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Netanyahu Vows "There will be no Palestinian State"; Will Address General Assembly as Wars Rage in Gaza, Ukraine; Displaced Palestinians Left Stranded in Gaza City; Trump to Address World Leaders at U.N.; CNN Goes Inside Goma after Trump's DRC-Rwanda Peace Deal; Past Studies Show Tylenol Safe to Take During Pregnancy. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired September 23, 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)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, this is the scene in New York where world leaders have gathered for what is the U.N. General

Assembly. President Trump due to speak later this hour. It is 09:00 a.m. in New York. It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson, you're

watching "Connect the World".

Also coming up, Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza City with heavy shelling and explosions being reported across the city. Meanwhile,

President Trump's Administration is facing backlash over free speech restrictions and new medical announcements. And Jimmy Kimmel set to go back

on air after a controversial suspension by the U.S. network ABC.

Well, it's a busy day in New York. And of course, the stock markets will open about 30 minutes from now, and after a three-day winning streak. Stock

futures at least indicating a mixed start at that open back there at 09:30 local time. Well, this hour U.S. President Donald Trump is set to address

the U.N. General Assembly, as the world waits to see what he will say about two wars currently raging that he vowed to end soon after taking office.

On the sidelines of this big event, President Trump will meet with the Presidents of Ukraine and the European Commission. And he is sitting down

with leaders of Arab and Muslim nations who are sure to ask him to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza. All this coming after France, on Monday,

joined a group of other Western nations informally recognizing a Palestinian state.

Well, I want to bring in Nic Robertson from London. And Nic just how consequential is this address likely to be from the U.S. President?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, it's a scene setter of President Trump's view of the world and America's position in the

world. When we look back to his last presidency, he spoke at every U.N. General Assembly during that term, all four of them.

One would notice that in 2018 the audience there laughed at him when he spoke about how much he'd accomplished, and were expecting a similar.

Today, his press secretary said that he would be speaking about, you know, the strength of America's position around the world, and how the president

had stopped seven wars and conflicts around the world.

I suspect that the audience will be taking the president more seriously, and there will be diplomats in that audience, and they will be nodding

their heads in agreement in two of those conflicts. Pakistan, India, Armenia, Azerbaijan, have spoken with diplomats involved there from those

countries.

And they agree that it was President Trump that helped deliver peace. Now there will be others that will say, what about the other conflicts, these

are not lasting deals, et cetera. But I think this will be an audience that will take what he has to say very seriously, because he has been shown and

has shown that he will act along the lines of what he says.

And for his press secretary as well, she said he will give his view of the sort of how international institutions have eroded the world, and his view

of how it should be, if you will administered with or not with multinational institutions, just like the U.N. people will be listening.

ANDERSON: Well, it's good to have you Nic and thank you for teeing up. What will be the significant speech of the morning session. I want to bring in

Pascal Confavreux now, who is the spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, and I am speaking to you, sir, and it's good to speak to you.

Thank you very much indeed for joining us. The day after President Macron declared France formally recognizes a Palestinian state, it did that

alongside a number of other key countries. This is President of France who has really galvanized momentum alongside the Saudis for this recognition.

How will that and France advance peace?

PASCAL CONFAVREUX, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY: It was a very important moment yesterday, I think a historic moment when we could --

and you could feel it in the General Assembly conference room, where people were standing when you had some applause at some different moments, because

it was bringing back to life these two-state solution, you said it.

[09:05:00]

There is a group of countries that decided to recognize Palestinian States, France and some others, around 10 of them. And it came also with very

strong commitments from neighboring countries of the region, to condemn the October 7th terrible attacks, to condemn Hamas, to exclude it from any

future State of Palestine, but also to engage into a regional integration with Israel.

And to think the day after, in terms of reconstruction and in terms of stabilization, it's all this that was encapsulated yesterday.

ANDERSON: Benjamin Netanyahu is the -- who is the Prime Minister of Israel, has said there will be no Palestinian state, and when asked for how he is

likely to respond to these recognitions by these European countries and others, he says, wait for it, effectively suggesting that once he has been

to the states and had a conversation with Donald Trump U.S. President that his response will come.

