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Coalition Of The Willing Discussed Security For Ukraine; U.S. Designates Two Ecuadorian Gangs As Terrorist Groups; Hegseth Refuses To Elaborate On Details Of Military Strike; Maduro Activating 8M Troops, Including Militias On Friday; Caribbean Fishermen Exposed To Growing Tensions; Hostage Families Protest Outside Israeli PM's Residence; Hamas Accuses Netanyahu Of Seeking "Endless War"; Israel: France Should Rethink Recognizing Palestinian State; Democratic Senators Press RFK Jr. On Vaccine Changes; Trump Administration Considering Transgender Gun Ban; Portuguese Prime Minister: 16 Dead, 221 Injured in Funicular Derailment; A Growing Teen Pregnancy Crisis in the Philippines; Fashion Designer Giorgio Armani Dies at 91; E.U. Bans Key Chemical Used in Some Gel Nail Polishes. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 05, 2025 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[01:00:27]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. Wherever you may be watching from, welcome to CNN Newsroom. And here's what's ahead, European allies promised to put boots on the ground in Ukraine if and when a deal is reached to end the war. Nicolas Maduro is calling up many millions of Venezuelans to serve in the national militia as tensions over the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean continue. And we're remembering the style and the influence of legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: Well, Ukraine is getting a better idea about its possible security guarantees, that's if it reaches a cease fire with Russia. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that 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 and after the ceasefire goes into effect. However, Russia's president has rejected putting NATO troops in Ukraine. The meeting happened as the U.S. pushed for peace in Ukraine has largely stalled. The Kremlin said just a short while ago that a huge amount of work needs to be done before the Russian and Ukrainian leaders could meet face to face.

But Mr. Zelenskyy says Moscow is not interested in peace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The meeting is needed. This is not just wishing, it is needed. We have supported the meeting in all formats, trilateral, bilateral, I think Russia does all it can to play for time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Mr. Zelenskyy and other leaders later spoke on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump. A White House official says that he urged Europeans to stop buying Russian oil and 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 in Paris.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Macron says there are now 26 countries within the Coalition of the Willing that have pledged to be on the ground in Ukraine post a cease fire 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 said those details will be finalized in the coming days. But Certainly the headline as he spoke alongside the Ukrainian president who 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, the Russian presence 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 having 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 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.

SANDOVAL: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the U.S. is designating two Ecuadorian criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations. He made that announcement a visit in Ecuador on Thursday. The announcement comes just days after the Trump administration struck a boat it says belonged to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Eleven people were killed in that strike. Mr. Rubio said that it's important that Latin American countries cooperate with the U.S. when going after these drug leaders.

[01:05:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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 -- 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The U.S. has boosted its naval presence just off the Latin American coastlines and its increased tensions in the region, that's the result. Meanwhile, Ecuador's president says that he would welcome foreign troops to help fight drug cartels.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to explain the legal authority behind that U.S. military strike on this cartel -- this alleged cartel boat in the Caribbean. The Trump administration claimed Tuesday's deadly attack targeted members of the Tren de Aragua gang as we mentioned. Hegseth refused to say just how the Pentagon determined that the people on board were in fact narco terrorists or exactly how officials knew where the boat was going. But he told reporters that the Pentagon had the authority to carry out said strike.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARTY: Foreign terrorist organizations have been designated. We have those authorities, and it's about keeping the American people safe. There's no reason for me to give the public or adversaries any more information than that. But if you're trafficking drugs and you're a known cartel entity, a designated terror organization, and they're headed for the United States or part of a process that would head to the United States that will have lethal consequences. The poisoning of the American people is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And the questions are not going to go away. The boat that was targeted in Tuesday's strike left the port in Venezuela. Now Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says that he's activating more than 8 million Venezuelan troops on Friday. That includes reservists as well as militia members who signed up just last week, some of them with barely any military or weapons experience.

And as tensions rise in the Caribbean, one group is uniquely exposed. Stefano Pozzebon spoke to fishermen who make their living on the seas, where warships continue to gather.

