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What We Know with Max Foster
New Release: Epstein Mentioned Trump Multiple Times In Private Emails; House Returns To Vote On Bill To End 43-Day Shutdown; Trump Has Downplayed State Of Economy Publicly; Venezuela Announces "Massive Mobilization" Of Military; British PM Faces Questions Over Trump's Threat To Sue BBC. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired November 12, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:24]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Newly released emails show disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein mentioned Donald Trump multiple times.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
Those emails are fueling a new push on Capitol Hill to release all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein. House Democrats released the messages
today from the convicted sex offender that mentioned Donald Trump those multiple times.
In a 2011 email sent to longtime Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein describes Mr. Trump as the dog that hasn't barked. He wrote that
the woman Democrats now describe as an Epstein sex trafficking victim spent hours at Epstein's house with Mr. Trump. House Republicans later identified
that victim as Virginia Giuffre. She did not implicate the president in any crime in the memoir published after her death earlier this year. Mr. Trump
has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing.
In the past hour, Donald Trump has responded directly to the day's events. The president says, quote, "Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey
Epstein hoax again because they'll do anything to deflect on how badly they've done on the shutdown. Only a very bad or stupid Republican would
fall into that trap."
We're expecting the House to vote on a potential end to the government shutdown in a few hours from now. Meanwhile, the White House press
secretary is also firing back at Democrats, claiming they selectively leaked the Epstein emails to embarrass the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing
wrong. And what President Trump has always said is that he was from Palm Beach, and so was Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein was a member at Mar-a-
Lago until President Trump kicked him out, because Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile and he was a creep.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: In Washington, we are joined by CNN's senior White House reporter, Kevin Liptak.
I know you've got a huge amount of documentation to go through, Kevin, but from the parts I've seen, she's right, isn't she? He isn't implicated of
anything here apart from association.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. And we already knew that the president was well associated with Jeffrey Epstein, as were a lot
of celebrities in the 1990s. But I don't think that that's necessarily going to quell what is going what has become really a furor on Capitol Hill
about whether or not the administration should release all of the information that they have about Jeffrey Epstein. And, you know, today,
what we've heard is that the White House is engaging in this intensive lobbying effort to try and corral Republicans who have said that they will
vote to try and compel the Justice Department to release all of that information, whether or not that's successful, I think, remains to be seen.
But obviously, just seeing Epstein himself describe his relationship with President Trump has the effect of fueling this even further.
Now, you mentioned that first email. There was another email in that tranche that the Democrats released that Epstein was writing to Michael
Wolff, who is a journalist. He has written books about President Trump. And this was in 2019. So, President Trump was in office by this time.
And he mentions Mar-a-Lago, the president's club in Palm Beach, and said that, quote, Trump said he asked me to resign. Never a member, ever. Of
course, he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop. Apparently, a reference to this story that the president has told multiple times now of
essentially kicking Jeffrey Epstein out of his club at Mar-a-Lago because, in his words, Epstein was, quote, poaching them to come and work for him.
And so, the president repeating that in the press secretary repeating that earlier today.
It's interesting in this Truth Social post from the president, he talks about only bad or stupid Republicans falling into the trap of trying to go
along with this Epstein matter and trying to ask for more documents. He says there should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else. This
meeting that the White House held today in the Situation Room with Lauren Boebert, who's a conservative Republican from Colorado, I do think just
underscores how sort of anxious they are about keeping their members in line.
You know, the house has been out now for 54 days. Mike Johnson, the House speaker, has been adamant that the House not bring up this vote on
compelling the release of further Epstein documents, and it had seemed as if that they would not have the votes to do just that. But today, we expect
a new Democratic member to be sworn in. Adelita Grijalva from Arizona, she would potentially provide the 218th vote to allow that vote to go forward.
[15:05:05]
And so, that's part of the reason why you have the president pulling in Lauren Boebert to meet with Pam Bondi, the attorney general, with Kash
Patel, the FBI director, to essentially try and keep them all in line, a recognition, I think, that these emails and this vote clearly indications
that this Epstein matter isn't going to die away anytime soon.
FOSTER: No, it keeps coming, doesn't it? Kevin, thank you so much.
After 43 stressful days, the U.S. federal government could finally reopen tonight. House lawmakers are expected to begin voting on the Senate passed
funding deal. If approved, the bill will then go to President Trump's desk to sign. House Speaker Mike Johnson faces an extremely narrow majority,
though, and can only afford to lose two Republican votes.
