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Trump Ramps Up Threat To Send Natl. Guard Into Chicago; 11- Year-Old Texas Boy Shot And Killed During Doorbell Prank; More Than 800 Killed, 2,000 Injured In Afghanistan Earthquake. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 01, 2025 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:01:12]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, escalating threat. President Trump is telling Illinois' governor to straighten it out fast. New CNN reporting on a set of Trump administration rules for college campuses and why critics say the rules protect students accused of sexual assault more than those who endure it.

And later, GPS jamming, why the European Commission says a plane carrying its leader was targeted by Russia.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off. And you're in the Situation Room.

Happening now, President Trump escalates his threats to send National Guard troops into Chicago, the nation's third largest city, and he is turning up the heat in his feud with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

With more than 52 people shot in Chicago over the holiday weekend, the President is using that to warn the governor to get crime under control. On social media, Trump posted, quote, he better straighten it out fast or we're coming.

The governor says he has had no communication with the White House about troops in Chicago and says such a move would amount to, quote, an invasion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): No one in the administration, the President or anybody under him, has called anyone in my administration or and me have not called the city of Chicago or anyone else. So it's clear that in secret they're planning this, well, it's an invasion with U.S. troops if they, in fact, do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Multiple sources tell CNN the Trump administration is planning a big immigration enforcement operation in Chicago as soon as this week. And over the weekend, Chicago's mayor signed an executive order prohibiting police from collaborating with troops or federal agents.

Let's go to CNN's Betsy Klein at the White House. Betsy, what more are you learning this morning?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Pamela, the Trump administration planning the next phase of its immigration crackdown, this time targeting Chicago with what is expected to be a major immigration enforcement operation set to kick off in the coming days, according to multiple sources familiar with the planning.

And I want to make an important distinction that this operation is separate and distinct from the crime crackdown that the President has previewed in social media earlier today and previously, but both examples of the federal government seeking to exert control over the nation's cities.

And as they plan on the immigration front, they are surging federal agents to the Windy City and also sending armored vehicles. This is expected to kick off on September 5th. That is this Friday. Of course, sources caution that nothing is final. The details remain in flux. But this is expected to be larger in scale to some of the immigration enforcement operations we've seen in Chicago, starting at the beginning of President Trump's second term earlier this year.

And it is likely to mirror what we saw in Los Angeles as they rounded up what they said were illegal immigrants earlier this summer. Personnel from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, ICE, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other agencies are expected to be on site. And in a sign of how this could mirror Los Angeles, they are expected to pre-position the National Guard to help in the event that a peacekeeping presence is needed.

But listen to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who says more resources are coming to Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We've already had ongoing operations with ICE in Chicago and throughout Illinois and other states, making sure that we're upholding our laws. But we do intend to add more resources to those operations. We will continue to go after the worst of the worst across the country, like President Trump has told us to do, focusing on those that are perpetuating murder and rape and trafficking of drugs and humans across our country, knowing that every single citizen deserves to be safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:05:09]

KLEIN: And over the weekend, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signing an executive order that in part directs the Chicago police not to collaborate with federal agents on immigration crackdowns. And separately, we heard from Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who says he hasn't heard from the Trump administration. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRITZKER: They ought to be coordinating with local law enforcement. They ought to let us know when they're coming, where they're coming, if it's ICE or if it's ATF or whoever it is. But they don't want to do that either. And I must say it's disruptive. It's dangerous. It tends to inflame passions on the ground when they don't let us know what their plans are and when we can't coordinate with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: But all of these pans -- plans, Pamela, are setting up a major political test for the city and state's Democratic leaders of how they respond to the Trump administration.

BROWN: Certainly. Betsy Klein, live for us from the White House, thanks so much.

And new this morning, have you seen this terrifying moment that was captured on video? You can see a child walking alone on the monorail tracks at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania after getting separated from his family. On the ground below, you hear these panicked people just screaming, trying to direct him to safety until help arrives.

