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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Eight Injured in Colorado Attack at Event for Israeli Hostages; Global Markets React to Tariff Whiplash; Senate Prepares to Take on Trump's Domestic Agenda Bill. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired June 02, 2025 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. I'm your host, Solomon, live in New York, and you are watching EARLY START. More now on our breaking news out of Boulder, Colorado.
That's where the FBI is investigating an attack there as an act of terrorism after they say that a man used a makeshift flamethrower to injure at least eight people at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages. The suspect, 45-year-old Mohamed Soliman, was reported to have yelled, free Palestine, was arrested at the scene. He is due in court later today, early this afternoon after being booked in the county jail on multiple charges.
Those charges include using explosives or incendiary devices during a felony, one woman who was there described what she saw during the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE COFFMAN, EYEWITNESS: It was two older ladies just kind of rolling around a little bit. They were in their underwear because they had stripped their pants, obviously. And, yes, I was just like, how can I help?
And they had really bad burns all up on their legs. And then I went over to this other grass area that was right by the front entrance. And there was another lady on the ground with really bad burns on her legs, just like screaming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Another witness spoke to CNN earlier about his concerns following the latest act of violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not even the event itself that's the most horrific thing. It's our country and, frankly, our community, international community, local communities that have become so polarized with domestic policy and politics, just one side against the other that's allowed it to get to this point. And I don't see it changing anytime soon just based on what I've seen and what I've heard.
I think that's the most disconcerting thing that comes out of this whole thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Former FBI agent Bobby Chacon told CNN that the makeshift flamethrower that the suspect used likely didn't require him to buy materials that would have put him on law enforcement's radar. He breaks down why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOBBY CHACON, FORMER FBI AGENT: All you need is a repellent, you know, like some people use around their homes for bug spray, like a metal container or canister. Now, it's not going to work that great, and it may break down during an initial use, but you may get a little initial use out of it before it breaks down. So you can probably get some kind of crude device like that without raising any flags, you know, simple torches or something.
All you need is something, a propellant to propel it out, and you can probably get that without raising flags. And, you know, the Molotov cocktails or the kind of improvised things that are used to burn these people are easily assembled, and you can probably find information online.
Realize how difficult this is. Burns are one of the most horrific injuries you can perpetuate onto someone. And, you know, my thoughts are with these people because these are hard, very painful injuries to go through and to survive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: And an eyewitness at Sunday's event tells CNN that a Holocaust survivor is among those wounded in the attack. The Boulder community, meantime, already rallying together after the violence.
CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter has more on the reaction from the local Jewish community and beyond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, all across Facebook and other online organizing platforms, you can see and read the fear, the outrage, and also the resolve. The Boulder attack has intensified the fears of many Jews in America, especially those who are active in their communities with pro-Israel causes.
The suspect in the Boulder attack targeted a weekly event, a weekly demonstration that was well-known in the city, known as the Run for Their Lives Walk.
[04:35:00]
This is a worldwide effort to call for the immediate release of the hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas. Local residents were reminded about Sunday's gathering on Facebook and other platforms. It was easy to know when and where this event was taking place in Boulder.
One of the posts in advance read, quote, Until they're all home, we will keep walking and calling attention to the plight of the hostages.
In the aftermath of the firebombing attack, you could see images and videos on social media showing the chaos. I was struck by one image showing a discarded Israeli flag that must have been held or brought by one of the participants suddenly laying there on the ground as everyone scattered when this attack took place. Some people grabbed T- shirts. Others went to look for buckets of water to try to help the victims.
There was a statement issued by a number of rabbis and other Jewish community leaders in the immediate aftermath that said, in part, We are shaken -- we are saddened and heartbroken by what happened. Our hearts go out to those who witnessed this horrible stack, and prayers for a speedy recovery to those who were injured.
Quote, When events like this enter our own community, we are shaken. Our hope is that we come together for one another.
The message ended with the words, strength to you all.
For the time being, those Run for Their Lives events in Boulder have been called off, but I suspect organizers want to come back in an even more intensive effort in the weeks ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right, thanks to Brian Stelter there.
More reaction now from some of Colorado's top officials. The state attorney general, Phil Weiser, said in a statement that his thoughts are with the victims, adding, quote, People may have different views about world events in the Israeli-Hamas conflict but violence is never the answer.
