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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Flights Canceled Due to Shutdown; U.S. Government Shutdown Nears Day 39; Philippines Brace for Fifth Typhoon this Year; China Launches Advance Aircraft Carrier; CNN Investigation into China's Missile Production Sites; Traffickers in the Sahara Hold Refugees for Ransom. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired November 07, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Jim
Sciutto is off. You are watching "The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, thousands of flights are canceled or delayed as U.S. President Donald Trump urges lawmakers to stay in D.C. until a shutdown
deal is reached. China's most advanced aircraft carrier enters service as it tries to catch up with the U.S. for naval supremacy. And Kendrick Lamar
leads the 2026 Grammy nominations along with a surprise nod for K-pop.
But first, airlines canceling hundreds of flights right across the United States following an order by the Federal Aviation Administration to scale
back operations. Now, more than 1,000 flights have been canceled today. That's according to the latest data from FlightAware. This says the ongoing
government shutdown has worsened air traffic control staffing issues. They have been working without pay. A reminder here, it's been more than a month
now.
The FAA began a 4 percent reduction in flights at 40 major airports today and plans to gradually increase it to 10 percent by next Friday. Here's
what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had to say earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: The airlines have been good partners. They don't love this. They're going to lose millions of dollars
because of this. It's challenging for them to take down flights. And to those passengers that are upset, listen, call your Democrat senator. 14
times they voted no to open up the government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Chris Sununu is the president of Airlines for America, the trade association for U.S. air carriers, and he is also a former governor of New
Hampshire. Thanks so much for chiming in here today as we all try and parse what's going on on the ground and in the skies.
Now, you have said that the airline industry is being, in your words, held hostage on silly politics on Capitol Hill. I want to ask you how have the
airlines been coping and how do you expect this trickle-down effect to go for travelers themselves?
CHRIS SUNUNU, PRESIDENT, AIRLINES FOR AMERICA AND FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR: Sure. So, let's start with the airlines themselves. I think
they've done a great job working -- as the secretary noted, directly hand- in-glove with the FAA for at least the first 35 days -- I guess we're on to day 38. And they've done a great job mitigating.
So, we've had delays up until now. They've mitigated those, and they've been inconvenient, maybe about 8 to 10 percent of the flights across the
country. But now, we're really looking at safety as the pressures increase, as this goes on longer, as more of these air traffic controllers and TSA
agents are forced to make other decisions, we want them all to come in. They've got to come into work. But the reality is sometimes they -- you
know, we are short-staffed. That's the government side of the equation. They become short-staffed. And in the name of safety, you slow things down,
and now the FAA is mandating an actual cancellation.
4 percent of the flights this week will be canceled in 40 major areas across the country. That will escalate up to about 10 percent on Friday.
And I think the airlines, again, are doing as good of a job as could be expected in terms of moving people around, trying to minimize the customer
disruption. Every customer that gets disrupted is another dollar out of their pocket. They're massively incentivized to get this thing right, but
it is going to be tough until Washington gets their act together and reopens government and pays their own employees as they should have done
over 35 days ago.
NEWTON: Now, today the disruptions apparently have been OK, but only because it's been minimal. I want you to hear now again from the
transportation secretary about how much worse this could get. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUFFY: So, if this shutdown doesn't end relatively soon, the consequence of that is going to be more controllers don't come to work, and then we're
going to have to continue to assess the pressure in the airspace and make decisions that may, again, move us from 10 percent to 15 percent, maybe to
20.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: I mean, Governor Sununu, 20 percent? What does that look like for the airlines that you represent? And I do want to ask you this question,
because some airlines have been outspoken about it. Was this necessary for safety reasons?
SUNUNU: It was absolutely necessary. There's no question about it. I mean, when you look at the data, right, when you see the growing number of
delays, the growing number of pressure on the system, and what they do is they kind of go back, and they -- because we're at such an unprecedented
level, we're coming into a high-demand period over the next couple of weeks.
[18:05:00]
The FAA is being smart. They're saying, look, we're not going to wait for the whole thing to come to gridlock to go, oh, I guess we should have pre-
planned. They're saying, we want to roll in some of these forced cancellations, which are very tough for the airlines to handle, but we're
going to roll it in in the name of safety to make sure that we are taking as much pressure off the system but allowing, you know, as strong of a
customer service aspect as we can. It's all done for safety.
