Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Hospital: IDF Strikes Overnight Killing More Than A Dozen People; Start of School Year Marked By Deportation Fears; Trump Administration Considering Transgender Gun Ban. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 05, 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: There are believed to be still many tent cities that are coming under attack as a result of those airstrikes. And the fear is, of course, that these -- that this military operation will have yet another disastrous impact on the civilian population.
We've been hearing the warnings from the U.N.'s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warning that this military offensive could have catastrophic consequences if it does continue. And as you mentioned we've seen that death toll overnight rising yet again. More than a dozen people killed, including children, as a result of that military offensive.
But again, we are seeing that offensive ramping up. We're seeing tens of thousands of reservists being called up. And now the Israeli military has said that it has managed to take control of some 40 percent of Gaza City.
Take a listen to this Israeli military spokesperson update.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGADIER GENERAL EFFIE DEFRIN, ISRAELI MILITARY SPOKESPERSON: Currently we hold 40 percent of Gaza City's territory. The operation will continue to expand and intensify in the coming days. The IDF will continue to deepen the blow against Hamas in Gaza City. In the coming days the mobilization of reservists will continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: Now, while there hasn't been an official order for evacuation from the Israeli military, we have been hearing from Palestinian civilians on the ground who have said they have received warnings -- leaflets being thrown out and quadcopter warnings telling them to evacuate.
The Israeli military has said that it has placed eight distribution sites outside of Gaza City. So essentially, anyone who is needing to get food or essential humanitarian aid -- whatever is available -- what little is available -- they will then have to leave Gaza City in able -- in order to be able to do that. At this stage, according to one Israeli official, it's believed that
some 70,000 Palestinians have so far evacuated the city. But again, that is just a fraction of the estimated one million people believed to be in Gaza City at this stage.
And again, we are still seeing that growing condemnation against this military operation not only internationally but internally and domestically as well where we continue for at least four days now to see these largescale protests taking place -- Brian.
BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: And considering how many people have not left, so many still potentially in harm's way.
Nada Bashir for us in London. Nada, thank you.
The Venezuelans rush to volunteer as the U.S. sends warships to the southern Caribbean. We'll tell you how many people Venezuela's leader is trying to activate as tensions rise with the U.S.
Plus, excitement gives way to fear as immigrant students head back to school. We'll have one family's heartbreaking story just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:37:20]
ABEL: U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday that would change the name of the Defense Department to the Department of War. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previewed this name change on Thursday, adding that "words matter."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Thank you for traveling with the War Department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: The department's last name change took an act of Congress; not an executive order. That came in 1949 as part of a broader reorganization of the military which placed the departments of the Navy, Army, and Air Force under the Department of Defense. The rebranding effort follows the Trump administration changing the names of bases and ships.
Meanwhile, the defense secretary refused to explain the legal authority behind a U.S. military strike on an alleged cartel drug boat in the Caribbean. The Trump administration claimed Tuesday's deadly attack that you see here targeted members of the Tren de Aragua gang.
Hegseth refused to say how the Pentagon determined that the people onboard were narcoterrorists or how officials knew where that boat was going, but he did tell reporters the Pentagon had the authority to carry out the strike.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HEGSETH: Foreign terrorist organizations have been designated. We have those authorities. And it's about keeping the American people safe. There's no reason for me to give the public or adversaries any more information than that.
But if you're trafficking drugs and you're a known cartel entity -- a designated terror organization -- and they're heading to the United States or part of a process that would head to the United States, that will have lethal consequences. The poisoning of the American people is over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: The boat targeted in Tuesday's strike left the port in Venezuela. And now Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he's activating more than eight million Venezuelan troops on Friday. That includes reservists and militia members who signed up last week.
September means back to school for many students across the U.S., but the excitement is giving way to fear this year as immigrant students worry over ICE raids and deportations.
CNN's Maria Santana has one family's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): "Scared, full of fear, anxiety."
This immigrant mother of two breaks down in tears torn between taking her children to school and the risk of being taken away by ICE agents.
[05:40:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm afraid the same thing will happen to me as to my husband -- that they'll arrest me, or I fear that at school during these raids they talk about they could take my children. All of this haunts me every day.