There are many who say that response could actually get in the way of there ever being peace and a Palestinian state going forward. Does that worry

you?

CONFAVREUX: That's why there is this all gathering. It's to create these conditions, because the ceasefire, if you really want to have it, you have

to think the day after, why? So, we completely support the efforts of mediation, by the United States, by Egypt, by Qatar.

But we think that what was gathered yesterday the United Nations, and there were 142 countries voting in favor of that. So, a very large majority at

the United Nations yesterday. It really helps actually, to have exactly what the United States wants, which is the ceasefire, immediate ceasefire,

the release of the 48 hostages that are still in the hands of Hamas since October 7th.

And the immediate access for humanitarian aid in Gaza to support the populations that are in a state of famine, according to the United Nations.

So that's why this thing really is also in favor of peace in the region, because if you don't give a political horizon for the population.

You just fuel violence and violence and violence. So that's why we think it's in the best interest of the actors in the region.

ANDERSON: Yeah, I just wonder that how you feel this is going to land, and what this will really achieve without the support of the United States. And

it wasn't just a lack of support for these decisions by European nations to formally recognize the Palestinian state. It wasn't just a lack of support.

The U.S. has said this will embolden Hamas and will get in the way of peace going forward, your message to the U.S. President.

CONFAVREUX: The recognition of the Palestinian state is a failure of Hamas. Hamas doesn't want a two-state solution. Hamas just want endless and

endless violence, and wants to destroy the State of Israel. And that's why to have a very strong commitment for the first time at the level of the

United Nations was a major achievement.

The second thing is that it will help the ceasefire. And the third thing is that should the American Administration want to engage in kind of Abraham

Accords too? We level down the bar to reach them, because we have already some neighboring countries condemning Hamas and ready to engage in a future

regional organization.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed for your time.

CONFAVREUX: Thank you so much.

ANDERSON: A big story and an important voice. Well, as Mr. Trump is set to speak at the United Nations this hour, his administration is facing

backlash from critics over decisions to target speech it disagrees with. And today, medical experts are criticizing the U.S. President's

announcement yesterday linking the use of Tylenol while pregnant with autism.

Well, Tylenol is considered the only safe over the counter option for pain or fever during pregnancy. CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House for us.

And let's just start with the president's comments on Tylenol and autism. Just explain briefly how they've been received, if you will.

[09:10:00]

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, certainly in the medical community, you hear a great amount of concern that the president

could be just adding a layer of confusion to what is already sort of a fraught topic, which is the connection between autism and what mothers do

in pregnancy.

And even when the president was speaking yesterday, he did go well beyond what even his own health experts were planning to say. You know, the

officials from HHS, from the FDA, none of them went quite as far as what the president said in linking Tylenol use in pregnancy to autism.

But the president was pretty blunt that he was saying what he said, quote, based on what I feel and to a lot of people in Washington, it kind of

recalled some of those freewheeling press conferences that the president convened during the COVID pandemic, which are not necessarily looked back

on are particularly fondly, including by officials who worked inside that administration.

So, I think for the president, it was sort of a freewheeling event. He talked not only about Tylenol, but he also brought in the question of

vaccines, potentially linking the vaccine schedule in infants in the United States to autism for which there is no medical evidence.

And I think that that too has generated a degree of concern among officials about what that could lead new parents to do when it comes to vaccines. And

so, I think this is an issue that the president has been thinking and talking about for quite some time. You know, going back even decades, the

president has talked about rise in autism levels.

It is, I think, a personal issue for him. He's talked about it previously in quite personal terms. And now that he has a health secretary and Robert

F. Kennedy Jr., who has made this kind of a center of his make America healthy again movement. I think it's clear that there was a lot of

political pressure on him to come out and talk and make good on his promises to try and find what's at the bottom of this rise in autism

levels.

And even RFK Jr. has said early on in this administration that it would only take him a matter of months to try and come up with some new

recommendations. And that, I think, is what is causing concern among some of these health officials who say that this is a politicized rush to kind

of come up with answers, instead of the more careful research that often goes in to making these new recommendations, talking about potential

restrictions on drugs.

