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U.S. Senate Votes to End Shutdown, Sending Bill to House; U.S. Air Traffic Cuts Expected to Increase Today; Israeli Parliament Advances Controversial Death Penalty Bill; Deadly Car Explosion Kills 10 in India, Dozens Injured; Prison Clashes Between Rival Gangs Kill 31 in Ecuador. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired November 11, 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: U.S. President Donald Trump, who participates in the Annual Veterans Day observance in the coming hours,

honoring the men and women who served in the U.S. armed forces. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It is 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos.

This is "Connect the World".

Also coming up, the U.S. Senate votes to end the longest government shutdown, sending a compromise bill to the House. And India is on edge

after a deadly car explosion in a popular daily neighborhood. Right markets are set to open in 30 minutes in New York. I want to check in on those

futures, and it's a pretty mixed picture right now.

You've got the S&P down two tenths of a percent. NASDAQ is dropping almost half a percent, and this is after having a really good day yesterday, and

the DOW is up slightly. A lot of anticipation, hesitation to see whether the government shutdown in the U.S. is going to finally come to an end.

And of course, there is this cautious feeling with little movement, as you can see, a mixed market open set for today. Market futures reacting to the

looming end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The Senate on Monday night approving a funding measure to reopen the government by the

same 60 to 40 margin it needed to break a democratic filibuster the night before.

The measure now goes to the U.S. House, where a vote is anticipated tomorrow. President Trump says he approves of the deal and would sign it

into law. The now six weeks shutdown has been painful for many Americans. It's meant cuts to supplemental food benefits, leaving them in limbo as the

Trump Administration fights in court.

And it's caused major disruptions at U.S. airports with thousands of daily flights delays and as well as cancelations amid a shortage of air traffic

controllers who are working without pay. We'll look at the travel impact in a few minutes. Now, the funding deal passed after eight senators who caucus

with the Democrats voted with Republicans despite their party's failure to secure an extension of Obamacare health insurance subsidies.

House Democrats, who says he's a no vote told CNN last hour what he thinks his party must do going forward. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Democrats cannot simply continue to oppose Donald Trump without offering Americans an alternative agenda. And part of

our alternative agenda needs to be a compelling way that we will lower health care prices, and that includes negotiating on the ACA.

I am perfectly open to negotiating on these enhanced subsidies, whether it's for higher earners, shaving off some of those subsidies, whether it is

sunsetting it after one year with the agreement that we negotiate on different ways of getting people onto the exchanges, through employer

grants or Medicaid expansion, but we have to have a strategy and a plan that we can deliver on even in the minority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: I want to bring in CNN Politics Senior Reporter Stephen Collinson. Stephen, great to see you and your latest analysis online, and it's titled

Trump's shutdown, when just landed, Republicans with a huge political headache. I want you to take me through this brilliant piece.

And you know, on the surface we -- the way we see this playing out, it seems that this is a win for the Republicans and President Trump, but it

comes with a very big caveat, an asterisk, so to speak. Tell us about the problems that the Trump Administration still face, and that comes in the

form of the cost-of-living crisis as well as the health care issue.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, well, it's a win for President Trump, because he didn't back down. Democrats were trying to

fight back against him, and he didn't want his authority impeached. The problem here, however, is that the issue that triggered the shutdown these

expiring subsidies for Obamacare health plans, which the plans have skyrocketed in costs this year.

That's still out there. There are 20 million Americans who are at risk of losing their health insurance because of this, and the Republicans are in

control of the Congress and the presidency, and the problem for them is that they could pay the political price for this at a time when voters,

ahead of next year's midterm elections already believe that Democrats are better positioned to help them on the key issue of health care than

Republicans.

[09:05:00]

GIOKOS: Yeah, I'm caught in the middle of all of this. I mean, we're talking about the millions of Americans who rely on SNAP benefits for

example. You've got federal workers without pay. You've got the fallout that that's happening at airports. You've got the question on health care,

as you've just explained.

