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U.S. Outlines New Peace Plan For Gaza; Syria's President Calls For End To Sanctions In U.N. Address; Typhoon Ragasa Tears Through A Taiwan Town, Killing 14; Prosecutors Plan To Ask A Grand Jury To Indict Former FBI Director James B. Comey On Allegations That He Lied To Congress; Trump Blames "Radical Leftists" For Dallas Shooting That Killed ICE Detainee; Top U.S. And Russian Diplomats Hold Talks on Sidelines; Ukraine's Zelenskyy Warns of "Most Destructive Arms Race"; Drones Force Denmark's Second Airport Closure This Week; 6.3M Viewers Tune in to Return of "Jimmy Kimmel Live"; YouTube to Reinstate Accounts Banned for COVID-19 Claims; New A.I.-Powered App Helps Parent Protect Children; England Sees Massive Apple Harvest. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 25, 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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[01:00:40]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

President Trump's special envoy predicts some sort of breakthrough soon after laying the administration's peace plan for Gaza.

Syria's president becomes the country's first leader to address the UN General Assembly in nearly six decades.

And the new AI powered app is giving parents a way to protect their children from harmful social media content.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: In the coming hours, the Palestinian Authority president is expected to deliver a pre-recorded speech to the world leaders at the UN General Assembly. His remarks will come just days after a number of Western countries formally declared their recognition of a Palestinian state. It's part of an effort to revive a two state solution and provide a pathway to peace.

The king of Spain opened Wednesday's U.N. session with this message. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING FELIPE VI, SPAIN (through translator): Let's be clear. We strongly condemn the heinous terrorism of Hamas and especially that brutal massacre of October 7, 2023 against the Israeli population. We recognize Israel's right to defend itself, but with the same firmness we demand that the Israeli government fully apply international humanitarian law throughout Gaza and the West Bank.

We demand that humanitarian aid reach its destination without delay. A ceasefire with guarantees and the immediate release of all hostages still so cruelly held by Hamas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly on Friday and then head to the White House for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday. The Trump administration is hopeful for a breakthrough after proposing a 21- point peace plan to Arab leaders.

The U.S. plan calls for a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages and offers a framework for how Gaza can be governed without Hamas. And it includes a proposal for Israel to gradually withdraw from the enclave.

Regional leaders endorsed large parts of the plan, but made suggestions on provisions they want added to it.

Meanwhile, Israel's ground offensive is pushing deeper into Gaza city. Hospitals report 92 people were killed throughout Gaza on Wednesday, including 55 people in Gaza City alone. CNN's Oren Liebermann reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Even as a number of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly talk about the importance of bringing a ceasefire to Gaza that would end the war after nearly two years. Israel is continuing to press its assault on Gaza City, the Israeli military chief saying forces will push deeper into the city itself and carry out larger strikes targeting what it sees as one of Hamas's last remaining strongholds.

But we see what's unfolding as a result of these strikes Gaza hospitals say nearly 100 have been killed on Wednesday, most of those in northern Gaza. Shortly after one in the morning, Gaza's civil defense says an Israeli strike killed 22 people, including nine children in the fitness market in the old city of Gaza City and we have seen the results of that strike.

Israel's military says they were targeting two Hamas terrorists in that strike, but they did not name who they were targeting or specify the two people that they were targeting in that strike. They also say that they are aware of reports regarding casualties, but their numbers do not align with what we're seeing reported from Gaza's civil defense.

Meanwhile, a drone launched from Yemen struck the Israeli city of Eilat in southern Israel on Wednesday, resulting in at least 22 injuries, according to Israel's emergency responders, including two seriously injured as a result of shrapnel from that strike.

Israel has intercepted most of the drones and ballistic missiles launched from the Iran backed Houthis, but we have seen several in recent weeks pierce Israel's aerial defense and carry out strikes in Israel. So that continues to escalate between Israel and the Houthis. Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday and called for the remaining international sanctions on his country to be lifted. Here he is.

