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Erika Kirk Forgives Man Accused of Killing Husband; President Trump Urges Prosecution of Political Foes; Four Nations in the Latest Recognition of Palestinian State; Protest in Brazil Against Immunity Bill for Bolsonaro; U.N. Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Russian Air Incursion; Demonstrations Across U.S. Celebrate Solar & Clean Energy; World's Most Powerful Storm This Year Hitting Philippines; California Bans Most Law Enforcement Officers From Wearing Masks; Texas Democrats Trying to Fight New Map In Court. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired September 22, 2025 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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BEN HUNTE, CNN HOST: Hello wherever you are in the world. You are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte, in Atlanta and it is so good to have you with me. Coming up on the show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIKA KIRK, WIFE OF CHARLIE KIRK: That young man. I forgive him.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: A tearful speech from the widow of Charlie Kirk saying hate is not the answer, but a far different tone from the U.S. president.
Increasing the pressure on Israel, several countries formally recognize Palestinian statehood. But will it make a difference on the ground in Gaza?
And celebrating the power of clean energy and a big push to keep our one and only planet thriving for future generations.
Welcome. We begin with the massive memorial for Charlie Kirk, bringing tens of thousands of mourners to Arizona on Sunday to pay tribute to the conservative activist.
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Top Republican party leaders, including President Donald Trump, are vowing to keep Charlie Kirk's movement alive. They praised Kirk's Christian values and described him as a martyr whose message would live on after he was assassinated nearly two weeks ago. Kirk's widow, Erika, delivered an emotional and powerful speech offering forgiveness to her husband's killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRK: The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: President Trump took a pretty different approach while he honored Kirk's life and his influence on the conservative movement. He didn't really make an effort to promote unity. In fact, he veered into the type of political rhetoric typically heard at his rallies.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERIKA: He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them. That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don't want the best for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Well, let's get some more now from CNN's Arlette Saenz reporting from the stadium where the memorial took place.
ARLETE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump and top Republican leaders in the U.S. joined tens of thousands of attendees here at State Farm Stadium to memorialize Charlie Kirk just 11 days after his assassination. These attendees sat for nearly five hours hearing personal testimonies from people who knew Charlie Kirk the best, talking about his influence on the conservative movement and also his role as a man of faith.
Perhaps the most powerful moment came in the speech from his widow Erika Kirk, who talked about not just her relationship with her husband, but also his commitment to his Christian faith and to God. And there was a very poignant moment where she said that she is ready to forgive the man who shot and killed her husband. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRK: He wanted to save young men just like the one who took his life. On the cross our Savior said, Father, forgive them for they not know what they do. That man, that young man. I forgive him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: That moment sparked a standing ovation and I can see many in the crowd shedding tears as she talked about forgiving her husband's assassin. Now there were moments that turned more political. President Donald Trump did use his speech to try to talk about his own personal relationship with Charlie Kirk and the work that he had done to help him get re-elected back in 2024.
[02:05:01] But there were points where the president veered into more political tones as he talked about the radical left and said that he hates his opponents, something that he believes Charlie Kirk would have disagreed with him on. But overall, the moments that really caught and captivated the attention of the audience here was when people spoke about Charlie Kirk in very personal terms, speaking about him as a man of faith, a man committed to his family, and a man who really helped the conservative movement grow, especially among young people.
Erika Kirk, as she closed her speech, said that it now her mission to take on Charlie Kirk's mission, as there are many questions around where this movement will head going forward in the loss of Charlie Kirk. Arlette Saenz, CNN, Glendale, Arizona.
HUNTE: Charlie Kirk's memorial service featured the who's who of the Republican Party. While some memorialize his legacy, others spoke about how his death has galvanized the conservative movement. Here's some of what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRK: He left this world without regrets. He did 100 percent of what he could every day. But I want you to know something. Charlie died with incomplete work, but not with unfinished business.
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATE OF AMERIKA: It is better to be persecuted for your faith than to deny the kingship of Christ.
(APPLAUSE)
It is better to die a young man in this world than to sell your soul for an easy life with no purpose, no risk, no love, and no truth.
