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Two Israel Embassy Staffers Killed in D.C. Shooting, Suspect in Custody; U.S. House Passes Trump's Sweeping Tax and Spending Cuts Bill; Small Plane Crashes into San Diego Neighborhood; Iran to Attend Next Round of Talks with U.S. in Rome; AI Diplomacy between UAE and U.S.; Briefing on San Diego Plane Crash; The European Bison Returns to the U.K.; Tottenham Crowned after Beating Manchester United. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired May 22, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): As around the world, I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi and we are following breaking news out of Washington,
D.C.
It was an event focused on humanitarian aid for Gaza. It ended with the murder of a young couple about to get engaged.
We begin in Washington, D.C., where there is shock and anguish over the fatal shooting of Israeli embassy staff members, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron
Lischinsky, killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum.
Police have identified the suspect as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez. He was not previously known to authorities and is believed to have been acting
alone.
Israel's prime minister has issued this statement saying, quote, "My heart aches for the families of the beloved young man and woman, whose lives were
suddenly cut short by a vile anti-Semitic murderer.
"We are witnessing the terrible cost of anti-Semitism and the wild incitement against the State of Israel."
A witness says, in the immediate aftermath of the attack, the suspect pretended to be another witness and ran inside the museum. Paige Siegel had
been attending the event and went to comfort the suspect before learning who he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAIGE SIEGEL, D.C., SHOOTING WITNESS: What's really interesting is that the event was a panel about Israeli organizations, multi-faith
organizations and Palestinian organizations working together to get people in Gaza the aid they need and not fall into the hands of Hamas.
The event was ending and I hear a batch of gunshots. And then a pause and then another batch of gunshots. And I walked to the front door to notify
that the security should lock all the doors because the gunshots were so close.
And as I'm doing that, a man runs in through the front door acting as if, you know, he's like escaping the gunshots from the street himself. And he
runs in and he seems so flustered and so out of whack.
So I go up to him and I say, are you OK?
And he's muttering, call the police, call the police. And he goes, yes, I'm OK. I said, were you shot?
And he goes, no, I was not shot. Call the police. Call the police.
And you know where the museum is, the FBI is right next door. The police are close by. So the police sirens have already started. And he's sitting
on a bench amongst us for 15 minutes.
Until he comes up to me again with two of my other friends. And one of them is -- helped organize the event and she offers him a glass of water just
because he seemed so off. And he takes it, he drinks it.
And I say to him, like, I'm surprised they let you in, because, I mean, you just ran through the door and this is an event, you know, they had our
names, we had to register. They do a security check, we get wanded at the front, like you just ran right in. I say, do you know where you are?
He doesn't say anything. And I say, you're at, like, a Jewish museum. And immediately he takes a few steps back and he starts yelling, "I did it, I
did it." Talking about shooting and killing the innocent people outside who had just attended the event, who had just left.
And he's screaming, I did it, I did it, I did it for Gaza. I did it for Palestine. Free Palestine, free Palestine.
And I'm like, yelling in the background, get him out, get him out. Because he's opening up a backpack. And in that moment, a second feels like an
hour. I feel like we're all about to die.
And he takes out a red and white Jordanian keffiyeh. And just continues chanting. And I think people don't realize that senselessly killing people
who have just attended an event at a Jewish museum is what Hamas supporters mean when they yell, globalize the intifada.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Alex Marquardt brings us more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shock and outrage after two staff members at Israel's embassy in
Washington, D.C., were shot and killed on Wednesday evening.
Thirty-year-old Yaron Lischinsky and 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim were an Israeli couple. They were exiting an event at the Capitol Jewish Museum
when a person opened fire. Eyewitnesses say that he later pretended to be a witness.
CHIEF PAMELA SMITH, WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE: We believe the shooting was committed by a single suspect who is now in custody. Prior to
the shooting, the suspect was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum.
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MARQUARDT: Eyewitness video obtained by CNN appears to show the suspect as he's taken into custody. Police have identified him as 30- year-old Elias
Rodriguez from Chicago, who they say turned himself in and shouted, free, free Palestine while being handcuffed, as seen in this video.
The FBI and D.C., Police have launched their investigation. The Israeli embassy is assisting. The NGO IsraAID, whose members were keynote speakers
at the event, said the gathering was focused on humanitarian aid, including for Gaza.
YONI RIVER KALIN, D.C. SHOOTING WITNESS: I'm still in a bit of state of shock but you know, what started off as a night of humanity and love and
connection turned into this kind of horrific, atrocious nightmare.
MARQUARDT: Another eyewitness told CNN that the gunman went into the museum after the attack and then turned himself in, saying, I did it for
Gaza. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. said the young couple who was killed was about to be engaged.
