More Than 4,000 Flights Delayed, 900+ Canceled Today

23:23told us that she booked a flight for next week to spend a few days with her mother who has terminal cancer. Any delay or cancellation of her return flight could cause her to miss work, something she cannot afford to do with a contract job. She told CNN, quote, I have very limited time left with my mom and so many other decisions. This is the last thing I need. Let's discuss all this with Brian Kelly. He's founder of The Points Guy. Brian, some advice out there says that travelers should book a refundable backup flight with another airline every time they book a flight. For people who have the money, is that a good idea?

23:55And what happens if you don't have the money? What do you do? Yeah, I couldn't believe Frontier CEO actually recommended. That's the first time in my life I've heard of an airline CEO recommending people do this. Yeah, if you can afford to do it, absolutely. Just remember to cancel it. Also, using your frequent flyer miles. Almost every U.S. airline will let you cancel up until departure. So just make sure you book an extra ticket on another carrier. But for everyone else, you know, I think you've just got to be on the offense here. Do not wait for the airlines to contact you. Several of our writers at the Point Sky have had flight cancellations, never gotten email or notice from the airline.

24:34So it's critical everyone who's traveling, you know, in the near future, log in right now and double check that your reservation is still active and keep checking it because these cancellations keep keep rolling what are your rights if one's flight is canceled what can i as a passenger do if i if i go up on the board there and i see that the flight's been canceled so you're right uh by the department of transportation is if your flight's canceled for any reason you get a full cash refund do not let the airline give you a voucher many agents will try to do that and online they will as well. Or if your flight's delayed domestically three hours or more, say you want to throw in the towel and go home, you are owed a full refund.

25:19Once again, do not take a voucher. But beyond that, you're not entitled to much, which is why it's critical to use a credit card that has flight disruption. Most of the major travel credit cards have this and so many people don't know about it. So if you've got non-refundable hotels that you're not going to be able to use, always file a claim with your credit card company or travel insurance. And I personally buy a yearly travel insurance package that will cover me if the credit card won't. So what tips do you have for folks who are going to the airport and their flights are not canceled? What else should they know?

25:56Yeah, everyone out there. I mean, many, many flights and many airports are operating smoothly. So, you know, certain airports, I recommend using an app called Flighty. It'll actually tell you where your plane is coming from. And it'll also, you know, I follow them on X and FlightAware. See where your plane is coming from. See whether the airport you're traveling out of that day is a hot spot. Today, the problem child is DCA, which is seeing a huge amount of backup due to air traffic control shortages. It's sort of a game of hot potatoes. So I would just Just be proactive and make sure you understand the airport you're flying out of, what the situation is.

26:38All right, Brian Kelly, thanks so much. Appreciate it. President Trump says that grocery prices are way down. Is that actually the reality when you go to a grocery store? We're breaking down the numbers next.

26:58In our politics lead, the rising cost of living was top of mind for voters on Tuesday, and Republicans took something of a shellacking from Democrats in key races across the country. But President Trump, who was elected just a year ago by voters for the very same kitchen table reasons, he has spent much of this week downplaying these affordability concerns. We have the greatest economy right now. A lot of people don't see that. This is the golden age of America. This is the golden age. We got the princess here from Saudi Arabia. She's got a lot of cash. Serious cash. And she's a great person. So she doesn't care about the price of a turkey is down a little bit.

27:39You know, she just have to worry about it. In terms, I think of groceries. You know, it's an old fashioned word, but it's a beautiful word. A beef we have to get down, but we've got prices way down. So I don't want to hear about the affordability, because right now we're much less. If you look at energy, we're getting close to$2 a gallon gasoline. Affordability, they call it, was a con job by the Democrats. The Democrats are good at a few things, cheating on elections and conning people with facts that aren't true. A point of fact, according to data released from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just last month, found that average grocery prices rose 0.3 % just from August to September.

28:18Among the grocery items more expensive now than in January when President Trump took office, coffees up 15.3%, uncooked ground beef up 14.2%, bananas up 7.9%, cakes and cupcakes up 6%, candy up 4.2%, salad dressing up 3.5%, and on and on. I'm not going to give you the full grocery list my wife handed me, but it is long. Here with us is the panel. Well, thanks for being here, guys. Thanks for coming out to Reagan Airport, where we're covering this disaster. President Trump has repeatedly suggested that the cheaper price tag for this year's Thanksgiving meal from Walmart is proof that food prices are coming down.

28:56He said it again today. Take a listen. It was 25 percent. Walmart just announced it two days ago. 25 % cheaper this year will be cheaper to have Thanksgiving than it was a year ago under Sleepy Joe Biden.

29:16Remember that he said Sleepy Joe Biden for something later. CNN's Daniel Dale fact-checked that. And Walmart's Thanksgiving package actually has six fewer items in this year's Thanksgiving meal and a smaller proportion of name brand products. Now, Ashley, today Trump was asked about that, and the reporter pointed it out, that it's actually fewer. And Trump's response was, you're fake news. Are you concerned as a Republican that President Trump is really starting to seem out of touch with this affordability issue? Well, look, I'm not going to say he's out of touch, but because— I said seem. Seem.

29:54Okay, that's fine. The stock market is doing well. This is the same thing that happened under Biden. The stock market was doing really well. How'd that go for Biden? That's exactly right. That's my point. I asked my mother after the election on Wednesday who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I'm like, what are your groceries like? And she's like, they've gone up. And so she's a rabid Republican. And she says that her day-to-day stuff is still not changing. So it's going to be an issue. And it's going to continue to be an issue unless it changes. So here's a wrinkle. Just moments ago, President Trump posted that he's asked the Justice Department to immediately investigate the, quote, meatpacking companies who are driving up the price of beef through illicit collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation.