Democrats vowed to fight the package, arguing it doesn't address their healthcare demands.
Arlette Saenz live from Capitol Hill.
How are those two votes looking then, Arlette?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, House Speaker Mike Johnson is really trying to corral his caucus to ensure they will be falling in line
with this government shutdown bill to end this standoff. Now, there are -- Republicans are operating under a very narrow majority. They can only
afford to lose two Republican votes.
Congressman Thomas Massie from Kentucky had opposed the stopgap funding bill. The House passed back in September, and it's widely expected he will
oppose this version. That was negotiated in the Senate, leaving Johnson with only one member as wiggle room as he's trying to tally up these votes.
He's expressed a lot of optimism that they will be able to pass this tonight, but we will see whether that does, in fact, happen in the coming
hours.
On the Democratic side, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has really worked to whip his members against this shutdown bill. Democrats are still
upset that this does nothing to address those expiring Obamacare subsidies, which will end at the end of this year and send insurance premiums spiking
for many Americans in the country. But earlier today, he really brushed off concerns that there would be a mass defection from Democrats to side with
Republicans.
Take a listen to what he had to tell our colleague Manu Raju.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: -- have waged a strong fight, week after week after week. Elevated the issue of dealing with the
Republican health care crisis. This fight is not over. We're just getting started.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now. One thing that speaker or Minority Leader Jeffries has indicated is he plans to file a discharge petition to try to force a vote
on the House floor a little bit later on, on a three year extension of those expiring Obamacare subsidies that is likely to go nowhere with
Republicans up here on Capitol Hill. But it does leave a lot of questions about what lawmakers might try to do going forward to address those
subsidies.
Now, we need to keep a close eye on the House floor for the coming hours. A final passage vote is expected to take place in the 7:00 p.m. Eastern Hour,
but that could potentially shift a little bit later. And if they are able to get enough votes to pass this bill to end the shutdown, this still would
need to be signed into law by President Donald Trump to end this 43-day standoff.
FOSTER: Arlette Saenz, thank you so much for joining us from Capitol Hill.
Now, if the shutdown continues or ends rather tonight, it will be a major relief for airline passengers. Of course, this is Thanksgiving travel faces
a narrow window for recovery. Today's tracking data shows more than a thousand flight delays and nearly 900 cancellations within, into or out of
the U.S.
This shutdown has also seen a record number of air traffic controllers take unscheduled time off. President Trump's advisers, also exploring a new
tactic to tackle the economy. This as many in the U.S. are feeling the sting of rising prices.
The White House is weighing a nationwide tour for the president to talk about the economy. The U.S. president has downplayed rising costs in
public, something his advisers have scoffed at, acknowledging the U.S. has an affordability problem.
Jeff Zeleny joins us from the White House with more.
We really saw this play out, didn't we? In the recent elections, all the winners happen to be Democrats, all campaigned on affordability. Is that
something that the president noticed, do you think?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, it certainly has got the attention of the White House that affordability is
not only a political message, but it's a key concern for American consumers. I mean, don't forget, it was a year ago where President Trump
won reelection back to office here on a promise to bring prices down. It was one of the central anthems of his campaign. And that simply has not
happened.
But the president himself has been in a bit of disbelief, insisting that costs have been going down when the facts show otherwise, and saying that
the polls and the like are simply not true.
But the reality is the White House advisers, who are now saying that, yes, the president will be talking more about affordability, maybe traveling
around the country more, they're definitely responding to some concerns from the Republican base that President Trump has been focused more on
international affairs than he has been on domestic concerns.
[15:10:08]
But going around the United States, giving a speech on the economy does not necessarily lower prices, does not necessarily bring home to consumers that
you are focused on affordability. So, Max, I've lost track of how many U.S. presidents that we've covered who have said we are going to go out in the
country and listen to the American people. We are going to go out in the country and talk about this challenge. That's what all presidents do to get
out of the bubble of the White House and go talk to the American people.
But again, that does not change the bottom line, that energy prices are up, grocery costs are up, and just across the board. Affordability is a chief
concern. A crisis almost here in the United States. So, it is a problem for President Trump. The reason it matters is those midterm elections now less
than a year away, they are going to be driven by questions and issues of affordability, high costs on health care, other matters.
So that's why the White House is saying that the president will be paying more attention to it. It's not giving speeches, though. The bottom line is,
will his policies actually bring down prices? We'll see about that -- Max.
FOSTER: Absolutely. Jeff, thank you.