[01:05:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMED AL-SHARAA, SYRIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We restructured civil and military institutions, dissolving all previous formations. Through intensive diplomatic activity, Syria restored its international relations and forged regional and global partnerships and achieved the gradual lifting of most sanctions. And we call now for the complete lifting of sanctions so that they no longer shackle the Syrian people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The Syrian leader, a former jihadist who once had a $10 million bounty on his head, also met President Donald Trump during a reception hosted by the U.S. President on the sidelines of the event.

Meanwhile, Israel announced for the first time on Wednesday that it's in talks with Syria after repeated Israeli cross border strikes. The U.S. is pushing for a deescalation agreement between the two countries as the first step towards peace.

All right, for more on this, I want to bring in Rim Turkmani, who's the director of the Syria Conflict Research Program at the London School of Economics, where she's also an assistant professor. Thank you so much for being here with us. I really appreciate it.

So Al-Sharaa just gave Syria's first presidential address to the U.N. in almost 60 years. Before we get to what he said, the symbolism of this, does it represent any hope for Syrians who've been watching this, who've been through decades of dictatorship and civil war and now hoping for a fresh start?

RIM TURKMANI, DIRECTOR, SYRIA CONFLICT RESEARCH PROGRAM, LSE: I mean, indeed, delivering such a speech for Syria to be in the U.N. after 60 years, this is historic and it does open up a little bit of hope.

However, if we note the tone of the speech, I mean, this was very much a victor speech, full of reference to triumph and victory. And that very much reflect the spirit by which President Sharaa is right now running the country.

But for a divided country that came out of a long conflict, a winner, loser framework really cannot divide it. You know, it really cost, you know, the losers that they will just simply not accept this role. They will resent and eventually they may retaliate, and that would lead to more escalation.

BRUNHUBER: So you think he struck maybe the wrong tone there? I mean, he's promising a new Syria, but we're still seeing violence in places like Suwayda and along the coast. I mean, what is the reality on the ground for, especially for Syria's minorities right now?

TURKMANI: The reality has been before even the collapse of the regime is that this is very, very fragmented country. So it's going to take a lot to unite it. And it takes more one person, President Sharaa, spot that he is, in many ways, he is playing an important leadership role, but on his own, he cannot unite the country. He doesn't have enough symbolic power to do this. He should have led coalition that represent different people from around the country as a first step to put it together.

And that was very much the essence and the spirit of the U.N. resolution that was drafted and enacted about 10 years ago to put solution for the country, talked about transitional governing body that has everyone in it rather than just one person leading everything.

But reality remains right now, a very divided country, many, especially from minority backgrounds, unable to see themselves in this new leadership. They're getting more and more excluded out of this new project, you know, many any of them are armed, and we already had a series of massacres going on. Very, very sad. I mean, thousands of people every time were killed.

So the question is, how about the other areas? What's going to happen, for example, with the northeast of Syria? Is there going to be politics? Is he going to be able to make the right concessions needed to bring everyone on board? Or is there going to be violence? Or is it going to be yet again, like what happened in Suwayda? International mediation, like the American Mediation of Suwayda, is going to almost force him to make a painful concession.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, many questions still to be answered there. Al-Sharaa is calling for sanctions to be lifted. I mean, given everything what you said there. How cautious should the west be about, you know, how quickly they welcome Syria into the international fold?

TURKMANI: Well, in regard to the sanctions, I think the sanctions should be lifted. To be honest, they should have been lifted even before the fall of the regime.

[01:10:00]

Most of the sanctions, not the targeted one, most of the sanctions really harmed the Syrian people, really contributed to the economic collapse in the country. I think the international community need to remain focused on the Syrian people, not on the Syrian president.

Too often foreign visitors only see Damascus, which can only really -- it does deceive people. It gives the illusion that everything is stable and everything is normal. But outside the capital, there's really very different reality. There's security. And so the international community need to see this reality, need to

keep focused on the people. And any step they take towards Sharaa, towards the sanction, anything should translate to improvement to the life of the ordinary Syrian people. If not, it is a step in the wrong direction.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. I mean, there are questions about internal security, then there's external security. I mentioned before, the U.S. special envoy announced that Syria and Israel are pursuing deescalation agreement with American backing, which would presumably be the first step towards a broader security deal.

