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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Five People In Court Over Murder Of U.S.-Based Professor In Greece; Taiwan Holds Military Drills In Preparation For War; "Change Amplified: Live Music And The Climate Crisis." Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired July 17, 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]
MJ LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Five people who were arrested after the murder of a U.S.-based professor in Greece are in court in Athens at this hour. The victim's ex-wife and four others were brought to the courthouse a short while ago where they're expected to testify before a prosecutor.
Professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski was gunned down in Athens on July 4 in what a police source described as a likely hit job. He was highly an acclaimed economist who taught marketing at the University of California Berkeley.
And journalist Linda is keeping an eye on this story, and she joins us from Parga, Greece. Elinda Labropoulou, tell us more about this story and where this is headed in terms of the proceedings in the courthouse today.
ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: Well, at the moment five people have been arrested. They are testifying and they are appearing in front of a prosecutor as we speak. They were detained last night. We've been hearing from lawyers from both sides that they are likely to be charged today, and we understand that one of them has confessed to the murder.
The person in question is the boyfriend of the ex-wife of the professor and with him, another three people appear to have been arrested and the three have also testified to being accomplices. The wife of the professor denies any connection to this but, of course, it's early days. We'll have to wait for the charges to be handed out to see where things are going.
What we do know is obviously what happened. It's a very shocking incident. It was -- it happened in downtown Athens almost just outside the ex-wife's house. A man walked past and gunned down the professor at very close range, as police have told us, with a lot of people passing by. And actually, then he walked away on foot for a while and got lost in the crowd as we understand.
The professor was in Greece for a child custody case. He's been having a number of legal issues with his wife over -- ex-wife over the years from what we understand. He was there to see his children -- two twin children who are now 10 years old. And we also understand from both of the legal sides that there have been some financial issues between the couple who also shared two companies in the U.S. The professor's family has reached out and said -- you know, they have
thanked Greek police for all their efforts so far. And this incident took place almost two weeks ago and we have these people now appear in front of the prosecutor. They have said that they're -- the want to bring the remains to Poland, the professor's native country. And what they want to see, they say, is justice.
There have been massive outpours of grief from all sides. From Berkeley where he used to teach from post-grads, undergrads -- people who knew him describing him as a very generous and kind guy.
And the family now is very concerned about the children who will remain now in Greek police custody.
LEE: Elinda Labropoulou, thank you so much for that update.
And still to come, military drills are taking place across Taiwan as the island practices for a war with China it hopes will never come.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:37:00]
LEE: People in Taiwan are practicing for a day they hope never comes. They're conducting air raids and military drills across the island in preparation for a potential war with China.
CNN senior international correspondent Will Ripley reports from Taipei.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We just got this presidential alert. It says, "Missile attack. Seek immediate shelter."
If war breaks out in Taiwan this is what it could look like. (Air raid sirens blaring) Oh, there they go. Air raid sirens across Taipei. People had to abandon their cars. You've got buses just sitting there empty. This busy street in the middle of a workday totally empty except for the police making sure that people are not out on the sidewalks.
This is Taiwan's first-ever urban resilience drill. It's designed to prepare civilians for war. The government wants people to take cover underground -- basements, metro stations, parking lots.
At this Taipei supermarket chain shoppers take shelter from a simulated airstrike.
Military police sweep through the subway system moving gear and personnel to the capital underground. When the sirens stop, civil defense drills begin. How fast can people open shelters, ration food, protect telecoms and power grids.
C4 explosives detonate in the Danshui River, part of simulations to block China's PLA forces from advancing by water into Taipei. Anti- aircraft units trained to intercept incoming missiles before they ever reach the capital.
On Taiwan's outlying islands troops prepare for amphibious landings, firing artillery, watching missiles, and timing every single move. Nighttime combat drills in Kinmen -- training to defend this island in the dark.
Portions of these drills have been held annually for decades but this year's lasts 10 days -- twice as long as usual. So why now? Taiwan's military points to daily threats from Beijing. Warplanes crossing into Taiwan's air defense zone. Chinese ships flexing in nearby waters.
Taiwan doesn't know how much time it has but planners agree if war does happen the future of this island democracy depends on how everyone responds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEE: And coming up, music that makes a difference. What some of the biggest names in the industry are doing to help fight climate change. We'll have a sneak peek at Bill Weir's new documentary and his interview with the one and only Billie Eilish.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:44:10]
LEE: Welcome back. I'm MJ Lee. Here are some of the stories we're watching today.
