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Connect the World
Rubio: "Very Short Window" for Ceasefire Deal to Happen; Gaza Health Officials: Dozens Killed in Overnight Strikes as Israel Begins Ground Incursion in Gaza City; U.N. Commission: Israel is Committing Genocide in Gaza; Hollywood Legend Robert Redford Dies at 89; Trump: We have a Deal on TikTok; Trump Heads to UK for Historic Second State Visit. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired September 16, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: We are following two major stories this morning, Israel launches a new ground offensive into Gaza
City. Only 40 percent of the population have fled the area. And in Washington, the FBI Director, Kash Patel defends his handling of the Kirk
investigation today, he'll have to do it in front of lawmakers.
It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos, and this is "Connect the World". Leave a dangerous combat zone now. That is the Israeli
military's warning to Gaza City residents as its ground incursion into the city begins. Israeli officials say the long-expected operation started
early Tuesday and will proceed gradually, with the expectation of fighting up to 3000 Hamas militants still believed to be there.
Gaza Health officials say overnight strikes killed dozens more people. The United Nations Children's agency UNICEF warns intensified military
operations in Gaza City will multiply children suffering exponentially. U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio is in Qatar today after visiting
Israel Monday.
Before leaving Israel, he said, time has almost run out for any sort of ceasefire hostage release deal. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, as you saw, the Israelis have begun to take operations there. So, we think we have a very short window of
time in which a deal could happen. We don't have months anymore, and we probably have days and maybe a few weeks. So, it's a key moment, an
important moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Israel's ground incursion into Gaza City is starting on the same day an independent United Nations Commission has concluded Israel is
committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel refutes the report. We've got Jeremy Diamond live in Jerusalem for us.
Jeremy, the Israeli incursion into Gaza City appears to be a critical moment in this prolonged war, given what we've also heard from the U.N.
Commission of Inquiry today.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's certainly right, Eleni. And for weeks now, we have seen the Israeli military laying the
groundwork to carry out this all-out invasion and ultimately occupation of Gaza City. We've seen them as they've intensified aerial strikes and
artillery shelling of the city.
They then began moving into the outskirts of the city, including the Zaytun neighborhood of Gaza City, which is in in the southern outskirts of that
city. And now the Israeli military says that it has launched the main phase of this invasion with tanks and troops. Some 20,000 strong force
altogether, heading for the heart of Gaza City.
However, it is important to note that so far, we have not been able to independently verify the movement of Israeli ground forces towards the city
center, whether on social media or from the freelance journalists who work with us and are actually on the ground. What we have seen was certainly a
very intense night of aerial bombardments in Gaza City, very much on par with what we've been seeing for the last few nights.
At least 38 people were killed in Gaza City alone, and in some of the footage that we've seen from the aftermath of those strikes, once again, we
have seen the bodies of dead and wounded children. Some of them being treated on a hospital room floor in Al-Shifa, very obviously shaken with
shock, tears streaming down their eyes as doctors and nurses tried to treat them and comfort them.
We also saw, of course, the wails of parents who lost children in last night's bombardment. What we are also witnessing is the enormous mass
displacement of Palestinians from Gaza City. The Israeli military estimates that some 350,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City so far.
But keep in mind, this is a city that had a population of about 1 million, and so that leaves hundreds of thousands more, still very much in the
potential crosshairs of this Israeli ground invasion into Gaza City. And ultimately, the Israeli military would like to see the entirety of that
population forced out of the city and move to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone in the southern -- central southern part of the Gaza Strip.
[09:05:00]
The Israeli military, of course, says it wants these civilians to be moved out of harm's way. But today, we also learned the size of the Hamas force
that Israel says it is going after in Gaza City is only about 2 to 3000 fighters, according to an Israeli military official. And so that is why we
are seeing so many accusations right now that what Israel is doing in Gaza City is not just a military operation, but is tantamount to ethnic
cleansing, something that Israel, of course, rejects.
What Israel has also rejected are these latest conclusions of genocide being made for the first time by a United Nations Commission of Inquiry,
which says that Israel has committed four of the five prescribed genocidal acts in its military operations in Gaza, including causing Palestinians
serious bodily and mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction, and imposing measures
intended to prevent births within the group.
The Israeli government, for its part, once again, vociferously and adamantly denying these accusations of genocide, insisting that its
military campaign in Gaza is focused on Hamas, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Jeremy, thank you so much for that update. Appreciate it. Now, the FBI Director is stepping into a harsh spotlight this hour on Capitol Hill.
Kash Patel is in the -- is the star witness in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing which is just getting underway. The bureau has made some
controversial moves under Patel's leadership.
And we can expect questions about his handling of the Charlie Kirk murder investigation and the bungled release of the Epstein files. His fellow
Republicans may provide some support, and Patel still seems to be in President Trump's good graces, but Democrats are sure to take this
opportunity to air their grievances. CNN's Kate Bolduan spoke to the top Democrats on the committee a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): He is -- my mind, the most incompetent FBI Director in history, and to think the importance of this agency to keep
America safe. Patel made it clear. He wrote a book called government gangsters, and said, when I get my chance, if I had my chance, I'd go in
and address the rot at the core of the FBI.
