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CNN This Morning

Three Dead, Eight Hurt After Boater Fires Into Waterfront Bar; Tropical Depression Nine Could Become Tropical Storm Imelda Soon; South Carolina Declares State Of Emergency Ahead Of Storm; Four Dead In Arizona Floods, Search Continues For Some Unaccounted For; Jeffries, Schumer Release Statement On Negotiations With Trump; Government Runs Out Of Money On Tuesday; Trump Says Troops Going To Portland To Protect ICE Facilities; Netanyahu Take Unapologetic Stance In Fiery U.N. Speech; Trump's Memphis Guard Plan Starts Next Week; Fifty-eight Million Pounds Of Corn Dogs Recalled For Wood In Batter Nationwide; Paper Tax Refund Checks Ending, Refunds Go Digital; Trump, Netanyahu set For White House Talks On Gaza War, Hostages; Four Dead, Dozens Hurt In Russian Strikes To Ukraine; At Least 39 Killed In Crowd Crush At Indian Political Rally. Wife Of Dallas ICE Shooting Victim Speaks Out; Des Moines Schools Superintendent On Leave After ICE Arrest; Trump Accuses Fmr FBI Director Wray Of Lying About Capitol Riot; "60 Minutes" Returns After Tumultuous Season; "No Laughing Matter: Free Speech Under Attack" Airs Tonight At 9PM ET. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired September 28, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:37]

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Sunday, September 28th. I'm Veronica Miracle in for Victor Blackwell.

Here's what's new this morning. We are following breaking news out of North Carolina, where police say a man drove his boat up to a waterfront bar and started shooting. What we're learning about the victims, that's coming up.

And we're keeping a close eye on Tropical Depression Nine. It could bring heavy rains, winds and flooding to the southeast coast this week. We just got a new advisory from the hurricane center. Those details are straight ahead.

And the clock is ticking and the country is waiting to see if lawmakers will be able to hammer out a deal to avoid a government shutdown. What we're learning about an upcoming meeting between President Trump and Democrats.

And there are new developments in the case of the Des Moines, Iowa, school superintendent detained by ICE. The action the school board took when they met yesterday. That's coming up.

We start with breaking news out of North Carolina right now. A drive- by boat shooting at a waterfront bar has resulted in multiple casualties. Three people are dead and eight people are hurt. Authorities say a person pulled up in a boat to the American Fish Company, then started shooting. This happened in Southport. That's about 30 miles south of Wilmington just before 9:30 last night. The local police chief says several agencies are now helping with this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF TODD CORING, SOUTHPORT POLICE: We have multiple agencies that have responded to assist Southport tonight to include Oak Island, Boiling Spring Lake, Shallotte. The North Carolina SBI is here. ATF is with us. The district attorney is here on site with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: Investigators say the shooter sped off toward Oak Island. A U.S. coast guard spotted someone just 30 minutes after the shooting that matched the shooter's description. That person has been detained. Investigators say there is no ongoing threat, and there's not a clear motive yet behind the shooting.

And any minute now, Tropical Depression Nine could become tropical storm Imelda as it heads for the southeastern coast. Parts of Florida's East Coast are under a tropical storm watch, and South Carolina already issued a state of emergency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. HENRY MCMASTER (R-SC): We're going to have high winds. We know that we're going to have a lot of water. We know that we're going to have flooding. And in parts of the state -- maybe some parts that we haven't seen before. But the good news is that the storm probably will stay out in the ocean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: The storm may not make landfall, but that could still trigger coastal flooding and power outages. And CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar, she joins me now. You've been tracking its path. What can you tell us this morning?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It still looks like a very disorganized cluster of thunderstorms when you look at it, but the potential is there for it to develop a little bit later on as we go through the rest of the day.

So, what's going to happen is we take a look at the graphics. Here you can kind of see the two different storms that we have there. You've got the Humberto on the right and what will become Imelda on the left- hand side. Again, it's a little bit stronger. We're going to anticipate seeing that storm begin to intensify as we get later on into the day.

Now here's Humberto. It had been a category five, now down to a four, but I want to emphasize a category five is 157. So, it's really not that far off. We're only talking two miles an hour. TD9 which will become Imelda -- this is the forecast track. Again, it's going to slide really close to that coastline of Florida and get very close to the Carolinas as well before making that sharp turn to the right and heading over towards Bermuda over the next several days. So again, very close, but not entirely that close.

