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Government Shutdown Imminent?; Michigan Church Shooting Investigation; Trump Meets With Netanyahu. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 29, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We're standing by for a news conference with President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president promising that something special, his words, is coming on Gaza, but Israeli officials say Netanyahu has reservations about the White House's proposed cease-fire plan.

Plus, investigators in Michigan give an update after a deadly church shooting and arson attack -- ahead, what we're learning about the investigation and the search for a motive.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: And a double threat. A pair of storm systems could bring dangerous surf and coastal flooding for millions across the southeast.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Moments from now, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are set to speak from the White House. The two leaders have been meeting for just under two hours now and are expected to soon hold a joint news conference.

Both leaders giving a thumbs-up as they greeted one another. And the president, when Netanyahu arrived, was heard telling reporters that he's -- quote -- "very confident" there would be peace in Gaza. President Trump is pushing a 21-point peace plan to end the Israel- Hamas war, but Israeli officials have said Netanyahu has reservations about the plan.

Before today's meeting, CNN has learned President Trump spoke with Qatar's leader, Qatar, of course, the site of that targeted Israeli attack against Hamas leadership. And we just learned from a source that Netanyahu apologized to Qatar over the Doha strike while at the White House. We're going to bring you the press conference as soon as it begins -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: We're also following new developments surrounding the deadly church shooting in Michigan. Officials just gave an update a few minutes ago, at least four people confirmed dead, and so is the shooter, eight others injured. But critically, we learned that all other victims are now accounted for.

And that's important because as of last night, there were still up to seven people still unaccounted for at that point. Officials are still searching for a motive after the gunman rammed his truck into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint chapel on Sunday. He then started shooting at worshipers and set the building on fire.

The FBI is calling it an act of targeted violence. And White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the FBI is executing multiple search warrants and shared this about the investigation. Take a listen.

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KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: All they know right now is this was an individual who hated people of the Mormon faith, and they are trying to understand more about this, how premeditated it was, how much planning went into it, whether he left a note. All of those questions have yet to be answered.

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JIMENEZ: CNN's Michael Yoshida is on the scene in Michigan.

All right, we heard some of the White House press secretary, but we also heard from officials there on the ground, investigative officials on the ground who were giving an update a few moments ago. What are you learning on the ground? What have you heard to this point?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good to be with you, Omar. You mentioned that update a short time ago.

We did learn that several IEDs, improvised explosive devices, were found as they continued their search and investigation in this expansive crime scene behind me. You can see the barricades, state police, others further down the road, all of this taking place following that horrific violence that happened a little more than 24 hours ago here in Grand Blanc, Michigan.

Some 20 minutes or so into the Sunday morning church service, those gunshots rang out. Then the church was set on fire. We do know from investigators they said a short time ago they have spoken to over 100 victims, witnesses, those who were here trying to get more information on exactly what happened as they're trying to answer that key question of what led to this. What was that motive?

You heard the press secretary talking about what she's heard from her conversations with the FBI director. I also want to point out some reporting from one of my colleagues, Leigh Waldman.

She had a chance to speak with a city council candidate for a nearby town, that town being where this shooter was from, and that he apparently had a conversation with this shooter not too long ago and that, in that conversation, the shooter, Thomas Sanford, asked him -- quote -- "What are your thoughts on guns?" and also -- quote -- "What are your thoughts on Mormons?" [13:05:16]

So, again, these some of the clues, the pieces that we're starting to get here, but still so much investigating ahead on the ground.

JIMENEZ: Yes, as we heard from the investigators, they are still trying to hone in on a specific motive, but obviously a lot of clues that they're working with to this point.

But before we go, I want to ask you. There was actually -- there was another incident near the church earlier today where a man drove his car, I mean, past police barricades. What happened there? What do we know on that front?

YOSHIDA: Yes. So that happened actually right where we are.

We were standing here doing some live shots and -- throughout the morning, and -- well, you can see the barricades right there. Throughout the morning, we have seen members of the community try and come up then be turned around to get their way through town. And this time the barricade was a little bit off to the side.