And so, I think that there is now a degree of confusion that is reigning over all of this in the medical community, a degree of concern that the

president's advice there will be taken sort of literally by new parents wondering what to do about vaccines. I think going forward, the question

will be what the FDA does, what the maker of Tylenol does as they try and sort of work through the president's new recommendations.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you there. Thank you very much indeed. I know that you will be keenly awaiting the U.S. President's speech at the U.N.

today, and we will check back with you once we've heard that. Let's stay across what we can expect from President Trump later this morning.

CNN's Global Affairs Analyst Kimberly Dozier joins me now. We've been told by the White House to expect Donald Trump to lay out his vision for the

world in this speech just before he starts. And we are, you know, less than an hour away from his speech, what do we understand to be that vision?

Let's just tear it up.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, we've had a foreshadowing in the past several months of his second term. You have a

consistent vision of America is right no matter what, though principles may vary, big declarations with sketchy follow through.

I've just come from the Helsinki Security Forum and discussed what he might be talking about with a variety of European diplomats, and they basically

are looking at this as yes, we might see his map for what he'd like to do. But what we're hoping is that we won't hear another declaration that he

wants to grab Greenland.

They would like to hear him call for Israel to stop the fighting in Gaza. They would like to hear him be tougher on Vladimir Putin and call for him

to stop the aggression in Ukraine. They fear what they'll hear is that Trump, once again, gives Israel a pass to continue its war while working on

negotiations for the release of the hostages, and that Vladimir Putin is giving more time, and that Ukraine is given the blame.

[09:15:00]

ANDERSON: It would not be a surprise if the U.S. President addressed the decision by several countries to recognize Palestinian statehood. After

all, this is a move that the U.S. opposes. In fact, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has gone so far as to suggest this will do nothing for peace

and simply emboldens Hamas.

And we have heard similar words from the U.S. President himself. How likely do you think he is going to take that head on given let's just be quite

clear. It was a Saudi-French initiative that effectively galvanized support for these moves by these nations. And Donald Trump, you know, he considers

his relationship with the Crown Prince in Saudi an important one.

DOZIER: Yes, this is going to be tricky for him, because he still wants to expand the Abraham Accords. He wants to bring more Gulf and Arab countries

into the peace deals with Israel, so that he can expand business in the area. And he's going after that coveted Nobel Peace Prize that he talks

about frequently.

But what we're going to see is Arab leaders talk to him behind closed doors to tell him that if Israel continues on this path and also doubles down by

possibly annexing part or all of the West Bank and parts of Gaza, which some officials have threatened publicly to do in response to this new

flurry of recognitions of a Palestinian state.

They're going to have to tell him, well, I know from at least one that they're planning to tell him, you can't ask us to continue to keep peace or

expand peace with Israel while it's taking away the possibility of a Palestinian state. You can't have one without the other, and you therefore

can't have the business deals or the peace deals you want unless you pull Israel back.

ANDERSON: Kimberly, this is an important day, given it is the opening of the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly. And it is a moment to stop

and reflect where the world has come in those 80 years, and to reflect on the institutions, the global institutions, that the White House says have

quote significantly decayed the world order that coming from the White House unlikely to be addressed one would assume in Donald Trump's speech

today.

DOZIER: Yes, Trump 1.0 pulled out from the WHO and the many U.N. bodies that the rest of the world considers key for stabilization of conflict. So,

they are worried about what else he's going to attack. They have sent in Michael Waltz as the new U.N. Ambassador. So that's a bit of a signal.

Waltz, I'm told, was ejected from his role at the White House because he had sharp elbows. He had deep experience in national security and foreign

policy. And he wasn't so good at quote, unquote, suffering fools some of the MAGA types that were close to Trump but had little to no experience.

However, now they've put him in a position where he can be the attack dog that they think he's -- it's a role he's suited for. And so, expect them to

attack the multiple layers of bureaucracy within the U.N. and to continue to pull funding from various projects to force some reorganization.

We could see the kind of reorganization or changes that we've seen at NATO with increased pledges of funding by other countries, or we could see China

and others continue to step in to fill the void in those organizations that the U.S. has decided to abandon within the U.N.

