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Police: One Dead, Nine Injured In Church Shooting And Fire; Tropical Storm Imelda Forms Over The Bahamas; NYC Eric Adams Says He Is Ending His Bid For Re-election. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 28, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: And coming up, an all-new episode of "The Whole Story" airs tonight at 9:00 P.M. only on CNN. Anderson Cooper will take an in-depth look at the controversy of the Jimmy Kimmel suspension at ABC. Tune in to "The Whole Story" with Anderson Cooper, "No Laughing Matter: Free Speech Under Attack" tonight at 9:00 P.M. Eastern.

[15:00:19]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us. I'm Danny Freeman, sitting in Fredricka Whitfield and we begin with that breaking news we have been following all afternoon. At least one person is dead and nine others injured after a mass shooting at a church about an hour north of Detroit.

Police say hundreds of people were worshiping at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan when a shooter opened fire on the congregation. They say the suspect also set this fire on your screens at the church before getting into a fatal shootout with police.

For more on this, let's get right over to CNN's Julia Vargas Jones.

Julia, what more can you tell us?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Danny, we are learning some about these victims of those hundreds of people present at that service that had started just 25 minutes before the attack. Ten of those were taken to a hospital. One of them lost their life, but the hospital now telling CNN that they were also on lockdown until about 1:00 P.M. local time due to the proximity to that church. We are learning those nine people, some of them are children; some, Danny, with very serious injuries. This, as we are still piecing together how this attack took place.

We did hear earlier from the Police Chief of Grand Blanc, Michigan, William Renye, who said that authorities are still expecting more victims at this time as they work their way through this scene. This is how he explained this attack happened. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WILLIAM RENYE, POLICE CHIEF OF GRAND BLANC, MICHIGAN: He ran the vehicle through the front door, exited, then started firing shots. We are still trying to determine exactly when and where that fire ended up coming from and how it got started.

So we believe it was deliberately set, though, by the suspect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now, the key question here is how that suspect set the fire, the fire that caused great damage there. Authorities did say that they located a suspicious item on church property, and they believe that could be an improvised explosive device. Now, that is still being investigated.

So the key question is how if we know that that shooter exited the vehicle and then started shooting, where was this device? When did it explode? When was it planted? Had it been done at an earlier time? Did it happen just at the time of the shooter? All of these questions that authorities are still exploring. But we also did hear from the chief earlier a little bit about what they will be looking for in the days and weeks to come. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENYE: So where we go from here is we have investigators. We're going to do search warrants on the suspect's residence. We are going to find out if there was a motive. We are going to go through cell phone records, things like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And as they look through that for that motive, Danny, we also are hearing for the first time from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They issued a statement about the shooting earlier today. They said: "A tragic act of violence occurred today at a chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan. During Sunday worship services, a gunman opened fire, and early reports indicate that multiple individuals were injured. We ask for cooperation with local authorities as details become available." They go on to say that "The church is in communication with local law enforcement as the investigation continues and as we receive updates on the condition of those affected."

We also heard, Danny, from the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, earlier today. She said that her "... heart is breaking for the Grand Blanc community. Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable. I am grateful to the first responders who took action quickly. We will continue to monitor the situation and hold the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Grand Blanc close."

Now we are expecting to hear more details, Danny, from those local authorities today in the 5:00 P.M. hour. We will be sure to keep you posted.

FREEMAN: Yes, we will all be paying close attention to that press conference when it comes.

Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much for your reporting.

And joining me now to discuss more of this horrific shooting is CNN senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem.

Julia, let's start here. Investigators in Michigan are dealing with this mass shooting with several victims, a fire, and now the bomb squad looking into a suspicious item found on church property. I mean, what do you make of just so many ongoing threats to this church, to this community?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes. And, you know, the Mormon community is grieving doubly today because yesterday, their president, President Nelson, passed away.

[15:05:10]

So that is something in terms of investigation that the police will be looking into the Mormon Church as a minority. Think about two percent of Americans identify as Mormon, it might be higher. But, this is a threat to their belief, and so your motive is going to look at whether the perpetrator targeted them because they were Mormon or whether he had ties to the Mormon Church, knew this church, knew someone at this church, and that this is a horrific crime, but may not fall into sort of a hate crime. We don't know yet.