SANTANA (voiceover): She says her husband was detained by federal immigration agents over Memorial Day weekend during a family outing in New York. At the family's request we are not using their names. Originally from Venezuela, she says they both had temporary protected status and pending asylum claims.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not replied to our request for details about the father's arrest. Court records show that he had no prior criminal history, but he remains in federal custody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I used to pick them up. He took them to school. I feel this year will be very hard for me.
SANTANA: (Speaking foreign language). I hear you're learning English?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Um-hum.
SANTANA: Yeah?
SANTANA (voiceover): The children, heading into third and eighth grades, say they are excited to go back to school and see their friends, but they desperately miss their father.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I wish he was here to see us -- to see how we're doing because whenever we left school and he picked us up sometimes we went to the park, or he took us out somewhere.
SANTANA (voiceover): Their mother says that they are also terrified -- worried that she might get arrested too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Since what happened to their dad, they don't want to leave my side. They say, "Mom, what if I'm at school and you go and you don't come back? What if they take you, mom? Why is this happening to us?"
MANUEL CASTRO, COMMISSIONER, NYC MAYOR'S OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS: We understand our families have a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety.
SANTANA (voiceover): City officials acknowledge that some parents may want to keep their children at home even as they insist that schools are safe.
CASTRO: There are strict protocols that our teachers, our principals, our school systems must follow because it is the law. We cannot cooperate with immigration enforcement and any of the families and children in our school system.
SANTANA (voiceover): But for this mother this year feels more like a leap of faith, praying that her family can stay together as her children continue to grow and learn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Children are meant to be happy. Why does this happen? I don't understand it because we all have children.
SANTANA (voiceover): Maria Santana, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Still to come for us, the U.S. Justice Department is considering banning transgender people from owning guns. Their reasoning, next.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:47:00]
ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel. Here are some stories we are watching today.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert K. Kennedy Jr. is defending his controversial policies. He clashed with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle at a Senate hearing on Thursday. They raised concerns about his restrictions on vaccines and the changes he's making at the CDC.
Washington, D.C. officials are suing the Trump administration for deploying National Guard troops to the nation's capital. The lawsuit argues that the deployment violated the Constitution and federal law. This comes as a source tells CNN President Trump plans to extend the National Guard deployment through December.
Economists are expecting job gains of around 80,000 in August, according to the data firm FactSet. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its monthly report in just a few hours from now. It's the first since President Trump fired the bureau's chief -- accusing here, without evidence, of manipulating the numbers.
A pair of U.S. officials telling CNN that the Justice Department is considering proposals to restrict transgender Americans from owning guns. This comes after last week's school shooting in Minneapolis, and it would be a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration's fight against transgender rights.
CNN's senior justice correspondent Evan Perez has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department is weighing proposals to possibly limit transgender people's right to possess firearms.
Two justice officials told us that the discussions are still preliminary, but the department is building on an idea that's gained currency in conservative media since the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church. Police say that shooting was carried out by a transgender woman.
The vast majority of attackers who have carried out mass shootings in the United States have no connection to the transgender community, but the administration has targeted the rights of transgender Americans since the start of the second Trump presidency. The president has already banned members of the military who are transgender and he's ordered federal prisons to stop accommodating transgender identities of prisoners.
Restricting gun rights has long been a red line for conservatives. But we're told by one justice official that the department leadership is seriously considering whether it can use its rulemaking authority to have Trump -- the administration essentially declaring that people who have transgender identities are mentally ill and can lose their Second Amendment rights to possess firearms.
Now, one civil rights attorney told us that the precedent being set here potentially could put a lot of other Americans at risk for losing their rights, and that includes possibly veterans with PTSD diagnoses.
The Justice Department gave us a statement that says, "The DOJ is actively evaluating options to prevent the pattern of violence we have seen from individuals with specific mental health challenges and substance abuse disorders. No specific criminal justice proposals have been advanced at this time."
Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[05:50:10]
ABEL: On Capitol Hill, Republican support seems to be waning for a vote to call on the Justice Department to release all of its files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. House Speaker Mike Johnson has reportedly urged Republicans not to support the move, saying the ongoing investigation by the House Oversight Committee is a better way forward.
Johnson is also defending Donald Trump after the president claimed calls for more transparency in the case were a Democratic hoax.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But Trump called them a hoax yesterday. Is it a hoax?
