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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Israeli Strike On Gaza School Building Kills At Least 20; Minneapolis Marks Five Years Since Floyd's Murder By Police; Independent Pharmacies Face Rising Costs, Tariff Threats. Aired 5:30- 6a ET
Aired May 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]
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Many of those killed and injured and, of course, dozens more were wounded, were taken to the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. And it is there that hospital officials have said that while they were able to identify the bodies of at least 20 victims, others who did not survive the strike arrived in plastic bags -- in body parts -- and they were not able to identify many of those. And that many of the dead or wounded were women and children.
Of course, this is something that we have heard from health authorities on repeated occasions, almost every day now as we continue to see those airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.
And, of course, as you mentioned, the Israeli Defense Forces and security agency have said that they were targeting a Hamas command and control center. No evidence of this has been provided.
And again, there is that mounting criticism of the Israeli government not only from humanitarian organizations but now from some of its closest international allies over its airstrikes and air bombardment of the Gaza Strip and the impact that this has had on civilians as well, of course, the aid situation in Gaza.
We are still seeing a dire shortage of humanitarian aid. The Israeli prime minister's office, of course, last week said that they would allow a basic amount of food in so as to avert a hunger crisis. But, of course, health authorities in Gaza have said that they are still seeing people dying as a result of malnutrition. At least 58 deaths recorded as a result of severe malnutrition, but also deaths recorded as a result of the shortage of food and medicine getting into the Gaza Strip.
Now, COGAT, the Israeli authority which oversees the shipment of aid into the Gaza Strip has said that 107 trucks were able to cross the Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday into the Gaza Strip. But as you mentioned, it -- there are a significant amount of logistical challenges ahead for those aid trucks to actually make their way to civilians within the Gaza Strip. And, of course, 107 is just a fraction of the total number of aid trucks that are needed on a normal situation. Five hundred to 600 trucks would be getting into the Gaza Strip according to U.N. agencies. Of course, much of the Gaza Strip is already dependent on humanitarian
aid prior to the war in Gaza. So as you can imagine, that need for humanitarian supplies from vital food and medicine is at its most desperate right now -- Polo.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: And as your reporting reminds us, in Gaza there is nowhere safe to go.
Nada Bashir in London. Appreciate your reporting.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is in Israel right now. She lit candles in memory of the two Israeli Embassy staff members who were shot and killed in Washington, D.C. last week. According to friends and colleagues, the victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sara Milgrim, were both deeply committed to diplomacy and the peace process. They were killed attending an event discussing interfaith solutions to providing humanitarian aid to war-torn regions, including Gaza.
Noem spoke out and spoke about them in Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI NOEM, SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Today we stand together with profound grief and our hearts are heavy with the loss of these two radiant souls that we will not longer have with us. Their lives were so full of promise and love and dedication, and may they be an inspiration to us of how to live our daily lives as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Secretary Noem also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while she was there. She expressed the United States' "unwavering support for Israel and its great appreciation for Netanyahu's so-called conduct of the war in Gaza," as she put it.
Well, five years after the police killing of George Floyd CNN speaks with members of his family at a memorial honoring his legacy. Their response and the show of support in Minneapolis after the break.
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[05:38:28]
SANDOVAL: Here in the U.S. family, friends, and supporters of George Floyd -- they are remembering his life and his legacy. It's been five years since he was killed by a white police officer. Crowds gathered on Sunday in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the memorial marking the site where Floyd was killed.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of state murder charges in Floyd's death after he was caught on video kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes during the arrest.
The murder sparked nationwide protests that summer and efforts to implement police reforms. But last week those initiatives came to an abrupt stop as the Trump administration announced that it was ending federal oversight of those reforms.
CNN's Sara Sidner covered the protests that summer. She went back this time, visiting George Floyd Square and spoke with his family about the impacts that this could have on racial justice.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: This is the scene five years after this community here in Minneapolis on 38th and Chicago saw George Floyd murdered in slow-motion. The nine minutes they watched Derek Chauvin shove his knee into George Floyd's neck. And that is where his body lay for those nine minutes where he took his last breath after first asking to be able to breathe, then begging for his life and asking for his mother.
We were able to talk to some of the family members who came back here to Minneapolis because they say they really feel the connection and love that this community has given them. And you can see it reflected in the memorial itself. It has been kept pristine and clean, and a place where you can pray and be peaceful.
[05:40:07]
Here is what the family had to say five years on as they come back to Minneapolis and are embraced by this community.