And he's done just that politically. He has dismissed professionals who have decades of experience in keeping America safe, he has had retribution.
Anyone who said anything negative or even investigated. Donald Trump, in his first term, has been interrogated subject to polygraph tests.
I mean, it's an awful situation. Thousands of individuals that were keeping America safe have been transferred to the mass deportation effort that is
underway in the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: All right, Senior U.S. Justice Correspondent Evan Perez joins us now live from Capitol Hill, where the judiciary committee's hearing is
taking place. And Evan, we know he's going to be asked questions about the handling of Charlie Kirk's investigation Epstein files, among other issues.
So, what are we expecting?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this hearing, initially, we thought was going to focus on a lot of other things,
including the -- of course, the Epstein files, which has divided certainly some of President Trump's followers, some of whom believe that these files
should be released, and the Justice Department has said that no more will be released.
And we also had expected that a lot of it would focus on his management of the FBI, where there's been a lot of -- there's been several purges of
people, including senior parts of the executive leadership of the FBI, some of whom really their only fault appears to be that they had anything to do
with the investigations involving Donald Trump.
But obviously the murder of Charlie Kirk and the FBI handling of that case is now front and center, and you getting a lot of criticism of Kash Patel
from people on the right, people who feel that he has not handled this competently. One reason for that is that he went out pretty early and
claimed that there was an arrest made of someone who was the suspected shooter, only to have to retract that.
And really portrays what -- it really falls in line with the portrayal of Patel from a number of lawsuits from people who have been fired by the FBI
of a leadership Patel included that is really obsessed with their portrayal on social media, their social media profiles.
He is very, very quick to tweet things and we've never had that in an FBI Director before. And so, the other thing we've seen in the last couple of
days, he's made a lot of appearances on Fox News, where he's been delivering details of this investigation, something that you never see the
FBI do, certainly the Justice Department, in part, because the concern is there that it could damage the prosecution of the suspect.
[09:10:00]
The suspect has a right to a fair trial. And so that's, of course, going to be a concern that the judges that are overseeing these cases, the state
case and the federal case, if that ever comes, will certainly be concerned about. And so, we expect that this hearing is going to go several hours.
And we expect some contentious moments here, especially because Patel is showing no signs that he regrets any of the things that he's done. In fact,
he's taking full credit for everything that has been -- that has happened, that has helped bring this suspect under arrest, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right, Evan, we're going to be keeping a close watch on the hearing. Thank you so much for that update. Now, in a short time, U.S.
President Donald Trump is expected to take off for the UK and an unprecedented second state visit for an American President.
And you can see here Air Force One live. It's ready and waiting for Mr. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, they are set to depart for London very
soon. The Trumps will travel on to Windsor on Wednesday for a day of pomp and ceremony with King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Trump will spend Thursday in talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It is the second UK state visit for Trump. The last was in 2019 when he met
with Queen Elizabeth the Second. And as Air Force One makes its way across the Atlantic news of a major new investment coming to the UK as well.
Tech giant Google has just announced it will invest $6.8 billion in the UK over the next two years. The company says the money is aimed at boosting
the country's AI sector and meeting demand for services like Google Cloud Search as well as Maps. Google says it estimates more than 8200 UK jobs
will be created annually.
President Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel suit against the "New York Times", four of its reporters and book publishers "Penguin
Random House". Now he accuses the times of making false statements about him, his family and his businesses, and he says penguin maliciously
published a book called "Lucky Loser", how Donald Trump squandered his father's fortune and created the illusion of success.
The book is written by two of the Times reporters named in the suit. CNN has reached out to the Times for comment. Actor, Director, Robert Redford
has died at the age of 89. His publicist says he passed away at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah, surrounded by his loved ones.
He spent decades in the movie business, in front of the camera as a matinee idol and behind the camera, directing, producing and supporting the
independent film industry. Sara Sidner has more on his extraordinary life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Hollywood legend and leading man, Robert Redford had many roles in front of the camera as well as behind it.
He was a true filmmaker and will always be remembered for many iconic films.
ROBERT REDFORD, HOLLYWOOD ACTOR, DIRECTOR: She denies even knowing about the conversation --
SIDNER (voice-over): "All the President's Men".
REDFORD: Look, I don't know when I'll be back.
SIDNER (voice-over): And the way we were. 1969 "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was his first block muster film, starring alongside Paul
Newman. They also co-starred in the sting for which he was nominated for Best Actor in 1974. Redford was cast as the romantic leading man in films
like "The Great Gatsby" and "Out of Africa", a label that followed him throughout his life, even as he became older.
REDFORD: I didn't see myself the way others saw me. I was kind of feeling trapped because I couldn't go outside the box of leading man or good-
looking leading man. It was very flattering, but it was feeling restrictive, so it took many years to break loose of that.
SIDNER (voice-over): Redford won a Best Director Oscar in 1981 for "Ordinary people". He directed "A River Runs Through It", quiz show and
many other films. A native Californian. He was born in Santa Monica in 1936 as Los Angeles grew so did Redford's love for protecting the environment.
REDFORD: I grew up respecting nature because what happened to Los Angeles? It was a city as a child during the end of the Second World War that I
loved, and it was a beautiful city, and the air was clean. And then what happened after the war was suddenly there were skyscrapers and there was
pollution.