Here's how CNN affiliate WPMT reported the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TYLER POGLITSCH, FOX43 NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Saturday, a crowd of people in a panic after spotting a young boy on top of the monorail tracks at Hershey Park. The ride was closed at the time of the incident, but that didn't stop one man from trying to help.

JOHN SAMPSON, RESCUED BOY FROM MONORAIL TRACK: Kind of like the dad instincts kicked in and then it was just trying to figure things out and how to get up there as fast as possible.

POGLITSCH (voice-over): John Sampson of Bucks County says when he saw the boy, he didn't hesitate and quickly climbed onto the roof of a snack stand and then up onto the tracks themselves, getting the child down to safety. It's a feeling he says he'll never forget.

SAMPSON: Relief, absolute relief and even I could feel it in him, the relief as soon as he got into my arms and thank goodness he came straight into my arms and it went nice and simply in that sense.

POGLITSCH (voice-over): A spokesperson from Hershey Park says the child was reported missing around 5:00 p.m. Saturday. He somehow got through to close secured monorail entrance before venturing onto the track. Hershey Entertainment and Resorts released a statement saying, quote, we are grateful for the vigilance of our guests and the swift response of our team and we remain committed to the highest levels of guest safety throughout Hershey Park. From the time he was first reported missing to the moment he was back with his family, just 23 minutes had passed. People all over social media are now praising Sampson for his heroic actions, including the boy's parents. SAMPSON: They reached out to me this morning so we were able to talk. Obviously a lot of banks and everything which was wonderful and I'm so happy to hear that he's obviously back with his family which is the biggest, biggest thing out of all this.

POGLITSCH (voice-over): Though it's a scary situation, it's also a reminder that sometimes a complete stranger can step up in a moment when it matters the most.

Tyler Poglitsch, Fox43 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Nothing like those dad instincts kicking in there. Thank you, Tyler Poglitsch from CNN affiliate, WPMT on that report.

And new this morning, an 11-year-old boy is dead after playing the childhood prank game of ding dong ditch. The boy was among a group of kids ringing doorbells in a Houston neighborhood. Witnesses say at one home someone charged out of the house chasing the kids and shooting at them.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is following all the latest developments. What are police saying here, Gloria? This is so disturbing.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pam, it's a really tragic, disturbing and sad story and the person who is believed to have opened fire and to have shot that child who was killed was only initially detained questioned but he was later released. And we are hearing from local police officials that there is a possibility the person might be charged.

Now this incident is still under investigation but police say that there was a group of boys playing in the neighborhood on Saturday evening. They were playing this game of ditch and run. Ring the doorbell and run away. This is kind of an age-old thing that kids have been doing forever. But now it's become a trend on social media and TikTok.

It's become a challenge. And many of the children who are doing these pranks are posting videos of themselves doing this. It has gone wrong in other cities around the country where people have gotten hurt. Now, when the boys went up to this house, they rang the doorbell, they started running away and as they were running away, the man came out of the house and opened fire, shooting one of those boys in the back.

[11:10:05]

The boy was transferred to a hospital but unfortunately he could not be saved. He was 11 years old. Now, local police have said that the incident is still under investigation. But for now, we have learned that while they were executing a search warrant at the house, they also recovered multiple weapons. So it's still not clear whether or not we're going to see charges here.

However, local police officials told our affiliate KHOU that he did not believe the circumstances so far appear to justify a self-defense claim. So the question here is whether or not anyone will be charged with this crime. Pam?

BROWN: We'll be tracking that. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much.