And Boulder's representative in the U.S. House, Joe Neguse, called the incident a heinous act of terror. He says that the scourge of anti- Semitism has metastasized across our country and we must do more now to stop this hatred and violence.
I'm going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
[04:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. President Trump has issued a stark warning about what could happen if his tariffs are eventually struck down in court. He says that it would allow other countries to hold the U.S. hostage and that that could lead to the economic downfall of the U.S.
The president is in the middle of a legal battle over his authority to impose tariffs using emergency powers, but the U.S. Commerce Secretary says that tariffs are not going away. Howard Lutnick claims that the president, quote, has so many other authorities that he will find another way to enforce his trade agenda if needed.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is now accusing China of violating a trade agreement made just weeks ago. President Trump planning to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping, quote, very soon. That's according to the U.S. Treasury Secretary. Another White House official says that that call could happen as soon as this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: President Trump, we expect, is going to have a wonderful conversation about the trade negotiations this week with President Xi. That's our expectation. But the bottom line is that we've got to be ready in case things don't happen the way we want because if we have cannons but not cannonballs, then we can't fight a war.
And if we don't have steel, then the U.S. isn't ready and we're not preparing ourselves for something. And if we're not strong, then that's when bad things happen. So we have to show strength. We have to have a steel industry that's ready for American defense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: China, meantime, denies that it violated the U.S. deal, saying that it was, quote, strictly implementing the consensus of those trade talks. Beijing accuses the U.S. of, quote, provoking new economic and trade frictions.
Meantime, President Trump's tariff whiplash and the uncertainty surrounding global trade continue to weigh on markets around the world.
Taking a look at U.S. futures at 4:00, just about 45 will round up here in the U.S. All are lower across the board, the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq, all off between, let's call it, four-tenths of a percent to about two-thirds of a one percent for the Nasdaq.
And while stocks were lower on Friday, the overall reaction from the markets was relatively muted. Wall Street investors have now started to bet that if Trump makes a trade war threat, he will eventually back down.
Despite all the recent ups and downs, the S&P 500 actually posting its best month since 2023, same with the Nasdaq, which was up about 9.5 percent in May.
All right, let's bring in Ryan Patel now, a senior fellow with the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. He joins us this morning from Los Angeles, where it is 1:43 in the morning. Ryan, we really appreciate you being with us this morning.
As we know, investors have been on this rollercoaster ride. They've been up, they've been down, following the back and the forth on trade and tariffs.
People running companies obviously can't ride that same wave. You work with companies. What type of advice would you be giving a company trying to make plans in this environment and really trying to hear through the noise?
RYAN PATEL, SENIOR FELLOW, DRUCKER SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, CLAREMOUNT GRADUATE UNIVERSITY: Well, there's a first couple of things. I'd say, one, market resilience isn't the same as market confidence. So when companies are looking at what the market is doing, you really have to look at your supply chain.
You have to really look at also how you're setting up with your businesses and how you diversify. You cannot fall into the trap where things are highs and lows. And I think the perception does matter right now because business leaders are shifting from agility to anchoring.
[04:45:00]
What I mean by that is that they're not always reacting as fast as they can. Companies have the strategic foundation that's holding up in this turbulence. They have to have this. And I think when you think of global operations right now, this is a must. They're knee-deep into it.
And this is not time to kind of react fast, but you have to react in a way that you have longevity in the mindset, not the short-term.
SOLOMON: Yes, and what does that look like? I mean, as you mentioned strategic foundation there, what exactly does that look like? I mean, as you're trying to make plans on whether to invest in this plant, whether to hire these workers, whether to expand here, I mean, give me a sense of really sort of what that looks like in the day-to-day.
PATEL: Well, I think if you think about some industries, we saw Walmart come out, it's the cost of modeling. What does that look like when it comes to your cost of goods? Are you passing on prices to consumers, right?
Are you aware of that? How are you going to communicate that to the consumer? I think that's one.
I think geographic hedging is another thing, where if you have plants in Southeast Asia and you see maybe these tariffs are not going away, do you already start to reset to Europe or is it other countries to even like Ireland? I think these are the conversations that the volatility and the boardroom conversation is really going to resilience versus just pure growth.