So given the tensions we've seen, I mean, how significant would this be for regional stability and for Al-Sharaa himself?

TURKMANI: It is very significant. It wouldn't have happened under Assad. Indeed, the question whether he will be able to deliver on these promises. I don't think President Al-Sharaa wants any hostility with any neighboring country. I think he's very honest when he says Syria wants peace with everyone.

You know, it's not on this list right now to go and fight any other country, but to sign a security deal with a new state that is still not controlling over all its territory, over all the factions. You know, we have to remain. We wait and see.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Wait and see. All right. Really appreciate your perspective on this. Rim Turkmani, thank you so much.

TURKMANI: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Iran's president also took the podium at the General Assembly on Wednesday and denied his country is seeking nuclear weapons. President President Masoud Pezeskyan slammed European nations that are trying to reimpose sanctions on Tehran over nuclear issues. He added that accusations against Iran are often made by those who already have nuclear arsenals. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASOUD PEZESKYAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): A future not in pursuit of peace imposed by force, but founded upon strength derived through peace. In such a strong region, slaughter and bloodshed shall find no place. It is for this very reason that my country has for many years been among the staunchest advocates of establishing a region free of weapons of mass destruction.

Yet those who themselves possess the largest nuclear arsenals and who in flagrant breach of the NPT, make their weapons even deadlier and more destructive, have for years subjected our people to pressures on the basis of spurious allegations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Picking up the pieces after a deadly storm. Recovery efforts are underway in Taiwan after the most powerful storm on the planet this year swept through the island. We'll show you the impact of Typhoon Ragasa, next.

Plus, Republican officials blame the far left for a deadly shooting at an ICE facility in Texas. We bring you the latest on the investigation coming up. Please stay with us.

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[01:18:04]

BRUNHUBER: Taiwan is cleaning up after an enormous storm killed at least 14 people cars were tossed aside as Typhoon Ragasa sent floodwaters ripping through this town on Tuesday. Two million people were forced to flee their homes before the storm reached southern China on Wednesday.

Now downgraded to a tropical storm, Ragasa toppled trees and smashed shop windows in China's tech hub of Shenzhen. Hurricane force winds ripped through Hong Kong on Wednesday, injuring at least 90 people. Earlier, CNN's Hanako Montgomery ventured out into the storm to visit one of hardest hit areas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're in one of the worst hit areas in Hong Kong called Tseung Kwan O. And as you can tell, just over there, the sea, I mean, is very, very close to this waterfront and there is a concrete sea wall. But it didn't really do much to protect these restaurants from these massive sea swells and storm surges.

We've seen photos and videos emerge from the typhoon showing massive waves just inundating these restaurants and causing very extensive damage. In fact, I'm going to show you just over here. You can see the doors to these restaurants have come off their hinges. Glass is just shattered everywhere and there's a massive amount of debris.

I mean, just furniture strewn about everywhere. In fact, over in the distance you can kind of see these metal barriers that were actually installed to prevent flooding. But clearly it didn't really do much to prevent any of this damage from affecting these restaurants.

Now, we did speak to the owner of this specific restaurant a little while earlier and he told us that when he saw those images of his restaurant just getting hit with massive amounts of water, it looked almost like a tsunami. And he said that it could take several weeks for his restaurant to get back and running again.

VIVIANO ROMITA, OWNER, FRITES RESTAURANTS: Across the group we're pretty upset. We get, like I said, we'll get through it. We've had damage before in other venues and we've got them together and make sure that we get up and running as fast as possible. But you know, everyone's devastated. It's hard to come with when you see something that you build getting destroyed overnight pretty quickly.

[01:20:05] MONTGOMERY: And in this neighboring establishment, you're also seeing some flooding here. And again, furniture just completely strewn about, destroyed. And the doors as well, completely gone from this storm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Scientists warn that climate change is making storms like Ragassa more and more dangerous. Donald Trump disagrees.

