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Israel Strikes High-Rise amid Gaza City Assault; IMF Calls on Gaza City Palestinians to Move South; Putin Calls Western Troops in Ukraine "Legitimate Targets"; Massive ICE Raid at Hyundai Plant; Trump Considering Strikes on Cartels inside Venezuela; Deputy PM Rayner Resigns, Throws Labour Government into Disarray; Tesla Unveils Musk Pay Package; L.A. Chargers Defeat KC Chiefs in Brazil; LGBTQ+ Catholics Recognized in Jubilee Pilgrimage. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired September 06, 2025 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
The Israeli military ramps up its assault on Gaza City with new deadly strikes even as president Trump says negotiations with Hamas are continuing.
One of the largest raids yet in Trump's immigration crackdown, hundreds taken into custody at a Hyundai mega plant. Now South Korea is speaking out about the operation.
And the Friday night lights were shining in Sao Paulo as the NFL's Chiefs and Chargers faced off on the gridiron. Why American football is growing in popularity in Brazil and worldwide.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: U.S. president Donald Trump says some of the 20 hostages who were presumed to be alive in Gaza may have, quote, "recently died."
He made the comment as he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday but he didn't share his source for the claim.
Meanwhile, Israel's military is ramping up its assault as it moves to take over Gaza City.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Dramatic video shows Israel's military targeted a high-rise building in Gaza City on Friday. The Israel Defense Forces claims Hamas was using the building to direct attacks against Israeli troops. Hamas denies the allegation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The Palestinian health ministry says 30 people were killed by Israeli strikes across the enclave on Friday, including 20 in Gaza City. I want to go live now to CNN's Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi.
So Paula, walk us through president Trump's comments.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Kim, these are comments he made. Regarding the ceasefire hostage deal that is still being discussed, is still being negotiated but has not yielded any results at this point.
Now we know from the Israeli side that they believe there are some 47 hostages still being held by Hamas and other groups that were taken on October 7th.
Now, up until now, they have said that they believe 20 of those to still be alive. But what we heard from the U.S. president was really. Casting doubt. On the fact that all of those 20 Are. Still believed to be alive. Let's listen to exactly what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You have many dead people that are coming out as part of the deal. It's 20 people but I think, of the 20, there could be some that have recently died, is what I'm hearing. I hope that's wrong. But you have over 30 bodies in this negotiation.
Can you believe?
I mean, we negotiated for people that are living. Here we know that at least 30 people are dead. And we're negotiating to get them out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Now he doesn't specify who. Told him that information.
He did say something similar back in August. We also heard back in April, the. Wife of. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Sara Netanyahu, had said something similar. She was overheard suggesting that the official figures of the hostages still alive may, in fact, be less.
Now, of course, that has caused outrage in the past. These kind of comments from the families still waiting to see their loved ones released from Gaza. Now it comes at the same time as we also saw, on Friday, Hamas releasing a propaganda video, showing two of the Israeli hostages being driven around above ground in Gaza City, talking.
One of them saying there are at least eight hostages being held in Gaza City. Now clearly, this is Hamas' way of trying to pressure Israel into not carrying out the intensifying bombardment on Gaza City and the attempt to take over the city itself. Now that has not prevented the Israeli military, the Israeli
government, from forging ahead with that plan. The IDF says they believe 40 percent of Gaza City is under their control at this point.
And just this morning, this Saturday morning, we have seen leaflets being dropped on Gaza City, urging people living there to move south to al-Mawasi, which has been called by the military a humanitarian zone. Now we know that the conditions are really dire in that area.
[04:05:00]
We know that the Israeli military has targeted that area in the past and there have been many who have been displaced that have been killed by Israeli strikes.
Now the Israeli military also calling on people to move to Khan Yunis, saying that they will be building or they are building a humanitarian area there. Now this again is an area where we have seen significant Israeli strikes in recent weeks.
Just last month, the Nasser Hospital being struck by the Israeli military, killing 22, including five journalists. So the areas that the Israeli military are asking, up to 1 million people to be moving to, are not safe areas.
Now this has been slammed, this plan, internationally. Governments calling on Israel to give up their plan to try and take over Gaza City.