And new this morning, we have an update on one of the children who survived last week's shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minnesota. You may remember 10-year-old, Weston, who credited a friend with saving his life by shielding him with his own body. Let's listen to him just after that attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESTON HALSNE, WOUNDED IN MINNEAPOLIS SCHOOL SHOOTING: I think I got like gunpowder on my neck. The first one I was like, what is that? I thought it was just something. Then I heard it again. I just ran under the pew and then I covered my head. My friend, Victor, like saved me though because he laid on top of me, but he got hit. Yes, it was super scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: As you just heard, Weston thought that he had a gunpowder burn on his neck, but his family actually says his injury is much worse than they thought. He will need surgery to remove a bullet fragment that has lodged in his neck, dangerously close to his carotid artery. So we wish him the best as he prepares to go through that surgery.

And still ahead right here in The Situation Room, right now, an urgent search for survivors after an earthquake shattered eastern Afghanistan, wiping out entire villages. At least 800 people killed and the death toll is expected to rise.

Plus, a plane carrying the E.U.'s top leader targeted by GPS interference. Why the commission says that Russia was behind it. You're in the Situation Room and we'll be right back.

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[11:16:47]

BROWN: Breaking news, more than 800 people have been killed and thousands injured after a powerful earthquake hit Afghanistan's mountainous eastern region Sunday. Rescuers are scrambling to search for survivors, but authorities warn the death toll could rise.

Let's go straight to CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. Nic, what details have you learned?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, some aid officials are saying that some of these villages are so remote that earth slips have affected and damaged some of the roads there, and many of the roads in those rural areas are just dirt roads. They say that they're only, some of the affected villages are only accessible by foot, and it takes three hours to walk in to get to those villages, so the chances of getting people who are injured from those places to hospitals 20, 30, 40 miles away is at the moment just not an option, it appears.

The government spokesman is saying that they are getting people out to all the affected areas, but really the big effort, if you will, behind the recovery and rescue mission is not going to kick in to fuller gear until tomorrow when they can get some support from international aid organizations. There are several reasons here why the death toll is so -- is so high at the moment.

Number one is because this was a relatively shallow quake, 6.0 magnitude, relatively large, but relatively shallow, about five miles down, so of course close to the surface, the buildings shake, and these buildings in these rural areas are often made of big rubble. They're not interlocking bricks with cement, big rubble held together with mud, and the roofs are often just tree trunks that are sort of interwoven together, and it came in the middle of the night as well, so, so many people were asleep in their houses in these villages, their buildings collapsed, difficult for rescue and recovery in the middle of the night.

So all these factors are contributing to -- to -- to why the rescue effort is -- is -- is relatively slow, if you will, to get to all the affected people. Why contributes to why it's expected that the death toll casualty numbers will go up. Some helicopters have been able to fly in and get people back to hospitals. But again, even there, the medical services they can expect at these sort of remote regional hospitals in Afghanistan, it's certainly not first world medicine, far, far from it.

BROWN: All right, Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

And new this morning, a plane carrying a top European official was allegedly targeted by Russian GPS navigation jamming Sunday while trying to land. That's what the European Commission is claiming. Its President Ursula von der Leyen, made it safely to Bulgaria, but according to a source familiar with the situation, the pilots had to use paper maps.

Let's go to CNN senior international correspondent, Melissa Bell. Melissa, what evidence do the Europeans have here that this was indeed Russia? And how is the Kremlin responding?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've heard it from the Bulgarian authorities. We knew nothing about this incident. You saw Ursula von der Leyen, the top European leader there landing safely in southern Bulgaria on Sunday. We only found out today from the European Commission what they believe went on because they themselves found from Bulgarian authorities that they believed this had come from Moscow. Have a listen to what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[11:20:13]

ARIANNA PODESTA, EUROPEAN COMMISSION DEPUTY CHIEF SPOKESPERSON: We are, of course, aware and used to somehow to the threats and intimidations that are regular -- that are a regular component of Russia's hostile behavior. Of course, this will only reinforce even further our unshakeable commitment to ramp up defense capabilities and support for Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: Bear in mind, Pamela, that this comes in the context of hybrid warfare waged by Moscow that has gone on for months, if not years, here in Europe. And that involves many different kinds of activity, including GPS jamming, which takes place regularly here on the European continent. So it isn't so much surprise that this, it is simply that this has targeted the plane on which Europe's top leader was.