Trust me, the airlines, you know, wouldn't be doing this if it -- you know, and losing the millions and tens and hundreds of millions of dollars that
this is likely going to cost them. I mean, we're talking somewhere between 50 and 100 million a day in potential cancellation refunds and things of
that nature. So, this is crushing the airlines, but it's in the name of safety They want the system and the national airspace to be as viable and
as resilient as possible, but these pressures are growing They're very, very real.
And not because -- nothing's being debated on Capitol Hill about the airlines. That's the frustrating part. Nothing's being debated about these
air traffic controllers, God bless them, who have come in day in and day out, done forced overtime, not a paycheck or the TSA agent. Some of these
folks are making 35,000, 40,000 a year. They're making -- they live in paycheck to paycheck. And these are government workers and the government
themselves is saying, we're not going to pay you because we want to have a health care battle over here.
Health care is important, we got to figure it out, but you do not hold the system hostage. And by the system, I mean, the American public, all of this
county.
NEWTON: OK. Now, with that -- but with that I hear that you're taking shots at the Democratic side of this. And look, this is not your first
rodeo, right? You've seen this before, but I do want to ask you what can solve it. I mean, does it need the president to get involved at this hour,
because so far he's been reluctant?
SUNUNU: It needs everybody involved. You've hit a good point. It's not just the president. It needs everybody involved, putting whatever pressures
that can be applied to -- again, not -- it's not just an airline issue, right. I was a governor. I used to manage the SNAP benefits and food stamps
and programs that helped hungry families. Those are all coming to a screeching halt because, again, I mean, what's more important than that?
What's more important than making sure that benefits are there for these hungry families in states all across the country? That's all -- a lot of
that's coming to a screeching halt this weekend.
They'll have some additional benefits coming, but this is Congress' job to fund the government going forward and now you're going to penalize these
poor folks as well. You're going to tell the military over Veterans Day that, well, we're kind of, you know, figuring something out for you, but
we'll get to figure out the long-term issue of your own pay this Veterans Day. That's a horrible message to be sending.
NEWTON: You make such a good point. And a reminder as well that the people on Capitol Hill are getting paid. I want you to listen now to Marjorie
Taylor Greene and what she told CNN last night. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): It's basically a you-know-what measuring contest between the men and leadership, and I think the country
is sick and tired of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Is she right in terms of what's leading to this? Because it not to pick sides here the Republicans or the Democrats, but how does this
shutdown end if Marjorie Taylor Greene is right about that?
SUNUNU: Well, I'll say this, it is populism, right? That's -- we're all becoming a victim of populism. You saw the election happen, and the
Democrats had a great night on Tuesday. But the word on the street is, well, now they feel empowered. Well, that tells me that the Democrats are
looking at political results, driving their decision-making to take yet another no vote, right?
So, at the end of the day, I want the simplest easiest thing to do to get government paid, that's a clean CR. But here's the message, the next bill,
that's the best one to vote for. You said no 14 or 15 times now, whatever the next one is, whatever Senator Thune and Leader Thune puts on the table,
I don't care, just say yes to that because the political gamesmanship has gone on long enough. You're holding everybody hostage.
And it's a great example of everyone in this town just kind of lives inside the beltway, right, and assumes that, you know, 350 plus million Americans
out there, nearly 400 billion Americans are going to be just fine, you know, as they game things out. They have a responsibility to do their jobs,
step up and do it, deal with health care. You got to deal with all these other issues, of course, but you don't hold government hostage on that. You
make sure things are funded going forward, just like they were on September 30th, and then deal with your other bigger issues.
And by the way, health care is going to keep coming back. Health care is going to be a major political issue for the next 25 years. I promise I
guarantee it We're going to have a lot of bites at that apple. It's not like if something doesn't get in taking care of this month then, you know,
it can't be taken care of down the road. Of course, it can.
NEWTON: Governor Sununu, I'm not sure that either side on Capitol Hill is listening to you right now. Listen, travelers facing perhaps a 20 percent
reduction in travel by the end of next weekend. That's likely not the worst of it. Governor Sununu, thank you as always as we continue to see what
happens to the traveling public in the next few days appreciate it.
SUNUNU: You bet.
