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U.K. Police Arrest Five On Suspicion Of Terror Near Base Used By U.S.; Deadly Nor'easter Lashes Coastal Communities With Flooding Rains, Wind; Two Giant Pandas Arrive At Zoo Atlanta On Rare Loan From China; Republicans Fear Key NC, GA Senate Races Are Slipping From Their Grasp; Two Mass Shootings In South Africa Leave 27 Dead; LGBTQ Migrants Deported To Countries Where They're At Risk. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired September 27, 2026 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:00:29]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Happening now -- nasty Nor'easter. The deadly storm is continuing to batter the northeast with wind and rain, crippling air travel across the nation as well. This hour, nearly 4,000 flights delayed, more than 450 canceled.
Plus, is the U.S. Senate slipping away? Just five weeks ahead of the midterms, new CNN reporting on the Red state races that have some Republicans considering a new spending strategy.
And later, panda-monium. Atlanta is now home to a pair of new pandas from China. Details on when we'll get to see the adorable ambassadors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.
WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
And we begin with breaking news.
British police say they thwarted what could have been a terror attack on an Airbus used by U.S. forces.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD O'CONE, ASST. CHIEF CONSTABLE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE CONSTABULARY: Police received a call relating to three suspicious vehicles traveling towards RAF Fairford.
Armed officers responded and subsequently arrested five men in the Welford area on suspicion of committing offenses under the Explosives Act. The men were taken into custody where they remain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: President Trump, commenting on the arrests, saying the men were, quote, "looking to do big damage". He also said they had been under investigation for some time. The U.S. has been using the Royal Air Force base at Fairford, which is about 85 miles west of London, for long range bombers Since the early days of the Iran war.
CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is there for us. So what is known about these suspects?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Very little. The five men were detained in the early hours of the morning, and it does seem to be as a result of a tip off from somebody who lived very local to the airbase here.
Now, villagers have been telling us that the airbase had been on A lockdown. That's what they believe for the past week or so, because there were there was nobody, they said, coming off the base into the village. And they're used to seeing people, you know, service personnel in the village all the time.
And when I asked a local councilor here who was involved in the evacuation of those 85 families who live close to the base, close to where these five men were arrested, and these three white vans seized and then investigated by the army bomb squad.
When I asked him about the base being on lockdown, he said yes, that there was extra vigilance. There had been extra security around the base. In fact, he said that the IRGC, the Iranian high military command, had actually threatened RAF Fairford base by name just five weeks ago.
Now, certainly the police are not saying that this is linked to Iran. They're not saying the five men are linked to Iran at the moment. They are saying that they're being held on suspicion of terrorism offenses.
But the local council are framing it this way, that it was very good that somebody in the village had been perceptive enough and had actually called in to the police when they -- when they saw something that was out of the ordinary.
The investigations going on, and because these five men are now being held on suspicion of terrorism charges, they can be held for up to two weeks.
While we've been standing here now, I heard what sounded like a controlled detonation coming from the direction of the airbase. But there's very little information about the nature of the explosives that the police believe that they seized from the vehicles, or the five men who've been detained.
But it does appear as if the security of this base was helped by one of the local villagers spotting something out of the ordinary in the early hours of the morning.
WHITFIELD: All right. Good news indeed on that mixed messaging on the news overall.
All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much.
All right. In this country we have more breaking news.
[14:04:44]
WHITFIELD: The Nor'easter that has been pummeling the East Coast with flooding, rain and fierce winds has now turned deadly. Officials say one person was killed and four others, including two children, were injured in Brooklyn by fallen trees.
Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, who is on the Massachusetts coast where things still look pretty gnarly there. Derek, what's it like?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Good afternoon, Fredricka.
Even though our rare September Nor'easter, this powerful storm system is slowly starting to wind down, the impacts are still being felt and we're not out of the woods just yet.
I mean just look down the coastline here in Hull, Massachusetts earlier today, we had high tide about two hours ago. And with this persistent northeasterly wind, it was pushing the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the seawall here that you see behind me.
And we even had this kind of sea spray that was coming up and over the top. People are coming out to just give it a look.
Locals here trying to say, hey, you know, this doesn't happen that often. The angry ocean out there all churned up from this very destructive coastal storm that has not quite faltered just yet.
Think about what this storm has done. It brought 70 mile-per-hour wind gusts to Barnstable County just to my south. That's incredible.