ANDERSON: It's going to be a fascinating day at the United Nations already been a very busy sort of 36 hours. And more to come, that is Antonio

Guterres. She was the Head of the U.N. speaking now addressing those in the room, ahead of the Brazilian President, who speaks first, then followed by

the U.S. President Donald Trump. He hasn't spoken there, of course, since 2020. Thank you, Kimberly.

[09:20:00]

Coming up, the siege on Gaza City is intensifying, but despite the evacuation orders, many are simply too poor or too sick to leave.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Despite the international pressure on display at the United Nations this week, Israeli tanks are pushing deeper into Gaza City. The

images that you see on your screen have been geolocated by CNN, showing tanks just down the road from Al-Shifa Hospital, which is the enclave's

biggest medical facility.

Journalists working with our teams on the ground report intense shelling in multiple neighborhoods, as well as heavy drone and helicopter presence in

the skies. Well CNN's Paula Hancocks is in the studio with me. And Paula, what do we understand to be happening on the ground?

Of course, we can't, you know, as an organization, get our own staffing, but we have a lot of people working with us on the ground, Palestinian

stringers and fixers who provide us good insight into what's going on.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. So, Becky, what they've been telling us is that there have now been tanks, Israeli tanks, witnessed on

the western part of Gaza City, so moving into the center, and then also from the southern part. So, we can see that tanks are moving closer to the

center, where we know that there are still hundreds of thousands of civilians.

Now we're hearing there has been an increase, according to those on the ground, that they believe there's been more shelling. They believe there's

a lot more drones and Apache helicopter they can hear in the sky. So certainly, there appears to be an intensification on the military side.

Now, first of all, there was a belief there were about 1 million civilians in Gaza City. The Israeli military at this point say they believe 640,000

have left. Now we have no way of verifying those figures, but it means that hundreds of thousands are still stuck in Gaza City. And many of them are

not necessarily unwilling to leave, but are simply unable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Abu Wissam fixes his shelter as best he can. Sheets and a blanket next to a bombed-out car on the streets of Gaza City. He has

lost his son and his home. If I had the money to evacuate and rent a place to stay, he says I would leave. But now there are gangs in the south

charging people to sleep in the streets.

Abu Wissam is among the majority still in Gaza City despite Israeli evacuation orders. Israel is carrying out an assault on the city, calling

it a Hamas stronghold. Transportation alone to carry belongings and families south can cost around 1200 U.S. dollars, according to civilians on

the ground.

[09:25:00]

Breaking down he says, I will stand up and raise my hands in front of the tank. Even my kids, I'll make them stand in front of it. I'm only afraid of

God. Whoever should die will die here or in the south. Our fate will come wherever we are. It's a desperation felt by the holt family.

Nearby, patients lie in a makeshift hospital as a British-Australian volunteer doctor does whatever she can with no supplies.

DR. SAYA AZIZ, BRITISH-AUSTRALIAN VOLUNTEER DOCTOR: This is not a hospital. This is a barn. Animals get treated better.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Everywhere she walks. Families ask her to do something for their loved one, anything. A post operative man lies with an

open wound. His family begs for dressing or something to clean the wound with. Dr. Aziz does not have it.

AZIZ: Maybe he can get a report for a transfer. But down south, I've been down south, they have nothing. There's nothing.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Israel's military has ordered up to 1 million civilians in Gaza City to head south to Al Mawasi, an area Israel calls a

humanitarian zone, even as the military has carried out deadly strikes there. Some of these patients would not survive the journey south.

Dr. Aziz takes a crying baby from her older brother to give him a break. She gives the only treatment she has left, care and sympathy.

AZIZ: Look at the dressing. Look, there's nothing to clean them with. They come into theater. I can't clean them. They're covered in dust and mud.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): Outside Gaza City's Al-Quds Hospital, civilians sit among all the belongings they have salvaged from their lives. Fatmeh Shtewi

has been here a week. She's waiting for help she knows will not come. We ran away from the gunfire and the airstrikes, she says.

We don't have any money to leave or eat or even to buy a tent. Our home is gone. These are not civilians who are refusing to evacuate Gaza City. These

are civilians who are scared, desperate and out of options. Those who do not have the money or the health to leave, have little choice but to sit

and wait for the Israeli tanks to arrive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (on camera): So, the International Red Cross at this point says that there is, quote, astronomical levels of need. These are people in Gaza

City who simply don't have the money to be able to afford the transport. They don't have the money to buy food.