U.S. President Donald Trump is attempting to distance himself from supporters asking for more transparence in the Epstein case. Some Republican lawmakers are asking for the release of additional materials from the investigation. President Trump posted online Wednesday calling them "weaklings who have been duped by the Epstein hoax."
The U.S. president has refused to rule out firing the Federal Reserve chairman and acknowledged that doing so could disrupt the stock market. Donald Trump said he would love it if Jerome Powell resigns and suggested he could be removed for fraud.
And at least 20 people have been killed in Gaza in a crowd crush at an aid distribution site, according to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. They say 19 people were trampled and one stabbed in a surge driven by agitators. But the Palestinian Health Ministry says 21 people died with 15 suffocating after tear gas was fired and six after being shot by Israeli forces.
[05:45:15]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLIE EILISH, SINGER-SONGWRITER, CLIMATE ACTIVIST: Singing "Birds of a Feather."
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEE: That is, of course, Billie Eilish and her mega hit "Birds of a Feather." She is one of the artists, along with Jack Johnson, Bonnie Raitt, and others featured in this Sunday's "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER."
CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir caught up with Billie Eilish on tour and they spoke about her efforts to revolutionize the eco footprint of live music.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Billie Eilish immediately set out to bend the industry around her values. Haters and big oil companies be damned.
ELISH: Singing "All the Good Girls Go to Hell."
Yeah, it was funny. That video really went kind of viral in the kind of 'oh my God, she's satanic' world, which is really funny to me because I was like no, no, you guys. This isn't metaphor for climate change. I'm a bird falling into a thing of oil. Like, that's kind of the whole point.
I have been trying to change the way that the industry has been running for a really long time. So for, like, food back stage, all of my catering is vegan. Yeah, we have, like, refillable water stations. We don't sell, like, plastic water bottles. And I have, like, a no idling policy for all the trucks, you know, to save all those -- all those fossil fuels.
WEIR: Yeah, and save your lungs and a lot of your fans'.
EILISH: Save your lungs and save all the things, yeah. But yeah, it's really amazing.
WEIR: So it's leading by example, sort of.
WEIR (voiceover): As someone who attended the first Lalapaloozas and Coachellas and Bonnaroos, I can testify that the influence of Billie and others like her is catching on.
WEIR: You can now get a concert t-shirt in exchange for filling a plastic bag with recyclables. I talked to one guy who said it took him 45 minutes because the place is too clean. We've reached a point where it is cool to refill your own water battle.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It keeps you hydrated.
WEIR: We didn't plan that all. I have never met her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEE: And Bill Weir joins me now live from New York. Bill, thank you so much for waking up early to do this, and I'm really looking forward --
WEIR: Of course. LEE: -- to this documentary.
Yeah. You know, let's start with the two interviews you had with Billie Eilish. I'm officially jealous, by the way. Clearly, you know, she is somebody that checks all of the mega popstar boxes. Great music, viral videos, hip fashion. And you talked to her about how she is trying to use that platform to make caring about climate cool.
Tell us about your conversations with her.
WEIR: It is so fascinating, MJ. This is a girl who blew up at pretty much age 13. But instead of being sort of bent by the values of a very seductive music industry, she was grounded by her mother, Maggie Baird, really in humble, no waste in their house. They would reuse Christmas wrapping paper every year. Had solar panels on their house and were thinking about, you know, water-saving landscaping an L.A. lawn before anybody else was. Her kids blow up, but those values went with them into the music industry.
And so she made demands that no one really would think to do or have the audacity to do when Oscar de la Renta wanted her to wear their stuff at Fashion Week she said "Oh, yeah, as long as you never sell fur again -- and they agreed.
At Lalapalooza there are now battery-powered main stages because of Billie Eilish who said, "You know, we shouldn't have trucks idling literally for a week at these music festivals 24/7. There's a better way." And they did. They set up this battery hybrid system and cut that emissions by 80-90 percent or so, and that's going forward.
And it turns out, MJ, that a music festival or a big concert is kind of like a mini disposable city, and it has all the problems of waste and water and energy that we have in big cities. So our influencers now are these popstars and maybe their ideas can trickle down into the rest of society instead of the other way.
LEE: Yeah, that is all so fascinating.
Bill, also as a part of this documentary you hung out with two pioneers of the music climate movement, Bonnie Raitt and Jack Johnson. Their activism in this space really goes back decades.
So what are viewers going to learn about their work on this front?
[05:50:00]
WEIR: It was really interesting -- kind of the way a great song -- your favorite song is a ripple that can go back through time influenced by other artists all the way back, right? And it's the same in this movement.