Now to Latin America, where the U.S. military's presence and continuing strikes are drawing criticism across the region. Colombia has just
suspended intelligence sharing with the Trump administration until the U.S. agrees to stop attacking alleged drug boats. It follows CNN's exclusive
reporting that the U.K. has also stopped some intel sharing with the U.S. about vessels in the area.
This, as Venezuela has announced a massive military mobilization and America's largest warship, the Ford aircraft carrier, arrives near Latin
America.
Stefano Pozzebon is in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
How worried should people be, Stefano, that something -- some sort of conflict could happen here?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, exactly, Max. Well, I think that we asked them ourselves how worried they are and frankly, the answers have
been varied. Some of the people that we spoke with earlier today, throughout the last couple of weeks since I've been here have been telling
us that they believe that the only way to launch Maduro out of power is an intervention from the American armed forces.
Other people instead are saying that they see this imperialistic threat, which is the language that the government of Nicolas Maduro uses to refer
to the presence of the Gerald Ford in the Caribbean waters, where they see in these deployment as an imperialistic threat, a meddling from Washington
in Venezuelan affairs.
But at the same time, I want to bring you these images. We are in Caracas. We are in a fairly quiet area of the city. Of course, people, it's almost
4:00 p.m. here. So, people are going in and out of work living in their evening commute, leaving their offices, perhaps life is going on here in
Venezuela. Life goes on.
People are not stopping their day-to-day activities to look after themselves in front of that threat. It's not because Venezuelans do not
care or are not aware of this geopolitical tensions. It simply because, Max, after more than 10 years of strict authoritarian rules under Nicolas
Maduro, not many people here believe that this is really the end of that chapter of Venezuelan history. Not many people here believe that this is
the moment where the United States would operate and attack. And because of that, the government would change.
That is not to say that these threats are not being taken seriously. For example, if you hear government officials both on the record but also off
the record, they will tell you that they are taking these threats from Washington very, very seriously. And that's why, just like you pointed out,
you are seeing that outside of Caracas towards the coastline and in other military facilities, the armed forces and the militia, which is a civilian
body. But that assist and complements the action of the armed forces here in Venezuela.
Those are the people who are trying who are preparing military drills, getting prepared to counter whatever could come from Washington, whatever
could come from those warships in the Caribbean Sea.
One more thing, according to sources that we spoke with in Washington and elsewhere, the White House is yet to make a final decision, Max, on whether
to proceed with targeted attack on attacks on Venezuelan soil, on drug trafficking facilities, on Venezuelan soil. We understand that the
President Donald Trump is yet to make that determination.
But of course, the military is going full steam to give him that option. And that's why we understand that there is that big presence of the largest
aircraft carrier in the world, in the Caribbean Sea, just a few hundred kilometers from where I am -- Max.
FOSTER: Stefano in Caracas, thank you so much.
CNN affiliate WLS reports a judge has ordered the U.S. Justice Department to release hundreds of people arrested by federal agents in the Chicago
area.
[15:15:07]
The arrests were part of a blitz on undocumented migrants that shaken the city of Chicago and led to widespread protest, the federal judge said the
arrests were a violation of agreement the Justice Department made, which covered warrantless arrests in Illinois and several neighboring states.
Now, a conspiracy is apparently rocking Downing Street. There are whispers that the British prime minister's job is under threat from members of his
own party. We'll look at the facts, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: U.S. President Donald Trump says he has, in his words, an obligation to sue the BBC. He accuses BBC of making misleading edit of a
speech he gave before the January 6th insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.
Trump spoke to Fox News on Tuesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Are you going ahead and suing the BBC? Well.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I guess I have to, you know, why not? Because they defrauded the public and they've admitted it. And
their top echelon, you know?
INGRAHAM: The director general and the CEO both resigned.
TRUMP: This is -- this is within one of our great allies. You know, this is our supposedly our great ally, BBC. The government has a chunk of that
one, I guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: BBC chair has apologized for how the speech was edited in the documentary aired before the U.S. election last year. The British prime
minister said BBC -- the BBC must get its house in order as he faced questions over the issue in parliament.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED DAVEY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATS LEADER: Will the prime minister tell President Trump to drop his demand for $1 billion settlement from the BBC? And will
he guarantee that President Trump will not get a single penny from British license fee payers?
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Let me be clear: I believe in a strong and independent BBC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The BBC director general and the head of news have resigned over criticism over standards and accusations of bias as well.
[15:20:01]
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer under pressure as well after reports of an alleged plot to oust him as leader of the Labour Party. At the same
time, his poll numbers are sliding. His approval rating sits at the lowest for a U.K. prime minister on record, in fact.