Here's a look at the forecast models. Again, very good agreement for Humberto. But even now with future Imelda, they're really starting to come into better agreement there as well right before they start to make the right-hand turn.

The real question is, when does that turn take place? Because a lot of them are expected to -- some may go a little bit earlier, some may go a little bit later. Regardless of that, I want to emphasize here, though, there is still a lot of rain forecast right there along the coastline because the storm itself is still going to get very close to the coastline before it finally begins to pull back away.

You've got a lot of moisture up right through there. Again, you can clearly see those two systems right there on the map, the red indicating all of that moisture. And it's going to surge into the coastline. So, you can see right there along the coast, widespread totals four to six inches. But you could have some areas that pick up isolated higher amounts.

[06:05:02]

However, it's basically right there along the coast. Cities like Charlotte, Atlanta, Columbia that are farther away from the coast likely not going to get all that much in terms of rainfall.

MIRACLE: OK. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. Well, in Arizona, four people were killed when flash flooding swept through the state this weekend. Officials say some people are still missing.

At least three people died in the town of Globe. That's about 90 miles east of Phoenix. Another person died in Scottsdale. They were found near a car submerged in floodwaters nine feet deep.

The governor has declared a state of emergency for Gila County. That's where Globe is located. She had this message for people there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATIE HOBBS (D-AZ): My heart is with all of these Arizonans. People who lost loved ones. People looking for family members and friends. People who had to leave their homes in a hurry. People whose businesses were inundated by floodwaters.

The safety of Arizonans is my top priority. And I want you to know that as governor, I have your back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: At one point, about a thousand propane tanks were scattered around the city. Some were leaking after they were released from a facility in downtown Globe. Hazmat teams had to be deployed to clean up that mess.

And new overnight, CNN is learning that four top congressional leaders are set to meet with President Trump on Monday as they work to avoid a looming government shutdown. The meeting, which is expected to take place at the White House, will include House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

On Saturday, Jeffries and Schumer released a joint statement and it says in part, President Trump has once again agreed to a meeting in the Oval Office. As we have repeatedly said, Democrats will meet anywhere, at any time and with anyone to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people.

Without a deal in place, the federal government is set to shut down on October 1st. CNN's Jenn Sullivan has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Time is running out for lawmakers to pass a spending plan and avoid a government shutdown. They have until 11:59 Tuesday night or the government will shut down on Wednesday.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Democrats want to shut it down. If it has to shut down, it will have to shut down. But they're the ones that are shutting down.

SULLIVAN: The Republican dominated House passed a temporary plan to fund the government, but it stalled in the Senate where Republicans have a six-seat majority.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Mr. President, if you're watching television, shut it off and come sit down and negotiate with us.

SULLIVAN: Many Democrats are refusing to back down unless lawmakers extend affordable care act subsidies that lower the cost of health insurance for millions of Americans.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), CHAIR, HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS: We will not support this partizan Republican spending bill because it continues to gut the health care of the American people.

SULLIVAN: Further complicating the looming shutdown, the White House budget office has directed federal agencies to use this opportunity to prepare sweeping new layoffs, according to a memo obtained by CNN. Earlier this year, the Trump administration and Elon Musk's backed Government Efficiency team, known as DOGE, fired thousands of federal workers to help cut spending.

The directive is spreading widespread fear. One federal employee telling CNN, quote, "this kind of treatment is inhumane. I don't even know how to prepare for the complete unknown."

Since Trump took office in January out of more than 2 million federal employees, more than 51,000 have been cut as of July. Hundreds of thousands of more workers are expected to drop off the federal payroll in October as part of the Trump administration's deferred resignation program. I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MIRACLE: And with me now to talk about all of this is Errol Louis, political anchor for "Spectrum News" and host of "The Big Deal with Errol Louis" on "Spectrum News." Good morning, Errol. Thank you so much for joining us.

Obviously, a lot going on this week, but let's start with the government shutdown, because of course, that has sweeping potential impacts on the American people. And with President Trump suggesting mass firings instead of furloughs, of course, grave concerns there. I mean, should people be concerned that this shutdown will happen?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning. Yes, people should be very concerned. We've had more than one shutdown just in the last few years. So, we know that it can happen.

What makes this one different, though, is that these cuts could be permanent, that there could be agencies, divisions, programs that are demised, that are just never brought back. And this is going to affect a lot of people.