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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): U.S. warships heading towards Venezuela. Tensions are rising in the Caribbean Sea after President Trump announced the U.S. conducted a kinetic strike that took out an alleged drug trafficking speedboat, killing 11 people. But on shore, the sea looks calm. Work has not stopped for these artisanal fishermen, says Eduardo Ulloa.

EDUARDO ULLOA, FISHERMAN (through translator): You can be a bit nervous, of course, but we still have to go out fishing. Otherwise, what are we going to eat?

POZZEBON (voice-over): Authorities have not issued warnings to keep these boats at bay. And with Venezuela's economy still in dire straits, nobody can afford an idle day. Small scale fishermen like Ulloa normally stay within 20 nautical miles from the coast. They hardly risk encounters with the U.S. Flotilla, but still spend hours at sea without any comms.

ULLOA (through translator): You stand up on the boat and look around, all you see is the sky and the sea.

POZZEBON (voice-over): The government's line more belligerent. On Wednesday, Nicolas Maduro inaugurated a monument to its alliance with China, boasting close ties to Beijing on the day of Xi Jinping's massive military parade and issuing a direct warning to Washington.

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We're good people of peace. But let it be known we are warriors, fierce when they mess up with our land, our history and our rights.

POZZEBON (voice-over): For now, the seas are calm in Venezuela, but choppy waters may lie just ahead.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Chichiriviche, Venezuela.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: The U.S. Department of Justice says that it plans to fight an increase in human smuggling over the U.S.-Canadian border. Attorney General Pam Bondi says that both the Justice Department and Homeland Security will be sending more agents to the border in New York and Vermont. Bondi said that the same cartels operating along the southern border of the U.S. are now becoming more active on the northern border. The Trump administration designated those cartels as foreign terror organizations not long after taking office.

And Israel's military says that it currently holds 40 percent of Gaza's city as it escalates this latest offensive in the enclave. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces says that the military campaign will continue to expand and intensify in the days ahead. Israel has 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 hundreds of thousands of people, they're still in Gaza City.

[01:10:04]

Palestinian civil emergency services repeated what many have been saying for months, that there is simply nowhere safe in Gaza for civilians. Health authorities said that at least eight people were killed, as well as dozens more wounded, including children, in Israeli strikes in Gaza City on Thursday.

And families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, they protested outside the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem on Thursday. They're calling on U.S. President Donald Trump to negotiate a deal that would see their loved ones safely returned at the end of the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YEHUDA COHEN, FATHER OF NIMROD COHEN, HOSTAGE HELD IN GAZA: A direct call to President Donald Trump, Mr. President, you are the greatest negotiator in the world. Two sides have placed proposals on the table to end the war and bring all the hostages home. I implore you, gather them all around your table, lead the negotiations yourself. Only the greatest negotiator in the world can end this war and bring everyone home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The anti-war protests in Jerusalem, they are part of four days of demonstrations. Officials say that there are four 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom are thought to still be alive.

And Hamas is accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of wanting to pursue, quote, "an endless war." The group says that it's already agreed to a Gaza ceasefire deal, largely in line with the U.S. proposal. Hamas criticized the Israeli prime minister as a, quote, "obstructionists" and claims that he was not he -- he has not yet responded to the proposal from mediators. The group has not, however, committed to disarm, which is the demand that Israel says is a non- negotiable. The Israeli government dismissed the Hamas statement and says that the war can end under conditions set by the Israeli cabinet.

Israel's foreign minister is urging his French counterpart to reconsider France's plan to recognize a Palestinian state. He says the move would threaten regional stability as well as jeopardize Israel's security. He also warns that if France continues on this path, there will be, quote, "no room for French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Israel." Mr. Macron announced in July that France will be recognizing a Palestinian State at the U.N. General assembly later this month. In fact, several nations, including the U.K., Canada, Australia, Belgium and Portugal, are all set to recognize a Palestinian at the General assembly here in New York.

