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Coalition of the Willing Discusses Security for Ukraine; Germany Grapples with Growing Anti-Immigrant Sentiment; 16 Dead, 21 Injured in Funicular Derailment; Giorgio Armani Dead at 91. Aired 12- 12:45a ET
Aired September 05, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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TIM WOODWARD, CO-FOUNDER, ANIMAL RESCUE CORPS: They have no trust, and then, with time and attention, they begin to literally blossom.
[00:00:08]
You're getting out of here.
We've rescued well over 10,000 animals.
Where is that tail at?
My hope is that they have the best life possible and forget all about where they came from.
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LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Remarkable. To find out more about Tim's organization, go to CNN.com/heroes.
Hey, thank you all so much for watching. ANDERSON COOPER 360 is next.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York. Wherever you may be watching from, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. And here's what's ahead.
Twenty-six European nations pledge postwar security guarantees for Ukraine. And this as momentum on the battlefield stalls.
And U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was grilled by senators in Washington. And they had a lot to say about his controversial efforts to restrict vaccines.
And Giorgio Armani, dead at 91. We'll look back at the life and the legacy of this fashion pioneer.
ANNOUNCER: Live from New York, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.
SANDOVAL: And welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.
Ukraine is getting a better idea about its possible security guarantees. That's if it reaches a ceasefire deal with Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine's allies, known as the Coalition of the Willing, they reached a general agreement on those guarantees at a meeting in Paris on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said 26 countries formally committed to deploy peacekeepers in Ukraine the day after a ceasefire goes into effect.
However, Russia's president has rejected putting NATO troops in Ukraine.
The group also discussed how to bolster Ukraine's military, which is seen as a key to deter any future Russian aggression.
But the Ukrainian leader had this warning about Europe's ability to produce some much-needed weapons.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The work of European production lines is not sufficient, yet, but everybody understands it is needed, and it needs to be increased. The volumes must be bigger; the speed must be faster.
We have huge manufacturing capabilities in Ukraine which are not used because of the deficit and the lack of financing. This is very serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Mr. Zelenskyy and other leaders later spoke on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump. A White House official said that he urged Europeans to stop buying Russian oil, and also to put more economic pressure on China to try to bring the war to an end.
CNN's Melissa Bell with more on the meeting from Paris.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Macron says there are now 26 countries within the Coalition of the Willing --
BELL (voice-over): -- that have pledged to be on the ground in Ukraine, post a ceasefire agreement.
This came after a meeting of members of that coalition, some by video conference, some who were here in Paris this Thursday, and a long phone conversation of the group with President Trump.
Very few details emerged about exactly what the American guarantees, the so-called backstop would look like. We understand from the French president that those details will be finalized in the coming days.
But certainly, the headline, as he spoke alongside the Ukrainian president, who'd requested this meeting: that a growing number of countries are willing to pledge their presence in Ukraine once a peace deal has been found.
For now, of course, there is no sense that the trilateral meeting that President Trump had been looking towards bringing together -- the Ukrainian and the Russian presidents -- is anywhere near happening. President Macron calling once again on the Russian president to try and make his way to the negotiating table.
But these security guarantees that this mainly European group have been looking at are really designed to try and show that they are serious about the technical issues they've now discussed at length to ensure that Ukraine is able to maintain its stability and independence, once a peace deal has been struck.
There are -- have been questions about where these foreign troops might be located. President Macron said the details of the regions in which they'd be stationed would be considered.
There had been some concern about whether any of these troops might be near front lines. That, again, will be for future negotiations and future announcements.
For now, though, from a very small number of countries --
BELL: -- who seemed willing to commit to being on the ground in Ukraine. A list that has grown now to include 26 at the end of this particular meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, according to president Macron.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
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SANDOVAL: Israel's military says that it currently holds 40 percent of Gaza City as it escalates this latest offensive in the enclave.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces say [SIC] that the military campaign will, quote, "continue to expand and intensify in the days ahead."
Israel started mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists this week as part of its plan to take over Gaza City.
Israel's bombardment is pushing more Palestinians from their homes in the densely populated areas of Northern Gaza. But still, there are hundreds of thousands of people still in Gaza City.
