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The Situation Room
Fed Racks Up Arrest in Memphis; Walmart to Remove Artificial Dyes from its Food and Drinks; Deadly U.K. Deadly Synagogue Attack. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired October 02, 2025 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, federal authorities are racking up arrests in Memphis, Tennessee, one of the latest cities at the center of President Trump's crackdown on crime. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the, quote, "Memphis Safe Task Force" has made 93 arrests and seized 28 illegal firearms so far. It's not immediately clear, though, how those numbers compare to an average 72-hour span in Memphis. Members of the Trump administration addressed law enforcement in the city just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Our job here is to help liberate all of you, law enforcement. To provide national guardsmen who can secure facilities and secure law enforcement to stand alongside you so you're freed up to go out and provide safety and freedom to the citizens of Memphis.
PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: If you touch a law enforcement officer, it is a crime and you are going to jail. We are arresting anyone who touches any of you.
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR POLICY: I see the guns and bags in this room, you are unleashed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Some Memphis residents welcome the additional law enforcement, while others, like Pastor J. Lawrence Turner, argue this is about political theater rather than public safety. He writes, quote, "The president does not see Memphis or America in all its glory, a multi- colored melty pot. He has reduced our story locally and nationally, literally and figuratively, black and white, good and bad, villains and victims."
[10:35:00]
Pastor J. Lawrence Turner of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church joins us now. Thank you for joining us, Pastor. So, now that the administration's efforts are officially underway in your city, what are you hearing from your community?
REV. J. LAWRENCE TURNER, MISSISSIPPI BOULEVARD CHRISTIAN CHURCH, MEMPHIS AND FOUNDER, BLACK CLERGY COLLABORATIVE OF MEMPHIS: Well, as I talk to congregants and people in the community, there are lots of questions and there's a sense of anxiety. People are wanting to know what does this look like. Memphis has had, I believe, a fragile relationship between the community and law enforcement. And so, when you hear of federal interventions at this scale, it raises our eyebrows. It causes us to be deeply concerned.
You know, back in 2023, the barbaric killing of Tyre Nichols at the hand of law enforcement officers exacerbated an already tense situation. And so, with this coming in 2025, those of us who make up this community are concerned and some are even at the point of fear.
BROWN: So, I want to play a little bit of what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in Memphis yesterday and then chat about it on the other side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: When you go out in the streets and talk to the citizens, even if they were hesitant at the beginning, a couple days in, and now they're looking at what happened in Washington. They say, we want that security. We want that safety here in Memphis. It's a proud city. These are proud people that love that city. So, they're welcoming the National Guard and it is the Tennessee National Guard. They're fellow members of their state securing that city. They have welcomed us. We're glad to be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Memphis had the highest violent crime rate last year among U.S. cities with a population over 250,000. That's according to FBI data. So, what is your message then to the residents who worry about crime in your city and welcome this operation?
TURNER: Well, I don't think any one of us doubt that there's a crime challenge in Memphis, like many other cities across the country. I think that the way in which it is dealt with is important. I think over the past nine months, our mayor and our police chief have brought crime down to a 25-year low. And I think coordination with our Memphis Police Department and whatever they're doing is key. It's important. And I hope that it hasn't been a case of somewhat of a messiah complex, where an outside entity thinks they know the right way to handle the challenges in a particular city and swoops down without being conversant, not only with those in government, but people who make up the community.
BROWN: So, do you see any upside in this?
TURNER: Well, I think this gives an opportunity for Memphis to demonstrate again our resilience. I am hopeful. I hope that it does not induce a spirit of fear in our city or create a sense of antagonism. I hope that this surge in law enforcement and federal interest in Memphis will not stop in law enforcement. I hope it will go on to provide Memphis with resources that we need for anti-poverty initiatives to help upscale our workforce, to create more educational opportunities. So, I hope that will be the ultimate upside that will happen when it comes to the federal government intervening in our city.
BROWN: Our understanding is that churches like yours are ramping up outreach to their communities during this crime operation. Why is that? Why now?
TURNER: Well, people desperately need it. Since February, we have seen the uptick in people who are food insecure in a city where 22.5 percent of our residents are living in poverty. And so, with the federal freeze programs that combat food insecurity, we've had to step it up to meet the needs because we know that poverty can increase the level of crime in your city.
So, even as they're at work with this task force, we have to meet the critical needs in our community to help people to survive in these difficult and tough times.
BROWN: All right. Pastor J. Lawrence-Turner, thank you so much for your time. Just ahead right here in the Situation Room, the big change is coming to Walmart shelves. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:40:00]
BROWN: Well, new this morning, Walmart says it will remove artificial dyes from its house brand food and beverages by 2027. It also plans to take out 30 other additives, like artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes. Walmart is the latest big company to make a move like this. As RFK Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again movement picks up steam.
Also new this morning, the FDA may soon change warnings on certain hormonal therapies for women after menopause. Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell joins us. So, Meg, tell us more about this. Because for a long time, there were these warnings. And now, the FDA is expected to change this. Why so?