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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAXIME PREVOT, BELGIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: We have decided to formally recognize with judicial effects and legal effect the state of Palestine only when hold hostages will be released and with no more Hamas in the governance of Palestinians, especially in order to avoid any kind of reward 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 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 distinction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: You don't want to Ms. Becky Anderson's interview with Belgium's deputy prime minister on CNN's "Connect the World." The program begins at 2:00 p.m. in London, 9:00 p.m. in Hong Kong.

America's Health secretary facing calls to resign after some Democrats accused him of lying in a fiery Senate hearing. And that's putting it lightly. That story and much more. You're watching CNN Newsroom.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. U.S. senators, they grilled Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Capitol Hill on Thursday. He faced criticism over his controversial efforts to restrict vaccines and also his overhaul of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is the U.S. is leading health care agency. The White House is standing behind Kennedy's agenda on public health and praise his combative testimony. It said in a statement that the administration is focused on, quote, "using evidence based gold standard science to truly make America healthy again," end of quote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: This morning I got 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Democratic senators, they fired back at Kennedy's claims about vaccines and COVID-19. He said anyone could get COVID-19 booster, anybody could get one, but new approval guidelines from the secretary raise significant barriers for some people in the U.S. in fact. One lawmaker said that Kennedy's approach to vaccines is a giant step backward.

[01:20:10]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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): Would you accept the fact that a million Americans died from COVID?

KENNEDY: I don't know how many.

WARNER: You don't have any idea how many Americans died from COVID?

KENNEDY: I don't think anybody knows.

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.

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?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Should mention some of the tough questions also came from Republican members of that committee. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more on the reaction from Democrats on the -- Capitol Hill.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Democrats were united in their criticism of Kennedy as they left this hearing. They believe that he should be fired, that he lied to the committee and that he is undermining public health in this country.

Now there's a lot of questions about what comes next after this hearing. Democrats want to bring the ousted CDC Director Susan Monarez up to Capitol Hill to testify. She outlined in a Wall Street Journal op-ed ahead of the hearing that she was pressured to accept recommendations from a vaccine advisory panel that Kennedy has handpicked before that group was even set to meet. In the hearing, Kennedy has said that Monarez was lying about some of her statements in the Wall Street Journal. Democrats want to see her come testify to clear the air on that matter.

I also spoke with Senator Tillis who told me he plans to meet privately with Monarez as well as he is seeking more answers. But there's a lot of questions, even as some Republicans were challenging Kennedy on vaccine policy, what steps they might take after this as they have tried to grapple with his impact on public health in this country.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.

SANDOVAL: And a pair of U.S. officials telling CNN that the Justice Department is considering proposals to restrict Trump transgender Americans from owning guns. And this comes after last week's school shooting in the U.S. State of Minneapolis. And it would be a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration's fight against transgender rights. CNN's Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez with the latest.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department is weighing proposals to possibly limit transgender people's right to possess firearms. Two justice officials told us that the discussions are still preliminary but the Department is building on an idea that's gained currency in conservative media since the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic Church. Police say that shooting was carried out by a transgender woman.

The vast majority of attackers who've carried out mass shootings in the United States have no connection to the transgender community. But the administration has targeted the rights of transgender Americans since the start of the second Trump presidency. The president has already banned members of the military who are transgender and he's ordered federal prisons to stop accommodating transgender identities of prisoners.

Restricting gun rights has long been a red line for conservatives. But we're told by one justice official that the department leadership is seriously considering whether it can use its rulemaking authority to have Trump, the administration essentially, declare that people who have transgender identities are mentally ill and can lose their Second Amendment -- Second Amendment rights to possess firearms.

One civil rights attorney told us that the precedent being set here potentially could put a lot of other Americans at risk for losing their rights. That includes possibly veterans with PTSD diagnoses. The Justice Department gave us a statement that says "The DOJ is actively evaluating options to prevent the pattern of violence that we have seen from individuals with specific mental health challenges as well and substance abuse disorders. No specific criminal justice proposals have been advanced at this time."