We heard a statement just recently from the ICRC, the Red Cross, saying it is, quote, "unfeasible and incomprehensible."
Hamas as well saying that they believe this is a path to death. They are calling on Palestinians not to move from Gaza City, potentially for other reasons, though. The Israeli military saying they do have to take over Gaza City to be able to target Hamas but it has come under huge global condemnation. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that. Paula Hancocks, thanks so much.
The Lebanese government is backing a plan by the country's army to disarm Hezbollah. Details are scarce but the plan is an unprecedented effort.
Hezbollah is Lebanon's most formidable militia. Iran's most powerful regional proxy in one of the biggest non-state threats to Israel. The Lebanese government is under intense American and regional pressure to disarm Hezbollah.
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PAUL MORCOS, LEBANESE INFORMATION MINISTER (through translator): The council of ministers welcomed the plan set by the army command and its successive stages to ensure the implementation of the decision to extend the state's authority and its forces and to confine the weapons to the hands of the legitimate authorities.
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BRUNHUBER: Hezbollah has rejected calls for it to disarm. A U.S. mediated ceasefire last year was meant to stop Israel's attacks on Lebanon but Israel still occupies five areas in southern Lebanon and launches strikes in the region nearly every day. Observers warn that trying to disarm Hezbollah by force could create a new conflict in Lebanon.
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BRUNHUBER: Russia is making it clear it doesn't want Western peacekeepers to be deployed in Ukraine. On Thursday, French president Emmanuel Macron said 26 countries are ready to take part in a future peacekeeping force there if the fighting stops.
Russian president Vladimir Putin said there would be no need for those troops if a real peace deal is achieved but they still come, he said, they could be in the crosshairs of the Russian military.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): Regarding possible military contingents in Ukraine, this is one of the root causes trying to involve Ukraine and NATO. So if any troops appear there, especially during the ongoing hostilities, we assume they will be legitimate targets for defeat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Deploying Western troops to Ukraine raises many questions. Earlier, our chief national security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, spoke with CNN anchor Isa Soares.
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ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: So Nick, 26 countries agreeing to the security guarantees. What would that look like on the ground and what role would the U.S. play potentially here?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: There's a huge amount we don't know about this --
SOARES: Yes --
WALSH: What we do know is the psychological significance of European countries like France, probably the United Kingdom, saying that they would
put troops on the ground physically inside of Ukraine.
Russia has already rejected that as a principle. But for Ukrainians, it is huge. European military powers saying that they will have their backs in a physical form. The American involvement here, Trump has reassured everybody that he's not going to put U.S. boots on the ground but they will provide
what the Europeans call a backstop, which is logistics, Intelligence importantly, support militarily on the ground and also air power. So if
any peace deal comes, which look -- that's still miles off --
SOARES: Yes --
WALSH: As we speak, there could be some kind of freeze along the front lines and the Americans could potentially use their significant Air
Force, easily able to challenge the Russian air superiority at the moment on the front lines to basically freeze the skies, to stop the nightly drone
and missile assaults.
There has been talk in the media of the possibility of some kind of DMZ along the front line where you keep the militaries 40, 30 kilometers apart,
essentially, a distance that drones can fly. Now Zelenskyy has rejected that, saying, look, you're basically asking Ukraine to retreat further --
SOARES: Yes --
WALSH: And give the Russians an advantage and that already drones make that kind of DMZ already exist. The gray zone, as they call it. So we
don't know a lot about the details but it looks like you would see European troops almost certainly in the capital, probably in a major city
like Dnipro down here.
They talk about defending the ports, that's going to mean Odessa here as well. But are you going to see them on the front line?
I would say almost
certainly not.
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They're going to be there as a psychological backup to the Ukrainians, saying that Europe and essentially by extension, NATO, has your
back but not actually doing any fighting. SOARES: And if we quickly have a look at the map in terms of the front lines, you were there, what, two weeks or so ago, give us a sense --
or two or three weeks ago, give us a sense of what that looked like.