ANGELA HARRELSON, GEORGE FLOYD'S AUNT: There's so many people that have showed up -- showed up out here. The kindness, the love, the support -- you know, it brings a certain amount of peace and joy.
SIDNER: What do you all think about what's happening with the current administration rolling back --
SELWYN JONES, GEORGE FLOYD'S UNCLE: Really?
SIDNER: -- all of these reforms?
You didn't do that. We are not politicians, we're humanitarians. So all we could do is wish and hope that they do their job, you know, and making it equal for all races, especially Black and brown.
SIDNER: Now there is another side to this. Maga land has a lot to say about what happened to George Floyd. A lot of it is lies. The jury decided that he was, indeed, murdered by then-Officer Derek Chauvin.
But you are seeing the vitriol from those who have the president's ear, like Laura Loomer, who posted this online on this very day -- a day when a family is remembering and a community mourning what happened to a human being -- a fellow American. This is what she posts. "Congratulations to George Floyd on being five years sober." A really disgusting, vitriolic look at all of this trying to intimate that he died from a drug overdose, which is not what the jury or judge found, nor did the appeals court.
But all in all, when you see what is happening in this community it is about embracing the family and hoping, and asking, and pushing for the changes they demanded back in 2020 and before that police reform, though the Trump administration is rolling those reforms back.
Sara Sidner, CNN, Minneapolis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: Still on the way, police here in New York say a very real crime was committed to steal virtual currency. Just ahead, the charges an investor faces for allegedly trying to steal another man's Bitcoin.
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[05:41:25]
SANDOVAL: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Polo Sandoval here in New York, and here are some of the stories that we are closely watching this Memorial Day.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin has gone "absolutely crazy" after Russia launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine. Mr. Trump criticized the Russian president on social media and in front of reporters as he made very clear that he is not happy with Putin. At least 12 people were killed in attacks across Ukraine this weekend.
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City overnight killed at least 20 people. Officials say a large number of others were wounded during the attack. Gaza's civil defense says that the strike hit a school where displaced people were sheltering. Emergency workers have described gruesome scenes there.
And back to President Trump. He has agreed to delay a 50 percent tariff on imports from the European Union until July 9, and he says that he had a very nice call with the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. She says, "Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively."
President Trump's trade war is now raising concerns about the impact it could have on the cost of your prescription drugs in the U.S. Any potential tariffs could possibly disrupt the supply chain, making it even more expensive or even difficult to find certain medications.
As CNN's Julia Vargas Jones tells us, she had a chance to speak to a pharmacist in Los Angeles who said -- who told her that a fear that the tariffs could be the final blow to small struggling independent pharmacies.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SONA KAZANGIAN, PHARMACIST, DISCOUNT MEDICAL PHARMACY: There is not a single bottle that I pull up here that doesn't say "Made in China" or "Made in India." The generics -- I think probably about 80 percent of it or more is made in other countries.
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN NEWSOURCE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The threat of tariffs for this slice of the health care industry looms large, but it's just one of many challenges independent pharmacists like Sona Kazangian now face. KAZANGIAN: It's very difficult for us to survive.
JONES (voiceover): Her father started the business 41 years ago. Now she is fighting to keep it open among razor-thin profit margins and what she calls a broken reimbursement system.
KAZANGIAN: There are drugs that I don't even buy anymore because I already know that there is no plan that reimburses me even at cost, much less out of profit.
JONES (voiceover): That reimbursement is set by pharmacy benefit manager or PBMs. Companies that act as middlemen between insurers and pharmacies.
KAZANGIAN: They control what the patient pays as a co-pay. They control what we as the pharmacy receives as payment to these entities are paying us less than what the drug costs for us to buy it.
JONES (voiceover): This business model is not sustainable for the pharmacies, experts say, but often more profitable for PBMs.
ROBIN FELDMAN, PROFESSOR OF LAW, UC LAW SAN FRANCISCO: PBMs are paid by the discount they get, so they've learned that if prices rise, they get a better discount and their pay goes up.
JONES: So do you benefit from higher prices of medication?
FELDMAN: If the prices rise because of tariffs or for any other reason they will do better.
JONES (voiceover): If enacted, the cost of tariffs on those drugs would be passed down from manufacturer to wholesaler to pharmacy, squeezing these businesses even further.
KAZANGIAN: We don't really know exactly what's going to happen, but I think all independent pharmacies have thought about this issue. If you're acquiring this drug now for X dollars more because of a tariff, the likelihood that the PBM is going to pay me X dollars more to make up for that is probably slim.