And it was interesting. The Police Chief said, we are looking into any motive. That's an odd way to put it, but simply, it is not quite obvious yet who this individual is, whether he had previous ties or was attacking the Mormon Church specifically as a hate crime, and that we will probably learn more in the next hour.

FREEMAN: Well, Juliette, if you will pull that thread a little bit more because Julia Vargas Jones just reported authorities plan to execute a search warrant at the suspect's home, go through cell phone records and more. What can investigators learn from a suspects digital footprint? I mean, that's becoming more and more critical, right?

KAYYEM: Right, absolutely. So it depends -- well, one, they'll know -- they know who he is. They know who his community is. They know whether he had any interaction any involvement with the church or anyone in the church who may have been there that day.

If the answer is no to all of those, in other words, there is no tie, a specific tie to him and that church. Then you're going to look to motive. That's where you will look at what he has posted, who he was communicating with, whether there was any manifesto. We know now that these killers, a lot of them motivated by hate, like lead manifestos as sort of an explanation, if not a way for them to get support. So they're going to be looking at all of that.

Of course, interviewing families and friends in terms of what his background was. They have not disclosed it yet. They may still be figuring that out. The second piece is, of course, is this fire piece that's unique for an active shooter case, and seems quite targeted on the church itself to bring down the building and hope for more casualties. That's why, just based on my experience, I would not be surprised if this was a hate crime towards that church specifically, because it is just unique to bring down, to have the active shooting with the fire, which he must have preplanned and left devices to try to bring the building down.

You know, this is horrible for the people of the Mormon faith, and given what happened yesterday in their leadership. And then, of course, today, this horrific killing.

FREEMAN: Julia, can we step back for a moment just because this shooting, of course, follows other attacks on houses of worship. Just earlier this month, there was an arson attack at a Florida synagogue. Last month, almost to the day, there was a shooting at that Minneapolis church where the shooter killed two children. And the L.A. mayor just posted on X that she is increasing patrols around places of worship in her city.

Are we imagining it? Are we actually seeing a rise in what seems to be targeted violence against places of worship?

KAYYEM: I don't have the numbers now for non-synagogue, but what we do know is in the in the last couple of years, because of the rise of antisemitism, synagogues in particular have been targeted. Not so much active shooter, although my goodness, we've seen those and some horrific incidents in particular in Pennsylvania, which came a couple of years ago, but also vandalism, graffiti, other things like that which are not active shooter cases, but to those in the faith, feel like, you know, sort of a violence against them.

These are targets that people of faith hold dear, and who would do anything to them, let alone a horrific incident like this is perceived as hate and against their religion. So we do know we have some numbers right now.

But we also know, I mean -- we don't -- you know is the heightened radicalization in this country, which we've all been remarking on in terms of loosely, political violence. Like we think that we can define it in different buckets as we learn more about this culprit, it may be that there was hate and the hate was targeted towards someone in the Mormon Church, or the Mormon Church generally or it could be hate because of an individual, we don't know yet.

And so that's why, it may be obvious to people on the outside, and those analysts like us have to just sort of give what the investigators are looking at right now because they want to get it right. They want to, you know, get the right case, understand what happened and protect these communities that are feeling so vulnerable right now.

[15:10:25]

FREEMAN: Well, and, of course, especially in this particular case, you know, there is still so much going on, on the ground, right? There are potentially victims to try and recover or save -- people healing in the hospital. So a lot of questions still to get through before we learn even more about this shooter.

Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much for sharing your expertise as always. Appreciate you.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

FREEMAN: And we are also following breaking news on Tropical Storm Imelda that just formed near the Bahamas earlier today. It is the ninth named storm of this Atlantic hurricane season, and while Imelda is not thankfully expected to make landfall, the storm is threatening to bring flooding, rain and strong winds to coastal areas of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

CNN meteorologist Chris Warren has been tracking the storm all throughout the weekend. Chris, what more can you tell us about the real threat if there is so much of it from Imelda?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the threat has been going down, so that is absolutely been the good news. Now, we are not to zero just yet, but we are trending in that direction. There will be some threats outside of the flooding for the U.S. Mainland anyways.