So, what we don't know is Britain's prime minister facing a leadership crisis?
Joining me now is Bethany Dawson, "Politico's" London playbook diary reporter.
Thanks for joining us.
BETHANY DAWSON, LONDON PLAYBOOK DIARY REPORTER, POLITICO: Thank you so much for having me.
FOSTER: We're going to take people through in steps because I've been baffled by this. And you're going to explain it all.
So, last night, someone in Downing Street was calling round reporters saying what?
DAWSON: Well, last night there were headlines, first up in "The Guardian" saying that Wes Streeting, the health secretary, was planning to oust the
prime minister. But the main story that it seemed Number 10 were trying to push was that Keir Starmer would fight a leadership challenge.
Now there have been conversations about a possible leadership challenge kind of whispered in corners in parliament for a while. That's not to be
unexpected in Westminster. What's strange is that it seems someone in Number 10 has acknowledged it and kind of burst that bubble.
FOSTER: Yes.
DAWSON: So, now, across the world, people are talking about it. Whereas before there were just a few whispers. Gossip is very normal in British
politics.
FOSTER: Yeah.
DAWSON: And now, there is this massive question of why on Earth have they done this?
FOSTER: So, Wes Streeting comes out in the morning and goes on the record and says what?
DAWSON: He says that this has got nothing to do with him and he's not interested in challenging the position. The other thing that was weird is
that Wes Streeting was meant to be on the morning round this morning, the health secretary. He was going to be talking about NHS waiting lists and
delays to treatment. So, it's odd that such an important topic was seemingly derailed on purpose to talk about kind of political drama that I
don't think most normal voters really care about, but it's derailed conversations for the last 36 hours now.
FOSTER: So, we've got a situation where Downing Street put a story out there about the prime minister being weak, which is bizarre. And then
Downing Street, sorry, Keir Starmer stands up in parliament and he says, I didn't authorize this. I don't know who did it. I can't remember the exact
wording.
But -- I mean, as someone from the outside, is that even a great strategy to say I'm not in control of my own office?
DAWSON: I mean, firstly, people on the inside are saying they don't understand this strategy. There are very -- I haven't found someone yet who
seems to know what the plan is here. But yes, today, Keir Starmer stood up in parliament and said I did not authorize this. This has nothing to do
with me. He's since said that he is going to try and figure out who has been making these briefings. His top aide, Morgan McSweeney, said it's
absolutely nothing to do with him.
FOSTER: But it wouldn't be someone -- you know the Downing Street operation really well. Someone's not going to go rogue, are they, on
something like that?
DAWSON: There's -- you know, you should never say never in politics, especially when it comes to this kind of plotting and gossiping. But it
seems like an incredibly confusing tactic. Again, no one has figured out what the point of this is yet. If it was to make Keir Starmer seem strong
then --
FOSTER: Done the opposite.
DAWSON: It's done the opposite. And if it was to make Wes Streeting seem weak, he actually --
FOSTER: Has done the opposite.
DAWSON: He seems to have done a very good job today at seeming cool and in control and able to sort of waft away attack. Whereas Keir Starmer and Keir
Starmer Number 10 operation again looks like it's in kind of chaos.
FOSTER: Looks paranoid.
DAWSON: It looks paranoid. And also, this is not the first time that Keir Starmer's Number 10 has looked, you know, at best complicated. He came in
and then his chief of staff was let go. He's had a number of personnel changes in there. They've been in 18 months now and they've not quite
seemed to find that sort of calm footing. And this doesn't change that. It does a lot to make it look worse.
FOSTER: It wouldn't be surprising for Wes Streeting or some of the other cabinet members to want to be prime minister. I mean, it's quite a naive
thing to think that they wouldn't be, and they're just sitting there in loyal servants.
But from the conversations you have with Labour Party MPs who would decide, wouldn't they, along with the wider party? But initially the MPs is there.
What's the consensus about replacing Keir Starmer? You know, because we've got some time before the next election you could bed someone in at this
point, couldn't you?
DAWSON: Yeah. Again, the conversations about replacing Keir Starmer are not new. The thing that's new is bringing it into the public eye. The
general consensus was that the big conversation about replacing him would happen in May. And that's when we have lots of local elections. And also
elections in the Scottish and Welsh parliament.
FOSTER: Which will be bad for labor.
DAWSON: Which, yeah, are expected to be very bad for labor. And that's when the conversations would happen about if Keir Starmer should stay.