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: You cannot defeat us. cannot slow us. You cannot stop us. You cannot deter us. We will carry Charlie and Erika in our heart every single day and fight that much harder because of what you did to us. You have no idea the dragon you have awakened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Let's keep talking about it. Joining me now is CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. He's also an opinion columnist for "Bloomberg." Thanks so much for being with me Ron. How are you doing?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good. Good to be with you.
HUNTE: Thank you for being here. I'm sure you were watching the memorial very closely yesterday. What stood out to you about the tone of the event and were there any surprises?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think the degree to which it was dominated by religious language and religious imagery was, you know, stunning, actually. I mean, you know, on the one hand, it is a personal memorial for a young man who was senselessly and tragically killed and who had a very deep religious faith. On the other hand, it is a series of public officials, you know, essentially, summoning their supporters to something like a religious revival or crusade to change the direction of American life.
The contrast that you played at the beginning between the tone of Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, in forgiving the person who was alleged to have shot him and the president saying, you know, I hate my enemies, it was two very different visions of kind of what religious faith could mean to the country, I thought, offered at that moment. And I'm guessing that the response from the administration in the days ahead is going to reflect more of what the president said than what Erika Kirk said.
HUNTE: Well, let's stay with that because looking to the future, do you expect that the aftermath of this incident and this huge memorial is going to push people towards forgiveness and togetherness or towards a more like burn it all down approach?
BROWNSTEIN: You know, when you have the leadership at the top of the country projecting such a polarizing and adversarial message, you know, where, you know, he has talked about his political opponents, his vermin said the immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country. He said again today that critics of one of his economic policies hate America, it's very hard to get to a place of reconciliation.
I mean, you can't overstate the degree to which President Trump is not only not doing what previous presidents have done at time of tension and tragedy, but is actively doing the opposite. I mean, from LBJ after Martin Luther King's assassination to Ronald Reagan and the Challenger to Barack Obama singing Amazing Grace at Mother Emanuel, presidents have always used these moments to try to speak to and for the entire country.
And, you know, Trump's instinct is to use this kind of moment and really anything that happens as a way to mobilize his side against the other. I suspect that's more of what we are going to see, even as Erika Kirk offered a very different path that, you know, is basically the road not taken at this point.
[02:10:06]
HUNTE: I imagine that many people wouldn't have heard of Turning Point USA before the killing of its leader.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
HUNTE: But here we are now and the movement looks absolutely massive. What does this memorial tell us about the state of American conservatism at the moment?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. I mean, look, Trump has mobilized an enormous constituency and enormous grassroots movement and you know, he got 80 million votes. That's a lot of people. And Charlie Kirk was by all indications an extremely skilled political organizer who, you know, energized a lot of people. It is also true there is our friend, Peter Hamby at Puck revealed this week a poll of college students done right around the time, I think even after the assassination, found that two- thirds of them had an unfavorable view of Kirk, who was a deeply polarizing figure for many of the things he said.
You know, I find that fundamentally irrelevant at this moment. No one should face violence because of anything they said. But the thought that the conservative movement is going to be able to canonize him as some sort of secular, you know, figure of admiration for all of American youth, it isn't really plausible. There is a lot of energy in the MAGA movement that Trump has created. There is also a lot of energy in the opposition to that. And both of those forces, I think, are still on the, you know, on the kind of battlefield of ideas and politics in American life.
HUNTE: Okay. We'll leave it there for now. Ron Brownstein, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
HUNTE: During his speech at Charlie Kirk's memorial, President Trump took a couple of topical detours. At one point, he teased a major announcement from his administration coming on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think you're going to find it to be amazing. I think we found an answer to autism. How about that? Autism tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Although he didn't offer any specific details, the announcement is expected to link the development of autism with the use of the pain reliever Tylenol during pregnancy and low levels of the vitamin folate. "The Washington Post" reports that health officials are expected to warn women against using paracetamol early in pregnancy unless they have a fever, despite experts saying there's no established link between the two.
President Trump expressed frustration in a social media post calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute his political enemies. But now, he's praising her. CNN's Julia Benbrook has the story.
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump had several late night posts related to this, starting with one in all caps that said "justice must be served now." He followed that with a stunning post where he directly addressed Attorney General Pam Bondi. We know this because he even started the post with her name. In it, he called out several of his frequent targets of frustration, including former FBI Director James Comey, Senator Adam Schiff, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
He claimed without evidence that they are, quote, "all guilty as hell." He went on to say this, making it clear that he has at least some expectations here, writing, quote, "We can't delay any longer. It's killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice and indicted me five times." And then again, in all caps, "Over nothing, justice must be served now."