Where it is right now? As you mentioned, over the Bahamas. So they are expecting some strong winds and some very heavy rain. Nothing compared to what we are seeing with Humberto that is well away from land. Both the combination of Humberto and Imelda, which will both help kick up the surf and get the water pushing toward the U.S. The amount of rain that we see in the U.S. that was even looking, you know, flooding and possibly very serious even as early as yesterday, is now going out to sea, not a hundred percent, but a lot more.

And you can see the track with this as well. These are forecast models. And then getting really more into a consensus. Sometimes it can look like wet spaghetti on a plate, not the case here. It almost has that dry spaghetti look here with Humberto. But Imelda right here you can see that it will continue to move to the north slowly, and then eventually head off to the East.

Now, it is going to go from tomorrow morning as getting stronger 60 mile per hour tropical storm up to a hurricane. So it is expected to be a hurricane and it will be offshore. Offshore of Florida and Georgia, but going in this direction. It is still going to take a while.

So remember, even if it is a nice day at the beach, rip currents are still going to be a very serious concern. Part of the reason why this storm is now going to be going away from land is because of the hurricane, the major hurricane that's out here, you can kind of see how they're almost linked together, and in a way, Humberto can kind of grab a hold of Imelda and take them both out to sea in a sense there.

So going almost due East, instead of just a couple days ago, there were scenarios what was going to go inland and hang out for a while so things can change and they can change in a big way. This is another way to look at it. For a while, it will be two hurricanes very close to the U.S. and we fortunate they will be going away. But this is that rain, Danny, and why we are seeing that threat go down.

Now, you look at the yellow and orange two to four, four to six locally, that could be a very serious situation with some flooding, but it is not expected to be a huge widespread event. You can see all of that, Danny is -- at least that's the plan right now is for this to head out to sea.

FREEMAN: Okay. That is good news again. Still to take it seriously, but I never thought I'd be thankful for a hurricane. But if it takes Imelda away, I am fine with that.

Chris Warren, thanks so much. Appreciate your time.

All right, we are also following major developments now in Arizona, where devastating floods have killed at least four people. Rescue operations are underway for those still unaccounted for. Heavy rains slammed the region this weekend, submerging cars in up to nine feet of water.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has declared a state of emergency for Gila County, directing resources to the area, including authorizing deployment of the State National Guard for support "as needed."

All right, still to come, Linda McMahon is tasked with shutting down the Education Department. We will take a look at how she is using the agency's last days to push prayer, patriotism, and conservative-driven education in schools.

Plus, breaking news, New York Mayor Eric Adams dropping out of the race for re-election. We will take a look at his reasons for suspending his campaign after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:19:10]

FREEMAN: We have more breaking news we are tracking this hour.

New York Mayor Eric Adams says he is ending his bid for re-election. He made the announcement just a short time ago. Adams had been campaigning as an Independent and was running well behind in most polls.

Now, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is also running for mayor as an Independent, praised Adams for putting the well-being of the city first.

For more on this, we have CNN's Gloria Pazmino.

Gloria, what can you tell us about this perhaps not so surprising breaking news, but still stunning nonetheless?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, over the last several weeks, Danny, we had been wondering whether or not this was going to happen. Eric Adams had been under a lot of public pressure, frankly, including from many of the city's business leaders and real estate leaders, to drop out of the campaign and the race for mayor because he had been polling so poorly and there was really -- just the numbers suggested that he was not going to be able to get ahead.

[15:20:10]

Now, all of this is because Democratic Mayoral Nominee Zohran Mamdani, who won the primary, has continued to grow his support according to the most recent round of polling and Eric Adams had been unable to essentially catch fire.

Over the last several weeks, we heard a mayor that was essentially blaming the media and the coverage of his administration for his inability to raise campaign funds, saying that he was having a hard time mounting a campaign because he could not raise the money as a result, according to him, of the negative coverage.