YECHIEL LEITER, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: The young man purchased a ring this week with the intention of proposing to his girlfriend next week
in Jerusalem. They were a beautiful couple who came to enjoy an evening in Washington's Cultural Center.
MARQUARDT: President Donald Trump expressed his condolences to the victim's families, posting on social media, quote, these horrible D.C.,
killings based obviously on anti-Semitism must end now. Hatred and radicalism have no place in the USA.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned the killings, saying, we are witnessing the terrible cost of anti-Semitism and the wild
incitement against the state of Israel. Netanyahu added that he has ordered reinforced security at Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide following the
killings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: U.S. President Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill is heading to the U.S. Senate after the House passed it by a single vote early this
morning. The 215-214 margin came with two Republicans voting no and another voting present.
Analysts say the massive tax and spending cuts legislation will add trillions of dollars to the U.S. deficit in the coming years. The vote,
though, a big win for the president and the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, who engaged in marathon negotiations to win over Republican holdouts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: We stand ready to continue our work together to deliver on the one big, beautiful bill, as president Trump
named it himself. We're going to send that to his desk. We're going to get it there by Independence Day on July 4th. And we are going to celebrate a
new golden age in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Stephen Collinson joining me now.
Stephen, this is no doubt a big win for that man there, the House Speaker, and indeed for the president himself.
What's the sense of this optimism, though, that we've just heard, that the -- that the Senate won't make any major changes?
Let's start there.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the Senate is going to make some big changes to this bill.
Almost everything that Johnson had to do in the last few days to get this bill to appease Republican hardliners, for example, in the field of cuts to
Medicaid, which is the state healthcare system for low-income people in the United States.
That is going to cause trouble for some Republican senators, especially those who are running for reelection in the midterm elections next year. So
I think you're going to see a lot of changes in the Senate.
Then the bill will have to be brought together in one final package, which both the Senate and the House will have to pass. So that timeline of July
4th is very compressed, especially since the lawmakers are leaving town for the Memorial Day holiday next week.
But this is something that president Trump wants. He's very powerful in the Republican Party. And you often see, when a president tries to get their
legislative priority through, even though it's so important for them at times, it can come back to bite them in the midterm elections the following
year.
So I think there's a lot of interesting politics as this carries on going through the chamber. And then the endgame of this bill will probably be
even more important than the runup to passing it.
ANDERSON: And just briefly, remind our viewers what it looks like and why it is they bundled so much into one piece of legislation.
COLLINSON: So this bill extends the tax cuts that were passed in Donald Trump's first term. Most of them will now be indefinite. That is something
that was very important to Republicans. But it does contradict a little bit the Trump populist message, because although there are some tax breaks for
lower-income earners.
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For example, he's getting rid of tax on tips for people who work in the restaurant industry. This gives, again, a lot of money to the wealthiest
Americans.
There's also a massive boost for defense spending, including a shipbuilding program. Many Republicans are dismayed that the U.S. Navy is falling behind
the Chinese Navy. It includes funding for what Trump calls the golden dome system, rather like the Israeli system Iron Dome which is to protect
against missiles.
This would supposedly protect the entire United States, although a lot of people think that is not technologically feasible.
And there's big money for Trump's biggest priority, immigration to fund his mass deportations. There's a lot of money in here for defense, for
detention facilities. The reason it's all in one bill is because the Republican majority in the House is so slim.
You saw this bill only passed by one vote. It's believed that it would not be possible for this to be broken up into separate bills, as normally would
take place, and then get it through, just because the Republican Party wouldn't hold together for such a bruising process.
And I think the fact that it took so long to get this bill through the first time, I think, validates that decision.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Stephen. Thank you.
Still to come, a critical immigration hearing underway for pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. Attorneys for the Columbia University grad student
say it could determine his future in the United States. That is just ahead.
And a new round of nuclear negotiations between Iran and the U.S. now set for Friday. But who will show up is still up for debate.
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ANDERSON: Breaking news from San Diego, a small plane has crashed in one of the city's neighborhoods, setting multiple homes on fire.
You're looking at some of the latest images of that aftermath. And you can see the severe damage to vehicles and buildings. A fire official says jet
fuel spilled in the neighborhood and they have been evacuating several blocks. Well, Polo Sandoval is on the story for us and he joins us now
live.
What can you tell us at this point?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're waiting for a press conference to take place in a few moments to hopefully learn more.
But here's what authorities have said about what took place earlier this morning.
This was a pre-dawn small plane crash in a neighborhood just northeast of downtown San Diego. What happened, according to officials, is that there
were as many as 15 homes in the area that may have been impacted.
We may have some video of what's perhaps some of the worst damage. You see here the roof caving in because of the impact. The camera zooms out and you
will actually see the charred remains of one vehicle after another on those streets.