Yesterday we were situated on the coastline of Scituate, Massachusetts, an area that's no stranger to these coastal Nor'easters. We saw two-story high waves pummeling over the top of seawalls, splashing homes, and even flooding some of the local streets within the area.
That has been the case anywhere where the Atlantic meets the coast into southern New England all the way down into the Jersey Shore, the coastal erosion and the coastal flooding has been a serious impact.
But further than that, the power outages that topped over 100,000 customers at one time this morning. Unfortunately, the fatalities and the amount of cancellations that have happened from concerts to music festivals to sporting events.
This storm meant business this weekend and it's disrupted and upended people's lives in a big way, including anyone who's traveling in or out of the major airports from Boston, Logan International to JFK to LaGuardia. These areas are all reporting either delays or cancellations today.
So you can see, we're not out of the woods just yet. This ocean remains very churned up because of the winds that continue to bring in the impressive amounts of sea spray, and occasionally the heavy bursts of rain associated with it. But as the storm kind of peters out over the days to come, we're going
to have that ripple effect in the transportation sector.
We all have been there, Fredricka, you know, when we have delay after delay, they pile up and last into, unfortunately, the first parts of our workweek starting tomorrow. So something to be mindful of.
WHITFIELD: Yes, very inconvenient, but still, you know, potentially dangerous as well. All right.
Derek Van Dam, thank you so much.
VAN DAM: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Appreciate that.
Here in the weather center, CNN meteorologist Melissa Nord. So what's up with this storm in terms of, you know, its longevity?
MELISSA NORD, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is a really long-lasting storm. And I think that shows the power and the nature of it.
But at this point, we've seen kind of the peak of the pressure level dropping. And gradually this Nor'easter is going to be weakening as we head through the next one and two days.
But it still kind of meanders off the coast as we look at the rest of today and tomorrow.
You can see big picture radar and satellite. There's the center of it right along the coast there in New Jersey. New Jersey has also seen a lot of that coastal flooding.
Those highest tides we saw this morning, those water levels have receded, but there's another high tide coming this evening. Shouldn't be as high as what we just dealt with over the last 24 hours, but still meandering.
So that means even if you're not along the coast, it's still gusty. We're still dealing with these breezy winds and a lot of this rain, that rain moving on shore through, out towards Boston and also Rhode Island.
Still a risk that there could be from the rain itself, some flooding, additional rainfall in some areas could be another one to three, as much as four inches or so between today and Tuesday.
Here's the radar. You can see we're still seeing those bands of rain pivoting around. Now further inland, it's going to be kind of on and off showers as breezy winds through the overnight into tomorrow as well. We'll push that forecast track out into Monday morning. Messy commute along Long Island out towards Boston as well.
And then we should see some reprieve for places like New Jersey by tomorrow morning. But then it will take until Tuesday morning before a lot of that rain clears places like Boston. Rip current threat not going anywhere. Do not go in these waters. Even though our peak wind gusts have come down from those, you know, 60, 70 mile-per-hour wind gusts that we saw yesterday and first thing this morning.
Currently, we're seeing wind gusts only around 20 to 30 miles an hour. There's one in Nantucket, 24 miles an hour. We're still going to see gusty winds, but hopefully with the magnitude of those wind gusts coming down a bit, this should help some of those really big travel headaches with the airports kind of recede a little bit as we push into tomorrow.
[14:09:43]
NORD: So still some wind gusts through this evening and overnight and through Long Island that are going to be around 30 miles-an-hour or so. You can see those forecast wind gusts by the end of tomorrow starting to back down below 20 miles-an-hour.
So again, a big storm, powerful storm, and it still meanders, Fredricka, through the day tomorrow. So although it may not be the intensity it was, people just want this thing out of here.
WHITFIELD: Right. It is a lingering and very annoying Nor'easter.
NORD: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Melissa. We'll check back with you.
All right. We'll continue to monitor the storm throughout the hour. And you can check it out 24/7 by downloading CNN's new weather app. And you can find a link to it at CNN.com/weather, the iPhone App Store or with the QR code at the bottom of the screen here.
All right. Coming up, a manhunt is underway right now in South Africa after back-to-back mass shootings leave more than 30 people dead. What we're learning about the suspected gunman and what may have motivated this violence.
