. We have those details just ahead. Stick with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
GIOKOS: The U.S. government is a big step closer to finally reopening a final vote in the U.S. -- is set to happen after senators voted late Sunday
to break a democratic filibuster and advance a funding deal. It comes in exchange for a future vote on extending enhanced health care subsidies.
Republican leaders say they'll move the deal through the U.S. House and onto President Trump's desk in the coming days, the shutdown is now in its
41st day. So longest in U.S. history. Air travel in the meantime, in the United States has been greatly impacted by the shutdown.
Whitney Wild joins me from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Whitney, great to have you with us. And of course, one of the great
consequences of this government shutdown is what you're seeing on the ground there at O'Hare Airport. Take me through what people are telling
you?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, we've spoken with you know, more than a dozen people, and actually they all say
they don't have any flight problems yet. They all said no problems yet, because every traveler across the country knows that this is a particularly
difficult time to be traveling.
At O'Hare, we are seeing the highest number of cancelations, the highest numbers of delays coming into and out of the airport, really, across the
country. For example, the cancelations coming into O'Hare now 145 cancelations leaving O'Hare, 136 cancelations. The delay for arrivals here
has gone up from around 25 minutes earlier this morning to now, more than 50 minutes.
So that's doubled in just a few hours here. And there are several factors going on in Chicago. There's a staffing shortage. We're seeing staffing
shortages across the country at several major airports. There is a snow storm here. This is the early snowstorm, this lake effect snowstorm that
could bring several inches of snow to this.
The part of Chicago that's really hugging the lake here. We're not that far from the lake here at O'Hare Airport. And then there's construction on some
of the runways here and overall, this shutdown canceling flights. So, this is really a perfect storm here at O'Hare Airport.
But from the people we've spoken with, it's very clear they understand what's happening. They're trying to prepare for it. Again, most people say
that they don't have any flight problems yet, although I did speak with one woman who was traveling from Burbank, California to New York.
She went Burbank, San Francisco, O'Hare. This layover was supposed to be two hours. It is now going to be more than 24 hours. She can't get to New
York until tomorrow, so causing major problems for her. So that is really the state of play here in Chicago. But the good news is this storm is
supposed to move out of here, so at least the pressure from the weather will start to lift.
But as you look across the country, I think the major frustration is that this is a man-made problem there -- you know, there's some weather here,
but that is certainly not the case across the country. We're not seeing these major weather patterns that are disrupting problems here.
And so, this idea that the shutdown is going to end in the next couple days is very welcome news for travelers, especially because we're coming up on
that very busy season between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I'll leave you with this. I spoke with representatives of the TSA Union within the
last few days, and they were very concerned that if the shutdown did not lift, you were going to see more TSA officer sick outs.
You'd see TSA officers up and quit because they couldn't afford to work without pay. So, this is very welcome news, because they were very
concerned that, that heavy travel season over the holidays was going to be simply chaos. Back to you.
GIOKOS: All right, Whitney Wild, thank you so much for that update. Good to have you on. Well progress on a deal to end the shutdown doesn't
immediately ease the pain for millions of Americans still waiting for this month's food aid.
[09:20:00]
Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered states to stop issuing full benefits for November. A federal judge ruled the Trump
Administration must fully fund SNAP the Federal Food Stamp Program, but temporary hold from the Supreme Court remains in place.
And while this back and forth continues, lines at food banks are getting longer. And those who run the facility say demand remains much higher than
resources. Joining us now live from Washington is Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, and we're seeing some of the images of just,
frankly, the desperation the demand that you're seeing at these food banks.
And we've, you know, hearing this news about food benefits, and importantly, how this shutdown has impacted them. Give me a sense of where
we stand right now.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and this has been a somewhat convoluted legal battle between the administration and individual
states. And the heart of the matter is whether the Trump Administration can, or indeed must provide those full monthly benefits using emergency
reserve funding.
The administration has said that it can't, and these individual states have sued to say that they are actually legally obligated to do that. And so, a
federal judge ruled that yes, they were. Many states were rushing to send out those full monthly benefits. The administration appealed and asked the
Supreme Court to put a temporary pause in place while a lower court considered that appeal.