So that certainly speaks to the level of the force of the impact here. As you see, fire crews, even before the sun was up.
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Trying to douse the flames and also going door to door, vehicle to vehicle, making sure that there aren't any rescues that need to take place.
The FAA out with a statement just moments before you came to us. The government agency saying that this was a Cessna 550 that crashed near the
Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in California.
This was at about 3:45 Pacific time and that the number of people on board is unknown at this time, Becky. So as we look at some of these pictures,
again, we are waiting for an update, which will hopefully offer more information into any potential injuries or worse.
After this small plane crash in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood, located just northeast of downtown San Diego this morning. Becky.
ANDERSON: And just tell us a little bit more about that area, if you will.
SANDOVAL: Sure. If you look at the if you look at the map itself, you actually see that this is just northeast of San Diego. The airport is
relatively close to the scene, so there will certainly be a question as to whether or not this plane may have experienced some complications, either
shortly after takeoff or before landing.
What we also know is that the FAA, together with the local police, they are asking people in the neighborhood to call them, reach out to them if they
either smell jet fuel or find any debris in or around their homes. So that's also telling when it comes to some of the investigation that still
needs to take place.
But again, I think what's really striking here in these pictures, Becky, is just how widespread the damage is, given the size of this aircraft, which
is relatively small. This is often described as a small business jet. So it is quite shocking to see just one vehicle after another to be, you know,
burned beyond recognition here.
And, of course, the main focus right now for officials is human life. So that's where they have been focusing for the last several hours, as they
make sure that anybody who needs help is getting that help and as we wait to learn more in just a few moments, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes. And we are expecting that update anytime soon. And we will get that to our viewers as soon. As soon as that starts, probably. For the
time being, thank you very much indeed.
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ANDERSON: Want to switch to Gaza; a very limited amount of food was delivered on Wednesday for the first time since Israel blocked all
humanitarian aid from entering the enclave back in March.
More than 90 trucks carrying flour, food and baby supplements began distributing aid to southern Gaza yesterday. Here you can see a bakery in
central Gaza today able to bake bread for the first time in 11 weeks after receiving life-saving supplies of flour.
Still, the U.N. warning that the volume of supplies getting in is nowhere near enough to prevent the worsening humanitarian crisis.
Well, Iran says it's on board for the next round of nuclear talks with the United States and will now send a team to Rome Friday. CNN's senior
international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is in Tehran. He breaks down how at points these talks have been hanging by a thread.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Last night, the Iranians still saying that they were still considering whether or not to
even attend that next round, which is set to happen in Rome tomorrow before late in the evening.
Then saying, yes, they will be going there.
Of course, one of the things that really sparked anger, Becky, among the Iranian negotiators were some of the words from Steve Witkoff, the
presidential negotiator for president Donald Trump, who said that the Trump administration believes that there should be no enrichment of uranium here
inside Iran.
The Iranians saying that, for them, that is a red line. So here on the ground, people saying they don't want to get ahead of themselves, because,
of course, they know the ups and downs of the relations between Iran and the United States.
But certainly most people here are watching what's going on. Here's what folks said that we asked on the streets here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be a situation. They're going to put you into a corner and they're going to be so much demand that Iran cannot give.
And it's going to fail.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Iran, the economic situation is not good for people and we are in impression and I hope, I think most of the people, we
hope that maybe it possible.
PLEITGEN: Do you think there's a chance of success still?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so because our decision is clear, that we should have our nuclear power. Not for using it for, I don't know, weapons;
for, I don't know, killing people. We just need it for our power. I don't know, for our energy, just for that. And he says we have to stop that.
Why we should do that?
He says that we are going to sell you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So there you hear some of the voices of folks that we spoke to here in Tehran. And it really is those two things that people understand
very much are at stake.
On the one hand, you have the possibility of sanctions relief, which, of course, the Iranians have said would be very important for them.
But at the same time, also, this nuclear enrichment and the nuclear program, which, of course, the Iranians say has always been for peaceful
purposes and how much the Iranians are willing to give up in that space.
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And so folks here understand how difficult that is. People that we have been speaking to say they do believe that Iran certainly has a right to
nuclear enrichment. They say that, at some -- in some form, it does need to continue here in Iran, because Iran, of course, has also given up a lot to
keep that nuclear enrichment going and expand it at times.
At the same time, of course, there are many people who acknowledge and say that sanctions relief would definitely be something that would be in the
interest, of course, not just of the Iranian state but of the people as well. Becky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Let's get you up to date on some of the other stories that we are following that are on our radar right now.
And a judge has ruled that the Trump administration violated a court order when it attempted to send migrants to South Sudan. Eight detainees of
various nationalities were put on a flight on Tuesday bound for South Sudan, the judge said. The ruling added that none of them had an
opportunity to argue against their removal.