Plus deportation nightmare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It must be scary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's terrifying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The terrifying reality for some LGBTQ migrants caught in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
And an 8,000-mile journey. A massive security detail and a whole lot of bamboo. The bamboo -- the panda diplomats making their American debut. [14:11:11]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: After a journey that covered nearly 8,000 miles, two very special guests have arrived at Zoo Atlanta, and they're already stealing hearts even before settling into their new home. The pair of giant pandas are on loan from China as part of Beijing's long tradition of panda diplomacy, which dates back to 1972.
We're joined by CNN's David Culver, as well as Rafael Romo in Atlanta.
So, Rafael, you first. I mean, this is quite the production to get these pandas here. A 16-hour flight, special crates, and even a police escort once they landed. So what's next?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of peace and quiet for now because we won't be able to see them for a month because they're quarantined, Fred.
And the panda bears arrived at their new home here at Zoo Atlanta right around 9:00 this morning after being transported by land from Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.
Each panda bear was transported in a separate FedEx truck showing a panda bear image on the side of the cargo area. Each truck carried a crate inside that served as the panda bears transportation unit as they were escorted by police for the ten-mile trip between the airport and the zoo in the same containers used for their entire trip from China.
CNN witnessed the moment just before seven this morning when FedEx Flight 9756, dubbed FedEx Panda Express, landed at the airport after a more than 15-hour flight from Chengdu, Chinese provincial capital where the bears are from and where a Chinese panda bear breeding program is located.
Chinese President Xi announced Thursday during his remarks at the White House that China would send two panda bears to the United States, calling the bear species an envoy of friendship between the Chinese and Americans.
We've been talking to families here at the zoo, Fred, who told us they are excited to once again have the opportunity to visit pandas, especially those who have young children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATY JUSTICE, ATLANTA RESIDENT: I was pretty excited. We have, you know, our baby. So we're excited to take her to the zoo for the first time and get to see the pandas again, so. We saw them when they were here a while ago.
ZACH JUSTICE, ATLANTA RESIDENT: I mean, I think it will be really cool for her to be able to look back and see pictures of her with the pandas. And I know as a family, we're excited anytime we get to show our baby new experiences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: And not only families are excited here in the Grant Park neighborhood, Fred, but also businesses. Ali's Market and Deli, a local favorite is welcoming the pandas with a drawing just outside their door that says "Welcome Ping Ping and Fu Shuang" in both English and Chinese.
Zoo Atlanta said that the public won't be able to see Ping Ping and Fu Shuang right away because they will be housed in a bio secure area for what they call a routine quarantine period of around one month. So it's going to take a while for the public to see them, Fred.
WHITFIELD: And the anticipation will continue to build. Thank you so much, Rafael.
All right. David, to you, these pandas, you know, they're arriving at a pretty significant moment in U.S.-China relations. How long has this been in the works since Atlanta returned its last resident pandas back to China in 2024?
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This goes back several decades. 1972 is Pat Nixon's visit, along with her husband, then-President Richard Nixon. And they were sitting there, Fredricka, along with Premier Zhou Enlai and Pat Nixon, remarked at the time, oh, those are cute. She was looking at a cigarette box and she saw the two giant pandas.
and he was like, you want them? And that's how we ended up basically where we are today.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
CULVER: Now it started as a gift and then has become a loan, a pricey one at that. I mean, we're talking about $1 million a pair for each of these pandas. And then, you know, any cubs that they have will go back to China.
[14:19:44]
CULVER: But when you look at this as, you know, a diplomatic effort, I think some folks have questioned whether it still holds up in the same level that it once did.
And oddly enough, I mean, this exchange of pandas, these beautiful creatures that I have had the opportunity to see in Chengdu many times, even seeing the last send off to the pair that went from Chengdu to D.C., the Smithsonian National Zoo.
And you see them for what they are. I mean, they're sometimes lazy. They're though more so innocent. They're cuddly. They're really tranquil and peaceful.
And I think there is something to say to that, because you have people not only here in the U.S. who are just so attracted to, to trying to get there and see them in person. I mean, they're oftentimes the number one animal and attraction for a zoo. So they bring in the numbers.
But there's also this aspect in China that I have seen firsthand, where every single day you have some 70,000 people who will line up at the Chengdu research base and have several different campuses where they have dozens of different pandas.
And people will literally, at six in the morning, start lining up. And then once the gates open, they will sprint towards their favorite pandas.