SOLOMON: Yes, speaking on how companies communicate with their clients, I'm curious, you just mentioned transparency and pricing, I think is how you described it. I've seen some of the smaller retailers introduce when you're checking out, they break down raw costs, transportation costs, shipping and freight costs. We know Amazon got caught up in this when the White House got wind that they were considering something similar.
Ryan, what's your best advice to companies trying to figure out if we need to raise our prices, we at least want to be honest with our consumers about why we're raising our prices, even if that means perhaps upsetting the White House?
PATEL: Well, I'm smiling because we always want as much transparency as you can. And Amazon obviously went probably one too far for themselves. But I think the main thing here is consumers and especially companies, right?
You think of Best Buy, you think of these other companies that are coming out. I already mentioned Walmart is the why. Why is it increasing?
What exactly are you increasing the consumer for? And I think why that matters is because the consumer has this loyalty to the businesses and to the companies on why you're buying a product. Is it 10 percent more? Is it 12 percent more?
I think consumers are OK -- I'm going to say they're OK with it, but they will listen should you be very transparent.
I've never seen a time like this where we as consumers have a lot more power to demand what the price point should be. So for businesses and companies, this is not the time to hide about the things that you're doing because it will come out. And I think the transparency is a must and it helps with the education of what a tariff actually is to many of these businesses that do have to pass on the cost.
SOLOMON: It's an interesting point because I think in this space of e- commerce, maybe some companies think that consumers aren't quite as sensitive to price changes. Maybe it's because of the news cycle, but I am finding that consumers are very sensitive when prices are changing and they want to know why. Ryan Patel, great to have you this morning. Thank you.
PATEL: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right, still to come, President Trump's big, beautiful bill gears up for his next challenge, the U.S. Senate. We'll tell you what's next for the controversial piece of legislation when we come back.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Senate lawmaker are already thinking of changes to President Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill. It's a bill that Republican hardliners in the House blocked until their demands were met.
Jenn Sullivan recaps what's in the bill and the uphill battle it faces.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JENN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): lawmakers returned to capitol hill this week, and senators will be busy taking on PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMPS ambitious spending bill that's being called the Big, Beautiful Bill.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is very proud of the one Big, Beautiful Bill, and he wants to see it pass. He wants the senate to get to work on it and send it to his desk as quickly as possible.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The sweeping legislation slashes taxes and federal spending. It narrowly passed the Republican led house last month. Democrats voting against it.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER: This bill actually hurts everyday Americans in order to reward billionaires.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The bill that passed the house makes cuts to programs like SNAP, the supplemental nutrition assistance program, which provides food stamps for roughly 42 million Americans. It also would require Medicaid recipients ages 19 to 64 to work, volunteer, go to school, or participate in a job training program at least 80 hours a month to obtain or maintain coverage.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (C-CT): This Republican budget bill is an absolute disaster for the country, in particular for middle class and poor people.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Republicans are hoping the Bill will help cover some of the country's massive deficit. The Congressional budget office says that over eight years, the legislation would add another $3.8 trillion to the already huge U.S. debt. The Trump administration says that isn't true.
RUSS VOUGHT, DIRECTOR, U.S. OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: It doesn't increase the deficit or hurt the debt. In fact, it lowers it by $1.4 trillion.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): President Trump has said he would like the legislation to clear the Senate by July 4th, but that may be an optimistic timeline.
I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: Tech billionaire Elon Musk is defending the Department of Governments Efficiency. Musk, once a fervent Trump supporter, has changed his tone on politics in recent weeks, becoming more vocal in his criticism of president Trumps agenda. The Tesla CEO sat down with CBS following his exit from the White House, and he talked about his work with DOGE. Take a listen.
[04:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: Doge became the whipping boy for everything. So if there was some cut, real or imagined, everyone would blame DOGE. I've had people think that, like, somehow DOGE is going to stop them from getting their Social Security check, which is completely untrue. I'm like a proponent of of smaller government, not bigger government.
So now if somebody is a proponent of, you know, more government programs and bigger government, and they see, hey, DOGE is cutting all these government programs, then they'll be fundamentally opposed to that because they just think the government should so more things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: That's going to do it for us in the hour of EARLY START. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. I'll be back with more news after this quick break. Do stay with us.
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