Right now, the only you know, there are, there are conversations about who would be good to replace him. As you say, it's not surprising that Wes
Streeting, who is a very senior politician, he's always had very big ambitions.
[15:25:02]
FOSTER: Pretty young.
DAWSON: He's young, he's a good communicator. It's not surprising that he would want to do that. And again, this is by far not the first time that
his name has been mentioned in this. It's kind of long been a joke that he would probably or that he has leadership ambitions.
But as -- and you know, people don't seem to hate it. But why it's happening now and why maybe Number 10 have brought these conversations into
the forefront. That doesn't make sense.
FOSTER: Well, they've made his campaign stronger if he's got one.
Bethany, thank you so much.
Still to come, so long, penny. The American coin is facing its demise. Why the once popular penny is fading into history.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Calls are getting louder in the U.S. House today for the Trump administration to release all of the Epstein files. That's after Democrats
on the House Oversight Committee released some emails from the convicted sex offender that mentioned President Trump multiple times. The president
once again called the saga a hoax.
He hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing related to Jeffrey Epstein. In the coming hours, the push to force a vote on a bill to compel the release of
all of those files could take a major step forward. That's when a new House Democrat elect will be sworn in. She's expected to provide the critical
signature that will move the Epstein petition forward.
Democrats, along with some of the president's Republican allies on Capitol Hill, such as Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have been calling for
the White House and the Justice Department to release the files.
Let's turn to CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, who is looking at the numbers on this vote.
It seems like the White House is working pretty hard right now to make sure the Republicans don't back this move.
I mean, where does it stand at the moment, Manu?
[15:30:03]
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. That's right. I mean, the president and his team are pressuring some of these Republican
members to take their names off of this effort to force a vote in the United States house, one of them getting a lot of pressure right now.
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, a conservative from Colorado. She actually told me back in September, quote, no, that was her response when I asked
her if there was any way that she could take her name off of this petition.
Why this is significant is because it needs 218 signatures in total to force a vote on the House floor. That's a majority of the House to use this
process to circumvent the leadership in the House. It rarely succeeds to circumvent the leadership on either party. The leaders typically decide the
agenda. Rarely do they see people breaking ranks.
But in this situation, all Democrats have signed on to this effort, and four Republicans, which means that they have the majority in this narrowly
divided chamber to force a vote.
I caught up with one congressman earlier today, a progressive fireman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in the aftermath of the release of some of these
documents as part of a House investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Democrats pushing out information that had referenced Donald Trump and some
of these messages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I think what these emails demonstrate is precisely why House Republicans have been trying to block
the release of the Epstein files for months now. I think it illustrates in very way, and I think it also implicates House Speaker mike Johnson as
well, in as to why he has refused to call the House back into session for over a month now and prevent the 218th signature.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: But even if this does pass the United States House by early December, that would be the target date about when this would actually
happen because the process requires some time to go through the calendar. We expect to vote early December, and if it does pass, the United States
House, its chances of passage in the United States senate are very slim.
The Republican leader there, John Thune, has expressed no interest in moving ahead. It would require 60 votes in a chamber that's controlled with
53-47 Republican versus Democrat. So, it is unlikely to get the 60 votes. Plus, it had to be signed into law by President Trump, who is fiercely
opposed to all of this.
But the reason why this has gotten so much attention from the White House is the president does not want this issue going forward. He is not one
Republicans in the House to make a decision to either side with Donald Trump or side with victims of Epstein's sex trafficking ring who are
pushing very hard to release all of this information, which is putting Republicans really in a bind in this politically difficult moment. But it
does seem inevitable at the moment that this vote will happen in the House, even though its chances of becoming law are grim -- Max.
FOSTER: Okay, Manu, thank you so much.
It is the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are mixed today. The Dow is up, surging past the 40,000 mark today. But tech stocks are
taking a hit.
This is our business breakout.
Short term rental company Sonder abruptly shut down over the weekend when its partnership with Marriott came to an end, leaving many guests stranded.
Marriott said the 20-year licensing agreement had ended because of Sonder's financial difficulties.
Tax season in the U.S. is right around the corner and for the first time, many crypto investors transactions will be reported to the Internal Revenue
Service. That means anyone who buys and sells digital assets like bitcoin will have their information sent to the IRS.
After 238 years, the U.S. has minted its last penny today in Philadelphia. Earlier this year, President Trump ordered the nation to stop making the
penny, saying that each one costs nearly four cents to create. Pennies will, however, remain as valid currency.