Now, this is not just, you know, an obsession over this creature. There is something then to watch where people will, for several minutes, sometimes hours even, take in these animals.
And it says something about, Fredricka, the inner nature of humanity, I think, and shared on both sides, where people are just drawn to that quietness, that stillness in a world of a lot of tensions and anxiety.
That said, there's also a lot of politics behind this, and that's something that does not happen overnight. So it may feel like folks who are watching saying, oh, suddenly there are pandas in Atlanta. That's great.
But this is months, sometimes years in the making.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And there's something about them. They just are fascinating to look at. Even when they're not doing anything, you still just want to sit there --
CULVER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- and watch and stare.
All right.
CULVER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: David Culver, Rafael Romo -- thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.
All right. Coming up, the Red state political races that some Republicans fear could be slipping from their grasp as we count down to the midterm elections.
[14:21:46]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Hard to believe, but we're now just 37 days until the critical midterm elections when voters will decide who controls the House and Senate. And today, retiring North Carolina GOP Senator Thom Tillis suggesting that Michael Whatley, the Republican trying to succeed him, faces an uphill battle in his Senate race against Democrat Roy Cooper in North Carolina. Tillis says it may be time for the Republican Party to shift money to
states it believes can win in a bid to hang on to control of the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): The reality is we have to keep a majority. We've got to make sure Susan Collins wins. We've got to focus on Alaska. We've got to focus on Ohio.
But we've also got to focus on some of these states that are popping up as competitive. Texas, for example. That, to me, is an unforced error created by the president. Now, the president needs to invest in there to make sure Paxton wins.
We've just got to have an honest discussion with our colleagues, with our NRSC and with the voters about what good Republicans are doing and why we deserve to keep a majority in Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me right now to talk more about all of this, the upcoming midterms is Bill Crane. He's a political analyst with CSI Crane. Bill, great to see you. I mean, it is hard to believe that were just 37 days away now.
BILL CRANE, POLITICAL ANALYST, CSI CRANE: this election is coming to an end.
WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. Or something.
So Trump, you know, won the state of North Carolina three times. But does it look like Democrats are in a position to flip that state in the Senate?
CRANE: It does. And there are four states where the president became so involved chasing Republican incumbents out, like Thom Tillis, who we just saw on camera, that those states that should have been easy wins like Texas, like North Carolina, like Louisiana.
And when you're even looking at a state like South Carolina, where Darline Graham is not assured of victory, or Susan Collins because of a recent bump up there on a particular issue, a scandal, if you will. That seat may go Democratic.
So when you have a 53-47 majority and they're bringing back essentially Senator Mitch McConnell, just to hang on to the vote, it tells you how tenuous things are.
WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, what does this say about potentially in the end, it is the president who may have shot himself in the foot by pushing out Republicans who ultimately might have been popular in those seats.
CRANE: Not only that, the president's agenda, which he was elected on, is not the agenda that he served on. So even Republican base voters are looking and wanting to say, and it's palpable. You're seeing it in the polling data. You're seeing it in interviews, focus groups to say no.
And the president is not on the ballot, but the majorities in both chambers are.
And I think the House at this point is safely lost by the Republicans to the Democrats. I don't think that's in question anymore.
The Senate's possible for the GOP to maintain a majority, but it's going to be close, and we'll have a long election night and probably a lot of challenges to close election night.
WHITFIELD: Right. Texas, also one of those states. Is it your opinion that Talarico may actually have a pretty good fighting chance, a Democrat?
CRANE: I was talking yesterday to some friends of Karl Rove's, and they believe Texas is in a place it hasn't been in almost 35 years, which is a Republican losing a statewide race. And it not being close.
WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.
You know, Tillis, he didn't mention putting money, you know, in the Senate race in Georgia, where a Democratic, you know, incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff --
(CROSSTALKING)
CRANE: At this point, Jon Ossoff, doesn't need it. But the Trump administration, I am told the campaigns are going to be putting some money into Texas because they still think they can save that state.
WHITFIELD: Ok. And what is the difference between a Texas investment and a Georgia investment?
CRANE: Well, size and scope, for one. There's so many television markets in Texas in such a broad -- and if you want to put money into turnout as an example -- it's a much bigger challenge in a state like Texas.
[14:29:50]
CRANE: We've only got 10 million people compared to Texas is I think 15 or 20 million people. The state of Texas should not even have been in contest.