And we're hearing more and more about gangs in the southern part of Gaza city that are now charging simply to put your shelter in a street

somewhere, to put a tent by the side of the road. It's an impossible situation for many people.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Paula Hancocks with me here in Abu Dhabi. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other

stories that are on our radar right now. And Fed Chair Jerome Powell due to make a highly anticipated speech a few hours from now.

That comes six days after the U.S. Central Bank lowered borrowing costs for the first time since December. Investors looking for signs of further cuts,

which could encourage consumer spending. Typhoon Ragasa is weakening as it heads towards Hong Kong. You are seeing images of the Philippines after the

storm blew through on Monday.

It is the strongest storm of the year so far. At its peak, equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. It's still packing 230 kilometer per hour winds. High

profile Human Rights Activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah has been freed after 12 years in prison. He was among six prisoners pardoned by the Egyptian

President originally detained before the Arab Spring.

Abd El-Fattah was imprisoned in 2014 for protesting without permission. Well, still to come. President Donald Trump is set to address the United

Nations in the morning session in New York, as divisions between his administration and U.S. allies deepen. And coming up, Jimmy Kimmel making a

quick comeback after controversial heights tinged with politics. Why the reversal? Our chief media analyst reads the tea leaves for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You are watching "Connect the World". And let's have a look at the markets for you. These

markets have been open for about a minute, and they are exactly where we anticipated they will be, which is mixed.

Obviously, investors waiting on Jerome Powell's comments after the decision to reduce rates for the first time since December, that decision made about

six days ago. What Jerome Powell says. Generally, something that will move markets, if investors feel that way inclined? Who knows? We will wait and

see what he says.

These are the markets. They've been on a rip, a three-day winning streak, so perhaps a little bit of profit taking going on there as investors, as I

say, await that speech. Well, the world will be watching as U.S. President Donald Trump, addresses the U.N. General Assembly in the next hour where

dozens of global leaders are gathering the president slated to start his speech soon.

It comes at a moment of heightened strain between his administration and a number of U.S. allies over the war in Gaza and the possibility of

establishing a Palestinian state. In addition to his speech, he'll meet today with the Presidents of Ukraine and the European Commission.

He'll sit down with leaders of Arab and Muslim nations. Well, I want to bring in Doug Heye, a Republican Strategist and Former RNC Communications

Director. Doug Heye Trump Administration has withdrawn the U.S. from several U.N. agencies, of course, slash U.N. funding.

What does that tell us in terms of how the president sees the U.N. and other global institutions, at a time when he is, of course, attempting to

broker peace deals on his own -- and on his own terms, of course.

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yeah --

ANDERSON: But this is a man who speaks of peace, and yet seems to trash the institutions set up to sustain and maintain peace, of course.

HEYE: Yeah, it's why he wants the Nobel Peace Prize, because he basically is trying to demonstrate, sometimes successfully, sometimes obviously

unsuccessfully, that I'm the peacemaker. And I think it's very difficult, Becky, to claim that you're the peacemaker, if ultimately, what you're

doing is you're doing away with things like the PEPFAR program that has saved so many lives in Africa.

And it's why so many outside organizations are being built and designed. I was in London, Becky, two weeks ago for meetings around the defense

security and resilience bank, where multinational, multilateral countries and banks are saying, how can we get other countries to the 5 percent that

Donald Trump is talking about, which is a good goal, if they can't get there on their own?

So, you see outside of governments, organizations trying to create themselves and trying to step up to fill a void that obviously exists.

ANDERSON: And he has, of course, grown increasingly isolated on the issue of Israel, as Israel becomes increasingly isolated on the issue of Gaza and

indeed on the West Bank.

[09:35:00]

And according to our reporting, Trump's Administration has blocked visas for key Palestinian leaders to attend this U.N. summit. I just wonder how

this positions the president, given the momentum for recognizing a Palestinian state, which has manifested itself with a number of key

countries unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state in the past 36 hours.

How does this leave the U.S. and the U.S. President as he walks in to address the General Assembly today.

