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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Plane Crashes At Airport In Western Indian City Of Ahmedabad; Protests Over ICE Raids In More Than A Dozen U.S. Cities; U.S. To Move Some Diplomats Out Of The Middle East. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 12, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:20]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning and welcome to all of our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval in for Rahel on this Thursday, June the 12th.

We are closely following breaking news out of India and reports now of a passenger plane that has crashed at an airport in the western city of Ahmedabad. This is according to local media there in India.

We've already been following some images from the scene that appear to be large, black, dark plumes of smoke coming from the region, and it's still not immediately clear, what kind of plane, how many passengers were on board, and certainly no indication yet of any potential casualties.

But again, at this point, what we are getting, according to Indian media, is that this a passenger plane that crashed at an airport in the western city of Ahmedabad. We are continuing to try to gather more information and pictures from the scene as soon as we have more, were certainly bring it to you here in the next hour.

Meanwhile, we do want to take you now to Washington state, where the city of Spokane declared a state of emergency after anti-immigration protests. Select parts of the city. They are under curfew until 5:00 a.m. local time.

As a result, police say that they have made more than 30 arrests in relation to the demonstrations, most of them for misdemeanors. At one point during the protest, police used a smoke device on the crowd, which prompted people to scatter. Spokane's mayor says that she believes local law enforcement could handle the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA BROWN, SPOKANE, WASHINGTON MAYOR: I made the decision that the safest course of action was for Spokane police, not ICE to try to safely disperse the crowd, try to convince the protesters to leave, and if not, to follow through with arrests of any violation of Spokane municipal code. I know there is tremendous fear amongst our local immigrant and

refugee community. My heart goes out to families who are separated or are fearful of what might happen to them in their workplace, or as they proceed about their lives in Spokane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And since demonstrations begin intensifying in Los Angeles last weekend, we have seen similar protests taking place in more than a dozen cities across the U.S. this week. Now, from not far from Spokane, the city of Seattle saw its own protests at night.

Some pretty dramatic pictures coming there from our affiliate shows. Protesters that set off fireworks around police in Seattle, prompting them to then move in. As you see here, beginning to attempt to disperse the crowds.

CNN affiliate KING says that at one point in the night, crowds were given five minutes to move before officers started advancing into those crowds to break them up police and started arresting people who refused to disperse.

In the meantime, New York City Mayor Eric Adams says that he told the state's governor that the National Guard is not needed to respond to protests here in New York. The NYPD says that they have already made several arrests. Meanwhile, the protests in Los Angeles, they are nearing the one-week mark, with a curfew now in place for a second straight night in a row. Hundreds of people have been arrested, many for refusing to disperse.

The U.S. military says about 700 marines have been mobilized are staging near L.A., and they're expected to potentially deploy sometime in the next two days. And they will be, were told, conducting the same mission as the National Guard. Later today, a federal judge will hear Californias bid for an emergency restraining order to block those deployments.

The city's police chief says that he doesn't really understand why these federal forces were sent in in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: The role is still not clear to us, the marines or the National Guard, other than they're a support entity to protect federal employees and facilities. But the agents they're protecting do have certainly the right to be able to arrest lawbreakers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Meanwhile, the L.A. mayor has been pushing back on descriptions of protests and widespread riots. She says that the Trump administration is trying to mislead the public.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: We started off by hearing the administration wanted to go after violent felons, gang members, drug dealers. But when you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you're not trying to keep everyone safe.

[05:05:03]

You're trying to cause fear and panic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: As part of this back and forth, Donald Trump again continues to defend his deployments during an appearance at the Kennedy Center last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm very proud to have helped Los Angeles survive. Los Angeles right now, we didn't do what we did, would be burning to the ground, and that's not over yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: All right, so where does public opinion really stand as these demonstrations continue to play out throughout the country? The American public appears split over the Trump administrations heavy handed response to the L.A. protests. There's a new poll from "The Washington Post" and George Mason University, which found 44 percent of those surveyed actually opposed these military deployments. Just over 40 percent support it, and 15 percent really don't know what to think about what's going on right now.

However, a poll from Quinnipiac University found that when it comes to how president -- the president has actually handled deportations, there is a greater divide. In fact, 56 percent disapprove. And when asked about his overall work on immigration issues, only 43 percent approve, according to these numbers coming from Quinnipiac.

Well, the State Department is preparing to arrange the non -- the departure of nonessential personnel from U.S. embassies in Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and other parts of the Middle East. That's according to officials here in the U.S.

Here's more from the president on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place. And well see what happens. But they are being -- we've given notice to move out. We'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: An official told CNN the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from across the Middle East.

Here's CNN's Kylie Atwood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The State Department and the Department of Defense moving to drawdown non-essential U.S. diplomats in the Middle East and the families of U.S. military officials in the Middle East. This comes due to heightened security concerns in the region, with U.S. Central Command saying that they are monitoring developing tensions in the Middle East, not specifically citing what those tensions are.