NEWTON: Now, Kevin Liptak is in West Palm Beach, Florida for us not far from Mar-a-Lago. You were covering the president He travels. I mean, look,
Kevin, he did weigh in, saying to the Senate, don't go home. What -- give us a status report here in terms of what the president can do to bring
pressure to bear if he's convinced even needs to intervene here.
[18:10:00]
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, his sort of sole tactic at this point is to encourage Senate Republicans to do away with the
filibuster, that 60 vote threshold that is needed to pass virtually any legislation in that body. The only issue is here that Republicans do not
agree with him on that. The Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said very explicitly there are not votes in the chamber at this moment to get away
from the filibuster, and that leaves the two sides still at odds about how this is going to come to an end.
You know, earlier this week there were some glimmers of optimism that perhaps as many as 12 Democrats, moderate Democrats, might be on board with
a clean funding extension if the Republicans and if President Trump agreed to open up a debate about these health care subsidies and have a vote on
that. That optimism seems to have diminished significantly as Democrats absorb the results of Tuesday night's election and as it becomes clearer
and clearer that Republicans are getting most of the blame for the shutdown. You know, President Trump himself has said that that is part of
what led to those major Republican losses on Tuesday evening.
Now, today the minority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, did propose a new way out of this, which is to include a one-year-long extension of those
health care subsidies into the funding measure, hoping that that could be a compromise that brings all of the sides together, but that does not appear
to have support among the Republicans. And so, this all seems to be leading to another failed vote on the clean funding extension and yet more
uncertainty about how this all will end.
It does appear as if the Senate will stay in town for the weekend, but President Trump will be down here in Florida. There's no planned meetings
between himself and congressional leaders. The president seems to be sort of stuck on this position that Republicans should do away with something
that they have no sort of will to do at this point.
NEWTON: That is at least good news that the Senate is likely to stay in town. Kevin, I don't have a lot of time left, but earlier today, Viktor
Orban, head of Hungary, was there at the White House. We were trying to get clues as to whether or not they would get an exemption for buying Russian
oil, natural gas. Did we get any further on that and anything more on the president's posture towards Ukraine?
LIPTAK: The president said that he was looking at it, and in talking to officials afterwards, it seems likely that that will happen. What Viktor
Orban seems to have done in return is to agree to buy American LNG and to buy American nuclear power. And so, they seem to have come up with some
arrangement that would, in theory, try and wean Hungary off of Russian oil, but still allow that to proceed going forward without Hungary suffering
from American sanctions.
Now, the president himself, he was asked in this meeting whether he was still intending to meet President Putin in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Obviously, Viktor Orban very much wants that to happen, and the president said that they would talk about it today and that he would still look at
it, but there's no indication that that meeting has been put back on the schedule.
NEWTON: All right. Kevin Liptak, we'll look forward to more news from you this weekend as you are traveling with the president in Florida. Appreciate
it.
Now, the Philippines is bracing for the fifth typhoon to strike the island so far this year, and it's also the ninth named storm, and on average,
eight or nine of these named storms make landfall in the country each and every year, that's according to the Weather Service.
Now, the incoming typhoon called Fung-Wong is expected to intensify as it crosses the warmest water in the Pacific Ocean. Now, earlier this week,
another storm named Kalmaegi also tore through the Philippines. There were torrential downpours over areas already flooded by record rainfall. I mean,
look at that devastation. Local officials say at least 188 people were killed, most in Cebu province, a tourist hotspot.
Joining me now is Jose Estuar. He is the humanitarian response manager for CARE, a global organization fighting poverty and inequality, and he joins
me now from Cebu. Good to have you with us tonight. I mean, look, I've been following this for the last year, really, in terms of the Philippines, and
while in terms of the number of storms may not be higher than usual in an average year, it seems the severity of these storms has really hit the
Philippines hard. What are you seeing on the ground there?
JOSE ESTUAR, HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE MANAGER, CARE: Yes, good day, Paula. Yes, the severity of the storms, yes, but what we are seeing on ground --
I'm currently here in northern Cebu, in Medellin. OK. What we are seeing on ground is the effects of the layered crisis, one crisis compounding
another.