30:31action must be taken immediately to protect consumers, combat illegal monopolies, and ensure these corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American people. Sochi used to work at the Justice Department. What do you think? That sounds like a president who's very frustrated about the cost of living. He's feeling the pressure. He's feeling the pressure on Tuesday when Republicans didn't win in critical states, and they didn't even get close to winning. The margin was pretty large for Democrats. I'll also say this Thanksgiving, not only will the prices be going up for Americans, but now you have federal workers who are not receiving paychecks.

31:07And not only are they not receiving paychecks, there are a bunch of federal workers who are still out of jobs because there were cuts across the federal government. So this is not looking good, especially now that we are about one year away from the midterm elections. People are feeling it. They voted for Trump because he was supposed to make change, and he has not made that yet. And so people are deciding to vote for the opposite party. Yeah, and we're starting to hear sound from people in your party. We're starting to hear people, Republicans, not mad at President Trump, but concerned that he's not hearing the message.

31:36Here's Eric Erickson. He's a conservative pundit, a Trump supporter earlier today. I'm sorry, yesterday. Take a listen. Grocery prices are going up and now Republicans are perversely doing the same thing Democrats did when they were in office with Joe Biden. Say, no, actually, don't believe your eyes at the grocery store. Prices are coming down. That's not helpful to Americans who are feeling higher grocery costs right now, which is actually happening. Again, this is a supporter of the president. No, absolutely. And listen, I'm the first one to say I think it's a good lesson. We do have a year to fix it, but it has to be fixed.

32:15I mean, this is the number one issue. No one cares about if Ukraine on the Republican side. They care, but at the end of the day, they care how much their groceries are, not if Ukraine is still at war, not if Israel is still at war. They care about they can like support their families every day. So it's not just Republicans saying this. Also, listen to Governor-elect Mikey Sherrill of the great state of New Jersey. He was asked how Democrats can win back working class voters. Take a listen. If I am talking to you about abortion and you cannot pay your rent, then we can't talk. You know, we've got to talk about the first tier issue.

32:53And for working families, you can't get to the other issues. So again, she supports abortion rights. She's not saying don't support abortion rights, but she's saying Democrats need to talk about this. It's actually very interesting because Democrats did not sound like that as recently as a year ago. You're right. I think Democrats have learned their lesson. They felt that a few elections ago it was going to be all about reproductive rights. It was going to be about making sure that women knew and that women were going to turn out for Democrats if we talked about that issue. That was not the case.

33:25We know that cost of living is going to be the number one issue. Number two issue, health care. That is why Democrats are fighting so hard on affordability and health care. And that's what Democrats want to make the next election about, the midterm elections, cost of living and health care. And you know that Trump wants to make it about crime and immigration. But it's not that voters don't want to talk about crime and immigration. They want to talk about cost of living. Well, and you look at what happened in Virginia, where it was all about the schools and it was all about, you know, LGBTQ rights and whatever.

33:55That is not an issue anymore for the voters. And you saw it when Winsome Sears tried to do it. Oh, you mean four years ago it was that? Yeah, four years ago it was. But even two years ago it was. But it's not anymore. I mean, and also immigration has kind of been fixed. Like, that's not the issue anymore. The issue on it is sort of that he has gone too far. And now they need to sort of correct it. But the border is essentially shut down. That's correct. But the economy is a better message and healthier. So earlier I played a clip where President Trump called his predecessor sleepy Joe Biden. Here's some video taken yesterday.

34:28President Trump in the Oval Office yesterday. You can see the president with his eyes closed there. He appears to be nodding off a bit. I'm not really there. He's in the bottom left there. I'm not sure if you can see. It's just it's not just a blink. I mean, Dr. Oz seems like a very nice gentleman, but I doubt he's been mesmerized by what Oz is saying. But look, he's a 79-year-old man. Well, he's moving. Look, his chair was just moving. Barely. Barely. I didn't say he had passed out. Yeah. Well, that's what I was going to say. That press conference was very difficult on many levels. Well. Well, but also, he will be the oldest president when he ends this term.

35:08And I think that people are concerned about that. We have Nancy Pelosi, who's retiree, and rightfully so, she retired on her own. But you now have Donald Trump here, again, oldest president, and unclear whether he's fit for the job. But he's not going to run again, so, yeah. Yeah. Anyway, stay close. We have a lot more to talk about. The issue at the center of the shutdown debate, why I'm sitting in an airport right now. The cost that millions of Americans will pay for health care next year, that's what Democrats say anyway. Next, we're going to introduce you to three families who are cutting costs every way they can, And they still face the very real possibility of not being able to make ends meet for health insurance if a deal is not made.

35:44Stay with us.

35:49In our money lead, while I'm here at the Reagan National Airport to highlight just some of the damage caused by the shutdown, we're going to take a moment to remind you how we got here. Right now, millions of Americans are choosing health insurance plans and seeing their costs, their insurance premium, skyrocket. Democrats say the reason the government shut down is the center of the shutdown debate. They're not going to reopen the government until Republicans allow an extension of subsidies that help people deal with some of these health care premiums. CNN's Gabe Cohen breaks it all down and speaks with people forced to make an impossible choice.

36:25Starting in 2026, the extra help will end and your monthly payments could go up. As they scan health insurance options for next year, Chris and Donna Vettors are choosing between breaking the bank and ditching their coverage. Right now, they pay$400 a month. Next year, that premium jumps to more than$1 ,900 monthly. $1 ,500 increase. I don't know where that will come from. The enhanced subsidies that capped most premiums on the Affordable Care Act marketplace are set to expire unless Congress steps in. Those price hikes, what does that mean for you guys? No health care. No health care. Flat out.