In the video announcement, which he posted to X just a short while ago, the mayor talked about many of his administration's accomplishments, talking about the fact that when he took office, New York City was just coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. He talked about the fact that there is a record low number of shootings and homicides right now. The city is the safest it has ever been, but he said that he could not continue to run for re-election. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK CITY: I cannot continue my re-election campaign. The constant media speculation about my future and the Campaign Finance Board's decision to withhold millions of dollars have undermined my ability to raise the funds needed for a serious campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Danny, I just want to talk about a little bit of the symbolism that we are seeing on that video. The mayor is sitting on the steps of Gracie Mansion, the inside of Gracie Mansion, the steps that lead up to the private residence where he has been living over the past three-and-a-half almost four years and next to him is a picture of his mother, and this is a very significant sort of visual tool that Mayor Adams has used over and over in the last few years and he does this when he is trying to talk about his story. Right?

A kid that came up in Brooklyn, a young man who grew up to become a police captain, someone who eventually got elected to local politics here in New York City, who spent a lot of his political life talking about criminal justice reform and reforming the police because he himself was abused by police officers when he was a young man.

This was all part of his campaign that eventually led him to become mayor. Nearly four years ago. The second -- the city's second Black mayor. So there is certainly a lot of symbolism behind the video that the mayor posted just a short while ago. Of course, now the question is whether or not this is going to make any difference to a race where the Democratic nominee, Mamdani, is dominating so strongly in the polling and whether or not it is going to help Andrew Cuomo and whether or not the support is going to coalesce behind Cuomo.

We are getting a little bit of reaction from the former governor. He put out a statement just a short while ago praising Eric Adams for his decision, saying that he was putting the city ahead of his own ambitions. He also talked about historic, calling it undeniably one of resilience and a testament to the spirit of New York City. Those are very kind words from the former governor, who, in the last few weeks has been sparring with Eric Adams and mounting pressure for him to get out -- Danny.

FREEMAN: This mayor's race just keeps getting more fascinating.

All right, Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much for that reporting.

Still to come, President Trump plans to meet with Israeli President Netanyahu on Monday. The big talking point is expected to be Trump's proposed plan to end the almost two year war between Israel and Hamas.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:28:14]

FREEMAN: We have some breaking news to report. White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today in New York. That's according to two people familiar with the meeting. Netanyahu is in the city after attending the United Nations General Assembly, and he is scheduled to meet with President Trump at The White House tomorrow.

As CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau reports, Israel is continuing its assault on Gaza City, even as Trump says a peace deal for Gaza is close to being finalized.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN ROME CORRESPONDENT: Political pressure is mounting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as military pressure continues in Gaza, with more than 90 people killed in airstrikes and gunfire on Saturday alone. The strikes are meant to neutralize any explosive devices in the area before ground troops can go in the Israeli military said. But concern grows for some of the remaining hostages, some of whom are believed to still be alive after nearly two years in captivity.

The mother of one of the hostages had this to say.

EINAV ZANGAUKER, MOTHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE MATAN ZANGAUKER (through translator): The whole world sees who Netanyahu is. The whole world, including U.S. President Donald Trump, is determined to stop him from sabotaging again.

I am looking you in the eyes, Netanyahu. If you come back without an agreement, a hell awaits you here that you can't even imagine. The protests and the strikes of the past weeks will seem like child's play compared to what I am preparing for you.

If you sabotage the agreement again, we will chase you until the end of time. You will not have a single moment of peace.

NADEAU: Now all eyes are on the meeting between Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump, set for Monday to discuss the U.S. led 21- point peace plan that includes releasing the remaining hostages 48 hours after the agreement is signed, and no forced displacement of Gaza citizens.

[15:30:04]

The proposed agreement stops short of a U.S. recognition of the Palestinian state, but does recognize the aspiration by the Palestinian people for such autonomy.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Barbie Latza Nadeau, thank you very much for that report.

And to this now, the Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 164,000 people in Gaza have been injured in the war, many of them children.

CNN's Christina Macfarlane has the story of one boy whose face was badly damaged by shrapnel and was even thought to be dead, but now surgeons are giving him hope for the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE (voice-over): In 10 hours, Majd will get his smile back or think about eating or speaking normally again. He's about to undergo radical reconstructive surgery, 19 months after an Israeli tank shell

exploded near him blowing away his jaw.