Danny Freeman joins us from Philadelphia with more. It's all that 99 cents pricing that's going to get confused here, right, Danny?
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yeah, I think retailers are going to have a lot of questions about that. I'll get to that in a moment, Max.
But I got to be honest, penny pinching really taking on a whole new meaning today after 230 years, more than 230 years, the penny finally was retired
today here in Philadelphia at the U.S. Mint behind me. The final pennies stamped and struck here in Philly, five in total. It really is the end of
an era. Something like this hasn't happened where a piece of currency in the United States has been discontinued in multiple, multiple decades.
So let me tell you a little bit about the reason why the Trump administration has made this decision. As you noted, basically, they say
that the American people are being short changed because the cost to make a penny has tripled over the past ten years. But that has coincided with the
demand for use of the penny going down quite a lot.
Now, that means that according to the U.S. treasurer, who is here on hand to strike that final penny that they are estimating they will save the
taxpayers more than $50 million a year just by ceasing, making more pennies. But like you noted at the top, Max, retailers have said that this
has been a bit of a chaotic rollout. Pro penny groups have said the same, and that's because now people and businesses are faced with trying to
figure out, do they round up to the nearest nickel?
[15:35:05]
Do they round down to the nearest nickel? Either way, can cost a lot of money, potentially for both consumers or businesses. So, a lot of that will
still have to be worked out.
But as you noted, the Trump administration was really, really keen on emphasizing all of the pennies that are out there, 300 billion estimated in
circulation, all still legal tender. You can keep spending them, the administration encouraging you to keep spending them. So, if you like, I
perhaps have a bunch of pennies sitting in a drawer and I've been putting off rolling them up and cashing them in. Do it. You can still use it.
They're still good to go.
Two other notes, Max. It was interesting. The secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessent, was supposed to be here today at the last minute, though he
canceled, which was why the U.S. treasurer, Brandon Beach, was the one who ultimately struck those final pennies.
And the big question that a lot of people have had has been, where are those pennies going to be going to? Are they going to be able to be used by
you and me to scratch off a lottery ticket? In fact, these five final pennies, they're actually going to be auctioned off. And actually the final
pennies that were in circulation, as you and I would think about it, they were done back in June.
So as of now, pennies are not being created. But really they have not been created in the U.S. for a couple of months now.
But, Max, I mean, lets really lets realize who the real victim is. It's all of us who use phrases like penny for your thoughts, nickel for your
thoughts? Not sure if it's the same feeling. Penny wise, pound foolish. Nickel wise, pound foolish. Penny safe, penny earned. Nickel saved, nickel
earned.
Listen, all I know is that this right here, this penny from 2013. This is my lucky penny. And being a part of truly a historic moment in the mint
behind me, that was worth every penny -- Max.
FOSTER: Keep it safe. Danny. Thank you so much for joining us from Philly.
Still to come, new demands for accountability after Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians and their property in a West Bank rampage. CNN visits
the scene just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:40:03]
FOSTER: The Palestinian government in Ramallah is urging the world to take action to stop a surge of violence targeting Palestinians in the West Bank.
Masked Israeli settlers set fire to property and vehicles in a rampage yesterday. They also attacked Palestinians, leaving several badly injured.
Our Jeremy Diamond visited the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the aftermath of an attack by Israeli settlers. Were here in the occupied West Bank, where dozens of
Israeli settlers stormed this dairy distribution facility, setting several trucks on fire. You can see this is one of those trucks that was set on
fire by those Israeli settlers. It is completely burned down to its core here.
We're told that dozens of Israeli settlers descended on this facility in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. They came through this gate
right over here and coming over the walls of several other parts of this facility. All of these settlers were masked. Some of them were carrying
clubs.
I spoke with the owner of this facility, and he made very clear that he believes this was an effort to intimidate him and other Palestinians from
expanding their businesses in the West Bank.
MONJED ALJUNEIDI, EXECUTIVE, AL JUNEIDI DAIRY & FOOD PRODUCTS COMPANY: I think it's just a message to scare, to scare us, to scare our employees, to
not start, to not come and to try to enforce their reality on the ground.
DIAMOND: What confidence do you have that this won't happen again?
ALJUNEIDI: It's not confidence. It's not confidence. We hope that it doesn't happen again. We're taking more measures, but we don't know.
There's no guarantees.
DIAMOND: Those settlers also descended on this Bedouin community right near that factory. And you can see that they also rampaged this area as
well, setting fire to this place where the livestock feed was held, and also terrorizing women and children who were in the home just up the hill.