Well, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is furious, according to a rare admission from state media after one of his new warships was severely
damaged during a failed launch ceremony. It was due to a malfunction.
But Kim apparently called it a, quote, "criminal act" and vowed to punish those responsible.
Britain's plan to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is set to go ahead, after a high court judge briefly blocked the move on Thursday. Prime
minister Keir Starmer intends to return the islands to the African country while maintaining control of the U.S.-U.K. Diego Garcia military base
there.
ANDERSON: U.S. President Trump is gearing up to hold a controversial dinner for the biggest holders of his own crypto token; 25 of them will be
chosen for a special VIP tour with Mr. Trump at his Virginia golf club, getting what is described as ultra exclusive private access to the
president.
CNN's business team says investors have bought an estimated $148 million worth of the president's meme coin. Critics say it could potentially
violate ethical norms and the U.S. Constitution. CNN's Kevin Liptak is in Washington, D.C.
What's involved tonight and why the guests are anonymous out of interest?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And it's interesting. We only know a few specific names of the people who will be attending this
event. We know the crypto nicknames of some of the other ones.
But based on how this meme coin is sold, you don't actually have to provide your full identification on this leaderboard that has been going, to list
the top investors in this coin.
And so that's part of the concerns that you hear from people on Capitol Hill, from ethicists, who say, one, they don't know specifically who some
of these people are, who will be granted, as you said, this exclusive access to president Trump.
And two, they don't know whether they could be representatives from foreign governments. Almost certainly many of them are foreigners. And you'll know,
Becky, that, you know, according to U.S. law, foreigners cannot contribute to political campaigns in the United States.
And so this is being viewed as something of an end run around those laws to allow people from foreign countries to have some influence on the president
of the United States.
But as you said, this will be the top 200 investors in the Trump meme coin; 25 of them will receive this exclusive tour of the White House. It's been
described as the most exclusive invitation in the world by promoters of this contest.
You know, Trump launched this meme coin a few days before the inauguration back in January. At that point, it spiked in value before essentially
crashing. That was when the organizers of this announced this contest.
Since then, the value has surged again. You know, it's not to say that these investors are putting their money directly into president Trump's
coffers. It's a little more complicated than that.
But certainly the value of this coin, as it increases, does increase the value for president Trump, because the Trump Organization and the Trump
family are the biggest holders of this coin.
And so as it increases in value, they in turn see their own pocketbooks lined. And so a lot of questions about this. The Democratic senator, Chris
Murphy, called it the most brazenly corrupt thing a president has ever done.
You also hear some Republicans saying that they have some concerns that this also gives them pause. I think, you know, it's certainly fair to say
that this is beyond anything a president has ever done before.
But when you talk to White House officials, they say that the president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws and that this is a personal event.
He's doing it in his personal capacity and that it has nothing to do with the White House itself.
ANDERSON: Kevin Liptak on the story. Thank you.
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Coming up, Donald Trump's ambush of the South African president, what it means for what used to be a coveted invitation to the White House. More on
that after this.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: To announce the largest AI infrastructure project by far in history and it's all taking place right here in America.
As you know, there's great competition for AI and other things and they're coming in at the highest level. We're joined by Oracle Executive Chairman,
Larry Ellison; SoftBank CEO, my friend Masa, Masayoshi Son; and CEO of OpenAI and, I would say by far, the leading expert based on technology, Sam
Altman.
So that's great that you're coming in together. That's a massive group of talent and money.
Together, these world leading technology giants are announcing the formation of Stargate. So put that name down in your books because I think
you're going to hear a lot about it in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, remember that day?
Just day two of president Trump's second term. Now, only four months later, one of the biggest headlines from president Trump's regional visit last
week, a mega U.S.-UAE partnership to build one of the world's largest AI infrastructure campuses right here in Abu Dhabi.
Flanked by UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, Trump unveiled plans that could reshape the global AI landscape. Today, we've got
some details on the project's first phase. Stargate UAE, the first ever Stargate facility outside the United States.
It will be built by G42 and operated by OpenAI and Oracle, according to the G42 statement. This is a landmark moment, not just for G42 but for the UAE
it signals the country's bold bet on artificial intelligence and its growing role in shaping the future of tech, a point highlighted by G42
group CEO Peng Zhao.
Quote, "This initiative is about building a bridge rooted in trust and ambition that helps bring the benefits of AI to economies, societies and
people around the world."
The new facility will feature a one gigawatt computer cluster deliver -- delivering immense computing power to partners like OpenAI, to help realize
what CEO Sam Altman calls a bold vision. It's also being hailed as a clear example of AI diplomacy.