[18:15:00]
So, what we're seeing on ground, for example, just to give you that visual, you have people, families evacuated, living in tent cities due to the
earthquake, and then these tent cities suffered flooding, strong winds. They had to be re-evacuated elsewhere, perhaps forced to return to their
houses that were already earthquake-damaged in the first place. So, what you are seeing also on ground is the effects of these multiple crises, the
layered crisis coming one after the other. So, very briefly, that's what you will see here in northern Cebu.
NEWTON: And can you tell me about some of the challenges of that layered crisis, especially when it comes to the basics, right, clean water, food,
medical help?
ESTUAR: Yes, definitely the challenges are there. Probably the best way to describe it is that resources to address these challenges are stretched at
best, you know, at -- stretched at this point. There are -- the challenges are enormous. Definitely you would need clean water in areas where people
are evacuated. You would need food. You would need some form of temporary shelter and all of that.
Right now, all of these resources are stretched. We are doing our best as CARE to reach all of these affected populations wherever we can. But it's
stretched.
NEWTON: How much help have you been getting from the government? How are you finding its response to all of this?
ESTUAR: Right now, the government response is also stretched. But on the macro and on the national level, you can see that government has mobilized.
There has been a declaration of a state of calamity. This will move resources, release funds, look into certain controls to prevent
profiteering during times of crisis, et cetera.
So, we -- there is a declaration of a state of calamity. We have laws to anticipate these disasters. You see the heroes on ground from our partners,
the local governments. You see health workers working overtime. Now, again, I think the agencies, the local governments, the national governments have
all mobilized on this one, but resources are stretched largely because of the magnitude of the affected population and the layered crisis, one on top
of the other.
NEWTON: And, Jose, as you're speaking, we are showing pictures of the absolute devastation. This is not damage. This is outright and utter
devastation. Jose, we are going to leave it there for now. And good luck to all of you who are trying to help people on the ground. Appreciate it.
ESTUAR: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, still ahead for us, a rough week on Wall Street. A.I. bubble fears and cautious consumers all weighing on U.S. stocks. How bad could it
get? We'll discuss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:20:00]
NEWTON: And welcome back. In today's Business Breakout, a volatile day on Wall Street. The Dow and the S&P spent most of the day deep in the red
before, yes, bouncing back modestly. Tech stocks closed lower, but way off their worst levels. Now, the NASDAQ, however, did fall almost 4 percent on
the week, its worst performance since way back in April. Fears of an A.I. stock bubble continue to weigh on sentiment.
Shares of A.I. chip giants NVIDIA and AMD have tumbled almost 10 percent since Monday. Microsoft and Amazon, which have also benefited from the A.I.
boom, saw shares fall almost 5 percent.
Now, checking some of today's other business headlines, Chinese exports have taken their first monthly drop since President Trump's reciprocal
tariff announcement back in April. Exports fell more than 1 percent last month. Shipments to the U.S. tumbled 25 percent. The numbers show how tough
it will be for China to find new markets for its goods if higher tariffs lead to a prolonged slump in U.S. sales.
U.S. President Donald Trump's social media company is reporting a wider- than-expected quarterly loss. Trump Media and Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, lost roughly $55 million in the third quarter. That's more
than double its losses from last year. Revenue also declined from the year before, and expenses soared. Trump Media has yet to post a profit as a
public company.
Car rental company Hertz is seeing a boost in demand as the government shutdown drags on. Hertz says reservations for one-way rentals have soared
more than 20 percent compared to last year. Customers worried about shutdown-related flight cancellations are, of course, choosing to drive
instead. Despite the boost in business, the CEO of Hertz is calling for an immediate end of the shutdown. He says, quote, "every day of delay creates
unnecessary disruption."
Now, the government disruption, the shutdown combined with a softening job market and stubbornly high inflation is taking its toll on U.S. consumer
sentiment. New data shows consumer sentiment falling to its lowest levels in more than three years, close to its worst levels ever. All this on top
of a report earlier this week showing U.S. layoffs at more than 20-year highs.
President Trump today insisting he's focused on the plight of the consumer. He says average Americans will see improvement soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Walmart just announced it two days ago, 25 percent cheaper this year will be cheaper to have Thanksgiving than it was
a year ago under Sleepy Joe Biden. We have almost no inflation. We're down now to 2 percent and we'll be at maybe 1 percent. You want to always stay
above 1 percent, actually. You want a little tiny bit of inflation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, as part of his affordability push, President Trump has ordered the Justice Department to investigate the U.S. meatpacking
industry, which he says is driving up the price of beef. CNN Global Economic Analyst Rana Foroohar joins me. She is also a global business
columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times. So, good to see you and happy Friday.