But CNN has reported on the increased tensions over recent weeks and months between Israel and Iran, with U.S. officials concerned about Israel drawing up plans, preparing for a strike on Iran's nuclear program.

And this also comes as the Trump administration has been trying to reach an Iran nuclear deal with the country. They have been engaged in five rounds of nuclear talks with Iran. They are expected to have their sixth round of talks this coming weekend. A senior administration official said that for now, those talks remain scheduled.

But earlier today, President Trump said that he is less confident about the possibility of reaching that deal. The Iranians have said that they will be presenting a response to what the U.S. put on the table, and it wouldn't be a distinctive no, but we'll have to watch and see where that goes, as the security concerns are on the top of the U.S. officials' minds.

Kylie Atwood, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And Oman says that the sixth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks will be held on Sunday in the country's capital. The statement, coming after Tehran said that there will be a price to pay for the U.S. if the talks fail and if Iran becomes the target of military action. Iran's defense minister says that his country could hit U.S. military bases in the region. A source familiar with the discussion says that President Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop talking about possible Israeli strikes on Iran. The two leaders had a phone call on Monday.

I want to take you back now to a breaking news that we're following out of India, where media there reporting that a passenger plane has crashed at an airport in the western city of Ahmedabad. Now, it's not clear yet exactly how many people were on board that flight, or potentially the number of casualties. Authorities there are on the scene.

We're going to continue to follow developments and bring you the very latest updates as officials release them.

We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:13:39]

SANDOVAL: I want to get you back to breaking news. Now that were closely following out of India, with Air India confirming that it was, in fact, one of their flights involved in an incident here. Some fresh new video just into CNN right now showing large plumes of smoke coming from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. You see there authorities on the ground right now.

I want to get you straight to what Air India has already confirmed thus far on social media. In a post on X, Air India writes it was Flight 171 operating Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, which was involved in an incident today, the 12th of June.

At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will show further updates at the earliest on AirIndia.com and on social media. So again, that is air India now confirming that it was their flight from Ahmedabad to London. Flight 171 involved in this incident. Right now. No information, however, on any potential casualties, any injuries or worse as we continue to see these images coming to us from the region right now as we continue to learn more, we will give you more of the information regarding this incident right now.

But again, Air India confirming it was one of their flights that was headed to London that possibly crashed here. As you see in the city of Ahmedabad, that would mean that the flight was really just -- hadn't lasted long.

[05:15:02]

It had just begun. We'll get you more information on this as it becomes available.

Now we do -- we are still also following several other developing stories, including here in the United States, where a federal judge says that the Trump administration cannot continue to detain Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil. The Columbia University graduate student was one of the first arrested as the Trump administration started cracking down on antisemitism on college campuses.

The judge ruled Khalil cannot be detained any longer solely on the basis of the Trump administration's claim that he is a threat to U.S. foreign policy. Khalil has been detained since March, missing the birth of his first son and also his Columbia University graduation.

I want to get more now from one of our great legal analysts here, Raul Reyes.

Raul, thank you so much for joining us.

RAUL REYES, CNN OPINION WRITER: Hello there. SANDOVAL: So, if you could, just help me interpret this decision.

What is the judge saying by granting Khalil's petition and what's next for the Columbia student?

REYES: Well, look, this this has been a historic case followed so closely here in the U.S. and all around the world. It's good news for Mr. Khalil because he was originally detained under an obscure provision of our Immigration and Nationality Act that says the secretary of state, in this case, Marco Rubio, can detain or even remove someone from the country if they think that they're a threat to U.S. foreign policy. Now, that sounds pretty vague, right?

And earlier this year, that same judge found that that provision of the law was likely unconstitutional. And then just yesterday, he said that Mr. Mahmoud, Mr. Khalil should be removed -- should be released because he has shown that its likely that he will suffer irreparable harm. He could be released as early as Friday morning, 9:30 Eastern Time in the U.S.

So in that sense, it is a tremendous setback for the Trump administration. And you have to remember, this case has implications for -- you know, there are about 1 million foreign students in the United States and 12 million green card holders in the United States. And Mr. Khalil was -- he was not undocumented. He was a green card holder, a legal immigrant here.

So, all of that is good news. But the judge's ruling, it did also come with something of a caveat.

SANDOVAL: And what is the caveat, Raul?

REYES: Well, the judge said that his ruling applied only to Mr. Khalil's being held on grounds -- the foreign policy assertion under the Immigration and Nationality Act, only that. He could still technically be held under other charges. And what -- what we have seen so far is the three months that he's been in detention. The U.S. government has also made some assertions that he made omissions or lied by omissions, according to the government, or made some misrepresentations on his green card application.

So if they -- if they decide to pursue that as a basis for holding him in detention, he could still potentially remain in Louisiana, away from his family. We really won't know that until Friday, which is the deadline for the government to appeal.

But it's -- what's interesting about this case is that it has become so much bigger than Mr. Khalil himself. It has really become a test of the First Amendment, the right of student activists, their first amendment rights, their right to due process, and also sort of a test on how far, how far the U.S. government is willing to go to quell student activism.