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A strategic convergence of innovation, investment and influence to harness what Oracle's Larry Ellison and Nvidia's Jensen Huang call the most
important and the most transformative force of our time.
Quote, "This landmark deployment sets a new standard for digital sovereignty and demonstrates how nation states can harness the power of the
most important technology in the history of humankind."
"AI is the most transformative force of our time. With Stargate UAE, we are building the AI infrastructure to power the country's bold vision, to
empower its people, grow its economy and shape its future."
Look, the global AI race is no longer just about business. It is about power, influence and, above all, security.
As U.S. commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick put it, quote, "The agreement also contains strong security guarantees to prevent diversion of U.S.
technology by extending the world's leading American tech stack to an important strategic partner."
UAE understands those concerns well. In 2024, G42's CEO announced a full divestment from China, a decision that cleared the way for deeper U.S. ties
and a major Microsoft investment.
Now the Abu Dhabi facility marks the next big leap, four times the size of Stargate's Texas data center. It will span 10 square miles and draw the
power equivalent of five nuclear reactors, five gigawatts in total, sourced from nuclear, from solar and from natural gas.
Folks, this isn't just infrastructure. This is AI geopolitics or geotech. And Abu Dhabi is front and center.
All right.
Let's take you live to San Diego, where a briefing is being held on a small plane crash that set more than a dozen houses on fire. Let's listen in.
ASSISTANT CHIEF DAN EDDY, SAN DIEGO FIRE-RESCUE DEPARTMENT: -- evacuate homes across the region as we came through here and evacuate everything to
the south of us. We were able to knock down those fires.
At this time right now, we are able to say that no one was transported from the scene. So we don't have anybody that was transported to off the scene,
which is great news for us on this one.
Fire was knocked down. We do have one stubborn car fire that will not go on -- out to the south of us. So if you do see little wisps of smoke behind
there, that's what that's from.
At this time, we're continuing to fight the fire on that car fire. Everything else is out from the homes, down, down the way. We have multiple
crews that will be on scene doing decon and investigating.
FAA is also on scene and we're working in conjunction with them and San Diego PD to ensure that everything is searched, including the homes and
everything that is involved (INAUDIBLE) the plane's itself (ph). We expect to be out here for 4-6 hours at least, doing the investigation part of it
until we pass it along.
And then moving forward, probably be here through the rest of the 24-hour period. I'm going to pass it off to Police Chief Scott Wall
CHIEF SCOTT WALL, SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Good morning. First, I want to start by saying our heartfelt condolences to the families that are
impacted by this terrible incident. From the Police Department's side, our objectives were very simple.
Scene control, traffic control and evacuations. We had officers from throughout the city that responded. We had over 50 officers that were able
to get here within minutes. We started evacuating all of the homes that were impacted.
We had an evacuation center up at Miller Elementary. We have close to 100 people that have been displaced and are up there. We've locked all the
streets down, essentially Santo Road south of Aero is still closed. And will be for the next few hours and on into the day.
And we're going to continue working collaboratively. I want to commend all of the first responders that were out here this morning, the Fire
Department, the Police Department.
I can't quite put words to describe what this scene looks like. But with the jet fuel going down the street and everything on fire all at once, it
was pretty horrific to see.
And for the police officers and firefighters to run in there, start trying to evacuate people out of the way and doing anything and everything they
could to try to save somebody's life is really heroic.
And again, I'm going to end with saying heartfelt condolences to the families that were impacted by this. And with that, let me introduce Mayor
Todd Gloria.
MAYOR TODD GLORIA, SAN DIEGO: Thank you, Chief.
I also want to extend the condolences of the City of San Diego to the passengers aboard the planes, families impacted on the ground. We will be
continuing to keep you all posted throughout the day as more information becomes available.
But what I can tell you right now is that we have had an extraordinary response effort here.
[10:35:04]
Led by San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, the San Diego Police Department. But what you've seen is a collaborative effort with county, state and
federal partners, as well as our partners in the community.
We have representation here from the Red Cross, the San Diego Humane Society and other key partners that are making sure that those that are
impacted here on the ground have the support they need.
And that's what I want to say is that our city will be supporting these families who are impacted here. They're a part of the military community
that makes up our city. Proud partners of our community. And we will support them for as long as it takes to make sure that we get back to good
here in Tierrasanta.
Appreciated the early communication from Navy Region Southwest and Admiral Brad Rosen, who's an extraordinary partner for our city. I also want to
note council member Raul Campillo is monitoring the situation very, very closely. He'll be out here later today.
But we're all going to be -- band together and make sure that this situation is buttoned up. Again, extraordinary effort by our first
responders. I can't emphasize that enough. The limitation in terms of the additional damage on the ground is a direct result of their hard work, of
their expertise, of their professionalism.