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST AND GLOBAL BUSINESS COLUMNIST, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, FINANCIAL TIMES: Happy Friday, Paula.
NEWTON: Rana, I cannot think of anyone better to try and parse all of this. And look, no, we will not ask you to weigh in on the price of beef,
although I'm sure you have noticed it at your own supermarket. Listen, I know a bust or a crash has been on the minds of many, but I actually want
to avoid the extreme because somehow that's sometimes not the way these markets slide.
What should we be looking for, though? Are we already seeing signs of something more subtle, right? I'll call it a vibe shift, momentum shift.
You know, and let's talk about the economy and the market, right? Because sometimes they're two different things.
FOROOHAR: Yes. No, that's a great way to frame it all, Paula. You know, I actually wasn't sorry, aside from, you know, looking at my 401(k), to see
the shift that we did because little corrections, and this is, you know, a relatively small one, are good. I mean, we are way overdue for a big
correction. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, these banks are advising their clients that you could see 15 percent down in the next year.
When you get smaller, more frequent corrections, it's actually healthier for the market. We know there is an A.I. bubble. Everyone agrees on that.
It's not that A.I. is not going to be a big deal, but it's going to take years, decades even, for that story to play out. So, we do need some of
that froth to come out of the market.
[18:25:00]
Now, going to how this connects to the real economy, a couple things that I do worry about, Americans are more invested in equities than ever before.
So, I think that as the market goes down, you're going to see a disproportionate impact relative to corrections of the past. And it's
happening at the same time that there are all these other headwinds. You're beginning to see tariff-related inflation.
You know, it sort of makes me smile to hear Trump talking about meatpacking. Biden -- actually Lina Khan, who was FDC chair under Biden,
started looking into meatpacking, poultry, et cetera, monopoly issues and pricing. So, that's certainly not Trump's idea.
But you are beginning to see inflation, and it's happening at a time when, as you say, confidence is down. You can see it in the hiring numbers. The
big stores preparing for Christmas are hiring half of the people for temporary labor that they did last year. So, there's no question that we're
in a slowdown.
NEWTON: And when we talk about this growing anxiety, whether it's related to an A.I. bubble perhaps on the stock market, we do in fact have this
shutdown now, right? Amplifying reactions to everything. You know, Kevin Hassett came out with a warning saying that he's now looking at GDP of this
shutdown having more of an effect than he thought it would?
FOROOHAR: Yes, for sure. I think that that goes to this point that the markets are more important than ever before. You know, we've been in
decades now where we've had asset-led growth. And so, what the markets do is really huge for the real economy. And that's -- you know, that's
relatively new. We saw obviously a downturn in 2008, but this is a whole new ball of wax. And I really am concerned about how fast, how big those
dips come.
NEWTON: When we talk about those dips, too, we have to talk about the great divide, right? Everybody's calling it the K-shaped economy. And we've
seen it in company results as well. I think everyone worries, right, about the lower-income consumers that are really struggling. When you look at all
the effects of the economy right now, we talked about it, right, we talked about the layoffs, we talk about the fact that not many are hiring, we talk
about the fact that inflation, core inflation, still over 3 percent in certainly some sectors.
So, how do you see this evening out? Because a K-shaped economy can be -- the affordability crisis, as it were, can be really dangerous for an
economy, right?
FOROOHAR: It -- well, 100 percent, Paul, it can. It can be dangerous economically. It can be dangerous politically. When you get the amount of
people that we have out there now that just think, what hope is there for me? You know, I mean, look at what's happened with the SNAPs benefits.
There are people that are lining up. I mean, they cannot afford to eat at the same time that you still have a 1 percent that's taken, you know, half
of the income in the last -- the wealth creation in the last few years. It's a powder keg.
And I think you can see it actually in some of the elections recently. You saw Democratic candidates that talked about affordability last few days
winning. And I think that that's a message that's going to continue. It's going to be a midterm message. It's going to be a 2028 presidential
message.
NEWTON: Yes, and if you are an American right now, either not getting a government paycheck or just struggling to afford groceries, you cannot
avoid it, which is why it's front of mind. Rana Foroohar for us, have a great weekend. Always great to have you weigh in. Appreciate it.