37:03Or we keep health care and we don't keep anything else in our life. Chris is a retired federal worker. Donna runs a small medical billing business here on Maryland's eastern shore. It's rolling the dice big time. God forbid, you know, car accidents, heart attacks, cancer. I mean, we've got, we'll have nothing. Premiums are rising for the 24 million Americans on ACA plans, what many call Obamacare. And for the millions losing the enhanced subsidies that lowered insurance costs over the past five years, those increases are steep, more than double on average. That is unsustainable. It's at the center of the shutdown standoff in Washington.

37:45Democrats demanding Republicans extend these subsidies or say they'll block any deal to reopen the government. It's time to stop the political games. C.L. Marshall's premium is set to spike 40 percent, and he never got a subsidy. It's going to be significant, you know, and it's something that I'm going to be forced to pass along to my customers. He runs a fishing charter in Maryland. He's a Trump supporter and serves as a local Republican council member. And this reaches beyond party, Republican, Democrat, whatever. This is a humanitarian issue. The key is going to be finding an affordable middle ground on this thing.

38:20I don't see the subsidies going away. I fought really hard. Don't do this to us. In Alabama, 63-year-old Sonny Montgomery is battling lung cancer with daily oxygen and scans every three months. I want to live. I want to stay alive. She says her premium is going from$540 a month to more than$1 ,700. I have to face the reality that I am probably going to become a late-stage cancer patient who's uninsured. If you don't have insurance, what will that mean for your scans and your treatments and your oxygen? I won't have any of those.

39:01Life's going to get a lot harder. That's going up. That has gone up. That's gone up. Back in Maryland, the Russells scroll through their enrollment options. So your health insurance is going from$400 some to about$1 ,100. For me, it was, okay, can I keep the kids insured? You were going to put them on health insurance and take yourselves off if needed? Well, we had to. Yeah. It was going to suck. But they just found out their kids qualify for Medicaid because Amanda, who works two jobs and seven days a week, took a pay cut in her new position. You feel like you have to stay at a lower paying job.

39:35She had to double what she's currently making at her current job. For it to even be worth it. Yeah. These sun-setting subsidies, pulling them further into a financial maze. It becomes nearly impossible to try to dig yourself out of a rut that you've been placed into. Gabe Cohen, CNN, Maryland. This is CNN Breaking News. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper at Ronald Reagan National Airport just outside Washington, D.C. The Lead tonight, thousands of delays and cancellations shocking the nation's air travel system and economy after the FAA and the Trump administration reduces 4 % of all flights across 40 major airports, including this one, one of the most aggressive symptoms yet of the 38-day government shutdown.

40:23Cancellations today have now surpassed 1 ,000, and there have been upwards of 4 ,000 flights delayed. The car rental company Hertz is reporting a significant uptick in rentals today, but many travelers have been left without any backup options. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says this could just be the start of disruptions, even if the shutdown comes to an act. If the government opens on day one, will I see an immediate response from controllers? No, the union is telling me it's going to take time to get them all back in. Today, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat in New York, presented a Democratic plan, a proposal to end the shutdown in exchange for a year-long extension of Obamacare subsidies.

41:09But Republican Senate leader John Thune called the offer a non-starter. Joining me here at Reagan National Airport is CNN's aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean. And Pete, this is just day one of the flight cancellations. Just day one, how broad is the impact so far? Well, the mandate from the Trump administration is to cut 4 % of flights starting today. It started at 6 a.m. then it goes up on Tuesday to 6 percent then Thursday to 8 percent and then next Friday to 10 percent. So this is going to have a sweeping impact for a long period of time and airlines are not happy about this. They feel like this whole idea that air traffic controllers are in crisis and that the number of flights needs to be throttled back is sort of a created crisis and it's really thrown things into chaos for airlines as they're trying to get the word out to passengers.

41:54Airlines tell me that they're essentially dealing with this as if they would deal with the cancellations of a major snowstorm or a blizzard if it comes through. The only difference is usually that is localized in one area. This is an across-the-board cut across the country. And then on top of that is the fact that there are still air traffic control staffing shortages today. We've seen about 25 air traffic control facilities in the U.S. show up as short-staffed on the FAA's list. and it's everywhere from Houston to Austin to even the control tower here at Reagan National Airport. And that is why there's a four-hour delay for flights coming in here to DCA.

42:31The good news is that we have heard primarily from passengers that things have remained relatively smooth. And it's primarily one of the reasons why you don't see a lot of passengers camped out, stranded in the airports right now. They have gotten the word from airlines that their flights are preemptively canceled, although this is causing a lot of pain for the airlines, which are a huge economic driver. So if members of Congress don't fix this and this continues into next week, what's going to be coming down the road for travelers? Well, the fact is that it'll just be more of the same and it'll get worse.

43:02You know, when you talk about cutting 10 percent of flights from airline schedules, that's like the worst day of cancellations we've seen in the last year over and over again. That is a big chunk of flights for the U.S. airlines, and we're talking a big chunk of passengers, too. By my back of the napkin math, we're talking about maybe 300 ,000 passengers or more were impacted by this cut today, and it only gets worse from here on out. So the other thing is Thanksgiving's on the horizon. And so when you get to next Friday, if there's no deal by then, and the airlines are forced by the Trump administration to cut 10 percent of flights all in the name of safety, then we're in the two-week window of Thanksgiving.

43:42And that's when air travel really begins to ramp up with, of course, the day before Thanksgiving being the busiest travel day of the year. And we'll likely see an all-time TSA record besting the$3 million mark. Any words of wisdom for those of us who have to travel in the next few days? It's going to be hard. The good news is at least the airlines are doing this preemptively. They're doing this ahead of the game so you're not showing up at the airport and then finding out your flight is canceled. The big thing here is to just be so, so patient and to be in high communication with your airline.