And I think every San Diegan expresses our appreciation to these heroes who got the job done this morning.
It's still a tragedy. And again, our hearts are with those who are impacted and we'll continue to be here throughout this response effort and make
sure, again, the families who are impacted, those who are not able to access their homes, are well supported until they're able to get back into
their homes.
That said, as I mentioned, this has been a collaborative effort. We are on military property. These are military families, military housing. And here
on behalf of Navy Region Southwest is the commanding officer for Naval Base, Captain Bob Healy --Captain Healy.
CAPT. BOB HEALY, NAVY SOUTHWEST REGION: Thank you, sir.
Good morning. Captain Bob Healy and, as the mayor mentioned, I am the commanding officer of Naval Base San Diego with oversight of the area here
in Murphy Canyon. This is one of the largest military housing units in the world.
Certainly, we have a lot of military families that are impacted. Again, want to send our condolences and thoughts and prayers to all of those
impacted by this. Our foremost concern right now is to make sure that we have the safety of our families who reside in the neighborhood behind us.
We are doing that down the street at Miller Elementary. And we really appreciate the local cooperative efforts to make sure that our military
families are taken care of. So that will be primary going forward. And again, our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone. So thank you very much.
EDDY: Any questions?
QUESTION: Preliminary casualty count?
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: -- firefighter. You stated that there have been no transports.
Does that mean if casualties are limited to just those on the plane?
Or has there just not been a full sweep yet?
EDDY: No, we've done a full sweep. We're doing what's called a FOB. So we go in between and we're looking at everything down the airport that we have
here. There's a possible debris field all the way back behind us, all the way into here.
So we're going to make sure we do a step-by-step process of going through the housing units that we have down here. No one was transported out of the
housing units. That's where I say we were lucky in that fact that no one from those homes was injured that we've had so far.
We had some possible minor injuries but no one was transported from the scene from any of the housing units. All the fatalities right now look to
be that they're from the plane. We're working with the FAA right now to find out how many actual people were registered on that plane.
We'll have more information for that here shortly when we can, when we get those numbers. But everything that's a fatality right now appears to be
from the plane itself.
QUESTION: Can you tell us how many more than one fatality?
EDDY: Yes, there are more than one fatality that we've found so far but we're waiting to get the registered numbers that were on the plane itself.
QUESTION: What kind of plane?
EDDY: It was a private plane. So private plane. And it was registered out of the Midwest, is where we had, is where the flight originated from, is
what we have. We're still getting the final information on it.
QUESTION: And how many people was it able to carry?
EDDY: The plane itself, I believe, holds 8-10 people with the pilot included. But at this time we don't know how many people were actually
registered on the plane.
QUESTION: Any communication from the pilot?
EDDY: We don't have anything on the communication from the pilot.
QUESTION: Montgomery Tower open at the time overnight?
EDDY: I believe so but that's something that the FAA can answer for you. I don't know, on that one. On the fire side, I don't know.
QUESTION: But we know of no communication last minute from the pilot of the plane?
EDDY: I don't have any communication from FAA on that one. If they were coming through on that one on the fire side, we arrived on scene and found
the plane into the sides of the houses over here.
QUESTION: Are we going to be able to hear from somebody with FAA?
EDDY: Yes. Later on, we'll have somebody that'll come with the FAA. We wanted to come right now and give you the best information that we could at
the start here and then we'll get someone over here to give you more information.
QUESTION: Updated numbers on damaged homes?
EDDY: At this time right now, that's what we're doing, the FOB and walking through on it. I can tell you that there are multiple homes, upwards of 10
homes that are affected. Also, when it hit the street as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street on
fire.
[10:40:00]
So if you saw the scene -- I know some of you had some images from earlier -- you could see that every single car was burning down both sides of the
street. And so that's something that we're going to have to look at, too.
That's why you have the wisps of smoke, because we have one car fire that just will not go out no matter what we put on it right now.
QUESTION: Any homes destroyed?
EDDY: There is multiple homes that are destroyed, yes.
So ...
QUESTION: I had a question because I was down there at the scene and you saw the one on the corner with a collapsed roof.
Is that the most significant?
EDDY: That's the most significant impacted house, is the one on the far east side of that street. That's the most impacted. We are doing that
walkthrough right now for looking at multiple items. One, damage to the homes. We're also looking for parts of that plane because it will be part
of the investigation as we go through right.
And then we're also looking for victims.
QUESTION: You say no one was transported from the homes.
EDDY: Yes.
QUESTION: Miraculously.
EDDY: Yes.
QUESTION: Is it possible --
ANDERSON: All right. You've been listening to San Diego officials, giving an update on this plane crash into homes that resulted in cars, as he says,
on both sides of the road being torched.