(MAJD ALSHAGHNOBI speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I'm really happy to be treated here and have my operation.

MACFARLANE (voice over): Majd was collecting flour from an aid point when the Israeli tank shell hit, killing the two friends he was walking with.

His wounds so horrific he was presumed dead.

(MAJD ALSHAGHNOBI speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: They took me to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. They put me in the morgue. When they saw my arm move, they moved me to the hospital kitchen because there was no space in the operating room.

MACFARLANE (voice over): In the kitchen, his life was saved by an emergency tracheostomy, but he was caught just short of death with no chance of healing without further care. So his mother had to get him out.

(ISLAM FEIFEL speaking in foreign language)

TRANSLATION: I had been running for a month and a half between Nasser Hospital and Al-Aqsa Hospital for a month and a half to be able to make the arrangement for him.

MACFARLANE (voice over): He did get out, thanks to the charity Project Pure Hope who privately funded Majd's evacuation and treatment.

And thanks to one of Britain's leading pediatric surgeons who had the difficult task of choosing which Gazan child they should save.

OWASE JEELANI, PROFESSOR OF NEUROSURGERY, GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL: As a surgeon, like I said, you know, I'm used to dealing with -- with -- with injuries. But this was something that I was not used to.

But, you know, if you sort of pause and look away, you know, this by tomorrow, there'll be a dozen, a few dozen more children that are well at the moment. But will not be well tomorrow, will not be around tomorrow.

MACFARLANE (voice-over): Professor Jeelani and nine other surgeons have taken months to meticulously plan this operation. Through the use of 3D modeling, they will take bone, soft tissue and blood vessels from Majd's leg to close the gap in his jaw.

JEELANI: Majd was the best-case scenario where we feel with our plan, we can really get him close to how things used to be for him and make the biggest difference in his life.

MACFARLANE (voice over): The World Health Organization says hundreds of people have died waiting for medical evacuation, and more than 3,500 children are in need.

Majd is fortunate. His case has drawn attention here in the U.K., even from Prince Harry. But the trauma for his family is not over. In escaping Gaza, his mother was forced to leave behind two of her sons, Muhammad and Yusuf.

MACFARLANE: What has life been like for your family in Gaza since you've been here in London?

(ISLAM FEIFEL speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: They're exhausted. They tell every day that you've left with your favorite child. They're in the north. You know what the north is like. And they say they could die at any moment. If I knew the war would come back, I wouldn't have left.

MACFARLANE (voice over): It took foreign governments, doctors and NGOs working together to bring Majd's jaw back. But Majd is past healing.

(MAJD ALSHAGHNOBI speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: I wish Gaza could go back to what it was, that everybody could be reunited, and be together in Gaza as it once was.

MACFARLANE (voice over): Christina Macfarlane, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREE Christina Macfarlane, thank you for that reporting.

All right, still to come, a mass shooting at a Michigan Church leaves one dead, several other hurt after the building was also set on fire. Police say the gunman is dead and they're expecting to find more victims in a fire that investigators say was intentionally set. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:38:59]

FREEMAN: We continue to follow that breaking news on a mass shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, about an hour north of Detroit. Police say a 40-year-old man rammed his car into the front doors and then opened fire while hundreds of people were worshiping. At least one person was killed and nine others were injured. Children were also among the injured.

Now, authorities say the gunman also set the church on fire before getting into a fatal shootout with police. Now, the bomb squad is assessing what they believe could be an improvised device found on the church property. We will update you on this breaking story as it develops.

The deadline for the federal government to either get funded or shut down is getting closer, and the top congressional leaders are set to meet with president trump at The White House tomorrow. Both sides are trying to agree to a spending package by midnight on Tuesday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats will not give in when it comes to protecting health care coverage for Americans. Here is House Speaker Mike Johnson though reacted on today's "State of the Union."

[15:35:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): The Obamacare subsidies is a policy debate that has to be determined by the end of the year, December 31st -- December 30th, not right now while we are simply trying to keep the government open so we can have all of these debates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Free CNN's Camila DeChalus has been following all of today's developments and joins us now. Camila, catch us up to speed.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Hey there, Danny. Well, there is a lot of momentum leading up to this meeting at The White House tomorrow with President Trump and congressional leaders. Now, just earlier today, both Republicans and Democrats took to the Sunday shows to really lay out their negotiating terms in order to strike a deal before there is a government shutdown.