And on Friday evening, the Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson put that hold in place. But of course, some of those states had already rushed
out the aid. And so, what we saw yesterday was the Department of Agriculture, which administers this program, saying that those states must
take steps to, quote, immediately undo what they had done, which was send out the full benefits.
So, it's extremely complicated, and I think bottom line is just another curve ball for the 42 million Americans who rely on these benefits for
their groceries every month. You know, that's one in eight Americans who have been left in this legal whipsaw back and forth about whether or not
they would receive the funding that they need first for these programs.
You know, the average payment per month is about $187. It really is not a huge amount of money. And so, a lot of these families and the individuals
who are relying on the SNAP program are trying to make a relatively small amount of money stretch fairly far.
And now, of course, it's good news that there appears to be an end in sight to the government shutdown. And obviously that will help restore and make
complete a lot of these people's monthly payments. But until then, it is kind of a day-to-day struggle, which is why you've seen, you know, the
lines at food banks.
And why you've seen many governors say that the administration is putting them in an impossible position as they work to send out the money as
quickly as they can, but then as the administration asks them to undo those steps. And the Democratic Governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, has called it
intentional chaos, essentially, the administration trying to make this as painful as possible, as the government shutdown kind of war on.
GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, you said a couple of things here. One in eight Americans rely on these food packages. And it's only $187 and might not
sound like a lot, but for those who need it, it is between making it through and make and not making it through the month. I want to talk about
sort of the partial some people receive partial benefits.
Some people none at all, and some people who have and yes, perhaps end is in sight in the next few days, that is the hope. Are we going to see, sort
of looking at those who didn't receive anything, sort of getting back pay on this in some way? How does it normally work when we see a government
shutdown of this kind?
LIPTAK: Well, there actually isn't a great deal of precedent for this, because in previous shutdowns, they were able to use some of the emergency
funds to provide the benefits for people. Now, when we talk about the partial payments that had been going out, they had been at about 65 percent
of the normal monthly allotment.
And the reason that the administration sort of struck on that figure is that, you know, ordinarily, it's about $8 billion a month that the
administration puts out to provide these benefits. On one pot of reserve funding, they had $5 billion and so that's essentially how they came up
with that figure.
But what these states have argued is that there are other areas where the administration is holding money that they could use to provide those
complete payments. And so, once the government shutdown ends, I think you can expect that state governors will work very quickly to try and get these
benefits out.
It's a complex system. The federal government provides the money to the states, and the states then administer the money to the individual
recipients in their localities.
[09:25:00]
And so how quickly that can happen? I think, is an open question. Ordinarily, it can take up to two weeks to reload the individual debit
cards that people use to pay for groceries using these SNAP programs. But certainly, I think you will see a sort of mad dash to get those cards
loaded up once the shutdown ends and once the money is fully appropriated to the Agriculture Department.
GIOKOS: All right. Kevin Liptak, great to have you with us. Thank you so much. Well, U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned a number of his
political allies linked with alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. And they include Mr. Trump's Former Lawyers Rudy
Giuliani and Sidney Powell and Former Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows.
All three were charged in Georgia, but not by the federal governments. And presidential pardons only apply to federal charges. The pardon document
also specifically notes that it does not apply to President Trump. And still ahead turmoil at the very top of the BBC how an edit of Donald
Trump's January 6th speech.
It's a scandal within the British broadcaster, details after the break. And massive and deadly typhoon strikes the whole of the Philippines. We'll have
the latest update for you. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: OK. Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. U.S. President
Donald Trump will welcome Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to the White House today for a historic meeting.
Comes after the U.S. and U.N. recently lifted sanctions against Syria and the former jihadist. The U.S. also removed Al-Sharaa specifically
designated global terrorist status ahead of the meeting. We are one month into the U.S. brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Four deceased
hostages are still in Gaza after the remains of an Israeli soldier held since 2014 where it turned Sunday.
Meanwhile, a U.N. agency warns that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families risk a winter without desperately needed protection from the
elements. The U.S. Senate is a big step closer to ending the government shutdown after senators voted to advance a funding bill.
Seven Democrats and one independent broke rank to end a filibuster blocking the plan. The shutdown is now in its 41st day, longest in U.S. history. Now
the U.S. Department of Agriculture has ordered states to stop giving media Americans full food benefits for this month.
It comes as millions who rely on a federal Food Assistance Program remain in limbo, 40 days into a government shutdown.