HEYE: You know, it doesn't change anything for Donald Trump. It's very clear that Donald Trump and his administration are not going to recognize

Palestine. And I think last week we saw a unique version of diplomacy from Donald Trump. You know, he's obviously a blunt force trauma speaker most

times.

When he was asked about Keir Starmer recognizing Palestine, he basically said, listen, we disagree on this, and that's it. Donald Trump doesn't

typically do that. He will say, we disagree and he's wrong and he's evil, and, you know, 10 or 12 steps down the line. He didn't do that in this

case, but very clearly, he's not going to waver on his position on Israel.

It was sort of a day one position for him, the first time he became president, and he's been very consistent on that. And obviously he moved

the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, something that a lot of his predecessors promised to do, but never did. Donald Trump came through on

that for Israel, and he views the Abraham Accords as one of his major, major accomplishments.

ANDERSON: Doug, given your experience of the RNC. I just wonder what you believe the party would hope to hear from Donald Trump today, and in turn,

what they are likely to hear from Donald Trump as he sets out his vision for the world. This, of course, is not his vision.

It is the vision of the sort of machine behind Donald Trump. So just explain, you know, what their vision is, and how that sort of aligns with

the Republican parties.

HEYE: If I'm honest, Becky, it's not so much that the party is hoping to hear something from Donald Trump. What Trump says will then become party

orthodoxy. Some of that is normal. You could say the same thing about the Democrats under Barack Obama, Republicans under George W. Bush, Trump

obviously takes that to a very different level.

So, what you'll see is in the administration and also outside the administration, whether that's on Capitol Hill or outside organizations in

downtown Washington or even New York that will take their cues from Donald Trump. He will tell them what direction they're going to go to.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Good. Always good to have you, Doug, it's a real pleasure.

HEYE: Thank you, Becky.

ANDERSON: Thank you. And your analysis and insight so important as we tee up the speech by the U.S. President from the U.N. General Assembly. You are

seeing the corridors of power as it were, there, lessening power, it seems, you know, under a Trump Administration per pound, nonetheless. We will be

back after a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: U.S. President Donald Trump says he has, quote, settled the conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Washington

hosted the foreign ministers of both nations back in June to sign a peace deal that aimed to end decades of conflict following the 1994 Rwandan

Genocide, which killed an estimated 6 million people.

The peace deal came in the wake of a power shift at the start of 2025 when a rebel group known as M23 allegedly backed by Rwanda, took control of two

major cities in Eastern DRC. Well, despite the signing, many armed groups are still fighting. As CNN's Larry Madowo explains in this exclusive report

from rebel held Goma, but first a warning that the following story does contain disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Democratic Republic of Congo a militia -- its new army on graduation day. These men are said to be

former Congolese army soldiers who lay down their arms during fierce battles for the DRC's largest eastern cities of Goma and Bukavu. The man

watching over them is Corneille Nangaa, the leader of the Congo River Alliance, which includes the M23 rebel group, allegedly backed by Rwanda.

The White House brokered a peace deal between the DRC and Rwanda in June, and these rebels are still fighting. Rather than peace, this former

election chief says he plans to take his soldiers to the capital, Kinshasa, to overthrow DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.

CORNEILLE NANGAA, AFC-M23 POLITICAL LEADER: Our aim is to go to Kinshasa. We are going to go with our Congolese people. We are Congolese. We don't

benefit anything from Rwanda, and we don't need it.

MADOWO (voice-over): CNN traveled to Goma in Eastern DRC to interview the M23 leader amid fresh accusations of severe human rights abuses and war

crimes leveled against all sides, but especially at M23.

VOLKER TURK, U.N. HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: My team confirmed that the M23 committed widespread torture and other mistreatment, including

sexual violence against detainees.

NANGAA: These are the liars. Fake reports. There's no truth in that.

MADOWO: You don't agree with Human Rights Watch and the U.N. --

NANGAA: I don't agree. I reject all those reports, because they are propaganda from Kinshasa, and they are being paid for that.

MADOWO (voice-over): The Eastern DRC, which shares a border with Rwanda, has been mired in conflict for more than 30 years, since the Rwandan

genocide. It is one of the most complex and protracted crises in the world, stemming from colonial era border disputes, ethnic tensions, and fought

over its large deposits of minerals that are crucial to 21st century technology.