Speaking at the U.N. this week, the U.S. president called global warming a hoax. CNN's Elex Michaelson sat down with former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair were hosting a climate event in New York this week, and they talked about it. Here now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: The bottom line is that he just never believed in it. And to me, I said to myself, OK, then I cannot really go and be on his team, because I'm a big believer that we have to do something about reducing pollution, and we have to do something about, you know, having people die, 7 million people a year die.

And so I felt very strongly about what the way I was thinking. And I totally understand that not everyone has to think like me. But what is important is that we let people know, OK, so that's how our president feels. But that doesn't mean we should stop everything, because so many people say, oh, my God, if America doesn't move forward, then does it make any sense to move forward at all?

It's nonsense, because the fact of the matter is that every state in the United States has its own environmental laws.

TONY BLAIR, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINSITER: We got to focus on what we can actually do. And if you -- you see, where I think we've been at risk in the climate argument is not in persuading people that there's a real problem. Because I think most people accept they can see that.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump doesn't.

BLAIR: Well, people are going to take different views of it, but one thing I think that's really important is to accept that a lot of the time we've been making this argument on climate, we've not been making in a way that's likely to persuade people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: U.S. federal prosecutors are looking to indict former FBI Director James Comey on perjury charges. That's according to people familiar with the Trump administration's investigation. Prosecutors have until Tuesday to bring a charge. We have more now from CNN's Katelyn Polantz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The clock is ticking for the Justice Department here, and there is an open investigation that could be put before a grand jury for a possible indictment of the former FBI Director Jim Comey senior, someone who has been a political foe of Donald Trump, the president, for many, many years, since he served in that position.

What they are looking at is testimony that Jim Comey gave under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 30th of 2020. So that's next Tuesday will be five years to the day of that. That means that's essentially the last date that we understand through our sources that an indictment against Comey related to that congressional testimony could be brought.

And so what the Justice Department is doing right now, what federal investigators are doing, is looking at whether they have the case and potentially taking it before a grand jury.

Our understanding is this would be in the Eastern District of Virginia. So that is Northern Virginia, Richmond, the Tidewater area of Virginia, in a federal court, potentially. Comey has not been charged yet, however. And what we do understand, too, is that he still stands by his testimony, both from 2017, after he was fired by Donald Trump as president, and also in 2020 when he told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he was standing by his earlier testimony and that he wasn't leaking to the media.

We do think that there's a possibility this could relate to a leak investigation. But at the end of the day, what our understanding is right now is that Jim Comey is potentially facing an indictment or a possible coming indictment related to perjury or making false statements to Congress in 2020.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: President Trump is blaming a deadly shooting in Texas on rhetoric from the radical left. At least one detainee at an immigration facility in Dallas was killed, and two more are in critical condition. But while the president was quick to point fingers, some Texas lawmakers are calling for an end to divisive riot rhetoric. CNN's Ivan Rodriguez has more details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning more information about the moments that led up to the deadly shooting. The Department of Homeland Security says that a sniper began firing from a nearby rooftop indiscriminately at the ICE building, as well as a van that was in the Sally Port where victims were shot.

TODD LYONS, ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: There were shots fired at our Dallas field office. Right now, preliminary information is a possible sniper.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Several agencies are investigating a deadly shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas. [01:25:00]

Officials say at least two of the victims are detainees and no law enforcement officers were injured.

JOE ROTHROCK, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: I can confirm at this time that the FBI is investigating this incident as an act of targeted violence.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): This is at least the third shooting to target a Texas ICE facility this year. The field office in Dallas has held more than 8,000 temporarily detained persons over the first six months of President Donald Trump's administration, according to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project.

FBI Director Kash Patel shared an image on social media of what authorities said are the bullets connected to the shooting.

ROTHROCK: Early evidence that we've seen from rounds that were found near the suspected shooter contain messages that are anti-ICE in nature.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): The acting field director for ICE Dallas called for an end to extreme political rhetoric.

JOSHUA JOHNSON, ACTING DIRECTOR, ICE DALLAS FIELD OFFICE: It's just got to stop. It's dangerous. People are losing their lives.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): While Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson asked for calm and patience as the investigation continues.