The consequences overall, on the U.S. economy of this shutdown, which is record level. I mean, in terms of the just how many days the government has

been shut down. I want you to give me a sense of where to from here, because it seems like the American economy is taking many steps back

because of what we've seen playing out over the past 42 days.

COLLINSON: Yeah, and it's going to take a little while to work through the system at a time when the economy already has many other challenges,

including this affordability crisis for health care, groceries, housing costs that many Americans are experiencing, the mess in the travel industry

over the weekend that caused a lot of economic problems for airlines, and that's going to work through the wider economy.

I think all of those costs were one reason why these eight more moderate Democrats decided to side with Republicans to end the shutdown. As you say,

on the one hand, you had 20 million Americans who risked losing their health care. You had 40 million other Americans who need nutrition

assistance from the government.

That had dried up, federal workers were going into their second month without a paycheck. That's millions of people. The air traffic control

system showed signs of grinding to a halt ahead of the key travel season of Thanksgiving in a few weeks. So, the costs of the shutdown began to weigh

on the senators, even though many of their colleagues wanted to hang on, keep the government closed and try to force Trump's hand.

GIOKOS: Right.

COLLINSON: So, all of these costs, the economic ones and otherwise, are the reason the shutdown ended.

GIOKOS: So, I want to ask you specifically, do you believe that what we're seeing at the airports right now, where you've got flight delays and

cancelations and you've got this crisis at the FAA right now. Do you think that that is what swung the pendulum?

COLLINSON: Certainly, is one of the things, and historically, when air travel starts to get clogged up, that has concentrated the minds of

politicians in Washington, so it was a key factor. But I think the drying up of SNAP nutrition benefits was also another factor weighing on these

senators.

Although only eight Democratic senators voted to reopen the government, I think they were giving cover to a lot more Democratic senators who couldn't

give up for political reasons, but also were very aware of the costs. And I think one of the reasons why Trump prevailed in this shutdown crisis was

because he was willing to impose the kind of pain on Americans, like the cuts in those nutrition benefits that other presidents in previous

shutdowns weren't willing to contemplate.

So, his hard line, I think, helped him prevail. The question here, as with the health care issue, is now, will the costs of that victory actually end

up hurting Trump politically and the Republicans as they try to cling on to their very narrow House majority in a years' time.

GIOKOS: Stephen Collinson, great to have you with us. Thank you so much. More than 1400 flights across the United States already canceled today, and

despite signs the shutdown could soon end, the Federal Aviation Authority is set to increase cuts to 6 percent of flights at 40 major airports.

If the shutdown doesn't end by Friday, that number goes up to 10 percent all this as air traffic controllers are missing a second paycheck this

week. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Great to have you with us. Gloria, what are you seeing on the

ground?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, we've talked to some travelers here today who have come prepared. They know that the prospect

for cancelations is a possibility. So, some of them are showing up to the airport early, and they're also coming prepared.

Many of them told us that they had actually rearranged their travel plans, knowing that travel cancelations are likely to get worse later in the week

now, even as the end of the government shutdown appears to be near after the vote that took place on Monday night. This is still going to continue,

because there is a mandatory emergency order by the FAA to scale down flights across 40 major U.S. airports.

Now that scaling down is beginning at a 6 percent today, and that's going to grow as the week goes on, eventually to 10 percent on Friday.

[09:10:00]

So, I spoke to some people who told me that because of that, they actually moved their plans up so that they could get out to where they are going on

time. Take a listen to some of the travelers who spoke here today, many of them pretty patient, considering that some of their plans had to change

last minute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Any sort of issues so far with your flight?

STACEY KOLMER, TRAVELER: So far, no today, but I understand that tomorrow, there's going to be another bunch that gets notified for the next couple of

days. So, our return flight is up for grabs. I have no idea.

