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Moldova Alleges Russian Interference In Key Election; Congress Must Reach Funding Deal By October 1 Or Face Shutdown; Amazon To Pay $2.5 Billion For Prime Subscription Practices. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired September 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]
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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The fear of violence spilling onto these politically charged streets, a new twist ahead of a crucial vote. The government here has already warned Russia is trying to rig.
MAIA SANDU, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The Kremlin is pouring hundreds of millions of euros to buy hundreds of thousands of votes. People are intoxicated daily with lies.
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): The Kremlin denies any interference --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): -- but is publicly accusing Moldova's government of persecuting political opponents and denying those who support Moscow their right to vote.
SEBASTIAN: What would happen if pro-Russian parties gain a majority in this election?
LAURA THORNTON, MCCAIN INSTITUTE: The first step is just to push Moldova away from the EU. That's just the gateway drug to pulling them into the Russian sphere.
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): Russia's full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine supercharged this tiny post-Soviet state's EU ambitions. Last year it started accession talks. And the pro-Russian opposition is pushing back. It's main candidate and former president Igor Dodon claiming the EU is preparing Moldova for war with Russia.
THORNTON: They still have a lot of steps they need to go through to become a member of the European Union. A pro-Russian party or pro- Russian coalition would probably stall that if not try and reverse it.
NATALIA ZAHARESCU, MOLDOVAN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: (Speaking foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): Natalia Zaharescu, a Moldovan investigative journalist, says she has seen Russian tactics evolve firsthand. Zaharescu has spent more than three years infiltrating online networks linked to this man, Ilan Sor, a fugitive Moldovan businessman living in Moscow and linked to a vote-buying scheme that threatened to undermine last year's presidential election and referendum on EU integration.
His latest effort, Zaharescu says, was to train Moldovans to become professional online trolls. Sor has not responded to a CNN request for comment.
ZAHARESCU: Hundreds of people were trained how to use social media. How to make accounts under fake names. How to post the messages that they were given.
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): And she, working undercover, was one of them.
ZAHARESCU: And they were telling that we are in an informational war. We have to act like a big troll farm. Everything is paid directly from Moscow.
SEBASTIAN (voiceover): Moldova is, experts say, a testing ground for Russian hybrid tactics -- one whose European future now hangs in the balance.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you for that.
All right. Coming up in a moment, California voters have a big decision to make in November. Will they approve a new congressional map that favors Democrats?
Meanwhile, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls the redistricting plan "a scam." He explains why in our exclusive coming up in just a moment.
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FREEMAN: Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is weighing in on the state's effort to redraw congressional districts. California Democrats are asking voters to approve a redistricting plan that could give Democrats an additional five congressional seats.
Now, the former governor says that despite Texas redrawing their districts to favor Republicans, "two wrongs don't make a right."
CNN's Elex Michaelson spoke exclusively with Schwarzenegger as well as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: What's your view in terms of what should happen nationwide when it comes to redistricting?
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, (R) FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: Well, first of all, in California it's a big mistake to go and do a dismantle and to basically kind of get rid of the independent redistricting commission under the auspices of we've got to have more power than the Republicans --
MICHAELSON: Hmm.
SCHWARZENEGGER: -- and we've got to fight Trump. Because, yes, they are fixing the elections in Texas, but that does not mean that California should fix the elections because of that. Two wrongs don't make a right. It's that simple.
And whenever the politicians say that we are only doing this temporarily with the redistricting commission -- with the independent one -- there's no such thing with politicians and temporarily. Have you ever seen a tax that stopped? When they say this is just temporary it is permanent.
I am for the power of the people, not the parties. And therefore, I say vote no on proposition 50.
MICHAELSON: Because when I talked to Gov. Newsom about this and about your conversation with him about this, he told me that he said to you, "If we are not successful -- this -- that there will be no more independent redistricting. The whole thing is over."
He has no faith in President Trump in order to do fair elections if Republicans have all control and he says that it is temporary.
Do you -- you just -- you don't buy what Gov. Newsom is saying?
SCHWARZENEGGER: Of course not. Look, I have sat in Sacramento. I have listened to the politicians for seven years. They are not interested in giving any power to the people. The only interest that they have is to take power away from the people and grab it themselves.
So this gives them a great opportunity by saying, oh, we have to fight Trump. Let's go and get rid of our democratic principles. Imagine to fight for democracy and to get rid of your democratic principles. It doesn't make any sense.
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And plus, we have so many homeless people in California and there they cannot do anything about it. But they're spending $200 million on a special election. I would rather give this money to the homeless people that really need it rather than to the politicians. Let's give the money to the people rather than the politicians. This is what this is all about.
That's why I'm against proposition 50. That's why I always will say nothing against Newsom. We don't have a fight over this at all.
