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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Senate Democrats Grill Top Intelligence Officials; FBI Creates Task Force to Crack Down on Tesla Attacks; Netflix Series Raises Issues Around Parenting, Social Media. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 26, 2025 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz says that he takes full responsibility for mistakenly adding a journalist to an open-source group chat on the messaging app Signal about plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen. The thread was a hot topic on Capitol Hill as the directors of national intelligence and the CIA testified before a Senate panel.

Now at first they said they didn't recall the details of the chat, then they insisted that no one shared classified information, and finally they seemed to shift responsibility to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for determining what information was classified. Democrats on the Intelligence Committee are demanding a full-fledged investigation.

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[05:35:00]

TULSI GABBARD, U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Senator, I don't want to get into the specifics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, were you on? You're not going to be willing to address. So you're not, are you denying?

Ma'am, will you answer my question, ma'am? You are not TG on this group chat?

GABBARD: I'm not going to get into the specifics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you refuse to acknowledge whether you were on this group chat?

GABBARD: Senator, I'm not going to get into the specifics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you going to get into the specifics? Is it because it's all classified?

GABBARD: Because this is currently under review by the National Security Council.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it's all classified? If it's not classified, share the text now. SEN. OSSOFF (D-GA): Director Ratcliffe, this was a huge mistake, correct?

JOHN RATCLIFFE, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: No.

OSSOFF: Terrorist organization.

RATCLIFFE: Inadvertent mistake of adding a reporter.

OSSOFF: And that wasn't a huge mistake? That wasn't a huge mistake?

RATCLIFFE: They characterized it as an embarrassment.

OSSOFF: We will get the full transcript of this chain, and your testimony will be measured carefully against its content.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: Second Lady Usha Vance will have another travel companion with her when she visits Greenland this week, her husband.

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J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: There was so much excitement around Usha's visit to Greenland this Friday that I decided that I didn't want her to have all that fun by herself, and so I'm going to join her. I'm going to visit some of our guardians in the Space Force on the northwest coast of Greenland and also just check out what's going on with the security there of Greenland.

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SOLOMON: Vance also claims that leaders of the U.S. and Denmark have, quote, ignored Greenland for far too long. He claims that the leaders of Denmark have, quote, ignored Greenland for too long and that the Trump administration's goal is to reinvigorate the island's security. President Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in the U.S. taking over the autonomous Danish territory. Greenland's outgoing prime minister is calling the visit highly aggressive.

A new FBI task force has been created to investigate attacks targeting Tesla. They have spiked across the U.S. amid criticism of its CEO and close Trump advisor, Elon Musk. Officials say that the task force will work with other federal agencies to crack down on acts of violence and vandalism on Tesla dealerships and vehicles, which FBI Director Kash Patel has labeled domestic terrorism.

But the troubles for Tesla go far beyond U.S. politics. It's now being outsold by BYD, the biggest name in Chinese electric vehicles.

BYD posted annual sales of more than $100 billion for last year, topping Tesla's revenue. The head of the company says that the company had rapid development in 2024 with a 29 percent jump in sales from the previous year, and it sold more than 4.2 million cars, including electric and hybrid vehicles. While the negative publicity isn't enough to affect every venture that

Tesla is involved in, the company is building a diner combined with a drive-in movie theater and supercharger in Los Angeles.

According to The New York Times, construction has been underway for more than a year, with no opening date announced yet. It reports that Tesla has approached several high-profile chefs to provide a menu, but so far no one has signed on to the project. Here's how some local residents feel about it.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: California bought the most Teslas in the world, and then he turned around and he stabbed us in the back and went with crazy whack job Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're going to take that route, I mean, you can find any political stance and, you know, boycott any business that you don't align yourself with, but it's a great product. People love it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right, and still ahead for us, veteran NFL quarterback Russell Wilson has a new gig. Find out where the one-time Super Bowl champion will be suiting up this season when we come back.

[05:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back, 5:42 for you, I'm Rahel Solomon, and here are some of the stories we are watching for you today.

The White House says that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to pause using military force in the Black Sea and to halt strikes on energy facilities for 30 days.

However, the Kremlin has imposed conditions demanding sanctions relief on Russian banks involved in agriculture as well as food and fertilizer exports.

Hospital staff who cared for Pope Francis considered stopping his treatment to, quote, let him go. Revelation comes from an Italian newspaper that spoke with doctors involved in his care. Now, ultimately, the decision to keep going was made by the pontiff's personal nurse who told doctors to, quote, try everything.