This is a military housing area, we've just learned. There are no details as of yet on injuries or victims. No preliminary casualty count. He said
upwards of 10 homes were affected. As I say, cars torched on both sides of the street.
He said nobody was transported out of the housing units. He said that the fatalities that they believe are as a result of this crash are associated
with those who were on the plane.
It's a plane that carried up to 10 people, 8-10 people, he said. Although it's not clear how many were on that plane, which had, as he understands
it, originated from the Midwest. I want to bring in CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo.
Mary, what do you make of what you've just heard?
MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, if that's accurate and they believe -- and my condolences to those on the plane. But if they
believe the only injuries, casualties, fatalities are those on the plane, they're lucky indeed because obviously this is a very heavily populated
military housing area.
From doing research from the United States' FAA Aircraft Registry, this aircraft was registered to a company in Alaska. It had taken off from
Wichita at 3:36 am. It had on, according to Flightradar that's publicly available.
It had a pretty uneventful flight, flew at 40,000 feet from Wichita to an executive airport in the San Diego area called Montgomery-Gibbs executive
airport, made a controlled descent.
You can see that on the radar and Flightradar 24, which is publicly available, made a controlled descent down from 40,000 feet down to landing
area. But then something obviously went terribly wrong.
So whatever happened was rather precipitous. And there didn't seem to be any deviations during the flight from altitude or airspeed, major
deviations from altitude or airspeed, from Wichita all the way to San Diego.
So you know that that will be remain to be seen now because the private plane, they don't have to have a cockpit voice recorder or flight data
recorder.
And at this point, there's no indication that there was a mayday call or any communications with air traffic control concerning this plane. So this
plane had flown a lot in the United States. It wasn't it -- wasn't on its first flight, for example or first flight out of maintenance.
So it had been flying around quite a bit. Been to Florida, been to other places. So at this point, you know, any possibility of a cause, you know,
would, you know, there just isn't one at this point. There is some reports that there was some weather and low ceilings, so weather might have played
a factor.
ANDERSON: Mary, it's good to have you. Thank you.
As we continue to look at the devastation, the debris as a result of these cars being torched by this small plane coming down, what is a military
housing area as of yet no preliminary count on either fatalities or injuries and more to come as we get it, of course. More news is after this
short break.
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[10:45:00]
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ANDERSON: According to a 2023 report entitled, "The State of Nature," the United Kingdom is one of the most -- the planet's most nature-depleted
countries, with habitat loss and climate change taking its toll on biodiversity.
Today, on "Call to Earth," see how a pioneering project in the U.K. is working to counteract those trends with the help of a long-lost woolly
giant.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In an unassuming patch of forest known as West Blean and Thornden Woods, a unique and unexpected
conservation project is underway.
CRISTINA JUAN, RESERVE MANAGER (voice-over): So in Kent right now in the southeast of England and most people probably wouldn't expect bison in the
southeast of England. But just over here, through the fence, this is where we have a bison roaming around.
STEWART (voice-over): The European bison, the continent's largest land mammal, once roamed in vast herds across much of Europe. But much like its
American relative, hunting and habitat loss decimated their population.
PAUL WHITFIELD, DIRECTOR GENERAL (voice-over): Bison came this close to complete extinction at the end of the First World War and all that was left
was a tiny population in zoos and private collections.
STEWART (voice-over): Reintroduction programs have since helped their numbers rebound, with multiple reports estimating around 7,000 are now
roaming free in countries like Spain, Poland and Romania.
But here in the U.K., bison hadn't been seen in the wild for 6,000 years. In July 2022, as part of a project called Wilder Blean, that all changed.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): I've had a dream about having bison out here in the blean for more than 10 years now, acting as ecosystem engineers and
changing the habitat.
STEWART (voice-over): Three females from Scotland and Ireland were the first to be released here.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Since then we brought in a bull from Germany and they've been doing exactly what we wanted them to do, which is to breed
naturally and create this very strong family herd.
STEWART (voice-over): But it wasn't as simple as releasing the bison into the woods and off they go. The organizations involved had to first install
14 kilometers of fencing to adhere to the U.K.'s Dangerous Wild Animals Act.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Bison are gentle giants. They're big, powerful, majestic animals. But actually they're not dangerous. Legally, they're
classified as dangerous wild animals. But a bison is no more dangerous than a cow.
STEWART (voice-over): The hope is that the reintroduction of this keystone species will not only help boost their numbers but equally help to
revitalize this landscape.
PAUL HADAWAY, DIRECTOR, CONSERVATION AND ENGAGEMENT (voice-over): So all of our habitats in the U.K. would have had grazing animals on them at some
time in their past history. That's what's shaped the landscape that we live in.