It felt like the city that I loved as a child was taken away from me, so I moved away from that in sadness.
SIDNER (voice-over): Redford moved to New York City to pursue an acting career on "Broadway" in the late 1950s his big breakout role there was in
"Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park". A role he would later reprise on the big screen with co-star Jane Fonda.
[09:15:00]
But after several years on "Broadway", Redford left the glitz and glamor behind, and in 1961 John moved to Utah, where he bought two acres of land
for just $500 and built a cabin for his family.
REDFORD: I discovered how important nature was in my life, and I wanted to be where nature was extreme and where I thought it could be, maybe
everlasting.
SIDNER (voice-over): An avid environmentalist, he bought more land over the years in Park City, Utah and turned it into the Sundance Institute in 1981,
a nonprofit dedicated to independent filmmakers. And four years later, started the Sundance Film Festival to showcase their work.
REDFORD: Once the press came, then fashion came, and when fashion came, the paparazzi came. So, these are kind of like tears that formed outside of
what we were doing. That's fine, that's their business, but it's not who we are.
SIDNER (voice-over): And his love for the environment continued.
REDFORD: As years went on, I became more and more convinced that nature played a great role in our lives, but wasn't being treated fairly, and so I
got committed to preserving that.
SIDNER (voice-over): But he didn't stop acting and directing, and was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2002 for his contributions to filmmaking.
REDFORD: But I want to make the most of what I've been given. And you keep pushing yourself forward, you try new things, and that's invigorating. I
guess. I found out that rather than retiring, that just feels better. Just keep moving, as long as you can keep moving.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: An independent inquiry commissioned by the United Nations has, for the first time determined that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The
report lays out for genocidal acts it says, Israel has carried out since October 7th, 2023 which are as follows.
Killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing Palestinians serious bodily and mental harm, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group,
deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. Ravina Shamdasani is the Chief
Spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office, and joins me now live from Geneva.
Ravina, thank you so much for joining me. Important day as this independent body at the U.N. came to the conclusion of genocide, which I know is
separate from your work. But can you explain the significance of this report and its meticulous documenting of alleged war crimes?
RAVINA SHAMDASANI, CHIEF SPOKESPERSON FOR THE U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE: Indeed, this is separate from what we do. So, I cover the U.N. Human Rights
Office. And this was a report by an independent commission of inquiry on the situation of the occupied Palestinian territory.
Now this is a body that was appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council by Member States to focus on the situation in the occupied Palestinian
territory. Their report is incredibly important. Every member state should study it carefully. The findings are extremely important.
[09:20:00]
Our office has consistently warned that crime upon crime, war crime upon war crime has been committed in the conduct of these hostilities, and this
needs to stop. And I hope that this report can serve as a wakeup call.
GIOKOS: Yeah, exactly. And you know for clarity, this commission of inquiry was actually established in 2021 to investigate what is going on in the
occupied territories and so forth. So pretty significant when we laid out exactly their findings. In the meantime, the Israeli Ambassador to the U.N.
rejected this report, also accused the commission of bias. Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL MERON, AMBASSADOR OF ISRAEL TO THE UNITED NATIONS IN GENEVA: Israel categorically rejects the libelous rant published today by this commission
of inquiry. It spreads the malicious genocide narrative. The report diverges from the mandate of the commission, yet again, stressing their
biased analysis throughout the 72 pages of this paper that the COI presented, the COI promotes a narrative serving Hamas and its supporters in
attempting to delegitimize and demonize the State of Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: What is your response to this, given that we started to see a lot of organizations conducting investigations and calling it a genocide and of
course, Israel has vehemently opposed any findings?
SHAMDASANI: The government of Israel has vehemently attacked anybody who tries to raise questions about the conduct of hostilities. Our office has
been accused of bias, selectivity, double standards, even antisemitism, when we raise questions about the conduct of hostilities based on our
factual reporting on the ground.
Sometimes, very rarely, there is an acknowledgement from the government that a tragic mishap happened, that an investigation will be launched. That
investigation is very rarely something that leads to a result, that leads to accountability, that leads to transparency about what happened, and some
reckoning to ensure that it doesn't happen again.
Rather than rejecting wholesale the findings of body upon body, including our office, we invite the government to really examine the facts and the
analysis and consider it and perhaps push back on the facts, push back if they got anything wrong, but this wholesale allegation of bias is really
not helpful, and it is disgraceful, given how many people have been killed in the conduct of this war.
GIOKOS: Yeah. Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said today, this carnage must stop, and it's absolutely clear that it has to stop at once under the rules
of war, an attack may never be targeted at civilians who are not taking part in hostilities. I call on Israel to stop its wanton destruction of
Gaza.
And this is significant because today we are seeing a ground incursion into Gaza City, with hundreds of thousands of people displaced as we speak, and
hundreds of thousands more that have been warned they need to leave immediately.
SHAMDASANI: Indeed, we have seen a buildup of bombardment over the past few days, attacks against residential buildings, against places where people
who have been displaced multiple times, upon the orders of the Israeli authorities, were trying to take shelter.