Democrats on their end, they are saying that they're not going to back any spending bill unless it includes an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies, while Republicans, meanwhile, are arguing that Democrats are refusing to compromise and that these subsidies, as you mentioned, should be debated at a later time, not at this current moment.

Now, one of the most telling moments earlier today was when Jake Tapper pressed House Speaker Mike Johnson directly on if negotiations will actually take place during tomorrow's meeting. This is what he said. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: Look, I am not going to get in front of the president and tell you what he will do. But I talked with him, you know, a couple of times, even yesterday and I am telling you where his head is, he wants to bring in the leaders to come in and act like leaders and do the right thing for the American people.

It is fine to have partisan debates and squabbles, but you don't hold the people hostage for their services to allow yourself political cover and that's what Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are doing right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, as you can see, Johnson wasn't willing to directly say if there will or won't happen behind closed doors at this meeting, but it does raise a big question, and that is, will tomorrow's meeting just simply be a stalling tactic where both parties are going to just reiterate their same talking points or will it finally mark the start of a real path forward in order to prevent a government shutdown?

FREEMAN: Camila DeChalus, thank you very much for that preview of what's going to be a very interesting week in D.C. Thanks so much.

And to this now, the Trump administration is dismantling the Education Department with the goal of getting rid of it altogether, but not before aligning it with MAGA-inspired policies. Secretary Linda McMahon is moving to protect prayer and promote so-called patriotic curriculums. The agency is also partnering with conservative organizations like Turning Point USA.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty reports on how the agency has emerged as a tool for the administration's cultural goals. SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Danny, we took at how the Education Secretary, Linda McMahon is operating now six months into her tenure. Multiple sources who work or have worked at the agency under McMahon, they describe her as someone who they see as largely a figurehead, someone who is not seen around the office very much, and someone who just carries out Trump's directive, which they say have very little interest in education itself.

One person told me, "I can't tell you what her guiding principle is. She just seems to be more of a direction taker." And McMahon has this very, very unique task. Her goal is to wind down the Department of Education, and she has done much of that.

She has cut nearly 50 percent of the jobs and is moving core functions to other parts of government. But at the same time, she is also making moves to put this MAGA-inspired stamp on public schools. Sources describe her as a vessel, a soldier in carrying out Trump's cultural priorities through the department.

The department is moving to protect prayer in public schools. They are moving to tie funding to patriotic curriculums, and they recently announced they would partner with conservative organizations, including Turning Point USA, to put forward civic education in schools.

Education experts say this is creating this tension between what the Trump administration says it wants, the dismantling of the agency and to return control to the states, and this aggressive use of the agency to achieve other cultural goals -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Sunlen Serfaty, thank you for that reporting.

All right, still to come, just over a year after Hurricane Helene devastated Asheville, North Carolina, the community is still picking up the pieces. Coming up in a moment, we will hear from a local church leader on how people are trying to heal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:59]

FREEMAN: It's been more than a year since Hurricane Helene devastated the Southeast Coast, killing at least 250 people. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the Mainland U.S. since Katrina.

In Asheville, North Carolina, the destruction was catastrophic, and while rebuilding efforts are underway, recovery has been slow.

Joining us now is Tim McElyea. He is the chief administrative officer for the Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry and helped people evacuate during the storm.

Tim, thank you so much for being with us.

First, if you wouldn't mind, can you tell us a little bit about the community, ABCCM serves and the challenges you've been facing a year since Helene?

TIM MCELYEA, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER, ASHEVILLE-BUNCOMBE COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN MINISTRY: Sure. Well, here in Western North Carolina, we serve the Greater Metropolitan Asheville and Buncombe County. Our organization has been serving the community for over 55 years, and certainly I think during those 55 years, we never saw anything quite to the extent that we saw with Hurricane Helena.

It has ravaged our area. And, you know, we've certainly done everything that we can possibly do to step up and try to provide you know, recovery relief and you know, just support our community across board in any way that we possibly can.