44:13Make sure you're checking their website. Make sure you have the app downloaded. Make sure you're signed up for texts and emails. And if you can, book a flight, if you've not booked, early in the day. That leaves you with the least chance statistics show for a delay or cancellation. Usually the airlines are able to essentially press reset overnight. And then don't check a bag. Always carry on. It makes it so much easier for you to pivot if your flight or plans crumble and things fold. You can go to the next thing more easily. Yeah, but don't be one of those people that brings a giant suitcase and tries to wedge it into the overhead.

44:46And especially here at DCA where there are a lot of regional jets. They have small overhead bins. You need to obviously pack a little smart. Yeah. Pete, stick around. Let's bring in Captain Jason Ambrose. He's the president of the Airline Pilots Association. So Jason, it's the first day of these widespread cancellations impacting 40 of the major airports across the country through the weekend at least, including this one I'm in right now, Ronald Reagan National Airport. What are your fellow pilots telling you so far about the ripple effects that these cancellations might be causing? Well, look, first, it's great to be with you, Jake.

45:18I'm not just a pilot. I'm also a passenger. I flew out of DCA this morning back here to Atlanta. I can tell you that my pilots are telling me that they stand with our brothers and sisters at Air Traffic Control and the Transportation Safety Administration. So the fact that they are still not getting paid, that there is no end in sight to this, is just frustrating beyond belief. So right now we're at cancellation of 4 % in 40 airports. But as Pete just laid out, that's going to go up to 6%, then 10%. The Transportation Department said it could go up to 20%. Do you worry at all about the deteriorating safety of air travel during this period?

46:07Well, look, this ongoing thing, we're over four weeks now. This shutdown has added a lot of uncertainty and risk into the system just because of these folks aren't getting paid and they're worried about how to put food on the table. So that risk, as that risk goes up, it affects the safety margin. Therefore, that's what the FAA is telling us is why they're bringing down this level of flying is to make sure that we keep the system at the safety level that we enjoy in the United States. But obviously, as this progresses, no one's under any illusion that this isn't going to get worse and that they won't have to bring down more flying to keep the system safe.

46:48Pete, Captain Ambrose, it's Pete Muntean with CNN. And I want to ask you a little question here about what Transportation Secretary Duffy said here at Reagan National Airport earlier today. And he said the number, the number of cuts, the percentage of cuts was really more of an art than a science. And it's a bit arbitrary. I just want you to listen to this. To those passengers that are upset. Listen, call your Democrat senator. 14 times they voted no to open up the government. So I guess the question is this. When you think about how this is playing out, do you think that the airlines are really being used here, that they're having to inflict this travel pain on passengers for political gain?

47:38Look, I'm a pilot. I'll leave the political analysis to others in D.C. there. But I can tell you that we don't know what facilities may have been most impacted by day. And, you know, our brothers and sisters at air traffic have been saying that as this drags on, that they're going to have to in order to keep the safety margin reduced capacity. So it may be an art, but again, I'm not the expert on that. Captain Jason Ambrose, thanks so much, sir. Appreciate it. Let's bring in Adam Stahl. He is the TSA acting deputy administrator. Adam, we've heard in the past few days about TSA officers who have had to take second jobs, had to resign altogether because of the strain of missed paychecks.

48:26What are you hearing from TSA officers right now? Yeah, first, Jake, thanks so much for having me. So you're 100 % correct. These officers have really showcased tremendous dedication, professionalism, and resilience. And I want to start with that. They've really done an incredible job for the past 37 days without getting paid. But to your point, they are frustrated. This has had very real financial impacts on them. We spoke to two TSA officers specifically. One has$40 left in their bank account. The other is literally sleeping in their car. Many are getting their eviction notices as well. So this is not only having very real significant impacts for the American traveler, but also very real significant impacts, financially acute impacts for our TSA officers around the country.

49:09How long will it take the TSA to get back up and running at full capacity once the government is reopened? So we're really focused on operational continuity. And so we're taking this, of course, day by day. But we're confident, you know, once hopefully this ends imminently that we can get back to normal order. But it may take some time. But we're focused, again, on operational continuity, focused on the mission of ensuring the safety and the security of our skies every single day. What do you say to travelers who might be fearful that staffing issues could potentially cause safety and security problems?

49:44Sure. I want to say at the outset, the administration, the secretary, myself, we're deeply, deeply committed to the safety and the security of the American people. That's the number one security. And so we're going to remain committed to that. There will be, however, significant inconvenience. That inconvenience, we've seen isolated impacts at select airports. You know, Houston had a two-hour wait time last week. As every single day continues, we expect that inconvenience to grow and those lines to grow as well. And so we're really imploring folks, particularly Senate Democrats, to come back and reopen the government so we can get back to normal order.

50:21Yeah, so minority leader, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer put an offer on the table that if Republicans agree to extend the Obamacare subsidies for one year, you know, they're about to expire at the end of this year, for one year, Democrats will vote to reopen the government. John Thune called it a non-starter. What do you make of the politics at play here? I'm really focused on transportation security and keeping our skies safe. But that should be done, frankly, and that's the position of the White House, of course. that should be done during, not in spite of the government and normal congressional order.

50:57And so we're again focused on the safety and the security of our skies, protecting our people as well and American travelers. And that should be the focus for everyone getting back to normal order and really ensuring the safety and the security of our skies. Frankly, our TSA officers shouldn't be a political pawn, a political bargaining chip. And that's what we're really focused on again every single day. They're feeling the effects of this financially, personally. They're also human beings like you and I. They have families and they have checks to pay. So again, we're focused on that, and we really are calling for Congress, Senate Democrats, to really get back to normal order.

51:32Adam Stahl, thanks so much. Breaking news from Capitol Hill. The Senate is now voting on a bill that would increase the number of federal workers who would get paid during the shutdown. We're going to go there next. Plus, a big update today on those food stamp or SNAP benefits that 42 million Americans rely on, the Trump administration taking action to comply with the court orders. to fully fund food stamps. Stay with us.