And this individual in a in a vehicle drove, kept driving, until he was forced to stop by officers. It was at that point we noticed that they took him out. They put him in handcuffs, put him in the back of a vehicle. Investigators and police saying they do have a 21-year-old in custody, but the rest of the incident remains under investigation.

JIMENEZ: All right, Michael Yoshida, I really appreciate the reporting. Thank you -- Brianna.

KEILAR: We're joined now by Donell Harvin. He's the former head of homeland security and intelligence for Washington, D.C. He's also a member of the faculty at Georgetown University Emergency and Disaster Management.

And we should note, I think one of the important things coming out of that news conference was everyone's accounted for now, right?

DONELL HARVIN, FORMER D.C. CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE: That's good.

And that's -- when you heard the press conference yesterday, you talked about them setting up a family reunification. That's really key in helping determine who's in that building, what we call an open manifest. We don't know who went to church that day. And so as family members try to reunify, they will say, hey, this person went there and we haven't heard from them.

And so that's what we found today, that everyone's been accounted for. And that's good.

KEILAR: What questions do you have right now about motive? And why is that important as we look forward?

HARVIN: Motive is always a key. We always look towards motive to see if there's anyone else involved

or what inspired this individual? How long were they on the path to radicalization? Do they leave any bread crumb trails, what we call leakage? Did anyone know about this happening, someone who could maybe have been complacent in the process?

And so, as they continue to look for those clues, I think houses of worship need to be on alert regardless of what their denomination is.

KEILAR: As you hear officials warning against speculating about motive, and I think because we hear so often there are a lot of people who draw conclusions that they should not be drawing, but you do have the FBI investigating this as an act of targeted violence.

So they must have a sense to make that conclusion, right?

HARVIN: Absolutely.

And I actually think that this is the model for how these type of investigations should play out. You and I have been on the air for the last few weeks and a lot of individuals have jumped to conclusions. They're being very meticulous. They're being very moderated in the words that they say. And the act of targeted violence specifically only means that this individual, they believe, did not choose this church at random.

Whether it was an act of terrorism, they will investigate and figure that out further down the road. But this is clearly a targeted act of violence against this particular house of worship.

KEILAR: And the White House press secretary saying that this was someone who had animosity towards the LDS Church, is it important for people to understand that as they're going about their lives?

HARVIN: Yes, that's a little nuance.

A lot of us in the security space understand that there are certain individuals that have animosity against certain Christian faiths. And so once again this is -- we have seen attacks on houses of worship over the last decade from various different types of religion. It doesn't really matter.

My message to houses of worship is to kind of look at your security posture, look at your procedures, work with your state and local officials and really tighten up and ratchet up your security just to make sure that this doesn't happen at your house.

KEILAR: And as the FBI is currently executing multiple search warrants related to the suspect in the shooting, talk to us about what that would look like, what they're looking for.

HARVIN: Yes, so if he had different locations that he frequented, if he had different...

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KEILAR: Today, President Trump is hosting top congressional leaders at the White House, as Washington braces for a potential government shutdown.

The meeting comes as both sides refuse to back down from their funding demands. Republicans want the budget bill to pass as is, but Democrats are demanding Republicans extend billions of dollars in Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.

Without an extension, the Congressional Budget Office estimates four million people would lose health coverage over the next decade, while the nonpartisan health policy research group KFF says health care premiums could rise by about 75 percent.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is on Capitol Hill, where the clock is ticking on these negotiations.

Arlette, where do the talks stand right now?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, this meeting could really be a make-or-break moment, as President Trump is preparing to meet with the Democratic and Republican leaders from Capitol Hill.

Now, the White House is portraying this as one lost opportunity for Democrats to negotiate to avert a government shutdown. But, really, there have been no negotiations up until this point, as both sides remain incredibly far apart heading into this meeting.