And by the way, it's not just Washington, D.C. We tend to think of this as a Maryland and Virginia and Washington, D.C. problem. But there are lots of federal workers all over the country. And when those programs start to go away and those layoffs start to take effect, it's going to be felt in every corner of the country.

[06:10:02]

MIRACLE: You know, talking about layoffs back when DOGE was laying off a ton of people, they did try to hire some people back. So, is it possible that that happens again, a bunch of people get fired, and then possibly the government scrambles because they need those people later on?

LOUIS: Oh, yes, it's entirely possible. The problem, of course, is that this level of chaos makes the job a lot less appealing to some people. And if your family is relying on the pay and the benefits and you've gone through this more than once, keeping in mind that some emergency workers have to work regardless, you know, without pay. You can't go through that but so many times before people start deciding, maybe this government service is not for them and that causes kind of the long-term pain that a lot of people want to avoid.

MIRACLE: Yes. And as this shutdown is looming in the background, President Trump yesterday said he's not going to send troops to Portland to protect ICE facilities. In a social media post he said, Portland -- Portland, rather, is war ravaged and that he is authorizing full force if necessary.

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley had a press conference with local Portland leaders. Here's part of what he said. He said, President Trump's goal is to make Portland look, as he was describing it, as our job is to say we are not going to take the bait. This idea, Errol, that using full force against the American people is that politically strategic for the president.

LOUIS: Well, I mean, look, it's unconstitutional. It's a problem. Its changes our way of life. There are a lot of problems with it.

Politically, it may, I guess, get him a short-term boost among people who don't know or care about Oregon. But, you know, beyond that, it causes real serious problems. It's headed straight to court. It's not something that is really contemplated under the constitution. The president cannot, on his own, just declare that there's warlike conditions and then send troops into an American city. It just doesn't work that way.

I think the folks out there are quite alarmed doing the right thing, which is contacting the White House, contacting the media, alerting the public and preparing to go to court.

MIRACLE: When you say problems, problems that could happen, can you elaborate? What do you mean by that? What do you think could happen?

LOUIS: Well, I mean, what's been going on, apparently, is that after midnight, mostly after hours an ongoing protest outside of the ICE facility in Portland has been the scene of some clashes where federal protective employees come out and get into it with some of the protesters who were there.

And so, this is not about, you know, crime ravaging the streets. This is not general disorder. This is a clash between protesters and federal officials, mostly in the middle of the night at a federal building.

Now, does that require mobilizing the National Guard, sending troops into an American city? It's completely out of out of proportion to what has really been reportedly going on out there.

So, you know, there's got to be, you know -- look, reality has got to come into the conversation at some point. The president can tweet from his golf course and say that, you know, there's a war taking place in Portland. But if that's not the case we're all going to have to sort of adjust the conversation to reflect the reality on the ground.

MIRACLE: Well, we're certainly going to be keeping an eye on that. I'd like to quickly pivot and ask you about Netanyahu. He's set to meet with the president this week, a very high stakes meeting.

The president, he's been conveying a pretty optimistic tone that an ending is in sight for the war in Gaza. But I don't know, given Netanyahu's speech last week at the U.N. general assembly, he was very firm in continuing the war. What do you think people should expect from this meeting?

LOUIS: Yes. Listen, President Trump has made no secret of the fact that he wants a Nobel Peace Prize. This is going to be his chance to earn it. This is a long standing, very, very difficult problem.

The president, like everyone else in the world, watched the walkout at the United Nation's when the prime minister spoke the other day. He knows that there's a lot of tension, not just overseas, but here in the United States politically, around this issue. He's going to have to do his best.

I mean, look, a two-state solution may not be what Benjamin Netanyahu wants, but a two-state solution is, as far as I can tell, still, United States' policy. And if they're going to try and pull back Netanyahu from what he intends to do, the president is going to have to rely on all of his diplomatic and political power to make that happen. We'll see if he can get it done.

MIRACLE: Well, it's going to be a very busy week ahead. Errol Louis, thank you for the preview. We appreciate it.

Well, as soon as next week, Memphis will see its first wave of additional federal officers. It's part of President Trump's new crime fighting push. He made the call earlier this month after sending thousands of guard troops to Washington, D.C.

Now in Memphis, the plan is a little different. The governor says only about 150 guard members are expected, and it's not clear when they will arrive.