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

[01:24:21]

SANDOVAL: Portugal is observing three days of mourning after a funicular derailment killed more than a dozen people. What we know about the crash and also about the victims of the accident, it's all ahead here on CNN.

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[01:29:45]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York.

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 its tracks and then careened into a building at full speed.

Isa Soares, with the update.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 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, EYEWITNESS (via graphics): 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: 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, SURVIVOR (via graphics): 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: 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.

MAYOR CARLOS MOEDAS, LISBON, PORTUGAL (via graphics): Obviously, it's an accident that shouldn't have happened. This is a tragedy that has never happened in our city.

SOARES: Forty-year-old and father of two, Andre Marques (ph) is the first victim to be identified. He was the vehicle's brakeman according to the Transport Workers Union. There are 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: A brand-new luxury yacht didn't get far on its maiden voyage in Turkey.

Look at this 24-meter vessel, which actually capsized and sank just minutes after its launch on Tuesday. That's according to the boating magazine "Superyacht Times".

Four people were believed to be on board at the time. They did manage to jump out before the vessel went down and were later rescued. The magazine says investigators are looking into what caused this accident.

Well, still ahead, they are still only children themselves, but a growing number of girls in the Philippines are becoming mothers before they reach their teens. Advocates say sex education is desperately needed there. Why that's not happening, straight ahead.

[01:33:27]

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SANDOVAL: In some parts of the poorest parts of the Philippines, girls as young as ten are giving birth. The number of teens and pre-teens getting pregnant in that country has skyrocketed, leading experts to declare a national emergency.

As part of CNN's "As Equals" series, Hanako Montgomery looks at the political debate over expanding sex education in the Philippines and the impact its having on girls too young to be mothers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. JUNICE MELGAR, FOUNDER, LIKHAAN WOMEN'S HEALTH: Their reproductive tracts are not yet ready. Mentally, they're also not ready.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think these 13-year-old girls are sinning?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they are sinning.

MONTGOMERY: Are you scared about giving birth?

It's a school day for 15-year-old Jamaica but before she gets to class, she plays with little Jamaico (ph), her nine-month-old son.

JAMAICA, TEEN MOTHER: If he cries before I go to school, I have to play with him first before leaving.

MONTGOMERY: Jamaica was 13 when she conceived. Pregnancy crept up on her, foretold in stretch marks and a late period.

JAMAICA: I cried.

MONTGOMERY: Why did you cry?

JAMAICA: Because I was young and already pregnant.

MONTGOMERY: Jamaica is part of a soaring number of Filipino adolescents forced to end girlhood for motherhood.

But she's one of the fortunate ones. Not only did she endure pregnancy and labor, but she's also finishing her education.

[01:39:47]

MONTGOMERY: Jamaica's just on her way to school now, and you can tell that she really loves her son a lot. Very much cares for him. But if she had the choice not to get pregnant so young, she would have chosen that.

Here in the Philippines, teen pregnancy has been described as a national emergency. Young families often belong to the poorest communities of fragile homes and narrow alleyways.

Now, the latest government data collected between 2019 and 2023 shows a 38 percent spike in the number of 10- to 14-year-olds giving birth in the Philippines. None old enough to choose such a life-changing ordeal.

How difficult is it for an adolescent girl to give birth?

MELGAR: So we know that pregnancies below the age of 16 is three times riskier than in older women.

MONTGOMERY: So these girls can die?

MELGAR: Yes. Their reproductive tracts are not yet ready. Mentally, they're also not ready so they're not seeking the care.

MONTGOMERY: Women's health advocates have told CNN that the crisis is fueled by social media's growing role as a place to meet people, and COVID-19 restrictions loosening.

In an effort to curb adolescent pregnancies, sex education advocates introduced the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill, which would standardize and enforce sex ed in school. But under pressure from the Catholic Church and conservatives it was stalled.

Three years on, the Senate still hasn't passed the bill. Its latest version introduced in July, grants major concessions to conservatives guaranteeing parental control and religious freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let us pray.

MONTGOMERY: Most people in the Philippines are Catholic, and the church has a lot of power in this country. They influence Filipino society, values, and also to some extent, politics.