FOROOHAR: You too, Paula.
NEWTON: Now, coming up for us, a CNN investigation on China's military capability. A new analysis reveals a massive expansion of sites linked to
missile production.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
NEWTON: And welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Paula Newton. Here are the international headlines we are watching this hour.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he is ready to open up a new golden age with the United States. Prime Minister Orban is in Washington
for meetings with longtime ally President Donald Trump. Hungary relies heavily on Russia for oil and the prime minister is asking the U.S. for an
exemption from sanctions on Russian energy imports.
Indonesian authorities say a 17-year-old boy is suspected of carrying out an attack on a mosque at a high school. Multiple explosions were reported
at the mosque in Jakarta, which left at least 55 people injured. Most of the victims were students. Police said the suspect was one of two students
who were undergoing surgery after suffering serious injuries.
James Watson, one of the Nobel Prize winners for discovering the structure of DNA, has died at the age of 97, that's according to his former employer.
Watson went on to become the first director of the Human Genome Project. He later sold his Nobel Prize with some of the money going to scientific
research.
China's latest and most capable aircraft carrier has officially entered service. Now, it is a significant step forward for Beijing as it seeks to
catch up with the United States in naval supremacy. China's state broadcaster CCTV reports President Xi Jinping attended the commissioning
ceremony for the Fujian earlier this week. This, as a new CNN analysis, shows that China has undertaken a massive expansion of its sites linked to
missile production. That's in stark contrast to the supply struggles we're seeing in the United States. Our senior investigative writer, Tamara
Qiblawi, has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS WRITER AND CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): China appears to be expanding its military arsenal at a historic
pace, according to the findings of a 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 two 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.
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.
[18:35:00]
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 Andersen 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, 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)
NEWTON: After the break, a disturbing trend targeting refugees. We'll show you a report on how human traffickers deep in the Sahara are extorting
ransom payments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Global immigration hit record levels this year. More and more migrants from countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia are
fleeing war and persecution. Many of them make their way to Libya in hopes of eventually reaching Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Now, a warning, what you're about to see is disturbing. Once those migrants reach Libya, many of them are captured by criminal gangs. CNN has
identified videos of these migrants being brutally tortured. Those videos are then sent to family members right around the world with demands for
thousands of dollars in ransom. CNN's Isobel Yeung traveled to the heart of this story in Libya where horrific abuses are taking place.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We're here in this barren southernmost part of Libya, at the heart of the migrant trail.
[18:40:00]
Authorities say they're overwhelmed with the influx of recent arrivals. Several hundred migrants are being held in this detention center after
illegally crossing into the country.
YEUNG: You have not left this room for three months?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We stay in here, no one cares. Nobody cares for us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are some sick here. Yes, sick.
YEUNG: I mean, I'm not surprised people are getting sick. It's crowded. Pretty shocking conditions.
YEUNG (voice-over): Crammed in among them is a man who has just been arrested on suspicion of collecting money for ransoms. The police
interrogate him over his involvement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): OK. But what's your role?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My role is transfers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): So, therefore, you are a partner.
YEUNG: It seems like this guy is admitting to his involvement, saying that he's involved in the hawala system, which is taking money from these
migrants and paying his boss, who is the big trafficker.
YEUNG (voice-over): The suspect hands over crucial details about a farm where he says the migrants who paid him are held for ransom. The police
gear up and plan to raid the premises.
YEUNG: So, these guys are heading towards a location that they believe a trafficker is operating, where he's holding migrants that they believe have
been tortured and held for ransom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This room is a secret prison.
YEUNG: So, they are searching through this room that they believe is where migrants were being held. It doesn't look like anyone's here anymore. It
looks like they've fled or been taken to the next spot. There's a lot of clothes hanging up here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The traffickers keep the migrants' passports in this room, and when the ransom is paid, they return the
passports.
YEUNG (voice-over): The alleged perpetrators are no longer here, and the authorities don't seem to have a plan for catching them, leaving unknown
numbers of migrants still under the control of their captors.
Women and children are often the most vulnerable. In this detention center, almost everyone tells us they've been trafficked and tortured. Mostly
Eritreans and Ethiopians, they've paid their ransoms and are now waiting for help from the U.N. Because of the harrowing details of what they've
been through, we're keeping some people anonymous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These guys, they touched me and they did something every day. Like, four boys, they do like that.