This is a part of a trend of a very violent month of October. The United Nations has tracked more than 264 attacks by settlers against Palestinians.
Just this month alone, and that is the highest number of attacks that they've tracked since they began following these numbers in 2006. Those
settlers not only rampaged along this village, they actually beat several sheep here, killing four of them.
And after that, we understand that several men went up this hill to try and get those sheep back to this village. And that is where those settlers then
beat at least four Palestinians who had to go to the hospital for medical treatment. And this speaks to a growing problem of impunity for these
settlers. It seems things are now reaching a point of saturation where even Israeli officials, who typically stay silent on matters of settler violence
are now also speaking out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: What we want to know, then, is what's behind the rising violence in the West Bank.
Joining me now is Sarit Michaeli, international outreach director at B'Tselem, the Israeli information center for human rights in the occupied
territories.
Thank you so much for joining us.
It was interesting here, Jeremy speak there about how, you know, this is been a growing issue, but they're doing it in broad daylight now. They're,
you know, a lot of these settlers are causing a lot of this violence, aren't trying to hide it. What do you read into that?
SARIT MICHAELI, INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH DIRECTOR, B'TSELEM: Right. Well, thank you for having me, Max.
I think it's become absolutely clear that these settlers are acting as an informal arm of the Israeli government. They are fully aware that they will
not face any consequences for these actions. They are armed, often by the Israeli army. They get the support of the most high-ranking government
ministers. They are funded by the Israeli government.
And clearly this attitude, as if there is some sort of difference between Israeli settlers and the Israeli government, is simply an incorrect way of
presenting this reality.
FOSTER: So, if there's some sort of informal alliance here, what is the strategy?
MICHAELI: Well, I think settler violence, backed by the state is an extremely effective way to remove Palestinians from huge swaths of land
throughout the West Bank. And this has been happening for years now, and even more so over the past two years. Dozens of Palestinian herding
communities have been forcibly evicted, have been ethnically cleansed from areas in the West Bank through this tool of settler violence.
And these are young Israeli settlers who know they will be, as I said, they will face no consequences and also enjoy the actual overt political support
of the government.
[15:45:00]
FOSTER: The government will, of course, say and have said consistently around stories like this that they don't support this sort of violence. But
what's your concern here? Because we have heard from the U.S., which is the one country that does have some sway over Israel. Donald Trump saying he
doesn't want to see expansion of the West Bank settlements. But that's effectively what you're talking about here, isn't it?
MICHAELI: Well, I think when we look at the way the United States is acting on the ground, in contrast with possibly parts of President Trump's
rhetoric, we see that the U.S. is actually greenlighting Israeli actions on the ground. It's greenlighting the de facto annexation that has been
happening. It's greenlighting the expansion of Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank. And it's also greenlighting military action as
well as the complete dehumanization of Palestinians. That is basically part and parcel of these policies.
Now, it's crucial we recognize this as an Israeli policy rather than the actions of maybe some crazy or criminal individuals in order to then find
the correct way to resolve these policies. And this is through holding Israeli policymakers accountable for the outcomes that we are seeing on the
ground. These shocking attacks, as well as the horrific economic, physical, psychosocial damage to Palestinians throughout the West Bank.
FOSTER: Why do you think it's happening now? Because we seem to be getting more and more video of these events. Why the spike? Is it off the back of
what we've seen in Gaza?
MICHAELI: I think what were happening, what we're seeing on the ground now, is simply the culmination of all of these policies that are just being
enacted throughout the West Bank. We're seeing Israeli settlers emboldened by their political leaders, supported by state funding for these outposts
that have constructed throughout the West Bank.
We see the Israeli police simply not acting in any way that would be conducive with its obligation to protect Palestinians. Again, inspired by
Minister Ben and by our government. So essentially, what we're seeing is Israel constantly supporting and enhancing settler violence without any
sort of risk for these people.
And together with a U.S. administration that has also canceled the sanctions, for example, imposed by the previous administration. So we're
just seeing this perfect storm where Israel is incentivizing settler violence and there are no disincentives. And obviously, this ideological
violence will expand under these conditions.
FOSTER: Okay. Sarit Michaeli, thank you so much for joining us with your perspective on those worrying images. We're seeing more and more of.
Donald Trump asking the president of Israel to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges. The U.S.
president has written to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, saying Netanyahu has been a formidable wartime prime minister who is now, quote, leading
Israel into a time of peace. Netanyahu faces charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust in three separate cases, which began in Mr. Trump's first
term. The prime minister has pleaded not guilty.