JEROME SECILLANO, CATHOLIC PRIEST: Even if you bombard them with sex education, still they're going to engage in sex and then get pregnant later on.

MONTGOMERY: We've spoken to some very young moms who got pregnant at age 13. And they all said that had they received sufficient sex education, they would not have chosen to get pregnant. SECILLANO: Well, that's a narrative that we don't want to discredit.

But I'm telling you that even if you tell people not to sin, still they're going to sin.

MONTGOMERY: So do you think these 13-year-old girls are sinning?

SECILLANO: Yes. They are sinning. when they engage in sex without the benefit of marriage, it is sin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With everything we have, we have to root out.

MONTGOMERY: Conservatives against the bill have rallied around a new lobby group called Project Dalisay, or in English, "Project Pure".

What exactly about this sexual education program are you against?

MARIA LOURDES SERENO, CONVENER, PROJECT DALISAY: Filipinos cannot imagine the thought that the reproductive organs of their young children as young as grade one will be discussed in a classroom setting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.

MONTGOMERY: U.S. right wing Christian groups have influenced the debate in the Philippines. Antiabortion rights group, Human Life International, has campaigned against the bill, telling CNN in a statement, "It poses a moral threat to the Philippines."

Family Watch International also told CNN that sex ed programs are inappropriate and unnecessary.

Project Dalisay's convener Maria Lourdes Sereno says she's taken the lead from right-wing Christian groups in the U.S., but denies any financial ties.

SERENO: We look for information, the technical information, the science from the U.S. is actually very -- it's important to note the science that U.S. think tanks produce, U.S. medical experts produce.

MONTGOMERY: In 2022, the Philippines raised the age of consent from 12 to 16, meaning adolescent pregnancy may constitute statutory rape.

Volunteer group Likhaan warns the rise in adolescent pregnancies is also driven by this power imbalance between some young girls and older teenage boys, and shifting attitudes towards them spending time together.

It's one of the many things they teach young women about as they race to fill this gap in the Philippines' sex education.

PRINCESS SALAMAT, VOLUNTEER, LIKHAAN WOMEN'S HEALTH: So in here we have a condom. And then we also have combined oral contraceptive pills. But it can also be used for the Plan B method or the Emergency Contraceptive Pill method.

MONTGOMERY: Likhaan is greeted warmly here, friendly faces in a community where birth control is a luxury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks for condom.

MONTGOMERY: So the volunteers who are handing out these condom kits told me that they target these basketball courts because they know that young men gather here and they don't have access to good contraceptives. So they hope that with these condom kits, they'll practice safer sex.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took these condoms so I don't impregnate anyone. I'm too young to have a family.

[01:44:48]

MONTGOMERY: At 14, Clara thinks she's too young to be an expecting mother. She's asked to remain anonymous because she doesn't want her classmates to know she's pregnant.

CLARA, PREGNANT TEEN (via graphics): I haven't gone to the hospital.

MONTGOMERY: Why not?

CLARA: I have no money yet to go to hospital.

MONTGOMERY: Do you think it's going to be a boy or a girl?

CLARA: I don't know. I want a boy.

MONTGOMERY: Boy? Why do you want a boy?

CLARA: I want him to be like my older brother. I don't want him to end up like me. And he won't get pregnant.

MONTGOMERY: As the political battle rages on, thousands of girls like Clara are forced to live with the consequences of a life they would never have chosen.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN -- the Philippines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: We'll be right back with much more.

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SANDOVAL: The fashion industry has lost a giant in the business. Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, dead at 91. The Armani Group said in a statement on Thursday that he passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones.

Known for his elegant, deconstructed designs, Armani was born in 1935 in northern Italy. But he didn't show a professional interest in fashion until 1957.

After he studied medicine and also a brief stint in the military, he eventually got a job as a window dresser in Milan, and that was the start of his lifelong passion with fashion.

For the first time in his long career, Armani was absent 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.