18 months ago, Jon Ossoff, our senator here in Georgia, was determined to be one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the chamber. And now I think he's creeping into double digit leads against his challenger, Mike Collins.
And the NRSC is actually pulling back money that would have been invested here in Georgia, because they don't think this state might be not winnable for a Republican in this cycle. WHITFIELD: And what about this tone and tenor coming from the
president who has said, you know, think of me, you know, I'm not on the ballot, but pretend I am. However, he seems to distance himself from that kind of mantra. If the outcome is bad, it wasn't me. It's the Republican Party's problem.
CRANE: Bad choices.
So yesterday afternoon, the president was in Knoxville, Tennessee, a state with a Republican governor, two Republican senators, almost all constitutional officers, Republican at a game between University of Tennessee and the University of Texas.
And again, I was in Athens at a different ball game. But I heard the boos when he was put up on the jumbotron. And when they showed the video, when the planes flew over were louder than the cheers in Tennessee, which I believe the president won Tennessee by 26 points in the last cycle.
WHITFIELD: Why do you believe he wanted to be at that game?
CRANE: He likes big crowds and he likes adulation, and he likes getting a round of applause. I mean, he was surprised --
WHITFIELD: That doesn't sound like adulation.
CRANE: No. Nor did, nor was the Knicks game that he kind of. Yeah, I don't think he got the reaction, but I think the bubble around him of his staff is so insulating that he really doesn't believe the numbers that you just showed on screen are real.
WHITFIELD: And there really is tension. It's being exhibited in different ways. Overnight, the president directing his fire toward a Republican congresswoman in Florida who is in a competitive race and who recently criticized the president on immigration, saying, wait a minute, a lot of, you know, Latinos were backing you. But now, as a result of immigration policy --
CRANE: She's a Latina --
WHITFIELD: Yes.
CRANE: -- that can speak from a community that has both illegals and native citizens and natural born citizens are saying, we understood securing the border.
WHITFIELD: Yeah.
CRANE: We don't understand taking away somebody who's been here 30 years as a gardener, as a landscaper, working in a hotel, running a small business, particularly those people who have a legal green card. I mean, we know time and again, even American citizens have been queued up for deportation.
WHITFIELD: And that message has been sent. However, you know, President Trump has dug in his heels. Is it different coming from an elected member of Congress?
CRANE: It might be, but I think this president believes that issue in particular is so winning and so energizing for his core base, though there's not enough of them numerically anymore that they can pull them across.
WHITFIELD: And this, as you know, the presidents poll numbers are historically very low. Voters seem very concerned about his handling of the economy, inflation, the war. And the president, you know, has been saying everything is good. Actually, he says, the economy is hot. That's his language.
CRANE: The stock market is hot.
WHITFIELD: And we're bringing in so much money into the states. That is his, you know, best defense against criticism about how Americans are feeling.
CRANE: The tariffs have been refunded to large corporations who paid them because they've been determined by the courts, as the president did not have the authority to set them. So, the -- you know, he talks about the $5,000 dividend. If the Republican Congress is reelected, but that money is vanishing and going back to corporations, but not the consumers who paid higher prices as a result of those same tariffs.
The economy is wobbly. And when you've got A.I. looking, you had Bill Gates earlier on the -- on the show talking about job loss looming. And people are already feeling that.
WHITFIELD: Yeah.
CRANE: It's a very challenging time in terms of economic uncertainty. And when you have a war going on, that's not a combination in a midterm where the party in power typically loses seats anyway.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, that's the opposite of optimistic and optimism.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Bill Crane, great to see you. Thank you so much.
CRANE: Good to be here.
WHITFIELD: And if you want a real taste of Texas, however, now we're talking politics, but we're talking the palate.
CRANE: Oh, the view.
WHITFIELD: You may have to hit the highway. That's exactly what world renowned chef David Chang is doing in his new episode of "THE DETOUR". Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Bianco. My name is Sandra. I'll be helping you out today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are so many choices here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, your options are. If you want just tacos on their own, you can order tacos. If you want a breakfast plate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let me get some fideo.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Regular fideo or you want the fideo loco.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fideo loco, por favor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's never had fideo loco.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no, he needs to try.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He needs to try fideo loco
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know her enchiladas.