MICHAELSON: Yeah, because you guys met. What was that like when you met together?
SCHWARZENEGGER: It was a wonderful meeting. He told me what he felt. I told him -- I said I totally get it because this is what you need to do to be the leader of the party. I totally get it but I'm not a party person, I said. I'm a people's person.
MICHAELSON: Are you going to be campaigning anymore? What's your role? Are you going to be doing interviews and going around the state doing rallies? What's your role in this?
SCHWARZENEGGER: I don't know. I have no plan. All I wanted to do really is to come out and to say to the people hold it. Before you go and vote you should know this is a scam.
MICHAELSON: Hmm.
SCHWARZENEGGER: And vote no on proposition 50.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREEMAN: All right. Coming up, the U.S. government is just four days away from a potential shutdown. We'll tell you what's preventing lawmakers from agreeing on a spending deal and the impact the closure might have. That's ahead on CNN.
Plus, we have new information about what may have motivated the gunman who opened fire on an ICE facility in Texas.
Stay with us.
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FREEMAN: Welcome back. I'm Danny Freeman. Here are some of the top stories we're watching today.
First up, former FBI director James Comey vowing to fight his indictment on two criminal charges. He's accused of making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding. It relates to his testimony five years ago about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Comey says he's innocent and welcomes a trial.
Plus this. The U.S. president has announced sweeping new tariffs on many household products. Some of the items now facing 50 percent tariffs are imported kitchen cabinets and certain kinds of furniture. Donald Trump also announced tariffs on heavy truck imports and some pharmaceuticals.
Plus, a deal to sell TikTok's U.S. assets to American investors is inching closer to completion. President Trump has signed an executive order to clear the way for the sale. He told reporters that Chinese President Xi Jinping has greenlit the agreement.
All right, to this now. Time is running out for the U.S. Congress to avoid a government shutdown. Lawmakers have just four days to pass a funding bill. One holdup though. Democrats insist they will not back a two-month funding extension unless considerable health care changes are included. But President Trump falsely insists Democrats are trying to give free health care to undocumented immigrants.
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REPORTER: Is there going to be a government shutdown?
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It could be, yeah. Because the Democrats are crazed. They don't know what they're doing. Uh, they want to have the border opened up so that criminals can pour in.
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FREEMAN: Meanwhile, the Office of Management and Budget is directing federal agencies to conduct mass firings if there is a shutdown.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries says the threat of layoffs will not change Democrats' strategy.
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REPORTER: If the government were to shut down, what leverage do Democrats have at that point?
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the presidency. The country has been lectured all year about how Republicans are in charge. If the government shuts down, it will shut down because Donald Trump and Republicans in the House and the Senate have made that decision to intentionally inflict pain on the American people.
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FREEMAN: Officials are warning the judiciary could feel the effects almost immediately with federal courts needed to halt paid operations within a matter of days of any shutdown.
We're learning more about the man officials say shot three people at an ICE facility in Dallas. Investigators say he left handwritten notes detailing his plan.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Inside the home of Joshua Jahn investigators say they discovered written notes left by the gunman who carried out the deadly attack on the ICE field office in Dallas.
JOSEPH ROTHROCK, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, DALLAS: The clearest indication of motivation are his own words. He wanted to cause terror. He wanted to -- he wanted to harm ICE personnel. LAVANDERA (voiceover): In the notes, investigators say the 29-year-old gunman described ICE agents as "people showing up to collect a dirty paycheck." And also wrote, "Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror to think is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?"
The FBI says these writings outline an extensively planned, targeted attack.
ROTHROCK: Jahn specifically intended to kill ICE agents.
NANCY E. LARSON, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS: The tragic irony for his evil plot here is that it was a detainee who was killed and two other detainees that were injured when he fired into the sally port.
LAVANDERA (voiceover): One note, they say, taunted police with the quote "Good luck with the digital footprint" as they collected digital devices from his home.
LARSON: We take this to mean that he deleted evidence from his devices.
LAVANDERA (voiceover): But investigators were able to trace some of Jahn's actions before the day of the shooting.
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ROTHROCK: He searched for information about the -- about the office building and how to track ICE agents' locations. He knew with a high likelihood ICE detainees would be transported that morning in the exact location where he was facing from his perch on a nearby rooftop.
LAVANDERA (voiceover): Officials say he legally obtained an 8- millimeter bolt-action rifle just last month and was seen driving around the shooting scene at 3:00 a.m. with a ladder on his car, which they say he used to position himself atop a building adjacent to the ICE facility. And from there, a few hours later, he opened fire.
(Gunshots)
LARSON: Gunshots sprayed the length of the building, the windows, and law enforcement vans that were in the sally port area.