And displacement orders continue to be issued without assuring the security and the safety of the people on the ground. And let's not forget as well
that a famine was declared in Gaza government, where Gaza City is. So, this is a population that has already been suffering from a man-made famine that
is now being further attacked.
And as the high commissioner said, the rules of war are clear, an attack may never be targeted at civilians who are not taking a direct part in
hostilities. Now, the Israeli military repeatedly claims that it is targeting terrorists of terrorist infrastructure, but it's undefined, and
it is consistent -- it consistently fails to provide evidence.
GIOKOS: Yes, because the commissioner also says, and importantly, that Israeli military saying that its targeting terrorist infrastructure is
basically undefined, that we haven't seen any evidence of this, you know. And here's the reality, this is a clear escalation that we're seeing.
You know, what kind of messaging are you planning around, not only this report, but importantly, what we're seeing and probably going to see over
the next few days, as we are expecting, not only the food insecurity scenarios to perhaps worsen, but also people being pushed into refugee
zones and informal structure zones, which is going to exacerbate not only health, but also living conditions.
[09:25:00]
SHAMDASANI: No, that's exactly right. And if you think about how long this war has gone on and how many people have been injured, you hear a lot of
talk of the people who have been killed, but we talk of tens of thousands, more than 100,000 who have been injured.
And when we talk about injuries, we're not talking about a scrape on the arm. We're talking about people who had their legs amputated. There are
lots of people with disabilities in Gaza at the moment, and in Gaza City at the moment, there are people who are hearing impaired, people who are
elderly.
How are these people expected to flee on a moment's notice, again and again as the bombardment begins? This is unconscionable. What we are going to
continue to do is to try to insist upon the delivery of humanitarian aid to insist that this carnage stop and we are going to continue to document the
facts on the ground.
Because this is crucial as well. In the face of so much propaganda on the other side. It is crucial that we continue to document the facts, continue
to push for accountability, a real reality check for the member states that have the power to stop this.
GIOKOS: Yeah, all right. Ravina Shamdasani, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. Appreciate it. Right, I want to get you up
to speed on some other stories that are on our radar right now. President Trump is sending the National Guard to the City of Memphis in his latest
crime crackdown.
He's creating a Memphis Crime Task Force. It will also include members of the FBI, ICE and Homeland Security. Tennessee's Republican Governor Bill
Lee was by Trump's side as he signed a presidential memorandum creating the task force. Mr. Trump promised that Chicago would be next.
The man accused of killing Former United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson is expected back in a New York courtroom this morning. Luigi Mangione could
learn when his trial will start. His attorneys are asking the judge to dismiss the state's murder case. He's also facing federal charges and the
death penalty.
U.S. Authorities have deported 14 West Africans to Ghana only for them to be sent onward to their home countries. Their lawyers warned some could
face torture. Critics say the Trump Administration is sidestepping immigration laws by using third countries. Ghana denies backing U.S.
policy, but opposition voices called the move a serious human rights concern. Right, we're going to a short break, we'll be back right after
this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. Israel has launched a long-
expected ground operation in Gaza City. The operation began early Tuesday. Officials say the assault would proceed gradually, targeting up to 3000
Hamas fighters still believe to be in the area.
[09:30:00]
Meanwhile, Gaza health authorities report that overnight strikes have killed dozens more civilians. FBI Director Kash Patel is on the hot seat in
a Senate hearing this hour. He's facing questions over his leadership of the Bureau after a string of controversial decisions, including releasing
specific evidence to the public during the hunt for Charlie Kirk's killer.
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to depart for the UK shortly for an unprecedented second state visit. While there, he'll be hosted by King
Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle and enjoy a state dinner. Trump will also spend a day with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Right back to our breaking news this hour. Legendary Hollywood actor, director, as well as environmentalist, Robert Redford, has died at the age
of 89 and is best known for his starring roles in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and the "All the President's Men". But he also directed award
winning films such as ordinary people and a river runs through it.
I'm now joined by Entertainment Journalist Segun Oduolowu for more on Redford's life as well as legacy. Segun, great to see you, and sad day, 89
years old, I want you to talk us through his legacy that he's leaving behind, but not just as an actor, but also, he was just so much more.
SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Eleni, you said it so beautifully in the open, an environmentalist, an actor, a director, a producer, the
founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He is truly a Hollywood icon, and one of the last they're not making them like Robert Redford anymore, he's
won all the awards, but he still cared.
He had a passion for nature, putting the Sundance festival in Utah, not far from where he had bought a house to build a cabin on for his family, so he
could get back to nature. And the Sundance Film Festival was the blueprint for film festivals that followed afterwards, where it nurtured and put on a
bigger stage.
Up and coming, independent artists, directors, actors, a lot of people got their start at festivals like Sundance, and they owe, you know, everything
they owe that to Robert Redford. His movies were iconic. He had a way of, you know, seeing himself as kind of the outlaw, which is why he wanted to
play Sundance in the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", which then later named his film festival afterwards.
But when you watched him in films the way he took a role, you kind of rooted for the bad guy. I entered my Robert Redford phase with "Indecent
Proposal" that starred Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson. And in the movie, he propositions a married couple for with a million dollars for a night with
their wife.