DAVID CHANG, HOST, THE DETOUR: Well, don't worry about me. I'm getting everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would suggest this one right here. You get a little bit of everything. You get two enchiladas, rice, beans, and you get carney guisada, which is a --
CHANG: Yeah, 100 percent. But can I also get an order of chilaquiles, and could I get a caldo de pollo? I got to get a taco, too. I -- can I get a potato and bean? Should we bring another table?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh big bowls, big plates. I like that. An all new episode of "THE DETOUR WITH DAVID CHANG" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. and Monday with an all access subscription.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:39:29]
WHITFIELD: New today, a pair of deadly mass shootings in South Africa left at least 27 people dead. Police say they're still hunting for suspects who opened fire at a bar in one of the incidents.
As CNN's Stefano Pozzebon reports, this is just part of a wave of violence hitting the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: There are scant details. So over two mass shootings that took place overnight in South Africa, as the police are still searching for the victims. In one of these incidents, you can probably see the images fresh now on CNN. At least 17 people were killed in the first incident where the gunman opened fire on a crowd at a bar reported in the township of Wedela, some 65 kilometers or 40 miles southwest of Johannesburg.
In another gruesome incident, at least ten people were killed in a similar incident at a bar in Cape Town to the southeast of the country in what the police believe could have been just a business dispute.
LT. GENERAL SIZKHELE WILLIAM DYANTYI, SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE: Now, according to the owner in terms of the preliminary investigation that that we have, it seems there is a business rivalry, a business jealousy that might have been the issue.
POZZEBON: These massacres are just an example of the gruesome murder crisis that is grappling the African nation. According to preliminary figures by the police collected between January and March this year, an average of 58 murders occur every single day in South Africa. And this is why in March, the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, ordered the deployment of the army as a way to support the police in tackling this crime crisis, that is mostly has to do with criminal gangs.
Back then and earlier, before Ramaphosa had called the criminal and organized crime as the most imminent threat to south African democracy.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Stefano, thank you so much.
All right. As the Trump administrations immigration crackdown expands, protections for LGBTQ migrants are vanishing. Some are being deported to countries they've never been, where they have no ties and where their sexuality makes them a target. For years, the U.S. was seen as a safe haven, and migrants would be allowed to stay if they convince a court, they would face persecution and their life would be at risk if deported.
But that is now changing. CNN's Isobel Yeung reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm bisexual in my country, that is illegal. That is a sin. That is a crime.
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So this 21-year-old woman says that because of her sexuality, she and her family have been targeted in Ghana and even accused of witchcraft. So, she says she fled Ghana to the U.S., where she sought refuge. And a U.S. judge actually granted her protections. YEUNG (voice-over): We recently traveled to Central Africa because
this woman is one of a growing number of LGBTQ individuals who ICE has deported, not to their home country, but to a third country instead.
The Trump administration has signed at least 35 deals with various countries to accept migrants who can't be deported to their countries of origin, including a number of African nations.
YEUNG: So this woman, for example, is now in Cameroon, where homosexuality is criminalized.
It must be scary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's terrifying. Its like you're a criminal.
YEUNG (voice-over): In the Central African Republic, I asked locals what they thought.
YEUNG: What about people of different sexualities, people who are homosexual? Are they welcome here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): We don't like them. They should be killed.
YEUNG: So what would you do if you came across a person of a different sexuality?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): Well, what do we think? There's no question. They should all be killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): We don't want them to live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): They're men like us. They let themselves be penetrated from behind. We don't like that.
YEUNG (voice-over): Several migrants are from Turkey, where the government has recently carried out a widespread crackdown on LGBTQ activists. Many migrants deported to third countries are living in limbo, terrified to leave the buildings they're being held in. They say they'll be killed if they return to their home countries.
But with few options. Some have now repatriated and are living in fear.
YEUNG: Has your opinion about America and American people changed?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd be lying if I said it hasn't, because I was going to America to seek protection, to seek safety. Because America has given an image of accepting all, of a free world.
YEUNG (voice-over): The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has argued that migrants are receiving due process and that third country agreements are lawful tools to carry out removal orders.
Isobel Yeung, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Isobel, thanks so much.
All right. Still ahead --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I write, it's like a boulder has been lifted off my shoulders.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel free. I don't feel like I'm in jail
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: How a book club at Rikers Island is helping incarcerated women transform their lives.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:49:38]
WHITFIELD: Behind the walls of New Yorks most notorious jail. Books are opening doors. We all know how a good book can help you escape or even heal. But inside Rikers Island, that escape is a lifeline. A unique book club there is giving incarcerated women a safe place to process their trauma, find their voices, and build a community.