[06:15:03]

There will also be no tanks. And unless local authorities request it, those soldiers will not be armed. The mayor says he didn't ask for help and argues the help would be better spent on housing, jobs and cleanup. He told CNN's Victor Blackwell in an interview he's not happy about it.

And this morning, look closely in your freezer. Hillshire Brands is recalling about 58 million pounds of corn dogs and sausage on a stick. Possible wood pieces could be in the batter. At least five people have been injured from eating the food. The products were packed from March 17th to September 26th, and they show plant codes EST-582 or P-894. If you have them, throw them out or return them.

And a big change is coming from the IRS. Starting Tuesday, paper refund checks will be phased out. That means most taxpayers will now get refunds through direct deposit or other secure electronic payments. If you don't have a bank account, options like prepaid debit cards and digital wallets will soon be available.

And as we mentioned, tomorrow, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump they're set to meet at the White House. Topping the agenda, Trump's new 21-point Gaza peace plan. It calls for Hamas to release all hostages within 48 hours. That's in exchange for Israel pulling back troops.

It also sets a roadmap for Gaza after the war. But the plan has already hit resistance. A senior Hamas official told CNN just yesterday the group hasn't seen any new offers. And on Friday, Netanyahu vowed Israel would fight until Hamas is destroyed. Even as Trump says, a deal was very close.

We have new video coming in from Ukraine showing more Russian attacks in Ukraine and the startling aftermath. Poland scrambling to send fighter jets in response. We're live with that, what we know this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Finally, we all need to cool down the rhetoric. We should promote true discourse and facts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: Plus, what we're learning about the Des Moines superintendent who is in ICE custody this morning. The school board reacting to claims that he should have never been hired. And rally and stuff we're learning, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:22:10]

MIRACLE: New this morning, the Israeli military says it is intensifying strikes in Gaza hospitals. There reported 96 people died. Saturday alone, mostly in Gaza City. The IDF says it is, quote, advancing the decisive phase. They're using autonomous vehicles to neutralize explosives before its troops move in.

Also new this morning, Russia fired more than 600 drones and 40 missiles at Ukraine overnight. It is one of the largest waves of strikes in recent weeks. At least four people died in Kyiv, with dozens injured.

And just hours ago, drones were still being shot down in the area. Poland scrambled its fighter jets already on high alert after recent Russian drone incursions over its territory. CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau joins me now. Barbie, what's the significance of this latest attack?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes. You know, this is very, very worrying here in Europe. You know, you see these polish military scrambling their jets. This follows last weekend when we had Italian military scrambling their jets to try to protect the airspace over Estonia, where Russian drones were in that airspace.

And, you know, all of this is difficult for Europe trying to decide what to do going forward and how much they need to intervene. But it's incredibly devastating inside Ukraine. Now, we heard from one man, just an ordinary citizen who's lucky to be alive. Let's hear what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK SERGEEV, KYIV RESIDENT: I have three boys, so they are still alive and smiling today. I don't know, its. It's a miracle, really. It's a miracle for me that I'm alive. But this is our reality, our neighbor, crazy neighbor from Russia still fighting with us. (END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And, you know, listening to just ordinary people like that, whose children are, you know, lucky to be alive. He's lucky to be alive. All of this really underscores how difficult it is going to be to bring an end to this war.

We are we heard, you know, a couple of months ago about a potential meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy. None of that is even being discussed now. It seems that negotiations for a ceasefire or an end to this war seems far away as ever -- Veronica.

MIRACLE: All right, barbie, thank you so much for that reporting. Well, in India, at least 39 people were killed when a crowd surged to see Vijay, a famous actor turned politician. This happened at a political rally in southern India. Vijay was already a popular movie star before starting a political party in 2024. He has drawn massive crowds since entering politics.

And for this rally, police even had to provide a larger space. Officials from nearby districts, sends dozens of doctors to treat victims. Witnesses say crowds made it difficult for those first responders to even get to the injured.

[06:25:02]

At least 93 people were hurt in the crush. An investigation into the cause of this incident is underway. And next on CNN THIS MORNING, we're hearing from the wife of one of the detainees who was shot in an attack on an ICE facility in Dallas. She says her husband is nearly unrecognizable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to see my husband. You know, he was a victim. He did nothing wrong. Yes, he might have not been an American citizen, but he still didn't deserve this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MIRACLE: The wife of a man who was shot while in ICE custody in Dallas is now speaking out.