WALSH: Look, so, the whole peace deal we talked about in Alaska, potentially --
SOARES: Yes --
WALSH: We heard Putin ask for the rest of this Donetsk in exchange for stopping the fight. Now he has desperately been trying for a year almost
to take Pokrovsk down here. They made progress over the past weeks, that's slowed. People were talking to there on the Ukrainian side, saying they
think the Russians are having what they call kind of a smoking break.
Re-equipping, bringing up new units, getting ready for another push, they'll almost certainly make another effort where they've moved quite fast
up here toward Kostyantynivka, that's another key front line town and in their sights to Kramatorsk, where they'll be moving fast up here, held back
by the Ukrainians to try and to cut that off too.
Why is Putin playing for time?
Because he thinks if he gets enough ground here, makes enough progress here before Winter, he'll change the reality of
what he controls and therefore get a much more comprehensive and likeable peace deal if he even wants that, then.
SOARES: He certainly has the support from his ally Xi Jinping, of course and Kim Jong U.N. Nick, appreciate it, thank you very much.
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BRUNHUBER: "The New York Times" is reporting on a failed U.S. mission to North Korea in 2019 that left unarmed civilians dead. "The Times" reports the goal was to have a Navy SEALs team plant an electronic listening device targeting leader Kim Jong-un.
But a fishing boat approached mid-operation and the SEALs opened fire, killing two or three civilians on board. "The Times" reports military reviews determined the killings were justified.
The mission took place during high-level nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea and, according to "The Times," it required president Trump's direct approval. On Friday, he said he knows nothing about it. The report adds that the administration didn't notify key members of Congress.
Earlier, CNN spoke with one of the coauthors of "The New York Times" piece, Dave Philipps, and he discussed several reasons why he believes the story is significant. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID PHILIPPS, NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": The most important thing is accountability. You know, the SEALs have this Superman type of reputation in our culture and a lot of that's deserved.
They've done some really important, difficult missions. But there's a lot of failures out there that are classified that nobody ever learns about, including policymakers.
And so, someone like President Trump or Congress or another president may think, oh, I can rely on the SEALs to do this and really not have an idea of how mixed their record is. So you know, not only that but there are real questions of what influence this had on nuclear negotiations.
In 2009, there seemed to be real progress happening. After this mission, no more progress. In fact, the two countries don't really speak. And North Korea has tested more missiles in the last couple of years than ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: South Korea is raising concerns with the U.S. about a massive immigration raid at a Hyundai mega plant in Georgia. Officials say federal agents arrested hundreds of people on Thursday. Most of them are Korean nationals. CNN's Gustavo Valdes reports from the raid site.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are Homeland Security. We have a search warrant for the whole site. We need construction to cease immediately.
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly 500 people rounded up at this Georgia manufacturing plant Thursday in the largest single-site operation in history of Homeland Security investigations.
STEVEN SCHRANK, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, ATLANTA: ... 475 were illegally present in the United States or in violation of their presence in the United States, working unlawfully.
VALDES (voice-over): The majority of those detainees were Korean nationals, according to Homeland Security. DHS officials say the multiagency raid was a result of a months long investigation into labor practices at the sprawling 2,900 acre Hyundai mega plant site.
SCHRANK: This was not a immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses. This has been a multi month criminal investigation. VALDES (voice-over): Hyundai says it is cooperating with law enforcement and it is committed to abiding by all labor and immigration regulations. Several people attempted to flee during the raid, according to the Department of Justice. Some run into a nearby sewage pond and were fished out of the water and taken into custody.
DHS says there was no substantial use of force and no injuries as a result of the operation.
SCHRANK: Each individual was questioned on their status. Those that were found to be illegally present were then detained and turned over to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations custody.
VALDES: The Korean government says they are in contact with U.S. authorities to make sure that its citizens are afforded all the protections under the law.
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An attorney for a couple of the Koreans detained says that his clients arrived to the United States a few weeks ago under a visa waiver program that allows them to be in the United States, albeit for tourism or business.
But he didn't say what kind of business or work they were doing at the plant and that they're still detained -- Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Georgia.