They spoke to us about how reading is transforming their lives with every turn of a page.
[14:50:05]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NORA FRIED, ROSEBUDS READING COLLECTIVE, CEO & FOUNDER: How is everyone? Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi. My name is Nora. And we are the rosebuds reading collective. We have a lot of familiar faces today.
Do we like the book? Yes, yes. No
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A little different than the other parts.
FRIED: It was really different than the other parts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I read, it is a form of escapism and I get to escape my own reality because my own reality is just not cutting it.
FRIED: Do you guys ever feel like that? I feel like I'm always chasing things sometimes that are maybe not the best for me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They say if the drugs don't kill you, then the lifestyle will, right?
FRIED: It started in February of 2025. I was going through a hard time at the time. I was personally reading a lot, and I was spending a lot of time with myself. And the idea of just basically starting a book club in a jail popped into my head.
JULIA FOX, ROSEBUDS READING COLLECTIVE, CO-FOUNDER: And then I got involved because she read my book at the book club, and at the time, my brother was actually here in the men's section. So I also kind of saw it as a sign from God.
FRIED: Do you -- do you believe people get a chance to start over? Okay. Yes, yes.
We don't just read the book and write. We also bring community and really speak with the women who are currently in custody. I mean, I've been sober -- for I'm now coming up on three years, but I just -- oh thank you. I know you guys always clap for me when I say this. Thank you.
We see so many women come in here and you can tell they're just holding so much regret and shame and pain. And like, I want them to see that, like, there's another side of life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My life was horrible. When I write, it's like a boulder has been lifted off my shoulders.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel free. I don't feel like I'm in jail. I don't. And it feels good to express your feelings. You usually don't have nobody to talk to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This club has given me opportunities to express myself. You know, I never even thought about, like, writing my feelings down on paper.
FOX: When we are doing something like this, it's about who needs it the most and, who could it help the most? And it's really, its something as basic as reading, you know, and it can really change lives.
FRIED: Okay. I'm passing the baton to Julia.
FOX: Okay. I was just listening, and I really loved what you guys were saying about, you know, boundaries and letting go of people. I think we should write about a person in your life that you had to let go of, even though you really didn't want to.
When I was a little girl, I would stay up all night writing and I would write these stories. And again, it was escapism. And then, you know, in adulthood, writing my book "Down the Drain", I feel like that really kind of changed the course of my life. It was so cathartic.
So this is written by Dasia (ph): My Dad, first, he didn't show me love. He ignored me. And even when I did reach out, he would keep me hanging from a rope and would only pull or call on me when needed. But as soon as I needed him, he was nowhere to be found.
So sad. Thank you for sharing that. That's a really hard one.
Okay, who else wants to? Ms. Angela's going to share. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really liked her, and she really liked me. And
all we did was kiss. One week, I came to school and she didn't show up the whole week, and I looked on my MySpace and seen that she was killed in Kings Park by a gang member, a rival of hers.
I took a turn for the worse, staying out late doing real reckless things that I'm ashamed of now. And I never had a relationship with a woman ever since.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, wow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, I was real young.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
FOX: I just hope that they keep this practice up in their daily lives, you know, even once they're released. I think incorporating reading and writing into your everyday life does wonders for people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have given me a place where I can express who I am without feeling judged. You know, I hold a lot of pain inside and I don't have nobody I can talk to. I don't have nobody an outlet. I don't have an ear. So, it means a lot to me.
PRODUCER: Are you going to leave soon?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I leave Monday
PRODUCER: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I'm not going to miss the walls and the locks and the keys. I'm not going to miss that. This moment right here I'm going to miss, the book club. I'm not going to be on the outside and have no book club to go to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to keep the book club going on the outside for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to keep sending you the books.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to miss the ladies, too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're welcome.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Angela.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Wow. So powerful.
All right, coming up, what President Trump is now saying about a return to negotiations after turning down Iran's offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:59:48]
WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. I thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
And we begin this hour with President Trump saying he expects talks with Iran to continue this week. The president made the comments to "Axios". Just yesterday, he rejected Iran's latest proposal, which would have included fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. meeting certain conditions, including --