[09:30:00]
And as court battles over the program, drag on, drags on, rather lines outside food banks are growing. Right, we're a few seconds away from the
start of the trading day in New York. And we will have live pitches for you. All right, trade officially starts in New York, and the numbers are
telling quite an interesting story.
It seems like we can have a good start to the week ahead, and that's after a lot of pressure coming through, specifically for the tech stocks last
week, and again, very much linked to the negative sentiment we've seen over the last 40 days due to that government shutdown.
You've got the DOW JONES up for tenths of a percent, almost half a percent to the good. And of course, the NASDAQ, as well as the S&P also firmly in
the green as we start off this week. Now I want to take you to a story topping headlines in the UK and far beyond, two top BBC executives have
resigned over a misleading edit of a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.
These are the two executives. They are Director General Tim Davie and BBC News Chief Executive Deborah Turness. They both quit on Sunday after a
deeply critical memo was leaked. The memo revealed that a documentary shown on a flagship BBC news program included a misleading edit of Mr. Trump's
speech from January 6th, 2021.
That it made it appear that the then outgoing president directly called for violence that day, which is not accurate. I want to bring in our CNN's
Chief Media Analyst, Brian Stelter, to take a look at the story. And I have to say, Brian, I mean, this is a huge story. It's all-over social media.
I mean, one of the biggest things to hit the news today. I want you to give me a sense of what we're hearing now, specifically from President Trump's
team, legal team, and threatening legal action against the BBC over this misleading edit.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: That's right, we know that President Trump's legal team has sent a letter to the BBC threatening legal
action over the misleading edit of this documentary. Now Trump's legal team does this with some regularity, certainly several times this year, Trump
has sent legal letters to news outlets including CNN.
He has not always followed through on those legal threats, although he is currently suing the "New York Times", "The Wall Street Journal" and "The
Des Moines Register". So, we will see over time if he decides to actually file a suit against the BBC, and if so, what he would actually claim. BBC
spokesperson has told CNN quote we are we will review the letter and respond directly in due course.
So, the BBC, I think, expected something like this once this story began to snowball last week. It was one week ago today that the "Telegraph"
newspaper first reported on the memo you described. The "Telegraph" has been publishing anti BBC commentary for years.
It's no secret where the "Telegraph" stands. So, it is helpful to see this current dust up over this misleading edit as, yes, a screw up
journalistically, but also part of a broader, long running conservative campaign to undermine the BBC and to challenge the license fee that British
viewers pay in order to access BBC content.
There's a relatively small story here about a big screw up by the documentary, but then there's a much, much broader story about a campaign
against the BBC, and that's what we're seeing play out in the tabloids today.
GIOKOS: All right. Brian Stelter, thank you so much for that update. Good to have you on the show with us. Now I want to take you to another story.
Communities across the Philippines are assessing the damage this hour after being slammed by a massive storm overnight.
Typhoon Fung-Wong is now weakened and heading towards Taiwan, but it hits the Philippines with full force. The typhoon's huge size when it made
landfall, means storm surge was the main danger. At least four people have been killed. CNN's Mike Valerio spoke to my colleague, Brian Abel and filed
this report. Take a look.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's been that double punch, Brian, you know, the second typhoon in less than a week, and the rescue response,
really, the drama has been getting to those areas you describe that have been cut off by landslides and mudslides.
The latest, you know, terrible news that we've gotten is two children who have been buried alive and then lost their lives underneath just the tons
and tons of mud and debris that have been pushed into these small towns. But really, the dramatic pictures have been the storm surge, some of which
we saw in the introduction to the story.
Let's play it again. You could just see those waves, Brian, that go not only over the roofs of houses, but certainly exceed the heights of palm
trees by the coastal areas where this typhoon made landfall.
[09:35:00]
So, you know, to the extent of the human drama and the human toll that this has taken more than 400,000 families have evacuated because of the storm
from their homes seeking shelter, and more than 6000 safety evacuation centers spread throughout the country. So, to that end, we spoke with a 21-
year-old who sheltered with his grandmother during the evening hours yesterday as the typhoon passed. Just listen to what he said, it was like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMEO MARIANO, STORM SURVIVOR: We felt the wind and some rain picking up around 06:00 p.m. and it got stronger around 09:00 to 10:00 p.m. until the
early morning. Almost all the tree branches nearby fell. And when we got out to check our home, we saw the damage.