And you didn't hate the guy. You didn't revile Robert Redford in this role. He was bigger than life in so many ways, to pass away at 89 years old, and
for Hollywood to still feel wow, he passed away too young, gives you an idea of just how important he was to the fabric of filmmaking and Hollywood
at large.
GIOKOS: And Segun, yeah, I think it was -- he just turned 89, I think on the 18th of August, if I'm not mistaken. And it's just, I mean, what an
incredible life, and as you say, so love. But he was also really pushing this alternative storytelling, as you say, indie films, and, you know,
creating more diversity within the storytelling.
But what really struck me is sort of the activism behind a lot of what he did. It wasn't just about the environment, but it also, you know, you got
into politics and that's what's really fascinating about him, because he had a lot of criticism about the Keystone pipeline, and also was critical
of the Trump Administration.
So, he wasn't scared to dabble into other segments that perhaps were uncomfortable for a lot of people.
ODUOLOWU: Yeah, he understood the power of his movie stardom that he could make change. He played Al Gore in a role, and was instrumental in bringing
Al Gore to protest a plant being built, and the plant later shut down. He was in, you know, he was very instrumental in environmental work, and saw
that art could be not only -- not could only survive change, but art could be the catalyst for change.
And as an artist, as an actor, as a producer, as a director, he saw that he could use the cachet of his stardom to influence people to move mountains,
to say more because he had the platform. You were right. He was not afraid to criticize political regimes. He was not afraid to speak up on issues
that he thought made sense or mattered to him.
[09:35:00]
And diversity was one of those things where, with the indie film business, where the actors and the directors who don't have as much money as the big
budget studios. They need a voice too, and he was willing to not only lend his credibility and his stardom to amplify their voices.
He would flat out stand beside them and shout along with them, and that's what a lot of people will see in Robert Redford, that it's not just the
actor, but the activism. And the activist, as you said here in this picture, being, you know, being awarded by President Obama.
Again, they're not making them like Robert Redford, someone who lived past the bright lights and was willing to get his hands dirty to affect change.
GIOKOS: So, we're running out of time, but Segun, very quickly your favorite role?
ODUOLOWU: Oh, my favorite role is "Indecent Proposal". For me, it's a decent proposal, the idea of someone offering you a million dollars and
putting you in that conundrum of, what would you do?
GIOKOS: Yeah. Wow.
ODUOLOWU: And when both of you know it's not necessarily right, but it plays on your greed. It plays on the way society looks at relationship. And
again, I walked out of that movie not hating the bad guy. I thought Robert Redford, for me, that was a great role.
GIOKOS: Yeah. Well, may he rest in peace. And of course, I'll be doing a lot of binges watching of all these movies. Segun, great to have you with
us. Thank you so much and helping us remember consistency, brilliant man.
ODUOLOWU: Thank you, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Thank you, sir. Right the Utah man accused of killing political activist Charlie Kirk, will make his first appearance in court later today.
And we're keeping a close eye on all the developments. And we expect to learn more about the evidence and a possible motive during suspect Tyler
Robertson's hearing in Utah.
At this point, Utah's Governor says the 22-year-old suspect is not cooperating with authorities, but according to "The Washington Post",
Robertson may have already confessed in an online platform called discord. For more on this, we've got CNN's Danny Freeman in Provo, Utah.
Great to have you with us as the story develops. You know, what can we expect from today's initial court appearance, Danny?
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Eleni. Well, today's initial court appearance is going to be around 05:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and that's we're
expecting to see 22-year-old Tyler Robinson virtually inside of this courthouse essentially. He will be formally charged today as well, and then
a little bit earlier in the day, 02:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
We're expecting to hear from the Utah County attorney, the prosecutor essentially in this case, who has promised essentially a lot more details
in terms of what may have led Robinson to allegedly pull the trigger and murder Charlie Kirk last week, not too far from where we are, right here at
the university, one town over.
And it's just remarkable, because even though we have learned so much information, not just about this potential confession that you mentioned
earlier, not just about DNA evidence, not just about a potential note that was left behind, but again, these Utah officials still promising more
information, hopefully to get at what you noted earlier, that big question of motive.
GIOKOS: All right. Danny Freeman. Do we have time for one more question? Seems you do.
FREEMAN: Sure --
GIOKOS: What more can you tell us about the Washington reports -- reporting about a possible online confession from the suspect on discord in
particular. What have we learned on that front?
FREEMAN: Yeah, sure, so let's get into that and talk about a little bit more of the details. So, this was a really incredible report that came out
late yesterday, was from "The Washington Post". And basically, this report said that hours before the main suspect here, Tyler Robinson, ultimately
turned himself in and was arrested here in Utah. He got onto a group chat on the social and gaming app discord, as you noted, and apparently appeared
to confess.
He wrote to this group quote, hey guys, I have bad news for you all. It was me at UVU yesterday. I'm sorry for all of this. And Eleni, I'll note that
this comes after a stunning "New York Times" report as well that also shed light on messages from another discord group where Robinson, allegedly
during the manhunt, joked with some friends or acquaintances on this site, basically saying that a doppelganger was trying to get him in trouble.
Now, the context here, Eleni, is that at that particular time, law enforcement had released images of the suspect they believed they were
looking for in this assassination of Charlie Kirk, and one of Robinson's friends on the discord app said, hey, where are you at? Is this you
essentially, and that's what prompted Robinson to make that joke.