52:01Live look at the U.S. Senate floor right now as the Senate votes on a bill introduced by Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican of Wisconsin, that would allow pay for federal employees working during the shutdown. Senate Democrats and Republicans still have not reached any deal to open the government. In all probability, sending the shutdown into a 39th day, furthering the record that's already been set for the longest shutdown in the history of these United States. It takes that title from the 2018-2019 shutdown, also during President Trump's presidency, though the first one. That shutdown lasted 35 days.

52:36That was sparked by a fight over funding for Trump's border wall and ended after 10 air traffic controllers didn't show up to work, and that caused delays at several hubs. And that led to a deal being made before the end of the day. Prior to that, in 2013, a government shutdown lasted 16 days. House Republicans were demanding that President Obama roll back Obamacare. There was also a lengthy shutdown that started in December 1995, when then-President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich could not agree on a long-term spending bill. 21 days later, into the new year, the shutdown ended when Congress accepted a budget proposal from President Clinton.

53:13So how and when will this current shutdown end? Let's bring in CNN correspondent Arlette Saenz on Capitol Hill for the latest on negotiations. Arlette, where do negotiations stand? Is the desperation so many Americans feel, whether it's travelers or people on food stamps or these workers not being paid, or the people whose Obamacare premiums are about to skyrocket for whom the Democrats say they're fighting, is that getting through to anybody in leadership? Well, Jake, leadership on both sides of the aisle will acknowledge those problems. But these efforts to try to end the government shutdown, any negotiations are really deadlocked.

53:51Right now, the Senate is voting not on a plan to reopen the government, but on a plan from Republican Senator Ron Johnson to pay federal workers during the shutdown. Now, some Democrats had expressed concerns about whether this bill that had been laid out would, in fact, cover all furloughed workers. Republicans have said that they would amend this if it does pass this procedural vote, amend this to include all federal workers. But right now, it's unclear whether enough Democrats will actually get on board to advance this procedural measure. And it all comes as both sides, Democrats and Republicans, have really expressed a lot of frustration about where these talks to end the shutdown stand.

54:33Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier today did unveil a Democratic counterproposal to Republicans. He said that Democrats would vote to reopen the government if that also included a one-year extension of the expiring Obamacare subsidies. But any Republican who's talked about extending those subsidies has said that that needs to be done with reforms to the program. So that really, that proposal from Schumer was a non-starter with Republicans up here on Capitol Hill. Then you also think about even if it passed the Senate, the House would even have a much more difficult job in trying to corral the House Republican caucus together.

55:11And that is why House Speaker Mike Johnson has been very noncommittal about ever bringing up a vote on these Obamacare subsidies. So right now, there still appears to be both sides digging in on their positions. It does seem like they might be staying in over the weekend. That's something President Trump urged them to do, but there really doesn't appear to be a clear resolution in sight for ending the shutdown, even as there are bits and pieces of talks happening behind the scenes. All right, Arlette Sines on Capitol Hill. Thanks so much. The warning from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as the U.S.

55:45military carries out yet another deadly stroke on a boat in the Caribbean. That's next.

55:55We're back live at Reagan National Airport just outside D.C., one of the many U.S. airports seeing flight cuts and delays amid this government shutdown. Meanwhile, in our world lead, on Thursday, Secretary of Defense, or as he prefers to be called, Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, announced another deadly U.S. military strike on a boat in the Caribbean. It's a boat he says was trafficking narcotics. All three people aboard were killed, the Pentagon says. This is now the 17th known strike with approximately 70 people killed since the Trump administration's first boat strike in early September. Let's bring in retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and former military attorney, Professor Rachel Van Landingham.

56:37Professor Hegseth posted on social media about this latest strike, and he wrote, quote, quote, to all narco terrorists who threaten our homeland, if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs, we will kill you, unquote. I'm not really sure if I've ever seen a secretary of defense say that about somebody that was, until a few months ago, considered a criminal. Are these strikes legal?

57:05No, Jake, and thanks for having me. They're actually murder. They're what's called extrajudicial killings. And this is not just the moral view, it's the legal view. It's the view of American law is that drug smugglers, even once they are given their due process and convicted in court, are not eligible for the death penalty. So here we have the administration simply calling it a war, calling these folks combatants, when in fact they're just simply militarizing what has heretofore been a law enforcement operation, militarizing so that they can exploit and abuse the use of deadly force in the American people's name against individuals who do not pose an imminent threat to our country.

57:50Sources tell CNN that the Justice Department informed Congress last week that President Trump, as far as they're concerned, can continue these deadly strikes without congressional approval. So, I mean, is that it? I mean, are there any legal avenues at this point that can have the administration at least explain in detail what they're doing and what the evidence is of the intelligence or even stop these strikes from happening? Well, we have, you know, the American people putting pressure on the government through things like the 7 million folks that marched a few weeks ago. But we did just see a failed attempt by Congress and it failed along party lines, even though we had two Republicans voting to support a bipartisan introduced measure to stop the president and say, you know, you're not authorized to deploy troops to hostilities in Venezuela.

58:42We saw a similar failed attempt by Congress a few months ago regarding the actual boat strikes themselves. So that really is about those on Capitol Hill looking at their moral compass and looking at their legal compass and setting it on True North to say, hey, wait a second. This is not a war. We don't give the executive branch the ability to be judged, jury, and executioner and commit murder in the American people's name. So I think there needs to be greater stomach on Capitol Hill really to stop this. Because right now the president is doing what he can do, and he's going to continue to do it until someone tells him to stop.

59:24So it's not as though there's like evidence that these are 70 El Chapos, right? I mean, we just don't know who they are. Last week, after Pentagon officials briefed members of Congress about these strikes, Democratic Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs of California, she said that the Trump administration, she asked the Trump administration about why they let two survivors of these strikes, why they returned them to their home countries. and she was told, quote, they could not satisfy the evidentiary burden, unquote, to keep them or to try them or to prosecute them. So explain this to me. The Trump administration has enough evidence to kill these people, but not enough to hold them and prosecute them?