And what Ursula von der Leyen had to say as she landed was that this was an important reminder of the urgency with which the world needed to remember the extent of Russian aggression, even as it continued to ramp up support for Ukraine. In fact, the tour that she was undertaking, Pamela, there in Eastern Europe was to shore up support for Ukraine specifically in the face of what appear to be President Trump's faltering efforts to bring all parties around the table and progress with peace talks.

So many months, many years now of hybrid warfare waged by Russia and Moscow. And it was put this way by NATO's secretary general a few months ago, speaking about Europe. Europe is now a continent that is not entirely at war, nor is it entirely at peace. And I think this is an important reminder of that, Pamela.

BROWN: Wow. All right, Melissa Bell, thank you so much.

Still ahead right here in The Situation Room, college students around the country are returning to campus with new rules on sexual assault. But some critics say the new policies protect the accused more than victims. Next, we're talking through the potential issues that could cause for survivors. You're in The Situation Room.

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[11:26:39]

BROWN: Well, new CNN reporting as students head back to college campuses, they're doing so under a reinstituted policy from the Trump administration on how schools respond to sexual misconduct complaints. The revived 2020 guidance on Title IX narrows the definition of sexual harassment, extends protections for students accused of sexual misconduct, and adds requirements like live hearings with both the accuser and the accused.

Advocates for survivors say the rules offer more support for students accused of sexual -- sexual assault than for those who endure it, while free speech groups argued the policy safeguard the rights of accused students. Joining us now is Elizabeth Bailey, a trial attorney who represents sexual assault survivors. Thank you for coming on. So why does this change in policy matter so much?

ELIZABETH BAILEY, ATTORNEY WHO REPRESENTS SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS: Well, so the Title IX was instituted about 50 years ago, and the idea was that they had to provide grievance policies for students to come forward if they had complaints or allegations of sexual misconduct. And what the Trump rules do is really narrow the scope of that grievance process. So it dictates who and for what conduct someone can come by and complain to the university and have those grievances heard.

Ultimately, what that does is make it harder for complainants. The process that is instituted by the Trump rules is more intense. It's more invasive -- invasive for complainants. And in some cases, schools have the authority to institute a higher burden of proof. What we're seeing, because these were from the first Trump administration, is the impact on students is extensive. It is less complainants coming forward and a more grueling process for the complainants that do.

BROWN: Yes. Tell us a little bit more about that. When this was in place, the -- the first administration, what -- what trends did you see then?

BAILEY: The trends that were coming out of the first institution of these policies was really students going through a process that was much longer, much less administrative, and really a process that looked a lot like bringing a criminal or a civil complaint. So you had students that were going through investigations that would take years to resolve, all while still trying to be students.

And then at the same time, they'd be subject to this adjudication where they would be on the stand getting cross-examined by an attorney for, some reports, nine hours at a time. Really, what happened is there was a barrier to entry for these complainants. And for a lot of -- a lot of them, it just wasn't worth coming forward and going through that process.

BROWN: So on the legal side of this, how will this policy change impact how sexual assaults are handled in practice now on college campuses and in the courtroom?

BAILEY: I think what you're going to see on college campuses is a lot more hesitancy from students to come forward and bring complaints. And that, I think, is worn out by the trends that we've seen since the first administration. But I also think there might be an unintended impact here because you're going to see complainants who might have gone through this process just with guidance from the school, getting lawyers early and hiring lawyers to help them through this process that now has become very, very adversarial.

[11:29:51]

And to that end, this process is looking a lot more like the things the students would have to go to if they decided to bring a criminal complaint, or they tried to, or decided to bring a civil complaint. And I think an unintended consequence of this may be that students think, if I'm going to go through a process going to -- that's going to be this --