[06:30:02]

On Wednesday, a gunman fired at the ICE building, killing one detainee and injuring two other people. Miguel Angel Garcia survived, but he's currently on life support.

In a new interview, his wife opens up to CNN's Ed Lavandera about seeing him in the hospital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You told me that he was handcuffed to the hospital bed.

STEPHANY GAUFFENY, WIFE OF ICE DETAINEE INJURED IN SHOOTING: So, his both his arms were restrained to the bed. I don't know if that was a hospital or ICE doing that, but his both his feet were handcuffed together. They had handcuffs on them.

You know, him being unconscious and can't move, can't talk and still treated like a criminal. I made a comment, like, sound like he's going to get up and walk, walk away, you know, just seeing him like that, you know, tubed up and unconscious and but, you know, handcuffs on him. It did make me feel upset.

He does have them off now. So, I'm happy about that. But I feel it was only because I -- I made a comment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: Investigators say the shooter was trying to, quote, terrorize ICE agents. However, all of the victims were detainees, according to law enforcement officials.

And Iowa's Des Moines Public School District has placed Superintendent Ian Roberts on administrative leave. Roberts was arrested and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday over accusations he's in the country illegally.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has all the details.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): And Veronica, that decision from the school board to place him on a paid administrative leave, they said, is because of the inability of Roberts has to perform his duties while being detained. Of course, this has been a shock and an outrage to this community who say this is not only a beloved superintendent, but also a former Olympian. He competed in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney for his country of Guyana and inspired many of the kids in Des Moines.

But the Department of Homeland Security is saying something very different about Roberts. They're saying that he is a criminal alien, that he was a public safety threat. They said that he entered the country in 1999 on a student visa and then was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May of 2024. They say that he was in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed blade hunting knife at the time of his arrest. And I should say it is a violation of federal law to be in possession of firearms or ammunition if one does not have status in the United States.

But it is unclear whether what was his status at the time of that arrest. The arrest, DHS says, is part of a targeted enforcement operation. They say that Roberts tried to flee when he saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Of course, this arrest comes as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigration here in Los Angeles, in New York, Chicago and other cities across the United States. That has led to raids at workplaces, outside courthouses, outside schools as well. But in this case, DHS is painting a very different picture as the community is.

We are hearing from members of the community and educators speaking about the superintendent as a pillar of the community. And then on Saturday during that press conference after the meeting where the board decided to place him on administrative leave, we heard from the head of the board of the Des Moines Public Schools Board saying that she wants her community to push back on that hateful rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: DMPS is cooperating with requests for information from the state of Iowa authorities and will continue to do so.

Finally, we all need to cool down the rhetoric. We should promote true discourse and facts, not spread misinformation meant to divide us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES (on-camera): She added, Veronica, that of course there was a background check done when Roberts was hired. She said that they hired a private firm to carry out a background check as well as the state certifying him as superintendent, that when he filled out his application, he filled all the necessary forms and asserted that he was a U.S. citizen.

She added that an FBI background check also raised no red flags. She nodded to his long career in education in New York City, Baltimore, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. before going to Iowa.

And then we also heard from the governor of Iowa who said that she is in contact with federal authorities on this case as well as with the Iowa Department of Public Safety. We heard also from the attorney for Roberts who said that he spoke to his client on Saturday morning and said that he sounded well. They had a good conversation, but they still had not had the opportunity to review all of the documents in the case.

[06:35:08]

But on Saturday afternoon, we saw members of the community outside of the detention facility where Roberts is being held, the Woodbury County Jail, protesting for his release.

Veronica.

MIRACLE: Julia Vargas Jones, thank you for that robust reporting.

And coming up next, President Trump calls former FBI Director Christopher Wray a liar, sparking a firestorm over loyalty and control. We're digging into Trump's accusations dating back to January 6th, the Capitol riots.

That's coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:18]

MIRACLE: President Donald Trump is accusing former FBI Director Christopher Wray of lying about the presence of FBI agents during the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

Now, it comes just days after his administration brought charges against Wray's predecessor, James Comey, Trump claimed without evidence that the FBI secretly placed agents into the crowds to act as agitators and insurrectionists rather than law enforcement in what he called the January 6th hoax.

Now, as CNN previously reported, no undercover FBI agents were at the Capitol during the January 6th riot. That's according to a Justice Department watchdog. Wray resigned before Trump's inauguration in January after Trump announced that he would nominate Kash Patel as FBI Director. During his farewell address, Wray called on the FBI to maintain its integrity.