APRIL TAYLOR, TRAVELER: They let us take a move it to an earlier flight. So, we feel like so far, everything's saying it's on time. We're hopeful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Some of the passengers we spoke to hear today also said that the airlines have been pretty good about notifying people ahead of time so that

they're not showing up to the airport, you know, not knowing whether or not their flight is going to take off. And what we're seeing here is that, that

is helping things move along, right?

They're not very long lines here. Security is moving well, so we're not seeing sort of a chaotic scene here at the airport, because people are in

communication with their airlines. As far of the -- as far as the cancelation picture across the country right now, there's more than 1100

cancelations so far, more than 500 delays.

And here at Newark Airport in New Jersey, which is, of course, a major travel hub, there are 62 cancelations as of this hour. And one last point,

Eleni, that I thought was significant and interesting is that many of the international travelers that we spoke to here today told us they've had no

issues.

We know that some of the airlines are prioritizing international travel and trying to cancel the flights that are smaller going to regional airports,

so that those major routes are not disrupted.

GIOKOS: Yeah, interesting so international flights not really impacted. It's the domestic flights, and importantly, communication with the

passengers is helping avert some of the drama that we could be seeing. So, Gloria, thank you so much for breaking the story down for us.

Now, two controversial bills advanced through Israel's Parliament Monday, one would expand the use of the death penalty for convicted terrorists. And

individuals found guilty of nationalistically motivated murder. Israel's far right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir handed out sweets to

fellow lawmakers after the vote passed.

He had threatened to withdraw his party from Israel's coalition government if the bill was not put to a vote. In the same session, lawmakers also

approved the first reading of a separate bill that would allow the Israeli government to shut down foreign media outlets without a court order.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us. Jeremy, good to have you on the show. So, explain both bills and the controversy around them.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's start first of all with this death penalty bill, which is something that Israel's far right

has been seeking to implement for years now. It was something that Itamar Ben-Gvir, when he joined the Israeli Prime Minister's government, made

clear that it was a goal of his as part of this coalition government.

And now it has passed its first reading in the Israeli Knesset, the Israeli parliament before it goes to committee and then faces a second and third

reading on the Knesset floor. This piece of legislation would extend the death penalty, which in Israel has only been used once, and really only

applies to extraordinarily limited circumstances.

It would extend this death penalty to convicted terrorists and individuals found guilty of nationalistically motivated murder. But on that count, it

makes quite clear that it would only apply to Arab terrorists and not to Jewish terrorists harming Palestinians, noting in the law that this is

aimed at those who would harm the State of Israel and the revival of Jewish people on its lands.

Interestingly, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously opposed this piece of legislation over the course of the war, when Ben-Gvir

had tried to bring it up. But now he has switched his position, given the fact that the living hostages have now all been returned from Gaza, that

seems to have changed the Israeli Prime Minister's position, according to his hostage coordinator, Gal Hirsch.

This bill also would amend military court law in Israel, allowing this death penalty to be imposed by a simple majority vote of judges on those

military courts, rather than a unanimous vote. And that speaks, of course, to the ongoing inequalities that exist in the West Bank, where Palestinian

civilians are subject to military law, whereas Israeli civilians are subject to Israeli civilian law, something that the United Nations has

criticized for saying it violates Palestinians right to due process.

So that is the first and most consequential bill here. But then there is this other piece of legislation that would seek to allow the Israeli

government to have the power to shut down foreign media outlets it dislikes without a court order.

[09:15:00]

This is aimed at extending what's become known as the Al Jazeera law, which shuttered Al Jazeera operations in Israel last year. But this -- the

difference this time is that it would give the government the power to do so without a court order, not only in times of war or national emergency,

which was the case last year, but rather it would extend that power altogether.

Reporters Without Borders has condemned this proposal, saying that it is the quote, first nail in the coffin of broadcast media's editorial

independence in Israel. And we have, of course, watched a continuing backsliding of the freedom of the press here in Israel, in addition, of

course, to the killing of more than 200 Palestinian journalists in the Gaza strip over the course of this war.