M23 has grabbed territory where the world's largest reserves of Colton are located, critical to the production of electronics, from cell phones to

electric vehicles. The Rwandan government denies backing M23 though U.N. experts and much of the international community believe Rwanda supports the

rebels.

M23 first sees Goma in 2012 and this January took it again. This time, the rebels say they will not withdraw so easily.

MADOWO: Would you accept a peace deal that requires you to withdraw from these areas you currently control?

NANGAA: When we address the root causes of the crisis, then we drop everything, and everything is done.

MADOWO: President Trump said that they are getting minerals as part of this deal.

NANGAA: Tshisekedi doesn't have any mining sites.

MADOWO: So, President Tshisekedi has no minerals to give.

NANGAA: He doesn't have it. He's a crook.

MADOWO: Are you suggesting that President Tshisekedi is manipulating President Trump with minerals?

NANGAA: This is what he's trying to do.

MADOWO: Will it succeed?

NANGAA: I don't know.

MADOWO (voice-over): Goma International Airport has been closed since M23 took over. They accused Congolese troops of leaving behind mines and booby

traps.

[09:45:00]

MADOWO: One of M23's biggest trophies is this Russian manufactured fighter jet, which they say they took over as a Congolese army fled this city that

fighter jet is used to fly these rocket heads, and you see, some of them have been used. Some are still active, all abandoned as the city was

getting liberated, according to the M23.

MADOWO (voice-over): Caught in the crossfires of power struggles and violence are vulnerable women and children, 25-year-old Muhawenimana

Rachel, along with her four young children, are some of the thousands that have been sent over recent months from the DRC to Rwanda.

MUHAWENIMANA RACHEL, DISPLACED PERSON: I'm happy to be back home, even though I'm coming back to a place I don't even know because I was born in

Congo.

MADOWO: The M23 tell us they are family members of Rwandan rebels who operate in the Eastern DRC and who try to overthrow the government of

Rwanda. They're being repatriated, but Human Rights groups say some of this repatriation is not voluntary, they have to leave.

MADOWO (voice-over): On the streets of Goma, life has largely returned to normal since January's fighting. At this busy market, people declined to

speak on camera for fear of being targeted. 28 million people, nearly a quarter of the population in DRC, required urgent food assistance as of

mid-2025 according to the World Food Program.

It told CNN, the escalation of violence following the M23 takeover of Goma and Bukavu has quote, severely disrupted humanitarian operations. Children

have returned to class for the start of a new school year. But life remains difficult, with teachers earning just $100 a month.

The sound of gunfire may have come in Goma, but lasting peace still seems a long way off. M23 are so far not even party to the White House agreement.

NANGAA: The root causes of the conflict are not discussed in Washington.

MADOWO: Will you recognize any peace deal signed at the White House?

NANGAA: I don't recognize the Tshisekedi regime. So, whatever he signed, I'm not concerned. He is illegitimate. He cannot represent DRC. So,

whatever they sign over there. In so far as we are not part of it. We don't care. I don't recognize it.

MADOWO (voice-over): M23 consider themselves revolutionaries, not rebels, and it seems even U.S. negotiated peace agreements won't stop them. Larry

Madowo, CNN, Goma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, the Democratic Republic of Congo categorically rejects, quote, baseless accusations that Congolese troops left behind mines and

booby traps at Goma International Airport. A government spokesperson said in a statement to CNN they also said the peace agreement signed in

Washington under the accompaniment of President Donald Trump does not contain a sell off of Congolese minerals for peace.

Right. I want to get you back to New York at this point we are awaiting President Trump's speech at the United Nations General Assembly. Ahead of

him will be the Brazilian President. You are looking at the President of the General Assembly at present, Her Excellency, Annalena Baerbock.

She has just spoken as her protocol. We will now expect to hear from the Brazilian President following that, President Trump, one of the first

speakers of the day. Of course, stay with us as we monitor that for you, more news is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:00]

ANDERSON: -- wherever you are watching in the world. If you are wondering where the leader of your country is today, it is likely that he is in New

York alongside President Donald Trump, who has just arrived at the U.N. headquarters there with Melania Trump. UNGA Of course, the 80th session of

the General Assembly, an historic day there in New York, given the 80 years since the first of these sessions.