1:00:09Yeah, as strange as perverse that sounds, it's because they're destroying the evidence when they're blowing up these alleged drug runners, right? the submersible that they've destroyed and the boats, if they had drugs on them, which, you know, let's give credit where credit's due. I believe our intelligence community is incredibly brilliant, and they're able to precisely identify if these individuals are actually drug runners. But then they're blowing them up instead of what they used to do, which is interdict and then prosecute. So they're destroying the very evidence that they're using. And of course, I mean, we have reason.

1:00:45There's something called due process and checks and balances. We like to believe them, but trust, but verify, right? But meanwhile, we can't even verify the fact that these actually are drug runners. But I really, Jake, think it gets to the moral and legal point of even if they are drug runners, there are not terrorists who are about to engage in imminent violence against the American people. Yes, the drug scourge is a threat to the United States long term, But that's where criminal law enforcement comes in. And it doesn't allow the president, per international law nor domestic law, to simply say, OK, we're now at war and we're just going to simply kill them.

1:01:26Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Rachel Van Landingham. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. As the government shutdown causes thousands of flight delays and cancellations, it is also forcing one man to make multiple backup plans so he doesn't miss his cancer surgery. This is just one of the many stories of people who are infected by this government shutdown. The latest on the disruptions next.

1:01:51Back to our national lead, staffing shortages are prompting delays at airports nationwide, with airlines slashing 4 % of flights at 40 major airports today, as ordered by the Trump administration. And officials warning of even more cancellations in the coming days, the ripple effect of this 38-day government shutdown. the longest in the history of these United States. Let's check in with CNN's Ed Levandera, who's monitoring the situation at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Ed, what's going on where you are? Hey, Jake. Well, the ripple effects of this slowdown in the air system hasn't really manifested itself here.

1:02:28You know, we're seeing wait times around 25 to 30 minutes here in security. Many of the flights have not been canceled. So this is an airport that normally has about 2 ,000 incoming and outgoing flights per day. If you look at the flight board here, showing many of the flights on time. But what we are hearing from people here is a great deal of concern about what is coming in the days ahead. And also a great deal of concern for the TSA agents who are working without getting paid. I'm concerned for my ex-fellow co-workers at TSA that they get their jobs going again and they get their paychecks.

1:03:04I am saddened, I am dismayed for those that I see now working without getting a paycheck. I don't want to work without getting a paycheck. And yet they're showing up every day and doing so. So, Jake, as I mentioned, a lot of people are really concerned about what's coming. They're still out here traveling today, but they're concerned about what's going to happen in the days ahead. Are they going to be stranded somewhere? Is it going to be difficult to get back to from wherever they're going this weekend? Again, that really is the concern here as the threat of more flights being canceled in the days ahead continues to grow.

1:03:37Jake. All right, Ed Lavender at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. Thanks so much. Here with me now is Chip Lowe. He's the local council vice president for the Association of Flight Attendants. And Chip, anyone who flies knows that flight attendants play a pivotal role in keeping the travel experience smooth. how have these shutdowns, how have the canceled flights impacted travel travel attendance, flight attendance? Yeah so you know the main way that it's affecting us right now just like you're having a canceled flight as a passenger it's a change to our schedule so maybe we're going to work thinking we're gonna lay over in one place and now we're laying over somewhere else and we're coming back the next day so it's you know it's an inconvenience it's not as much of an inconvenience as it is to our you know fellow colleagues who are TSA agents and ATC you know air traffic controllers who are coming to work with no pay but you know it's a bit of an inconvenience that we're working through so the staffing issues with TSA agents and air traffic controllers are real they have now been not been paid for more than a month is it safe to fly yeah Yeah, it's still safe to fly, right?

1:04:49But every piece of stress on an individual or in the system, that adds risk. And we don't want risk in the system. So the steps that they're taking right now to reduce air traffic, that is to ensure safety and security. But we're really hopeful that there can be an end to this government shutdown soon, that those health care subsidies can be extended and we can kind of be done with this and go back to normal. That's what we want as flight attendants. And we're pretty sure that's what the majority of Americans and the traveling public want. It doesn't, I mean, Schumer proposed that he said Democrats would vote to reopen the government if the Obamacare subsidies were extended for a year.

1:05:29And the Republican leader of the Senate, John Thune, said that's a non-starter. So what's going to happen? I mean, is your union pushing one side or the other to accede to the other side's request? No, I mean, we're here to, you know, advocate for our members and flight attendants, but I'll tell you as a union, right, those are concerns that we have for our members and for other union members. So we do believe it's important. The Obamacare subsidies. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. But at the end of the day, you know, what we really want is an end to the shutdown, you know, and that's up to the politicians, right, to decide, Congress to decide.

1:06:04But, you know, we're concerned about safety and security at the airports, our schedules being back to normal. and you know yeah that's selfish right for us as flight attendants and crew members but also it means that you'll be able to get to your important events your own time so what do you what should travelers know what's your advice for travelers because even if this government shutdown were to end today which it won't or tomorrow which it won't these disruptions are going to have an effect for a while what do you want travelers to know yeah you know anytime there's any piece of the system that gets disrupted it takes a long time to clean up but we want you to be proactive right i know it's silly right but download the airline app check the airport website do everything you can this isn't one of those times you should just show up to the airport last minute so be proactive even though you're proactive things are still going to go wrong there's still going to be delays yes they're cutting back the schedules they're cutting back air traffic but there's going to be things that we can't predict so bring your patience and And I think, you know, kind of our personal plug as flight attendants is be kind to one another.