And earlier, I spoke with fashion journalist Joe Zee. He's a professor at Arizona State University's Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. I asked him about the legacy that Giorgio Armani leaves behind. And here's some of what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE ZEE, FASHION JOURNALIST: He's really been a true pioneer. And I think many people will tell you, especially the current generation, who is 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 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 and 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 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 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.

[01:49:49]

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 Prive 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, 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 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.

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 and certainly for women as well.

ZEE: Absolutely.

SANDOVAL: And leaving so many lessons for up-and-coming young fashion designers as well.

Joe Zee, so grateful to have your perspective. Thank you so much for your time.

ZEE: Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The European Union has banned a key chemical ingredient that's used in gel nail polishes and other cosmetic products. The chemicals known as TPO, it was banned after studies on animals showed fertility issues. Well, similar restrictions are expected to go into effect in the U.K. next year.

Here's CNN's Jacqueline Howard with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: We haven't heard back yet from the FDA on whether we could see similar actions here in the United States when it comes to banning this certain chemical in gel nail polishes. But experts I've talked to told me they think it's unlikely.

What could happen, though, is we could see manufacturers start to phase out this chemical as an ingredient in gel nail polishes and reformulate their products.

The ingredient we're talking about here is called TPO. It's a chemical that is a photo initiator. That means it responds to light. So it's the ingredient in gel nail polish that helps the polish to set and cure and harden under the UV light lamp.

And just to be clear, Europe has not banned all gel nail polishes, just those containing TPO as an ingredient. And that's because European regulators have classified this chemical as a type of reproductive toxicant.

They say the concern here is that animal studies show an association between TPO and reproductive health risks, even including impacts on fertility.

So this ban in Europe, it went into effect on Monday, September 1st. It means nail products containing TPO can no longer be sold, they can no longer be used, and all products remaining in stock should be taken off the market.

Now gel manicures, they are very popular. I asked some scientists what people should do if they enjoy getting gel manicures. The scientists told me not to panic. Don't stress yourself out. But there are two things you can do if you're concerned. I'm even someone who enjoys getting manicures.

So number one, ask for products that don't contain TPO. There are nail polish brands out there that have phased out this ingredient. So you can get some on your own and take that polish to the nail salon with you or ask the salon specifically about the products that they use.

[01:54:51]

HOWARD: You can even seek out a nail salon that markets itself as specializing in using less toxic products.

Number two, you can always switch to good old-fashioned regular polish as a backup plan. I know that it takes longer to dry and it doesn't last as long as gel polish, but regular nail polish has been used for years since the 1920s, so it can be an alternative option.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Jacqueline Howard.

So you can now own a piece of Hollywood history as an auction for movie lovers, it is now officially open. A big-ticket item on the block is one of Darth Vader's lightsabers from the original "Star Wars" trilogy. The current bid -- $1.2 million.

Other props from legendary movies include an Indiana Jones whip, or how about a neuralyzer that was used by the alien hunters in "Men in Black" to wipe people's memories?

The auction, it wraps up on Saturday, so get bidding people.

Scientists say they have now created a glow-in-the-dark house plant that they say are bright enough to light up city streets at night. A new study, published in the scientific journal "Matter" has researchers at South China Agricultural University that they injected succulents with a liquid compound similar to those used in glow-in- the-dark toys.

And just like those toys, the study showed that these succulents didn't just shine in different colors, but could recharge after exposure to sunlight. Kind of like these glow sticks. More research still needed to study the long-term effects, though, on the plants.

And if you're anywhere near Melbourne, Australia, you may want to check out Saint Kilda Beach. Bioluminescent algae adding a shimmering, electric blue glow to the water and sand this week. It's sometimes called sea sparkle.

Scientists say that the algae actually produce a chemical reaction when they're agitated or disturbed, possibly by predators or waves. Research now showing that algae blooms are becoming more frequent and intense as ocean waters get warmer.

We want to thank you so much for joining us the last hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

From the team and I, have a great rest of your day. I'm Polo Sandoval in NEWSROOM.

CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber right after the break.

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