As you can see, even the electrical post was damaged, so it might take days for our power to get restored.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIO: Yeah, so now he's going to have to rebuild everything that you saw in the background of that interview that happened earlier today. Now it's
also worth keeping in mind, putting this in perspective, which you know you and I, Brian, have been talking over the past couple days, putting this
into greater context, over almost two months, there have been two earthquakes, four major typhoons.
This is the latest one. So, the United States and Japan, certainly conscious of this dynamic, have offered to help. But according to our
latest reporting, the Philippines has not offered to receive international assistance, at least not at this point. So, we have about an hour and a
half where storm surge could still be dangerous, about two times as tall as I am, about six foot one.
So, there's still that danger, according to the local weather office. But if there is any good news here, it's as this typhoon moves towards Taiwan,
it is certainly weakening, and it's expected to arrive as a tropical storm, not a typhoon, certainly a relief for the whole multitudes of people who
are in its path.
There are still school cancelations in some areas of Taiwan and some evacuations where areas are prone to landslides and flooding. But the fact
that this is not going to end up as a typhoon for Taiwan, certainly good news on that front.
GIOKOS: I want to get you up to speed now on some other stories that are on our radar, the French Finance Ministry has halted the suspension
proceedings of online retailer SHEIN. Childlike sex dolls and weapons were found for sale on the website, but have since been removed.
SHEIN will still remain under close surveillance according to the prime minister, a French court is allowing Former President Nicolas Sarkozy to be
released from jail while he appeals his conviction. Sarkozy spent less than a month in jail, which he described as very hard. And he was serving a
five-year prison sentence for conspiring to finance his 2007 presidential campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for favors.
World leaders joined scientists in Brazil this week as the 30th U.N. Climate Conference COP30 gets underway. But without a high-level delegation
from the United States, it comes 10 years after the landmark Paris agreement on climate change, the same agreements that President Trump
abandoned during his first term.
Well, coming up one of the best goals you will ever see, if you can see it, that is through these blizzard-like conditions. We'll bring you an update
shortly.
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[09:40:00]
GIOKOS: Jeff Bezos' landmark Mars mission using Blue Origin's new Glen rocket won't lift off before Wednesday. Mission command scrubbed Sunday's
blast off due to bad weather. The mission is the first big test for the new orbital rocket designed to compete with SpaceX's Falcon rocket.
New origin says weather will prevent another launch attempt before Wednesday afternoon. Right, well, it was a dramatic weekend in the English
Premier League, but it was the conditions in Canada that have people talking today. I looked at those conditions.
Amanda Davies, and I have to say, wild. Don't they stop playing when it's snowing. Look at that. And it's freezing.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah. I mean, it really has gone viral these pictures because they look, I mean, just too ridiculous to be true,
don't they? And there's no doubt that this match wouldn't have taken place in many parts of the world. But there really is no business-like snow
business.
The game was stopped every 15 minutes to enable them to be able to clear the lines. This is one of the goalkeepers with a shovel clearing his box.
But we have to show you, you've heard of the phrase bicycle kick, Eleni, yeah, have a look at this.
GIOKOS: Yes.
DAVIES: This is being dubbed the icicle kick. I mean, I don't know how David Rodriguez could even see the ball, but he managed to produce one of
the most spectacular goals ever seen. And to make it even more remarkable, until February, he hadn't even seen snow. He grew up in Mexico. We only
moved to this league in February.
GIOKOS: Wow.
DAVIES: And but I guess if you can't play in the snow, what do you do? You put the ball in the air and you kick it over your head. But, yeah, amazing
from the Canadian.
GIOKOS: -- I mean like snow angels. I mean -- snow because I only saw it as an adult, because I lived in South Africa, I was like snow angling all the
way. They should have done that.
DAVIES: Yeah, know. Absolutely incredible scenes from the Canadian Premier League, and a goal deserving of that. He and his team did, of course, go on
to win the title as well. So, a great day all round, but we've got other football of the more traditional kinds coming up in just a couple of
minutes.
GIOKOS: We'll see you after this. And I'll be back at the top of the hour. Stay with CNN.
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