[05:50:05]
JONES (voiceover): But the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association says PBMs generate at least $148 billion in savings for the health care system annually and support independent pharmacies through innovation program to increase reimbursement on prescription drugs.
Earlier this month the National Community Pharmacists Association issued a statement saying that, "Unless the federal government ensures that PBM pharmacy reimbursements are increased to reflect higher costs, the ripple effect of tariffs could be fewer pharmacies, stranded patients, and inadequate pharmacy networks for Medicare and Medicaid."
A grim prognosis for institutions that play a vital role in so many communities. KAZANGIAN: In parts of this country that are very rural or not very
accessible those pharmacies are really the only, like, medical facilities that exist. So those patients are really going to -- they're really going to suffer.
JONES (voiceover): Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: Well, here in New York a man has been arrested and accused of torture as part of an alleged plot to steal Bitcoin. Thirty-seven- year old crypto investor John Woeltz -- he's charged with kidnapping and also several other related counts. Police say that he held the victim hostage for weeks in an upscale Manhattan apartment.
The victim hasn't been identified but authorities, but he reportedly came to the U.S. from Italy earlier this month. He told investigators that he was drugged, shot, and threatened with death if he didn't share his Bitcoin password.
Prosecutors say that he was able to escape on Friday and flank down a city traffic cop for help.
And a flight from Japan to Texas was diverted to Seattle on Saturday after a passenger tried to open the plane's exit mid-flight. Crew members and passengers had to restrain the person. And also the All Nippon Airways flight -- it was able to land safely at the Seattle- Tacoma Airport. The unruly passenger was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation.
The FBI says a second passenger frustrated by the flight diversion actually punched a bathroom door. That person was also removed from the flight.
Well, it is Memorial Day in America. Above all, it is a day to honor those who served their country but for some it's a little more than that. Just ahead why the holiday kicks off summer for so many Americans.
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[05:56:55]
SANDOVAL: Well, today is Memorial Day in the United States. It is a chance above all for Americans to remember those who died in serving -- in the military serving their country. And as Americans reflect on the fallen the holiday also is a chance for some to connect with family and friends, usually at a backyard barbecue.
This weekend our Omar Jiminez talked to CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten about the holiday weekend and why so many Americans consider this long weekend the official start of summer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: When is the unofficial start of summer? Well, get this. Forty-five percent say it is this weekend -- Memorial Day weekend. Yes, it's time to go to the beach. It's time to go to the ocean.
Forty-one percent say the last day of school. Now, I don't want to admit anything about my age on the air, Omar, but I've been out of college now for over a decade, so this does not apply to me. Though back it the day I definitely agreed it was the last day of summer.
Or how about 10 percent say your summer vacay -- when that begins. If that's the case, for me, Omar, it wouldn't actually happen until the end of summer -- the end of August. My goodness gracious.
Favorite food to barbecue. Beef -- how about a hamburger? That's 39 percent. I haven't had a hamburger in, like, five years though. How about chicken at 27 percent? Pork, 11 percent. This Jew says uh uh. How about 11 percent for fish. I like a good piece of salmon and maybe with some veggies. I like to keep it healthy as we go into summer, Omar -- as like we got into bathing suit season. I like to look my best.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: That should have come with a warning -- this included conversation about Harry Enten in a bathing suit. And I would tell that to his face.
A record box office for Memorial Day weekend thanks to two massive movies from two big franchises.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Clip from Disney's "Lilo & Stitch."
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SANDOVAL: Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" is well on its way to becoming the highest-grossing opening for the holiday weekend. The live-action remake of the animated film made roughly $145.5 million this weekend and is expected to earn yet another $37 million by tonight.
Also this weekend, Tom Cruise's eighth installment of "Mission Impossible" surpassed expectations. "Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning," grossing $63 million and it's the best three-day opening for the franchise. I caught it on Friday. It's pretty good.
And the New York Knicks coming back big in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday. The Knicks trailed most of the game but that was until the fourth quarter. That's when Knicks' center Karl-Anthony Towns got hot. He scored 20 points in the fourth quarter alone and had 15 rebounds.
The Knicks going on to win that game. The Pacers leading the series two games to one.
And tonight the Minnesota Timberwolves hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder in game four of the Western Conference Finals. Oklahoma City leading that series two games to one.
And for the first time in almost a century the U.S. men's hockey team has won the International Ice Hockey Federation's World Championship Tournament. They beat Switzerland 1-0 in over time on Sunday for their first gold at the event since 1933.
I want to thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.