Bonnie Raitt -- she first blew up in the '70s under Richard Nixon and was there because her parents had instilled her with sort of Quaker values and caring about the less fortunate. She was there at the anti- nuke protests and civil rights marches. She talks about the power of music as a unifying force. Jack Johnson is from the north shore of Hawaii -- very much plugged into the land there and as a surfer really conscious of ocean pollution. And so early in his career he would try to look at that sea of plastic after a show and say what can we do differently.
And these have influenced other artists. They look around. Willie Nelson or Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is doing this, or Coldplay is now leading the charge and working with MIT on a first-of-its-kind study.
And so I was just fascinated by the streams of music in all different genres -- rap, country -- where these artists bring their values and then amplify them to the audience and then realize wait, I'm not alone in worrying about this stuff and maybe I can find members of a new tribe at the show where after the show is over you volunteer and do Earth repair together, and everybody knows the words to the same songs. It's a powerful way to think.
You know, a generation ago if you could get somebody at a concert to register to vote that was a win. Now there's artists trying to take it to the next level of creating these grassroots communities on every stop of the tour.
LEE: Well -- and, of course, the throughline in all of this is the concertgoer, right?
Are the musicians who are pushing for sustainability that you talked to -- I mean, are they getting through to them, and is it leading to actual tangible change? I mean, all the examples you are giving -- clearly, they are.
WEIR: They are. I mean, it's hard to know how many people bring those ideas with them after the last encore and then will take action.
But there's this band called AJR out of New York -- three brothers -- and they really try to get fans literally at the shows phone-banking representatives but really concentrated on what are the local issues. If they're at a stop in Denver, it's what they care about. A stop in Boston, it's a different set of environmental concerns. Its people need to plug in at those.
And so just measuring what the industry is doing. They have a pretty small imprint according -- you know, compared to, like, fashion or concrete or these big industries but a huge influence culturally.
And that's what's fascinating to see if -- they say it's the artist's job to make the revolution irresistible and in an age of so much conflict and polarization I thought it would be interesting to see how the Billie Eilishes of the world are actually convincing this generation that this stuff is cool.
LEE: Yeah.
Bill Weir, thank you so much for this conversation. I can't wait to watch.
And "Change Amplified: Live Music and the Climate Crisis" premieres this Sunday at 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. Eastern on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER" right here on CNN.
An earthquake has hit in Alaska. Coming up, how some residents reacted to the tremor and how it caused a small tsunami.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:57:35]
LEE: An earthquake triggered a small, brief, and local tsunami in parts of Alaska on Wednesday. The 7.3-magnitude tremor hit about 80 kilometers south of Sand Point in the Aleutian Islands. The National Tsunami Warning Center said it generated a tsunami a little more than five centimeters high.
The quake forced some people in Seward, Alaska to get to a church on higher ground. A tsunami warning for the area and other parts of Alaska has since been cancelled.
And one person is dead after lightning struck several people in New Jersey on Wednesday. Authorities say 14 people were hit by lightning at an outdoor archery club in Jackson Township. The ages of the victims range from seven years old to 61 years old. A 61-year-old man died from his injuries. Thirteen others were injured, and 10 of them were taken to the hospital.
And elsewhere in New Jersey a delivery driver had a lucky escape. The man was working during storms on Monday and had just arrived at a house in Wayne when lightning struck. The video from the home's surveillance system shows the moment the roaring thunder is heard, and a flash of light appears forcing the man to duck. Luckily, he wasn't hurt and he still got the delivery done.
And to golf now and the fourth and final major of the year. The 153rd British Open Championship is now underway as players teed off a short time ago at the Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
All eyes will be on Rory McIlroy who was born and raised less than 70 miles away. He's coming off an emotional Masters triumph in April and looking to win his second Claret Jug.
Fans are also watching for American golfer Scottie Scheffler who is currently world number one and already with Olympic gold and three majors to his name.
And "Superman" hit theaters last week, but its biggest star might actually be a four-legged hero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Clip from Warner Bros. Pictures "Superman."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: Gosh. That was Krypto, the super dog and his star turn has driven up interest in dog adoptions more than 500 percent. That's according to the news site TheWrap. [06:00:00]
Krypto's character was based on director James Gunn's rescue dog, Ozu. Warner Bros. Pictures got together with Best Friends Animal Society to cover pet adoption fees earlier this month that helped 454 pets find homes across the U.S.
Warner Bros. Discovery is CNN's parent company.
And thank you so much for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm MJ Lee in Washington, D.C. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.