1:07:08It's an easy thing to do when I've been coming in, even through employee security, right? I know that I'm looking at a TSA agent who hasn't had a paycheck in a while, right? And this is... October 1st was the government shutdown. That's when it started. It's crazy. Chip Lowe, thank you so much. Appreciate it. As lawmakers fight on Capitol Hill, millions of Americans are going hungry because of the shutdown. How has feeding low-income people, children, how has this become political? That story's next.

1:07:43An important update in our politics lead now. The Department of Agriculture announced this afternoon that it is working to fully fund food stamp benefits for November in order to comply with a federal court order. The news comes as millions of Americans have been living in limbo, forced to ration their food. CNN's Renee Marsh spoke with one family dependent on SNAP or food stamp benefits to buy groceries and put food on the table. Get the top teeth. That's enough soap. I thought it hurt a little bit. Food is the last thing that we should have to be stressed out about. In Martinsburg, West Virginia, mornings move fast for Oneida Norris, a single mom juggling two toddlers, a dog.

1:08:23breakfast, and a full-time job. The government shutdown has made life even harder, disrupting SNAP, the federal food assistance program she relies on to feed her kids. It'll be, you know, meatless meals and things that obviously you can stretch a lot longer. I work 40 hours a week. I work for the state and I'm on government assistance because I'm still not making ends meat unfortunately. It hurts because it's like I'm not I don't want to be on it but I need it. Norris earns$2 ,800 a month. Rent for instance$1 ,475. After paying bills she's left with barely $100 for gas and anything else. Snap also known as food stamps added$265 a month to her budget for food.

1:09:11What is the difference of having this$265 versus not? Rather than myself having like a full plate of food along with my kids. I'm making sure that they have a full plate of food and their bellies are full and I may have either less or I may not eat what they are eating just for the sake that they are getting enough. So mom's having to sometimes skip a meal or curb? Yes. Whew. Yeah. It feels like I'm failing them because I am trying. I'm trying to do all that I can. And, of course, as a human, you get frustrated. And I never want my kids to see that or feel like I'm taking that out on them for something as simple as dinner.

1:09:59Do you need a gallon of milk? Yes, ma 'am. Okay. We visited this food pantry in Berkeley County, a place that's voted for Donald Trump in every election he's been on the ballot. Nearly a quarter of the people here live below the poverty line, and now furloughed federal workers are lining up alongside families who rely on SNAP. You can see how busy we are. Our waiting room is filled up. We doubled our typical weekly amount of households. A judge Thursday said the administration should resume paying the benefits in full. Friday morning, the Trump administration appealed that decision. But by Friday afternoon, the administration said it would pay states the full SNAP payments.

1:10:39Mama's improvising because I don't want to use up all of y 'all's milk. Families like Norris's are now waiting for the balance to show up on their cards. I just don't understand how we've come to a point where we're using food in politics and being essentially political pawns. Just when SNAP recipients will officially receive their funds really depends on what state they live in. Some states may need a little bit more time, but some people could get their funds loaded into their accounts as soon as this weekend. But now that the Trump administration is paying full SNAP benefits for the 42 million Americans who need it, it is unclear what that will mean for their appeal seeking to reverse the judge's order for full benefits to be made.

1:11:26Jake? All right, Renee Marsh, thanks so much. And Ashley Davis and Sochi Hinojosa are back with me. And Sochi, so the Trump administration had said that they were going to appeal the judge's order. That's right. And then they didn't. And then they are having their fully funding SNAP. What does that say to you, if anything, if you're reading the tea leaves of how this is ever going to end? I think them appealing the judge's order would have been catastrophic in a moment that we're in. when you just heard that story and people cannot get, it's not that people can't necessarily buy Christmas presents this Christmas.

1:12:03It's that they can't get the basic needs for their families. And there's so many people that are struggling right now. And I think that they are finally understanding the repercussions that this will have not only on Trump and the politics of it, but the lives that it's impacting right now. And stories like that, you just heard, look at those babies, you know, just looking at them and just thinking that someday they might not have something to eat. The mom's not eating and she's not necessarily doing stuff for herself to provide for her children. And there are families like that all over the country.

1:12:33So I think that's what's happening right now with the Trump administration. So this also kind of gets into the issue of affordability. And we heard President Trump earlier today on the show talk about how affordability is a democratic hoax. But Elise Stefanik, the congresswoman from New York, launched her gubernatorial bid today. Take a listen. New York is facing an affordability crisis. Kathy Hochul made New York the most unaffordable state in the nation. Unaffordable rent. Elise Stefanik will make New York affordable and safe. So Stefanik taking the Momdani mantle of affordability, except instead of blaming, you know, Republicans, she's blaming the Democratic governor.

1:13:20No, absolutely. Elise and I go back to the Bush administration, and she's very smart and she's very politically smart and she read the tea leaves of what's happening. But the best thing that's happened to her is that Mondani won. I mean, the fact that she has an ability to potentially win in a blue state such as New York as governor is because of that. Because of Mondani? Yeah. Just using him as a foil? Tell me more. Yeah, no, she's going to be able to attack him and his policies for the next, obviously, year. But also, I think that she'll be able to run against the extremism of what he is. It's just a good platform for him.

1:13:56Well, I think that it'll just depend whether or not he can get stuff accomplished. And if he can't, I think that then Republicans will have that argument to make. But if he does, and if he is able to do critical things in the city, then I think that that just shows you, you know, running on costs and having a successful agenda like that will make him successful in the future. If she doesn't go too far right, like goes back to kind of where she started when she first ran for Congress. Back when you knew her. Yeah, did you like that? Yeah. I think that she could probably get some moderate Democrats if Mondalmi goes too far.