GIOKOS: Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. Well, still to come, India's Prime Minister vows to bring those responsible for Monday's deadly car

explosion in Delhi to justice. The latest on the investigation straight ahead. Plus, from special food to guests with computers, a whistleblower

says Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend and accomplice is getting special treatment in prison. The details on that story just after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: The fallout from Monday's deadly car explosion in Delhi is being felt across India. Airports, rail stations and government buildings are all

on high alert. The blast killed at least 10 people and injured dozens more in a major tourist district in the city. Earlier today, Indian Prime

Minister Narendra Modi said that all those responsible, will be brought to justice. CNN's Mike Valerio has the latest.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is being investigated under one of India's anti-terrorism laws. We're starting to hear as the hours go on,

from more and more officials, notably from Prime Minister Modi as well as India's Defense Minister, that anybody who is responsible for this will be

brought to justice, paraphrasing their comments lightly for the sake of our conversation, but I want to take you to the scene.

Let's play about five seconds of this clip, what people saw at the tail end of rush hour in Delhi yesterday. Let's watch this. So that is the scene

outside, just a couple meters away from the Red Fort metro station. Six vehicles torched, three auto rickshaws also torched from that explosion.

Now let's listen to somebody who was in, at the scene. Take a listen to how they described it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we reached the spot, we could find only bodies. We went there with about 10 ambulances and found about four to five bodies and

brought them to the hospital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:20:00]

VALERIO: And I think it's important to note that even though we are hearing from more and more officials, even at the top of India's government, that

are militating towards this being a deliberate act, still, police and authorities at the top levels of India's government have not blamed an

individual. They have not pointed blame towards a specific group of any sort.

In terms of the ripple effects of this story, this is affecting so many cities in India, airports, rail stations, heritage sites and landmarks, all

in a heightened state of security after this.

GIOKOS: All right, let's get you up to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed

responsibility for a suicide blast that killed 12 and injured 20 in Islamabad. The explosion happened outside Pakistan's High Court.

Clashes between the Pakistani and Afghan militaries in October were the worst in seven years. Peace talks aimed at a ceasefire fell apart last week

in Turkey. Thailand said it was halting progress on a peace agreement with Cambodia after a landmine explosion at the border injured several Thai

soldiers Monday.

Both sides signed a peace declaration last month, overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump, following a five-day border conflict in July that

killed dozens of people. Now, authorities in Ecuador are facing questions over prison clashes that left at least 31 inmates dead.

They say four gang members were killed by a rival group early Sunday. And 27 other prisoners died in a reprisal attack later in the day by quote, as

fixation. A top-ranking Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee claims Ghislaine Maxwell is getting preferential treatment in prison.

Jamie Raskin says he learned the information from a whistleblower. Maxwell was convicted of being involved in a sex trafficking ring with Jeffrey

Epstein. As MJ Lee reports, Maxwell may be looking to get her sentence reduced.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell is hoping to reverse her fortunes with

help from President Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you consider a pardon or a commutation for Ghislaine Maxwell if she's cooperating --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's something I haven't thought about -- I'm allowed to do it.

LEE (voice-over): Trump, when asked, has repeatedly not ruled out the possibility of leniency for the late Jeffrey Epstein's notorious right-hand

woman. According to a whistleblower who was making new allegations, Maxwell is currently working on filing an application for a commutation.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): She's basically being treated like an honored guest at a Trump hotel rather than a federal prisoner.

LEE (voice-over): Congressman, Jamie Raskin, the House Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, says the whistleblower also claims that Maxwell

is receiving preferential treatment at the prison camp in Bryan, Texas where she's currently serving out her 20-year sentence.

The favorable concierge style treatment is set to include private meetings with visitors, including snacks and refreshments for her guests. Maxwell's

guests being allowed to bring in computers during their visits. And the camp's Warden personally helping to send emails on Maxwell's behalf.