So, like I said, a lot of information that has been coming out so far. A lot of information still, though outstanding, a lot of questions, certainly
from this community. Hopefully we'll get some of those answers during some of these court appearances later today here in Utah, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right, Danny Freeman, thank you so much for being on the ground there for us.
[09:40:00]
Well, FBI Director Kash Patel is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his handling of the agency. Right now, senators are asking
him questions. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUCK GRASSLEY, CHAIRMAN OF U.S. SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: -- Are you committed to reviewing the Bureau's policies to ensure responsible
responses to credible allegations of misconduct that there are swift and adequately protect victims.
KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: Yes, Mr. Chairman.
GRASSLEY: Relating to a similar subject during child crimes and sexual misconduct related investigations, are any private sector companies less
than cooperative with you, what improvements in information sharing need to be made to catch those criminals?
PATEL: Mr. Chairman, we can always do better with their private sector companies. I've reached out to the leaders of most of them, asking them to
provide more material so that we can be responsive and take legal action and protect the youth of this country.
I'm happy to discuss, you know, possible legislation that we can do to allow for these companies to continue.
GRASSLEY: Yeah, say maybe one inch up on the microphone.
PATEL: Sorry.
GRASSLEY: Not. I think you're close enough, but I think it's just a little bit lower. When you raise your head, it's difficult to hear. Director
Patel, since 2021, I've raised concerns about the Biden Administration failure to properly vet Afghan evacuees. Director Gabbard informed my
office that as of August 2022 approximately 1600 evacuees located in the United States had ties to terrorism and other derogatory information.
That's why I and many others have opposed bills giving blanket approval. Are you aware of what steps your predecessor took to investigate these
evacuees? And what steps have you taken to investigate them, and what if any national security concerns still exist?
PATEL: Mr. Chairman, I can't speak to the steps my predecessor took, but I will make sure we do a sweeping review and get back to you on that. As far
as the Afghan refugees and evacuees, as during my tenure, we are going through the databases to make sure that no known or suspected terrorists
enter this country to harm our --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Donald Trump is getting ready to leave Washington and head to the UK for his state visit. He stopped to talk to reporters a few minutes ago.
Here is what he has to say.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He'll have a big influence on this, but too late getting his rates down. I guess, who knows?
You never know. We're too late, but he's done a lousy job rate. The rates should be much lower, much, much lower, but I just signed his document, and
all of the papers, and Steve Byron is now on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- ground offenses is now underway in Gaza City. Your reaction?
TRUMP: We're going to see what happens, because I hear Hamas is trying to use the old human shield deal, and if they do that, they're going to be in
big trouble. They're going to be in big trouble.
They put it out two days ago that they're going to use the hostages as human shields. That's something that hasn't done for a long time, you know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- that --
TRUMP: Let me tell you -- if they do that, they're in big trouble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- do you believe the Federal Reserve is an independent body? What do you think about the independent --
TRUMP: Oh, it should be, it should be. But I think they should listen to smart people like me. I think I have a better instinct than him. If you
look all the economists got it wrong. I got it right, along with one of the people out of 100. So, they should listen to people that are smart.
Nothing wrong with that, but they have to make their own choice. But they should listen --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- Prime Minister Netanyahu --
TRUMP: No idea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- about the idea of Israel beginning this ground offensive in Gaza City. Do you support that?
TRUMP: Well, I have to see, I mean, I don't know too much about it. I can tell you that if they put the hostages in front of them, Hamas as
protection, as they call them bodyguards, Hamas is going to have health affairs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- your trip to the UK today. What do you hope to achieve?
TRUMP: Well, my relationship is very good with the UK, and Charles, as you know, who's now King, is my friend. And it's the first time this has ever
happened where somebody was honored twice. So, it's a great honor. And this one's at Windsor. They've never used Windsor Castle for this before.
They use Buccaneer palace. And I don't want to say one's better than the other, but they say Windsor Castle is the ultimate, right? So, it's going
to be nice, but basically, up there also on trade. They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit. We made a deal, and it's a great
deal.
[09:45:00]
And I'm into helping them. Our country is doing very well. We've never done this well. We're making, we're having trillions of dollars coming because
of the tariffs. They'd like to see if they could get a little bit better deal. So, we'll talk to them, but primarily it's to be with Prince Charles
and Camilla.
They're friends of mine for a long time, long before he was king, and it's an honor to have -- And you know, he's -- I think he represents the country
so well. I've watched. He's such an elegant gentleman, and he represents the country so well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Robert Redford passed away today. Did you hear about this? TRUMP: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- home --
TRUMP: Well, that's a good way to go, I guess. But I'll say Robert Redford was great. He had a series of years that he was there was nobody better.
This just happened, I guess, wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He died -- Utah --
TRUMP: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What movie would you say --
TRUMP: Well, you have a lot of them. Honestly, he made, I'd say he made seven or eight great movies. They were really great. There was a period of
time when he was the hottest. I thought he was great.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Are you going to delay the TikTok ban?