Still to come, when you normally see the aurora borealis, you're probably near the Arctic in Alaska or possibly Norway, but Florida? Up next, more
pictures and details on this amazing northern light show.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:51:09]
FOSTER: Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy, says he's running for office. He becomes the latest
member of the Kennedy political dynasty to wade into politics.
Here's what he said on social media, he's a bit of a star there, announcing his candidacy for Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK SCHLOSSBERG, DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Two hundred and fifty years. After America was founded. And our country is at a turning
point, it's a crisis at every level. We deserve better and we can do better. And it starts with the Democratic Party winning back control of the
House of Representatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, he's running to replace retiring New York House Democrat Jerry Nadler.
The governor of California is taking shots at U.S. President Donald Trump again whilst at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil. Governor Gavin Nnewsom
called the president a, quote, invasive species and a wrecking ball. His remarks were during a discussion about the change in U.S. policies over
global climate action.
The Trump administration withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement and other green energy policies, of course, and Governor Newsom said China
will eventually dominate green energy because of the economic opportunities that it presents.
Now, much of America will have another chance to see a powerful burst of energy from the sun tonight. Solar wind crashed into the Earth's
atmosphere, allowing the rare sight of an aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights blanket, across the skies across the U.S. Deep South.
But these stunning images are from Iowa and Virginia. They are usually seen in arctic areas such as Alaska, Iceland, Norway, but folk in Florida had a
chance to see them last night. Weather services in the U.K. and U.S. say many could have another rare glimpse this evening.
Let's bring in CNN meteorologist to the world and skies lights, Allison Chinchar.
Thank you so much for joining us.
The problem we have here in the U.K. is we can never see beyond the clouds, but maybe you'll have better luck in the U.S.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I will say there are going to be some spots that do likely see it hindered a little bit because of those
clouds as well. But here's a look at what folks saw last night. Again, beautiful images here out of Conway, Arkansas. Again, a state that you
don't normally think of for seeing the northern lights.
Here's another one, this from Perry, Iowa. Again, you can see all those different colors in the background.
Now, typically speaking, when we get the northern lights, green is by far the most common color. But folks last night were able to see the reds, the
pinks, even some purple colors. The ones that are a bit more rare compared to what we normally would see.
Now when we take a look at what actually happened. So you have that solar flare it pushes out away from the sun and heads over towards earth's
magnetic field.
Now, as it gets there, it kind of interacts with the gases. I mean, the interact with a lot of the stuff that's going on right around the
atmosphere here. So, they're colliding. Those particles are colliding with the atmosphere. And that's what triggers those beautiful colors that you
end up seeing in the sky.
Now, here's a look at the last few days. That first wave right there, that plasma. That's the first one that hit last night. You can see all those
very bright colors indicating how dense the plasma was when it reached Earth.
Here's the second one that's going to come in. That's the one that's expected for Wednesday.
Now yes, it's there, but you'll notice it doesn't quite have the bright colors indicating it's not going to be expected to be as dense as the one
we had last night. What this in turn means that not as many folks are expected to see. Tonight's beautiful light show compared to last night.
Here's a look at what we can expect.
You can see that red line is really going to kind of ultimately be the cutoff point for where folks are going to be able to see this. Now, in
terms of timeline, obviously the best time is after it gets dark and several hours after it gets dark, when the sky is very, very dark out, but
also to timing up with when you have those particles that are going to be closest.
So, unfortunately, some of them are going to be during daytime hours, which means you're not likely going to see it. But trying to get there in the
early evening is really going to be the best.
[15:55:03]
Now in terms of who is going to see it, that's ultimately the question. You can see this white line here is really going to be the cutoff. So, folks
south of that line really just don't have much of a chance. However, the areas in the green, that's where you're going to have the best chance to
see those beautiful lights tonight.
FOSTER: Allison, thank you so much.
Finally, tonight, dramatic video from southwestern China shows the collapse of part of a newly constructed bridge. The Hongqi Bridge, opened just
months ago in Sichuan province along a national highway linking the country's heartland with Tibet. Look at those scenes.
But on Tuesday, a landslide wiped out one end of the 760 meter, 2,500-foot- long bridge, turning it to dust and debris. Local authorities had closed the bridge, thankfully on Monday after they spotted cracks on nearby roads
and slopes. No deaths or injuries have reported been reported, but the builders of the bridge have some questions to answer.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW.
Stay with CNN. More after the break.
END
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