Maxwell's lawyer and the Justice Department did not comment.

TODD BLANCHE, UNITED STATES DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Did you ever observe President Trump receive a massage?

GHISLAINE MAXWELL, CONVICTED CHILD SEX OFFENDER: Never.

LEE (voice-over): These new revelations coming less than four months after Trump's Deputy Attorney General and Former Personal Lawyer Todd Blanche met

in person with Maxwell at her previous prison in Florida.

MAXWELL: I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way, in the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all

respects.

LEE (voice-over): During the course of two days of interviews, Maxwell telling Blanche that she had never seen Trump behave inappropriately.

Trump, who was friends with Epstein decades ago, has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.

DAVID OSCAR MARKUS, ATTORNEY FOR GHISLAINE MAXWELL: Ghislaine answered every single question asked of her over the last day and a half. Ms.

Maxwell would welcome any relief.

LEE (voice-over): Just days after Blanche's unusual July meeting with Maxwell, the convicted felon, was transferred out of a low security federal

prison in Tallahassee to a minimum-security facility in Texas. The move drew the ire of critics, Democrats and Epstein survivors alike.

ANOUSKA DE GEORGIOU, EPSTEIN ABUSE SURVIVOR: We were horrified to learn that she had been transferred to a prison camp. It's one of my worst

nightmares that she not only be transferred but the possibility that's very much going around that she might be pardoned.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Camera one, yeah. All right, two family members of one of Epstein's most prominent accusers spoke to my colleague Sara Sidner a little while

ago. Virginia Giuffre documents of the sexual abuse in a book before she died earlier this year, and here's what her brother-in-law and sister had

to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA ROBERTS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S SISTER-IN-LAW: I think it makes us angry. I do want to praise Raskin and the whistleblower for coming forward

and exposing what's really happening.

[09:25:00]

And I think we have to remember as constituents, this is what our tax dollars is funding. We are funding a child sex trafficker to be in a prison

that she does not belong in. She belongs in a maximum-security prison. Our tax dollars are waiting on her hand and foot, and it's quite shameful.

It makes us angry. It's a slap in the face to every single survivor who came forward and why is this happening? Why is this happening? We still

don't understand why she's there. We were never given any answers as to why she was moved. What happened during those conversations with her.

It just all still seems like an extreme cover up, and it's scary to think that she may be on the doorsteps to freedom.

SKY ROBERS, VIRGINIA GIUFFRE'S BROTHER: I think we really have to start questioning. That's an amazing question, because that's exactly what we

need to be questioning is, why is she being moved to a minimum-security prison after giving testimony in front of Todd Blanche?

He should be summoned. He should be held to account, to answer for those questions, it's simple. I think that we've prioritized putting power and

money over survivors. And you know, when is the government going to start helping them out? I mean, my sister would say it often, like, hey, you

know, guys, we could use a little bit of a hand here.

You know, we're carrying a lot of weight in terms of the names and the burden to come forward publicly and continue to talk about this like, help

us out. You've only released 1 percent of the documents, so I think it's quite shameful. I mean, she doesn't deserve to be playing with puppies in

prison and getting chef meals basically prepared for her and sent her dorm.

That's not what we should be doing to a convicted sex trafficking offender. I can tell you that she was an active participant in physically abused many

of these survivors, including my sister.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Amanda and Sky Roberts there speaking about their sister there. All right, so ahead on "Connect the World", Americans say they're feeling the

pinch. President Trump says prices have fallen, and what do the numbers say? We'll do some fact checking right after this. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: All right, welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. The U.S. Senate

voted Monday night to end the six-week long government shutdown. The funding plan now goes to the House, where a vote is expected Wednesday.

President Donald Trump says he approves of the measure and would sign it. President Trump is said to lay a wreath and speak at Arlington National

Cemetery. In the coming hours, he will lead the 72nd Annual National Veterans Day observance, honoring the men and women who have served and

continue to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces during war and peace time.