TRUMP: Well, we have a deal on TikTok. I've reached a deal with China. I'm going to speak to President Xi on Friday to confirm everything up. We made
a very good trade deal, and I hope good for both countries, but a very different deal than they've made in the past.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What companies --
TRUMP: We'll be announcing that we have a group of very big companies that want to buy it. And you know, the kids wanted it so badly, I had parents
calling me up. They don't want it for themselves. They want it for their kids. They say, if I don't get it done, they're in big trouble with their
kids. And I think it's great. I hate to see value like that thrown out the window.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Auto executive --
TRUMP: You know, you're talking about tens of billions of dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some auto executives are concerned that compromising the 15 percent for auto tariffs coming in hurts American automakers. What do
you say to --
TRUMP: Well, I haven't compromised anything. Where did I come from --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going down to 15 percent --
TRUMP: From going down to 15 percent we charge we charge well. And where did the 25 come from? It came from there -- They paid nothing for years.
Now they're paying 15 percent and some things can pay more, like chips could pay more. Pharmaceuticals could pay more.
You know, there's a bigger margin. With a car, you have to make 15 percent before you make a profit, pretty tough -- So don't forget, European Union
is paying our country because of tariffs, $950 billion think of that. We're talking about a year $950 billion Japan is paying us $650 billion.
These are companies, these are countries that paid us nothing, until I came along, and China is paying us a tremendous tariff. You know what the tariff
is, right? You know what the tariff they're paying --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, so it's 30 percent for the fentanyl, as well as whatever for the 301?
TRUMP: 20 percent for the fentanyl, but the overall is about 55 percent. OK? That's as opposed to nothing. Would you say that's a difference? We are
-- we have a big decision coming up, and if the Supreme Court rules the way, hopefully they will. Because, I mean, every legal expert said we win
that case, but you still have to watch, and the Supreme Court has been terrific.
-- very fair. All I want is fairness and we win. But if we win the Supreme Court case, which is the finalization of tariffs, we will be by far the
richest country anywhere in the world, and we'll be able to help our people more, and we'll be able to help other countries when we want to.
But I will say, if we win this case, our country, you see what we've taken in just on a temporary basis, we've taken in trillions of dollars,
trillions with a T, and we will be by far the richest country in the world, there will be nothing broke -- one other thing, we'll have tremendous power
to negotiate the use of tariffs. I settled seven wars, four of them was because I was able to use tariffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- some CEOs make hundreds of times more in salary than average workers. He's worried about polarization.
TRUMP: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you share that concern?
TRUMP: Well, I do say there's a big gap -- Don't forget, I'm a popularist. There's a big gap.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President. It's been a month -- since a month on, you can start being in a conference for you --
TRUMP: Yeah, accomplished a lot, but it takes two to tangle also. You know, those are two people, Zelenskyy and Putin, that hate each other, and it
looks like I have to sit in the room with them, because they can't sit in a room together. There's great hatred there. But no, that meeting
accomplished a lot.
[09:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- you have a confidence in cops --
TRUMP: Well, first of all, I think that Pam Bondi has done an unbelievable job, and everybody agrees with that and -- I -- you know, if you look at,
take a look at what he did with respect to this horrible person that he just captured. He did it in two days. It took other similar cases, four
days, five days, four years.
If you look at certain shooters, now, I have confidence in everybody in the administration. My administration, and a lot of people are saying it not
just me, it's so far, the best administration ever formed. You look at our financial people, our country is making a fortune.
We have to keep tariffs, because our country is become successful because of tariffs. We have the case in the Supreme Court. That's a very vital case
for the success of our country. It's very vital to negotiate with other countries, and remember, other countries charge us tariffs.
That's a very, very big case, and if we win that case, our country will be by far the richest country anywhere in the world. And then we can help our
people. We'll get rid of debt. We'll get rid of everything. We can help our people, and we can even help other countries where they need it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Narcotics in Venezuela -- narcotics in Venezuela, President Maduro in Venezuela says that you're getting ready to invade this
country. What is his message to him?
TRUMP: Well, I would say this right away, stop sending Tren de Aragua into the United States. Stop sending drugs into the United States. We knocked
off, actually three boats, not two, but you saw two. And the problem is there are very few boats out in the water. There are not a lot of boats out
in the water.
I can't imagine why. Not even fishing boats. There's nobody. Nobody wants to go take a fish. So, it's one of those things. But I would say to him
very strongly, stop sending people from your prisons into our country. They're sending their prisoners. They've done that already.
So, the numbers just came out another month with zero people getting into our country. And these are bigger jobs with people like you that would like
me to do badly. Nobody has ever done on the border like I've done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- if you meet with him in New York --
TRUMP: Well, he's going to have to get going and make a deal. He's going to have to make a deal. Zelenskyy is going to have to make a deal. And Europe
has to stop buying oil from Russia. OK? You know they talk -- to stop buying oil from Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- regardless of being the wealthiest man who's ever occupied the White House. How much wealthier are you now than when you
return to the White House?
TRUMP: Well, I don't know the deals I made for the most part, other than what my kids are doing. You know, they're running my business, but most of
the deals that I've made were made before, and that's what I've done for a life. I still build it like I'm building a building here -- that is going
to be the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.