So, it will be closely watched. It's definitely a day for Mr. Khalil to celebrate, but we really won't know the next step until Friday. SANDOVAL: Now, without a doubt, there's so many green card holders,

especially students who have felt targeted by the Trump administration that are very closely watching this case, to your point.

And then finally, just help me just explore what the government has at its disposal here. Yes, this certainly opens the door to a potential release here soon. But the -- I believe the government has until Friday to appeal.

What next? What else can the government do to try to prevent him from bonding out or continue its deportation efforts?

REYES: Well, what the government has at its disposal really are the entire resources of homeland security, because they have prioritized this case, because its become such an international, say, cause celebre. So, they could very well be building this case against him, saying that he made misrepresentations on his green card application, although these allegations were not part of his initial arrest.

[05:20:04]

The government put these allegations together after he was already detained and doing this type of retroactive action by the government is not unprecedented because, you know, its been in the news a great deal about how Kilmar Abrego Garcia was recently returned to the U.S. from El Salvador after being deported down there, and he will be facing here charges of trafficking and smuggling. In that case, which is totally separate, the government never even put together the trafficking and smuggling charges until months after Mr. Abrego Garcia had been in El Salvador, which is really the backwards way of how our American justice system works.

Usually, the government has a case, tries the case, and then someone is imprisoned. But we are seeing under this administration, in certain high-profile cases, they are imprisoning people, sending them to the detention, and then in a retroactive way, building a case that they should stay there or ultimately even be removed.

And if the government pursues this role with Mr. Khalil, it is -- it is possible that he ultimately could be ordered deported from the country. So, it is good news, but it does come with that sort of asterisk as to his long-term future and his ability to remain in the country with his family.

SANDOVAL: Yeah, this law -- this legal saga, far from over for Khalil. Nonetheless, the ACLU says that this is a huge win for the Constitution. And as they put it, the rights of both citizens and non- citizens alike. So, certainly, giving us a reason to closely follow this.

Raul Reyes, thank you so much for all this great legal insight. Appreciate you as always.

REYES: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: All right. Let's take you back now to breaking news out of India, where authorities there are reporting that a passenger plane crashed at an airport in the western city of Ahmedabad. Air India now confirming that it was one of their planes, Flight 171, had departed, according to Flight Aware from Ahmedabad. Shortly after 2:00 p.m. local time was headed to London when it crashed.

You see this, these dark plumes of smoke coming from the scene as authorities there on the ground trying to learn more about possible casualties. After the break, we're going to bring you more of these ongoing developments of an Air India commercial jetliner crashing in the western city of Ahmedabad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:27:03]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to CNN's breaking news coverage out of India. We have learned that an Air India plane crashed at the airport in the western city of Ahmedabad not long after takeoff. So far, it's unclear exactly how many people were on board and if there are any casualties.

Air India confirming that it was one of their planes, Flight 171, had departed Ahmedabad shortly after 2:00 p.m. local time, headed to London Gatwick Airport. We are also hearing currently from the Gatwick Airport, confirming that it was that same flight that crashed on departure from Ahmedabad and that it was due to land at Gatwick at 6:25 p.m. local time.

Again, that's according to London airport officials. According to aviation tracker FlightRadar24, it seems that this flight was scheduled to depart from Ahmedabad at about 9:50 a.m. local time. That apparently that signal was lost shortly thereafter. Less than a minute after takeoff, again that, according to flightradar.com.

As we see these pictures right now of plumes of smoke.

I want to go straight to some of our experts right now, and aviation analyst Geoffrey Thomas, who's joining us live from Perth.

Geoffrey, as we -- there's so much that we still don't know. What are the immediate questions that come to mind as an aviation expert?

GEOFFREY THOMAS, AVIATION ANALYST: Well, the first thing is this is a Boeing 787. This will be the first accident involving a 787. And it just celebrated a billion passengers carried safely over 11 years. Now, I've seen the vision of the aircraft descending before it impacted the ground, and it didn't seem to be in distress, except that it was descending.

And it -- one wonders whether it had a multiple dual engine failure, maybe from a bird strike, a major bird strike of some kind, because it just sank down and impacted the ground in a fireball. So, terribly, terribly tragic. And there doesn't at this stage appear to be any particular cause, or we can do is possibly suggest maybe multiple bird strike. But beyond that, there's no clue.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. To be clear, authorities haven't said any -- haven't made clear any possible suspicions here. But let's dive deeper into the issue of the kind of aircraft here. As you point out, that it was a from, from many accounts, a Boeing 787 actually went on to Air India just a short while ago just to see the same flight number next a week from now, also serviced on the same aircraft. So, it's quite likely that, you know, as you point out, that that in fact was the plane involved.

A little bit of the history of this aircraft, any potential issues going back decades for plane that many people know as the Dreamliner?

THOMAS: Look, it did have very early on.