As the president left the White House on Sunday, he did take questions from reporters, and he was asked if he would fire Bondi if she refused his demand to aggressively pursue some of his political foes. In his answer, he praised her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Mr. President, are you concerned (inaudible) Bondi (inaudible) is not indicted?
TRUMP: No, she's doing a great job. Pam Bondi is doing a great job. I think Pam Bondi is going to go down as one of the best attorney general of the ages.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BENBROOK: And this all came not long after the news broke that Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, was stepping down. Siebert was under intense pressure from the president to make certain moves and while Siebert told his staff he was resigning, Trump said that he did not quit and instead that he had pulled his nomination after he received strong support from Democrats.
Now, according to a source briefed with internal conversations, Siebert and his team were bracing for this possibility as the Trump administration was ramping up political pressure in recent weeks. Trump has said that he has selected one of his former personal lawyers and a senior White House aide, Lindsey Halligan, to replace Siebert in that role. He has described Halligan as a tough, smart and loyal attorney, highlighting that he has worked with her for quite some time. Julia Benbrook, CNN, Washington.
[02:15:01]
HUNTE: Okay, just ahead, Israel's reaction to some allies formally recognizing a Palestinian state and why this symbolic milestone may not change reality on the ground in Gaza or the West Bank.
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HUNTE: Welcome back. The U.K., Canada, Australia and Portugal formally recognized a Palestinian state on Sunday and several more countries are expected to follow suit in the coming days. But Israel remains defiant and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing a response to the international community. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: I have a clear message for those leaders who recognized a Palestinian state after the horrific massacre on October 7th. You are giving a huge reward to terrorism. And I have another message for you. It will not happen. A Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River. For years I have prevented the establishment of this terrorist state despite tremendous pressure, both domestically and internationally. We did this with determination and we did it with diplomatic wisdom. Moreover, we doubled Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. And we will continue on this path.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[02:19:59]
HUNTE: Meanwhile, Israel's foreign minister issued his own condemnation, calling the move for recognition of Palestinian statehood, quote, "a reward to Hamas and an encouragement of terrorism." CNN's Nic Robertson has more on this latest push for a two-state solution and why it's happening right now.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, this very carefully choreographed and timed announcement by the U.K., Canada and Australia to recognize a Palestinian state has drawn a very swift rebuke from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that it provides a big prize for terrorists. He said there will be no Palestinian state and he said he will have further responses coming in the coming days.
Members of his right-wing cabinet have gone even further. They have said that this now means it's time to recognize the whole of the West Bank as part of Israel, the occupied West Bank as part of Israel. That would be a very significant annexation if that were to happen. What the British are saying here is, what the British Prime Minister has said is that he is recognizing the Palestinian state in order to keep alive the idea that there can be a Palestinian state. He said there's no place for Hamas in the future of the politics of the Palestinian people.
The Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, also saying that this recognition is to try to create a political space for Palestinians to have a voice, those that want to live in a state side by side with Israel in peace. This announcement doesn't mean in any way that there is something that's going to change on the ground, that there will be no sort of forming of a Palestinian state. It does, however, create divisions within the G7. Both Japan, Italy, and Germany members of the G7 say that this is not the right time to recognize a Palestinian state.
Obviously, these formerly staunch allies of Israel are now in a big rift with Israel and also, they're diverging from the United States. President Trump just a few days ago while he was here in the U.K. standing next to the British Prime Minister when the British Prime Minister said that they'd had a discussion about forming a Palestinian state or his recognition of it that he'd explained that he thought that it should be part of a process towards peace.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said, okay, this is where we have a difference. We have very few differences, but this is the difference. So United States does not appear to be moved by this at all. There are further expectations of more countries to recognize the Palestinian state. France, Belgium's expected as well, reportedly expected. Luxembourg, likely to join that list. Last year it was Norway, Spain,
Ireland that recognized a Palestinian state and of course, back then, as of now, it won't affect anything on the ground but it is certainly creating rifts potentially putting pressure on Israel but the Prime Minister saying there that he will respond in the coming days. Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
HUNTE: Okay, still to come, Estonia is asking the U.N. to act after what it calls a brazen Russian incursion into its airspace, that's ahead.