[09:30:00]

All right. And here is the bell, the opening bell in the United States. Markets just starting off the trading day. After a really good rally

yesterday and a nice boost for the tech stocks, we're starting to see a little bit of softness coming through in today's session. You've got the

DOW JONES slightly higher, but it's the NASDAQ and the S&P that are showing a little bit of weakness again, in anticipation, waiting with bated breath

to see when the government shutdown will end.

And it seems that it might just be this week and from Wall Street to Main Street, the cost of living is a key concern for many Americans. I want you

to keep in mind the issue of affordability helping fuel the Democrats big sweep in last week's states and local elections.

For his party as President Donald Trump says high prices are coming down. Now CNN has been looking at the numbers and fact checking the president's

claims about U.S. inflation. CNN's Daniel Dale is on the case, doing the fact checking, and he joins us now, and numbers never lie, Daniel.

And I just want to tell you this quote, from President Trump, he says inflation is almost nonexistent. And of course, that isn't the case. We

just have to look at the numbers that are being released on a monthly basis that tell us a very different story. So, take me through it.

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: That's exactly right. So, inflation is at 3 percent year over year. That was the number as of September. That is

exactly the same number that President Trump inherited in January from President Biden, a number that he claims was then a disaster.

Inflation has accelerated in the U.S. for five consecutive months. As of September, it did decline at the very beginning of this Trump term, but as

his tariffs started to be passed through the U.S. economy to consumers, we saw prices rise. So, this idea that inflation no longer exists, or is

almost non-existent, that every price is down, as President Trump also said last week, just absolutely not true.

GIOKOS: All right. Daniel Dale, great to have you with us. Thank you so much. And now, the Texas girls camp that was overcome by deadly floods in

July is facing legal action. Three lawsuits were filed against Camp Mystic on Monday by the families of seven campers and two counselors who died in

the flooding, and they were among 27 people who lost their lives there.

Camp Mystic faces a slew of allegations, including failing to prepare for such a disaster and choosing to evacuate equipment before people. Its

lawyer says inadequate warning systems in the area are to blame. New video shows Chinese Leader Xi Jinping inspecting China's latest, most

sophisticated aircraft carrier.

This comes as the country continues building up its navy, the world's largest at a staggering pace. Tamara Qiblawi has an executive CNN

investigation uncovering new details and never before seen satellite images that show just how rapidly China's arsenal sites are expanding.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice-over): China appears to be expanding its military arsenal at a historic pace, according

to the findings of the CNN investigation. We identified and located 136 facilities linked to China's rocket force, which oversees both nuclear and

conventional missiles.

This is one of the fastest growing areas of the country's 2 million strong armed forces. We also analyzed satellite images to measure the scale of the

expansion. Details that have not previously been reported. These facilities are research institutes, factories, bases and testing sites.

Despite Beijing's repeated denials, military experts say that this is China ringing in a new arms race. Across the country, more than half of these

sites have expanded. Several of them replacing whole villages, growing by tens of thousands of feet in just five years.

Others emerging out of farmland, like this one in northwest China, a testing site for hypersonic missiles, complete with 139,000 square feet of

brand-new facilities. Take a look at this rocket factory on China's coast. We see a yard with missiles over 60 feet long.

China's military covered the roofs of the rocket warehouses with camouflage. Freight trains transporting rockets run from one end of the

site to the other to produce missiles that are larger and more sophisticated. China needs a lot more floor space. So that's what we

measured.

[09:35:00]

Since 2020, China added at least 21 million square feet to its rocket research and production floor space, that's about the size of 375 football

fields. Historically discreet about its military posture, recently, China has been flaunting its capabilities. In September, a show of force at

China's military parade.

Friend and foe watched closely among the weapons brandished by China, the DF-26D, an upgraded version of a missile ominously dubbed the Guam killer.