Palestinian civil emergency services repeating what many have been saying for months: that there is simply nowhere safe in Gaza for civilians.
Health authorities said at least eight people were killed and dozens more wounded, including children, in Israeli strikes in Gaza City on Thursday. And Belgium's deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs
says that there are key stipulations for his government to recognize a Palestinian state.
He spoke with CNN's Becky Anderson about what those factors are.
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MAXIME PREVOT, BELGIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: We have decided to formally recognize, with judicial effect and legal effect, the state of Palestine only when all the hostages will be released. And, with no more Hamas in the governance of Palestine, especially in order to avoid any kind of reward to -- to terrorists.
So, it's clearly the opposite, of course, when we take a decision in favor of, international law, first of all, and also in favor of human humanitarian law and in favor of the Palestinian people.
I know that Israel government will not applaud us, but it is really important to make a distinction.
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SANDOVAL: You won't want to miss Becky Anderson's interview with Belgium's deputy prime minister on CNN's CONNECT THE WORLD. The program begins at 2 p.m. in London, 9 p.m. in Long -- in Long Kong [SIC] -- in Hong Kong, I should say.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the U.S. is designating two Ecuadorian criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
He made the announcement during a visit to Ecuador on Thursday. The announcement comes just days after the Trump administration struck a boat it says was, or at least was being operated by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Eleven people were killed during that strike.
Mr. Rubio said that it's important that Latin American countries cooperate with the U.S. when going after drug leaders.
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MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're going to continue to hunt for, like we always have. But this time, we're not just going to hunt for drug dealers with the little fast boats and say, Let's try to arrest them.
No, we're going to -- the president has said he wants to wage war on these groups, because they've been waging war on us for 30 years, and no one has responded.
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SANDOVAL: The U.S. has boosted its naval presence just off Latin American coastlines, as we reported here on the program. And it's also increased tensions in the region.
Meanwhile, Ecuador's president says that he would welcome foreign troops to help combat drug cartels.
U.S. senators grilled health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, on Capitol Hill on Thursday. He faced criticism over his controversial efforts to restrict vaccines, as well as his overhaul of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The White House standing behind Kennedy's agenda on public health and even praised his combative testimony on Thursday. It said in a statement that the administration is focused on -- and I quote -- "using evidence-based gold standard science to truly make America healthy again."
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ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: This morning, I got a -- the latest numbers from CDC. that 76.4 percent of Americans now have a chronic disease. This is stunning.
If we don't end this chronic disease, we are the sickest country in the world. That's why we have to fire people at the CDC. They did not do their job.
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SANDOVAL: Democratic senators, they fired back at Kennedy's claims about vaccines and COVID-19. He said anyone could get a COVID-19 booster shot.
But now, approval guidelines from the secretary raise significant barriers for some people.
One lawmaker said that Kennedy's approach to vaccines is a -- as they described it, a giant step backward.
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SEN. MARIA CANTWELL (D-WA): Sir, you're a charlatan. That's what you are. You're the ones who conflate chronic disease with the need for vaccines.
SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): Do you accept the fact that a million Americans died from COVID?
KENNEDY: I don't know how many died.
WARNER: You don't have any idea how many Americans died from COVID?
KENNEDY: I don't think anybody knows.
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WARNER: How can you be that ignorant?
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): You promised that you would not take away vaccines from anyone who wanted them. You just changed the classification of the COVID vaccine. And the concept -- KENNEDY: I'm not taking them away from people, Senator.
WARREN: Did you hold up a big sign saying that you were lying when you said that?
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SANDOVAL: And jabs coming from both sides of the aisle, as it wasn't just Democrats that were pressing Kennedy. Several Republicans also questioned his stance on vaccines, and some of them, including the majority leader, would not say if they had confidence in the secretary after the hearing.
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SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): I support vaccines. I'm a doctor. Vaccines work. Secretary Kennedy, in your confirmation hearings, you promised to uphold the highest standards for vaccines.
Since then, I've grown deeply concerned. The public has seen measles outbreaks; leadership in the National Institute of Health questioning the use of mRNA vaccines; the recently confirmed director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fired. Americans don't know who to rely on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say effectively, we're denying people vaccine. I -- Senator Cantwell.