ERIC JOHNSON, DALLAS, TEXAS MAYOR: There's still a lot of unanswered questions and I want to encourage all of you to exercise a little bit of restraint and allow them to do their job.

RODRIGUEZ: The shooter has been identified as a 20-year-old -- 29- year-old man and Dallas resident. Two detainees remain in serious condition. One of them is a Mexican national, according to Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Dallas, I'm Ivan Rodriguez.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, a warning to the U.N., why Ukraine's president predicts Russia will expand the war further unless it's stopped.

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[01:31:45]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: A day after the U.S. president said he thinks Ukraine can win back all of its territory from Russia, the Kremlin is calling that claim deeply mistaken. The U.S. State Department says Marco Rubio called on Moscow to take meaningful steps to end the war. During his talks with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the

U.N. General Assembly, Russia's foreign minister says Sergey Lavrov told the U.S. Secretary of State that Ukraine and some of its European allies are determined to prolong the fighting.

When asked about the meeting, the Russian foreign minister replied with a thumb's up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Lavrov, how was your meeting? Are you concerned about the shifting tone from Trump? Has he turned his back on Russia?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president told the U.N. General Assembly that the world must stop Russian occupation now rather than risk escalation.

Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Whether you help peace, or continue trading with Russia and helping Russia to fund this war, it depends on you. Whether prisoners of war will be freed, whether abducted children will come home, whether hostages will be free -- it depends on you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Zelenskyy also told the U.N. that we're in the midst of the most destructive arms race in human history.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more on his message.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, I think that Zelenskyy was speaking to a number of audiences.

Obviously, his prime audience is President Trump. Another audience will have been the European allies. And as well, he was speaking to the whole room there.

Look, I think you know what Zelenskyy is saying here is even with -- and this is what I think I heard -- even with powerful friends, it's still not enough unless you have weapons.

So I think that was a very clear message to President Trump. I've heard your words but you've been inconsistent. And what we need are your weapons.

And from President Trump saying that he's going to continue to supply weapons to NATO, they'll buy them and then they'll pass them on to Ukraine and good luck to them.

So in a way, President Trump is being a thoroughfare to enable the war to continue -- that's what Zelenskyy wants. Although he also spoke about the need for international institutions, the writ of international law, which you said is failing.

International institutions are not a sort of favorite of President Trump, if you will. We look at the way that he pulled apart various sort of elements and ideas at the U.N. yesterday as just one example of that.

So what Zelenskyy is getting at here is that all those in the room, you have to be tougher. We, as international countries, have to reform the way that we enforce or are able to enforce international laws. And that's through those strong international institutions.

But I do think it was a very clear message that even with strong friends, unless they let those weapons get to you, you cannot be effective. You don't have security.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:34:51]

BRUNHUBER: For more on this, I want to bring in Benjamin Radd, who's a political scientist and senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations.

Good to see you again. Thanks so much for being here with us.

So I want to get to President Zelenskyy's address in a second. But first, on President Trumps so-called shift on his position. I mean, how do you read what Trump said about Ukraine recapturing all its territory? And then administration officials like the vice president, secretary of State, basically walking it back?

BENJAMIN RADD, SENIOR FELLOW, UCLA BURKLE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: I think it reflects a shift in tone for President Trump. But unless there's policy to follow it, it doesn't necessarily reflect a shift in U.S. position and how it's approaching the Ukraine Russia war.

We're not hearing anything about an increased or renewed commitment to arms, to intelligence cooperation, anything other than either President Trump is exacerbated with one side, which was Ukraine earlier this year, or now he's frustrated with Vladimir Putin, the Russian side.

He vacillates between the two depending on whichever one seems to irk him at a given moment. But again, this is rhetoric, and I think all sides are seeing it that way. Though Zelenskyy certainly appreciates rhetoric that's in his favor rather than the more hostile tone that he got earlier this year.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I imagine. Our reporting is that it's sort of a negotiating tactic by Trump. But if Putin responds to policy, not words, I mean, do you think he's seen or heard anything from Trump in the last day or so that might worry him a little.