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: What Trump is referring to is the hoax that the Democrats are using to try to attack him. He hates the fact that these women were -- suffered those harms. He hates what Epstein is accused of and who he was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Staffers working with the Oversight Committee are expected to meet with lawyers representing the Epstein estate next week. A source tells CNN they will be shown unredacted documents related to the Epstein investigation. It comes as some of President Trump's biggest supporters are growing frustrated with the administration's failure to produce a list of Epstein's clients.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC BOLLING, REAL AMERICA'S VOICE NEWS: He can prove it's a hoax --
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Yeah.
BOLLING: -- by releasing it. Let us -- let us decide --
GREENE: Yeah.
BOLLING: -- if it's a hoax or not. I mean, I don't -- I --
GREENE: It's not a hoax.
BOLLING: I love everything they're doing. I love -- you know, I'm MAGA through and through before -- I don't know. I'm the original OG. Bannon calls me original gangster MAGA. I am.
GREENE: Me, too.
BOLLING: But you got to -- you got to give MAGA this.
GREENE: Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: The fashion world mourning a legend of elegant style. We'll look at the life and legacy of designer Giorgio Armani in just a few moments.
(COMMERCIAL)
[05:56:15]
ABEL: The fashion industry has lost a giant. Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has died at the age of 91. The Armani Group said in a statement Thursday that he passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.
Known for his elegant, deconstructed designs, Armani was born in 1934 in northern Italy. He got a job as a window dresser in Milan in 1957 and that was the start of his lifelong passion for fashion. In 1964, Armani began designing menswear and first learned about unstructured jackets. He eventually perfected the style and became famous for that quiet luxury look.
Fashion experts say Armani was intentional about creating affordable luxury items.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ZEE, FASHION JOURNALIST: Oh, he really took the idea of fashion and really wanted it to be available for everyone. So, yes, he had the Prive couture that was incredibly crafted and then designed, and special and one of a kind, and incredibly expensive, all the way down really affordable pieces. And he many, many diffusion collections.
He amassed an empire that was worth $12 billion, which you have to understand that there are no fashion designers that even come close to that with perhaps the exception of Ralph Lauren. And he really did that by becoming more than fashion. It was a lifestyle. That you wore Armani because it was part of a movement, in way.
He opened hotels. He brought restaurants to Milan, like Nobu. He was able to understand how to craft price-pointed fashion for people across the board so that people could really wear Armani in every possible incarnation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: And sports news.
WNBA star Caitlin Clark will miss the rest of the season with a groin injury. She says disappointed is not a big enough word to describe how she feels. Her Indiana Fever currently in eighth place but they still have a chance to make the playoffs with only three games to go.
The 2024 Rookie of the Year had been averaging 16 1/2 points and nearly nine assists per game this season.
And boxing fans have a major spectacle to look forward to early next year. Mike Tyson will take on Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition match. No date or location has been announced.
The 59-year-old Tyson returned to the ring after his loss to Jake Paul last year. The 48-year-old Mayweather remains unbeaten with titles in five weight classes. Mayweather says there has never been a fighter that can tarnish his legacy. Iron Mike predicts the fight will be detrimental to Mayweather's health.
And the matchup is set for the women's final at the U.S. Open. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus will take on Amanda Anisimova on Saturday. The eighth-seed American has become the Cinderella story of this year's tournament defeating Naomi Osaka to reach the final.
Meanwhile, top seed Sabalenka spoke to reporters about her match.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARYNA SABALENKA, DEFENDING U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: I was super emotional. I was just like oh my gosh, no way it's happening. Please, just close this match. Of course, I was emotional and how much I was just kept telling myself into the next one. Just one step at a time. Don't worry about the past, just like try better in the next point. I'm super proud of this win and happy to be in another final.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: And getting to the final was no walk in the park for Sabalenka. She dropped the first set to American Jessica Pegula before battling back to victory.
[06:00:00]
And the NFL season is off to a raucous start. Quarterback Jalen Hurts led the reigning champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, to a narrow 24-20 win over the Cowboys, but the Super Bowl MVP -- he threw for 152 yards and scored two rushing touchdowns.
Here was the "but." One of the craziest moments came just after the opening kickoff when the Eagles' Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting at Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Video later showed Prescott spitting in Carter's direction first.
Thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I am Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.