Plus, a new bill sparks widespread protests throughout Brazil. Coming up, we explain how some lawmakers are attempting to pardon a former president convicted of an attempted coup. See you in a bit.
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HUNTE: Protesters gathered in every state across Brazil on Sunday to oppose a possible pardon for former president Jair Bolsonaro and his allies. Last week, Brazil's lower house passed a constitutional amendment making it harder to arrest lawmakers or launch criminal proceedings against them. It also voted to fast track a bill that would grant amnesty to Mr. Bolsonaro and many convicted right wing supporters.
Earlier this month, Bolsonaro was sentenced to just over 27 years in prison after he attempted to stay in power despite losing re-election in 2022. The uprising that ensued in January 2023 also saw hundreds of people convicted for aiding in the attempted coup. Recent polls show the country still remains deeply divided over Bolsonaro's verdict.
In the coming hours, the U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss Russian incursions into Estonian airspace. On Friday, three Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace and stayed there for 12 minutes before being intercepted by NATO. Russia does deny it, claiming it conducted its flights in accordance with international law. Estonia called for the emergency U.N. meeting to address Russia's, quote, "growing aggressiveness and extensive testing of boundaries."
This all comes after Russian drone incursions into Polish and Romanian airspace too. Estonia has also requested a NATO Article 4 consultation, which will formally bring the issue up for discussion in the alliance. That meeting is set for later this week.
North Korea's leader is speaking out about his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S.. state media quotes Kim Jong-un as saying there is no reason to not sit down with the United States, but only if the U.S. drops its, quote, "absurd obsession with denuclearizing us." Kim is saying his country will not give up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for sanctions relief.
Kim Jong-un met with Donald Trump three times during Trump's first presidency before the peace talks dissolved. His comments come as South Korea's government urges Trump to take the first steps in restarting dialogue with North Korea.
Environmental activists across the U.S. are celebrating the power of clean energy. Still ahead, we're joined by the founder of Sun Day, who's shining a light on solar and wind solutions.
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[02:32:13]
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again.
This weekend's solar equinox marked the first ever Sun Day across the United States. The nationwide day of action saw hundreds of demonstrations celebrating solar power and renewable energy. Events range from rallies for change to e-bike parades, community installations and utility tours. Organizers hope to spotlight the potential that solar and wind solutions offer.
They also hope widespread support will prompt lawmakers to accelerate large scale, clean energy initiatives.
Bill McKibben is co-founder of Third Act, which mobilizes people over 60 for action on climate and justice. He's also the founder of Sun Day, a day of action celebrating solar and wind power and the movement to leave fossil fuels behind.
That all sounds exciting. How are you doing, Bill?
BILL MCKIBBEN, FOUNDER, THIRD ACT: Well, it's been a fantastic day. And we had 500 events across the country and just people everywhere turning out to -- well, to celebrate the sun and to demand that we take advantage of all the cheap, clean power that washes across the world every day.
HUNTE: Wow. Well, let's talk all about it. I want to find out. What is it? How did it come about, and why is it so important? Tell me about Sun Day.
MCKIBBEN: Well, Sun Day is really a response to the fact that in the last three years or so, the cheapest power in the world is suddenly the power from the sun and the wind. We live on a planet where the cheapest way to make energy is to point a sheet of glass at the sun. And that means that we have now seen a kind of explosion in renewable energy across the planet, centered on China, but really heading in many, many other directions to.
One of the exceptions to that surge is Donald Trump's America, where the government is doing all it can to slow down that transition. So, we were determined to show that Americans really want this switch just like everybody else in the world.
HUNTE: We're talking about America. How much progress has the U.S. actually made on solar power compared to other nations?
MCKIBBEN: Well, there's places where the U.S. has been doing really well. In California, they're using 40 percent less natural gas this summer than they were two summers ago because we've put up so many solar panels and batteries. Texas is going even faster than California.
But now, the Trump administration is doing their best to stop all this. You may know that they issued a stop work order for a wind farm off the coast of New England. That was 90 percent done.