In the coming hours, President Trump's top diplomat will kick off his Caribbean tour in Kingston, Jamaica. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's trip is aimed at promoting regional cooperation on efforts to counter undocumented immigration and transnational crime. The State Department says that the deepening crisis in Haiti is also a key focus of his trip.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are a great dad, a great dad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He hasn't been found guilty. He's been accused.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing?

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SOLOMON: That's the trailer for the hit Netflix miniseries "Adolescence", which delves into the horrifying dangers of toxic masculinity, teen social media use, and violence against women and girls. The series co-creator and star Stephen Grant tells CNN that he hopes the show encourages parents to talk with their children and ask questions.

The show takes an unflinching look at the lives of a family and community after a young boy is accused of murdering a female classmate and the role that parents and the Internet play in shaping young minds. And it has really struck a chord with audiences, racking up more than 24 million views in its first four days and sparking a cultural conversation. The show and its timely themes have even come up in British Parliament.

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KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: At home, we are watching "Adolescence" with our children. I've got a 16-year-old boy and a 14- year-old girl. This violence carried out by young men influenced by what they see online is a real problem. It's abhorrent, and we have to tackle it.

We are putting in specialist rape and sexual offences teams in every police force, doing work on the 999 calls, but this is also a matter of culture that I think it's important that across the whole house we tackle this emerging and growing problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Let's now bring in Danny Elachi, the co-founder and movement director of the Heads Up Alliance. That's an organization connecting parents who are delaying smartphone and social media use for their children. He joins me live this hour from Sydney, Australia, which, by the way, passed a groundbreaking law last year banning social media for children under the age of 16.

Danny, so great to have you this morning. You have seen the show "Adolescence". What were your thoughts?

DANNY ELACHI, COFOUNDER, HEADS UP ALLIANCE: I was very, very pleased to see that the national conversation, or the international conversation, in fact, surrounding smartphone use for adolescents is continuing. It was a conversation that was sparked last year by Jonathan Haidt and his book "The Anxious Generation", and I believe that the great parents' awakening is now continuing through this new Netflix program.

SOLOMON: Yes, I have to say I was riveted. Horrified is probably a good word to use, too, by the series. Talk to us about how you became vocal with this issue of limiting phone use with teens, because you have a teenage daughter, Alia, if I'm saying that correctly.

How did you come to this decision to, one, take her phone, and how did she respond to that?

ELACHI: Well, look, the decision was born from difficult experience, because my wife and I initially relented and gave our daughter a smartphone when she was 10 or 11 years of age, and we quickly saw that it was taking away her childhood. And so we had to reverse course. It was difficult initially, but a few tears over a few nights was small compensation for what could happen in the future.

So we encourage parents all across Australia, now indeed the world, to delay as much as possible.

SOLOMON: Yes, your collective, it's grown quite a bit. It now has 5,000 followers. It's been instrumental in getting some public schools in Australia to ban phones during class time. Danny, for parents who see this and say, my child would never, would never agree to give up their phone, how do you respond and what do you suggest they do?

ELACHI: Look, I do understand it is difficult once you've given your child a phone to then reverse course. We encourage families to make a pact with other families before they've given their children a phone. So when your children are still only 7, 8 or 9 years of age, make a pact that you all hold out together and you'll have much greater success doing it that way.

If you've already given your child a phone, then admittedly it's a little bit more difficult, not impossible, but there are still some rules you can try to put in place to at least mitigate the effects of smartphone and social media.

SOLOMON: Yes, I was surprised. I listened to some more recent reporting and heard an interview with you and your daughter. I was surprised by how positive she seemed despite having the phone. You might not expect that from a teenage girl who no longer has a phone.

But Danny, just sort of going back to the adolescence of it all, you know, the show sort of gets at, it's not just the phones. It's not just the -- the manosphere or the Internet. The show sort of gets at it's this whole system. And I want you to take a listen to how the star of the show described it.

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STEPHEN GRAHAM, ACTOR AND CO-WRITER, ADOLESCENCE: Well, what I thought we could look at, you know, is maybe we're all slightly accountable in some way, shape or form. Do you know what I mean? And we look at it and we analyze it from a different perspective.

So maybe it's down to parenting. Maybe it's down to, you know, the school system, the government, the community and the social structure, which which the child's raised. But on top of that, when me and you were kids, we didn't have the Internet. But now the Internet is a huge influence on our children. And in many cases, you know, it's parenting our children just as much as we are. And it's educating our children just as much, if not more than our schools are.

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SOLOMON: And to that end, on the government level, what more do you think should be done at that level? And are they moving quickly enough? Are they moving urgently enough?

ELACHI: I don't think I don't think we could we could move quickly enough. The Australian government, as you've already mentioned, has moved to increase the minimum age of social media from 13 to 16. That is a very positive step.