And the Comey indictment and Wray accusations are the latest incidents in a very long history of tension between President Trump and the FBI. CNN's Brian Todd has a closer look at how we got here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's complicated relationship with the FBI dates back to before he became president.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: Please, FBI, please go after Hillary.

TODD (voice-over): Those provocative days of the 2016 campaign when Trump was relentless in his badgering of the FBI to investigate his opponent's handling of her e-mails.

TRUMP: The FBI did not act. I have such respect for the FBI. I am so disappointed.

How did they let that happen? She was so guilty.

TODD (voice-over): Then, from almost the moment he stepped in the White House, analysts say, Trump seemed to view the FBI as his own personal instrument of power.

GARRETT GRAFF, FBI HISTORIAN: Donald Trump, you know, upended and tried to usurp the FBI in that spring of 2017, and that relationship has never been smooth since.

TRUMP: Oh, and there's James. He's become more famous than me.

TODD (voice-over): Soon after taking office, Trump pressured then FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. That was according to Comey himself.

JAMES COMEY, FMR FBI DIRECTOR: I got the sense my job would be contingent upon how he felt I conducted myself and whether I demonstrated loyalty. TODD (voice-over): Trump denied asking for Comey's loyalty, but did fire Comey, later saying he was frustrated over the ongoing Russia probe.

JULIAN ZELIZER, HISTORIAN, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: He wanted that investigation shut down. He saw it as a political problem, and this was what Comey was up to.

TODD (voice-over): Throughout the Russia investigation and afterward, Trump continued to berate the FBI for how that investigation played out.

TRUMP: These were dirty, filthy cops at the top of the FBI.

TODD (voice-over): But one analyst says Donald Trump wasn't alone among presidents who believed the FBI should be beholden to them.

GRAFF: That is something that has long frustrated presidents, you know, going back to, you know, Nixon and Johnson and even John F. Kennedy, that the FBI was not necessarily loyal to them personally.

TODD (voice-over): Now, a very different relationship between Trump and the FBI, with Trump loyalist Kash Patel leading the bureau.

Some analysts say Patel, despite his claim of being an objective, reform-minded director.

SHAN WU, FMR FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Really, you have somebody with very little experience who is really unconsciously answering directly to the President's whims, it seems like. And he has no kind of brain trust of experience that he will look to, to help him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on-camera): Now, James Comey has asserted he is innocent and says, quote, let's have a trial. Comey alluded to his tense relationship with Donald Trump in an Instagram video following his indictment, saying, quote, my family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump. But we couldn't imagine ourselves living any other way. We will not live on our knees and you shouldn't either, end quote.

Veronica.

MIRACLE: All right, Brian Todd, thank you for that report.

Well, news outlets are preparing to fight back this over the Pentagon's demand for the press to sign a pledge redistricting -- restricting rather reporting.

We're going to have an expert weigh in just after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:50] MIRACLE: Happening tonight, a big moment for one of TV's most iconic programs. 60 Minutes is back for its 58th season, but this year with a new person in charge.

Former executive producer Bill Owens stepped down in April saying it had become clear that he would no longer be allowed to make independent decisions based on what was right for the show. That came after Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to President Trump over an interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris in the run-up to the election last fall.

And joining me now is CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter to talk about it.

Good morning, Brian. Thanks so much for joining us.

Well, the 60 Minutes newsroom --

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST (on-camera): Good morning.

MIRACLE: -- has faced intense political pressure from President Trump. Is that going to be continuing into this new season?

STELTER (on-camera): Yes. This was an ugly chapter for 60 Minutes last season. It was all because of the President's lawsuit against the news magazine. That lawsuit was always ridiculed by legal experts for being frivolous and meritless. But because Paramount was trying to get a merger approved by the Trump administration, it felt pressured to actually pay the President ultimately about $16 million toward his future presidential library.

[06:50:00]

This kind of payoff or shakedown is something that now appears to be a playbook for the President and for his allies. So that Paramount story it received a lot of attention last season in 60 Minutes. It also threw the news magazine into real turmoil. I heard about screaming matches behind the scenes at the CBS News offices.

But now as you mentioned a new leader is in place at the news magazine, a new season starts tonight. And I think viewers are going to be watching to see if the product has changed at all. If it has been watered down at all to appease the President. I don't have any reason to believe that's the case but I think that's one of the concerns that some viewers have at the moment.