U.S. territory of Guam is home to Anderson Air Force Base, which serves as a launching point for America's long-range bombers.

Because of this missile's partially unpredictable flight path, it may potentially outmaneuver America's most advanced air defenses and strike

strategic U.S. positions in the Pacific.

QIBLAWI: Why does this matter? Because in our previous investigation, we found that the U.S. burned through around 25 percent of its THAAD Air

Defense Systems in just 12 days, the Pentagon has been scrambling to replace them. Now, these are the very interceptors that are designed to

shoot Chinese rockets down.

Is it fair to say that this is an arms race?

WILLIAM ALBERQUE, FORMER NATO DIRECTOR OF ARMS CONTROL: We're talking about operational missiles, missiles for theater warfare and Battlefield we're

talking about strategic missiles, missiles for strategic dominance, for deterring the United States and possibly defeating the United States. I

would say it's not only fair to say that it's an arms race, but China has already sprinted off the starting line.

QIBLAWI (voice-over): Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Well, the world number one ranking, excuse me, for tennis, is on the line in Turin as friends and rivals get set to battle for the end of

season crown. We're going to short break. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now have you ever heard of the new music sensation? Her name is Xania Monet and she's completely AI generated. The singer has

reportedly had $3 million dollar record deal and has appeared on multiple Billboard charts since debuting this summer, including an R&B radio airplay

chart, the first known AI artist to do so.

Monet's rise comes amid the debate in Hollywood and the music world over artificial intelligence replacing human creativity.

[09:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TELISHA JONES, AI SONGER "XANIA MONET" CREATOR: -- use an extension of me, so I look at her as a real person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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 AI is the new era that we're in, and I look at as a tool, as an instrument.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, real artists are now speaking out. Singer Kehlani, saying nothing and no one on earth will ever be able to justify AI to me, I'm

sorry I don't respect it. And SZA also questioning it, saying, why devalue our music? I agree with them. I think humans, human artists, are the way to

go, but maybe I'm old school.

All right. Now a wild dolphin nicknamed Mimmo is making waves in Venice. It's delighting tourists near St. Mark's Square, but worrying experts by

coming so close to shore. The dolphin has been spotted in the waters of Venice over the past few weeks, dodging gondolas and water taxis in the

city's lagoon.

Scientists are keeping watch, warning people to keep their distance and hoping Mimmo soon heads back to sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUCA MIZZAN, HEAD OF NATURAL HISTORY AT MUSEUM OF VENICE: There are many boats stopping to film or watch it. Let's not get too close. Let's not cut

across its path if we're in a boat, and absolutely do not try to feed it or turn it into a pet. It's a wild animal. We hope it will return to the sea.

We hope that as soon as the lagoon water cools down and the fish move out, the dolphin will follow them. For now, let's enjoy this beautiful sight,

but let's remember it's a wild animal. Keep your distance and leave it as much in peace as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right, the ATP finals are underway in Turin. Not only is the end of season crown on the line, but for Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz,

the year-end world number one ranking is as well. Amanda Davies joins us now, and you had a chance to sit down with both of them, so tell me.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, Eleni, how lucky have we been over the last couple of years that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have very

much picked up that mantle, haven't they? From the Big Three, from Nadal, Federer, Djokovic.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

DAVIES: And we have this brand-new rivalry, which has seen them split all four grand slams over the last two years, and it's going right to the end

of this season, once again, not only the season ending crown, as you said, on the line, but also that year end world number one ranking.

But for all the battles that we see them playing out against each other on the court, when they sit down alongside each other, you can have a whole

lot of fun. We've been talking skiing. We've been talking football rivalry, and of course, what they're expecting on the tennis court, and we've got

that coming up in just a couple of minutes in "World Sports".

GIOKOS: I look forward to. Amanda, we'll see you right after this short break. And I'll be back at the top of the hour.

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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