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BRUNHUBER: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, tensions are mounting as the U.S. considers taking further action against drug cartels in Venezuela. We'll look at how president Nicolas Maduro is reacting. That's coming up next. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: It seems there's no diplomatic off ramp in sight as tensions escalate between the U.S. and Venezuela. Multiple sources now say president Trump is weighing military strikes against drug cartels operating within Venezuela's borders.
This all comes just days after the U.S. military said it struck a drug boat with alleged ties to the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, killing 11 people on board.
The Trump administration also continues to bolster its firepower in the region, recently deploying fighter jets.
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At the White House on Friday, Mr. Trump was asked if he would like to see regime change in Venezuela. Here he is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, we're not talking about that but we are talking about the fact that you had an election, which was, a very strange election, to put it mildly. I'm being very nice when I say that. I can only say that billions of dollars of drugs are pouring into our country from Venezuela. The prisons of Venezuela have been opened up to our country.
They've taken their prisoners. The worst prisoners, murderers, Tren de Aragua, the worst prisoners that you can ever imagine are now happily living in the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro responded to the U.S. on Friday, calling for open dialogue with his country, while also accusing the Trump administration of plotting regime change. Here's part of his message for Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): The government of the United States should abandon its plan of violent regime change in Venezuela and in all of Latin America and the Caribbean and respect sovereignty, the right to peace, to independence.
What they are saying about Venezuela is not true. It's not true. It is a dead end they are getting themselves into. Venezuela has always been willing to talk but, just as we are willing to talk, we demand respect for our country, for our people.
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BRUNHUBER: CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has more from Caracas.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The confrontation between the White House and the Venezuelan government is showing no sign of slowing down this weekend.
On Friday, the U.S. president, Donald Trump, said, and I quote, that Venezuelan military aircraft to put U.S. forces in a dangerous position will be shot down.
This is coming after the U.S. Department of Defense announced late on Thursday that two Venezuelan fighter jets overflow (sic) near a U.S. warship in what they called a highly provocative -- this another quote -- "action."
But Trump's Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, is not backing down either. The Venezuelan president called for military drills with the Bolivarian militia on Friday. This is a corps -- a civilian corps that is associated with the Venezuelan army and that is tasked with the defense of Venezuela in case of an attack.
And I was able to ask one of those militiamen what would happen if indeed the United States took an attack against Venezuela. Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. CARLOS SANCHEZ, BOLIVIAN MILITIA OF VENEZUELA (through translator): Not just one Vietnam but 100 Vietnams in every neighborhood, in every community. Not only here in Venezuela but the whole region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: And yet, for the most part, Venezuela remains largely unaffected by these geopolitical tensions. You can see around me that most Venezuelans are simply going on with their day-to-day lives, especially here in the capital, Caracas.
Those military drills did not draw huge crowd. And we really have a feeling that most Venezuelans are not -- paying attention to these confrontations, of course, but they're not worried directly by this confrontation or are not showing any hope of a government change in this country.
That remains, of course, under a tight grip by an authoritarian government -- for CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas, Venezuela.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Serbian police, armed with tear gas and stun grenades, clashed with protesters during an anti-government rally. Thousands gathered at a university campus, demanding the ousting of Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic.
The students' main demand is for elections to be called immediately. Months of anti-government protests have been sparked by a roof collapse at a rail station that killed 16 people in November 2025. Protesters say corruption was to blame for that disaster.
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BRUNHUBER: In a stunning shakeup in the British government on Friday, deputy prime minister Angela Rayner abruptly resigned following a scandal over her failure to pay the correct property tax on her new apartment.
Rayner's departure deprives prime minister Keir Starmer's cabinet of one of its brightest political stars. CNN's Nic Robertson explains how Rayner's resignation shocked the government.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The words that Keir Starmer wrote in his three-page handwritten note to Angela Rayner after she handed in her resignation, kind of speak to that. A trusted colleague, a true friend, somebody who really showed the social mobility in the country.
This is a very significant political figure who's been close to his side since he's been prime minister, a significant player in his government. The deputy prime minister, somebody that he's relied on, to keep, if you will, the support of the left wing of the party as his try to hew it along a more centrist course.