We know that tonight there's an interview with Utah Governor Spencer Cox about his very moving public comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination. There's also a profile of UFC boss and Trump ally Dana White.

So, a notable moment for the news magazine as it tries to move past all that drama from last season.

MIRACLE: Yes. All right, well then can you also tell us about the Pentagon's new demand for the press to sign a pledge to not obtain or used unauthorized material in their reporting. I mean this is very unprecedented.

STELTER (on-camera): Yes, it's coming to a head in the next few days. This is a letter that the Pentagon sent out to all the reporters who have credentials in order to access the Pentagon complex. These reporters were told off to sign a pledge and among the details in that pledge is a promise not to report on any unauthorized information.

Essentially the Pentagon only wants beat reporters to repeat Pentagon talking points. Anything that is leaked to them, any sensitive or unauthorized information, that would be grounds for revoking a press pass.

Now ultimately this is going to mean the reporters will not have as much access to the physical Pentagon property. They won't be able to interact with spokespeople and -- and with military officials who work in the Pentagon. And ultimately that may be what Pete Hegseth wants. That may be what the Defense Secretary wants by trying to push the press out. He's been trying to do this in various ways all year long.

But this pledge is the most shocking example yet and many news outlets are talking about taking legal action or just deciding not to sign it and not to be able to report from the Pentagon. It's important to keep an eye on this because it's one of those many examples of the Trump administration trying to restrict access, but you know what happens when access is restricted? Journalists just find other ways to tell the stories. Sometimes it is better to be on the outside than it is to be on the inside.

So, in the case of the Pentagon sometimes you're going to get better information, better leaks, more important stories from the outside. We'll see if that happens in this case.

MIRACLE: Yes. And Brian you're out with a new column for CNN.com about consumer pushback helping Jimmy Kimmel get back on the air. I mean --

STELTER (on-camera): Yes.

MIRACLE: -- what's the takeaway there?

STELTER (on-camera): Yes, all of this related in a way because we're talking about Paramount and having to settle with Trump over 60 Minutes, talking about new press restrictions employed by the administration.

Well, look at what happened in the last two weeks with Jimmy Kimmel as an example of effective pushback. The pushback that helped get Jimmy Kimmel back on the air first at ABC nationally then with Sinclair and Nexstar giving in and ending the blackout on local stations. It's a sign the consumer pushback works. It's a sign that the media marketplace is driven yes by free speech but also by the free market.

And so, in the case of I have a column about this on CNN.com this weekend. In the case of Kimmel, you have so many frustrated fans calling stations, you had advertisers feeling the pressure, you had employees feeling the pressure. All of that really contributed to Kimmel's reinstatement by ABC and to the end of the local station blackout. And I've seen a lot of folks point out this weekend this may be a model in other situations going forward because Trump administration pressure is not going away but one of the effective responses is that kind of consumer pushback or backlash that we saw in the case of Kimmel.

MIRACLE: Well as we know Brian money talks. Thanks so much for joining us this morning and thanks for your reporting.

STELTER (on-camera): Thank you.

MIRACLE: Well, when Jimmy Kimmel was suspended from ABC it did spark national a national outcry over free speech and censorship as we were just talking about. In tonight's episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," CNN's Jake Tapper takes a closer look at how the Kimmel suspension unfolded and the story behind the decision to bring him back on air.

He also examines the role of the government and big business in the case and what this says about the future of the First Amendment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): While Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air, Charlie Kirk's voice was silenced forever when he was killed. And in this time of escalating partisanship both sides can hopefully at least agree on this. The First Amendment is a right that is fundamentally American.

TAPPER: Are we in an era where free speech is under attack in a way we haven't seen in a long time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm pretty worried. Right now, I think we are in a perilous stage and again we have a president who was willing to use any lever of power against his enemies whether it violates the First Amendment or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:55:00]

MIRACLE: Well, be sure to tune in in an all-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER." That airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

And there's much more news ahead on this next hour of "CNN This Morning Weekend," including at least three killed after a gunman on a boat opened fire on a crowd at a waterfront bar in North Carolina.

The breaking details that we're learning, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MIRACLE: Hello and welcome to "CNN This Morning. "It is September, Sunday -- September 28th. I'm Veronica Miracle in for Victor Blackwell.

[07:00:02]

Here's what's new this morning.

We are following breaking news out of North Carolina where police say a man drove his boat up to a --