YEUNG: Four men came to abuse you at the same time?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. One first. They touch you on your hands, your leg. I cannot explain it.
YEUNG: I'm so sorry. It sounds like you've been sexually abused. Have you had any medical treatment for it? None?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She checked me, like, for pregnant.
YEUNG: You're not pregnant?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not pregnant.
YEUNG: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it hurts too much. Even I want to die, but I cannot do it.
YEUNG: You've been hurting yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
YEUNG: On this hand?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
YEUNG: On this arm?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
YEUNG: It's so awful to hear someone who's so young, you're just 16 years old, talk about not wanting to live anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every girl, they do this. Every girl.
YEUNG: Every girl is the same.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
YEUNG (voice-over): Suddenly, everyone in the room breaks down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone having pain. Everyone.
YEUNG: Everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
YEUNG: I mean, it's actually unbearable amounts of pain in this one room. Just every single woman, child in here, just seems like they've suffered
the most horrific experience imaginable.
YEUNG (voice-over): Girls as young as 14. Children. Pregnant women. These are just a small sample of people trafficked through a living hell.
[18:45:00]
It's rare that authorities get to the torture sites in time. Back in 2022, acting on a tip-off from migrants who'd escaped, they were able to free
over 150 people. They were held inside these rooms for months and said they'd been brutally abused.
Standing outside, guarding the rooms, was an Eritrean man called Tsinat Tesfay. He was arrested by the police and weaponry was seized. In this
footage, you can see the newly released migrants pointing and screaming at Tesfay.
We received special permission to meet with Tesfaye in a high-security prison. He's been convicted of kidnapping and is serving a life sentence.
He says he's innocent and that he was one of the migrants being trafficked, rather than someone responsible.
YEUNG: There was evidence, phone evidence, there was ammunitions, there was weapons. It seems like a wild coincidence that you had absolutely no
involvement in this.
TSINAT TESFAY, PRISONER FROM ERITREA (through translator): There was nothing. You just pay the money. There is no harm. You pay your money and
leave.
YEUNG: How do you explain the fact that so many of the migrants that you were with that day say that they were tortured and abused and treated
horrifically, and you're saying that you saw nothing?
TESFAY (through translator): No, no. I didn't see torture.
YEUNG: Why is it, do you think, that Eritreans end up working with these Libyans in these human trafficking networks?
TESFAY (through translator): It's all about money. They want to change their lives.
YEUNG (voice-over): This business is bigger than one man. The network Tesfay was accused of operating in stretches across this vast desert and
has links to traffickers in Uganda, Ethiopia, and the Emirates.
Libya can't tackle this alone. While a rise in anti-immigration politics is failing to translate into international cooperation, many thousands of
people making this treacherous journey will continue to live through this never-ending nightmare.
Isobel Yeung, CNN, Libya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: New York City will soon have a brand-new mayor as well as a brand- new feel-good Broadway musical set in, where else? The Big Apple. "Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)" premieres later this month. Now,
the two-person show is getting hot marks for its romantic yet realistic depiction of the five boroughs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
NEWTON (voice-over): It's a New York-based musical that's finally making its New York debut. "Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)" opened
in the U.K. back in 2019.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
NEWTON (voice-over): You could call its long-awaited bow on Broadway the icing on the cake.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
[18:50:00]
NEWTON: At a sneak peek event in the shadow of the Empire State Building, the show's creators called the show a love letter to the spirit and energy
of the Big Apple.
KIT BUCHAN, WRITER, COMPOSER, "TWO STANGERS (CARRY A CAKE ACROSS NEW YORK)": It couldn't possibly have been set anywhere else. I mean, that was
central to the DNA of the show. Because no other city has that kind of numinous magnetism. And there's no other city that somebody who hadn't been
there could feel as though they belonged there.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHRISTIANI PITTS, ROBIN, "TWO STANGERS (CARRY A CAKE ACROSS NEW YORK)": But you'd actually been to New York before?
SAM TUTTY, DOUGAL, "TWO STANGERS (CARRY A CAKE ACROSS NEW YORK)": Yes. No. But I have seen "Home Alone 2" quite a few times.