[04:25:00]
But the language that is used there pays testament to somebody who's won admiration, particularly from the working classes in the U.K. You know, she's talked about her own career and trajectory, leaving school at 16, pregnant without qualifications, becoming a grandmother when she was 37.
And when she became an MP 10 years ago, talking about she wished all those people that said to her back then, you will never amount to anything, she wished they could see her now.
So you know, when the prime minister talks about her in the terms of the embodiment of social mobility, he's really talking about somebody who expresses and lives the core values of the Labour Party. And that's one of the reasons why this loss will be big for him.
I remember meeting with her on the election campaign trail a few years ago. She was a powerful figure, a strong voice within the Labour Party. So this is a loss for the prime minister but he's already moving beyond it. Of course, politicians will.
He's already appointed a new deputy prime minister, taking the foreign secretary, David Lammy, made him the deputy prime minister; shifted the home secretary into the foreign secretary's position; shifted the justice secretary into the home secretary's position.
So a significant reshuffle going on for the prime minister. More significantly, as you say, he's not doing well in the polls. The leader of the opposition, in fact, commented on Angela Rayner's resignation and said, essentially, he didn't fire her. He should have fired her.
She had referred herself to the ministerial ethics committee just a couple of days ago and they decided that she hadn't heeded the warnings that she was given in deliberating the tax consequences of this house purchase that she made.
And that was the reason -- that was the context for her resignation. But there are those who will criticize the prime minister now outside of the Labour Party for not firing her. That would be something that he will find himself facing political heat from the opposition on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Well, it's a rough time out there for U.S. job seekers. The August jobs report is in and it paints a grim picture for anyone looking for work. We'll dig into the numbers after the break. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
A grim new jobs report released Friday shows that the unemployment rate rose to its highest level in years last month and job growth slowed to a crawl.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the U.S. economy only added 22,000 jobs last month, less than a third of the number that economists had predicted. CNN business and politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no hire, no fire. That's really the business mantra these days. Businesses are feeling paralyzed.
And they're waiting to see just where this economy is going. And now you're seeing that show up in the data.
In August, the jobs market stalled, just 22,000 jobs added, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent. That's the highest level in four years. Now for months, there have been warning signs that the jobs market was weakening. And now these numbers are starting to show it.
There were jobs added across five sectors, like in the health care industry, social services, leisure and hospitality. But there were declines in federal government. Those DOGE cuts starting to show up even more.
And in wholesale trade, construction and manufacturing, goods producing sectors. Now the White House says this lackluster report will turn out to be better than it looks. Listen.
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KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: It's a little bit of a disappointing job number but I pretty much expect it's going to revise up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Speaking of revisions, president Donald Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which puts out this report, after several months of jobs numbers turned out to be worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're doing so well. I believe the numbers were phony, just like they were before the election. And there were other times.
So you know what I did?
I fired her.
And you know what?
I did the right thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: This month's report paints a clearer picture of prior months. July's jobs numbers were revised up by 6,000. But in June, the economy actually lost 13,000 jobs, breaking a historic five-year period of jobs growth.
And if you are out there looking for a job, there are just fewer to choose from. And it's also taking longer to land one -- back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Justin Wolfers is an economist with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. And he says there's no question that the U.S. economy is contracting. And some of the president's signature policies are contributing to the slowdown. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN WOLFERS, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: There's literally no chance right now that the economy's doing anything other than slowing. Late 2024, the economy was growing at a very,
very healthy clip. We're growing at a much, much slower rate. Over the past three months, we're creating 29,000 jobs per month on average. We were
seeing jobs growth of over 200,000.
It's partly slowing because of demand. People don't feel that the vibes are right and it's partly slowing because of supply. Tariffs make it harder and
more expensive to bring things in. Huge shifts in immigration and making it hard for businesses to get the fruit picked, get the workers that they
need. And so, you've got an adverse demand shock and an adverse supply shock at the same time.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Well, Elon Musk could become the world's first
trillionaire under an enormous new pay package from Tesla. The deal would grant him more than 400 million additional shares in the company but only if Tesla reaches its market cap goal of $8.5 trillion. Then Musk's shares alone could be worth almost $1 trillion. CNN's Hadas Gold has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: I think, obviously, there should be compensation for -- if there's something incredible is done, that compensation should match that something incredible was done.