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Pamela. I mean, this goes back more than 20 years to when the FDA, after a large government study, suggested there may be risks of things like cancer by taking menopause hormone therapy. The FDA put its most severe warning on these hormonal therapies, like estrogen, and essentially warned women considering taking this during post-menopause that they could be at increased risk of cancer and other serious health risks.
Now, if you look at the use of menopausal hormone therapy as a result of that, you can see that it declined significantly from, in 1999, 27 percent of post-menopausal women taking therapy to about 5 percent in 2020.
[10:45:00]
And a lot of doctors said this was inappropriate and that the results of that major study were actually a lot more nuanced and the risks to women were probably a lot smaller than were actually suggested there. And one of the reasons for that is the average age of women in that study was 63. And a lot of the talk about using hormone therapies is around age 60 or below. Take a listen to what the FDA commissioner recently told our Sanjay Gupta about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MARTY MAKARY, FDA COMMISSIONER: And we are in serious discussions now about what to do about the black box warning. And I think you'll hear something very soon on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TIRRELL: So, of course, looking to see what that is and if they remove that warning, Pamela, which could have a big impact.
BROWN: All right. So, what can we expect? What exactly are the recommendations now?
TIRRELL: Right. So, the recommendations have really evolved. And the major medical societies like the Menopause Society, for example, looks at it at that delineation of around age 60 or typically when you're within 10 years of entering menopause or having your last menstrual period. And they say that for women in that age group with no contraindications for menopause hormone therapy, the risk benefit assessment is favorable for things like hot flashes and night sweats, as well as prevention of bone loss.
For people over the age of 60, the risk benefit ratio is different. And that should be a conversation that folks have with their doctors to assess whether this makes sense for them.
BROWN: All right. Meg Terrell. Thank you so much. Good to see you. Coming up right here in the Situation Room, how Meta plans to use your conversations with A.I. to determine what ads you see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:00]
BROWN: Turning now to a Situation Room special report, a massive military show of force on the world's largest island. CNN goes to Greenland for war games that officials say are meant to discourage Russian and Chinese aggression. But is it really a message for President Trump? CNN Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Matthew Chance reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a vast landscape, remote and virtually untamed. But Greenland has emerged as a key Arctic battleground as Russia and China vie with NATO allies for Arctic influence.
CNN was invited here by the Danish military to observe their biggest ever combat exercise dubbed Arctic Light.
Much of Greenland, ruled by Denmark for three centuries, is a moonscape of jagged ice. A frozen desert rich in resources the size of Alaska and California combined. Danish military officials say this unforgiving terrain is virtually unconquerable. But they're training hard to repulse any would-be attackers.
SOREN ANDERSEN, COMMANDER, DANISH JOINT ARCTIC COMMAND (through translator): We are here to protect Greenland. And in order to protect Greenland, we have to train. And -- because if you're not up here and conduct training, you're not able to defend Greenland. So, that's what we're doing.
CHANCE: What are the security threats to Greenland? Who are you protecting it from?
ANDERSEN (through translator): Yes, against Russia. That is the main threat for Greenland. There's not a threat now, but there's a future threat. So, we are looking into a threat when the war in Ukraine is over.
CHANCE (voice-over): But such a remote danger begs the question why Denmark is ramping up military spending right now to the tune of billions of dollars and pouring its limited resources into the Arctic.
CHANCE: Well, Greenland has become a highly contested territory, seen as strategically important. And Denmark has deployed its air force, its navy and its land assets here to show that it is in charge very much and is increasing its presence.
Now, the purpose of this exercise is to deter countries like Russia and China, we're told by Danish military officials, which are increasingly active in the Arctic region. But the real message, the real target audience for all of this is in Washington and President Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we're working with everybody involved to try and get it.
CHANCE (voice-over): That ambition appears to have dropped off the White House agenda, at least for now.
TRUMP: One way or the other, we're going to get it.
CHANCE (voice-over): But in the icy fjords of Greenland, with naval exercises underway too, it's still seen as the most pressing diplomatic challenge.
Although Denmark's top general, who CNN met on board a Danish frigate, was careful not to admit it in public.
CHANCE: Is the real reason for these maneuvers the remarks by President Trump about the sovereignty of Greenland? Is it intended to send a message to Washington?
MICHAEL HYLDGAARD, DANISH CHIEF OF DEFENSE: This is a military exercise. It is to demonstrate our ability to protect Greenland, and that's the military side of it.
CHANCE: It's not meant as a message to Washington, that Greenland can protect this -- that Denmark can protect Greenland? HYLDGAARD: I'm not a politician. So, I have a military task.
CHANCE (voice-over): But as we flew out of Greenland, it was clear that military task carries a key Danish political goal, not just to deter Moscow and Beijing from ever invading this vast Arctic expanse, but also to convince Washington there's no need to take Greenland as its own.
Matthew Chance, CNN, in Greenland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[10:55:00]
BROWN: And our thanks to Matthew Chance for that special report. Coming up right after the break, we're going to ask a former air traffic controller how a ground collision at LaGuardia airport could have been avoided. You're in The Situation Room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Happening now, breaking news. U.K. police are ramping up security across the country after a deadly synagogue ramming and stabbing --
[11:00:00]