They've been making it almost impossible to put up new solar or wind power because their buddies in the fossil fuel industry, who gave them hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign cash, are desperately afraid of the speed with which this renewable revolution is taking off.
[02:35:16]
HUNTE: Wow. A few years ago, I built a house in London, and I wanted to put in energy efficient methods. I wanted to put in solar panels, but it was so complicated and so expensive that all of my builders and architects just, like, just go with the ordinary, normal route because it was so much cheaper.
But I was reading about how solar power now has become dramatically cheaper in recent years. Has it gone far enough, do you think, to break big oil's tight grip on energy and politics?
MCKIBBEN: So solar panels themselves are cheap enough now, but the other problem that you talk about, the complication one remains in too many parts of the world, especially America. One of the things that we're advocating for at Sun Day is much, much simpler permitting for these things so that you don't need teams of building inspectors up.
In fact, as you know, across Europe, apartment dwellers have been installing what we call balcony solar by the millions in the last few years. That's still illegal in much of the United States. But today we had state legislators across the country saying that they were introducing legislation to make that much easier. So that's really part of the fight here.
There's not that much we can do about Washington, but at state and local level, there's still real chances for progress.
HUNTE: On that progress. What roles do you see the younger and older generations playing in this transition to solar? And are there differences between the generations?
MCKIBBEN : Very good question, ben. In fact, it's the younger and the older generations that are really the people making this happen. We look at the pictures from Sun Day around the country and they're dominated by lots of very young people and lots of people with hairlines like mine. I think that's because young people and old people are the ones who have the time to be out making the case for change.
Third Act, we've mobilized about 100,000 Americans over the age of 60 in the last three years, and they've been a driving force behind much of this work across the country. HUNTE: Sun Day is supposed to inspire people to take everyday action.
I wonder if you could just talk us through what people could do to make a difference.
MCKIBBEN: Sure. So, along with putting solar panels on your roof, the balcony of your apartment, people are installing all the equipment to take make use of all that cheap, clean electricity. Thats why we're seeing this surge in electric vehicles and e-bikes around the world. It's why so many places were moving rapidly from traditional furnaces to heat pumps that make very efficient use of electricity to both heat and cool homes.
And it's why we're even seeing. And these were on display in many places today in America. The induction cooktop replacing the gas flame in the kitchen. Again, a more elegant solution. It boils water faster, without having to have an open flame in your kitchen. That causes the risk of asthma for your children to grow by 50 percent.
All these things are good for the planet. Good for your health, good for your wallet. The only people they're bad for are the people who own coal mines and oil wells, which is why they're fighting so hard to head them off.
HUNTE: And that does make sense. Well, bill, thank you so much for that. I hope you've had a happy Sunday. And thank you for spending some of that time with me today. I appreciate it.
MCKIBBEN: Well, many, many thanks, Ben. It was a wonderful Sunday.
HUNTE: The most powerful storm on Earth this year is slamming the northern Philippines with destructive winds and torrential rain. Super Typhoon Ragasa rapidly intensified into the equivalent of a category five hurricane, packing sustained winds of 265 kilometers per hour.
More than 10,000 people have been evacuated in the Philippines, and authorities warn of life-threatening flooding, with storm surges up to three meters. Forecasters warn tens of millions could be impacted as Ragasa tracks towards Hong Kong and southern China by midweek.
President Trump says a group of American investors is being formed to potentially take over TikTok operations in the U.S., so the app can avoid a complete ban. It includes Larry Ellison, whose company Oracle began hosting TikTok's U.S. data in 2020. Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell is also reportedly part of the group.
[02:40:02]
President Trump also suggested Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch and his father, Rupert Murdoch, may join as well.
The White House says TikTok's U.S. operations will have seven board members, and six of whom will be American.
Botswana has made history in the rain at the world athletics championships in Tokyo, becoming the first African nation to win the men's 4x400 meters relay. Collen Kebinatshipi ran a fantastic anchor leg to overtake Rai Benjamin of the U.S. in the last 80 meters. It didn't hurt that he'd already won the men's individual 400 as well. South Africa took the bronze.
Okay, thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.
For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is up next. But for our viewers in North America, I'm going to be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after this very quick break. See you in a bit.
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HUNTE: Welcome back.