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems the Tesla board took that to heart, laying out an ambitious list of targets Elon Musk would need to hit to get the biggest pay package in corporate history. Made up of 423.7 million Tesla shares worth around $900 Billion if Tesla hits those targets.
Those include increasing Tesla's overall valuation eightfold to $8.5 trillion, deliver 20 million Teslas, one million autonomous robotaxis, one million autonomous Optimus robots and stay at Tesla for at least 7.5 years.
[04:35:00]
Under the plan, Musk would also end up owning just over a quarter of Tesla voting shares. Musk has previously made it clear that he views his pay package as a reflection of his leadership at Tesla.
MUSK: It's not a money thing. It's a reasonable control thing over the future of the company, especially if we're building millions, potentially billions of humanoid robots. I can't be sitting there and wanting to get tossed out by -- for political reasons, by activists.
GOLD: Tesla has suffered slumping sales and a volatile stock price from increased competition and consumer backlash to Elon Musk's work with President Donald Trump's administration.
TRUMP: You can't be penalized for being a patriot and he's a great patriot and he's also done an incredible job with Tesla.
GOLD: And their eventual falling out. Notably, Tesla's plan does not place any restrictions on outside activities, including politics. Musk had previously announced plans to start a new political party.
Tesla noted in its filing that during negotiations, Musk threatened to leave the company and pursue other interests that may afford him greater influence.
ROBYN DENHOLM, CHAIR, TESLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS: The plan is super ambitious and that that is what motivates Elon. So in coming up with a plan that will incent motivate, have his time, focus and attention on Tesla we needed to come up with a plan that was super ambitious.
GOLD: Tesla shareholders will get a chance to have their say and vote on the plan on November 6th.
These are very ambitious goals for Tesla to reach in order for Elon Musk to be able to get this full pay package. In 2024, Tesla delivered less than 2 million vehicles. And in other places, they're facing growing competition, not only from other electric vehicle makers but also when it comes to things like these autonomous robot taxis.
Robotaxi and the autonomous Optimus robot, they are still in the testing phase and not out to mass market.
Meanwhile, some competitors, when you think of cars like Waymo, those have been out there for some time in certain markets.
But Tesla's board chair, Robyn Denholm, in that earlier interview with CNBC, she noted that Elon Musk's previous pay package that was proposed in 2018 was also doubted by some for the very lofty goals that he would need to meet in order to get that pay. And she noted that they managed to meet all of those goals -- Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: American football heads to the land of Pele. The NFL kicks off its international season in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the San Diego Chargers. We'll have details on the game coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: The NFL kicked off its international season on Friday, bringing American football to the land of L.A. (ph). The growing lineup of international games are part of the league's efforts to attract new fans around the world.
In Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Los Angeles Chargers came out on top against the Kansas City Chiefs 27-21. The stadium was packed with Brazilians who rooted for the Chiefs. It was the second NFL game ever played in the city.
Now despite the loss, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes said the Sao Paulo crowd and the atmosphere were awesome and something he'll remember for the rest of his life.
I want to bring in Paulo Antunes, NFL commentator for ESPN Brasil, including commentating on the game last night. He joins us live from Sao Paulo.
Thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it. So listen, you got a really great game on your hands. The Chargers pulled off a pretty big upset. So, you know, fans are really lucky. How different was the atmosphere from a typical soccer match?
I've been lucky enough to watch some soccer games in Brazil and the atmosphere is amazing.
How does this compare?
PAULO ANTUNES, NFL COMMENTATOR, ESPN BRASIL: First off, thank you so much for having me. I think it compares favorably.
I know that, you know, soccer is king and will always be king here in Brazil. And if you go to soccer game in Brazil, stadiums are packed. And the fans sing basically during the full 90 minutes.
But we felt a similar type of energy. I think it's different because, you know, if you go to a soccer match, there's an allegiance to a certain team or to both teams. You'll see all types of uniforms, NFL uniforms, at the games here in Brazil, right.