JUAN (voice-over): In a dynamic woodland where bison are coming in and they're smashing up the place and they create that bare ground, which means
new stuff can grow, that's really when the magic happens. You get lots of new young trees growing and they sequester much more carbon.
STEWART (voice-over): Other habits, like stripping bark from a tree, may seem harmful but it's these types of actions that benefit other species as
well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But what this does is it creates a deadwood component within the ecosystem here, which is really, again, hard to replicate with
human activity. And what you get then is massively good invertebrate habitat for things like lesser spotted woodpeckers, which this is a
national stronghold for.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): They create niches and complexity that all the other species need to thrive. They'll create these little dust bowls, where
they dustbathe to get parasites off them. And just that one little dust bowl will create a microhabitat for 100 other species.
[10:50:00]
Suddenly, the blean is full of thousands of dung beetles that, again, it's food for other creatures and insects and reptiles. But also those dung
beetles are literally taking the dung full of carbon and burying it in the ground.
STEWART (voice-over): For all involved, the pioneering project has so far proven successful and they hope to inspire similar initiatives across the
U.K. and beyond.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): I think sometimes you've got to push the boundaries. We need to make people care and to be a bit more audacious.
You've got to try new things.
JUAN: While the blean project is really about showing we can do something about habitat fragmentation and all these issues and pressures that we
have, that there is a solution for it, a nature-based solution.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: There's something so calming about seeing a robin, isn't there?
What are you doing to answer the call?
Please let us know with the #CalltoEarth. We will be right back.
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ANDERSON: Well, it was a game of equals in terms of quality -- not very good -- between the two lowest-ranked teams ever to contest the European
final. But Spurs set out to win by whatever means and it was a single scruffy goal against Man United that made the difference.
They didn't have a shot on target before or after. But it was enough to give the Lilywhites the silverware and a place in the lucrative Champions
League next season. This made the team's manager, Ange Postecoglou, very happy, especially since some fans were calling for his resignation ahead of
that.
CNN's senior sport analyst Darren Lewis joins me now.
Look, I kept up with this on, I have to say, on X and on, you know, some dodgy streaming service, which I couldn't really watch very well. I didn't
-- I so I didn't know whether three minutes out -- I'm a Spurs fan -- whether we'd actually won or not. I mean it was awful. It was so
excruciating.
The last 15 minutes we parked the bus and they just took potshots at us.
Did we expect that victory?
DARREN LEWIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there Becky, congratulations, first of all, because it may have been torturous. But you must be absolutely
delighted at the moment. I did predict the victory in our "WORLD SPORT" show yesterday, to be honest.
It wasn't hard to do. Your Tottenham team not vintage but far better than Manchester United. I've got to tell you some wonderful stories for Ange
Postecoglou because his achievements winning trophies in Australia, Asia and Scotland, widely derided by the critics here in the U.K., who felt he
was clueless and out of his depth.
This is a wonderful, feel-good vindication, then, for him to become the first Australian ever to manage a side to a European trophy. I suspect,
Beck, they might well make a film about him one day. Maybe Russell Crowe in the lead character's role.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: I quite like that.
Listen, the question is, will he last?
Will they keep him?
I mean, you know, there have been lots of calls for his resignation, right?
You know, should he stay or should he go?
What are your sources telling you?
LEWIS: If I were him, I would go there. A lot of people back in Australia, where he won trophies with Brisbane Roar and South Melbourne, left after
his time with Brisbane Roar, basically did the big mic drop, did it as well with the Australian national side, too, after he had taken them to an Asian
Cup and the World Cup.
[10:55:00]
I wonder if he might do that again because I can't quite see him topping, defying the odds to win a first European trophy for Spurs since 1984. A
wonderful achievement from him. Real mic drop, if I'm really, really honest.
ANDERSON: Yes. Before we go. I mean, I'm not that interested in talking about Man United but I should for any United fans out there.
Can anybody fix the Red Devils at the moment?
What's going on?
LEWIS: I got to be honest with you. Right now, I'm not so sure. Since last night's defeat, one player has been openly critical in the media of the
manager, Alejandro Garnacho. Their best player, Bruno Fernandes, has said that he would be prepared to leave the club if the club want to sell him.
And the manager, Ruben Amorim, he has said that he would willingly leave the club without compensation if the club wanted to sack him. The players
that they would want to sign to improve them would all rather go to clubs in the Champions League.
And they're being crippled by a huge wage bill for the rest of the players, who are underperforming massively. It might yet get worse before it gets
better.
ANDERSON: From this long-suffering Tottenham fan, I'm going to leave our viewers with some scenes from Bilbao last night. I don't think there's any
Man United fans in these scenes. But anyway, thank you sir. It's always a pleasure.
That's it from CONNECT THE WORLD. From the team working with me here in Abu Dhabi, stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
END