KENNEDY: You're wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: On the other side of the break, Germany still grappling with its rise in anti-immigrant sentiment. It's fueled by the far right in that country. A look at the country's immigration politics ten years after the Syrian migrant crisis.
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SANDOVAL: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. We want to bring you some images now out of Russia, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
We do want to listen in for just a few moments.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): -- raft of opportunities for industry, for logistics, and really determine the strategic future of the whole region.
Today's Eastern Economic Forum, which is a kind of jubilee edition, its 10th edition, brings together a huge amount of participants from all walks of life, including civil society, which is only confirming it's very important position in the economic life of Russian Federation, and particularly of the primordia Far Eastern Russian district.
This region really is the hope for the future for the 21st Century. And what I think we have done, first of all, is to install a new legislative basis for free trade and a -- a preferential regime for trade.
Enormous progress has been made in terms of infrastructure development, transport, and housing. And the repair of already existing educational and sport infrastructure.
Through our shared efforts, ambitious projects in this region have been initiated. And all this to the common good of the inhabitants and their prosperity.
And we are getting really good results. There are a lot of indicators, particularly the economic ones.
SANDOVAL: Again, you've been listening. You've been seeing some of those live pictures out of Russia. Monitoring the Russian leader's statements right now at the Eastern Economic Forum. We're going to continue to monitor his remarks to see if he touches on the topic of Russia's war in Ukraine. And if he does, we'll certainly bring that to you.
Meanwhile, ten years ago, Germany's then-Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed refugees fleeing wars in their homelands. Well, now the country's new leader seems to be facing backlash of anti-immigrant sentiment from a growing influence of the far right.
CNN's Sebastian Shukla reports.
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SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Europe a decade ago. More than a million migrants fleeing war-torn homelands trekked through the fields in the heart of the continent. Most, if not all, seeking a better, more peaceful life.
ANAS MODAMANI, SYRIAN REFUGEE LIVING IN GERMANY (through translator): When I think about the trip today, I wouldn't do it again, because it was so dangerous. All I remember is how many people died.
SHUKLA (voice-over): A huge majority were Syrians seeking the safety of Germany.
Anas Modamani was one of those. Aged 17, he left Damascus alone.
MODAMANI (through translator): When I came to Germany, it was the best moment of my life. People were waiting for me at Munich Central Station, all refugees. And they clapped for us and then gave us water.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Anas and the millions of others owed his acceptance to Angela Merkel, the then-German chancellor. Days before, she'd thrown open Germany's doors and promised a warm welcome.
ANGELA MERKEL, FORMER GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We have accomplished so much. We can do this. We can do this, and wherever something stands in our way, it must be overcome. It must be worked on.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Days later, Anas took a photo that catapulted him to fame.
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MODAMANI (through translator): I thought she was an Actress or a movie star. I wanted to take a picture with her. I did, but I didn't know that the picture was going viral.
SHUKLA (voice-over): In 2015 and 2016, first-time asylum applications to Germany exploded. Of the 1.1 million requests, over half of them were from Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans.
And over the decade, Germany has remained the promised land. across the European union, more than 8 million applied for the first time, with Germany being the preferred destination for around a third.
Since that time, far-right parties have emerged across the continent, pushing anti-immigration policy. The Alternative for Germany, the AFD, have ridden that wave.
From obscurity in 2013 to the second most popular party in February's election, their campaign focused on a spate of terror attacks carried out by migrants.
SHUKLA: Many see that rise as being behind the current chancellor, Friedrich Merz's, tougher migration policy. It's to show that he's tackling the issue. Talks of strengthening Germanys borders and even deportations.
But many experts have told me that the move is largely symbolic and actually doesn't really change anything.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Anas now calls Berlin home, but he does see Germany, and perhaps his decisions, changing.
MODAMANI (through translator): I want to feel like I belong. I don't want Germany to change. Germany supports people who need help. And when that call is gone, I have to think again about whether I can stay here.
SHUKLA (voice-over): Sebastian Shukla, CNN, Berlin.
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SANDOVAL: Well, Portugal is observing three days of mourning after a funicular derailment killed 16 people. What we know about the crash, as well as the victims of the accident. It's all ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM.
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[00:26:38] SANDOVAL: Portugal's prime minister now says that the derailment of a funicular railway in Lisbon killed 16 people and wounded more than 20 others.