RADD: Well, I mean, if I were Vladimir Putin, there's really nothing yet to be concerned about, even the threat of sanctions, which is something the President Trump floated several times now in recent weeks and months has not come to fruition.

He, you know, comes with conditions for, for NATO allies to impose sanctions. They also have to impose them on China, which is the one buying Russian oil. And for the Europeans to reduce their consumption of Russian oil. So none of that's taking place.

And again, were not seeing an increase in any U.S. supplies or any commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity demonstrated by action beyond rhetoric. And that's what Putin responds to.

It's not that he doesn't respond. He does when he sees a shift in policy. But none of that's evident yet.

BRUNHUBER: Ok, so if it all basically comes down to action, as you say, I mean, our reporter there said that Zelenskyy's real message to Trump was, you know, even with powerful friends, you need weapons to be effective.

I mean, do you agree? That's what Zelenskyy was really saying, that Trump's words aren't enough without actual hardware?

RADD: I don't think he's just saying that with response to -- with respect to President Trumps words, I think Zelenskyy is telling the U.N. audience, you know, it's very notable that he made that statement there, that diplomacy and sanctions and working through the international legal process has gotten them nowhere.

It's brought the world no closer to peace and security and stability. And that the only thing that seems to matter with aggressors like Russia is the use of force and the willingness to stand up and resist their aggressive actions.

And that's what he's looking for. That's what he's telling the international community that matters.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I mean, he gave a pretty harsh assessment of the U.N., I thought, basically saying that international law has collapsed and institutions are weak. I mean, it seems like a pretty bold thing to say while you're up there standing at the U.N. podium, no?

RADD: Indeed, and it is notable. And President Trump basically echoed the failures of the U.N. during his very long address the night before. And I think it demonstrates again that the -- that the efficacy of the U.N. as an institution is not so much in the action, but it's the fact that it can convene all these people together in one space and give them a forum to talk.

But at the end of the day, these discussions, these deliberations, these hacks (ph) of diplomacy do not deliver justice, do not maintain peace. We've seen that now for decades. I mean, you have to go back to really the time of the Nuremberg trials

to see a moment where that really was delivered. And in that instance, you had the allied victors were the ones who administered justice.

Absent a situation like that, it's difficult to see how this incarnation of the U.N. serves that same spirit.

And I think Zelenskyy is just calling it as he sees it. He says, what we really need are supplies that we can use, not words that we can just float about that don't really deliver any action.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. So I mean, it sounds from what you're saying after this week so far the U.N. were no closer to ending this war. This is all -- has this all just been diplomatic theater then?

RADD: It's been rhetoric. It's been a back and forth. And I think it's Vladimir Putin testing the international community and specifically the resolve of the Europeans, given the incursions of Russian drones into NATO territory.

What are the red lines for the Europeans? What is the red line for NATO in particular, and for the United States to really join in and more aggressively hold Ukraine and Europe's territorial boundaries? That is what I think we're seeing being tested and pushed.

BRUNHUBER: Well, we'll leave it there. Thanks so much for being with us, Benjamin Radd, really appreciate it.

RADD: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Denmark says it can't point any fingers yet after a mysterious drone forced its second airport closure this week.

[01:39:46]

BRUNHUBER: The drones appeared near the Aalborg Airport on Wednesday. Police are still investigating reports of drone sightings near at least three other airfields on Wednesday and Thursday.

It's all happening after similar sightings closed airports in Oslo and Copenhagen earlier this week.

The Danish prime minister noted similar suspected Russian drone incursions and airspace violations in Europe. Moscow denies any involvement.

All right. Coming up, we tag along with world-renowned wildlife photographer Chris Fallows in Tanzania on the search for his next thought-provoking image.

Please stay with us.

[01:40:21]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BRUNHUBER: All week this week on "Call to Earth", we go on an epic journey with world-renowned photographer Chris Fallows, who uses his fine art imagery to inspire change.

Well, today we head back to Tanzania, where Fallows aims to capture his next thought-provoking image.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS FALLOWS, PHOTOGRAPHER AND CONSERVATIONIST: We're in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, and it's an incredibly beautiful sight.