ROTHROCK: Agents from both ICE and the ATF put themselves in the line of fire to move individuals off the transportation vehicles in an attempt to protect and rescue those that were injured.
LAVANDERA (voiceover): No ICE officers were hit.
ROTHROCK: Based on our investigation to date, we believe Jahn acted alone, but I'll stress our investigation continues.
LAVANDERA (voiceover): Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
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FREEMAN: All right. Thanks, Ed, for that report.
Coming up in just a moment Amazon accused of tricking its customers and now it's on the hook for billions of dollars. We have details on the historic settlement coming up after the break.
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[05:55:40]
FREEMAN: U.S. officials have ordered federal agencies to defend themselves against an advanced group of hackers. The Cybersecurity and infrastructure Security Agency issued an emergency directive on Thursday. They say hackers have been exploiting previously unknown flaws in Cisco-made software and have already breached at least one agency. Private experts believe the hackers are based in China and state-backed.
And the U.S. Federal Trade Commission says Amazon has agreed to a $2.5 billion settlement -- beginning with a "b" -- after being accused of tricking consumers into subscribing to the company's prime membership. The settlement comes just a few days into the trial between the ecommerce powerhouse and the U.S. government.
Here is CNN's Clare Duffy.
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CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Thirty-five million Amazon customers will be getting refunds for their prime subscription as part of this settlement.
Now, this all dates back to a lawsuit that was filed by the FTC under the Biden administration back in 2023 accusing Amazon essentially of tricking customers into signing up for prime subscriptions and then making it hard for them to cancel those subscriptions.
This settlement totals $2.5 billion. That is a billion dollars' worth of civil penalties and then a billion and half in these customer refunds.
Amazon, as part of this settlement, did not admit any wrongdoing but the company will have to make a number of changes, including having to remove a "no, I don't want free shipping" button from the customer checkout process. It will also have to include clear and conspicuous disclosures about the terms of prime subscriptions during the customer enrollment process. And then it's going to have to make it easier for customers to cancel their prime subscriptions.
This is the largest civil penalty in a case involving an FTC rules disclosure. But for Amazon, this penalty -- this fine of $2.5 billion amounts to just about 5.6 percent of the prime revenue that the company brought in last year. So this is a significant number but for Amazon, at the end of the day, sort of a drop in the bucket. The company shares down just about a point and a half on Thursday in the wake of this news.
Back to you.
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FREEMAN: Thank you, Clare, for that report.
All right. There may be new hope for patients with Huntington's disease. A new experimental gene therapy was found to slow its progression. Now, Huntington's disease is brought on by a genetic mutation. It triggers brain nerve cells to gradually break down and die, leading to issues such as uncontrolled movements and loss of cognition. There is currently no treatment that can cure, stop, or reverse this illness.
Drugmaker uniQure announced the results of an early-stage trial, though, this week. The company says patients who received a high dose of gene therapy saw disease progression slow by 75 percent after three years. The drugmaker plans to submit its data for federal approval next year.
Earlier we spoke to Ed Wild, a neuroscientist who led part of the trial. He explained the significance of this breakthrough.
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ED WILD, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE CENTRE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: I keep having to check the data to make sure that I'm not dreaming. I've worked in Huntington's disease for 20 years, so for me personally, this is an incredible moment of the kind that many scientists never get to see.
But the bigger impact really is for the families and patients, and many of whom, after 20 years, are among my best and closest friends. So this is phenomenal news for the world, but it also is -- represents hope for many people that I hold dear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREEMAN: Now the full study results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
All right. A 1-million-year-old skull found in China has some scientists saying that humans may be much older than we previously thought. Researchers digitally reconstructed this skull and say it's from a group of early humans. They also say that means humans existed maybe 400,000 years earlier.
Now their study appears in the latest edition of the Journal "Science." We'll keep an eye on that one.
All right, I love this story. You can now own some cool pieces of TV history at an online auction of 300 props, artwork, and costumes from the 1950s to the '70s.
Among them, Fonzie's leather jacket worn by Henry Winkler on "HAPPY DAYS." The current bid, $15,500. You can also go for the original Batman and Robin costumes worn by Adam West and Burt Ward in their show in the '60s. Also available are Kirk and Spock's original "STAR TREK" uniforms, Wonder Woman's costume, and the "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" harem costume.
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The bidding ends in four weeks. The Fonz's jacket -- that keeps going up in price. Heads up there.
All right, and finally, the Los Angeles Zoo is celebrating new additions to their family -- a pair of newborn female chimpanzees. They are the first chimpanzees born at the zoo in more than a decade. Zookeepers say both infants and their mothers are doing well. Congrats to them.
All right, thanks so much for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Danny Freeman in New York. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.