1:14:30You're exactly right. So U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is capitalizing on Mondani's victory by recruiting police officers to leave the NYPD. We're also seeing the Houston Police Officers Union do this, putting up a— NYPD, are you disgusted with the election of Zohran Mondani? Join us. The Houston Police Department is hiring police officers. What do you think, Xochitl? I don't think this does anything. If you are part of the NYPD, let me just tell you, it's sort of like the FBI. You are proud to be part of that law enforcement. You're not going to go anywhere else. You're not going to go to Houston.

1:15:04You're not going to go to anything. I understand what they're trying to do here, but I do believe that New Yorkers, and especially folks who are working for the NYPD, will stay there and they will serve regardless of who is mayor. Also, this is this whole argument, Jake, that people are just going to leave because he was elected or because they're going to leave America because Trump was elected. I mean, just picking up your life and leaving, yes, Rosie O'Donnell left and whoever else, but for everyday Americans to leave and leave their state is not normal. Especially New Yorkers. I mean, that's very difficult.

1:15:32Especially New Yorkers. I just don't buy the argument. New Yorkers are very, what's the word, snotty about the fact that they're from New York. Especially the police officers. They're definitely not going to a place like Texas. I'm sorry. But speaking of New York, Governor Hochul of New York has been quietly preparing for weeks now for the possibility that President Trump's going to send the National Guard into New York City. She has reportedly set up a virtual war room to stop or at least delay any federal incursion. How do you see that playing out if that does actually happen? I mean, you think Stefanik's happy about the foil of Mamdani.

1:16:07Trump is super happy. Absolutely. And I still don't think that Democrats fighting law and order is a good message. I mean, I know Newsom's doing really well on this message. But I just, if there's a lot of crime in New York City and he's helping him, look, what happened in D.C.? I live in the city. You live in the city. And I was like 100 % fine with the National Guard. But they weren't really in our neighborhoods, were they? The federal law enforcement? No, but they were where we work. Right, sure. But they were more downtown, southeast. I mean, like, it didn't really impact us. Nobody was safer.

1:16:41But that said also, yeah, no, that said Brian Todd went to Anacostia and interviewed a woman. And she was, like, happy that there was a presence. But also, our mayor was pretty good with accepting it. Yeah, that's true. Mayor Bowser, she also had a curfew for teens. For teens. Look what happened last weekend. Because there was actually that scene that I saw some liberals posting it about, like, National Guard versus protesters. And D.C. government, Mayor Bowser was like, no, those teens were out of control. Yeah, they were. And what I'll say here is that I don't think Democrats can avoid talking about crime.

1:17:14I do think that they need to take it head on. In some places, people feel unsafe. It's similar to when in the Biden administration, Biden ignored immigration. What ended up happening? Trump then defined immigration, defined open borders, and then won. Democrats cannot avoid immigration. They cannot avoid crime, or they will lose in the upcoming election. So they need to talk about what they're going to do in order to fight. Perfect. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Have a great weekend. The history that was made when the Grammy nominations were announced today and the artists who were shockingly snubbed.

1:17:45That story is next.

1:17:52Woke up looking for the broccoli. High key, keep a horn on me. Deck on my seat. I keep on the shit. The blueprint is by me. All right. Finally from us in our pop culture lead, the Grammy nominations are in. Kendrick Lamar leads the pack with nine noms, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year. Lady Gaga and Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter were also top nominees. Let's bring in CNN's entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister. Elizabeth, the Recording Academy invited over 3 ,000 new members to its 2025 class just days ago, expanding the pool of qualified voters. Did that affect this year's nominations?

1:18:28Absolutely. So, Jake, really over the last five years, the Recording Academy has taken great lengths to diversify its voting body. And as you said, they just added 38 new 100 members who will vote for the 2026 Grammys. And we are seeing a reflection of that diverse voting body in the nominations. You saw a huge morning today for rap and hip-hop music there with Kendrick Lamar leading the pack. And of course, with Bad Bunny getting six nominations, a huge year for Latin music, which is typically ignored at the Grammys. Now, part of that 3 ,800 new members is for the first time in Grammy history, the Latin Recording Academy has been invited to vote this year.

1:19:16Now, of course, Bad Bunny, as you know, has been the talk of the town, not just in Hollywood, but also in D.C. because he's going to be the Super Bowl halftime performer. And today, Jake, he makes history as the first Spanish language artist to be nominated in the major three categories all in one year. I can't help but notice that Taylor Swift is missing from these nominations. What is that about? Don't feel too bad for Taylor Swift. She was not snubbed. We can clear that up right here, Jake. I know you are a Swifty. She actually wasn't eligible. Her new album, Life of a Showgirl, came after the eligibility window.

1:19:55So maybe next year for Taylor Swift. In fact, I will say this right now. This time next year, Jake, we will be talking about Taylor with the Grammy nominations. Okay, that is a big relief to my daughter and my wife and by extension me. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Coming up Sunday on State of the Union, I'm going to be joined by the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy. Also, we have a big exclusive with California Governor Gavin Newsom, fresh off his redistricting win on Prop 50 and perhaps the beginning of his presidential campaign. That's Sunday at 9 a.m. and noon Eastern only on CNN.

1:20:32You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, threads, blueskyx, and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper. You can follow the show on X and Instagram at The Lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can watch the show on the CNN app. Aaron Burnett Outfront starts now. I will see you Sunday morning.

1:20:51Hey, I'm Anderson Cooper. On my podcast, All There Is, we explore grief and loss in all its complexities. You'll hear deeply moving and honest discussions with people who have faced and are living with life-altering losses. My guest is writer, poet Megan Fowley, who was married to the poet Andrea Gibson. Andrea died last summer after a years-long battle with cancer. Is grief different than you thought it would be? Yes, it is. I don't think that I thought that I would be able to have as much joy as I've had. I guess if I wasn't able to find joy and laughter now, I would have missed the point of Andrew's messaging.

1:21:35Talking grief, building community. That's what the podcast is all about. This is all there is. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.