FREEMAN: And, Tim, can you remind our viewers, I mean, what was -- what were you doing when that storm hit your community? What were you doing and what was your organization doing in those immediate moments?

MCELYEA: Right. Well, we serve a lot of needs here in our community. One of the biggest ones that we do is we have several homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities that we operate. One of those is called the Veterans Restoration Quarters, and it is a facility specifically for homeless veterans.

When the hurricane came in, that facility was devastated. It was impacted tremendously. We had to evacuate that facility via the National Guard. We had about 200 to 230 homeless veterans that were staying with us at the time. So they got evacuated into some Red Cross emergency shelters that were set up.

And then, of course, you know, once we were able to get back online because we had mass electrical-water outages. You know, as you can imagine we immediately jumped in and started getting relief out to the community distributing clothing and food and, you know, just all of those things to try to ease the impact of what had just occurred.

FREEMAN: I mean, just a vital, vital lifeline for your community.

Tim, can you explain what has been the biggest challenge over the course of the past year when it comes to rebuilding?

MCELYEA: Well, there has been many, many challenges as far as that goes. Of course, you know, the majority of folks here, and, you know, we talk amongst ourselves, it was kind of like, when we here prepare for a hurricane in the mountains, it is like preparing for a blizzard at the beach. I mean, it is just not something that you expect or, you know, expect that you have to deal with.

So that alone, I think, was very, very challenging. And then because of the breadth of the damage and destruction here, you know, we of course, no one was supplied enough to provide the kind of relief that was needed throughout the throughout the community.

And then, you know, as well, FEMA has been in our community working. They're working as hard as they can to get to as many people as they can. But most people here, of course, did not have flood insurance and that sort of thing. So that, you know, I think that has certainly been a challenge here in our community as well.

FREEMAN: Tim, I am curious, you know, after a year since this storm and obviously recovery is still ongoing, but what's giving you hope about the future of this community, of your Asheville?

MCELYEA: What is really giving me hope is the way that our community has come together, not just here locally, but from across the nation. We have had so many people step up to provide support and, you know, call us and send donations and that sort of thing.

When our Veterans Restoration Quarters was destroyed, we literally did not know what we were going to do. And of course, we wanted to rebuild that facility. Right after we evacuated, we got a call from Team Rubicon, and for those of you that don't know who Team Rubicon is, it is a veteran-led humanitarian organization, that has, you know, provided those services globally. They called us and said were going to come and, clean up the VRQ for you and get it ready to, you know, get back online. You guys don't have to worry about anything.

They came here and spent about three months working with us and getting that done. The Home Depot Foundation has stepped up and provided all kinds of relief for us. Bob Woodruff Foundation, I mean, that's just to name a few. But there has been so many organizations that stepped forward to help our community. It's just been amazing.

FREEMAN: That is amazing. And I know there is still work to be done, but I am so glad there are folks like yourself on the ground who are getting that work done.

Tim McElyea, thank you so much for sharing a bit of your community in Ashville that's so important to us. Appreciate you.

MCELYEA: Thanks for having me on today, Danny. Really appreciate it.

FREEMAN: You bet.

All right. We have a quick update on our breaking news story on that mass shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan.

[15:55:00]

Police now say two people died after a man rammed his car into the front doors and then opened fire, while hundreds of people were worshiping. Children have been among those injured. Now, authorities believe the gunman also set the church on fire before getting into a fatal shootout with police.

Will update you more on this breaking story as it develops, but for now, we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: All right, let's get some happy news in here. New today, congratulations are in order for singer and actress, Selena Gomez. Gomez married record producer, Benny Blanco yesterday. The couple exchanged vows during a private ceremony according to Gomez who announced her marriage on social media.

The newlyweds have been together since 2023, but they actually met in 2015. Gomez and Blanco even released an album together earlier this year titled, "I Said I Love You First." Well, congrats to the happy couple.

And this now, take a trip around the world with Tony Shalhoub to discover how bread connects us in the brand new CNN Originals series, "Tony Shalhoub: Breaking Bread." It premieres next Sunday, October 5th at 9:00 P.M. on CNN. I will bring the olive oil. Love it.

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