A witness says that one of the tram's carriages came off the tracks and then hurtled it into a building at full speed.
Isa Soares, with the update.
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ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lisbon in mourning and shaken to its core after a deadly funicular crash.
As the sun rose over the Portuguese capital, it revealed the extent of the damage of Wednesday evening's accident, with one of its two linked cable streetcars in tatters.
The Gloria Funicular is extremely popular with both tourists and locals. Its cars have carried passengers up and down a steep cobbled street in the heart of the city for over 140 years.
Each car operates as a counterweight to the other. But last night, something went horribly wrong.
BRUNO PEREIRA, WITNESS: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: I'm looking at the funicular, which came from Bairro Alto, from the Sao Pedro de Alcantara viewpoint, completely unrestrained. It looked like a toy, banging from side to side on the Gloria street cobbles. I hear screams, and then, all of a sudden a big bang.
SOARES (voice-over): More screams and a massive plume of smoke followed, as passengers from the lower car frantically tried to climb out of the windows and flee the scene.
Abel Esteves was one of them.
ABEL ESTEVES, PASSENGER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Well, when I saw the other funicular going down, I shouted to my wife, "We're all going to die here," because I thought the elevator was coming to hit this one.
SOARES (voice-over): But the funicular crashed into a building, stopping it from plunging even further.
Local authorities say it's too early to determine the cause of the derailment, but the Lisbon firefighters regiment says that a cable detached along the line, causing the descending funicular to lose control.
CARLOS MOEDAS, LISBON MAYOR: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: Obviously, it's an accident that shouldn't have happened. This is a tragedy that has never happened in our city. SOARES (voice-over): Forty-year-old and father of two, Andres Marques, is the first victim to be identified. He was the vehicle's brakeman, according to the transport workers union.
There were also multiple foreign nationals on board.
Lisbon city council suspended operations of other streetcars in what is known as the city of Seven Hills and ordered immediate inspections, according to local media.
The prosecutor general's office is opening a formal investigation.
As Lisbon mourns, there are already calls for accountability over how something so tragic could happen.
Isa Soares, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: The European Union has banned a key chemical ingredient that's used in gel nail polishes and other cosmetic products.
The chemical, known as TPO. It's classified as a type of reproductive toxicant by European regulators after studies on animals showed fertility issues.
Products that contain TPO are primarily used in salons, because the chemical requires a nail lamp with UV lights to harden the nail polish.
According to the European Commission, those products should no longer be sold, supplied, or used.
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Similar restrictions are expected to go into effect in the U.K. next year. And cosmetic products with TPO have not been banned in the United States.
Well, the fashion world is mourning the legend of elegant style. We'll look at the life and the legacy of designer Giorgio Armani in just a few moments.
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SANDOVAL: The fashion industry has lost a giant in the business. Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91.
The Armani Group said in a statement on Thursday that he passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.
Known for his elegant, deconstructed designs, Armani was born in 1934 in Northern Italy. But he didn't show a professional interest in fashion until 1957, after studying medicine and also after a brief tour in the military.
He got a job as a window dresser in Milan. He eventually would have a hand in making it one of the fashion capitals of the world. And also, that was the start of his lifelong passion with fashion.
For the first time in his long career, Armani was not present at his -- at this year's Men's Fashion Week in Milan in June. At the time, his company said that he was recovering at home from an undisclosed health condition.
We can't leave it there. Let's dive deeper into the life of Giorgio Armani and learn a little bit more about his legacy from fashion journalist Joe Zee. He's a professor at Arizona State University's Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandizing in Los Angeles.
Joe, thank you so much for staying up late for us.
JOE ZEE, PROFESSOR, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY'S FASHION INSTITUTE OF DESIGN AND MERCHANDISING IN LOS ANGELES: Of course, of course. Happy to join.
SANDOVAL: So, let's get straight to it. In your view, what legacy does Giorgio Armani leave? A man who was a med student, then soldier, then fashion pioneer.
ZEE: And he's really been a true pioneer. And I think many people will tell you, especially the current generation, who's very prevalent on TikTok, loved the idea of talking about quiet luxury. Quiet elegance.