As Donald Trump pushes U.S. immigration agents to carry out more arrests, California is moving to unmask those agents, literally. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill this weekend making his state the first in the U.S. to ban most law enforcement officers from covering their faces while conducting official business.
CNN's Julia Vargas Jones reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The legislation, signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday. Will include a banning of neck gaiters, ski masks and any other face coverings that law enforcement officers have been using in California to conduct immigration raids. The exclusions to that will be undercover agents. Any kind of medical masks and any kind of tactical gear.
And also, it does not apply to state police. Agents, the governor said, will have to provide an ID and tell local authorities which federal agency they are with. His argument was basically that anyone on American soil, even undocumented immigrants, have the right to due process and the immigration raids and the way that they've been carried out in Los Angeles, in other parts of southern California, have eroded the trust from the public on federal law enforcement, and that this legislation aims to recover that trust.
Take a listen.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: The impact of these policies all across this city, our state and nation are terrifying. It's like a dystopian sci-fi movie. Unmarked cars, people in masks, people quite literally disappearing. No due process, no rights -- no rights in a democracy where we have rights. Immigrants have rights and we have the right to stand up and push back. And that's what we're doing here today. This is a disgrace.
JONES: Now this law is supposed to go into effect on January 1st. But the governor said that he's already expecting challenges to this legislation, and some of it has already come. Tricia McLaughlin, homeland security assistant secretary for public affairs, criticized the legislation, saying that, quote, "While our federal law enforcement officers are being assaulted by rioters and having rocks and Molotov cocktails thrown at them, a sanctuary politician is trying to outlaw officers wearing masks to protect themselves from being doxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers.
Now, Newsom addressed this at the press conference. He said that DHS has failed to provide any kind of data to back up the assertion that there's been a rise in threats to those officers. But more than that, pushback from DHS. What is interesting is that acting U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, Billy Essayli, already said that he is directing his people in California to not take this legislation into account, that state laws do not apply to those federal officers.
So, the key question going forward will be, how will this new legislation be enforced in California?
Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: The redistricting battle in Texas is headed to court next week. A preliminary injunction hearing is set for October 1st in El Paso. The lawsuit was filed after Texas lawmakers redrew the congressional map, with Republicans hoping this will net them five additional seats in the U.S. House during the midterms.
CNN's John King spoke with Democrats in those districts about how the effort is affecting their communities.
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MANNY RIZO, TEXAS VOTER: There's got to be some sort of a change.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Manny Rizo is a Democrat in Texas, on the losing side, again.
RIZO: Intentional gerrymandering in order to control the vote. And are we really represented by the proper representative? I think it's just a way so they can keep control and power and continue on with the next two years as to what they're doing now.
KING: Rizo maintains private jets. His office, a hangar at this private airport in Pflugerville, about 15 miles south of Austin. Business is good.
RIZO: This airplane came in for some big inspections. We found a lot of issues, but that's what we do. That's what they pay us to do is to find issues on the ground rather than they find them in the air.
KING: Most clients are long-time customers. Of late, a few tough conversations about the bill when critical parts come from Mexico or Canada.
RIZO: Tariffs. It costs more money to stay in business. It costs more money to buy parts.
KING: To buy parts.
RIZO: To buy parts.
KING: The local congressman for this airport is a Democrat, like Rizo. He listens if Rizo has concerns about how Washington impacts his business. He listens, too, on the issue that is now Rizo's passion, gun violence.
[02:50:03]
His nine-year-old niece, Jackie, was among the students killed in Uvalde.
RIZO: That's where it's really important, you know, to us and our family. You know, we -- our values, our morals. And --
KING: Sadness every time he thinks of his niece. Anger every time he thinks about a new Texas map that moves Pflugerville and other Austin suburbs.
RIZO: Especially during a change in the midterms. You know, I don't agree with that.
KING: This is Kyle, Texas, about 20 miles down Interstate 35 south of Austin. As of today, this is the 35th congressional district, one of two solidly blue seats in the Austin area.
But when Texans vote in next year's midterm elections, the map will be dramatically different. The 35th moved south, east of San Antonio, to Republican country. The 37th made more compact right there in Austin. The result? Two Democratic districts become one. And tens of thousands of Texans, now represented by Democrats in Congress, dispersed into more rural and Republican districts.