Republicans want Democrats to accept that clean stopgap funding bill to fund the government for the next seven weeks. But Democrats want Republicans to make some concessions, specifically around the issue of health care.

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Perhaps the biggest piece of these talks will come around the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Democrats want an extension of those subsidies to be part of any deal to avert a government shutdown. But, so far, Republicans haven't showed any signs of budging on that matter.

Now, a bit earlier today, our colleague, Manu Raju, pressed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and asked him whether an assurance from the Republicans to just negotiate on those subsidies would be enough for him to vote for a short-term continuing resolution. And he said that is not enough, that Republicans cannot be trusted on the issue of health care.

It comes even as Republicans have acknowledged that they do need to address those subsidies that are expiring in some sort of way. But it's unclear whether they will actually be able to reach an agreement on this matter with that shutdown looming.

Now, the House had already passed this short-term funding bill, but now it is up to the Senate to do so to avert a shutdown. Senate Majority Leader John Thune will need seven Democrats to get on board to advance this measure. But, so far, Democrats are holding firm, saying that they will oppose this.

What Republicans are hoping is that ultimately Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will cave, like he did back in March, the last time they faced this government shutdown fight. So a lot still could potentially happen in these next 35 hours or so. But there's a lot of questions about whether this meeting between President Trump and congressional leaders will result in any breakthrough or if it will just harden each side's positions when it comes to the shutdown.

KEILAR: All right, Arlette Saenz live for us on the Hill, thank you.

And any minute, we are expecting to learn the outcome of a meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They are discussing a Gaza peace plan.

Don't go anywhere.

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KEILAR: We are standing by to hear from President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, the two leaders set to hold a joint press conference after critical talks on Gaza.

President Trump has been pushing a 21-point peace plan to end the war. And, moments ago, we learned from several sources that Netanyahu spoke with Qatar's prime minister on the phone from the White House and apologized for that Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar.

With us now, former Defense Secretary and former CIA Director under President Obama Leon Panetta.

Sir, thank you so much for being with us.

How are you seeing this, as the president obviously has a plan that he is projecting optimism about? But we understand from our reporting that Netanyahu has some reservations about the plan. How are you seeing the likelihood of this?

LEON PANETTA, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, it's obvious that President Trump is making an effort to try to see if we can at least get a cease-fire, exchange the hostages, and take some other steps.

But I don't think there's any question it's a long shot. Netanyahu, to some extent, has really isolated himself, both from the world, as well as here in the United States. I think something like 53 percent have a negative view of Netanyahu right now.

And then when you add the annexing of Gaza, when you add the West Bank problem, when you add the attacks on Qatar, it makes for a lot of problems to try to work through in order to achieve any resolution. So I'm just not that hopeful that they're going to be able to arrive at an agreement.

KEILAR: What do you think about this news of Netanyahu apologizing over that strike on Hamas in Qatar?

PANETTA: I think that was something that Trump was hoping to get from Netanyahu. I think it is an important step for that apology to be made.

I think they will probably indicate that they have made some progress as a result of that apology. But with regards to the real substance here of trying to bring this war to an end, get a cease-fire, and be able to get the hostages released, I still think they're a long way from achieving that goal.

KEILAR: Yes. And the proposal here would deny Hamas any future goal -- pardon me -- role in the governance of Gaza, which, I mean, if you talk to Hamas, that's a deal-breaker. They are a terrorist organization, but they do have a vote in this. How are you seeing that?

PANETTA: Well, that's the other problem.

It's not just Israel's resistance to moving towards a cease-fire. After all, they have said they basically want to wipe out all of Hamas, which is a pretty tough objective to achieve. But the other problem is Hamas itself and their failure to even move in any direction that indicates they'd be willing to accept some kind of cease-fire here.

So the parties themselves are resisting what the president is trying to achieve. That may be a nonstarter.

KEILAR: What reasons does Netanyahu have for wanting to proceed with a peace process, in your view?

PANETTA: Well, there's not much incentive for him because he's been pretty aggressive at saying he's going to continue this war.