This is really an ideal that Giorgio Armani championed from the very beginning, long before computers, phones and social media. That he really took -- took the idea of a power suit, in an era that was about strong shoulders and really sort of graphic shapes. And he took it all apart and he said, you know what? You can be powerful without all of that.
And he removed all of the inner piping in the shoulders, and he did a relaxed suit for men in his very first collection, that was a huge hit. And he said, I could do that for women.
And really, that became his signature, that really slouchy silhouette. His palettes of grays and creams and beiges that became his calling card.
He championed that. He -- he stood by that when trends came and went. He always said, that's what I do, and that's what people remember him for.
SANDOVAL: Nearly impossible to find pieces that would match the natural lines, the sleekness of his pieces, as well. So, I'm glad you mentioned on [SIC] really what made it so chic and stylish.
How do you think he revolutionized the business of -- the business side of fashion, particularly in making, perhaps, affordable luxury fashion items? Unlike other European fashion houses, you know, they were perhaps more
attainable. Still a treat, but nonetheless more attainable for people who wanted to wear Armani.
ZEE: Absolutely. I mean, I think he built an incredible fashion empire. Like, when you really dig into Mr. Armani and his legacy and his life, you know, he really took the idea of fashion and really wanted it to be available for everyone.
So yes, he had the privee couture collection that was incredibly crafted, and designed, and special and one-of-a-kind, and incredibly expensive; all the way down to really affordable pieces. And he had many, many diffusion collections.
He amassed an empire that was worth $12 billion, which you have to understand that there are no fashion designers that even come close to that, with perhaps the exception of Ralph Lauren.
And he really did that by becoming more than fashion. It was a lifestyle: that you wore Armani, because it was part of a movement, in a way.
He opened hotels. He brought restaurants to Milan like Nobu. He was able to understand how to craft price-pointed fashion for people across the board so that people could really wear Armani in every possible incarnation.
SANDOVAL: A huge sports fan, I read, as well. And on that last point that you make, Joe, I wonder if you could expand on that determined sense of entrepreneurship.
I mean, unlike other designers who sold to major companies, Armani remained that sole shareholder of his company and refused to change that.
ZEE: He never sold. And, you know, as -- as the fashion industry becomes a much more consolidated conglomerate under, really, two big giant umbrellas -- you have LVMH or Kering Group. And he never did that.
He is one of, like, a very small handful of independent designers left that have these incredible empires that never got sort of absorbed into these giant companies.
And that was intentional. And he was very controlling of his image, and he was very controlling of his company all the way up until the very end.
You saw that. He was at his every single show up until this past June. He controlled that, you know.
And he -- he wanted Hollywood. So, he went and captured Hollywood. And he embraced Hollywood long before there was a red carpet, long before Joan Rivers was even making remarks of what people were wearing.
[00:40:08] He said, I'm going to go and embrace Hollywood, because that's how I will also speak to another audience. And he did it, and he did it with movies like "American Gigolo" that really changed what costuming can be, all the way to "The Wolf of Wall Street," "The Untouchables." But he's really done that.
And I think when you look at someone who said, Oh, I'm going to go and champion these things, and do it, he was really so ahead of his time. That we talk about celebrity culture now. He was there in 1978, dressing Diane Keaton.
SANDOVAL: Yes, giving birth to the power suit for men.
ZEE: Absolutely.
SANDOVAL: And certainly, for women, as well. And leaving so many lessons for up-and-coming young fashion designers, as well.
Joe -- Joe Zee, so grateful to have your perspective. Thank you so much for your time.
ZEE: Thank you so much.
SANDOVAL: Well, may the force be with you, or at least your wallet. An auction for movie lovers is now open to the highest bidder.
A big-ticket item on the block is one of Darth Vader's lightsabers from the original "Star Wars" trilogy. The current absentee bid: $1.2 million.
Other props from legendary movies include the "Indiana Jones" whip and also a neuralyzer that was used by the alien hunters in "Men in Black" to wipe people's memories.
The auction is run by movie collector collectibles company Propstore. It ends on Saturday, so you still have time to complete that "Men in Black" Halloween costume.
Want to thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. I'll be joining you again with much more news at the top of the hour. For now, though, we leave you with WORLD SPORT.
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(WORLD SPORT)