The NFL games, we saw that last year when the Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers in a very good game. But there was a strong following also for the Eagles and the Packers, like two really big fan bases here in Brazil.
And like you said, the Kansas City Chiefs dominated in the stands yesterday. Brazilians tend to really like the teams that win a lot. And Patrick Mahomes has a ton of fans here, so they had an advantage in the stands.
But like you said, the Chargers, man, played some really good ball and got the win. I got a chance to talk to Roger Goodell before the game and he was very happy with everything that happened last year in the Eagles-Packers matchup.
But he thinks that this experience was even better, all the activations before the game and the game obviously was also fantastic.
BRUNHUBER: Let me ask you about that since you had a chance to talk to him. I mean, as you say, this is the second year in a row the NFL has come to Brazil. Obviously, they're trying to grow the sport there.
So when you talked to him, what did he tell you in terms of the popularity of Brazil -- of the NFL in Brazil and why he decided to bring it for the second time there?
ANTUNES: Yes, well, when the NFL goes to a new territory, they don't go for just one game. They go to really establish themselves in that territory and, you know, have a relationship for many, many years.
We've seen what happened in London, for instance, in England. I mean, they've been having games there, regular season games since 2007. And then we also see games in Germany. We're going to see games in Australia and in Brazil. It's a goal of the NFL to really expand globally.
And I think Brazil is part of that growth. There were studies done here in the last few years. The NFL has been studying Brazil for a very, very long time. And if you look at fan popularity, Brazil stands at the third spot in the world behind the United States and Mexico.
So it's a big country. It's a passionate fan base. And I think the NFL is very happy to be in South America.
BRUNHUBER: Now you commented, as I said, on the game for Brazilian fans. You've been doing it for a long time now.
How do you go about explaining it to the viewers?
I mean, do most of them know what's going on?
How different is your take from American commentary, let's say?
ANTUNES: Yes, I think, you know, there are times that, you know, we explain a little bit differently. But I got to tell you, I think with, you know, internet -- and you can watch all the games and you can watch the games in English and everybody's basically got the same reach now with the internet.
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So I think fans are very, very knowledgeable in Brazil. Yes. It's still a niche sport, right. Soccer is king. But fans know what they're talking about. It puts pressure on you to be like really technical, know what you're talking about when you go on air.
So in the beginning, when I got to ESPN in 2006, we explained the game more and actually we sent like PDFs to fans after games. I mean, it was just like we'd be sending them on email. People would ask for the rules and we'd send PDFs with all the rules.
And then now, it seems like fans are very, very educated and informed and they put pressure on you. You better know what you're talking about or else you're going to be in trouble.
BRUNHUBER: How do Brazilians fan differently than Americans, would say, when it comes to the NFL?
I mean, do they adopt specific teams or do they just kind of watch for the experience?
ANTUNES: Yes, I think some watch for the experience. But I think some adopt teams. And I think Brazilians like winners.
So I talked to -- a lot of fans are like, oh, my first Super Bowl was back in 2011, when Eli Manning beat Tom Brady. I'm a big Giants fan.
Shucks, I've been suffering for a long time. You see, I mean, you go for a team that's in the Super Bowl, you got to keep rooting for the team. You can't stop rooting, OK?
I mean, if you root for the New York Giants, you're going to have to go through the good and the bad. But yes, I think that's basically it, like the New England Patriots have a humongous fan base here because Tom Brady and that dynasty. And I think the Kansas City Chiefs are right there with them right now.
The Green Bay Packers have a big fan following here. The Philadelphia Eagles, especially in the last few years. So I think Brazilians like to pick the winners. But again, if you're going to pick a winner, you got to stick.
Don't root for the Philadelphia Eagles one year and then root for the Kansas City Chiefs the other year and then the New England Patriots, OK? Stick to one team.
BRUNHUBER: That's right. I imagine lots of bandwagon fans and probably not that many Cleveland Browns fans in Brazil.
ANTUNES: No.
BRUNHUBER: Listen, really appreciate your time. Paulo Antunes, thank you so much for speaking with us. Appreciate it.
ANTUNES: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.