We've got two of Africa's icons here, the enigmatic baobab, probably the most charismatic tree in all of Africa, and then the world's largest animal, the African elephant.

And my idea here is to try and marry these two icons together in a moody, artistic image.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: South African photographer Chris Fallows travels the continent in search of authentic moments like this to add to his portfolio, which helped to buy land to protect habitat in Africa.

But as a passionate naturalist with a soft spot for elephants, he's often stopped in his tracks.

FALLOWS: Sometimes as a photographer, you can be obsessed with taking a photograph. But some of the most beautiful moments in what we do is actually just sitting and observing these incredible creatures in action.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More often than not, Chris is accompanied by his wife and fellow naturalist Monique.

FALLOWS: The diameter of this baobab is truly phenomenal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And as first-time visitors, they're excited by the prospects.

FALLOWS: What an incredible thing to see.

MONIQUE FALLOWS, AUTHOR AND NATURALIST: Chris doesn't focus on taking just a wildlife photograph. He's always wanting to try and capture the essence of an animal or of an area. So it's more of an artistic impression.

C. FALLOWS: That's quite clean there. And we've got the elephants in the general area now. So what I've done is I've gone to a tree where I hope the animals are going to move towards, based on evidence around the tree, that they've been there before and then trying to set up the shot in as esthetically pleasing a way as possible.

But what I'm trying to do is create separation with the background. This tree stands alone and proud.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As is often the case, this particular herd was camera shy and walked off in the opposite direction. Then, luckily and unexpectedly, a unique opportunity presented itself.

C. FALLOWS: So we've got a magnificent sight here. We've got a leopard in the bowl of a beautiful baobab, and incredibly, we've got elephants under it.

But my focus right now is on the leopard. You don't get to see this very often. It's truly beautiful.

Leopards can be extremely shy at times. She's pretty relaxed for now.

So we've been here three hours now and three hours really isn't very long to wait for us. But you're always anxious you're going to miss something.

But we're waiting for her to come down this beautiful, gnarled and textured trunk of the baobab, and it might be in the next five minutes. It might be in the next three hours. She might not come before sunset. So it's always a game of waiting.

So that leopard gets up, that's going to be absolutely dynamite.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While many pictures were taken, Chris says he didn't end up with the quality of image that he would add to his collection.

C. FALLOWS: I hate clipping the top of the tree, so.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the experienced pro, it's all in a day's work and tomorrow presents a new day with fresh opportunities, a renewed focus, and hopefully, some cooperative subjects.

C. FALLOWS: Failure is part of the process, you know, and it's not necessarily failure if you don't get the shot first time because you spend a lot of time in a place, you begin to understand really what makes for an iconic photograph.

So we'll keep going. For me, this is building blocks, and whatever I get is great. It might not be the iconic shot that I put into my portfolio, but it's all about learning what makes each area special and then ultimately capturing it at the end of the day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: We'll have more from "Call to Earth" tomorrow. You can watch the full documentary, "BEYOND THE LENS" this weekend, only here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

[01:49:30]

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BRUNHUBER: Jimmy Kimmel's return to late night television has set a new record for the show. ABC says about 6.3 million viewers tuned in to watch his first show back after the network pulled him off the air last week.

That's more than three times Kimmel's typical viewership. And that's just on traditional television. Across social media and streaming sites, the episode continues to rack up impressive numbers.

His opening monologue calling attention to government threats to free speech, has been viewed more than 15 million times on YouTube, making it the most viewed monologue of all time on the platform.

And YouTube says it plans to reinstate some accounts that it previously banned for violating rules against repeatedly posting what it said was misinformation about COVID 19 and the 2020 election.

An attorney for YouTube's parent company, Alphabet, sent a letter about the new policy to the Republican House Judiciary Committee, which said in part, quote, "As online platforms including Alphabet grappled with these decisions, the administrations officials, including President Biden, created a political atmosphere that sought to influence the actions of platforms based on their concerns regarding misinformation. It is unacceptable and wrong when any government, including the Biden administration, attempts to dictate how the company moderates content."