And Donald Trump riding the escalator up towards the floor where currently the Brazilian President is speaking. It will be Interesting to see whether

the sort of spat, the diplomatic spat between the two is addressed by either of these men, given that they are following each other, or given

that Donald Trump is following this man, who is at the podium at the moment, and the Brazilian President there, Luiz Inacio da Silva, and Donald

Trump will follow him.

We are expecting Donald Trump to lay out his vision for the world. It is likely that he will address what he considers to be the inadequacy of the

U.N. or globalist institutions and system. Will he address the unilateral recognition by so many countries of a Palestinian state, which has happened

over the last 36 hours?

Yet to find out. Ukraine, yet to find out. But we will be there as and when the U.S. President starts. And if you keep up with your CNN app, you will

get all the news from there, including the most pertinent takeaways from this man, the Brazilian President. Meantime, medical experts are

criticizing the U.S. President's announcement linking the use of Tylenol with pregnant -- while pregnant with autism.

Donald Trump made the announcement despite decades of evidence that the common painkiller, also known as paracetamol is safe. CNN's Chief Medical

Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta lays out the science behind it.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, understandable if people are confused by what they heard coming out of the White House

regarding Tylenol and autism. This is something, first of all, that is not new. There have been a lot of studies looking into this over the last

couple of decades, many of which we've reported on.

There has never been a cause-and-effect relationship established between Tylenol or Acetaminophen, which is the active ingredient and autism. Just

to make that clear. In fact, if you look at the specific language from the FDA that came out after that press conference.

Even there, they're not suggesting that people stop taking Tylenol, especially for fevers during pregnancy, because I think that's probably the

most important point. Keep in mind, when something is very ubiquitous, very common, you can associate it with just about anything.

That's the paradox of ubiquity, as one of the researchers said, in hot weather months, ice cream use goes up and violent crime goes up. Are those

things cause an effect? No, but they might be considered associated. In fact, if you look at Tylenol use over the last couple of decades for

pregnant women, its usage has come down a bit, even as autism rates have gone up, something to keep in mind.

Yet there have been these signals of concerns about potential associations between Tylenol and autism, and that's why a particularly big study was

done. Came out of Sweden. It was over 25 years they looked at 2 million children. About 10 percent of the moms had taken Tylenol during pregnancy.

They had babies. They had siblings as well, in which they had not taken Tylenol during pregnancy. And the bottom line is, when they put all of that

data together, they did not find any link between Tylenol and autism. That's why you do those sorts of big studies.

One thing again that came out was this idea that if a woman has a fever during pregnancy, how big a problem is that, in and of itself? That gets

back to this association problem. Why was the woman taking Tylenol in the first place? Was it to treat a fever? Did that fever get caused by an

infection?

Could the infection or the fever be really what's driving a potential association with autism? Again, these are complicated studies. That's why

you have to do them. Not treating a fever during pregnancy is a problem. It can be associated with birth defects, can be associated with early labor,

can be associated with a miscarriage and neurodevelopmental problems in and of itself.

[09:55:00]

So, the guidance has long been to women who have fevers during pregnancy or need to take something for pain, take the smallest dose for the shortest

amount of time, and I don't think that guidance is likely to change based on what we heard.

ANDERSON: Sanjay Gupta on the story for you. Well, President Trump brushed off the experts, saying, quote, we understood a lot more than a lot of

people who started it. Nearly a week after Disney hit pause on "Jimmy Kimmel Live", the U.S. show is going back on air.

Disney announcing the late-night program will return to its time slot on ABC, which is, of course, owned by Disney, on Tuesday night, after some

thoughtful conversations we are told with the show's host. Kimmel's comments about slaying Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk last week got the

show sidelined under indirect pressure from the FCC, which grants broadcast licenses in the United States.

All of this put Kimmel smack in the middle of a nationwide debate over free speech. A source says he will address the controversy in his first monolog

back on air. Right, that is it for the first hour of "Connect the World". I'll be back top of the next hour. A couple of minutes from now, we are

awaiting the speech by Donald Trump at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. We will get you that as soon as it starts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END