BRUNHUBER: A great rivalry continues. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are set to meet in the U.S. Open men's final. World number one Sinner dropped just one set in his Canadian win in a semifinal win over Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Italian got crucial breaks in the third and fourth sets to win the match. And Alcaraz claimed a straight sets victory over 24 grand slam winner Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard hasn't lost a set in the tournament so far. Sunday's match will be the third straight grand slam final in which Sinner and Alcaraz face off.
The Roman Catholic Church is in the midst of a jubilee year, with the theme "Pilgrims of Hope." And it marks a first for LGBTQ worshipers making that pilgrimage. We'll have a report from Rome when we come back. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Pope Leo has opened an ecological training center in the Italian countryside near Rome. It will be run by the Vatican and officials say it's meant to encourage world leaders to give attention to climate change.
The center is located in a papal villa and includes gardens, vocational training facilities and educational opportunities for local children. It was first announced in 2023 by Pope Francis. Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and his son sang at the inauguration of the new facility.
Well, in this jubilee year for the Roman Catholic Church, a pilgrimage by LGBTQ Catholics is being recognized for the first time. CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb reports from Rome.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a landmark moment for LGBTQ Catholics, with their first officially recognized Jubilee Pilgrimage to Rome beginning tonight behind me with a vigil at this church in central Rome.
There were hundreds of people packed out to hear songs and testimony and a reflections about the ministry to LGBTQ Catholics. Now this pilgrimage, whilst not officially sponsored by the Vatican, is the first time that it's been listed on a calendar of events taking place during the Catholic Church's jubilee year.
Now this pilgrimage would not have happened were it not for the 12- year pontificate of Pope Francis, who really opened the doors to welcome LGBTQ Catholics.
And all eyes have been on whether Pope Leo will continue with the legacy that Pope Francis left him and the early signs are that he has.
For example, he met with Fr. James Martin, a leading advocate for LGBTQ Catholics, earlier this week and Father James explained what happened in that meeting and the impression that he was left by Pope Leo.
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FR. JAMES MARTIN, OUTREACH FOUNDER: The message I heard from Pope Leo is that he is going to continue the legacy of Pope Francis in his ministry with LGBTQ people, which is a ministry of openness and welcome. So I think if you love Pope Francis and trusted him, you can love and trust Pope Leo.
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LAMB: Now on Saturday, the pilgrims will process up to St. Peter's Basilica and go through the Holy Door, a very symbolic and powerful moment. Going through the door during a jubilee represents forgiveness and mercy and reconciliation with God, so it'll be very powerful when the pilgrims go through that door on Saturday.
Now, of course, many people hoping that this pilgrimage is a sign that the welcome to LGBTQ Catholics is here to stay and that the legacy of Pope Francis continues under Pope Leo -- Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.
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BRUNHUBER: In Bolivia's capital, La Paz, a so-called "miracle tree" is drawing crowds to the city's largest cemetery. The ancient pine was struck by lightning a decade ago and survived to become a focus of local devotion.
Visitors leave offerings of flowers, candy and handwritten wishes, believing that the lightning strike gave the tree sacred powers. It's a practice rooted in the country's indigenous majority culture, where pre-Hispanic traditions are woven into Catholic worship.
Here's proof that you're never too young to make your dreams come true. A 102-year-old man has become the oldest person to scale Mt. Fuji, breaking a record he set himself.
Kokichi Akuzawa was a youthful 96 years old the first time he summitted Japan's tallest peak. Six years later, he overcame heart issues, shingles and stitches from a fall to make history a second time.
Akuzawa says he almost quit halfway to the top but he kept going with the support of his loved ones, including his 70-year-old daughter. She climbed up with him.
An update now on that big auction of Hollywood memorabilia. The light saber used by Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" films sold for an astronomical $3.6 million. That's the highest priced item at the sale, which is run by the collectibles company, Propstore. Among the hundreds of other props on the block was the whip Indiana Jones wielded in his adventure sagas. Also up for sale was one of the 12 volleyballs used to portray Tom Hanks' silent companion, Wilson, in the film "Castaway." Worn out and in rough shape, Wilson fetched more than $100,000.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.