And for 150 so it gives me pleasure to do it for the country. And I'm paying for it. I'm paying for it. Country is that, and that's an expensive
ballroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you --
TRUMP: I think it'll cost $250 million and it will be the -- I think, the finest book. So, for 150 years -- you know this, they've wanted a ballroom,
and now they're going to finally have it, and it's going to knock your socks off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- President Trump, that a president in office should be engaged in so much business activity.
TRUMP: Well, I'm really not. My kids are running the business. I'm here. You know what the activity? Where are you from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation --
TRUMP: -- the Australians. You're hurting Australia, right? In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now, and they want to get along
with me. You know, your leader, is coming over to see me very soon. I'm going to tell them about you. You set a very bad tone. Go ahead, John --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, what are you hearing about the operation in Gaza, the Israeli operation? Are you concerned --
TRUMP: Well, I'm hearing that they want to go in. And I'm also hearing that Hamas wants to take our 20 hostages, plus dead bodies. You know, they have
about 32 of them, and they want to put them in the way of any attack. And nobody is happy about that situation. It came out yesterday.
I'm sure you saw that. They want to supposedly, they've taken the hostage out of deep caves and tunnels, and they're bringing them, putting them on
the front lines. Nobody has heard of that one for a few centuries.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You saw that the U.N. said that Israel is guilty of genocide. That's committed acts of genocide in Gaza.
TRUMP: They voted on that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New report out saying multiple acts of genocide.
TRUMP: It comes to a vote. We'll see what happens. That will come to a vote, but we'll see what happens.
[09:55:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what do you think Pam Bondi saying she's going to go after hate speech is that, I mean, a lot of people, a lot of your allies,
say hate speech is free speech?
TRUMP: We probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly. It's hated. You have a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe that'll
come after ABC. Well, ABC paid me $16 million recently for a form of hate speech, right? Your company paid me $16 million for a form of hate speech.
So maybe they have to go after you. Look, we want everything to be fair. It hasn't been fair, and the radical left has done tremendous damage to the
country, but we're fixing it. We have right now, the hottest country anywhere in the world. And remember, one year ago, our country was dead.
And now Washington. D.C. is fixed, and I fixed it. The mayor was fine. The mayor was just fine. OK? The mayor had the sick city for many years. He's
been mayor for many years. The one that fixed it was me and my people, and it is so safe. You should take your beautiful wife tonight and have dinner
down there.
You won't be shot, you won't be accosted, you won't even be looked at incorrectly by anybody. Washington, D.C. is safe. Now we're going to
Memphis, where it's pretty rough, to put it mildly, and then we're going to have to go a friend of mine who is a big railroader.
He stops at all the cities he knows, every city, he said, sir, you have to save Chicago. So, I'm going to go to Chicago early against Pritzker.
Pritzker is nothing. If Pritzker was smart, he'd say, please come in. So last week, over the last week and a half, 11 people in Chicago were killed,
murdered, and 38 were shot, and then Pritzker --
And by the way, this is going on constantly. If they lose less than six or seven people a week with murder, they're doing a great job. In their
opinion. Chicago is a death crab, and I'm going to make it just like I did with D.C., just like I'll do with Memphis. Now remember this so a man comes
into my office, one of the biggest business men, that I'll tell you, he runs Union Pacific, is that biggest railroad in the world, I guess.
And he started off as a railroader. He was running a railroad, a little caboose. He was in a caboose. Now he runs the whole damn thing. 45 years
ago, he started off in a caboose, I don't know what that's all about. And he became the top so that's a good place to start. But he came in.
He knows the country intimately. He's looking to do a merger by another railroad, the one that we're at the living problem in East Palestine,
right? And they want to buy that railroad, as you know, pretty public. But I sat with him and I talked. I said, so you know every city? Yes, sir, I go
into every city, and I have for 45 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
TRUMP: I said, where would you go then? He said, St. Louis is in big trouble. Said, but Chicago is a great city. You can save Chicago, sir.
Don't let Chicago die. This is a guy telling me with great knowledge. Don't let Chicago die, sir, it's dying. Don't let it die. I'm going to Chicago
next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- What did --
TRUMP: Well, I just want something to happen, whether it's federal states, most likely it's going to be states. The question is whether or not we
overlap with a federal judge. So, they're looking at that, but the state is very confident. The governor is doing a very good job, as you know they
have the death penalty.
It's a tough death penalty too, as you know, but they have the death penalty so as to whether or not we judge, we will be working with them. We
may or may not be able to judge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it comes to the Governor of Utah, what do you make of his overall message of non-violence?
TRUMP: Well, I agree with it. Agree 100 percent but most of the violence is on the left.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- social media is a cancer. Do you agree with that? The Utah Governor said that social media is a cancer, and more, people
should log off and take some time away.
TRUMP: Well, it's not a cancer in all respects. In some respects, it's great, but there are segments. There are deep, dark holes that are
cancerous, absolutely. Beyond cancers a death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- relative --
TRUMP: Well, that was a great decision. It was a rigged case to start off with. It's great. The court has ruled that she is a disaster. She's a
disaster with a boyfriend, the boyfriend that she paid a billion dollars for his expertise, but he never did it before. No, she should be
prosecuted.
She was a what she did to people, forget about me. What Fani Willis did to innocent people, patriots that love our country, what she did to them by
indicting them and destroying them. She should be put in jail.
END