Gretchen Pruett is one of those Democrats. And this winery just outside of Kyle is one of her favorite places. Pruett moved to Texas 30 years ago likes her wine red and her politics blue.
GRETCHEN PRUETT, TEXAS VOTER: I wanted to live near Austin. And I was looking for a place that would be a community that I would feel at home in.
KING: The new map puts Pruett in a district represented by a Republican. That isn't her only objection.
PRUETT: It's also a district that is heavily farming and industrial. And that is not the same kind of industry and ecosystem that we're in here in Austin suburbs.
KING: Pruett was a library director who first became politically active fighting Texas Republicans trying to ban books. Now she's embracing a new cause. Trying to elect a Democrat in a district drawn to heavily favor a Republican.
PRUETT: It has activated me and my family. So we will be helping to register voters. We will be helping to get out the vote. When I was in public service in the government, I could not speak out. But I'm now retired and unmuzzled. And so I have a voice and I'm going to use it.
KING: Pruett has studied the new lines and she knows the math. But she promises to fight on if a Republican wins next year.
PRUETT: I just believe that conversation and compromise and seeing all sides of the issue and then making a decision is the best possible form of government. And we're silencing those voices. We're marginalizing them and my voice is marginalized as well.
KING: And that's what you think they're doing? They're just dispersing Democrats in a way that silences them?
PRUETT: I do believe that, yes. The maps bear it out.
KING: Trump's lead role in the remapping makes it sting Democrats like Pruett even more. It is a bold power play. And Texas, by far, the biggest player. But it might still not be enough to keep the House in Republican hands.
John King, CNN, Kyle, Texas.
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HUNTE: Well, from banana peels to backyard clippings, New York is finding a new use for the scraps we throw away.
CNN's Allison Chinchar takes us inside the program that's turning trash into what some are calling black gold.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The city of New York has found a new way to combat climate change by transforming the daily food and yard scraps collected from its residents into a valuable substance known as black gold.
JENNIFER MCDONNELL, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FOR SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, NYC DEPT. OF SANITATION: We're making this awesome compost that we can use throughout the city and improve soil health. It helps with stormwater management. It makes our green spaces lush and healthy.
CHINCHAR: The natural resources defense council says food scraps and yard waste make up the largest share of household trash in the U.S. When sent to landfills, they release methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
ERIC GOLDSTEIN, SR. ATTORNEY AND NYC ENVIRONMENT DIRECTOR, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: If we want to take a bite out of the climate crisis, we've got to figure out a way to get our food scraps and yard waste out of landfills and incinerators and into composting, which produces a very useful finished product.
CHINCHAR : New York City's organics collection program aims to cut down on food waste. The program's success depends not just on what people put in the bin, but also what they leave out. Residents are required to separate food scraps, including meat, bones and dairy, along with food soiled paper and yard waste. Failure to do so could result in fines, though some penalties are on pause. Expected to resume in 2026.
MCDONNELL: Understanding that although the food is compostable, the packaging is not. So, we want people to open up, say that salad bag or toss the plastic utensils in the trash bin and separate them from their food waste when they're putting out their organics for collection.
CHINCHAR: The Staten Island compost facility processes an average of 100 to 150 tons of residential organic waste daily and up to 250 tons during peak leaf season. The compost improves soil health, manages stormwater, and supports city green spaces.
Still, composting is just one piece of the larger fight against food waste and climate change.
GOLDSTEIN: Americans waste as much as 40 percent of the food that's generated across the country. The most significant thing we could do with the food waste issue is to generate less of it in the first place. The city sells the black gold to landscapers. What's left goes to residents, schools and community gardens for free.
Allison Chinchar, CNN.
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HUNTE: A giant monkey on a skateboard took to the skies in the French Alps this weekend. Yes, you heard that right. The annual Icarus Cup, a French paragliding festival, attracted some real characters from the big monkey mascot to frogs and octopus. I'm trying to watch this at the same time. In windy weather, dozens of gliders in surprisingly, non-aerodynamic costumes took flight in a unique gathering. The event is named after the Greek myth of a famously unsuccessful attempt at flight.
But all of these participants made it safely back to the ground. I love it.
Okay, that's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.
Stay right here. Our coverage continues after this very quick break. See you in a bit.
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