NEWTON (voice-over): The show follows in the footsteps of countless New York-based musicals and rom-coms. That said, "Two Strangers" is also a
clear-eyed look at the five boroughs. As New Yorker native Robin introduces U.K.-born Dougal to the real New York he only thinks he knows.
TUTTY: There is romance. There is comedy. But there's some really tough lessons to be learned by both characters.
PITTS: I think our show, a lot of it is from the perspective of someone who's not here until you're in the perspective of somebody who has lived
there all their life. So, I think all people are going to come and feel represented when they see it.
NEWTON (voice-over): Call it a flavorful slice of life featuring two strangers carrying a cake.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON (on camera): OK. The Grammy nominations are out. Rapper Kendrick Lamar coming out strong with nine nominations. A bigger surprise? Fictional
band Huntrix earned a nod for Song of the Year with "Golden." Listen now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Of course, it was nominated. "Golden" was also nominated for Best Pop Group Performance. The fictional band stars in K-Pop "Demon Hunters,"
the most watched Netflix movie ever. Now, the real voices behind the hit are singers Audrey Nuna, EJAE and Rei Ami. The winners will be revealed at
the ceremony in February.
And joining me now is Jem Aswad. He's executive music editor for Variety magazine. I'm glad to have someone here much more knowledgeable than I to
take us through this. So, unpack this for us. What were your kind of surprises for these nominations this year?
JEM ASWAD, EXECUTIVE MUSIC EDITOR, VARIETY: I mean, to be honest with you, there weren't that many surprises, at least, not for us, because the
Grammys have gotten a lot more open-minded and a lot more reflective of what's -- I don't want to say mainstream, but, you know, the sort of
collective opinions from both the critical side and from the commercial side. And they've been, I think, getting it right for the most part with
the nomination for the last, really for the last five to 10 years or so. So, I think it's a very solid reflection of what's out there.
Now, there were some surprises. Country has been almost completely shut out. That is the thing that is most surprising to me. At a time when
country has increased exponentially in popularity over the last 10 years, it has been traditionally shut out of the main categories, the big four,
Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year. So, that's a surprise to me.
NEWTON: And why do you think that happened? Because there has been some controversy about how, you know, the voting goes on for these nominations.
ASWAD: Well, I mean, they're really two separate categories, right? The nominations are really set by experts in their specific fields. You know, I
think people can only be on three different nominating committees. So, it's very sort of siloed in that way, which is a good thing, actually. But the
voters is just wide open.
So, you can have the most forward-thinking nominations in the world. This often happens with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or at least did until
recently. And just have like sort of the most obvious below mainstream inductions, you know, because it's like you've got thousands and thousands
of people voting. And things like that do tend to veer toward the middle.
NEWTON: In terms of what this says about America's taste in music for 2025?
ASWAD: I think it's -- with the exception of country, I think it's a very decent reflection. I mean, you guys were saying that like K-pop "Demon
Hunters" got a big look. And I mean, people were -- a lot of people were surprised by that or cynical about it or whatever. But those songs are
written by very serious, experienced, accomplished songwriters. And they just happen to be sung by a fictional group who are cartoons. But that
doesn't take away from the music. And ask any 11-year-old if they know those songs, and they'll probably start singing and dancing.
NEWTON: Absolutely. And we cannot even get those songs out of our heads. OK. You've got 30 seconds left to explain to this audience why we did not
see Taylor Swift's name.
[18:55:00]
ASWAD: Because nothing was eligible. Her album came out after the eligibility deadline, and the previous one was before it. So, that's why.
NEWTON: Jem, I cannot think of anyone better to take us through these nominations. I know it's going to be a minute before we actually get the
ceremony itself. Always a highlight, though. The performances are always amazing. Have a great weekend. Appreciate it.
ASWAD: You too. Hope to see you in February.
NEWTON: Finally, for us on "The Brief," yes, the world's tallest teenager making a historic debut, becoming the tallest player in U.S. basketball
history. 19-year-old Olivier Rioux from Canada, yes, is a 7'9" center for the University of Florida. He played against North Florida on Thursday for
his team's victory. Rioux is three inches taller than former NBA star Yao Ming, which means he will be breaking records if he gets drafted.
Thanks for your company. I'm Paula Newton in New York. You have been watching "The Brief." Stay with CNN.
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