Facebook's parent company Meta, and Elon Musk's X have made similar moves to relax content moderation guidelines.

Here's what Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN KILEY (R-CA): Well, that was a wide range of content, a lot of it specifically concerning COVID-19. And so you've now had admissions from the leading tech companies, Alphabet, as well as Facebook and Twitter X, saying that we had this era of censorship in the United States where you had the federal administration that pressured and potentially coerced these platforms to take down content.

And it's especially bad when you think about where we were during the COVID pandemic, especially in the beginning when folks are not allowed to go to work, you're not allowed to go to school. Legislatures and every unit of local government is shut down.

The one way that citizens had to exercise their rights as citizens in a democracy was to post on social media.

And you had this systemic effort by the government to stop them from doing so, to stop them from posting about one of the most consequential issues of the last generation, which is the government response to COVID 19 and in some cases, even censoring true information like the origins of where the virus came from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: The developers of a new app powered by artificial intelligence say their technology is providing a safer online experience for kids on social media.

CNN's Christina Macfarlane reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A new A.I.-powered app aims to help parents protect their kids online called Sway.ly. The app is designed to alert both kids and their parents when harmful content appears on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

DANIELA FERNANDEZ, CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, SWAY.LY: Sway.ly is what I love to say is a very different app out there in the market. It's an -- it's A.I. Powered. And what it does is it helps families take control of social media and make it healthier and safer for them. So it helps both the parent and the child and any out there.

MACFARLANE: Instead of banning or restricting access to social platforms, the app retrains content algorithms and gives parents insight into their child's online activity.

FERNANDEZ: We have 36 different filters that we identify, and then we alert and we do tips and tricks in terms of how to deal with this type of content and how to try and remove it from your own feed so you can start to choose what is it that you're being exposed to? What is the quality of the information that you're receiving?

[01:54:50]

MACFARLANE: A recent survey commissioned by Sway.ly questioned more than 2,000 U.S. and U.K. families. 77 percent of kids surveyed said social media harms their health, but it found most feel powerless to stop it.

While parents worry about explicit content, kids say it's the constant stream of toxic narratives that does the real damage.

PETER WHITMELL, DEPUTY HEAD AND SAFEGUARDING LEAD, NOTTING HILL PREP: I think the benefit of Sway.ly is that it makes it very clear for the parents what's going on online, and it has the capability through its A.I. To understand the latest trends in A way that, frankly, even I, as an educator who works with children every day, we can't stay on top of it.

And that's where Sway.ly comes in in a really helpful way.

MACFARLANE: Sway.ly is currently available to download on Apple and Android devices.

Christina Macfarlane, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: An especially hot summer in England has yielded an unexpected surprise -- apples, lots and lots of apples. The warm temperatures are also making them sweeter than normal.

At one orchard in Somerset, harvest crews estimate about 3,000 tons will be picked this season. That's roughly triple last year's crop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB WADEY, ORCHARD MASTER: The standout from this year really is there's just so many apples. And when they go to make cider, they will love them because they are sweet.

They're not -- there's not lots of water in them. There's lots of sugar, which is what the cider maker requires.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now the changing weather does bring some challenges with growers noting the important roles that heat and rain play on the annual crop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK SHOWERING, DIRECTOR, SHOWERINGS CIDER: When it comes to making fine cider, the terroir and the growing conditions are incredibly important to the end product.

We are starting to notice that there's more heat and warmth in the spring and summer, which does bring a sweetness to apples. But then we do have challenges with more rain when we come to harvest, which just makes it a lot harder for us. So there's pros and cons to these changing conditions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Still, for apple and cider lovers, 2025 seems to be a harvest worth toasting.

Well, lucky escape for people near a hospital in Bangkok. Have a look at this.

A huge sinkhole opened, swallowing vehicles and slicing through power lines and water pipes.

The hole extended about 50 meters deep in front of a hospital, halting traffic. Officials believe the collapse was caused by construction on an underground train station. The prime minister said there were no deaths or injuries.

All right. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta.

The news continues with Christina Macfarlane after the break.

[01:57:15]

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