[05:50:00]

We hope that it will inspire other countries, including America, to do the same. I have to I have to concur with what I just heard, that when you give your children smartphones and social media, you're effectively decoupling them from the family and from your family's values.

And you're handing your children over to to be raised by influencers who, who do not share your values. So it's no surprise that both our boys and girls are suffering, having lost those those family connections and replacing them with with other perhaps less -- more more values that are more inclined to go against what the family may, may hope for their children.

SOLOMON: Yes, Danny, before I let you go, I want to read for you something that that caught my eye. So this was a quote from one of the creators of the show.

And he said that phones should be treated like cigarettes and banned until the age of 16.

Too strong. Not strong enough. How do you how do you how do you respond?

ELACHI: Look, no, I personally don't think that's strong enough. I think we're quite entitled to liken smartphone use to cigarette use. In fact, there are arguments to be made that smartphone use is more ubiquitous, is more damaging to far more children than than cigarette smoking ever was. So I don't think -- I don't think that's too strong. No.

SOLOMON: Well, we'll leave it here. It's it's obviously quite a popular series, important issue. We appreciate you coming on to explain sort of the work you've been able to do.

That's Danny Elachi in Sydney. Thank you, sir.

ELACHI: Thank you. It's a pleasure. SOLOMON: Right, now to Florida, where some lawmakers want to make it easier for employers to let children fill jobs vacated by undocumented immigrants. The state's crackdown on businesses that hired undocumented workers has now left some low wage positions open. Republican Governor Ron DeSantis backs easing laws that protect children in the workplace.

Last year, a new law allowed homeschooled 16 year olds to work any hour of the day. DeSantis supports a bill moving through the legislature now that would lower the age to 14.

All right, when we come back, actor Pedro Pascal talks about his coffee habit and the photos that left him feeling a little embarrassed. We'll be right back.

[05:55:00]

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. For the gum chewers out there, new research may burst your bubble. A new pilot study now being peer-reviewed has found that chewing gum can release microplastics into your saliva. That's possibly due to polymers used to give gum its chewiness and flavor retention. The findings, based on 10 popular gums in the U.S., show that both synthetic and natural gums were found to contain microplastics. An analysis revealed that just one gram of chewing gum released about 100 microplastics on average, with 94 percent of microplastics being released in the first eight minutes.

Researchers say they don't know yet what the potential effects of microplastics are on the human body, also adding that the study does shed some light on the product's environmental impact.

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KENNY CHESNEY, COUNTRY SINGER: No shoes, no shirt, no problem. Blue is what blue is.

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SOLOMON: Country Music Hall of Fame announced its 2025 inductees Tuesday. They include Kenny Chesney, hit record producer Tony Brown, and the late June Carter Cash. Chesney is a four-time CMA Entertainer of the Year with more than 50 top 10 country hits.

He is set to be inducted in the modern performer category. Brown, known for signing many influential artists, will be inducted into the non-performer category. And Cash, the late wife of Johnny Cash, was picked for the not-as-modern division. The trio will be inducted in a formal ceremony this fall.

Pedro Pascal would like a little bit of privacy when it comes to his coffee order. Photos of the actor holding a coffee with his highly- caffeinated order on the side of the cup went viral last year.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the star said that he was not so pleased to have his morning sip exposed. Take a listen.

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JIMMY KIMMEL, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: This was a viral thing. They got your coffee order and then zeroed in on an insane order, by the way. Is that six extra shots or six total shots in one cup of coffee?

PEDRO PASCAL, ACTOR: I cannot begin to tell you how violating this was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Yes, I might feel a little violated too. Although I will say on this shift, the coffee can't be strong enough. He did go on to say that the caffeine does help with productivity. And with three movies and a second season of "The Last of Us" set to debut, the actor is plenty busy, so he needs his coffee.

All right, five lions have found a new home in England following their rescue from Ukraine's war zone. The cats were found abandoned near the front lines. Nearly $700,000 were raised to save them and build their new enclosure at a big cat sanctuary. One of the lions is experiencing grass for the first time. The staff says that they are now adjusting well and receiving the necessary care to heal.

And before we go, the New York Giants will have a new quarterback this season. And despite the rumors, it's not Aaron Rodgers. Sources say that the team has signed a one-year contract with Russell Wilson worth up to $21 million.

The 36-year-old Wilson is entering his 14th NFL season. He won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. Wilson posted a picture of the Giants at MetLife Stadium with a caption, been here before, can't wait to do it again.

So I guess that means Sierra will also be in the area. All right, thanks for joining us here on early start. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. I will see you tomorrow. In the meantime, CNN "THIS MORNING" starts right now.